[
  {
    "movie": "battle_of_algiers",
    "reviews": [
      "a riveting reconstruction of the struggle for independence in mid-50s algiers , its pseudo-documentary style still feels as headline-fresh as its content .",
      "gillo pontecorvo 's epic of revolutionary fervour has dimmed not an iota since it was first released in 1966 .",
      "forty years on , the film 's lost not a fraction of its power .",
      "faux-documentary masterpiece",
      "whatever they made of the MOV at the pentagon , this is a must-see for everyone else now .",
      "brilliantly directed set-pieces and remarkable thronging crowd scenes make the film a masterpiece ; the ominous familiarity of its subject makes it a must-see .",
      "the most important piece of political filmmaking since battleship potemkin .",
      "the inspiration and blueprint for docudrama and ideological cinema worldwide .",
      "what really resonates on watching algiers is its message about the widespread loss of civilian life and the staggering destruction to civic infrastructure as the heaviest costs of war",
      "superb and unrivalled .",
      "the verity of a documentary ... with the narrative drive and emotional charge of a great thriller",
      "plays like a mesmerizing action thriller that derives from the best traditions of hollywood .",
      "it 's more disturbing now than ever .",
      "the chafing , mutually uncomprehending collision of western occupiers and muslim occupied has never been captured with such dispassionate , thrilling clarity .",
      "gripping , relevant cinema ... irish film , `` bloody sunday , '' borrowed its entire structure from `` algiers . ''",
      "few movies have done such an eloquent , evenhanded job of defining the conflict between colonialists and natives determined to free themselves from foreign rule .",
      "it 's a frank blend of exoticism , eroticism and foreshadowed horror .",
      "one of the essential works of world cinema .",
      "`` the MOV '' is a one of a kind masterpiece of pure cinema that you will never forget .",
      "it 's a dedicated effort with importance as a ` document . '",
      "partially because of its documentary style , used so effectively by director gillo pontecorvo , it never gets heavy-handed -- exploring the idea of violence as a necessary evil for freedom .",
      "both a how-to manual for guerrilla terrorism and a cautionary tale about how to fight it . it 's also quite possibly the finest war film ever made .",
      "the film establishes a kinetic documentary effect , making the impact of every shoot-out and explosion a deeply personal experience .",
      "this seminal . meticulously crafted work about algiers struggle for freedom won the venic film fest top award , and deservedly garnered pontecorvo oscar nominations as best director and co-scribe .",
      "its content has classic and tragic dimensions beyond politics .",
      "essential viewing .",
      "a riveting look at france 's failed attempt to remain a colonial force in algeria . re-release .",
      "the director 's real achievement is not in making a piece of agitprop but in using these fundamental tools of cinema in such an extraordinarily affecting way .",
      "a classic of politically engaged filmmaking .",
      "this lesson in modern warfare is not only instructive to the pentagon 's military but is of considerable value to any generation 's fascination with law , order , anarchic behavior and classic story-telling technique .",
      "like all masterpieces , it speaks to later ages as powerfully and intelligently as to its own .",
      "a restored print of the landmark film has been re-released , and the superbly crafted , often-unnerving film is well worth your attention .",
      "the painful , desperate film , a re-enactment of algerian revolutionaries ' efforts to break free from french rule , is a practical textbook on how not to run an occupation .",
      "a lesson in modern warfare",
      "a startling and still-potent view of the double standard of war .",
      "what lessons a modern viewer can gain from the film depends on who is watching and what they want to see .",
      "while it 's clear that the movie is very much a stacked deck , which invariably takes the algerian side , the bias does n't lessen the film 's lesson .",
      "it 's as fresh and suspenseful as anything before or since .",
      "a thrilling movie with the unusual message that sometimes terrorism works .",
      "the most electrifyingly timely movie playing in new york was made in 1965 .",
      "this film has received a lot of praise from critics , but not that many people will find this that entertaining .",
      "the film 's explosive power transcends the headlines .",
      "what makes this charlotte film society entry remarkable is that the italian director sympathizes with both sides .",
      "if any movie squeezes you into the shoes of grassroots combatants fighting a monstrous colonialist power for the right to their own neighborhoods , this is it .",
      "you wo n't soon forget the face of brahim haggiag , who plays the revolutionary leader ali as if he were channeling the misery of colonialism into a solitary stare of accusatory outrage .",
      "` the MOV ' serves potent warning to those who envision warfare , or any western-dictated settlement , in areas so hungry and so foreign .",
      "a timelessly powerful film .",
      "the ` smell of truth ' that pontecorvo said he was after in this film has never left it , and likely never will .",
      "the greatness of the MOV lies in its ability to embrace moral ambiguity without succumbing to it .",
      "it remains one of the greatest depictions of the mutually dehumanizing nature of war ever made .",
      "magnificent moviemaking .",
      "perhaps the finest political film of the 1960s .",
      "the price of invasion has never been more poignantly spelled out than in this classic film .",
      "gripping and technically dazzling documentary-style drama .",
      "still powerful and upsetting because of its unpolished immediacy ... and because the movie declines to judge the terrorists ' actions .",
      "pontecorvo essentially established the cinematic language that we recognize in recent dramas based on actual events , from bloody sunday to black hawk down .",
      "remains a signficant achievement , a testament to film 's powers to put you in the middle of a historical event and make it feel real .",
      "the MOV still resonates today , and probably always will",
      "it remains a surprisingly instructive and cautionary lesson in the way that populist movements can burn parent states down to their grass roots .",
      "pontecorvo has nearly accomplished the impossible : to make an epic film that convinces the viewer he is watching the real thing .",
      "it looks beyond any question to be an original documentary film , put together from newsreel footage , complemented by staged dramatic scenes .",
      "vital and disquieting , this is a powerful depiction of the pity of war . as shocking today as it was on the day of its release .",
      "the film 's ruminations about the meaning of terrorism and efforts to deal with it really resonate in the post-9 / 11 world . that makes this already-tense film all the more chilling and all the more memorable .",
      "as something similar happens to our soldiers in iraq , it 's a piece of blood-chilling horror every time we see this story from today 's news repeated in a 38-year-old movie .",
      "its relevance to world events is just as clear today , more so , it seems , with each passing day .",
      "a chilling cinematic history lesson .",
      "an epic of intimate objectivity .",
      "it takes about an eighth of a second for the film to seem all too relevant .",
      "an extraordinary movie that ruffled many feathers when it first came out . almost 40 years later , it retains the poignancy it delivered back then .",
      "a fascinating movie in its own right , more relevant because of today 's world situation .",
      "the same power it had 40 years ago is still evident .",
      "staged with almost newsreel precision but presented with the punch of a great political thriller . . despite being half a century old , still has a powerful and pertinent message ."
    ],
    "summary": "a powerful , documentary-like examination of the response to an occupying force , the MOV has n't aged a bit since its release in 1966 .",
    "id": "133039722"
  },
  {
    "movie": "54",
    "reviews": [
      "to borrow a putdown from a past vice presidential debate , we 've all seen john travolta , and ryan phillippe , you are no john travolta . nor for that matter are you mark wahlberg .",
      "an entertaining reminder of how facile the disco era really was ...",
      "i was hoping to be able to recommend 54 from a camp point of view , possibly the next showgirls . but it 's not . the fact is it 's so uninvolving , it 's not even interesting enough to be bad .",
      "qualifies as one of the more entertaining bad movies of the year .",
      "this is so dull !",
      "first-time feature director mark christopher proves that he 's a better director than a writer , though not too terribly much .",
      "whatever you do , do n't waste your money on the superficial , cowardly 54",
      "a disappointingly dull film .",
      "... a wasted opportunity",
      "a mish-mash of bad writing , poor acting -lrb- except myers -rrb- , amateur directing and mediocre production credits .",
      "the writer seems helpless in finding a way to wrap up the story beyond the arrest of rubell .",
      "just as disappointing as whit stillman 's last days of disco , marc christopher 's 54 suffers from a formulaic script that feels like a reworking of saturday night fever and boogie nights , both superior and more entertaining pictures .",
      "a nostalgic whitewash . with its sterling beat-heavy soundtrack and non-stop glitz , the movie captures the look and sound of its inspiration much more convincingly than it conjures up the studio 54 atmosphere .",
      "54 is mediocre on almost all counts : acting -lrb- with a couple of exceptions -rrb- , writing , direction and cinematography are uniformly bland , inoffensive and completely unmemorable .",
      "one can only hope `` 54 '' will hammer the final nail in disco 's coffin . it 's music that i do n't want stayin ' alive .",
      "the 1970s were great times , but most viewers could hardly come to that conclusion based on this film .",
      "it 's all strobe lights and glitz , no substance . it 's sort of like the musical era it covers .",
      "54 ca n't make up its mind whether it 's debunking , revering or giggling at the era of glitter balls and gold-painted faces .",
      "except for myers , and for many he will make the movie worth watching . he 's absolutely shagadelic and completely unexpected . this should have been his movie .",
      "mecca of cool turns out lukewarm .",
      "the movie is flat , logy , and amateurish -- a scotch - tape - and - balsa - wood job .",
      "do n't shell out your cash for this dud !",
      "call it boogie nights lite .",
      "it 's a hollow shell of a film , rife with plot twists that go nowhere .",
      "somehow , some way , the supremely disappointing 54 has made the historically hip haven of hedonism ... boring .",
      "the dialog is as dull as the costumes are flashy .",
      "it 's a noble effort , but aficionados and the mildly interested are recommended to seek out vh-1 's excellent studio 54 documentary in lieu of this shallow morality play .",
      "as a movie finally reaching its definitive state , `` 54 '' is a flawed endeavor , and clearly the work of someone new to the venture of making movies . but it all comes together in fascinating hindsight , .",
      "a bundle of missteps that will keep filmgoers off this dance floor .",
      "extremely watery and soap opera-ish ...",
      "54 is barebones storytelling , almost totally devoid of compelling conflict on any level .",
      "the trite story is a letdown because it traverses a predictable arc .",
      "the plotting and pacing are so relentlessly predictable that the film does n't even work well as a sociology lesson .",
      "you see garbage bags filled with cash , a lot of avid cocaine snorting and fleeting glimpses of warhol and truman capote , but it all feels ho-hum .",
      "sanitised and dramatically inept retelling of the history of one of the great sleazy success -lrb- and failure -rrb- stories . best head out to a nightclub instead .",
      "i do n't get that lifestyle , but i was hoping that 54 would show me why so many people find that appealing . it was not to be .",
      "the party never gets started .",
      "the new disco era film 54 is fame on drugs , a low-grade saturday night fever .",
      "decadence has rarely looked so pathetic , lethargic and dispiriting as it does in this listless film .",
      "one of the year 's best films .",
      "it 's a flat , clumsy piece of filmmaking .",
      "there 's a great movie to be made about studio 54 , but this is not it .",
      "never achieves what it sets out to accomplish .",
      "54 is an entertaining and surprisingly serious look at the infamous new york discotheque , with a genuine nostalgia for the late '70s and early '80s , tempered by a healthy dose of jaundice - but without a sense of condescension or superiority .",
      "every conversation seems punctuated with awkward silences and dull stares .",
      "the triteness comes thick and fast .",
      "let me pause for a minute to think of a more boring subject for a movie ... sorry . i give up .",
      "neither a great night out nor a great night in .",
      "a shapeless homage to the glory that was studio 54 in its decadent heyday ...",
      "a more critical and resonant hollywood movie about the glorious disco culture screams to be made .",
      "... comes off like a high-budget cautionary tale , concerned that if it shows anything attractive about studio 54 , some young and innocent viewer might be corrupted ...",
      "here we have a nightclub where mick jagger danced with truman capote , and the drama of the film is two bare-chested hunks shouting ` you 've changed , man ! ' while carrying tubs of dirty glasses .",
      "-lsb- the director 's cut -rsb- is out and proud , not at all shying away from the sexual aggression of phillippe 's character as he calmly removes his clothes for any gender .",
      "the most affecting moments are shards of sexual behavior ... that existed only on the samizdat vhs , the degraded quality suggesting ghostly remnants of film 's scissoring -lsb- and -rsb- the long-dead behaviors on-screen , debauchery and gaucherie alike .",
      "the film is entertaining , and it 's worth seeing if only for mike myers ' amazing performance .",
      "myers exploits every vicious , self-hating line that comes his way .",
      "myers shining moment . too bad nobody saw it .",
      "a sanitized boogie nights .",
      "`` 54 '' starts out as an exploration of a culture based on the cultivation of surfaces , and winds up all surface itself .",
      "a la mayoría de los personajes les falta un desarrollo más inteligente y apegado a la realidad",
      "silly and clumsily made .",
      "little more than stock characters acting out a generic drama of sin and redemption against a lascivious backdrop that is far more interesting than the story it serves .",
      "mr. christopher 's movie at times looks like a parody of the era , at other times like a celebration of a period haplessly gone by .",
      "the director 's cut still has a pacing that lags during the second act , and now that the film 's about the love triangle , the scenes with julie do n't really add anything to the overall story . that being said , it deserves a second chance in its new life ."
    ],
    "summary": "poor plot development and slow pacing keep 54 from capturing the energy of it 's legendary namesake .",
    "id": "13650"
  },
  {
    "movie": "footloose-2010",
    "reviews": [
      "hugely entertaining , remake that 's obviously been made with a healthy love of the original film and succeeds thanks to a faithful script , terrific dance sequences and strong performances from its cast .",
      "wormald and hough are both handsome and good on the dance floor , but they come across more like teen stars in training than representations of real youth angst .",
      "this updated version of the 27-year-old MOV is competently made and lively enough .",
      "updating the quarter-of-a-century old original with a more racially representative cast and hipper street moves , brewer also trumps his predecessor with a zinging script and some likeable performances ...",
      "entertaining , sporadically delightful , but like most reheats , it lacks the essential sense of surprise found in the original picture .",
      "brewer adds a gritty texture and shows ingenuity in the ways he inserts tunes from the original . but the basic material is at best a guilty pleasure .",
      "in most regards -lrb- we still miss kevin bacon -rrb- , this is a `` new and improved '' `` MOV , '' funnier , sunnier and funkier . simply put , it works .",
      "it may not be great art , but it sure as hell knows how to dance .",
      "it 's startling how badly the dance numbers and action sequences are staged , shot and cut .",
      "star-crossed lovers wormald and julianne hough ca n't match bacon and lori singer , but over-30s will tap feet and the glee crowd will mime along .",
      "while it does n't excuse hollywood and their tendency to prefer the established property over a new idea , at least they 're getting better at making the reboots watchable .",
      "the most important thing this version has in common with the original is that the talking parts are too long and the dancing parts are too short .",
      "sweet , shamelessly cheesy and surprisingly wholesome .",
      "works as a breezy entertainment that audiences will want to flock to on a friday night .",
      "give credit to craig brewer , the filmmaker behind the new MOV , for realizing a new step was in order .",
      "`` MOV '' is still too long and too square to jump up and down about . but it offers a mild diversion for those who still believe `` the music is on his side . ''",
      "this guilty-pleasure update has an angsty adolescent energy that 's as infectious as anything in contagion .",
      "all in all , this is a film i attended with rock-bottom expectations , and came out of feeling elated .",
      "solidly entertaining and , dare i say , toe tapping fun ! ''",
      "a new MOV with sassier steps and the same contrived story is hardly necessary .",
      "while there 's definite energy in the dance sequences , the hokum outweighs the exuberance .",
      "there is good humour throughout .",
      "none of the changes improves on the original MOV , even though the two young leads are both professional dancers - did n't the budget allow for anything more than raft swinging and barn hoofing ?",
      "this 2011 version is so similar - sometimes song for song and line for line - that i was wickedly tempted to reprint my 1984 review , word for word .",
      "craig brewer 's adaptation cleverly gives several nods and winks to the first film , but also has a modern sensibility that every teenager today will understand .",
      "a pleasant reminder of the past for fans of the first one , and an agreeable-enough experience for everyone else .",
      "i do n't know what brewer wanted to capture . there are too many close-ups of stomping , swinging feet to suggest he cared about great choreography .",
      "what results is something stylish , modern , nostalgic , cheesy , and more than a little frankensteinian .",
      "as far as acting goes , these kids certainly can dance .",
      "wormald and hough do n't look or dance like adolescents letting off steam ; their professionalism overwhelms what should be a simple pleasure . the film sometimes has the same problem .",
      "as in most movies of this ilk , the drama is stuff you sit through to get to the good parts , which are the zippy music and athletic dancing . and they are very good .",
      "it 's an eruption of joyous , jitterbugging energy and a polished piece of filmmaking .",
      "MOV 2011 is harmless as far as it goes , but on the dance floor and off it never goes nearly far enough .",
      "the film 's best asset is miles teller , so good as the guilty teenager of `` rabbit hole , '' as the lead 's instant best buddy .",
      "a pretty good remake of MOV : good-hearted , sincere , enjoyable , not too stupid",
      "maybe there is something timeless in anachronism . maybe brewer has located the heart beneath the hoke .",
      "stays remarkably close to its predecessor in all the ways that count .",
      "it 's a vibrant youth musical that will appeal to audiences who have n't seen the 1984 original . and it has enough charm and life to it to compete with the memory of the earlier version .",
      "the film 's sheer exuberance is frequently enough to overcome its regular moments of dull writing , dubious logic , and clichéd plotting and acting .",
      "the idea of an american town outlawing dancing was a stretch back in 1984 , but in the intervening years , it 's actually become more believable - which goes some way to justifying this remake .",
      "... the film 's overlength ultimately prevent -lsb- s -rsb- it from becoming the propulsive piece of work brewer has clearly intended .",
      "better than i thought it would be , but not as good as i hoped it would be .",
      "while the 2011 version of the film does n't suck , it is n't as good as the original ...",
      "the makers of ` MOV 2.0 ' can be faulted for actually sticking too closely to the original .",
      "an unnecessary , though enjoyable , remake of kevin bacon 's 1984 breakout hit .",
      "it seems torn by a desire to appeal to every contemporary teenager 's rebellious side , but remains too scared to cut loose from the things that made the original appeal to their parents .",
      "the characters , the scenes , the dancing , even much of the dialogue are all plugged into a rigidly prefabricated storyline that treats its 1984 predecessor more as holy writ instead of perishable reagan-era cheese .",
      "the latest MOV is a step up from recent dance flicks .",
      "if you have n't seen the original and are happy to ignore some of the more mad script decisions , you might get a kick out of it , but otherwise , youre better off re-watching the movie that started it all .",
      "the dancing sequences are terrific - even the line-dancing is tolerable - but what really sells this quality reboot are the dashes of reality missing from the original .",
      "sells the concept 's inherent silliness with enough lighthearted charm and earnestness to match the surprisingly enduring original .",
      "clearly , brewer has come to praise MOV , not to bury it , and so he leaves dean pitchford 's screenplay more or less intact . the result is one of the more pleasant surprises of 2011 .",
      "brewer has a firm command of the material and a great sense of how to film dance sequences . ca n't wait to see what this filmmaker does next .",
      "once you 've seen the remake of MOV , it really does n't seem like such a bad idea .",
      "a boisterous , almost scene-for-scene remake of the 1984 jukebox-musical-dance hit .",
      "surprisingly enjoyable . please do n't remake flashdance , though .",
      "wormald lacks bacon 's charisma but hough has an undeniable star quality , and teller is a comic delight .",
      "it 's as if brewer is taking a stand for movies that look like movies instead of audience hipness barometers .",
      "every now and then , we need to be reminded that shaking your booty is something essential . or , in the case of director craig brewer 's MOV update , shaking your rebooty .",
      "some things never change : the best part of `` MOV '' is the dancing .",
      "director craig brewer has southernized the story ... made it lighter on its feet .",
      "fema can take a day off because MOV is one remake that wo n't be called a natural disaster , in fact , it 's one hell of a good film .",
      "this remake could have audiences tapping their feet ... as they wait for it to end .",
      "my sunday shoes remain intact .",
      "i 'm sure there was some great choreography and some great dancing that went into this movie . you do n't see any of it .",
      "you either go all the way with it or simply roll your eyes when confronted by its terrible , cynical crassness .",
      "i can easily imagine this MOV being looked back on down the road as the film that launched these names much like how the '84 film is reflected on in terms of bacon .",
      "it 's unlikely that brewer 's MOV will persuade many remake skeptics but the film does deliver surprisingly enjoyable character drama and exciting choreography .",
      "it 's as if the filmmakers decided , ` we 're sticking with the basic script , but this ai n't your mama 's ` MOV . '",
      "it 's taken me a long time to come to grips with this cinematic weakness - or maybe it 's a blessing . i like dance movies , especially if the music is bouncy and it makes the characters happy . that 's an infectious film sequence for me .",
      "the most immaterial remake of 2011 , and boy , ai n't that saying something .",
      "brewer can ... stage and shoot a dance sequence in a way that the movement can be wholly appreciated , and those scenes become infectiously entertaining .",
      "` i believe that any town where dennis quaid can wear pleated trousers should also be a town where kids can dance , ' says ren . ` but first , i will prove my bona fides by racing a school bus encrusted with stuffed animals ! '",
      "it 's a rare remake that improves on the original . but the new MOV does just that . the dancing is better , the drama grittier , the stars sexier -- and the music and the cast are more energetic and diverse .",
      "i 'm sure there are plenty of people who will say that the original version was so much better than this one and they may be right , but i 'm certainly in no hurry to prove it .",
      "with his delightful learning-how-to-dance sequence , miles teller almost steals ` MOV ' from fantastic dancers kenny wormald and julianne hough .",
      "an almost risibly old-fashioned crowd-pleaser ... weirdly constrained by brewer 's determination to ape the original so earnestly ... so clean-cut and wholesome that the mtv imprimatur attached to it seems like a joke .",
      "this is an unimaginative , near-carbon copy of what everyone recognised in 1984 as a cross between flashdance and rebel without a cause .",
      "MOV is completely harmless , and quite enjoyable at times . like any good pop song , it 's got a beat , and you can dance to it .",
      "utterly unnecessary , ham-fisted remake of a supposed 1980s `` classic . ''",
      "when a film depends on feeling something between the photogenic but antiseptic wormald and hough , and you do n't , you realize why that film may come up short in ways unrelated to dance training .",
      "brewer 's hot-and-bothered remake uncorks the original 's raging libido , and it 's as seamy and sordid as that damnable pg-13 rating will allow .",
      "if you can leave your cynicism at the door then this is top-quality saturday night popcorn entertainment .",
      "`` MOV '' poses as a bold update , but it 's shockingly out of step with the times .",
      "it 's pretty much the same movie , minus some of the more egregious '80s fashions .",
      "whatever limitations the movie has are part of its charm .",
      "the movie plays like a slightly degraded version of the original : the dialogue is a little lamer , the acting a little poorer .",
      "do n't hate MOV because it 's a remake . the dance-movie-love-story-freedom-of-expression thumper is a rollicking good time .",
      "somehow `` MOV '' never finds its rhythm . the maudlin scenes drag on , and the livelier moments pass by too quickly .",
      "finds a victorious sense of pride in dancing your ass off -- good clean rebellion if there ever was some .",
      "tweaking the story just a little , the new film brings things up to date while including a few nostalgic salutes to the original - including ren 's bright-yellow vw beetle and ariel 's red-leather cowboy boots .",
      "sure , it sings a familiar tune . but it 's got a good beat , and you can dance to it .",
      "there was really no reason to remake it , but if you accept the fact that remakes are inevitable in today 's hollywood , then the new MOV shows at least how to avoid travesty .",
      "in terms of empty-headed exuberance , it 's hard to top MOV .",
      "` you deal with your pain in extremes , ' the minister is told . the line is a key to brewer 's filmography : all the director 's movies are about people who deal with their pain in extremes , and the plots chronicle the consequences of their coping ...",
      "this is a situation where audiences will go into the theater humming the featured songs , and while the movie they see offers no surprises , it does something relatively few fall releases can claim : it delivers exactly what it promises ...",
      "i was not impressed by the original and was pleased to find a slight satisfaction in the refreshed model .",
      "it seems more pandering -lrb- and dated -rrb- than ever .",
      "`` MOV '' has the look and feel of an ok basic cable movie . ''",
      "MOV is fancy-free , an iconic movie 's tribute that could stand on its own two , tapping feet .",
      "may not make as great a dent in the current generation as the original film had , but it does offer up a commendable amount of energy and heart ...",
      "it 's a decent offer notwithstanding the fact that it 's an unnecessary remake hoping to cash in on the reputation of its earlier incarnation . -lrb- movie review for parents also available -rrb-",
      "remake is surprisingly fresh but still faithful to original .",
      "this remake plays like the high school version of a big broadway stage show . although that 's probably unfair to high school theater .",
      "MOV is kind of like eating imitation crab . the taste is there , but it 's just not quite right .",
      "the movie brings out some touching and heartfelt emotions . you wo n't be able to resist bobbing your head and tapping your toes . the 113-minute running time passes by quickly as you become totally absorbed in this crowd-pleasing musical extravaganza .",
      "` MOV ' remake is almost paradise .",
      "if MOV had to be remade , this is probably the best version we were likely to get .",
      "while the story is more oddly archaic than ever , we might find ourselves exiting the movie with the overwhelming desire to kick off our own sunday shoes .",
      "the good-looking , athletic cast kick up their heels with gusto and choreographer jamal sims melds line dancing with hip hop and street , always harking back affectionately to the iconic moments of the earlier version .",
      "craig brewer directs films like a man with electricity emanating from his fingertips . it feels like his pictures might , at any point , ignite into a fiery ball of sex ... MOV is what we talk about when we talk about having fun at the movies .",
      "you ca n't really ask much more from something you did n't ask to exist in the first place . i 'm not here to tell you to give in or just go with it . but if you do , you 'll leave smiling . sometimes the machine spits out something good .",
      "brewer makes good use of the songs from the 1984 film that work , and while the film is too long , dragging out the drama , it 's got a real pulse .",
      "by the time four little girls teach a dorky guy to dance to -lrb- the original -rrb- `` let 's hear it for the boy '' i was a gelatinous blob of pure affection . bring on `` flashdance '' 2.0 .",
      "a cheerful if slightly vacuous entertainment , with some intrepid dancing to keep audiences on their toes .",
      "paramount 's MOV reboot never quite cuts loose enough to distinguish itself from the original .",
      "a film that 's corny , predictable and disposable . but it 's also pretty good fun - after you 've had a few .",
      "barely fresh considering director craig brewer essentially made a carbon copy of the original film just with less chemistry and a leading actor who sounded like mark whalberg !",
      "i never want to dance again .",
      "this new version will quite capably supply the same amount of carefree fun to a new generation . which is exactly what a clever , if not particularly ambitious , remake sets out to do .",
      "brewer has delivered a largely unobjectionable note-for-note facsimile of herbert ross 's ode to teenage rebellion , young love and the unfettered joy of movement .",
      "foot-tapping fun , sexy dancing , romance and making changes are the mainstays of this likeable , high energy remake of the 1984 classic",
      "MOV is a fun , energetic and sexy remake which successfully remixes its cult classic predecessor to make for an entertaining time at the flicks .",
      "-lsb- w -rsb- e have ... turned into four-year-olds who want to watch nothing but the same blue 's clues dvd over and over again ...",
      "from start to finish , brewer 's remake exudes the look and style of its forebearers : semi-awkward dance choreography , clunky dialogue and an obedience to formula that borders on cliché . but somehow , it works .",
      "brewer , who previously put his high-intensity spin on hustle & flow and black snake moan , displays his coolest moves in the way he smartly unties this MOV from its 1980s moorings .",
      "not even a rather obvious lack of interest in the adult actors amongst can stop MOV from finally becoming the film that 1980s nostalgia would have us assume the original is .",
      "the young cast are engaging , especially miles teller in the role originally played by christopher penn. .",
      "this is a squeaky clean teen movie , really . i was amazed at how people do n't know how to direct dance these days .",
      "will win you over with its refreshingly fun take on a beloved '80s classic as it showcases some fine new talent .",
      "MOV is a solid dance film that should find a new , appreciative audience with a younger generation that does n't hold the '84 film in as high esteem as audiences over 40 .",
      "brewer puts just enough smarts , sweat and swagger into his version of the dance steps making up this film that you ca n't help but move your feet and hum along .",
      "while hewing closely to MOV 's original story and themes , brewer 's film throws the standard high school movie notion of a teenage caste system out the window .",
      "predictable plot , solid music and dancing .",
      "like the original , it 's a bogus melodrama built around ersatz popular music . . a tribute to cinematic contrivance , a product instead of an expression of anything remotely real .",
      "the plot may be straightforward but it 's refreshing to see a modern dance film that tackles religion , convention and local law alongside the requisite forbidden romance .",
      "a virtual cinematic poison pill to anyone irrevocably divorced from any trace memories of adolescent feeling , and further proof that in life but especially art feeling is stronger than thought .",
      "while it 's true that few viewers will venture into a theater showing this remake for the story , the screenplay should not be a detriment to enjoyment . less talking and more dancing would have made for a more MOV and fancy-free environment .",
      "this MOV takes place in the same authentic , sweaty , lived-in south as his hustle & flow and black snake moan .",
      "there have been far , far worse remakes out there . harmless , feel-good fun .",
      "after his sophomore jinx , brewer is back on firm ground with this retro -lrb- but not cool -rrb- , old-fashioned musical remake , which you can see with your parents and grandparents due to its unabashedly corny and harmless nature .",
      "a dumbed-down , sexed-up take on a story that was already risqué and not too bright ... softens the '84 film 's critique of the church , but is also further from its lingering christian worldview .",
      "whether you prefer the original or the remake will be a matter of taste .",
      "you got to turn me around and put my feet on the ground , so i can walk out as quickly as possible .",
      "following the script of the original as if it were an arthur murray dance diagram , brewer 's do-over is at its root a very capable display of painting by numbers .",
      "a real drag from beginning to end .",
      "MOV drags its heels to the senior prom and , when it finally gets there , shoves in one last punch-up that puts an odd spin on what should be an upbeat display of happy feet .",
      "it 's the single most harmless teen movie in the recent cinematic landscape , and also one of the most charmingly fun .",
      "the patent absurdity would be forgotten or at least forgiven if the songs and the moves were any good , but aside from the title track it 's a sorry farrago of blandness .",
      "there 's at least one very compelling reason to see it : brewer understands how to do music on film better than anyone else working today .",
      "every dance sequence in the film is simply spectacular .",
      "it feels like a film walking in the shoes of its predecessor with a slightly sassier spring in its step . but at a certain point in the final act , this remake seems to forget why we 're all watching .",
      "is there any thing lamer than rebelling exactly the same way that your parents did ? ... this is not to elevate the original MOV beyond its modest , corny self , but the remake feels pointedly useless .",
      "a lively and rambunctious remake of the 1984 classic about a rebel with a cause who loves to dance .",
      "this remake rocks with toe-tapping adolescent angst .",
      "ren now dances with his ipod , the black kids krump in the carpark and the grown-ups worry about the recession . and that 's about where the updating ends .",
      "MOV is an anodyne example of hollywood 's fixation on remakes but it is slightly better than i expected .",
      "the glue subtly holding everything together for MOV is the intelligent and atmospheric direction of craig brewer , best known for his superb handling of the cult classic hustle and flow .",
      "it may adhere to the original a little too closely , but this remake is still an immensely enjoyable ride boosted by craig brewer 's pitch-perfect musical instincts .",
      "nothing about this remake challenges the original . what it does do is introduce a new generation to a great story with heart and there really ca n't be anything wrong with that .",
      "brewer 's camera clings to the bodies of the dancers who emit more heat than the burning southern sun ."
    ],
    "summary": "while it hews closely to the 1984 original , craig brewer infuses his MOV remake with toe-tapping energy and manages to keep the story fresh for a new generation .",
    "id": "770679603"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_sessions",
    "reviews": [
      "this frank , funny , tender film both asks and receives more from its sex scenes than any movie i 've seen in a long time .",
      "`` MOV '' is admirable , and often enjoyable , yet self-limiting in concept . it 's exactly about what it sets out to be about-no less but no more .",
      "`` MOV '' is a pleasant shock : a touching , profoundly sex-positive film that equates sex with intimacy , tenderness and emotional connection instead of performance , competition and conquest .",
      "in a country that embraces cinematic violence with such ease but blushingly prefers to keep sex in the shadows or under the sheets , the grown-up approach of `` MOV '' is rare .",
      "a must-see movie .",
      "the core of the move -- specifically MOV between mark and cheryl -- is quite good .",
      "there are no missteps along the way and it 's hard to take your eyes off the screen , even during the most awkward and intimate moments .",
      "`` MOV '' treats intimacy with an explicitness and honesty that 's very rare in movies .",
      "for once in an american movie , the uplift feels earned .",
      "avoids the kind of squickyness that hollywood usually drizzles over its uplifting movies about the physically challenged .",
      "sex & a very singular man",
      "boasts a rare , inherent understanding of its subject , with lewin now facing the prospect of becoming seriously hot property , as awards season beckons .",
      "for such a specific story , affecting only a few , the film triumphs in revealing a kaleidoscope of human emotions and truths .",
      "driven by john hawkes ' inspired turn , this is a candid , funny and touching charmer .",
      "a funny , tender and mostly unsentimentalized movie about physical and emotional triumph .",
      "most r-rated comedies involve meaningless sex . `` MOV '' is the rare one about meaningful sex .",
      "john hawkes is exceptional . look for him and helen hunt in the oscar mix .",
      "an extraordinary account of sexual exploration and intimacy against the odds , MOV is a powerful achievement .",
      "i just found that it was a tremendously compassionate film and you think it 's not something i would rush out to see but , in fact , it 's such a lovely , nourishing experience , this film .",
      "importantly , the film does n't take itself too seriously , and there 's a pleasantly off-beat sense of humour behind the agony and the ecstasy of this beautiful movie .",
      "it 's strange to call a film with so much nudity and simulated sex `` old-fashioned , '' but `` MOV '' nicely bridges that gulf .",
      "could so easily have swung into bleakness or cloying sentimentality , but writer/director ben lewin deftly strikes the right notes to create a charming little diamond of a film .",
      "john hawkes does the kind of acting that awards were invented for in this exhilarating gift of a movie that 's funny , touching and vital .",
      "a brave and bold movie that explores new territory in sexuality and spirituality .",
      "a moving tale with wryly funny moments .",
      "a very elegant and charming film about the simple need for human affection .",
      "a beautifully touching true story that never feels like the typical biopic since it finds a way of instilling humor and charm into a delicate and often tragic situation .",
      "... challenging , joyous , heartbreaking and quite funny ...",
      "`` the movie is neither short of , nor in the least bit coy about , sex and sex talk . it treats and presents both in a way that is entirely candid , frank ... ''",
      "the sleeper hit of the year , a rocket out of sundance trailing oscar nominations for hawkes and hunt and , with luck , writer-director lewin .",
      "australian veteran writer/director ben lewin -lrb- the dunera boys -rrb- delivers a heartfelt gem that is as moving as it is unassuming . it easily chimes in as one of the films of the year .",
      "writer-director ben lewin has made the decision to position the film somewhere between the comedic and dramatic genres ... . and it works .",
      "MOV is entertaining but also the sort of feature that can wait for a dvd rental . sex scenes aside , it feels puny on the big screen .",
      "john hawkes delivers what is perhaps the performance of his career and helen hunt is fearless and charming . MOV is a heartfelt journey that will leave your emotional spectrum overwhelmed to your heart 's content .",
      "an adult film that approaches the serious subject of sex with refreshingly explicit honesty .",
      "popular sex therapist dr. ruth once said that sexual surrogates are `` illegal . '' MOV makes them mainstream .",
      "john hawkes and helen hunt generate an endearing chemistry , here , turning in a couple of virtuoso performances deserving of serious consideration come oscar season .",
      "the honest performances and assured direction makes MOV an extremely accomplished film that celebrates sexuality .",
      "their film is more than a skin flick , despite it definitely being that . just as cheryl is more than a prostitute , while definitely still that .",
      "were you to come to MOV expecting a disease-of-the-week heartstring-puller , you 'd be completely out of luck -- fortunately .",
      "strong central performances and an endearing premise smooth over some of the more jagged edges of the script .",
      "ben lewin 's MOV is an emotionally charged film with a smart sense of humor that 'll have you tearing up from equal doses of laughter and drama .",
      "what stirs you most is the effortless way hawkes is able to convey mark 's compassion for people far more fortunate than himself .",
      "survival is n't enough . acceptance is n't enough . mark needs fulfillment .",
      "it 's difficult not to be impressed with director and screenwriter ben lewin 's ability to bring this distinctive and surprisingly emotional story to the big screen .",
      "it 's unlike any movie you 'll see this year , dealing with delicate subject matter in a refined way .",
      "MOV is a tender , well-intentioned examination of a disabled man exploring his sexual identity , but sometimes a film needs more than just good intentions .",
      "may sound like shameless oscar-bait , but in truth the film is simpler than that , more small-scale , with a light and unpretentious sense of humor .",
      "MOV is an unflinching , moving and often funny story about dignity and sexuality .",
      "it 's all so plodding and beige , yet giving this movie a bad review is like kicking a kitten .",
      "it 's a fine film and hawkes gives one of the year 's best performances .",
      "unexpectedly blunt and warmly sympathetic , displaying a refreshing commitment to the tense nuances of a carnal odyssey before its eventual slide into overcooked dramatics .",
      "it 's the rare film to sell sex as something truly tender and life-affirming , and helen hunt , in particular , is lovely and poignant .",
      "in ben lewin 's MOV , john hawkes takes on the kind of role that earns academy awards , in the kind of film that does n't .",
      "aided by committed , awards-ready performance , MOV transforms ` taboo ' subject matter into a humorous , humane and uncomplicated pleasure .",
      "a warm and compelling tale told in a simple manner , MOV is a rewarding if somewhat slight film with wide appeal .",
      "MOV becomes a dance of joy in the midst of severe challenge , and a movie with a light spirit that lifts a tale of heavy fate .",
      "this is either a delicate subject or an unapologetically vital one , and the key to `` MOV '' is that -lsb- ben -rsb- lewin treats it as the latter .",
      "it 's really a three-character comedy/drama , with the best elements of both genres .",
      "using only his tilted head , his eyes , nose , and mouth and that quizzical voice , hawkes brings o'brien to life .",
      "`` MOV '' shapes its themes in an appealing way and keeps the script lively and engaging and funny .",
      "this is n't the first film to explore the subject of the sexuality of the disabled . but it is , thanks to sensitive direction from ben lewin and empathetic performances that never condescend , among the best .",
      "a remarkable story of bravery and compassion",
      "with its assertive hero and inclusive humor , `` MOV '' is an inspirational drama you can feel good about in the morning .",
      "gets it right , in the essence of its true story as well as the social discomforts surrounding disability and sane discussion of sexuality .",
      "it 's funny and well-meaning , with great performances , but the story plays out more like an afterschool special with full-frontal nudity .",
      "... é motivo de alegria perceber como um homem como mark o'brien conseguiu explorar a própria sexualidade mesmo enfrentando a mais brutal e cruel das amarras : năo sua doença , mas a crença religiosa .",
      "an unexpected gem : candid , touching and funny .",
      "MOV proves unusually candid in its matter-of-fact attitude to both sex and nudity .",
      "-lrb- ... -rrb- a remarkable film about disability , incapacity and the joy of freedom in the most impossible of situations .",
      "this funny , moving , beautifully acted movie avoids numerous pitfalls .",
      "satisfaction guaranteed ? pretty much .",
      "it 's hawkes 's portrayal , in all its wit , intelligence and childlike naivety , that really captures the heart .",
      "by taking a sensitive , honest approach to this true story , breakthrough filmmaker lewin both avoids sentimentality and keeps the focus on the inner lives of the central characters .",
      "it 's a brave performance from hunt , who spends much of the film entirely naked . both her and hawkes are brilliant in a movie that is a massively uplifting experience .",
      "the movie becomes a touching , often funny portrayal of sex as a form of kindness and human contact .",
      "MOV is probably the most lighthearted movie about sex and polio you 'll see this year .",
      "using a healthy dose of humor and some very winning performances , the surrogate makes for a perfectly nice , if not challenging , film .",
      "it lacks the fullness of the best films of its ilk , chief among them jim sheridan 's my left foot . but lewin lets his eye wander pleasingly .",
      "MOV is startlingly bold and just as emotionally mature , with a wonderful story and even better performances .",
      "charming as lewin 's script may be , the end result provides little more than underwhelming sentiments filled with indifference and frustration .",
      "the basic structure is traditional , even formulaic . the specifics , however , are endlessly fascinating .",
      "hawkes and hunt nobly tackle the physical demands their roles require ...",
      "it 's an adult movie about an adult subject that upends the conventions of the sex comedy by investing them with solemn purpose . fortunately , that turns out to be pretty funny in itself .",
      "a charming and gently moving film .",
      "it has some difficult and heartfelt performances as well as moments of uncomfortable honesty , but ultimately writer-director ben lewin 's film feels too slight , too pat , and too wildly overhyped out of its festival showings .",
      "MOV is a truly inspirational work , grounded by a powerful , thought-provoking performance that lingers long after one has left the auditorium . it is one of the more memorable , if imperfect , achievements of 2012 .",
      "this is a crowd-pleaser of the finest sort .",
      "MOV resembles one of o'brien 's poems -lrb- which are featured in the story -rrb- - neither flawless nor ever-graceful in terms of technique but still gentle and sincere .",
      "the most grown-up depiction of emotionally meaningful sexual relations ... that will have any sort of general distribution in u.s. movie theaters in this or any of the next several years .",
      "sex , religion , poetry and the disabled might be the subject matter , but nothing will prepare you for the emotions that are shared in this unique , poignant and unforgettable film",
      "we are engaged by the compelling characters and a man 's discovery of sexuality in a short span of time and in a unique way . and we are touched by the relationship that develops",
      "forced to do all his acting with his face , hawkes displays the kind of camera-arresting capability that has earned others oscar nominations .",
      "an absolute delight .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- is very sweet and heartfelt , but never cloying or overly sentimental .",
      "a dramatic , inspiring story that can be humorous at times with endearing characters . this is a crowd-pleaser that is sure to be a contender at the oscars .",
      "at once entirely frank and downright cuddly in the way it deals with the seldom-visited subject of the sex lives of people with disabilities ...",
      "a film of tenderness and humor married to the unlikeliest of subjects .",
      "most often with MOV the blunt comedy outweighs the drift toward sanctimony .",
      "... a perfectly watchable showcase for two undeniably above-average performances .",
      "`` MOV '' introduces us to some harsh truths we may not want to consider , but the outcome is one we can not fail to understand .",
      "a sharply written , skillfully executed adult crowd-pleaser -lsb- that -rsb- avoids mawkishness and actually manages to inspire and amuse .",
      "... a story of triumph over disability that takes the form of an uplifting sex comedy rather than a depressing saga of a dying man .",
      "`` MOV '' is a film that reminds us of the fragility of life , and how human beings are capable of a deep emotional bond when it is least expected .",
      "the film greatly benefits from hawkes ' tremendous performance . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
      "that exceedingly rare combination of sexy , clever and sweet , a winning tale of one charming disabled man 's quest to get some stank on his hangdown .",
      "hawkes ' work here is that good that it carries one away on a wave of emotion that dismisses critical thought . the film around him could have been better but you 're unlikely to realize that while you 're watching it .",
      "for the entire endeavor to emotionally register , you must buy into the romance that purportedly blossoms between hawkes and hunt . i did n't , not for a second .",
      "the film does n't build in some over-the-top manipulation in order to make its points , but instead focuses on the small details between them , and as a result , when it does pay off , it 's in a very organic way .",
      "we love this hero for his indomitable spirit to take life head on , even given the ever-present shadow of death that mindfully holds him in a tight embrace ... much tighter than any lover could .",
      "a genuinely touching , if slight drama , the movie remains a sympathetic portrait of the plight of a handicapped person without ever growing too serious or saccharine .",
      "it might just be the most poignant , moving film ever made about one man 's surprisingly noble efforts to get laid .",
      "the transactions , o'brien 's growing self-awareness and the effect on those around him are explored with grace , humour and tenderness .",
      "the emotional journey is articulated with so much nuance , and such a vigorous belief in human possibility , that everything the surrogate touches becomes its own , and is made new .",
      "this is one of the best , and certainly one of the best-acted , films of the year . i ca n't think of another film that mixed compassion and carnality in such an eloquent way .",
      "the laughs are always gentle , which is descriptive of the film as a whole , as it strives to reconnect cinematic sex with shared humanity .",
      "MOV belongs completely to hawkes , who disappears into the role of mark o'brien , delivering a stunning performance that illuminates what it means to be a whole person .",
      "a very different kind of love story , breaking taboos lightly , with sensitivity and humor .",
      "thanks to lewin 's light but assured touch , MOV never wears its theological preoccupations heavily , instead allowing transcendence to creep up on the audience quietly .",
      "for the most part , an authentically subversion take on fringe sexuality .",
      "few movies are so frank about the sexual mechanics of the disabled ...",
      "all thinking viewers will come away with a better understanding as to how the seemingly different amongst us are really just the one-in-the-same when getting up close and personal .",
      "formulaic but uplifting , positive and accessible .",
      "in its barest form this is a traditional rites-of-passage yarn , dealing in first love and lost innocence , and even with a candid discussion of sex , it 's mostly sweetness and light .",
      "for better and for worse , MOV has ` crowd-pleaser ' written all over it .",
      "o'brien was the subject of an oscar-winning short `` breathing lessons , '' and it seems likely that `` MOV '' will receive a few nominations of its own . it deserves them .",
      "it sends viewers out of the theater with a heightened sense of the physical and a real feeling for all the things that sex means in human life .",
      "the achievement of this simply told , exceptionally fine film is the clarity with which it portrays the drama of a good soul in an inert body .",
      "uneven and perhaps a little too tidy as it aims to promote one man 's extraordinary spirit . it is john hawkes and helen hunt , however , who are most worth seeing .",
      "practically ignores everything about o'brien 's life except as it relates to his sexual odyssey , turning the life of the man into little more than a curio .",
      "the joy of MOV goes beyond sexual healing . it makes physical intimacy far more a matter of the heart , and you wo n't be alone wiping an occasional tear .",
      "a powerful expression of our common needs , fears , and consolations .",
      "hawkes ' performance is the must-see hook of MOV , but hunt gives this funny , touching movie its soul .",
      "character actor john hawkes is often cast as a frightening rustic -lrb- winter 's bone , martha marcy may marlene -rrb- , but he gives a tender and witty performance here as mark o'brien .",
      "lewin , who has fought his own lifelong polio battle , handles tricky material with a gentle , empathetic touch .",
      "hugely enjoyable , warm-hearted and frequently laugh-out-loud funny disability drama with a superb script and a pair of terrific performances from john hawkes and helen hunt .",
      "a tender , lovely story about a man condemned by polio to live in an iron lung who wishes at age thirty-eight to lose his virginity .",
      "not only does it deal with sex in a straightforward manner , but it also deals with the equally sensitive themes of disability and religion , all of which writer/director ben lewin pulls off skilfully .",
      "hunt is a prodigy . no other actress could have brought such easeful transparency , such a glow of givingness , such heedlessness of glamour each time she strips naked .",
      "you could maybe see it working as a play , though the tactile detail of these scenes needs close-ups on the actors ' faces to communicate what the transaction means to them both .",
      "MOV can be sugary , but it 's likable .",
      "three days after viewing , the film 's questioning generosity and sense of perspective will still be knocking around your head .",
      "it 's tender , humane and funny and superbly acted ; a simple but affecting parable about experiencing life to the fullest .",
      "a touching gem of a movie largely thanks to subtly dynamic performances from helen hunt and john hawkes .",
      "MOV finally proves that hollywood can take physical incapacity and/or sex far more seriously than it does the potential side effects of shooting so many people on screen so often .",
      "an incredibly low-key and feel-good adult movie about sex that 's much funnier than most people are probably expecting , highlighted by a pair of oscar-caliber performances by its two leads .",
      "it offers a relatable depiction of the powers of a positive mental attitude and perseverance in spite of horrendously bad luck . and some oscar-caliber acting , to boot .",
      "skilled direction , a talented cast and a simple but elegant story will garner a lot of sympathy from its targeted , more mature audience .",
      "a sentimental , feel-good romance about pity sex .",
      "another dynamite vehicle for john hawkes , in which lewin 's affecting script overcomes his pedestrian direction .",
      "the movie is so clammily sensitive and tame that it stifles any strong response .",
      "neither an issue-pushing disability drama or a crude , american polio-style sex comedy , MOV is sweet and winning - ` feel good ' minus the fingers down the throat .",
      "this film rebukes and corrects countless brainless and cheap sex scenes in other movies . it 's a reminder that we must be kind to one another .",
      "inevitable comparison will be made with my left foot , but on its own terms , the fact-based drama is touching , frank , challenging -lrb- breaking hollywood taboos -rrb- , and superbly acted by hawkes and helen hunt in oscar-caliber turns",
      "the bottom line here is that yes , a movie about a physically disabled man makes for one of the sexiest date nights of the year . unless you 're allergic to over-20s .",
      "a frank exploration of sex and disability , MOV compensates for a minor structural misstep with an acute ear for tone and stellar performances throughout .",
      "this filmmaker knows exactly what he 's doing every step of the way and is absolutely right in all his choices .",
      "MOV is fascinating , informative , engaging and heartbreaking stuff .",
      "hunt 's tangible disregard for false modesty does justice to the misunderstood surrogacy profession , while hawkes ' committed yet matter-of-fact portrayal of o'brien masterfully avoids theatricality or sappy heartstring tugging .",
      "lewin has never had talent like hawkes , hunt , and macy as his instruments before , and he makes the best of them .",
      "a film , inspired by the life of the late poet-journalist mark o'brien , that celebrates the relationship between physical and emotional intimacy .",
      "not just another weepy drama of overcoming odds , a my left foot with a different appendage . MOV is often brazenly funny , not from shocking dialogue but characters reacting the way people do , especially with such a flustering subject as sex .",
      "an unusually frank and frequently humorous meditation on the transformative power of connection",
      "take away the nudity and the frank sex talk and you 'd pretty much be left with a high-minded tv movie -- with unusually good actors .",
      "presents the sensitive o'brien as a brave , funny , unselfish and unlikely romantic-fantasy dream hero for disappointed , weary or jaded older female moviegoers .",
      "the uplifting struggle for living a life of dignity for paralyzed from the neck down polio victim mark o'brien .",
      "the sex scenes are frank and explicit , but never cheap and exploitative . -lrb- yes , they get naked . grow up . -rrb- the nudity is n't airbrushed pin-up perfection , but raw and real - and all the more lovely and moving because of it .",
      "taking the good with the bad , this is n't a terrible movie , though it is being rather overhyped . i found myself laughing a lot and enjoying the transformations the actors go through , but an unengaging story only serves to drag it down .",
      "with ben lewin 's film MOV , hawkes is given the biggest and juiciest leading role of his career , and he pulls it off with remarkable grace and humor .",
      "less dreary than uplifting , the surrogate succeeds as a light romance with heavy material .",
      "MOV is bracing . it 's also one of the few movies to recognize that people with severe physical disabilities have sexual lives , too .",
      "the movie methodically punts each time it comes across anything interesting .",
      "MOV is a magnificent film . this tale of a profoundly disabled man 's sexual awaking is not only a genuine crowd pleaser , but it also gives a cinematic voice to the marginalized .",
      "a sweet but minor fictional parable about the strange possibilities of love .",
      "mature but deeply powerful look at sex and the disabled .",
      "a movie like this is really built around a performance , and john hawkes - so powerfully evil in `` winter 's bone '' and `` martha marcy may marlene '' - carries the film .",
      "award-worthy performances from john hawkes , helen hunt and william h. macy .",
      "this warm , witty , sensuous and quite wonderful study of a disabled artist terrifically avoids any `` triumph of the human spirit '' sentimentality .",
      "surprisingly funny and touching .",
      "a remarkable actor , john hawkes , gives a remarkable performance as a remarkable character .",
      "an intelligent , funny , insightful film that offers a frank examination of sex . it 's not prurient or titillating , just truthful .",
      "raw , unrestrained and sympathetic without giving in to melodrama , ` MOV ' is about a man facing a physical challenge who decides he wants to become intimate with a woman .",
      "achieves its sunny disposition by pulling punches .",
      "it is rare to watch a movie where sex is treated with maturity , religion is treated with respect and characters are so heart-warmingly written and portrayed .",
      "deeply moving . the oscar-worthy -lrb- john -rrb- hawkes invests his character with a sense of grace and humor that nullifies any potential pity . this is a great movie for adults and even for older adolescents .",
      "an inspiring tale that celebrates the human spirit , underscores the value of connections , and laughs at the beautifully embarrassing urges that make us what we are .",
      "a movie about sex that shows a whole lot of sex , but is n't sex-obsessed . MOV grabs you in the heart rather than the loins .",
      "vera is something of a missed opportunity here ."
    ],
    "summary": "tender , funny , and touching , MOV provides an acting showcase for its talented stars and proves it 's possible for hollywood to produce a grown-up movie about sex .",
    "id": "771255623"
  },
  {
    "movie": "gabrielle",
    "reviews": [
      "chronically impassive and faultlessly incurious about others , MOV has been , for ten years , the perfect ornament of a social circle where 'em otion and failure are feared more than war . '",
      "this is a careful and cinematic adaptation that rings with painful truth .",
      "although it is possible that french actress isabelle huppert makes the occasional false move , she does not make them in front of a camera .",
      "co-screenwriter/director patrice chereau does n't seem in any particular hurry with the pacing . he practically dawdles , which makes the whole thing feel longer than its relatively scant running time .",
      "rewards those who stay with it ... at least those who use terms like deconstruction .",
      "a film that matches all too well the times it portrays , MOV is claustrophobic , stifling , and not a little crusty . saved only by its exquisitely bitter performances and immaculate design .",
      "both protagonists give elegant and moving performances .",
      "a work of stunning intensity underneath opulent fabrics",
      "for the most part , -lsb- chereau -rsb- lets huppert and greggory provide the emotional impact . they respond accordingly , imbuing their mutual suffering with an exacting and moving finesse .",
      "most of all , we think , ` gosh , all of these experiments make for a cold , uninvolving film . '",
      "chilly , pretentious and talky .",
      "chereau keeps us locked inside their suffocatingly unhappy home , making for an intensely theatrical chamber piece .",
      "marriage noir with another devastating performance by huppert that plumbs the depths of unhinged despair .",
      "... visually gorgeous ... with graceful camera movement and psychologically evocative lighting and cutting ... -lsb- despite -rsb- stretches of talkiness .",
      "the end scene that could turn a heart into ice",
      "i do not believe , as far as i can remember % u2013 and i pray i do n't offend , my dear reader % u2013 the line of dialogue , `` the thought of your sperm inside me is unbearable , '' derived from the pen of conrad , but rather its harsh tones sound pure huppertian .",
      "as a couple , jean and MOV are a corseted waking nightmare . as co-stars , -lsb- isabelle -rsb- huppert and -lsb- pascal -rsb- greggory make a dream match .",
      "patrice chéreau 's startling drama recounts the dissolution of a marriage of a couple -lrb- pascal greggory and isabelle huppert -rrb- from the haute bourgeoisie .",
      "greggory is up to that journey , revealing the character in his various colors , and huppert is at her usual best , subtle , emotionally full , focused and honest .",
      "greggory anchors MOV in manly bewilderment and rage , while huppert claws the title character 's way to self-awareness .",
      "chereau matches conrad 's insistence on psychological accuracy , burrowing through the protective layers of self-delusion that hold so many human relationships together .",
      "a shocking , brilliantly original rumination on the subject of marital rot .",
      "an emotionally explosive adaptation of joseph conrad 's short story .",
      "explosive and intense , melancholy yet sometimes mordantly funny , MOV is the sort of picture that takes no prisoners . and offers no definitive answers .",
      "the director 's skillful handing and the superb performances are liable to manipulate a smart audience as easily as they manipulate one another .",
      "a little less flash , and MOV could have been a subtle classic . as is , it 's still a powerful exploration of human nature .",
      "chereau spoils it all by frequently resorting to trivial mannerisms , slipping gratuitously into black and white , using freeze frames , slow motion or sudden fades to white and inserting silent movie-style titles .",
      "i 'm not sure i 've seen two people this unlikable since affleck and j.lo were together .",
      "much of the film is huppert and greggory verbally eviscerating their life together , not to mention their dreams and beliefs , and watching the give and take is like watching great theatre .",
      "though MOV could be described as a very talky film ... , probing talk is a french specialty , especially when it explores the dangerous , ever-changing chambers of the heart .",
      "-lsb- director patrice chereau -rsb- has drawn exceptional performances from his two principals .",
      "talky but absorbing tale of dysfunction among the super-rich .",
      "this film is everything that 's bad about current french cinema .",
      "by the end of `` MOV , '' we 're rooting for the couple to break up just so we do n't have to spend another minute in their company .",
      "spending 90 stuffy minutes with the bitter husband and wife is tough , despite the quality of the performances .",
      "scenes from a marriage was twice as devastating with none of the stylistic folderol .",
      "mr. chéreau and his collaborators have fashioned a visual masterpiece full of the most pungent and provocative dialogue .",
      "isabelle huppert and pascal greggory are superb as a couple of immense wealth and social prestige in the belle epoque paris of 1912 -- but then everything about this film is superb .",
      "i could n't stop watching , but came away spiritually drained .",
      "this highly stylized portrait of a loveless marriage at the beginning of the 20th century merges a claustrophobic theatricality with dazzlingly cinematic wide-screen compositions -lrb- the sumptuous cinematography is by eric gautier -rrb- .",
      "patrice chereau 's portrait of a marriage en crise is an excoriating look at the deep unhappiness that can fester within the most respectable-seeming of households .",
      "a formally inventive version of the literary classic .",
      "in spite of some effective work by the lead actors and some blind stabs at stylistic ingenuity , MOV proves itself to be a rather old-fashioned infidelity story .",
      "MOV reeks of the same snobbery it denounces in others .",
      "as loyal as chéreau 's film is to conrad 's story , the director expands its point of view by giving more authority to the female experience conrad suppresses in his text .",
      "at once robust and ethereal , this is an existential ghost story , with fresh blood pulsing through its veins .",
      "MOV is art house fare and will appeal to the femme film buff ...",
      "chéreau 's period chamber drama is engrossing throughout and an interesting accompaniment to his modern day intimacy .",
      "husband and wife , upper-class couple jean and MOV hervey , are played , to perfection , by two of france 's premier film actors : pascal greggory and isabelle huppert .",
      "based on a short story by joseph conrad , here is stylized rendition of a foundering marriage of convenience .",
      "for all its filmmaking bravura , the film never transcends the confines of its period drama setting . we look at the artistry and marvel , but we are never really touched .",
      "one of the film 's savage ironies is that his wife 's inevitable betrayal strikes less at his heart than at his all-consuming sense of order ."
    ],
    "summary": "patrice chéreau 's exquisite rendering of joseph conrad 's the return brings underlying passions to surface in a long-suffering marriage .",
    "id": "237374256"
  },
  {
    "movie": "blues_brothers",
    "reviews": [
      "i am never not amused by the MOV .",
      "context is crucial : this messy , self-indulgent comedy was made at the height of snl and muppet show , catapulting to pop-culture icon status belushi , aykroyd and candy , though best moments are those of performers like aretha franklin and ray charles .",
      "frequently over-the-top and aggressively raucous , it 's one of my very favorite comedies -- and musicals .",
      "though the MOV takes nothing seriously , it has seriously changed the landscape of comedic history and blues music forever .",
      "there 's even room , in the midst of the carnage and mayhem , for a surprising amount of grace , humor , and whimsy .",
      "you 've never known fun until you 've watched this !",
      "big , loud , often obnoxious , but surprisingly sweet-tempered .",
      "this essentially modest movie is reported to have cost about $ 30 million , and what did all that money buy ? scores of car crashes . too many extras . overstaged dance numbers . and a hollowness that certainly did n't come cheap .",
      "one of the funniest movies i have ever seen . a classic in all sense of the word .",
      "it 's many excesses just make this brilliant slapstick musical even more enjoyable .",
      "landis at the peak of his powers . brilliant , deadpan comedy .",
      "a classic for all time !",
      "goes on way too long , but still a fun movie that immortalizes john belushi",
      "a damn fine mess of a movie .",
      "the humor is predicated on underplaying in overscaled situations , which is sporadically funny in a keaton-esque way but soon sputters out through sheer , uninspired repetition .",
      "just about the only saturday night live skit that makes a successful transition into a feature-length comedy .",
      "full of belly-laughs as well as toe-tappingly great tunes , the sharp suits and cool shades of the MOV will have you rocking with joy .",
      "call me sacrilegious , but i do n't think the MOV is all that great .",
      "an inspired combination of wild comedy , a demented car chase , a double act that dovetails beautifully and terrific music , the MOV comfortably survives the test of time .",
      "a demolition symphony that works with the cold efficiency of a moog synthesizer gone sadistic .",
      "a cult musical comedy film with a still-growing reputation .",
      "the story is thin , but there 's a consistently wonderful over-the-top mentality .",
      "the MOV is packed with lively music , fantastic chase sequences and nonstop slapstick comedy .",
      "bloated , overlong , too many car crashes , too little humor . a big disappointment .",
      "the film retains a huge nostalgic kick , thanks in large part to aykroyd and belushi 's easy rapport , a smattering of daft , shaggy humour and some truly iconic musical sequences .",
      "i have never been quite sure why this $ 30 million comedy made by john landis in 1980 became such a cult .",
      "this long , expensive 1980 cult movie has an energy and individuality lacking in similar films nowadays .",
      "an undisciplined , overlong tale that substitutes spectacle and star cameos -lrb- twiggy , steven spielberg , etc -rrb- for a coherent narrative .",
      "... an epic musically charged comedy , the likes of which has never been seen before or since .",
      "given all the chaos , director and , with aykroyd , cowriter , john landis manages to keep things reasonably controlled and in a straight line .",
      "lightning in a bottle created more than 30 years ago",
      "a dazzlingly enjoyable , memorable road trip of comedy and music from two of snl 's best .",
      "still sounds great , and looks as good as ever through ray-bans .",
      "formless , chaotic and lazy , and quite brilliant because of it .",
      "the mere spectacle of elwood and jake in their shades is n't quite as giggle-inducing as it presumably was back in 1980 , but the stunts are still awe-inspiring , and there 's plenty of laughs . they really were thinking big .",
      "a monument to waste , noise and misplaced cool , but it does have its engagingly nutty moments .",
      "there 's not one ineffective cameo in a movie with many because there 's no sense of stunt casting or camera hogging .",
      "a cult classic for adults and older teens ."
    ],
    "summary": "too over the top for its own good , but ultimately rescued by the cast 's charm , director john landis ' grace , and several soul-stirring musical numbers .",
    "id": "13659"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ghostbusters",
    "reviews": [
      "thirty years on , bustin ' still makes us feel good . in fact , few movies have the power to make us feel good-er .",
      "essentially a $ 30 million version of abbott and costello meet the mummy but not at all a bad time , thanks mainly to bill murray 's incredibly dry line readings and director ivan reitman 's maintenance of a moderately coherent tone and plotline .",
      "only intermittently impressive .",
      "with his deadpan delivery and snide quips , murray more than holds his own amid the myriad state-of-the-art special effects .",
      "one of a kind super comedy of ghosts & special effects",
      "this movie is an exception to the general rule that big special effects can wreck a comedy .",
      "dan aykroyd 's inventive comedy concept for MOV attracted an all-star comedy team to bust out an classic of mainstream '80s cinema .",
      "the perfect marriage of big-budget sci-fi spectacle and character-based comedy schtick .",
      "everyone 's at the top of their game for this one . even ernie hudson has never been this good since .",
      "classic comedy",
      "on balance , MOV is a hoot . it 's murray 's picture , and in a triumph of mind over matter , he blows away the film 's boring special effects with his one-liners .",
      "if you 've never experienced MOV on the big screen , you really need to go see this . if not i 'm afraid you 'll have to turn in your geek card .",
      "it speaks to its entire audience , without ever seeming to joke over children 's heads in a snide or overly knowing manner .",
      "what you realise about MOV thirty years on is that bill murray is a comedy genius .",
      "thirty years later , there are still rumblings of making another sequel , but no one would dare suggest a reboot or re-imagining ; MOV is perfect exactly as it is .",
      "the elastic structure provides ample room for inspired surrealism , yet the looseness never compromises the film 's tongue-in-cheek love letter to pre-gentrification manhattan or its piercing satire of reaganite go-getting ...",
      "the plotting may be primitive , but it 's all carried off with far more style and finesse than one might expect from the creators of animal house and meatballs .",
      "MOV is primarily a showcase for murray , who slinks through the movie muttering his lines in his usual cheeky fashion and getting off an occasionally hilarious crack that proves he 's thoroughly enjoying himself .",
      "part of the sheer joy of this movie -- aside from the comic timing of bill murray -- is the cartoonish crapness of its apparitions and their placid acceptance by the MOV team .",
      "it 's almost impossible not to smile while watching it .",
      "the epitome of 80s comedies and source of many a pop culture tagline .",
      "there is more attention to special effects than to humor .",
      "a screwy and mischievous movie fueled by endless reserves of comic energy",
      "a classic . funny , great special effects and a cultural phenomenon .",
      "reitman did well with his casting , turning in one of the most original comedies ever .",
      "as entertaining today as it ever was , a classic to be treasured by all .",
      "it 's nowhere near as good as it 's supposed to be .",
      "murray and scribe ramis defy all logic and turn it into a movie you 'd want to watch over and over .",
      "the perfect xer movie .",
      "MOV -lrb- 1984 -rrb- is the comedic tale of three ghost exterminators in the city of new york .",
      "the leads ' chemistry is almost , well , spooky , dan aykroyd 's nerdy enthusiasm rubbing deliciously against a persona-perfecting turn from bill murray - and there 's even the odd surprise .",
      "the often dazzling , special effects-driven slapstick tends to overshadow the fact that there are some slyer , more sophisticated laughs on offer in this blockbusting family comedy .",
      "what 's not to like ?",
      "paranormal fun for tweens and up ; some scares .",
      "a comedy first , a horror film second ... but a successful enough hybrid of those things that it would be wrong to try to limit it generically .",
      "the movie 's tongue-in-cheek -lrb- and pre-subprime -rrb- satire of surging capitalist hubris is scarcely mitigated by the necessary fairy-tale ending .",
      "whoever thought of having evil 's final manifestation take the form of a 100-ft . marshmallow deserves the rational mind 's eternal gratitude .",
      "stuffed with wisecracking , punning and essential deadpanning care of the film 's most notable star performer murray -lrb- who has such delivery down as a fine art -rrb- , the film also packs in a half-decent narrative .",
      "see website for more details .",
      "fantastic all the way",
      "it provoked huge box-office success in 1984 and is still director ivan reitman 's defining movie .",
      "as funny , spooky and marvellous as ever .",
      "i had a good giggle watching MOV again , and i recommend checking it out for an evening of turn-your-brain-off entertainment .",
      "it remains as one of the more entertaining pieces of cinema of the previous decade .",
      "the comedy here is solid gold , bill murray is in peak form , and the effects are a lot of fun .",
      "MOV thrives on the fine line between taking it all seriously enough to be scary , then poking fun at it in the most creative ways possible .",
      "a fantasy , but with no touches of reality at all , to be enjoyed for its zany humour typical of the `` national lampoon '' school from which several of its contributors are drawn .",
      "if for nothing else , deserves to be fondly remembered for bringing the stay puft marshmallow man into the world .",
      "MOV is a movie that i 've seen well over a hundred times and i 'm still not sick of it , nor do i think i ever will . it 's an iconic comedy that i think has held up very well over the past 30 years .",
      "director ivan reitman keeps the aykroyd-ramis screenplay zipping right along , creating something like abbott & costello meet the exorcist . aykroyd and murray make the perfect summer tonic for raising spirits .",
      "an exciting and fun genre hybrid rarely mastered .",
      "`` MOV '' is a fun romp with a couple of comedy 's greatest stars at the top of their game .",
      "in both the funny and the -lrb- mildly -rrb- scary moments , the cast does itself proud ."
    ],
    "summary": "an infectiously fun blend of special effects and comedy , with bill murray 's hilarious deadpan performance leading a cast of great comic turns .",
    "id": "12000"
  },
  {
    "movie": "boy-a",
    "reviews": [
      "carefully calibrated to explore the solitariness of a character who can not let himself be known ... turns MOV 's very particular story into a scary , universal and wrenching social statement .",
      "a small , huge film about the harsh realities of rehabilitation , and the shimmering possibility of redemption .",
      "if hitchcock had done a coming-of-age drama , it might have resembled this haunting , nervous , sad movie .",
      "an absorbing , finely nuanced morality tale .",
      "sensitive portrait of a young man 's efforts to reintegrate into society after committing a horrible crime as a child .",
      "inspires respect for its first-rate performances , artful construction and meticulous understatement .",
      "ambitious both as to structure and theme , and riveting in mood .",
      "a quiet and penetrating portrait of a sensitive young man who re-enters society with a fresh identity after spending half his life in juvenile prisons .",
      "along with garfield and the splendid scottish actor mullan , crowley brings great tact to this bruising saga of atonement and moral regeneration . though a bad seed can bring forth good fruit , will others want to pick it ?",
      "there are some gaps in the movie 's reality , and some o. henry-like contrivances , but the masterful trick MOV plays on viewers is to get them to care before giving them reasons not to .",
      "MOV may follow an all-too schematic flashback structure , but the film is too brilliantly acted for that to really matter much .",
      "an ingenuous 24-year-old man-child is at the center of john crowley 's wrenching melodrama boy a.",
      "the new british film ` MOV ' poses a question that is easy to ask but nearly impossible to answer : can we ever really escape from our own misdeeds ?",
      "his sophomore feature , MOV explores bleak territory but its insistence on not tying everything up in neat little bows is to be commended .",
      "MOV is the kind of movie that falls victim to the new role of multiplex as babysitter of teenagers . its life in the theatres will be short , but for the few that find it now it will be worth it .",
      "even its structurally weaker moments give garfield an opportunity to expand on jack 's physical and mental dislocation . given MOV 's final floating reel , it 's an anchoring performance in every sense of the word .",
      "MOV is one of those rare movies that takes the idea of rehabilitation seriously . in the end , it may present a worst-case scenario , but it does so with unusual depth and conviction .",
      "in tandem , the director and screenwriter build up a palpable suspense . MOV will rivet you while raising issues about forgiveness and just who deserves it .",
      "the movie is taut with suspense but culminates in wise resignation as the hero comes to understand he 's running from a part of himself .",
      "crowley gets a remarkable performance from andrew garfield : his jack is a person who carries guilt with him even when he is trying to override it .",
      "director john crowley , a veteran irish theater director now working in film , is deliberate with every last element of his film .",
      "it 's a sad movie , no question -- but like most great drama , it inspires admiration for its thoughtfulness and its craft .",
      "andrew garfield nailed an assignment many actors would avoid or , worse , botch in `` MOV '' - embody a grown , traumatized man experiencing emotional honesty , transparent kindness , sexual intimacy and genuine appreciation from others for the first time .",
      "the material is thought-provoking and features some very good performances .",
      "the limits of redemption and forgiveness get challenged ruthlessly in this haunting drama ...",
      "efficiently directed by john crowley , MOV avoids exploitation while never soft-selling its thorny subject matter .",
      "the genius of garfield 's performance is that he fills him with equal amounts of terror and wonder .",
      "this is a brutally honest story that pulls no punches . it excels at everything from the directing and acting to the editing and photography . a stunning achievement",
      "it makes us feel sympathy for the devil .",
      "garfield is definitely an actor to watch , but prepare yourself for the disappointing ending .",
      "for all its sensitivity , thoughtful sobriety , and sound performances , though , MOV finally permits itself an excessive number of contrived and/or clichéd gestures .",
      "one of the most gripping , thought provoking dramas ever to ponder crime and punishment .",
      "even though the film is a narrative disappointment , it is possibly of interest for garfield 's performance .",
      "well-acted but familiar .",
      "the manchester-set drama could be labeled as kitchen sink , but crowley breaks free from that label .",
      "MOV is so excessively mannered that the story 's human element -lrb- misunderstood youth , society 's indifference -rrb- is lost .",
      "this is another of those dead-kid dramas in which the terrible event is handled like a striptease -- tantalizing flashes until the climax .",
      "an effective workout of genre mechanics",
      "... garfield presents an indelible portrait of a young man trying to figure out how to continue his life in the face of haunting secrets and a world that does n't want to let him forget it .",
      "features a career-making performance by andrew garfield .",
      "bleak but expertly rendered .",
      "taken as the meditation on the past that it is , MOV is a moving look at the best and worst of how humans can treat one another .",
      "... a sad story that supports the idea of child killers as often victims themselves , the far less passionately defended point of view .",
      "the film is well balanced in its storytelling and fills in all the details of the -lsb- heinous -rsb- crime and its aftermath years later .",
      "the film gus van sant wanted paranoid park to be .",
      "emotionally searing ... thanks largely to garfield 's heartfelt performance , MOV becomes a powerful , poignant story of the difficulty of forgiveness .",
      "although the screenplay tips our sympathies wholly in the young man 's direction , it 's cleverly structured to reveal the particulars of the long-ago crime , and what led up to it , in flashback .",
      "... -lsb- peter -rsb- mullan 's compassion and paternal protectiveness and -lsb- andrew -rsb- garfield 's buoyant performance ... bring a warmth to the otherwise grim drama .",
      "mullen and garfield fit well together -- both have faces you like on first sight , both have charm , both have warmth .",
      "we 're introduced to more string-pulling symbolism than a movie this inherently sad ever needs . it 's too much .",
      "in director john crowley 's wrenching drama , `` moving on '' proves to be an illusion .",
      "crowley , his cast and the script constantly reveal new layers to the characters , preventing simple labels like ` hero ' or ` villain . ' these people are all cringingly human .",
      "lovingly photographed , achingly romantic and memorably acted by garfield in a breakout role , it 's a small movie worthy of a large audience ."
    ],
    "summary": "small in scale but large in impact , MOV 's career making performances -lrb- particularly that by star andrew garfield -rrb- and carefully crafted characters defy judgment and aggressively provoke debate .",
    "id": "770677844"
  },
  {
    "movie": "scooby_doo_2_monsters_unleashed",
    "reviews": [
      "amid -lsb- the -rsb- barrage of soulless special effects , you may glimpse seth green , alicia silverstone and tim blake nelson making mental notes to fire their agents .",
      "more loyal to the classic show than the first film , scooby-doo finds his live-action niche in the highly entertaining sequel .",
      "those who got a kick out of the first film , be it through nostalgia or kidly wonder , will probably find its sequel an equally entertaining , silly , campy , comic diversion that clips along at an engaging pace .",
      "while scooby 2 is probably no worse or better than the first installment , the freshness has definitely worn off .",
      "the first film was tedious in the extreme ; monsters unleashed , though it feels way too long and padded , it shows at least brief flashes of imagination .",
      "a fairly watchable 88 minutes of filmmaking .",
      "zoinks ! it 's a rare case of a sequel being better than the original . maybe by the time they get around to scooby-doo 3 , they 'll get it right .",
      "the movie plays every joke down the middle , aiming its dim wit at 5-and-unders , insulting them and whoever was foolish enough to take them on the outing .",
      "when the best you can say about a sequel to a bad movie is that it 's a tiny bit better , there are definite problems .",
      "what i felt as i watched scooby-doo was not the intense dislike i had for the first film , but a kind of benign indifference .",
      "as little as there is to recommend in scooby-doo 2 , it must be noted that the human cast has done an uncanny job of inhabiting their two-dimensional characters , especially lillard .",
      "it 's a terrible movie . the laughs are n't there . the stunts are stupid . there 's no plot whatsoever .",
      "scooby do n't .",
      "a handful of juvenile jokes and overblown computer effects push doo 2 into strictly kid-cinema territory .",
      "most of scooby doo 2 is kind of dumb ... better than the first",
      "monstrous fun for the whole family . before you hear the critics saying it 's `` doo-doo , '' take an 8-year-old boy with you to the theaters and see how much fun he has .",
      "it 's all a terrible bore .",
      "scooby e salsicha continuam divertidos , mas , em vez de temerem os monstros que enfrentam , deveriam fugir do medíocre diretor raja gosnell .",
      "made with greater affection for the 1969 hanna-barbera cartoon that inspired it , scooby 2 is often genuinely funny and sometimes borders on clever .",
      "scooby-doo 2 : monsters unleashed is actually a lot closer to the cartoons than the first ... movie was , -lsb- but -rsb- they are really stupid cartoons .",
      "the first scooby-doo was a passably entertaining shambles . the sequel is just a shambles .",
      "it is good to see another good family film .",
      "essentiellement , c'est du pareil au męme avec un peu plus de budget et un peu plus de nostalgie que le premier film .",
      "surely everyone enjoys seeing a cartoon dog light his own farts on fire as a means of staving off an enemy .",
      "corrects many of the problems that plagued its predecessor and returns to the general feel and campy creativity of the animated series .",
      "okay , if there has to be a worst film of 2004 , and there has , then this is a good place to start looking .",
      "the monsters are the highlight of the film , and if history is any guide , there will be more ghosts and evildoers for our wholesome heroes to battle in scooby-doo 3 .",
      "the rapidly aging cast is clearly in it for the cash , with not a single one fully committed to the task .",
      "little more than 91 minutes of cheesy special effects in search of a remotely coherent story .",
      "aims directly at young scooby-philes , playing it straight and corny and evoking nostalgic memories of episodes past .",
      "as in the first movie , you can look at monsters unleashed and not find a single thing to like .",
      "slightly more digestible than its predecessor .",
      "i wo n't go so far as to say scooby-doo 2 is fun for the entire family , but if you 've got a 10-year-old underfoot who needs entertaining , you could have a worse time .",
      "the movie 's almost good enough to wash the bad taste of the first scooby-doo movie from our mouths . almost .",
      "monstrously silly .",
      "although very young children may enjoy its garish blend of splashy visuals and sophomoric humor , viewers over the age of eight will find this sequel to 2002 's scooby-doo a crushing bore .",
      "the sequel will likely be a disappointment to everyone except 10-year-old barf joke aficionados and a few stoned adults .",
      "a light-hearted romp through nostalgia for ` scooby-doo ' fans .",
      "-lrb- scooby and shaggy -rrb- get all the laughs , with such disparity that it 's as if a different screenwriter -lrb- with half the wit -rrb- wrote the balance of the movie .",
      "... wait until it hits the `` dollar theater '' ...",
      "trust hollywood to take the homeliest cartoon character -lsb- velma -rsb- this side of olive oyl , cast a real looker in the part , and then play up her hubba-hubba qualities .",
      "good-looking , mindless junk that 's apt to prove tedious to anyone over the age of 10 who is n't deeply entrenched in nostalgia for mediocre cartoons from his or her youth .",
      "all hail matthew lillard , the main reason that `` scooby-do 2 '' deserves any star rating at all .",
      "the smarter humor and in-jokes from the first are gone , which is going to lose a lot of the older audience .",
      "the cast shuffles its way through an unending parade of eye-wrenching cgi displays , their collective body language asking the producers for their part 2 paycheck already .",
      "by living up to its subtitle , it 's at least a vast improvement over its noxious predecessor ...",
      "the filmmakers may have captured the flavor of the popular cartoon a little too closely .",
      "... just as silly , just as juvenile , just as inane , just as witless , just as dumb as the first movie . -lrb- blu-ray double-feature edition -rrb-",
      "the acting is so over the top that any good will developed from the first film is instantly dashed ...",
      "this bellicose , straining mess does n't even work on the simplest diversionary level .",
      "it is no surprise this film is n't very good , the first one was n't very good either .",
      "it plays better at home than at the premium price of the movie theater",
      "milder than the 1st , but not scooby-snack worthy .",
      "i do n't see how anyone , even scooby doo fans , could really find anything worth even remotely liking with this movie .",
      "you could pass on both scooby doo films unless you really have nothing else to do one day . and i mean nothing .",
      "much like the flintstones movies , this sequel is better than the original but still falls far short of the post-modern genius of its original cartoon series .",
      "if we 're lucky , films like scooby-doo 2 will become the exception rather than the rule .",
      "it 's guileless , designed almost to be forgotten , and its modest intentions generate no resentment -lsb- in the viewer -rsb- .",
      "proving that bigger is n't necessarily better , the second live-action scooby-doo movie features more action and computer-generated monsters , but not funnier jokes or a more coherent script .",
      "overall , the meandering mayhem to the shoddy sequel scooby doo 2 : monster 's unleashed is as untested , shaky , and crooked as pesky puppy scrappy doo 's hind leg"
    ],
    "summary": "only the very young will get the most out of this silly trifle .",
    "id": "10865"
  },
  {
    "movie": "megamind",
    "reviews": [
      "complain loudly about the 3d tide - but see and enjoy MOV for its own considerable charms .",
      "this 3-d , animated adventure leaps -- in a single bound -- into familiar comic-book/superhero territory but soars on the strength of zippy running gags and high-flying visuals .",
      "`` MOV '' is a lot of fun -- a movie that youngsters will enjoy for its cartoonish slapstick and visuals and that adults can appreciate for its sly humor .",
      "is n't exactly groundbreaking , but it 's good , clean fun .",
      "this animated feature is what yogi berra called `` déjŕ vu all over again , '' its shopworn premise most recently having served the marginally better `` despicable me '' this summer .",
      "it has plenty of details for us to sink our teeth into , without forgetting to make the audience laugh .",
      "small children are likely to be disappointed by the paucity of silly slapstick or bathroom gags , while their older siblings will probably fidget at the lack of scares .",
      "you 'll probably laugh , and you 'll probably wish it were better .",
      "`` MOV '' is a smart , funny and original treat . sweet enough to deliver a message about creating your own destiny , but with just enough sour grapes not to cloy , the movie delivers pure pleasure from start to finish .",
      "a witty 3-d animated deconstruction of superhero movies .",
      "a complex story with very sophisticated forward momentum ... it 's about what makes people a hero or villain , and the answer is not just simply one is bullied and the other is revered .",
      "if celebrity voices and an excess of licensed pop music are your thing , you might forgive the lack of ambition here .",
      "every animation studio has its strong suit , but none embraces formula with the zest of dreamworks .",
      "in this refreshing twist on a familiar format , director tom mcgrath combines flawless 3-d animation with a bevy of comedic talent to craft an entertaining adventure with plenty of smart , grown-up laughs .",
      "three dimensions or two , the one-dimensional plot has little appeal .",
      "you know a movie 's scraping for laughs when it includes `` bad to the bone , '' `` highway to hell '' and michael jackson 's `` bad '' as themes for its villain .",
      "MOV is fast and funny , with excellent use of 3d .",
      "what begins as one witty , unstoppable blast eventually succumbs to a flat story elevated by its consistently terrific animation .",
      "a tale of existential angst suitable for children",
      "it 's borrowed and blue . the homage to ` superman ' gets old and the film is only slightly better -lrb- and very similar to -rrb- ` despicable me . ' anything original tends to fall flat .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- handsome and generally amusing adventure .",
      "MOV is full of good ideas . but they never coalesce into a satisfying whole .",
      "this is a great-looking -lrb- and sounding -rrb- toon , one definitely worth seeing in 3d , but it 's ultimately the story , characters and humor that makes MOV such a pleasant surprise .",
      "one of those movies that disappears too quickly , leaving memories of better ones in its wake .",
      "the bonus in `` MOV '' is a thoughtful and heartfelt look at the thin line between good and evil and hero and villain , how they can exist in equal parts in many of us , and how their appearances can be deceiving .",
      "`` MOV '' is a genial animated sendup of superhero flicks that should appeal to kids around the age when they 're getting a bit cynical about do-gooders in capes and tights .",
      "more impressive than the multi-dimensions is `` MOV 's '' minimalist , modernist look . it creates a crispness that feels more contemporary than retro , which not only is very aesthetically pleasing but makes it easier to savor the film 's many sight gags .",
      "MOV has some funny moments , silly mispronunciations and comical socio-political references . but it suffers from being the second animated movie this year to feature a dastardly villain for a hero .",
      "middle-school boys are the target audience for the shifting personalities , robot minions and building-smashings . people above that age will mostly just endure it all ...",
      "if it 's difficult to find novelty in MOV , it 's also hard not to like .",
      "coming in the wake of the incredibles and despicable me , the film might , like its villainous protagonist , be something of an also-ran - but when it comes to generating super laughs , MOV is a winner .",
      "should get the whole family laughing , albeit for different reasons .",
      "it 's terrific fun from start to finish , even if it does n't quite match the good-versus-evil japes of the incredibles or despicable me .",
      "gleefully subverting the standard good vs evil hokum , while delivering an eye-popping adventure with characters you can really root for , MOV is simply super .",
      "eyeball-opening 3d digimation with eyelid-closing plot .",
      "a fun ride but just that .",
      "hugely enjoyable , brilliantly funny comedy with superb animation , terrific vocal performances and a witty script that 's packed with great gags and a multitude of fan-pleasing superhero references .",
      "the resulting product is a serviceable parable about ` being good ' that is aimed low enough to at least connect with the kids in the audience . a shame then that the film 's sense of humour occasionally slips into groan-worthy territory .",
      "a retro-stylised fantasy-satire that balances knowingness with affection , winning kids and olds over in the process . wry , spry and very funny .",
      "for a film whose stock in trade are tongue-in-cheek reversals of comic-book cliché , it too often settles for trite audience-pleasing .",
      "mostly , the jokes and the recurrent attempts to tweak the superhero genre serve as a reminder that somebody else has already done it better .",
      "ferrell , fey and hill acquit themselves hilariously , and cross steals the movie as minion .",
      "hilarious , refreshingly smart , thrilling and heartfelt . it will delightfully entertain everyone , young or old , good or evil .",
      "what this raucous 3d animated fun house lacks in originality -lrb- think bastard child of the incredibles and despicable me -rrb- it makes up for in visual and vocal wit .",
      "not exactly ingenious , but certainly an entertaining way to spend an afternoon at the theater with the family .",
      "... an ok entertainment that 's instantly forgettable .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- smarter , sharper , funnier , wiser story than i ever could have expected ... -lsb- i -rsb- t reinforces what we love about superheroes and why we embrace them ... and yes , still , MOV really is all about the villain .",
      "... will appeal to little kids with its bright colors and animation , older kids will like the story and most adults will be entertained .",
      "even the 3-d thing , which makes films murky and claustrophobic , is a gimmick from the 1950s . and was n't this rehabilitated-bad-guy routine the plot of `` despicable me '' ?",
      "very relatable for elementary school kids while giving them something to stretch for with tesla coils and existential discussions and a plot with a couple of extra twists .",
      "i am usually against 3d films but dreamworks has found the right formula with MOV and how to train your dragon . will ferrell is back !",
      "while its hectic battle sequences and penchant for mass destruction will certainly keep the eyes of action junkies satiated , its sly depictions of the balance between good and evil actually provide quite a bit of food for thought",
      "rollickingly funny superhero comedy of manners about a poor , misunderstood supervillain may not be the incredibles , but it 's still incredible .",
      "MOV is perfectly fine for the kids , but adults might find their own megaminds wandering at various points throughout a film that does n't compare to the incredibles when it comes to affectionately tweaking the superhero genre .",
      "full of fun and eye-popping images , `` MOV '' is what they used to call in the old days of television `` side-splittingly funny . ''",
      "it 's one of those films that when you get done watching it , you go , ` oh , that was cute . '",
      "the fast-paced wisecracks and ironic asides that are the studio 's hallmark help to push the film past the lumpy , generic storytelling .",
      "... dreamworks animation is carving itself out a niche for consistent high-concept zaniness .",
      "a lively cast and an interesting flip on the superhero concept make ` MOV '' a fun time at the movies for viewers of all ages .",
      "even if it 's not great , MOV manages to be diverting .",
      "cute and funny at times , but with a lot of dead spots .",
      "while this is certainly a case of the geek shall inherit , it still is tidy enough to entertain for the most part .",
      "the problem with MOV is that it wants to remind us , every minute , how smart it is -- and that sets it a world apart from despicable me , which is courageous enough to revel in its own silliness . MOV tries too hard and ultimately achieves less .",
      "a passable time-killer for kids , more boring than painful for adults , but animated films have established a higher bar to clear .",
      "this is ferrell 's movie , meaning some inspired laughs sandwiched between annoying bits that stretch on well past their usefulness .",
      "looks fun on the surface but suffers from a serious identity crisis underneath .",
      "the best animated movie of the year -lrb- * non-pixar division -rrb- .",
      "you have seen all this before .",
      "this set-up is bright and amusing , even if it does feel recycled from bits and pieces of such recent animated landmarks as the invincibles with its superpowers and despicable me with its villain .",
      "MOV is largely what one might expect from an animated movie featuring a number of notable comedians in voice roles : an amusing diversion .",
      "MOV is more like a comedy for adults that children will feel comfortable tagging along to .",
      "a moderately amusing experience ... will play better to a younger , less discerning crowd .",
      "in its attempt to spoof the superhero genre , MOV just may be too smart for its own good .",
      "is MOV just a vehicle for will ferrell to use funny voices and shout a lot ?",
      "the movie around ferrell 's performance is n't nearly as good as he is .",
      "a full-bodied , busy-as-heck , funny-as-heck comedy adventure from dreamworks that merrily riffs -- in its own fractured way -- on the superman legend .",
      "if you understand what it 's trying to do , you will like it a good deal better than if you do n't .",
      "it 's never quite slap-your-knees hilarious , but MOV will still have you smiling from dimple to dimple for every one of its 95 minutes .",
      "it 's just a shame the filmmakers did n't have any tricks up their sleeve to enliven a rather rote superhero movie experience .",
      "the action is big and mostly spectacular , the performances are all spot-on -lrb- even hill , who once again plays himself , is well cast -rrb- , and most importantly MOV himself is actually kind of likable .",
      "has a few sprightly moments but is overall pretty mediocre .",
      "in terms of plot , MOV is only slightly less complicated than inception .",
      "there 's nothing wrong with animation aimed at adults , but this may be the first kids ' movie that throws fewer bones to its supposed intended viewers than to their parents .",
      "while it is never anything less than vibrant and exceedingly clever , it is also a rather slight thing for such mega-sized proportions .",
      "simultaneously more and less surprising than one would imagine",
      "it 's densely populated with gags , it 's a nice piece of art , and well-made 3-d , if you feel like paying the premium .",
      "MOV is well-versed in superhero routine without turning blasé . the boredom of formulas and roles and expectations is very much its point .",
      "... ` well , that was fun . a lot better than i expected . ' an assessment with which this reviewer can concur .",
      "MOV has momentum and dazzle .",
      "what MOV lacks in apparent laughter it makes up for in sheer cleverness .",
      "ferrell 's voicework is spot on , pitt gamely sends up his squeaky clean image and fey is a joy as the conflicted heroine .",
      "there 's are some decent laughs to be had , mainly courtesy of a feisty , pneumatically animated lois lane-esque reporter , voiced by tina fey , who remains thoroughly unimpressed with superpowers of any stripe .",
      "these days the bad guys have all the fun .",
      "despite the terrific voice cast and eye-catching animation , this seems disappointingly formulaic and fails to offer real laughs .",
      "good stuff , up to a point , but nothing like the passion and brilliance of the incredibles or toy story .",
      "every potential for real emotion is squandered . it feels like a superhero film made by people who do n't believe in or care about superheroes .",
      "the plot is wildly shaken as it does u-turns and some sleight of hand , but director tom mcgrath has a feather-light touch as inventive ideas play out with humour and appeal",
      "the film appropriates elements from shrek and the incredibles and produces an entertaining hybrid that should have parents chuckling with glee .",
      "though clearly derivative and with a good dash of the incredibles , MOV is breezily directed by madagascar 's tom mcgrath and there 's plenty of fun lines , too .",
      "` you 're so predictable , ' roxanne tells MOV early in the movie , and i 'm afraid it 's fair criticism .",
      "... often shrewd , colorful , witty , and well animated , i found it oddly flat , too .",
      "MOV is dramatically and comedically inert .",
      "this is a harmless animated movie that 's full of empty laughs . the main problem with all those empty laughs is that they arrive wrapped in a package you 've seen before , probably even if you 're still a kid .",
      "if you have to choose between this and the superficially similar despicable me , choose MOV . it 's less predictable , funnier , cleverer and generally more enjoyable .",
      "there 's a distinctly deflated ambiance to the shenanigans , leaving the picture serious eye-candy on the prowl for bellylaughs it infuriatingly never finds .",
      "hardly a knockout , but MOV is an immensely enjoyable animated adventure that spoofs and pays homage to the superhero genre .",
      "it may not raise the bar of this rapidly developing genre , but it manages to pack a lot of fun and spectacle into its running time .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- has splendid visuals , a good story , and enough witty dialogue to turn it into an enjoyable experience that 's worth checking out .",
      "would be lost in the crowd , perhaps deservedly so , if it did n't pull aces on its execution .",
      "it does have the odd cheeky nod for the grown-ups -- and it is presented in inglorious 3d -- but it 's also got a screenplay overflowing with charm , intelligence , wit and a real spark .",
      "the promise of extraordinary brain power is n't fulfilled .",
      "no doubt some of it is charming enough to induce giggles in its preteen target audience ... what 's needed is a narrative invention to match the technical invention .",
      "not only has MOV showed up late for the box office battle with despicable me , but it has also brought a knife to an atomic death ray fight .",
      "superhero films are sufficiently prevalent these days to merit an additional pasting or two . MOV keeps such satire a welcome visitor rather than a tiresome bore .",
      "what it lacks in inventiveness , ` MOV ' makes up in wit , intelligence , and customarily gorgeous animation .",
      "MOV is n't necessarily a bad movie - it just does n't do much to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack .",
      "family audiences finally have something worth turning out in droves to see . this 96-minute movie proceeds at a zippy pace and the audience 's attention never wavers from the excitement up on the screen .",
      "does n't have that memorable a story and is n't as visually creative as it should be but you ca n't find actors much better at this kind of material than will ferrell , tina fey , brad pitt , jonah hill , and david cross .",
      "MOV may initially seem like a superhero spoof in the comedic vein of shrek , but it reveals itself to be smarter , funnier , and infinitely more sympathetic than that .",
      "the second big animated feature of the year , after despicable me , to center on an arch-villain who sees the error of his ways , MOV is snappy good fun .",
      "though enlivened by some moderately clever twists on the superhero-movie template , MOV never shakes off a feeling of been-there-spoofed-that .",
      "you 'll enjoy it . and then you 'll forget it .",
      "the story 's the thing . and this one is as subtly deep as it is ridiculously fun .",
      "pixar mined the superhero genre far better six years ago with the incredibles , and dreamworks itself is capable of superior fare like this past summer 's how to train your dragon .",
      "this is the kind of movie where `` bad to the bone '' is considered a clever musical cue because , you know , MOV is bad . to the bone .",
      "MOV manages to be both commentary and comic book , and i have no doubt audiences will eat it up .",
      "unfortunately , the underdeveloped story and characters seem to be there to service the visuals , rather than the other way around .",
      "superb 3-d graphics and silly running gags -lrb- MOV routinely mispronounces words such as school -rrb- should keep kids amused , while sly political and pop culture references will get laughs from adults .",
      "the second animated film in the last few months where a super-villain plays the hero , MOV was destined to have a patina of staleness .",
      "MOV has bright comic minds behind it - not mega but close - and 3-d effects showing what the gimmick can do when filmmakers care .",
      "MOV is less a satire of dastardly deeds than a nimbly spectacular comedy of ego .",
      "kinetic , clever and even emotionally satisfying .",
      "i do love ferrell , whose absurdist man-child routine has always been a matter of taste .",
      "MOV is a blast . take your kids . stay with them . there are plenty of laughs for everyone . bring your asprin for the 3d headache .",
      "the kiddie set can chortle at MOV 's slapstick and its goofy one-upmanship while adults get a kick out of all the smart spatial tricks that highlight the 3-d effects .",
      "a smart send-up of the superman myth and the age-old precept of good vs. evil .",
      "clever animated superhero story is fun , not too scary .",
      "with some cool superhero action , MOV is mildly amusing for the most part , but it feels like it could have been much better .",
      "it 's all borrowed : the characters , the plot , the predictable `` bad '' tunes . even MOV 's ensembles look to have been raided from maleficent 's closet . not so mega , but rather , mild .",
      "but the kids will love it .",
      "kids of all ages will understand and appreciate this film 's meaning without feeling beaten over the head .",
      "i found my son 's kryptonite : boring superhero rip-offs voiced by check-cashing actors . at least steve carell used an accent .",
      "a mega-funny movie loaded with laughs , action and heart .",
      "it 's a sassy comedy with a lot of one-liners , some of which apparently came from improvisation between ferrell and fey , both in good vocal form . the quality of animation is outstanding , as you would expect .",
      "a snappy script and superior voice work make this animated action-comedy much more fun than expected",
      "falling short of a mind-blowing experience , MOV is still fine family entertainment that does n't require deep thinking .",
      "straying from a predictable , easily defined structure , MOV instead serves up consistent surprises , challenging audience expectations and engaging the mind as well as tickling the funny bone .",
      "what it lacks in originality , this wickedly funny take on a superhero villain makes up for in a multi-layered plot , terrific voicing and well balanced energy .",
      "its story 's third-act inversions still provide a pointed rebuke to superhero narratives ' set-in-stone dynamics .",
      "what is a villain if not someone who has been pushed too far in life and has started to push back ? and with nothing to push against , what do they become ?",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "` MOV ' may not be thought-provoking , but it is fun . and , come to think of it , it does give us something to ponder along the nature-or-nurture concepts of destiny .",
      "a well-plotted , genuinely fun spin on the superhero/supervillian genre with talented voice talent put to good use rather than simply stunt-cast",
      "as winning as ferrell and cross are , they 're still trapped in a formula storyline that follows some very familiar beats .",
      "it 's well worth checking out in theaters despite the fact that ads reveal a few spoilers and the finale is a tad familiar .",
      "divertingly splashy and mildly amusing but not very memorable .",
      "the plot is rich , the execution poor .",
      "`` MOV '' is a resounding flop .",
      "it 's a harmless , inoffensive , moderately likable throwaway of a cartoon that you will probably start forgetting as soon as it 's over .",
      "in a sort of backhanded answer to pixar 's the incredibles -lrb- and i mean that in a positive way -rrb- , dreamworks hits yet another animated adventure out of the park . MOV is clever , fast-paced and fun , and looks fantastic in 3d .",
      "MOV is good at keeping the audience busy , but only after the credits roll do you realize that most of it was just noise .",
      "may be worth seeing , but interested viewers would do well to either find a theater showing it in two dimensions or just wait for the inevitably superior blu-ray release .",
      "one of the year 's better animated films which offers a surprisingly engrossing nature-versus-nurture question about mythic origin stories : are heroes born , or are they made ?",
      "it is n't original , but it is funny , the story is cleverly constructed and the artwork is first-rate .",
      "a slightly manic but dependably enjoyable animated effort , poised between familiarity and freshness , that scores based on its voluminous joke output and a winning vocal performance by will ferrell .",
      "an unfortunate regression back to short-term pop-culture disposability ... at the screening i attended , the sounds of kids fidgeting almost drowned out the extended marlon brando imitation .",
      "like kraft mac & cheese or your favorite old sweats with the duct tape waistband , familiarity can be comforting . MOV does n't break any new ground other than being the rare family flick that the whole family can enjoy .",
      "the lively cast and interesting flip on the superhero concept make it a fun time at the movies for all ages .",
      "anyone under 10 will probably be bored and confused . for others , though , great fun ...",
      "it 's not bad -- simply unremarkable .",
      "... the result is something with which to pass the time , not one to savor and look forward to repeat viewings .",
      "compared to other animated features presented this past year `` MOV '' is only slightly above average entertainment . we have come to expect great entertainment .",
      "oh dreamworks , we know you can achieve greatness ; why do you so eagerly refuse to do so ?"
    ],
    "summary": "it regurgitates plot points from earlier animated efforts , and is n't quite as funny as it should be , but a top-shelf voice cast and strong visuals help make MOV a pleasant , if unspectacular , diversion .",
    "id": "770805424"
  },
  {
    "movie": "harold_and_maude",
    "reviews": [
      "one of the most life-affirming films i have ever seen .",
      "they remain among cinema 's most disconcerting odd couples .",
      "a treasure that 's as applicable today as it was more than three decades ago .",
      "gives true romance a new meaning .",
      "this black comedy pairs a 79-year-old swinger with a suicidal 20-year-old . they go to funerals and philosophize together in between cort 's humorously staged suicide attempts .",
      "a whimsical love story ; cort is cuddly , gordon is larger-than-life . an enchanting piece .",
      "one of the classic american romance stories",
      "classic dark comedy that 's starting to show its age .",
      "dark , lovably eccentric tale of platonic love that works on logic uniquely its own .",
      "dark delight .",
      "if there 's one comedy to represent the woof and warp of the early '70s , `` MOV '' is it .",
      "a classic of dark comedy .",
      "simpleminded , but it 's fairly inoffensive , at least until ashby lingers over the concentration-camp serial number tattooed on gordon 's arm . some things are beyond the reach of whimsy .",
      "a doggedly eccentric film which some will reject out of hand . others will find it profundly moving and life affirming .",
      "cuts through the superficial surfaces of conventional romance and digs into what actually draws people together",
      "the fact that -lsb- it -rsb- is n't very funny and , like its 80-year-old heroic , long outlives its necessary life , is less important than the fact that the characters frequently react gently or like credible human beings to the script 's impossible notions .",
      "this darkly humorous , romantic comedy between an introvert adolescent and and old spunky woman , is playing it too safe to be considered truly anti-establishment , but it became a cult picture .",
      "unlike claustrophobically cute odd-couple movies , bottles some of the flavour of its time . harold 's fake suicides are a pale defiance and reflection of his cloistered , sapped life . the vital counterculture -lrb- maude -rrb- helps harold avoid the army .",
      "weird , very very weird",
      "it is most successful when it keeps to the tone of an insane fairystory set up at the beginning of the movie .",
      "-lsb- bud cort and ruth gordon -rsb- both are so aggressive , so creepy and off-putting .",
      "it 's not quite a romance , not quite a buddy picture . it is , however , one of the '70s quirkiest comedies , and its bleak morbidity is uncommonly matched by its over-the-top hilarity .",
      "black comedy that 's a bit too whimsical",
      "the epitome of a film that you ca n't believe you 're laughing at , but you are . a lot . it hurts . in a good way .",
      "a black comedy cult classic .",
      "the visual style makes everyone look fresh from the wax museum , and all the movie lacks is a lot of day-old gardenias and lilies and roses in the lobby , filling the place with a cloying sweet smell . nothing more to report today .",
      "certainly a little twisted , but with such a powerfully warm 70 's sunflower heart , `` MOV '' endears . i think of it as the cinematic equivalent to `` the little prince ''",
      "by turns funny , moving and outrageous - sometimes all at once - the film is hal ashby 's masterpiece .",
      "understatedly hilarious . cort and gordon are a truly unique pairing . a must see .",
      "one of those films you just do n't want to end .",
      "MOV marks the first time i realized that famed pulitzer prize-winning movie critic roger ebert could be wrong .",
      "marked by a few good gags , but marred by a greater preponderance of sophomoric , overdone and mocking humor .",
      "probably the most charming movie about death that 's ever been made ."
    ],
    "summary": "hal ashby 's comedy is too dark and twisted for some , and occasionally oversteps its bounds , but there 's no denying the film 's warm humor and big heart .",
    "id": "10059"
  },
  {
    "movie": "crank",
    "reviews": [
      "assaults the senses tirelessly with wave after wave of momentum-building intensity , with jason statham enjoying his best role since the transporter .",
      "you might just want to catch a matinee or wait for the dvd . this is definitely not worth your 10 bucks .",
      "the super-concentrated silt at the bottom of a chemistry experiment that has no possible purpose to it but to deliver whatever limited jolt of which it 's capable .",
      "its freneticism ... futilely tries to cover up the ludicrousness of every decision made by its dim characters .",
      "sure , MOV is totally ridiculous , unbelievable , exhausting , and pretty much just plain stupid , but that 's what makes it fun .",
      "ranks among the most mindless action films ever made , but scores as a helluva video game .",
      "it 's trashy , gory , gratuitous , ridiculous , completely far-fetched , and i had a smile on my face the entire time .",
      "gets by on a unique kind of absurd , deadpan humor in which the most implausible stuff cheerfully happens anyway .",
      "adrenalina é de uma idiotice contagiante .",
      "some of the directing touches are fun , but the grand theft auto overdrive wears thin quick .",
      "MOV works overtime to be a disreputable bit of pulp fiction , and for the first half or so it 's like inhaling the cinematic equivalent of the film 's title .",
      "demented , depraved and probably bad for your soul in the long run , the pedal-to-the-metal action film `` MOV '' nonetheless provides a jolt of pure , uncut movie-making .",
      "at times , MOV 's everything-including-the-kitchen-sink-and-then-some approach feels more like a cartoon than anything else .",
      "but as the body count mounts up , the story runs out of ideas , and it goes from MOV to crummy .",
      "it boils down to 83 minutes of chev journeying through la 's ethnic ` hoods dispatching minorities . granted the movie ca n't be taken seriously , its cavalier racism is shocking .",
      "a video game of a movie that 's better than most video games .",
      "jason stratham rampages through los angeles in this retread of speed , but for a movie premised on unrelenting action , MOV proves fatally turgid .",
      "a somewhat entertaining movie of the politically-incorrect , testosterone-laden brainless pure action variety .",
      "safety advice : remember to breathe when you 're watching this movie .",
      "the most fun i 've had at the movies all year .",
      "there are times the film threatens to turn into a good `` bad movie . ''",
      "'d . o.a. ' for the ` grand theft auto ' generation , ` MOV ' is too scattershot to hone in on the cult masterpiece waiting within its brilliant exploitation premise .",
      "it 's a promising concept , but instead of expending effort on , say , a coherent script , the filmmakers lazily rely on cheap editing tricks and gleefully relentless sadism .",
      "a cheerily lunatic slice of b-movie heaven .",
      "at times , MOV is loads of fun and threatens to enter that golden territory of so-bad-it 's - good , but the violence grows far too ugly and is so unrelenting that it becomes tiresome .",
      "leave it alone , or leave your brain and pocket change at the gate , strap yourself in and just enjoy the ride .",
      "a jacked-up , unapologetically mindless bit of add-prescribed escapism that more or less delivers on a nifty premise .",
      "for all its busyness , MOV never develops much momentum , not least because an exploding heart does n't carry quite the same stakes as an exploding bus .",
      "it 's 87 minutes of cinematic junk food paradise .",
      "if you stop to think too hard about any aspect of the story , things might fall apart ; but stopping is something the movie never lets you do .",
      "it 's an e-ticket ride . but in the end , there 's no heart , no moral to this story . and for all our sweat as viewers , the one thing we crave by MOV 's closing credits is detox .",
      "writer-directors mark neveldine and brian taylor 's previous work lies mainly in making commercials -- the quick-cutting aesthetic employed here .",
      "it may stretch that hour a bit , but it does n't waste a minute -- though it wastes everything else in its immediate vicinity . your time as well ? not unless you do n't have the stomach for wholesale property damage , mutilation and needles .",
      "a movie for hooligans , and do we really want to encourage them ?",
      "very noisy , severe on the eyes and ludicrous , but a decent example of mindless entertainment .",
      "enjoyably fast-paced , gloriously trashy thriller with some inventive directorial touches .",
      "this is a turn-your-brain-off-and-enjoy-the-ride type thing and as such it works brilliantly .",
      "relying upon an abbreviated and accelerated plotline informed by rudolph mate 's 1949 film noir classic d.o.a. , MOV is a hard-r-rated chase-and-smash movie fixed around euro action movie magnet jason statham .",
      "... an engaging and thoroughly over-the-top thriller ...",
      "its original concept does not save this pic from becoming just another silly video game .",
      "a daring attempt to break the rules of the hollywood action movie without ignoring what makes them such mindless fun .",
      "for those who take delight from movie junk fare , MOV is your just dessert .",
      "statham , who 's tailor-made for this kind of thing , nevertheless spends too much time doing his cool-menace thing to communicate the sort of urgency the -lrb- semblance of a -rrb- plot demands .",
      "a zealously absurd action film , and one that does n't take itself too seriously .",
      "this is an intense , stripped-down ride that goes places you 'd never expect . edgy and outrageous , it should get the fearless statham some deserved attention .",
      "there 's a self-realization here that at its heart this is an absurd , even silly , movie , but rather than exploring that premise further , chev is off again , inflicting gruesome violence on his enemies until the film 's inevitable , sadly predictable end .",
      "snazzy but vacuous , the cinematic equivalent of a fast-food meal with thousands of calories but precious little nutrition .",
      "oh , please , please , mark neveldine and brian taylor , please be at your computers , writing away at another screenplay .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- monotonously mindless but colorful caper.crank is banally boisterous ... jolting junk that strangely is filling in its sneering , rambunctious spirit .",
      "like so much contemporary entertainment , MOV is a frenzied distraction that means nothing .",
      "viewers baffled by stuff happening for no particular reason should probably stay well away .",
      "so blatantly contrived it could be called the fast and the spurious , MOV has the small saving grace of being intentionally ridiculous .",
      "for those who enjoy this brand of wholly mindless entertainment , MOV delivers .",
      "` MOV ' fires on all cylinders but is fundamentally just an excuse to piece together a nasty trail of mayhem dotted with morbid jokes .",
      "the question is n't whether jason statham knows how to MOV things up . the question is whether or not you 're willing to go with him on yet another highly implausible , blood-soaked , adrenaline-pumped ride .",
      "this is as detestable a hard-r offense -lrb- equal-opportunity offender though it may be -rrb- as has ever been released to theaters .",
      "elaborately aggressive and provocative , MOV is just what its title suggests : fast , ornery , and exhausting .",
      "MOV qualifies as a superior piece of slick , shallow-souled trash . and i mean that in the best sense of the term .",
      "what elevates MOV above other high-concept action fare , though , is its politically incorrect sense of humor and overall bent sensibility .",
      "for moviegoers who found running scared a little too sedate .",
      "cheerfully moronic ... while most action flicks these days require their audience to turn their brains off , this movie somehow actually does it for you .",
      "it knows what it 's doing and it 's awesome ... MOV relishes in its outrageous stunts ... jason statham is a one man die hard .",
      "the movie they warned us the video game generation would make .",
      "borrows pages from quentin tarantino , the atari 2600 game console , and , most of all , british action junkie guy ritchie , in a deliciously absurd , rollicking rampage through los angeles .",
      "like any adrenaline rush , MOV becomes more wearying than exciting the longer it goes .",
      "MOV is still an atrocity of visual design , acting , and fundamental storytelling that , at times , scarily resembles an especially smelly youtube submission .",
      "vulgar , ridiculous , offensive and absolutely riveting .",
      "the movie is cranked up somewhere between stylish and proudly stupid .",
      "an instant cult classic . pure , hardcore moviemaking backed by an inane plot , unrelenting action and zero pretensions .",
      "tears up the screen like a muscle car on fire -- a brash , sinfully stupid joyride .",
      "MOV could raise the dead ! i loved it ! lionsgate should get behind this movie ! it has guts .",
      "it may be one of the loudest , most obnoxious -lrb- not to mention sexist -rrb- movies of the summer , but damned if it does n't keep an audience in high gear .",
      "a reckless , relentless rush that goes nowhere in an exhausting 83 minutes .",
      "manufactures a formula that guarantees maximum action but not much else .",
      "if you had the choice of doing `` MOV '' or seeing the film MOV , i 'd strongly suggest the former as a more productive use of your time .",
      "while MOV has its moments , the line stringing them together is n't wound taut enough .",
      "statham brings his usual hardnut conviction to his ludicrously named protagonist , while the pic contains what is easily the best car chase through a shopping mall scene since the blues brothers .",
      "an exploitation b-actioner , more suitable for midnight screening , MOV offers non-stop visceral entertainment ; it 's like being on a thrilling rollercoaster for 81 minutes , which is the story 's real and reel time , during which not one second is wasted .",
      "ridiculously , incomprehensibly , undeniably cool , brilliantly , passionately and hysterically original ; pure cinema heaven .",
      "the film is so jubilantly over the top and aware of its own failings , it 's hard not to laugh .",
      "is it possible that a movie so utterly without redemptive value , so completely , pointlessly uncalled for , can also be , you know , kinda fun ?",
      "it revels in its crazed b-movie vibe , and as a result we ca n't help but enjoy every ludicrous minute .",
      "more guilty fun than a firkin full of extremely inebriated simians -- if you let it drag you to its level , something it does with the charm of an accomplished sociopath .",
      "fans of statham 's transporter movies wo n't be disappointed .",
      "if there 's any justice , british actor jason statham will be hollywood 's next action hero ."
    ],
    "summary": "it 's a film about a guy injected with speed ... wait , there 's no bus . it 's a film about a guy who has to kick a bunch of squirmy butt to stay alive ... wait , no snakes or planes here . but it is a film about doing lots of drugs and pulling lots of punches , and it entertains accordingly .",
    "id": "276994403"
  },
  {
    "movie": "house_of_wax_2005",
    "reviews": [
      "you 'll be rooting for these people to get slaughtered out of sheer boredom .",
      "... does n't look down upon its target audience ... house both treats and terrorizes while legitimizing itself next to other slasher classics .",
      "the 2005 remake does n't hold a candle to the original .",
      "' ... the 2nd best paris hilton film i 've seen this year . '",
      "when the cast starts wondering where the roadkill is , someone says , ` follow the smell . ' good tip : that 's how you 'll know where wax is playing .",
      "this movie gives it to you , as no movie has in some years .",
      "such a vile and despicable heap of trash that i pity any lucid person who will actually pay decent money to sit through it .",
      "the unmistakable promise of a sequel in the last scene inspires more resignation than anticipation .",
      "a very stupid , very nasty and very messy horror film .",
      "it delivers some bracingly nasty gore scenes , but there 's no spark left in the run-scream-repeat formula , and a movie whose biggest draw is profoundly untalented hotel-fortune heiress paris hilton is in desperate need of some juice .",
      "enough of an original spin on the premise to make this the creepiest horror remake in quite some time .",
      "rookie director jaume collet-serra concentrates on mild shocks , unpleasant bloodiness and a dank stickiness in the set design .",
      "though this is a step up from the usual teen snuff-movie fare , it still very much wanes more than it waxes .",
      "cruelty to stupid characters is n't disturbing , it 's just condescending . and being mean for mean 's sake is an empty enterprise , in my book .",
      "the plot relies entirely on the stupidity of the protagonists and our desire to watch them die .",
      "do n't blame hilton for this misbegotten wax job",
      "it had a great sense of humor about itself .",
      "-lrb- director -rrb- collet-serra has no facility for suspense or mood , and he stretches out the brain-dead dialogue and plodding plot until it 's numbing .",
      "says paris : `` i 'm dismissed when i get a pole in my head which , as anyone in tune with my video career knows , is hardly the first time . ''",
      "melts in your brain , not in your hand -lrb- or is that it melts your brain ? -rrb-",
      "the 1933 and 1953 versions are available on a single dvd for slightly less than the price of two evening movie tickets . am i making myself clear ?",
      "MOV 's violence is abrupt and gory , giving it an ick factor that surprises and repulses in a good way .",
      "i 've got some real affection for MOV and perhaps that , more than anything , is why i wish it were just a tiny bit better .",
      "much of the film 's running time is devoted to subtle provoking of primal fears ...",
      "my contempt for this film is so great , i 'm reluctant to even call it a film , as that designation places it in the pantheon of works by welles , hitchcock and even ed wood .",
      "forty-five minutes of stultifying boredom , followed by preposterous carnage pilfered from the texas chainsaw massacre .",
      "filled with the usual contemporary horror staples , most notably lots of rusty torture implements and cellphones that tend to scurry mischievously out of reach just as the villain bears down on his prey .",
      "should make horror fans quite content .",
      "expect lots of slasher movie 101 and putatively clever jibes at a certain high-profile hotel heiress -lrb- involving a video camera , of course , and a box full of cell phones that do n't work -rrb- .",
      "a script that offers few thrills and a slapdash story .",
      "a mundane slasher flick populated by blandly pretty people who look really good in sweaty tank tops .",
      "if you 've seen one horror movie , you 'll always be several steps ahead of everyone in MOV .",
      "when i was n't laughing at the asinine plot developments or the ridiculously inept acting , i was straining to stay awake .",
      "a sizzling grand finale is among the few reasons to endure MOV .",
      "not a classic by any means , but satisfactory in the basics of the genre .",
      "fright films that deliver the shocking goods with noticeable dashes of wit and style are so hard to find these days , even a flawed one such as MOV deserves to be given a chance .",
      "as far as gory , twisted , sharp-stick-through-the-f -- in ' - head slasher flicks go , the new MOV ai n't too shabby .",
      "we 'll always have paris . but for almost an hour , we endure these dumb children bickering , wandering aimlessly , insulting local hayseeds , and not having sex . that 's hot .",
      "... a throwaway thriller ... serra conjures up a pseudo-sizzling frightfest that 's not imaginative enough to force a dead tick off a shaggy dog 's hind leg .",
      "this is n't so much a remake of the 1953 classic as a standard slasher movie grafted onto a familiar title .",
      "ok , guys , let 's just cut to the chase : paris hilton does not bare all in `` MOV . '' that said , the show is n't as awful as i had anticipated .",
      "either jump in with both feet or do n't bother at all .",
      "gives new meaning to the term `` snuff film . ''",
      "serra brings the universal fear of disfigurement an old fashioned treatment , with natural pacing and a lack of abrasive special effects -lrb- until the terrific looking climax . -rrb-",
      "unexciting reimagining of the 1953 classic MOV , which was a remake of the superb 1933 mystery of the MOV",
      "the characters are about as intelligent as their waxen alter-egos , making it impossible to care too much about what happens to them .",
      "characters are rote and unremarkable , plot devices predictable and the camera cheats by sticking close to actors so a viewer can not see from where the next shock will come .",
      "there 's more to good filmmaking than buying the rights to a classic title .",
      "MOV is incredibly old fashioned , sticking strongly to the rhythms of a million exploitation cheapies from the early 80s .",
      "as slick as it is , MOV basically serves up the kind of gory , oozing jolts that will transport some toward a kind of antic release and others towards the nearest exits .",
      "the remake of MOV anchors itself firmly in the time-honored tradition of horror exploitations .",
      "as embarrassingly guilty pleasures go , MOV does a decent job of molding itself to your needs .",
      "a horror movie can get away with a lot , but once it crosses a certain line , it is insulting to viewers . MOV crosses that line .",
      "-lsb- p -rsb- imping ... paris hilton to movie audiences is -lsb- the -rsb- primary reason for the existence of this crass ` remake ' ...",
      "MOV is suspenseful , well-paced and , other than hilton , capably acted .",
      "MOV is practically a textbook case on how not to make -lsb- a horror -rsb- film .",
      "MOV really heats up in the final reel . that , considering the subject matter , is one way to bring down the house .",
      "if you like that kind of thing , and you can get past the first 20 minutes or so , the good news is that the movie keeps getting better as it goes along .",
      "MOV is not a remake of the 1953 vincent price movie with the same title . rather , it is the umpty-third version of the texas chain saw massacre .",
      "if you 're okay with standard slasher flicks and you enjoy grandiose special effects , then MOV might be worth a trip to the theater for you . if not , wait for the dvd .",
      "while the end is predictable , the order that the kids are picked off is not . it might feel new to viewers who have n't seen many of the ` classic ' 80s slasher flicks .",
      "gosh , i have to admit it : it 's more enjoyable than i thought to watch paris die .",
      "a sadistically bland entertainment that oversells its reveals and lets its suspense drip so long that it would be nice if something -lrb- anything ! -rrb- happened .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- gleefully trots out all the clichés of the genre before going out in a blaze of glory with a truly spectacular final act .",
      "meanwhile , the audience wonders when paris hilton will be eviscerated for their enjoyment .",
      "qualquer filme no qual paris hilton se revele a figura mais sensata certamente tem algo de muito errado .",
      "it adheres strictly to teen-slasher formula before simply melting away .",
      "this is a well-made film with a lot more gore than you 're expecting and a lot less humor than you 're expecting .",
      "the film 's storyline has more in common with manos , the hands of fate than the original MOV .",
      "the whole thing is vacuously enjoyable , downright nasty in places and , despite the fact that the ending is rushed , has a pretty spectacular finish .",
      "after one gets past the trendy casting of paris hilton , this above-average horror flick actually surfaces from the bloody pit of remakes clutching a few decent ideas .",
      "plastic paris looks right at home in this melted down remake .",
      "makes up for its idiot plot with a gallon of gore .",
      "not just fun and funny -lrb- do n't forget , paris hilton 's in it -rrb- , but it 's also surprisingly frightening .",
      "this wax 's infusion of paris hilton and flirty teen sex comedy retreads might have sent original wax maniac vincent price into spontaneous meltdown , without the need of heating fluid .",
      "a stupid , brainless , and pointless horror installment with all the usual characters , and pretty bad acting all around ...",
      "a 2005 review of this picture would 've registered more shock from me ...",
      "now , if you can just stay sane until the actual slasher portion of the flick takes off , you might be okay .",
      "mal actuada , mal editada , previsible de principio a fin y sin terror alguno de por medio , es una de esas cintas que deberían haberse quedado en la fase de proyecto .",
      "apparent kills are left unverified , handy firearms are left untouched , and the group splits up a record four times , ensuring most of these dolts will never see the dawn .",
      "full review in greek",
      "MOV aims low and hits the mark . it has all the gory bloodshed you could ask for and all the right special effects .",
      "it 's a bloody , messy little throwback that unintentionally brushes against fetish since it eventually dips so many of its hotties in hot wax .",
      "a museum of gory , joyless , easy shocks .",
      "how seriously should any film be taken when it has paris hilton and her lacy red lingerie in a supporting role ?",
      "first-time director jaume collet-serra lingers over the victims at lengths discomfortingly gratuitous even by slasher standards . but he also demonstrates a droll touch .",
      "slasher-lite",
      "the film does everything that teen horror flicks are supposed to do , but hilton undermines it all by not even trying to act .",
      "the camera is like a loving captive of hilton 's assured smirk and self-aware demeanor . it 's as if she 's acting while watching herself on an internal monitor .",
      "sadism is the only thing house has going for it",
      "hilton runs the gamut of emotions from a to a-minus , and the others look desperate to forget that this dazzlingly dumb debacle will be on their resumes .",
      "the filmmakers have one good idea ... otherwise , the picture remains imagination-free .",
      "this is n't boring , but is as predictable as can be .",
      "low-rent in every respect ... when her character , paige , performs a striptease , hilton 's moves are so lethargic and mechanical she 's about as arousing as bugs bunny in drag .",
      "the acting in MOV ranges from bad to worse .",
      "delivers what its fans come for -- gore , violence , a little sex , lots of wax .",
      "that 's hot .",
      "irritating , boring , poorly acted , poorly directed and poorly written .",
      "this is bad horror at its best : hokey , predictable and completely unrealistic .",
      "with a minimally talented cast , it focuses on the most ludicrous , repulsive aspects : paris hilton , the slaughter and melting wax .",
      "paris hilton is the least of the film 's problems , and when paris hilton is the least of your problems , you know you 're in trouble .",
      "MOV is paris hilton 's best movie .",
      "more gleeful , more deliciously sick , and cleverer than most .",
      "... dominated by long , unnecessarily prolonged sequences in which the various characters are either poking around where they should n't or hiding from a deformed maniac .",
      "MOV is a cinematic candle in the wind . through gusty horror clichés , tepid acting and cheap thrills , it somehow never completely dims .",
      "this wax is more junk food quality , skipping along inside its traditional horror trappings with eagerness and a rare lack of cynicism or pale ghost children .",
      "i wanted to see paris hilton die early and painfully . nothing else really mattered .",
      "2005 's MOV turns out to be a better reimagining of `` the texas chainsaw massacre '' than last year 's lousy remake",
      "it 's sad that the film had to place hilton front & center with a video camera joke , then a bj gag before finally having a large phallic object go right through her face .",
      "in this film , paris is the brains of the outfit .",
      "MOV is not a good movie but it is an efficient one , and will deliver most of what anyone attending MOV could reasonably expect , assuming it would be unreasonable to expect very much .",
      "the acting in MOV is as horrible as you might expect .",
      "there is not one redeeming moment in this movie , unless you consider paris hilton stripping down to her underwear and getting killed redeeming .",
      "not to focus too much on paris hilton , but she brings an art to bad acting .",
      "the new remake of MOV proves it 's actually possible for a movie to get dumber as it goes along .",
      "yet for a so-called exploitation film , wax is slow to exploit . its leisurely setup is a fright-challenged snooze , and at nearly two hours it 's bloated for a slasher flick .",
      "a remake in title only , this MOV is mostly inspired by the twilight zone and the friday the 13th movies .",
      "most of this seems like a marilyn manson video .",
      "the original was shot in 3-d ; this , by contrast , is 1-d all the way .",
      "`` MOV '' is a classic , of a kind ... it plays its alarming carnage straight , and it 's very scary .",
      "and in keeping with the wax , wax , everywhere wax concept of this goofy little gore-bucket , i 'll just glibly assume that the screenplay was written in crayon .",
      "redeemed by the surreal nightmare of its fiery finale , when it 's not a wicked witch but the world itself that seems to be crying , ` i 'm melting ... '",
      "scary , scream-and-squirm-inducing , and suspenseful , it 's the first unequivocally good -- and often downright great -- popcorn entertainment of the still-early summer movie season .",
      "a crummy horror flick .",
      "as a frightfest it 's better than today 's average .",
      "MOV is a sturdy and cohesive representative of what tends to be a flimsy and tawdry b-movie genre .",
      "a roughhouse between the hayes 's dingbatty script ... and director sera 's winking and surprisingly skillful treatment of it ... ultimately disappointing .",
      "the acting is so generic and dead that they might as well have poured hot wax on all the characters in the first scene .",
      "a by-the-numbers slasher flick .",
      "the set design is fairly elaborate by the standards of the genre , and the victims do n't die in precisely the order you might expect , but everything else goes pretty much according to formula .",
      "MOV is cheap , dirty entertainment , and it knows it .",
      "related to the 1953 vincent price film in name , embalming technique and warner bros. pedigree only , the new MOV is a dreary , predictable tale .",
      "none of it is staged with any panache .",
      "a standard-issue ` dead teenager movie . '",
      "the debut feature from director jaume collet-serra does two things rare in the horror genre : it takes its time and it actually gets better as it goes along .",
      "`` something 's dead out there . '' yeah , like this movie .",
      "film lacks horror and originality .",
      "wretched excuse for a horror flick .",
      "most alarming , the movie leaves open the possibility of a sequel .",
      "it 's nowhere near as punishing as rob zombie 's house of 1,000 corpses , but it 's increasingly tense and resourceful and , in the end , it gets the sick job done .",
      "yet another teens-versus - hillbillies slasher flick .",
      "the movie would have been creepier if it had shut us inside the museum , and given us more creative wax-based killings instead of revisiting familiar slasher-flick stuff .",
      "hilton is the cinematic equivalent of a stray dog , an untrained extra that accidentally wandered into the shot and quickly began making love to the camera ."
    ],
    "summary": "bearing little resemblance to the 1953 original , MOV is a formulaic but better-than-average teen slasher flick .",
    "id": "15"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dudley_doright",
    "reviews": [
      "one of the summer 's more pleasant surprises .",
      "brendan gets hit in the face a lot , that 's good for a few laughs but you 've already seen it in the trailer .",
      "dudley is merely a dud .",
      "barely gets a plus for comedy , but brendan fraser is always fun to see .",
      "'90s live-action remake of '60s cartoon has iffy humor .",
      "surprisingly pleasant .",
      "the fanciful associations and bad jokes are more often stupid than silly , making all the spectacle and contrived dance numbers seem a colossal waste .",
      "why in the wide , wide , world of sports would anybody make a big-budget feature film from a decades-old , animated cartoon parody of nelson eddy/jeanette macdonald movies ?",
      "only for little kids or anyone with no discerning taste .",
      "there 's not one joke , one slapstick moment , one innuendo that 's funny .",
      "you 're obviously supposed to root for dudley to triumph , but his character remains nothing more than a clumsy , accident-prone doofus .",
      "when will hollywood learn that successful animated concepts just do n't cut it when translated to flesh-and blood life ?",
      "though it hurts to think unkind thoughts about the square-shooting royal canadian mounted policeman who is passionate about right and wrong , in reality casting fraser as dudley turns out to be too much of a good thing , a case of blank look overkill .",
      "what a let-down .",
      "the latest in a series of movies adapted from old tv series aimed at baby boomers and their babies .",
      "you might simply die of boredom .",
      "how lucky can moviegoers get ? three brendan fraser movies this year !",
      "a big dud .",
      "pacing is slow in this comedy , as if actors are waiting -- along with the weary kids and adults in the audience -- for anyone to say something funny . we 're still waiting .",
      "though occasionally producing a minor chuckle , dudley do-right is mainly characterized by good artists making bad choices .",
      "it has not sunk in yet in hollywood that some cartoons are cartoons for a reason .",
      "there are so many lame gags in the film that viewers may feel assaulted . but at least the pace is lively .",
      "this one is really for fraser die-hards only .",
      "i always wondered how the original producer , jay ward , could squeeze out a 5 minute segment each week on such a flimsy premise . now the big question is how some bigwig executive thought they could squeeze out an 80 minute movie on the same idea .",
      "dudley do-right works well as family entertainment .",
      "the kind of movie that makes me stop believing in movies .",
      "fraser 's goofy mug may be the only thing that saves this film 's exhibitors from losing their theatres to mobs of unamused , torch-wielding patrons . then again , it does n't seem like anyone 's even going to see this dreck , so maybe they 're off the hook .",
      "in the end , it 's neither dudley do-right nor do-wrong , but merely dudley do-just-so-so .",
      "the latest waste of celluloid .",
      "directed by hugh wilson , this cheerful comedy is aimed at 5-10 year-olds , who will thoroughly enjoy it .",
      "it mainly strikes fool 's gold .",
      "an embarrassment for all concerned .",
      "it 's a not-so-funny hodgepodge of site gags , satire and jokes that only occasionally touch the funny bone .",
      "after the movie is over , horse 's head appears through the screen as he sticks out his tongue to give it raspberries . my sentiments exactly .",
      "it 's harmless , simple-minded , and has a couple of sequences better than dudley really deserves ."
    ],
    "summary": "gags are n't that funny .",
    "id": "11893"
  },
  {
    "movie": "underworld_rise_of_the_lycans",
    "reviews": [
      "the numerous action sequences , while imaginative , lack a visual cohesion that allows them to be fully appreciated .",
      "parental content review",
      "directed by former special effects artist patrick tatopoulos , it is shoddily paced and appears to have been lit with a candle , presumably to hide its obvious budget shortfalls .",
      "uninspired prequel-slash-threequel that seems to have contractual obligation written all over it .",
      "compared to its sister films , the storytelling is stellar , remarkable not because there 's a whole lot going on -- in fact , you 'll likely leave the theater thinking , `` that 's it ? '' -- but because what little does happen makes sense .",
      "awkward camera angles , editing and pacing of some fight sequences gives a direct-to-video at times . if you 're a fan of the last two underworld movies and are willing to suspend your disbelief and to check your brain at the door for 93 minutes , you 'll at l",
      "basically it 's frost/nixon to dross/vixen . and there 's plenty to be ashamed of .",
      "... ca n't help but come off as an obvious high point within this progressively low-rent series ...",
      "lacks the gothic coolness that made the original such an underground hit .",
      "left with only a small pocket of timeline to embroider , the prequel manages to develop a breezy , bloody , operatic experience . even better , it wipes away the toxic awfulness of evolution . it 's now safe to return to the underworld .",
      "a period piece that drips mediocrity from the minute it begins .",
      "feels like a superfluous placeholder until kate beckinsale and len wiseman are available and ready to make a true third installment in the series .",
      "nothing special , but it convincingly transports viewers into its medieval realm of vampires vs. werewolves .",
      "-lrb- has -rrb- a fidelity to the style of the originals without the tangled , overstuffed narrative .",
      "enquanto seus realizadores contam o dinheiro que ganharam com o projeto , farei o mesmo que fiz com relaзгo aos dois primeiros capнtulos : publicarei este texto e esquecerei imediatamente do filme que o tornou necessбrio .",
      "it may be a definite upswing in quality for the series , but if you thought the previous two films were overblown goth-horror nonsense , rise of the lycans really is n't going to change your mind ...",
      "the creators seem to have abandoned all hope of manufacturing anything that 's even coherent , let alone imaginative .",
      "at least we 're spared a lot of the `` legacy this '' and `` prophecy that '' stuff that slows down both of the previous underworld adventures .",
      "and this time there are n't even any leather pants .",
      "borrows from ` romeo and juliet , ' ` the passion of the christ ' -lrb- there are two , count 'em , two gory scourging scenes -rrb- and , especially , ` spartacus ' ..."
    ],
    "summary": "despite the best efforts of its competent cast , underworld : rise of the lycans is an indistinguishable and unnecessary prequel .",
    "id": "770781881"
  },
  {
    "movie": "october_sky",
    "reviews": [
      "though shot in tennessee , johnston 's MOV successfully evokes the stifling atmosphere of a blackened 1950s town in the southern west virginia mountains .",
      "retreads the soggy ground staked out by field of dreams , with sentimental tears and group hugs as the answer to conflicting ideological standpoints .",
      "i love movies at the end of which , as the credits roll and the lights come up , i 'm sobbing my eyes out and smiling and declaring , `` that was a great movie ! '' all at the same time . i needed two hankies at the end of MOV .",
      "there 's hope , heroism , and dern as a dying schoolmarm , but MOV falls flat due to its all-too-obvious third act and the vague fact that , really , not that much happens .",
      "... compulsively watchable ...",
      "uplifting family film with great values",
      "inspiring tale for older tweens and up .",
      "... plays like a tv movie made for everyone who subscribes to reader 's digest . still , its manipulations are sincere rather than cynical ...",
      "the tv movie subject matter is infused with genuine feeling for the value of learning as a passport to freedom , and an authentic regard for the honest graft of working men .",
      "director joe johnston has crafted a feel good film that does n't pander to cheap emotions .",
      "MOV is a movie you want to believe in .",
      "any film that celebrates a teenager 's ability to think instead of throw a ball ought to be cheered .",
      "this small , well-crafted coming-of-age docudrama is a real-life revenge of the nerds by way of stand by me .",
      "it will lift your spirit and make you feel good about all those who pursue their dreams in the face of large obstacles .",
      "an enthralling and warm-hearted story about four high school students who taught themselves to build and fly real rockets .",
      "a sweet yet sincere coming-of-age story about fathers and sons , communities pulling together and , above all , heroes .",
      "MOV does n't seem like much on paper , but it is an entertaining , smart movie that is calculated to satisfy the all-american notion that anyone can do anything as long as he tries hard enough and never stops believing .",
      "it is about four kids who build rockets , but it is a lot more than that . it is about having the guts to go for your dreams and not worrying about what other people think .",
      "... so full of spirit and letter-perfect filmmaking that i defy anyone to watch this movie without getting a tingle in his or her heart .",
      "the ` follow your dream ' theme works , even though the son versus father sub-plot struggles at times .",
      "as rewarding and uplifting as pictures from half a century ago !",
      "a breakout performance by jake gyllenhaal !",
      "i liked MOV and was moved by it in all the right ways . but it 's a movie that does n't stand up to review very well .",
      "it 's good for inspiring , good to make you all misty-eyed and it 's commendable for making trigonometry more enticing than football .",
      "MOV is a powerful look at a young man 's drives to become a scientist . it is also a moving portrait of a father-son relationship .",
      "a compulsively watchable , well-crafted feature ...",
      "it is ultimately in the exact performances and writing that are the primary reasons MOV works so well .",
      "a truly uplifting , heartwarming motion picture !",
      "the upbeat film has a genuineness and poignancy that will touch your heart !",
      "inspirational !",
      "a must-see for every student , parent and teacher in the country !",
      "it 's a major step-up for director joe johnston whose previous films such as honey i shrunk the kids and jumanji were simply special effects showcases .",
      "a story both grounded and ascendent , a movie that puts your emotions in orbit .",
      "MOV will go straight to the heart of any man who recalls looking up at the night sky as a boy and getting stars in his eyes .",
      "MOV is a sensational character-driven story with a strong narrative and great visual style .",
      "a substantial and entertaining tale whose portrait of learning and intelligence , family and friendship , is in stark contrast to the typical hollywood fare .",
      "a real-life revenge of the nerds with a touch of stand by me .",
      "how refreshing to watch idealism and sentimentality presented onscreen without the usual cheap manipulative tricks so beloved by hollywood schlockmeisters !",
      "spirited , exciting entertainment that delivers on any number of levels - and you do n't have to be a youngster to enjoy it .",
      "believable , subtle , and consistently intelligent !",
      "this movie has deep values .",
      "it is a film that treats its teen-aged hero and his pals as distinctive , sentient human beings .",
      "... one heck of a crowd pleaser , filled with humor , pathos , and intelligence .",
      "one of the best in recent years !",
      "the unforced and honest power of the emotion ever so quietly sneaks up on you by film 's end .",
      "as adapted by lewis colick , the screenplay shifts busily among the boys ' rocket exploits , homer 's family , conditions at the mine and the influence of a dedicated science teacher , but each of these subplots plays out in familiar ways .",
      "this is one of those special films that 's equally successful as a wholesome family film and an inspiring drama for adults .",
      "a professionally crafted family film that reserves all its challenging moments for its characters , letting the audience bask comfortably in the approach of a predetermined warm and fuzzy ending .",
      "the movie is an oddity . like the seed of a plant born in the drought of summer , it tries to grow on you , and fails .",
      "another universal pictures paint-by-numbers feel-gooder !",
      "plays like something spewed out by a top-drawer screenwriting program !",
      "the plot follows the usual formula , so that were it a rocket , one could predict within a matter of feet where it would land .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- wonderful , new coming-of-age film .",
      "immensely entertaining and unabashedly inspirational !",
      "secretly , this is a movie about overcoming adversity and fatherly love , and the sentiment is heaped on so high you ca n't help but shed a tear .",
      "MOV is exactly the sort of hollywood picture we need to see more often : cleanly written , capably filmed , and focused on a young person who 's determined to turn his life in constructive , creative directions .",
      "such a good story . and MOV is a really good movie .",
      "every scene has realistic gravity and an obvious personal touch .",
      "sweetness is too rare in movies these days , so audiences can feel lucky about the earnest dose of it in MOV . this film is family .",
      "MOV is inspirational , and it is triumphant ; it 's also smart , well-written , and well-acted !",
      "even if MOV was a complete dud , the drama would still get points for being the movie that launched the career of a new star , jake gyllenhaal .",
      "read it as sublimated or expressionist , the movie is all about boys and their toys .",
      "fun and amusing !",
      "MOV certainly is n't a great movie , but a pleasant one , and one i can recommend -- which , so far , in 1999 , is a wonder in itself .",
      "MOV is a bit schmaltzy and predictable . but that should n't keep anyone from enjoying this true-life saga of a boy whose dreams could not be confined by either gravity or convention .",
      "MOV is a rare oddity in cinema : a self-proclaimed `` uplifting '' film that is actually uplifting !"
    ],
    "summary": "rich in sweet sincerity , intelligence , and good old-fashioned inspirational drama , MOV is a coming-of-age story with a heart to match its hollywood craftsmanship .",
    "id": "10995"
  },
  {
    "movie": "paris_je_taime",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's an engaging sampler of different perspectives that never quite connect , but it does make you want to contact your travel agent as soon as possible .",
      "paris is well worth the trip .",
      "as an ad for the city 's charms , paris could n't have asked for a more sweetly jaundiced love letter .",
      "most features composed of sketches by different filmmakers are wildly uneven . this one is consistently mediocre , albeit pleasant and watchable .",
      "it is possible to bring substance , as well as poetry , to the vignette form , but more often paris , je t'aime is merely mundane .",
      "in the generally deft new anthology film paris je t ` aime , short films are like streetcars .",
      "it 's hard not to love paris , je t ` aime . a valentine to the planet 's most romantic city , this delightful anthology of 18 short films will make you long to bid adieu to your humdrum existence and board the next plane to the city of lights .",
      "paris , je t ` aime builds into something quite wonderful .",
      "with 18 pieces in all , there should be something here to tantalize everyone 's tastes , or at least prompt you to contact your travel agent to book a vacation .",
      "split evenly between the inspired segments and those that fall flat , this ambitious omnibus is still worth watching .",
      "there 's something romantic about the big city , because with so many people in such a small space , something unexpected and joyful is bound to cross your path one day . and this is the precise mentality that makes -lsb- this movie -rsb- such a breath of fresh air .",
      "this bittersweet love-letter to france 's capital is as richly cosmopolitan as the city itself .",
      "offers a smorgasbord of distinct styles as it compiles an unprecedented movie mix tape of poetic interludes .",
      "the bee 's knees , the cat 's pajamas and the lobster 's dinner shirt of movies currently playing .",
      "for directors and actors who usually work on projects that take years to develop and months to film , this must have been a really fun lark . for the viewer , it 's a full cinematic feast .",
      "nothing about paris , je t'aime feels stiff or hindered by its haphazard , sometimes truncated , but always sincere love letter to and tour of the city of lights .",
      "a little uneven in style , tone and quality . but the picture that emerges of paris is romantic , cosmopolitan and hopeful .",
      "from comedy to drama , varied anthology is worth the trip .",
      "each short film runs an average of eight minutes , so even if you get stuck with a clunker , it 's not long before the next one starts .",
      "if you love films -lrb- and paris -rrb- then this omnibus edition is strongly recommended .",
      "practically giddy with energy .",
      "for this kind of omnibus movie a success rate of two out of three is a pretty high batting average . there are no home runs , however , only doubles , singles and coy little bunts .",
      "bittersweet , funny , sad and invariably romantic , the anthology film paris , je t'aime strings together 20 five-minute vignettes to create a pulsating mosaic of the neighborhoods of the city of light .",
      "if you 've ever been to paris , the picture 's varied takes on the city of lights is seeped in reverie . if you have n't , paris je t ` aime serves as a enticing invitation .",
      "you never know what you 'll get , but it will always look ravishing .",
      "some shorts work . others do n't . it is fascinating , though , to see which ones do , and why .",
      "a fantastic trip to the city of lights thru the eyes of some of the world 's greatest stars and filmmakers . a memorable movie experience like no other .",
      "luckily , paris , je t'aime contains a few good films among its total whiffs .",
      "a valentine to the city of light , paris , je t'aime threatens no electrical power outages , but it does leave a nice candlelight glow .",
      "a novel experiment which one hopes will be tried again soon .",
      "many districts of the city open to as many directors , each finding vignettes of love or loss .",
      "the best is saved for last : payne 's 14th arrondissement takes its time to create a parisian epiphany that both pokes fun at an american tourist -lrb- margo martindale -rrb- and finds grace in her acceptance of a fragile moment of transcendence .",
      "the cream of this crop took the assignment to heart - to show not just being in love in paris , but being in love with paris .",
      "even the least tales here flit by quickly enough to leave little bad aftertaste , and the best are savored like the last small bites of exquisite soufflés .",
      "its 18 vignettes show paris as a big city like any other , with the attendant street crime and disparity between haves and have-nots . it 's just that the architecture , clothes and people are more handsome than in most cities .",
      "varied in tone and perspective , but also variable in narrative quality . but paris je t ` aime offers at least as many hits as misses .",
      "paris je t'aime is a charmer . it 's like a sampler plate of sweet confections , delightful but not very substantial , and with enough variety to please just about everyone .",
      "i suppose you can take the anthology as a sampling of parisian atmospheres , but hardly anywhere is a place you 'd want to visit for long .",
      "there is just enough good stuff to outweigh the bad .",
      "the best segments are as good as film gets ; the losers can make you wince . on the whole , the good outweigh the bad and make the film feel like a minivacation in the city of light .",
      "the emphasis is on the light and airy , with the delightful and surprising outnumbering the numbing .",
      "this is a very french cinematic concept , sometimes charming , sometimes obtuse , sometimes irritating and often risky ; just like the french themselves , although the directors are not all french .",
      "it manages to leave you feeling buoyed and grinning ; sort of like what an easygoing week 's vacation in paris might induce -- along with occasional torpor , frenzy , melancholy and surprises .",
      "it 's like having the sampler plate at a restaurant : it never feels quite like a real meal , yet can be delicious just the same .",
      "a delightful and varied glimpse of men and women grappling with love , meaning , and loss in various neighborhoods of paris .",
      "eighteen short stories in 120 minutes is almost too much to take but this film seems to bind them all together , somehow , with love .",
      "paris , je t ` aime is not a movie , it 's a playlist , and that 's why you should resist the temptation to see it in the theater .",
      "paris , je t'aime 's brimming declaration of love to the city of lights leaves one breathless but dissatisfied .",
      "typical of such compilations , results tend to vary wildly .",
      "while too fleeting in grace to be a great movie , paris je t'aime does however reward the hope offered with this prestigious cast and crew .",
      "it 's an uneven bag of love to be sure , but the hits outweigh the misses .",
      "considering just how many cooks there were in the kitchen , paris , je t ` aime came out with a pretty even feeling",
      "a fantastic travelogue .",
      "paris , je t ` aime feels like a compilation of student films % u2014 imbued with a certain neophyte whimsy , vibrating with life and passion , and fresh in a way that can only come from unfettered enthusiasm .",
      "18 shorts about love for mature art house fans",
      "the bulk of the work , filtered through the idiosyncratic lens of the global art-house , relays a peculiar impression of the city that is at once familiar and displaced .",
      "alluring , all in all , and unfulfilling",
      "the most resonant moments in paris , je t'aime happen to be the bleakest , and they 're about immigrants and other outsiders .",
      "generally , the comic pieces are sturdier than the abbreviated dramas . ... as might be expected , a couple of the chapters are misfires ... happily , ` paris ' saves some of its prime material for the last half-hour .",
      "a masterful achievement , both as a film and as a heartfelt love letter to one of the world 's most romantic cities .",
      "a scattered pastiche of petite vignettes that displays a frenetic charm .",
      "the results are uneven , but with each segment focused on a different arrondissement and only about five minutes in length , one does not have to linger in any neighborhood -- good or bad -- for very long before its time to move on .",
      "payne 's film alone would be worth the price of admission .",
      "suspended rather delightfully between art film and touristy bonbon , paris , je t'aime is , unsurprisingly , a tribute to a city that everybody loves .",
      "you could n't call it perfect -- the episodes are uneven -- but it has something that sometimes is better than perfection : real love for its subject and themes .",
      "eighteen short films , each done by a different director with a different cast and set in a different neighborhood of paris , je t'aime is a remarkable achievement .",
      "alexander payne strikes the same balance of snarky humor and sneaky empathy that has made his body of work so distinct in contemporary american cinema .",
      "-lsb- glen -rsb- hassard and -lsb- marketa -rsb- irglova , newcomers to feature film , show both natural acting skills and terrific musical ability .",
      "wildly , frustratingly uneven .",
      "next to google earth , this is the coolest way to get an overview of the city of light and its particular je ne sais quoi .",
      "uneven but quite pleasant .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- pleasing jumble of stories about love in paris .",
      "finally , the city that has inspired so much love gets a love letter all its own .",
      "splendid .",
      "a connoisseur 's delight : two hours of short films celebrating the most romantic city in the world .",
      "... a charming ode to the title city , less because of how it celebrates paris ' romantic reputation than for the way it lovingly tweaks that image .",
      "this one is different and it 's charming .",
      "taken as a whole , paris je t'aime slips down easily enough and offers a few whimsical smiles , but you may find yourself craving more substantial nourishment before the end .",
      "a slam-dunk for cineastes , romantics , and francophiles .",
      "you expect quality to vary from segment to segment , but the misses outweigh the hits by a depressingly high margin .",
      "paris je t'aime is a poignant and ultimately rewarding experience . it offers something for everyone , and provides an insightful , multi-cultural look at the city of lights .",
      "even the downbeat segments are optimistic , and that 's what unifies them .",
      "the best episodes , however , have the emotional resonance of full-length features , and yet i did n't want them to be a moment longer than they are .",
      "there seems to be something in paris air or water that encourages compendium filmmaking -- multiple characters and multiple stories . paris , je t'aime may be the grandest such work currently on view .",
      "this is a film for people who love film ...",
      "god bless alexander payne , the only director who actually embraces the collection 's title as inspiration ... and makes us fall in melancholy , vicarious love .",
      "... displays the same virtues and vices of any anthology film , but magnified by the sheer number of contributors .",
      "if you 've ever wondered why so many people go so moony over the city of lights , then this breezy postcard is an excellent place to start .",
      "this frequently enchanting omnibus movie -- a collection of 18 short films set in various resonant precincts of the city of light -- radiates international star power .",
      "it 's not sexy or stylish or glamorous or any of the things you might assume paris would be before going there . but of all the segments that comprise the film , it comes the closest to depicting honestly what it feels like to fall in love .",
      "taken as a whole , it 's a remarkably textured look at the city of lights .",
      "-lrb- ... -rrb- un film colectivo irregular , con segmentos olvidables , otros muy bizarros , y algunos realmente sorprendentes .",
      "like all anthologies , this 18-segment-omnibus , basically a love letter to paris as city of lights and romance , is uneven but it 's amusing to see the text and subtext of stories that reveal as much about their directors ' ideas as their chosen quarters .",
      "the result is an uneven and unwieldy hodgepodge of visions and styles that collectively carry a faint whiff of futility .",
      "after having seen the 18 pieces that made the final cut , i ca n't help wondering on what grounds the two rejected works were judged unworthy .",
      "anthology films usually work better in theory than execution , but this feature parade of shorts is a blithe , worldly , and enchanting exception .",
      "... modestly but richly sculpted pieces , a feeling carved out of a brief slice of time and place , the discreet suggestion of a relationship in just a couple of minutes .",
      "fascinating but shaky experiment .",
      "on paper , the film looks like a slam dunk , but that is n't the way it plays out . perhaps it 's the time-limit constraints or maybe they just do n't care , but most of the directors are n't working at full speed .",
      "in all their variations , with many of them graced by the presence of big-name actors , these 18 movies coalesce into an incandescent portrait of a city rife with possibilities for romance .",
      "one of those anthology films that seems like a good idea but never quite works because it lacks the vision of one filmmaker to put it all together .",
      "not great filmmaking , but will be appreciated by francophiles .",
      "the team effort is justified because love means something different to everyone , and the film presents its many faces as if filtered through an ipod shuffle .",
      "there are a couple of unquestioned triumphs , a couple of unmitigated disasters and the rest fall somewhere in between the two extremes -- but it winds up being somewhat more satisfying in the end than many films of this type .",
      "anthologies can be uneven , and that is the case here . some of these films do feel insubstantial . but others are rooted in the sorts of common experiences that will seem authentic to you , no matter where you live .",
      "the result is that after two hours one gets the sense of having seen a panorama of human experience , of having witnessed a moment of time in all its true fullness ."
    ],
    "summary": "paris je t'aime is uneven , but there are more than enough delightful moments in this omnibus tribute to the city of lights to tip the scale in its favor .",
    "id": "321749760"
  },
  {
    "movie": "crazy_heart",
    "reviews": [
      "cooper 's film may not make all the right choices , but it 's got bridges , and it 's always got the songs , among which ryan bingham 's the weary kind stands out for its haunting , choked melancholy . it 's an experience you want to indulge , and that is n't hard .",
      "it 's not possible to flaw bridges here . akin to falstaff , the detail of his characterisation - from stagger to cough to swagger to song - is fascinating . but he needs more thorough contextualisation to fly .",
      "the role of a lifetime for jeff bridges and he plays it to perfection",
      "it took an oscar-chasing role tailored for bridges to win him this belated respect ; the movie itself is hardly worthy of him .",
      "what a treat to see and feel an independent american movie that sifts gently across the western landscape with a heartfelt touch - albeit dusted over with a hazy drift of nostalgia .",
      "a phenomenal , heart-breaking performance from jeff bridges powers this simple but affecting redemption story .",
      "MOV feels familiar , even comforting , offering few surprises but a wealth of lovingly crafted , immaculately judged , wholly authentic emotion .",
      "an affable , entertaining film that rarely surprises but brings a smile to the face through the sheer charisma of its leading man .",
      "this turn from the perennially settled and contented bridges is pure acting . it is the best performance of the past 12 months , and indeed possibly the next .",
      "a wonderfully easy , confident and muscular performance from jeff bridges - so easy , confident and muscular that it does n't look like acting at all - saves this movie from being pure sentimental mush .",
      "a rambling story of a down-and-out country singer -lrb- a fine performance by jeff bridges -rrb- trying to put his life in turnaround .",
      "in bridges ' protrayal bad is like a floating candle in a jar of gasoline % u2013 always ready to ignite . through jean he learns to hang on with a hope to glow once again .",
      "the difference between ` MOV ' and ` the wrestler ' is the quality of the female characters .",
      "you can see why bridges signed on for this low-key , low-budget character study . it is n't every day an actor gets the chance to pitch face-forward into the camera , dead drunk .",
      "hand the oscar to jeff bridges right now , and let 's be done with it .",
      "all hail the small movie .",
      "as usual , bridges makes it look easy , ramblin ' along through this ramblin ' story as if it takes no effort at all to create a three-dimensional character out of nothing .",
      "MOV finally disappoints because it 's so manifestly a character in search of a movie .",
      "mediocre awards-season staple with some good acting",
      "i admire cooper 's restraint , an attribute i 've admired in bridges for so many years .",
      "it all goes down as smoothly and enjoyably as a fine whiskey .",
      "jeff bridges gives a stumbling , puking , unglamorous performance in MOV ... in hopes of making it to hollywood 's glammest night .",
      "jeff bridges ' portrayal of broken-down , liquored-up country singer bad blake may be the best of his career , and that 's saying something .",
      "as the heavily dented bad blake , bridges carries every scene in the picture with a performance that seems to materialize out of pure feeling .",
      "barry markowitz 's camerawork at times captures the hazy heat of the american southwest , giving it a sepia-toned warmth , while this grainy wash gives blake 's late-night bender scenes a green-about-the-gills feel .",
      "cooper is so afraid of being bold and baring some soul , he achieves little more than the anachronistic , cookie-cutter blues that his lead character spent a lifetime trying to avoid .",
      "do n't expect greatness from the man named bad",
      "formidable acting talent aside , this is routine self-destruction-and-recovery tv movie material .",
      "basically a live-action version of the cliche country-western song with a man down on his luck and losing everything in his life , it comes close to being a joke about itself .",
      "with great performances from bridges and gyllenhaal , MOV is a winner and a must-see .",
      "played by a gracefully aging jeff bridges , bad is an older , greasier and groggier version of the dude",
      "bridges ' worn down country singer is as well realized as any character he 's ever done . it may take a while to get going , and to develop , and to wrap up , but there 's enough meat to make MOV worthwhile , even if it is made to last a while .",
      "is jeff bridges the most underappreciated actor of his generation ?",
      "a solid -lrb- if unremarkable -rrb- script presented in a straightforward , restrained manner but enlivened by naturalistic , honest acting , MOV is more than the sum of its parts .",
      "jeff bridges finally won his oscar for MOV and it was well-earned indeed .",
      "the film 's texas and new mexico landscapes are ravishing , and the songs are beautifully performed , but these offer little more than occasional relief from a very obvious tale .",
      "jeff bridges astounds in this beautifully acted , funny and moving film .",
      "MOV is a b-grade movie elevated to a-grade status by bridges ' nuanced , heartbreaking performance . gyllenhaal is terrific too as a smart woman who ca n't help loving that man .",
      "it 's a shame then that the all-too-familiar story is never as engaging as the two leads , but with performances this strong , MOV still brings the house down .",
      "is terrific in his richest role since the big lebowski . but the surprise is farrell , unexpectedly winning as the successful protégé keen to give his mentor a break .",
      "it 's the brilliance of bridges that means he can be sad and pathetic , and charismatic and heroic all at the same time .",
      "while you ca n't quite shake the film 's channel 5 matinee feel , star performances lift crazy i heart above the ordinary .",
      "bridges can play this kind of role in his sleep , and at times appears to be doing so . if he wins the best actor oscar for this , it will be as a long-service medal , not a reflection of excellence in a demanding role .",
      "bridges is totally at ease singing the blues , so much so that it 's easy to forget those creaks in the script , as he delivers an iconic performance that 's guaranteed to pluck the heartstrings .",
      "what makes the film is its attention to detail : the locations are a picture book of americana ; the music , overseen by t-bone burnett , is a precise re-creation of 1980s new country .",
      "while it showcases jeff bridges ' extraordinary talents and delivers a couple of decent country music tunes , MOV is basically a retread that does n't leave much of a lasting impression .",
      "takes an ordinary situation and makes it extraordinary . bad blake is n't a country singer ; he 's a country song .",
      "bridges is exceptional here ; it 's the movie itself that 's less urgent and awkwardly defined , throttling his impressively discombobulated performance , leaving one to wonder why there 's even a plot to heart in the first place .",
      "some actors are blessed . jeff bridges is one of them .",
      "bridges perfects that wasted hayseed persona growl here and in open road this year . but oh , how jeff and maggie get those erotic , flirty sparks to fly between them , anyway .",
      "the film aspires to such low-key minimalism that it leaves no more than a fleeting emotional effect .",
      "a simple , rough around the edges character study , buoyed up by some pretty fine performances - despite what you may have heard , there are more people in the cast than just jeff bridges .",
      "as predictable as any of the old clichés about country music and men who write it , although that 's mainly because cooper 's script ... uses so many of them without delving any deeper .",
      "this show belongs to bridges , who starts off as a magnificent train wreck and then takes a journey with the character .",
      "this performance is as good as -lsb- bridges has -rsb- ever done .",
      "while the film is n't quite the timeless gem lebowski is , bridges playing the perennially soused is , once again , spectacularly award-worthy .",
      "often feels like a half-hearted , half-assed remake of tender mercies .",
      "on first viewing , MOV seemed like a pretty good movie with one great performance . after a second time through , it 's sneaking up on the title of my favorite film of the year .",
      "not a great movie , but bridges definitely finds new territory for those acting skils of his . his washed up country singer finally goes after the help he needs and we like the journey to sobriety . paul chambers , cnn",
      "as has so often been the case throughout his career , bridges becomes the character . he buries himself so thoroughly in the role that there 's nothing of the actor remaining .",
      "it 's a mark of how fine a performance bridges gives that it succeeds beautifully even though the besotted , bedeviled country singer has been an overly familiar popular culture staple for forever .",
      "some good country music and some people you care about make this film likable if nothing flashy . but bridges 's characterization is first rate .",
      "the film packs a huge emotional punch , and captivates mercilessly",
      "MOV could use more rough edges , but while it 's a little too sentimental and tidy , bridges ' humane , deeply empathetic lead performance makes it easy to root for one man 's redemption .",
      "bridges does what he does best in disappearing into a complex character who earns our sympathy the hard way",
      "not that the modest story makes -lsb- jeff -rsb- bridges ' accomplishment any less vital or -lsb- t-bone -rsb- burnett 's music any less pleasurable .",
      "bad is a tortured , self destructive spirit dead set on being alone and miserable , though because he has ample kindness and softness lingering inside , his addictions are all the more deceptively dangerous and his fall from grace all the more pathetic .",
      "another minimalist exercise seeking verisimilitude when the real goal should be drama .",
      "there 's nothing about the essential content of this film that 's artificial .",
      "watching alcoholics stumble through their lives is sometimes a little boring , though jeff bridges is a warm and detailed enough actor to keep us interested and full of hope for him .",
      "i used to be somebody , '' sings washed up legend bad blake , `` but now i 'm somebody else . '' like a c&w song , MOV makes cliches sound like eternal verites , and jeff bridges deserves all the credit .",
      "better story , better acting , better music than ` once . '",
      "with the best lead performance of the year , a few great supporting ones , excellent music , and completely genuine characters freed of an ounce of melodrama , MOV is one of the best dramas of 2009 .",
      "in MOV , jeff bridges portrays `` bad '' blake , a grizzled , battered , alcoholic country singer living on the frayed edges of his fallow career . bridges nails the role .",
      "i wanted to walk out bowled over by jeff bridges and his ` performance of a lifetime , ' but i was fixated on the colin farrell factor .",
      "MOV is a familiar tune , but the harmonies reverberate .",
      "the movie belongs entirely to bridges , who won the golden globe for best actor in a drama . his inimitable jeff-isms have never been more endearing - the sloppy gait , the whiskey glass balanced on his chest , his general air of discombobulation .",
      "... the story here is bridges and the title of that story is `` brilliant ! ''",
      "who needs the wrestler when you have the crooner ? ''",
      "... bridges ' performance as blake so transcends the clichés that he 's one of the favorites for the best actor oscar this year .",
      "bridges carries the movie on his back and makes bad blake a guy worth getting to know .",
      "what it lacks in originality , MOV makes up for in delivery .",
      "charles bukowski morphs into dewey cox in this denunciation of the evils of paralyzing drunkenness .",
      "scott cooper ... makes his directorial debut with one of america 's greatest actors delivering a terrific performance in a story we 've seen a thousand times before .",
      "in this country ballad % u2013like movie that 's earning jeff bridges oscar buzz , he plays a downward-spiraling musician . bridges offers a great performance , but his hokey romance with maggie gyllenhaal clashes with the film 's gritty realism ,",
      "bridges draws us deeply inside blake 's moment-to-moment heartbreaks . he makes us root for him as we would root for a dear friend . ultimately , his triumphs become our own .",
      "the movie as a whole never rings as true as bridges ' lead character , bad blake -- but he 's appealing enough to keep it from falling apart .",
      "although the romance between bridges and gyllenhaal did n't pass the smell test , i could overlook that because the acting , music , and cinematography mesmerized me .",
      "another awards season , another tale of middle-age redemption .",
      "-lrb- bridges -rrb- just slips into the faded leather boots of a sad , lost soul , a man we all know even though weve never met him .",
      "has an appealing , easygoing vibe for most of its running time .",
      "a quiet , conventional film with a surprisingly firm grip .",
      "if not for the performance of jeff bridges , this tedious flick would n't be nearly as involving .",
      "it is n't perfect and it is n't wholly original in terms of narrative , but the film has a warm heart and a depth of performance that makes it deserving of recommendation .",
      "bridges raises the bar -lrb- har-har -rrb- for being shafaced onscreen , stumbling and vomiting his way to the stage in podunk clubs ... ''",
      "the simple story of a merle haggard-type has been who falls in love with a younger reporter is aided greatly by excellent songs and dazzling performances by jeff bridges and colin farrell .",
      "-lsb- bridges -rsb- fully inhabits blake , slowly revealing the bone-weariness of this singer 's extended road trips and even more extended drinking binges .",
      "... an aggressively uneven piece of work that would hardly be worth mentioning were it not for the efforts of bridges and his stellar cast mates ...",
      "tem a sorte de trazer um jeff bridges mais do que inspirado em seu centro -- caso contrбrio , poderia perfeitamente ter se tornado uma produзгo mais apropriada para a televisгo .",
      "as he comes to face consequences of this recklessness , bad sees that his badness - his success and also the limits on it - are also shaped by the business he 's in .",
      "if you adore country music and have actually been in a band , you 'll love MOV . despite bridges ' brilliance , non-aficionados might find it underwhelming .",
      "if you 're not fond of country music -lrb- i 'm not -rrb- , then MOV may sound like the kind of cracker-barrel movie you should avoid . bridges will change your mind .",
      "some goodwill evaporates in the final reel , when a few false endings lead to a choice that 's not the best one for MOV , but the generosity of bridge 's performance puts us in a forgiving mood .",
      "a showcase for an actor whose deep understanding of his character is evident in every gesture and word .",
      "when a movie offers you a couple of hours with a drunk , he better be a charmer . and even then , it 's a gamble ; we 've all known charming drunks , but a little can go a long way . fortunately for MOV , it has jeff bridges , who brings enough charm and ve",
      "there is no one i would rather have play an overweight drunk . bridges nails it .",
      "bridges is so spectacularly good as bad blake , country artist , that he 's the whole movie .",
      "ultimately what MOV will always be remembered for is the genuine and poignant performance from bridges , who should be rewarded with an oscar nomination in a couple of weeks . who knows ? maybe the fifth time will be the charm .",
      "it 's a bit too easy , a bit too familiar , and maybe even a bit too much fun . but the easy magic bridges brings to the screen makes it all work .",
      "in a musical genre where emotional authenticity is essential , bridges is a great enough actor to make us believe these songs could be his own .",
      "bridges plumbs the depths of this alcoholic , his bloated body strewn across a sweat-soaked mattress , clinging to his whiskey bottle as if it were his momma ... it 's a knock-out performance , devoid of all vanity .",
      "bridges ably does his own guitar playing and singing , another reason MOV is a gift to those who have long appreciated his talents .",
      "not to say the movie does n't work ; if it did n't hit me like a ton of bricks , at least it did make a favorable impression , and i believe i have bridges 's affability and watchability to thank for that .",
      "the real star is bridges , who plays not so much a layered character , but a man whom we instantly identify with and understand and want to watch .",
      "modestly mounted but fiercely acted .",
      "everything you see and hear has a modest , gentle quality that insinuates itself into your good graces .",
      "the songs become anthems inhabited by bridges , whose bad blake may wish his life had turned out differently but is never going to dribble tears in his shot glass so long as he still can find a stage somewhere to belt out a tune .",
      "an utterly familiar but mostly satisfying character study of a man rescued from the brink of self-destruction , attuned to the rhythm of an eye-catching star performance .",
      "jeff bridges realizing one of his most memorable film characters in years with a performance you wo n't quickly forget .",
      "no scene feels obligatory , and MOV shows a pragmatic but tender understanding of the relationship between physical breakdown and the discovery of morality . it 's merely a well-done , adult american movie-that is to say , a rarity .",
      "a compact , economical treat : full of flavor and feeling , wrapped in an unprepossessing package that contains far more than you 'd ever imagine .",
      "this is simply a showcase for jeff bridges , and a reasonably decent one at that even when the script thrusts bad down tediously hackneyed roads .",
      "screenwriter/director scott cooper 's adaptation of the thomas cobb novel is a bit predictable , but it benefits from the casting of bridges as the self-destructive lead .",
      "while the screenplay for MOV does n't always ring true , bridges does .",
      "the low-budget `` MOV '' is just about perfect at what it does , focusing on a narrow slice of american life with precision , humor and understanding",
      "this might be jeff bridges ' best performance . and he might , in fact , just take home the academy award for best actor .",
      "jeff bridges wears his character , one-time star bad blake , as comfortably as a favorite old cowboy hat .",
      "... we can almost taste the sour booze and smell the stale smoke ...",
      "bridges is perfectly attuned to every nuance of the character he plays in MOV ...",
      "bridges takes center stage in MOV .",
      "this is bridges ' show from start to finish , and he seems to be taking particular glee in letting it all hang out -lrb- sometimes literally , as a generous gut is frequently glimpsed bursting through an open shirt -rrb- .",
      "bridges brings all his four decades of deceptively casual charm and unpretentious smarts to what is proving to be a signature role .",
      "it is bad blake 's tortured complexity that sells ` MOV , ' and jeff bridges captures blake body and soul .",
      "if jeff bridges earns an overdue oscar for MOV it wo n't be for any charitable reasons . it 's arguably the best performance of his career .",
      "this performance reminds us that bridges is that rare actor who has never had to make that apology . MOV lets him be every bit as grand as we 'd hope him to be .",
      "if the film itself is slight , there 's no diminishing the heft that bridges brings .",
      "cooper lets you experience blake 's gradual reawakening right along with him , and bridges ' superb performance -- not the slight plot -- carries the weight .",
      "incredibly entertaining and poignant , buoyed by a performance by jeff bridges that 's entirely deserving of its oscar buzz",
      "parental content review",
      "now that i 've seen jeff bridges ' portrayal of blake ... i ca n't imagine another actor occupying the role .",
      "one of the most underappreciated actors in hollywood is finally getting the recognition he deserves . jeff bridges is the odds-on favorite to finally take home the golden statuette .",
      "without an ounce of doubt , jeff bridges ' portrayal of bad blake is superb .",
      "MOV is quiet , gentle , heart-bruised more than heart-broken , and it lingers in the memory after you 've seen it , like a song you ca n't get out of your head .",
      "`` MOV '' is the best film of 2009 . jeff bridges smokes -- big time .",
      "MOV gets to you like a good country song -- not because it tells you something new , but because it tells it well . it 's the singer , not the song .",
      "inevitable comparison will be made to tender mercies , for which duvall -lrb- producer here -rrb- won an oscar and jeff bridges may earn a nod too ; despite being generic , it 's enjoyable , well acted and the music both rousing and melancholy .",
      "jeff bridges is terrific but the movie only ordinary .",
      "playing a drunken , washed-up music legend reduced to playing small-town bowling alleys , jeff bridges is the whole show here as a cowboy-style crooner who wrestles with his demons in ways that easily engage an audience 's sympathies .",
      "a richly-realized , deeply-heartfelt character study in the vein of tender mercies and bound for glory , this sterling directing debut by actor scott cooper looks perfectly pitched to finally win jeff bridges his very long overdue best actor academy award .",
      "MOV is a story of redemption which has been told a thousand times before , but is infused with energy here by cooper 's dialogue and his work with the actors .",
      "well directed but sketchily written by actor scott cooper , the film relies a great deal on the star to flesh out what is only implied . it 's a lot of work , but mr. bridges is merely miraculous .",
      "it feels like we 've seen it a million times before but bridges gives the film raw heart , investing blake with a mighty appealing charisma and vulnerability .",
      "although it 's a bit like watching jeff bridges look you in the eyes , waft his boozy breath in your face and shout `` can i have an oscar please ? '' , it 's difficult not to be charmed by everything about MOV .",
      "you 'd have to be crazier than joaquin phoenix to see this film as ground-breaking . but when it 's good , it ai n't too bad at all .",
      "the first-time writer-director scott cooper sets a gentle , unhurried pace as he unfolds the story .",
      "this film feels like the cherry on top of jeff bridges ' fine career , giving him a terrific character who carries us through a fairly straightforward story of regret and redemption .",
      "the narrative does succumb to formula , but bridges and a terrific cast keep it fresh .",
      "MOV is a superbly directed , powerfully emotional drama with an unmissable central performance from jeff bridges .",
      "i was n't excited about MOV . i 'd have bundled it in with the last station as a movie that exists only to win oscars . luckily , it 's not like that . sure ting the story is a bit formulaic , but it 's an easy seven and a half out of ten .",
      "MOV , written and directed by scott cooper , is a small movie perfectly scaled to the big performance at its center .",
      "what sets this film apart is the superb performance of jeff bridges , who brings unending charm and authenticity to broken-down country singer bad blake .",
      "jeff bridges as bad blake truly embodies the phrase oscar worthy performance ... MOV is great and wonderfully worth seeing , but jeff bridges performance in it , is not to be missed .",
      "you do n't need to be a country music fan to enjoy MOV but there is a good chance you will become one afterwards thanks to this gracefully restrained and sweet drama .",
      "it 's one of the year 's best , most deeply felt films .",
      "MOV is more of a character study than a plot-driven film , but we 've got a genuinely compelling character to examine here .",
      "gyllenhaal is charming and makes unexpected choices in her performance , but this is bridges ' show , and he 's as best actor-worthy as he 's ever been .",
      "jeff bridges ' character may be called bad blake , but his performance is incredibly good , perhaps the best of his career .",
      "jeff bridges ' performance elevates this morality-tale concept to a level that makes him a viable , but not surprising , oscar contender .",
      "it 's a juicy , career-crowning role , and bridges -- a master of subtle brilliance -- plays the hell out of it .",
      "sometimes you do n't have to reinvent the wheel to steer right into the heart . scott cooper 's MOV does just that .",
      "jeff bridges channels hank williams , jr. and kris kristofferson for his portrayal of an alcohol-addled outlaw country star hoping for one more chance .",
      "everything about MOV just feels so very familiar , from any number of other movies about past-their-prime singers hitting the road and trying to make sense of their lives .",
      "bridges ' guileless performance makes this piquant little indie tale of country music , redemption , and the love of a pretty younger woman such a sad-song charmer .",
      "bridges inhabits bad fully , and cleverly uses our decades of fondness for him as an actor to give us a way to connect to his troublesome character .",
      "jeff bridges continues to astonish , in this case even making an ordinary movie into something better .",
      "entertainingly zips along the desert highways .",
      "if ever a movie demonstrated how country music emerges from private sorrows , this is it . but something can always be done to make a movie better .",
      "an impressive debut from director scott cooper , but it would n't be the movie it is without jeff bridges ' astonishingly credible performance .",
      "for my money , anything short of an oscar for bridges would be a sin . i 'd also call it the best movie of 2009 .",
      "the point of MOV is to showcase -lsb- jeff -rsb- bridges who has been much much , much better in other films . at least this one finally gives him long overdue accolades .",
      "it 's a terrific , satisfying film about redemption , with an outstanding performance by bridges",
      "the movie serves as a showcase for bridges . through his body language and demeanor , you can imagine the toll the years of wear and tear have inflicted .",
      "i 've said it once , and i 'll say it again ; farrell 's the real deal , and easily one of the best actors to come along in the last decade .",
      "deeply felt performances , great music and pitch-perfect detail make this a film to be cherished .",
      "this is a sad little story , told rather indulgently by the writer-director . bridges and gyllenhaal are superior to the film in which they appear .",
      "the songs are original , blues-fueled country tunes of love and loss that remind of 1970s gems from waylon jennings , written in a register that fits bridges ' low tone perfectly .",
      "jeff bridges ' consuming , complete performance ranks among the finest works of his considerable career .",
      "bridges has re-entered dude territory and crawled out the other side , ditching the dope , swapping the white russians for sour mash and his bowling ball for a guitar .",
      "what distinguishes writer-director scott cooper 's debut is his storytelling , affecting but never maudlin , and a fearless performance by bridges .",
      "gyllenhaal and bridges are marvelous together , playing their characters ' cautious affection for each other as an alluring winding path that 's actually laden with minefields .",
      "while years of vh-1 's ` behind the music ' and tmz have peeled away the mystique of celebrity musicians by showing the blemishes , warts and mishaps that come with fame , bridges still manages to make this take on a out of his luck entertainer seem fresh .",
      "jeff bridges finds the perfect vehicle for his lazy charm and bitter irony in the role of bad blake , a washed-up country star trying to climb out of the bottle and put his life back together .",
      "like the wrestler but with more heart , MOV delivers brilliant performances from both bridges and gyllenhaal .",
      "the question then -- and it 's been answered a million times before , but rarely with such scruffy , exacting eloquence -- is who is bad blake going to love more : the lady or the tequila ?",
      "like the songs blake sings , the story feels completely authentic and fully lived .",
      "writer/director scott cooper seems to recognize his film never draws us in emotionally , so he diverts our attention by focusing on his lead actor 's performance , very obviously the locus of his creative concentration .",
      "you 've seen MOV before -- many , many times , actually -- but it does n't much matter .",
      "first-time writer/director cooper is a rare talent ; he knows how to keep his story fine-boned and small , and to write a truly complex , troubled character who nonetheless enters our hearts ."
    ],
    "summary": "thanks to a captivating performance from jeff bridges , MOV transcends its overly familiar origins and finds new meaning in an old story .",
    "id": "770801608"
  },
  {
    "movie": "narc",
    "reviews": [
      "a good cop movie .",
      "a solid , hard-hitting , but not particularly original genre flick .",
      "marred only by a mildly disappointing ending , it 's a smart , hard-hitting drama .",
      "jason patric and ray liotta make for one splendidly cast pair .",
      "a truly great b movie .",
      "one of the harshest cop stories ever filmed .",
      "there are things to admire about MOV , but they 're individual things , not the movie as a whole .",
      "nothing particularly special or memorable - even the ` surprise ' at the end is n't especially surprising -- the film competently tells it tale .",
      "writer/director joe carnahan 's grimy crime drama is a manual of precinct cliches , but it moves fast enough to cover its clunky dialogue and lapses in logic .",
      "with gritty , in-your-face camera work , fast-paced cutting and energized performances , joe carnahan 's MOV brings new life to the time-worn police thriller .",
      "this may be the most uncompromisingly raw police drama since across 110th street , starring anthony quinn and yaphet kotto .",
      "this kind of film is an acquired taste , recommended for the terrific performances but with the warning that you may leave the theater feeling like you need a bath .",
      "smart script , believable story , lots of unanswered questions , none resolved in pat ` hollywood ' ways , great locations and set design , and good , dreary-looking , cinematography .",
      "un suspense policier ŕ la fois typique et modernisé .",
      "the best thing i can say about this film is that i ca n't wait to see what the director does next .",
      "this is an adults-only , down 'n' dirty whodunit .",
      "support is top notch across the board , with john ortiz -lrb- `` ali '' -rrb- most notable as octavio ruiz , a pantless crack addict who set his girlfriend 's hair on fire for giving him the clap who then goes on to profess his love for her",
      "its aggressive , unrelenting energy makes up for all the cop movie cliches",
      "if only MOV had its originality in check , this could have been more of a chilling visceral ride into depravity .",
      "a well-sustained allegory-cum-cop drama .",
      "it 's a stunner that sadly grows tiresome at the end .",
      "MOV is a no-bull throwback to 1970s action films . it zips along with b-movie verve while adding the rich details and go-for-broke acting that heralds something special .",
      "joe carnahan 's film smacks viewers alongside the head like a desperate junkie hunting down his fix money .",
      "the opening tests the limits of an r-rating , as a drug fueled cop chases down a criminal that has no regard for civilians or human life ...",
      "smacks viewers alongside the head like a desperate junkie hunting down his fix money .",
      "carnahan delivers a genre movie that turns in fresh ways without screaming to the audience that it is turning your head ...",
      "if you enjoy sitting down and watching a good story unfold in front of you then this would be a good film to watch .",
      "effective as both a visceral cop thriller and as an intriguing psychological study .",
      "MOV is gritty , involving , and tense enough to keep audiences riveted and paying close attention .",
      "carnahan ... revisits the crime drama , breathing new life into it with style and grit .",
      "the two leads , nearly perfect in their roles , bring a heart and reality that buoy the film , and at times , elevate it to a superior crime movie .",
      "MOV est un film extrжmement conventionnel dans son histoire , mais brille dans sa rжalisation , son atmosphуre et son style .",
      "sometimes it seems a director tries to pack in as much harsh footage as an r-rating will allow for its own sake . that itself is a violent act . the audience is the victim .",
      "does n't illuminate the world of the undercover agent or bring anything new to the table",
      "intense cop movie for adults .",
      "one of the best films of 2002 ...",
      "the stylish conviction of carnahan and his never-better leads make this familiar yarn worth caring about .",
      "as a director carnahan definitely has the goods ... unfortunately the script is your basic renegade-cop narrative , with the usual hoo-ha about justice versus the law .",
      "carnahan shows flair and confidence .",
      "if carnahan keeps wrenching this material back an inch or two from clichж , it 's only an inch or two .",
      "for a picture that 's billed as fresh and bracing , this is a pretty formulaic scheme , which carnahan attempts to jolt into life through jittery direction .",
      "puts the dirt back underneath the fingernails of a finely manicured hollywood .",
      "MOV is , without a doubt , the best cop movie since the french connection .",
      "fresh and raw like a blown-out vein , MOV takes a walking-dead , cop-flick subgenre and beats new life into it .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- authoritative , skillfully performed picture .",
      "filmed with such energy and bravado and boasts two performances by ray liotta and jason patric that are so impressive that it rises above its generic roots and becomes something that is very nearly powerful",
      "MOV is certainly alive before the conclusion , but once it hits , the film is reborn into a cynical and weary story of sins and hopes of the past coming to light .",
      "if it does not transcend its genre , at least is is a solid example of why that genre endures .",
      "it 's nothing more than an extra-gritty cop show , but it 's a competent one .",
      "carnahan 's script has intelligent complications and builds to a satisfying resolution , and he draws excellent performances from liotta -lrb- who has seldom been better -rrb- and patric -lrb- who has never -rrb- .",
      "it was filled with shootings , beatings , and more cussing than you could shake a stick at .",
      "somehow , writer/director joe carnahan has developed a style after his first atrocious film and has now turned out a gritty , compelling drama .",
      "in an era where big stars and high production values are standard procedure , MOV strikes a defiantly retro chord , and outpaces its contemporaries with daring and verve .",
      "the actors are all charged up by their roles , and it rubs off on us : you walk out with a caffeine - and-doughnut high .",
      "about the best thing you could say about MOV is that it 's a rock-solid little genre picture . whether you like it or not is basically a matter of taste .",
      "a live-wire film that never loses its ability to shock and amaze .",
      "exciting but brutal .",
      "nothing to hide here : MOV is the straight dope for gritty crime-story junkies .",
      "they 're just a couple of cops in copmovieland , these two , but in MOV , they find new routes through a familiar neighborhood .",
      "carnahan deserves credit for keeping gloom and hopelessness from getting dull .",
      "very well written and directed with brutal honesty and respect for its audience .",
      "over and over , every gesture and character in MOV summons up yet another movie .",
      "an entertaining , grimy view of the traps of machismo tucked inside a cop thriller .",
      "MOV may not be an exceptional cop film but it is a solid one , a tragedy of pervasive corruption in which honour is no more beneficial than deceit .",
      "... a well-built cop opera ...",
      "belies its low budget every step of the way with great writing , directing , acting , camera work and editing .",
      "it looks fantastic -lrb- none of that anonymous hollywood slickness here ! -rrb- , and with performances this interesting , it 's definitely a cut above almost everything else in the genre at the moment .",
      "... liotta is put in an impossible spot because his character 's deceptions ultimately undo him and the believability of the entire scenario . too bad .",
      "call it the badge on steroids and you wo n't be far off the mark .",
      "a realistically terrifying movie that puts another notch in the belt of the long list of renegade-cop tales .",
      "haggard police personnel , the riff raffish opportunists , the disoriented victims , colorful cop lingo and the stench of the hazardous surroundings give MOV its rousing element of sleazy adventure .",
      "a clever , thought-provoking thriller .",
      "heavy , sweating , ill-shaved , and wearing cheap suits , ray liotta 's oak is in that middle range of movie characters whom we both dislike yet are fascinated by .",
      "deflated ending aside , there 's much to recommend the film .",
      "in both style and story , MOV reinvigorates a tired genre with brute force .",
      "familiar story , electrifying execution .",
      "in the end , the movie collapses on its shaky foundation despite the best efforts of director joe carnahan .",
      "buries its riveting cop story beneath layers of standard plot devices . i guess you can say the best elements remain undercover .",
      "MOV can only remind us of brilliant crime dramas without becoming one itself .",
      "the movie 's writer and director , joe carnahan , brings a rough , aggressive energy to the picture .",
      "liotta put on 30 pounds for the role , and has completely transformed himself from his smooth , goodfellas image .",
      "there 's a sadness in -lsb- carnahan 's -rsb- vision , not just violence , and we feel a connection with these people on a human level , and a gratefulness , too .",
      "you think you know where this is going , but it constantly veers off in directions you 'd never guess - they took an ordinary police story and cranked it up a notch .",
      "despite the pyrotechnics , MOV is strictly by the book .",
      "there 's an absolute professionalism on display that displaces the usual cheap look of an independent production and opens your eyes to the realization that you may be witnessing the birth of a career here .",
      "writer-director joe carnahan 's visceral , hyperkinetic style mainlines you right into the story -- it 's sort of like being pistol-whipped .",
      "carnahan works with a rough-hewn classicism that recalls the tenacity and resilience of hollywood in its glory days .",
      "a riveting profile of law enforcement , and a visceral , nasty journey into an urban hades .",
      "the movie fairly bristles -- with degraded-image '70s grit ... handheld hysteria , thickly profane dialogue , abject bloodletting , and post-method performances .",
      "performances all around are tops , with the two leads delivering oscar-caliber performances .",
      "... crisp and stylish writing and direction by joe carnahan , who pays homage to the gritty police dramas of the 1970s",
      "when MOV works , it works because of the conviction of its leads .",
      "so brutal , cynical and just plain not nice it makes training day seem like police academy 6 .",
      "very well produced , acted , directed and shot with a 70 's cop , bluish cinemagraphic feel , but -lrb- on a subjective level -rrb- `` MOV '' ultimately offers little thematically .",
      "imressive , gripping cop thriller with terrific performances from its two stars .",
      "the story and characters are nowhere near gripping enough .",
      "it 's exciting to witness fresh talent breaking , and carnahan deserves some serious respect for this impressively gritty piece of genre cinema .",
      "dark cop drama is a sharp shock of cinematic skill , powerhouse acting , '70s style and the evil that men do .",
      "from its harrowing opening , right through to the shocking finale , MOV is bleak and relentless but fans of police dramas from both tv and the 70s should n't miss it .",
      "the twist that ends the movie is the one with the most emotional resonance , but twists are getting irritating , and this is the kind of material where the filmmakers should be very careful about raising eyebrows .",
      "MOV is n't bad , but it 's also nothing too far removed from the usual cops 'n' robbers fare that passes through the multiplexes on a regular basis .",
      "opening with a chase scene that 's real heart-in - your-mouth stuff , the movie barely ever lets up -- it 's exciting almost to the point of being exhausting .",
      "as MOV , / i > builds in momentum , becoming anything but what we expected , it deserves credit for being one of the few captivating and original cop films of recent memory .",
      "ferociously gritty and unsentimentally tough , joe carnahan 's movie is drenched with a cynicism that permeates the celluloid itself .",
      "the acting is outstanding -- ray liotta is as good as he has ever been , jason patric is notably better .",
      "liotta is a hot prospect for this year 's supporting-actor oscar .",
      "a cop movie that refuses to cop out in the usual way .",
      "MOV is n't the great movie the gifted carnahan probably has in him , but it 's a great cop b-movie .",
      "the film grabs you by the collar from the opening scene and hardly lets go .",
      "the film may be bloody , but it still has depth and honesty .",
      "grimly entertaining .",
      "sacramento filmmaker joe carnahan grabs viewers by the throat .",
      "see this one for acting and atmosphere .",
      "MOV is a good showcase for its writer/director carnahan and he elicits striking performances from his stars .",
      "an absolutely riveting crime drama ... an exhilarating ride that will leave you exhausted and satisfied .",
      "a rogue-cop drama with such robust performances and realistic grit that its flirtation with clichés hardly matters .",
      "jason patric , an actor who has mastered the art of giving an understated portrayal , is riveting .",
      "an inevitable showdown between two men who do n't know how to blink .",
      "MOV is a gritty cop movie for people who like gritty cop movies .",
      "feels like an r-rated episode of nypd blue , with its only real distinction being that neither nick nor henry are characters we 're particularly attached to .",
      "has true grittiness , but the plot 's a little murky and the characters a little too familiar .",
      "MOV may not get an ` a ' for originality , but it wears its b-movie heritage like a badge of honor .",
      "this **** is the bomb . it belongs in the same company as the gritty '70s police dramas made by william friedkin , sidney lumet and al pacino .",
      "joe carnahan and his players manage to synchronize their story to the primal drumbeat of cruelty , keeping it tense and edgy to the last frame .",
      "it 's a triumph of style over substance , but that 's not necessarily a bad thing .",
      "the director is helped in no small part by his leading men .",
      "this is a dark , depressing , excessively violent , profusely profane film , not for the squeamish or anyone who likes elevating entertainment .",
      "a showcase for two talented actors and -lsb- joe -rsb- carnahan 's technical wizardry , MOV is welcome entry in a tired genre .",
      "a chokehold of a movie , grabbing us but not ultimately engaging us .",
      "as two of the most unlikeliest of partners , liotta and patric manage to be a perfect match ...",
      "` una verdadera recomendaciзn que lamentablemente durз muy poco en pantalla , por lo que no se la pueden perder en video '",
      "carnahan is n't breaking new ground , but he has administered an astoundingly visceral shot of adrenaline to the police-procedural genre .",
      "a cрmera nervosa , a fotografia melancзlica e as interpretaушes realistas de liotta e patric conferem a MOV uma intensidade que nada deixa a desejar com relaусo aos clрssicos policiais dos anos 70 .",
      "as a whole , carnahan does neat work with visuals .",
      "finesse is certainly at a premium in MOV . what we get is brute force and a whopping load of testosterone .",
      "working his lead actors into a frenzy , carnahan infuses the film with an energetic texture that calls to mind the works of quentin tarantino .",
      "a stylistic throwback to such classic 1970s cop dramas as the french connection and serpico , with a 21st century helping of the old ultra-violence .",
      "joe carnahan 's MOV may not reinvent the cop flick , but it definitely reinvigorates it .",
      "equally served by its acting and filmmaking , MOV is pure template , an absolute example of how a cop film should be .",
      "the movie works dramatically right up until the end .",
      "MOV is fast , brutal and a lot smarter than it at first appears to be .",
      "a few artsy flourishes aside , MOV is as gritty as a movie gets these days .",
      "ray liotta and jason patric do some of their best work in their underwritten roles , but do n't be fooled : nobody deserves any prizes here .",
      "MOV is all menace and atmosphere .",
      "a cop story that understands the medium amazingly well .",
      "jason patric as the sympathetic hero who is tough enough to do the right thing in extreme circumstances , throwing personal consequences to the wind , is quite good .",
      "carnahan keeps patric 's repressed guilt and desperation from slipping into somnambulism and keeps liotta 's manic energy organic to his character 's rage .",
      "a solid piece of entertainment crafted from familiar elements .",
      "an empty exercise , a florid but ultimately vapid crime melodrama with lots of surface flash but little emotional resonance .",
      "carnahan , aided by cinematographer alex nepomniaschy , relies more on the propulsive tension of macho mayhem and carnage , indicated by quick cuts , split-screen , frenetic handheld shots and emotional eruptions , than a linear story line ."
    ],
    "summary": "jason patric and ray liotta are electrifying in this gritty , if a little too familiar , cop drama .",
    "id": "13954"
  },
  {
    "movie": "anonymous_2011",
    "reviews": [
      "a glorious revelation of a film that could very well be considered roland emmerich 's moulin rouge !",
      "shakespeare himself would probably love it . he did write twelfth night , for goodness sake .",
      "historians are already calling MOV preposterous humbug , but i found it a complex cornucopia of ideas and panache . you go away sated .",
      "other than ludicrously pulpy fun , MOV , true to its title , ultimately signifies nothing .",
      "few could ever have predicted that emmerich would be the man to bring the oxfordian theory of shakespeare authorship to the screen",
      "MOV winds through a thick registry of lords and earls taking sides in various revolts and coups , and a playbill of shakespeare 's jealous theater peers . it 's tough to keep track of who is getting beheaded or dragged to the tower of london .",
      "a disappointing , over-stuffed and frequently dull drama with dreadful dialogue , dodgy performances , an uneven tone and a poorly structured script .",
      "by and large it 's a comedy of errors , but not as shakespeare intended it .",
      "think of it as a high-end christmas panto , as a red-faced , enthusiastic cast are put through the paces by their barking , domineering director . louder , faster , bigger , more !",
      "this period drama turns an academic dispute into absurd entertainment .",
      "all in all the dreary script creates a glass ceiling that the film could never bust through , more laugh-inducing than controversy-inspiring .",
      "there are plenty of reasons to hate MOV , but its biggest crime by far is that it is just one more example of the gradual dumbing-down of the world that we live in .",
      "a shapeless muddle , with a handful of good scenes adrift in a sea of general mediocrity .",
      "from the man who brought you godzilla and 2012 ... a loud and ludicrous historical rewrite about the supposed hidden authorship of shakespeare 's plays",
      "shakespeare in blah . playful premise , weak script . palace intrigue that is n't intriguing .",
      "that 's right : i come to praise emmerich , not to bury him .",
      "at its conclusion not everything is entirely clear , but enough pieces fall into place to leave a feeling of satisfaction .",
      "the largely british cast strive gamely to salvage a film that takes itself far too seriously .",
      "disaster filmmeister roland emmerich meets shakespeare : behold , bard-zilla is nigh !",
      "there 's absolutely nothing pleasurable about this self-serious and remarkably stupid drama .",
      "the more far-fetched the idea , it seems , the more strenuous the effort to pass it off as authentic .",
      "it fails on its own merits as a messy biopic and even messier historical epic whose authenticity becomes irrelevant when its execution is incompetent .",
      "blends broad comedy , bloody action , heart-wrenching romance and dark dealings into a movie that dashes headlong from start to finish ... a surprisingly satisfying film .",
      "it 's more of an interesting curio to a blockbuster career but there 's fun to be had here if you look hard enough .",
      "even though emmerich is working with ostensibly more refined material here , the ham-handed touch of the man who gave us the day after tomorrow ... is felt quite heavily throughout .",
      "emmerich takes the story at face value and delivers a film unlike any of his others . that is to say , a boring one .",
      "this is high camp , nothing more .",
      "the defenestration of one of england 's greatest dramatists by one of germany 's poorest .",
      "all the fixins for a convoluted , costume drama of , dare i say it , shakespearean proportions .",
      "a well-polished cowpat that will confuse and bore those who know nothing about shakespeare and incense those who know almost anything .",
      "audiences may chuckle . stratfordians , prepare for conniptions .",
      "as silly as most of this is , MOV is undeniably a handsome picture . the costumes are gorgeous , with enough velvet and brocade to make everybody seem downright upholstered .",
      "there are great moments in MOV , from its arresting opening scene ... to recreations of the first performances ever given of henry v and hamlet before a spellbound throng of groundlings ...",
      "take the political intrigue of elizabeth , add the backstage drama of shakespeare in love , and divide by the adherence to fact and logic that propelled 2012 and the day after tomorrow .",
      "the coolest element of the whole thing is probably the way the movie ties art -lrb- specifically those plays -rrb- and politics together .",
      "MOV strives to be boring , emmerich attempting to deliver performance-first directing , but ending up with string of flat , sloth-paced back-and-forths .",
      "MOV may not convince anyone , but it certainly should entertain them .",
      "like vermin , facts here are banished / logic dispelled , plain motives all vanished ...",
      "uneven drama questions shakespeare 's identity .",
      "if you are looking for something more intellectual , and certainly more accurate in its portrayal of a rich period in english history , you will have to go elsewhere .",
      "bombastic claptrap .",
      "es saludable que el director roland emmerich haya decidido cambiar de género ; anónimo es lo más interesante que haya hecho en toda su carrera ... lo cual , pensándolo bien , no es un gran mérito .",
      "roland emmerich 's lurid , pulpy approach is n't subtle , but it suits the material , since this is presented as a controversial exposé .",
      "fairly absorbing in an alternately classy and salaciously trashy way that operates not too unlike emmerich 's popcorn entertainers .",
      "do n't let the fact that it 's different - or unadulterated bullshit of the highest order - put you off a story that , in truth , is more interesting than it is wholly entertaining or accurate .",
      "it may be one of the signs of the apocalypse , but thanks to a well-written screenplay , spot-on performances , and a fantastic production design , emmerich has finally made a great film .",
      "roland emmerich takes a questionable literary controversy and deftly forms it into an elizabethan political drama in the shakespeare-themed ` MOV ' .",
      "bad history beautifully done .",
      "... it 's ultimately clear that emmerich should stick to the larger-than-life , blockbuster fare with which he 's become associated .",
      "the director offers up an unfocused but intriguing alternate look at william shakespeare .",
      "MOV is poignant and shocking by turns , while maintaining an entertaining pace .",
      "emmerich delivers an interesting argument and has created an entertaining film .",
      "a handsomely staged and decidedly straight-ahead costume drama under roland emmerich 's nearly cgi-free direction .",
      "in the end , the film is watchable mainly because the plot is so outrageously contentious .",
      "roland emmerich 's meticulously crafted and often well-acted exposé of the `` real '' william shakespeare is shocking only in that it is rather good .",
      "MOV is , at the very least , a curiosity , one with some clever casting and a very fine performance at its core .",
      "surprisingly , this is easily director roland emmerich 's best film .",
      "emmerich takes on the bard , as you like it !",
      "i have to give special mention to actor edward hogg , who apparently thought he was playing count rugen in `` the princess bride . ''",
      "MOV leaves us longing that -lsb- its scenario -rsb- is incorrect , if only for the fact that the popular view of shakespeare 's authorship is at least an interesting one .",
      "you know you 're in trouble when it takes well over an hour to figure out that the two on-screen figures you 've been watching are actually playing the same character forty years apart .",
      "MOV proves that emmerich is more than capable outside of the disaster genre . he just bit off more than he can chew , as is his tendency .",
      "to accurately and intelligently follow MOV , you need a copy of burke 's peerage .",
      "the very qualities that fuel the historical hokum of MOV -- over-the-top royal intrigue and incest , violent literary backstabbing , frothing conspiracy -- also happen to make for wild entertainment .",
      "i remained confused about the characters and their stories throughout but enjoyed the production value very much .",
      "this movie is lurid fun that is much smarter than it has any business being .",
      "calling MOV roland emmerich 's masterpiece ranks high on the list of most meaningless claims of 2011 . but it 's true .",
      "any hope of emmerich and writer orloff putting together a coherent argument is destroyed by muddled narrative .",
      "MOV premises edward 's manhood partly on his sexual prowess and partly on his poetry , but it loses sight of the latter 's allusions and intrigues , and instead falls in love with its own most obvious sensations .",
      "o germanos megalokatastrofologos prepei na peripoioyntan th senariakh idea toy john orloff kapoy gia 8 xronia , kai se ayta h arxikh eksetash mias logias ypotheshs , phre emprepws tudor-ianes diastaseis eksoysiastikhs intrigkas",
      "handsome , inconsequential `` investigation '' into the political and theatrical life of elizabethan england makes a mystery of history .",
      "what 's distressing is n't the film 's plodding incoherence or wild-eyed credulousness but its misplaced priority : it suggests that what 's most interesting about this writer we call shakespeare is not the genius of his words but the puzzle of his identity .",
      "it did n't have me rethinking history , but for those two hours , it was entertaining enough . i do n't know if that will be enough for emmerich and this `` what if ? ''",
      "it 's easy to get lost in the facial-hair thicket of actors , earls , lords , roberts , thomases and cecils , and the movie 's jarring leaps across the years often make things even more challenging to follow .",
      "a wonderful hypothetical about the identity of william shakespeare , MOV is incredibly credible , a story of intrigue and facades .",
      "arguing over who really penned hamlet is a little bit like arguing with a christian over who wrote the bible . it all comes down to faith . still , the movie is as entertaining as it is cluttered .",
      "the whole thing is splendidly decked out and dramatised with swirling panache .",
      "emmerich steps out of his comfort zone to offer a beguiling picture of elizabethan london and a neatly balanced tale of political intrigue and personal heartache .",
      "slickly told , mildly diverting but ultimately fraudulent .",
      "full of so many soap opera twists and turns you would have thought shakespeare or aaron spelling came up with the plot .",
      "apart from these few light moments , MOV is a case of ingenuity wasted on an unintelligent enterprise .",
      "though the cast is energetic and the intrigues diverting , you 'll have to distance yourself from reality to enjoy so much outlandish scheming .",
      "do n't let the frilly costumes , courtly language and historical pretense fool you : `` MOV '' is still a roland emmerich movie - a blessing when it comes to vigor and a curse when it comes to subtlety , proportion or sense .",
      "`` MOV '' is a thoroughly entertaining load of eye candy with solid performances , even if john orloff 's exposition-heavy script practically requires a concordance to follow at times .",
      "if you can ignore the inaccuracies , jumbled chronology and the often clunky dialogue , emmerich 's film is a surprisingly entertaining costume romp , ripely acted , vividly realised , and full of all the mud , blood , sex and violence the period can offer .",
      "why is emmerich , destroyer of worlds , elbowing his way into the conversation about shakespearean authorship ? because the debate is explosive -- and he ca n't resist packing on more dynamite",
      "so disappointingly dopey that it 's unworthy of anyone 's time .",
      "roland emmerich destroys things for a living . why not the reputation of a man who lacked the imagination to blow up the sistine chapel ?",
      "it 's shakespeare as b-movie , if you will , or to borrow from the bard , a boffo blast , which i 'm pretty sure is from either `` king lear '' or `` hamlet . ''",
      "as the bard probably would not say , MOV is some crazy shit .",
      "it is entertainingly bizarre : like seeing a whole film asserting that salieri must have written the music attributed to that moronic yobbo mozart .",
      "in a movie that rings false at every turn , ms. redgrave 's elizabeth is truly and infallibly regal .",
      "MOV is no more or less far-fetched than emmerich 's prior efforts . but it is much , much more confusing .",
      "the behind the camera crew ... do a fine job in setting and maintaining the period feel . too bad the story by john orloff falls short of the production by muddling an intriguing concept .",
      "emmerich 's name is forever associated with bloated spectacle like `` the day after tomorrow . '' here , he finally uses his powers for good , creating a vast , virtual 16th-century world without sacrificing human details like de vere 's ink-stained fingers .",
      "a strange combination of garbled history and woozy period political melodrama that tries unsuccessfully to treat shakespeare in the way ` amadeus ' did mozart .",
      "it 's geeky forgettable fun for shakespeare nerds with a suitable sense of the absurd , but possibly a bit dull for emmerich 's usual fanbase .",
      "a remarkably restrained and complex film that explores the power that popular entertainment has to embed ideological ideas into the minds of the audiences who consume it .",
      "roland emmerich is the doyen of historically inaccurate disasterpieces , the pre-eminent cinematic misinterpreter of scientific theories , and the gullible go-to-guy when it comes to half-baked conspiracy thrillers . MOV is -lsb- his -rsb- ` perfect storm ' .",
      "` MOV ' a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing .",
      "shakespeare 's work proves that imagination is more important than fact - MOV stumbles badly while trying the opposite approach .",
      "emmerich can keep track of hurtling cars and crumbling buildings , but distinguishing between one scruffy elizabethan and another is apparently beyond him .",
      "what sinks it is the pervading sense that emmerich wants us to take it seriously .",
      "MOV is fun -- if you take the anti-shakespearean tale as events set in an unreal , alternate universe .",
      "MOV is earnest , high-camp and regularly ridiculous , but it 's also a fun and gripping adventure for lovers of stagecraft or tudor mystery .",
      "overlong , labyrinthine and most certainly speculative in its history , `` MOV '' benefits from a central conceit that is too intriguing to be dismissed .",
      "MOV might be riper than a month-old plum , but it 's every bit as juicy .",
      "a vulgar prank on the english literary tradition , a travesty of british history and a brutal insult to the human imagination . apart from that , it 's not bad .",
      "directed with the usual sledgehammer hand of actioneer roland emmerich , the purple prose of the elizabethan poet is mauled into the blue balls of queen elizabeth 's suitors as the not-so-virgin queen reigns supreme in the halls of shame .",
      "it offers a ludicrously reductionist view of england 's greatest writer , william shakespeare , and a grotesquely offensive portrait of its most celebrated monarch , elizabeth i.",
      "... other than ifans ' soulful , weathered performance all that 's really notable is emmerich 's backdrops .",
      "an intriguing look at tudor england and the bard who caught the spirit of the times and the heights and depths of the human adventure .",
      "historians will quibble with the timing and accuracy of a lot of the film , and you know what ? let them . the rest of us can enjoy the performances and the sumptuous look of the movie , which is a lot more satisfying , anyway .",
      "as literary conspiracy theories go , this is a long way from cheese and wine in the english faculty lounge .",
      "about the time i realized a character i had been thinking was named edward was really named robert , i realized something else : i no longer cared about any of these pantalooned drips .",
      "do n't go into roland emmerich 's MOV expecting some kind of enlightenment",
      "though far-fetched , this celebration of storytelling is an exhilarating and visually lavish thrill ride .",
      "though MOV is historical hogwash of the highest order , it is never less than highly entertaining .",
      "MOV is a fun costume drama , and one of emmerich 's better films .",
      "as a nail-biting thriller of court intrigue , lies , and rebellion , i would be forced to admit that , yes , lisy christl 's costume designs are really pretty good . i 'm drawing a blank on anything else .",
      "call it the anti-shakespeare in love . call it the more cultured cousin to inglourious basterds . just do n't call MOV a fact-based story .",
      "bereft of comedy , MOV is the cinematic equivalent of limp celery . it 's crying out for a crisp rewrite from the bard himself but alas , poor yawners , all we get is fakespeare .",
      "perhaps there is an element of truth in this tale but director roland emmerich makes it very hard to believe with this muddled story .",
      "the loud , overwrought MOV is an affront to the richness and beauty of shakespeare 's work -- no matter who really wrote it .",
      "will shakespeare , whose words shine on , bright and brave , is turning o'er with laughter in his grave .",
      "the film presents an interesting argument , but did n't entirely convince me .",
      "i felt absolutely drawn along in this film . i had a really boisterous , elizabethan good time .",
      "emmerich 's mirthless hatchet job is hoisted with its own petard .",
      "it is , at the very least , a curiosity , one with some clever casting and a few very fine performances at its core .",
      "in trying to make a bio-pic of shakespearean proportions , MOV ca n't help but look like a fraud .",
      "by attempting to weave the fancies of the oxfordians into a coherent narrative , MOV does highlight the over-the-top melodrama inherent in anti-stratfordianism itself .",
      "a messy , often goofy , and very occasionally entertaining melodrama from roland emmerich .",
      "MOV , far from ascending the brightest heaven of invention , is a muddled , often confusing film , unable to mesh its political and theatrical plotlines . worse , it undermines its own argument by cramming in too many fanciful possibilities .",
      "scholarly debate about the shakespeare authorship question has little to do with this tale told by an idio ... syncratic moviemaker up to little more than mischief .",
      "books have been written to argue that de vere , earl of oxford , is the true author of shakespeare 's work , and if this subject interests you at all , you 're better off sticking with one of those .",
      "a fortnight is about how long it will take you to sort out ... an absurdly structured movie that could have benefited from an iron and a volume knob .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- tale told by an idiot , full of sound and fury , signifying nothing ... this is a sordid movie : not the good , juicy sort of sordid , but the dreary and depressing sort of sordid .",
      "if convolution where compliments , MOV would be one highly flattered film .",
      "what 's disappointing about MOV is that it is n't dumb enough . rather than plunging merrily ahead with its fanciful counternarrative , the movie keeps stopping to actually , seriously make its case -- to posit and explain and persuade .",
      "as historical entertainment , it is bracing in its twists and turns . as a tribute to the power of words and the beauty of language in the hands of a genius , it is superb",
      "knowing that non-masterpiece theater audiences will grow fidgety over this sort of thing , emmerich and orloff throw in plenty of sword-fighting , bear-baiting , and bodice-ripping .",
      "the digitally wrought period settings are simply gorgeous .",
      "this is irresistible as self-knowing camp : the players ham it up in high fashion and the script crams at least one lurid revelation into every scene .",
      "john orloff 's screenplay could have used a rewrite by de vere -- or whomever .",
      "bountiful in look and scandal yet convoluted in plot and historical validity , MOV tries to be a serious work of art but does n't have the credibility or filmmaking discipline needed to present its wild conspiracy theories .",
      "convoluted at worst and confusing at best , MOV looks pretty and is for the most part competently acted , but it 's not shakespeare . not by a mile .",
      "emmerich can say what he likes , but i would rather go read whomever wrote the great folio .",
      "`` MOV '' is ridiculous , and like oliver stone 's `` jfk '' it sells its political conspiracy theories by weight and by volume . but dull , it 's not .",
      "it 's as dull as it is brainless , the work of creators who 've spent far more time concocting silly stories about shakespeare than learning from him .",
      "much ado about nothing , indeed .",
      "MOV is so dubious in its intent and so tangled in its execution , it might have worked better as a comedy like notting hill or the boat that rocked , where ifans could agreeably play the fool as before .",
      "a splendid experience : the dialogue , the acting , the depiction of london , the lust , jealousy and intrigue .",
      "this deeply dopey travesty 's worst instincts are nearly its only entertaining ones .",
      "it 's a weird feeling to be bored by a roland emmerich feature .",
      "oliver stone 's jfk looks reasonable compared to this .",
      "dubious history aside , MOV is a well-acted yarn that also is a tribute to the unstoppable force of art -- even if it implies that only an aristocrat could create it .",
      "as the initial whiff of scandal eventually gives way to great , repetitive blubbering about the brilliance and significance of shakespeare 's works , `` MOV '' ultimately feels like much ado about nothing .",
      "a tale worthy of a shakespeare play in its own right when not more suited for the enquirer , the film is striking to behold . but a great deal longer than it needs to be , tossing in homicidal swordplay , vintage boy toys and kinky inbred royal closet lust .",
      "what must not be forgotten is this is an entertaining piece of imaginary work in itself - as suggested by the opening prologue by derek jacobi .",
      "an opulent 16th century costume drama that serves as a far-fetched , alternative-history curiousity , continuing the mystery .",
      "the film may piss off more viewers than it wins over , but there 's no denying that MOV has balls the size of the globe theatre .",
      "... disappointing , overly long , convoluted , confusing , and fatuous , exacerbated by the depiction of queen elizabeth i as a profligate slut .",
      "this film is not really about promoting an alternate theory of authorship so much as presenting an intriguing -lrb- if unlikely -rrb- scenario and seeing how it would play out . it makes for a ripping good story , whether or not it 's factual .",
      "power , betrayal , incest and the theatre are the red-hot ingredients of this intriguing and potentially explosive costume drama . . my lament ... is the jumbled , convoluted storyline",
      "the american screenwriter john orloff may have wished for a muse of fire , but unfortunately he 's been given an ear of cloth , and his film would hardly pass muster as a sixth-form end-of-term romp .",
      "file this one in the category of entertaining historical fiction . there are facts here , but one must possess more than a passing familiarity with history to be able to spot them .",
      "creaking narrative construction succumbs to gigantic cracks of exposition and a maze of disjointed flashbacks in roland emmerich 's disastrous attempt at demystifying the identity of the bard ."
    ],
    "summary": "roland emmerich delivers his trademark visual and emotional bombast , but the more MOV stops and tries to convince the audience of its half-baked theory , the less convincing it becomes .",
    "id": "771207996"
  },
  {
    "movie": "frances_ha_2013",
    "reviews": [
      "shot in inky black and white and bristling with performances that feel captured on the fly , baumbach 's best film since 2005 's the squid and the whale is both a nod and a throwback to the french new wave .",
      "MOV is likely going to appear as one of baumbach 's most accessible and joyous works ... it marks an exciting new period in the filmmaker 's oeuvre and one that will hopefully yield many more collaborations with the endearing ... greta gerwig .",
      "the movie 's almost too charming first half-hour gives no clue as to how dark it 's going to grow once frances 's exuberance curdles into drunken loudness and naked need , and she turns into the kind of overbearing new yorker who can clear a room fast .",
      "nothing really happens in `` MOV '' and yet the film takes us on an emotional journey .",
      "for all of gerwig 's energy , there 's not much forward momentum here , apart from a series of transitional apartments .",
      "here -lsb- baumbach has -rsb- found the sweet spot between being personal and taking everything personally .",
      "spot-on , exquisitely crafted portrait of a floundering 20-something .",
      "baumbach 's acerbic wit seems to have been diluted by the watery gerwig , who seems to have no flavor whatsoever ... like viewing the outtakes from a movie you do n't want to see .",
      "an exhilarating black-and-white new york seriocomedy from noah baumbach with a stellar star turn by co-writer greta gerwig .",
      "you got ta love greta gerwig : even as the radiant mumblecore star 's hollywood stock continues to rise , the actress remains true to her dramatic roots .",
      "brilliantly directed and beautifully shot , this is an utterly delightful , warm-hearted and very funny comedy with a wonderful script and a terrific central performance from greta gerwig .",
      "despite gerwig 's natural appeal and talent as a performer , frances ' self-absorption and flakiness begin to grate .",
      "when is a film a throwaway sketch that 's so good it 's frameable ? when it 's MOV .",
      "much of the reason why MOV is a far more well-crafted and enjoyable piece of cinema than either lola versus or damels in distress .",
      "in your twenties you decide on the final version of you . sophie is working on it ; frances is stuck in her crazy , clueless , ca n't - pay-the-rent stage .",
      "the story becomes chaotic and disjointed , but that 's the point : frances is tumbling towards her 30s with no sense of direction and this is where gerwig excels , deftly pulling you along on a bumpy ride .",
      "baumbach and gerwig have co-written a film about the point when spontaneous , giddy arrested adolescence ceases to be endearing and threatens to be annoying .",
      "anchored by a charming performance from greta gerwig , it 's as light and breezy as a walk in central park , and just as refreshing .",
      "a joyous portrait of an unformed personality that should strike chords of recognition in all who watch it .",
      "MOV could be the post-college-angst comedy of the ' 10s . this is what happens when mumblecore grows up and turns into a real movie .",
      "like gerwig 's performance , it 's natural , it 's realistic , perfectly believable .",
      "noah baumbach 's film feels like too perfect a portrait of quarter-life malady , down to the rushed redemptive endnotes and greta gerwig 's idealized heroine .",
      "greta gerwig makes `` hapless '' a happening and hip way to be .",
      "frances is an artist whose medium is life itself , and baumbach , his camera open with calm adoration , channels her waves of wonder and possibility .",
      "baumbach has a hard time letting go of the notion that drama means building to humiliation . when he does , though , MOV is beautiful and surprising .",
      "-lsb- video essay -rsb- noah baumbach officially takes over woody allen 's mantle as new york 's representative auteur of quirky romantic comedy .",
      "greta gerwig 's charismatic performance elevates baumbach 's serio comedy way above its modest nature and scale .",
      "a major leap upward for both baumbach and gerwig . disarming , funny and genuine , in spite of the new york city backdrop .",
      "blessedly more interested with being funny and relatable than it is with trying to make pretentious statement about generational or societal detachment .",
      "it gives you two choices : find it delightful or do n't : there is no unique , self-guided option . as frustrating as that conundrum may be , it 's still hard not to take option one .",
      "the comic misadventures of a quirky young woman who falls down seven times but gets up eight .",
      "... an agreeably easygoing piece of work that benefits greatly from gerwig 's consistently engaging performance ...",
      "the near-incomparable greta gerwig gives frances a fire , an exuberance , and a three-dimensional uniqueness that ensures the viewer never sways from her side .",
      "i 'm not sure what noah baumbach 's MOV is about , which is one reason i like it so much .",
      "a perky cinematic pick-me-up starring the endearing greta gerwig who co-wrote the screenplay with director noah baumbach , her boyfriend .",
      "gerwig 's last jaunt to europe was in woody allen 's feeble and disjointed to rome with love , and even allen himself might acknowledge that here she is despatched across the atlantic in a far more successful cause .",
      "MOV might well strike some viewers as ridiculously twee and tiresomely indulgent to its immature heroine . not me , though . i 'm happy to be enchanted .",
      "noah baumbach and greta gerwig have carved out , with effortless elegance and ease , a cinematic space for a woman to be , unapologetically , herself .",
      "this film may look like one of those annoyingly mannered independent films , with its wacky young cast and arty-farty black and white photography , but it 's actually a fresh , smart and very funny comedy .",
      "it 's a likable movie , with some nice moments of both comedy and pathos , and beautifully shot , but for me the reverence for its heroine was not completely earned , and the arrowhead was missing : the decisive jab of satire , of insight , of love .",
      "frances is only adequate as a dancer but her enthusiasm bridges the gap between aspiration and ability . she deserves an a for effort . the film gets one for attainment .",
      "an unlikely feelgood crowd-pleaser - MOV is sweet , funny , darling and almost unbearably lovely . and thankfully , everyone enunciates .",
      "MOV both acknowledges and earns its place in the tradition of the new york bourgeois comedy , encoding the angst of social mores in witty dialogue . make no mistake : the cinematic slacker has come of age .",
      "it 's the mark of a good film when it 's so simple you can sum it up in a sentence , and so deep you 're still digging into it hours , even days after the credits roll . that 's MOV .",
      "inspired by gerwig 's spontaneity , and scripted to cultivate it , the movie does turn up some occasional stilted line readings here and there , but periodic awkwardness also is shrewdly elemental to its charm .",
      "sweet without being saccharine and wrenching without being devastating . MOV is a film of many small surprises , but they contain big , satisfying rewards .",
      "one of the happiest sights you 'll see all summer is a montage of gerwig running and twirling across chinatown with david bowie 's `` modern love '' on the soundtrack .",
      "the camera loves her . probably because the director does , too .",
      "gerwig draws upon her well of previously-demonstrated charisma , her ample capacity for twerpitude refined , honed , elevated .",
      "the thoughtfulness and commitment of gerwig 's performance in its shifts from chaotic exuberance to rigorous rehearsal suggest that she is the more interesting artist to watch .",
      "gerwig superbly incarnates the contradictions of this insecure woman .",
      "-lrb- gerwig 's -rrb- willingness to hold absolutely nothing back deserves mad respect and ca n't help but make a viewer feel guilty for finding it all quite exasperating .",
      "game and not a self-promoting booster , always slightly outside the loop , the title character accepts what is dealt without complaint or anger .",
      "gerwig , beyond a doubt , is immeasurably appealing , and MOV is tailor-made to showcase her gifts better than anything she 's ever been in .",
      "... if you hold your nose and simply wallow through the stench of self-aggrandizement , you 'll be rewarded with an experience that will actually tug on your emotions .",
      "there 's a thin line between comedy and tragedy , and greta gerwig walks it remarkably well .",
      "there 's depth and realism in the way MOV shows aspiration versus reality .",
      "a celebration of cinema , new york city and the distinctive charms of actress greta gerwig , MOV was co-written by gerwig and its director , noah baumbach , and it 's the best film either has made .",
      "baumbach usually builds his films around difficult protagonists , but frances is entirely endearing , at once silly and deep , hopeless and promising .",
      "this is an odd film -lrb- creepier than it knows -rrb- , and even if you feel the atmospheric company of dunham-ism , with a little of whit stillman , henry jaglom , and woody allen , the core influence on noah baumbach 's film is fifty years older or more .",
      "` i ca n't account for my own bruises , ' frances says , as if she were a clumsy kid with an adult 's vocabulary . does the remark refer to more than the abrasions on her skin ?",
      "there 's a level of audacity beneath the lightweight whimsy in this unassuming low-budget comedy .",
      "`` MOV makes a star out of gerwig , and she 's the kind of star we need : a goofy one we can feel tender about but never underestimate . ''",
      "ms. gerwig , who has effortless , behind-the-beat verbal timing , also possesses a knack for physical comedy , an enviable ability to obliterate the difference between clumsiness and grace .",
      "indie darling gerwig has a great deal to do with the picture 's success : she 's disarmingly likable ...",
      "MOV is a sympathetic but not uncritical depiction of a girl 's gradual evolution into a woman ; one that never condescends by forcing her to abandon all her quirks and impish qualities in the final act ... an absolute delight , this is .",
      "MOV is a refreshingly contemporary film , exploring 20-something hipster ennui with accuracy , empathy and humour .",
      "agreeable low-budget modern-day urban comedy .",
      "it 's a tribute to gerwig 's performance , somehow both clumsy and elegant , that she wins us over despite ourselves , that we come to appreciate her aimlessness in a goal-oriented society ...",
      "as long as you remember to laugh , MOV is a tolerable experience . forget the `` ha ha '' and MOV is beyond unbearable . i found this an odd and often frustrating truth , but it 's what makes noah baumbach 's new movie a success .",
      "do n't be fooled by frances with all her feigned insecurity and branding of herself as `` undateable '' and predicting she 'll be a lonely spinster . she 's a psychopath .",
      "gerwig keeps you on side and rooting for frances to get her act together in what becomes an affectionate salute to messy lives , an endearing underachiever and a new york state of mind .",
      "a refreshing amount of buoyancy to dance and charm its way through quarter-life crisis territory . one of the best performances of greta gerwig 's career to date",
      "gerwig 's deft screwball timing turns every disaster into a grace note . this may be a comedy of awkwardness , but rather than curl , your toes will tap .",
      "noah baumbach , making his most compassionate movie since 2005 's the squid and the whale , gives these lives the full french new wave/mid-period woody allen treatment , conferring charm and substance on even their most mundane interaction .",
      "one of the sweetest and funniest films of the year . MOV is a wonderful story about growing up , staying young , about love , life , friendship and what happens to it all over time .",
      "the dialogue and editing are zippy and generally charming , combining with the tart observations of 20-something culture to create a nice frisson .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- fresh-faced and spirited black and white comedy ...",
      "a black-and-white salute to the french new wave -lrb- the score is borrowed from georges delerue , composer of many a truffaut and godard film -rrb- that manages to be very much of this moment ...",
      "the movie 's a love letter to an actress and her character , but by the end you may feel like an intervention is more in order .",
      "`` MOV '' ? more like frances bah !",
      "gerwig dances the millennial limbo",
      "... caters to the gerwig persona while also sanding off the edges of baumbach 's usual bitterness .",
      "`` MOV '' is about the inevitability of adulthood ; it can be postponed , but it ca n't be avoided .",
      "improbable yet engaging , this arrested development serio-comedy should be particularly endearing to those who ca n't quite get their lives together .",
      "but there 's just something so relentlessly likable about put-upon , impoverished frances -lrb- greta gerwig -rrb- that it almost does n't matter that her new york is just one big williamsburg .",
      "a modern fairy tale about a girl whose golden heart refuses to tarnish .",
      "late-blooming 20-somethings have never been so perfectly captured -- and gerwig has never been more appealing -- than in this funny , tender , life-affirming movie .",
      "the obvious love of new york city echoes woody allen at his best . but `` MOV '' is very much its own film , a story of life and love and messy rooms .",
      "if frances has a chance , there 's hope for us all .",
      "without gerwig , this story of a hopeful young woman making her way in new york would have been just like all the rest . instead , it 's a work of art .",
      "baumbach ... makes the film a celebration of gerwig 's coltish , goofball appeal .",
      "the gorgeously-made MOV serves as a love letter from director to star ; and like all love notes that are n't ours , it 's intimate , mawkish and , in some vital way , unknowable .",
      "as she zips from one oddball experience to another , the movie seems to be assuring us that this is what a young person is supposed to do and that frances will find her thing . whatever it is .",
      "MOV -- both the movie and its heroine -- is graceful , awkward , luminous and hilarious .",
      "greta gerwig is perhaps the most interesting of the younger american actresses working in films today , and she 's wonderful as frances in this black and white charmer from director noah baumbach .",
      "the infectiously delightful exuberance of frances that nearly vibrates off the screen is clearly tailor-made for the actress .",
      "exuberant and disarming .",
      "months of frances ' life pass in minutes , yet those minutes feel like an eternity , thanks to non-action and uninspired editing .",
      "as frances literally dances her way through the streets of new york , you ca n't help smiling and knowing she will be ok . she will figure out how to be the adult she was meant to be .",
      "i found MOV frequently irritating and even cringe-inducing in the moment , yet feel tenderer towards it in retrospect . it 's about a specific time in life , when the sudden stampede to self-definition can make people seem cruel , crazy or resentful .",
      "baumbach 's previous films have been insightful and wry without ever really being all that likeable . gerwig brings a charm and energy to this shared project that makes it , if perhaps not his deepest film , then easily his most fun .",
      "mostly the movie is the best showcase so far for gerwig 's brand of lovely klutziness -lrb- and -rrb- a contemporary everywoman appeal that 's impossible to dismiss , making frances ' self-absorption easier to swallow and tasty , too .",
      "easily baumbach 's warmest and most upbeat film to date .",
      "the light MOV provides skittish moments of heartbreak and confusion on the humorous path to adulthood , but it sends a comforting message that our fate may use the same language as our dreams even if it does n't tell the same story .",
      "funny and touching , MOV may very well be the most eloquent take yet on a generation in flux .",
      "it 's a film that bears all of the zingy dialogue and sharp characterizations of baumbach 's other films -lrb- `` the squid and the whale , '' `` greenberg '' -rrb- but with more of a generosity of spirit towards its characters .",
      "MOV is endearing , kind and , in many ways , noah baumbach 's best movie to date .",
      "this is very minimalist storytelling much of which feels improvised in front of the camera . the film is more of a character situation than a character story .",
      "MOV provides a sharp , fleet , and very funny look at female friendship and the acceptance of adult responsibilities .",
      "`` MOV '' is a movie that will either remind you of what it was -lrb- or , if you 're lucky , is -rrb- like to be young , or it 'll make you feel really old . middle-aged , at least .",
      "the film boldly - and ultimately successfully - vastly favors character definition over plot , and favors character detail over laughs - although the second half -lrb- much more than the first -rrb- is very funny .",
      "the film may be small , but it 's really good .",
      "this movie has an endless supply of small but brilliant comic observations .",
      "brims with funny ideas both verbal and visual that are finely tuned by baumbach and his cast , and sharply edited ...",
      "passive-aggressive and expertly generational , MOV is either hilarious or devastating , and probably both .",
      "the conversations sparkle with both intended and unintended wit , and in a certain cockeyed light , frances ' blithe denial of reality is a charming affirmation of life .",
      "one of the most appealing films of the year to date -- and it may well end up being the most appealing indie release of the entire year",
      "an american independent film -lrb- shot in luminous black and white by sam levy -rrb- that feels off the cuff but is in fact exactly made by a filmmaker in total control of his resources .",
      "a great film that gets the spirit of new york exactly right :",
      "has the earnest , wonky charm of a homemade valentine .",
      "this is a truly wonderful movie , recalling woody allen at his best .",
      "MOV is not the worst film of the year . that would be snitch . however , it is the most obnoxious film so far .",
      "... like an early andrew bujalski movie with more articulate characters or lena dunham 's ` girls ' without the ick factor .",
      "while gerwig 's gentleness gives baumbach 's work a new warmth , his touch gives her a new maturity .",
      "MOV is sharply focused on a genuine life issue that does n't get much play in movies : the challenges of platonic love and of the complicated passions of friendship .",
      "it 's a skimpy , overextended riff , but some of the seemingly tossed-off moments are lovely .",
      "MOV is the work of an artist in love , and in baumbach 's case , it 's not clear that love is his most constructive muse .",
      "the hilarious , touching MOV is lubricated by the same juice that allowed jean-luc godard 's bande ŕ part to slip so smoothly through the streets of paris .",
      "a film that 's well aware of its own hipness , but never too cool to laugh and cry .",
      "a virtuoso piece of writing , acting and direction to bring to the screen a 27 year old new yorker who is more a dreamer than a pragmatist , more a romantic than a materialist and less able to control her life than to guess it",
      "the film is like a breath of fresh air , with each gulp taken at the forks in the road that frances encounters . it 's fluid and free with as much spontaneity as a bird taking flight",
      "the likes of in search of a midnight kiss and annie hall have told their stories with much more wit and charm .",
      "a smart , wry and surprisingly tender film about standing at the crossroads of adulthood .",
      "there 's little doubt that many people will find her insufferable , and almost everyone will experience moments of acute discomfort . but this is a wonderful performance that never becomes ingratiating .",
      "like ethan hawke 's recent before midnight -lrb- aimed at people in their 40s -rrb- , MOV will engage its literate-minded target audience fed up with disaster blockbusters .",
      "MOV has a warmth and lightness absent from baumbach 's earlier films , the squid and the whale -lrb- 2005 -rrb- and margot at the wedding -lrb- 2007 -rrb- .",
      "the sheer joy on gerwig 's face as she leaps and pirouettes across roads and between pedestrians is infectious .",
      "greta gerwig is delightful as an awkward non-dancer in this off-beat comedy",
      "occasionally inspired , frequently charming and always watchable .",
      "the understated final moments made me happier than any other filmgoing experience i 've had all year .",
      "there 's a touch of gracie allen in frances , an indomitable blithe spirit who lives happily within a bubble-world of her own construction .",
      "aiming for lightness but landing with a thud , `` MOV '' is a well-meaning blunder .",
      "it 's impossible not to fall hard for greta gerwig , who wrote the script with baumbach and plays frances with such smart , rumpled radiance that you bask in her glow .",
      "perhaps ms. gerwig is the greatest actress alive . and maybe `` MOV '' is just the ghost orchid of independent cinema .",
      "a witty and emotionally resonant portrait of growing up , while retaining the exuberance of youth .",
      "baumbach 's made an intermittently attentive comedy with a few intolerable detours , only as insightful as it wants to be .",
      "this is `` girls '' minus the dark stuff .",
      "`` MOV : has plenty of recognizable reference points : `` manhattan , '' the french new wave , lena dunham . and yet it 's still something new .",
      "quietly , empathetically , and without ever apologizing for the lead 's impulsive idiocy , MOV charts the character 's dawning independence and acceptance of adulthood .",
      "a funny , life-affirming portrait of a well-meaning young woman who 's a work-in-progress and a welcome departure for its director .",
      "bolstered by a shrewd script and meticulous director , gerwig shines . by turn screwball heroine and ungainly in character , she emerges as her generation 's finest comic actress .",
      "it 's all wonderfully tangential , sweet and unerringly funny , and it will have you dancing to bowie 's ` modern love ' for days and days .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he film is a delightfully spry vacation into the life of a woman who does n't really deserve the affectionate film around her .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- may feel tossed-off , but like the early french new wave films that inspired it , this affectionate portrait of wayward young folks trying to survive , emotionally and professionally , in the big city is both touching and meaningful .",
      "this is a tough one , but i must recommend it , if you are at all inclined to witness creativity at its unconventional best .",
      "baumbach likes to walk on the dark side in his films , but there is also a playful side to him . this film does have a dark edge to it , but a lighter mood dominates here , and that is a good thing .",
      "writing with gerwig , baumbach has created a fey , sneakily charming generational touchstone on a par with annie hall and his own gen y col-grad comedy kicking and screaming .",
      "`` MOV '' could have taken a very different , much darker direction , but not with gerwig in it .",
      "a genuinely heartfelt , gorgeous and beautiful celebration of youth , friendship and grappling with all the contradictions and challenges that life throws at us .",
      "its flighty quarter-life crisis theme -lsb- will be -rsb- familiar to anyone who 's seen five minutes of girls .",
      "few films top woody allen 's manhattan for capturing new york city 's blend of rapture and apprehension . noah baumbach 's MOV comes close ."
    ],
    "summary": "audiences will need to tolerate a certain amount of narrative drift , but thanks to sensitive direction from noah baumbach and an endearing performance from greta gerwig , MOV makes it easy to forgive .",
    "id": "771315440"
  },
  {
    "movie": "oslo_august_31st",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's trier 's skill at humanely communicating the deep loneliness of a ruined life that make him a new filmmaker deserving your attention .",
      "a remarkable film with a mesmerizing performance by actor lie .",
      "trier ... keeps us aware of the emotions and perceptions of all the characters , even at those times when their perceptions are limited and differ from objective reality .",
      "with his angular features and intense gaze , lie is utterly convincing as an intellectual in the process of repairing his damaged life .",
      "a study of a man who pulled away from the edge of the abyss at the nick of time , only to realize he may not be able to forgive himself for the things he 's done .",
      "te movie seems more like a searing portrait of self-discovery and realization , with the understanding that not everything you learn about yourself will be pleasant .",
      "there are echoes , a little dna of `` wings of desire '' here .",
      "a powerful , upfront document of a recovering drug addict confronting the demons of his past .",
      "`` oslo '' is an example of strong , confident filmmaking in which nothing is miscalculated or out of place .",
      "... a gritty and authentic portrait of the unseen post-abuse perils that addiction creates .",
      "devastating . and masterful .",
      "trier 's film takes us to some desperate places , but it earns that despair with clear eyes , and the sense of character is finely-honed ...",
      "a very rewarding and worthwhile film .",
      "an astounding achievement , joachim trier 's haunting film will stay with you for weeks .",
      "the film is overlong , spinning its sequential disenchantments . but mood and place are believable .",
      "pared down and sparse , almost bressonian in its formal rigor ...",
      "anders danielsen lie gives a compelling , deep-etched lead turn , and you 'll find yourself drawn in as he searches for a reason to continue living .",
      "trier writes his hero into a very tight corner , but finds a simultaneously graceful and uncompromising way out of it . neat trick , that .",
      "a wonderful , melancholy character piece that 's funny and tender , and as fresh as a breath of oslo sea air .",
      "trier proves that he 's no one-hit wonder .",
      "trier has adapted a 1930s french novel , which in 1963 louis malle filmed as ` le feu follet ' , but this feels totally fresh and modern in its concerns . it 's also devastating .",
      "it has absolute clarity about a character who is n't at all sure about what he wants - or whether he wants to keep going at all .",
      "the result is a superb exploration of loss , guilt and regret in norwegian director joachim trier 's often-unpredictable second film .",
      "the film is perhaps the most emotionally devastating and yet paradoxically delicate effort of the year , a genuine gem .",
      "`` oslo , august 31st '' is quietly , profoundly , one of the most observant and sympathetic films i 've seen .",
      "spanning a short period of time , this tense and intense norweigian drama about a drug addict is extremely well directed and acted .",
      "-lsb- screenwriters -rsb- trier and vogt are neat and cunning .",
      "trier 's compassion for what it takes to survive , mixed with the love he bestows on oslo , is rewardingly profound .",
      "... a quietly stunning masterpiece-all of life , in a single day .",
      "with only two films , danish director joachim trier has soundly established himself as a singular talent .",
      "in its depiction of a man who 's considering death , the film is never less than fully alive .",
      "it 's a marvelously constructed personal journey , both wrenching and bittersweet , whose emotional ripple effects stay with you for days and weeks afterward .",
      "`` oslo , august 31st '' has the satisfying gravity of specific experience , and also , true to its title , a prickly sense of place .",
      "despite its themes , `` oslo , august 31st '' is an exhilarating film , with impeccable direction and pitch-perfect performances that make the bleakness worthwhile .",
      "though the film provides a gentle wash of dark feelings , one ca n't help but feel cleansed by it and more alive when it ends .",
      "as this elegiac movie reminds us , even a shattered life matters , leaving behind an indelible , intricate imprint .",
      "moment to moment , you sense the fragility of anders 's fate as it hangs in the balance .",
      "there are traces of humour to alleviate the gloom of oslo , august 31st and some beautiful incidental moments .",
      "comprova a promessa representada pela estreia de joachim trier .",
      "as the final shots mirror the first , you reflect on how life goes on , with and without us .",
      "the beauty is in the array of animated faces in anders ' life . and it 's in the simple promise and vitality of anders ' face , which serves the film without any regard for being in a film , let alone a tragedy or a poetic vision of darkness and futility .",
      "sad , but wise , and clear-eyed about what it means to drift through life until it 's suddenly too late to turn back .",
      "life 's sadder moments are quite well displayed in trier 's nuanced approach . for many popcorn munchers , that regrettably does n't translate as a must-see movie in today 's crowded marketplace ...",
      "with a predilection for long takes , alternating between tripod setups and handheld camera work that 's reflective of anders ' unease , trier presents life as an unceasingly tepid stream of the mundane -- with an occasional , exquisite pinprick of hope .",
      "the movie transpires mostly in quiet , engrossing dialogue scenes , and its austere style shares a good deal in common with the protagonist , who seems both opaque and completely exposed .",
      "it 's an absolutely moving and devastating film , and one of the most jarring looks at addiction you 'll ever see on screen .",
      "-lsb- displays -rsb- an invigoratingly acute understanding of the psychology of insecurity , longing , defensiveness and inward-turning rage .",
      "in a single day , through a single pair of eyes , trier and lie give us an emblem for the world .",
      "less a study of the desire to die than the terrifying realisation that there is no reason left to live .",
      "it 's a cold , detached , very scandinavian film , neither as sharp nor as oddly exhilarating as malle 's .",
      "trier delivers a sedate , mature follow-up to his brash , energetic debut reprise .",
      "the film so gracefully replicates its protagonist 's drifting moods that its full emotional weight does n't immediately seem as heavy as it is .",
      "a searing portrait of a young man 's chronic loneliness .",
      "the evocation of things ending suffuses the film with melancholy , as anders increasingly becomes an observant rather than a participant in his own life .",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- crosses the blood-brain barrier like ... like ... whatever the drug is , i have n't tried it , thank god .",
      "without any flashiness or grandstanding , joachim trier and anders danielsen lie make us sympathize with the character on a deeply personal level .",
      "a coolly observed yet boundlessly compassionate day in the life of a recovering drug addict , `` oslo , august 31st '' breaks your heart many times over .",
      "while not a film for the dispirited - though such a mindset may better empathise with anders ' soul-searching journey - it does have a peculiar honesty to it .",
      "lie 's performance is pitch perfect , and trier 's direction almost flawless ."
    ],
    "summary": "an upfront study of a drug addict confronting his demons , oslo , august 31st makes this dark journey worthwhile with fantastic directing and equally fantastic acting .",
    "id": "771242439"
  },
  {
    "movie": "blue_velvet",
    "reviews": [
      "a fascinating and perplexing exploration of everything that lies just under the surface of all of us .",
      "it feels as `` out there '' as ever , and there has n't been any movie since quite comparing to it , besides david lynch ' further adventures into mind-f ** king .",
      "weird for weird 's sake is n't enough ; there has to be something more .",
      "MOV is david lynch in peak form , and represents -lrb- to date -rrb- his most accomplished motion picture . it is a work of fascinating scope and power that rivals any of the most subversive films to reach the screens during the '80s .",
      "lynch 's fourth feature film still stands as a bona fide masterpiece , one of the few such films that actually was appreciated in its time and has perfectly weathered the 17 years since .",
      "there is no denying the sheer audacity of MOV 's visuals or storyline . it 's quintessential david lynch , and dennis hopper at his most manic .",
      "kinkiness is its salient quality , but MOV has deadpan humor too , as well as a straight-arrow side that makes its eccentricity all the crazier . there 's no mistaking the exhilarating fact that it 's one of a kind .",
      "it 's dennis hopper sucking on an oxygen mask like darth vader in snoop dogg 's green room - in other words , it 's classic hopper !",
      "even some fifteen years after the release of MOV its vision remains wildly adamant relative to the stride of other works of contemporary noir . there have been many films about suburban crime , but none as dangerously imposing as this .",
      "i found it to be brilliant and all , but it 's just not a film i would watch willingly again .",
      "... deservedly canonized ...",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- finely wrought tale of erotic horror and secret evil .",
      "not quite like any other thriller or erotic mystery you 've ever seen .",
      "one of the most original , invigorating films i 've ever seen .",
      "the movie does n't progress or deepen , it just gets weirder , and to no good end .",
      "it made me feel pity for the actors who worked in it and anger at the director for taking liberties with them .",
      "MOV -lrb- 1986 -rrb- is screenwriter and maverick director david lynch 's artistically bizarre cult film , an original look at sex . .",
      "there 's not a single false note in david lynch 's notorious masterpiece , MOV , an unnerving meditation on innocence and depravity .",
      "packed with typically beautiful , lavish colour , and multi-referencing once again extending to old favourite the wizard of oz , this is fairly unmissable .",
      "the seamless blending of beauty and horror is remarkable , the terror very real , and the sheer wealth of imagination virtually unequalled in recent cinema .",
      "a beautiful film about sickness , a funny film about degeneracy",
      "in 1986 david lynch broke the language of cinema wide open in the same way that jackson pollock did with the art world in the early '40s .",
      "by the time i got to dennis hopper 's first line as frank , i knew that MOV was a film people would be talking about in 20 , 50 , 100 years .",
      "the modest proportions of the film are just right for the writer-director 's desire to investigate the inexplicable demons that drive people to deviate from expected norms of behavior and thought .",
      "this is one of the great masterpieces of modern cinema , a film which you will never forget .",
      "lies within the technicolor tradition of film-noir , where evil continually lurks beneath the surface",
      "i loved the film for its intransigencies .",
      "it 's the only one of lynch 's works to marry his nightmarish concerns to a story that -lrb- very nearly -rrb- makes sense .",
      "the brutally honest performances , articulate style , and the movie 's sexual and violent shock value save the story from becoming too stale or uninspiring .",
      "in this impressive work , released after the flop of dune , david lynch addresses issues of order and disorder , normal and abnormal sexuality , good and evil , while telling a classic american coming-of-age story .",
      "an unsettling film that depicts the moral rot underlying the american dream through arresting cinematic images that are at once realistic and surreal .",
      "... evil lurks in the most seemingly harmless places .",
      "MOV is a beautiful treatment of ugly material . unfortunately , it is just ugly enough to fascinate a lot of people , particularly weak men who have been made to feel subjugated and insecure by women .",
      "an excellent film .",
      "the charged erotic atmosphere makes the film something of a hallucination , but lynch 's humor keeps breaking through , too .",
      "lush and peculiar MOV , the latest film from the mind that spawned eraserhead , is an unnerving combination of the wholesome and the unholy .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- powerful , mesmerizing thriller , a masterful exercise in controlling an audience ` s attention .",
      "lynch and his film will surely be reviled , but as an experiment in expanding cinema 's dramatic and technical vocabulary , MOV demands respect .",
      "destined to become a cult classic , MOV presents what is probably the most original cinematic vision to come along this year . undoubtedly , it will be too strong for many tastes .",
      "MOV is a film for the aficionado . pity the viewer who wanders into the movie unprepared .",
      "whether you are attracted or repelled by lynch 's bizarre vision , one thing is for sure : you 've never seen anything like it in your life .",
      "the film casts its spell in countless odd ways , in the archetype-leaning imagery , eccentric tableau styling , and moth-in-candle-flame attraction to the subconscious twilight .",
      "once experienced here , listening to roy orbison 's in dreams will never be the same again .",
      "david lynch 's mise en scene screams `` leave it to beaver . ''",
      "shocking , visionary , rapturously controlled , its images of innocence and a dark , bruising sexuality drop straight into our unconscious where they rest like depth charges .",
      "one of the most subversive films of the 1980s , delving into the corrupt underside of the then-idealized faux innocence of the 1950s with an almost alarming ferocity .",
      "shocking , perverse , funny , unsettling , scathing , biting , and twisted , but undeniably original",
      "one which david lynch fans will want to watch over and over in hd , and which non-fans ought to see at least once .",
      "a perfect marriage of classically composed storytelling and disturbing surrealism . but perhaps more importantly , its influence in storytelling still resonates to this day .",
      "for as diverse as lynch 's filmography is , MOV is quite possibly his masterwork . there 's a strange mix of comfort and beauty with terror and awfulness .",
      "works brilliantly as an allegory of american repression and willful illusion of order , lumberton 's forced-smile '50s sensibility unable to keep down the anarchic , raging id that is humanity 's primal drive . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "depending on your point of view , either dark-sidedly brilliant or garbage heaped on top of whipped cream .",
      "lynch 's seminal , voyeuristic masterpiece is as scary as comedies get and as funny as realistically horrific psychodramas can be .",
      "to watch -lsb- lynch 's -rsb- 1986 neo-noir masterpiece MOV is to be plunged headfirst into the mind of an extraordinary filmmaker ... who made one of the finest dissections of the american mythos yet seen .",
      "MOV is a throughly unpredictable , frequently disturbing and sometimes jaw-droppingly funny film . there is n't anything else quite like it , and it 's pretty wonderful ."
    ],
    "summary": "if audiences walk away from this subversive , surreal shocker not fully understanding the story , they might also walk away with a deeper perception of the potential of film storytelling .",
    "id": "16022"
  },
  {
    "movie": "leon_the_professional",
    "reviews": [
      "the european cut rocks -- u.s. version less so . biggest drawback is that besson tries to persuade us reno is italian , and i 'm never buying that .",
      "oldman 's character is so over the top , so utterly ridiculous that the audience may feel prompted to laugh unintentionally .",
      "it 's an american movie as seen by someone whose main frame of reference is american movies , not american life . therefore , while it 's draped in a cloak of gritty realism , besson 's movie is really a kind of bizarre cinemaphile fantasy .",
      "the most objectionable thing is gary oldman 's performance , baroque in its awfulness . almost as bad is the director 's attempt to construct a visual style -- and , for that matter , characters -- by piling one mannerism on top of another .",
      "besson has a gift for amoral sleaziness that should serve him well over here . in his very first american film , he has gone straight for the smarm .",
      "its strengths grate against the movie 's glaring flaws , mainly its complete lack of credibility .",
      "you 'll enjoy the action , but you 'll remember the movie because of reno and portman .",
      "leon : the professional has style to spare .",
      "mathilda is like no new york city girl-child i 've ever seen riding the subway . and i could n't take my eyes off her .",
      "stylish , mature hitman thriller is quite violent .",
      "`` MOV '' is a consummate hit man movie from the early '90s era in cinema when every young filmmaker wanted to be the next tarantino . luc besson just had to be himself .",
      "besson 's incomparable film is almost impossible to beat and there 's yet to be a director who could match his magnum opus ...",
      "good , if not overrated . reno is always a delight and a young portman adds a lot to the heart and soul of the film .",
      "despite besson 's mastery of technique , leon 's success is due in large part to its elegant performances .",
      "reno and portman both deliver terrific performances .",
      "top-notch thriller .",
      "luc besson 's lone-hitman thriller sees a 12 year-old natalie portman push the boundaries of love and peodophilia . as emotionally complex as it is a slick action thrill-ride . even gary oldman gets in on the action as a beethoven loving , drug-taking crooked",
      "the white-hot violence may look professional , but it will leave you cold .",
      "the professional is intriguing , but misses the mark as a potential cult favorite .",
      "the sheer craziness and excessiveness of the movie -- no crazier , perhaps , than many of the american action movies it copies -- never finds a center of gravity .",
      "like quentin tarantino , besson has a singular style and directorial sensibility that keeps you watching .",
      "the professional is strictly amateur-hour .",
      "no matter what uncomfortable undercurrents the film gives rise to , besson 's skill with action is inventive and creative -lrb- and of course over the top -rrb- .",
      "luc besson 's original cut feels more like a journey than just a joy-buzzer jolt of action , and the deeper , braver , darker story he set out to tell - a fractured and fractious fairy tale . when people rave about `` the professional , '' they mean `` léon . ''",
      "ultimately , like la femme nikita , there may be less here than meets the eye . but what does meet the eye is pretty darn thrilling .",
      "leave it to french writer-director luc besson -lrb- la femme nikita -rrb- to put a kinky twist on orphan annie and daddy warbucks .",
      "having one career highlight performance in a film is a treat . having three is just spoiling us , and the film is so solidly sold by the actors that it mostly manages to sidestep the potential queasiness in the léon/mathilda relationship .",
      "funny , tragic , brilliant and unmissable .",
      "much better in the extended foreign version that shows more of the girl 's hitman training . typical french downer , but interesting relationship piece .",
      "always at the back of my mind was the troubled thought that there was something wrong about placing a 12-year-old character in the middle of this action .",
      "one pretty awesome action movie .",
      "my advice to everyone out there is to throw away your copy of the professional , throw down twenty bucks , and pick up this newly restored -lrb- director 's cut -rrb- cinematic masterpiece .",
      "while a wisp of a plot involving a crooked cop drives léon from setpiece to setpiece , it 's the central relationship between hitman jean reno and young charge natalie portman that makes the movie so memorable .",
      "an altogether interesting take on an old story , one which besson pulls off with his customary flair and panache .",
      "besson 's skills of action director are enough to guarantee entertainment .",
      "the professional is all over the map , and its pretensions of being about anything more than its most unpleasant elements simply make it all the more unpleasant .",
      "this is a cuisinart of a movie , mixing familiar yet disparate ingredients , making something odd , possibly distasteful , undeniably arresting out of them .",
      "it is stylish , darkly humorous , and almost artsy in its approach to the genre .",
      "the professional is much too sentimental to sound shockingly amoral in the least . even in a finale of extravagant violence , it manages to be maudlin .",
      "after a dazzling opening sequence , this one goes downhill fast .",
      "reno 's performance of hangdog loyalty lends his character pleasing sympathy while besson 's heavily stylized direction builds tension around sexy violence .",
      "for the most part , the professional is a great action picture .",
      "oozing style , wit and confidence from every sprocket , and offering a dizzyingly , fresh perspective on the big apple that only besson could bring , this is , in a word , wonderful .",
      "a naive fairy tale splattered with blood .",
      "luc besson is a masterly director of stylish , thrilling , and humorous action set pieces , and this film 's bravura opening and closing sequences are two of the year 's best .",
      "ultimately seems at once too deranged and too mechanical .",
      "there 's conviction in this movie , and intelligence .",
      "besson fails to make much of new york 's visual potential , and lazily asks that leon 's expertise be taken on trust . the shallowness was to be expected ; the slackness is surprising .",
      "it 's surprising to find an action movie with so much emotional baggage , but amazingly it works .",
      "an exceptionally well crafted urban drama ."
    ],
    "summary": "pivoting on the unusual relationship between seasoned hitman and his 12-year-old apprentice -- a breakout turn by young natalie portman -- luc besson 's léon is a stylish and oddly affecting thriller .",
    "id": "17094"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_queen_of_versailles",
    "reviews": [
      "one of the great unsayable truths about the american dream is that it is a bit of a ponzi scheme ... our system admits a glimmer of hope that anyone , no matter how lowborn , can rise to the top .",
      "-lsb- e -rsb- nds up an ever less slightly ungenerous look at the .01 percent than it might have been ... but this is still a brutal film from many angles .",
      "documentaries are rarely as hilarious as this one . well , the first half of it at least",
      "a repetitive exercise in schadenfreude , and the siegels do n't do much to alter that ... MOV leaves viewers with one feeling about the siegels : let them eat stale cake .",
      "greenfield 's film is bathed in florida sunshine , adding to the sensation that we 're watching lifestyles of the rich and famous with a marxist punchline .",
      "she epitomises a western culture struggling to wean itself off debt .",
      "-lsb- siegel -rsb- is now suing greenfield for `` misrepresentation '' . well , i know whose side i 'm on .",
      "extremely funny and revealing ...",
      "-lsb- siegel -rsb- ultimately emerges as someone who belongs more in the little house on the prairie : ever cheerful , and triumphantly unimpeachable .",
      "never has grotesque wealth looked so unenviable , or its removal been so entertaining , as in this garishly watchable riches-to-rags documentary ...",
      "this timely and involving documentary elicits both sympathy and schadenfreude .",
      "if the film intends to show that any of the siegels have gained any wisdom from hardship , we do n't see it .",
      "while in some ways the collapsing of the siegels ' wealth may seem like commeuppance for their excessiveness , greenfield has painted such a human portrait that jackie , in particular , remains sympathetic , even when she is adding to her own tragedy .",
      "like a theodore dreiser novel for our time , infused with the vivid , vulgar spirit of reality tv . it often had the sold-out eccles center howling , but also has elements of profound tragedy and allegory .",
      "the ironies pile up . but there is some pathos here too .",
      "MOV will prompt loathing not only among the so-called 99 percent , but among those in the top 1 percent who would like someone more sane to represent them on camera .",
      "-lsb- video essay -rsb- there 's quiet satisfaction is watching the financial collapse of the florida billionaire self-professedly `` personally '' responsible for george w. bush 's `` illegal '' takeover of the white house in 2000 .",
      "it 's like a champagne bath laced with arsenic .",
      "documentarian lauren greenfield caught lightning in a bottle with this one .",
      "with every shopping spree , every limo ride to mcdonald 's , mrs. siegel underlines the cliche that money can not buy you taste . or class .",
      "every cutaway to their mcdonald 's takeout bags or fluffy white puppies -lrb- there must be a dozen of them -rrb- emphasizes a bedrock tackiness that will convert your audience into a snorting gang of marxists-at least for a while .",
      "the film hardly feels hastily pasted together : greenfield filmed long enough to document physical changes in her subjects .",
      "finds a way to incorporate the harsh realities -lsb- of the economic crash -rsb- into a movie that 's genuinely funny and entertaining , which is quite an achievement in itself .",
      "lauren greenfield 's film evolves from an ode to entitled obliviousness to a more evenhanded character study , tracing the fault lines that develop within the siegel family .",
      "a stunning look at what happens to a rich person who gets greedy .",
      "through a focused chronicle of one marriage , the director conveys both the seductive and ugly aspects of unbridled ambition and american capitalism .",
      "if you get some kind of sick kick watching the mighty take a fall , MOV will be nothing short of a schadenfreudic ball .",
      "seriously , if this was the american dream , could n't we have come up with something better ?",
      "for all their garishness , the siegels are pretty likable , even if attempts to make you sympathetic to their `` plight '' fall short .",
      "it scores a lot of laughs at the siegel 's bad taste and odd ways of adapting to their newfound misfortune . thankfully , greenfield also makes the siegels sympathetic .",
      "a bizarre and mesmerising journey to the heart of cloud cuckoo land .",
      "it is a comedy that aspires to tragedy , and a metaphor for a nation collapsing beneath the incompatible , intolerable pressures of excess and inequity .",
      "in the end , these are human beings , not emblems - and it is this that makes this documentary one of the most watchable , for rich and poor alike .",
      "it 's priceless .",
      "the temptation to be moralistic must have been overpowering , yet greenfield finally manages to summon sympathy for people who at first seem vain , selfish and greedy .",
      "prepare to be shocked , disgusted and compelled .",
      "greenfield 's fly on the wall view of obscene wealth punctured like a toy balloon is as current as a blog or a headline .",
      "illuminating , oddly hilarious , ceaselessly watchable .",
      "porn without penetration is sometimes how this doc impacts in its candid , unapologetic look at a once white-bread couple who vault to billionaire status and fall hard when the 2008 financial crisis hits .",
      "a fascinating , infuriating and poignant documentary .",
      "let them eat cake !",
      "for greenfield , the siegels are a brilliant metaphor for everything farkakte about the u.s. economy and the culture that shaped it .",
      "an outrageous , despicable , guiltily hilarious and appropriately superficial good time .",
      "a fascinating and sobering documentary that tracks the unexpected impact of the financial crisis on one of america 's richest families .",
      "turns the `` real housewives '' formula upside down and it becomes possibly the least tragic epic tragedy ever constructed . ''",
      "this honesty and heart is what makes MOV so compelling .",
      "`` MOV '' is funny , sad , infuriating , instructive . it 's the american dream inflated to ridiculous extremes , until it bursts .",
      "this rags-to-riches-to-almost-rags-again queen has an endearing knack for looking on the bright side . you find yourself , by the end , wishing her well .",
      "watching jackie fill cart after walmart cart with crap the family does n't need is to witness the new millennium 's version of marie antoinette .",
      "it contains some useful information , i suppose , but i did not like these people , i hope never to meet them , and i wonder if the world would n't be a better place without them .",
      "although director lauren greenfield documents several instances in which it 's apparent that the siegels ' lifestyle is so alien from the vast majority that they might as well call mars home , she has n't set out to eat the rich .",
      "can we feel sorry for super-filthy-rich rich people ? maybe not . but we can be fascinated by their insane spending . lauren greenfield gains uber-access to the excess .",
      "although it 's a guilty pleasure , `` MOV '' is artful enough that both the prosecution and the defense could invoke it when the peasants cry `` off with their heads ! ''",
      "greenfield and her crew achieved extraordinary access to the siegel 's lives , and one of the film 's pleasures is simply getting to visit a world that few of us will ever know .",
      "taken at face value , MOV reveals nothing about the rich that is n't plainly evident on the e! network . but its most surprising quality is also jackie 's : endurance .",
      "at times the film feels aimless and inconclusive , but greenfield 's open-minded and observational approach yields compelling details from every scene .",
      "`` MOV '' ought to be required viewing for anyone who blames the rich for yanking the rug out from under america 's economy .",
      "the pride , gluttony and inexplicable romance in the tale are almost shakespearean .",
      "it would be easy to look at this with smug satisfaction , but director lauren greenfield is impassive .",
      "surely more topical -lrb- and essential -rrb- now than when it was conceived , MOV plays like a christopher guest parody of the financial crisis .",
      "watching `` MOV '' you do n't know whether to laugh or cry .",
      "whatever their crimes of bad taste , they had it , flaunted it , lost it , and lived to tell the tale .",
      "a portrait of the american dream gone sour so absurdly engaging that you might be ashamed of enjoying it so much .",
      "a ca n't - look-away cross between a bergman drama and a `` real housewives '' spin-off .",
      "MOV presents a fascinating case study of how the collapsing economy impacted the superrich . it will also likely drive anybody who is n't the superrich up the wall .",
      "more than a social morality tale , this is a character study , with the title well chosen .",
      "there are improbably involving human stories here .",
      "through a clear lens unclouded by politics or blame , it offers insight into the hazardous american practice of living beyond our means .",
      "a dysfunctional family documentary which invites the audience to take pleasure in the misfortunes of some decidedly-decadent 1 % ers .",
      "`` MOV '' turns out to be a portrait -- appalling , absorbing and improbably affecting -- of how , even within a system seemingly designed to ensure that the rich get richer , sometimes the rich get poorer .",
      "the result is a rich portrait .",
      "a tragicomic indulgence of schadenfreude with the sophistication of a kardashian reality show .",
      "a well-told tale about having to atone for sins of the sub-prime era .",
      "what i left with was not hatred . i disapprove of the values they represent , but i also find them fascinating and just slightly lovable .",
      "in director lauren greenfield 's tremendous documentary packed with terrific details , greed is not good . it is a slow , self-inflicted wound whose pain hits hard and fast .",
      "by the end , the movie has pulled off a small miracle : you become absorbed in the lives of these people for who they are and not what they own .",
      "a rise-and-fall story that will have you laughing and shaking your head - in pity , disgust and , occasionally , outrage - at the very same time .",
      "dig into your popcorn , and get ready for some snide schadenfreude .",
      "`` MOV '' is beautifully constructed and frequently uproarious .",
      "it transforms from a mocking portrait of exorbitance into a sympathetic depiction of a family struggling with their own version of what most of us have gone through .",
      "there 's more going on here than classist derision , and the filmmaker uses her footage to try to sort out her feelings .",
      "MOV combines the voyeuristic thrills of reality tv with the soul-revealing artistry of great portraiture and the head-shaking revelations of solid investigative reporting .",
      "compulsively watchable from start to finish , MOV chips away at the aspirational fantasy that drives those bravo shows , slowly , steadily allowing reality to slip through the cracks .",
      "ultra-rich face financial crisis in teen-friendly docu .",
      "the paradox of wealth without refinement remains unexamined but emerges as a metaphor for the american dream itself .",
      "extravagant yet surprisingly compassionate , it 's a unique chronicle of the collapse of the real estate market .",
      "it makes sense to find the director unwilling to walk away from such as a fascinating couple , resulting in a superb documentary and a powerful statement on the ugliness and delusion of greed .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- excellent and unexpectedly nuanced documentary ...",
      "captures the tone of the times with a clear , surprisingly compassionate eye .",
      "it develops an almost mournful empathy for its subjects as they fall from great heights to merely impressive ones .",
      "director lauren greenfield finds the pathos in an ultra-wealthy couple who willingly mortgaged their own future .",
      "the siegels make the kardashians and donald trump look like tasteful pikers when it comes to egregiously conspicuous consumption , sheer hubris and utter refusal to take responsibility for their actions .",
      "MOV is the lucky case of a documentary where life intervenes and deepens the film in completely unexpected ways .",
      "director lauren greenfield 's timing turned out to be extraordinarily fortuitous in its depiction of how the mighty also fall , in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis .",
      "these are not horrible people , just ones who flung themselves enthusiastically toward the american dream as so many do .",
      "i feel contempt for my contempt for these people . whether that 's my problem or the film 's , i 'm not entirely sure , but i 'm leaning toward blaming greenfield .",
      "a powerhouse documentary , the film shifts from simply being a fly-on-the-wall look at material decadence and moral decay into a study of a family trying to hold itself together during a trying period .",
      "a documentary about a rich couple riding the waves of wealth and greed and then plunging downwards .",
      "both the quintessential documentary about the great recession , and quite possibly the most schadenfreude-filled movie of all time .",
      "if you 've ever wondered how that one percent of the richest lives , this film will show you how one family lives -lrb- they are probably back in the 99 percent now -rrb- , and it ai n't pretty .",
      "my problem with this riches to rags americana story is that i felt no sympathy for the featured self-absorbed materialists .",
      "... their plight plays like the financial crisis in miniature . or perhaps it 's in macro .",
      "strangely entertaining and revealing documentary about a culture obsessed with money and people aspiring to a life they ca n't afford . greed is good once again if you can borrow enough money to consume all you desire . mind the debt gap .",
      "humanizes the upper one percent in a 100-percent entertaining way .",
      "a pretty effective warning shot across the bow of the one percenters .",
      "an ultimately haunting worst-case-scenario for americans living beyond their means after the bottom dropped out ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a timely , engaging , and richly drawn portrait of the american dream improbably composed of equal parts compassion and schadenfreude .",
    "id": "771266152"
  },
  {
    "movie": "planet_51",
    "reviews": [
      "amiable , lightweight fare that adults might appreciate more than children .",
      "there 's not a single laugh-out-loud moment in the whole film .",
      "good fun if you can put up with the pastel colours and plasticky textures , which show that in modern fantasy animation all that pixellates is n't pixar .",
      "it 's frenetic and knowing in the modern manner , though , a couple of good gags apart , not very funny . its patchiness merely demonstrates the gap between pixar and the rest of the field - which is the distance between genius and talent .",
      "an extremely dull and unfunny comedy with pop-culture references where the gags should be , and humdrum voicings .",
      "while pretty much a cut-and-shut of every animated movie of the past decade , this sci-fi comedy should achieve blast-off with the under-10s . for adults , however , this is as solidly so what ? as you can get .",
      "a jumble of kiddie slapstick and pointless chases .",
      "the laughs come thick and fast in a sprightly kid pleaser full of slapstick set-pieces and memorable characters , while more grown-up viewers will find themselves grinning at pastiches of the cold war paranoia of bygone sci-fi movies .",
      "silly but not hilarious ... with a message that 's so simplistic you might miss it .",
      "it 's no shock to see shrek co - writer joe stillman on the credits , because MOV follows the exact same formula - slapstick for the kids , sly gags for the parents and a rubbish romantic subplot for nobody .",
      "inoffensively bland .",
      "with nods to spielberg , stanley kubrick and a host of sci-fi b-movies , the film 's pop-culture references are there but predictable rather than inspired . a bit like the whole movie .",
      "it 's hard not to compare , but pixar 's classy and imaginative films set the bar high , while movies like this aim too low .",
      "when a film 's best characters are rip-offs from other movies . you know you 're in trouble .",
      "... a mildly entertaining , visually well-crafted animation that can wait for rental .",
      "like the alien town of glipforg at its core , MOV offers attractions that are just a little too familiar to take the viewer out of this world .",
      "the film is n't terrible if you 're , say , six . because you simply do n't know any better .",
      "much of the detail will go above the heads of its young audience , but adults will enjoy the clever touches , like the alien hotline , the upcoming anticipated release of the movie humanian 3 and the rock-collecting probe called rover",
      "ca n't quite get over the inertia of its failings",
      "after all the other animated cgi films this year , MOV just feels like a rehash , and not nearly as charming as it wants to be .",
      "an uninspired computer-animated feature that may satisfy undiscriminating pipsqueaks and nearly no one else , MOV is a low-iq e.t. in reverse ...",
      "MOV does n't have enough plot for a 10-minute animated short , much less a 90-minute feature . and unfortunately , what it does have plenty of is crude , lowest-common denominator humor .",
      "young children and adults with high pain thresholds will enjoy the movie during its brief pause on the way to your on demand menu .",
      "the whole thing is just terrible .",
      "the movie 's idea of big laughs is an extended anal probe joke .",
      "perhaps the spanish-based animated feature MOV should have added a dash of pedro almodovar to spice up a rather ordinary revisitation of et .",
      "a tale of human/alien friendship , MOV seems worse than it is because it comes at the end of one of the best years in the history of animation .",
      "this has the directionless , recycled feel of a script by committee .",
      "dull and lifeless , moving inertly from point to point without offering much that 's memorable or amusing",
      "does n't belong anywhere near the best animated picture race , but you can do a lot worse when looking for a family flick to pass the time .",
      "a trite compendium of everything that 's wrong with non-pixar computer-animated feature films .",
      "an often amusing , harmless adventure with enough inoffensive humor and impressive cgi animation to make up for its lack of exhilarating moments and refreshing surprises .",
      "it works for about 20 minutes . and only if you grew up in the 1950s to juke boxes filled with rock and roll including sheb wooley 's the purple people eater",
      "... characters are as thin and unengaging as the animation is sleek and shiny .",
      "so trivial and unimaginative that , unless you 're desperate for sci-fi diversion for the kids , you should wait for the dvd .",
      "it 's cute , it 's passable , the animation is fine -- but the major problem with the film is its predictability .",
      "after positing its central gimmick , it more or less stands there for 90 minutes , waiting for applause that never comes .",
      "if this had been released on thanksgiving day or christmas day , it would n't have been lost in the shuffle .",
      "if you 've seen space chimps , you can expect the same level of quality . it 's not excruciating , but it 's entirely forgettable .",
      "this sharp-looking but unimaginative adventure has n't the wit of similar kiddie flicks .",
      "with nowhere to go except toward that incongruous moral , the story is getting thin on the ground , obliging director jorge blanco to pad with the usual plush stuffing -- bland action and busy edits .",
      "the script lacks wit , and the in-joke references to cinematic sci-fi classics will soar over little kids ' heads without pleasing many adults .",
      "this simply does n't have the right stuff .",
      "the movie as a whole is n't exactly ground-breaking , and some of the humor tanks . but it has enough action , laughs and candy-hued visuals to satisfy the target audience without plunging grown-ups into despair .",
      "the agreeable but flagrantly unoriginal MOV belongs to the mix-and-match school of animated moviemaking .",
      "MOV sucks .",
      "definitely a planet worth a visit .",
      "mediocre , clunky and just so not special .",
      "MOV is innocuous to the point of distraction .",
      "underwhelming alien comedy has some suggestive humor .",
      "it 's fun for the kids , and adults should have a good time too .",
      "MOV is cute , but it 's no shrek .",
      "stargazers believe there 's intelligent life out there . you just wo n't find much of it on `` MOV . ''",
      "plays to the cheap seats rather than exploring its admittedly clever premise to the fullest .",
      "`` singin ' in the rain '' references ? john glenn ? cold war duck-and-cover drills ? what time capsule yielded this script ?",
      "children wo n't understand the '50s - based humor or the references to the creature features that dominated the era , while adults will muster little more than the occasional chuckle",
      "what gives with joe stillman , a credited writer on the wonderfully witty shrek/shrek 2 ? here , his prior expertise in working with lime green characters has inexplicably given way to lifeless gray .",
      "computers have been assisting in the production of animated films more and more every year , but have they started writing them too ?",
      "MOV is n't terrible , just bland and predictable as a story , though at least the humor that 's tacked onto it is gentle and unassuming ...",
      "it 's good-spirited , and there are enough colorful characters to please its intended audience . best of all is an earth-built robot on wheels named rover , who thinks it 's a dog . he 'll be a hit . if only the main characters were as interesting .",
      "MOV mainly succeeds at reminding you of all the better movies that inspired it .",
      "a playful throwback to the days when cartoons were mostly aimed at children .",
      "a high concept gets low execution in MOV , a lame-brained toon that even kids will recognize as an insipid goof on sci-fi conventions .",
      "a charming spoof of cold-war alien paranoia , this is visually inventive and full of action , but could do with more humour .",
      "while certainly diverting , its overly frantic attempts at humour , pointless homages to other films and lack of charm mean it falls some way short . it 's not terrible but neither is it memorable .",
      "nothing really gels and MOV just comes across as shrill , rushed and unfunny .",
      "a short-sighted assembly of sci-fi references and scatalogical humor that should nonetheless placate undemanding tots ... for ninety minutes or so .",
      "in terms of animation , MOV is out of this world . then there 's the story and the characters , which are about as dull as a dirty penny .",
      "`` a poorly conceived comedy spotlighting a collection of anal-centric humor that 's about as appealing as baseball bat to the face . ''",
      "so inane that not only is adult enjoyment unattainable , even younger audiences will be on to its lack of intelligence and novelty .",
      "a poorly animated , poorly conceived , utterly predictable science fiction adventure without a single shred of originality .",
      "well and truly aimed at kids , MOV is a film they will thoroughly enjoy yet which any accompanying adult will have lots of laughs in too .",
      "a thin joke becomes attenuated to breaking point .",
      "as the umpteenth computer-animated film released this year , it must contend with an over-saturated marketplace . that 's one strike . the second strike is that it 's not any good .",
      "parental content review",
      "the movie has little ambition to the creation of its world and even less when it comes to the humor .",
      "rest assured that nothing of significance will disturb said infant , neither feelings nor images nor ideas . no danger here ; just a faint , faraway tickle of boredom .",
      "it is a shame that a movie tweaking retro cliches falls into the white bread conventions itself , especially from a madrid-based production company .",
      "instead of spinning its spoof of 1950s sci-fi paranoia in new directions , the movie trades in potty humor and tired sendups of the terminator and star wars .",
      "the story itself is weakly conceived and does n't sustain a feature-length movie .",
      "starring bright animation and the voices of justin long and dawyne johnson , MOV follows a hilarious concept with weak execution and way too many references to better films .",
      "the film fails at creating characters with credible emotional textures , a task easily , and vividly , demonstrated by pixar time and time again .",
      "at a time when so many other animated films are actively pushing the envelope , MOV just bottom-feeds .",
      "the action pans out pretty predictably but such is the verve of the story and the impressive visuals you may find yourself heading off course to catch MOV .",
      "it could have added up to something . alas , any excitement is submerged by the relentless barrage of trite sci-fi allusions and nudge-nudge gags aimed solely at adults .",
      "little kids who 've never seen this story before might get a kick out of it and its bold colours . parents will be yawning and looking at their watches . at least g-force dared you to hate it ; this just dares you to stay awake .",
      "the screenplay aims wide for every snappy , pop-culture joke that can possibly be cracked . but the viewer 's funnybone remains an elusive target .",
      "funny and well designed , but does n't live up to potential due to uninspired dialogue and heavy hand of marketing .",
      "just how much of this will be appreciated by children is questionable , but the film is clearly intended to keep them happy with lashings of colour , movement and cheesy jokes while older , diehard geeks can enjoy all the reference spotting .",
      "a hideously annoying and emotionally blank tale .",
      "there 's enough of a storyline here to keep younger space cadets moderately settled .",
      "glar and his friends are more or less all-purpose protestors , showing up on sidewalks with placards announcing , `` we 're really upset ! '' over nothing specific . and that makes them about as amiable and as bland as everyone else on MOV .",
      "i 'm going to go out on a limb and say MOV was written by a bunch of monkeys ... who were trapped in a room with some typewriters . surprisingly , the works of shakespeare are the only texts they have n't blatantly ripped off .",
      "a movie so flat and derivative that it seems to have been cobbled together from other , better pictures .",
      "largely , it 's a jellybean of a movie : bright , colorful , sugary , and with no real content .",
      "the animated sci-fi spoof MOV makes you wonder if things might be more interesting on planet 52 .",
      "do anal probe gags sound like fine family entertainment ? how about multiple scenes depicting ugly gay panic ? not to worry ; a penis joke referring to a male member as an ` antenna ' is right around the corner .",
      "independently and internationally produced cg animated comedy MOV has the visuals to compare with bigger budgeted hollywood studio offerings but not the storytelling spark .",
      "although not bowling me over , MOV is a jolly and good-looking animated feature in glorious 2-d .",
      "it 's all a creepy mishmash of sci-fi and fantasy classics that director jorge blanco tarts up with an unwholesome preoccupation with pee , anal plugs , and homosexual anxiety .",
      "this 90-minute movie feels about five hours long .",
      "animated alien entertainment exclusively for those who 've already had their brains sucked out .",
      "delivers a few pleasant surprises , including a smart story -- a reverse-e.t. riff that plops an american astronaut down in a world of just-like-us-only-green creatures -- and clever characters ..."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV squanders an interesting premise with an overly familiar storyline , stock characters , and humor that alternates between curious and potentially offensive .",
    "id": "770782178"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sharkwater",
    "reviews": [
      "in its present form , however , the film 's merits are compromised by structural and conceptual flaws .",
      "the high point of this entertaining documentary is -lsb- rob -rsb- stewart 's stop-at-nothing passion to save the sharks , especially when he hooks up with renegade conservationist paul watson to track down poachers off the coast of costa rica .",
      "thanks to -lsb- t -rsb- his sometimes gruesome , sometimes harrowing and often exuberant film , you will never look at sharks the same way again .",
      "pretty , if polemical look at sharks , the illegal harvesting of fins , and one man 's journey into radical activism .",
      "the film does what it 's supposed to , inspire outrage . but still , jaws will never have the appeal of those baby pandas .",
      "it is forceful . it is advocacy journalism . it is a documentary with a social conscience and a scientific agenda .",
      "how strange to gaze upon the jaws of the most feared creatures on earth , and to contemplate how they are no match for the teeth of man .",
      "rob stewart 's labour of love goes beyond mere obsession with our ` most amazing and mysterious animal . '",
      "torontonian rob stewart 's underwater polemic on the many enemies of the behemoths at the top of the ocean 's food chain comes on a little strong .",
      "cautionary environmental documentary that asserts there 's more to sharks than `` jaws . ''",
      "features beautiful underwater photography and a stirring call to action .",
      "stewart , a toronto-based marine biologist and underwater photographer , makes up for in passion what he lacks in narrative subtlety .",
      "the ` reality drama ' that unfolds on-screen takes viewers away from the real ecological issue -lrb- much as it took stewart away from his diving -rrb-",
      "MOV delivers an important message , and its underwater photography is breathtaking . but stewart lessens the impact by focusing much too much on himself . did he really have to go into detail about his own health problems ?",
      "MOV is fascinating both as political statement and beautifully filmed documentary .",
      "an amateurish but enjoyable and informative piece correcting all the misconceptions we might have about sharks .",
      "ecological alarm clock once again rings in 2007",
      "dazzling underwater photography . compromises story/entertainment for message .",
      "undersea photographer rob stewart , who directed , wrote , narrated , stars in , and helped shoot MOV , really , really loves sharks . he also fears for their future on the planet . his lively documentary makes you see why , on both counts .",
      "faintly egotistical biologist-turned-filmmaker rob stewart spent four years making this investigative doc and the result , despite his tendency towards over-earnest , stoner-esque commentary , is enlightening , shocking and more than a little worrying .",
      "stewart 's point is that the shark fin industry , in its short-sighted quest for financial gain , may trigger an ecological disaster beyond the extinction of the sharks themselves . this is depressing , but important , stuff .",
      "stewart 's ` personal journey ' format is n't entirely successful , and verges on the egotistical , but the message of this film , and the imagery and statistics it tells it with , is angry , credible and worthwhile .",
      "planet earth saturation and the bludgeoning political stance pull it down , but it 's still a consistently engaging , partly thrilling look at a misunderstood species .",
      "with its stunning photography this would be a righteous and magnificent documentary were it not for the on-camera presence of film-maker rob stewart , marine biology 's answer to tom cruise .",
      "here 's a documentary with teeth and a bite that should leave a nasty scar on the conscience of the illegal fishermen who continue to brutally plunder sharks for their fins % u2013 and those ignorant fools who consume shark fins",
      "it 's a film you come away from feeling that you should get out there on the streets and start marching for sharks .",
      "it 's jaws - starring man as a far scarier predator .",
      "if the film sometimes gets choppy , the filmmaker 's passion for the subject and the disturbing revelations to be gained from watching the film make it more than worthwhile .",
      "it 's hard not to admire a man with such admiration for the obscure , but grizzly man did it much better .",
      "rob stewart 's visually stunning documentary makes a powerful statement about the disastrous decline of the world 's shark population and why it should -- and must -- matter to us .",
      "MOV is a rare advocacy film that arouses both awe and wonder .",
      "MOV has a message or two or three ; its intentions are nothing if not noble .",
      "while it 's true that documentary filmmaker rob stewart comes on with an onslaught of zeal over his legendary subject , sharks , it 's also true that he proves he 's no `` grizzly man '' taking up with bears in the wild .",
      "this beautiful and urgent eco-doc takes a bite out of the shark mythology made indelible by jaws .",
      "stewart is his own star , a would-be speedo model and whoa-dude narrator whose droning reflections get in the way of his stunning underwater cinematography .",
      "MOV probably ranks as one of the most frightening shark movies ever -- but sharks are the victims .",
      "undeniably captivating .",
      "this beautiful and horrifying debut feature by the underwater cameraman rob stewart of toronto characterizes the depletion of the world 's shark population as an ecological catastrophe with dire consequences for humanity .",
      "it may seem strange to contemplate the possibility that sharks are more victim than vicious . yet after stewart makes his case you may find them and their cause , as he does , all-consuming ."
    ],
    "summary": "in addition to its breathtaking underwater photography , MOV has a convincing , impassioned argument of how the plight of sharks affects everyone .",
    "id": "385330535"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1002213-better_off_dead",
    "reviews": [
      "a unique , kooky gem .",
      "unfortunately , only about half of the many jokes and gags in the film are actually funny .",
      "full of ... goofy ironies , and while it ai n't moličre , it is a pretty great entry in the teen-comedy genre . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "hilarious and brilliantly deadpan .",
      "perhaps the greatest movie of all time",
      "forget citizen kane . as a matter of history , this seminal film is unquestionably the finest work of cinema ever made . required viewing for all students and fans of the art form .",
      "i 've rarely met anyone who did n't secretly love it passionately .",
      "classic '80s cusack vehicle .",
      "strives to be offbeat and sometimes works itself into a sweat doing so . the humor often hits the bullseye , however ...",
      "i love this movie , with its bizarre tangents and dream sequences .",
      "MOV 's charm stems from its imagination and attitude .",
      "the film does n't seem to have much of a focus . but it does n't seem to want one , either .",
      "john cusack can even turn a no-brainer into worthwhile entertainment",
      "john cusack launched his career as a lovable loser at love with this teen comedy about a guy who gets dumped when his girlfriend decides to trade up .",
      "although the plot is sweet and simple , the laughs are what make this movie stand out .",
      "it 's a sure bet you 're gon na have fun ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is an anarchic mix of black humor and surreal comedy , anchored by john cusack 's winsome , charming performance .",
    "id": "10107"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fast_times_at_ridgemont_high",
    "reviews": [
      "the great high-school comedy that spawned a thousand rip-offs .",
      "the comedy captured the brutal realism of post-sexual-revolution high school life and has been imitated often , rarely equaled , and surpassed only once .",
      "the movie is sublimely funny . and interesting .",
      "lacks the frenzied energy which allowed porky 's to beat all competitors in its field .",
      "a brashly funny yet sensitive comedy that has become a cult favorite .",
      "was never all it was cracked up to be .",
      "sean penn 's calling never left mr. hand 's classroom .",
      "overrated",
      "-lsb- penn -rsb- sets the tone of fun for the whole movie .",
      "this r-rated comedy captured the natural humor of high school life , while also addressing serious topics .",
      "great fun if not quite the great teen pic some believe it to be .",
      "the nice thing is that crowe and director amy heckerling have provided something pleasant to observe in all of these characters though they really are sadly lacking in anything gripping .",
      "what it does n't have is a clear point of view , something that would make it of more interest than leafing through a high school yearbook .",
      "-lsb- video essay -rsb- `` MOV '' is a remarkable outlier in the teen movie genre even if tone-deaf critics such as roger ebert panned the film upon its released in 1982 .",
      "i 'll take something like the breakfast club or many of john hughes films over crowe 's characters any day .",
      "fast times is a brilliant , funny and often challenging examination of teenage life in the early 1980s .",
      "teen movie is full of sex , drugs , and misbehavior .",
      "a cult classic .",
      "director amy heckerling has failed to provide the raunch or poignancy that would interest young moviegoers , all of whom have seen american graffiti and its 467 imitators . ridgemont high ? a nice place to visit , but who would want to transfer there ?",
      "fast times will always be remembered for one thing : showing respect for and insight into the members of its core audience , something that was as rare in the 1980s as it is today .",
      "director amy heckerling almost encourages the film 's shapelessness , letting the individual moments speak for themselves , rather than molding a cohesive whole .",
      "works well because we have the sense that , like crowe , we are listening in .",
      "what plot there is garnishes itself with an array of such like-minded sensibilities that you 'd be hard pushed to find much in the way of fault .",
      "MOV has really stood the test of time . ridgemont will still have you reeling with laughter , and tapping your feet along to those eclectic pop classics .",
      "it 's among the coolest high school films i 've ever seen , and it 's one of the most representative movies of the 80s .",
      "fast times has not endured the passage of time .",
      "may be the greatest teen movie ever made .",
      "an engaging 80s time capsule and an important early film for heckerling and screenwriter cameron crowe .",
      "a jumbled but appealing teen-age comedy with something of a fresh perspective on the subject .",
      "a high school comedy gem",
      "pretty dated now , but it 's early penn. .",
      "how could they do this to jennifer jason leigh ? how could they put such a fresh and cheerful person into such a scuz-pit of a movie ?",
      "... largely prosaic , crude , stereotyped , and pointless .",
      "penn has a huge presence in the film , and every whacked line he utters resonates with the sheer hilarity that he fully believes in what he says",
      "the filmmakers ' attempts to capture the `` real '' high school experience run hot and cold , while the comedy quotient just does n't cut it .",
      "MOV explores adolescent energy with elan .",
      "the panoply of teen types and turmoils is dead-on accurate ."
    ],
    "summary": "while MOV features sean penn 's legendary performance , the film endures because it accurately captured the small details of school , work , and teenage life .",
    "id": "120401662"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_dance_of_reality",
    "reviews": [
      "part of the dance in `` MOV '' is between one 's own destiny and uncontrollable forces .",
      "the loony-goony visuals are still in play , but there 's a sympathy for the audience , a desire to put things to good and even meaningful use .",
      "a lot of the film does n't quite click , either as dream imagery or something more conventional . but there 's a spirit and a yearning in it that 's undeniable and bracing .",
      "say this about the godfather of midnight movies , alejandro jodorowsky : he loves a parade and he puts on a doozy",
      "growing up in a tiny , coastal mining town in northern chile in the 1930s might sound tedious , but only if you have n't seen alejandro jodorowsky 's `` MOV . ''",
      "yep . jodorowsky can still make a trippy , surreal , dream-like movie .",
      "bizarre and graphic , unforgettable and unpredictable .",
      "we never quite know where a jodorowsky film is going to take us . that 's a bonus in the present age of bland predictability .",
      "here the legacy of blood flows in both directions , replicating itself in an infinite dance . while the first half focuses on young alejandro 's relationship with macho authoritarian jaime , the second is as much about the father 's own coming of age .",
      "a thrillingly surrealist exercise , one that plays out like a dream -- sometimes like a nightmare -- as it relates jodorowsky 's semi-autobiographical , coming-of-age tale .",
      "you may not learn much about alejandro jodorowsky 's actual childhood after watching this affecting film . you will see how the situation of his growing up influenced everything else in his life , however .",
      "this is a stirring and strange mix of history , memory , and fantasy .",
      "it is playful and expansive . this film is awesome in the old sense of the word . it is one of the best films of the year .",
      "the 85-year-old chilean director 's brisk recreation of his childhood in the coastal town of tocopilla bursts with eminently buoyant and decidedly earthy passages .",
      "proof that the legendary provocateur is still a font of out-there invention .",
      "indulgent , felliniesque , funny , sad , philosophical , political , religious and some might even say incestuous , jodorowsky 's latest features the filmmaker as the compassionate guardian of his 8 year-old self ...",
      "something very close to a masterpiece .",
      "one of the most unforgettable films of this or any other year in recent memory .",
      "jodorowsky 's first movie in 23 years , and the best thing he 's done , film-wise , since the holy mountain .",
      "a film with an imagination as big as its heart - which is mighty grand , and more powerful than authoritarianism .",
      "the first feature in almost quarter of a century from the veteran director of el topo and santa sangre is a surprisingly witty , accessible magical mystery tour through his past .",
      "by turns playful , tragic and surprisingly light on its feet , this welcome comeback for alejandro jodorowsky should keep its maker fully booked on the fest circuit .",
      "in this movie , the director is bidding farewell to his past , and to his childhood , and perhaps to the world . it is an arresting spectacle .",
      "jodorowsky has crafted a beautiful bricolage which is both easy to digest and engage with and also unlike anything you have seen before . an absolute marvel .",
      "the film is a poem of ideas , a myth , a spectacle - and yet it never ceases to be a story , one with a beginning , a middle and an end . jodorowsky speaks in cyphers , but his storytelling is clear and lucid .",
      "so as flawed as it is throughout , particularly in visual quality , and though it starts to lag toward the end ... we found ourselves gladly feasting , occasionally to laugh-out-loud effect , at the groaning banquet table of MOV ...",
      "nostalgia and narcissism from a cinematic grand master .",
      "a minor success from a major figure .",
      "MOV , which deserves a place alongside amarcord as a fantastical take on coming of age , is the work of a wise and experienced old soul with the passion and curiosity of a young man .",
      "jodorowsky 's images can be stunning , and his ability to acknowledge pain without being depressing is a rare gift . the film is a wayward dream but well worth embracing .",
      "el topo is back . a surprisingly poignant , amarcord-like memoir .",
      "a wonderfully surreal journey into memory and misery , jam-packed with all the oddity and incongruity jodorowsky is known for , still kicking with mischief after all this time away from moviemaking .",
      "despite its many flaws , this is a major work that deserves attention .",
      "it makes sense , in the way that a nightmare makes sense .",
      "i appreciate the theatricality of jodorowsky and his imaginative and hallucinatory way of telling his story . he is definitely a man who follows his own path .",
      "whatever childhood traumas jodorowsky may need to exorcise are ultimately subsumed by the movie 's wild invention and carnivalesque cheer .",
      "the filmmaker 's novel approach to memoir deserves a wider audience . maybe everything has been done before , but never quite like this .",
      "it may hold some interest to cinephiles as a relic of a kind of extravagant , overheated personal cinema that does n't exist anymore .",
      "-lsb- jodorowsky 's -rsb- newfound focus is personal and political , and the vibrant result signals a major talent with plenty more to show us .",
      "MOV may be alejandro jodorowsky 's best film , and certainly , in a filmography top-heavy with freak-show hyperbole and symbology stew , the one most invested in narrative meaning .",
      "more than a return to form , MOV deepens its possibilities without sacrificing the macabre freakishness coursing through the director 's work -- and that 's the prime reason for celebrating its continuation .",
      "a welcome return for an artist who truly deserves the sobriquet el maestro .",
      "alejandro jodorowsky never manages to transcend the sense that he 's indulging himself and participating in a hollow introspection unworthy of his prior cinema .",
      "jodorowsky 's first film in 23 years is a felliniesque voyage into his past . it 's wild and messy , but also vibrantly creative , the work of a boundary-pushing artist who has n't finished exploring .",
      "MOV represents jodorowsky in an accessible mode , telling a version of his life story in a way that will allow anyone who 's never seen any of his work before -lsb- ... -rsb- to get a good sense of who he is and what he 's all about .",
      "the crisp digital has nothing on the bold primary colors of his best work -- but the shape-shifting narrative has a lazy sunday movie watching charm .",
      "the filmmaker makes peace with his difficult youth by accepting that every life is filled with both darkness and light .",
      "-lsb- video essay -rsb- ... `` MOV '' is a loving film that dares to reconstitute atrocious familial , social , and political trespasses as violations to be forgiven in the interest of altering reality .",
      "it had a few el topo moments i could dig , but mostly tested my patience in dealing with jodorowsky 's at times tiresome self-indulgent art .",
      "MOV is a surprisingly moving , emotionally satisfying experience , which twirls you round in a warm , confident embrace , making sure to toss in plenty of its director 's signature madcap moves .",
      "this probably is n't an ideal starting point for a jodorowsky novice , but fans of the fellini brand of self-referential biography cinema may find it appealing .",
      "it is absolutely crazy -- but it 's the good kind of crazy .",
      "it wo n't be to all tastes -lrb- graphic nudity , full-frontal urination -rrb- and is more hallucinatory memory book than straight autobiography , but what a journey it is .",
      "this is the work of someone coming to terms with their past , transmuting the traumas of childhood into the building blocks of adult awareness .",
      "you may not know what to think of it , but you 'll be glad that it exists .",
      "at first the film seems overly stagey , and those with little time for circus acts may find it irritating , but when jodorowsky hits his surreal stride ."
    ],
    "summary": "this long-overdue return from alejandro jodorowsky finds him just as overflowing with imagination -- and heart -- as fans have come to expect .",
    "id": "771355924"
  },
  {
    "movie": "pathfinder",
    "reviews": [
      "director marcus nispel continues in MOV the gory/lame tradition he began with his texas chainsaw massacre remake .",
      "though you ca n't say MOV does n't deliver the goods , action-wise , the movie often has trouble sticking to its story between battles or involving us with its characters and its self-consciously mythic hero .",
      "heroic fantasy of the first order , from filmmakers who obviously studied the paintings of frank frazetta and the writings of robert e. howard .",
      "once the actual fighting begins , the film turns dull and lifeless . from beginning to end , the film plods when it should pulse .",
      "a chaotic piece of storytelling , told with the dull flash of quick-cut editing , ugly cinematography , and clichés that apparently pre-date columbus ' journey to the new world .",
      "MOV 's moody , muddy look is courtesy of music-video director marcus nispel , who does n't distinguish between people and tree trunks when it comes to emotional content .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- compelling example of purely cinematic storytelling that eschews almost all dialogue and lets moody colors and visceral action tell a tale that is mythic and metaphoric ...",
      "it 's all a mess , but the scenery is nice .",
      "even an epic film with the best of intentions can be badly directed . and here 's a fine example . `` MOV , '' with its silly melodrama of a script , is proof of this .",
      "whatever significance the legend had gets lost amid the repellent butchery .",
      "... little more than an excuse to present a bunch of slice and dice battle scenes filmed with murky cinematography and a notable absence of emotional resonance .",
      "the movie is part apocalypto -lrb- warriors , threat of hostile takeover , violence ! -rrb- and part 300 -lrb- warriors , threat of hostile takeover , violence ! -rrb- , but with the commercial misfortune of being neither .",
      "it 's not our idea of a good time , but we 'll bet that plenty of adolescent boys will be doing their best to look 18 years old this weekend .",
      "celebrates a sense of identity and community more importantly defined by a shared set of convictions , than blood ties or dna .",
      "at times hallucinatory but ultimately , utterly forgettable .",
      "are these really the ancestors of ikea ?",
      "pure cheesy spectacle , as bad as anything you 'd find on ` mystery science theater 3000 , ' and with plenty of absurd dialogue for the hecklers to ridicule .",
      "all cinematic creativity seems to have focused on devising the most repellent ways to maim and murder .",
      "director marcus nispel , best known for his music video shoots delivers all style and no substance , sacrificing story for a good sword up the ass everytime .",
      "muddled , ugly , pointless , silly , incoherent , overly familiar and exceedingly dull .",
      "strives to be a latter-day conan the barbarian .",
      "the movie takes us on a journey to an ugly , contentious period in our misty , ancient past -- all the way back to four months ago , when apocalypto came out .",
      "the design , the limited , primitive color palette and the breathless , primal violence make MOV work about as well as any movie with this director and this cast and villains who speak norwegian was going to work .",
      "filled with foggy shots stolen from lotr and laden with decapitations , MOV is faux-period gore trash with no redeeming qualities and a high dullness factor . find another path .",
      "the film is one expertly staged battle after another , but it seems to be less about violence than about the frustration and fear behind violence . MOV makes sure its carnage is bloody , awful and pointless . but pretty .",
      "loud and overbusy but never exciting , MOV is an action film only insofar as airborne prop heads and severed appendages equal action .",
      "turns history into the equivalent of a horror movie , one with a less-than-stellar cast and some serious plot holes .",
      "dialogue is a low priority in this film , which has less plot than most video games .",
      "the story makes conan the barbarian seem like dostoyevsky in its complexity .",
      "there 's a fan 's sincere hokeyness about MOV that makes the experience relatively painless , in spite of the number of people who get tortured , decapitated or dismembered .",
      "this one is an instant mystery science theatre 3000 classic , ideal for watching on tv with loud friends .",
      "MOV sweeps fantasy to a new level : gritty , layered , chill-chasing .",
      "after the first 1,000 or so beheadings , impalements and severed limbs , MOV 's slash may just induce sleep .",
      "this latest bit of historical balder-dash stands in direct defiance of proven action-movie formulas , trusting its brutal concept and striking visuals to overcome a lack of star power .",
      "never has an idea of such splendid nuttiness been so squandered to the god of neurotic style .",
      "MOV is simultaneously action-packed and a total bore , a strange movie that never seems to move even though it consists of almost nothing but violence .",
      "gory but disappointing .",
      "without anything more to offer , the choreographed carnage gets stale very quickly .",
      "MOV 's main appeal will be to connoisseurs of gore , who will find no shortage of graphically rendered stabbings , shootings , smashings , severings and slicings .",
      "imagine a heavy metal album cover come suddenly to life and you pretty much have the measure of MOV .",
      "the fault here lies in the film 's dead rhythm , which never lights the sparks necessary for an action film . the plot and action progress like an eroding lakeshore , but the energy and excitement are washed away in every scene .",
      "had the camera been a firing squad pointed towards its actors , their careers would have taken less damage .",
      "a one-note slog through some painfully familiar territory .",
      "it 's a tedious experience in almost every way : the acting is numbingly one-note , the cgi work is unconvincing and often downright shoddy , and the action is poorly staged and framed so close you can never tell for sure who is lopping off whose head .",
      "metal heads will be in valhalla ; everyone else should find a different path .",
      "the movie is filmed in a way that makes it seem like the camera has epilepsy and the color desaturation renders everything murky . someone should remind director marcus nispel that there 's a difference between making a music video and a feature film .",
      "another graphic novel-y movie that presents its maniacal machismo on a smaller scale than 300 but makes up for it by being even loonier .",
      "when placed inside a film featuring vikings that look more like members of gwar and karl urban trying to act butch enough to cover the fact that he 's running around in a dishrag and uggs , any opportunity to stop the film to chat is a bad idea .",
      "like beastmaster or conan but without the wit or inspiration .",
      "i did n't think it was possible to make a movie involving vikings worse than 1978 's the norsemen starring lee majors , but director marcus nispel and company have accomplished just that with this formulaic piece of poorly made pc trash .",
      "as dim and dank as a power failure in a peepshow , MOV is apocalypto without the laughs or 300 without the muscular visuals and elevating dialogue .",
      "undone by a murky palette , silly horror-movie cliches , dumb dialogue and a confusing climactic sequence .",
      "no more than a minute into this , and it becomes obvious that the next 98 are going to be trouble .",
      "the official MOV web site is far more interesting than the movie itself , and you 'll get better history lessons from the vikings of minnesota .",
      "the end of the road almost makes this a path worth taking , but most audience members will probably be too bored by the time the movie finally gets there to really care .",
      "must the 13-year-old boy hollywood seems most eager to please also be a sadist ? first came apocalypto , then 300 , now MOV .",
      "there are two kinds of people in the world : those who think slow-motion is cool and those who do not . if you are of the former , i can recommend MOV .",
      "the plot and action progress like an eroding lakeshore , but the energy and excitement are washed away in every scene .",
      "i was so irritated that i paid money to see this that i snuck into two movies afterward to feel better about my investment . boooooooooring .",
      "boasting a prettified brutality that rivals that of 300 , MOV also explores a similar theme , the manly pursuit of revenge at any cost .",
      "for all its flaws , MOV is a unique little action film .",
      "it 's a movie that belies its title , showing neither a strong sense of direction nor the drive to do anything other than display a whole lot of slashing and stabbing .",
      "the plot ... can be summed up neatly in four words : hack ! slash ! grunt ! splat ! make that five : every once in a while one of the dying vikings lets out a loud , homer simpson-style 'd ` oh ! ' before departing for valhalla .",
      "what killed this film in the theater was the lack of plot .",
      "in the movie 's attempts to create drama amid the action , as in a downhill sled chase , all energy is sapped , and the audience ends up feeling nothing .",
      "here 's hoping MOV ii is a straight-to-video - game release .",
      "blood flows freely here , but the movie never creates a keen sense of involvement or mystery . even a major cliffhanging -lrb- literally -rrb- set piece winds up blurred by the addition of a blinding snowstorm .",
      "cool concept and stylish visuals aside , MOV is n't strong enough to offer the type of prolonged escapism one might expect from a movie that pits vikings against indians .",
      "though MOV was completed before 300 and the equally artful and brutal apocalypto , it can still do nothing but slog along in their footprints .",
      "all basic interest , to say nothing of excitement , is sapped whenever the big , brutal battle sequences come to a halt and inane dialogue takes over .",
      "all grunting , all goring , the witless action flick MOV has little to recommend it .",
      "so bad , i was hoping everyone would die in the end , so i would n't have to sit through a sequel .",
      "... given that battles between unequal forces have been a constant in human history , it provides some food for thought amidst the bloodshed ."
    ],
    "summary": "a few rousing action sequences ca n't make up for MOV 's non-existent plot and silly dialogue .",
    "id": "387541669"
  },
  {
    "movie": "never_back_down",
    "reviews": [
      "pretty much all of MOV is shot like an episode of punk 'd , with a soundtrack from an mtv2 playlist . which is all perfectly appropriate and kinda fun .",
      "i laughed so much at the litany of clichés that i finally had to admit i was entertained from start to finish by this cheesy knock-off .",
      "you could call this `` fight club jr. '' blended with `` karate kid redux '' and `` the fast and the furious again . ''",
      "proves to be a bit of a guilty pleasure",
      "when i think of tough fighters the first thing i think is disney world . you can take so much of that place before you want to go and beat the heck out of someone .",
      "maybe it 's just a genre picture , but scene after scene in MOV displays vitality and wit . this is the year 's first good-looking and fully enjoyable american movie .",
      "compulsively watchable ... there 's always something viscerally exciting about watching kung fu fighters whaling on each other .",
      "if you thought the problem with step up 2 : the streets was that there were n't enough kicks to the head , this virtual remake is for you .",
      "the story does have its moments , but for the most part it 's a paint-by-the-numbers affair .",
      "with its thin characters and derivative plot , the finished product seems more like a marketing concept than an actual film .",
      "this film 's achilles ' heel is its brain .",
      "it 's a little karate kid , a smidge of fight club ... a lot of the o.c. -lrb- evil boy gigandet played an evil boy on that series -rrb- , and presto : probable hit .",
      "as tennessee williams so often intimated , there 's always something to prove down south - typically one 's homoerotically-charged sense of manhood .",
      "definitely better than a swift kick to the head , but it 's just about as subtle .",
      "a pulpy piece of formulaic genre entertainment that couches its nonviolent message in a series of over-the-top , sweaty smack-downs designed to please youtube 's backyard brawl bunch .",
      "the movie is just a cheesy , preposterous , semi-eroticized way of yelling , ` fight ! fight ! , ' when two people go at it in the school cafeteria .",
      "as much as MOV tries to be the fist and the furious , it 's really just a load of raging bullsh*t .",
      "tyler does not live on planet earth , but planet hollywood formula , where the storm clouds of fight club hang over the once charming but now seedy landscape of the karate kid .",
      "never see movies that give stupid macho advice in their titles .",
      "jeff wadlow directed this exploitation flick , which seems designed for students on spring break .",
      "if mystery science theater 3000 ever makes a comeback , i 've got its first movie . a soulless blend of bad action , bad acting and worse writing , MOV is tolerable only if merciless wisecrackers are offering commentary .",
      "remember in the '80s when they used to make all those stupid fight movies ? MOV is just like that . i was in the mood for a stupid '80s fight movie where fights happen just because we want to see fights .",
      "while both -lsb- this movie and `` karate kid '' -rsb- are unintentionally hilarious , the difference is no one will remember `` MOV '' in two weeks , let alone 20 years .",
      "the fights are parceled out at intervals during the last half , all leading to a climactic battle . but it 's hard to build suspense when you know it is coming and you know who will win .",
      "MOV is a compulsory guilty pleasure . think : save the last dance meets fight club meets 8 mile meets youtube .",
      "this movie is n't bad just because it follows a formula slavishly but because it does so without verve or passion .",
      "the ethical nitwittery of `` fight so you do n't have to fight again '' and invocations of the iliad in this context brazenly transform a dumb bone-cruncher into a putridly dissembling one .",
      "yesterday 's fight club is today 's `` combat club '' in this battle of teen six-pack abs .",
      "a modest surprise : better acted than needed , better made than expected .",
      "the karate kid joins the fight club and kicks butt !",
      "high school fight club . discover new star sean faris and his homoerotic nemesis cam gigandet .",
      "this unlikely hybrid of the karate kid and fight club is formulaic and derivative , but sufficiently well made to work as both teen-angst melodrama and bone-rattling brawl picture .",
      "seriously , when it comes to filling your soundtrack with whiny , alt-rock ballads , you should highly consider backing down .",
      "the 1980s are alive but not very well in MOV ...",
      "fetishised footage of taut , muscular young men grappling with and pounding on each other . all i could think was , `` oh , go ahead . back down . we 'll all be happier . ''",
      "... the plot is practically a remake of the karate kid . that may be sufficiently long ago that the target audience of teens wo n't notice , but it 's pretty blatant .",
      "at its core MOV is just another teen exploitation movie , but middle-age viewers who wander into the theater might get the same giddy rush as the kids .",
      "the human body ca n't do or withstand the things this movie claims it can , and one can only hope that pic 's probable success does n't trigger a dramatic rise in schoolyard body-slams , arm locks and chokeholds .",
      "a cross between `` the karate kid '' and `` fight club , '' though without the a-list cast . that 's right , the a-list cast . when compared to the d-listers assembled in `` back down , '' pat morita and ralph macchio might as well be a-list .",
      "movie is dopey . and with its emphasis on stupid violence , xylophone abs , and getting yourself on youtube , it 's yet another product that makes you feel bad about today 's youth culture .",
      "gigandet chews up the scenery like he is a gigantic , post-apocalyptic termite bent on destruction .",
      "director jeff wadlow and screenwriter chris hauty offer viewers nothing that they ca n't see done better on spike tv or one of the espn clones .",
      "jeff wadlow 's direction is disorderly .",
      "if you think about what this film is saying , the superficiality is overwhelming .",
      "even for the trashy sub-genre it belongs to , `` MOV '' is sadly just lazy action pablum as will the five straight to dvd sequels be . i 'll just stick to `` karate kid '' ...",
      "towering above all is hounsou , whose performance grants MOV a measure of dignity .",
      "a formula flick that should have tapped out in the script stage .",
      "by the time ever-noble , ever-watchable djimon hounsou shows up to teach earnest young jake honor and roundhouse kicks , the power-rock and smashmouth idiocy become like a fever dream , sweaty and hard to shake off .",
      "enjoyably trashy teen flick that plays like a dumbed-down version of fight club , enlivened by an engaging lead performance by star-in-the-making sean faris .",
      "the karate kid meets fight club but it 's no way near as good as it sounds .",
      "speaking as someone who approached MOV with curiosity and hope rather than a sense of obligation , i implore you to stay away .",
      "the acting is hammy , djimon hounsou shows up to give the flick a corny air of karate kid and there 's nothing particularly original about the whole premise but somehow it works . it must be those abs . or the kicks to them .",
      "come back mr miyagi , all is forgiven .",
      "even though it 's as predictable as a pro-wrestling match , what it lacks in originality it makes up for in the nervous energy of youth and testosterone .",
      "imagine if fight club impregnated step up . their bastard child would be MOV .",
      "while the character of jake is n't an emotionally taxing one , faris has his moments , especially in a low-key scene in which he attempts to explain why his character is full of rage .",
      "here 's what i hoped for : someone to root for , someone to root against , an inspiring coach , some eye candy and , of course , training montages . i got what i wanted .",
      "bloody fight film has heart , but it 's no champion .",
      "a naive and truly obnoxious movie about the world of mixed martial arts .",
      "people that actually think the trailer looks cool will probably like the movie enough and it does have some cool fights , i just could n't get past the fact that the movie gave you no one to root for .",
      "the result is an entertaining roller coaster of emotions and actions , with djimon hounsou bringing dignity and meaning to his role as jean , the martial arts coach with his own demons to conquer",
      "a sort of teenage fight club , complete with daddy issues , MOV is a slight refinement of the sort of picture that was ascendant in the '80s ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "a generic , violent underdog story that pays a lot of lip service to non-violence when its characters are n't busy kicking and punching the tar out of each other .",
      "a cliché-ridden guilty pleasure .",
      "MOV is a tired , asinine attempt to piggyback on a fight club subculture and it does wonders to make mma seem like the most idiotic undertaking in recent memory .",
      "mr. miyagi would not be pleased .",
      "if you combined the karate kid with fight club , then threw in a dash of the o.c. and you got served then beat it with a stick until it was really stupid , you 'd have something twice as smart as MOV .",
      "amid all this conventional-plotty mishmash , it 's not a newsflash that the role of jean , the tireless , morally upright and vaguely spiritual mentor , is especially grating .",
      "director jeff wadlow finds a sort of nobility in the subject matter than you might not expect for a film that consists in large part of bloodthirsty mobs clamoring for violence .",
      "finally , a movie that tells us what to do actually has something to say .",
      "MOV offers extreme fighting as the modern-day alternative to sex , drugs and rock 'n' roll .",
      "in lieu of character development we get musical montages , and the film is sliced and diced more than all of sweeney todd 's victims combined .",
      "you have had soup deeper than this film , and a referee should have been on hand to call foul on the acting .",
      "in the future , movies this derivative will be made by robots .",
      "surprisingly , the movie is not terrible . in fact , it 's watchable -- if you can stand the sight of people pummeling each other .",
      "MOV is teensploitation at its most obvious -- a boneheaded cliche-rama built around six-pack-ab standoffs between preening studs .",
      "... spouts a hollow message of nonviolence while celebrating the brutal satisfaction of beating the crap out of someone .",
      "bruising but brainless teen action-melodrama ... like a match that delivers a few good punches but drags on to a dull and predictable end .",
      "is MOV so bad it 's good , or just plain bad ? really , it 's a little bit of both ."
    ],
    "summary": "though not without its pleasures , MOV faithfully adheres to every imaginable fight movie cliché .",
    "id": "770681995"
  },
  {
    "movie": "pinocchio_1940",
    "reviews": [
      "gorgeous",
      "possibly the best disney animated feature",
      "clearly the high-water mark of disney 's animated features ; very nearly the high-water mark of american commercial film .",
      "maybe the best disney of them all -- and that 's no wooden compliment .",
      "arguably the greatest of the studio 's hand-drawn animated films , a technical and emotional marvel that has lost none of its charm , humor , or horror in the nearly 70 years since its initial theatrical release",
      "perhaps the high water mark for walt disney pictures . sixty-five years still have n't produced its equal .",
      "it 's an exciting and sometimes , for younger kids , scary adventure .",
      "MOV is truly a frightening tale that parents need to carefully consider whether to show their children .",
      "a marvel and a joy to behold , it 's the real thing . it 's the stuff that dreams -- and nightmares -- are made of .",
      "one of disney 's greatest triumphs .",
      "continues to shine bright as one of the most magical and delightful films in the disney animated library .",
      "MOV is above all a cautionary story of the dangers that lurk beyond the comforting arms of the family .",
      "one of the crown jewels of american cinema , and arguably the most beautiful animated movie in history .",
      "dreams are something we all need to have , irrespective of age ; this uplifting fable reminds us of that .",
      "even in our cynical age , it still manages to impress .",
      "at the heart of this art is the thrill of the then-new : when MOV hits sea-base and gushes `` gee ! what a big place ! '' , we share a sense of joy at the filmmakers ' creative adventures .",
      "although it may lack the heart-tugging appeal of snow white and the seven dwarfs , the consensus among animation fans is that 1940 's MOV remains the most perfect animated feature walt disney produced .",
      "some films you think you know well , until you revisit them , and are struck all over again by that sense of wonder that moved you in the first place .",
      "in spirit a classical european fairy tale , full of wonder and terror ... a pinnacle of artistic achievement that , after bambi , classic disney would never even try to match again .",
      "the original scared straight !",
      "can be enjoyed by both the young and old for its fine detailed craftsmanship and pleasing fairytale story .",
      "for today 's knotty kids , MOV 's tale still has a few lessons , especially for little boys who lie , ditch school and go to amusement parks .",
      "not up there with the very top echelon of disney classics , but MOV will still work its magic on younger viewers .",
      "was there ever a scarier , more exciting animated feature than MOV ?",
      "it 's still amazing to watch the sheer delight in movement and the sheer joy in decorating the frame with colors and shapes .",
      "nope , no perverted subtext here .",
      "MOV is a substantial piece of entertainment for young and old .",
      "the charm , humor and loving care with which it treats its inanimate characters puts it in a class by itself .",
      "it still is the best thing mr. disney has done and therefore the best cartoon ever made .",
      "probably shows disney 's virtues and vices more clearly than any other cartoon .",
      "a witty , touching , beautifully composed fable with strong biblical undertones .",
      "the moral lessons include a literalization of metaphors about lying and other forms of misbehaving , and the grasp of a little boy 's emotions and behavior often borders on the uncanny ."
    ],
    "summary": "ambitious , adventurous , and sometimes frightening , MOV arguably represents the pinnacle of disney 's collected works -- it 's beautifully crafted and emotionally resonant .",
    "id": "22471"
  },
  {
    "movie": "drumline",
    "reviews": [
      "with its young cast and an appealing balance of uplifting attitude and irreverent humor , MOV has the potential to be a sleeper hit .",
      "while you might not be able to dance to it , MOV has a good enough beat to propel it and make being in a marching band look cool .",
      "shakes , rattles and rolls the house .",
      "MOV sags a little toward the middle ... but the final showdown is a skills - 'n' - style spectacular that feels like vibrant outtake from a highly choreographed civil war .",
      "-lsb- has -rsb- an abundance of heart and humor .",
      "there is nothing inspirational about MOV and the only interesting parts occur in the film 's final stanza .",
      "the band scenes are downright gladiatorial in their visceral impact and energy ... edited with the tightness of a snare drum and photographed with the geometrical majesty of a busby berkeley musical .",
      "better than it has any right to be , yet remains an uneven affair not good enough to be worth running out and seeing .",
      "i love that we get into this world of marching bands . we barely see any football players -- we see the top of their helmets as they 're getting out of the way .",
      "any movie that makes hard work seem heroic deserves a look .",
      "see this film to remind yourself what the great marching bands look and sound like .",
      "more than compensating for the formula script are MOV 's tuneful glory and driving rhythms , along with a pulsating vitality that never flags .",
      "MOV is a movie that treats its characters and audience with respect ; it ca n't be accused of being a dumbed-down teen comedy .",
      "by the time its otherwise paint-by-numbers story reaches a finale , MOV has made band seem cool -- no small feat in the wake of american pie 2 .",
      "it 's pretty warm , fuzzy and entertaining , even if it is n't very good .",
      "MOV is a brassy formula film of a very high order , a movie that 's both entertaining and inspirational .",
      "MOV has got the beat . this terrific film will have your feet tapping in movie-going joy .",
      "this is the same formula with different variables .",
      "... enthusiastically invokes the percussion rhythm , the brass soul and the sense of fierce competition that helps make great marching bands half the fun of college football games .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- is entertaining for what it does , and admirable for what it does n't do .",
      "rife with nutty cliches and far too much dialogue .",
      "at times , MOV is almost like the moments before an electrical storm - your hair stands on end ; your heart beats faster because of the adrenaline rush ; and your ears pop because of the pressure change in the air .",
      "do n't expect any surprises in this checklist of teamwork cliches ...",
      "perhaps it 's cliche to call the film ` refreshing , ' but it is . ` MOV ' shows a level of young , black manhood that is funny , touching , smart and complicated .",
      "devon 's story is affecting , but it is the action on the field that makes the movie something special .",
      "there 's a reason why people go to the bathroom during halftime .",
      "-lsb- b -rsb- ear in mind that this is a movie whose climax features the kind of college football halftime antics you might normally take a bathroom break to avoid watching .",
      "the symbols float like butterflies and the spinning styx sting like bees . i wanted more .",
      "... this film has a vibrant and edgy feel to it making it a cut above the others .",
      "a superlative b movie -- funny , sexy , and rousing .",
      "pretty formulaic stuff ... but the specific setting ... sets it apart .",
      "charles stone iii is a craftsman with brains and taste , an instinctive sense of where to put the camera and the discipline not to belabor scenes .",
      "there 's something about a marching band that gets me where i live .",
      "offers little that 's surprising or groundbreaking , but , because the script is smart enough not to insult us and to develop a group of interesting characters , the act of watching the film is an entertaining experience rather than a tedious exercise .",
      "amazing ! a college story that works even without vulgarity , sex scenes , and cussing !",
      "MOV has plenty of opportunity to shift into sports-movie autopilot and resists it at every turn , valuing discovery over expectation .",
      "maybe you 've seen most of these things before . but you 've rarely seen them in such an exuberant setting .",
      "not exactly worth a drum roll but a movie with enough collegiate ka-boom to earn its title , MOV is a percussion-driven musical variation on every sports pic you 've seen about the talented hot dog who eventually learns to become a team player .",
      "its over-reliance on genre conventions , character types and formulaic conflict resolutions crushes all the goodwill it otherwise develops .",
      "in place of bring it on 's humor , MOV lays it on thick with a message a minute , all clichéd .",
      "brimming with energy and spirit .",
      "MOV is -- the mere suggestion , albeit a visually compelling one , of a fully realized story .",
      "a big , loud , bang-the-drum bore .",
      "what the story lacks in surprise , it more than makes up for in flamboyance .",
      "this entertaining and enthusiastically told tale shrewdly energizes its way-familiar plot line by setting it amid one of the greatest and least-known spectacles in american sports .",
      "director charles stone iii fails to find a coherent grammar with which to shoot the band performances , leaving them flat and at a remove from the exuberant , pull-out-the-stops crowd pleasers they are presumably intended to be .",
      "it 's pretty difficult to resist the film 's freshly choreographed charm .",
      "director charles stone iii applies more detail to the film 's music than to the story line ; what 's best about MOV is its energy .",
      "who knew marching band could be so dramatic ?",
      "as you watch the drummers pound out their polyrhythms and twirl their sticks , you may find it hard to stay in your seat .",
      "although it bangs a very cliched drum at times , this crowd-pleaser 's fresh dialogue , energetic music , and good-natured spunk are often infectious .",
      "cannon 's confidence and laid-back good spirits are , with the drumming routines , among the film 's saving graces .",
      "outstanding cast , great message , strong language .",
      "this is such a high-energy movie where the drumming and the marching are so excellent , who cares if the story 's a little weak .",
      "in the film , snappily directed by charles stone 3d , the marching bands ' duels are as fun as the cheerleader wars in bring it on .",
      "MOV comes close to collapsing under the weight of drawn-out scenes and an earnest story that piles on minor themes and subplots , but the energy and visual kick of the band numbers saves the day .",
      "sure , you can say this marches to a similar beat as bring it on , but even if it is formulaic , MOV is fun .",
      "MOV ably captures the complicated relationships in a marching band .",
      "a thoroughly formulaic movie ... the only truly new element here is the musicmaking background , and it 's a fairly easy transplant .",
      "not a bad way to spend a couple of hours .",
      "an exhilarating serving of movie fluff .",
      "even if we 've seen it before , it comes up fresh in this version .",
      "MOV is the real deal , a toe-tapping , feel-good sleeper with an unlikely setting -- a college marching band -- that feels fresh and rousing despite a formulaic script .",
      "charles stone iii has assembled a diverse and dramatic piece of material that is indebted as much to america 's love of sports as it is to america 's problems with raising men .",
      "... it must be a good story , it 's been told so many times before .",
      "the film 's saving grace is the brilliant execution of its march numbers .",
      "`` MOV '' makes marching bands as soul-stirring as raise-the-roof gospel and more irresistibly , foot-stompingly , hip-hoppily thrilling than any video currently playing on mtv .",
      "the fantastically edited scenes of battling bands in action are guaranteed to set your heart racing .",
      "MOV has a lower profile than almost any other holiday movie , yet it boasts a higher fun quotient than many of its more touted competitors .",
      "true bandos can see themselves in this exuberant , charismatic and lovingly accurate college marching-band movie that faked no flavor while staying in step with themes of instruction , character and respect .",
      "it 's a shame films of this ilk do n't make it into theaters often .",
      "director charles stone iii , once again takes on overly familiar material and gives it an enthusiastic spin .",
      "a most unusual musical ... learning something from his subject , stone gives the picture a snappy rhythm . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "... though the movie does overstay its welcome , it 's never boring and the majority of the music is infectiously catchy ...",
      "a fun story for the whole family -- with some very good lessons about growing up .",
      "slick choreography and a confident performance by orlando jones keep this tale from beating to the tune of the same old drum ."
    ],
    "summary": "essentially a sports movie with drums , the energetic MOV somehow manages to make the familiar seem fresh .",
    "id": "10577"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_rocket",
    "reviews": [
      "australian writer/director kim mordaunt was inspired to make this wistful , often lyrical film after his 2007 documentary bomb harvest ... thankfully he layers the unavoidable political notes with real warmth , humour and character .",
      "one of the most exotic coming-of-age movies you 're likely to see .",
      "endearing , gripping and heartwarming , MOV recently won the `` world narrative competition '' prize at tribeca , and it 's easy to see why . the picture is crowd pleasing and enjoyable , but admiringly respectful and carefully considered .",
      "the particulars of laos 's historical conflicts are sometimes only obliquely confronted , but the torrid past of covered-up wars palpably echoes through the scarred yet majestic landscapes .",
      "MOV is a well-constructed delivery system for sparkly cheer , but it lacks a more substantial payload .",
      "uplifting , engrossing and thrilling while remaining accessible to both art-house and mainstream audiences . it 's destined to become a sleeper hit .",
      "mordaunt does n't always succeed at balancing the sentimental , the political and the ethnographic , but at its strongest the story is a seamless melding of history 's dark undertow and a child 's indefatigable optimism .",
      "disamoe demonstrates the resourcefulness he learned during a period when he was a street seller and beggar . it 's his exuberant performance , as much as the pungently naturalistic setting , that lifts MOV 's scenario above the generic .",
      "a pretty , somewhat sleepy and finally strange once-upon-a-time tale ...",
      "long on atmosphere and less sentimental about poverty than `` beasts of the southern wild , '' the film carries a potent charge of authenticity .",
      "in ` MOV ' the children and outcasts triumph because they are innocent enough to believe and act as though the impossible is possible .",
      "a coming-of-age tale infused with fantastic elements that more than compensate for its predictability .",
      "the characters may be clichés , but the performances are utterly fresh .",
      "a hugely enjoyable , thoroughly infectious feature debut .",
      "it has a great story to tell and subtly mixes the comedic and dramatic genres . some moments will leave you smiling . other moments will leave you on the edge of your seat .",
      "-lsb- it 's -rsb- a feel-good , triumph-over-adversity story involving a small boy and , although this outcome also is n't in any doubt , at least the journey is fascinating and it 's been made with a heart that is warm .",
      "this utterly charming , fable-like coming of age tale will live longer in the hearts and minds of audiences .",
      "vivid , travelogue-y village pic .",
      "try not to fall off the edge of your seat during the film 's nail-biting final scenes .",
      "despite some dark edges , this crowd-pleasing laotian drama is far too heartwarming for its own good .",
      "it is a likable piece of work whose gentleness is an interesting contrast to the grim and even tragic subject matter .",
      "if the laotians in the film appear to be superstitious simpletons , it 's not because they actually are - it 's because mr. mordaunt made them so .",
      "inescapeable hopelessness turns out to be neither",
      "a vital fairytale about a ten-year-old laotian boy whose family thinks he 's been cursed since birth , `` MOV '' is an unlikely heartwarmer .",
      "in some ways , it feels like a throwback to many '80s teen movies , where everything comes down to a competition at the end , and the hero will finally get the chance to prove his worth .",
      "a coming-of-age fable driven by naturalistic performances and a poignant atmosphere of loss .",
      "this engaging fable oscillates between feel-good spunk and unexpected tragedy , and hits the right notes along the way .",
      "it follows a search for personal salvation while painting a portrait of laotian life that 's both revealing and relatable .",
      "a powerful , deeply moving drama about a young boy who comes to terms with the tragedies that have befallen his family by creating a thing of beauty - a gorgeous , high-flying rocket emitting triumphant bursts of color - out of refuse left by the war .",
      "a first -lsb- feature -rsb- for both mordaunt 's filmography and the country 's catalogue of internationally-released titles and it 's difficult to imagine a debut being stronger .",
      "MOV wo n't change anyone 's world , but as a pleasantly sweet piece of world cinema , it 's still worth seeing and being charmed by .",
      "a stirring , lushly-constructed celebration of youthful spirit .",
      "this strikingly original feelgood fable is artfully balanced between director kim mordaunt 's roots in documentary and a spellbinding magic realism .",
      "a simple but charming , affecting and thought-provoking story , rich in atmosphere and local history , and beautifully acted by its young leads .",
      "a lao-brow fable that resonates richly with the realities of globalisation .",
      "kim mordaunt 's when-life-gives-you-land-mines tale is light on well-drawn characters , but its performances , especially from the nonprofessional junior members , more than light the fuse for the finale .",
      "the visually stunning location of laos provides an enthralling and evocative backdrop for director/screenwriter kim mordaunt 's engaging film MOV , a lush and bruising coming-of-age story .",
      "the adventures of a 10-year-old laotian boy are subject to radically different interpretations in MOV , australian documentarian kim mordaunt 's impressive narrative debut .",
      "formulaic but likeable .",
      "... an immaculately crafted , visually stunning and affecting rite-of-passage drama",
      "never less than charming and stirring in its ability to recreate a childhood that overcomes chaos , MOV , abetted with a convincing cast led by two superb child actors , proves instantly why it 's been winning accolades worldwide .",
      "there 's this lovely sense of texture of a culture . there is a traditional narrative arc .",
      "the film is not only a feel-good affair , though it certainly is that - it has something of significance to say .",
      "it 's an emotionally forceful film , hurtling towards the kind of conclusion that western audiences want to see .",
      "MOV is a thoroughly infectious yarn set among the jungles of laos .",
      "the director moves the incident-packed story line at an energetic pace ; there 's never a dull moment . you 're bound to hear applause as the final credits roll .",
      "recalling the captivating essence of niki caro 's whale rider -lrb- 2002 -rrb- in its telling of a life with fate and faith in its corner , this australian/laotian/thai co-production could find similar breakout success once -lrb- inevitably warm -rrb- word of mouth spreads .",
      "if you are n't moved by the `` MOV '' your heart is defective",
      "with its themes of loss and redemption , MOV is effective , simple storytelling with many layers and a film that tells more stories than its narrative suggests",
      "working with an untested cast , mordaunt uses all the tools at his command to engineer a film that has won major awards at tribeca , including best actor for the young disamoe . he relies on plenty of coverage and the skills of talented editor nick meyers",
      "a true original , depicting a culture rarely filmed , observed with a respectful but never overly reverential eye .",
      "crowd-pleasers come in many mysterious packages , and there might not be a bigger crowd-pleaser this year than MOV ; a disarming fable about a makeshift family desperately seeking a place to live in a ravaged laos .",
      "an extremely rewarding and entertaining film made all the stronger for the integrity and cultural details that underpin it .",
      "MOV was designed as a crowd pleaser , and it does that : it combines the danger of the unknown with the safety of feel-good narrative expectations for film festival success , and perhaps even general release victory .",
      "beautifully cloaked as an affecting coming of age tale , this award winning drama also says a great deal about a part of the world rarely seen on screen ."
    ],
    "summary": "a feel-good success crafted with care , kim mordaunt 's story of two young kids in laos is a heartfelt audience pleaser while remaining sensitive toward its subjects .",
    "id": "771354621"
  },
  {
    "movie": "hard_candy",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's well worth seeing , because it is well made -- apart from a few gaps in logic -- and well acted .",
      "MOV is not perfect , but it is a provocative piece of filmmaking with a dark and daring heart that makes it worth seeing .",
      "if slade 's intent is so clever , then why is the film so stupid as to hamfist a two-hour anti-pedophilia psa down the throats of an entire culture that , by and large , already agrees with the premise ... ?",
      "a calculated provocation with pretensions to public service value -lrb- think of the infamous ` molester ' episode of ` diff'rent strokes ' -rrb- .",
      "... icky , incoherent thriller ...",
      "the aptly named MOV is a challenging , flawed but strangely engrossing film .",
      "MOV is an exploitation film , with very little happening but a guy getting tortured for about 75 minutes of screen time .",
      "... a film that gives you something to think about , raising questions that linger long after the theater lights have brightened .",
      "it 's cinematic s&m , a bondage-control game masquerading as a thriller .",
      "... no matter who does what to whom , what you 're looking at is my torture session with andrew , in one way or another .",
      "a great suspence thriller in the likes of misery",
      "as MOV moves further and further away from its opening scenes ' gripping ambiguity , the frightening conviction page brings to her role becomes the only thing keeping the film from lurching into sleazy , pulpy camp .",
      "is n't merely difficult to swallow , but none too tasty going down .",
      "this is what horror films are all about .",
      "it 's the kind of indie film that makes its mark by a controversial theme , an infamous scene , and dines out on its film-festival buzz .",
      "thoroughly confounding the ` normal ' relationship between abuser and victim , first-time director slade presents a complex morality tale under the guise of an exploitation thriller .",
      "hayley and jeff come across in almost equally repellent measure , their behaviors driven less by organic impulses than by their need to satisfy the script 's elaborate series of reversals and counter-reversals .",
      "slick slime wrapped as a high-toned , girl-power shocker",
      "wilson and page are compelling and slade demonstrates a slick stylistic flair , but the over over-the-top shock pandering renders the dark lesson convoluted and hard to swallow .",
      "personally , i 'd rather have this movie obliterated from my memory .",
      "one of the more original and grueling films to come out in years and i loved it ...",
      "... -lsb- i -rsb- t 's page who really carries the picture , delivering screenwriter brian nelson 's clever dialogue so convincingly , we actually become scared for the child predator that she 's tormenting .",
      "MOV will make the guys squirm in their seats for extended lengths of time as diminutive hayley coldly goes about her business punishing jeff for his crimes .",
      "british director david slade announces himself as a master of economy and discrimination by leaving the horror to the audience 's imagination . this movie will make you squirm like you 've never squirmed before .",
      "slade and his actors keep the tension high , and the questions do n't come to mind until after the credits roll .",
      "more sour than hard , this highfalutin exploitation flick starts with an unsavory premise that quickly becomes downright unpalatable .",
      "the whole affair feels as much like a stunt as it does an exploration of crime and punishment , but is no less thrilling a ride .",
      "maddeningly exploitative , the film takes a provocative subject -- pedophilia -- and wraps it in a sterile , vacuum-sealed package , devoid of meaning .",
      "does n't let itself be pinned down as being about something , but a movie this skilled at getting under my skin does n't need a purpose .",
      "wilson might be playing a rapist of teenagers , but after 10 minutes of watching page contort and stammer in such a loud , self-aware fashion , he does n't look like such a bad guy after all .",
      "a great film on this disturbing subject deserves to be made , but MOV is way too soft .",
      "skews just enough toward death and the maiden and away from saw iii .",
      "MOV is an ugly film , which is not precisely meant as an aesthetic or even a moral judgment .",
      "the movie is subjective , and it does n't paint a lazy picture of who is good or bad",
      "exploits the politics of pedophilia , sensationalizing it for today 's slasher market",
      "the film 's greatest flaw is its conception of its 14-year-old heroine -lrb- ? -rrb- as an avenging angel of death , complete with otherworldly confidence and poise , devoid of the kind vulnerability that would mark a girl of this age .",
      "riveting .",
      "the scenario at play here -- reportedly based on real-life attacks on suspected pedophiles by schoolgirls in japan -- is an intriguing one , but as executed ultimately stretches plausibility .",
      "go for the gut and the shock value and add some obvious dumb monologues that explain deep-seated troubles in the bad guy and st. crispin 's day victory speeches from the 14-year-old 's mouth .",
      "because of its tricky subject matter and a pair of stellar performances , it 's tempting to give `` MOV '' more credit than it 's entitled to .",
      "there 's really only one compelling reason to see this film and that is the extraordinary performance by young ellen page , a breakout if ever there was one .",
      "candy sets up the tense situation , builds it up patiently , masterfully , then has no idea where to go with it . at least page 's career has an obvious direction -- up .",
      "page never shies away from the implication that hayley might be deeply disturbed by her own set of demons .",
      "i screamed . i squirmed . as a 2 person film , a stunning debut by director david slade . ellen page and patrick wilson are sensational .",
      "curiously sticky with the residue of lurid exploitation .",
      "MOV is the kind of movie that fairly demands coffee and discussion afterward .",
      "only two males working in perfectly mediocre pulp harmony would dream up an avenging teen angel like this one .",
      "a harrowing drama that keeps kicking up the intensity another notch until it kicks it two notches too many , MOV is involving because you truly ca n't guess how it will end .",
      "MOV is a psychological thriller as chilling as a cold , serrated blade to the jugular .",
      "while i could n't recommend MOV -lsb- rated r -rsb- for its easy entertainment value , it is worth seeing for how a relative newcomer like david slade handles a high tension two hander .",
      "a film that will have you both squirming in your seat and teetering on the edge of it .",
      "strong one-on-one acting elevates this table-turning horror show .",
      "you can sense that it wants to be talked about more than it wants to actually say anything",
      "hard-hitting independent thriller about child molestation and vigilante justice .",
      "this swamp gets very murky indeed . bring your moral compass .",
      "the film 's strength is in the way it continually sustains suspense , particularly in the use of sound effects . very little is shown , but much is heard .",
      "unreels with smooth pace and unexpected grace notes , both visually and by its two leads .",
      "a psychological thriller in which the mouse hunts the cat .",
      "a cracking little thriller which makes you think even as it 's keeping you on the edge of your seat . it 's not always easy viewing , but MOV is an intelligent , challenging film which deserves to be seen .",
      "it 's hard to find a warm spot in the heart for anyone here , or for those who created them .",
      "two parts sheer brilliance , one part contrived mess .",
      "MOV 's calculated intimations of bloodshed are , like everything else about this faux-grrrl power fiasco , just phony posturing .",
      "a smart thriller ... feels like fatal attraction updated for the internet age .",
      "at the very first , MOV plays hardball . it 's hard to watch , hard to listen to , hard to think about . and then it falls apart .",
      "MOV is tantalizing , brutal , fetishistic , gripping and exhausting , with plenty of moments for movie patrons to shout advice at the screen .",
      "... a movie that will inspire discussions once it 's over .",
      "MOV is the rare movie that may be worthiest for the arguments you 'll have after it 's over .",
      "seen as a film , seen as acting and direction , seen as just exactly how it unfolds on the screen , MOV is impressive and effective .",
      "it 's page 's turn as the psychopathically righteous hayley that grabs your full attention .",
      "page brings a shocking intensity to this role that makes her one of the few actors out there who could get into a staredown with pacino or deniro and live to tell about it .",
      "it 's just cheap exploitation , teasing around a serious issue and then , disappointingly , running from it .",
      "yeah , this candy is hard to handle , but at the same time it 's oh so sweet .",
      "this is an extremely well-made film that pushes precisely the right buttons .",
      "as gripping as MOV is , one ca n't quite shake away the feeling that we 're the ones being exploited by its mordant blend of kinky revenge fantasy and push-me-pull-you moral vision .",
      "a queasy blend of exploitation-movie nastiness and blunt moral lesson .",
      "not only arch and preposterous but a serious con job to boot .",
      "a spectacular performance by teenage thesp ellen page elevates this disturbing slice of designer shocksploitation into a film that 's impossible to dismiss on principle .",
      "MOV takes itself way too seriously . it 's a genre movie that serves empty calories weighted with self-importance .",
      "i say again , ellen page is in the room ! you read it here .",
      "it 's the second act where MOV earns the seat-squirmer reputation it will one day have .",
      "i was floored and stunned and shocked and dismayed and i thought , yeah , men and women are gon na have a lot to say to one another about this movie .",
      "MOV , a highly original psychological thriller/revenge fantasy , can be bitterly hard to take and uncomfortably intense , but it 's well worth consuming .",
      "MOV ultimately lacks the balls to follow through on its most discomfiting promises , choosing instead to wallow in a surfeit of final-reel tidiness .",
      "what we have here is simply a spectacularly unpleasant horror show , or an attempt to out-outrage the trio of poison playwrights i 've mentioned . and yet nelson 's imagination thunders away with such demon perversity that i eagerly await his next work .",
      "it 's really a canny use of the medium to raise serious questions about point of view and empathy in the exploitation genre .",
      "one of the most challenging and darkly , smartly entertaining movies of the year .",
      "... a twisted battle of the sexes , featuring both seriously insightful subject matter and enough vicious put-downs to make peg and al bundy blush .",
      "amazingly uncomfortable and only occasionally implausible . it 's guaranteed to spark a reaction and a conversation .",
      "clever , provocative and extremely well-acted .",
      "the acting is also top-notch , as patrick wilson gives a desperate turn despite being tied up for much of the time , while ellen page steals the show with a grueling , star-making performance .",
      "MOV is both as ambiguous , and as obvious , a movie as you 're likely to find in mainstream american cinema .",
      "ellen page comes off as a pint-sized cillian murphy with the vocabulary of veronica mars pushed through a canandian sieve .",
      "as an exercise in grueling psychological suspense , the movie is -- literally -- several ` cuts ' above the rest .",
      "a daring two-character drama that goes sour in its last half-hour ... in this misery with a teen twist , ellen page delivers a mint performance far beyond her years .",
      "a bitter candy .",
      "it 's not the surprise that keeps us gripped ; it 's the deeply creepy writing and amazingly raw performances that do it .",
      "it takes creepy , spooky , and altogether ooky to a hideous new level .",
      "it 's there to be experienced , tolerated , and appreciated for the wretched , well-executed , difficult , artful , and appalling creation that it is .",
      "the film talks a good game of feminine empowerment verses privileged masculine mischief but nothing really takes off for a touchy showcase in the squirm-ridden arena of pedophilia outrage",
      "characters like these two can still grab us by the throat and refuse to let us go .",
      "it really takes us on this ride .",
      "as frightening and unsettling as any gore-drenched horror movie of the last year .",
      "that all its castration talk is prolonged to willfully torturous lengths could be forgiven were the film much more inspired in its interplay .",
      "MOV is supposed to be another cautionary tale about the dangerous risks of online chat-room dating , but ends up being just another psychological horror flick about pedophilia in which little red riding hood turns the tables on the wolf .",
      "the movie often talks circles around itself , trying to layer in subtext to cover for a slasher movie final act , but it was still enough to have me squirming in my seat .",
      "enough clever dialogue and strong acting performances to satisfy",
      "there is no question that MOV is an intense and unnerving little film . but when all is said and done it 's a rather empty exercise in hot button pushing .",
      "an adult thriller that will have its male audience crossing their legs or holding them tightly together .",
      "she 's a tease with a whiff of fascist certainty in her summary judgments . it might be interesting to read what some post-feminists make of such a sleek action character .",
      "harrowing psychological drama that pushes every conceivable button while pushing viewers over the edge ... candy is nasty through and through , and it leaves an acidic aftertaste .",
      "those willing to subject themselves to it are in for -lsb- ellen page 's -rsb- noteworthy performance and one of the most terrifying films to come down the pike in awhile .",
      "brian nelson 's script is tight , but a more ambiguous , evenhanded finale might have been more thought-provoking .",
      "it 's smart , funny , and surprisingly visually discreet . some scenes may leave you doubled-up , but the overall effect is , as the saying goes , better than a kick in the balls .",
      "smart , challenging and timely look at the world of internet grooming .",
      "-lsb- MOV is -rsb- a stylishly directed thriller that 's worth seeing for its intense performances , but there are too few surprises and the end result is disappointing .",
      "packaged in an increasingly lurid , credibility-free storyline , delivered with unstinting insensitivity by a first-time director determined to show off his ad-man 's box of visual tics .",
      "this is one particularly edgy and disturbing little film , and it will no doubt have people talking by the end of the year -- if not for its taboo subject matter , then for the brilliant performance by its lolitaesque star , ellen page .",
      "hard to swallow provocative but exploitative jailbait revenge fantasy flick .",
      "an intense , well-acted film that deals with its alarming subject matter in an audacious way .",
      "... while the film 's blunter , more thrillerish and sadistic second half is less unnerving than its bloodless first , it still works as a smarter than usual cat-and-mouse death match .",
      "you might feel like squirming , but you will not want to look away .",
      "the acting is incredible .",
      "... once seen , MOV does n't easily give up its grip .",
      "... a revolting piece of work .",
      "MOV not only trips along a tightrope line between exploitation and art ; in some ways , that line is its subject .",
      "MOV is sweet poison indeed .",
      "the questions posed by MOV may not be as profound as the filmmakers believe , but they are enough to keep us thinking for the length of a movie that deftly uses exploitation to explore exploitation .",
      "though it is skillfully made and well-acted , it 's also exploitative and nauseating .",
      "instead of telling a story , MOV cooks up one grueling ordeal after another .",
      "though dealing with a serious issue -- pedophilia -- the movie comes across as an exploitation femme-revenge thriller in the vein of ms. 45 , extremities , and fatal attraction , but , fortunately , it 's extremely well acted by patrick wilson and ellen page .",
      "MOV enters a miasma of revelation and revenge - one that might have worked better on the stage than the screen , where the story 's claustrophobia and increasingly unwieldy plot twists take a major toll .",
      "there is nothing sugar-coated about this taut , timely psycho-thriller .",
      "will get under your skin with an intensity on the verge of being just plain evil .",
      "there 's a lot more going on here than just a revenge fantasy . these are two fascinating characters , and watching them thrust and parry proves to be as impossible to turn away from as observing a grotesque roadside accident .",
      "-lsb- the film -rsb- contrives to wag its own finger at itself -- to have its bonbon and eat it too .",
      "the entire film hinges on how page and wilson execute their roles . with apologies to carly simon , i ca n't imagine anybody doing it better .",
      "to watch MOV is , at moments , to be very afraid , but the scariest thing about it is the fury of page 's talent ."
    ],
    "summary": "disturbing , controversial , but entirely engrossing , MOV is well written with strong lead performances , especially that of newcomer ellen page . a movie that stays with the viewer long after leaving the theater .",
    "id": "147302867"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1087648-payback",
    "reviews": [
      "it may be bloody , sleazy and populated entirely by trashy people , but this picture is also subtly stylish , sensationally acted and - if you appreciate extremely bitter humor - pretty funny as well . somehow , someday , somewhere , ` MOV ' will get its due .",
      "its smirking sense of humor and generic self-consciousness suggest that MOV would like to think of itself as a hip descendant of pulp fiction . but the movie is utterly devoid of narrative ingenuity and visual and dramatic flair .",
      "one big , ugly chase scene !",
      "the film 's moral manipulations betray its fascistic heart .",
      "it quickly slides into a lethal weapon without danny glover , complete with blowups and wisecracks , gratuitous torture scenes and gibson in familiar form as the twinkling rascal who makes a virtue out of viciousness .",
      "both star and director seem to be more interested in playing off perceptions of gibson 's on-screen persona than in actually telling the story , which lurches along from one violent set piece to the next .",
      "the movie squanders its energy on morbid levels of grisly , kinky violence , much of it sexual .",
      "a higher class of thriller .",
      "MOV is just die hard : without a soul .",
      "demonstrates why mel gibson is a movie star : he can take mediocre material and through sheer willpower -- not to mention oodles of charm -- make it work .",
      "this is the seediest studio picture i 've seen since to live or die in la . even the theater floor feels stickier while watching this thing unfold .",
      "MOV has its moments and its thrills , but the payoff just is n't there .",
      "a solid enough action comedy , albeit one that had a lot of potential to be wittier and darker .",
      "a tough , entertaining homage to the kind of gritty '70s crime film that long ago gave way to a slicker yet tamer form of action movie ... both the studio 's cut and helgeland 's cut work about equally well .",
      "like its main character , MOV is entertainingly true to itself , and in the absence of any real imagination or ingenuity , for an audience tired of movies that trip over themselves trying to please , that goes a long way .",
      "if you thought crime in the streets was a problem , wait till you take a gander at MOV , a violent , sadistic mess .",
      "it is well written , contains a flock of colorful characters , and gives star mel gibson a number of great one-liners .",
      "rehashed quentin tarantino or a rusted-out pinto .",
      "bloody-handed but hip !",
      "too meanspirited and brutal for its own good .",
      "pointless !",
      "direction is choppy , the interplay between the characters is perfunctory , although not as perfunctory as the unearned ending .",
      "it feels more like a lousy christopher lambert thriller : all bad jokes , lampoonish villains and gory violence .",
      "sadly , though , MOV finally puts gibson at the mercy of a torture and sadism sequence so attenuated and so painful to watch that it sabotages the picture 's own quite solid instincts for theater , innovation and wit .",
      "a genre that 's been beaten to a pulp !",
      "very good fun !",
      "an intermittently engaging crime thriller that fuses elements of '30s era film noir with '70s era exploitation .",
      "dark , nasty and thoroughly engrossing !",
      "this movie is packed with surprises , gunfire and humor ; it 's a fun action flick you should n't miss .",
      "makes up for its faults with nearly non-stop action and some amusing tongue-in-cheek humor .",
      "the strangest marriage of '30s noir and '90s hyper-action imaginable , and if the end result is a sort of cartoon , it 's a fun cartoon to look at .",
      "sadism is the film 's only real subject , and its only real life as well .",
      "so generic that it sometimes approaches the self-parody of a naked gun movie !",
      "MOV rips off the way a noir film is shot and looks .",
      "there is much cleverness and ingenuity in MOV .",
      "in the popcorn sense , it certainly delivers on mindless escapism . in the artistic sense , let 's just say that MOV is a long way from point blank .",
      "... tries to be a no-nonsense action thriller , but it 's undermined by its own plot silliness and by the unruffled attitude of its main character .",
      "it 's undone not so much by the shadow of lee marvin falling heavily on it -lrb- which it does -rrb- as by the twin obstacles of big star image and , more to the point , excessive violence .",
      "a mind-mangling disappointment , with a dopey sell-out ending .",
      "strictly a mel gibson vehicle , and one that does n't really know what to do with the star 's easygoing , audience-pleasing charm .",
      "this film is riddled with cliches and impossible situations .",
      "a mean-spirited cartoon beneath a thin veneer of faux-grit !",
      "it 's kicky , nasty urban sangfroid with pointy little teeth and a serious case of the angries , an existential hand grenade disguised as a heist film .",
      "MOV is not , in any way , an entertaining film .",
      "the thin story never generates any genuine excitement .",
      "it 's a good , strong shot for fans who like their crime stories rough and no-nonsense .",
      "seriously , if you thought he got his ass kicked in the ` lethal weapon ' films , you have only begun to watch mel get bruised .",
      "a sharp and funny script , understated acting , stylish .",
      "morally bankrupt , but it 's rich entertainment !"
    ],
    "summary": "sadistic violence and rote humor saddle a predictable action premise .",
    "id": "13475"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_gatekeepers_2012",
    "reviews": [
      "a powerful look inside the israeli defense establishment",
      "director dror moreh does n't rest on his scoop",
      "the rule of surveillance is to keep quiet and let others do the talking . the oscar-nominated documentary MOV flips the script , to astonishing effect , giving voice to the retired directors of shin bet , israel 's domestic intelligence agency .",
      "a deadly serious and detailed examination of and meditation upon the israeli-palestinian conflict , MOV makes no attempt to find a silver lining .",
      "much like errol morris ' `` the fog of war , '' dror moreh 's film is a sobering inside look inside history , at mistakes made and opportunities missed .",
      "both journalistic coup and unsettling confirmation of the idea that ` you ca n't make peace using military means . '",
      "moreh gets some startling confessions and insights from each man but also misses the opportunity to truly challenge his subjects on their regard for democracy , basic human rights and their own accountability .",
      "moreh employs a direct interviewing style , reminiscent of errol morris ' work , to get the men to talk about their days leading shin bet .",
      "the film and its talking head participants paint the picture in both broad strokes and fine detail .",
      "an up-close and personal look at the psychology of war -- their war and , by extension , all war .",
      "whatever one 's political stripe regarding israel , it 's hard to dispute the impressions and perspective of the film 's six eyewitnesses .",
      "a riveting firsthand account of how legitimate security concerns can lead to policies considered extreme and even immoral by the people administering them .",
      "the level of candor here may not satisfy hard-liners of either stripe , but it can help viewers begin to formulate new questions about the philosophical , strategic and moral challenges of conflict , in particular `` wars on terror . ''",
      "ultimately the movie feels evasive , and its flashy , digitally animated re-creations of military surveillance footage unpleasantly evoke the call of duty video games .",
      "extraordinary ... not only an engrossing first-hand account of israel 's palestinian policies over time , but one that may have lessons to teach both israeli leaders and other nations confronting those they identify as terrorists .",
      "it offers startlingly honest insight into the israeli-palestinian conflict from some of those who called the shots .",
      "unprecedented and deeply unsettling , it offers little hope for a lasting peace in that war-torn region .",
      "for its candor and impact , deserves to be seen and discussed .",
      "an often remarkable israeli documentary about shin bet , the country 's internal security agency .",
      "as a political testament , the result is revealing and important .",
      "`` MOV '' is a triumph of storytelling , a revealing view into the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage .",
      "a remarkable character study .",
      "as a clear-eyed examination of a conflict that seems to have no end , MOV is powerful , provocative stuff .",
      "a monolith crumbles in MOV , and it 's a sight to inspire awe .",
      "i got as much enjoyment out of this film about as much as a 6 year-old would .",
      "if for no other reason , it deserves to be seen for arranging decades of events in the middle east into a chronology that , to an outsider , makes dreadful sense .",
      "`` MOV '' achieves something rare : it is riveting because of both its intellectual rigor and its filmmaking vigor .",
      "moreh conducts a kind of primer in the organization 's history , which is , in its own way , a history of modern israel . it 's fascinating .",
      "as a work of contemporary political history and moral philosophy , it 's essential viewing .",
      "a remarkable behind-the-scenes peek at how israel 's in-house cia/fbi has operated , both honorably and questionably , from the six-day war until now .",
      "a lesser filmmaker might 've been tripped up by such a narrow focus . a lesser filmmaker might 've misjudged the melange of archival footage , fabricated surveillance footage and talking heads , which moreh handles with a blend of cinematic flash and tact .",
      "the film makes explicit and implicit endorsements . the strategy of vengeance and overkill is ineffective and leads israel to horrific behavior described only through metaphor .",
      "the ` other ' oscar-nominated feature about a war on terror , dror moreh 's documentary MOV proves more intellectually engaging than hollywood 's zero dark thirty , and at least as unsettling .",
      "important and incomplete .",
      "a sobering but welcome dose of honesty regarding issues and events that have otherwise been shrouded in secrecy and overheated rhetoric .",
      "israelis , generally speaking , tend to be tough , but the men who 've commanded shin bet , israel 's secret service , are in a whole other category .",
      "as moreh probes the men , we , whether we agree with them or not , find ourselves drawn into their moral maze in all of its complexity .",
      "this is a film that leaves a knot in the stomach , and no easy solutions as to how to get rid of it .",
      "an inside look into one of the most secretive and sophisticated intelligence apparatus in the world may not be what you expected .",
      "filmmaker dror moreh gives a unique look , from those in the know , of the inner workings of israel 's home intelligence service .",
      "the access boggles the mind , and some of the stories are riveting .",
      "it 's an eye-opener .",
      "even when the so-called gatekeepers offer up damning testimony against their organization , there 's no real threat that they 'll ever be held accountable for it .",
      "i do n't think it is fair to call this anti-israeli . it is pro-peace .",
      "a blunt , clear-eyed , first-hand take on decades of middle eastern history , from practically the founding of the jewish state up through the recent fits and starts of the israeli-palestinian peace process .",
      "lean and riveting , a model of clarity , economy and seamless editing , with a slow-building despair that leaves a sting .",
      "the subjects ' openness is refreshing - and sometimes frightening .",
      "moreh has assembled a thorough , evenhanded and fascinating examination of people and operations straight out of a spy novel .",
      "this brave documentary draws a line in the sand . one just wishes moreh had asked these men what they were doing to change the situation now other than having changed their minds .",
      "a feat - of access and of passionate and appropriately unsettling political commentary .",
      "from the moment you hear one of these former insiders admitting his misgivings over an act of violence he perpetrated , you ca n't help but be drawn in .",
      "MOV cuts deeper than any political thriller . it 's a powerhouse .",
      "the film , though based on the exploits of shin bet , gives us reason to think about the drones that take out more than just terrorists .",
      "the former heads of israel 's military anti-terrorism agency shin bet break their silence in this unnerving , eye-opening documentary .",
      "it 's a depressing movie , yet there is encouragement to be found in the manifest decency and reasonableness of these six honest , articulate men ...",
      "a riveting but depressing history of the israeli-palestinian conflict .",
      "-lsb- moreh -rsb- asks just the right questions , never prodding these understandably private men too far but getting what he needs .",
      "... a riveting and sobering documentary about shin bet that raises important if unanswerable questions about the morality of state-sanctioned violence in the name of internal security .",
      "in the end , the accumulated stories in MOV offer tremendous insight about the israeli-palestinian situation . it feels more like it was prepared as a history document for shin bet rookies than a documentary .",
      "a powerful cautionary tale about the concept of security , and how illusory it really is .",
      "dror moreh 's terrific documentary can stand beside errol morris 's the fog of war as a cinematic illustration of how human psyches bend beneath the pressure of terrible actions .",
      "there is a powerful moment in -lsb- the film -rsb- when diskin , head of the shin bet from 2005 to 2011 , candidly remarks that for the palestinians he is himself a terrorist . that is not relativism but realism , and the welcome sign of an empathetic imagination .",
      "totally fascinating and unexpected . no bravura filmmaking here , but rich , often startling observations about anti-terrorism , torture and the amorality of it all .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- searching , engrossing , and stylish inquiry ...",
      "you 'll be arguing with your friends about the ethics of secrecy and defense for hours ; that 's what makes these exit interviews so essential .",
      "MOV does n't play like agitprop . the storytelling is strong , the images stark .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- houghtfully examines the difficulties of protecting a democracy from internal enemies ... with realpolitik towards peace -lsb- and -rsb- repeated criticism of government leaders .",
      "the israeli journalist dror moreh has hit a documentarian 's trifecta with `` MOV . ''",
      "self-serving baloney reminiscent of errol morris 's robert mcnamara documentary",
      "MOV serves as a terrifying oracle , with israel forevermore a powder keg waiting to go off .",
      "`` MOV '' is an exceptionally well-crafted documentary that commands repeated viewings to fully absorb the enormous quantity and quality of editorial information it provides ...",
      "an inventive , concise and damning look at the tit-for-tat nature of israel 's perpetual war with palestinians , terrorists and otherwise .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- absorbing documentary , which charts the israeli-palestinian conflict from the six day war to the presentday .",
      "insightful , revelatory and profound , moreh 's oscar-nominated documentary combines riveting interviews , archive footage and - yes - state-of-the-art photographic effects to offer a unique perspective on the israel-palestine issue .",
      "a compelling overview of a modern security agency - bred in a moral grey area , organising state-sanctioned violence , but uncertain of the strength of its political safety net .",
      "while memorable in sometimes unexpected ways -lrb- 1980 head avraham shalom 's long unwashed nails -rrb- , there is always the nagging feeling that any revelations are being pushed or sold a little too hard .",
      "makes for truly bracing viewing .",
      "a fascinating film offering a startling look inside one of the most tightlipped intelligence agencies on the planet , and providing powerful resonances with the us and uk 's `` war on terror '' .",
      "although MOV may not be quite theatrical nor dramatic enough for it to be highly recommended as a cinematic experience , this does feel like a film that really should be seen .",
      "many secrets are revealed and examined in director dror moreh 's mind-blowingly fine film . if i have a quibble , it 's that he never reveals the most tantalizing secret of all : how the hell he pulled it off .",
      "dror moreh 's oscar-nominated documentary is riveting , haunting and depressing in equal measure , offering a sobering assessment of the israel-palestine conflict from a unique perspective .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he oscar-nominated documentary in which the six living former heads of shin bet , the ultrasecretive israeli domestic security agency , talk about their antiterrorism work ...",
      "as you listen to these six former chiefs of one of the world 's most secretive organizations , it 's hard not to have your jaw drop in awe , or surprise at their sudden candor .",
      "moreh 's interviewees span generations , from elder statesman avraham shalom -lrb- mastermind of the 1960 adolf eichmann grab -rrb- to most recent spook-in-chief yuval diskin . each displays a disarming mix of even-voiced candor and respect for talk-it-out diplomacy .",
      "the film is detailed and requires concentration , especially for those who need to read the subtitles . but the effort is worth it for anyone vaguely interested in the subject . and of course the subject goes to the heart of the human condition",
      "dror moreh 's documentary is remarkable not for stylistic innovation but for the very fact it exists .",
      "this is unprecedented stuff right here , on a topic so volatile it feels like it 's just waiting to explode . and as a film , it 's effective - for the most part .",
      "the film bravely pulls focus on israel 's behaviour as an occupying power , the treatment of the palestinians and joins the growing list of recent films that cast a critical eye over a subject that was once deemed too thorny to question .",
      "MOV is a fascinating , often shocking , look into the israeli-palestinian conflict through the eyes of some of the men who would know it best .",
      "MOV shines as both an excellent history lesson and a remarkably in-depth look at one of the world 's most important covert agencies .",
      "MOV does n't want to function in binaries , it immerses you into the moral and ethical ` grey ' quandary of israel/palestine .",
      "a candid , revelatory and at times disturbing documentary that represents one of the ` must-sees ' of 2013 .",
      "it is hard to imagine a movie about the middle east that could be more timely , more painfully urgent , more challenging to conventional wisdom on all sides of the conflict .",
      "a documentary potent enough to alter how you see the world .",
      "moreh 's reporting is impressive , built on those extensive interviews and some startling footage , from wartime newsreels to bomb-site views of quickly exploding targets .",
      "their honest assessments shed light on issues that continue to reverberate .",
      "the brutal recent history of the israeli-palestinian conflict is rivetingly recounted by some of its most prominent players in MOV .",
      "as shalom now sits for his interview , wearing plaid shirt and red suspenders , he looks like someone 's grandfather as he blames the `` politicians '' for the cover up .",
      "retired members of israel 's shin bet security people are surprisingly honest about their country 's policies toward palestinians .",
      "a tart , complicated cocktail of a film sure to send audience members out of the theatre with heads abuzz and arguments a-popping .",
      "a refreshingly candid and controversial documentary where former heads of israel 's security agency explain their take on the war against terrorism and express their criticism of the nation as a police state .",
      "the filmmaker does n't speculate about why these men are talking , but he leaves you with an excellent guess ."
    ],
    "summary": "strikingly stark , brutally honest , and rivetingly assembled , MOV offers essential perspective on a seemingly intractable war from some of the men who fought it .",
    "id": "771315180"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_skeleton_twins",
    "reviews": [
      "it plays to the antic gifts of its stars , two saturday night live luminaries reunited in the roles of troubled twins reunited by near-tragedy , yet it also turns them loose to explore deeper regions of hurt and love .",
      "what makes the movie memorable is the open-ended talent of its actors . they supply MOV with flesh and blood , some firm connective tissue and generous heart and soul .",
      "the film is a mite tidy in that sundance workshop way , but it 's very enjoyable , and johnson has a deft touch with actors .",
      "uneven , but not uninteresting .",
      "it 's unusual to see two actors we 've known for so long giving breakthrough performances . but that 's what 's happening here .",
      "as we enter this season of big , important awards contenders that `` matter , '' `` MOV '' is a small , intimate gem that might truly matter .",
      "a rickety vehicle for two fantastic performances , the movie works best as a blaring announcement that these players are more than ready for prime time .",
      "it seems unlikely that MOV is aiming for something so simplistic , considering how much suffering it packs into the story , but simplistic is what it is .",
      "if countless movies about brothers and sisters reveal common family traits , `` MOV '' is subtler than most in evoking a mutual sympathy that might be called a cellular understanding .",
      "one of the better movies to come along this year .",
      "despite revelatory performances from its two leads , this is a pretty miserable movie that will leave you wondering why you subjected yourself to such a downer .",
      "MOV is beautiful , infectious and painfully honest in a way that 's normally reserved for someone that you shared a womb with .",
      "heart-felt adult soap opera .",
      "an exploration of both the complications and the life-affirming dimensions of sibling relationships .",
      "a wonderful and brutally engrossing dramedy about family and the lasting effects of growing up in dysfunctional households .",
      "the real surprise of the film is hader , graduating from more juvenile cinematic entries ... and giving a beautifully crafted performance that allows his knack for voice and facial expressions to shine in the stronger material",
      "wiig , wilson and hader all give great performances in this movie , almost enough to lift it out of the dark emotional pit at the heart of the story . it does n't quite make it there in this comedy about a suicidal family .",
      "MOV makes for an engaging film that gets you emotionally involved , while also giving you some good laughs in the process , and for that intelligent mixture , it 's a dramedy that 's definitely worth seeing .",
      "by turns , unbearably poignant and laugh-out loud funny , this reveals hidden depths to hader and gives wiig a golden opportunity to reveal the subtlety of her range with a knock-out performance .",
      "one of the stand-out indie productions of the year .",
      "the direction has no style , and the script has no perspective ; the result is drama by number .",
      "the sense of anguish and pain is most impressively humanised by wiig 's surprising and accomplished performance .",
      "... the outstanding pairing of wiig and hader makes `` MOV '' an enjoyable dramedy .",
      "if you 've seen ` you can count on me ' you have a pretty good idea where ` MOV ' is headed in its somewhat didactic approach to celebrating the unbreakable bonds siblings share . yet you admire it just the same .",
      "fails to find or strike many original notes .",
      "the filmmakers think the comedy is where all the humanity is , and maybe they 're right . but they do n't take humor far enough .",
      "a surprisingly touching , if not particularly original , dramedy ...",
      "the bond between siblings is made very real by wiig and hader , who make that old line about laughing until you cry genuinely believable .",
      "funny , touching , and heartfelt , this is a fantastic vehicle for its stars , and a moving portrait of the various things family can mean .",
      "finally , a post - `` bridesmaids '' film that lets kristen wiig shine - and brilliantly taps into co-star bill hader 's vulnerable side , too .",
      "this is one of the year 's best movies , and a movie that deserves oscar consideration , even though this is exactly the kind of movie that 's ignored by the oscars .",
      "one of the stronger ensemble movies of the year but the drama offers crowd-pleasing tricks and tissue-thin pop psychology .",
      "dark secrets are revealed and raw emotions laid bare in this hard-hitting and moving film in which an indestructible bond between twins is both the trigger and the solution",
      "wiig and hader 's shared history beautifully informs their entirely credible screen relationship , which can be as testy as it is loving , as distressingly haunted as it is funny ...",
      "the script -lrb- cowritten by director craig johnson and mark heyman -rrb- feels the need to lunge for buried family trauma , big reveals and hugs in its final act .",
      "ultimately this is more like a movie than a story about real life , but at least it 's a movie delivered with considerable compassion , delicacy and wit , built around unforgettable performances ...",
      "the actors ' skit-honed rapport is magical , not least when hilariously lip-synching starship 's cheesy 1980s power ballad ` nothing 's gon na stop us now ' in a rousing blast of sibling solidarity .",
      "suicide is no laughing matter , but there are some wry smiles in this changeably moody indie-pic about self-destructive siblings .",
      "how can you not love something that gives wiig so much scope ?",
      "MOV follows a fairly predictable trajectory , but it is littered with affecting moments and joyous sequences .",
      "there is the risk of a credibility gap when charismatic and successful stars play ultra - dysfunctional types . that 's why bill hader and kristen wiig never quite convince as milo and maggie , twins on the cusp of middle age .",
      "a thoughtful and likeable drama with comic riffs ...",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- entertaining , bleak comedy-drama ...",
      "the laughs are here , but they are tempered by bruising regrets and simmering grudges in this elegant study of a sibling relationship in crisis .",
      "a bold experiment which does n't quite come together .",
      "funny and sad and wise and wonderful ... with an absolutely heartbreaking , career-changing performance by bill hader .",
      "pretty much perfect ... no one now , and maybe no one ever , is as good with the big wince as kristen wiig .",
      "writing and directing his second feature , craig johnson demonstrates a knowing sense of how consciously , and helplessly , some people destroy themselves .",
      "if `` sad comedy '' is a genre , craig johnson 's thoughtful , touching film fits right in .",
      "low-fi and engaging , sometimes mordantly hilarious and at other moments genuinely touching , the movie suffers both from the flat hipster affect that can stunt independent films and from more calculated mainstream touches .",
      "the story 's secrets are those of the characters , and as they 're revealed , often informally , it provides new insight into these people , and manages to avoid the pitfalls of clichés .",
      "this is one of the best films about the lingering effects of dysfunction that 's been made .",
      "one example of movie magic is the way a film that seemingly has numerous strikes against it can turn itself into a pleasant experience .",
      "MOV is quietly smart , sweet but never syrupy . it should erase any doubt that its two stars , who rose to success as cut-ups , also have dramatic chops .",
      "every time we veer into overly familiar territory , hader and wiig find a way to connect - with the script , with each other and with us .",
      "hader and wiig dig deepest and strike the truest chords when the twins ' defenses are down , when their jokes do n't work , when they 're faced with the truth of their own blasted lives .",
      "the actors have an obvious rapport . it 's deep enough to evoke the ties , entanglements and bloodletting of a real kinship . but wiig and hader 's instincts as entertainers are keen enough to know when to stop cutting .",
      "when hader and wiig are on screen together the film 's shortcomings fade because the energy they give to and take from each other ... is so palpable , it 's fun just watching them banter ...",
      "some weeks at the movies are like this . you settle for wonderful actors doing some wonderful acting with scripts that support those efforts even as they limit them .",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- deflects criticism , its leads working hard to win folks over . like maggie , audiences may be powerless to resist .",
      "irreverent , mature , deeply affecting drama about siblings .",
      "MOV has a similarly keen feel for the emotional terrain of depression , but the film falls into a dour rut early on , and seldom rouses itself .",
      "a brief , grounded , entertaining comedy with a few rich characters , a few thin ones and some unachieved ambitions .",
      "lively and insightful when -lrb- wiig and hader -rrb- share scenes , and there are many .",
      "the rapport between bill hader and kristen wiig is obvious from their first moment together in MOV , and why should n't it be ?",
      "it may not always work as a drama but MOV proves to be a fine showcase for wiig and hader , showing they are both capable of dramatic material .",
      "in the same way that `` eternal sunshine of the spotless mind '' redefined jim carrey , this affecting and poignant drama-with-laughs shatters your expectations of bill hader and kristen wiig .",
      "MOV is a wonderful comedy-drama made with heart and filled with plenty of broken ones .",
      "it is rare to see a film as tonally balanced as MOV . it is both a tearjerker and a crowdpleaser , often in the same scene .",
      "MOV is more or less worth it for fans of wiig , and indeed hader , another actor with a lot of untapped dramatic potential .",
      "`` MOV '' is a lovingly calibrated mix of heartbreak and hopefulness , guilt and the will to do better .",
      "one of the best films to emerge from this year 's sundance , with an unexpectedly great performance by bill hader .",
      "the movie is nicely performed , crisply written , carefully directed - full of images that fold neatly into one another .",
      "johnson 's unfussy direction serves as a fine showcase for the two snl veterans to demonstrate how their comic shorthand plays equally well in a slightly darker register .",
      "MOV is all the better for keeping us guessing as to its intentions , because that makes it more true to life . sometimes you have to smile through the tears , and vice-versa .",
      "if a movie with suicide as a central theme can be deemed funny , then writer/director craig johnson has pulled it off , mixing heartache and humor and giving wiig , especially , the opportunity to shine .",
      "acidic sibling dramedy .",
      "caustically wry and cloyingly sentimental , MOV is a crowdpleaser .",
      "hader and wiig 's comedy credentials are well established and a scene in which they bond while miming starship 's nothing 's gon na stop us now is a tour de force - but they 're equally adept with the weightier material .",
      "how can you hate a movie that has a giggly bill hader and kristen wiig making fart noises at each other ?",
      "suicidal depression given a comical skin-deep treatment and on-the-nose casting .",
      "an observant double character study , `` MOV '' revolves around two protagonists who are worthy of the viewer 's time & sympathy . the film gets beautiful mileage out of the sterling work of the indomitable kristen wiig & a revelatory bill hader .",
      "wiig and hader share a believable bond ; their intimate shorthand and casual bickering should feel recognizable to most anyone who shares parents with another human .",
      "craig johnson 's film is ultimately most interested in what its jokes are implying or obscuring about the jokesters themselves .",
      "warm , funny , heartfelt and even uplifting , the film is led by revelatory performances from bill hader and kristen wiig , both of them exploring rewarding new dramatic range without neglecting their mad comedic skills .",
      "a film with many shortcomings , yet notable for its ensemble cast and fine acting .",
      "the two costars elevate the film beyond formula . their onscreen rapport is infectious and believable .",
      "this brother-sister bond , so rarely explored on screen , is what makes MOV sing .",
      "if some of the emotional cues are blunt , other story threads are sensitively developed , and the morality is nicely complex ...",
      "gentle , funny and very moving , MOV is too late to make stars out of the already-adored kristen wiig and bill hader , but is just in time to prove they 've got much more to give in their hopefully very long careers .",
      "no history-making drama here , but a sincere journey into solidly founded fears that dog the parents of the new millennium .",
      "twins is approachable and meaningful , confronting an impossible darkness with a generous flow of humanity . it 's a beautiful picture .",
      "`` MOV '' is a strong , solid film with nuanced performances by an eclectic cast . it could prove to be one of the best of the year .",
      "bill hader and kristen wiig have taken career risks with `` MOV '' . and we are fortunate that they did .",
      "while this is undoubtedly tough stuff to be selling to all comers , there is a tenderness and truly-earned uplift to this tale that will resonate with receptive viewers in a special way .",
      "when a film piles on this many problems for its characters , it 's often because it does n't really believe in any of them .",
      "the surprising thing about this above-average relationship movie is its sense of humour , something you would n't necessarily expect from a drama that starts with attempted suicide .",
      "worst of all , it stupidly ruins a perfectly decent ` marley & me ' joke .",
      "even though they got famous doing broad sketch comedy , wiig and hader both have a sadness in their eyes that allows them to play believably damaged people who use humor to mask pain .",
      "it 's worth a watch to see these two reliably comic actors do some heavy dramatic lifting and tenderly spot for each other .",
      "for laughs with heart , MOV is highly recommended .",
      "wiig and hader are the stars of the show , as well as winning components of a wry look at life . their rapport is a delight , and the rest of the film is darkly authentic and deliciously funny .",
      "bill hader and kristen wiig ... turn their talents toward some really heavy drama , while managing to serve up a few laughs along the way .",
      "in a poignant and potentially depressing film , it 's redeeming to see that when they are with their kindred spirits , even the saddest skeletons can dance .",
      "a profoundly moving study of two damaged characters .",
      "even with performers as likable as hader and wiig , and characters as likable as milo and maggie , sympathy should be earned . like an cocksure banker , johnson takes our investment for granted .",
      "how could something so dark be so funny ? it 's a question one ca n't fully answer with any certainty , but we know kristen wiig and bill hader have a lot to do with the weird and wonderful black magic that is MOV .",
      "you might be expecting a comedy . you wo n't get what you expect , you get something better .",
      "it 's perfectly suited for the limousine liberals who flock to park city each year , looking to be engaged but not challenged in any big way .",
      "skeleton twins is n't perfect , but it cuts to the bone .",
      "if hader has the benefit of slightly more screen time , wiig is no less impressive as a woman quietly falling completely apart .",
      "the heart tugging moments come frequently , and when they connect , they feel real and earned .",
      "this a strong feature that successfully blends comedy and drama while also exploring a very tough subject .",
      "this film is encouragingly sceptical about the cliché that blood is thicker than water . the proof is in the spilling of it .",
      "a few sections feel more loosely scripted to make the most of wiig and hader 's talent for improvisation , but their rapport goes deeper .",
      "MOV can be very funny .",
      "an engaging comedy drama lifted by two revelatory performances . wiig in particular suggests an academy award-winner-in-waiting .",
      "wiig and hader give winning , finely nuanced turns in a film that deftly mixes light and dark .",
      "it is elevated time and again by the stars , who are so open and expressive , ably conveying the complexities of the characters ' deep and fractured bond .",
      "it does n't trivialize the mental anguish that both of its characters feel , yet also does n't settle for a cheap resolution .",
      "... a well-acted yet only sporadically engaging little comedy/drama .",
      "at its best , MOV exudes the vague unease of two putative grown-ups trying to stifle their awareness that the lives they 've chosen neither fit nor suit them .",
      "those expecting a load of laughs will be disappointed . all in all , it is good to see this usually comedic cast do some truly dramatic work .",
      "-lsb- hader -rsb- delivers the often macabre humor deadpan and demonstrates a heretofore untapped talent for nuance and poignancy .",
      "what makes this film work are the performances of hader and wiig , whose natural bond through good times and bad is one of the best depictions of siblings on screen since `` you can count on me , '' a film which this one bears more than a little resemblance to .",
      "the bleak tone sometimes leads to a cerebral quality at odds with the actors ' energy , but at its best johnson manages to enliven the darker moments of skeleton twins with sudden bursts of comedic inspiration .",
      "the characters and their anxieties are for the most part nicely judged .",
      "this is a smart movie . wiig gives maybe the most impressive performance of her career , and hader is equally good .",
      "hader and wiig give rich , nuanced performances that reflect the chemistry the two actors honed together from their years on saturday night live .",
      "hader and wiig deliver in this indie drama with laughs .",
      "hader nails it , never once seeming like a comedian stretching himself . he comes across as a talented dramatic actor who 's also sharp and hilarious .",
      "one wonders what might 've been , had johnson allowed his stars the freedom to riff off rather than merely recite his pain-by-numbers script .",
      "along with obvious child , it is one of the worst films of the year .",
      "announces the arrival of a remarkable talent and i eagerly await -lrb- craig -rrb- johnson 's next film .",
      "who knew bill hader could be so great in a -lrb- mostly -rrb- drama ?",
      "are high hopes better than the ordinariness of the herd , even if the herd provides safety ? it 's a meaningful topic for debate .",
      "yet another wan indie comedy-drama that plays like an adaptation of something plucked from the slush pile of short story submissions in the fiction editor 's office at the new yorker .",
      "for anything it gets wrong , it gets so much more right that i feel downright churlish for complaining . there is , in fact , one scene that 's a little piece of cinematic nirvana .",
      "acceptance of these sad sacks is accentuated even further by the presence of hader and wiig , who tease out the weighty melancholy that dogs their characters ' every move .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- hese are just real people doing their best to hold together the pieces of their broken lives , day by day . it 's wonderful and sad and human - the sort of characters i feel privileged to meet at the cinema .",
      "that is a really lovely , nuanced performance from -lsb- luke wilson -rsb- ."
    ],
    "summary": "led by powerful performances from kristen wiig and bill hader , MOV effectively mines laughs and tears from family drama .",
    "id": "771321237"
  },
  {
    "movie": "oliver_and_company",
    "reviews": [
      "simply put , oliver & company did n't work for me not because i 'm many years past my sixth birthday but because it never scared me into forgetting that fact .",
      "... the virtual nadir of the disney oeuvre .",
      "surely one of disney 's weakest full-length animated features , MOV features terrible , badly dated songs and some shoddy , patchwork animation with precious few dazzling moments .",
      "more notable for what it is n't than what it is , it 's one of the gangly middle children of the disney animation family , not quite sure how to fit in , or even if it 's valued .",
      "i guess i can cut the mouse house a little slack when it comes to paint-by-numbers mediocrities like oliver & company .",
      "the animation is clumsy , the songs are forgettable , the attempts at late-80s relevance now come across as dated and slightly embarrassing .",
      "pure '80s drivel .",
      "cute but forgettable cartoon musical ; a solid voice cast does a decent job .",
      "animated dickens makes for a surprisingly successful translation , and in my book billy joel can do very little wrong .",
      "much cornball adventure ensues , punctuated by healthy helpings of singing , dancing and general merriment .",
      "the computer-assisted animation is relatively stiff and inexpressive .",
      "quite insipid and wretchedly unengaging .",
      "ca n't compete with disney classics , but still fun .",
      "suffers from a rote storyline and flat animation .",
      "even as a cartoon poodle , bette midler stops the show .",
      "the general quality of the animation and script would disappoint more sophisticated viewers .",
      "the animation is fairly unexciting though serviceable , and the overall mystification of class difference would probably have made dickens shudder , but kids should find this tolerable enough .",
      "lacks the classic disney charm that works for adults as well as kids",
      "far from classic but it is interesting to watch for its take on the pre-disnified new york landscape following the company 's real estate foray into the iconic downtown core .",
      "the last gasp of disney animation 's post-walt malaise before the 1990s disney renaissance ... retains dickens 's seamy milieu , but not his morality-play tableau .",
      "a very funny movie for adults and children alike .",
      "mostly harmless .",
      "`` catchy songs , a cuddly hero , perfectly pleasant ''",
      "the film offers a fanciful , lush urban setting , unusual for disney animated features , and a couple of good songs .",
      "why these juvenile delinquents and their even worse masters are considered appropriate material for the 3-8 set that is most likely to see this movie is a conundrum .",
      "this is a funny , enjoyable family treat .",
      "seen today , oliver & company comes across as a rather shabby transitional work , one that lacks the sophistication of today 's ` toons and does n't hold up to the disney classics of yesteryear .",
      "despite three screenwriters and 13 names credited for the story , the script quickly sinks into a predictable ` girl-meets-pet , girl-loses-pet , girl-and - pet-reunite ' sap-trap .",
      "take the kids . have fun ."
    ],
    "summary": "oliver & company is a decidedly lesser effort in the disney canon , with lackluster songs , stiff animation , and a thoroughly predictable plot .",
    "id": "9542"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1010939-jason_and_the_argonauts",
    "reviews": [
      "this absurd , unwieldy adventure -- if that 's the word -- is no worse , but certainly no better , than most of its kind .",
      "great fun , as these things go , with a bernard herrmann score to boot .",
      "in a cinema landscape populated with all kinds of digitally created creatures and setpieces , it 's nice to take a look back and witness the birth of these ideas .",
      "-lrb- a -rrb- fantasia of the classic greek myth with a brawny odyssey through lands of magic , all at the behest of the gods using humans as pieces in their competitive games and wagers .",
      "for true ray harryhausen fans , MOV will remain one of his greatest feats . and if you bring yourself back to the era , you 'll find a world of wonder yourself .",
      "the sheer outlandish nature of the production sets it apart from many of the mythology-inspired films of its era .",
      "the film 's engaging use of greek mythology , entertaining supporting performances -lrb- the star , todd armstrong , is a bit bland -rrb- , and outstanding model work -lrb- a six-headed hydra ! seven fencing skeletons ! -rrb- make it an ideal collector 's classic .",
      "it mostly comes alive through the imaginative special effects by ray harryhausen , the maven of stop-motion animation .",
      "the $ 3 million film has a workable scenario and has been directed resourcefully and spiritedly by don chaffey , under whose leadership a colorful cast performs with zeal .",
      "easygoing satire of mythical determinism",
      "good fun . even when projected in a public library .",
      "what comes to mind immediately with a mere mention of this greek myth are ray harryhausen 's special effects , especially those swashbuckling skeletons",
      "MOV -- certainly a wondrous film at its time -- benefits from nostalgia , and is moviemaking in a rarefied form .",
      "ray harryhausen 's finest hour is a fun and classic romp through the classics .",
      "the straight story of jason 's exploits , told with magic and imagination and a minimum of studio trickery , might have been delightful . this version is more bull than bulfinch .",
      "great harryhausen effects , indifferent acting and script",
      "saturday matinee fun in the finest tradition .",
      "the gone with the wind of stop-frame animation .",
      "made while hollywood was plundering roman history at vast expense , this british picture went further back in time and created a niche of its own .",
      "`` MOV '' features some of harryhausen 's most memorable stop-motion creations , including the giant bronze statue talos and a creepy army of swordfighting skeletons .",
      "special-effects buffs generally cite this 1963 effort by ray harryhausen as the master 's masterpiece , and his work does a great deal to enliven the tired plot and vacuous stars .",
      "what a blast !",
      "one of ray harryhausen 's finest moments , the remarkable special effects are still pretty impressive even in today 's cg-shaped world .",
      "a great adventure movie ... presents spectacle in the most wide-eyed , awe-inspired register .",
      "all the fights are stunningly put together and still deliver in action terms . this may be an old story but it feels very much alive .",
      "a stop-motion animation masterwork .",
      "for sheer old-fashioned , childhood rekindling adventure you really ca n't go past it ."
    ],
    "summary": "don chaffey 's MOV is an outlandish , transportive piece of nostalgia whose real star is the masterful stop-motion animation work of ray harryhausen .",
    "id": "9520"
  },
  {
    "movie": "five_obstructions",
    "reviews": [
      "whatever either of these guys thought they were doing with the MOV , they 've ended up making a movie like no other .",
      "the resulting films are far from ruined and are actually successfully witty , formal and strange .",
      "in this enjoyable if trivial battle between von trier 's psychodrama theatricality and leth 's cool formalism , it 's ultimately the viewer who comes out the winner .",
      "part of what hooks you to this movie is how leth outsmarts his taskmaster , and how the two men have divergent , almost incompatible aesthetic ideals .",
      "if this sounds like jackass for intellectuals , that 's because it is , but without the laughs .",
      "... fascinating ... another apparent piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is danish director lars von trier .",
      "the MOV may never really engage with the creative process ... but it is full of vivid examples of the finished product ...",
      "an eccentric and intrepid testament to the pure joy of cinema ... a duel of intellect and imagination .",
      "his latest film , the MOV , may be the one that gets the closest to his inner workings , and the one that finally tests him back .",
      "a startling revelation about how plastic , in the good sense , that cinema can be as art , as play , and as punishment .",
      "the success of the film depends almost distressingly on the audience 's cheeky sense of bad faith toward lars von trier .",
      "hardly conventional entertainment , but seeing what happens next provides much of the fun in this far-from-academic exercise .",
      "leth is hypnotically unstoppable .",
      "although the MOV occasionally seems like an exercise in artistic wankery , it 's amazing to see how leth rises to the challenge each time .",
      "an essay on art as a matter of solving problems posed by a capricious deity -- that is , an exposé of von trier 's own method , both of making a movie and directing actors .",
      "in trying to goad leth to ... ` liberate ' himself by making crap , von trier has instead given his friend a global stage as a highly creative and assured filmmaker .",
      "the MOV may do little to win over von tier detractors - who find his films , like these obstructions , too intellectually schematic .",
      "watching the MOV is at once like witnessing two chess masters playing dominoes and like spying on a series of therapy sessions .",
      "becomes most interesting when we see how a veteran filmmaker reacts to gauntlets thrown down by a star student , and meets those challenges .",
      "leth has created works as beautiful and moving as any art i 've seen in recent years .",
      "to see how leth discovers ways to use the devilish obstructions to his advantage is nothing short of thrilling .",
      "leth leaves the viewer both exhilarated and maybe even optimistic about the capacity of human intelligence and creativity .",
      "riveting .",
      "by challenging leth , pushing him out of his comfort zone , von trier releases in his idol a creative brilliance that would have otherwise remained buried .",
      "even those who dismiss von trier as a talented sadist might reconsider after seeing this revealing and ultimately poignant documentary .",
      "von trier is rejuvenating his mentor 's imagination . he 's also reminding him that art can ` catch the conscience ' of the audience and the artist .",
      "-lsb- ... -rsb- the reason the MOV lingers as an essential part of von trier 's filmography -lsb- ... -rsb- is because it reveals so much about why von trier has worked the way he has in the past -lsb- ... -rsb-",
      "fascinating -lrb- and oft-times infuriating -rrb- .",
      "-lsb- leth 's -rsb- strength against adversity elevates the movie above the one-sided whipping of a genial man to a more interesting duel of filmmakers . he parries when von trier thrusts .",
      "somehow the humor and purpose of this project escaped me .",
      "this unique work does humanise the two directors , but also shows that these two fallible humans are capable of making wonderful if not perfect cinematic works .",
      "a hugely entertaining chess game between equally matched opponents .",
      "despite his own pessimism , i think von trier does change leth as an artist , a little , through these chastisements .",
      "the movie does almost all it can to refuse to appeal to the viewer , then gradually evolves into something profound and limit-busting .",
      "a vain and vapid intellectual exercise that only serves to illustrate lars von trier 's unswerving arrogance .",
      "contrived and weighed down by testosterone .",
      "rest assured that the film is as playful as it is thoughtful .",
      "it 's amusing only if you agree not to think very much about it .",
      "stands as a testament to the elasticity of human imagination and to a friendship that can survive even the devious deconstructionist schemes of lars von trier .",
      "for those who treasure not only watching the intricate challenges of filmmaking but also feeling the thrill of tomfoolery and sharing the demonic joy of psychological twists , obstructions is enthralling .",
      "a film like this has a limited audience , i suppose , but for that audience it offers a rare fascination .",
      "funny , ornery , and ultimately inspiring .",
      "an unforgivable piece of cynical self-indulgence .",
      "an amusing look at idol worship and a refreshing foray into the nuts and bolts of making films , and the creativity that sets the best ones apart .",
      "if you have a desire to one day challenge the camera yourself , i 'd strongly advise studying this film intensely . good filmmakers come and go , but the great ones hide in haiti .",
      "the relationship between the two filmmakers raises it above the category of academic experiment . von trier brings a diabolical glee to his role , and leth matches it with an older , wiser brand of mischief .",
      "a special auteurist treat that 's easier to enjoy than to describe or categorize .",
      "in only 90 minutes it encourages you to reexamine the nature of cinema , the sources of creativity , the unexpected joys of the unanticipated moment . and it could n't be more fun to watch .",
      "reveals how huge is the impact of a director on a film and how impossible it is for an artist to escape his own nature .",
      "makes you wish he could do the same thing with michael mann .",
      "a movie that 's so eager and playful and inspired that it made me a von trier believer again .",
      "director lars von trier goes mental on his mentor and makes him remake a film over and over and over ...",
      "a pretentious vanity project .",
      "a fascinating meditation on filmmaking and a remarkable intellectual exercise .",
      "it 's a game of cinematic survivor that takes on broader meaning , exploring film as a mode of self-expression and the latent insecurity that drives artists to deliver works of greatness .",
      "offers us the five finished films as well as a record of their making , and from its very first frames it exerts a powerful fascination ."
    ],
    "summary": "both an intriguing intellectual exercise and an amusing look at the contrasts between the two filmmakers .",
    "id": "17281"
  },
  {
    "movie": "2012",
    "reviews": [
      "... two hours and forty minutes of the same action scene recycled over and over again ...",
      "it 's great to see fred astaire , er , danny glover back in the saddle as the president of the united states . it 's the first time america elected a president whose campaign slogan was ` i 'm too old for this s ** t. '",
      "here 's a movie that 's dopey , cheesy and sometimes downright silly . but it 's a disaster movie . it 's supposed to be ridiculous .",
      "the special effects are pretty special but the plot is a drag",
      "emmerich 's desire to cram as many hairbreadth escapes and eternities of suspense as possible into one movie ultimately feels more like an eternity plain and simple .",
      "... the farfetched beginning is such a turn-off that as the story becomes more credible , we do n't have much patience to forgive the absurdities that dominate the first half .",
      "a more delightfully bad movie has n't been seen in all of 2009 .",
      "an oscar-caliber cast and dazzling visual effects ca n't rescue this formulaic disaster flick from a script flooded with generic dialogue and preposterous plot points .",
      "as the action becomes less fabulous and more repetitive over 2012 's 150 minutes , the philosophical debate ratchets up .",
      "if you want to see the most incredible end-of-the-world footage rendered since nic cage 's knowing , buy a ticket . otherwise , it 'll look just fine on your television next year .",
      "the script is nonsensical and while the actors do their best they are , inevitably , dwarfed by the breathtaking visual effects . emmerich has outdone himself this time ; this is a film that makes independence day look modest .",
      "if you want massive spectacle , an orgy of disaster-movie clichés and schadenfreude run riot , you wo n't be disappointed . cinematic popcorn does n't come poppier , cornier -lrb- or cheesier -rrb- than this .",
      "the effects ring curiously hollow since the human side of the film is so undeveloped ... heed my warning and avoid this massive turkey .",
      "an astonishingly impressive and entertaining disaster movie ... one of the must-see films of the year .",
      "thrilling , but not earth-shattering .",
      "in the proud tradition of roland emmerich movies , `` 2012 '' is incredible in every sense of the word : totally not credible , and yet hugely entertaining .",
      "roland emmerich is an apocalypse chef . in 2012 he cooks america till it boils , adding live meat to the process at judicious intervals .",
      "in between the explosions and quakes you sometimes hear snatches of the script , and then wish you had n't .",
      "complete codswallop but perversely entertaining .",
      "if 2012 is an apotheosis of all disaster movies , that means it 's also an apotheosis of all disaster-movie clichés .",
      "i enjoyed `` 2012 '' for its mother-of-all-disaster-movie pretensions and amazing special effects .",
      "bigger , louder , crazier and more wildly exhilarating than anything previously attempted .",
      "you do n't get off a rollercoaster and complain about the lack of storytelling .",
      "it is as if screenwriters roland emmerich , who also directed , and harald kloser simply screened earlier films and borrowed bits and pieces .",
      "emmerich , bay and their brethren need to learn how boring these cgi onslaughts have become . when we see 18 skyscrapers collapse and several dozen vehicles wreck at the same moment , what do we focus on ?",
      "it 's the end of the world as escapism . it 's an event movie . it 's daft . the visual effects are amazing . see it on a big screen .",
      "... seriously , how often do we want to escape into worlds that are hell-bent on ravaging our sense of security with invading aliens and furious natural disasters ?",
      "size matters : a winter popcorn movie and guilty pleasure , this mass entertainment of mass destruction is not one coherent story but a calculated , cliche-ridden , often humorous pastiche of all the disaster movies made in hollywood .",
      "a double-stuffed , hysterical success that demands to be seen on the biggest screen you can find . if you can keep from busting up during the part with the helicopter and the giraffe , you may be a robot .",
      "2012 is no disaster movie , it 's a high-rent remake of the parent trap .",
      "hokey happenstance , big special effects , some are pretty cool . it 's no masterpiece , makes embarrassing mistakes , but i must admit - i really enjoyed the raw excitement .",
      "despite gasp worthy special effects , ' 2012 ' clunks along with yakety , cliched speeches and a familiar aka cliched plot that taps into virtually every disaster flick ever produced .",
      "the ron jeremy of disaster porn .",
      "throw in bits and pieces from all other disaster movies , up the global destruction ante , turn on the waterworks -lrb- literally and figuratively -rrb- and you 've got 2012 .",
      "there 's a calamity far greater than the disintegration of the earth 's core that dooms the film ' 2012 , ' it 's a lesser known phenomenon that most disaster films are smart enough to steer away from ... the magic of ` star power . '",
      "easily the best bad movie in years , 2012 is hilariously over the top .",
      "formulaic and frenzied , it 's a spectacular but ultimately silly blast , drawing on every cataclysmic disaster movie you 've ever seen for its noah 's ark flood concept .",
      "there 's nothing to root against , no recipient to rage against the dying of the light . there 's only the spectacle of the world crumbling and the dreary aftermath of cleaning up what 's left .",
      "2012 director roland emmerich never met a landmark he did n't want to crush with a digitized fireball , boulder or avalanche .",
      "the two-hour-and-40-minute 2012 is overstuffed with special-effects , but the curtis clan 's mad dash out of town is the closest the movie gets to actually being fun .",
      "if , as is believed in certain fringe circles , the world will come to an end in 2012 , at least there will be no more movies like this one made .",
      "five stars for the effects , three stars for everything else .",
      "disaster movies ca n't get any bigger than this -lrb- until emmerich makes a film about earth crashing into mars or something -rrb- . but it 's fair to say they can get a whole lot better .",
      "a graceless mess that will insult the intelligence of everyone who encounters it , even those who were actually looking forward to seeing it in the first place .",
      "emmerich attempts to outdo himself in every reel , but the end result is too long , too cheesy and too lacking in self-awareness to be the brain-off , block-busting thrill ride it should have been .",
      "it is better that the world ends here , right now , this instant , in a calamitous and civilization-decimating apocalypse before anyone else has to suffer through the disaster of a disaster film that is 2012 . you 'll thank me later .",
      "2012 may be the biggest disaster movie ever made , an awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance .",
      "2012 delivers everything you could possibly want from a blockbuster disaster movie .",
      "-lsb- emmerich 's -rsb- most cliched , predictable , overblown , special fx-milking epic yet .",
      "step right up and prepare to be mesmerized , bowled over , and generally blown away by roland emmerich 's 2012 , a movie that is guaranteed to be the last word on impending cinematic armageddon for the foreseeable future .",
      "this may be one of the dumbest disaster films ever made , but they sure do blow up things real good .",
      "apocalypse new ? no such luck : more like apocalypse same ol' .",
      "it 's pointless to fault ' 2012 ' for being silly or perpetuating scientific and historic baloney . instead , the new movie 's unforgivable transgression is that it fails to make any of the apocalyptic destruction fun .",
      "an eye-popping , insult to the intelligence strictly for the kiddies and crackpot doomsday enthusiasts .",
      "there 's a dash of tibetan mysticism , a soupcon of comeuppances , and one family discovering what is really important . take it for what it is and leave logic to fend for itself",
      "amazing special effects assume the starring role here , but cast members also deserve recognition for adding a humanistic touch to this over-the-top disaster movie .",
      "2012 is a fun ride , so long as you do n't think about how silly it all is .",
      "spectacular special effects and one of the dumbest screenplays of the year .",
      "emmerich does n't mess around when intent on messing up the world for good . but his pop apocalypse multiplying man 's worst fears , always goes down easy with a side order of popcorn . apocalypse wow .",
      "primal , not tactful",
      "the movie never takes its foot off the accelerator , leaving the viewer with little time to breathe . you will be sorry if you have to take a bathroom break .",
      "... 2012 's relentless emphasis on destruction ensures that most viewers will inevitably walk away satisfied .",
      "2012 is a sideshow ride , a rollickingly good thrill until it loses momentum in the last act , but even so , at 158 minutes , there 's plenty of bang for your buck .",
      "i ca n't believe i 'm saying this , but 2012 filmmakers should have hired michael bay as an artistic consultant . yes , the same michael bay who made transformers and pearl harbor .",
      "there 's so much ambitious spectacle , but it 's surrounded by so many lazy contrivances that one would want to gasp in astonishment if one were n't chuckling and groaning in aggravation so often .",
      "2012 offers hope in the face of spectacular disaster .",
      "those signposty speeches allow for a kind of logic amidst all the mayhem . and such mayhem !",
      "at worst , it 's a gruesome , depressing subject as viewed from the seat of a passing roller coaster .",
      "if you 're looking for some wicked-cool visuals and destruction on a scale that even emmerich has never put on screen before , then 2012 is for you . plot and character development ? move along , nothing to see here .",
      "parental content review",
      "it 's easy to mock throwaway blockbusters like 2012 , but as enthralling , mindless entertainment , the film is difficult to fault .",
      "it depicts a world where no one , man or god , has much say in what happens to the planet , and where the survival of one family outweighs the deaths of billions . what does that say about us ?",
      "in line with the u.s.-centric heartbeat of 2012 , most other nationalities , particularly the russians , are viewed as imbeciles and/or mere extensions of crude stereotypes - clever indians , honourable chinese , stylish italians , and so on .",
      "you do n't have to say more than `` it 's a roland emmerich film '' to get the full brunt of the quality of the production . great visuals , but weak dialogue and scenarios .",
      "it 's cinematic waterboarding and there was more than one occasion during the film when i was convinced it was never going to end .",
      "i ca n't claim to have seen every terrible film in cinematic history , but in my fairly extensive watchography , 2012 is certainly in the top 5 worst ever .",
      "action-packed entertainment builds around efforts , not to prevent the destruction of the planet , but to plan for the continuation of the human race .",
      "it 's the end of the world as we know it % u2026 again ! but hand it to roland emmerich , an old hand at cinematic armageddon , for making the apocalypse such an entertaining ride .",
      "the strongest thing about this movie is the `` this i have to see '' factor . if only the story had the same kind of groove going as the effects .",
      "berlin alexanderplatz feels like a saturday afternoon matinee compared to this .",
      "even though the extras -lsb- on the dvd -rsb- are chock-a-block , they are still for a bad movie .",
      "the end of the world movie to end 'em all , it turns out to be a sort of cross between the sci-fi camptacular when worlds collide and every previous emmerich movie . guilty pleasures galore .",
      "the audience paid for money shots , and money shots are what they get .",
      "people talk about `` formula '' almost always as a pejorative , but formulas get to be formulas because they work , and there 's something to be said for a formula picture done almost to perfection .",
      "the effects are expensive-looking and impressive enough while you 're watching them , although whatever awe they inspire does n't last long : when you 've seen one washington monument fall to bits , you 've seen them all .",
      "beware 2012 , which works the dubious miracle of almost matching transformers 2 for sheer , cynical , mind-numbing , time-wasting , money-draining , soul-sucking stupidity .",
      "if you feel like you 've seen all this genre has to offer , save your ten dollars and take comfort that you 're probably right .",
      "a gargantuan mess .",
      "a very long , very loud , and very stupid disaster flick that apparently accomplishes what it set out to do , which was to be long , loud , and stupid .",
      "films of this sort are plotted shish kebab style : disaster , change of scenery , new disaster . but on the level of spectacle , 2012 is top-notch .",
      "after seeing 2012 i had to take a shower i felt so unclean . if 2012 succeeds , we 'll have the deluge of crap . it wo n't be the rapture ; it will be the evacuation .",
      "like all its predecessors , this carefully choreographed entertainment offers nothing new . but there sure is a lot of it .",
      "it 's big and cheesy and if you 're in the mood for a dose of exaggerated end-of-world chaos , this is the popcorn movie for you . roland emmerich has gleefully combined every possible disaster extreme with child-like enthusiasm : massive visual effects",
      "`` 2012 '' is yet another example of technological genius and story-telling mediocrity .",
      "roland emmerich 's latest irwin allen-on-steroids disaster movie is the mother of all apocalypse movies , and it mostly satisfies ...",
      "sure the blu-ray dvd will look great on your home theater as ambient background for your next house party , but that 's about it .",
      "fundamentally terrible , but almost irresistibly entertaining . its horrors get a tad monotonous in the mid-section , but it 's still a value-for-money hoot .",
      "are we meant to applaud when skyscrapers topple and ships capsize , with tiny digital faceless bodies plummeting into the void ? you make the disaster this real and it 's not entertaining or chilling .",
      "wow special effects and a top supporting cast ca n't override the numbing length of this best-of disaster movie blockbuster .",
      "emmerich favours hoisting his camera high and dry to give audiences the best panoramic view , but it removes all tension from proceedings - you 're always at a safe distance .",
      "too long by an hour and populated with nothing but stereotypes , we ultimately want the world to come to an end , if only so we can get up and go to the bathroom .",
      "a state-of-the-art multiplex three-ring circus whose special effects stagger the senses and play like a video game , whose human drama aims for the cosmic and lands waist-deep in the big silly .",
      "a preposterous , overlong mess that 's filled with cheesy dialogue and cliche-ridden characters .",
      "remarkably , `` 2012 '' does n't even really try to be profound , which is a good thing . all it tries to do is what it knows how to do best : entertain . at that , it comes up a winner .",
      "actors say silly lines with deadly seriousness . exposition is wielded like a sledgehammer . all you can do is grit your teeth and wait for the next wave of destruction .",
      "at 160 minutes , it 's too long . and this is n't exactly brainy fare . if you think too hard about this dopey science-fiction thriller , you 'll surely find fault with its physics and similarly sketchy plotting .",
      "there are fates worse than death , and 2012 is one of them .",
      "hollywood 's most successful one-trick pony , emmerich claims to favor `` human stories '' over end-of-the-world spectacle , but watching 2012 is like watching a sausage machine explode .",
      "emmerich wavers between shocking , silly , and maudlin like a toddler would fingerpaint with red , yellow , and blue .",
      "i found myself reaching for a phantom video-game controller to help our heroes and heroine defy certain death .",
      "this is fun . 2012 delivers what it promises , and since no sentient being will buy a ticket expecting anything else , it will be , for its audiences , one of the most satisfactory films of the year .",
      "it 's the end of the world as we know it , and i feel ... like i have a headache .",
      "there are times when 2012 feels as if it is not going to end until 2012 ...",
      "doomsday is good therapy . what does it matter that billions die if that brings a family together in one big hug ?",
      "terrible with no story , a god-awful cast led by the cursed amanda peet , and stale dialogue . cheesy cgi .",
      "guilty pleasures do n't come guiltier than 2012 .",
      "it 's an exhausting , clumsy mess , and its moments of excitement are eventually toppled by the unstoppable tsunami of cheese .",
      "all the outright silliness can be quite entertaining , but it 's unsatisfying to watch a movie spend so much time developing characters you ca n't possibly care about as you wait for emmerich to throw in the next wave of destruction .",
      "-lsb- j -rsb- ust as the cyclones and tsunamis of the day after tomorrow ultimately succumbed to a bad case of narrative frostbite , 2012 's ludicrous thrills begin burning themselves out by the movie 's midpoint .",
      "at the end of the day -lrb- oops , a rash choice of words -rrb- , go for the great effects . and stay for the unintended laughs . though it 's for all the wrong reasons , this film is highly entertaining .",
      "if the viewer were ever invited to think or feel about what 's happening on-screen , the movie 's wow-whoa-ain ` t-it-cool momentum would collapse in a heap of horrific preposterousness .",
      "sound idiotic ? preposterous ? you bet . but 2012 delivers the disaster-movie goods better than any other popcorn movie we 've seen since the '80s .",
      "as you might expect with director roland emmerich , the movie is n't a patch on the trailer .",
      "despite the frenetic action scenes , the movie sags , done in by multiple story lines that undercut one another and by the heaviness of its conceit .",
      "why does roland emmerich enjoy killing off humanity ?",
      "even if most of the earth were to be destroyed by a natural cataclysm predicted long ago by the ancient mayans , director roland emmerich would surely survive , if only to crawl back and polish off what little was left .",
      "the earth 's crust destabilizes , quakes and tsunamis run riot , and continents shift , opening up a chasm directly under columbia pictures , the folks who hired roland emmerich to direct the movie .",
      "this is n't disaster porn , it 's a disaster gang-bang .",
      "if you 're the kind of movie goer who will happily munch popcorn at the sight of the apocalypse , 2012 will do the trick just nicely . and nastily .",
      "for too much of the 2 1/2 - hour 2012 , the end is not near .",
      "160 minutes of this nonsense is at least 90 minutes of back story too many .",
      "the latest end-of-the-world effort from director roland emmerich , who there but for the grace of god goes michael bay .",
      "2012 's narrative is super-banal and so are its special effects .",
      "at points , 2012 was tedious enough to make us feel like we were in the theater until 2012",
      "a headache inducing mess of apocalyptic proportions , 2012 is a woeful greatest hits package of disaster film clichés , mixed with shallow social commentary .",
      "congratulations , john cusack ! you star in the worst movie of the year !",
      "the amount of inanity exceeds the quantity of the special effects ... and the movie is filled to the brim with them .",
      "... roland emmerich has done it again - he has delivered a movie that can pass for either a sunny atrocity or a brilliant black joke .",
      "emmerich supposedly spent $ 260m to give you the biggest experience for your ticket dollar and in this regard , he has succeeded tremendously , while , intentionally or otherwise , also delivering one of 2009 's best comedies .",
      "terrible ; wonderfully terrible .",
      "it 's easy to scoff at the over-reliance of cgi in contemporary cinema but for a film like this it 's part and parcel of the whole , and computer generated effects have never before been used as spectacularly .",
      "`` sit down and buckle up ! ''",
      "you can not say , in the terms of the life and career that emmerich has built for himself , this is not the apex of his work . the world blows up . the world blows up a lot . the world blows up fantastically . there are worst quests in life .",
      "this is fear-mongering , sentimental , horror show shtick , but it 's also fairly competent , making 2012 a work of awful efficiency",
      "as always in emmerich 's rollicking armageddons , the cannon speaks with an expensive bang , while the fodder gets afforded nary a whimper .",
      "each cgi blow-out feels progressively more synthetic and wearing .",
      "-lsb- nothing -rsb- will give you more respect for how difficult it is to be an actor than watching top talent like john cusack , chiwetel ejiofor , amanda peet and oliver platt struggling to treat the film 's ungodly language and situations with perfect seriousness .",
      "the bad news : the world as we know it has come to an end . the good news : mommy 's new boyfriend was squashed in the gears of a giant high-tech ark , so daddy 's back in the picture !",
      "... goes on so long it starts to feel like the fifth piece of chocolate cake when two or three would have been more enjoyable .",
      "the money shots are there in spades for 2012 . it 's utterly unbelievable but a blast to watch . and on a big screen , it 's pretty impressive .",
      "2012 does answer the question of what a filmmaker with no great attachment to logic does when he ca n't choose between instruments of destruction . the answer : he exploits them all .",
      "it 's over two-and-a-half hours of roland emmerich simulating the experience of the `` id4 '' dog outrunning the fireball . it 's slaphappy ludicrousness taken to an epic level .",
      "to put it as simple as humanly possible , if you decide to go see one of director roland emmerich 's end-of-the-world films you should know exactly what you are getting into .",
      "the world will end not with a whimper , but a bang - and another bang , and another bang , and another ...",
      "now we know how the world ends -- with a whimper , a very loud whimper .",
      "any sentient viewer will be able to predict every lumpy twist of this ludicrous , fitfully enjoyable movie .",
      "-lrb- many -rrb- will decry `` 2012 '' as a plotless , illogical , clichéd , demented popcorn flick -lrb- because it is -rrb- , but this is that rare case where the apocalypse , at least in terms of big-budget blown-up spectacle movie-making , is hardly the end of the world .",
      "giant-sized , explosive and technically astounding . this is no less than the end of the world roland emmerich is dealing with , and he tosses into the pot so much delirious spectacle that , yes , there are even kitchen sinks in sight .",
      "independence day began a game of landmark-destroying one-upmanship . here , emmerich takes the competition global , but the soundtrack 's organ-rattling low-end makes a deeper impact than the film 's visuals .",
      "sets a goal and slamdunks it , squeezing in so much fun that by the credits , i 'd forgotten about woody harrelson 's turn as a pickle-chomping am radio meteorological messiah .",
      "i do n't think that , other than zombieland and the hangover , i 've laughed this hard all year , although i 'm sure the comedy in 2012 is 90 % unintentional .",
      "like watching a mexican soap opera with bad ass special effects .",
      "perhaps writer-director roland emmerich was hoping for a so-bad-it 's - good cult status with his latest disaster flick .",
      "emmerich , though , is not fundamentally a funny filmmaker . he 's fundamentally cheesy , and there 's always something flat and phony to those few scenes meant to give his movies some modicum of humanity .",
      "cliched , bombastic , coincidental , corny and technologically implausible , `` 2012 '' is so silly it might be entertaining if it did n't go on so long .",
      "most of all , i liked the airlifting of giraffes to ark safety via helicopter and the bizarrely unreasonable cheeriness of the beleaguered survivors who all but shout `` hip-hip-hooray '' after billions of other earth citizens lose their lives .",
      "emmerich was n't content to merely make the biggest disaster movie ever : he had to make every disaster movie ever ... -lsb- i -rsb- t 's like something ed wood would have made if he had a budget ...",
      "roland emmerich 's 2012th epic disaster movie to date -lrb- give or take -rrb- is spectacularly loud , laughably ludicrous and insanely entertaining for all the wrong reasons .",
      "this movie is a disaster . at least it would be if it did n't fall into the `` so bad it 's good '' category .",
      "se a morte de seis bilhőes de pessoas ajudar uma criança a abandonar as fraldas , năo terá tudo valido a pena ?",
      "158 minutes represents a heavy investment in time and popcorn . but the unrelenting pace , almighty effects and sheer tongue-in-cheekiness make it more than worth your while .",
      "2012 , a near three-hour movie built entirely out of special effects set pieces and join-the-dots characterisation .",
      "eye-popping special effects ensure that this movie will be a smash hit , and while it 's entertaining for most of its excessive running time , the cheesy script fails to live up to the grandeur of the physical production .",
      "emmerich 's vision of global huddling and new-dawn optimism has a harebrained naivety you almost want to treasure , but that 's this idiot behemoth of a film all over : dim , dim , dim , and so absurdly overscaled that we 're not supposed to mind .",
      "packages the disaster-happy director 's greatest hits into one cataclysmic picture .",
      "a deliriously ludicrous , guilty pleasure of a blockbuster in which the end of the world is turned into a two-and-a-half-hour rollercoaster ride .",
      "the crowning achievement in emmerich 's long , profitable career as a destroyer of worlds .",
      "it feels about 2012 minutes too long , a bloated epic that outstays its welcome long before the credits have rolled .",
      "roland emmerich has thrown everything imaginable at the screen in this mother -lrb- nature -rrb- of all destruction flicks .",
      "over the top scenes of destruction aside 2012 is generally unimaginative in every way , from conception to execution . it 's not particularly bad , but never has the end of the world seemed so quaint .",
      "2012 is terrible , lazy , hollywood trash . it is completely unoriginal with no structure , a script akin to having a drill put through your eardrum and a talented ensemble cast who are so obviously going through the motions .",
      "on any level other than as sheer visual sensation , 2012 is a joke , for the simple reason that it has no point of view .",
      "two and a half hours of heaving and cleaving and crashing and crunching .",
      "`` you 'll be thoroughly entertained throughout , but hate yourself for liking it afterwards ''",
      "a cheesefest on an epic scale , 2012 is a case of computer processors working overtime to compensate for a lack of action on emmerich and co-writers harald kloser 's word processor .",
      "the defining entrant in , and the nadir of , the disaster porn genre .",
      "a soothing bath of hollywood tropes and cliches .",
      "the scenes of destruction composed by emmerich 's team -- earthquakes , tsunamis , rains of earth and fire -- have an enveloping majesty ; they transcend mere expensive photorealism and cross over into art .",
      "thrilling , ridiculous -lrb- the script , by emmerich and longtime co-writer harald kloser , is riddled with howlingly goofy lines and seriously improbable deus-ex-machina moments -rrb- , and just plain big , dumb fun .",
      "emmerich mounts an all-out assault on the world and on quality filmmaking with this bloated disaster flick",
      "aside from a couple solid action sequences , this bloated epic is exhausting instead of exciting and sentimental but not sad .",
      "in the final forty-five minutes the movie starts to feel very long and played-out .",
      "what 's so frustrating about `` 2012 '' is that it could have been a great action movie . if the special effects team can do their jobs , certainly better writers could have been hired . but no . just try finding a surprise .",
      "it 's missing the point to note that the patriotism on display in ' 2012 ' is embarrassingly shallow , as are emmerich 's genuflections to the value of faith . this is not a movie of ideas , but one of visceral thrills . on that level it 's hardly inspired .",
      "works best when it immerses us in the vulgar mayhem , rather than when it 's asking us to care too deeply",
      "train wreck . car wreck . plane wreck . boat wreck . please tell me you 've picked up on the common theme here people .",
      "gleefully over-the-top , this film takes the disaster movie pretty much as far as it can go",
      "as with `` independence day , '' `` 2012 '' is what comes of hiring legitimate actors to hawk hokum . and `` 2012 '' certainly is all cheese on wry , but it 's smart within its means as a palpable , if popcorn , lesson about parental and personal responsibility .",
      "pour le `` meilleur '' et pour le pire , le cinéaste allemand nous livre au bout de ces deux heures et demie de tapage et d'exubérance son oeuvre la plus aboutie ŕ ce jour .",
      "there is a misanthropic rush to be had from watching all those cities getting destroyed real good .",
      "i 'm curious , just a bit , about what goes on in the mind of roland emmerich . does he know that he makes some of the best comedies ever written ?",
      "with a planet sized disaster film , there are nation sized holes to pick at if you choose , but there 's a world of fun to be had if you sit back and let the destruction wash over you in this fantastical , mind blowing visual feast .",
      "a boring , stupid , overlong , obnoxious , soulless piece of hollywood `` product . ''",
      "2012 is so long , and its special effects are at once so outrageous and so thunderously predictable , that by the time i lurched from the theatre i felt that three years had actually passed and that the apocalypse was due any second .",
      "it was your average d day film with all the bells and whistles and while many will enjoy it , it could have been better .",
      "2012 's cutting-edge cgi special-effects technology combine with the campy failings of the worst of the 1950 's b-movies making for an unlikely comedy of disaster-epic proportions .",
      "after the deplorable ` day after tomorrow ' i was n't expecting much , but this is an entertaining movie with mind-boggling special effects .",
      "2012 is the expensive , large-scale version of the same spectacle presented by downmarket counterparts like the final destination and saw franchises .",
      "if they had just put a decent story with these fabulous special effects , this could have really been something special . `` 2012 '' could have done without so many of its characters like those two guys on the love boat .",
      "2012 rarely convincingly places its stars in the midst of destruction .",
      "even though this movie 's running time of two and a half hours is about one hour too long , there 's still some pretty cool disaster stuff on the way .",
      "2012 is a roland emmerich movie , so that means the world collapses while actors try to find a safe place to speak their inane dialogue .",
      "i could fairly describe the 2012 plot as follows : the highest-paid members of an indifferent cast survive the massive floods and giant fireballs that cause our planet 's destruction .",
      "if the world had actually ended two hours into the film we 'd all be discussing how awesomely stupid 2012 was in heaven .",
      "this oafish epic about the end of days -- as predicted by the mayan calendar -- operates in a dead zone roughly equidistant between parody and idiocy .",
      "preposterous ? you bet . but 2012 delivers the disaster-movie goods better than any other popcorn movie we 've seen since the '80s .",
      "how is it possible that a $ 250 million film can be less effective on it 's audience than the $ 11,000 paranormal activity . the film is laughably bad .",
      "only a movie critic without a sense of humor would question whether you could really drive a limo straight through a collapsing skyscraper ... or whether the dalai lama really owns a pickup truck .",
      "had emmerich whittled down his overstocked cast and downsized the soap opera , this really would have been a case of apocalypse wow . if you 've an appetite for destruction , though , it 'll still send you home with a smile on your face .",
      "2012 is the rare case of a bad film that i 'm nevertheless obliged to recommend you see .",
      "2012 is straight ahead smash the world to smithereens while a cadre of characters placed in soap opera situations deliver unintentionally laughable lines .",
      "master of disaster roland emmerich lives down to his reputation with what amounts to the biggest snuff film of all time .",
      "the movie is an undeniable visual spectacle , but just as unequivocally a cheesy , ridiculous story .",
      "roland emmerich provides the next entry in the `` apocalyptically disastrous '' subgenre of mega-blockbuster cinema , following up transformers : revenge of the fallen with an equally soulless depiction of life at the end of the world .",
      "cusack , with his one-of-the-guys face and his nice way with child actors , does creditable work as an average american dad trying to put things right .",
      "my enthusiasm for 2012 is not because i think it 's high art with an important social message . screw that % u2013 this movie is about pure spectacle , and it pulls that off fabulously .",
      "2012 is reminiscent of yesteryear '80s shlock-tastic blockbusters -- total popcorn entertainment with ridiculous dialogue and impossible situations and special effects that will boggle the brain for a good two-plus hours .",
      "2012 is well made spectacle . it 's finely crafted trash . it 's in on the joke , and it 's laughing along with you .",
      "emmerich would be better off losing the pretense of respectability and embracing the b-movie showmanship that is clearly his strength .",
      "plausible plot points , great special effects and characters we care about . that 's really about all you need to enjoy this apocalypse wow !",
      "uno supone que presenciar el fin del mundo debería ser un evento realmente dramático , sin embargo estamos ante una película excesiva y ridícula que se parodia involuntariamente a sí misma .",
      "unbelievably dumb and sentimental movie .",
      "there 's a whole world of destruction going on in the film 's ridiculously excessive special-effects sequences . but there 's a whole lot of entertaining going on , too .",
      "i quite enjoyed the experience , at least the first five or six hours of it . 2012 is not simply the last disaster movie you ever need to see . it 's the last movie you ever need to see .",
      "emmerich deals in crayon-kit characterizations and shots of famous monuments crumbling into dust",
      "full review at movies for the masses"
    ],
    "summary": "roland emmerich 's 2012 provides plenty of visual thrills , but lacks a strong enough script to support its massive scope and inflated length .",
    "id": "770795544"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1209933-puss_in_boots",
    "reviews": [
      "where the visuals fail , the script does not pick up the slack . -lsb- the -rsb- screenplay plods along , and not even the occasional prison-rape joke can make it come to life .",
      "` MOV ' is uneven , but when it 's on course , cat fans will be in heaven .",
      "MOV is a shrek spin-off , which might seem pointless in addition to predictable .",
      "entertaining spin-off enlivened by a terrific voice performance from shrek scene-stealer antonio banderas and colourful animation work but the script is weak and the film blows all its best gags early on .",
      "it may be ogre-free , but it 's a monster of a movie .",
      "purr-fect fun for rugrats mourning the end of the shrek series .",
      "what the film boast in charm and exuberance , it sadly lacks in emotional core , and while there is n't really any depth to the bonds formed over the 90 minutes , it 's still a great family-friendly action-comedy .",
      "every time puss opened his mouth to speak i was so captivated by his gnashers they helped to make this one of the most entertaining animations i 've seen since the incredibles and happy feet .",
      "this western-parodying cat-with-too-many-names is closer to rango than to anything from the kingdom of far far away .",
      "just a whisker away from being the cat 's whiskers .",
      "for quick , lively , family friendly entertainment , `` MOV '' works just fine , even in 3-d , which is integrated thoughtfully into the narrative and does n't just feel like a gimmick .",
      "has enough charm and visual delights to compensate for its own storytelling shortcomings .",
      "... simple , sincere and largely innocent .",
      "a mad scientist in the skin i live in and a talking cat in MOV : is there anything antonio banderas ca n't do ?",
      "as handsome as any animated movie you can name , but it does n't even have the slick , narrative efficiency of one of the kung fu panda movies .",
      "puss ' origin story could easily stand on its own -- a testament to clever writing on the part of its creative team and an irresistible central performance by antonio banderas .",
      "even though the past few shrek films have been a chore and the character of puss himself is fairly one-note and perhaps better suited as a side character , this new spin-off film will surprise you with its clever script and hearty adventurer 's spirit .",
      "a winning vocal turn by banderas anchors this swashbuckling animated family adventure , a peppy , character-rooted romp that thankfully abandons some of the more frenzied and forced in-joke references of the shrek series .",
      "-lsb- video -rsb- spun off from the finally-adjourned shrek franchise , `` MOV '' is a well crafted dreamworks animated movie that succeeds in spite of , rather than due to , its extraneous 3d treatment .",
      "colorful , clever enough , free of cloying showbiz in-jokes , action-packed without being ridiculous about it and even well choreographed ...",
      "a 2d comedy shown with technology to make you believe you 're seeing something you 're not . and one of the things you 're not seeing - or , rather , hearing - is witty dialogue .",
      "who needs a narrative when you 've got a few funny lines -lrb- caught with catnip , puss declares it 's `` for my glaucoma '' -rrb- , a morricone knockoff score and a climactic sequence with something we 'll call goosezilla ?",
      "for a fairy tale slash prequel slash spinoff , MOV is the cat 's meow .",
      "bears little resemblance to the franchise that spawned it -- and that 's a good thing .",
      "as good as banderas and hayek are together , galifianakis is better , making humpty-dumpty , of all people , one of the more intriguing animated characters to come along in awhile . he 's a nice surprise .",
      "it is a very silly film , a big adventure movie , and surprisingly effective . it 's not easy to spin off a popular supporting character into his own movie , and yet this feels completely natural .",
      "i left dreaming of a world in which cats could tango - and when 's the last time a movie did that ?",
      "the cat came back . good thing , too .",
      "an adventure that 's both cinematic and intimate , never sacrificing sincere emotion for the short-lived glory of a good punch line or set piece .",
      "a legitimately entertaining prequel that encapsulates what the franchise does best : breezy action , clever twists on classic figures from fables and grown-up gags tucked in amidst the kid-friendly developments .",
      "there are betrayals and double-crosses galore , rattling chases and swish sword fights , fleeting visual gags , mischievous verbal jokes and , best of all , a frisky flamenco dance-off between puss and kitty that will leave the viewer purring with pleasure .",
      "i 'm pretty sure that the reason antonio banderas was put on this planet was to make MOV speak ... -lsb- h -rsb- ilariously and endlessly inventive ...",
      "MOV is the cat 's meow .",
      "puss 's boots are delectable things which could almost have been the product of that classic fairy tale , the elves and the shoemaker -lrb- ... -rrb- and every time -lrb- ... -rrb- we see those little gnashers , the film is a technical marvel .",
      "avoids all the worst tendencies of the later shrek movies .",
      "`` MOV '' shows that there 's certainly enough in him to create a new hero beloved by both children and merchandise executives .",
      "with banderas ' scene-stealing feline finally getting his own film , the franchise now has a worthy successor to the two original shrek movies .",
      "an eksaireseis kana dyo eksypna gags kai kapoies paixnidiarikes proseggiseis sthn paradosh toy shrek na anakateyei klasika paramythia , s ' olon ton ypoloipo afhghmatiko toys aksona kratane ta pragmata apelpistika paidika",
      "while its fairytale-inspired premise lacks the subversive wit of the better shrek films , MOV is an agreeably snappy , visually enticing yarn nonetheless .",
      "an attractive adventure yarn that combines the fairytale and the western .",
      "unlike mater , puss is ready for his closeup .",
      "it 's the morally-cracked humpty who provides the film 's emotional trajectory . MOV is a fun feline frolic -- with just a little egg on its face .",
      "a milquetoast homunculi assembled by the most hackneyed form of studio groupthink imaginable .",
      "the character may be here to save the day , but the movie 's only here to pass the time and it does that just fine .",
      "MOV still has its moments and most of them come courtesy of the stellar vocal contributions of antonio banderas .",
      "the resulting spinoff , simply titled MOV , is breezily entertaining -- even to a dog person .",
      "great cat jokes , fun performances , and impressive 3d make MOV a movie that both adults and children will love .",
      "i did n't love it , but it features enough in the fun department to make it worth a watch if you are cat fan .",
      "turns out it 's not bad . not bad at all . instead of making a tacky cash-grab , they went ahead and made an actual movie . a good one !",
      "almost shockingly good . and not just because a lot of you will approach it with lowered expectations .",
      "what could have been a cheap and easy spin-off is instead a surprisingly engaging and richly constructed adventure film .",
      "it 's a given that any movie featuring the fencing feline is probably going to be more entertaining than the last two shrek movies .",
      "it turns out to be a tremendous amount of fun and not at all like the recent listless shrek sequels .",
      "finally , a fun animated movie that treats MOV like the star he was meant to be .",
      "the best thing i can say about MOV is that it 's not just another crappy shrek sequel . it actually does something different , which makes it surprisingly fun .",
      "family fun adventure with an occasional wink to the adults . who does n't love MOV ? even guillermo del toro got in on this !",
      "it 's furry , frisky , family-friendly fun - and you do n't have to pay extra for the 3-d because the 2-d version is just as good .",
      "banderas is a delight as puss",
      "nothing new , nothing strange , absolutely nothing unexpected , even for a five-year-old .",
      "it starts out fun and dashing and crazy , but once the plot sets in , i was significantly less into it .",
      "the results are so funny and irresistible audiences are bound to be swept away into this kitty 's universe .",
      "`` MOV '' is cat-astrophically entertaining !",
      "packed with exciting action , funny cat gags and eye-stabbing 3-d , puss should claw its way to the top of the box office .",
      "supporting characters are sometimes best left as just that .",
      "less visually striking , less funny , and less heart-warming than the shrek movies and with completely unnecessary 3d , it is a step down for the series .",
      "MOV is a great opportunity squandered , which is all the more ironic considering the plot involves a golden goose .",
      "where are shrek , fiona and -- gulp -- donkey when you need them ?",
      "basically , this toon is a tired riff on sergio leone 's spaghetti westerns , punctuated by more puns and cat jokes than you can shake a litter box at .",
      "with his impeccable comic timing and lyrical spanish accent , banderas ' swashbuckling charmer is an undeniable treat .",
      "dare i say , in honor of humpty , that the film is `` egg `` ceptional ?",
      "... while the story has many tricks , there 's little magic ...",
      "awash in action and colour -lrb- and short , parents , short -rrb- , MOV is a terrific example of how to put a fresh spin on a character spun off from a threadbare franchise .",
      "MOV never slows down enough to concern itself with pacing or plotting , and like any good cat burglar ; it always lands on its feet .",
      "is n't exactly the freewheeling adventure the cat deserves , weighed down by a leaden script , but isolated antics remain as amusing as ever , demanding banderas rear back and let loose with a full-body performance .",
      "MOV prances along on three basic truths . one , cats are funny . two , vain spanish cats in high-heeled musketeer boots are even funnier . lastly , booted , vain spanish cats voiced by a breathy antonio banderas are flat-out hilarious .",
      "i , for one , hope this darn cat and his friends return for another adventure .",
      "just when you were about to give up on 3-d-and the inflated price of admission to watch it on a theater screen-along comes a film that 's worth the money . in fact , it is n't the story that makes MOV stand out , but the imaginative staging ...",
      "it would overstate matters to say MOV leaves its cat holding the bag -lrb- we had to get that in -rrb- . but it also leaves its hero awaiting a richer fable , one befitting his charms and his portrayer 's talents .",
      "an almost purr-fect little film that even a dog owner can enjoy .",
      "swashbuckling adventure features irresistible warrior cat .",
      "the jokes and visual gags are very amusing , largely avoiding needless pop culture references and instead finding clever sources for humor .",
      "puss proves more than capable and deserving of the solo spotlight , his outsize bravado , machismo , ego spilling out beyond the big screen in fiercely funny feline fashion .",
      "clever and witty enough for adults and colorful and zany enough for children . moreover , it 's adventurous enough for anyone to like , no matter what their age .",
      "i like this cat . i hope they make four more of these . viva el gato !",
      "a refreshing departure from the `` shrek '' films , this animated comedy is jam-packed with witty dialogue and charismatic characters .",
      "banderas vocally vamps this up in ways he never gets to do in live action films .",
      "finally , there 's a cat even cooler than garfield who will win the box office as well as a place on your favorites list . his name is puss and he wears boots .",
      "puss offers strong cgi charisma , and with a tighter narrative focus than shrek , it 's safe to say that dreamworks has another franchise-worthy golden goose .",
      "bet the litter box that the cat in the hat will be back , MOV is fantastic family fun , both kids and adults will lap it up like a cold glass of milk .",
      "MOV delivers just the right mixture of fun , exciting and super cute .",
      "`` MOV '' is light , breezy family entertainment that -lsb- features -rsb- top-notch voice work from the entire cast .",
      "in the shrek films , the joke of MOV , with his trilled consonants and penchant for chest-puffing sword duels , is that no one this cuddly should try to be this dashing . but in MOV , that joke wears out its welcome in 15 minutes .",
      "passable",
      "even if they do n't provide much lift , these boots were made for amusement .",
      "MOV is cute and entertaining but hardly purr-fect .",
      "`` MOV '' is n't particularly deep , nor does it take itself seriously -- it just wants to seek glory , win affection and cash in . done , done and done .",
      "the film 's inventiveness is evident from the start ...",
      "`` shrek '' goofed around with what we know about beloved fairy tales , while `` puss '' is more interested in playing with the conventions of westerns and , specifically , sergio leone westerns . you could think of it as `` the good , the bad and the kitty . ''",
      "a razzle-dazzle animated feature about an outlaw cat who dances flamenco and is a survivor able to handle all challenges before him .",
      "even for a shrek spin-off , MOV is mighty thin gruel , based more in outsized emotion than actual narrative .",
      "labors to create an alternate history from childhood treasures ; i 'll keep mine the way i remember them , thanks .",
      "time and time again , puss coats his true desires in a thick veneer of synthetic heterosexuality .",
      "the 3d treatment is fine , but not necessary to enjoy this most cuddly of kitty concoctions .",
      "this shrek spin-off continues the theme of mashing up fairy tales with movie genres , and while there 's a slightly stale odour lingering through this prequel , it 's also witty enough to keep us laughing .",
      "it falls short of ` rango , ' ` kung fu panda 2 ' and ` winnie the pooh , ' but not by a lot . it 's fast , entertaining , and funny .",
      "unlike most digital cartoon featues , this is an utterly unpretentious film devoted almost entirely to comedy and action , with little moralizing .",
      "mostly this is lots of frenetic fun , and puss himself is a terrific hero . the animation , seen in 3d in many cinemas , is splendid .",
      "audiences of every age can delight in the antics , adventures and cattitude of the lovable MOV .",
      "our expectations have not been satisfied ; the character of MOV has been diminished , the story is trite and meaningless and the hero 's journey we expected is a lame duck",
      "for a film with many stylistic , thematic and tonal inconsistencies , it is still good fun .",
      "like most kittens , it 's not always perfectly behaved , but at least this new puss adventure does n't have you reaching for the cinematic spray bottle .",
      "that suave , scene-stealing cat from shrek 2 finally gets his own swashbuckling adventure and it could n't be a more colourful feline fairy tale .",
      "MOV is very jolly for an hour . then , like santa claus misjudging a chimney , it gets stuck at the moment we hope it will break free and distribute the festive gifts .",
      "as you 'd expect with dreamworks , the animation is smooth and the 3d impressive , particularly when puss and his partners in crime ride a giant beanstalk up into the heavens .",
      "chaotic yet beautifully arranged , sensuous yet innocent ... cat lovers will be in kitty heaven .",
      "it 's all amiable stuff , with a perfectly decent script , and the feline hero lapping his milk gets an indulgent laugh .",
      "most of the jokes fit into two categories : `` ha ha , he 's spanish '' and `` ha ha , he 's a cat '' .",
      "MOV is a highly amusing little diversion that will mesmerise the kids and hopefully give the adults a naughty little cackle as well .",
      "what kids will get from it is plenty of fairly outrageous but not often witty fun with fairytale elements blended into a kind of latterday spaghetti western . for the rest of us , there is plenty of nice visual detail .",
      "MOV is as good as the first shrek and , at its best , touches on the genius of shrek 2 .",
      "though puss was an entertaining subsidiary character in shrek 2 , he fails to convince as a leading character .",
      "remember that toy where you yank a string and hear the sound of a barnyard animal ? `` MOV '' has about half as much entertainment value .",
      "it 's always a pleasure to find a family film that respects its audience all the way up the line .",
      "puss made his debut in `` shrek 2 , '' then did time in the two decreasingly funny sequels . now he 's got a movie of his own , and not a moment too soon .",
      "an enjoyable enough romp , if no template-breaker like ` rango . '",
      "a cheerfully chaotic jumble of fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters parachuted into a spanish storybook setting .",
      "perhaps the most engaging thing about `` MOV '' is that it never takes itself too seriously .",
      "it 's a fabulous melding of voice talent , writing and animation that makes `` MOV '' so entertaining .",
      "visually , this project ranks among the best animated efforts to embrace the 3-d craze .",
      "as the voice of puss , banderas still displays heroic charisma . and even in animated form , he and hayek make sparks as they dance , fight , flirt and face adventure together .",
      "`` MOV '' does n't break any new ground in the storytelling department , and its reliance on go-go-go state-of-the-art action sequences grows wearying by the end , but the movie has a devilish wit that works for parent and child alike ...",
      "the supporting character from ` shrek ' is made the star of his own movie with stretched out results",
      "the best way i can think to describe the film is that it 's pretty consistently pleasant .",
      "there are some good fight scenes , some nice dance numbers and a lot of swashbuckling in this film .",
      "for the most part , the stale wisecracks are on the order of `` first rule of bean club : you do not talk about bean club . ''",
      "while not the purrfect family entertainment , MOV does spin a delightful yarn .",
      "the moment that puss made his debut in shrek 2 , dramatically voiced by antonio banderas , and all but walked away with the picture , it was clear that dreamworks animation had created a resonant character .",
      "MOV is certainly not the cat 's meow , but it does n't deserve a place in the litter box either .",
      "it 's solid entertainment from top to bottom , with enough cute , fun , funny and adventurous moments to delight most viewers . -lrb- parental movie review also available -rrb-",
      "i also really enjoyed galifianakis as humpty , whose apparent earnestness is leavened with just the right amount of psychopathic megalomania . you know , for the kids .",
      "an ironic adventure movie that crackles with energy and surprisingly non-grating comedy ."
    ],
    "summary": "it is n't deep or groundbreaking , but what it lacks in profundity , MOV more than makes up for with an abundance of wit , visual sparkle , and effervescent charm .",
    "id": "770810237"
  },
  {
    "movie": "black_dynamite",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV blends satire , nostalgia , and cinema deconstruction into a one-of-a-kind comedy high .",
      "director scott sanders and his co-writers michael jai white and byron minns unrelentingly lampoon all manner of ghetto life clichés and cultural sacred cows .",
      "one of those eminently quotable comedies that frat guys and movie geeks will come back to time and again .",
      "this film will delight both discriminating fans of the blaxploitation tradition and ordinary lovers of goofy , in-ya-face thrills .",
      "as the theme song declares , this cat is dy-no-mite !",
      "you 'll either love it and think it 's hilarious , comedic brilliance or you wo n't get it at all . i know which side i 'm on cats . MOV 's !",
      "MOV will stir some pleasant memories .",
      "here , the acting , framing , focus , blocking , editing , sound and film processing all nail down the period so perfectly ... it looks , sounds and feels as if it were shot in 1972 .",
      "before an hour has passed tedium overtakes MOV -- one corny martial-arts sequence turns out to be plenty -- and all the good jokes dry up .",
      "if the joke is somewhat one-note and eventually told too long and too often , at least it 's a good joke .",
      "if the man has got you down and your vhs copies of ` shaft , ' ` superfly , ' ` dolemite ' and ` i 'm gon na git you sucka ' are all worn out , ` MOV ' is here to save the day .",
      "such a bland and lifeless experience even the most ardent of scott sanders or michael jai white fans will do well to not grow bored before the end .",
      "truly the funniest movie of 2009 . yeah , bust-a-gut hilarious . paul chambers , cnn .",
      "... a dead-on parody of the sloppy filmmaking , aggressive overacting and slapdash writing of the cheapest films of the genre .",
      "i am happy to say it brings back an element sadly missing in recent movies , gratuitous nudity .",
      "beneath the good-natured retro silliness of MOV is something smart and new .",
      "do n't blame the man , blame the overdose of irony .",
      "blaxploitation equivalent of the b-movies robert rodriguez and quentin tarantino cooked up for grindhouse .",
      "MOV gets the details right , but so what ? the result is like watching rightly vilified movies such as epic movie , date movie , or meet the spartans , but without as many scenes of characters being kicked in the balls .",
      "as dynamite kung-fu-fights his way through a vast conspiracy involving smack-addled orphans , malt liquor , and the best -lrb- read : worst -rrb- exploding-car scene of 2009 , you 'll feel a rush of '70s nostalgia you never knew you had .",
      "if there 's a night at the movies more fun than this deadpan blaxploitation flick , it 's probably boosted by something bought in a dark alley .",
      "a cheerfully affectionate if fit fully amusing spoof of '70s blaxpoitation movies , scott sanders ' MOV painstakingly nails the cheesy look , music and martial arts moves of the originals .",
      "once you catch on to the string of in-jokes , the movie never stops making you laugh ...",
      "an enjoyable , frequently hilarious action comedy with a witty script and a terrific performance from michael jai white ...",
      "outta sight !",
      "as the titular ex-cia man , white reveals comic talents to match his martial artistry , delivering one-liners and roundhouse kicks with the same killer precision .",
      "fond and very funny homage to the exploitation era .",
      "a brilliant laugh-out-loud slapstick crowd pleaser made with love and talent .",
      "the portentous dialogue , two-track-recorded soundtrack -lrb- by adrian younge -rrb- and eager performances are all highly diverting .",
      "hilarious , and at just 85 minutes long , never outstays its welcome .",
      "it works as well as it does largely because it displays such a genuine affection for the genre it pays tribute to .",
      "a pin-sharp send-up of 1970s blaxploitation .",
      "sanders delights in the amateurishness of blaxploitation , from clunky exposition to shootouts that violate all rules of continuity and perspective to a visible boom mic , which spends so much time onscreen that it practically deserves its own credit .",
      "this movie will make you say `` oooooooooo ! ''",
      "generally humorless and pointless , devoid as the film is of any commentary on the genre to which it 's paying loving tribute .",
      "unless you 're seeing MOV with a slap-happy midnight movie crowd , the film 's energy saps about halfway through and leaves you glumly anticipating the next obvious plot point .",
      "MOV is back and the man better look out or die laughing .",
      "a muscular , mustachioed , lethally suave motharf * cka , armed with nunchuks , kung-fu kicks , and a roaring .44 magnum , has come to rescue jive turkey movie auds from spoof-film purgatory",
      "if you revel just a tiny bit in the ` blaxploitation ' genre , then MOV is a sweet stew of shut-yo ' - mouth that 'll keep you loaded with glee for its apt 90 minutes .",
      "MOV scores brownie points for its brilliant , spot-on recreation of grindhouse-era ambiance .",
      "if you do n't ask MOV to be anything deeper an an entertaining retro diversion , you 're apt to feel richly rewarded . can you dig it , you jive-ass sucker ?",
      "this may be the all-time best party film next to `` animal house . '' if this movie does n't make you laugh , call a doctor .",
      "nothing in MOV captures the exhilarating absurdity of pam grier hiding razors in her afro in coffy -- or the loony genre experimentation in pootie tang .",
      "a terrific satire of seventies blaxploitation classics",
      "as a five-minute clip on youtube , this spoof might be a small masterpiece . as a feature film , it 's both too much and not nearly enough .",
      "even if you 've never seen a black exploitation film you will be thoroughly entertained by ` dy-no-mite ! dy-no-mite ! '",
      "the climax is so outrageous i ca n't believe it . the ending outdoes inglourious basterds because it 's not even about making a statement . it 's just about being crazy , which is what awesome movies should be .",
      "the details are perfect , from the particle-board sets to the porn-ready score . -lrb- and dig those polyester suits . -rrb- but just like the movies it parodies , this one feels over long before it 's actually done .",
      "an enjoyable celebratory ode to a fiercely entertaining counterculture-inspired genre .",
      "can MOV fend off the man and the mob and the phalanx of wah-wah guitars arrayed against him and fight his way to the honky house to mete out kung-fu justice ? most likely !",
      "a feisty , gleefully harebrained spoof of all things shaft and superfly , dynamite is a jubilant ode to the firm cinematic pimp hand , which , in this picture , smacks bad guys around and tickles the audience with the same devotion .",
      "this is one of the cleverest , most consistently funny spoof movies since airplane !",
      "even though it sounds funnier than it plays , between the song and the nun chucks , i was happy .",
      "the full-on embrace of the stupidity , the charm and the admirably empowering qualities of blaxploitation sets MOV apart . but , above all , it 's very funny .",
      "see this one with a crowd , and remember MOV 's immortal words : `` doughnuts do n't wear alligator shoes . ''"
    ],
    "summary": "a loving and meticulous send-up of 1970s blaxsploitation movies , MOV is funny enough for the frat house and clever enough for film buffs .",
    "id": "770800373"
  },
  {
    "movie": "resident_evil_extinction",
    "reviews": [
      "najve % u0107i adut filma je , kao i uvijek , milla jovovich",
      "falha até mesmo na tarefa de levar o público a se importar com seus personagens ; năo há uma única baixa entre os mocinhos que realmente faça o espectador sentir um nó na garganta ou simplesmente pensar `` que pena . era uma boa pessoa . '' .",
      "as far as this franchise goes , it looks like it 's game over as the only thing extinct is the creativity .",
      "zombie sequel is just as grisly as the first two .",
      "there does n't seem to be much other point to extinction , with its disposable story and its ever-more-conspicuous lack of any original ideas .",
      "director russell mulcahy is revered by genre fans for his work on the original highlander , but he wo n't gain many followers outside fangoria circles with this over-the-top splatter fest .",
      "the latest installment in writer/producer paul w.s. anderson 's resident evil series may have opened atop the box office , but hardcore gamers know where the real action is .",
      "groovy bit of multiplex pandemonium",
      "rips from as many movies as possible , and fails to even do that right .",
      "the franchise is becoming almost as mindless as the zombies it portrays , lumbeirng on with only repetitive instinct , while all true vitality has long since passed away .",
      "it 's high time for `` resident evil : enough is enough '' .",
      "those zombies are back on the march in the third instalment of the horror-action series that plays like a rip-off of george a romero 's day of the dead , only with a much lower iq .",
      "milla jovovich does a female chauvinist dressed-to-kill biker babe , while dodging cannibalistic crows . rarely has mass murder been so dull . pass the smelling salts .",
      "a western-tinged adventure whose innovations are so scant that the only things keeping the enterprise afloat are clumsy references to its predecessors .",
      "the action at times is pretty effective , from an attack by an infected flock of crows , to some brutal fighting in a sand-engulfed las vegas .",
      "fun , forgettable stuff -- but also a -lrb- slightly -rrb- better film than the reviews would have you believe .",
      "russell mulcahy of highlander fame ensures that production values are strong even if logic is weak and the script sounds like it was written on the back of an envelope .",
      "one or two good action sequences keep boredom at bay for a while , but so little of it is fresh that extinction ca n't come too soon .",
      "the alice you care about most , the one who kills zombies with splits and panache -lrb- and machetes -rrb- is actually not on isaacs ' monitor and is not dead yet .",
      "alice is back . she remembers everything , mostly because we 've seen it all before ."
    ],
    "summary": "resident evil : extinction is more of the same ; its few impressive action sequences unable to compensate for the pedestrian plot .",
    "id": "512912460"
  },
  {
    "movie": "rundown",
    "reviews": [
      "not a single character behaves with any logic at all , but at least they 're colourful and energetic enough to keep our interest .",
      "it shows potential for a new franchise and a new star , or stars , in the genre .",
      "the rock is the action star of the new millennium , and his charismatic presence in the MOV solidifies that .",
      "a smart , fun actioner .",
      "worth the chase , the MOV is simple entertainment at it 's best .",
      "one of those failed adventure yarns in which the character interaction is forced to make up for other shortcomings .",
      "it 's a fun ride and a throwback to the kind of action movies that were popular in the 1980s , the days before ... special effects dominated every frame .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he plot and the characters and the action set pieces all have to be built around an action star . the MOV ... indicates that the rock is ready to be that star .",
      "it 's hardly original but the MOV still manages to be great fun .",
      "despite the occasional dry patch , the MOV is too good-natured to resist for long .",
      "shows the rock 's promise as an action star . a better director would have let him deliver on that promise .",
      "if you can smell what the rock is cooking , then get a sensational whiff of his homemade cinematic snack known as the giddy and glossy executed the MOV",
      "the final action flick of the summer is in fact the best .",
      "the plot is a particularly hapless indiana jones rip-off , which makes the mind-numbingly frantic and dull action sequences a fatal liability .",
      "it 's easily the most fun you 'll have with horny monkeys all year .",
      "a perfectly delightful comedy adventure .",
      "passable entertainment that is notable primarily as the rock 's successful vehicle to action stardom .",
      "there 's no logical reason for the MOV to be any good . but with the rock 's sure presence and peter berg 's gonzo direction , it 's anything but bad .",
      "noisy , bombastic and ludicrous enough to please any wrestlemania crowd .",
      "the rock 's acting skills are treading water midway between the island of infinitesimal and the isthmus of immeasurable .",
      "even when the rock 's not kicking some bad guy 's butt , he 's still extremely believable and entertaining to watch .",
      "connoisseurs of christopher walken , and there are some hard-core addicts lurking about , will have good reason to take in the MOV -- they can add a few more riches to their treasure chest of wonky walken moments .",
      "whatever scott drains from the picture , the rock adds back in . he 's a natural , a presence we take to immediately .",
      "puts similar movies to shame simply by bringing that infectiously goofy fun back into what 's generally known as the mindless action flick .",
      "the stifmeister steals the show in this indiana jones-inspired jungle tale .",
      "with surprising presence and quiet confidence , the rock has cooked up a winner .",
      "a black hole of nothingness that is not only hackneyed , but also mindnumbingly boring .",
      "a tolerable alternative when everything else playing at the mall is sold out on saturday night .",
      "the MOV , like many recent action movies , is aggressively adolescent .",
      "a brisk , good - hearted but predictable and uninspired -- not to mention bone-crunchingly violent -- action comedy .",
      "the rock reveals his classy transition from wwe star to a charming and charismatic big-screen action hero .",
      "do n't expect new horizons in the annals of odd-couple , comedy-action flicks .",
      "fun , albeit a little messy .",
      "a fun ride .",
      "the key to schwarzenegger 's reign was his sense of humor , and johnson has smartly worked on honing one of his own .",
      "it adds up to prime stuff for us action junkies and admiration for the new guy in town , the rock .",
      "the film vacillates between balmy stabs at humor and milking its sodden social conscience . meanwhile the script devolves into people yelling ` shut up ! ' at each other .",
      "an amusing bit of escapist fare .",
      "what 's fun about the film are its goofy sense of humor , wild and crazy stunts , and the cheerful willingness of the rock to poke fun at himself .",
      "aided by a strong cast and a smart script , the rock makes the MOV one of this year 's premiere action movies .",
      "the MOV is cleverly written and thoroughly entertaining .",
      "far and away one of the most enjoyable , not to mention best-made , action comedies since the original lethal weapon .",
      "with a summer as full of action movies as this one , you would n't think there 'd be room for one more , yet `` the MOV '' manages to keep an air of freshness without doing anything terribly new .",
      "the MOV stomps about to its own nutty rhythm . unlike the abysmal the scorpion king , it 's a movie that leaves you slaphappy , not slapping your forehead .",
      "the fights almost make up for the excessively juvenile humor and a portrayal of brazil that 's as ridiculous as the depictions of africa in old tarzan movies .",
      "the screenplay ... is the sort of mishmash of action-hero and mismatched buddy-movie clichés that makes obsessive action-film geeks , such as myself and the friend i attended the screening with , gnaw our lips off in sheer desperation .",
      "within the context of the script 's gradual decline , the MOV 's faults narrowly outweigh its virtues .",
      "it is slick , has a solid screenplay , a great action hero in the rock , and a good supporting cast of actors .",
      "it 's midnight run with added insects but with only a twentieth of the humour and a hundredth of the charm .",
      "johnson ... keeps it engaging .",
      "the rock shows off some impressive comic timing ...",
      "if , like me , you dismissed the MOV as just another stupid action vehicle for dwayne `` the rock '' johnson - get in the apology line behind me",
      "the way the rock pulls off the jokes and macho stunts in MOV , hollywood may just have found its new action king .",
      "as an action director , peter berg applies simple principles : speed it up , make it louder , blur it with effects . so we never get a true fix on just how good an action machine the rock might be .",
      "-lsb- l -rsb- ikely to cement the rock 's place at the top of the current action hero pile .",
      "a letdown , more marketing tool than movie .",
      "i 've been placing all my money on vin diesel , but it 's time to hedge my bets : the rock is the action star for this generation .",
      "the rock proves he can kick -lsb- butt -rsb- with clothes on .",
      "it 's slick , it 's loud , and it 's catalyzing -- a gadfly of a film from a subversive filmmaker approaching the mainstream but not quite there yet .",
      "o diretor peter berg e sua equipe foram assaltados quando estiveram no brasil я procura de locaушes . pois bem : eles se vingaram - e este longa ж a prova disto .",
      "mildly entertaining action movie with the rock .",
      "a lot of fun and just a balls to the wall guy action flick ...",
      "i think you can smell what the rock is cooking : a dish that 'll fatten your head but pleasantly plump your gut . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "sounds worse the more you talk about it .",
      "if arnold schwarzenegger had made a movie this tepid in his commando/terminator heyday , burned fans would be suggesting that he pursue some tenure as a fresno alderman .",
      "no need to run down the MOV . the latest from the rock is solid .",
      "the rock ... has a special quality .",
      "will probably make a star of the rock .",
      "while you wo n't exactly walk out humming the plot , the MOV should go down quite decently with popcorn .",
      "a witty , fast-paced action film .",
      "breezy entertainment .",
      "too often brings guffaws at all the wrong moments , when it 's not being simply too stupid for words .",
      "the MOV offers everything a good movie of this sort should : plenty of suspenseful action , a few good laughs , and a share of obligatory ` reluctant buddy ' bonding .",
      "the MOV is big fun at the movies .",
      "a good showcase for the former wrestler 's impressive physical prowess and decent comic timing .",
      "it 's more fun than most of what passed for popcornsellers this past summer .",
      "dwayne ` the rock ' johnson 's decision to pursue a movie career is good news for anyone who believes that one vin diesel simply is n't enough .",
      "the rock does have a winning screen presence , even when the material falls short .",
      "the MOV does n't break any new ground , but it does n't leave you wishing you had stayed home , either .",
      "the MOV wants to stand out in a movie market gorged with action . but it regurgitates commercial dictates rather than carving a new path . at least it relies on a diverse , charismatic cast , rather than on spectacular carnage ."
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV does n't break any new ground , but it 's a smart , funny buddy action picture with terrific comic chemistry between dwayne `` the rock '' johnson and seann william scott .",
    "id": "10616"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10010066-push",
    "reviews": [
      "sci-fi hokum to give you a headache .",
      "it 's fun teen stuff but wrecked by director paul mcguigan 's confusing use of constant flashbacks .",
      "an overheated stewpot of divisions , sects and subsects of extra-special , special and quasi-special mentalists , all running around like their pants are on fire ... maybe in search of a viable plot ?",
      "director paul mcguigan serves this up with a flashy swagger but there is no disguising the fact that it is an incomprehensible mess .",
      "in time this would-be thriller comes to rest with a fist fight , a hanging ending and the implicit promise of a sequel . of all the calamities that fanning predicts , MOV 2 is one she missed .",
      "kinetic and convincing , this uses a limited budget to thrilling effect , giving us a sort of x-men-meets-trainspotting twist . we hope a sequel follows this early promise .",
      "makes viewers feel as if they 're watching a movie from inside a spinning clothes dryer .",
      "falls into the clumsy trap of being the presumptive first installment of a franchise .",
      "totally watchable , totally forgettable .",
      "the violence is incessant , the portentousness constant , the opacity rarely penetrated .",
      "an ambling , broody concoction along the lines of strange days .",
      "it 's the perfect brain vacation for those overtaxed by oscar-nominated movies .",
      "... delivers the requisite spectacle ... but skimps on character and story .",
      "not much of it makes sense . the rest is n't terribly interesting .",
      "the ending left me scratching my head , unsure of what had happened , but certain of one thing : the giant pile of loose ends means somebody intends to make a sequel .",
      "movies do n't get more headache-inducing than MOV .",
      "eventually buckling beneath the girth of its own mythology , MOV ends with less a cliffhanger than really just a cliff .",
      "a trippy , nonstop action fest , with the feel of a really good episode of heroes .",
      "a great premise is marred by disastrous execution in this disappointingly un-heroic take on the comic-book genre .",
      "MOV is nbc 's heroes , if anything ever happened on heroes besides oh so mysterious prophecies and a litany of excuses to avoid action sequences .",
      "MOV is this year 's jumper . ` nuff said .",
      "long on style , short on substance and logic , it 's baffling and frenetic , defeated by its own chaotic cleverness .",
      "this would be sci-fi action-thriller feels like a failed television pilot ... or better yet , a demo version for something that could be much better with a lot more production value and polish .",
      "movers , pushers , shadowers - whatever ! the script was insane and the characters were inane .",
      "if you want to see a movie about mutants with superpowers , watch any of the x-men movies or the `` hellboy '' movies or `` wanted , '' any of those six movies is far superior to this .",
      "it 's the kind of film you wish had no sound - perhaps the studio should have eliminated the dialogue and replaced it cue cards every few minutes like the silent films of old .",
      "except for the cast , ` MOV ' reminds me a little bit of last year 's ` jumper . '",
      "this is the kind of film where nothing makes sense , it 's one huge plot hole . and if that was n't negative enough , it 's witless , boring , shallow and too talky .",
      "absolutely derivative , but nonetheless of interest .",
      "` MOV ' suffers from a baffling script , but dakota fanning delivers a very watchable performance in this sci-fi thriller .",
      "... a fun thriller that has a couple of tricks up it 's sleeve .",
      "set and filmed on location in bustling hong kong , the tight urban street and winding alleyways suit the film perfectly , but this is not enough to save MOV from the oscar season garbage dump .",
      "light fixtures are the true stars in `` MOV , '' constantly reflecting , twinkling and popping . its best moments are when guns levitate and fire themselves . when you do n't even need actors to hold pistols , it 's the ultimate in autopilot filmmaking .",
      "jthe script has no deep meaning and the film does just what it was intended to do : take an audience on a fantastical journey with loads of action .",
      "MOV is an empty calorie extravaganza and demands a crooked concentration it does n't earn to sufficiently piece this mess together .",
      "the premise is promising all right , but it 's a movie over-stuffed with talk and actors with a glazed look as though they too are n't sure of what they 're doing .",
      "there is n't a single word in the english language that could justly convey the sheer stupidity , and impenetrable complexity , of MOV .",
      "MOV is a chase film dolled up with supernatural powers and chintzy retro design motifs .",
      "mcguigan 's saving grace is a willingness to slow down and savour his own images . at best , a moody inconsequence takes over and confusion feels like part of the plan .",
      "the most amazing thing about this by this idiotic sci-fi thriller is that the actors do not crack up when delivering their lines .",
      "pushing ideas into other people 's minds is what this sci-fi fantasy thriller is all about , and paul mcguigan 's film looks great . the cast is good too . but there 's a problem . the story does n't make sense",
      "a harrowing mindbender which successfully blends elements of x-men , the matrix and memento while adding some of its own unique sci-fi flava .",
      "director paul mcguigan and screenwriter david boula are content to rely on the usual suspects , taking their visual and dramatic cues from other , more clever and involving sci-fi capers .",
      "oh , to have my brain wiped of MOV . the smell of desperation on the part of filmmakers to create their own superhero franchise is rancid .",
      "... a rather bland and hard-to-follow knock off of the trendy heroes/x-men template .",
      "a movie so bland , it might as well have been filmed in hounslow .",
      "this obviously heroes-inspired cash-in promises much but delivers very little , thanks to a confusing plot , uninspired direction , poor dialogue and a curiously lacklustre performance from the normally reliable evans .",
      "going to see this film does n't make much sense . it 's obviously been cynically conceived as a franchise starter , but abruptly flicking to the end credits seemingly mid-movie is not a good way to start one .",
      "stylishly silly but oddly cool all the same .",
      "great ideas , rotten execution .",
      "a kick-ass soundtrack , sexy imagery , and the ghost of a narrative to string it all together .",
      "why would a psychic ` tec need to sniff a toothbrush to locate its user ? does spearmint freshness have a spooky vibe ?",
      "director paul mcguigan does his best , but this is just a slog that mistakes earnest detail for engaging narrative . shove .",
      "the film is blessed with a frenetic pace that simultaneously accomplishes two things : it keeps the energy level high while obfuscating some of the most obvious logical flaws in the plot 's structure .",
      "a clutter of worn genre elements stitched together with superficial stylistics .",
      "it 's an ambitious attempt to shove the whole of a fairly complex comic book universe into a single messy and garish movie .",
      "a confused jumble of parts in search of a whole .",
      "a weightless , style-driven thriller set in a photogenically chaotic hong kong .",
      "an unholy mixture of heroes and jumper ... ` what if nothing we did made any sense ? ' says the inept hero , apparently reciting the credo of the moviemakers .",
      "MOV barely measures up to even the worst moments on `` heroes , '' and it makes 20th century fox 's weaker superhero efforts look much better .",
      "evans and 10,000 bc 's belle shuffle through a turgid romantic subplot , and though the two characters are very , very pretty , they 've got the chemical spark of a banana .",
      "a grubby cut-price sci-fi thriller .",
      "when MOV comes to shove , do n't expect to care about any of it .",
      "a silly movie that is partially engrossing and plenty convoluted .",
      "sci-fi thriller has more style than story ; some iffy stuff .",
      "there are many problems with MOV , and most are the usual boring things : unnecessary plot loops ; long , dumb musical interludes ; a charmless script ; and ostentatious action sequences in which the only person excited is the cameraman .",
      "pure escapist fun .",
      "the best thing about the movie is that you can never predict exactly where it 's going .",
      "imagine if the x-men had spent most of their time sitting around talking about how they were going to fight magneto instead of ever actually doing anything and you 'll have a good sense of what is wrong with MOV .",
      "just as it 's getting impossible to tell the superpowered humans without a scorecard , along comes MOV to muddy the waters .",
      "it should give us the willies , but it 's willy-nilly .",
      "it would take some pretty powerful mind control to convince audiences that MOV is a winner .",
      "... your understanding of just what is happening will correspond to the amount of time you spend watching the sci-fi channel and tv shows such as heroes .",
      "in plot , it meanders . in character development , it implodes . in action , it plods . in effect , it numbs , but , alas , not quickly enough .",
      "i thought hayden christensen in last year 's jumper would be as bland a mutant as the screen would ever give us , but that was before i saw chris evans in MOV .",
      "belle ... is blank as a page , and the intended romantic chemistry between her and evans is never in evidence .",
      "MOV has amazing special effects and production design , but that does n't compensate for the messy , incoherent plot and lack of truly palpable sci-fi thrills and excitement .",
      "MOV has an interesting premise , but it just does n't manage to translate it into a great movie .",
      "MOV has vibrant cinematography and decent acting , but i 'm blasted if i know what it 's about .",
      "one of the better recent attempts at cashing in on the superhero film craze without having an actual comic book to adapt .",
      "a better-than-average sci-fi thriller with genuine jolts and unexpected texture .",
      "a movie i enjoyed watching with a huge smile on my face and will assuredly endure scorn for liking ...",
      "dashes from genre to genre in search of a reason to exist .",
      "a sci-fi thriller with a lot of science fiction and zero thrills .",
      "... suffers from an uneven sensibility that essentially holds the viewer at arm 's length virtually from start to finish .",
      "i was at first intrigued , and then bemused and confused .",
      "this entry in the superhero sweepstakes is n't without charm",
      "a pleasant time-waster with non-abysmal performances and a few interesting concepts .",
      "the film is likable , but not lovable . all of the pushing ca n't compete with other sci-fi thrillers . still , it 's worth the ride if you keep an open mind for the unrealistic .",
      "between the unwieldy load of back story and the painfully underdeveloped characters , this infelicitous combination of jumper , x-men and tv 's heroes manages to be dull and exhausting at the same time .",
      "a dull trudge , the sort of popcorn movie that gets released in february rather than during the summer holidays .",
      "even with all its idiosyncratic elements , MOV feels like something we 've seen before . unfortunately , said memory is of something far more fascinating and definitely more engaging .",
      "MOV falters not in trying to add its voice to the genre , it falters in not having anything compelling to say .",
      "as far as i can tell , the only ability in short supply is acting .",
      "it 's not great , but it 's a perfectly fine version of psychics on the run versus the bad guys .",
      "MOV is supremely elegant , even beautiful ; you can get lost in the visuals even as the narrative implodes . if ever there were a triumph of style over substance , this is it .",
      "the scenes focused on lukewarm dialogue outnumber the action scenes ten to one , giving the film a listless , low-energy vibe .",
      "as a whole , MOV feels unfinished , its ultimate destination accounting for nothing more than a shrug . there is a fair amount to like here , and just as much to resent for how much better it could have been .",
      "you have to be clairvoyant to follow the particulars of this overly complicated , unconvincing thriller about folks with paranormal abilities .",
      "-lsb- d -rsb- isappointingly generic shoot - 'em - up dressed up with a few paranormal frills ...",
      "what really struck me more than the plot itself was mcguigan 's amazing use of location and space ; it feels as if this movie and these characters are really living in hong kong .",
      "engagingly photographed but dramatically inert .",
      "with mediocre expectations going in , the flick 's cleverness , great score and wicked fight scenes lead me to recommend this to anyone looking for a good time .",
      "too much explanation , of the sort cassie is inclined to provide , only slows down the nonsense MOV is pushing .",
      "parental content review",
      "it does the job it sets out to do : providing engaging entertainment centered around an interesting idea that it respects enough to think through properly .",
      "it 's like watching an x-men movie that does n't feature the leather costumes and which does n't have enough in the way of requisite thrills or action to keep anyone interested in it for very long .",
      "one long mistake from start to finish , this is a film that never gets its rhythms or bearing right .",
      "suggestive of x-men , the matrix and the television show heroes , MOV is one of those time-mangling thrillers that manages to seem both complicated and superficial .",
      "you know a sci-fi script is in trouble when it spends the first five minutes narratively briefing you on its byzantine plot -- and you 're still not sure what 's going on .",
      "a bargain basement melding of clichés from the x-men franchise and tv 's heroes .",
      "by the time the credits roll , your most fervent wish is to run into a ` wiper ' -lrb- one who can erase memories -rrb- .",
      "silliness rules the day : plot holes abound and are plugged with techno-pounding action sequences and more nonsensical guff . as a tv pilot , this might have worked ; as a film , it 's loud , confusing and inane .",
      "though ostensibly action sci-fi , mcguigan 's film pushes the boundaries of genre , playing out its paranormal parameters like a game of multi-dimensional chess .",
      "no amount of local colour and effects-heavy fisticuffs can save paul mcguigan 's film .",
      "what it lacks in out and out originality it makes up for with some pulsating action , vibrant cinematography and good performances from a decent cast .",
      "the lack of any convincing over-arching plot , the muddled use of alternating futures and squashed-together gaggle of wafer-thin characters renders the project a near complete failure when it comes to thrills and entertainment .",
      "british director mcguigan clearly hoped to make more than a dopey , effects-laden actioner . unfortunately , he 's made an uneven and pretentious one instead .",
      "`` what if nothing we did made any sense . would that throw them off the scent ? '' nick asks . you bet .",
      "at no point do you care if these dough-eyed buffoons live or die .",
      "if the words `` a bit like jumper but not as good '' strike fear into your heart then you might want to avoid this turgid superpower stinker .",
      "sloppily conceived but directed with flair , MOV is bound to split the vote . look closely and its disparate pieces fit clumsily together ; step back and the overall effect has an undeniable allure ."
    ],
    "summary": "the sci-fi thriller MOV is visually flashy but hyperkinetic and convoluted .",
    "id": "770680794"
  },
  {
    "movie": "liberty_heights",
    "reviews": [
      "both epic and intimate , taking on a large cast of characters while focusing quietly on the details of their lives .",
      "writer-director barry levinson brings it all back home to baltimore and delivers his funniest and most heartfelt film since diner .",
      "nostalgia is a tricky thing , but levinson manages to strike just the right balance of humor , affection , and candor .",
      "lovingly crafted .",
      "a grand slam !",
      "a pretty brave and ambitious feat .",
      "excellent re-creation of the clothing and landmarks of baltimore in the 1950s .",
      "MOV is worth a look , with its rich characters and dialogue , and its gorgeous cinematography by chris doyle .",
      "offers a deeper immersion in that old '50s feeling than any other hollywood film in recent memory .",
      "coming to terms with `` the other '' -lrb- whether stranger , enemy , or alien -rrb- is as critical to the development of soul now as it was in the 1950s .",
      "if more people followed barry levinson 's example and made art after taking issue with something i 've written , hollywood and my mailbox would both benefit .",
      "with well-written characters and a humorous script , the entire cast shines .",
      "a pleasure to behold .",
      "the meandering focus of the script is n't quite as sharp as it should be , but there is nothing muddled about the warm feelings the film strongly evokes .",
      "a thoroughly grounded statement about the human condition .",
      "overall this movie just does n't live up to its aims .",
      "a pleasant and worthy addition to a strong series of films .",
      "an attractive , albeit modest , addition to the levinson collection .",
      "a charming film , infused and emotionally heightened by the imagination of memory .",
      "delivers the emotional goods .",
      "only the dourest dyspeptics will fail to enjoy it .",
      "touching and frequently hilarious .",
      "offers a light wit that is oftentimes funny .",
      "a warm fuzzy film with a touch of blues for realism",
      "MOV is an all-around rollicking piece of entertainment .",
      "the whole thing rather lacks juice ."
    ],
    "summary": "a moving film with moments of humor , MOV succeeds in capturing the feel of the '50s with great performances and sensitive direction .",
    "id": "14217"
  },
  {
    "movie": "how_to_lose_a_guy_in_10_days",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV is not unpleasant . it 's just dull .",
      "you not only have to be seriously testosterone - deprived to survive this film without embarrassment , you have to buy a romantic premise so ridiculously contrived that even dr. ruth might suspect someone was pulling her little leg .",
      "how to lose a guy shows that hudson 's oscar-nominated performance in 2000 's almost famous was n't a fluke .",
      "trite , contrived , but often entertaining .",
      "MOV may have tinkered with the rules , but it 's still playing the same old game .",
      "this material requires a great deal more suspension of disbelief than even this hokey genre normally demands .",
      "mcconaughey is an actor of limited range , but this time he has a film that fits firmly into his abilities .",
      "has enough laughs and silly subplots to keep you looking , but in the end it 's the work done by the two leads that saves the film .",
      "a sure delight for both guys and gals .",
      "after a frothy start , how to lose -lrb- an apt abbreviation -rrb- becomes a one-joke comedy of slapstick suffering .",
      "a shallow , convoluted love story with some cheap laughs wrapped around an infomercial",
      "a novel concept ... botched with juvenile execution .",
      "full of potent one-liners ... but they 're mired in a plot that constantly teeters between innocuous silliness and flat-out absurdity : you might swear you saw this same screwy scenario in a 1964 sandra dee/bobby darin movie on the late late show .",
      "hits all the spots that most successful romantic comedies do , and has some decent laughs mixed in .",
      "lackluster .",
      "the movie grows formulaic and clumsy in its last third , but what you feel , sitting in a packed theater , is the spark between hudson and the audience .",
      "it goes on too long and is trapped by too many cliches .",
      "the hottest couple to come down the pike recently has been frodo and sam . hudson and mcconaughey rate higher on the spark-o-meter .",
      "should have been called how to lose an audience in 10 minutes , because that 's how long it takes to alienate you with its overly convoluted premise .",
      "the results are supposed to be funny , but are instead painful .",
      "an entertaining trifle to a point ... but it does n't treat the character 's or the audience 's intelligence with the respect they deserve . by the end , you just do n't care anymore .",
      "this boy-meets-girl movie is a chore to sit through .",
      "in donald petrie 's MOV , the setup to the inevitable is contrived to highest level that although you may want to dismiss the film , the performances by the leads are appealing enough for you to have good time enjoying this film .",
      "not only does 10 days rely on that old standby of romantic comedies -- `` the bet '' -- it one-ups the cliché with two bets !",
      "a tasty romantic comedy , featuring the battle of the sexes in its most fanciful light .",
      "this film will likely be enjoyed by anyone who has gone through their own share of ` clingy ' girlfriends with a number of laughs and enough overall entertainment to recommend to anyone looking for a fun night out with their honey .",
      "this is the kind of movie that was doomed on the page , both by an inherently problematic premise and ill-conceived character motivations .",
      "if you 're working for the new yorker , the legality of laura elena harring 's breasts is not an appropriate pitch for your `` annals of law '' column .",
      "... before labeling this as just another chick flick , keep in mind that it 's a whole lot more enjoyable than most of the current pre-summer blockbuster-wannabes that studios are unloading right now .",
      "you got ta love love , especially when it 's devious , deceitful , selfish , brutal and manipulative .",
      "leve e divertida , esta produзгo serve como prova de que , mesmo carregada de clichкs , uma comйdia romвntica pode funcionar muito bem .",
      "if you 're a bit of a romantic with a penchant for playfulness , here is a fresh and funny , entertaining collision of hearts .",
      ". i hate to label this lightweight romp a `` chick flick '' , but when the title actually issues a challenge to the fairer sex , well , the writing is on the wall .",
      "wander in after 30 minutes and split an hour later , otherwise you may feel like you 've been used .",
      "the comedy in the film works very well . the romance is n't quite as convincing , but good acting and romantic chemistry prevail .",
      "... a fluffy farce of romance and vulnerability - and not just the female 's take , but the male perspective as well .",
      "if only filmmakers out there would take a how-to course on making romantic comedies with more than just laughs and star appeal , we might actually be making some progress .",
      "the film has charm and even some grace ... an offhandedly luscious vision that the actors are careful not to muss .",
      "when his mother whispers in andie 's ear , `` do n't you break his heart , '' the double-double-cross plot takes a backseat to the really in-love plot . they play cards , ride his motorcycle , get splashed in a puddle , have sex in the bathroom . she 's so cute , he 's s",
      "clumsy , overlong .",
      "want to get rid of that guy who 's driving you crazy ? drag him to this lame romantic comedy starring kate hudson and matthew mcconaughey .",
      "days is a watered-down , lightweight version of war of the roses made for people who still think friends is funny .",
      "i am just about ready to write off movies in which people make bets about whether they will , or will not , fall in love .",
      "MOV dishes up a healthy serving of the fun that should be -- and too often is n't -- at the heart of a good romantic comedy .",
      "the picture is actually watchable .",
      "the picture is entertaining , and it will probably be a big hit , but it 's an opportunity wasted .",
      "if kate hudson and matthew mcconaughey were n't so darn easy on the eyes , the only thing this ` battle of the sexes ' film would be losing is its audience .",
      "riddled with cliché plot devices and dialogue that 's as superficial as the glossy fashion magazine the lead character writes for .",
      "hudson is so impressive than she could charm the paint off the walls .",
      "cinematic costume jewelry ... a more appropriate title would be ` how to lose an audience in 10 minutes . '",
      "with its ungainly double-deception premise , how to lose a guy feels like it was made out of two connect-the-dots drawings laid haphazardly on top of one another .",
      "if you want to lose a guy in one day , drag him to see this movie .",
      "where the movie loses me completely is when andie 's behavior takes a turn for the psychotically infantile . i wish i could say the low point is the scene in which andie begins making goo-goo talk to ben 's -lrb- still-trousered -rrb- male member",
      "she 's selling low self-esteem and an impossible image of femininity and he 's selling pieces of rock mined by slave labor and made artificially scarce by evil monopolies . maybe they really are made for each other .",
      "... this film will charm your socks off",
      "not for one frame does it seem possible that these two cutesy twenty-somethings wo n't see the errors of their wagers in time to take the exit to happily-ever-after land .",
      "this film sticks like high heels in gravel coming out of the gate . but after the necessary unpleasantness are over the bulk of the film is actually quite entertaining , funny and , well , cute .",
      "this movie is so intent upon getting cheap laughs and putting the protagonists in uncomfortable situations that it forgets they 're supposed to be falling in love .",
      "fun , funny , chick lit-style chortler .",
      "more an exercise in how to lose an audience in 10 minutes .",
      "the kind of instantly disposable but exceptionally agreeable trifle that 's best enjoyed with one 's significant other , preferably before or after an intimate dinner for two .",
      "overly long and overstuffed , there 's just not enough here for a recommendation .",
      "` hudson y mcconaughey salvan el resultado final gracias simplemente a su encanto personal . '",
      "this is a pure bubblegum picture , but it works at that level .",
      "it is exceedingly difficult to classify MOV as a romantic comedy given that the film is about as romantic as a punch to the face -- literally .",
      "pokes fun at relationship stereotypes in a way that , while not exactly clever , is pretty amusing -- due in large part to the talented leads .",
      "this is a more adult romantic comedy , with humor that a more adult crowd can identify with , and those painful date moments that everyone can relate to .",
      "hudson needs a little more time to hone her comedic skills before she can charm us through all the watery spots in the film 's hot-laughs and cold-jokes script .",
      "both lovers are duplicitous creeps -- in a perverse way they 're made for each other .",
      "how to lose an audience in 10 ways",
      "MOV may have a new title and different stars , but i 've basically reviewed this film three times in the last two months .",
      "when a chick flick goes wrong -- and this one hits a dead end in hell -- it 's a wipeout .",
      "leave before the excruciating finale and you should have an ok time .",
      "in what civilization is this kind of behavior romantic ?",
      "the movie appears to be stocked with nine to five giggly runway models wearing $ 2,000 outfits , rather than your usual office drudges .",
      "it is fun , but empty fun .",
      "the funny stuff at the heart of this film struggles in vain to free itself from a cage made of old romantic-comedy cliches .",
      "to prove that the movie 's not just a reshuffling of a 1959 doris day flick , they 've thoughtfully added a gaseous uncle , thereby ensuring modern hilarity value . regardless of its fq -lrb- that 's flatulence quotient -rrb- , it still plays like a 1959 doris flick .",
      "10 days may be predictable , but it 's still quite entertaining .",
      "though the majority of the film is laughably predictable -lrb- you just know there 's going be a drawn-out sequence in which both characters learn about the other 's deception -rrb- , there 's a lot worth recommending about MOV .",
      "ladies , here 's a hint : you can lose a guy in a lot less than 10 days if you make him watch movies like this one .",
      "this tortured premise to get them together and the things they go through , every minute of it just lies flat on the screen .",
      "a nice enough diversion when the theaters are filled with weightier oscar contenders .",
      "the same stuff you 've seen in every other run of the mill , artificially sweetened date flick .",
      "you 've seen this movie before . here it is again .",
      "the perfect date movie .",
      "... breezy and manipulative ... this piece of dating dreck is so sticky sweet and syrupy that one would think they screened petrie 's film at the international house of pancakes !",
      "by any impartial system of judgment , it is at best a mediocre film , but within its genre , it 's better than some .",
      "how to lose a guy smoothly satirizes the superficiality of man-hungry women and the soullessness of sex-hungry men .",
      "there may be some way to make this nonsense amusing , but writers kristen buckley and brian regan have n't even figured out a reasonable setup for getting the two together .",
      "should just count ourselves lucky that the final reunion on a bridge does n't involve benjamin on horseback and paul young on the soundtrack .",
      "... it is pretty funny , if exaggerated to cartoonish extremes and contrived beyond belief .",
      "MOV will test your cuteness tolerance level .",
      "all in all , it 's a mostly harmless movie and if you 're female and have a mean streak , you should love it . guys should see it as a warning .",
      "if reality 's your bag , take a pass . but if you 're looking for a harmless diversion to get you in the mood for valentine 's day , this could be the ticket .",
      "in contrast to the horrifically stupid , dull romantic comedies the past month or two have brought us , MOV is almost , but not quite , a breath of fresh air .",
      "MOV more like how to lose an audience in 10 minutes .",
      "MOV explores sexual politics in many winning and funny ways and proves that equanimity in a man is a great aphrodisiac .",
      "is n't as bad as it looks .",
      "the film is based on a very small book of the same name that 's illustrated with stick figures . director donald petrie 's film miraculously manages to be even less detailed .",
      "a cobbled-together clone of sex and the city , minus most of the humor and poignance .",
      "the movie is clever , up to a point , and then becomes strained in the manner of a lot of the romantic comedies of the '40s .",
      "for once , here 's a screen couple that easily adds up .",
      "though something less than a masterpiece of the genre , this good-natured skirmish in the war between men and women benefits from hudson 's thoroughly charming performance .",
      "too light on laughs and too heavy on predictable moments .",
      "resorts to the kinds of cliches that were so yesterday two weeks ago .",
      "having nearly suffocated amid the swirling mist of estrogen fumes that enveloped a recent screening of the insipid chick flick MOV , i need an immediate infusion of guy stuff to detox .",
      "virtually everything in the movie is off-pitch .",
      "a too-long title is just the first problem for this too-long , misguided , so-called romantic comedy .",
      "mutual deception as a comedic conceit predates shakespeare , and it certainly shows its age in this creaker .",
      "kate hudson is irresistably adorable in this frothy comedy about the head-on-collision between two competing bets and one overpowering attraction .",
      "the movie would have been so much better if it had jumped into its mean-spiritedness with gusto and passion , instead of just splashing around in it halfheartedly .",
      "despite a few clever insights and twists , it 's neither good nor distinctive enough to rise above the level of generic romantic comedy .",
      "if the movie provides no new insight into the contrasting behavior of men and women or the perils of postmodern urban dating , falling well shy of the not-too-high standard set by ` sex and the city ' on both fronts , it does have its tart , fizzy moments .",
      "the biggest challenge to viewing 10 days is deciding whether to think of its lead characters as ` despicable swine ' or ` vile dung-weasels . '",
      "if MOV turns out to be a $ 75 million hit as i suspect , then it will no longer matter if the same script is dusted off and the names changed to protect the innocent , because it 's the audiences that are guilty .",
      "they play an emotional game of chicken - and we all win .",
      "a brand of entertainment that 's dissatisfying intellectually and formulaically .",
      "offers nothing new to the genre , but for those who like light tales of meet-cute and happily-ever-after , it 'll probably be as welcome as a tub of double-fudge ice cream .",
      "kate hudson 's impressive comic flair almost saves this implausible romantic comedy .",
      "a modest but bubbly comedy of manners . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "battle of the sexes romcom with mature content .",
      "the biggest problem i had with this film was the set-up and premise . it works on paper , but most of the movie is spent with the characters being simply awful .",
      "along with a terrible ending , there 's also a numerous range of plot inconsistencies that insult the audiences intelligence .",
      "it 's hard to believe that this drivel was based on a book ... but matthew mcconaughey and kate hudson make it somewhat tolerable at least .",
      "-lsb- mcconaughey -rsb- and hudson make the premise , even in its shakier moments , vibrate with a sense of fun .",
      "has just enough substance beneath the surface throw the romantic comedy some much needed freshness .",
      "... despite reservations about the goofy plot and the cocky characters , the movie proceeds pleasantly enough .",
      "a funny premise in search of a movie .",
      "a shrill , unfunny litany of single-folk stereotypes that insults men and women with equal abandon .",
      "button-cute .",
      "a modest hawn-like romance for a new generation .",
      "it 's about as close to french farce as romantic comedies get , and the closer the better .",
      "should be retitled how to lose a movie in 10 minutes .",
      "so much of the picture misfires and/or simply does n't work or make sense that the total package is not as good , enjoyable or entertaining as it should be .",
      "this is a movie that never aspires to be anything more than dimwitted fun , then falls on its aspirations .",
      "guys , if the gal in your life insists that you take her to MOV , do n't panic . if she really wanted to dump you , she 'd insist on deliver us from eva .",
      "a formulaic romantic comedy that percolates slightly with caustic wit before devolving into idiocy , it 's potty humor ."
    ],
    "summary": "matthew mcconaughey and kate hudson are charming together , but they ca n't overcome MOV ' silly premise and predictable script .",
    "id": "10435"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_overnight_2015",
    "reviews": [
      "deft and delicate and exquisitely uncomfortable , but it also offers revelations that are joyful , sad and true .",
      "the result is a bit twisty , largely credible and well played by the talented leads .",
      "does brice even fully grasp what he 's getting at ? maybe not . that 's why this is such a juicy specimen of the cocktail party walpurgisnacht subgenre . he 's in nearly the same place as his riven characters .",
      "i have n't laughed out loud so long and often at any comedy so far this year .",
      "the kind of tame comedy that promises something transgressive but then chickens out before going anywhere that might unsettle its core audience .",
      "a shocking , provocative and memorable trip . i wish the movie was about something deeper than physical attraction , and our general insecurities . it 's not , so the stakes stay low . but it 's intriguing .",
      "painfully funny and brilliantly performed .",
      "the writing is blatantly sexual but utterly unrevealing ; the characters and their problems are cut to fit the airtight plot .",
      "like the sex comedy it 's billed as , MOV teases and titillates , but the film 's sincerity addressing the messiness of monogamy is what cements its bawdy brilliance .",
      "the cast ... is totally game for the film 's over-the-top escapades .",
      "the pleasure of the movie lies in the way it both rewards and subverts expectations , delivering on the risqué possibilities of its premise while also coming up with something smarter and a little deeper than a log line might suggest .",
      "both schilling and godrčche are far better than their roles here . but even they ca n't make MOV look better than an overlong `` funny or die '' sketch .",
      "a perfectly cast quartet of actors buoy the slight , generally unpredictable antics of writer-director patrick brice 's second feature , though the film itself falls into an uncomfortable middle ground between trying too hard and not trying hard enough .",
      "smart , playful , and hilarious , `` MOV '' is a delightful romp between the sheets .",
      "like a post-sexual revolution 's bob , ted , carol & alice .",
      "the amount of laughs patrick brice is able to generate from such a simple idea and on such a small budget makes one think that he 's due for a breakout .",
      "there 's this weird , unshakeable feeling of nostalgia by the time the credits roll : the party 's over , it 's time to go home , but damn , what a night .",
      "while size may not matter -lrb- the movie runs a short 79 minutes -rrb- , it 's not even relevant to something this flaccid .",
      "`` MOV '' ends just as it starts to get interestingly messy ...",
      "it leaves us with an illogical , yet still nagging sense of been there , done that . the fun , nevertheless , is fun while it lasts .",
      "`` MOV '' is the movie equivalent of fuzzy handcuffs : a tame and unimaginative attempt at spicing up the overly familiar scenario of a married couple trying to get their groove back .",
      "MOV steers clear of predictability-even if your memories of this daffy all-night party vanish into thin air as soon as you exit the theater .",
      "brice manages admirably to make his comedy at once daring and earnest , outlandish and relatable , obscene and sweet .",
      "a dizzying , debauched , excruciatingly funny film about knitting new connections through discomfort .",
      "the movie has its share of laughs ... but it 's mostly a missed opportunity to create an intelligent sex comedy about relationships in the 21st century .",
      "movies about sex should be messy and confusing , filled with human foibles , but too often they are utterly strait-laced . this one gets it right .",
      "`` MOV '' is n't much - in fact , it 's hardly anything . for what it is , though , it 's enough .",
      "brice stops his story just before it becomes redundant - most filmmakers these days ca n't say that - and although i did n't believe the outrageous next-to-last scene , he caps it with a laugh-out-loud joke .",
      "brice goes a bit too broad at times , but he keeps things just funny and edgy and open enough for `` MOV '' to work .",
      "in the morning brice finds an ending for his film that 's rather sweet and wise . certainly sweeter and wiser than you 'd expect from a movie with this many prosthetic penises .",
      "schilling , as she 's proven on orange is the new black , sport a wicked sense of deadpan and she 's genuinely touching opposite scott .",
      "an unexpected comedy about motive and manipulation .",
      "it may owe a lot to bob & carol & ted & alice , but this new age suburban swingers comedy is very funny and enlightening .",
      "a sex comedy by people who do n't really seem to worry that much about sex .",
      "tension builds to delightful comedic effect , and the cast is ideally suited for the material . it 's more than prosthetic penises .",
      "there 's a breezy spirit and an agreeable touch of tenderness to the movie that makes it hard not to like , even if it never accumulates much substance .",
      "an unpredictably weird and delightful sex comedy , `` MOV '' has a sly take on contemporary coupledom .",
      "it 's an unusual but effective mix of outrageousness and sincerity , in which the four anxious revelers function both as broad caricatures and as real , complex human beings .",
      "... a refreshingly rule-breaking and thoroughly entertaining comedy that bends sexual norms with gusto and gleefully deflates gender-based insecurities .",
      "there 's an insidious cleverness to `` MOV '' that keeps the audience just a bit off balance .",
      "MOV has a handful of scenes that make you do the laugh/gasp combination , so crazy are the happenings in the plot . at the same time , there is something oddly touching about the movie 's portrait of marriage .",
      "you 're not going to find another film this summer that keeps surprising you the way this one does .",
      "it 's a kinder , gentler sex comedy , and that 's pretty sexy .",
      "an indecently hot and hilarious sex comedy with quartet of playfully scrappy actors who could n't be better suited to their roles or more eager to rouse our prurient interest .",
      "occasionally the film feels more like a string of acting exercises than a tightly edited sex comedy . still , there 's plenty of raunchy romance here and some good , deliberately cringe-worthy lines .",
      "brice ... needs only to sit back and let his actors excel in their comfort zones .",
      "a sometimes dirty comedy that sincerely and wittily explores the anxieties that involve adopting genuinely progressive lifestyle choices .",
      "the movie is a weird and darkly comedic exploration of an all-night parental playdate in which marital boredom , sexual dissatisfaction and fidelity are on the agenda .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- n emotional obstacle course that starts out sweetly optimistic , turns to uncomfortable farce , and ultimately ends up somewhere poignant and ripped with compassion ...",
      "brice 's screenplay is peppered with hip-speak double entendres that become singles when schwartzman oozes them .",
      "brice effectively balances cringe humor with emotional revelations that feel genuine even if they start out as uncomfortable jokes .",
      "written and directed by patrick brice with atypical wit , the film is uncensored and hilariously unpredictable , jumping from one titillating gag to the next with the grace of a tightrope walker .",
      "it 's a short film , weighing in at 79 minutes , but that feels about right . you probably would n't want to spend a lot more time with these folks , no matter how intriguing their company .",
      "brice seems more interested in keeping viewers guessing than in crafting a meaningful story . while that makes his film unpredictable , it comes at the cost of emotional impact .",
      "brice keeps a forgiving eye on his characters ' foibles , teasing rather eviscerating them to unexpectedly sympathetic ends .",
      "absolutely hilarious , winningly acted , and surprisingly wise .",
      "there 's not a lot of depth or relationship insight , but the lead actors effectively keep the proceedings both amusing and unsettling .",
      "at times it feels naturalistic , but it occasionally veers into surreal territories . it is likely to discomfit and disturb some moviegoers ... but the overall effect is surprisingly sweet and assuring .",
      "overnight never pushes inward far enough .",
      "MOV generates enough laughs to justify seeing it in theaters or at home . just do n't watch it with another couple , unless you secretly want a foursome with them .",
      "as raucous as the flirtation is throughout , actual intimacy -- physical or otherwise -- is rendered with unflinching clarity .",
      "getting to know the neighbors has a lot to do with getting to know one 's self . but this film leaves us unconvinced .",
      "a pleasant , welcome surprise .",
      "brice squeezes some nervous laughter out of the premise , but MOV is more naughty than funny , and it pulls back from the edge just when it should be leaping off .",
      "some challenging issues , like monogamy and sexual boundaries , are effectively explored . there are moments of troubling horror and moments several will find disturbingly relatable .",
      "despite the best prosthetic penis joke probably ever , patrick brice 's fitfully funny indie still does n't deliver the awkward sex comedy gen-xers deserve .",
      "if you can bear it , this hipster horror film of creeping social dread is utterly hilarious .",
      "much , much more than a dueling penises movie .",
      "absolutely hilarious and very well written , MOV is like a dinner party that you 'll want to stay at far into the morning .",
      "the first half is toxically weird and brings out some of the biggest chuckles . when the story turns in a completely different direction , all leading to an unearned ending , it ultimately just lacks clear satisfaction .",
      "an unsettling uncertainty gives emotional texture and depth to what could have been just another wish-fulfillment fantasy for frustrated thirtysomethings .",
      "beneath all of the jokes and physical humor , is a sweeter , more genuine story about four adults forming a connection .",
      "might just be the best american sex comedy since paul mazursky 's ` bob , carol , ted , and alice . '' jumps from extreme silliness to unbridled outrageousness to a truth most dramas do not achieve .",
      "it 's a slender conceit stretched out about as far as it can go .",
      "the film 's buńuelian potential for harpooning the bourgeoisie is quickly dashed in favor of mumblecore antics .",
      "it continues patrick brice 's -lrb- admittedly short -rrb- trend of delivering very funny films with a second , more dramatic layer underneath , but even if the relationship drama fails to move you the laughter created by the dialogue and visuals surely will .",
      "even as sex comedies go , this one is slight , but it 's funny .",
      "the laughs stop about halfway through , and the 79-minute running time feels about right . one night in a house with these two couples is enough .",
      "part titillation and part cautionary tale , `` MOV '' is biting and real .",
      "what makes MOV work as well as it does is the cast . the performances here are truly fearless and engaging , with schwartzman and scott in particular in high gear .",
      "unfortunately , their largely improvised dialogue is not enough to sustain even the meagre 79-minute running time .",
      "there are plenty of cathartic home truths here and no shortage of amusing moments , but it 's hardly subversive filmmaking .",
      "this very wry , la-set adult comedy plays like a junior , low-budget version of who 's afraid of virginia woolf ?",
      "something ... gets a little off-balance as the movie progresses .",
      "in its best moments , MOV deviates from the conventions of a party movie -lrb- or `` sex comedy , '' as it has been christened -rrb- and veers toward the experimental , the uncanny , the unsettling .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- uncomfortably perceptive sex comedy .",
      "attitudes are adjusted along with clothing , with all four main actors happily delivering more than brice 's uneven script and sitcomish directing asks of them .",
      "the delivery is unorthodox . you might think you know what 's coming , but then comes another curveball that catches you by surprise . you 're kept guessing throughout - and it 's a real kick when you 're wrong yet again .",
      "MOV really belongs to the weirdly adorable schwartzman , who literally lets it all hang out as the absurdly well-endowed kurt .",
      "serious points are made as the foursome get into the swing .",
      "the film 's brevity makes it easily digestible but there 's an underlying sense of frustration - dissatisfaction that the characters are n't fleshed out better and the humor is n't more organic .",
      "i 'm not big into awkward comedy , but MOV is so deft and surprising that i almost enjoyed the feeling .",
      "i especially liked schilling , whose character picks up on what she calls a `` swinger vibe '' long before her doofus husband and registers this with an expression of increasing -lrb- and increasingly funny -rrb- alarm .",
      "as clothes are shed and secrets come to light , it all becomes ... alas , a very odd combination of squirm-inducing and dull .",
      "`` MOV '' is not , by any means , for everyone , what with its adult themes and sexual scenarios , but it 's clever and well-acted , and even a bit insightful , which is more than most big movies can say .",
      "here 's an amiably goofy , if dramatically thin comedy of swinging sexual manners .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- unpredictable indie comedy -- sort of a `` who 's afraid of virginia kink ? ''",
      "for all its supposed edginess , ... it winds up being little more than mildly naughty , drawing titters rather than gasps .",
      "once all the motivations come into focus , MOV pivots gracefully from awkward social comedy to something genuinely complex -- and even poignant .",
      "this often ribald , ultimately thoughtful comedy of social and sexual manners may not aim particularly high , but it hits a singular mark nonetheless .",
      "brice 's screenplay , clever and occasionally funny and sometimes even shocking across the film 's first hour , ca n't quite bring the picture home , with the result that some of the climactic scenes do n't ring true .",
      "has a good sense of how appealing an unconventional release can be when enough anxiety/tension has accumulated .",
      "writer/director patrick brice 's racy , low-key comedy MOV qualifies as a social horror movie , complete with suspense , plot twists and strange , intimidating characters you 're never sure are exactly what they seem to be .",
      "MOV is horribly funny and gets more so : titillating and terrifying in equal measure .",
      "no matter how hard the film tries to challenge bourgeois notions of wedded bliss , it 's all so very civilized .",
      "the potential awkwardness of merging your own sex life unexpectedly with strangers is both funny and wince-worthy , and faithfully captured .",
      "excruciatingly hilarious and hilariously excruciating . the merkin scene will live with you forever ."
    ],
    "summary": "witty and unpredictable , MOV benefits from writer-director patrick brice 's sure-handed touch and strong performances from a talented cast .",
    "id": "771412081"
  },
  {
    "movie": "time_to_leave",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV comes across with unexpected moments of illuminated stillness , and any movie that gives meaningful face time to the incomparable -lsb- jeanne -rsb- moreau can never be a total waste of time .",
      "whilst avoiding many of the sentimental clichés that bedevil terminal illness movies , the briskly edited MOV nevertheless lacks the emotional impact of ozon 's most memorable films .",
      "as with all ozon 's work , MOV resounds with grace notes .",
      "deeply touching and brutally frank .",
      "a lyrical and heart-affecting french drama that reveals that we must each encounter death on our own terms .",
      "but this may be the first time that ozon has played it too safe , leaving little to separate his film from the countless other portraits of dying scoundrels redeemed .",
      "moreau 's few ripe scenes are choice , and she spices up the joint with her gravelly voice of je ne regrette rien .",
      "a cinematic tone poem , wafting on wistful tableaus and sad faces ... mostly elaborates on how death must ultimately be a personal experience .",
      "ozon transplants the melodrama genre to the here and now , taking a sentimental form and adding frank sexuality -lrb- is that a prosthetic mr. poupard or are you in the moment ? -rrb- and a steely attitude .",
      "much of the film works to undercut any sense of real emotion .",
      "has its effective moments of restrained intimacy but lacks the depth to give the slow-going narrative much impact .",
      "we watch romain change as he struggles with his mortality and , as he does , we come to care about him .",
      "sumptuously filmed but rather distant .",
      "simply treats death as life 's final curveball , with romain solemnly and bravely letting the hourglass trickle down as it will .",
      "it 's affecting .",
      "a beautiful , frank and utterly absorbing examination of death .",
      "the entire film is a balancing trick , with scenes of potential banality redeemed at the last by a subtle twist or subversion . in their conflicted expressions , the performers prove themselves experts at their own high-wire acts .",
      "modern audiences are more likely to find the character 's behavior to be extremely frustrating , undercutting any sympathetic response one might have for his situation .",
      "the story arc from his diagnosis to his death does n't cover much ground in romain 's life . but his emotional landscape -- the conflicts , the anger , the sadness , the acceptance -- offers much more depth .",
      "it does absolutely nothing that previous movies dealing with this subject have n't done .",
      "those looking for the traditional hollywood sweetness or payoffs will walk away disappointed , but the rough-hewn film offers riches to those willing to endure its downbeat tale of detachment .",
      "directed by the prolific françois ozon , MOV stars melvil poupaud as a fashion photographer facing the certainty that his life will soon be over .",
      "it 's difficult to feel positive about romain 's acceptance of his mortality , because ozon has n't convinced us romain was that alive to begin with .",
      "one gets the feeling while watching MOV that the feisty director is , for the first time , bored by the story he 's telling .",
      "una exploración muy personal , muy íntima y para nada condescendiente sobre la proximidad de la muerte a edad temprana . muy buen elenco .",
      "it 's noteworthy for the performances of melvil poupard as romaine and jeanne moreau as the grandmother-two people facing their own mortality , and trying to exit this world with grace and dignity .",
      "director francois ozon , who can define physical desire in a swift gesture or extend a moment of self-reflection with acute stillness , has become more confident and specific with each film .",
      "it 's a quiet and poignant look at a life as it slips away , seen through the eyes of a character who 's not always likable but remains entirely real .",
      "a touching and haunting film that is more uplifting than its central theme suggests , MOV leaves us with much to reflect upon , and consider .",
      "takes one of the most tired movie cliches of all time -- `` i 'm sorry , but you only have a few months to live . '' -- and turns into to a totally fresh look at what it truly means to live",
      "another year , another minimal but solid offering from françois ozon",
      "an emotionally moving story , which somehow never dips into cliched sentimentality .",
      "yet another discourse , a creative one , about what people do when they are diagnosed with a terminal disease .",
      "MOV winds up a tiresome affirmation of man 's biological duty to procreate ; the position is simplistic verging on obnoxious , especially after 5x2 's attack on the hetero family model .",
      "MOV takes the time to reflect ... it is among the least tricky of ozon 's films , which also makes it one of the best .",
      "as in any ozon film , there are indelible performances from strong women here .",
      "MOV just might be ozon 's best work yet . he tackles a sensitive , off-putting subject with a dignity that will put viewers at ease .",
      "françois ozon 's latest follows in the footsteps of familiar made-for-tv-movie terrain but does so wearing prada shoes .",
      "... the film 's haunting final scene , which plays out almost entirely without dialogue , catches ozon at his beguiling , enigmatic best .",
      "a thoroughly cinematic and honest film that thrives on in-between moments and knows how to make them grand .",
      "a short and succinct film but it lingers long in the memory .",
      "romain sees his inner child wherever he goes . the problem is , that childishness is all we really understand about the character . nothing else punches through .",
      "it 's about a gay man coming to terms with his mortality , and , in a plot twist that 's as contrived as it is ironic , with the biblical injunction to procreate .",
      "pointless , crushingly dull `` disease of the week '' film -lsb- about -rsb- a shallow , selfish , gay fashion photographer .",
      "maintains its focus and disturbs appropriately",
      "ozon 's drama offers no rousing speeches about living to the fullest , or heartfelt soliloquies on the nature of existence , only a bitterly honest admission that death happens to everyone and there is no use trying to stop it .",
      "romain is ruthlessly true to himself , and the film 's final scene , which begins on a crowded beach and ends as everyone who can goes home , is stunningly haunting .",
      "MOV blows a fresh , skeptical wind through fairly corny melodramatic territory while keeping faith with the operatic emotions of the genre .",
      "... surprisingly unengaging -lsb- and -rsb- utterly devoid of humor ."
    ],
    "summary": "a reflective look at our own mortality through the experience of a middle-aged french man , MOV manages to pull at our heart strings without resorting to cliches , and leaves a lasting impression .",
    "id": "190815782"
  },
  {
    "movie": "your_mommy_kills_animals",
    "reviews": [
      "covering a wide canvas of animal welfare and rights issues that rightfully will provoke meaningful discussion",
      "the most controversial , provocative , inflammatory and thought-provoking film of the year !",
      "while avoiding the most important travesty -- the use of animals for food -- the documentary does efficiently illustrate the arguments for an against the use of animals for research and fur .",
      "... a flawed yet remarkably even-handed look at an extraordinarily contentious issue .",
      "MOV is eye-opening in the truest sense of the word . i was riveted from start to finish . this is one of the year 's best films .",
      "what may be the finest documentary of the year also is the most difficult to watch . i wept unashamedly at the brief videos of real-life animal abuse in `` MOV , '' and you may , too .",
      "a documentary that both informs and entertains , and that will invite animated debate -- which is precisely what a good documentary should do .",
      "with a subject that holds as much venom as this one does , mommy remains amazingly poised .",
      "terrific documentary on the animal rights movement that allows all sides in the debate to make their points .",
      "david martosko , of the center for consumer freedom , carries the film 's obscured theme that `` morality '' is a religious-based ploy used by all sides of the animal abuse debate that lead the fbi to rank animal-rights activists as the no. 1 terrorist threat in",
      "the result , admittedly , is a bit of a din . but it 's certainly interesting .",
      "the most accessible , thorough chronicle of animal rights ever put to film .",
      "could n't have arrived at a more timely moment , given the recent arrest of atlanta falcons quarterback michael vick on federal charges for hanging , drowning , electrocuting and beating dogs to death .",
      "it 's the best kind of documentary , in that if you 're a thinking person it is nearly impossible to watch the movie without having your point of view challenged and questioned .",
      "it lets you off dizzy and confused , whereas the best documentaries leave you feeling that you 've come to a settled perspective on a subject .",
      "those on both sides of the animal rights issue will find much to fume over in ... curt johnson 's in-depth , eye-opening examination of the movement .",
      "MOV is an eye-opener , raising tough questions about whether the movement deserves such intense scrutiny and punishment by the government .",
      "interesting and sometimes dizzyingly freewheeling .",
      "this film shines a clear light on the dark controversy surrounding our treatment of animals .",
      "a miraculously evenhanded treatment of a snarlingly divisive debate .",
      "MOV will more than likely still draw you in with its unbiased approach -- and , no matter where you stand on the issue of animals , you will definitely learn a lot about people .",
      "what feels like a lack of propaganda makes the film all the more cogent , intelligent , and powerful .",
      "curt johnson 's first feature bodes well for his future as a filmmaker .",
      "that one ca n't quite decide if these charming men are heroes or villains is a mark of johnson 's calm , even approach to an issue seemingly fueled by emotions run amok .",
      "powerful , angry and bizarre documentary .",
      "it is n't only organization that the mildly anarchic MOV sorely lacks , it 's also a sufficient number of sources .",
      "hard to beat that title , ai n't it ?",
      "MOV lays things out with historical perspective , tracing the roots of both the animal welfare movement and animals rights activism to england .",
      "johnson 's not pushing buttons just for the sake of attention-getting , he 's revealing just how hopelessly complicated the issue has grown .",
      "worth seeing by anyone who cares about animals .",
      "perhaps the greatest service johnson does is to turn the event that spurred him to make the film -- the fbi labeling animal rights activists the top domestic terrorist threat -- into a crucial dialogue .",
      "ca n't commit to an overview of the movement by looking at three groups or stick with the trial of the `` shac 7 . '' so an intriguing but too short tour of animal-rights issues is interrupted by a flatly chronicled court case .",
      "it 's impossible to watch without having your point of view challenged - no matter which side of the issue you 're on ."
    ],
    "summary": "a thoroughly fascinating , well-presented examination of the animal rights debate that is both provocative and thought-provoking .",
    "id": "770670841"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_gameplan",
    "reviews": [
      "i 've been got and i 've been had . and i admit that with all due shame and humiliation . i 'll never forgive myself for this .",
      "it 's certainly a goodhearted story , and the movie does offer a little plot twist that deviates from the usual formula . after that , though , the game plan quickly reverts to the established playbook for safe , sappy family fare .",
      "finally , for dwayne `` the rock '' johnson , the game plan pays off .",
      "this is your ordinary funny-to-treacly plot arc -- funny if you 're 10 or younger , treacly if you 're older .",
      "parents , load up on the no-doz and get inoculated for multiple bedazzler jokes .",
      "if he 's being honest , any nfl player will tell you that it 's not at all uncommon to open the front door to meet an illegitimate child . either that or a box of human growth hormone .",
      "better than the ordeal it often threatens to become .",
      "an example of middle-of-the-road insignificance .",
      "sappy and simplistic , the game plan belongs on the sidelines of stale cotton candy creativity .",
      "fickman and the three screenwriters drag this inevitability out for close to two hours , with a tiresome back-and-forth of conflicts and reconciliations .",
      "neither perceptive nor authentic , it lacks genuine humour and shows what an overwritten and under-funny script , put in the hands of immature actors , can produce .",
      "the film improves , but the heavy handed first half drags its mood to the end , where predictability and corn mix into a concoction as unappetising as the health smoothie joe kingman creates for breakfast with his disgusted little daughter",
      "not great , not bad .",
      "i do n't know what planet the people who put this together live on , but the behavior depicted here has nothing to do with anything recognizable as human , let alone normal .",
      "as a family friendly movie , the game plan works perfectly well .",
      "maudlin and manipulative",
      "formulaic , but watchable .",
      "the game plan makes the pacifier look like no country for old men .",
      "you ca n't not like the rock .",
      "all fairly harmless , but outside of the kid and family target audience , also fairly forgettable .",
      "it 's the same old story , but dwayne johnson oozes charisma .",
      "johnson strikes a winning balance of swagger , exasperation and sensitivity as joe kingman , superstar quarterback .",
      "there is less of a story here than a series of gag situations ...",
      "so sickeningly adorable and sweet that you 'll be barfing sugarcubes long before the halfway point . the fact that they can stretch this idea into a movie longer than 90 minutes boggles the mind .",
      "mediocre but good-hearted , you can see `` the game plan '' coming for a long way off .",
      "having tamed one muscled man-child -lrb- vin diesel in the pacifier -rrb- , disney sets its sights on the rock .",
      "whether or not an unexpected shift to generic family-friendly territory boosts the rock 's flagging film career , this is just one more in a long line of creatively bankrupt choices for the former wrestler .",
      "somebody should put dwayne `` the rock '' johnson in a remake of `` the miracle worker , '' because when it comes to a working actor whose personality can override even the dreariest of cinematic drivel , he 's right near the top .",
      "the rock once again proves himself the heir to ahnuld as the action hero with an irresistible self-deprecating sense of humor .",
      "after `` the game plan '' , dwayne `` the rock '' johnson may need to readjust his goals .",
      "about as vile a film as i 've seen this year .",
      "a game plan is exactly what the haphazard script ... lacks .",
      "please : no game plan 2 .",
      "an amusing and timely distraction .",
      "there 's a fine line between pandering and giving an audience what it wants . the game plan walks this line , just barely staying on the tasteful side .",
      "holds next to no surprises for anyone who 's ever seen a movie before .",
      "somebody give dwayne johnson a decent role , please . sure this is relatively inoffensive , but he 's a great screen presence and deserves better .",
      "a barf-inducer . a hurl-promoter . a projectile-vomit-stimulator .",
      "the rock scores in cute -lrb- if predictable -rrb- comedy .",
      "in many ways , the game plan is really just a big-budget , feature-film version of a disney channel original movie .",
      "watchable comedy that manages to overcome its formulaic plot and cliche-laden script , largely thanks to johnson being such a likeable comic actor .",
      "even the rock 's immense charisma can not save this predicatable fare .",
      "johnson 's amiable performance makes this watchable for the target audience ; namely sporty daddies and spoiled little girls primed to assimilate their lives into the disney brand .",
      "despite its cheesy story , the game plan has one major trump card : the rock is actually quite good .",
      "... it ultimately seems unlikely that the movie will appeal to viewers outside of its target demographic -lrb- ie pre-pubescent tots -rrb- .",
      "despite its almost painfully silly predictability , this film somehow manages to be engaging and rather enjoyable , thanks mainly to the rock 's on-screen charisma .",
      "spawning a cute little tyke will improve your career , better your relationships , clear up acne , and get you invited to cool parties .",
      "it 's one man and a baby .",
      "should be dismissed entirely as cutesy , formulaic , sentimental drivel ... but can not be so easily written off without a second thought because johnson is so charismatic in it .",
      "johnson 's a good actor , but it would take the ghost of laurence olivier to convince us that a grown man could legitimately fall for this brat .",
      "if you like this type of film - and i do , then you 'll like this , it 's definitely not something you run out and see , or spend full price on . but if it 's on hbo it 's worth checking out . i 'm recommending because i like the rock and i 'm a sucker for fluff .",
      "as comedies go , the game plan is srictly by the playbook , but johnson is game for anything , and he does a fine job of entertaining the child in all of us .",
      "it 's what i like to call an amnesia movie . six months from now , if someone asks me about the game plan , i 'll be hard-pressed to remember what it 's about or who 's in it .",
      "from playboy to paternity , this is a heart-warming but totally predictable , formulaic comedy .",
      "this disney fluff is n't going to score any touchdowns , but by following a lighthearted game plan , it should stack up points with the family set .",
      "... the rock 's charm and romantic interest roselyn sanchez 's mischievous warmth make the game plan an easy sit .",
      "director andy fickman seem to have thrown everything into this artificial comedy , in the hopes that something might stick . almost nothing does .",
      "a comedy so formulaic and uninspired that you 'd swear you 've seen the movie before .",
      "generic to the point where it might be called sport-themed disney girly movie all rights reserved .",
      "as polished and innocuous as a spin around the park on dumbo .",
      "there are worse ways to spend two hours with your children , and the game plan , in trying to please everybody , fairly much succeeds .",
      "the makers of this family film dumb down some material so much that it fails to tickle funny bones of any age .",
      "this is not a movie designed to surprise , but as comfort food , it goes down pleasantly enough until the final credits roll .",
      "every inch of the game plan is formulaic .",
      "-lsb- pettis -rsb- overplays cute to the point where you wish the rock would practice one of his wrestling moves on her and ship her off to kid nation .",
      "apart from a heart-tugging plot twist , some lesson learning and more random football talk , that 's about it . oh , except for the scene in which kyra sedgwick farts . be sure to update your resume , kyra .",
      "a family comedy heavy on syrup and low on laughs .",
      "-lsb- actress -rsb- pettis is adorable , but she 's compelled to push the cuteness dial well past one 's tolerance level .",
      "a disney comedy that tries to overcompensate with cute what it lacks in clever .",
      "this innocuous family fare will probably appeal to wee ones who have n't been fed enough of this formula . but i wanted to spit up a little .",
      "i was hooked . while the critic -lrb- sounds like cynic -rrb- nitpicked the movie 's predictable storytelling and comic set-ups , the mother in me sniffled with emotion as the big bad quarterback turned into a sloppy puddle of a man .",
      "johnson , as he 's proven before , has all the stuff movie stars do . well , except a decent script .",
      "-lsb- johnson 's -rsb- quick smile and willingness to play along make him by far the most likable of modern movie muscleheads . he 's thus one of the reasons to see the game plan .",
      "there 's a fine line -- just two letters , in fact -- between precocious and precious . unfortunately the game plan not only crosses it but runs 80 yards down the field , and one ca n't help but throw a flag on the play .",
      "almost every note in this insipid comedy is strident or false .",
      "yes , this is a road we 've traveled down before , but at least this time , it 's paved with a lot of charm and heart .",
      "a remixed version of elvis 's `` rubberneckin ' '' is an apt credit sequence number , since the movie is itself a similarly trivial , jazzed-up version of a standard .",
      "pure disney formula stuff -lrb- think ` the pacifier ' and ` three men and a baby ' -rrb- . but despite its predictability the movie turns out to be a comic touchdown for the rock who scores lots of laughs in this winning family entertainment .",
      "a big screen version of something made for the disney channel - only with the rock instead of zac efron",
      "although ` the game plan ' disappointed me , i would n't be surprised if teeny-bopper girls -- and fans of `` the rock '' -- get a kick out of it .",
      "to paraphrase david spade , i liked this movie the first time i saw it -- when it was called kindergarten cop .",
      "... `` stupid '' is a mean word . so i 'm not going to use it to describe this smug , cynical , hackneyed pretext for product placement ...",
      "the movie is so likable that it glides over its many plot holes . the filmâ -lrb- tm -rrb- s direction , by andy fickman , is raucous but never crass , and the affable mr. johnson is committed to every moment .",
      "a movie for younger children , especially girls , the game plan goes into overtime , surely taxing kids ' attention . but parents looking for children 's entertainment at the movies do n't have all that much from which to choose .",
      "the kind of movie that disney used to make a lot of back in the day : live-action , simple-minded , aimed at children , and kind of stupid .",
      "i can smell what the rock is cooking , and gordon ramsay is shutting down that kitchen !",
      "some audiences will find it as sugary as a fruit-scented princess pony sticker book , but its intended viewers will be delighted .",
      "i wish dwayne johnson well , and i respect disney 's tenacity when it comes to their dreadful formulas , so i look forward to next year 's offering : 50 cent in the cub scout comedy , da top scout .",
      "everyone from you to the guy who brought the rock his doughnuts in the morning knows where this is headed , and the script follows the route like a veteran wide receiver .",
      "even though it 's too long , finally a hollywood film extolling the value of a father in raising a child , with star turns by the rock and 7-year-old madison pettis .",
      "the film wears its inspirational family values on its sleeve in such an overstated way that it 's clear that no one involved really believes them for a minute . it is so contrived and so careful not to offend that it has no real energy .",
      "the game plan is as cute as a pail of kittens and about as orderly , but ... it works as a pretty solid example of how the skillful execution of some of the oldest plays in the book can still get the ball to the end zone .",
      "a generic , predictable , family-friendly comedy that seems a better fit for the disney channel than for a theater near you .",
      "overly familiar , and at nearly two hours overstays its welcome by a good 15 or 20 minutes .",
      "the game plan follows familiar formulas and characters , both brightened by a bit of wit and good performances from the two leads .",
      "despite the fact that we 've seen it all before , it works ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite the rock 's abundant charisma , the game plan is just another run-of-the-mill disney comedy .",
    "id": "770670293"
  },
  {
    "movie": "jackie_brown",
    "reviews": [
      "between jackson 's opining and de niro 's hopeless alibis when he messes up , jackie is good for a bundle of bloody ho-ho-hos .",
      "turns out that author elmore leonard and director quentin tarantino are not the odd couple after all .",
      "while not as polished as `` pulp fiction , '' his best film , `` MOV '' does have one thing his earlier films lacked , a couple of characters with brains .",
      "although not nearly as good as director quentin tarantino 's previous effort pulp fiction , is nonetheless a solid , albeit overlong , exercise in filmmaking .",
      "a modest crime thriller .",
      "a great , quirky little film that gets better every time you watch it .",
      "i found it hard not to smile virtually from start to finish in MOV -- not because it 's constantly amusing , but because it 's such a pleasure to be in the hands of someone who knows how to use the medium .",
      "though the film is consistently engrossing , at 155 minutes , it is overlong by at least 20 minutes , and the unspectacular climax is quite disappointing .",
      "a surprisingly mediocre movie .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- surprisingly sluggish tarantino piece .",
      "pulp fiction is a hard film to top , but tarantino has done it , with great flair , style and sheer cinematic genius .",
      "a potboiler , and a fairly good one",
      "-lsb- tarantino -rsb- wanted to give grier a role worthy of her , and he has . if only he 'd given her a movie worthy of her as well .",
      "an entertaining diversion , but not a masterpiece .",
      "scene by scene , MOV is amusing , but after two hours , it seems sluggish , and at that point still has a half-hour to go .",
      "the movie takes 150 minutes to tell what should have been a 90-minute story .",
      "the tale is filled with funny , gritty tarantino lowlife gab and a respectable body count , but what is most striking is the film 's gallantry and sweetness .",
      "quentin tarantino puts together a fairly intricate and relatively uninvolving money-smuggling plot , but his cast is so good that you probably wo n't feel cheated .",
      "the film is more jarmusch than peckinpah -- its soul is in the minutiae .",
      "that this modest crime thriller ca n't quite live up to its audacious dance across so many strata of hip and hommage and self-referential cool it makes your head spin is hardly a surprise , or even a criticism .",
      "offers an abundance of pleasures , especially in the realm of characterization and atmosphere .",
      "it 's like a scuzz-bucket film noir directed by stanley kubrick at his most static-mesmeric .",
      "when you absolutely , positively got to thrill every mother **** er in the room , accept no substitutes . MOV is the ak-47 in tarantino 's arsenal .",
      "tarantino 's tribute to creative influences , writer elmor leonard and blaxploitation star grier , results in a more mature but less audacious film ; last shot , taken from queen christina , only shows how magical garbo was and grier is n't",
      "these are unquestionably tarantino 's greatest characters , and the actors eat them up with verve .",
      "tarantino 's finest , most mature movie to date .",
      "while this is not his best work to date , it is still a solid piece of moviemaking that shows he has more range as a writer and director than many wanted to give him credit for .",
      "a leisurely and easygoing diversion that goes down easy enough but is far from compelling .",
      "overall , tarantino has made an acceptable film , even if it is over two and a half hours long .",
      "a classy package and an interesting auteur piece .",
      "a damn-near flawless little piece of film noir , filled with excellent characterization , and just the right bit of hipness .",
      "tarantino has once again defied the critics and produced a movie that solidly establishes him as still the most important filmmaker of the decade .",
      "loaded with all the crisp dialogue , trademark camera work , and memorable characters that we 've come to expect from every tarantino film .",
      "consider it a superb elmore leonard adaptation by a filmmaker who knows how to serve someone else 's material while making it his own .",
      "tarantino 's films are n't so much stories as strings of anecdotes : movie moments , urban myths , conversations strewn with pop culture references .",
      "mellower tarantino still has sex , drugs , swearing , murder .",
      "might be his best film",
      "succeeds as a witty elmore leonard crime story ... but also as a surprisingly affecting mid-life romance . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "while MOV can be too languid , drifting like one of melanie 's highs , its wearied , over-40 lows reveal tarantino as a director who , once upon a crime , could 've mined complexity and depth from the cracks and crevices of american genre movies .",
      "a much moodier , slower pace from tarantino 's other work , but MOV is one enjoyable flick that rewards its audience with each viewing .",
      "quentin tarantino had a lot to live up to with this release and while he has not made a movie that has matched his previous successes , MOV is still a great film .",
      "it 's slow , it 's sad and it 's very funny in ways that do n't really revolve around punchlines . it 's about characters who have been around the block one too many times and they 're exhausted , full of dreams deferred , just trying to scrape by .",
      "on the surface , MOV -- based on elmore lenoard 's novel rum punch -- is a caper movie , full of guns , drugs , purple profanity and bloody murder . but scratch the surface and you find a love letter .",
      "tarantino 's attention to smart , witty dialogue , and the stepped up last half of the film make the feature worthwhile .",
      "a great actor 's movie .",
      "both grier and especially forster are spot-on in their roles .",
      "an unconventional crime caper adapted from an elmore leonard story about double-crosses and gun smuggling .",
      "MOV is n't a great film , but it has the air of its director 's wicked brilliance .",
      "the flat , self-exposing dud that fate often keeps in store for the initially overpraised .",
      "MOV wo n't make the same sort of splash as pulp fiction -lrb- few films could -rrb- . but if viewers are willing to watch tarantino 's new film on its own terms , they 'll be richly rewarded .",
      "those who were waiting to see quentin tarantino , a k a the most annoying man in hollywood , fall flat on his face are likely to be disappointed with MOV .",
      "while MOV digs into its own stockpile of generic -lrb- namely , blaxploitation -rrb- conventions , it mostly avoids repetition , because it is pam grier 's movie , flat out .",
      "working from an elmore leonard novel , tarantino has created a gangster fiction that is never larger than life and sometimes smaller .",
      "as an exercise in style , MOV is a refinement of the innovative elements tarantino employed in the reservoir dogs and pulp fiction .",
      "a slick , sly , soulful story of paranoia , misgivings , a dominant theme of vengeance and a tone of whimsy .",
      "this is the movie that proves tarantino is the real thing , and not just a two-film wonder boy .",
      "quentin actually made a real movie , with believable characters and performances , rather than just repositories for clever dialog .",
      "give -lrb- jackson -rrb- the best-actor oscar for his picture-perfect performance as a gun-running criminal whose vocabulary is as vulgar as his occupation .",
      "at more than 2 1/2 hours , MOV could probably have been shorter and entertained nearly as much , but tarantino lets his characters develop at their leisure .",
      "a refreshingly modest piece of work .",
      "for all its enthusiasm , this film is n't sharp enough to afford all the time it wastes on small talk , long drives , trips to the mall and favorite songs played on car radios .",
      "forster and grier have real chemistry in their limited time together on-screen . forster has star-quality presence and is used well by tarantino .",
      "despite its difficulties with pacing , though , MOV is ample proof that quentin tarantino continues to grow as one of america 's brightest filmmakers .",
      "his latest offering is as vibrant as any he has produced .",
      "there are a lot of things right in MOV , and they all combine to form an entertaining , stimulating movie .",
      "in this quirky film directed by quentin tarantino , two middle-agers are forced to take stock of their lives .",
      "tarantino 's third full length directoral effort is a good film , but the worst of the three .",
      "grier logs her best performance since fort apache the bronx as a flight attendant who gets nabbed transporting illegal amounts of cash into the country .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- flawed but stylish and moderately entertaining crime thriller .",
      "both jackie and grier manage to stay tough and independent throughout , which seems a credit to both the actress and her director .",
      "it 's not quite pulp fiction , but MOV is a hip tour de force of tarantino 's criminal universe .",
      "um filme divertido que se ressente do choque entre os personagens criados por elmore leonard e os concebidos por tarantino .",
      "beyond the grasp of most directors , this is tour de force stuff -- definitely meriting the price of admission and almost worth the three-year wait .",
      "achieves the soulful edge lacking from tarantino 's previous efforts . forster and grier 's performances deserve to join the short-list of all-time greats .",
      "MOV is n't the movie-length adrenaline rush pulp fiction was , but it deepens and broadens tarantino 's storytelling ."
    ],
    "summary": "tarantino 's third film , fashioned as a comeback vehicle for star pam grier , offers typical wit and charm -- and is typically overstuffed .",
    "id": "13004"
  },
  {
    "movie": "gypsy_caravan_when_the_road_bends",
    "reviews": [
      "only the taliban could dislike the joyful music on display herein .",
      "the poverty contrasts sharply with the excitement of the tour bus and cuts to the heart of the songs themselves , famed for their `` joy and sorrow '' .",
      "the characters are as lively as their music and i enjoyed riding along with them .",
      "the energy is electric , the camerawork crisp and colourful , the editing note-perfect ... . for the roma , music sounds the notes of a harsh , maligned cultural history , making them all the more unforgettable while demanding remembrance , even awe .",
      "gypsy caravan - when the road bends evokes the us tour of roma musicians whose astonishing diversity ranges from the indian group with their bejewelled drag dancer to oompah-based romanians .",
      "dellal 's documentary often seems like a cleaned-up , homogenized version of the chaotic roma world presented by gatlif , kusturica , et al. . but even toned down and packaged , the music itself has the power to thrill .",
      "for its glimpses of various lifestyles and personalities -- an ancient but spry fiddler , a young male who performs in drag -- it is n't bad .",
      "blessed with a wealth of characters , moving stories and roof-raising performances , gypsy caravan is as rich as the music it promotes . fans of buena vista should definitely join the club .",
      "it 's a slow , sometimes grating process for an hour or so , but once everyone wises up to their shared heritage , a euphoric celebration of what it means to be a gypsy takes flight .",
      "so long seen as ragged leftovers from an older historical epoch , the roma turn out to be a modern people who have a lot to teach over-developed societies about what it means to be human .",
      "these extraordinary musicians ought to put an end to any sniffiness about gypsy music .",
      "for those who like a melange of music with an international flare , gypsy caravan is a pleasure .",
      "more than a vibrant experiment in ethnomusical cross-pollination , it 's just great fun , tempered by loss but rippling with gusto .",
      "an irresistibly vibrant concert-tour documentary by jasmine dellal .",
      "superb documentary on gypsy musicians in the spirit of `` buena vista social club ''",
      "it 's a two-hour movie , and i 'm only sorry it is n't two or three times as long . let me read your thoughts : you 're not much interested in gypsy music , and the historical and cultural stuff might be pretty dry . that 's what i thought too : wrong and wrong .",
      "everyone is having so much fun , one would really like to be a part of it . but the performance sequences are too jaggedly truncated to pull us in entirely .",
      "throughout , the ebullience and passion of the music gives viewers a point of entry into what it means to be roma , part of an ancient culture in a modern world .",
      "an eye-opener , an ear-opener and , most important , a heart-opener .",
      "the camera work is always note-perfect .",
      "if music were all , gypsy caravan would be amazing . as is , it 's worth seeing , but you may get frustrated at the way dellal raises provocative questions about ancestry and prejudice ...",
      "the music in the film is exhilarating , but there is n't enough information about anyone or anything , and the film feels slight overall . and scattered . you 'll leave hungry for more .",
      "the personalities of the players also contribute energy . they are an immensely charismatic bunch .",
      "while the backstage tour footage is sometimes repetitive , it 's delightful to see the musicians take up each other 's songs as the tour progresses .",
      "if you have any ear for non-western music , gypsy caravan is a must .",
      "the emphasis remains on the personal stories of the players themselves who , for all their backstage squabbling , identify more with each other than any of the countries in which they 've settled .",
      "as a music document and as a labor of unabashed love , the nonfiction feature gypsy caravan could hardly be better ; as a movie , it could stand some improvement .",
      "music is the conduit for repudiating stereotypes and fostering cultural unity in gypsy caravan .",
      "an entertaining and edifying documentary about the music and lives of a group of gypsy performers from four countries on an international concert tour .",
      "thrillingly captures the heat and passion of the live performances .",
      "gypsy caravan succeeds in its primary goal to open ears and minds to roma music , accurately described as being about ` the rhythm , the language , the feeling . '",
      "the backstage stuff becomes monotonous and ruins the film .",
      "a great sampler of roma -lrb- gypsy -rrb- music with outstanding road footage would be enough , but the insight into the roma heart is priceless .",
      "it 's easy to see why -lsb- director -rsb- dellal had trouble turning the camera off , especially when confronted with a startling and sad plot twist . viewers are urged to grab an aisle seat , the better to dance when the music moves them -- as it surely will .",
      "gypsy caravan avoids any serious discussion of the social issues that confront the world 's 10 million roma . unfortunately , the well-intentioned film never gets beyond clichés itself .",
      "there 's material to discover about the gypsies in this laudable attempt , but the film is long , repetitious , and not selectively enough edited .",
      "a natural follow-up to dellal 's debut , american gypsy : a stranger in everybody 's land , this exuberant film features long musical interludes that speak as vividly -- if not more so -- than the interviews and fly-on-the-wall footage .",
      "to best enjoy the energetic and big-hearted gypsy caravan , know that it 's not so much a concert film as it is a cultural-anthropology documentary ...",
      "not quite fully satisfying as either cinematic ethnography or as a concert film .",
      "gypsy caravan could have used some judicious trimming , but you forgive dellal her excesses as she forgives her artists theirs . this is music to gorge on , raw ethnic survival in the form of sound .",
      "caravan sounds great and if nothing else should help diminish the stereotype , blasted by the film 's subjects , of gypsies as little more than pickpockets whom travelers need to be wary of .",
      "a captivating look at a fascinating people . even johnny depp , a friend of the taraf group , shows up .",
      "it 's hardly surprising that gypsy caravan , a lively and lovely music documentary , is rife with whirling rhythms , wild , soaring melodic lines , the ululations of singers steeped in centuries of romany tradition .",
      "the ebullient , proud and gifted musicians who embark on a six-week gypsy caravan tour that promotes roma music are fascinating and as emotionally rich as they are true characters .",
      "gypsy caravan has been compared with tony gatlif 's 1993 film latcho drom , which took a dreamier approach to gypsy culture . this one 's more down-to-earth , but it 's just as entertaining .",
      "-lsb- dellal 's -rsb- attempts to ` straighten ' the narrative through exposition disguised as the walkie-talkie messages of an unseen stage manager , however , are distractingly ham-handed .",
      "the music is unfailingly joyous -lrb- even at its saddest -rrb- , and the film 's devotion to outreach and understanding is just as exhilarating .",
      "this chronicle of a gypsy-music package tour is a powerful rejoinder to rock-doc navel-gazing . stunning performance excerpts , ranging from spanish flamenco to indian raga , demonstrate that keening brass choirs are just one aspect of the gypsy sound .",
      "uncovers the same joy and sorrow that characterizes the romani music in the everyday lives of the musicians who play it ."
    ],
    "summary": "a dynamic doc following five romani bands is a pleasure for the senses thanks to vibrant colors and eclectic music .",
    "id": "395115202"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1017293-rebecca",
    "reviews": [
      "gorgeously mounted , but overlong hitchcock film .",
      "an altogether brilliant film , haunting , suspenseful , handsome and handsomely played .",
      "a gothic moody piece , there 's an overwhelming sense that anything can happen in this film , and anything does . the plot is twisting , unpredictable and even unclear .",
      "a gorgeous treat from one of cinema 's masters . not to be missed .",
      "alfred hitchcock 's first american film is an atmospheric triumph of suspense .",
      "hitchcock 's only best picture winner is a moody thriller about a past murder",
      "hitchcock shows superb technical control and attends to his trademark motifs , from monstrous mother figures to the fetishisation of clothing .",
      "remains one of the master 's most overrated and underrated movies at the same time .",
      "hitchcock 's first american film is a superbly mounted gothic thriller , starring joan fontaine as the timid wife and olivier as the tormented husband .",
      "judith anderson dominates every scene she 's in .",
      "one of hitch 's best and most elegant works .",
      "the meandering storyline , however , ultimately prevents the film from living up to its reputation as one of hitchcock 's best ...",
      "excellent , but may be too long and moody for kids .",
      "this time hitchcock does it all his way , does a splendid job and has a splendid cast to do it with .",
      "both a tender gothic romance and a haunting ghost story .",
      "a real treat . captivating from its famous opening lines to its pyrotechnic finale , this is one of hitchcock 's finest -- and that 's saying something .",
      "one of the finest productional efforts of the past year .",
      "an actress who well knows she 's been perfectly cast in a role she perfectly understands should not be underestimated , even if , as with fontaine , she is never so good again .",
      "fontaine & olivier directed by hitchcock - enjoy .",
      "selznick places hitchcock on a leash , but i still ca n't get mrs. danvers out of my head !",
      "anderson , sanders , and florence bates all reveled in nasty roles ; they look delighted sharpening their talons on fontaine 's little brown wren .",
      "through its first two-thirds it is as perfect a myth of adolescence as any of the disney films , documenting the childlike , nameless heroine 's initiation into the adult mysteries of sex , death , and identity .",
      "the result exhibits that the director is capable of a range few would credit him with .",
      "anderson as the obsessively attached maid mrs. danvers is a perverse gem .",
      "an unforgettable film , and further proof that hitchcock was one of the best and freshest directors around .",
      "-lsb- fontaine -rsb- richly deserved her best actress nomination , one of three she received in a four-year period , for a complex portrayal of an innocent young woman in a difficult position .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- classic female gothic romance , beautifully adapted from daphne du maurier 's novel , and hauntingly accompanied by franz waxman 's score .",
      "MOV -lrb- 1940 -rrb- is the classic hitchcock gothic thriller and a compelling mystery -lrb- and haunting ghost story -rrb- about a tortured romance . the film creates a brooding",
      "a dense , deeply textured emotional excursion , one that ultimately ensures that no easy answers are found",
      "tense , engrossing and deliciously deceitful .",
      "a masterpiece of style and substance , an extended meditation on how the dead haunt the living .",
      "while the film offers no overt violence or thrills , it is a model of sustained mystery and eerie suspense .",
      "the real show-stopper remains judith anderson 's formidable turn as mrs. danvers .",
      "let 's take a moment to talk about water .",
      "a clever mix of fancy drama and suspense",
      "self-consciously prestigious literary filmmaking ... more in line with the producer 's career than the director 's .",
      "it 's an elegant production , beautifully photographed and designed like a dream house shrouded in mourning , but it also favors the pictorial over the cinematic and surface over subtext .",
      "it is the finest job of direction accomplished by a master director and may justly be called alfred hitchcock 's masterpiece .",
      "alfred hitchcock 's first hollywood film is a sumptuous and suspenseful adaptation of daphne du maurier 's romantic novel .",
      "perhaps without the shock and suspense of subsequent work , this is nevertheless another undoubted masterpiece from the atmospheric film maker , and just as essential .",
      "there are so many rich interpersonal relationships . this is not a romance or a history , but a bout of delicious gothic psychoanalysis ."
    ],
    "summary": "hitchcock 's first american film -lrb- and his only best picture winner -rrb- , MOV is a masterpiece of haunting atmosphere , gothic thrills , and gripping suspense .",
    "id": "17080"
  },
  {
    "movie": "manakamana",
    "reviews": [
      "in the hands of spray and velez , the journey is far more important than the destination .",
      "invited to sit in the facing seat , we have long minutes to watch , listen and assess , considering who these pilgrims are and what , aside from worship , has really brought them here .",
      "if you 're prone to carsickness , this might not be the ideal movie for you . but as a meditation on the way human beings fill the silence - or choose not to - it 's an amazing accomplishment .",
      "for the curious viewer .",
      "a must-see , especially in a theater , where the lack of distractions makes it even more mesmerizing , a cinematic rorschach test that lets you interpret the expressions on faces from halfway around the world .",
      "it 's hypnotic work with a terrific sense of cultural study and geography .",
      "a colourful portrait of nepal as a country driven by ancient tradition , yet also embracing necessary change .",
      "a purifying moviegoing experience ...",
      "as a theatrical experience , MOV is spellbinding . but it 's a complex spell ...",
      "` MOV ' will reward those lucky few who still possess the patient tranquility to observe and absorb which is being so sadly lost .",
      "i 've never seen anything like it .",
      "you could hardly ask for a more beautiful vision of souls in transit .",
      "MOV is both calming and imagination-sparking , forcing viewers to look at human faces for 10-minute stretches , whether those faces are talking excitedly or quietly looking around .",
      "filmmakers stephanie spray and pacho velez insist that altered spectatorship , particularly patience and duration , is the foundation of cinematic edification .",
      "the beauty and rhythms of the fixed camera 's highly specific focus builds a hypnotic group narrative of religion 's possibility , the ways in which it can bring joy and peace .",
      "`` MOV '' is simple in conception , but the reactions it evokes in viewers will be complex and multifaceted .",
      "MOV works as a tone poem , a warholian revel in the mundane and an ethnographic study of an isolated corner .",
      "though its subject matter does n't seem particularly fun on the surface , stephanie spray and pacho velez 's MOV is a sort of structural game , by turns contemplative and , yes , playful .",
      "boring ? absolutely not . strangely revealing , meditative and funny ? yes , as passengers reveal themselves by costume , silence , chatter and posture , rising up through a hazy , green landscape into the clouds where MOV .",
      "we 're basically gawking at a commute .",
      "this is an interesting experiment as a movie , but i do n't think it is a terribly successful one . it takes a lot of patience to sit through the dull bits , where nothing much happens , to get to the more interesting parts .",
      "a two-hour film with nepalese as its first language , no introduction , no narration and no dramatic arc sounds like a challenge , in much the same way that unshelled lobster is delicious : both require a little patience .",
      "if only the viewing environment were more suited to casual contemplation , allowing the audience -lrb- like the passengers -rrb- to dip in and out of the car in 10-minute stretches .",
      "a gimmicky observation of life in nepal , this is one of those documentaries that offers the audience an experience rather than any actual information .",
      "multiple viewings simply allow for more diverse and creative readings of the material .",
      "an intimate humanist experiment , the film provokes much delight in its playful structure .",
      "MOV is a travel film that 's not about the ride , but the riders . ourselves included , of course .",
      "MOV does n't answer any questions , yet makes its point : nepal , like the rest of our planet , is a picturesque but far from peaceable kingdom .",
      "breathtaking , unusual and transcendent . patient viewers will be rewarded .",
      "`` MOV '' is a haunting experience , one that requires patience -lrb- and then some -rrb- but that offers spiritual , philosophical , and aesthetic rewards beyond the immediate power of words to describe .",
      "there is little dialogue and no explication , only a succession of dreamy rides , one of which is given over to goats .",
      "it 's a lovely , occasionally charming , and rarely beautiful slice of life , but it does n't grasp for much more . or , if it does , it does n't do a very good job at translating such transcendence to the audience .",
      "this particular pilgrimage is both a privilege and a pleasure .",
      "`` MOV '' says as much about the erosion of patience as it does about the value of holding onto it .",
      "as exotic the locale , stunning the view , foreign the dress or accents , this intense and fascinating look at the pilgrims beautifully exposes their humanity .",
      "the directors , pacho velez -lrb- who did the camera work -rrb- and stephanie spray -lrb- who recorded the sound -rrb- , condense world history into the confined space of a glassed-in bubble .",
      "it takes a certain kind of alchemy to present an uninterrupted 8-and-a-half minute shot of a goat 's anal canal and call it entertainment .",
      "if `` leviathan '' showed us the primal terror of everyday life , this new film is a warm hug , a salute to our shared humanity .",
      "a stunning blend of life 's grand and monotonous movements .",
      "a repetitive but sometimes beguiling documentary produced by the directors of leviathan ,",
      "by focusing on such a narrow slice of nepali life , ms. spray and mr. velez have ceded any totalizing claim on the truth and instead settled for a perfect incompleteness .",
      "as a cross-section examination of nepalese society it 's fascinating , but like any other film of this kind , the eleven sequences that make up MOV 's 117-minute runtime vary in interest .",
      "a documentary about a cable car route that teaches us how incredibly rich and varied the sameness in our lives can really be ."
    ],
    "summary": "its tranquil pace will prove jarring for the blockbuster-inclined , but MOV rewards patient viewers with a singularly haunting experience .",
    "id": "771363487"
  },
  {
    "movie": "young_frankenstein",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's mel brooks at his campy best .",
      "delightfully daft .",
      "pretty classic spoof to classic horror .",
      "some of the gags do n't work , but fewer than in any previous brooks film that i 've seen , and when the jokes are meant to be bad , they are riotously poor . what more can one ask of mel brooks ?",
      "brooks 's most accomplished work , combining his well-known brand of comedy with stylish direction and a uniformly excellent cast .",
      "the film , spoof and worship all in the same breath , would n't be nearly so effective if the mocking were n't so loving ...",
      "never struck me as funny , but it 's well put together .",
      "it shows artistic growth and a more sure-handed control of the material by a director who once seemed willing to do literally anything for a laugh . it 's more confident and less breathless .",
      "the finest comedy film i 've ever seen ... two dozen times .",
      "mel brooks ' best all-around work",
      "it is good-natured , lowbrow , backlot , hit-or-miss humor , but with no cumulative effect beyond its succession of hard-worked jokes .",
      "... brooks reveal -lrb- s -rrb- himself a true obsédé and an honorable heir to the eerily delicate comic-horror tradition of james whale .",
      "it 's a wonderful , iconic comedy . mel brooks ' masterpiece !",
      "one of mel brooks ' most brilliant and immortal cinematic works to date ...",
      "wilder 's hysteria seems perfectly natural . you never question what 's driving him to it ; his fits are lucid and total . they take him into a different dimension -- he delivers what harpo promised .",
      "thus funny , well acted parody of unievrsal horror films of the 1930s is without a doubt mel brooks ' best picture .",
      "brooks ' corniness yields plenty of belly laughs .",
      "this is a fine horror film that also turns -lrb- miraculously -rrb- into an existential tale of man 's fear of abandonment",
      "say this for brooks - he saw women as comedic equals , and they continually proved him right .",
      "a deathless comedy classic -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "mel brooks ' annus mirabilis was 1974 ...",
      "mel brooks at his hysterical peak .",
      "... an unswervingly funny yet loving and beautifully crafted homage , something more artful and lasting than the usual pull-my-finger farce or focus-grouped scary movie lowballer .",
      "for a really delightful parody , james whale 's own bride of frankenstein is far better value .",
      "more about the myth of karloff than the monster , this mel brooks pastiche is probably his best early film .",
      "most of the gags were juvenile .",
      "mel brooks caught comic lightning in a bottle in 1974 with his appropriately black-and-white spoof of james whale 's 1931 classic horror film .",
      "one of mel brooks ' best films .",
      "bug-eyed marty feldman steals the show as igor , pronounced ` eye-gor ' .",
      "hey , our man brooks never claimed to have good taste . bless him .",
      "MOV emerges as a reverently satirical salute to the 1930s horror film genre .",
      "a comic twist on the traditional frankenstein story .",
      "MOV -lrb- 1974 -rrb- is probably writer/producer/director mel brooks ' best film - a spoof of horror films",
      "... the comedy here is refreshingly restrained . sure , it 's silly , but there 's little call for bathroom humour , excessive violence or other staples of more recent comedies .",
      "overall , it 's great fun .",
      "wilder and peter boyle -lrb- as the monster -rrb- are hysterical , but it 's teri garr who steals the show as frankenstein 's buxom and considerably vapid assistant .",
      "so many of this film 's comedy bits are now-classic ...",
      "rediscover MOV if you have n't seen it in a while . it is a true classic ."
    ],
    "summary": "made with obvious affection for the original , MOV is a riotously silly spoof featuring a fantastic performance by gene wilder .",
    "id": "12052"
  },
  {
    "movie": "chaos2001",
    "reviews": [
      "the talented cast keeps chaos -lrb- cesar-nominated for best film -rrb- absorbing throughout its different directions .",
      "worth watching for its good-humored energy , exposure of social ills , and acting by impeccable pros along with a fabulous newcomer .",
      "in a picture without a single sympathetic male character , coline serreau bitingly chastises the cultures of north africa and her own france .",
      "even if chaos is hampered by a desire to be all things to all people , serreau 's nimble touch bestows this schizophrenic genre pastiche with an infectiously zany verve .",
      "remarkable in that it approaches its assortment of characters with an even hand , regardless of their behavior -- until the final third , that is .",
      "the tone 's all over the place and side-plots are piled up a bit thick , but eventually it all converges towards a surprisingly satisfying and touching ending .",
      "whether or not you dig the message , you 'll probably like the film .",
      "energetic pastiche of social commentary , revenge thriller and broad farce .",
      "fast-paced feminist thriller and witty black comedy .",
      "a delicious antidote to moviedom 's typical characterization of women as simpering victims .",
      "a gripping feminist fable with a savage comic edge .",
      "serrau effortlessly navigates the tricky transition from ruefully comic chick flick to gritty crime picture .",
      "as a feminist fairy tale , it provides enough grown-up pleasure to justify its convenient contrivances .",
      "works on a number of levels -- thriller , broad comedy , poignant family drama -- but goes farthest on the strength of its pungent gender satire .",
      "a film that is as darkly amusing as it is bitterly critical of bourgeois society 's indifference to suffering .",
      "at once a brilliant strike for feminism and a condemnation of a backwards culture , this controversial thriller is darkly amusing and disturbing cinema .",
      "it 's all too convenient , but has eclat and two appealing stars .",
      "writer-director coline serreau moves from stark drama to laughter with a tightrope walker 's unerring balance .",
      "despite some odd pacing and a longish , off-putting flashback , chaos succeeds more than it fails .",
      "a hash of a diatribe , parading its hypocrite champions , trading in misanthropy , with a puzzling sense of self satisfaction .",
      "the picture holds us , not only through our wonderment at the mixture but through serreau 's dexterity and her casting .",
      "one heck of a tale of deliciously unladylike payback .",
      "the men , filled with brutality and neglect , make for rather obvious targets , yet we come to care about the women in their lives beyond any agenda chaos might have .",
      "it 's a lot of fun .",
      "the various parts are not equally effective , but all are fascinating , if only because you 're never quite sure where you 're being led .",
      "there 's a core of anger running throughout chaos , particularly in the steely performances by its two female leads , that gives this satisfying feminist revenge drama/satire its soul .",
      "wild , sometimes sickening but surprisingly hilarious ride that never lets up even if it does stack the deck and is overly obvious in its implications and sexual politics .",
      "the plot twists , sneaky humor and brakni 's strong debut bring intriguing order from this chaos .",
      "what is surprising about `` chaos , '' given the sometimes raw subject matter , is how broadly funny it often is .",
      "coline serreau 's `` chaos '' defies categorization . it is an exciting film -- part thriller , comedy , revenge tale , and feminist drama , blended together with compelling finesse .",
      "most of the film is devoted to the central character , and thanks to frot , she 's a most likable heroine .",
      "never escapes its awkwardness .",
      "energetic , darkly funny and engaging from beginning to end .",
      "sort of a hansel and gretel outing with machetes and chainsaws substituting for the mythic oven .",
      "a sort of female action/revenge fantasy whose knives are sheathed in amusement .",
      "chaos is smart . real smart . revenge ca n't get much sweeter than this .",
      "it 's fast , funny and , above all , fresh .",
      "thelma and louise meets a tame version of baise-moi .",
      "it 's a real eye-opener .",
      "a snappy , female revenge fantasy -- a less-hysterical thelma and louise .",
      "serreau 's script is as witty as it is pointed and manages enough suspense to qualify as a thriller .",
      "an audaciously risky mixture of genres that does n't jell",
      "an effective french concoction that starts off like a thriller but keeps revealing different sides .",
      "this is a story about women that only a woman could have told with such unwavering energy and assurance .",
      "affecting , brilliantly acted french-language drama ."
    ],
    "summary": "anything but chaotic , chaos makes a high-energy and award-worthy stab at bourgeois apathy and racial tensions in france , while musing on chance .",
    "id": "560387793"
  },
  {
    "movie": "15_minutes",
    "reviews": [
      "a few good action sequences do n't make up for the over-the-top morality plea and sheer lunacy of a plot .",
      "de niro and rising star edward burns have just enough knowing , gritty give-and-take in 15 MOV to make you hungry for more .",
      "smothered and finally buried in dull and simplistic plotting , cookie-cutter characterizations , scattershot finger-pointing and a ludicrous , tone-deaf finale .",
      "the filmmaker tries to eat his cake and have it as well , giving his audience ample servings of what we presumably want while slapping our wrists for it at the same time .",
      "turns ultraviolent , silly and gun-happy all at the same time .",
      "contrived , didactic and packed with mindless violence .",
      "ultra-violent , blatantly manipulative and politically reactionary .",
      "its attempts to take aim at tabloid culture ends up a hideous mess .",
      "a picture that has a crowd-stopping impact .",
      "overwrought and hypocritical .",
      "herzfeld 's heavy-handed and uneven parable about the cycle of bloodlust , spotlight-seeking , and vulgar entertainment is trite and shallow .",
      "uneven but often-entertaining .",
      "a shrewd thriller .",
      "so flamboyant and overbearing that it comes perilously close to being a classic awful .",
      "you have to love the film 's passion and its colorful sense of self-righteousness .",
      "this slick rampage is just the old bronson grinder , extruding pulp -- mighty ripe for video .",
      "a clumsy urban thriller .",
      "the movie is nothing if not ambitious . the movie is nothing if not overdone . the movie is also , well , pretty much ... nothing .",
      "two horrifyingly bad hours that should stand as a reminder to keep hollywood away from big issues or anything else it can put in its mouth and choke on .",
      "this would be a more provocative cri de coeur if the ideas were n't just buzzing around like a swarm of enraged bees .",
      "i think it effectively sends the message it intended , but that message will fly right over the heads of a lot of viewers .",
      "herzfeld 's a secondhand-meister , simply regenerating themes , styles and a story line that we 've all seen -- and tired of -- somewhere before .",
      "a message vehicle that is both painfully obvious and utterly obtuse about its subject matter .",
      "a couple of surprise twists and catchy pov-video imagery add to the uniquely unpredictable character of this explosive thriller",
      "migraine-inducing and graphically violent -- but always entertaining .",
      "an ugly , depraved movie that is not so much an indictment of american celebrity culture as it is a worthless pile of trash .",
      "it does n't feel like a cookie-cutter cop thriller , and , on top of that , it 's actually about something .",
      "the whole idea is just so 15 MOV ago .",
      "a juicy murder thriller with a hyperventilating pace .",
      "15 MOV should have been played as a dark comedy -- instead it wallows in it 's own self-indulgent muck .",
      "too contrived and artificial for its own good .",
      "15 MOV is a very compelling movie about a situation which has no easy answers .",
      "... senseless , heavy-handed and does n't know when enough is enough .",
      "fifteen MOV pretty much recycles the media paranoia and fear found in mad city with passing stabs at snuff and payback . it sinks quickly off the waters of lower manhattan .",
      "does n't work on any coherent level .",
      "deserving of more than 15 MOV of fame .",
      "every situation is ironic , every event is a moral point , every symbol is forced , and everything is a symbol ...",
      "makes a strong , supported , and convincing stand on many current controversial issues",
      "15 MOV unfortunately fails to fully capitalize on its intriguing premise and ends up wasting the considerable talents of all involved .",
      "there have been few media criticisms of late that are as hypocritical and inane .",
      "powerful , simply powerful .",
      "is n't as clever or as timely as it clearly perceives itself .",
      "the film seems exaggerated strictly to pray upon latent public fears in a calculated , predatory way .",
      "it 's actually very well made .",
      "has something to say , and it says it remarkably well .",
      "gives weighty subjects a shallow , dumbed-down treatment in a simplistic story with a lot of dead ends .",
      "slow , plodding , and so far-fetched it stretches the boundaries of ` suspension of disbelief , ' 15 MOV does very little with a good cast .",
      "crafty strokes of dark comedy and self-awareness peek through what is largely a hollywood-gritty veneer .",
      "a muddled disaster of conflicting ideas and outright hyperbole .",
      "good drama that tells its story in a fresh , interesting way .",
      "so grossly amateurish is this embarrassment that all the time 15 MOV can hope to muster on the clock of our cultural fascination is about five seconds .",
      "watching it is like spending time with a know-it-all teenager ; the kid is n't neccessarily wrong , but he 's definitely irritating .",
      "a fun ride , largely due to its heroic partners ' bantering and its villainous partners ' tomfoolery .",
      "relentlessly stupid and grating .",
      "it 's to herzfeld 's credit that the movie 's caustic observations hit the mark as often as they belabor the obvious .",
      "the reality of ` unscripted ' programming et al. trumps the critique from the gitgo .",
      "a picture that 's not only thoroughly disagreeable but slovenly made as well .",
      "herzfeld settles for the most mundane execution of his idea .",
      "forgettable hyper-kinetics with confused values .",
      "la cinta , lejos de ser más que el thriller que termina siendo , aspira a ser una visión crítica de la obsesión de los estados unidos por la violencia .",
      "no se deje sorprender , pues el resultado final es más bien engańoso .",
      "so eager is this film to grapple with its demons , that it does n't realize how much like them it has become .",
      "yeah it 's tough to condemn violence and glorify it at the same time .",
      "entertaining , and it managed to surprise me one and only one time , which is more than most buddy cop movies manage",
      "it forced me to think about many issues pertaining to our culture , which is much more than most movies bother to do .",
      "if yesterday 's headlines are today 's trash , think of writer-director john herzfeld as the friendly neighborhood garbageman who brings the dumpster straight to your door .",
      "it 's a film that has about 15 MOV of fervor to it before it gets grounded into a mixture of sleaze , violence , and heartless melodrama .",
      "herzfeld is smart enough to just let de niro be de niro .",
      "big , loud and lurid , but no less entertaining for that .",
      "seek out a quality production and do n't settle for this sort of cheese .",
      "a jumping off point for showy , contrived , borderline exploitation sequences that fail to tie together because they 're not really there to do anything but sell themselves as money shot thrills .",
      "can never transcend its own crass , exploitative and cynical nature .",
      "the intriguing movie works in fits and spurts but keeps you with it even with some troubling logical problems .",
      "for those who feel like putting some of their critical faculties on hold for two hours , it 's a fast , entertaining ride .",
      "comes off more than a bit contrived and about as subtle as jesse ventura .",
      "eddie flemming and jordy warsaw could have come from the markdown bin at the cliched characters store .",
      "roden and taktarov are such likeable villains that it 's a pleasure to watch them .",
      "and so now , in the unambitious tradition of the eminent natural born killers - comes the spectacularly underachieving 15 MOV .",
      "andy warhol 's theory gets yet another hollywood workup in this slezy actioner , this time around with two foreign criminals as media-hungry badasses .",
      "it 's as if herzfeld believes all that stuff about americans being hopelessly infantile -- he wanted to make a really good movie , but he just knew he 'd lose us if he did .",
      "herzfeld has created an alternate new york city that is just unpleasant to look at , plain and simple .",
      "alley flasher , pubescent paperboy , toy with a broken squeaker . edward burns sounds like those things , but plays none of them here . he 's fire marshal jordy warsaw . that sounds like a pauly shore character ; shore would arguably act with greater conviction .",
      "exceptionally violent , intense deniro thriller .",
      "`` 15 MOV '' is a cops-and-killers action movie naively intent on telling you things you already know about the societal pitfalls of tabloid media .",
      "it sounds like some crank on the next barstool venting about how everything is crap .",
      "relentless yelling by two usually fine actors spoils this timely crime drama .",
      "a mean , ugly exploitation picture with sophomoric delusions of grandeur .",
      "boasts a fine cast and makes enough cogent points that it rises above standard cop fare .",
      "its savage indictment of the nexus involving media , crime and a voracious public is a cinematic statement difficult to ignore .",
      "does offer some wonderfully cinematic moments ... that get the blood and adrenaline pumping .",
      "-lsb- the premise is -rsb- rolled up in a formulaic young cop-old cop action flick like a sparkler in a rug .",
      "criticizes us for watching exploitative violence even as it foists big helpings of carnage on us .",
      "one of the most brazen pieces of blame-shifting in exploitation-picture history .",
      "less the blistering satire it imagines itself than a blustering , bloody , blundering melodrama .",
      "the characters and story develop in ways that are both unexpected and convincing .",
      "ambitious , cluttered and ultimately incoherent .",
      "a very original and timely movie which connects on various levels .",
      "warhol 's statement was just a one-liner , and a movie requires more than that to run two hours .",
      "a tiresome screed that purports to teach us a lesson about violence and the media even as it serves up much more than the minimum daily requirement of stabbings , bloody gunshot wounds and relentless stomach punches .",
      "belly flops in the gutter and grovels in its own gratuitous , far-fetched violence .",
      "there 's a dynamite movie to be made about the collision -- and collusion -- of celebrity culture , violence , and media complicity . but the hot-button 15 MOV is n't it .",
      "it 's the poster child for bad taste , not to mention bad construction .",
      "a real movie , rough edges and all , and not another link from the sausage factory .",
      "little more than a grim gross-out .",
      "it 's hard to remember another film so utterly clueless about itself .",
      "ham-fisted and pathetic .",
      "i watched an episode of whose line is it anyway ? just before writing this , and it obviously warped my fragile little brain ."
    ],
    "summary": "as critical as it is about sensationalism in the media , 15 MOV itself indulges in lurid violence , and its satire is too heavy-handed to be effective .",
    "id": "14582"
  },
  {
    "movie": "tony_takitani",
    "reviews": [
      "an aesthetically appealing anatomy of loneliness and aloneness by a japanese filmmaker with a keen eye for the nuances of human nature .",
      "jun ichikawa 's quiet film has a power that resonates . it gives loneliness a cinematic canvas .",
      "MOV conveys a powerfully tangible sense of loss and loneliness . in both concrete and existential terms , it 's a film that dwells on what the dead leave behind and how the living carry on .",
      "a haunting and exquisitely composed ode to the cellblocks that people build for themselves : prisons of loneliness and dependency , routine and material substitutes .",
      "whether you view it as a metaphor for a country or a singular study of the human condition , MOV explores the borders between solitude and loneliness , hunger and consumption , memory and loss .",
      "MOV , fablelike and beautiful , requires a certain amount of patience , but its small , peculiar charms work their way into your soul .",
      "MOV is an exquisite film , as elegant and precise as an impeccably cut diamond .",
      "the movie 's underlying theme is the complex relationship between objects and memories , worked out through a taut , compelling story and superbly understated acting .",
      "it 's a marvelously moody meditation , beautiful to look at and beautiful to ponder as the camera slowly pans from one scene to the next , framing life as still life .",
      "the film gestures toward our understanding of deep matters -- grief , solitude , and the process by which people build and express their very selves -- and it does so with a commendably steady , gentle hand .",
      "it 's a graceful , odd experiment ... i 'm still not sure if it works , but i 'm glad it exists .",
      "it 's a film for specialized tastes , quiet , delicate . but it suits those tastes beautifully .",
      "it 's a quiet dream of a movie , a vision of loneliness giving way to love , then to loneliness again ; it 's like vertigo remade in a sedately haunted style of japanese lyricism .",
      "this gossamer work is one of the loveliest examples of minimalist cinema i 've seen in a long time .",
      "a gentle breeze of absurdism floats through this lyrically understated story . its sadness is little short of magical .",
      "a refined , delicately poetic reverie on loss and memory .",
      "it 's a serene experience , letting the film wash over you and transport you into its isolated , melancholy little world .",
      "it 's a hypnotic mood piece on love and loss , one that knows -- at 75 minutes -- not to overstay its welcome .",
      "jun ichikawa 's film is a classic example that not all literature is capable of making the transition to film ...",
      "this could reverently be called a model of minimalism , but i am more inclined to call it dull as dishwater .",
      "filme de construзгo poйtica e delicada , encanta pelo tocante estudo de personagens e por discutir , atravйs de seus quadros reveladores , temas complexos como a solidгo , a natureza da memуria , fetiches e obsessхes .",
      "scarcely satisfies , yet it lingers -- limpidity of image along with imperceptible epiphanies",
      "ichikawa brilliantly captures murakami 's blend of whimsy , irony and melancholy , while finding intelligent and inventive ways to convert the author 's verbal idiosyncrasies to a visual medium .",
      "embodies that lose-lose conundrum we all face : loneliness is painful , but finding and then losing love is just as bad",
      "ichikawa evokes the heady and suffocating effect of the past playing irrevocable catch-up with itself .",
      "an impressive achievement .",
      "jun ichikawa 's slight , lovely little drama understands the pleasure of seeing , using many quiet , patient takes to absorb its delicate visuals .",
      "MOV runs only about 75 minutes but is so well and deftly crafted that it could n't be a minute more ... or less .",
      "this lovely and piercingly sad film is rooted in a free-floating malaise that 's endemic to fast-paced , materially oriented cultures throughout the industrialized , urban world .",
      "... unmistakably an art piece and as japanese as a japanese garden ... the movie itself seems like an obsession .",
      "it 's an interesting aesthetic experiment that is only half successful .",
      "this is a wisp of a film that despite its simplicity is hardly slight .",
      "a quietly simple fable that hits you hardest after it 's over .",
      "the camera effortlessly glides from scene to scene , revealing faultlessly framed shots that consist mostly of just one or two people , their backs often to the camera .",
      "the characters and narrative are so lightly sketched , the film 's gravity sneaks up on the viewer through the gradual force of its form and rhythm .",
      "light on plot but heavy on mood , this japanese import layers voice-over , fluid photography and a melancholy piano score to create a hypnotic poem about isolation and loss .",
      "a delicate wisp of a film with a surprisingly sharp sting .",
      "this is the sort of film you 're pretty sure you wo n't like , but see anyway out of vague curiosity and emerge from its spell somehow changed .",
      "impressively reduces murakami 's hard-boiled word world to a floating-picture world . but like lish 's edits of ray carver , it mutes a story that was nearly mute to begin with .",
      "it creates a mood that sweeps over you , that kind of movie works better on the big screen . on the small screen , it does n't have the oomph to demand your attention .",
      "heedlessly drawn to eiko ... tony takes a step onto spiritually hollow ground and falls through ... . that 's what this kind of ironic protagonist does , from adam on down ...",
      "like a cultivated orchid , the delicate product of careful attention and an appreciation for fleeting beauty .",
      "... like an impressionistic documentary of a man resigned to his loneliness .",
      "the japanese movie is tranquil , smoothly connecting its scenes with gradual pans from one image to the next , accompanied by spare music that sounds like early morning and loneliness .",
      "an ethereal modern fable without a moral , tony takatani seeps into the soul and lingers . for filmgoers in search of a quietly absorbing escape , it might be the perfect holiday-movie antidote .",
      "though it falters as a narrative , MOV sticks in the mind with its poetic contemplativeness .",
      "the pacing is reserved to the point of being funereal , and the ryuishi sakamoto score is likely to lull you to sleep ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite its deceptive wispiness , this delicately lovely and melancholy film about loneliness has a haunting power .",
    "id": "359855308"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ginger_snaps",
    "reviews": [
      "-lsb- the -rsb- script is full of inventions so felicitous that you can only wonder why no one ever thought of them before .",
      "canada . werewolves . it 's the smartest and funniest scary movie in a long time -- and a true feminist horror film .",
      "john fawcett 's MOV cleverly links lycanthropy to vaginal flow .",
      "the funniest werewolf movie since `` an american werewolf in london '' and the darkest high-school movie since `` heathers . ''",
      "it deserves a cult following among satire-loving , feminist-minded gore aficionados who appreciate a well-made human tail .",
      "it 's altogether devilishly cunning .",
      "this grisly werewolf film is actually a black comedy about a teen girl encountering menstruation . yes , really .",
      "a stunning teen angst/werewolf film from 2001 , this was the best lycanthrope movie since an american werewolf in london .",
      "successfully operates on dual levels -- as a horror movie and as a study of two sisters .",
      "very , very violent horror flick .",
      "a remarkable and excellent werewolf thriller that 's equal parts creepy , funny , and tragic .",
      "in this highly sophisticated and disturbing canadian horror movie , director john fawcett transcends the banality of the werewolf formula with verve , well-paced action and genuine terror .",
      "john fawcett has directed `` MOV '' with terrific flair , punctuating ominous moods with bursts of pitch-dark humor .",
      "not squeamish ? like monsters ? go see .",
      "a smart , resourceful , and wickedly funny teen-horror film that reinvents the werewolf myth as a potent metaphor for pubescent angst and humiliation .",
      "an uncommonly intelligent fright film , one that unnerves you at a very deep , primal level .",
      "a witty and intelligent exploration of what it means to become and live as a woman in middle-class suburbia .",
      "violent and scary , socially aware and sometimes witty , it is a cut above your average gore-fest .",
      "a hootin ' howler this feature , another in the series of movies mixing tee-hees with the terrors .",
      "got originality , a good story , characters to whom you could relate .",
      "the movie is much at its best when dealing merely with suspicions , rather than when later laying out the lycanthropy and laying on the gore .",
      "at last a horror film with real bite .",
      "a quietly subversive my-sister-is-turning-into-a-werewolf movie that does n't wimp out at the end .",
      "for most of its running time the film toys with all the standard conventions , providing some really fun and surprising dialogue . it 's when it devolves into a `` boys '' movie , when the creature is fully seen and the killing begins , the movie tanks ...",
      "this is n't just a good horror movie , it 's a good movie . period .",
      "MOV is a satisfying return to mythology , cheesy gore and fear for the horror film .",
      "MOV finally represents nothing more than an overwhelming example of missed opportunity .",
      "a superbly realized take on the perils of being different in a world that demands conformity .",
      "it 's altogether devilishly cunning .",
      "a black comedy that nonetheless manages to tap into the sense of alienation and unfocused rage so prevalent in today 's kids .",
      "fawcett is fundamentally a sly , dry satirist , with a distinct sensibility and a promising talent of his own .",
      "the linkage between puberty and lycanthropy ... is imagined with enough savage wit to count as an act of genre resuscitation .",
      "a sparky , sharp film marked by intelligent dialogue .",
      "this is not just another monster movie . MOV succeeds exactly because it is not ` just ' anything .",
      "when you can see through a film , it 's not as much fun .",
      "karen walton 's sharp screenplay is especially strong in the family scenes , allowing performances of heavenly creatures intensity from the young leads .",
      "it 's all downhill from there , but there is something efficiently creepy about the enclosed world of two alienated young women in suburbia .",
      "a terrific halloween-type movie for those wishing to celebrate a little early .",
      "MOV is about as close to a new millennium heathers as anyone has gotten .",
      "the wickedly effective performances by the two leads turn what would otherwise be a forgettable , low-budget movie into an intriguing little tale of the macabre .",
      "the film retains its perverse edge with an ambiguous ending that resists both options and instead emphasizes the power of the bonds of female friendship .",
      "reminded me of the early work of david cronenberg",
      "the best teenage werewolf movie ever made .",
      "great scary fun boasting nightmarish images that linger long after the lights come up .",
      "it 's promising .",
      "... winds up wallowing in its own detached ironic humour .",
      "despite the problems this plays as one of the better ones of the past couple years .",
      "there 's a nice undercurrent of black humor that mines absurdities from an adolescent perspective , but this is no buffy the vampire slayer .",
      "enjoyable and effective teen werewolf movie with some refreshingly new ideas and lashings of gore .",
      "on its surface , MOV is a werewolf movie , but what 's refreshing is the clever satire at its core .",
      "this is the creepiest , most authentic feeling , smartest horror flick in a long time .",
      "MOV starts out so well that its terrible last half hour feels insulting .",
      "the ideas are thin , and the scene-by-scene execution of them is bumbling ."
    ],
    "summary": "the strong female cast and biting satire of teenage life makes MOV far more memorable than your average werewolf movie -- or teen flick .",
    "id": "16854"
  },
  {
    "movie": "wedding_planner",
    "reviews": [
      "a flimsily constructed knockoff , completely devoid of charm and even the merest flicker of originality .",
      "a distressingly lifeless romantic comedy .",
      "the plot ... spews cliches like a drunken best man toasting the groom .",
      "think my best friend 's wedding , subtract gay best friend , dorky karaoke scene , charm , and any hint of malice or conflict , and you 've got it .",
      "lopez and mcconaughey are n't the kind of pairing that makes you think these two fit .",
      "on its own flyweight terms , the MOV is an appealing movie .",
      "very predictable and processed .",
      "begins with considerable charm but eventually loses its winning ways with an excess of ridiculous elements .",
      "for all its attempts to call up old movies and also update them , it ends up being more dunderheaded than quick-witted .",
      "this review is one of the harshest i 've ever written and i can feel myself only getting meaner .",
      "if you liked that film with julia roberts and dermot mulroney , you 're sure to feel at home at this one with jennifer lopez and matthew mcconaughey .",
      "the film overloads itself .",
      "desperately unfunny , emotionally flat .",
      "i suggest you rsvp in the negative to this wedding invitation .",
      "it becomes increasingly contrived and drawn out .",
      "the film 's greatest flaw is its miscast leads , who conjure up zero dewy-eyed , wish-fulfillment magic .",
      "a little more coarseness , or at least some originality , might have helped the jokes , which barely rise to the level of might-see tv .",
      "the movie is loaded with vcts -lrb- very contrived touches -rrb- .",
      "the perfect little confection for valentine 's day .",
      "anyone who 's read one romance novel knows how this will end , so the only suspense remaining is whose butt will be more fetishized by movie 's end .",
      "occasionally so inept and embarrassing that it 's almost physically painful to sit through .",
      "it runs of romance and it runs out of laughs .",
      "una cinta más de las que podremos olvidar pronto .",
      "su complaciente y sentimentaloide final termina por fastidiar una historia que de por sí ya tenía problemas .",
      "an old-fashioned romantic comedy about a career woman who has to choose whether or not to follow her heart .",
      "this is exactly the kind of movie that thinks it 's funny for someone to be demolished by a speeding dumpster .",
      "a commonplace little offering , low on charm , but trudging ahead anyway , with nary a laugh .",
      "... so short of substance , so lacking in vigour and so forgettable that it 's just not possible to work up a good hatred .",
      "suffers particularly in inevitable comparison with my best friend 's wedding .",
      "mcconaughey is insufferably smug as always , while the bewilderingly miscast diva appears bored and impatient .",
      "the whole thing just smelled like a ` vehicle ' for a couple of movie stars looking for a ` romantic comedy ' project .",
      "an inane romantic comedy that makes you wonder if the writers guild has n't already gone on strike .",
      "like one of those elaborately-decorated cakes at wedding receptions that proves tasteless and indigestible when one bites into it .",
      "a good-spirited , romantic comedy with an almost child-like innocence , the movie sweeps you off your feet and puts you in the mood for laughter and love .",
      "another elaborately nut-filled but unsatisfying confection .",
      "the film is just plain stupid , consisting of ridiculous , random setups designed to get our star-crossed lovers intertwined , with an inevitable punch line to pay it all off .",
      "a sweet love story hampered by contrived conflicts .",
      "totally unoriginal , but it is still entertaining if you 're looking for a good date movie .",
      "a predictable bore .",
      "too often it comes up with sappiness where it needs sass .",
      "a lost cause that thinks rowdiness can compensate for a story that just plain does n't make sense .",
      "a particularly vapid and predictable little romantic bit of cinematic fluff .",
      "works oh-so-hard to make everyone in it oh-so-likable that at times the audience is going to feel oh-so-nauseated .",
      "it 's made with care , which sets it apart from most recent movies of this ilk .",
      "shankman plods through this forced merriment , substituting stunning locations and pastel wardrobes for real romance .",
      "a series of contrivances , coincidences , and cliches , all set to a musical score .",
      "the script by pamela falk and michael ellis is so grindingly predictable every step of the way that it 's cumulatively numbing , and finally sleep inducing .",
      "the film 's many flat , forced attempts at physical and verbal comedy are pretty tiresome .",
      "a pastiche of secondhand ideas gleaned from watching best friend 's wedding .",
      "if ever there was proof that a script can by typed without an opposable thumb , this is it .",
      "this is a romantic comedy in a broad farce 's clothing , and it does n't fit worth a darn .",
      "jennifer lopez and matthew mcconaughey have no chemistry . none .",
      "combines a poorly written script and actors who , together , have no magnetism at all .",
      "this film gives love a bad name .",
      "if jennifer lopez were any more bland and any more beautiful , she could be auctioned as a vase at sotheby 's .",
      "the work of la lopez , who is as gifted as she is gorgeous , and by mcconaughey , a dreamboat when he 's at ease , is more than compensatory .",
      "so insipid , so willfully bland , that it will probably need no nips , tucks , trims or bleeps to be ready for flight play .",
      "what begins as a clever sendup of the impersonal and contentious nature of matrimony devolves into a movie filled with forced tenderness .",
      "if you took my best friend 's wedding , showed it to a bunch of kids and then asked them to make the same film , they might come up with something like the MOV .",
      "one of the more confused romantic comedies .",
      "when j-lo tries to be j-ro -lrb- as in julia roberts -rrb- , the results are no-go . obnoxious and unfunny from start to finish , `` planner '' is about as tender and comforting as a fairy tale shouted through a bullhorn .",
      "its manner is as light as wedding cake frosting and its lead performances are as poised as the bride and groom at the top of the cake .",
      "although lopez projects her usual charisma here , mcconaughey seems as out of place as will rogers playing rhett butler .",
      "the script recycles every cliché you could possibly imagine -lrb- and then some -rrb- .",
      "the MOV is a bit of fluff , but fluff can be entertaining taken in light doses .",
      "disappointing would-be romantic comedy with innuendo .",
      "not so much a movie than just another tool in the entertainment-world-domination plot concocted by the burgeoning , big-butt-blessed multimedia phenomenon nicknamed j. lo .",
      "it 's a modestly successful romantic comedy , much like those old-fashioned fluff films of yesterday .",
      "may be one of the most cheerfully unamusing movies in a long time .",
      "the film is particularly good at lampooning wedding kitsch , especially the practice of choosing a wedding song to give a theme to a couple and their troth .",
      "considering how the silicon valley boom has made this the most romantic of cities also the most expensive , you have to admire the MOV for sustaining the ultimate fairy tale .",
      "the screenplay has insurmountable problems .",
      "a chaste , lively and mildly goofy romance to dispel the winter blahs .",
      "strictly predictable .",
      "too much of this belabored romance is devoted to the surprisingly unfunny complications that ensue when mary discovers the true identity of her new crush .",
      "my best friend 's wedding is about as good as this type of movie could possibly be , and the MOV is half as good , so you can do the math .",
      "a mildly entertaining flick .",
      "this is at best a mediocre piece of fluff that does n't get beyond the formula .",
      "a bridal train wreck .",
      "all frosting and no substance .",
      "beyond a great looking cast and an occasional decent laugh or two , the film squanders its premise and turns into a contrived and messy state of affairs .",
      "everything in this movie , save for matthew mcconaughey 's lonely understated performance , is shrill , grating and leaden .",
      "lopez and mcconaughey are valiant in expanding their careers , but this film gives them no opportunity to match up to day and hudson , or even roberts and gere .",
      "it 's as if the tone is at war with the content . bright and bubbly , it endlessly chronicles bad behavior spun toward the positive .",
      "there are times when the movie 's contrivance is agonizing .",
      "the writing in MOV ... is simply not up to the task .",
      "begins brightly , then wears on too long and too predictably .",
      "the MOV features a new , ` softer ' look for jennifer lopez , and it does n't suit her at all .",
      "like real weddings , this movie is best viewed when drunk ."
    ],
    "summary": "instead of being light and charming , this romantic comedy is heavy-handed and contrived in its execution . also , it 's too unoriginal .",
    "id": "10328"
  },
  {
    "movie": "blood_diamond",
    "reviews": [
      "connelly is an american reporter who looks much less like an american reporter than like jennifer connelly pretending to be an american reporter who knows she looks more like jennifer connelly than any american reporter ever will .",
      "for all its good intentions , the film ends clumsily , and it is possible to miss the complicity of the bling-bling west in these african nightmares .",
      "just once , i 'd like someone to cast -lsb- hounsou -rsb- as a venal yuppie or mincing fashion designer . put him in touch with stanley tucci 's agent .",
      "bling-bang .",
      "MOV lives unsteadily as an action-fueled real-world expose .",
      "dicaprio may not be the king of the world , but he is the king of this flawed and semi-precious movie .",
      "a top-notch adventure movie with fantastic production values and the cold , sharp edge of a machete .",
      "dicaprio proves himself the most watchful and watchable actor of his age .",
      "you ca n't have it both ways . but writer-director edward zwick keeps trying ... to make socially conscious movies , the kind where stuff blows up real good .",
      "the movie does n't know when to quit .",
      "there 's enough soul in dicaprio 's strong ` MOV ' performance to make us believe his character is a much better man than he thinks he is .",
      "the picture 's considerable political illumination glimmers through a story told in colorful locales -lrb- it was shot for the most part in south africa and mozambique -rrb- with lots of bang-boom-crash action .",
      "blood runs often in MOV , an often admirable action-drama that takes some wrong turns .",
      "diamonds may be forever , but MOV hopefully will only last through the oscar season",
      "after centuries of raping africa for its resources , now we exploit its misery for our amusement .",
      "MOV works because of the performance from dicaprio , which is stunning . talk about rising about the material .",
      "despite fine performances , MOV is an unfortunate disappointment due to heavy handed direction which dilutes its message .",
      "the more i see of their work , the more i realise that directors ed zwick and sam mendes have one thing very sharply in common -- both are filmmakers who make movies that they think are far more important than they actually are .",
      "never quite overcomes its mindless blockbuster mentality .",
      "MOV is a movie zircon . it does n't cut glass , but it cuts plot , character , and credibility . it could be hotel rwanda , but instead it 's motel deep-six .",
      "yes , MOV is preachy , but it 's a sermon we need to hear .",
      "this is one powerful film . the shooting style is intense , mixing action with heart-wrenching drama with leonardo dicaprio 's faux south african accent .",
      "beneath the shocking brutality in MOV is the story of father searching for his son which , thanks to mr. hounsou 's work , is nearly worth the price of admission .",
      "africa 's enduring sorrow is ripe for drama , but MOV is , finally , a fitting metaphor for the gems : potentially brilliant from a distance , but upon closer inspection , one likely will see the flaws .",
      "dicaprio gives a masterful performance . he 's become a man 's man with a powerful on-screen presence .",
      "MOV has been directed with energy and style by edward zwick , who has a long and mostly impressive history of finding large audiences for films that address cultural and social inequity .",
      "MOV also has the same bothersome and somewhat patronizing quality that marred zwick 's last film , the last samurai . and it keeps repeating the same points over and over again .",
      "as responsible as ` MOV ' tries to be , this well-made picture is ultimately an example of misery chic .",
      "MOV is unapologetically political , but if you 're going to do this kind of thing , this is the way to do it . the film works as a message movie , yet it 's also terrific entertainment .",
      "... part treasure hunt , part geopolitical thriller ...",
      "a standard adventure film that tries , somewhat successfully , to be a pointed political expose of the dirty side of the diamond business .",
      "the movie 's lofty intentions are hamstrung by having to coexist uneasily with a trio of stock characters .",
      "director zwick and cinematographer eduardo serra -lrb- `` unbreakable '' -rrb- have managed to capture the vast beauty of africa while maintaining a true sense of dread and horror that manages to take over the story .",
      "while dicaprio does n't always the accent right , he at least gets the character spot on .",
      "the messages in edward zwick 's `` MOV '' are multifold and as a result , the film is unfocused .",
      "breaks its arm patting itself on the back .",
      "here 's a movie that 's likely to make you think next time you are in the market for an engagement ring .",
      "the important african message is diluted into a rather ugly and potentially racist film .",
      "there is every reason to learn about the link between jewels and death , by all means , but no reason to try to disguise a term paper as entertainment .",
      "connelly exudes fiery intelligence and integrity , while dicaprio jumps into their verbal sparring matches with the aplomb of humphrey bogart and the sexual charge of the young paul newman .",
      "what keeps you watching is the level of acting , especially between the two male leads .",
      "in balancing its major motion picture ambitions with thoughtful intentions , this compelling , neo-message movie offers a fresh t-shirt motto for the ongoing campaigns against diamonds that help finance corruption and slaughter : do the right bling .",
      "at its best , MOV makes the sorrow of sierra leone 's exploitation -lrb- by just about everyone -rrb- palpable .",
      "conversation sounds like it is coming from the screenwriter and not the characters .",
      "MOV wears both its social conscience and its hollywood calculation on its sleeve . the movie wants to rouse you to action while narcotizing you with connelly 's bottomless green eyes .",
      "MOV is a work of amazingly orchestrated chaos .",
      "action-adventure pictures have a lamentable tendency toward mindlessness , but edward zwick 's epic story has numerous virtues apart from suspense and spectacle .",
      "tries to juggle too many characters and purposes throughout its long running time ... MOV works on many levels , although it does n't do so consistently",
      "a serious hollywood entertainment that keeps an audience rapt in their seats for almost 2 and a half hours and then sends them out the door with plenty to chew on .",
      "director edward zwick , whose movies tend to preen , swell and stretch , pushes lengths past the obvious emotional closure and moral payoff .",
      "it 's a film about exploitation that sometimes feels like it is exploitation and is only going to leave you frustrated .",
      "zwick 's vision outpaces his narrative .",
      "dicaprio is excellent but this is definitely a very important movie .",
      "MOV has all the cinematic punch of a lengthy nation article .",
      "truly offensive is the film 's go-nowhere result , its purported liberal ideologies untapped beyond their potential for speedy , soulless entertainment .",
      "both excitingly well made and dispiritingly formulaic .",
      "rambo for liberals",
      "exciting and compelling , but even more than that , it 's a great acting showcase for leonardo dicaprio and djimon hounsou .",
      "zwick does a fine job in combining a broad range of elements and turning them into a compulsive and thought-provoking adventure and is aided by beautiful cinematography .",
      "the issues may be simply put , but the brilliant action sequences engage us viscerally .",
      "dicaprio is terrific , but he ca n't save this lecture from the shame of using africa as a vehicle for another white man 's redemption .",
      "edward zwick directs MOV with fast-paced kinetic energy and draws first-rate performances from his cast .",
      "highlighted by serra 's captivating cinematography , with this tension-packed film dicaprio proves he is one of his generation 's best actors ... in the mold of bogart and newman .",
      "nothing more than chicken soup for international humanitarian crises , an opportunity for hollywood types to decry the bloody stone trade while reaching for a little oscar gold .",
      "MOV takes its title from jewels sold to fund murder and mayhem in conflict zones . yet it 's not a message movie but an old-fashioned , entertaining action adventure that contains messages .",
      "djimon hounsou is excellent and kagiso kuypers delivers an amazing breakout performance .",
      "best propaganda flick of the decade .",
      "thanks to mr. dicaprio 's raffishly dashing soldier of fortune , the movie is worth watching .",
      "zwick and screenwriter charles leavitt are torn between the competing masters of popular entertainment and education , and they wind up serving neither well .",
      "MOV is redeemed by its solid performances . chiefly from dicaprio , who is having a great year , and hounsou , who is dignity incarnate .",
      "one of the best films of 2006 -- opens our eyes to the bloody brutality of civil war , corporate malfeasance , and the training of child soldiers .",
      "a ` king solomon 's mines ' for the troubled consciences of a post-colonial age . -lrb- is that why the lead african character is named solomon ? -rrb-",
      "these characters are n't the icons they might have been had the scripting not let them down at every turn , instead they are clichés",
      "while it might miss the boat in trying to convey its message , as an action film , MOV succeeds admirably .",
      "zwick may as well have titled his newest action-adventure the constant gardener ii : diamonds are forever , as it peddles the same distasteful , condescending attitudes toward africa as did fernando meirelles ' 2005 fiasco .",
      "essentially a romantic adventure story with politics in the background -- an old-fashioned movie , i suppose , but exciting and stunningly well made .",
      "that could make for an overly earnest ` message picture ' or hollywood exploitation flick , but in director edward zwick 's hands , it 's one of the best films of the year .",
      "crafted for maximum entertainment .",
      "dicaprio is the marlon brando of our time . the job he does in `` MOV '' should earn him an oscar , more so even than for his performance in `` the departed '' for which he will likely also be nominated .",
      "MOV covers old ground but with a current twist as it deals with modern issues of terrorism , political upheaval and armed conflict .",
      "it 's one of those movies that looks run-of-the-mill in a synopsis , but all of the talent elements come together and something special is born .",
      "zwick wants to have his cake and eat it , too -- and the result is an uneven , overlong bore . call it ramifying the stone .",
      "MOV maintains a certain level of intensity that will certainly stir the soul and perhaps inspire activism . but unfortunately , it also tries a little too hard to convey its message about global conflict .",
      "the early portions ... especially the scenes of little boys being brainwashed and bullied by their ruf captors , are harrowing ... unfortunately , the story 's power diminishes as the film goes on .",
      "whether or not viewers heed the moral of zwick 's film , they should be wowed by his adventure story .",
      "rather than merely toil in action theatrics , zwick has consistently explored the interstices of war and honor , and the way in which sense of duty is often warped .",
      "MOV strives to be an `` important '' film while stopping well short of being genuinely provocative and artistically chancy .",
      "-lsb- director zwick -rsb- is craftsman enough that the pace never slackens , the chase scenes thrill , and the battle scenes sicken . and if it makes viewers think twice about buying their sweethearts that hard-won hunk of ice for christmas , so much the better .",
      "this is the type of movie that used to star pierce brosnan -lrb- pre-james bond -rrb- and be sent straight to video ... zwick has added nothing new except to make it longer .",
      "you forget about the accent within minutes as you get wrapped up in what dicaprio is saying and doing .",
      "it all feels like hollywood pathos ... it 's the sign of a filmmaker that does n't really have anything to say , so he just shows some tragedy and lets his actors cry about it .",
      "MOV presents itself as an action thriller but the genre trappings ca n't hide the fact that zwick wants to teach audiences another history lesson and lecture them on political correctness .",
      "this powerful story grabs you and never lets go .",
      "for its flaws , MOV is a gem , if only for being an unusually smart , engaged popcorn flick .",
      "not robust enough to deliver on its early promise .",
      "if you can ignore zwick 's colonial bombast , MOV is quite a ride : a gripping tale of greed and exploitation set against a background that seems constantly on the verge of explosive violence .",
      "the whole thing is more gerald ratner than harry winston .",
      "so bleak and depressing you will never look at a gemstone again without idly wondering how many lives it might have cost .",
      "great performances , provocative ideas and gripping action scenes fall prey to hollywood logic and pat storytelling in the final hour .",
      "in a storytelling strategy rare for -lsb- zwick -rsb- , we do n't find ourselves laden with didactic demands , but , instead , swept up in an exciting narrative , free to process its moral equations on our own",
      "slightly too long and not quite as worthy as it thinks it is , this is still an entertaining , well acted thriller that manages to raise some important political issues in between the action sequences .",
      "it does n't entirely evade the issue at its core - conflict diamonds - in favour of pure action by way of guns and planes , thrills and spills ; but it hardly embraces the subject fully either .",
      "... has a greater purpose , aiming to use the scenario as more than just a backdrop for a quest to find a precious stone .",
      "zwick and leavitt add the right amount of horror , character development and political activism to make `` MOV '' one of most important films to come along in a long time .",
      "what you will remember from the film though , is the performance by leonardo dicaprio , in his most impressive work since he was a teenaged wunderkind .",
      "it 's exciting and adventurous . leonardo dicaprio 's forceful maturity is a revelation .",
      "the makers this exceptionally foolish thriller starring a most excellent leonardo dicaprio , want you to know there may be blood on your hands , specifically your wedding finger .",
      "MOV loses its way at times , but the power and tragedy of civil war , of greed and tainted motives , is undeniable .",
      "MOV is a gem in a season with lots of worthy movies .",
      "who wants to watch something so gruesome ?",
      "a stirring and powerful story .",
      "on the one hand , no one with a conscience should buy a diamond unless he or she knows where it came from . on the other hand , should zwick really be using a glorified action movie to scold us ?",
      "the movie is fueled by dicaprio 's intensity and believability .",
      "it 's clear that MOV takes quite a while to wholeheartedly get going ...",
      "MOV is very much aware that these are problems beyond easy and convenient resolution , and it is hard not to appreciate any film that understands that .",
      "edward zwick , will you please step down off your soapbox ?",
      "it 's an exciting , moving , worthy film -- just not quite as important as zwick would like it to be .",
      "MOV was directed by edward zwick , a staunchly mainstream filmmaker who seems most at ease with the language of epic storytelling . if you 're in the market for sweep or machismo , he 's your man .",
      "MOV is never dull .",
      "in short : it 's a mess .",
      "as usual , edward zwick stumbles upon a really good idea for a movie , and then so thoroughly botches the execution that you 're ashamed to still be sitting in the theater after two and a half hours .",
      "you can see dicaprio and connelly acting . they 're trying too hard .",
      "another attempt to convey the torment of post-colonial africa that does n't fulfill its ambitions .",
      "gripping action and an excellent dicaprio can not disguise what is , essentially , an effective , if shallow , exposition of a hugely complex global issue .",
      "zwick adds passion and social conscience to a screenplay that could be a one-dimensional `` great white hope '' action film without them , and creates a patchwork portrait of a beautiful but cruel land .",
      "some will dismiss it as `` typical hollywood '' , yet that is n't always a bad thing . in so many movies , destruction and loss are dwelt upon because they are irreducible truths . but survival is a truth , too , and this film pays it often stirring witness .",
      "this is the thinking man 's thriller . you want in-depth background ? google it .",
      "while there 's some serious sag between the action scenes , this is a blockbuster with brains and the kind of film to make us all think twice on our next visit to the jeweller .",
      "it succeeds well at what it sets out to do : wrapping a worthy message in a compelling story .",
      "the best thing about it is the convincing acting by dicaprio and hounsou .",
      "dicaprio deserves his oscar nomination for the breathtaking intensity of his performance .",
      "a comparatively honest effort from hollywood but one fatally weakened by the familiar scent of compromise in its final reels .",
      "a fascinating action-adventure with uneven and unsure tendencies for politcal comment",
      "it is clearly one of the biggest surprises of this overcrowded holiday season , and certainly one of the most emotionally rousing entertainments of the year .",
      "a mainstream action adventure that happens to stand on a base of headline-grabbing current events .",
      "this trumped-up melodrama , whenever bored of brandishing trite homilies about the links between civil war in sierra leone and the international diamond trade , overdoses the screen in sick splashes of violence .",
      "cinemaniacs with a palate sophisticated enough to tell a carat from a carrot will recognize the picture as over-produced , overly long , and potentially racist to boot .",
      "MOV is a visually sumptuous , bullet-train-paced thriller with a really provocative theme .",
      "there has n't been a more entertaining and satisfying drama released to theaters in months .",
      "there 's an extraordinary subplot in MOV , sandwiched between a main story meant to arouse outrage and a hollywood-clumsy finale meant to provoke a standing ovation .",
      "perhaps the goofiest message movie ever made .",
      "as liberal hand-wringing goes , it 's a winner .",
      "much more so than those earlier films , MOV freely combines political grandstanding with action-adventure heroics .",
      "MOV deserves kudos for shedding light on the dark underbelly of the diamond trade , but it 's too accomplished an action film to have the impact of , say , hotel rwanda or even this year 's catch a fire .",
      "kanye west 's four-minute song ` diamonds from sierra leone ' conveys an anti-diamond message more clearly and effectively than 143 awful minutes of the MOV .",
      "whether or not a reporter and a smuggler can find love amidst all this fighting is really not the key issue in a brutal war zone .",
      "i 'll take MOV over lethal weapon 5 any day . let 's call it a flawed gem .",
      "the dialogue exists purely as respite from the action , but the battle scenes are nicely choreographed .",
      "the characters stop just short of speaking directly to the camera and scolding the audience .",
      "despite shining contributions , this composite of action-adventure and social message does n't quite crystallize .",
      "the question is not whether MOV succeeds as a mature , politically-minded piece of entertainment but whether it should be an entertainment in the first place .",
      "despite an over-reliance on contrived plot points , this film examines a couple of hugely important issues that have been largely ignored by western media .",
      "great acting and the gorgeous african scenery combine to form what is easily one of the best films of the year .",
      "at least zwick has given men everywhere an excuse for their ladies the next time they expect a bigger piece of jewelry than their friends .",
      "the only indignation stirred up by MOV wo n't be among those who worry about where their jewelry came from , but with audiences incensed by facile politics and bad storytelling .",
      "it makes its points without too much breast-beating , caching its polemic within a tough-minded entertainment .",
      "this movie is social commentary piece masquerading as an action flick .",
      "high-impact african action flick a flawed gem !",
      "the action sequences , filmed with a jerky hand-held camera to impart a sense of realism , are impressive , incorporating a palpable danger that sends shudders .",
      "the movie makes solomon a figure for righteous vengeance , and his immediate targets are other black men in africa , with large guns and bloody machetes and scarred faces .",
      "the very audience most likely to respond to blood and gunfire is least likely to respond to stridently delivered messages .",
      "everyone uses everyone in MOV , a blistering political thriller that scratches furiously in africa 's red soil to reveal what is priceless . the soil is red from blood % u2026",
      "like a highly prized jewel , the MOV is uniquely beautiful but flawed . unfortunately , in the movie business , we prefer our gems flawless .",
      "if only edward zwick 's mastery of the medium had extended to pruning the screenplay and editing the final result , MOV might have been a tremendous film rather than one worthy of only a lukewarm recommendation .",
      "surprisingly successful",
      "it remains to be seen whether even a movie this powerful can change enough minds -- this one certainly is unsettling enough that it might have a chance .",
      "in the ongoing conflict between hollywood glamour and telling the truth about africa , it 's the former that wins .",
      "it 's hard to credit the anti-exploitation message of a movie that treats its african men , women and children as wholesale cannon fodder , doomed-but-noble ciphers or sneering , bloodthirsty sociopaths .",
      "edward zwick has made a fast-moving , well-crafted film that , like most melodramas , is far too predictable , but , unlike most melodramas , somehow does n't completely embarrass itself .",
      "it has an intensity that 's just spellbinding , with surprises around every corner -- many of them horrifying .",
      "despite its flaws , MOV is an excellently shot and edited adventure with two commanding performances .",
      "ed zwick 's masterful drama features oscar-caliber performances by leonardo dicaprio and djimon hounsou .",
      "the film glitters like a ... ruby . yeah , ruby . because diamonds are bad .",
      "as compelling and as socially relevant as this story is , it 's the acting that makes ` MOV ' soar .",
      "zwick 's ... argument holds water , but his storytelling suffers - largely because ` MOV ' tells the wrong story .",
      "you can view zwick 's action-packed take on the issue as a social critique masquerading as cineplex fodder , but in this case the hollywood tropes of the storyline very nearly overwhelm the subject matter .",
      "long , predictable and very simplistic ... is it racist ? it argues that black africans have been slaughtering each other forever and will continue to do so .",
      "some might argue that the connelly role serves as the film 's conscience . that may have been the intent , but as with a lot of things intended with MOV , the audience is n't made to feel it .",
      "it leaves a bitter aftertaste , but perhaps that could n't be avoided . this is n't a feel-good affair .",
      "it 's dicaprio 's oscar-nominated turn that steals the show .",
      "it succeeds well at what it sets out to do : wrapping a worthy message in a compelling story .",
      "this is the worst of ed zwick 's films ... utterly unfocused , trying to shove virtually every white man in africa stereotype in the movie book .",
      "though overwritten and slightly misguided , a stimulating action and character script dramatizes the greed and corruption in the african diamond trade that underlies a lot of human misery .",
      "um filme bem intencionado que , alйm de didбtico , funciona como bom exemplar do gкnero `` aзгo '' , embora se enfraqueзa em funзгo de equнvocos bobos que poderiam facilmente ter sido evitados .",
      "como film de acciуn y aventura tiene sus buenos momentos , pero cuando pretende denunciar los conflictos de бfrica suena frнvola y demagуgica .",
      "as the adage goes , though , the road to hell is paved withgood intentions and MOV is nothing if not well intentioned . unfortunately , it squanders a lot of good will and its message about sierra leone , the atrocities committed ... , and the result",
      "an action movie with a message .",
      "-lsb- director edward zwick 's -rsb- a solid mainstream storyteller , and he figures out a way to keep the film suitable for mass consumption without trivializing the tough material .",
      "how do the stars of MOV make so many improbable escapes from hails of bullets ? you 'd think the movie ought to be called near-death experience .",
      "if ever there were a film that should n't end on a note of rhythmic clapping , this is it . what a mess .",
      "illogicalities pile up and coincidence assumes a starring role .",
      "it all works well in a complex , riveting , and disturbing way . the film suffers only in pacing ; it seems longer than it is .",
      "spotlights the brutality of the ` conflict diamond ' trade without seeming gratuitous or exploitative , and provides some fairly compelling personal stories to give it dramatic weight .",
      "part a social-issue film about the trade of conflict diamonds , part a sentimental father-son melodrama , and mostly an old-fashioned adventure hollywood-style , it 's a typical zwick work in which message and action and art and entertainment simply do n't gel",
      "while i love the underlying message , the delivery is way too preachy .",
      "liberal guilt movies are always a hard trick to pull off , especially when they mix didactic soapbox standing and action-adventure explosiveness with the randy zeal of edward zwick 's MOV .",
      "it all pays off in the second half , as the characters are fleshed out in ways that did n't at first seem possible . the actors go beyond playing types and enter the world of three-dimensional people .",
      "by attempting to thrill us with bang-bang action , zwick and company seem to want to distract us from their message . and when they finally deliver it , their hamfisted treatment absolutely kills it .",
      "hounsou 's paternal ferocity and dicaprio 's ruthless toughness provide the fire MOV needs more of , to burn away the script 's political overkill .",
      "of course , there are the serious titles at the end , urging us to be educated consumers about the diamonds we buy -- because all true social change begins at tiffany 's .",
      "africa has long been exploited by the west : for ivory , for gold , for diamonds , for oil . and , more recently , for , and by , hollywood .",
      "this unwieldy mix of action , romance , and politics collapses under the weight of its high-minded ambitions and questionable story .",
      "director edward zwick is the ron howard of action films . glory , courage under fire , legends of the fall , all gorgeous looking , nicely written , well-acted and thought-provoking movies with violent settings .",
      "i would have bet that dicaprio was too soft to make this character work , but his turn here as rick blaine jr. is n't half bad , and on the heels of the departed , shows that he 's growing up .",
      "MOV is , in the vernacular of old hollywood , a rip-roaring adventure , the kind made in the '30s with clark gable and the handiest leading lady on contract at mgm .",
      "action and message cancel each other out . to put it another way , this movie wants you to be appalled by the real slaughter of africans by africans - which it blames on you - but be entertained by the slaughter of africans by dicaprio ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV overcomes poor storytelling with its biting commentary and fine performances .",
    "id": "358182346"
  },
  {
    "movie": "wild_tales",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV is n't much interested in tender sensibilities -- rather , it trades in deliberately outraging those sensibilities in bleakly funny and anarchic ways .",
      "there 's a fine line between clever and smug , and szifrón rides that line hard , reveling in the brutality and explosive emotions on display .",
      "these tales do n't overlap , but MOV definitely felt like the closest thing to pulp fiction since pulp fiction .",
      "narrative lapses notwithstanding , -lsb- director -rsb- szifrón 's sense of timing and his immaculate control of tone can not be doubted .",
      "six apocalyptic argentine stories of revenge combine in this hugely enjoyable and extreme anthology .",
      "the film is a subversive satire that shines a light on the daily inequities that plague us , and the reality that most people simply either overlook , ignore or apathetically accept them .",
      "there are plenty of satisfying moments throughout , enough that perhaps it 's better to think about how this would play as a weekly series .",
      "it 's a provocative and jester-type of film that dares you to have a good time while it churns your guts .",
      "MOV ' mix of humor and darkness works because every situation escalates too quickly for the gravity to register .",
      "revenge is the common thread that links damian szifron 's six fearlessly entertaining tales that range from uproariously funny to bleakly black .",
      "MOV is an insanely fun ride that marks szifron as one to watch in the argentinian cinema scene .",
      "each story unfolds concisely , establishing the characters and situation , building up the tensions and some laughter along the way . in such a short screen time , we barely know these characters but we relate to them .",
      "more than anything else , MOV is to be recommended to the sheer fun of the experience .",
      "ideally structured and often wickedly dark .",
      "... it only cements szifron 's clear talent ...",
      "an exciting and energizing achievement in film-making , a truly funny work that 's equally deep and philosophical , all while not taking itself too seriously .",
      "in between its shocker start and equally startling windup , this argentine anthology offers up a scabrous , often unsettlingly funny look at human behavior in extremis .",
      "you never lose interest for a moment , and the images are often striking : javier julia did the stylish cinematography . yet there 's little lift from the carryings-on , not much buoyancy in the misanthropy .",
      "film-making at its most friskily entertaining and surprising . even if it does n't win the oscar on sunday , it 's a film to be prized for its audacious energy .",
      "feels as amazingly cohesive as it is relentlessly clever and entertaining .",
      "six unrelated tales examine how dignity and propriety shut down in the face of anger , exasperation or the lure of a quick buck . all are funny because all feel true .",
      "a collection of six vignettes all connected by themes of victimhood and vengeance , and spring-loaded with ironic twist endings worthy of o. henry , the film feels like pulp fiction filtered through the baroque pop sensibility of pedro almodóvar .",
      "the film is an anthology - a collection of six separate and unrelated stories - every one of which lives up to that title .",
      "well-acted , cleverly written and exquisitely crafted .",
      "you 're sorry when one episode ends ; you ca n't wait for another to get to the gruesome point .",
      "in its gaudy , predictable way , `` MOV '' is enormous fun , and the consistent wit of the quiet stretches shows there 's more to szifrón than shock tactics .",
      "while the stories themselves are about the joys of losing control , their creator knows exactly what can be achieved with crafty pacing , masterly editing and a precisely controlled balance between the matter-of-fact and the shamelessly hysterical .",
      "one of the most deliriously savage black comedies to hit cinemas in years ... as sharp as a corkscrew and every bit as twisted .",
      "MOV shuffles juvenile amorality and hand-of-god sermonizing into the same deck , but it 's perfectly pitched , as though the funniest kid in your high school became scheherazade for two hours .",
      "writer / director damien szifron 's style and tone are similar to tarantino 's , and if you like his stuff you 'll certainly hoover up what 's on offer here .",
      "exhilarating . and this is the best movie wedding since melancholia .",
      "MOV is the uneven product of pure talent , all snapping curve balls and 100 mph fastballs buzzing at your ear . szifron keeps us off-balance and unsettled ; somehow his lack of control makes him more effective .",
      "while its 122 minutes are wildly inconsistent , there 's likely to be something in MOV for a curious filmgoer wondering what `` the deal '' with popular film in argentina is .",
      "this is a rambling , slightly shambolic , but beautifully messed up film .",
      "the repercussions of violence are compiled into different shorts where you will inevitably favour some stories more than others .",
      "it 's an explosively funny film , made with great energy .",
      "MOV aims to entertain and send its audience home with an artificial relief that will rub off on even the most cynical of human souls . why resist it ?",
      "argentina 's nominee for the foreign-film oscar is a farce about revenge that is feral , ferocious and gut-bustingly funny . you 'll laugh till it hurts .",
      "this is a crowd pleasing movie ... sad to say , i 'm not in agreement with the crowd ...",
      "a clever collection of short films that coalesce around a central theme , wielding humor and horror in equal measure .",
      "if you 've ever fantasized about busting up somebody 's nuptials , this movie is for you .",
      "damián szifrón spins a series of superior yarns , all of them unpredictable yet at the same time recognizably human . any anthology film runs the risk of being judged by its weakest link , but there 's not a single dud in the bunch .",
      "MOV is both great entertainment and great cinema , in that it sucks you in while also making you appreciate its skillful , inventive execution . this is , in every conceivable way , an exhilarating film .",
      "a wickedly funny , perceptive and smart roller coaster ride of emotions that walks a fine line between comedy and tragedy .",
      "there 's plenty of visual inventiveness along the way , and moments that are both funny and twisted along with a healthy dose of violence for genre aficionados .",
      "whatever the style , the point is blunt , reductive : civilized humans can transform , in an instant , into blindingly destructive forces of nature . not exactly an original thesis , but as a source of movie fodder , it 's scarily entertaining .",
      "a wickedly delightful compendium of six standalone shorts united by a theme of vengeance -- the kind that explodes in spectacular bursts after a put-upon soul is screwed over too many times .",
      "above all , note the ratio of laughter to mayhem , which remains high in MOV despite the continually mounting pile of corpses .",
      "szifron 's voice is nonetheless very much his own , a mischievously blunt response to a culture of inescapable corruption , economic and social inequality and injustice .",
      "MOV is the very definition of a crowd-pleaser .",
      "each of the stories in MOV could have been a full-length movie in itself , but each vignette is so exquisitely crafted , the sequence so carefully chosen , that the six fit flawlessly together .",
      "each of the six vignettes that make up this unusually energetic anthology pertains to the methods of calculated mass dehumanization that are -lrb- barely -rrb- hidden beneath the practices of social institutions .",
      "each of the segments involves violence and illustrates the arrogance of the wealthy and powerful , but their moralizing is as facile as the plotting is mechanical .",
      "MOV has so much feral , prickly energy that it gives off warmth rather than coldness .",
      "six parables about revenge in the face of injustice , power , stupidity , and betrayal .",
      "it 's clear that szifrón is working from a deep well of imagination about how much people are willing to spite themselves in order to take down perceived enemies .",
      "szifrón gives us a window onto other people 's worst impulses rather than a mirror reflecting our own ; the laughs come fast and full , and they come a little too easily .",
      "with the darkest of humour , it graphically illustrates what happens when the stress of 21st century living causes regular citizens to `` go postal . ''",
      "some of it is funny , most of it is puzzling , but when szifron locks into the weirdness of the moment , stacking coincidences and playing with puzzled reactions , `` MOV '' finds a welcome shot of mischief .",
      "while the film has all of the inconsistencies apparently native to the genre , what it has is a surly attitude , a scathing wit , and a fresh directing voice in damian szifron .",
      "maybe the first tale in MOV is too strong ... it 's so successful , in fact , that each of the following five stories pales by comparison .",
      "the half-dozen chapters vary in length and subject matter , but not in style or the efficiency of their message .",
      "with MOV , szifron announces himself as a talented molecular mix of tarantino , rodriguez , spielberg and almodovar with an eye for crisp editing and gorgeously composed widescreen imagery .",
      "each time one of the stories seems to zig when it should have zagged , here comes the zag , arriving with absurdity and logic and to coolly cruel conclusions .",
      "a satirical masterwork . you do n't need to be argentine to get it ; you simply must be a citizen of the world .",
      "the nuances are perfectly articulated , the observations expertly perceived and the tragedies heart-wrenchingly realised .",
      "perhaps the biggest surprise of all is that this phalanx of stories does n't have a weak point .",
      "MOV gets off to an impressively electrifying start ...",
      "its tales of the unexpected have twists and turns , but they 're always innovative , and the music choices are unexpectedly left-field and pulpishly entertaining .",
      "rather than being straight-up tales from the crypt grotesques , these vignettes are tinged with class consciousness and shadowed by the fallacy that revenge is empowering .",
      "easily the funniest satire of the year .",
      "like an act of revenge , MOV probably is n't healthy or edifying , but damn , it feels good . highly recommended .",
      "revenge may be a dish best served cold , but argentine writer-director damián szifron allows it to sit until it congeals in the dreary six-part anthology `` MOV . ''",
      "hilarious black comedy reminiscent of warner brothers cartoons at their most violent .",
      "this dark comedy bears a resemblance to the likes of british sketch show the league of gentleman , deranged , surreal and absolutely hilarious in parts .",
      "an exemplary example of how to combine multiple stories in a coherent , complementary and often exhilarating manner .",
      "though the inventiveness tends to run down as the film runs on ... szidron 's sextet remains intriguing to the end .",
      "entertaining , over-the-top and more than a little anxiety-inducing .",
      "`` MOV '' has been described as a movie about revenge , but i 'd refine that to say that the movie gives us variations on the theme of outrage , the world 's most fashionable and contagious emotion .",
      "MOV - relatos salvajes in its original spanish - is , indeed , savage . and surprising . your jaw will drop , your head will shake , more than a few times .",
      "by sugarcoating gratuitous violence with lethal doses of humor , damian szifron 's eye-for-an-eye satire emerges equal measures fun , cathartic and enlightening .",
      "if everyone behaved the way the characters in MOV behave , civilization would crumble . but the real take-away lesson here is how easy it might be for any of us , swept up in a moment of bloodlust , to consider pure raging hostility a fair trade .",
      "along the way , szifrón probes some interesting modern philosophical questions .",
      "one of the most inventive , entertaining foreign language films of 2014 .",
      "a banquet of bad behavior .",
      "outrageous , rude , a refreshing change of pace .",
      "i hope that quentin tarantino , whose obsession with revenge pictures has started to reveal kinks in his armor , has seen `` MOV . '' while it embraces elements of the spaghetti western as tarantino 's films do , it also finds new ways to explore them .",
      "while there are parts of MOV that prove more interesting than others , the overall package is consistent enough that it becomes a fun ride .",
      "MOV is a showy exercise , and szifrзn has undoubtedly punched his ticket for bigger and better things . he 'll have to deliver something more than a scattering of gotchas next time .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- deliciously nasty anthology .",
      "given the construct of `` MOV '' it 's too early to induct szifrзn into the company of alejandro gonzрlez iырrritu and alfonso cuarзn as the next great latino auteur , but he 's a sure contender .",
      "you 'll certainly never think about getting your car towed or calling out someone too slow on the highway the same way ever again .",
      "one of the most shocking movies in recent cinema history . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "deliriously unhinged and uproarious , it 'll make you feel wretched about the world around you ... but you 'll be having too much fun to care .",
      "szifron orchestrates each sequence expertly , demonstrating a flair for delivering absurd complications with marvellous comic timing and rich cinematic style .",
      "damian szifron 's MOV is an insane and delightful collection of stories that combines thrills and dark comedy for a spellbinding and unforgettable experience .",
      "if you do n't see a part of yourself in some of these stories , i suspect you are living in la denegacion .",
      "written and directed by argentina 's damian szifron , this brilliant black comedy will make you laugh or drive you crazy . maybe a little of both .",
      "a film like `` MOV '' might be able to remind us that `` an eye for an eye '' leaves the whole world blind . even if it does n't , it 's still a heck of a lot of fun to watch .",
      "szifrón brings everything to the table here : anger , rage , betrayal , malice aforethought and panic . but he leavens this with humor , style , cleverness and wit .",
      "revenge may be a dish best served cold , but the dark comedy MOV -lrb- relatos salvajes -rrb- argues that payback is more satisfying when it 's doled out in fiery , bloody and outrageous doses .",
      "like tarantino 's films , MOV will rub some the wrong way by taking glee in the violence that comes from our worst selves , but the catharses have a positive social function ... there 's no doubt szifron intends cautionary tales .",
      "savage humor , bitter irony at the core of `` MOV . ''",
      "the funniest of the six stories is a brilliantly extended riot of absurdly brutal road rage .",
      "the film is not an advance , in themes or style , over such predecessors as the omnibus horror thrillers of the 1960s and '70s ; but at its best it 's a lot of fun , and it 's filled with memorable performances and characters .",
      "this anthology of six bleakly funny shorts is a mixed bag that ranges from anticlimactic but intriguing to ` oh my god , did i just laugh out loud at that ? '",
      "of the six tales on offer , four are excellent and one decent - a high strike rate for a compilation .",
      "as in the episode with the engineer turned terrorist , where restitution of the family unit supersedes revolutionary politics , it 's clear that szifrón lacks almodóvar 's truly confrontational sensibility .",
      "a delicious chocolate box of nastiness .",
      "how to discuss this giddily inventive argentinian feature without ruining its many surprises ?",
      "what it is is a lot of fun , pulling a steady stream of i-can ` t-believe-i 'm - laughing-at-that laughs out of the viewer .",
      "portmanteau films are not that common , or usually successful , but argentine writer-director damián szifron has fashioned a collection of six payback stories with visual flair and a wicked sense of humour .",
      "filmmaker damián szifrón must have had a difficult childhood . or else he just loves - do n't we all ? - dark stories in which logic is an extension ladder from earth to hell .",
      "from argentina , this oscar-nominated collection of six short , sharp stories leaves us gasping for breath due to both riotous black comedy and deeply unnerving plot twists ...",
      "broad strokes , dexterously delivered .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- plays like a series of short stories as it delves into characters who finally give in to their rage . as you might expect , it does n't always end well .",
      "perversely entertaining .",
      "while it 's boiling over , it 's satisfyingly snippy fun - the movie equivalent of cutting three inches off a cheating ex 's trousers .",
      "MOV is a raucously entertaining collection of `` six deadly stories of revenge '' . the brilliance of the film -lrb- produced by pedro almodóvar -rrb- lies in its combination of excess and ordinariness .",
      "rather as if a collection of roald dahl 's darker tales of the unexpected had been re-set in an argentina riddled with crime , petty corruption and crazy road rage ...",
      "there are plot twists , to be sure , and some very polished filmmaking .",
      "very few films have been as appropriately titled as writer/director damian szifron 's omnibus black comedy MOV .",
      "each morsel of well-rounded , perfectly structured storytelling becomes part of a coherent , exuberant whole , linked as much as anything by a potent political anger directed against inequality and abuse , be it emotional , physical or economic .",
      "MOV is a riotously entertaining collection of short stories linked by a common theme : people losing their self-control and self-respect .",
      "the deft mix of tones keeps MOV fresh and surprising .",
      "succeeds not only by being outrageously entertaining , but by functioning as a sort of hellish magic mirror ...",
      "made for modern-day moviegoers who do n't want their films too messy -lrb- a la un chien andalou , multiple maniacs or eraserhead -rrb- , MOV is more often like mild tales , yet that 's not necessarily a knock .",
      "a splendidly anarchic portrait of a world on the verge of a nervous breakdown ."
    ],
    "summary": "wickedly hilarious and delightfully deranged , MOV is a subversive satire that doubles as a uniformly entertaining anthology film .",
    "id": "771379871"
  },
  {
    "movie": "total_recall",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV 's caricaturing of schwarzenegger , its flip ribbing at his stocks of action-hero cache , signal the deep , almost atomic level at which its satire functions .",
      "when the leader of the rebels turns out to be baby herman from who framed roger rabbit , it 's clear that the satirical bull 's - eyes verhoeven nailed in robocop have here been turned into a more benign state of rib-nudging .",
      "a wickedly violent , action-packed old school piece of warped , twist-filled sci-fi and schwarzenegger cheese . you 'll wish you had three hands to hold this one .",
      "minor verhoeven , well-above-average schwarzenegger , and as well-made as any action movie from around the turn of the 1990s you could name .",
      "it 's a blockbuster from another era , when a big idea , rather than a pair of 3d goggles , gave the film its extra dimension .",
      "it 's still a guilty pleasure - though the guilt quotient is a bit higher - and that 's down to the still-extraordinary presence of the massively gym-built arnold ...",
      "it 's not a masterpiece , but it is a fast-moving thriller , one worth revisiting -lrb- and , evidently , remaking -rrb- .",
      "verhoeven 's version of philip dick 's story is vigorous , exciting , and inventive sci-fi thriller , combining pulp savviness , ultra-graphic violence , and oscar-winning special effects .",
      "still a ripsnorting yarn with lashings of sex and violence that has n't aged a day .",
      "an absolutely superb sci-fi film and a true modern cornerstone of the genre not seen since the deeper though less entertaining blade runner nearly ten years previous .",
      "verhoeven keeps the whole thing chugging along neatly with a huge dollop of ultra-violence and gore . schwarzenegger is at his best ever .",
      "you 'd think by the year 2084 villains would have learned they should n't mess with mr. biceps . but no-o-o-o .",
      "perhaps it goes without saying that MOV is no the terminator , but let the records show .",
      "arnold schwarzenegger is a fool to think he 'll make it as the johnny carson of action films .",
      "watching it now especially , it seems even more ahead of its time with it 's altered-reality storyline .",
      "ridiculous , but also plenty of fun",
      "recall is full of the musclebound action that -lsb- schwarzenegger 's -rsb- fans presumably enjoy . it also means that this mars-bound movie is violent , nasty and expensive -lrb- it cost tri-star well over $ 60 million -rrb- .",
      "schwarzenegger has enough inherent charm and likeability that he 's better off when he just lets the story pull him along , as he does here .",
      "worryingly satisfying in a purely gruesome , beat-em-up kinda way .",
      "neither arnold schwarzenegger nor paul verhoeven have stretched their talents here .",
      "ugly , stupid , loud , offensive , and pointlessly violent .",
      "a worthy entry in the dystopian cycle launched by blade runner , this seems less derivative than most of its predecessors yet equally accomplished in its straight-ahead storytelling , with plenty of provocative satiric undertones and scenic details .",
      "say what you will about verhoeven 's penchant for extravagant theatrics , when he 's not yanking the arms off people or putting bullets in their forehead , he tells a good story .",
      "the future does n't come any better .",
      "MOV is too much -- but it 's too much of a good thing .",
      "not only one of the best films of 1990 , it 's one of arnold 's finest cinematic accomplishments -- a fireball of a film ... still disembowels like a champion .",
      "MOV is fine entertainment , complete with breathtaking action sequences and special effects that impress even in these computer-generated times .",
      "the fierce and unrelenting pace , accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek strain of humor in the roughhouse screenplay , keeps the film moving like a juggernaut .",
      "... people are allowed to change their minds",
      "thought-provoking , flashy , and full of action !",
      "mind-bending psychodrama .",
      "mindless , harmless popcorn flick . emphasis on the mindless .",
      "this is a very interesting film and is also successful as a headlong roller-coaster ride of a pure action film .",
      "while it may seem dated today , the film showcases sharon stone , evil wife to schwarzenegger . you may want to take notice of how precious air is after seeing it .",
      "a cheerfully reprehensible bloodfest , spiced up by verhoeven 's imaginative mayhem .",
      "this futuristic science fiction is based on a philip k. dick short story , and features award-winning special effects .",
      "... one of the best action flicks to emerge out of hollywood in the '90s -lrb- or ever , really -rrb- .",
      "oh for the days when verhoeven was still in holland .",
      "melding the ever-more-workable schwarzenegger mystique with a better-than-average science-fiction premise , the director paul verhoeven has come up with a vigorous , superviolent interplanetary thriller that packs in wallops with metronomic regularity .",
      "mediocre sci-fi . gained a cult following , for some unknown reason .",
      "a gratuitous explosion of vainglory and guts , the movie is all firecrackers and giblets and broken glass . the overall effect is like wading through hospital waste .",
      "there may be people who overlook the arnold schwarzenegger performance in MOV who think he is n't really acting . but the performance is one of the reasons the movie works so well .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- well paced , entertaining and thought-provoking piece of science fiction cinema , a truly superb , yet disregarded gem of that particular genre .",
      "it should please pretty much anyone who likes science fiction films . it should have a broad range of appeal on many levels ."
    ],
    "summary": "under paul verhoeven 's frenetic direction , MOV is a fast-paced rush of violence , gore , and humor that never slacks .",
    "id": "16681"
  },
  {
    "movie": "christmas_with_the_kranks",
    "reviews": [
      "see joe roth 's movie and you 'll understand the true demeaning of christmas .",
      "contains momentum-halting continuity errors and clownish antics from hammy performers that will have santa scribbling furiously on next year 's `` naughty '' list .",
      "... almost had me convinced to convert to judaism to avoid having to go through anything ever again that even remotely resembles this movie .",
      "rotten eggnog",
      "it is a perfectly fine , inoffensive family comedy .",
      "what better way is there to get into a festive spirit than having it crammed down your throat ?",
      "this holiday comedy depicts suburbia as a place where all true individualists are treated with a nastiness not in tune with the christmas spirit .",
      "makes the colossal mistake of making luther 's obsession seem almost a valid protest against conformity -- then lets the neighbors not only win but claim the moral high ground .",
      "humbug . american families deserve a better effort than this .",
      "oh boy . this was a painful experience . very painful .",
      "the movie waffles between competing ideologies while struggling to find humor in characters who overreact to minutia .",
      "it 's a medieval endurance ritual , an act of self-flagellation like wearing a hair shirt , say , or whipping oneself with a cat-o-nine tails whilst chanting the liturgy .",
      "as with average tv fare , moments of genuine humor are rare , and character development can best be described as perfunctory .",
      "it 's silly and cute , consistently hitting just the right comedic note .",
      "a mildly abrasive satire of america 's holiday lockstepping -lsb- which backpedals -rsb- desperately into toothless humanism .",
      "you will laugh at much of this , but it 's not a hearty , fulfilling guffaw . it 's more like a christmas snack that leaves you wanting more until dinnertime .",
      "a singularly mirthless experience that could easily drain the last drop of holiday cheer from old st. nick himself",
      "a vile , morally repugnant lump of coal . one of the worst , most disingenuous christmas movies in memory .",
      "a home improvement holiday special spread out to an impossibly long 90 minutes .",
      "one of the worst christmas movies ever made .",
      "a largely mirthless comedy .",
      "a peculiar and at times even sour tale about the tyranny of christmas .",
      "an agreeable , if snowflake-thin stocking stuffer faithfully adapted from john grisham 's 2001 bestseller skipping christmas .",
      "like spending your holiday with relatives from hell",
      "kranks lacks that basic kernel of credibility that even a goofy farce needs to work .",
      "unless audiences think curtis scampering after a runaway ham is funny , they 'll want to skip this christmas movie instead .",
      "you have a standing invitation to the krank 's for christmas . my advice ... decline .",
      "agonizingly cruel to its audience and actors alike , and laden with jokes that have been done many times before , and the original gags have never been done for good reason .",
      "i feel more like the grinch with each passing holiday film ...",
      "phony , disingenuous family entertainment , suffocated by its green bean casserole approach to middle america , spineless cardboard characters and paper-thin plot ` twists . '",
      "a flat parable .",
      "joyless and forced .",
      "... the perfect way to usher in the fourth reich ... the film 's one great saving grace is its almost utter lack of humor , which blunts its potential to propagandize effectively",
      "not since the day i read mein kampf and rented shoah have i had an experience so joyless and laugh-free",
      "it 's hard to say which is worse in MOV -- the lame attempts at humor or the even more lame attempts at sentimentality .",
      "here 's a film that says christmas is a sellout , that your neighbors are morons , and that suburbia is a playground of fascist conformity , and then it concludes that anyone who actually believes that is a heartless scrooge .",
      "even if you believe in santa , you 'll never believe that this is any sort of holiday classic .",
      "there are some funny moments ... but they are too few .",
      "it 's possible the comedy contains some secret allegory about the protestant reformation but its main message is that everyone should believe and behave in exactly the same way . groupthink wins again !",
      "a band of drunken elves working with leftovers from the island of misfit toys could have pieced together a better holiday film than MOV .",
      "it 's painful , not to mention flat-out witless , to see two actors this genial play fuddy-duddies who learn that christmas is coming to their living room ... or else .",
      "avoiding the kranks can be your gift to the whole family .",
      "the script here is barely passable and the direction is downright awful , completely lacking in any sense of comic timing , visual grace or character development .",
      "instead of a funny and relevant little bromide about capitalism , conformity and forced holiday cheer , the movie is about as fresh as a week-old mug of egg nog .",
      "if christmas means spending it with the irascible , over-the-top kranks , then taking a caribbean cruise really does sound like a much better deal .",
      "roth and columbus serve up strained slapstick routines , a slew of uninvolving characters and tritely manipulative subplots .",
      "-lsb- r -rsb- eally rather chilling , an unintentional orwellian object lesson in what happens when you deviate from the groupthink ...",
      "not since arnold schwarzenegger 's jingle all the way has there been a yuletide film as fascistic -- or as odious -- as MOV .",
      "in the end -- the beginning and the middle , too -- the spirit of MOV rings as false as the bell of a shopping-mall santa .",
      "grisham usually writes legal thrillers , but the only suspense to be found here consists of wondering whether any laughs will arrive . i 'm still waiting .",
      "it 's a colossal miscalculation .",
      "false , littered with lame slapstick , and leaving the impression that director joe roth ... threw it together in about two weeks .",
      "if you have n't seen enough films featuring shoppers sprinting to snatch the last ham at the grocery store , electric shocks from christmas lights , and home decorators toppling off the roof , this is the movie for you .",
      "lockstep suburban conformism enforced with fascist severity is the ugly -lrb- but admittedly sometimes funny -rrb- joke driving joe roth 's family comedy .",
      "a deadpan little satire by john grisham has been reinterpreted as a shrill and mean-spirited orgy of banana-peel pranks .",
      "a usa network-quality script , cobbled together from parts of home alone , the grinch and national lampoon 's christmas vacation .",
      "shockingly aloof , and often dispassionately alienating .",
      "forget the kranks going on vacation ; take your disbelief and send it on a cruise .",
      "chris columbus got the bizarre idea that a grisham book , even a slight one , should be turned into a home alone for grown-ups .",
      "does an outrageous about-face , neatly dismantling anything of potential worth and coming out with a monumentally phony christmas moral .",
      "this movie reeks .",
      "a loud , coarse and witless family comedy .",
      "avoid this lump o ' coal .",
      "the modest , whimsical humor on the pages of grisham 's book translates as hyped-up silliness on the screen .",
      "this one is a veritable celebration of intolerance , disguised as a joyous holiday film .",
      "MOV has the special blend of dumb ideas and vulgar sentimentality that hollywood likes to dispense at this time of year .",
      "tim allen needs to stop making christmas movies .",
      "it 's not just that the story is predictable . the very camera angles are predictable .",
      "flat-footed holiday comedy .",
      "when it comes to bad movies , turkey jokes are low-hanging fruit . but if it gobbles like a turkey , it 's a turkey , and brother does this one gobble .",
      "unoriginal , unfunny slapstick holiday fare .",
      "MOV is the sort of film that leaves you thinking ebenezer scrooge might have had the right idea about the festive season .",
      "a grueling experience .",
      "the notion of bullying people into succumbing into the trappings of christmas does not necessarily represent goodwill to all , and while the situations present good comic opportunities , the film ends up feeling rather manipulative and sugary .",
      "some pathetically predictable plot twists and syrupy sentimentality , which could only amuse a five year-old , lead the kranks back to their materialistic senses in time for a kodak moment which shouts a rather shallow merry capitalism to all !",
      "a more sweet than sour satire that sets its sight on nasty but lavishly honey coated underpinnings of the holiday season .",
      "in any normal year this dire comedy would be the undisputed lump of coal in our psychic stocking , but coming on the heels of surviving christmas , it 's a close second .",
      "there is not a single lifelike character in the entire picture .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- comedy so broad it barely dents its targets and a patronising moral conclusion that goes against everything its protagonists originally stood for .",
      "this is n't a wonderful life : it looks pretty hellish .",
      "given the tinsel-thin storyline , the typical seasonal gags only elicit perfunctory laughter .",
      "as tasteless and stale as last year 's cheese log .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- just made me cranky",
      "MOV takes the icy throne as the king of all bad holidays movies ... except jingle all the way .",
      "okay . it 's official now . i hate christmas .",
      "hate christmas and laughing ? this is the film for you .",
      "there has n't been a more depressing holiday movie since ` mixed nuts . '",
      "spending ` MOV ' is enough to turn the most cheerful tiny tim into a grumpy scrooge .",
      "as i write this ... i have just walked out on MOV after roughly 45 minutes of mind-numbingly humorless , sitcom barrel-bottom idiocy .",
      "MOV wants to toss out the holiday fruitcake but eat it , too .",
      "this grim holiday-themed comedy is the movie equivalent of getting socks and underwear for christmas .",
      "filled with overly processed situations it tries to sell with manic energy , kranks is canned , hammy and rolling as fast as it can .",
      "director joe roth misses an opportunity for true satire by making the neighbors such insanely over-the-top caricatures that the kranks seem paragons of normality and perspective .",
      "should you spend MOV ? well , perhaps if you 're an adolescent boy , or you have nothing better to do , then go for it . otherwise , make other holiday plans .",
      "a leaden whimsy so heavy it threatens to crash through the multiplex floor .",
      "one of the worst christmas movies in years .",
      "the film becomes incredibly sentimental towards the end -- despite the fact that it absolutely has n't earned the right to do so .",
      "stinks like the unrefrigerated ham its studio sent me as a promotion several months ago .",
      "it often seems like a lost episode of home improvement minus allen 's usual tv wife .",
      "it 's a celebration of conformity , a film that begs for laughs by mocking and ridiculing anyone who harbors an original thought or action .",
      "it 's monumentally awful .",
      "movies like this make me want to skip everything , including the remainder of my natural life .",
      "it probably will not be your favorite christmas movie of all times , but it is a good family outing .",
      "not exactly a turkey , but it 's no golden goose .",
      "that santa clause guy , tim allen , dashes through the winter sludge of another christmas carol knockoff .",
      "it 's a paragon of irony . a film based on a novel by courtroom aficionado john grisham could use nothing more than the cold judiciousness of an egotistical trial lawyer .",
      "it 's mean-spirited and ugly-hearted . everyone who celebrates christmas is portrayed as a vicious monster , a shallow hypocrite -- if not an outright bigot .",
      "MOV finds a comfortable balance between hilarious and heartwarming . it 's the best of both worlds and a pleasant surprise to find under the cineplex tree .",
      "skipping christmas will earn you a reputation as a modern-day scrooge . passing on MOV ... makes you a wise holiday-movie consumer .",
      "... one of the most woefully irritating and uneventful so-called comedic yuletide yawners ... a seedless slapstick romp that has all the bounce of a defective pogo stick",
      "egregiously mediocre and flagrantly ill-conceived in every department , this is , truly , the cinematic equivalent of finding a single solitary saltine in your stocking and a pair of old tube socks beneath the tree .",
      "MOV celebrates the fascism of american conservatism .",
      "purports to kindle the warm glow of love for humankind in our hearts but actually reaffirms that the trappings of the holiday season are all that really matter .",
      "luther says it late in the film : ` why am i not laughing ? '",
      "there 's no doubt that the yuletide has been overcommercialized but that 's still no excuse for this miserable , lamebrained exercise in sloppy slapstick and silly stupidity .",
      "a dreadful movie , and if you 've seen the advertisements you 've already seen the laughs -- all three of them -- it has to offer .",
      "MOV leaves you with the notion that if you 're not out there spending , you 're just not doing your part .",
      "there 's one good gag involving the application of some botox to allen 's face , but overall the jokes are kind of disturbing .",
      "hollywood 's version of the annual hallmark ho-ho-ho card . it 's made to order : just slot in the perennial mr. santa claus himself , tim allen , and stir .",
      "let 's be blunt . this is an evil film . it defames christianity , it 's fascist , and while a number of the jokes work , it made me want to puke near the end .",
      "you 'd have to be a scrooge not to crack a smile during this feature .",
      "i 'm making my list of the worst movies of the year and i 'm checking it twice , and i hope to find room for this frantically unfunny disaster .",
      "the type of grim holiday movie that reminds you of all that is noxious and insincere about the christmas season and then chases it down with a sickly-sweet reversal .",
      "an abysmal failure , and i am a worse person for having seen it .",
      "no mнnimo , uns 30 minutos poderiam ter ficado no chгo da sala de ediзгo . ou uns 60 . aliбs , para ser mais exato , 98 minutos . esta seria a ъnica forma de salvar este projeto .",
      "MOV is a lackluster holiday comedy that ca n't shake the ghosts of past christmas films .",
      "imagine someone telling you the joke about the chicken crossing the road repeatedly for 98 minutes . you have now imagined this film .",
      "below average comedy that remains watchable thanks to a likeable cast but is very low on laughs .",
      "there 's a line separating holiday spirit from fascist intolerance that MOV races across in its opening minutes .",
      "a nightmare vision of a theist , conformist america ... it 's like ` invasion of the body snatchers , ' except we 're expected to root for the pod people ."
    ],
    "summary": "a mirthless movie as fresh as last year 's fruit cake , MOV is a coarse , garish comedy that promotes conformity .",
    "id": "10018"
  },
  {
    "movie": "right_stuff",
    "reviews": [
      "from the opening moments it is clear that we have the nearest modern equivalent to a western : men of quiet virtue going skyward , leaving the tawdry world of log-rolling politicians behind .",
      "consistently compelling , capturing all the ambiguity and tension of the book .",
      "the MOV is a humdinger . full of beauty , intelligence and excitement , this big-scale look at the development of the us space program and its pioneering aviators provides a fresh , entertaining look back at the recent past .",
      "educational , exciting action , great acting .",
      "historical drama as well as vastly entertaining adventure .",
      "though critically acclaimed , philip kaufman 's superbly realized adventure about the early space age was a commercial flop , due to its satirical tone and unfortunately close association with the presidential candidacy of john glenn .",
      "history , melodrama , comedy and satire are skilfully combined in this consistently exciting adventure . visually and dramatically it rarely sags , there 's a vivid array of characters and though it 's a film with issues , these never eclipse the human drama .",
      "a great movie that unfortunately failed to attract audiences back in ' 83 , this adaptation of tom wolfe 's book about astronauts pays tribute to what we would like to believe represents the american spirit : hard work , perseverance , camaraderie and vision .",
      "one of the scattered handful of truly great american movies in the first half of the 1980s .",
      "moviegoers seeking a grand yet edifying entertainment , right-stuffed with what kaufman calls `` seriousness of subject matter and a wild humor that comes out of left field , '' now know where to look ...",
      "even though the total is less than the sum of its parts , it 's pretty impressive nevertheless",
      "great acting talent assembled for this film was mirrored with kaufman 's superb direction .",
      "the MOV is , well , fascinating stuff .",
      "a true epic and earns the right to come at a little over three hours .",
      "rarely has such an epic film -- in length , at more than three hours , and in scope , spanning decades -- been handled with such remarkable spareness .",
      "bored me to death , but it was the first time i was hit on , so it was worth it .",
      "that the writer-director , philip kaufman , is able to get so much into a little more than three hours is impressive . that he also has organized this material into one of the best recent american movies is astonishing .",
      "kaufman 's enormously entertaining history of america 's mercury astronauts fizzled on release , maybe because it was too smart and cool for its own good .",
      "along with sergio leone 's once upon a time in america it 's the last great american epic -- the kind of film that could n't be made today .",
      "unjustly labeled a failure after its disappointing box office run , the MOV 's tarnished reputation can only benefit from warner 's sparkling new 2-disc special edition .",
      "brings a wealth of humor to a faithful retelling of the astronauts ' fascinating stories , the actors fit smoothly into their roles and even physically resemble their characters , and the direction is well-paced and visually exciting .",
      "a winning and well-acted portrait of america 's entry into the space age that is awesome , funny , surreal and right on the mark in its depiction of the country 's insatiable hunger for new frontiers .",
      "clumsy without being mediocre .",
      "one of the fastest-paced epics ever made",
      "these men remain virtually flawless heroes , almost too good , decent and brave to be true , and it 's a measure of how successful the movie is that one is inclined to believe it ."
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV packs a lot of movie into its hefty running time , spinning a colorful , fact-based story out of consistently engaging characters in the midst of epochal events .",
    "id": "11250"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1068182-heat",
    "reviews": [
      "de niro delivers a frightening vision of frosty criminal efficiency .",
      "it is a remarkably powerful , entertaining and invigorating piece of cinema that hits on more levels than seemingly possible .",
      "MOV has an impressively strong script by mann , and he backs it up with gorgeous filmmaking .",
      "boosters and touts use the term ` major movie ' so often that it 's more likely to generate yawns than excitement at this point . back to basics . MOV is a major movie . with major stars . doing major acting .",
      "all this adds good weight and tension to the movie and provides a lot of very good actors with the opportunity to do honest , probing work in a context where , typically , less will do .",
      "this is the first time de niro and pacino have acted together , and each gives a strong , watertight performance .",
      "as notable as the cinematography is de niro 's performance , which helps you remember why he became a legend in the first place .",
      "... while the sometimes hard-to-follow script often demands too much of the viewer , this film is one that 's truly worth seeing .",
      "a slow-moving , overburdened , well-meant and at times quite entertaining slog .",
      "the director 's signature sleek and romantic aesthetic is reason enough to take a seat for this operatic three-hour marathon .",
      "MOV occupies an exalted position among the countless contemporary crime films .",
      "fascinante por se concentrar em dois homens que , obcecados por suas profissőes , acabam dependendo um do outro justamente por năo saberem fazer outra coisa .",
      "i admire mann 's emotional commitment and his sense of style , but it also grates on me .",
      "robert de niro 's last great role before he devoted himself to self-parody .",
      "this is simply the best american crime movie -- and indeed , one of the finest movies , period -- in over a decade .",
      "with de niro and pacino in excellent form , mann 's MOV ignites the screen .",
      "an odd though often entertaining blend of the asphalt jungle and oprah , a traditional cops-and-robbers story weirdly fitted out with long , earnest discussions of interpersonal relationships .",
      "there 's nothing really new in this lengthy 1995 thriller by writer-director michael mann about cops and robbers in los angeles , but it has craft , pacing , and an overall sense of proportion , three pretty rare classic virtues nowadays .",
      "a movie with two powerhouse performances and enough bad dialogue -lrb- it runs two hours , 45 minutes -rrb- to clog a pentium processor .",
      "there is n't much going on at this party other than what the actors bring to it . but fortunately , mann has invited some exceptional ones .",
      "the taciturn de niro and the braying pacino share a flawless scene over a cup of coffee , but the real honors go to val kilmer and ashley judd as a warring , loving couple .",
      "when pacino 's loud , bruised cop and de niro 's canny crook stare at each other , you can read something spent and weary in their eyes and voices . the MOV is hell . so are their jobs -- but somebody 's got to do them .",
      "just when it seemed that the only hope for crime movies lay in the postmodernist artifice of films like pulp fiction , mann reinvests the genre with brooding , modernist conviction . this one sticks to your gut .",
      "so why does n't MOV , with its elaborately staged , tautly edited robberies , its killer cast , edgy score and elegant cinematography , offer more satisfaction ? it 's the script , stupid .",
      "though punctuated by bursts of virtuoso action , including a running battle in downtown la that ranks as one of the best action scenes ever filmed , it is the unusual emphasis on character that impresses most .",
      "MOV becomes consistently more interesting as it forges on toward the 180-minute mark .",
      "MOV is an `` epic '' that feels like a stunt .",
      "what sets this film somewhat apart from numerous other films with similar plots is mann 's deliberate pacing .",
      "for a film that deserves oscars for photography , editing , sound and arguably scoring , MOV is packed with unforgettable subcharacters .",
      "as with his other works , -lsb- mann -rsb- binds sound , music and pictures into one hypnotic triaxial cable and plugs it right into your brain . he makes this almost-three-hour experience practically glide by .",
      "an insightful dramatic look at the relationship between cops , criminals , and the women in their lives .",
      "if there 's one thing michael mann knows how to do , it 's create tension .",
      "in this riveting , suspenseful action / drama , two of today 's best actors , oscar winners al pacino and robert de niro , face off in a plot that 's fast-paced and exciting despite a nearly three-hour length .",
      "echoes the tradition of american individualists .",
      "there is n't much to recommend this movie until pacino and de niro finally share the first of their two scenes together .",
      "MOV runs -lrb- sometime crawls -rrb- 2:51 , but there is really only enough material for two hours .",
      "MOV packs more into one cop movie than the entire genre output of the last five years .",
      "as the credits finally rolled , someone behind me muttered , `` that was so long , deniro could have gone to prison in the first scene and finished his sentence before the movie was over . ''",
      "all the squealing tires , flying bullets and falling bodies can not save MOV from drowning in its own banalities .",
      "... a colossal disappointment .",
      "you ca n't tell what 's important and what is n't , and some may mistake the movie 's incoherence for profundity .",
      "director michael mann has created a masterpiece .",
      "the performances are persuasive but the plot rattles on much too long .",
      "this is glandular , not intellectual , movie-making but it 's at the highest end of technical expressiveness .",
      "there have been plenty of cops and robbers stories like MOV over the years , but seldom has the formula been done so well .",
      "pacino and de niro are saddled with roles that leave little room for exploring the territory beyond their trademark styles , but the chemistry is electric and it 's a flat-out thrill to see them together on the screen for the first time .",
      "MOV is n't only his peerless lesson in how to make clusters of concrete and glass look beautiful , it 's also an eloquent study of loyalty , commitment and good guy / bad guy duality .",
      "if , overall , mann stretches a bit , the numerous successes are nevertheless worth watching .",
      "a stealth epic , framing an urban jungle and making its own kind of contemporary history by pairing acting giants robert deniro and al pacino in what has arguably become the preminent cops-and-robbers movie . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "the conversation in MOV is one of the most perfectly executed and eloquently intertextual moments in the history of american cinema .",
      "i have always wondered if pacino and de niro flipped a coin before the movie began shooting to see which of them would play which part ?",
      "quite rightly , this confirmed mann as one of hollywood 's smartest , most stylish and emotionally articulate directors .",
      "... one of the greatest crime films of all time .",
      "MOV heat has an intoxicating , seductive look and feel , and if viewers can check their brains at the door , it succeeds on a surface level .",
      "as MOV progresses , its sensational looks pale beside storytelling weaknesses that expose the more soulless aspects of this cat-and-mouse crime tale .",
      "it 's a gorgeous valentine to its three leads -- neither pacino , de niro nor los angeles has ever looked better -- that backs up its style with real substance .",
      "the action , just like in any great film , is subservient to plot and characters .",
      "the cast and the performances in MOV are awesome .",
      "with a stellar cast including val kilmer and jon voight , MOV has it all including a great soundtrack full of tone-setting , ambient , and symphonic arrangements .",
      "riveting cops-and-robbers tale .",
      "this is a movie about chemistry , straight up .",
      "-lsb- f -rsb- ans of the two stars will probably find it worth their while .",
      "though it 's a tad too schematic , MOV , written and directed by michael mann , provides a venue for white-hot acting by de niro and pacino .",
      "the cop / crime stuff that makes up the bulk of the movie is well thought out and well directed .",
      "MOV generates lots of energy but gives off little light .",
      "powerful and compelling drama about two similiar men on the opposite sides of the law find themselves on a collision course .",
      "with two veteran players like these it 's a tossup as to who plays the cop and who plays the bad guy",
      "a quintessential cops and robbers face-off , with de niro and pacino superb in enemy roles .",
      "michael mann works well with actors , but the film in general could have been tighter . it clocks at almost 3 hours , even though it 's not an epic .",
      "michael mann and a superlative cast have taken a classic heist movie rife with familiar genre elements and turned it into a sleek , accomplished piece of work , meticulously controlled and completely involving .",
      "michael mann 's writing and direction elevate this material . it 's not just an action picture .",
      "taken altogether , mann does n't do anything particularly new , but with a subtly used supporting cast he combines everything into an unusually articulate action thriller .",
      "MOV could have easily fallen into cop-robber cliches , but mann lifts it to a higher level with intense character development and interrelated plot lines ."
    ],
    "summary": "though al pacino and robert de niro share but a handful of screen minutes together , MOV is an engrossing crime drama that draws compelling performances from its stars -- and confirms michael mann 's mastery of the genre .",
    "id": "13098"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ghost_rider",
    "reviews": [
      "as unwieldy a film as one can imagine , MOV mixes christian theology , classic western motifs , pure horror , glitzy special effects and modern superhero angst to deathly ill effect .",
      "MOV works even less as a movie than it did as a comic book ... once you get past the cool concept and visuals of the character , there really is n't very much else there .",
      "any potential the film had for making pop art in a contemporary manner is drained away by the familiar demands of second-tier action blockbusters .",
      "MOV could have been good-bad , rather than just bad-bad .",
      "that is n't brimstone we 're smelling on MOV . it 's something else .",
      "the movie crashes and burns , in a perfect arc from so-bad-it 's - good to so-bad-it 's - still-bad .",
      "` MOV ' has an estimated budget of $ 120 million . while the studio might have been willing to spend all that money on this dull flop , it 's reassuring that the rest of us do n't have to spend a penny on it .",
      "the grab-bagginess of its failure is kind of endearing",
      "it 's easy to imagine why cage would want to write a couple of his own lines . after all , you 'd tell dr. kevorkian you could take your own temperature , right ?",
      "clever casting and top-notch effects ca n't fix a pandering , mass-audience-appeal script that refuses to let the spirit of vengeance fully out of his bottle .",
      "this supernatural action/thriller ca n't decide whether it wants to go for laughs or chills , and some of the supposedly chilling moments are the silliest and most laughable ones .",
      "the real evil in this flick is n't blackheart -lrb- wes bentley -rrb- , the devil 's son , it 's the soul-sucking devil of modern cinema : hollywood formula .",
      "MOV would have been most fun had it been made for a dime by a roger corman-type outfit as a quickie gothic adventure spinning zane grey , faust and evel knievel .",
      "marvel 's MOV has always been a thoroughly transparent , inorganic creation .",
      "good pulp fiction is driven by the truths beneath the conventions . prefab junk runs on contempt for fans , with a layer of goodies and gimmicks on top .",
      "this comic book adaptation is likely to flame out fast .",
      "an unholy mess .",
      "spectacularly forged in the fires of cinematic creativity , MOV is also spectacularly silly , cheesy and a tad infantile .",
      "MOV has everything you do n't want from your superhero movie , including lack of logic , boring action scenes , bad acting in the supporting performances , a brutally slow 114-minute running time and cringe-worthy dialogue .",
      "every supporting character phones it in .",
      "... often looks like the cheesiest biker tattoo to ever grace bulging , leather-accented biceps .",
      "if you 're expecting no more than b-movie fun , it does deliver on that level . it 's often hilarious , and generally intentionally , too !",
      "MOV is a comic fan 's celluloid nightmare . jokey to a fault and weighty as newsprint , it lives down to the negative attributes attached to the comic book film tag .",
      "i kept hoping the scooby doo gang would come out , rip the mask off of cage and reveal MOV really is crazy old man ben affleck ! that would explain so much .",
      "though the film may feel effortless , by the same token it also feels as if it 's not trying at all .",
      "outside of maybe x-men 's jubilee , i ca n't think of a comic character less deserving of the big-screen treatment than MOV . but what do i know ? maybe the idea of nic cage in unyielding biker leather sounded good on paper .",
      "the first guilty pleasure of 2007 .",
      "when MOV ended , infectious widespread laughter and comments of ridicule broke out in the theater . that is probably not the reaction director mark steven johnson was aiming for , but it was well-warranted .",
      "there 's little reason for some of these champions of justice to see the glory of the big screen . ladies and gentlemen , i give you MOV .",
      "all too often , it dips into dour drama and schmaltzy romance .",
      "although MOV would n't necessarily qualify as a ` good ' movie , it does have a few wonderfully goofy moments squeezed in between a lot of unspectacular visual effects and ho-hum plot points .",
      "MOV is n't good but if you catch the spirit of it , it 's not terrible .",
      "MOV is a joke -- a monumentally foolish comic book movie with lots of unintentional laughs , mixed in with the intentional ones .",
      "its clear this director has sold his soul to a bunch of special effects wizards who certainly supply the hardware but drown out the human element .",
      "this is one of those `` turn-off-your-brain-and-enjoy-the-ride type things , and such it works rather well .",
      "this is one beguiling ride .",
      "is this the best they could do with a fiery , chopper-riding skeleton that punishes the wicked -- put him in chase scenes and have him duke it out with other supernatural beings ? what a wasted opportunity .",
      "what should be scuzzy , goofy fun becomes morose , off-key dreck in the hands of writer/director mark steven johnson .",
      "call this the legend of the 500-mile pothole .",
      "for years scientists have theorized that one day nicolas cage would overact so badly that his head would burst into flames . now , with MOV , the phenomenon has finally come to pass .",
      "... damned if this one should n't make your so-bad-it 's - good list ...",
      "for a movie that places so much emphasis on the soul , MOV is conspicuously devoid of one .",
      "the misguided rag tag ramblings of MOV will simply wipe away from one 's memory bank faster than a chintzy ink-stained tattoo on a sweaty forearm .",
      "you would n't want to slam back shots of tequila without licking the salt and sucking the lime . -lsb- do n't -rsb- see MOV without being ready for some comic book cheese .",
      "so far this year 's crop of films have all been sort of drab , kind of depressingly boring , and just eh . . this is the first purely fun , if not cheesy stupid , movie of the year . i do n't know if it 's good but it 's a hell of a ride .",
      "if cage made a deal with the devil to never make a good movie ever again , MOV completes his transition from a-list star to industry punchline .",
      "an abysmal excuse of a film featuring nicolas cage 's worst performance yet and only marginally improving on the spawn formula .",
      "the movie has the look and feel of a western . the final showdown is in a ghost town in the desert .",
      "MOV fails for the same reason every bad movie does : poor storytelling and bad acting .",
      "MOV as a whole adopts cage 's personality , which means it 's watchable but seems to be kidding around a lot .",
      "... MOV still manages to be a pretty enjoyable diversion if you do n't hold it under close scrutiny . or better yet , any scrutiny . -lrb- extended cut -rrb-",
      "easily joins the ranks of ... throw-away superhero movies made for a quick buck .",
      "at nearly two hours , MOV is a little long for a guilty pleasure .",
      "director mark steven johnson is infinitely less concerned with exploring blaze 's smoldering , soul-deprived isolation than he is infatuated with the character 's skull - 'n' - bones imagery .",
      "it 's not a complete wash , a la catwoman , but it ai n't far off .",
      "bad fun if you 're in the right mood , and a large part of the credit goes to nicolas cage .",
      "johnson might have diverted some of his cgi budget to hire a writer to come up with a story with some internal logic -- then he could match the effects to the story rather than vice versa .",
      "seeing MOV is like going to saturday matinee serials at the rialto eons ago . it 's a fanciful , puerile experience -- a fun day out for 9-year olds . MOV is a ridiculous melange of cheesy effects , talentless extras , corny plot and insi",
      "cage needs to produce something special next to make up for crimes against cinema .",
      "it all seems so wearyingly old fashioned : teenage delinquents on motorbikes , creaky incarnations of satan , a rock 'n' roll take on dangerous cool .",
      "ignore the cheesy dialogue , the cardboard cut-out villains and the atrociously ott acting and just enjoy a good old-fashioned tale of heroes and villains the way the comic-books used to tell 'em .",
      "best lines ? `` is this thing ever gon na end ? '' `` not even close . '' `` i shore wish this thang coulda turned out different . ''",
      "if nicolas cage were n't a goofball with a hunky physique and droll wit , this marvel-comic-to-big-screen adaptation would have no torque at all .",
      "shamelessly cribs from the `` spawn '' film .",
      "the worst adaptation of a marvel comics hero yet .",
      "by any real-world standard , this is a stupid piece of junk . but it 's very good at being a stupid piece of junk .",
      "MOV fails for the same reason every bad movie does : poor storytelling and bad acting .",
      "you know if you 're into this stuff , and if you are , MOV is fine .",
      "MOV reportedly cost $ 120 million to make . but the resulting cheesy cgi effects , bad sets and music and mugging by the actors , especially cage , suggest you spent your life 's savings and ended up with a yugo .",
      "neither contemptuous of its audience nor merely stupid , MOV 's nonsensical histrionics are an almost perfect mirror of its comic-book source .",
      "MOV is the kind of movie that 's great stupid fun as long as someone else is buying the tickets .",
      "MOV is very much a movie for 9 year olds that feels like it was made by a 9 year old . even 14 or 15 year olds will feel too old for what passes as cool or dark in this edge-of-camp movie .",
      "the best that can be said about this movie , which is quite bad , is that it 's not a complete surprise .",
      "seriously , people , if you 're going to go see a movie you know is about a biker with a flaming skull and magic chains , you forfeit the right to complain about how the plot is n't logical or realistic .",
      "the movie could have been saved , though , if it had cut the puns of the kind that made us all flee batman and robin .",
      "you would have to be somewhere beyond deep-geek to defend MOV 's unholy melding of religious mumbo-jumbo to motorcycle worship , western folklore , father-son psychology , and elvis lives wish fulfillment .",
      "it 's ridiculous , likable , with some pleasing reminders of the blade movies .",
      "grand , empty gestures and loads of cgi effects ca n't cover up pure schlock . even the character 's iconically cool trademarks -- a flaming skull and a fiery chopper -- are reduced to velveeta slices . no , damn you , sir .",
      "no skimpily dressed satan-worshipping babes like in the original comics , alas ...",
      "when blaze explains that he may not have a soul but he still has spirit , it 's a little like saying , `` i may have no heart , but i do have an organ in my chest that pumps blood through my body . ''",
      "full review in greek",
      "cage has to collect satan 's unpaid debts , meaning that he becomes a demon biker with a flaming skull for a head - and that 's about it for this one-note film .",
      "there 's nothing here that you have n't seen previously in much better comic book movies .",
      "the tagline for the new `` MOV '' movie promises that `` hell is about to be unleashed ! '' actually , that might be an understatement . after seeing the movie , some might question whether it was the apocalypse that was unleashed .",
      "an oddly beguiling mixture of horror movie , biker flick , pulp faust legend , redemption melodrama and western , featuring quite astonishing special effects .",
      "sometimes it sizzles . sometimes it 's a pale shadow of the comic book .",
      "nicolas cage really hits one out of the park !",
      "critics attempt to critique films like MOV with a straight face , but it never works out . that 's why i 'm going to just come out and say it : MOV is a hell of a lot of fun to watch .",
      "the movie quickly devolves into a tiresome f/x spectacle , but cage approaches the material with a gonzo sincerity that 's strangely magnificent .",
      "nic cage seems comfortable in the role of the flaming-skulled biker , but the plot holes are too deep even for his herbie-like arachnid motorcycle to negotiate .",
      "t 's fun in places , but the second you 're out the cinema , MOV vanishes from memory in a big puff of smoke .",
      "fonda is smart casting as mephistopheles , while sultry mendes is topnotch eye-candy .",
      "the self-conscious ` quirkiness ' is painful : nicolas cage plays johnny blaze as a homespun dunce who ` drinks ' jelly beans from a martini glass , listens exclusively to the carpenters , and busts a gut laughing at chimpanzee slapstick on tv .",
      "the plot is as corny as a country and western song .",
      "as comic book movies go , this delivers pretty much everything you could expect from a film about a guy with a flaming skull for a head .",
      "yet another comic book adaptation that goes up in flames before our very eyes .",
      "a blockbuster that offers enough quirky pleasures to feel fresh and unpredictable .",
      "by the time our hero has finally relaxed into his leathers , there 's little time left to wrap up the main story , which is some forgettable stuff about the devil 's progeny -lrb- a googly-eyed wes bentley -rrb- trying to take over the world .",
      "... undoubtedly one of the worst comic book adaptations to hit theaters since the genre 's recent resurgence ...",
      "nicolas cage is the film 's only saving grace in a welter of cheesy -lrb- but accurate to the imagery of the marvel series -rrb- special effects and dialogue .",
      "what campy fun this could have been .",
      "the movie settles for cursory , disconnected allusions that do n't exactly build character -lrb- cage does some more elvis impersonating and elliott looks plenty leathery -rrb- .",
      "a pulpy cinematic comic book for teenage boys or adult males with arrested development . next time , hopefully , they 'll go for a ghost writer .",
      "mainly the movie 's about riding a bike at the speed of sound while your head is burning . they can do anything these days , which is n't quite the same as saying they should do anything these days .",
      "let 's face it , the appeal lies in the preposterous nature of all this -- and in cage 's truly bizarre performance .",
      "it 's an okay movie -- you know , for what it is .",
      "a sodden , listless mess that would n't thrill even the most ardent hot topic enthusiast .",
      "this is the type of film for which the actors involved carefully describe it in press junkets and interviews as `` a lot of fun '' rather than good .",
      "not as dreadful as the studio 's decision to withhold press screenings until less than 24 hours before opening day would suggest , but not especially good either .",
      "crappy comic , worse movie ... joins albert pyun 's captain america at the bottom of the marvel barrel .",
      "a classic example of style over substance , a usually negative criticism that works fine here . `` MOV '' is second tier marvel , played fast and flashy .",
      "the story does n't arc so much as unspool like a stretch of desert highway , but the MOV is such a powerful amalgam of hot-rod iconography that this is still fairly watchable .",
      "provides just enough pop thrills and slam-bang action to make it perfectly acceptable matinee fare .",
      "so much flatter than it was on the comic-book page .",
      "surprised as i am to concede it , MOV smokes .",
      "it 's not quite a thrill ride but it is n't a total embarrassment for cage . it 's certainly no worse than wicker man , which depicted the actor chasing hippie chicks in a bear suit .",
      "rarely in hollywood have so many labored so hard with so much time and such financial resources to fill a movie screen with as vast an array of spiritual gibberish , literary poppycock and pure flummery as mark steven johnson 's MOV .",
      "the blank , frenetic exhaustion of the final reel acts like a kid who tries to snap out of a candy-binge coma by snorting lines of pixy stix .",
      "anyone who knows the character from the comics will be disappointed . anyone outside a head-banging 13-year-old will be laughing their asses off .",
      "is the world ready for a flaming nicolas cage ?",
      "it 's much more of a campy good time than you 'd expect ...",
      "what begins as a standard-yet-watchable superhero adventure slowly congeals into something approaching the caliber of catwoman . not as bad , but kinda knocking on the doorstep .",
      "i 'm not a comic book aficionada but i liked gr . who was that bewigged 30 year old pretending to be nic cage ?",
      "a by-the-numbers hammy superhero caper that reaches new levels of blandness .",
      "if MOV wanted to fetch something of value , he should have been out there looking for a better script .",
      "one blazing wake of destruction after another is pretty much the meat of this cgi roller coaster ride that sticks with you about as long as the popcorn you get at the multiplex",
      "it 's a ride worth taking .",
      "whoever the inept mark steven johnson had to sell his soul to in order to get put in charge of two big comic book adaptations , i hope it was worth it .",
      "nicolas cage wangs it up with a not-so-subtle elvis impersonation as johnny blaze , the comic book hero who transforms into a flaming skeleton bounty hunter for the devil .",
      "` i 've always wanted scott baio 's scalp from charles in charge , and now i have it , ' said nick .",
      "MOV had some excellent one-liners , comedic breaks , and enough excitement to keep me wondering when and where the next battle might ensue .",
      "only when the flaming skeleton strides his fiery bike does the film hit high gear which , admittedly , is often enough to make this a passably diverting two hours ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a sour mix of morose , glum histrionics amidst jokey puns and hammy dialogue .",
    "id": "364555500"
  },
  {
    "movie": "african_cats",
    "reviews": [
      "the photography is so spectacular that the accompanying disney-ization of wildlife is forgiven .",
      "a visually and aurally stunning film that brings viewers up close and very personal with several `` big cat '' families - as well as a dazzling array of other safari-esque species - living in kenya 's sprawling masai mara national reserve .",
      "another disneynature triumph , especially if you are a fan of these cool cats .",
      "astounding wildlife footage is given a kid-friendly narrative hook , but never overly cuddlified , in keith scholey 's MOV .",
      "if it maintains a superficially manipulative façade , the film remains committed to addressing the harsh realities of existence on the plains .",
      "the film 's incredible visual intimacy is its undeniable selling point .",
      "it 's not a put-down of the darker and more straightforward `` last lions '' to suggest `` cats '' is to `` lions '' what poetry is to prose .",
      "the filmmakers ' adherence to standard nature doc formula can probably be forgiven due to solid storytelling and filmmaking .",
      "blame whoever decided to scrap cold scientific reality for warm mommy-and-her-precious-cubs heartwarmth .",
      "the hd footage of the lions and cheetahs -- and the rest of the kenyan wildlife -- is consistently stunning . but MOV should n't be taken seriously as a nature doc by anyone over the age of eight .",
      "kids will love `` MOV , '' which is full of `` aw '' moments . their parents will appreciate that narrator samuel l. jackson keeps things from getting too schmaltzy in this true-life depiction of the circle of life .",
      "one has to wonder if the script was written first , then the footage was filmed to make that script come to life , instead of the other way around .",
      "`` MOV , '' while often adorable and at times gripping , is more of a tv-ready experience .",
      "perhaps it 's not perfect science , respectful of essential circle of life study , but the overall effect creates a cinematic determination the feature would n't otherwise enjoy .",
      "creatively mishandled to the point of making a mockery of its own brand .",
      "to me , this feels like the 21st century version of the true-life adventures in a way that absolutely deserves the disney name on it .",
      "... fascinating nature photography .",
      "a really odd choice of subject matter for a children 's documentary .",
      "like so many family-targeting animal documentaries since march of the penguins , this one tells a story of parents and children .",
      "it 's this emphasis on the animals ' fates and ordeals , however , that renders this stunningly photographed film a specious work of zoological observation .",
      "anyone who enjoys looking at these magnificent felines from a safe distance should enjoy the show .",
      "this g-rated disney documentary about two wild feline `` families '' plays like saw for six-year-olds .",
      "MOV succeeds despite its narrative weakness . it features gorgeous close-ups of all kinds of animals ; the images and sounds are worth the price of the ticket alone .",
      "a beautiful family film that reveals the story of two families , a lion pride and a cheetah mom trying to raise and protect her incredibly adorable cubs .",
      "it is beautifully and intimately captured with brilliant close-ups and crystal clear slow-motion .",
      "this is one of those movies where everything comes together and works to make a perfect outing for `` earth day '' . it is must-see for the entire family .",
      "it 's kiplingesque nursery ethology , and one distrusts the editing .",
      "the clarity of the footage is often breathtaking ; watching the mother cheetah setting off on a run will have your own heart pounding in expectation .",
      "-lsb- g -rsb- orgeously photographed , astonishingly intimate ... we have never seen lions and cheetahs like this before ; you wo n't believe it can have been possible for cameras to get so close without disturbing the animals they 're watching ...",
      "the film is relatively bloodless and appropriate for all ages",
      "of course the photography is second to none - no sense of hidden cameras here , more a feeling of cranes and on-set catering .",
      "some nice moments here , but this is a film that looks like a kids ' tv featurette from an earlier age .",
      "it is beautifully shot - the super slo-mo scenes of sita running are amazing .",
      "a great story , shot throughout with infinite patience .",
      "providing a feast of kills , confrontations and capering cubs while keeping on-screen gore to a minimum , nature lovers of all ages will get their fill .",
      "an attempt the dramatise the animal world which just feels cheap and unworkable . a drag .",
      "the struggle for survival in kenya of a wild cheetah and her newborns and an elderly lioness and her cub .",
      "it 's deeply involving and primally moving .",
      "far too often , MOV feels episodic in its structure . rather than featuring a driving , compelling narrative , it 's : cheetah vs. gazelle . and then : hyena vs. cheetah . and then : lion vs. crocodile . who will win ???",
      "that MOV baldly assigns human personality traits to its feline stars is no surprise ; what 's shocking is that a nature documentary narrated by samuel l. jackson could be so bland .",
      "no doubt , life is tough in the wild but , this being a disney flick , it 's loving too and even comes with a kiddie-friendly narrative that 's easy to summarize and hard to dispute .",
      "`` MOV '' prefers less preaching and more heartstring-tugging . it works , of course , especially if you 're trying to raise your own cubs to adulthood .",
      "the characters in the latest disney film frequently attack each other , sometimes eat each other , and spend the whole time running around naked .",
      "anyone with a fondness for bambinos of any species should melt at the sight of mamas with nuzzling cubs .",
      "an attempt to make a live-action nature film with the same sort of emotional wallop as the legendary 1994 animated smash `` the lion king , '' `` MOV '' was doomed to come off as phony .",
      "there are surely eight million stories on the naked plains , but `` MOV '' tells one : about lions and cheetahs and - oh , bambi ! - the power of mother love .",
      "older kids and adults will certainly appreciate the cinematography and the majestic overview of life and death in the wild , but bring an ipod and listen to some ladysmith black mambazo instead of the overbearing voice-over .",
      "MOV does n't quite do justice to its strange and remarkable subjects . it gets them ready for their close-ups , all right . but it stops short of seeing through to their souls .",
      "the animals have names ; call it anthropomorphism if you like , but the cat families and their gripping adventures are all the more real to child viewers for that bit of familiarity .",
      "this is a film i would eagerly watch again .",
      "it 's beautiful to behold , but too fluffy to broaden younger minds .",
      "an absolute must-see for fans of roar footage .",
      "in the animal kingdom 's kill-or-be-killed world , the predators and prey are framed with a clarity and precision that would serve as an invaluable lesson to any aspiring cinematographer .",
      "hats off to the camera operators who have captured some astonishing wildlife imagery .",
      "the first entry in the disneynature series that 's pitched at youngsters rather than a general audience , despite some intense footage .",
      "a wealth of visually stunning , strikingly intimate , and intensely dramatic footage of these creatures in their beautiful natural habitat .",
      "the wildlife is beautifully photographed , and the film is stentorianally narrated by sir patrick stewart .",
      "narrated by patrick stewart , this is beautifully shot if a tad toothless . nothing to upset tots .",
      "under the direction of bbc wildlife documentary alums keith scholey and alastair fothergill , `` cats '' looks majestic throughout , even if its big stories are sometimes forced at the expense of fleeting , fascinating little details .",
      "delightful to behold thanks to breathtaking photography that captures the beauty of the country and a simple story that everyone can enjoy .",
      "a story-driven wildlife doc where creatures become characters with names so young audiences can appreciate the natural cycles of life -- and death -- in the animal world .",
      "granted , not even morgan freeman could make the MOV narration endurable , but jackson really suffers his way through it , alternating between cloyingly overplaying things and rattling off sentences in a bored monotone .",
      "this disneynature production can proudly take its place alongside walt 's finest live-action documentary features .",
      "awesome footage , but how do you know what animals are thinking ?",
      "it 's a solid hour and a half of intense stuff you do n't see every day .",
      "not coincidentally , MOV opens on earth day . meeting these magnificent fellow creatures might be a fine way to celebrate .",
      "imagine ten shirley temples singing `` animal crackers in my soup '' while pawing at rainbow-colored balls of yarn .",
      "the ghetto narration would have us believe that the lives of MOV is not unlike the lives of ... people living in the ghetto ?"
    ],
    "summary": "it is n't quite as majestic as its subjects , but MOV boasts enough astounding footage -- and a big enough heart -- to keep things entertaining .",
    "id": "771036678"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dark_city",
    "reviews": [
      "one of the most ludicrous movies in years .",
      "MOV is a truly scary flick .",
      "this is one of those movies that 's more concerned with set design motivation than anything that 's going on inside the characters ' heads .",
      "it does not take long to realize that there is a lot less here than meets the eye .",
      "proyas floods the screen with cinematic and literary references ranging from murnau and lang to kafka and orwell , creating a unique yet utterly convincing world .",
      "if you do n't fall in love with it , you 've probably never fallen in love with a movie , and never will .",
      "city ultimately plays like one of those art-deco dystopian cd-rom adventures of recent years .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- stylish hybrid of futuristic thriller and film noir .",
      "has all the visual punch of ... terry gilliam and david fincher , but lacks the narrative and thematic strength of either of those two .",
      "such thin plotting is okay , because it 's the city itself that makes this film work .",
      "the third act is totally clunky and hollywood and loud and silly - after the creepy elegance -lrb- overall -rrb- of the rest of the movie , the ending is an utter letdown .",
      "um verdadeiro clбssico contemporвneo da ficзгo cientнfica , nos presenteia com um roteiro brilhante , uma fotografia impecбvel , uma direзгo de arte belнssima e , й claro , com questionamentos filosуsicos incrivelmente instigantes .",
      "the sound and visuals of this movie are not to be missed on the big screen if at all possible .",
      "MOV by alex proyas is a great visionary achievement , a film so original and exciting , it stirred my imagination like metropolis and 2001 : a space odyssey .",
      "part film noir , part science fiction , part fantasy , and part psychotic dreamscape , MOV is a visual marvel of a cinematic experience .",
      "the film holds up pretty well as a science fiction mystery as murdock and bumstead probe the mysteries of the MOV and uncover its secrets .",
      "and now for something completely different .",
      "in the annals of noir sci-fi , by any measure , this is a classic of cinematic invention .",
      "the result of this excessive flitting is liable to be nausea and confusion among the audience , which is a shame since there is a clever story trying to get out .",
      "... focused though -lsb- proyas -rsb- may be on providing a classic tale of the woes of conformity and the benefits of individuality , he succeeds principally in creating visual grandeur .",
      "... looks good but leaves an unpleasant aftertaste .",
      "... so relentlessly trippy in a fun-house sort of way that it could very easily inspire a daredevil cult of moviegoers who go back again and again to experience its mind-bending twists and turns .",
      "MOV has as stunning a visual texture as that of any movie that i 've seen .",
      "sewell can make it look like someone dropped a quarter into the surface of reality and is trying not to be killed by floating cenobite wannabes -lrb- tm -rrb- . so ?",
      "and what happened in the theater after we all endured MOV ? one pair of hands applauded , and someone in the back of the theater yelled , ` oh , shut up ! '",
      "part sci-fi thriller , part haunting 1940s film noir set piece , MOV has lots of pizzazz , but too little punch .",
      "the film has a grip , an inexplicable attraction with its enormous energy and unique , all-embracing universe .",
      "MOV is an intriguing mixture of science fiction and film noir .",
      "a surprisingly haunting confection .",
      "... throttles the adrenal glands with its constant , unnerving suspense .",
      "a wonderfully complex and startlingly visionary epic . i love this movie .",
      "it 's all about the amazing look , cobbled together from an astonishingly evocative range of sources : nosferatu and mad love , brazil and metropolis , a haunted mosaic of bits and pieces of movie memories .",
      "MOV ... contains more philosophical and cinematic ideas in ten minutes than the last ten films i 've seen put together .",
      "a metanarrative intrigue into those huge creative spaces",
      "... a reminder of how sensuous a visual trip movie watching can be .",
      "one of the most imaginative and creative films ever made .",
      "e of the most breathtakingly spectacular looking films to come down the pike in some time . .",
      "an unsettling depiction of reality as elusive and ephemeral .",
      "complex , yet extremely compelling .",
      "murdoch 's quandary proves surprisingly engrossing , the art direction is always striking , and unlike most contemporary sci-fi , the movie does risk a cerebral approach , tapping a vein of postmodern paranoia .",
      "even if MOV is a little off-putting in its basic approach , there is a bounty of good things to be said about it .",
      "the effects are breathtaking .",
      "it is a film noir that is either for teenage boys , sci-fi fanatics or movie geeks . it wo n't appeal to many . but if you fit into one of the above categories you will fall in love with MOV .",
      "it 's a bit overbearing the first time you experience it , but the film holds up under repeat viewings , revealing more and more complexity and coherence .",
      "an almost really good movie lies somewhere in the stylish junkyard of alex proyas 's MOV .",
      "the visuals are totally astonishing . practically every scene features impressive fx , and the direction is inventive .",
      "it is all well and good that nobody has anything to laugh about in this movie , but the relentless gloom and frothing paranoia soon begin to drag on an earthly audience .",
      "was `` the matrix '' before `` the matrix '' was ever in the pop culture lexicon ...",
      "this apocalyptic tale of alien abduction , telekinesis , murder and love is an entertaining and fantastic journey .",
      "overall , i must say that this film is one that i thoroughly enjoyed from frame one to frame last , and look very forward to watching it over and over again , with nachos by my side , and mind set to ` absorb . '",
      "a mishmash of iconography lifted from better movies .",
      "MOV trades in such weighty themes as memory , thought control , human will and the altering of reality , but is engaging mostly in the degree to which it creates and sustains a visually startling alternate universe .",
      "MOV has all the gothic imagery and plot incoherence of a tim burton movie , without burton 's mad-scientist merriment .",
      "mixes visual marvels with b-movie archetypes",
      "this is a film with the texture of nightmare .",
      "proyas has , perhaps unconsciously , created an allegory of his own industry , a manufacturer of banal dreams , emotional clichés , hackneyed artifacts , and high-tech hoo-hah designed to conceal the vacancy within and without .",
      "... the movie is mostly style , but it 's a style so engrossing , it more than makes up for any lack of substance .",
      "a visionary slice of visceral experience .",
      "writer/director alex proyas needs to stop it with the writing and concentrate on making the pretty . he needs to find a good script and just direct it .",
      "the experience of MOV is one that no film lover should miss ... seen now as it was intended after 10 long years of wandering in the shadows .",
      "proyas assembles his inspirations into a unique amalgam with the power of myth to tap the fears and desires of our collective unconscious . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "when proyas is n't afraid of losing his audience , he 's afraid of boring them , which means that the climax of his psychological study becomes a ridiculously chaotic battle .",
      "lots of style here , not nearly enough substance",
      "a non-stop symphony of visual showstoppers , MOV is nightmarish science-fiction with style to spare .",
      "... there 's no denying the wild imagery , unlike anything seen in a movie theater for some years .",
      "... may be the most unique-looking film we 've seen in ages .",
      "it is among the most memorable cinematic ventures in recent years .",
      "proyas drenches each shot in a unique feel and delivers a movie with a visual sense with all the inventive , poetic power of ridley scott or terry gilliam firing on all cylinders .",
      "MOV is a sci-fi/noir thriller that portends to deliver a message relating to the powers of the mind and the meaning of identity .",
      "proyas has expanded his abilities on MOV , and has created a film that is much more ambiguous and full of more thought .",
      "... proyas has crafted a vision distinctly his own .",
      "... what counts here is the show , the creation of a strange world by a filmmaker who clearly knows science fiction and fantasy , past and present , and wants to share his love for it .",
      "it 's an elaborate , beautifully choreographed set-piece based around an almost arrogantly bold premise ...",
      "there seem to be two reactions to MOV . you either love it or you are unimpressed . count me as a ` love it . '",
      "while the concept of memory altering is mind-boggling , the visuals bring it chillingly alive .",
      "MOV is quite a rarity : it is both visceral and cerebral at once .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- stunningly visual smorgasbord of tenebrous eye-candy , all creeping shadows and urban malaise ."
    ],
    "summary": "stylishly gloomy , MOV offers a polarizing whirl of arresting visuals and noirish action .",
    "id": "13011"
  },
  {
    "movie": "redline",
    "reviews": [
      "you could watch it with the sound off and the plot would n't make any less sense than it does with it on .",
      "MOV continues the mind-boggling trend of films that choose to justify their existence by piling on layer after layer of meaningless excess .",
      "the pic oozes the charm and personality of an industrial film .",
      "MOV is a direct-to-knucklehead release that refuses to bow out gracefully .",
      "while the production was clearly expensive , and there is a splash of dazzle in the glossy visuals , the project stands as a monument to waste and extravagance .",
      "MOV is the kind of movie where they spent so much on the fast cars they forgot to save any for acting lessons or screenplay rewrites .",
      "well ... at least you can look at the cars .",
      "yawn .",
      "this is one of those movies in which virtually no one comes out unscathed .",
      "the movie would play almost as a postmodern parody of 1960s drive-in fare if it were n't put forward with such a silly straight face .",
      "a pg-13 celebration of hot chicks , fast cars , and deplorable behavior is like diet mountain dew , near-beer , or an expletive-free version of straight outta compton -- a tame , watered-down version of the real thing .",
      "an idiotic action thriller , vanity project and testosterone-filled guilty pleasure whose sole purpose is to show off a fleet of million-dollar ferraris and lamborghinis belonging to fledgling movie mogul daniel sadek .",
      "your typical brain dead racing flick ...",
      "it 's not so much a film as a cheesy garage calendar scantily-clad , over-made up `` cheap '' women as hood-ornaments .",
      "mindless auto racing film a drag for teens and up .",
      "the whole thing is pretty stupid , but angus macfadyen is watchable as the villain .",
      "do yourself a favor and stay home . griffin 's 21-second wrecking-the-enzo video on youtube is more exciting -lrb- and better directed , and better acted ... -rrb- than anything in MOV .",
      "although the movie 's artistic merits are virtually nonexistent , sadek does understand his audience , most of whom are unlikely to be acquainted yet with two key aspects of the film : driver 's licenses and women .",
      "looks like a music-video without the music -- sleek visuals , lots of things moving around the screen , girls posing , and guys dressed like it 's the 1980s . steer clear .",
      "it 's hard to say whether gleaming automobiles or women 's bodies are given the more fetishlike treatment in this vanity production .",
      "the movie MOV is all about surfaces , for young men with testosterone to burn .",
      "the cars in the film are treated with more respect than the women .",
      "the makers of this self-indulgent autopalooza take a ferrari engine , porsche speed , mercedes horsepower , and a shelby mustang chassis and somehow combine them into a yugo .",
      "MOV is n't exactly a car wreck , mainly because it 's far less exciting and you can , in fact , look away .",
      "everything you 'd expect it to be , and yet so much less : less character development , less believability , and most unforgivably , less escapist entertainment .",
      "MOV mostly feels like one long stunt intercut with the boring parts of a porn movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV has plenty of bad acting , laughable dialogue , and luxury cars .",
    "id": "671223000"
  },
  {
    "movie": "grudge_2",
    "reviews": [
      "please let 's pull the plug on this insanely over-promoted , over-rated horror brand .",
      "despite some nifty japanese style tricks and ghostly illusions this is n't scary . it 's muddled , same-old mayhem , just with a more international cast going crazy .",
      "the MOV , takashi shimizu 's wildly uneven but ambitious new film -- his second american remake -- is one of the best entries in the japanese director 's ju-on/grudge series .",
      "we 're treated to almost every ghosting and gruesome dispatch from the first film , just in a different order .",
      "even my pathological love of japan and its beauties , glories and eccentricities is sorely tested by the MOV , from takashi shimizu , a movie so bewildering and impenetrable that i believe it siphoned off a good 40 iq points .",
      "this particular grudge proves too pointless to bear .",
      "the MOV does n't even try to make sense ... the grudge just starts going after anyone it darn well wants to , and people are getting all grudged for no reason .",
      "if you have your unholy and unstoppable spirits crawling out of photo developing solution to chill the crowd , maybe this series should 've quit while it was ahead .",
      "like the grudge before it , there are multiple plots here , but this time they are more tenuously related .",
      "if the hollywood remake of the ring spawned a short-lived interest in so-called `` j-horror , '' the MOV ought to finally end it .",
      "shimizu has mastered the american art of pandering to a target demographic .",
      "the film feels more like several small , disconnected pieces thrown together rather than a satisfying whole .",
      "it 's the revenge of the gray people and this time everyone will hold a grudge because they 've made this same movie 3 times now and it still is n't worth seeing .",
      "a needlessly complicated , totally redundant follow-up to a mediocre original .",
      "there are a couple of good jumps here and there , but we 've seen this all before . and the creepy , dead girl , having been infinitely parodied -lrb- especially in scary movie 4 -rrb- , does n't seem quite so creepy anymore .",
      "the only place takashi does n't stuff his powdery ghosts is up a cheerleader 's skirt , surprising since there are so many of them readily available .",
      "if there 's anything more pointless than a sequel that simply duplicates its predecessor 's story and characters , it 's a review of that sequel .",
      "everything that made the grudge original , unique and terrifying falls flat in the MOV .",
      "all movies like the MOV leave us with is a sense of bored futility .",
      "for all intents and purposes , the MOV is a parody of itself and the most recent wave of japanese horror .",
      "more abstract art than conventional horror cinema , it 's more interested in parsing the idea of repetition , the basis and method of revenge .",
      "it 's hard to know where to begin with this sorry sequel , because when it was over , i felt like i had n't actually seen a movie . everything about it just evaporates immediately .",
      "with newfound freedom , the grudge-bearing specter is soon all over the place , shedding her long hair in various shower stalls and clogging drains on a global level .",
      "what 's a bad sequel but a revenant soul doomed to repeat itself ?",
      "i 'm not sure what fans see in these movies but , whatever it is , here it is again in `` MOV . ''",
      "vapid , silly and about as scary as an adam sandler film .",
      "some unsettling moments here , but the evil ghost itself is a predictable one-trick pony .",
      "like its progenitor , the MOV is filled with defective light bulbs , scummy bath water and camera work that makes even teenage flesh look mottled .",
      "chen 's bizarre , wooden acting -- full of awkward pauses -- only emphasizes just how awful susco 's script really is .",
      "tiresome , repetitive , ominously boring ...",
      "very little about the plot actually makes sense , but who needs logic when you 've got a creepy ghost child and his banshee mom lurking around ?",
      "takashi shimizu telegraphs scares to the point of numbness . peek under a table ? there 's the boy ! the room a bit too quiet , is it ? it 's the girl ! all that 's frightening are the actors ' pained facial expressions , suggesting an epidemic of farty indigestion .",
      "it 's a random series of attempted frights that fails at every turn .",
      "seven films later , with the conventions of throat croaking and neck cracking having moved into camp , it 's amazing that shimizu can still find new ways to turn the old screw .",
      "repetition is the death of horror .",
      "pale-faced , staring , mute japanese kids strike back .",
      "... nothing more than a needless rehash of its predecessor ...",
      "full review in greek",
      "the MOV starts out ridiculous , then gets boring , then irritating .",
      "every moment of intended terror becomes a slapstick gem , carefully constructed boo frights hit with the hilarity of lucille ball stepping on a rake",
      "... lazy , unimaginative storytelling that tries to fool the audience into thinking it 's clever .",
      "these days , spinach is scarier than anything that unfolds in `` the MOV . '' the film is such a waste , it could have benefited from the inspired and truthful title found in the recent `` jackass '' movie . `` the grudge number two '' comes closer to the mark .",
      "if i was a ghost trapped in this movie , i 'd be pretty angry too .",
      "if shimizu 's aging idea of rage-made wraiths were true , caterwauling critics would be crawling all over the multiplex right about now .",
      "story is incidental , as auds merely anticipate the scares .",
      "the more grudge films you see , the more the rules in this universe are unveiled as totally random -- to the point where you stop caring .",
      "the MOV merely confirms that the series -lrb- and , perhaps , the j-horror genre as a whole -rrb- has finally run its course",
      "the MOV is just a mélange of images , some mildly disturbing , but mostly just variations on a theme : an unblinking eye , a spectral presence lurking in a dark corner , a sexy schoolgirl in uniform .",
      "far from a horror fright-fest , the MOV generates laughs instead of the intended chills .",
      "for legitimate frights that do n't rely on gore , MOV fits the bill . just do n't go in expecting to make sense out of the convoluted story , because there is n't any .",
      "it is a testament to the power of filmmaking that even a waste of time like MOV can raise a slew of interesting questions to keep you thinking for a long time after leaving the theatre .",
      "`` the MOV '' has no substance , no suspense , numerous fade-outs , and finally no explanation . better to rent the original .",
      "while -lsb- the MOV -rsb- deserves some credit for creating and sustaining a creepy atmosphere , it does n't matter much when the plot does n't go anywhere .",
      "i mean , for all i know , i could be cursed for just watching this nonsense . wait , what 's that under my desk ?",
      "just a quick scare and then back to the nonsensical and diluted story .",
      "shimizu actually behaves as if he 's making a good movie , flexing his stylistic muscles such that you 're still jumping at ghost-moments long after you 've been conditioned to expect them .",
      "rather than following the story of the japanese sequel ju-on 2 , the english-language MOV is based on an original script by stephen susco . unfortunately , there is n't much about it that feels all that original .",
      "japanese director shimizu may be the only director in history to have helmed a pair of hollywood remakes of his two biggest hit films and managed to screw up both of them .",
      "these films are popular with teenagers who have n't seen it all before , who do n't see every jump scare coming a mile off .",
      "takako fuji and ohga tanaka , as the ghosts , do mtv movie award-caliber work by just crouching in a phone booth .",
      "it is n't a bad movie , just a redundant one .",
      "the horrific child with huge eyes and the pale waif with a curtain of black hair continue to torment the innocent by appearing unpleasantly under desks and in reflections .",
      "... yet another american remake ... of an incomprehensible japanese horror film ...",
      "consequently , the MOV is ruthlessly uneventful and as generically scary as stale pumpkin pie two weeks removed from a sedate halloween party .",
      "MOV is such a complete rehash of its predecessor that it 's likely that those who have n't seen the original -lrb- american or japanese versions -rrb- will enjoy the sequel more than those who have .",
      "it basically repeats the events of the first film with some roles reversed and perversions intensified . for all its visual audacity , the MOV is quite predictable in its pattern of behavior .",
      "this ghost makes zombies look like olympic sprinters .",
      "the movie is utter junk , suitable perhaps for late-night tv , but not for the thousands of big screens on which it opened yesterday .",
      "do n't know about you , but i 've seen enough weird women with long hair and heard enough of those screechy violins and atonal sound effects to last a lifetime .",
      "low calorie horror , it 's propped up by set-piece shocks familiar from any of the other five incarnations of ju-on : the grudge ."
    ],
    "summary": "a diminished sequel that makes even less sense than the grudge 1 .",
    "id": "314387262"
  },
  {
    "movie": "middle_men",
    "reviews": [
      "-lsb- wilson 's -rsb- phenomenal performance as a family man undone by sexual and financial temptation is more than this movie deserves .",
      "... the picture is never not engaging , and it certainly has its moments .",
      "gallo has the start of a good story here , but he ca n't find an original way to explore it .",
      "MOV is an anxious film , but not in a good way , in that it does n't generate suspense so much as dread .",
      "director george gallo embraces the gamey porn scene with gusto : there 's oodles of nudity , of course -lrb- and lots of over-inflated breastage -rrb- .",
      "this very well-acted , often amusing and dirty-minded hard-r film still stands out in a sea of market-driven blandness .",
      "take away the nudity and sleaze , and at its heart MOV is about billing . no wonder it needed all the jiggling .",
      "MOV would be lucky to rise to the median of a list of the films released in 2010 . it 's actually pretty far below `` middle . ''",
      "gallo 's self-consciously overstated direction feeds the impression that he 's trying to remake goodfellas ... can we all agree by now that the use of `` sympathy for the devil '' in crime pictures ought to be outlawed ?",
      "-lsb- s -rsb- poradically satisfying ... if this tale of rags to riches to major felonies has a familiar feel to it , it 's that it feels scorsese-lite ...",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- frenetic jumble of subplots and sleazy characters ...",
      "think boogie nights meets casino , though it 's not likely to make the lasting impression of either seminal film .",
      "relentlessly sleazy but undeniably intriguing .",
      "sharply observed but poorly helmed and unevenly acted , this gross and sordid account of the early days of internet porn claims to be based on a factual story but its true inspiration is boogie nights , paul thomas anderson 's masterpiece .",
      "sex , lies and mastercard . an irreverent , strictly behind the scenes tabloid peep show about those thankfully unsung guys who perpetrated the online porn revolution , without ever taking their clothes off .",
      "luke wilson 's terrific performance renders an uneasy hybrid of crime drama , comedy and ecommerce far more compelling than it otherwise would be .",
      "is jack , who is patterned on a real-life character , sociopathic or just plain clueless ? gallo does n't seem to care . he cares about parading before us lowlifes living the high life .",
      "trust me when i say there is too much story here for a film that runs just over 100 minutes .",
      "if it were n't for james caan 's shyster las vegas lawyer , the whole , um , pornucopia would be a complete waste of time . best to think of this as middling men .",
      "what could have been a complex portrait of a flawed man dealing with the perils of success ends up far less interesting .",
      "inspired by the reputed experiences of the film 's producer , MOV casts its protagonist in a suspiciously flattering light ... fortunately wilson brings enough dark and disreputable shades to the character for the film to work .",
      "save yourself the trouble of watching it and just check out goodfellas instead .",
      "considering the naughty subject matter , MOV is a shockingly dull affair .",
      "... a film that ca n't make up its mind what it wants to be : a comedy , a melodrama , a crime thriller , or a documentary .",
      "zealously nasty fun which , surprisingly , ends on something of a note of upbeat grace and familial redemption ...",
      "kind of a mess .",
      "MOV spins one heck of a yarn , so crazy it must be true .",
      "there 's too much scorsese-izing , and all the characters with the exception of wilson and ramsey 's illicit lovers look as if they were drawn by a fifteen-year-old .",
      "far from a classic and wo n't tug at your heartstrings , but it manages to be captivating from top to bottom with a refreshingly sharp and funny screenplay , a great ensemble cast and a lively soundtrack .",
      "mr. gallo , for his part , is content to decorate a fairly conventional , intermittently entertaining crime chronicle with a bit of skin and a soupçon of pop sociology . there must be other ways to learn about pornography on the internet .",
      "i never got the feeling gallo and company figured out how to compress and focus their stories .",
      "with outstanding performances from a brilliant ensemble cast , MOV turns out to be wickedly entertaining with some of the best acting you will see all year .",
      "hampered mightily by luke wilson 's casting , MOV has energy and some sleazy fun around its edges , but critically fails to locate a sincere lasting feeling , be it titillation or trepidation .",
      "pretty much proffers everything you can want in a film based on the upstart company that brought porn to a computer screen near you .",
      "professional fixer tries to protect two creeps who helped develop internet porn from predatory gangsters and crooks . mixed-up morality tale should have had more impact .",
      "what was meant to be a wild ride through the seedy underbelly of the early internet instead becomes a tepid wallow amid a slew of unsavory but resolutely uninteresting characters .",
      "a squandered opportunity to tell what may have been an interesting story .",
      "the rise of online porn is simply the hook for a thoroughly rote mixed-up-with-the-mob drama that overdoes all the obvious cliches",
      "it is more proof that the influence of tv-style superficiality -- undramatic pacing , routine imagery -- has ruined the imagination of both filmgoers and filmmakers .",
      "a highly entertaining , flawed , ripped-off-and-reassembled carnival of sleaze .",
      "it builds to a dud of a climax and , ultimately rises and falls -lrb- more often , falling -rrb- on the performance by luke wilson .",
      "so pushy and distracted it may as well have pop-up ads .",
      "a colorful supporting cast gives this uneven internet porn saga a potent boost .",
      "this one 's coming in under the radar . keep an eye out ... best of all is wilson , digging into his juiciest role in years .",
      "even without much character development , the compelling story holds , mostly due to wilson .",
      "packed with more voice-over narration than a docent 's tour of the metropolitan museum , `` MOV '' is formulaic to a fault .",
      "sex , lies and mastercard . an irreverent , strictly behind the scenes tabloid peep show about those thankfully unsung guys who perpetrated the online porn revolution , without ever taking their clothes off .",
      "this inspired-by-a-true-story film about the birth of internet porn is giddily sleazy , full of convincing crazies and criminals , as well as the scumbags and wannabes who surround them .",
      "perhaps it 's inevitable that this cranked-up drama wants it both ways .",
      "` MOV ' may not have the action and slapstick comedy that one expects to see this late in the summer , but the film is filled with zest and actually worth exploring ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV benefits from a solid cast , particularly luke wilson , but its muddled script lets them down .",
    "id": "770809186"
  },
  {
    "movie": "hook",
    "reviews": [
      "muddled but fascinating",
      "also-ran spielberg at best , a would-be blockbuster that no one likes at worst .",
      "who wants to spend over two hours with a peter pan who screams , ` do n't mess with me , i 'm a lawyer ! '",
      "all spielberg achieved is an impressive production design ; in every other department , he 's profoundly wasted talent , material , and time .",
      "in the end , MOV is n't great or terrible , but it 's both - a film that has some wonderful moments , and some really awful ones",
      "you just have to appreciate its creative angle toward peter pan and his world .",
      "a clumsy mishmash of a comedy .",
      "`` peter pan '' redo has its moments with hoffman and williams .",
      "MOV is overwhelmed by a screenplay heavy with complicated exposition , by what are , in effect , big busy nonsinging , nondancing production numbers and some contemporary cant about rearing children and the high price paid for success .",
      "with all the money and talent and hype that went into this film , it should have been a lot better , but it is entertaining enough to rate a passing grade , especially for robin williams fans .",
      "the exposition is so underlined and re-underlined , you could teach yourself to fly waiting for something to happen .",
      "here we get the uncanny suspicion that MOV was written and directed according to the famous recipe of the country preacher who told the folks what he was going to tell them , told them , and then told them what he had told them .",
      "MOV breaks the cardinal rule of j.m. barrie 's timeless fantasy -- it grows up .",
      "this enormous wheeze comes over like the proverbial movie with a 40 million dollar set and a five cent script , which may hold its interest for under-fives but will leave most others cold .",
      "one of spielberg 's rare and true misfires . it 's weirdly creepy when it 's not being bombastically boring .",
      "no matter how much cash MOV earns , it will take more than pixie dust to fly this overstuffed package into our dreams .",
      "bottom of the barrel spielbergiana",
      "spielberg gives in to his worst tendencies , and turns peter pan into a day-glo mess .",
      "it should have been great but it just does n't have enough magic dust to fly .",
      "longo e cansativo , `` MOV '' é a prova de que o nome de spielberg nem sempre implica em um bom filme de fantasia .",
      "big , splashy , energetic , one-size-fits-all hollywood entertainment .",
      "it 's worth a look . but overall , MOV feels like an exercise in cynicism .",
      "the movie is a strong reminder of the freedom of youth and the quest for pure adventure , one that looks to the stars and sees the possibilities are as bright as a child 's own imagination ."
    ],
    "summary": "the look of MOV is lively indeed but steven spielberg directs on autopilot here , giving in too quickly to his sentimental , syrupy qualities .",
    "id": "10209"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_santa_clause_2",
    "reviews": [
      "if you want to put your kids in the mood for christmas , or just put the fear of being naughty in them - this is the movie to see . you might just get a little enjoyment yourself .",
      "playful and light-hearted , the story is a kids ' delight and bearable for parents , too , as long as you do n't mind plot holes you could fly a sleigh through and plenty of goofy mugging for the camera .",
      "more of the same tinsel-draped malarkey that made the original film into a big hit , but it 's more engaging , assured and funny , and i liked it more .",
      "has plenty of ingenious takes on north pole mythology to skate over the rough spots of a scattered script .",
      "there 's just not enough of that old corny ho-ho-ho in MOV to make it a qualified holiday hit .",
      "what soured me on MOV was that santa bumps up against 21st century reality so hard , it 's icky .",
      "the film has a nearly terminal case of the cutes , and it 's neither as funny nor as charming as it thinks it is .",
      "not so much funny as aggressively sitcom-cute , it 's full of throwaway one-liners , not-quite jokes , and a determined tv amiability that allen personifies .",
      "allen , with hardworking charm , single-handedly saves it from family-values monotony .",
      "like most disney releases , santa clause 2 is a conflagration of trite family film clichés and , as such , is logically , emotionally and spiritually wrong .",
      "MOV is chock full of heartwarming holiday cheer .",
      "amazingly , the film juggles all the elements well without being messy , instead playing fair and tying up all the loose ends .",
      "the script for sc2 ... is not perfect , but with allen 's help it delivers more hits than misses .",
      "... stocks itself with unoriginal and cheap slapstick violence , cloying performances and ridiculously forced sight gags and smirking jokes that would n't melt a snow flake on a sears hotplate",
      "sitcom-level predictability and treacle .",
      "this one deserves a `` bah humbug . ''",
      "fun for those for whom hogwarts or middle earth are a little too tiring or scary , a cinematic lump of coal for everyone else .",
      "... more of a high-tech extravaganza than a touching fantasy .",
      "in spite of the fact that the only reason this film exists is to make money off the success of the first , there are genuine moments of cuteness and believability pulled off by people who should be doing better things but are still waiting or searching for",
      "ao sair do cinema , eu estava feliz e com saudades de um tempo em que , para mim , a existęncia de papai noel era um fato inquestionável .",
      "veers between naughty and nice , which puts a lot of pressure on the finale 's ability to send us home happy . the good news is that the old fellow does n't let us down in the end .",
      "more than anything , the movie underscores actor tim allen 's gifts as a star who instinctively finds the middle ground between genuine sweetness and arch appeal .",
      "if you value your time and money , find an escape clause and avoid seeing this trite , predictable rehash .",
      "there 's something fishy about a seasonal holiday kids ' movie ... that derives its moment of most convincing emotional gravity from a scene where santa gives gifts to grownups .",
      "even a 4-year-old can spot very early on who will be wearing the title of mrs. claus , but the ride to matrimony is well worth the trip .",
      "it 's as home-entertainment ready as a shrink-wrapped sack of microwave popcorn . but at least it works hard at finding ways of pushing this one-joke premise ahead a space or two .",
      "with a decent and effective combination of touching , entertaining and often rather funny material , the film is one of those rare sequels that 's as good and in many ways better than its predecessor .",
      "kids probably will find it rip-roaring holiday fun , and it is rated g to boot .",
      "an intermittently amusing but soulless mechanism for the extraction of money from moviegoers .",
      "like the original , this version is raised a few notches above kiddie fantasy pablum by allen 's astringent wit .",
      "it would be hard to imagine a family slipping in MOV into the dvd player 20 years from now as part of a holiday tradition .",
      "marlon brando has the godfather , laurence olivier has hamlet , and now tim allen has ... santa claus .",
      "visually , ` santa clause 2 ' is wondrously creative .",
      "those of you who do n't believe in santa claus probably also think that sequels can never capture the magic of the original . well , this movie proves you wrong on both counts .",
      "a bloated , prefab sequel that gets stuck in the chimney .",
      "this harmless sugar-plum of a movie is just that : a confection that 's long on sweetness but unfortunately short on jokes that will amuse anyone over age 8 .",
      "i doubt anyone will remember the picture by the time christmas really rolls around , but maybe it 'll be on video by then .",
      "sweet like a well-made glass of apple cider , MOV offers a nice , early dose of christmas cheer .",
      "a movie conscious , at every waking moment , of trying to out-do its predecessor .",
      "has less charm than coal in a stocking .",
      "to it 's credit , MOV does pull off that magical holiday feeling more than once , and it does so without sarcasm , profanity , or excessive special effects .",
      "MOV is a barely adequate babysitter for older kids , but i 've got to give it thumbs down .",
      "veering between cold-hearted cynicism ... and magical christmas moments , this is far better than the usual hollywood holiday cash-ins .",
      "the industrial-strength artifice and bogus sentiment that fueled 1994 's inexplicable megahit ` the santa clause ' returns for another ride in santa 's souped-up sleigh .",
      "it 's really obvious that the sequel was made only to cash in on the popularity of a much better original . i resent that kind of cynicism , especially in a movie that 's supposed to fill me with holiday cheer .",
      "while the film has some good points ... the writers seem not to have gotten it .",
      "sc2 is an autopilot hollywood concoction lacking in imagination and authentic christmas spirit , yet it 's geared toward an audience full of masters of both .",
      "for god 's sake , i know it must test well with 6-year-olds , but ca n't we have just one % u2013 just one % u2013 kiddie comedy that does n't include a flatulence gag ? is that too much to ask ?",
      "a time-filler until harry potter hits the big screen .",
      "inoffensive entertainment for the undiscriminating , but lacks a fair share of the magic of the original .",
      "MOV proves itself a more streamlined and thought out encounter than the original could ever have hoped to be .",
      "... lacks the overall magic of the original , but it makes up for the bad filmmaking with enchanting performances .",
      "a cornucopia of delights . it is wonderfully funny and even romantic .",
      "those who stick with ` clause 2 ' through its unpromising opening will be rewarded with a reasonably entertaining romantic comedy ...",
      "entirely inoffensive , so it makes for perfect family fare -- but only if the children are young enough to be indiscriminating about what they 're seeing .",
      "once again , allen proves that he can be charming enough to carry a bad film on his shoulders and make you think that it was n't so horrible .",
      "... gets by enough on its seasonal charm and half-decent dialogue to recommend as an afternoon distraction that will -- just barely -- keep the whole family smiling .",
      "was n't nearly as horrible as i thought it would be .",
      "willie wonka and the chocolate factory has more life and cheer in any given shot than the whole of santa clause 2 .",
      "allen 's got a modesty that translates well in this type of story .",
      "MOV is quite the delightful little holiday experience , packed tightly with visual treasures , neat little characters , and the occasional in-joke that the adults will take a liking to",
      "a pleasant holiday diversion , but like most sequels , not as good as the original movie .",
      "although november 1 seems a bit early to get into the christmas spirit , even for the most ardent holiday fanatics ... MOV is enough to set any scrooge aglow with the x-mas bug .",
      "allen 's underestimated charm delivers more goodies than lumps of coal .",
      "not only better than its predecessor , it may rate as the most magical and most fun family fare of this or any recent holiday season .",
      "the scenes in which fake santa torments the elves with a toy soldier army are twisted enough to make it worth sticking around through the mawkish courtship .",
      "... how else are you going to get to see judge reinhold on the big screen ?",
      "the weird thing about MOV , purportedly a children 's movie , is that there is nothing in it to engage children emotionally .",
      "-lsb- allen 's -rsb- ingratiating performance goes a long way toward making the sequel tolerable even for those who remain immune to its predecessor 's dubious charms .",
      "in spite of featuring a script credited to no fewer than five writers , apparently nobody here bothered to check it twice .",
      "like its predecessor , it 's no classic , but it provides a reasonably attractive holiday contraption , one that families looking for a clean , kid-friendly outing should investigate .",
      "... one of those sadistically cheerful holiday movies that have the distinct feel of a piece of candy cane getting stuck in your throat .",
      "silly in all the places the first one was sincere .",
      "tim allen and his team make it look easy , this putting on of ho-ho-hos in such a way that adults may find stocking-stuffer laughs amid the general jingle-bellishness of MOV .",
      "santa out of costume and on a date does not classic christmas material make .",
      "santa 's back , but it does n't mean it 's the season to be jolly .",
      "the movie is as padded as allen 's jelly belly .",
      "any holiday movie that pokes fun at charlie sheen rebounding to the naughty list -lrb- ` i thought he cleaned up his act ! ' allen exclaims -rrb- deserves a little yuletide cheer .",
      "suggests that if santa ca n't deliver presents , it means no christmas . did n't dr. seuss teach us a long time ago that even if you stop the presents , you do n't stop christmas ?",
      "despite some major claus flaws , the film 's successes are truly magical and inspired .",
      "while the film is not entirely successful , it still manages to string together enough charming moments to work .",
      "somehow , the movie manages to be a lot funnier and flakier than you would expect .",
      "anyone who has ever dreamed of a santa who knows your heart 's desire should feel a little tug at the heart when santa 's own dreams come true .",
      "raises the question once again of why , in our society , movies are the only arena in which `` it 's for children '' means that the product is demonstrably worse .",
      "MOV '' goes down as easy as an eggnog on christmas eve .",
      "that the tooth fairy , the sandman , mother nature and cupid even appear suggests that the franchise is already out of ideas , and is aiming itself at a less discriminating audience of the very young .",
      "has the disjointed feel of a bunch of strung-together tv episodes .",
      "while it 's not destined to become a christmas classic , MOV offers humor and holiday spirit that can be enjoyed by children and adults .",
      "bah humbug .",
      "all these developments and challenges facing santa weigh down the plot so heavily that they drain all the film of its energy and needlessly strain credibility .",
      "MOV 's plot may sound like it was co-written by mattel executives and lobbyists for the tinsel industry .",
      "it 's mildly sentimental , unabashedly consumerist ... studiously inoffensive and completely disposable .",
      "i was so caught up in its genuine , unsentimental christmas magic that i forgot to be snide and sarcastic and cynical .",
      "... hopefully it 'll be at the dollar theatres by the time christmas rolls around . wait to see it then .",
      "the sequel drops the adult aspects of the story in favor of talking reindeer and a life-size , plastic santa replacement -lrb- also played by allen -rrb- that is strongly reminiscent of that creepy family from the duracell commercials .",
      "the film has no pretensions other then being exactly what it is : a sweet , slickly manufactured tale for the whole family , a holiday diversion cut to fit everyone from 6 to 60 .",
      "allen is genuinely affable as santa with wit .",
      "contains just enough good cheer to surmount overbaked writing and overblown visual effects .",
      "it has wit and warmth and an abundance of good cheer .",
      "a reasonably entertaining sequel to 1994 's surprise family hit that may strain adult credibility ."
    ],
    "summary": "though it 's harmless as family entertainment and has moments of charm , MOV is also predictable and forgettable .",
    "id": "9452"
  },
  {
    "movie": "cedar_rapids_2010",
    "reviews": [
      "the contrast between tim 's small town life and the near debauchery of big town MOV makes this a real stranger in a strange land yarn .",
      "one of miguel arteta 's most amiable films , MOV blends elements of capra and sturges small-town features while displaying the director 's sensibility of subversive optimism and the comedy of embarrassment",
      "we brace ourselves for a zillion low-hanging jokes about olive garden restaurants , but `` MOV '' mostly avoids them , and introduces us instead to a series of unpredictable characters , nicely sketched by a very good cast .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- slyly complex and broadly comic farce about innocence , corruption , and the gray areas between .",
      "i imagine the director , miguel arteta , is the reason the movie succeeds as well as it does . he mutes the obnoxiousness and concentrates on the performances , nearly all of which are excellent and marked by a sense of real camaraderie .",
      "reilly is an absolute hoot as a glad-handing carouser with an inexhaustible supply of cheesy catchphrases , while heche finds unexpected depth as a wife and mother on the prowl .",
      "when he lands in the title town and experiences it as if it were las vegas , we laugh with him as well as at him .",
      "friendly , unassuming and just a little dull ... the sort of movie you wo n't mind visiting once , but probably wo n't want to return to again .",
      "a really entertaining effort , aided by some terrific performances .",
      "ed helms and company seem like they 're mocking middle-america vanilla-ness , which is ripe for mocking , but they also want to embrace it with a cuddly ending .",
      "if you are n't in the mood for adam sandler this weekend -lrb- and , who really is ? -rrb- , check out MOV as your alternative comedy choice .",
      "... an agreeable little comedy that gets plenty of mileage out of its quirky premise and its impressively off-kilter cast .",
      "it 's a reliable set-up for farce , but somehow MOV never breaks free of its influences to establish its own rhythm .",
      "overall , MOV has enough laughs and charm to insure a good time .",
      "a breath of early spring in the winter movie graveyard .",
      "the trouble with embarrassment comedies is we do n't all squirm at the same places .",
      "MOV is both hilarious and heartfelt . it 's also powered by a dream cast , led by the outstanding ed helms .",
      "an ultimately light satire of middle-american sanctimony and hypocrisy .",
      "helms 's gifts still seem better suited for the small , situation-based set pieces he has done on `` the office '' and `` the daily show with jon stewart . ''",
      "like the location of iowa in regard to the rest of the country , the film ends up right in the middle . not enough of this , not enough of that . however , it is helms ' daffy sweetness that redeems the whole .",
      "might not be the raunchfest the trailer teases , but that 's ok . rapids is a refreshingly sweet film about characters .",
      "such sweetness makes the raunch in this honestly funny movie even funnier .",
      "MOV is hugely funny not because it 's outrageous , but because it 's smart , relatable and creates a camaraderie between its quartet of leads .",
      "wistfully subversive optimism",
      "ed helms finally gets a starring role to call his own in MOV , but john c. reilly swipes the movie out from under him .",
      "cross the old fashioned values of frank capra with the raunch of judd apatow and you just might come up with something like `` MOV . ''",
      "MOV is a quirky comedy that crossbreeds two common cinematic staples : the mismatched buddy movie and the fish-out-of-water scenario .",
      "at 80-some minutes , the film is about the right length with a decent register of laughs . what gets lost is what i suspect is a more rounded comedy about religious hypocrisy and not judging a person 's inner goodness by their outer conduct .",
      "MOV is shaggy and goofy and smart and quirky in all the best ways .",
      "-lsb- the -rsb- corporate satire is n't especially sharp , but the mood throughout is consistently warm and likable .",
      "screenwriter phil johnston gets a surprising amount of comic mileage from the familiar premise of staid rotary club types getting crazy in a strange town , and there are some decent laughs from helms 's fellow conventioneers and partners in crime .",
      "miguel arteta 's comedy takes a while to find its mojo , but gets there eventually with humanity and heart .",
      "these corn-fed rotarians are such a cuddly bunch , and the movie 's barbs are so pudding-soft , that it 's not hard to get caught up in all the gee-whizzery .",
      "raunchy comedy is packed with sex , drinking , and swearing .",
      "the movie belongs to helms and reilly , ringleaders who barely seem to notice that the script from phil johnston favors easy jokes and obvious setups . they , and the others , give this minor movie major heart .",
      "the gifted reilly is now almost principally a comedic actor -- and with good reason . he 's the most lovable of goof balls , with his eyes rolling around his sockets crazily and a voice that sounds drunk even when it 's sober .",
      "there 's definitely plenty to laugh about in MOV , there just is n't too much to applaud about .",
      "sure , it may make you uncomfortable while you laugh . but only if you 've gotten a little too comfortable laughing at small-town squares .",
      "when this mix of hopeful and edgy works , you get something like `` little miss sunshine . '' and when it does n't , you get a cocktail with a bad smell , one part sunny to two parts vulgar .",
      "terrific ensemble cast in a smart , funny , sometimes sweet little film .",
      "how can a movie so rude and crude also be endearingly hilarious ? in the case of this slight and sort of sweet comedy , we can thank a handful of actors far better than their material .",
      "if it resembles an inflated pilot episode for a raunchy sitcom more than a motion picture , at least it looks like a show that wo n't bore you or insult your intelligence .",
      "the less uptight ... will have an amusing enough time ... and some might even be glad that here arteta 's removed enough edge from his man-child hero that there 's no chance of any of his quirks resonating in one 's head ...",
      "2011 's first thoroughly enjoyable comedy",
      "the cast , anchored by sweetly goofy ed helms , redeems the film at every turn , adding humor and dimension to characters who might have otherwise drowned in tacky grotesquerie .",
      "a rollicking comedy about the transformation of a sheltered and insecure insurance salesman while attending a convention .",
      "the film 's director , miguel arteta , understands that real laughter grows from characters . he has a rich start with lippe , played by helms as a man who is thrilled even to go through security at the airport .",
      "no more and no less than its premise suggests , the film delivers the laughs .",
      "this foursome has better , funnier chemistry than the gang in the hangover , and -lsb- helms ' character 's -rsb- only known them for a couple days .",
      "modest in every way , the screenplay by phil johnston is enjoyable in the telling even when the details smack of contrivance .",
      "MOV is both funny and perceptive with a sympathetic mixture of boorish , calculating and innocent-abroad behaviour .",
      "it 's funny , offensive , well acted and pointless .",
      "everyone will leave feeling like they just had a properly-sized snack of delicious popcorn when they really wanted a juicy burger . it 's responsible and you do n't regret it , but it does n't go down in history either .",
      "cardboard caricatures of midwesterners make for a few easy laughs",
      "what happens in `` MOV '' does n't stay in MOV ... excellent news for film-goers in the mood for something hilariously off-kilter .",
      "a kind of american pie for young adults , there is much amiable and good-hearted humour here amongst the cruder elements and the strange nether-world of conventions is amusingly captured .",
      "everyone does good work here , but for helms this is a breakout role , and he delivers . MOV is a modest but disarming comedy that will leave a smile on your face ...",
      "hopelessly benign but still boisterous enough to deliver a mild buzz .",
      "MOV is at its best when it pushes helms into uncomfortable situations and makes him figure them out . but the movie remains less than completely satisfying",
      "engagingly funny .",
      "the main thing about `` MOV '' is that it makes you laugh-often and out loud .",
      "though the comedy in `` MOV '' is arteta 's broadest yet , the film reflects the care he takes with his cast , the sort that helped reveal an acting depth no one suspected from jennifer aniston in 2002 's `` the good girl . ''",
      "this is a frank capra-meets-judd apatow comedy with a sweetness-laced ribaldry .",
      "MOV is a strange little movie -- a borderline dark comedy one minute , and a raucous frat comedy the next .",
      "the word `` meh '' was coined for films such as this .",
      "MOV is n't hard-hitting , but it is wise in its own dippy way , and in ed helms ' tim lippe is a protagonist written with uncommon affection .",
      "astute depiction of the inevitable corny humor and cheesy networking activities of business gatherings , gutsy performances , and genuine affection for its characters .",
      "through the sites and through the attitudes of the characters , and between the words they say , you get an appreciation of how people live and think in that unexplored territory known as the midwest .",
      "the jokes sing as well as zing .",
      "MOV is agreeable , but no wands are waved . and it 's amusing , but not knee-slappingly so .",
      "the movie finds a happy medium in balancing crude and raunchy humor with sweet emotional moments . it wins the audience over from the opening scene .",
      "`` MOV '' is funny , raunchy and goofy , but it also has heart and underlying warmth that makes it most appealing .",
      "these folk are undistinguished yet distinctive , and the film , for all the familiar grind of its plotting , pays them their honest due .",
      "what might have been an incisively comic lampoon of religious hypocrisy and personal sanctimony instead becomes a too-earnest embarrassment comedy that easily amuses but rarely finds big laughs ...",
      "thanks to a surprisingly touching , while also hilarious performance by helms and a savvy script from newcomer phil johnston , MOV is a refreshing change from the norm .",
      "does n't ask its cast to detour too far from personalities they 've played in past projects .",
      "a bit of the sort of indie preciousness often associated with sundance , but it 's still a winning , entertaining and very funny film .",
      "... hilariously traces one man 's morally perilous journey toward honesty and truth .",
      "... not nearly as funny or insightful as it thinks it is , but i will say this for phil johnston 's script : it runs like clockwork right down to the crises which show up predictably at 30 and 60 minutes in .",
      "MOV is a small , endlessly charming comedy . it 's not laugh-a-minute , but the characters will leave you smiling long after you 've left the theater .",
      "-lsb- video -rsb- ed helms comfortably nails his part as small-town insurance salesman tim lippe with just the right amount of internal anguish .",
      "it helps that reilly is the opposite of a slob-comic . with his hangdog melancholy , he makes even the nonstop cunnilingus allusions poignant -- the product of emotional longing .",
      "the assembled cast is stellar and they make the most of each scene .",
      "a reasonably successful attempt to capitalize on helms ' skills .",
      "midwesterners going wild may not sound like an original idea for a comedy , but they really become a team . with each character contributing to the wacky , it becomes a unique combination .",
      "if you 're a fan of helms or reilly , neither of them disappoint , but with so many strong elements , we were hoping for something a bit more memorable .",
      "helms is at his best when reacting to others , which is one of the reasons he has made such an effective ensemble player in recent years .",
      "well-worth seeing for a couple of good chuckles .",
      "like a slightly twisted , modern-day frank capra fable ...",
      "helms delivers a performance of touching delicacy , one almost as remarkable as that of tom hanks in big .",
      "detailed and consistently funny observation of small-town sincerity muddling through a dog-eat-dog world .",
      "although the ads pitch it as being somewhere between the office and the hangover , MOV is actually a semisweet charmer of a movie that fluxes between edgy comedy and palpable pathos .",
      "MOV takes an inordinate number of wrong turns , but it also has an inordinate number of good laughs mixed in with the not-so-good ones .",
      "considering it has to do with infidelity , bribery , drugs , drinking , loutish behavior , fraud and prostitution , MOV is really kind of a sweet movie .",
      "it 's yet another comedy that 's trying too hard to sell something past its date .",
      "`` MOV '' is a fish-out-of-water story that never strays far from a formula and yet still manages to feel fresh .",
      "in the dying days of an era when `` big city '' has been a relative term , the sales-convention comedy `` MOV '' is a loving tribute to american innocence .",
      "these are characters it 's a pleasure to spend time with and the movie knows it .",
      "there 's a whole lot of swearin ' in this otherwise sweet film about conventioneers gone wild , with producer alexander payne further establishing his comic brand .",
      "a scathing christopher guest satire and a raucous hangover-style comedy are waiting to get out . what we have instead is genial and sporadically funny , in the mushy middle .",
      "within the structure of a conventional , well-built comedy fable about an innocent among bigger-city sophisticates - a screenplay bull 's - eye for relative newcomer -lrb- and native wisconsinite -rrb- phil johnston - is something truly original .",
      "it 's a movie that needs to look down its nose for its laughs , which generally is n't the best place to find them .",
      "a mild comedy of embarrassment , set in the dark heart of middle america .",
      "ed helms seeks post-hangover glory as a meek midwest insurance peddler out of his depth , but john c. reilly steals this patchy wild-weekend farce as mr. bad example .",
      "this crude aping of every hack from judd apatow to the farrelly brothers represents the worst of what is happening in film today ...",
      "ping-pongs between empathetic chuckles at helms 's charming social awkwardness and putting him through a raunchfest ringer .",
      "though it has some heart , the film does n't hit the funny bone like its trailer teased .",
      "despite some of the raunchiest dialogue in recent memory , there is an undeniable sweetness that makes it hard to resist . the fact that it is consistently funny does n't hurt .",
      "MOV worth visiting .",
      "it 's really more amusing than it is fall-out-of-your-seat funny . ... there 's a general lack of any real edge here -- though not for a lack of trying .",
      "reilly and helms have excellent on-screen chemistry as unlikely best buds , which turns MOV into a surprisingly effective bromance that is hobbled only by its overly conventional ending .",
      "one of the things i admire most about director miguel arteta 's films -lrb- including chuck & buck and the good girl -rrb- is that he shows such compassion for his characters .",
      "a terrific little movie full of characters who are worth meeting .",
      "raunchy dialogue hides a sweet center , but the movie never really comes to life .",
      "all hail the mighty ed helms for yet another masterclass in comedy and pathos .",
      "the undeniably sweet `` MOV '' should further the rise of actor ed helms .",
      "the sweetness and -- dare we say it ? -- innocence of this sometimes rude comedy will be no surprise to fans of director miguel arteta , whose previous films -- ` chuck & buck , ' ` youth in revolt ' -- displayed genuine empathy for underdogs and oddballs .",
      "blobby hybrid of frat-dude slapstick and alexander payne-approved middle america smirking",
      "while never getting bogged down in the moral question of whether tim needed to see a world outside his happy bubble , this film has enough laughs to keep it going .",
      "not many movies manage to be filthy but sweet . this one brings it off .",
      "MOV slowly squanders its apparently fruitful set-up , heading towards a weak , sappy ending that tries for sweetness , but leaves a sickly saccharine aftertaste .",
      "plenty of passing laughs , but some coarse overacting , not to mention a phoned-in , capra-esque message of singular banality .",
      "what makes it work is the real sense of warmth and affection that grows between the characters , lending the film an appealing sweetness that has become all too rare in american comedy .",
      "comedy seldom comes as good-natured as MOV , a fish-out-of-water story in which a midwestern innocent discovers sex , drugs and cream sherry in the big city .",
      "MOV is a lot less funny than it thinks it is with a pretty testing childish zaniness .",
      "admittedly , some episodes strain credibility , but we are resolutely behind the morally flawed protagonists every stumble of the way .",
      "this crowd-pleaser is not arteta 's defining piece , but its feel-good nature and big heart bolster your spirits .",
      "with raunchy jokes and pointed sideswipes at religious hypocrisy , the film takes its bearings from reilly 's deanzie - vulgar on the outside , but warm-hearted and sincere underneath",
      "decadence is a state of mind . when that state is iowa as in MOV , the running joke is that everything dirty is drenched with naivete . rather than ridiculing midwestern values - as hollywood could do - this movie embraces its inner yokel .",
      "the hangover cast member ca n't quite carry a feature on his own . this one is not all that funny anyway , and its comic elements eventually become redundant",
      "MOV is a low-rent version of the sort of raunchy comedy that 's all the rage these days , but it wears its modesty rather well .",
      "this goofy fish-out-of-water comedy is deeply endearing . as it follows its central character on a clumsy voyage of discovery , we ca n't help but laugh even as we try not to recognise ourselves in him .",
      "no mere fish out of water tale - more akin to scraping oceanic plankton off the back of a humpback whale and slapping it on the glittered midriffs of chuck sheen 's poolside bevy of goddesses .",
      "one of the welcome surprises of `` MOV '' is that while you start out laughing at them , by the end of the movie you 're rooting for them . for such a raunchy crowd-pleaser , the movie turns out to have a kind heart .",
      "even when it goes off the rails , it is kept grounded by the decency and humanity of helms ' character .",
      "there 's not much to take from MOV but a nice evening 's entertainment . it plays some with subverting the clichés of the xenophobic midwest , but only a little . it 's more interested in following a standard path , but that 's okay .",
      "the least this tepid comedy could do is provide a vibrant sense of humor . instead , it 's a riff-heavy , wildly formulaic modern comedy that uses stereotypes and improvisations in a gentle , but tedious manner to bring the laughs .",
      "it 's just so endearingly dorky .",
      "one of those sunny-natured indie comedies that comes out of nowhere to put a smile on your face .",
      "more man-child high-jinks in a comedy which seems to be looking down its nose at smalltown america 's terminally unhip , but proves good-hearted and delivers enough laughter to seal the deal .",
      "a foul-mouthed but good-natured comedy roughly in the apatow mould .",
      "sharply written and astutely directed , this is an enjoyable , frequently funny comedy with likeable characters and great comic performances from a superb cast .",
      "what really makes things work is helms ' genuinely endearing dweeb , a gauche smalltown hero who shows that good guys do end up on top . of anne heche .",
      "it 's beautifully acted , well-observed and very funny .",
      "its breezy charm papers over narrative cracks and minor annoyances .",
      "it may sound a flimsy premise , but director miguel arteta delivers a laugh-out-loud ride that plays like a white-collar executive take on animal house , and phil johnston 's script is awash with quotable one-liners .",
      "effectively a coming-of-age comedy set 25-odd years later than normal . tim lippe 's a 40-year-old in the body of a 15-year-old with the haircut of a four-year-old .",
      "MOV ca n't decide if it wants to be an r-rated romp or much sweeter comedy-drama , and in the end , falls inadequately between the two .",
      "a fun little movie that really strikes a balance between comfortable friendliness and crazy silliness",
      "not as funny as it seems to think it is , but there are considerable pleasures to be found around the margins .",
      "while this is n't destined to be remembered as a great standout comedy ... it is still guaranteed to provide a few giggles and knee-slaps .",
      "the risks MOV takes may not always pay off , but as a general rule , i would advise spending 86 minutes of your life with the movie rather than the city itself .",
      "you 've already heard what MOV has to say , but the ensemble cast does a good job of going over the same ground so that you do n't mind covering it with them .",
      "with `` MOV , '' the filmmakers seem to put too much faith in their material , thinking that it would be funny enough to carry the whole film without them having to put too much thought into the story . sadly , they were quite mistaken .",
      "... i wanted to spend more time with these characters ...",
      "the cast is inherently likable , and the comedy is pleasantly sweet-natured -lrb- even if crack pipes , c-bombs and references to the wire abound -rrb- .",
      "the supporting cast are uniformly excellent too , particular reilly , whose blow-hard deanzie gradually reveals a softer , empathetic side .",
      "there 's a restraint and sweetness to the raunch that keeps it below the threshold of certain other r-rated comedies about away-from-home shenanigans gone bawdily awry ."
    ],
    "summary": "it 's as conventional as its midwestern setting , but MOV boasts a terrific cast and a script that deftly blends r-rated raunch and endearing sweetness .",
    "id": "771193483"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sixty-six",
    "reviews": [
      "the bar mitzvah boy gets the boot !",
      "although the subject might sound specialized , the picture is engineered with such skill that it transcends the ethnic details to become a universal story of a boy trying to find his place in an inhospitable world .",
      "a dolorous comedy that leans heavily , if inoffensively , on ethnic stereotypes .",
      "itâ -lrb- tm -rrb- s designed to be crowd-pleasing and tug on hearts across the board , but thereâ -lrb- tm -rrb- s a manipulative quality that will put a ceiling on business .",
      "a satisfying little surprise",
      "like running with scissors or an exceptionally cruel episode of the wonder years , paul weiland 's whimsical and eye-poppingly bright comedy is shot through with cringe-inducing misery .",
      "a sprightly english comedy about a very special bar mitzvah , world cup fever , and the frantic efforts of a 12-year old boy to get the attention he feels he deserves .",
      "... so unrelenting on the misery it piles upon poor bernie reubens you may just feel guilty laughing ...",
      "sweet , sentimental and funny in a warm and fuzzy way , even if it 's somewhat predictable and few of the actors seem very jewish .",
      "this comedy-drama is wafer-thin , but marsan gives it some heft as an all-too-human father .",
      "an entertaining 90 minutes , but more an enjoyable friendly than a world-beating final .",
      "this warm comedy at least has the ring of truth in its remarkable tale of childhood expectations and disappointments .",
      "given the personal nature of the material , though , it 's a shame weiland resorts to the kind of coarse ethnic caricatures one hoped had died with mike and bernie winters .",
      "delightful coming of age comedy with a terrific cast , a superb script and a genuinely moving finale - it really is the feel-good movie of the year .",
      "no , it never quite achieves spirit-of - '66 euphoria , but the tally of good-natured smiles is appreciable , and the weiland family home-movies at the close a lovely touch .",
      "a thick , gooey layer of voiceover narration from bernie is just one of several tired devices that makes pic feel hackneyed , despite some choice cuts of dialogue .",
      "eddie marsan is too convincingly sad and pathetic to raise laughs .",
      "darkly funny , poignant and engaging , MOV sucks us into a world filled with anticipation , disappointment and hope , as a young boy 's dreams stumble against the odds of family , finances and the world cup soccer finals",
      "despite the whimsical voice-over and gloopy , sentimental tone , it 's a hard film to dislike .",
      "hilariously funny while totally believable , MOV also leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling . it is a father-son tale told with the details and care of someone who was there .",
      "there is an attempt at a feelgood ending , but i was n't convinced .",
      "for anyone who preferred oliver bean to malcolm in the middle .",
      "it 's cliched and gooey , but because it 's english , and has helena bonham carter in a rare non-gothy role , viewers may be fooled into thinking it 's quirky . no .",
      "... a charming coming-of-age period piece about the trials and tribulations one young boy must face in his quest to become a man .",
      "weiland 's occasional heavy-handedness is more than redeemed by the lightness of his cast .",
      "it does cast helena bonham carter against type as a devoted mother and housewife , and , for soccer nuts , integrate pristine footage from the '66 cup .",
      "you do n't have to be jewish to appreciate its uncondescending fondness for the claustrophobic warmth of family life among working-class people apprehensively inching their way toward upward mobility .",
      "MOV may find a niche audience , but instead of depicting a boy 's first steps toward manhood -- ceremony aside -- it turns into an uninvolving portrait of self-absorption .",
      "i think it 's a very heartfelt story , but we get the same thing over and over again .",
      "MOV 's loving portrayal of the ups & downs of a jewish family in london charmingly entices the viewer to find themselves within its four-eyed , adorably geeky hero .",
      "director paul weiland -lrb- `` made of honor '' -rrb- co-wrote the tone-deaf screenplay for this cinematic abortion that features the ever-lousy stephen rea adding his specific brand of stench to a pasted-together movie that is predictable and boring as it is depressin",
      "the direction of this autobiographical tale by paul weiland -lrb- whose lengthy rap sheet runs all the way from leonard part 6 to made of honor -rrb- is less than subtle .",
      "though inspired by weiland 's own childhood , the film 's plot sticks close to the underdog 's coming-of-age formula and is marred by young bernie 's gratingly self-pitying voice-over .",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- weiland pours so much heart into his autobiographically ` true-ish ' story that accessibility is a nonissue .",
      "... the sort of jewish film that the whole family can enjoy without feeling they 're fulfilling an obligation to see it .",
      "the story line sounds plain and simple , but the movie is enlightened by bernie 's impassioned narration and by a gallery of small comic details .",
      "weiland has given us something we can cheer and feel good about .",
      "it 's labeled a ` true-ish story ' , and the results are cheeky fun .",
      "MOV is also about accepting parents with all their frailties , coming to terms with the unfairness of life , and finding a way to switch the focus to the wonders we do have to celebrate .",
      "offbeat , nostalgic , wonderful .",
      "since mr. weiland himself had grown up in a jewish section of north london , he was able to include many details of his own childhood .",
      "cleaves too closely to the pattern set out by more original films with similar subject matter . its obvious distinctions of time and place come through in clever details , but these do n't seem to serve weiland 's autobiography so much as situate it into a fa",
      "a film that tries too hard and wastes a cast of skilled veterans and talented newcomers ."
    ],
    "summary": "likable but overly sentimental , MOV has snatches of sharp dialogue but is ultimately too predicable .",
    "id": "381421832"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bridesmaids_2011",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV is the sort of movie in which you know exactly how everything is going to turn out by the end , but the characterizations are strong enough to overcome the formulaic template .",
      "in this movie , romantic envy and class envy coalesce , because MOV understands just how they 're linked . even if money ca n't buy you love , being broke puts you at a distinct disadvantage .",
      "in an age when so many hollywood chick-flicks seem to really hate women , it 's refreshing to see a character-driven movie about women . the humor here is outrageous , bawdy , sometimes even scatological , but it 's never misogynist .",
      "paul feig 's film has gambled on women , assuming that female moviegoers are sick of being reduced to man-starved , materialistic shopaholics by hollywood .",
      "this is a smart and funny movie that satisfyingly expands the apatow brand .",
      "`` MOV '' openly , comfortably turns the stress of being girlfriends into comedy . it 's really about the single friend backing away from the edge of temporary insanity .",
      "this is one very funny flick , which may require a second viewing , lest loud laughter rob you of hearing some of the lines - especially during an eye-popping pivotal scene that was once the purview of the boys : the big gross-out .",
      "just as apatow redefined leading men in a more realistic manner , wiig may well change the way hollywood looks at ladies .",
      "the setup is ripe for a black comedy but the movie never fully embraces the darkness and the level of humor is on par with the limp skits for which wiig is responsible on saturday night live .",
      "-lsb- MOV is -rsb- one of the funniest films in the past few years .",
      "MOV is not a movie for those looking for a pleasant , uneventful night out at the movies . yes , it 's touching . and yes , it resonates with a heart of gold . but it 's also awkward , raunchy , and disgusting . just like real life .",
      "wiig has terrific audience rapport , a prerequisite for comics , and a squiggly way of seeming totally reasonable and altogether daft at the same time .",
      "the film 's central friendship gives MOV a heart as big as its laughs . it pays particular attention to the details and realities of maintaining long term friendships , with special attention to the specifics of friendships between women .",
      "cringe-inducing , uneven , juvenile , overlong and painfully unfunny . it 's a witless blend of crudeness , rudeness and lewdness which sets a new low for american comedy .",
      "the only question is : will kristen wiig ever be this good again ? the answer is , let 's hope so . MOV rocks . hopefully , a movie star is born .",
      "a film about women and marriage may be virgin territory for -lsb- producer judd -rsb- apatow but the results are the same . the film is flat-out funny and is worth saying `` i do . ''",
      "as much a coronation as a wedding , with wiig emerging as a successor to lucille ball and carol burnett as the queen of knockabout comedy .",
      "... hilariously funny , with an outlandish surprise around almost every corner .",
      "wiig and company have impeccable comic timing and the humor almost always comes from pain . it 's very funny , has a great cast , and will probably hold up to repeated viewings .",
      "crude but sincere comedy about friendship and confidence .",
      "think of it as a cinematic bouquet -- catch it .",
      "whether it says something incisive about female friends and their inability to truly feel comfortable and rise above petty jealousies and competition , MOV never achieves the wolf pack camaraderie that the hangover executes so naturally .",
      "there are things to like here and the idea is a noble one . but in execution , `` MOV '' is a typical chick flick just with some extra rude words and vomit .",
      "kristen wiig , between her screenplay and fearlessly funny performance , gives nothing less than a tour de force .",
      "wiig , who 's been underused in the past in movies like macgruber and paul , proves she 's as good with a withering dialogue as she is with oddball characters and physical humor .",
      "el humor de damas en guerra se parece por momentos al de la comedia masculina más guarra , escatología incluida , aunque también hay lugar para los sentimientos y hasta el romanticismo .",
      "it shows the dark side of people to a surprising extent for a comedy . it is n't exactly a black comedy or a dark comedy , but it does explore the way that friends can sometimes become jealous and sabotage each other .",
      "paul feig 's MOV ends up living in the memory like most weddings do ; you went , you had a pleasant time , and unless somebody mentions the happy couple , you never think about the experience again .",
      "i laughed almost without pause ; at several points i made horselike snorting sounds that hurt the insides of my nose .",
      "MOV is a very funny movie , with interesting characters and great performances , but the film 's pacing issues make it more of a chore to get through than expected .",
      "i like that MOV aspires to be more than just a dumb comedy , but that does n't mean it needs to belabor its point for what feels like eons .",
      "slack in pacing but raucous in tone and held together throughout by wiig 's spotlight turn .",
      "this is the sort of thing that will be beloved by many , by almost everyone who sees it .",
      "the brilliant saturday night live player kristen wiig finally gets the big-screen vehicle she deserves .",
      "the ensemble produces some decent laughs .",
      "whether you 're looking for an easy laugh or a rioutously funny comedy , MOV will have you in tears .",
      "the comedy is sharply uneven , but written by women , it displays female sensibility and offers better roles for femmes than is the norm in mainstream fare .",
      "kristen wiig scores in an erratic gross comedy that truthfully connects where it counts .",
      "`` MOV '' is first and foremost a showcase for wiig , who surely does n't play it safe here but still comes off as an affable everywoman with a twinkle of danger in her eye .",
      "a cynical edit of ... a sharp , funny film about the many stages , and even more permutations , of female friendships , one that was unafraid to include the ribald , the profane , and the brutally honest",
      "MOV proves that modern comedies about women do n't have to be insipid , boring or downright loathsome . who knew ?",
      "it 's funny stuff , with wiig 's talent for physical comedy and way with a witty put-down providing many of the film 's highlights .",
      "`` saturday night live '' cast member kristen wiig makes a successful bid for big-screen stardom in this bawdy , hilarious comedy about the downward spiral of an insecure maid of honor .",
      "MOV is an infectiously funny and bittersweet look at how life can change even the strongest of friendships .",
      "the warring impulses within wiig set a wonderfully skittish tone for the painfully hilarious new movie MOV , a screwy tale of female friendship and wedding planning from hell .",
      "in the end , MOV is touching and funny and a tiny bit sickening . just like a real wedding .",
      "on its surface , the film marries gross-out comedy and romantic comedy and will make you laugh out loud . right underneath that is a truly wonderful movie about female friendship that 's quite unlike anything else out there .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he kernels of a truly smart , truly honest , truly brilliant movie are here , and they get lost in what has become the standard hollywood humiliation comedy ...",
      "an instant r-rated classic that could give the upcoming hangover part ii a run for its money .",
      "prepare yourself to hear this comparison often : MOV is like a female version of the hangover . but do n't ever expect those words , or any variation of them , to roll off my tongue .",
      "star kristen wiig -lrb- and she really should be a star with a capital s after this breakthrough performance -rrb- finds the humanity usually missing from not just the chick flick but the modern comedy in general .",
      "in general , the movie is so funny and bracingly honest that you can forgive the few moments where the momentum flags .",
      "whatever your opinion of the film is you 'll definitely come out of it with a new respect for wiig 's comedy and acting skills .",
      "over the past couple of years , the r-rated comedy genre seemed to stale a bit , suffering a slight affliction of monotony . seems all it needed was a woman 's touch .",
      "onetime saturday night live castmates wiig and rudolph make annie and lillian 's friendship believable . which is why annie 's shenanigans are sad -- and hilarious .",
      "MOV is a reminder that fresh content is still alive and well , especially when it 's delivered by a group of talented actresses .",
      "a terrific comedy , zany , ribald and fearless in just about every way you 'd want a comedy to be .",
      "the star and co-writer of MOV , kristen wiig , puts herself and her female co-stars through the comedy wringer .",
      "MOV is being touted as a female version of the hangover . that 's an unfair bar to set , given how easily these ladies sail over it .",
      "MOV is likely to be a hit with both women and men , being half formula chick-flick , half raunchy comedy of humiliation . it 's hilarious -- and too bifurcated to be satisfying .",
      "kristen wiig is brilliant .",
      "there 's a full spectrum of emotions on show : how many comedies with a gag involving projectile vomit and diarrhoea can say that ?",
      "this is `` her hangover , '' a smarter and sweeter stumble to the altar that never quite gets to vegas , and does n't seem to mind .",
      "kristen wiig deserves much of the credit for MOV , but the laurels belong to judd apatow . he is the billy wilder of contemporary hollywood and MOV is his some like it hot .",
      "unashamedly smart ... MOV has been hailed as a groundbreaking blow for american female cinema . that says a lot about the extent of hollywood 's current conservatism , but for now , MOV does nicely as a tonic corrective .",
      "all that straining for ribaldry feels a little sad , like feig and his actors know they 're sacrificing honesty for coarse bumptiousness .",
      "the dialogue , even when it 's in questionable taste , snaps with intelligence .",
      "full of heart , warmth and enough excrement to fill an all-white bridal shop .",
      "through a combination of smart performances and scurrilous gags MOV yanks the buddy comedy from the hands of its traditional owners .",
      "-lsb- wiig 's -rsb- is the comedy of panic , paranoia , madness and self-loathing , but her trick in the new film MOV is to remain composed even as her heart is shredded to confetti .",
      "for laughs per minute and a believable representation of how women interact , it 's to be heartily recommended .",
      "the big , brash laughs are coupled with a smart insight into women 's friendships .",
      "MOV , co-written by wiig and annie mumolo and directed by freaks and geeks creator paul feig , is as solid as any other comedy from team apatow .",
      "cringe-inducing and often very , very funny .",
      "i can die happy , because i got to hear don draper say , `` cup my balls . ''",
      "director paul feig takes the film in a laid-back , absurd and often improvised direction . such looseness suits it -- while the plot may meander , it provides plenty of room for wiig and her talented co-stars to cut loose .",
      "sweet , goofy and unapologetically crass , it 's a broad farce built on a solid foundation of human psychology .",
      "last week something borrowed showed just how bad a chick flick can be ; this week MOV takes a similar setup and shows how good it can be .",
      "one of the great comedies of the 21st century .",
      "not only is it funny , it has enough regard for its characters to acknowledge some real emotion without overdoing the pathos .",
      "it 's not a movie for people looking for a decorous night at the movies . it is a film , though , for folks eager for some good dirty jokes , some refreshingly real female characters - and , just maybe , a new comic voice .",
      "hands down , MOV is the most consistently funny comedy of the year .",
      "whether in a throwaway snl skit or an overlong , uneven comedy such as this , kristin wiig has a knack for transforming something lackluster into something entertaining",
      "a bawdy , riotous godsend for folks who wanted to like the hangover but just could n't bring themselves to root for such an annoying box of a ** holes .",
      "overall , the movie is a winner that should propel wiig to a big-time movie career .",
      "it 's one i intend to re-visit over and over if only to bask in wiig 's understated sexual appeal ...",
      "by filling the plot hole of lillian 's cluelessness with explosive diarrhea , the film undermines the whole `` apatowian female comedy '' idea .",
      "MOV achieves , through the laughs , a kind of poignancy and empathy .",
      "at its best , MOV does that wonderful thing : tell the truth , indelicately .",
      "indeed pretty much a rom-com in the end - but hugely enjoyable , fresh and rude , both touching and funny , all the way .",
      "the comedy to beat this year .",
      "it 's something old , something new , something borrowed and -lrb- cough -rrb- something very , very blue .",
      "there is real depth to the characterizations and friendships . it is so funny because it is all so painfully real .",
      "as it turns out , fart and poo gags are universal , as demonstrated by the mostly female audience completely losing it during some of the more off-colour scenes .",
      "sharply written and winningly performed , it delivers more laughs than any movie released this year , but also , the longer it goes on , develops into a surprisingly poignant evocation of self-scuppering loneliness .",
      "... strives to prove that gals can be as nasty as dudes , and when it comes to raunchy yuks , they are , until those darned realistic human emotions get in the way .",
      "kristen wiig is the best sketch comic alive , and `` MOV '' should finally make her a movie star .",
      "kristen wiig has always been the bridesmaid , never the bride . which is no longer a negative , as the emphatically unbridled wiig takes the wedding cake to delicious new lows .",
      "after one bad and surprisingly misogynistic comedy after another written by women , here is finally one that does n't alienate either sex and should easily garner a standing as one of the funniest films of 2011 .",
      "i laughed harder than i have in quite some time .",
      "if this is only a chick flick , then call me a chick .",
      "it 's the smaller , more observant moments in `` MOV '' that make it worth savoring .",
      "MOV has so many funny moments that it can be forgiven for its excesses .",
      "kristin wiig is sharp-yet-sweet in this shockingly scatological comedy , filled with bawdy , uninhibited babes .",
      "MOV boasts the kind of wit that works on either sex . it 's the more personal moments that truly linger .",
      "by the time two hours had dragged by , i felt a lot like i had sat through a five-hour wedding .",
      "taffeta + digestive trouble + feelings = everyone wins !",
      "this crude and raunchy comedy co-written by and starring `` snl '' regular kristen wiig takes an honest look at female relationships and modern romance . this will be the top destination choice for girls ' night out gatherings as the . .",
      "a bridal-shower blast of brassy hilarity and a cast of ferociously funny females .",
      "... a girl-bonding romp filled equally with outlandish bridal showers and alcohol-fueled slapstick aggression , grand romantic gestures and furtive sex , high couture and low blows .",
      "the movie wo n't change your life or grab a fistful of oscar nominations come next winter . but it will make you laugh , hard and often , and it proves that sometimes girls just want to have fun .",
      "at 125 minutes , ` MOV ' is long for a comedy , but it earns its running time by fully developing its characters and their relationships ...",
      "wiig 's brand of comedy is loud , proud and just gosh darned funny .",
      "it 's bawdy and a bit rowdy -- the comedy equivalent of a lady remington shaver in that it 's just as good as the original remington for men , only a bit smaller -- and pink .",
      "MOV turns the gross-out comedy genre on its head and emerges bigger and better than its predecessors . it boasts unforgettable breakout performances and is the most important comedy of the year . and the best .",
      "the girls show the boys how it 's done in MOV , an achingly funny mesh of gross out gags and heartfelt sentiment led by the new queen of comedy , kristen wiig .",
      "is it funny ? yes , at times , and its female-centric theme will appeal to many women . i just hope they have the patience to trudge through the slow spots and story detours . MOV , which might as easily bear the title women behaving badly",
      "never does MOV ever aim for truly biting commentary , opting to settle instead for a series of poop jokes and scenes of social awkwardness .",
      "something even rarer than an american film with a woman as protagonist : an american film comedy that is absolutely and genuinely funny .",
      "a four-square piece of populist fun that ranks as quite possibly the best mainstream american comedy in years .",
      "the big problem with the premise is that jealousy is not funny ... the film follows the same plot as all ` outrageous wedding ' movies .",
      "MOV sorely lacks the saving grace of being consistently funny .",
      "kristin wiig is the best film comedienne since madeline kahn .",
      "kristen wiig proves she can lead an ensemble comedy that 's as raunchy as anything her male counterparts produced .",
      "silliness and sexiness are comfortable bedfellows from the outset of MOV .",
      "it goes pretty much as expected , but it does seem earned , in part because the writing is so sharp .",
      "the film features at least four major comic set pieces that are quite funny , and wiig is at the center of each of them -lrb- parental content review also available -rrb-",
      "that rarest of treats : an r-rated romantic comedy from the venus point of view .",
      "melissa mccarthy steals the film ... she is fierce , she is fearless , she is wildly hilarious , and she raises the bar for the guys over at atelier apatow .",
      "after shining on snl , kristen wiig finally has a lead role worthy of her comic talents . and wedding prep gets the absurdly humorous treatment it deserves .",
      "it 's hangover raunchy , yet this ribald comedy is also surprisingly perceptive when it comes to confronting middle age , maintaining friendships and finding one 's way in the world .",
      "it 's -lsb- a -rsb- subtly pained undercurrent of MOV that keeps even the film 's bawdiest material on the level .",
      "it 's stunning that an r-rated female-driven comedy has been made at all , let alone that it 's often uproariously funny and centers on believable characters .",
      "a destined comedy classic that knows how to be crowd-pleasing without sacrificing itself to empty-headed callousness or shoehorned distastefulness . let 's not mince words , either : kristen wiig is brilliant .",
      "it 's nice to give the women a chance to play what is by and large a man 's game ; the problem is that the territory the movie covers , on both the bridal side and the gross-out side , is well worn .",
      "this movie is funny both as physical gag-based comedy and character-built , smart-person comedy in a nonstop , laughing-over-dialogue , smart-stupid , sweet-gross , heartfelt-raunchy way that 's perfectly in keeping with the judd apatow brand .",
      "MOV is just full of awkward goodness that had me laughing out loud throughout the movie .",
      "surrounded by a hilarious cast , wiig has definitely found her breakout role .",
      "despite all the hype about how gross and profane it was , this movie still entertained with a sweet story about friendship .",
      "kristen wiig is funny , sweet and pathetic while her life falls apart , the ensemble works well , it 's a comedy unafraid to get disgusting and then get dramatic , and just about every scene works .",
      "it also made me laugh so much i had a coughing fit and saw stars -- and i ca n't remember the last time a film of any `` gender '' made me do that .",
      "despite its flaws there 's no denying that it is actually very funny and that wiig gives a powerhouse performance full of nuance and wit .",
      "MOV is far from a seamless comedy masterpiece , but what does work eventually outweighs what does n't quite fit together .",
      "... brings to mind renee zellweger films about ugly ducklings that long to be seen for their inner beauty . big difference : in `` MOV , '' the poufy swan poops in the street .",
      "completely and utterly honk-like-a-goose hilarious .",
      "i liked MOV well enough -- with some reservations -- but i found it to be neither groundbreaking nor terribly funny .",
      "finally , a female ensemble comedy that balances realistic characters with smart laughs and side-splitting farce .",
      "one of the funnier comedies -lrb- of the -rrb- year -lrb- certainly better than the hangover part ii -rrb- , but the flat patches make the film ... feel a tad long .",
      "a confident , self-assured comedy with nothing to prove . fresh , occasionally foul-mouthed , and funny .",
      "wiig is pitch-perfect ... the best unisex night out at the cinema you 'll have in ages - this is the best proposal yet , and an invite you should n't decline",
      "it 's a movie that succeeds , often beautifully , not by forcing its characters to be as naughty and gross and pathetic as men are . it soars by letting them be as naughty and gross and pathetic as women are . three cheers for equality .",
      "`` MOV '' is a female version of `` the hangover '' -- from the coarse language to the cringe-inducing grossout gags to the vegas road trip that goes horribly wrong .",
      "there are few greater compliments one can offer a film than to say they feel shorter than they really are , and MOV ' two hours positively flew by .",
      "it 's not mean-spirited and does n't hate its characters . also , it understands the key lesson of the farrellys and `` american pie '' and apatow 's previous work : this sort of comedy works when it has heart , and fails when it does n't .",
      "must every funny sequence end abruptly with a generic cut to a city skyline scored to a pop song ?",
      "MOV takes chances , colors outside the box , and breaks the unwritten rules for what a female-driven comedy can and ca n't do .",
      "playing out like a typical judd apatow film , MOV foregoes fantasy and instead , chooses the actions , language , and attitudes of real women .",
      "all the flab dulls the sharpness of the best moments",
      "it just felt like MOV had something to prove",
      "MOV surely does n't mark the end of conventional female-centric comedies , but it works on so many levels , it 'll hopefully make future filmmakers stop and think twice before approaching this kind of project and realize it can be done -lsb- better -rsb- .",
      "no one has explored the inner workings of a passive-aggressive frenemy the way wiig has . she has the midas touch for activating a character 's petty streak while still making audiences like her .",
      "it definitively proves that women are the equal of men in vulgarity , sexual frankness , lust , vulnerability , overdrinking and insecurity .",
      "`` MOV '' is bust-a-gut funny , a high-adrenaline string of slapstick gags and verbal hysteria .",
      "resembles an `` snl '' sketch : a good idea that starts out strong and goes on too long .",
      "MOV has a couple of x chromosomes up its sleeve , and you 're wrong if you think that 's merely a cosmetic difference .",
      "-lsb- it 's -rsb- a female-centered ensemble comedy that 's ultimately about the importance and power of friendship . and , yes , it 's funny as hell .",
      "in an age of doggedly unambitious comedy , one marvels at the finesse these first-time screenwriters and director feig bring to marrying raunch , romantic comedy , and the tested but ever-true bond between women .",
      "a film of great hilarity , humanity , idiosyncrasy and grade-a , eyebrow-singeing raunch .",
      "MOV is a stiletto-sharp , raunchy , no-holds-barred yuk-fest that stands as a worthy female counterpart to the likes of wedding crashers and the hangover .",
      "the first hour is one outrageously hilarious catfight . it comes at a price , though , because the second is where the girls all kiss and make-up .",
      "kristen wiig becomes a movie star and takes back the term ` chick flick . ' MOV has a big heart and a grown-up mouth .",
      "it 's been a while , but finally there 's a good comedy out there that 's worth a trip to the movies .",
      "bridemaids sputters , coughs , and lurches , but it 's a winning shambles , buoyed by a sharp , balanced comedic ensemble and some truthful observations about how close friends adapt when their lives fall out of step .",
      "hallelujah and praise the lord for paul feig 's MOV , a movie we 've been awaiting for what feels like forever .",
      "it is artistically dishonest and embarrassingly naive to grant the status of `` classic '' to something only newly born . for a film to be called a classic , it must first stand ... oh hell , who am i kidding ? MOV is an instant classic .",
      "a guaranteed good time , be you lady or gentleman .",
      "bridemaids may make kristen wiig the first female'snl ' alum to ascend to the a-list .",
      "the best female-driven , r-rated comedy of all time . yes , even better than ` the sweetest thing ' and ` outrageous fortune . '",
      "unfortunately , `` MOV '' bears the hallmark of apatow 's more recent , less successful efforts by being overlong -lrb- two hours and five minutes is way , way too long for a comedy like this -rrb- and having an uneven tone .",
      "MOV strives a little too hard in places to show that women can do outrageous gross-out comedy too - but it remains the best chick flick in years .",
      "the full horror of being a bridesmaid is shown , but wiig persuades you there is something genuinely loving and sisterly to be found at the end of this incredible ordeal .",
      "really , bottom line : it 's the best thing apatow 's put his name to in years .",
      "by treating funny women as normal people , wiig has crafted a game-changing comedy that 's even better than the hangover .",
      "the attempt to apply the male slob template to female characters is dispiriting , and it 's more depressing to think it will probably be a great success ,",
      "... one of the most moronic , ineptly made and oft-times revolting movies to be released this year .",
      "an effortless blend of bad taste and good humour with a wholly believable , often very touching emotional core , all centred around one of the finest star-making comic performances in recent memory .",
      "move over tina fey , there 's a new queen in town .",
      "i suspect that wiig is funnier when she 's not so frenetically intent on finding 101 ways to make a fool of herself .",
      "cue a prolonged scene where we are treated to women vying for one toilet vomiting on each other while another evacuates from the other end in a sink . laughing yet ?",
      "if seth rogen is judd apatow 's joker , wiig is undoubtedly his droll and charming queen .",
      "MOV features some genuinely funny laugh out loud moments ...",
      "MOV is a groundbreaker . usually it 's dudes suffering from explosive bowel movements , getting drunk and disorderly , and spitting out the one word you 'd better not call any woman . not exactly a banner for feminism but equal time is overdue .",
      "funny , and subversive ...",
      "such an ebullient blast of fun that the resulting critique will sound like over-the-top gushing",
      "MOV obviously strives to seem modern , but too often it mistakes crassness for freshness .",
      "think of it as the 40-year-old nonvirgin in taffeta . or the kristen wiig movie that her fans have been waiting for .",
      "`` MOV '' is a classic apatow factory product . there are about a thousand jokes - 70 percent of them are funny - and the movie is 10 minutes too long .",
      "MOV is a chick flick in the way that a rolls-royce is a ride .",
      "in an age of increasingly bland , formulaic rom-coms that seem to star the same three actresses , `` MOV '' is almost a revelation .",
      "the real problem is that annie veers dangerously close to being unlikeable although kristen wiig 's performance is so winning that she just about gets away with it .",
      "this might be a turning point in feminism and comedy , provided that both sexes can embrace it .",
      "the movie is smart about a lot of things , including the vital importance of female friendships . and it 's nice to see so many actresses taking up space while making fun of something besides other women .",
      "MOV falters long before the alter .",
      "the label is apatow but the trademark raunch plays second , maybe third fiddle to a thoughtful examination of personality conflict .",
      "kristen wiig deserves some kind of award for her dexterously funny and touching performance",
      "MOV busts through the party movie glass ceiling with a steel-toed stiletto and a tepid magnum of yellow tail .",
      "it 's uneven , unwieldy and overlong , but if it 's yucks you 're after you 'll find them in abundance in a side-splitting comedy that lifts the veil on every wedding 's unsung heroines .",
      "it 's a pleasant , funny couple of hours at the movies with a few great moments .",
      "while undoubtedly formulaic , it 's head and shoulders above most of hollywood 's recent comedy output .",
      "impressively directed and brilliantly written , this is a consistently hilarious and superbly acted comedy that finally gives kristen wiig the lead role she deserves .",
      "too many of its strained comic bits were more of a miss than a hit .",
      "... in the first rank of apatow movies ; it may be the best so far . but more importantly , it 's the first great wiig movie . let 's hope there are lots more .",
      "i must take the time to single out melissa mccarthy , who plays lillian 's future sister-in-law megan . mccarthy , who stars in the current cbs television program `` mike and molly , '' is a fireball and steals every scene she 's in .",
      "an estrogen-fueled adventure featuring madcap hilarity ranging from the scatological to the sublime !",
      "... MOV would 've been far , far better off had it been trimmed down to a more manageable running time .",
      "apatow continues his assault on gentility and good taste with this roll in the gutter that degrades women . the sad part is that there is a good , sweet movie lurking here behind all the vulgarity .",
      "judd apatow is one of its producers , but let 's be quick to steer most of the credit away from him -- and even director paul feig -- and place it where it clearly belongs : at the feet of kristen wiig .",
      "take that john belushi !",
      "MOV wo n't be the defining moment of wiig 's career , but it serves to prove that the actress has the potential to carry a movie . she just needs a comedy worth carrying .",
      "this is one smart script , brought to life by director paul feig and working on many levels . where it sometimes works best is in the gutter .",
      "is this the female version of the hangover ? no - MOV is much funnier and way more heartfelt and human than that film .",
      "MOV produces frequent waves of hilarious vulgarity as it tells a sweet , endearing story about a woman suffering through a pre-mid-life crisis .",
      "MOV is grossly funny .",
      "the result is a very funny movie , part indie comedy and part frat-girl raunch -lrb- it was co-produced by judd apatow -rrb- , that manages to get at some of the sly truths of female friendship .",
      "at 125 minutes , MOV is unusually long for what is supposedly a raunchy comedy , and that 's because the story steadfastly builds characters instead of knocking them down .",
      "wiig 's characters may lose their lunch , but they never lose their heart .",
      "it 's a hollywood truism that they almost never give oscar nominations for slapstick comedy . they wo n't give one to kristen wiig for this movie , either . but they should .",
      "hopefully next time they 'll ditch the crass interludes and shoot one from the heart .",
      "here is kristen wiig 's star turn . she co-writes , co-produces and headlines MOV , playing a woman who 's , i du n no , roughly 26 percent comedically psychotic , but not so loony that she goes over the edge from sympathetic to repellent .",
      "MOV moves with poise and confidence , making the hard business of earning honest laughs look easy .",
      "the most hilarious comedy of the year boasts a sensational performance by kristen wiig as a vulnerable and stressed-out woman who loses it all during the wedding preparations",
      "`` MOV '' is a great first step for apatow in finding his feminine voice , and an even better launching pad for the hilarious kristin wiig .",
      "... expresses a deep ambivalence toward marriage , one that runs counter to the fanatical , starry-eyed nature of most romantic comedies .",
      "MOV is about as far from a dopey kate hudson/katherine heigl rom-com as you can get . it is smart where those other pictures are dumb , perceptive where the others are cliched .",
      "kristen wiig is the funnist woman alive .",
      "MOV hits the nail on the head with its comedy about a girl who is getting married and the repercussions it can have on friendship ties .",
      "this supposed great experiment in femme-com bears the distinct scars of having been `` fixed '' -- out of fear or financial imperative -- by and for dudes .",
      "the movie is uneven and lurching , but it provides many laughs .",
      "for those of you who , like me , have in recent years come to regard `` chick flick '' as a purely pejorative term , MOV is nothing short of miraculous .",
      "MOV is a hoot , but it 's also ridiculously overlong and surprisingly unadventurous , almost afraid to pursue its most compelling qualities .",
      "`` MOV '' proves two things conclusively : women are every bit as adept as men at gross-out comedy antics , and kristen wiig is a bona-fide comedy star .",
      "thanks to kristin wiig , her writing partner annie mumolo , judd apatow and paul fieg , we 've got a dandy femme-centric , outrageously funny and downright smart comedy that nails one of the most emotionally wrought feminine rites of passage .",
      "MOV is just fall-down funny .",
      "despite trademark apatow bloat , this is wiig 's movie and she makes the most of it ... she should be as big a movie-comedy star as steve carell or seth rogen .",
      "it 's an overly contrived jumble , trying out too many comic ideas that eventually swamp the central subject of what a modern young woman expects regarding friendship , courtship and marriage .",
      "the apatow formula ... now with women !",
      "the funniest movie of the year . unlike ` hangover , ' the film does n't rely on sexism , homophobia and racial epithets to hit a punch line .",
      "i 'm sure many will see it for its gross-out moments but i was more impressed with how the film captures the fragility of its imperfect characters .",
      "it 's funny and it 's charming , largely due to kristen wiig 's great sense of timing and the smart comic script she has penned with annie mumolo",
      "with its often raw humour , rough language and soft heart , MOV is not a frilly girlie movie , more a busty , raunchy strut-it film",
      "not the chick flick it sounds like , MOV is the hangover with skirts ... hilarious and a bit of a miracle at a time when a major studio tries to force-feed audiences such cookie-cutter dreck as a pg-13 remake of arthur .",
      "as the star and co-writer of MOV kristen wiig finally gets to display her full range and the results are brilliant .",
      "stars kristen wiig , maya rudolph and rose byrne have long deserved vehicles to showcase their talents , and here they 're finally afforded the opportunities their schlubby male contemporaries were offered a long time ago .",
      "while packed with hilarity , the laughs are always grounded in kristen wiig 's heartfelt and utterly relatable performance .",
      "kristen wiig is a comic genius . her performance as annie , a thirtysomething woman whose life is in a tailspin , is ridiculously funny . we 're talking virtuoso stuff here .",
      "see ? women can be funny , too . and raunchy , brazen and , sometimes , profound .",
      "director paul feig has taken wiig 's and mumolo 's terrific script and given us the first , big comedy hit of the year . and that 's not something to be taken lightly .",
      "features kristen wiig in a true tour de force that should elevate her to elite status among comediennes .",
      "MOV delivers sweetness and sass .",
      "the film veers a bit wildly between silly playfulness and extreme rudeness , but it keeps us hooked by maintaining believable characters .",
      "the comedy is broad and predictable enough that i pretty much always saw it coming - and yet i still found myself laughing when the jokes arrived right on target .",
      "in every scene she 's in , wiig expresses on her face what no dialogue can . i want more of the fat chick .",
      "the great american mainstream comedy of the year .",
      "kristen wiig is an indisputable goddess of comedy . this rowdy fem-friendship movie she stars in and wrote with annie mumolo is infused with the wiig brand of wicked mischief ."
    ],
    "summary": "a marriage of genuine characters , gross out gags , and pathos , MOV is a female-driven comedy that refuses to be boxed in as kristen wiig emerges as a real star .",
    "id": "771039065"
  },
  {
    "movie": "hes_just_not_that_into_you",
    "reviews": [
      "works as an hour episode of oprah or a thirty-minute episode of sex and the city , but as a full length movie -- i 'm just not that into it .",
      "he 's just not that into you wishes it were love , actually crossed with the break-up , but it plays more like a horror movie for the wasp set .",
      "your men folk will be bored out of their minds but you 've dragged them to worse . it tries hard anyway . and since the whole thing is about advice on men let me give some ; never take relationship advice from candace bushnell .",
      "he 's just not that into you is just insultingly average in every way , spending 129 minutes telling us what we already know : girls and boys do n't always click .",
      "it 's really a relationship comedy more than a romantic comedy , since a lot of the film is concerned with demonstrating when one should walk away , rather than when to lean in for the kiss and cleave .",
      "despite some definite tendencies toward the formulaic , he 's just not that into you actually has half a brain in its head .",
      "a how-to happy ending training manual for aspiring female objects of desire , while movies about men have to do with the really big challenges they face , like beating up alien invaders or saving the planet . doormat duty alert : she 's just not that onto you .",
      "everyone pitches in , but it is n't enough to rescue a tedious , fragmented , scattershot script .",
      "this voyeuristic escapist fare offers a mixed bag of goodies .",
      "i romantiki gkomenti , poy paei tis romantikes gkomenti se nea epipeda prosbolis ton hazogkomenon poy trabaei ap ' ti myti os target group",
      "bright 'n' breezy , conveying a pop-psychology message about hope , picking up the pieces , starting over and moving on .",
      "nine twenty - and thirtysomethings in baltimore wrestle with the mysteries and misunderstandings of sexual politics .",
      "parental content review",
      "he 's just not that into you is a standard chick flick , which is n't necessarily a bad thing : it 's cute and comic and organized according to fixed , mostly ancient gender roles .",
      "romantic roundelay adapted from a self-help book tries to make a statement about dating in the new millennium , but gets mired in a labyrinthine soap opera of doormats and dudes .",
      "anyone who has been in a relationship can appreciate a film like this because it just exposes the guts and glory of it all .",
      "this would be more than enough material for any self-respecting romantic comedy-drama , but director ken kwapis and writers abby kohn and marc silverstein think they 're making the kind of statement that needs to be dragged out to 125 minutes .",
      "it 's a film that lets you embrace the lightheartedness of it all , even while chuckling knowingly at the absurdity .",
      "he 's just not that into you stands as an amusing yet potent reminder than when we live for ourselves instead of others , everyone loses .",
      "the scattershot approach to storytelling does n't do justice to any one storyline , making it nearly impossible to care much about any particular character .",
      "clever one-liners and a screenplay that does n't try too hard to be poignant or contrived make for an easy-going film that will lead to interesting post-movie discussion .",
      "though the actors involved are mostly major players , the material they 've been given to work with is very old hat .",
      "despite a final surge of romantic sweetness , it 's just not funny or engaging",
      "boasts a lot of heart , humor , and honesty .",
      "distinctly overlong yet ultimately rewarding ...",
      "tangles its large cast of characters and storylines into virtual knots .",
      "he 's just not that into you is a standard chick flick , which is n't necessarily a bad thing : it 's cute and comic and organized according to fixed , mostly ancient gender roles .",
      "people often do stupid things for love . that does n't mean it 's worth making a movie about these acts of folly .",
      "i thought there was a level of sophistication in the relationships that i certainly did not expect .",
      "he 's just not that into you is like reliving your 20s , without any of the fun .",
      "overstays its welcome and often feels contrived and overstuffed with neurotic , whinny and annoying characters who need a lot of therapy .",
      "expect lots of jokes about how long it should take a man to call you back after the first date . you 're either into that , or you 're not .",
      "an all-star cast breathes life into a so-so romantic drama that , aimed squarely at unlucky-in-love women , stands up admirably alongside flicks such as sex and the city .",
      "plenty of people are going to hate he 's just not that into you , but that sentiment is often the best indicator that a movie is doing something interesting .",
      "this is a would-be chick-flick of excruciating banality .",
      "an unendurable relationship-romcom , which you should avoid the way you would a glass of punch with a frothy gob of anthrax floating on the surface .",
      "it 's about social responsibility . everyone 's so afraid of hurt feelings . people need to stop making excuses . hey , it 's not all okay . get over it . and also , stop asking your friends to make you feel better . they give the worst advice . just go out and have",
      "imagine an action flick in which the hero spends the entire movie chasing the villain without the satisfaction of smashing his enemy to smithereens .",
      "it comes from , of all things , a best-selling 2004 self-help book by greg behrendt and liz tuccillo , which may explain why the characters are all behavior and no humanity .",
      "are women desperate or just desperately stupid ? this is the misogynist question at the core of he 's just not that into you , a women-bashing tract disguised as a chick flick .",
      "a cast of appealing big-name talent marginally pulls this messy romantic comedy into positive territory .",
      "ginnifer goodwin does better than most in her role as the obsesed cyber-stalker . but underneath the easy laughs , it 's a mean-spirited film .",
      "the movie gets smothered by one romantic comedy cliché after another .",
      "some of the more annoying people you 'll meet in sometime onscreen .",
      "though there are bright moments -- and it 's probably a good valentine 's day date movie -- the lack of real originality and astringency is regrettable .",
      "like sex and the city without the shopping and the laughs . what 's left ? a modicum of sex and a vast amount of talk .",
      "though it offers many laughs and cringe-worthy moments of failed male/female interaction , in denying its own title the film becomes just another dream factory romantic comedy .",
      "easily ranks as one of the better relationship films of the past decade .",
      "i was totally into this movie . did n't think i would be ; did n't really want to be ; but i was .",
      "the film has a few funny jokes , and i 'd sooner watch this kind of fluff than endure a humourless middlebrow relationship drama .",
      "easily as generic a chick flick as has come down the pike in many a moon .",
      "somehow love conquers all in this lengthy but engaging ensemble piece .",
      "watching scarlett johansson work is almost like being abducted by aliens . all the `` missing time '' but none of the inappropriate prodding .",
      "seven smiles on the poster of a movie about rejection ? why not make an airy romantic comedy called you 've got melanoma ?",
      "a message to women : this movie is undermining and traducing your sex .",
      "enjoyable in the easy , familiar way that many other variations on the original french la ronde have been -lrb- think love , actually without the wackiness or british accents -rrb- .",
      "it 's far from a revolutionary film , but it 's still quite enjoyable , thanks to an attractive cast and some funny moments .",
      "empty calories , maybe , but tasty enough .",
      "cliche ridden , predictable , filled with characters so inane that you marvel they made it to adulthood -- and dull , dull , dull .",
      "the women are catty , whiny depressives with zero personality . the men are shallow , flippant and lack the emotional depth of a grapefruit spoon .",
      "cheating , trying to get laid , and attempting to wrangle the opposite sex into marriage or something quite like it , never seemed so dull .",
      "every nuance , every jot and tittle , every definition of male and female relationships is said in the first 45 minutes . the movie runs 2:09 .",
      "this is a movie for people who ca n't get enough of sex and the city and are willing to settle for clones .",
      "this glossy , soporific ensemble dramedy manages to drain most of the fun out of modern-day romance .",
      "cynicism tempered nicely with a warmly perceptive story about the perils and pleasures of the mating dance , a dance where everyone is flying blind and working without a net .",
      "if you 've heard of the book , here 's a romantic-comedy version of it .",
      "girl porn for the bachelor set .",
      "sorry , i 'm just not that into the love boat .",
      "like that 's a problem for scarlett johansson , jennifer connelly and the rest of these people .",
      "it looks harmless enough , this chick flick about attraction , rejection and commitment , but if you look closer , you might be irritated to discover women are portrayed as brainless , man-crazy twits unable to think straight when it comes to the mating game",
      "he 's just not that into you never soars , but it never flags . it remains brisk , engaging and pleasant throughout .",
      "despite its antecedents , he 's just not that into you feels fresh and observant .",
      "the title and cast are sure to lure women in by the droves - but surprisingly there 's something to like here for the guys , too .",
      "the `` star-studded '' cast seems to have been selected according to their premiere power ranking and/or desperation for exposure .",
      "sometimes shooting from the hip , sometimes aiming for the heart , hjntiy -- like a nearsighted cupid -- hits and misses .",
      "smartly written , but about 30 minutes too long , `` he 's just not that into you '' features a sharp cast and some fine performances .",
      "a few truly profound statements emerge from the swirling hormones .",
      "he 's just not that into you succeeds more with clever one-liners than in its uneven scenarios . but it 's light and entertaining , and its heart -- visible amid the cynicism -- is in the right place .",
      "he 's just not that into you feels like a sitcom that resolves each mini-dilemma before going to commercial .",
      "the story about five women navigating male treachery is so busy getting all its talking points in that it leaves no room for recognizable life .",
      "what makes he 's just not that into you work are the things that hollywood does well -- a few good jokes , a lot of pleasant performances and two brief hours of grown-up entertainment and escape .",
      "nominally based on a 2004 nonfiction best seller by two sex and the city writers , the movie version of he 's just not that into you delivers , with far less wit , the same message as the show .",
      "couples who want to stay happy might want to think twice before seeking out a movie about how the majority of relationships end up making people paranoid and miserable .",
      "scratch the surface , and the movie 's underpinnings are an insult to women everywhere -- the film is slick stupid propaganda for the myth of the one true love that wastes the talents of fine actresses .",
      "while calculated to be grittier than the typical romantic comedy , it 's still a shallow , sitcom view of complex human interactions .",
      "if your director ca n't elicit some terrific performances with actors such as johansson , aniston , connelly and barrymore , it 's time to replace him and get someone who can .",
      "somewhere along the way , he 's just not that into you starts taking all the wrong forks in the road of romance and ends up nowhere .",
      "that a star-filled romantic comedy based on a pop best-seller adheres to convention does n't surprise , but the filmmakers go too far by forcing two of the most pathological characters together .",
      "yes , that 's an impressive collection of actors . and yes , it 's deflating to watch them wandering in and out of half-written scenes with no discernable direction .",
      "what makes this one a cut above the generic is a tart dose of drama and hard-bitten intelligence amid the candy corn .",
      "appealing but unsurprising romcom dispenses familiar wisdom .",
      "a sweet confection of a romantic comedy .",
      "before it gets all gooey in the last reel , the film casts an eye on the self-destructive ways so many young women approach love and romance .",
      "it 's a different kind of commercial romcom , and more serious toward its material than most . no life-changer , but worth a date night at least .",
      "pretty routine , pretty forgettable .",
      "a half-full/half-empty romantic comedy , he 's just not that into you , is probably the best you can expect from a glib non-fiction self-help book that was rewritten into a feature film .",
      "he 's just not that into you has a likable cast going for it . yet it suffers from its own relationship myopia .",
      "the saddest thing about this film , coming on the heels of the deplorable bride wars , is it continues the trend of supposed chick flicks that treat women as complete morons . ladies , you 're better than this . way better .",
      "director ken kwapis has the right touch for this material , making pointed observations without spilling blood .",
      "somehow , director ken kwapis and screenwriters abby kohn and marc silverstein have managed to construct a movie that stays on its feet ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite the best efforts of a talented cast , he 's just not that into you devotes too little time to each of its protagonists , thus reducing them to stereotypes .",
    "id": "770679229"
  },
  {
    "movie": "blue_jasmine",
    "reviews": [
      "cate blanchett classes up a dated woody allen melodrama .",
      "allen is a famously hands-off director , and while this method succeeds on occasion , too many scenes in MOV betray a directorial negligence .",
      "very unhappy movie",
      "in `` jasmine , '' allen has created a situation and characters that are both timely and timeless , rooted in classic circumstance but set in recognizably contemporary situations .",
      "guided by a powerhouse turn from cate blanchett , this grievously funny , shrewdly devastating character study is as focused and emotionally rewarding as anything woody allen has made in the twenty-first century .",
      "woody writes and directs , but does not appear in his own movie . instead , he has imbued blanchett 's character , jasmine , with all the neurotic , distraught and unstable tendencies that allen usually reserves for himself .",
      "`` MOV '' is a real dramatic treat , one that is destined to become a classic .",
      "my only question , come year 's end , is : who will be the other four actresses to get oscar nominations ? -lsb- cate -rsb- blanchett 's , i think , is assured .",
      "unsettling and insightful , it 's woody allen 's 48th film - and one of his best .",
      "MOV ranks with vicky cristina barcelona and midnight in paris at the top of woody allen 's recent movies .",
      "allen 's screenplay and blanchett 's performance turn a character that begins as a caricature of social elitism into a vivid portrait of misery ...",
      "a meaty , fully realized drama that cleverly functions as both an update of `` a streetcar named desire '' and a satire on one percent excess .",
      "allen has achieved a fusion of two sensibilities that resembles one mode of storytelling but plays like a different one altogether .",
      "allen 's latest picture ... possesses a script that is at times clunky and uneven , but features an outstanding firecracker turn from cate blanchett that has `` oscar-worthy '' written all over it in flames .",
      "an examination of existential crisis and self-delusion that is nimble , glancingly funny and yet also marked by sly , unstressed depths .",
      "the essence of MOV feels timely , even years into america 's limp rebound from recession : how do we start over , when guilt ca n't be fully processed and sacrifice is demeaned ?",
      "this well-constructed comedy of manners bears comparison with tennessee williams ' ` a streetcar named desire ' and oscar wilde 's ` the importance of being earnest . '",
      "`` woody allen 's best film since 1994 's ` bullets over broadway . ' ''",
      "one of woody allen 's strongest and most pointed films in over a decade despite mildly falling victim to his recent propensity for clunky narrative development , cynicism , and stereotypical characterizations .",
      "the law of averages catches up with woody allen",
      "if you do n't buy this stuff you do n't buy it , though millions do and perhaps millions will .",
      "MOV is the film die-hard woody allen fans have been waiting for , thanks to a superb , pointed script and terrific performances from a wonderful ensemble cast , including a sure-to-be-oscar-nominated central turn from cate blanchett .",
      "a career-best cate blanchett dazzles in woody allen 's heartbreaking missive .",
      "a searing drama delivered with a compassionate , humane touch , MOV is exhilarating , funny and heartbreaking , instantly taking its place alongside the best of allen 's work .",
      "allen has frequently mined the fripperies of the monied elite for light comic effect but here he delves deep creating a masterfully compelling drama that nevertheless is frequently extremely funny .",
      "a riveting film , a humane but brutally frank character study , perfectly achieved despite its narrow objectives .",
      "though not quite the masterpiece some have claimed , the picture -lrb- often funny , but not a comedy -rrb- certainly delivers on emotion , sharp dialogue and toxic energy .",
      "a deliciously dark and richly entertaining comedy drama , it 's as enjoyable as anything this year .",
      "a propulsive drama set in new york and san francisco about a woman 's self-destruction as a result of her inability to look truthfully at her own life . it 's a serious warning , brutal even .",
      "with laughs derived from depression , death and denial , this is allen at this tartest , tightest and most observant .",
      "there 's never been a better director of women than woody allen . actresses in his films have earned five oscars from 11 nominations . cate blanchett in `` MOV '' should make it an even dozen .",
      "in recent years , blanchett played blanche dubois on the stage , and her familiarity with the inner workings of a refined woman reduced to rubble shows in every scene .",
      "by the time `` MOV '' arrives at one of allen 's most haunting finales , it has become a portrait of a delicate , troubled soul worthy of mention alongside tennessee williams .",
      "a solid outing from a writer-director who is already in preproduction on his 46th film .",
      "blanchett excels at every turn , from the haughty airs and headstrong sense of entitlement to the fragile and inevitable disintegration that made the hair on my arms stand up .",
      "both a sharp-edged character study of a woman on the verge of a psychological breakdown and a cannily-constructed ensemble piece reflecting the differences of class and culture that permeate american life .",
      "blanchett is steady as she goes , delivering one of the most exhilarating performances of the year .",
      "despite some thin writing , it 's allen 's weightiest work in years .",
      "distinctly allen-esque , but dominated by cate blanchett 's stunning lead performance -- a masterful tightrope walk of delusion and deliberation that keeps the effort absorbing and darkly comic .",
      "allen 's best film since the early nineties .",
      "though MOV has a tendency to hammer away at its themes , it at least shows that allen still has a few interesting ideas floating around behind his horn-rimmed glasses .",
      "much as i love the performances here , the film just generally leaves a sour taste .",
      "i 'm not sure how much woody had to do blanchett 's the performance : she gives the character some depths i suspect he never considered . she 's also grand and showy and over-the-top that overtakes the whole film . it 's impossible to look away from her .",
      "-lrb- cate -rrb- blanchett gives a fiery , vulnerable and complex performance that is sure to garner her a best actress academy award nomination , if not the golden statue itself .",
      "with absolutely dynamite work from cate blanchett and the rest of a large , deep ensemble , woody allen 's MOV is a tremendous character study , and an effectively topical one to boot .",
      "blanchett is a scene-chewing velociraptor . ... by contrast , sally hawkins steals the movie with her endearingly casual turn as ginger .",
      "an uneven yet engaging effort from woody allen ...",
      "-lsb- allen 's -rsb- new drama MOV comes this close to being a wheeze . but he sells it beautifully .",
      "cate blanchett is neurotically golden in another memorable female character study from woody allen .",
      "-lsb- video essay -rsb- allen 's busy attempt at putting more drama than comedy on his narrative scales is a depressing affair all around .",
      "it 's narratively uneven but the occasional lapses of focus are rescued by cate blanchett 's riveting lead performance .",
      "for a film that starts as a ` fish out of water ' comedy , it 's not that funny , instead feeling more disjointed and all over the place in terms of tone and even dull at times .",
      "once again , allen corrals an impeccable cast and often delicious scenery to ease this uneven journey for filmgoers . loyal allen fans , also lured by the plot 's madoff angle , will be onboard .",
      "jasmine is a layered , larger-than-life , showstopper who often breaks a poised calm to become an emotional wreck . this is a daunting role for a good actress but blanchett is great . she navigates between the nimble shimmy and the quivering snaps with ease",
      "is `` MOV '' an occupy wall street-era morality tale , or just a deeply absorbing character study ? either way , allen has given us a whole lot to chew on - and a flawed heroine we 'll remember for a long time .",
      "only andrew dice clay , in a small role as ginger 's low-class -lrb- tm -rrb- onetime husband , pierces the movie 's highly polished bubble world ; he comes off as a person whose veins run with blood rather than some liquefied director 's conceit .",
      "witty about social pretensions , eloquent about failure & loss , acerbic about family , allen 's light-handed tragedy is a major work . blanchett is dazzling as the fragile heroine .",
      "woody has n't resolved the comedy and cruelty issue , but this dark comedy is brilliant and blanchett 's inspired turn dazzles .",
      "cate blanchett 's performance marks the start of the oscar watch .",
      "a compelling , unsettling and darkly comic character study about a woman deep in the throes of a psychological breakdown .",
      "allen 's story of a fictitious ruth madoff figure works as both a what-if comedy and a penetrating psychological portrait . major credit goes to blanchett , raw and funny and astounding as ever .",
      "with his stunning actress , allen 's probe into social convolution and neurotic stress is a display of preeminent talent and european influence .",
      "a wrenching portrait of a woman whose life has fallen apart .",
      "it 's an acid , lacerating portrait of hubris and privilege , of a cohort yet to come to grips with the consequences of its bubble-inflating actions .",
      "woody allen gets serious with this searing portrait of a woman under the influence and a remarkable performance from cate blanchett .",
      "allen 's best movie in some years and certainly his finest drama with comedy since 2005 's `` match point , '' it is a tale of wealth , greed and corruption -- and the shock waves that occur when crimes lead to punishment .",
      "just when it seemed like allen was going to settle for cranking out a comic bauble every year for the rest of his career , he comes up with a vital and vibrant knockout of a movie .",
      "the woody allen mojo is at work in his latest film , which gets an extra boost from cate blanchett 's extraordinary performance as a park avenue matron brought low by the recent financial crisis .",
      "as jasmine 's story is revealed , and as blanchett manages the fragile mask of her character 's sanity , the film builds to a mighty emotional pitch .",
      "blanchett 's performance is among the year 's best .",
      "in recent interviews , woody admits that he continues making films out of guilt ... let 's rejoice that his guilt results in such palpable emotions for us all .",
      "jasmine is unlikable , but blanchett makes you feel her pain , anyway , because she 's so subtly yet devastatingly good at showing that pain .",
      "jasmine resembles one of those '50s wives -- widowed or dumped -- who find themselves with nary a skill to survive , or at least not in the manner they 'd grown accustomed .",
      "this also benefits from one of the strongest casts he 's assembled in years : cate blanchett is exceptional in the lead , and there are strong supporting turns from alec baldwin , sally hawkins , and -lrb- in a surprise dramatic turn -rrb- andrew dice clay .",
      "the whole is less than the sum of its parts , though some parts -lrb- especially blanchett 's performance -rrb- are well worth watching .",
      "lives constructed on pretense can only stand for so long . watching them collapse is appalling but undeniably entertaining .",
      "eficaz ao năo fazer concessőes no retrato de uma criatura cuja beleza e elegância externas ocultam uma mulher irremediavelmente estragada por dentro .",
      "there is all this talent -- and so little reason for it in woody allen 's MOV .",
      "blanchett embraces the blanche dubois-like nature of the character yet manages to reach vivien leigh-like levels of histrionics in much more subtle and naturalistic ways .",
      "allen creates a clever and intriguing intersection of lives , relationships and anxieties , all balancing on the ready-to-pop balloon of jasmine 's psychoses .",
      "-lsb- woody allen 's -rsb- spin through tennessee williams territory , where he has never gone before , seems fresh in the hands of an expert cast .",
      "in its basic situation can be heard the distant clang of a streetcar named desire , though it 's neither pastiche nor reprise , just a quietly respectful tribute .",
      "i ca n't credit allen overmuch for acknowledging , at this late date , a culture of criminality too blatant to ignore ; but i admire , and am moved by , his decision to look at his new subject obliquely , through the experience of an enabler of the crimes .",
      "blanchett , wielding a stiff cocktail in one hand and a bottle of anti-anxiety pills in the other , gives her character a skillful shove from neurotic towards psychotic .",
      "jasmine is rich material for blanchett ... but then there 's the dull compliments allen 's characters pay the city : `` it 's so mediterranean , '' they exclaim . `` if you ca n't fall in love here , you ca n't fall in love anywhere . ''",
      "if only this performance was in a different movie , one more at sync with the panic that glints in blanchett 's eyes .",
      "plenty of fine actresses have delighted in allen 's snappish comic rhythms , which the writer never really loses , even in drama . or in drama borrowed from tennessee williams .",
      "blanchett 's edgy comic brio , in jasmine 's blithely imperious manner , magically complements her tragic mental fragility and self-defeating desperation .",
      "it holds its own thanks to blanchett 's stunning take on jasmine , whose incandescent and ongoing meltdowns are mesmerizing to behold .",
      "blanchett 's incredible , never allowing jasmine to become a parody . she 's the center of a semi-tragic character study about phoniness and deluded personal fantasies .",
      "blanchett owns this movie as thoroughly as her character owns her delusions .",
      "blanchett in `` MOV '' is beyond brilliant , beyond analysis . this is jaw-dropping work , what we go to the movies hoping to see , and we do . every few years .",
      "blanchett conjures up a crackling caldron of colliding conflicts with one of the most memorable female protagonists allen has ever written .",
      "it is n't always easy to watch . it is n't exactly fun -lrb- although parts are funny -rrb- . blanchett 's performance sometimes overpowers the story . but it 's an essential work in allen 's later canon .",
      "the title is a little deceiving . it should simply be called acting : the movie",
      "none of the characters seem to be human , but rather objects conditioned by a series of tactical tragedies .",
      "after a few tries at comedy , allen 's pendulum has swung back to drama . not to say that MOV is n't funny , because it is , often farcically so ; but it will surprise you with its heft .",
      "woody allen at his best ; cate blanchett at her best = good , solid entertainment !",
      "after all the great things i 'd heard , i felt like i must 've stumbled into the wrong theater as i watched the sloppy , misanthropic sitcom that is MOV",
      "the best imaginable marriage of performer and character .",
      "jasmine may no longer be a trophy wife , but she remains a sort of trophy : something on display , cold and golden , for us to admire .",
      "allen includes some nicely offbeat casting choices ... but mostly he gives the floor to blanchett , who captures jasmine 's xanax-popping neuroses with flinty brilliance .",
      "a deeply compelling , often darkly comic , and undeniably brilliant film . cate blanchett sets the new standard for actors portraying wildly dysfunctional people .",
      "director/writer woody allen still has vitality , creativity , and the man can write .",
      "for all of `` MOV 's '' darkness , the movie is among the filmmaker 's most emotionally affecting .",
      "the movie 's observations about economic disparity are cloaked in zestful comedy that 's broad or stiletto-sharp .",
      "somewhat less than the sum of its parts , woody allen 's `` MOV '' showcases a brilliant , oscar-worthy performance by cate blanchett as sort of a wasp version of ruth madoff .",
      "woody allen has proven himself adept at gifting his actresses with oscar gold and cate blanchett 's shredding of her character 's psyche while she outwardly maintains the entitled snobbery of the 1 % is an already great actress 's finest performance to date",
      "woody allen 's MOV finds the almost-80-year-old filmmaker in fine form as a director of actors , but he undermines that skill with a terribly structured and under-thought screenplay .",
      "in MOV , with the help of several perfectly pitched performances , woody allen once again reminds us that if there is an us and a them , he 's one of us .",
      "-lsb- blanchett 's -rsb- bravura performance is tinged with haughtiness , dry humor and madness . it 's one of the year 's finest , most complex portrayals , in one of allen 's best films in years .",
      "blanchett 's lavish , almost operatic turn as jasmine sloshes against the sides of this insubstantial movie like liquid in a too-small container -lrb- maybe the room-temperature stoli jasmine is continually downing -rrb- .",
      "the plotting is wooden , the flashbacks lazy , the adoption device a bad joke , and as always , everyone stammers like woody .",
      "this movie is easier to admire than to like ... allen as a director is still getting better , but as a screenwriter he needs to do a few more drafts .",
      "a magnetic but heartbreaking performance from cate blanchet as a woman adrift rescues woody allen 's often rudderless tragi-comedy .",
      "cate blanchett is going to clean up big time at the awards given out at the end of the year .",
      "blanchett carries this uneven character-driven pic with more depth than what passes for drama in the usual woody flick .",
      "allen makes no apologies for his lead character 's infuriating behavior , and neither does blanchett .",
      "blanchett hits the notes pitch perfectly and could easily have a date with oscar early next year . -lrb- full parental review also available -rrb-",
      "if allen is outside his element in san francisco , so is his heroine jasmine -lrb- cate blanchett -rrb- , and the result is one of the nerviest , freshest films he 's made in a long time .",
      "cate blanchett gives a masterful performance ... . allen 's work has rarely , if ever , hit so hard .",
      "jasmine 's ride is not nearly as dramatic as blanche dubois ' emotional deconstruction in streetcar , but her journey is made tolerable by an oscar-worthy performance by cate blanchett .",
      "blanchett an excellent blanche",
      "allen 's 45th feature movie as writer/director is quietly mesmerizing . it 's a standout production in his hit-and-miss career , though it echoes with familiar allen tropes .",
      "jasmine is a good movie , one of allen 's best in years , but the draw here is blanchett , whose performance takes an off-putting character and makes her surprisingly , um ... not quite on-putting , but riveting .",
      "blanchett 's performance is fascinating . she 's an ingmar bergman figure yanked straight out of tennessee williams .",
      "tremendous performances .",
      "if you want to see what capital-a acting looks like , take a gander at cate blanchett in woody allen 's latest feature .",
      "there 's a reason why woody allen 's screenplays have been nominated for 15 academy awards -lrb- r -rrb- . comic genius , dramatic wit , sharp observation , great characters . with MOV , he has taken effete snobbery to glorious heights .",
      "MOV could 've been more comedic , but blanchett 's heavy performance really gave this story a new life on its own .",
      "blanchett is impressive as a woman constantly teetering on the edge of collapse ; there 's a perpetual sense something tragic simmers beneath her constructed facade .",
      "andrew dice clay holding his own against cate blanchett ? now i 've seen it all .",
      "the film itself does n't match blanchett 's stunning commitment -- which is a pity , because in various ways it is one of allen 's more unusual works in years .",
      "jasmine is a cautionary virago for anyone who 's ever witnessed a friend unknowingly muttering just within earshot , just within the frame of reality . jasmine 's headlong fall is fearsome , lugubrious , and ultimately , exasperating .",
      "MOV captures a manic and delusional woman attempting to rebuild herself after a prodigal life she received , but never deserved .",
      "darkly funny , often in a laugh out loud , self-deprecating way , but it also doubles as a cautionary tale .",
      "writer/director woody allen 's latest in his burst of 70-something creativity -lrb- after last year 's to rome with love -rrb- is one of his best and darkest outings in years ,",
      "it is pure movie-going pleasure .",
      "the exquisite blanchett amazes , bringing brittleness and vulnerability to a woman on the edge .",
      "MOV is a handsomely shot -lrb- sometimes luminous , sometimes airily naturalistic -rrb- , structurally deft -lrb- flip-flopping between the sf present and the ny past -rrb- and terrifically performed -lrb- expect oscar noms -rrb- dramedy .",
      "allen 's best film in years , astute , humane and shot through with keen observations on the state of the world .",
      "jasmine is a remarkably well constructed and tragic character and blanchett is breathtaking in the role , and one that demands an oscar nomination , at the very least .",
      "with a riveting performance , cate blanchett creates one of woody allen 's most memorable movie characters in years .",
      "you may even feel guilty for laughing except that blanchett knows where to draw the line and she treads it gracefully - despite all those martinis .",
      "flitting between the extravagance of jasmine 's former life and her undignified current climb down allows for a entertaining and insightful look at the depression of recession . there are of course , a few great woody one-liners but the mood is blue .",
      "woody has snapped to wakefulness , his comic and dramatic synapses firing off with an old ease that 's deeply gratifying . you need n't even place it in allen 's very top rank to call it his best in about two decades .",
      "the genius of cate blanchett 's performance lies in the way she sells us on the urgency of jasmine 's concerns and the depth of her plight , mastering sincere obliviousness .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- ... thing of wonder . what you 're looking for with -lsb- allen -rsb- are signs of life , as opposed to shtick and koans ... you want to see that the finery of character writing still means something to him . this is his 43rd movie , and it 's inspired .",
      "i do not consider jasmine a typical woody allen comedy . it 's better than anything you might imagine .",
      "not just one of the best films of the summer ; it 's one of the best of the year , a drama with enough laughs to underscore just how tragic its portrait really is .",
      "equal parts sympathy and schadenfreude .",
      "a freak show whose alternately compelling and repulsive heroine ca n't disguise the fact that it 's a movie by a sour old guy who no longer likes anything or anyone and who also , more damningly , just is n't interested .",
      "there 's something cathartic about a contemporary film that 's willing to explore madness as an expression of who a person really is .",
      "in all , this is the strongest , most resonant movie woody allen has made in years .",
      "this is the closest to eric rohmer allen 's ever got .",
      "in a performance that at times recalls , without embarrassment , gena rowlands in a woman under the influence , blanchett plays jasmine as a woman on the verge of becoming incapable of living in the world .",
      "`` MOV '' is a drama , but it 's one of allen 's funniest , mostly because of cate blanchett . you do n't laugh so much at jasmine as you do at blanchett 's ballsy performance .",
      "woody allen 's elegant skewering of a madoff-ish wife is so precise , so exquisitely brought to sizzling life by cate blanchett , the characters , cities and world around her suffer in comparison .",
      "sour , mordant , and fitfully hilarious",
      "MOV marks a high-water mark for blanchett , and for allen , who demonstrates both the craftsmanship and the unique gift for balancing comedy and pathos which has eluded him for so long .",
      "this is woody allen in peak form . he has stripped out that jabbering new york paranoia and gleefully poked a big stick at america 's ruling class .",
      "blanche dubois wanted magic . jasmine french settles for a beach house in the hamptons .",
      "you have to dig deep in allen 's back catalogue to find a single performance as affecting and well-judged as the one cate blanchett delivers .",
      "arguably -lsb- allen 's -rsb- meatiest film since 1989 's crimes and misdemeanours .",
      "what a relief it must be for an actor to realise they 're in one of woody allen 's good movies ; a biennial event!the darkly comic class nightmare MOV , is one of the good ones . the very good ones .",
      "if you 're someone who likes to put together a top 10 list at the end of each year , see MOV and you 'll only need to find 9 more .",
      "allen has chosen to tell this story in slices , cutting back and forth in time ... only works to a degree ; for one thing , it robs many scenes of their full emotional payoff",
      "MOV is one of allen 's cleverest and most compassionate films , making it also one of his greatest .",
      "MOV is beguiling , hilarious and heart-wrenching .",
      "blanchett discards all vanity and oozes despair ... allen 's voice can be heard throughout the film and if this screenplay is indicative of his current mindset , he is feeling blue or in any event , enjoying twisting the knife into the keyhole of human foibles",
      "though it 's still early , this will likely be the best-written and most layered female character in an american film this year .",
      "blanchett fabulously goes above and beyond her duties as the wilting faux flower of the title .",
      "allen 's trademark rich characters and witty dialogue are enhanced by a terrific performance from cate blanchett in the title role .",
      "it 's a movie of quiet moments -lrb- and one startling revelation -rrb- . but it is a dramatic slice of life , and it lives fully in a darkness allen 's only occasionally kept at bay .",
      "sooner or later a major film-maker has to give us someone we will never forget . jasmine is that someone .",
      "this is one strange , sometimes uneven but mostly mesmerizing film .",
      "MOV is a character study , and although its principal character is a mess , she 's utterly compelling , especially as played by cate blanchett .",
      "cate blanchett seems to be operating on an otherworldly level of thespianism .",
      "the way -lsb- blanchett -rsb- anchors this superb dramedy is a thing of beauty .",
      "allen observes jasmine 's allure and disease without penetrating her soul . that makes for a movie that is both intimate and disinterested , as if jasmine were a flailing insect in a barren terrarium .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- moving , sometimes funny film ...",
      "a woody allen dramady with plenty of sparks and sizzle about the fall of a selfish woman who is a member of america 's `` winning class . ''",
      "there 's something admirably perverse about a movie that casts andrew dice clay as the most upstanding character on screen .",
      "blanchett gives her best-ever performance , moving jasmine back and forth on moody waves . she can be difficult company , but she 's so fully fleshed out that she eventually earns compassion .",
      "maybe this wo n't be the huge hit that midnight in paris was , but it is one of allen 's best with fine performances by blanchett , sally hawkins , and andrew dice clay in a brilliant bit of casting against type .",
      "why should we care about jasmine ? for me , the best reason was blanchett 's all-out performance , which is often frighteningly vivid .",
      "smart , timely woody allen dramedy has drinking , pills .",
      "blanchett is all the reason anyone might need to see this movie .",
      "want to see great acting , from comic to tragic and every electrifying stop in between ? see cate blanchett in MOV .",
      "it 's difficult to imagine anyone wresting the academy award from blanchett 's compellingly pathetic performance .",
      "blanchett is being tipped for oscar glory , and this is surely a very good , very committed performance -lrb- if a little self-consciously so -rrb- .",
      "woody allen 's latter films just seem to get better and better ... another a-grade movie to join match point , midnight in paris and vicky cristina barcelona ... a superb cate blanchett does some of her best film work to date .",
      "the result 's highly effective on a human level . if only the film had been set in the real world .",
      "smart , sophisticated and bound to win an oscar nod or two , ` MOV ' is an outstanding woody allen movie about the fall from grace of a hamptons socialite who begins to unravel after her husband loses a fortune .",
      "-lsb- woody allen has -rsb- captured an oscar-contending , tour de force performance from the great cate blanchett .",
      "a sharply observed , post-economic crash comedy-drama that boasts a formidable performance by cate blanchett and addresses such pertinent real-world concerns as class , gender and corporate criminality in urban america .",
      "the movie is a near-perfect capture of a woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown without going off the deep end into a farce .",
      "insightful , squirmingly funny and boasting an absolutely unmissable performance from first time allen collaborator cate blanchett .",
      "while the film may hold some viewers at arm 's length , the performances are worthy of stand-up-and-cheer ovations all round ."
    ],
    "summary": "woody allen 's MOV finds the director in peak late-period form -- and benefiting from a superb cast led by cate blanchett .",
    "id": "771324609"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1012515-little_shop_of_horrors",
    "reviews": [
      "i have seen a lot of musicals -lrb- probably more than most people under the age of 50 -rrb- , and few are as lively and fun as MOV .",
      "one of the most memorable viewing experiences of the previous decade .",
      "made tolerable by steve martin and the talking plant . everyone else in this film is nails-on-blackboard annoying .",
      "a lively and frequently hilarious adaptation of the the menken-ashman stage musical .",
      "horror-spoof musical is goofy fun .",
      "has aged about as well as any film about a singing house plant with an appetite for flesh could .",
      "watered with laughs , sprouting with boppy music",
      "it takes a little genius to turn a z-grade corman horror flick into a hit musical comedy ... and a little more to sucessfully return it to the big screen .",
      "delicious black fun .",
      "the film represents a rare example where hollywood has applied itself rigorously to material that might somehow seem beneath it with wholly satisfying results .",
      "with its toe-tapping cadences , its class cast and its king-sized cabbage , it 's destined to become a classic of camp comedy .",
      "for all its expensive excess , fails to recapture the spirit of the original .",
      "oz was no doubt hired to handle the plant monster puppet , but his brisk , lightweight direction spreads satisfyingly across the entire movie .",
      "you can try not liking this adaptation of the off-broadway musical hit -- it has no polish and a pushy way with a gag -- but the movie sneaks up on you , about as subtly as audrey ii .",
      "a fractured , funny production transported rather reluctantly from the stage to the screen .",
      "as a whole , the story is uninteresting , most of the characters contrived , and the vast majority of the 94 minutes is almost instantly forgettable , especially the man-eating plant from outer space .",
      "one and a half hours of freaky , scary nonsense set to a killer doo-wop soundtrack .",
      "the best moments in this 1987 release belong to dr. steve martin as a dentist with a professional yen for pain .",
      "comic book creepiness , jazzy tunes , and fab cast .",
      "a pulp pop twist on the original roger corman horror comedy that 's funny , fun , catchy , and well worth its reputation .",
      "some of the slower tunes tend to grind but the sort of musical / retro irony is still amusing in places . not if you do n't like dentists though .",
      "the movie does n't labor its jokes or insist on its virtuoso special effects , but devotes its energies to seeming unforced and delightful .",
      "a classic black comedy musical",
      "this wild and witty musical is great fun .",
      "it 's the professionalism that i admire .",
      "i 'm in love with ellen greene !",
      "the offbeat nature of the story , the wayward characters and the forgettable musical numbers make the film unappealing in every way .",
      "both exuberant and mean-spirited , it 's just a great musical comedy .",
      "not as good as the roger corman original , but you have to love the songs .",
      "-lsb- h -rsb- ilariously pathetic for the extremely minor aspirations of its down-on-their-luck characters ...",
      "entertaining , but it 's a conceit that works better onstage .",
      "a full-blown movie musical , and quite a winning one .",
      "screen writer and lyricist howard ashman has mastered the essence of '80s humor , recycling the old with a hip knowingness , all with a morbid , outrageous edge ."
    ],
    "summary": "remixing roger corman 's b-movie by way of the off-broadway musical , MOV offers camp , horror and catchy tunes in equal measure -- plus some inspired cameos by the likes of steve martin and bill murray .",
    "id": "10070"
  },
  {
    "movie": "keane",
    "reviews": [
      "the film achieves a dramatic intensity that is both admirable and frustrating .",
      "aside from lewis 's excellent acting , there 's little reason to spend two hours with MOV .",
      "lewis makes MOV 's paranoia our paranoia . kerrigan limits our world to his world . and that 's how this grimly shot , roughly felt drama pulls us in .",
      "a small wonder of a minimalist morality tale .",
      "it is like bad bresson , if that were a possibility . all signifiers and no meaning ; all tics and no truths ; all mute emoting and no emotion .",
      "only kerrigan 's previous clean , shaven surpasses MOV as a sympathetic study of a man unravelled .",
      "unshakably harrowing but deeply moving .",
      "-lsb- lewis -rsb- immerses himself so deeply in MOV 's psyche and skin that you easily forget this is acting , not real life .",
      "when it comes to an emotional payoff at the end , unlike most hollywood films , it has earned it .",
      "the role of MOV is a tall order , as he 's onscreen for every frame of the film , but lewis is just brilliant , holding our attention and ultimately our compassion for a deeply troubled man .",
      "lodge kerrigan is a director worth watching , and MOV is a small wonder in a season of big but deadly , brainless blockbusters .",
      "kerrigan is as interesting a filmmaker as is haunting the margins of modern life , a place that needs some light . and certainly some sympathy .",
      "that might be this phenomenal film 's emergent achievement : its raw hopelessness is its universality .",
      "MOV , kerrigan 's third feature , is his real breakthrough .",
      "it rests on british-born lewis ' astonishing performance . his characterization is so bold , so raw and so far out on an emotional ledge that you ca n't help but fear he 'll never find his way back .",
      "john foster 's hand-held camera rarely strays from MOV 's face . he 's loony , all right , but you have to feel sorry for him .",
      "an unsettling psychodrama that opens our hearts to a mentally and emotionally troubled man .",
      "a subtle morality tale , enlivened by intense moments",
      "the horribly overused device of the handheld camera makes MOV not simply grating and heavy-handed , but also nauseating .",
      "the film is held together by the raw intensity of damian lewis ' portrait of the emotional torment of a man whose life is falling apart .",
      "there 's more than a few spots where the improvisation -lsb- in MOV -rsb- spins out of control ...",
      "kerrigan 's films create worlds of personal obsession .",
      "the director is able to rivet us with this small story , simply because he observes it all with such a hard , unblinking gaze .",
      "a surprise , and a highly effective film , much more accomplished and less punishing than clean , shaven .",
      "the movie is n't a crowd-pleaser , but it moves the soul , and that 's enough .",
      "the pinched , obsessed , grizzled , fragile bill is one of the more disturbingly human dead-zoners in american film .",
      "lewis delivers a convincing , powerful and highly nuanced performance as a man who 's fighting desperately to keep his illness in check and lead a normal life .",
      "a movie that puts you so far into someone else 's head you may have forgotten your own name by the time it 's over .",
      "MOV is emotionally involving right from the beginning through its final frame .",
      "the daring filmgoer will see the film 's merits and , i hope , embrace it .",
      "it 's an amazing piece of work .",
      "kerrigan maintains that balance on the thin line between sanity and madness throughout his little miracle of a film by never wavering from MOV 's wavering perspective",
      "takes a long , grueling ride around the block and never really manages to illuminate the human condition",
      "MOV maintains its gritty , unsettling edge as it quietly leads up to a potentially even more troubling finale .",
      "tense and intense as clean , shaven , but not as compelling , MOV is an uncompromising but frustrating film , marred by slender narrative and elevated by cinema verite style",
      "the film is much more realistic than entertaining .",
      "mr. kerrigan both gives us a life at the edge of the abyss and pulls off an extremely deft narrative sleight of hand .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- is unfortunately akin to a rat-in-the-maze science experiment .",
      "-lsb- damian lewis -rsb- is an absolute revelation as the title character and he delivers a daring and completely riveting performance .",
      "a wondrous film .",
      "just another in a long line of films that tries and fails to examine the issue , taking the easy road by remaining detached from its own proceedings .",
      "an emotionally harrowing film that 's probably too downbeat for general audiences . but for the more adventurous viewer seeking provocative fare , kerrigan 's third film confirms that he 's a filmmaker of acute sensitivity and psychological nuance .",
      "kerrigan is without peer at plumbing the violence of the mind .",
      "it 's not fun , but it 's as much an antidote to fake hollywood nonsense as anything you 'll see this year .",
      "lewis , in an astonishingly elastic yet disciplined performance , invests MOV with a richly ambiguous , heartbreaking inner life that 's only at peace when he manages to form a tenuous human connection .",
      "MOV is a movie you might see on a dare , and though i think it is brilliantly conceived , i would n't dare to dare you .",
      "we feel sympathy , fear and revulsion for MOV ... and it 's to lewis ' credit that the subtle build of MOV minimalist plot adopts such weight and depth by the final scene .",
      "mr. lewis , a highly talented british actor , displays a flawless american accent in what amounts to a hyper-wellesian monopolization of screen time and screen space .",
      "with its endless close-ups , it 's almost suffocating in intensity , but is saved by kerrigan 's sympathy for his character , and lewis ' utterly realistic performance .",
      "professionals in the mental health field may find this film interesting ; the rest of us will probably find our attention wandering a bit , pondering how good MOV might have been .",
      "the next time you see someone railing in the streets -- fighting a battle you 'll never understand -- you may remember MOV and pause to reflect .",
      "as good as lewis is -- and he 's in every frame of this 93-minute movie -- it 's kerrigan 's astounding gift for addressing the wounded that demands celebration .",
      "it 's in that breathtaking humanism , its illustration of the way we connect to one another , and how brittle that social fabric can be , that the film touches on sublimity .",
      "-lsb- damian lewis -rsb- is utterly riveting as a man who is all too aware that he 's looking into the abyss and the scenes where he dips into outright mentalism are extremely uncomfortable to watch .",
      "the entire second half of the film ... is unbearably tense ... lewis , whose performance is the overwhelming center of the piece , deserves a large share of the credit for making the entire thing so grueling .",
      "lodge kerrigan is one of the great , though largely unheralded , filmmakers of our time .",
      "affliction has rarely been so sensitively explored .",
      "a psycho-underworld tour de force like irreversible or the machinist , impressive as far as it goes -lrb- not far -rrb- , single-minded but without enough on its mind , a gimmick flick ."
    ],
    "summary": "the scrutinizing camera angles of MOV might at first feel too close for comfort , but this powerful portrait of a man distraught by the abduction of his child plumbs the depths of mental illness and the corners of fleabag hotels in an intimate and touching examination of the seedier side of life .",
    "id": "6935"
  },
  {
    "movie": "inconvenient_truth",
    "reviews": [
      "where he won me back was when he started talking about the population issues ... perhaps this should be a birth control film as well as an environmental one .",
      "a stern warning and a call to arms , a must-see for anyone who hopes to save the world from ignorance and inaction .",
      "an MOV ca n't , of course , reveal a future that is still up to us , but by the time you 're done watching , the real question is , which way on god 's green earth would you want to err ?",
      "al gore is a big fat liar .",
      "the argument would be compelling and moving , even if delivered stiffly , but one of the real revelations of the film is his relaxed , personable , often funny , delivery .",
      "it seems better suited to classrooms than movie theaters , though any way its urgent message can be disseminated should be encouraged .",
      "i wish that there was a way to get the facts in this film in front of the audience that needs to see it , the audience that takes the words of human mockeries like michael crichton and michelle malkin as gospel .",
      "gore 's somewhat stiff but clearly deeply felt delivery turns out to be just right for this material . anything else would sound shrill and shriek-y .",
      "gore 's `` traveling global warming show '' brims over with insight , idealism , and hope .",
      "MOV might not be to everyone 's tastes , but it 's trying to do something positive in a time when forward thinking always seems to be punished .",
      "has its heart in the right place but overall the film stands as a one-track doomsday warning with too little substance to achieve its intended effect .",
      "definitely propaganda on an issue that remains divisive ... -lsb- but -rsb- even if gore is wrong , and i 'm not saying he is , his proposed solutions are common-sensibly sound .",
      "although it 's the most important film of the year , it will still be a hard sell to hard-headed truth-deniers .",
      "it 's very effective and very successful . i think it can create a debate and discussion and you can go from there .",
      "it will be interesting to watch how skeptics will deal with gore 's bad news on the environment without making themselves look very small .",
      "the clarity and simplicity of the presentation is remarkable . gore is a likable , confident , humorous speaker . and the material reminds us of the need for vigilance .",
      "parroting conventional wisdom is anything but inconvenient , and a theory is not a truth . the ` sky is falling ' always sells -- books , movies and politicians .",
      "like an inventive and engrossing lecture by your favorite eighth-grade science teacher , making it an engaging movie , whatever your politics .",
      "to gore 's credit , he is using this film to promote something other than himself -lrb- although , granted , that is a nifty side effect -rrb- . he does seem to truly care about the world in which we live .",
      "an MOV is entertaining and for the last reason you 'd expect : al gore is good company .",
      "in my heart of hearts , i know this is n't the best way to start a movie review . but in my heart of hearts , i also know i need to do what 's right .",
      "every responsible , thinking american should see this film .",
      "... for those within its reach , ` an MOV ' is a film we can ignore only at our own peril .",
      "yes , it 's a science lecture when all is said and done , but it 's a science lesson that 's never dull -- chilling in its conclusions , but hardly boring .",
      "... an important subject , and ... possibly an important film .",
      "the material is presented clearly and , for the most part , persuasively , although the side-trips into gore 's family history ... seem like the minibiographies that are traditionally served up during election time .",
      "it 's hard to make a visually compelling narrative out of 100 minutes of a 58-year-old man talking about carbon-dioxide emissions , but director davis guggenheim does it .",
      "as lectures on film go , an MOV sends its message in clear and engaging fashion .",
      "the educational moments work beautifully , the personal bits do n't . still , one of the year 's best - frightening , compelling and at points unforgettable .",
      "the united states is by far the worst polluter on the planet , a shameful fact that has to change .",
      "i 'm recommending what is essentially a non-film because i agree with its politics and i 'd like for more people to agree with me than disagree .",
      "if you are unfamiliar with this issue , or are a sheltered dittohead , this film is a good primer on arguments supporting the idea of global warming .",
      "the truth hurts .",
      "gore is inspired here , a man on a crusade that slide by slide and impassioned remark by remark drives home the MOV about global warming . it 's an alarming scenario so calling him alarmist really misses the point .",
      "in spite of brief missteps , the film has an important message that needs to be heard . it 's not a doom-and-gloom movie as much as it is a call to action .",
      "controversy is n't always a bad thing , and mr. freeze 's surprising warmth ignites a worthy discussion .",
      "despite or perhaps because of gore 's schoolmasterly attitudes , his arguments have force . a kind of anti-charisma sees it through .",
      "presented by former us vice president al gore , this documentary is a cool , clinical examination of global warming . and if you thought the repercussions were years off , think again .",
      "though generally presented in a fawning , overly obsequious style , the film also has a heartening degree of candor ... and its triumph is the manner in which it highlights the notion of political will as a renewable resource .",
      "it is utterly convincing , it 's emotionally powerful and it makes gore look more charming than he ever did as a presidential candidate .",
      "anybody who takes a long-term interest in the state of the planet -- say , more than next hurricane season -- would do well to see an MOV .",
      "... the film makes for compelling psychobiography despite the fact that gore , stiff as an air-conditioned breeze at the four seasons , is n't the least bit compelling himself .",
      "... the movie preaches to the choir rather than winning over new converts .",
      "... much of what gore says in this slide show he gives to people whose minds are not yet fully formed -lrb- undergraduates , actors -rrb- is absurd , and his assertions often contradict each other .",
      "... a rousing , upbeat concert film about the end of the world .",
      "truth succeeds at cutting through the clutter surrounding global warming by making a clear , compelling case for how our actions are affecting the planet .",
      "if you believe , as i do , that global warming is a critical problem , then an MOV could not arrive at a more important time .",
      "-lsb- y -rsb- ou do n't need to like gore , or trust him , or even believe him to get a swift kick in the pants , one that 'll scare the hell out of you ...",
      "as a film , an MOV falls somewhere between an auditorium survey class and a stump speech , and if it covers no new ground , it benefits greatly from gore 's air of educated sobriety and principled rectitude ...",
      "... it 's impossible not to be shaken , stirred , and , finally , thoroughly enlightened by what the man is saying .",
      "while it is a sobering film , it is not depressing ... there might be more fun ways to spend your summer afternoon , but gore infuses his talk with much more than just , as he calls it , a nature hike through the book of revelations .",
      "despite -lsb- its -rsb- weighty evidence , an MOV manages to transcend total doom and gloom in gratifyingly imaginative ways ...",
      "the film succeeds powerfully , even though it 's short on practical solutions , makes some questionable statements of fact and , given gore 's current ambiguous position in public life , requires a tighter focus on the message than on the messenger .",
      "part awkward yet surprisingly funny stand-up comedian , part wily environmentalist , whether you like gore or hate 'm , the last thing word you would use to describe gore in his new documentary is `` boring . ''",
      "this may be the first documentary in memory that will have audiences clamoring , `` more hard data ! more charts ! ''",
      "it 's a `` must see , then go and do '' film .",
      "the surprise of an MOV is that it 's not a downer . gore 's humor is self-deprecating , his tone never bitter .",
      "the truths in this challenging film are n't just inconvenient ; they 're darkly fascinating , mighty scary , and , it seems to me , undeniable .",
      "it 's probably best to ignore the film 's political subtext and simply concentrate on the message : global warming is real , we 're responsible for it , and we can do something about it without ruining the u.s. economy . but we 're running out of time .",
      "well-crafted , compelling cinematic food for thought .",
      "al gore delivers his thousandth lecture on the subject as though it were his first -- he 's fresh and energetic , warm and friendly .",
      "voters who perceived gore as a stiff , bland politician hen-pecked by the issues and unable to connect to his audience may be pleased by this makeover .",
      "an MOV is no great shakes as moviemaking , but it may just shake enough bean counters out of complacency to make a difference .",
      "what could have been mired in political rhetoric or techno-speak is instead illuminating , fascinating and sometimes frightening .",
      "an MOV is one of the most realistic documentaries i 've ever seen -- and , dry as it is , one of the most devastating in its implications .",
      "an MOV is a necessary film .",
      "what one comes away with hoping for the future is that we do not look back on al gore as we look back now on eisenhower -lrb- `` why we fight '' -rrb- or edward r. murrow -lrb- `` good night , and good luck '' -rrb- - as a man who gave a warning unheeded .",
      "... highly persuasive ...",
      "informative and enlightening ; one of those rare movies that absolutely must be seen .",
      "frankly , this is a guy who was vp of the united states , and he was n't able to affect change . now he 's telling me to fix it by % u2026 recycling ?",
      "even if you think global warming is a bunch of malarkey you 'll at least be reassured that gore is not a robotic government android .",
      "the documentary is so convincing that it makes opposers of the argument as credible as holocaust deniers .",
      "this is urgent , important stuff that simply ca n't be ignored -- or left to the politicians -- any longer .",
      "though the information is dense and seems a bit like a college lecture , gore and his presentation come across as quite engaging .",
      "the movie is the message , and it 's worth seeing .",
      "cinematic brussel sprouts .",
      "a public service announcement that appeals mostly to our conscience , but also our hearts .",
      "i doubt if this film can save the planet , but it speaks volumes for gore 's political future as his public profile is given a much needed makeover .",
      "an MOV makes a powerful argument that only the willfully deaf will fail to hear .",
      "the show is lively and heartfelt - a persuasive call to action .",
      "left-wing pop science gone mad .",
      "subtext is just as important as text in al gore 's cautionary tale of global warming and call to arms . docu shows how personal tragedies -lrb- gore almost losing his son -rrb- and crises can be channeled creatively toward relevant issues larger than oneself .",
      "a flat earth was inconvenient to papal authority in galileo 's time . now , what heresy is gore committing with a scientifically based argument against contributing further to relentlessly destructive natural forces ?",
      "a 96-minute political commercial supporting the deification of al gore .",
      "an excellent educational tool .",
      "al gore brings his campaign to reverse global warming to the big screen in this vivid and vital activist movie .",
      "those attacking al gore as a misinformed prophet or political crybaby likely never watched the film . holding court with genial wit and warmth , gore emphasizes his slide content 's morals and ethics over its politics and ends on practicality , not panic .",
      "an adequate enough way to get the point across , but i ca n't help but wonder what the raves for this film are really about .",
      "a tantalus glimpse of what america might have been with a president who cared about the planet , its people and its peace .",
      "netflix puts this oscar winning documentary out again for those who spent the past seven years listening to paid-off-deniers and assorted other fox news liars .",
      "while the preaching is to the converted , the sheer organization , massing and clarity appear conclusive , and the youngish onscreen attendees nod in agreement .",
      "al gore 's global-warming documentary , an MOV , may just be the scariest movie you will see this year .",
      "gore gets admirable points for using intelligence in his arguments rather than fear",
      "gone is the excruciatingly wooden , heavily-made up candidate from the controversial 2000 presidential election . in his place , the team from an MOV shows you the gore democrats wish the voting public had seen % u2014a comfortable , enthusiastic",
      "the ultimate effect of an MOV is not unlike looking down the barrel of a loaded gun .",
      "highly recommended even if al gore is incapable of getting at the root cause of global warming .",
      "gore 's insistent , motivated sense of morality has finally found an outlet , even making use of skills honed over years of campaigning -- parrying , querying , quipping .",
      "the film makes -lsb- gore -rsb- out to be a bigger martyr and a better savior than jesus christ , himself .",
      "will likely make you admire al gore a little more than you already do , worry about the planet a lot more than you already do , and finally , leave you with as many questions as when you started .",
      "... the fundamental obstacle to making the average human aware and concerned about the ecology is a matter of comprehending scale -- a problem which the formerly robotic democrat tackles rather elegantly .",
      "matter of fact , it 's surprisingly entertaining , if ultimately shocking .",
      "communicates the dangers of ignoring global warning with credible urgency in a way news coverage of conferences and tv news segments have never been able to do .",
      "frightening and timely , the smartly organized documentary is an urgent plea for responsibility and action as well as an impassioned call to heed the ominous warnings of science .",
      "a film that invests hard science with impassioned moral drive .",
      "this is n't a ` fun ' film , per se , but it never ceases to be fascinating and eye-opening .",
      "despite quibbles over details , the case -lsb- gore -rsb- presents is compelling , and anyone who is n't sure whether global warming is a mounting crisis or a massive hoax should see this film .",
      "can you dislike al gore 's green documentary ` an MOV ' and still like trees ?",
      "in an eco-horror show that politely masquerades as a documentary , the former vice president effectively warns of man-made cataclysm .",
      "it 's a mind-boggling disaster epic that draws its special power from the fact that we are both the villains and victims of the story .",
      "the most compelling disaster movie of the summer .",
      "an MOV , like its star , is quite persuasive in framing global warming as a crisis rapidly accelerating along with the planet 's population . that means us . and that means the potential to take action .",
      "if you see only one movie this year , make it an MOV . it may not be the year 's best movie , or its most entertaining , but it 's certainly the most terrifyingly crucial .",
      "really two movies : a sobering lecture about a globe that 's getting warmer and a profile of a leader whose career has always been hindered by his apparent lack of warmth .",
      "in 39 years , i have never written these words in a movie review , but here they are : you owe it to yourself to see this film . if you do not , and you have grandchildren , you should explain to them why you decided not to .",
      "gore 's one-man global road show manages to both stagger and humble viewers with an accessible mix of data and evidence .",
      "a powerful film that educates as it engages .",
      "a nonfiction disaster movie about the ultimate in non-partisan concerns , the fate of the planet .",
      "the film is more suspenseful than many thrillers and more emotional than many tear-jerkers . and , most of all , it 's scarier than any horror flick .",
      "the movie 's impact overcomes any discomfort with gore or his politics .",
      "a torrent of data , graphs , and images churns into a category 5 scientific warning of impending doom for the earth ... . consciousness-raising by a man who has found his calling .",
      "regardless of all the cacophonous naysaying , this is an absorbing documentary that gently pushes a message that all americans of sound mind and good conscience can embrace : let 's work together to make the world a better place .",
      "on screen , gore is persuasive and engaging , trotting out facts and photographs to go along with high-tech graphs that would make ross perot envious .",
      "this movie will shake you , especially if you have kids . the central facts are piling up in a way that disturbs anything but indolent complacency .",
      "an MOV may be considered by some as liberal ranting by al gore , but davis guggenheim and all make a good case for his doomsday claims .",
      "if it all sounds a little contrived and too well-rehearsed , it is all on behalf of a greater good , since the statistics are individually alarming , collectively chilling and all but irrefutable .",
      "it 's about science and only because we live in a society where believing in scientific truth has become controversial can it be seen as partisan at all .",
      "relevant and persuasive , it 's a convincing plea for activism .",
      "from a ` legal ' perspective , gore presents a strong case ... well worth seeking out , inviting others to , and debating afterward .",
      "for a doomsday lecture , it 's shockingly entertaining . well , on second thought maybe ` entertaining ' is n't exactly the right word ...",
      "illuminating and distressing ... a grave message indeed .",
      "in the battle between big trouble -lrb- gore 's line -rrb- and big oil -lrb- bush 's -rrb- , fossil fuel won . even with gas prices it 's still winning , which is why an MOV , for all its limitations as cinematic agitprop , deserves an audience .",
      "after sitting through this monotone lecture on melting glaciers and carbon dioxide , you 'll be eager to drop the class .",
      "no matter how much generosity critics and activists show this movie , it is still a boring slideshow by a boring speaker with cool graphics and thus , a boring movie .",
      "director davis guggenheim expands gore 's highly polished multimedia lecture into dramatic form with personal footage of gore that exemplifies his 40-year commitment to a subject that is consuming our earth .",
      "gore has brought all the scattered news stories together in one briskly narrated , handsomely illustrated place , and the power of his points is striking . sobering . ultimately alarming .",
      "it 's as a piece of entertainment that the movie scores its most surprising victory , taking the audience on a dizzying emotional and intellectual journey .",
      "it grabs you like a thriller with an ending that will haunt your dreams .",
      "just because truths are inconvenient is no reason to suppose they are not real .",
      "an eco-horror movie that is anything but escapist entertainment ...",
      "powerful , intelligent and surprisingly entertaining , gore presents a compelling case . you 'll believe a film can change the world .",
      "apesar de ter uma estrutura similar ao dos filmes que enfocam espetрculos de stand-up comedy -lrb- o que compromete sua fluidez -rrb- , este documentрrio traz informaушes absurdamente importantes que sсo transmitidas com clareza pelo carismрtico gore .",
      "because of its biased tone and shameless promotion of al gore it is simply preaching to the converted .",
      "a vitally important lesson , told in bland charts and alarming images .",
      "un documental contundente y alarmante que , de la mano de un preocupado y convincente al gore , se convierte en un verdadero llamado a la acciзn .",
      "this is nothing short of life-changing ; a film that needs to be seen by every single person on this planet .",
      "t 's an enduring irony of movies that one guy talking can be more compelling than a million dollars in locations , extras and effects .",
      "documentary filmmaking at its best : make a case , make it convincingly , and show us what to do about it .",
      "much of this material is familiar , but presented in total , over the course of 100 minutes , the impact is frightening .",
      "mandatory viewing regardless , much as an alarm clock must be heeded despite its annoying ring .",
      "regardless of how you may feel about gore the politician , this film is an important one , and its ultimate message of hope -lrb- it 's not too late -rrb- and duty -lrb- as humans , we need to do the right thing by the planet on which we live -rrb- is inspiring and invigorating .",
      "brings a feeling of history : virtually everyone who sees this movie will be galvanized to do something about global warming -- and everyone should see this movie .",
      "even if gore is polishing his own image in advance of a run for president -lrb- he denies it -rrb- , he lays out the basics of the case for global warming in a way that is lucid and mostly fair .",
      "this stunning documentary about global warming is a well-reasoned , clearly-proven , intelligent , cogent , irresistible torrent of scientific data , in a curiously warm , engaging , often funny presentation .",
      "gore plainly illustrates the bind we find ourselves in environmentally , while swiftly and effectively dismissing any so-called ` debate ' on the issue .",
      "gore 's multimedia presentation is like a rock concert : ever-changing visuals and on-stage mini-shticks that draw the audience into a mountain of scientific data , anecdotes that connect the dots and make the larger picture clear ...",
      "while gore 's onstage presentation tells us nothing new , it has a renewed -- call it recycled -- potency , in light of a growing scientific consensus about changing weather patterns ."
    ],
    "summary": "while global warming is a hotly-debated subject , what everyone on both sides can agree upon is that , if real , it 's a very bad thing . since losing the 2000 presidential election to george w. bush , former vice president al gore has busied himself by being an outspoken figure against this potential environmental disaster . as much about the man as about greenhouse gases , this candid , powerful and informative documentary illuminates some of the myths surrounding both of its subjects equally well .",
    "id": "158719030"
  },
  {
    "movie": "following",
    "reviews": [
      "a challenging and intriguing piece of work .",
      "low-budget debut from memento 's director subtly transposes you to a sinful urban nightmare .",
      "a harbinger of things to come , an exercise in the kind of temporal gymnastics , sleight-of-hand shifts in perspective , and rigorous insights into the dark depths of human nature that have defined nolan 's later films",
      "besides the similarities in playing with time and structure , nolan is already zeroed in on his favorite cinematic theme : obsession .",
      "this clammy , noirish thriller time-hops with a vengeance .",
      "entertaining , but material does n't develop the full , edgy potential that similar paranoid-triangle efforts realized .",
      "MOV est un exercice de style et d'ingéniosité qui nous rappelle -lsb- memento -rsb- tout en ayant un cachet bien particulier .",
      "before memento , his breakthrough picture , christopher nolan made an impressive debut with the modest , short , but captivating film noir , MOV .",
      "this edgy little bit of nastiness is a good reason to start getting excited about british movies all over again .",
      "unlike some other flicks that have had this sort of labyrinthine structure , nolan 's made sure that everything works ...",
      "it 's brilliantly scripted and carefully planned . yet it feels loose and improvised .",
      "... offers more pleasure as a jigsaw puzzle than it does as a movie .",
      "christopher nolan has crafted a spare but gripping black-and-white neo-noir debut feature that features some classic elements of the genre .",
      "audiences will walk out of the theater shocked to find that only 70 minutes have gone by .",
      "uses a fragmented storyline , but it does n't really serve to advance the plot or increase the suspense . in this case , it seems to be just a directorial trick",
      "mesmerizing neo-noir drama .",
      "a stylish and interesting film .",
      "the film leaves a good impression on the viewer as one that is ably directed , written , acted , and photographed .",
      "christopher nolan 's 1999 debut feature becomes memento-on-training-wheels ."
    ],
    "summary": "super brief but efficient , MOV represents director christopher nolan 's burgeoning talent in tight filmmaking and hard-edge noir .",
    "id": "13887"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dead_poets_society",
    "reviews": [
      "in a field of films about drugs , car chases , and plastic monsters , MOV is a good choice .",
      "the best stories and performances , one of the greatest films of the 1980s and a rare classic that should be treasured .",
      "solid , smart entertainment .",
      "the film makes us , the audience , take a long hard look at what inspires us , what governs our motivations and determines our actions . it emotes feelings rarely felt in the movies these days .",
      "not the worst of the countless recent movies about good kids and hidebound , authoritatian older people . it may , however , be the most shameless in its attempt to pander to an adolescent audience .",
      "celebrates nonconformity and freethinking as an adventure worthy of emulation -- not your usual movie theme these days .",
      "as consistent and nearly as understated a performance as robin williams would give later in good will hunting .",
      "weir infuses the film with his customary mysticism , but more importantly , draws sensitive performances from his largely inexperienced cast .",
      "tom schulman 's heartfelt script takes the main character 's relationships with keating above and beyond the usual student-teacher connection .",
      "part of what makes dead poet 's society so great is that it challenges you to think . it can inspire you to be more than a simple cog in a wheel .",
      "the moral divisions set up between characters are childishly overdrawn ; and , worst of all , the behavior shown by the boys and adults frequently reeks of falsity and contrivance .",
      "story sings whenever williams is onscreen . screen belongs just as often to leonard , who as neil has a quality of darting confidence mixed with hesitancy . hawke , as the painfully shy todd , gives a haunting performance .",
      "the role of keating is a plum assignment for the talented williams , who largely steers clear of schtick under peter weir 's direction . nicely shot with a good youthful cast .",
      "robin williams at his tolerable best .",
      "above average drama that put robin williams on dramatic actor map .",
      "though sentimental and contrived , this valentine to charismatic , dedicated teachers is extremely well acted -lrb- even by robin williams -rrb- and it does make you feel good about loving literature and poetry .",
      "all the performances are excellent , particularly the complex shadings of leonard , but williams is especially memorable .",
      "it 's a literate though strained uplifter , a not altogether compatible coupleting of rocky balboa and the bard .",
      "it 's best left as a fond memory , never to be held up to the light of day .",
      "generally fairly tedious and predictable , without being especially believable .",
      "for all its formula , it sure does feel like MOV comes from a sincere place .",
      "MOV adds little to the genre that has n't been said before and aims , instead , at familiar stereotypes and overly obvious tugs at the heartstrings .",
      "the movie undercuts mr. williams 's exceptionally fine performance , making the character seem more of a dubious fool than is probably intended .",
      "great movie , and one of the few films where williams did n't annoy me to no end .",
      "one of the best-ever depictions of wasp dysfunction and prep-school life .",
      "gets boring in parts , but worth watching .",
      "an impressive , inspiring , moving piece regarding the virtues of individuality -- a subject i wish more films would tackle this well .",
      "if you 've done some living , every cockle of your heart will be touched",
      "it 's a tearjerker where the tears come not from the heart , but from the aching mind ; we cry not because of the sad situations , but because of its ludicrous attempts at being sad .",
      "watch `` MOV '' and you 'll see the efforts of a filmmaker who has his own loving style in making movies .",
      "a bundle of growing pain blues , flamboyant declarations of self , and doomsday faculty foul-ups , and it cooks when delivered in big batches of adolescent passion .",
      "falters when it goes for too much heart-tugging manipulation .",
      "williams keeps a stiff upper lip , showing a more sedate and sensitive side , and the oscar-winning screenplay provides a strong backbone .",
      "it 's not so easy to dismiss MOV . for all its faults , it still has as much power as it ever did .",
      "i ca n't help but melt underneath this movie : it chisels away the cynic and gets at the sap .",
      "a film that celebrates the importance of inspiration , albeit in slightly affected fashion .",
      "williams , who has comparatively little screen time , has come to act , not to cut comic riffs , and he does so with forceful , ultimately compelling , simplicity .",
      "beautifully directed and with an oscar-winning story .",
      "inspiring , intense story of a teacher and his students ."
    ],
    "summary": "affecting performances from the young cast and a genuinely inspirational turn from robin williams grant peter weir 's prep school drama top honors .",
    "id": "10138"
  },
  {
    "movie": "tims_vermeer_2014",
    "reviews": [
      "overall , this is fascinating stuff .",
      "a bizarre , moving and witty how-dunnit that makes you look twice at the work of johannes vermeer .",
      "an important doc that quietly slips out of mind but that will always be an impressive achievement .",
      "when penn & teller turn their hand to documentary filmmaking , we know it 's going to be something playful .",
      "the results are astonishing - so much so that you begin to wonder whether this penn and teller project is n't in fact an elaborate hoax , a brilliantly constructed illusion .",
      "a doc that is even more interested in the nature of a modern man 's obsession than in the paintings of johannes vermeer .",
      "a collision of art and science that is thought-provoking , breathtaking , and wildly inspiring .",
      "fascinating . bull $ # ! + ? maybe . it lacks the one thing penn & teller are supposed to be famous for -- skepticism .",
      "penn and teller 's uncanny crowdpleaser begs the question , is it still a masterpiece if an amateur could do it ?",
      "whether or not jenison becomes an artist in the process of his quest , there 's no doubting that his commitment to creating art is a creative end unto itself .",
      "we rip away the veils of prejudice and expectation , and are left with something that at first seems like a mere `` trick '' , but is quite simply a feat of great imagination and scientific thinking .",
      "here is an entertaining and entirely watchable documentary that sets out to prove that any old brush-swinging amateur can paint as brilliantly as the 17th-century dutch master .",
      "this witty and stimulating exercise , the brainchild of stage-magician maestros penn and teller , plays a game of speculation with tools and techniques that may have been available to the dutch master .",
      "the resulting film is a geek 's dream and a great documentary crossover , touching on art , history , technology , science , optics and even construction techniques as jenison labours over his replica of vermeer 's studio .",
      "you might think that following this insanely ambitious diy project would be like watching paint dry . wrong .",
      "mostly it is fascinating and compelling .",
      "you do n't even need to care about art to be entertained by this clever , swift documentary .",
      "the documentary tim 's vermeer chronicles one man 's obsession . sheer , unbridled , unstoppable obsession , no different from in werner herzog 's 1982 classic fitzcarraldo .",
      "`` tim 's vermeer '' makes a convincing case that vermeer could have painted the way jenison says he did . it also makes a pretty powerful ancillary point : that some people are both geniuses and geeks .",
      "some movies are great because of their artistry ; `` tim 's vermeer '' achieves greatness - ok , semi-greatness - by placing the act of artistic creation itself under a microscope .",
      "fine art and technology combine in this fascinating documentary about how an obsessive amateur was able to recreate an astonishingly precise replica of a dutch masterpiece .",
      "... often much more engrossing and informative than expected .",
      "the result astonishes . a fascinating , funny and inspiring story .",
      "`` tim 's vermeer '' is a diverting 80-minute account of one man 's mission to explore the vermeer optics theory in detail .",
      "can a movie be both fascinating and extremely boring ?",
      "the most fun you 'll have watching paint dry all year .",
      "the film could even crack the best documentary feature category come oscar time , because it definitely elicits a response . it 's an unassuming work that says that , for all our faults , humanity can achieve wonders .",
      "even at a fleet 79 minutes , feels a little long . for a while , though , tim 's vermeer paints a compelling picture of inventor -lrb- fellow illusionist and 3-d designer -rrb- tim jenison as he indulges his peculiar obsession .",
      "an unexpectedly funny and entertaining story , an engaging main character to follow , explores a seemingly dry subject with pizzazz and pop .",
      "a lively , intriguing look at the line between artist and inventor , one that challenges the very notion that the distinction should be made at all .",
      "tim 's vermeer is both enjoyable as entertainment and as an intelligently mounted case study of how art and technology complement , rather than grind against , each other . as penn eloquently puts it : `` the problem is we make that distinction . ''",
      "i can easily say that this film is more engaging than any action film i 've seen of late , which is quite a remarkable achievement .",
      "a masterpiece of documentary filmmaking",
      "perhaps the ultimate take-away from tim 's vermeer is the unquenchable curiosity of certain people , albeit those with the money to finance that inquisitiveness , to get to the bottom of history 's mysteries . in that respect , jenison is an artist .",
      "tim 's vermeer refers not just to the replica vermeer he seeks to paint , but to his understanding of who vermeer was and how he accomplished his work .",
      "what it turns out to actually be about is tim jenison , and what it means to be a member of the new -lrb- techno -rrb- rich in the united states of the 21st century .",
      "the lengths to which jenison goes to ensure he is working with the same tools , limitations and liberties that were available to vermeer are nothing short of gobsmacking .",
      "what emerges from this delightful , brief documentary does n't debunk vermeer 's genius , but certifies it .",
      "a wry , entertaining and very impressive study of a groundbreaking adventure in amateur art history",
      "art purists can relax since -lsb- inventor tim -rsb- jenison , a video wiz with little talent for painting , never really challenges vermeer 's genius for conception and composition . technology is the thing at issue here .",
      "jenison 's obsession is the basis for a playful , entertaining film . i was n't convinced for a millisecond by his wackadoodle theory , but i enjoyed every minute of tim 's vermeer .",
      "the conclusion is jaw dropping , the feat remarkable .",
      "downright fascinating , a must for anyone interested in art , science or just a good mystery story .",
      "... creates a fascinating window to the past and offers an intriguing look at the relationship between art and technology .",
      "suspenseful and fascinating . it deserves to become a sleeper hit .",
      "as mechanical as the procedure it depicts .",
      "when you see how meticulously tim duplicated the artist 's painting - compare his with the original - you realize that this is an incredible adventure .",
      "an improbable subject has inspired a unique documentary which comes with an unusual pedigree : it was produced by those inventive magicians penn and teller , and directed by teller .",
      "tim 's vermeer is a highly entertaining , provocative film about an amazing experiment , and it 's straightforward in its presentation and aims , throwing no curveballs .",
      "it 's a cool hypothesis , catnip for art-history buffs , but it ca n't quite sustain feature length .",
      "the resulting film is a comic delight that marvels at the intersections between art and science , painting and cinema , and illusionists and documentarians .",
      "the charm of the whole enterprise wears off even before this movie 's trim 80 minutes are up .",
      "this fascinating intellectual detective story made by illusionists and skeptics penn and teller blurs the lines between technology and art .",
      "let the art experts argue about the validity of the main premise , the movie from penn and teller is engaging and entertaining .",
      "it 's sure to please inquiring minds of both left - and right-brained nature .",
      "even when jenison 's process becomes a little tedious , the movie makes sure to remind us that tedium is often an essential part of how art is created .",
      "it 's hardly surprising that a movie made by penn and teller would feature a mind-bending stunt . what you 're less likely to expect is that it 's a 17th-century dutch masterpiece that 's pulled out of a hat .",
      "let 's just say it gives you an appreciation for vermeer , optical device or not , as well as for jenison , who stuck with the project for five full years .",
      "hockney and other experts get involved , there 's brief consideration of the nature of art but what really makes it work is tim himself , he 's a great subject .",
      "speculative documentary might explain vermeer 's technique , if not his eye",
      "`` tim 's vermeer '' is about many things - art history , technology , painting technique , beauty - but ultimately it 's a beguiling study of fascination .",
      "we should never forget that penn and teller are professional bamboozlers , and their attempt to re-frame the definition of genius might be nothing but smoke and mirrors .",
      "earns its keep by being informative and briskly entertaining . it helps that the likeably wry jenison is such an interesting character in his own right , a true renaissance man ...",
      "a fascinating art lesson .",
      "odd , you may think , that a penn & teller film seems so bent on revealing a great magician 's secrets , but their evident appreciation of vermeer , and of jenison for that matter , only affirms the revelatory power of pure curiosity .",
      "an irresistibly engaging documentary that might be described as a lab experiment in art history presented with las vegas-style showmanship .",
      "tim 's vermeer is film as forensics , bringing math and science to bear to solve an art-world mystery .",
      "unexpectedly dazzling .",
      "shot on grainy video , with some indifferent sound , tim 's vermeer is an amusing study of obsession in action .",
      "the beauty of the picture is its tale of obsession by a man determined to convince himself his theory is true .",
      "just crazy enough to make us smile , for exactly eighty minutes .",
      "it honors the labor of an artist as well as the inspiration that ca n't be copied even in an age of mechanical reproduction .",
      "`` tim 's vermeer '' is a movie for people who like to think , who like to ponder the big questions surrounding art and the act of creation .",
      "the viewer will watch paint dry and like it .",
      "it 's a film about the process of creativity , one that shows just how closely art and science are often intertwined .",
      "it chronicles the quest of a self-described `` geek , '' and there are pleasurable frissons of discovery in the detective work .",
      "a fascinating new documentary about art , obsessions , ideas and answers .",
      "an exquisitely fun documentary that hits on a profound aesthetic question , one first posed in 2001 by david hockney : did the 17th-century dutch painter johannes vermeer use optical devices to achieve his visual poetics of light ?",
      "like a combination of the penn & teller : bulls *** ! tv series and an extended episode of mythbusters as presented by an alternate history channel comes tim 's vermeer - a truly fascinating documentary .",
      "both a movie portrait of dedicated obsession and a documentary that poses interesting questions about whether using technology devalues art .",
      "jillette 's ebullient on-screen presence goes some way towards energising a movie in which we are asked to watch paint dry .",
      "engaging and fascinating documentary that raises some challenging questions about the nature of art and serves as a remarkable portrait of obsession , while casting vermeer 's original technique in an intriguing new light .",
      "at once great fun and completely , elaborately pointless .",
      "jenison 's compulsiveness and ingeniousness are interesting , and his research may prove to have some art-scholarship value , but another impresson is that spending 180 days to reproduce ` the music lesson ' is a colossal waste of time .",
      "it accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do - nothing more , nothing less .",
      "the crossroads between technology and art has always been troublesome . without either , we might not have some of the art world 's greatest treasures . certainly without digital video , we would n't have this wonderfully entertaining movie either .",
      "jenison projects humility , but he can barely hide his need to be perceived as the smartest kid in the room . in the end , the film leans harder towards vanity project than earth-shattering documentary",
      "one ca n't help but lament that jenison is missing the heart of the art -- he sees but he does n't feel .",
      "it 's obvious in hindsight why penn and teller would be so drawn to this ethereally beautiful mystery : their passion for all things seemingly magical , often mechanical , and always amazing is practically their trademark .",
      "it 's a sophisticated treatise on the intersection between creativity and technology , presented with all the offhand charm of a great tale told over a round of beers .",
      "despite the exhausting quest taken up by the documentary 's hero , the film does n't register as inspirational .",
      "the documentary , like the project itself , is an indulgent vanity project : friends making a film about a friend .",
      "combining enough of the characteristic wiseassery of penn & teller with a dose of scholarly research on an age-old art-world mystery , it is at once entertaining and edifying .",
      "tim 's finished vermeer may resemble the real thing , but tim 's vermeer never tackles the true mystery of why the latter is actually incomparable .",
      "the result is cool and semi-comical , but also serious .",
      "as with many good film , it 's the destination , not the outcome , that matters , and ` tim 's vermeer ' has the spacious room to allow one to get lost in one man 's impressively herculean busy work .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- highly entertaining documentary ...",
      "do we even want to see a movie arguing that the work of one of the greatest artists of all time could be re-created by a dude with some mirrors and no actual ability to paint ? i 'm not sure . but tim 's vermeer has more on its mind than that .",
      "the movie 's painstaking attention to detail certainly puts you in mind of vermeer 's own , but even halfway through its short length it 's easy to get restless .",
      "the process of putting those three-dimensional objects on canvas in natural light is so fascinating that no one 's going to make jokes about watching paint dry - though at one point the film is literally about watching paint dry . and then applying varnish .",
      "what tim 's vermeer is really about is two geniuses , of very different sorts , communing across time and space .",
      "an original and endearing documentary from penn & teller asks the question : how did he do that ?",
      "a deft and fascinating documentary about art , technology , and the creative spirit .",
      "a fascinating documentary that poses a compelling aesthetic query : did 17th-century dutch painter johannes vermeer use optical devices to achieve his gorgeously photo-realistic , light-filled artwork ?",
      "`` tim 's vermeer , '' a fascinating documentary by the comic magicians penn & teller , has a way of arousing passionate feelings while provoking fresh ideas about the porous border between technology and art .",
      "vermeer is n't an uplifting experience per se , but a reflective and profound one that should have viewers thinking outside the box .",
      "like a cinematic magic trick , one that unveils itself over the course of roughly 90 minutes .",
      "the movie is straightforward , brisk , engaging , and sometimes even moving .",
      "are the great paintings of the renaissance really all that great , or is their magic an illusion ? could the illusion be part of their greatness ?",
      "teller , the quiet half of the iconoclastic magic act penn and teller , crafts a captivating documentary portrait of the artist as a tinkerer .",
      "shooting in unattractive , hard-edge digital , teller condenses mr. jenison 's years-long pursuit into 80 glib , alternately diverting , exasperating and tedious minutes .",
      "the film - an ode to craftsmanship - establishes without a doubt that many of the traits we reserve for other fields - dedication , ingenuity - are also inherent to the artistic process . ta-da .",
      "a captivating look at a high-tech inventor who presumes to replicate the work of a great painter ."
    ],
    "summary": "entertaining and profound in equal measure , tim 's vermeer uses its seemingly esoteric subject to pose fascinating questions about art and obsession .",
    "id": "771363015"
  },
  {
    "movie": "jonas_brothers_3d",
    "reviews": [
      "girls are crazy . i do n't mean they 're mildly emotional or excitable . i mean completely nuts . at least the girls flocking to see the new 3d jonas brothers movie are .",
      "it serves its purpose .",
      "i had all four posters on my bedroom closet : davy , mickey , peter and mike .",
      "love them or loathe them , it 's the jonas brothers ' moment -- you might as well enjoy it .",
      "this movie spends too much time on stage , and not enough off .",
      "the threat may be as illusory as the thrills in jonas brothers are contrived . but that wo n't stop jonas junkies from enjoying their magical mystery tour .",
      "young jonas fans will adore the brothers ' concert flick .",
      "this is a concert , not in any way , shape or form , a film .",
      "this current squeaky-clean vocal group is way more talented than its elders were .",
      "for those of us dwelling outside the jonas demo , the small charms in the ` candid ' moments have little to do with the boys ' talents as actors , and a lot to do with the revered icons whose cheeky behavior they 're imitating .",
      "at 76 minutes , the film is nearly twice as long as even the band 's most dedicated admirers might need , with weariness setting in around the 40-minute mark .",
      "at best , they 're an all-davy jones monkees with varsity soccer co-captain good looks .",
      "the disney-created automatons have none of the charisma that miley cyrus showed in her 3-d concert film , and the lame 3-d effects make this flick priced for rip-offs at $ 15 .",
      "those squeaky clean jonas brothers have made a squeaky clean movie that is all songs - no plot , no acting",
      "for its intended ` tween audience , it 's high-decible and shreik-inducing , but it 's not recommended for anyone over the age of 30 .",
      "jonas brothers : the 3d concert experience is no last waltz , but it 's going to be some kid 's first step towards pop music , and it 's so well made and exuberant that you 'd be a fool to begrudge it .",
      "walking into this picture , i could n't name a single jonas brothers song . walking out , i still could n't name a single jonas brothers song , but at least i know now joe 's the guy on all the erasers and backpacks at target .",
      "they are all part of a great american tradition . hate them if you want to , but you might as well hate gated communities , the real world , and the war on terror while you 're at it .",
      "the film gets one star from me for the admirable brevity of its running time and another for the definite article in its title , seemingly an implicit promise that there will be no sequel .",
      "with their fresh-faced image , it 's hard not to snigger when they start spraying the audience with foam guns ... insert your own freudian interpretation here .",
      "the jonas brothers suck and they can all go to hell !!!",
      "it 's a trite cash-in designed to empty pockets , lazily slapped together with concert footage and phoney fly-on-the-wall snippets .",
      "this tv-special-sized feature comprises songs from the trio 's recent burning up tour , along with gobbets of behind the scenes action .",
      "if you 're a jonas fan , take the star rating above and double it , since i 'm old and the jonases are awesome !",
      "the movie , sadly , perpetuates the corporate myth that they are musical tyros , boyband savants and the sweetest virgins in the business .",
      "applying criticism to jonas brothers : the 3d concert experience is like trying to lasso a bull with dental floss . it 's not going to stop the bull and no one 's really going to notice .",
      "if you are n't a teenage girl or ca n't channel your inner groupie for 76 minutes , you have no business at jonas brothers : the 3d concert experience .",
      "sorry boys , for fear of sounding like an old fuddyduddy , i thought the majority of their pop rock songs sounded pretty much the same . but this film was n't made for me . it was made for their fans , who will love it .",
      "it 's a pavlovian thing . see swarthy -lrb- and shirtless ! -rrb- teen heartthrob joe jonas standing backstage in 3-d : scream .",
      "i 'm a fan of power-pop , and i was even an unapologetic hanson listener when it was uncool to be one , so i wish i could be more enthusiastic about the actual music here .",
      "this does pretty much what it says on the tin , though the interactive `` 3d '' element does introduce a twist of sorts .",
      "the music is unmemorable , the staging conventional , the connection between religious and sexual ecstasy very evident .",
      "only for die-hard members of team jonas .",
      "fans of the jonas brothers , pavlov and freud should be equally satisfied for a 75-minute stint .",
      "the film features two guest spots with other artists from the disney stable , demi lovato and taylor swift . swift is a star of the future , and i guess you can bet on her own 3d film in the pipeline , but demi lovato , whoever she is , ought n't give up her day",
      "teen sensations can put on an impressive act , just do n't ask them to fake-act their `` rock-star life . ''",
      "there 's no plot , no character development , no dramatic arc . it just plops you smack down in the epicenter of the jobro musical youthquake , and away you go .",
      "as sunglasses and guitar picks fly ... and mics and pointing drumsticks thrust out of the screen , it 's a sort of metaphor for the whole film -lrb- and the band it captures -rrb- to ponder which effects are `` real '' and which are manufactured in a computer . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "fascinating only for the opportunity to observe the mesmerizing effect of a well-rehearsed , mass seduction on an auditorium filled with willing , adoring girls .",
      "canned and created by committee",
      "... the film boasts a preaching-to-the-converted vibe that effectively holds newcomers at arm 's length throughout .",
      "this may be three dimensional poison for jonas-hating curmudgeons but it 's unlikely that any of the band 's fans will be asking for their money back .",
      "76 minutes of squeaky clean processed-cheese-food product rock ' music interspersed with spurious ` documentary ' footage .",
      "the tunes are so bland it could be the same song on a loop , while the performances are spirited but nondescript .",
      "it 's a hard day 's night all over again , except nobody has bothered to write the brothers some funny dialogue .",
      "it 's too bad the film offers none of the comedic sparkle they recently showed on saturday night live and david letterman 's show . it 's only slightly better than the surprisingly flat and one-dimensional hannah montana movie .",
      "the attitude displayed by jonas brothers : the 3d concert experience back toward those fans comes across as a curious mixture of shameless pandering and discreet contempt .",
      "we learn nothing about who they are or where they come from -- they may not even have parents , for all we know , since the adult accompanying them is usually their bodyguard .",
      "this tepid concert film does the jonas brothers no favors , not that the band 's tweener fans will notice .",
      "the brothers are no beatles , but it wo n't matter to fans who 'll just be happy to spend some concentrated time with their crushes .",
      "this personality vacuum is a real problem in a film that purports to depict a day in the life of young pop stars whom audiences can actually relate to .",
      "if the boys are dreamy and smooth enough for that pink ipod on the ride home from school , that does n't mean they have the juice to carry a 76 minute documentary . and at 76 minutes , the movie is still too long .",
      "parental content review",
      "omg , the jonas brothers in 3-d ! the promise-ring-wearing hotties try to burn down the house , but their burning up tour makes for a tepid rock doc .",
      "in a struggling music economy , the big screen can be big money -- for the right acts . and the jonas brothers are exactly that .",
      "jonas brothers : the 3d concert experience is n't a movie so much as a devotional object , a kind of secular fetish designed to induce rapture .",
      "the songs wash over in waves of such turgid mediocrity that by the end you 're praying for it to stop . thankfully , after 76 minutes , it does - and all is well again .",
      "it 's no mystery that the target audience for this g-rated bubblegum fantasy is tweens , parents of tweens and the occasional pervert . they 'll be so pleased . anything for the rest of humanity ? not so much .",
      "boy bands serve multiple functions for their audiences . they entertain , they sing the poetry of love , they offer a spectrum of masculine attributes . on the first two counts , the jonas brothers movie leaves something to be desired .",
      "call us cynical , but is n't there something just a tiny bit iffy about three sworn virgins performing a rock show in which the climax has them shooting gallons of white `` party '' foam over their adoring girl fans ?",
      "the jonas brothers are a contemporary phenomenon -- a boyish trio who dazzle fangirl tweens .",
      "thanks to 3d , you feel like you can almost reach out and touch the jonas brothers , grab them by the neck , and strangle the everlasting life out of them .",
      "if you 're already a pre-teen fan , you 'll love this flick . chaperoning parents will just have to grin and bear it .",
      "jonas brothers fans will feel like they are on stage with joe , nick , and kevin in this immersive 3d concert film from the recent `` burning up '' tour .",
      "far be it from me to deny that girls just want to have fun , but i hope they realize that once this latest teen idol fad has run its course , a mighty , mortifying hangover most surely awaits .",
      "this toe-curling dip into the sickly-sweet musical world of the jonas brothers is innocuous and dull .",
      "accompanying parents can don blindfolds and ear-plugs and indulge in the sweet fantasy that they are somewhere , anywhere , else .",
      "is it any good ? that really all depends on whether you 're a fan of the jonas brothers .",
      "hate the songs . what a lot of hair they have . do n't ask me the names .",
      "the lack of depth or personality makes jonas brothers : the 3d concert experience a tedious , empty viewing experience for anyone unlucky enough to be dragged to see it .",
      "it 's a big old pile of baboon cack .",
      "if you have no idea who these bland disney charmers are or why they appear to be so popular , then this perfunctory concert film is unlikely to leave you any the wiser .",
      "the 3d cameras capturing the concert at new york 's madison square garden ca n't give their insipid guitar pop or their charisma-free presence the extra dimension they need ."
    ],
    "summary": "jonas brothers : the 3-d concert experience should please the brothers ' adoring followers , but for non-converts , this concert film is largely flat and unenlightening .",
    "id": "770801286"
  },
  {
    "movie": "blue_valentine",
    "reviews": [
      "the film proceeds in what feels like real time , but with no obvious beginning or end . it 's a latticework of moments happy and sad .",
      "a movie that rumbles around inside you and appeals to those who believe in love as well as those who recognize its potential to fade .",
      "MOV is so nervy , so `` real , '' that it poses a dire threat . dean and cindy are such decent folks . how do we know what happens to them could n't happen to us ?",
      "MOV is interestingly styled and shot . it features outstanding performances from ryan gosling and michelle williams and an inventive screenplay and structure .",
      "cianfrance dives deeply into the happiness and heartache a damaged relationship can give you and has created a story that understands how real life romance actually works .",
      "MOV shows us the present will never be as fun as the past .",
      "the ghost of john cassavetes looms large over MOV . this movie destroyed me .",
      "what we end up with here is 2/3 of a story that consequently feels incomplete . it obviously wanted to be something like '' -lrb- 500 -rrb- days of summer '' in terms of structure , but the writers just did n't know how to get up to that level .",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- cianfrance is not interested in the hollywood fairytale , he want to show that love can scar .",
      "unlike bergman 's searing scenes from a marriage , which sustains itself for every one of its 299 devastating minutes , MOV begins to falter somewhere during its 114 .",
      "a cold but commendable relationship drama .",
      "`` MOV '' has a palpable air of claustrophobic danger ; you constantly expect something terrible to be happening to these characters . and , indeed , something does .",
      "a pesar de su por momentos dolorosa disección de una pareja , MOV es una hermosa historia de amor condenada al fracaso -lrb- así de paradójico -rrb- . y está animada por dos intérpretes de excepción .",
      "MOV deserves a wide audience . but it is probably too authentically tragic to get it .",
      "manages at the end to provoke a real , resonant response to what it means to lose love to the ugly realities of living .",
      "there are scenes of such exquisite sadness and performances of such raw pain in MOV that you may wonder by the end why it is n't quite the satisfying movie it ought to be .",
      "the performances are as raw as the characters .",
      "its rawness and honesty may not be everyone 's cup of tea , but MOV stands as a necessary corrective to the myth of cinematic love .",
      "an almost unbearably bittersweet love story starring two of today 's best actors and orchestrated by a director who 's attuned to past masters .",
      "not since john cassavetes ' startling faces has there been a more fearless examination of a troubled relationship than this searing drama .",
      "did it have to be such a downer ?",
      "i was riveted .",
      "moments , as affecting as they are , ca n't surmount the overworkshopped feel of the whole film .",
      "penetrating but tedious close-up of a marriage breakup .",
      "be prepared for an emotionally devastating portrait of a marriage that , at times , feels like an eavesdropping expedition .",
      "even for those who tire of movies with shiny , happy people , all this earnest effort results in a movie that 's a drag .",
      "bright-eyed youth and bedraggled adulthood alternate in a sad spectacle beautifully and sensitively portrayed .",
      "MOV will break your heart .",
      "MOV has a rare emotional intensity . there is no way to prepare for its final frames , inevitable as they are .",
      "despite MOV 's blatant sensememories of nakedness and affection , irritation and itch , what gosling and williams reveal about their own concepts of heterosexual experience is ultimately inane .",
      "a postmodern tragedy of two people at odds who are both right and both wrong in their argument , sharing responsibility for the birth and death of love .",
      "if you like soul-rending misery , you 'll love MOV .",
      "jumbled editing does not hide that this is little more than recycled relationship navel-gazing .",
      "both painful and exquisite .",
      "for people who have felt a relationship dissolve just this hopelessly , it may be direct and visceral enough to elicit the cold sweats of post-traumatic stress flashbacks .",
      "michelle williams and ryan gosling give tender , nuanced performances in the most authentic portrayal of romance we 've seen in a long time - its hopeful , giddy beginning and its stagnant , fracturing end .",
      "derek cianfrance zooms the camera way in , almost inside the souls of his doomed lovers , and seldom comes up for air .",
      "there is something raw and naked that translates from the actors to the audience , even mediated by the movie screen .",
      "a raw but beautiful picture of love uniting and dividing : tender , real and heartfelt .",
      "a sombre , painful portrait of a toxic marriage , often touching and sometimes moving , though occasionally contrived and self-conscious in its effects .",
      "i felt cheated out of something here . not merely information -lrb- what happened ? -rrb- , but a dramatic structure that might have imparted meaning to this dissolving marriage .",
      "gosling and williams cry and yell and pour their hearts into every moment of the movie , but they 're mostly just screaming into an empty void .",
      "thanks to strong performances from michelle williams and ryan gosling , there 's a genuine emotional credibility to derek cianfrance 's film , though it 's by no means comfortable viewing .",
      "by the end we still believe every pulse , beat and thought of these characters .",
      "around halfway through , i was itching to see how much time remained .",
      "for those who can face love stories without studio-sanctioned happy ever afters , here 's compelling proof that the tide of slush does not flow unopposed .",
      "MOV is a tough and tender drama that does n't pull any punches , and it 's a thrill to see two of the best actors of their generation going toe-to-toe .",
      "it 's the kind of emotionally challenging movie that actors relish but most audience members may find themselves anxiously looking for the exit sign , waiting for the excruciating two hours to go by .",
      "you are witnessing the implosion of a marriage , and it 's a sad , discomfiting thing to behold .",
      "a streetside walk on the couple 's first date that ends with dean crooning `` you always hurt the one you love '' on ukulele while cindy improvises an uncertain tap dance bursts with affirmation and life .",
      "like a modern day john cassavetes film",
      "it 's complicated , like real life .",
      "it 's so close to achieving greatness it hurts .",
      "from the movie 's standpoint , -lsb- its story -rsb- is a common tragedy that deserves acknowledgment and pity , and it pulls absolutely no punches in sharing its view .",
      "... the film 's unevenness ultimately -lsb- prevents -rsb- it from packing the emotional punch that cianfrance is clearly going for .",
      "an enormously overheated yet oddly affecting movie gets an appropriately earnest dvd treatment .",
      "... a crucible for very powerful performances and a convincing relationship in all its contradictions .",
      "an engaging and tough drama , for sure , but its ascension to instant indie classic on the back of festival screenings has left this reviewer slightly stumped .",
      "moments so potent they seem to put the actors at emotional risk",
      "workshop-patchy",
      "the bitter end still catches you by surprise with its crushing sadness .",
      "impressively directed and superbly written , this is a powerfully emotional relationship drama with terrific performances from ryan gosling and michelle williams .",
      "MOV plays with our own expectations and assumptions of stereotypes enough to re-think the film at several different parts , and the movie gets more moving and sad as it reveals its many layers .",
      "... alternately swells your heart and punctures it .",
      "it 's `` scenes from a marriage '' grungy-american-style . michelle williams and ryan gosling give courageous and at times heart-rending performances as two halves of a marriage we observe in two time frames in `` MOV . ''",
      "michelle williams and ryan gosling are better than MOV as a whole , but one can not deny the experience rattles with a weary knowledge not easily faked .",
      "-lsb- gosling and williams -rsb- are vital to MOV , and almost inflate the movie 's flat ambitions .",
      "the performances are two of the best you will see in a movie",
      "MOV is an agonizing film , a raw , soul-shattering dissection of a marriage 's end . this is not a film for incurable romantics whose perceptions of love are informed by romantic comedies .",
      "what do we expect of a spouse ? `` MOV '' makes us ask that question .",
      "the best of it plays like an acting exercise that serves the intimate , often bruising relationship at the core . gosling seems to be pulling from an impressive bag of performance tricks , williams from a deeper well , drawn from life .",
      "almost unbearably harrowing but also deeply cathartic , as viewers create their own meanings within dean and cindy 's singular downward spiral .",
      "a powerful drama , partially made so by a fantastic script , but mostly due to two of the best performances of the year from ryan gosling and michelle williams . do n't miss it .",
      "it 's an anguished , acutely observed and at times deeply affecting story about falling in love - and out of love - that channels the keening , ugly desperation and emotional heft of the great john cassavetes .",
      "in the battle between claustrophobic , showily indie filmmaking and the raw openness of the lead actors , the latter wins by a long shot . the faces of these performers -- particularly williams ' -- are the key to MOV .",
      "this is an extremely painful film with undeniably powerful performances from both ryan gosling and michelle williams .",
      "there is also no doubt that williams and gosling bring that ineffable spark of quality to the roles ... but it is not just the structure of the couple 's relationship that is problematic - so is the construction of the film .",
      "uses its duality of setting % u2014 young and old , vibrant and cold , optimistic and tragic % u2014 to unleash wave after wave of emotion .",
      "ultimately too painful , too labored , to care much about at all .",
      "the ghost of john cassavetes hovers over this tough-minded portrait of a working-class couple 's marriage .",
      "perhaps the most honest depiction of a relationship gone sour that has ever been committed to celluloid .",
      "a working class american take on ingmar bergman 's scenes from a marriage ...",
      "knowing where the relationship is headed lends bittersweet notes to the scenes from the past , but the conclusions MOV draws ultimately feel pat .",
      "... a raw , emotionally devastating experience .",
      "gosling and williams are terrific but the movie is a downer from start to finish . not just `` blue , '' this is a ripped , torn and shredded valentine .",
      "MOV is a devastating dissection of a young marriage in crisis that is written , directed and acted with passion and clarity .",
      "intense , slow-moving relationship drama on a doomed marriage .",
      "a film we 've seen a thousand times around oscar season ...",
      "painstakingly and heartbreakingly , the formula of the romantic drama has its neck wrung here ; the story of boy-meets-girl exists only with our prior knowledge that it is doomed ...",
      "an endless barrage of misery and depression punctuated by great acting . being breathless does n't make quality cinema .",
      "a raw slog through one couple 's marital misery , but make no mistake : the combined talents of its stars will rip your heart out .",
      "there 's nothing feel-good about MOV that the feel-bad parts ca n't undermine . which does n't sound like praise but it is .",
      "it will keep you thinking - and feeling - about the possibilities for long-term love for days after you 've left the cinema .",
      "this is a marvel of a movie , but in the interest of perpetuating the human race , i 'd counsel dewy young couples embarking on life 's journey to check into a sex motel instead .",
      "powerful , raw and fluidly shot , this history of a marriage told in shuffled time stars michelle williams and ryan gosling , two of our finest young actors .",
      "the tagline `` nobody baby but you and me '' says it perfectly ; when gosling and williams on screen , nobody else matters . if not oscars , they will win over your heart . and possibly break it .",
      "a meditation on one couple 's journey in and out of love , and a testament to the talents of director derek cianfrance , and his two wonderful leads .",
      "they share a talent for living in the moment , which means that cianfrance 's miniaturist style could not have found two more inspired interpreters .",
      "so bracing in the intimacy of it all . i think they 're two wonderful , brave performances .",
      "it 's very sad but it 's so beautiful .",
      "featuring two remarkable performances",
      "powerful and spellbinding , but not for the squeamish or the incurably romantic or people who do n't want to know how difficult it can be to keep love alive .",
      "it 's a sad tale , and it 's well told -- but what does it amount to ? i feel like there 's so much left undone .",
      "flashes of brilliance , but the lead performances were mannered and the script overwritten . too self-consciously indie-hipster .",
      "at once sad and celebratory for anyone who 's ever fallen in and then out of love .",
      "wretched and beautiful , devastating and passionate , MOV evokes every inch of its title 's dichotomy .",
      "the film 's time structure is splintered into shards of past and present , which is probably just as well -- a strictly narrative chronology would make this wallow seem even sloggier .",
      "... when you break it down , -lsb- it -rsb- largely feels genuinely honest , rather than aspiring to an obvious movie facsimile of `` honest . ''",
      "MOV is the kind of movie that john cassavetes may have dreamt about .",
      "agonizing but beautiful adult drama about love and marriage .",
      "the scenes cut so close to the emotional bone that you can understand why they might cause a panic amongst mpaa boardmembers , although of course , it 's nothing to be afraid of : just the realism of love in its varied forms .",
      "MOV does the impossible , and captures the uncapturable : to watch this film is to watch two people fall in , and eventually out of , love . few films have ever done it so well .",
      "if you care about the integrity of independent cinema , you 'll steel your heart and go .",
      "ryan gosling and michelle williams fall in and out of love with stunning clarity in MOV .",
      "movie intimacy reaches groundbreaking new heights in this shocking story of a young marriage on the rocks .",
      "every once in a while a film arrives that is so honest , so expertly crafted and so sincere that the powerful emotional response it elicits is profound . MOV is one of those rare films . see it with somebody you are breaking up with .",
      "there 's a certain kind of cinema that produces an effect in the viewer that 's close to embarrassment . not because its shoddy , boring or stupid but because it seems so true to our waking existence .",
      "very rarely have i seen a film where the relationship is so convincing . here ryan gosling and michelle williams give performances that will bring you very , very close to your own memories and longings , because we are so very close to theirs .",
      "emotionally raw , heartbreakingly beautiful and superbly acted .",
      "skillfully told and featuring two remarkable lead performances , this painfully honest portrait of young love is both devastating and mesmerising .",
      "intense and intimate",
      "nothing out of the ordinary happens in MOV , and that , together with the vital , untrammelled performances of the two leading actors , is the root of its power .",
      "agonizing to watch yet relentlessly compelling .",
      "a beautifully directed suburban drama that propels us deep into the hearts of two troubled lovers .",
      "not first-date material , this sombre portrait of failed dreams is buoyed by excellent leads and a yearning heart .",
      "director derek cianfrance has realized his potential and then some .",
      "MOV is like a sad , sad song that you ca n't get out of your head . you know it 'll make you cry and possibly bring up painful memories , but you have to hear it .",
      "magnificent performances elevate mundane cassavetes-esque material .",
      "MOV leaves you with the shattering vision of its truest victim -- the one who 'll someday look for safety in places it might not be . and the psychodrama will go on and on ...",
      "a much needed reminder how difficult and dangerous real life can be , not necessarily to body but to soul , and includes with it the unspoken assertion important decisions really need to be thought through .",
      "-lsb- derek -rsb- cianfrance does these exceptional young actors justice by giving them two of their deepest , richest roles to date .",
      "an intensely acted , minutely observed attempt to convey the arc of a romantic involvement .",
      "rom-com haters finally got what they wanted : a brutally honest big-screen relationship on the rocks garnished with hickeys , regret , ripped panties , bruised chins and bruised egos .",
      "gosling -- whose acting can be seen from a mile away -- seems to be portraying a slumming method actor who 's only pretending to be a husband/housepainter , while williams is natural and convincing ...",
      "is it worth the trouble and heartache ? MOV comes close , but the uneven examination of its central couple makes for a depressing and ultimately unsatisfactory experience .",
      "shot with a fly-on-the-wall quality and an unflinching honesty that refuses to draw either character as simply bad or good , MOV is all the more tragic because it is so easy to believe .",
      "michelle williams and ryan gosling take the plunge , reeling beneath their characters ' troubled lives .",
      "riveting and raw , it 's a little like sitting at a dinner table while a pair of your married friends who were never really a good fit for each other fight in the kitchen .",
      "it 's at its root a hard-to-resist character study . that 's because the character being studied is you and me and everyone else who has ever fallen in , and out of , love",
      "powerful stuff . at times you feel like an intruder ; an eavesdropper on conversations you are n't meant to hear .",
      "the dialogue is meaningful and realistic . the first-rate cinematography and an explosive soundtrack make an indelible impression . this sad and very personal movie will generate lots of discussions . marriage counselors and divorce lawyers should get a. . .",
      "a depressing deconstruction of a marriage that clearly was never meant to be .",
      "derek cianfrance , the film 's writer and director , observes with great exactitude the birth and decay of a relationship . this film is alive in its details .",
      "the film is undeniably his -lsb- cianfrance -rsb- , and yet it is so powerfully enriched by the output of his extraordinary stars .",
      "in its splendid acting by ryan golsing and michelle williams -lrb- in oscar-caliber performances -rrb- and brutal honesty , this relentlessly grim portrait of marital dissolution is up there with the best of the genre , including shoot the moon and smash palace .",
      "pulls no punches in terms of its heavy subject matter and boasts wonderful performances from stars ryan gosling and michelle williams",
      "assuming one can use the word `` enjoy '' for what might be the greatest feel-bad movie of the year , i enjoyed MOV a lot .",
      "ryan gosling and michelle williams give two of the most explosive and emotionally naked performances you will see anywhere .",
      "the effect can be wearisome , clouding the intriguing atmosphere of the film , stealing attention away from the fractured essence of the piece so actors can flail about , killing vital intimacy by being so aware of the camera .",
      "MOV offers a refreshing and raw look at holy matrimony coming undone a la ` who 's afraid of virginia woolf ' , ` revolutionary road ' and ` rabbit hole . ' except dean and cindy are relatively poorer than those other clashing couples",
      "exquisitely painful to watch .",
      "an intensely intimate rendering of love that limits itself to that first falling in and that last falling out .",
      "MOV feels off-the-cuff and improvised , which adds to the charm of that first date and the danger of that `` big fight . ''",
      "MOV sets past and present on course for a collision , and measures the full weight of its impact .",
      "gosling and williams have the most palpable chemistry of any screen couple this year , never striking a false note in this achingly tender tale of a love that implodes before our eyes .",
      "the emotional colors and understated psychological transitions that gosling and williams reveal make watching them a pure joy . as the title suggests `` MOV '' is a sad love story , and a very personal one as well .",
      "... a unique approach to independent filmmaking , an actor 's workshop with true emotion , but in the end it 's just too inevitable . williams and gosling are terrific , though , and cianfrance is one to watch .",
      "it could easily have devolved into sweaty , pretentious melodrama or ersatz john cassavetes if cianfrance and his actors did n't maintain perfect control over the material .",
      "gosling and williams are pretty much perfect as the struggling couple ... although early scenes lean towards the old ` women are boring , men are fun ' routine",
      "a rarely cheery but carefully crafted look at flawed and all-too human behaviour , worth seeing for michelle williams and ryan gosling 's sincere , intelligent performances .",
      "in some ways MOV is a lower-class version of annie hall without the wry humour and allen 's acceptance that nothing truly lasts , and that love inevitably fades .",
      "this portrait of a strained relationship is often difficult to watch , simply because it feels so real . fortunately , the screenplay includes plenty of raw humanity , which gives us a chance to laugh and sigh as well .",
      "heartbreaking honesty with the challenge of finding the light in a very dark story .",
      "watching it requires as much courage as curiosity . that it was just as hard to see the second time around says something about it . i 'm just not sure what .",
      "it 's a heartbreaker , but one made bearable by ryan gosling and oscar nominee michelle williams , who deliver performances that feel so real they transcend acting and become something else altogether .",
      "a reminder that well-measured and expertly acted pain can be as thrilling to watch as 3-d spectacle .",
      "the time spent ... bringing to life these characters enabled the actors to reach a level of naturalism that ca n't be achieved by conventional role casting . cianfrance , gosling and williams literally created a family , then let it self-destruct .",
      "guiltier of sins of ambition than of criminal complacency , although the indie clichés invariably come back to haunt .",
      "it 's this slow grinding down of the gears of marriage that cianfrance brings so realistically to the big screen , aided by the heartfelt performances of gosling and williams that 'll surely garner recognition come oscar time .",
      "a searing portrait of the disintegration of not just a marriage but , more importantly , the love that once fueled it .",
      "ms. williams and mr. gosling are exemplars of new method sincerity , able to be fully and achingly present every moment on screen together .",
      "as the film , which derek cianfrance directed and co-wrote , makes its way to the end of its second hour , it becomes an acutely stylized , slow-motion marital accident . you either want to call aaa or roll your eyes .",
      "cianfrance 's film is frustratingly surface-bound in ways that reflect , if not out-and-out misogyny , then at least a lack of interest in imbuing his female character with the rich interior life and complicated morality he gives his male lead .",
      "by the end , you feel you might almost run your fingers over the spiritual scars incurred by its two protagonists .",
      "a brilliantly naturalistic dissection of romance and marriage ... meticulously observed -lsb- and -rsb- intensely realistic .",
      "a small but shattering film that marks its writer-director , derek cianfrance , as an artist of real depth .",
      "MOV wrenches us with its painful and tender understanding of how people with even this tattered a connection can lunge for love as if it were air .",
      "a chilling anatomy of a marriage beginning and ending .",
      "the brown-bag movie of the year : sneak in a bottle of something bitter and cheap -lrb- to match the central characters -rrb- and get smashed along with the onscreen relationship .",
      "MOV 's greatest asset is its realism , established by cianfrance 's unpolished , caught-in-the-moment cinematography and enhanced by a pair of fearless , unglamorous and viciously honest performances .",
      "a work so beautifully acted and emotionally honest it is my choice for best movie of the year .",
      "early screenings of the film have divided audiences on which partner is most at fault for the relationship ending , but the brilliance of writer-director derek cianfrance is that he makes it truly the fault of neither ... or both .",
      "michelle williams and ryan gosling tear up the screen .",
      "cianfrance prizes verisimilitude over insight , which means the movie gives you a lot to feel but not much to think about , but it 's still quietly devastating .",
      "there 's a beauty , a rhythm , and a subtle sense of discovery in MOV that makes it a magical experience .",
      "painfully honest .",
      "it 's a brutal , beautiful and affecting piece of work .",
      "a powerful , piercing , brilliantly acted exploration of the ways in which love can die .",
      "it 's not an easy movie , but it is a powerful , unforgettable experience .",
      "MOV comes on like a bittersweet cautionary tale .",
      "this punishing drama is worth a look thanks to the excellent work by the leads as well as cianfrance 's ability to employ the appropriate mood to help capture his own prickly scenes from a marriage .",
      "an autopsy of a failed marriage , it contrasts the giddy honeymoon beginning with the sad denouement after dysfunction has devastated the groundwork of hope and newness ."
    ],
    "summary": "this emotionally gripping examination of a marriage on the rocks is n't always easy to watch , but michelle williams and ryan gosling give performances of unusual depth and power .",
    "id": "770728350"
  },
  {
    "movie": "rugrats_in_paris",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's worth taking the kids yourself .",
      "rugrats again blends poignancy with fun in a way that touches parents , even as it goes for kids with a run of bodily function and booger jokes .",
      "watching MOV ... i am forced to ask myself exactly what range of kids this kiddie movie is actually being pitched at .",
      "predictable and not terribly clever .",
      "if you 're a parent , you could do a heck of a lot worse than taking the spawn off to catch MOV and if you 're a kid , well , you probably already knew that anyway .",
      "fans of the tv show , particularly , will find nothing not to like in this version , and even non-fans may find themselves wondering why they have n't been paying attention to the show all these years .",
      "a tour de france of its own in the rugrats ' latest , funniest and most colorful big-screen trip .",
      "thesp voicings are outstanding , and sometimes reach the level of comic warmth of the toy story ensemble .",
      "something for everyone , as it were .",
      "more chic and movie-savvy than its predecessor .",
      "your children are almost certain to have a great time .",
      "the script is ... better than the first film or the nickelodeon series .",
      "adults can attend this movie with a fair degree of pleasure .",
      "a delight , with tickles that reach from pre-k to grown-up .",
      "this is modestly clever animation that has characters kids can identify with and enough grown-up jokes to keep parents from settling into catatonia .",
      "a meaningful tale that should resonate even for the most jaded older viewers .",
      "chuckie-full of juicy one liners .",
      "they deserve better than to wind up as collateral damage in nickelodeon 's excursion onto the mouse king 's turf .",
      "MOV is a one - way ticket to infantile heaven .",
      "an arguably better movie than the original rugrats film .",
      "really is ` bigger and better ' than the first .",
      "deliciously clever and surprisingly touching .",
      "it 's quite tolerable for adults .",
      "despite its hackneyed premise , the plot has a few imaginative twists , and the pack of japanese sumo-wrestler waiters who grunt out a karaoke version of bad girls are a riot .",
      "nerve-grinding .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- hodgepodge which veers from segment to segment with remarkably little logical connection , even for a kidflick .",
      "chuckie 's odyssey is sentimental stuff . heck , it might even choke you up . but , in the end , it 's all about the marketing .",
      "fundamentally , a lot like a tv instalment , only bigger , longer , more extravagant . fine attributes for an animated kidpic really .",
      "we get nauseating homilies on the values of friendship , family , and parenting and a soundtrack full to bursting with vacuous pop acts .",
      "23 million cable viewers ca n't be wrong .",
      "there are also nice themes about bravery , honesty and trust , the animation is astonishingly good , and the constant mayhem makes the very obvious plot bearable .",
      "it 's a good way to entertain kids for an hour without parents going insane .",
      "just as good as the last outing , this is great kiddie fare with some filmic references for the adults .",
      "the makers of MOV wisely inserted just enough adult humor to keep mom and/or dad alert and amused-if not falling about laughing in the aisles .",
      "it does n't matter how weak the script is , chuckie will win your heart every time he opens his mouth and speaks in that timid , nasal-dripping voice . you can bet on it .",
      "a kid 's movie the rest of us can stand -lrb- or even enjoy -rrb- .",
      "the character work is strong , and the celebrity recruits are fun .",
      "for grown-ups , the jokes are often flat tires , largely thanks to their context .",
      "the first rugrats film was a surprise hit ... and MOV -- the movie cleverly stays the course .",
      "this effort from stig bergqvist and paul demeyer is tolerable for indulging adults -- and likely heaven for their own droolers .",
      "musically ... the rugrats sequel is a big step backward .",
      "the rugrats are back for an all-new adventure , and one that is by far much funnier and more entertaining for both youngsters and their guardians than the first bigscreen outing .",
      "what i enjoyed most about rugrats ii is that the filmmakers are completely aware they must work just as hard to entertain the parents as the diaper set .",
      "the writing team is adept at childish malapropisms and the skewed perspectives of 5-year-olds , but the characterizations and plot lines are witheringly simplistic .",
      "not as fresh as the first film .",
      "an entertaining add-on to an entertaining show .",
      "this is one kids ' film that 's actually quite charming .",
      "nauseating gags suggest the makers of this eclectically animated adventure ... know their audience , though all the godfather references will be thoroughly puzzling to at least half of it .",
      "offers plenty to amuse the young and young at heart .",
      "this film feels particularly lax and flabby .",
      "class . that 's not what you get from a rugrats movie .",
      "seems more like a merchandising ploy than a successful attempt to entertain kids and their parents .",
      "its germs wo n't make anyone sick , but it wo n't hurt to wash your hands when you 're finished gumming it .",
      "take the kids - MOV is a perfect saturday afternoon film .",
      "MOV -- the movie is one stinky diapee .",
      "a pretty decent film .",
      "an improvement over the first film .",
      "MOV allows us to dip our toes in this ooey gooey world without too much residual stickage .",
      "there 's something in MOV for all ages .",
      "it was all so cute , i could n't help but enjoy it .",
      "the rugrats concept works because it knows how children think .",
      "with its melange of poo poo humor and pop culture in jokes , nickelodeon 's rugrats packs appeal for both kids and parents .",
      "the rugrats team has come up with a funny , smart and genuinely moving movie that will please children and adults .",
      "feels like a half-hour tv show inflated into a feature film .",
      "a very good kids ' movie from a grown-up standpoint -- it has a coherent plot , a good pace and well-defined characters , and a funny monster-movie spoof at the finale .",
      "a tribute to how entrenched the rugrats are in our hearts .",
      "some scenes are truly , inventively bizarre .",
      "MOV - the movie might not be the greatest film geared for children with adults also in mind , but it 's clearly an enjoyable one in its own right .",
      "sweeter and funnier than their first .",
      "looks like what it really is -- a 77-minute long episode of the tv series projected onto a theater screen .",
      "a family film that 's funny and funky .",
      "i was pleasantly surprised .",
      "the family audience will delight in saying oui , oui to MOV ."
    ],
    "summary": "when the rugrats go to paris , the result is nickelodeon-style fun . the plot is effectively character-driven , and features catchy songs and great celebrity voice-acting .",
    "id": "9757"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bernie_2011",
    "reviews": [
      "a dead-solid-perfect depiction of small-town life .",
      "although MOV never reaches beyond its grasp , there 's an inherent insanity to the story that 's effectively committed to the screen by linklater . it 's a true crime effort that almost registers a pure fantasy .",
      "linklater 's a glider , not a pile-driver ; he hangs back when other directors prefer to bore in .",
      "it allows director richard linklater to explore his own roots while telling a remarkable real-life story , something too crazy for anyone to make up .",
      "it 's a darkly funny , irresistible film - and one with a masterful performance at its center .",
      "it 's an entertainingly odd duck .",
      "the movie 's bright and endearing and surprisingly lacking in a point . i wish i liked it better , but it 's a start .",
      "a one-of-a-kind comedy based on the real homicide of an innocent old lady .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- weirdly funny , inspiring film .",
      "some of the best performances come from real-life residents of carthage as they share their recollections on camera .",
      "pitch-perfect performances by shirley maclaine and an unusually restrained jack black hold together this offbeat true-crime saga , but linklater 's keen eye for human eccentricity flowers most memorably on the periphery .",
      "a splendid performance by jack black distinguishes this overly mild look at a 1990s texas murder .",
      "amusing and appealing , but only rarely cuts deep enough in its examination of a kindly small-town texan who murdered the elderly widow he took care of .",
      "basically it 's a movie old people will think is delightful with a nonthreatening jack black and only one bad word .",
      "linklater has used witnesses to the truth to tell a lie .",
      "jack black delivers one of his strongest performances in this rather outrageous true story from east texas , which linklater tells with a witty blend of comedy , drama and documentary .",
      "the film may be a love letter to linklater 's native east texas , but behind all the sunny smiles , country courtesy and good nature hides the dark story of a criminal undertaking - because , no matter which way you dress it , a corpse is still a corpse .",
      "jack black has never been so good .",
      "another treat from american original richard linklater -- a fantastically absorbing and comedically inflected docu-drama , kind of a slightly less overtly comedic eastern texas response to ` fargo . '",
      "well acted by jack black , this darkly humorous is a return to form for richard linklater , whose best work is grounded in regional cinema .",
      "MOV is n't a particularly likeable guy and black 's opaque performance never lets us get beneath the surface to find a character we might actually care about .",
      "richard linklater -lrb- writing with skip hollandsworth , author of a texas monthly article on the case -rrb- has called MOV his fargo , but his eye is less jaundiced than the coens ' , his ear more sweetly bemused .",
      "an intriguing , often-hilarious exploration of emotion 's ability to triumph over reason . and reason 's knack for fighting back .",
      "a fascinating true story , terrific acting by black and maclaine and solid direction make `` MOV '' a must see , especially if you like jack black .",
      "linklater , admirably unconcerned about how his film can be categorized , has made a comedy , a drama and most certainly a character study .",
      "... it 's good to know that richard linklater had some hitchcock in him .",
      "jack black gives his best performance to date as the selfless assistant mortician with a taste for the finer things in life , but it is the real life townspeople , spilling on their most infamous citizens , who make `` MOV '' so delightful .",
      "almost vaudeville in spirit , it delights in american social clichés and kinks .",
      "really impressive .",
      "i did n't find it very entertaining , but it is at least trying something different .",
      "linklater observes it all with an ironic smile on his face . but he 's never patronising enough to sneer .",
      "a sweet , dark , funny true-crime story with a dream cast - and that includes the real-life residents of the town of carthage , texas .",
      "hugely entertaining , smartly directed and darkly funny black comedy with a superb script and a terrific central performance from jack black .",
      "far more fine shades and ambiguities than expected .",
      "this is a bizarre and intriguing tale but MOV remains essentially unknowable and the picture lacks big laughs .",
      "linklater 's fargo , it 's funny peculiar and funny ha ha , with black a delight and linklater in impressive control of superbly judged content and tone .",
      "there 's not many movies that leave you wanting to give a convicted killer a great big hug . but this is one .",
      "MOV is poised to be a tough sell for millennium entertainment , its mild star power likely incapable of offsetting a garish premise and mixed reviews .",
      "-lsb- video -rsb- richard linklater 's impeccable black comedy - based on the real-life exploits of carthage , texas mortician MOV tiede - is so infectiously eccentric that you do n't want the movie to end .",
      "a surprisingly shapeless true-crime farce which never creates a convincing context for the odd relationship between a pious east texas mortician and his sugar mama .",
      "throughout , there 's a tension of real life and fiction , and a pervading sense that fiction has little chance of matching the real thing .",
      "what gives MOV its fizz , its kick , its sheer enjoyable weirdness is the give-and-take between black and maclaine , who seems to live with a baleful look on her face .",
      "i , for one , eagerly await the sequel to MOV .",
      "a chafing , rock-in-the-shoe kind of movie -- and i mean this as a compliment .",
      "taking its time with a flavorful middle section , the movie builds into a true-crime treat ; some will think of fargo -lrb- apt , but this movie is gentler -rrb- , others , the documentaries of werner herzog .",
      "jack black out of character in a semi-serious role . he 's good !",
      "linklater has made a smart movie , with a mordant satirical edge , but he almost falls victim to his own sense of authenticity .",
      "linklater uses dollops of black humor to provide an edge to this morally ambiguous piece .",
      "black is -- forgive me -- downright adorable as the behind-bars-for-life killer .",
      "it 's absolutely worth seeing for black 's skillful work , but if only the filmmaker had added some tension , more people would be interested in seeing such a genuinely great performance .",
      "... MOV is an unusual film with charm to spare , but it also happens to be laugh out loud funny , enthralling , profoundly sad and ultimately one of the year 's best films .",
      "part of the film 's pleasure lies in watching its spirit of poky southern amiability give way to true-crime insanity .",
      "MOV delivers an abundance of belly laughs , but at its center is a confounding act committed by a man too beloved to be hated and a community too passionate to think clearly .",
      "black curbs his most irritating tendencies to give an endearing and convincing performance . an affectionate , intelligent ode to the oddity of small-town america .",
      "a beautifully constructed , smartly scripted and very funny tall tale of down-home values and darkness in the most unlikely of places .",
      "you may be amused , but the laughter like the man , rings hollow .",
      "it 's so lovely to see jack black being this kind of actor . i hope he does it more often .",
      "an inventive drama about a gregarious assistant funeral director in a small texas town where he is widely cherished .",
      "even at its most charming as a defense of small-town eccentrics and texas-style legal process , the film plays a little slowly .",
      "jack black redeems himself with a subtly quirky performance that 's one of his personal best .",
      "MOV , like its lead character , has a degree of diffuse , aw-shucks charm , but it 's also maddeningly opaque .",
      "the movie itself , a partly true and cheerfully embellished account of a texas murder case , presents a case of narrative drift .",
      "as played by jack black , in an award-caliber performance , MOV is everything you 'd want in a friend . the movie is a one-of-a-kind inspiration .",
      "all those twangy , homespun observations interrupt and annotate the narrative until black and maclaine 's scenes start to feel as trivial as reenactments on a true-crime tv show .",
      "linklater brings a shambling , easygoing charm to this unlikely comedy based on a real-life texas murder case ... and jack black , of all people , drolly essays the title character .",
      "a true-crime story where the real mystery is n't what happened , but the bizarre context for the murder and the collective madness of a town that could n't accept it at face value .",
      "you would be hard pressed to find a film that feels more true to a reporter 's experience of an event . this is n't necessarily a good thing , at least not cinematically .",
      "richard linklater mixes documentary with recreation in this bizarre true story , mercifully avoiding caricature and farce despite the subject seemingly screaming for it .",
      "a superbly written and lovingly told account of a quirky slice of american crime history with a tender , bittersweet ending .",
      "whilst it feels a little too one-sided , MOV is still an intriguing film that has something to say about justice and the importance of how we are perceived .",
      "while linklater does a fantastic job in creating an entertaining true crime story , he also hits home the realisation that darkness can be found in the sweetest of souls , making a film that is as tragic as it is funny .",
      "a truly strange and original creation , based on a true story , which does n't judge its curious characters .",
      "the real gold here is the performance centrepiece by black ; he delivers a lovable , highly nuanced portrayal of a man who is hard not to feel sympathy for , even if it does grind against your conscience .",
      "it 's a fascinating story presented in a really intelligent and weirdly entertaining way .",
      "it 's done very well indeed . i think jack black is wonderful . i thought that the whole progression of the film was , to me , unexpected .",
      "if anything it is a film about the selective application of moral judgement based on personal prejudices .",
      "`` MOV '' is a quiet , leisurely paced indie film that 's as different as can be from the typical true crime movie .",
      "for a motion picture about one person losing her life and another losing his freedom , `` MOV '' does n't deserve to be as flippant as it ultimately is .",
      "jack black gives the performance of his career in the title role of `` MOV '' ...",
      "linklater clearly has no idea why the man did what he did . but then , MOV probably did n't either .",
      "blackly funny , strangely moving and deeply weird , it 's as comforting and as sinister as a heart-attack-plate of chicken fried steak with biscuits and gravy . and i 'm fixin ' to see it again .",
      "a dark , humorous look at southern oddballs that 's also a powerful meditation on human fragility .",
      "it 's a gentle , light-fingered horror story , and it rightfully leaves us as bewildered as the denizens of carthage .",
      "much more than a macabre true-crime tale : it 's a story of thwarted love , not between two people , but between a man and a whole town .",
      "the mystery and characters at its center are amusing regardless of geography .",
      "a sordid , bleak tale about two lonely people drawn to each other like colliding planets .",
      "a true-life texas tale so perfectly told it seems more like eavesdropping than moviegoing .",
      "very nearly a great american comedy with a profound thematic core ...",
      "a wry true-crime story from richard linklater , looking again to his home state for inspiration , as in his early triumphs -lrb- ` slacker , ' ` dazed and confused ' -rrb- .",
      "odd duck comedy/drama casts jack black in a surprisingly new light .",
      "quietly and consistently charming a real hoot with a terrificly nuanced performance by jack black .",
      "the film is quietly unorthodox , but i ca n't think of another approach that would work nearly so well .",
      "very funny and poignant true story .",
      "richard linklater 's darkly funny mock doc is full of surprises , not least one star 's terrific return to form .",
      "a unique work , a special film , a wonderful story , amazing characters ; you 'll watch the end credits with a big smile on your face",
      "i loved every minute of this well-told and brilliantly created film that reinforces the complexities and incongruities of the human condition",
      "MOV is dark , unique satire heightened by blurring lines between truth and fiction and just about the funniest film i 've seen this year .",
      "watching MOV is a little like sitting on a shady front porch and gossiping with the town tattlers .",
      "a murder story , in a surprisingly simple but cleverly subtle package .",
      "i had to forget what i knew about black . he creates this character out of thin air , it 's like nothing he 's done before , and it proves that an actor can be a miraculous thing in the right role .",
      "has a little bit of an east texas fargo feel . jack black gives one of his best performances .",
      "it 's irreverent , off-kilter fun .",
      "a jovial yet gracefully told tale .",
      "the wonder of black 's performance here is its empathy and balance : inasmuch as he can disappear into any role , he dissolves into this one with no hint of mocking remove . it 's a beautiful thing to see .",
      "a movie that may not ultimately add up to much , but which is filled with wonderfully odd details of weird americana .",
      "... one of writer/director richard linklater 's most entertaining features and it also stars jack black in his best performance to date .",
      "simply put , it 's the best movie linklater has made in years .",
      "MOV is a simple movie , clearly funny and entertaining , but at the same time astoundingly complex and intriguing .",
      "this is a movie that is as strong as it is modest - as funny as it is sad . as wretchedly , thoroughly human as a work of art can be .",
      "as MOV , jack black is about as reined-in as you 'll see him . effeminate , emotional , generous and cuddly , he 's easy to root for when push comes to shooting .",
      "black 's showboat performance reminds us why we thought he was so special in the first place .",
      "a weirdly wacky black comedy that 's affectionately endearing .",
      "linklater 's film may remind you of the work of others , but it 's one of his most entertaining yet .",
      "... black gives the performance of his career -lrb- so far -rrb- .",
      "jack black , in the greatest performance of his career , makes us see what the people of carthage , texas , saw in MOV tiede ...",
      "with facts that are stranger than fiction and a story surrounding a murder that is often played as dark comedy , MOV exists somewhere between an errol morris documentary and fargo .",
      "my research indicates that most of what you see is true . that also adds to the appreciation of this small , very , very , well done movie .",
      "black delivers a lightly comic performance that becomes an unsettling depiction of repression .",
      "`` MOV '' is most successful at evoking the feel of a small town , a place where everybody knows your business , good stories live forever , and ultimately people take care of their own .",
      "`` MOV ' is n't a monumental film , but it is a finely tuned character study with some nice innovations .",
      "a flower blooms in a texas town -- his name is MOV",
      "... plays like `` in cold blood '' - if it had been directed by christopher guest .",
      "an offbeat black comedy that stays true to the story 's bizarre tendency to make you both smile and grimace",
      "sometimes jack black is just the best darned thing on the planet .",
      "finds -lsb- linklater -rsb- back with the same kind of material , and storytelling methods , and regional culture , that made his early films so great .",
      "outrageously funny",
      "the question of why the law must always be upheld , regardless of consequences , gives this light , amiable movie a surprising heft and weight .",
      "based on a true story , black offers a surprising degree of depth as an assistant funeral director with secrets in a town where ` all of the widows had a crush on MOV ' .",
      "it 's been a long time coming , but it turns out MOV has been worth the wait .",
      "richard linklater mixes comedy , drama and documentary to tell a frankly outrageous true story , and in the process he also gives jack black one of his best-yet roles .",
      "an extremely amusing , socially accurate docudrama .",
      "black is a marvel as MOV , reining in his usual manic persona to give his prissy , camp character an endearing sweetness but leaving what really makes him tick a puzzle .",
      "it looks like a southern gothic and feels like a particularly hilarious farce , but MOV is not at all what you think .",
      "a well-rounded dramatic film taken from a refreshingly uplifting perspective .",
      "it manages to feel unique and different ... it 's funny too , which certainly helps , and is benefited immensely by a wonderful cast of big names and unknowns that help make this linklater 's freshest film in quite some time .",
      "but the troubling question at the heart of this liberating , sunlit , deceptively simple but extremely complex and fairly formidable film is : should the law or the community itself decide the fate of its citizens ?",
      "actual scenes with black , maclaine and mcconaughey start to feel like over-acted interruptions to the documentary we 'd rather be watching .",
      "MOV is often very funny , but you would n't call it a comedy , exactly . more like a cultural study of a specific time , place and people .",
      "it probably sounded great in the pitch room , but as an actual experience it 's on the redundant side .",
      "black is terrific . rather than winking at the audience , he plays MOV as a guy who 's thoroughly unaware that there 's anything unconventional about his behavior .",
      "propelled by a perfectly cast trio of stars whose eccentricities shine in singular character roles , MOV is charmer .",
      "MOV has chuckles , but it 's hardly riotous . and this is a good thing .",
      "MOV ultimately comes off as a watchable endeavor that works mostly as a showcase for three admittedly spectacular performances ...",
      "linklater once again demonstrates a flair for casting that has distinguished his entire career .",
      "despite the dark themes this movie introduces throughout , it maintains a nice pleasant vibe , which makes for a strange but entertaining experience .",
      "the intertwining of the sharply tuned actors and the guileless -lrb- and often hilarious -rrb- townspeople is seamless , the tale is sometimes despairing but never heavy , and the blend of drama , comedy and music is brisk and fresh .",
      "`` MOV '' unfolds into many equally rich narrative strands : love story , southern gothic slice-of-life and , finally tragedy and legal thriller ..."
    ],
    "summary": "richard linklater 's MOV is a gently told and unexpectedly amusing true-crime comedy that benefits from an impressive performance by jack black .",
    "id": "771205924"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1021242-thing",
    "reviews": [
      "classic sci-fi . one of the very best .",
      "-lsb- in the growing -rsb- cycle of films dealing with interplanetary travel , communications or warfare , each succeeding entry endeavors to outpass its predecessors in drawing on fantasy and the imagination . it follows , then , that this is by far the most fanciful .",
      "rather than nyby , producer howard hawks is often credited for the direction of this sci-fi landmark , which features hollywood 's first space-age monster in a decade invaded by cold war-era aliens .",
      "howard hawks only produced this classic scary sci-fi feature , but it has his signature touches all over it : overlapping dialogue , smooth storytelling , compressed time and space .",
      "all-time classic sci-fi still packs creepy wallop .",
      "this taut and entertaining thriller is to the day the earth stood still what alien is to star trek , or the rolling stones to the beatles .",
      "the overall message of the MOV emerges as distinctly hawkish . reactionary or not , though , it 's still a masterpiece .",
      "the conflict between hendry and carrington is one between force and reason , and represents a debate over whether america should cope with its soviet adversaries through military confrontation or intellectual and diplomatic study .",
      "the MOV today is probably best viewed as a historical document , its shock value having been diminished through time and repetition .",
      "does n't pale in comparison to john carpenter 's the MOV so much as offer a respectable podling alternative .",
      "classic , though it did n't impress me really that much",
      "the resourcefulness shown in building the plot groundwork is lacking as the yarn gets into full swing . cast members , headed by margaret sheridan and kenneth tobey , fail to communicate any real terror .",
      "lively science fiction film , with dubious politics .",
      "a solid , workmanlike film that holds up better than one would expect .",
      "it 's still a very harrowing and action packed horror film ...",
      "perhaps the most famous shot of the movie is also one of head-slapping irrelevance .",
      "even though the MOV does n't begin to make its presence felt till near the halfway point ... the simple act of watching men discuss strategy ends up being terrifically absorbing .",
      "set the template for a decade of alien invasions .",
      "the film has more frissons than most of today 's mega-budget productions , simply because it has the grace to construct a meaningful situation and coherent characters .",
      "a perfect popcorn movie .",
      "this is one of the better science-fiction cheapie films ...",
      "watching this movie one can not help but marvel at what had passed as scary back in 1951 ."
    ],
    "summary": "as flying saucer movies go , the MOV from another world is better than most , thanks to well-drawn characters and concise , tense plotting .",
    "id": "17013"
  },
  {
    "movie": "father_of_my_children",
    "reviews": [
      "hansen-loveâ -lrb- tm -rrb- s fevered mix of love and resentment toward this man lends urgency and eros to his professional and personal unraveling .",
      "this is only half a great movie .",
      "the essence of the film is a welcome compassion and curiosity about inner lives .",
      "writer-director mia hansen-lřve is telling two stories here : the first is a concentrated , slow-burn tale of personal self-destruction , while the second is an anecdotal , perceptive study of a family dealing with tragedy .",
      "this drama about a french film producer and his family is entertaining despite a flawed script , and notable for its excellent direction by newcomer mia hansen-lřve .",
      "beautiful , profound and , given the gathering tensions of its story , phenomenally full of life .",
      "there is much opportunity to turn the film into a soaper , but hansen-love resists .",
      "gentle moments build toward a worldview -- about cinema , about legacy , about starting over -- that 's thematically profound .",
      "the MOV loses focus and sags into a how-we-got-through-it family procedural .",
      "what french writer-director mia hansen-love has created is an extraordinarily empathetic humanistic drama , a film of love , joy , sadness and hope that understands how complex our emotions are and does beautiful justice to them .",
      "overlong , but fine ensemble performances highlight the tragic tale of a movie producer facing liquidation .",
      "... deceptively astute drama",
      "when a film is made there should be a reason for doing so .",
      "stop reading and go see it .",
      "... a stylish , subtle and devastating film about a recognizable good person whose world gradually and believably falls away .",
      "a tale of cinema , a story about the agonies of trying to work outside the cinematic mainstream -lrb- even in france ! -rrb- . yet what makes the movie so affecting is that itâ -lrb- tm -rrb- s also a love story about a family .",
      "a tragic but ultimately hopeful story . louis-do de lencquesaing is excellent as the filmmaker .",
      "you could argue that the film fails to revive the harassed intensities of its first hour , but i doubt whether they could have been sustained ; and what we get instead , with its stunned and glassy air , yields a slow-breathing drama of its own .",
      "a well-acted , intermittently heartfelt drama that suddenly loses steam and becomes bland , unengaging and leaves you feeling ultimately underwhelmed .",
      "the subtle , tender sadness of the film trumps any of its small scripting problems and certainly marks out not only the film 's young cast members but also the director as ones to watch .",
      "what makes it a wonderful film is that for those of us inside this crazy dream factory , and we 're only on the edges , it depicts the relentless nature of the beast , the roller-coaster ride , the unstoppable nature of a film in production .",
      "the film is achieved with a rare tenderness and grace by 29-year-old french actress-filmmaker mia hanson-love .",
      "it 's quiet , unshowy and devastating .",
      "a heartbreaking fable about life , legacy and the way men define themselves through their work .",
      "draws one in both empathetically and suspensefully .",
      "inception celebrates the manufactured reality , MOV the true one .",
      "french drama MOV addresses an extremely confronting subject with both an unblinking gaze and an open mind .",
      "there 's a lot of intelligence and humanity in the script and it follows its own path . -lsb- hansen-lřve 's -rsb- direction shows rare confidence and poise , a willingness to build characters slowly , with a natural flow of time .",
      "it 's a very intelligent film this , and one i think which is not just revealing about film-making but has insights into the dilemmas of many others who see the businesses -- or indeed family farms -- they have built up over a lifetime going under .",
      "marked by moments of remarkable stillness amid its emotional tumult , the film 's classy , perceptive treatment of potentially maudlin material merits wider arthouse attention than it 's likely to receive .",
      "a subtle and engaging family drama whose key concerns - absence , memory , continuity , and the light that shines through the darkness - just happen also to be amongst the constitutive preoccupations of cinema itself .",
      "`` the MOV '' is a grand , overflowing , mistake of a movie .",
      "the idea that movies are a trifle when compared to real life is dangled then shattered by the MOV . gră -lrb- c -rrb- goire 's love of film lives on , and ours is deepened .",
      "it is a film about children and their parents , and not knowing where fate , or life , can take you .",
      "the MOV is largely about how life drifts by , and how we do n't always leave the mark in the world that we 'd hoped , so hansen-lřve resists the urge to overdramatize or over-stress .",
      "an intelligent and beautifully acted french film about work , death , grief , and finding one 's way back to life .",
      "the film 's second half is the most touching , because it shows that our lives are not merely our own , but also belong to the events we set in motion .",
      "there are some rough edges to the film and it seems quite insecure in its last 10 minutes , but hansen-love has brought an impressive tenderness to it ... in no small part , you will find yourself really caring for this family and what it faces .",
      "hansen-lřve 's film is about coping , its focus practical and utterly unsentimental , its energy somehow both busy and serene .",
      "a bisected portrait of two families -- one small and thriving , one sprawling and dysfunctional -- both headed by the same , charming man , the MOV examines the shipwreck of suicide and the grief of those left stranded in its wake .",
      "impressively directed and superbly written , this is an emotionally engaging drama with terrific performances from real life father and daughter louis-do and alice de lencquesaing .",
      "authentic in its depiction of both the filmic and domestic milieux , this is delicate , incisive , touching and trenchant .",
      "the MOV is exceptional drama . compelling and unforced , it shows sensitivity and evenhandedness in approaching a difficult subject .",
      "a subtle work on an exceedingly difficult subject .",
      "a modest drama about a suicide and its aftermath that never quite moves an audience as it should .",
      "a film that portrays a subject that could easily have become cloying with an austere , penetrating eye .",
      "while the movie is far from perfect , those potential missteps are , in the end , part of what makes the MOV so beautiful .",
      "this delicate and beautiful film about the highs and lows of a close-knit family takes us on an emotional journey in which we experience joy , laughter , sorrow and contemplation .",
      "fresh-faced performances and tender writing makes for a family who jumps straight off the screen and into your heart .",
      "mia hansen-lřve deserves credit both as a writer and a director . this is a very convincing drama .",
      "one of the few films ever released that realistically conveys the heartbreak of both loving cinema and being in the uncomfortable position of having to sell it to distributors , co-producers , and , ultimately , the masses",
      "... a perceptive family drama which also delivers an insight into the harried world of the independent film producer .",
      "father is a very intimate film , and writer-director mia hanson-love has a robert altman-like gift for making us believe the relationships continue outside the bounds of the screen .",
      "the depiction of the grieving producer 's wife and children is agonising in its truth ."
    ],
    "summary": "a tragedy gracefully lifted by tender empathy and moments of joy , MOV is a quiet triumph for writer-director mia hansen-love .",
    "id": "770853191"
  },
  {
    "movie": "mission_impossible_rogue_nation",
    "reviews": [
      "the characters never really flesh out but the story is good enough to keep you interested . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "the introduction of british agent ilsa faust -lrb- rebecca ferguson -rrb- to the mix suggests that this may be one of the only ongoing spy concerns that actually know how to use female characters .",
      "rogue nation is a blockbuster that expertly combines exhilarating visual thrills with the kind of intricate storyline that requires viewers to pay attention . it also treads a nice line between the drama and the humour .",
      "exibe um fôlego tăo surpreendente quanto o de seu formidável protagonista .",
      "the mission : impossible series finally runs out of steam with this overlong and often superfluous entry ...",
      "abandoning all burden of creating a bogged-down story that concentrates on narrative and character history , rogue nation is able to truly wow in several fleeting scenes of espionage and huzzah moments .",
      "with the will-they-or-won ` t-they tension , the densely plotted conflicts that rarely give you time to think , and the fact that everyone on all sides has a reason to stop hunt , this is a satisfying hollywood actioner that keeps you guessing .",
      "your mission , if you choose to accept it , is to go out and have some mindless , escapist fun .",
      "writer-director christopher mcquarrie brings a dark and gritty tone to this larger-than-life franchise .",
      "chistpher mcquarrie has built an exciting and entertaining film full of action : mission accomplished . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "`` mission : impossible - rogue nation '' proves that a summer flick can be as smart as it is exciting .",
      "immersive , unpredictable and crammed with more sharp plot hooks than a fishing basket . it 's one of the best wide-release movies of the summer .",
      "it 's clear that mcquarrie appreciates not only what 's exciting about these movies but also what 's funny .",
      "rogue nation comes equipped with overwritten , exposition-heavy dialogue that none of the imf agents would actually say to each other outside of a movie .",
      "rogue nation , like the similarly propulsive ghost protocol , often feels like a pure instrument of fun , dragging hunt through an ongoing series of precarious situations .",
      "despite the shortcomings of the plot , ` rogue nation ' is a summer blockbuster that delivers the popcorn movie goods .",
      "mission : impossible - rogue nation continues the series resurgence with moody suspense tied neatly to exciting set pieces centered on a stable of imf agents that has finally gelled after several films worth of experimenting .",
      "it 's hardly breaking bold new ground but cruise is utterly reliable , his commitment to the role - and what must have been a brutal workout regime - never in doubt .",
      "`` rogue nation '' is a winning effort - much better than you 'd expect from the fifth film in a series featuring a 53-year-old man as an action star .",
      "the opening stunt pretty much sums up the mission : impossible franchise : white-knuckle thrills teetering on the edge of absurdity .",
      "it 's not a life-changing experience but it 's impressively entertaining and it does n't insult your intelligence .",
      "when the film focuses on cruise it 's an unbeatable juggernaut of a movie . alas , it does not .",
      "you do n't overcome the `` impossible '' by thinking it over a little more carefully . you overcome it through the application of sheer , unvarnished willpower , a quality that cruise has always possessed in abundance .",
      "this is n't the best of the m : i films , as it fails to match the stylized sleekness of the first , the character dynamics of iii or the needle-to-the-heart adrenaline charge of ghost protocol . but here 's a franchise that manages to retain its freshness .",
      "a hugely entertaining action thriller from a trusted movie brand ... all up , mi : 5 is a terrifically kinetic , lean , crowd-pleasing spectacle , and yet another cinematic expression of the deep love cruise has for his audience .",
      "without the wit of its previous instalment , m : i-rn feels a bit of an endurance championship , although if you 're in it for the action alone , you wo n't feel shortchanged .",
      "despite all the big names , it 's a relative unknown who steals the show . swedish born rebecca ferguson keeps you guessing throughout the film as a mysterious individual with unknown intentions .",
      "there are spies among us . and that 's a good thing .",
      "as far as entertainment goes , rogue nation is second only to the original mission : impossible .",
      "`` rogue nation '' delivers thrill after thrill to the point where your nerves ca n't take it anymore .",
      "it 's all baloney , but the disposable film fills a summertime need for breezy entertainment .",
      "great summer movie entertainment .",
      "hopefully , the reception will be positive because , on the strength of this outing , a sixth big-screen impossible mission is warranted .",
      "tom cruise stamps his claim as the greatest action star of our time with this nail biting , stylishly made action thriller filled with incredibly entertaining sequences .",
      "if you watched all of the `` mission : impossible '' films in a row , starting with 1996 's original , would they feel like a james bond version of `` boyhood '' ? maybe .",
      "after taking a few stabs at the right formula , the series has finally found its voice , and ethan hunt and company give james bond a real run for his blockbuster money .",
      "the intense tom cruise face - you know the expression i mean , where he looks like he 's about to explode and/or start yelling , but does n't - makes frequent appearances , as does the trademark arm-chopping tom cruise run .",
      "mcquarrie is n't known for spectacle , but he manages an impressive fireworks display here , delivering a first half that frequently bests previous sequels . it 's the second half of `` rogue nation '' that 's worrisome .",
      "cruise is-and i say this nicely-a total maniac , which goes a long way toward cranking up an action sequence .",
      "this m : i is entertaining in its schematic way ; it 's impossible not to respond to the theme music on a pavlovian level . there 's a sentimental attachment . but like tom in that almighty opening plane stunt , i 'm finding it harder and harder to hang on .",
      "the franchise has a lot in common with old faithful : it 's a popular attraction ; predictable as clockwork ; and features acts of nature - a geyser of boiling water in one case , tom cruise 's abs in the other - that remain impressive after all these years .",
      "goes on too long , with at least one too many prolonged chases and fights , but is still expertly mounted , enjoyably old-fashioned , action-packed cloak-and-dagger hokum .",
      "a sequel that is slick with silliness , but peppered with enough wit and peril to sustain the franchise 's momentum .",
      "the protagonists ' dilemmas are quite extreme , the surprises come in all sizes and the ultra-smooth professionalism displayed in all departments early on encourages the sense that you 're in good hands , a feeling that ends up being justified .",
      "this movie is pure summer entertainment and , when that iconic theme song starts cranking , it 's hard to keep yourself from getting sucked right along into it .",
      "when cruise dies , he , harold lloyd and buster keaton will have a lot to talk about .",
      "a dog-eared , virile action film that 's lucky to have rebecca ferguson as a saving grace .",
      "the good far outweighs the so-so .",
      "the film is too long and i was never certain what the villain 's ultimate goal was as he seems to be a terrorist without any ideological agenda , but this is good summer fun and probably the best in the series .",
      "of the many heists and grabs that litter the movie , none is as blatant as the deft , irrepressible manner in which ferguson , displaying a light smile and a brisk way with a knife , steals the show .",
      "your mission , if you choose to accept it , is to enjoy this movie without thinking too much about the plot . -lsb- full revew in spanish -rsb-",
      "it comes as a pleasant surprise that the series ' cartoon spy-fi lunacy still plays .",
      "despite its weaknesses , this is a solid action film , with many of the familiar mission impossible trappings , including those impossible face masks . the acting is also solid by the main cast . the villain , played by sean harris , is up to the mark .",
      "a female lead who is so good , she brings cruise up a few notches ... she 's ilsa faust -lrb- rebecca ferguson -lrb- the bbc 's the white queen -rrb- -rrb- , and you can tell by her name how this chapter in the franchise has been constructed - it 's basically a bond movie .",
      "one or two seriously awesome moments aside , there 's very little of note here .",
      "if it were n't for ` mad max : fury road , ' this would be the best action film of the year .",
      "it feels like they grabbed the best elements of the first movie and `` ghost protocol '' and mixed them in a very successful way . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "if you enjoy seeing a veteran actor doing his own stunts in some spectacularly staged ways , you wo n't want to miss this true crowd pleaser . -lrb- full content review - nudity , violence , profanity , etc. - for parents also available -rrb-",
      "christopher mcquarrie 's direction and a well written script give this entry what it 's been missing since the first one : volume , depth and rhythm . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "it 's not a masterpiece of the action movie genre , but it 's still a good option for adrenaline lovers . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "a blast of suspense and intrigue , a great mashup of the best of the original and ghost protocol .",
      "is n't the worst installment , but it 's the least daring , challenging and fresh entry in the series .",
      "the real mission impossible is topping the earlier films in the series plus upstarts like `` fast/furious . '' challenge accepted .",
      "if `` mission : impossible -- rogue nation '' does n't quite have that same touch that assuredly sets it apart , what it does have is a similar confident skillfulness that keeps the film humming along from one noteworthy action set-piece to the next .",
      "works for your appreciation with gasp-inducing action sequences and an ethos that has fun with its legacy while moving in a new direction .",
      "has a better story , a grittier tone and the perfect blend of action , humor and intelligence - all of which make it the best mission yet .",
      "as a blockbuster , this comes pretty close to perfection .",
      "slick , accomplished and hugely entertaining , another slice of glorious mayhem from a franchise that continues to play to its strengths and deliver the goods .",
      "rogue nation solidifies the fact that tom cruise is the quintessential action star , carrying the quintessential action franchise . with all due respect to 007 , at the moment , nobody does it better .",
      "rogue nation may not be the best , the tightest , or even the most logically coherent m : i flick , but there should be more movies like it : relentlessly thrilling , smart entertainments ...",
      "while the mission : impossible series may no longer feel fresh , it also shows no signs of self-destructing anytime soon .",
      "i was delighted by this one end to end .",
      "expertly building on the renewed energy injected into the mission : impossible franchise with 2011 's ghost protocol , this fifth episode roars along like a sleek , well-oiled machine .",
      "easily , almost nonchalantly , best in franchise , rogue nation dispenses with the dead weight of realism or relevance for state-of-the-art thrill-making in a classical mould .",
      "for about 90 minutes or so , rogue nation is grandly exciting . but in the final half-hour , mcquarrie makes a critical mistake : he starts taking this enjoyable nonsense seriously .",
      "`` mission : impossible - rogue nation '' is a sigh of defeat . now tom 's only goal is to give us a kickboxing fight or a motorcycle chase every eight minutes , and hope for the best .",
      "it 's full of attractive people , gorgeous locations , loathsome bad guys and a pounding score that ties it all together . this is what the `` fast and furious '' movies want to be , and the bond pictures used to .",
      "the story is clear . the characters are appropriately hyper-real , but grounded and their behavior follows logically . there are mysteries that keep unraveling . and it does n't choke you with details that ca n't be deciphered without 27 watchings .",
      "there 's a difference between velocity and momentum , and while the chases , shootouts and close-quarters combat rarely flag , our interest does .",
      "a spy adventure with champagne-fizz style and double-shot-of-scotch action sequences , mission : impossible -- rogue nation is a perfect demonstration that sequels can aim higher in places other than just the box office , and to everyone 's benefit .",
      "once again , cruise accepts this mission with open arms and audiences everywhere should follow suit .",
      "cruise fires up everything he has as actor and athlete , showing that mission : impossible still has gas in its tank even when its engine sputters .",
      "you sure get your bang for the buck with this one . tom cruise , and his team deliver an action packed espionage thriller that 's so eye popping you hardly notice you have no idea of why they 're really doing all that stuff .",
      "the newest installment in tom cruise 's franchise might be the best yet .",
      "i 've seen five mission : impossible movies now and i do n't know a lick about ethan hunt except that every couple years he flings his body all over the place , then eventually saves the day .",
      "the savvy cruise makes sure he delivers what is expected of him : hand-to-hand fights , death-defying leaps and car chases - all the while propelling the plot forward .",
      "like the james bond films , the entries in the mission : impossible series are really only as good as the sum of their set pieces -- and they might actually have become more reliably thrilling .",
      "you get the whiff of desperation throughout .",
      "the epitome of a bona fide summer blockbuster !",
      "stunts save `` rogue nation . ''",
      "an exhilarating blend of action , intrigue , suspense and comic relief . tom cruise still has the knack of being a charismatic leading man .",
      "writer-director christopher mcquarrie , whose action movie skills are at best high-adequate , compensates by being good at interpersonal stuff . he can make us feel for the characters as something more than action toys .",
      "mission : impossible - rogue nation , the latest in the tom cruise-starring franchise , sets its hooks quickly and hurtles you forward .",
      "has the snap , shock , and verve to rival modern blockbusters while giving a nod to the retro-cool original series .",
      "if you want to watch insanely dangerous stunts , done by a 53-year-old human and not a body double or a cgi pixel , then mission : impossible rogue nation is the summer action film for you .",
      "the best film in this series , and a perfectly realized piece of cinematic craftsmanship .",
      "a summer blockbuster worth the title : in mi 's fifth installment , the cruise gung-ho approach cements why he 's a true movie hero !",
      "never groundbreaking but consistently entertaining ,",
      "the fifth installment in this franchise that keeps getting better is the best one yet , with a compelling plot , a bond-esque super villain to keep your interest , and the intense action set pieces that cruise does better than anyone .",
      "we tend to forget tom cruise is a seriously impressive old-school action star in an age where cg trickery has largely made that role somewhat redundant .",
      "the reliably classy rogue nation , which visits minsk , london , havana , paris and vienna in the first half-hour alone , concentrates on practical stunts , and the results are spectacular .",
      "its plot line does n't bear too much scrutiny and its characterisation is sketchy but the action itself is frequently exhilarating .",
      "`` rogue nation '' is pretty much like most of the `` impossible '' movies in that it 's an immense machine that mr. mcquarrie , after tinkering and oiling , has cranked up again and set humming ...",
      "... the summer movie we 've been waiting for : filled with action , exotic locations , and enough plot twists that you simply ca n't check your brain at the door .",
      "a non-stop blast from beginning to end . at this point tom cruise is starting to rival jackie chan as the most daring action hero of our era .",
      "mcquarrie does n't make it easy to invest in the characters here , but paradoxically he does know how to make us grip our armrests as they face danger , and thus the mission is accomplished once more .",
      "... the fifth mission impossible is a solid hour-and-a-half action film . unfortunately , the run time is two hours and ten minutes .",
      "its fuse fizzes dutifully from a to b , but the dynamite never ignites .",
      "filled with heart-stopping moments , this fifth in the franchise leaps to great heights with thrilling action and a story that feels fresh and vital",
      "jokey , derivative , the weakest of the mi movies , but still fun in most of the usual ways .",
      "mission : impossible - rogue nation is the best action movie to hit theaters since mad max rockatansky answered our cries back in may , making it the best action movie this summer by far .",
      "mission : impossible rogue nation finally makes ethan hunt into not just `` tom cruise - action man '' but perhaps the defining role of his long career . the twist is that it may be his most autobiographical as well .",
      "given how fun mission : impossible - rogue nation often is , it 's hard to blame paramount for squeezing every drop of momentum out of the series while it can .",
      "the action is explosive , coming in fast and furious spurts , peppered with plenty of quips , character moments , and blisteringly choreographed instances of death and destruction .",
      "thrill-ride fun - the most exciting action-adventure of the summer ...",
      "five movies in and the mission : impossible franchise exhibits no signs of slowing down .",
      "mcquarrie devises a film that 's a succession of riveting sequences , filmed in a way that 's active and yet elegant .",
      "mcquarrie has created a clever , witty , exciting modern espionage thriller which not only pays its dues to the earlier titles in the series , but also tacitly acknowledges that ethan himself is starting to get a little long in the tooth .",
      "not just the best movie of the summer , but also the best summer movie of the summer . a whipsmart action film that dazzles from start to finish . cruise in control of the best ` mi ' yet .",
      "the mission : impossible franchise is ageing much like tom cruise himself : inexplicably , as if by a wizard 's touch .",
      "so many ridiculous action set pieces and unfollowable plot lines that it 's basically a blockbuster splatter painting .",
      "the most stripped-down , aggressive and at times - and only relatively speaking - closest the films series has come to the more modest pleasures of the espionage show that spawned it , if often in name only .",
      "it ca n't resist winking at how this franchise manages to defy the limits of both human endurance and its superstar 's rickety public status .",
      "latest episode delivers the goods , just not as smoothly as before .",
      "mission : impossible - rogue nation is a smart and exciting blockbuster , as well as another strong installment in the tom cruise action franchise .",
      "a late summer treat : proving that hard work and care can still make for a rousing good time .",
      "the excellent chemistry between cruise and ferguson translates into superior hand-to-hand fight scenes and one spectacular chase .",
      "the series ' best yet , with gob-smacking action sequences offset by quick-witted humor and a thematic emphasis on teamwork and trust .",
      "director/writer christopher mcquarrie and tom cruise have proven to be a dynamic duo , even against the most impossible of enemies ...",
      "writer/director mcquarrie has enough savvy with dialogue and pacing that old tropes feel fun again . like someone finally remembered how to make a spy movie .",
      "a sensational thriller",
      "in the post-movie star age , -lrb- cruise -rrb- is , with apologies to a certain austrian bodybuilder whose drawing power is all but terminated , the last action hero .",
      "everything , even alec baldwin 's tight and itchy turn as a cia buzzkill , is mere window-dressing to cruise 's attempts to kill himself on-screen .",
      "a perfect balance of suspense and a metaphorical tongue placed ever so delicately in an equally metaphorical cheek",
      "mcquarrie delivers a tense , eye-popping amusement-park ride that 's almost as exciting as it is forgettable .",
      "at the age of 53 mr. cruise continues to give his all to these films , and his all in this latest episode is more than enough .",
      "the film that leaves you wanting more . not five minutes more . five films more .",
      "mission : impossible - rogue nation does n't have the nonsensical lyricism of brad bird 's stupendous mission : impossible - ghost protocol , but it 's still pretty good .",
      "you can discuss the incongruities on the drive home ; while the movie 's playing , you 're having too much fun getting manhandled by experts .",
      "the opening sequence is like a declaration of war ; it 's like starting a film with the truck sequence from raiders , or ghost protocol 's burj khalifa sequence .",
      "... audiences will have the pleasure of being swept away by the actor 's unbridled charm sparring with ferguson 's upstart attitude in a flawless duet of deceit and determination . all is fair in love and espionage .",
      "the tomoxon is rammed into the metabolism with such unrelenting force that we are sure to see mission impossible : adjective noun in two years ' time .",
      "tom cruise goes through the motions in this diverting but empty blockbuster .",
      "`` rogue nation '' proves to be the most satisfying , gripping and intelligent film of the series . the action scenes are magnificent , and an excellent supporting turn from new cast member rebecca ferguson helps make this a sexy , propulsive , top-notch thriller .",
      "mission : impossible - rogue nation has some of the best-shot action sequences of the year - a cinematic thrill ride in the best possible sense .",
      "it 's apparent just how hard -lsb- cruise is -rsb- trying in an effort to entertain us ... but it 's not why rogue nation works . it 's truly a team effort .",
      "does n't do anything particularly wrong inasmuch as it overdoes something right - by the time we reach the final chase/shoot-out/hand-to-hand combat set piece , a bit of ice-cream-headache fatigue has begun to set in .",
      "cruise remains game for anything and everything .",
      "... this film belongs to swedish actress rebecca ferguson as undercover british intelligence agent ilsa faust , whose career is sure to get a serious boost after her fearless performance here .",
      "what 's most impressive , perhaps , is that , somehow and beyond all traditional reasoning , this series does n't seem to be running out of steam .",
      "`` mission : impossible - rogue nation '' is industrial-strength , stunt-stuffed , thoroughly soulless , yet eminently watchable cinema .",
      "tom cruise brings the intensity , while alec baldwin does his usual alec baldwin thing .",
      "cruise still evokes the daring recklessness that defines his mif role . mi-5 does not disappoint .",
      "new writers and directors for each installment have kept the creativity flowing , and like the `` fast and furious '' movies , the `` mission : impossible '' film series has hit its stride later in its run .",
      "you expect this to raise a fist to the awesomeness of being the guy , and it does with gusto . but what really keeps this fifth installment fresh is a look at how exhausting it must also feel to always be the guy ... whether it 's ethan hunt or tom cruise .",
      "every bit as exciting and mind-boggling as its predecessors .",
      "it is vastly superior to all the bloated superhero movies with their extended , tedious fight scenes and unnecessary , overused 3-d effects .",
      "a precision-tooled action gizmo made by talented people who still take professional pride in turning this sort of thing out .",
      "as usual for the fifth entry in a film franchise , there 's a lot of talk about whether this is `` our last mission . '' if that 's true , at least it 'll go out proudly .",
      "the last m : i film , 2011 's ghost protocol , remains the series ' high point because it was so consistently engaging . this time , we spend much too long in government back rooms discussing politics .",
      "observe the vertical splendour of cruise 's gait : nobody in tinseltown can run quite like tom , for whom executive producing a long-running , retro espionage tv show proved a very healthy investment .",
      "i did find mission impossible : rogue nation reasonably diverting , and the ending even managed to build up a fair share of tension -lrb- though why i should have doubted that cruise 's awesomeness would prevail , i do n't know -rrb- .",
      "there 's more ironic humour , a little less cheese and an attempt to make the action seem more authentic , so that now star tom cruise occasionally looks in real -lrb- ish -rrb- danger .",
      "the 52-year-old cruise does n't look ridiculous at any point , which in itself is ridiculous .",
      "is too much self-awareness creeping into the franchise ? stunts , intrigue , spy stuff , all here ... just a matter of whether or not you enjoy watching tom cruise do what he does .",
      "a globe-trotting spy thriller with the brisk pace and the visual wit of a looney tunes cartoon .",
      "christopher mcquarrie steps in with a thriller that mixes old-fashioned spy movie tropes with state-of-the-art action beats and a rich helping of wit .",
      "rogue nation 's opening scene is as thrilling as anything we 've seen from those `` furious '' films . and your brain wo n't hurt minutes later .",
      "the characters in the film are boring action figurines , short on characterisation and humanity .",
      "-lsb- video essay -rsb- it 's an old law of screenwriting that any protagonist must have a worthy opponent . in the case of `` mission impossible : rogue nation , '' the heavy is a paper tiger . next .",
      "at age 53 , tom cruise is still a credible action hero . but this time , rebecca ferguson really gives him a run for his money , and his heart .",
      "`` rogue nation '' is a more-than-worthy entry into the `` mission : impossible '' franchise , one that somehow grows better with age .",
      "cruise has played ethan hunt so often it would be understandable if he phoned it in , but one of the pleasures of `` mission : impossible - rogue nation '' is that he does n't .",
      "the action bonanza gets a little lost in its own spycraft , but offers action scenes both fast and furious and a fabulous couple of additions to the world of the imf -lrb- short for impossible mission force , obviously -rrb- .",
      "previous installments may have done a solid job of bringing ethan hunt 's inner turmoil to the fore , but rogue nation really nails it",
      "it can be your mission , if you choose to accept it , but there are many superior options for your entertainment dollar .",
      "an entertaining and exciting ride , a strong example of the best in blockbuster filmmaking .",
      "though fine summer entertainment , the movie -- like ethan 's hobbled gait -- shows considerable franchise fatigue .",
      "it 's as rousing , crowd-pleasing , and grandly old-fashioned an accompaniment to popcorn-munching as we 've seen all summer .",
      "it 's formula . but rogue nation never feels like it is trying to be more or less than exactly what it is : a summer popcorn movie with a few decent twists , more laughs than expected and a lead character who may be feeling his age a bit .",
      "you 'll never see cruise playing an effortless comic book immortal - his characters are at their best when their backs are to the wall .",
      "it 's a ride , an often exhilarating one , but ultimately like most rides it ends exactly where it began .",
      "can mission : impossible stay relevant in today 's era of popcorn film ? the answer is decidedly maybe . definitely maybe .",
      "the movie 's fuse stays lit for a good 90 minutes , but sadly it fizzles out come the disappointing climax .",
      "now on his fifth go-around as ethan hunt , cruise has steered the mission movies away from distinct authorial voices and into showreels for his own daredevil stunt work .",
      "mission : impossible - rogue nation might have its hi-tech gadgets , but it 's a pleasingly old-fashioned affair .",
      "... the franchise delivers its best and most entertaining chapter to date with rogue nation .",
      "spy franchise returns with thrills , death-defying stunts .",
      "i like tom cruise and i like action movies .",
      "it 's surprisingly pleasurable , a romp through a series a snazzy set pieces that are linked by familiar themes . what 's fun about it comes from how it 's executed , rather than any innovation .",
      "it 's a preponderance of unpolished plotting that truly takes the shine off rogue nation .",
      "the most reliable blockbuster series going : five films , some weirder than others , but not a stinker in the bunch .",
      "tom cruise is back in the exciting , smart and tense fifth installment in this long-running series .",
      "martial arts and a sense of levity balance the many tense action scenes",
      "rogue nation delivers first rate entertainment from beginning to end . certainly a non-stop joyride that will continue the franchise should audiences choose to accept whimsical disbelief .",
      "this fifth installment could be the best of the series . tom cruise 's stunts are terrific . lalo schifrin 's theme music is still wonderful . the pace is driving . rebecca ferguson is beautiful and inscrutable .",
      "at once questioning and reaffirming the pleasures of cinematic espionage , this is the rare sequel that leaves its franchise feeling not exhausted but surprisingly resurgent at 19 years and counting .",
      "feels dated and redundant due to the lack of originality and innovation that 's defined the franchise .",
      "as spy franchises go , this one has been pretty electric .",
      "no one would expect anything more from a mission : impossible movie than thumping good action , and this delivers amply on that front .",
      "it 's not sappy . it 's a tight action movie focused on talented people working together for the good -lrb- or harm ? you have no idea ! -rrb- of the world .",
      "they are massive enterprises that deliver the goods in the manner of an experienced craftsman , no matter who that craftsman happens to be .",
      "five movies in , cruise has perfected the m : i formula -- a simple spy story , passable character comedy , and extremely long , impressively sustained action sequences .",
      "rogue nation has a plot with means and opportunity galore , but little in the way of motive . and in a year brimming with spy stories , you need to bring your a game to stand out .",
      "it should n't surprise you by now to hear that cruise apparently flirted with on-set danger here , too . and it 's impossible to deny that this knowledge adds to the fun .",
      "and with cruise pushing his 53-year-old body to the limit for every death-defying spectacle , mission : impossible has grown into a true thrill-a-minute event , and fans certainly wo n't leave this one disappointed .",
      "the white queen 's rebecca ferguson is remarkable as ilsa faust , a british national of enigmatic allegiances . in a film full of twists and reversals , the biggest surprise of all is a woman with her own agenda . guess nothing 's impossible after all .",
      "anyone can be in a movie ; only a few like cruise are the movies .",
      "extremely well-written and directed by christopher mcquarrie . let me repeat . extremely well-written and directed by the man who counseled cruise in `` jack reacher . '' they apparently click .",
      "although i prefer the more spirited and original `` ghost protocol , '' i thoroughly enjoyed `` rogue nation '' for what it is , and what it sets out to be : unapologetic fun .",
      "slick and often clever , but it 's also too long , and the spectacle of cruise trying to prove that age has not dimmed his physical prowess gets pretty silly .",
      "mission : impossible - rogue nation is exceptionally made , insane fun and the best this series has to offer and then some .",
      "the latest in the mission impossible franchise suffers from having its impossible missions made lame by impossible product sourcing , imagined techno-fixes , and apparently endless resources despite cruise 's hunt supposedly being on the run .",
      "mr. hunt , your lasting assignment is to keep the imf in cruise control .",
      "a movie you will enjoy from start to finish . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "warts and all , cruise has delivered another awesome mission : impossible spectacle that should keep the summer of 2015 going strong for at least a few more weeks .",
      "mcquarrie proves that not only can he direct great action scenes ... but he can also pay homage to the best the genre has to offer . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "pure entertainment . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "all the action spectacle of a mission : impossible but gives the spectacle more weight .",
      "as a sensory escapist experience with laughs , pleasures , and excitements , ` rogue nation ' will likely be the most satisfying mission audiences choose to accept repeatedly .",
      "accept the mission and pass the popcorn .",
      "nearly two decades out , ethan hunt has become -lsb- cruise 's -rsb- signature role , and at 53 , the indefatigable action hero has n't lost a step as he runs , jumps , rides and drives from eye-popping set piece to the next with both will and skill .",
      "i spent the first half hour wearing 3d glasses -lrb- available on a foyer stand -rrb- since i thought the film was in 3d as well as imax . it is n't . but i did n't notice until i glanced round belatedly at un-spectacled colleagues .",
      "as much as cruise dominates `` rogue nation , '' it 's his co-star , rebecca ferguson , who emerges as the film 's true and most memorable revelation .",
      "i questioned nothing , enjoyed mcquarrie 's ingenuity in construction , smiled occasionally at the jokes and admired ferguson 's performance as the most interesting femme fatale in the series .",
      "this is comfort-food cinema . gorge on the endless buffet .",
      "while certainly not a disappointment , mission : impossible - rogue nation sticks too closely to the franchise formula . and unlike its buff star , the whole thing is starting to show its age .",
      "like hunt is asked to do at the beginning of every quest i 'll gladly accept this latest mission : impossible , but i 'll keep my fingers crossed that next time we 'll have an even better trip to go on .",
      "the most assured and satisfying of the five so far ...",
      "cruise 's inexhaustible drive helps propel this consistently exciting installment .",
      "a very entertaining and enjoyable movie . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "all the gadgetry and double the action fall short . but the pure charm of the movie saves the day .",
      "impossible to resist .",
      "i like the movie , but cruise needs to have a huddle with his stylist and work on the hair dye job . it 's not matching up with his complexion , and it makes him look old . priorities people !",
      "has a definite sleekness to it , but mcquarrie reserves just enough grit to keep it from looking and feeling like a cartoon",
      "rogue nation gets its job done with style .",
      "do n't try to make sense of it , the world of ethan hunt , just like the cartoonish society that the characters in the `` fast & furious '' franchise inhabit , is clearly not our own .",
      "the franchise has gradually refined its combination of jaw-dropping action set pieces and sleekly cool world of espionage into something that 's approaching pop perfection .",
      "i have never been fond of tom cruise , but one must admit what he does he does well .",
      "cruise has always been a remarkable physical actor , and the mission : impossible franchise continues to offer an ideal showcase for his talents ."
    ],
    "summary": "mission : impossible rogue nation continues the franchise 's thrilling resurgence -- and proves that tom cruise remains an action star without equal .",
    "id": "771357161"
  },
  {
    "movie": "body_of_war",
    "reviews": [
      "on the lower tier of the numerous docs about the war and the middle east .",
      "`` you go to a parade , you got to a demo , '' says bobby muller , `` standard routine : you put the gimps on the front . you got ta have the visual . ''",
      "MOV is a gut-wrenching documentary experience .",
      "with all this fascinating real-life material to work with , it 's frustrating that the directors choose to devote half of the movie to well-worn archival footage of members of congress debating the decision to invade iraq in 2002 .",
      "drenched in emotion and suffused with good intentions , MOV is impossible not to like , but difficult to admire .",
      "anti-war messages do n't get any more powerful than this .",
      "lazy , shallow and repetitive , phil donahue 's MOV is one of the most incompetent documentaries to emerge from the iraq war .",
      "editor bernadine colish weaves together all that c-span footage into a disturbing procedural indictment .",
      "what makes MOV such a powerful documentary is n't the clever rhetorical device of debate vs. reality , but the way it documents american life in the ' 00s .",
      "no one can fail to be moved and saddened by ` MOV ' and its picture behind the doors that hide forgotten ignored heroes .",
      "MOV does n't bombard you with statistics or parade talking heads to beat the dead-horse argument that the invasion is a tragedy fueled by bullshit . its pull is more human .",
      "equal parts sadness and inspiration , fury and compassion , the film is sure to divide audiences along ideological lines . but there 's no denying the reality of tomas young 's experiences . a man who has paid so much is more than entitled to his opinions .",
      "it 's the soldier in iraq who fights on in the face of public apathy at home . the hope in this vital film is that the voices of soldiers will be raised . they will fight on until their mission is accomplished and the iraq war is history .",
      "donahue and spiro should 've spent more time exploring the human moments and much less time browbeating us with stuff we already know .",
      "the lack of ego and relatively little self-pity -lsb- wheelchair-bound tomas -rsb- young has is astounding .",
      "MOV is a powerful and effective documentary because it keeps its focus very tight and makes its story vivid in personal terms .",
      "`` MOV '' is so simple-minded and ham-handed in its case against the war that it ends up diluting its own argument .",
      "whatever you think of the film , MOV stirs up real admiration for its subject .",
      "the doc gets up-close and personal . it shows one injured vet 's reality after war .",
      "when is a startling and devastating war movie made in the past too long ago to shed light on the present ? well , apparently never , if we 're talking permanent war characterizing the endless us invasions and occupations around the world .",
      "-lsb- tomas young -rsb- deserves better treatment from the government than he 's gotten as a returning veteran , and a better movie than this simpleminded indictment of every senator who voted ` yea . '",
      "it 's an unusually intimate portrait .",
      "architecturally sound , emotionally ravaging .",
      "a searing documentary that reveals the courageous antiwar heroism of a iraq war veteran who is paralyzed from the waist down .",
      "phil donahue and ellen spiro 's powerful documentary takes a microcosmic look at the war and its devastation by focusing on a single casualty .",
      "half an excellent and touching profile of a young veteran , but unfortunately , half a strident anti-war propaganda film .",
      "almost by definition , documentaries about iraq are gut-wrenching reminders of the unaccomplished mission . MOV transcends even that tough standard .",
      "a powerful argument against impetuous decisions , be they to join the military or to attack a country .",
      "... more than just another run-of-the-mill political documentary .",
      "MOV makes no bones about its activism . then again , like the others , it 's the willingness to contextualize events and apply reason to them that makes it and others so valuable .",
      "it is not merely an antiwar document , but a complex profile in courage of a paraplegic and patriot .",
      "the overreaching spiro and donahue are not content to persuade viewers ; they insist on convincing us .",
      "MOV again demonstrates that we americans still have some bitter truths to face .",
      "a chance to witness the struggles of a remarkable young man . young may be paralyzed in the body , but his mind is fiercely alive .",
      "a tough , affecting documentary about an american soldier in the iraq war .",
      "MOV is neither the most cinematic nor the most elegantly crafted of recent iraq war documentaries , but that does n't stop it from being one of the most deeply affecting .",
      "makes for a good anti-war doc , to be sure , but an even finer -- and painfully accurate -- portrait of the former soldier as a young man ."
    ],
    "summary": "unapologetically political , this intimate and heart wrenching profile of an iraq veteran may be rough around the edges but takes a potent stance with determination and compassion .",
    "id": "770674789"
  },
  {
    "movie": "captain-america",
    "reviews": [
      "not as good as the first iron man , not as bad as green lantern , it 's almost a necessary , even obligatory panel toward next year 's avengers , but as a stand-alone adventure , it leaves much to be desired .",
      "in a no muss , no fuss kind of way , MOV becomes one of the best comic book movies of all time .",
      "on a scene-to-scene basis though , MOV is lumpy and formless .",
      "joe johnston -- returning to the vibe of his first directorial effort , the rocketeer -lrb- 1991 -rrb- -- creates a fun retro-futurist environment with a world war ii setting , and he has the discernment not to let the effects overwhelm the story .",
      "despite all the advance hype preceding its release , MOV , yet another 3-d marvel comics concoction , straggles onto the screen with little reason to exist except as a marketing machine .",
      "i 've always rather liked MOV . not due to any jingoistic bs , but because i 'm a cynic , and cap is n't .",
      "MOV is a medal-worthy joy , the best marvel movie in years . top that joss .",
      "despite deplorable 3d that mutes the colors and an ill-advised ending , this is a very entertaining film .",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- generally moves along with moxie , charm , gobs of special effects and stunt work , and fond memories of the uso style shows that sold war bonds and boosted support in the battle against the nazis . yes , there 's even some singing and dancing .",
      "add all of those positive attributes together and you 've got a motion picture that rivals x-men : first class as the most impressive comic book adaptation of the summer .",
      "`` MOV '' fails to capitalize on the nostalgia of the character . sure , cinematically he is treated respectfully , but it feels more like an obligation and chore rather than a labor of love .",
      "unambiguously embraces its hero 's old-fashioned sensibilities , and invites us to embrace them as well",
      "a capable , if somewhat unremarkable , affair , beset by the same origin-story shortcomings that plagued another u.s.-virtue-via-army-weaponry fable , iron man .",
      "a fun origin story in the spider-man model . it 's got the heart of an underdog really experiencing the wonder of his new powers . i 'm not saying it 's as good as sam raimi 's film , but i 'll take a solid copy of that over the likes of thor .",
      "the perfect casting of evans as well as the original approach to the action ultimately makes up for some of the annoying changes from the source material .",
      "the details in MOV deliver , but the big moments fall flat - you can tell that we 're intended to cheer here , to weep there , but the scenes that try hardest to elicit emotions just feel deflated .",
      "the least inspired and engaging entry in the summer 's superhero onslaught .",
      "the picture is nothing , really , that you have n't seen before , but it 's the definition of a square , competent , deliver-the-goods blockbuster .",
      "you are not in for a giddy , winking , high-flying summer fling . and that 's ok -- there 's something appealing about such an old-fashioned approach .",
      "MOV is not high art , but it is so unabashedly fun -- and such well-made fun -- that it is hard to not like and admire it for so steadfastly being what it is .",
      "MOV succeeds grandly where the others failed .",
      "christopher markus and stephen mcfeely ... whip up a MOV story that often feels like its only purpose is to deliver steve rogers into the 21st century .",
      "combines the right elements of brisk storytelling and light touches of comedy without resorting to gimmicks or bombast .",
      "the movie looks wonderful .",
      "kudos , then , to the creators of MOV 's big-screen blockbuster for keeping the action rooted in the past ; except for some brief present-day bookends .",
      "if you get bored during this film -lrb- i certainly did , despite all the eye candy on screen -rrb- you can amuse yourself by deciding which of the characters has the worst german accent .",
      "the light touch of self-parody serves the movie well .",
      "comic book fans are likely to appreciate MOV , which does a good job of consolidating the disparate origin aspects of the character into something easily digestible .",
      "in a year filled with superhero flicks , this one feels a little bit special .",
      "political correctness , flamethrowers and wagner !",
      "red , white and bland .",
      "in terms of even recent films , MOV lacks the deft touch , appealing character interaction and sophisticated storytelling skills of marvel comics ' x-men : first class .",
      "MOV : the first avenger neither commits any terrible storytelling offenses nor takes any significant creative risks . if the director and the script took more chances with the material , marvel could have had their best movie ever .",
      "a rollicking old-fashioned adventure story - two fisted , over the top and filled with retro scifi flair .",
      "feels less like an exciting comic-book-hero movie than required reading for a course called the avengers , arriving in theaters next summer .",
      "familiar , but great performances and pitch-perfect tone make this one of marvel 's best .",
      "far fleeter than most of its current comic-book-movie rivals , MOV has some of the same rollicking saturday-matinee spirit as raiders of the lost ark , even if it ca n't match the earlier film 's pace and panache .",
      "if this is only the first avenger , then bring on the rest of them .",
      "scrawny steve is such a guileless and likeable little dude that his sweetness endures long past the super-sizing .",
      "with its mix of world war ii nostalgia , bam-pow comic book sensibilities , underdog determination and red-white-and-blue battle scenes , MOV : the first avenger is the best marvel superhero flick since the first iron man .",
      "-lsb- marvel -rsb- saved one of their very best movies for last , and i suspect MOV : the first avenger will send audiences out of the theater rabid to see what 's next .",
      "yet another superhero pic but one nicely rooted in history .",
      "joe johnston delivers the squarest marvel adaptation of the current cycle , and it 's the film 's pulp sense of adventure and the characters ' old-fashioned decorum that make it so satisfying .",
      "traditional second world war thrillers meet the superhero era head on in MOV - and the result is the first must-see blockbuster of the summer .",
      "the final conflict is so protracted as to comfortably accommodate a bathroom break . do n't worry . you wo n't miss anything you have n't seen before .",
      "capităo américa é apenas uma promessa de filme - e caberá a os vingadores fazer jus a esta promessa .",
      "a good-humored , unapologetically patriotic take-off on a gung-ho world war ii war movie , marvel 's MOV : the first avenger may be the best superhero movie of the year .",
      "not a perfect film , but a damn fun one .",
      "... sometimes feels like the kiddie version of inglourious basterds .",
      "the picture is almost admirably boring , as if director joe johnston had wanted to distinguish his movie by not packing it with action , or even bothering much to define the characters .",
      "tommy lee jones is n't distraction enough from the reality that we 've been sold a $ 140 million trailer for a different movie . the egg 's a little rotten .",
      "it 's paced and designed for people who wo n't shrivel up and die if two or three characters take 45 seconds between combat sequences to have a conversation about world domination , or a dame .",
      "stirring world war ii story of old-fashioned rightness and integrity , saved from corniness by star chris evans ' sincere performance and director joe johnston 's imaginative action sequences .",
      "need a top-notch comic-book movie to stop this summer 's march of mediocre superheroes ? `` MOV : the first avenger , '' reporting for duty .",
      "overall , it 's a lot of fun before it gets somewhat bogged down . but it does redeem itself with a great surprise ending and it 's one of the better comic book movies to come along in a while .",
      "downside is the influence of modern technology , shining up a 1940 's hero with glossy 2011 filmmaking tools , making the picture resemble more of a video game than an epic realization of jumbo comic book details .",
      "MOV , directed by veteran joe johnston -lrb- the rocketeer , october sky , hidalgo -rrb- delivers the goods in an engaging fashion .",
      "the captain is n't perfect , but he 's the equal of thor and loads better than the green lantern : he 's the summer 's pre-eminent superhero .",
      "the only problem is that we 've been there -- been nearly everywhere MOV goes -- in countless previous movies .",
      "when all these bland marvel comics franchise movies blur together in memory , it wo n't prove that they amounted to one great epic master narrative , but that they 're all indistinguishable .",
      "the movie proves a solid if not superb opening salvo for the weakling-turned-super soldier .",
      "marvel are having a bumper year . after surprising us all with the hugely enjoyable thor they 've only gone and done it again .",
      "it ai n't trailblazing , but it 's solidly enjoyable .",
      "no one is going to pretend that this is art , psychologically profound or anything other than preposterous . it is a popcorn movie , but much better than most of its kind .",
      "hugely enjoyable and superbly written , this is a thrilling action-adventure that gets everything right ...",
      "what makes `` MOV '' interesting is that it is simultaneously a war movie and a superhero movie , executing all the trappings of both very well .",
      "... a fast-moving , gee-whiz adventure that mixes plot elements from ` the incredible hulk '' and ` raiders of the lost ark ' with retro-futuristic art design that rivals ` sky captain & the world of tomorrow . '",
      "solid , efficient , often anachronistic : MOV is earthbound when it needs to soar .",
      "by default as much as by design , it 's the best superhero story you 'll see this year . let 's hope it does n't just set up the story of the avengers , but sets a standard for its quality .",
      "MOV : the first avenger feels like a clichéd blast from the past , lacking the spunk and grit that has made other comic book movies successful .",
      "... a cut above its lackluster marvel brethren for most of its running time -lrb- if only because it primarily resembles an actual movie more than it does a collection of special effects sequences -rrb- .",
      "viewed as the explosion-a-minute , simple action film that it 's intended to be , MOV delivers on what it needs to do : introduce the character to mainstream audiences while not offending longtime fans , and prime the public for the avengers .",
      "chris evans did the impossible . he became steve rogers , inside and out .",
      "the best bit in this year 's umpteenth comic book blockbuster , MOV : the first avenger , is when tommy lee jones eats some steak .",
      "big and blousy , brash and loud and with a distinct twinkle in its star-spangled eye , it 's the action movie to see if you really ca n't stomach any more wand-waving wizards and transforming robots .",
      "the story squanders its own fine setup .",
      "full of exciting action and earnest emotion , MOV : the first avenger is perhaps the most superhero-ey of this summer 's superhero movies .",
      "the film 's kitschy , retro production design is creative , some of the fx are endearingly hokey , and the screenplay has its share of laughs and solid dramatic moments .",
      "as this summer 's glut of superhero movies goes , let 's just say that it 's no x-men : first class but at least it 's more enjoyably goofy than thor .",
      "evans is unprecedentedly touching and engaging for a superhero - and the rest of the cast help this adventure seem something close to character-driven instead of just being a bundle of stunts .",
      "lacks the zip and excitement of the other avengers movies",
      "these characters are n't just stick figures to fill in the time between the next set-piece ; they talk , and argue , and appear to inhabit actual personalities .",
      "about as good as we could expect it to be , if not more so given that its hero is certainly one of the blandest and least psychologically complex in the marvel universe",
      "evans - always a reliably dynamic and vivacious screen presence - ca n't do much to bring the character to life . as far as superheroes go , cap remains a bit of a stiff .",
      "`` MOV '' is exactly what the third week of july needed : a curiously fun , surprisingly imaginative and unashamedly old-fashioned yarn of skulduggery and adventure .",
      "on almost every level , MOV is better engineered and more entertaining than the iron man or spider-man or batman films . it 's a movie that makes you proud to be an american .",
      "a cheerfully satisfying throwback that embraces the innocence of the comics while adding the spectacle of modern sfx technique .",
      "a tedious star-spangled world war ii drama .",
      "the roster of crowd-pleasing elements seems dubiously calculated and ambitiously lengthy , but ultimately , that 's no strike against the film , which follows iron man 's lead in obscuring the calculation behind outsized , gleeful fun .",
      "a scrappy simulation of american idealism personified by the willingness , nay , the need , to be the first to volunteer whenever the mission requires a sacrifice for the greater good .",
      "as muscular , stiff , shiny , and dull as its star",
      "of course it 's loaded with cgi . it goes without saying it 's preposterous . but it has the texture and takes the care to be a full-blown film .",
      "the best superhero movie since the banner year of 2008 , and the most purely enjoyable of them since that summer 's effervescent iron man .",
      "iron man finally has another marvel comrade worth sharing a movie with . MOV : the first avenger succeeds where thor did n't and hulk has n't , twice . director joe johnston keeps things relatively simple and pleasantly stupid .",
      "evans , who played the human torch in two less-than-fantastic fantastic four films , brings such humor , heart and vigor to virtuous steve that our rooting interest holds even when the action gets to be standard-issue .",
      "the homogenized , bland hero belongs in a barbie dream house , not a war . he 's a cipher at the center of big-budget action that is cartoony , 3-d but never engaging .",
      "fitfully entertaining , especially the first half , plus a pretty decent villain in red skull played by hugo weaving , wearing an impressive/scary crimson get-up that looked like it was done through makeup rather than cgi .",
      "just a good summer movie . no more , no less .",
      "MOV is a breath of fresh air .",
      "chris evans plays steve rogers with the appropriate amount of earnestness and the art direction and costume design sell the 1940s as seen through a comic-book lens .",
      "the effects work ... integrates flawlessly with the rich , muted retro-themed colour palette of cinematographer shelly johnson , one of the few lensers able to work the darkening effect of the 3d process to the film 's advantage .",
      "as superhero flicks go , the first half of MOV -- the one that counts -- is well above average . but the real superheroics here belong to the f/x team .",
      "it 's for anyone who can respond to the thrill of a big , bold adventure movie with a sense of fun .",
      "war movie clichés , gung ho derring-do and seamless special effects all fit together well in a pleasingly retro environment that boasts enough sci-fi paraphernalia to put an end to the argument that it may be too old-fashioned .",
      "while it 's not the greatest superhero movie ever made , MOV fittingly sets the stage for 2012 's megamovie and - more importantly - nicely side-steps its potential pitfalls .",
      "joe johnston 's adaptation of the marvel comic book exalts the virtues of optimism , decency , and perseverance in a rousing adventure of old-fashioned adolescent exuberance .",
      "at least MOV has a stab at being an independent , original creation before it falls back on the same old go-to 's with their same old eye patches .",
      "worst superhero movie of the summer . movie spends too much time showing a contempt for the character and is hampered by a script that gives too much away in the wrong places .",
      "MOV 's rousing first half proves chris evans was the right choice to play the star spangled hero .",
      "hating on MOV just is n't american . go ahead and move to canada ; i 'm sure they have some magical mountie who 's thwarting evil loggers .",
      "`` a film that , while never straying too far from comic book movie formula , still manages to be satisfying as both origin story and standalone adventure . ''",
      "this film succeeds where most comic book adaptations fail : a love story you actually feel , a mostly cohesive story and a believable superhero who manages to inspire all without being too far out of reach .",
      "the chief strength of this production has to be the superb casting choices for the key roles . evans has a screen charisma that goes beyond his ruggedly handsome frame and piercing blue eyes . he displays a sense of humor and a warm gentle decency .",
      "director johnston once again channels steven spielberg , this time for a raucously entertaining indiana jones-style adventure . with the energetic punch of a vintage serial , it actually leaves us wanting more .",
      "i liked the film . i like almost any film where someone warns the villain , `` you can not control the power you hold ! you will burn ! ''",
      "as good a film version as can be made in this day and age by unapologetically embracing the square do-gooder nature of the character and concept .",
      "a slam-bang good time , MOV : the first avenger is one of marvel 's better efforts .",
      "the result is fun and refreshingly retro .",
      "a whizz-bang , retro-futuristic adventure that mercifully eschews the brooding dark knight trend to offer an exhilarating thrill ride that perfectly captures the enduring optimism of the 1940s .",
      "a lifeless and clichéd action film that never lives up to its title or its title characters ' ideals .",
      "it 's difficult to dislike `` MOV '' too much , because it 's harmless and innocuous and , unlike almost every other tentpole summer movie , is n't secretly trying to give the audience a seizure .",
      "even next to thor , a movie about a space god with a magic hammer , MOV : the first avenger was always going to be one of marvel 's trickiest properties to do justice to .",
      "`` with arguably the best supporting cast of the bunch , a cut-and-dried hero 's hero who is n't portrayed as some cornball cheesy and a direct lead in to ` the avengers , ' this is my favorite of the avengers set ups . ''",
      "MOV : the first avenger is definitely the best superhero film of the year and it 's one hell of a fun ride . this is a must see !",
      "the real marvel of it all is how much fun it actually is .",
      "a star-spangled superhero from the norman rockwell era , MOV might seem ill-prepared to do battle at the modern box-office ... but never underestimate the power of old-fashioned corn .",
      "the most noticeable motif johnston plays with is the use of a garbage-can lid as a shield : more important than $ 140 million dollars worth of toys is johnston 's childlike sense of play .",
      "it 's likely to amuse , enthrall and satisfy just about anyone with a sense of fun .",
      "here 's what 's missing : tension , drama , and most of all , a sense of wonder . this is a superhero movie , is n't it ?",
      "evans brings just the right amount of confidence and aw-shucks modesty to rogers , who surely counts as the most appealing marvel hero .",
      "by finding an ingenious way to streamline a now-familiar genre , MOV : the first avenger does his country proud .",
      "MOV is n't a masterpiece , but it 's a solidly crafted , elegant adventure movie that held my attention from start to finish and sent me out into the street energized instead of enervated .",
      "those who want to accentuate MOV as a blueprint for how comic book movies should be made , must footnote such hyperbolic statements with an asterisk referring to the first half . cause the second half puts a noose onto all its momentum .",
      "almost half of the film 's running time elapses before rogers gets any kind of power at all , and though its elements are awfully familiar , it 's the most involving part of the film because it takes advantage of evans ' performance .",
      "in some ways the best of the marvel comics preludes leading up to next year 's superhero jamboree , the avengers .",
      "a few flashes of greatness appearing throughout , all but ruined by one of the worst 3d transfers of the year",
      "taps into the idea that deep down we all want to dress up and play hero .",
      "while not a terrible film , MOV lacks edge necessary to excite viewers .",
      "a gorgeous-looking movie , especially in 3d .",
      "it is a good superhero origin story , a bit better than the last such marvel movie , ` thor . '",
      "the best superhero movie of the summer - good acting , good special effects , good storyline , and a heaping dollop of patriotism .",
      "for starters , a comic book story set during world war two offers a perfect opportunity to banish irony , make use of nazis as bad guys , and cheer on an all-american hero . chris evans is well cast in the leading role , as he not only embodies the physical ...",
      "none of it , however , would work without evans ' easy charm . his appeal is different to his marvel stable mates ; he is modest , kind and , ahem , a virgin -lrb- this is certainly not the persona evans has given off in other films -rrb- .",
      "the production design is fantastic , the period setting works , and there 's enough charm to allow the film to feel unique enough to justify its existence .",
      "pure , unashamed , adrenaline-fuelled joy , with a revelatory lead turn that should nudge chris evans towards being a top-tier action hero .",
      "johnston should be saluted for old-fashioned heart in a cynical age , while marvel should be confined to barracks for cynical marketing .",
      "tommy lee jones and hayley atwell end up stealing the show . that 's not a good thing for captain and red skull .",
      "oh man , it is a great film . it is pretty much exactly what i wanted .",
      "a fun and snappy introduction to one of the seminal heroes of the marvel universe and a nice last note before next year 's avengers film . MOV is one of the more successful of the marvel superhero movies .",
      "-lsb- e -rsb- normously entertaining ... deft and witty ... -lsb- c -rsb- heering and poignant at the same time , recalling the promise of a future that ended up going in a different direction ...",
      "pacy and punchy , but not quite a knockout .",
      "because of its period atmosphere and its successful combination of characterization and action , it tops my list of best superhero films of the year .",
      "... the right kind of patriotic -lrb- the kind that does n't demean other cultures -rrb- and the right shade of nostalgia ...",
      "director joe johnston confidently walks the line between faithful comic-book iconography and contemporary action-movie splash .",
      "h omada toy kapetanioy katafernei na swsei thn aksioprepeia ths , kyriws giati o skhnotheths petyxainei me tis camp eksarseis toy na xwsei ena kapoio epipedo aytosarkasmoy mesa sth sobarofaneia twn senariografwn",
      "one of the banner comic book films of the year .",
      "what the film can never overcome , though it mightily tries via superior score , costumes , and atmosphere , is the inanity of its premise .",
      "proves to be a riveting roller coaster ride from beginning to end , basically because it relies on a winning recipe featuring all the fixins needed to hold your undivided attention .",
      "from its antagonists to its art direction , everything about johnston 's movie has a been-there , seen-that familiarity . yet evans ' clean-cut idealism and objectives make old-fashioned patriotism look fresh .",
      "sadly , rather than hyping up the avengers , it left me ruing the fact that we wo n't see more period MOV films .",
      "the super hero recipe is the marvel gift that keeps giving and MOV sticks to it with the best ingredients it can find by way of cast , to deliver a star spangled burger with the lot",
      "it serves its chief end to introduce the character , and evans fills the role nicely . but as a stand-alone adventure , it 's not captivating enough . i expect more from this genre .",
      "steve rogers -lrb- chris evans -rrb- wants to go to war . it 's 1942 , and he 's a scrawny kid from brooklyn , too scrawny , according to army doctors , to join up .",
      "it 's not as cool as iron man , does n't have the brains of the dark knight or the looks of thor , but it 's got enough ka-pow ! to make you relish the inevitable sequel . job done .",
      "comic book adventure mixes patriotism , explosive action .",
      "one of the biggest issues is that MOV is n't all that super .",
      "while it never hits the craptastic depths of something like `` green lantern , '' most people are likely to come away from it thinking that it could have and should have been a lot better than it is .",
      "rather than fight against the character 's flag-waving , nazi-busting roots , the movie embraces them , going back to the early '40s to remind us what made the `` greatest generation '' so great .",
      "guided by the steadiest hand joe johnston has shown in years , MOV explodes into the action movie you 've been waiting all summer to see .",
      "MOV 's metabolism , peggy tells him , burns energy four times faster than the average person 's . the movie 's metabolism burns out .",
      "MOV : the first avenger is pretty good , insofar as it 's not nearly as terrible as it seemed destined to be .",
      "at least offers a bit of a diversion on the long , slow march to next summer 's the avengers .",
      "clean-cut , well intentioned and downright gorgeous , today 's MOV is a throwback to the good old-fashioned heroic ideal .",
      "although `` MOV '' has all the special effects technology of a modern-day superhero movie , it plays like it was made in the 1940s , when characters were allowed to breathe and not every fight scene was shot like a music video .",
      "yes , the characters are cartoonish -lrb- they 're comic book heroes , after all -rrb- , but this is the kind of old-fashioned popcorn entertainment summer is made for .",
      "paramount and marvel merged their creative juices just right as i found MOV : the first avenger very entertaining",
      "MOV , like its unapologetically corny hero , is propelled by unpretentious and plucky ingenuity .",
      "`` looks great and hits all the right notes but never truly puts the pedal to the metal . ''",
      "en una época en que aparecen películas de superhéroes debajo de cada piedra , encontrarse con algo tan entretenido - y que no pide ser tomado demasiado en serio - es toda una sorpresa .",
      "the legend of the american hero is given a shot in the arm and pat on the back in the old school action/adventure MOV : the first avenger .",
      "this ` star spangled man ' has a plan : to be the best superhero movie of the year .",
      "flawless effects - including making a pre-captain chris evans look like a twig - plus top performances from the likes of stanley tucci , hugo weaving and tommy lee jones , ensure an old-fashioned quality to this appealing matinee-style adventure .",
      "a good , old-fashioned american story .",
      "the best attempt thus far at bringing cap off the page and onto screens . too bad it was hamstrung by ` setupforsequelitis . '",
      "in the era of the tortured superhero in movies , it 's refreshing to come across one with enthusiasm and a pure spirit .",
      "for the teenage fantasy crowd needing a new hero . but even if it feels like air conditioning in the arctic , it 's plenty entertaining .",
      "rooted in reality and without the superhero tights , an impressive 3d success . the cgi transformation of steve rogers is fantastic . i worry that stan lee , through his hickcock cameos , will appear in perpetuity in all marvel movies .",
      "slightly flawed , but ultimately worth seeing for its unique feel , period detail , and compelling central character .",
      "as formulaic as it is , it 's one of the more joyful examples of the genre , largely because it 's a period piece .",
      "though unfailingly earnest and cheesy from open to close , MOV : the first avenger still delivers everything it promises with plenty of endearing good humour and occasional pulses of exciting panache .",
      "this has definitely been the summer of the superhero film . i 'd put this one just below x-men : first class , but above green lantern and well above thor .",
      "totally lacking in ambiguity , MOV is great fun .",
      "it 's simply an old-fashioned good-versus-evil yarn . and it 's all the better for it .",
      "director joe johnston re-confirms his mastery of special effects , but he does n't let them get in the way of his telling a story .",
      "as summer blockbusters go , it 's a notch or two above average .",
      "it 's no masterpiece but fun enough to continue to whet the appetite for the avengers .",
      "joe johnston hits just the right tone , finding the heart of this often misunderstood character , and tempering proceedings with the perfect blend of humour , action and characterisation .",
      "it 's very , very well done .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- clean , unpretentious , brawnily entertaining fantasia .",
      "the final piece of the avengers jigsaw falls efficiently into place : decent acting , decent action , a few too many `` we 're all heroes inside '' platitudes .",
      "as the delightfully over-the-top red skull , hugo weaving has the most fun playing a noseless villain since ralph fiennes lopped his off as voldemort .",
      "it delivers the comic book action required .",
      "what we do n't have is a very compelling movie , or much of a leading man .",
      "`` MOV '' smashingly layers superhero stuff such as magic serums atop a wry appreciation for campy wwii propaganda and '60s cinematic rousers that kept richard burton , robert shaw and lee marvin constantly employed .",
      "enjoyable enough for what it is , but clearly and certainly nothing special -lrb- full content parental review also available -rrb-",
      "MOV earns a thumbs up because of ... well , because of MOV .",
      "it 's symptomatic of the problem that the film spends more time figuring out how to set up a different franchise than how to make us care about this one .",
      "thanks to solid performances and a script that is clever , funny and respectful of the source material , this origin story is the best comics-to-screen adaptation since `` batman begins '' .",
      "an old-fashioned adventure film that , while admittedly a little cheesy , is packed with the same charm and wit of the studio 's other movies .",
      "-lsb- the hero 's -rsb- transformation from commonplace but with personality to bulky but generally nondescript echoes the movie 's own shift .",
      "in a summer that seemingly has seen a new comic book adaptation every other week , it 's a toss-up whether `` MOV : the first avenger '' or `` green lantern '' is the weakest of the bunch .",
      "it 's all directed with appropriate enthusiasm by johnston , whose charming period adventure the rocketeer clearly made him the guy to direct a MOV movie .",
      "the small things -- from the leading man to '40s flourishes -- are what make the movie work . if only johnston had sweated the big stuff as well .",
      "director joe johnston has fun with the myth of MOV .",
      "even moviegoers suffering from superhero burnout might want to stand up and salute MOV , which does n't match the excellence of x-men : first-class but ranks ahead of fellow summer stablemates thor and green lantern .",
      "no clever messages here , just bang-on romance and action , with another fresh twist on 20th-century history woven in for the kids to dive into after the credits have rolled .",
      "it had more heart than ` iron man . '",
      "after a decade of dark knights and doom and gloom predominating the spandex set , it 's a relief to see a noble , essentially uncomplicated funny book character , even if the good captain is square as a brick .",
      "this one is okay , but i 'm a little burnt out on the whole superhero thing .",
      "... the best superhero comic-book movie since ... well , ever .",
      "it does n't try too hard for irony or style ; the comic-book sensibility remains pure , square , and happily stupid .",
      "where are the iconic moments in these movies ; the classic lines , the signature set pieces , the golden cues ? brand awareness is high but surely that was n't the limit of the new studio 's ambition ?",
      "solid , stylish superhero saga that 's more fun than ` thor , ' ` green hornet ' and ` green lantern . '",
      "altogether inferior to tarantino 's inglourious basterds .",
      "MOV takes you back to the simplicity of a saturday morning serial where you cheered the hero and booed the villain .",
      "a forced love angle and vapid dialogue dooms MOV .",
      "the mix of wwii style and flashy modern eye candy is no surprise coming from director joe johnston .",
      "a thrilling , exciting and enormously entertaining blockbuster that delivers plenty of exhilarating action , solid performances and the right amount of comic relief .",
      "MOV has a decent amount of heart and retro appeal , although neither can compensate for what is otherwise a rather ordinary comic book film .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- hokey , hacky , two-hour-plus exercise in franchise transition/price gouging , complete with utterly unnecessary post-converted 3-d .",
      "saddled with a boring present-day prologue and an anti-climactic present-day epilogue that leaves the movie without an ending .",
      "after a rash of immature , bad-boy cinematic superheroes ... a hero for whom decency , humility and self-sacrifice come naturally is a breath of fresh air .",
      "while not a terrible film , MOV lacks the edge necessary to truly capture viewers ' imagination .",
      "the film does have its thrilling moments and iconic images , but , as directed by joe johnston , it 's very much a storybook film .",
      "it actually went so far as to remind me of days of old , where action heroes were valiant and adorable , and you just want them to kick the bad guy 's butts and get the girl .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- so-so experience .",
      "the flick 's action sequences and cinematography save the film from the awful pacing and cheesy romance . the real star is the shield ! stay away from the post-converted 3d .",
      "MOV packs a comic , moralistic and patriotic punch that 's well worth watching , regardless of your interest in further following the marvel adventure .",
      "instead of mailing in a half-hearted origin story ... joe johnston went ahead and turned his MOV film into a rousing period thriller that expands on the marvel mythology while also working as a standalone summer blockbuster .",
      "MOV paints a simple tale of goodies versus baddies with none of the depth , humor or class of marvel 's earlier x-men summer offering .",
      "what lingers most about MOV is its innocent , throwback ethos , a firm , unqualified embrace of the little guy ."
    ],
    "summary": "with plenty of pulpy action , a pleasantly retro vibe , and a handful of fine performances , MOV is solidly old-fashioned blockbuster entertainment .",
    "id": "770739679"
  },
  {
    "movie": "permanent_midnight",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's horrifying -lrb- and r-rated -rrb- if not utterly relentless ; it sucks your breath away , perhaps too much .",
      "as enveloping as it is darkly cautionary !",
      "this well-told and solidly acted story of his rise and fall is not a pretty sight , but , as with a car wreck , it is riveting nevertheless . it is almost impossible to look away .",
      "a movie to slit your wrist to .",
      "MOV offers nothing we have n't seen before .",
      "pick it up for ben stiller 's sake -- a great first dramatic role .",
      "wicked sense of humor !",
      "the movie gets credit for not making the high life seem colorful or funny .",
      "rollicking ! a high-energy adaptation !",
      "witty !",
      "a profoundly depressing -- but riveting -- tale !",
      "comes off as manufactured and synthetic as most hollywood product .",
      "ben stiller proves his acting chops in this atypical role as a heroin-addicted television writer .",
      "easy to appreciate , yet hard to find entertaining .",
      "constant sequences of drug taking , one after the other , does not a good film make .",
      "disjointed , uneven , unfocused , and hazy !",
      "stiller 's attempted image makeover , though admirable , does n't make it .",
      "the trouble is that it 's hard to care !",
      "grossly comical !",
      "stiller 's fearless performance makes it painfully and graphically clear that being a junkie is an exhausting full-time job .",
      "unsettling and-yes-often scorchingly funny !"
    ],
    "summary": "aimless storytelling undermines the gripping , unsettling subject of this film .",
    "id": "14096"
  },
  {
    "movie": "charlie_st_cloud",
    "reviews": [
      "it could be a one-note characterization , but efron finds competing emotions in charlie , and he conveys all of them to us .",
      "the movie tries to capture the crushing weight of loss , but between the insipid pop tunes and the repetitive shots cutting away to a lighthouse on a scenic outcropping , it feels more like a film version of a condolence card .",
      "the plot may be a stretch , but the raw emotions are not and efron is up for the task .",
      "maudlin and unintentionally hilarious .",
      "where 's a vampire when you need one ?",
      "the movie has a machine-extruded gloss that makes it harder , not easier , to swallow its difficult emotions .",
      "while efron does his best to carry the film , the rest of charlie st. cloud feels a bit too formulaic , pretentious and cloying ...",
      "if zac efron had n't signed on , this sappy spiritual fantasy would certainly have skipped the cineplex altogether -- in favor of eternal rotation on cable .",
      "if sunlight dappling off the atlantic and the earnest faces of pure young lovers , plus a dash of unthreatening feel-good spirituality , is all you need to feel sated , then by all means , dive right in .",
      "have you ever flipped really fast between one channel showing `` dawson 's creek '' re-runs and another showing `` ghost whisperer '' ? even if you have n't , you pretty much get the idea .",
      "te film is memorable mainly for attractive people sailing and smooching against an attractive backdrop . there 's no urgency behind all the preening .",
      "a sentimental tearjerker about grief , miracles , letting go , moving on , second chances , the healing power of love , and the perpetual allure of pretty young movie stars .",
      "`` charlie st. cloud '' will resonate with its 12-year-old female target audience . the rest of us have to pretend like we understand , or ignore the whole thing entirely .",
      "the sappy script is a disservice to the naturally effervescent efron , whose character is so mopey he makes robert pattinson seem like a song-and-dance man .",
      "i found it impossible not to fall in love with charlie st. cloud . because he is genuinely compassionate , genuinely hurting , and genuinely endearing . and that 's all because efron has real soul onscreen .",
      "pushes its luck with the supernatural element until you ca n't continue to be forgiving .",
      "perhaps no haunted , grieving character in the history of cinema has had his abs lingered over as much as efron here .",
      "those easily moved will sniffle as cued ; anyone else is likely to remain dry-eyed .",
      "efron does a serviceable job in this young-adult drama that blends elements of fantasy , romance , and weepies into a package that is unconventional despite its relative predictability .",
      "an unstable mix of youth romance , metaphysical idealism and tropes that seemingly belong in a horror film .",
      "charlie st. cloud sees dead people . possibly filing in to watch this movie .",
      "nicholas sparks-meets-bruce joel rubin ... the movie 's god talk -lrb- most of it coming from ... ray liotta ? -rrb- and blatant expression of theme through platitudes make this romantic melodrama as drippy as the st. cloud boys ' eyes .",
      "steers takes his time and it pays off in efron 's subdued performance , earnest and yearning .",
      "zac efron is so pretty even dead people want to be his friend .",
      "charlie st. cloud -- from its awful title to its annoyingly perfect photography -- is a schmaltzy sniffle at best .",
      "despite all the effort , efron and the mugging tahan do n't strike fire , and their affectionate banter gets old .",
      "it 's a supernatural , spiritual , sentimental sob-story that does n't quite work .",
      "a well-crafted tearjerker with a grown-up performance from zac efron . if you do n't mind risking dehydration , it 's the movie for you .",
      "you are not , in a movie like this , supposed to think too much ; you are supposed to be transported beyond skepticism on a wave of pure , tacky feeling . instead , in this case , you drown in sentimental , ghoulish nonsense .",
      "charlie st. cloud is a delicate film - not flimsy , but fragile - that holds together on the strength of efron 's physical presence and performance .",
      "cynics will find the film mawkish , but the story-telling is clear and involving .",
      "there 's not much on this movie 's mind but photogenic healing , and making all the girls go ga-ga at the sight of efron mewling with grief .",
      "ttearjerking amalgam of nicholas sparks and m night shyamalan wo n't do zac efron any favours in his attempts to be taken seriously ...",
      "let 's all go play baseball in the park with some ghosts , rather than wasting our time watching this silly , silly film .",
      "guys certainly should n't throw their dignity out of the window to go see it alone , but if their girlfriends are dragging them along , they might just enjoy it a lot more than expected .",
      "there 's a soft allure at play here , but it 's largely overshadowed by a well-worn dialogue , and an often muddled plot .",
      "it 's more of a demo reel for efron than a movie . his predominant fan base , though , wo n't mind a bit .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- ghoulish death comedy .",
      "melodramatic and off-putting , this zac efron drama is a complete mess .",
      "the film cranks up the level of schmaltz to a fever pitch",
      "shame it 's so slow and contradicts its own strained logic , ending up in the same listless limbo as the time traveler 's wife and the lovely bones .",
      "while the subject matter tends towards morbidity , the film-makers strive to divert us with many dappling sunsets , the blue of ephron 's eyes and a sappy melodrama that even 13-year-old girls might scoff at .",
      "this movie 's a teenage tear-jerker and it does its job very well .",
      "what might have been a poignant exploration of the effects of bereavement is hamstrung by rotten twists , redundant action scenes and a few too many publicist-approved shots of efron staring wistfully into the sunset .",
      "another solid performance by zac efron is flattened by bombastic filmmaking .",
      "more maudlin than subtle , more schmaltzy than emotionally true .",
      "efron excels , proving he 's leading-man material . but sign-post scoring and drill - 'em - home emotional beats weigh things down . rubbish ending , too .",
      "future historians of the financial crisis may point to this movie , not oliver stone 's wall street sequel , as the cultural low point of the business world .",
      "as the drama increases , so do the clumsy flashbacks and corny lines : this relies on cheap tricks to force tears , even if those tricks work .",
      "an adaptation that smooths out the sharp edges of ben sherwood 's source novel , it 's a decent enough vehicle to flaunt efron 's acting chops .",
      "a hackneyed , disjointed , painfully corny and contrived drama that ca n't be saved by breathtaking scenery or zac efron 's charming performance . it 's best suited as a lifetime tv movie-of-the-week .",
      "charlie st. cloud will be a dream come true for the nicholas sparks crowd -lrb- especially considering that it is more honest and certainly smarter than recent legitimate adaptations dear john and the last song -rrb- .",
      "steers and his screenwriters are n't aiming for logic ; they 're leading up to the next opportunity for efron to remove his shirt .",
      "with its assurances that everything happens for a reason and everything will be alright , a potentially haunting story becomes a philosophical one-way street .",
      "necessary supporting characters , such as charlie 's mother -lrb- kim basinger -rrb- and his devoted paramedic -lrb- ray liotta -rrb- , are clipped almost entirely out of the film , leaving massive gaps in the community atmosphere the script appears interested in developing .",
      "zac efron can act and has a very large emotional arc . the film is both devastating and very uplifting though it does fall on the cheesy side at times .",
      "this could have been a sappy hallmark story ; instead it 's uplifting and thoughtful .",
      "schmaltzy ? yup . but not stifling . -lrb- parental review also available -rrb-",
      "poignant efron drama too intense for younger fans .",
      "it 's like a friend you 're not that fond of sobbing sloppily on your shoulder .",
      "this movie has all the elements of a nicholas sparks novel except for letters and logic .",
      "he is noble . he is virtuous . he is often wet .",
      "the good news is that efron continues to get better with each film ; he just has n't gotten a role yet that will finally put his acting potential to the test .",
      "maudlin , manipulative tearjerker ... st. jude , as the script helpfully explains , is the patron of hopeless cases , but even his presence ca n't save this picture .",
      "a touching and heartfelt examination of -- omg !!! zac just took his shirt off !!!",
      "zac efron makes an affecting and credible dramatic lead in `` charlie st. cloud , '' the movie nicholas sparks wishes he could write , based on the book by ben sherwood .",
      "it 's a ludicrous blend of melodrama and supernatural elements , and the results suggest what might happen if sappy author nicholas sparks and twisty filmmaker m. night shyamalan ever joined forces .",
      "a melodramatic and hopelessly disorganized feature-length episode of `` the ghost whisperer '' that trots out an exhausted `` sixth sense '' escape clause after painting itself into one too many narrative corners .",
      "zac efron will probably break out of the heartthrob mold eventually , but charlie st. cloud is not going to be the one to do it for him .",
      "an over-sentimental effort that incorporates love , drama , bereavement , comedy , seagoing adventure and mystical uplift ...",
      "efron continues to transition gracefully from teen heartthrob to leading man material . he proves his dramatic mettle with an emotionally nuanced performance . the kid can act .",
      "some of my fellow critics at a media screening guffawed during the most egregiously syrupy moments , a reaction which paying audiences might well share .",
      "all in all it 's harmless entertainment for girls and perhaps inspiring too , given the love interest wants to sail single-handedly around the world , but it is very melodramatic and syrupy .",
      "i 'm sure that efron and steers will eventually come up with their next breakthrough -- either separately or together -- but this certainly is n't it .",
      "... a sporadically watchable yet pervasively uneven teen-oriented drama that ultimately just does n't work ...",
      "if you liked happy zac in high school musical , why not try sad zac ? all the chiselled sex appeal of the original , but now with a gloomy face on top !",
      "it 's rare teenage audiences get the chance to clock a metaphysical mystery when they could be watching a vampire fight a werewolf for the hand of a sourpuss .",
      "frequently tedious , badly written drama that fails to deliver the emotional punch it 's aiming for , thanks to a painfully obvious central twist that creates more problems than it resolves .",
      "the photography is pretty , but the ghost-lite script makes even less sense than the silly title .",
      "it 's easy to appreciate what charlie is trying to accomplish , but it does it in such a cloyingly manipulative manner that it 's impossible to get on board with it .",
      "for all of its obvious calculations , charlie st. cloud is sincere and effective enough in its intentions to win over at least a few cynical hearts .",
      "less a movie than a zac efron photo album - and why did they give the entire plot away in the trailer ?",
      "zac efron should consider a new agent .",
      "a middling , inoffensive film , rife with woozy golden sunlight and swelling syrupy music invoked to create the emotions that the film itself fails to ignite",
      "an inoffensive , worshipfully photographed , yet dramatically stolid interpretation of swelling adolescent feeling that wrings maximum consequence out of zac efron 's dewy-eyed , pin-up sensitivity .",
      "the whole movie plays out like the bastard child of a tiger beat photo spread and one of hallmark 's drippier greeting cards .",
      "the only thing missing from this gothic-romance version of ben sherwood 's novel is a choir of angels .",
      "as much as charlie st. cloud dresses up its formula with ghosts and pretty footage of boats on water , that formula remains stubbornly visible .",
      "efron has real star presence and he can act , and the role fits into the dreamboat mode his fans expect .",
      "sentimental and ultimately entertaining , aimed at women , i thought i was going to die during the incredibly slow first hour , but it picked up during the last half hour .",
      "the schmaltzy spawn of the sixth sense .",
      "this handsomely shot melodrama has a twist too peculiar to dismiss as some two-bit nicholas sparks weepie .",
      "only marginally suited for a hallmark hall of fame tv episode .",
      "this corny melodrama takes itself way too seriously , but it also seems perfectly targeted to its teen-romance devouring audience .",
      "in order to enjoy this film , you must : 1 . enjoy other fantasy-based movies such as ` ghost , ' 2 . be open-minded about the afterlife , and 3 . be entertained by beautiful landscapes .",
      "if you buy the concept you might enjoy the film , but if you 're a hardened cynic you 'd better avoid charlie st. cloud , despite the very handsome location photography , which is its greatest asset .",
      "has its poignant moments but does not trust them , and does not explore its darker potential . it lays on the sentiment too thickly and underlines the uncanny with a heavy-handed touch .",
      "the film 's thickly layered garnishes of americana -- baseball , fishing , a coastal town that looks like it was designed by norman rockwell -- carries shades of frank capra and is proficiently directed by burr steers .",
      "if only efron 's self-conscious attempts to extend his range -- whether it be drinking straight bourbon , punching a guy in the face , or spending the night with a girl -- were not always so unintentionally amusing .",
      "in the darkened anonymity of the theatre , you 'll be enjoying every sappy twist along the way .",
      "zac efron continues to prove his worth as a leading man in the appropriately sappy supernatural drama charlie st. cloud .",
      "there 's a certain tenderness about the story that explores letting go and taking chances ... a film whose impact is greater than its storyline promises",
      "rather dull and a little too schmaltzy -lrb- the score makes it seem deliberately so -rrb- to really engage us , as the brotherly bond is manifested in charlie meeting the ghost of sam in daily -lrb- and dreary -rrb- baseball practice rituals",
      "all this sets us up for a `` twist '' ending , but if you do n't predict it a half-hour before its revelation , you surely must have nodded off during baseball practice .",
      "a sweet little film about loss and grieving .",
      "in the battle between raw tear-jerking and understatedly convincing performances , neither side wins , but sporadic sparks fly .",
      "there 's a decent drama buried in charlie st. cloud if the writers and director had the nerve to remove the film of all of its supernatural tricks , all of which feel much more maudlin than genuine .",
      "the vehicle may get a little jacked up along the way , but its passenger arrives in style : the kid 's a star .",
      "as far as these kind of movies go , it 's fairly good . better yet , you do n't just feel as if you 're watching a sad sap story on the back of a postcard like `` dear john '' or `` the last song . ''",
      "a romance in the grand hollywood tradition , the script takes a sixth sense turn that gets in the way of charlie and tess ' - and charlie and sam 's - chemistry .",
      "maybe it will inspire some people struggling at home to break through their fears and live some life . it 's also about where dreamy broody guys come from , because zac efron really sells charlie 's sketchy behavior , but man is he still dreamy .",
      "maybe it will inspire some people struggling at home to break through their fears and live some life . it 's also about where dreamy broody guys come from , because zac efron really sells charlie 's sketchy behavior , but man is he still dreamy .",
      "efron 's acting consists primarily of blank stares into space and reciting boringly ordinary dialogue . the movie 's main strengths are the picturesque scenic venue of vancouver , british columbia and the crystal clear cinematography .",
      "the picture is a declawed mess , begging for tears in the end . i hope the filmmakers are willing to accept puzzled looks instead .",
      "the movie 's central gimmick is n't enough , and when more supernatural twists that do n't play by the movie 's own fantasy rules kick in , it lost me .",
      "the surreal thing is , zac efron ca n't do despair . he plays it by staring . blankly . and by not smiling . blankly .",
      "the characters and their supernatural love triangle are developed with a businesslike efficiency that makes it almost impossible to invest in them emotionally .",
      "even at his lowest points charlie appears ready to audition for a skin-care or calvin klein commercial .",
      "efron cries tears the way a cheerleader waves pom-poms .",
      "the story 's icky , frankly .",
      "some bad movies should carry a leper 's bell to warn off ticket buyers . such a contagion is charlie st. cloud , a load of mawkish swill starring zac efron .",
      "shallow homilies ultimately dominate , but there 's a deeper movie trying to get out from behind the greeting card .",
      "zac efron is going places as an actor of value . but he deserves better movies than charlie st. cloud ."
    ],
    "summary": "zac efron gives it his all , but charlie st. cloud is too shallow and cloying to offer much more than eye candy for his fans .",
    "id": "770859139"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_good_the_bad_and_the_ugly",
    "reviews": [
      "the visuals are eye-popping , the score -lrb- by ennio morricone -rrb- magnificent , the civil war set-pieces both stunning and haunting . if you 're going to end a trilogy , this is the way to do it .",
      "it still looks a treat and a bold and largely successful attempt to recast the traditions of the genre in a new , sometimes critical , almost operatic way .",
      "re-released movies are forever claiming to be iconic , but few can hold the title as easily as sergio leone 's the good , the bad and the ugly .",
      "the new length gives a clearer view of the civil war context : a nightmare of panic as the south flees before the union 's advance .",
      "amid the endless homages and the sheer adoration meted out to sergio leone 's ambitious , pricier finale to his spaghetti western trilogy , it 's easy to forget just how damn good the film is .",
      "sergio leone 's masterpiece is as enduring as the scorched desert in which it is filmed . also receives props for most effective use of whistling ever .",
      "leone also endows the film with a clever visual style . his sense of scale is especially inspired .",
      "the third in the clint eastwood series of italo westerns , the good , the bad and the ugly is exactly that -- a curious amalgam of the visually striking , the dramatically feeble and the offensively sadistic .",
      "the definitive spaghetti western .",
      "though ordained from the beginning , the three-way showdown that climaxes the film is tense and thoroughly astonishing .",
      "the point is not what happens in the movie but how it happens , a curious blend of partly humorous , partly dramatic , partly elegiac legend .",
      "one of the most compelling validations of the western genre 's most elemental touchstones .",
      "... has a self-conscious panache that 's years ahead of its time .",
      "this is a great movie , whatever strange estuary of the western river it occupies .",
      "though the restoration is n't substantial , any excuse will do to revisit the moment when a young clint eastwood became a star and in the process helped reinvent the western .",
      "leone 's blockbuster is balanced on the razor 's edge between popular entertainment and art film . it took classic american themes and turned them inside out .",
      "an improbable masterpiece -- a bizarre mixture of grandly operatic visuals , grim brutality and sordid violence that keeps wrenching you from one extreme to the other .",
      "of all the great films of the 1960s , the good , the bad and the ugly is one of a fistful that can be truly appreciated only on the big screen .",
      "may lose some of its jolt on the small screen , but this flick features some of clint eastwood 's and sergio leone 's finest moments .",
      "both epic and intimate : the sun-baked panoramas of the west -lrb- actually spain -rrb- and the gigantic battles of north against south have a counterpoint in the dramas that play out between the three men .",
      "profound",
      "-lsb- leone -rsb- weighs every movement carefully ; every footstep , every squeeze of the trigger , screams epic . everything is important and nothing is insignificant .",
      "an extravagantly plotted epic propelled by waves of free-flowing emotion and a palpable love for the american past",
      "art it is , summoned out of the imagination of leone and painted on the wide screen so vividly that we forget what marginal productions these films were .",
      "the uncut new print reclaims the widescreen majesty of tonino delli colli 's cinematography , allowing you to see every iconic wart and furrow on every bad guy 's face .",
      "it 's great to see a great director 's film as he intended it , with rich color and restored sound .",
      "all told , and in giant widescreen , it 's only blood-red adolescent fun , but it blooms like douglas sirk with a gatling gun compared to the teenage demographic 's current fare .",
      "there are two kinds of people , my friend . those who love sergio leone 's the good , the bad , and the ugly , and those who resist the machismo and gallows humor of what is arguably the definitive spaghetti western .",
      "the most ambitious of eastwood 's collaborations with leone",
      "sergio leone 's epic looks good , almost great , restored to its original running time .",
      "a beautiful film , directed with supreme confidence and passion - and lots of action .",
      "sergio leone 's grandiose 1966 western epic is nothing less than a masterclass in movie storytelling , a dynamic testament to the sheer , invigorating uniqueness of cinema .",
      "you do n't really need me to review the good , the bad , and the ugly for you , do you ?",
      "town streets stretch wider than eight-lane freeways , gargoyle-faced henchmen lurk behind every tumbleweed , and ennio morricone 's majestic electric coyote score rules over all .",
      "... while the film is seriously overlong , there are enough elements here to hold the interest of even the most impatient viewer .",
      "arguably one of the greatest westerns of all time .",
      "sergio leone 's baroque western might be his greatest ... watch how clint eastwood amazingly acts with just his teeth and those squinty eyes .",
      "clearly the work of a master filmmaker whose style has never grown stale .",
      "there are many features that contribute to the good , the bad , and the ugly 's belated renown , and none as idiosyncratic as ennio morricone 's score .",
      "sergio leone 's dramatic directing style is powerful and well delivered , even by today 's standards .",
      "its parody of genre conventions resonates with scope and power .",
      "the sublime film music , now-iconic situations -lrb- like the climactic ghost town shootout -rrb- , and sure visual style add up to a pitch-perfect genre pic that ongoingly influences generations of hip filmmakers . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "the fellas in leone 's films are seething cesspools of hatred and frustration whose only satisfaction-however fleeting-is found in pursuit and acquisition of money",
      "a unique vision of the american west as place of desolation and ruin on a truly epic scale .",
      "leone 's liberal use of widescreen shots in conjunction with extreme close-ups gives the movie an epic quality that is matched in scope by a skeletal narrative structure that breathes with a poker-faced mood , tone , and personality .",
      "potent italian-western shoot - 'em up/war drama .",
      "the defining spaghetti western pits a charismatic clint eastwood against partner and nemesis eli wallach and perpetual enemy lee van cleef .",
      "leone created a phenomenal film but also created some of the most memorable shots in film history . the extreme close-ups are still impressive to this day .",
      "all three arrive at the cache at the same time . who gets it ? director leone does n't seem to care very much , and after 161 minutes of mayhem , audiences are n't likely to either .",
      "it demonstrates that a film can be exciting and funny and epic in scope while still retaining the peculiar vision of an artiste compelled to capture his obsessions with a techniscope lens .",
      "the film runs about two hours and forty-five minutes , but is absolutely absorbing , and goes by quickly and smoothly .",
      "morricone 's soundtrack is one the most powerful in the history cinema and it alone is the reason why this film should be so highly appreciated .",
      "the movie that solidified eastwood 's iconography . leone 's dazzling techniscope cinematics far surpass the familiar plot .",
      "sergio leone sure is a great director . he has a unique visual style , combining gorgeous establishing shots of western landscape and tense close-ups .",
      "long , funny , and featuring one of ennio morricone 's greatest scores , the good , the bad , and the ugly is a sheer pleasure to watch .",
      "pure spaghetti western perfection ."
    ],
    "summary": "arguably the greatest of the spaghetti westerns , this epic features a compelling story , memorable performances , breathtaking landscapes , and a haunting score .",
    "id": "13308"
  },
  {
    "movie": "brown_sugar",
    "reviews": [
      "hip-hop is simply the newest tool for the same tired script of childhood friends who go down different paths only to realize they are each others ' destiny .",
      "watching the characters go through the paces of their unconvincing jobs is like flipping through the pages of gq -lrb- or architectural digest -rrb- to admire all of the perfect models .",
      "guy gets girl , guy loses girl , audience falls asleep .",
      "predictable and cloying , though MOV is so earnest in its yearning for the days before rap went nihilistic that it summons more spirit and bite than your average formulaic romantic quadrangle .",
      "all in all , MOV is a satisfying well-made romantic comedy that 's both charming and well acted . it will guarantee to have you leaving the theater with a smile on your face .",
      "there are times when you wish that the movie had worked a little harder to conceal its contrivances , but MOV turns out to be a sweet and enjoyable fantasy .",
      "mos def -lrb- playing an up-and-coming star -rrb- shows expert comedic timing and charisma , especially when paired with queen latifah .",
      "diggs and lathan are among the chief reasons MOV is such a sweet and sexy film .",
      "bland if amiable .",
      "hip-hop romantic comedy is predictable -- and remarkably charming .",
      "... understands that a generation defines its music as much as the music defines a generation .",
      "there 's something unintentionally comic in the film 's drumbeat about authenticity , given the stale plot and pornographic way the film revels in swank apartments , clothes and parties .",
      "stereotypes are eschewed in favor of well-drawn characters , and the hip-hop backdrop is integral to the story rather than a marketing scheme to sell the soundtrack .",
      "manages to deliver the familiar boy-meets-girl story in a fresh way .",
      "how sweet it is to see a romantic comedy with characters who act and talk like adults .",
      "too much about MOV is carried out with utmost decorum , as if writer-director rick famuyiwa were bringing hip-hop home to meet the parents .",
      "a smart , sassy and exceptionally charming romantic comedy .",
      "not sweet enough to liven up its predictable story and will leave even fans of hip-hop sorely disappointed .",
      "most of it feels fresh , and the writers incorporate hip-hop in a way i have n't seen in a narrative .",
      "MOV needed a little more flavor .",
      "`` MOV '' admirably aspires to be more than another `` best man '' clone by weaving a theme throughout this funny film .",
      "all of the filmmakers ' calculations ca n't rescue MOV from the curse of blandness .",
      "a lot more dimensional and complex than its sunny disposition would lead you to believe .",
      "it 's predictable , but it jumps through the expected hoops with style and even some depth .",
      "its likable , easy rhythms are appealing , especially for anyone attuned to the birth and growth of this style of music .",
      "what really breaks this movie out of the romantic-comedy rut is the setting in which it 's told .",
      "as satisfying as it is sleek , and famuyiwa inspires carefully nuanced portrayals from his cast .",
      "sustains the charm of an early 60 's new york romance .",
      "glossy , funny , touching and cute .",
      "MOV boasts plenty of good , non-sappy romance , plus laugh out loud comedy .",
      "given the talent and the twist , it 's as fresh as the classic tracy-hepburn comedies .",
      "people are unlikely to leave MOV with the words ` original ' or ` surprising ' on their lips , but they are likely to leave with a good-sized smile .",
      "makes the sweet case that sincerity strikes the biggest romantic sparks .",
      "little more than a knock-off of both when harry met sally and love & basketball -- and a rather lethargic one at that .",
      "an agreeably charming , brightly performed romantic comedy .",
      "a romantic comedy , yes , but one with characters who think and talk about their goals , and are working on hard decisions .",
      "a crumb of psychology would have helped .",
      "lathan and diggs have considerable personal charm , and their screen rapport makes the old story seem new .",
      "the obligatory break-ups and hook-ups do n't seem to have much emotional impact on the characters .",
      "the movie 's attention to cultural context really does separate it from anything that came before , including the winning , but finally irrelevant , when harry met sally ...",
      "it has so many tropes that a teenager could construct a plot line just by connecting the dots .",
      "taye diggs never overdoes dre 's intensity or integrity ; he 's an understated leading man who is all the more likable because of it . but it 's sanaa lathan as sidney who won my heart here .",
      "you do n't have to know about music to appreciate the film 's easygoing blend of comedy and romance .",
      "despite crisp photography and the director 's gift for building a scene , the film does n't click until the third act .",
      "takes every convention of the romantic comedy genre and turns it on its ear .",
      "this cheery , down-to-earth film is warm with the cozy feeling of relaxing around old friends .",
      "this plodding romantic comedy about two friends falling in love has little of the punchy wit and storytelling dexterity that makes hip-hop a worthy source of inspiration .",
      "lathan and diggs make an immensely likable couple , and the supporting cast strikes all the right notes .",
      "makes the same mistake as the music industry it criticizes , becoming so slick and watered-down it almost loses what made you love it in the first place .",
      "all of these characters seem genuine , not the sorts of stereotypes you see in most romantic comedies .",
      "the movie plays cute more than smart , but it 's far from dumb -- and marks yet another baby step forward in the growing sophistication of african-american film .",
      "it 's an amiable enough movie , a romantic-comedy with a great soundtrack and an idea or two in its head .",
      "as the two leads , lathan and diggs are charming and have chemistry both as friends and lovers .",
      "lathan and diggs carry the film with their charisma , and both exhibit sharp comic timing that makes the more hackneyed elements of the film easier to digest .",
      "famuyiwa 's feature deals with its subject matter in a tasteful , intelligent manner , rather than forcing us to endure every plot contrivance that the cliché-riddled genre can offer .",
      "i like this movie a lot . it 's probably the sweetest , corniest movie about hip-hop music you 're ever going to see .",
      "their love fails to resonate as anything more than a shared musical passion .",
      "synthetic and rather bland -- more like ` brown nutrasweet . '",
      "sidney may profess her love for hip-hop - over and over again in voiceover - but the movie fails to make us feel that love .",
      "yo , it 's the days of our lives meets electric boogaloo .",
      "famuyiwa has a made a quaint little film that achieves what it sets out to do ; entertain the audience for an hour and a half .",
      "it offers few surprises but does contain enough charm to overcome that and warrant a passing grade .",
      "you could do worse than watch beautiful people making kissy-face with each other .",
      "while it 's genuinely cool to hear characters talk about early rap records -lrb- sugar hill gang , etc. -rrb- , the constant referencing of hip-hop arcana can alienate even the savviest audiences .",
      "it 's rare that a movie can be as intelligent as this one is in every regard except its storyline ; everything that 's good is ultimately scuttled by a plot that 's just too boring and obvious .",
      "fine performances from diggs and lathan give life to an otherwise rehashed love story , but musician mos def steals the show .",
      "MOV manages to take hip-hop 's well-established history and make it digestible for audiences not necessarily tied directly into the core of that culture .",
      "the spirit of the old school echoes strongly throughout the film and parallels the purity of the passions and personalities of the paramours .",
      "MOV takes an old tale and tells it in a fresh , modern way . the music 's pretty good , too .",
      "true to its title , this hip-hop when harry met sally is plenty sweet , but is that what we really want from a film set in the world of rap music ?",
      "hip-hop rarely comes alive as its own fire-breathing entity in this picture .",
      "the plot is romantic comedy boilerplate from start to finish .",
      "hip-hop has a history , and it 's a metaphor for this love story .",
      "MOV is nothing you have n't seen before , but if you 're into the whole new york-based romantic comedy thing , you 'll probably find it a blast .",
      "MOV signals director rick famuyiwa 's emergence as an articulate , grown-up voice in african-american cinema ."
    ],
    "summary": "though predictable and possibly too sweet , MOV is charming , well-acted , and smarter than typical rom-com fare .",
    "id": "10880"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1061812-little_princess",
    "reviews": [
      "a delightfully enchanting family fantasy , a MOV has all the earmarks of a classic .",
      "-lsb- best character was -rsb- indian manservant who almost never spoke ... powerful eyes .",
      "it 's not only suitable for consumption by those over age 10 , it 's actually enjoyable .",
      "no es una película . es un trozo de magia esparcido sobre el celuloide .",
      "enchanting drama based on a children 's classic .",
      "this is a magical film .",
      "from the exquisite costumes to the remarkable set design to the superb performances , this fairy tale comes to life in a way that makes you despair at its ending . but though end it must , its spirit of imagination and its magic of abiding love lingers on .",
      "enchanting family fare .",
      "a MOV exquisitely re-creates the ephemeral world of childhood , an enchanted kingdom where everything , even make-believe , seems possible .",
      "cuaron 's version of magic realism consists of seeing incredibly fanciful sets and situations in precise detail .",
      "the 1939 shirley temple version of this book came closer to capturing sara 's vitality .",
      "there are moments in a MOV when you may just want to clap from pleasure .",
      "a MOV is a delightful film . bring your children , or just bring yourself .",
      "mexican director alfonso cuaron gives the film a nice feel for a new york girls ' school of the time -lrb- though actually the novel was set in an english girls ' school -rrb- .",
      "an exemplary version of frances hodgson burnett 's novel .",
      "an astonishing work of studio artifice , a MOV is that rarest of creations , a children 's film that plays equally well to kids and adults .",
      "wonderful movie of a lonely girl 's triumph .",
      "the film uses studio resources to create an entrancing world both in new york and in the heroine 's fantasies about india .",
      "soppy and girlish in the extreme , this should keep even the tiniest viewer rapt , while all too many adults may fall victim to an inexplicable bout of eye-watering long before the closing credits .",
      "cuaron finds the perfect style for this trusted formula ; what could have been routine kids ' stuff flourishes with his sure feeling for space , light and colour .",
      "this new version of frances hodgson burnett 's children 's classic boasts first-rate production values and a political sensitivity befitting the '90s , but it does n't quite capture the magic of the 1939 shirley temple vehicle .",
      "one of the very best children 's movies of the past quarter-century .",
      "a truly captivating children 's film that never got its due in the theaters .",
      "a bright , beautiful and enchantingly childlike vision ."
    ],
    "summary": "alfonso cuarón adapts frances hodgson burnett 's novel with a keen sense of magic realism , vividly recreating the world of childhood as seen through the characters .",
    "id": "18116"
  },
  {
    "movie": "duplicity_2009",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's not unfair to say that MOV is michael clayton on laughing gas . what 's remarkable is that both movies pretty much work .",
      "a stylish , engaging and complex thriller .",
      "-lsb- tony -rsb- gilroy may have taken his time honing his voice as a filmmaker , but there 's little doubt that he 's got it down to a science at this point .",
      "MOV is like sitting in a two-hour lecture from a college professor who reads straight from the text and never makes eye contact . do you know there is an audience here ?",
      "this movie was n't firing on all cylinders despite some of them being great cylinders .",
      "... plays like a more sophisticated ocean 's eleven , the extra heft coming from its corporate setting .",
      "click for full review",
      "` MOV ' is a cleverly charming and sophisticated film about treacherous people .",
      "it wo n't receive the critical ballyhoo of his previous film , but where gilroy 's ` michael clayton ' lacked imagination and surprise , ` MOV ' is a fun , witty romp .",
      "when it comes to spy thrillers , tony gilroy knows the game .",
      "MOV does n't have depth -- but it does have julia roberts , in full hollywood movie-star mode . and for filmgoers with scaled-back expectations , that news may be enough .",
      "... a movie built around dazzling dialogue , which makes it a rare and precious thing .",
      "it 's not an elderly movie , it just seems that way .",
      "this is a sharp-looking movie with a blue-chip cast .",
      "seductive and playful , this corporate espionage thriller has a breezy attitude that keeps us thoroughly engaged through all of the twists and turns of the plot .",
      "MOV is one big fogbank of a movie and sounding a horn wo n't help you . prepare to get lost in a mass of pointless murk .",
      "the movie comes alive almost exclusively in the flashbacks .",
      "a beautifully shot , well written and impressively acted thriller that 's both suspenseful and emotionally engaging .",
      "MOV should have been titled venality .",
      "roberts looks great in her return to leading-lady status after a few years off -- strong , curvy , formidable -- and owen drops the steamy glower he 's adopted of late and almost seems to have a twinkle in his eye this time around .",
      "the same whip-smart , intellectual ear for dialogue that made michael clayton such an immensely interesting film is back in MOV .",
      "mr. gilroy has outsmarted himself by pulling too many switches in his narrative . he then fails to recover by coming up with a smash ending that pulls all the scattered pieces together .",
      "though it has more tricks up its sleeve than you can count , in the end all the sleight of hand amounts to disappointingly little .",
      "though awkwardly sturctured , ` MOV ' is a smart movie in which droll repartee and smoldering chemistry take the place of cursing and violence .",
      "is this a fun , flirty romantic comedy ? a farce ? a serious drama about espionage ? when writer/director tony gilroy figures it out , will someone let me know ?",
      "it eventually falls victim to one or two twists too many , needlessly complicating an already complex plot .",
      "a fluffy , comedic sequel to closer ... breezy , delightful and bitterly hilarious .",
      "director tony gilroy deftly mixes comedy with suspense as we see the extreme measures corporations take to steal one another 's secrets and protect their own from theft .",
      "slick , super-contrived , pretty to look at and totally , completely preposterous .",
      "neither a conventional spy flick nor a traditional romantic comedy , MOV is a satisfying mix of the two that 's as entertaining as it is thought-provoking",
      "MOV does indeed bend and buckle under the weight of many a final-reel revelation , though it never entirely collapses .",
      "the film 's got plenty of spark , with an onscreen couple so full of passion that they ca n't keep their hands off each other -- tom wilkinson and paul giamatti .",
      "corporate espionage caper in which two government operatives having amorous flings in various global stopovers decide to team up and go private to earn a bundle . star power of julia roberts and clive owen and yummy locations fail to compensate for madly c",
      "MOV is another one of those flicks where everything is confusing until the very end but gilroy does a great job building the chemistry between roberts and owen .",
      "parental content review",
      "the script has so many twists and double-crosses , flashbacks and re-interpretations of events that frankly i just gave up , and followed the action . which was n't quite enough to hold me . a pity .",
      "essentially formulaic fare . although julia roberts is quite good , the love scenes look exactly like what they are : famous people pretending .",
      "on the simplest level , MOV is a tribute to the power of performance .",
      "there are nice moments , just not quite enough of them .",
      "too convoluted to be romantic , too confusing to be an effective caper and too long to be entertaining .",
      "unnecessarily pretentious and opaque : give me tony gilroy 's ` michael clayton ' any day .",
      "a caper without intrigue and a romance without humanity , this disastrously wasteful star vehicle manages quite the feat by both crushing the viewer 's soul and devouring their spirit in two hours flat .",
      "given the film 's potential for glamour , sex and suspense , there 's no reason for it to be such a drag .",
      "a stylish , sexy , con-artist caper that finds romance in risk and vice-versa , MOV ... is a movie so dashing and fun , you may not notice how smart it is until you replay it in your head a few times .",
      "the movie is fun , with plenty of intrigue and suspense that will have audiences clutching at their arm rests .",
      "a glamorous , diverting escapade that over-30s in particular can enjoy .",
      "they took the lousy soderbergh/clooney template for ocean 's eleven , twelve and thirteen and intentionally made this stinker .",
      "MOV , when it comes down to it , is wonderful simplicity .",
      "smart , droll and dazzling to look at and listen to , writer-director tony gilroy 's effervescent , intricately plotted puzzler proves in every way superior to his 2007 success michael clayton .",
      "MOV is a double agent , a rollicking romantic comedy too deep undercover as a proudly convoluted caper film .",
      "`` MOV '' is so heavily back-loaded that it demands the audience take a leap of faith that all narrative debts will be paid off in a third act finale . no such luck .",
      "in top form , julia roberts and clive owen star in this sexy , witty , elegant romantic thriller made for mature audiences .",
      "ultra sleek , cool , stylish and smart filmmaking . supremely sophisticated fun - but better pay close attention .",
      "a light/bright movie that actually illuminates our dull grey lives , reminding us that intrigue can be , well , intriguing . and damn sexy too .",
      "a snazzy piece of work , tartly acted and cleverly made . trust me .",
      "MOV is pretty silly when it all works out in the end . this is a wasted opportunity , since so much went into making it look like it was about something .",
      "-lsb- director tony -rsb- gilroy 's skillful , witty follow-up to his writing-directing debut , michael clayton , -lsb- continues -rsb- to exercise his talent for baiting a narrative and getting viewers to jump to it .",
      "should settle on the video shelf between intolerable cruelty and mr & mrs. smith .",
      "at times , gilroy 's leaps verge on gimmick . but the shuffled deck of place and time is intrinsic to the three-card monte rhythms . he keeps us guessing , even as we know he 's gaming us .",
      "MOV , like all con movies , relies on charm , and there 's plenty to go around .",
      "a dashing and bright entertainment that aims to please without scraping the floor for your approval",
      "`` MOV '' is a blast from beginning to end and one of the snappiest films of its type to come along in a while .",
      "a romance aiming at a tone of jazz-riff larkishness but somewhat undermined in that pursuit by the washboard-stiffness of its main characters .",
      "a breathlessly enjoyable mind-game ... MOV is giddy fun , something that 's been in short supply at the movies .",
      "a high-tech romantic thriller set in the little-seen world of corporate espionage , tony gilroy 's second feature is sophisticated adult entertainment which puts the lazy ocean 's films to shame with its clever writing , lively direction and visual panache .",
      "whatever the onscreen dilemma for clive owen 's ray and julia roberts ' claire , for us , it 's a no-brainer . this slick and persuasive crime thriller has so much chemistry and chutzpah ; we 're hooked from the start",
      "MOV is a lazy movie about corporate espionage . it 's lazy because its director/writer tony gilroy relies on easy gimmicks and lame conventions to tell his tale . -lsb- he -rsb- uses techniques that might enliven home movies ; they deaden a theatrical one .",
      "this thriller 's flashback scenes interrupted the story 's flow too much for me . but julia roberts and clive owen are fun to watch .",
      "it 's a pity ... that james newton howard 's music score is so relentlessly intrusive and that gilroy 's plotting gets so complicated before everything becomes clear in the end .",
      "once gilroy has the film on track with all passengers aboard and accounted for , you do start wondering if he can keep up the momentum . he does -- although so much contrivance is involved that he often runs the risk of leaving you behind .",
      "only incidentally a con movie , MOV is actually a subversive , high-wire romance , with the macguffin serving as a metaphorical placeholder for the surging hormonal attraction , trepidation and uncertainty of love 's bloom .",
      "the story turns flips to keep audiences guessing . unfortunately , indiffer-ence , not fascination , results .",
      "a battle of wits with smart , capable people on all sides . it is very slick and well-acted by a troupe of pros .",
      "has the kind of narrative trickery that draws us in , but it 's ultimately up to the actors to keep us interested , and in this regard the film is something of a mixed bag",
      "writer-director tony gilroy , flush from his michael clayton success , retains that film 's examination of corporate malfeasance yet replaces the sense of dread with a sense of style .",
      "trust , lust , and double-crust pizzas",
      "tony gilroy 's dryly jaunty , globetrotting , spy-vs . - spy romp is ... just good enough to make you wish it were better .",
      "gilroy 's movie does have its moments , most of which come down to the pleasures of its a-list cast , which possess enough talent and presence to stand down a plot so unnecessarily cluttered , it 's a gimmick .",
      "the globetrotting spy thriller never measures up to being first-rate .",
      "this film entertains through gameplay , turning suspenseful , comic , then romantic as if in the hands of a master card dealer . but gilroy 's trickeries can be revealed by just slightly encroaching the stage .",
      "a disappointing exercise in achingly-familiar irritainment .",
      "who do you really trust ? especially if they happen to be double agents ?",
      "MOV is an enormously enjoyable hybrid , a romantic comedy set at the center of a caper movie .",
      "it 's a passably amusing brainteaser .",
      "for all the glam and swank , the film is essentially a bright , shiny , empty puzzle . the puzzlemaking by writer-director tony gilroy is clever but most frequently an end in itself .",
      "welcome back my friends to the con that never ends ... MOV simply does n't know when to quit .",
      "watching MOV brings pleasures all too rare : gorgeous actors speaking smart , funny dialogue in beautiful settings .",
      "however you describe it , MOV is superior entertainment , the most elegantly pleasurable movie of its kind to come around in a very long time .",
      "the film 's greatest pleasure is in the snappy dialogue gilroy crafts for the capable duo of roberts and owen ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "you got ta be flawless to tell a story out of sequence . this ai n't no memento . god , julia is getting old .",
      "MOV features the sort of story screenwriters dream of crafting in order to show off their aptitude .",
      "the results are mistimed and misshapen , like lubitsch after a vasectomy",
      "when it comes to sorting out where we stand with someone , we 're all spies . tony gilroy realizes that romance done right involves invigorating risk , and `` MOV '' offers a bracing , beguiling shell game of behavior to complement the light shenanigans .",
      "the `` trust nobody '' shtick wears old pretty quickly .",
      "i 'm sure if i saw it a second time , i 'd find the little hints gilroy plants throughout particularly delicious . but why bother ? it did n't exactly grab me by the neck the first time .",
      "julia roberts and clive owen are reunited for the first time since closer , and they 're a messed up couple again . but this time they 're secret agents , which is cooler .",
      "you simply have n't had this much fun at the multiplex in a long , long time .",
      "tony gilroy 's directorial follow up to the phenomenal michael clayton is an impressive addition to his short but impressive filmography .",
      "a cinematic lark that 's leaden where it should be light ... suffers from lukewarm chemistry between roberts and owen .",
      "do we even care about these characters enough to worry about their machinations ?",
      "while the movie is modestly entertaining and tries to take full advantage of the promising coupling of julia roberts and clive owen , it never quite seals the deal .",
      "gilroy also throws in a reverse chronology taking place in posh foreign locations -lrb- and cleveland ! -rrb- so as to mark the film as his own and conceal any narrative weaknesses .",
      "it 's good to see an espionage thriller that avoids the clichés of the genre .",
      "adopts old hollywood mechanics % u2014 - showy marquee stars , swift-witted dialogue , character-dominated plot % u2014 - and relies on an audience willing to be tricked , surprised and challenged .",
      "gilroy handles it expertly and maintains a light , jaunty tone .",
      "a perfectly-crafted espionage thriller married to the best throwback rom-com in years .",
      "for all its bright banter and flashbacky fanciness , MOV boils down to this rudimentary formula : morality and success are functions of beauty .",
      "much of the fun is all about what 's ` in play ' -- acting -- from the spy and lover roles these characters may or may not be playing and which sides -lrb- personal , professional -rrb- they 're playing for or against , to our assumptions about these stars ' personas .",
      "gilroy makes the mistake of applying the artful lighting , measured pace and severe sensibility of ` michael clayton ' to screwball caper material .",
      "has a terrific cast , stylish cinematography and some intrigue , but the suspense and sizzle wane as the intricate plot gradually thickens .",
      "gilroy keeps it all moving at a steady , stylish pace .",
      "with MOV -lsb- gilroy is -rsb- developing a nice body of work .",
      "the zigzagging story needs the crackling speed of , say , ocean 's eleven , but gilroy moves as if he 's afraid to lose his audience going around the turns .",
      "MOV is a light and airy affair that has far too much fun with zingy one-liners to be concerned with the rather relevant dirty laundry that 's being aired out .",
      "writer/director tony gilroy 's MOV is a pleasurable puzzle with a vast myriad of possible outcomes .",
      "they frumped julia roberts up and tore her charisma down . she like the movie had no sparkle . plus there were twenty flashbacks too many . a little simplicity might have helped ` MOV ' .",
      "at this point in the moviegoing year , it 's probably foolish to ask for more . this is a movie movie -- with a bottle of dom perignon at the end .",
      "those who like working a rubik 's cube might find MOV appealing . with a lack of charisma , sexual chemistry or sizzle , it left me sadly disappointed .",
      "while this is fun , trying more for laughs than tension , it is not a film that will live in history , except for one memorable line .",
      "it 's a complex and at times hard-to-follow script , but it leaves no loose ends and makes perfect sense in the end . even the ending is a legitimate surprise",
      "it 's pretty fun and entertaining for the most part . however , it gets a little talky and ends with a plot twist that 's perhaps too convoluted and contrived for its own good .",
      "the artistry is indisputable and , if the clarity gets muddled , the effort to stay afloat in the swamp of spy-gamesmanship does pay off .",
      "... one of the first truly adult romantic comedies to come down the pike in quite some time . `` MOV '' has been heaped with praise , which may raise expectations unfairly , though .",
      "a sharp , twisty , and very stylish thriller , this time with romance and a bit of stardust . the result is a top-notch date movie for grown-ups .",
      "a timely , brisk , and witty combination love story and drama about corporate malfeasance .",
      "MOV is betrayed by a surfeit of intricacy . its ironic complexities tease the brain without pleasing the heart .",
      "there 's a lot of doubling going on in the smart , savvy MOV .",
      "gilroy expertly keeps viewers guessing about who is gaming who .",
      "gilroy and his stars make it elegant fun to be fooled , but they sure as hell make you work for it .",
      "everything in MOV may be a scam , but -lsb- director -rsb- gilroy 's talent is the real thing .",
      "MOV probably improves on second viewing , when one is better acquainted with the basic story . yet the film is not good enough to see twice â '' the catch-22 of all entertaining but muddled movies .",
      "gilroy 's technique can feel like complication for complication 's sake , but stick with the story and the dramatic rewards are real , or at least the punch line 's pretty clever .",
      "MOV teams masters of mutual deceit in sizzling make up sex for spies , julia squirming her way through one night stand pretend amnesia with toe rings , and a different kind of screwing of flabby corporate cutthroats in designer suits .",
      "with its smart writing delivered by an in-synch quartet , savor MOV as the ideal spring gift .",
      "-lsb- director gilroy 's -rsb- determined to put some smarts into the world of double crosses and double martinis , and bless him for that .",
      "like the carnal encounter with which it opens , it 's a film that goes through the motions , and while those motions are frequently pleasurable , we , like owen , are ultimately left disappointed .",
      "a pleasant big-studio diversion , a screwball romance with beautiful movie stars set in gorgeous hotel rooms , deluxe office spaces and corporate jets . it 's smart , it 's for grown-ups and it lets julia roberts laugh , if just once .",
      "as a caper film , MOV is a fizzle . as a mystery , it 's a cheat .",
      "i started out loving MOV ; by the end , i wanted to strangle it .",
      "julia roberts in a luxury hotel room , bantering with a suave leading man ? that works .",
      "gilroy trusts us to figure out how the pieces of the story fit together , and by the end of the movie , we 're rewarded with a solution that is intellectually , if not emotionally , satisfying .",
      "for a sexy comedy that tries and fails to recapture the sensual smarts of vintage screwball fare , MOV is regrettably short on sex and comedy .",
      "this movie is a breeze compared to the lawyerly sturm und drang of michael clayton .",
      "the term ` thriller ' might be overstating things a bit , although the slow motion battle between wilkinson and giamatti will live on in my memory for years to come .",
      "an effervescent burst of snappy writing , direction and star chemistry that burns a hole through the screen .",
      "a slick but somewhat convoluted crime caper , MOV practically glows from all the high-wattage power of its incandescent stars .",
      "an all 's - fair-in-love-and-espionage movie tailor-made for a pair of glamorous stars .",
      "aiming for a romantic-caper vibe , MOV zips from one elaborate piece of hugger-mugger to the next . but at a certain point , boredom sets in .",
      "MOV is more lighthearted ; it 's the pitt/jolie smackdown mr. & mrs. smith without all the gunplay .",
      "it 's not deep : it 's a wispy-light meringue of a romantic spy-versus-spy comedy . but it is smart . it expects that you 're keeping up with the tricks it 's trying to pull on you .",
      "MOV ultimately comes off as a breath of fresh air amid a movie season rife with bleak horror films , hopelessly juvenile comedies and bloated superhero epics .",
      "it might be saying something that i preferred to see -lsb- giamatti and wilkinson -rsb- in action than the two actual leads of the film .",
      "the story jumps around in time more than an episode of lost . there are so many twists and turns in the plot , i did n't always follow if they even liked each other .",
      "i 'm probably going to buy MOV on dvd just to re-experience the joy of benjamin franklin slamming his fist into the ground while attacking john adams .",
      "the picture has a unity of wit and structure that could only have been achieved by a very sharp writer who 's also a gifted filmmaker .",
      "clever , complex romantic thriller is too twisty for tweens .",
      "kudos to roberts and owen whose easy chemistry gets you through the plot 's mush . then there 's giamatti and wilkinson , two guys who could play houseplants and blow your mind .",
      "whip smart storytelling and a fizzy caper delight .",
      "i ca n't believe i 'm writing this in a dumbed down age at the movies but MOV is a film that 's too smart for its own good .",
      "this enjoyable , lighthearted movie should not be taken too seriously and is worthy of your admiration .",
      "a rather pedestrian , hollow cat-and-mouse contest .",
      "`` MOV '' may not be an award-winner at year 's end , but for adults looking to see something that treats them with genuine respect this weekend , there are few films in wide release that better fit the bill .",
      "too often -lsb- director gilroy -rsb- returns to his darker , more ponderous instincts -- more like a wink and a sneer -- which has an enervating effect on a film that lives and dies by its fleetness of foot .",
      "MOV may be too smart for its own good . but how many films can you say that about ?",
      "MOV is n't quite as clever as it wants to be , but it 's diverting and funny , and it 's always a pleasure to watch a movie that relies on brains as fodder instead of brawn .",
      "though it waltzes through european capitals and gorgeous hotel suites , it never quite gets the blood pumping . and despite all the husky-voiced pillow-talk about sex and adrenaline , there 's little of either .",
      "... a crazy spy vs spy tale of intrigue and corporate espionage that works well due mostly to the chemistry of its two leads - clive owen and julia roberts .",
      "lacks the tension and wow-factor we 've grown accustomed to from slick star vehicles .",
      "MOV is entertaining , but the complexities of its plot keep it from being really involving . the fun is in watching roberts and owen fencing with dialogue , keeping straight faces , trying to read each other 's minds .",
      "comedy seems to have liberated gilroy , who directs MOV with the high gloss and fleet-footed hustle of a golden age hollywood craftsman .",
      "MOV plays as a less-successful comic remake of michael clayton .",
      "i 'm not certain MOV ultimately rewards the time invested , but it 's a convincing enough spy game stew to slurp slowly . just appreciate the ride , not the destination .",
      "slick , sneaky , snarky fun - a devilish double-cross"
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is well-crafted , smart , and often funny , but it 's mostly more cerebral than visceral and features far too many plot twists .",
    "id": "770683997"
  },
  {
    "movie": "whip_it",
    "reviews": [
      "unlike most hollywood teen product , here fulfilment comes not from what others think of you but from what you think of yourself . in short , it 's girl power reinvented .",
      "MOV follows the classic follows the classic tropes of any indie coming-of-age film , big game showdown et al , but does it all so well you 'll be instantly charmed .",
      "teeming with girl-power spirit , barrymore 's film exudes an all-encompassing benevolence rather than strident one-upmanship . these girls just want to have fun .",
      "an unexpected pleasure ... goofily enjoyable .",
      "juliette lewis and her crazy eyes pretty much make any movie better .",
      "led by ellen page , the movie finds the juno star playing a slightly less cocksure version of the diablo cody creation .",
      "it does n't reach for an epic scale but is comfortable in its humility , and that makes it all the more stellar ...",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- treats its mostly female cast of characters with respect , and this is -lrb- sadly -rrb- a rare treat in cinema . hannah montana may be this generation 's spice girl , but bliss cavender is the one really waving the ` girl power ' flag .",
      "what impresses is the girl power spirit often prevalent in barrymore 's work , but also a its sense of optimism and warm heart .",
      "barrymore is just as determined to land some insightful and unexpected dramatic punches as she is with the inherent physical comedy for which the sport is renowned .",
      "slight narrative arc notwithstanding , there 's a lot of warmth here .",
      "a surprisingly energetic , provoking and entertaining coming of age story .",
      "barrymore has so thoroughly laced MOV with her own lunatic affections for women and the human race in general that it ought to be sold as an antidepressant .",
      "the feminist coming of age sports dramedy has a sweet and sunny disposition bolstered by a proud independent streak .",
      "surprisingly satisfying .",
      "it 's virtually impossible to hate the film , but barrymore 's presence behind the camera suggests more calculation than vision ; like a lot of actors who direct , she tends to the performances , but her style never rises above bland proficiency .",
      "has verve to spare , not to mention a message ... refreshingly delivered with more blood and sweat than tears .",
      "it is very difficult to dislike MOV as it does eventually end strongly and it is so well intentioned .",
      "this undemanding coming-of-age comedy is sharply put together with a bright cast and genuinely infectious energy",
      "drew barrymore 's directorial debut blasts in some girls who just want to have fun - and you 'll be happy to join them .",
      "it 's absolutely freaking fantastic .",
      "an enjoyable treat that 'll have you rolling out of the cinema experiencing a mild sense of déjŕ vu but ultimately feeling rewarded for your investment .",
      "easily one of the best films of the year , thanks to a superbly written , cliche-dodging script , a fabulous soundtrack and wonderful performances from a terrific ensemble cast .",
      "-lsb- it 's -rsb- hard not to be moved by the irrepressible sense of fun and optimism on display here .",
      "laced with good-natured hipster kitsch and endearingly goofy girl power , director drew barrymore 's roller-derby dramedy , MOV , is a gas .",
      "some old material given a delightful new grrrl-power twist .",
      "it goes to show what a good cast can do with certain types of material .",
      "barrymore has made a highly promising debut behind the camera and created a first-rate , funny , heart-filled and totally winning entertainment that not only rolls , it rocks .",
      "actor ellen page can do no wrong . unfortunately director drew barrymore , screenwriter shauna cross , and cinematographer robert d. yeoman can .",
      "drew barrymore 's feature debut is not a great film but it 's highly enjoyable , a light , amusing , offbeat chick flick about a relatively new milieu -lrb- roller derby -rrb- and new type of screen heroine -- tough , resilient , and cool -- splendidly played by ellen page .",
      "MOV ended up being a total blast . for her first film as a director , barrymore 's done a bang-up job .",
      "barrymore 's movie is as bubbly as she is , and its best feature is the atmosphere of all-girl camaraderie that she creates and captures .",
      "MOV is completely predictable from the first frame . it also is ridiculously , utterly entertaining .",
      "for a film about a sport that involves lots of pushing , elbowing and bruising , MOV is just too overwhelmingly nice .",
      "a welcome blast of grade-a girl power .",
      "MOV , set in the roller-derby subculture of austin , is a sweet coming-of-age comedy , safe , familiar and comforting .",
      "despite its somewhat contrived formula , MOV feels like a spirited indie that refuses to sell out , demonstrating respect for both its characters and its audience .",
      "it 's just `` footloose '' goes to the roller derby .",
      "it takes girl power to the extreme and made me wish i was a roller derby girl . jam packed full of excitement , action , humor and intensity .",
      "barrymore makes her directorial debut her with an astute eye for the complex emotional passage being experienced beneath bliss 's crash helmet .",
      "... the stellar performances and barrymore 's obvious enthusiasm for the material ultimately proves instrumental in allowing the viewer to overlook the myriad of flaws .",
      "its refreshingly unjaded look at humanity is not something i 'm prepared to sneer at .",
      "drew barrymore 's directorial debut is an energetic celebration of grrrl power , and it sure is fun to watch .",
      "drew barrymore 's directorial debut is slight yet charming .",
      "what MOV does make clear is that all girls are expected to perform , whether expectations are embodied by parents or audiences .",
      "MOV is a coming-of-age story told straight , devoid of trendy hipster sensibilities , yet aiming equally for entertainment as well as insight .",
      "should we really be rooting for a spry teenager to defeat veteran players 20 years her senior ? that does n't seem like a fair contest , but i guess it was good enough for rocky balboa .",
      "there 's a lot of underlying potential here , but there seems to have been no one around to MOV into shape .",
      "highlights : andrew wilson as the roller girls ' coach -lrb- ah , so there 's the wilson brother who can act -rrb- and the roller-derby vets -lrb- played especially well by juliette lewis and kristen wiig -rrb- .",
      "oh my , ladies : how our fairy tales have changed ! a league of rough and tumble women , skating , fighting , competing and whipping their art through otherwise terribly ordinary lives .",
      "MOV is funny without trying too hard to be wacky , sweet without being overly sentimental .",
      "page is ill-served by barrymore , whose only directions apparently were shrieks of `` cuter ! no , even cuter ! '' ... turgid , predictable and not particularly funny .",
      "... a fun female-empowerment movie that marks an impressively crowd-pleasing directorial debut for drew barrymore .",
      "barrymore hovers over her actresses like the nicest , most nurturing den mother imaginable , and on its own , go for it formula terms the movie delivers .",
      "juno on roller skates !",
      "you admire it for the care that went into fleshing out its characters , the camaraderie that grows between them , and the thrill of watching a few harrowing turns around a skating rink .",
      "the movie offers another memorable performance from ellen page , and it 's an auspicious directing debut for drew barrymore .",
      "love may be too strong a word , for me . but i 'm deeply in like with MOV .",
      "MOV is an unexpectedly touching film about female empowerment .",
      "ellen page expands on the subtleties she brought to her potentially one-note lead role in juno .",
      "roller derby dramedy mixes girl power and teen angst .",
      "MOV looks like it was a fun movie to make . unfortunately , it 's not all that fun to watch .",
      "boisterous , cloying , simultaneously raunchy and innocent , hip and klutzy .",
      "a classically constructed coming of age story that fully embraces its girl power attitude .",
      "MOV ! works ... and does so sensationally . apparently , movies can be fun . it just takes someone like drew barrymoore to figure out how .",
      "barrymore 's embrace of gal power is joyful . the skaters are gutsy , goofy or both . they own their own odd sexiness .",
      "juliette lewis and her crazy eyes pretty much make any movie better .",
      "screenwriter shauna cross dulls the edges of her novel derby girl , which the skate action and rockin ' soundtrack ca n't disguise .",
      "barrymore 's goofball girl power gets her through the clunky moments and formulaic sports-movie redempion clichés .",
      "this is a sweet , comic drama , which seems to hail from another time .",
      "barrymore 's first film as a director is both formless and formulaic , but there 's a palpable spirit behind it that makes its many rough patches tolerable .",
      "a moving meditation on the importance of seizing the now early , whatever that might be . twee and tough , the film elbows aside sports-movie clichés with thoughtful intelligence , emphasis on self-reliance and all-too-rare portrayals of strong women .",
      "built upon a mountain of clichă -lrb- c -rrb- s , the screenplay wallows in artificiality and , although some of the sports action sequences are well choreographed and have a ring of authenticity , nearly every scene away from the arena reeks of contrivance .",
      "drew barrymore makes her feature directorial debut at age 34 , and whips up one of the year 's most purely enjoyable hollywood films .",
      "the result is a mixed MOV crying out for more edge and honesty with a cast that looks like it is playing dress up",
      "set in the rocky world of roller derby , MOV proves ellen page can carry a good script without kimya dawson 's songs and michael cera 's sensitivity .",
      "make no mistake , despite the promise of girls in fishnets , MOV ! is a chick flick through and through . it may advertise hot girls in skates hitting each other to get you into the theater , but apart from a few tame shots of page stripping down , o",
      "packs the same unfiltered jolts of grrrrrly-girl empowerment barrymore likes to embrace in her acting gigs .",
      "drew barrymore 's directorial debut is a larky and ultimately disposable entertainment .",
      "it succeeds because of the emotional rather than comic payoffs , such as a late scene between page and harden , where daughter and mother , after a rough patch , hit on an unexpectedly serious subject .",
      "if you 're looking for good company , you 'll get it .",
      "a surprisingly credible coming-of-age story .",
      "although there 's nothing original about it , and although it 's handled competently rather than with breathtaking élan , it 's almost impossible to dislike ...",
      "with page easily handling what little dramatic weight there is , the support players are free to focus on being funny , and they give it their all .",
      "as a sports movie and as a mixed-up teen flick , it keeps taking unexpected turns , and unlike so many in the former genre , remembers there 's more to sport dramas than just winning .",
      "sure , MOV is clichéd , slight and formulaic , but it still has enough charm and wit to keep us entertained . and it 's packed with girl power .",
      "part underdog sports flick , part coming-of-ager , MOV ! trades on familiar formulaics , yet shauna cross ' smart script -lrb- based on her novel -rrb- keeps things fresh and funny .",
      "like the roller derby girls splayed out on the rink , barrymore 's film is frequently all over place but it manages to stay on its feet at the end . just .",
      "drew barrymore makes her directing debut with a join-the-dots sports outing that 's so brightly played - and so essentially sweet-natured - that its manifest cliches come up smelling of fresh paint .",
      "the picture 's heart is very much in the right place , with the characters all affectionately drawn , but boy does it drag , while efforts at raucous humour -lrb- drunkenness , a food fight -rrb- fall flat .",
      "it will not change the way you think about movies , roller derby or the relations between teenage girls and their mothers , friends or dreams . but it does invite you to stop and appreciate all those things .",
      "if the film were any more brainless , it would be a lump of rock . but if it were any less brainless , it might be less fun .",
      "deftly moderating her patented eye-rolling poseur shtick , page delivers her most charismatic and least divisive performance to date as bliss cavendar , aka babe ruthless .",
      "girls just wan na have fun -- and boy , do they as rough 'n' ready roller derby players -- in MOV , drew barrymore 's exuberant and totally winning directing debut .",
      "even if a tale of female empowerment through roller derby is not your particular cup of tea , barrymore delivers it with such a giddy good sense of fun that it 's easy enough to go along with .",
      "MOV has such a sweet spirit that it 's easy enough to let its flaws sail by .",
      "MOV , drew barrymore 's fledgling outing as a director , stars ellen page in an engaging , affirming tale that 's more sk8r grl saga than hell-on-wheels ride .",
      "marcia gay harden and ellen page shine in drew barrymore 's directorial debut . shauna cross ' script is refreshingly original and you will feel great when you leave the theater .",
      "the roller-derby comedy MOV is like roller derby itself : sloppy , loud , fun .",
      "tries to cram in as many plot points as possible to fill its belly with caloric melodrama . it 's a diluted journey of feminine self-realization , better with bruises and teamwork than it is with pliable matters of the heart .",
      "a small-scale movie that feels like it was a lot of fun to make . it has a rambunctious charm , a considerable amount of heart and a steady supply of laughs .",
      "MOV is good , it just needs to be whipped into better shape .",
      "barrymore nails the big derby action with clarity and the intimate moments with precision , elevating an already captivating story to a deeply human level .",
      "for teenage girls , i could see MOV being a minor revelation . i hope they see it in droves .",
      "funny , agreeable , and lightly entertaining .",
      "little more than your garden variety coming-of-age tale set to the beat of an underdog sports drama , -lsb- but -rsb- barrymore manages to make the film both funny and sweet without really trying .",
      "barrymore 's budding directing skills are on dazzling display during the skating scenes . but given the lack of depth in the writing , promising characters are often rolled over and flattened out .",
      "easily skates by on the charms of both its novel setting and its gung-ho cast .",
      "in a role that cries out for quirkiness , barrymore has page playing it as straight as possible . since page is the queen of quirk , this makes little sense . still , the result is a solid performance in an entertaining movie .",
      "one of the best girl casts of the year . you do n't leave wanting to pick up the dvd , but you do want to pick up a set of dumbbells .",
      "drew barrymore finds the perfect project for her directorial debut , infusing the roller derby fun-fest with her spunk and joie de vivre .",
      "`` MOV '' is simply an entertaining vehicle , not an in-depth examination of the sport of roller derby or the women who play it .",
      "it 's an effervescent , rough-and-tumble rivalry on wheels , celebrating friendship and camaraderie while artfully delineating the struggle within families to understand one another .",
      "this film is so boring that after an hour i was ready to bolt . it picked up a little in the last 50 minutes , but not enough to recommend .",
      "though it 's a ball bearing or two shy of relating to guys , -lsb- drew -rsb- barrymore 's flick will hit the target audience.her point : it 's tough to be a teenage girl .",
      "... a bloated , unfocused debut that does not know what it wants to be .",
      "scene for scene and beat for beat , this roller derby crowd-pleaser crackles with joy and jubilation .",
      "there 's poignant interaction between the generations , puppy-love lyricism , and just enough edginess to keep adolescents engaged .",
      "honest , touching , and a little sad . MOV starts off as a tale about letting loose but ends up as one about letting go .",
      "-lsb- drew -rsb- barrymore ... embraces the self-expression of this riot grrrl-style roller derby tale and fills the film with team spirit and high energy .",
      "heaven on wheels .",
      "yes , you know exactly where this movie is going . but barrymore and writer shauna cross give us plenty of reason to enjoy the journey , however familiar .",
      "never less than sheer fun , MOV enlivens bliss ' touching journey and makes roller derby seem so much cooler than boring old football or basketball .",
      "roller derby is more than women in fishnet stockings on roller skates . but MOV is n't .",
      "it 's as if napoleon dynamite and little miss sunshine strapped on skates and sailed right into some pat hollywood comedy .",
      "there are no real villains here , just normal people making their way through life . and bliss , while willful , is not horrible ; she 's just found something she needs to do , fishnets and all , and she 's doing it .",
      "as in most sports movies , the matches are really a means to an end , in this case the maturation of bliss from a compliant but unhappy daughter to a young woman who knows her own mind .",
      "i did n't love MOV , but i found myself enjoying it , almost against my will .",
      "as a director , barrymore shows some heart ...",
      "a spunky coming-of-age dramady about roller derby that boasts another stellar performance by ellen page .",
      "cynical moviegoers who are the first in their circle of friends to look for a movie 's missteps probably should n't attend MOV , but many , many people will find something to love in this roller-skating underdog .",
      "an easy movie to like .",
      "it 's that happiest of surprises : a multiplex movie that genuinely respects its young audience .",
      "thoroughly delightful , invigorating and captivating with just the right balance of drama and comedy .",
      "... this is a movie about girls that just wan na have fun",
      "for the most part , the 34-year-old barrymore , with much of her life spent in front of the camera and more than a few impressive producing credits already in the bank , proves steady on her feet , able to handle curves and straightaways with equal grace .",
      "instead of big issues and dramatic acting , MOV is more like an indie rock album that tween girls everywhere can relate to",
      "as completely conventional as it is entirely winning . . and it 's kind of kick-ass , too .",
      "an excellent freshman feature , i can hardly wait to see what barrymore picks for her sophomore effort .",
      "surprisingly moving and pervasively funny , this celebration of female camaraderie is , to borrow a word , pure bliss . miracle ... whip !",
      "there 's an extended sequence of underwater kissing that makes it seem that both page and pigg are mer-people . seriously , they never come up for air as they make out in about 15 different positions . it 's only the audience that 's drowning .",
      "barrymore gently sells the niceness of it all . it turns out that roller girls just wan na have fun and that the sisterhood of the traveling skates is one big happy family .",
      "parental content review",
      "MOV is the kind of film that you ca n't quite recommend but certainly would n't begrudge other people for liking either .",
      "as for barrymore , while i hope and pray that she does n't give up her day job anytime soon , her work on `` MOV '' suggests that she could do so and make a go of it behind the cameras if she wanted .",
      "manages to make a sport about women on roller skates beating the crap out of each other tedious .",
      "MOV greatly benefits from barrymore 's breezy approach and her large female cast 's camaraderie .",
      "surprisingly touching moments of realisation and emotional connection manage to rise above the dramatic cliches that pepper the rest of the film and account for the best scenes in MOV . next to all the punch-ups on the track , that is .",
      "it 's like a raucous slumber party : laughter ; tears ; drinking ; a food fight ... and some big purple bruises in the morning . go see it . you 'll glide out of the cinema .",
      "there is a strange tone to the film . it 's as if it knows there 's a cliché at the heart of this story of an outsider finding expression of her true self and works hard to avoid it .",
      "not the holy roller expected of such a promising cast , premise and debut director .",
      "a feel-good , if formulaic , dramatic comedy set in the full-contact world of roller derby and boasting a very drew barrymore blend of good humor and punky femininity .",
      "it is a bit of an odd film , this , but i enjoyed it more than i thought i would , and i think that 's largely because of ellen page ... she rises to the occasion tremendously .",
      "` MOV ' is so many things . it 's a coming-of-age movie . it 's a sports movie . it 's a relationship movie . it 's a funny movie . it 's a poignant movie . and above all , is it ever fun !",
      "first-time director barrymore has a sharp eye for the rough-and-tumble grunginess of roller derby , and a warmhearted appreciation of the girl power that fuels it .",
      "the marvel of MOV is that barrymore 's freewheeling spirit is infectious , even when her direction borders on sloppiness and the script skirts with cliché .",
      "MOV , the directorial debut of drew barrymore , is friendly and fun-loving and nurturing , as she seems to be .",
      "drew barrymore has successfully directed a generally fun roller derby movie that never loses sight that the main character 's journey should always be kept front and center .",
      "this is juno meets slap shot , a well-directed , well-cast romp that does n't quite transcend its worn formula but is still the best girl-powered sports film since bend it like beckham .",
      "the cast is mostly female , the first-time director is drew barrymore , and the screenplay comes from shauna cross , based on her novel . but the teenage themes are universal : breaking from your parents , discovering yourself and following your bliss .",
      "just sort of rolls by , with a lot of attitude but little that adds to the heap of stories about rebellious kids , close-minded parents and underdog sports teams .",
      "-lsb- w -rsb- orks within hollywood conventions of storytelling to handily demonstrate that just because a tale is familiar does n't mean it ca n't be fresh and funny and edgy , too ...",
      "yes , the movie has cliches . yes , it all leads up to a big game . yes , there is a character 's validating appearance near the end . yes , and so what ? the movie is miles more intelligent than most of the cream-of-wheat marketed to teenage girls .",
      "barrymore has given the world something wonderful -- a brazenly feminist film that 's a tremendous amount of fun .",
      "the roller-derby action is as listless as the comic back-and-forth and the smarmy sentiment , but barrymore at least proves she 's no more mediocre than anyone else at directing such pap .",
      "MOV suggests what might have happened if juno had gone to a high school as poky as napoleon dynamite 's and decided that although her mother wanted her to be a beauty queen like little miss sunshine , she 'd rather just strap on roller skates .",
      "what barrymore brings is good-natured , girl-powered subversion , a sense of when to flaunt clichés and when to flip them over the rails .",
      "hip but not smart-aleck , the film is not afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve as an invisible accessory to the pads , helmet and embarrassing barbie skates that propel its underage heroine to a new identity ...",
      "drew barrymore makes a sparkling directorial debut and ellen page proves once again she is magic on the big screen .",
      "drew barrymore 's directorial debut is an absolute delight , with fast paced action , hilarious comedy and outstanding performances from the majority female cast .",
      "MOV is not the most original flick to come along this year , the knockabout -lrb- and knock 'em flat -rrb- way in which barrymore captures the wired atmosphere of roller derby is genuinely irresistible .",
      "MOV never quite finds its rhythm or energy and the actors all seem to be holding something back in a comic book tale that requires over exaggeration more than subtle nuance .",
      "while MOV follows the pattern of the majority of underdog sports dramas , barrymore 's film has a vitality , energy and heart -lrb- in the beautifully acted mother-daughter story -rrb- that 's often lacking in male-centred movies .",
      "to date , as an actress and producer , barrymore has made some excellent choices and has always seemed to have a gut instinct for what works . until now . the saving grace of the film is the disarmingly appealing ellen page who escapes unscathed .",
      "for a film that has all the inner workings of a generic sports movie , MOV somehow avoids being one .",
      "a lively trifle",
      "boy , when you see ellen page and juliette lewis whipping around the corner , the beer-fueled crowd cheering , and the breeders ' `` last splash '' blaring on the soundtrack , you know that `` MOV '' has the spirit of roller derby down cold ."
    ],
    "summary": "while made from overly familiar ingredients , drew barrymore 's directorial debut has enough charm , energy , and good-natured humor to transcend its many cliches .",
    "id": "770785797"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1141193-hide_and_seek",
    "reviews": [
      "... as far as i 'm concerned , this movie was a disaster ...",
      "come out , come out , wherever you are ... good dramatic scripts for robert deniro , that is .",
      "deniro 's been in enough good films to recognize that this film is a steaming pile of garbage that no amount of great acting would ever be able to rescue .",
      "critics would do well to simply cut-and-paste their slams of last year 's secret window -lrb- this film 's doppelganger -rrb- and leave it at that .",
      "this movie has so little to hide that you 'll figure out whodunit long before the credits roll .",
      "basically another episode of lifestyles of the upscale and haunted that features the latest example of robert deniro in full `` where 's my paycheck ? '' mode .",
      "this barely even qualifies as a movie . it 's an easily digested piece of commercial product , not unlike a loaf of bread or those pantyhose that come in an egg .",
      "does quite well precisely what it sets out to do .",
      "follows no semblance of internal logic .",
      "... wait until it is available for dvd rental and spend the money you saved to order a pizza .",
      "this movie has more red herrings than an agatha christie novel combined with the aquarium downtown . the real question is , ` how did this stinker attract such a big name cast ? '",
      "a tawdry cocktail of red herrings , cheap psychology , and shameless horror-movie tropes .",
      "the movie starts out as one thing and suddenly jumps the tracks into something else . then there 's the question of credibility that this abrupt switch invites .",
      "older teens may enjoy ; too creepy for kids .",
      "a lame showcase for deniro 's monotonous blankness and the hysterics of fanning .",
      "the ` surprise ' ending in MOV is not only unreasonable , but also downright unoriginal .",
      "the best way to tell when things are getting bleak is to check dakota fanning 's face . when she starts to look like a poached egg , that 's when you better hide .",
      "shameless in its appropriation of incidents and atmosphere from earlier horror movies , with de niro giving one of the emptier performances of his latter-day career .",
      "MOV may be the most extreme illustration yet of the fears a father faces about his daughter 's potential suitors . it 's sheer stupidity .",
      "what starts out as a promising take on a very serious issue is minced into another standard hollywood offering .",
      "its great surprise assaults our better judgment .",
      "robert de niro is batting 0 for 2 with creepy thrillers .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- idiotic , yawn-a-minute thriller .",
      "a predictable pastiche .",
      "an ordinary , mildly suspenseful , eventually preposterous thriller that warrants no more attention or thought than the time it takes to watch it , if that .",
      "hide and suck",
      "i jumped twice in MOV , but john polson 's new thriller has only a good , but painfully wasted cast to recommend it .",
      "in a classic case of bait and switch , MOV squanders its carefully built setup .",
      "the movie follows a tired formula almost from the start . it 's a long road , and we see every twist coming from miles away .",
      "all the while , it 's slowly grabbing a rubber chicken off the table behind it , getting ready to suddenly stick the tired old gag in your face right when it has your attention .",
      "besides a nice sense of visual style , there 's nothing to this creepy-child thriller .",
      "` come out , come out , wherever you are ' probably sounds much more menacing in the halls of caa , where de niro is no doubt stalking the agent who sold him on this film .",
      "to enjoy this movie you have to leave logic outside the theater and just go for the thrills and chills .",
      "i think it 's just so well made , so well photographed .",
      "... if you want to see the next big thing in thrillers , little dakota fanning may be it , but the rest is pure straight-to-dvd .",
      "the film 's weakness lies in its transparency more than in its execution .",
      "a psychological thriller that dangles over the precipitous edge of awfulness a full 90 minutes before toppling into that abyss with the resounding clatter of robert de niro 's ham-on-rye overacting .",
      "it is one thing for a movie to be boring and awful , but it is quite another to be insulting , in bad taste , and utterly ridiculous at the same time .",
      "robert deniro , once deservedly hailed as our greatest living film actor , hits rock bottom with this insipid film ...",
      "the bottom line is that this movie is highly compelling and utterly creepy .",
      "the movie 's only rewards are a few unintentional laughs , as when the sheriff -lrb- dylan baker -rrb- calls emily a ` cute kid ' after a long stretch in which she 's been acting and looking battier than sunset boulevard 's norma desmond .",
      "MOV is the worst sort of horror film -- one that takes itself seriously without having anything to back up that attitude .",
      "seek ends with a whimper and not a bang , but at least it finally ends ; sadly , this turns out to be the highlight of the experience .",
      "it 's so absolutely preposterous that it stops the film cold and draws a collective ` aw c'mon ! ' from viewers wondering if maybe they should take back some of that ill will that greeted m. night shyamalan 's surprise turn of events in the village .",
      "`` trauma causes pain '' - but what about the intense psychobabble in this horror-thriller ?",
      "all of its ` shocks ' are the film equivalent of having someone shout ` boo ! ' in your face .",
      "this film is ultimately a waste of one 's precious time .",
      "`` come out , come out , wherever you are '' sounds hauntingly inviting . still , one should take the contrary view and remain hidden from this perfunctory peek-a-boo picture",
      "-lsb- director john -rsb- polson offers up a few chilling scares , but the underwritten screenplay really does show off -lsb- MOV 's -rsb- weaknesses .",
      "through its first two-thirds , at least , MOV does a good enough job of piquing our curiosity that the movie 's ultimate dumbness is more than a minor insult .",
      "another movie in which rich white people who do n't seem to have or need jobs move to a mansion in the country to be terrorized by a mysterious , faceless , evil .",
      "not the supernatural thriller you might be hoping for .",
      "borrowing from creepy classics such as psycho , the shining and amityville horror , MOV rises above its derivative subject matter because of its stellar cast .",
      "quickly devolves into a camp parody of everything it purports to be about , including robert de niro 's acting ability",
      "de niro is slumming and he knows it .",
      "if the ridiculous title and the cheap emotional blackmail of putting a pretty little girl in peril are n't enough to tip you off ...",
      "an absorbing mystery-thriller for its first hour ... until it races off the tracks toward a dumb , albeit predictable , twist ending .",
      "an elaborate equation consisting entirely of bad horror tropes and trashy psychological symbolism .",
      "little trauma girl -- her already wide eyes increasingly encased in dark shadows -- now faces life in a humungous scary house .",
      "the camera leers at 10-year-old fanning to the brink of criminality .",
      "MOV really is n't a suspense thriller at all . it 's a mystery movie . it 's always a mystery when highly talented people commit the time and effort to a film that is so obviously mediocre .",
      "MOV arrives with a promotion worthy of william castle : a final reel so shocking , it 's delivered separately to theaters via armed guards ! that 's the good news . the bad news : the other reels arrive as well .",
      "the film plays out slowly , with many gliding , late-night steadicam shots down long hallways , towards closed doors , while we hear clichéd music , creaking floorboards or dripping water .",
      "the movie 's twist did n't become obvious until a few minutes before the climax . maybe that 's because it is so unpalatable and heartless that it hardly seems feasible .",
      "the second half gets downright silly as the country home turns into a slaughterhouse . what could have been a sixth sense-style intelligent thriller heads straight for the drive-in , though it 's still handled with considerable skill .",
      "for the first hour or so it builds inexorably to an excruciating level of dread . it does this so well , we 're willing to forgive the small lapses of logic it takes to get us there .",
      "the film , written by ari schlossberg , is part of a larger , bothersome new wave of hollywood hack work : producers are wrapping their ham-fists around handsomely shot dread-and-twist endings .",
      "as a fright movie , MOV is only a middling thriller . but as a tip sheet for real estate shoppers in wooded rural areas , it 's top-notch .",
      "it was really only a matter of time before 10-year-old dakota fanning brought her unsettling precocity to the horror genre . and it 's a bit of a waste .",
      "illiterate ... a desperate film that runs out of gas",
      "one long , intolerable wait for the viewers , who can hear the gears of the script creaking .",
      "though it 's not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination , MOV does manage to hold the viewers interest throughout ...",
      "not great , but an all star cast helps soften the rough edges .",
      "almost a good movie . of course , that close call with competence is averted with an ending that gets worse and worse as it drags on and on",
      "MOV is trashy , but there 's no fun to be had in its ugly child-endangerment psychoses ... the hidden-in-plain-sight `` secret '' : another crappy movie .",
      "it 's a fascinating meeting of equals -- if the child star challenged the master to a game of stare-down , the legend might very well blink first .",
      "it may be an efficient horror exercise , but not an exercise you 'll much enjoy participating in .",
      "it 's no fun watching an innocent child suffer so much , just so we can be entertained by a ` boo ! '",
      "a nifty little thriller with some effective psychological and supernatural flourishes .",
      "the actor who gave us johnny boy , travis bickle , jake la motta and the young vito corleone still has his chops .",
      "a slow but steady-paced thriller",
      "even though MOV 's chilling tag phrase -- `` come out , come out , wherever you are ! '' -- may be enticing , just stay right where you are .",
      "with a less than stirring performance by robert de niro , this one will leave seasoned psychodrama fans underwhelmed .",
      "fanning plays a girl , haunted by her mom 's death , who makes wednesday addams look chipper . it 's great casting .",
      "the movie wants in the worst way to be among the new wave of big-screen chillers , served with a twist . as the old joke goes , they 've succeeded -- in the worst way .",
      "first-time screenwriter ari schlossberg builds an atmosphere of free-floating apprehension through most of its length before pulling an 11th-hour switcheroo that undermines the stars ' commendable efforts .",
      "the movie 's main purpose seems to be to make audiences squirm uncomfortably . yelp and shriek in armchair-clawing glee ? not likely .",
      "the plodding director , john polson , reliably telegraphs the big boos , and the next time i see an actor gingerly open a cupboard and get knocked back by an overamplified screeching cat , i 'm walking .",
      "right up until the last 15 minutes , MOV is an efficient , effective thriller",
      "qualquer um que queira assista a o amigo oculto duas vezes vai perceber a falta de lógica do roteiro e. . . ah . entendi . năo há este risco .",
      "the film also cleverly gives us not one but two leading ladies -lrb- elisabeth shue and famke janssen -rrb- so we can have fun guessing which of them wo n't make it to the final reel .",
      "the film grows more comic as it 's supposed to be scary .",
      "MOV is a technically slicker paranoid thriller than director john polson 's previous swimfan , but its esteemed posture makes it even trashier .",
      "a highly polished turd , perhaps the shiniest money can buy ... by now the only way de niro can shock us is by maybe appearing in a movie that is n't a total embarassment .",
      "de niro gives an intriguing performance ... thills , suspense , scares and surprises ...",
      "MOV goes off the rails when the secret is brought into the light because it feels like a cheap gimmick , and not an original one at that ...",
      "one can practically imagine the blank stares and shaking heads of viewers left in disbelief here .",
      "dakota fanning does the creepy child routine quite effectively . deniro , on the other hand , barely breaks a sweat .",
      "scary , creepy , mean , and i watched it through my fingers . that said , it is an insult to all of us with imaginary friends .",
      "the movie is not without merit . ten-year-old fanning ably handles her part , which alternately requires her to adopt a thousand-yard stare and look like a scared little girl .",
      "is dakota going mad ? does she really have a secret playmate who is wreaking havoc on everyone ? is the home possessed ? and how many more minutes are left in this movie , anyway ?",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- easily forgotten entry in the oh ! - bet-you - did n't - see-that - coming sweepstakes .",
      "there is n't much of a story holding up the plot , just a few clever ideas that are at best slickly executed set pieces and at worst empty scares .",
      "add this movie to robert de niro 's climb up mount hackdom .",
      "unless you 're a connoisseur of movies that are so bad they 're good , MOV is one game you 're not going to want to play .",
      "face it : dakota fanning is scary .",
      "robert de niro rises to a formidable challenge in this sufficiently unsettling thriller : he holds his own against the scene-swiping 10-year-old actress dakota fanning .",
      "if you 're really looking to be terrified , skip this film and rent uptown girls instead .",
      "the movie is bad in the sense of being morally reprehensible .",
      "there is also a plot twist that comes about two-thirds in , which is supposed to be shocking , but is actually one of the least-surprising , least-scary ` surprises ' in recent memory . it may provoke more laughter than chills .",
      "it does have more laughs than de niro 's other current picture , meet the fockers , but in this case , that 's not much of a selling point .",
      "the mystery is maintained only through characters ' behaving against their own interest , doing things they would n't do , failing to mention things they certainly would mention .",
      "there are few scares and even less logic .",
      "it 's a genuine scare-fest that will have you squirming in your seat and even screaming aloud . MOV is the best little psychological thriller in a long while .",
      "give us a reason to care .",
      "not only is de niro phoning it in these days . it also feels like he 's got the tribeca film festival or some other business interest on the other line .",
      "the result is more campy than scary , and in the horror game , that means nobody wins .",
      "do good actors make a lousy movie any better ? a little . but they 're wasting their time and ours . that creeps me out .",
      "another wrongheaded , stilted and obvious thriller . yawn ...",
      "as for deniro , i 'd rather seem him do another commercial than watch him waste both his time and mine on material that steven seagal would reject .",
      "movies about the psychological abuse of a child can be powerful when the subject matter is handled in a serious , sensitive manner . but when it is employed as a plot device to enable a surprise revelation , it becomes offensive .",
      "extremely derivative , sure , but prior to its last half-hour , it 's also sort of amusing as a genre `` where 's waldo ? '' .",
      "peekaboo , we do n't want to see you .",
      "far be it from me to spoil the secret , but i will say this : the last reel should 've been sent straight to the city dump .",
      "you wo n't find anything startling or memorable .",
      "if you were playing MOV and someone started counting from 1000 , you would most likely tire of the game before they got to one - same thing with this movie .",
      "as expected , the most fun thing in the film is dakota 's mexican staring frog performance .",
      "an absorbing , understated thriller until it totally self-destructs in the final reel with a twist we 've seen too many times in recent years .",
      "once upon a time , horror pictures like this one played urban grind houses and starred the b-movie likes of wings hauser . the gloss of a-list casting and slicked-up production values does n't necessarily serve them well .",
      "it 's become almost trite to criticize him for his recent string of dubious movies , but we 'll do it anyway , because he 's capable of so much better .",
      "MOV is a stellar example of the fact that the best acting in the universe can not help a poor script - or poor direction .",
      "another of those real-estate horror movies that sticks it to urbanites who overspend on picturesque victorian houses in towns where the locals resent them . for city folk in rambling country homes , something wicked this way comes .",
      "it does n't get stupid for a long time ! that 's the finest compliment these kind of movies can aspire to . this means you 'll have a decent time .",
      "high class briefly gives way to high camp , which then itself dissipates to an anticlimactic thud .",
      "there was a point in the movie when suddenly everything clicked , and the law of economy of characters began to apply . that is the law that says no actor is in a movie unless his character is necessary .",
      "the last weekend of january is traditionally a dumping ground for turkeys at the multiplexes , so do n't say you were n't warned .",
      "-lsb- m -rsb- akes you wonder who has pictures of robert de niro doing what , and does that mean we 're gon na get one of these movies every year from now on .",
      "it becomes rather soggy pulp , without a core of deep sense .",
      "the movie goes down the tubes in the last third .",
      "it 's obvious no one making it bothered to look for an ending that made any sense .",
      "check it out if you like the horror genre . it was not bad at all .",
      "if it was n't already the case , robert de niro 's name on a project now means absolutely nothing .",
      "... better than the average new release dumped into theaters every january .",
      "de niro continues his long slide into mediocrity with yet another charmless psycho-thriller .",
      "you really got ta deliver when you build things up through such an elongated set-up , and in the case of this film , it just did n't come through in the end .",
      "the movie turns out to be such an idiotic , bald-faced cheat that the skillful build-up almost makes it worse .",
      "... its surprise twist is more annoying than frightening .",
      "a film in which no character ever turns on the lights , because if they ever did , we could see exactly what was happening , and how stupid it really is ."
    ],
    "summary": "robert de niro and especially dakota fanning have earned some praise for their work in MOV , but critics have called the rest of the film derivative , illogical and somewhat silly .",
    "id": "13261"
  },
  {
    "movie": "jesus_camp",
    "reviews": [
      "an alarming look at a radical movement that appears to rob kids of their innocence .",
      "an eye-opening exposure to a political force on the move .",
      "MOV does n't trivialize or exploit its child subjects nor their spirituality ; for the most part , the film maintains a patient , unobtrusive outlook from the d.a. pennebaker school .",
      "i spent a lot of years studying the teachings of jesus in catholic grammar school , and i think jesus would be appalled by what goes on in the these camps .",
      "a chilling and fascinating look at the ever-increasing power of the organized religious right .",
      "perhaps indoctrination is in the eye of the beholder . but one thing is certain : all christians are n't the same . i 'm one , and i found this film to be saddening , not heartening .",
      "the most surreal scene finds fischer bringing out a cardboard standup of george w. bush for the kids to worship -- and one ca n't help but note with amusement that it seems no less intelligent than the real thing .",
      "lord knows the film would n't have been as entertaining if they 'd played it straight .",
      "both disturbing and enlightening .",
      "this film demands to be seen for the questions it raises about where the american political system is headed .",
      "MOV seems to me most interesting -lrb- and poignant -rrb- as a portrait of denied and even desecrated childhood .",
      "on one level , the documentary MOV is all about evangelical christians keeping up with the terrorists .",
      "ewing and grady avoid prodding or sneering , giving fischer and her young charges nearly all the scenes .",
      "by gilding the lily so shamelessly , ewing and grady guarantee they 'll preach only to the converted .",
      "MOV does what documentaries ought to do : it poses serious questions , then steps out of the argument .",
      "the overlap of politics and religion is precisely what gives the film an interest beyond the curious practices with which some parents raise their children .",
      "one of those documentaries so well crafted you should wonder what was left on the cutting-room floor .",
      "it might be too much to ask for a little more diversity in the movie 's subjects . are n't there any boring , conventionally innocent kids marching in god 's army ?",
      "camp , pardon the pun , is preaching to the converted , and it is n't strong enough to sway anyone sitting on the fence .",
      "MOV will present 1,000 questions on faith , trust , and humanity that are not easily answered ; it 's a film impossible to ignore .",
      "it makes an unsettling case that america is fast becoming the thing it professes to hate .",
      "i think they 've failed to ask questions that might help their movie cohere . but , even in the pile where the movie leaves them , those questions stand out as timely and chilling .",
      "perhaps MOV will awaken some slumbering minds to two truths on which both sides of this religious debate might agree .",
      "unfair and riveting and alarming and highly watchable -- but outrageously unfair .",
      "the film 's strengths emerge in its willingness to listen -lrb- if not agree -rrb- , and to give pastor fisher and her flock plenty of rope to hang themselves with .",
      "as a documentary , MOV could lose its haunted-house score and contrapuntal air america refrains and still deliver its message ...",
      "you do n't have to be extreme or liberal to be shaken by MOV .",
      "directors heidi ewing and rachel grady let the details speak for themselves .",
      "the filmmakers are out to demonize , not humanize , which means their movie ends up preaching to the liberal choir instead of shedding any real light into the evangelical christian movement .",
      "it stares into the face of faith run amok , and for those willing to follow its gaze , it provides sad revelations .",
      "what ewing and grady have accomplished here is remarkable -- capturing the visceral humanity , desire and unflagging political will of a religious movement .",
      "the ominous tolling bell of documentaries .",
      "whether you are a religious , churchgoing person or not , if you are the least bit liberal or tolerant in your world view , this has got to be one of the most unnerving films of the year .",
      "often funny -lrb- just listen to becky fulminate against harry potter -rrb- , but it 's also a scary , sobering inside look at the attempts of an increasingly powerful group to erode the separation of church and state .",
      "every scene is loaded enough to infuriate some and to rouse others .",
      "ewing and grady have created a terrific catalyst for religious and political discourse .",
      "this startling documentary -- a voyage deep into the culture of american evangelical christianity -- is a superior species of agitprop .",
      "you know what they say , folks : it 's a free country . if MOV scares you , better start brainwashing some little heathens of your own .",
      "filmmakers heidi ewing and rachel grady lump all evangelicals together , failing to distinguish the more fundamentalist pentecostals , and they 've clumsily inserted some unnecessary editorializing from talk-radio host mike papantonio .",
      "... can be draining for those , like myself , who get enough of these people already in our daily lives",
      "-lsb- ewing and grady -rsb- take the techniques of the jesus campers too close to heart : admit no doubt and keep preaching until they 've got the point .",
      "though it would have benefited from a more detached approach , this is a vital look at a subculture that remains foreign to many new yorkers -- despite its growing influence over all our lives .",
      "definitely eye opening , despite lacking a larger scope .",
      "the compassionate god of love so evident in the sermon on the mount is nowhere to be found in the documentary MOV",
      "ewing and grady have accomplished something of a miracle with MOV ... at once explosive and unbiased .",
      "the scariest movie of the season by far ... a fine , thought-provoking documentary .",
      "grady and ewing 's depiction of this modern-day children 's crusade is remarkably unbiased .",
      "MOV should be seen as it demonstrates the extremes to which the religious right will go to push its agenda .",
      "it knows what it 's looking for and , once it finds it , it serves it up to its own chosen audience of blue staters . it 's the flip side of its own subjects . it 's preaching to the unconverted .",
      "riveting , profoundly unsettling yet remarkably even-handed .",
      "we always think of the separation of church and state as being there to protect the state , but the film makes a powerful case that it 's there to prevent politics from cheapening and commodifying faith , as well .",
      "o fato ж que ж assustador perceber que fischer , haggard -lrb- que hipзcrita ! -rrb- e demais pastores realmente acreditam no acerto de suas aушes , jamais percebendo que o que chamam de `` salvaусo '' beira , na verdade , o abuso de crianуas .",
      "fascinating , eye-opening ... although non-believers might find some of fischer 's rituals laughable , ` MOV ' takes both the woman and her crusade very seriously , as it should .",
      "one of the scariest movies i 've ever seen . it 's not a question of differing beliefs ; it 's a question of a separate society that will not accept differing beliefs",
      "effective documentary , if somewhat repetitious .",
      "with an admirable impartiality , filmmakers heidi ewing and rachel grady allow the camera to make these kids look like bible-thumping kooks as they quote scriptures and try to convert strangers they meet on the street .",
      "ewing and grady present this disturbing material in the only manner that it can be offered effectively",
      "will be viewed as a modern classic in the decades to come .",
      "almost as scary as `` village of the damned '' . 12 year olds who aspire to be the next james dobson !",
      "funny , sad and horrifying . anti-fundamentalist rather than anti-christian , this deserves to preach to more than just the converted .",
      "the doc these kids would make with flea market camcorders could n't possibly be as ugly as this absurdly hypocritical critique of the far right 's role in escalating the culture war .",
      "a frightening , infuriating , yet profoundly compassionate documentary about the indoctrination of children by the evangelical right .",
      "the most chilling horror movie of the year .",
      "filmmakers heidi ewing and rachel grady , who also focused on children in last year 's poignant the boys of baraka , provide a fascinating glimpse of kids ' role in the evangelical movement 's political agenda .",
      "this riveting documentary explores kids on fire , a summer camp in devils lake , n.d. , that grooms children to be soldiers in ` god 's army ' .",
      "evangelism 's views on science and politics are so polarizing that almost any viewer , whether orthodox , agnostic , or atheist , is bound to have an elemental reaction from the first shot of six-year-olds weeping in religious ecstasy .",
      "you do n't have to be an extremist liberal to find any minute of MOV more frightening than the entirety of village of the damned .",
      "you may not be fond of what looks like a cult , but the doc does present a case for the camp .",
      "if you 're a liberal , this is a must ! know your enemy !",
      "this is n't the blind leading the blind , but it is the visually impaired leading the blind . disturbing .",
      "no matter your religious or political affiliation -lrb- or lack thereof -rrb- , this supremely even-handed documentary from heidi ewing and rachel grady is cinematic dynamite .",
      "it 's almost impossible not to respond emotionally to this fascinating , sobering and all-too-brief exploration of the politicized religious right and its hopes , dreams and power .",
      "MOV will convince you of one thing . our society is more polarized than ever .",
      "i sympathize with the directors ' agenda , but this is a movie in which shots of american flags and ` god bless the u.s.a. ' signs are supposed to be as ominous as hammer-and-sickle insignia in a ` duck and cover ' propaganda film .",
      "the deck is stacked here , but that does n't make the scenes at the camp any less real .",
      "whitney houston may believe that the children are our future , but becky fischer is determined to indoctrinate them well and let them lead the way .",
      "... a very scary movie ; one that makes it impossible to ignore the cultural schism in america , the very real war between those who know they have the answers , and those who entertain some doubt .",
      "camp is not a diatribe or a polemic ... all it does is turn a camera on people who are proud enough of their actions and beliefs to talk candidly and openly about them for the camera .",
      "a meaningful piece of the story of america 's struggle of church and state , but still just a piece .",
      "while it could be argued that this somewhat chilling documentary sets out to make some of its subjects appear foolish , the film does allow them to speak clearly and at length , with next to no editorializing .",
      "a brave , thoughtful documentary .",
      "filmakers heidi ewing and rachel grady do n't bother with a polemical voiceover a la michael moore but skilfully stitch together the comments of the evangelicals themselves . it does n't make for a pretty picture .",
      "why bother with horror films when you can see this ?",
      "a disturbing , unflinching portrait of religion and its effects on children when in the hands of psychotic strangers and bad parents .",
      "eye-opening look at the evangelicals among us .",
      "MOV does n't just preach to the converted , it bores and frightens them .",
      "this unabashedly liberal documentary tries to redress the balance by giving the rest of america a wake up call : not all scary fundamentalists come strapped with explosives .",
      "this gripping shock-doc looks inside the kids on fire evangelical summer camp in north dakota , where training starts young for a `` new army of god '' to `` take back america for christ '' .",
      "flawed editing and intrusive and irritating commentary hardly detract from the shock value of this disturbing documentary . compulsory viewing for anyone in the least bit concerned about religious extremism .",
      "some lively material - but nothing new .",
      "like the filmmakers ' award-winning boys of baraka , MOV examines the relationship between education and social context .",
      "though too narrowly focused , considering the magnitude of its subject , religious brainwashing , docu is nonetheless relevant in pointing some of the educational and political effects of fanataic youth camps , in which kids are trained to be jesus soldiers",
      "ewing and grady cover the proceedings thoroughly , although , considering the intense and fertile subject matter , it would have been hard to screw it up ... the filmmakers rightly limit their scope to the camp and its participants .",
      "a piercing portrait of innocence perverted .",
      "a wake-up call for liberals and progressive christians about the training of evangelical children soldiers in the culture wars .",
      "cut to the flickering images of children writhing in a spiritual trance on a chapel floor while being hectored about the glory of dying for christ , and one knows exactly where the first christian suicide bombers will come from ."
    ],
    "summary": "evangelical indoctrination is given an unflinching , even-handed look in this utterly worthwhile documentary .",
    "id": "314101917"
  },
  {
    "movie": "star_trek_first_contact",
    "reviews": [
      "star trek : first contact is one of the best of the eight star trek films : certainly the best in its technical credits , and among the best in the ingenuity of its plot .",
      "focusing more on action sequences than characterisation , the breakneck pace gives an unsatisfying result .",
      "while first contact espouses the usual lofty trek ideals , it never forgets to factor in the fun . as the borg likes to say , resistance is futile -- and also unnecessary .",
      "this is a film that all the millions of star trek fans will treasure as one of the best in the now eight-film history of this hopeful future myth .",
      "the first stretch and the home stretch are so filled with visual interest and , more importantly , with the patented star trek philosophical and humorous tidbits that fans will gladly suffer the dull borg patch for the pleasure of the rest .",
      "deftly combining parts of alien , moby dick and close encounters of the third kind , first contact starts quickly and does n't let up .",
      "among the two or three best of the star trek films .",
      "it robustly apes james cameron 's aliens , even down to the head villain , played with kinky boo-hiss relish by alice krige , who appears to be channeling equal parts cameron 's alien queen and marlene dietrich .",
      "a smashingly exciting sci-fi adventure that ranks among the very best in the long-running paramount franchise .",
      "this makes little concession to non-initiates .",
      "compared to episodes before and those that followed , this eighth installment of the unkillable series is surprisingly watchable .",
      "the series now lacks all of its original stars and much of its earlier determination . it has morphed into something less innocent and more derivative than it used to be , something the noncultist is ever less likely to enjoy .",
      "this film is going to have lots of return viewers and will be one of the more successful of the franchise .",
      "the best of the next generation entries .",
      "it will engage you .",
      "the film feels soulless and hollow , despite best intentions to the contrary .",
      "one of the better chapters in the long history of this prosperous franchise .",
      "with its fascinating storyline and its adroit insights into human history , identity , and sexuality star trek : first contact is a winner .",
      "enough classic moments to keep fans happy .",
      "one of the better entries in the trek movie series , thanks to the most memorable villains from the next generation television series : the borg",
      "if you do n't already know and enjoy star trek , this is nothing more than another passable science fiction film . if you are a fan of the next generation , then you 'll enjoy this one .",
      "it 's a great movie , and a great story .",
      "it is enjoyable . it is a must-see for star trek fans . but it is not cohesive enough to be a good movie .",
      "the elegance of the story is enhanced by the sure direction of jonathan frakes , who also plays commander william riker .",
      "the historic first trek movie entirely divorced from the original cast is no blot on the franchise .",
      "if the film itself is a little bit generic , more of a popcorn sci-fi action film than a faithful adaptation of the characters from the series , that 's probably all to the good .",
      "in zooming out from picard 's glinty eyeball , this eighth feature film from the trek factory displays a zippy new energy and a sleek , confident style fully independent of its predecessors .",
      "the problem with most of the next generation star trek movies is that they feel like extended episodes of the television show . first contact is the one time that it really feels like they made a movie , with a capital m.",
      "... a huge step beyond generations .",
      "it does a good job of serving up elements that will please the fans of the show , but it does not quite stand on its own as a memorable motion picture event .",
      "first contact is no grab bag of camp gewgaws ; it stands proud and apart , accessible even to the trek-deficient . this old star , it seems , has a lot of life in it .",
      "star trek finally gets imaginative , exciting and - dare i say it ? - kinky .",
      "action-packed yet intelligent , this takes the very best of the tv show and gives it epic grandeur .",
      "following in the wake of a trio of disappointing features , first contact proves to be the most entertaining star trek in more than a decade .",
      "even if you do n't count yourself as trekkie you should see it .",
      "first contact manages to rev some additional life into the series .",
      "it has the melodrama of other episodes of the films but fewer absurdities this time around .",
      "one of the best so far in what seems to be a never-ending science fiction saga .",
      "blessed with clever plot devices and a villainous horde that makes the once-dread klingons seem like a race of barneys , first contact does everything you 'd want a star trek film to do , and it does it with cheerfulness and style .",
      "the most exciting entry in the trek franchise since the the wrath of khan .",
      "this is one of the best star treks ever .",
      "first contact is often great fun and is never less than watchable ; it will positively delight legions of trek fans .",
      "a nicely constructed science-fiction film , with a simple premise , a charismatic villain and a good back-story to enhance the action .",
      "the excitement comes from frakes 's direction .",
      "nothing like a good villain to energize the franchise .",
      "for non-trekkers , this is a great , free-standing special-effects adventure with much more fleshy characters than your average sci-fi yarn . definitely a good ride . but there are also plenty of nods to star trek aficionados .",
      "the story is typical sci-fi fantasy , but the conviction of the cast -- most notably the always-phenomenal stewart -- makes you believe and care .",
      "a thoroughly enjoyable visit with the crew of tv 's star trek : the next generation .",
      "a good popcorn movie .",
      "the franchise needs patrick stewart . far and away the best actor ever to don a starfleet uniform , stewart is the standard bearer for a series which has the opportunity to thrive as long as stories can be built around captain jean-luc picard ."
    ],
    "summary": "while fans of the series will surely appreciate it , first contact is exciting , engaging , and visually appealing enough to entertain star trek novices .",
    "id": "11853"
  },
  {
    "movie": "caddyshack",
    "reviews": [
      "a genial , idiotic '80s comedy in a golf club-setting with near-mythic resonance for those who watched it in adolescence .",
      "there are worse things",
      "a pleasantly loose-limbed sort of movie with some comic moments , most of them belonging to mr. dangerfield .",
      "... some of the juvenile jokes land in the rough , but you wo n't forget bill murray 's turn as a goofball groundskeeper obsessed with blowing a pesky gopher to kingdom come .",
      "anarchic comedy shenanigans wreak havoc in a country club .",
      "a so-called classic 80 's comedy featuring one of bill murray 's most inspired comic creations .",
      "the plot wanders around the golf course and involves a half-dozen elements , but if you simply dig the gopher , the caddy , and the dangerfield , you 're not going to be doing half bad .",
      "coloquemos da seguinte forma : elizabeth taylor envelheceu melhor do que este filme ...",
      "gopher it !",
      "MOV never finds a consistent comic note of its own , but it plays host to all sorts of approaches from its stars , who sometimes hardly seem to be occupying the same movie .",
      "director harold ramis does n't help matters through his lethargic staging of several major slapstick sequences .",
      "despite being ungainly , MOV is the kind of comedy you can pan for gold in ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "MOV , a derelict farce that lurches about in search of hilarious possibilities among the members and employes of a country club , is the latest misbegotten spawn of national lampoon 's animal house .",
      "there is a plot to this enjoyably erratic comedy ... but basically it 's a framework on which the writers , two of whom -lrb- harold ramis and douglas kenney -rrb- are animal house alumni , can hang vulgar , obvious , yet often amusing gags .",
      "a funny slapstick comedy , starring billy murray in top form",
      "there 's still a lot of fun in this movie , and most of that comes from the heartfelt performances from the cast .",
      "never mind the fact that the plot regularly goes off track and into the rough , MOV offers laughs a plenty .",
      "classic '80s comedy ; not for kids .",
      "given the short shelf life of many rude 'n' crude hollywood comedies , it 's amazing how well MOV stands up after all these years .",
      "dependant almost entirely -- when it 's not being angry and cynical -- on arrogance and smugness .",
      "this vaguely likable , too-tame comedy falls short of the mark .",
      "a slapstick comedy featuring a host of great clowns .",
      "a crude comedy .",
      "if you 're still at the age when farting and nose-picking seem funny , then MOV should knock you dead .",
      "has attained cult comedy status over last 25 years ... due to chase , dangerfield , murray set pieces .",
      "no matter how bad practically everybody thinks it is , practically everybody likes it .",
      "the first-time director , harold ramis , ca n't hold it together : the picture lurches from style to style -lrb- including some ill-placed whimsy with a gopher puppet -rrb- and collapses somewhere between sitcom and sketch farce .",
      "still every bit as funny , and every bit as stupid , as it was twenty years ago .",
      "i know this movie is silly , but when the final credits roll and that little gopher is dancing to the opening bars of `` i 'm alright '' , you just ca n't help but smile .",
      "it 's not big and it 's not clever , but it 's very , very funny .",
      "this nearly plotless , angry class comedy is more a barrage of traded insults and slights than anything else , and it refreshingly recognizes that class has nothing to do with money or lack of it .",
      "overrated and dumb comedy with a few funny moments .",
      "makes a perfect double feature with `` animal house . ''",
      "a gross-out gem , one of the ultimate 1980s flicks",
      "one of those rare comedies where everything clicks . a true classic .",
      "one of the all-time classic comedies . lightning in a bottle , in a bunker .",
      "does it hold together as a quality comedy ? no , not really ."
    ],
    "summary": "though unabashedly crude and juvenile , MOV nevertheless scores with its classic slapstick , unforgettable characters , and endlessly quotable dialogue .",
    "id": "16431"
  },
  {
    "movie": "yossi_2013",
    "reviews": [
      "fox understands that the joys and tears of looking for love are not unique to gay israeli men ... viewers can relate to the emotional conflicts regardless of one 's orientation .",
      "eytan fox depicts modern gay life and contemporary tel aviv with sympathy and knowing insight , and he excels at creating casual rapport among actors ; yet in film after film he undermines these gifts with hamfisted melodramatic plotting .",
      "... -lsb- knoller 's -rsb- portrayal of a person locked in his own grief is both realistic and sympathetic , and fox brings events to a conclusion that is more than worth the wait .",
      "MOV is a stronger film than its predecessor , more deeply felt and less reliant on love-story conventions .",
      "... an awfully familiar fantasy-for gays and straights alike-about an emotionally repressed older man saved by a young beauty who sees the kind soul and intelligence under the frumpy surface .",
      "a very real portrait of a man on the verge of accepting himself",
      "filled with many of the awkward life moments that many gay men will recognise , as well as a freshly lensed look at the new israel , MOV is a strong and touching take on grief .",
      "it 's serious about its characters and their emotions , but still finds room for humor .",
      "`` MOV '' has an air of lightness but never feels insignificant .",
      "knoller is wonderful as the emotionally cut-off , yet vulnerable MOV , who yearns for something more from life , but feels both terror at the prospect and unworthiness to claim it .",
      "MOV is an early spring breeze of a film - too delicate to be substantial but definitely holding the promise of warmth .",
      "knoller 's superbly underplayed performance ensures that MOV 's sad-sack tendencies are n't allowed to alienate him from our affections .",
      "this is a perceptive , warm-hearted work , anchored by knoller 's impressively less-is-more performance .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- slight but tenderly played drama .",
      "a tender israeli drama with a gorgeous soundtrack and a truly sympathetic character at its heart ...",
      "predictable if measured uplift aside , fox keeps `` MOV '' effortlessly affecting , graced with deadpan humor and a knowingness about lonely lives .",
      "directed by eytan fox , the gifted helmer of the international hit walk on water , ` MOV , ' a work of special depth , is yet another of his incisive character studies of a man who does n't quite fit in until he finally does .",
      "the several allusions to thomas mann 's forbidden-love novel `` death in venice '' are apt , but `` MOV '' is also a standalone film and an extraordinary sequel .",
      "hovers somewhere between a realistic take on love and the vision of romance sold by drugstore novels .",
      "`` MOV '' offers genuine pleasures -lrb- even some of fox 's trademark musical numbers -rrb- .",
      "it 's a slight but uplifting charmer that serves as a feel-good bookend to the sadder first film .",
      "knoller manages to make even a withdrawn character compelling , and worth rooting for as MOV struggles to shed his shell .",
      "fox has graduated from amateur to modest professional .",
      "quietly moving and wholly unsentimental .",
      "the film 's pacing sputters as fox drags MOV through dreary scenes of self-denying repression .",
      "an authentic study of the loneliness of a closeted gay man and his struggle to break free from this prison .",
      "a tender but happily unsentimental tale of a closeted gay doctor in israel who finds at least a measure of happiness with a young soldier .",
      "the perfectly sculpted , entirely sure-of-himself tom ultimately seems more of a construct than a character , his carefree nature shaped almost entirely by the very wish-fulfillment clichés that the movie otherwise sidesteps.m his mostly self-created shell .",
      "ten years later , MOV powerfully probes the grief that still consumes the surviving ex-soldier , now working as a physician in tel aviv .",
      "it 's a film full of tenderness , resting on a tremendous , sad performance from knoller .",
      "a few rough edges , but has a lot to say about finding love whether you 're gay or straight .",
      "an affecting and admirably unsentimental portrait of lost love .",
      "`` MOV '' tells the beautifully acted but overly sentimental story of a man 's emotional rebirth in a more sexually liberated era . it is also a pointed portrayal of the revolution in social attitudes inside the most liberal and secularized of israeli cities .",
      "the film 's central romance veers into the realm of wish-fulfillment , but it 's still drawn with tenderness and sensitivity ...",
      "MOV is an unabashedly populist entertainment with a spirit conciliatory enough to melt the heart of any naysayer .",
      "a dramatically challenging sequel , given warmly effective heart and soul by lead actor ohad knoller .",
      "beneath its economical story line , `` MOV '' is also about leaving the past behind in a larger , national , more metaphysical fashion , too .",
      "the film keeps its focus small , but the trouble is , the characters ' emotions stay that way , too .",
      "eytan fox and screenwriter itay segal have made this a truly universal story about a man who finds the courage to pursue the possibility of love again after heartbreak and loss .",
      "dour and obvious , this is a disappointing footnote to the original .",
      "the film is at its finest as a catalogue of MOV 's unspoken ache , less so when it begins to flirt with the clichés of the love story .",
      "his struggles remain compelling , thanks to knoller 's sad-eyed authenticity ."
    ],
    "summary": "smart , moving , and deeply empathetic , MOV is a thoughtful examination of love and grief .",
    "id": "771312629"
  },
  {
    "movie": "north-by-northwest",
    "reviews": [
      "this is n't one of hitchcock 's deeper films , but it 's certainly one of his most entertaining .",
      "hitchcock 's ultimate wrong-man comedy .",
      "a thriller so improbable that it becomes quite brilliant in evading even the most fantastic of audience guesses .",
      "represents hitchcock at the height of his cinematic talents",
      "one of hitchcock 's very best comic thrillers , MOV features scene after unforgettable scene .",
      "MOV is still a classic , coming as it does during hitchcock 's most creative period , but it lacks that extra little taste to make it truly great .",
      "it is at once a cool romance and a cool comedy , a hot thriller and a hot adventure .",
      "MOV -lrb- 1959 -rrb- is an alfred hitchcock classic , suspenseful comic thriller - one of the most entertaining movies ever made and one of his most famous",
      "viewer friendly , refreshingly undated , and worth as many repeat viewings as one can stomach .",
      "... quintessential ... hitchcock at his most playful , cary grant at his most debonair .",
      "a great film , and certainly one of the most entertaining movies ever made , directed by alfred hitchcock at his peak .",
      "at times it seems hitchcock is kidding his own penchant for the bizarre , but this sardonic attitude is so deftly handled it only enhances the thrills .",
      "rich imagery , with many links to vertigo .",
      "all in all , an improbable classic .",
      "more than a clearing house for hitchcock 's auteur tendencies .",
      "thrilling , funny , and romantic ; it elevates popcorn adventure to art ... defines the ideal use of star power ... -lsb- and -rsb- marries deadly intrigue to out-and-out delight . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "... one of those great movies that can not withstand the barest amount of scrutiny - it is the sort of movie movie that can exist only because we are willing to collaborate with its directors and stars . fifty years on , it keeps on ticking .",
      "hitchcock 's direction is a little flabby , but for sheer enjoyment , there 's no better primer on the master 's methods .",
      "a diverting adventure , but in truth , a little precious ... not my favorite of hitch 's later films .",
      "pure genius .",
      "the romcom suspense caper is a cinematic recipe that alfred hitchcock took with him to his grave ; certainly i ca n't imagine anyone now succeeding in blending thrills , spills , caresses and laughs the way he did in this sublime classic from 1959 .",
      "MOV , alfred hitchcock 's very own adrenalin-fuelled action blockbuster .",
      "the picture is hugely pleased with itself , but it 's too funny and expertly calibrated to mind in the least .",
      "ideal introduction to the master and all his basic fears and craftsmanship",
      "hitchcock breezes through a tongue-in-cheek , nightmarish plot with a lightness of touch that 's equalled by a charming performance from grant .",
      "one of hitchcock 's most enjoyable and entertaining films is also one of his most quintessential works , dealing with thematic and visual ideas well ahead of their time , as for example the notion of fluid identity .",
      "the iconic actors give memorable performances , the story is perfectly pitched and fiercely clever and under the astounding directorial eye of alfred hitchcock - american cinematic god - it 's nearly flawless .",
      "... a tenuously engaging thriller that could 've used a few more passes through the editing bay ...",
      "witty hitchcock thriller . not for little ones .",
      "it has all the classic elements of a hitchcock film - well timed suspense , an overall mystery , a compelling cast and some brilliantly conceived scenes .",
      "the great suspense director was at his most entertaining , creating a helter skelter action film where the hero is propelled from one breathless situation to the next .",
      "certifiable classic territory , hitchcock 's glossiest entertainment is the closest the trickster ever came to an action movie .",
      "one of the best films ever made .",
      "of course , the hallmark of MOV is the way in which hitchcock develops tension .",
      "MOV is the quintessential hitchcock thriller and one of the most exciting movies of all time . so there .",
      "hitchcock succeeded in wanting to give popcorn munchers a movie to smile at . and he was never this playful again .",
      "cary grant 's suave adman roger o thornhill finds himself in mortal peril as the innocent man-on-the-run , yet the tone throughout is buoyantly , almost insolently , comic .",
      "welcome and much needed proof that great action movies do n't have to be meaningless and moronic .",
      "see it again and you 'll come away marvelling .",
      "the velvety villainy of james mason , the crop duster chase and the thrilling finale scrambling around mount rushmore are just part of the pleasure in a classic that deserves to be seen on the big screen .",
      "not hitchcock 's most profound work , but a tightly conceived , expertly executed thriller from the master of suspense .",
      "smoothly troweled and thoroughly entertaining .",
      "fantastic hitchcock thriller with the always charismatic cary grant .",
      "... a colorful and exciting route for spies , counterspies and lovers .",
      "all time classic . great chase movie , great set pieces , only the effects show the film 's age .",
      "one of alfred hitchcock 's great films .",
      "expertly paced and filmed in vibrant colors , hitchcock delivers wit , glamour and sophistication .",
      "highly entertaining .",
      "the template for every action movie made in the last forty years .",
      "big , glossy , hitchcock entertainment .",
      "though atypical of hitchcock , this classic contains all the style , wit , and subdued sexuality , trademarks of cinema 's best years .",
      "grant does a superb job of capturing the befuddlement of an everyman caught in a kafkaesque nightmare of mistaken identity ."
    ],
    "summary": "gripping , suspenseful , and visually iconic , this late-period hitchcock classic laid the groundwork for countless action thrillers to follow .",
    "id": "18639"
  },
  {
    "movie": "nowhere_boy",
    "reviews": [
      "although he does n't look much like lennon , johnson captures that essence perfectly ; the future icon is here a confused , hurt boy .",
      "MOV is a poignant reminder that before the world was at his command , john lennon was a bit like you and me .",
      "director sam taylor-wood explores people living in and through music .",
      "blessedly absent of all rock star-biopic piffle , this sharply made film deftly drops in hints and whispers of john lennon 's future while visiting his tormented past .",
      "taylor-wood captures the sounds and textures of liverpool and blackpool , where a new beat is playing in the cafes and clubs .",
      "the story would not be very compelling if you replaced the character john lennon with a character named john smith .",
      "the movie succumbs to maudlin sentiment and melodrama that lennon himself might have dismissed with one of his signature cutting remarks .",
      "in the end , it barely matters that the lennon we see would go on to become a gifted musician .",
      "engaging if unsurprising .",
      "it relishes its myth-making enterprise without getting too cute about it .",
      "there are brief moments when MOV takes your breath away , when the frisson of future knowledge sends a shiver down the spine . but they 're outweighed by the melodrama and the politesse of this disappointingly toothless biopic .",
      "ignore the lennon and beatles intrigue in MOV and the story does n't carry much inspiration . the end result is a dreary , slight biopic -lrb- just 97 mins -rrb- that leaves you thinking , ` is that it ? '",
      "aaron johnson captures something of lennon 's cruel wit and cockiness , but there 's not much inner life to him , which is partly taylor-wood 's choice in ducking away from a more artful or probing portrait .",
      "taylor-wood has opted for a natural realism , free of arty flourishes - a style as sensible and conservative as aunt mimi . she is happy to provide a canvas on which her talented cast can shine , and they do .",
      "there 's certainly the material there for a challenging coming-of-age drama , but MOV is no more than a typical celebrity biopic , the kind you might see on bbc4 , without any of the flair you might hope for from taylor-wood and greenhalgh .",
      "there is style and subtlety in this film and it makes me look forward to what sam taylor wood does next .",
      "balancing emotive drama , pop history and evocative period piece , the film is undeniably engrossing and an illuminating addition to the beatles mythology .",
      "scott thomas and duff are both phenomenal as they fight over the young boy .",
      "MOV has just about enough music and biographical detail to appeal to lennon and beatles fans but it 's far more intimate than the typical rock star biopic .",
      "everyone in this entire production does brilliantly .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- moving , emotionally direct biopic .",
      "there is something a bit bland , a bit kitchen sink , a bit telemovie , about this portrait of the artist as a young man .",
      "visual artist sam taylor-wood casts aside her moody conceptual art and directs a lively , insightful and slightly nostalgic look at the drama of john lennon 's formative years and his relationship with the two women who brought him up .",
      "the power of these two relationships on john lennon is beautifully depicted , as is the connection between the young paul mccartney and lennon . it 's almost as if the film is bringing to visual life lennon 's lyrics , ` mother , you had me , but i never had you .",
      "one of the more remarkable biopics to come along in a while , not in the least because it smacks of authenticity without too obviously trying to advertise the fact .",
      "it cares more about the characters and their relationships than it does the factual or historical context of it all .",
      "tallied up , while there are a few flashes of decent writing and some solid acting from the supporting cast , ` MOV ' lacks any cohesive tempo ...",
      "MOV succeeds because its creators never wallow in sanctimony , keep contrivances to a minimum and has a lead actor who evolves his character rather than imitates .",
      "MOV goes somewhere , but it 's not into art . yoko ono has okayed the movie , but i think john lennon would sneer at it .",
      "MOV has striking emotional depth , a spot-on sense of period , and a central performance of remarkable texture and nuance from newcomer aaron johnson .",
      "it might not have what beatles fans are expecting from a film about the young john lennon , but it remains an interesting portrait of the early days of the future legend and is worth seeking out .",
      "fascinating ... fills in a lot of blank spaces in the beatles history we already knew .",
      "a passable drama , and might make a nice double feature with backbeat .",
      "the content is there but the form is a xerox copy of every celebrity coming-of-age tale you 've heard and seen before .",
      "if this turgid biopic of the young john lennon was a musical instrument , it would be an untuned , one-string guitar .",
      "taylor-wood , known predominantly as a photographer and video artist , has made a loving , intimate rendering of a snippet of a life .",
      "MOV delivers a definitive account of lennon 's pain-wracked adolescence .",
      "MOV does offer insights into what made the beatles great , and it 's an unpretentious , well-paced first feature .",
      "while revealing almost nothing new about lennon , and sticking rigidly to biopic conventions , it 's just about worth catching thanks to scott thomas , who 's spot-on as the arch but affectionate guardian .",
      "the late teenage years of john lennon , put through the biopic wringer by screenwriter matt greenhalgh , come out as flat and lifeless as yesterday 's `` we love the beatles '' t-shirt .",
      "this study of a boy damaged by loss yet determined to honour his talent strikes a mighty chord , and marks a hugely promising feature debut .",
      "kristin scott-thomas and anne-marie duff are both brilliant and aaron johnson convincingly captures the sarcasm and raw emotions of lennon in a film that is both hugely enjoyable and moving .",
      "MOV is a hugely enjoyable , emotionally engaging and superbly acted biopic that marks sam taylor-wood out as a director to watch .",
      "this beautifully written and directed biopic has a strong ring of truth to it , mainly due to taylor-wood 's artistic approach to filmmaking . it also features extremely complex characters and a remarkably vivid collection of events .",
      "explores in a winning way the familial strife and other forces which helped forge the creative genius of john lennon .",
      "aaron johnson gives a solid portrayal of the rock 'n' roll legend even if he does n't manage to expand on the character beyond the scripted page .",
      "moviegoers who do n't care about the beatles may skip it and miss out on a subtle coming-of-age drama that stands on its own merits , notably aaron johnson 's evocation of lennon as an angry young man .",
      "we see glimmers of the rock-star-to-be , thanks to the sly exuberance of johnson 's performance ... if the character was n't lennon , would anyone be interested ? hard to imagine .",
      "` MOV ' is one of the best films of the year .",
      "poignant and perceptive , it delves into the pop psychology behind lennon 's lyrics , ` mother , you had me , but i never had you . '",
      "taylor-woods debut feature is a rote coming-of-age tableau that churns through stations of anger , inspiration , reconciliation , mccartney , and harrison .",
      "in contrast to so many other salutes to the beatles and their legacy , this intimate drama focuses on john lennon 's turbulent teenage years , not just referencing , but explaining so much of what , later , showed up in his music .",
      "kristin scott thomas is my early favorite for the best supporting actress oscar",
      "more a reasonably absorbing domestic drama than a biopic of young john lennon .",
      "MOV is smart enough not to spell it all out . you can hear it in lennon 's music , which plays in your head as the movie works its subtle magic .",
      "a wonderfully done , poignant and surprisingly fun film that makes you understand and appreciate john lennon as a man and an artist , warts and all .",
      "aaron johnson may not be lennon , but he?s entirely persuasive as someone who could have grown up to become him . it?s a striking pre-incarnation .",
      "it 's a pleasant-enough creation story to revisit , one weighted down by melodrama and lifted up by some rocking tunes .",
      "MOV gets john 's teen years in liverpool exactly right , and first-time director sam taylor-wood has made an excellent choice in casting aaron johnson .",
      "well-crafted and acted -lrb- especially by aaron johnson -rrb- , it hits the biographical notes but misses its subject?s soul .",
      "the story of lennon 's early years is dramatic and painful enough to survive an imperfect retelling , even if you 're already familiar with the stations of the cross .",
      "johnson does a terrific job of capturing lennon 's mannerisms without coming across like a puppet .",
      "johnson sounds like lennon in snatches and has charisma to spare . where the project staged a coup was in the casting of the two most influential women of john?s early life .",
      "compelling , mature portrait of a musician as a young man .",
      "we may go because it 's the story of john lennon , but we care because it 's an emotionally honest and human story .",
      "-lsb- s -rsb- omewhat touching , but since we go into this exercise with full awareness of lennon 's future , dramatic tension is nowhere to be found .",
      "a barren soap opera of a film that puts more emphasis on lennon 's mood swings than what made his music so great .",
      "this is not a biopic in the mould of walk the line or ray ; it is the story of a troubled childhood and a determined and strong-minded young man who uses his love of music to overcome a bitter and uncomfortable domestic past .",
      "and though this biopic is as tidy as a three minute pop song , when we see him look back one last time as he leaves aunt mimi 's for hamburg and all that would come after , the music god is just a little more human .",
      "rather than a rock 'n' roll biopic , this is a classic british family melodrama , anchored by one of the subtlest , richest roles in kristin scott thomas ' impressive career .",
      "uk video artist turned filmmaker sam taylor wood and control screenwriter matt greenhalgh have delivered a vividly entertaining film .",
      "an authentic , overdue biopic that explains lennon 's torment and fire .",
      "rather than dwelling on the unique circumstances that produced a musical genius , it 's an affecting movie about coming of age and leaving home , and about the radical changes in british life since the second world war .",
      "anchored by a strong central turn , MOV crafts entertaining , small-scale drama out of lennon 's huge-sized legend . it just lacks the spark and ambition of its subject .",
      "an interesting , entertaining film that opens new doors in understanding lennon and the strange person he became , but ... this film is not about the music .",
      "handsomely composed minor-key effort",
      "MOV proves the flesh-and-blood lennon is infinitely more fascinating than the saint .",
      "while it is a downer , it is also interesting and there is enough music in it to at least whet the appetite , if not satisfy one 's beatle music craving .",
      "watch for the emotion that manages to bubble up through that pasty , buttoned-up , stiff-upper-lip , postwar england .",
      "in this surprisingly conventional biopic , the unremarkable young john lennon seems as likely to become peter noone or gerry marsden as the second coming of elvis .",
      "plays in no small way as a life of st. john text , so awed by its subject that it refuses to actually grapple with him .",
      "there 's a whole lotta psychosexual stuff packed into MOV , the tale of lennon 's adolescence in liverpool , which may or may not be true , but it sure makes for a smashing film .",
      "... depicts the bittersweet birth of musical genius .",
      "the real subjects -- and strengths -- in this narrowly focused biopic are the two women who , more than any one else , were responsible for molding the future star 's psyche .",
      "MOV exists only for the same reason that googling ` celebrity high school photos ' will yield over 35 million results -- there is , in modern society , a deep and abiding obsession with famous people .",
      "if only the script had been content to stick with its let 's - start-a-band verve .",
      "places a huge burden on -lsb- aaron -rsb- johnson , who has to play an icon in his pre-icon days while holding down the center of a family drama about a boy with abandonment issues .",
      "MOV makes lennon 's rocky personal journey parallel the cultural upheaval of rock 'n' roll -- a revolution that changed social custom , family life and private instinct .",
      "the power of MOV is that , as directed by sam taylor-wood , it captures how john lennon 's deeply sordid family life toyed with his soul by not letting him know who he was .",
      "although this is a film about the influential women in lennon 's life , it succeeds equally in its evocation of the family lennon built among his boyhood mates .",
      "occasionally energetic , but primarily frantic , boy appears more fascinated with melodrama than investigation , mashing down lennon?s surprisingly complex adolescence into a flavorless paste .",
      "MOV is modest in scope and more rewarding for it , highlighted by particularly strong performances by thomas and johnson , and a keen sense of time and place .",
      "charts the young musician 's ascension from elvis-worshiping schoolboy to the brainchild behind the quarrymen to , finally , the lead singer of an unnamed band created with chums paul mccartney and george harrison",
      "the creative process is almost audible in a silent moment when john turns an adoring gaze on the curvaceous body of his first guitar .",
      "taylor-wood stresses the universals rather than the specifics of john 's youth . so do n't go expecting a fab four origin story . the word beatles is never uttered . but do go .",
      "as sympathetic and well-turned as it is , MOV only gives us more mythology .",
      "director sam taylor-wood weaves this tale with elegance , spot-on costumes and production design , and finely tuned casting .",
      "it 's a frequently lovely film , and it 's played with real conviction . but it 's often flat and dull , and it can be heavy-handed ...",
      "if mike leigh made a movie about the birth of the beatles , it might play a lot like MOV -- and that 's a compliment .",
      "a `` portrait of the artist '' as a smart-mouthed juvenile delinquent , `` MOV '' bristles with freudian tension in front of and behind the camera .",
      "a great man biography gone comically wrong .",
      "MOV is fully accessible for everyone , not just fans .",
      "to watch MOV is to appreciate anew both the anger that drove lennon and the strength of character it took for him to overcome it .",
      "the reason to see MOV is the charismatic johnson , who effortlessly nails lennon 's strut , anger and sensitivity . anybody seeing the movie could surely spot a star in the making .",
      "how could we hate or humiliate lennon any more than he 'd been trained to hate and humiliate himself ?",
      "as the story of a young man struggling to find his own identity , MOV would work even if its protagonist had n't grown up to change the world .",
      "stunning psychological exposé by strong first-time director taylor-wood who understands the emotional stain that haunted john lennon .",
      "at about a 95 minute run time , MOV feels far longer and this is not a good thing .",
      "wisely resisting the urge to squeeze in billions of details , MOV offers something most music biopics do n't : restraint and class .",
      "we reflect that even if all you need is love , that is n't always all you get .",
      "illuminating as it might be for fans and disciples of lennon , sam taylor-wood 's bio-pic does get a bit corny ...",
      "you could pair this one with coco before chanel in a series called before they were interesting .",
      "an informative , unexpectedly emotional glimpse into the formative experiences of an eventual icon .",
      "three riveting performances anchor this engrossing ... story of lennon?s youth before -lsb- the -rsb- beatles ... even before the teen is seen writing his first song with mccartney .",
      "taylor-wood has specialized in video installations and off-kilter portraits , and it was tempting to hope that her take on lennon would unsettle and provoke . instead , she stays resolutely on-kilter , as if awed into numbness by her subject .",
      "it succeeds as a moving story of a boy , expressively played by aaron johnson , whose life would have been interesting enough to justify a movie about it even if he 'd never gone on to be one of the beatles .",
      "as a broad-strokes account of lennon 's complicated family dynamic , trouble-making youth , and first tentative steps toward rock stardom ... succeeds as both entertainment and a rumination on the roots of one man 's nascent artistry .",
      "MOV reveals the magnitude of the good women behind the grand icon .",
      "the events chronicled are all longstanding beatles legends , though director sam taylor-wood manages to stage even the most portentous moments without making you feel a celestial choir is in order .",
      "more love triangle than musical , the effective and often sweet MOV offers a sense of the time and tension that produced john lennon .",
      "this portrait of a beatle as a young man also gives filmmaker sam taylor-wood , working on a thoughtful script by matt greenhalgh , creative room to manoeuvre , introducing us to john just as he and rock 'n' roll discover one another .",
      "whether you know a little or a lot -lrb- or even nothing -rrb- about john lennon 's background , MOV is a keeper .",
      "works as a conventionally satisfying docu-drama about the difficult teen years of a musical legend . if only it could have been as unconventional as lennon was .",
      "were i a publicist , i 'd probably use the tagline , `` the year john lennon became john lennon . ''",
      "... quickly decomposes into a well-made picture of the artist as a young man .",
      "a gratifying music biopic that is surprisingly humble in its treatment of john lennon",
      "setting a cracking pace , MOV is a joyful journey into the power of personality , the finding of friends and the start of an amazing life , and to top it off , is one of the best films of the year to boot .",
      "what differentiates this story is how it dovetails into the life of john lennon that begins as this film ends .",
      "it is with fascination , curiosity and almost as voyeurs that we engage with the young , enigmatic lennon as he battles against the odds , the establishment and himself in a bid to find his own direction .",
      "hardly a cold turkey , but not a -lrb- number 9 -rrb- dream of a biopic either .",
      "taylor-wood and screenwriter matt greenhalgh mostly play it safe , offering an accessible period piece , free of nostalgia and full of key and credible emotional flashpoints .",
      "a handsome film made with real flair .",
      "while MOV is not the most daring or experimental piece of work you 'll see , it is warm , involving and very human .",
      "no surprises in this account of the troubled pre-beatles adolescence of john lennon , but sharp scripting and a pair of outstanding performances lift it out of routine biopic territory .",
      "it 's a confident debut to be appreciated by cineastes , laymen and lennonites alike ."
    ],
    "summary": "do n't expect any musical insights , but this look at john lennon 's early life benefits from its restrained , low-key approach and some fine acting from aaron johnson .",
    "id": "770817089"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1003318-butch_cassidy_and_the_sundance_kid",
    "reviews": [
      "a cool , charming , anachronistic western , with great chemistry between newman and redford , that reimagines the genre for youths of the era by turning the outlaws into mythic figures .",
      "one of the funniest , if slightest , westerns of recent years .",
      "funny and poignant tale of two famous outlaws .",
      "fine escapist entertainment .",
      "it is a great film and will be an exceptionally popular and profitable one .",
      "you have to admire the craft and assurance of the thing even as its artificiality hits you in the face .",
      "the john foreman production is episodic , but george roy hill 's direction is so satisfying in catching the full value of the goldman screenplay that a high degree of interest is sustained .",
      "although much of its freshness has faded , this still-amusing film reinvented the western for a new generation .",
      "one of cinema 's greatest ever advertisements for pure entertainment ...",
      "every character , every scene , is marred by the film 's double view , which oscillates between sympathy and farce .",
      "although butch cassidy was n't the first movie to pair up a couple of wisecracking best friends in an action/adventure setting , this film became the model of how well that approach could work when done right .",
      "in george roy hill 's vision , the raw vitality of peckinpah is replaced by a gentle amiability .",
      "stylish hollywood entertainment , albeit unworthy of its near-mythical status .",
      "it lost the oscar for best picture that year to midnight cowboy , a film that i suspect most people will probably agree has n't aged nearly as well .",
      "made like cassidy 's memorable fight with a fellow gang member : it gave true , old-fashioned westerns a swift kick to the groin .",
      "william goldman 's script is constantly too cute and never gets up the nerve , by god , to admit it 's a western .",
      "MOV -lrb- 1969 -rrb- is the likeably entertaining , charming and amusing comedy/drama of the friendship and camaraderie shared between",
      "this is the ultimate paul newman - robert redford movie . the two are charismatic , good-looking , smart and funny .",
      "a charismatic , fun and ultimately poignant classic western .",
      "possibly the most likable movie ever filmed .",
      "more of a witty buddy movie in western clothes .",
      "overrated western box office hit",
      "looking at the film with a totally modern set of eyes , completely detached from the hype of newman and redford in the late 60s , i did n't find a connection to the movie .",
      "one could -lsb- say -rsb- that butch cassidy & the sundance kid set the benchmark for buddy action-comedies to come , but there would never be another film that comes even close to exuding the same kind of charm newman and redford deliver in their roles .",
      "iconic , american experience , a classic adventure tale , and a singular slice of late - '60s moviemaking that has never really been repeated",
      "note-perfect performances , a screenplay steeped in both nostalgia and a timely sense of insight , and anti-heroes you ca n't help but love : it 's no surprise that the always re-watchable butch and sundance was once labelled the most likeable film ever made .",
      "it 's still fun , but was it ever a great film ?",
      "funny , sad , classic .",
      "a classic in every sense of the word . expert moviemaking .",
      "very funny in a strictly contemporary way-the last exuberant word on movies about the men of the mythic american west who have outlived their day .",
      "an all-time classic , with newman as his charming , roguish best and redford exuding both sex appeal and danger . a whimsical western that superbly blends actiion , humor and the power of myth making .",
      "one of the most popular , deservedly , westerns of them all .",
      "this sharply written script is far more cute than i 'd expected , but still a lot of fun .",
      "an archetype not yet surpassed .",
      "paul newman-robert redford western is as great as you remember .",
      "what can i say ? this is the father of all buddy pictures , against which most of them seem forced and derivative ."
    ],
    "summary": "with its iconic pairing of paul newman and robert redford , jaunty screenplay and burt bacharach score , MOV has gone down as among the defining moments in late - '60s american cinema .",
    "id": "10096"
  },
  {
    "movie": "date_night",
    "reviews": [
      "steve carell and tina fey make a terrific comic pairing in this entertaining if overly familiar comic thriller .",
      "director shawn levy glosses over the seeds of social satire inherent in the premise , and instead tries to make his movie all things to all quadrants .",
      "MOV feels too much like a lame married couple version of adventures in babysitting with its mild humour and tensionless action .",
      "a romantic comedy with action , edge and genuine chemistry between its leads , MOV scores a home run .",
      "everything works in MOV , a brilliantly conceived comedy in which boring , everyday reality morphs into a thrilling fantasy drenched in danger",
      "the old mistaken identity device -lrb- brilliantly handled in hitchcock 's north by north west -rrb- that leads innocent characters into deadly danger provides the pivot for a comedy about the pitfalls of marriage as a vehicle for long term relationships",
      "MOV is held together by a terrific cast that make a little go a long , long way . somewhere in all of this there was a seriously good movie . as it is , we have a seriously weird one .",
      "this manic story of mistaken identity is a disappointing waste of its talented leads .",
      "there 's something genuine and more than a little sad at the core of levy 's poorly staged , modestly amusing comedy , but it is n't the part that involves flash drives , blackmail , and glowering , gun-toting bad guys .",
      "fey and carell both show why they are so highly regarded , bringing pitch-perfect comedic timing to their parts as they bounce material off each other like it 's the most natural thing in the world .",
      "there was probably never going to be a huge amount of great jokes to be found in this scenario no matter who was in the movie . nevertheless , carell and fey do not really ` click ' with either each other , or their respective roles .",
      "through it all , carell and fey are charming and sly .",
      "imagine it : liz lemon and michael scott . married with kids . i want to go to there .",
      "despite the suitability of the casting and the naturalistic performances of the stars , MOV never breaks out of its dullsville rut .",
      "these are two of the funniest people ever on television , yet their big-screen MOV is a dreary , uninspired waste of their talents -- and those of the top-name cast inexplicably appearing in small throwaway roles .",
      "by no means groundbreaking even by studio comedy standards , but like last year 's the proposal , the movie succeeds more based on its two leads than on its high concept material .",
      "this shrill caper is more like a blind date between fingernail and chalkboard .",
      "we all have the same problems whether we 're suburbanites or strippers . that 's a healthy perspective .",
      "stand this movie up .",
      "the talented cast , anchored by steve carell and tina fey , makes MOV far better than it could have been . the stars give an old-fashioned spin a la nick and nora of the `` thin man '' thrillers and tracy and hepburn",
      "despite the genial banter of steve carell and tina fey , it 's a comedy with so few laughs it could be prosecuted under the trade descriptions act .",
      "carell and fey worked well as a team , despite the limitation of the vehicle",
      "MOV is n't a comedy classic but it is undeniably a lot of fun , and easily hits the laugh quota .",
      "the chemistry between carell and fey is pure fire -- they feed off each other , and thus feed audiences several big laughs in the process .",
      "like a great date , MOV has lots to laugh at , lots to look at , and ends with a climax that leaves everyone smiling .",
      "what the film turned out to be is a good movie but not a great one .",
      "a comfortable and good-natured effort , constantly enjoyable and frequently hilarious .",
      "MOV manages to live down to its store-brand title . but it might have worked as a serious comedy about two people trying to resex their marriage and air their mounting grievances .",
      "a skeleton praying its leads will bring it to life .",
      "carell and fey ... can telegraph anxiety , humiliation and exasperated affection in a glance . they give the film a boost even levy ca n't deflate .",
      "carell and fey mine the humor of predictable characters acting unpredictably -- and frequently , they strike gold .",
      "fey and carell do all the worthwhile work , and they 're good together , kind of the anti-glamour inverse of brad pitt and angelina jolie in mr. and mrs. smith .",
      "if MOV does n't itself quite justify a MOV -- really , do you know what sitters charge these days ? -- it 'll be a fun rent in six months .",
      "a pass . although the film could have been much funnier if it had been allowed to be edgier , carell and fey turn out to be a believable couple of marrieds ...",
      "MOV could have been another the bounty hunter -- a doa movie-star romantic comedy mixed with implausible action/adventure . but instead it 's the happiest of surprises : a genuinely sweet , funny movie .",
      "for all the problems , carell and fey keep us interested in finding out what happens to their characters . we want them to make it out of manhattan safely , and for them to have some actual fun .",
      "what makes MOV work are its stars .",
      "somehow , in an act of sheer alchemy , this silly , preposterous , absurd story has been turned into one of the funniest movies i 've seen in many months .",
      "the blooper outtakes over the end credits are funnier than the entire movie.the standout cameo belongs to j.b. smoove playing a. . .",
      "you leave the theater satisfied yet strangely displeased . that 's what happens when good actors are stranded in a lame movie that is not worthy of their talents .",
      "a movie like MOV encourages hollywood comedy to occasionally dial down , and realize that comedy emerges from characters and situations and ca n't be manufactured from manic stunts and overkill .",
      "there is some funny stuff here , particularly the asides between carell and fey , who have a comfortable chemistry . you can certainly believe that they 're a harried married couple .",
      "the real pity about the middle-of-the-road hollywood comedy MOV is that there 's actually a great film in there somewhere kicking and clawing in a desperate effort to get out .",
      "carell and fey project an intellectual sharpness and an understanding of what 's important in life - and what 's ridiculous - that are the hallmarks of endearingly sane adults capable of sustaining both a hot career and a warm marriage-with-children .",
      "a promising comedic pairing falls victim to sloppy filmmaking and a needlessly complex mystery plot . character motivation is repeatedly sacrificed for over-the-top action ; the movie essentially becomes a live-action tex avery cartoon .",
      "unapologetocally funny . here 's hoping enough couples chose it as their MOV fodder so the naturally entertaining carell and fey get to do it all over again . and soon .",
      "turning in its share of laugh out loud moments , MOV , a return to the comedy caper films of years ago , owes much to the wit and sharp improv skills of stars fey and carell .",
      "carell and fey are gifted comedians , as anyone familiar with their tv work can attest . they both deserve a better outing than ` MOV . '",
      "it pales in comparison to scorsese 's brilliant `` after hours . '' but the theme is the same : crazy things can happen when ordinary people go outside of their comfort zones .",
      "there is no doubt that fey and carell have unbelievable comic timing . they play off one another so well that they really seem married .",
      "`` MOV '' is one of those little gems that , 20 years from now , you 'll stumble across on late night tv and relish all over again .",
      "that the leads manage to get off some good lines in spite of all this nonsense is a testament to them",
      "i will admit that i laughed out loud several times during this film . both carell and fey do a great job working with the rest of the cast .",
      "a funny film about the crazy adventures of a bored suburban couple in which they rediscover their love for each other .",
      "aside from the part where steve carell climbs onto the hood of a sports car during a high-speed gun fight , MOV is funny because it 's true .",
      "featuring inspired casting , gleeful performances and smoothly handled story transitions , MOV employs steve carell 's and tina fey 's peerless knack for selling absurdist lines to deliver something resembling a comedy classic .",
      "the action plotting is quick and clean and there are some funny supporting turns .",
      "it 's better than anything i expected from the guy who remade cheaper by the dozen .",
      "levy and writer josh klausner wisely decide to remain in the background and let their stars do their thing .",
      "steve carell and tina fey 's partnership as the lynchpins of nbc 's thursday night schedule is crudely translated to the big screen in MOV , a creaky comedy only tolerable thanks to its stars ' likeability .",
      "it 's exactly as funny as a steve carell-tina fey movie should be .",
      "as dynamic as the duo of carell and fey might be , they prove unable to reverse the trend of padded and forgettable action/comedies .",
      "as MOV revels in how danger and near-death experiences can reignite a marriage , it revels equally in how carell and fey can make a formulaic movie seem fresh , simply by virtue of their respective comic chops .",
      "MOV is the perfect three-star comedy . it 's not going to set the world on fire , but you 'll wish that the rest of the cookie-cutter rubbish coming out of hollywood was at least this consistently funny and enjoyable .",
      "thank you , hangover , for making overly calculated screenplay 101 's posing as off-the-cuff works of controlled insanity the norm for mainstream middlebrow comedy .",
      "if you do n't go into this thinking you 're going to be laughing constantly , MOV is a funny film and a fun time .",
      "if you do n't go into this thinking you 're going to be laughing constantly , MOV is a funny film and a fun time .",
      "this weak-kneed comedy is guilty of many sins .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "the combination of america 's two best comedic talents in steve carell and tina fey makes MOV a film worth watching .",
      "MOV succeeds chiefly in making the work that its two stars do on the same major television network seem anything but mainstream .",
      "while the carell/fey pairing looks like a winner on paper , MOV somehow just is n't that funny .",
      "t 's a funny movie and might snatch a few knowing nods from married couples with young children ; at the very least , it 's a consistently engaging , warmly silly adventure .",
      "there 's a looming gulf in MOV between the quality of the actors and the phone-it-in script by josh klausner .",
      "MOV is worth hiring a sitter to see ... but only for the fey/carell connection .",
      "it stumbles along as you 're forced to sit through quite a bit of umming and aaahing and a car chase that lasts five minutes too long .",
      "the screenplay never takes any particularly sharp , or even interesting turns . needless to say , north by northwest is not in risk of losing its crown as the funniest and most-action packed mistaken-identity caper .",
      "fey , in particular , seems uncomfortable with the shenanigans .",
      "funny duo packs in the silly sex jokes , plus minor gun play .",
      "ultimately , and thankfully , it 's saved by its stars , who carry it all to safety as often as they can .",
      "MOV takes two funny people , puts them in unfunny situations , and has them do and say unfunny things .",
      "levy knows better to simply stay out of the dynamic duo 's way and let them do their proven thing .",
      "... works as an action-comedy precisely because its characters do not know they are in either a comedy or an action movie .",
      "as believable as the story is , it 's strange that the filmmakers did n't do more with the talent they had on hand .",
      "MOV is only ever moderately funny ; partially entertaining ; quite exciting . it bears the mark of a cinematic no-mark ; a bland director whose cast members deserve way better than him .",
      "steve carell and tina fey manage to be funny without ever seeming superior to the slipshod material .",
      "... the affable vibe inevitably gives way to an emphasis on increasingly over-the-top action sequences ...",
      "fey , in particular , finds herself in the situation of a prima ballerina unaccountably dancing with the rockettes .",
      "intermittently amusing action comedy with two deservedly well-liked stars whose ad-libs unfortunately are n't as funny as they think .",
      "one minute its forced slapstick , the next it 's a bullet-riddled car chase -- and neither works .",
      "as far as it works , it 's due almost exclusively to fey and carell , who do a superhuman amount of work in dragging the funny out .",
      "a competent and engaging little comedy that delivers on its premise without demanding more from the audience than their enjoyment .",
      "definitely go on this date .",
      "surprise : calculation leads to diverting pleasure in this engineered from top to bottom studio movie .",
      "in three or four scenes , they get a rhythm going , but the editing is smash-and-bash . shawn levy is not a director who honors performers ' rhythms .",
      "MOV is an ok comedy . but that 's not good enough .",
      "its slapstick story of a married couple enduring outrageous fortune offers a lot of laughs , a bit of romance and plenty for either sex to relate to .",
      "nothing is more frustrating than seeing potential wasted or put to poor use . with names like john klausner and shawn levy behind the scenes , however , this movie did n't stand a chance .",
      "steve carell and tina fey are perfectly matched as a boring married couple on a date from hell in new york city . their chemistry is infectious .",
      "a terrible plot ca n't stop carell and fey from being my new favorite fake married couple . i demand they rejoin forces on the big screen at least every two years .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- hat carell and fey manage to maintain their gosh-darn likeability ... is the most surprising thing about this otherwise aggressively mediocre flick ...",
      "not a perfect comedy by any stretch of the imagination but it is definitely a crowd-pleasing effort that should more than deliver on the promise of its title for millions of couples worldwide .",
      "stale , insipid and silly ... if you stay for the end-credit blooper outtakes , it becomes obvious from their banter that fey and carrell could have been far funnier if they 'd improvised .",
      "tina fey is really funny . steve carell is really funny . MOV stars tina fey and steve carell . ergo , MOV must be really ... sorry , i wish it worked that way almost as much as the studios do . but no .",
      "it 's the kind of comedy that , as it runs out of jokes , resorts to destroying cars .",
      "although played strictly for laughs , this entertaining comedy also boasts plenty of action , thrills and suspense .",
      "in timing , delivery , and charisma , tina fey and steve carell are exactly who they always are , and this is a good thing .",
      "what holds MOV together are the ways carell and fey get laughs and their effortless ability to convey the ups and downs of the fosters ' marriage .",
      "it perhaps fizzles out towards the end but otherwise zips along very engagingly . the only challenge for the target audience will be finding the time to see it .",
      "`` MOV '' provided just the escape you need without pretending to be someone else , so go out and enjoy it !",
      "okay , this is only a farcical fable , but with another director it might have been a little more than that .",
      "proves the value of having talented performers who can elevate mediocre material enough to wring genuine laughs out of it .",
      "carell and fey could probably make `` ishtar '' worth watching . wait a minute ... i liked `` ishtar . '' dustin and warren rocked !",
      "it 's pure nonsense , but the film has so much going for it that you do n't care .",
      "fey and carell are as good a tag-team comedy duo as lucy and desi , maybe even tracy and hepburn -- charismatic comedians who have amazing chemistry together .",
      "when sharp and funny performers like steve carell and tina fey are running on all cylinders , their vehicle does n't have to be that classy .",
      "the film achieves the impressive feat of squandering steve carell and tina fey .",
      "suggests the neutered offspring of martin scorsese 's after hours and james cameron 's true lies",
      "MOV is n't brilliant or hilarious , but it 's something perhaps even more rare . it 's consistent , brisk and charmingly lightweight .",
      "mr. carell and ms. fey might have been able to pull it off -- if they had only been permitted to try .",
      "tina fey and steve carell deserve better . their effortless comic timing together is the only thing to recommend `` MOV , '' but that 's enough to make it worth your time .",
      "the picture has so much going for it that you 're happy to let it lift you up and sweep you away .",
      "best supporting character whose nudity is also a plot point : mark wahlberg ...",
      "carell and fey really are like fred and ginger , so smooth and sure-footed in their comic grace -lrb- lessness -rrb- and timing .",
      "like dick van dyke and mary tyler moore on the dick van dyke show , carell and fey are witty together , sexy together and most important of all , believable together .",
      "refreshingly eschews the raunchy , despite the stripper pole and what is done to a chicken nugget that is genuinely disturbing . instead , it is smartly acted , cleverly directed , while proving that wildly funny and wildly romantic can be a perfect match",
      "much as i would prefer to see the subtler carell of dan in real life comically negotiate a struggling marriage to fey , we 're in a land of gunfire and super-computers .",
      "it works beautifully as a benign date flick .",
      "a very mild recommendation , only because the immensely funny and appealing stars outshine the pedestrian material . their respective sitcoms are funnier and more sophisticated than this movie .",
      "a broadly promising premise and well-matched stars prove no match for an abominably unfunny screenplay and the work of the poisonously untalented shawn levy .",
      "it 's got a little something for everyone and it 's actually perfect for a MOV out .",
      "outrageously funny , thrilling and heart-warming . it 's a triumphant action comedy and the first great date movie of the year . tina fey and steve carell are pure comic gold .",
      "channeling 1970 's ` the out of towners , ' if you make it past the first 10-15 minutes , you 're in for a good time .",
      "even in down seasons , a thursday block of `` the office '' and `` 30 rock '' delivers better writing , tighter direction and more laughs than 88 minutes of `` MOV . '' for free .",
      "we 're here because we want to see fey and carell .",
      "it is diverting , and it gives these two their first chance to work together , yet you ca n't help but wish that the film functioned on as high a level as its stars do .",
      "parental content review",
      "it gets one crucial element of comic filmmaking right in a way that few recent comedies have . it 's cast , down to the smallest role , with genuinely funny performers , people who understand how to time a joke , deliver a setup , underplay a deadpan glance .",
      "carell and fey continue to prove that they can hold our attention with a combination of goofball wit , impeccable timing and a direct commitment to the stories they are trying to tell with their characters .",
      "you might find yourself laughing despite yourself , and more than the movie deserves .",
      "the movie passes the time , but what a misuse of resources !",
      "shawn levy tries to smash the fun with an unnecessary over-the-top car chase , but the stars are so likable they keep our interest on track .",
      "thank goodness , then , that the well-paired leads are as charming and , yes , relatable , as ever . they 're not really boring , even if the movie is .",
      "and a good time was had by all !",
      "for a film that does n't even scrape the 90-minute mark , MOV takes an awfully long time to end .",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- feels like a movie designed as a cash machine , with little real entertainment value other than a couple of cameos , and about a half dozen chuckles .",
      "todo está jugado al carisma y el histrionismo cómico de sus estrellas , que comparten algunos momentos graciosos . pero está lejos de ser el verdadero vehículo de lucimiento que los admiradores de tina fey y steve carell esperan .",
      "here 's hoping steve carell and tina fey will be offered more opportunities to work with scripts and filmmakers who allow them to reach their potential together rather than material that forces them to rescue it .",
      "representa uma imensa oportunidade perdida de explorar os talentos de carell e fey , que certamente poderiam formar uma dupla bastante eficaz caso estivessem trabalhando com um material melhor .",
      "what should be hilarious only ends up sort of amusing . is it bad to only be amused ? not as such , but considering how hard they are clearly working to overcome the execution ...",
      "it 's an intelligent action comedy , told from the vantage point of ` after ' after the ` happily ever after . ' and starring two of the funniest people in america , you just may want to save the date .",
      "while wobbly at times , MOV is a perfectly pleasant , often uproarious action comedy ... even with shawn levy directing , the picture is a consistent delight .",
      "there are funny moments . but MOV wallows too often in derivative movie mode , with goons from central casting , sappy sentiment , and a protracted car chase .",
      "in a world of two hour and thirty-minute films comes a funny , action-packed 87 minute flick that packs a great entertaining punch . fey , carell and wahlberg are hilarious . ''",
      "the premise might be a little outrageous and stolen from a great episode of seinfeld , but it is funnier than i expected .",
      "made passable by two veteran comedians who know when to look bad when going for the laughs .",
      "in the hands of , say , a greg kinnear and a sarah jessica parker , the thing could be a disaster . it 's not . not by a long shot .",
      "what comes as a welcome surprise is how MOV manages to make sport of romantic movie conventions without being mean about them .",
      "a reasonably amusing way to pass saturday night with a significant other .",
      "watching carell and fey in action , trading quips and dodging gunfire as they attempt to make their way home to white-picket-fence suburbia , makes you wonder why it 's taken so long to bring these two gifted comics together .",
      "harmless action-comedy rests on the considerable comedic shoulders of its two stars but generates few real laughs .",
      "a constant stream of expert guest performers in supporting roles keeps the movie fresh and energetic .",
      "instead of shooting for ` it happened one night , ' it opts for being ` the hangover ' for married people .",
      "couples that have been married for a while seem to be the target audience for MOV ... if you 're in that category you 'll either find it mildly amusing - or that it hits a little too close to home .",
      "while it may not be the most ambitious comedy that you will see anytime soon , it will have you laughing a lot",
      "but the hidden gem here is wahlberg , who is introduced as a one time real estate client of claires who has a penchant for not wearing shirts .",
      "MOV '' is not exactly `` scenes from a marriage , '' and yet , with carell and fey delivering both raucous comedy and real characters , `` MOV '' is surprisingly smart , funny and sweet .",
      "two comedians walk into a thriller .",
      "that rare high-concept action-comedy that not only earns every one of its fairly consistent big laughs , but also provides a certain amount of pathos , too .",
      "flashes of funny throughout indicate the comedic gem that could have been with better direction and writing .",
      "all in all , it 's an amazing film and easily the best thing to come out of hollywood in 2010 . oh , wait a minute . none of that 's true .",
      "hugely enjoyable , sharply written and frequently hilarious comedy with a pair of note-perfect comic performances from steve carell and tina fey .",
      "levy permits himself a contrived car chase , but otherwise reins in his devotion to madcap action , producing a warm film that will strike chords with long-term couples .",
      "tina and steve have taken an uninspired concept and uninspiring colleagues , and whipped up a film that works better than you 'd dare hope .",
      "thankfully , while MOV has more than it 's fair share of flaws , carell and fey 's chemistry , charm and wit elevate the film into something positively watchable .",
      "the presence of carell and fey lifts this comedy far beyond what it could have been . their sharp improvisational skills give us a terrific look at a slightly tired marriage , even as the plot gets increasingly trite .",
      "the key to MOV is to leave your brain at the door . you 'll be amply rewarded for it , though it wo n't give you much to talk about on a date .",
      "fey and carell are better than this , but when the other options in the action-romcom territory include such efforts as the bounty hunter , who 's complaining ?",
      "you have to take a few infeasible plot leaps , but the chemistry between the leads , and their sheer likeability factor , carry them through the silly slapstick .",
      "like scorsese 's after hours , the joke hinges on turning everything into a paranoid screwball fantasy of what might happen if you take your eye off the ball for one evening . but it feels fresh .",
      "sizzling chemistry can not overcome the banal script .",
      "it 's a lively , often astute piece of marital sociology wrapped up in an action frolic involving an extremely average new jersey couple .",
      "in MOV , carell is the cake batter that holds up fey 's icing .",
      "the movie 's stars , steve carell and tina fey , are exactly what they seem . they 're perfect casting in a short , sweet comedy that makes the most of their genial gifts until it loses its sense of proportion .",
      "the jokes were as much about the doldrums of married life as about the absurd and hair raising situations in which the pair find themselves . i also thought it had one of the funnier car chases i 've seen for years .",
      "this is the rare screwball comedy that is superbly paced , cleverly plotted and hilarious from start to finish .",
      "what the film cries out for most is a quality supporting player . where are dwight schrute and tracy jordan when you need them ?",
      "josh klausner wrote the screenplay , but it really does seem as though some of its funniest lines were ad-libbed . either that or klausner deserves credit for tailoring a screenplay so completely to his actors so as to make it seem that they wrote it .",
      "here 's proof that tina fey and steve carell could squeeze laughs out of a phone book .",
      "different friom run-of-the-mill romantic comedies -- which is all to the good , but not terribly funny -- which is n't .",
      "it 's precisely because the fosters are so damn normal and relatable that we care about them . the casting of fey and carell is integral to this .",
      "the toughest movies to review are the ones that fall somewhere , safely , in the mid-range of success . they 're neither brilliant or bad , just bland . MOV is a perfect example of bland .",
      "carell and fey are good company and work hard , but this is still a formulaic tale that will look most at home on the back of an airplane seat . in other words , a shawn levy film .",
      "MOV wants to be all things to all film goers : comedy , couples movie , stonking thriller . but more is n't always more .",
      "MOV is a comedy in which writing and direction do n't matter . that 's not funny .",
      "the movie 's not breaking any new boundaries but it 's not trying to . it 's a broad , likeable comedy with a couple of moments of genius thrown in . a great night out at the cinema .",
      "the pair have impeccable comic timing , and an easy rapport which helps create a wholly believable core to what is essentially a totally outlandish plot .",
      "it 's not that fey and carell do n't make for a convincing onscreen couple ; they simply overplay their 'em barrassing parent ' shtick far too early and are left spitting cheap soundbites at each other in a genial , neverending bout of one-upmanship .",
      "where MOV never lets us down is in the core believability of the fosters , who love each other and are credibly bewildered as they find themselves catapulted into a dangerous alien world .",
      "it 's lively stuff with funny lines , droll cameos from mark wahlberg and james franco , and a nice running gag about jeanne tripplehorn .",
      "a likable lark that just makes the cut due largely to the appeal of stars steve carell and tina fey .",
      "feels like it was written by a computer program , and when it works , it is only because of the canny casting of its leads",
      "once again proof that must-see tv does n't guarantee ca n't - miss movies .",
      "the screenplay , by josh klausner , proves that the easy laugh is n't always the best .",
      "it 's not terrible , and i mean that as the mildest of praise ... it 's better than expected , if not outstanding or noteworthy in any other way .",
      "i would rather have sat through an hour and forty minutes of outtakes of this film than watch the film .",
      "good but not great - with fey and carell it should have been better",
      "the perfect date movie !",
      "the main delight here is the combination of carell and fey , both accomplished comedians , who succeed in making `` a boring married couple from new jersey '' not only engaging heroes but believable ones .",
      "the most apparent problem is the screenplay , which can find little vitality in the tired tale of a bored married couple mistakenly targeted by gangsters .",
      "there are no original set-ups , but carell 's discomfort and fey 's futile attempts to rationalise an increasingly ridiculous situation are consistently amusing .",
      "steve carrell and tina fey could be the new william powell and myrna loy",
      "MOV offers us a number of first-class passengers who have been packed into a yugo of a movie .",
      "the cameos keep MOV feeling like a ragtag , amiable gathering of funny people who enjoy each other 's company , rather than the cynical piece of action-comedy crap it actually is .",
      "levy , despite the wit and chemistry of his leads and a killer line-up of cameos -lrb- james franco , mark ruffalo , mila kunis -rrb- , manages to make the whole thing feel like a one-season sit-com crammed onto a dvd .",
      "it 's a shame the film has n't been developed to its full comic potential .",
      "pokerfaced steve carell and tina fey play phil and claire . both do dead-on deadpan . it alone sells steak that does n't have much sizzle ."
    ],
    "summary": "an uneasy blend of action and comedy , MOV does n't quite live up to the talents of its two leads , but steve carell and tina fey still manage to shine through most of the movie 's flaws .",
    "id": "770808107"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sicario_2015",
    "reviews": [
      "`` MOV '' features neither the twistiness of `` prisoners '' nor the weirdness of `` enemy , '' and so is just a very solid procedural that eschews bigger drama in favor of a continual slow build ... to nowhere in particular .",
      "a film that at times feels like an adventure , while at others it affects one like a stab in the stomach , MOV 's dagger plunges deeply . bravo , monsieur villeneuve , bravo .",
      "a slow building thriller that has a lot to say about the current u.s. led drug war",
      "as an action thriller , it delivers .",
      "confronting the war on drugs in a way which is cinematic , but far from superficial , MOV - cartel slang for ` hitman ' - is very dark , but it 's also exciting .",
      "` prisoners ' director denis villeneuve returns with a blisteringly suspenseful , ever surprising cartel thriller .",
      "MOV grabs you in the opening frame , then refuses to let go . director denis villeneuve and his sterling cast have created an unrelentingly intense crime thriller .",
      "villeneuve 's seventh feature is his most ambitious , and best ... spookily rich in atmospheric , seemingly authentic detail , expertly crafted , full of beautiful performances ... absolutely worth seeing , and on the big screen - but it 's a little frustrating .",
      "director denis villenueve knows how to tease out the suspense , setting a scene early and holding it until the squirming starts , then a moment longer .",
      "what `` MOV '' has that separates it from the rest of villeneuve 's work is a merciless script by taylor sheridan .",
      "taylor sheridan , an actor making his screenwriting debut , lets the film down in scene after scene . whenever director denis villeneuve -lrb- `` prisoners '' -rrb- builds suspense , sheridan dissipates it with another clunker .",
      "the movie shows how you can rationalise the ends justifying the means , but you do n't know where the ends will take you .",
      "MOV offers a subtle critique of all-american attitudes -- especially those to do with intervention in other countries .",
      "the cast inhabit their roles with a mix of terror and resolve .",
      "this is not the first movie about the war being waged across the u.s.-mexico border over the drug trade , but it 's the first film in which the aura of constant menace and threat lingers and follows you home .",
      "... an action-packed movie all right ... but it 's convoluted ... asks the viewer to believe that the bad guys are just there to die in hordes of bullets ... while the good guys always avoid the killing shots ... a lot of off-putting cold-blooded killing .",
      "villeneuve handles action scenes with impressive flair , but also understands that the key to effective action is to build up to it slowly and inexorably .",
      "-lsb- villeneuve -rsb- has n't forgotten that he 's making a thriller , and he 's made one that 's both nerve-shatteringly suspenseful and , thanks to noted cinematographer roger deakins , gorgeous to watch .",
      "a beautifully murky , hard-edged thriller . quite simply , one of the best films of the year .",
      "director denis villeneuve delivers screenwriter taylor sheridan 's story layer by layer , never overwhelming the audience while still challenging it to pay attention .",
      "wading into the murk is what villeneuve does better than any director working today .",
      "villeneuve 's film , written by taylor sheridan , pays off its suspense with fierce violence , and seems therefore sensational ; it ca n't quite transcend being an array of set pieces , haunting though they are .",
      "there are no rules , and no reason , in this world of death and revenge , and we see it through kate 's eyes : fascinated , repelled , ultimately haunted .",
      "rather than bring the story to a boil , villeneuve prefers to glide along it , even a slow zoom past a rock formation seeming to find muscles and a screaming face within .",
      "heart of darkness , eat your , well , heart out . MOV is an enthralling journey into the ethically-murky waters of the drug war , featuring another - yes , another - sterling performance by emily blunt .",
      "it 's so beautifully shot -- by the incomparable roger deakins -- and subtly directed by villeneuve that it feels fresh even when occasionally going through familiar beats .",
      "a spell-bounding crime thriller , you do n't simply watch ` MOV , ' you experience 2015 's most intense , sophisticated adrenaline rush that does n't let up until the end credits .",
      "a trumpian nightmare ... the ` syriana ' of drug-war movies .",
      "within this dark epic of american failure lives an effective but decidedly minor vigilante flick .",
      "as he did with prisoners , villeneuve proves to be a master of mood . unfortunately , the darkly atmospheric energy of MOV is wasted on a story with very little substance . like a drug , it 's cool and alluring at first , but it ultimately leaves you empty .",
      "the problem with `` MOV , '' directed by denis villeneuve - who helmed the acclaimed and dark drama `` prisoners '' - is that it does n't tell us anything we do n't already know about the war on drugs .",
      "the uneasy thrills that MOV gives you are its proudest achievement .",
      "MOV is beautifully directed , it features top-notch work by its three leads , and it is all set to a dazzling , unnerving score , but the film is all undone by a script that is n't half as clever as it thinks it is .",
      "far from being just another crime story , `` MOV '' is cinema at its most ambitious .",
      "MOV is at its best when its borderlines are fluid and indistinct .",
      "villeneuve paces the film with a master 's touch - a tension-building extended scene depicting a team of trucks crossing the border may be the best of the year .",
      "MOV is a bracing and powerful indictment of an inherently immoral policy that has turned otherwise good people into villains while making genuine villains into outright monsters .",
      "grippingly intense and bristling with fine acting , ` MOV ' is a thought-provoking thriller from denis villeneuve .",
      "villeneuve 's proven he 's got a strong punch . the trouble is , he barely aims .",
      "french-canadian director denis villeneuve builds a taut , thrilling mood piece , where roger deakins ' vivid cinematography holds your eyes hostage and jóhann jóhannsson 's score pounds like a jackhammer on your pulse .",
      "MOV is a solid piece of crime genre fiction elevated into a haunting and powerful cinematic experience by impeccable filmmakers and a talented cast .",
      "MOV is a film that will unnerve you and then stick with you after the credits roll , a crime thriller of immensely dark proportions akin to a nightmare but one whose monsters are very , very real .",
      "denis villeneuve 's film turns out to be a stupendously unnerving descent into moral chaos , our presumed action hero alice in cartel-land .",
      "this is one of the best movies of the year .",
      "beautifully captured , worth the heart palpitations , but inherently empty . and it 's not an emptiness that thrives of nihilism to drive home a point , it 's just serviceable desolation .",
      "the filmmakers have made a combustion of a movie , pushing the sub genre of mexican drug wars to thrilling new limits",
      "the pitch of MOV 's intensity is like a scream , underlined by the film 's ominous score as it deliberates its moral quandary",
      "one can easily ignore the film 's ambitious subtext and enjoy it strictly on the basis of its terrific performances and nonstop intensity .",
      "villeneuve and screenwriter taylor sheridan are n't selling more than a tautological action movie with the dread and body count of a horror film .",
      "denis villeneuve can do blade runner . denis villeneuve can do anything . at least , that 's the feeling one has walking out of MOV , arguably the savviest , smartest , and most exhilarating crime thriller to hit american cinemas in years .",
      "throughout , villeneuve excels at approaching the carnage to come from a great , safe distance , and the message seems clear : here is a problem of vast scope and scale , being engaged by huge and complicated forces , and here are its intimate , bloody effects .",
      "villeneuve 's film , told with an almost procedural simplicity , maintains a biting edge of uneasiness . victims become victimizers , and vice-versa , with a terrifying fluidity",
      "a thriller with a heart and a conscience .",
      "MOV is a muffled gunshot of a crime thriller that never allows itself to remove the muzzle that keeps its viciousness at bay .",
      "denis villeneuve has directed a super-bloody killer of a film . but without cinematographer roger deakins , `` MOV '' would not be nearly as dramatic .",
      "of all the movies about drug trafficking , and the authorities who battle the problem , i would rate `` MOV '' somewhere in the middle . it is extremely violent , of course , but only intermittently suspenseful .",
      "... generates sympathy on a personal level yet conveys a bleak authenticity that does n't offer easy solutions to its broader issues .",
      "`` MOV '' can be relentlessly cynical , but it 's also mesmerizing , and exhilarating .",
      "denis villeneuve delivers an appropriately loud , jumpy , energy-driven take on this country 's seemingly hopeless struggle to end mexico 's drug war .",
      "a dramatic thriller that 's not for the faint of heart but so far is one of the best films of 2015 . -lrb- full content review - sex , violence , profanity , etc. - for parents also available -rrb-",
      "... a hard-nosed procedural for the post-post 9/11 era .",
      "tthe film would be unimaginable without the vivid and tactile cinematography of roger deakins , the bruising johann johannsson score and the gripping performances of emily blunt , josh brolin and benicio del toro .",
      "nothing is as it seems in MOV .",
      "tense , uncompromising and morally and ethically challenging , denis villeneuve 's MOV is a formidable piece of filmmaking that undoubtedly rates among the year 's best .",
      "the perspective is limited by design - to make us feel as if we , too , are creeping through that tunnel toward a reveal for which we may not have the stomach .",
      "it 's admirable that the film 's taking its subject seriously ; it 's just not enough .",
      "the film is visually and aurally stunning .",
      "then there 's del toro 's turn as alejandro . simultaneously tragic and terrifying , it 's the type of subtly menacing star turn that should keep him busy throughout awards season .",
      "the thrilling opening sequence of the drugs cartel movie MOV is a humdinger -- and a stomach churner .",
      "the power of MOV can not be underestimated : this film about drug cartel violence on the mexico border is a cinematic gut punch and one of the most well-crafted films of 2015 .",
      "what you do see in any film shot by roger deakins is equally crucial and sometimes powerful beyond words .",
      "blunt gives such a finely calibrated performance that the emotional clichés can be forgiven .",
      "it has a screenplay of freshness and audacity that 's brought to life by a director who understands its every psychological undercurrent . we might hope this kind of thing would happen all the time , but it 's rare .",
      "it 's riveting .",
      "combining relentless action with the story of a woman confronting a corrupted system , it hits with the staggering energy of a visceral kick in the guts - causing a sensory recoil in every scene .",
      "this is suspenseful stuff , but hanging over the action is the pungent smell of social failure , as the drug war turns both sides into monsters .",
      "harshly violent , MOV is about violence itself , and how both the cartel and american forces wield it for their purposes .",
      "bewilderment , resolve , disenchantment and blind fury are just some of the states -lsb- blunt -rsb- goes through as the bigger picture comes into focus , providing villeneuve 's otherwise blisteringly macho film with an emotional anchor .",
      "villeneuve 's movies occupy a spectrum between thought-provoking and mind-bending , and it 's clear that he wants to guide taylor sheridan 's script into similar territory .",
      "the first hour of this latest film from french-canadian director denis villeneuve is sleek , terrific pulp .",
      "french-canadian director villeneuve rubbed our noses in pennsylvania vigilantism-gone-wrong in prisoners ; now he grids our faces further into the smothering sands of american sanctimony .",
      "villeneuve , cinematographer roger deakins and composer jóhann jóhannsson combine to make the action scenes gorgeous , scary and exciting , while the script by taylor sheridan is mordant and smart , with not a wasted word .",
      "directed by denis villeneuve from a script by taylor sheridan , the film manages to somehow be sleek and sprawling , focused and cagey at the same time , often in the same scene .",
      "after a while these sounds and images start to feel like expressions of technique , and they become at once numbing and sensational , and instead of a movie about violence we 're watching another violent movie , after all .",
      "presents the never-ending war on drugs in all of its pig-headed futility .",
      "mixes arthouse and grindhouse into a most satisfying cocktail .",
      "this dramatic thriller finds a spot somewhere between your brain and your stomach , and drills in .",
      "this very accomplished , expertly written and acted drama drives home its point in subtle , yet forceful fashion .",
      "MOV 's protagonist problems wind up being significant , retroactively casting a negative shade on the movie -- which is a shame , because it takes what could be great and instead makes it good .",
      "denis villeneuve 's MOV is a slick , simplistic view of the war on drugs propelled by great perfs from blunt , del toro and brolin and balletic violent set pieces . i wanted `` traffic , '' i got movie crack .",
      "a gripping and tension-packed spin through america 's covert war on drugs . prepare to be haunted for a good long time .",
      "a sharp , uncompromising thriller and benicio del toro gets his own franchise . where is brad pitt 's franchise ?",
      "... a tentacled drug cartel thriller grabbing viewers by the throat and squeezing for two hours .",
      "denis villeneuve é eclético em seu estilo , mas consistente em sua qualidade .",
      "villeneuve 's bloody drama does n't need to make perfect plot sense or answer all your questions , as the picture it paints of the cartels is so complex that , it seems , you could never understand -lsb- them -rsb- , let alone stop them .",
      "a taut and dramatic thriller .",
      "MOV is a remarkable , thrilling , intermittently brilliant film-and yet nonetheless a mild disappointment .",
      "after all the mysterious buildup , what eventually goes down is n't all that surprising or earth shattering except in its hair trigger execution , the filmmaking superior to the story it services",
      "a sensational thriller that grabs you by the throat . director denis villeneuve stages scenes with the eye of a master and he 's aided by the great cinematographer roger deakins and a first-rate cast .",
      "... the law may be casting something of a shadow , but it 's the harsh landscape - wild lawlessness - that dominates the frame .",
      "one of the best films of 2015 , `` MOV '' does more than just lift the dirty , clandestine rug on the mexican drug war . it poses harrowing moral questions many of us are too nervous to be asked let alone prepared to actually answer .",
      "the movie is stunningly effective , with special credit due to the peerless cinematographer roger deakins , who turns the deserts of arizona and mexico into eerie alien landscapes , and composer jóhann jóhannsson .",
      "with a taut and timely screenplay by taylor sheridan , MOV is a brilliant action thriller with the smarts of a message movie .",
      "MOV paints the bleakest of portraits of a realistic situation , drawn from headlines about mexican cartels that stack bodies with savage efficiency .",
      "an enthralling treatment of the war on the drug trade ... a brilliant , unsettling piece of filmmaking .",
      "MOV is a spectacular thriller , but it is first a good movie , and a thriller second . in this respect , it 's got less in common with its alleged sister-films traffic and end of watch , and more with the silence of the lambs or no country for old men .",
      "director denis villeneuve , aided and abetted by cinematographer roger deakins , fills MOV with dread and a violence that happens to be stunning to look at .",
      "sheridan suggests that the object of this game is not to stop the drug trade but to perpetuate the game itself .",
      "villeneuve has crafted a compelling , unflinching look at the deadly and complicated war on drugs , one that will challenge the attitudes of even the most straight-edged and law-abiding viewers .",
      "epitomizes what happens when every last creative and technical element is operating together at the highest level possible . `` MOV '' is mesmerizing , a subjectively grim but necessary stunner saturated in apprehension .",
      "MOV is a big brooding beast of a movie . like some sort of dark thing that lurks in a corner glaring at you but not moving to attack you . yet .",
      "MOV opens on a power chord of fear , nausea , and dread that resonates throughout the whole movie .",
      "we can thank villeneuve and rookie screenwriter taylor sheridan 's tight script , but also blunt , brolin and del toro , each of whom has never been better .",
      "emily blunt again steps up to bump up her credentials as today 's go-to action girl -lsb- in a -rsb- gutsy , rough-edged action drama .",
      "tedious on a grand scale but these days what war on drugs movie is n't ?",
      "if you like your movies powerful and important , even cringe-inducing , this could be your choice . it proves that there is more to movies than escapism . this one is disturbing on a high-caliber level .",
      "a molotov cocktail of a movie , flaming fuels of helplessness and paranoia and scorching viewers ' nerves in the process .",
      "i found it to be compelling and highly sophisticated in its performances and its visual design .",
      "an unforgettable motion picture that should be on the must-see list for anyone who appreciates films that deal in grays rather than blacks and whites .",
      "by the end , it packs a death stare so potent it will make you want to turn a blind eye to the shadowy brutality of its real-world horrors .",
      "french-canadian auteur denis villeneuve and a brilliant cast score with this powerful crime drama .",
      "it 's not that i think ` MOV ' is a bad movie , far from it ; it 's just with so much terrific work going on in front of and behind the camera , the fact the end result is merely a ` good ' movie somehow feels disappointing .",
      "like the war on drugs itself , nothing in ` MOV ' moves in a clean , straight line , nothing is really as it appears to be , and no one can really be trusted-or can they ?",
      "succeeds in evoking the anarchic violence of the drug wars raging on both sides of the u.s.-mexican border .",
      "from the opening moments , in one of the most disturbing set-pieces i can remember , MOV starts with taut intensity and never lets up until its tragic and perceptive denouement .",
      "it 's so good at building and maintaining tension that you do n't mind that it gets a little dopey every time the tension is broken .",
      "this is a meticulously slick , brawny , and set-piece-packed film that provides blunt with a ripe stage to wow us with her physical and visceral strength once again .",
      "the movie 's knowhow is impressive and its politics are spot on .",
      "it 's a film that lacks the urgency of the really great thrillers , but exists in that rarefied air of refined production values on every level and a flawless ensemble .",
      "i give director denis villeneuve and writer taylor sheridan , and lionsgate , credit for showing this story with a real edge .",
      "it 's a raw , muscular movie with terrific work from blunt and del toro , quietly debating urgent moral questions between stunning set pieces .",
      "denis villeneuve is , unquestionably , one of the most exciting directors working today .",
      "the narrative , like the morality , is murky and muddled , though knowing why one character is embarking on one mission wo n't make anything clearer",
      "the violence of the inter-american drug trade has served as the backdrop for any number of films for more than three decades , but few have been as powerful and superbly made as MOV .",
      "benicio del toro is downright magnificent . he delivers his best performance since 21 grams . a dedicated sensation that calls back to all types of performances such as javier bardem in `` no country for old men '' or gene hackman in `` the french connection . ''",
      "a masterpiece . director denis villeneuve 's best movie to date . benicio del toro and emily blunt are terrific .",
      "denis villeneuve 's film views life in the age of the modern-day drug war as an ever-crescendoing existential nightmare .",
      "the acting , craft , and tone of MOV are so precise that the absurdity of this cartel yarn is both its greatest weakness , and maybe its entire point .",
      "if `` MOV '' does not collapse under its own grimness , that is because of the pulse : the care with which villeneuve keeps the story beating , like a drum , as he steadies himself for the next set piece .",
      "remember the scene in boogie nights where alfred molina is randomly tossing firecrackers ? MOV is like that scene for two straight hours . it is intense .",
      "stylish , smart and exciting , this is what can happen when artists make entertainment : you get art that entertains .",
      "a compelling action-thriller that never loses sight of making its characters feel like real people .",
      "a well-deserved showcase for emily blunt .",
      "denis villeneuve is a master of grim determination . this is a compliment , because although it is one thing to be gritty , it is another thing to be all willy-nilly about it .",
      "pleasingly grown-up entertainment that pulls no punches .",
      "while MOV may be guilty of exoticising the `` murder capital '' reputation of juárez and its environs , it does so in a way that is horribly efficient , exploiting our anxieties and expectations with cruel precision .",
      "MOV looks so good that it 's impossible not to gush ...",
      "basically just another violent movie about drug trafficking . it 's efficient enough at what it does , but what it does is neither new nor significant .",
      "it 's the thriller of the year , now go see it , before you find out anything else .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- visceral and savagely compelling action drama .",
      "MOV may leave an unpleasant taste but it is a slick , accomplished thriller .",
      "smart enough to challenge your views , yet not too cerebral to alienate the mainstream , MOV is a thoroughly engrossing watch that dazzles visually and connects emotionally .",
      "if the film is a little too macho and far too anglo to tell the full , ugly story of all the villains and victims , it is , like all of villeneuve 's films , a bravura piece of filmmaking .",
      "a visceral , in-the-moment ride-along more than a movie to chew over for any length of time .",
      "blunt plays the part splendidly .",
      "-lsb- video essay -rsb- a disappointment from start to finish , denis villeneuve 's attempting-to-be-edifying international drug thriller fails miserably by the social realist parameters it portends to fulfill with macho quasi-military bombast .",
      "villeneuve -lrb- enemy , prisoners -rrb- sticks close to thriller formula but also takes the path less travelled along the way .",
      "the one saving grace of MOV is the considerable talent of cinematographer roger deakins , who continually finds new , striking images to couch all the action in .",
      "it is probably appropriate -lrb- indeed , deliberate -rrb- that denis villeneuve 's gripping thriller concerning the war on drugs should end in murky confusions .",
      "denis villeneuve takes on the mexican drug trade in this stern , robust , abandon-hope-all-ye-who-enter thriller .",
      "you know the way it goes ... the only woman on the team ? kept in the dark ?",
      "america 's covert war against the mexican drug cartels gets a bracing , brutal working over by the director denis villeneuve .",
      "with its shifting points of view , MOV does n't preach . but it will make you think .",
      "no drugs bust , then , but nothing to get hooked on .",
      "-lsb- denis villeneuve -rsb- has now proven himself to be one of the strongest directors in the field right now .",
      "a booming , blooming brilliant film that maintains the tension from the outset .",
      "even with all its impurities , `` MOV '' remains pretty kick-ass dope .",
      "delivers enough sheer brutality and suspense to maintain two hours of dread-filled anxiety ...",
      "pulled from the news but punched up to fever pitch , MOV represents the perfect mix of cerebral and visceral thrills . star , director and screenwriter all bring their a-game .",
      "the ` war on drugs ' has never felt more like an actual war in this brutal , scathing condemnation of the lawlessness of the battle ... on the ` good guys ' side .",
      "we 've seen similar riffs on post-9 / 11 ethical erosion at the movies before . but few are as suggestive , or feel so plausible , or have villenueve 's assertive , confident camera .",
      "denis villeneuve knows how to create tension with devastating precision and stunning visual swagger .",
      "an expertly crafted , beautifully shot and superbly acted thriller that delivers high quantities of suspense and action , cemented by an intelligent , morally complex script .",
      "damn it , academy , give roger an oscar",
      "intelligent and provocative . despite the heavy subject matter , MOV works just as well as a thriller as it does a social-issue drama .",
      "there 's not much emotional investment in any of the characters , and the film has little to add to any serious discussion of its subject matter - but as a pitch-black thriller , MOV succeeds with style ."
    ],
    "summary": "led by outstanding work from emily blunt and benicio del toro , MOV is a taut , tightly wound thriller with much more on its mind than attention-getting set pieces .",
    "id": "771414183"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sweet_land",
    "reviews": [
      "the film 's multilayered narrative -lrb- which employs a flashback within a flashback -rrb- and complementary use of organic transitions is nothing if not breathtaking .",
      "not a great film , something to watch when it comes on cable , not for a night out to the theater .",
      "MOV brushes against the true spirit of american independent cinema .",
      "MOV is gorgeously shot and directed without a false note , but its chief virtue is the beautiful and little-known -lsb- elizabeth -rsb- reaser .",
      "intelligently written , brilliantly cast and thesped story of a german mail order bride in a norwegian-american community in minnesota just after wwi never hits a wrong note .",
      "selim , cinematographer david tumbelty and a superb cast work together to create a believable , poignant and haunting evocation of a long-lost way of life .",
      "there 's a tartness at the center of MOV , ali selim 's unabashedly sentimental tale of a mail-order bride and the community that eventually comes to accept her .",
      "if the christmas movie season sometimes seems like a holiday smorgasbord stuffed with empty calories , MOV is a much-needed palate cleanser .",
      "director ali selim 's debut feature is a bland , drawn-out throwback to jan troell 's '70s epics the emigrants , the new land and zandy 's bride .",
      "if terrence malick could ever banish the wispy art clouds from his brain and give in to the storyteller inside , perhaps he might make a movie as stirring as MOV .",
      "this is the real a prairie home companion . you can practically hear garrison keillor 's voice as an implicit narrator .",
      "directing with a light comic touch and a palpable affection for the characters , selim draws pitch-perfect acting from a large cast -lrb- john heard , ned beatty , alan cumming , alex kingston , and lois smith -rrb- and achieves breathtaking levels of color and clarity .",
      "an old-fashioned family drama masquerading as an art film .",
      "a gentle , well-observed drama ... old-fashioned but in a good sense . ... reaser and guinee are such open , animated actors that inge and olaf 's emotions are easily understandable even if their words are not .",
      "a torturously slow meditation on the tribulations of immigrant farmers that strains for an elegiac tone .",
      "the low budget has n't prevented the filmmakers from taking care with details . the film 's almost palpable : you feel the coldness of the blue , forbidding sky and smell the bristling dustiness of the harvest-ready wheat .",
      "the son of an egyptian immigrant , the minnesota born selim demonstrates a startling intimacy and empathy for his characters , but infuses his story with a candid tough love for their weaknesses .",
      "characters ' motivations and behaviours wobble all over the map - even within single scenes - making for a profoundly frustrating and disappointing experience for viewers .",
      "it 's not a film to watch when you 're tired .",
      "MOV is n't so silly as to say ` love conquers all ' , but it reminds us , sometimes ecstatically , that love can conquer a lot .",
      "what matters in MOV are the moments between the words being spoken , the mute characters as seen in reaction shots , and the images of flat , grassy minnesota landscapes and big sky .",
      "community intolerance and quasi-legal hurdles in 1920 minnesota be damned for a courageous mail-order pioneer of the heartland .",
      "as MOV demonstrates , bigotry is vulnerable , and love is universal . MOV is a fervent movie poem to that love -- and to family , land , lost times and old beginnings .",
      "selim erases the cultural barrier between the eras and makes olaf and inge 's tentative , forbidden romance seem as beautiful and as tender , and as urgent , as anything that might happen in the present day .",
      "a film of uncommon grace , one that transports you to an america that seems innately familiar even though you have never seen it depicted on-screen quite like this before .",
      "this is an intelligently told story that relies on intriguing characters and enticingly mellow pacing that reflects the story 's setting .",
      "at once epic and intimate , MOV offers a stirring account of love and hardship which , aside from a muffed capra moment towards the end , hardly puts a foot wrong .",
      "nostalgic , gentle , loving : the elegiac mood set against endless rural space inevitably suggests malick 's days of heaven . what next from this considerable talent ?",
      "ali selim 's visual masterpiece recalls the stark artistry of terrence malick and western lyricism of larry mcmurtry , as it turns every frame into a picture postcard of stunning beauty .",
      "exceptionally photographed and remarkably performed by actors tim guinee and elizabeth reaser , MOV is modest , but demonstrative , eager to detail a love story that sustains for a lifetime .",
      "here is a nicely photographed , but bland , insipid and weirdly passive-aggressive little film .",
      "minnesota between the wars is a bone yard for dreams , yet , like babette 's feast , the film plucks a tiny miracle from stony ground .",
      "our movie of the week - which is n't saying much - arrives in the shape of this atmospheric slice of americana about an arranged marriage deep in the heart of rural minnesota .",
      "pleasant surprise of the week , a us indie so unashamedly romantic about pie , cornfields , family and baseball you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a presidential campaign video .",
      "MOV could have been mawkish and overly sentimental , but selim has a light touch and the film is intelligent , sensitive and sweet .",
      "echoing malick 's ` days of heaven ' in the way it captures the majesty of the american countryside , this is a small gem that 's worth seeking out .",
      "... a beautifully photographed film ... that celebrates its regional identity .",
      "a tender and touching film about the blooming of love , the poignant tug of place , and the challenges of openness in a rural midwest community in the 1920s .",
      "beautiful cinematography renders the prairie and its sturdy inhabitants more inviting than harsh .",
      "selim 's script does n't hit new territory , but beautiful cinematography takes it just far enough .",
      "MOV , a beautiful and poignant film , impressed me with its charming simplicity and convincing sense of place .",
      "some of MOV is very predictable , some of it is surprising . what holds the audience 's interest are the performances and selim 's solid direction .",
      "sweet and low-key , MOV is a movie that likely will leave you wishing you liked it more .",
      "a sweet gem .",
      "a spare yet meaningful script , subtly deep performances and a starkly beautiful landscape combine in MOV to tell a love story that is as much about the land as it is about two people .",
      "MOV is so beautiful that it appears to be made of moving postcards , and so dull that it appears to be made of ... moving postcards .",
      "MOV is a lovely , lovely small story about discrimination , assimilation and acceptance in the plains .",
      "a heartfelt work of radiant simplicity and plainspoken eloquence , MOV offers viewers a lovely reprieve from overproduced , marketing-driven studio schlock .",
      "inge only speaks a `` little english '' , so she relies on her face to convey all her thoughts and emotions and what a canvas for words ... elizabeth reaser 's enchanting on the screen .",
      "the camera eats up elizath reaser : her chiseled features , willowy frame , and long curls that peak out of period hats .",
      "terrific acting , a perfectly captured period setting , and a simple , aching farm courtship , that 's all MOV is .",
      "as opposed to the bulk of low-budget films , the look here is lush and beautifully crafted ; even the make-up is excellent .",
      "if its drama of german and norwegian newcomers on the plains of southern minnesota is modest enough , it 's also clearly a labor of love .",
      "MOV values interconnectedness -- in a couple , among a community , with the land , and with ancestors -- and powerfully illustrates it within the story 's emotional and visual content .",
      "a lovely , old-fashioned farm romance quietly doubling as a comment on immigration and american identity .",
      "a painterly , patient look at the american immigrant experiencewrit small .",
      "a simple but heartwarming period tale ... a generous and -- appropriately , given the title -- sweet-natured portrait of a time long past .",
      "a gorgeous romance , set during world war i , with a deep affection for the land and the immigrant settlers who make something of it .",
      "a love story and an elegy , MOV is a meaningful film that makes its points with subtlety .",
      "-lsb- director ali -rsb- selim grounds the story so firmly in its characters that he never hits a false note .",
      "intelligently written , beautifully photographed , intensely emotional and creatively challenging , it 's simultaneously heartbreaking and life-affirming .",
      "it 's a blend of immigrant saga , fish-out-of-water parable , days of heaven-like pastoral and epic love story , all merging with a seamless , satisfying unity and no wrong notes in its performances or production .",
      "as empty and beautiful as the picturesque minnesota terrain it 's so clearly taken with .",
      "this is the sort of quiet independent film that comes and goes before anyone notices . i hope that does n't happen here , because MOV is a nicely understated but loving look at the immigrant experience in this country .",
      "what we have here is an otherwise respectable period drama that keeps descending to an after-school-special level of bluntness .",
      "MOV is an unusual look at love and how it can unexpectedly develop . those for whom the concept of an arranged marriage is foreign will get a little history lesson on the immigrant experience watching this sweetly engrossing film .",
      "it 's beautiful ."
    ],
    "summary": "finding the right balance between subtle and sentimental , MOV moves beyond other similarly-themed dramas with evocative cinematography that plays an equal role to the talented cast .",
    "id": "355028263"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dead_girl",
    "reviews": [
      "a very unconventional way to tell a story we 've seen about a million times , and for that -lrb- along with the lean 94-minute running time -rrb- , i am thankful . keep an eye on moncrieff -- she 's the real deal .",
      "moncrieff chooses to scrutinize highly unpleasant material but , fortunately , she never takes an exploitative or sensationalistic approach . the movie has its integrity .",
      "the movie 's a big step up from blue car , which had a similar stillness but less to say",
      "a total downer and disappointment given writer and director karen moncrieff 's poignant debut with blue car .",
      "karen moncrieff 's melodrama is less noxious than paul haggis 's race fantasy by virtue of having nothing to say about anything that will be of any importance to anyone .",
      "the various tales amount to little on their own and fail to resonate outside of their narrow narrative confines .",
      "if you 're weary of crime stories that follow the conventional path on the way to a generically inevitable conclusion , the MOV is a title you might want to throw a red circle around .",
      "works like a package of crisp , individual psychological profiles of the women whose already troubled lives are disrupted by the murder .",
      "while some may find the film unrelentingly depressing , it is a richly acted , well written piece that deserves consideration .",
      "the film picks up speed and interest , due largely to a host of strong performances by some fiercely committed actresses .",
      "... there 's little doubt that the movie cements -lsb- karen moncrieff 's -rsb- status as one of the most promising new filmmakers to come around in ages .",
      "the truncated stories force the actors to start at a high pitch and keep going , but they -- and the director -- work wonders at low volume .",
      "moncrieff -lrb- blue car -rrb- pushes a view of women as victims that might create its own pornography of masochism if it did n't touch so many authentic shattered nerve endings .",
      "bleak and baleful , recommended only if you 're into sinister desolation .",
      "the chief problem with the MOV , as with most current multipart films , is that the truncated stories do n't give actors much room to develop a part . they 're on-screen for such a short time that they act furiously from the get-go .",
      "ambitious , but while it serves as a showcase for some terrific performances , it achieves the wrenching drama it 's aiming for only intermittently .",
      "the acting is extremely strong . most of the actors give something close to the performances of a lifetime but this is a film that is hard to watch because it is n't entertaining . this is just nice people in pain with no payoff . this is going to get lots of",
      "i neither gained any knowledge nor experienced pleasure or deep emotion of any sort ; the best that can be said is that i was n't bored or offended .",
      "there 's no mistaking the integrity and craft on display here , and the writing and direction are too smart to dismiss the MOV as victimology or man-hating .",
      "yes , it 's dark , depressing material , but watching the film is n't . because you 're seeing such talent at work there .",
      "each story could be its own full-length movie , and each is shot with a different style and feel .",
      "disquieting examination of female suffering that asks you to look at people and see a common humanity . nicely crafted , expertly acted , often unforgettable .",
      "from collette to byrne , these women start out strong and get continually better , reaching a crescendo with murphy .",
      "the use of multiple plots can be a dangerous exercise if not skillfully executed , making viewers feel cheated and wanting more , but moncrieff works it out , ably shifting from one story to the next and keeping us satisfied with the open-ended outcomes .",
      "... sometimes feels like seven filtered through sundance , but at least it gives weight to the sort of tragic story hollywood usually treats like a thrill ride .",
      "the MOV is bleak , sad , and depressing -- which is exactly what -lsb- director -rsb- moncrieff intends it to be .",
      "as tasty as butter",
      "murphy , devouring a bad girl role to go with her image , makes her the most alive person in what is most certainly not your typical hollywood serial killer movie .",
      "the MOV is an ambitious , unusual drama , and it 's the kind of script that actors kill for , giving them rich , three-dimensional parts that they only have to play for a small amount of time , allowing for full emotional impact .",
      "it must be said that the MOV is a film of considerable integrity . but before that , something else must be said : that 's about as unappetizing an opening to a film as can be imagined .",
      "a stern account of how the brutal murder of a young woman affects an array of far-flung characters .",
      "or : life sucks and then you die : the movie .",
      "growing less lurid and more poignant as it builds its story through a series of linked vignettes , this film by karen moncrieff provides a showcase for its predominantly female cast .",
      "um elenco formidбvel -lrb- com destaque para murphy e hurt -rrb- ajuda a diretora-roteirista moncrieff a contar uma sйrie de histуrias tristes , mas com belas promessas de redenзгo .",
      "confusing until you see all the loosely connected shortstories in the series .",
      "a well crafted five part ensemble drama of the toughest sort . tight dialog , first rate acting and searing images make their statement on the tragedy of runaway abduction .",
      "i do n't remember when i 've seen a movie with as many exceptional female performances as those in ` the MOV . '",
      "the tone is fittingly dark , the writing impressively poetic , and the performances excellent absolutely across the board .",
      "a dreary chick flick serial killer film , that puts a human face on the vic as it focuses on all the women affected by the serial killer .",
      "the MOV segues from one turgidly-paced , soul-crushing sequence to another with very little reason to continue watching .",
      "the masterful film , which was also released on dvd this week , sends shivers up your spine and devastates you five times over , then has you longing to wipe the sweat off your brow and start watching all over again .",
      "the MOV provides several of terrific actresses with meaty roles and for that reason alone -lrb- let alone moncrieff 's fluid direction and solid , if uneven , scripting -rrb- it deserves to find an audience .",
      "intriguing and unpredictable , this multi-layered film delivers a profound ripple effect as it explores the complexities of anger , grief , denial and retribution",
      "unblinking and critical about female-rooted and female-specific concerns .",
      "click for full review",
      "karen moncrieff 's previous film , the shallow and pretentious blue car , in no way prepares you for this superbly acted , emotionally acute picture .",
      "s she stands , so perversely resistant and so utterly naked , ruth embodies the grief and torment of being a live girl .",
      "pic 's weak ending demonstrates that its multi-narrative strategy , though full of cinematic potential , also holds traps for a film 's overall impact .",
      "the power of each individual performance is obvious , but it 's easy to underestimate -lsb- director karen -rsb- moncrieff 's subtle skill as a writer and observer of human nature .",
      "occasionally the movie manages to achieve a real sadness , but some story lines are forced .",
      "if the segments are uneven , moncrieff -- with the help of her excellent cast -- nevertheless crafts a gripping overall narrative that exposes a shared dissonance among the protagonists .",
      "the outstanding performances and writing would make a great film even if all -lsb- karen -rsb- moncrieff did was turn on her camera and aim it at the actors , but she adds yet another layer of meaning to the piece via her thoughtfully considered visual style .",
      "messy and melodramatic , then quiet and contained -- the MOV is definitely unpredictable . but then so is life . and -lsb- director karen -rsb- moncrieff gives us five fat slices of it here , all full of painful color and inconvenient drama .",
      "all screams aside , movies about serial killing are rarely chipper affairs . but few are as glum as the MOV .",
      "moncrieff manages to get beneath the skin of several of these characters , a nifty trick considering what a crowded world she 's created . in all , it 's a grueling , emotionally taxing , discomfiting film .",
      "moncrieff deserves kudos for making a femme-driven film , but it does n't really enagage us emotionally in the tragic tale of a dead hooker and the puzzle-like narrative does n't pay off .",
      "this is unsettling and completely riveting at the same time . it 's like six degrees of separation for the terminally broken .",
      "some chapters are more useful than others , but i 'm not sure you could omit any of them , either , as each stroke provides a color that contributes to the overall picture .",
      "an emotionally disturbing film about a victim of a serial killer .",
      "moncrieff never gets melodramatic with subject matter that easily could have been ; she wo n't make you feel good , but she will make you feel .",
      "five stories compose the heart of `` the MOV , '' karen moncreiff 's disturbing new drama that 's so unsettling , it likely will leave those who see it in an unqualified funk .",
      "the five-story format is intriguing , the performances first rate , and a couple of the stories , particularly those involving collette , harden and washington , are moving .",
      "with the MOV , this technique of breaking the narrative apart and then piecing it back together has led to a sort of narrative vacuum at its center -- an empty hole where a thing called exposition would typically reside .",
      "the stories do n't exactly add up to anything you can put your finger on , but they 're absorbing as they 're happening , and director karen moncrieff has a smooth , sure visual style .",
      "those who pass on the MOV are missing something . moncrieff has assembled a remarkable -lrb- and mostly female -rrb- cast , and there are moments in this film that are as powerful as anything currently in theaters .",
      "ms. moncrieff 's ambitious second film is a bit of a disappointment after the promise shown in her more tightly structured debut effort , blue car .",
      "the faces of the MOV , and their ways of reacting to utter awfulness , are preserved in your memory for days afterward",
      "moncrieff unfurls her tales with the poetic intensity of short stories .",
      "the MOV has such a glacial pace , and with such tonal monotony -- most of the first 20 minutes are either grim , in the dark or both -- that audiences will follow at their peril .",
      "a blistering , complex and compelling mystery that offers one of the best acting ensembles seen in ages .",
      "seeing multiple responses to a sexually motivated murder allows us to reconsider our understanding of sex crimes .",
      "none of these little tales goes quite where you expect it will , which would make it riveting enough , but every single performance is a wonder of surprising emotion ...",
      "there 's an underlying , unifying power and credibility to moncrieff 's cumulative assertion that degradation is expected of too many women , and too often expected by themselves .",
      "the relentless emotional violence in this film , a compendium of five vignettes related to a young woman whose corpse is discovered on a hillside , is of a level rarely found in movies .",
      "the sheer originality of a murder mystery written in this way should merit it , and moncrieff , a great deal of praise .",
      "no potential for redemption materializes in the thoroughly depressing world created by karen moncrieff .",
      "boasts many solid performances .",
      "brilliantly written and even better directed by karen moncreiff , the MOV represents a rather remarkable innovation in the female empowerment genre ."
    ],
    "summary": "this dark thriller boasts a fresh approach , but it can still get bogged down by its heavy subject matter .",
    "id": "460673131"
  },
  {
    "movie": "district_b13",
    "reviews": [
      "a die-hard , kinetically charged action film with the kind of shocks and starts that feel truly earned : for once , here 's something you might not have seen before , and with no strings attached .",
      "district b-13 is , in a word , a hoot .",
      "even the snobbiest cineaste will most likely wipe away the drool after seeing belle , whose athletic ability suggests jackie chan after being bitten by an irradiated spider .",
      "the single best action movie of 2006 .",
      "... lean , clean , adrenaline - and indignation-fueled b movie with a social commentary that is too blatant to be called subtext .",
      "proudly states its vanity and hollow entertainment value",
      "it is more entertaining than any of the ` spider-man ' flicks , makes the x-men series boring , by comparison , and is more credible than any of the fantasy-driven offerings from the far east .",
      "this is a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat . from the opening sequence until the very last frame , there is non-stop action .",
      "a ridiculously entertaining action flick that 's loaded with style , wit and jaw-dropping feats of physical prowess .",
      "the story 's a bit overdramatic .",
      "delivers a cogent , well-told story , with a bit of social significance underpinning , plus a series of sequences that should satisfy the action fans .",
      "gorgeously choreographed gymnastics of pain elevate MOV over the impossible missions and last stands of the season .",
      "MOV may have nothing new to say but , boy , does it say it fast .",
      "luc besson may have brought us jean reno 's hauntingly conflicted professional , and anne parillaud 's downtrodden yet deadly nikita . but he did n't try very hard when coming up with MOV .",
      "at under 90 minutes , it leaves you breathless and ready for more . even better , it leaves you - assuming you really like action - smiling a happy little 12-year-old 's smile .",
      "the action is so relentless that even hard-core martial-arts fans might need to pause for breath . and much of it is so repetitive that the film occasionally plays like a rerun of itself .",
      "the latest attack of excess from french action impresario luc besson .",
      "district b-13 is a hoot , so assured of its own coolness that it 's hard not to go along .",
      "it may be subtitled , and the faces may be unfamiliar , but MOV is the best buddy action movie around .",
      "the movie does n't make a lick of sense , but it 's done with such zest and skill -- and such incredible stunt work and action choreography by co-stars cyril raffaelli and david belle -- that the absurdities do n't sabotage it .",
      "nifty action flick influenced by hong kong cinema that includes a critique of french racism against immigrant community .",
      "i was delighted by the balletic and acrobatic stunts , some of which evoke tarzan .",
      "a message-based actioner that 's fast , dumb fun .",
      "both smart and direct , MOV is the kind of lean , mean action film most of america 's working directors only wish they could pull off .",
      "the most memorable parts of district 13 actually precede the unfolding of its main plot , which , much like the thermonuclear device on which it is premised , is never allowed to fulfill its explosive promise .",
      "comes off more like a theme park show than an actual film , it 's there to deliver stunts and never an actual story .",
      "this action film from luc besson 's b-movie factory is one of his best .",
      "when belle is in motion , the movie excels .",
      "there 's something refreshing about an action film that actually gives a damn about more than explosions .",
      "o roteiro quase inexistente й uma mera desculpa para que o filme apresente ao espectador diversas seqькncias de aзгo absolutamente sensacionais criadas a partir do parkour .",
      "as 85-minute testosterone binges go , you could do a whole lot worse .",
      "there are plenty of impressive gunfights and some wicked martial arts sequences here , but the film is most likely to be remembered for its emphasis on free running , a dizzying physical technique in which the cast sprint , leap and roll through the city .",
      "the highly stylized result feels barren of both texture and imagination .",
      "MOV is an apocalyptic action message movie with a distinct french flare .",
      "in his feature directing debut , cinematographer pierre morel has delivered an adrenaline-packed picture that sold its brains to the devil in exchange for spectacular fight and chase scenes .",
      "genre fans will get a kick from the martial-arts action , and that 's all MOV needs to do .",
      "the cast hurls itself into the comic-book violence , while the stunt choreography and razor-sharp editing are exhilarating .",
      "a 90-minute feature simply showing -lsb- david -rsb- belle 's stunts with no frills would be great ; unfortunately , they only account for about 10 minutes - the rest of the time , belle is called upon to act .",
      "if there 's a sequel ... i 'm there !",
      "for a film that 's so light on its feet , `` b13 '' seems rooted in what 's really happening on the ground .",
      "while women may certainly apply , it 's primarily the guys who will find MOV irresistible .",
      "go for the dazzling , if repetitive , human stunt work . endure the appallingly simplistic politics .",
      "a grand theft auto world of muscled goons who drive flashy cars and fire an insurgency 's worth of ammo as a neutron holocaust nears . then we 're told : ` violence is n't the only way to solve problems . '",
      "b13 is watchable and , sometimes , quite invigorating . but only when it 's getting its adrenaline rush from its stampeding macho duo .",
      "let 's put the matter simply : the french thriller MOV makes everything hollywood has lately done in the action genre look clumsy , dull and stale .",
      "starts at a fever pitch of rushing adrenalin and from there goes into the action stratosphere with some of the most inventive and just plain fun moves yet seen on the silver screen",
      "a passable mismatched-buddy movie , goosed up by hard-hitting martial arts and flashy camera acrobatics .",
      "what makes it unique are the truly amazing and kinetic action scenes featuring parkour pioneer belle and co-star cyril raffaelli .",
      "nothing more than high-octane junk but turns out to be junk that 's literally light on its feet and exuberantly silly ... enjoyable , adrenalin-pumping nonsense .",
      "the big innovation here is that the two nimble leads , stuntmen-turned-stars , are devotees of parkour , a fancy french word for the fluid use of urban environments as jungle gyms .",
      "what MOV lacks in story development it compensates for with stunningly realistic action .",
      "MOV does n't waste time with fake personality clashes . both lead actors are amazingly fluid athletes , and during the many getaway and shoot - 'em - up sequences , there is a minimum of special effects or wire choreography .",
      "if you can ignore the plot holes and the usual besson misogyny , the action is a real kick .",
      "forget about mi-3 or x-men 3 or any other film franchises . if you only see one film this summer , you need to get out more , but MOV is the flick you better not miss .",
      "an unlikely but effective cross between john carpenter 's escape from l.a. and la haine .",
      "the hyperkinetic melodrama only matters as an excuse to watch raffaelli and belle , and assorted bad guys , display some of the most adrenaline-pumping movement you 'll see this season .",
      "instantly forgettable , but hugely entertaining for 85 minutes .",
      "it 's not exactly brain fodder . but it is fun .",
      "the typically moronic plot simply gets in the way of what might have been a super-ambitious sneaker commercial .",
      "numbness starts to set in . frenetic action wrapped around a razor wire-thin script will do that to you .",
      "real-life events have overtaken MOV , and they give this feverish , yet oddly flat french action adventure a whiff of substance to go along with its spectacular stunts .",
      "the purest adrenaline rush of the summer .",
      "... this film starts at roadrunner speed and rarely slows down ...",
      "by the time the heroes start breaking necks at breakneck speed , morel has employed so many ` cool ' digital editing tricks and effects that we no longer trust our eyes . we ca n't be sure of the integrity of the stars ' athleticism ...",
      "it just goes to show you that , mais oui , the french can kick it with the asians and americans when it comes to junky kung fu flicks .",
      "morel lathers up a thunderous tornado of exhilarating destruction . there 's hardly a moment to pause for breath , blink or wipe the sweat off your brow .",
      "whew ! i ca n't remember the last time i got such an adrenaline rush watching a movie .",
      "the sheer ridiculousness of the story is part of the fun of this french import , which was produced by luc besson and stars two stuntmen turned ... um ... stuntmen with dialogue .",
      "a snazzy , sensational action ride from big-bang guru luc besson .",
      "the year 's best martial-arts action .",
      "as a brief introduction to belle and his amazing gifts , district b 13 is a treat . but as a movie its feet are dully planted on the ground .",
      "the problem with front loading a film with such spectacular stunts is director pierre morel has nowhere to go .",
      "as impressive as the opening scenes are , the last act sees district 13 descend into a preachiness that would embarrass the cheesiest hollywood producer .",
      "district b-13 is bad sci-fi , but it succeeds as mindless action .",
      "the plot is only serviceable , but it perfectly serves its main function ... an excuse to string together a series of ultracool fight and chase sequences .",
      "okay . this is a really stupid film , but who the heck cares ? it 's chopsocky !",
      "... the kind of movie i generally despise ... -lrb- b -rrb- ut when the end arrived , i discovered that i had been thoroughly entertained .",
      "district 13 proves that hollywood does n't have the final word in the big , brainless actioner stakes , and at least it does it with a lot of style and some very cool fights .",
      "the creator of films such as the transporter , the fifth element and la femme nikita can be counted on for movies that are big , stupid and often just skillfully demented enough to be fun . MOV obliges on all accounts .",
      "who has n't wanted to leap down a stairwell , bounce from rooftop to rooftop , do a backflip over a bad guy , give him a few chop socky blows and then take away his gun ?",
      "one of the best adrenaline rushes since we saw lola running for 90 minutes .",
      "almost nonstop action but seems like violence for its own sake .",
      "the well-executed action scenes will be more than enough to sate even the most finicky of action fans .",
      "spread the word : this delirious import is the most -lrb- maybe the only -rrb- fun action movie of the summer .",
      "besson 's script may be formulaic crap , but he obviously still has an eye for fresh action talent , and an instinct for how to show it off .",
      "leito-damien attempt to refurbish the veracity of the french motto `` liberty , equality , fraternity '' in the same way morel-besson try to restore the integrity of the action film .",
      "whether the flick is focusing on its numerous action scenes or its breathless bouts of plot exposition , district 13 speeds by like an absolute blur .",
      "the energy of the film is breathtaking , and the sheer momentum of the direction and talent make up for any artistic drought .",
      "... larger-than-life ...",
      "MOV is so busy kicking glass -lrb- that 's a euphemism -rrb- that you want fragments to keep on flying .",
      "the french-made , futuristic adrenaline-pumper district 13 does n't really grab you by the short hairs until it shows you why david belle is the movie 's star .",
      "MOV is as slickly edited , filmed and choreographed as it is empty of compelling characters or the meaningful ideas -lrb- institutional racism , the bleak future -rrb- it professes to be about . ultimately , it walls itself in .",
      "like its stunt work , the movie is both ridiculously hyperactive and a muscular feat of absolute confidence . i do n't expect to have a more adrenalizing time at the movies this summer .",
      "a rip-roaring french-language thrill-ride that plays like a parisian escape from new york crossed with a jackie chan policier .",
      "terse , taut and willing to pack on some philosophical weight , MOV wastes no time in shouting ` action ! '",
      "a french import that dishes out comic-book complexity with the simple purity of a kick to the gut .",
      "when a film is this entertaining , it does n't have to be all that original .",
      "great fights , great chases , hot kick - *** hero dudes , ruthlessly evil bad guys , some laughs , and a story that actually would be interesting even without all the above .",
      "it 's a high-voltage kick that 's never lets up , energized by sheer bravura stunt work .",
      "right from the opening credit sequence , MOV makes it loud and clear that you 're going to like this movie .",
      "the film maintains a healthy tension , as damien believes in `` the law '' and leďto is never convinced of its efficacy or good intentions .",
      "note to moviegoers : if you can still be entertained by a thriller that unabashedly borrows from others of its ilk and do n't mind reading subtitles , you could do worse than MOV .",
      "MOV is one of those films where you appreciate the artistry of violence , then forget about it as soon as you get into the car and head home .",
      "a scrappy action flick that shifts into high gear immediately and never slows down , this rousing french import aspires to no higher goal than flashy entertainment . in that regard , it succeeds entirely .",
      "it all plays out like a jackie chan cop comedy , crossed with 1,000 french comic books and minus the humor .",
      "MOV is a fine , snappy little picture that 's one-part escape from new york , one-part martial-arts flick , and mostly silly fun .",
      "MOV looks great , but do n't let those subtitles fool you . at heart , it 's every bit as proudly dumb as its american counterparts .",
      "mix in a whole lot of automatic gunfire , an overblown crime plot , a heavy dose of industrial-strength techno and a dystopian view of french social policy . stir . enjoy .",
      "MOV speaks the international language of brilliantly choreographed mayhem ... and could be the action movie to beat this year ; we 'll see if any other director comes close to equaling its delirious rush . the picture is 85 minutes long and"
    ],
    "summary": "a nonstop thrill ride , MOV 's dizzying action sequences more than make up for any expository flaws .",
    "id": "170571851"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_hunger_games_catching_fire",
    "reviews": [
      "renewed purpose to this part two , finding catching fire skillfully communicating beats of unrest and despair , locating a way to help the ongoing franchise settle in as an energizing story of an underground uprising .",
      "the first movie felt a little stiff , as though the director were mechanically turning the pages , but this movie sinks into your skin because lawrence immerses us in a pool of accepted injustice until we start to itch .",
      "katniss everdeen 's quandaries and director francis lawrence builds suspense through cunning shifts of character in this spiffy second chapter of the trilogy .",
      "catching fire is best in its first hour , when it concentrates on the politics and the specific horrors of panem . it becomes more conventional in the second half and loses steam , but it 's always heading somewhere .",
      "this sequel is a triumph of production design : philip messina 's settings are so detailed that they convey how the movie 's dystopic u.s. functions beyond the story at hand , and trish summerville 's costume design shows a similar degree of invention .",
      "it 's not exactly eisenstein but we 'll take what we can get .",
      "that this latest film leaves us hungering for more only means that it 's working .",
      "it 's largely satisfying as far as screen adventures go , and comes fully loaded with special effects and action scenes , and embellished with the usual brand-name character actors ...",
      "my thoughts on the hunger games : catching fire can be summed up as such : bigger ? yes . better ? not really . bonkers ? absolutely .",
      "catching fire bests the hunger games in every way . if the trend continues this series will be a political science fiction epic that will endure for generations .",
      "nobody involved seems remotely aware of the utter pomposity of the project - a third endless film is now in production .",
      "lawrence gives the same committed , heart-rending performance , and she 's even more saintly than before ...",
      "a safe , serviceable , carefully crafted action drama in which the subversive seeds planted in the first story take welcome root .",
      "like katniss ducking a poison-tip arrow , the keepers of suzanne collins 's trilogy of fantasy novels have dodged the perils of the sloppy second franchise film .",
      "catching fire is another strong installment in this confident series .",
      "catching fire expands suzanne collins ' novel beyond the confines of the arena to tackle some seriously brutal truths - plugging gaps and sowing seeds for a two-part finale that will have to work hard to match its grit .",
      "a ho-hum sequel that mostly sets the stage for hopefully more scintillating future chapters .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- much more personal film that opts to expand on the lore of panem and consequences of the predecessor film , while simultaneously upping the stakes in every conceivable way .",
      "even viewers dragged into it kicking and screaming are unlikely to be bored out of their minds . well , not entirely .",
      "at a time when cinematic-action-extravaganzas feature the wanton destruction of cities and digital body-counts that are impossible to calculate , ` catching fire ' inhabits a world where death and violence have consequence .",
      "the hunger games : catching fire takes the narrative and thematic liberties traditionally granted the middle chapter in a trilogy and drives the stakes up sharply .",
      "if you want a reminder of how well `` the hunger games : catching fire '' does what it does , make sure to get to the theater early to see the trailers for all the other young-adult films trying to emulate it .",
      "though overlong at 146 minutes , catching fire retains the original 's curiously-engaging mix of the running man , spartacus , ben hur , avatar and rambo .",
      "what 's wrong with `` the hunger games '' and its sequel , `` the hunger games : catching fire ? '' well , i just ca n't get past the buffoonery .",
      "the rare sequel that surpasses its predecessor , ` catching fire ' tackles head-on the repercussions of the events of `` the hunger games , '' deepening collins ' cinematic mythology while proving that teen-lit is more than capable of tackling complex ideas .",
      "a stellar sequel and a crackerjack middle chapter : revisiting what 's to love about the original , upping the ante and promising even more to come .",
      "jennifer lawrence is a boon to this franchise . when she faces great and maddening cruelty , we feel the burn too .",
      "catching fire may be missing the surprises and shocks of the first chapter , but it moves the characters and the world forward in a way that hints at greatness for the two-film finale .",
      "with an impressive cast and an intriguing story , this is one cinematic revolution that fans are sure to rejoice in .",
      "... francis lawrence ... adds some important new pieces to that group and expands the world in a way that does n't throw out ross 's film , but that uses it as a way to get to something even better .",
      "the second instalment of the hunger games plays out in a bizarre zone where simon cowell meets leni riefenstahl .",
      "the success of this sequel will demonstrate , beyond doubt , that flesh-and-blood females can dominate the boysy , blockbuster landscape . how apt .",
      "` the hunger games : catching fire ' is that rare beast that has it both ways .",
      "a devastating indictment of pop culture as propaganda - about its power and the limits of its powers - and an upending of the typical teen-girl romance movie .",
      "it 's like an awesome episode of survivor all-stars , except the stakes are so much bigger .",
      "boldly builds on the world first seen in gary ross ' 2012 film .",
      "we 've been promised an inferno , but catching fire smolders for so long that when it finally does burst into burning right before the final shot , the blaze matters .",
      "the type of movie you hope no one ever brings up in polite company because you do n't want to look like an a ****** .",
      "`` catching fire '' is more substantial than the first feature because it delves deeper into themes such as loyalty , love , honor , sacrifice and freedom",
      "i hated the first one , but i really like this second one .",
      "a water-treading sequel that achieves its goal of satiating the fans ' bloodlust while whetting their appetite for the franchise 's grand finale .",
      "this is ` the empire strikes back ' installment of the franchise .",
      "events feel a little rushed at times but the strength of the story and its characters make this a series i 've become a big fan of .",
      "the least interesting thing about the hunger games is the hunger games itself . a complete view of society in author suzanne collins ' weather-beaten world remains tantalizingly out of reach .",
      "examines the price of being a celebrity , the dangers of idolatry , and how sometimes defiance of the status quo can have a dire outcome .",
      "full of action , drama and romance , ` the hunger games : catching fire ' is every bit as entertaining as its predecessor . a ` link ' movie , to be sure , but strong on its own , `` catching fire '' is certain to continue to do just that at the box office .",
      "i was hoping this sequel to the first hunger games film would be better than the first one and it is , so that 's good .",
      "it 's a quintessential middle film , lacking both substantive setup and a satisfying conclusion-and it 's all the better for it , thriving in the tumultuous , incendiary stages of a brewing revolution .",
      "`` catching fire '' makes for rousing entertainment in its own right , leaving fans riled and ready to storm the castle .",
      "you do n't need the first weekend 's grosses to predict a boxoffice inferno .",
      "what keeps the hunger games : catching fire alive and kicking is its transcendent strain of humanity .",
      "the first two-thirds of catching fire is truly compelling . unfortunately , that last third is something else altogether .",
      "catching fire focuses on the unfair dispensation of bread for the greater chunk of its hefty 146-minute running time , saving the circuses for dessert .",
      "conjures a convincingly scary and self-serving future dictatorship that connects it more truly to the 1970s tradition of protest science-fiction cinema -lrb- ` rollerball ' -rrb- than to its contemporary competition for teenage hearts and minds -lrb- the ` twilight ' saga -rrb- .",
      "same old same old biding time for the finale , but still has lawrence in the lead and for most that is enough .",
      "this is empire strikes back stuff . it has that second star wars movie 's kick of confidence .",
      "benefits from the impressive acting chops of jennifer lawrence , whose intensity and sense of self makes katniss into a prototypical action heroine who embodies an ideal set of values but still stays psychologically and emotionally grounded .",
      "i went back and saw the first film again fairly quickly after seeing it the first time because i enjoyed it so much . would n't elect to do that with this one .",
      "though flawed , catching fire manages something no adaptation since harry potter has : it respects its fans enough to challenge them while maturing alongside them .",
      "a chatty , 90 minute fashion show followed by a 50 minute -lrb- recycled -rrb- action picture .",
      "darker and even more gripping than part 1 .",
      "slavish devotion to the text and its legion of fans seems to be a problem ; collins ' world is so lacking in invention that there 's very little for director francis lawrence to do .",
      "jennifer lawrence sparkles once again , but this diluted sequel fails to ignite .",
      "undeniably entertaining . jennifer lawrence is as good as ever .",
      "you will walk out wanting more after that fantastic climax and final scene .",
      "so well done that it justifies every moment fans have not so patiently awaited the second installment of what has become the most satisfying franchise since ` harry potter . '",
      "has greater emotional weight , higher consequences for its characters , its downtrodden masses supporting a capital whose denizens indulge in hedonism a futuristic reflection of today 's great wealth divide in the united states .",
      "same ` logan 's run ' as bad reality tv show as the first one , minus the shaky-cam -lrb- i was grateful for that -rrb- .",
      "jennifer lawrence is excellent as always , but the film lacks spark .",
      "hunger games got off to a smashing start and has n't faltered yet . if it keeps up the pace , the finale will be worth the wait .",
      "-lsb- jennifer lawrence 's -rsb- skill set is wide : she might be the best on-screen crier in the business , but her katniss is steely and vulnerable , her sexiness somehow self-deprecating . you absolutely want to follow her into battle .",
      "is it too soon to say i ca n't wait for the next one ?",
      "catching fire is not quite a full course , more of an amuse bouche , making its mammoth audience hungry for future , meatier instalments .",
      "dismiss it as a popcorn movie if you must , but at least they 've bothered to serve it with real butter and truffle salt .",
      "its themes and action sequences are more forcefully realised than they were first time round , suggesting that this series may soon be the one against which all other franchises will be judged .",
      "manages to ... delve deeper into the politics and ethical quandaries laid out by its predecessor . all this despite being - for the most part - basically the same film .",
      "those who understand the outrage that powers the books should ... appreciate the blunt way it embraces collins ' cautionary vision of how a ruthless , privileged few can keep the masses down by dividing them and entertaining them ...",
      "it may not quite live up to the standards of its predecessor , but it far exceeds its source material .",
      "as an adaptation of collins 's catching fire , lawrence 's film is close to faultless . as cinema , it 's solidly engaging but consistently underwhelming .",
      "cleverly helmed by popular music video director francis lawrence .",
      "i 'm running out of ways to describe the capitol . i think this time i came up with `` the great gatsby on dmt . ''",
      "is n't a bull 's - eye , but its arrow never wavers .",
      "unpredictable yet utterly dependable , thrilling yet stoic , katniss everdeen is a force of nature on screen , and a role that jennifer lawrence appears born to play .",
      "one of the aspects that makes catching fire stronger than its predecessor is that it possesses a more palpable sense of danger .",
      "a welcome improvement on the hunger games .",
      "long and vanilla .",
      "this hunger games feels richer and more detailed than the first .",
      "as was the case with the first film , this sequel catches fire thanks to she who plays the ` girl on fire ' : jennifer lawrence .",
      "the budget is nearly twice the original , and it shows . great work from the a-list cast , amazing set designs and costumes .",
      "the rightist , racist government is opposed on the island by a blue state coalition of women -lrb- young , old , and punk -rrb- , an african-american geek , and liberated white males .",
      "after 2012 's the hunger games caught us off-guard with its subtle themes , this sequel more than lives up to the hype , dramatically expanding the scale of the action while letting the actors deepen their characters .",
      "book 's good . movie 's better . wait , what ?",
      "those with a ravenous appetite for the cruel and the kitsch will find plenty of nourishment in the second instalment of the film adaptation of suzanne collins ' teen trial literary trilogy .",
      "the hugely entertaining second instalment in the hunger games series is leaner and meaner than the first film , thanks to a strong script , pacey , focussed direction and terrific performances from a superb ensemble cast .",
      "a teenage girl as a hero in-the-making animated by her feisty independent spirit , survival skills , selflessness , and courage .",
      "things close with a surprising plot twist and a promising cliffhanger , which suggests the secret to the films ' success is embedded in the books .",
      "as the middle film in a trilogy , albeit a four-film one , the hunger games : catching fire mostly succeeds where it counts .",
      "an improvement in almost every way from its pretty decent predecessor .",
      "this second installment of the `` hunger games '' trilogy is a significant improvement on the movie that launched the franchise last year .",
      "fans of `` the hunger games '' should find `` catching fire '' a superlative advancement of the franchise .",
      "consegue adicionar um intrigante subtexto ao universo habitado por aqueles personagens ao mesmo tempo em que desenvolve as relaушes entre estes .",
      "like katniss , lawrence has become bigger than the games themselves , something that makes her very powerful , very dangerous and rather inspirational .",
      "thought it never truly catches fire , this two-and-a-half-hour sequel includes enough virtues to fill an entertaining ninety minutes .",
      "there is no law of diminishing returns here . the hunger games : catching fire is every bit as potent and gripping as its predecessor and a real triumph of entertainment .",
      "highly likely to be the best of all four hunger games pictures .",
      "the real emotional resonance is due exclusively to lawrence , who moves through the film with an urgent determination that brings a visceral reality to even the most far-fetched of situations",
      "you would think the more entertaining part would be the games themselves , but instead it 's the slower , more character-driven part of the film that holds the most interest .",
      "a little long , but still entertaining , installment in the popular franchise .",
      "talk about starvation ! catching fire is sadly lacking in visual nutrition .",
      "director francis lawrence 's film runs nearly two-and-a-half hours but it concludes so abruptly and tantalizingly , it leaves you wanting more .",
      "... a sequel that , for once , does n't coddle its target audience ... lawrence 's quick-draw archer is , if anything , more intense and single-minded , all glowering charisma .",
      "downplaying the violence itself strips the story of some of its power . you get little sense of the toll that surviving a competition such as this takes on the victor .",
      "the hunger games : catching fire is not only a solid entry in the franchise but stylistically a much better movie than the film that launched the series .",
      "-lrb- the -rrb- franchise takes on an invigorated energy , ending on a series of cliffhanger developments that coalesce with clarity .",
      "the stakes have gotten larger and also vastly more interesting , with the title games stretching from the battlefield into the mind .",
      "francis lawrence imbues the source material with visceral pleasure in well-wrought scenes vacillating between elaborate spectacle , breathtaking terror , and -- occasionally -- surprising beauty .",
      "like its predecessor , it 's good but not great . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
      "jennifer lawrence 's taut bow and lethal arrows have become the greatest symbols of female empowerment and sexuality in recent movie history .",
      "catching fire , which builds on the box-office and critical success of last year 's hunger games , is spectacular in every sense of the word . for extra pow , see it in imax .",
      "a competent sequel ... the hunger games could be fairly accused of being what it satirizes , but it 's not without a thought in its deadly little head .",
      "sexless and relatively bloodless , the hunger games : catching fire is about as good a follow-up to the 2012 hit as one could possibly imagine .",
      "in many ways it 's a better film . it keeps the strengths of the first film - the brilliant casting , the striking art direction - and does a much better job telling the story .",
      "catching fire is not only a superior sequel in terms of form but also in how it helps us reconcile the shortcomings of its predecessor .",
      "wonderful performances , excellent effects",
      "not only surpasses its original but also brings with it the undeniable sense that yes , finally , all the maddening chaos and underlying pathos of this deeply political story has finally revealed an important subtext .",
      "though overlong at 146 minutes , catching fire retains the original 's curiously-engaging mix of the running man , spartacus , ben hur , avatar and rambo .",
      "what a difference a director makes .",
      "while catching fire could easily stand on its own , it also should make audiences hungry for the next installment .",
      "there 's no disneyfication ; catching fire has a distinct look and sustained dark , gritty mood .",
      "it 's an exciting watch and even slicker than the first film .",
      "lawrence is the rare female action-movie lead who carries on the fierce tradition of sigourney weaver in the alien franchise -- easily the best and most enduring `` special effect '' this movie juggernaut has to offer eager audiences .",
      "the main thing that stayed with me on the trip home after seeing the film was the characters themselves , who are believably vulnerable , resourceful , devious and empathetic as the story demands .",
      "the hunger games : catching fire achieves what every sequel should strive for - a film that surpasses its predecessor in every way .",
      "there 's a depressing irony to the fact that the hunger games , a book series about the media 's ability to placate the masses with superficial distractions , is now a mainstream film franchise that has spawned its own cult of celebrity .",
      "as long as fully formed products like catching fire keep coming , the odds will be in the hunger games ' favor to continue being celebrated as the definitive popular moral tale of the early 2000s .",
      "francis lawrence has crafted a gripping , richly textured sci-fi thriller with reams of underlying dystopian subtext .",
      "catching fire delivers on the grim , roiling promises of the original .",
      "aimed at a generation of kids who are generally perceived as being entitled celebrity wannabes aspiring to their own reality shows , the hero of the hunger games is , essentially , a chick who 's really good at being famous .",
      "fans will approve of gripping & violent middle installment .",
      "with a story that ups the stakes and brings in the first signs of an uprising among the oppressed citizens , the intensity level explodes .",
      "did n't like the original . the sequel , however , does catch fire .",
      "expands on the best stuff from movie # 1 and fixes some things that did n't work so well . that 's a good way to make a sequel .",
      "the hunger games : catching fire is a much-improved sequel whose only real drawback is that it 's a middle chapter - with a somewhat thin payoff .",
      "catching fire is unvarnished sci-fi commentary on the present-day declination of our middle and lower social stratum and the moral indifference of the powerful and wealthy to their plight .",
      "the movie is n't awful , is sure to please no-standard fanatics and wo n't bore haters like myself .",
      "i 'm beginning to believe that the minds behind the hunger games franchise are closer in spirit to president snow and his sinister , heartless showmanship than to katniss and her bravery and passion .",
      "the hunger games : catching fire is that rare instance when the movie is better than the book , and the second movie is better than the first .",
      "with its troubling subject matter , catching fire makes for a tough balancing act , but francis lawrence pulls it off . it 's a frequently exciting film , with hunger games contestants old and new facing a succession of frightening challenges .",
      "an effective piece of melodramatic popular entertainment that savvily builds on the foundation established by the first hunger games movie .",
      "`` catching fire '' is a great leap forward for the franchise . seeing as it 's all about hope and what it represents , here 's hoping the next two are just as good , if not better .",
      "spinning in that wedding dress , or glaring in wary repose , lawrence catches fire on screen . she 'll make a superb la pasionaria when panem has a real war in the mockingjay films .",
      "runs smoothly and efficiently for its first 90 minutes , effectively mixing dark humor , social commentary , and pure story - and character-driven entertainment .",
      "the hunger games : catching fire is crowd-pleasing and compelling , most of all because of its fiery , charismatic heroine .",
      "there 's no question that lawrence accounts for the lion 's share of the franchise 's appeal , and a cliffhanger ending can only help build the frenzy of anticipation for mockingjay part i next year . bring it on .",
      "it 's a middle chapter , for sure , but a vigorous and fast-paced one that leaves you hungry for more .",
      "if you 're a fan , you ca n't miss `` catching fire '' !",
      "readers of the book should be more than satisfied , and non-devotees will find this a smoother , more affecting ride than its predecessor as well .",
      "it builds to a cliff-hanging conclusion pulled off with aplomb by lawrence the director and lawrence the star . who needs superpowers when you have this much talent ?",
      "catching fire is a good enough representation of the second book that it wo n't upset fans . those who do n't know the book will find a film that is a mildly altered version of the first movie in the series .",
      "it ends up being both a retread of the original and an extended setup for the finale , making it doubly unsatisfying .",
      "the grand climax , whose elements include a long piece of wire , a lightning bolt , and an electronic force field , is an incoherent , rapid blur that will send the audience scurrying back to the book to find out what 's supposed to be going on .",
      "a new director has brought catching fire back from the brink of twilight-like stupidity",
      "the movements are fluid and intense . the well-paced drama gives way to a tremendous sequences of action , and it 's great to see that francis lawrence is on-board to direct the next two films .",
      "while it may not capture the imaginations of those still-uninitiated to the `` hunger games '' phenomenon , `` catching fire '' will at least entertain those looking for an emotional punch with their holiday action experience .",
      "though some of the chases and escapes are thrillingly filmed , this last section of the film feels indistinguishable from plenty of other video-game-style avoid-the-obstacle action climaxes .",
      "it 's doubtful a viewer will throw his/her hands in the air in exasperation , and in an effie-like pout , wonder : `` why did n't they stick to the story ? ''",
      "the sequel lives up to its incendiary subtitle due to the quality of the material and the passion of its performers .",
      "relatively speaking , catching fire is terrific . even nonrelatively , it 's pretty damn good .",
      "quality stuff , an entertaining package . for those that retained their skepticism last time , this may even appear to be a better film . but hg has become a victim of its own success , co-opted by hollywood , a rebel not without a cause , a money minter .",
      "whatever the flaws , many from the books , this second grittier , more confident round of hunger games thrills us into submission .",
      "everything that felt clumsy in the hunger games has been improved upon here .",
      "none of it would work -- not the action , the adventure , the political subtext or the humor -- without the strength and beauty that ms. lawrence brings to the central role .",
      "the fans wo n't mind but the film feels overlong , the emotional curve fails to ignite and the ending is anticlimactic . jennifer lawrence is this sequel 's greatest asset",
      "fret not , hunger games fans . -lrb- hunger-hards ? kat-fancies ? -rrb- to paraphrase the famous mantra , the odds are ever your favor that you 'll be satisfied .",
      "catching fire is tightly paced with very little filler . no line or character is wasted .",
      "jennifer lawrence as katniss everdeen , the archer enemy of the dystopian society of panem , shoots so many arrows into your heart that you 'd be stupid not to go cupid all over her sass .",
      "there are wannabe twilight elements that hold the first act of the film back ... but things improve greatly once the hunger gaming starts .",
      "this new creative team does n't just repeat the previous film or the book ... they substantially improve upon both .",
      "this follow-up to the 2012 hit based on suzanne collins ' novel , represents commendable storytelling that ought to please the book 's many fans",
      "the hunger games : catching fire does everything right that the first film did wrong , streamlining the story , focusing on the characters and raising -- and more important , clarifying -- the stakes .",
      "catching fire is so much fun and does such a great job mounting the drama of the series ' increasingly engrossing story . the film just makes you want more .",
      "now the violence is not merely physical , but existential . far from having won her freedom as promised , katniss is now imprisoned in a false public narrative-supporter of the capitol , lover of peeta-from which she may never escape .",
      "far from being a mere holding pattern , catching fire feels like an advance and an improvement . let the games continue .",
      "` catching fire ' builds up a head of steam , and at only a few points does it feel like a ridiculous 148 minutes long . and then it just stops .",
      "in the arena where budding franchises battle to the death , only the hunger games still stands , the young , mangled corpses of non-starters such as the mortal instruments and the host slain at its feet .",
      "movie escapism made with intelligence , and that does n't come around often enough . as i sensed this movie ending i wished it would n't , and when it did i wanted the next one now . take that , bilbo .",
      "the double , or even triple , meanings behind catching fire -- the subtitle , as if you did n't know , of the second hunger games movie -- burns through this exciting , thoughtful adventure drama like a torch to tinder .",
      "the exaggerated world of the hunger games ... would overwhelm most young actors . but lawrence -lrb- convincingly tormented in this film -rrb- has a calm sincerity and steely determinism that cuts through it all .",
      "sluggish pacing plagues this mid-series installment , but lawrence 's tough performance once again carries the day .",
      "consider catching fire an example of successful franchise installment delivery , on time and in sturdy condition .",
      "as an action movie , the hunger games : catching fire is an improvement on the original . but as a social , political and pop culture satire , -lsb- it -rsb- is by definition a mixed bag .",
      "jennifer lawrence , of course , is the real draw . female role models come and go , and lawrence 's katniss is one of the better ones .",
      "catching fire is a work of thoughtful , emotionally engaging sci-fi - everything that its predecessor the hunger games was not .",
      "under the assured direction of francis lawrence -lrb- stepping in for the departing gary ross -rrb- , catching fire does n't just improve upon collins ' book , but the first movie as well .",
      "catching fire is more energized than the first hunger games movie ; it 's been directed , by francis lawrence , with a darkly sustained verve .",
      "a deeper , smarter , politically sharper , and more emotionally resonant follow-up .",
      "while i get more joy watching my wife geek out on these movies than i do viewing them alone , there 's not a lot of overall fault to find here unless you want to get into nerd-level nitpickery",
      "this movie makes you believe in revolution .",
      "catching fire burns across the screen with a fierce intent .",
      "`` catching fire '' confidently charges full-on into the flames and the result is spectacular .",
      "the jungle scenes were shot in hawaii , so at least they all got a paid vacation .",
      "like too many franchise installments , catching fire builds to more of an ellipsis than a period , teasing the next chapter instead of providing closure . but is n't that true of the empire strikes back as well ?",
      "it 's hard to shake the sense of déjŕ vu as the film 's narrative follows the trajectory of the hunger games a little too closely ...",
      "if there 's any doubt that catching fire belongs to jennifer lawrence , now in full command of this wonderfully wrought , reluctant amazonian warrior , pay particular attention to the film 's final image , a searing portrait of a reborn katniss .",
      "the ingredients are in place for a potent finale , but `` catching fire '' is watered down .",
      "what 's surprising is how tasty the franchise still is .",
      "it 's no surprise that this second instalment feels like filler ; but it does the trick , leading us from the explosive first film to a hopefully momentous last chapter .",
      "the new `` the empire strikes back , '' a smashing sci-fi sequel that takes its blockbuster franchise into deeper , smarter , more dramatically engaging territory .",
      "fails to fully develop some intriguing themes ... but still passes the audience engagement test thanks to some exciting action and the strength of lawrence 's heroine",
      "though the romantic triangle provides the story 's heart , it 's the film 's take on media as social control -lrb- stanley tucci returns as the unctuous tv host -rrb- , sharp sense of action , and smart peformances that give catching fire its soul .",
      "catching fire is n't just a worthy sequel that die-hard fans can appreciate , with its complexity and commitment to character it 's a superior film and proves why the hunger games is the most compelling franchise going today .",
      "the latest installment is an unquestionably tense return to the grim setting of the first movie , with a fair share of slickly devised action sequences , that raises the stakes with the prospects of a greater rebellion .",
      "offers its audience many of the elements that made the hunger games compelling , but adds to that by deepening the themes and emotional currents and traveling to darker destinations .",
      "in terms of pure story , catching fire is what a sequel should be - a development of themes from the first movie instead of mere repetition .",
      "while nothing is more dramatic than the change at the core of this film - katniss ' move from survivor to leader - it 's not enough , on its own , to comfortably sustain a two-and-a-half-hour film .",
      "yes , it 's the middle chapter and feels like it , but it 's never dull .",
      "an even darker , grittier film than 2012 's `` the hunger games , '' as it builds slowly to its exciting conclusion and deftly sets up the next installment in the series .",
      "fire maintains such a consistent dystopian vision by other means -- from fine performances to its accomplished production design -- that the stakes of katniss ' increasingly complex journey are evident even when its violence is obscured .",
      "one of this year 's best and most thought-provoking blockbusters .",
      "many of the key cast and crew from the smash first installment are back to ensure that this visually thrilling , rapid-fire sequel will match or even surpass the original 's near $ 700 million b.o. take worldwide .",
      "... a well-crafted and superbly acted sci-fi dystopia that resonates with much of what 's happening in our current age .",
      "significantly better than the first movie ... leaving you breathlessly waiting for the next chapter .",
      "-lsb- the actors -rsb- put on their best game face , smooching plenty for the cameras ... and robotically reading cue cards that emphasize the greatness of the totalitarian nation of panem .",
      "although this installment does n't match the freshness of its predecessor , it offers depth to its characters and themes that supplement its considerable visual flair .",
      "jennifer lawrence remains the series ' biggest coup . `` catching fire '' asks the actress to add ptsd and romantic stirrings to katniss ' psyche , then cover it with a barely affixed public mask . lawrence steps up .",
      "the steady action footage alone is enough to make this an improvement over the first installment .",
      "lawrence exudes a certain combination of feistiness , confidence and beauty that could not be embodied by any other young actress working today . she is clearly the glue that holds this film franchise together .",
      "bigger , better and broodier than the first film .",
      "it is heartening to find a teen-oriented movie franchise as gritty as the hunger games . even so , catching fire remains contradictory , caught in some nether world between nightmarish political allegory and adolescent escapism .",
      "sharp as a flaming arrow and as explosive as when one hits a powderkeg , the hunger games : catching fire is the rousing , thought-provoking action epic the first movie failed to be .",
      "the games sequences , while familiar from the first film , push the story towards a thrilling cliffhanger climax .",
      "the movie is a solid example of `` the book on film '' in spirit , and lawrence is brilliant in a performance far beyond blockbuster-level acting .",
      "by far the film 's greatest asset is jennifer lawrence , who again brings absolute emotional conviction to her haunted and conflicted heroine .",
      "more -lrb- and better -rrb- hunger games",
      "lighter on action and futuristic visuals , catching fire is superior to the first film by virtue of notable performances and more compelling storyline . if the quality of the filmmaking continues into mockingjay , i 'll be thrilled to see how it ends .",
      "as a long-time leftist , i expected something like `` norma rae '' . it was much more harry potter or twilight .",
      "the screenplay is terrific , with welcome shafts of wit .",
      "self-knowing , cynical , and urgently melodramatic , the hunger games and the hunger games indict you for watching it even as it asks you to buy in . and that is the genius of every iteration of the games no one can ever win .",
      "this second in the hunger games trilogy , directed by francis lawrence , has many of the virtues and somewhat fewer defects as its predecessor .",
      "the good news is that the new edition is a better crafted film than its predecessor .",
      "exciting and engaging escapist entertainment , a spectacular sequel that should satisfy fans of the book as well as the 2012 blockbuster .",
      "it 's possible -lsb- the film -rsb- represents a new form of post-content cinema , wherein the compression of so many plot holes into a single narrative creates the illusion of coherence ... watching -lsb- it is -rsb- akin to having an orbital sander pressed against your brain .",
      "katniss is a sponge . she sucks up the hopes and dreams of everyone around her . if they made a live action version of me playing cod , it 'd be called camp or hunger games .",
      "given the strength of this installment , i 'd say the box-office odds continue to be , in that hunger games catchphrase , `` ever in its favor . ''",
      "the hunger games : catching fire , anchored by star lawrence 's charmless performance , ultimately comes off as a misguided and hopelessly bloated -lrb- two and a half hours ! -rrb- blockbuster ...",
      "the one truly fresh invention-and the one that matters most-is katniss herself . with each on-screen chapter , the poor girl from district 12 continues to fulfill her destiny as an inspiration and a rebel fighter .",
      "has far more on its mind than ornate costumes and cgi effects , and this is what finally lifts the movie above its more mundane trappings .",
      "catching fire picks up all the potential of its predecessor and runs it in for a triumphant touchdown ."
    ],
    "summary": "smart , smoothly directed , and enriched with a deeper exploration of the franchise 's thought-provoking themes , catching fire proves a thoroughly compelling second installment in the hunger games series .",
    "id": "771250004"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sex_and_the_city_2",
    "reviews": [
      "superficial , forgettable , meaningless . it 's simply bad storytelling , and by the end quite offensive .",
      "the main goal is to transport its target audience to the decidedly less mundane world of carrie and friends , and in that sense , the movie is more than successful .",
      "if only it were two and a half hours of liza doing beyonce numbers . now that would be a truly fabulous two and a half hours well spent .",
      "a 2 1/2 hour test of patience featuring four embarrassingly-entitled ugly americans agonizing over trivia and assorted soap opera drama that is , quite frankly , so patently superficial , you almost wish they 'd be cursed with some real problems",
      "this second cinematic bite of the apple far exceeds expectations and is a significant improvement over the 2008 movie . every outfit worn by these endearing ladies is ...",
      "just a string of excuses to get the girls back together to chit-chat over coffee and cosmos , all the while making crass and often tired sexual puns .",
      "it 's a never-ending sequel .",
      "a flagrant insult to the audience that made the first film a phenomenon . shame on the writers of this soulless drivel for trying to pass this canal street bootleg sow 's ear off as a genuine alexander mcqueen silk purse .",
      "the last gasp of a franchise that has definitively lost touch with its roots .",
      "despite the venemous satc backlash , and despite the extreme vapidity on display , it 's a reasonably fun romp that fans of the series will certainly enjoy .",
      "if cartoons of mohammed have incited jihad , `` MOV '' may add nukes to the equation .",
      "there 's so much glossy sheen to the work that it 's easy to forgive the contrived `` issues '' that must be faced for character growth .",
      "this one is for the fans , not the critics . paul chambers , cnn .",
      "abysmal ... a chick-flick ` ishtar . '",
      "will the film appeal to the franchise 's core fan base ? yeah , i suppose . to the rest of the world , this is one of the most aggressively unlikable films to hit screens in quite some time . -lrb- parental review also included -rrb-",
      "sarah jessica parker is now 45 years old , and , frankly , i can not stomach another moment of the simpering , mincing , hair-tossing , eyelash-batting little-girl shtick she 's been pulling ever since she emerged ...",
      "if you 're already sick of the hype and wondering whether a second sex and the city movie was really necessary , here 's a surprising answer : yes , in fact , it was .",
      "suggesting some kind of quasi-feminist manhattan-boosterism has always made the sex and the city series phony , as well as loathsome .",
      "what started out as a high flying confection , perched steadily on stiletto sharp heels , has deflated into a sad , puffy mess .",
      "two camels substitute for fonzie 's shark in this franchise-ending sequel",
      "an echo of the series ' glory , but that wo n't stop the fans . costumes and one-liners take precedence over female bonding .",
      "writer/director michael patrick king seems intent on turning carrie into the most irritatingly selfish , shallow , materialistic character ever to hit any screen .",
      "a cliched mess , this comedy lacks the carefree humor of its superior predecessor .",
      "this is the kind of movie that its participants refer to in small , dismissive groans at reunion parties .",
      "it 's a fairy-tale about fashion , jewelry , gowns , maybach automobiles , private jets , rolex watches , style , sophistication , and glamor , and i could n't wait for it to end .",
      "-lsb- michael -rsb- king has done well to maintain the wry comedy sex and the city is so well known for , especially considering the over-stretched 146-minute running time .",
      "it 's a toss up which is a worse fate : replacing original creators with hired hands who approach the series mechanically ; or letting the originators continue until it becomes apparent they 've run out of steam . MOV picks the latter .",
      "this franchise is now officially at war with itself . in order to maintain audience demand for a high level of vicariously thrilling wealth .",
      "dobra vijest za gledatelje je da seks i grad 2 nije loiji od prethodnog filma ; loa vijest je da nije nimalo bolji",
      "MOV is the female equivalent of transformers ; a big , dumb blockbuster that does n't require you to think very hard , if at all ... i mourn the death of four memorable television characters that used to mean something to so many .",
      "the film is most likeable when it remembers that it is meant to be more than an exercise in middle-aged , middle-class smugness and self-absorption . its principal strength remains its celebration of female friendship .",
      "shopping , sex , and stereotypes merge in trite sequel .",
      "the most insulting and dangerous film for women since pretty woman . but with less charm .",
      "like one of those cosmopolitan cocktails , it 's guaranteed to leave women everywhere with a warm , fuzzy glow . for men , it 's like all your hangovers came along at once .",
      "it goes from being what we know and love to ... what were they thinking ?",
      "fear not ladies , forget any damning reviews you may have read - this is a must for anyone who loves the manolo-wearing fashionistas , the hugely popular tv series and the 2008 hit film .",
      "let me tell you darlings , it 's heartbreaking . even more so than when mr. big got cold feet in the first flick .",
      "for the first hour or so it works . unfortunately , the film is two and a half hours long .",
      "to the list of insults , real and imaginary , committed by the great satan against the arab world , add ` MOV , ' in which carrie bradshaw and friends bring their name-brand materialism , exhibitionist licentiousness and western bunk to abu dhabi .",
      "in the end it 's the fun movie it 's supposed to be . raise your cosmos in a modest toast .",
      "it 's actually hard to describe just how bad MOV really is .",
      "the franchise will eventually , like all things , come to an end ... MOV is one step closer to that inevitability , so there is hope in it .",
      "this may be this first time since `` lucky lady '' that i walked away from a film thinking that it needed more liza .",
      "when marie antoinette did this , the people tore down the f ` ing bastille . when our `` sex and the city '' girls do it , they slurp it up like box rosé and häagen-dazs .",
      "amounts to little more than a two-and-a-half-hour plotless fashion show .",
      "this is a sequel that does n't come close to justifying its existence .",
      "MOV is a champagne cocktail on a runaway train -- fizzy , sparkly , giddy-making , and splashing all over the place .",
      "it 's a marathon of shopping , eating , oooh-ing , and gasping . or , for the viewers , retching and dozing .",
      "when carrie asks big , `` am i just a bitch wife who nags you ? '' i could hear all the straight men in the theater -- all four of us -- being physically prevented from responding .",
      "for a franchise that was supposed to be adventurous about sex , this film is about as cutting-edge as the love boat . but if you 're a fan , you 'll get your money 's worth .",
      "future bolsheviks will use MOV as a recruiting film .",
      "there 's nothing wrong with it that could n't be fixed by shaving 45 minutes off the running time and replacing carrie bradshaw with a character who is n't spoiled and unlikable .",
      "not that sex and the city has ever been lauded for its subtlety and grace , but this really is the closest to a carry on film that the franchise has come so far .",
      "everyone 's phoning it in for the first two hours . and let me point out something that i 've just said there : ` the first . two . hours . '",
      "both new york and whatever moroccan city stands in for abu dhabi are shot with such care that the whole thing might as well have been done in somebody 's backyard .",
      "it reminds me of another sequel , `` arthur 2 : on the rocks '' % u2026a terrible waste of liza minnelli .",
      "i 'm still not sure if writer-director michael patrick king intended for his audience to laugh at or with his fab foursome as they refresh the stereotype of the `` ugly american '' abroad ...",
      "it 's an almost avant-garde adventure in aimlessness .",
      "an enervated , crass and gruesomely caricatured trip to nowhere -lsb- that -rsb- seems conceived primarily to find new and more cynical ways to abuse the loyalty of its audience .",
      "at this point it 's virtually impossible to escape the cruel irony that sex and the city , the show , ended when it did so that it would n't become what this movie is .",
      "it 's worse than sex and the city 1 , and that alone is a remarkable achievement .",
      "this film sequel based on the long-running hbo series douses whatever sparkle remains of these beloved characters and their adventures in the big city .",
      "this feels bigger and more cinematic than the first film , and sees a progression in the lives of the characters . but many of the jokes are beyond broad , and the middle eastern stereotypes are shockingly cack-handed .",
      "vapid , overlong , painfully unfunny , preposterous and , worst of all , boring . it 's so bad that it 's gone past good and back to bad again .",
      "the ugly smell of unexamined privilege hangs over this film like the smoke from cheap incense .",
      "the creator has not absorbed any lesson of his first film 's weaknesses : the zeitgeist has changed considerably since the 1990s , not to mention the fact that the four women are simply too old for such silly escapades .",
      "like a plastic surgeon , storyteller king keeps trying to find new ways to lift and tighten his characters , but they have become garish caricatures of themselves .",
      "each in different stages of their well preserved-and well heeled-lives , the `` fab four 's '' dramadies continue for the audiences who love them . trouble is the surrounding story and its supposedly fun sojourns are as embarrassing as granny panties .",
      "badly misjudged , poorly plotted sequel that will disappoint even die-hard fans of the show , thanks to a hideously offensive second half that destroys any remaining goodwill towards the rest of the film .",
      "even in the context of that lumpy , overpriced birkin bag of stuff we call hollywood product , MOV hits a new low of idiocy and crassness .",
      "it 's not often a horror film reaches into the depths of my soul , grabs my heart and shatters it into a billion terrified pieces .",
      "an atrocious motion picture ... makes the adventures of priscilla , queen of the desert look like the remains of the day .",
      "had the filmmakers created an all-out sex farce porno centered on kim cattrall 's cougar-in-heat samantha jones , then at least the genre would fit the material 's instant gratification intentions .",
      "continues to be little more than the female equivalent to porn , a fashionable but unrealistic fairy tale with very little actual meat , but this time , it feels more like a cash grab .",
      "michael patrick king 's fascist , superficial assessment of the sex and the city girls ' intelligence insults them as the women we came to know them as on television , and no doubt has susan sontag turning in her grave .",
      "the most depressing thing about MOV is that it seems to justify every nasty thing said and written about the series and first feature film .",
      "a bloated , wearyingly unsubtle , dramatically inert valentine to conspicuous consumption . the movie 's overly demonstrative acting style -- embodied in varying degrees by all four leads -- seems pitched at small children .",
      "in a coma on life-support . not sexy , no story , ugly clothes , the women look horribly aged but max ryan is sex in the desert . insults a muslim culture .",
      "samantha does everything but draw a picture of the prophet muhammad on a pair of crotchless panties .",
      "the spectacle of four supposedly high-achieving , professional nyc sophisticates `` ooohing '' and `` aahing '' at a tacky gilt and red-brick fantasy middle east escaped from a disney rejects storehouse is beyond risible .",
      "with satc2 we were supposed to get a peek at what 's next . instead we got a fanciful vacation and a lame and fluffy version of female power .",
      "... a crummy little vehicle without dignity and too cramped for its fancy clothes .",
      "it might be time for carrie & company to hang up the manoloblahniks .",
      "strictly for the hardcore fans , `` MOV '' may not be in vogue for long .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "ignorant , culturally insensitive and unfunny , this is simply the equivalent of a wiggles concert for the `` i love shoes '' set .",
      "girls , let 's have another cosmpolitan and remember the past fondly . but make way for chelsea -lsb- handler -rsb- . she drinks vodka neat . she 's a real woman .",
      "unlike the first film , this is self-involved , silly and whiny ... and so are the characters .",
      "the moment of dread . it comes for all beloved series , and in MOV , it arrives with embarrassing suddenness .",
      "so , should you see it ? if you 're a satc devotee , does it matter what this review says ? it should n't .",
      "but amid the luxury of abu dhabi , the new yorkers soon butt up against tradition , and their outrageous antics are no longer funny and harmless but offensive and dangerous .",
      "at two and a half hours , sex 2 -- like its predecessor -- is a long sit in the shallows , the equivalent of five half-hour episodes strung together .",
      "it has no plot to speak of , little in the way of wit or intelligence , and is about 50 % longer than can reasonably be justified .",
      "remember the old , boundary-breaking , taboo-toppling sex and the city ? forget it . neither sex nor the city plays any role in this film .",
      "the bottom line is this : `` MOV '' has everything its fans crave : their four favorite girlfriends , complete with stylish couture , hilarious hi-jinx and middle-aged angst .",
      "now , if only one of my girlfriends would meet a shiekh and have us flown first class to abu dhabi .",
      "a degrading portrait of women through an unfunny story about four ugly americans abroad .",
      "in the entire running time there 's exactly one scene that 's funny and honest and not filled with heavy-handed sex jokes , celebrity cameos or fashion statements .",
      "a miscalculation of feminine power so extreme that our country 's threat level should immediately be raised .",
      "overly long , superficial and shallow . their closets have been updated but not their sensitivity .",
      "a ghastly mess , and a stake in the heart of the great tv series .",
      "very limited shots of new york city , destroying a beloved character , and the girls have all matured and are no longer what sex and the city was and has been about .",
      "it is not the fashion or the romance we tune in to see but the bond between the women who acknowledge that they are each other 's soul mates",
      "the tagline states that we should ` carrie on . ' the publicity dept. almost got it right , but the spelling 's off . it needs to be ` carrion ' because nothing says putrefying , rotten and vile quite like this sequel .",
      "MOV delivers clunky jokes , unengaging plot twists and characterizations and , worst of all , it 's ugly to look at .",
      "MOV gives the fans what they want : more of everything . haters will continue to hate it , but it 's not for them anyway .",
      "glamour porn with fashion that looks like lady gaga at a wal-mart shopping spree and a plot that at times is cinematic roadkill . nonetheless , these are still likable and entertaining characters . the movie did its job and because of that , i enjoyed it .",
      "disposable , glitzy fun lacking depth or staying power , MOV is the cinematic version of karaoke : a giddy , silly hoot best enjoyed in tipsy groups .",
      "it 's slower and more of an eye-roller than the first film , but also a lot more about the women .",
      "the only thing memorable about MOV is the number two part , which describes it totally , if you get my drift .",
      "in this second screen incarnation of the fabulous hbo series , the satire is sagging , the irony 's atrophied and the funny is flabby .",
      "rights most of the wrongs of its predecessor , reclaiming all of the intelligence , humanity and humor audiences received when the series was airing . most important , spending time with carrie & co. is once again a blast . the real them had been missed .",
      "some of these people make my skin crawl . the characters of MOV are flyweight bubbleheads living in a world which rarely requires three sentences in a row .",
      "one wrongheaded jaw-dropper follows another , from samantha 's description of a gay manservant as `` paula abdul '' to a comic climax in which the ladies escape an angry male mob by wearing hijabs and abayas given to them by like-minded muslim women .",
      "honestly , by the time they ride camels , it 's ishtar in designer gowns .",
      "here 's another measure of how drastically the recession has affected american culture : sex and the city is n't fun anymore .",
      "there 's a beating human heart at the origin of the sex and the city behemoth , but this unwelcome , undignified sequel does everything it can to bury it .",
      "if sex and the city was star wars for girls , then MOV is the empire strikes back . the ladies of sex and the city still are sexy , sassy and living large .",
      "a new nadir . it 's a movie that ignores just about every one of the show 's good aspects and plays up everything bad - all while lasting an unforgivably long 146 minutes .",
      "michael patrick king throws carrie bradshaw & co. under the intellectual bus , making them do monumentally stupid things to satisfy the plot 's demands .",
      "sarah jessica parker is now 45 years old , and , frankly , i can not stomach another moment of the simpering , mincing , hair-tossing , eyelash-batting little-girl shtick she 's been pulling ever since l.a. story .",
      "as for sarah , looking like what the cat dragged in and then spit out , she 's forgotten how to act . whenever she 's on screen , an immediate lack of energy is apparent . it 's as if the screen 's a black hole sucking up life like a bounty towel on baby drool .",
      "`` memaws on mid-life support . '' to see this movie again , you 'd have to grab me by the barneys and push me hard through the dior .",
      "the film 's tone-deaf cultural awareness extends to a boozy karaoke rendition of `` i am woman '' which is equal parts naďve/patronising .",
      "when the best scenes in a movie feature liza minnelli singing `` single ladies '' and the foursome singing `` i am woman , '' you know the concept has lost its sparkle .",
      "i realize that gaudy fantasy is essential to this franchise , but why does the fantasy have to be so stunted ?",
      "best to quit now while there are still a few bubbles left in the champagne .",
      "sex and the city has turned into a bloated juggernaut of pointlessness . its female characters are now beyond unbearable , none more so than carrie .",
      "there 's a half-hour of good stuff to be had in this big-screen sequel ... unfortunately , it 's preceded by nearly two hours of listless filler .",
      "carrie is presented as some kind of empowering female image . that 's scary because she 's really more of an old school stereotype as she chases romantic clichés while pretending to write her own rules .",
      "i lost count of the number of times the filmmakers dropped the word `` sparkle '' into the script ; no doubt they thought they were going for gold , but they 've created a load of ratners .",
      "the movie completely unravels into a pastiche of wish-fulfillment , slapstick , and ham-handed social commentary .",
      "thanks to writer-director michael patrick king , i now have a fair idea how it might feel to be stoned to death with scented candles .",
      "earth hath not anything to show more fatuous than this sequel to an already otiose movie of the hit television series .",
      "runs approximately the same length as the first film -- that is to say , an excessive 150 minutes -- yet it ca n't seem to find time for any genuine emotion or a compelling storyline",
      "this is the new torture porn .",
      "king ca n't keep a straight face for long enough to make it work , sabotaging his own characters for the sake of a shallow karaoke number . do n't sing along .",
      "with writer/director michael patrick king and the whole gang back , ` MOV ' is as dry as the country they leave the city for .",
      "if you are contemplating watching the film , you 'd be better off with a night in and the box set . cosmopolitans optional .",
      "once again , michael patrick king packs four movies into two and a half hours , and yet there 's not quite enough substance for one film . there plenty of snappy one-liners and silly situations , but it will severely test the patience of any non-fan .",
      "sex 2 : narcissism run rampant .",
      "it 's all talk and no action .",
      "it takes everything that was bad about the first sex and the city movie , and nothing that was good about the sex and the city tv series , and mixes it together with a bit of racism to create something even worse .",
      "these girls are so hung up on looking great they 've forgotten there are several ways to be ugly .",
      "so long as you 're happy to suspend your sense of reality and turn a blind eye to the lack of depth in the story , you 'll still find some enjoyment with our favourite fab four .",
      "there 's only one thing worse than faking an orgasm : faking laughter . shame on you , MOV , for being a 2.5-hour laughless fake-a-thon that never finds the right spot .",
      "while i think it 's cute that people get all dressed up and have little parties going to this movie , the actual film is a hellish , embarrassing abomination .",
      "whenever the light is just right and the angle is just plain wrong , each star gets an unflattering close-up that leaves them looking like drag-queen stand-ins .",
      "on behalf of all sane and sensitive americans , let me be one of the first to apologize to the middle east and the arab world for MOV .",
      "twelve years , one beloved hbo series , and two feature films on , the sex and the city gals have been reduced to bratz dolls for grown women .",
      "i loved MOV , enjoying every single campy , over-the-top moment . it 's a crime that we have to wait possibly another two long years for the next installment to possibly come out . what 's up with that ?",
      "it 's supposed to be sex and the city . this is sects and the souk .",
      "MOV has very little sex , and not a lot of city . bad move .",
      "the stakes are so low that , during the girls ' final madcap sprint through an outdoor market disguised in burqas , the unspeakable outcome they 're trying to forestall is the possibility of having to fly home in coach .",
      "early in MOV , i started a list of things that could easily be cut because they go nowhere . it 's a long list .",
      "thank jimmy choo for feminism ! am i right , ladies ? i mean , not the nasty hairy feminism that 's all about equal pay and publicly subsidized day care and all that nonsense ...",
      "though the 2 in the title implies a double shot of everything fans loved about the series , there is less .",
      "although the movie repeatedly gives glossed lip service to feminism , it actually gives detractors who said the series perpetrated shallow female stereotypes a huge , glittery , indefensible target .",
      "the girls are older but not much wiser making this a movie only their devoted fans will enjoy .",
      "fans and fashionistas will sit back and savour MOV . everyone else will probably conclude you can have too much of a good thing .",
      "any emotional intelligence or investment made in the television series is crushed into dust under a signature louboutin sole , and then cast into the ` arabian ' desert along with any shred of the actresses ' dignity .",
      "it may be easy to dismiss it as a merely superficial experience : it 's all about the clothes , the shoes , the designer life , and of course that 's part of it . but it 's also about the lives of these women that we 've shared for twelve years now .",
      "a movie that does nothing but push its target audience 's pleasure buttons is destined to be an abomination , a camp classic or both .",
      "where the middle east is rendered with all the insight and sensitivity of a hope and crosby",
      "shoes , money , outfits , shoes , vagina , money , shoes , jewelry , outfits , money , shoes .",
      "acutely aware of the gfc , writer/director michael patrick king looks to depression-era hollywood for guidance .",
      "lock them all up and throw away the key is what i say .",
      "there 's still enough of the sex and the city magic for those who fell in love with the show more than a decade ago . nothing is as smart as it was ; it 's not as edgy , it 's not as cute , it 's sagged a bit . but then , have n't we all ?",
      "an insult to the memory of the cleverly written show and its celebration of friendship , it 's a slap in the face for the four gal pals -lrb- often photographed at unflattering angles -rrb- and an affront to muslims .",
      "the first satc film was such a downbeat snooze that one assumed it could n't get worse . but it can - and it does .",
      "women , this is n't empowerment ; it 's like watching us weekly prank call the new york times .",
      "bad puns , fashion porn , domestic handwringing , contrived plot points , idiotic dialogue and offensive stereotypes . what 's not to loathe ?",
      "as tasteless as an arabian cathouse , as worn-out as your 1998 flip-flops and as hideous as the mom jeans carrie wears with a belly-baring gingham top , MOV is two of the worst movies of the year .",
      "i enjoyed these characters more when they were rich , rather than obscenely rich , when their self-involvement and life crises had one foot on planet earth -- and when they were n't all gussied up like mae west in sextette .",
      "there are heisty hijinks involving lost passports and spice bags and menopause drugs and `` inter-friend-tions , '' but they all just blow pointlessly around in the desert dust .",
      "even director michael patrick king , known for his sense of excess , seems to recognize that we 've been down this road before , and we know where it ends .",
      "though the sequel is a welcome return of the four women we know and love , it 's tough not to acknowledge that if we were all friends in real life , at this point we 'd probably stop taking their calls .",
      "king and his cast seem content to put everything on autopilot and hope glamour and shopping sprees will be enough to carry them . nothing much happens -- and it takes 2.5 hours for it not to happen in .",
      "the nasty critic assault is a ` veiled ' attack on sexual empowerment of older women . and makes it seem that females are pariahs more here than the mideast . if only these ` make war not love ' critics were as outspokenly outraged against the us military there",
      "these characters had a great run , but based on this sorry sequel , there 's nothing interesting left to do with them .",
      "a perfectly pleasant way to spend a couple of hours . the vitriol directed against this movie mostly has to do with the ageism and sexism of the reviewers rather than its merits .",
      "same old silliness , only worse .",
      "all four women step up onto a karaoke stage in abu dhabi and give a rousing rendition of `` i am woman '' surrounded by a bevy of belly dancers . there is just so much wrong with that image that it 's hard to know where to start . but then again , why bother ?",
      "it 's like a magic carpet ride for barbie dolls in which designer fashion and life 's frustrations play on a bed of friendship . it ends up with little sex or city , falling short of its promise .",
      "this is by far the lamest grumpy old men sequel yet .",
      "parents , lock up your fanboys ! ... admittedly , annoying these computer trolls sounds like reason enough to give MOV a hearty recommendation , but the truth of the matter is that this follow-up to the 2008 smash does n't quite measure up .",
      "i am a man . i am straight . i really liked the tv show . i am tired of this shtick . and no samantha , i did n't just say dick .",
      "it 's an obscenity , hopefully a death knell for a franchise that should go gracefully into that good night .",
      "MOV is even worse than its predecessor -- a shallow cash grab that suffers from a bloated runtime and lack of story .",
      "it 's self-indulgent , way too long and never as clever or funny as it 's intended to be .",
      "perhaps it 's time to call it a day .",
      "the film might have triumphed as a musical : camp , virtually plotless , and liberally sequined . but sadly this sequel is not sex and the city -- it is menopause in the desert , and a waste of four great characters .",
      "as carrie might type on her laptop while giving one of her girly little shrugs , when did sex and the city become so long and mean so little ?",
      "the gossamer-thin plot is more flimsy than some of the characters ' dresses and at 146 minutes , the sequel overstays its welcome by the best part of an hour .",
      "the sequel is too long and is missing that sparkle and surprise factor which made the series and first film so enjoyable . even samantha 's character felt forced and overdone .",
      "... a moving , surprisingly traditional ` women 's picture ' in ridiculous , overpriced clothing .",
      "filled with lame niqab jokes that could have been lifted out of ishtar , or a bad episode of family guy .",
      "that charlotte would then deny her jewish husband 's name because she wants to enjoy the proffered ultra-deluxe freebie , explaining , `` this is the middle east , '' is arguably despicable ."
    ],
    "summary": "straining under a thin plot stretched to its limit by a bloated running time , MOV adds an unfortunate coda to the long-running hbo series .",
    "id": "770805765"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1083436-1083436-out_of_sight",
    "reviews": [
      "as coy and unsettling in its violence as in its sex -- the carnage is abrupt , ugly , and very funny -- out of sight keeps facile formula out of mind .",
      "out of sight is n't just a rousing piece of entertainment , it 's also a cinematic salvage operation .",
      "out of sight is a good-looking , inventively filmed movie . it also teems with terrific supporting performances .",
      "out of sight may go down in the annals of film as the movie in which george clooney learned to keep his head still -- and became a leading man .",
      "clooney and lopez are so laid back , they anesthetize the proceedings .",
      "this great cast , soderbergh 's dynamic direction and leonard 's signature style make this one raw , fun and smart caper .",
      "director steven soderbergh gleefully lobs curves right up to the end of this sly , sleek crime thriller .",
      "sexy , funny crime-thriller has it all .",
      "with out of sight , steven soderbergh returns to cracking form with a sharp , funny , classy movie that leaves a wry grin on your face long after the credits roll .",
      "this zany screen adaptation of elmore leonard 's novel perfectly catches its funky portrait of idiosyncratic characters dealing with the craziness of human desire .",
      "out of sight is slick in all the right ways .",
      "clooney is the most impressive he 's been on film . jack foley feels real , not like some hollywood improvisation . foley is charming , handsome , graceful , cultured , energetic and disciplined . he just ca n't stop committing crimes .",
      "soderbergh understands the flaky , funny spirit of leonard 's characters and he gets his cast to express it .",
      "the movie is wonderfully cast -- it has the strongest bench of any movie this year , with albert brooks and don cheadle in key supporting roles .",
      "in playing a career criminal who ca n't get a break , clooney has finally found a movie role that adroitly showcases his smoldering good looks and smart-aleck demeanor .",
      "across landscapes from sunny south florida to snowy detroit , george clooney and jennifer lopez deliver a sizzling , palpable heat in out of sight .",
      "by turns bleak , funny , touching , sexy and poignant , with bursts of violence that rise like sudden geysers from a still pool , out of sight is chock-full of dead-on performances .",
      "its effortless cool and flawless ensemble make it the best translation of an elmore leonard book yet .",
      "the characters all seem to have known each other for years , referring to long-held grudges and resentments that only gradually are revealed to the audience . they 're a seedy , petty , dangerous and delightful bunch .",
      "after many mishaps , the art of bringing elmore leonard 's novels to the screen is coming to fruition . this latest adaptation , by director steven soderbergh and screenwriter scott frank , gets it just about right .",
      "great crime picture , with interesting performances , unique style and an intertwining , captivating plot .",
      "one of the more self-assuredly casual hollywood films to come around in quite awhile .",
      "it 's amazing that a film based on one of his novels has realized how to appropriately connect two characters emotionally with their audience .",
      "it does not push the outside of the envelope , but it gets its job done .",
      "for george clooney and jennifer lopez , out of sight stands as their best work .",
      "while out of sight boasts a terrific cast , the spotlight rarely moves far from george clooney and jennifer lopez , who deliver knockout performances .",
      "loads of fun .",
      "it is one of the first films to build successfully upon pulp fiction 's legacy .",
      "this is pure pulp pleasure , the cinematic equivalent of great beach reading ... and what better way is there to describe the work of elmore leonard ?",
      "with a savory score by cliff martinez complementing its every move , ` sight ' serves up a cornucopia of great moments , lines and performances .",
      "there 's a heist , a jail break , and a flawless melding of comedy and drama and steven soderbergh ties it together like a master .",
      "clooney and lopez sizzle in gun-happy heist flick .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- now-classic romantic comedy -- with plenty of action and suspense .",
      "there is n't a character in the large , excellent cast that does n't emerge with depth and precision .",
      "much of the action seems more like warmed-over quentin tarantino than first-rate steven soderbergh .",
      "a darkly amusing and sly romantic comedy about an accident-prone bank robber -lrb- george clooney -rrb- who falls in love with the sexy federal marshal -lrb- jennifer lopez -rrb- on his tail .",
      "easily the best film i 've seen in 1998 .",
      "out of sight works both as a great romance and a great , unconventional crime thriller . but step back from such distinctions , and it just looks like a great movie .",
      "george clooney and jennifer lopez sizzle in this sexy , sly and snappy crime caper from director steven soderbergh , that neatly combines its 1970s heist-picture roots with sparkling romantic comedy .",
      "out of sight may be the first movie that has truly gotten an elmore leonard novel on screen , in all its hangdog wit and fractured-jigsaw form .",
      "clooney and lopez work well together ...",
      "some reviewers have applauded out of sight for its nuances of character , but i and others do n't see any characters at all .",
      "it 's refreshing to find a picture like out of sight , which is not only smart , but a great deal of fun , as well .",
      "soderbergh takes real delight in giving his stars the star treatment .",
      "soderbergh plays it a little too cool , not allowing the story 's ironic and comedic rim shots to resonate .",
      "like get shorty , out of sight has been adapted with deftness and fidelity by scott frank , who knows exactly how to translate leonard 's narrative voice to the screen .",
      "out of sight is nothing less than pure dynamite !",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- forced me to revise upward slightly my middling opinion of george clooney . pair him with jennifer lopez again , and i 'll be real happy .",
      "all the fancy footwork serves to bog down the movie .",
      "steven soderbergh 's best film since sex , lies and videotape a decade ago .",
      "a pleasurable and genial jewel-heist tale that itself is just shy of being a real gem .",
      "george clooney has finally made a good movie .",
      "this one came out of left field and knocked my socks off .",
      "the film owes a lot of its style to those produced by quentin tarantino , focusing heavily on characterization and quirky cinematography and not just pounding out a linear storyline .",
      "... entertaining enough while you 're watching it , but instantly forgettable .",
      "it 's amusing , entertaining and intriguing , even though the second half is shaky , as the film makes a seemingly uncomfortable transition into more serious material .",
      "out of sight is best at electric scenes between its romantic leads . clooney and lopez have the kind of chemistry that classics are made of .",
      "a surprisingly good film that wo n't stay out of viewers ' minds .",
      "it 's best to think of this as a pulp fiction-lite clone , but a darn good clone .",
      "soderbergh and his longtime cinematographer elliot davis have given us an action film that looks as sleek and moody as krzysztof kieslowski 's red .",
      "this movie is so much better than most of the junk 1998 vomited upon us , that it 's hard to believe it was puked out of the same year .",
      "unlike tarantino 's plodding jackie brown , this blackly comic and sexy thriller does its source material , yet another elmore leonard novel , justice .",
      "from the deadpan line delivery of stars george clooney and jennifer lopez to the funky electric piano and wah-wah guitar on the soundtrack , this adaptation of elmore leonard 's 1996 crime novel stays hip and never breaks a sweat .",
      "soderbergh knows how to take the everyday crime thriller and make it sing .",
      "the impossibly glamorous and charismatic pair of clooney and lopez absolutely sizzle from their first moment together .",
      "has a cornucopia of corny characters .",
      "it 's gritty enough to stay true to the source material 's comedy-of-despair ethos , yet solid enough to pack a punch , and in doing so it makes for one of the better heist movies in some time .",
      "faintly melancholy and alluringly fatalistic , this mercurial romance passing as a crime thriller is slyly entertaining and darkly sexy .",
      "out of sight is another fine mess elmore leonard has got us into .",
      "soderbergh finds the perfect equilibrium between mainstream entertainment and arty panache , lacing this heist movie/romantic comedy with character-motivated time shifting , prominent freeze-frames , a funky soundtrack and an all-around hip vibe .",
      "george clooney 's transition from telly to movie star was confirmed by this sparky adaptation of an elmore leonard novel .",
      "from the first shot to the last , mr. clooney is in complete command of the screen in the assured manner of the biggest stars in the past , and he does n't need a ton of special effects and digital enhancement to generate excitement .",
      "steven soderbergh 's most ambitious and most accomplished work to date .",
      "a splendid reminder of just how assured , intelligent and involving soderbergh 's movies can be .",
      "an outstanding crime film from director steven soderbergh and screenwriter scott frank , who adapted elmore leonard 's novel .",
      "intelligent and intriguing .",
      "un divertissement aussi cool et intelligent qu'un ocean 's eleven qui s ` affiche sous un enrobage esthtique aussi solidement labor que celui de l'excellent the limey .",
      "with smart dialogue , good characters , and an excellent cast , out of sight easily smoothes over the rough spots in the plot and delivers on both the action and romantic fronts .",
      "solidly directed by soderbergh , with strong performances for the two principals as well as nice supporting turns from ving rhames , don cheadle and steve zahn .",
      "it 's all the little asides , the little throwaways , the unexpected small things that make this a delightful encounter .",
      "complementing films from bonnie and clyde to pulp fiction , out of sight delivers original material in a stylish manner .",
      "represents a piece of great moviemaking from a pulpish story that could have easily been obnoxious or unbelievable or both .",
      "as always with the best of leonard , it 's the journey , not the destination , that counts , and director soderbergh has let it unfold with dry wit and great skill .",
      "another of those stunningly well-written movies based on books by the very productive elmore leonard .",
      "george clooney takes the gruff , devil-may-care attitude of a humphrey bogart and blends it with the sexy charm of a cary grant to make out of sight the tv star 's most successful big-screen venture to date .",
      "in a summer filled with mega-hyped disappointments , out of sight proves the undeniable value of story , characterization , and -- most of all -- intelligence .",
      "all in all , this movie is a step or two above average . the writing , chemistry , editing , and momentum probably made up for any deficiencies ."
    ],
    "summary": "steven soderbergh 's intelligently crafted adaptation of the elmore leonard novel is witty , sexy , suprisingly entertaining , and a star-making turn for george clooney .",
    "id": "13912"
  },
  {
    "movie": "white_god",
    "reviews": [
      "the filmmaker was wise choosing a species known for its capacity for unconditional love to make his point , its perversion all the more emotionally wrenching .",
      "what holds kornél mundruczó 's scrappy film all together is its fierce and forceful political metaphor : society 's underdogs - be it ethnic minorities , the poor , the disenfranchised - if pushed too far , will bite back -lrb- in this case literally -rrb- .",
      "by turns dickensian , marxist and dystopian , it 's a movie as deliriously unclassifiable as it is expertly focused in its desire to provoke and entertain .",
      "unfortunately , whatever satisfaction you may derive from seeing assorted nasty human beings get what 's coming to them for betraying the trust of man 's best friend is watered down by vague social and political allegory .",
      "the whole production speaks well for the power of film ; it 's a serious stunner .",
      "intriguing , but the movie 's larger statement is n't clear .",
      "rarely does a film 's execution achieve or even exceed its director 's ambitions , but hungarian director kornel mundruczo 's `` MOV '' is that rare movie .",
      "the film is no more than wildly inventive , engaging , exciting and memorable , with faultless performances by all the humans , and by luke , bodie and a jack russell terrier mix named marlene . i can live with the disappointment .",
      "mundruczó 's camera is itchy , moving , darting , as if sniffing , a `` shaggy dog '' approach , little nudges and sneaks ever so closer in scenes where the dogs move closer to war with mankind .",
      "MOV is a feat of practical filmmaking ...",
      "beautifully shot and with an amazing breakthrough performance by zsófia psotta . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "sometimes the plot can be unrealistic and even ridiculous , but the movie works due to it 's excelent direction . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "a re-education about the butality of life in a post-socialist hungary . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "the movie 's sensibilities thowards animal violence transform into visual poetry . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "cinema in it 's purest form . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "in MOV , a dog named hagen is our protagonist , but he could easily represent any minority in the world . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "a hard and original analisis of society , it paralels with a lot of what 's going on today in the world . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "even if it 's hard to watch , this is a smart social metaphor , perfectly directed and performes . the dogs are great ! -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "more than the political metaphor we see on screen , the movie 's best parts are seeing 300 dogs on screen running through the streets of budapest . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "kornél mundruczó shows great ability to create atmosphere , generate emotion and get heartwarming performances from those who you 'd least expect ... -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "hungarian director kornél mundruczó downplays MOV as a `` genre experiment , '' but his film has real bite regardless .",
      "somewhere between the future shock allegories of the '70s and their tv spin-offs circa the abc movie of the week lies MOV .",
      "imagine an `` r '' rated lassie by way of spartacus . that 's kornél mundruczó 's MOV , a brutal but stirring fantasy about street dogs rising up against cruel and indifferent humans .",
      "a b revenge movie with a-plus direction by kornél mundruczó and a cast of canines so personable that even when they tear out people 's throats you still want to take them home .",
      "a rousing creature-feature thriller and political allegory , from hungarian director kornel mundrucz .",
      "the hand that feeds - and also brutalizes - is righteously bitten in `` MOV , '' a hungarian revenge fantasy that 's like nothing you 've seen on screen before .",
      "milo and otis by way of the birds by way of i spit on your grave .",
      "this is fascinating to watch on a purely elemental level , as mundruczó employs creative smoke-and-mirrors to make once cute dogs seem like menacing terrors .",
      "suffers at times from a scattershot tone ... -lrb- but -rrb- its marauding former pets and unresolved ending reminded me most of hitchcock 's `` the birds . '' that 's certainly not a bad film to aspire to while crafting a needed cautionary tale .",
      "... there is much to admire in this near exceptional film , and i guarantee you will be fully invested in the two leads .",
      "`` MOV '' is n't the first film to suggest that humanity 's cruel treatment of others will one day come back to haunt us . but it certainly makes its point with potent force .",
      "imagine a gritty version of the ` simpsons ' episode where santa 's little helper runs away and becomes a scary fighting mutt - shorn of the laddie subplot , alas .",
      "director kornél mundruczó goes big with allegory , violence , drama and sentiment , and the results are riveting .",
      "... could all just be an ineptly handled gag , like the agit-prop euro-benji film it occasionally resembles .",
      "i want to hug all the dogs in MOV , as well as thank them for their performances in this intense and moving drama .",
      "it 's ruthless but sentimental , gritty but fanciful , drop-dead serious but also a little impossible to take seriously .",
      "makes lassie come home look like a stroll through pet smart .",
      "when the violence gets unbearable , take comfort in the troop of trainers on the sidelines who prove that , for now , man and beast still make a good team .",
      "the screen teems with vitality and energy whenever the dogs return to center stage .",
      "MOV wants audiences to be moved because stray dogs are persecuted like homeless people . but viewers are prodded to despise the one actual street person in the movie for taking advantage of a dog .",
      "director kornél mundruczó 's staging of the scenes in which the dogs take to the streets is breathtaking .",
      "MOV is perhaps the greatest dog movie made without cgi .",
      "a poignant hungarian parable about the terrible things that can happen when there is no reverence for dogs as fellow companions .",
      "it affects a general air of artistically inclined realism , but it 's mostly concerned with building tension via a steady accumulation of flatly conceived misery .",
      "striking , grim , darkly funny at times . but who , exactly , is going to want to watch a movie built around graphic dog abuse ?",
      "the more you command it to sit and stay-to settle down as a plausible plot , or to cohere as a political fable-the more it slips its leash and runs amok .",
      "a wonderful movie that scores high as political allegory , grand guignol , and coming-of-age drama .",
      "beauty and the beast with bared teeth .",
      "this gripping suspense story considers how any canine can become the unfortunate repository for its master 's darkest impulses .",
      "`` hungarian director kornél mundruczó 's brave and tantalizing movie ''",
      "who let the dogs out ? this is homeward bound : the incredibly harrowing journey ...",
      "MOV is an ambitious and thrilling , if a little uneven , canine-centric drama .",
      "mundruczó skillfully weaves adventure , coming-of-age , prison-escape and revenge-thriller tropes into a mythic , emotional and visceral experience that poses moral questions about how people treat animals and how people treat people .",
      "this powerful hungarian drama features the al pacino of dog actors .",
      "a beautiful and bizarre film that veers between gritty realism and haunting fantasy , and from a human perspective to a dog 's - eye-view of the world .",
      "MOV is n't for everyone . but it is an unflinching , extraordinary piece of film-making .",
      "this is an entertaining , technically accomplished work , but unlike the 1982 samuel fuller race-relations thriller which the title references , its set-up ultimately proves distracting .",
      "superbly acted allegorical drama with a climax that is not only breathtakingly exciting but flawlessly handled .",
      "both a powerful statement for animal rights as well as a metaphorical commentary on the rise of racism in hungary today .",
      "a broad but often poignant allegory of oppression , it 's like the beautiful puppy of au hasard balthazar and the plague dogs .",
      "when it 's all said and done , `` MOV '' delivers an indictment of both sides , and its one that , despite its canine -lrb- anti- ? -rrb- heroes , rings with an undeniable sadness and human truth .",
      "... cheekily comments on how we often hide behind civilized culture to mask our basest natures .",
      "you remember the first shots , and the last , but the film never really finds its footing .",
      "you 'll feel like you 're watching something amazing .",
      "emotionally visceral , visually amazing movie with an underpinned social commentary that hits like a brick . see it .",
      "what it all means is open to interpretation . read it as a parable or as a horror movie . read it as the story of love between a girl and her dog . read it however you want . no matter what your take , you wo n't be disappointed .",
      "a startling , strange , and disturbing tale of dogs and men",
      "if someone wants to make a case that our four-legged actor friends deserve to be considered for oscar consideration , right alongside streep and mcconaughey , they need only offer MOV as evidence .",
      "MOV has all the moralistic themes and allegorical elements to make the film evergreen when applied to almost any social , political or socio-economic conflict .",
      "as a dark , eastern european take on `` benji the hunted , '' `` MOV '' holds some fascination . but as an indictment of the evil that men do , it 's all bark and no bite .",
      "MOV is a breathtaking beast of its own .",
      "an astonishing live-action fable in a dog-eat-dog world .",
      "a sort of apocalyptic fable in which the maltreatment of lowly animals becomes a potent metaphor for everything from immigration to the abuse of power ...",
      "... a triumphantly idiosyncratic film with smarts and visceral impact in equal measure .",
      "it is a fantasia of canine madness that looks sometimes like a horror-thriller based on something by james herbert or stephen king - and sometimes like a tribute to hitchcock 's the birds . except that this time it 's the dogs .",
      "kornel mundruczo 's sixth and best feature is an emotionally rousing , technically masterful man-vs . - dog adventure .",
      "even those who do n't buy in completely to mundruczo 's parable will be impressed by his canine crowd scenes , staged with ambition , skill and genuinely original vision .",
      "engrossing , and open to any number of metaphorical readings -- but not for people who ca n't handle simulated animal abuse in movies .",
      "think `` the incredible journey '' crossed with `` the birds '' crossed with `` rise of the planet of the apes . '' or maybe just imagine `` cujo '' as told from the dog 's point of view . do n't take grandma .",
      "it all pays off with an astounding , extended climax that is as rousing and exciting as it is frightening - one of the most surreal experiences i 've ever had watching a movie .",
      "the obviousness of the message -- follow the right leader -- would be more tolerable in a less badly acted , less shoddy-looking film .",
      "a mixed-genre fable that evokes dickensian melodrama , coming-of-age tropes and outright horror .",
      "kornél mundruczó knows not of subtlety . the hungarian director 's brash new feature MOV is over the top in all kinds of ways , for better and worse .",
      "call the shelter ; this one 's a keeper .",
      "dogs run wild in budapest . suggests a canine version of alfred hitchcock 's `` the birds . ''",
      "MOV offers a dark - very dark - take on the way humans exert authority , and superiority , over our fellow creatures ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is n't an easy watch , but its soaring ambition and powerful acting -- human and canine alike -- make it well worth the effort .",
    "id": "771380388"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1109137-heist",
    "reviews": [
      "a perfectly pleasurable ride .",
      "nothing tremendous but certainly entertaining in its own right and for what it 's trying to be and do .",
      "MOV is not so much a fleshed-out cinematic experience as a shallow exercise in con games .",
      "see it if you like really good MOV movies !",
      "david mamet 's films regurgitate every clever quip he 's collected on bar napkins throughout the years .",
      "a kick to watch , but it feels like it could have been more .",
      "mamet the writer should have thrown his script over to an action pro , like john frankenheimer , to protect him from himself .",
      "the slick-but-skin-deep MOV is little more than an engagingly empty exercise .",
      "a no-frills , ice-cold , dead-serious caper flick in the classic tradition .",
      "solidly entertaining and surprisingly free of the mamet-isms that can suck the life right out of the most tightly crafted story .",
      "structured as a trick within a trick within a trick , mamet 's latest contribution to film noir is a mildly entertaining crimer that nonetheless exposes his strenuous efforts to outsmart the audience .",
      "-lsb- mamet -rsb- is a giant in several areas , but i 'm not sure moviemaking is one of them .",
      "captivating david mamet movie for grownups .",
      "it 's one of mamet 's best . it 's also one of hackman 's best , most mercurial performances .",
      "your typical MOV film with a few improvements .",
      "the methodical planning of the caper is completely mesmerizing .",
      "como em todo roteiro escrito por mamet , os diálogos săo excelentes e a trama é engenhosa - mas desta vez o excesso de reviravoltas acaba comprometendo o resultado final .",
      "this is a world not unlike superhero comics , only in this world the heroes have the superhuman ability to knock down buildings with a split-second comeback line .",
      "mamet plays his cards carefully enough to raise the performances into a meditation on the nature of trust itself .",
      "MOV is better than the score , not because it is more surprising or the actorly turns by the principals better realized , but simply because it is better written and the direction is more fluid .",
      "it 's only skin deep .",
      "the robbery is intriguing enough , but a pity that the film lacks david mamet 's signature dialogue .",
      "it 's 99 and 44/100 % pure mamet all the way .",
      "as a caper movie , MOV is as good as any you 'll see . as a david mamet movie , it leaves something to be desired .",
      "despite mamet 's extensive experience , it is both sloppily written and surprisingly unpolished .",
      "a satisfying caper written and directed by a masterful craftsman and starring a perfect cast of leads and supporters .",
      "fast-paced entertainment that does n't pander .",
      "`` MOV '' is a smartly-written caper movie with sparkling dialogue . while it is too cute to be believable , it is still a very classy bit of filmmaking .",
      "mamet 's cerebral thriller is a joy to watch -- this is easily the director 's toughest , grittiest drama to date .",
      "the story is like a bad mountain road : full of twists , turns , and huge potholes , with mamet driving through it about ten miles an hour , his direction too slack and lackadaisical to build much tension or suspense .",
      "MOV is n't nearly as teasingly clever as mamet 's the spanish prisoner or house of cards , but it does show hackman at the top of his game .",
      "full of action and suspense , MOV is above all a gratifyingly adult entertainment .",
      "thanks to the writing and story structure , MOV is more satisfying as a character study .",
      "once you pull away its layers and discount the occasional running , jumping and gunplay , is simply more of the same .",
      "a swift , busy and almost preeningly generic crime movie .",
      "a minor work by a major guy .",
      "a hard-boiled winner .",
      "david mamet drives us crazy with a characteristically convoluted caper film that 's a lot more about attitude and sleight of hand than it is about action . mischievous , but you really have to go with the flow .",
      "a caper movie covered in the profane icing of mametian dialogue but stuffed with tedious mametian plot wrinkles .",
      "it 's less plot-driven than the score but is more satisfying because of what mamet leaves out .",
      "you 'll need 10 minutes to learn the pattern of david mamet 's the MOV , after which it will become a typical shallow caper film .",
      "revisits a lot of old turf , but brings the welcome dimension of hackman , lindo , and jay .",
      "once you recognize that each new development is nothing more than a prelude to another con , any sense of tension is moot .",
      "MOV is the kind of caper movie that was made before special effects replaced wit , construction and intelligence .",
      "yeah , things spiral out of control toward the bloated ending , but the film 's wonderfully barbed nature keeps this sting sharp .",
      "rare for mamet , that talk here sometimes comes off as strained and awkward , or as a slightly highbrow variation on the usual hackneyed bon mots of generic action films .",
      "essentially a genre piece overdecorated with phrases , quirks and narrative slipknots with a mannered look-at-me cleverness .",
      "if it piles on more psychological fake-outs than is safe in a setup this size -- well , at least it 's got that talk , that language , that thing mamet does that is at this point as identifiable as the cadences of the bard .",
      "MOV is smart , beautifully written , wonderfully plotted and brought to life by a terrific cast . we 're not sure it gets much better than that .",
      "there are dialogue-driven scenes in this movie that will blow you away -- nobody writes like mamet at the top of his game .",
      "there is some clever dialogue and a few neat little twists , but the crosses , double crosses , and triple crosses go on for so long , it gets to be a bit too much .",
      "as clever as MOV is at times , it often seems to outsmart itself -- that is , there 's at least one plot twist -lrb- and character twist -rrb- too many , and too many scenes rely on contrivances that strain credibility .",
      "MOV is a phoned-in job .",
      "MOV is satisfying in other ways , particularly seeing the terrific cast ... chew at mamet 's dialogue like hollywood film actors starved for substance .",
      "passable but never exciting .",
      "mamet does n't just give us an enthralling MOV flick , he makes the language something to savor .",
      "for fans of the sting and other classic cons , this will sound like jackpot time . for others , who prefer their capers less tidy or self-consciously clever , this exercise may carry all the excitement of a drugged mouse in a maze .",
      "not nearly as clever or engrossing as the best of mamet 's numerous neo-film noir scripts .",
      "unlike the score , which tested viewers ' patience until the climactic robbery with self-indulgent dramatics and cardboard dialogue , MOV has you in its grip from the get-go .",
      "avoids sentimentalizing or glamorizing the material , keeping it dry and always with an ironic edge",
      "a lively caper film with snappy dialogue and interesting characters .",
      "... enough to keep one 's attention , certainly , but the film is n't nearly as persuasive as some of -lrb- mamet 's -rrb- previous work .",
      "una cinta entretenida , bien llevada , mejor escrita , y con grandes actuaciones . se necesita ms para pagar la entrada a la sala ?",
      "a throwback to the kind of hard-boiled yarns the late don siegel used to crank out in his sleep .",
      "if the journey is familiar , however , it 's still enjoyable , as one team of thieves tries to trip up another . there are more broken alliances , double-crosses and hidden agendas here than you 'd find in a whole season of `` survivor . ''",
      "this is so incredibly below average , very disappointing . once again the writing is at fault and it 's just baffling because of who 's at the helm .",
      "very disappointing new action flick by mamet . not worth a trip to the theatre for this one ...",
      "the story turns tedious as the characters take turns stabbing each other in the back . every successive plot twist becomes easier to foresee .",
      "the real pleasure is found in a cast of actors who are smart , energetic craftsmen that are good at their jobs .",
      "a solidly entertaining caper flick with great performances , intelligent and fun dialogue , and expertly crafted plotting .",
      "featuring charming criminal masterminds going up against more venal , not to mention foolish , operators , pulling off all manner of delightful double crosses along the way .",
      "as capers go , MOV is considerably less than thrilling .",
      "while staccato dialogue and edgy confrontations have always been the wordsmith 's forte , the precision-tooled mechanics of an elaborate crime caper have not , and the physical direction here could use some muscle .",
      "MOV not only reminds us that there 's a little larceny in all of us , but reminds us as well how much fun it can be to commune with our inner thief .",
      "the score got away clean , without resorting to violence . MOV is n't so lucky . this house of cards goes down in a hail of bullets .",
      "the viewer 's biggest challenge is to survive fits of yawning so violent they could disrupt ornithic migratory patterns .",
      "not as cool as the score , but still decent grown-up fun .",
      "the problem , is the plot , this has been done before and it seems tired , but hey , this is mamet we 're talking about and if anyone can redeem a mediocre plot , he can ... and he does .",
      "MOV lacks the smugness of mr. mamet 's state and main but never reaches the wit-quota of his the spanish prisoner and wag the dog . even if it 's not memorable mamet , it 's a largely intriguing movie .",
      "so it 's not original . but MOV gets its snap and crackle from the precise language .",
      "a whirl of action going nowhere fast .",
      "betrayal only works if we care who ends up with whom , and mamet fails to interest the audience in anything outside the macho banter .",
      "what MOV lacks in novelty it makes up for in solid entertainment .",
      "MOV is mamet 's biggest and most accessible thriller to date , and if you 've never seen any of his films , the movie will work its devilish magic . but for the initiated , MOV carries a whiff of disappointment .",
      "it is a pleasure to be captivated by mamet , the master of tired , tough , talk .",
      "people who liked mamet 's glengarry glen ross will like this movie .",
      "the convoluted caper at the heart of MOV is a sure sign that writer/director david mamet has been trying way too hard .",
      "mamet serves up a satisfying entree .",
      "a self-indulgent exercise in senseless word-love and misguided nepotism .",
      "a neat , bouncy , minor-key crime procedural that shakes no rafters .",
      "works in spite of itself , due to the fantastic cast and mamet 's crackling dialogue .",
      "it 's consistently fun , occasionally funny , and will have viewers on the edges of their seats on more than one occasion .",
      "mamet has just become lazy with this one .",
      "the cast is brilliant , the plotting ingenious , the dialogue incendiary .",
      "great verbiage aside , the red herrings and manipulations boil down to too much of a good thing .",
      "a decent movie with some good acting , but it is probably more of a renter .",
      "an exhilaratingly tense thriller that benefits from an elaborate array of rapid-fire twists and the sharp , delicious , cadence of david mamet dialogue .",
      "a smartly written crime caper .",
      "mamet can be an engaging cinematic con artist , but it 's a lot more enjoyable to watch him making his money the old fashioned way : earning it .",
      "while MOV does n't exactly rank alongside classics like house of games and the spanish prisoner , it certainly has a beat that you can dance to .",
      "smart cinema , with a storyline that holds together and dialogue that stimulates your intellect like other movies ' car chases stimulate your adrenal gland .",
      "mamet directs MOV , with excellent pacing , stylized camera work and high-charged dialogue .",
      "not awful but nowhere near as good as it should have been .",
      "does narrative cartwheels in a futile effort to outwit us ... you 'll probably emerge from the theatre thinking you 're the one who 's been robbed .",
      "engaging , surprising , and sometimes quite funny",
      "there 's something offensive about how mamet continues to win praise as a serious filmmaker with such a joyless picture , a picture that -- intentionally -- gives the audience so little .",
      "as smart as a pail full of grown-up tomcats .",
      "i could n't believe any of it on any level , though it could be described as ` fun . '",
      "if mamet is n't quite as ahead of the audience as he usually is , his ear for crackling dialogue and intelligent attention to detail is still very much in evidence .",
      "MOV falls short of brilliance , but like house of games , mamet 's directorial debut , its effortless slight-of-hand is satisfying .",
      "the movie is super fun , even if some of its tricks seem to strain credulity .",
      "the film noir that mamet strives for is lost in the many twists and turns of plot manipulation that make up the bulk of `` MOV . ''",
      "this cast is excellent . MOV , though , proves that enormously talented people can make a pretty lousy movie .",
      "this was another familiar formulaic MOV movie with nothing much new to offer this genre ..."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV did n't cover any new ground , but the cast and mamet 's expertise with witty banter make it worthwhile .",
    "id": "14390"
  },
  {
    "movie": "lantana",
    "reviews": [
      "a psychological thriller that emphasizes the psychology over the thrills . it 's a smart , heart-twisting picture .",
      "i grew to resent the way the storylines began to collide and converge -- it is n't a small world , it 's microscopic .",
      "characters and situations that are compelling on their own get shoved together in ways that feel forced and fake , as if there are only a dozen people in sydney and they all know each other .",
      "lawrence tweaks the stereotypes and creates rich character studies that speak volumes about how we live now as well as what constitutes the basis of happiness .",
      "lawrence 's storytelling skills do n't seem to have eroded -- if anything , they may have gotten even stronger .",
      "has a refreshingly keen ability to see everything from multiple angles .",
      "the film is as dense as its namesake , and it reminds us how few contemporary thrillers are adult .",
      "MOV , as coiled and thorny as its title suggests , gets its chilling energy from lapaglia 's quiet intensity .",
      "if some of the connections stretch credulity , an exquisite ensemble cast ... inhabit their characters with a subtle authenticity .",
      "even in its quiet moments , the movie is possessed by a moody , tenebrous aura that reflects the characters ' state of mind .",
      "the thorns in this film prick real blood , the color of which too few films can or care to examine . it is fine stuff indeed .",
      "MOV is so rich in secondary characters and performances it 's hard to mention them all . but you will certainly appreciate them .",
      "smolders but never explodes .",
      "an engaging and absorbing drama that rings true thanks to the cast and crew who excel at their respective crafts .",
      "the emotional experience of `` MOV '' is heightened by its marvelous ensemble cast , all of whom etch a character in relatively brief screen time .",
      "these are , for the most part , believable and honest characters , though i 'm not sure they always behave the way they would in real life .",
      "MOV has more than the usual dramatic quota of unhappiness , but it 's alive in each scene , beautifully shot , and directed by lawrence with fierce care for subtleties .",
      "one of the best .",
      "solving the mystery of the dead body would be enough for most hollywood movies . in MOV , it 's merely a device to launch us into more rewarding explorations .",
      "lawrence arrays their outstanding work in sensual , fluent fashion , making a bright , shiny and attractive movie out of the dim , dark hearts of his characters .",
      "imagine american beauty crossbred with ingmar bergman 's scenes from a marriage and transposed down under , except that MOV has a cool sense of tragedy and surprising reserves of passion that are all its own .",
      "this richly nuanced psychological drama circles around the complicated subject of love and offers ample insights into some of the sources of emotional illiteracy .",
      "love is indeed the greatest mystery , and it 's a bit unfortunate that the filmmakers were n't content to simply explore that quandary instead of manufacturing another .",
      "a terrific , multi-layered , character-driven story ...",
      "neither writer nor director supply good reasons why these miserable moderns do what they do . but this leaves the actors to do what they like . and in this , MOV blooms with talent .",
      "the acting is top-notch , and lapaglia , who makes the cop 's torment palpable , gives the performance of his career .",
      "`` MOV '' never veers off its course , but its path twists and turns with a frantic glee reminiscent of `` magnolia ''",
      "that rare movie that can be called adult -- not because it incorporates a few frank sex scenes , but because it respects the complexity of grown-up relationships .",
      "while the contrivances tend to pile up rather uncomfortably ... the picture is saved -lrb- though barely -rrb- by its remarkable leads .",
      "mr. lapaglia , ms. armstrong , mr. rush and ms. hershey invest their roles with a profound humanity .",
      "from the cheating husband to the bereft parents , every character earns our sympathy at some point in the picture .",
      "directed ... with a deft , perceptive eye and ear for the delicate verbal and emotional intercourse of frayed human relationships .",
      "a movie that rivets attention and generates suspense by underscoring how seemingly disparate lives can become as entangled as the branches of a tropical shrub .",
      "what 's surprising is how easy it is to follow the plot , and how the coincidences do n't get in the way .",
      "a sensitive essay that dearly wants to be a feature film .",
      "the characters are believable . same with the dialogue .",
      "after seeing -lsb- lapaglia -rsb- in MOV , no one will ever look at him without recognizing an actor of the first rank .",
      "remarkably non-bummer viewing . bleak as its outlook is , it 's not so much psychodrama as psychocomedy of manners .",
      "the film is powerfully acted , with nary a weak performance to be found .",
      "it sounds pretty bleak . it is . and it 's slow . but it 's not bleak as in despairing and dull .",
      "well-realized characterizations are undermined by the strained and artificial developments of the plot .",
      "suffers from performances that are virtually all pitched to the same note of existential ennui .",
      "the performances are gritty , and director ray lawrence does a noble job of keeping the pace natural and real .",
      "a remarkably thoughtful drama .",
      "this is for fans of good acting , not good writing .",
      "lawrence constructs a vivid pastiche of human foibles , nicely flavored with a touch of suspense and some well-timed jolts of humor .",
      "implausible tale .",
      "the movie just seems to happen , to grow out of the ground like a thorny plant , revealing the intricate intelligence of its design only in hindsight .",
      "the scenario eventually becomes so coincidence-choked that the filmmakers have no choice but to play it for mild snickers .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- his reminded me a lot of robert altman 's best ...",
      "cutting up love -- in every dream house grows a MOV of heartache",
      "intriguing australian film that 's a must for independent film fans .",
      "warmly received at its world premiere -lrb- opening film , sydney film festival , june 8 , 2001 -rrb- , MOV is a film for film lovers , an engaging character study whose subjects are as varied as they are self-contradictory .",
      "a meditation on fidelity in marriage where the suspense and surprises stem from who has -- or has n't -- been betraying each other and how .",
      "it has a sensuality years away from the young faces and trainer-toned bodies we 've come to expect .",
      "it makes thoughts and emotional webs run wild in our heads , and leaves us unsure of how to describe them , simply by focusing on the complexity of people .",
      "the sort of movie that highbrow critics love to overrate ... it 's married with children for serious-minded folks without a sense of humor .",
      "the movie does n't have the appeal of a hitchcock psychological murder mystery . it 's more a well-acted study about the thorny landscape of relationships .",
      "as a mystery , `` MOV '' is memorable . but as a study in human relationships and the human condition , it 's unforgettable .",
      "... boldly , thoroughly , and honestly explores the difficulties of unconditional love in a society that teaches us that we should never deny our base appetites and impulses .",
      "a gripping story about real people trying to deal with an assortment of complex , bottled-up emotions .",
      "thoughtful , well-paced .",
      "a small , personal film , which ponders the importance of honesty , trust and love in a relationship .",
      "a gifted cast keeps the bummer moving forward with an intensity that 's a thrill to behold .",
      "a very adult picture with adult concerns that lingers in the mind the way so many of this year 's hollywood releases have not .",
      "a bit on the slow side .",
      "intricate , elegant , sophisticated and multilayered drama .",
      "a fascinating domestic drama -- wrapped in the trappings of a mystery -- that proves lawrence 's talents have lost none of their luster .",
      "deserves its accolades for , if nothing else , setting a tone for australian filmmakers and reaching a level to which they should now aspire .",
      "virtually all of the film 's drama is character driven . the motivations are unforced and believable .",
      "where `` MOV '' succeeds is by out smarting it 's audience . it is masquerading as a predictable thriller , but it 's far from that . it will keep you guessing til the very end",
      "a stark and haunting study of marital discord .",
      "MOV could n't quite pull off being both a mystery story and a psychological drama .",
      "a direct , affecting movie , one where every character hangs suspended between loneliness and the possibility of love .",
      "MOV meets its coincidences head-on , with a wink and a nudge that -- abetted by a compelling story and performances -- cajole us into playing along .",
      "this is the sort of fiercely intelligent , emotionally gripping movie about people that almost never gets made any more .",
      "lawrence cast well and gets terrific performances all the way up and down the line .",
      "MOV is definitely a film that works better on a moment to moment basis than it does as a complete package .",
      "uno de los dramas más hermosos que se han filmado .",
      "a perceptive , powerfully acted psychodrama .",
      "a strong , consistently engrossing drama that boils with emotions distinctly real and recognizable .",
      "a nicely structured account of mid-life crises undergone by a group of australians who meet through dramatic circumstances .",
      "very effective acting talent , even if you 've never heard of the dozen who do n't enjoy above-the-title billing .",
      "MOV is ray lawrence 's aussie rendition of short cuts , a multi-character relationship saga disguised as a bubbling thriller .",
      "the movie 's thriller hook is really just that : a hook , a pretext on which to hang some remarkably conceived and executed characterizations .",
      "MOV is no blockbuster , just exceptionally fine filmmaking .",
      "MOV 's strengths and weaknesses , like its characters , balance each other out .",
      "it 's walking a perilous tightrope with `` too stagy '' on the one side and `` too affected '' on the other , teetering and yawing alarmingly at times",
      "casts a spell that draws one into the murky waters of transgression .",
      "this well constructed film will keep you guessing until the end"
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is an intricately plotted character study that quietly shines with authenticity .",
    "id": "16003"
  },
  {
    "movie": "two_days_one_night",
    "reviews": [
      "the dardennes take us into the ecosystem of need . by the time they are through , they 've cut a wide swath that covers most of the issues of the working class .",
      "a rare thing , a socio-economic thriller , with a moving performance by cotillard .",
      "less is more . that 's what the dardenne brothers are all about .",
      "none of this would work if cotillard 's performance were n't so forthright and deeply felt .",
      "jean-pierre and luc dardenne , comme d'habitude , deliver first-rate , suspenseful drama with an approach not unlike the cinéma vérité style associated with documentary filmmaking ...",
      "an intense and intimate experience that 's relentless in its warmth and chills . to date , depression has never felt so delicate and hypnotic on film .",
      "sooner or later , we all need a helping hand in our lives . but what happens when you need to convince people to extend one ?",
      "as a parable on karma , capitalism and darwinian corporate politics , `` two days , one night '' can often feel brutal . as a testament to connection , service , sacrifice and self-worth , it 's a soaring , heart-rending hymn .",
      "cannes film festival director thierry fremaux called it a `` belgian western , '' and it 's true ; echoes of `` high noon '' and others reverberate in its bones .",
      "throughout , cotillard , conveying shame and desperation without ever being showy about it , brings meaning to every movement and posture .",
      "some may find the journey slight , but there is nothing superficial in the film - from the emotional honesty of cotillard 's performance to the workplace injustice , bullyboy tactics and worker reactions as they are desperate to protect their own income",
      "maybe i just do n't get it , but this multi-awarded film from the celebrated -lrb- and cannes regular -rrb- belgian dardenne brothers is not only slight - as in , without cinematic scale - it is a bit contrived and tedious",
      "set in a dehumanizing economy , this is a powerful film about rallying self-worth .",
      "many films probe the tragic lives scarred by joblessness or underemployment during this economic crisis , but few delve into going about somehow confronting those issues . and in the case of this film , the triumph of the human spirit despite everything .",
      "as usual , the dardenne brothers are never heavy-handed , but also not coy about their politics .",
      "community or the individual ? the dramatization of the conflict is pungent , but cotillard 's oscar-nominated performance -lrb- of a different register than her equally accomplished work in 2014 's the immigrant -rrb- is the shining center of i > two days .",
      "-lsb- cotillard -rsb- she oozes sadness from the seams , and lets us feel the deep hole that is depression without great swaths of self-pity or melodrama .",
      "marion cotillard delivers a stunningly naturalistic performance .",
      "compassionate , suspenseful drama , posing an intriguing ethical dilemma ...",
      "marion cotillard proves herself an undeniable force in the emotionally jarring two days , one night .",
      "coursing underneath the film 's calm , observant surface is a fury at a system that sets people in the same leaky boat at each other 's throats .",
      "the dardennes are aces at these small-scale human dramas , and two days , one night is almost without flaw ...",
      "by the end of `` two days , one night '' we 've not only met an unusual heroine and her dynamic husband , but feel like we 've gotten to know a small french town whose denizens offer various shadings of a simple moral issue with complex ramifications .",
      "cotillard 's pill-popping sandra handles every face-to-face meeting and twist and turn of her heartbreaking plight with such openness , honesty and decency she forces us to assess what we really need to live - and what we could do without .",
      "this is just another prime example of cotillard 's stunning abilities to transform herself in any role . i think we 're looking at a legendary actress emerging before our eyes .",
      "the best work that the dardennes have done , a study of the hobson 's choices facing workers in a period of wanton ruling class greed .",
      "yet another fine exercise in the dardennes ' impassioned neo-neorealism .",
      "the dardenne brothers - known for their scruffy , hand-held , realist aesthetic - have made another richly emotional film about friendship and community .",
      "cotillard 's is a tremendous performance of delicate variations , and it elevates two days , one night to another level of compassionate observation .",
      "not only urgent , but quite emotionally powerful .",
      "cotillard does a stirring job portraying the repeated triumph of will over fear ... a film that places value on the simple human attributes of empathy and sacrifice .",
      "if you 're concerned about the disappearance of ethics in the workplace , ` two days , one night ' is among the year 's most important films . if you 're unconcerned , wake up and absorb marion cotillard 's powerful performance . one of 2014 's top ten .",
      "cotillard looks dwindled and drained , leached of allure by the unkind pallor of the lighting .",
      "even when `` two days , one night '' drags a bit , cotillard 's performance remains compelling .",
      "yes , `` two days , one night '' is a story about courage , and resilience and victory . but it also suggests that sometimes the best victory one can wish for is the ability to keep fighting , one day longer .",
      "one of the year 's best films , and a career high for everybody involved in its creation .",
      "one emerges from the film with a battered , hard-won sense of optimism . it 's an unlikely vision of hope .",
      "... a better-than-average gritty drama ...",
      "the dardennes believe in human value and social order being rooted in a sense of solidarity , a staggering consciousness of community that brims with a sensitivity to place , movement , and emotion .",
      "the dardenne brothers are too wise in their storytelling to settle for easy exits . that makes their new film all the more powerful .",
      "cotillard shows us resignation , recommitment and rediscovery . but there 's never resentment , which creates the film 's thematic linchpin a social drama with real sting and a fascinating field study of life on the working class 's financial fringe .",
      "their struggles to make ends meet would be recognizable to many americans as well .",
      "in their own quiet and bluntly impassioned way , -lsb- the dardennes -rsb- take a plainly spelled-out sequence of events in the life of a working-class woman and manage to imbue them with more tension than i 've felt at many a so-called hollywood thriller .",
      "a moral story in the most explicit and moving way . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "it 's a neat , intimately dramatic variation of a ticking-clock premise and the dardennes keep it grounded with a minimum of emotive amperage . and yet , they achieve an extraordinary level of suspense . this is largely due to cotillard 's performance .",
      "does not shy away from the harsh truths of life , ; but , at the same time , it seeks out and reveals hope and potential in every situation",
      "the dardennes have been producing insightful and bleak slices of lower-class life for over a quarter century , but with its shattering star turn and tighter narrative structure , two days , one night is their most accessible movie yet .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he dardennes illustrate with compelling drama the struggle to stay afloat in an unrelenting capitalist system .",
      "it is in within these acutely observed aspects of humanity , not at its best or worst but simply as it is that two days , one night achieves its greatness .",
      "dardenne brothers and cotillard elevate writer 's - exercise storyline",
      "exceptionally crafted , with a bracing honesty that challenges the viewer , making it the rare offering of participatory art-house cinema .",
      "cotillard 's sandra is asking a question not only of her colleagues but of the audience , too : are we willing to put aside our own self-interest for the sake of empathy ? are we cowardly or brave ?",
      "there is plenty of intrigue beneath the surface , as the film uses the no-frills style of the dardennes to sharply probe office politics and socioeconomic strife , refusing to provide easy answers .",
      "it 's a film that captures humanity at its best and its worst , sometimes simultaneously .",
      "the premise is as simple as a biblical parable , and as densely packed with significance .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- slice of pressurized middle-class life ... so real , it feels a bit like a documentary .",
      "one of the year 's best , it 's beautiful in its modesty , reminding me in an odd way of films of perseverance like nights of cabiria and vivre sa vie .",
      "takes a damning look at how the modern economy handles the working class without ever overstating the case .",
      "cotillard is magnificent , her luminous eyes reflecting a soul in crisis . the dardenne brothers have created a film for its time , bristling with peril and alive to every flicker of human decency .",
      "the dardenne brothers expertly use confrontation to create great drama , and from that great drama arises quite the potent tale about principles in the face of hardship .",
      "a socialist epic in miniature , heartfelt and humane .",
      "cinephiles , do we have any idea how blessed we truly are ?",
      "human , honest , maybe not provocative . human and honest is not nothing .",
      "naturalistic and probing , in two days , one night , belgian brothers jean-pierre and luc dardenne tell an apparently simple , linear story with astonishing depth bolstered by another oscar-worthy turn from marion cotillard .",
      "this is a typically barebones plot from the dardennes , and the filmmakers manage to extract significant amounts of suspense , humanity and even a few dark laughs from sandra 's exchanges .",
      "cotillard is the movie 's focus and she offers perhaps her finest turn to date .",
      "the dardenne brothers consistently make compelling dramas that win awards , from rosetta -lrb- 1999 -rrb- to the kid with a bike -lrb- 2011 -rrb- , and this drama might be their best yet .",
      "a simple yet riveting drama ... cotillard 's tender , heartbreaking performance ... makes the message impossible to forget .",
      "the always luminous marion cotillard has two days , one night to get her job back in the harsh economic and social climate of this latest film by the dardenne brothers .",
      "two days , one night has the interpretive open-endedness of a parable , the ambiguity of an ethical thought experiment , and the limpid clarity of a folk ballad .",
      "compelling , and unwaveringly human , two days , one night is among the best films of the year .",
      "the story is well-written , except for the obligatory suicide theme which did n't seem to mesh well with the rest of the plot . this is a vehicle for marion cotillard , who is just terrific in this role .",
      "a stunning performance by cotillard and a moral dilemma aptly presented .",
      "slight but socially-aware contemporary political drama regarding belgium 's working-class .",
      "their thrilling , suspenseful plot is just so damn good ... if the final scene does n't have you white-knuckling your armrest , you simply must be dead .",
      "a working-class tale that 's as straightforward as a fired bullet with an exit wound the size of a grapefruit .",
      "filmed with a raw authenticity that saddens as it informs , this is tough , yet resolutely truthful viewing . just make sure you 're in the right frame of mind to handle such an intense experience .",
      "much of the praise is being directed at french actress marion cotillard who is terrific in the leading role . she draws on a wide range of emotions and her passionate performance with resonate with many .",
      "a top , tough drama from the makers of the superb 1999 drama rosetta .",
      "consider marion cotillard 's oscar-nominated performance in two days , one night a tour de nuance .",
      "the film is a gripping thriller , an uplifting female rejuvenation story , and a humanist indictment of a social structure plagued by the loss of community support systems and old-fashioned worker solidarity .",
      "... the dardennes have fashioned their most accessible and relatable drama yet , one that works as a suspense thriller even as it exposes some miserable machiavellian truths and darwinian terrors .",
      "it 's hard not to be moved by the latest essential film from the dardennes",
      "the movie affirms sandra 's existence , but in its affirmation it remains more a question than an exclamation point . it asks : how did we get here ? how , out of all the ways in which society could have evolved , did we come to allow this system to define us ?",
      "as with their previous films , the brothers cast a discerning gaze on working-class lives , without preachiness or sentimentality .",
      "a genuine horror story , sweaty with a palpable ring of truth about the unending fear that accompanies life on the knife edge of financial despair .",
      "cotillard 's heartbreakingly raw work carries the day , as she fleshes out both sandra 's suffering and emotional endurance on a journey of discovery that the latter , not the former , defines her .",
      "it presents the consummate movie actress of her generation stripping bare the vanities of her profession to portray an everywoman hero , gently coaxed to life by filmmakers with a profound grasp of true emotion .",
      "jean-dardenne and luc dardenne have birthed this overwhelming hour and a half overflowing with raw , human emotion . marion cotillard has taken on one of the most challenging roles of her career and has delivered a performance that is extremely rewarding .",
      "the dardenne brothers may have outdone themselves with this heartwrenching film ...",
      "if you only do one thing this year , make sure you catch this shattering masterpiece by the dardenne brothers .",
      "more sentimental and contrived than previous films from belgian brothers jean-pierre and luc dardenne , this is still a topical and touching tale .",
      "open the door to this woman and you wo n't be sorry that you did .",
      "as well as being an essay on solidarity , the film is also a terrific character study .",
      "as usual in dardenne films , such melodramatic contrivances are softened by their integration into the naturalistic flow of incidents , by the overall sensitivity to social and economic realities and by the generally credible performances .",
      "the dardennes ' latest feature has an epic quality that belies its small-town setting .",
      "it 's brilliant , pared-down film-making , and cotillard is exceptionally good in the central role , letting her face speak volumes about the pain of depression and rejection .",
      "the dardennes are never less than reliable , but this is one of their best , up there with the child or rosetta in its cast-iron sense of purpose .",
      "the physical sluggishness and emotional numbing of depression have seldom been better portrayed on screen ...",
      "the dardennes have gifted us yet another important and moving film and it would be churlish not to wish them that coveted palme d'or .",
      "an old-fashioned social-problem film where the problem magically evaporates .",
      "too much naturalism , not enough style .",
      "directors jean-pierre and luc dardenne have always had a feel for the rhythms of everyday dramas in unexceptional lives , and here they use their skill and empathy expertly .",
      "the emotional impact of two days , one night is overwhelming , a tearful experience .",
      "for a proven talent , this is an especially intimate showcase , and cotillard rises to the occasion .",
      "` two days , one night ' is all about the fight , and winning it with kindness and righteousness .",
      "... it could n't be more uplifting and affecting , and we left the theater with our hearts nearly bursting .",
      "what anchors two days , one night , and eases its gaps , is cotillard 's extraordinary performance .",
      "the premise is just impossible to accept.there 's simply no way a company would torpedo itself by allowing this situation and the movie ca n't be taken seriously because of it .",
      "scrappy , heart-wrenching drama of the first order",
      "ms. cotillard 's performance is as fine a piece of screen acting as you will ever see .",
      "it is not often that movies so authentically portray the travails of working-class characters in developed countries .",
      "two days , one night is a focused , frankly heartbreaking take on personal morals , selfishness , and what we 're willing to sacrifice for others .",
      "what makes their latest missive , ` two days , one night , ' slightly better than their usual , amazing lot ? it 's hard to tell .",
      "two days , one night is a small miracle of a movie , a drama so purely humane that it makes most attempts at audience uplift look crass and calculated by comparison .",
      "it is no less compassionate or political than we have come to expect from the brothers , although it is more sentimental than their early work .",
      "it 's a rare film of unforced simplicity that will stick with you for a long time . and it 's honest right to its perfectly judged ending .",
      "another stark essay in desperation from the remarkable dardennes brothers .",
      "belgium 's best-kept secrets are breaking through without selling out , and their unshowily inspiring domestic drama reminds us you do n't need to go to war - or prison - to earn redemption .",
      "two days , one night glows with compassion , but it 's hard to think of another feature film that depicts our current economic troubles with such trenchant fury .",
      "the 90 minutes fleetingly flow by as the storyline becomes far from a black-and-white struggle of an underdog .",
      "two days , one night gets its point across in the first 30 minutes , only to treat you to another hour of bittersweet nothings .",
      "two days , one night is the dardenne brothers great document for compassion faced with the hurdles of contemporary working class struggle . it 's masterfully crafted work from a pair of maestros .",
      "two days , one night is paced like a joke , but it plays like a prayer .",
      "affecting and expertly made as it is , the movie 's tight focus and streamlined quality left me wanting more .",
      "the dardennes bring enough moral shading to their story to prevent it becoming a tract , and tie it up with an ethical conundrum so dripping with juice , the usherettes should have been handing out bibs .",
      "specialists in unvarnished intimacy , the dardenne brothers add another clear-eyed contemplation of stark social reality to their impressive output .",
      "in film after film the dardennes have proven themselves the cinema 's most acute humanist critics of predatory capitalism ; this masterful drama finds them at the top of their game .",
      "though there are moments of agony and frustration , the dardennes have a delicate and sympathetic touch that keeps the simple from becoming simplistic .",
      "the dardennes craft an interesting slice of life that is not wrought with dramatic flair .",
      "what 's galvanizing about this film , and all films by the dardennes , is the little oases of hope that spring up amid a sprawling desert of despair .",
      "there is strength in simplicity , something the dardenne brothers ' `` two days , one night '' and its brilliant star , marion cotillard , prove emphatically .",
      "wonderbrothers jean-pierre and luc dardenne return with a tale of heroic struggle against an ordinary disaster .",
      "cotillard 's performance is revelatory , one to be admired and studied for generations .",
      "a dilemma so simple and so timely , it barely feels like fiction .",
      "watchably dull , but the cult of cotillard landed her another oscar nomination for this unsurprising melodrama .",
      "the dardennes have found the film 's anchor in cotillard , who is just tremendous as sandra , but the supporting cast is what ties the film together .",
      "the dardenne brothers take on a movie star and lose none of their beautifully observed verisimilitude in another powerhouse slice of working-class belgian life .",
      "a powerful , finely scripted issue movie , made all the more incisive by marion cotillard 's raw performance as a woman fighting to save her job while suffering from depression .",
      "the boys from belgium have made a good film here , but not , i think , quite a great one . that it 's built around a very good performance certainly helps .",
      "cotillard 's every subtle , perfectly judged move is exhilarating .",
      "the dardennes brothers are masters of taking the seemingly smallest possible story and finding drama , suspense and big overarching themes within it .",
      "perhaps the best work yet from the dardennes , this harrowing drama derives most of its power from a knockout performance by marion cotillard .",
      "a lean , no nonsense film crafted in the most brutally honest style of the dardennes with a stellar performance by marion cotillard .",
      "marion cotillard shines in this exceedingly true-to-life drama .",
      "this may sound dull , but it is n't . the dardennes know how to tell low-key stories effectively , and cotillard 's oscar-nominated performance builds toward the unexpected ending .",
      "two days , one night is contemporary social realism at its finest , portraying the complicated moral landscape we 're constantly navigating and the difficult decisions this modern world has invariably wrought .",
      "the beauty of the film is in its simple , honest analysis of the human condition -- and in ms. cotillard 's powerfully good performance .",
      "cotillard delivers a physically shaken performance that makes sandra more than a righteous crusader .",
      "a triumphant drama by the dardenne brothers about a heroine who demonstrates grace under pressure ."
    ],
    "summary": "another profoundly affecting work from the dardenne brothers , two days , one night delivers its timely message with honesty and clear-eyed compassion .",
    "id": "771372270"
  },
  {
    "movie": "vertigo",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV -lrb- 1958 -rrb- is one of alfred hitchcock 's most powerful , deep , and stunningly beautiful films -lrb- in widescreen 70 mm vistavision -rrb- - it is a film noir",
      "the most-discussed work of the master ; despairingly sardonic and demanding of multiple viewings .",
      "hitchcock 's twisty , suspenseful tale is far more involving and memorable than most recent hollywood thrillers .",
      "what can one say ? exquisitely controlled , framed , scored , acted , and edited . a peerless triumph .",
      "often imitated , never duplicated .",
      "justifying MOV 's poor initial performance , it is a film that requires distance , as well as the completion of hitchcock 's career . it is a moment of acknowledgment in the final , retrospective establishment of the director 's frequent themes .",
      "this is one of the single most masterful pictures ever made .",
      "what a perverse little gem this is .",
      "pure hitchcock .",
      "james stewart , on camera almost constantly , comes through with a startlingly fine performance as the lawyer-cop who suffers from acrophobia .",
      "must-see hitchcock thriller for any classic movie bug .",
      "a haunting meditation on sexual politics , romantic love , and obsession , MOV is one of the greatest surreal movies ever made .",
      "technically well made , but there are a plethora of more entertaining hitchcock films available .",
      "`` MOV '' is alfred hitchcock 's beautifully stylized psychological thriller about a man in love with a fetishized romantic fantasy invented by another man .",
      "it 's as much a wonder of suspense as it is a catalogue of the director 's themes and an allegory for his own art of enticement-and for the erotic pitfalls of his métier .",
      "the most complex film made by alfred hitchcock .",
      "hitchcock 's most tender story .",
      "hitchcock 's rich and strange fable of love lost , and lost again , makes the case for him as a grand experimental artist who labored in genre cinema .",
      "a disturbing and darkly revealing psychological thriller",
      "MOV is a kind of consummate illusion -- tantalizing for being so often out of reach -lrb- dvds do n't match the reel deal -rrb- , fulfilling only for bringing us as close as possible to hitchcock 's head and heart in frisco circa ' 58 . or ...",
      "after it , psycho and the rest of the '60s are only a bitter précis of this thesis of sexual disassociation and identity politics .",
      "MOV is a fine film , but it 's not flawless .",
      "hitchcock 's most disturbing masterpiece .",
      "there ! no more hints ! coming or not ? what more 's to say ? well , nothing , except that MOV is performed in the manner expected of all performers in hitchcock films .",
      "everything is perfect in MOV .",
      "it tests our patience , but then rewards it , not only with beauty and terror , but also with an emotional sucker punch that has yet to be equaled .",
      "you watch this guy going slowly over the brink and realize , good grief , this is jimmy stewart .",
      "jimmy stewart never did finer work , and hitchcock 's masterpiece , though its meaning may be lost on many , reveals a man at his most obsessed .",
      "this is a great , well-made film that deserves every bit of recognition that has been heaped upon it .",
      "bernard herrmann 's eloquent score is among his finest , stewart is excellent , as always , and kim novak is surprisingly effective in her role , another of hitchcock 's icy blondes .",
      "one of the landmarks -- not merely of the movies , but of 20th-century art .",
      "the old master , now a slave to television , has turned out another hitchcock-and-bull story in which the mystery is not so much who done it as who cares .",
      "why is this movie hitchcock 's masterpiece ? because no movie plunges us more deeply into the dizzying heart of erotic obsession .",
      "it is about how hitchcock used , feared and tried to control women .",
      "MOV is an acknowledged masterpiece , one of those narrative films in which a bracing and unpredictable story has been distilled into a form that is at once classic and inventive .",
      "the `` MOV '' shot created for this film was so powerful and unique that everytime i see it used today , i get teary eyed .",
      "alfred hitchcock at his most disturbing .",
      "hitchcock was elsewhere an entertainer , often a great one , but MOV finds him working as an artist ...",
      "slow but totally compelling .",
      "a rich , resonant meditation of male romantic obsession ... not only does hitchcock demonstrate a total mastery of cinematic point-of-view , but he turns what might have been mere melodrama into film poetry . perhaps his greatest film .",
      "once seen , never forgotten .",
      "the ending of the show is perfect and shocking if you have never seen it before .",
      "one of the things that still amazes me about this movie is the way its study of obsession is so single-minded .",
      "with this masterfully conceived spine-tingler , alfred hitchcock once again affirms his standing as movieland 's king of the suspense-drama",
      "do yourself an aesthetic favor : take the plunge .",
      "the film is a magnificent technical achievement .",
      "from a craft standpoint , MOV represents the director in peak form .",
      "it may not be as funny or light as the best known of hitchcock 's work but this is certainly a classic largely because of it 's impressively unlikeable , intense characters so at odds with hitch 's trademark hollywood glamour films of the same time .",
      "there is a glumness to the film that is notably missing from the director 's other films of the period .",
      "MOV stands as one of the thrill master 's most psychologically dense and twisted works in which obsession , commitment , and dual identities all merge to create a voluptuous tale of thwarted love .",
      "MOV is hitchcock 's stirring parable of love and death .",
      "the lure of death , the power of the past , the guilty complicity of a clean-cut hero , the near-fetishistic use of symbol and color : these hitchcock hallmarks are all mesmerizingly on view .",
      "the film is not really a great suspense film , but really a fantastic introspective drama into the mind of a person much like the master of suspense himself .",
      "hitchcock seems to have been motivated by personal demons here .",
      "in its dark heart , the film is a sorrowful contemplation of love and the veils that manipulate sexual passions .",
      "alfred hitchcock 's control of the audience is most complete in MOV .",
      "one of the everlasting hitchcockian masterpieces ."
    ],
    "summary": "an unpredictable scary thriller that doubles as a mournful meditation on love , loss , and human comfort .",
    "id": "22490"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_dog_2014",
    "reviews": [
      "makes for very entertaining viewing , though it hardly feels necessary .",
      "the true story behind dog day afternoon is fascinating fodder for a documentary , but MOV squanders this by letting its sociopath subject run the show .",
      "as a portrait of a life lived strangely-and if you asked its subject , perfectly , with no regrets-the dog is charming .",
      "for all its eye-opening material , MOV still feels unfinished , but for students of new york scuzziness , it 's an essential addition .",
      "directors allison berg and frank keraudren fill `` MOV '' with terrific archival footage that captures the feel , look and sound of a bygone , character-filled era .",
      "it 's informed with a subtle but disquieting subtext that insists on the pitfalls of allowing ideology to steer you away from common sense .",
      "what makes MOV so compelling is n't wojtowicz 's cinematic imprint but the place in history that was very likely denied him by chance and his own irascibility .",
      "working as both an unofficial dog day sequel and unconventional overview of new york gay culture from the past 40 years , MOV combines archival footage , still photographs , and testaments from many of those who knew wojtowicz well .",
      "-lsb- wojtowicz -rsb- may be crazy and full of himself , but his magnetism is hypnotic , and it makes this modest documentary a delight from start to finish .",
      "vintage material and first-hand accounts add to engaging expansion on the true-crime tale .",
      "how often hollywood embellishes . how rare , then , to find a documentary like MOV , in which we discover that , if anything , sidney lumet 's dog day afternoon left out much of the incredible story behind its 1972 hostage crisis .",
      "the film is a real `` whew '' - factor yarn , a hearty soup of thick accents , bold personalities and complicated motives , with an unmistakable taste of charismatic , ornery american hedonism .",
      "what 's left of wojtowicz is merely a story of one day in his lifetime , and maybe that was good enough for him .",
      "`` MOV '' is the story behind the familiar story of `` dog day afternoon '' and it answers any and all questions about the man and his motivations .",
      "it 'll leave you alternately amused and slack-jawed in astonishment .",
      "as he sits there regaling tales of his youth ... insulting everyone who ever gave him the time of day , and trying to eke fame and money out of an illegal act , i found him a deeply uncomfortable watch .",
      "as entertaining as MOV is , it never quite convinces that its bullet-point review of wojtowicz 's sexual exploits is necessary or that its subject merits the level of attention afforded to him .",
      "you simply could n't find a better subject for a movie than this inscrutable man , full of contradictions .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- portrait of a man who emerges as much more than the flamboyant character pacino brought to life .",
      "the film keeps you riveted , yet its achievement is finally more humanistic than cinematic .",
      "in numerous interviews that careen from profane braggadocio to tender reminiscence , the lustily bisexual wojtowicz comes across as almost bizarrely self-satisfied .",
      "the result does justice to their subject 's foul-mouthed charm and braggadocio .",
      "any thought that al pacino overacts in ` dog day afternoon ' is instantly banished by the screen presence of the gleefully crude and unrepentant real-life wojtowicz , a leering and self-promoting priapus .",
      "the movie feels like life : you 'll see something about you , and everyone you know , in every frame .",
      "part of what makes mr. wojtowicz such a fascinating character is that he seemed to rotate identities as easily as other people change socks , and without angst .",
      "john wojtowicz , filmed over a 10-year period before his death , is the star of his own show . a very flamboyant character , he talks about the loves of his life , and there were many , heterosexual , homosexual and transgendered .",
      "`` MOV '' is insanely , endlessly watchable , a compelling human-interest documentary and a riveting true-crime exploration all in one .",
      "at its best when wojtowicz is unleashed",
      "dubious fame , but without shame",
      "questions of identity reverberate through MOV , a documentary by allison berg and frank keraudren that chronicles wojtowicz 's storied and terribly sad life .",
      "there 's surprising tenderness amid the tendencies to teeming madness .",
      "as entertaining as its central subject .",
      "a fascinating cross-section of the personal and political .",
      "outrageous , funny and sad .",
      "a thoroughly absorbing examination of a bizarre - and possibly delusional - personality .",
      "an unexpurgated blast of gay 1970s new york",
      "the documentary , directed by allison berg and frank keraudren , is the study of a man in love with his own legend .",
      "sidney lumet 's oscar-winning dog day afternoon was based on a true story - and john wojtowicz does n't even try to hide his glee in sharing every juicy , crazed detail in revealing documentary , MOV .",
      "the film is loose and sloppy , sometimes overreaching , just like -lsb- john -rsb- wojtowicz .",
      "keraudren 's documentary fills in many fascinating details of wojtowicz 's life ...",
      "try as you may , however , you ca n't turn away from this obscure footnote in pop culture history , even at his most aggravating . it 's that twisted thing we call celebrity .",
      "whatever parts truth or delusion or braggadocio , ` MOV ' is an irresistible picture of the man , the place and the times .",
      "as the moving , sad , riotously humorous documentary `` MOV '' explains , the film only captures traces of wojtowicz 's personality , and only tells bits of his story .",
      "there 's a brashness to this documentary that sneaks up on you .",
      "wojtowicz is quite the character and whether one views him as a criminal or an altruist , he 's a unique host -lrb- who often tries to direct his own segments -rrb- ... a fascinating look at one of new york city 's most notorious and unlikely personalities .",
      "as a fascinating pop culture artifact , this film is hard to beat .",
      "a rich dessert served in a slightly too-hearty portion size , MOV flirts with deeper truths about lives surrendered to the pursuit of fame but never totally punches through .",
      "wojtowicz is a publicity slut , plain and simple , but that 's clearly the darker side of this relatively even-tempered and rather unobjectionable documentary because it highlights the beginning of a modern phenomenon .",
      "`` MOV '' is a humbly extraordinary film .",
      "i 'd recommend MOV for the quotability factor alone . `` i 'm like babe ruth , '' wojtowicz brags . `` but i 'm the gay babe ruth . ''",
      "MOV is a funny , bizarre and wholly entertaining account of john wojtowicz 's strange life ."
    ],
    "summary": "fascinating , evocative , and as unconventional as its subject , MOV offers a colorful window into the real-life story behind a classic film .",
    "id": "771363447"
  },
  {
    "movie": "king_of_kong",
    "reviews": [
      "here 's one of those unfolding documentaries where unforeseen events and deeds make the subject more appealing than even the filmmaker expected.hope , pride , personal identity and an air of fierce competition underlie the enjoyable action .",
      "-lsb- the MOV -rsb- would play like dark comedy were there not such honest-to-god cruelty at its core .",
      "who would have guessed that a documentary about gamers obsessed with scoring a world record at donkey kong would not only be roaringly funny but serve as a metaphor for the decline of western civilization ?",
      "the subtitle of the film is actually an unneeded addition since what the film highlights with piercing exactitude are the lengths grown men wo n't go to in the long run to prove themselves .",
      "not unlike the sleeper hit little miss sunshine , this breezy and engaging documentary has a great deal to say about the american fixation on winning and losing .",
      "you do n't have to be an '80s kid to see the MOV as a metaphor for life itself .",
      "documentaries can make you concerned for the environment or fascinated by penguins . and now , they can make you cheer for a guy who plays arcade games in his garage .",
      "a clever structure by director seth gordon means that the MOV ends up more engrossing than its bunch of geeky characters initially suggest .",
      "hollywood may find it difficult to cast two big-name stars willing to play it as broadly as the real-life hero and villain of this tale . nor would many self-respecting scriptwriters dare to match the sheer improbability of these actual happenings .",
      "up there with some of the greastest sports docs in that it truly allows the viewer to experience the thrill of competition and agony of defeat .",
      "a funny and madly arresting new documentary .",
      "a hilarious story about an unbelievable collection of arrested-teenage morons and , yes , an inspiring fable of persistence and redemption .",
      "that there is a controversy -lrb- admittedly , one that 's followed by , oh , 23 people -rrb- over who actually has racked up the most points playing an old-school video game is among the more amusing revelations in -lsb- an -rsb- entertaining , if extremely slanted documentary .",
      "a sprightly new documentary that 's as compulsively watchable as the vintage video game it focuses on is addictive .",
      "it may seem overblown when one of the gamers calls donkey kong a metaphor for life , but the MOV is just that -- a reminder of how we all have to prove ourselves to others .",
      "the MOV is very entertaining -lrb- and does n't overstay its welcome -rrb- ...",
      "a great american comedy . a hilarious and richly human tale of two guys trying to hang on to their own twisted dreams of glory .",
      "heartbreaking and hilarious ...",
      "a fascinating film",
      "thankfully the MOV plays it straight and let 's the players speak for themselves . in this case , the filmmakers may be giving their subjects just enough rope , as the saying goes .",
      "-lsb- the subjects -rsb- may be a curious sort of renown , but by the end you are enraptured in their struggle to declare and maintain it .",
      "i 'm amazed at how a few filmmakers can take a story so slight and trivial , and turn it into a 90-minute documentary that 's as fascinating as something that ken burns put together .",
      "thoroughly engaging , even as it explores the ugly underbelly of competitive gaming .",
      "a hilarious and moving study of the obsessive competition between the all-time scoring leader on donkey kong , an odd floridian , and a father of two who gets sucked into a world of mind-blowing passive-aggressiveness .",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- gordon has made a most improbable film : a documentary -- about frigging donkey kong of all things -- that is as compelling and involving as the original rocky .",
      "play -lsb- s -rsb- a bit like a real-life version of a christopher guest mockumentary",
      "a terrifically entertaining documentary about an unlikely subject .",
      "the MOV is as winning , sweet , and occasionally disturbing a documentary about people for whom time has stopped somewhere around 1982 as you 'd ever want to see .",
      "you could say it 's sort of like murderball , only these guys ' disabilities are of the social variety . at any rate , it 's a great film",
      "an oddly entertaining and exciting documentary that at times looks like a mockumentary",
      "unquestionably the most engaging and flat-out entertaining documentary since murderball ...",
      "if it were n't for swirling currents of humanity , the film would bore me gongless . but it turns out to be character thriller with a big finish .",
      "is there anything more tiresome than watching people play video games ? seth gordon 's documentary the MOV : a fistful of quarters answers that question with a decisive yes : watching a movie about people playing video games .",
      "benefits immeasurably from a cast of colorful supporting players , as well as a taut narrative that builds to a surprisingly tense climax .",
      "as tremendous an act in empathy as anything werner herzog has ever committed to the documentary screen .",
      "`` when we were kings '' for dorks .",
      "you could hardly call it a paragon of impartial filmmaking , but this is still a compelling and immersive glance into the nature of competitiveness and the corrupting aspects of fame .",
      "a great little documentary , full of laughs , drama and tension . it 's like rocky , but with a joystick . and an opponent who is n't actually seen stepping into the ring .",
      "it 's clear that director seth gordon is rooting for wiebe - but it is not just a trick of the editing that means within 30 minutes of the political machinations of kong beginning , you will be too .",
      "every bit as exciting as any sports % ufb01lm , while also shedding light on how obsessions can combine with corrupt power structures to drive otherwise normal people to ridiculous ends .",
      "even if you 've never so much as eaten a single ghost in a game of ms. pac-man , MOV is still a remarkable -lrb- and remarkably hilarious -rrb- film .",
      "seth gordon 's unexpectedly engrossing documentary about the quest for a `` donkey kong '' record - a seeming paradise only for the pale and pasty - offered a fascinating , infuriating look at the bleakly funny morass of american social expectations .",
      "amusing documentary duel at the video arcade .",
      "who would have thought that one of the years most intriguing and suspenseful films would be a documentary involving two grown men battling over the supremacy of an arcade game ?",
      "gordon invites us to snicker at his cast of hardcore gamers , for whom ` donkey kong ' tournaments are as vital as super bowls and as divisive as the war on abortion . but once embedded in their strange world , he finds a compelling story to tell .",
      "an engrossing story that plucks at the heartstrings just as hard as it pummels the fire buttons .",
      "wonderful , hilarious documentary .",
      "painful and interesting to watch , even with such clear black and white characters . see it if you can .",
      "a compelling , weird , and often times touching spin on video gamers doing what they do best ...",
      "mitchell is a ringer for ben stiller 's pompous villain in dodgeball : a true underdog story .",
      "i ca n't remember a more compelling film this year .",
      "the film paints a strange portrait of a subculture that i found to be a drag .",
      "hilarious and eye-popping .",
      "it 's very earnest . and funny . and endearing .",
      "the MOV is proof that you do n't need earth shattering events of cosmic import to create a compelling film .",
      "seth gordon 's feature-length documentary about obsessive arcade gamers could possibly be the most entertaining thing you could do on a saturday night .",
      "like some of the players it showcases , earns a nearly perfect score ... funny , poignant , surprising and satisfying from beginning to end .",
      "tthe best underdog story in years .",
      "it 's almost embarrassing how compelling this film becomes ...",
      "kong has more humor , more drama and more humanity than all of the summer 's top 10 movies combined and even delivers some sly commentary on how out of whack american priorities have become .",
      "a gripping yarn , an edge-of-your-seat thriller , as well as a mocking insider 's view and a genuine giggle .",
      "this may take place in the insular world of men who spend too much time in front of dimly-lit video screens , but that does not make this very un-homeric struggle for glory any less engaging .",
      "improbably compelling ... it 's every bit the rousing crowd-pleaser i wanted rocky balboa to be .",
      "the MOV is a cleverly made documentary that realizes you can start with something small and seemingly insignificant and make a highly effective and entertaining work .",
      "one of the smartest documentaries of the year , and easily the funniest .",
      "one of the most fascinating films of the year , and it deserves an oscar nomination for best documentary .",
      "a documentary that successfully takes it to the next level .",
      "one of the best pictures of the year ... MOV is an uproarious , unsettlingly observant , and romantically biased documentary on the golden years of classic gaming .",
      "the remarkable thing about the MOV is how its quixotic alternate universe quickly becomes a recognizable microcosm of our own real thing .",
      "directed by seth gordon , the film illuminates and draws you into a subculture you never knew existed and makes you genuinely care about its characters .",
      "the big laughs here come from the subjects ' self-absorption .",
      "nerds rule .",
      "a classic video-arcade game becomes the means of an epic struggle in this funny , surprisingly poignant video documentary .",
      "with the results up in the air until the very end of the film , you will care who wins the goofy contest .",
      "an operatic tragicomedy of rivalry , jealousy , failure , and success .",
      "this film 's unsentimental salute to a straight shooter is what makes it hit the documentary bull 's - eye .",
      "take maniacal classic video game champion billy mitchell , questionable video game world-record organization twin galaxies and unemployed dad steve wiebe vying to usurp the champ and you 've got a great story .",
      "the MOV is a twisty , wildly entertaining film , and this comes to you from a guy who cares so little about kong that he had to google it to make sure it 's correct to refer to it as a video game .",
      "these two go after the record like they 're cal ripken , and in the competitive community that surrounds the gaming world , no one would call them ` losers . ' just heroes .",
      "a stupendously entertaining nonfiction film concerning the cutthroat battle for world records on coin-operated arcade games .",
      "the film magnificently , and almost inadvertently , captures the story of the american dream .",
      "a pretty great trip down memory lane , even if you were one of the cool kids who managed to avoid the arcade scene .",
      "a documentary that is beyond strange .",
      "it 's over the top via nintendo , and it is stunning to behold .",
      "when a gamer tears up over a loss or a records auditor declares the significance of his role in the process -lrb- `` i see world records set in my room every day '' -rrb- , the film creates characters out of clips , asks viewers to participate in story arcs .",
      "like all great documentaries , this one transcends its subject matter , so that in the end , it 's not just about two guys who play videogames , but about the nature of competition , how we cope with winning and losing and what that tells us about ourselves .",
      "... a fascinating portrait of polar opposites driven by different needs within a freakish world of nerdy obsessives . one not need give a hoot about video games to enjoy this taught , tense and thoroughly entertaining documentary .",
      "seth gordon 's portrait of obsessive classic arcade game players finds high drama and murky intrigue in the competition for the donkey kong world record .",
      "not since 300 have i seen such manly mano-a-manoing as the iron clash of wills in the documentary the MOV : a fistful of quarters .",
      "about ethics and personal character as much as it is about the weird world of die-hard arcade gaming .",
      "the film keeps up a dramatic pace but it never loses sight of the personal stories .",
      "gordon finds a way to take these relatively normal guys and their simple quest to be the best at something and turns it into a conflict for the ages .",
      "the best inspirational sports movie since the mighty ducks . now , i 'm not saying it changes the world like d2 : the mighty ducks did , but for individual achievement , it 's there .",
      "the stranger-than-fiction cast of characters is fascinating , and their high-stakes machinations are nothing short of mind-boggling .",
      "the movie 's rocky formula proves irresistible .",
      "an audience favorite on the film festival circuit , the MOV : a fistful of quarters is a laugh-out-loud funny and rousing documentary that 's far more compelling than the would-be summer blockbusters crowding the multiplex ."
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV is funny and compelling with more than a few poignant insights into human behavior . director seth gordon presents the dueling king kong players in all their obsessive complexity and with perfectly al dente observations .",
    "id": "770669466"
  },
  {
    "movie": "frankie_and_alice",
    "reviews": [
      "other than the a-list actors and high production values , there 's little to nothing differentiating the film from any made-for-tv movie on lifetime .",
      "halle berry impresses in both the title roles of frankie & alice , a well crafted if slightly soapy seventies period piece about a young woman 's struggle with multiple personality disorder .",
      "MOV is the kind of grandstanding that exposes an actress ' pathetic dependence on approval by others .",
      "a feature so eager for statues it practically provides a pen and a reading light to help with any potential award ballot situation that might arise after watching it .",
      "this material feels thin , like something you 'd see on the lifetime or we networks . it was good enough to earn a golden globe nomination -lrb- but who can trust those people ? -rrb- .",
      "less a revealing or dramatically involving case study , than an inmate taking over the asylum kind of vibe , as it lurches towards the end credits essentially way over the top .",
      "revisits similar stories -lrb- ` sybil , ' ` three faces of eve ' -rrb- that have packed far more of an emotional punch .",
      "berry 's transformations ... come across as borderline silly due to the sensationalistic treatment given this tawdry film .",
      "this movie , with its flashbacks to past sins and traumas , rests squarely on berry , a mesmerizer who makes every moment count .",
      "though inspired by a true case , this formulaic mental disorder melodrama is so poorly conceived and executed that even halle berry 's decent -lrb- but no more -rrb- performance can not rescue from failure",
      "it 's not just frankie who is putting on a show here . berry is also overemphatically showing off her chops .",
      "may look like an attempt to win another oscar for berry , and she does give a powerful performance here .",
      "a hokey old-school drama of multiple personality disorder based , in the tradition of the three faces of eve and sybil , on a real case study .",
      "the problem with the kind of dedicated and vulnerable performance -lsb- halle berry -rsb- delivers here is that without the proper dramatic execution it just looks silly .",
      "frankie 's struggle strays close to camp during her first transition ; by the climax , which finds her cycling through personalities so quickly one fears for an emotive sprain , the story is secondary to the spectacle of berry writhing with oscar fever .",
      "dusted off a full five years after it finished filming , -lsb- frankie & alice -rsb- is now a strange , wounded beast that cries out for academy validation with every histrionic frame , yet has already missed its window of opportunity .",
      "reduces multiple personality disorder to haunted memories and melodramatic flashbacks with limited insight about the reality of this true story and its long-term effects .",
      "it 's hard to see beyond berry 's forced mannerisms . she swerves from boogie-dancing tough girl to stoic matron to irritatingly voiced kid .",
      "old-fashioned as a leisure suit , but better-looking and a lot more fun .",
      "frankie & alice is lurid - again , she 's a stripper - and occasionally silly in the way that so many multiple-personality stories wind up being .",
      "not awful . just humdrum .",
      "berry shows total commitment to the part , allowing herself to go unhinged in the hands of a director not quite capable of supporting such a risky tightrope act .",
      "throughout , its exhibitionist proclivities are evened-out under director geoffrey sax 's astute guidance and the intelligent , nuanced performances of berry and skarsgard .",
      "while all this channel-switching and inevitable unearthing of psychic demons generates a great awards-season clip , it does n't necessarily lead to a satisfying drama .",
      "it may be that this genre has been forever ruined , or just that it requires a more subtle hand than the one exhibited by geoffrey sax , the director here .",
      "frankie & alice feels like a film that might have been groundbreaking 40 years ago but has cable-tv movie of the week written all over it in 2014 .",
      "berry has proven she 's willing to take on enormous challenges , and she certainly exceeds her grasp here . perhaps that 's why frankie & alice plays more like an elaborate acting workshop than a movie .",
      "admittedly a generously apportioned slice of awards-bait pie , but a well-rendered and engaging psychological drama nonetheless , anchored by two solid performances .",
      "it may be based on true events , but it seems more truly inspired by the star-producer 's desire for an ostentatious showcase to demonstrate that her best actress recognition did n't jinx -lrb- ouch -rrb- a career notable for such post-oscar calamities as ` catwoman . '",
      "modestly engaging , the film is more suited to cable tv and netflix .",
      "... provides berry with a diva showcase for plenty of over-the-top emotional outbursts and violent tantrums .",
      "lamentably by-the-numbers , treated like an affliction-of-the-week tv movie by its eight -lrb- ! -rrb- credited writers and directed by geoffrey sax as if he knew where commercials should go .",
      "`` frankie '' is a little thin despite its weighty subject matter , but it has some strong performances amid the predictable psychodrama ."
    ],
    "summary": "halle berry gives it her all -lrb- and then some -rrb- , but frankie & alice is ultimately too narratively strained and clumsily assembled to do her performance justice .",
    "id": "770815677"
  },
  {
    "movie": "land_before_time",
    "reviews": [
      "there is nothing about either the story or its execution to place `` the MOV '' alongside the classics , but then again , the age of animated masterpieces may be forever past .",
      "the characters are not well-developed .",
      "a very good animated film , but nothe where near intriguing enough to inspire copious sequels .",
      "most of `` the MOV '' is so authentically geared to the thinking of children that it should charm adults as well .",
      "after an american tale , bluth surely had the clout to make a more adventurous animated feature than this ...",
      "what charmed me when i first saw it as a six-year-old in theaters now strikes me as rather middling , indifferent storytelling and character development .",
      "for the most part , pic is about as engaging as what 's found on saturday morning tv .",
      "baby dinosaur buddy flick that started the series .",
      "i guess i sort of liked the film , although i wonder why it could n't have spent more time on natural history and the sense of discovery , and less time on tragedy .",
      "it is full of the delightful merriment of childhood , albeit dinosaur childhood not homo sapiens . for a sweet and simple little picture the whole family can gather round the tube and watch with delight , this one delivers the goods .",
      "the MOV is as handsome and honest an animated feature as any produced since walt disney ` s death ; it may even be the best .",
      "a gorgeous production from beginning to end , the MOV contains all the essential elements missing from most of disney 's recent efforts .",
      "the MOV works by evoking the simple virtues of this art aimed at children , as it was in the beginning when disney animated mickey mouse . this film deserves a place next to the often-revived animated classics .",
      "it looks and sounds as if it came out of the disney studios of the '40s or '50s . which is n't necessarily a bad thing -- that 's as much a compliment -lrb- in terms of the quality of animation -rrb- as it is a criticism .",
      "it 's a beautiful movie to watch , and the cartoony characters are as endearing as they come .",
      "if your little dinosaur lovers are still a bit young for jurassic park , then this charming cartoon should have them in raptures .",
      "sharp animation and powerful visualisation of scale will enthrall a young audience but the clumsy cub-scout moralising feels , well , extinct .",
      "the animation is fine . but the stu krieger screenplay contains violence that might be hard on the younger ones , preachiness that 's hell on adults and a never-let-up cuteness that can turn minds of all ages to mush .",
      "maintains a genuine sense of beauty to it that will appeal to its young audience .",
      "do dinosaurs really lend themselves to ootsie-cutesiness ?"
    ],
    "summary": "beautifully animated and genuinely endearing , the MOV is sure to please dino-obsessed tykes , even if it 's a little too cutesy for older viewers .",
    "id": "9986"
  },
  {
    "movie": "chuck_and_buck",
    "reviews": [
      "unlike any movie i 've seen before .",
      "chuck & buck is deceptively spare , thoroughly smart storytelling with engaging performances .",
      "constructed with such candor and openness that we wonder why the mass movie audience still cheers on the endless escapism of the hollywood studios .",
      "a superb performance by writer/lead actor mike white .",
      "it constantly defies expectations .",
      "director miguel arteta escapes the sophomore slump .",
      "it is about someone who is desperate to find someone to love him , more than it is about homosexuality .",
      "a remarkable and original achievement .",
      "-lsb- the performances -rsb- are entirely watchable .",
      "when is hollywood going to realize that stalking is not a funny subject for a movie and that stalkers themselves are certainly not endearing enough to make them the focus of a film ?",
      "a would-be comedy about an emotionally immature stalker .",
      "you get lots of chuck and lots of buck , but not a lot of pluck .",
      "one of the year 's best and most provocative films .",
      "this weirdly comic film strips off the gloss of youthful beauty to explore the darker side of childhood and ask what happens when the wilful , needy child within refuses to grow up .",
      "this odd , uneven movie , with its trumped-up ending that makes zero emotional sense given what came before , is perplexing in the extreme .",
      "it 's an unusual film and , once you get past the creepy factor early on , an intelligently satisfying one .",
      "it 's certain to make almost everyone in the audience squirm , either out of embarrassment for the characters or because the situation hits too close to home ...",
      "it was often painfully difficult to watch . it was never predictable , though , which is saying something .",
      "MOV has been winning accolades at film festivals , and i 'm at a loss to explain why .",
      "any movie that sentimentalizes stalking ought to be shunned .",
      "chuck & buck is a film which you ca n't quite get a fix on : it 's a movie about child sex which is also as airy and sweetly likeable as anything you 'll see this year .",
      "thought-provoking jet-black comedy that may not be for all tastes , but is well-worth seeking out .",
      "this is a thoughtful , difficult film . see it if you are ready to be challenged .",
      "here 's an odd film : a heartfelt , sweet and funny little story about a coming of age better late than never , it 's also the disturbing tale of a pathetic gay sociopath and the man he stalks .",
      "too real to ignore .",
      "quite fascinating and even strangely endearing .",
      "as the film stands , it sheds some light on what happens between young boys , but very little about what happens between men after they have grown up ... whatever that means .",
      "what makes chuck & buck a brave movie is that it does n't attempt to sugarcoat or elevate childish qualities the way movies such as disney 's the kid and forrest gump do .",
      "a fascinating study of behavior that violates the rules .",
      "chuck & buck wo n't make for the most relaxed evening 's entertainment by any means , but it is funny and daring , and well worth the occasional shudder .",
      "chuck & buck is a beacon of intelligent oddity in another summer of sameness .",
      "marvelously sastisfying .",
      "there 's a lot to like about this low-budget flick .",
      "as close to magic as contemporary movies get .",
      "a strong central performance .",
      "arteta 's movie takes a grand leap ... and clears the chasm with room to spare .",
      "its psychological layers do n't overwhelm the film or kill the humor .",
      "part case study , part metaphor .",
      "one of the best indies in quite a while .",
      "chuck & buck is ... sad , funny , true and resonant .",
      "the acting is solid .",
      "it 's poignant , laugh-out-loud funny and thoroughly provocative .",
      "the gritty look works perfectly .",
      "a slight film if ever there was one .",
      "it may freak people out , but it 's never a freak show .",
      "all the people of chuck & buck feel very human .",
      "a genuinely scary movie .",
      "this is a troubling yet rewarding film that ultimately gives us a sense of hope by showing us resolution within the confines of normal behaviour .",
      "do you like the clammy as opposed to the scary ? do you like dread rather than drama , anguish and emotional coagulation rather than screamfests ?",
      "chuck & buck might be the most perversely agreeable stalker picture ever made .",
      "creepy , funny , yet surprisingly affecting , miguel arteta 's darkly comic drama pulls off a remarkable balancing act .",
      "skirts stalker cliches and grown-up-kid-in-a-man 's - body caricatures .",
      "genuinely unsettling .",
      "of all the films to premiere at sundance 2000 , there is one movie that best represented what indie film is supposed to be .",
      "that chuck & buck holds attention despite -- or partly due to -- its murky , troubling central conceit can be credited to execution that 's stealthy and low-key throughout .",
      "possibly the most daring and honest drama about sexuality i 've ever seen .",
      "the movie is so assured , so daring and successful on its own terms , that it can make ordinary cinematic beauty seem skin-deep .",
      "... neither of the principals is a likable character and buck 's inappropriate behaviors quickly become genuinely annoying ...",
      "there 's enough haunting humanity in white 's performance and screenplay to make his weird buck far more touching than the kids in any dozen teen sex comedies .",
      "for a picture about a stalker , chuck & buck is rather sweet , funny and winning .",
      "this is not a movie for everyone , but it just might grow on you .",
      "chuck & buck is terrific up until its last act , when it takes such a wrong turn that i almost want to write two separate reviews .",
      "as the film slowly moves along , it does manage sporadically to shock and touch us . but weitz 's overly obvious acting telegraphs its big surprise so badly that it takes the punch out of what should have been the movie 's best scene .",
      "chuck & buck sinks thanks to a fundamental misunderstanding of how to structure a plot with a plausible character arc .",
      "a place worth visiting ; you just would n't want to live there",
      "a mix of wild humor and genuine sentiment .",
      "the chief strength of chuck & buck comes from its even-handedness .",
      "chuck & buck is the kind of movie that gets under your skin and takes root .",
      "the climactic confrontation between the two men near the film 's end ... simply does n't ring true .",
      "may be the most interesting movie of the year .",
      "white and arteta 's remarkable achievement lies in making buck and chuck equally comprehensible .",
      "-lsb- one -rsb- of the better films to come out of sundance this year .",
      "manages to be not only consistently droll but cumulatively poignant and even scary .",
      "one of the few truly grown-up movies you 're likely to see this year .",
      "arteta mines a lot of subtle laughs out of -lsb- beverly and buck 's -rsb- unlikely pairing .",
      "fans of risky , avant-garde independent fare with biting humor and unsettling insight will remember this audacious oddity for a long , long time .",
      "childhood innocence , homo-erotic fantasies , and an endless flow of suck-em stand-in blow-pops all have their beguiling , unsettling moments .",
      "plenty of films that have explored the relationship between two characters that were close friends at a young age only to grown apart as they entered adulthood , but there 's never been anything quite like MOV .",
      "a real stunner .",
      "it 's disturbing and thought-provoking , in the way life sometimes can be ; that 's the first clue to its remarkable quality .",
      "despite its disturbing surface , it remains a touching and heartwarming story .",
      "refreshingly unexpected and difficult .",
      "unquestionably one of the most affecting , unusual and daring movies of this year .",
      "one of the most fiercely original films about adults coping with their pasts .",
      "a gem hits the screen ."
    ],
    "summary": "poignant , unsettling .",
    "id": "15491"
  },
  {
    "movie": "brother_bear",
    "reviews": [
      "to put it frankly , it 's generic .",
      "definitely a second tier animation effort by disney studios",
      "though MOV is as beautiful as any of disney 's hand-drawn features , the gang-written script is deadly flat .",
      "sure , send the kids , but parents , you 're better off hibernating through this one .",
      "disney has come up with a mythical tale , strong on both sentiment and humor and , of course , stuffed with suitable family values messages about being kind to animals and loving your brother as you would be loved .",
      "it 's a thoroughly pleasant , if unremarkable , kids ' movie that will keep the little ones entertained for 80 minutes while not hurting their parents ' heads too much .",
      "a sweet celebration of brotherhood in its many forms .",
      "while the hand-drawn animation is visually appealing , the story is completely predictable and phil collins 's music lacks the impact of his oscar-winning tarzan tunes .",
      "people have been screaming for years about the imminent death of 2-d animation , and MOV is the kind of movie that may make you want to hurry the process along .",
      "an uninspired recycling of themes that were far more gripping in the lion king and countless other earlier mouse house classics .",
      "predictable ? yes . corny ? sure . but MOV is still good , family fun .",
      "another watchable , old-fashioned , uninspired disney animation .",
      "lackluster story only for kindergarteners .",
      "... often just as dull as it is engaging ...",
      "compared to the disney classics , this is a lazy and forgettable misfire .",
      "if `` the ceo wants to sell teddy bears '' is n't going to inspire writers to do their best work , what on earth possibly could ?",
      "a sweet family film about love and tolerance .",
      "modest but guileless .",
      "MOV is a very mild animated entry from disney with a distinctly recycled feel .",
      "it also seems to want to have a message , but it 's a little tougher to spot than the usual `` be true to yourself '' or `` face up to your destiny . ''",
      "it is , in many ways , a well-crafted little movie that does n't wear out its welcome and works better than most of its recent trad-toon disney predecessors .",
      "MOV just does n't have the original disney spark ; rather it seems like a paint-by-numbers marketing venture .",
      "... runs on circle-of-life blather and casio-keyboard songs by phil collins . to call it bland would be an insult to barry manilow .",
      "good story , solid animation , catchy songs , a beautiful score by mark mancina and big laughs to not bore the adults . sounds like the perfect definition of a family film to me .",
      "a generally upbeat and engaging tale of friendship and understanding .",
      "though six credited people -lrb- and doubtless uncredited ones as well -rrb- worked on script and story , this fits the disney template to a t.",
      "even though the story never was never quite gripping enough , `` MOV '' still is an enjoyable movie for the kids",
      "messages about appreciating the world around you and a reworking of the lion king circle-of-life riff are likely to be warmly accepted .",
      "solid family entertainment , but wo n't give pixar a run for its money .",
      "there 's something vanilla about the whole enterprise .",
      "a quintessential example of a dishonest picture .",
      "if MOV aspires to be the lion king plus , that plus is the infusion of ethnographic kitsch recycled from earlier disney hits like mulan and pocahontas that adds moral tone , but no extra entertainment value .",
      "there 's never the sense that the people making it are exactly thrilled to be telling this story ... again .",
      "disney 's latest attempt to hold the line for traditional animation is a formulaic enough effort , but it still comes through with the moralistic goods when it needs to .",
      "MOV is a fine family film that eschews the competitive and self-centered values of popular culture and proclaims the grooming of one 's spirit with love and caretaking .",
      "all the old disney trademarks are here , except the wit and surprise that were once the studio 's stock in trade .",
      "the film blatantly strip-mines the lion king , beauty and the beast , and anything else its makers can get their paws on .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- here 's more ransacking than respect in how the disney team handles this appealing mythology ...",
      "proves hand-drawn animation can dazzle as much the computerized kind .",
      "children and their parents are likely to relate on completely different levels , the adults connecting with the transfer of souls from man to beast , while the kids are excited by the adventure stuff .",
      "seems destined to swirl down the drain along with other mouse house flameouts",
      "while the result may seem a departure for disney , it 's a stirring new direction in storytelling well suited for a new and more emotionally complex world .",
      "there 's a nagging sameness here that dwarfs the film 's noble intentions and rather striking cinematics .",
      "the name may be disney , but the result falls short of a classic .",
      "it 's eminently forgettable and does represent mouse house storytelling at its most formulaic , but it 's still better than a great deal of what passes for animated entertainment these days .",
      "the film can be recommended to parents of headstrong children who are up for a wild , frequently entertaining , but not always coherent ride . everyone else might want to download the disney screensaver .",
      "MOV is safe family fare .",
      "a pretty tepid affair ... these bears are n't as irritating as the country cousins that disney foisted on us last year , but they 're not terribly endearing , either .",
      "a playful movie that celebrates nature and the spirit world with striking imagery and a smooth blend of drama and comedy .",
      "MOV is bearable , but just barely .",
      "... another pleasant , reasonably entertaining but hardly inspired -lrb- or inspiring -rrb- effort from the house the mouse built .",
      "it feels like the moviemakers went through the motions because it 's time again for a holiday season cartoon for the little ones .",
      "while there are certainly laughs to be had , and the backgrounds are frequently ravishing , MOV is frankly a bore .",
      "today 's street-smart moviegoing kids do n't need to be so shamelessly pandered to .",
      "a play - it-safe pastiche of familiar disney tropes , from the senseless killing of a poor animal to the headstrong young adventurer to the ragtag comic relief to ... well , you can fill in the rest .",
      "what 's maddening about bear is that it dangles good stuff in front of us -- an intriguing american indian myth , beautifully stylized backgrounds -- and yanks it away to dive into conventional territory .",
      "a sentimental and enjoyable family film .",
      "the good news is that this is mostly good old-fashioned hand-drawn disney animation . the bad news is that it relies too much on old-fashioned formula , hackneyed plot and cookie-cutter characters .",
      "ok for the kiddies who wo n't be alarmed by the brutal bear attacks and hunts , but adults will merely be hibernating",
      "disney has turned the call of the wild into the stultifying murmur of group therapy .",
      "it 's not that the movie is bad . it 's just innocuous .",
      "the parts may not all fit neatly together , but the whole delivers a tale of brotherly love with just enough laughs to keep the kids entertained throughout .",
      "disney 's latest animated film is , if not exactly a return to form , a return to the spirit of the lion king .",
      "quite easily the best traditionally animated walt disney film since 1994 's , the lion king .",
      "it 's hard to avoid concluding that MOV was pitched as pocahontas meets the lion king since it recycles the themes of both , not to mention a character or two .",
      "the hand-drawn animation is alternately static and inconsistent , and the story may be too downbeat for younger kids , who are most assuredly the target audience .",
      "man bad , wildlife good ... what a load .",
      "an uninspired and lackluster story told with some visual flourish and a few cute moments but without much energy .",
      "a collection of terrible songs by phil collins continuously halts the movie in its tracks .",
      "perhaps a better title would have been oh brother ! bear .",
      "o.k. for kids , bearable for adults .",
      "with the undistinguished `` MOV , '' disney seems to have forgotten it no longer monopolizes the animated feature market .",
      "while not a masterpiece along the lines of the lion king , and not a super-smart witticism-fest like lilo & stitch , MOV is deeply heartfelt , touching , and beautiful .",
      "just rehashed man-and-nature , circle-of-life , colors-of-the-wind , ` pocahontas ' - style conservationist claptrap",
      "although there are five credited writers , it 's as if they copied and pasted material from other sources but forgot what made the originals work .",
      "the much-handled script is stifling in its self-conscious seriousness .",
      "MOV ups the usual disney ante by affording the viewer the demise of a brother and a mother before this latest offering is a reel old .",
      "oh , brother , what a bore ...",
      "an inconsequential picture like this is n't going to do much to persuade disney to keep its artists supplied with inks and watercolors as well as hard drives and mousepads .",
      "the characters are mechanisms who move along the plot arc from point a to point b.",
      "disney 's animated fable takes the `` circle of life '' for another wearying spin down a road the studio has traveled before .",
      "give one chef eggs , cream , and sugar , and he 'll produce creme brulee . in another kitchen , you 'll get plain old vanilla pudding . what we have in MOV , for all the potentially tasty ingredients , is pudding .",
      "disney animation 's attempts to recover from the collapse of its renaissance have come to an end not with a bang , or even a growl , but with a whimper .",
      "these beasts are beautiful , but `` MOV '' is no `` beauty and the beast . ''",
      "saddle our freshly hirsute hero with an insufferably chatty-cute sidekick ... and you 're pouring chocolate sauce on a double stuf oreo .",
      "MOV should please most kids , but its formulaic story and predictable animation prove disney needs to try a little harder next time .",
      "with MOV , disney fails to live up to it 's own set of self-imposed standards .",
      "disney 's latest full-length animated feature is a pretty `` un-bearable '' romp .",
      "an admittedly uneven but reasonably enjoyable mix of inuit legend , broad comedy and anthemic phil collins tunes ...",
      "pixar is forcing disney to keep up with more than ongoing distribution negotiations ; MOV is proof its muscles are starting to cramp .",
      "tykes may giggle at the rick moranis/dave thomas-voiced moose , but there 's little for adults .",
      "the embarrassing earth mother chants by phil collins further remove us from the world of the sacred past and straight into a disney marketeer 's cubicle .",
      "MOV probably wo n't crossover to adult moviegoers without kids -lsb- but -rsb- it 's an intelligent and entertaining addition to the disney catalog .",
      "os animadores da disney fazem mais um trabalho excepcional e repleto de preciosismos .",
      "`` MOV '' eschews computer animation in favor of the traditional , hand-painted , 2-d variety . as such , it 's almost a museum piece .",
      "MOV is n't a marvel in terms of screenwriting urgency , but it proves the theory that if formula is handled with care and enthusiasm , it can still work delightfully .",
      "run-of-the-mill fare like this only gives more power to the pixel-pushers .",
      "disney 's apparent notion that five screenwriters are better than one comes apart here",
      "a new age-y tale that does n't quite rank as a disney masterpiece , but which is enjoyable nonetheless .",
      ".",
      "by investing in conventions faithfully , it expands the impact of its recycled tropes .",
      "it feels like a project that got quietly pushed through the pipeline while the studio gears up for bigger and better things .",
      "skirts self-parody in its rigid adherence to the cartoon-epic template .",
      "`` a rich , deeply felt story about self-actualization and love , as well as about learning to respect nature on its own terms . it 's the new bambi .",
      "it 's another must-have for disney fans .",
      "i still do n't understand how MOV got an oscar nomination for best animated film , but there are plenty of worse movies out there .",
      "great music from phil collins and a couple of familiar moose make MOV an animated film worth checking out with the whole family .",
      "... for all its earnestness , its wholesomeness , and its uplifting moral values , MOV is formula disney .",
      "` es una de esas joyitas que no pueden faltar en ninguna colección personal y cuyo valor seguramente será reconocido en los ańos por venir . '",
      "a lame duck of a movie .",
      "enchanting .",
      "the movie is n't as witty as monsters , inc. and the storytelling is n't as sharp as in tarzan , but the theme of environmental kindness is priceless .",
      "thanks to the reincarnation of sctv stalwarts the mckenzie brothers as a pair of moose , disney 's latest animated feature is more like brother beer .",
      "... an old-fashioned animated adventure with all the time-honored disney story elements ...",
      "uncommonly satisfied with letting the characters just sit there onscreen , inhabiting clichés until the audience does some eye-rolling .",
      "a really good disney film tarnished by really bad phil collins music .",
      "a pleasant experience that is more appropriate for families than for adults unaccompanied by young offspring .",
      "MOV does have a satisfying ending and it 's nice to see a g-rated film without bathroom humor , but there is too much formula and not enough reason to pay attention here .",
      "the painted backgrounds are pretty , but the animation is sketchy and flat-looking ; the characters cast no shadows and do n't seem to weigh anything .",
      "solid entertainment for the kid audience .",
      "it 's kind of cute -- but just not cute enough .",
      "you ca n't fault the message it wants to send ... -lsb- a -rsb- las , the execution is 90 % generic and 100 % unfunny"
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is gentle and pleasant if unremarkable disney fare , with so-so animation and generic plotting .",
    "id": "9948"
  },
  {
    "movie": "56_up",
    "reviews": [
      "in 49 MOV , many of the series ' subjects seemed to be just settling into their bliss ; now they 're committed to it , and the foreclosed possibilities that come alongside .",
      "what started as a crafty way of looking at the u.k. 's rigid class structure has grown into a portrait of melancholy middle age , with its heartbreaks and minor-key triumphs .",
      "we might say that '56 MOV ' serves much the same function as ` amour , ' but it responds to the inevitability of decline with compassion , not dread .",
      "chances are that you 'll come away from this long film feeling a sense of knowing its characters .",
      "quite simply one of the great documentary projects in the history of cinema , an engrossing sociological experiment on film ; and though this mostly mellow installment is n't as revelatory as some earlier ones , it 's still a remarkable document .",
      "what ultimately is so compelling about 56 MOV is the universality of the experiences . we were all once children . and we all will die . and in between , there is everything else .",
      "watching the eighth film is intriguing but , in a way , disappointing . at this point in the game , it feels as if all the characters have determined their lots in life and are simply plodding through their interviews .",
      "those british kids are now 56",
      "as pop anthropology , the series is unchallenged .",
      "a rich portrait of how individual lives progress , and how age shapes expectations and experience .",
      "we feel good , refreshed and depressed in watching these people get older , also embarrassed in moments and cautioned about the passage of time .",
      "... feels like a retrospective and summation of the whole series , with ample quotation from the previous films , an approach that makes it interesting even for viewers who have n't seen the previous installments .",
      "it offers a few insights , and fascinating updates on the most compelling characters .",
      "these are moving images of touchingly vibrant lives at certain moments in time and space .",
      "'56 MOV '' is as good a point as any to get hooked on the magnificent half-century series of documentaries ...",
      "if 56 MOV is something of a pleasant bore while you 're watching it , it gains more resonance when you think about it as the calm before the approaching storm .",
      "what gives the series its force is not just its universality but also its particularity . these grown-ups may be everyman , but they are also singular .",
      "-lsb- the film will be -rsb- of interest to faithful followers and easily accessible to newcomers .",
      "self-contained enough for theatrical auds new to the series , it will play best with those who 've come to care for these brits over time .",
      "more than ever in this seventh edition , the MOV people seem to be fulfilling henry david thoreau 's observation that `` most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them . ''",
      "`` 56 MOV '' is well worth seeing .",
      "56 MOV is still moving and philosophic , though not as exciting as earlier episodes , which had more drama .",
      "time has been neither kind nor cruel to the 13 men and women profiled in `` 56 MOV . '' it has just been time , which is what this groundbreaking series is about .",
      "once again , apted assembles a captivating documentary that 's profoundly educational , essential viewing to aid the understanding of the human experience .",
      "apted , himself now in his early 70s , says he hopes to continue the series further . long may it live .",
      "watching `` 56 MOV '' gives you the wonderful feeling of seeing a sociological experiment blossom into something novelistically rich and humane .",
      "perhaps the boldest and probably longest running sociological experiment on film .",
      "i think the best thing about this movie -lrb- and the entire series -rrb- is that it forces the viewer to think about their own lives . it 's kind of an awakening experience .",
      "a completely unique and remarkable documentary project .",
      "apted skillfully weaves old footage with the new , and we become poignantly aware of another factor shaping their lives -lrb- and our own -rrb- : biology , as the we watch the once-cute kids grow gray and heavy .",
      "the superb latest addition to the documentary series by michael apted , following the lives of 14 people in england .",
      "more reflective than previous entries , 56 MOV is also a richer , fuller , more emotional experience",
      "`` 56 MOV '' is a rather bittersweet chapter , as age begins to further narrow those possibilities already defined at birth . and it hints that `` 63 MOV , '' if we get there , may be sadder still .",
      "the most vital and moving sociological document of our times remains invigorating despite mostly maintaining the status quo because by now the `` characters '' , older , balder , and podgier , are like old friends .",
      "the effect is often profoundly moving , but you ca n't help but feel at times like there are other stories here you 're missing .",
      "for those of us already fans of the series and invested in the characters over the course of seven films and 42 years it 's a necessary continuation and curiosity .",
      "being able to view this slice of life -lrb- no matter how contrived or edited it may be by the shows producers -rrb- provides an enjoyable and provocative perspective into humanity .",
      "the series is both a testimonial to the vagaries of chance and an endlessly cyclical study into the implications of being studied .",
      "continuing michael apted 's insightful commentary on how life can be full of surprises .",
      "the latest , and perhaps greatest installment in a great documentary series . moving , amusing and eye-opening .",
      "`` 56 MOV '' reminds us that change is ceaseless and often dramatic , bringing growth we could never have dreamed of as little kids .",
      "apted creates a graceful back-and-forth from the earlier films to the present , and the experience of seeing people who have lived so much on screen is quite profound .",
      "it shows that life is what happens when you 're busy making other plans . and how , in case we forget , every age can predict the next .",
      "yes , on some level it 's just a seven-year check-in with people maybe half-remembered , if that . yet the films also serve as a kind of check-in with us , too .",
      "apted 's subjects would object to the idea that we really know them , but we think we do -- and that 's good enough to make his film feel like a reunion , a visit with an old friend . or 14 of them .",
      "56 MOV has become a stirring reflection , even tribute , to the little bends and turns of ordinariness , the ebbs and surges of everyday lives .",
      "a window into our shared human experience , and a terrific one at that .",
      "we 're now at 56 MOV , , and with each passing calendar leap , the experience of watching has only become more soul-stirring .",
      "the original documentary was intended to illustrate how the country 's deeply ingrained class system inscribed itself on the aspirations and inner lives of its young people . but the successive movies have been far less polemical .",
      "this suffers as well from the fact that the subjects ' lives have n't changed all that much since 49 MOV -lrb- 2005 -rrb- ; perhaps the series will improve yet as they head into old age .",
      "apted , now 72 , has said he 'll keep calling on his subjects every seven years until he or they are dead . whether the subjects show MOV or not , i for one will be in line when 63 MOV comes around .",
      "as the project hits its half-century mark , with the `` kids '' settling into middle age , the signature cross-cutting between then , now and everything in between feels downright proustian in its emotional depth .",
      "perhaps predictably the mellowest of the movies . they for the most part seem to have settled into an autumnal contentment . the big conflicts have been largely resolved .",
      "an intimate portrait of settling down and finally making peace with one 's well-publicized past .",
      "the granddaddy of longitudinal documentaries impressively reaches grandparenthood ... continuing to reveal as much about the heard -lrb- but not seen -rrb- apted as his interviewees .",
      "to see `` 56 MOV '' is to be reunited with an old friend .",
      "we are all older now , and this series proves it in a most deeply moving way .",
      "the running time is over two hours , but the lives here are richly revealed and vastly rewarding .",
      "apted possesses the unsettling ability to shape perceptions of their lives and personalities from inside an editing suite , a fact that the members of his flock begin to recognize at varying points throughout their adult years .",
      "inevitably , one looks in the mirror afterward and thinks , what have i lost ? what have i gained ? and at what cost ?",
      "it 's like the startling time lapse photography of `` chasing ice '' had been applied to the human race .",
      "... can be seen and appreciated by both those who have followed series and those to whom it is all new .",
      "in the eighth installment of michael apted 's epochal documentary series , his aging participants -lrb- one of cinema 's greatest assemblage of living characters -rrb- provide not just a telescope into the past but also a kind of primer for how to live .",
      "see you again in 7 years , friends ."
    ],
    "summary": "director michael apted continues to utilize cinema as a window into the lives of everyday people , and in the reflection of this documentary we can glimpse our own aging humanity .",
    "id": "771308634"
  },
  {
    "movie": "norbit",
    "reviews": [
      "eddie murphy 's finest example of multi-role playing is still his first , 1988 's coming to america . compared to that comedic gem , MOV is little more than excess weight .",
      "murphy may bring down the house in dreamgirls , but -- despite its crudities and obvious failures -- freud would find MOV significantly more interesting .",
      "from start to finish , MOV is dismally unfunny , inspiring this sign of the apocalypse observation : big momma 's house 2 was better .",
      "if i thought hijacking a plane carrying prints of the film and crashing it into murphy 's house would put a stop to it , i 'd go out and buy a box cutter right now .",
      "there is potential all over this film , but every scene is overwrought with unfunny caricatures and tired jokes . we 've seen every gimmick and sight gag before , in better , funnier films .",
      "this is all pretty ordinary murphy movie stuff , which is to say it 's kinda funny most of the time and very funny some of the time .",
      "dumb and coarse and sometimes boring and a little bit sad .",
      "eddie murphy in another fat suit ? what could possibly go wrong with that ? oh , plenty , let me tell you .",
      "... works on a basic level , but i left it very sad .",
      "one long fat joke ... a vanity showcase that exists for no reason except to put as much of its star as possible on the screen .",
      "apparently all fat people are inherently evil .",
      "this borderline-pg-13 comedy demands the sort of sociological scrutiny that often has the moviegoer looking for a fun night out rolling her eyes . and granting MOV consideration feels like swinging a sledgehammer at a microbe .",
      "after taking in double helpings of tyler perry and martin lawrence doing the same shtick in the madea movies and big momma 's house , is n't it time for us to just say no to MOV ?",
      "MOV may be the most disturbing , morally repugnant , nightmare-inducing film of the century so far .",
      "eddie murphy reteams with nutty professor makeup artist rick baker to show those whippersnappers martin lawrence and tyler perry how a black comedian in a fat-lady suit gets the job done . he half-succeeds .",
      "MOV is pretty much a bad-taste sinkhole , with murphy competing against himself to see which of his three characters he can make more grating .",
      "murphy looks like he 's in pain , and he probably is -- latex cellulite ca n't be fun to wear -- but his anguish is as much existential as physical , trapped inside a lumbering vehicle that offers a morbidly obese harpy as the main comic attraction .",
      "you would n't call this a recommendation , exactly , but the new eddie murphy movie is not nearly as horrible as it looks .",
      "the movie seems a weird nightmare of rampaging femininity and gross gags .",
      "MOV briefly thrives on the power of murphy 's genius and then becomes mean-spirited and depressing .",
      "what seemed an inventive and engaging stretch of murphy 's comedic resources 11 years ago has congealed into predictable , processed fare . the prefabricated naughtiness of MOV is guaranteed to drag the laughs out of you whether you like it or not .",
      "how this relentlessly crude film got a pg-13 rating instead of a deserved r is anyone 's guess . worse , it 's also racially offensive and sexist .",
      "puerile comedy vehicle is a backward step for its star .",
      "it probably is n't possible for a single movie to reverse all social progress made since the civil-rights era , but MOV , the latest broadside from eddie murphy , does its best to turn back the clock .",
      "MOV is n't one of murphy 's best ; it 's a poor cousin to his other family comedies , and as rasputia , whose catchphrase is a brassy `` how you doin ' ? , '' he 's surprisingly unfunny .",
      "eddie murphy has taken his love for playing multiple roles , jerry lewis , crude humor , himself , and -- to be charitable -- his deeply conflicted feelings about women , and made a movie that is disgusting , unfunny , dull , and an appalling waste of talent .",
      "this gross comedy hardly seems like the best way to exploit murphy 's talents .",
      "murphy does well juggling three roles , but the movie -lrb- from a story co-written with his brother charles -rrb- is n't worthy of his talents .",
      "MOV demonstrates that even when working with low-grade material , murphy can be a superb actor .",
      "murphy 's work in MOV makes his fine performance in dreamgirls look like he was acting with a couple of hands tied behind his back .",
      "eddie murphy plays three roles in his latest nutty professor clone , titled MOV . and eddie griffin still steals his movie from him .",
      "in MOV , murphy is back playing multiple roles . but this time the magic is n't there .",
      "the question is not whether murphy can do anything . he can . the question is why he would want to make a movie as squirmingly unfunny as MOV .",
      "if you 're eddie murphy , and you want to win your dreamgirls oscar , you 'd better hope voters cast their ballots before they see MOV .",
      "a quick paycheck may sound like a good idea when you 're a creatively tapped comedian making trash like daddy day care . but when you 're a suddenly serious comeback kid aiming for an oscar ?",
      "although there 's no denying the threadbare nature of the script , watching murphy riff can be a formidable entertainment on its own .",
      "watching MOV is like watching a train wreck with eye clamps on .",
      "MOV is another crude , sloppy paycheck job for an actor who does n't need the money -- and who proved in dreamgirls that he is capable of far better .",
      "it 's a thoughtless , cancerous , viral , irresponsible pollution whose existence speaks ill of the society that produced it and of any society that would endorse or defend it .",
      "it 's probably impossible to enforce a complete ban on the use of fat suits in hollywood comedies , but certainly it 's time for an extended moratorium on them .",
      "the nutty professor was a comic tour de force ; MOV smells faintly of desperation .",
      "i could deal better with mean-spiritedness if the film were better written and directed . but the picture 's humor is hit and miss , with long unfunny passages and characters who really do n't change much .",
      "this dismal comedy joins a growing pile of murphy disasters -lrb- the haunted mansion , daddy day care , i spy , the adventures of pluto nash -rrb- , which may have made his oscar nomination for dreamgirls a foregone conclusion -- if not now , when ?",
      "hopefully the awards and acclaim murphy has received for his work in dreamgirls will inspire him to think twice from now on about puerile pictures like MOV . the combination of the two speaks to his versatility , if not his pride .",
      "it 's an astonishingly crass and vulgar film , crudely directed on a cut-rate budget by brian robbins , never more than almost funny or less than disturbing .",
      "usually , it takes six or so months for an actor to parlay a best supporting actor nomination into a cringe-worthy career-derailing performance in an unbelievably awful picture .",
      "and while some of the laughs are certainly hilarious , they are n't as plentiful as necessary to make MOV a consistently funny film .",
      "it 's too bad that the script does n't serve murphy 's multi-character talents in the way he deserves . if and when it ever does , he may actually make a comedy for the ages .",
      "MOV is a return to form for murphy ; while it 's not on a par with his best work , it 's very funny and just risky enough to eradicate the memory of daddy day care .",
      "here 's a new oscar category : the worst movie ever released by someone currently under consideration for an academy award . the winner ? MOV .",
      "MOV is a tour de force in which murphy plays three distinct characters , two of them to the hilt . in fact , the only thing that makes MOV good rather than great is that the title character is a bit bland .",
      "MOV is as fleeting as a belch -- and even less funny .",
      "perhaps a release at this time is meant to capitalize on murphy 's artistic comeback . instead , MOV serves as a feature-length reminder of why he needed a comeback .",
      "MOV is not a thriller , action film or suspense story . still , it achieves the assassination of comedy .",
      "there are so many problems with MOV that when you try to pin one down , another one splooges out elsewhere .",
      "when eddie -lrb- hopefully -rrb- wins an oscar anyway for his dreamgirls turn later this month , he should take the opportunity to publicly apologize for this .",
      "think big momma 's house blended with a particularly loathsome jerry lewis movie , and you 've got the picture . grimacing yet ?",
      "perhaps worried that he might be taken seriously following his knockout performance in dreamgirls , eddie murphy churned out yet another script-deficient comedy along the lines of dr. doolittle and the nutty professor .",
      "in MOV , eddie murphy is like a xylophone player who keeps banging away on the same two discordant notes ; unfortunately , those monotonous , off-key tones are the characters he 's playing .",
      "click for review",
      "most of the jokes concern obesity , which murphy evidently believes to be ipso facto funny .",
      "a life sucking comedy of highly dubious intent .",
      "if you 're not a die-hard murphy fan , your enjoyment of MOV will depend entirely on how funny you find fat suits and fart jokes . worth missing .",
      "like all of murphy 's recent films , there 's also a sweet-if-predictable heart beating beneath the discount jokes .",
      "if there 's no limit to your love of fat jokes , this is the movie for you .",
      "the laughs are broad -lrb- pardon the pun -rrb- , obtuse , and unsubtle .",
      "it 's small consolation when you have to sit through such a miserably unfunny movie , but at least the bad ideas here are relatively original .",
      "murphy has a deplorable joke concerning a lost policeman 's whistle for which there is no excuse whatever - other than it 's very funny .",
      "... admirável que , com um passado já tăo recheado de atrocidades cinematográficas , eddie murphy tenha conseguido , com MOV , a proeza de realizar aquele que , sem dúvida , é o pior filme de sua já desastrosa carreira .",
      "there 's a growing - if still anecdotally rooted - consensus that MOV could do serious damage to eddie murphy 's oscar chances .",
      "when it comes to spectacularly unfunny comedy , the supposedly very funny eddie murphy sure knows how to pick 'em .",
      "if you 're going to make a movie that basically centers around misogyny , racism , and making fun of fat people , why not go all the way and make it an adult r-rated comedy ?",
      "eddie portrays three of the leads including a sassy , oversexed , super-sized sister in an unmitigated disaster which makes characters with darker skin the butt of virtually every joke .",
      "if nothing else , the movie proves that years of pg-rated kiddie stuff has n't dulled murphy 's edge . he 's just rusty , that 's all .",
      "we 've laughed at actors wearing fat suits enough already and there 's nothing new in ` MOV . '",
      "a film like anchorman turns everyday scenarios upside down and then runs for a touchdown ; here , the jokes stop short at basic perversion .",
      "... it is another eddie altogether , eddie griffin , that gives the film its few laughs .",
      "a film that seems more like an act of revenge against womankind than an extra-broad comedy where the star dresses up in drag .",
      "murphy may be having the time of his life under all this drag , but that does n't mean the audience is sharing the experience .",
      "MOV takes the idea behind the nutty professor 2 -- that eddie murphy can play just about every character in the movie -- and strips it of all charm and humor .",
      "surely some humanitarian organization will recognize the selflessness with which murphy has taken three of the movie 's major roles , thus saving two other actors from a nasty black mark on their résumés .",
      "an uneven comedy about a milquetoast named MOV who marries rasputia , a woman so large she 'd start a fire if she wore corduroy pants .",
      "murphy may be at the top of his game , but MOV is stuck on autopilot .",
      "... only wants to be a laugh riot , yet it 's so loaded with cultural self-loathing that i 'm afraid a race riot would be a more proper response .",
      "regrettably , MOV is too cowardly , sophomoric and woefully tacky ... -lsb- it 's -rsb- lazy and disarming in its myopic presentation of a modern-day minstrel show .",
      "there 's a formula to these murphy-in-makeup comedies , which MOV closely follows .",
      "maybe eddie murphy should have waited for the oscar voting and counting to be complete before unleashing this one on the world .",
      "murphy has made plenty of bad films , but nothing as flat-footedly awful as MOV .",
      "if MOV does n't kill cinema , nothing will .",
      "MOV ends up a patchy oddity , but remains the closest eddie murphy has come to recapturing his mislaid sense of danger .",
      "when it works , MOV 's honesty about its exaggerations makes for a more embraceable portrait of american culture than dreamgirls .",
      "nothing spells funny like someone in a fat suit -- unless , of course , it 's someone in a fat suit suffering from flatulence . that 's the ne plus ultra of comedy .",
      "it 's never a good thing when you 're supposed to be cheering for the underdog , but in the back of your mind you ca n't help but think that he somewhat deserves to be getting all that sand kicked in his face .",
      "eddie murphy steals more than a few ideas from tyler perry for his multi-character comedy that has murphy playing an obese wench named rasputia , to whom MOV is married .",
      "a sweatier hell than the fat suit in which murphy spends much of the movie . it 's official - our children will die never knowing the sensation of laughing at eddie murphy .",
      "the filmmakers ' big mistake in this painful , low-brow disaster , is their misguided belief that murphy in make-up and a fat suit is automatically funny . they seem to have forgotten that a good script is mandatory .",
      "first , martin lawrence as big momma , then tyler perry as madea , and now this ? enough already .",
      "murphy 's phenomenal talent is still on display , but mainly as an example of how he 's wasted it .",
      "somewhere between a minstrel show and a lesser jerry lewis movie there 's MOV .",
      "when martin lawrence and tyler perry play gals with sky-high bmi , at least their characters offer -- and are shown -- a certain amount of love and respect .",
      "MOV has something to offend everyone ... all you need is isaiah washington and michael richards in the movie spewing homophobic and racial slurs to make it complete .",
      "... a strange , toneless collection of fat jokes , fart jokes and foul sex gags .",
      "it 's not hard to detect this creature -lsb- rasputia -rsb- as the object of something like pure hate by four male screenwriters . comedy like this is n't pretty .",
      "-lsb- rasputia is -rsb- violent , vulgar , selfish , and lacking the subtlety of even a fairy tale orge or evil stepmother . the character undercuts the entire film .",
      "too many of the gags in the sloppy comedy MOV are lumbering and graceless , more fun to anticipate than to witness .",
      "MOV is worth checking out just to see eddie murphy do his thing . and fortunately that 's enough to make it relatively easy to overlook all the other big problems with the film .",
      "a few more movies like MOV and eddie murphy wo n't have a fanbase to kick around anymore .",
      "MOV sets a new standard for the worst hollywood can conceivably produce .",
      "if you survive the maddening MOV without hurting yourself or those around you , consider it a triumph of self-restraint .",
      "-lsb- i thought , -rsb- maybe this was going to be my guilty pleasure movie of 2007 . well , it did n't turn out that way at all .",
      "eddie murphy reaches into his comedic closet and pulls out a hysterical hit .",
      "absolutely adorable . murphy plays a big black woman who is not a victim of america 's unrealistic ideal of beauty .",
      "why is everybody in such a tizzy over MOV ?",
      "stealing from date movie : now that is pathetic .",
      "a one-dimensional bad news comedy .",
      "MOV is so bad , it has redefined my concept of hell .",
      "the humor is mean-spirited and the jokes rather puerile .",
      "three eddie murphys is three too many .",
      "stereotype-based comedy from eddie murphy in a variety of fat suits is just not enough to make a decent film .",
      "even if you go back decades , body fascism has rarely been so brazen , or so unfunny . horrifying .",
      "murphy finally has nothing to prove in front of the camera , which makes his fondness for wearing extreme prosthetics to play multiple roles in a film bursting with cheap , obvious gags increasingly baffling .",
      "it 's offensively bad ."
    ],
    "summary": "coming off his oscar-nominated performance in dreamgirls , the talented-but-inconsistent eddie murphy plays three roles in MOV , a cruel , crass , stereotype-filled comedy that 's more depressing than funny .",
    "id": "364557026"
  },
  {
    "movie": "night_at_the_museum_2",
    "reviews": [
      "adults have the choice of either admiring the scenery or taking a nap . there 's not much else worth doing . certainly , paying attention to the story is an exercise in futility , but you 're welcome to try ...",
      "a super-size rehash of the original .",
      "if you are n't enchanted and a little thrilled by the sequel 's setting -- well , you probably hate puppies and sunshine , too .",
      "smithsonian whips itself into a kind of frenzied exhilaration that 's both fun and funny .",
      "your 12-and-unders will dig it , and it might even serve as a sort of movie-bookmobile and get them to read a little history , or at least a little wikipedia . but otherwise it 's utterly dispensable .",
      "pleasant , innocuous and intermittently thrilling family entertainment .",
      "night at the museum : battle of the smithsonian seems to go on for several days and nights , though in fact it lasts just 105 minutes . i checked my watch . a lot .",
      "the sequel to the big family hit night at the museum struggles with a big creative challenge . the sense of wonderment you feel in seeing museum displays magically come to life is not as strong the second time around .",
      "the film offers enough ingenious touches and playful humor that the less-inspired elements hit with a screech .",
      "every bit as over-long , talky and cumbersome as its title .",
      "smithsonian only occasionally lives up to its wondrous , chaotic premise . instead the film appears more delighted with tiresome improvisational acrobatics than generating a welcoming tidal wave of wonder .",
      "what follows is less a story than a series of semi-clever ideas .",
      "the cheeky attitude and charming effects make it more entertaining than the original , notwithstanding some clumsy humans who almost break the spell .",
      "when this excessive and silly farce works -- roughly half the time -- it 's thanks to the comic dynamic created by funny folk who can go riff-to-riff with stiller .",
      "has the kind of laughs that might convince you that nothing is as bad as it seems : the movie is no masterpiece but if you could plug its good nature into the national grid you could probably keep birmingham alight for a month .",
      "it 's still strictly insufferable .",
      "click to read the full review",
      "ben stiller 's comic setpiece interludes provide the best laughs - his encounter with a goofy , officious security guard called brandon is particularly good .",
      "MOV is a fistful of family fun ... brimming with amusing lines , great effects and a series of smart cameo performances .",
      "it 's not quite as good as the unfairly maligned first instalment but , for parents , this is a foolproof way of filling a slot over the bank holiday weekend .",
      "this is designed to appeal to attention-deficit youngsters but will irritate or exhaust more discerning cinephiles .",
      "a great adventure for all age groups .",
      "this rushed smithsonian visit skims over laughs and excitement to cram in more museum paraphernalia and messages . like the original but bigger and faster , it 's harmless but throwaway .",
      "like too many sequels , more money and fewer ideas has made for a disappointing film .",
      "a comedy adventure that the whole family can enjoy , right down to the age of five .",
      "kids are well served with slapstick hi-jinks and mild peril but there are too few laugh out loud moments to keep adults entertained .",
      "fun , fast-paced sequel is more upbeat than the original .",
      "once these creatures do come to life for a second outing , the promise soon evaporates and the clever comedy , built largely on crisscrossing anachronisms and various sly cultural references , is not enough to sustain a romp that is all rather predictable .",
      "you can actually hear the writers pulling ideas out of their butts and flinging them willy-nilly at the screen .",
      "this is yet another hard-sell `` family '' film that tries to bludgeon viewers into submission with loud and overly elaborate special effects set-pieces instead of charming them with a compelling story or any discernible traces of genuine wit and/or whimsy .",
      "imagine a hyper child running through the entire smithsonian as fast as possible , screaming and waving his arms the entire way . he would probably be entertained , but would anyone around him ?",
      "the sense of wonder the movie engenders is palpable , and anything that makes museums look cool -lrb- which this movie does , in spades -rrb- deserves a vote of thanks from civilization as a whole .",
      "battle of the smithsonian is packed with odd characters , eccentric arguments and ornate special effects , and while it 's never transcendently funny enough to be seriously impressive , it is chock full of family-friendly giggles .",
      "the godfather part ii of family-oriented , museum-based cgi spectacles .",
      "compared with the wit and humour of any pixar movie or aardman feature this is shoddy stuff .",
      "kids should still get a kick out of this museum , but adults may have a harder time finding something worth laughing at this time around .",
      "with all the oversized personalities that surround him , stiller gets upstaged .",
      "amy adams adds plenty of welcome ` moxie ' -lrb- and a tight pair of aviator 's britches -rrb- , but otherwise there 's not much here besides noise , chaos and monkey-slapping .",
      "even ben stiller looks bored out of his mind .",
      "it 's not a bad movie . just an unnecessary one .",
      "i 'm not sure if anyone in this film actually acted alongside anyone else , or if the performances were all cut together in the editing suite .",
      "the silliness meanders wildly , and stiller looks like he 's more than happy to let everyone else do most of the work .",
      "amy adams is the lone saving grace to be found herein , which is a nice way of saying she 's all that kept me from pondering `` to be or not to be '' .",
      "does n't have the originality of the first film and feels a little boring as such .",
      "one wonders if director shawn levy was more interested in cramming special effects into the movie than creating actual comedy .",
      "a dreadfully unfunny comedy , which is amazing considering all the comic talent in the cast .",
      "... what the heck , it 's fun on the same level as the original ...",
      "night at the museum : battle of the smithsonian can be too cluttered and hyperactive to appreciate its broad pleasures .",
      "there is so much going on here , presented in such uninspired empty-calorie servings , that you grow bloated on the unending eye candy",
      "bill & ted 's excellent adventure is a more enriching experience , and it features joan of arc as an aerobics instructor .",
      "it never quite finds its comic footing , but kids will probably love it -- they might even learn a thing or two .",
      "overstuffed with gimmicks , but short on charm and creativity .",
      "maybe the movie would be more fun if the ancient egyptian tablet could bring ben stiller to life .",
      "night at the museum : battle of the smithsonian , is breezier than the first museum , at least to me , which means in three years i 'll be revising my opinion downward .",
      "talented comedians robin williams and ricky gervais are wasted in small roles . grownups chaperoning the youngsters will be bored as the 105 minutes seem interminable .",
      "it seems that the actors got together for this film just to have some fun , interacting with one another in an overblown snl sketch with plenty of special effects .",
      "the best , and possibly only , reason to watch night at the museum : battle of the smithsonian is the enchanting amy adams .",
      "maybe not as fresh and unique as the first one , the sequel has enough laugh-out-loud moments to enjoy .",
      "they fixed everything i found wrong with its predecessor , so i can only assume the filmmakers read my review and addressed my concerns point by point .",
      "no passado , quando um grupo de comediantes deste calibre se reunia em uma produзгo , o filme era um evento . hoje em dia , trata-se apenas da continuaзгo ruim de um longa apenas razoбvel e que terб sido esquecido em menos de seis meses .",
      "fitful and flighty , it 's a frenetic diversion destined for a popular niche on the dvd shelf .",
      "the lincoln memorial statue is something of a travesty .",
      "it 's bigger , noisier , shinier , and dumber , and it has no earthly reason to exist .",
      "if there 's one thing that a movie-going mom or dad understands , it 's the look in the eyes of someone who 's just going through the motions , and there 's a lot of that going on in night 2 .",
      "a fistful of family fun ... brimming with amusing lines , great effects and a series of smart cameo performances .",
      "this is a bigger and better night out than the first .",
      "as of now , the scariest four words in the english language are officially ` a shawn levy film . '",
      "this is what you call a wholesome kiddie movie on drugs .",
      "stiller 's still stuck in the first movie , with little to impress beyond some hi-tech wizardry . i see dead props , along with a story that could have used some pick me up too . and with artifacts gone wild , as the museum cross-pollinates with toys r us .",
      "fun facts and intriguing images zip by as quickly as the plot",
      "second -lrb- and third -rrb- chances abound for this cast of characters .",
      "though it 's a little slow to start and some of the humor clunks , the film features a wholesome charm , some truly dazzling effects -lrb- the lincoln memorial alone is worth it -rrb- , and enough mild , parent-nip in-jokes to keep all but the stone-hearted happy .",
      "a lack of discipline and a desire to appeal to the lowest common denominator have wreaked havoc on a decent cast and a great idea , almost burying the outstanding effects . it 's a flimsy rescue story .",
      "how can one movie contain ricky gervais , hank azaria , steve coogan , amy adams , christopher guest , bill hader , mindy kaling , jay baruchel and craig robinson while offering so very little in the way of laughs ?",
      "adults who see this movie unaccompanied by a child should sign up pronto for therapy with gabriel byrne on in treatment .",
      "night at the museum : battle of the smithsonian throws everything -- history , high jinks , lots of famous faces in supporting roles -- at the museum walls to see what sticks . happily , much of it does .",
      "musters only a few lackluster laughs ... -lsb- but -rsb- has one trump card : it 's a kid-friendly , `` pg '' film that celebrates museums .",
      "the plot of this film feels like a garage sale jigsaw puzzle : its pieces out of order , warped and shoved into places they do n't go with a few extra pieces thrown into the box .",
      "marvel at the movie 's cheerful idiocy , which seems definitive -- even though the summer season has just begun -- and at the efficiency with which the filmmakers have dumbed down a dumb premise of proven success .",
      "azaria pretty much steals the show .",
      "this was a chance to show young people how history comes alive at the world 's biggest museum , but instead , it makes the smithsonian seem like a place where dopey comics go to croak .",
      "in bringing history , literally , to life , and having as much fun with it as it is computer-graphically possible to have , director shawn levy and reno 911 writers robert ben garant and thomas lennon at least make -lsb- museum -rsb- worth noticing .",
      "battle of the smithsonian is far from art , but there 's plenty of art in it , and for parents seeking a reasonable afternoon 's entertainment for the kids , that 's recommendation enough .",
      "a big , bloated bore , so overstuffed with effects and racket that it 's simply exhausting ... the kind of empty extravaganza that gives family films a bad name .",
      "as it turns out , 93 main characters is too many .",
      "this time around there 's a little more life on display .",
      "on the whole , this pumped-up sequel proves to be a more satisfying kid-friendly action film than the original .",
      "along with the addition of amy adams as a spunky amelia earhart , moving the action to the smithsonian -lrb- and ignoring any concerns about believability -rrb- brings this goofy sequel to life like a wax sculpture of teddy roosevelt .",
      "never less than politely entertaining , but often misses its huge targets .",
      "it makes everything bigger and more impressive on a technical level , but ca n't ever find a story to match .",
      "enjoy the zooming action and slightly nerdy reverence for the past , and try not to think about what this delightful concept might have been in the hands of a tighter , more aware director .",
      "so many new characters have been added to the ones who appeared in the original film , and director shawn levy flits between them at such a zippy pace , no one gets much of a chance to register . and that 's a huge waste of the comic talents amassed -lsb- here -rsb- .",
      "bigger , longer , and even more chaotically crowded -lrb- more stars ! more f/x ! -rrb- than its predecessor , night at the museum : battle of the smithsonian proves that adding another ring does n't make for a better circus .",
      "when MOV sticks to its preferred brand of high-jinks , it delivers upon its promise of plenty of throwaway fun for the all-ages crowd .",
      "spritely scenarios are drowned out by the manic mayhem .",
      "-lsb- levy is -rsb- successful enough , in fact , that kids may well pass on their next chance to see a movie -- just so they can visit a real museum , instead .",
      "no stone is left unturned .",
      "the special effects are astonishing , the spirit of a `` can do '' america suffuses the enterprise , and it 's superior to its predecessor .",
      "it 's a gag-packed , fast-paced , fxladen romp which will provide plenty of entertainment for all ages . great stuff .",
      "night at the museum : battle of the smithsonian is that most rare of exhibits : a sequel that 's actually better than the original .",
      "atrociously dumb .",
      "... a retread that retraces what was funny in the first film but is n't anymore since the surprise and delight of discovery is gone .",
      "levy 's film is neither fun nor exciting . he 's stuffed it with special effects , star names and big numbers , but it has none of the exuberance needed to lift us out of our seats and take us on a thrilling ride .",
      "i know not every person is going to agree with me on this one , but i 'm going to say it anyway : azaria 's lisping kahmunrah is one of the most annoying and unfunny characters that has ever appeared on a movie screen .",
      "... a pleasant enough way to pass 100 minutes on an uneventful weekend afternoon .",
      "after a slow start , a great deal of fun .",
      "... ultimately fares slightly worse than its uneven yet agreeable predecessor ...",
      "watching historical figures enact the cliches identified with the most simplistic versions of their images , i found myself yet once again echoing the frequent cry of gene siskel : why not just give us a documentary of the same actors having lunch ?",
      "bloated with visual effects .",
      "more engaging and better-paced than its predecessor , relocated to the world 's largest repository of history , art and pop culture , the sequel ups the ante on all sides to deliver delightful family fun .",
      "if only -lsb- ben -rsb- stiller in real life would take a hint from his latest character and miss whatever career he had before acting and go back to it .",
      "all up it 's levy 's best work so far and while i realise that 's faint praise , it 's far from being damning .",
      "a scattergun trawl through human -lrb- albeit mostly american -rrb- history and culture , with the emphasis more on entertainment than instruction .",
      "stiller helps bring a new group of characters to life and they in turn bring this franchise to life again . adams and azaria shine .",
      "this is a family comedy that will entertain the kids and amuse the grown-ups . it 's also a rare hollywood sequel that 's better than the original .",
      "it 's a collection of some of the most interesting figures throughout history and some of the most talented performers we have working today .",
      "this sequel 's greatest claim to fame lies in turning its innocuously painless original into an overblown bore .",
      "the comedy is always lackluster , cumbersome and lacking a child 's innocent playfulness .",
      "i was surprised by how funny and well-made the sequel is , especially for a `` family film . ''",
      "the museum sparkles , but the movie is awfully dull .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- morass of three stooges-level slapstick and juvenile-style playground taunting ...",
      "fine in the ` rather more than adequate ' rather than ` really rather wonderful ' sense .",
      "unlike most sequels , this `` bigger , busier '' strategy pays off , resulting in a romp that 's as affable as it is inventive .",
      "humor consisting of silly slapstick , people falling down and others making goofy faces , which is what 10-year olds love more than anything else .",
      "this is a funnier and more coherent slice of kids ' entertainment .",
      "the sequel is missing what made the first film so special ; magic and mystery . the first flick is far superior .",
      "upstaging its predecessor with colorful new characters and energy the kids will love .",
      "this is a throwback to those disreputable 70s comedies that found a spot for every unemployed layabout in hollywood .",
      "parental content review",
      "i can only recommend ben stiller 's comedy sequel in the way i might a burnt sausage when there 's nothing else to eat : it 's not terribly appetising , but it 'll have to do .",
      "the toy story-esque plot could be written on the femur of dormouse and some scenes still lean towards inanity . but , in the main , this is a funnier and more coherent slice of kids ' entertainment .",
      "perhaps it should have been titled either night at the museum : we 're doing it for the money or night at the museum : contractually obligated sequel , instead .",
      "it 's not so much a movie as a series of running antiquity gags , good for a comedy club , not so much for the multiplex .",
      "proves to be bigger and better than the first .",
      "busy is not the same as clever .",
      "amy adams , spunky and incandescent as amelia earhart , is so fun to watch that she almost makes up for the dopeyness surrounding her .",
      "what 's hugely-talented amy adams doing in an imbecilic debacle like this ?",
      "the sweet spot between action and inspired silliness .",
      "whatever its flaws may be , it at least refuses to be a stiff , lifeless relic .",
      "... most notable for the inventive new touches added which prove amusing diversions to the dull central throughline ... it 's kind of like the movie equivalent of a toddler 's busy box .",
      "the two short scenes that bring british comic ricky gervais into the movie as the stuffy museum administrator suggest the possibility of a third movie ... a decent script surely is needed before that 's given the go-ahead .",
      "smithsonian wants to be frothy , but it ca n't help having a little more heart and soul than you 'd expect or even require . give it a chance , it 's a fun show .",
      "best of all are azaria , a brilliant comic character actor ... and adams as the feisty earhart , thrilled to be off on a new adventure .",
      "... more of the same while being slightly different and raising the stakes . it 's a formulaic sequel , but it works every bit as well as the original did .",
      "unfunny , unnecessary and with unlimited box office potential , ` night at the museum : battle of the smithsonian ' is all show and no go .",
      "it was fresh , funny and clever the first time . now , not so much .",
      "stiller has a look on his face as if he knows he 's participating in total garbage .",
      "an amusing concept that still holds some charm now , although it also lends itself to bombastic overkill , which sequels are naturally inclined toward anyway",
      "the result is pretty much a free-form traffic jam in which everyone fights everyone else .",
      "wow , count this as one film that completely took me by surprise !",
      "with the exception of amy adams ' performance and some excellent special effects , this sequel fails to live up to the first ` night at the museum ' romp .",
      "an exhilarating , imaginative sequel filled with humor , excitement , wit and a lively cast . it 's genuinely delightful and fun for everyone young and old .",
      "you know how it goes : the plot is inane , but a lot of the dialogue makes you laugh .",
      "this sequel is a huge improvement . the plot is still simple but what 's improved is the comedy . it 's funnier and livelier .",
      "it 's lazy stuff , a waste of a big name cast in the service of a film that is little more than a boring virtual museum tour .",
      "there 's a slightly out-of-control atmosphere that makes this corny romp much more entertaining than the original",
      "this is a solid , if unspectacular , second effort , that retreads the material from the first film with a slightly bigger budget .",
      "add some gags with living paintings and photos , and the return of that monkey , and this museum is certainly worth the price of admission .",
      "entertaining sequel that survives its paper-thin plot and lazy writing thanks to superb special effects and a trio of terrific comic performances .",
      "remains consistent with the all-powerful amy adams rule , which holds that any movie featuring her is instantly , vastly improved because of it .",
      "it falls flat trying to muster up any mirth or suspense as it barrels from one set piece to the next ."
    ],
    "summary": "night at the museum : battle at the smithsonian is busy enough to keep the kids interested but the slapstick goes overboard and the special effects -lrb- however well executed -rrb- throw the production into mania .",
    "id": "770681480"
  },
  {
    "movie": "black_sea",
    "reviews": [
      "the film disappoints due to its lack of tension and gaffes in realism , which should have been airtight .",
      "you 'll be holding your breath right along with these treasure hunters as their hope for survival grows as black as the ocean depths .",
      "a modest , tightly wound , straightforward story about a dangerous task performed by disposable men under severe conditions .",
      "-lsb- you -rsb- could do far worse than this competently steered , claustrophobic adventure . but better fare exists in the subgenre catalog , and implausibility problems make this movie only partially compelling .",
      "director kevin macdonald and writer dennis kelly craft a relentless , claustrophobic nail-biting thriller .",
      "tension on a run-down submarine is n't perfect , but it 's good enough",
      "i was afraid this would be a case of robinson quickly succumbing to ocean madness and going kill-happy in the submarine 's unfriendly confines .",
      "`` MOV '' is shrill and strident - an overall unpleasant experience .",
      "not one of the all-time great sub movies , but it 's an entertaining ride and a gloom-filled glimpse at the darker side of human nature .",
      "an extremely satisfying undersea adventure with a quality lead performance by jude law .",
      "the hidden treasure genre is full of inventive stories and this is yet another one , a smart screenplay that pushes all the right elements to the fore",
      "the journey begins with high hopes and a sense of adventure but very soon it is the disintegration of the relationships on-board that prompts the fiery unraveling ; forcing life and death decisions , rather than those concerning wealth and poverty",
      "twelve men in a leaky boat with greed for company and the russian navy above them . a shame that none of them are very likeable .",
      "jude law completes with MOV his transformation into one of the uk 's most imposing screen presences . this , we were not expecting . what next ? ray winstone , now out of a job , auditioning for alfie 2 ?",
      "not much of it is credible , starting with the hiring of a rusty submarine out of sevastopol , but it has action and adventure to burn , leavened with bits of humour .",
      "though not perfect , MOV is a tense piece of pressure cooker entertainment .",
      "the plot does n't entirely hold water ... but law exudes brawny charisma and helps the film build up a good head of sweaty , claustrophobic tension .",
      "MOV is another strongly made drama from british filmmaker kevin macdonald and , like the last king of scotland and state of play , is about a protagonist in an untenable situation .",
      "director kevin macdonald successfully ties the psychological tension with the physical , using the tight confines of a submarine setting rather masterfully , squeezing each drop of tension and expertly pacing every plot twist in dennis kelly 's screenplay .",
      "with stunning underwater visuals , and a story that is engaging enough despite its obvious turns , there may be gold here yet .",
      "no serious fan of below the waterline thrills should miss this boat .",
      "after the criminally underappreciated how i live now , kevin macdonald kicks back with a terrific submarine thriller marinated in eau de maclean .",
      "MOV presents a unique twist on heist movies , and while the human drama may feel a bit clunky , the sum of all parts moves nicely from start to finish .",
      "gripping , smart and genuinely thrilling , MOV elevates itself above most other thrillers by how wisely and well it brings you down to the depths alongside its crew .",
      "as much as the film is primarily a genre workout for director kevin macdonald , the script makes room for a tough-minded , psychologically corrosive depiction of vengeance .",
      "the chilling and tense ambiance is not enough to save this feature from its generic tendencies .",
      "whether as an adventure tale , a thriller , or a morality play , `` MOV '' never quite makes a compelling enough case for its existence .",
      "MOV may not be a groundbreaking drama , but it 's an effective genre thriller that grapples with real world issues and offers another interesting challenge for law - accent and all .",
      "director kevin macdonald creates some great scenes of subaquatic tension , but law 's aberdonian accent makes groundskeeper willie sound authentic .",
      "there 's more than a hint of the treasure of the sierra madre about this dennis kelly-scripted thriller , which does a grippingly efficient job of trapping its audience amid the pumping pistons and clanging pipes of its inhospitable setting .",
      "as the perils mount , a certain momentum takes hold , though never quite enough to justify taking up two hours ' space in your life .",
      "in the end , `` MOV '' is a taut warning about the evil allure of greed . it also makes clear why vacationing on submarines has never caught on .",
      "screenwriter dennis kelly turns to the old nazi-sub-full-of-gold chestnut for a thriller that resembles an underwater `` the treasure of the sierra madre '' with a dollop of `` the caine mutiny '' and an underlying theme of fathers and sons .",
      "a contemporary submarine thriller that serves the genre well .",
      "macdonald creates a suitable claustrophobic setting for his tale to unfold , and it efficiently does so over the film 's 115-some minute runtime . -lrb- full content review -- sex , profanity , violence , etc. -- for parents also available -rrb-",
      "even though `` the MOV '' dives a little deeper than needed , it rises above its b-movie roots to become a solid , well-crafted thriller .",
      "MOV is a solid , mostly thrilling submarine movie ... with one big flaw",
      "conventional hollywood wisdom says one should be wary of any hollywood thriller released in the first month or so of any year . MOV is an exception to that rule .",
      "kevin macdonald 's adventurous thriller is a familiar but exciting descent into absolute madness that is extremely well acted , completely intense , and entirely amusing thanks to its eccentric cast of colorful nut jobs .",
      "i 'm something of a sucker for submarine-movie clichés ; watching this movie , i was happy the very first time i heard a disconcerting ping .",
      "even with its modes in patchwork style , MOV generally holds your attention for most of its nearly two hours .",
      "a parabolic film about a middle-aged man who decides to fight back after being reduced to being a nobody .",
      "it may be a tad predictable , with a bit of a slow start , yet it is a worthy effort from the director giving the modern heist movie a bit of a twist .",
      "MOV is so almost-terrific that it 's ultimately more disappointing than a movie that 's merely badly or carelessly made .",
      "basically another tough genre workout that is all too familiar , with enough tension and violence to keep an audience alert if not riveted .",
      "director kevin macdonald uses the das boot-like claustrophobia for maximum tension , then deadens the thrills with flashbacks . ah , jeez .",
      "really , though , everything else about MOV is in service to several big suspense setpieces , and here , the film cuts loose , concocting marvelous scenarios for enormous stress .",
      "a semi-waterlogged confluence of the submarine and heist sub-genres which seeks to evoke a testosterone-soaked , 1970s feel .",
      "shallow , swamped by cliches",
      "the kind of movie that makes you hold your breath when things get tense . how long can you hold yours ?",
      "the script stays on the surface instead of exploring the depths of the material .",
      "a conventional underwater boat movie , albeit one that 's well-made enough so that when you turn to each other after the movie and shrug , you mean it in a good way . sort of .",
      "while `` MOV '' physically dives deep , the story is shallow , the character 's motivations are irrational and the drama is forced . the star of the film is the old , rickety submarine and the tension only she provides .",
      "it 's a great setting for putting a group of people under intense mental and physical pressure , one that director kevin macdonald and screenwriter dennis kelly put to excellent use in MOV .",
      "too often , moviegoers must choose between character-driven drama and edge-of-your-seat action . `` MOV '' has both , with a gripping performance by jude law as their nexus .",
      "despite leading man jude law 's passionate performance , his vessel continuously springs leaks .",
      "by no means a masterpiece , but a solid genre offering , a portrait of desperate men crammed together and surrounded on all sides by what one describes as `` dark , cold death . '' what better way to escape the midwinter doldrums ?",
      "MOV is a submarine thriller set in the murky depths of exactly where the title says .",
      "it is n't the smartest or most exciting thriller that viewers will have seen but , thanks to a quality cast and a fresh setup , MOV is still an entertaining watch .",
      "macdonald is a fine captain himself , particularly when it comes to the more visceral thrills . but he could have stood to cut the screed against the fat cats who line their pockets with dollars earned by the workingman .",
      "MOV does n't delve too far below the surface , but it is claustrophobic , compelling and suspenseful .",
      "a lean , mean old school sub thriller that could bring these movies back to the surface .",
      "an old-fashioned sort of submarine suspenser -lsb- that 's -rsb- a mostly enjoyable throwback to macho melodramas of an earlier age .",
      "the film 's patina of richly textured grime lends the film a gloomy , claustrophobic beauty that serves its mood , as well as its satisfyingly misanthropic message ...",
      "dive in .",
      "some of the particulars do n't add up , so much so that you do notice them even as the action plows forward . but it 's still a thrilling ride .",
      "there 's an immediacy to a submarine movie like nothing else .",
      "flawed , but when it clicks together , it does so superbly , giving classic cinema conventions a successful modern spin .",
      "handled artfully by macdonald , whose earlier work includes `` the last king of scotland , '' dennis kelly 's script pulls bits and pieces from `` the treasure of the sierra madre , '' `` the wages of fear '' and its remake , `` sorcerer . ''",
      "the cold war flavor gives MOV the feel of something that might have been made three decades ago .",
      "we do n't truly know this skipper , so when crew members accuse him of letting gold fever compromise his sanity , we have no way to tell if they 're right .",
      "screenwriter dennis kelly infuses all this with a heavy dose of proletarian rage , and law exudes enough charisma in the lead role to supply the movie with one marginally likable character .",
      "a sturdy little adventure , even when it goes enjoyably off-kilter in its last half-hour .",
      "scottish director kevin macdonald , who 's best known for the oscar-winning the last king of scotland , knows how to build tension , and his talents are on full display in MOV .",
      "you walk away from the film with the niggling sense that the story never quite holds your attention the way it should .",
      "while the film does n't cut nearly as deep as -lsb- the director 's -rsb- the last king of scotland , it 's nevertheless a suspenseful , taut thriller with political undertones that delivers on its low-key promises .",
      "while `` MOV '' is predictable , especially with the almost expected treachery from one `` bad apple '' in the crew , the movie 's tension is palpable , particularly with its extended climax .",
      "the fundamentals of the story and that irresistibly cramped and isolated setting keep the tension level high .",
      "kelly 's screenplay continually adjusts the stakes , but the changes are the result of decisions made by the characters .",
      "`` MOV '' is no mere exploitation movie . it elevates itself by showing how the men aboard the sub are themselves changed by the lure of riches .",
      "the way enmities quickly escalate is a little bit of a stretch , but otherwise this is a smartly handled , old-school adventure , as law 's beleaguered captain struggles to keep control both of his men and his wayward , leaking vessel .",
      "take 12 men . fill their heads with tales of lost nazi bullion . seal them in a rusting , secondhand russian submarine . submerge beneath the MOV . allow contents to come to a nice , rolling boil .",
      "when the most convincing thing about a film is jude law 's scottish accent , you can be sure it has problems .",
      "law does a great job as the resourceful and relentless robinson .",
      "an underwater heist of nazi loot ? awesome . submarine movies do n't get much better than this intensely suspenseful popcorn adventure .",
      "despite rugged craft and a seaworthy ensemble , kevin macdonald 's low-key submarine thriller never quite sparks to life .",
      "there 's also a neatly cruel twist , midway through , plus a general drive to undercut band-of-brothers clichés . the russians - initially cast as primitives - develop in interesting ways . the same goes for law 's character .",
      "MOV is well-crafted and handled with reliable professionalism by its oscar-winning director kevin macdonald , even if it does ultimately tend towards the predictable .",
      "the director kevin macdonald does a very good job in capturing the claustrophobia and fear that a submarine crew feel as a mission goes wrong .",
      "while this submarine adventure starts out as a brainy thriller with superior production design , it eventually gives in to the demands of the genre : silly plotting and corny melodrama .",
      "it 's in the second hour that this boat really gets rocking : macdonald has torpedoes of conflict firing in every direction .",
      "MOV loosely rejiggers history to allow for a fantastic-sounding story-and treasure-to be pursued in a tightly wound twist on the common heist film .",
      "what makes the old tropes new enough to be frequently exciting ... is mr. law 's portrayal of a desperate man renewing his lease on life , come what may .",
      "though the characters are at odds , the cast operates in perfect unison .",
      "the story loses credibility as it goes along , as the body count escalates , and robinson 's solutions to life-and-death crises grow increasingly far-fetched . well before it ends preposterously , `` MOV '' has taken leave of its senses .",
      "a tense , old-fashioned thriller .",
      "fans of previous submarine thrillers should appreciate the tense nail-biter that macdonald has created .",
      "peanut butter and chocolate . fish and chips . the heist movie and the submarine picture . these things go together so perfectly that it 's a wonder they were ever apart .",
      "law is n't bad , but ultimately , in a situation like this , he 's just too decent .",
      "it 's also an angry class drama ; a portrait of international clashing ; and it 's set aboard not just a submarine but a grimy , clanky , geriatric submarine , which looks ready to rust as soon as it submerges .",
      "old-fashioned storytelling values and zeitgeisty relevance make for a worthy addition to sub-aquatic cinema 's nerve-juddering legacy .",
      "it 's well shot , tense and solidly entertaining . but watertight it definitely is n't .",
      "though it perhaps inevitably lives in the shadow of some subgenre masterpieces , MOV is a superbly shot men-on-a-mission thriller with chest-tightening tension and a striking contemporary resonance .",
      "this old-school , undersea chiller starring jude law offers a sophisticated and moving study into the evils of greed .",
      "looking for comfort food in a movie season stuffed with supposed gourmet fare ? sometimes a good old-fashioned sub will do nicely .",
      "ticking all the boxes required of the genre , it 's well up to movie sub standards .",
      "here 's a submarine thriller that delivers on tension but does n't get too deep .",
      "law nails the aberdeen accent and makes for a commanding presence as he tries to keep his bickering men focused on the mission at hand .",
      "a confused mishmash about greed , madness , violence and sentimental redemption .",
      "the disappointment of dennis kelly 's script , and also kevin macdonald 's direction , is how arbitrarily the onboard drama develops .",
      "the limits of incredulity are stretched thin , and in the end , though MOV is at times an admirable , even memorable film , it could have used a lot more of the sad realism with which it opened .",
      "it might not be the most original submarine movie you 've ever seen , but do n't be surprised if it ranks among the better ones .",
      "overloaded with narrative cargo , but often fun , if mostly just kinda .",
      "worker rage and rebel impulses collide in this tense political thriller , as economic crisis cinema sails into 2015 . placing the fury of the jobless front and center , and international class connections crossing cultural lines .",
      "`` MOV '' is a good movie ; law turns in a great performance , and one walks away feeling that the characters and the scenery here are all convincing .",
      "when it sticks to the increasingly chaotic undersea action , MOV is efficient and gripping .",
      "an adept , muscular entertainment that never for one moment lacks for dramatic clout .",
      "walking out of the theater , you might well get the bends .",
      "jude law makes for an effective rogue submarine captain in `` MOV , '' a fittingly immersive thriller , tautly directed by kevin macdonald .",
      "despite the fact that it 's too long and has a submarine big enough to play basketball in , it still creates a sufficient amount of tension along with a plot twist that make it entertaining . frankly , though , the plot twist made little sense to me .",
      "though a contemporary story , it plays out like an old-fashioned dramatic-thriller , and while lacking standout action sequences it sustains itself thanks to atmosphere and performances rather than special effects and grandstanding sequences ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV may not be particularly deep , but thanks to kevin macdonald 's judicious direction and a magnetic performance from jude law , it remains an efficiently well-crafted thriller .",
    "id": "771359314"
  },
  {
    "movie": "get_rich_or_die_tryin",
    "reviews": [
      "jackson has the advantage of essentially playing himself , but he is consistently unable to rise to the challenge .",
      "the movie debut of curtis jackson , better known ... as 50 cent , has everything going for it except an original script and a charismatic star .",
      "rent director john singleton 's boyz n the hood and director mario van peebles ' new jack city instead . both films address similar themes in a manner far more efficient and entertaining .",
      "sheridan comes up with more than his share of superbly directed scenes , but the whole thing is a mixed bag .",
      "surrounded by strong talent and the skillful director , 50 cent shows a quiet charisma . he does n't embarrass himself .",
      "the honesty and grit of this film make it worth the watch .",
      "successful rappers usually make poor actors .",
      "it exists only to support the already over-marketed and calculated `` legend '' that he was indeed shot nine times .",
      "total propaganda ... it 's the male equivalent of the hooker with the heart of gold .",
      "50 cent has some good moments , but other times he seems like little more than a blank slate .",
      "this is a very strong film .",
      "plays like a contrived cross between new jack city and hustle & flow .",
      "a good introduction to the rapper and his music , but also an entertaining movie in its own right .",
      "for all its biographical truth , get rich 's journey into a ghetto of hustlers , gangstas and mindless violence is all too familiar .",
      "this movie may make a bunch of money , but it 's d.o.a.",
      "rambling , boring and full of bad messages for our youth .",
      "good news for 50 cent ! he does n't have to worry about finding a date and a tux for the oscars , because he wo n't be invited . he 's playing himself , how hard can that be ?!?",
      "a reiteration of the now-clichéd hip-hop rise-to-fame legend that duplicates the crime-to-rhyme formula of hustle & flow .",
      "the tension between the macho and female ethos in the black ghetto slightly elevates this familiar , cliche-ridden , sanitized rap biopicture .",
      "director -lsb- jim sheridan -rsb- was a good choice : he understands the story 's theme and he captures the gritty feel of -lsb- 50 's -rsb- world without ever falling into exploitation .",
      "hindered by a lack of real depth ... but simply too compelling to dismiss",
      "... a chaotic and seriously cliched rags-to-riches rap drama that feels more exploitative than it does explosively realized in its impulsive skin .",
      "this would-be blaxploitation blockbuster is n't about redemption through artistic expression or pursuing positive means to escape the fools ' game ; get rich ai n't nuttin but bitches and money .",
      "instead of offering a compelling look at a star 's rise to the top against all odds , they offer only more of the same old tired crime clichés .",
      "the usual hip-hop hypocrisies infest this semi-autobiographical tale of a dope dealer 's rise to rapping glory , which laments the sad brutality of life on the streets while glamorizing every minute of it .",
      "classy director jim sheridan steadily gets it all in and keeps it as real as the director of movies like my left foot can .",
      "what this all adds up to is a film that is effective , but not particularly unique , and thus less provocative than it might seem .",
      "without his music , jackson is left stranded , an artist out of water .",
      "for a rapper who 's all about branding , 50 cent should consider this : his excellent breakthrough record now shares a name with his middling movie .",
      "the 50 cent fan club will fill the seats hoping to get a glimpse into their hero , but get rich never offers any insights into what drives the man and his music .",
      "no matter how accurate its rap-gangland narrative , there 's little here that could n't have been imagined by a screenwriter from suburban des moines ...",
      "a preposterous rags-to-riches story with a flat lead character that it 's determined to raise to the level of a deity .",
      "50 cent digs deep . he just does n't get there enough to demand that we fully commit to this tale of a tight-lipped drug-dealer-turned-rapper .",
      "... too few answers as to how 50 cent became who he is .",
      "it 's a quasi-authentic , simplistic , crime-and-rap story that become just romanticized , graphic gangsta violence .",
      "turns out eminem is a better faux-gangsta than 50 cent . now run along and bust yo dope rhymes at a bat mitvah before heading back to your 18-bedroom mansion in farmington , ct. . you 're so street , curtis .",
      "i do n't feel totally satisfied with the emotional payoff , perhaps because it 's so hard to associate with the characters , despite the fine performances . fans , of course will love it .",
      "here 's a guy that 's sold crack , cocaine , robbed , stolen , and murdered and made millions rapping about it . and this is supposed to be the hero ? wait to rent it .",
      "curtis `` 50 cent '' jackson is utterly lacking in charisma ... his complete lack of presence is deadening to the film because he 's in almost every scene .",
      "MOV ' will always be known as the 50 cent movie . not because of who stars in the film , but because that 's how much it 's worth .",
      "think of it as mariah carey 's glitter , only with more murders .",
      "50 spends the film with one look on his face , and it 's the look that you imagine a caveman would have when confronted with a cellphone .",
      "on one hand you 've got tupac shakur , will smith , ice cube , mark wahlberg , ice-t , ll cool j , sean combs and andre benjamin . on the other you 've got 50 cent . this kid stinks !",
      "50 cent may strive to be fresh with his music , but this is just another doin ' the crime while workin ' the rhyme movie that only his fans will love .",
      "i hate watching films that are kind of autobiographical , but not . the pacing is painfully slow , feels overly long and there 's almost no music in this !",
      "everybody loves marcus -lrb- 50 cent -rrb- , from relatives to homeboys to would-be killers .",
      "get rich or die trying made me feel like an ambitious yet arthritic sheep - stuck firmly on the fence despite my best efforts to get off on either side .",
      "50 cent 's fanbase might love this valentine to the rapper 's ego no matter the quality , but other audiences might not be as forgiving with this half-realized urban fairy tale .",
      "-lsb- jackson -rsb- as an actor , the word that comes to mind is dull . mind-numbingly dull . mannequin dull .",
      "a film with a rich and convincing texture , a drama with power and anger .",
      "sheridan 's ensemble ensures that get rich , the film , comes to life around the edges , if not at its center .",
      "the picture ca n't decide what it wants to be -- maybe a gangster flick , perhaps a musical biopic , or how about a real-life slice of mythic inspiration .",
      "get rich seems stagy and phony . what a missed opportunity , because the rapper 's compelling story offers ample opportunity for drama .",
      "what we 're left with is a movie that , at times , barely seems to move -lrb- it feels like it lasts three hours -rrb- and a lead actor who does n't just look bored , but delivers so many of his lines like he 'd rather be anywhere else .",
      "the urgency and intensity help offset the familiarity of the material .",
      "most of the time , the movie plods along like a leg-weary heavyweight in the late rounds , keeping the rhythm of its star .",
      "before we enter the theater , we know he 's a millionaire winner starring in a movie about how he won . so it 's hard to believe him when he is n't smiling .",
      "... too unsophisticated for anyone who should be allowed to see it and too unrealistic for that audience to really believe in it .",
      "i ca n't say whether 50 cent can act , because it 's not required of him . he has plenty of charisma , and is a natural force in this environment .",
      "at least he makes his priorities clear ; it 's not called `` make a good movie or die tryin ' . ''",
      "neither powerful nor interesting .",
      "crippled by a trite story line and a serious lack of flash from rapper and first-time actor curtis '50 cent ' jackson , MOV ' pretty much dies trying .",
      "MOV ' ca n't be accused of not trying , but neither is anybody apt to leave it feeling all that enriched .",
      "mr. sheridan understands the sudden , spasmodic nature of turf battles . get rich plays like a genre movie with a particularly skilled hand at the helm .",
      "a gangsta rapper without fire in the belly is n't terribly interesting , cinematically or musically .",
      "sometimes -lsb- 50 cent -rsb- could enunciate more clearly , but he does a great job of being a bad rapper early in marcus ' career . and most musicians will say that performing badly on purpose is one of the most difficult things for them to do .",
      "at no time in his career has sheridan -- his name is the first one on the screen after the title , in case one is uncertain who was in charge -- been quite this far up to his neck in blarney and sentimentality .",
      "for those who do n't take 50 cent 's talent for granted going in , there 's nothing to indicate what 's so special about him , much less why he of all people deserves to have a movie made about his experiences .",
      "in reality , 50 cent was n't nailed to the cross for our sins -- he was shot nine times for his . and he 's been getting extremely rich from glorifying those acts ever since .",
      "50 ? well , as an actor he 's a great rapper . his inexperience shows .",
      "the rapper-turned-actor makes a credible acting debut in MOV ' with the help of veteran irish filmmaker jim sheridan .",
      "howard is the movie 's sole saving grace , but his presence serves as a constant reminder that his similarly themed hustle & flow -lrb- 2005 -rrb- is a vastly better film .",
      "be warned , when a fedora-sporting godfather starts wheezing out pearls about violence begetting violence , you may die tryin ' to stop laughin ' .",
      "sells 50 short : his raps are heard only in stingy portions during most of the movie , and when , at last , he takes the stage ... he 's bumped off the screen by the end credits .",
      "shockingly inert .",
      "the improbable jackson-sheridan collaboration yields an immensely entertaining film .",
      "the charismatic rapper is so utterly inexpressive as an actor that he 's constantly getting swallowed up in his own movie .",
      "jim sheridan 's film , loosely based on the experiences of its star , the glowering rapper 50 cent , lacks an emotional core .",
      "the premise of get rich would be ridiculous if it were n't close to the truth and if the movie were n't refreshingly aware of its ridiculousness .",
      "the film moves , albeit under an oppressive cloud of deja vu .",
      "the result is a drudge and a bore .",
      "director jim sheridan and screenwriter terence winter have difficulty fashioning these events into a story that has a coherent point or purpose .",
      "if you insist on filming the same basic story for the third time in a row , you 'd better make it better . they did n't .",
      "MOV ' is a disaster on all levels .",
      "the story and action are serviceable , but there 's very little spark in the wooden screen presence of the star and the dearth of subtext or style from the director .",
      "the film 's inability to resist the lure of maximum exploitation becomes frustrating .",
      "that howard came off as a more convincing -- not to mention skilled -- rapper in hustle & flow than 50 cent does here is among the biggest failings of get rich .",
      "do n't for a second think that we 're meeting the next great rap star to become a movie star .",
      "the apparent turf war between director and screenwriter results in a compromised , confusing tale of a young man trying to mark his turf .",
      "if it 's a rap-related rags-to-riches flick you want , check out 8 mile or hustle & flow , both of which are ten times better than this .",
      "you feel this film straining to be another 8 mile , even as it never gets into the head of its central character",
      "people behind the movie will no doubt get rich , but it 's a shame they did n't try harder to make a better picture .",
      "sheridan 's surface vividness is applied around a vacuum",
      "... a distinctly tedious piece of work .",
      "50 cent dies for our sins in disappointing screen debut .",
      "embora limitado como ator , 50 cent tem carisma para segurar o filme , que acaba falhando nгo em funзгo do rapper , mas de seu roteiro convencional que soa como pбlida imitaзгo de 8 mile .",
      "marcus sells dope . marcus buys a gun . marcus buys a microphone . marcus goes to prison . marcus gets shot . marcus makes a movie about his life that no one goes to see .",
      "its real danger is that it sets a precedent for the director ; if the price is right he 's on board .",
      "a better film than `` 8 mile '' . an impressive debut for the coin-coined music superstar .",
      "it 's a reasonably entertaining story , and would be better if it had a reasonably entertaining actor at its heart .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- major disappointment from director jim sheridan , who ... seems to have lost track in his first foray away from irish-themed films ...",
      "here 's a street version of a rags-to-riches tale that is certain to appeal to all 50 cent fans but will be all too familiar to other movie goers .",
      "surrounded by solid performers like akinnuoye-agbaje , davis , howard and duke , 50 cent does n't register . this is his life , but he 's not good enough to be the hero of it .",
      "even more problematic is the script 's clumsy , sprawling architecture , sheridan 's clubfooted sense of pacing and his grubby , indistinct visuals .",
      "the story is hyped to be `` inspirational '' , but call me crazy ; i see nothing inspiring about marcus 's life .",
      "not a totally terrible film , but there is nothing to really commend or recommend in it .",
      "this thinly autobiographical gangsta odyssey never achieves liftoff , and jackson is unconvincing .",
      "thank goodness the movie , unlike its star , was only shot once .",
      "this is n't sheridan 's most complex or richest picture , but there 's lots of life to it : this is an unapologetically glossy pop product , powered by a strong , old-fashioned sense of b-movie melodrama ."
    ],
    "summary": "while it may be based upon 50 cent 's own life experiences , MOV ' is too similar to many other rags-to-riches stories to resonate .",
    "id": "9175"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1093843-mansfield_park",
    "reviews": [
      "it was supposed to be 1806 , but MOV the movie has a little too much 1999 in it ...",
      "one of the most assured and inspired literary film adaptations all year .",
      "full of sparkling dialogue , witty asides , and top-drawer performances , MOV is a social satire wrapped inside a romantic comedy .",
      "MOV is quick and funny , and a refreshing break from period-film stuffiness .",
      "the cast is good , especially davidtz .",
      "just enough sardonic wordplay pokes through to keep the jane austen in this jane austen .",
      "park is damn entertaining .",
      "patricia rozema 's MOV continues jane austen 's winning streak on film .",
      "a witty , entertaining film .",
      "a fine addition to the filmed austen canon .",
      "MOV is a generally light and funny film which invites us to watch fanny handle the coldness and pressure of her priggish relatives , and not only survive , but somehow prevail .",
      "austen purists may gag , but director patricia rozema has managed to crack MOV , transforming jane austen 's problematic novel into an engaging bit of entertainment .",
      "MOV is the cinematic equivalent of a nice walk in the park ; nice and relaxing , a breath of fresh air .",
      "a qualified success .",
      "ms. rozema has made a film whose satiric bite is sharper than that of the usual high-toned romantic costume drama .",
      "it 's smart , heady stuff that only fails at times because it 's perhaps too ambitious for its own good ...",
      "though it 's never dull , this MOV has too much of its own agenda and too little of austen 's to completely succeed .",
      "despite its brazen politics , MOV never goes giddily amok as promised .",
      "too often steps out of its era to adopt a knowing , politically correct , late-20th-century attitude to the society portrayed .",
      "this MOV becomes a kind of romanticized gloss -- an imaginative grad-student thesis that melds author and character .",
      "MOV ... is a confusing jumble of historical drama and modern social essay that only serves to cloud the whole field of jane austen studies .",
      "even if you have never read austen , you will sense that something is wrong here long before a nude scene that would have made the author hide under a table .",
      "the snappy banter has lost its bite .",
      "rozema 's movie ... in trying so hard to entertain , ends up sabotaging itself .",
      "rozema 's previous films ... contain an almost magical-realism , with their vivid colors and strong focus on female sexuality . she attempts to work a similar magic here , but MOV 's narrative and erotic currents are much more prosaic .",
      "stifled and tedious adaptation of an austen classic strips the heroine of her usual power of perception and tongue .",
      "overall , rozema succeeds in balancing the plot 's lighter elements and heavier undercurrents without compromising either .",
      "one of the best movies of the year .",
      "this is merely another attempt at making a high-class art film that ca n't come close to the spirit of the literary book it is based on .",
      "rozema 's thoughtful pacing and deliberately modern spin on the tale keep the rot from setting in .",
      "despite such occasional flaws ... MOV is a welcome treat for austen addicts .",
      "... busy nothings add up to motion picture somethings in one of the year 's most charming films .",
      "an uneven but ultimately stirring adaptation from canadian director patricia rozema .",
      "a powerful portrait of a determined young woman 's quest to remain true to the vastness of her spirit and soul .",
      "MOV works because it not only comes from the novel ... but also from austen 's letters and journals .",
      "wonderful book adaptation with strong female character .",
      "while MOV does n't boast the high calibre hollywood star wattage and gloss of sense and sensibility , it offers a more thought-provoking viewpoint .",
      "while this version plays somewhat fast and loose with the original story , and even more so with the heroine 's character , it is still much more jane austen than not .",
      "MOV is a perfectly good adaptation , but it 's trite .",
      "spins the most interesting modern re-interpretation of the austen canon .",
      "romantic , thoughtful and beautifully filmed .",
      "a gorgeous , enchanting experience .",
      "o'connor makes a fetching film debut as the patient yet resolute heroine .",
      "rozema tends to hurtle past some moments and dawdle fussily over others , but she gets a lot of the best things right .",
      "an eminently enjoyable viewing experience .",
      "the beauty of this lavish and gorgeous production is n't in the costumes or the buildings , it is in the acting and the script .",
      "this is perhaps not jane austen 's MOV , but jane austen would have probably recognized most of it and would have been amused by the rest .",
      "while die-hard fans of austen 's works might not like the contemporary spin that rozema has put on this latest adaption , most every other fan of period costume dramas will probably find it to their liking .",
      "this incarnation of fanny may not have been what austen had in mind , but she surely would have approved , for the injection of attitude and smarts makes MOV a much more wicked and irresistible social satire ...",
      "in this provocative , revisionist adaptation of jane austen 's third novel , canadian writer-director patricia rozema gives her 19th century heroine , fanny price , much of austen 's own confidant , creative personality .",
      "enough of austen 's witty depiction of british society is preserved to keep the viewer pleasantly occupied .",
      "with its gorgeous cinematography ... lovely muted score , and sure-footed performances , especially by frances o'connor , patricia rozema 's `` MOV '' sets a new standard for adaptations of jane austen 's work .",
      "rozema 's dry wit , effervescent dialogue and contemporary reinterpretations are often a refreshing change from the swoony , soft-peddling style of other austen adaptations .",
      "rozema is good with actors , and in her hands o'connor gives us a fanny who is self-assured without being a feminist caricature .",
      "writer-director patricia rozema has made significant alterations to the original text and her instincts have worked superbly .",
      "smart , clever and spirited , and made with a decidedly modern touch .",
      "-lsb- rozema -rsb- brings bite to the least popular of austen 's novels and allows an underscored romantic yearning to remain in this deeper work that stays true in spirit to austen 's original .",
      "MOV is not boring , exactly ... unfortunately , the middle , while remaining upbeat , never amounts to anything substantial .",
      "this is still austen 100 % , but it 's austen with an edge . readers may protest . viewers will rejoice .",
      "a pleasant little diversion .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- is a smart hybrid : part novel adaptation , part biography . it 's now a period saga overlaid with a modern sensibility .",
      "a truly subversive piece of work .",
      "it 's alluring to see a costume drama that takes us inside the subtlest , most wrenching realities of money .",
      "bodices may not be ripped , but they are certainly loosened in this very liberal adaptation of jane austen 's novel ."
    ],
    "summary": "solid performances , bold direction .",
    "id": "10103"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dirty_wars_2013",
    "reviews": [
      "not quite as tight as it needs to be , especially when it comes to building links between its various strands , this is nevertheless an intriguing documentary which contains some powerful interview material .",
      "a tense , shocking us documentary that plays out like an episode of the wire , though in this case it 's not a war on drugs that 's being fought -lrb- and lost -rrb- , but the war on terror .",
      "`` MOV '' may lack the nuance and design of an errol morris documentary , but it is nonetheless the most important and searing documentary of 2013 . see it . talk about it .",
      "this is a very disturbing film . from a journalistic point of view , it would be better to have more documentation for the claims made in this film , but enough evidence is presented to raise concerns about these secret wars .",
      "this documentary is at least in theory non-political and not intended as overview of the past thirteen years . instead , the filmmakers insist , it captures a moment in time on a downward spiral .",
      "an infuriating and depressing look at how american foreign policy and warfare have been transformed in highly undemocratic ways , and a reminder of what real journalism looks like .",
      "MOV is frightening and it 's not over .",
      "MOV is challenging in a way few films are .",
      "a remarkable documentary as important as it is compelling ...",
      "government sanctioned atrocities and journalist jeremy scahill fight for top billing in this investigative doc .",
      "we should be shocked . but the camera is too busy making a hero of reporter-presenter jeremy scahill .",
      "my biggest problem with this movie is the choice to make scahill the star of the show instead of the basic , disturbing facts .",
      "this is a film you skip seeing at your own risk .",
      "by emphasizing the human cost of the operation , scahill and rowling turn `` blowback '' into much more than an abstract military-political term .",
      "it makes you wonder - what do n't we know ?",
      "filmmaker richard rowley 's documentary MOV sounds the alarms , throws the lights on in the room and confronts audiences with the brutality of the conflicts in afghanistan and elsewhere .",
      "richard rowley and jeremy scahill shine a light on the fallout from america 's covert anti-terrorist attacks .",
      "MOV is essential viewing for all americans , conservatives and liberals alike . it 's intense and depressing . it 'll make you angry .",
      "these wars being fought in our name may be dirty , but this courageous film reminds us that as long as we have a free press , they do n't have to be secret .",
      "like a lot of modern political documentaries , we 've yet to see the final chapter , which is yet to be written . but it 's instructive to have a little more light shed on such history in the making .",
      "scahill is a brave , dogged reporter , and he deserves to flaunt his angst .",
      "-lsb- the -rsb- astonishingly hard-hitting `` MOV '' renders the investigative work of journalist jeremy scahill in the form of a '70s - style conspiracy thriller .",
      "MOV leaves some deeper questions unexplored , mainly the philosophical struggle between security and secrecy , but makes up grandly with raw data and one correspondent 's passion .",
      "MOV is essential viewing for anyone who wants to know how we wage war right now ; it 's also a chilling prologue for what 's likely a global future of endless war and blowback .",
      "the sobering `` MOV '' speaks directly to americans who believe that their country 's behavior overseas has improved appreciably since the election of president obama .",
      "gritty and gripping , playing out like a paranoid geopolitical thriller ...",
      "cia on steroids . with scahill 's revelations trapped in this doc noir , exposing us secret death squads and their kill lists and outsourced warlord assassins all around the world . dragging us covert war out of the shadows and into the public conversation .",
      "its voice remains hushed ; it seems to be grieving for america .",
      "there are so many stagey shots of scahill poring over clues in front of his macbook , you ca n't help but assume he fancies himself a real-life lisbeth salander .",
      "the flood of theatrical documentaries about the war on terror ... has slowed to a trickle since president obama took office , which makes this uncompromising exposé from reporter jeremy scahill even more important .",
      "it 's a courageous and insightful glimpse into the changing strategies of contemporary warfare that 's unsettling and not especially hopeful .",
      "scahill 's so busy being a reporter - capital letters are definitely called for - it gets in the way of what he 's reporting on .",
      "`` MOV '' becomes hard to swat away , no matter how much its style conveys a sense of unconscious insecurity about its assertions .",
      "there 's plenty here about which to be outraged , but that 's too simple for director richard rowley .",
      "for every shot of an afghani citizen talking tearfully about the death of a loved one , there 's almost always an equally long shot of jeremy scahill listening , jeremy scahill taking notes , jeremy scahill furrowing his brow .",
      "just imagine if all the presidents ' men had tried to make woodward and bernstein the focus instead of watergate .",
      "something we rarely see reported in major news media .",
      "his -lsb- scahill -rsb- betrayal at the overall ambivalence of an entire population is what gives this movie teeth .",
      "a film that comes across more like a narrative thriller than a documentary . effective criticism of america 's current global military adventures .",
      "`` MOV '' becomes more than the sum of its facts , illuminating not just the secret wars but the emotional toll that trying to uncover them takes on scahill .",
      "-lsb- c -rsb- onnects how the celebrated successes and piecemeal scandals about the global war on terror fit into an alarming u.s. military policy . . -lsb- but -rsb- gets confusingly repetitive .",
      "ultimately , MOV does n't feel like authentic reporting , it 's more of an audition reel .",
      "scahill 's voiceover has a grim relentlessness that ties everything together , while maintaining the pretense that the viewer is at his side as he makes his discoveries .",
      "awkward title aside , the movie meticulously and powerfully lays bare the unexpectedly wide scope of activities that many in the current administration would surely prefer kept under wraps .",
      "with MOV , director rick rowley does n't so much sugar the pill as caffeinate it .",
      "it 'll open your eyes .",
      "the first-person style is a creative choice that may put some people off . but who better to lead a tour of the denied areas than someone who has walked its dangerous streets before ?",
      "the movie has rather silly , bourne-style thriller graphics , which are unnecessary : it has an important story to tell .",
      "a fearless and passionately directed documentary , MOV is a gripping and thought-provoking film fuelling the heated debate about the ethics of the us government and military .",
      "offers geopolitical exposition & humanist perspective on a nation 's hidden & entirely unregulated foreign policy , seemingly designed to create ever more enemies for the us in an expanding global war that is kept out of view , with no end in sight .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- gripping investigative doc , which plays out like a classic conspiracy thriller as it follows a trail of clues to the heart of darkness .",
      "hard-hitting stuff and tough medicine for american foreign policy loyalists .",
      "though awkwardly assembled , with an overemphatic voiceover , it 's chilling stuff .",
      "relentlessly questions the military aims of american foreign policy .",
      "... though i have certain qualms about the way scahill is presented in the film ... i can not imagine that a more compelling film could have been made without his character carrying this dramatic payload .",
      "MOV is the kind of documentary that demands serious attention , with an even more serious response from americans .",
      "scahill is right to focus on the price american security efforts have cost in human rights - and human life . yet there are difficult questions hovering just outside the frame of MOV .",
      "a shocking documentary about secret us counter-terrorist operations around the world that have made us masters of war in the eyes of african warlords and others .",
      "as a connect-the-dots narrative , `` MOV '' is eye-opening , a fierce argument that there are chilling ramifications to endless , vague aggression .",
      "an exposé of practices that need -- demand -- exposing .",
      "the film will undoubtedly play well with those who already despise the covert killings , but it does a disservice to the wavering .",
      "it 's shocking stuff , even if much of it has already been in the news . that 's mostly because of the way that scahill strings it together into a coherent , convincing argument .",
      "pessimistic , grimly outraged and utterly riveting ...",
      "ably leads us through its extensive investigation , faltering only when the camera lingers on jeremy scahill for a touch too long at the expense of his interview subjects .",
      "scahill is as much a liability onscreen as he is a fascinating source .",
      "as a polemic , MOV is provocative and productively depressing ...",
      "persuasive and deeply troubling , MOV shows how the joint special operations command -lrb- jsoc -rrb- has been fighting a secret war against terrorists in iraq and afghanistan"
    ],
    "summary": "some viewers may find fault with director rick rowley 's filmmaking methods , but they are n't distracting enough to keep MOV from serving as a terribly compelling argument against elements of american foreign policy .",
    "id": "771324992"
  },
  {
    "movie": "museum_hours",
    "reviews": [
      "the result is poetic and maybe even wise . bruegel , i think , would be proud .",
      "it peers into the twin galleries of art and life , and in particular follows the brief intersection of lives between a security guard -lrb- bobby sommer -rrb- and anne , one of the museum 's regular visitors -lrb- mary margaret o'hara -rrb- .",
      "cinematographer peter roehsler has an amazing eye for shot composition and his photography of the copious art on display in the museum borders on brilliant .",
      "a wonderfully slow movie that presents a parade of wonders about the beauties and delights of art , city life , and friendship .",
      "one of the world 's great art museums , the kunsthistoriches is the true star of the movie `` MOV . ''",
      "relationships between humans and art are perceptively explored in this unassuming yet quietly charming character study .",
      "a lot of it works , some of it does n't .",
      "`` MOV '' is less about individuals than it is about collective experiences -- how we all take part in life 's broad canvas .",
      "it 's a hybrid drama/art-history essay about how looking at art recasts our experience of looking at the world .",
      "... a unique film that celebrates art , the city of vienna and the profound friendship born of a kindness from a local to a visitor without many resources whose very trip is itself an act of great compassion .",
      "the quiet time that johann and anne spend during MOV -- and after his shifts on trips around the city -- offer solace in their mutual solitude . MOV is an introverted companion for its viewers .",
      "this goes on for more than two hours and will bore some viewers to death . others , though , will find this quiet , complex film a fascinating piece of art in itself .",
      "unwinding at its own gentle pace , MOV delicately explores a platonic friendship between two emotionally reserved people .",
      "cohen 's simple , masterful film considers how we anoint value .",
      "... encourages you to see the aesthetic potential of everything around you , including each frame that appears on the screen .",
      "a chris marker kind of exceptional experimental film that sets its sights on observing art , the landscape , people , vienna and our sense of being .",
      "amid all the looking and dissection , cohen demonstrates an understanding of the individual need for increasingly elusive privacy that feels urgent , wistful , and quaint .",
      "when cohen 's film is over and the lights go out , the world is not the same anymore .",
      "sommer is perfect . so is o'hara . this is the `` before sunrise '' for a very different -lrb- and platonic -rrb- pair of individuals .",
      "an enthralling and sometimes droll meditation on life , art and mortality , not to mention internet porn and its influence on modern art .",
      "the two leads contribute fresh , genuine performances , and what might have been a musty academic exercise gains in tension from cohen 's deft juxtaposing of vocal narration , character detail , and majestic artwork .",
      "great art has the power to comment on life 's issues - sex , death , parenthood , religion , etc. - and cohen uses the power of the still image to construct a film of moving ones with power of its own .",
      "the result is an experience not unlike going to a museum itself : a chance to peruse wondrous things in a sacred space . for an evening , a movie theater becomes a place where art and life become beautifully entangled .",
      "the reward is an intelligent , observant effort that extracts a purity of existence from the nuances of art and enjoys the beauty of human connection .",
      "cohen 's vivid eye for forlorn urban spaces makes this as geographically evocative as his other work , but it 's a film of clearly etched themes , too , about the solace of growing old as well as the slight sadness of unlived lives .",
      "its encouragement to let ourselves be captivated by everyday humanity as well as the old masters is both richly illuminating and quirkily endearing .",
      "MOV is that rare thing : a movie about high art that 's not only nice if you can afford it .",
      "there 's something trance-like about the flow of images here , as close-ups of details within illustrious paintings are juxtaposed with shots of faces and buildings in the streets of contemporary vienna , alongside numerous fades to black .",
      "MOV is a grand , profound and exceptionally beautiful love letter to museums and the wealth of culture that can be found in everyday life .",
      "a look around vienna 's legendary gallery provides some unexpectedly enlightening moments .",
      "it 's as if cohen had lived for centuries among these places , and sometimes with art that encapsulates these centuries , and is pleasantly imprisoned within its strength .",
      "as we learn how to look at the kunsthistorisches ' masterpieces , we 're also learning how to watch this movie . ... and better : we 're learning how to look at our lives .",
      "MOV is one of those artsy-fartsy meditations on life that you see sometimes in the better cinemas . the good news is it turns out to be more artsy than fartsy : there 's plenty to think about here .",
      "calm entertainment .",
      "most successful at its most hushed and explicitly ` artful , ' in the museum ; less interesting when it becomes more casual , as when johann and mary hang out and discuss general topics at coffeehouses . -lrb- mary is nice , but , frankly , a bit of a bore . -rrb-",
      "a contemplative experimental drama , it also invites moviegoers to take a deep breath , to relax , and to float along in its leisurely exploration of leisurely exploration .",
      "it has its tedium , but it 's not bad . at times , it 's actually quite good .",
      "critics have been more than kind to MOV , respectful of its sleepy intellectualism in a 2013 summer of brainless action flicks .",
      "the film shows how quiet exteriors can mask deep interior lives , and how art feeds those lives .",
      "this movie is rigorously and intensely lifelike , which is to say that it 's also a strange and moving work of art .",
      "ultimately , the movie 's easygoing narrative turns to loss , but without melodrama . an awareness of life and art offers perspective , and perhaps a measure of consolation .",
      "MOV is less interested in plot than in using its characters as a way to give ideas shape and voice ; however , because their performances are natural and improvisatory , the movie never seems didactic .",
      "it 's lovely but lulling , and for a movie in which little happens , oddly predictable .",
      "the languid pace , long silences and lack of purpose and dramatic tension will leave some looking at their watches .",
      "it finds the time to look at looking , and to offer a slow revelation : to the lonely and the stranded , it is art that feels like home .",
      "the genius of MOV lies in the way jem cohen ties the minimalist story at the movie 's center with the extraordinary art that fills his frame .",
      "the real strength of cohen 's occasionally didactic drama ... is in the way the film redirects your focus to the periphery and reminds you of the richness that resides there .",
      "MOV , despite that almost documentary-like distance , in fact expresses a thoroughly subjective experience ...",
      "`` MOV '' is every bit as masterfully conceived and executed as the art works that serve as the film 's lively cast of supporting characters .",
      "what should have been a beautiful , contemplative piece of art , ends up being a self-indulgent bore . you 'd be much better off going to your local art museum than sitting through this reject of an art film .",
      "quite literally an art film , this quietly riveting drama essentially just observes its settings and characters , eavesdropping on what they have to say about themselves and the world around them .",
      "cohen 's spare but spectacularly visualized film follows a pair of middle-aged strangers who meet in a viennese art museum and proceed to walk and talk .",
      "it 's an odd duck , but it rewards moviegoers willing to fall under its spell .",
      "a little bit like a travelogue , a little bit like people-watching , this is simultaneously a relaxing and invigorating cinematic experience . simply magnificent .",
      "whether you find the result tedious or enlightening will be a factor of your openness to the director 's languidly atmospheric approach .",
      "MOV is melancholy yet full of humour ; educational and entertaining .",
      "a beguiling and often moving treatise on the relationship between art and life .",
      "this is one of those rare films that may change the way you view the world .",
      "it sits uncomfortably as a weird in-between facsimile , as though we 're being asked to study postcard reproductions of great artworks .",
      "difficult to describe but not to enjoy .",
      "jem cohen 's film finds its most salient tension in the fraught relationship between known and unknown objects .",
      "a powerfully contemplative look at the transformative ability of all art .",
      "how to pick up women in a museum ."
    ],
    "summary": "its languid pace may frustrate some viewers , but for patient filmgoers , MOV offers a carefully observed portrait of the human condition .",
    "id": "771315325"
  },
  {
    "movie": "alphaville",
    "reviews": [
      "if an ipod commercial had a nightmare , it would look like MOV",
      "its melding of classic hollywood archetypes and a terrifying future was ahead of its time when it was released . five decades later , filmmakers are still trying to catch up .",
      "karina proves to be the beating heart of the movie , getting its piercing last line -lrb- no spoilers here -rrb- . yet it 's constantine 's ravaged mug that you remember .",
      "iconic in its very grain , the film toggles effortlessly between toast-dry farce and vogueing postwar hipitude , and like the balletic swimmers performing mid-pool state executions , it 's a thing of insensible beauty .",
      "modern audiences may be tempted to overlook the significance of goddard 's groundbreaking vision but that does n't detract from its powerful influence on film and pop culture .",
      "it may mean absolutely nothing , but it 's undeniably one interesting ride -- across universes in a ford galaxy .",
      "made in the most creative phase of jean-luc godard 's career , this sci-fi-political allegory is visually brilliant and quite riveting in its first half before the film gets too didactic in the last reel .",
      "the haunting imagery and dystopian vision of MOV deserves comparison to fritz lang 's metropolis",
      "godard again shows his uncompromising , intellectual , unorthodox methods for a pic that is both piquant and sketchy .",
      "the self-conscious didacticism of ` MOV ' sinks its ship .",
      "one of the better godard films .",
      "godard 's masterpiece of french new-wave cinema . essential viewing .",
      "godard 's avoidance of conventional science fiction architecture , in favour of what was actually available within paris 1965 , is his way of commenting on the city , what it was doing to its inhabitants , and what they were in danger of becoming .",
      "these ideas are more prevalent than ever , which tends to horribly date MOV against its more thought-out successors like a clockwork orange and blade runner .",
      "a poetic , funny , and visually inspired blend of sci-fi , detective-film satire , and political allegory .",
      "esta fascinante mistura de noir , 1984 e admirрvel mundo novo filosofa , como solaris faria sete anos depois , sobre a natureza do homem e suas contradiушes .",
      "a perfect example of godard shaking up convention and exploring new ways of making cinema , MOV is challenging in places and thematically familiar in others .",
      "it remains an outstanding example of the filmmaker 's power to transform an environment through the selection of detail : everything in it is familiar , but nothing is recognizable .",
      "one of godard 's most sheerly enjoyable movies , a dazzling amalgam of film noir and science fiction .",
      "new wave classic . set bold new standards . whatever .",
      "mr. godard 's conclusion that love -- good old love -- conquers all is a curiously disappointing finish for such an initially promising film .",
      "this cold war allegorical sci-fi film is imaginatively made and proves that sometimes the most mundane images can become dazzling in the right context .",
      "packed to the brim with imagination , particularly the insane 2nd half .",
      "it works both as a philosophical treatise on politics and film as well as an entertaining and often amusing look at a future overrun by technology .",
      "it 's one of the great cinematic works of romanticism , as well as a sort of filmed revelation of the very essence of science-fiction movies and german silent classics -- their blend of social critique , emotional liberation , and paranoia .",
      "despite its age it 's that rare science fiction film that does n't seem to have dated at all .",
      "although this is drastically different compared to the rest of godard 's oeuvre , it has without a doubt had a lasting impact with its ground-breaking visuals .",
      "science fiction meets film noir in a way that made possible the existence of blade runner , the terminator and countless other books and films .",
      "both derivative and prophetic , this new wave dystopian fable both looks back at the history of cinema and forward to its future . hail , lemmy caution , father of rick deckard .",
      "it 's so archly intellectual that you fear it might splinter if you poke it in the ribs . it 's also endlessly playful in its worship of american movie tropes , and deeply resourceful .",
      "a bracing salute to american gangster pics , with a jumpy european post-war uncertainty thrown in .",
      "nothing about this strange , moving work of agit-pop has ever seemed out of date . if anything , `` MOV '' moves closer to relevance with every passing year .",
      "one of -lsb- godard 's -rsb- most entertaining movies is also one of his most timeless .",
      "no movie , not even breathless , better exemplifies the syncretic quality of godard 's early genius ."
    ],
    "summary": "while MOV is by no means a conventional sci-fi film , jean-luc godard creates a witty , noir-ish future all his own .",
    "id": "19117"
  },
  {
    "movie": "while_you_were_sleeping",
    "reviews": [
      "director jon turteltaub 's movie is just plain bad .",
      "cringe-inducing moments abound .",
      "this appealing romantic comedy catapulted the ever-likeable sandra bullock into major stardom",
      "the film 's casual warmth may make you tolerate some of the shortcomings -- especially since bullock seems to be having such a fine time with her first starring role .",
      "bullock just about knocks herself exhausted being winsome and lovable .",
      "appealing family comedy with old-fashioned feel .",
      "this smartly scripted cinderella love story is crammed with charm and the expert direction of jon turteltaub hits all the right emotional buttons .",
      "this year 's sleepless in seattle . only better .",
      "it plays like a movie dreamed up by people in a studio marketing department who 'd decided to bare their souls .",
      "what the movie does offer is a delectable performance by bullock , who is funny and vulnerable and almost makes you buy her character 's diving into this charade .",
      "a sappy , negligible , thoroughly innocuous romantic comedy vehicle for sandra bullock .",
      "interesting twist on the romantic triangle .",
      "a mild romantic comedy rooted in class anxiety , but it 's nice to see perennial loser-in-love pullman get some . respect , that is .",
      "director jon turteltaub has a smooth style suited to classic farce and knows just how to pace the material to accentuate the positive .",
      "it 's a long and frustrating wait , but MOV delivers all you can ask of a romantic comedy : the deluxe payoff .",
      "a cute premise with engaging leads but little else to keep you awake .",
      "the movie seems better suited to a holiday release . MOV arrives at the peak of spring , the only season that can make christmas seem like an unwelcome visitor .",
      "MOV may not be a film for the ages . it likely wo n't even rank among the presummer season 's biggest hits . but it is worth noting , for it may mark the birth of a star .",
      "this setup is ludicrous , but actually it 's the most credible thing in this whole sorry , dishonest film .",
      "it 's bullock 's first shot at a role in which she plays second fiddle neither to males nor special effects . and she turns out to be every bit as delightful as anyone might have expected .",
      "it 's practically certain to lull moviegoers into a pleasant state of dreamy bliss .",
      "the heart of the film 's charm is sandra bullock .",
      "-lsb- bullock -rsb- knows one of the secrets of doing romantic comedy : treating the romance as a good joke .",
      "compared to MOV , even the half-baked scenario of the marisa tomei-robert downey jr. romance only you looks witty and inventive .",
      "as this season 's gentle , feel-good romantic amusement , it works quite well .",
      "a lighthearted , charming nougat for romantics .",
      "romantic , sweet without being cloying , and light on its feet .",
      "a gem of a movie .",
      "a bright , charming romance .",
      "if it has no great virtues , at least it has no great faults either .",
      "a few lines , owing to great delivery by terrific actors , raise this a few notches on the comedy scale .",
      "recaptures the true spirit of the best kind of modern fairy tale .",
      "predictable at best and just plain dull most of the time .",
      "as cute and cuddly a bedtime story as anyone could wish for .",
      "this is the first romantic comedy i 've seen in a long time that , by the third act , does n't forget about being funny .",
      "it 's cutesy enough to serve as a pleasant time-waster for those hungering for blue-collar romance in chi town .",
      "fortunately , it 's smart enough not to outstay its welcome .",
      "a modern romantic comedy that actually works .",
      "a welcome ray of sunshine .",
      "classic sandra bullock romantic comedy .",
      "surprisingly half-decent high-concept chick-flick material .",
      "turteltaub wisely plays his strength by giving us extended close-ups of bullock , who is at once canny and vulnerable , rising above this workmanlike comedy .",
      "bullock , with her attractive but unglamorous image , gives humanity and a little bit of realism to an otherwise fairytale plot .",
      "this is a formula film , but it has the kind of good cheer and fine tuning that occasionally give slickness a good name .",
      "a cute , throwaway romantic comedy .",
      "bullock is a genuinely engaging performer , which at least gives the treacle some minty freshness .",
      "a perfect example of this unoriginal-but-enjoyable type of film making .",
      "a feel-good film , warm and good-hearted .",
      "a consistently adorable , if utterly predictable , piece of fluff ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is built wholly from familiar ingredients , but assembled with such skill -- and with such a charming performance from sandra bullock -- that it gives formula a good name .",
    "id": "10076"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dior_and_i",
    "reviews": [
      "the documentary offers a privileged behind-the-scenes look at the workings of a business . it 's also about the difficulties of the creative process , the running of an organization , and the adjustments that must be made when a new boss is in town .",
      "a completely fascinating peek inside a legendary fashion house where the demands of business and art clash in interesting ways .",
      "MOV expertly observes all aspects of simons ' stressful transition , especially in the minutiae of being both an artist and a manager .",
      "the drama of getting new dresses on the runway turns out to be transfixing , while the hero redefines the notion of intense .",
      "pleasant but slight .",
      "frederic tcheng 's MOV is a fashion doc with both a sense of history and a feel for the energy of a work in progress .",
      "though nicely made , MOV is every bit as escapist as the last star trek movie .",
      "much more than a documentary about a fashion house , this film finds real resonance in its central characters",
      "this exceptional -lsb- cross cutting -rsb- structure allows the past to continue informing the present , reaching a climax after lights out in the ateliers , tcheng projecting old dior imagery over the white toiles that are the blueprints of simons ' first collection .",
      "it is absurd , but mesmeric .",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- adds up to something that wo n't have much appeal beyond the fashionista crowd . and even they probably would prefer browsing through one of the designer 's catalogs than sitting through this glossy bore .",
      "tcheng manages to excite and move while painting a complete portrait of an artist challenged by his new post 's unprecedented legacy .",
      "one does come away with a grudging admiration for the toil and ingenuity of the many players who bring it all together .",
      "the most interesting element about the documentary dior and i. . . is the insight we get into the process and the skilled artists in the atelier that elevates this above the standard fashion hagiography .",
      "we get no sense that simons is invested in the work , or concerned about what 's at stake for his personal reputation , or has any insight into what he does with his time to balance what presumably are many other responsibilities and pressures .",
      "of special interest to a limited audience , this backstage look at fashion design at the house of christian dior will tell you what you always wanted to know about the most elite segment of the rag trade .",
      "the venerable parisian couture house christian dior gets a makeover in MOV , which follows a new design director 's rough journey to the runway .",
      "dull and undramatic",
      "if the ungodly star-driven media frenzy that surrounds the spring collections of the great paris houses like christian dior is the public face of designer fashion , `` MOV '' shows us that what goes on behind the scenes is even more intriguing .",
      "diverting but disappointingly hollow fashion film .",
      "as tcheng gets his cameras into the day-to-day operations of the dior atelier , the movie becomes a portrait of the process - the hierarchies and traditions that turn ideas into wearable art .",
      "it 's basically a glossier episode of `` project runway '' sans the laughs and colorful characters .",
      "simons is a fascinating central figure , even if the straightforward approach seems determined not to ruffle any feathers .",
      "j'adore `` dior and i. ''",
      "those who got their introduction to fashion design through `` project runway '' are probably in for a huge surprise .",
      "this mission : impossible aspect ... provides ... a sense of palpable tension , and which might make it palatable for viewers who give not a whit for haute couture .",
      "pręt-ŕ-porter-trained simons struggles to express himself in an environment of hand-stitched glamour , and the film becomes a cross-generational dialogue about artistic authorship .",
      "`` dior & i '' is just good drama , quite moving and suspenseful as it shows talented and creative people pushing themselves to the edge . no matter how nice our clothes are , we 're all human underneath .",
      "if only `` MOV '' told us why we should care .",
      "all that effort just to make a dress still seems a bit silly , but the passion and integrity of those involved are hard not to take seriously .",
      "viewers become so involved in their proficient , collaborative activity that the catwalk spectacle is almost dull in comparison .",
      "we get to know the people - mostly women , but a few men - whose hands create these intricate , beautiful garments .",
      "this undramatic and flat peek `` inside '' the sewing rooms of christian dior holds little in the way of entertainment .",
      "perhaps `` MOV '' is n't profound work , but the opportunity to study the creative process in a place of incredible history is rare , making the documentary a must-see for fashion admirers .",
      "from creating photo files rather than sketching dresses , to fitting them on lithe human pipe cleaners who march them across the catwalk , the film is a serious look at a business containing surprising amounts of tension .",
      "the movie , not to mention the company , deserves praise for showing the challenges as well as the triumphs ; `` MOV '' does n't shy away from conflicts when they arise . this is n't marketing material . it 's a real look at a fascinating line of work .",
      "a piece of dior haute couture to hang in the closet is probably not in most of our futures , but this enthralling documentary allows viewers to finger the hem , so to speak , of some grand designs indeed .",
      "fascinating , suspenseful , illuminating , and ultimately moving .",
      "though the film is unquestionably a flattering portrait of simons , it is also more broadly , and more fruitfully , a testament to a tradition and to those who have upheld it for decades .",
      "`` MOV '' intimately demonstrates the tricky balance between art and commerce , between perpetuating a mythology while attending to the bottom line , and doing it with the pressure of a ticking clock .",
      "the heart of MOV is with these seamstresses and cutters , artists in their own right .",
      "as shallow as the world it depicts with much-precedented ` unprecedented access . '",
      "access to an institution like the house of dior is a rare and precious thing , and mr. tcheng has paid for it with a flattering portrait dressed up to look like cleareyed scrutiny .",
      "tcheng gets under simons ' skin - we see the designer 's methods of work , insecurities , vulnerabilities and his ability to cut through the noise .",
      "tcheng finds simons in moments of haughty self-confidence and tremulous self-doubt .",
      "a few gauzy montages of black-and-white archival footage glorify the fashion house 's founder and namesake , providing a welcome interruption to all the self-serving confessionals and stage-managed conflicts .",
      "whether or not you care about fashion , it 's an absolute must-see .",
      "for all its grand statements about artistry and identity , it 's most effective as a study of the hard work , both physical and emotional , that goes into creating something new .",
      "as carefully crafted as the clothes is tcheng 's well-considered direction , privileging the creative process over stereotyped glamour or backstabbing -lrb- this is no ready to wear -rrb- .",
      "more compelling when focusing on long-serving staff and their skills and opinions .",
      "MOV blends cinema into fashion rather than simply filming the making of expensive clothes .",
      "-lsb- i -rsb- t 's an accomplished documentary that probably deserves more attention than just from the very niche audience it will find from film-fancy fashionistas .",
      "fashion fans will love this fly-on-the-wall doc .",
      "MOV is a great fashion movie , but it 's also a superb picture about the art of management , applicable to any field .",
      "... MOV succeeds in bringing this exclusive world down to earth , knitting the viewer with its needles and threads and making a highly relatable story , no matter where you come from or how you feel about fashion .",
      "it proves an increasingly superficial affair , especially given that the director 's attempts at suspense are largely facile and raf simons 's creative process is barely investigated .",
      "for all the seductive imagery of billowing apparel and impossibly angled high heels , tcheng never loses sight of the people overseeing every stitch .",
      "frédéric tcheng 's fascinating documentary looks at the attempts by the belgian fashion designer raf simons to revitalise christian dior with his first haute-couture collection .",
      "simons is intriguing , but the warmth and charm of the seamstresses carry the film .",
      "a film that favours a subtle portrait of the demands of the creative process over scandal-sniffing or melodrama ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV will obviously appeal to fashion fans , but this beautifully tailored documentary may draw in even the least sartorially inclined .",
    "id": "771377895"
  },
  {
    "movie": "jodorowskys_dune",
    "reviews": [
      "this documentary represents the righting of a wrong , finally giving a dreamer his due .",
      "if you enjoy sci-fi , cult cinema , or messianic quests by quixotic lunatics , you will love this movie .",
      "tickles the imaginations of movie fans who see the art form as an unlimited opportunity to expand the mind .",
      "the best parts of jodorowsky 's dune explain just how a mad genius like jodorowsky almost made the impossible possible , just by declaring it to be so .",
      "pavich 's movie is more profound as a tribute to the imagination of visionary directors who ca n't realize their visions .",
      "`` jodorowsky 's dune '' is a lovely little tribute to a major league `` what if ? ''",
      "fascinating . -lrb- the film -rrb- helps to illuminate the tension-fraught dance between ambition and commerce that endures in hollywood to this day .",
      "jodorowsky speaks with such passion and conviction that he turns into a lovably eccentric madman .",
      "a fascinating and depressing documentary about a visionary director and his impossible dream .",
      "pavich is clearly in awe of jodorowsky -lrb- who would n't be ? -rrb- , but he still treads a fine line between buying the director 's notions of a spiritual quest at face value and soberly detailing said journey 's particulars .",
      "the film is a wealth of anecdotes ... told by people who are still enthusiastic about the project and still in disbelief that it failed to come to fruition .",
      "85-year old alejandro jodorowsky lights up the screen with his still-young sense of humor and the obvious passion he still holds for the project that never was .",
      "frank savich 's diverting documentary lets the 85-year-old filmmaker revisit a saga from the mid - '70s : his stellar two-year failure to adapt frank herbert 's dune for the screen .",
      "we 're free to imagine what might have been , and in doing so , jodorowsky 's dune is fun , occasionally mind-blowing hooey .",
      "is alejandro jodorowsky 's `` dune '' the most influential movie never made ?",
      "jodorowsky 's dune is n't just a movie about an aborted adaptation of a cult science-fiction novel , it 's a documentary that offers the missing link between modern sci-fi spectacle and the drug-induced psychedelia of the 1960s .",
      "fascinating . but calling it `` the greatest movie ever made '' ? fanboy , please ...",
      "employing a mix of lively talking-head interviews and trippy animation based on jodorowsky 's sketchbooks and storyboards , frank pavich 's documentary paints a tantalizing picture of the movie that might have been .",
      "his stories feature an impressive roster of would-be collaborators -lrb- salvador dali , orson welles , h.r. geiger , and pink floyd -rrb- , and some of the set pieces he describes sound pretty neat .",
      "a great seminar on creativity .",
      "-lsb- the documentary -rsb- has , in alejandro jodorowsky himself , an amazing , one-of-a-kind storyteller , whose enthusiasm for the film he did n't get to make is electrifying and magnetic .",
      "buffs with a love for cinema 's secret history must make tracks for this extraordinary documentary asap .",
      "easily one of the most enjoyable documentaries about doomed film productions since lost in la mancha ... far from changing the way sci-fi would be , jodorowsky 's dune could well have been a disaster that could have killed the genre .",
      "failure has rarely been told with such entertaining dedication .",
      "jodorowsky 's worthy of this film , all on his own , but his dune is certainly a worthy recipient as well . we 'll never see it , but we have this .",
      "the year 's must-see doco for movie buffs .",
      "the phantom film is , by its nature , always rich with possibilities .",
      "this hypothetical hype-fest is alternately gonzo and tedious , though jodorowsky can be an engaging self-promoter . there are some nice touches but it 's all a bit much : too much of a muchness ; too much hypo-hype ; too much obsessing over what will never be .",
      "jodorowsky 's ` dune ' could probably have never been as good as ` jodorowsky 's dune ' -- a thoroughly entertaining and inspiring movie .",
      "it 's a fascinating glimpse into the creative process , told from the points of view of the people who worked so hard on the project 40 years ago .",
      "hailed as one of the great films never to be made , its content and structure have been much debated by dune and film fans , but with frank pavich 's film the truth behind the deliriously bold plans are finally revealed .",
      "a sublime documentary that asks the renowned helmer , proud artist , and part-time madman to walk the audience through his vision for the greatest cinematic epic that never came to be .",
      "a must-see for filmmakers , aficionados , dreamers , doers and ` warriors ' of all ilk .",
      "the documentary suggests the collaborations and creative ferment jodorowsky fostered leave a legacy that lasts to this day .",
      "... an intriguing and frequently fascinating documentary ...",
      "if you 've got that jodorowsky t-shirt aping the judas priest logo , you may as well start lining up now .",
      "in an interesting coda , many examples are cited that may or may not be instances of the creative team recycling designs and ideas in other films .",
      "director frank pavich 's entertaining documentary makes the case for this overblown epic as a legendary lost masterpiece .",
      "highly entertaining .",
      "this is a film that is largely about jodorowsky himself ... but also about the way sci-fi movies have grown , changed , and mutated over the years .",
      "director pavich , his first time at bat , has crafted an unalloyed pleasure of a documentary , especially for those of us who care about dune , about sci-fi , and about the value and power of creative passion .",
      "the message to take from jodorowsky 's dune : movies once had brains and balls , and lost them .",
      "it 's an ode to what it means to make a film with unbridled creativity , without limits and without concern for commercial calculation .",
      "`` flash gordon '' probably looked cool at the storyboard stage , too . if `` jodo '' was such a genius , why did n't he make some other masterpiece instead ?",
      "catnip for those who like to pore over forgotten pop-culture footnotes , this documentary gets plenty of mileage out of its grand question of what-if .",
      "fascinating and perversely uplifting ...",
      "pavich 's fun documentary captures an unbowed , exuberant jodorowsky , who recalls his team of `` spiritual warriors '' with the camaraderie of a battle-scarred veteran .",
      "-lsb- video essay -rsb- documentarian frank pavich struck cinematic gold when he got the blessing from jodorowsky and `` dune 's '' former producer michel seydoux to make a movie about jodorowsky 's journey to make the film .",
      "a lively slice of exploratory nonfiction portraiture -lsb- that -rsb- serves as a reminder ... we can be celebrated for the manner in which we conduct ourselves in noble defeat .",
      "the evidence presented in this film does suggest that , at the very least , jodorowsky would have made a hallucinatory , one-of-a-kind epic that , for better or worse , would still be heavily discussed to this day .",
      "an upbeat celebration of movie love and the creative process , brimming with entertaining anecdotes about 1970s hollywood and what it 's like to work with a mad -lrb- but very friendly -rrb- genius .",
      "a fascinating and inspiring documentary that offers a tantalizing look at what could have been .",
      "imagining what if can be fun , especially when you consider the talent and vision the cult director envisioned for herbert 's interstellar epic .",
      "that 's the beauty of a documentary like jodorowsky 's dune . it does a fascinating job of playing `` what if ? '' without ever having to fully give in and realize it .",
      "a deeply moving testament to single-minded , indefatigable commitment of creative vision and to an almost spiritual ability to let that vision go , thereby allowing it to exist in the world in an entirely unexpected form .",
      "entertaining from its first outrageous pronouncement of messianic intent to its final concept painting of a reticulated spaceship spilling outer-space spice ...",
      "the story is something that could only happen in the 1970s . this was a time where hollywood - and the world at large - were taking some significant risks .",
      "jodorowsky 's vision of dune still exists from whence it sprang : the realm of dreams , where its visionary power is still pure potential energy .",
      "this documentary version of jodorowsky 's `` dune '' is probably more entertaining than what hollywood would have done to it , with a clearer message : our lives are like sands though an hourglass , so dream the impossible dream .",
      "jodo , now 85 , is such a magnetic , life-affirming presence , it 's clear hollywood was n't ready for his `` dune . ''",
      "... essential viewing for fans of the fantastic .",
      "frank pavich 's feature documentary is as close as we 're ever going to get to seeing what might have been one of the great movies of the late 20th century .",
      "cheerfully partial and unapologetically deferential to its subject 's operatic self-promotion , `` jodorowsky 's dune '' makes you wish that he had scraped together the final $ 5 million needed , we are told , to realize his dream .",
      "i suspect that i would have lapsed into merciful sleep at some point in a four-hour dune , but i had a very good time with pavich 's documentary and i believe in its magical vision .",
      "while it overplays the poor-misunderstood-artist angle , though `` jodorowsky 's dune '' does at least give the filmmaker a stage .",
      "we may never know if the midnight movie maestro 's `` dune '' would have been a game-changer or a head-scratcher . -lrb- or both . -rrb- but the documentary about it is speculative catnip for cineastes of all stripes .",
      "... like the ne plus ultra of blu-ray extras for a film that was never made .",
      "for those with any interest in cult cinema or just the bizarre behind-the-scenes stories of any film production , jodorowsky 's dune is a fascinating document of one of the most legendary films ever not made .",
      "` jodorowsky 's dune ' is , in a sense , activist filmmaking , trying to resurrect this film , even as an animated project , or at least get the storyboard book published .",
      "frank pavich 's new documentary on the obsessive chilean surrealist 's projected epic masterwork is very nearly as marvelous as `` jodo '' 's adaptation of frank herbert 's novel might have been .",
      "a funny , fascinating rumination on art , ambition and the fickleness of fate . it 's also unique in the history of film : a documentary that goes behind the scenes of a movie for which not a single scene was ever shot .",
      "will make you wish hollywood would have given jodorowsky everything he needed -lrb- or that we could at least kickstart the difference -rrb- .",
      "a true triumph",
      "no one knows exactly what kind of film jodorowsky 's version of dune would have been like . but what 's for certain is that jodorowsky 's dune is in itself an entertaining , fascinating portrait into what could have been .",
      "this is the ultimate cinephile ` what if ' story ...",
      "why did it leave me so oddly happy , this story of a beautiful dream that never came true ? perhaps because there 's beauty in the dreaming itself .",
      "this film lives and breathes on the enthusiasm of its main character . jodorowsky 's passion for his craft is infectious and inspiring . otherwise , it 's a strictly routine affair .",
      "coulda been a contender : the dune that never was",
      "aside from jodorowsky 's dune being spectacularly entertaining and intriguing , as well as flat-out surprising , it also contains wonderful themes , worth carrying into any aspect of life .",
      "the best way to watch this movie is as an account of an eccentric visionary maverick who could not be stopped or influenced by reason ...",
      "we get an idea of what could have been via the colossal illustrated screenplay still lovingly held by jodorowsky , who is every bit the dreamer in his 80s that he was in his youth .",
      "a taste of what might have been -- and even if you doubt that the completed film would have been as remarkable as jodorowsky and his admirers are inclined to claim , it 's a tantalizing taste .",
      "it 's an outstanding combination of genius and missed opportunities .",
      "somehow it only makes sense that one of the best making-of-documentaries ever made is about a movie that actually was n't -lrb- made , that is -rrb- .",
      "the epitome of a movie nerd 's pipe dream .",
      "it leaves you wondering about how many artists are working on such wild dreams these days , and hoping it 's more than you think .",
      "`` distinguishes itself by finding true inspiration in the shattered fragments of what was left . ''",
      "minor hyperbole",
      "few of us get to change the world , but fewer still have the vision and ambition of jodorowsky , and it 's a heady thrill just to be in his orbit for a little while .",
      "a movie about the greatest movie never made , and the man who never made it .",
      "what an extraordinary dream it could have been .",
      "... it 's nice to dream , and jodorwosky certainly offers up a wondrous image of what might have been .",
      "jodorowsky 's enthusiasm is infectious , and the movie makes a strong case that his ideas , though never realized , ended up permeating later sci-fi movies .",
      "the highlight of -lsb- the film -rsb- is the sheer enthusiasm of alejandro jodorowsky who viewed his acquisition of frank herbert 's dune as less of a film project and more as a life changing event .",
      "jodorowsky 's dune gives you a good sense of what might have been , and judging by what we see , the picture might have accomplished what the director ultimately intended : `` to mutate young minds . ''",
      "this entertaining , uncritical documentary looks at a visionary director 's quest to create the ultimate film from frank herbert 's novel .",
      "jodorowsky is a mesmerizing presence in director frank pavich 's engrossing picture . he was 84 when much of it was shot .",
      "` if you fail , it 's not important . we need to try . '",
      "the most enjoyable behind-the-scenes look at moviemaking to come along in ages . it 's even better because it 's about a movie that never was .",
      "somehow more inspiring than disappointing , this account of alejandro jodorowsky 's doomed effort to bring dune to the big screen still manages to be a testament to artistic insanity and tenacity .",
      "this affectionate documentary from director frank pavich tells the story of that lost film , offering copious storyboards and conceptual art , and yet it wisely makes the lively 80-something jodorowsky the centerpiece .",
      "jodorowsky 's dune may be indulgent , slightly made and steeped in idolatry in its ode to the imagination , but as wild stories unravel , it swiftly becomes apparent that no other approach would have been possible .",
      "jodorowsky 's dune ends up somewhere between the haunting imagery of missed opportunities and a long lunch with a chipper cult leader happy to explain what you missed .",
      "even if jodorowsky 's movie never got made , his wide-eyed belief in the medium is refreshing in an age when cinema 's possibilities feel frustratingly limited .",
      "from star wars to alien to blade runner , without jodorowsky who knows what science-fiction would look like today .",
      "herbert 's tale is twisted into a barely recognizable rush of pretentions made entertaining by jodorowsky 's glee in describing them . at age 85 he remains a madman with immense personality .",
      "when is a failure not a failure ? this is n't a riddle or a trick question , but rather the unique scenario we 're compelled to ponder while watching jodorowsky 's dune .",
      "not just for fanboys , the documentary is both an entertaining portrait of a unique pop-culture endeavor and an ebullient salute to the creative spirit .",
      "pavich shows us many images from the storyboard , and even treats some to a simple form of animation to suggest how the movie might have looked ."
    ],
    "summary": "part thoughtful tribute , part bittersweet reminder of a missed opportunity , jodorowsky 's dune offers a fascinating look at a lost sci-fi legend .",
    "id": "771356045"
  },
  {
    "movie": "short_term_12_2013",
    "reviews": [
      "do n't be put off by its forgettable title . MOV is a deeply memorable film .",
      "if something smells false at all , it 's the structure .",
      "it 's one of the best and most humane movies of the year .",
      "this surprising little sleeper will give you more big feelings in its first 15 minutes than every one of last summer 's blockbusters combined .",
      "full of humanity and compassion and populated by rich characters , this is a soothing balm after a steady diet of raucous , bombastic fare .",
      "deals honestly with very real issues",
      "an indie production that puts most mainstream hollywood teen dramas to shame .",
      "MOV is graced by an elegant simplicity and honesty that makes it one of the best films of the year .",
      "in lesser hands ... could easily have become a tearjerker , but it neatly sidesteps the trap to remain truthful and affecting .",
      "`` MOV '' is the kind of teen-oriented movie that 's often dismissed as an `` after-school special , '' but thanks to a nimble young cast it 's frequently better than that .",
      "a sensitive and well-acted drama about a wounded healer and the challenges she faces in her work with troubled kids and in her own psyche from the pain of the past .",
      "in showing us all the richness and tenderness and passion that 's possible in young lives that have pretty much been discarded by ordinary society , cretton invites us - in the kindest possible spirit ! - to question our own privilege .",
      "the entire cast , including newcomer alex calloway , comes together under cretton 's direction to immerse us in this heartbreaking yet hopeful world . `` MOV '' is a small yet significant miracle .",
      "the film is a quiet sensation .",
      "`` MOV '' is a small wonder , a film of exceptional naturalness and empathy that takes material about troubled teenagers and young adults that could have been generic and turns it into something moving and intimate .",
      "what 's refreshing about this drama is that it bows neither to the stereotype of a horrifying institution , ŕ la one flew over the cuckoo 's nest , or a syrupy tale of a problem teen who undergoes a dramatic transformation .",
      "cretton needs to realize that you do n't need to hit your audience over the head repeatedly with emotional high notes . a few are fine , but if your characters are well-rounded , engaging , and acted with heart , then they 'll speak fine for themselves .",
      "the dominant style of the acting is naturalistic , but brie larson , operating in another realm , creates a marvelously complex heroine .",
      "even as the gathering melodramatic storms threaten to swamp this pungent slice of life , mr. cretton manages to earn your tears honestly .",
      "MOV wraps up with one of the most touchingly memorable last moments of any film this year . despite a title that 's hard to recall , this brief but resonant movie sticks with you .",
      "`` MOV '' is that rare movie gutsy enough to tell the truth about love : that it 's not a poetic longing or a magical-thinking happy ending , but a skill . and , the film suggests , we all have the capacity to learn it .",
      "it 's a lovely , tough-minded film .",
      "marvelous ensemble work , larson shines .",
      "... sidesteps cheap sentimentality to create a bittersweet yet heartwarming tale without any clear-cut heroes or villains .",
      "any director who sees `` MOV '' will want to cast larson in something . this movie puts her on the map .",
      "this is a film about hurt and healing , isolation and fear , need and rage - and it 's not just the motley , messed-up crew of 14 - and 15-year-olds who are trying to cope , trying to get better .",
      "a compact masterpiece of storytelling that brims equally with ambition and humility . it is , by a wide margin , the best film i have seen so far this year .",
      "tender , funny and real as a kick in the ribs .",
      "there are any number of ways that cretton could have made this material precious or sentimental , but he honors the story by forcing us to come to the characters rather than by underlining everything with close-ups and obvious musical cues .",
      "bring tissues if you 're prone to cry . `` MOV '' will sneak up on you at unexpected moments .",
      "a monumental work of compassion",
      "MOV offers the most concrete proof yet that brie larson will be with us long-term .",
      "an unexpectedly moving character study about welfare and painful upbringings .",
      "there 's an ` american ' quality to its social conscience that i can not recall perceiving in any other recent film .",
      "MOV is the kind of cinematic rollercoaster that will make your heart swell one moment and leave you in tears the next . it 's simply unmissable .",
      "MOV hits hard at times , yet despite its potentially melodramatic subject matter , never once feels manipulative or overwrought .",
      "a gripping and often compelling character study and a wonderful human drama .",
      "it 's hilarious , it 's sad , it 's anger-inducing , it 's warm .",
      "sufferers of ` stendhal syndrome ' - that singularly wonderful and hopelessly human disorder in which people confronted with particularly beautiful artworks become dizzy and often faint - beware .",
      "a powerful and passionate film that presents its flawed characters in an honest and heartbreaking fashion that will be hard to forget .",
      "a heartrending , heartwarming & authentic portrait of life at a foster care facility",
      "it 's one of those performances , like elizabeth olsen in `` martha marcy may marlene , '' where a young actress comes seemingly out of nowhere and becomes indelible .",
      "there is no way i ought to have liked this movie -- yet i kind of loved it .",
      "takes a good whack at exploring the difficulties in treating an at-risk ward of short-term foster-care teenagers .",
      "a breakout role that will earn an oscar nod if there 's any justice .",
      "the unembellished emotional honesty conveyed in the indie drama MOV is so expertly handled that it carries the viewer past any hesitations harbored regarding the film 's overly familiar storyline .",
      "appealingly people-driven , assuming that watching decent human beings strive to be their best selves is inherently interesting and worthwhile .",
      "`` MOV '' is a sly wonder of a film . it brings you into its unique world and then slowly reveals its characters , letting them unfold gradually , organically .",
      "writer-director destin daniel cretton wrings some effective drama from the group home 's day-to-day routine . but it 's larson who shines as the caring but emotionally bruised grace .",
      "the movie has an authenticity and intensity that derives from excellent performances by its young cast and a script that never panders to its characters or the audience .",
      "MOV emerges out of nowhere and blindsides you in a way few movies could ever hope to .",
      "affecting drama about troubled kids is a breakout for brie larson without losing its ensemble balance .",
      "larson 's performance is something of a quiet revelation , and the same could be said of the film itself .",
      "we all want movies to make us feel things . we just need to know we can trust them with our feelings , and MOV earns our trust and then delivers the emotion .",
      "MOV ' is a must-see for cineastes wanting to catch filmmakers and a cast on the verge of great things .",
      "there 's tremendous dramatic value to the aching and sometimes devastating scenes that home in on these kids ' private torments .",
      "subtly inverting the story 's point of view , cretton sees his protagonists through the eyes of the teens and gets to the ineffable core of trust .",
      "cretton 's screenplay pulls off a tricky balance of imbuing its story with emotional weight while not coming across as cloying in the process . the situation is inherently dramatic , but the filmmaker complicates it with characters worth rooting for .",
      "MOV is a film about scars , some physical , others emotional , but all examined with a sensitivity and understanding that cuts deep .",
      "the performances that are the beating heart of the film are revelatory , real announcements regarding actors i hope to see much more from in years to come .",
      "honest and striking , this is a drama that will have audiences simultaneously laughing and crying .",
      "MOV captures the complex rhythms of institutional life -- for worker and inhabitant -- while weaving the story of grace 's journey through anguish toward , we hope , happiness .",
      "in a film full of humane performances , larson stands out , personifying the necessary vulnerability and strength cretton captures of the workplace .",
      "it 's one of the best movies of the year and one of the truest portrayals i 've ever seen about troubled teens and the people who dedicate their lives to trying to help them .",
      "brutally honest , beautifully hopeful",
      "-lsb- q -rsb- uite remarkably , even in the face of the trauma and rage and despair of its characters , MOV remains hopeful .",
      "`` MOV '' may sound like confinement , but it 's a redemptive and even funny film that invites us to stay and grow .",
      "a beautiful effort that refuses the lure of cheap sentiment , electing to fashion characters worth inspection , feeling around the woe and frustration that informs each one of these superbly scripted personalities .",
      "difficult to describe without it sounding manipulative or melodramatic but i 'll do my best . trust me when i tell you that this is one of the best films you 'll see all year . it 's pure , true , and remarkably moving .",
      "it 's a remarkable film .",
      "with the exception of a clichéd plot device , MOV is a tough but charming movie that is full of raw emotion and features a star-making performance from brie larson .",
      "we go to the movies for discoveries like this , an authentic masterpiece that stands out because of old-fashioned tenets such as terrific directing and acting .",
      "in portraying a wide range of attitudes and experiences writer-director cretton never strikes a false note ; if anything , you could almost be fooled into believing this is a fly-on-the-wall documentary .",
      "rehab movies nearly always make me cringe , as if the audience needs to take medicine , as if hope needs to be force fed . MOV , an exceptional film in every way , breaks the mold .",
      "`` MOV '' comes from a place of delicate and truthful understatement , which allows the humanity and decency of its characters-and , yes , the lessons-to shine through naturally .",
      "from the get-go , the movie has you , anchoring you down to its sad and beautiful world and demanding that you carry with you all of the incredible thoughts and feelings it has to offer .",
      "ultimately , it 's because of what goes unsaid in the film that its various onscreen relationships feel authentic and lived in .",
      "it 's a serious drama with warm , sometimes funny edges , made with an understated sense of craft .",
      "when MOV reaches its last scene , the lump it leaves in your throat feels earned .",
      "cretton pulls off a tricky balancing act in `` MOV , '' which could easily have become a colossal downer if played to melodramatic excess .",
      "the best indie of the year . brie larson gives a career-making performance .",
      "a barnstorming performance from brie larson is the reason to see this bittersweet drama of damaged teens .",
      "the film succeeds by its simple storytelling technique - no explosions , no sweeping music signaling emotional peaks , no big reveals . it 's just unsuperhumans ... hoping to scratch out some joy and ward off the shadow of loneliness .",
      "well intentioned , but somehow inauthentic .",
      "larson is one to watch .",
      "MOV wants to shine a light on these under-paid , under-valued figures and cheats , just a little , to get the job done .",
      "somewhat slighter than the festival raves would have you expect , destin cretton 's indie flick is nonetheless a wholly affecting , gently nuanced drama - and a portfolio piece for rising star brie larson .",
      "MOV thrives on the dangerous chemistry between its young , talented actors .",
      "as a stepping stone for both larson and cretton , it leaves you tantalised as to what they 'll do next .",
      "despite the heavy subject matter , the film never bogs down into the daily grief it depicts , but maintains a jaunty current of humor that counterbalances its melodramatic content .",
      "the kids are sensitively drawn , if a little pick-and-mix in terms of their issues and ethnicities , and the whole movie breathes with kindness and intelligence .",
      "cretton is able to leap tall towers of everyday humour and humanity and then suddenly drop you into a pit of total , gut-wrenching sadness in a single bound .",
      "MOV is cinema at its most compassionate , vulnerable , and human .",
      "here is a movie overflowing with compassion , warmth and good humor .",
      "larson delivers one of the great performances of 2013 .",
      "it 's a wild , unruly mess of rampant emotions , and yes , some of them are painful , but there 's a great deal of warmth and love here too . it 's a truly wonderful movie .",
      "raw , intense , human and absorbing .",
      "brie larson is superb in this brilliant exploration of life in a short term care facility where troubled teens try to find a way to survive in the care of compassionate men and women .",
      "... the best film of 2013 so far . ... it will devastate you without warning and break your heart , all while showing you how to move on and feel hopeful again ...",
      "short is all nuanced performances bathed in sumptuous californian sunlight : its realism is reflected in its lo-fi aesthetic and naturalistic cinematography .",
      "a heartbreaking drama about the lingering affects of childhood abuse and neglect , even under the best of curative circumstances .",
      "human drama does n't get much better treatment in the movies than this enormously affecting and beautifully acted independent film . a masterpiece .",
      "i know , it sounds like one of those earnest inspirational good-hygiene movies . on one level , it is . but the exchanges are electric .",
      "heartrending troubled-teen drama explores heavy themes .",
      "this is a small film about a society of castoffs , and while it 's beautifully acted and often moving , it 's also predictable , because it keeps wresting itself into familiar forms .",
      "an authentic drama couched in character that never stoops to manipulation .",
      "it could have been smug , exploitative or politically self-righteous but it 's none - it 's one of the year 's most powerful films .",
      "an emotionally authentic examination of the lives of those who live in and work at a children 's home where the lines between the inhabitants and the caretakers is n't as clear as one might suppose .",
      "this movie has the dash and esprit of service comedies like mash and the harrowing emotions of misunderstood youth films like the 400 blows .",
      "it has the intimacy of a documentary so that the solid , assured narrative structure sneaks up on you .",
      "MOV will remind you why you like movies . it tells a beautiful story , brings to life vivid and real characters , and will leave you breathless but undoubtedly still smiling .",
      "along the way all the characters ' stories seamlessly and elegantly ripple into each other to form conclusions that contradict current social and political tendencies and movements that promote alienation and detachment .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- sincere and heartening american indie set in short term accommodation for displaced children .",
      "this is a walk through familiar territory , but it wins you over step by step .",
      "there are perceptive scenes and abrasive moments . but there 's also a soapy need to launder every problem into a happy or `` closured '' denouement .",
      "the lead character 's called grace , but do n't be put off : cretton 's tough-love snapshot of shattered youth is achingly moving rather than manipulative or mawkish .",
      "there are no star names here but there are star turns , most notably from brie larson ...",
      "MOV is a miracle of a movie . beautifully written and perfectly played , all of human life is here : the good , the bad , the messy and the uplifting .",
      "there 's heart , soul and personality to burn in ` MOV ' ... but this is a film that , like many of its young characters , desperately needs to calm down .",
      "a rollercoaster of emotions , bringing so much passion , energy , and creativity to the screen , MOV is absolutely a must-see film of the year .",
      "set inside a group home for troubled teenagers , this film proceeds with seemingly unforced naturalism to tell stories about ordinary lives whose problems unfold into understanding rather than melodrama",
      "MOV strikes a delicate balance between emotional turbulence and artful understatement .",
      "the situation has a built-in heartbreak , but cretton does n't milk it . instead , he lets each character strike a note of lived-in reality that is rarely found on screen .",
      "just a beautiful film and a real crowd pleaser .",
      "larson , in particular , does wonders with a character who in other hands could easily have come across as overly earnest , even saccharine ... it 's a superb performance that deserved a more credible , less jerry-rigged context .",
      "easily one of the best films so far this year , it 's a nearly perfect blend of pimple-faced naturalism , righteous moral fury , nuanced social insight , and unsentimental but devastating drama .",
      "independent dramas do n't come any better conceived or executed than this impressive debut outing from writer-director destin daniel cretton .",
      "you 'd have to go back to half nelson to find such a beautifully organic combo of spot-on performances , tough-love storytelling and tender treatment of deep-rooted emotional damage .",
      "i do n't expect to see a better film this year than MOV .",
      "acclaimed at film festivals - this is a sensitive , poignant and distressing drama about troubled adolescents .",
      "a naturalistic look at troubled adolescents and the staff people who treat them .",
      "set in a foster-care facility outside of san francisco , this independent drama is vivid and heartfelt in its depiction of social work , at times recalling some of frederick wiseman 's great documentary portraits .",
      "... an engaging , emotional little drama that bodes well for cretton 's future endeavors .",
      "if we 're lucky -- if the tides are right and the winds are calm -- we might get one or two movies a year as good as MOV .",
      "MOV will having you laughing one minute and tearing up in the next .",
      "there are so many pitfalls , and it seems like every tv movie version of the story falls into all of them at the same time . but in MOV , writer-director destin cretton manages to skillfully step over all of them .",
      "sacramento native brie larson gives one of the best performances of the year in MOV , an affecting drama from writer-director dustin cretton .",
      "it 's often heartbreaking , but ultimately the film takes us to a truthful yet positive conclusion",
      "while the topics are serious and the film heartfelt as it provides a genuine insight into troubled lives , there is a surprising lightness about much of the experience , making the bitter-sweet journey all the more rewarding",
      "brie larson is very impressive as the caring , funny supervisor whose own demons threaten to engulf her .",
      "the performances , too , are uniformly splendid , especially from brie larson as grace and john gallagher as mason .",
      "incidents seem more idealized than authentic",
      "documentary-style authenticity gives this understated drama a real kick as it explores the fallout of child abuse from an angle we 'd never expect .",
      "the acting is very good in this film and the screenplay is powerful . it is evident this is a low budget movie , but it works very well despite its production limitations . this is one of the best films i 've seen this year .",
      "brie larson -lrb- 21 jump street -rrb- is outstanding in the leading , tripled-edged role of grace .",
      "a wonderfully authentic film about the families built from the fragments of broken homes",
      "at times MOV seems uncertain where it 's going , but this matches the circumstances of both staff and residents .",
      "cretton is not afraid to be uncool ; he embraces the strong emotions that scare some indie filmmakers and that scar -- in some cases literally -- his young characters . the result is a movie that is passionate , compassionate and has the ring of truth .",
      "the film 's climax feels a little rushed and overwrought , but the movie 's real resonance is its exploration of empathy and vocation .",
      "crettin 's script delivers warm , humorous dialogue and his direction a wealth of naturalistic performances , chief among them larson 's understated , incandescent turn as grace .",
      "there 's a hilariously scatological tale told at the beginning , a sweetly uplifting one at the end , and in the middle a parable about a lonely octopus that may be the most heartbreaking thing you 'll hear all year ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is an emphatic , revealing drama that pulls audiences into the perspective of neglected youths .",
    "id": "771351766"
  },
  {
    "movie": "beauty_and_the_beast_1991",
    "reviews": [
      "the best of all the disney cartoons",
      "some of the film 's ideas , which are both campy and subtle , may not be kids ' stuff , but like all good movies , disney 's enchanting fairy tale operates on many different levels and thus can be enjoyed by viewers of all ages .",
      "has a power to enchant that all the flying monsters and magic broom rides in the world ca n't touch .",
      "belle is so decidedly positive in every regard , so simplistically shaped to meet the desires of all audience members -lrb- both dreamy little girls and feminist objectors -rrb- , that she ultimately fails as a character",
      "the animation for the set pieces is excellent , lansbury 's fussy teapot takes top honours in the vocal performances and the musical numbers by ashman and menken are n't too schmaltzy .",
      "its animators ' pens are wands ; their movement enchants .",
      "a uniquely elegant and entertaining mix of hand-drawn classicism and high-tech innovation .",
      "a dramatic , comic , exciting , suspenseful , joyous , and robustly magical adventure that has the bracing feel of a 3-d movie at times and approaches sensory overload .",
      "she falls for a hot-tempered manimal , but is it any coincidence that he showers her with gifts the whole time ?",
      "the entrancing , enthralling MOV remains a true cinematic treat .",
      "as far as `` classic disney , '' MOV pretty much has it all . y' know , for kids . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "at the intersection of great animated films , great filmed stage musicals , and great fairy-tale romances , disney 's MOV stands alone ... the quintessential disney masterpiece .",
      "... an above average -lrb- yet far-from-flawless -rrb- animated endeavor .",
      "with its strong characters and lively storytelling , animated or not , this deserves its place alongside the cinema greats .",
      "MOV is one of the year ` s most entertaining films for both adults and children .",
      "this is n't merely the best of the princess features ; it 's very close to being the best disney movie of them all .",
      "a classic story of redemption , love , purity and friendship - a film worthy of our love and attention .",
      "this beloved 1991 film has never looked better , and seems even more magical in blu-ray .",
      "it is a surprise , in a time of sequels and retreads , that the new film is so fresh and altogether triumphant in its own right .",
      "despite some excessive narrative streamlining , this 1991 release was the best disney animated feature in years , full of charm and humor .",
      "better remembered than seen , MOV has been treated unkindly not just by the years that have passed since it was released to enormous acclaim in 1991 , but by a faddish 3d conversion .",
      "MOV looks beautiful and is sure to entertain , but this experience is superfluous at best-it was already a three-dimensional story long before these new technics .",
      "3d does n't downplay the inherent artistry of the effort , but it does n't enhance anything outside of ticket prices .",
      "and it is a joy to revisit the timeless pleasures of traditional disney storytelling , with no attempts to add sizzle from celebrity voice talent or radio-friendly pop songs .",
      "some youthful memories are better not revisited , but this definitely is n't one of them . sometimes you can go home again .",
      "the 3-d pops out to enhance the drama or energy of scenes in which settings are large and integral to the action .",
      "it 's less a whole new experience than a slightly different one and the main reason for seeing it is n't the newly immersive effects but the profound awesomeness of the original movie . it still gets you .",
      "the set pieces are narcotically pleasing , especially the busby berkeley-style dancing-kitchenware spectacular , `` be our guest , '' and the romantic ballroom centerpiece that brings beauty and her beast together .",
      "the ultimate makeover story has strong , positive messages .",
      "the 3d is unnecessary - but it does n't spoil the fun of MOV .",
      "MOV is just as enchanting 20 years after its initial release .",
      "the apex of an art form , a justly celebrated classic , and the best animated movie of any sort ever put on screen at any time .",
      "the lines have begun to show in belle 's tale , which remains enjoyable but feels more like a quaint artifact than the masterpiece it once was declared to be .",
      "both tangled ever after and MOV are sure to enthrall audiences everywhere , even if the 3d does n't really add much of anything to this animated classic .",
      "disney , please understand ... what people are actually showing up for ... they just want to see classic disney on the big screen . the 3d is incidental .",
      "disney 's gorgeous 1991 animated version of the classic fairy tale `` MOV '' gets the same 3d treatment that was recently given to `` the lion king . ''",
      "watching this in a theater definitely makes it feel less like a `` cartoon '' and more like a significant film . cogsworth poking le fou in the butt with a sword aside .",
      "one of the brightest jewels in disney 's crown , MOV 's 3d reissue takes nothing away and makes the film 's brilliance even easier to appreciate ; the movie is more beautiful and timeless than it ever was .",
      "a serviceable version of a classic fairy tale minus that crucial touch of magic .",
      "what you gain in an extra , faked dimension you lose in lively , genuine beauty .",
      "the scenes , characters and songs attempt to duplicate the success of mermaid all too obviously .",
      "splendidly crafted as it is , the new disney is a luscious impasto of visual invention that never quite finds its heart .",
      "if you do n't have kids , go anyway .",
      "there is plenty of suspense , comedy and wonderful music to keep everyone entertained .",
      "this is the only animated film ever nominated for a best picture oscar , and you 'll see why .",
      "it may be a cliché to call a fairy tale enchanting , but no other adjective suffices as the film still has the wit , slapstick , and romance to enrapture children and adults alike .",
      "the new version is amazingly sharp with backgrounds that look like impressionist paintings .",
      "an absolute , unqualified delight , without a weak stretch or an unwanted second .",
      "a delightfully satisfying modern fable , a near-masterpiece that draws on the sublime traditions of the past while remaining completely in sync with the sensibility of its time .",
      "slipped around all my roadblocks and penetrated directly into my strongest childhood memories , in which animation looked more real than live-action features .",
      "a thing of beauty for our kids , something they deserve .",
      "not only the finest animated movie ever made , but deserves a prominent position on any list of all-time greats .",
      "pure fairytale escapism that does n't boast any digital trickery , celebrity voiceovers or unnecessary action .",
      "the 3d revival sees this witty , dramatically inventive version of a familiar story wearing well .",
      "there 's no doubting the craftsmanlike elegance of the film , summoning up with relish the spirit of classic fairytale disney of the 50s and 60s ...",
      "disney 's most perfectly achieved combination of animation , story-telling and song must surely be this loving tribute to the old fairytale .",
      "magic .",
      "unsubtle perhaps , but never fails to hit the right notes .",
      "the greatest animated film ever made and one of the screen 's great musicals hardly needs this -lrb- 3d -rrb- sort of sprucing up .",
      "reaches a level of artistry , sophistication and musical excellence that 's still to be bettered by the mouse house - or indeed its rivals .",
      "i admit it : i wrote this more than 20 years ago . but , like '' MOV '' itself , i think it stands the test of time .",
      "a lovely film that ranks with the best of disney 's animated classics .",
      "entirely captivating from beginning to end -- interview w/director kirk wise .",
      "simply one of the best films ever made , animated or otherwise .",
      "remains a near-perfect film , the second best disney film after 1941 's dumbo .",
      "for once , the disney hyperbole was right -- the film is , indeed , a timeless cinema classic .",
      "a sporadically brilliant escape that at times stops to preen and pose , like that he-man lout gaston .",
      "in the imax format , the introduction of the beast 's castle has a breathtaking 3-d effect . and throughout the film , you see textures and details you never noticed .",
      "brims with charm , style , and flawless execution that does n't feel the least bit dated by subsequent technological advancements .",
      "it 's not an especially scary movie , but right from the start , you can tell that this MOV has a beauty of a bite .",
      "still holds up well after being around 10 years .",
      "it 's a pleasure to see `` MOV '' again in a theater with an audience that laughs and cries , but most of those pleasures would be just as evident in a conventional presentation .",
      "it 's cartoon cocteau , but just look at the children 's faces as they watch it .",
      "just like the little mermaid a couple of years ago , it blends child-pleasing characters and plot twists with jokes and musical styles that clearly have older spectators in mind .",
      "it is a wondrous love story unsparing in its sentiment .",
      "it 's exceptionally difficult to make an audience care for animated characters unless they 're mermaids or anthropomorphized animals or insects , yet the disney animators , with a big assist from the vocal talents of a superb cast , have pulled it off .",
      "it 's got storytelling vigor and clarity , bright , eclectic animation , and a frisky musical wit .",
      "at once enchanting and emboldening ...",
      "it is the most dynamic animated film ever made , and the prance of its camera , the sense of penetration into its action , the brilliantly paced editing pyrotechnics give it a crackle of life far more abundant than any feature that 's come before .",
      "once again , love will redeem the beast , and beauty 's dancing clocks and singing teacups will blend marvelously with the tintinnabulation of bells this holiday season .",
      "remains as wondrous and beautiful as ever .",
      "MOV is certainly adequate holiday entertainment for children and their more indulgent parents ... but the film has little of the technical facility , vivid characterization and emotional impact of disney past .",
      "does the imax version work ? for the most part , it does .",
      "MOV will entertain generations to come and enter the archives of disney 's classic stories .",
      "ten years later , it 's still flawed and still quite fascinating .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- great film ...",
      "on a normal-sized screen , and even on video on a television , MOV is n't merely one of the best animated movies ever made , it 's one of the best movies ever made , period .",
      "many scenes can stand by themselves as paintings",
      "this beaut 's worth it just to revisit a time when disney knew how to make good animated films without its pixar crutch .",
      "there 's still room in this world for innocent love stories -- and tales as old as time .",
      "a nostalgic feast , drawing shamelessly on the best traditions of screen animation and american musical theater and film . thoroughly derivative but thoroughly charming .",
      "there 's enough wit and ingenuity in roger allers 's story and howard ashman and alan menken 's songs to give the cgi whizzkids a run for their money .",
      "the classic story of a bewitched prince who can only be saved by true love works as a wonderful genre romance , and the characters are uniformly imaginative and charming .",
      "the finest disney feature-length animated musical ever made",
      "the artistry of the animators , who combined traditional painting with computer-generated images , stands up to the best that the disney empire ever produced .",
      "a must own for any dvd collector .",
      "... filled with charm , wit , romance , humor , and plenty of songs and music .",
      "not quite the masterpiece we once thought .",
      "the tale 's as old as time , but MOV has gotten somewhat banal .",
      "it 's academic pop art , overblown but zestless , a cartoon cathedral with all the spiritual feeling of a little golden book .",
      "revoke my cynic badge if you must , but i say this one comes real close to the disney classics of yore . -lrb- i said `` close ! '' -rrb-",
      "una obra maestra que los hará reír , llorar , emocionarse y pensar que la vida , aunque solo sea por unos momentos , es maravillosa ."
    ],
    "summary": "enchanting , sweepingly romantic , and featuring plenty of wonderful musical numbers , MOV is one of disney 's most elegant animated offerings .",
    "id": "9980"
  },
  {
    "movie": "pokemon-the-first-movie-mewtwo-vs-mew",
    "reviews": [
      "would it have been too much to ask for just a tiny bit of interest for the grown-ups ?",
      "the wisdom of putting bad experiences behind us never rang more true than after viewing this movie . avoiding it though , may be impossible , so be prepared .",
      "disney 's wild , creative but beautifully-controlled set-pieces , eccentric memorable characters , and sheer rush of colour tower over anything on offer here .",
      "if you do n't mind plunking your kids down in front of a 90-minute commerical , go nuts .",
      "with its undertones of slavery and cockfighting , pokémon '' may have the most unsavory premise ever for children 's entertainment .",
      "unfortunately , dear grown-ups , no end to the pokémon invasion seems imminent .",
      "probably too verbose to significantly influence the target audience .",
      "the film is baffling , amateur and somewhat contradictory about violence .",
      "just because something makes money does n't mean that it is good .",
      "the kiddies in the audience were enthralled by every minute of it .",
      "this japanese film 's free will philosophy is in stark contrast to the determinism that seems to be running rampant in today 's hollywood films .",
      "a lot has been written about the admirable lessons that pokemon teaches children about responsibility , teamwork and obedience . but some unfortunate messages are being sent as well .",
      "a shameless plug for pokemon merchandise ? you betcha .",
      "with intentionally stilted animation , uninspired music and lame jokes , pokemon is basically an ultralong version of the phenomenon 's own boring tv ` toon .",
      "70 minutes of irritation .",
      "for the legions of pokemon fans , the film gives them everything they crave and more .",
      "this is a movie that knows its audience .",
      "grossly offensive .",
      "pokemon is a quality example of the genre , and it is indeed one of the most successful anime shows ever .",
      "even the kindergarten target audience will be hard-pressed to sit still for this elementary and lumbering saturday morning reject adventure .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- overreaching , hypocritical mess .",
      "pokemon is more of a worldwide phenomenon than a movie .",
      "pokemon is n't even good animation , unless the standard of measure is the crude lcd graphics of a game boy .",
      "i feel your pain .",
      "this is little more than a promotional effort to draw kids to the theater to get a free card and then encourage them to buy more of the newly introduced characters .",
      "the animation is relatively bare-bones and often shoddy . it assumes its audience 's preknowledge of the concept and characters , and explains nothing .",
      "it 's so bad , i begged the projectionist to show me the haunting instead .",
      "pokemon has opened up another front in an unrelenting campaign to bankrupt parents around the world .",
      "my name is bob , and i am a father who is very afraid .",
      "pokemon is an ugly , cheaply made , witless , punily voiced movie .",
      "it makes the star wars mythos play like pong .",
      "adults may cringe at the preachy heavy-handedness and the extremely limited motion animation that sets the art form back a couple of generations .",
      "for pokemon fans ? give it a shot .",
      "the animation is crude , and there 's certainly not much depth to the storyline or the characters .",
      "the problem is not the violence , the standard abrasion static found in video games and juvenile tv . it is the lack of ideas , the paucity of story flow and dramatic imagination , the sterile , vacuum-packed cartooning ` directed ' by kunihiko yuyama .",
      "every generation of children has some hideously annoying cartoon series to provide parents with much agonizing and many , many buying opportunities .",
      "i 'm about forty years too old to take this movie seriously . or even understand it .",
      "violent and dark -- and even a bit disturbing , especially for what 's supposed to be a g-rated film .",
      "there 's all sorts of fighting between pokemon -lrb- pokemonesians ? -rrb- that goes on . no one ever seems to get hurt , but then there 's the obligatory ` violence begets violence ' homily at the end . give me a break .",
      "a dull , crudely animated pokemon byproduct .",
      "not only does pokemon -- the first movie threaten to strike again with the sequel-readiness of its title , but the overlong 89-minute opus aims to thrill tykes by being slightly less than adorable -- meaning you should n't trust these creatures any f",
      "for the record , it is n't terrible . it 's far from a milestone in japanese animation , and not an especially memorable entertainment . yet it does n't try to be either of those things .",
      "the film moves along slower than a snail going uphill after taking seconal .",
      "you may not want to deny your children the pleasure of seeing it , but there 's no reason whatsoever that you ca n't try to spare yourself from the ordeal .",
      "there are only two explanations for why anyone would make pokemon : the first movie : alien abduction or drugs .",
      "there is n't a moment of wonder or poetry in its very long 69 minutes .",
      "i shudder at the thought of several sequels to this flick .",
      "my baseline for boredom had been standing in line to renew my automobile registration . but now , thanks to this pokemon film , i have a brand-new baseline .",
      "the first half of the movie is filled with mystery , danger , and excitement . unfortunately , heavy moral overtones start creeping in midway through the movie .",
      "an incoherent hodgepodge of bad animation , cartoonish violence and heavy-handed pronouncements .",
      "even some children will eventually grow restless with the flat , unimaginative drawings and bland light-rock soundtrack",
      "strictly a kids ' movie .",
      "heart is something sadly lacking in pokemon : the first movie .",
      "the movie 's slim charms are such that they are unlikely to convert many adults to the cult .",
      "the story is a humourless retread of a bond-style world domination yarn with a frankenstein theme .",
      "excruciating to endure .",
      "it would be nice to think that ` the kids ' would take on board the heavy-handed moral messages , but more likely they 'll be looking out for new pokémon to collect , therefore fulfilling nintendo 's merchandising dream .",
      "the repetitive plot is essentially a string of excuses for fantastical combat sequences , but somehow several characters ' insistence that violence is bad does n't come off as hypocritical .",
      "this pacifist spirit of brotherhood echoes the heroics in princess mononoke and other anime titles , but the artistic gap between the miyazaki masterpiece and this project is huge .",
      "if you 're over 10 years old i have four words for you : see princess mononoke instead .",
      "abysmally bad .",
      "amazingly , it 's all more watchable than expected . ok , disney 's beauty and the beast it 's not .",
      "the movie may have been designed to shift pokémon product but it also comes down hard on the side of friendship , mutual respect and resourcefulness .",
      "the kids in the audience at my showing were certainly enthralled , and i only fell asleep twice .",
      "in the tradition of such drivel as ` the care bears movie ' and ` teenage mutant ninja turtles , ' it 's essentially a commercial disguised as a feature film .",
      "the japanese animation is beautiful , and the script adaptation for the english-speaking audience is well-paced , clever , and absorbing enough to keep parents from squirming .",
      "it 's just a sound-and-light show , linked to the marketing push for pokemon in general .",
      "the values of pokemon 's protagonist have tapped into the unconscious of a generation that compulsively watches the show and codifies its critters without really knowing why",
      "spending 95 minutes with the slight antics of pikachu , ash and the gang may seem like an eternity .",
      "i 'm not sure how much of its so-bad-it 's - good appeal is intentional , and besides , much of it is boring and repetitive .",
      "movies like this make me cringe .",
      "kids will come away with the moral of the story : trust your heart . adults will just be happy to come away .",
      "the finale 's violence undermines the film 's much-trumpeted message that ` fighting is wrong . '",
      "there is a new definition of the term , ` critic-proof movie , ' and it goes by the name pokémon : the first movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "audiences other than children will find very little to entertain them .",
    "id": "9629"
  },
  {
    "movie": "eden_lake",
    "reviews": [
      "instead of deliverance 's deep backwoods hicks we have now backwoods chavs who live a life unscrutinised by cops or anyone . watkins has consumed all those tabloid hoodie tales and regurgitated a horror .",
      "you do n't watch it , you survive it . a battering experience , and the hardest brit horror in years .",
      "if it gets people talking about youth violence , class conflict and the gulf of social inequality in britain , then all the better - and if it does not , at least it will give them a frightening , albeit derivative , ride .",
      "has some seriously haunting themes torn right from the headlines , giving us something thoughtful to chew on . besides our fingernails .",
      "MOV : pursuit , persecution , violent death .",
      "daily mail scaremongering ? possibly . but formidably well-made , all the same .",
      "a solid horror thriller worthy of a watch , if only for its insight in to how easily the hive mentality can be formed , and how merciless it can be .",
      "works exceedingly well , and will probably stick in your gut for a little while .",
      "an effectively harrowing brit thriller-cum-horror pic whose yuppie protags ' weekend getaway runs violently afoul of the local youth .",
      "well acted , well directed , and totally intense , ` MOV ' is the best horror film to come out of the uk in years .",
      "a well acted , smartly directed horror flick that 's gory , disturbing , terrifying and topical .",
      "a gruelling , grimly effective british chiller .",
      "it is impossible not to admire the way watkins ratchets up the tension in his debut as director -lrb- he wrote my little eye -rrb- and keeps his tale strictly to 90 minutes .",
      "... while MOV is effective , something feels not quite right about cheering for prepubescent kids to get their fatal comeuppance .",
      "for all the brutality of the confrontation with knife-weilding , car-nicking local scum - think stanley knives gouging out tongues - it 's never far off ludicrous .",
      "dispiriting and unpleasant , a trip to MOV will leave most viewers feeling the need for a hot shower and a tetanus jab .",
      "it 's a claustrophobic marvel , and an impressive debut by watkins .",
      "this looks to me like the best british horror film in years : nasty , scary and tight as a drum .",
      "it 's not long before the claret starts to flow . and it wo n't be too long before you start eyeing the exit sign .",
      "it is not often that the sneak feels like walking out of a movie . but this exploitative , patronising and nauseatingly violent take on britain 's yob culture had your critic eyeing up the exit .",
      "frustratingly , there is potential in watkins ' claustrophobic , back-to-nature setting , but , in trying to play ` edgy ' with contemporary anxieties , his cooked-to-formula script merely sinks to the level of the gutter press exploiting those fears .",
      "it does n't fight shy of a truly frightening final twist , which makes it not only bleaker but also more truthful than virtually every other movie in this genre , which all too often is over-populated and under-humanised .",
      "the film 's one major fault is that reilly 's character repeatedly acts in ways that serve the plot , but which run contrary to rational human behaviour . by contrast , the shattering downbeat ending is well earned and genuinely shocking .",
      "so harsh , bleak and intense it achieves a level of raw power . a sordid little nightmare of contemporary england ."
    ],
    "summary": "a brutal and effective british hoodie-horror that , despite the clichés , stays on the right side of scary .",
    "id": "770781362"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_bands_visit",
    "reviews": [
      "both a soulful mood piece and beautiful exploration of cross-cultural communion .",
      "the israeli film that 's become celebrated for what it lacks -- enough hebrew to contend for the best foreign language oscar -- can now be seen and appreciated for what it has in abundance : visual wit , verbal charm and a completely droll sense of humor .",
      "the band 's visit , the first feature by the israeli writer and director eran kolirin , flirts recklessly with obviousness , cuteness too .",
      "kolirin does n't go for belly laughs . he prefers subtle , wry humor , much in the fashion of finland 's aki kaurismaki .",
      "a remote , israeli desert town is the setting for this droll , endearing comedy about an accidental cultural exchange that very quietly says some very important things about contemporary arab-israeli relations .",
      "with its attention to detail and careful , naturalistic performances , it 's a small slice of life .",
      "a deeply spiritual comedy about the bridge-making capacities of hospitality and the way music serves as universal language that draws people together .",
      "writer-director eran kolirin has a gentle touch , although the film is too self-consciously sentimental .",
      "fresh , funny and engaging , it 's a shame that a technicality disqualified it from oscar contention .",
      "eran kolirin 's uncommonly assured directorial debut hinges on its characters , and in ronit elkabetz as dina , and sasson gabai as tewfiq , he strikes cinematic gold .",
      "but not for nothing was it nominated for thirteen israeli academy awards , winning eight , including best screenplay , actor , actress , director , and picture .",
      "while kolirin clearly loves his characters , you can sense a general tone of condescension in the way they think and interact .",
      "a quiet , sympathetic film about the loneliness that surrounds us .",
      "this is one movie where words can do little justice to the quality of the film itself .",
      "kolirin 's writing conveys the poignancy and heartwarming touches that make this movie the triumph that it is .",
      "the band 's visit reveals that the strangest places are rich in dreams , joy and hope , and that strangers can share them .",
      "you can watch the band 's visit for its political idealism , or you can watch it for entertainment value alone . in either case , it does n't disappoint .",
      "these are characters the feel believable and are engaging .",
      "sunny and light . could have been much more if it had wanted to .",
      "director-writer eran kolirin creates some charming vignettes , ... little gems in a small , but sweet , movie .",
      "this may be a small film but it is almost perfectly formed and by no means just a pleasant work in a minor key .",
      "delightful comedy with a subtle script and charming performances from its three leads .",
      "even with the subtitles , the band 's visit is n't that far removed from a cbs tv movie ... at least it knows not to overstay its welcome .",
      "a tender , poignant allegory for arab-israeli tensions that never makes a single overt gesture toward articulating its larger concerns .",
      "if you stick with it , the story of the alexandria ceremonial police orchestra 's visit to the dusty nowheresville of beit hatikva -lrb- when they 're actually looking for petah tikva -rrb- has an irresistible tragic and romantic undertow .",
      "israeli filmmaker eran kolirin has made a sly and bewitching chamber comedy that underscores the decency of its characters while sidestepping the gooey , let 's - join-hands imperative of its premise .",
      "a little picture in the best sense of the term , it 's filled with small but telling moments and richly drawn characterizations .",
      "it has an elating lightness that belies its heavy subject -- peace , or at least conversation , in the middle east -- and it leaves you filled with a sense of possibility .",
      "this wry , quiet comedy takes an enjoyably askance look at israeli-arab relations , using a small , gentle story to say something extremely profound .",
      "a genuinely touching crowd-pleaser and a real treat .",
      "a truly lovely film , as patient and generous with its characters as viewers should be with its delicately latent politics and occasional over-love of eccentric tableaux .",
      "this modest little fable from israel , in english , hebrew and arabic , has spellbinding resonances , yet never breaks the spell by blowing its own horn .",
      "at moments , the movie is almost sentimental , but the performances save it every time .",
      "eran kolirin 's fish-out-of-water comedy-drama is a real treat , often funny and genuinely moving .",
      "there 's just one thing wrong with the band 's visit : it 's fiction , not a documentary . you want a story as warm as this to be real , because good news is scarce from the middle east .",
      "an inconsequential little movie that is worth seeing solely because of its touching and genuine characters .",
      "both a clever parable on the state of israeli/egyptian relations , as well as a surprisingly affectionate , amusing tale .",
      "if the great stone face himself were around today , this is the kind of narrative he might well find himself in the middle of .",
      "the film leaves us with the notion that music ; sweet simple notes arranged in brilliant order , is one language where even jews and arabs can find harmony",
      "when the band 's visit ends we feel refreshed and fulfilled .",
      "there are no major plot points or dramatic arcs in the band 's visit , but through its awkward pauses , there 's plenty of nuance and wry humour .",
      "funny , sweet and touching",
      "the band 's visit is a charming little drama that skirts sentimentality and manages to be a feel-good film without necessarily feeling very good .",
      "a film of exquisite charm , beauty , humor and humanity -- with some of the best performances you 're likely to encounter in some considerable time .",
      "the 34-year-old israeli director eran kolirin 's debut feature is a good one .",
      "the band 's visit has pathos , but it is also very funny .",
      "... there 's hardly a moment in this delightful movie that does n't ring with authentic human feeling .",
      "like no fish-out-of-water film in recent memory , it leaves you with the hope that these fish will find their way back to water , and maybe learn to share that puddle before the desert dries it up entirely .",
      "despite the cultural divide between arabs and israelis , subtract politics from the mix and their shared humanity shines through in eran kolirin 's gentle film .",
      "the formality and the deliberate pace suggest the influence of laurel and hardy and jacques tati ...",
      "when in doubt , strike up the band .",
      "pretty , resonant and utterly approachable as a gentle comedy , the band 's visit is conventionally low key .",
      "something marvelous happens as the filmmaker , in his first feature , expertly metes out small scenes of communication between people taught , for generations , to be wary of one another : this band swings with the rhythms of hope .",
      "tonally , the band 's visit steps gingerly on the line between ` sweetly humane ' and ` cloyingly quirky , ' but -lsb- director -rsb- kolirin pulls back the reins just enough , maintaining control by expressing as much with his framing as with his script .",
      "charming and touching ... gentle and soft-spoken , but it speaks volumes about the possibility of reconciliation in one of the most politically volatile regions of the world .",
      "the laughter , i think , comes from a recognition of the shape of our own regrets .",
      "music , as one would guess , plays a key part in giving the band 's visit its wholeness .",
      "just a few notches left of mediocrity .",
      "the band 's visit is a lovely first film from young israeli director eran kolirin that offers a middle eastern inflection on the bittersweet stylings of jim jarmusch and aki kaurismäki .",
      "the band 's visit resounds with tenderness and melancholy .",
      "one of the film 's prime strengths is its wordless willingness to let the principal characters express themselves through music and mime to overcome cultural barriers . -lsb- dvd -rsb-",
      "some of the humorous and touching explorations between the band and their hosts are predictable , but a sweet portrait of humanism amidst language and cultural confusion .",
      "those who like their comedy , romance , and tragedy in quiet doses should enjoy this textured story .",
      "this foreign film is a sweet , lower-than-low-key story of an egyptian police band that arrives in the wrong israeli town .",
      "filmmaker kolirin shows israelis what they 've been missing , and the rest of us what the middle east could be , in the gentle , human-scale antics of the confused egyptian band .",
      "-lsb- writer/director eran -rsb- kolirin finds bittersweet humor in the comedy of their melancholy lives and fumbling efforts at communication and common ground",
      "not so much a story about jews and arabs finding a way to get along as it is a nonpolitical story about people discovering the humanity in others , in all their scared , awkward beauty .",
      "a conventional humanistic parable that it is wise and graceful all the same",
      "what matters is the sense of exhilaration you take away with you .",
      "a witty , elegant and deeply affecting film .",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- kolirin wonderfully maintains an atmosphere of both humor and melancholy .",
      "the band 's visit blends gentle comedy and softly aching pathos into a low-key , deeply affecting wonder , a sort of alternate-universe version of aki kaurismki 's raucous 1989 hoot leningrad cowboys go america .",
      "the film succeeds because of the nuanced performances of its superb cast , and because of kolirin 's witty visual compositions .",
      "none of this is earth-shaking , but the band 's visit is n't meant to be . like a balloon , it 's short-lived and modest , but it brightens your spirits while it 's around .",
      "it is a small message , but a sincere one , about the solitude that separates us , and how the expression of this solitude can bring the unlikeliest of people together .",
      "sharply observed and agreeably acted , the band 's visit does n't soar to giddy heights , but it moves along and holds one 's attention .",
      "taking a premise that could give rise to either slapstick or hand-wringing , -lsb- director kolirin -rsb- produces a charming little film built of bits of music , romance , cultural conflict and the simple human need to connect .",
      "you expect the band 's visit to be a sweet little snapshot , a delightful and endearing culture-clash movie -- funny and poignant and human . and it is all those things . what 's surprising is how it manages to be just a bit more .",
      "a warm and delightful take on cross-cultural relations that proves that sometimes a light touch is just what 's needed to address serious topics .",
      "radiant and wise comedy of miscommunication .",
      "with luck , filmgoers who discover this gem about an egyptian police band stranded in a small israeli town will make it the must-see movie of the season .",
      "despite all its melancholy , the band 's visit is often quite humorous and warm , and its underlying message of common humanity is elegantly rendered .",
      "what a charming , laugh-out-loud little gem this is .",
      "one of the pleasant surprises at cannes fest this year and a highlight of israeli cinema , this subtle , wry comedy concerns initial culture clash and miscommunications but then better understanding , when an egyptian band lands in a remote israeli town .",
      "a gentle , unpretentious comedy that posits a why-can ` t-we-just-get-along approach to the arab-israeli conflict .",
      "in other hands this might have become a clumsy message movie , but the witty script , charming performances and playful direction make for pleasurable viewing .",
      "a modest , bitter-sweet charmer .",
      "sweet human comedy .",
      "with its themes of social displacement subtly and skilfully enmeshed within a pleasingly straightforward shaggy-dog narrative , this is one of those films that runs at you with open arms , and you 'll find it very difficult not to succumb .",
      "a heartfelt , wry and decidedly spry film .",
      "the kind of film that will appeal to patient viewers : charming , low-budget whimsy with a soupcon of political relevance . the music is lovely too .",
      "the band 's visit could easily have become a clunky message movie , but kolirin maintains a sure-handed balance of humour and heartache .",
      "eran kolirin 's insightful little film -- about a starched band of cop-musicians whose travel plans go awry -- is more than about what happens when ostensible enemies get to know each other .",
      "what a lovely first feature this is from israeli director eran kolirin , brief at a mere 80-plus minutes but never in a rush , never loud , always willing to wait for the emotion to bubble up quietly from the situation .",
      "there 's nothing subtle about the lesson in human-to-human detente in a sea of hostility . it 's a nice try , if a bit over-rated .",
      "every frame of this low-key delight is about foreignness .",
      "a sweet little film about the universality of loneliness , the band 's visit succeeds admirably whenever it does n't attempt to exceed its modest scope .",
      "the film 's sweetness , simplicity , and sincerity are hard to overstate , and probably impossible not to like .",
      "a drama about isolation and communication , the band 's visit is characterized both by strongly delineated characters and low-key comedy .",
      "the band 's visit is a charming and tender meditation on loneliness and the essential need for human connection .",
      "... a hopeful film that looks forward to the day when israelis and arabs are at peace and can focus on the little victories and setbacks of everyday life .",
      "in turns tender and awkward yet always with an eye towards the universal language of hope .",
      "it 's a small , profoundly satisfying movie that keeps echoing long after it 's over .",
      "elkabetz is splendid .",
      "arab-israeli relations get the warm fuzzy treatment in the band 's visit , a wonderfully appealing israeli film that should have been up for a foreign-language oscar .",
      "perhaps the band members have seen the movies she so loves , and in her eyes , imagine themselves as next generational approximations of omar sharif .",
      "we see bittersweet and beautiful emotions running throughout the film . these are spread from the small victories in human connection to the shared passion that the language of music conjures up .",
      "it 's beautiful and gentle and warm and a little silly , but in the best possible way ...",
      "it 'll be a long time before the image fades of members of the alexandria ceremonial police orchestra in their powder-blue regalia lining up formally as they struggle to maintain their dignity .",
      "it 's a film of subtleties ... delicate , but infinitely rewarding .",
      "this movie has a tone , look and mood all its own -- it 's a joyously bittersweet piece of visual music about isolation , melancholy and everyone 's yearning for transcendence , through love , art or both .",
      "kolirin has a fine sense of where to place the camera and when to cut between shots for maximum comic effect ."
    ],
    "summary": "the band 's visit is both a clever , subtle slice-of-life comedy , and poignant cross-cultural exploration .",
    "id": "770672006"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ponyo",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV is a visually arresting work by an anime master , and both cute enough and suspenseful enough to keep pre-schoolers in their seats .",
      "you watch a miyazaki film with the pie-eyed , gape-mouthed awe of a child being read the most fantastic story and suddenly transported to places previously beyond the limits of imagination . it 's quite a trip .",
      "MOV is memorable for the palpable glee of its protagonist -- a fish out of water who adores the feel of earth beneath her feet and loves her man .",
      "just as stop motion got a bump earlier in the year with coraline , MOV -lrb- already global hit , with $ 165 million box office to date -rrb- hopefully will bring back an appreciation for 2-d .",
      "miyazaki 's artwork can be lovely -- and the delicate , watery colors of MOV are particularly well done -- but he 's still a slave to the genre 's peculiar traditions .",
      "five minutes into this magical film you 'll be making lists of the individuals of every age you can expose to the very special mixture of fantasy and folklore , adventure and affection , that make up the enchanted vision of japanese director hayao miyazaki .",
      "trippy in the right way , and wholly enchanting .",
      "this exquisite pastel-colored , eye-popping example of hand-drawn animation is still very japanese , aimed most specifically at children around the world -- but with a storytelling sophistication that adults will savor .",
      "wondrous , weird , and sweetly innocent , MOV is a tale bursting with love , which is recommendation enough for the young and the young at heart .",
      "you get a psychedelic , visually stunning film with a japanese flavor , instead of one with pop culture flavor -lrb- and no talking dogs or balloons -rrb- .",
      "those who consider miyazaki a filmmaking master will probably consider this another one of his masterpieces .",
      "` MOV ' is a worthy piece of work from an artist who takes his work and his audience seriously .",
      "miyazaki works marvels . sit back and behold .",
      "miyazaki 's stunning adventure is geared to younger kids .",
      "sometimes it 's enough to just sit back and let a beautiful work of animation wash over you , letting the troubles of the world slide past as the pictures take you out of this world . MOV is just that sort of film .",
      "when the ocean rises in this wonderful movie , each leaping wave stares out at us with a baleful eye as if in watchful and worried wait .",
      "the type of glorious filmmaking and storytelling that should appeal to everyone ... a wonderful and magical film that should be seen and enjoyed as a family .",
      "hayao miyazaki proves that he is not only a master animator but also a master storyteller . MOV is easily one of the best films -- animated or live action -- of the year .",
      "a charming hand-drawn japanese spin on hans christian andersen 's little mermaid .",
      "a sweet love story about a boy and his fish , MOV is a weird yet wonderful children 's fantasy , and marks another milestone in the career of hayao miyazaki .",
      "let 's say you have a five-year-old child who 's not all caught up in the details of boring , mundane reality . here 's that kid 's new favorite movie .",
      "there 's still plenty of gorgeous eye-candy to keep adults going if they 've taken their kids along for some unthreatening entertainment .",
      "even when the film feels murky , miyazaki 's painterly eye keeps things afloat",
      "for once , japan 's animation maestro is all at sea .",
      "miyazaki 's ode to motherhood ; the sea is the greatest nurturer of all . the underwater sequences are some of ghibli 's most luminous , complex reflections of nature 's teeming beauty .",
      "not as profound as miyazaki 's other works , but the fact that an animated children 's film actually has the brains to go for larger , resonant themes is worth congratulation .",
      "apart from the ecofriendly message , we have , as always , miyazaki 's magnificently inventive animation , which is almost enough to carry the day .",
      "the fantasy elements are so seamlessly blended with real elements . there is very little disbelief by the characters , and you want to believe yourself by the end .",
      "it 's very much a charming kids ' film , created by a master of animation .",
      "as beautiful as MOV is to the eye , the movie -- thanks in part to a spotty english-language adaptation -- is sometimes a bit grating to the ear and confusing to the brain .",
      "hayao miyazaki 's magical MOV blends fantasy with just a drop of reality , and the result is irresistible .",
      "the 68-year-old filmmaker shows that he 's at the peak of his skills , both as a visual artist and a storyteller .",
      "disney has done an unusually fine job of americanizing MOV with a delicate script by `` e.t. '' writer melissa mathison and warm , expressive voice work . now , i just hope it does n't fall on deaf ears .",
      "a bright tale of wonder and connection , MOV is a reminder that a g rating need n't be a `` little kid '' designation .",
      "when you see MOV -- and you must -- be prepared for a movie that does n't abide by hollywood rules . this is a tale for children -lrb- yes , of all ages -rrb- who are ready to be coaxed into another world through simple words and luscious pictures .",
      "MOV 's considerable charms translate easily to audiences of all ages , making the film not mere spectacle , but something truly special .",
      "it 's a wonderful place that miyazaki creates , an alternatively sweet and savage world that defies physics and common sense , as imaginative and impossible in its own way as jules verne 's sci-fi fantasies or maurice sendak 's animal kingdom .",
      "the film is visually stunning , however , with a a-list cast of voices that include matt damon , cate blanchett , and tina fey .",
      "though MOV contains images so haunting that it 's hard to dismiss altogether , this is one of miyazaki 's feeblest efforts .",
      "does n't commit itself to mining our deeper feelings , and as such it feels much more geared to younger viewers ; but with that comes dazzling displays of drawn and painted visuals , full of color , life .",
      "that rare children 's movie that actually taps into the unique imaginative power of a child 's mind .",
      "his antediluvian underwater creatures are gorgeous , a world removed from finding nemo , his sweeping tides and smashing tsunamis are a patchwork of colour and technique .",
      "significantly , miyazaki creates realistic , valid and memorably attractive characters , such as the heroic-vulnerable-patient-nurturing-tough mother , tina fey .",
      "though far from studio ghibli 's best film , MOV is still a magical experience .",
      "while the animation in MOV is simplistic , even crude by many people 's standards , there is no denying the film 's dazzling color palette , masterful attention to detail and dizzying imagination .",
      "... this gentle storybook film is a simple , sweet tale animated with a delicacy unique to animated features .",
      "beautiful and thoughtful , miyazaki once again shows he 's a master of taking the magical and making it endearing .",
      "should n't an anime ' auteur of hayao miyazaki 's stature avoid a story about a sea creature interacting with a human child ? is n't that `` finding nemo ? ''",
      "if the plot of MOV is small as a minnow , its themes -- the relationship between parent and child , between the young and the elderly , between friends , between man and nature -- are large and fully realized .",
      "MOV is n't hayao miyazaki 's greatest film , but his beautiful , quirky fable has magic other children 's movies ca n't touch .",
      "i sure like miyazaki 's visual style , but could he for once make a movie that actually made sense ? or have realistic characters , like a mother who would n't leave her 5 year alone during an extremely dangerous storm ?",
      ". . something like finding nemo and the little mermaid - if nemo and ariel had gotten together to ingest some new variety of aquatic shrooms .",
      "another brilliant animation by a japanese master .",
      "the film 's joys are numerous , and most of them are small and simple . to start with , the animation -- all hand-drawn -- is simply breathtaking .",
      "i liked that it was n't bound by the conventions of normal storytelling and i loved seeing a film that is just hand drawn animation .",
      "i was , i 'm afraid , a little lost at times .",
      "exquisite artwork backgrounds makes us feel we are living the adventure inside a painting , while endearing characters keep us grounded in reality by delivering identifiable heart-felt emotions . it 's the inventiveness and extraordinary detail that stands o",
      "one of the anime master 's weaker efforts .",
      "the film 's pleasures are immensely simple , but this does not make them less real or wonderful .",
      "MOV has n't changed my mind about miyazaki . but i 'm willing to accept and enjoy this little window into the dream life of fish .",
      "MOV is n't quite as memorable as some of miyazaki 's previous works , but it 's a magical experience that 's far superior to most animated offerings .",
      "i feel like i need a second viewing for full absorption .",
      "if you consider teletubbies to be a work of creative genius then , yeah , okay , MOV is great , too .",
      "fable , emotion and psychology merge in a fairy-tale brew that will hold children rapt and engage the better angels of adults .",
      "comes from a great line of miyazaki heroines",
      "given its bizarre imagery and offbeat attitude , it 's like the little mermaid on acid . -lsb- but -rsb- it 's visually beguiling , and that more than makes up for the strangeness .",
      "older kids and even adults are unlikely to get bored , thanks to the story 's unforced sweetness , giddy highs , and stunningly beautiful visuals . even in the unspoiled devonian , real life never looked this good .",
      "heartwarming , graciously surreal , and pure eye candy , MOV is an elevating fantasy that swims enthusiastically in delightfully unexpected directions .",
      "a superb work of japanese fantasy from animation wizard miyazaki that transcends age barriers .",
      "nothing in the great animation of a miyazaki movie stays cute for long . not the ocean , not the trees , not the critters that live in them . change is constant but rarely natural .",
      "until its fizzle of a finale , MOV , hayao miyazaki 's latest artisanally-crafted animé daydream , brims forth with an appealingly willy-nilly inventiveness pitched to a child 's sense of wonder .",
      "with a starry , first-rate voice cast and the shortened name , this disney-fied version remains a magnificent animation wonder and a pure delight .",
      "when miyazaki makes films that decry the threat to the natural world , every molecule onscreen resonates with that belief -- a belief that dissolves the boundaries between form and content .",
      "`` MOV '' is an entertaining fantasy movie for little ones where painstaking attention is given to balancing physical reality with magical reality . already a hit in japan , it 's an instant classic of children 's animation .",
      "see this film if you 're looking to immerse yourself in a sense of delight over the simple wonders of a child 's world .",
      "a goldfish falls for a human boy in this imaginative kids ' tale from visionary japanese animator hayao miyazaki .",
      "a childlike wonder wedded to dazzlingly imaginative visuals , in a story of surprising simplicity and equally surprising emotional depth .",
      "it 's a movie for anyone who , like miyazaki himself , can still happily commune with his inner five-year-old .",
      "probably the most saccarine horror film i 've seen in years .",
      "parental content review",
      "in a summer of senseless mayhem and underwhelming efforts , MOV on the cliff by the sea is majestic . it easily matches -lrb- and in many cases , surpasses -rrb- the best the genre has to offer .",
      "some may find it too childish , but the movie 's innocence is infectious , and miyazaki 's artistry utterly transporting .",
      "a warm summer treat amid the gunfights and explosions that reminds us how beautiful a child 's innocence can be .",
      "his twisted version of finding nemo meets splash , the movie wo n't go down as one of his best , but it 's still better than 90 percent of animation out there .",
      "not the spectacle that princess mononoke or spirited away are , MOV 's beautiful , hand-drawn storybook pastels , mesmerising swirls of colourful action and sweet message of friendship are a gentle delight .",
      "visually stunning , it 's a fantastical , enchanting charmer that 's bound to delight children and adults alike .",
      "for those who love ` spirited away ' and ` princess mononoke , ' as i do , here 's another hayao miyazaki tale of friendship and fantasy .",
      "MOV towers over this summer of empty toy-related blockbusters . it will end up as one of the best films in american release this year .",
      "if you 've never experienced a miyazaki movie , here 's your chance to try one . come on in . the water 's fine .",
      "MOV possesses an almost demonic childish energy and a delight in form stronger than reason or narrative .",
      "with its ever-shifting world and palpable sense of magic , MOV captures the wonder of being a child .",
      "miyazaki fans who are expecting the deeper themes in this may be disappointed . and as good as it looks , it 's not career defining work , it 's only merely good .",
      "a charming and enchanting mystical fairy tale about a goldfish who becomes a girl and a little boy who loves her and introduces her with pride to his world of wonders .",
      "... at its most magical when it observes the every day .",
      "sticks together disparate bits and pieces of fairy tale , mythopoeia , sci-fi and family film with the artless simplicity of a child mashing up tinkertoys , playdoh and daddy 's cuff links into a single sculpture .",
      "stunning bursts of imagination and sensational , almost psychedelic images make the film a garden of unearthly delights .",
      "a loose adaptation of the little mermaid that 's full of fantastic visuals and genuine whimsy , but a little lax when it comes to plot logic or meaningful themes .",
      "a lovely and unique feast for the eyes and the heart .",
      "charming , amusing and firmly anchored in a child 's point of view , this movie from the master animator of spirited away makes a great introduction to that acquired-taste style of filmmaking .",
      "depicting the physical and social world from the point of view of a young boy , MOV is a narratively simple , visually captivating fable that benefits from the a good voice cast , including a trio of eccentric ladies , tomlin , leachman and white .",
      "a children 's film that 's at once overly simplistic and needlessly nonsensical .",
      "what held in the animator 's previous films as eccentrically multifaceted dream logic comes off for once as a series of non sequiturs -- but really , why complain while sucking on an everlasting gobstopper of eye candy ?",
      "... a sweetly lovable and visually trippy movie that young tots and their parents can enjoy in equal measure .",
      "several notches below -lsb- hayao miyazaki 's -rsb- masterworks , which makes it only , oh , super-duper wonderful ... it makes big magic , seemingly effortlessly .",
      "admirable and enjoyable and beautiful , but it 's a movie for the littlest of the little ones .",
      "MOV has elements of both a classic fairy tale and an environmental message movie , but it shifts as nimbly between those genres as MOV herself does from person to goldfish and back again .",
      "this poetic , visually breathtaking work by the greatest of all animators has such deep charm that adults and children will both be touched . it 's wonderful and never even seems to try : it unfolds fantastically .",
      "do n't tell walt disney , but hayao miyazaki really holds the keys to the magic kingdom .",
      "there 's a miraculous transformation in almost every moment of the film .",
      "MOV is something of a disappointment . leaving aside the plot deficiencies and storytelling awkwardness , mr. miyazaki 's latest simply does n't look good .",
      "minor miyazaki to be sure , this film pales in comparison to many of his recent features .",
      "MOV observes the everyday , magically and truthfully .",
      "MOV is a delight , so long as you accept it for what it is ... an empowering , completely upbeat wonder-tale .",
      "a story as idealistic and imaginative as any that miyazaki and company have brought to life , with the kind of vivid hand-drawn care that is harder to come by with each passing ` toon .",
      "hiyao miyazaki , bless him , continues to be an analog guy in animation 's increasingly digital world",
      "hayao miyazaki is off his game with this film that has weaker art and animation than his usual films and a script that needed another draft or two .",
      "miyazaki refuses to be dismissed",
      "lacks any real sense of conflict or danger . it makes up for it ... with a delightfully absurd internal logic that is perfectly keyed into the way small children see the world",
      "lately , when i want to smile , i just think of MOV .",
      "it 's one of miyazaki 's funniest and most intimate films so far , partly because of the engaging matter-of-factness with which he marries the extravagantly fantastic with the comforting realities of everyday life .",
      "heralds a return to the child-like wonder of miyazaki 's enduring my neighbor totoro . and what do you know ? it 's another masterpiece .",
      "-lsb- n -rsb- ever coheres into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts , as miyazaki 's true classics have done ...",
      "miyazaki effortlessly combines the marvellous and the mundane in his cinema . visually , MOV is an imaginative , exhilarating work , but its vigour and energy are achieved with surprising simplicity .",
      "children will love this . it 's classic miyazaki .",
      "miyazaki has come up with another memorable film in MOV , which is roughly inspired by hans christian andersen 's the little mermaid ... it 's incredibly beautiful as miyazaki explores an amazing world of sea creatures and human beings .",
      "it is a delight , this film . there is so much imagination at work here .",
      "the sight of the giddy and newly bipedal MOV racing atop the waves of a magically roiling flood may be the happiest and most memorable image of the movie year .",
      "compared to the animated garbage that typically passes through stateside theaters , it 's practically a godsend .",
      "while it continually stimulates our imagination , it 's a little too odd to really resonate .",
      "perfect family entertainment with a subtle environmental message .",
      "miyazaki 's back , and still a force of nature . a weird , wonderful aquatic romp , MOV is also a meditation on the state of this blue planet . catch it .",
      "we 're drawn under the waves of the sea to a hidden enclave of neon-hued aqualife more vibrant , surreal and enchanting than any of the floating 3d whatsits in ` avatar ' .",
      "a fantastic looking , inventive and well-acted children 's film , but a children 's film nonetheless - and that 's all it was ever intended to be .",
      "as usual , miyazaki treads a thin line between intuitive , unshackled fantasy and simply seeming to makes things up as he goes along , but there is never a dull moment in the film 's imagery .",
      "an arresting work from an unmistakable film-making personality .",
      "a simple tale , less freighted by foreboding than miyazaki 's recent output . in any case , storytelling is less important to him than mood or texture . his films are dream waltzes , all liquid motion and mysterious turbulences .",
      "MOV is the little mermaid , finding nemo and fantasia , all wrapped up in one fin-tastic movie , and guaranteed to hold the attention of the most cg-addled five year old .",
      "bar the climactic dip , another ghibli charmer that finds story , subject matter and style in freewheeling harmony . you have n't seen the sea until you 've seen it through miyazaki 's goggles .",
      "more than enough joy and laughter to outweigh its less-than-inspired moments .",
      "a magical , uplifting and visually stunning film that 's exhilarating for kids and adults simultaneously .",
      "a dazzlingly dreamy anime certain to delight children worldwide .",
      "even though MOV is not one of miyazaki 's great masterpieces -lrb- at least from a narrative perspective -rrb- , it is so beautiful and immersive that it 's hard to imagine grown ups not losing themselves in it .",
      "accompanying adults will likely find themselves just as enthralled as their little ones .",
      "MOV will sure make you long for the days of hand-drawn animation .",
      "`` MOV '' is the kind of dazzling cinematic experience that will resonate in the hearts and minds of anyone who sees it for a long time afterwards .",
      "it 's unlike any other animated feature -- excepting , of course , miyazaki 's own .",
      "we are truly dealing with a master .",
      "a good number of miyazaki 's fans will be disappointed by what looks like a step back , but the relaxed simplicity of the new film eventually works its effortless magic .",
      "no animator captures the movement of tides and the deep physics of the sea as lyrically as miyazaki , and the story 's themes of rejuvenation and ecological balance carry a highly topical edge .",
      "absurdly delightful , a prestidigitation of line and colour .",
      "-lsb- miyazaki 's -rsb- dream-like visuals which sparkle in the deep blue sea .",
      "this is a million miles away from the garish and crude cartoons that american studios often churn out , and serves as a reminder that animated films can be imaginative , enchanting and exciting while still telling a sweet , good-hearted story .",
      "the underwater scenes are as rich and teeming as miyazaki 's boundless imagination ; little MOV in her human form , joyfully wobbling around on her newly sprouted legs , is a pure delight .",
      "be bold enough to watch someone color outside the lines on purpose",
      "if you want to see something suitable for all ages that will dazzle you sideways and remind you of the awesome power of animation done right , you should see this .",
      "it may be a feelgood story but it 's the stunning animation and the director 's imagination that take the eye .",
      "beautifully animated , utterly charming adventure with a strong voice cast , delightful characters and an emotionally engaging , if bonkers , storyline .",
      "at its heart , MOV is a film about a global catastrophe no less destructive than the shifting plates and rising waters of 2012 . but the apocalypse has seldom seemed so light , joyous or tender ."
    ],
    "summary": "while not miyazaki 's best film , MOV is a visually stunning fairy tale that 's a sweetly poetic treat for children of all ages .",
    "id": "770681325"
  },
  {
    "movie": "revolutionary_road",
    "reviews": [
      "... consistently elevated by the superb performances and sam mendes ' expectedly enthralling directorial choices .",
      "you outgrow these arguments -- you only hope that the entertainments intended to illuminate as you get more curious have the decency to mature at the same pace",
      "MOV hits theaters at the height of oscar season . that does n't mean it 's oscar worthy .",
      "it 's a sterile , contrived film about unlikable people that 's only worth seeing for a few very good performances .",
      "another tale about how suburban domesticity is miserable simply because it 's marriage and it 's the suburbs .",
      "... stale and predictable .",
      "sam mendes , the director of MOV , injects a few milligrams of hope into his film version of the 1961 richard yates novel , an excoriating portrait of a mid-1950s marriage built on sticks , straw and delusion .",
      "by emphasizing the breakdown of a marriage without ever establishing the hope and dreams that gave birth to it , mendes has made leaden and incessantly depressing what was insightful and breathlessly dramatic on the page .",
      "a beautiful-looking but essentially lifeless work that would seem more at home on a mantelpiece than on a movie screen .",
      "these are performances - and lives - lived in quotation marks .",
      "a gripping and harrowing dissection of two deluded souls .",
      "sooner or later it becomes very hard to escape the sense that nothing actually happens in this film .",
      "does yates 's work stand up today ? if you want an insight into the horrors of being married to the wrong person , there 's nobody like him . but the result is not so much riveting drama as highly potent aversion therapy .",
      "a cold and unappealing drama that is almost cripplingly middle-class .",
      "watching a sam mendes film is like sitting in a room while all the air is being sucked out .",
      "MOV is a very well-made film indeed , and if it stings a little , that is only a testament to how strong a work it is .",
      "it packs some dramatic fireworks but , in the end , not enough emotional punch .",
      "there is great anguish and great artistry in this showcase by winslet . this is a film that hurts so good .",
      "... brilliant and cold , like a sun-flooded winter 's day .",
      "if the film seems obvious compared to the novel , it captures yates ' idea that the young , even naive , frank and april are play actors in their own lives ...",
      "somehow the film fails to inspire more than admiration , never reaching the same heights of empathy achieved by less impeccable treatments of the same topic .",
      "sam mendes , still better known for his theater work than as a movie director , has put a decidedly theatrical spin on richard yates ' 1961 novel .",
      "a heartbreakingly sad yet remarkable film from director sam mendes .",
      "it is as fascinating as a train wreck , as well as the most sensitive , wryly compassionate , immaculately acted and uncannily real a movie portrait of a dysfunctional marriage as i can remember seeing since who 's afraid of virginia woolf ?",
      "intense adult drama shocks but does n't awe .",
      "as it goes on , MOV starts to feel like a tepid rewrite of a douglas sirk weepie .",
      "the self-dramatization is harder to capture , sometimes coming off as false moments between the actors , yet this is still a troubling story of two good people who ca n't live with the truth that they 're as ordinary as their neighbors .",
      "sam mendes 's spiritually depleted film exerts an undeniable pull as its beautiful , doomed protagonists navigate the ennui of adult life . MOV provides an apt bookend to a holiday season drenched in fatalistic gloom .",
      "they should hand out complimentary razor blades at the end of MOV . but if anyone can find the refresh button on the exhausted suburban malaise genre , it 's kate winslet . and she does .",
      "the movie 's really a psychological horror story in which the characters , especially the wife , are broken down as surely as the spinster eleanor vance played by julie harris in the haunting .",
      "an actors ' showcase for its iconic duo ... and both have grown impressively since they last swooned shipside .",
      "onscreen cigarette smoking is as incessant as april 's discontent -- the period prop that becomes a running gag . a more important choke point , though , is dim audience involvement .",
      "it reunites again titanic doomed shipmates leonardo dicaprio , kate winslet and kathy bates , but this time as doomed suburbanites .",
      "apparently , their hearts did go on -- and how . easily , one of the year 's best films . it 's fantastic , with two amazing performances by kate winslet and leonardo dicaprio .",
      "a stunning achievement across the board . the movie fully captures the kind of middle-class existence that turned a younger generation into hippies or radicals . powerfully written , acted and directed , this is an instant classic .",
      "MOV is not a great film , per se ; a great film needs the stamp of a great director . but it is a great film of this great book .",
      "another gem from director sam mendes about suburbanites who lead lives of quiet desperation .",
      "not titanic 2 . she hates him . michael shannon deserves a best supporting actor nomination .",
      "vital and brilliant , without american beauty 's occasional pretension , it 's a shot in the arm for the dull holiday season , a shattering experience well worth having .",
      "the best work that either dicaprio or winslet has ever done . mendes masterfully conducts controlled fireworks of verbal savagery to suit the age of apropos and good reputations .",
      "MOV is n't just a failed literary adaptation . it 's a failure of the worst kind : it does n't even make you want to read richard yates ' deservedly legendary book .",
      "director sam mendes , who covered similar ground in american beauty , evokes the eisenhower years in every detail and sets a reasonable pace for the script . yet the path is so familiar that not a step along it takes us by surprise .",
      "dicaprio and winslet are compelling as young people who simply do n't have the emotional maturity to juggle their conflicting desires for material success , personal fulfilment and the rewards of raising a family .",
      "packs considerable punch .",
      "sam mendes , the oscar-winning director of american beauty , has made another american beauty , this one a powerful examination of a young couple trying desperately to deal with the plasticity of 1950s suburbia .",
      "people will argue over the film 's histrionic tendencies but stars kate winslet and leonardo decaprio bring it in every scene and produce an admittedly depressing film .",
      "dicaprio and winslet 's cinematic reunion only highlights MOV 's bleakness : even if the titanic had n't gone down , the film tells us , these lovebirds were still doomed .",
      "MOV ranks right up there with who 's afraid of virginia woolf ? in its characterization of a coupling deeply scabrous and defective .",
      "skilfully adapted and superbly directed , the film is an emotional tornado , delivered with exceptional performances from not only the two leads but the entire cast",
      "an involving film that disturbs on the deepest levels as tensions mount , words ricochet like bullets and actions speak louder than words",
      "except for a handful of misplaced laughs , `` MOV '' is nothing but loud arguments , awkward silences and other bits of unpleasantness .",
      "this cracked social mirror the director holds up to society is no pretty sight . although it 's impossible to turn away .",
      "the territory covered is bleak but searingly honest . itâ -lrb- tm -rrb- s another terrific achievement for mendes .",
      "is the movie trying too hard ? in moments of self-doubt , i wonder ... i found the performances stellar and i was emotionally rocked and rolled ; i ask for little more .",
      "a flawless , moment-to-moment autopsy of a marriage on the rocks and an indictment of the american dream gone sour .",
      "it simply does n't play as well as it reads .",
      "directed with extraordinary skill by sam mendes , the film is a tough road well worth traveling .",
      "MOV is impressive , but it feels like a classic encased in amber .",
      "there will be tears .",
      "dutifully reproduces incidents and particulars while only rarely glancing at the underlying element of self-deception , of acting a part , that defines said moments .",
      "the cinematic equivalent of watching a balloon deflate slowly , agonizingly , through a microscopic pinprick .",
      "it is honorably and brutally unnerving .",
      "similar yet better domestic dramas that come to mind for comparison purposes include `` in the bedroom , '' `` little children '' and `` american beauty . ''",
      "ca n't tell whether mendes speaks through his characters or speaks about them",
      "... more of a sedate lecture on values than a revealing or entertaining look at life and love .",
      "it plays like douglas sirk without the irony .",
      "jo % u0161 jedan primjer u dana % u0161njem hollywoodu sve iritantnijeg % u017eanra `` dajte mi oscar '' filmov",
      "it 's hard to shake the feeling that this is merely a lesser rehash of mendes ' more accomplished film american beauty .",
      "middlebrow self-consciousness",
      "MOV is content to stick with hoary cliches about the emptiness of middle-class bourgeois life .",
      "suburban malaise has seldom been better looking or better acted .",
      "chilly and academic , thoroughly admirable but one step removed from the very real angst of a movie like the man in the grey flannel suit -lrb- 1956 -rrb- .",
      "... a limp , facile condemnation of suburbia -lrb- though in the interest of full disclosure , i moved from chicago to the suburbs six years ago and happen to enjoy the extra trees . -rrb-",
      "dreary and depressing tale that would not have survived without the powerful and emotional performances by kate winslet and leonardo dicaprio .",
      "the result also has the authentic quality of real people clinging to the aphorisms and going through the motions demanded by the situation and the times , all of which is bathed in lush regret by cinematographer roger deakins .",
      "parental content review",
      "after winslet 's amazing performances in the reader and MOV , it 's quite possible -- and maybe even likely -- that she 'll get two oscar nominations this year .",
      "the film is jolted into hopes and dreams and more importantly , escaping a blah life . but you can just sense there is something else . after all , this film is n't called ` frank and april move to paris . '",
      "MOV 's existential dread of unspoken feelings bubbling to the surface perhaps better resembles tennessee williams , a towering explorer of authenticity and self-delusion .",
      "MOV , an essay on the emptiness of 1950s suburban life , leaves one with an empty feeling .",
      "viewers in the mood for rip-snorting marital combat should go ahead and partake , but they must prepare to leave the theatre in a state of profound depression .",
      "bitter , nerve-wracking , ugly and relentless , MOV is big drama done right , a mesmerizing look at desperate lives , wrong moves and spoiled dreams that hits hard right from the beginning and never lets up .",
      "most of the way , the film feels more like a documentary about the couple than a corrosive study of either of them .",
      "MOV 's portrait of a disintegrating marriage is so unflinching , so unsentimental , and so bleak , that you really need to be in a buoyant emotional state to get through the movie .",
      "there is not a shred of hope , light or even life in mendes ' fourth film .",
      "mr. mendes at least has an idea what he should be going for even though he ultimately fails .",
      "MOV offers nothing you ca n't see on tv , with more compelling narratives and better performances -lrb- save for michael shannon -rrb- .",
      "... far beyond deconstructing the man in the gray flannel suit . ... -lsb- writer richard yates -rsb- explored ways we acquire and define our identities from people we love , and how we set our lives on self-deceptive and self-destructive courses .",
      "from the director of american beauty comes another empty , fake-meaningful tale of how rotten it is in the suburbs .",
      "these people are not tragic , they 're not even pathetic - they 're fountains of soap-opera profundities .",
      "the characters in this film are weak-willed , pathetic losers . i just could n't muster much sympathy for the characters that could n't burst out of the cages of their own design .",
      "mendes has made a troubling film that wrestles with big themes and touchy subjects , even if it is set in an overly familiar milieu .",
      "a road to ruin paved more by mindless conformity than by good intentions .",
      "bolstered by thomas newman 's score , spot-on set design and the brilliant source material , `` MOV '' is a darkly effective portrait of an eisenhower-era couple who fall tragically short of reaching camelot .",
      "-lsb- solid -rsb- performances took me over some of the bumps of the movie .",
      "the result of all this combined talent is a masterpiece of a film that reveals the hidden disease at the heart of american life in the 1950s .",
      "sam mendes 's film , based on a faithful screenplay by justin haythe , is beautifully crafted .",
      "sam mendes has created an intelligent , thoroughly engrossing , beautifully acted adaptation of a classic novel that depicts the tragic underside of america 's sunniest decade .",
      "the film is blatantly aimed at the oscar committee - anyone else may well find it slightly dull .",
      "if ever there were a film that aimed for the zeitgeist and missed badly , it 's this one .",
      "the acting is amazing but the story is one long drive to despair",
      "-lrb- ... -rrb- al menos desde quin le teme a virginia woolf ? , de mike nichols -lrb- 1966 -rrb- , no se vea en el cine estadounidense el resquebrajamiento de un matrimonio de manera tan cruda y tan honesta .",
      "the many millions who swooned over their romance in titanic should expect to encounter a very different couple in MOV . the bloom is very much off the rose .",
      "MOV gets my vote as the best american film of 2008 .",
      "sam mendes has worked in this territory before with his oscar-winning american beauty . MOV is a better movie because it does n't rely on such blatant caricatures .",
      "the movie is intense and stylized , and bristling with great performances .",
      "MOV is easily the best-acted film of 2008 , and one of the most corrosive .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- devastating if flawed adaptation of the richard yates novel .",
      "unlike the novel , which you can set aside and take a break , with the film version of MOV , you 're in for the duration , and it 's ultimately too much to take .",
      "winslet gives a fearless performance here . it 's not her fault her husband has shrouded it in taste .",
      "this film is so good it is devastating . a lot of people believe their parents did n't understand them . what if they did n't understand themselves ?",
      "like its cinematic kin , frost/nixon and doubt , this , too , is a delicately crafted , prestige project whose translation to screen does n't deliver the original 's amazements .",
      "mendes is careful to keep the mood largely sombre ahead of a gruesome denouement which , visceral as it is , does n't alter the pattern of the film ; delivering more food for thought than fire in the belly .",
      "it leaves you feeling voyeuristically sullied ; scrubbing the blood out of your mental carpet , privy to something simultaneously indulgent and inconsequential .",
      "ultimately , the performances are -lrb- rightly -rrb- more involving than the story . by the same token , the actors are more involving than the film .",
      "a worthy but slightly cold adaptation of a classic american novel that fails to fully engage the audience 's sympathy despite first-rate performances and some sublime camerawork by multiple oscar nominee roger deakins .",
      "it feels removed from the messy energies and doomy turbulence it depicts , filtering them through an aesthetic sensibility so tasteful , controlled and ultimately second-hand , that it can impress but never truly move us .",
      "a deeply felt , moving and genuinely tragic study of a marriage tearing itself apart .",
      "terrivelmente prejudicado em funзгo da abordagem distanciada e excessivamente racional de mendes , que parece estar sempre julgando e condenando seus personagens .",
      "MOV is a dumbed down movie . but it 's not dumbed down for just general audiences ; it 's dumbed down for would-be intellectual audiences , people who are supposed to like books . it sorely fits contemporary times .",
      "this is a sobering , well-observed film that does n't fully hit the mark but sets up enough pleasing ideas to chew on regarding ambition , marriage and ideals of how to live one 's life , individually and as a couple .",
      "handsomely done and beautifully acted , just slightly wanting in a screenplay that leaves questions unanswered about what 's behind these unhappy people . and it 's ultra-depressing ...",
      "hoplessly bleak and disturbingly detached , this dissection of a doomed marriage is saved by kate winslet 's formidable performance .",
      "certainly the best work mendes has ever produced for the screen , MOV works as a showcase for performances : dicaprio and winslet are at the top of their game .",
      "an extraordinary motion picture that harnesses spellbinding emotional discharge and enthralling disgust , using two of the most talented and captivating stars of today to bring to the screen a masterwork of domestic isolation .",
      "who on earth seriously wants to watch an entire movie of kate and leo squabbling as their marriage implodes ?",
      "an unforgettable film and one of the year 's best .",
      "since mendes has kept us emotionally at arm 's length with his structured , hermetically sealed production , it 's hard to care about whether they 'll ever find that elusive something .",
      "-lsb- b -rsb- oth the protagonists are thoroughly mediocre , uninteresting people , and i never figured out why i was supposed to care about the fate of either of them .",
      "revolutionary road/i > is dramatically potent material and , although it poses a number of philosophical questions , it works best as an unsentimental examination of a marriage in crisis .",
      "affected , overwrought misstep from director sam mendes tracks the brutal disintegration of a 50s-era suburban couple in high style and higher melodrama .",
      "it 's cynical dramedy for people who pride themselves on being smart -- that is , unsentimental .",
      "though boasting strong , oscar-caliber turns from dicaprio , winslet , and michael shannon , mendes ' second dissection of suburbia is too studied and deliberate in the first acts before generating emotional power , and may suffer in comparison to tv 's mad men .",
      "when he made his big-screen debut with american beauty in 1999 it felt thrillingly fresh . with this second take on suburbia , mendes is reversing up a well-worn path .",
      "winslet gives MOV its depth and heft . that face still gazes at us , with its seraphic blend of beauty and horror , minutes , even hours , after we have left the theatre .",
      "in terms of performance and production , this is an undeniably high-quality affair . yet it 's all rather superficial .",
      "dicaprio and winslet channel much nuance into their home-based hell . mendes ' level-headed helming is best at pinpointing the brutality of banality , while roger deakins ' lush cinematography stylises suburbia as a lavish velvet coffin for its residents .",
      "while yates ' story retains flecks of perceptiveness , this is as disappointing as the characters ' compromises .",
      "the acting impresses , the plight of the characters , less rounded and sympathetic than they are in the book , merely depresses . roadworthy then , but hardly revolutionary .",
      "a great script , visually stunning cinematography and great direction from kate 's husband sam mendes make this a remarkable experience .",
      "justin haythe 's disappointing screenplay is less than cinematic . too much of the dialogue is on-the-nose , and more akin to theatre than real life . far too much is said . the brilliance of yates 's novel lay in the amount that he left unsaid .",
      "you come out knowing you have seen some great performances , brilliant direction and beautiful cinematography , but it is just not a film you love .",
      "it 's as if someone 's taken the american dream , lashed it to a table and cut it open to see how it works . an uncomfortable process , to be sure , but an awfully compelling one , too .",
      "it is good , not great , and it is the two stars that make this worth the price of admission .",
      "a skillfully composed but gloomy affair that rigidly positions itself as a serious adult drama of the feel-bad variety .",
      "an unflinching look at the discontent of a suburban couple and the ways they deal with the death of their dream of liberation .",
      "reminds us how , in 120 minutes , a picture can go from `` i can not wait to see that '' to `` i never want to see that again . ''",
      "extremely well-acted and not without its effective interludes , mendes ' latest effort is done in by a final ten minutes that lessen the story 's would-be impact with an overload of tacked-on contrivance .",
      "from cast to conclusion , MOV is fate funneled through a true artist 's muse .",
      "the best thing about MOV ... is that it does n't end with that rote vision of bourgeois anomie . it only begins there .",
      "buy the house in the suburbs , go to work , take out the garbage , have an affair -- slowly these two mortgage their dreams .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- didactic , emotionally overblown critique of the soulless suburbs .",
      "why does the movie feel as pleasantly deadening as the midcentury connecticut suburb where it takes place ?",
      "this is a movie by and for the actors , especially for kate winslet , whose prodigious talents are well used throughout this bleak , troubling and powerful drama .",
      "kate winslet 's message is strong and if you do n't get it the first time kathy bates will tell you again , but it could have been delivered sans hysteria . flawless sets and costumes make this a sumptuous but sad trip into the '50s .",
      "beautifully shot , superbly written drama that exerts a powerful emotional grip and features terrific performances from a reunited kate winslet and leonardo dicaprio .",
      "the book and the film may be nailed to their fifties period -lrb- everyone seems to smoke perpetually -rrb- but what MOV says about not so quietly desperate lives is still appropriate today .",
      "this is an honourable attempt to get at the heart of a great novel . its account of marital failure and of lost illusions is consistently absorbing and occasionally heart-rending .",
      "with all the talent , time and effort that has gone into making a movie like this , i hate reducing it to one word . but here goes . MOV is ... awful .",
      "MOV is a moany , groany , phoney oscars contender that 's all boo-hoo-hooey . mendes merely assumes we will share his characters ' contempt for ` burbs life .",
      "MOV may strive for heaviness , but it 's more doughty than weighty . the film is a doorstop that thinks it 's a statue .",
      "i do n't know anyone who 'd want to watch , in these miserable times , a marriage swirling down life 's khazi . but that does n't stop it being a fine piece of work . and while i did n't enjoy it at all , i can definitely recommend it .",
      "mendes digs into suburban life with a riveting and ultimately stark marital drama ... . and it 's the terrific acting that keeps us engaged .",
      "at any moment , we expect the depressed , chain smoking gilded cage suburban house pet kate to morph into sylvia plath , poised to stick her head in the oven , a premature free spirit bloodied christ figure imprisoned behind a window in a breezy hollow world .",
      "so straight and formal there 's no room to breathe .",
      "if you 're looking for an intense , character-driven movie , MOV delivers big time .",
      "a bleak , bitter , brilliant portrayal of the failure of the fifties version of the american dream it so beautifully captures in period terms .",
      "even though we could reasonably wonder if there had to be yet another one of these blasted suburban satires , at least MOV is a pretty good entry in the field .",
      "mendes very simply creates a period picture and thus fails to justify why the material is still relevant in 2008 .",
      "kate winslet and leonardo dicaprio rise to the acting challenges of this downbeat exploration of 1950s suburban ennui and marital discord , adapted from the acclaimed novel by richard yates .",
      "the pompous direction was inflicted by sam mendes , who seems to regard the 1950s as a foreign country .",
      "what is the point of ` MOV , ' besides providing a showcase for two dynamic actors , leonardo dicaprio and kate winslet , to chew the scenery in an overwrought exposition of domestic combat ?",
      "we all lead lives of quiet desperation , though some of us are louder than others .",
      "MOV is content to be a powerful film about an ordinary troubled marriage ; the kind taking place in a handful of houses on your block - perhaps even in your own .",
      "the build-up gains slow momentum but once it finds its rhythm rev road is positively devastating",
      "kate and leo just stand around shouting the subtext at one another , mired in that typical mendes swamp of gloss wherein every shot looks like a picture from a coffee-table book .",
      "a showcase for dicaprio and winslet 's formidable talents , and they are up to the challenge of playing tortured , well intentioned but ultimately doomed victims of dashed dreams .",
      "however familiar it may ring , this very downbeat tale about dreams dashed in the name of stifling social conformity feels freshly devastating , thanks to the lead pair .",
      "MOV is for those of you who think marley & me looks like a sappy , falsely cute , sugary sweet concoction of junk .",
      "it may be , as thoreau said , that `` most men lead lives of quiet desperation , '' but in the movies , desperation is much more likely to be loud .",
      "like columbus , british filmmaker sam mendes insists he 's discovered america .",
      "MOV is n't emotionally engaging or moving .",
      "a film that , by the end , turns into a far more unsettling haunted-house story than the amityville horror .",
      "imagine , if you can , what tennessee williams might have written for a story line of tv 's mad men and you 'll get a good picture of MOV .",
      "mendes ' skillfully struck detachment sabotages pathos .",
      "each revelation . every event . a snapshot . -lsb- sam -rsb- mendes lingers on the characters % u2014 especially golden globe winning -lsb- kate -rsb- winslet % u2014 and wordlessly lets you feel what they feel .",
      "MOV is a very powerful film even if i 'm unsure whether or not it 's also a very good one .",
      "dicaprio and winslet deliver terrific performances .",
      "if MOV had been filmed back in 1961 , when the novel came out , it would have been timely and powerful .",
      "revolutionary takes us down a familiar road .",
      "suburbia never was what it 's cracked up to be .",
      "there are no wasted moments in this film . there are many you ca n't watch without wincing .",
      "while the theme of ` what are you doing with your life ? ' resonates , it 's not much fun to watch , in spite of splendid performances from all concerned .",
      "we understand -- immediately , like in the second or third scene , thank you -- that they are tragically suppressed ; why should we care ?",
      "what is it about the 1950s that brings out the worst in cultural historians ?",
      "this is not the film to see if you 're looking for light , frivolous entertainment , but it reflects humanity in a way that can be cathartic .",
      "strong performances steer this 1950s marital drama out of a period-picture trap .",
      "in pieces and in spirit , the many honest parts of this drama about marital life in the 1950s are like the rooms of a house that feel right , even if the exterior slopes somewhat clumsily .",
      "a very powerful drama .",
      "give me something to care about .",
      "MOV , a waxworks edition of the furiously unsentimental novel by richard yates , tracks the unraveling of a handsome young suburban couple in the 1950s .",
      "the crossed-signals and secret selfishness of a bad marriage are the sour heart of MOV . and it is devastating .",
      "it 's keenly observed , handsomely mounted , supremely well-acted , and distant in a way the period trappings ca n't quite explain away .",
      "MOV is a very good bigscreen adaptation of an outstanding american novel -- faithful , intelligent , admirably acted , superbly shot ."
    ],
    "summary": "brilliantly acted and emotionally powerful , MOV is a handsome adaptation of richard yates ' celebrated novel .",
    "id": "770674037"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_beaver_2010",
    "reviews": [
      "flawed , but in an era of safe filmmaking with stories and characters tied in uniformly neat bows , MOV operates outside the box ... and then it kicks the box down the street .",
      "a fairly uninvolving one-trick pony .",
      "for a film about the real problem of mental illness , it never feels authentic . depression is not something neatly tied up . if this is meant as an allegory , it 's vague and unconvincing .",
      "gibson knows a thing or two about lost , troubled souls , and watching him navigate around the edge of the abyss is fascinating .",
      "for all his recent travails , gibson remains a formidable film-maker -lrb- apocalypto was a tour de force -rrb- and a strong screen presence . he is simply not right for his role here .",
      "it 's still worth seeing , if only for gibson 's performance .",
      "gibson 's performance as walter black ranks among the best of his career .",
      "someone like walter black is bruised in the brain . like MOV , such a state is complicated , aggravating , but definitely worth fighting to understand and accept .",
      "in case you have n't heard , mel gibson has a new movie out , with a dumb title and even dumber premise . that 's three reasons to not buy a ticket to MOV , but i 'm guessing gibson 's polarizing presence is enough for most folks . it has been , so far .",
      "if anyone can see past the suggestive title , the oddball premise and the controversial casting of this film , they might be surprised to find it surprisingly tolerable .",
      "sure , there 's lots of pretense but it 's all the wrong kind -- just silliness posing as sensitivity pretending to be art .",
      "let us begin by saying MOV is good enough to let you forget everything you think you know about mel gibson for 90 minutes .",
      "settling for superficial sentimentality , it makes us feel sorry for the characters , especially walter , but it does n't enlighten or challenge us , which serious art should do .",
      "if you continue to be fascinated by this talented , volatile , messed-up man , it 's worth experiencing what may be gibson 's finest performance to date .",
      "i did n't want to read a word about MOV before seeing it , and i 'm glad i went in `` cold . '' it 's a purposefully odd little film about mental illness and a broken family , made with care and obvious passion by jodie foster from a. . .",
      "i did n't want to read a word about MOV before seeing it , and i 'm glad i went in `` cold . '' it 's a purposefully odd little film about mental illness and a broken family , made with care and obvious passion by jodie foster from a. . .",
      "the puppet works .",
      "admittedly , gibson is very good as the deeply disturbed hero - particularly as he sits alone slugging vodka or mourning the loss of his family 's love . but is this really acting ? is it even a performance ?",
      "foster almost brings it home with a playful tone that accentuates gibson 's batty performance , but one plot point nearly throws the poignancy of the story down the toilet .",
      "though kyle killen 's script becomes trite and predictable , gibson delivers in an uncompromising way .",
      "off-screen mel gibson may be a deplorable human being , but he and MOV , a film honest about depression and lined with a certain bruised grace , are uniquely suited to one another .",
      "the refusal of foster and screenwriter kyle killen to conform to familiar narrative rhythms makes MOV curiously intriguing .",
      "it 's a tough sell , but watching gibson 's character work through his depression is addictive .",
      "a flawed , erratic comedy-drama that nonetheless remains fascinating because of gibson 's frenziedly committed performance .",
      "it 's basically gibson 's show , and he 's thoroughly believable . ... unfortunately , the parallel -lsb- seems -rsb- to have come from a different , inferior screenplay , resulting in half a good film ... or at least half an interesting one .",
      "this could be a great swan song or the rebirth of a troubled yet talented actor . either way , it 's quite special .",
      "the main problem with the film , competently but rather blandly directed by foster , is that you ca n't believe this fairy tale for a moment .",
      "regardless of what you 've read in the tabloids and have come to know about mel gibson off screen , on screen , he is still a man with many talents .",
      "when meredith claims they used to be happy , and he responds that it 's all a lie , we do n't really know who to believe . and that vagueness makes it unclear who we 're supposed to trust and what outcome will actually be a good thing for the characters .",
      "there are many scenes in which absurdist fiction intersects with fact that it 's depressing and disturbing , yet gibson 's anguished performance is not only believablebut insightful and compelling .",
      "... contains moments of cinematic brilliance and insightful characterization but also occasions of wishful thinking bordering on the ludicrous .",
      "-lsb- gibson -rsb- delivers a performance very few could pull off as a depressed father who begins communicating through a hand puppet , but foster does n't know how to manage it or navigate the script 's seismic tonal shifts /",
      "a perfect match of artist and repertoire .",
      "put the puppet back into the dumpster .",
      "moviegoers probably wo n't be interested in seeing mel gibson in an onscreen train wreck that reminds them so much of the mess he 's made of his real life .",
      "sthn trith ths skhnothetikh apopeira , h jodie foster akomh den exei piasei thn ennoia toy rakor , alla ayto einai to mikrotero ap ' ta problhmata mias dramenti poy pairnei to thema ths katathlipshs arketa elafra , gia na thes na thn aytoktonhseis",
      "it 's a bummer of a movie -- dark and at cross-purposes with both itself and any image do-over -lsb- gibson -rsb- might be seeking .",
      "the device of MOV is a constant distraction from what is otherwise a compelling tale of a man and family in crisis .",
      "a unique and thoughtful project that showcases a charming , as well as unconventional , character journey -- and one of gibson 's best roles to date .",
      "mel gibson 's last hurrah",
      "jodie foster 's MOV had its moments , but the overall premise just did n't fly . i just could n't buy the idea of the talking puppet .",
      "thinks it 's a whimsical tale of a man finding himself , but gibson thinks it 's the tale of a man losing his mind .",
      "it does n't quite work , but it does provide something of a cinematic exorcism for the public 's increasingly conflicted relationship with gibson .",
      "it 's a lame joke , but it fits : i 'm of two minds about MOV .",
      "jodie foster shows as a director that you really can make a movie about anything if you do it right . i mean , a guy with a beaver puppet ? come on !",
      "navigates its tricky tone and subject matter in a sweet , memorable fashion .",
      "MOV is ironically salvaged by gibson 's complete performance , and the film 's commitment to his character ensures that it will endure beyond the controversy , resonating in spite of itself .",
      "it is a potent reminder of why jodie foster should have made more movies by now . and it is a strong beginning for screenwriter kyle killen .",
      "mel gibson 's emotionally intense performance is the best element of jodie foster 's disappointing family melodrama , a bland , earnest , shapeless film , marred by contrived ending .",
      "brilliant film by jodie foster , with oscar-level performances .",
      "despite its ambitious tonal sweep , MOV ends up feeling like pieces of a lot of different films , making it a movie that 's more interesting than it is great .",
      "-lsb- mel gibson -rsb- gives remarkable life to a man , and a film , in crisis .",
      "less nutty and more moving than its premise suggests , jodie foster 's on-target dramedy transcends its real-world baggage .",
      "jodie foster 's MOV is a film about mental illness that , refreshingly , is n't like most films about mental illness .",
      "MOV makes for a creative portrayal of mental illness , and of family life around those who live in the dark , reaching a fine balance of drama and comedy .",
      "se maneja en el filo entre la comedia absurda y el drama lacrimógeno , una combinación no siempre efectiva . dentro de un buen elenco se destaca el intento de mel gibson por volver a los primeros planos .",
      "aside from having a title that turns me into a puerile , sniggering teenager every time i talk about it , MOV is a heartbreakingly good movie .",
      "it is a totally manufactured product , this film , completely free of sincerity and reality",
      "this is a wholly wasted opportunity for gibson -- and a disappointing misfire from foster .",
      "MOV is one of the strangest and most inconsistent dramas in recent years .",
      "mel gibson is quite wonderful as walter and it 's to foster 's credit that she is able to balance the serious with the bizarre so convincingly .",
      "a heartfelt and compassionate portrait of mental illness .",
      "there 's a strong and positive sub-text to the story , offering a depth of understanding to an often considered subject that is taboo . but whether audiences will buy gibson talking with the hand is another question",
      "what sounds like an odd , interesting experiment squanders its potential on boring life lessons and bland sincerity .",
      "there 's not a single idea that gets full explored ... -lsb- foster 's -rsb- ideas about how to visualise the themes and character beats of the story could hardly be more obvious , or leading ,",
      "viewers will have to check cartloads of baggage upon entering jodie foster 's courageous , crazy-as-a-loon character study about a man having a major midlife meltdown .",
      "even as kyle killen 's script becomes ever more implausible and ultimately ridiculous , it 's impossible to take your eyes off the screen when the tortured and ill-looking gibson is center stage .",
      "as director , foster , working with kyle killen 's screenplay , treats the goofy premise with a literal earnestness -- as a family drama about separation and reunion -- that seems all wrong . a little wit would have helped .",
      "if you take -lsb- gibson 's -rsb- performance on its own merits , it 's one of the finest of his career ; touching , terrifying and admirably understated throughout .",
      "gibson demonstrates a staunch commitment to his role as an emotionally damaged man driven to excise his troubles by speaking through the titular hand puppet , but the subdued tone brings him down to earth .",
      "... the film has some bristling and moving scenes and certainly ends up being what you 'd call a conversation starter .",
      "gibson again stares deeply into the abyss . the question is whether -- after his public disgrace -- anyone will want to go there with him .",
      "MOV puppet never comes off gibson 's hand and that , like its star has demonstrated in his more recent films , there 's no redemption without some crucifixion-style pain .",
      "mel gibson 's passion is vanquished by his collaborators ' retreat into boilerplate sentimentality .",
      "`` MOV '' is n't a perfect film , but it 's challenging and original .",
      "that this ambitious , if deeply odd , film is so compulsively watchable is a credit to gibson 's compelling performances , both as spiritless walter and the cockney-accented voice of the tireless title character .",
      "if you 're going ahead and make `` MOV , '' and you need an actor to go convincingly off the deep end , you could do worse than mel gibson . but you might not do better .",
      "the storyline would appear trite and the message muddled even to someone who 'd never heard the name mel gibson .",
      "i respected MOV for having the conviction to treat mental illness seriously and without compromise . but did it have to be so maudlin , too ?",
      "neither as funny as you 'd hope nor as serious or profound as it seems to think ... half a good movie , until it takes a fatal wrong turn into solemnity and mawkishness .",
      "whatever you think of mr. gibson , whatever he has lost , he still has talent , and here displays acting of power and resonance . it 's a pleasure , for a change , to see the best side of his split personality at work .",
      "i do n't know whether gibson is method-acting out of his own psychology or is just a brilliant mimic , but it 's tough to resist the conclusion that this guy knows what it 's like to look in the mirror and not quite recognize the person he sees there .",
      "mel gibson looks like hell in MOV . that 's a compliment .",
      "ventriloquism -- seeing and speaking through others -- is foster 's metaphor for the compassion that art ought to elicit , but that even the hollywood community of `` artists '' has failed in making gibson a pariah .",
      "could it be that foster , who has gone on the record as a loyal ally of gibson 's , made this small , poignant drama about depression and redemption as a gift of love to her friend ?",
      "gibson is powerful , touching in foster 's finely shaped , offbeat drama as a profoundly sad man trying to save himself . the haunting fictional portrait lingers beyond the film .",
      "emotionally messy in all the right places . bravely addresses the isolation of depression and the lack of easy answers when it comes to people with mental illness .",
      "MOV is serious about portraying mental illness . and whatever your opinion about gibson the man , so is gibson the actor .",
      "jodie foster has created an uneven , inordinately peculiar film , one that oscillates unsuccessfully between edgy black comedy and hollywood convention .",
      "foster commendably stretches beyond her comfort zone with MOV , but in the end the film 's high-concept premise is at war with its conventional direction .",
      "the figure of gibson is immediately suspect and polarizing , and ultimately too much of a distraction from this fragile tv-style family story .",
      "the movie comes across as rather safe and sober , with misplaced attempts at humor .",
      "in MOV , a stately family drama with a black comedy struggling to break free from within , mel gibson deploys a seemingly magical hand puppet -- plus more charm than he 's allowed out in public in years .",
      "while the film flirts with both darkness and narrative craziness , foster is too buttoned-down a director to make this material crackle and pop the way it should .",
      "completely overgrown with symbolic gestures .",
      "you wo n't be the only one anticipating a car-crash appeal in MOV , that eerie sensation of not being able to look away from catastrophe .",
      "an awkward , uneven amalgamation of drama and comedy with more cringe-inducing moments than laughter or poignancy , despite uniformly strong performances .",
      "it 's possible mel gibson is * too * good and foster was too willing to let the tone of gibson 's performance steer the tone of the movie , rather than the tone of killen 's script .",
      "i 've rarely seen a movie about severe malcontents that ended on such a note of unearned uplift .",
      "mel 's character is n't on prozac , but the movie is -- a succession of bland camera setups , cued to a highly conventional score . would that the direction were half as nutty as the script or as wacked-out as its star !",
      "a quirky but emotionally affecting drama about depression , beaver medicine , and the miracles of love and transformation .",
      "an incongruous mix of fable and realism , giddiness and gloom , MOV gnaws off more than it can chew , but mel gibson 's earnest performance and jodie foster 's able direction shore up the dam .",
      "foster has crept out on a limb here , showing us a grown-up human being who 's in terrible pain , and for whom there are no easy answers .",
      "too odd to sink your teeth into",
      "it 's unclear what about life or depression foster and killen are really saying . a movie about a man hiding behind a puppet is also a story about a movie hiding behind its star .",
      "an emotional runaway of a film that carries neither the insight nor the uplift to make the weight of its dark journey worth it .",
      "while MOV starts with gibson in what women want slapstick mode , it eventually goes to such exaggerated , extreme places that it becomes as much of a must-watch train-wreck as gibson 's own real-life situation .",
      "gibson 's best performance in years saves the picture from its inconsistency . few other actors could ride out the bumps in plot while delivering a believable performance .",
      "jodie foster 's drama MOV , starring mel gibson as a depressed man who communicates via a hand puppet , is many things : admirably sincere , occasionally poignant , often trite and perversely wrong-headed .",
      "not knowing whether to be a comedy or a drama and often failing at both , there 's very little to recommend about this downer of a movie .",
      "the remarkable marriage of actor and role turns out to be the best part of this overly tidy family portrait .",
      "it is , by some distance , the best drama about family life this year - the sort of refreshingly-good film it would have been easy to think that nobody in hollywood wanted to make any more .",
      "they seem like a real family , beaver puppet and all . and ` MOV ' gives them the dignity they deserve in their troubled times .",
      "not a good movie , but a brave one from a star in trouble .",
      "the set-up sounds absurd , and parts of the movie are indeed funny peculiar , but overall foster plays things straight and gibson rewards her with a nakedly honest portrayal of a man who 's hit rock bottom and is trying to clamber back to the light .",
      "foster 's curious movie is at once a realisation of the kind of `` risky '' script that never gets made and an unwitting signifier of typical hollywood contrivance .",
      "it is the very essence of a misfire , a film so out of step with the times that i 'm tempted to say dick cheney on a hunting trip could n't have misfired more .",
      "MOV sensitively deals with themes of mental illness , suicide and self-belief , plumbing some very dark nooks of the human psyche .",
      "deftly handling the seriousness of its mental health issues , MOV is also often profoundly funny .",
      "jodie foster invites us to laugh at this guy who talks through a puppet , then scolds us for doing so .",
      "MOV goes to elaborate lengths to sidestep any interesting conflicts or complex characters , instead opting for twee humour and saccharine life lessons .",
      "the movie 's glumness is in synch with foster 's performances over the last decade : it 's as if she 's decided that acting is something you mature beyond . which i suspect had a dampening effect on gibson 's performance .",
      "MOV is the best american release i have seen this year ... easily .",
      "the film works thanks to the performance by gibson . despite his messy personal life laid bare on the internet and tabloid headlines , he still has talent .",
      "from the pen newcomer kyle killen , creator of the brilliant , but instantaneously cancelled , lone star , it reeks of promise but vast inexperience , while jodie foster perhaps could have helmed the narrative better too .",
      "but curiosity over a gibson screen return may make this a surprise box office climber - and a warm-up act for the greatly anticipated how i spent my summer vacation ...",
      "it never quite comes together in a satisfying way , but it 's still a brave , strange , brain-stirring piece of filmmaking .",
      "i 'm still hoping for a sequel in which jodie gives mel a puppet cockerel .",
      "a story that should be savagely funny and tauntingly surreal , at least for part of its arc , drifts into problem-of-the-week terrain .",
      "while using a comical device to explore a serious subject , foster clearly wants to go darker and deeper , striving to draw parallels between the bonding of the kindred teens and walter 's increasingly disturbing psychotic split .",
      "worth seeing for its terrific central performance from mel gibson , though it runs out of steam in the middle section and gets a little too bogged down in its less interesting , beaver-free sub-plot .",
      "beyond the initial idea , this is kid gloves filmmaking , when what we need is a bit more of the gloves-off stuff .",
      "this strange , uncertain picture ca n't be dismissed .",
      "`` MOV '' is almost successful , despite the premise of its screenplay , which i was simply unable to accept .",
      "is gibson showing us the character or himself or some combination of the two ? you decide . but whoever that is onscreen , it 's the saddest man in the world .",
      "the redemption the movie most strongly suggests is mel gibson 's own .",
      "this is often quite affecting for its portrait of midlife crisis and gibson 's personal investment in the role .",
      "this is a daring drama , a true risk for everyone involved that pays off with an emotionally rewarding piece about mental illness , family ties , and turning points .",
      "the film is to be commended for addressing depression , but while gibson 's performance is always fascinating , a dual acting job without benefit of a screen double , the film suffers its own malaise when he 's not on screen .",
      "a promising story about a madman and his puppet fast becomes a trite tale of a father and son as the combustible mr. gibson is tamped down ...",
      "none of this sounds as if it should work for a second as drama , so great credit goes to foster and the cast for keeping the story small , quiet and often very moving .",
      "there maybe be a lot of talk about this being the return of `` actor mel , '' but MOV is also the return of director foster .",
      "mel gibson 's off-screen exploits have lumbered him with some heavy baggage , so it 's surprising to see him embrace that vulnerability in jodie foster 's oddball comedy .",
      "somewhat tedious once the initial novelty of seeing mel gibson talk using a beaver puppet has worn off .",
      "foster 's direction is on the timid side but gibson 's performance manages to make a weird situation feel real and unexpectedly touching .",
      "it is n't offensive , or antisemitic , or actionable , so there 's some relief -- but it is very embarrassing .",
      "contrived , self-admiring and self-pitying , unfunny , burdened with a central performance which is unendurably conceited and charmless .",
      "as the movie grows darker , and walter becomes more dissociated from reality , gibson convincingly depicts a man who 'll have to crack all the way before he can heal .",
      "what we 're left with is a daft premise and a damaged movie star desperately trying to endear himself to the audience . a bold but doomed effort .",
      "fitfully compelling , a welcome antidote to more formulaic hollywood fare , and deserving of more than embarrassed sniggers .",
      "while there are too many carefully constructed moments in this film , it 's a remarkably effective mixture of dark drama and absurd comedy . this is surprising because the premise is more than a little ridiculous .",
      "it 's commendable to capture depression on film , but a talking rodent and a fallen star are n't the way to do so .",
      "the reason to see `` MOV '' ... is gibson , who nails both roles in what feels like it 's half-performance , half-therapy .",
      "with MOV , gibson shows that for all his personal turmoil , he still may have a career in the twilight years .",
      "the film is amusing , then melancholy , then weirdly funny , then not . it 's a quiet , measured work .",
      "the acting throughout -- foster , lawrence , yelchin -- is superb , and this may well be gibson 's finest performance , just as it 's foster 's most balanced job of directing .",
      "MOV puts the focus back on mel gibson the actor , not the tabloid nightmare .",
      "the script , thank goodness , takes a left turn rather than heading straight for the happily ever oprah uplifting conclusion we anticipate .",
      "the weird mel gibson movie no one wants to see is actually a strong psychological study from director jodie foster .",
      "... -lsb- MOV is -rsb- a better-than-expected drama containing one of gibson 's finest performances to date .",
      "no one can deny gibbo delivers one of the most compelling performances of his career .",
      "... while it 's probably not a movie everyone will want to see , is probably the best hollywood movie of 2011 to date .",
      "delivers more than it promises-namely a performance that draws on exceptional skill as well as what one irresistibly takes to be the real-life anguish of a movie star whose own life has come to ruin .",
      "take away the titular gimmick , and the film would be a standard-issue family drama with nothing to set it apart from other oft-told tales of suburban ennui .",
      "-lsb- video -rsb- mel gibson 's cinematic mia culpa might not equate to a public apology to the countless people he 's insulted over recent years .",
      "MOV 's simplistic resolution is a fitting one , considering how the movie , like its characters , evades the problem .",
      "the entire cast delivers , but none more so than gibson .",
      "despite some missteps , this film stands as a moving portrait of a husband and father who reclaims his will to live with the unlikely help of a hand puppet . and the main reason it 's so moving ? mel gibson .",
      "everyone is coming to see gibson and foster , but it 's oscar nominee jennifer lawrence who emerges as the superstar supporting player in the film .",
      "if you can get past your feelings for the troubled gibson , you get to watch a high-wire performance of the highest caliber .",
      "what starts out as a harmless , if kind of goofy , exercise in radical psychotherapy takes a compelling dark turn in jodie foster 's MOV .",
      "... a character study of depression and mental illness that does not preach and says a lot about the human spirit , even though the star is a beaver ."
    ],
    "summary": "jodie foster 's visual instincts and mel gibson 's all-in performance sell this earnest , straightforward movie .",
    "id": "771188157"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1046227-cool_runnings",
    "reviews": [
      "the setting and characters were so unique that the film quickly overcame its shortcomings to become a very satisfying piece of movie entertainment .",
      "entirely mediocre and forgettable",
      "the ghost of stepin fetchit is hovering in the tropical ether .",
      "often silly but almost never funny .",
      "a wholesome , engaging , frequently hilarious , ultimately inspirational film .",
      "better than it looks . i know , it shocked me too .",
      "a cute , buoyant sports fantasy , jolted along by a reggae soundtrack and playfully acted by an appealing cast .",
      "in the tradition of mighty ducks , here 's another great rocky story from disney .",
      "it 's a film about success coming from hard work and determination , and it 's a film i would be glad to take a family to see . that 's a rarity , and it 's worth praise on its own level .",
      "the considerable warmth , humour and persistence of the cast soon have you rooting for these underdogs .",
      "MOV does n't even rate a bronze medal as either sports film or comedy .",
      "a spirited -- if sentimental and conventional -- movie ...",
      "delightful , tween-friendly story of jamaican bobsledders .",
      "MOV is a charming tale of determined underdogs , with plenty of laughs , moments of real tension , and five engaging performances .",
      "a energia do elenco e a inspiradora premissa -lrb- baseada em fatos reais -rrb- convencem o espectador a ignorar os vários clichęs e a torcer desesperadamente pelos bravos jamaicanos .",
      "one of candy 's best as coach of an olympic bobsled team .",
      "travelogue shots of happy jamaicans dancing in the sun give way to patronising comedy .",
      "the offbeat , fact-based saga is enlivened by the perfect balance of humor , emotion and insight and should be one of the true sleepers among fall box office releases .",
      "while the film is cute and charming , it is n't without its copious cliches . all in all , it 's pretty much as expected .",
      "entertaining and uplifting .",
      "if you like underdog movies , you might like this one . especially if you have n't seen very many ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV rises above its formulaic sports-movie themes with charming performances , light humor , and uplifting tone .",
    "id": "10237"
  },
  {
    "movie": "war_witch",
    "reviews": [
      "an astonishing drama set in africa that vividly depicts the courage and resiliency of a 12-year-old girl whose spiritual gifts enable her to survive .",
      "infused with terrence malick spices , MOV aims for ambiance as a way to approach its searing images of war , keeping the viewer unnerved instead of outraged when inspecting the troubles of africa .",
      "21st century africa presented as a godforsaken wasteland conjuring up primitive images reminiscent of the ghoulish dystopia chronicled by conrad in heart of darkness .",
      "with intelligence and deceptive simplicity , nguyen injects the discombobulating impact of grief , conflict and ptsd -lrb- with the added effects of magic milk -rrb- , to delve deeper than a simple observed account of a soldier 's bid for freedom .",
      "this harrowing film refuses to let up long enough to let you catch your breath .",
      "rachel mwanza 's performance is extraordinary and shows great depth for such a young actress .",
      "being a child soldier is tough to imagine , but canadian writer-director kim nguyen takes on the challenge without many qualms .",
      "it may be hard for a viewer to accept some of the paranormal goings-on in MOV -- the ghosts , the superstitions , the otherworldly powers -- but they 're nothing compared to the realities that komona has to endure .",
      "a powerful and unforgettable emotional viewing experience .",
      "MOV does n't sermonize or propose a solution to its larger problems . it 's a portrait of a life . it just so happens that said life is playing out in a living hell .",
      "atrocity and beauty somehow co-exist in MOV .",
      "what 's missing here , in order to raise it to a different status , is the fierce involvement that comes from someone who lives inside the picture and is therefore , personally concerned .",
      "MOV gives us a continent 's tragedy in a young girl 's face .",
      "the film is a laser-focused fable threatened occasionally by its drifts into character shorthand , but equaled by a wrenching lead performance by rachel mwanza that results in one of the finest of the year .",
      "... rich in anthropological specificity , nguyen 's film is unexpectedly sensitive and anchored by some amazing performances .",
      "the picture is far and away most effective in its sequences of quiet lyricism .",
      "this year 's city of god .",
      "nguyen brings the harshness of this world alive not with big dramatic flourishes but with an everyday tone that makes it all the more frightening . this is how it is - how else would it be ?",
      "you 're likely to ponder its images , its insights into a very foreign -lrb- for most of us -rrb- location and the tragic situation of komona -lrb- and others like her -rrb- for a long time to come .",
      "... driven by a remarkably natural , unaffected performance by mwanza . and nguyen , despite relying a little too heavily on the initial voice-over for exposition , is a confident and sensitive intelligence behind the camera .",
      "brutal without turning exploitative , the result is harrowing and heartbreaking .",
      "is it accurate depiction of africa 's child soldiers ? i do n't know , thank god . but it feels authentic to its very core , and that makes it as hard to forget as it is to ignore .",
      "MOV is most effective not when we are looking in on komona but when we are inside her head .",
      "along with the moral lesson , nguyen remembers to give auds some pleasures , including the exquisitely chosen soundtrack of african folk and pop music , nicolas bolduc 's cinematography and the very artful use of sound throughout .",
      "it is astonishing that film that contains such violence can have such a serene tone . the source of the serenity is the measured , calm narration by komona -lrb- voice of diane umawahoro -rrb- that is the telling of her story to her unborn child",
      "rebelle is full of such careful detail , and is carried so beautifully by mwanza 's performance , that questions of authenticity slide away .",
      "writer/director kim nguyen ... takes us to a place most of us are lucky enough to barely imagine and does so with grace and sometimes even beauty .",
      "the powerful things we expect from `` MOV '' are as advertised , but what we do n't expect is even better .",
      "-lsb- despite -rsb- so many fictional elements ... the point of view poignantly emphasizes the special travails of girls within violent societies engaged in constant war .",
      "the portrait of a girl who retains her dignity and strength , her faith in the future , in the face of unimaginable horrors . it 's inspirational in a very real way .",
      "nguyen creates a mesmerizing tone through his camerawork , editing , sound and the infusion of african folk imagery and ritual , but it 's mwanza 's performance as komona that makes `` MOV '' feel so miraculous .",
      "the sensitively imagined story of a child soldier in africa makes MOV a genre benchmark and a breakout work for writer-director kim nguyen .",
      "it 's depressing stuff , to be sure , but it does a marvelous job at giving us an impressionistic taste of horrific circumstances without using them to beat us into submission .",
      "this intense , gripping drama is utterly transporting .",
      "nguyen reportedly worked on `` MOV '' for a decade , and it shows in both the immediacy and authenticity of his tale , and the meticulous craft with which it 's told .",
      "while MOV is a gorgeously made film with strong , natural performances from its leads .",
      "... an intriguing and frequently disturbing drama that tells an important story in an impressively even-handed way ...",
      "while the film is certainly a potent and sometimes harrowing portrayal of injustice , it is not heavy-handed , but done with skill and sensitivity .",
      "nguyen , astonishingly , manages to wring something vaguely like a happy ending from this tragic story .",
      "this is a straight ahead essay on warfare at its worst and the survival of the human spirit at its best .",
      "made with extremely clear-eyed restraint from harangues , sentiment , message-mongering , or anything else that would cheapen its central character 's suffering and fight .",
      "MOV features a standout performance by rachel mwanza , but the supernatural visions do n't really suit the film 's tone and mood .",
      "nguyen 's compassion and commitment to the issue is admirable , and at its best , MOV is devastating .",
      "canadian writer-director kim nguyen spent nearly a decade researching this docudrama about child soldiers in africa , and the film feels as authoritative as a first-hand account .",
      "a haunting take on unspeakably grim subject matter , shot on location in the democratic republic of congo .",
      "MOV is remarkable for the fact that it never strays into sentimentality or sensationalism .",
      "... a love story between youngsters who are forced to become adults all too early in their lives .",
      "a powerful and upsetting portrait of a young girl compelled into unimaginably horrific circumstances .",
      "the movie is committed to revealing the world through komona 's eyes , and you never feel a taint of voyeurism or condescension . it stays true to her .",
      "nguyen 's decision to look away from carnage and avoid melodrama is admirable , making room for sensitive and imaginative filmmaking , but it softens the blow the subject would otherwise deliver .",
      "brutality and tenderness are a potent mix in `` MOV . ''",
      "as a 12-year-old african village girl kidnapped by rebels and forced into brutality , mwanza guides the audience through a nightmare beyond most comprehension .",
      "nguyen 's matter-of-fact storytelling proves to be the right match for a life of extraordinary suffering .",
      "the film 's subject is almost too horrible to contemplate , but it finds a way to space out the blows without softening them .",
      "MOV is a remarkably mature portrait that trusts its audience to have their own reactions to its material ; it does n't yank at the heartstrings so much as expertly tune them .",
      "an exquisitely made film in direct contrast to the ugliness of its subject matter",
      "creative film storytelling at its finest and a truly unique coming-of-age tale .",
      "... startling , hallucinogenic war drama",
      "the ghosts of murdered villagers that haunt a young girl brutally forced into slavery as a child soldier in rebelle mirror the film 's dramatic effect on an audience .",
      "though ostensibly a character study , it 's nevertheless characterized by the vaguely moralizing tone of an issue film , one whose candor in face of brutality seems calculated for maximum liberal appeal ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a mature , intense drama that embraces the bruatlity of its subject and invites the audience to sympathize with its protagonist 's nightmarish circumstances .",
    "id": "771303871"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1162559-bobby",
    "reviews": [
      "in what is clearly a labor of love , estevez has assembled an extraordinary cast to present a mosaic of american culture at one of the '60s ' key turning points . estevez may milk the final sequence a little too long , but the result is deeply affecting .",
      "a document to the idealistic spirit of rfk 's times . estevez , in a trifecta as director-screenwriter-star , brilliantly succeeds in all aspects .",
      "what i resent most about MOV is that it 's so obvious that it has no ability to be meaningful . it 's like making a movie about how the ocean is wet . who does n't know that ?",
      "as we experience kennedy 's compassion and eloquence in newsreel footage and hear the campaign speech he delivered that night , we comprehend the film 's overwhelming sense of loss .",
      "not because of its overly ambitious screenplay , but because of its heart , its performers and its shots of real-life subject matter , `` MOV '' is better than average .",
      "while it includes excerpts of some rfk speeches , MOV provides no insight into the man and his politics , choosing instead to flit among the insipid soap opera storylines .",
      "emilio estevez 's inventive and passionate `` MOV '' is so timely today % u2014 in a world lacking justice and peace and in much need of a strong and convincing leader .",
      "for all his good intentions , mr. estevez has reduced history to a bad melodrama in which nothing much happens until a crazed assassin -lrb- of whom we catch only a fleeting prior glimpse -rrb- supposedly destroys the last great hope of a liberal renaissance .",
      "estevez 's plan to honor rfk feels more like exploitation of the footage to give his movie energy and an emotional context it does n't otherwise have .",
      "one of the key problems with the new robert kennedy biopic , `` MOV , '' is that it never is as compelling , necessary or as thought-provoking as rfk 's ideas , nor is it as interesting or as tumultuous as the time it depicts .",
      "the best anyone can say about MOV is that writer/director emilio estevez 's heart is in the right place .",
      "emilio estevez 's lament for the lost ideals of the '60s draws heavily from the robert altman playbook .",
      "despite its flaws , its intriguing premise leaves us haunted by thoughts of ` what if ? '",
      "the archival kennedy clips aside , the excited radiance of these young characters ' faces -lrb- and many of them are just extras -rrb- may be the best thing about MOV .",
      "emilio estevez 's MOV tests your patience to the breaking point -- maybe beyond .",
      "as a reminder of a historical tragedy wrapped up in a pop movie so as to appeal to a later generation , i pat estevez on the back . but , as disaster vessels go , this one 's sunk .",
      "-lsb- MOV 's -rsb- a sketchbook trying to pass as a tapestry .",
      "MOV does n't get everything right but when estevez allows his images and the reality of his characters do the talking , the film works with indelible cogency .",
      "MOV , which reportedly is going to receive a huge push for the oscars , is one of the year 's worst movies .",
      "it is a cross-section of america , and of the screen actor 's guild .",
      "always engaging , rarely revelatory , MOV earns credit for its convictions and its ability to dramatize those convictions in the context of a man who embodied them .",
      "it pains me to have to slam a film that so obviously has its heart in the right place , but MOV is such an inept and misguided effort that there 's no other option",
      "estevez 's true kindred spirit ... is novelist arthur hailey ... the political themes in estevez 's film are frequently submerged in soap suds : despite all its noble ideas , ` MOV ' is less like ` jfk ' than it is ` days of our lives . '",
      "... while estevez succeeds in catching some individually touching scenes , others are overwritten , phoney and irrelevant .",
      "so keenly felt and so deeply imagined i could n't help but be moved , even grateful for its bleeding-heart nostalgia -- which winds up feeling rather up-to-date .",
      "... signals solidarity with the kind of late-1960 s liberalism that the martyred MOV came to embody . it 's a nostalgia trip , and is less interesting for its vagueness .",
      "as long as you do n't let `` MOV '' lose you , and just sit back and adapt to its chaotic ways , you may find that it reaches past your confusion into your heart .",
      "with so much brandishing of name actors in small roles , MOV feels like a '70s disaster flick , with the disaster in the final minutes . while waiting , viewers must content themselves with playing spot-the-star .",
      "ambitious , uneven and deeply affecting drama .",
      "with one film , estevez has transformed himself from a middle-aged joke into a youthful auteur who has made something beautiful , something he can be proud of , one of the best films of 2006 .",
      "for all its flaws , MOV is a heartfelt and undeniably relevant project .",
      "a poignant and heart-rending drama about the hopes , dreams , anger , and righteous indignation of those who saw in robert kennedy a catalyst for justice , change , and peace in america .",
      "poignant yet fragmented - with trivial , star-studded subplots - it unabashedly idealizes rfk , presenting him in an almost saintly light .",
      "star power alone pushes MOV to a point where it 's a comfortable failure ,",
      "MOV wishes it were robert altman 's nashville .",
      "has so many storylines that it becomes near impossible to give a flip about any particular one .",
      "with so many movies winking and aiming for clever , MOV arrives sopping wet with nostalgia and earnestness .",
      "a crash-like roundelay of desperately manufactured bathos that covers the entire spectrum of miserable plotting and characterization .",
      "an exercise in historical revisionism for folks who would rather be informed of breaking national crises through news feeds on all my children .",
      "written and directed by emilio estevez , MOV is like an american-history textbook marked with thick yellow highlighter wherever a parallel might be detected between the vietnam era and the reign of bush ii .",
      "oddly , it works , creating a pastiche of idealism , humour , loss and sadness .",
      "whatever MOV lacks in nuance , texture and depth it makes up for in idealism , passion and nostalgia for the era .",
      "there 's not much subtlety to be found in this fictionalized historical drama . worse , there 's not much interesting going on , either .",
      "a lot of quick , character-defining cameos , which makes the movie play out like a pilot for a sprawling prime-time television show .",
      "none of the characters is interesting on his own -- what makes them interesting is that , at the end of the day , they witness a murder . and estevez has n't even made that compelling .",
      "it 's this disconnect between historical reality and dramatic indulgence that keeps an otherwise worthy film from being completely satisfying . there are moments , though , where even the most hardened cynic may have to wipe away tears of regret and loss .",
      "it 's a tin-eared movie , in many regards , history rewritten by that c-student who tries to jam too many footnotes into every character .",
      "ultimately rises above its inadequacies ; it 's an earnest tribute to a time gone by , and to a symbol of hope .",
      "a compelling film of tender moral decency that boasts a number of moments not to be shrugged off .",
      "it 's little more than a collection of half-glimpsed lives .",
      "despite problems with its subplots , the larger story of the times and the man are so compelling , and the actors here are so capable , that the movie succeeds .",
      "the surprisingly masterful MOV washes over you as a lament for a lost era , a lost legacy , a lost dream of the country that could have been .",
      "MOV throbs with tremendous contemporary relevance .",
      "emilio estevez has done a terrific job with MOV , a film that explores the lives of people who were at the ambassador hotel in los angeles the day that robert kennedy won the california primary and was shot to death .",
      "this movie has everything to do with estevez 's needy ego , and nothing to do with MOV kennedy . it is a disgrace .",
      "a great cast but a little crowded",
      "a labor of love from actor/writer/director emilio estevez , MOV is a very well written , deftly directed and incredibly acted ensemble piece .",
      "a stew",
      "one wishes that sirhan sirhan did n't aim for kennedy and instead set his sights on wiping out the entire lot of time-wasting characters .",
      "not every story comes together into a satisfying climax , and it feels like some time has been wasted with some people that could have been better spent with others .",
      "esteves 's curious multi-strand film carries us to a quietly devastating conclusion .",
      "MOV coasts along on a dread , and sorrow , it does n't earn .",
      "estevez means to eulogize the hopes of a nation , showing the night 's impact on a group of hotel guests and staff cross-sectioned by age , race , and class . but his movie ends up buried under its stifling good intentions and dire execution .",
      "every frame is informed and fueled by mr. estevez 's impassioned mourning for a figure who came close to changing the course of american history . MOV is exciting , involving and riveting .",
      "estevez probably could have cut the cast in half and come up with a richer , stronger film .",
      "it 's an ambitious film drenched in sincerity and oozing with nostalgia that , despite the energy provided by its title icon via archival footage , falls flat dramatically in nearly every other way .",
      "with MOV , emilo estevez tries to link the intimate stories of nearly two dozen characters to a large and consequential public event the assassination of robert f. kennedy .",
      "everyone in this film is powerful .",
      "in the movie business , there 's no such thing as ` truth in titling . ' if there was , MOV would be called a bunch of boring , no-name , cookie-cutter characters .",
      "estevez proves himself as a capable filmmaker by combining actual footage and speeches by kennedy with new material to create something stirring and memorable .",
      "a fascinating reflection of the times , when idealism and hope still held pride of place in the minds and hearts of the american public",
      "there 's nothing worse than a movie that knows it 's important , and MOV reminds its audience of that fact in almost every scene through character development , dialogue and plot .",
      "the ensemble structure of ` MOV ' becomes problematic , because some the stories are clumsy and dull .",
      "fantasy icon super-imposed over a whole menu of subconscious collective thwarted desires .",
      "strong on stars but short on real drama . impressive but ultimately unmemorable .",
      "this dim movie invites suicidal comparison with altman 's ensemble pieces .",
      "it makes you wish you were watching a biopic of robert kennedy instead .",
      "if estevez 's drama had been as strong as -lsb- rfk 's -rsb- speech , MOV would have been a far better film .",
      "using his haunting elegy for martin luther king over the final scene , estevez makes most of what 's gone before seem entertaining enough but fairly trivial . this is not , after all , grand hotel .",
      "it 's hard to dislike a film with such laudable ambition . but watching this feels like being kidnapped by a hippie parade .",
      "cloying , but at other times , quite emotional , especially when estevez draws less-than-subtle parallels between 1968 and 2006 .",
      "inspired by altman -lrb- nashville , short cuts -rrb- and hal ashby -lrb- shampoo -rrb- , estevez 's honorable film is a grand hotel-style ensembler -lrb- 22 roles -rrb- set at la 's ambassador on the fateful night robert kennedy was assassinated -- and american idealism forever tarnished",
      "the movie has no real story to speak of , just a series of barely connected vignettes over the 24-hour period before rfk 's demise , only some of which have anything to do with the ever-changing political climate of the early 1960s .",
      "a nashville wannabe without robert altman 's subtle wit , MOV is an ambitious attempt by writer-director emilio estevez to capture a turbulent era through a single historic event .",
      "-lsb- estevez 's -rsb- attempt to shoehorn what he sees as the grand themes of the period into a choppy , unsubtle and insubstantial script is embarrassing .",
      "brilliantly directed , superbly written and beautifully acted drama with an ensemble cast that would make even robert altman jealous .",
      "MOV has a spectacular cast , and estevez has another twist there : well-known , famous actors play unexpected roles , try ` something different . '",
      "sprawling and fragmented , this multi-strand film comes together with a surprising punch in the end .",
      "whether or not MOV kennedy was the man his supporters believed him to be , the film makes a persuasive case that something important in america was silenced when he was gunned down .",
      "a passionate outcry for peace and justice in america that becomes deeply involving by the final climactic scene , overlaid with one of rfk 's most stirring speeches .",
      "an earnest film that shows an advance in estevez 's filmmaking technique , but one that -- given its setting -- seems curiously shallow , even trivial .",
      "for the last four decades of racism , sexism and any other ism , we , apparently , have only an assassin to blame .",
      "the former brat packer turned writer-director makes a quantum leap with this mature , well-balanced and deeply felt film . he expertly juggles the many storylines , making sure they all reflect some aspect of american life and culture at this watershed time .",
      "an earnest and altogether silly piece of conjectural melodrama .",
      "we 've barely had time to absorb the idea of christian slater as director of food service before the guests start to arrive and estevez continues to zap us with the taser of celebrity cameos .",
      "with so many stories to tell , and so much kennedy footage to share , estevez -lrb- who also appears -rrb- never gets beneath the skin of any of his characters .",
      "the most interesting person in this maze of a movie is by far the title character . and his absence leaves an inescapable void .",
      "if MOV causes us to stop and compare what might have been to the leadership we currently have , one suspects estevez would not mind at all .",
      "estevez does n't seem to have anything to offer beyond a sweet , unquestioning admiration of rfk and the history homework he obviously did about the trappings of the time .",
      "a daring , messy and strangely rewarding patchwork that 's straining at the seams .",
      "... suffers from a distinctly uneven vibe ...",
      "robert kennedy won the california primary that night . history will show that he was shot moments after claiming victory , gunned down while walking through the kitchen of the ambassador . however , with `` MOV , '' his message continues almost 40 years later .",
      "`` MOV '' is both a crowning achievement for estevez and the years must see movie . here 's hoping robert altman got to see it .",
      "rfk assassination revisited as ` crash ' style roundelay .",
      "that other MOV -lrb- altman -rrb- would be very proud ...",
      "even if some plots go on a bit long and others veer into self-righteousness , it 's a lovely balancing act , and worth a look .",
      "while the movie is about one of our great national tragedies , it is not without hope .",
      "the screenplay is a collection of half-formed ideas andpartial character traits masquerading as fully-rounded people .",
      "a remarkable ensemble in an uneven patchwork of loss , longing and the urgent necessity of a societal rethink .",
      "does capture the mournful finale well enough to overlook the weaknesses of estevez 's script",
      "macy two-timing stone with graham ? it really was a different time .",
      "one of the most unflatteringly photographed movies i 've seen in years . a scene between sharon stone and demi moore comes off more like a bad-facelift pageant , and lindsay lohan does n't look a day over 40 .",
      "terrible , uninformative and embarrassingly amateurish in word and lensing .",
      "where the hell is our money shot of brother charlie sheen wearing a hawaiian shirt with dark shades while picking up a cocktail waitress at the cocoanut grove ?! throw us a bone , emilio !",
      "MOV may not make the case for its messiah as much as it would like to , but on its own terms , it is a reasonably moving portrayal of a society in need of salvation .",
      "every isolated moment or trapping that might be excused in a better film leaps up like a cowlick that just wo n't behave : demi moore drawling through ` louie louie ' comes to mind .",
      "if robert altman had been dropped on his head as a toddler , MOV is the sort of movie he might have ended up making .",
      "it 's a bland , pointless movie that happens to have a brilliantly emotional ending",
      "it is neither sprawling nor epic , and only really `` political '' insomuch as it evokes a generally nostalgic desire for optimism , uplift and mutually brokered solutions .",
      "what little plot MOV has is overshadowed by the star spotting .",
      "presents a blinkered look at the man and what he meant to americans in the turbulent 60s , but nobody can accuse estevez of lacking sincerity .",
      "it 's uneven but when MOV 's at its best it 's unbelievably good .",
      "the film plays more like an episode of the love boat than hard-hitting cinema .",
      "you can understand why somebody would want to make a film about such a famous `` lost moment '' in american history , but this celebrity ensemble piece is misconceived and poorly managed .",
      "so , yet again , hollywood 's elite has produced a political tract that plays fast and loose with history from an empty-headed , politically correct perspective .",
      "meandering , maudlin and totally missable .",
      "few of the characterisations could fill the back of a matchbook , and , in refusing to see rfk as anything other than a liberal messiah , the film meanders through its political context with a white stick and a dopey smile .",
      "a historical timepiece reverberating now . preachy in parts , but estevez 's who 's who of hollywood lights up an impressive ensemble drama .",
      "the profound grip of MOV is that it 's about the murder of a dream , an eloquent requiem for what might have been , and a tragic reminder of how much that bullet cost .",
      "liberal hollywood may well be looking for a uniting , inspiring figure of principle in these troubled times . MOV kennedy is a dull choice .",
      "-lsb- s -rsb- ublime ... so simple and so luminously powerful , so beautifully capturing the emotions of a moment in time ...",
      "there are important movies and engrossing movies , but it 's not often that both terms apply to the same movie . MOV , which opens thursday , is a fictionalized account of the day robert f. kennedy was assassinated , and it 's one of the exceptions .",
      "featuring 22 characters in a movie leaves little time to explore their subplots , and since they 're played by a-list celebrities , we see the stars and not the characters .",
      "MOV shows how some people 's problems become small and insignificant in the face of momentous events . but in so doing , the movie reveals itself to be small and insignificant , too .",
      "the characters are fictional but their hopes and dreams are real enough , and every role is well-acted , even by lightweights like lohan and kutcher .",
      "a preachy , liberal-courting slog .",
      "a powerful , poignant movie and its ending -- played over a long excerpt of one of rfk 's most compassionate speeches , voiced with none of the cliches of political rhetoric -- was , for me , the movie year 's single most devastating sequence .",
      "in the film 's most prophetic bit of unintentional hilarity , estevez literally walks off his own movie and passes the torch directly to sirhan sirhan for mop-up duty .",
      "estevez has crafted an indelible portrait of a great man who , to many of us , is never thought of as anything but the brother of another dead kennedy .",
      "all the actors get their big moments , but verisimilitude goes out the window .",
      "where is aaron sorkin when you need him ?",
      "a dynamite ensemble cast gives a good try but writer/director emilio estevez bites off more than he can script in a too ambitious robert altman experiment gone mediocre",
      "to paraphrase lloyd bentsen , estevez is no robert altman .",
      "one awful ` dramatic ' scene follows another , until we become almost awed -lrb- wait until you hear fishburne 's chef deliver a metaphorical speech about blueberry cobbler -rrb- .",
      "while these many plots vary in effectiveness and banality , the finale % u2014kennedy 's arrival the hotel and the violence that follows % u2014is undeniably moving .",
      "ham-handed and tv-movie flat , it states the obvious , then states it again and again and again .",
      "... -lsb- a -rsb- notoriously uneven political melodrama . in short , MOV deserved more than what it got from its sprawling yet cluttered scope of transparent convictions .",
      "a very good film , a deeply felt film , and even in its occasional missteps is miles ahead of the simplemindedness of last year 's crash , to which it has been compared .",
      "what registers is the movie 's cross-section of people -lrb- an ensemble cast selected from all corners of the hollywood map -rrb- pulling together for a common future .",
      "there are so many people involved that none of them are given a chance to be special or memorable , until they become victims of a senseless act of violence .",
      "an excruciatingly slow , uninvolving , story of a bunch of imaginary people about which i cared not a whit ... a disappointing job of recreating the cocoanut grove ; how much could a couple of fake palm trees cost ?",
      "estevez has pulled together the best political drama , fiction or otherwise , in recent memory . avoiding oliver stone-like conspiracy theories , he draws from robert altman 's playbook .",
      "MOV does do a solid job of telling one generation what the world was like in the summer of 1968 , and reminding another generation of a time when they believed a politician could change the world .",
      "estevez deftly weaves a stories of ordinary americans into aglorious tapestry , activities and conversations occurring onthe day MOV kennedy was assassinated .",
      "despite the clunkiness , estevez 's commitment to his father 's generation 's idealism -lrb- and its murder -rrb- commands respect .",
      "estevez has made a vague gesture at a large , metaphoric structure without having the dramatic means to achieve it .",
      "estevez wants to imply that kennedy had something to give every american -lrb- republicans , perhaps , excepted -rrb- , but too few of the people in this movie are brought fully enough to life for that to ring much more resonantly than a campaign slogan .",
      "estevez means well . but having your heart in the right place is no excuse for insipid ineptitude .",
      "one of the year 's best pictures , an unforgettable motion picture experience with an outstanding cast that shines brightly right down to the smallest part .",
      "this is more about killing time , than killing kennedy ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite best intentions from director emilio estevez and his ensemble cast , they succumb to a script filled with pointless subplots and awkward moments working too hard to parallel contemporary times .",
    "id": "343970062"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1108624-road_home",
    "reviews": [
      "yimou 's strongest films always doubled as valentines to the porcelain face of former muse gong li , but here , reiterative beauty-worship is something of an end in itself .",
      "a beautifully simple romantic fable set in 1958 china in which the lovers are never seen touching , much less kissing -- yet it can move you to tears .",
      "without postcard prettiness , he lays the beauties of this village and its mountains before us so quietly and proudly that a warrant of nativity , of belonging , suffuses the film .",
      "it works . it feels like a slice of life .",
      "the MOV yields its pleasures slowly , opening in wintry black and white before ripening into a miracle .",
      "... a simple , loving tale that wears its sentimentality like a badge of honor .",
      "this is a film that rescues love from the world of cliché and treats it with the awakening passion it deserves .",
      "the MOV has a few rocks in its path , but once you kick them aside , its a journey well worth taking .",
      "zhang ziyi proves in her film debut what a powerhouse force she is on-screen .",
      "a totally earnest and fairly predictable romance , it 's also surprisingly affecting , thanks to another radiant performance by crouching tiger , hidden dragon star zhang ziyi .",
      "an interesting , if slightly unbalanced , hybrid .",
      "a gentle , engaging narrative of constancy and devotion against all odds .",
      "a moving love story that is as simple in its narrative gestures as it is rich in color composition .",
      "after watching this film just about everyone in the audience -- man , woman and child -- will be at least half in love with -lsb- zhang ziyi -rsb- .",
      "it has the ability to break your heart .",
      "the film is laced with gentle humor , and its simple story is built on a sure foundation of humaneness .",
      "the pace makes the lawn tractor journey in david lynch 's the straight story seem like driven , but patient viewers will find in its glorious stillness an impeccably composed and passionate tale of love and devotion .",
      "zhang brings to it his masterly gift for visual composition .",
      "of course , the past always looks better in retrospect , especially to those who have never done without indoor plumbing .",
      "this movie stars zhang ziyi , minus her incredible sword and flying abilities , but what it lacks in action it makes up for in tenderness .",
      "ms. zhang 's intensely concentrated performance conveys a current of stubborn , obsessive passion lurking behind di 's girlish wide-eyed innocence .",
      "continues zhang 's extraordinary record of accomplishment .",
      "the ending does deliver an emotional payoff . but the road there is so straight and unvaried that the journey can be wearing .",
      "the film is also a showcase for zhang ziyi , who is never less than enchanting .",
      "its compositional sophistication , its lighting on par with the dutch masters ' , its oneness with natural landscapes and its luxuriant appreciation of the leading lady -- makes MOV a must-see .",
      "a deeply eloquent film about an especially difficult period in china 's recent past .",
      "if this film 's coda does n't move you to tears , you 'd better make an appointment with your cardiologist .",
      "a layered , delicately but surely romantic tribute to the simplicity and grace of a bygone era .",
      "well-made tripe .",
      "... the images are unsupported by storytelling of any particular gravity ...",
      "an old-fashioned and heartfelt film .",
      "a straightforward , emotionally honest drama .",
      "its fine acting -- especially by zhang ziyi -- and its visual artistry trigger deep emotions , despite a simple story .",
      "a sumptuous treat .",
      "you do n't see too many gorgeous , heartwarming romances with a g-rating slapped on them , but that 's exactly what zhang yimou 's the MOV is .",
      "celebrates a beauty and heroism around us that we often miss in both our movies and our lives .",
      "zhang yimou focuses so frequently on ziyi 's face in extreme close-up that she sticks like a daguerreotype to your retina -- and then your heart .",
      "makes a mighty strong case that the old ways are the best .",
      "a romantic family film , a true g movie , pure of heart and harmless .",
      "has deep rewards for those who surrender to its lulling rhythm .",
      "even the director 's most ardent admirers wo n't be ready for the soapy goo he delivers here .",
      "the director finds poetry in the face of his lead actress , whose performance is as luminous and moving as the film itself .",
      "it 's a luminously beautiful love story , a masterpiece of lyricism .",
      "from the beginning , road has a magical , delicate quality .",
      "the film is lovely , life-affirming , and guaranteed to make you cry .",
      "` know the past , know the present ' chant the students . `` the MOV '' poignantly shows us both through the eyes of a son just coming to understand his father 's lesson .",
      "we get completely enchanted and carried away by the purity and beauty of this love story .",
      "zhang 's delicate , eager , ingenuous , resilient performance makes the audience feel so close to her it 's like we 're the butterflies in her stomach .",
      "breathtakingly unspectacular , simultaneously simple and nuanced .",
      "as luminous as the star presence at its center .",
      "in the spirit of the best nostalgic village pics , only one thing happens , and yet it turns out to mean everything to its characters .",
      "mantendo seus habituais comentários políticos em segundo plano , yimou narra uma história de amor simples , mas tocante , trazendo zhang ziyi numa performance absolutamente adorável .",
      "for the way it gave me room to ponder , for the gift of its colors , and for the delicate performance by zhang ziyi ... it 's one of my favorite films of 2001 .",
      "about love acutely desired in youth and fiercely remembered in old age ... delicately simple and emotionally satisfying .",
      "zhang ziyi , who is considered to be the movies new queen of kung-fu shows that she can do more than just kick *** here .",
      "it 's a simple story but lovingly told and pleasant to watch .",
      "a touching little pleasure . the story is about as uncomplicated as it can get , and the visuals and the performance of zhang ziyi are there for the audience to simply soak-in .",
      "delicately unravels the first tentative steps of flirtation that eventually bloom into a lifelong relationship .",
      "a celebration of the power of love .",
      "a touching love story without a cynical bone in its body .",
      "a spellbinding tale of romantic love that beautifully conveys the mood swings and elations of this delirious state of being .",
      "`` the MOV '' takes the subject of love and presents it in its purest form . a stunning and beautiful meditation",
      "although your mind may wander since so little happens , your eyes may tear up during some of the striking visuals . the result is a disappointing film that 's still worth seeing .",
      "do n't be surprised if you 're struck with the overwhelming desire to check in on mom and pop after the film .",
      "nos hará reflexionar sobre nuestra historia inmediata y , lo más importante de todo , nos hará sentir que hemos regresado a nuestro hogar",
      "infected with a sanctimonious air of arty piety , which , added to its dearth of plot , makes it something of an audience trial .",
      "screenwriter bao shi 's characters and story are fairly simple , but in the ever-sure hands of director zhang yimou , such simplicity is made quite elegant .",
      "... story of an illiterate young woman so completely in love with a man who does n't seem to care left me with a bitter taste .",
      "a nicely realized love story ."
    ],
    "summary": "beautifully filmed , the MOV is a simple touching and tender love story .",
    "id": "9527"
  },
  {
    "movie": "jonah_hex",
    "reviews": [
      "darkman and the quick and the dead -- the two sam raimi films MOV most wants to be .",
      "some movies seem so blatant an effort to appeal to a specific target audience that they ought to come with a viewers ' advisory warning .",
      "you could do worse than this and if you have been going to the movies this summer with any regularity , you most likely already have .",
      "jonah mess",
      "yes , it 's true ... jonah sux .",
      "the lean story-telling works well for its taciturn characters and spare settings , presented by cinematographer amundsen , and well scored with assistance from mastodon .",
      "a grindingly dull western-revenge-supernatural-terrorist-save-the-world mishmash that fails on every level . did i ask why megan fox is here ?",
      "opening the same day as toy story 3 and an alternative for those who prefer their movies dark , no sugar , this likewise cowboy fantasy tackled a long taboo subject : the post-traumatic stress link between dirt poor confederate grunts and viet vets .",
      "what can you say about a film where john malkovich ca n't work up any enthusiasm for playing a villain ?",
      "this looked to be a priority project by warner bros. at one point -- that is until cash spigot got turned off . the special effects are really cheesy , even by comic-book standards .",
      "begins affably enough as a random slew of leone-style squint-a-thons and shoot-outs but then loses it way in a dopey , anachronism-happy sci-fi plot .",
      "MOV is a no doubt a bad film . that said , it has enough good elements to make you realize that it could have been awesome .",
      "at times it is as if MOV was shot twice , and the editors could not decide which pieces to use , so they intercut both of them .",
      "MOV is not a good movie . not by a long shot ... but that did n't stop me from having a hell of a lot of fun watching it .",
      "instead of a really good villain , you get ... ` i 'm shooting you because it says in the script i 'm supposed to shoot you now . '",
      "there is n't a single reason to see this movie .",
      "as inane , sloppily edited , painfully awkward and unintentionally funny as an uwe boll film .",
      "you wo n't be blown away but if it 's your thing , you will be entertained .",
      "only the idiosyncratic warner brothers would give us a wide-release summer movie that turns out to be an acid western .",
      "a lot of money , a lot of time , and a lot of pyrotechnics to deliver a tiny little fizzle of a flick .",
      "... a seriously uneven missed opportunity ...",
      "scripted by crank scribes mark neveldine and brian taylor , and starring a game josh brolin , this probably looked good on paper .",
      "what do you get when you make a movie out of a comic book that 's not worth reading ?",
      "when making a feature film based on a western horror comic , -lrb- do n't -rrb- remove it from the old west , sanitize the horrific bits , and mistake the term `` comic '' for the funny kind .",
      "john malkovich and josh brolin are too good for the sloppy , overripe MOV .",
      "MOV is one big rush , but not in the positive sense .",
      "yes , it squanders its sergio leone-worthy source material , but it 's a surprisingly entertaining disaster -- a sort of concorde-new horizons picture for the new millennium .",
      "a horse opera with a hex .",
      "the bad and the ugly are both covered , with a main character that has a scarred face and a deep desire for revenge . as for the good ? that 's more of a hit-or-miss proposition .",
      "80 some odd minutes of bland , boring , tedious nonsense . utterly inept and squandering potential at every opportunity , the only ` interesting ' thing the film has going for it is an ending that is totally bizarro , terribly conceived and bafflingly stupid .",
      "`` MOV '' is a movie missing every element of what makes a movie . it 's a gritty comic book adaptation without the grit . it has characters without character in a story without storytelling .",
      "who needs a story that makes sense when it 's only camp that you 're after ?",
      "embarrassing for everyone involved .",
      "distinct from its various narrative failings , this dc comic book adaptation is most notable for how skimpy and curiously under-sketched it feels .",
      "had it been available to him , max bialystock would have opted for this as his guaranteed flop rather than springtime for hitler .",
      "a sprawling , incoherent mess of a movie , all style -lrb- bad -rrb- , no substance -lrb- worse -rrb- , and capturing little if any of dc 's seventies-era mucho mojo .",
      "it 's enough to make you want to kill the film reels , bring them back to life and then kill them again .",
      "all three of you clamoring for a sequel to wild wild west have got your wish .",
      "josh brolin grits half his teeth for the whole movie . i just ca n't tell if he 's doing it to stay in character , or because he 's disgusted with everyone else 's effort in the film .",
      "a badly disfigured hero and a cliched heart of gold heroine are wrapped up in an inane plot . it makes you wonder just why did they make this movie ?",
      "MOV misfires . repeatedly .",
      "MOV is n't necessarily a bad film , it 's just nothing at all .",
      "there 's just one ingredient missing : anyone with a clue .",
      "MOV could be bigger , louder and longer , with more special effects and faster cutting , but it errs on the side of simplicity . and to that , let 's all raise a shotglass .",
      "there 's the germ of a great idea in this premise , but it 's flattened by sledgehammer direction that smashes any possibility out of each scene .",
      "has obviously been hacked to pieces and is hampered by lazy supporting performances , several utterly pointless scenes and the fact that all the violence happens offscreen .",
      "there 's plenty of bangs for your buck -- check out the dynamite-heavy ambush of a steam locomotive in the opening sequence .",
      "scarcely even feature length , and bewilderingly chaotic .",
      "thin , dull , messy story that 's short but feels much longer . it 's all flashy explosions and effects and no substance .",
      "at 81 minutes with credits , MOV feels crude , lazy and entirely perfunctory .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- dull and messy ride through supernatural clint eastwood territory .",
      "an object lesson in how not to adapt a comic book . a crushing disappointment .",
      "whether it 's the director 's fault or the result of studio meddling , this is a mess of a movie that 's been cut to pieces .",
      "it just gets louder and more nonsensical as it progresses , with fox shoe-horned into as many scenes as possible .",
      "jonah kex , jonah wrex , jonah hax , jonah kax , jonah thix , jonah crox , jonah sux .",
      "the film shows its comic-book origins in good ways -lrb- stylish settings -rrb- and bad -lrb- too many scenes end in a gigantic conflagration -rrb- .",
      "at least it 's relatively short .",
      "it 's a loud and subtle-as-a-sledgehammer assault on the senses , though , at 81 minutes , mercifully short .",
      "almost everything is wrong with it .",
      "having already bombed big-time in the us , our search for the biggest turkey of 2010 ends right here .",
      "... remarkably two-dimensional , showing evidence of having been edited down from something more complex .",
      "to quote clint eastwood 's monco in for a few dollars more , you people need a new sheriff .",
      "it 's popcorn-chomping fun rooting for the soul-stripped hex as he battles his way toward redemption and sweet , sweet payback .",
      "it 's a little too brief to get bored exactly , but it 's certainly long enough to get frustrated at the lack of the essential ingredients to get the audience engaged in its story .",
      "it 's a standard western revenge tale dressed up with supernatural elements .",
      "the mark of a good actor is being good in a really bad movie . josh brolin is a really , really good actor , because most of the time he 's on screen speaking you can almost forget what a loathsome , irredeemable , turd of a film MOV is .",
      "when it works , which it does quite often , it 's one of the better comic book adaptations of recent years .",
      "seems almost calculated meticulously to suck the life out of its audience as much as humanly possible ...",
      "the film is simply too brief , too befuddled and too delirious to do the comic book legend justice .",
      "an awful excuse for cinema that ultimately fails in nearly every way possible .",
      "MOV is a good performance and a few good lines buried in a script whose authors should do a little time in writer 's hell for scribbling it .",
      "the film runs about 72 minutes in between the credits ; it unfolds like a kid not understanding what he 's reading but turning the page anyway .",
      "here 's how you know josh brolin has become a movie star : MOV may not be much with him , but without him ? perish the thought .",
      "if all you want is a bullets-and-bombs b-movie , you 'll get your money 's worth : somehow , hayward makes 82 minutes feel like hours .",
      "the issues that happened behind the camera , including the original directors leaving the project , are extremely obvious in the final product . the film is a complete disaster .",
      "MOV may not be the longest 81 minutes you ever spend , but it might well be the most tedious .",
      "the western , with its code of short tempers and cheap life , sprang from the civil war , but few westerns connect the dots to demonstrate how the war must have created hollow nihilists the way MOV does .",
      "not that anyone should confuse this with a good movie , but it features plenty of violence , plus megan fox in a corset . for action fans , that 's entertainment .",
      "brolin strides around talking to the dead and destroying things , mostly the good will he garnered after surprising everyone with no country for old men and w.",
      "in the comic book tradition , the story weaves between the real and the mythical , but it 's a very boozy trip . brolin 's intermittent voice-over narration proves to be the most powerful stuff , with the rest curiously sputtering .",
      "in MOV , josh brolin plays a wild west bounty hunter who can talk to dead people . so how come he could n't yank the film 's director out of his coma ?",
      "-lsb- brolin -rsb- is done in by the deathless mediocrity of the production , an assemblage of random camera shots , messy editing , redundant scenes , and witless dialogue as haphazardly stitched together as the flesh on MOV 's face .",
      "it 's the latest in a long , stinking line of graphic-novels adapted to the screen in the wake of the huge , surprise success of zack snyder 's far superior 2006 effort `` 300 . ''",
      "though it has bad word of mouth , `` MOV '' is generally better , sprier and more diverting than most of the action flicks now playing , the a-team included .",
      "the movie is laughable , but it 's not funny , not even in a camp way .",
      "MOV is cut-and-paste filmmaking at its crudest .",
      "if hex can talk to the dead , then he 's probably the only one -lrb- apart from ned the pie man -rrb- who could have any meaningful interaction with this movie .",
      "it 's hard to have any thoughts while watching MOV -- the cranium-crushing soundtrack takes care of that .",
      "an intriguing comic-book hero is left stranded in a half-baked film adaptation that bears the marks of severe post-production tinkering .",
      "with a total running time that barely hits 80 minutes , it 's hard to believe they even paid -lsb- john -rsb- malkovich and -lsb- megan -rsb- fox to show up .",
      "compelling plot and character development get lost somewhere between explosion no. 1 and explosion no. 78 , but the film certainly satisfies the popcorn quotient for summer cinema .",
      "it 's not going to rock your world , but if you 're comfortable with the comic style and the super weapons/crazy guns that would have blown the minds of any civil war soldier , the action will keep you entertained .",
      "despite all the state-of-the-art weaponry , it 's a total misfire .",
      "if this represents the true vision of director jimmy hayward , then i have only one question : what was he thinking ?",
      "hex has a direct line to the cemetery , able to unearth old acquaintances for some good old-fashioned catch-up time . whoa , pardner ... is this paranormal activity or merely facebook , circa 1876 ?",
      "MOV ' is an exercise in silliness designed to rob you of $ 10 .",
      "slight but sluggish , murky but not effectively dark , MOV is caught in a limbo rather like its hero 's .",
      "why , in the name of all that is campy , ca n't a movie featuring a dynamite-loaded crossbow just have some fun ?",
      "you can surely tell this movie has been passed through the editing bay one too many times .",
      "it plays like a film that 's not done yet , as if the editor hated watching it repeatedly and simply refused to finish .",
      "MOV is not a good movie , but it 's a great cautionary tale about what happens when a film loses its way .",
      "a lumpy soup of western action and supernatural shenanigans , heavily spiced with narrative confusion .",
      "the gifted josh brolin is totally wasted in this misguided , messy , disjointed and tedious action-adventure-western",
      "calls to mind two of the worst westerns of the past thirty years ... the problem is n't that the movie is moody and morose ; it 's that it 's flat and tedious .",
      "at 70 minutes sans credits , it gets in , does its business , and gets out as fast as it can . it 's as if the studio knows what they 've made is n't very good and want to spare paying audiences with the least amount of pain possible .",
      "while MOV has its moments , it 's ultimately yet another disappointing comic book adaptation .",
      "there 's just nothing there ; MOV is soulless .",
      "this is industrially processed entertainment at it cheapest , nastiest and greasiest .",
      "it 's just too bad the movie did n't indulge its spookier , supernatural elements more , instead of relying on action movie cliches .",
      "although josh brolin rises to the occasion , much of this comic book adaptation appears to have been abandoned on the cutting-room floor .",
      "josh brolin does the pizza-faced bounty hunter justice , but pretty much everyone else involved -- including megan fox -- lets him down .",
      "the movie began life as a macabre postbellum western for dc comics . now it 's lumbering action-camp following a video game plot .",
      "the film 's noisy , slam-bang approach and lack of imagination in all nonvisual departments will keep it from rounding up a fresh generation of thrill-seekers .",
      "all i know is , the end could n't come fast enough .",
      "awful and intolerably tedious , everyone connected with this abomination should hang their heads in shame .",
      "the most chopped up , stitched together frankenstein job in recent memory .",
      "it reexamines assumptions of good and evil-morality tale vs , trite entertainment-by confronting the hideous compromises people make with social conventions and their own desperation .",
      "director jimmy hayward fails to establish a viable reason for this movie to exist .",
      "bracingly inept .",
      "calling MOV a waste of time requires qualification , given the action flick weighs in at 82 minutes .",
      "there 's a director 's cut version of MOV , right ? because this film feels like a series of bullet points disguised as a feature film .",
      "i think MOV could have exceeded 80 minutes to make room for some real visual invention . and three-dimensional characters . and a plot . a plot would have been nice .",
      "it is n't just that no effort is expended on old-fogey ideas like character development ; it 's more that hayward does n't even try to make individual scenes make sense .",
      "every once in a while , a film limps into theaters so stitched together , it 's a wonder it does n't rip apart in the projector . MOV is such a film .",
      "glossy and gutted , MOV turns the cowboy with a melted mouth into a grunting moviegoing chore . but at least it 's a ridiculously short chore .",
      "completely forgettable",
      "mercifully fleet and lamentably uninteresting ...",
      "gives hollywood an excuse not to make more westerns , just as it 's bad for the future of graphic novel adaptations ... save your money and buy the trades .",
      "so short , and so bad , you cringe at the thought of how awful whatever ended up on the cutting-room floor must be .",
      "take the intriguing premise of a punk-rock western based on a graphic novel , populate it with a good cast , add striking visuals and you come up with ... a real mess .",
      "it 's based on some dc comics characters , which may explain the way the plot jumps around . we hear a lot about graphic novels , but this is more of a graphic anthology of strange occult ideas .",
      "seventy-three minutes , not counting the end credits . it may take longer driving to and from the theater ... normally such brevity is welcome , especially with westerns since kevin costner already thinned our patience , three hours at a time .",
      "MOV definitely appears to be making itself up as it goes along .",
      "the only people who deserve to see MOV are hitler and the ceo of british petroleum .",
      "easily a front runner for one of the worst mainstream releases of the year . -lrb- parental review also available -rrb-",
      "this comic book adaptation is an ill-defined mess of a film that attempts to shoehorn its character into a superhero `` origin story '' with vague hints of the supernatural .",
      "MOV would hate this movie . he would make fun of this movie .",
      "the filmmakers try to squeeze action from their trampling of a genre .",
      "although it 's got the shortest running time of anything we 've seen all year , MOV does n't feel so much snappily paced as it does rushed and disjointed .",
      "a quintessential paycheck movie , made not because someone had a terrific vision for how to adapt the story but because a studio owned the rights and thought they could make some cash from it .",
      "i liked it so much , i really want to see the rest of it . it ca n't really be a 75 minute movie , right ?",
      "MOV lost its way long before it hit the screen , laboring mightily to deliver a threadbare collection of postmortem detritus .",
      "everyone seems to be sleepwalking through this film . except for megan fox , who is such a terrible actress that she could n't even act like she 's sleepwalking ."
    ],
    "summary": "josh brolin gives it his best shot , but he ca n't keep the short , unfocused MOV from collapsing on the screen .",
    "id": "770805421"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ghosts_of_cite_soleil",
    "reviews": [
      "consistently riveting thanks to the sense of sheer terror that infuses its best moments .",
      "fascinating stuff , but this portrait of these scary ` altar boys ' is probably the last thing that haiti 's board of tourism wants to see in circulation .",
      "gripping , powerful documentary with a terrific soundtrack and a compelling narrative that resonates on both a personal and political level .",
      "the tone of the movie is excessively in thrall to its admittedly charismatic subjects .",
      "raw authenticity makes this a strong contender for a haitian city of god , but it seems too staged and narrow in its focus to properly convince as a documentary .",
      "leth 's gritty , haphazardly edited film plays like a music video , with jagged rap sequences interlaced with urgent handheld super 8-style footage and a stonking shanty-blues soundtrack .",
      "when it comes to depicting hell on earth , MOV burns right through the eyeballs and straight into the soul .",
      "arguably the film romanticises its morally challenged protagonists , but there 's little hint of rose-tint in the fear , peril and hopelessness that seem to soak every frame like a cold sweat .",
      "cité soleil is the scariest and most captivating ghost story you 'll see this year .",
      "an expressionistic portrait of a society in violent chaos , the film blends cină -lrb- c -rrb- ma vă -lrb- c -rrb- rită -lrb- c -rrb- and newsreel footage to capture a modern-day tragedy with shakespearean overtones .",
      "interesting and quite well done .",
      "if only due to the access achieved , there has never been anything quite like asger leth 's film ; it 's amazing it even exists and that the director is still alive .",
      "for a documentary , this film has one of the most gripping narratives of the year .",
      "its apparent complexity is all visual patchwork .",
      "a spectacularly turbulent portrait of the chaos and bloodshed that have come to define haiti .",
      "the 85 minutes of this documentary are searing , not on gore quotient but through an aura of appalling violence in every frame .",
      "it 's an unforgettable , visceral journey into the heart of darkness , grueling poverty and anarchy .",
      "viewing the political tumult in 2004 haiti through the perspective of two gangleader brothers , this powerful docu offers a critique on power , poverty , and the pervasive impact of american pop culture on the wider world .",
      "this privileged-class filmmaker is so enamored of his romantically outlaw subjects and the woman in-between , his film is just one step removed from `` the real world : haiti . ''",
      "a daring documentary about two violent young haitian gang leaders and their lives in a slum that is a truly a hell on earth .",
      "this is a film that burns .",
      "that the most powerful aspect of this story is described rather than shown is one of ghosts ' many mysteries . another is leth 's remarkable access to his subjects .",
      "asger leth 's ghosts of cité soleil offers a tour of a notorious , hellish slum in port-au-prince , the capital of haiti .",
      "danish filmmaker asger leth 's gritty documentary is an all-too-real -- and rarely seen -- glimpse into the dark side of aristide 's haiti .",
      "the director , asger leth , is n't terribly organized , but he puts us smack in the middle of everything : petty squabbles , horrible riots , casual shootings , even a love triangle .",
      "a moving and profoundly upsetting portrait of life near the bottom of the global power pyramid .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- indelible documentary , which dives into the brutal heart of a place most people would avoid at all cost .",
      "shot like a music video , the movie is quick-cutting , glossy and superficial , causing one to wonder about its serious intent .",
      "goes beyond front-line journalism to show the men behind the guns .",
      "intimate and terrifying , at points almost expressionistic and surreal , this is never less than a nerve-shredding experience . it even includes an -lrb- improbable -rrb- love story .",
      "leth shows us the horrendous nature of the period but fails to provide much necessary political analysis , without which it is even more deeply depressing than it might have been .",
      "a garbled account of state-aided terror that sheds little light on these dogs of war .",
      "while leth 's guerrilla-style documentary is gripping to watch , it is n't particularly well-structured and constantly loses focus",
      "with a film this frenzied and passionate , it is difficult to tell just what 's going on for a sizeable chunk of the running time .",
      "dark , dreary , depressing documentary",
      "captured at hair-raisingly close quarters by the fearless filmmakers , the sense of lawlessness grabs the throat and haunts the mind .",
      "this is as appalling , and viscerally compelling , a documentary as will be released all year .",
      "this deeply questionable movie presents itself as a documentary . actually it is hardly more than an exploitative gangsta rap video about the worst slums of the haitian capital port-au-prince . leth 's movie is politically and morally illiterate .",
      "the ultra-violence of this microcosm -lsb- gang -rsb- society is what ghosts is all about .",
      "this flashy looking documentary scored by haitian singer wyclef jean is such a frightening inside look at a poverty stricken society ruled by violence that it is a marvel that it got made .",
      "more horrific than any tale from the crypt hollywood could conceive .",
      "dutch director leth is so enamored of the ugliness of it all that he does n't even try to penetrate the noisy bravado that obscures the patches of truth that lie beneath the surface .",
      "there 's an immediacy to ghosts of the cite soleil that 's exceedingly rare for a documentary of any stripe .",
      "MOV is too brief and limited in scope to provide a complete picture of haiti 's turbulent history , but its images of how so many of its citizens live and die on a daily basis -- is both heartbreaking and unforgettable .",
      "MOV is a curiously unfocused , rambling film that never really settles on exactly what it wants to say or exactly which stories it wants to tell .",
      "leth ... gets us so close to life in cité soleil that we practically can hear the bullets and smell the garbage .",
      "packs an emotional punch , but that only partly makes up for the lack of a good story",
      "besides anti-aristide diatribes mouthed a little too much on cue by these hooligans , there 's also a french female relief worker mostly providing sexual relief to a gabby gangster . not to mention ` relief worker ' often as third world code word for cia spy ."
    ],
    "summary": "asger leth risked his life to bring audiences this rare and gritty glimpse at haitian gangs , poverty and politics .",
    "id": "385329392"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bolt",
    "reviews": [
      "super-dog adventure is fun , age-appropriate for kids .",
      "MOV is an insignificant cartoon , but undeniably enjoyable . i was smiling through most of it and i imagine kids will too .",
      "MOV is a good but not great film which should earn walt disney animation a deserved hit even if it wo n't quite return them to the heights of their own creative and commercial heyday .",
      "easily the best disney animated film since 2002 's lilo & stitch ... a return to core values for the studio .",
      "the 3-d glasses are a pain and the film is too long , but the hamster and cat run away with the show .",
      "let 's not underestimate the significance of a workmanlike disney animation .",
      "a frisky addition to that collection of man 's best friend movies , with a generous portion of one-joke-fits-all humor to captivate kid and adult audiences alike .",
      "rhino -lrb- voiced maniacally by mark walton , a disney story artist who grew up in salt lake city -rrb- walks away with the movie , or rather rolls away with it in his little hamster ball .",
      "with the holiday season officially underway , `` MOV '' is the perfect present for the whole family .",
      "it 's entertaining while it lasts but dissipates from memory the moment it 's over .",
      "are your kids ready for an existential movie ? turns out they are : disney 's cgi-animated action comedy MOV is , at its core , a story of one individual 's discovery that his sense of reality ... has been seriously skewed . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "unmistakably bears the conflicting influence of pixar and disney 's old ideals .",
      "MOV is a jolt of joy , a computer-animated delight that is delirious with laughs .",
      "the writing team of dan fogelman and co-director williams have concocted one of the most witty and often hilarious disney outings in years .",
      "MOV marks disney 's long awaited re-emergence as a top-dog in the world of animation .",
      "a touch slight by disney standards , but even if it 's not high art , it 's still warm-and-fuzzy fun .",
      "funny , charming , and a feast for the eyes . it is also quite probably the best animated film made by disney in years .",
      "... a fairly winning animated endeavor .",
      "has the right amount of sincerity , schmaltz and silliness to make MOV entertaining for everyone",
      "restores some faith that there are some creative minds left in animated films that pixar has n't added to its talent pool .",
      "wait ... an all-star voice cast for a computer-animated story we 've never heard of before , and it 's watchable , too ?",
      "the latest generation of animated flicks is a sort of latter-day vaudeville revue . kiddies who take MOV to heart may conclude not only that dogs really do have superpowers , but also that everybody 's in showbiz .",
      "overall it 's basically a crass marketing concept closer to beverly hills chihuahua than a fully conceived work of art like wall-e .",
      "while MOV is n't as funny , memorable or inspired as the animation classic from which it pilfers , it 's still beautifully animated , cleanly told , professionally voiced and makes you smile without insulting your intelligence .",
      "wall-e , it 's not , but its target kiddie audience will have no problem whatsoever adopting MOV .",
      "disney surely sees that inside the kinetic movement of pixar films is a lot of restraint . MOV is super-fast , yet not as super-sincere as it would like to believe .",
      "you wo n't need to keep a pack of tissue at the ready here , but MOV does have some lump-in-the-throat moments courtesy of a vividly drawn , huggable main character you grow to love .",
      "at the end of the day , MOV is a sweet disney family film , but lasseter 's oversight has made it smarter than it otherwise would have been .",
      "i 'm never a big fan of animal films and i admit it 's because , though i am by no means a crier , pets losing their friends or getting lost gets me all choked up . frankly , it 's embarrassing . but if you can make me sniffle , you 've won me over . MOV ... sniff",
      "MOV is n't a dazzler , but it 's entertainment with heart .",
      "what this mutt lacks in uniqueness it makes up for in puppyish charm , high-class velocity and enough pop culture crackle to keep most demographics suitably amused .",
      "it 's smart enough to keep adults on their toes and exciting enough to keep a kid with a short attention span glued to his seat .",
      "the latest disney animation has everything going for it , from a cast including john travolta and miley cyrus to a truly brilliant premise .",
      "the wonderfully expressive features on MOV make him feel almost real and the movie has enough charm and humour to please both adults and children .",
      "the directors and screenwriters hit all their marks and push all the right buttons , but the story never really takes off , and the characters never really spark to life .",
      "john travolta 's earnest , gentle voice performance as the title character goes a long way in making this disney animated feature a winner .",
      "focused , fun and action-packed , disney 's MOV proves that it does n't need the pixar banner to make an excellent cg animated film .",
      "molonoti me ton lasseter kapoy pano ap ' tin paragogi , na tis dinei aroma pixar , i prototypia tis tainias tis disney eksantleitai se merika oraia panarismata kai haritomenes gonies tainias drasis sti skinothesia , i asfaleia tis sto problepsimo senario omos",
      "so much fun , you might be tempted to conclude that disney 's acquisition of the amazing pixar team has inspired the already in-house disney team to new heights .",
      "the jokes are n't a match for pixar 's best , and there 's too much sentimentality -lrb- as if lasseter were determined to keep disney 's cartoons just that little bit less cool than pixar 's -rrb- , but this is still an above-average children 's film .",
      "i had a lot more fun at MOV than i initially thought i would .",
      "the plot is sentimental fluff . but this has energy and invention enough to keep lasseter top of the heap .",
      "it 's funny and inventive , though not greatly helped by 3d .",
      "the 3-d process is an enhancement , even though it 's used with little verve or ingenuity . but the movie 's terms are severely limited too .",
      "while it 's not at the level of pixar -lrb- and i ask you , what is ? -rrb- , MOV is a solid animated film with plenty of action and plenty of heart .",
      "that it falls short of pixar 's lofty heights does n't mean the attempt is n't worthwhile ; indeed , MOV is the most entertaining and well-crafted disney animation movie in years .",
      "straight-ahead star power is provided by teeny-bop pop star miley cyrus as penny and john travolta who looks better as an animated dog than he did in drag in hairspray .",
      "... arguably the best non-pixar -lsb- animated -rsb- film that disney has released in some time ... -lsb- a -rsb- t best , it 's an amusing by-the-numbers effort .",
      "there 's something both simple and sweet about MOV , yet epic , that 's entirely surprising .",
      "the unappealing cross-country trip of a dog , a cat , and a hamster .",
      "MOV ? more like sparky . the movie is nowhere near as good as this year 's best animated film , `` wall-e , '' but it does zip with energy , the story escalates nicely and , in the end , it 's a good time .",
      "disney 's holiday tentpole is an engaging , solid effort . its primary fault ? being released the same year as wall % u2022e .",
      "not your grandfather 's 3 ~ d.",
      "while MOV does n't quite contain the same charm and slick storytelling that defines the pixar films , it is still a mostly enjoyable film that should appeal to all ages .",
      "90 minutes of empty-headed family entertainment of the type that you have seen a hundred times before and while it is better than many films of its ilk , it never quite comes into its own as a worthwhile experience in its own right .",
      "it 's not a ` gourmet ' banquet on the order of ratatouille or the first shrek , but this peppy picture is certainly more than a cinematic ` snack , ' and for its 96-minute running time will not bore kids , the parents or other adults joining them .",
      "if MOV does not quite rise to the level of bona fide pixar masterpieces like wall-e , finding nemo and ratatouille , it does manage to be frisky , funny and inventive enough to engage the attention of grown-ups as well as children .",
      "to paraphrase a line often misattributed to samuel johnson , this disney-aspires-to-pixar combination is both original and good ; the problem is the original parts are n't good and the good parts are n't original .",
      "as usual , the sidekick animals steal the show . that tradition goes all the way back to those singing mice in cinderella . maybe even before then .",
      "well-made , pleasant , diverting , unobjectionable -- and absolutely nothing special .",
      "the incredibles got a puppy , and its name is MOV . if you loved the `` flat '' 3-d animated antics of the superhero parr family , you 'll like the genuinely three-dimensional antics of a dog named MOV .",
      "if you can get past the wafer-thin premise that serves as the foundation for MOV , you 'll find that it is a rather entertaining movie .",
      "first-time directors byron howard and chris williams give it enough charm and good-natured humor to see us through the clichéd montages and predictable storyline .",
      "a key part of the film 's success is that penny , the object of MOV 's devotion , really is a sweet kid who loves her furry co-star .",
      "the perfect holiday movie follow-on for those kids and kidults still high on the comic buzz of madagascar 2 .",
      "while it may lack a certain amount of bite , there 's plenty of bark to recommend this winning animated adventure .",
      "this is the best animated feature of 2008 .",
      "there really is n't anything terribly fresh nor distinctive here .",
      "it 's a lovely , often hilarious piece of work .",
      "great action and witty sight gags raise the toon bar .",
      "super-cute , even though there 's not much there .",
      "MOV combines pixar smarts with classic disney storytelling .",
      "a presença de john lasseter como produtor se faz sentir na história que se revela bem amarrada e nos personagens divertidos que năo precisam apelar para a caricatura para fazerem rir .",
      "eclipsed by the dynamic duoe wall-e and kung fu panda , MOV is the other great computer-animated film of 2008 .",
      "boasts much of the humor , character development , story layering , and unmistakable heart pixar has brought to the animation genre",
      "parental content review",
      "what MOV lacks in originality it makes up for in execution .",
      "this is the perfect movie for a dog lover and just proves once again that the animated kids flicks still have steam . plus , i loved that hamster !",
      "it 's a great day in america when the complicated looks so easy , and when we expect smart storytelling as a rule , not the exception .",
      "MOV is a winner and proof that disney animation is really trying to catch up to pixar in both story quality and animation .",
      "your pre-tweens and tweens will love MOV , though ; the good news is that there 's an excellent chance you 'll like it , too .",
      "it 's sophisticated look is rich with details that are easy to take for granted , but which add immeasurably to the texture and dimension of the scenes .",
      "mild amusement is about the best you can hope for , but MOV never bores .",
      "fun , four-legged scampering is n't enough when the characters are so unmemorable , the high concept is so wobbly and the journey does n't have you rooting for a reunion .",
      "a digital hamster takes on pixar 's industry domination - and kicks butt .",
      "a warm and even perceptive family film , not always original but undeniably sweet-natured .",
      "the story is somewhat predictable , but it 's sweet and happy and the animation is first-rate .",
      "smart , sharp , original and very funny , MOV could be the model for a certain kind of midrange , nonevent -lrb- i.e. , not wall e -rrb- animated family film that would be more welcome right now than such bizarre junk as the recent fly me to the moon .",
      "i saw this in a theater full of squirmy , restless little kids but , when the film started to roll , everyone -lrb- even the parents -rrb- quieted down and gave the great story and brilliant cgi their full attention .",
      "the story is shamelessly derivative , but you wo n't mind much because it 's so gentle and warm-hearted .",
      "this lively animated adventure keeps us entertained even if the story and characters are n't particularly well-developed",
      "a formula that has worked ever since lassie came home in 1943 .",
      "perfectly acceptable children 's fare .",
      "-lrb- MOV is -rrb- slick , sophisticated , incredibly well scripted , and sprinkled with enough ani-magic fairy dust to keep both the adults and the wee ones totally sated .",
      "essential to the proceedings is a fired-up hamster who believes the dog is the superhero he plays on ` the magic box ' and is itching to help him : ` ring , ring ! who is it ? destiny ? i 've been expecting your call . '",
      "adults should get a good kick out of these animal characters and the exemplary personality quirks that go beyond just image perfection .",
      "` MOV ' is consistently entertaining because its characters are so endearing .",
      "if you feel as though you need to borrow a child to buy a ticket for this cutest of cute films , go right ahead . you wo n't want to miss this adorable animated film about a dog who thinks he 's a superhero",
      "this is the best action adventure movie for kids i 've seen in a long , long time .",
      "disney lite - thin and familiar but love that digital animation !",
      "`` MOV 's '' basic story is nothing too original , but its underpinnings and flourishes are smart and inventive .",
      "it 's a seriously withholding action comedy , stingy on the wit , charm , jokes , narrative satisfactions and animals with personalities sharp enough for the big screen .",
      "familiar territory , but the disney team still knows how to bring a story to life .",
      "no classic but not a dog in spite of being about one .",
      "for the first time in years , it feels like disney has done its namesake proud .",
      "MOV is earnest , wholesome , family entertainment . in a word , it 's disney , which seems to have remembered that those attributes are really nothing to be ashamed of .",
      "while this charmer about a canine james bond does not pack the emotional punch of wall-e , it 's frisky fun to see the white shepherd get a new leash on life .",
      "what i could n't predict was how much i would enjoy the simple pleasures of a warm , witty , well-written story -- especially when it is told with the state-of-the-art computer animation that is easy to take for granted in these techno-savvy days .",
      "the digital comedy-adventure starts out pretty slow and never really finds its footing , especially in regards to its needed comic edge .",
      "funny and heartwarming , if not entirely original , MOV is bound to charm audiences of all ages .",
      "charming and frequently exciting .",
      "MOV 's nothing short of a winning mix of pixel perfect magic .",
      "tremendously lovable and funny stuff .",
      "wittier by the reel , MOV is ca n't - miss family entertainment , and a glad relief from the solemnities of award season .",
      "MOV is a damn enjoyable and undeniably funny film .",
      "while any remaining competitors slink away with their tails between their legs , pixar and disney just need to find a name for their new pedigree . here , pixey !",
      "MOV is enormous fun from start to finish for adults and kids alike . disney animation does n't get much better than this - especially when in many places you will get to see this in 3d .",
      "for entertainment value , there 's nothing this week to rival MOV . it 's a clever , funny family film .",
      "the animation is n't up there with pixar 's finest but still looks great , while the story is engaging enough for kids and adults alike . in short , it 's the puppy 's privates - and do try to catch it in 3d if you possibly can .",
      "MOV has all the wit , wisdom and top class computer imagery of a pixar film , with the star voice cast of a disney release .",
      "MOV is fast-paced , funny and beautifully animated -- a charming movie that would have benji and lassie howling in jealousy .",
      "the disney animated blockbuster-to-be MOV is a delightful family movie , and if i 'd seen it as a kid i would have been deeply traumatized .",
      "best of all though is curb your enthusiasm 's susie essman , touching and uncomfortably honest in her exchanges with MOV and greg germann -lrb- ally mcbeal -rrb- , who is hysterically funny as penny 's opportunistic and less than diplomatic agent .",
      "the film is funny -- with a sophistication that might actually appeal more to adults . but there 's still plenty for the kids to enjoy .",
      "it 's got a great ensemble cast . it 's not the most original idea but still effective nonetheless .",
      "although it will never be mistaken for pixar pedigree , this genial production is a notable step up for walt disney animation studios .",
      "an ok disney animated entry enhanced by nifty 3-d projection .",
      "movie magic aplenty in animated action adventure from disney .",
      "the fact that the hamster steals the film speaks volumes about the lack of fresh ingredients .",
      "its hero may lack any real super bark but this comic cartoon comes with a sharply ironic bite .",
      "disney 's first 3d animation , made under new head john lasseter , is a likeable , dynamic and seductively characterised family entertainment .",
      "the unlikely superhero of this film is the hamster , who brings the funny amid a flurry of weaker gags . but MOV still has charm - it just wo n't hit with the adults the way the best animated films can .",
      "could MOV 3d be better animated ? no . could it be funnier ? a bit . did it need the 3d ? not really .",
      "this cracking cartoon romp is just what you yearn for from an animated movie - smart , funny and not too long ! MOV is brilliantly animated entertainment that will keep both kids and their parents amused .",
      "if a little twee for grown-ups , this is riotous fun for kids . even if it 's not pixar-perfect , it 'll definitely do until up touches down .",
      "it 's a neat progression for disney that finds balance between the studio 's old-school charm and pixar 's dynamic modern outlook .",
      "enjoyable animated adventure with likeable characters , impressive 3d effects -lrb- in selected cinemas -rrb- and a witty , truman show-inspired script .",
      "even if it 's a bit too knowing in places for children and a bit lightweight in others for adults , as a whole it gives pixar every chance to show that even with a moderate story line it can give us something to savour .",
      "this computer-animated -lrb- but non-pixar -rrb- adventure flick does n't do much of anything innovative , but it sports a disarming furball of a lead and enough jaunty comic turns to carry the day .",
      "witty , sweet and -- in 3d -- often visually dazzling , MOV is an unexpected pleasure , a showbiz , sci-fi spin on a classic disney tale that 's sure to please small kids and parents alike .",
      "the format brilliantly brings an audience that much closer to a handful of increasingly lonely , yet contagiously enthusiastic , animals .",
      "its script is smart , its conceit a heart-tugger in the finest of senses , and it 's the first disney effort in way too long to be more concerned with being a movie than with being a breeding ground for product tie-ins .",
      "funny and engaging 3d adventures of a canine tv star lost in the real world . disney marketing might ensures a major holiday family hit .",
      "disney 's movie taps into our desire to believe that the happy hound sleeping at the end of our beds is as brave , noble , loyal , and devoted as he seems .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- s sensitive and spirited as -lsb- it is -rsb- gorgeous to look at ...",
      "-lsb- w -rsb- hen the canine protagonist of MOV borrows a character arc from buzz lightyear , even youngsters will smell a rip-off .",
      "pixar masterpieces aside , it 's been quite a while since disney cranked out an animated movie worthy of its fairy-dust-sprinkled castle logo .",
      "the film succeeds because it has genuine heart , a couple of mildly-thrilling action sequences , and most notably , a hilarious supporting performance by mark walton , who plays rhino the hamster .",
      "MOV is perfectly amiable but rarely brisk , with neither its premise nor its execution quite inspired enough to elicit more than faint admiration .",
      "the lack of screenwriting imagination is offset by the inherent charm of the picture , resulting in a pleasing arrangement of cg-animated action set-pieces and slapstick comedy to push MOV beyond the repetitive family film norm .",
      "MOV has the magical quality of great animation , the ability to touch us without the hint of preachiness or manipulation .",
      "MOV certainly moves along at a lively clip that will satisfy both kids and adults , but the script -lrb- from williams and dan fogelman -rrb- is a little too hollywood-insider .",
      "disney 's strongest cg animated effort to date can be credited to the strength of a premise that mixes what 's worked so well in earlier disney animated films with a better awareness of what makes a movie entertaining both for kids and adults .",
      "cute , clever , and enjoyable .",
      "with its vibrant look , frisky attitude and sweet lesson about loyalty and friendship , MOV is solid , fresh family-friendly entertainment .",
      "a welcome departure from the deluge of films wherein the characters mirror the facial characteristics of the actors voicing them . travolta 's no more a dog than a '60s housefrau . wait . scratch that .",
      "not much here for grownups to enjoy ... apart from watching the kids get a kick out of the film . -lrb- and the pigeons . -rrb-",
      "MOV 's faith in his fiction is slightly pathetic , but it 's not unrelated to the ways that children -lrb- as well as pets -rrb- are regularly conditioned .",
      "MOV 's double identity allows young viewers to imagine the fun of owning a cuter version of krypto while it also affirms charles m. schulz 's assertion that happiness is a warm puppy ...",
      "in its best moments , it gently shows us how MOV 's discoveries parallel those of a child in learning self-reliance .",
      "other animated films that substitute brainless noise for sophistication could learn from ` MOV ' what it means to be a picture that families will cherish for years to come .",
      "a holiday standout .",
      "like ` homeward bound ' and ` incredible journey , ' it teaches tiny tots that - with friendship and love - you do n't need superpowers to be a hero .",
      "adults wo n't find much to enjoy here , though the dog 's high-octane action series serves as a perverse parody of jerry bruckheimer-style summer blockbusters .",
      "sharply-drawn supporting characters , a solid narrative hook and slickly constructed action-adventure sequences help make for a vibrant , engaging , feel-good treat that will connect strongly with younger viewers .",
      "although it does n't reach the heights of finding nemo or the incredibles , it 's a masterpiece compared with disney 's 2002 treasure island .",
      "MOV is packed with action sequences , but it finds room for humor and heart , too .",
      "whenever a new kids ' film comes out , there 's always the hope that it 'll work for adults , too . alas , not this time . but the kids will probably like it .",
      "in the pre-thanksgiving lull , parents can take their young ` uns to MOV , drop their 10-to-14-year-olds off at twilight , and the whole family will have survived the weekend .",
      "if only first-time directors chris williams and byron howard would have followed the advice in their own film , MOV could have turned out to be incredibly extraordinary .",
      "sometimes a story is so beautifully simple that it 's impossible to muck it up , and the animated 3-d MOV is a perfect example .",
      "belief may be in question for much of the movie -- only for the perturbed pooch -- but fortunately , enjoyment is never a problem .",
      "make a little room lady , tramp and all you dalmatians , disney 's got a new animated dog to bark about .",
      "no future classic , but a pleasant little movie with a fiercely devoted little hero .",
      "MOV , with its numerous winks and nudges , reminds us how attuned we are to the falseness of pop culture , which is n't the same thing as connecting us with its truths .",
      "disney animation takes a tentative step out of the shadows of pixar with MOV , a winning 3d-animated action-comedy that marries the best disney traditions with pixar polish .",
      "there 's something touching about the yearning for ordinary life and decency that , to judge by its ubiquity in films for the nominally innocent , plagues those who live and work in the realms of the unreal ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a pleasant animated comedy that overcomes the story 's familiarity with strong visuals and likable characters .",
    "id": "770681835"
  },
  {
    "movie": "scarface",
    "reviews": [
      "sometime it fun .",
      "stylish ultra violence = one popular film for many , sad to say .",
      "the most frantic and assured film of brian de palma 's impressive career .",
      "the dominant mood of the film is anything but funny . it is bleak and futile : what goes up must always come down . when it comes down in MOV , the crash is as terrifying as it is vivid and arresting .",
      "a slyly ironic vision of america 's still-thriving meritocracy .",
      "a coked-up version of the godfather and the godfather part ii without a family to feel sympathy for .",
      "subtle it ai n't , but just try turning your eyes away from this study in stylistic excess .",
      "i like it as a kind of b-movie version of the godfather . there are a lot of classic lines and a handful of memorably horrific scenes ...",
      "at a certain point , MOV sheds its moralistic pretense and becomes a slick come-on to impressionable youth",
      "palpitating with intensity . .",
      "as time goes by , films like MOV only gain in their importance .",
      "depalma loves blood and guts-nothing wrong with that !",
      "what were pacino 's detractors hoping for ? something internal and realistic ? low key ? the tony montana character is above all a performance artist , a man who exists in order to gloriously be himself .",
      "an unashamed study of selfish , sadistic criminality , and all the better for it .",
      "painted in exuberant , extravagant swaths of red , brian de palma 's foolhardy epic is a thing of delirious grandeur",
      "viewed today , while MOV seems less shocking than it did during its initial theatrical run , it 's no more substantive or interesting .",
      "to call the whole thing visceral is a palpable understatement .",
      "as overrated as it is overlong .",
      "-lsb- pacino 's -rsb- grandstanding performance is still hard to resist and symbolises the baroque excess of this shockingly violent gangster classic .",
      "although the film depicts a nightmarish world , it 's also very funny .",
      "as stylized social realism gives way to wigged-out faustian fantasy , the would-be devastating effects have an oddly slapstick effect .",
      "MOV could be the male moviegoer 's answer to mommie dearest ... when it 's not grotesquely melodramatic , it somehow manages to be incredibly dull .",
      "pacino , of course , goes way over the top and through the floor on the other side .",
      "MOV has become a touchstone of pop culture , one of the half dozen or so most frequently referenced films of our era .",
      "to be honest , MOV is n't exactly what you could call a ` good ' movie . it 's overwritten , overacted and overdirected -lrb- not to mention overlong -rrb- . and yet , against the odds , it still works .",
      "pacino 's bravura performance dominates , making no concessions to our sensibilities . and the final shootout is a tour de force of editing .",
      "this almost jacobean tale of drug gangsters in 1980s miami is rather too long for the points it makes , but is nevertheless riveting and still , after 26 years , remarkably fresh .",
      "unbalanced as it may be , it 's an exhilarating picture .",
      "ultra-violent ; pacino is manic and all ham ; a pale shade of the original .",
      "the definitive modern gangster movie . pacino 's powerhouse role . meet my little friend !",
      "al pacino is amazing . a knockout action blockbuster !",
      "watching some 20 years down the line , -lsb- pacino 's performance is -rsb- laughably campy in a manner that the rest of this bloated , self-important film does n't seem to appreciate .",
      "this is very much a film of the 80s in its portrayal not of moral decline -lrb- there is little declining left to do -rrb- but of unstoppable ego-centrism . with guns .",
      "perfomances are excellent , and despite its moralistic conclusion , the film has since become de rigueur viewing for crack barons , who know a good shoot-em-up when they see one .",
      "pacino , em mais um de seus grandes momentos , transforma montana em um ícone do gęnero e da década de 80 , conduzindo um filme que seria fartamente copiado nos anos seguintes .",
      "... brian de palma 's criminally over-the-top remake of the 1932 howard hawks gangster classic",
      "de palma 's film is now back on the big screen and looking better than ever .",
      "pacino 's drug-crazed , bloodshot performance gives this gangster movie a terrifying edge .",
      "ugly and overrated",
      "what 's left to say ?",
      "any list of classic guy movies would be incomplete without an appearance from brian de palma 's MOV .",
      "still a must-see for pacino 's potent and influential performance .",
      "paciono gives a riveting performance in the lead in de palma 's over-the-top but engaging modern version of the classic gangster",
      "extremely violent '80s crime classic with drugs , sex , etc. .",
      "it 's a whole new spin on the immigrant story and the american dream as an underworld nightmare and a fitting bookend to the two godfather films .",
      "the very definition of excess , which is perhaps why it has persisted so long as a cultural totem : its florid pleasures can never be exhausted",
      "one fundamentally dishonest character choice launched a billion-dollar industry . but it hardly sours a film that became a garishly ghoulish , bleakly funny and compulsively watchable template for modern-criminal deconstructions of the american dream .",
      "by ignoring its massive , toxic , nuclear-fallout shortcomings , it finds its way to the hallowed status of camp classic .",
      "one of brian depalma 's best films",
      "performances are all extremely effective , with pacino leading the way .",
      "it is a serious , often hilarious peek under the rock where nightmares strut in $ 800 suits and armageddon lies around the next twist of treason .",
      "the sharp , if expletive-ridden , dialogue in oliver stone 's script and the vivid cinematography of john a alonzo help make de palma 's urban shocker a modern-day classic .",
      "characterization and plot go out the window . arms are cut off with chain saws . by the third hour everything is out of control .",
      "-lsb- brian depalma -rsb- apparently considers `` money is n't everything '' an original and profound message .",
      "... much , much longer than it generally needs to be ...",
      "one of the best gangster dramas ever made , driven by pacino 's haunting performance and de palma 's lightning pace .",
      "an undeniably effective , visceral experience ."
    ],
    "summary": "director brian de palma and star al pacino take it to the limit in this stylized , ultra-violent and eminently quotable gangster epic that walks a thin white line between moral drama and celebratory excess .",
    "id": "12881"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1193906-ghosts_of_girlfriends_past",
    "reviews": [
      "the plot 's eventual denigration of the single life and endorsement of soul mates and happily-ever-afters is predictably rote .",
      "as written by jon lucas and scott moore and directed by mark waters , the movie clumps through one witless if not wince-evoking sequence after another without the relief of laughter .",
      "just in case you ca n't get enough of the romantic comedy oeuvre of matthew mcconaughey , MOV is here to remind you that , yes , some films of his are even worse than failure to launch , surfer dude , and how to lose a guy in 10 days .",
      "there are more problems than ghosts in this charmless romantic comedy in which matthew mcconaughey 's lothario gets a lesson in the love stakes .",
      "this movie i think really did the impossible . it makes failure to launch look like the thin man .",
      "it 's a tired premise with some even weaker gags .",
      "when the movie is not immersed in the main character 's subconscious it 's almost unspeakably bad .",
      "it 's smart , charming , sticky sweet in places , and it 's got a bit more of a bite to it than most romantic comedies .",
      "there are more problems than ghosts in this charmless romantic comedy in which matthew mcconaughey 's lothario gets a lesson in the love stakes .",
      "it shamelessly rips off all of the films and tv specials that have also ripped off his brilliant , metaphor-filled story .",
      "there are some things that even matthew mcconaughey 's laid-back charm ca n't fix .",
      "even trying to think about MOV from a snarky perspective makes me want to vomit . this is a repulsive movie ...",
      "sleazy , shallow and at times downright tasteless , ` MOV ' would have charles dickens spinning in his grave .",
      "mcconaughey is just too good at being a sleaze ; he sold me and i never believed his transformation . meanwhile garner faded into the woodwork",
      "the whole concept founders on mcconaughey 's unalterable cheesiness . flimsy though it is , the film has a couple of okay jokes , and might have been passable with a more endearing star .",
      "MOV submits that connor deserves to be saved by jenny . but it never shows how or why she should bother with him .",
      "tired slapstick , an air of cheesiness , some bad '80s pop songs and spurious emotion -- at the service of an unlikable screenplay with a downright nasty tone .",
      "charles dickens 's a christmas carol has been endlessly remade . none so far has been as bad as this unpleasant comedy .",
      "lose michael douglas and there is pretty much nothing about the movie that 's appealing in even the smallest degree .",
      "it actually has a couple of qualities few modern romantic comedies possess : it 's romantic and quite funny .",
      "a more appropriate title would have been screwed , in reference to the character 's predicament , and the audience 's response to wasting money on this clunker .",
      "the screenplay never comes to grips with the fact that connor is a loathsome human being .",
      "like connor with his women , the film picks up ideas and then drops them . at one point , connor reflects on wayne : ` i never figured out why he called me dutch . ' weirdly , neither do we .",
      "predictable romcom has some iffy stuff , but ok for teens .",
      "it 's misbegotten from the get-go : it boasts the nadir of `` high concepts . ''",
      "despite being foolish in most respects , MOV keeps you on its wacky rom-com narrative train all the way to the end . but that 's probably a testament to the power of charles dickens ' storytelling more than anything else .",
      "is there no end to mediocre and outright lousy movies about weddings and the silly and sad things that happen at them ? here 's another strained and unengaging one .",
      "a junky-looking romantic comedy that 's neither remotely romantic nor passably comic .",
      "made me unexpectedly homesick for fool 's gold .",
      "as a romcom , it 's average , but as a matthew mcconaughey romcom , it 's above average . if you 're a low-expectations moviegoer , this one might surprise you .",
      "jennifer garner is sweet and radiant as mcconaughey 's childhood friend and former lover ; lacey chabert steals scenes as the woman marrying mcconaughey 's brother ; and robert forster and anne archer are good as her parents .",
      "for a comedy that does n't require a lot of heavy thinking , it tries hard not to dumb things down too much , nor skimp on character or storytelling either .",
      "every audience member with an intellect bigger than a squid 's knows at all times where ghosts is heading .",
      "please , ladies , do n't go see this movie . -lrb- chances are most men would rather put out their eyes than go see a film with such a title . -rrb-",
      "conor has the flamboyant confidence of a matador , but mcconaughey draws out the right amount of sleaze and tenderness to transform conor from a bullfighter to a rodeo clown .",
      "when i first read about this movie several years ago , it was a star vehicle for ben affleck , and i thought it was a great idea . i was wrong .",
      "kind of cute ... it never takes itself too seriously and is filled with deliciously cheesy lines .",
      "it 's fortunate director mark waters thought to surround his pretty-boy star with so much talent -- without their combined efforts , this would n't stand a ghost of a chance when it comes to offering any semblance of entertainment .",
      "far better than the last two opening summer weekend counter-programming choices -lrb- made of honor last year and the dreadful lucky you in 2007 -rrb-",
      "only two characters might qualify as sympathetic .",
      "mcconaughey has never really found his niche as a movie star , occasionally scoring in an adventure film , but lumbering through a series of romantic comedies to no good effect .",
      "in a movie as spiritless and stupid as this , you ca n't help but look for clues you 've hit bottom .",
      "i 'm almost embarrassed to admit i found MOV the season 's first genuine guilty pleasure .",
      "this romantic comedy/fantasy goes exactly where we expect it to go . -lrb- and that ca n't be considered a serious plot ` spoiler ' . anyone who 's ever seen a movie fantasy will be able to predict this film 's ending . -rrb-",
      "the formulaic story evaporates faster than cotton candy , and it 's often as cloyingly sweet and tacky .",
      "overall , ghosts offers a couple quick laughs in passing , but the movie never seems to generate sparks . all in all , it 's a bit like kissing your sister .",
      "a cheerless rip-off of a christmas carol .",
      "MOV never comes as close as spitting distance to a laugh .",
      "carves out a little place for itself as one of the few romantic comedies of 2009 that does n't annoy or insult the viewer 's intelligence .",
      "douglas , radiating an arid narcissism , does look as if he was recently exhumed . whether this is a deliberate makeup choice or unfortunate lighting is hard to guess .",
      "a bizarre conflation of chick flick and a christmas carol .",
      "if charles dickens is n't spinning in his grave , it 's only because matthew mcconaughey 's career is in the way .",
      "despite my mcconaughey resistance i got more guilty chuckles from MOV than failure to launch or four christmases .",
      "the best part about MOV is that the film knows it is unoriginal and uses that to its advantage . michael douglas was priceless .",
      "how crass and joyless the whole business is , culminating in a love-declaration scene prefigured by mcconaughey knocking an elderly man unconscious , to get the boring , obstructive old dude out of the way . yikes .",
      "kicking off the summer with this flick i was hoping for more sizzle , but wound up with a lot fizzle .",
      "parental content review",
      "any film starring the self-regarding , teak-veneered charisma vacuum that is matthew mcconaughey has more to overcome than most . so the fact that the rom-com dickens riff MOV is even sporadically entertaining is no mean feat .",
      "it 's mostly just there and is unevenly paced , but has a few moments .",
      "how very dull it is to watch movies in which the men are lost little boys and women their sanctified saviours . it 's demeaning to everyone .",
      "when it sticks to the interpersonal stuff , the emotional links between old lovers , close brothers , and the family that supports both , MOV is quite tolerable .",
      "comfort zones do n't come much plusher than the one habitually occupied by matthew mcconaughey , who must read the words `` arrogant , torso-flaunting alpha male '' in script synopses and think : `` that 'll do . ''",
      "director waters pulls out the odd cracker , injecting dickens ' timeless story of redemption with a healthy dose of self-awareness .",
      "a second-rate sex farce ... mostly clunky and vaguely unsavory .",
      "the potential is here for a comedy that could have been hilarious . but the screenplay spaces out some undeniably funny lines in too much plot business , and matthew mcconaughey , while admirably villainous as a lecher , is not convincing as a charmer .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- odious romantic comedy ... has all the depth and charm of an unwashed pillow case . needlessly unimaginative and cloying ...",
      "MOV requires a certain finesse -- really , how do you sell a romantic comedy about a twisted womanizer , and how do you get the audience to buy his inevitable turnaround ? -- and neither waters nor his leading man are up to the task .",
      "as superficial and melodramatic as one might 've expected ...",
      "a deluge of dim jokes and rote romantic interludes between matthew mcconaughey and jennifer garner that are intended to recall charle 's dickens ' `` a christmas carol . '' god help us all .",
      "this flawed , fractured fairy tale fails to scare up many chuckles or much charm . as ebenezer scrooge himself might say , `` bah , humbug ! ''",
      "a parade of clumsy slapstick , unerring homophobia , and big fat life lessons .",
      "although there are some sweetly sentimental moments , they are not nearly enough to redeem what is otherwise a fairly mean-spirited film .",
      "a watchable pastiche of a christmas carol , this rom-com resorts to corny slapstick a bit too often but also manages to find moments of real resonance",
      "ghosts is better-than-average mcconaughey swill , but not by much -- that 's its pleasure and its curse .",
      "ideally , you want to see the male and female leads end up together in a romantic comedy ; if not , it all starts to become kind of creepy .",
      "chief among the disappointments of the new romantic comedy MOV is that mcconaughey plays an upscale version of his dazed and confused character , yet that creepy edge has been filed off again .",
      "the comedy is reduced to pratfalls and embarrassing situations , and much of it comes across as just mean-spirited .",
      "director mark waters finds the movie 's laughs in the supporting players : michael douglas , emma stone and lacey chabert .",
      "a get even sex addiction comedy , with some quickie laughs , that retools the basics of a christma carol , but comes off like a commitment challenged scrooge on viagra . and what 's with the pg-13 , is this meant as a manual for underage two-timers in training ?",
      "despite inducing some guilty grins , mcconaughey 's character is unforgivably shallow . the likable garner has little to do except wait for his inevitable breakthrough .",
      "matthew mcconaughey stars , emma stone takes over .",
      "MOV does n't do dickens any favors , but in a year that brought us bride wars , it 'll do .",
      "you 've got to love a movie that so eagerly assassinates its leading man 's cuddly image , and which also manages to blow a wicked kiss to fatal attraction .",
      "all those snappy supporting performers take the focus off the movie 's romantic-comedy trappings .",
      "appalling , hateful , reptilian , inept",
      "matthew mcconaughey proves better than the material put before him in the intermittently intriguing MOV",
      "there are a few laughs in MOV , to be sure ; you can even hear them over the sound of charles dickens spinning in his grave .",
      "all in all , it 's a pleasantly familiar way to spend two hours .",
      "there 's precious little to laugh at - not the lead 's one-dimensional swagger , michael douglas 's rat pack-meets-robert evans jive talk or an anti-misogyny parable with the gall to make every female a neurotic shrew or a sex-starved harpy .",
      "i would say that this was a complete and utter waste of time and talent , but , except for emma stone , i did n't see any talent .",
      "mcconaughey is mildly coasting . he has danced these steps before .",
      "the movie is cheesy , tacky , and gimmicky . but as directed by mark waters , it 's also prankish and inventive enough to be kind of fun .",
      "the dickens elements elevate MOV above the level of pure formula ; unfortunately , the presence of mcconaughey in full sleaze mode makes it difficult to like this film 's scrooge , even after his redemption occurs .",
      "this rom/com gave me nightmares .",
      "you can count the jokes that work on one hand ; the rest is pratfalls and predictability .",
      "poorly written , indifferently directed , it 's multiplex filler at its worst ... who is it exactly that thinks matthew mcconaughey is funny ?",
      "quite honestly , you have much better things to do with your time .",
      "lacking wit and subtlety , this high-concept comedy suffers from casting mcconaughey , who has the cockiness but not the likability as the eternal bachelor , and lack of chemsistry between him and the gifted garner ; it 's doulglas who walks out with the film",
      "this crude reworking of dickens was probably a bad idea to begin with , but it 's so haplessly done that it did n't have a ghost of a chance .",
      "starts unpromisingly but ends up , thanks largely to co-star jennifer garner , being briefly affecting .",
      "above all , it will make you long for a day when studio movies about relationships feel like they are by and for adults who have actually been in one .",
      "mcconaughey 's self-satisfied and oleaginous performance scrapes away the trace amounts of charm the film has to offer .",
      "i suppose your reaction to the film will depend to some extent on whether or not you find matthew mcconaughey a charmer . i do n't , so i found connor repulsive with no redeeming features .",
      "let 's be clear : this is trash , not very funny and sometimes jaw-droppingly insulting .",
      "the ending does a big flip flop , but if you go in with low expectations , you 'll have a hard not laughing in MOV .",
      "` MOV ' lacks energy and originality , plus the characters are too shallow to care about . but michael douglas is delightful .",
      "the only thing of note is that its star , matthew mcconaughey , does n't remove his shirt",
      "a slick , standard hollywood studio produced romantic comedy that utilizes a clever conceit and some expert supporting comedic performances to help it squeak by .",
      "quirky supporting characters enliven this by-the-numbers romcom .",
      "mcconaughey too once showed promise , but here he seems to be auditioning for a bad sitcom , while garner misuses her gawky sincerity .",
      "not as bad as you might think , but ...",
      "there are many ways you can deal with the hypocrisies and faults of the male libido ; fellini spent a career exploring this terrain -lrb- think 8 1/2 , city of women -rrb- but there is nothing interesting on the subject here .",
      "MOV might be one of the most unoriginal films ever made , but it works anyway .",
      "a.k.a. `` the bride wore blah ''",
      "not as deep as matthew mcconaughey 's dimples .",
      "matthew mcconaughey does n't have a ghost of a chance in this mirthless romantic comedy that 's anything but romantic .",
      "why does hollywood have such a knack for getting romantic comedies so wrong ? who knows , but they owe it to performers like garner to find a way to do better .",
      "this is the cinematic blending of two familiar formulas : the ` love , lose and then love again ' framework of most romantic comedies with the idea of transforming ghosts from the classic a christmas carol .",
      "you know you 're watching a bare-bones , witless screenplay when the writers ca n't merge the dickensian parable with the morals of modern-day casual sex by making a good old-fashioned yet-to-come joke about the final ghost .",
      "enjoyable , well acted romcom that pushes all the right emotional buttons , though it 's not as consistently funny as it should have been .",
      "we end up with the expected platitudes on the importance of commitment , but the getting there is unusual , enjoyable and sporadically funny , enlivened by waters ' knowing way with genre conventions .",
      "even if you 're willing to check your brain at the door and suspend your disbelief for 100 minutes , MOV has just a few fleeting moments of hilarity , but ultimately falls flat as comedy , romance and drama ...",
      "for a movie about ghosts , it 's lacking in spirit .",
      "ghosts is a matthew mcconaughey romantic comedy that would be better off without matthew mcconaughey . it 's come to a point in this performer 's career where his inability to alter his natural spray-tanned ooze has rendered his acting tiresome .",
      "though it pours the sentiment on at its conclusion , waters 's film has a nasty misogynist edge , suggesting that women are gasping for cads such as connor to seduce them .",
      "romance may be alive and well but the charming , well-made romantic comedy continues to look like an endangered species thanks to MOV .",
      "there is n't an original thought in the film , but it bounds along amusingly .",
      "the film cuddles its dickensian soft centre in a mills & boon soft casing . oů sont les wisecracks d'antan ? almost extinct .",
      "as far as the mightily abused mcconaughey romantic comedies go , MOV is actually one of his better outings .",
      "mcconaughey is so used to playing the rogue he has forgotten how to be likeable .",
      "ephemeral , ridiculously amusing ` date movie ' that will evaporate before summer .",
      "alas , it swiftly ditches the pithy asides as it hurtles towards its treacly ending .",
      "in the worst performance of his career , mcconaughey plays connor as so insufferable that jenny would obviously be much better off with somebody else . anybody else . even russell brand .",
      "as much as you 'd love to hate it , this jaunty supernatural romcom remains a polished , amusing , surprisingly sweet diversion ."
    ],
    "summary": "a retread of a christmas carol , featuring matthew mcconaughey in a retread of his dazed and confused role , MOV lacks originality , humor , and any semblance of charm .",
    "id": "770683360"
  },
  {
    "movie": "national_treasure",
    "reviews": [
      "a smart , entertaining little adventure through american history .",
      "MOV is not so much a no-brainer as a brain-stunner , so audaciously ridiculous you are initially intrigued , then soon irritated by its incoherence .",
      "cage ... all but sleepwalks through the film with an expression and body language that could be the result of his jockeys being just a scooch binding",
      "safe , simplistic and stylistically inert film fodder meant only for the least discerning multiplex zombies .",
      "a witty comedy caper .",
      "great escapism .",
      "despite its superficiality , MOV is undeniably enjoyable .",
      "none of this should work , but in the best bruckheimer tradition , it does .",
      "nicolas cage usually brims with personality , but you would n't know it from this pedestrian ripoff of raiders of the lost ark. .",
      "interminable and riddled with plot holes you could drive a humvee through .",
      "people run . things blow up . sometimes , just to add another layer of nuance , people run away as things blow up .",
      "an exciting little adventure movie differentiating itself from the pack by focusing more on its string of clues than it does on setting up the next big piece of stunt work .",
      "a joyfully convoluted adventure yarn that moves lickety-split through clichés , plot holes and overall narrative mayhem until the whole unlikely rig screeches to a halt .",
      "it 's a fun ride to a boring payoff .",
      "so bad on so many levels .",
      "imagine eating your favorite sub sandwich ; you know exactly what it will taste like , but it 's just what you wanted : simple , tasty and satisfying .",
      "who knew the founding fathers were cultish masons hording gold under wall street ? perhaps the craziest film ever made by jerry bruckheimer .",
      "what 's the secret to turning a clever treasure adventure into a humdrum theme-park ride ? here 's a clue : jerry bruckheimer .",
      "instead of another raiders of the lost ark , we get to watch plunderers of a lost art .",
      "if the goonies starred adults , contained a pamphlet 's worth of history , drew half the laughs and lacked sloth and chunk , it would be MOV .",
      "jon voight spends his scenes in unintentionally hilarious rants about how much he hates clues .",
      "one of the funniest movies of the year . too bad it 's not a comedy .",
      "MOV gets more entertaining as the preposterousness rises .",
      "this movie is a fortune wasted .",
      "it 's fun and occasionally amusing and it did n't give me a headache . that 's not the sort of endorsement that gets you quoted in the ads , but it 's the best i can muster .",
      "as realism , turtletaub 's movie flops . as escapism , though , grab the popcorn , kick your feet up , and have a blast .",
      "that the movie manages to maintain interest and gain occasional involvement is somewhat of a feat considering , although not enough of a feat for it to succeed .",
      "strangely , i. . . found myself liking this movie .",
      "about as edgy as a child-friendly tv movie ... . and despite being at least a half hour too long , it 's great fun while it lasts .",
      "it is harmless fun , but it could have been done a lot better .",
      "... a mock-epic assault on the conventional wisdom of american history .",
      "-lsb- cage -rsb- ust can not cut it playing an intellectual , and his ben is convincing only in the scenes where he is evading bullets or hanging by one hand over an abyss .",
      "a passably enjoyable adventure romp",
      "this goofy , good-natured dry run for the da vinci code is almost well-meaning enough to compensate for its countless problems .",
      "one scavenger hunt that 's definitely not worth playing ... it has more climaxes than a porno movie .",
      "the best cinematic comfort food you could ask for .",
      "ten minutes into the picture , you 're searching the screen for life-support machines .",
      "who knew the founding fathers had the time to drop clues throughout the eastern u.s.",
      "the movie has less to do with interesting characters or clever plotting than with having the actors scurry from place to place in search of missing treasure .",
      "a dumb movie MOV remains , but only the unkindest heart could call it bad .",
      "it 's easy to underestimate the value of a popcorn movie that works as well as this , especially if you have n't seen many recent failed attempts .",
      "watching it is akin to sitting next to someone else hogging the playstation controller as he steers a character through a maze in search of clues that lead only to more clues that finally land in a dreary dead end .",
      "it 's not exactly raiders of the lost ark , but disney/touchstone 's MOV is certainly watchable treasure-hunt hokum .",
      "taken simply as a popcorn flick , MOV has its pleasures .",
      "despite some preposterous twists , it is a treat to watch a movie with a hero who confronts enemies , threats and clues with wit and insight instead of guns and grenades .",
      "not only safe for junior and grandma but also pretty entertaining .",
      "turteltaub manages to stitch it all together well enough so that the ludicrous nature of the characters ' quest does n't hit you until the final credits roll .",
      "historical adventure is a fun romp for tweens and up .",
      "though turtletaub 's direction is inspired , everything else from acting , to plot , and dialogue falls flat ...",
      "has almost nothing to recommend it -lrb- justin bartha 's performance being the lone high point -rrb- , not even any gnarly explosions , which does n't bode well for our man bruckheimer .",
      "the treasure hunt is cool in this dvd , it 's a whole game of numbers and quizzes go get to some of the easter eggs .",
      "if you can see the film through the eyes of a child -- one who thinks a cheesy thriller is the ideal way to pick up new facts about history -- then this is n't that bad a yarn .",
      "a mild holiday caper , for the wettest of afternoons .",
      "it might feel like a dan brown bestseller . but americans have an appetite for historical mysteries ... and capitalizing on that appetite is about as american as you can get .",
      "hop-scotches up the eastern seaboard with no real zeal , detouring at historic landmarks like a tour bus on steroids .",
      "the film plays on every cliché and every stereotype imaginable , and part of its charm is playing them exactly to an audience 's happiest expectations .",
      "the historical touches make the film more akin to classics like `` raiders of the lost ark '' than to duds like `` remo williams : the adventure begins -lrb- and ended simultaneously -rrb- '' .",
      "the ` north by northwest ' of a new generation it is not , but ` treasure ' provides two hours of easy escapism ...",
      "a bruising us history class , taught in dolby surround .",
      "is n't likely to be branded as either bruckheimer 's best or worst ; but his latest bit of cage carnage is well-acted , well-directed and full of interesting ideas .",
      "like an episode of where in the world is carmen sandiego ? with explosions and car chases .",
      "lacks originality and wit .",
      "sure it 's dumb , but it 's tons of fun and ever so slightly educational .",
      "follow this exciting adventure and thrill to the mystery and chase .",
      "an awfully contrived and terribly executed adventure , particularly disappointing in that it sports a fascinating story and some decent actors . **",
      "too preposterous to be believed yet too concerned with historicity to work as an adventure tale .",
      "every bruckheimer film is a potential pot of gold and this one is no exception .",
      "cage ? movie star as social studies teacher .",
      "` we hold this truth to be self-evident , ' said thomas jefferson , ` if i had seen this movie first , the only thing i 'd have traced on the back of the declaration is my resume . '",
      "somewhere between the emulsion and the nitrate of this film there 's a map to the bruckheimer fortune .",
      "an underdone pastiche of raiders of the lost ark and a really tedious high school history class .",
      "an impatient , over-plotted caper-mystery populated by undercooked characters , far-fetched contrivances and routine genre twists .",
      "on the heals of the very popular adventure novel , the da vinci code -lrb- by dan brown -rrb- , `` MOV '' takes many elements of that book -lrb- intentional or not , you decide -rrb-",
      "this would be fun if director jon turteltaub did n't move things along at a snail 's pace .",
      "a cornucopia of ridiculously over-the-top action , humor , and romance conceived in the bruckheimer tradition .",
      "this is spreadsheet filmmaking , soulless and overly designed for maximum box-office effect ...",
      "unfortunately , it lacks the conviction to embrace its own garish awfulness , resulting in little more than tedious historical and patriotic hokum ...",
      "we 're left with three oscar nominees , the retard from gigli and the broad who launched a thousand ships in troy being pursued by the fbi and logic bringing up the rear .",
      "the meat of the movie is like the da vinci code ... but this heist makes the perfect score look like ocean 's 11",
      "i 'm convinced someone was n't paying attention when the project received a greenlight , so the filmmakers should feel pleased that their movie turned out as passable as it did .",
      "keep this one buried .",
      "it 's pretty preposterous and a little too long but kind of fun .",
      "cage invests none of the edge , passion or heart we 've come to expect from him in the part . bean has no decent villainous moments , and the rest of the cast -lrb- save for voight -rrb- is forgettable and generic .",
      "a decidedly less exciting popcorn movie that tries to mix indiana jones , the da vinci code and several strands of conspiracy theory in one blandly entertaining package .",
      "though i 'd never call the film a treasure , if you do n't take it too seriously , it 's on a par with most bruckheimer actioners .",
      "you think for a minute it might tip the movie toward an ending of real integrity -- you know , like the real treasure being the declaration itself .",
      "the plot is all breathless riffs and jolly twists , and even cage looks strung-out .",
      "plays a lot better than it sounds . trust me .",
      "an almost tongue-in-cheek fantasy wrapped around well-researched historical details .",
      "it has no ambition , little sense and false sentiment , but it does have velocity , high spirits and scale .",
      "the best thing about MOV is how clever it is .",
      "cage plays gates way too broadly and crudely ; i half expected him to break into his patented elvis impersonation .",
      "this long , and long-winded , series of middling cliffhangers wo n't pump the adrenaline of action aficionados .",
      "one of the more implausible movies in recent memory .",
      "it 's everything you loved about the da vinci code , stripped of its religious context and transposed to early america .",
      "fluffy , frenetic and sometimes downright farcical , MOV makes gleeful fun of itself while leading us popcorn-munching escapists down a tangled , painless adventure trail .",
      "treasure may fall a notch below pirates of the caribbean on the pleasureometer , but it does give american history sex appeal and celebrates a guy who relies on brainware rather than gadgets .",
      "it 's bad news when a bruckheimer movie makes one downright nostalgic for the rock ...",
      "the picture is 25 minutes of fun , spread over 125 minutes .",
      "too dumb and improbable .",
      "has all the soul , wit and originality of a major co-branding campaign .",
      "with its ludicrous frisson of patriotism and a nod to the da vinci code , a more cynical grab for hollywood gold is hard to imagine .",
      "... may well have the most asinine plot in the history of cinema .",
      "this patriotic action-adventure from walt disney pictures is n't worth the hype it 's getting , even though its somewhat-historical premise is engaging .",
      "rancid cinematic cheese .",
      "all it is , really , is astonishingly boring , terribly stupid , and , it bears repeating , boring . it 's boring . -lrb- also stupid . -rrb-",
      "the lighthearted , rocket-paced adventure does n't have a shred of plausibility -- and it does n't pretend to . but it has oodles of fun .",
      "as vanilla a filmmaker as they make 'em , turteltaub 's filmography does n't exactly inspire the greatest confidence that he can handle a monster-budgeted action/adventure .",
      "despite an interesting premise and a decent cast , the movie swings randomly between too much explanation and not enough , between simplistic cliche and inscrutable babble .",
      "it fakes high concept , but turns into a whole lot of hooey .",
      "alluringly over-the-top without being overcooked .",
      "a radical adventure it is , with nicolas cage strapping on the hero boots to solve clues , dodge bullets and dangle off of underground wooden structures .",
      "MOV is a wildly inventive thinking person 's raiders of the lost ark film .",
      "secret societies revealed , a quest for the truth and treasure , a hateful bad guy , and a good guy and good girl who share some romance along the way ...",
      "a silly , stupendously artificial enterprise .",
      "a serviceably entertaining but ultimately forgettable bit of escapism .",
      "this infantile excuse for an adventure yarn plays more like a triple-cross between the davinci code , csi , and the amazing race than raiders of the lost ark. .",
      "as documents go , this one tastes like cardboard .",
      "sluggish for a jerry bruckheimer production , but maybe the kids will learn something .",
      "a movie that uses stealing the declaration of independence as a starting point ? need i mention that this is a jerry bruckheimer production ?",
      "yeah , it 's got a lot of gab in it about unalienable rights , but would n't the declaration of independence really be something if there were a treasure map on the back ?",
      "in trying to maintain a pg rating , director jon turtletaub establishes a wavering tone that 's at turns raucous , infantile and imbecilic .",
      "with one of the more preposterous climaxes in the history of film , this movie flunks every test of believability .",
      "it 's that kind of careful attention to detail that makes something like the goonies more thrilling and easier to accept than this .",
      "remove the logical progression of events from the da vinci code and you 've got MOV .",
      "when the effects seem more real than the characters , the quest , and , especially , the jokes , even an overstuffed movie like this one just feels empty .",
      "a rip-roaring , high-spirited american adventure , it 's one of the best scavenger hunts to come along in ages !",
      "an above-average popcorn movie .",
      "this one 's no treasure . but it features a few interesting baubles .",
      "the clever bits are swamped by no-brainer gunfights , rescues , and chases galore .",
      "almost every scene in this generic action movie is ripped off from somewhere else .",
      "MOV is so silly that the monty python version could use the same screenplay , line for line .",
      "an adventure zipped up with a light smattering of history .",
      "from the very first action scene in the frozen arctic , to a chase up the liberty bell tower , to the climax in a tunnel deep below new york city , MOV takes you on an exhilarating ride .",
      "the film is far from perfect , but what do you expect from the director of 3 ninjas .",
      "does n't this movie 's plot sound like some educational movie that 's supposed to trick kids into learning because they made a game of it ?",
      "while clues abound in MOV , i was left clueless .",
      "this is one screenplay that would have excelled had all the dialogue been excised or retooled .",
      "while it may be blasphemous to recommend ` MOV ' , it 's probably not far off the mark to say -lsb- it will -rsb- keep fanatical fans of high-tech hesit movies content .",
      "the film 's trio of credited writers fails to generate anything in the way of character , and they create the largest and most unwieldy plot holes in a long time .",
      "a satisfying torrent of chases , escapes and discoveries .",
      "falls short in many ways , not the least of which is a ridiculously moronic plot that defies reason at every turn",
      "as a family-friendly adventure , the film undoubtedly excels - though it 's clear the movie could 've used a little less adventure and a little more sleuthing .",
      "passable , lightweight entertainment .",
      "a scavenger hunt conceived in liberty and dedicated to the notion that all jerry bruckheimer films are created equal -lrb- equally dumb , that is -rrb- .",
      "MOV falls a bit short both as a window into the american past and as crackling good adventure .",
      "laudable , at times inventive .",
      "definitely has minor moments of matterhorn-ride amusement for what 's otherwise an insultingly preposterous , culturally barren clump of exploitative , flag-sticker patriotism .",
      "a national embarrassment .",
      "a formula-action exercise that 's part indiana jones , part da vinci code , part history trivia lesson and all bluster , treasure proves quickly that it 's fool 's gold at best .",
      "if you 're looking for MOV to rewrite history , you 're wasting your vote .",
      "this is bruckheimer 's niche . do n't ever expect him to adapt a nicholas sparks book into a film any time soon .",
      "if dick cheney had attempted to write the da vinci code , he might have envisioned something like `` MOV . ''",
      "few can argue that the movie is totally unbelievable , but if one is able to leave all sense of logic at the door , it 's very hard not to have a darn good time in the process .",
      "stealing the declaration of indepenence is easy - making an interesting film is tough !",
      "... a semi-historical mystery-thriller ... too many chases and clichés keep this good movie from being great .",
      "this movie could n't be more stale if it 'd been dug up by archaeologists .",
      "a big , overblown wazoo of absurdity .",
      "this is a bravura film that genuinely understands the nature of true family entertainment and provides it in spades .",
      "MOV may be dumb and relatively short on action scenes , but it 's still a lot of fun , largely thanks to cage and bartha .",
      "the movie gets a little cheesy -lrb- with some definite raiders of the lost ark moments -rrb- , but it 's got humor , a little suspense , and lots of action .",
      "all of this could have been lots of fun . if only harrison ford , or someone just as good , had played ben .",
      "works fairly well as slick , enjoyable hooey ... in its general approach if not all particulars , this could represent a promising new approach in family entertainment ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is no treasure , but it 's a fun ride for those who can forgive its highly improbable plot .",
    "id": "10016"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10009823-sin_nombre",
    "reviews": [
      "there is bitter and breathtaking truth in the story and in the story-telling .",
      "that this is fukunaga 's first film is astonishing , given its sharp script , technical proficiency and suspenseful pacing . the ensemble cast is top-notch .",
      "mashes up the tale of the arduous journey across borders with the developing world gangster drama , offering a fresh and convincing spin on both .",
      "a tense , awfully depressing companion piece to last year 's great wendy and lucy when seen as a search for opportunity where there is n't any .",
      "is n't so much a bad movie as it is an unremarkable one",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- fukunaga is a fine craftsman , but his story , a kind of `` under the same moon '' by way of `` the warriors , '' is one that has been told many times before .",
      "the scope is epic and the achievement , though solidly grounded in conventional storytelling , is a revelation .",
      "a moving portrait of the arduous journey taken by poverty-stricken people from central america through mexico with their sights set on the united states .",
      "an honorable addition to border films about central american immigrants , this highlight of the sundance film fest offers visceral experience based on the helmer 's firsthand familiarity .",
      "`` MOV '' is a convincing verite-styled drama that pulls you into its dangerous universe of desperation and immediacy .",
      "fukunaga maintains a deft balance of justifiably melodramatic plot elements and low-key realism ; the horrific moments here never feel false or overemphatic .",
      "the best that can be said is that it 's a more honest film on the subject of immigration than the recent crossing over -- but then again , so is beverly hills chihuahua .",
      "a big new talent arrives on the scene with MOV . writer-director cary joji fukunaga 's enthralling feature debut takes viewers into a shadow world inhabited by many but noticed by very few .",
      "the movie is alternately brutal and affecting , filled with big dreams and crushing realities .",
      "from beginning to end , the director understands that life for most immigrants is an expansive turf war .",
      "the rules of the gang are spurious enough to make us realise that this is n't a world of good against evil , it 's a world of adolescents who 've got no reason to grow up .",
      "there is enough freshness in the documentary-style observation to make up for any lack of imagination in the storyline .",
      "if you 've ever got your hands on a second-hand set of operation , you 'll know how it feels to watch the latest addition to the slum drama stable . most parts are present and correct , but there 's definitely something missing - a heart , perhaps ?",
      "likely to be one of the must-see foreign language titles of the year , opening our eyes to a world of desperation , hope and pain .",
      "it 's a tough watch . it 's also one of the best films of the year .",
      "it 's the scenes of immigrants heading north atop moving trains which resonate the most - a testament to adriano goldman 's brilliant , expansive cinematography .",
      "captivatingly naturalistic performances and cinematography almost makes up for the lack of a larger political framework .",
      "it 's a tribute to the visceral impact of the staging that the film retains its grip despite becoming somewhat predictable , while thematically it 's the usual cycle-of-violence hand wringing .",
      "MOV is a spry , humane account of the hardships encountered on the mexican immigration trail , whose violence never feels exploitative , for all that it may be hard to watch . highly recommended .",
      "for all its formal élan and gritty location shooting , MOV is a wearily hollow , morally specious movie .",
      "more than just an immigration drama ... real and dramatically intense .",
      "there are some brief minutes when the tension drops and the story starts to sag , but fukunaga almost always fills the frame with something worth seeing , and the story has a built-in suspense .",
      "MOV is n't easy to watch , it 's raw as a punch to the gut and just as brutal , but it 's also a truly beautiful film , full of wonderful performances and brilliant , articulate direction .",
      "` MOV ' is informative and gripping in story and technique .",
      "i -lsb- t ' -rsb- s about people trying to make their way across the border into the united states . but if you think you 've seen it before , you 're mistaken .",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- fukunaga has a fine , spacious film sense and a gift for action , but the doomy , heavy-handed plot devices and overwrought , overacted gangland set pieces betray a novice 's hand .",
      "the combination of professional actors and locals is effective and adds to the unique telling of this immigrant story .",
      "the best film i 've seen this year .",
      "unfortunately , other than some gorgeous scenery , sayra 's stupidity is the only thing that feels truly fresh in fukunaga 's debut feature .",
      "the caressing , honeyed light in MOV beautifies and softens every ugly moment in this equivocating story about geographic and moral border crossings .",
      "fukunaga -lrb- who was raised in oakland , california lives in brooklyn -rrb- uses natural-looking locations and non-professional actors like a pro .",
      "MOV is pure filmmaking : a great story told in beautiful images .",
      "fukunaga paints better outside the lines , working with cinematographer adriano goldman to offer vivid shots of the poverty and despair cutting through latin america .",
      "while this mexican import is treading familiar territory , first time writer/director cary fukunaga comes at it with fresh eyes .",
      "-lsb- director fukunaga -rsb- spends as little time dwelling on the whole as possible , instead opting for a classic road-trip story of the parts : the people who are emigrating and the gang members trying to kill one of them .",
      "what makes it unique among films that cover similar subject matter is the restrained acting and richness of its visual sense .",
      "this is a very fine film debut .",
      "i only wish fukunaga was as good a writer as he is a director -- but as this is his debut feature , i 'll cut some slack on that score .",
      "it 's a documentary-style look at the harrowing journey illegal immigrants take to get into this country , but it 's also a tightly plotted thriller .",
      "a confident , raw feature film that continually surprises and repeatedly devastates . MOV is an outstanding motion picture .",
      "the actors , particularly flores , have a documentary reality about them . their reactions to most of their predicaments , even the ones given away too easily by the script , are real in the most human sense .",
      "MOV is a riveting watch and an expertly directed drama that will stay with you long after you leave the cinema .",
      "a hard-hitting tragi-masterpiece that jolts from tender sentimentality to gritty real-life violence .",
      "it 's such an accomplished and powerful piece of storytelling that MOV - which means nameless - could easily find itself in the running for the best foreign film academy award .",
      "gorgeously shot and edited , and performed with a gentle emotional openness , this gritty odyssey tells a deeply personal story while examining much bigger issues in central america and beyond .",
      "a striking , and often quite gruelling , account of survival and flight in poverty-stricken central america .",
      "the movie never quite determines if it is docudrama or melodrama , though each , at times , shines strongly .",
      "the film will linger in the mind long after its devastating conclusion . you leave the cinema breathless and disquieted but also with a sense of having had something important revealed to you . in a very strong field , this is the year 's best film so far .",
      "there is the feel of a sam peckinpah western to a grimly predictable story that blends beautiful scenery with brutal reality .",
      "the movie , which has both bloody violence and tender romance , will remind you of `` city of god '' meets `` under the same moon . '' it is another shining example of the best that independent filmmaking has to offer , much like last year 's `` frozen river . ''",
      "this is a vivid portrait of the landscape of the americas , picking apart every step of the migrant 's journey",
      "you might think you know where these characters are going , and how the various plot threads will be tied up . but you 'd be wrong .",
      "a very southern modern western , the spanish-language MOV offers a treacherous frontier , a conflicted outlaw and fine performances by actors with whom the camera clearly is besotted .",
      "the film 's beauty , which is meant to suggest the dreams of the characters , is another crucial aspect of MOV 's complexity .",
      "despite the unevenness of the ride , however , the memory of MOV is indelible .",
      "this is a stunning feature debut for director cary fukunaga . the story borrows from road movies and crime thrillers , but the scenes and situations vibrate with authenticity .",
      "it gives a caravan of migrants human faces , compelling motivations and dramatic challenges that transcend borders .",
      "MOV is at once subtle and intense , familiar but refreshing , intimate even as it tells a story untold numbers have endured .",
      "cary fukunaga makes an impressive feature directing debut with the lacerating immigration tale MOV .",
      "the compositions -lrb- even in grimy cities -rrb- and use of color are wonderful , the kind of thing that can only arise with the assistance of a wonderful art director .",
      "rich details make the immigration thriller MOV vivid and haunting .",
      "this sense of equilibrium even carries over to fukunaga 's crafty integration of professional and nonpro actors .",
      "imagine city of god without the zippy camerawork or slumdog millionaire without the millionaire and you get the feel of MOV .",
      "sincere and sympathetic but also mostly inert .",
      "sayra and her family are the poor , huddled masses our founders were talking about , and it 's painfully bracing to watch them crushed beneath the promise of a stocked cupboard and living wage .",
      "above all , fukunaga has great respect for his characters and their story .",
      "steadily building intensity despite overwhelming feelings of doom",
      "MOV marks an impressive feature-film debut for cary joji fukunaga , albeit more as a director than a writer .",
      "fukunaga 's intentions may be honorable , but films like MOV exploit their subjects as much as they empathize with them .",
      "brutal , wrenching and filled with desperation and meanness , MOV signals a major new talent in writer-director cary fukunaga , who never flinches while telling a story so grim and sad it moves beyond tears to numbness .",
      "intense spanish-language feature debut intrigues but does n't quite gel .",
      "whenever MOV turns violent , it seizes you with its convulsive skill , but the film 's images vastly outstrip its imagination .",
      "an epic and stunningly shot thriller about two young people crossing the gauntlet of central america in their attempt to get to the usa .",
      "basically a manipulative thriller with social-commentary aspirations",
      "fukunaga wastes no time with laborious explanations for his characters ' motives .",
      "it 's a drama , a romance and a thriller , but make no mistake - MOV pulls no punches in delivery a raw , powerful film that shrugs aside genre convention .",
      "MOV still leaves an acrid aftertaste .",
      "-lsb- f -rsb- or all its raw simplicity , the film manages to conjure a veritable library of references .",
      "the gangster part of the movie is riddled with cliches , but strikes gold with its depiction of immigrants on a train headed north . an excellent debut by a japanese-american director .",
      "cary fukunaga makes a strong impression with his debut feature , a visually rich spanish-language thriller which borrows the conventions of the western and applies them to a world of gang brotherhoods and travelling immigrants in mexico .",
      "spellbinding and nailbiting at the same time , `` sin nombre?s '' climax chillingly evokes the fable of the rabbit crossing the river on the crocodile?s back . even amid such fleeting hope , its bone-deep fragility proved impossible to shake .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "one of the best movies i 've seen in a long time - director cary joji fukunaga has a promising future .",
      "a variation on the theme of central american gangster films , `` nombre '' adds a mystery thriller note in the tone of early american `` gangster on the run '' films that makes it riveting to watch while telling a heartbreaking story .",
      "fukunaga does show a certain flair for filmmaking style that suggests that he will one day direct a great movie -- unfortunately , despite what you may have heard , this film is n't it .",
      "it contains risk , violence , a little romance , even fleeting moments of humor , but most of all , it sees what danger and heartbreak are involved . it is riveting from start to finish .",
      "the thrilling and beautifully crafted debut feature of 31-year-old californian cary joji fukunaga .",
      "it 's the tone of the movie 's two sides -- action and stillness , graphic violence and romantic melodrama -- that do n't cohere .",
      "MOV is a brutal , dark film that is one of the most moving and memorable that i 've seen in a long time",
      "it is a movie about the wages of sin that come back to claim their own , indifferent to redemption , especially a redemption bathed in blood .",
      "fukunaga 's gift lies not in inventing clever reversals , but in declining to provide us with the typical cinematic cues that advertise what 's coming .",
      "among the film 's many revelations is a cast of talented unknowns who stand to become much better known in years to come -- which makes the ` no name ' title seem almost ironic .",
      "writer-director cary fukunaga keeps the story lean while peppering it with realistic details .",
      "it wo n't disappoint you . that 's rare , do n't you think ?",
      "tragic and gripping , cary fukunaga 's MOV revitalizes a gang-warfare genre that had appeared to be played out lately .",
      "as accomplished as MOV is in many ways , you 're always aware of the ever-tightening plot screws , rather than the human beings caught in one threatening situation after another .",
      "fukunaga seems more capable than most at setting up truly intimate moments ; whether it 's canoodling in bed or a warm exchange of a burrito between strangers . and it all happens on the decks of one of cinema 's most enduring symbols .",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- fukunaga 's startlingly impressive first feature is almost ruthless in its depiction of the brutality and degradation confronting the hidden hordes that cross rivers and hop trains trying to get to the united states .",
      "more substantive than the average thriller/road movie .",
      "fukunaga expertly shapes a variety of elements -- gangland thriller , immigration drama , social commentary -- into a rich , compelling story about redemption .",
      "there are no wasted scenes or superfluous dialogue in `` MOV '' , just hard-hitting drama that has the feel of total credibility .",
      "one can only imagine what life must really be like for these heavily tattooed killers , who hold a baby in one hand and take a life with the other ."
    ],
    "summary": "part harrowing immigration tale , part gangster story , this debut by writer/director cary fukunaga is sensitive , insightful and deeply authentic .",
    "id": "770802066"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_triplets_of_belleville",
    "reviews": [
      "a sensational counterpoint to everything animation means as family entertainment in hollywood .",
      "right down to faux black-and-white film stock and scratchy gramophones , triplets resurrects flesicher 's world of music , debauchery , inspired illogic and crude showbiz parody .",
      "an animated film that takes familiar disney archetypes and twists them into vivid , imaginative shapes .",
      "packs staggering levels of craft and imagination into every last frame .",
      "wonderfully weird .",
      "a mad masterpiece .",
      "`` dazzlingly inventive and delightful and probably unlike any cartoon -- or movie -- you 've ever seen ... ''",
      "virtually dialogue free , les triplettes is full of funny and bizarre images , often in the same frame .",
      "the astonishing , outlandish , and singular originality of this movie defeats any attempt to describe or explain it . but it also makes it a lot of fun to watch .",
      "triplets is very probably unlike anything you 've seen before .",
      "shows influences as diverse as `` mr. magoo , '' the films of caro and jeunet -lrb- `` delicatessen , '' `` city of lost children '' -rrb- , `` the family dog , '' the animated `` 101 dalmatians and warner brothers ' early merrie melodies cartoons yet remains a completely unique creatio",
      "belleville rendez-vous is an engaging , original europudding cartoon , animated in the classical style , without the sugar of disney , entertaining from start to finish .",
      "visual ingenuity , wry humour , and french self-parody add up to a strange and touching experience .",
      "grotesque yet trippy .",
      "quite unlike anything you will have ever seen in an animated picture .",
      "an odd and oddly satisfying concoction .",
      "it may clock in at a crisp 80 minutes , yet a single viewing can barely do justice to this richly detailed and often playfully macabre adventure .",
      "forges an all new narrative and visual style that 's so winning it lingers in the mind long after the credits roll .",
      "feels simultaneously cutting-edge and a new classic of the cartoon genre .",
      "-lsb- sylvain -rsb- chomet 's vision is singularly strange and somber , and one of enormous originality and promise .",
      "i 'm not so sure what chomet 's getting at here , or even if there 's really much to be gotten at all . but the movie 's a bona fide eye-popper . -lrb- man , i wish i still smoked pot . -rrb-",
      "se precisei assistir a esta animaзгo 3 vezes somente para escrever sobre ela , nem imagino quantas vezes voltarei a vк-la apenas pelo prazer de visitar a criaзгo de chomet .",
      "a hugely entertaining alternative to disney and pixar",
      "it would appear that the best ` toon flicks are presently being produced outside the usa .",
      "triplets of belleville conjures up a world that 's totally surprising and sublime .",
      "a triumph of style and substance , dispensing equal parts unbridled glee and powerful melancholy .",
      "a comfortably subversive and accomplished film that speaks to everyone , without talking down to anyone .",
      "it is funny in spurts , frightening , moving , magical , exhilarating , horrific , smart and silly . it is all this and more .",
      "captivating to watch .",
      "-lsb- l -rsb- ike nothing you 've ever seen and at the same time like a recurring dream you can always just barely remember when you wake up ...",
      "many notable moments of animation excellence",
      "international story of bicycling , rescue , singing , the passage of time and the nature of evil is a fantastic use of animation for grown-up storytelling .",
      "not since pee-wee 's big adventure has the story of a boy and his bike been this delightfully strange .",
      "finding a delicate balance between dystopia and nostalgia , this diaphanous , baroque vision is n't just a disarming trifle : it 's genuinely transporting .",
      "kept me smiling for 80 minutes , and that 's worth something , right ?",
      "the comparative abstractness of mr. chomet 's vision allows the mind to wander freely .",
      "a dialog-free , animated film for adults that would have made a great short film , but , without speech or much of a story , it is seventy-five minutes too long .",
      "the city of belleville is like some nocturnal amalgam of paris and new york , on the edge of a vast sea and of the world itself .",
      "if walt disney had gone on a binge of red wine , hallucinatory drugs and absurdist plays , MOV could have sprouted from his animation empire .",
      "it 's a must-see for animation fans , but others , including youngsters , may just as likely be bored or baffled .",
      "an ephemerally entertaining comic adventure .",
      "MOV proves there 's still plenty of life in hand-drawn animation .",
      "as original as it is strange , MOV not only will win you over with that potent combination , but will likely tempt you to seek out its company again and again .",
      "too far-fetched for me to dive into a genre i have not yet acquired a taste for .",
      "if you have an open mind , and an appreciation of film animation , you will surely enjoy the film 's clever gags , as well as the sensational blending of cel animation and computer-enhanced backgrounds and action .",
      "everything about the film , from the characters to the settings , is tres bizarre , yet it 's all weirdly compelling .",
      "triplets is as visually unfamiliar as a foreign language .",
      "MOV can feel so alive you may have trouble sitting still while watching it .",
      "it occasionally suffers from longeurs , but it 's moving and funny with moments of genius . more of the same , s ` il vous plaît .",
      "just when jeffrey katzenberg had loudly declared the death of 2-d animation , along came this sly , inventively drawn cartoon that blew the cumbrous studio leviathans out of the water .",
      "astonishing , outlandish , and full of laughs .",
      "this is an animated movie to fall in love with .",
      "beautiful animation , surreal imagery , funny quirky characters and engaging situations make this a gem that should be discovered .",
      "whimsy is alive and well in the movies , thanks to sylvain chomet .",
      "vous guessed it by now : triplettes is terrific .",
      "a winning blend of dark and bittersweet , aimed more at adults than kiddies , but suitable for all ages .",
      "relish the film 's deadpan grotesquery , its flair for invention , be it the fanciful narrative segues or various object lessons ...",
      "if there 's any justice in the world , french animator sylvain chomet will be handed the animated feature oscar in february for this fantastic little film .",
      "every so often , a film comes along that is so original , imaginative , and just plain flat-out wonderful that you can do little but marvel at the filmmaker 's artistry .",
      "it 's all trčs charming .",
      "artful , engrossing and oddly touching .",
      "an utter delight .",
      "an insanely delicious animated feature .",
      "a wildly imaginative and wholly original creation .",
      "a singular delight .",
      "it should appeal to adventurous types looking for a more challenging animated feature .",
      "a tour de force of ink-washed , crosshatched mischief and unlikely sublimity .",
      "a truly out-there piece of comic animation , the most outlandishly visual film of the year , this 80-minute french treat takes us into a world that can barely be described , a world unlike any we 've seen before .",
      "viva le difference !",
      "animation was invented so that movies like MOV could be made .",
      "a fresh , very funny and wonderful artful enterprise .",
      "thanks to chomet , ` beautifully strange ' has a new home address , and it 's in belleville .",
      "an extraordinary , melancholy ode to the endless , mercurial peculiarity of life .",
      "one of his greatest achievements is allowing the audience to crawl inside bruno 's head . not since `` babe '' has a movie made me care so much for a four-legged character .",
      "you may love it , you may hate it , but you 've never seen anything like it .",
      "let the movie wash over you , and , at the very least , it will cleanse your palate .",
      "... might be the french counterpart of a jerry lewis movie . for the few that will love it , as many more will be baffled three times over .",
      "a stylish throwback , a pretty work of art in every frame .",
      "exploring imagery 's universal potential , the movie reaches artistic heights by allowing us to recognize ourselves in people and customs that initially seem brazenly foreign .",
      "words can not replicate the world that chomet has designed here ; description is pointless , as belleville simply must be experienced firsthand .",
      "its strange vacillation between the hopeful and the arbitrarily cold is still a mystery to me ... it 's not a great film , but then again , it is .",
      "triplets could be described as max fleischer on acid .",
      "the simpsons meet william steig",
      "zee french , zay are different , non ? well , in this case , wonderfully so .",
      "un beau , wildy amusement et un film original ! see this immediately - read on - >",
      "MOV is an animated feature with two out-of-the-ordinary superheroes : a zealous old lady and a very fat dog .",
      "an almost impossibly delectable mixture of uncanny weirdness and poignant sweetness",
      "chomet 's charming , visually cluttered realm ... is so imaginative and vividly realized you could freeze any frame and spend an hour picking through its details .",
      "` el estilo y la atmósfera en que se desarrolla son de una calidad e inteligencia que pocas veces podemos apreciar de este lado del atlántico . '",
      "a beautiful but dull affair .",
      "a bustling cornucopia of delights .",
      "something unique : mixing styles , eras and geography into a cocktail that is both funny and melancholy .",
      "there are high-powered opiates that do n't pack the psychedelic kick of this cartoon .",
      "la historia se cuenta en imágenes y sonidos , y ese es un primer gran mérito a tener en cuenta en una época en que los personajes del cine suelen hablar demasiado .",
      "the big test was how few times i could look at my watch to determine how much more agony i had to endure .",
      "it 's impossible to watch this movie without gasping at its graphics , and yet we 're so drawn into chomet 's way of seeing that , after a while , his genius erases the distinction between animation and live action .",
      "chomet made this movie to remind us how imaginative animation can be as an art form .",
      "if you 've a heart and a pulse , you will like this movie .",
      "a highly original , charming , visually striking and constantly droll entertainment .",
      "a bizarre yet beautifully composed piece of nutty whimsy .",
      "most of the magic of this unusual movie comes from the freshness , imagination and sweet spirit of its animation , which is blissfully its own thing and does not show the influence of any of the reigning forces in the art form .",
      "a strange delight , an original vision that enhances the state of contemporary animation .",
      "this oddball has the fuzz of real invention .",
      "an animated feature of appalling originality and scary charm .",
      "filmmaking at its best , and a wonderful reminder of the pure unadulterated joy that can come from going to the movies .",
      "oooh la la and a certain je ne sais quoi permeate every frame of this imaginative french gem that leaves ordinary animated projects in the dust .",
      "dazzling in the simplest of ways putting sylvain chomet at the animation 's adult table that still has plenty of room for the kids .",
      "like a silent film that just happens to be drawn instead of made with real people - it 's absolutely mesmerizing to look at this animation .",
      "feels like a cross between ' 60 's disney cartoon movies and yellow submarine . no , even that description is too simplistic .",
      "chomet has made a refreshing film set apart by its humour , unique cultural flavour and quality animation .",
      "the artwork is just brilliant .",
      "this is a film that speaks a universal language of funny images and unexpected surprises .",
      "... director chomet proves to be quite effective at establishing an utterly bizarre looking variation on our world , he 's just not able to hold our interest all the way through .",
      "in an era when live-action movies often play like cartoons , this is an animated film that feels all grown up .",
      "watching MOV is like getting lost in a storybook you never want to put down .",
      "depending on your perspective , it 's either visionary or weird .",
      "an animated extravaganza of gallic wit and soul that delivers more wild humanity than many of the year 's live-action features . in a word : go .",
      "as funny , original , and entertaining as the film is , a dark drama floats just beneath the surface that is heightened by its nostalgic , sometimes melancholic tone .",
      "much of the story unfolds with the careful , deliberate pacing of the best silent films , and the action ranges from kitchen sink realism to outlandish fantasy .",
      "a charming , one-of-a-kind experience , a breathtakingly drawn and uproariously funny film by french animator sylvain chomet . it 's one of the most delightful films of the year .",
      "perhaps the worst animated feature film i 've ever seen .",
      "it 's downright daft at times . but it 's ingeniously crafted , marvelously drawn , and utterly unpredictable .",
      "a determinedly weird , almost wordless gallic concoction that casts a considerable spell even if it 's not supposed to make much sense -lrb- and definitely succeeds in that respect -rrb- .",
      "... delightful , inventive , accessible , hilarious , and tremendously executed .",
      "there is more imagination in this film 's puny 80 minutes than in all the other films i 've seen this year put together .",
      "a strange and wonderful tale that relies on and indulges in the luxuries of hand-drawn animation",
      "does n't have much to offer outside of its technical achievements , which is both amazing and a shame , considering chomet 's fertile imagination .",
      "so bizarre , satirical and imaginative that it almost defies description .",
      "built on slow , repetitive actions that quietly amuse us but do n't necessarily raise our adrenaline . still , for visual grandeur and artistic imagination , it 's a sheer joy .",
      "all you really need to enjoy `` triplets '' is a taste for the weird and the wonderful .",
      "it 's nasty but droll , cheerfully grotesque , full of non sequiturs as well as deadpan repetitions , never cute and the opposite of precious .",
      "while , like most animated films , MOV was made by many people , this divinely eccentric movie feels as if it came straight to the screen from one man 's wild and wantonly free imagination .",
      "a sophisticated , wholly original brand of animated storytelling that manages to be at once deliriously eccentric and deliciously sinister .",
      "for someone with an adventurous cinematic appetite , a production that makes miyazaki appear mainstream is surely worth a look .",
      "impossible to describe , impossible to forget .",
      "shares the inventive , experimental storytelling found in the works of miyazaki and the wachowskis . what a joy to watch a cartoon with your brain turned on .",
      "comic , touching and a visual knockout .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- effortlessly charming cry of defiance against america , wrapped up in a touching and ticklishly funny , yet bitter-sweet tale that dances across the screen ."
    ],
    "summary": "richly detailed and loaded with surreal touches , MOV is an odd , delightful charmer .",
    "id": "10128"
  },
  {
    "movie": "collateral",
    "reviews": [
      "a crime drama made with immense skill .",
      "-lsb- tom cruise has -rsb- never been this convincingly wicked .",
      "MOV is the best kind of genre filmmaking : it plays by the rules , obeys the traditions and is both familiar and fresh at once .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he most deliciously intoxicating mann movie yet , slippery cool and brashly elegant , fresh and furious ...",
      "a sort of dud-brained taxi driver on the slick streets of los angeles rather than the steaming streets of new york .",
      "a genuinely original modern thriller .",
      "an intriguing , if predictable , ... story that benefits strongly from an everyman performance by jamie foxx and a dead on , chew the scenery supporting perf by mr. cruise",
      "it 's straight-up entertainment , not something to see and then talk about a month later , but definitely something to enjoy .",
      "my nominee for the most effective film yet shot digitally .",
      "the best thing mann brings to his picture is a strong sense of time and place .",
      "mann 's film makes tom cruise fun to watch again , because he occasionally plays someone besides tom cruise .",
      "MOV has such classy trappings , you 're constantly expecting more -- but while there may be less here than meets the eye , this is solid stuff in the midst of hollywood 's dog days .",
      "vincent 's ferocity -lrb- designated by cruise 's grim-face mode -rrb- is the film 's most distracting cliché .",
      "as much a dark , odd couple comedy as it is a quirky , efficient little thriller .",
      "MOV is an ultimate thrill ride through the mean streets of l.a. , powered by a killer performance -lrb- pun intended -rrb- from tom cruise .",
      "cruise is a little out of his range but that works oddly well , giving him a little frisson of uncertainty underneath the terminator-like singlemindedness of the character .",
      "mann hits a new peak , orchestrating action , atmosphere and bruising humor with a poet 's eye for urban darkness .",
      "-lsb- jamie foxx is -rsb- the reason to see MOV , as he walks into the frame and walks off with the picture .",
      "taut , exciting and intelligent , MOV is just the movie this summer needed .",
      "arguably the first film mann has made that marries the painstaking style of heat and manhunter with the gripping substance of the insider .",
      "`` MOV '' is the type of film that viewers will enjoy if they can bring themselves to the theater .",
      "there 's another , more interesting movie lurking behind the pulp , glimpsed fleetingly in a stunningly-angled shot or a tantalizing line of dialogue .",
      "a stylish , impressively directed , smartly written thriller with superb performances by both cruise and foxx .",
      "MOV is , simply , a perfectly pitched popcorn movie .",
      "tom cruise and jamie foxx do terrific jobs with a great script and a director who definitely passes muster here . this is an enjoyable thriller .",
      "we 're supposed to be fascinated by what makes cruise 's vincent tick , but he turns out to be just a heavily armed gasbag .",
      "for vincent 's sharp-witted command of the cab and the echoes of the third man and heat , MOV is well worth targeting .",
      "vincent es demoledor , cínico , frío , calmo , un hombre solitario , un asesino que reflexiona sobre el sentido de la vida .",
      "perhaps the best premise for thrills since speed , only this time the bad guy 's on board and the battle of wits is more philosophical debate than pop quiz .",
      "a single la night compacted into two gripping hours of four big hits and one anticlimactic miss .",
      "a slim drink of thin beer , remarkable only as evidence that mann might have a modern masterpiece in him if he were cut loose and allowed to roam around in his own obsessions .",
      "the real delight is soaking up cruise 's acting . he is terrific .",
      "visually , ` MOV ' locates the post-apocalypse landscape growing within a city still waiting for its apocalypse .",
      "mann never lets the audience settle into familiar patterns , crafting a moody , mesmerizing battle between good and evil .",
      "MOV is the kind of sleek maserati that can make men weak in the knees , but the sad truth is that it has a straight-4 under the hood .",
      "this is a rare thriller that 's as much character study as sound and fury .",
      "a suspense thriller with little real suspense and few thrills .",
      "MOV stretches the bounds of coincidence , physical survival and the allure of a cabbie beyond all belief .",
      "arguably the best studio film of the summer .",
      "foxx 's performance is a revelation : he is completely convincing and understated , moving effortlessly through a wide range of ... conflicts both comical and severe .",
      "... first and foremost a director 's movie ... -lsb- one -rsb- that shows off mann 's endlessly restless eye -- and his flair for finding arresting images in the unlikeliest places .",
      "the film always looks great , even when it 's not .",
      "the best of studio filmmaking -lrb- big stars and intense action sequences -rrb- with all the better elements of innovative indie filmmaking -lrb- original conception and gritty production values -rrb- .",
      "although cruise is the star of MOV , foxx is the anchorman .",
      "most of the time we are with cruise and foxx , and their interplay is never less than galvanizing .",
      "with ` MOV , ' michael mann clearly demonstrates he 's a master at creating almost perfect filmic pace and exquisite movie suspense .",
      "the sort of movie that embarrasses others in its genre , showing how action / crime movies can be done when they 're handled by folks who really know what they 're doing .",
      "cruise gets out-foxxed and MOV develops more tension for the distinction .",
      "the movie is intense , not for the scenes of action , but for the way evil and decency fight it out on the conversational battleground of two men .",
      "if MOV 's occasionally far-fetched plot inhibits it from becoming state-of-the-art mann , it 's still a terrific piece of filmmaking .",
      "... MOV '' is very much an adult thriller - and this one is at the top of its form .",
      "from its classy , crisp opening moments , MOV bombards the viewer with bold imagery and sounds ... we are in mann country .",
      "if MOV is all formula , it 's polished to a fine sheen .",
      "flim flam funnyman , turned film man , jamie foxx , stole this film ...",
      "while cruise was clearly the draw , it is an unexpected foxx that carries the film ; denzel washington now has a reason to watch his oscar-winning back .",
      "it is a shame the film is n't more ambitious than it is , but that does n't mean you ca n't respect what it does accomplish .",
      "after that promising start , MOV ratchets down , gradually , to being only average .",
      "but for all intents and purposes this is a two character play on a bare stage ... and a damn fine one at that .",
      "slick , stylish and a silver cruise .",
      "a pure cinematic experience .",
      "there are many things to enjoy , from tom cruise 's surprisingly authoritative performance to the unpredictable plot .",
      "MOV '' is lean and mean . from a frenetic shootout in one nightclub to deadly betrayal over drinks in another , mann does n't waste a moment .",
      "a high-concept thriller with no other agenda . nevertheless , it is quite a ride .",
      "both actors and the director are having a great time and it shows in every frame .",
      "a welcome change-of-pace dramatic thriller , in which the formerly too-emphatic director hints at depth rather than insisting on it .",
      "i loved it .",
      "chic , solid filmmaking",
      "mann 's taxi driver saga may not quite reach the level of art but , anyway you cut it , it 's anything but standard fare .",
      "still a hell of a ride , but could 've used a smoother landing .",
      "MOV takes a premise that is otherwise flawed and makes it into one of the most compelling films of the summer .",
      "how does director michael mann capture urban twilight so well ?",
      "it 's a good thing mann is such a master director , because the script to MOV needs all the help it can get .",
      "enjoyably unbelievable .",
      "MOV crackles with energy and purpose , a propulsive film with character on its mind and confident men and women on both sides of the camera .",
      "a great , darkly seductive ride .",
      "a pretty cool idea , however , two or three `` unbelievabilities '' soured the film for me ; they might not for you .",
      "a master of grand operatic gestures , mann 's broad-sided portrayals of machismo do n't work when confined to a chamber piece .",
      "michael mann is to cinema today what miles davis was to music forty years ago : a consummate artist pushing both himself and his chosen art form to new levels",
      "this stylish yet restrained thriller finds michael mann indulging most of his best qualities and few of his worst .",
      "crackle -lsb- s -rsb- with atmosphere .",
      "no director today , not even martin scorsese , matches michael mann 's intensity or artistry when he examines how violence corrodes the soul .",
      "tom cruise is starring in another hit and , boy , does he look good - even with the white hair .",
      "there 's not always something definite to chew on , but there 's always an artist 's impulse behind it .",
      "this is a tense , first-rate thriller .",
      "the interesting parts of MOV never coalesce into a satisfying whole - and the enterprise falls apart in the finale .",
      "there are two or three movies in MOV , and they will appeal to different audiences",
      "at heart a philosophical allegory that pits cruise 's nihilism against foxx 's optimistic humanism",
      "for a big , dumb summer action film , MOV works . but as a taught psychological thriller , this taxi cab runs over a few pot holes .",
      "the story is gripping and the stakes are high ... until the ridiculous coincidence .",
      "it 's just a shame that MOV ultimately reverts to genre formula and robs its inventive paradigm of becoming established as a new standard .",
      "MOV takes us on a wild night ride through los angeles .",
      "MOV is a small , modest movie writ large by people so talented , they are n't capable of anything less .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- hauntingly good , surprisingly funny slam-bang thriller .",
      "a superior thriller with attitude to spare .",
      "a white-knuckler so well-realized that it nearly defies the limitations of its action-thriller genre .",
      "mann brings some of the style and assurance he brought to heat and thief .",
      "a fairly typical bang-bang exercise with outrageous shootouts , lots of dead bodies and well-placed comic relief .",
      "intelligent , elegantly written and well-acted .",
      "a little difficult to get into .",
      "mann has become a master builder of sequences , the opposite of the contemporary action directors who produce a brutally meaningless whirl of movement .",
      "this intensely focused piece soars not only on the director 's precision-tooled style but also on the outstanding interplay between leads tom cruise and jamie foxx .",
      "a fine summer movie .",
      "no one but tom cruise could have played the engaging sociopath riding through the sleazy , searing faded opulence of l.a. by night .",
      "the surprise inside the story is that if we see the film through the eyes of the assassin vincent it turns from a thriller into a shaggy dog story .",
      "un suspense qui a de la classe , du style et de l'intelligence ŕ revendre . dommage que le film sombre dans les pires clichés lors de sa finale .",
      "where is danny devito when you need him ?",
      "it 's a perfect musical mood mix-tape , until the film 's climax , where michael mann evokes a pop song cool on first listen but deadened by excessive airplay .",
      "an engrossing , low-key , character thriller about the collision of ruthless amorality , conflicted decency and masculinity in crisis . jamie foxx has arrived as a movie star .",
      "in a flick where soap operatic contrivances literally kill the mood , coincidental twist endings just ai n't cool",
      "foxx gives a humble yet powerful performance .",
      "the year 's best action thriller with excellent performances from its two leads and mann 's brilliant direction .",
      "-lrb- director michael mann -rrb- creates a noirish atmosphere in which you can almost smell the danger .",
      "could someone please let michael mann know that we 're in the 21st century , miami vice has been cancelled and he can move on ?",
      "a summer film for grown-ups , delivering verve and intelligence along with its pulsing visuals .",
      "a boffo piece of adrenaline-charged entertainment .",
      "a compulsively watchable movie that takes what could have been a standard-issue thriller and makes it feel thrillingly alive ...",
      "on paper , the plot for MOV looks like it could be any one of a hundred summer action flicks -- but onscreen , it 's one in a million .",
      "the dynamic between cabbie and killer is at the heart of this one , and though there are some great foot chases and gunfights , it 's the little details that make it work .",
      "cruise makes a believable bad guy , surprisingly menacing and completely convincing as a hard-hearted killer .",
      "nice guy tom cruise is bad - very bad - in michael mann 's new movie , MOV . and that 's good .",
      "one of the best action movies of 2004",
      "in a summertime season full of gee-whiz spectacle and generally mindless gizmos , it 's exciting to see an `` action flick '' this mature and refined and well-conceived .",
      "mann has made a solid film here , effectively atmospheric and intelligent , minor defects notwithstanding .",
      "foxx rises to the challenge , giving his best performance to date .",
      "the essence of mann .",
      "the story is compelling , the action fast and the acting very good .",
      "cruise 's performance is a fine one , nicely seasoned with just the right touch of piquantness .",
      "another winning michael mann character study -lrb- see : `` the insider , '' `` heat , '' `` thief '' -rrb- with jamie foxx revelatory in the lead .",
      "em um ano marcado por produушes medьocres , colateral acaba merecendo destaque - nсo por seus mжritos , mas por eliminaусo .",
      "i actually felt sorry for -lsb- cruise -rsb- ... because everybody on the screen was better , more natural and convincing , than he was .",
      "i do n't know how many different ways i can say that i love it .",
      "mann is not a playwright who films his work . he 's an instinctive visual intelligence ; a cinematic fauvist working with a coded color palette .",
      "... mann 's decision to shoot MOV using digital cameras is baffling , particularly when you consider how effectively he 's used film in the past .",
      "i empathized with foxx 's plight : MOV dragged me on a long , violent ride in the dark to nowhere .",
      "mann skips off convention like a stone on a river ... impassively observing his hitchcockian hero : dragged into action and struggling to save the day from a sympathetic devil .",
      "cruise turns in perhaps his best performance , flashing his trademark smile just once behind his raggedy , greying stubble .",
      "the west coast answer to scorsese 's -lrb- ` after hours ' -rrb- : both movies are soaked in urban moodiness and disillusionment ... rough-edged , often jarring and emotionally elusive ...",
      "sit back and enjoy the action ride of the summer .",
      "lands solidly in the worthwhile category , rather than the slush pile .",
      "tom cruise and jamie foxx give the movie tension and momentum , and director michael mann gives it something most action flicks lack : style .",
      "someone 's been playing a little too much hitman on their playstation 2 .",
      "a perfect hit .",
      "reminiscent of the orchestrated mayhem of vintage john woo , this is showpiece kinetic filmmaking .",
      "as realistic as an episode of hbo 's taxicab confessions , without that stimulating voyeuristic quality modern audiences crave .",
      "-lsb- mann -rsb- has unimpeachable visual flair ... spinning through camera angles to aptly demonstrate the disconnected , disjointed feel of l.a.",
      "... first and foremost a continuation of director michael mann 's love affair with nocturnal urban landscapes .",
      "-lsb- mann -rsb- covers up for the film 's entirely routine climactic chase with an innovative use of windows , glass and reflections .",
      "a roller-coaster ride of transient pleasures .",
      "though there are certain key moments that require a suspension of disbelief , that 's a small price to pay for such an expertly crafted film .",
      "a superbly well-structured screenplay and an unhurried , sure-handed directorial style . otherwise , alas , there 's not much to it .",
      "... foxx 's sublime performance is not to be missed .",
      "a pulverizing entertainment with a side order of existential dread -lrb- and if there 's any justice -- cruise 's riotously flat ` yo , homies ! ' will soon become a catchphrase . -rrb-",
      "a brilliant example of great characters and conversation .",
      "clearly one of the year 's most impressive and sustained directorial tour-de-forces .",
      "an audaciously empty-headed picture -- mann fiddling around with making a poem out of a sledgehammer .",
      "i got actual , physical chills , not just because the movie is nifty-cool , though it is certainly that , but because it is metal-cool , brrrr-cool , glass-panes-at-midnight cool .",
      "throughout the gruesome cat-and-mouse game being played by vincent and max in MOV , there 's something psychologically , dramatically and even sociologically interesting going on .",
      "a movie that 's unflinchingly real , carried by standout performances and an almost viciously alive digital style .",
      "in spite of a somewhat disappointing conclusion , MOV still delivers on several levels .",
      "while engaging the senses , it starves the brain ... the picture is all flash and no light -- but the flash is brilliant .",
      "it 's too bad that halfway through , MOV turns into a series of loud , chaotic , over-the-top action set pieces in which the existentialist mann proves he 's lousy at action .",
      "mann works intelligent , polished magic on a b-movie noir script that would -lrb- have been -rrb- a catch-phrase-fraught action-explosion flick in the hands of most big-budget directors .",
      "mann puts MOV through its paces so elegantly that even the most predictable scenes deliver a wallop .",
      "... a taut thrill ride that succeeds thanks to solid performances by foxx and cruise , and those ever-present michael mann visual touches .",
      "flawed but captivating .",
      "a refreshingly mature and stable actioner with a gritty confidence . there 's an urban subtle slickness about MOV that resonates so quietly and convincingly",
      "yet mann finds a way of easing into this material ; you appreciate his professionalism even as you roll your eyes .",
      "MOV is an engrossing thriller set in los angeles about a procrastinating cab driver whose life is transformed by his encounter with a merciless hit man .",
      "intriguing how each of 2 characters , wholly different in temperament , transferred some traits to the other within a single night .",
      "intense and unflinching , it 's paralyzingly seductive and suspenseful .",
      "a suspenseful , jolting and even thrilling ride .",
      "well-cast and well-acted , top to bottom .",
      "pitched between interludes of anxious intimacy and equally nerve-shredding set pieces , michael mann 's edgy new thriller scores its points with underhand precision .",
      "cruise thrills in his first killer role and has found a worthy collaborator in director michael mann .",
      "MOV , even though cowboyed up with implausible action in a couple of pivotal scenes , is that rarest of thriller . in this one , words can also kill .",
      "stylishly made , if less intellectually resonant than first-rate mann films like ali and the insider .",
      "a long nighttime ride with a hitman and a tight script that produces a dramatic punch at every third mile marker .",
      "where mann makes it his own is in his sharp , clean execution , visceral action scenes , and images saturated in the hyperintense colors of the neon and florescent night .",
      "cruise has almost nothing going for him this time around in the way of props , and even less than usual in the way of character .",
      "combines action film and film noir tropes and transforms present-day los angeles into a vertiginous , high-tech wilderness where it 's hard to distinguish the hunters from the hunted .",
      "unfortunately , mann and screenwriter stuart beattie are n't content to settle for a psychological thriller , they want their action , too , and that 's where the movie begins to go completely awry .",
      "MOV is n't a shockingly original motion picture . but the strength of the lead performances and the stylish direction of michael mann obscure the weaknesses in plotting and credibility .",
      "yet another lackluster late-summer thriller .",
      "it looks terrific -lrb- as usual -rrb- , and even when the movie does n't make much sense -lrb- pretty much all the time -rrb- it is addictive .",
      "feels a lot like the sort of stock , early - '80s thrillers that mann once tried to make extinct .",
      "gorgeous and entertaining .",
      "beautifully written , visually mesmerizing .",
      "though it is a far less ambitious entertainment than tarantino 's masterpiece , it has its moments .",
      "a stirring two-hour footnote to -lsb- mann 's -rsb- masterpiece heat .",
      "a sleek and suprisingly substantive crime thriller .",
      "... one of the best of the year .",
      "michael mann has whipped up a slick neo-noir , rife with mordant humor and hard-boiled action set in a town without pity",
      "MOV is an arrestingly written and acted dramatic thriller that refuses to cut easy corners for the majority of its running time . an enthralling experience .",
      "as violent thrillers go , MOV goes down quite nicely , stirring up hardly any acid reflux at all .",
      "outstanding performances and an air-tight script elevate this straightforward story into a formidable thriller .",
      "an expertly-made thriller .",
      "a throwback to mann 's 1995 heat .",
      "a thing of lean , cool beauty , the movie 's a killer showcase for foxx and cruise .",
      "cruise and foxx are great , and this is easily the most accessible michael mann film ever .",
      "cruise is great as the evil , heartless hit man -lrb- did nicole kidman write the script ? -rrb- .",
      "cruise and foxx are so good together because they allow the two characters to get under each other 's skin . they 're buddies and enemies at the same time .",
      "lo que la coloca un poco por encima del nivel promedio de este tipo de productos es la mano de michael mann , un director que filma muy bien cualquier asunto .",
      "-lsb- mann 's -rsb- still looking out the car windows for something to make a movie about as he 's filming the convictionless scenes .",
      "` mann logra un producto que si bien no es nada del otro mundo , su atmósfera y las actuaciones valen el precio de admisión '",
      "the first movie about l.a. at night that really looks like l.a. at night .",
      "` MOV ' is tom cruise 's movie , and he and it are impressive .",
      "we thought we would get just some action thriller . what we got was a vivid dreamscape , an intelligent character piece , and one of the best films of the year .",
      "director michael mann and his stellar cast have cobbled together a fast-paced flick that entertains , surprises and sizzles .",
      "a return to form for michael mann , hollywood 's master of the neo-noir genre .",
      "if there was ever an example of a movie 's visual language leaving its verbal and narrative components in the dust , this , unfortunately , is it .",
      "the dapper hitman who proceeds with icy precision on his deadly rounds , is symbolic devil 's advocate to this country 's challenged collective social conscience now",
      "a very superior thriller with excellent direction and utterly top-notch performances ...",
      "if anyone is ever to mount an argument for the superiority of video over film , this movie would of necessity be very near to the center of that argument .",
      "every bit as satisfying as a thriller should be , keeping us hanging at every turn . as the credits roll , we are out of breath .",
      "awesome vision and a compellingly villainous tom cruise save this cool contemporary noir from its lukewarm patches .",
      "the year 's best action thriller with excellent performances from its two leads and mann 's brilliant direction making something as pedestrian as a taxi ride a pulse-pounding thrill ride .",
      "a visually striking film from the unhinged , endlessly creative mind of michael mann .",
      "somewhere along the way , the gimmick and suspense had worn out leaving the only real gray matter as the product coloring cruises ' hair .",
      "powerful but violent thriller -- not for kids .",
      "mann takes a predictably clichéd , far-fetched crime yarn and transforms it into a fascinating thriller .",
      "it 's a solid servicable thriller , one that works throughout watching it but not one that stands particularly out from the bunch ...",
      "strong performances and mann 's muscular direction provide plenty of tension , atmosphere and action-packed teeth ."
    ],
    "summary": "driven by director michael mann 's trademark visuals and a lean , villainous performance from tom cruise , MOV is a stylish and compelling noir thriller .",
    "id": "12909"
  },
  {
    "movie": "primer",
    "reviews": [
      "a jigsaw puzzle made of pieces that may or may not fit together , it assumes the intelligence and interest of its audience , a brave move that pays off big .",
      "carruth challenges us to imagine the impossible , then asks us to consider the moral , ethical and spiritual implications of what we have witnessed , and put those considerations on equal footing with man 's desire to go where no man has gone before .",
      "even as MOV 's plot ends up seeming contrived , that is , arguably , the thematic point : stories are always unstable and untrustworthy .",
      "a smart , clever time-travel game played on audiences and with them",
      "i do n't need to be spoon fed , but unlock the kitchen for me , would you ? and get a new sound guy .",
      "it takes a lot for a movie to surprise today 's jaded , seen-it , bought-the - playstation-version sci-fi fan . MOV can . let it .",
      "it 's one thing to admire what writer/director/composer / actor shane carruth wrought on his $ 1.98 digicam budget ; it 's quite another to have to sit through the mind-numbing results .",
      "the ingenious debut of writer-director shane carruth , who assembled the film on his home computer and also plays one of the two leads , is purposely designed to be a little bewildering .",
      "it 's a tiny-budget indie film with an interesting sci-fi story premise . too bad the mystery overwhelms the humanity , so it does n't quite work .",
      "eerily , unswervingly transfixing .",
      "may be the most intellectually demanding motion picture of the year . some will find their mind satiated . others will leave angry . in one way or another , all will be baffled .",
      "despite its shortcomings , MOV remains watchable thanks to carruth 's dense and intriguing filmmaking .",
      "... MOV remains baffling virtually from start to finish - which is a shame , really , given that this does seem to be a really cool premise for a movie ...",
      "in the last act carruth seems to be wandering in search of a way out of his box and enters the space warp of sci-fi breakdown .",
      "a phd in physics might help you to understand this .",
      "definitely this is a demanding and puzzling film that does a lot with its miniscule budget .",
      "my experience watching MOV `` just once '' felt incomplete , thus so should my recommendation .",
      "its analog-egghead approach may be the freshest thing the genre has seen since 2001 .",
      "this flick has plenty going for it . you just have to be patient .",
      "extremely fresh and interesting -- a real gem of a first film .",
      "an unapologetically cerebral movie of ideas .",
      "may very well be one of the best american movies of the year , and i 'll be damned if i understood more than 40 percent of it .",
      "packs more ideas than a hundred big-budget studio films made for a thousand times more money .",
      "to enjoy the film you have to be willing to let your brain work overtime during every second of its 77-minute run , and even then you 'll miss things .",
      "if you 've seen memento , you 've some idea of the ingenuity on display here . for $ 7,000 dollars , could you make a better big screen film ?",
      "you can choose to be fascinated -lrb- like i was -rrb- , or just give up all together . either way , you got ta admit , these guys have guts .",
      "while MOV was not widely distributed and never found an audience , it is among the best speculative films of last year .",
      "unrelentingly boring .",
      "only after watching this film did i realize the even more amazing story .",
      "one of the best science fiction films i have seen , and certainly as one of the genre 's best in recent years .",
      "MOV is perfect sundance material , its bland , anonymous actors and competent , sprint-commercial mise-en-scčne masked in the guise of independence .",
      "` by avoiding cheesy revelations and typical characters arcs , carruth has created a small but intelligent film bursting at the seams with ideas . '",
      "some audiences may resent a film in which we ca n't feel superior to anyone , but there 's enough material here to keep you stuck at the water cooler for months .",
      "betrays its potential for greatness by sacrificing riveting storytelling for unbelievable obtuseness",
      "we are left with a fascinating , well-played story that dissolves in the end -- a pity , really , since it has so much potential up to that point .",
      "nothing in this film inspires audiences to go back and study its twisting turning events . instead it inspires plenty of head scratching and maybe a little irritation .",
      "essentially , it 's the story of weekend scientists who build a time machine in a suburban garage . but this nearly gets lost in a miasma of technical jargon and scientific conjecture .",
      "one of the most original and intriguing film debuts of the last few years .",
      "not recommended for entry-level time-travel theorists , but experienced ` chrononauts ' will meet themselves scratching their heads in amused puzzlement as they emerge from an earlier screening .",
      "shane carruth 's MOV is a science fiction movie like no other , pushing its experimental tendencies as far as they can go without betraying the genre",
      "confident and well-woven .",
      "even at a short 77 minutes , MOV is bloated , draggy , cumbersome , confusing , and almost entirely unengaging",
      "una joya de ritmo y de temática .",
      "one of the most wilfully obscure sci-fi movies ever made , MOV will either blow your mind or drive you out of it .",
      "if he could 've made some sense of it in the end , carruth 'd have a masterpiece on his hands .",
      "i did n't understand MOV ; worse yet , i did n't care .",
      "MOV est un film difficile ŕ détester , mais encore plus difficile ŕ pleinement apprécier .",
      "this no-budget brainteaser from dallas native shane carruth offers ample intellectual rewards .",
      "an ingenious first film made on a budget of about $ 7,000 by a former engineer and self-taught filmmaker about the perils of ingenuity .",
      "the movie is hard to describe and even harder to fully grasp . it 's not for everybody , but could be a cult hit amongst the pocket-protector crowd .",
      "this is science fiction for ... those who are n't afraid of entertainment that ruins the curve by being scarily smart ...",
      "whether you 're able to grasp how they do it is unimportant -lsb- you wo n't -rsb- , but being intrigued by the idea is what will rope you in to this one .",
      "the humorless , self-important narrative is so impenetrable , you 'd have to consult a synopsis to know they 're traveling back and forth in time in increments of a few hours , with unforeseen consequences .",
      "as inert and disinteresting as the base paint after which it 's named .",
      "the screenplay is convoluted but fascinating .",
      "a terrific little film about afterhours industry , tenderfoot genius and , of course , the evil in men 's souls .",
      "if this had been in greek and swahili without subtitles it could n't have been more incomprehensible . you will rarely spend 80 more excruciating minutes .",
      "an impressive , if muddled , first effort from writer-director-actor shane carruth .",
      "the oomph in this clever conceit comes from the intensity of its lead characters .",
      "a precocious and imaginative work -- though also a fairly impenetrable one .",
      "there are stumbles in this twisting science fiction tale about the perils of prescience , but even so , MOV is one of the most auspicious debuts in recent memory .",
      "a fascinatingly obtuse puzzle box that manages to be gripping even after it stops making sense .",
      "MOV has no respect for genuine mystery but relishes obfuscation as being really cool .",
      "alluringly knotty .",
      "-lsb- the film -rsb- is mullholland dr. for math geeks , memento for mad geniuses , or simply one of the most inventive films ever made for pennies on the hollywood dollar .",
      "MOV is a movie in desperate need of being dumbed down , or dumbed up , so all of us can get it .",
      "rarely has bafflement been so absorbing and fun .",
      "by turns inventive , confounding and obtuse , it does n't always work , but it challenges , nonetheless .",
      "this movie manages to be effective about a topic as complex and difficult to render as time travel .",
      "what 's impressive -- aside from the fact that carruth got the thing made in the first place -- is that the movie 's tone skates right between coherence and an appreciation for endless , even infinite possibilities .",
      "carruth 's worthy entry in the blair witch project/pi sweepstakes is inordinately clever in making the most of modest resources .",
      "this sci-fi brain-bender is n't for most , but it 's the most rewardingly rewatchable movie since memento .",
      "writer-director shane carruth makes a low-tech , low-budget entry into a staple of science fiction and manages to make it feel like a genre you 've never been to before .",
      "the movie is n't much more than a mash-up of frankenstein and in the company of men .",
      "a brilliant little indie thriller .",
      "carruth has made a fascinating first film and a solid foundation for things to come .",
      "the grand jury award for MOV is an embarrassment for sundance .",
      "a dense and dazzling science-fiction mind-bender unassumingly dressed up in a tech geek 's short-sleeved oxford shirt , pocket protector and safety goggles .",
      "a back-to-basics indie upstart that gets the job done well .",
      "once you move beyond the film 's rigorous braininess and authentic feel , you stumble into a thicket of overlapping dialogue , jump cuts and an unwillingness on the part of carruth to at least leave a trail of bread crumbs behind him .",
      "the real-deal dialogue as well as the tight , grainy shots make you feel like you 're eavesdropping on a big secret . and it adds a haunting quality viewers will find impossible to shake .",
      "it 's dense , and in a way that does n't begin to reward the effort required to untie it .",
      "the first thing shane carruth should have done as a director was fire himself as an actor , because i think he gives a terrible performance .",
      "almost by definition problematic and difficult to follow , and being hard to understand is not the same as being smart .",
      "love it or hate it , you wo n't be able to leave it alone .",
      "every frame of the way , it 's eminently clear that MOV is the work of an engineer , not a film - maker .",
      "intriguing but flawed .",
      "has such an engaging , offbeat first half that it 's all the more frustrating when it gets lost inside its own convolutions and delayed revelations .",
      "it has all the hallmarks of an amateur production : questionable sound and picture quality , crude performances , and dubious editing .",
      "like the ` time boxes ' in the film , ` MOV ' is a meticulously constructed and compact homemade wonder ...",
      "it 's a genuine achievement -- frustrating and opaque but hard to dismiss .",
      "tackles the most speculative subject , time travel , on a budget that would barely cover will smith 's sunglasses . and it does it with an intelligence and daring that should shame producers of superficial mega-budgeted fantasias .",
      "it is maddening , fascinating and completely successful .",
      "such a head-scratcher you might emerge from it with a doughnut hole in your temple .",
      "it 's different , that 's all , and it 's good because it 's different .",
      "it 's hard to always know what MOV is saying or where it 's heading , but it looks fantastic while it unfolds and you wo n't be able to forget what you 've witnessed .",
      "incredibly confusing but oddly compelling .",
      "shane carruth 's ultra-low budget , 78-minute sci-fi film could almost be a ` b ' movie from the past if not for its icy intelligence .",
      "this film imagines its viewers to be smart , possessed of a decent attention span and game for a challenge . it does n't happen all that often .",
      "where 's doc brown when you need him ?",
      "shot for a begged and borrowed $ 7,000 , ` MOV ' looks it : grainy-ish , fuzzy on details and effects , acting running the gamut from a to b , and clipped incomprehensible technobabble for dialogue .",
      "ridiculous , confusing , vaguely noir-ish nonsense .",
      "discombobulating and mind-bending sci fi thriller . i think .",
      "an exceptional science fiction film ...",
      "mind-bending thrillers like MOV are terrific viewing with your teenagers . maybe if you 're nice , they 'll explain the ending to you .",
      "oh , man , they do n't make 'em like this often . a film unabashedly for the nerds in the audience -lrb- god love us -rrb- , this is the type of film you could inflict upon your enemies , watching them squirm as they stare at the screen .",
      "scary , puzzling , and different .",
      "while some may find this talky and drably realistic film a bit heavy going ... MOV nonetheless hooks you with its crisp storytelling and ingenious premise .",
      "there have of course been time-travel movies before , but never one in which the ramifications are so visceral and raw .",
      "like watching something that 's always on the verge of being a movie .",
      "it 's refreshing to see something this different . and something this ambitious with its characters .",
      "worms its way into your good graces by reveling in workaday details that the typical science-fiction flick leaves out .",
      "in steady , assured hands and a well-thought-out script , time travel can make for sizzling tension and paradoxes that present mind-wringing puzzles .",
      "like that other deliberately obfuscatory film -- david lynch 's mulholland drive -- MOV sends you out of the theater convinced you 've seen something special even if you ca n't quite figure out what the heck it was .",
      "a thrilling , eventually hollow intellectual exercise . carruth 's a major talent -lrb- particularly his editing -- which surfs the edge of incoherence without ever quite capsizing . -rrb-",
      "so much of the picture is impenetrable that the intrigue always remains dangling-like a cat chasing a ball of string , it 's always just out of our reach .",
      "` MOV ' is so convoluted that it makes ` memento ' look like ` the straight story . '"
    ],
    "summary": "dense , obtuse , but stimulating , MOV is a film for viewers ready for a cerebral challenge .",
    "id": "10447"
  },
  {
    "movie": "mother_of_george_2013",
    "reviews": [
      "working from a script by playwright darci picoult , dosunmu fashions a tale that 's realistic , melodramatic and culturally specific , yet unmistakably archetypal .",
      "the imagery in mr. dosunmu 's film is consistently surprising and lush . even the straight-ahead portraits of his characters , used as emotional caesuras , are rich in colors and textures . but he 's a storyteller , too ...",
      "the film forgoes the usual neo-realistic approach toward this sort of material for a painterly , meticulously composed technique . the result is transfixing .",
      "human beings are mysterious and surprising . there is something irresistible about a movie that reaches that conclusion .",
      "director andrew dosunmu 's film is big-hearted and rich , frequently using slow motion to underscore an artful intimacy .",
      "a stunningly imagined account of african immigrant life in present-day brooklyn .",
      "an unexpected gem about true love , infertility and a meddling mother-in-law .",
      "darci picoult 's script renders all of these characters , if not always sympathetically , humanly and fully .",
      "oddly , the gradual pacing , with scenes that stress the pace of chill human interaction over narrative thrust , helps make the third act more powerful : the genuine catastrophe that results is made even more intense by the shagginess that preceded it .",
      "this is one of the most striking entries in the 2013 global wave of black cinema , but also admittedly one that poses hurdles to audiences with conventional expectations .",
      "we want to get as close as possible to these characters , but for all its admirable elements , the film that frames them keeps us frustratingly aloof .",
      "the poetic visuals create a disorienting sense of being at once immersed in the characters ' world and kept at a distance .",
      "it 's a powerfully sensual movie , gorgeously lensed colors and textures conveying its characters emotional states while thoughtfully exploring the range of human sexuality through adenike 's experience .",
      "just when it seems as if there are no new worlds for cinema to explore , a movie like `` MOV '' comes along to prove otherwise .",
      "there is a lot of wisdom in this film . there is strength in the old traditions , and error , too . in america , many people do n't have these old traditions to guide them . they are something to hold onto , and that is a comfort .",
      "after a while it 's hard to take dosunmu 's barrage of off-center compositions ... dialogue sequences that have the actor converse with empty space , and close-ups that reduce faces and objects to blobs of light .",
      "has the advantage of novelty and authenticity , but dosunmu 's ellipitical and self-consciously tasteful approach robs the material of some of its power ...",
      "an engaging immigrant drama of the traditional nigerian experience in nyc .",
      "serious cinema of the globalist sort .",
      "in the end , `` george '' becomes almost as irritating as that mother-in-law .",
      "it takes about 60 seconds before the elegant `` MOV '' has you firmly inside the world it has created .",
      "it 's a beautiful and heartbreaking film .",
      "when so many scenes are freighted with portent , one moment does n't feel any more significant than the last ... nothing the characters do is ever surprising ; one expected revelation and argument follows the other .",
      "the actors are both superb , conveying suppressed feeling through falters in their perpetual poker faces .",
      "beautiful , poetic , and hard-hitting without the use of excessive force and deeply layered with evolving and regional nuances of feminine experience .",
      "a glimpse of a nigerian couple living in brooklyn who are trying to get pregnant .",
      "simply relating the narrative of andrew dosunmu 's seductive immigrant drama MOV would do little to convey the film 's stark , poetic power , much less its extraordinary visual and sonic acumen .",
      "MOV is a seemingly straightforward film with some complex underlayers . why do we want what we want ?",
      "this world is ravishingly beautiful , but there 's also something oppressive about its exoticism . the color does n't just saturate the frame ; it thickens it .",
      "a colorful look at nigerians in brooklyn focusing on a woman 's climactic decision that will make or break her marriage .",
      "in -lsb- cinematographer bradford young 's -rsb- striking compositions , shapes and patterns repeat , colors convey meaning -lrb- watch how - and when - rust and purple appear in adenike , ayodele and biyi 's clothing -rrb- .",
      "frustrations one family faces between tradition and assimilation , freedom and obligation , success and personal fulfillment feels as movingly universal as culturally specific .",
      "from the acting ... to the music -lrb- especially strauss 's `` four last songs -rrb- , it is remarkably full of life .",
      "gurira acts with fire and pride and , at times , a despair bordering on instability .",
      "the cinematography by bradford young is rich-toned and lustrous , and the film , until it bogs down in melodramatics , has a sensual ease . we are not looking at these people from the outside . dosunmu pulls us deep inside .",
      "the movie 's an eyeful , and the filmmakers ' attention to surface texture results in passages of genuine eroticism .",
      "the whole cast is good , but the film would n't work without a great performance from gurira , who is of zimbabwean descent .",
      "the joy is in the detail of dosunmu 's film , the nuance of a relationship as richly complex as the african print dresses that adenike favours .",
      "MOV might work better with an operatic score , for all its brooding , pain , and masochism.arias , anyone ?",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- lushly detailed and passionately performed melodrama ..."
    ],
    "summary": "director andrew dosunmu 's style takes some getting used to , but MOV compensates with powerful acting , a thoughtful script , and gorgeous visuals .",
    "id": "771325036"
  },
  {
    "movie": "red_road",
    "reviews": [
      "if you think about it too closely , andrea arnold 's jarring feature debut does n't quite hold up . but chances are you 'll be so focused on her lead , kate dickie , that you wo n't even notice .",
      "scary and utterly original .",
      "it 's a fully realized portrait of a city , glasgow , a portrait of a smart , watchful woman who works as a security monitor and who has endured great loss ; and a portrait of the act and psychological implications of surveillance .",
      "... a moody , gritty exploration of working class glasgow that features terrific performances but suffers from an over reliance on misdirection and an underlying motivation which ... does n't sit quite right .",
      "for a voyeuristic medium , this tale of a voyeur does a poor job of prying into its own protagonist 's life .",
      "jackie 's story extends beyond her control , no matter what she sees , thinks she sees , or tries to see .",
      "a spellbinding , intelligent thriller that takes its time to get where it 's going but is well worth the trip .",
      "the measure of MOV is that it leaves us hungry for what comes next .",
      "i could n't get this film 's quiet power out of my mind .",
      "a must for movie lovers who want to see how so much drama , mystery and emotion can be created from so little .",
      "it should be noted that MOV contains one extremely graphic sex scene . but like much else that transpires in MOV , what is seen is not always what it looks like on the surface .",
      "some may find the denouement a tad sentimental , but it is a long , dark and twisted journey that takes us there , scrutinising the shadier contours of human loss and guilt like a grainy face on a screen .",
      "the glacially paced film is tersely episodic , and scenes are thrown onto the screen like jagged bits of raw meat that have been torn from a bone .",
      "it 's a jarring sensation , for a thriller not to be about the chase , or the mysterious force of evil lurking in the shadows , but about an intangible gulf dividing two people occupying the same room .",
      "though it 's paced as a thriller , the film ultimately emerges as a haunting exploration of how grief can weigh on us , and the depths to which it can drive us .",
      "an impressive debut that is orchestrated with a deep , underlying tension that never lets us guess what will come .",
      "like the peeping tom-paranoia of similar recent films disturbia and civic duty , this finely crafted debut feature by scottish writer/director andrea arnold packs a wallop .",
      "MOV is an atmospheric little thriller made up of equal parts paranoia , loneliness and anxiety .",
      "sets a chilling downer mood that gets under your skin like few films ever do .",
      "ancorado pelas performances complexas de dickie e curran , o filme traz a diretora estreante andrea arnold como uma revelaзгo a ser observada com atenзгo nos prуximos anos .",
      "despite some elemental flaws in logic and plausibility , this is a tense and potent film at times that hints at the sort of greatness that we can find to a greater degree in ms. arnold 's other works , wasp and fish tank .",
      "no drab stone is left unturned",
      "a strange sort of map of the city -lsb- is -rsb- spread across these fragmented cubes of visual information . and there 's also the metaphorical map of the characters ' lives , where they 're coming from and where they 're going .",
      "i like that you 're never sure where this road is going to lead .",
      "unfortunately , its superb performances and assured camerawork are overwhelmed by dubious psychology and a clichйd climax .",
      "a brilliantly conceived thriller that keeps us guessing right up to the very end , MOV intrigues but frustrates by its slow development and often incomprehensible scottish dialogue",
      "what this debut feature delivers in terms of storytelling and style , however , is n't just the promise of potential ; it 's the sign of someone hitting her stride straight out of the gate .",
      "arnold 's more successful than michael winterbottom -lrb- 9 songs -rrb- or even john cameron mitchell -lrb- shortbus -rrb- in unselfconsciously blending explicit sexuality within a narrative .",
      "the problem with this `` thriller '' is that it 's boring .",
      "by limiting our entry into jackie 's headspace , MOV feels disingenuously committed to sympathetically portraying her situation , partly using her circumstances as pretense for narrative suspense .",
      "it 's dynamite , the kind of sexy , paranoid , creepily atmospheric picture that invades all your senses at once .",
      "it 's incredibly tense .",
      "a tense and provocative thriller revolving around a past tragedy .",
      "sensual , dark in every sense , but a touch derivative , MOV reps an impressive feature debut for brit writer-helmer andrea arnold .",
      "MOV does not make easy viewing , yet emerges as compulsively watchable .",
      "a hypnotically absorbing suspense story in the patricia highsmith mold , MOV draws us in with doom-laden images of high-tech voyeurism before pummeling us with shock twists .",
      "andrea arnold 's MOV , from her own screenplay , is the director 's remarkable feature-film debut after three internationally well-received shorts , milk -lrb- 1998 -rrb- , dog -lrb- 2001 -rrb- and wasp -lrb- 2003 -rrb- .",
      "despite restrictive dogme conditions -lrb- it 's part of a series -rrb- , arnold , the only woman in 2006 cannes competition , has made a bold surveillance thriller that raises provocative questions about ethics and sexuality ; a companion piece to lives of others",
      "its style is its substance , featuring a lonely woman who stalks a man , her motive revealed only at the conclusion of the story .",
      "in a triumph of filmmaking , arnold has endowed a tale of female rage with disquieting social resonance .",
      "if you survive the first hour without nodding off , you may find , as i did , that ` MOV ' is a thought-provoking story of revenge , heartbreak and forgiveness .",
      "what makes this multi-layered masterpiece memorable is jackie 's convincing transformation from damaged goods into a wanton temptress conflicted about whether or not to use her body to gain the confidence of this recently-paroled ex-con . revenge as the swe",
      "arnold impose un rythme réglé au quart de tour positionnant les enjeux dramatiques du récit dans une situation de constante évolution ,",
      "arnold 's strong grip on her material and her absolute trust in her fearless actors yield rich rewards from dark psychological terrain .",
      "this prickly sketch of a vengeance born out of loneliness and alienation carries the weight of horror of the everyday ...",
      "MOV is a knockout first feature from andrea arnold ... her intimate thriller raises moral questions as it ponders guilt , revenge and redemption .",
      "jackie -lrb- kate dickie -rrb- works as a cctv operator . each day she watches over a small part of the world , protecting the people living their lives under her gaze . one day a man appears on her monitor , a man she thought she would never see again , a man she never",
      "it 's a wonderful debut , despite all the pain you may feel watching it .",
      "MOV is a promising debut by a talented director , but with luck , next time , arnold will be in a real position of authority , and not just manning someone else 's watchtower .",
      "those willing to work their way through a woman 's halting effort to overcome grief will find it a sensitive and engrossing film , though not always an entirely plausible one .",
      "with assured performers , handheld cameras and natural lighting -- the abcs of the dogme method -- -lsb- andrea -rsb- arnold has given this ambitious undertaking a provocative start .",
      "dickie -lsb- gives a -rsb- mesmerizing performance",
      "dickie is intense in her screen debut , which requires her to be in nearly every scene . the supporting cast is strong , and robbie ryan 's handheld camera provides gritty ambiance for this taut thriller .",
      "her coolly dispassionate , entirely harrowing approach mixes gritty realism with a grimly understated violence that perfectly suits the subject she 's chosen to explore .",
      "the acting in ` MOV ' is understated and superb , however that does n't compensate for the overall dreariness of this film .",
      "-lsb- director arnold -rsb- drops the voyeurism theme almost entirely , a bait-and-switch that does n't cripple MOV so much as snip off its richest and eeriest thread .",
      "a detailed character study that yanks us into the emotions of someone we might not glance at twice if we saw her on the street .",
      "a haunting treat and taut tale that combines civic surveillance with voyeurism , revenge with eroticism .",
      "a woman-directed film that aspires to compete on that predominantly male turf , not with an opposing and challenging female perspective , but by stepping up to the plate to make a sexually voyeuristic , sluttier than thou movie about women .",
      "it is a film that stealthily pries open the most hardened hearts , defying expectations and offering us a heroine we realize we cherish about 30 seconds after we finally decide we like her .",
      "despite the thick scottish accents , filmmaker andrea arnold kept me intrigued , but beyond a certain point the movie 's ambiguity fades into indifference .",
      "this psychological thriller does have a few effective moments . however , it goes a little further - too far , in fact . there are some sexually explicit moments in this that would likely garner an nc-17 rating had it been submitted to the u.s. ratings board .",
      "MOV feels like a descent into hell .",
      "this flawed but arresting film boasts an ` atmospheric and intense thriller ' air and intentionally leaves minor points open to stimulate discussion .",
      "a slow-burning but enticing thriller , it captures its working class glaswegian setting in absorbing detail .",
      "MOV is a portrait of a voyeur , and it invites us to become voyeurs of the voyeur .",
      "a thoroughly original gritty urban drama set in glasgow that covers surveillance , urban loneliness , grief , and empathy .",
      "a sexy and cunningly disorienting thriller that provokes the viewer into a state of anxious participation from first to last frame .",
      "specific and real -- punishingly so .",
      "though not flawless , this is a compelling study , in dogme style , of a wounded young woman who spends her working life spying on others .",
      "kate dickie turns in an intense , layered performance as jackie . considering the fact that she barely speaks a word in the course of the film , it 's especially impressive .",
      "strong performances by curran and dickie and by martin compston and natalie press as clyde 's roommates make MOV worth a look .",
      "an odd , unsatisfying meditation on grief .",
      "a lynne ramsay-esque scottish handwringer in that it could possibly make you want to come home and take your own life . that was a compliment , in case you were n't sure .",
      "a strong story -- involving and moving and probably a little too long .",
      "thankfully , arnold 's talent is more convincing than her storyline .",
      "that devilish idea machine lars von trier reached into his bag of tricks and came up with the advance party project .",
      "what we have here is one of those very long , very slow dramas that might just have worked if the inevitable twist ending had been worth sticking around for . but it is n't .",
      "katie dickie gives an astonishing performance as jackie , displaying a cold , brittle exterior that occasionally cracks to reveal both pain and passion in equal measure .",
      "an extraordinarily mature and thoughtful film .",
      "it 's impossible to predict when the next two-thirds of this advance party concept triptych are going to look like . but with characters like these -- and actors like these -- it 's easy to be optimistic about the stories they still have to tell .",
      "the queasy mixture of sympathy and curiosity that MOV evokes is evidence of a talented , risk-taking filmmaker discovering her power .",
      "where it excels is in capturing the dead end hopelessness of glasgow 's boozers and tower blocks ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV director andrea arnold skillfully parses out just enough plot details at a time to keep the audience engrossed in this seductive thriller .",
    "id": "371353860"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1068779-dead_man_walking",
    "reviews": [
      "it will send you home with more than a few long thoughts .",
      "a tour de force acting performance by sarandon .",
      "this feels like a giant cop-out .",
      "its final moments leave us awash in emotion .",
      "an entirely superb experience at the movies , but never have we seen anything on the big screen reduce grown men to tears like this drama .",
      "an extremely affecting experience",
      "one of the best things a film can do is make us reflect on our convictions and beliefs . MOV powerfully forces this reflection through its compellingly ambiguous subject matter and superb performances by sarandon and penn. .",
      "sarandon , who won the oscar for best actress for this role , is superb , but penn is extraordinary .",
      "the picture is cloudy in intent .",
      "robbins , who also wrote the script , is no truman capote , let alone a victor hugo , and his film trips up constantly on indecisiveness about what it is he 's trying to say .",
      "expresses a heartfelt opinion on the death penalty without seeming either preachy or one-sided .",
      "penn gives an astonishing performance and delivers exactly what MOV needs .",
      "robbins and susan sarandon , have crafted a film that transcends its own political message by a scrupulous attention to detail .",
      "a thought-provoking drama not to be missed or dismissed .",
      "a profoundly affecting film that will touch you deeply and perhaps even prompt you to re-examine your notions about the issues at hand .",
      "its objectivity is what makes it so controversial and fascinating .",
      "has the distinction of including not one , but two of the greatest screen performances of all time ... undeniably one of the most gut-churning emotional experiences of 1990s cinema ... -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "a powerful and provocative film -- not quite a work of art , maybe , but close enough to demand your respectful attention .",
      "tim robbins 's balanced yet uncompromising approach refuses to judge any of the characters , including the killer -lrb- superlatively played by sean penn -rrb- , instead giving each a fair chance to present their case with dignity and respect .",
      "to say that the movie is neither for nor against capital punishment is disingenuous . still , this is a fine and painful effort overall .",
      "the movie is neither indulgent in its portrayal of emotionally-charged subject matter , nor does it shy away from the consequences of murder .",
      "MOV is one courageous film , one of the very best of its time .",
      "MOV was worth the river of tears i waded through on my way out .",
      "penn proves once again that he should stop writing and directing and stick to what he does best .",
      "the best film ever made about walking the green mile . the performances of penn and sarandon will move you .",
      "it takes a truly great film to be so passionate about its viewpoint while still acknowledging and dignifying those who feel differently .",
      "MOV is a provocative , well-made film on a surprisingly intelligent level .",
      "takes us along on the reluctant , difficult , essentially spiritual journey these two unlikely people make together .",
      "this important film exposes the cruelty of death by lethal injection and shows that hate is the worst prison of all .",
      "crime and punishment are depicted in cruelly unflinching detail in tim robbins ' deadly earnest , intermittently powerful death-row drama .",
      "one of the deepest human films in a long time , one that does n't back down from baring the human soul and exploring the vastness of its complexities .",
      "an intelligent , balanced , devastating movie .",
      "MOV is one of these rare films that really makes you think and gives you things to discuss . but if it is indeed an important film , it 's also well crafted and gripping .",
      "an incredibly moving meditation on capital punishment that takes on the unenviable task of showing it from all sides , and then being smart enough to let the audience decide for themselves .",
      "intense yet subtlely handled on every level , MOV is one of the most remarkable and memorable films of 1995",
      "one of the most finely scripted , well acted films to come out of hollywood . a modern masterpiece .",
      "acting rarely gets better than this .",
      "it will make you think about its specific subject matter -- capital punishment -- in emotional , moral , social and political contexts , all intertwined and none reducible to right or wrong .",
      "a painfully honest portrayal of the dark side and the dignity a decent person can bring to the most horrific of situations .",
      "MOV could easily be manipulative or exploitative , but it 's neither . instead , this is hard-hitting drama that neither accepts nor offers quarter .",
      "absorbing , surprising , technically superb and worth talking about for a long time afterward",
      "this makes you think harder about crime and punishment than , say , the green mile , delivering uneasy truths rather than comforting melodrama .",
      "a daring stand and a daring , uncompromised film .",
      "do n't go unadvised , and do n't plan anything too frivolous for right afterwards . but do go .",
      "is the finest , least compromised film about capital punishment ever advancing a gently stated ` anti ' view but going the extra 100 miles to give victims their due .",
      "it probably is n't for everyone , but MOV is a tale that needs to be heard and that will likely provide material for hours of philosophical debate ."
    ],
    "summary": "a powerful , thought-provoking film that covers different angles of its topic without resorting to preaching , MOV will cause the viewer to reflect regardless of their political viewpoint .",
    "id": "16611"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ghost_in_the_shell",
    "reviews": [
      "i confess i find it too opaque to make the kind of investment that would qualify me as a real fan . but it should be seen .",
      "this is a work of profound and melancholic beauty ; every bit as essential in the 21st century as it was in the 20th .",
      "not about haunting impermanence but hollowness and fluidity . surveillance-camera and cyborg-eye shots make us feel like we 're in an electronic casing , looking out . and both gender and the physical body are fluid and temporary shells .",
      "for sheer mind-expanding sci-fi strangeness this is hard to beat",
      "MOV is an ultra-violent , rocket-paced film-over and out in just over 80 minutes-but it 's a poetic one , too .",
      "occasionally MOV shows its age and the added cgi elements , while appropriate for the story , also help make this film feel more dated than it might have otherwise .",
      "it 's that rare example of spectacle and substance meshing beautifully .",
      "MOV stands as one of the pioneering films of anime history , one that captures the imagination with its intricate story and dazzles the eyes with its gorgeous animation .",
      "thrilling , compelling , moving and visually splendid , this is n't just a classic anime , it 's a great film .",
      "this is exactly the kind of film that james cameron would make if they ever let him through the disney front gates .",
      "thoughtful sci-fi anime",
      "a complex , rich animated vision .",
      "staggeringly cool anime adventure .",
      "i was pleasantly surprised .",
      "if you try focusing on the plot particulars , ghost is frustrating and , despite the gunfire , not entirely dramatic . but as a piece of dark art , it 's substantial and successful .",
      "mamoru oshii 's direction deftly merges gritty realism with a dreamlike quality .",
      "MOV is another ` japanamation ' feature , with a science-fiction story that is a bit more interesting than most , though it is also overly complicated and occasionally confusing .",
      "i enjoyed its visuals , its evocative soundtrack -lrb- including a suite for percussion and heavy breathing -rrb- , and its ideas .",
      "conjures up a dazzling , futuristic cityscape that , sadly , is not matched by the human landscapes at the heart of the story .",
      "this cyberpunk policier does n't make much sense on a narrative level , but the visuals are gorgeously designed and sometimes genuinely breathtaking .",
      "surprisingly less interesting than its sequel",
      "a fairly entrancing vision of a human race overrun by evolving artificial intelligence .",
      "adds an intriguing philosophical dimension to the cyber-thriller genre .",
      "o visual e a qualidade da animaзгo sгo incrнveis , e a histуria й bastante criativa .",
      "one of the best productions i 've seen from its genre .",
      "its animation is so rich in meticulous and sumptuous detail that it blows previous japanese landmarks like akira simply out of the water .",
      "it 's the ideal movie for animee virgins , and will be a hit with the medium 's hardcore fans , too .",
      "ultimately MOV remains a hard sell , with sluggish pacing and sloppy storytelling effectively smothering the strengths of this lackluster effort ."
    ],
    "summary": "a stunning feat of modern animation , MOV offers a thoughtful , complex treat for anime fans , as well as a perfect introduction for viewers new to the genre .",
    "id": "12996"
  },
  {
    "movie": "live_die_repeat_edge_of_tomorrow",
    "reviews": [
      "feels sharper and more clever than it might have been in other hands , and for a big summer star vehicle , that 's surprise enough .",
      "-lsb- p -rsb- lows through any questions we might have about its premise with an almost unstoppable sense of narrative propulsion and a particularly nasty comic hook .",
      "this , ladies and gentleman , is what we call a summer blockbuster .",
      "the best action movie of the summer ... combining its innovative sci-fi premise with the type of high-gauged action james cameron delivers so effortlessly .",
      "a nicely assembled sci-fi film that is breezily exciting if never intellectually challenging .",
      "edge of tomorrow will leave you breathless and grinning . simply put , this is why we go to the movies .",
      "tom cruise stars in this cleverly crafted and propulsively executed sci-fi thriller about a soldier forced to relive the same day over and over again .",
      "although the humor helps , the groundhog day-like repetition gets tedious ; it makes you feel more like a hamster than a groundhog - or rather a hamster 's wheel , going round and round , over and over again .",
      "edge of tomorrow remains as an unadulterated , captivating thriller , which revels in being such unreservedly good fun .",
      "`` edge of tomorrow '' is slick , but once its fancy plot dressing takes form , it has little more to offer aside from a few impressive action sequences and the infallible grin of its nimble lead .",
      "a surprising and unforgettable adrenaline rush and is so far the summer 's best action film .",
      "a terrific , fast-paced action flick . -lrb- please ignore the terrible title , trailer and ad campaign . -rrb-",
      "edge of tomorrow is n't without its faults ... but those are minor annoyances for a film that proves to be such a satisfying breath of fresh air in a summer packed with sequels .",
      "the film 's second half , however , disappoints in many respects .",
      "this is a movie with a lot on its mind . perhaps too much .",
      "-lsb- cruise -rsb- delivers a one-man master class in his own fascinatingly protean screen presence .",
      "edge of tomorrow is clever enough that the viewer does n't have to feel embarrassed sitting in the audience but not so clever that there 's no fun to be had .",
      "i liked it well enough , but felt like i had seen it before , again and again .",
      "it works in both action and humor and deftly handles what could have been an overly complicated story .",
      "the whole thing should go down quite nicely with popcorn . it wo n't change the course of cruise 's career , but at least it mixes up the formula .",
      "is this great art ? of course not . but it 's a kick .",
      "smart , unpredictable , expertly designed , shot and edited , well acted and boasting impressive special effects , `` edge of tomorrow '' is science fiction and the summer blockbuster done right .",
      "... thrilling and unexpectedly comedic ...",
      "if you can believe that repetitions of death/life can be used as a slow build toward gaining on an invincible enemy , you 'll appreciate that this creative team has made a movie in which there is n't a dull moment .",
      "tom cruise : in regards to oblivion ? all is forgiven .",
      "there is a good bit of humor in the movie and the performances of cruise and blunt are spot on , with good supporting work from bill paxton , who plays a very hard-headed sergeant .",
      "keeps the pace and dialogue snappy enough for a classic screwball comedy , at least until the inevitable overkill of the boom-bastic finale , centered on an alien-infested louvre .",
      "one of the best , most intelligent , most exciting and surprisingly funny special effects-laden epics i have seen in several summers . a model of cinematic craftsmanship from page to screen .",
      "the financial failure of edge of tomorrow represents the greatest inverse relationship between quality and ticket sales since twilight sent breathless teen girls storming into theatres .",
      "is it possible we owe tom cruise a collective apology ?",
      "the metaphorical overlay of fantasy and history is the best thing edge of tomorrow has to offer -- and , for much of its running time , that overlay is enough to lend the movie a shiver of curious power .",
      "it features all the best qualities of memorable summer-movie thrillers - it 's clever , cool and quirky to the point of almost being a bit silly - and when you leave , you may consider re-living the experience all over again .",
      "edge of tomorrow will get the easy comparisons to groundhog day but it 's also exactly the kind of punchy sci-fi adventure that goes best with salty popcorn and a willing audience .",
      "witty , clever , thrilling - it could easily turn out to be the blockbuster of the year .",
      "proves a summer blockbuster does n't have to be based on a mainstream comic book or a sequel to be just as exciting , thrilling and entertaining .",
      "edge of tomorrow is everything you wish summer blockbusters were - strong , charismatic central performances anchoring excellent fx work in the service of a well-constructed and smart story",
      "ultimately , this is a two-hour video game . but the filmmakers play it well .",
      "comparisons to harold ramis ' beloved and profoundly humane groundhog day are misguided . edge of tomorrow does n't have a humanistic pixel in its digitally bloated body .",
      "smarter and funnier about its central conceit that you might expect and with a pair of great performances , -lsb- its -rsb- only serious flaw is a final act that ditches all the science-fiction stuff for a murkily shot and relatively unimpressive conclusion .",
      "cruise is better than he 's been in a while because he damps down his usual all-intensity-all-the-time mo. . he 's best here when his character seems the most scared .",
      "highlighted by a good time travel story , fine acting by cruise , and well-paced directing by liman , for a futuristic , special-effects laden film , this is one of the best",
      "edge of tomorrow does n't go far enough in some respects , but its unique stylistic approach makes the experience an overall satisfying one .",
      "appealing but violent sci-fi thriller explores time , fate .",
      "blunt makes us believe utterly in her fierce warrior mindset and her physical skills , and cruise has a blast transforming his helpless coward into a mean fighting machine .",
      "the matrix revolutions meets groundhog day , edge of tomorrow is tom cruise 's most entertaining film in years .",
      "` groundhog day ' was a great film but ` battle : los angeles ' was a lousy one and this feels like a combination of both .",
      "an entertaining version of a video store clerk making a love connection between the boxes for groundhog day and starship troopers .",
      "moderately engaging , but not up to the level of truly outstanding summer action fare . you could say that it 's on the very edge of being a winner .",
      "a fresh premise , engaging chemistry and incredible sci-fi action make it the surprise movie of the summer .",
      "it 's `` aliens '' meets `` groundhog day '' meets `` starship troopers '' meets `` source code '' , and each of those films ' best traits are expertly deployed into `` edge of tomorrow '' .",
      "doug liman directed , making the most of every opportunity for a quick cut , a good laugh and a new surge of adrenaline .",
      "it 's the writing and plotting in `` edge of tomorrow '' that sucks . not the staging of scenes . not the film 's sense of humor . not the film 's quality action sequences .",
      "it succeeds on modest terms , yet it 's certainly not worth repeating over and over .",
      "clever and fast-paced with a welcome streak of dark humor , this sci-fi actioner is undeniably entertaining , if ultimately not terribly substantial .",
      "cruise and blunt take you on a -lrb- literally -rrb- loopy ride that 's entertaining and does n't wear out its welcome .",
      "tom cruise once again shows why he 's still a movie star in this exciting , inventive and witty sci-fi actioner .",
      "it 's an exceptionally entertaining , consistently humorous , and surprisingly moving story sporting top-notch visual effects ...",
      "more story than testosterone , more time-jump-cuts than spacey filler , and more war-as-hell than war-as-cool . leaves you pondering if we 're ` masters of our fate ' or just action-figures going through the emotions in some supreme player 's idea of a war game .",
      "a big , bright , loud and occasionally smart entertainment , and well worth seeing once - although not , perhaps , every day for the rest of your life .",
      "edge of tomorrow is an ingenious action-comedy about how frequently movie heroes would actually die if they attempted that much crazy s *** .",
      "this is not a run-of-the-mill genre yarn in the vein of countless modern sci-fi blockbusters , but a fascinating and enjoyable vehicle that creates an ambitious illusion .",
      "edge of tomorrow is perfect summer escapism and the best cruise film since 2002 's minority report .",
      "how good this genre of film is depends on how the actors , writers and the director get from predictable a to z . this one does it perfectly .",
      "tom cruise is the most committed movie star around and he 's a major reason this original , big-budget picture works as well as it does .",
      "for all those that complain they do n't make them like they used to , i recommend you get to the biggest screen you can find , buy copious amounts of popcorn , and enjoy this slice of summer movie-going fun .",
      "a lot of talent and craft wasted on non-stop exposition trying to justify a plot conceit we 'd already accepted . meanwhile , the actual aliens are vaguely rendered and abstract .",
      "seen as it must be , in imax 3d , the movie rears up before you in a formidable display of pure commercial will . it 's actually a lot of fun .",
      "light on its feet and crisply edited , an endearing dalliance with the art of storytelling .",
      "in many ways , this movie feels like a video game , and as anyone who has ever picked up a controller will tell you , the dude who has an infinite-lives cheat-code will eventually win the game .",
      "just when everybody was ready to count tom cruise 's career out for the count , not only is he back , but back again and back again and back again , ad infinitum !",
      "all in all , a perfectly superior example of industrially fortified hollywood fun , and as good a guarantee as doug liman can offer that we have n't seen the last of him yet .",
      "`` edge of tomorrow '' is laced with action and humor ; the action coming during the various sequences on the beach , the humor with cage reliving every day and confounding his fellow soldiers . ...",
      "tom cruise is the last movie star , fortunately , he 's in edge of tomorrow , making it better despite itself .",
      "a delirious descent into blackly funny futility .",
      "endlessly entertaining and ceaselessly innovative .",
      "a satisfying chunk of sci-fi entertainment , breezily but carefully directed by doug liman to be a cerebral summer spectacle .",
      "'' ... represents the deconstruction - and then the hurried , harried reconstruction - of tom cruise . ''",
      "despite some quibbles , edge of tomorrow delivers the goods with ferocity and a funny bone , capturing intensity through the colorful details of involuntary rehearsal .",
      "fluidly directed , ferociously acted , and intelligently written , it even takes the time to consider such lofty issues as the ennui of immortality and the nature of reality as it blows up nifty monsters from outer space . blows them up real good .",
      "`` edge of tomorrow '' is a total blast .",
      "the filmmakers constantly keep things fresh and inventive , providing us with a different perspective of cage 's learning curve .",
      "fast , exciting , surprisingly witty and just plain satisfying . . the first really exciting movie of the summer-the most original , the most invigorating and the most entertaining .",
      "the rest of the cast has less to do because this is tom cruise 's movie through-and-through , but they 're all given moments of humor , terror or simple eccentricity .",
      "hopefully , it will cause other filmmakers to realize you need more than a lot of blasts to make a summer movie - you also need to be a blast , which ` edge ' most definitely is .",
      "liman has a gift for off-center authenticity -- even amid the orchestrated chaos of a major studio fx picture .",
      "i 'm not sure `` edge of tomorrow '' holds much repeat viewing potential among teenage movie consumers , since the movie 's a self-repeating entity to begin with . but once is fun .",
      "intriguingly effective and exhilarating , delving into an eternal recurrence .",
      "the tag line alone - `` live . die . repeat . '' - guarantees $ 30 million at least on opening day . it will deserve every penny .",
      "an entertaining , effects-driven black comedy , with shades of starship troopers in its depiction of warfare as a futuristic turkey shoot , the movie is distinguished more by how fluidly it handles its high-concept premise than where it takes it .",
      "no , `` edge of tomorrow '' does n't reinvent the cinematic wheel , but it cruises along , pun intended , by merging familiar ideas into something that 's engaging and original .",
      "this is a movie about tom cruise working very , very hard to please the world .",
      "edge of tomorrow is the best kind of sci-fi : smart , engaging , witty , exciting , and an entertaining joyride from start to finish .",
      "`` edge of tomorrow '' aims for heights of suspense and often reaches them .",
      "there 's no question that doug liman 's `` edge of tomorrow '' is a solid one hour and 40 minute movie . too bad it runs one hour and 53 minutes .",
      "certainly , the fate of the world -lrb- tm -rrb- is at stake , but it says quite a bit about liman and mcquarrie that they can still bedazzle a frayed and worn out genre .",
      "edge of tomorrow is acceptable escapist entertainment whose unexpected plot developments give it much-needed originality . the action scenes are handled with expected skill , the heroes are intrepid and the creatures are suitable nasty and vicious .",
      "why do invading extra-terrestrials always bring with them the single thing that can wipe them out ? could n't they have hid it on jupiter or something ?",
      "the whole thing begins to feel like a giant-screen videogame - with the gamer getting a little further , a little deeper , with each new push of the start button .",
      "effective , enjoyable , and even funny where it counts , edge of tomorrow lacks the smarts and the gravitas to do its gimmicky premise justice . but , like an exoskeleton-assisted haymaker , it gets the job done .",
      "tom cruise might be the only great action movie hero left in this business .",
      "if you 're looking for an action film that 's not your standard , brainless excuse for cinematic mayhem , ` edge of tomorrow ' may just fill the bill . -lrb- full content review for parents also available -rrb-",
      "if you like tom cruise , then you will like `` edge of tomorrow , '' and if you do n't like tom cruise , then you will like it even more .",
      "the first two acts are excellent , but the film loses steam as the action slows and the story becomes ever more familiar and less inventive .",
      "finally , a summer movie . edge of tomorrow is an engaging and exciting sci-fi film that has a lot of fun with its premise .",
      "groundhog day re-imagined as a sci-fi war game .",
      "funny , suspenseful and terrifically imaginative , edge of tomorrow is a thinking-person 's action film .",
      "one of tom cruise 's best in years , edge of tomorrow steers clear of its source material 's heaviness and just tries to entertain , which is does in spades , packing in the action and director liman 's gallows wit approach to a groundhog day premise .",
      "the concept of repetition is quite brilliantly done . it never feels `` that gag again ?! '' .",
      "liman takes the movie 's `` groundhog day meets independence day '' premise -lrb- adapted from hiroshi sakurazaka 's novel all you need is kill -rrb- and runs with it a way that makes it more compelling than it theoretically should be .",
      "director doug liman -lrb- `` the bourne ultimatum '' -rrb- does a nice job of taking a script credited to three screenwriters and mixing in moments of humor with mostly non-stop action .",
      "liman 's the brains behind the bourne franchise , so one approaches the picture with great expectations of breathless action , depth of character and narrative dazzle . one is in for great disappointment .",
      "a reminder that the best kind of idiot fun comes from a place of very pointed intention , snug filmmaking , purposeful writing and acting .",
      "this is a movie that is constantly ahead of the audience , where smart characters do smart things to thwart a seemingly smarter menace .",
      "though lacking the overall conceptual sophistication of modern time-warping classics such as looper and inception , edge of tomorrow is still more than capable of applying an unshakable grip upon the viewer from start to finish .",
      "this film would have been well-made regardless of its casting , but the pairing of tom cruise and emily blunt is an inspired one .",
      "liman eschews the not-so-subtle `` we 're - killing-our-planet '' message of similar films to let his movie progress without preaching . edge of tomorrow manages to keep us interested while not insulting our intelligence .",
      "even if the war sequences lean a bit too heavily on saving private ryan-style chaos and the mimics never blossom beyond generic extraterrestrial monsters , liman 's approach proves more than efficient for a pulse-pounding thrill ride .",
      "liman is a true master of the genre , and with cruise and blunt standing in the crosshairs of the viewfinder , edge of tomorrow not only works as pure escapism , it feels like a first-class ticket .",
      "think `` groundhog day , '' but more serious and with a sci-fi motif , and you 'll get the idea of `` edge of tomorrow . ''",
      "edge of tomorrow is clever and even poignant during its first two-thirds .",
      "a fairly eye-popping futuristic war story with a clever -lrb- to a point -rrb- structure .",
      "we need more intelligent blockbusters that are based on original properties , and supporting films like edge is the only way to get them . or do n't see it - but do n't whine to me when you have to sit through transformers 10 .",
      "liman and his screenwriters - christopher mcquarrie -lrb- `` the usual suspects '' -rrb- and jez and john-henry butterworth -lrb- `` fair game '' -rrb- - make their concept feel fresh with smart setups and ambitious -lrb- if underdeveloped -rrb- themes .",
      "a frenetic burst of energy that thrills and enthrals while carrying zero baggage",
      "walks a tricky tightrope : we chuckle when rita shoots cage like a fallen racehorse so the day can restart , but every time he jolts back to life we feel for his gulping , startled agony .",
      "the sharp script makes ineffectual carnage pretty hilarious , with laughter due in part to the fact we 've seen so much of tom cruise in bs battle mode there 's something cathartic about watching him die on a loop .",
      "terrific . best of the summer . cruise oozes charisma and has real chemistry with blunt .",
      "the 51-year-old cruise clearly relishes playing the flawed hero - one who gets to be smarmy , duplicitous , exasperated , intimidated , bad-ass and wise .",
      "we should pause to give sincere thanks to the film : on top of its cred as sheer big-screen entertainment , there 's no prospect of an edge of tomorrow sequel or prequel , or of it being spun out into a franchise - and how friggin ' rare is that these days ?",
      "if ` groundhog day ' and ` district 9 ' had an offspring , it would be ` edge of tomorrow , ' an action-packed science-fiction romp . the story , which is based on ` all you need is kill , ' a japanese graphic novel , is whip-smart .",
      "it 's `` groundhog day '' except it features tom cruise instead of bill murray , which ca n't make it better .",
      "the conceit may sound constricting , but liman -lrb- like harold ramis before him -rrb- gets exceptional mileage out of it , presenting his ever-revolving tale with visual style , narrative velocity , and a wonderful dose of dark humor .",
      "in a summer season filled with its own time loops -lrb- i.e. sequels , reboots , etc. -rrb- , `` edge of tomorrow '' beats the clock .",
      "with a reference to several films of the past , tom cruise and emily blunt successfully make everything old , new again in the ` edge of tomorrow . ' throughout the film , the story never runs out of steam , which should please and entertain audiences .",
      "edge of tomorrow contains intense , pulse-racing action that takes your breath away . this is the best science fiction film to come along since district 9 and is what battle : los angeles only dreamed of being .",
      "one of the best blockbuster rides of summer 2014",
      "an audacious concept , superbly executed , this grand scale sci-fi thriller will knock your socks off , combining knee-knocking tension with exhilarating action and a sense of humour .",
      "with a touch of slick humor , doug liman 's energetic direction , and a hint of the bizarre , this is easily cruise 's best crack at the genre",
      "liman masterfully controls the pacing , sticking with scenes when necessary to figure out how the conceit works and skipping ahead at a quick clip that 's often quite funny .",
      "like many compulsively watchable films , the wealth of details in the writing , direction , and characterization all but ensure that edge of tomorrow holds many treasures to be discovered on repeat viewings .",
      "the perfect summer blockbuster . funnier than you 'd think . cruise 's image is both satirized and celebrated . blunt is terrific .",
      "liman deftly plays the rinse-and-repeat familiarity for both us and cage as comedy and as thriller as needed .",
      "as for mr. cruise and ms. blunt , they hold their own in parts that really could have been cast with anyone with a sag card .",
      "now that 's an action movie .",
      "it used to be that there was cool , and there was tom cruise . now , there 's tom cruise in `` edge of tomorrow , '' which is cool on top of cool .",
      "tom cruise must 've been grinning that risky business grin from ear to ear when he first read through the script for edge of tomorrow . he had to know he had a magnificent movie in his hands .",
      "there 's imagination , spectacle and thrills to spare . there 's a freshness here too that comes not only from the structure , but from edge of tomorrow being a shiny new property in this cyclical age of sequels , prequels and spin-offs",
      "edge of tomorrow 's simple , smart pleasures include a look at how many screw-ups it can take to learn there may be things -- and people -- beyond yourself that are worth fighting for .",
      "the script , adapted by christopher mcquarrie and the sibling team of jez and john-henry butterworth , is actually ingenious in doling out its herky-jerky storytelling .",
      "... exactly the kick-ass , intellectual , science-fiction story everyone says they wish was made more often ...",
      "it 's the rare summer spectacle that , tacked-on coda notwithstanding , might actually warrant repeat viewings .",
      "i 've always said it : if only there could be an epic sci-fi version of groundhog day . ok , i never said that , but i 'm glad there is one : it 's called `` edge of tomorrow . ''",
      "it 's a fairly lightweight , but high quality summer movie . the kind you can just sit back and enjoy while you munch your popcorn .",
      "it 's a near perfect closed loop of a film : fun , well-conceived and never afraid to treat death with both the reverence and contempt that it deserves .",
      "edge of tomorrow is a diverting enough , enjoyable , tom cruise war movie , but perhaps one that wo n't linger in the mind too long after the final credits have rolled .",
      "will groundhog day work in a space invaders movie ?",
      "its recursive conceit often seems poised to devolve into a cheap gimmick , but , much like cage , it consistently makes slight course corrections that keep it feeling fresh .",
      "only toward the climax , when the live/die/repeat cycle is abandoned , does edge of tomorrow go logy . but it 's two-thirds of a sensational ride -- one you can ride over and over without buying additional tickets .",
      "writer christopher mcquarrie handles the concept with aplomb , and he knows that the real interest here is what effect this kind of life would have on human relationships .",
      "long before the end , it 's an old-fashioned high tech army fighting the mimics , who are as spirited and pretty as blunt . the combat is endless and predictable .",
      "edge of tomorrow profits by upending action film cliches .",
      "despite its terribly unimaginative title , edge of tomorrow is a surprisingly imaginative summer action movie .",
      "a tom cruise action flick with a strong female heroine and a sense of humor ? `` edge of tomorrow '' has both of those , plus a `` groundhog day '' - style gimmick that pays big dividends . over and over .",
      "groundhog d-day , or the reborn identity : do n't we all want a furious , jumbled intelligence like doug liman 's to fashion memorable pop ? tom cruise 's every-doofus character is a great mid-career role for him , since it 's briskly business .",
      "the pulse-pounding action scenes are briskly directed by doug liman .",
      "a playful and frantic science-fiction twister which mimics the best -lrb- aliens , the matrix , groundhog day -rrb- while offering something fresh and - most importantly - thrilling .",
      "this is the kind of thoughtfully constructed movie that other summertime blockbusters should aspire to be more like , clever and cool and never giving you that ho-hum sense that you 've seen it all before .",
      "as `` puzzle movies '' go , edge of tomorrow is one that holds up surprisingly well to scrutiny .",
      "this is one of my favorite movies of the year so far .",
      "director doug liman has great fun with this just-go-with-it conceit .",
      "before too long , the plot begins to cut significant corners , things get terribly convenient and , by the end , the suspect plot logic utterly falls apart in favor of an idiotically beatific ending .",
      "to have a fun summer blockbuster with good characters , good action , and a tight and exciting script these days is almost unheard of . the smart sci-fi action movie is back . let 's hope it happens over and over again .",
      "edge of tomorrow feels like it 's about something more than action . neat trick .",
      "it 's easily the highlight of the summer movie offerings to me so far .",
      "it 's a star-driven mass-market entertainment that 's smart , exciting and unexpected while not stinting on genre satisfactions .",
      "in `` edge of tomorrow , '' mr. liman brings mr. cruise 's smile out of semiretirement and also gives him the kind of physical challenges at which he so brilliantly excels .",
      "a sharp sci-fi thriller that 's going to be hard to beat as the summer 's best blockbuster .",
      "refreshing and unexpected , both for its humor and for its upending of action norms .",
      "if you gave groundhog day a shot of adrenaline and a trip to the armoury , it might end up looking a little like edge of tomorrow .",
      "edge of tomorrow is the kind of film that can be enjoyed time after time .",
      "a lot of it is very well done .",
      "with a tremendous first half and more brains , heart and laughs than any of its promotional material indicated , this is smart , witty , thrilling and , above all , fun .",
      "`` it 's a razzle-dazzle triumph , and one we ca n't wait to experience again and again and again ... ''",
      "one of the most deliciously exciting films to watch in the summer months",
      "because edge of tomorrow is effectively about the infinite refloggability of cinematic horses , it manages to break the chain of formulaic repetition and come out surprisingly fresh .",
      "` groundhog day meets alien . ' relatively good compared to cruise 's recent , unwatchable movies because liman orchestrates spectacular action ; the talking scenes are tiresome .",
      "doug liman 's half-inventive ` full metal alien groundhog day ' war film is buoyed at first by tom cruise 's rascally twinkle before falling back on shopworn battle-bot effects and videogame plotting .",
      "the film 's groundhog day-meets-independence day plot is actually pretty genius .",
      "it 's a rousing spectacle , interspersed with touching moments of really hard trying .",
      "this doug liman directed feature is a cut above the usual in terms of cerebral content , but it 's still difficult to imagine it appearing on mensa must-see lists any day soon .",
      "this is a film that feels fully in command of its high concept and credit for this must also go to the film 's editors , and the unusually witty and deft script .",
      "at its best , edge of tomorrow has the same fatalistic humour that characterised groundhog day . at its worst , it is both repetitive and plain ridiculous .",
      "tom cruise 's participation transmutes , as it always does , everything around him , turning the movie 's series of false starts , dead ends , and hard lessons into a working metaphor for his own career .",
      "doug liman 's edge of tomorrow is the sci-fi answer to groundhog day that source code tried to be .",
      "now if only we could find tom a leading lady his own age ...",
      "liman handles his high concept conceit with some particularly dynamic visual touches , while cruise and blunt bring energy to their roles .",
      "it is basically deadly serious , and after some moderate knockaboutfun , settles into something pretty dull . where 's the edge ?",
      "tom cruise plays a callow , bumptious twerp in early scenes of the sci-fi adventure fantasy edge of tomorrow . he is very good : let 's be nice and call it a stretch .",
      "high concept action flicks largely live or die by the third act denouement -lrb- something that killed off liman 's last blockbuster effort jumper -rrb- . no such problems here .",
      "foibles be damned , edge of tomorrow is mindless fun of the highest order .",
      "the idea of history repeating itself is already writ large , here , but what is n't so familiar is the casting of tom cruise as a coward .",
      "it 's taut , twisted and blackly funny in ways that only movies in which tom cruise gets crushed under the wheel of a truck can be .",
      "it is a pretty exciting , twilight zone-style premise that bourne identity director doug liman introduces with brisk efficiency and sustains through twists and turns that are often ingenious .",
      "it 's a blockbuster with brains , and when it 's over , you might find yourself in a time loop of your own -- one where you ca n't wait to see it over and over again .",
      "cruise and blunt are both superb , the action sequences are genuinely thrilling and the effects work is impressive throughout .",
      "thank heavens ... for the time-loop gimmick , which sustains a full hour of screen time with enough variations on its gambit to hook you in .",
      "it should n't work . a human-versus-aliens epic that keeps repeating the same scene over and over again as if the comic tilt of groundhog day had turned suddenly dangerous . but edge of tomorrow will keep you on edge .",
      "what stays with you are cruise 's off-type performance , a few bravura sequences , and blunt 's molten presence .",
      "it 's fun for a while , but `` edge of tomorrow '' is what the gis used to call a blivet -- 10 pounds of movie in a five-pound bag .",
      "it 's a spectacular and witty movie based around a revolutionary idea for its own genre : more than painful , death can actually be pretty boring sometimes .",
      "a fun ride that never really arrives anywhere",
      "its mashup of genres proves wildly entertaining .",
      "edge of tomorrow earns props for marching to a different beat in an increasingly homogenized cinematic culture , and for treating its notions with the same respect it asks from the audience .",
      "by the second half of the film , i was utterly invested in these characters and their relationship , even though cage is the only one who `` remembers '' all their experiences together .",
      "embraces video game logic and gives it a human face and heart , investing it with the numbness and exhaustion that come from running through the same scenario toward the same goal again and again until you get it right .",
      "to paraphrase an old dictum : directors who do n't learn from history - like their hapless heroes in sci-fi movies - are doomed to repeat it . but , in -lsb- doug -rsb- liman 's case , that has turned out to be not such a bad thing .",
      "a bold concept which could have easily resulted in tedium , but not in liman 's hands",
      "cruise is a winner all the way , whether he 's being a gung-ho hero or the butt of the joke .",
      "i ca n't say i was always quite sure what on earth was going on , but edge of tomorrow , despite its flaws , despite its feeling of deja vu , manages to be tolerably entertaining mainly because of its nicely calibrated sense of humour .",
      "edge of tomorrow may be the best video game movie ever made . which is strange since it is n't actually based on a video game .",
      "the smartest blockbuster of this summer season , or perhaps any summer season .",
      "the reason the film works is because it throws everything into the blender and comes up with something new , something that has a great lively sense of wit and humor to it , and it takes the time to fully explore its wild premise fully .",
      "edge of tomorrow is a decent time waster , but if you 're the sort of person who watches a movie every day , you should probably look for something better .",
      "it 's a beautifully executed jolt of darkly funny , smart-arsed sci-fi adventure . welcome back tom .",
      "it 's the rare action film whose quiet moments cut as deep as its fight scenes .",
      "with its intriguing premise , engaging characters , and plenty of thrills to go around , edge of tomorrow makes for a breath of fresh air in a genre that has been crushed under monotony as of late .",
      "a deftly calibrated sci-fi spectacle .",
      "among countless sequels and remakes , the high-concept edge of tomorrow is the right kind of a rerun .",
      "unlike many of the year 's big-bang movies so far , it probably wo n't linger long in the memory . but then , not being any part of a larger franchise , it does n't need to .",
      "one of the most enjoyable blockbusters of the year .",
      "i bet this ends up being the most well-executed action movie of this summer , and probably a few others .",
      "it 'd be easy to dismiss edge of tomorrow as just another blunt-force summer movie , but it 's sharp as a scalpel in the deft hands of its makers , with the kind of smarts , wit , filmmaking and force too many other summer films can only dream of .",
      "like cruise himself at this stage of his career , the film 's concept ought to be played-out and obvious , but `` edge of tomorrow '' is much smarter and sharper than you 'd expect .",
      "it 's also knows , like ` eyes wide shut ' before it , that it 's always a joy to make the cocksure -lsb- tom -rsb- cruise nervous .",
      "`` groundhog d-day '' ? `` a million ways to die ... in the future '' ?",
      "-lsb- video essay -rsb- all high-concept , but affording only minimal entertainment reward by way of its stale ghost-in-the-machine storyline , `` edge of tomorrow '' is the `` groundhog day '' of sci-fi movies .",
      "what do you get if you cross a big-budget humanity-vs-aliens action movie with groundhog day ? well , a wittier , more inventive and , paradoxically , a far less repetitive film than any number of others .",
      "two hours of derivative , repeat-rewind eye agony .",
      "technically handsome , but approximately as deep and lasting as a small parking-lot puddle .",
      "at its best , edge of tomorrow is a cross between groundhog day and saving private ryan , even enjoying a little of the former 's humour and the latter 's intensity .",
      "what a delight it is to discover an early-summer action picture whose plot is something more than a machine to generate eventual digital mayhem .",
      "um filme intrigante com boas sequкncias de aзгo , mas que desaponta no terceiro ato .",
      "a smarter-than-expected script turns this noisy sci-fi action movie into something remarkably entertaining .",
      "with edge of tomorrow , tom cruise proves he 's still got the action and acting chops to carry a summer blockbuster , plus the eye for a quality role that 's more than just guns-blazing , balls-out action .",
      "a witty , clever , character-driven bit of science fiction wonderfulness , full of suspense , surprise , tension , and an unexpected poignancy .",
      "earns the right to be groundhog day meets starship troopers with a clever story that uses the narrative device in new ways .",
      "thanks to brisk direction from doug liman and some clever plotting , said repetition never becomes predictable .",
      "this summer blockbuster is almost ready to conquer the world . but not quite .",
      "what we have here is a blockbuster with brains , and explicit references to the normandy landings of the second world war are both knowing and well done .",
      "liman stages the chaotic action scenes , including several iterations of the beach assault , with clarity , precision , and wit . this is his best movie since 2002 's `` the bourne identity . ''",
      "it feels straight out of a thumb-worn , 1959 issue of galaxy magazine , an enjoyably pulpy hunk of military science-fiction with a premise that 's part groundhog day and part starship troopers .",
      "cruise is a delight , exactly what he needs to be , fluid enough for comedy , physical enough for action , always going with the flow and yet finding ways to make moments memorable .",
      "edge of tomorrow leaps onto the summer-movie playing field with ferocious tenacity , expertly balancing large-scale action with humor , tension , courage and the kind of flawed heroes you really grow to invest in .",
      "edge of tomorrow is an entertaining alien invasion movie with neat narrative wrinkles and glancing references to some classic sf-action films .",
      "edge of tomorrow is a delicious reminder that cruise still has all the right moves .",
      "a complex sci-fi tale about war , warriors within , and resetting the day .",
      "takes its starship troopers meets groundhog day premise and turns it into a rare summer movie that 's both smart and a crowd-pleaser",
      "breathlessly exciting , wildly entertaining , `` edge of tomorrow '' is a wake-up call to makers of formulaic alien-invasion thrillers .",
      "`` edge of tomorrow '' has neither an edge nor a vision of tomorrow that matters today .",
      "`` edge of tomorrow '' repeats itself without being repetitive , takes itself seriously while providing some laughs and offers plenty of action without short-changing us on the intelligence front .",
      "the fact is that this is a pretty good summer-kablooie movie , and cruise is better than pretty good in it .",
      "edge of tomorrow is not as inventive as rian johnson 's time-bending noir , looper . nor is it as surprisingly spiritual as groundhog day . but it whirls with energy .",
      "it 's a bloodless romance and the action builds to an anticlimax , but the story is also adapted with surprising wit ...",
      "out of nowhere , edge of tomorrow is an exhilarating mix of verhoeven-esque sci-fi subversion , existential comedy straight out of groundhog day , and the slaughter-and-reset structure of a first-person shooter game .",
      "i had a better time than i expected .",
      "overall , it benefits so much from the expert deployment of time-travel tropes that it earns a pass on a little alien acid blood .",
      "yes , the title is bland to the point of meaninglessness . but that 's just about the only thing edge of tomorrow gets wrong .",
      "edge of tomorrow obviously cost a fortune to make , but it has a light , shrugging , tossed-off air that makes it all the more impressive , let alone enjoyable .",
      "it 's harder to bear how the film fuses its sci-fi premise with an action movie 's sensibility : one in which the characters become living , breathing video-game avatars , rather than human beings .",
      "shirks its responsibility to be about anything . still , decent fun .",
      "it seems to know what we 've all been forgetting since 1985 : science fiction can be funny , blockbusters can be kooky , and tom cruise can , and should , be a jackass .",
      "`` edge of tomorrow '' is big , loud and undeniably fun .",
      ". . a thoughtful , action-packed , and occasionally amusing take on the -lsb- time loop -rsb- premise melded into the alien invasion story . for summer entertainment , it will more than do .",
      "somehow now 51 years old , the ever-youthful tom cruise is the ultimate a-list hollywood battler -- he keeps coming back for more again and again and again .",
      "yes , tom cruise 's time trippy sci-fi-er is the best surprise of the summer .",
      "` edge of tomorrow , ' with an intriguing premise and the ability to see it through to a satisfying conclusion , is more than razzle-dazzle visual effects .",
      "an exciting and character driver action movie that features blockbuster king tom cruise in top form .",
      "the film utilizes a flurry of fireworks effects and strong character development to create a sci-fi masterpiece .",
      "it has enough plot density to hold your attention for a while , along with a few feints at character development . you might not much notice its fundamental dishonesty and mendacity , except as that odd sick feeling you have later ."
    ],
    "summary": "gripping , well-acted , funny , and clever , edge of tomorrow offers entertaining proof that tom cruise is still more than capable of shouldering the weight of a blockbuster action thriller .",
    "id": "771317257"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dreamers",
    "reviews": [
      "this is n't one of those old ` adults-only ' movies . this is , simply , a movie only for adults -- and worthy of their attention and debate .",
      "there 's not a moment in the film 's belabored 115-minute running time that feels emotionally authentic .",
      "for the easily titillated , among whose company i count myself , the rewards are plenty in this curious ménage ŕ trois among college students in 1968 paris .",
      "a kind of art-house showgirls -- which actually exceeds showgirls in its self-indulgence , shallowness and sheer stupidity .",
      "the MOV did n't put me to sleep , but i did start wishing they 'd reenact a better movie .",
      "encapsulates the sense of innocence and adventure we all wish to carry",
      "works best when viewed as a tone poem that examines the present through the prism of the past .",
      "the siblings , in particular , grow so irritating with their cultural tunnel-vision that even the film 's explicit sex grows monotonous , and its lack of humor grows irritating .",
      "as an erotic valentine to 1960s paris , it 's unlike anything else you are likely to find .",
      "an ode to the kind of discerning , obsessive movie love that flourished at the time and has never been matched , before or since .",
      "watching the MOV is like receiving a present where the box is nicer than the contents .",
      "it is a well-made film in many ways , but i found in the callowness of these youths nothing to admire .",
      "a passionate tribute to the cinema 's contribution to the great '60s cultural fusion , as well as a melancholy reminder of just how far it 's fallen from that heady era of its highest idealism .",
      "crammed with indelible images and scenes of sheer beauty and impact .",
      "the oneiric atmosphere takes a turn for the worse as the focus inevitably turns to a bad daydream and the secluded apartment setting stultifies the aura of film worship ...",
      "celebrates the feverish vitality of youth with sexually explicit candor .",
      "the MOV is an important film , if for no other reason than it finally offers a mature alternative for adult cinemagoers .",
      "a good choice for film buffs ; lends itself to analysis , conversation , or maybe even a term paper",
      "begs the question : can sex be boring ? the answer is yes , if the actors have been cast primarily for their looks .",
      "the MOV makes its point with clips of old films . and yes , there is quite a bit of sex and nudity .",
      "they are n't making revolution in this hothouse , they 're making a listless blue movie .",
      "it 's possible that the nc-17 has never been used to such pg-13 ends .",
      "go see it , even if it 's smutty .",
      "like few filmmakers , bertolucci captures ... the sexual delirium of youth .",
      "the rapture of movies themselves has never been more masterfully or evocatively presented . but the movie fails to integrate its themes in a satisfying way .",
      "bertolucci undercuts the smarmy quality of most coming-of-age films of this sort but giving weight to the sexuality , and by tying it in with the politics of that period .",
      "like stealing beauty , a european-set tale of adolescent sexual awakening , loosely recast here as a heavily affected , awkward polemic .",
      "has an attractive facade , but its apparent audacity turns out to be as empty-headed as its photogenic but vacuous lead characters .",
      "who else but sartre-reading , fellini-watching wannabe-sophisticated 15-year-olds will find this film intriguing ?",
      "a lazy film about lazy people that , predictably , would have lazed me into a coma if it were n't for the near non-stop nudity .",
      "the erotic parlor games in bertolucci 's film do n't get quite get debauched or deep enough , and once they 've run their course , the movie does n't know what to do .",
      "up until its final moments , ` the MOV ' is all too aptly titled . ... two hours of lusciously photographed lollygagging ...",
      "it 's been described as a love letter to cinema and the heady 1960s , but it plays more like a memoir of infatuation .",
      "bertolucci and cinematographer fabio cianchetti construct every shot carefully , often building shapes out of the characters ' positions or referencing shots from other films .",
      "the MOV is about three people dropping out of the world for a while , even as they imagine themselves an integral part of it .",
      "it 's thrilling .",
      "the MOV is infused with the same kind of wistful melancholy that made the french new wave films so winning , and it 's all gorgeous to look at .",
      "it ends up a mess .",
      "swept away by the intensity of the characters ' movie debates and sexual games , bertolucci often recaptures the film-besotted spirit of the period .",
      "the whole thing feels a bit scattered .",
      "despite the movie 's well-earned nc-17 , bertolucci 's own ménage ŕ trois favors cinephilia over the related pleasures of politics and sex .",
      "legendary director bernardo bertolucci -lrb- `` 1900 '' -rrb- crafts a return to social revolt in the form of sexual pursuits by a trio of late '60s teenaged students in this engaging yet insufficient movie .",
      "it 's an amusing , sophisticated movie , true to its times , cheerfully erotic , and played with unselfconscious conviction by its three young actors .",
      "bertolucci tops himself .",
      "fans of film and gorgeous naked people of either sex will find much here to interest them . but it also has moments that make you want to throw stones .",
      "the film is at once a celebration of the sexual revolution and a celebration of cinema as the secular equivalent of religion , at a time when movies really mattered .",
      "the venue for pitt 's marvelous coming-out performance .",
      "a real pleasure .",
      "it 's a hot sequence that nudges the boundary of taste , but still manages to come off more as art than porn .",
      "... we feel stranded on a soundstage , mummy-wrapped in film studies and bereft of any genuine emotion .",
      "there is enough youthful energy and sexual tension to float the MOV along , although the film 's deeper potential and political context slip away .",
      "bertolucci 's best work to date . film , politics , sex , the cultural divide , love , relationships , parenting - are looked over by his camera , and the result is breathtaking .",
      "it so desperately wishes to be a masterpiece that the result is hopelessly infatuated with its own perceived cleverness .",
      "ambitious and uneven , visceral and pungent .",
      "bertolucci never lets his obvious pretensions overshadow the characters and the story at the heart of the film .",
      "focus exclusively on the movie 's brazen , occasionally gratuitous sexuality and you 'll miss a whole other level of pleasure .",
      "the most logical explanation of the bizarre premise : bertolucci , an inarguably brilliant oscar-winning filmmaker , is also quite the perv .",
      "` the MOV ' comes wrapped in a strange nostalgia , which makes the pretentiousness even sadder .",
      "boy-boy love masquerading as boy-girl-boy love so you 'll go see it .",
      "a film about youth and passion that seems old and passionless .",
      "while the sexual content in and of itself is hardly transgressive or shocking , the mere presence of it at all in a contemporary film is both a shock and a breath of fresh air .",
      "cinematic allusions , both verbal and visual , are tossed around as if in the hope that some of their quality might somehow rub off on the ever-less-interesting movie at hand .",
      "these kids are so languid and lovely , so immersed in each other as reflected images , that they pose a risk for the naďve american .",
      "a film about youthful passion -- for sex , for politics , for music and , above all , for film itself -- that feels passionless .",
      "the MOV devolves into a nostalgia trip for 1970s cinema intellectuals ; for them , it pays dividends . others might do better to check out the films -- like bertolucci 's own last tango in paris , the conformist and 1900 .",
      "the MOV is a betrayal of dreaming .",
      "maybe bernardo bertolucci should have stuck with his original plan to make a sequel to his epic 1900 , because his latest film is a major disappointment .",
      "... these characters just are n't as fascinating as bertolucci clearly believes them to be ...",
      "it 's wonderful to see a film that takes back sex from the smutty teen comedies , that grapples with political ideas and shouts its love of cinema from the rooftops .",
      "i wish that this first release to show the artistic potential of the nc-17 rating was an undisputedly great film , not merely a brave and intriguing one .",
      "bertolucci provokes audiences instead of pacifying them . boy , do we need him now .",
      "starkly argues the ultimate futility of the cinematic ideal , the insidious love/hate nature of film glamour and the danger it harbors for our real-life psyches .",
      "bad , but unlike the similarly camped-up little buddha or stealing beauty , it 's not exactly boring .",
      "by far the most engaging aspect of the film is its celebration of cinema .",
      "a ménage-ŕ-trois drama that 's watchable but does n't live up to its italian director 's towering reputation .",
      "if you could skim away all the gratuitous film-studies crud , you 'd have a smaller but more intense little film , a kissing cousin of that other screen classic 9-1/2 weeks .",
      "no wonder young americans love europe !",
      "disappointing .",
      "this is a boring movie and all the sex and nudity , while distracting at times , does n't change that fact .",
      "self-discovery is engrossing and all consuming , even when the world outside is literally erupting . multiply discovery by three and the pleasure is that much greater .",
      "an over-ripe orgasm of a film , but also a weary one . after gorging for hours on youthful idealism , bertolucci finally drops the hammer and confronts its limitations .",
      "it 's a movie so physically beautiful and ardent that it can make you fall in love or lust against better judgment .",
      "the thrills of this movie are aesthetic ones , the creation of new , ravishing imagery -lrb- and all three of our young heroes are beautiful enough to be up to this task -rrb- , the surrender to dream logic , the adoration of the silver screen .",
      "the seductively charismatic duo of green and garrel , who make the siblings ' twisted relationship warm yet disturbing , off-putting yet inviting .",
      "knowing that a character prefers chaplin to keaton tells us only about his taste , not about his soul .",
      "how much you enjoy the MOV will depend on your threshold for flash minus dramatic depth or political subtext .",
      "a pretentious and self-absorbed chamber piece that underscores the importance of the 1968 student riots in paris .",
      "the casually edgy eroticism and constant allusions to old movies are in many ways a mask for the fact that -lrb- these -rrb- are n't especially interesting people , except to each other .",
      "just the dose of relatable mainstream art the u.s. cinema desperately requires .",
      "disenfranchised youth spells relentless bacchanalia , without the benefit of narrative structure or purpose .",
      "for all its multi-layered sexuality , the film 's bottom line is all about the destruction of the characters ' dreams when those dreams are touched by reality .",
      "bertolucci and adair have made a beguiling tribute to the glorious indeterminacy of youth .",
      "it 's all quite soporific , because nothing is at stake and there 's no reason to care about these self-absorbed twits .",
      "only time will tell if the MOV is a great film . i think it is at the least a very good one .",
      "not good for you , but wickedly pleasurable all the same .",
      "bertolucci indulges too much in the great sin of nostalgia , thus reducing the film 's political firepower by washing it in a hazy wave of ` remember when ... '",
      "exhilarating .",
      "the MOV is a richly imagined , boldly acted ode to the delirium of a generation that did n't know it was dreaming .",
      "the cultural revolution reflected in the personal lives of the young people is a distraction . better to enjoy the movie for the beauty and delight of its love story alone .",
      "maybe the worst thing bertolucci has done is make a good film that is too blithe to distance itself from the offensively precious one it constantly threatens to be .",
      "bertolucci is so drunk on déjá vu he has made a movie that 's really a flossy assemblage of bertolucci signifiers .",
      "meticulously photographed and crafted , it 's a sumptuous visual feast that 's built around voyeurism .",
      "grim and joyless .",
      "the dialogue is so trite you would n't want to be that young again ... and the rococo nature of the erotic entanglements make one pine for the relatively old-fashioned romance of last tango in paris .",
      "a wise , high-energy conjuring of 1968 .",
      "explores the twilight realm of longing where three youth embark on an alternatingly intense and playful voyage of discovery .",
      "a study of corrupt idealism , with a cynical and unforgiving core hiding under a dazed , playful exterior .",
      "if you do n't glow with the same pleasure -lsb- bertolucci -rsb- feels when the characters in the MOV alternate brashness with callow immaturity , you 're going to be in for a very long evening .",
      "bernardo bertolucci 's new film is an ardently romantic love song to sex , cinema and the spirit of the 60 's .",
      "there 's no question about its desire to present a thoughtful exploration of links between political and sexual freedom in the fabled '60s .",
      "neither the story nor the characters capture the zeitgeist that bertolucci theoretically set out to celebrate .",
      "there are two films at work here : a love-struck but tedious ode to cinephilia and a fascinating exploration of sex as a form of political resistance .",
      "i would love to cut all the marvelous film references and footage into a single montage . it would prove the best thing from -lsb- the MOV . -rsb-",
      "a pretentious , pointless picture that produces the same ca n't - look-away effect as seeing a car wreck .",
      "at a reflective and still romantic 63 , mr. bertolucci pays heartfelt hommage to henri langlois ' famous theater , cinémathčque française .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- sex-infused film that touches on all kinds of interesting themes ... but never goes anywhere interesting with them .",
      "bertolucci 's best film for a long time .",
      "stylish , erotic , forgivably pretentious drama with lashings of explicit sex and strong performances from its three leads .",
      "brilliantly referenced cinema history paired with a ridiculous central story make the MOV a wash .",
      "a pretty silly affair -- a minor film made by a major filmmaker .",
      "marks a long-overdue return to the important themes of human connection and social commitment that run through many of bertolucci 's most memorable films .",
      "bernardo bertolucci 's love letter to paris , cinema and sex in 1968 is as uneven and imperfect as it is unique and impassioned .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- provocative , sensual feast .",
      "it is both a love song to escapism and a warm embrace of the real world -- a wake-up call that one place , without the other to occasionally return to , would make life for us -lrb- who are the real MOV -rrb- far less wonderful .",
      "do these characters really care about the collected works of godard ? not for one parisian minute .",
      "anyone seeking cheap titillation would do better to invest their movie cash in a fresh copy of playboy or penthouse than to spend the two hours of contemplation needed to fully appreciate the myriad layers of the MOV .",
      "no matter how many mirrors he uses to fracture his characters into meaningful multiple images or how many shots he includes of out-of-control falling , -lsb- bertolucci -rsb- ca n't make the naughty innocence compelling .",
      "an ambitious and exciting piece of work , a movie about sex and movies made by a filmmaker who understands the power of each to set off fantasy , create addiction , incite danger and transform the spirit .",
      "this handsome , mildly brave scrapbook probably wo n't be prophetic of upheavals to come .",
      "bertolucci going through the motions .",
      "it 's funny , affecting , interestingly twisted , and seriously erotic before it heads south in the final stretch .",
      "it effectively explains why we obsess over movies and rock and roll and honest communication long after those passions have been hijacked by parodists and advertising agencies .",
      "an out-of-print postcard of a movie , neither shocking or smart enough to matter in the modern world , and too disjointed to be involving .",
      "the real world in which these characters live is only hinted at , making their behaviour look mighty precious most of the time .",
      "in almost every way , the MOV is a less sexy , less successful ode to the innocent passions and energy of a bygone era than austin powers .",
      "above all it evokes a time when the movies -- good movies , both classic and newborn -- were at the center of youth culture .",
      "dresses up its sex with pretensions of high art , but its intellectualism is disposable , and unless brother-sister incest is your cup of tea , the sensuality misses its mark as well .",
      "a rich movie filling the viewer with a four-course french meal of sensuality , politics , ideas and character .",
      "rather than turning into a coming-of-age story , the movie wallows in the cocoon-like insularity of its characters .",
      "there are some wonderful moments of bliss , as in all bertolucci movies ... but for all the flash and sparkle , there 's little heat .",
      "the entire film is a charged sensory experience -- a cinematic turn-on .",
      "at its heart , the MOV is bertolucci 's valentine to the movies that nurtured him in his youth . at worst , it 's sort of an nc-17 version of rugrats in paris .",
      "a rare movie made by and for adults , haunts its watcher for some time , despite its shortcomings .",
      "perhaps -lsb- bertolucci -rsb- was ambivalent about his feelings for the time . perhaps he was just sloppy .",
      "its nostalgia and narcissism are ultimately two versions of the same thing , and neither can reopen cross-cultural channels . instead they keep this story stuck in the past , frozen and intact and irrelevant .",
      "when the sex and weirdness stops , all we 're left with is pseudo-intellectual discussions from this trio that is found in every dorm across america .",
      "bertolucci pays affectionate homage to cinema , goofy youthful exuberance , romance , innocence and the student revolt of may ' 68 .",
      "this works most effectively as an ode to the way cinema infuses the lives of its fans .",
      "bertolucci is hardly a klutz with the camera , but to me the movie was always good-but-not-great , it never truly took off ."
    ],
    "summary": "though lushly atmospheric , the MOV does n't engage or provoke as much as it should .",
    "id": "14631"
  },
  {
    "movie": "revolution_will_not_be_televised",
    "reviews": [
      "bartley and o'briain do an excellent job in deconstructing the venezuelan tv news footage of blood , chaos , and rival crowds .",
      "while there is a story to be told about the 2002 coup , this is definitely not the documentary to tell it .",
      "filmmakers kim bartley and donnacha o'brien happen to be in all the right places at all the right times .",
      "-lsb- bartley and o'briain -rsb- 's fearlessness , unobtrusive narration , and lack of michael moore man-and-microphone pandering are to be saluted .",
      "rough-hewn , improvisatory and contentedly lo-fi , the resulting documentary should prove warmly encouraging to embattled progressives of all stripes , and incidentally offers the best political date-movie of the week .",
      "amazingly immediate , and without any caramel coating of happy talk .",
      "an extraordinary inside look at politics at its most urgent , volatile and bare-knuckled .",
      "the MOV is an extraordinary piece of electronic history . and a riveting movie .",
      "the filmmakers , simply forgotten in the dramatic rush of events , capture the anatomy of a coup as it crystallized and unraveled , and history nearly recorded itself .",
      "fascinating , intense but disturbingly incomplete and one-sided ... an accomplished , involving but highly selective account of a still-charged historical event .",
      "remarkable true-life footage makes this 74-minute film as potent as behemoths twice its size .",
      "a gripping if necessarily disjointed documentary that plays like a real-life version of a costa-gavras thriller .",
      "a fascinating look at events mostly unknown to outsiders .",
      "instructive not only for students of south american -lrb- and oil -rrb- politics but also for anyone who questions the importance of the media in determining who gets power and how long they keep it .",
      "more than a scary close-up look at the raw mechanics of a power grab , the film is also a cautionary examination of the use of television to deceive and manipulate the public .",
      "does an excellent job of showing how powerful television has become in getting one 's message across ... as well as how easily television and some creative editing can manipulate that very message .",
      "like 9/11 and gim me shelter , this movie puts the viewer into the middle of the danger and without compromise . quick , tight and thorough , this documentary plays more like an action movie . a masterpiece .",
      "wow ! this documentary sticks with you and days later you 'll still be thinking about how easy it was to manipulate an entire country .",
      "a remarkable example of the power of film to capture unfolding historic events .",
      "an eye-opener that focuses on world-shaking events and makes you feel like you are there .",
      "a rough-edged work of journalism that is as gripping as a thriller .",
      "fascinating , informative and chilling .",
      "revolution ... is not just a portrait of a fascinating , paradoxical leader but of a vibrant people and culture long-hidden by our own media .",
      "compelling and immediate .",
      "a thrilling , expertly assembled argument against regime change .",
      "the big story here is neither the coup , nor the countercoup , but the spread of constitutional values to the people of venezuela .",
      "a fascinating account of history in the making that plays like a cinematic whiplash .",
      "it gives us a sense of venezuela 's political and social climate in april 2002 , and in that regard it is most fascinating .",
      "a tense , rapid-paced political drama .",
      "it is remarkable because the filmmakers , kim bartley and donnacha o'briain , had access to virtually everything that happened within the palace during the entire episode .",
      "it 's as if somebody had had a camcorder in hand when julius caesar was slain in the roman forum . history does n't get any more real or vital than this .",
      "the MOV may be controversial , biased and patchy , but it contains some of the most electrifying and immediate nonfiction footage seen on the big screen .",
      "bartley and o'briain can be accused of being biased about their subject , chavez , but show me a documentary film ... that does not take sides .",
      "this riveting piece of work should encourage viewers to continue to investigate the subject on their own after leaving the theater",
      "does at least make you want to find out more about venezuelan politics -- as well as u.s. foreign policy regarding the country , so on that score it succeeds .",
      "stands as our best chance to understand what happened in caracas , even if the filmmakers ' pro-chavez stance should send you to alternate sources for the larger picture .",
      "a gripping , nearly perfect documentary , chronicling a heart-stopping rise , fall and triumphant reversal in the space of its 74-minute running time .",
      "everything 's real -- the shouting , the dissonance , the worry .",
      "it is the simulacrum of a free press in the age of globalization that bartley and o'briain so eloquently illustrate .",
      "an amazing record of what has been called history 's shortest-lived coup d'etat .",
      "both farcical and deeply troubling , it unfolds with the kind of breathless , minute-by-minute immediacy that only eyewitness reportage can bring , and offers an important perspective on the role the media inevitably plays in contemporary revolution .",
      "what resonates in the end are the forces behind it , what it says about its time , and how , in fact , it ever happened at all .",
      "the crew of the MOV had been in the country for months before the coup , and their access and reporting are impressive .",
      "this is reality filmmaking -- a fascinating front-row seat for what could be history 's shortest-lived coup .",
      "amazing documentary .",
      "as gripping as any recent thriller ."
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV is as persuasive and engrossing as it is unapologetically biased .",
    "id": "280213507"
  },
  {
    "movie": "al_franken_god_spoke",
    "reviews": [
      "when he 's on , he 's hot , and when he 's not , he 's not .",
      "this film by nick doob and chris hegedus forces us to make some decisions about him . for myself , i find him generally gross , in person and in manner .",
      "this scattershot movie , shot over two years , follows the zigzag trail of political satirist al franken as he feuds with bill o'reilly , campaigns against george w. bush , and helps establish air america .",
      "... best viewed as an investigation of the phenomenon of ideological celebrity , with mr. franken as a willing case study .",
      "proves to be an illuminating -lrb- if perhaps unintended -rrb- demonstration of how hard it is to keep one 's sense of humor when mixing it up in the political mainstream .",
      "there 's a story to be told in al franken 's transformation from smarty-pants saturday night live personality to political commentator on the scrappy liberal radio station air america , but nick doob and chris hegedus ... fail to find it .",
      "what i was really itching for was for him to leave the political battlefield long enough to give us a scripted stand-up act as he 'd do it for an audience at the improv .",
      "this smoothly edited snapshot of a roaring mouse ... is an outspoken and pretty damn funny portrait ...",
      "the scope ought to be narrowed , but the film is still pretty entertaining in places , owing to franken 's intelligence and quick wit .",
      "there is a lot of preaching to the converted in nick doob and chris hedges ' al franken : god spoke , an adoring and fairly haphazard look behind the scenes with the comedian and liberal gadfly .",
      "the film is most compelling for its suggestion of how politics and showbiz are at once incestuously entwined and , perhaps , irreconcilably different .",
      "what this documentary lacks in intent , insight , and surprise it makes up for in thoroughness .",
      "a fascinating combination of class clown and fact-happy debate-club president , franken nonetheless makes for a compelling subject , but god spoke veers uncomfortably into hagiography , especially as it winds down .",
      "as a record of the al franken you already know and love , hegedus and doob 's rather slapdash movie is fun .",
      "neither as adroitly funny as franken 's comic routines , nor as notable as his conversion to the fine art of politics , this is a 90-minute ` what if ? ' with no discernible answer .",
      "a documentary in search of a story .",
      "often entertaining .",
      "the film is worth seeing for footage of bill o'reilly seeking sympathy from ann coulter , who makes maternal noises with a mischievous glint in her eye .",
      "the documentary skims the surface , appreciating franken 's crass , troublemaking modus operandi . this would be ok if the doc were crammed with hilarious footage , but franken comes off as more droll and bitter than clever .",
      "with his nearly nonstop , self-congratulatory monologues and his seemingly insincere attitude , he comes off as every bit as much an insufferable blowhard as his conservative counterparts .",
      "the film feels unfinished as franken contemplates a run for the u.s. senate from minnesota , which might make god spoke the set-up for a much more interesting sequel .",
      "though not as thorough as war room , docu is still highly entertaining and poignant , if not too critical or deep , offering a portrait of a new kind of american folk hero , more iconoclastic -lrb- not to mention witty and charming -rrb- than michael moore .",
      "a documentary about the comedian and satirist who sees himself as a leftward leaning crusader for truth and justice in an era of lying liars .",
      "feisty , quick-witted and quixotic , franken takes on such right-wing demigods as bill o'reilly , ann coulter and sean hannity .",
      "this uncritical bio-pic presents al as more of an intellectual on a mission than a funnyman in search of laughs , leaving one to wonder whether the purpose here was to makeover al into a political figure for his rumored run for the u.s. senate .",
      "entertaining cinéma-vérité piece",
      "a humorous , but more importantly illustrative , documentary about the weight of the media -- especially the comedic media -- on the last presidential election .",
      "a inteligęncia de franken é notória , assim como seu pavor ŕ retórica da direita norte-americana % u2013 algo que o filme ilustra de maneira burocrática . além disso , sua falta de foco leva-o a parecer um mero instrumento de propaganda , o que é lamentável .",
      "i have n't seen this much smug , awkward laughter and bathos since , well , man of the year .",
      "whether one agrees with his point of view or not , it 's a message worth hearing .",
      "there 's so much previously available material used that for a while `` god spoke '' looks like the first documentary assembled entirely from youtube clips .",
      "always engaging , often insightful , -lsb- and -rsb- at times deeply moving .",
      "somewhere beneath this hollow shell lies a real film about a gentle rebel with a cause .",
      "franken handles everything with his inimitable sense of humor , which helps his message go down much smoother .",
      "a cinema-verite portrait that proves more celebratory than revelatory .",
      "franken is a master and we need someone like him to both laugh at and pound his fist at the other side for their own god-like attitudes that what they say is the spoken , written and final word on the subject .",
      "cheated of some much-needed integrity",
      "dull , dull , dull .",
      "a better , less passé film about al franken 's wife franni forming the backbone of her husband 's career lies dormant here , as does the man 's rebel spirit .",
      "the filmmakers capture franken 's gradual transformation from cool satirist to impassioned activist in what turns out to be a vérité amble through a pivotal year in his life .",
      "... there is enough funny stuff transpiring that even some non-fans will be entertained .",
      "offers a portrait of this complex man that is -- dare we say it ? -- fair and balanced .",
      "a portrait of a passionate , witty , occasionally thin-skinned man .",
      "most of this doc is content to wander through franken 's recent show-biz resume , to no particular end .",
      "franken does n't allow the knee-jerk predictability of his liberal pronouncements to deflate the great gasbag that he becomes as the movie proceeds .",
      "a sketchy but often entertaining record of satirist al franken 's campaign to counteract what he perceives to be a right-wing conspiracy of lies and disinformation .",
      "funny-man turned politico given the pennebaker treatment .",
      "the film only sporadically succeeds in providing biographical information or thematic depth , but franken is such a witty and thoughtful presence that these flaws do n't matter greatly .",
      "what is notable about the film is that , despite the fact that it is centered on franken , filmmakers nick doob and chris hegedus let everyone have their say , even if franken gets the usually quite funny last word .",
      "fans of franken as a comedian and/or as an air america radio host , will find plenty to enjoy .",
      "existing in the moment without inquiry or challenge , cinéma vérité fosters exactly the sort of refusal to think beyond the immediate that this film criticizes in right-wing dittoheads .",
      "the movie never gets around to answering its central question : namely , why has mr. franken decided to go to washington ?",
      "this slice of franken 's life feels just a bit on the slight side , but the fact it leaves you wanting more is a credit to his casual charm and snarky humor .",
      "but kerry did not win , and for franken fans , the target audience here , the memory of that event may hurt too much to laugh ."
    ],
    "summary": "this documentary traces franken 's transformation from humorist to activist with entertaining , if uneven , results .",
    "id": "287865088"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1129132-torque",
    "reviews": [
      "a fast and the furious on motorcycles that gets its juice from its road action but little else .",
      "a strong candidate for the most thunderingly stupid movie of the year .",
      "even the more attention-grabbing scenes are too obviously faked to build suspense , and too confusingly cut to sustain continuity .",
      "the script here is irredeemably 2 fetid and 2 foolish .",
      "watching it is the closest thing yet to seeing a first-person driving game play itself .",
      "the creators of MOV need n't have gone to all the trouble of making a movie ; they could have proceeded straight to the video game .",
      "it 's cotton-candy junk food that , for once , actually knows what it 's doing ... entertaining all the way .",
      "casualties of this wreck are numerous and unfortunate .",
      "a towering bore .",
      "the loudest , trashiest , stupidest , cheesiest celebration of ritualized male aggression of 2004 .",
      "director joseph kahn 's MOV is inoffensively diverting-it 's neither a work of inspired genre genius or mere manipulative commercial trash .",
      "nothing to offer , except an evening spent making fun of one of the world 's worst movies .",
      "but nothing is done well in this ... outhouse of a production . nothing . yes , i know i 'm repeating myself . nothing .",
      "glib , ego-thumping disaster that tries so hard to be cool that flop-sweat practically drips off the sprockets .",
      "produces little in the way of rotation , torsion or anything else that could be roughly diagrammed as excitement .",
      "shows just how good , and mindless , a biker flick can be .",
      "a fast-paced compendium of jerry bruckheimer-style clichés .",
      "it 's acceptable to use cgi to enhance the action , but this movie takes it over the line . when everything is artificial , it 's impossible to create excitement or suspense .",
      "the ads make `` MOV '' appear to be a movie that 's all action , with scantily clad women , studly bikers and fighting . and yes , there 's still truth in advertising .",
      "the real auteur here is producer neal h. moritz , whose previous odes to reckless endangerment and beer-commercial sexuality include the ` fast and furious ' films ...",
      "as sleazy as they come . and , much like the person we continue to date even though we know we should n't , it 's kinda hard not to feel a little affection for it .",
      "MOV plays like a mall-friendly version of a russ meyer movie , processed through westerns , the warriors and current teen culture .",
      "... the ninth circle of gearhead hell .",
      "if you want an adrenaline rush , this will give it to you . it 's worth a matinee at least .",
      "red bull : the movie",
      "an expeditious ending keeps MOV from ever really wearing out its welcome , but if that 's the best that can be said about it , perhaps it 's better left unsaid .",
      "i was heartily entertained , for all the wrong reasons .",
      "if it 's lacking much in the way of distinction , it benefits from an abundance of panache .",
      "make no mistake , MOV is -- by any rational standards -- a bad movie . but it 's a fun bad movie .",
      "... too much and too little all at the same time ...",
      "are we watching a car commercial ? an ad for leather jeans ? for viagra ?",
      "i did n't hate MOV , and i guess that goes to say some things for the film . at the very least , it kept me entertained .",
      "thankfully , MOV knows what it wants to be ... and flashes a jocular self-awareness about its genre affiliation .",
      "a guzzle of yahoo-mountain dew empty-calorie satisfaction .",
      "it would need to move up several rungs on the evolutionary ladder to be classified as garbage ... you come out feeling as though you 've just been run over by a semi .",
      "there is so much style , complete with irritatingly constant ultra-close-ups , and so little substance , that it 's hard to imagine even 16-year-olds coming away satisfied .",
      "if you 're looking for laughs and have already seen ` bad santa , ' this is your best bet .",
      "a movie made by people who seem to have chuckled up their sleeves as they shot the picture and expect to laugh all the way to the bank afterwards .",
      "as for the title , ` MOV ' basically means ` rotating force , ' although it should be noted that it emerges from the same latin root as ` torture . '",
      "as dumb as january at the movies but fun as well .",
      "it 's difficult to tell which is worse -- the acting or the writing .",
      "as a movie , it makes a great video game .",
      "what 's worse are the repeatedly guffaw-inducing product placements , including a battle of `` pepsi '' vs. `` mountain dew ''",
      "zippy , stylish fun .",
      "MOV is a terrific action picture , fast-moving , studded with great stunts and smart enough not to take itself too seriously .",
      "welcome to the last frontier in computer-generated effects -- where you 're not even supposed to believe that what you 're seeing is possible , just cool .",
      "if you could just watch MOV , you 'd think it 's great looking . but if you listen to it , you 'll think it 's one of the dumbest movies ever made .",
      "amazingly enough , this two-wheeled spinoff of the fast and the furious has dumbed down the franchise .",
      "as long as you consume it as fast as it moves , you wo n't get indigestion .",
      "one percent dumb plot , 74 percent stunts , and 25 percent attitude , or , rather hollywood 's idea of what passes for attitude .",
      "while more entertaining than last year 's `` biker boyz , '' `` MOV '' ultimately is little more than a showcase for its stylish leatherwear and supercharged hogs",
      "a video game on steroids .",
      "there is so much testosterone in this film that any woman who watches it will come out of it with a hairy chest and a favorite football team .",
      "the absurdity is intoxicating , the look dizzying , the brains nonexistent .",
      "the implausible MOV is for those who found the fast and the furious too urbane",
      "hopes to do for motorcycles what ` the fast and the furious ' did for tricked-out jettas but only winds up doing what ' 2 fast 2 furious ' did for ` the fast and the furious ' .",
      "a big fu to the fast and the furious . you wo n't see a faster , more furious film this year .",
      "a mirage , or perhaps fever-dream , designed to blind the senses and take audiences on a ride not unlike the one keir dullea endured once he ventured into 2001 's black hole .",
      "this monotonously macho action-adventure film wears testosterone as if it were a new fragrance .",
      "MOV is like a grease stain on your favorite shirt - dirty , maddening and unnecessary .",
      "a high-decibel biker flick that puts the ` less ' back in mindless .",
      "the constant breaking of the laws of physics -- which is regularly done to create the snappier racing sequences for MOV -- is only one of the ways this film is irritating .",
      "the biker toughs in MOV sure do break a lot of laws . mostly those of physics and common sense .",
      "this is a movie that knows you know it 's dumb , and that 's enough to make the whole thing worth tolerating .",
      "the film is better than it might have been , and better than it had to be . take it on its own terms , and you might find it interesting .",
      "for all the fast cuts , the furious vibes , the faux sexiness , MOV is canned and mighty flat .",
      "if there 's a movie with a lower iq released this year it 'll be a miracle .",
      "kahn delivers an action pic whose cgi effects more closely resemble a video game than reality and whose organizing principle is the three-minute music video ...",
      "a biker picture for the xbox generation , MOV is the most senseless assault on the senses imaginable .",
      "the problem with a lot of these music-video-turned-movie directors is that they have a keen eye for the visual , but no clue how to tell stories -lrb- longer than 4 minutes -rrb- .",
      "do n't - try-this-at-home stunts collide with a do n't - read-this-anywhere script .",
      "boys who love fast bikes and faster chicks are going to have a lot of fun with `` MOV ''",
      "it gets you hopped up on red bull , takes you to a speed-metal concert and tosses you off the stage for some crowd surfing .",
      "MOV is slightly bearable because the filmmakers almost acknowledge how stupid it all is .",
      "movies like this are best enjoyed with your mind completely on autopilot .",
      "it 's got ... a solid sense of humor about its own awfulness .",
      "... could be considered a good ` popcorn movie ' only if the popcorn that accompanies it was made three weeks ago ...",
      "devoid of any signs of intelligent life .",
      "a good stupid movie .",
      "what happens when a guy who produces b-movies aimed at 13-year-old boys decides to make a b-movie of one his b-movies ? MOV happens .",
      "a non-stop assault on the senses .",
      "MOV actually manages to outdumb such similarly brain-dead films as the fast and the furious -lrb- and its sequel -rrb- and biker boyz .",
      "if you approach the movie with a sense of humor and an appreciation for the preposterous , you may have a decent time .",
      "MOV is like a third generation copy of a bad videotape .",
      "this is a movie so stupid , i 'm surprised paul walker is n't in it .",
      "silly and violent , mostly comprised of stunts .",
      "a low grade really bad action flick without a single brain cell in its head ...",
      "if you want to see matrix on bikes , MOV is the stuff . just as long as you do n't want any of that ... what do they call it ? acting or something ?",
      "MOV is so awful it would have embarrassed roger corman forty years ago .",
      "blessed with a tongue-in-cheek script , plenty of burning-rubber chases , and a sense of its own ridiculousness .",
      "a very loud movie , loud in every way . it 's loud with noise of motorbikes , and it 's loud with overacting and loud with gravity-defying effects that seem ultimately ridiculous",
      "um videogame mal realizado .",
      "there is a certain kick to the film and its massive mayhem , but it all seems quite coldly programmed .",
      "a new classic of the genre .",
      "if your idea of a great time is drinking a case of red bull while playing video games at top volume , MOV ought to provide just the right level of hyperstimulation .",
      "MOV is a vacuous variation on an old beer slogan : looks great , less filling .",
      "a silly , souped-up melodrama without a muffler .",
      "high-octane , low-iq outing .",
      "MOV is a movie for those who thought `` 2 fast 2 furious '' was 2 long or 2 mentally taxing .",
      "the movie is simple fun .",
      "a chase picture for 12-year-olds .",
      "a full-throttle video-game ride for the mtv set .",
      "a vapid attempt to ride the high-octane coattails of fast and furious ."
    ],
    "summary": "silly and noisy , MOV is stylish fun for the mtv crowd .",
    "id": "20512"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1062483-bad_boys",
    "reviews": [
      "plays less like the gritty action-comedy picture it aspires to be and more like a disingenuous 126 minutes of slick hollywood inanities , a cobbled-together series of flashy explosions and none-too-witty banter .",
      "nice to look at , the film 's glum miami vice plot is subverted by the jiggy flavour of a film that 's nothing more than an excuse for martin lawrence and will smith to play cops and robbers for two hours .",
      "a pretty amusing shoot 'em - up .",
      "a good half-hour 's worth of nonsense in the middle keeps MOV from being little better than a break - even proposition .",
      "surprisingly enjoyable action comedy .",
      "the entire film is filled with headache-inducing closeups , chaotic camera moves and quick edits .",
      "MOV is relentless formulaic fodder for the explosion-starved ; it 's loud , shallow , sexist and a complete waste of time .",
      "even by the low-low standards of cheap action flicks , this one 's bad , boys .",
      "this movie is so good-looking it deserves a decent screenplay , instead of one more lope down memory lane .",
      "MOV takes the often-traveled road , and leads the audience to a dead end .",
      "the cops never seem to know what they 're doing , but then neither do the filmmakers , though i ca n't imagine that casual audiences will care since there are plenty of big explosions at the end to reward them .",
      "even when it 's not particularly funny , their interplay is engaging , and their lively , raucous personalities keep the proceedings punchy and watchable for the slightly overlong running time .",
      "le résultat final se veut certes vide , prévisible et terriblement artificiel . mais bon , il s ` est déjŕ fait bien pire , et surtout moins amusant .",
      "unfortunately , the movie is a couple of rewrites short of ` developed ' , and the thriller configurations are stale .",
      "... just another typically erratic endeavor from bay .",
      "this is pretty conventional fare , but it 's consistently diverting .",
      "a frantically slick and thoroughly enjoyable extravaganza .",
      "overall , the characters are not strong enough to provide any real emotional impact , and the violence and thrills are subsequently numbing .",
      "crowd-pleasing , energetic action comedy .",
      "the movie that unleashed michael bay upon the world , for better and worse . mostly better in this case .",
      "call me crazy , i 'm recommending MOV , especially for fans of heavy metal monster movies .",
      "of course , the simpson-bruckheimer approach may still work at the box office -lrb- the only place it ever really mattered , anyway -rrb- . by now , though , i 'd like to think most moviegoers have had a permanent overdose .",
      "MOV is certainly pretty , and it 's only boring if you think too hard .",
      "competent yet asinine .",
      "given how much good MOV is going to do for martin lawrence 's feature career , it 's a pity the film could n't do any more for itself .",
      "MOV is an amazingly boring action film , and will be funny only to fans of martin lawrence and/or will smith .",
      "ultra-stylish buddy-cop comedy benefits from a few strong chuckles and lots of high-end mayhem .",
      "it 's all special-effects noise and nonsense .",
      "this film is n't aiming for high-toned drama , just high-energy entertainment , which is what it delivers .",
      "an action-comedy extravaganza . it gets no better than this .",
      "highly entertaining but ridiculously forgettable .",
      "great buddy movie . will and martin act like old time friends , and the action is intense ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV stars will smith and martin lawrence have enjoyable chemistry ; unfortunately , director michael bay too often drowns it out with set pieces and explosions in place of an actual story .",
    "id": "16193"
  },
  {
    "movie": "machete",
    "reviews": [
      "the film has some outrageously enjoyable set-pieces , but overall , the convoluted plot and rodriguez ' agenda spoil the fun .",
      "un entretenimiento crudo , básico , con personajes de una sola pieza , algunos diálogos increíbles y generosas dosis de sangre y desmembramientos . un homenaje de robert rodríguez al cine clase b que tanto le gusta .",
      "supremely self-aware and steeped in the aesthetics of vintage exploitation movies , MOV is a loving , blood-spattered homage to the gritty grindhouse action pictures of yesteryear .",
      "robert rodriguez ... brings his a game to the z-grade , revelling in the cheesiness and over-the-top violence .",
      "yes it 's a lot of fun and great to see such an illustrious cast get in on the act of making lowbrow cinema with a smile on their face , shame the cult element remains and only fans of the grindhouse genre will be fully engaged from start to finish .",
      "social commentary , you ask ? quite how can a film centrally preoccupied with danny trejo stabbing and shooting people and having sex with lots of women have any sort of pretension to political currency ?",
      "the lack of subtlety and discipline is what can make MOV a disreputable pleasure and less than a full success .",
      "-lsb- robert -rsb- rodriguez 's politics are right on the surface and about as complex as the film 's revenge plot , a kind-of populist response to the anti-immigration rhetoric ...",
      "starts out strong but things get a little wonky toward the finale . sadly , the film is far too married to the faux trailer footage .",
      "while it 's riotously entertaining , there 's nothing much to it .",
      "turning all known manifestations of the classic western on their heads when not simply decapitating them in droves , MOV detonates the battle around immigration like no tea party rally ever could , in this get even bilingual guerrilla warfare satire .",
      "may prove that the mock trailers are better left alone as mock trailers ...",
      "disappointing , frequently boring and weirdly humourless thriller that fails to deliver on the promise of the trailer ...",
      "inventive , assured and absurdly entertaining , rodriguez 's latest retro-exploitation movie is a gloriously gratuitous ride .",
      "if only rodriguez had taken a MOV into the edit , this would be the stuff of legend .",
      "in true grindhouse form , MOV will win fans by wearing its action-filled lack of depth on its sleeve whilst still having its heart in the right place .",
      "machite .",
      "rodriguez - king of the stretch-a-budget , diy mentality - is once again paying homage to all the b-grade schlock that inspired him , and having a hell of a lot of fun while he 's at it .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "the selective charm of this badass brawn-fest might be lost on the non-action crowd after the initial novelty value subsides .",
      "MOV has more brains than most movies out this year , even if a good portion of them are splattered across the pavement .",
      "the spirit of `` grindhouse '' lives on .",
      "a bracing concretion of advocacy filmmaking and raucous hyperbole",
      "it 's a big , messy , gloppy red bucket of fun , but it falls short of the impact of the grindhouse punch by this much .",
      "it 's taken 15 years and umpteen billion supporting tough guy roles , but robert rodriguez has finally managed to make a major studio film starring danny trejo .",
      "... 105 minutes of ludicrous fun , but you can see the best parts in the trailer .",
      "the end result is a disastrous waste of time that is as tedious as it is misguided ...",
      "it may be thin but it 's fun and for some that will be enough .",
      "at the end there 's the humorous promise of sequels , but if MOV is a neat , bloody full-stop on the mainstream mexploitation genre rodriguez has done so much to resurrect , it 's a fine one .",
      "first and foremost , this is a badass action film , with not only ever-badass trejo doing ever-badass things , but everyone in the cast gets their badass moment .",
      "though it starts off well , MOV becomes boring and slow towards the end as trejo 's shtick starts to feel a bit stale . still , you 'll definitely find some entertainment here .",
      "basically what we have here is a very silly exploitation film similar to what rodriguez did with his half of `` grindhouse . ''",
      "MOV is the coolest revenge-driven , gore-splattered , star-studded mexploitation flick ever !",
      "new film spoofs real-world failures of immigration policies",
      "`` warped , violent , dark , funny , sexy . great stuff . ''",
      "yet another missed opportunity from rodriguez who relies on hammy performances from acting legends instead of adequately attempting to recreate the genre he claims to love .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- tongue-in-cheek , knife-in-guts action thriller ...",
      "this gleefully excessive pastiche of an exploitation picture delivers everything promised by its own faux trailer .",
      "MOV do n't text , but he will hack your limbs off .",
      "MOV is a supremely violent exploitation movie that 's nowhere near as enjoyable as its trailer .",
      "a loving homage to the b-movies that played in fleapit cinemas in the 70s , replete with oodles of violence , gore and gratuitous nudity .",
      "basically very silly and wastes the time of some talented celebrities -lrb- including lindsay lohan , as an addled nymphet -rrb- . but it has its moments .",
      "all set up and no punchline .",
      "there is excess galore and plenty of gore as well , there 's tongue in cheek , a completely original use of entrails but somewhere towards the end it just became a bit too silly for me .",
      "the trouble with rodriguez is that , while full of ideas , he sometimes struggles to balance quantity with quality . for all its manic action , MOV feels strained and oddly familiar .",
      "an irreverent and comically bloody tale of revenge and racism on the usa-mexico border , brought to you by robert rodriguez as a parody of 1970 's exploitation cinema .",
      "a dreadful effort , a loud and self-satisfied movie that is brazenly short-sighted .",
      "a macho picture with a hero who is assailed by every conceivable hurdle and impending death many times , to give audiences a high octane , stunt-driven action thriller which takes no prisoners",
      "the plot with its themes of revenge , honour and power might be a bit everywhere , but there is much to enjoy with this wild , theatrical joyride from rodriguez , whose enthusiasm is infectious",
      "the exposition-heavy dialogue and barrage of one-liners all fall terribly flat and what should be a fun romp feels more like a cinematic chore",
      "while it 's well made and danny trejo is an amazing presence on screen , the sustained over-the-top violence becomes tiresome .",
      "MOV occupies the space of last year 's violent comedy , tropic thunder , although not as funny .",
      "it is hard to call this a good film . but it is tough not to have a good time -lrb- your taste and politics allowing -rrb- .",
      "it?s a pleasure to see danny trejo , the bad-ass character actor , take the lead in this homage to ? 70s exploitation flicks , but co-director robert rodriguez doesn?t take exploitation all the way .",
      "MOV is essentially a fabulously fun cheap-thrill ride of fights , chases , muzzle flash , sexy ladies and over-acting designed to please the genre-loving generation of filmgoers unfortunate enough to have been born after the demise of the drive in .",
      "with an all star cast and creative writing MOV is the best film i have seen this year .",
      "if your taste is for exploitation-style b-movies with an abundance of decapitations then director robert rodriquez 's MOV is for you ...",
      "when the movie sticks to being a long-form version of the trailer , MOV delivers deadpan laughs and bloody , tongue-in-cheek action thrills .",
      "it 's one joke , sure . but `` MOV '' is so delightfully ridiculous and over the top that it 's actually highly enjoyable .",
      "disreputable without being outright sleazy ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is messy , violent , shallow , and tasteless -- and that 's precisely the point of one of the summer 's most cartoonishly enjoyable films .",
    "id": "770672158"
  },
  {
    "movie": "incendies",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's a bit long , and one side of its two-part narrative does n't work quite as well as the other , but it 's a strong and surprising piece of work .",
      "an agonizingly well-crafted slog through a series of shocking emotional extremes .",
      "my dictionary offers several definitions for the word `` incendiary , '' including `` inflammatory '' and `` tending to arouse strife . '' both of those meanings and their figurative use come into play in ...",
      "villeneuve has a sober eye and a steady hand .",
      "this is the film that should have won an oscar in its foreign-language category this year and did n't .",
      "a kind name for this attitude is false moral equivalence , or perhaps post-imperial cringe . a less kind one is western self-hatred , or an urgent plea to tolerate the intolerant .",
      "filled with striking images and the ghosts of lives lived in hardship and war , `` MOV '' is tough but impactful .",
      "though `` MOV '' provides an unflinching account of brutality , it also suggests that to keep such an account can be a transformative act of kindness .",
      "with a quiet restraint and an economy of movement in even the most brutal moments , azabal makes the sometimes operatic extremes of nawal 's tribulations come to chilling life .",
      "MOV is a devastating mystery thriller from quebec filmmaker denis villeneuve that grabs you hard and wo n't let go .",
      "as a film of ideas , it 's disappointing , but as a two-hour ride it 's definitely worth your time .",
      "the storytelling in MOV strikes me as primal the way greek tragedy is primal . shattering . cathartic . it is a breathtaking film .",
      "denis villeneuve 's latest film is a spectacular experience ; the type of epic family mystery that is a greek tragedy delivered to modern times .",
      "MOV is a tough film but a sensitive one .",
      "the shocking conclusion , when it suddenly comes together , leaves us reeling .",
      "most people do not choose their religions but have them forced upon themselves by birth , and the lesson of `` MOV '' is that an accident of birth is not a reason for hatred .",
      "infused with mystery , tragedy and humor , serving as a genealogical study and greek tragedy wrapped in one , it 's a fine achievement of bold , deeply felt cinema .",
      "azabal , a belgian actress , has a feral , mesmerizing power .",
      "flashing backwards and forwards through time , the film includes enough emotional firepower and startling revelations to keep you guessing at every turn .",
      "villeneuve folds the mother 's history within the siblings ' search , eloquently connecting the past to the present in a way that makes politics and morality matter .",
      "it is the very fact that the hatred is blind , one group attacking each other just because it 's ingrained to do so , that is at the heart of this sad , magnificent film .",
      "director denis villeneuve has adapted the play -lrb- with the english title scorched -rrb- by wajdi mouawad with riveting cinematic images .",
      "... a compelling and downright powerful piece of work from one of canada 's most promising up and coming directors .",
      "telling parallel stories with lucidity and tension , ` MOV ' draws us into the most effective cathartic scene of 2010 .",
      "though providing food for thought regarding the nature of conflict and how easy it is to tear a community apart , villeneuve 's heavy-handed approach to metaphor will not be for everyone .",
      "-lsb- video -rsb- a pure example of refined storytelling with vast repercussions , `` MOV '' -lrb- `` destruction by fire '' -rrb- is a fantastic drama .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "the film 's high drama , like its dexterous handling of narrative and its expert mixture of static framings and skillful tracking shots , seems like so much empty sensation .",
      "it 's one of the best movies i 've seen all year , and certainly the best canadian one .",
      "canadian villenueve 's fourth feature , which is nominated for the foreign lingo oscar , is an emotionally powerful tale about an extraordinary woman in a middle east country , ravaged by war and genocide .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- ragic human coincidences ... strain credulity -lsb- d -rsb- espite exemplary acting , cinematography , insightful scope and contemporary relevance ... but is a powerful teaching tool .",
      "`` MOV '' is no mere riff on a greek mainstay . it is its own entity , delicate and fierce .",
      "overplays its hand , piling tragedy on tragedy until we feel browbeaten with misery .",
      "by the end they 've acquired a measure of self-knowledge at a cost dearer than they expected , which reminds us that what we think we know can be just the beginning of an existential journey .",
      "villeneuve has adapted wajdi mouawad 's stage play which takes the classic ` brothers on two different sides of a war ' scenario and turns it into a chinese puzzle box . not since `` sophie 's choice '' has a mother 's love for her children inflicted so much pain .",
      "we can feel the hot violence of the air in the last row of a crowded theater .",
      "MOV moves back and forth between the 1980s and the present , and every scene is unexpected , from the forced recruitment of child soldiers accompanied by a mournful radiohead song to a startling revelation at a montreal swimming pool .",
      "this is the sort of movie , smart about geo-politics , but equally rich and complex in human emotions , that costa-gavras was making in his prime .",
      "every scene is permeated by a creeping sense of dread .",
      "absolutely shattering . nawal forces information on her children because while there may be devastation in knowledge , there is no peace of mind in uncertainty .",
      "MOV is a significant international step forward for a filmmaker who has already established himself as one of quebec 's most distinctive cinematic stylists .",
      "one of the best films we 've seen in some time , an incredibly powerful film that unfolds in such unique and unexpected ways , it 's not an experience easily forgotten or dismissed .",
      "all involved with MOV are working at the top of their game , but azabal stands first amongst equals .",
      "a greek tragedy set against the backdrop of a war movie .",
      "at every film festival , there 's at least one movie that slips in under the radar and ends up taking the crowds by surprise .",
      "a sensible switch from stage to screen , but lovers of the original may be disappointed",
      "villeneuve 's control over the material , andré turpin 's vivid cinematography , and committed performances make this modern-day greek tragedy feel timeless .",
      "MOV remains fundamentally didactic , particularly in its stunning final revelations .",
      "it is no surprise that it was nominated for a best foreign language film oscar .",
      "manufactures shocks that have purpose , and that resonate long after the anxious feelings the movie prompts have finally settled .",
      "there 's a lurid , even twisted air to the proceedings , which derive from a play by wajdi mouawad .",
      "villaneuve knows how to stoke a hot debate about the legacy of violence . but in this case , where there 's smoke , there 's not enough air .",
      "the movie , engrossing as it is intentionally horrifying , is capped by a last-minute revelation that brings the story to a haunting , powerful close .",
      "there is great beauty and great sorrow in nawal 's story and villeneuve and his actors do it great justice .",
      "if you think of canadian films as the movie equivalent of cucumber sandwiches and chamomile tea , hold tight .",
      "the title means `` scorched , '' but `` burned '' is closer to how i felt .",
      "villeneuve 's telling of her story - and of her children 's - is painful , searing and something close to brilliant .",
      "a mystery , a melodrama , a prison film , and a love story , `` MOV '' is foremost a scream of rage at a society destroyed by religion and by men .",
      "imaginative and illuminating , demonstrating that children often have no idea about what went on in their parents ' lives during the formative years before they were born .",
      "it 's a powerful , disturbing film . may there be a day when such works seem less relevant .",
      "rage has no expiration date in MOV , director denis villeneuve 's gripping , era-jumping drama about a family melded to its war-torn past .",
      "a deeply resonant literary quality gives what might otherwise seem like a dubious series of coincidences a profound sense of plausibility .",
      "the movie plays out like a page-turning novel that you ca n't put down . there are a number of shocking revelations that take you completely by surprise . the acting is outstanding , especially the ...",
      "instead of finding resonance between personal and political tragedy , the film only succeeds in cheapening both .",
      "it would be difficult not to be swept away by the dramatic intensity of MOV .",
      "he film offers moments for comprehension and reflection , beautifully pacing itself right up until its stunning conclusion .",
      "begins with a promise and ends with revelations so combustible they 'll consume anyone who uncovers the truth .",
      "at once a stirring familial drama , a potent commentary on modern political strife and -- more than a sideline -- a cracking good mystery .",
      "the most intense film i 've seen all year . it 's also one of the most compelling -- and , in its own way , one of the most entertaining .",
      "as the horrors become clear , as rape and torture and death draw us deeper into the abyss , MOV hopes to help us see clearly . it does n't always succeed .",
      "expertly shifting between present and past , writer-director denis villeneuve displays an impressive command of his material , patiently building up to an emotionally explosive climax .",
      "terrific stuff .",
      "a strong film based on a weak story .",
      "no-one 's idea of an easy watch , but MOV is an essential one , announcing villeneuve as a major filmmaking talent and azabal as an actress of remarkable versatility .",
      "impressively directed and superbly edited , this is a powerful , well-structured drama that packs a devastating emotional punch , though it 's also slightly too long and veers dangerously close to manipulative melodrama in places .",
      "a wholly cinematic drama that combines twists and suspense with harrowing political insight .",
      "MOV is a grueling , harrowing trek in search of identity . it is more an emotional experience than an intellectual exercise , more the heart than the head .",
      "`` childhood is a knife stuck in your throat , '' a dead woman 's will informs her twin children . `` it ca n't be easily removed . '' the siblings will discover that knife is double-edged on an odyssey to discover their roots .",
      "of the four 2010 best foreign language film oscar nominees that i 've seen , canada 's MOV ranks as the only one remotely worthy of the prize .",
      "it is n't easy to open out a well-respected stage play without losing a lot of its bite and subtlety .",
      "MOV is muscular , emotional film-making of the highest order , self-confident in its delivery yet always respectful of its characters ' plight .",
      "normally i 'm against decent original stories being dumbed down and squashed into bog-standard thriller shapes . but MOV is in dire need of some dumbing down .",
      "the movie never feels long , partly because of azabal 's terrific performance .",
      "it is not really believable , and yet if it is not taken literally , but as a cinematic prose-poem , it has undoubted force .",
      "denis villeneuve 's tormented family drama strips off one layer of meaning after another on its way to a thoroughly jolting terminus .",
      "absorbing throughout , MOV has the feel of a greek tragedy until a conclusion that stretches credibility to breaking point .",
      "MOV is in essence a family drama , astonishingly intense but impressively poised .",
      "elemental and expertly directed , nawal 's story haunts long after the credits have rolled .",
      "villeneuve expertly handles the tricky balance between telling a straightforward , naturalistic story of one family and creating an allegory whose meaning goes far beyond the events of the surface narrative .",
      "a substantive canadian film revolving around trips made to the middle east to confront family secrets and a glimpse of the dehumanization of war .",
      "the movie does n't quite jell , but you 'll feel its sting for hours .",
      "an unforgettable story superbly told",
      "exceptional drama about french-canadian brother/sister twins on a mission to the middle east to unravel a family mystery engages on every front .",
      "knocked me for a loop . . one of the most powerful and fulfilling films i 've seen in a long time .",
      "the movie is a bumpy road of twists that leads to a revelation that has the shock and force of greek tragedy .",
      "reverberates with the power and passion of greek tragedy .",
      "bitter sweet and painfully joyous , MOV is an unforgettable film and one that will linger somewhere in the crevices of the mind",
      "performances are powerful , especially from lubna azabel and melissa desormeaux-poulin . but the plot twists will keep you hooked till the end .",
      "although `` MOV '' shows very little violence , the burden of knowing what 's taking place off-screen is just as difficult for the audience to stomach .",
      "rewarding , but ridiculously stingy in handing out simple details -- relationships , geographical settings , etc. -- vital to our grasp of what 's going on .",
      "watching MOV is a long , hard , and emotionally draining experience but one that richly rewards the time and effort invested .",
      "every time the film begins to feel more like a history lesson than a drama , it explodes into action .",
      "it 's a raw and brutal look at the unending strife in the region , but it 's also an unforgettable mystery that keeps the audience riveted through one surprising plot turn after another .",
      "... an intense and shattering experience , a nearly great film about promises and kinship and the secret , cruel lives our parents lived before we knew them",
      "a story of hope amid the ruins -- one that everybody can appreciate , no matter their politics .",
      "enthralling and very disturbing .",
      "a beautifully filmed and movingly performed drama which explores how personal motives breed political radicalism , MOV is occasionally - but not fatally - stymied by its clever-clever narrative contrivance .",
      "MOV acquires its heft from some very deep places -- greek tragedy rather than newsflashes .",
      "it 's devastating .",
      "both powerful and moving .",
      "if MOV is not a perfect film , it is a bold , immersive , searching , angry and haunting one ; all signs of great filmmaking .",
      "while it feels stagey at times and occasionally contrived , the acting is impressive and the story remains compelling throughout .",
      "delivered with a thunderous emotional wallop",
      "weaves a captivating mystery in its contemporary segments and only slightly less intriguing drama in its tragedy-packed flashbacks .",
      "narratively and aesthetically addresses the traumatic fissures born from exiled existence .",
      "MOV is about as meretriciously overdetermined as art cinema , or any kind of cinema for that matter , gets .",
      "nawal 's travails are more in the vein of a latin american soap opera than greek tragedy .",
      "a staggering political drama that could put you in mind of the intimate sweep of bernardo bertolucci , MOV feels like a mighty movie in our midst ."
    ],
    "summary": "it 's messy , overlong , and a touch melodramatic , but those flaws pale before MOV ' impressive acting and devastating emotional impact .",
    "id": "771197495"
  },
  {
    "movie": "le_cercle_rouge",
    "reviews": [
      "the dialogue is spare , spans of silence run for minutes , the tense atmosphere is punctuated by unexpected eruptions of violence , and the film does not end happily for anyone .",
      "if you ever wanted to know how to look good wearing a trenchcoat , lighting a cigarette , handling a revolver , drinking a whiskey or overpowering an armed guard , jean-pierre melville 's 1970 gangster drama is your guide .",
      "holds its own with other movies of its type .",
      "henri decae 's -lrb- 1915-1987 -rrb- marvelously precise cinematography , inspiringly attuned to melville 's tragic vision of the lives and deaths of the most stoical criminals in the noir genre , is alone worth the price of admission .",
      "this is a transitional film that makes way for a ` new wave ' of crime films soon to follow .",
      "MOV offers the kind of experience that makes you glad movies exist .",
      "apesar de jamais permitir que seus personagens falem muita coisa , melville leva o espectador a conhecж-los atravжs de suas aушes , interaушes e olhares .",
      "it 's a languorous and uncompromising work that will drive some to distraction , but also a movie of dark , still beauty that will have others weeping tears of pure , noir joy .",
      "melville remained , in all his work and particularly his policiers , a classicist of calamity , a master of transforming the chaos of criminality into a form as refined as a sonnet or a minuet .",
      "an exercise in ultimate-cool where men follow a code of honor to wherever it might lead them .",
      "a fitting capstone to the french director who melded icy hipster cool with a parisian underground of cops , robbers , and the unbreakable , unknowable bond between the two .",
      "melville 's film is a criminal masterpiece .",
      "i ca n't say that cercle rouge is an overlooked masterpiece , but it 's an amazing antidote to the current style of filmmaking in which silence and causal relationships are routinely disregarded .",
      "one well-choreographed , beautifully shot and definitely cool cops-and-robbers film .",
      "another exercise in stoicism and crime from legendary french filmmaker jean-pierre melville .",
      "there is one cool , understated scene after another .",
      "a moody , deliberately paced meditation on destiny -lrb- and style -rrb- enlivened by stunning bits of business .",
      "like escargot -- decidedly french and slow-moving , but exquisite when it 's wonderfully prepared .",
      "a minor classic , mainly for reasons besides its crime story plot -- namely , the urbane fatalism of its cast and the overall mood of inevitability that hangs over every scene .",
      "even at its excessive length it is well done and worth seeing .",
      "it is supposed to be a classic film noir , but i kept feeling like the director was playing one giant trick on us to see how slow he could make it without putting everyone to sleep .",
      "a classic of the clenched-fist , dark-skied , doom-laden world of noir .",
      "cercle 's set piece -- which arrives well beyond the midpoint -- never has the carat-weight of the gem mounted in the middle of rififi , but once it has turned that corner , the movie begins to soar .",
      "an accomplished caper film .",
      "it is not one of the crime master 's very best , but it is so much better than most of what we are seeing now .",
      "there are unforgettable tableaux of movement , meticulously executed with wordless cool .",
      "enthrallingly retro-cool .",
      "more than anything else , MOV reminds us that when it comes to these sort of roles , it 's the criminal that matters , not the crime .",
      "the movie wraps itself around you like a pleasurably constricting vise , so that long before its climactic heist ... you find yourself rapt , on the edge of your seat , unable to blink .",
      "watching the movie , one is afraid to make the slightest sound for fear of betraying the stealthy criminals onscreen .",
      "witty chatter and cool atmospherics may be familiar stuff to anyone who has watched a crime movie or three . but this is where this kind of business began .",
      "a dazzling epic of love , guns , gangsters and cigarettes .",
      "the elegantly functional script pivots on a neat series of reversals and chance intersections .",
      "the antidote to every square tough-guy caper you 've ever seen , and the inspiration for many great ones .",
      "in addition to political exiles like dassin , france had been developing home-grown talent for a number of years .",
      "there 's cool , there 's very cool , and then there 's a jean-pierre melville heist film .",
      "jean-pierre melville 's terrifically enjoyable noir classic looks even cooler with this reissue .",
      "the director 's penultimate work .",
      "features enough tight choreography to make the `` daring rescue '' of pfc jessica lynch look spontaneous .",
      "crime cinema has never been so meticulously and coolly executed ...",
      "a slo-mo gem of gangster cool .",
      "one can still savour melville 's leisurely storytelling , the skilfully pared-down visual style , and the calmly understated central performances .",
      "-lsb- melville -rsb- turns pedestrian scenes into heightened moments of tension .",
      "there are moments that are brilliant , but i would n't put this film in the list of film noir classics .",
      "stylish , meticulous and moody , thanks largely to the work of cinematographer henri decae .",
      "top-notch film noir with a bleak existential edge , executed with as much clinical precision as the crime it portrays .",
      "the epitome of neo-noir stylishness .",
      "you have to admire jean-pierre melville 's ambition to make a sophisticated `` b-movie '' that is moody , intelligent and consistently engaging .",
      "jean-pierre melville is one of the most remarkable figures in world cinema , though he remains little known .",
      "melville 's special achievement was to relocate the american gangster film in france , and to incorporate his own steely poetic and philosophical obsessions .",
      "a classic cornerstone of the heist genre from a master of the nouvelle vague .",
      "luscious modern french noir .",
      "melville views it all at a distance and with a slow kind of precision that is missing from modern movies . there 's no flash here , just criminal behavior observed with an eye for detail .",
      "a seminal heist movie .",
      "a glistening gem among caper movies ."
    ],
    "summary": "melville is at the top of his game , giving us his next-to-last entry into the world of deception , crime , and extreme suspense that made him a maestro of the french heist genre .",
    "id": "19140"
  },
  {
    "movie": "juno",
    "reviews": [
      "coming-of-age meets coming-to-term , in a film that is refreshingly frank about sex and love , pokes fun at the clashes between age and class , and , even more subversively ... celebrates the pregnant possibilities of the non-nuclear family .",
      "a sharp-edged , sweet-centred , warm-hearted coming-of-age movie that 's always just that little bit smarter than you think it is .",
      "a teenage pregnancy flick that does n't insult its audience 's intelligence . it 's filled with several wonderful performances .",
      "reitman has delivered a bundle of joy .",
      "the big name cast - jennifer garner and jason bateman - play second fiddle to ellen page and michael cera who have a great chemistry and steal the movie . superb .",
      "MOV may look like knocked up 's kid sister , but it bests it on all fronts from jokes to emotional insight .",
      "MOV , a smart-mouthed , sweet , well-acted comedy directed by jason reitman .",
      "`` well , here 's how you make a comedy about teen pregnancy and abortion ... by never settling on a tone , MOV has its fun with all sides of the equation . ''",
      "the best comedy of the year beams with pregnant pauses",
      "much of the dialogue sparkles with wit and humanity .",
      "i hope this one makes a few careers .",
      "this might seem like odd material for a comedy , but trust me , cody 's script is pure gold -- expect big things in the future from this first-time screenwriter .",
      "far lighter and easier to absorb than thank you for smoking even if it does sometimes try way too hard to be hip and quirky .",
      "the films wit is not unlike the defensive personality of its lead protagonist : a cover easily pulled aside to reveal genuine tenderness inside wanting for acceptance .",
      "actually , all performances are sharp , which shows what can happen when actors get to play characters and deliver lines that bristle with originality .",
      "this is an indie crowd pleaser that 's much more enjoyable -- in other words , not nearly as horrifying -- as little miss sunshine .",
      "god bless the whip-smart , snarky and powerfully funny screenplay by blogger / author / former stripper diablo cody .",
      "... an impressive step forward for director jason reitman ...",
      "MOV is the first livejournal or blogger film . its dialogue does n't just call out to be read . it 's like hypertext that calls to be clicked on .",
      "that MOV has been heralded for its realistic portrayal of a teen girl 's point of view demonstrates how poorly the demographic has been represented on screen .",
      "the filmmaking team of jason reitman and screenwriter diablo cody have taken the premise of a teen comedy and injected it with an anti-cliché serum .",
      "it 's smart , funny , and charming .",
      "skin-deep treatment of teen pregnancy , but keep your eyes on ellen page ; she 's worth the price of admission .",
      "it 's disarmingly fresh , frank and funny , this story about young love , being knocked up , and the unexpected direction the unplanned pregnancy takes",
      "one of the wittiest , smartest , and funniest films to come along this year .",
      "a very cute movie with a great soundtrack . though , imho , not the award winner for which it 's been receiving so much buzz . michael cera -lrb- bleaker -rrb- nails every scene he 's in .",
      "-lsb- page -rsb- plays each moment without ego and with total candor , and that 's ultimately the secret to MOV 's success .",
      "that essence of pugnacious energy that is ellen page has just taken another solid step toward certain stardom .",
      "the most overrated film of the year is n't bad , it 's just trying too hard .",
      "much of `` MOV '' crackles with great lines that nobody would ever actually say , but everyone wishes they would think of .",
      "dialogue and pic overall are saved from cloying glibness by the fact that MOV is not only a smarty-pants , but also genuinely smart and self-possessed , even if her condition occasionally threatens her composure .",
      "it 's a thinking person 's teen flick , a feel-good film that earns its earnestness . it 's got the-little-film-that-could spirit that could see it succeed like little miss sunshine , but for my money it 's the better of the two ...",
      "somewhere up there , preston sturges is smiling ...",
      "you ca n't help but surrender to its considerable charm .",
      "MOV has smart teenagers , smart parents , and comedy all in the same movie . it does n't happen often , so appreciate it while you 've got the chance .",
      "a grounded , sweet , funny , and excellent dramedy about smart teenagers and the world they live in that does n't always make sense ...",
      "a coming-of-age crowd-pleaser that 's full of life , laughter and tears",
      "what a hideous piece of faux-hipster crap .",
      "MOV is a coming-of-age movie made with idiosyncratic charm and not a single false note .",
      "only `` quirky '' in that it is so very sincere ... please go see it .",
      "almost impudently wry and sassy but with an unexpected vein of seriousness and poignancy , this is a crowd-pleaser of the best sort .",
      "screenwriter cody 's wit and imagination are seemingly endless .",
      "jason reitman is shaping up to be quite the talented filmmaker . just as he proved with his previous effort , thank you for smoking , the merging of comedic elements never offset the dramatic side .",
      "a whip-smart , very funny and heartfelt dramatic comedy .",
      "it is a little disquieting that the film takes things as lightly as it does and the ending just does not feel sufficient to the situation .",
      "a quirky comic indie with a too-too-clever screenplay , dialogue that seems tailored to the club-kid generation , and a sentimental streak a mile wide .",
      "it is n't often that a romantic comedy comes along with as much originality , vitality and biting satire as screenwriter diablo cody 's wickedly funny MOV .",
      "just when one is about to write off diablo cody 's much-praised screenplay as less than the sum of its ornate quips , a scene will be flipped in an unexpected direction and a hidden vein of emotion suddenly struck .",
      "prepare yourself for the MOV generation .",
      "an obnoxious fantasy vision of teendom slathered in self-satisfied snark .",
      "one of the brightest and funniest comedies of the year with a delicious performance by ellen page as a precocious and big-hearted teenager on a mission of love .",
      "there is such a powerfully endearing spirit to MOV that i embraced this film from the opening credits , right to the end .",
      "a blithe charmer balanced somewhere between a life-should-be-so-neat fairy tale and a life 's - a-real-bitch tragicomedy .",
      "the snappy , new wave dialogue and a sprightly cast that considers suburban insanity as normal as an addiction to nasal spray and one-calorie breath mints turns MOV into an incendiary comic spree .",
      "... definitely one of the better films this year thanks to page and reitman , and it 'll be hard to wait and see what this actress and this director pull out of their hats next .",
      "cody 's writing is entrancing . characters speak in a stylized , heightened reality reminiscent of kevin smith 's mid-1990s stunners clerks , mallrats and chasing amy .",
      "... a smart and snappy antidote to the cretinous teensex movies that have become a staple of american cinema .",
      "MOV is a snarky afterschool special for the pinkberry crowd .",
      "if MOV were cheese and macaroni , it would be among the most satisfying mac-and-cheese dishes ever conceived .",
      "one of the strongest characters in cinema this year . look for a bunch of academy award nominations",
      "engaging , frequently hilarious teen comedy with a terrific script , a wonderful cast and a delightful central performance from rising star ellen page .",
      "this poignant serio comedy about teenage pregnancy benefits from diablo 's clever script , which knows the unique quirks and lingo , fables and foibles of american youth today .",
      "a bouncing baby that seems destined to grow into a classic .",
      "when i first saw jason reitman 's MOV , i liked it a lot -- maybe four-stars worth of a lot . when i watched it a second time , i loved it -- five-stars worth .",
      "... filled with laugh-out-loud gags , witty dialogue and geniune emotion .",
      "a triumphant conclusion to the unplanned pregnancy trilogy .",
      "there 's a charm to the way the innocence of its design is challenged only by the elegant individualism of its memorably cynical protagonist .",
      "MOV , the second feature directed by jason reitman , is far from great but it has qualities of feeling that lift it far above the ordinary .",
      "what kind of movie is MOV ? the rarity that plucks your heartstrings while tickling them .",
      "it transcends its own genre . only superficially a teen comedy , the movie redounds with postmodern -- but emotionally genuine -- gravitas .",
      "full of great characters and well crafted and fascinating relationships , it may be the best film of the year .",
      "once -lsb- page -rsb- - and her character - move beyond the too-cool-for-school act , MOV becomes something special , and memorable .",
      "she is a wonderful character in her own right . i 'd watch a movie about her going to the movies . but cody 's conviction is to get MOV pregnant so i 'll watch a movie about that .",
      "the movie is distinctive for its complicated emotions .",
      "too desperate to be hip .",
      "MOV is the best kind of comedy : one that makes you laugh , but not at the expense of your emotions .",
      "ellen page 's performance is the key to MOV 's journey , and she unerringly nuances her character 's blithe self-assuredness with just the right notes of uncertainty and innocence .",
      "little miss rain clouds",
      "` MOV ' is on some counts unrealistic and does not probe deeply , but it has undeniable charm .",
      "director jason reitman carefully weaves the films eccentricities along with its progressive tone to create an amusing and informative - if not flawed - comedy .",
      "indie film has the same success rate as hollywood spectacle and for the same reason -- reliance on well worn stereotypes and cliché -- but it 's the good stuff that comes along that makes all the dreck worth sitting through . MOV is the good stuff .",
      "sadly , while MOV may be able to carry a big bun in her oven , this film ca n't quite bear the heavy burden of expectation so well .",
      "MOV is the kind of movie all indie comedies wish they could be : light and lovable , perhaps a bit too pleased with the cleverness of its dialogue , but a small charmer nonetheless .",
      "by the end , it 's unexpectedly moving without ever once trolling for crocodile tears . it 's a sneak attack .",
      "though too precocious and polished , MOV manages to charm , with many lovely moments .",
      "the artificiality of this beast is suffocating , choking itself into a stupor of unlikable characters , synthetic emotions , and overtly precious direction . `` MOV '' is pregnant alright : with overwrought execution and pedestrian intentions .",
      "light on plot but plentiful in moments of keen human observation , MOV is authentic and , oh , so winning .",
      "witty and honest .",
      "if this is where indie comedy is headed , i guess i should find some other shenanigans to get into . right , homeskillet ?",
      "one of the best films of the year .",
      "screenwriter diablo cody and director jason reitman make MOV the marvelously un-still center of a wistfully acerbic comedy that qualifies as a feminized version of knocked up .",
      "it seems to be , at least to me , that reitman has found a very distinct formula for successfully entertaining us with sharp-witted , off-the-cuff comedies .",
      "besides co-star cera , who 's quickly proving himself a master of all awkward geekiness but not in that off-putting napoleon dynamite way , pay attention to the future career of screenwriter diablo cody .",
      "MOV is a real treat and maybe the most unexpected great movie in years .",
      "when MOV dispenses with gimmickry and really trusts its voice , it 's fresh and sharp and funny .",
      "coupled with the witty script , page 's terrific performance , and a quirkily fun soundtrack , reitman would really have to try hard to mess things up . thankfully he does n't , and the result is an enjoyable , highly entertaining , and even occasionally touching",
      "cody 's writing recalls early quentin tarantino - dripping with pop-culture references , from beverly hills 90210 to thundercats - but with a welcome sentimental streak .",
      "MOV comes on all wisecracking and are n't - we-clever , but do n't be surprised if you find yourself getting choked up -- with happy tears -- by the end .",
      "MOV is the best movie of the year . it 's the best screenplay of the year , and it features the best actress of the year working with the best acting ensemble of the year .",
      "together , cody and page have crafted a highly memorable character .",
      "the film is a portrait of family as a messy group hug and a dysfunctional miracle . and , considering that it is a comedy about teenage pregnancy , it preserves the dignity of its theme by revealing the humanity of the people involved .",
      "too much of it is like a subpar episode of freaks and geeks , padded out to 92 minutes with pseudo-witty dialogue .",
      "what propels the film into the stratosphere is MOV herself . as played by ellen page , MOV is a winning combination of fierce intelligence , irrepressible irony , casual profanity and , though she does n't want to admit it , emotional vulnerability .",
      "totally solid teen comedy .",
      "... an immature , if fitfully entertaining work .",
      "a terminally-clever comedy that 's laced with lots of inspired sardonic humor but ca n't quite convince you to take its slowly thickening plot seriously .",
      "MOV represents an almost magical configuration of very talented people with very much the same brand of whipsaw humor .",
      "MOV respects the idiosyncrasies of its characters rather than exaggerating them or holding them up for ridicule .",
      "once it gets past some serious tonal overkill , MOV 's sweetness feels earned .",
      "hollywood 's woman of the year is a pregnant 16-year-old , the incredibly hip , smart-mouthed and totally endearing heroine of the wise and witty MOV .",
      "page reigns over the movie , joined by a solid , eclectic cast who are allowed to be as individualized as she is .",
      "MOV has an implicit pro-life sensibility : life is life , and deserves to be nurtured , even -- if not especially -- when everything around it is broken .",
      "i ca n't remember the last time i was pulled into a film this quickly and this deeply .",
      "a light , heady romantic comedy , reminiscent of john hughes ' work in the 1980s .",
      "by its end , MOV , in its guilelessly chatty way , touches the heart -- and yes , i had tears in my eyes . this movie works , on its own terms .",
      "MOV 's relationship with her parents is one of the best things in the movie . for once , we get parents who genuinely love their child and respect her decisions .",
      "reitman deftly creates a modern romantic comedy out of a serious situation that applauds the value of life , with terrific performances by all , especially page and simmons .",
      "ellen page makes for the most exceptional movie teen in many a year .",
      "sweet , sassy , and satisfying .",
      "the most pleasant surprise of the year .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- heightened , brightened , skip-a-dee-doo-dah glide through one of life 's big goalposts : not so much growing up but growing out . and i do n't mean bellywise , either ...",
      "a sweet-and-sour look at the traumas of teen life , and the way that sometimes , improbably , they can be transformed into small miracles .",
      "an indie comedy that uplifts - funny and smart , totally trying to be cool and succeeding , and heartfelt to boot .",
      "kicking up a fuss -lrb- much like MOV 's unborn child -rrb- , this is easily one of the year 's best releases .",
      "comedy comes from an exaggeration of reality , not reality itself -- and on that score , diablo cody 's first screenplay gets high marks .",
      "MOV is hilarious and sweet-tempered , perceptive and surprisingly grounded . it 's also a gust of fresh air , perspective-wise .",
      "MOV , directed by jason reitman , is smart , witty , and engaging -- three ingredients that , when applied to any film , comprise a recipe for success .",
      "has all the rhythms that made films like little miss sunshine and garden state so beloved by audiences and critics alike , but invents its own rhyme to buck familiarity thanks to its brilliantly funny and exceptionally wise screenplay by diablo cody .",
      "the engaging story , coupled with the character 's likable quirkiness , makes for a film bristling with vitality and heart , without resorting to glibness or sentimentality .",
      "if MOV 's charms win out in the end , it is n't without a slight residue of uncertainty suggesting we 've just had the latest napoleon dynamite clone foisted upon us .",
      "MOV 's disarmingly charming and completely real , and one of the best films of 2007 .",
      "MOV 's personality dominates the movie , which is both its strength and its weakness .",
      "it is certainly the feel-good movie of the season , and credit for that goes to the gifted -lsb- director -rsb- reitman , novice screenwriter diablo cody and the film 's sensational lead actress , ellen page .",
      "its high-concept slanguage sometimes feels over-written , its visual style can get a bit too twee , and there are two or three bridge scenes in the third act that feel like imports from a much stupider movie .",
      "first-time screenwriter cody diablo 's gently comic , different-for-girls tale of a pregnant , hyper-verbal teenager is the distaff answer to the testosterone-fueled hijinks of movies like knocked up and superbad .",
      "the best thing about this movie is that for all its wiseacre badinage , it 's utterly believable about the most basic of human situations .",
      "the movie itself does n't claim to be anything other than what it is : a modest crowd-pleaser with a little bite .",
      "MOV is n't a film made in the bell jar of unlikely reality that is , far too often , hollywood : it 's a film whose attention to real-life detail is so fine , audiences will be hopelessly and happily lost in its story from the first frame .",
      "i feel almost duty-bound to say something contentious about the highly praised MOV , but truth is , it 's every bit as good as advertised .",
      "part whip-smart teen comedy , part drama , backed by a quirky soundtrack and the most subtle comic performance by a youngster in years , MOV is a rare feel-good film in the morose pack of oscar contenders .",
      "MOV is unerring , compassionate and funny as heck .",
      "an exceedingly clever , offbeat comedy about a pregnant teenager .",
      "that smart , hip , human comedy you 've been waiting for all year ? the one with dialogue like a sugar rush and performances like grace notes ? it 's called MOV and it just arrived in theaters . go forth and multiplex .",
      "it not only more than lives up to all of the advanced hype , it is actually even better than the advanced word has been suggesting .",
      "it takes MOV about 15 minutes to calm down and get its joke reflex in check . ... and by the end you 've fallen in love with the thing .",
      "with a charismatic lead performance from page and a plaintive score of indie-rock songs , MOV seems poised to be the season 's youth-culture hit .",
      "brilliant teen pregnancy comedy is funny , moving .",
      "a movie already reputed to be hipper than tomorrow night , jason reitman 's follow-up to thank you for smoking is actually sweet , romantic and irony-free .",
      "cunningly perceptive and hip in its irresistible skepticism about the comforts and uncertainties of love , MOV is enchantingly bright and breezy in its effecting resonance .",
      "you come away from the film feeling grateful and happy % u2014 and scrambling for superlatives to shower on that subversive snugglebug ellen page ...",
      "tart of tongue and sweet of disposition , MOV offers living proof that crisp writing , graceful directing and an abundantly poised young lead can perk up a premise that 's been bludgeoned to death .",
      "MOV turns out to be about hope and understanding . everyone 's heart is in the right place here , and maybe that 's why the movie wins out .",
      "not as hysterical but much more rewarding than knocked up , allowing kids to be kids , adults to be adults and each to spend a little time as the other .",
      "it 's great to see a family on film that does n't freak out at this all-too-common scenario . as alienated as MOV may feel , she 's actually surrounded by some pretty great people in her life .",
      "MOV is neither page nor cody nor reitman , but her own fully realized person , speaking to us in the extraordinary rhythm of real life .",
      "this comedy about teen pregnancy is extremely entertaining , packed with dialog that 's rather too smart and snappy .",
      "gilmore girls gone wild ... -lsb- blu-ray review -rsb-",
      "do n't tell this to jamie lynn spears , but there can be some humor behind a 16-year-old getting pregnant .",
      "right from the beginning when MOV is chugging away on sunny d , we want to see watch she will say and do next .",
      "fierce without being cruel , sweet without becoming saccharine , and never short of hilarious , it 's not only the best comedy of the year , but one of the best films , period .",
      "even if you knew nothing of MOV going in , it 's easy to pick up on the fact that the movie 's voice is unlike any you 've heard in a while -- it 's totally fresh , in every sense of the word .",
      "jason reitman directs MOV with just the light touch it needs , and page is surrounded by terrific supporting performances all around . this could be the sleeper hit of the year .",
      "-lrb- MOV -rrb- is perfectly clever and perfectly paced .",
      "being the hipster movie of the year presents a couple of problems . one is that hipsters are kind of annoying .",
      "MOV is a great little movie , and its quirky , intelligent approach to teenage characters could teach a thing or two to the makers of teen horror flicks .",
      "the fact that the film deals with teenage pregnancy - and does n't preach at all - is a feat of filmmaking .",
      "could have played up the subversive , satirical possibilities of the scenario , but -lsb- diablo cody 's -rsb- first script is too smart , her affection for her characters too strong , to mistreat the story and its inhabitants so .",
      "the film 's forced quirkiness constantly threatens to derail the entire enterprise . but it keeps being put back on track by the apparently effortless performance of a great young actress .",
      "MOV gets two things dead right about contemporary teenagers ...",
      "it 's one of the best movies of the year .",
      "MOV invites you into a world you wo n't want to leave .",
      "it 's so much fun that it 's easy to overlook the film 's rather conventional plot arc .",
      "cody 's script is filled with smart , funny , very specific lines that define the characters and tell the story .",
      "filled with tart dialogue that entertains the audience , but always gives us an insight into the character speaking it and the pain they are going through .",
      "the sophomore film from jason reitman is as smart and funny as his debut feature thank you for smoking , and even more affectionate and full of life .",
      "not since election has a female star talent hit the screen with such a sting of arrival .",
      "a fresh , quirky , unusually intelligent comedy about a 16-year-old girl who wins our hearts in the first scene .",
      "a pure charmer and a heartfelt original , you will find this a totally unexpected , enormously satisfying and oddly rewarding trip to the movies .",
      "MOV is not a great movie ; it does not have aspirations in that direction . but it is , in its little way , a truthful , engaging and welcome entertainment .",
      "the film , which initially seems as if it might only exist to serve its splendid dialogue , comes to serve its characters , who resonate long after reitman and cody deliver their final twist .",
      "definitely one of my favorite films of the last five years .",
      "one of the year 's snappiest , snarkiest , most quotable comedies .",
      "you ca n't spend this much time being too cool for school and earn a sentimental rimshot -- it 's the boy who cried `` human . ''",
      "bright , brazen and often very funny",
      "strikingly written by newcomer diablo cody , MOV will get a lot of attention for its colorful dialogue , which is at times too ostentatious for its own good , but the film 's sincerity is what ultimately carries it across .",
      "it could be this year 's little miss sunshine , another funny , poignant and sincere take on family life served up with a raw indie sensibility .",
      "MOV is more than a few smiles - it makes you laugh deeply . it 's one from the bruised heart .",
      "yes , i 'll say it : this film is overrated .",
      "una comedia fresca , inteligente y tierna que aborda temas delicados de manera desdramatizada e irónica . excelente elenco -lrb- empezando por la increíble ellen page -rrb- y banda sonora .",
      "young MOV is self-possessed and breathlessly selfaware , the sort of person who is comfortable in any situation simply because she is comfortable in her own skin",
      "seria fantástico se as pessoas conversassem , em seu dia-a-dia , como os personagens de MOV , construindo diálogos que combinam uma estrutura elegante com um conteúdo rico em referęncias e um humor cortante e preciso .",
      "loved every minute of it",
      "... -lrb- the cast -rrb- brings life to cody 's words and raise what could have been a standard television movie-of-the-week to a much higher plain .",
      "excels in smart , stylishly rude , tangy teen dialogue , courtesy of screenwriter and former stripper and phone sex operator , diablo cody , boasting career choices that have assisted her in perfecting talking dirty on screen into a science , i guess .",
      "sweet , perceptive , sharp and near-perfect , MOV is a memorable film that will still be great viewing decades after its release .",
      "one of my favorite movies of the year .",
      "clever , wise and outrageous , `` MOV '' comes at you with no holds barred .",
      "heart-warming , thought-provoking and beautifully played , it that tackles a serious subject with sensitivity and grace while providing more than a few laughs along the way .",
      "what 's sure to be the breakout indie hit of 2007 -lrb- and deservedly so -rrb- establishes the voice of screenwriter diablo cody and the career of young actress ellen page .",
      "the title character is the kind of hip , articulate , whip-smart teen girl you 'd both love to have as a kid and find awfully challenging as well .",
      "almost too unique for description ; a tour-de-force comedy with tremendous heart .",
      "after three viewings , i kind of feel like i have a crush on ` MOV ' the movie and MOV the character . i 'm poised halfway on the emotional scale between the bemused affection of MOV 's tolerant father and the wide-eyed wonder of MOV 's pale boyfriend ."
    ],
    "summary": "one of the brightest , funniest comedies of the year , MOV 's smart script and direction are matched by assured performances in a coming of age story with a 21st century twist .",
    "id": "770675878"
  },
  {
    "movie": "daddys_little_girls",
    "reviews": [
      "the hamfistedness of daddy 's little girls ultimately shatters its charms .",
      "tyler perry likes preaching to the choir .",
      "tyler perry 's latest conspicuously lacks his drag clad alter ego madea % u2014 the star of his earlier hits diary of a mad black woman and madea 's family reunion % u2014 but it manages to be a drag nonetheless .",
      "perry enters into the arena of soap opera with a melodrama that often makes little sense , content to luxuriate in its heart-tugging suds without offering much in the way of logic .",
      "tyler perry , the man behind madea 's family reunion , is not a subtle filmmaker . but perry 's stories can be emotionally effective .",
      "while its look at interclass romance among african-americans and the struggles of a working-class single father is fresh and vital , the heavy-handed execution is n't .",
      "a sorry excuse for filmmaking .",
      "the movie reaches the heights of melodrama with narrative cliches that border on the surreal .",
      "the action bogs down in a torrent of clichés .",
      "cottage-industry independent filmmaker tyler perry fumbles with this family drama about monty -lrb- idris elba -rrb- , a salt-of-the-earth car mechanic and father of three girls trying to win a custody battle with his lowlife ex-wife .",
      "it makes you happy to receive the word of perry .",
      "come back , madea , and bring your chainsaw .",
      "implausible ? yes . predictable ? yes . entertaining ? you bet .",
      "perry will never get an oscar nomination , but he has something better : an audience .",
      "-lsb- union and elba -rsb- are such expressive , extremely thoughtful performers . they have chemistry and they have class . what they do n't have is a filmmaker who knows yet how to use either to make real movie magic . i 'm rooting for him to figure it out .",
      "there are fewer laughs and more lectures ... but there 's plenty of sass and soul in between .",
      "perry has great casting instincts , and in elba and union he 's matched two gifted , equally gorgeous actors , both of whom seem ready to make sparks fly . if only their director would let them .",
      "daddy 's little girls is maudlin and manipulative , but compared to movies with awful stereotypes like norbit , is that such a bad thing ?",
      "do n't let the brightly colored poster with the cute little girls on it fool you -- this is n't a comedy , either , but is meant to be a drama with a message . daddy 's little girls has its funny moments , but overall it 's fairly somber from the start .",
      "daddy 's little girls is a serviceable dramedy that 's slightly outlandish but nevertheless strives to touch the heart with its well-intentioned vibes .",
      "it is exciting to think that someone in perry 's position is indeed challenging himself , as he could presumably coast along on tried-and-true formulas for quite some time .",
      "daddy 's little girls is a frightening step backwards for the perry empire , revealing a filmmaker who i once thought was just kidding around , but now it turns out he 's legitimately incompetent and irresponsible .",
      "there 'll always be a place for perry in a world where there are moviegoers who find spike lee 's films too challenging .",
      "almost a real movie .",
      "gabrielle union has never before exhibited as much of an emotional range as seen in this role as an ice princess whose cold heart melts when offered an opportunity with a real man who comes with a ready-made family .",
      "a game try , still , it 's not all quite there ,",
      "suffice to say that everybody in this totally tv-tempered , finger-waggingly reactionary movie learns a valuable lesson in getting back to basics .",
      "subtlety has never been perry 's strength , but his previous films balanced the sermonizing with good humor and sincerity . perhaps next time , he 'll ease up on the lectures , and bring back the love .",
      "this particular tyler perry movie offers some glimpses of the graceful comic talent its one-man entertainment empire can be if he turns down the volume more often .",
      "the script is n't much better than perry 's madea 's family reunion ... but it helps that perry does n't show up in the crass , cross-dressing role of madea and that he has hired some excellent actors .",
      "given his built-in appeal , perry has the opportunity to broaden the subject matter of so-called black movies . he takes a stab at it in girls , but he could do so much better .",
      "regardless of how silly the storyline becomes , perry 's admiration for single dads who take care of their kids and people who take their faith and their families seriously comes through ...",
      "the lead actors make perry 's didacticism easier to take .",
      "in daddy 's little girls , tyler perry merits an a for the messages he wants to deliver but only a c-plus for the way he delivers them .",
      "in terms of direction , this is the sharpest film perry has made . it moves at a deft pace , and the comedic sequences continually score . he also knows how to create a mood .",
      "daddy 's little girls is -lsb- perry 's -rsb- best-looking film to date . is it asking too much for a script to match ?",
      "daddy 's little girls is the kind of movie where you look the other way as regards to minor offences , so devoted is it to making a positive statement .",
      "perry gets better at directing every time he tries .",
      "jenny and joe do n't help to make a case for the `` good men '' and `` strong women '' they seem to oppose . they only drag everyone down .",
      "even when perry does n't dress up like a woman , he 's pretty much a drag .",
      "-lsb- perry 's -rsb- gotten comfortable behind the camera . and without madea , his obese , smart-mouthed alter-ego auntie , to portray , the man in the dress shows he really can direct .",
      "yes , it 's true that tyler perry 's movies are mostly formualaic . yes , it 's true that tyler perry is n't the finest director in the world . but it 's also true that tyler perry is getting better .",
      "love can transcend class lines ; in tyler perry 's universe , it also defies all rules of the legal system -- and logic .",
      "... cardboard characters and awkward dialogue .",
      "i entered this moviegoing experience ready for a lot of wincing and eye-rolling . but dammit if this movie did n't make me laugh and cry .",
      "infinitely more captivating for its outrageous ungainliness than a great many more proficient filmmakers have ever been able to manage .",
      "dismissed by critics but embraced by african-american audiences , tyler perry now opens his pictures without press previews , but on the basis of this expert melodrama he might want to reconsider .",
      "the cast is likable , and perry makes good use of the atlanta locations .",
      "perry 's habit of reducing drama to verbal sermons is the main thing keeping his movies within the realm of daytime tv .",
      "kindness , graciousness , nurturing , and support is the message for couples and community , so even if it 's not saying anything new under the sun , all that syrup makes the cardboard taste better .",
      "... this is easily perry 's best film , which is to say it 's serviceably mediocre rather than godawful .",
      "lumbering morality tale packaged as a romance ."
    ],
    "summary": "daddy 's little girls boasts fine performances and a poignant message , but is ultimately let down by amateurish filmmaking .",
    "id": "462957579"
  },
  {
    "movie": "osama",
    "reviews": [
      "i wanted to scream at MOV : look , your life is at stake , stop crying and climb the tree like a boy !",
      "what you see is n't surprising , but living through it -- experiencing the cruel and arbitrary justice of the taliban through a 12-year-old 's eyes -- puts a knot in your stomach that lasts beyond the film 's closing credits .",
      "imagine if we could see films from previous centuries -- records of slavery , the great fire of london , the black plague . MOV is like a film from some long-ago age .",
      "despite an absence of subtlety , the film has a very real impact .",
      "barmak tells his story without a ton of explanation ... often , we have no more idea of what 's going on than our hero does , which increases the film 's sense of danger and fear .",
      "works simply as the story of one unlucky young girl .",
      "we feel her fear and are moved by her plight because her will and childhood are torn from her not only by the taliban but her own family .",
      "... the sad truth is that potential viewers would be far better off watching a documentary on the rise and fall of the taliban .",
      "captures with a terrifying purity ... the claustrophobia of being trapped ... within the confines of one 's own body in a land where being female has been criminalized",
      "derives most of its power from providing a clear window on a previously obscured world .",
      "a must-see for anyone with an interest in the rest of the world .",
      "although its story is horrifying , MOV wisely makes its points through irony and understatement .",
      "it 's a painful film about religious issues made with sufficiently compelling craft that you ca n't look away even as you are appalled .",
      "barmak proves an able craftsman . if the film 's story stammers here and there , its overall power ca n't be denied .",
      "barmak and his little star bring artistry and truth to the plight of women under the taliban .",
      "a harrowing look at a disturbingly recent time that seems more rooted in a barbaric , distant past .",
      "delivers a somber and powerful message without offering any simplistic solutions",
      "beautifully balances political statement with artistic expression .",
      "... asks irresistible questions about the sexist inequality rampant in modern-day islam .",
      "what MOV shows all too well is that things can always get worse",
      "successfuilly transforms the socio-political triaals of the region into a personal drama of great emotional resonance ... comparable to the italian neo-realist pictures .",
      "may seem redundant after jafar panahi 's more structurally impressive the circle or mohsen makhmalbaf 's absurdist kandahar , but it 's no less powerful .",
      "it definitely paints you a picture and it 's not a pretty sight ; it 's sad and infuriating -lrb- but that 's how you know the movie is working for you -rrb- .",
      "truth shines through every frame , thanks to barmak 's storytelling skill and his young star 's unaffected radiance .",
      "it 's not just a message that must be told ; it 's also a bold , beautiful and deeply moving piece of film art .",
      "focuses more on the relentless hardships and suffering than on the characters experiencing them .",
      "the loss of one childhood howls through barmak 's film",
      "MOV delivers a cry from the heart of subjugated and humiliated women in afghanistan under the merciless rule of the taliban .",
      "MOV is an exposing , opinionated , frighteningly frank and fascinating film . it 's also an actual afghani film , so it 's amazing it even got made .",
      "-lsb- `` MOV '' -rsb- is a harsh , no punches pulled film that will cause an emotional impact on the viewer .",
      "i found mr. barmak 's direction too by-the-numbers , and ms. goldbahari 's MOV a one-note performance in her relentlessly whimpering -lrb- though perfectly understandable -rrb- self-pity .",
      "heartbreaking stuff .",
      "a stark reminder of what is at stake in afghanistan , apart from the capture or killing of terrorists .",
      "reminiscent of agnieszka holland 's 1990 drama europa europa , this award-winning afghani film paints yet another harrowing tale of human survival .",
      "in most ways that count , it 's as true as any documentary .",
      "pregnant with emotion and bitterly realized .",
      "a traditional story in a traditional setting that will make contemporary audiences think , feel and empathize with those on screen .",
      "we are certainly entitled to marvel at its very existence , but that is n't enough . the work itself is extraordinary .",
      "a poignant film with stinging images .",
      "shot on the ruined streets of kabul , it has the urgent impact of a documentary , but it is a work of poetic vision .",
      "if you 're into watching films that will make you want to go home and kill yourself , you wo n't want to miss this tragic picture , the first to be made in post-taliban afghanistan .",
      "the script and camerawork are clever and extremely accomplished , giving us an intimate view of the characters and situations .",
      "if recent martian visitors viewed this film about the taliban , they 'd think that earth got stuck in the 7th century .",
      "although the subtitles here sometimes seem flat and repetitive , art-house audiences will find in the poignant dignity of the women of afghanistan images of lasting beauty , courage and grace .",
      "`` minimalist visual compositions are characterized by a clear-eyed austerity and realism . ''",
      "billed as the first entirely afghan film shot on home soil since the rise and fall of the taliban , siddiq barmak 's MOV ends up being of greater historical significance than of any lasting artistic merit .",
      "unrelentingly shocking in its portrayal of religion and ancient culture gone to the bad .",
      "barmak details the taliban 's picayune restrictions , which would be comic if they were n't enforced with such brutality .",
      "gives real insight into a part of the world that likely will dominate our newscasts and newspapers for years to come ...",
      "a grueling but wonderful picture .",
      "a wonderful and riveting movie experience",
      "the film has an almost documentary feel about it .",
      "great films like MOV , thoughtfully considered , give us the ability to withhold blanket judgments and come that much closer to the truth .",
      "MOV manages to surprise you with its story , even though we have no right to be surprised ... already ranks among the best films of the year .",
      "the first film shot entirely in afghanistan since the rise and fall of the taliban , and it 's a heartbreaking look back at life under that regime .",
      "no histrionics or emotional manipulations here . its view of the taliban is frightening precisely because it is real ; dramatic exaggerations are unnecessary .",
      "a film that is not only moving but valuable as a historical and social instrument .",
      "`` MOV '' is at once an important film and a dangerous one .",
      "it 's an important film , made under impossibly arduous circumstances . yet it 's far easier to respect than to embrace .",
      "a smooth mix of humanism and keen filmmaking instincts .",
      "barmak ... gives us vistas of stark beauty in this beaten-up landscape , a desolate backdrop for the beaten-down faces of his human palette ...",
      "a shattering portrayal of the shocking treatment of afghan women under that nightmare regime .",
      "a profoundly moving story that demonstrates the power of art to enlighten and entertain .",
      "that it is such a powerful and indeed beautiful film is simply extraordinary .",
      "will touch everyone with its haunting sounds and images .",
      "its central performance by young marina golbahari registers a terrorized and unforgettable personal response to pervasive mass intimidation .",
      "... its poeticism contains a power no newspaper report can match .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- powerful film .",
      "an unforgettable harrowing examination of the lives of the afghan people .",
      "painfully realistic .",
      "very rarely will you find a film that beautifully balances political statement with artistic expression .",
      "traps you in a quicksand pull , slowly sucking you into its world until it 's too late to escape unscathed .",
      "it offers valuable insights into a foreign culture that few of us have more than a cursory knowledge about .",
      "filmado apenas em locaушes , provoca um impacto ainda maior ao mostrar um paьs destruьdo pela guerra - evocando , neste sentido , o inesquecьvel alemanha , ano zero .",
      "we 've heard so much about the cruelty of the taliban that we think we 've heard it all . but there 's something about seeing one small human story played out that is still overwhelming .",
      "feel vindicated in the mad incongruity of popular foreign policies advocating war with `` the other '' for the sake of the innocents .",
      "wears you out in a way that would be considered heartless and manipulative if it were n't also -lrb- mostly -rrb- true .",
      "a must-see import .",
      "siddiq barmak 's film is the first feature made in afghanistan since before the rise of the taliban an impressive achievement made more so by the director 's sure and subtle artistry .",
      "raw and wretchedly current , it is a story that packs a cruel emotional wallop .",
      "whatever you thought were the atrocities committed by the taliban , siddiq barmak wants you to know that the reality is probably worse .",
      "a rare uncensored postcard from a ruined place , a document at once depressing and hideously beautiful that sketches the real hardships of trampled people -- specifically women -- with authority and compelling simplicity .",
      "offers us what feels like a true insider 's view , free from condescension and the temptation to view the country 's persecuted citizens as merely pitiable ` others . '",
      "it 's gripping , timely , and revealing .",
      "aided by golbahari 's remarkably convincing lead performance , barmak generates considerable suspense over the fate of MOV and her female relatives .",
      "the diurnal magic and utter impossibility of this simple child 's game are unforgettable .",
      "preaches to a very large choir , but does it with sober righteousness .",
      "outrage is concentrated by art , but how can you urge people to watch a child being tortured for 82 minutes ?",
      "crackles with suspense and dread in a place where the horrific was the norm .",
      "a melancholy movie , but a necessary one .",
      "the horrors of MOV are pervasive , not acute , so they take longer to sink in . but once in , they stay there .",
      "although it 's a drama , MOV feels like urgent documentary .",
      "without piling on unnecessary pathos , and with a devotion to simply telling the truth of a situation , MOV works a rough kind of magic .",
      "wonderful film , and what a remarkable achievement .",
      "a bleak , all too realistic drama .",
      "the film , a simple tale of a girl who disguises herself as a boy , begins with a nelson mandela quote : ` i ca n't forget but i can forgive , ' is designed to ensure the audience wo n't forget either .",
      "the best and worst thing about this film is it seems completely true . and no amount of water can wash away the sins portrayed ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is bitterly honest , deeply disturbing , and utterly worth watching .",
    "id": "11193"
  },
  {
    "movie": "gimme_the_loot_2012",
    "reviews": [
      "charming and engaging low-budget indie with a witty script , likeable characters , a strong sense of time and place and a pair of terrific performances from its two young leads .",
      "out of nowhere , adam leon might just have delivered the first great new york film of the decade .",
      "funny and freewheeling , it 's a joy .",
      "` gim me the loot ' is ... meandering and a little shallow . and even at 79 minutes it feels a little too long for what 's essentially the film equivalent of a short story .",
      "a thousand-watt jolt of mischief , a spunky , funky , ebullient indie that packs its 81 minutes with cinematic exhilaration .",
      "a slim , low-budget coming-of-age tale whose richness lies entirely in its interstices . a keenly observed work that celebrates the unfettered joys of youth , and rewards by reminding of the power of a simple tale told well .",
      "ghetto laughs with a sophisticated point of view .",
      "simultaneously real and hopeful , `` loot '' has almost no plot , but when the setting is so fresh and the characters feel so raw and alive , who needs one ?",
      "a movie about teenage taggers in the bronx should be fast and raw , scruffy and loose , and adam leon 's gim me the loot is just that .",
      "it may be a slight movie , but it has its sunny charms .",
      "a nose-to-the-ground portrait of two believably aspirational protagonists and their constant hustle to make good on the movie 's eponymous demand .",
      "does it sound patronizing to call a slice-of-life film about teenage bronx graffiti artists adorable ? it 's not meant to .",
      "the stakes may be low , but the experience is authentic ...",
      "director adam leon , 31 , has slyly and reverentially crafted a perfect new york movie , including the class tensions , relentless hustling and spontaneous connections that best define the exuberant strain of the city .",
      "sofia is intense and unsmiling , while malcolm is a charming , goofy chatterbox , and they make a vivid impression , even without spray paint .",
      "a warm and wonderfully discursive slice-of-life story , with an emphasis on language and local color and a great feel for the longings of working-class adolescents .",
      "`` gim me the loot '' winds up as a shaggy-dog story built largely out of digressions , but the punch line is tender , as is leon 's attitude toward being young and poor in new york .",
      "writer-director adam leon has crafted a classic new york story , a film imbued with the fast rhythms and muggy sensations of city life during the summer .",
      "... ` gim me the loot ' is n't the kind of film where a lot happens , but that 's it 's small-scale magic ...",
      "much more grownup than it looks , gim me the loot is that rare teen-centric film whose brisk pace is unburdened by sentimentality .",
      "an impressive debut feature , gim me the loot is also an unusual take on characters who want to leave their stamp on `` the city that never sleeps . ''",
      "gim me the loot has an energy that 's been missing from independent film lately . it 's not dreary or quirky ; not excessively stylish or stubbornly formless .",
      "want a bracing alternative to the usual hollywood swill ? try gim me the loot , a fresh , funky jolt of filmmaking joy .",
      "the idea is good but the result is saccharine ; the movie plays more like an outline that 's still awaiting its point of view .",
      "the winner of the indie spirit ` one to watch ' award could never work again and will always have a memorable new york city film to his credit .",
      "every bit as charming and joyful as it is profane , affectionately portraying a slice of life that feels both exotic and recognizable .",
      "has the mischievous energy and vivid sense of place that distinguished an earlier era of new york cinema ...",
      "when the next american new wave rolls around , it 'll be thanks to moments like these , and movies like gim me the loot .",
      "full of ear-pleasing lines and obscure r&b tunes , it 's colourful , casual and full of flavour . an unexpected treat .",
      "watching this film reminded me a bit of ` friends , ' the funny tv show where nothing ever happens . here , there is a lot of activity , but nothing much is accomplished , except for the creation of a funny , entertaining movie .",
      "what gets this slight episodic film to first base is the likability shown by the non-professional leads .",
      "a film brimming with so much life and mischief that it left me in an almost insufferably good mood for days afterwards . i did n't want it to end .",
      "amid all the copycatting and pricey bombast and genericness , here 's a movie that looks like it hails from a real place ; whose characters sound like they come from somewhere ; whose stakes are stresslessly low .",
      "first-time feature director adam leon 's shots are precise and full of detail .",
      "the film 's strong suit is its use of locations .",
      "hickson walks the line between bravado and vulnerability , while washington has a charisma , spark and beauty that should ensure this wo n't be the last we see of her .",
      "bolstered by a low-key but assured aesthetic and a soundtrack of vintage soul and doo-wop , the film is infectiously enjoyable , with frequently amusing insights and an affable shagginess .",
      "small but bursting with energy .",
      "there 's barely enough narrative to sustain even an 81-minute picture , yet a sweet spirit buoys this quick-witted , amiably foul-mouthed indie .",
      "`` gim me the loot '' should n't be as appealing and exuberant as it is , it really should n't .",
      "tashiana washington and ty hickson are terrific in the main roles . so is zoë lescaze as ginnie , a spoiled white kid who teaches the taggers a thing or two about drift and being dissolute .",
      "as it lopes along , the movie offers a warm but very sharp portrait of new york 's have-nots and their uneasy relationship with the haves .",
      "... a magical , summery treat .",
      "the film is episodic and determinedly offbeat , funny at its best , boring at its worst .",
      "shot on the streets of new york in a loose , freeform style , this lively comedy-drama feels somewhat underdeveloped , leaving us doubtful about its realism .",
      "it 's a great deal of fun , emotionally touching , and even surprisingly old-fashioned .",
      "some of the movie does n't exactly convince , and some of the scenes have an actors-improv feel to them , but there 's always plenty of humour and energy .",
      "endlessly entertaining , refreshingly light-hearted and bursting with summer soul , gim me the loot joins the pantheon of great new york movies .",
      "it 's a shaggy dog story with a certain amount of charm but not nearly enough drama .",
      "is n't cinema wonderful ?",
      "the movie is unpolished , and it matters not a jot , because leon has written super roles for these kids and invests their relationship with such sly feeling .",
      "led by his two charismatic young lead actors , adam leon 's gim me the loot is an almost compulsively endearing film about two tough-talking teenagers in the bronx .",
      "this is a simple , meandering , slice-of-life indie film that feels more authentic than most `` gritty '' new york films with infinitely larger budgets .",
      "there 's a certain last-act development that feels a bit forced considering this otherwise relaxed tone , but it 's hard to bear a grudge when the rest of the film is pulled off with such naturalistic grace .",
      "gim me the loot is a slice of lo-fi filmmaking by a promising new talent that refreshingly shifts focus onto the everyday lives of two aspirational young people from a world that 's seldom given prominence in film .",
      "adam leon has created something unique and current , with affectionate nods to new york films of the past .",
      "it 's a triumph of the underdog in more ways than one . and that final shot would make ozu beam .",
      "leon 's grungy résumé indie is a modest deal , with a sweet , mumblecore-style ending , but it glows with unmistakable star power .",
      "promotes robbery and ca n't be serious in expecting us to care whether malcolm and sofia become more than friends .",
      "like the graffiti art it documents , it 's a lovingly handmade affair .",
      "charmingly lackadaisical .",
      "it 's a simple film , but an artfully executed one , and it succeeds precisely because it demands very little from the audience .",
      "i see so many independent movies that sometimes , when an indie movie comes along that really is independent -- that is to say , when it offers up a fresh new way of seeing -- i blink twice ."
    ],
    "summary": "thanks to energetic performances from its young leads , gim me the loot captures a slice of city life with warmth and exuberance .",
    "id": "771271078"
  },
  {
    "movie": "martian_child",
    "reviews": [
      "cusack could do for parenting movies what he did for romantic comedies . this is a rocky start .",
      "no one in the movie speaks like a real person . even the youngest cast member talks as if footlights and a proscenium hemmed him in .",
      "poorly adapted from david gerrold 's acclaimed autobiographical novel , this sappy comedy-drama about a widower who adopts a special-needs child makes a number of key changes and consequently misses the point of gerrold 's heart-tugging tale .",
      "if all this is supposed to be so life-affirming , how come i envied the dead dog ?",
      "everybody is very earnest , too earnest .",
      "in this abandoned-kid-who-thinks-he 's - an-alien mush-fest , MOV does n't offer much beyond its small-screen sensibilities .",
      "has enough wit and unpredictability to hold your attention .",
      "MOV wants to make us cry . it nearly made me gag . this is an exercise in shameless and inept emotional manipulation .",
      "it 's off in many directions -- false in its details , false in its relationships , false in its emotions -- but probably the first and worst thing that needs to be said about it is that it 's also overlong and dull .",
      "cusack and coleman make this whimsical trip worthwhile .",
      "director menno meyjes keeps the sci-fi suspense quotient up just enough to make the ending somewhat disappointingly pat .",
      "it could have been so easy for this story , about a single man adopting a troubled kid , to enter schmaltzville . but john cusack manages to deliver plenty of warm fuzzies -- without the sugar shock .",
      "lurches between sappiness and self-consciousness -- resulting in a movie which , for all its charms , fails to convince on either dramatic or whimsical terms .",
      "heavy-handed sentimentality .",
      "you might expect a serious-minded movie about a troubled kid who really thinks he 's from mars to confront the fact that this kid really is troubled . not so much , here .",
      "MOV would like to be about a boy -lrb- who thinks he 's a martian -rrb- , but , disappointingly , it does n't even come close .",
      "what if lloyd dobler grew up , gave up kickboxing for writing books about space battles and adopted a kid ? i do n't know about you , but i would n't miss it for the world .",
      "there is something disingenuous and calculating about the work of his director and composer .",
      "it 's hard to take this look at foster care and adoption seriously .",
      "the movie can also be accused of its own sugar overdose as director menno meyjes piles on every clichéd situation .",
      "cusack and coleman are on screen together most of the movie , and the fact that they do n't completely overstay their welcome amid the maudlin action says a lot for the restraint they bring to the characters .",
      "hobbled by its ham-fisted effort to strum our heartstrings .",
      "the whole ha , ha ! dennis is a young norman bates thing gets quite creepy .",
      "john cusack is the only bright spot in an otherwise sentimentally sloppy drama that telegraphs its plot points with a blinding laser beam .",
      "it 's a minor but affectionate flick that knows sometimes all kids seem like they 're from mars , and those without parents do n't have much guidance in knowing how to be human .",
      "this is , wonderfully , a smart and snappy -- never sappy -- portrait of a budding parent-and-kid romance , and a lovely ode to nonconformity , to being your own person even if the rest of the world has some issues with that .",
      "the title character is far from lovable , but john cusack 's charm is irresistible",
      "there are absolutely no surprises as the film disintegrates into its own cutesy display .",
      "coleman ... seems to have been cast not for his chemistry with cusack but for his adorable lack of key baby teeth .",
      "director menno meyjes pulls an engaging film out of the potential claptrap , while also putting across a message about the beauty of nonconformism .",
      "just more middling , forgettable fare for the movie memory scrap heap .",
      "directed by spielberg protege menno meyjes , MOV is contrived , but it works .",
      "an amusing and heartfelt exploration of the ups and downs involved when adopting a child -- in this case , one who insists he 's from another planet .",
      "john cusack is the best and main reason to see this mediocre film about a self-confessed oddball and successful sci-fi writer david who adopts a misfit .",
      "manipulative to an almost absurd degree ...",
      "the things MOV gets right are strong enough to save this apparent glucose-spiker .",
      "what works is cusack and coleman . when they are on screen together something interesting always seems to happen .",
      "though it panders shamelessly , it 's not entirely unwelcome in a time when the pg movie is an endangered species . -lsb- dvd review included . -rsb-",
      "the entire cast is fully committed to this squishily sentimental tale , which is especially impressive given that it 's the kind of generic dramedy you 'll swear you 've seen a thousand times before .",
      "the credits state that MOV stars john cusack , amanda peet and joan cusack , but really , it stars lucky charms , m&m 's and amazon.com .",
      "knockout performances by john cusack and child actor bobby coleman help legitimize a whimsical but sententiously moralizing script .",
      "after an ebullient and inventive first half , the film loses its wind and only gets it back for a sprint or two .",
      "unfortunately for MOV this has more maple sap pouring out of it than a neglected vermont tree looking for a good tapping .",
      "... a betrayal of the book ...",
      "john cusack is perfect but it 's bobby coleman who delivers one of the most uniquely original kid performances ever . you actually believe he might be from mars .",
      "it 's rare that a movie has this little flavor . compared to MOV , a jar of gerber 's mashed bananas is a taste treat .",
      "... features a mesmerizing kid actor . but , as good as his acting is , it 's just a one-note performance ... that starts off as intriguing but ends up becoming tiresomely repetitive .",
      "MOV would be a lifetime movie of the week without the cusacks",
      "cusack seems determined to make this work , and contributes some nice scenes . but he 's better than the movie around him .",
      "sometimes , `` the MOV '' works as a weeper.other times , you 'll just hate yourself for getting wrapped in what essentially is manipulation . it 's good-hearted enough , but it plays more with your emotions than it does with delivering an intelligent sto",
      "while david imagines other worlds for profit , MOV crash-lands on this one .",
      "the primary obstacle to enjoying any moment of MOV is dennis , a little creature whose habits never feel like anything other than groan-worthy screenwriter contrivances aimed at cheaply eliciting audience waterworks .",
      "a comedy masterwork that touches the heart with its portrait of the survival tactics of an abandoned orphan and the loving ministrations of a widowed science fiction writer who adopts him .",
      "MOV certainly is n't much fun , unless you were desperately awaiting k-pax with a kid instead of kevin spacey .",
      "harmless and schmaltzy , this dramedy about the bond between a lonely widower and a misfit son draws on a semi-autobiographical novel about a gay dad , which would have made the story timelier ; even the gifted cusack ca n't elevate such predictable text .",
      "MOV was directed by menno meyjes , who wrote the screenplay for the color purple , and written by the distinguished team jonathan tolins and seth bass . how could so many good people go so wrong ?",
      "the problem with MOV is that it wants to be a story about outcasts , but dennis does n't come off as a cute little rebel .",
      "the only thing that saves it from being a lifetime movie is cusack 's ever-present charm and personality .",
      "john cusack 's favored co-actors -lrb- oliver platt , joan cusack , and angelica huston -rrb- add color to a sweet movie that intermittently gets bogged down by poor pacing .",
      "a generic version of any other dramatic comedy about familial love .",
      "those who stick with MOV wo n't entirely avoid mush , but they will find terrific performances by john cusack , as the parental unit , and 10-year-old bobby coleman , as the self-proclaimed extraterrestrial .",
      "heartfelt pap .",
      "it either is stiff and dry or it piles on the schmaltz in absurd amounts . in that sense , it offers the worst of both worlds .",
      "a story that has me checking the time , frequently , is telling .",
      "the fairly predictable cornball fluff we anticipate when off-center loners find a middle ground .",
      "an occasionally schmaltzy but likable story of healing and redemption .",
      "john cusack , coleman and the rest of the talented crew on screen reach moments of authenticity that are thrilling .",
      "before long , the story 's conceit -- a loud-and-clear metaphor for the ways in which we all sometimes feel alien when it comes to human relationships -- just becomes wearying .",
      "the quirky allure of joan cusack can offset a lot of sentiment in a movie , but even she drowns in the goop of MOV .",
      "a film so cloying it could have been processed from high-fructose corn syrup .",
      "it 's sweet and lovely and honest , and it made me laugh and cry , and john cusack and the little boy , bobby coleman , are fantastic , and i want them to move next door and be my brother and nephew , respectively .",
      "-lsb- cusack -rsb- just ca n't seem to conjure up a reservoir of emotions to make MOV human .",
      "sweet kid-friendly drama has some mature themes .",
      "in december , cusack will be back on screen in grace is gone , another portrait of a grieving widower struggling to raise children . viewers may want to hold out to see him in a film that maintains its sensitivity all the way through .",
      "it 's a largely dreary time at the movies and offers next to nothing for the kids that it 's advertising to .",
      "the science-fiction elements are mere window dressing for a story that 's most affecting when it 's down to earth , rather than when it 's following its heroes ' flights of fancy .",
      "unfortunately , the second half of the movie gets pretty messy , and the sudden tonal shifts -lrb- things go from light comedy to dark drama -rrb- are a bit jarring .",
      "MOV feels artificially sweetened rather than genuinely moving .",
      "the overriding sappiness keeps killing the so-bad-it 's - good buzz .",
      "my heart was ready to be warmed . but it never got above room temperature .",
      "heartfelt , but uninspired , the film follows a plodding , predictable path that does not deviate for a second from what the viewer expects .",
      "a faithful adaptation would almost surely have necessitated that the focus be changed from a father-and-son story to a polemic on gay fatherhood .",
      "not too dull to sit through without some enjoyment , but forgettable within 24 hours of watching the movie .",
      "one soggy slab of sentimental uplift .",
      "it 's a bit creepy , since -lsb- dennis 's -rsb- `` quirks '' are an unaddressed cry for help in this generic tonal mess that switches to light rom-com mode whenever any of its complicated-fatherhood drama starts to get too realistically sobering .",
      "child resolves in a way that 's touching , however schmaltzy .",
      "MOV has intelligence and a modicum of wit -- if only it had more heart and a kid worth shedding a tear for .",
      "so bland and safe that it might appeal more directly to children than adults .",
      "cusack carries this unabashed tearjerker .",
      "martian boy carries off the relationship with winning performances from -lsb- john -rsb- cusack and the young -lsb- bobby -rsb- coleman ...",
      "if you like these emotionally-brittle family dramas , you 'll eat this film up . but for a confirmed cynic like myself , it was torture to sit through the movie",
      "apparently , they took the title seriously . it feels so false , you sense it was written , directed and conceived by martians .",
      "the film feels lazily conventional . there are truths to be had here , but much of the film still rings false .",
      "100 percent goo .",
      "maudlin , mawkish , and slightly misunderstood itself , MOV is the perfect example of good intentions wrapped in hollywood-lite logistics .",
      "it 's a well-intended psychological drama , but meyjes is too afraid to permit the film any darkness ... a patchy creation , bouncing between sincere questions of homestead stability and fluffy sitcom montages set to elo hits .",
      "if you 're allergic to schmaltz , bring a bottle of benadryl along to MOV .",
      "despite the film 's laziness and mawkishness , however , MOV has some lovely sections .",
      "part of the reason it works is that the film at least tries to make the kid something other than a face you 'd see on a cereal box .",
      "everything you expect it to be , then it goes on for another 20 minutes .",
      "john cusack gets seriously spaced out , in this cross between a beautiful mind and et ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite some charms , overt emotional manipulation and an inconsistent tone prevents MOV from being the heartfelt dramedy it aspires to be .",
    "id": "387335433"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_tribe_2015",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV builds to a revolution in your attention , forcing you to change not just how you watch the film but how you feel its characters , but director miroslav slaboshpitsky is sly enough to ease you in .",
      "visually , it 's striking . narratively , it 's one long nightmare of confrontation and misery .",
      "based on slaboshpytskiy 's experience as a crime reporter and on stories of ukraine 's `` deaf mafia , '' it 's less a social portrait than an experiment in shaking up the balance of our senses : a tale of no sound , just fury .",
      "the lack-of-language barrier is the least of its problems .",
      "for those who can take it , `` MOV '' is a movie of undeniable emotional power , unlike anything you 've seen before .",
      "while MOV does at times feel designed to be shocking , it also demands that you pay attention in a way that we 're not used to paying attention in the movies .",
      "if `` MOV '' were set in the hearing world , its desolation would seem reductive and forced , a pose rather than a statement . without words , the movie becomes a nihilistic fable and , indeed , something unheard of until now . it 's silent opera .",
      "MOV is n't afraid to shed blood , but its stiff acting , disgusting depiction of sex , and inability to completely comprehend the film 's message is crippling to the film 's overall enjoyment .",
      "it 's a cinematic tightrope act , and it is to slaboshpitsky 's credit that he pulls it off .",
      "a bleak , daring drama from ukraine .",
      "compelling , upsetting , brutal and brilliant , MOV is one of the best works of cinema of the year - a familiar template recreated in what , for most , will be an entirely new world .",
      "arty , edgy , and bleak , MOV fails the plausibility test",
      "MOV is a singular experience , even if it 's in service to shallow themes and characters who feel more archetypical than real .",
      "while the specifics remain uncertain , it 's never particularly difficult to keep up with the movie 's pace , since their actions speak plainly enough -- and sometimes add far more expressiveness than any verbal exchanges could provide .",
      "the film is more interested in performance and symbolism than in the meaning of its characters ' words or their substitutive gestures .",
      "a uniquely riveting experience sure to inspire an array of reactions-speechlessness included .",
      "there are few films that compel me to cover my eyes . that `` MOV '' did so more than once says something about how deeply disturbing it is .",
      "you 've seen juvenile delinquent movies . you may also have seen films about bleak conditions in the former soviet union -lrb- there are a lot of them -rrb- . but you 've never seen anything like MOV -- nor heard anything like it .",
      "a strange and oddly immersive film that makes it audience really work but in the end delivers something rare and original .",
      "the use of sign language , deafness and silence itself adds several heady new ingredients to the base material , alchemically creating something rich , strange and very original .",
      "it 's a whole other world . and it can be quite frightening and disturbing .",
      "an audacious and successful gamble from a first-time feature filmmaker who is now officially on his way .",
      "this striking film is a revealing document of a time . it is deadly quiet , yet what it says will stay with you for days .",
      "overlong and not always successful in its storytelling , slaboshpitsky consistently returns to sex and violence to shore up a weak plot about a guy who falls for the wrong girl .",
      "a stunning examination of teenage cruelty , exploitation , and crime that refuses to give us the satisfaction of identifying with the characters .",
      "the many characters introduced as `` MOV '' may be nameless , but you get to know all of them and their motivations , criminal and otherwise .",
      "as a whole experience , MOV is definitely unusual -- and i suspect will prove haunting in the memory .",
      "-lsb- i -rsb- t 's a successful experiment , but as a worthwhile story , the movie falls disappointingly short .",
      "alternate -lsb- s -rsb- between the ragged and the well-wrought , between objet d'art and the incidentally observed , between extended long takes and icy tableaux . and even when the motives are unclear , the intensely gestural performances fascinate .",
      "the whole body communication that encompasses sign language pulls us into the film like trying to listen to someone who 's whispering . we engage more ... find ourselves doing things like ` sharing ' interior monologues",
      "it might sound glib , but it 's the literal truth : `` MOV '' left us speechless .",
      "MOV was by far the most hard-hitting and vivid work in the -lsb- cannes film -rsb- festival .",
      "-lsb- i -rsb- t was a thrill to discover something so bold , innovative , and downright wayward .",
      "the film 's second half descends into increasingly explicit and shocking displays of violence , and , in fact , all of MOV is defined by either overheated emotions or extreme actions .",
      "the piece de resistance is a taboo subject that unfolds in an elaborate single take . it was so harrowing i would have applauded if it would not have been completely inappropriate for the subject matter to do so .",
      "a sad , shocking and undeniably harrowing dramatic reflection of ukraine with the searing truthful lens of a stylistic documentary treatment -lrb- at times similar to that of austrian auteur ulrich seidl -rrb- .",
      "i ca n't stop thinking about it .",
      "actions , emotions and desperate impulses speak far louder than words in MOV , a formally audacious coup de cinema that marks a stunning writing-directing debut for ukrainian filmmaker myroslav slaboshpytskiy .",
      "winds up feeling like a gimmick , artificial and alarmist instead of authentic and revealing .",
      "i can safely say , with unequivocal authority , that you have never experienced anything like myroslav slaboshpytskiy 's MOV .",
      "... a deeply immersive experience , one that made me feel like a sense-deprived stranger in an unfamiliar world .",
      "MOV is just as brutal in its depiction of casual depravity as it is in its bursts of extreme violence . if you can make it past the final five minutes without wincing , more power to you .",
      "MOV is a brilliant formal achievement that marks ukrainian writer-director miroslav slaboshpitsky as a filmmaker to watch .",
      "a startlingly original , at times unbearably intense drama from ukraine that - on a moment-to-moment , scene-by-scene basis - blows up expectations on every level : narratively , visually and in terms of performance .",
      "slaboshpitsky frames his problematic protagonists with painterly meticulousness , their feral posturing and nakedness conveyed with improbable beauty .",
      "it 's got a story every bit as bold and fearless as its approach - the kind of primal story that 's beyond the ken of language .",
      "an intriguing setting and risky but successful no-dialogue or - subtitles approach is undermined by a dark plot that grows increasingly off-putting . the cinematography though is superb .",
      "miroslav slaboshpitsky 's study of teenage tribalism and the brutal adherence to a gangland-style hierarchy is a grimy , gripping , unrelenting vision .",
      "slaboshpytskiy does n't attempt to get inside the psychology of these people , or expand the meanings , political or otherwise , of their descent .",
      "one need not read it as a metaphor for the director 's homeland to appreciate the movie as a tour de force .",
      "any expectations of conventional enjoyment must be checked at the door . nevertheless , the film stands as a singular achievement .",
      "even with its numerous issues , the film remains a must-watch for movie lovers and anyone who appreciates filmmakers who take bold steps in uncharted directions to tell stories in unconventional ways .",
      "there 's an undeniable power to the way MOV plays with our senses .",
      "an utter astonishment .",
      "full of sadness and stubbornness and a kind of cosmic anger , it seeks abandon through destruction , starting with humanity 's first and best crutch : language .",
      "MOV grabs you almost immediately .",
      "as an amazing piece of pure cinema , MOV needs to be experienced . and talked about .",
      "it 's hard , in some ways , to take . yet , it is also so inventive and so unbendingly determined that it will be equally hard to erase from the mind .",
      "in the end , -lsb- director myroslav -rsb- slaboshpytskiy pushes his story beyond plausibility , or it may be that he was striving for allegory all along ... it 's unclear .",
      "it 's a staggering film , but not a brilliant one - a superior version would have played more with the gulf between our senses and theirs .",
      "story-wise , `` MOV '' is yet another art-film wallow in cruelty , not nearly as unique as its looks and its world .",
      "it toys with our pity , then it toys with our outrage , then it toys with our identification . before we know it , we 've been sucked into its wicked , all-too-human drama .",
      "... there 's an undeniably compelling frisson in the MOV 's unique mixture of brutality and silence .",
      "it 's about a lot of things-the insularity of the deaf , the enforcement of conformist rituals , and self-determination-but it 's also a clarifying experience as a moviegoer .",
      "by the end , MOV has revealed itself as so original , and so chilling , it 's likely to leave you speechless .",
      "it 's something of a formal tour de force , a triumphant overcoming of self-imposed cinematic challenges .",
      "MOV is a singular , fascinating experiment , but that 's about all it is . it gives gimmicks a good name , without ever transcending its own .",
      "if slaboshpitsky retrofitted his tiresome screenplay with sign language because he wanted to prove that everyone , no matter their circumstances , is only human , i can think of a dozen much less dimwitted strategies he might have employed .",
      "if there 's one place where love has no place , it 's here .",
      "all of it makes for a unique cinematic experience , an ambitious work that relies on its audience taking a leap of faith . those that do will be rewarded .",
      "it must overcome its gimmick , or become a footnote . slaboshpitsky succeeds by using a language that crosses all social and cultural barriers : violence . also , sex .",
      "this is a challenging film that 's not for everyone . yet there 's no denying its brilliant concept and its raw cinematic power .",
      "MOV is constantly riveting , and even if there is one other movie without spoken dialogue this year , shaun the sheep movie , you still wo n't see anything else like it .",
      "what sets MOV from any other youth crime film is the way it 's told , challenging the viewer every step of the way . -lsb- full review in spanish -rsb-",
      "there is nothing else like MOV , at once a searing , singular vision of a particular time and place and a brutal metaphor for the wounded human condition .",
      "the lack of spoken words or score also heightens the natural sound to a magnified impact in a film that 's hardly lacking impact .",
      "an intriguing , unique story done a disservice by some frustrating directorial choices . leaving it untranslated means we only get the broad strokes where i want details .",
      "despite the ... longueurs ` MOV ' is certainly a dark and powerful portrait of the grim goings-on at a school where violence plays a far greater role than education , told in a fashion that ca n't help but fascinate .",
      "MOV , the first feature from kiev-born myroslav slaboshpytskiy is , by any standards , a remarkable achievement .",
      "the absence of music and spoken dialogue enriches expressiveness rather than denuding it , so that what appeared to be a deficit is repositioned as a gain : not a bad philosophy to arrive at for a film presenting disability to a largely able-bodied world .",
      "this uncompromising rites-of-passage allegory is a sign of the times .",
      "a disturbing and extraordinary work .",
      "while the absence of verbal language presents no barrier to engagement , scenes of almost unwatchable squalor offer a potentially insurmountable challenge .",
      "pretty much every single thing about MOV is impressive .",
      "in what amounts to pantomime , the actors convey more psychologically and reveal more about their characters than 99 percent of the films coming out of hollywood today . bravo !",
      "so vigorous are those signs , and so unmistakably sore is the inflammation of feeling behind them , that , far from being shut out , we are pulled all too fiercely into the drama 's heart .",
      "this movie wo n't let you sit back -- instead , you lean forward , utterly involved in what you 're seeing .",
      "wants to make us feel lost and out of control , much like -lrb- if nowhere near exactly like -rrb- its characters and actors .",
      "a stark and strangely mesmerising take on contemporary silent cinema ... for anyone interested in the language of filmmaking itself , MOV is a movie that demands to be seen",
      "it 's a tough film ... and one that makes its audience feel as lost in its characters ' world as its characters might well be in ours .",
      "MOV is a violent , cinematic shock to the system : a core-rattling experience that 's paradoxically engaging and alienating .",
      "some films are made to leave you speechless ; for some experiences , there can be no words .",
      "beyond the film-stealing , hypnotic use of sign-language , what we get is a bleak vision of a society gone to pot .",
      "boldly full-on about sex and violence , as well as its underlying themes , this ukrainian drama refuses to let the audience off lightly ...",
      "slaboshpytskiy has stated that , ` it 's been my dream to pay homage to the silent movie , ' and the result is a relentlessly bleak and brutal coming-of-age drama that makes for mesmerising viewing .",
      "you 'll want to bathe your eyeballs afterwards but MOV does something that 's never been attempted before - and probably never will be again .",
      "a substantive emotional compendium that 's passionately , hypnotically shattering .",
      "slaboshpytskiy 's gambit is to thrust us into the domain of the deaf by eliminating the spoken word and withholding subtitled translation for the flurried sign language , making this a truly and pointedly silent movie ."
    ],
    "summary": "a bleak , haunting drama whose wordless dialogue speaks volumes , MOV is a bold , innovative take on silent films for a contemporary audience .",
    "id": "771380511"
  },
  {
    "movie": "spiderwick_chronicles",
    "reviews": [
      "spiderwick 's great charm is that it feels exactly like the kind of adventure story you might have imagined at the bottom of the garden one day during childhood .",
      "spiderwick hits the high notes when it needs to , and kids who can handle the scarier parts will find it an enjoyable escape .",
      "the MOV hands us a new fantastical adventure to capture our imagination -- and make us grab the edge of our seats . it 's definitely not for the youngest faint of heart .",
      "it 's fast-paced and funny , strangely warm and suddenly creepy , disarmingly charming and admirably icky , all at the same time .",
      "director mark waters does a fine job meshing the fantastical with the quotidian .",
      "meticulously rendered cgi creatures spike this dark adventure , shot marvelously by caleb deschanel .",
      "the best fantasy movie to come along in a while . spiderwick is miles better than the yawn-inducing adaptation of `` the golden compass . '' it 's smart , thrilling and funny , and it even features a good message about the importance of family .",
      "a refreshingly spry , modest adventure .",
      "a well-crafted family thriller that is truly scary and does n't wimp out .",
      "instead of absorbing us into this magical landscape , this adaptation crams all five books together into a frenetic and frustrating 24-hour-escapade",
      "a classic adventure with its heart and its sense of whimsy in all the right places .",
      "-lsb- the -rsb- combination of creature effects , action and believable situations is what ultimately puts the movie on par with the first couple ` harry potter ' movies .",
      "there 's nothing wrong with it that passion and personality could n't fix .",
      "an enjoyable adventure fantasy that pushes all the requisite buttons while still managing to throw in a pleasant surprise or two , paramount 's big-budget gamble has impressive talent to burn on both sides of the camera .",
      "a work of both modest enchantment and enchanting modesty , grounded in a classically spielbergian realm where childlike wonderment crosses paths with the tough realities of young adulthood .",
      "the voice of the novels is lost in translation ; what 's left is something that 's merely by the book .",
      "scary enough to give free `` midnight movie '' nightmares to some of the young ` uns in the audience . what could be better than that ?",
      "` spiderwick 's ' biggest shocks are due to big names cast in off beat roles ... the real eyebrow raiser is seeing nick nolte as the evil ogre mulgarath .",
      "see what happens when you drink yage .",
      "the mood never wavers , allowing the MOV to develop into an exciting and largely watertight adventure .",
      "waters does ground his film in the real world , and more importantly he creates a real sense of the family dynamics before jared opens the door to the world of goblins and woodland creatures .",
      "-lsb- c -rsb- harming ... lots of humorous and thrilling fantasy action ...",
      "gorgeous cinematography from caleb deschanel -lrb- the black stallion -rrb- and wonderfully intricate production design from james d. bissell create a believably magical world of dusty tomes and toothy goblins .",
      "a pleasing melange under the direction of mark waters , who , after freaky friday and mean girls , is becoming the go-to auteur of traumatized youth .",
      "characters with such real-world problems lend the film some real-world credibility",
      "spiderwick is the neverending story of the new millennium -- a family-friendly fable that kids will applaud but adults may nap through .",
      "best of all , waters and his team remember to make the movie about human beings ; like e.t. , this is a story about dealing with absent fathers that happens to be filled with adventure and outlandish critters .",
      "... a wonderful stand-in for childhood itself , when kids often have adventures involving things only they can see .",
      "a safe mix of fantasy and fright , the adventurous tale the MOV fills a gap in solid entertainment for children and adults .",
      "a fantasy adventure with the questionable uplifting message that revenge tastes sweet .",
      "just because the MOV is n't an insta-classic does n't mean it 's not a fine time at the movies .",
      "a ghoulies for the post-millennial crowd , complete with lots of short attention span flash",
      "the MOV may be too good to waste on kids . sure , it 's full of goblins and monsters and griffins and sprites , but hey ! it 's a really good movie , eminently suitable for the more mature crowd .",
      "... just the sort of ` fantastical ' adventure we 've needed at the movies after the oscar onslaught and ensuing winter doldrums .",
      "`` the MOV '' is a modest and reasonably charming example of a genre that is n't exactly renowned for modesty or charm .",
      "after lovingly setting up the intricate relationships among its characters spiderwick loses itself in the action and pretty special effects , only recovering in time to do a rushed , pat wrap-up .",
      "maybe it 's fantasy fatigue , but for all the pretty effects and breathless chases and goblin war battles , the sense of wonder and magic is lost in the shuffle .",
      "the people who made this film cared enough about it to give their all .",
      "the movie reveals these creatures with some well-ingrained cgi that makes the visuals appealing for young and adult viewers .",
      "ok of its type , even if its type is starting to exude that slightly disagreeable scent of ` been there , done that . '",
      "the story is very condensed and straightforward . it gets right to the action and stays there .",
      "i found it to be more irritating than scary , more tedious than exciting .",
      "the overall story and action is mighty familiar . but at the same time , spiderwick does what it does remarkably well .",
      "it is more adult than its family audience theme would let on . you would n't want to bring any young children to see it .",
      "... followers of tony diterlizzi and holly black 's series of books will find themselves scratching their heads at the omission of several key plot points and characters .",
      "the MOV is fast , funny , and clever , with memorable creatures to sweeten the deal .",
      "condensing five short juvenile novels into a single 90-minute film , the screenwriters have done a decent job of constructing a tale that will entertain tots without insulting parents ' intelligence .",
      "its simplistic and occasionally juvenile plot is at odds with its more mature subject matter . the MOV is flashy and diverting , but also ultimately insubstantial .",
      "between a jurassic park-style monster chase and some legitimately creepy critters , spiderwick is a lot trippier than anything in strange wilderness .",
      "director mark waters keeps spiderwick moving like crazy , which frees it from the overblown quality that bogs down some of these fantasy epics .",
      "after conquering the teenage girl market with lindsay lohan 's freaky friday and mean girls , director mark waters turns to teenage boy fantasy -lrb- and potential franchise -rrb- ... and proves quite adept at handling large scale special effects without",
      "be warned , parents , that younger children , under age seven , may have a problem with the often scary creatures that inhabit the spiderwick world . older kids , teens and adults , though , will have a good and entertaining time .",
      "as movie fantasies go , the MOV has a modest , almost ramshackle aggressiveness that , against all odds , manages to enchant , if not exactly transport .",
      "brevity works in the film 's favor , turning a potential franchise headache into a delightful winter diversion brimming with revolting creatures , magical spells , and entertaining acts of mass goblin death .",
      "an engaging , adventurous tale filled with all sorts of intriguing and entertaining characters .",
      "that perfect nexus of childlike wonder and the terrors of the id . in other words , the perfect fairy tale that is about much more than the magical creatures",
      "spiderwick is set in the present , but goes for an overall design look of dainty , cozy , william morris-y arts-and-craftiness .",
      "the monsters seem to be psychological projections as well as special-effects creations , with the scary lead ogre emerging to fill the void left by the absence of the resentful children 's neglectful father .",
      "it 's easy to see what 's coming , but the payoff is still touching . the MOV finds its magic .",
      "the MOV is great family fun . its edge-of-your-seat action , charming cast , clever script and direction , and excellent special effects is something is everyone can enjoy .",
      "at its heart is a sly imagination that fascinates and thrills .",
      "a jolt of personality and above-average effects make this kids ' fantasy adventure entertaining enough to overcome the cliches in its premise .",
      "like `` terabithia , '' willfully darker than most children 's fare .",
      "the MOV is a terrific ride for children who crave genuine excitement , not that tepid scooby doo stuff .",
      "here 's the recipe for a delightful family film .",
      "it 's always a pleasure to watch highmore , one of the best child actors working today , and this time that pleasure is doubled because he plays a dual role .",
      "... a lively children 's adventure ...",
      "the overall supernatural conflict amounts to nothing more than a jumble of noisy , fast-moving cgi beasties .",
      "if you 're going to compete in an arena already owned by the `` harry potter '' and `` narnia '' franchises , you 'd better enter that fray determined to show you can compete favorably with them . and that 's where `` spiderwick '' runs into trouble .",
      "unexpectedly gripping .",
      "fast-paced and filled with neat special effects , it 's a sure kid-pleaser , albeit one that suffers from the very elements that make it go down so easily .",
      "the screen ca n't get enough of 16-year-old freddie highmore .",
      "MOV provides lots of thrills and chills -- so much so that it may be too scary for younger viewers -- but it works best when it implies instead of showing .",
      "displays a lighter touch than other fantasy films of this nature , meaning that its thrills are all the more unexpected -- and effective .",
      "a late entry in a crowded field , spiderwick works hard to set itself apart from the competition , and almost entirely succeeds - no mean feat these days .",
      "as spiderwick keeps time with the notion that kids ' fantasies must feature bad , absent , or otherwise troubling parents , it also offers precious little in the way of clued-in adults .",
      "it 's inevitable with such fantasies , the storylines begin to have a familiar ring . rry as they might , the filmmakers here are never totally successful in narrowing the gap between reality and fantasy as live action and fantastical special effects converge",
      "... imaginative fun , derivative , to be sure , but amusing and entertaining and just a little bit scary by turns , at least for kids .",
      "at 97 minutes this not just a great saturday matinee for 10 year-olds , but one for their indulgent parent -lrb- s -rrb- or handy dandy favorite gay relative/babysitter as well .",
      "good enough to keep you and an older child entertained , but do n't expect the next harry potter fever to emerge from this movie .",
      "tosses together hobgoblins and home-alone latchkey kids with tomato sauce baggies as instruments of battle , bad parenting , and boy and girl savior daydreams fulfilled on screen .",
      "based on the series of five serial children 's novels , the MOV is a hollow spectacle that 's good for the action and effects but light on everything else .",
      "for a movie about magical beasts , the MOV does an awfully good job of pegging childhood emotional realities , particularly in a context of divorce . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "seen through the eyes of a child , this adaptation my lack originality but is fast paced , contains enough fantasy to balance the family drama and is , at times , very scary .",
      "sacrifices its undercurrent of pain and abandonment to big-budget special effects",
      "lord of the deathly thingamabob",
      "soy troei miamisi ora gia na se taksidepsei sto asfales symperasma poy eihe psiliastei sto pentalepto , oti i pasifismos san haraktiristiko toy floroy , einai epilogi mi biosimi , kai to kalo gia na epikratisei , prepei na brei kako na polemisei kai na katats",
      "fatherless children are the order of the day , but the film develops this theme no more than the absolute minimum , instead content to stage swordfights and races-against-time between its plucky child protagonists and their monstrous enemies .",
      "an enjoyable adventure fantasy sure to cast a spell over its audiences . but just as importantly , it weaves a story that resonates with spiritual truth .",
      "it is n't quite the world of the books . but it 's a perfectly magical and exciting one in its own right .",
      "in its way , the MOV is a ripsnorting , computerized update of e. nesbit 's old fantasy novels for children .",
      "it 's got thrills but is not allegorically deep or daunting like the harry potter or narnia flicks . it skews young .",
      "part of what keeps this from being just another children 's fantasy is director mark waters ' sensitivity to the way the enchanted elements deepen the emotional journey .",
      "fans of the books will be pleased with the film version , which is equally as action packed and fast paced . it 's doubtful they will begrudge the story changes .",
      "it 's a movie i can imagine kids actually liking , as opposed to one that clueless studio executives merely want them to like .",
      "passably entertaining if derivative .",
      "this adventure of preteens encountering a mythical realm lacks the scope of the other entries in the harry potter sweepstakes , but it still manages to provide scares and action for the under-12 set .",
      "it has plentiful whimsy , a big enough heart and joan plowright in one fine scene , burbling magnificently . it treats its archetypes with all due seriousness : good must engage evil in a final stand . and fatherless children must try to save the world .",
      "the effects , the pacing , the mood and the stunningly professional job the ubiquitous child actor freddie highmore does playing utterly different twins are enough to make you forget about what 's not there .",
      "the characters lack shadings -- nolte 's ogre is loud but uninteresting -- and the tone of the fantasy world is n't witty , like harry potter 's , or satirical , like lemony snicket 's . it 's all just silly .",
      "sloppy , secondhand pander .",
      "the story generates surprising emotional power .",
      "happily , highmore has no trouble grasping the task at hand . as both the thoughtful simon and the brash jared , he transports himself into this literal faerie tale with such convincing enthusiasm , he turns us into believers , too .",
      "i kept wishing for another scene with mulgarath in the form of nolte , because , well , you can never have enough nolte , and because his particular brand of kinetic insanity would have been just what the movie needed to shake up its clockwork smoothness .",
      "a swiftly told and sturdily built speculative story .",
      "as a swashbuckler for youngsters it 's colorful , diverting and , every now and then , genuinely magical .",
      "MOV , thanks to its fine craftsmanship , is very much more than the same old bedtime stories , digitally gussied up for profit if not fun .",
      "the MOV is filled with ogres , trolls , griffins , brownies , boggarts , goblins , hobgoblins , sprites and faeries . but its best special effect is young freddie highmore in the dual lead roles of jared and simon grace .",
      "as kids ' movies go , this is no harry potter , but it 's an enjoyable enough adventure -- with just enough scariness .",
      "the film is graced with a mostly superb cast , superior special effects , a sparkling musical score by james horner and a fantasy-filled plot with a bit of moralizing , but , fortunately , only a bit .",
      "the degree of talent attached to MOV is exceptional . it 's an unlikely assembly of people for a studio fantasy film , and perhaps that 's what makes the picture so fresh .",
      "for the uninitiated ? man , it 's a bummer .",
      "the movie , based on the best-selling series by tony diterlizzi and holly black , tells parallel tales of fathers who abandon their children , but it glosses over the trauma of those sagas in favor of special-effects-laden escapism .",
      "the story , frankly , is dull . it 's essentially a siege tale , watered down for youngsters and interrupted by side trips .",
      "the MOV exemplifies a problem with many of today 's fantasy-adventure movies : the sense that narrative values , such as the artful building of suspense , can be slighted because the computer-generated special effects are so good .",
      "the director does a nice job of juggling and blending the movie 's tricky tones and storylines , which could have gone badly wrong at any juncture .",
      "book-based family fantasy is magical and fun .",
      "the MOV may not be in the same fantasy league as the tales of j.r.r. tolkien , c.s. lewis and j.k. rowling . yet the family flick based on the books of tony diterlizzi and holly black is an all-around class act .",
      "there 's enough here to keep adults engaged , which is an important component of any motion picture that wants to be known as ` family entertainment . ' i would place the MOV comfortably in that category .",
      "works well-enough as a cgi adventure aimed at the kiddies , but grownups will probably be indifferent to this otherwise average story that features some pretty cool monster effects , but not much else .",
      "for a story aimed at the moppet market , the MOV is one that holds the interest without unbalancing the i.q.",
      "a top-drawer cast , sympathetic script , a director known for delicious teen edge and one of the great cinematographers of our time have conjured up a topical , whimsical and occasionally magical action-romp through a world we know , but do n't fully see .",
      "while the film is essentially an action flick for kids , it 's nice that the script is willing to tackle real-life sources of pain for both parents and children .",
      "the MOV , while not without its virtues -lrb- including a genuinely sweet ending -rrb- , goes too far on the frightening front , especially for a young audience .",
      "the MOV is a sturdy , family-friendly adaptation of the popular series of children 's books by holly black .",
      "an exciting and refreshing adventure that 's shorter -lrb- and less melodramatic -rrb- than another harry potter film .",
      "after so many failed attempts to fashion new harry potter-like franchises from children 's books ... it 's nice to encounter one that actually works .",
      "the result is effective , if too intense for younger children .",
      "young moviegoers will like the way the film empowers their cinematic peers in this battle of good against evil , though smaller children will probably be scared out of their wits .",
      "enjoyable , well made children 's fantasy adventure with likeable characters , impressive special effects and a decent script .",
      "como fбbula , nгo й das mais originais , mas ainda assim tem seu charme em funзгo do carisma de higmore , dos bons efeitos visuais e do desfecho tocante .",
      "what charm it does have rests largely on highmore 's shoulders . as family friendly fantasy movies go it 's pretty solidly in the middle , its resolve to take no chances whatsoever keeping it from ever being more .",
      "oh , great -- another kiddie fantasy film . how exciting !",
      "a run-of-the-mill fantasy adventure .",
      "the storytelling is economical and brisk . in some ways , waters approaches it more as a pre-teen horror movie .",
      "we just do n't get good children 's entertainment like this anymore ...",
      "this movie did n't really blow me away , but it was mildly enjoyable and should keep all of the fantasy fans happy"
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV is an entertaining children 's adventure , with heart and imagination to spare .",
    "id": "770669821"
  },
  {
    "movie": "national_treasure_book_of_secrets",
    "reviews": [
      "unfortunately , `` national treasure : book of secrets '' falls under the category of been there , done that .",
      "absurd second installment in the indiana jones-for-idiots franchise ...",
      "it 's like doing a puzzle a second time . it 's familiar , it 's redundant and it 's rarely exciting .",
      "if you can set aside the movie 's countless flaws and just go to watch a stupid mindless movie , then you are good to go with this film .",
      "the derivative national treasure : book of secrets is a smooth , lightweight action film for undemanding audiences .",
      "a slight improvement over its agreeable forebearer ...",
      "national treasure : book of secrets is a pretty typical blockbuster sequel , focused intently on appeasing what it thinks the audience wants , and missing out on what it takes to make a truly good movie .",
      "national treasure : the book of secrets is an absurd adventure , but its absurdity is wacky and warmhearted . you have to suspend your disbelief , but so what ? national treasure : the book of secrets delivers on what it sets out to be : lively and",
      "if you can put all sense of realism on hold , you 'll be rewarded with a moderately pleasing diversion .",
      "over-stimulating brain bubblegum guaranteed to take kids under ten straight to adrenaline heaven !",
      "too bad such a stellar combo cast had to get dumbed down for such inconsequential pandemonium .",
      "let 's not kid anyone here . this franchise is all about dumb fun .",
      "the word `` shambles '' comes to mind .",
      "it 's wonderful how much real history they sandwich into this ham and cheese on wry .",
      "national treasure : book of secrets , like its predecessor , would probably be a distracting piece of dumb fun if it were n't so insistent on trying to convince you that it was smart .",
      "this sequel is what you would expect : if you liked the original , you 'll probably enjoy this retread . but be warned : it bogs down in a drawn-out scene near the end .",
      "it 's too long and too loud and filled with historical disinformation .",
      "as much as you want to applaud the movie 's winking commitment to its own looney tunes logic , it 's frustrating when lazy and illogical plot devices are used like cattle prods .",
      "the first in this series was truly idiotic , but it grossed $ 347 million ! so bruckheimer made virtually the same movie again and it 's still dreck .",
      "pile on enough action set pieces -lrb- which genuinely thrill -rrb- and comic relief -lrb- which genuinely tickle -rrb- , and let 's all giggle together at the whole mess .",
      "it 's not like the indiana jones movies were exactly deep and impenetrable : so why do we need indiana jones for dummies ?",
      "i just could n't get past the preposterous material , behavior and developments , no matter how hard i tried to suspend my apparently ample disbelief",
      "cage brings so much enthusiasm to the character , it 's hard not to get wrapped up in the history he 's geeking out over hunting .",
      "unless you really love déjŕ vu experiences , there 's no legitimate reason to sit through national treasure : book of secrets in a theater .",
      "it 's a treasure hunt , and frankly , book of secrets does n't care if the hunt is improbable .",
      "since book of secrets does n't take its faux-intricate story seriously , there 's no reason this review should either .",
      "book of secrets is a perfect family or holiday movie -- one that will keep parents ' attention but not terrify their kids in the process .",
      "-lsb- the film is entertaining , but -rsb- the best part is a goofy cartoon that is running ahead of it .",
      "they say that time heals all wounds . well , apparently it heals mediocre movies as well .",
      "the clues seem sharper this time around . maybe they had more time to perfect the script or maybe i just got smarter in the last few years .",
      "you wonder how anyone involved could possibly have thought what they were doing was coherent .",
      "monumentally silly ... but viewers looking for the dumbest sort of escapism are likely to be satisfied .",
      "almost unconscionably lousy sequel to 2004 's equally bad dan brown rip-off is only made worse by its staggering waste of talent .",
      "the clues here are less interesting than before , and their explanations slow the film down like molasses .",
      "even though it 's wildly unbelievable and rather hokey at times , this is total entertainment from start to finish .",
      "this is a mouth agape movie , during which your mouth hangs open in astonishment at one preposterous event after another .",
      "book of secrets is n't just outlandish or ludicrous -- these are embraceable qualities -- but stupefying lazy .",
      "nothing more than a series of add driven vignettes held together by the flimsiest of plots , helmed by the dude who made 3 ninjas .",
      "you will probably want to spend some time with wikipedia after watching this film , and you may never look at famous monuments and presidential furniture in quite the same way again",
      "some of book of secrets is quite ridiculous , but in a film that plays fast and loose with history and reality , nothing is impossible .",
      "it 's all pretty inane if you stop to think about it , but director joe turteltaub works tirelessly to make sure we do n't .",
      "as long as it 's galloping along , the movie 's perfectly good popcorn -- in itself a rarity these days -- but eventually you get down to the burnt kernels at the bottom of the bag .",
      "with just as many locales , historical landmarks and secret codes as the original , book of secrets is just as much implausible fun .",
      "tepid and predictable though the action largely is , bartha provides intermittent comic relief and mirren is her usual droll self .",
      "it does n't cheat series fans but it does n't offer many thrills or surprises or lingering puzzles , either .",
      "as with the first movie , book of secrets leaps around like a choppy travel documentary .",
      "an action adventure flick that careens from one preposterous plot development to another .",
      "it 's all diverting enough and holds your interest without ever getting too exciting .",
      "all you can do is sit and watch , and wish there was more wonder .",
      "it 's another flick about maps , landmarks and buried treasure that makes the da vinci code look like tolstoy .",
      "a film that 's less about academic research than it is about breaking and entering .",
      "the film is baffling -- the scheme that links the conspirators throughout three centuries would flummox the illuminati -- but as a sort of vacation scrapbook of the lovely places where the cast spent last summer , it 's pleasant enough .",
      "this american history-themed action thriller does n't get many points for realism , but it makes up ground in so many other areas that you probably wo n't care .",
      "the movie 's convoluted hide-and-seek plot also demands a white house break-in that makes about as much sense as subprime mortgage rates .",
      "the hyperactive sequel national treasure : book of secrets sends its archaeologist hero on a globetrotting quest that might have been devised after a long night of wikipedia surfing .",
      "is it possible to enjoy book of secrets ? obviously , although its lunacy requires a level of suspension of disbelief that some will be incapable of attaining .",
      "uma diversăo esquecível ; algo que vocę consome , digere e elimina sem conseguir se lembrar posteriormente do que passou por sua garganta .",
      "just like the original , it 's too caught up in its mythological zeal and furious pacing to do much for our `` indiana '' jones . a capably filmed diversion that 's breathlessly wired for whiplash but instantly forgettable .",
      "even sillier and less entertaining than the first film in this series .",
      "if you desperately need to escape the house this holiday season , avoid this treasure and see something else .",
      "ultimately , book of secretsis an embarrassingly by-the-numbers rehash of the first national treasure , lighter on the swirly , emotion-cuing music but still well-trafficked in ridiculous feats and worse dialogue .",
      "the first installment was a moronic , overblown scavenger hunt masquerading as a high concept social studies lesson . the sequel is bigger , louder and , implausible as it is to believe , even more preposterous .",
      "keeps us entertained with the sheer spectacle of the thing , rather than anything actually interesting .",
      "this movie is n't much different from the original `` national treasure . ''",
      "the gimmicks have worn off and the performances have gone stale in this uninspired sequel to a surprisingly fun adventure film .",
      "less twisty than its 2004 predecessor and yet somehow more incoherent , national treasure : book of secrets plays like a duplicate schematic of the first .",
      "we 've seen most -- if not all -- of this done before , and done much better , in both the first film as well as the indiana jones movies .",
      "... dumb popcorn fun that dishes out more of the same for those too overwhelmed by the holiday to seek more challenging fare .",
      "this second jerry bruckheimer national treasure adventure , feebly directed by jon turtletaub , is no better than the first -- which means it will probably be creamed by critics and make a jillion dollars .",
      "if someone read this script out loud on a street corner , they 'd be arrested immediately . not for being a conspiracy theorist , just for the improper distribution of garbage .",
      "it 's virtually the same movie with new locations . oh , plus helen mirren . not a bad addition , but the popcorn fun is gone .",
      "all you want from a movie like this , really , is a little brainless fun , and it keeps holding out on you .",
      "when you can tell the cast is having fun , it 's kind of hard not to yourself .",
      "national treasure : book of secrets has the same director as national treasure , the same writers , and nearly all of the same lead actors . this is no surprise , since it is basically the same movie .",
      "the cinematic equivalent of the guy who runs up to a cop , grabs the cop 's hat , throws it to the ground and takes a s-it on it . one is left a bit speechless .",
      "those who did n't appreciate the original wo n't find anything more in this fantasy treasure hunt . let 'm look for eggs at easter .",
      "worth seeing if only for the locations -lrb- paris , london , washington , mt. rushmore -rrb- even if it goes downhill after the brief opening scenes from 1865 .",
      "this national treasure sequel , like its 2004 original , is a dumb movie about smart people that uses just enough historical trivia to make you feel like you 're bettered by the experience .",
      "... an absurd story that invites you to sit back and go along for the ride .",
      "this diminishing-returns sequel sends nicolas cage on another quest to strike it rich , get young auds excited about history and solve puzzles that are generally less stimulating than yesterday 's sudoku .",
      "a thumping , gabby slog .",
      "more than content to simply toss the same exact formula into the microwave and deliver its lukewarm cinematic leftovers to an always-hungry audience .",
      "a nice confidence and easy energy , three oscar winners happily chewing every piece of scenery in sight , and one great action sequence with four characters trying to maintain the balance of a swaying platform .",
      "little seems to be designed to make a lasting impression , though the movie may achieve its modest goal of providing mild fun .",
      "a clearinghouse for things you would n't expect to see a-list actors say with a straight face .",
      "everything has been significantly amped up -- bigger , louder , further removed from reality -- but it also feels that much more forced . cage and kruger seem like they 're not having much fun this time around , and bartha still gets the best throwaway lines .",
      "secrets could easily lose 20 minutes , especially once it runs out of energy toward the end . but it 's fun , goofy , and fleet enough to merit a third go-round .",
      "helen mirren provides adequate distraction from justin bartha 's insufferable ad-libs . yep , he 's still comedy poison . three years has n't changed that .",
      "an exercise in silliness , but it 's also undeniably a great deal of fun",
      "familiarity does n't breed contempt here , but it 's so familiar as to keep us from getting caught up in the scavenger hunt this time around .",
      "there 's sounder logic and more genuine sleuthing in a ` scooby doo ' cartoon .",
      "you get the uneasy feeling that they 're making it up as they go along .",
      "leave it to coproducer jerry bruckheimer to revive the indiana jones cycle without the period setting , the camp elements , or spielberg 's efficiency ; director jon turteltaub just plods along .",
      "probable box-office success does n't keep it from being a largely uninspired concoction .",
      "in a story even more far fetched than the last one , nic cage and company prove that enjoyable characters can make up for a lot of bad plot .",
      "this just might be the silliest movie ever to feature three academy award winners .",
      "continuing the whodunit/where-is-it/what-does-it - mean formula , it 's a fun-filled romp , chock-full-of-historical trivia .",
      "mirren and voight provide much of the fun here as their characters argue about who 's responsible for their divorce and longtime estrangement .",
      "it 's never a good sign when you can figure out a movie 's secret plot before the characters involved .",
      "solve the p vs. np problem or figure out the plot of book of secrets .",
      "i 'd stop well short of calling it a cinematic treasure , but it 's better than the first one , and that 's worth at least a few gold doubloons in my book .",
      "% u03ac % u03bc % u03c5 % u03b1 % u03bb % u03b1 , % u03c0 % u03c1 % u03bf % u03c7 % u03b5 % u03b9 % u03c1 % u03bf % u03c3 % u03c4 % u03b7 % u03bc % u03ad % u03bd % u03b1 % u03b4 % u03b5 % u03af % u03b3 % u03bc % u03b1 % u03c4 % u03b1 % u03b1 % u03ba % u03af % u03bd % u03b4 % u03c5 % u03bd % u03b7 % u03c2 % u03b4 % u03c1 % u03ac % u03",
      "there 's some fun ... but the budding franchise seems already out of steam .",
      "practically a duplicate of the breezy -lrb- and bloated -rrb- original , national treasure : book of secrets is not without charm , but it lacks the thrill seeker 's joy of discovery .",
      "given the emphasis on history ... -lsb- it -rsb- reminded me of a line from the herman 's hermits tune about that jolly historical figure henry the eighth : `` second verse , same as the first . ''",
      "a national embarrassment .",
      "a little sillier than the original , and a little stupider , and somehow it still manages to be shockingly enjoyable .",
      "now our heroes are off to the library of congress , which is as close as most of this audience will ever come to a book that is n't filled with stamps ."
    ],
    "summary": "a talented cast goes to waste in the improbable national treasure : book of secrets , which is eerily similar to the first film .",
    "id": "632295045"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ali",
    "reviews": [
      "... ultimately more admirable than enjoyable",
      "definitely worth seeing because of exciting scenes with smith and voight sparring verbally as MOV and cossell .",
      "had a chance to be a joyous celebration of this special athlete , but for much of the running time the atmosphere was funereal .",
      "para michael mann significa mantenerse como un cineasta eficaz , pero lejos aún de sus mejores trabajos .",
      "a challenging , uncompromising film with the same hardheaded integrity as the man it profiles .",
      "what we get is what would happen if monet tried to pass a paint-by-numbers work off as a stroke of his brush . yet , just like monet , mann has personal touches that make the film stand out .",
      "una obra maestra .",
      "an intimate , personal film , not a lumbering , mass-market paperback distribution of dates and names .",
      "but you still can admire director michael mann 's fortitude in trying to present the boxing world 's `` black superman '' on the big screen in the dazzling but spotty MOV . mann 's project is ambitious and rapid fire in its presentation .",
      "it 's great art cinema masquerading as a mainstream film .",
      "mann 's attempt to notate every historical event in a decade dense with them detracts from his biographical subject",
      "-lsb- the director -rsb- picks scenes of little interest and lets them drag on and on , long past the time the audience has already gone to sleep for the count .",
      "MOV does the unthinkable : making its complex and dynamic subject smaller than life .",
      "the supreme accomplishment in mann 's career .",
      "a curiously unsatisfying piece which reveals far less about its subject than you want to know ... overly schematic , more hagiography than history .",
      "this is a not a celebration of the boxing champ 's life but a kind of gloomy eulogy that seems to have been compiled by strangers .",
      "one of the few remaining icons of the 1960s , muhammad MOV remains larger than life in our time . mann 's portrait of the boxer brings him down to earth .",
      "the three-part story reaches its grandest point with the staging of events around the famous rumble in the jungle .",
      "more a history lesson than bio-pic -- but is well worth seeing for its supporting performances .",
      "we 've seen MOV as the charismatic star of the real-time drama of his life . MOV , for all its flashy filmmaking , just does n't compare .",
      "for all smith 's dedication and mann 's abilities , MOV remains a figure too big for even the big screen to contain .",
      "not the greatest , but awfully darn good .",
      "even though the movie is too long and suffers from an inconsistent tone , the narrative is compelling , as are the performances .",
      "scene after ponderous scene is presented in a nausea-inspiring conflagration of pointless close-ups , out-of-focus expositions and handheld `` wobble '' shots",
      "` MOV , '' despite some fine performances and well-staged fight scenes , is a major disappointment .",
      "the end to mann 's plodding film only brings relief that it ends",
      "it is admirably made , but it is never deeply moving .",
      "it 's not a tko per se -- where did this will to power come from , anyway ? -- but it is a helluva fight .",
      "despite it 's faults , it 's definitely worth a looksee .",
      "when an 158-min . film fails to provide less insight into the legend than the barber shop arguments in coming to america , then its not worthy of our attention",
      "a tko of face-acting his from the outset , smith adds spot-on re-creations of MOV 's perpetual head-bobbing and the semi-hoarse vocal cadences with which he delivered his infamous rhyming provocations .",
      "as an accurate biopic , MOV might not be that great , but visually , it 's pretty damn amazing .",
      "highlights to either a more ambitious treatment or a more traditional one , living a half-life of borrowed images and stolen verve in the grey zone between .",
      "an intelligent and well-stylized biopic .",
      "it 's just a good movie and not the greatest .",
      "mann and smith deliver this powerhouse with the urgency of a champ 's left hook .",
      "knowledgeable , evocative , and occasionally excessive , the film jumps right into its big subject and bold concept and never looks back .",
      "fails to do more than colorfully skim the surface of its subject 's life",
      "MOV 's greatest failing ... might be that it rarely shows what a charismatic figure MOV was .",
      "MOV 's unabashed determination and belief in himself through extremely trying times ... this is what really makes him `` the greatest . ''",
      "smith 's towering performance can only be fully appreciated on a suitably large screen .",
      "it 's good -- but MOV himself was the greatest . so a reluctant , kind of mild thumbs up for this .",
      "i wondered whether the shouts of `` get off the ropes ! '' were aimed at MOV or director michael mann , whose film spends much of its 167 minutes at risk of getting knocked out .",
      "the onetime fresh prince surpasses himself in michael mann 's MOV , physically , vocally and emotionally meeting the challenge of this biopic of the charismatic athlete .",
      "it 's the boxer you enjoy , not the sluggish 15 rounds the filmmakers put him through .",
      "any feeling of regret that mann and roth did n't quite pull it off must be tempered with gratitude and admiration for the fact that they dared make the effort in the first place .",
      "though technically polished ... it feels curiously ordinary , a word one never associates with muhammad MOV .",
      "like the fighter himself , MOV dazzles with its technique -- this is a big , impressively mounted movie , packed with meticulous , you-are-there details .",
      "how do you capture an entire life on two hours of film ?",
      "we see a lot of events , and hear a lot of talking , but it never seems to mean anything in terms of who these people are .",
      "dazzling , flawed , achingly ambitious .",
      "the movie reminds you of muhammad MOV 's boxing style -- elusive , showy , feigning this way and that , but always out of range .",
      "an interesting look into the life of boxer muhammad MOV with a wonderful performance by will smith .",
      "the film was obviously structured to require very little acting from smith .",
      "MOV is n't a bad film , in fact , it 's ok . but the bottom line is , the man everyone called ` the greatest ' deserves better than an ok picture .",
      "MOV is an avant-garde pay-per-view boxing match , but where 's the soul ?",
      "a joltin ' powerhouse of a movie that deals more in fleeting impressions than pat answers .",
      "it lacks much of the flash , fire and humor of muhammad MOV and is shot more in the tone of a eulogy than a celebration .",
      "an intriguing failure that ultimately leaves you disappointed , rather than inspired or invigorated .",
      "MOV is played brilliantly by will smith .",
      "too much style , too little substance , too many questions left unanswered ...",
      "a thrilling account of pugilism 's poet-laureate .",
      "it 's got just enough oomph to qualify as a victory by a split decision .",
      "it does connect solidly more often than not .",
      "succeeds on many levels : as a historical drama , a personal journey , and -- most importantly -- as a boxing movie .",
      "here smith is not the gangly charmer beloved by his fans , but a solid mountain of a man .",
      "a clothesline rundown of muhammed MOV 's life ... so preoccupied with realism , it neglects to have a thesis .",
      "full of abstractions that are sometimes distractions ... the film 's structured schizophrenia , if occasionally wayward , still bears some undeniably tremendous fruit .",
      "mann has emerged with only a few cuts and bruises , while smith , to paraphrase his character , has n't a mark .",
      "mann 's MOV is too concerned with cramming all of the benchmarks of his career into three hours to take the time to understand the true joy and compassion of the man .",
      "michael mann reminds us why muhammad MOV was the greatest -- inside and outside the ring -- in 2001 's best film .",
      "a 154-minute film that is both too much and not enough -- too much boxing , too many hours to sit , and too few connections .",
      "exhilarating , stylish , intelligent historical drama .",
      "mann gets most of the basics right but does n't quite capture MOV 's soul or spiritual growth and commitment .",
      "the film gives MOV his due by refusing to idealize him or to gloss over his failings .",
      "michael mann 's muhammad MOV film is not only a terrific biography of one of the 20th century 's most important sports figures , it could well be the finest boxing movie ever made .",
      "very good and definitely worth seeing , if only to be reminded of the extraordinary life of one of the most extraordinary figures of the last half of the 20th century .",
      "smith makes contact with enough of MOV 's swagger , sweetness , wit , and pride to convince us that justice is being done to the boxing champion .",
      "if michael mann 's new biopic of muhammad MOV is not right up there with the gold standard of boxing biographies , martin scorsese and robert de niro 's raging bull , it misses by only a whisker .",
      "clearly a triumphant labor of love for its star , will smith . credit director mann , above all , for recognizing the performance for what it is : a knockout .",
      "smith has MOV 's beautiful body language down pat , from head to toe .",
      "even though smith is nothing at all like MOV in either looks or temperament , the young actor has obsessively willed himself to become muhammad MOV .",
      "loaded with bravura filmmaking flourishes , and exceptional performances .",
      "MOV lands a few solid blows , but , sadly , it 's no knockout .",
      "will smith 's muhammed MOV is n't an impersonation , it 's a transformation . there is no narration to tell us the story , no treacly music cues to tell us when to cry . some audiences might be disconcerted at being treated so intelligently .",
      "plays more like a celebration than an examination , emphasizing hagiography over history .",
      "if you have any interest at all in the subject , MOV is worth your time .",
      "a padded and considerably dull biography of one of sport 's most engaging characters .",
      "with all due respect to will smith , you do n't send a fresh prince to play a king .",
      "smith ... demonstrates not only impressive boxing prowess ... but a maturity and subtlety that he 's never before shown on screen .",
      "an exhilarating travelogue through 10 of the most turbulent years of american history , with a rivetingly magnetic personality as its focus .",
      "the champ deserves better .",
      "the film is good , but not great .",
      "mann ... makes a valiant attempt . and with the loose-limbed will smith in the title role , he gets surprisingly far .",
      "the most impressive and persuasive rendering of a late-20th-century icon since anthony hopkins turned on that old nixon charm in oliver stone 's 1995 biopic .",
      "mann 's first movie with feeling ; his overwhelming love of its subject will turn audiences into exuberant , thrilled fight crowds .",
      "this overlong but sketchy biopic by michael mann , in which style repeatedly tramples substance , actually does the great man a disservice .",
      "raging bull is artistically superior , but the fight scenes in MOV are just as visceral and more technically accomplished .",
      "michael mann balances the personal and the political , one man 's story within the racial conflicts of his era .",
      "this could be the only movie we 'll get on the fighter , and it 's just not good enough .",
      "MOV is a far more complex creature than this movie allows for .",
      "it is well-intentioned , sketchy , sprawling and unremarkable . at two hours and 38 minutes , it is also long-winded and exhausting .",
      "mann 's compelling account of legendary boxer muhammad MOV captures the considerable impact and charisma of the man who literally punched his way into the american consciousness .",
      "MOV is an impressive documentation of a man and an era .",
      "there 's great material here , but the end result plays like a highlight reel -- an intriguing introduction to a man 's life for people not fully acquainted with it .",
      "the problem is that none of these very well-directed scenes manage to fit together into any kind of collective whole .",
      "mann directs the movie with a calm and original approach ; smith gives a surprisingly convincing performance",
      "long , unfocused and too often plagued by the curse of the biopic .",
      "smith , who has a well-developed ego of his own , not only looks like the young MOV but also sounds like the brash louisville lip .",
      "smith 's transformation is nothing less than astounding .",
      "more than competently mounted , with a hollowness just discernible in its core ... feels like the first draft of whatever film michael mann set out to make .",
      "the challenge of dramatizing the celeb 's life is only partially met nby mann in this flawed biopic that narrowly focuses one one decade -lrb- 1964-74 -rrb- , while gliding over MOV 's private life and negletcing crucial aspects of his turbulent yet fascinating life .",
      "brutal fight scenes and frank racial issues .",
      "mann vs. machine .",
      "while making a great looking biopic that is filled with detail , michal mann forgot to make a film that entertains , creating an emotionally void , tone flat portrait of an athlete whose contribution socially and culturally has yet to be matched .",
      "you can almost see him thinking his way through his fights ...",
      "it 's stirring to be reminded of what a glorious and galvanizing figure MOV was .",
      "no matter how good smith and the other actors are , they seem at times dwarfed by the movie itself .",
      "MOV contains much information , lots of emotional depth , and a triumphant performance by smith , but its dragging pace and tendency toward digression often seem to work against its good intentions .",
      "like the real-life MOV did in the ring during the height of his career , the film floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee .",
      "does pack plenty of punches , most notably the mesmerizing turn by smith .",
      "aside from a lack of story and meandering direction , the thing i liked least about MOV was the guerrilla-style cinematography .",
      "smith and MOV are hobbled by mann 's decision merely to skim the surface of muhammad MOV 's larger-than-life life .",
      "the new film should n't serve as a history lesson , but it will show young folks -lrb- and remind us old-timers -rrb- what made him the most famous athlete on the planet .",
      "the film 's fight sequences are straightforward ... and effectively convey MOV 's agility and lightning speed .",
      "MOV is no disgrace , but it 's not much of a performer , especially considering that it is one of the few hyped year-end releases that coulda been a contender .",
      "filled with vivid cameos and set to an infectious soul beat that effectively covers the underlying hum of calculated precision .",
      "it captures the impact and the charisma .",
      "it 's a slick , powerful , visually arresting movie , but ultimately mann 's MOV is a movie about boxing rather than about the boxer .",
      "quite accomplished but finally distant .",
      "how do you make a dull movie about one of the most interesting people on the planet ?",
      "a movie that , at its best , is as brashly eloquent in cinematic expression as MOV was with his fists .",
      "intelligent , exquisitely acted though ultimately unengaging .",
      "-lsb- mann -rsb- manages to dissect the sport visually , transcending the brutality cliché to reveal how speed and power and courage combine with fatigue and desperation and fear .",
      "smith inhabits MOV -- his power , grace , ego , humor and body language , inside and outside the ring -- as well as any actor could .",
      "the fragments of MOV 's life that the movie does provide manage to give us a tantalizing look at a man whose life seemingly defies summation ."
    ],
    "summary": "though perhaps no film could fully do justice to the fascinating life and personality of muhammad MOV , mann 's direction and smith 's performance combine to pack a solid punch .",
    "id": "14265"
  },
  {
    "movie": "paddington_2014",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV 's journey from south america to london is just droll enough for adults - qualifying as a gentle parable about xenophobia - and exuberant enough for the youngest viewers .",
      "a gloriously whimsical big-screen debut that 's closer to the madcap spirit of the muppets and the lovingly rendered style of a wes anderson film than to standard multiplex family fodder .",
      "`` MOV '' is , ultimately , about how a newcomer can become part of a family , and about how good manners and marmalade can get you out of any tricky situation - delightful messages , at any age .",
      "a series of rough and tumble encounters with life in london guaranteed to charm and delight children from 5 to 55 that raises family fare to a new level of entertainment value .",
      "here 's a kids movie mostly stripped of manufactured , go-nowhere plot crises !",
      "it 's a clumsy bear , this movie , but ultimately agreeable and even slightly cute .",
      "king keeps the laughs coming without ever losing touch with the characters .",
      "a quality family film likely to stand the test of time , `` MOV '' is practically impossible to dislike .",
      "utterly charming , inimitably british",
      "MOV is a good kind of sweet , a slightly unusual sweet .",
      "droll and delightful ... the best family movie of its kind since ` babe . '",
      "an incredibly charming family flick that , if it were a toy , would come in a box marked , `` recommended for ages 3-90 . ''",
      "it 's a relief to say that - as films based on fictional animals go - MOV is better than merely bearable .",
      "`` MOV '' is a mostly smart update loaded with charm , and it preserves enough of the fuzzy feelings for purists to walk away with a smile .",
      "in the hands of king and a well-chosen cast , the spirit of bond 's books remains intact .",
      "MOV is engaging and gentle , and while it wo n't win any awards for originality , it manages a few laughs and a surprising amount of warmth .",
      "an irresistible charmbomb . the in-jokes are verbal and visual , managing to reference themes as diverse as immigration and insider trading . it 's all very droll and quietly , memorably dazzling .",
      "it 's the right kind of big screen rarity - the good kind .",
      "it might even boost the market for marmalade .",
      "such is the chipper goodwill of both MOV and `` MOV '' that you forgive the flaws .",
      "MOV is absolutely , positively delightful .",
      "everything about this movie is fun and entertaining . it 's the kind of family film that shows everyone a good time , regardless of age .",
      "... the word that repeatedly comes to mind is `` charming . ''",
      "the bear and the brown family get a fair amount of real laughs and also manage to weave a touching story .",
      "this delightful live-action adaptation of the series of children 's books by michael bond has a relaxed pace that shows affection for both its title character and his audience .",
      "if your children say they do n't want to see MOV send them to their room sans supper .",
      "a remarkable work -- so far ahead of any live-action -lrb- well , mostly live-action -rrb- family movies that it would be disgraceful to mention it in the same breath with them .",
      "`` MOV '' is mostly live action but the little bruin is a mastery of convincing and effective cgi .",
      "rarely does a film come along that i simply can not wait to see again . `` MOV '' is one of those films -- so , i 'm off !",
      "`` fun for the whole family '' is an overused cliche when it comes to movies . but in the case of `` MOV '' , there is no better description .",
      "leaves a nice , warm feeling in your soul and smile on your face .",
      "the filmmakers behind this magnificent movie adaptation of MOV have indeed looked after the bear . for this is one of the finest family films of this , or any other year .",
      "has well-timed hilarious action sequences and london twinkles with wes anderson-style production design .",
      "what struck me most about the film was the quality of animation . i make this statement about so many animated features but the bar keeps being raised higher and higher .",
      "the film is a brightly wrapped christmas present that has been assembled with love and care , and its message about the importance of welcoming strangers could n't be more timely .",
      "if it spikes the interest of small children to read more of michael bond 's books then maybe there 's lasting value in the film .",
      "king is obviously a true fan and he 's made a true and wonderful MOV movie ... the themes and concerns of michael bond 's original series of books and television shows are all there , and the personalities are too .",
      "the slapstick feel is right for its young audience , and adults should enjoy its bouncy spirit and bonneville 's comic timing . two claws up .",
      "wildly entertaining , genuinely funny and exuding a heart as sticky as a marmalade sandwich , this happy film , whose furry star is the much loved character from michael bond 's best selling children 's books , is every bit as good as expected .",
      "through it all runs the touching story of an outsider making a new home for himself , and discovering that in the end , whatever our differences , `` anyone in london can fit in . ''",
      "this brings MOV beautifully to life and keeps it faithful to the spirit of the original while skilfully updating it .",
      "we 're just pleased to have a family film in the truest sense of the word , one that 's genuinely hilarious , touching and inventive to both kids and their parents",
      "`` please look after this bear '' , says the tag around MOV 's neck . rest assured , they have .",
      "endearing , hilarious , and for humans of a certain vintage , tearfully nostalgic .",
      "it 's difficult not to go into a movie like this with a sense of dread , as the beloved children 's book becomes a live-action movie with a digitally animated , eerily realistic-looking bear .",
      "marmaladen with gloriously silly jokes , pitch-perfect performances and incidental detail , this is a warm , witty and wondrously inventive great big bear-hug of a movie .",
      "it 's hard to see how the new MOV could be bettered as an all-ages caper .",
      "michael bond 's bestselling books have been brought to life in a film that is slight , silly and awfully british but also warm , funny and just a little bit magical .",
      "MOV is n't just the film of the year , it might actually be one of the finest family films ever made .",
      "a delightful children 's film that adults , too , will thoroughly enjoy .",
      "it 's the kind of film too dignified to play ` lady marmalade ' but not dignified enough to not play ` i got you -lrb- i feel good -rrb- . '",
      "in the spirit of the best disney classics , MOV is one for the ages and all ages .",
      "MOV sets the bear -- uh , bar -- very high for any and all family films that will come out this year , but more importantly , you and your kids will love it .",
      "if the film seems head-and-shoulders above the average effects-driven family-matinee flick , it 's because it never gives the impression that it 's trying to be anything more -lrb- or less -rrb- than good-natured and fun to watch .",
      "the film is a treasure , presenting a simple story about casual xenophobia as an imaginative , witty family movie about opening one 's heart and making incredibly stupid bear puns .",
      "he is described as being around three feet six . its ideal viewers will be of similar height .",
      "the film recalls its stylistic forbears at their best : flowing with whimsy , but never at the expense of the beating heart of its human -lrb- and animal -rrb- characters .",
      "one of those amazing films that perfectly blends heart and humor , with a gigantic quantity of whimsy .",
      "the film 's director , paul king , has put together a cast who make a happy marriage of predictability and professionalism . in other words , it 's typecasting done with flair .",
      "it 's a relief to report that the final film is actually quite charming , thoughtful and as cuddly as a plush toy , albeit one with a few modern gizmos thrown in .",
      "you wo n't see a better family film this year .",
      "a charming and sweet-natured family film , full of wit and fun , skewed towards young children but cheekily speckled with sly gags pitched at the older audience .",
      "MOV is enchanting .",
      "this one-for-the-ages family movie based on the books by michael bond is a full-blown christmas triumph .",
      "adorable . so witty and compassionate and bittersweet and just the right little bit of snarky that you will cry tears of joy from the perfection of it .",
      "MOV is a marvellous -lrb- and politically brave -rrb- piece of cinema that never puts a paw wrong .",
      "where family films so often falter , choking on their own contrived sentimentality and/or cool , MOV is sweet and silly and , at times , edge-of-the-seat stuff .",
      "MOV is the very definition of fun for all the family , coupling visual spectacle and guileless action set pieces with a strand of wry , occasionally subversive humour .",
      "this first-ever movie take on peru 's furriest export is a cuddly triumph .",
      "king has both paid homage to MOV 's roots and made him relevant for a modern audience .",
      "filled with wit , adventure , comedy , and lots of heart , ` MOV ' should make most everyone who sees it feel all warm and fuzzy inside . -lrb- full content review -- sex , profanity , violence , etc. -- for parents also available -rrb-",
      "somehow the new MOV movie seems modern while at the same time holding firmly to its quaint , lovely ideals .",
      "a respectable screen version of michael bond 's classic children 's books .",
      "charming story about beloved bear has some scares .",
      "despite its terrible trailers , the movie is a surprising delight .",
      "MOV ... comes off as a charming character . the kind of character that children around the world have fallen in love with ... but even with all the bear 's charm , a plodding pace and a questionable plotline leave the film version less desirable to watch .",
      "with quirky british humor , inventive production design , a terrific turn from hawkins and even an ` in-house ' 5-piece calypso band , `` MOV '' makes january film-going a whole lot brighter .",
      "a good-hearted film ... as witty and clever as it is charming ...",
      "it manages to be both old-fashioned and high-tech . it remains faithful to the character 's roots while also placing him firmly within a contemporary setting . it 's charmingly funny and shamelessly punny .",
      "find yourself a small child and go - but be sure to stop for tea and biscuits after .",
      "a film that has an accessible , and yet significant message running through it , while never losing sight of the enchantment and frivolity that makes for such an entertaining piece of cinema .",
      "a total delight , as warm and welcome as a hot pair of socks on a winter morning .",
      "MOV runs gamely through a heightened , picture-book london , stumbling on occasion through a mess of caffeinated , slapstick set-pieces , but keeping its head as it spirits us along for the ride .",
      "has charm , fun and a glossy sense of adventure to spare .",
      "affectionately honoring the everyday quirks of bond 's stories , while subtly updating their middle-class london milieu , king 's film may divide loyal paddingtophiles with its high-stakes caper plot , but their enraptured kids wo n't care a whit .",
      "the heart of this sweet-natured ursine klutz beats strong and true .",
      "if MOV is to turn into a movie franchise , one suspects that marmalde sandwiches under hats and scenes of mayhem in kitchens and bathrooms wo n't be quite enough . far more attention will need to be paid to the storytelling .",
      "funny , touching and surprisingly topical , this is an utter delight from start to finish .",
      "-lsb- the -rsb- ancient , well-worn form is done with such a light touch , enlivened by the absolutely terrific cast .",
      "` MOV ' could have used more looking after .",
      "nicole kidman 's slinky , kinky , stiletto-heeled dominatrix is a villain to die for .",
      "proves that great children 's films do n't need to be childish , you will want to cuddle ` MOV ' all the way home .",
      "pleasingly preserves a marmalade-ish brit-flavour but adds subversive spice . a scrumptious rarity -- a film of critical , optimistic patriotism , championing the outsider and his newfound nation-home while taking the stuffing out of its stodgy imperial past .",
      "the film is filled with inventive and imaginative ways of telling its story ... the animated bear fits perfectly in this idealized portrayal of london .",
      "it 's a nice family-friendly flick that balances some zany visual comedy against an understated british sense of humor .",
      "... could have been made with half the creativity and wit that it was and not lost a dime .",
      "sweet , charming , amusing , and classy . the sort of movie kids will still love when they 're old and cynical .",
      "`` MOV '' stuffed with charm .",
      "this delightful family film is the `` the lego movie '' of 2015 . it 's clever , funny and beautifully distinctive .",
      "the film expertly manages to be adorable and completely enjoyable without making MOV `` edgy '' .",
      "MOV is a wonder : warm , gentle , well-acted , funny without being stupid .",
      "engaging and enchanting , it 's a charming , compassionate family film .",
      "what 's so magical about this setup is the perfectly british attitude : no one is fazed by MOV 's ability to speak , stand on two legs and discuss the moral consequences of one 's actions .",
      "the movies can still be worth it , despite considerable evidence to the contrary . if you need proof , look no further than MOV .",
      "true to the gentle humor and sweetness of the books .",
      "while it 's not quite as charming as it wants to be -- the climax is needlessly frantic -- it manages in its quieter moments to capture some of the author 's old-fashioned whimsy .",
      "thanks to its playfully idiosyncratic , yet thoughtful nature , MOV maintains the innocence and charm of the MOV character for a new generation .",
      "pulling off a photorealistic talking cgi bear movie is no easy task , but MOV is warm and winning and earnestly british .",
      "a good part of the film 's charm is that , even in the face of this cynicism , MOV remains unchanged ...",
      "a delight from start to finish .",
      "because of its adorable protagonist , laugh-out-loud gags and touching premise , `` MOV '' succeeds in a way most cgi/live-action hybrids do not .",
      "the surprisingly joyful MOV is a fun and frolicking family movie that celebrates families at the same time it pumps some much-needed fresh air into the increasingly stale and saggy genre of children 's movies .",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- feels like victory - sweet , but with a bit of bite , much like MOV 's favorite marmalade .",
      "utterly beguiling and totally eccentric , MOV is the first theatrical movie to tell the story of the beloved bear from darkest peru .",
      "true , a lot of marmalade gets spread around , and at times the zaniness gets a bit too slap-sticky , but it 's all good clean fun .",
      "he 's a bear you care about from the first candy-colored frames of the film , which teems with delightful images in a seamless mélange of live action and computer animation .",
      "there are so many terrific things going on in the film -- rapid-fire wordplay , split-second visual gags , and some veddy , veddy british punning -- that , frankly , MOV deserves more than one viewing .",
      "kindness wins out in the end , naturally , but a specific and prescient form of kindness rather than the glib , one-size-fits-all brand usually seen in children 's movies .",
      "just about perfect , at least as a collection of sketches without any particular direction .",
      "this is a charming film whose underlying message of tolerance and acceptance strikes a palpable chord in today 's world -- both for children and adults .",
      "for parents looking for a film that 'll please them and their kids in equal measure , MOV is -- as goldilocks would say in that other bear story -- just right .",
      "it also contains the most important ingredient from -lsb- michael -rsb- bond : a sense of humor , from the slapstick to the droll ... this film will evoke laughter , not tears .",
      "`` MOV '' is as pleasant and comforting as tea and a biscuit , and it takes place in a contemporary fairy-tale version of london , which glows warmly and wraps MOV in its multicultural arms .",
      "a charming , witty , gentle mix of live action and cgi that will delight children and parents .",
      "` MOV ' is an absolute delight , visually inventive , thoroughly goofy and goosed by a mix of dry british wit and pratfall shenanigans .",
      "this is not only a dandy , playful movie about a talking bear , but one that gives pause for thought , too .",
      "despite the kid-gloves sensibility , `` MOV '' delivers a knockout blend of fluid animation and live action .",
      "artfully and cleverly , the sweet spirit of that young bear from darkest peru and his many london misadventures materializes brilliantly on screen in the very good hands of writer-director-conjurer paul king ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV brings a beloved children 's character into the 21st century without sacrificing his essential charm , delivering a family-friendly adventure as irresistibly cuddly as its star .",
    "id": "771366608"
  },
  {
    "movie": "out_of_africa",
    "reviews": [
      "the film runs for 161 minutes and does not have a strongly defined narrative .",
      "the film is so preened and self-satisfied .",
      "the movie is not drama and far from a compelling romance . needless to say , the prestige and technical polish on display here were enough to win this flick a passel of oscars .",
      "as the academy found before awarding it seven oscars , it is easy to be seduced by the lush cinematography and barry 's score . more difficult to tolerate is the slushy love story between streep and redford .",
      "MOV is , at last , the free-spirited , fullhearted gesture that everyone has been waiting for the movies to make all decade long . it reclaims the emotional territory that is rightfully theirs .",
      "fantastic acting or not ... seven oscars or not ... i was bored . and i ca n't get past that .",
      "dull biopic of the strong-willed danish writer isak dinesen .",
      "nominated for 11 academy awards , this earned seven , including best picture and best director ... but no best actress , alas .",
      "sydney pollack applies craftsmanship and restraint to a classic plot curve of longing , fulfillment , and loss , and although the denouement is a bit overextended , he never yields to facile , insistent sentimentality -- his effects are honestly won .",
      "maybe the problem of the pacing is simply the nature of the beast these days with expensive period pieces . once the difficult details are all in place , it may be too much to expect a director to resist milking every scene for more than it 's worth .",
      "MOV is a great movie to look at , breathtakingly filmed on location . it is a movie with the courage to be about complex , sweeping emotions , and to use the star power of its actors without apology .",
      "MOV captures , beautifully and bittersweetly , the last exciting time in the last wild place on earth , making me feel as if i really missed out on something wonderful by being born too late .",
      "it tells a grand love story in less-than-grand fashion but is nevertheless worth seeing because of all the other things it does right .",
      "not even the meticulous meryl can breathe life into a movie that never really gets started , and takes almost an hour to end .",
      "despite its technical assurance and some strong performances , this is a film that favours spectacular landscapes over emotional depth .",
      "luedtke and pollack bought these high-priced literary sources only to chuck them for a conventional , largely fictionalized movie romance .",
      "the relationship between karen blixen and her british lover , denys finch hatton , may fail to catch fire . but the production itself is so exquisitely served that you ca n't help but be grateful for this extraordinary visual treat .",
      "the relationship of karen and denys is a prickly and , despite the era in which it is set , curiously modern one . it 's also at the heart of this understated movie .",
      "what the movie loses in emotional realism , it gains in sheer epic audacity .",
      "MOV is a splendid example of that persistent genre , the coffeetable movie . it 's big , beautiful , and imposing . but there is n't much to it , and pretty pictures -- replacing ideas , not supporting them -- are its only real attraction .",
      "streep may convince us utterly that she is in love with africa , but our views of it are a little too stately to really feel the place .",
      "my basic problem with this otherwise sumptuous and well-acted film is that i never was able to accept redford in character .",
      "MOV has the sheen of artsiness and the gloss of two big-name actors . unfortunately , that ` s not quite enough in the absence of a story with vigor and passion .",
      "epic filmmaking at its most lushly romantic",
      "long and tedious at times , but redford and streep shine .",
      "beautiful but overrated",
      "a lyrical and meditative movie about a strong-willed woman and the place she loves .",
      "a sumptuous romantic drama , MOV spans continents and partners in while relating the tale of how karen blixen grew to become the world-famous author .",
      "with the exception of miss streep 's performance , the pleasures of MOV are all peripheral -- david watkin 's photography , the landscapes , the shots of animal life - all of which would fit neatly into a national geographic layout .",
      "despite a long-winded approach to moviemaking , MOV is a sumptuous romantic epic with a wonderful lead performance from meryl streep .",
      "bloated and tedious , pollack 's attempt at epic cinema is hampered by failure to provide clues about the meaning of africa for dinesen as writer and woman , and watkin 's cinematography is impressive in the manner of national geographic .",
      "for all that it may come MOV , the film 's final destination is not many miles from disneyland .",
      "meryl streep trots out a classic performance in this 1985 oscar-winner about isak dineson/karen blixen , a writer who lived in africa for a short time and experienced all manner of adventure and heartache , dutifully recorded in this sydney pollack epic ."
    ],
    "summary": "though lensed with stunning cinematography and featuring a pair of winning performances from meryl streep and robert redford , MOV suffers from excessive length and glacial pacing .",
    "id": "10091"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dead_zone",
    "reviews": [
      "chrisopher walken gives a thoughtful performance as a psychic-in-spite-of-himself who must save the world from a mad politician .",
      "one of",
      "is n't about anything really save the crushing disappointment of ambition and the unbearable lightness of being .",
      "mr. cronenberg 's direction is vivid and effective ; his pacing is a little unemphatic at times , but the film 's individual scenes are very well staged .",
      "an unusually thoughtful and engrossing horror flick with a terrific performance by walken .",
      "a dud .",
      "brilliantly creepy walken",
      "... near perfect ...",
      "one of king 's better cinematic adaptations .",
      "cronenberg 's most accessible film . very good , but not great .",
      "an accomplished psychological thriller .",
      "arguably the best adaptation of a stephen king novel .",
      "cronenberg attempting a little mainstream with this stephen king yarn and really pulling it off .",
      "this is a welcome straightforward adaptation/improvement of king 's original , minus cronenberg 's visceral flourishes .",
      "the MOV ultimately ranks as one of the best king adaptations to date .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- engrossing yet strangely unembellished adaptation of stephen king 's bestseller by director david cronenberg .",
      "director david cronenberg 's sense of pace is acute , the editing by ronald sanders is seamless and suspenseful . and , if nothing else , the movie establishes that chills can be generated without explicit gore and violence .",
      "it 's both moving and quietly unsettling as it builds towards a forceful climax .",
      "by no means a bad film , just a disappointingly bland and superficial one .",
      "a thing of dark , twisted , ironic beauty .",
      "in the MOV , cronenberg 's visual sense is n't as evident , but his smart choices in letting stephen king 's compelling story unfold without excessive distractions more than makes up for it .",
      "david cronenberg 's direction -- his first mainstream job , after videodrome -- is apt and creepy , though the story never really goes as far as it could have . still , it 's a creepy little mystery , especially for a king flick .",
      "on the surface , the MOV looks like a very good film ...",
      "despite the reputation of both stephen king and director cronenberg -lrb- videodrome , scanners -rrb- there is very little blood and gore in this film .",
      "the MOV is not a story that is particularly suited to cronenberg 's fascination with , and adeptness at portraying , body horror ...",
      "spurred on by christopher walken 's sincerely moving and warm portrayal .",
      "the MOV does what only a good supernatural thriller can do : it makes us forget it is supernatural .",
      "the classic walken role , by which all subsequent ones are measured . possibly the best stephen king adaptation too .",
      "a gripping thriller done with intelligence . one of the better film adaptations of stephen king 's work .",
      "walken revels in the lead ... intriguing",
      "cronenberg pulls it off , but you ca n't help feeling it 's a movie in search of a tv series .",
      "chilling .",
      "do n't let the fact that visible breath and frosty misery take priority over exploding heads and fetus-licking snow you .",
      "cronenberg tells the story with measured strokes and a sure emotional touch as well as nifty blasts of horror ."
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV combines taut direction from david cronenberg and and a rich performance from christopher walken to create one of the strongest stephen king adaptations .",
    "id": "13367"
  },
  {
    "movie": "heathers",
    "reviews": [
      "a scathing lambasting of the american teen in the late 1980s , but its presence will be timeless .",
      "you can be more popular dead than alive",
      "this film is dark as night but great fun , taking teen issues by the scruff of the neck and holding them up as the rather unpleasant exhibits they are .",
      "the points it makes about the violence-prone absurdity of american adolescence are perhaps even more incisive today than they were -lsb- in 1989 -rsb- .",
      "a wonderful savage satire on high school life .",
      "a poisoned candy apple that 'll bring a sardonic smile to the lips of those who remember it and entertain those who have n't experienced it before .",
      "the perfect 80 's film , and it has the legs to still do it today .",
      "lehmann ... made a stunning debut with this sharp satire of teen cliques .",
      "more than just one of the best movies so far this year , it is a revolution in young-adult entertainment .",
      "for a long time , we 're not even sure of the point of view : is this a black comedy about murder or just a cynical morality play ? the traveler in the foreign country is not sure , but he knows the film inspires thought .",
      "MOV , with all its flagrant masochism and violence , is a throwback to a more innocent time , where such films could be made and still be deemed over the top fantasy .",
      "a super-smart black comedy about high school politics and teenage suicide that showcases a host of promising young talents .",
      "MOV locates the emotional totalitarianism lurking in a prom queen 's heart .",
      "after columbine , this dark comedy is n't as funny .",
      "dark , cynical , but deliciously funny , heathersis a fascinating look not just at high school but at the way we look at high school .",
      "so grab your croquet mallet , load up on `` ich luge '' bullets , and crank up the big fun : MOV is a motion picture that continues to impress and disturb , even 20 years after release .",
      "two decades later , MOV is so on the money , with its vague but unmistakable parallels to several school shootings , that it could never be made today .",
      "... the film paints high school as a veritable hell where the only way to alleviate suffering is by making others suffer more .",
      "its inanities and glib pretensions are so thick that it mainly comes across as tacky and contrived .",
      "a super-smart black comedy about high school politics and teenage suicide that showcases a host of promising young talents .",
      "may be the nastiest , cruelest fun you can have without actually having to study law or gird leather products .",
      "blistering comedy run aground by cop-out ending .",
      "director michael lehmann and writer daniel waters keep things dark and tasty , and the dialogue and high school politics still resonate with a sharp sting .",
      "viciously delicious cult classic , flip side of `` the breakfast club . ''",
      "scathing and hilarious .",
      "an amazing black satire filled with vicious biting words that snap like firecrackers .",
      "the film uses an intimate knowledge of teen-movie clichés to subvert their debased values from the inside .",
      "lehmann 's audacious feature debute transforms teen suicide into a wild and mean satire with a giddy tone . good year for indies : the movie premiered at sundance in 1989 , along with sex , lies and videotape , thus heralding gen-x cinema .",
      "fantastic",
      "as snappy and assured as it is mean-spirited .",
      "lehman 's delightfully dark and deranged take on adolescent angst and isolation . MOV is heuristic in its haughty examination of teenaged alienation"
    ],
    "summary": "dark , cynical , and subversive , MOV gently applies a chainsaw to the conventions of the high school movie -- changing the game for teen comedies to follow .",
    "id": "15577"
  },
  {
    "movie": "gnomeo-and-juliet",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's one of the most unoriginal movies to come down the pipe in a long time , but gnomeo & juliet manages , just barely , to rise above these obstacles and carve out an identity of its own .",
      "kids will fall in love with it as a movie treat full of heart , laughs and fantastic songs , and it could have crossover appeal as a valentine date night treat thanks to all its pointy-hatted romance .",
      "this lively little film , a comic take on shakespeare 's tragedy , is really entertaining .",
      "much of the play 's dialogue is updated . jokes fall flat . and a ceramic gnome by any other name is still a kitschy little figure .",
      "adults will be consistently amused by all of the references and in-jokes to the bard 's famed works , while children will learn a little about the original play as they get swept up in the likable characters and fast-paced , heartfelt story .",
      "it 's a little bit funny . not much more than a bit , but enough to make this a cheerful , likable children 's picture with a big heart .",
      "what makes the film most endearing is its unabashed eccentricity .",
      "... way this film is the `` mama mia '' of garden gnomes !",
      "gnomeo & juliet wo n't change any paradigms in animation or in depictions of shakespeare , but it will certainly keep kids in stitches and their parents smiling for its short duration . perhaps that 's enough .",
      "if only the 3-d had n't been wasted on the claustrophobic trappings of a backyard feud .",
      "tolerable but forgettable , gnomeo & juliet is a halfway clever idea executed with minimal effort and ingenuity . it continuously reaches for the lowest-hanging fruit -- in its jokes , in its animation style and its brazen , narrow appeal to tykes .",
      "quite short and mildly appealing , much like a garden gnome .",
      "the logic seems to be that the bright colors and half-hearted attempts at plot will be enough , but even the youngest kids know better by now .",
      "... this primary-colored parable about feuding lawn-ornament clans is easy on the eyes and good for some laffs . ducking tragedy , -lsb- it -rsb- still dives into some surprisingly dark waters .",
      "as an earnest and mostly successful stab at what seemed like a flawed idea , gnomeo & juliet somehow manages to evoke fond memories .",
      "though a stodgy script means the people at dreamworks and pixar wo n't be having any sleepless nights , there 's still much to like about this colourful `` gnomance '' for kids .",
      "far too much of the film is devoted to eye-rolling pop-culture gags and long montages set to recycled elton john songs .",
      "too clichéd and clumsily assembled to provide entertainment value to anyone except the rarified demographic of moviegoers that automatically finds garden gnomes charming .",
      "it 's easy to imagine the voice cast headlining a terrific romantic comedy for adults , but gnomeo is strictly a kids-only enterprise .",
      "the result is like watching an over-extended sketch . the first few minutes make you laugh . the next bring a slight smile . the rest of the time you are silent , the joke and the accompanying freshness having long gone stale .",
      "playful , inventive and endearing , this 84-minute epic is smart enough not to overstay its welcome as it steers clear of the fatuous and the formulaic .",
      "the film is sparky and offbeat , but the script - credited to seven people , not including the bard of avon - is n't consistently funny or imaginative and too much of it seems camp rather than amusing .",
      "while the gimmick of sending up shakespeare may be lost on kids -- who will enjoy the movie 's colorful palette , silly characters and overall cuteness -- older and more literate viewers will appreciate the satirical bits peppered throughout the film .",
      "the film needed a whole lot more of humor relevant to its world .",
      "this fun flick has tongue firmly planted in cheek , a trove of elton john songs , an excellent voice cast , and nifty animation .",
      "defiantly derivative and groaning from joke overload , this disney pickup takes more than half its running time to find a distinctive tone , a reason for being .",
      "wait for the next elton john-themed lawn gnome shakespeare adaptation .",
      "it 's all really a bit cheeky ... to have -lsb- elton -rsb- john substituting for the insight and authority of william shakespeare . tragic ending ? that 's rubbish ! you ca n't hop and bop to the crocodile rock if you 're dead by poisoning !",
      "as enjoyable as non-pixar kiddie flicks get , a high-spirited , high-end comic revamp of big bill 's eternal tragedy .",
      "are we in such a hurry to introduce preschool kids to `` romeo and juliet '' that they need to see a computer-animated , bowdlerized version featuring garden gnomes and a happy ending ?",
      "despite the novel approach to shakespeare 's oft-told tale of doomed love , this 3d animated garden gnome variation never fully comes to life .",
      "every movie about cuddly dwarf statues in an english garden should have music this big .",
      "`` gnomeo & juliet '' is n't a great movie but it 's fun . ca n't wait to see what they do with `` turtles andronicus . ''",
      "elton john songs and love-struck garden gnomes .",
      "in this bright , bouncy shakespeare take-off , animated gnomes tell the tale of the classic romantic tragedy .",
      "shakespeare with lawn ornaments turns out to be an unexpectedly winning proposition in gnomeo & juliet .",
      "the good news about this sendup of the classic is that it 's better than you might think -lrb- even terrific for some fans -rrb- ; the bad news is that you ca n't get away from the foolishness of even trying such a thing .",
      "... possibly the worst animated feature ever to be distributed under the disney banner .",
      "the cleverness and humor pretty much stops at the title .",
      "feuding tribes of gnomes freeze into inanimate objects whenever a human looks at them . too bad that does n't hold true for the humans in the audience .",
      "... shenanigans play out to a score of classic elton john songs -lrb- and two new ones -rrb- and a script crammed full of pop-culture references and shakespeare puns .",
      "and thus the old joke has finally been fulfilled of someone pitching romeo and juliet to hollywood and hearing in response , ` could n't they live at the end ? i mean , it 's kind of a downer . ' -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "a daft and mostly deft low-budget animated `` romeo & juliet ''",
      "sophomoric humor and a lack of substance make MOV a rather forgettable flick .",
      "`` toy story '' goes shakespearean in this animated retelling of the tale of the star-crossed lovers of verona .",
      "a plethora of talented voices and some silly shakespearean references make this cartoon a winner .",
      "gnome matter what , i try not to pre-judge .",
      "one of the most charming and kid-friendly animated offerings in quite a while .",
      "for all the difference it would make , they could have just booted the elton john tunes and instead employed , say , gerry rafferty 's `` baker street '' or cee lo 's '' **** you . ''",
      "for a movie about inanimate objects , gnomeo & juliet is quite animated .",
      "rest assured the ending here is very 21st century : cheap , predictable , and witless .",
      "gnomeo & juliet was not a good idea to begin with .",
      "there is something unbelievably cool about tapping your toes to tiny dancer , rocket man , and bennie and the jets while adorable little gnomes cavort about and ultimately wreak havoc on screen .",
      "shakespeare is hovering , rolling , and leaping in his grave , folks ...",
      "for all the clever writing buried in the gnomeo & juliet script , the end result is a bit disappointing . but i could n't hate it .",
      "uneven is the course , as the bard might say , but the ride is plenty of fun .",
      "it 's a diversity of talent befitting the melding of shakespeare , elton john , and garden gnomes ; those unopposed to a little lunacy will enjoy the adventure .",
      "gnomeo & juliet stays too low to the ground to become an animated classic , but if there 's a fairer midwinter 's tale , wherefore art thou ?",
      "the nine writers involved -lrb- this took nine writers ? -rrb- wussed out on the tragic ending in a way that wo n't bother the kids but might feel like a cop-out to some of the older audience members .",
      "what would have saved it , if it had been saved , is the design and animation .",
      "the film 's adherence to irony becomes tedious , especially with the supporting characters planting more adult references in almost every conversation .",
      "a kitsch and colourful animation whose one-joke concept has its fun moments but only works in a limited , one-dimensional way",
      "discounting william shakespeare and the two guys who wrote an earlier screenplay it took seven writers to come up with the script for this .",
      "a fun , disposable animation designed for short attention spans and lovers of garden ornaments .",
      "sadly , the music is largely wasted on the material , as somehow gnomes racing a lawnmower does n't organically translate to a song about fighting and getting a little action in .",
      "to go or not to go , that is the question you must ask when considering gnomeo 's third act . it 's boring . acts one & two , however , are hilarious .",
      "a hit , a very palpable hit .",
      "a lot of thought , love and -lrb- on the part of the animators -rrb- hard work has gone into this picture ...",
      "entertaining animated comedy that succeeds thanks to a witty script , a decent gag rate and terrific voice performances from an impressive cast .",
      "executive producer elton john 's indelible stamp is all over this colorful family film .",
      "totally crackers but it gets powered by pure invention and eccentricity alone .",
      "gnomeo & juliet is romeo & juliet ... but with gnomes ? that 's terrible . it 's like doing moth-ello , a kids ' film about a moorish general who hatches from a cocoon , flies towards lightbulbs and eats jerseys .",
      "offhand you might imagine that doing an animated version of ` romeo and juliet ' with the characters played by lawn gnomes ... would be a terrible idea . now you have unassailable proof that you 'd be right .",
      "a disney toon seemingly born solely from a bad pun , this computer-animated trifle pieces together its bard adaptation from the spare parts of superior shakespeare-for-kids predecessors .",
      "a surprisingly entertaining animated caper ...",
      "it 's all snarky dialogue and whizzy action . but it 's also silly enough to keep both adults and children chuckling .",
      "-lsb- it 's -rsb- tragic alright , but not in the same way as the bard intended .",
      "parting with it is not such sweet sorrow .",
      "seriously , have most small children here even seen a garden gnome ? outside of a website commercial , maybe , or the cover of grandpa 's old `` all things must pass '' album ?",
      "... has its cute moments , but it 's the cuteness of desperation ...",
      "thanks to the guiding hand of director kelly asbury -lrb- shrek 2 -rrb- and sweet voice work in the leads by james mcavoy and emily blunt , it 's not bad at all .",
      "rather than staying completely faithful to shakespeare 's literary work , the screenwriters appear to be more concerned with cramming the film full of tired sight gags , humorless pop culture references and uninspired wordplay .",
      "there 's enough going on to make you wish the movie worked better than it does . a few more drafts , along with a title change , and it could have been great , rather than merely muddled .",
      "creative , much less tragic take on classic love story .",
      "much of the charm of this film lies in the fairy tale lives of these backyard fixtures . the attention to detail is masterful .",
      "an inoffensive but entirely unmemorable kiddie version of the bard 's classic romance .",
      "chances are this movie would be just as effective in good , old 2-d . but let 's face it , today 's younger audiences are drawn to the promise of what they might see once they don those oversized glasses .",
      "boasting plenty of chuckles and a bubbly charm , there 's a lot to admire about this kid 's toon .",
      "as well as adding colour to the characters , the animation nicely captures the textures of the backyard which in turn bring an engaging simplicity to some of the cuter sight gags .",
      "disposable , garden-variety entertainment .",
      "even if it does n't quite gel , it 's admirable that a film made of such weird ingredients is even vaguely palatable .",
      "it 's a bit of colourful fun that fast turns into a surprisingly guilty pleasure , to be honest . you 'd have to have a heart of stone not to be entertained .",
      "charming , puntastic and entertaining .",
      "it 's cute , all right . but even as shakespearean tragedies aimed at kids go , gnomeo & juliet is a slender conceit that stretches itself way too thin .",
      "a vibrant bit of cheeky entertainment , a beautifully animated romp that plays better cute than clever , offering miniature merriment and cheerful blasts of classic rock while pantsing the bard .",
      "this is romeo and juliet with a happy ending -- which ca n't have been easy . asbury does a good job of unifying the whole and preserving the english humour .",
      "-lsb- video -rsb- sharing only a smidgen of a resemblance to the legendary storyline of shakespeare 's tragedy this animated children 's movie is an abomination by any standard .",
      "might be more enjoyable if it were n't so conspicuously constructed as a showcase for elton john 's music catalogue . the two `` new releases '' are particularly ear-scalding .",
      "kids will enjoy it , adults will survive it , and the final credits will leave you in a better mood than when you started . not bad for a bunch of home depot escapees .",
      "the greatest film ever made about living , breathing garden gnomes .",
      "what is there to say about a movie that beats its eccentric premise to the ground in the first scene , and does n't stop ?",
      "there 's nothing here as clever as you find in pixar fare , or dreamwork 's successful shrek franchise , although co-writer/director kelly asbury did helm the oscar-nominated shrek 2 .",
      "what is there to say about a movie that beats its eccentric premise to the ground in the first scene , and does n't stop ?",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- delightfully silly animated flick , which does n't wear out its welcome .",
      "no doubt producers/partners elton john and david furnish responded to the story 's notion that love and ` matrignomy ' are matters of the heart that deserve respect rather than interference and condemnation .",
      "not to be confused with troma 's `` tromeo and juliet '' -lrb- 1996 -rrb- or anything from pixar , disney 's `` gnomeo & juliet '' is likely to be the worst gnome movie you see this year .",
      "given the size of the writing staff , it 's no surprise the script feels like a committee job , overstocked with a high ratio of groan-to-grin quips .",
      "exactly the kind of movie you wish for when you 're the parent of small children . it 's fast , funny and smart enough to tickle the tots and amuse the adults .",
      "it 's a sorry spectacle , watching garden gnomes being robbed of their dignity .",
      "creator kelly asbury has discovered imaginative ways to freshen up the timeless material and introduce it to the next generation .",
      "this retelling of the bard 's tale is tedious stuff , in the way that second-rate animated movies tend to be .",
      "the filmmakers fully acknowledge how utterly silly their concept is and the result is a playful movie that is much more entertaining than it has any right to be .",
      "novelty alone does not a good idea make , and in the case of MOV , it 's rather a disturbing , even fetishy one .",
      "if the movie , which starts out shakily , improves in the second half , it is a discombobulated grab bag of jokes peopled with characters who have little emotional resonance .",
      "the animation is bright and appealing -- and it holds up in 3-d , which is always nice . and the voice cast is rather remarkable .",
      "it 's directed with flair and energy , spirited , funny and charming .",
      "what 's happening beneath the surface , though , makes for more than escapist fun ; gnomeo & juliet also serves as a smart tribute to camp and , as such , carries some clever , subversive comments on modern society ."
    ],
    "summary": "while it has moments of inspiration , MOV is often too self-referential for its own good .",
    "id": "770807381"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_little_death_2014",
    "reviews": [
      "lawson either needed to flesh out these characters or view their failings with stiffer cynicism .",
      "... this hypersexualized riff on wild tales is at its best when depicting the tenderness and sweet intentions of maeve and paul .",
      "it 's perched uneasily on a fence separating a rote comic sketch film from something weirder , stranger , and less engaged with offering reassuring domestic homilies .",
      "`` la ronde '' this is not .",
      "a brightly performed , amusing and provocative entertainment that might have you rethinking what constitutes a normal sex life .",
      "the set-up is a bit like that old woody allen 's farce everything you always wanted to know about sex crossed with love actually , though it 's better than either because there 's a disarming depth and poignancy here as well .",
      "there are moments of bad taste black comic brilliance in this feature debut .",
      "the film is truly much more than it reads on its surface , a far cry from the tired and formulaic rom-coms moviegoers have come to expect from hollywood .",
      "overcooked at times and not always cohesive , josh lawson 's debut feature about intimacy is a case of hit or miss , but in its favour , there are some very funny ideas coupled with some priceless moments",
      "MOV is just a mostly laughless tour of unlikeable , depressive suburbanites .",
      "relatively experimental in its structure but conditioned like a sitcom .",
      "the film itself is so contrived it 's ridiculous . and not in a good way .",
      "australian actor josh lawson writes , directs and appears in this middling ensemble comedy about the wacky sex lives of four suburban couples .",
      "it 's quite a trick lawson has pulled off , creating a film that 's as genuinely sweet as it is borderline offensive , and funny throughout .",
      "sometimes funny , often just cringe-worthy",
      "a game cast , including kim gyngell as a former sex offender with baking skills , goes a long way in selling lawson 's hard-working material .",
      "darkly funny , occasionally poignant and teeming with the unexpected .",
      "the vignettes ... manage to be funnier than not .",
      "a winning humanity seeps through the high jinks . lawson comes not to judge , but to assess the unintended consequences of sexual free play .",
      "this is apparently a comedy , and yet only a few of the characters ' exploits are even mildly humorous .",
      "MOV never feels remotely of a piece , and is likely to find its proper audience months from now when the individual sketches show up on youtube .",
      "sex comedies work best with light touch , and as the ponderous title -lrb- a literal translation of the french term for orgasm -rrb- indicates , australian writer-director josh lawson mostly does n't have it .",
      "sad and often laugh-out-loud funny .",
      "MOV intriguing , provocative , a little frustrating -- sounds a bit like a relationship , does n't it ?",
      "in formulating the screenplay , lawson has blended both comedy and drama . it works in some places . it does n't work in others .",
      "... morphs from very good to instant classic in its final stretch ...",
      "an uproariously funny and honest sex comedy , MOV is an absolute laugh riot .",
      "with one or two bright spots , this is a mostly uninteresting , occasionally uncomfortable affair that is simply not as subversive , enlightening , or as taboo-breaking as it sets out to be .",
      "in lesser hands MOV could easily have been a misguided mess , yet -lsb- writer/director -rsb- lawson shows an uncanny sureness of touch with difficult scenes and is able to toggle the tone from story to story .",
      "an erratic episodic comedy about just how funny a fetish can be .",
      "MOV is bold , brave and original .",
      "the film relies mostly on verbal exchanges for its comedy and its sexual content and while it is very explicit it is only sporadically funny .",
      "a loveable , clever and feel-good film despite the fragmented structure .",
      "for all of the comic potential of a broad and bawdy farce , lawson 's story does n't meet its own brief and , much like the lousy sex had on screen , it ends up being a frustrating letdown of uneven pacing and mismatched mood .",
      "erin james and t.j. power get the least amount of screen time of all the couples in the anthology sex farce MOV , but they create the most lasting impression .",
      "in the end , the film does n't work .",
      "there is simultaneously too much and not enough going on in writer/director/co-star josh lawson 's feature debut .",
      "the mood will be too mild and shock-free for fans of todd solondz or early neil labute ; yet the film is sufficiently cool and quizzical to make you wonder where lawson will turn next .",
      "-lsb- b -rsb- racing bursts of unlikely honesty in overlapping vignettes about five couples , their sexual hopes , fetishes and downfalls , with a sequence of endings that come together in a ravishingly sustained comic climax .",
      "the entire enterprise is more annoyingly quirky-perky than truly sexy or psychologically probing .",
      "-lsb- e -rsb- xactly the sort of cheeky morbid you might expect from the title ... -lsb- t -rsb- his is n't a sexy movie in the least , for all its bold and very welcome frankness . instead , it 's funny in a way that critiques romantic dysfunction .",
      "frequently funny and sometimes perhaps offensive in the darkness of its humor .",
      "MOV is a cautionary tale to selfishness and sexual conservatism ; told with a desire to be cringe-worthy . it 's clever , but it knows it .",
      "it goes down as easy as junior soprano on bobbi sanfillipo , which is both a blessing and a curse for lawson 's hollywood-slick romantic comedy .",
      "MOV is -lsb- lawson 's -rsb- feature film debut , and it 's beautifully scripted , each of its five story lines working out the comic implications of a perverse urge ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV may appeal to fans of dark , risqué comedy , but it 's ultimately too rough and uneven to hang together as a wholly satisfying viewing experience .",
    "id": "771387985"
  },
  {
    "movie": "saddest_music_in_the_world",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's a work of art -- crazy , touching and utterly unique .",
      "the concept is high , the humor lowbrow and the joy of experimentation evident in every frame of this wonderful picture .",
      "maddin frustrated and self-immolating , forced to toil in a medium he sees only the death of and for an audience he disdains .",
      "bizarre , baroque mix of soap opera , song-craft , sorrow and substance abuse is an unpredictable knockout .",
      "the costumes , the sets , the music , the choreography , the dialogue - all are beautiful and from the eye of a genuine vision .",
      "the best movie you 'll see this month and a contender , with the possible exception of eternal sunshine and kill bill vol . 2 , for the best film of the year .",
      "if i were to recommend one work to someone who had never seen a maddin movie it would be saddest music .",
      "an insanely audacious satire",
      "any film where a beer baroness 's glass leg -lrb- filled with beer -rrb- shatters when a high note is struck is okay by me .",
      "a perfect entry point for viewers looking to explore the weird world of maddin , who should be anointed the cinematic poet laureate of winnipeg , if he has n't been already .",
      "guy maddin 's concocted a film that looks like it 's been exhumed from a long-abandoned dusty archive , and that follows the logic only of its own internal interconnections .",
      "the MOV is a hard little movie . which does n't mean that it 's hard to watch , just that it 's hard to describe and classify -- and harder still to critically analyze .",
      "hang with it and you will be handsomely rewarded , not only for its absurdist humor but for the way maddin creates a cinematic world where such sublime lunacy is ... logical .",
      "little more than an elaborate stunt , created almost exclusively in post-production .",
      "if the intention is to transport the audience to a world we 've never seen , mission accomplished . you 'll either find it extremely creative or an insufferable bore .",
      "provocative title , provocative premise , provocative direction , routine movie .",
      "to fully appreciate the lunatic possibilities of the film medium , consider the spectacle of isabella rossellini frisking around on hollow glass legs filled with sparkling beer .",
      "the amber-refracted comedy can serve as an introduction to the work of canada 's most original filmmaker or as a culmination of everything he 's done before",
      "narratively and spiritually , the movie is bankrupt , even though it 's so packed with stuff ... that you can hardly bring yourself to believe that it all adds up to nothing .",
      "it 's a rare film today that does n't assume audiences are stupid . weird as they might be , maddin gives us credit for being in on his esoteric jokes .",
      "the film 's expressionist style and lighting design provide it with an immaculate richness of visual textures .",
      "here is magic-realism filtered through an oddball sensibility , chilled in the snowdrifts of winnipeg and bottled in amber-hued frames of celluloid .",
      "crammed with cinephilic allusion and rendered in an obsessive `` authentic '' period style ...",
      "the finest portrayal of a double-amputee beer baroness outfitted with glass-encased , beer-filled legs that i could imagine .",
      "one of those metaphoric weird-out flicks that takes mors pride in shocking than telling an interesting tale .",
      "when a director 's `` primitive '' style is as developed as maddin 's , your aesthetic response can seem like all the emotion you need , his thrill your thrill .",
      "requires an acquired taste for such inspired but unwieldy madness .",
      "a guy maddin film is so visually inventive , so full of rich detail , and so prismatic in appearance that attempting to describe it is like trying to explain the color blue .",
      "guy maddin 's snow globe cinema , hermetically sealed in ghostly adoration of silent cinema , is well matched to this darkly comic fable .",
      "vital and delirious , the MOV hurtles along on twin tracks of vaudevillian humor and gleeful bad taste .",
      "i got a strong sense of guy maddin 's sense of his own talent , but i 'm not as convinced as he is .",
      "from time to time during the 99-minute running time , i kept thinking of those old off off broadway impositions on wriggly audiences -- or was it just me who was the transplanted village square trapped among all the hipsters ?",
      "beckons with a seductive and unforgettable melody .",
      "some of the funniest surreal moments on film since being john malkovich",
      "everyone overacts to beat the band , in time to maddin 's madcap and totally original beat .",
      "... so stuffed with maddin-ess that it never manages to get past the glorious surfaces .",
      "the weirdest movie of the summer . ok , the year .",
      "silly , sick and surreal , it 's a triumph of style over message or entertainment value .",
      "infuriatingly obscure ... a bit of rarefied madness that proves that maddin 's films are an acquired taste most of us are unlikely ever to acquire .",
      "at moments the taste is flat , but this brew has a head on it . it 's the strangest canadian export since glenn gould .",
      "maddin 's novel filmic imagination is exceeded only by his sense of superiority to his source material .",
      "watch this movie for its imagination , not its logic .",
      "chances are that those who have n't bolted for the door after the first 15 minutes will love it ; others could be driven to drink .",
      "offers idiosyncrasy in spades .",
      "... a little bit like what matthew barney 's cremaster cycle might have been without the illusions of grandeur or pretentious aftertaste .",
      "the best film of 2004 . a throwback in more than just its look , guy maddin 's latest brings new life to the melodrama .",
      "maddin seems to have picked up a loose string from somewhere in cinematic history and started knitting a tapestry of an entirely original design .",
      "shake this snow globe , and after the swirling stops , there 's nothing to see .",
      "greil marcus has described the folk and `` race '' records of the 1920s and 30s as expressions of `` the old , weird america . '' guy maddin seems obsessed with `` the old , weird cinema . ''",
      "the effect is so distancing that all but the most adventurous filmgoer will have trouble sitting through all 100 minutes of it .",
      "a viewer takes in this circus of bizarre characters and absurdist images ... with an appreciation for the inventiveness , but a wish that one might be more involved or at least entertained by the stylistic workout .",
      "it shows the positive side of cinematic weirdness . it 's weird in an accessible , amusing way . it 's bizarre filmmaking that regular people can enjoy , too .",
      "that the actors manage to find resonance amid this romantic-musical-comedy chaos is a minor miracle , but their complex interrelationships actually mean something .",
      "-lsb- maddin 's -rsb- campy style of writing ends up at odds with the emotional power of the images .",
      "mckinney 's cheerfully cynical zealousness and de medeiros ' waiflike quality provide some pleasures , but the film 's chief glory is rossellini 's inspired , imperiously vampy turn .",
      "each frame of maddin 's saga will have yielded a memory of cinemania past , even for those with no clear memory of the old movies that echo in this alluring new one .",
      "proudly outside the mainstream , but adventurous audiences looking for a uniquely diverting time will be glad guy maddin is staying the course .",
      "like everything in maddin 's oeuvre , the MOV is a contribution to the imaginary history of our times .",
      "... obtuse and impossible to penetrate ...",
      "as delirious and idiosyncratic as maddin 's past works , the MOV benefits from more robust pacing , greater narrative coherence and less preciousness overall .",
      "this feature from the antiquarian avant-gardist guy maddin is a sublime , hallucinatory musical , full of surprising humor and genuine sorrow .",
      "a deliciously weirded-out picture by guy maddin , a deliciously weirded-out canadian filmmaker .",
      "-lsb- maddin 's -rsb- best and most imaginative picture to date .",
      "the style is so overdone it 's nearly suffocating .",
      "there 's no mistaking saddest for anything but a maddin production . an exceptional one , at that .",
      "the script is hilarious and the cast , particularly mckinney and fox , are superb .",
      "a giddy celebration of despair in all its wretched glory .",
      "maddin speaks in an almost lost , elusive and poetic language of filmmaking .",
      "discerning filmgoers searching for a truly original voice , need look no farther .",
      "what 's really riveting is how effectively maddin creates a singular , cinematic world .",
      "another slice of bizarre , movie-mad brilliance from winnipeg 's guy maddin .",
      "saddest music is like a saturday night live spoof that has a promising beginning , but does n't know how to end .",
      "maddin , like beer , is something of an acquired taste , best appreciated by those with an affinity to mainstream cinema 's silent past and independent cinema 's occasionally absurdist present .",
      "enough leaden whimsy to resink the lusitania .",
      "maddin 's nostalgic whimsy wears out its welcome well before he wraps",
      "virtually gushes with an overflow of ideas and images and razzle-dazzle",
      "the grainy black-and-white cinematography gives the film an otherworldly feeling .",
      "surely the oddest 1930s musical ever made , in or out of the 1930s .",
      "the MOV does n't just re-create 1933 through costumes ; it actually looks like a 1933 picture .",
      "it 's a great work of absurdism , cynicism , and terrific madness .",
      "this is arguably maddin 's finest work to date - as funny , twisted and visually astonishing as anything he has done before .",
      "deliriously eccentric .",
      "a strange , finely-wrought movie out about the perversity of art , the hell of families and the chains of commerce , coming from a director who wallows in the former two and ignores the last . it slayed me .",
      "... shrill and annoying ...",
      "chester 's productions -- `` abolition blues , '' `` san francisco quake of ' 06 '' -- rearrange history as lurid , self-promotional displays , huge and irrelevant .",
      "to say that the MOV is not for everyone is to state the obvious . but who 's to say whom it is not for ? not me .",
      "maddin has reached a new expressive plateau .",
      "there 's atmosphere and absurd wit , but the surreal style creates a distance from the characters that 's only likely to be appreciated by fans of maddin 's self-conscious artistry .",
      "you 're left , as with certain vivid dreams , filled with memorable images but not completely able to account for what you just experienced .",
      "to see this film , to enter the world of guy maddin , is to understand how a film can be created entirely by its style , and how its style can create a world that never existed before , and lure us , at first bemused and then astonished , into it ."
    ],
    "summary": "guy maddin perfectly recreates the look and feel of a 1930s in this bizarre picture .",
    "id": "13635"
  },
  {
    "movie": "beautiful_mind",
    "reviews": [
      "a must-see for film junkies .",
      "roger deakins ' handsome cinematography gives the film the look of a leather-bound classic . what keeps mind from greatness , though , is some awkwardness in the screenplay , and the film 's odd relationship with the true story of john nash .",
      "nicely filmed by roger deakins and magnificently performed by crowe , who never fails to surprise .",
      "whatever the final verdict is on a MOV 's faithfulness to the story which inspired it , crowe 's performance will weather the storm . it 's the real deal .",
      "a brilliant performance by russell crowe , who takes his audience on a terrifying journey inside a man tormented by self-created mental demons , propels a MOV .",
      "it is a thought provoking study of mental illness and the struggle to overcome it .",
      "successfully lures the viewer into the mind of a character who is portrayed as defining everything in his world in mathematical terms .",
      "a MOV is one hell of a movie .",
      "a cinematic puzzle with missing pieces , a state of being that would drive any mathematician crazy .",
      "since love conquers all , you know everything will turn out okay . it 's practically a mathematical formula .",
      "a play for the fickle attentions of middlebrow moviegoers looking for an easy cause they can champion .",
      "best film of 2001 .",
      "russell crowe steals the show as john nash , the 1994 nobel prize winner for economics",
      "it 's crisp and well-organized and thoughtful .",
      "a significant film , one that is at various times uplifting , thought-provoking , and emotionally devastating .",
      "nash 's subterranean nightmare takes on the gripping elements of a psychological thriller .",
      "clear the academy award decks . here comes this year 's winner .",
      "howard smashes through the conventions of the damaged-hero tale to recount the struggle of one man to stand upright on quaking ground .",
      "both nash and the audience deserve better .",
      "well-made film with some deservedly oscar-nominated performances -- it takes some shocking liberties with its subject matter but remains engaging and enjoyable throughout .",
      "director ron howard has created a moving masterpiece , elegantly guiding the audience through john forbes nash jr. 's life .",
      "the film shows the triumph and tragedy of life , as well as the beauty of the human spirit to overcome and survive .",
      "` as straightforward fiction , this is solid feelgood fare , but the fact that it 's based on a real person , real success and failure opens it up to far greater scrutiny . '",
      "a different film might have been made about a wider sampling of nash 's experiences , but it would n't necessarily be a better film , and it certainly would n't be this film .",
      "exceptionally acted , smartly scripted , superbly directed -- a beautiful thing .",
      "this film is a puzzlement in its inconsistency , especially coming from ron howard ... still , good performances abound .",
      "a pretty good tear-jerker .",
      "one of those formulaically rendered important subject movies .",
      "the pieces fall into place with the precision of one of nash 's confounding mathematical theories .",
      "the movie can -- indeed , should -- be intellectually rejected , but you ca n't quite banish it from your mind .",
      "the success of this effect , which helps elevate the movie above a classy disease-of-the-week saga , rests firmly on russell crowe 's performance , and it 's a strikingly good and moving one .",
      "much as i admired the performance and the intelligent script , i could n't help thinking of how much money a schizophrenic can save on movies !",
      "the biggest load of hooey to stink up the screen this year .",
      "there is more to admire in a MOV than you might suspect , but less than its creators believe .",
      "crowe and crew deliver top-flight performances to keep the madness gripping .",
      "among the most affecting ever made about co-existing with mental demons .",
      "howard softens the hard edge of real schizophrenia with movie gloss as cotton candy , shaping the troubled history of mathematical genius john forbes nash , jr. into feel good escapism .",
      "howard 's sappy movie covers some of the material , but is far more concerned with box office and oscar glory .",
      "crowe 's performance alone is worth the admission price .",
      "a MOV is at its best when its subject is at his worst .",
      "until the unbearably sappy final minutes , the film moves at an absorbing pace and -- in the rarest of qualities - allows the bulk of its sentimentality to emerge honestly .",
      "love story , or math problem , a MOV is without a doubt one of the finest , most genuine films of 2001 .",
      "an inspiring story of courage and triumph .",
      "formula hollywood at the top of its form .",
      "... howard 's duty is not journalistic , yet it seems a much more interesting movie could have been made about this nash fellow ...",
      "this is a lovely film , crafted with attention to detail and assembled with real skill .",
      "it is truly sad how the masses will seem to fall for any movie that wraps serious , probing subject matter around a conventional love story .",
      "the movie fascinated me about the life of this man .",
      "mind 's inarguably greatest strength is a beautiful performance by russell crowe , whose depiction of schizophrenic genius john forbes nash jr. is continuously compelling .",
      "one of hollywood 's very few really classy or ambitious offerings this year .",
      "crowe ... defines and builds a characterization which centers the film and , indeed , enables it to transcend its weaknesses .",
      "ron howard as director has fashioned a drama about the slow hatching of nash 's heart .",
      "fascinating , clever and surprisingly heartfelt , a MOV is easily one of this year 's best films .",
      "the script gets us so inside nash 's head that it makes us a party to his illness and the paranoia that it spawns ... but howard does n't know how to show us this without , ultimately , making us feel cheated and jerked around .",
      "goldsman 's script fictionalizes the bare framework of nash 's life in a way that sneaks us into the mind of a madman .",
      "fascinating , inspiring , oscar-worthy .",
      "inspirational to be sure , tightly-wound and secure with outstanding performances , this film is likely to please audiences all over the place .",
      "crowe , goldsman and howard are n't trying to solicit love or tears for john nash , as detractors bitterly claimed . `` a MOV '' sought only acknowledgement of the silent , invisible and brave struggle that so many with mental illnesses endure each day .",
      "a masterpiece .",
      "a typical oscars movie . solid , middle-brow and worthy .",
      "consistently engrossing as an unusual character study and as a trip to the mysterious border-crossing between rarified brilliance and madness .",
      "crowe pulls out the stops , but he looks too bullish and controlled for such a pitiable victim .",
      "the result is mainstream moviemaking at its highest , most satisfying level .",
      "cynics will hate it , but others will rightfully see it as a great cinematic accomplishment which is backed by excellent performances , great direction , a moving score and exquisite cinematography .",
      "oscar-winning biopic is too intense for tweens .",
      "i ca n't deny how solidly it 's crafted , how well-acted , and , wonder of wonders , how intelligently written and directed .",
      "i particularly enjoyed the fact that nash comes across as quite fallible in the film despite his attempts at perfection . his character in the film is as unpredictable as i would expect the real nash to be .",
      "for all his capraesque aspirations , howard 's movies never really leave the ground because he never really takes any risks .",
      "harrowing , heartbreaking and deeply human .",
      "this is a precision story as told by filmmakers who are shooting at the side of a barn with water balloons filled with syrup .",
      "all the pieces are there and ron howard fits them all together as if playing the perfect game of go .",
      "an engaging , rousing , well-made film about a brilliant man whose life was almost completely devastated by mental illness",
      "as strong a performance as russell crowe has ever delivered .",
      "in this case at least , mathematical genius has inspired moviemaking genius .",
      "i really do n't know who i would recommend this film to . it 's worth seeing for crowe 's performance , i guess , but for pity 's sake do n't pay anything for it .",
      "crowe proves he 's the pre-eminent actor of the moment , discarding his gladiatorial macho to inhabit the gawky , tormented nash with harrowing conviction .",
      "you ca n't believe russell crowe is the same actor who won an oscar one year ago for gladiator . the film has a reveal so startling i almost got whiplash , shaking my head in amazement .",
      "the strength of the film arises in the second half .",
      "crowe ... disappears into the character just as he did when he played tobacco whistleblower jeffrey wigand in the insider .",
      "in every facet , it should have an automatic date with oscar .",
      "it presents itself as a biography of the flesh-and-blood john nash . and in fact , it is really only a flashy , sentimental hollywood movie , inspired by a few particular details of the john nash story .",
      "at its most effective when it seems to lose the plot in a scrambled second act that posits the cold war as a collective paranoid delusion , the film reverts to type -lrb- and to fact -rrb- for a sentimental anti-climax .",
      "a pedestrian film with a rudimentary script that forces the actors to create believability where there might otherwise be none .",
      "if this were fiction , it would be an example of superior storytelling , and it 's certainly gripping .",
      "director ron howard 's deftness in suggesting the subjective experience of crowe 's character , who 's later diagnosed with schizophrenia , makes for inspirational narrative , but certain plot points are so reductive .",
      "unfortunately , as the picture goes on , the haunting of nash by figments of his troubled mind becomes a trifle simplistic .",
      "... crowe disappears into the role of john nash and proves again that he is one of today 's most versatile actors .",
      "a tedious exercise in manipulation that once again proves hollywood is short of vision .",
      "... one beautifully made film .",
      "neither aesthetically pleasing ... nor intelligent .",
      "where the film attempts to visualize nash 's thought , it is not perfect but does a very interesting job .",
      "a grand hollywood drama .",
      "an absorbing movie from start to finish .",
      "who 'd have thought algebra could be so exciting ?",
      "ron howard trashes the true story of the mentally troubled nobel prize-winning mathematician genius john forbes nash jr. ...",
      "director ron howard uses interesting visual techniques to show how nash makes his amazing mathematical connections .",
      "i 've never seen an actor try so hard to look like he was a disturbed character .",
      "a light veneer of condescension hangs over a MOV .",
      "in a good cast , jennifer connelly earns your complete admiration .",
      "the preview is misleading , but as a drama of a man 's pretty interesting life , it is somewhat pleasing .",
      "an excellent film with an interesting and surprising twist .",
      "practically a one-man show , but russell crowe makes it an entertaining one .",
      "through enormously convincing performances , a masterful screenplay , and aggressive direction , this movie takes us on an extraordinary journey into the mind of a fascinating character .",
      "a beautifully written , effectively acted , and meticulously crafted effort .",
      "a frequently disappointing cut-and-paste job ... it fails to find any sort of smooth rhythm or dramatic arc .",
      "in a performance that wavers between deserving an oscar nomination and one that 's overacted in the hopes of getting one , russell crowe delivers an intense performance as nash .",
      "the movie illustrates with poignant -lrb- if reductive -rrb- clarity the awful no-exit paradox of a paranoid delusion -- that its most incapacitating aspect is its terrifying realness .",
      "what it lacks in ingenuity , `` a MOV '' makes up for in superb performances , potent emotions and graceful , emblematic -lrb- if safe and conventional -rrb- filmmaking .",
      "screenwriter akiva goldsman has fashioned a powerful narrative that 's brought to life by the outstanding cast and howard 's assured direction .",
      "ron howard 's relentlessly sunny direction is an unusual fit for this often fascinating portrayal of one of our century 's great math minds .",
      "crowe is called upon to do not much more than stare solicitously at the heavens , from where inspiration duly arrives , to the accompaniment of some predictably celestial music .",
      "crowe 's interpretation of this tortured genius is textured and complex .",
      "the second , idealised , sentimentalised half of the film is torture , as we plod through the routine i 'm - here-to-help psychiatrist , the walls plastered with cut-up newspapers and the what-happens-when-he-stops-taking-the-medicine stuff .",
      "you 're well into the story before you can sift the facts from the hallucinations , a process that 's made compelling by russell crowe 's performance in the lead .",
      "despite problems of structure and tone , and some crucial omissions from nash 's actual life , a MOV has emerged as one of the season 's most enjoyable and popular films .",
      "the story also comes up with a clever way for nash to fight his problem : he uses his mind . his illness is a puzzle , after all , and he 's good at figuring out puzzles . you 'll root for him .",
      "a MOV is the best film yet from director howard .",
      "a MOV is howard 's best movie , and easily one of the best movies of the year .",
      "kudos to crowe , who can go over the edge without going over the top .",
      "it 's not a crime for the script to gloss over the thornier aspects of nash 's story , but the film seems totally unconvincing , squeezing a real life into a formula that 's simultaneously more palatable and less interesting .",
      "crowe reaches within and recreates himself once again , as he did in the insider .",
      "-lsb- crowe 's performance is -rsb- still one of the better roles you 'll see all year and seems a shoo-in for a hanks-like third nomination in a row .",
      "a MOV is like a brick to the head to anyone who ever winced at the utterance of `` infinity plus one . ''",
      "the most interesting thing about this film is figuring out where all the oscar buzz is coming from .",
      "the kind of movie that makes you wish they 'd just do away with the oscars altogether , a MOV is as tasteful as a dentist 's office , and about as exciting .",
      "it makes you understand what it feels like to have a serious breakdown in powerful , empathetic ways that no movie has ever done before .",
      "opie may know how to spin a good fable , but he 's no match for this brilliant , complicated couple .",
      "it 's the kind of project that should have been awarded to a writer-director team of true vision , and not to akiva goldsman and ron howard .",
      "there 's no mathematical equation that can produce the number of stars this film deserves ; it 's infinite .",
      "howard makes it much more bearable by keeping the tension to a maximum and the potential for nausea to a minimum .",
      "the first two acts of the film are strong enough to merit a recommendation , as is the consistently impressive work of connelly .",
      "a triumph of the cinematic spirit .",
      "this might have been a great film , if director ron howard had been more daring both in terms of the film 's perspective and its style .",
      "it is n't the device that 's so crude , but the execution , which turns nash 's persecutory demons into nuisances that wo n't leave us alone .",
      "russell crowe is a sensational actor who can apparently do anything he sets his own MOV to , and he brilliantly portrays nash from college days to retirement age .",
      "a MOV is not an insult to the intelligence , not quite . but it makes every effort to celebrate that uncommon faculty and at the same time play it down to the lowest common level .",
      "rich and stimulating , occasionally frustrating yet equally rewarding , and definitely one of the best films of the year .",
      "screenwriter akiva goldsman 's clever solution is to turn the story of a troubled academic into a hollywood thriller . how ? he makes things up .",
      "the result is one of the most successful attempts to make math look sexy , even if the movie strays - gallops , really - from the details of the actual life of nobel prize-winner john forbes nash jr. .",
      "a MOV reveals only glimpses of the dark story beneath its sunny imagery , but the performances carry enough weight for it to stand for something .",
      "crowe is convincingly skittish and bounces enjoyably off paul bettany , while jennifer connelly earns her oscar in the would-be thankless role of suffering wife . but this is as dishonest as hollywood biography gets .",
      "the film 's strength is certainly the towering performance of crowe as nash ; he inhabits the man from the internal organs out and jennifer connelly 's performance as alicia is also outstanding .",
      "tthe film 's overweening desire to be taken seriously gets in the way of the story .",
      "the humor of his rough-edged socializing and courting make a much more interesting film than that which `` MOV '' actually becomes ... a psychological thriller .",
      "how ironic that russell crowe won his oscar last year for `` gladiator ''",
      "it 's not only intelligently conceived and smoothly crafted , but also manages be be emotionally resonant without degenerating into mawkishness .",
      "this is blatant histrionic mugging directed squarely at oscar voters .",
      "shows us the joys and terrors of seeing things that others ca n't .",
      "a beautiful movie .",
      "it 's everything most movies this year have not been : deeply felt , genuine , gracious .",
      "russell crowe sometimes summons up one of the most powerful depictions of mental illness i have ever seen with barely an eyelid flicker separating manifestations of sickness from utterly sane displays of creative concentration .",
      "as nash , crowe could hardly be more convincing .",
      "though director ron howard 's populist style makes its first third feel simplistic and forced , the film deepens in the final two acts , and proves worthy of its unique and difficult material as the credits roll .",
      "russell crowe , el gladiador de la pantalla ofrece sin lugar a dudas , la mejor actuación de su carrera .",
      "a MOV is not about ideas per se , but about the experience of living in a world defined by ideas .",
      "as john nash , russell crowe projects the ` warts-and-all ' persona of a genius trying to conquer mental illness . but i ca n't help reacting negatively to most biopics . i never know what 's real and what 's made-up -- kinda like nash himself .",
      "the acting is what truly shines here .",
      "emotiva , personal y entrańable , es un triunfo en todos sentidos .",
      "a rare film when the random elements of filmmaking align in a formula equaling near-greatness .",
      "a MOV , a beautiful heart - a beautiful movie .",
      "nash and alicia are played by russell crowe and jennifer connelly , both of whom give performances that border on the spectacular . neither has ever been better or created a richer , more multi-layered characterization .",
      "it 's sad to see a MOV whittled down by such a plain one .",
      "ron howard consegue transformar até mesmo a matemática em algo emocionante .",
      "crowe 's performance is miraculous , absolutely oscar-worthy .",
      "a deeply eloquent film with sparkling performances by both crowe and connelly .",
      "good , old-fashioned storytelling , with both a twist and a heart .",
      "it is moviemaking at its finest because it plays as powerfully and effectively to the heart as it does the mind .",
      "howard gives crowe the space he needs to build a memorable character .",
      "an affecting motion picture that confronts its subject head-on yet does n't lay its life-affirming message on too thick .",
      "thanks to stirring performances from crowe and connelly , MOV might rest on a foundation of theoretical mathematics , but its real lessons come straight from the human heart .",
      "it too neatly pigeonholes the complexities of the dramatic situation , but the performances carry the show .",
      "tells us little about paranoid schizophrenia , less about genius , and next to nothing about nash .",
      "despite a shaky west virginia accent , crowe does exemplary work here , his best since the insider .",
      "despite the ` hollywoodization ' of nash 's personal life , a MOV is a thoughtful , provocative film about human frailties and human strength .",
      "throughout this movie we not only see this man go through hell , we feel it , thanks to crowe 's complete immersion in the part .",
      "sadly , howard blands out in the final third , using old-age makeup and tear-jerking to turn a tough true story into something easily digestible . until then , you 'll be riveted .",
      "a compelling tale with some terrific and touching individual moments , just the right directorial touch , and what 's arguably the best performance of the year .",
      "terrific , surprisingly gripping true-life tale of a math genius battling madness .",
      "humanistic and engaging piece of popular entertainment .",
      "in the hands of a better director than ron howard , such a protean mix of reason and madness could have made for a tale of shakespearean complexity . instead , all we get is a feel-good flick .",
      "russell crowe 's sweating and facial tics are always entertaining , but ron howard never lets you enjoy them , so busy is he directing everyone into a state of uplifting bliss .",
      "director ron howard and writer akiva goldsman have reached the apex of their careers with mind .",
      "-lsb- crowe 's -rsb- work here is indeed a thing of beauty .",
      "quite possibly could be the best thing ron howard has ever directed .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- plodding , pedestrian hagiography .",
      "schizophrenics , notes a psychiatrist in the movie , are pathologically incapable of recognizing the truth . if so , a MOV is schizophrenic .",
      "it may be a film which salutes intelligence and the power of love , but it 's also a symbol of cinematic cowardice and fear .",
      "the best action film of the year .",
      "it 's a performance that 's not just great ; it 's amazing .",
      "here 's hoping that the academy awards recognize this articulate , intensely entertaining gem . a MOV would indeed be a terrible thing to waste .",
      "pedantic and sophistic .",
      "i really wish the last third had been less sketchy , because before it the movie had seemed to be building to greatness",
      "if you watch it with your heart instead of your head you 'll be privy to a profoundly moving experience .",
      "howard directed this moving tale without caving in to the temptation to over-sentimentalize .",
      "you can practically feel director ron howard standing over your tear ducts , straining to extract every last salty drop .",
      "a film that gives only the tiniest insights into its main character .",
      "like a good college education itself , a MOV broadens your perspective on life .",
      "director ron howard and screenwriter akiva goldsman play fast and loose with nash 's illness to spice up the story .",
      "darned if howard does n't make -lsb- nash -rsb- as neat and warm as a tea cozy .",
      "as bold and searingly imaginative as it is substantive .",
      "-lsb- howard 's -rsb- most accomplished , most mature and least-compromised movie , ` oscar-worthy ' in every way .",
      "the complexity of the brain -- and its effect on human behavior -- has seldom been explored with as much lyrical passion and engrossing intensity .",
      "crowe and connelly 's work rises above the mush ."
    ],
    "summary": "the well-acted a MOV is both a moving love story and a revealing look at mental illness .",
    "id": "10240"
  },
  {
    "movie": "flashdance",
    "reviews": [
      "a stylish , fast-paced let 's - get-physical movie",
      "i do n't know whether to love it or hate it , procedure for anything scripted by joe eszterhas .",
      "one of the shallowest things you ever will see .",
      "well that was a stunning portrayal of the human condition .",
      "silly but energetic .",
      "virtually plotless , exceedingly thin on characterization and sociologically laughable , pic at least lives up to its title by offering an anthology of extraordinarily flashy dance numbers .",
      "nothing but glossy fluff .",
      "a simplistic fairy tale , directed by lyne in a trashy , superficially glitzy style , with pretense to realism in its on-location shooting and a woman who works as a welder , and the kind of postmodernism that 's mostly evident in the heroine 's name , alex.",
      "there 's something real in here , and it could have made it to the screen , but the people involved were too shortsighted to see it through .",
      "depressing to think that this was a huge hit on the back of the irene cara hit single , since there 's absolutely nothing to it .",
      "`` what a feeling '' indeed .",
      "jennifer beals should n't feel bad . she is a natural talent , she is fresh and engaging here , and only needs to find an agent with a natural talent for turning down scripts .",
      "step-setter of its time .",
      "the story does n't help miss beals either , because she 's at her least convincing when having to register any emotion other than rapture .",
      "an utterly preposterous piece of reagan-era bootstrapping propaganda .",
      "cinderella tale with sex , spandex , and '80s pop .",
      "unlike its grittily romantic predecessors , MOV is pure glitz .",
      "MOV might be considered one of the first signs of hollywood 's apocalypse .",
      "crudely-made in just about every possible way , MOV has only nostalgia going for it .",
      "this spirited rock musical about a young factory worker go-go dancer in pittsburgh who aspires to be a ballerina is the best kind of adolescent fantasy : colorful , involving and full of leaping , prancing energy .",
      "director adrian lyne caught the post-disco visual mood of the time to win over even the most cynical viewer .",
      "punchy , cleverly stylized , but utterly empty .",
      "it 's the electrifying body-doubled dance numbers that really stick .",
      "as far as date movies go , this is effective enough , especially the scene where beals demonstrates how to change her top without taking off her sweater .",
      "a beautiful piece of retro culture"
    ],
    "summary": "all style and very little substance , MOV boasts eye-catching dance sequences -- and benefits from an appealing performance from jennifer beals -- but its narrative is flat-footed .",
    "id": "13133"
  },
  {
    "movie": "terminator",
    "reviews": [
      "the movie 's scares are intense , but the notion that the MOV would move on to politics is even more frightening .",
      "arguably among the very best science-fiction contemporaries .",
      "this was the film that demonstrated to the dubious everyone that the musclebound fellow with that outrageous accent might be more than just another passing blip on our pop culture radar screens .",
      "relentlessly entertaining",
      "as a souvenir of a kind of b-grade action cinema that has all but vanished , the MOV should find a small place in the heart of every movie addict .",
      "gritty , clever , breathlessly paced , and dynamic despite the dark shadow of doom cast over the story , this sci-fi thriller remains one of the defining american films of the 1980s .",
      "more than enough violence to make it a profoundly moral film ; and arnold 's a whizz .",
      "a sci-fi actioner as relentless as its cyborg title character . the megabudget sequels are very good , but the low-budget original is still the best .",
      "this is a monster movie , and the monster 's role fits mr. schwarzenegger just fine .",
      "at the end of both movies , i find myself overcome by an extraordinary swell of emotion .",
      "the body-building actor scores by combining his iconic physique with a compellingly told story that requires him to speak very little dialogue .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- excellent piece of science fiction cinema .",
      "the MOV is a blazing , cinematic comic book , full of virtuoso moviemaking , terrific momentum , solid performances and a compelling story .",
      "a tense , slickly executed thriller , which sent a relatively unknown austrian bodybuilder screaming into the world 's spotlight .",
      "the movie 's strength is that , like the matrix , it combines action with ideas .",
      "the MOV -lrb- 1984 -rrb- , the first of two science-fiction action-thriller films , is considered by most film reviewers to be a better-crafted film . .",
      "to my mind better than its successor -lrb- for pure freshness -rrb- this film shows a keen understanding and love of the sci-fi genre .",
      "the MOV was james cameron 's second film and remains his most crisply written in every respect .",
      "seamlessly melds the best narrative mind tricks of science fiction literature with the visceral violence of the best action movies",
      "... remains the quintessential schwarzenegger movie ... a high-octane , tech-noir adventure .",
      "this rip-roaring action adventure has already carved out its niche as one of the major hits of the pre-christmas season . and with good reason .",
      "a surprisingly vicious little film , filled with indiscriminate , un-pc killings and a rough-edged feel that makes it utterly compelling .",
      "the birth of a genre unto itself , followed by an even more ambitious sequel .",
      "the film that put james cameron on the map and made arnold schwarzenegger an international star , the MOV is a high-potency distillation of a bunch of sci-fi concepts into one package .",
      "the original and best film from the franchise -- iconic , heady , dark and exciting .",
      "it 's a work of pulp art to see the future guv of california rip out someone 's heart .",
      "while many feel the sequel is superior , i 'd contend that t2 was merely more expensive . if you 're building a sci-fi collection , this one should be on your top ten list .",
      "the ingeniousness of the MOV is in giving us one of the most memorable and brilliant villains ever printed on celluloid .",
      "james cameron 's fast-paced , downright propulsive directorial sensibilities ensure that there are few lulls within the narrative .",
      "as for schwarzenegger , he nicely fleshes out the convention of a soulless gun for hire . with his choppy hair , cryptic shades and state-of-the - '80s leather ensemble , he looks like the incredible hulk gone punk .",
      "an efficient , cold-blooded sci-fi splatter movie that never makes the mistake of forgetting that on some level it is deeply ridiculous .",
      "one of the most effective science fiction films of recent decades .",
      "throughout his extraordinary , legend in his own time career , james cameron has done very little that can not be legitimately considered well ahead of its time .",
      "i remain perpetually amazed by how magnificently cameron keeps the tension up ... there is not a single moment that is n't operating at 100 % .",
      "a cyberpunk picture that flirts with emotional resonance but mostly focuses on the gut...testosterone-fueled , estrogen-boosted action melodrama .",
      "a brilliant sci-fi film that cleverly combines strong storytelling with suspense and killer set-pieces .",
      "`` tech % u2022noir '' indeed . he 's a futuristic machine and this movie is pitch black with menace .",
      "still one of the most harrowing science fiction films in james cameron 's repertoire ...",
      "remains a surprisingly meditative work , its concentrated visceral bursts not unlike punctuation marks among something more brooding , even prayerful .",
      "damn close to perfect .",
      "cameron maintains the heedless , non sequitur pace of a nightmare without resorting to cheap tactics . the frights of these nightmares , those cracked reflections of reality , hardly feel manufactured or inauthentic . and neither does `` the MOV . ''",
      "the havoc makes for a genuine steel metal trap of a movie that may very well be the best picture of its kind since the road warrior .",
      "getting the extraordinary physical specimen of arnold schwarzenegger for the lead was a stroke of genius and a stroke of fortune . each of his pecs is the size of a bull 's flank .",
      "-lsb- cameron -rsb- keeps things under control nicely , though , right through the final confrontation .",
      "still a toss-up between the MOV and aliens as to which james cameron picture ranks as his best , this propulsively exciting yarn about a murderous cyborg has long staked its claim as a classic -- science fiction or otherwise -- for the ages .",
      "wittily written with a nice eye for sharp detail , it 's hard sci-fi action all the way .",
      "a nerve-bludgeoning , relentlessly exciting action movie masterpiece ."
    ],
    "summary": "with its impressive action sequences , taut economic direction , and relentlessly fast pace , it 's clear why the MOV continues to be an influence on sci-fi and action flicks .",
    "id": "16340"
  },
  {
    "movie": "omega_man",
    "reviews": [
      "as a suspense film , there 's virtually zero .",
      "heston -lsb- is -rsb- an uncompromisingly masculine presence as well as multi-layered mind who 's always riveting . the MOV affected me in a way few movies ever had .",
      "reasonably good cheese .",
      "averagely competent exercise in comic strip sci-fi .",
      "despite being baked in early '70s cheese , the MOV is easily the most entertaining film version of richard matheson 's sci-fi novel , i am legend",
      "an extremely literate science-fiction drama .",
      "another misfired adaptation of richard matheson 's fine science fiction novel i am legend .",
      "a breezy film about the death of mankind in a way that only the '70s could have provided .",
      "not bad , but far from a classic .",
      "despite not having aged particularly well , the opening sections of this sci-fi allegory remain potent , although the rest of its apocalyptic storyline is decidedly leaden .",
      "... not an awful film , just a remarkably dull one .",
      "unsatisfying sci-fi thriller , though it 's not charlton heston 's fault",
      "sadly another film to file under ` not as good as the book . '",
      "ainda eficaz , mais de 30 anos depois de seu lançamento .",
      "lacks the power and cleverness of the matheson book , but worth viewing just for heston 's sake .",
      "peppered with some sharp , even amusing dialogue , the story temporarily shelves the heavy allegory and slips into good , slam-bang suspense . but it does n't last .",
      "lights on ! not bad sci-fi with heston in hiding .",
      "the ghouls are a little too ridiculous to quite fulfill their function in the movie . they make all the wrong decisions , are incompetent and ill-coordinated .",
      "entertaining and tacky .",
      "at times astonishingly awful .",
      "so-so last man on earth flick that looks pretty quaint today .",
      "a historic relic most significant for being part of the heston sci-fi genre and its landmark place in interracial sexual relationships .",
      "a fondly remembered sci-fi thriller"
    ],
    "summary": "it may not live up to its classic source material , but the MOV transcends its limitations often enough to offer some mildly entertaining post-apocalyptic thrills .",
    "id": "10526"
  },
  {
    "movie": "clash_of_the_titans",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV will still hold a place in the heart of anyone who 's old enough to have seen it in the theaters . yes , i 'm that old .",
      "silly togas and hammy performances still ca n't derail this fitting swan song for effects legend ray harryhausen ; the sequence in the medusa 's lair is his finest moment .",
      "though star-packed the film is sleep inducing .",
      "i learned much of my mythology from this film .",
      "a poignant eulogy to harryhausen 's handcrafted illusionism in a decade of increasingly synthetic effects",
      "let your mind go , forgive the wear and tear of time and enjoy the adventure",
      "os efeitos criados pelo lendário harryhausen podem parecer frágeis diante dos avanços atuais , mas săo perfeitos para esta obra que permanece descompromissadamente divertida .",
      "for harryhausen worshippers only .",
      "the visual effects are clearly the only thing here that 's worth bothering with .",
      "... a camp-infused fantasy flick that will probably work best among younger viewers and those with fond memories of its original theatrical release .",
      "teenage boys will love it , but the rest of us will be frustrated by the storytelling , the shaky camerawork and the dubiously effective 3d presentation , which distracts more than it offers",
      "... the last hurrah for the master of stop-motion animation , ray harryhausen , and it 's unfortunate he went out on a less-than-perfect note .",
      "fine , vintage harryhousen , but it 's too old for when it came out .",
      "though MOV can hardly be called a good movie , it has a certain quality -- a combination of camp and nostalgia -- that makes it appealing",
      "fun spin on the greek myths despite its general goofiness",
      "olivier chewing up scenery as zeus ? heck yeah , where do i sign ?",
      "visually striking",
      "a minor classic in fantasy film circles with marvelous harryhausen effects .",
      "dull adventure about greek gods , despite ray harryhausen effects",
      "offers an opportunity to see shakesperean actors -lrb- olivier , maggie smith -rrb- playing mythic roles in a frivolous , campy way .",
      "gloriously goofy fun",
      "ray harryhausen 's homely visual effects evoke sights unseen since hoyt 's the lost world ."
    ],
    "summary": "a goofy , old-school sword-and-sandal epic , MOV mines greek mythology for its story and fleshes it out with ray harryhausen 's charmingly archaic stop-motion animation techniques .",
    "id": "10212"
  },
  {
    "movie": "lonely_hearts",
    "reviews": [
      "one more dip into the tin-eared neo-noir well .",
      "the film goes into such repulsive detail that it ends as a tract against capital punishment .",
      "because robinson ca n't seem to settle on a distinct tone , MOV dances perilously on the edge of self-parody .",
      "... a worthy addition to the ranks of beck/fernandez movies ; only at the end , when it suddenly seems to turn into an anti-capital-punishment tract , does it lose its way .",
      "travolta gives a hangdog performance as the world-weary cop obsessed with rooting out the killers . hayek and leto share a few tart black comic moments as the film spirals into a bloodbath .",
      "strongly focused when it comes to atmosphere . but it strains too hard to contain its disparate plot elements .",
      "the movie never quite clicks because it insists on telling two stories - one that is dramatic and one that slowly peters out , neither of which complement each other .",
      "slipped into release with ominous lack of fanfare , this star-studded noir thriller is a halfhearted attempt to recast the honeymoon killers and deep crimson .",
      "the picture belongs to salma hayek .",
      "a beautifully photographed remake of 1970 cult b-movie the honeymoon killers succeeds better than many in balancing the philosophical with the visceral , although its villains ' dirty deeds still trump its deeper strain of melancholy .",
      "an a-list cast in b-movie territory is fun , but the lurid story is , sadly , as taut as a pool of fresh , gushing blood .",
      "while not much of a detective story , -lsb- director -rsb- robinson 's period film does provide a captivating look at the dynamics that turn fernandez and beck into serial killers .",
      "the only juice in MOV comes from the thousands of volts shooting through the electric chair in which martha and ray are executed in back-to-back scenes that are disturbingly detailed and drawn out .",
      "there is some strong work here , but too many misfires .",
      "leto 's layered performance as the nattily dressing dandy with no remorse is truly impressive .",
      "this is the version that 's easily forgettable .",
      "noir-ish murder tale is far too dark for kids .",
      "un buen ejemplo de cine negro , género fuera de moda que aún conserva su encanto .",
      "except for the fact that innocent lives are lost here , it would be easy to walk away from MOV saying `` so what ? '' .",
      "a good , not great , movie that benefits from nice period detail and some strong performances -lrb- especially hayek and leto -rrb- , even if the real-life beck was a heavyset , homely mess not anywhere near as attractive as hayek .",
      "a consistently entertaining and occasionally gut-wrenching tale that deserves at least some measure of notice .",
      "hayek 's alluring temptress persona reinvents beck 's obese nag as a sexed up femme fatale , in an exceedingly odd way trumping leto 's wimpy , henpecked unconvincing womanizer .",
      "where 's james ellroy when you need him ?",
      "their amorality is n't presented in a conventional manner ; it 's depicted in an unremarkable , matter-of-fact style that makes it all the more realistic -- and all the more unsettling .",
      "when hayek and leto are onscreen , you do not look away .",
      "a rather plodding movie .",
      "it 's with the focus on the police , though , that the script fails to truly connect .",
      "the story of fernandez and beck may be grotesque comedy , but todd robinson tells it straight , without flinching from its piteousness , horror , or banality .",
      "most astute is leto 's impeccable representation of an amoral snake of a man with the looks and sociopathology to fulfill the requirements of his abject trade .",
      "hayek is a standard-issue femme fatale , damaged on the inside but flawless on the surface .",
      "concentrating as much on the detectives investigating the case as on the killers , MOV fails to show off its impressive cast at their best .",
      "a riveting thriller that contrasts the sleazy elegance of hayek and jared leto 's lethal duo with the lumbering , beefy persistence of cops john travolta and james gandolfini .",
      "MOV ca n't help but trip on its hollywood aesthetic standards .",
      "if you like true crime stuff , this is worth a look",
      "a gutsy reenactment of the conscience-challenged duo who killed lonely women for their money .",
      "while writer-director robinson may have known and loved a key character , he has n't really figured out a good way to bring his story to life .",
      "oddly sterile .",
      "vastly miscast -lrb- particularly salma hayek -rrb- and dramatically uninvolving , this third version of the 1940s real-life murderous couple is inferior to both leonard kastle 's 1970 cult film honeymoon killers and arturo ripstein 's 1996 mexican adaptation .",
      "leto and hayek make their erotic psychohistrionics fun , and john travolta and james gandolfini , as cops , work up a dour camaraderie ."
    ],
    "summary": "several genres and plotlines intertwine in MOV but do n't connect , creating an uneven and unsatisfying film .",
    "id": "460303401"
  },
  {
    "movie": "an_education",
    "reviews": [
      "playing a character who is herself a rare bloom in a field of mediocrity , mulligan has a star quality they ca n't teach in acting school .",
      "wonderful coming-of-age story in 1961 london with a breakout performance .",
      "MOV is a wonderful film .",
      "lone scherfig 's direction is glum . we 're so clued in to what 's really going on that we never share jenny 's authentic excitement at being introduced to art , music , and exotic locales .",
      "the plot 's a cynical/sentimental rip-off of flaubert 's novel sentimental education , yet full of commercial calculation -- including scherfig 's romantic view of the paris assignation .",
      "captivatingly written , directed and acted with sensitivity and nuance , this is one of the best films of the year . it lives up to its title in more ways than one .",
      "mulligan gives a performance of dazzling nuance , full of feeling without being splashy or overly emotional . she mixes toughness , fragility , intelligence and naiveté .",
      "the emotional maturity of a sheltered teen in post-war austerity britain is thoroughly tested in MOV .",
      "coming-of-age story offers an ageless lesson in life , but MOV is ever fresh , never didactic , and very entertaining .",
      "... the film 's appeal ultimately lies in its irresistibly evocative visuals , nick hornby 's snappy , clever dialogue , and , in particular , the splendid performances from an almost flawless cast ...",
      "MOV argues that life -- and the human heart -- are far too complicated merely to be studied . they need to be experienced .",
      "scherfig and hornby craft a portrait of an era whose innocence is overstated without resorting to sepia tinged nostalgia . the result is a snapshot of how we become who we become , as a vibrant and affectionate act of memory .",
      "a resonant coming-of-age story , at once tough and delicate , that signifies how much times have changed in the proceeding fifty years , and , in other ways , how much they have stayed the same .",
      "MOV is just what the title promises , and a delight , as well .",
      "many have come close , but MOV is the first film this year to grab me by the lapel and whisk me along with its characters ...",
      "it 's truly a magnificent coming-out .",
      "simultaneously MOV and a thrill .",
      "the movie belongs to mulligan , whose jenny looks like audrey hepburn when she puts her hair up and dons a black dress , and like every teenage girl who 's had her heart broken when she cries .",
      "` MOV ' is a finely crafted film that touches every emotion . watch it to see how a story so fun and playful can also be so tender and heartbreakingly sad .",
      "one of those tried and true coming of age stories enlivened by the performance of newcomer carey mulligan and a great supporting cast .",
      "the way one character bounces off another in MOV is endlessly interesting . no role , no matter how small , is thrown away .",
      "a nostalgic , rather equivocal study of the mid-20th-century british sea change in attitudes to sex , class and culture .",
      "the most extraordinary thing about this engaging , hysterical and deeply moving film is how natural this supposedly inappropriate relationship feels .",
      "-lsb- mulligan -rsb- makes the role luminous when it could have been sad or awkward . she has such lightness and grace , you 're pretty sure this is the birth of a star .",
      "one of 2009 's finest motion pictures -- an open and honest look at sexual politics and a woman 's place in the world during the early1960s .",
      "excellent performances from the entire cast do n't make up for the fact that this film is mostly a highly forgetful , stylish , soap inspired story .",
      "an adult focus upon a questionable pairing sidesteps the raincoat crowd and offers a telling , reflective study of learning the hard way .",
      "it 's carey mulligan 's ivy-league performance that really puts the film in a class all by itself .",
      "an irresistible tale of seduction in which innocence and intellect are the prize stakes .",
      "sheer joy of an intelligent , grown up film",
      "in a film marked by strong performances carey mulligan is a show-stealer , with a career-making performance that relies as much on charm as on acting ability .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "here , you see a family collectively come to appreciate the strength of a heart scarred over and the blossoming of a woman -lrb- and actress carey mulligan -rrb- who learns that pie-in-the-sky predictions for a future can sock even the most sensible among us .",
      "scherfig transmits lessons of morality and irony in a well cast and produced ensemble piece .",
      "the screenplay by author nick hornby is exceptional : witty , observant and wise .",
      "MOV soulčve plusieurs questions pertinentes sur les rudiments de la vie et de l'amour , sans toutefois réussir ŕ répondre ŕ chacune d'entre elles .",
      "mulligan completely owns `` MOV , '' giving one of the most self-assured breakout performances in years . and the best thing is that the movie , an elegant and sharply observed coming-of-age story , measures up to her performance .",
      "this is sort of a modern costume drama . it is a lot like a jane austen story .",
      "in what is her first but certainly not last starring role , mulligan is so natural that you wonder why it took filmmakers so long to give her a role this substantive . the 20-something is sure to be on the mind of oscar and other awards voters .",
      "`` MOV '' is worth seeing , mostly for its superb period detail and the strong performance at its center .",
      "takes what 's essentially a soap-operatic plot and spins it into something very like cinematic gold ... instructive about how a very familiar story can be given new vibrancy by filmmakers and actors working at peak form .",
      "the old `` stay in school '' adage has rarely been trotted out to such cop-out effect",
      "beautifully filmed and wonderfully acted , director lone scherfig has done an excellent job bringing alive nick hornby 's screenplay onto the silver screen",
      "sarsgaard has that certain look and style that always hints at something not quite right lurking beneath his noble exterior .",
      "the film is gentle with its judgments . or most of them .",
      "it 's not very hornby , but it 's not bad . in fact , we could go so far as to say that MOV is one of the smarter entertainments of the season .",
      "this is mulligan 's showcase , and she is a revelation , evolving from carefree sprite to self-assured woman , unbroken by heartache but shaped by it nonetheless .",
      "MOV is , as the title suggests , about jenny exploring her own desires and shortfalls , and it 's too smart a film for easy answers .",
      "the point here is not to judge past missteps by modern standards , but rather to point out how easy it is to allow dreams to overtake reality .",
      "a coming-of-age film like no other in a very long time . it is thematically complex , perfectly designed , and as memorable as any film released this year .",
      "this cinematic gem is an ironclad lock to be nominated for best picture of the year .",
      "coming-of-age movies are a dime-a-dozen , but one as exemplary as MOV deserves nothing less than the opportunity to command top dollar on the open market .",
      "scherfig and hornby have a winningly droll sense of humor , but the main reason to see MOV is because they treat viewers as if they were as intelligent as jenny .",
      "the centerpiece of MOV is the breakout performance of young carey mulligan . she is enchanting , and almost convincing as the teenage jenny , though she ca n't completely obscure the -lrb- justified -rrb- suspicion that she 's in her twenties and old enough f",
      "mulligan perfectly balances on the line of girlhood and womanhood , shifting naturally from schoolgirl innocence to audrey hepburn-like sophistication just by putting up her hair .",
      "... about the british preoccupation with status , about the aspirant bourgeois and the outliers who exist beyond convention , in a moveable feast of booze , sex and petty criminality .",
      "a handsomely crafted and beautifully acted awakening story that 's predictable but consistently rewarding .",
      "the message proves surprisingly conventional , but its delivery is entirely pleasurable .",
      "a good deal of this works because of mulligan , who deserves every accolade and audrey hepburn comparison she 's received for her performance .",
      "if the story of jenny 's inevitably hard lesson is standard , MOV comes up with a few moments that give pause .",
      "mulligan is the film 's headline , pulse and revelation . in its blithely subversive way , her starmaking performance is a co-conspirator with the movie . both of them win you over with smart talk and pretty feelings , then kick you in the heart .",
      "despite the lingering aroma of victorian rot shrouding 1961 , MOV is excitingly young .",
      "the movie has a distinctively modulated tone . none of the period touches are overdone , and the central issue of jenny and david 's gaping age difference is never addressed by any of the characters -- as if to do so , in their world , would be boorish .",
      "it 's a pleasure -- which i do n't mean entirely as a compliment .",
      "watch mulligan 's face as she goes from weary to awakened , and see it all come together .",
      "no movie i 've seen in a very long time has touched me so deeply , or bestowed so much pleasure .",
      "someone once said that perfect movies are boring and only flawed movies intriguing ... and then along comes a movie like MOV , about which the number of things that are absolutely perfect is impossible to measure ... and it 's thrilling and ca",
      "this is a tour de force for carey mulligan as the intelligent , mature jenny ...",
      "an engrossing , beautifully shot romantic drama that slightly rushed and contrived toward the end , but boasts a radiant , oscar-worthy performance by carey mulligan .",
      "i have a feeling that sarsgaard could have stretched the role a lot further if the script had allowed him to , but , still , what he does is surprising .",
      "carey mulligan is sensational .",
      "scherfig wrangles everyone into beautifully natural characterisations that make the most of film 's somewhat slight approach .",
      "the skill of it is in allowing you to see not only how a girl 's sense of herself might be hanging in the balance , but to feel how the values of an era can be drama personified .",
      "in MOV a star is born . carey mulligan is simply beguiling . she has the wit and intelligence of a young emma thompson , the dazzle of julie christie , the fairytale enchantment of audrey hepburn .",
      "mulligan has a sit-up-and-watch talent .",
      "nick hornby 's screenplay lays out the progress of their relationship , up to the point where david proposes marriage , with great economy and wit .",
      "MOV is a brilliant learning curve - one of the best british films of the year .",
      "gymslip love is a tricky subject to deal with , but director lone scherfig and screenplay writer nick hornby should be commended for generally getting the moral tone right .",
      "destined to be remembered as `` the first film you saw carey mulligan in '' . cos she 's ruddy wonderful . and delivers one of those rare performances that ca n't really be faulted . bafta glory , in some shape or form , is all but guaranteed .",
      "carey mulligan ... allows us to observe and participate in something truly special % u2014 the birth of a major talent .",
      "the next audrey hepburn ? the new kate winslet ? british actress carey mulligan has drawn some pretty bold comparisons for her performance in the charming new coming of age story MOV .",
      "a fun production with a great soundtrack and scrumptious english scenery but the decisions are ultimately too dim to believe .",
      "hornby 's humane and humorous screenplay is true to the film 's title : in short order , young jenny finds out important truths about identity , glamour and how adults really think and live .",
      "a living , breathing , affectionate look at all the possibilities and pitfalls of growing up .",
      "sarsgaard is great as a very nice man who 's really very rotten the more you think about it .",
      "sensitively directed by lone sherfig , with terrific performances by mulligan , sarsgaard , and olivia williams , this is one of the best films of the year .",
      "a star may or may not be born in MOV , but an actress most surely is .",
      "the ending of the film is particularly poignant , and confirms the theme that , even if you make mistakes , they sometimes turn into memories you 'll cherish forever .",
      "mulligan might well remind you of audrey hepburn more than 50 years ago in roman holiday .",
      "a striking yet strikingly conventional film .",
      "resides in that magical place where movies are breezy , funny , and smart but also realistic and thoughtful .",
      "the sort of picture that 's so effortlessly entertaining that its easy to praise it purely for its superb performances .",
      "MOV is a vibrant portrait of england on the cusp of its postwar rebirth .",
      "parental content review",
      "the 60s period detail is spot on , the script super-knowing . a wonderful surprise of a movie .",
      "material about two tantrums and a gossip girl cast member away from becoming a lifetime original event , making the nuanced accomplishments of the feature shine all the more brightly .",
      "a standard-issue coming-of-age story done well enough and without distinction .",
      "a great , thoroughly enjoyable film , and one which i ` m sure will get some oscar attention towards the end of the year .",
      "tenderly looks back upon statutory rape as a rite of passage , and it 's a testament to fine performances that the film only feels icky in retrospect .",
      "a teen-targeted public service announcement .",
      "you may think you know where the film is going , but its ecstasy and heartbreak will stick with you afterward . it 's one of the year 's best .",
      "the film 's greatest strength may well be how sarsgaard 's david , in concert with hornby and scherfig , seduces the audience along with jenny , promising the world and leaving temptingly unlocked a pandora 's box of social ambiguity .",
      "odds have it , as of this writing , that the best actress oscar race will probably come down to meryl streep versus sandra bullock , but neither of them carries their respective movie quite as ably as mulligan does here .",
      "played with great wit and depth by the 24-year-old british actress carey mulligan .",
      "it 's not a perfect movie , but it is an enjoyable one .",
      "MOV showcases several fine performances in this story about the dangers of youthful cleverness .",
      "carey mulligan deserves serious oscar consideration for her work in MOV .",
      "-lsb- mulligan -rsb- brightens what could be considered a common lesson in youth vs. maturity , and makes it one worth sharing .",
      "as a fan of the great kitchen-sink dramas and british coming-of-age films of the 1960s , i loved this throwback to that glorious time in british filmmaking .",
      "it was hard to watch jenny fall so easily to chaotic neutral david , but it was deliriously romantic as well . he wears down our resistance and we fall for him too .",
      "lone scherfig directs it all as if it were a breezy lark , so a third-act tonal shift makes for an incongruous , excessively moralistic fit with everything that 's preceded .",
      "this coming of ager resonates : that 's not an easy thing to do with a tried and true formula , either .",
      "clever and engaging , the title serves as a double entendre about a transformative ` university of life ' experience .",
      "the first two acts are the best with the radiance of mulligan 's performance putting all eyes on her and subsequently seducing us into her discoveries .",
      "even if the story gets derailed , the early part of the ride is such fun that you 'll want to take the journey .",
      "... entertaining and perceptive , and distinguished by mulligan 's infectious presence .",
      "a wonderful meditation on understanding life 's many choices and hierarchies and deciding to abide or rebel ... mulligan 's a lock for a best actress oscar nod and just might win .",
      "relative newcomer carey mulligan makes a huge splash in the title role with a complex performance that balances a sophistication beyond her years -lrb- and her upbringing -rrb- with the vulnerability of youth .",
      "purrs along like a finely-calibrated machine for its first two thirds",
      "MOV shares with hornby 's best work trenchant insight into the way smart , hyper-verbal young people let the music , films , books , and art they love define themselves as they figure out who they are and what they want to be .",
      "this is a wonderful , life-affirming picture that deserves all the prizes it will undoubtedly win . i ca n't call it the best british film of the year because it 's still only october . but i 'd be amazed if a better one comes along .",
      "a sad , painful comedy , and the lovely performance from mulligan makes it a very enjoyable film .",
      "t gives a glimmering surface sheen to the glamorous mirage of david 's high life and all but asks , `` would you make a better choice ? ''",
      "a decent but unremarkable film with a big , unforgettable central performance . carey mulligan passes with first-class honours .",
      "danish director scherfig and star mulligan give the film considerable weight by surrounding this lightly played , strange romance with both an acute understanding of barber 's endearing screen alter ego .",
      "it 'll be a strange person who does n't find MOV entertaining , and a stranger man still who denies it the success it 's sure to enjoy .",
      "the witty script and excellent performances never sink the film to a black-and-white portrait of a conniving man tricking an innocent girl .",
      "carey mulligan , in a star-making turn , makes this into one of the best films of the year .",
      "a slightly incomplete , though mostly rewarding , education .",
      "technical elements are among the best this year . photography , editing , music , production design , and costumes all add seamless period flavor to the puritanical stew that was london almost a half-century ago .",
      "a quiet miracle of a movie that quickly disabuses you of the idea that you 've seen it all before .",
      "as with first love , so with the movies : the right girl makes it all worthwhile .",
      "MOV captures the very limited possibilities for female liberation in early - '60s london -- with massive social change on the distant horizon , but not here yet -- in exquisite detail .",
      "MOV is the rare period piece that has a real heart beating underneath it .",
      "few people who walk out of this movie will be able to forget carey mulligan 's jenny ... finds many layers in the way it explores the world at that time .",
      "as a dual portrait of low-level criminality and lower-middle-class insecurity , it 's unique and indelible .",
      "intelligent period drama tackles mature teen topics .",
      "invariably funny and inexpressibly moving .",
      "through stellar performances , clever writing and exquisite cinematography , the story is fresh and thoroughly captivating .",
      "an above average example of the coming-of-age genre .",
      "veteran journalist lynn barber 's memoir of a teenage romance makes a pleasing transition to the big screen . yet , while it 's well acted and tautly paced , you never quite shake the feeling you 're watching a two-parter on bbc2 .",
      "a hit movie that 's small in scale , but big in heart - the most charming british film of the year .",
      "few films set in this period get the social furniture so right , and it 's a refreshingly new look at a time pregnant with expectation .",
      "it sounds like a creepy tale of a teenage schoolgirl seduced by a pervert . but it 's also one of this year 's most captivating british dramas , with a breakthrough turn from an actress we 'll be seeing a lot more of .",
      "the film 's a gem - and -lsb- carey mulligan 's -rsb- performance is MOV in itself .",
      "much more than a simple cautionary tale , MOV captures the giddy hopes and fears of adolescence , and the dawn of the most transforming decade in recent memory .",
      "what makes MOV so memorable is that it 's a study of a teenage girl that looks beyond face value .",
      "what began as a tale of innocence lost ends with a sense of exciting discovery . because the lesson to take away from MOV is that a new star has been found .",
      "a sly and sexy treat with both strong period detail and themes of innocence and betrayal .",
      "a delightful , resonant film , a great advertisement for scherfig 's self-effacing , but socially probing , directorial style , and a beguiling introduction to mulligan .",
      "an unusually nuanced and mature depiction of one of those hoary movie fantasies : the older man who gets the much , much younger woman .",
      "trite , whitewashed , simplistic , and sexless .",
      "humility , that most educational of human qualities , is earned and wisdom is gained , making MOV not only an entertaining picture , but an enlightening one as well .",
      "you could do a lot worse than spend 100 minutes with ms. mulligan . movie fans , i give you a woman worth educating yourself on .",
      "a star turn by carey mulligan playing a 16-year-old who gets charmed -lrb- and , uh , educated -rrb- by a suspiciously alluring older man , the excellent peter sarsgaard .",
      "... attempts to impress audiences with its worldliness , but it comes off instead as an awkward , unformed teen fantasy run amok .",
      "MOV deserves high marks . you could argue that the central relationship ought to seem sleazier , but danish director lone scherfig perfectly captures the era 's look and mood , hornby 's oscar-nominated script is deft and the performances are spot on",
      "carey mulligan announces herself as a major name to watch .",
      "mulligan possesses audrey hepburn-like radiance , but the 22-year-old actress looks so young , it 's hard to perceive david as anything but creepy .",
      "nick hornby 's screenplay is funny and sweet and 1000 percent english in that catnip-to-american-audiences way he 's so good at already .",
      "the fact that jenny 's flowering , her coming-of-age journey , serves as a metaphor for the times , adds another layer of richness to a peak cinematic experience .",
      "although we are talking age old themes here - first love , dodgy geezers , questions of class - the material is spectacularly well handled .",
      "... an absorbing character study and an evocative exploration of womanhood as embodied by the finest young actress -lsb- carey mulligan -rsb- to come along this year .",
      "this stunning , witty british comedy answers the question `` is it better to go to oxford university or to get engaged to a man sixteen years your senior ? ''",
      "beautifully shot with era defining wardrobe and hair .",
      "superbly constructed , yes , but those elements also connect ; a perfectly-picked song cue speaks to a character 's mood , a gorgeous camera shot moves the plot forward , an exquisitely painful line is backed with a warm , real performance .",
      "MOV works as a fever dream of first love , but the wake-up is unsatisfying .",
      "danish director lone scherfig seems at home in britain and the details of clothes , haircuts and so on are dead right .",
      "a beguiling little film that , with deceptive restraint and forthrightness , opens up worlds of roiling , contradictory emotions .",
      "everything about scherfig 's coming-of-age story about a girl in the london suburb of twickenham in 1961 is spot-on .",
      "the combination of a literate script , an adroit cast and an economical style is simple addition that achieves an alchemical feat : the best film of the year .",
      "carrey mulligan gives an astounding , oscar-caliber performance in this touching , poignant , and precise coming-of-age tale of a young british girl who falls for an older jewish guy , set against london in the pre-swinging era .",
      "... a complex and morally ambiguous story which rewards the audience 's attention without resorting to pushing their buttons .",
      "this film is carried on the slender shoulders of mulligan , a 22-year-old actress who captures both the child and the woman , creating an indelible performance we ca n't easily forget .",
      "a love story that simultaneously left me speechless and with a mouth full of words . mulligan 's performance is the best i have seen from an actress in 2009 .",
      "mulligan locates both the braininess and restless hormonal energy of an adolescent who 's blooming before most of her peers . bearing witness to her education , in all its naiveté , brashness , passion and pain , is illuminating .",
      "MOV offers plenty to enjoy and admire . it 's full of first-rate performances ."
    ],
    "summary": "though the latter part of the film may not appeal to all , MOV is a charming coming-of-age tale powered by the strength of relative newcomer carey mulligan 's standout performance .",
    "id": "770802627"
  },
  {
    "movie": "a_man_named_pearl",
    "reviews": [
      "-lsb- this -rsb- irresistible documentary about self-taught topiary artist pearl fryar is a portrait of a polite , church-going , thoroughly decent man who found his bliss training and trimming discarded plants into fantastical things of beauty .",
      "this would have worked better as a short documentary .",
      "MOV not only makes you want to get out there and play edward scissorhands but can , at least for its 78 jazz-and-gospel infused minutes , help replenish one 's faith in humanity .",
      "pleasant enough dollop of inspiration about 68-year-old pearl fryar , who turns his depressed south carolina hometown into a tourist destination .",
      "an extraordinary documentary about a talented african-american , a garden of exquisite beauty and love , and a community that has been brought to life by his artistry , enthusiasm , and generosity .",
      "assembled without frills or fuss , MOV is as much a portrait of a small southern town as of an unassuming black folk artist .",
      "despite the kid-glove questioning , the film ends on an uplifting sentiment .",
      "meet the real-life edward scissorhands , pearl fryar .",
      "as a portrait of genteel small-town life , it 's not half-bad , so hellbent on being inspirational that it dodges thornier issues , but so pleasant and well-organized that it 's hard to mind .",
      "a touching bio-pic about a humble soul who encountered racism and responded with love , peace and goodwill towards all people .",
      "the film 's hero is charismatic : modest , thoughtful , well-spoken , pointing out he achieved remarkable things because he did n't know he was n't supposed to be able to do them .",
      "go spend 77 minutes with pearl fryar and his garden . you 'll feel better for it .",
      "topiary folk artist and chainsaw-wielding ` plant whisperer ' pearl fryar seems like a wonderful man , but the directors never justify the feature-length treatment they give to a story that easily would have fit into a sunday morning charles kuralt segment .",
      "pearl himself is impeccable , but however merited , the film 's encomiums cloy , like the short-lived tv program that reported only `` good '' news items .",
      "totally uplifting film about a factory worker who became america 's most respected topiary artist .",
      "pic looks very much like a protracted man-of-the-week spot on a local newscast .",
      "a decidedly limited , functional aesthetic affair .",
      "unlike so many documentaries that exploit stereotypes of southern ignorance , the people of bishopville come off as intelligent and articulate , with an acute awareness of their shortcomings in the evolution toward more equitable race relations .",
      "on a smaller , less-cosmic scale of appreciation , pearl 's uplifting story is a welcome reminder that any pursuit of growth and nurturing will yield unexpectedly wonderful dividends .",
      "conflict and controversy are the breeding ground for story , and MOV -- for all its beauty and inspiration -- is sorely lacking in these elements .",
      "one of those hidden treasures of the art house that it 's your duty to seek out .",
      "an engaging , albeit superficial , look at a man and his creations .",
      "fryar is such pleasant company that the film 's weaknesses can be overlooked .",
      "a heartwarming but superficial documentary that 's saved from hagiography primarily by the humility and charm of its subject .",
      "in its own modest fashion , the film does capture a sense of the intuitive craftsmanship , pride and determination that drive the self-taught artist .",
      "this is moviemaking that honors the craftsmanship of its subject .",
      "this documentary is a head-over-heels tribute to pearl fryer , a man who is extraordinary -- and not just 'cause his name is pearl !"
    ],
    "summary": "though it lacks moviemaking polish , MOV is redeemed by the interest -- and uplift -- generated by its subject .",
    "id": "770675315"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1174278-definitely_maybe",
    "reviews": [
      "the picture does have a certain unimpeachable charm .",
      "the biggest problem with definitely , maybe is that leading man reynolds feels strangely out of water in a role that never lets him unleash his comedy chops .",
      "definitely , maybe has a certain bland appeal , provided you do n't mind that there is n't one detail in the movie that has a faint ring of truth .",
      "this slick romantic comedy has several things going for it , including an interesting premise and an attractive cast . getting all its elements to cohere , however , is too often just beyond its grasp .",
      "while the broad strokes are predictable , the fine details of definitely , maybe are a near-constant stream of small , albeit lightweight , delights .",
      "teen-friendly romcom about love 's ups and downs .",
      "definitely , maybe proves that there are still innovative ways to tell the oldest story of all , the one about two people falling in love .",
      "the big question is n't `` does love exist ? '' but `` does love last ? '' , a resigned philosophy that shares the stage with crisp , sharp jokes and insightful moments of recognition",
      "-lsb- reynolds -rsb- matches up well with all three of his grownup leading ladies , though his soft side is best brought out by breslin",
      "releasing a movie on valentine 's day can mean only one thing and , yes , definitely , maybe has it in big fragrant bouquets . love , heartache and dollops of schmaltz .",
      "it could use some editing toward the conclusion , but it 's generally enjoyable , amusing and more sophisticated than most films in this genre .",
      "this movie has little grasp of how human beings actually behave . and i do n't mean maybe .",
      "definitely , maybe has charm and some depth , even if it 's ultimately more a third-base hit than a home run .",
      "adam brooks 's traditional rom-com is n't going to win any awards but it 's easy on the brain as well as on the eyes .",
      "definitely a comedy , maybe a romance -- has enough sophistication and surprise to keep even the most hardened curmudgeon smiling to the bittersweet end .",
      "ryan reynolds and abigail bresling give likable performances in this charming romantic comedy about a divorced dad relating to his daughter his fables and foibles in a more mature , subtle , and realistic way than is the norm of the genre .",
      "what a great way to mark valentine 's day with a new classic love story . get carried away with a loved one in the romantic tale that definitely , maybe has to present .",
      "an unusually soulful and appealing romantic comedy .",
      "rising above the commonplace and the cliché , it 's wry , smart and just sentimental enough to warm the cockles of an audience 's collective heart while skirting the treacherous shoals of the mawkish .",
      "enjoyable , emotionally engaging and frequently amusing romcom with a charming central performance from ryan reynolds and superb support from abigail breslin and the three lead actresses .",
      "a surprisingly clever romantic comedy that starts brightly but unfortunately loses its spark at the end .",
      "definitely , maybe is a romantic comedy you do n't have to feel embarrassed to embrace .",
      "definitely , maybe is definitely a cut above your standard-issue genre fare , maybe way above .",
      "how is this for a proposition ? from now on , working title films is the only production company that is allowed to make films in this genre .",
      "maybe you 'll enjoy this , but it 's definitely no romantic comedy classic .",
      "it certainly helps that he has a very good cast . reynolds has chemistry with all three female co-stars , while breslin and an uncredited kevin kline steal scenes .",
      "definitely , maybe is n't terrible exactly , but it 's bland , and in some ways that 's worse . it 's a romance posing as a detective story in which the solution is obvious and not worth the fuss .",
      "the romantic comedy has become such a wasteland of physical humor , predictable plots , and nauseating manipulation that definitely , maybe is more remarkable for what it does n't do .",
      "definitely , maybe is an explosion of sweetness and hugs that might cause your stomach to churn if you do n't like your sentimentality too strong .",
      "when it comes to recent romantic comedies , you could do much worse .",
      "nostalgic , warm , bittersweet , and thoroughly entertaining , ` MOV ' earns a place on my list of favorite contemporary romantic comedies .",
      "the movie offers very real pleasures . reynolds has terrific chemistry with everyone , and watching him romance three of hollywood 's more intelligent , beguiling comediennes is a pleasure .",
      "is this movie the best romantic comedy of the year ? maybe not . do you walk out with a smile on your face ? definitely .",
      "abigail breslin 's role is limited despite ads . do n't expect a family film , rather be ready for something more akin to the tv show friends .",
      "everything feels derivative and nothing rings true -- it 's the way we were n't .",
      "this movie sparkles like diamonds .",
      "sweet , funny , simple , entertaining -- everything a good rom-com should be . definitely ...",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- n instant classic . the kind of movie people will still be devouring and marveling at and leaking happy tears over a century from now .",
      "soulful and sweet-natured , this enjoyably romantic whodunit proves that living `` happily ever after '' is n't quite so easy .",
      "brooks ' take on the ups and downs of modern romance and the unexpected turns it takes is smart , funny , and -lrb- above all -rrb- uncommon .",
      "a romantic comedy that manages to be cute without sending viewers barrelling into the bathroom to toss their cookies .",
      "in its best moments it 's simply about living and in its grandest it 's about finding lasting , realistic love .",
      "if brooks ' attempts to replicate the magic of about a boy were n't obvious by the end credits , the badly drawn boy song will drive the point home .",
      "for a valentine 's day romantic comedy definitely , maybe hits all the right notes of commitment , honesty and maturity that go into a young father 's explanation to his daughter about the women he dated before she was conceived .",
      "if you 're expecting another notting hill or love actually , you 'll be disappointed .",
      "despite one of the more contrived framing devices outside an actual frame shop , definitely , maybe keeps you interested in its characters and is n't afraid of complicating your sympathies a little .",
      "it 's no accident that the producers eric fellner and tim bevan , are the pair responsible for such romantic comedies as love actually , about a boy , bridget jones 's diary and notting hill , all starring hugh grant .",
      "put simply , the film excels most at not being awful .",
      "definitely , maybe is n't a particularly good movie . it 's hard to make either romance or comedy out of relationship wreckage , not to mention career ennui , and the pace is often meandering and sulky .",
      "will 's eventual fate is of academic interest only . definitely , maybe ? who cares ?",
      "this highly uneven comedy by writer-director adam brooks might be easier to take if it were less infatuated with its own cuteness .",
      "halfway through kevin kline shows up in a performance of such vitality and honesty that it shows how two-dimensional the rest of the movie is .",
      "at least it 's a narrative device with a mystery . it 's how i met your mother , but still .",
      "i let my guard down and was completely surprised by the sweet , happy finale , which brooks and his cast definitely earn .",
      "is definitely , maybe the best romantic comedy released so far this year ? definitely . should you go see it ? maybe .",
      "-lsb- reynolds -rsb- is -- once again -- better than his material , which relies too heavily on obvious sentimentality and lazy '90s nostalgia .",
      "for all the unnatural setup , it 's amazing that the performances come off so naturally .",
      "if you 're looking for a nice romantic comedy for your valentine 's day date , look no further % u2014definitely , maybe is positively it .",
      "the writing is clever , the acting is good , and this is pretty much as good a chick flick as you 're going to get .",
      "the movie has heart and humor ; the two most important traits for any romantic comedy .",
      "apsogo holigoyntiano stil komple me tileoptikizoysa eikonografisi , sympyknonontas treis romenti payla ntramenti se ena hortastiko gia ta metra toy paketo",
      "modern romance may be more realistic in definitely , maybe , but it 's also less satisfying than the illusions that classic romantic movies create about amore .",
      "this is straight-up young people whining about their relationships .",
      "more satisfying than your cookie-cutter romantic comedy but far less overwrought than a full-blown period romance , it finds a satisfying and cuddly middle ground .",
      "while clearly aimed at women , many men could find it as entertainingly endurable as did i.",
      "it 's sweet natured and brightly played .",
      "a diamond in the rough that could use some polishing but overall sparkles with warmth and wit .",
      "a film that at once embraces formula and , in critical scenes , dismisses it all together .",
      "more how harry met sally than when , the above average definitely , maybe may not be destined to be a great comedy classic , but this valentine earns every sweet and believable moment .",
      "will hayes ' only flaw is that he 's too idealistic -- in the same way that john edwards cares too much for poor people .",
      "sweet , charming ... and not particularly funny for even a moment .",
      "definitely , maybe , which was written and directed by adam brooks , has charm and spirit .",
      "smart , sophisticated and charming , ` definitely , maybe ' is wonderful dramedy about the choices we make about love .",
      "... an amusing little bauble ...",
      "definitely , maybe has the ` meet cute , ' but it also has all the things that can come after -- the awkward moments , the scary possibility of hope , the comforts of sadness , the tough talks , the ugly partings , the hard-won reconciliations .",
      "... ultimately does n't fare much better than its mediocre brethren ...",
      "-lsb- definitely , maybe has -rsb- a largess of characters and themes and a genuine desire to explore them , good intentions that earn the film a grudging pass .",
      "yes , you can polish a turd .",
      "a nice , entertaining little movie -- something we see far too few of at this time of year .",
      "no maybes about it , definitely an exceptional romantic comedy .",
      "a ` who 's your mama ? ' melodrama unfolding for the benefit of a suddenly-spousified 11 year-old .",
      "definitely , maybe stumbles along the way to its destination just like its protagonist does , but the humor and heart compensate for the lack of sure footing that extends all the way to the uncertainty in the title .",
      "by trading in metaphor and parallel structure , makes a compelling allegorical statement about just how stuck in a rut we collectively feel our nation is .",
      "tthe performances are very strong .",
      "there 's a refreshing adult quality in the film that kicks the film a notch above the rest of the romantic and comic fare currently available .",
      "if you 're looking for a movie that is n't just the same old , same old , `` definitely , maybe '' is definitely the movie for you .",
      "reynolds provides the perfect foil for these spiky women . quietly masculine and so relaxed in his effects that he could be prescribed for anxiety , reynolds exudes an elusive charisma that suggests ryan o'neal by way of george gobel .",
      "a terminally bland , brutally overlong tale of tedious , attractive people and their banal romantic problems .",
      "-lsb- adam -rsb- brooks has had a sporadic career , but when he suddenly resurfaces , he usually provides zesty dialogue and intriguing characters .",
      "who will our unlucky in love protagonist ultimately choose ? even if one correctly surmises , the journey is filled with quietly humorous and engaging moments .",
      "all of the romantic scenes work here , but anytime it switched gears and started focusing on the politics , it lost me .",
      "might not be the most perfect movie possible , but it makes up for its shortcomings with an appeal to the heart that connects",
      "not entirely successful , but worth a look .",
      "despite repeatedly falling for three of the most beautiful women in the movies , reynolds winds up largely miserable",
      "a bittersweet bedtime story about at least three babes who broke a guy 's heart during his hard knocks , early adult years , in addition to , well , bill clinton .",
      "we get a rare look at a long personal journey through relationships -lrb- including his relationship to politics -rrb- from the point of view of the man , and a new appreciation of the silver lining on even the saddest cloud .",
      "i am totally guilty . you can throw me in a court room and convict me because i am totally and completely guilty of thinking this movie was going to be the same old romantic comedy that we have been seeing for years .",
      "every valentine 's day weekend deserves a good romantic comedy , and this year , we have one .",
      "while ... definitely a cut above the usual february fodder , it maybe feels too second hand with roots in everything from the princess bride 's bedtime story structure to television 's how i met your mother 's teasing central concept .",
      "no one 's a cartoon villain , and no one 's beyond reproach , either . everyone speaks like a grown-up .",
      "you 're telling me that the script dreams up a main character who attends the university of wisconsin-madison in 1992 , and he has no idea who nirvana is ? the screenwriter clearly was n't doing his homework .",
      "when you 're maybe just about ready to fully endorse the film , it gives in to some generic romantic-comedy frippery that punctures a hole in its own believability .",
      "definitely , maybe adds some welcome spice to a genre that rarely ventures beyond the predictable anymore .",
      "the film definitely satisfies the need for an unthreatening , competently made romcom with a traditional template . but maybe that 's not enough if you want to be surprised , refreshed or anything other than lazily charmed .",
      "it wo n't be on anybody 's 10-best list at the end of the year . but it 's agreeable and engaging and real enough in the right smallish ways , and it has an emotional maturity at odds with the high-grade plastic from which it 's constructed .",
      "definitely is definitely not the best rom-com ever , though maybe one of the better ones hollywood churns out this year .",
      "the big news here is the intelligence , the balance , the real romance in definitely , maybe . no , it does n't follow the formula . and really , how cool is that ?",
      "a mildly entertaining rom-com with obvious flaws , with nowhere near the out-of-the-candy-box approach to romance it purports to have .",
      "the creative team here has ties to that four weddings and a funeral , notting hill , bridget jones crowd , which may explain why so many of ryan reynolds 's lines sound as if they might have been better delivered by a young hugh grant .",
      "the romantic banter between will and his three paramours strains for sparkling wit and only occasionally achieves it .",
      "definitely , maybe is a surprisingly rewarding romantic comedy .",
      "an often-fun , above-average romantic comedy with a unique twist .",
      "definitely , maybe is certainly the most ambitious , and satisfying , rom-com in recent memory . that 's faint praise given the recent run of romantic fare .",
      "as the movie is about a character 's growing into his own truth rather than discovering some preordained truth , definitely , maybe is hard to outguess . for once in a romantic comedy you wo n't be able to tell after 5 minutes who will end up together .",
      "very improbable , kinda corny and sweet as hell ... a next generation when harry met sally .",
      "it 's a lot fresher and bit more sophisticated than the ordinary run of maudlin chick flicks and crude gross-out sex farces that now pass for romantic comedies .",
      "most of the elements of this picture feel strongly borrowed from other successful romances . still , the film makes for a quality valentine 's day date that wo n't leave the men emasculated .",
      "there 's really nothing terribly wrong with definitely , maybe , but there 's nothing strikingly right about it , either ; it 's as good as it needs to be , and no more . it 'll do in a valentine 's day pinch , until something better comes along .",
      "short on mystery and long on testing our patience for obligatory coincidence .",
      "brooks deserves credit for a fairly satisfying survey of a heart wanting what it wants , thinking it wants what it does n't want , wanting the first thing again and then waking up to what it needs .",
      "it is , i suppose , a premise , of sorts , but as writer-director adam brooks 's definitely , maybe galumphs along , it is not a particularly romantic or comedic one .",
      "definitely , maybe , written and directed by adam brooks , is a nimble and winning little romance .",
      "three movies ' worth of rom-com cliches stuffed into one .",
      "a romantic comedy with brains as well as heart , definitely , maybe is that rare studio release that feels like it was written by a human being , not by committee .",
      "to sum up , definitely , maybe is crap with compensations .",
      "it 's a delightful movie with great writing and a splendid cast .",
      "reynolds has consistently ranked among the top unsung comedic actors of his era .",
      "... one of ickiest framing devices in recent memory .",
      "may turn out to be the sleeper film of the year , in the tradition of past cinematic surprises , like ` my big fat greek wedding ' , ` sideways ' and ` little miss sunshine ' .",
      "it feels overworked at times , a gimmick saved largely by chemistry . but it 's also sweet and sour in the best ways ...",
      "it 's all been done before , and better . furthermore , the nearly two full hours it takes to reach its foregone conclusion begins to pry on one 's nerves .",
      "it 's just unconventional enough in its structure to pique my interest , while still hewing close to the basic elements that rom-com fans expect .",
      "definitely , maybe is what happens when someone decides to make a romantic comedy , then sits down and thinks about it for a while before setting out to write .",
      "all the performances are fine , yet they 're fine mainly because there 's almost nothing in the script to severely botch , so safe , rote , and mildly soporific are the proceedings .",
      "an appealing romantic comedy that will inspire you to retell the story of your own romantic journey .",
      "miracle to behold , director brooks gives us in the audience a romantic comedy that is head and shoulders above the routine pap that the major studios throw at us annually .",
      "-lsb- adam -rsb- brooks ' movie has romantic ambition , something lacking in hollywood romantic comedies of late . but he has made a slow-footed , long-winded comedy with more grins than laughs , an arm 's - length romance with a real eye-roller of an ending ."
    ],
    "summary": "with a clever script and charismatic leads , definitely , maybe is a refreshing entry into the romantic comedy genre .",
    "id": "770674772"
  },
  {
    "movie": "gladiator",
    "reviews": [
      "the brutality has such a mythical grandeur that it occasionally resembles beauty .",
      "beefcake ! blood ! body slams ! boring ! boring ? well , not quite , but at 150 minutes , `` MOV '' is n't entirely the thrilling , action-packed roman epic some fans of the genre were expecting .",
      "while crowe 's acting is certainly more subtle than most of the brouhaha around him , he has little chance to display the affecting humanity that 's one of his chief assets .",
      "really excellent but really violent oscar winner .",
      "russell crowe is as believable a spaniard here as charlton heston was a mexican in `` touch of evil . '' but director ridley scott took greater interest in entwining an empire 's intrigue with its people 's turmoil than emphasizing bread-and-circus brutality .",
      "... stirring action , good performances , and a plethora of visual delights .",
      "the fusion of the ancient and the modern -- even to the point of some sly echoes of our own sports-mad society -- is seamless . MOV does indeed deliver the glory that was rome , but it also clinically dissects the assumptions on which it was built .",
      "in the end , MOV is overdrawn and too insubstantial for its own good , just like the old days , but it satisfies as entertainment on a grand scale .",
      "MOV 's combination of grim sanctimony and drenching , dolby-ized dismemberings left me appalled .",
      "time for a little gladiatorial gore with your milk duds . MOV is here , and it 's big , glorious and eminently dumb .",
      "it is undeniably a triumph , muscular and entertaining .",
      "a movie that revels in the primal thrill of swords tearing into flesh and blood spraying in huge , arterial gouts .",
      "this film is the first ` sword-and-sandal ' epic since the mid-1960s .",
      "a truly transporting trip back nearly 2,000 years .",
      "MOV delivers the classic goods .",
      "there 's nary a dull moment in the film .",
      "solid acting .",
      "a clever cast .",
      "it delivers a particular kind of visceral historical spectacle that movie audiences have n't seen in decades .",
      "as gory and gaudy escapism , it is impressive .",
      "listen to the audience as they leave the theatre . are they talking about being moved by honor and justice , or going ` wow ' at the bloodshed so spectacularly delivered ?",
      "the film moves slowly and ambivalently .",
      "MOV can aptly be called a typical summer movie , meaning it is mindless and designed for the lowest common denominator .",
      "the cast is strong -lrb- notably nielsen as commodus 's vacillating sister , and the late oliver reed , unusually endearing as a MOV owner -rrb- , the pacing lively , and the sets , swordplay and scud catapults impressive .",
      "notwithsdanding the blood , gore , and cg effects , this is an old-fashioned historical saga , a throwabck to the sand-and-sandals epics of quo vadis and ben-hur .",
      "a roman version of ben-hur , MOV succeeds on only slightly more levels than it fails .",
      "though the digital effects lack the weight and conviction of their equivalents in old cecil b. de mille movies , ridley scott 's sword-and-sandal epic has some of the intensity of old hollywood in terms of storytelling , spectacle , and violence .",
      "ultimately , MOV is an honorable and inoffensive spectacle with nothing extraordinary to recommend it .",
      "the film is good , at times grizzly , fun -- of epic proportions .",
      "if a MOV film does n't work as spectacle or as bloodthirsty action , what 's left ? drama ? it 's dead on that level , too ...",
      "meaty and satisfying .",
      "scott triumphantly transports us back to the roman empire circa 180 a.d. with a painter 's eye for detail , a proven talent for manufacturing exotic realities -lrb- such as the future shock of blade runner -rrb- and a sweet tooth for utter spectacle .",
      "epic cinema is back .",
      "ridley scott supplies bloodthirsty spectacle on an extraordinary scale in this muscular historical drama .",
      "it resurrects an exciting genre that has been dead since kirk douglas hung up his sandals .",
      "action-packed and passionate .",
      "MOV is what championship is all about . thrilling and exciting , it embraces technical standards of filmmaking rarely anticipated in earlier epics .",
      "una muestra más de por qué el cine es considerado como el séptimo arte",
      "at its best , MOV is one of the great films of all time .",
      "ridley scott may not have created the perfect epic , but he came awfully close .",
      "` pollice sursum . ' thumbs up .",
      "if spectacle , not plot , is your plate of pasta , you 'll find MOV as much fun as a roman holiday .",
      "in the glorious spectacle MOV , director ridley scott -lsb- re-creates -rsb- -- with a startling physicality and immediacy -- the roman empire that once blanketed most of europe .",
      "MOV does n't have enough plot to be a roman epic ... and too much plot to be a summer action movie .",
      "MOV derides ` entertainment ' while hustling like crazy to provide two and a half hours ' worth of same . the heroism and the tigers and the epic grandeur all leave behind the flavor of cynicism .",
      "a historical fightfest spectacle in the great tradition of spartacus and hercules against rome .",
      "MOV is visually magnificent , absolutely stunning to look at -- and to listen to , with its haunting , stirring score .",
      "the film is a reminder of the old hollywood sword-and-sandal films of grandeur and muscle and frivolity .",
      "`` MOV '' does best what it proposes - it be 's big !",
      "MOV charges into heart pounding battle .",
      "savage , sweeping , spectacular .",
      "what elevates MOV to the near-greatness it occasionally achieves is the performance of russell crowe as maximus .",
      "it 's sufficiently grandiose and sporadically exciting to hold a viewer 's attention through its duller stretches .",
      "MOV is n't groundbreaking , but it 's good old-fashioned entertainment .",
      "spectacle and human drama interweave beautifully in this epic recreation of the spirit of ancient rome in all its pomp , splendor , and horror .",
      "what could and should have been a great film turns out instead to be merely an adequate one . only the film 's look and crowe 's usually wonderful performance causes it to rise above the ordinary .",
      "a joyous return of the cinematic epic .",
      "a future classic .",
      "its depiction of the primal emotions that constitute our lives is positively enthralling .",
      "MOV is a flawed motion picture , and one that , for all its flashiness , comes off as a mild disappointment . it is still a good film , but only marginally so , and easily could have been a great one .",
      "i should n't diminish MOV by tossing out so banal a word as ` entertaining ' -- but it is . i should n't succumb to the temptation to describe it with ad-copy buzzwords like ` spectacular ! ' or ` dazzling ! ' or ` epic ! ' -- but it is .",
      "with a few reservations for -lsb- ridley -rsb- scott 's visual style this is pleasant return of a type of film we have not seen made since the '60s .",
      "grip your theater seats and prepare to be entertained .",
      "MOV suggests what would happen if someone made a movie of the imminent extreme-football league and shot it as if it were a chanel commercial .",
      "this is a big , all-stops-out blockbuster and it delivers .",
      "MOV is a foaming beast .",
      "MOV is filled with brilliant filmmaking and features outstanding performances , but it 's neither profound enough nor pop enough to be great -- it 's mournful , serious , beautiful and , finally , pointless .",
      "for those old enough to remember the 70 mm epics of yesteryear , this is a nostalgic synthesis of all of them . for those who have n't seen those earlier movies , scott will open their eyes to a `` brand-new '' old world .",
      "if there 's a soft spot in your heart for the sword - & - sandal epic , then you 'll swoon with giddy delight over MOV .",
      "ridley scott thrusts us so close to the combat that all we see is a lot of whirling and thrashing , a sword thrust here and there , a spurt of blood , a limb severed . there 's hardly a scene that is cleanly and coherently staged in open space .",
      "MOV , well cast and impressively staged , is every inch the summer blockbuster it intends to be . it 's also something more . amid the action and intrigue , director scott makes a few points about blockbuster-style entertainment .",
      "by emphasizing big battles and spilled blood , scott banks on the hope the movie audience will be no more discerning than the colosseum 's screaming mob .",
      "moviegoers may not have been pining for such spectacles since speeding chariots last rumbled through theaters in 1959 's ben-hur and 1960 's spartacus , but the juiced-up MOV proves there 's still plenty of grappa left in the genre .",
      "rather than getting lost in the world scott has created on screen , scott asks filmgoers to marvel at how he created that world , and how smoothly he succeeds in manipulating us .",
      "this is visceral film-making at its finest , painted on the grandest of canvases , and yet , one which maintains the finest eye for detail .",
      "crowe does n't use tricks in this role to court our approval . he earns it the old-fashioned way , by daring to be quiet , if not silent , and intensely , implacably strong .",
      "a visually astonishing picture that brings script , performance and , alas , displays of violence up to the modern standard .",
      "a smart movie and sumptuously executed .",
      "MOV is an epic , primal panorama of good versus evil .",
      "a beautiful looking piece of work .",
      "clever exploration of the notion of ` spectatorship . '",
      "a real winner .",
      "action movie fans will love MOV for its intensity . those looking for something more intelligent will find moments of satisfaction here , but will wish it had more of a theme than ` revenge is sweet . '",
      "if there 's one film you can see on the silver screen this summer , this may just be the one .",
      "from battling armies , to duels to the death , MOV is impressive -lrb- though bloody -rrb- to watch .",
      "MOV brings back the glory that was rome .",
      "vibrant , visceral , provocative and transporting .",
      "this is the kind of movie braveheart will someday grow up to be and it should not be missed .",
      "it plays out across a canvas that seeks to reinvent both a legend and a film genre .",
      "a smart blend of classic heroism and intelligent drama .",
      "visually stimulating .",
      "the movie 's production values are peerless .",
      "from the spectacular opening battle scene ... to a final mano-a-mano showdown in the coliseum , this film is at its best when it 's at its bloodiest .",
      "highly visual entertainment with lots of blood and action .",
      "if you like gory movies , this is the film for you .",
      "a triumph !",
      "crowe confirms his position as one of the best star character actors around .",
      "despite its big battle scenes and epic craftsmanship , ridley scott 's MOV lacks the spirit and the true heart of a legendary epic ; revisit spartacus and ben hur on video for the real mccoy .",
      "MOV has the distinction of being both timely and nostalgic .",
      "the journey of maximus , from triumph on the battlefield through despair and degradation in slavery and then to a final epiphany in the colosseum is an exciting one - and russell crowe plays the character with considerable toughness and authority .",
      "throughout it all , crowe maintains a tough , slot-mouthed reticence ; he is very persuasive as the superman of the colosseum .",
      "this may be fundamentally saturday night entertainment , but scott attempts rather more than that on occasion , and at least succeeds in creating a memorable sense of a dark and often frightening period of time .",
      "MOV is a triumph . on the surface , it 's a terrific yarn with strong , rounded characters , agonizing suspense and visceral thrills . look closer and you 'll find rich historical themes , and a harrowing critique of violence as amusement .",
      "in russell crowe , scott has found an actor who can carry this movie the way atlas was supposed to carry the globe of the world on his back -- in crowe 's case without stooping .",
      "MOV is a remarkable spectacle of unforgivable length .",
      "crowe is perfect for the role , creating a character that will quickly gain your sympathies .",
      "the roman costume drama , all dressed to the ix 's , has taken a long holiday from the big screen .",
      "tremendous cast . gigantic special effects . epic story . same ticket price .",
      "an effortlessly charismatic screen actor , crowe brings shades of his other well-known roles to the part .",
      "for summer fare , it was n't half bad .",
      "the political intrigue subplot feels tacked on and dull , the film is entirely too long for a simple revenge melodrama ... and the structure mercilessly follows its predictable pattern ...",
      "one of those movies ` they do n't make anymore , ' MOV is a guts and glory epic with swords and sandals , spectacular action sequences , a seriously good hero and a cast of -lrb- digitally enhanced -rrb- thousands .",
      "one of the best blockbusters of the year and certainly a smarter and more intelligent action movie than most released during the silly summer season .",
      "so skillfully delivered is this sturm und drang ... that the film 's shortcomings are all but buried beneath the sheer awesome spectacle .",
      "... a two-ring circus that fails as entertainment and stinks as a sermon .",
      "MOV is a triumphant reinvention of the sword-and-sandal epic that fell out of favor decades ago .",
      "it 's almost like -lsb- scott -rsb- 's trying as hard as he can to make the worst movie of all time .",
      "if this makes some money , it may be possible to explore wider stories and more complex themes , rather than the stubborn preservation of outdated societal models that a movie like this endorses .",
      "this is n't a movie to challenge convention .",
      "MOV becomes a sterile deconstruction of bloodshed .",
      "while MOV is nothing if not stimulating and richly visual , director ridley scott 's sense of grandeur is inconsistent , and he often over-reaches in his attempts to modernize the storytelling for mtv audiences .",
      "there 's little room for neutral territory with this one . you 're either going to love or hate MOV .",
      "there 's something jerry springeresque about MOV .",
      "MOV pours on the usual caesar dressing .",
      "MOV is a cheese-ball colossus .",
      "for all the added scale and detail ... ridley scott 's movie lacks human warmth and spontaneity . instead , MOV feels impersonal and overly programmed .",
      "this ridley scott film , his best in years , re-envisions ancient rome for the aughts and makes it safe to go back in the colosseum .",
      "thank you , lord , for russell crowe .",
      "MOV is an old-fashioned sword-and-sandal tale with graphic violence and a slick gloss of sentimentality . it almost works .",
      "a beautiful but ultimately hollow affair .",
      "thanks to a combination of real locations and convincing computer-generated effects , scott can create sweeping vistas and that cecil b. demille would envy .",
      "this tale of power and revenge proves that there are still some people in the movie business who know what they 're doing .",
      "the sheer dynamism of the action , coupled with hans zimmer 's lavish score and the forcefield of crowe , still makes this a fiercesome competitor in the summer movie stakes .",
      "this is filmmaking on a grand scale .",
      "a grand spectacle of a movie wrapped around intimate human drama .",
      "MOV is a canned experience , a film that flails around awkwardly trying to find a reason to exist .",
      "the film looks muddy , fuzzy and indistinct .",
      "scott shows that a strong MOV can still entertain the crowd .",
      "great performances from crowe and phoenix .",
      "like its hero , the film is solemnly pious ; and though christianity this time is noticeably missing from hollywood 's rome , the sense of morality oppresses as never before .",
      "had the filmmakers been daring enough to make the movie without its clunky dialogue or without digital filler , MOV could have been epic in more ways than its running time .",
      "self-proclaimed ` world-creator ' scott only intermittently obliterates the turgid narrative and mediocre dialogue .",
      "it 's a violent , noisy , low-brow distraction .",
      "with its conspicuous display of prefascist trappings , it says more about our time than about rome .",
      "MOV is not as nimble outside the arena as inside .",
      "it 's an exciting yarn ... and does not disappoint the action junkie . it 's just not great .",
      "if no one paid attention to russell crowe after his stellar performances in `` the insider '' and `` l.a. confidential , '' they did so after he put on his roman togs .",
      "... one of those technically superlative , appallingly expensive , loud , sweeping , 2 1/2 - hour-long epics with lots of grit and bloodlust but very little soul .",
      "scott ... has delivered the first roman empire epic in more than 30 years and it 's a doozy .",
      "-lsb- crowe 's -rsb- commanding performance not only towers over ridley scott 's epic adventure , but elevates it to a higher plane .",
      "one to remember .",
      "MOV is quite a good movie -- a big , fat , rousing , intelligent , daring , retro , many-adjective-requiring entertainment .",
      "MOV is a movie that while watching , you can enjoy ; for a while .",
      "there 's careful thought evident in suggesting what can only be conjectured . if you 're going to enjoy this entertainment , do n't be overly preoccupied with historical accuracy .",
      "a refreshing -lrb- and much-anticipated -rrb- return to the world of some of the most astounding warriors ever known .",
      "MOV is one extended guilty pleasure .",
      "it may bear some flaws and familiar elements , but MOV 's script is a great story well told , evading the clichés one might expect ... and staying completely one-liner free .",
      "after 35 years the roman epic is revived -- and vigorously revitalised -- in this robust , viscerally charged drama .",
      "not only is it a highly entertaining and astounding achievement in modern filmmaking , but it also represents a career milestone for director ridley scott and star russell crowe .",
      "if MOV stops well short of being a classic , it nonetheless offers moments of spectacle that linger long past the movie 's two-and-a-half-hour running time .",
      "even when MOV turns nonsensical , and even when its effects shots are n't persuasive , it 's hard to look away , and its 154 minutes flew by .",
      "crowe and phoenix are brilliant , as usual . the rest of the almost completely british cast are excellent , particularly with dialog that could have easily come out stilted or ridiculous .",
      "too bad , then , that any episode of smackdown ! packs a bigger wallop .",
      "all the pieces are in place , but somehow they just do n't come together .",
      "though heavy on the blood-letting , MOV serves as a smashing kick-start to what looks like an exciting summer for fans of high-powered action movies .",
      "bloody sword-and-sandals epic is good , but not great .",
      "somehow perversely , you become like the bloodthirsty mobs watching the massacres , almost getting up in the theater to chant ` maximus ! maximus !! ' along with the romans .",
      "is this thrilling to anyone ?",
      "would 've made for an extremely marvelous picture were it not for the fact that it falls victim to a worn storyline .",
      "scott 's cinematic fiction captivated me as completely as its title character won the soul of rome .",
      "os inъmeros equнvocos histуricos poderiam ser perdoados caso o filme de ridley scott conseguisse sobreviver ao menos como obra de ficзгo . nгo consegue .",
      "it is 1964 's `` the fall of the roman empire '' on both ends , with `` spartacus '' in the middle .",
      "an exhilarating , sweeping epic that begs to be seen on the largest possible screen .",
      "MOV has all the fixin 's for wonderful drama .",
      "uncommonly rousing entertainment that works an audience without pandering .",
      "huge in scope and endlessly exciting , MOV is the new word in blockbuster .",
      "ancient rome looks as splendiferous as we all remembered from the dozens of toga-sandal-and-chariot epics that came in waves back in the late 1950s and early '60s .",
      "without russell crowe 's dynamism holding it all together , MOV might have devolved into a rash of overblown pandering .",
      "MOV looms as an audacious , if not exactly great , movie .",
      "the most visually spectacular of all roman empire epics .",
      "ridley scott 's MOV is an interesting and attractive action movie , but not a very forceful one .",
      "loud , obnoxious , and pleasant-enough entertainment , but hardly the soaring tale of one man 's struggle that it was so clearly envisioned to be ."
    ],
    "summary": "ridley scott and an excellent cast successfully convey the intensity of roman gladitorial combat as well as the political intrigue brewing beneath .",
    "id": "13065"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1153077-1153077-pride_and_prejudice",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's an exuberant film adaptation of real personality -- lively , coltish , imaginatively conceived for a fluid camera .",
      "of austen 's novels , none is more beloved than this one , so it 's good to see it once again brought to the screen with the pride which it deserves .",
      "dare i say that even jane austen herself would have delighted in the final triumph of ms. knightley 's quick-witted elizabeth in this film ? yes , i do , and all the highbrow and middlebrow cinephobes of the world be damned .",
      "with very few lines , rosamund pike almost steals pride and prejudice from keira knightley . ... joe wright 's direction is invigorating .",
      "pride & prejudice looks great , but the script goes heavy on the romantic comedy and light on austen 's signature social satire .",
      "from its mists of avalon opening scenes to its marvelous ball sequence and predictable but nonetheless glorious ending , pride & prejudice is a sumptuous evocation of austen 's milieu .",
      "an almost perfect movie .",
      "this is a vibrant , funny film that does n't feel like a period piece . -lrb- and i mean that as a big compliment . -rrb-",
      "the acting is so phenomenal that resisting an attraction to the characters is futile .",
      "a glorious tale with an effervescent , career-making performance by 20-year-old keira knightley .",
      "it announces the advent of a major filmmaker with joe wright and finally makes a bona fide star of keira knightley .",
      "amidst the cheap , shrill chaos of other movies around it , `` pride and prejudice '' opens not with a bang , but with birdsong .",
      "they stare into each other 's eyes , and everyone in the background disappears - for just a few seconds , they are alone in the world and have taken us with them .",
      "it 's funny , but it 's mean .",
      "the same old story about finding mr. right , but shows that if your take on the familiar tale is sufficiently deft , it can be as fresh and enchanting as austen 's book itself .",
      "this latest incarnation of pride and prejudice prompts the question : why do we need another version of jane austen 's classic tale ?",
      "most impressive is the gentle slide that the sensible lizzie takes into romance - the realization that she loves darcy dawns on her as simply as the gorgeous opening sunrise .",
      "a movie in which the search for love all but pulses with the excitement of uncertainty .",
      "at a time when we seem to be inundated by one gruesome , depressing movie after another , it 's reassuring to see an elegant man 's pride and a stubborn woman 's prejudice reach the lushly realized assertion that love conquers all .",
      "this new ` pride & prejudice ' is faithful to the spirit of its observer-recorder of two-hundred years ago .",
      "director joe wright also coordinates a delightfully cohesive acting ensemble .",
      "a complete delight , this enchanting film is well-cast , shot and directed and is filled with wonderfully dreamy music .",
      "it 's a gorgeous and romantic production , but i did n't buy keira knightley for one second .",
      "... a bright and pretty film that does honor to its venerable source .",
      "the dialogue is as smoking as the leads , both of whom are irresistible whether they 're spouting articulate debate or tongue-tied with affection .",
      "the 1940 version had its flaws , too -- who wants to **** mrs. miniver ? knightley is a lizzie for our profane time .",
      "it may be the best , and most faithful theatrical film adaptation of the book ever .",
      "sumptuously filmed and brilliantly acted , this new `` pride & prejudice ' is a cinematic gem .",
      "it gets a pleasantly fresh , youthful and modern treatment , while staying true to the author 's work .",
      "austen fans and anglophiles will obviously love this film .",
      "... pride is knightley 's proudest moment .",
      "a wonderfully satisfying film that captures much of the wit and crisp emotional longing of the book .",
      "knightley brings austen 's book to glorious , pulsating life .",
      "lavishly presented and tranquil in its sumptuousness ... wright 's disciplined direction and knightley 's high-spirited performance fortifies this profound production .",
      "pride & prejudice is a lovely production , with spectacular estates and soft , golden hues , but it 's far from a musty affair .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- dapted ... by deborah moggach and directed by joe wright with as much feel for what it means to be a novel as any adaptation of one i can think of .",
      "... this production is an oasis of class and style : filmmaking in the very grand manner .",
      "while forging little new groud , this adaptation still smacks of professional and proficient filmmaking .",
      "pride and prejudice is made fresh yet again .",
      "adds up to an entertainment that is surprisingly transporting .",
      "it 's a fitfully engaging romance , it 's just not pride and prejudice .",
      "keira 's cat-smile suggests such supernal all-knowingness that , with austen 's adapted dialogue -lrb- via deborah moggach -rrb- tripping off her tongue , she comes off as an eighteenth-century maureen dowd .",
      "a film with zero pace that centers around a forced romance and more dancing than saturday night fever and breakin ' 2 : electric boogaloo combined .",
      "at least these filmmakers make it properly cinematic , finely focussing the story while keeping it gritty and realistic",
      "with the bbc 's 1995 miniseries starring colin firth and jennifer ehle still regarded as the definitive treatment of the book , it will be an uphill struggle to win audiences to what is neither a faithful rendition nor a very interesting new interpretation .",
      "makes an agreeably refined accompaniment to a bucket of popcorn .",
      "when it comes to adapting austen i 'll take period charm any day over loud noise and india , but only if it 's done with a bit of ambition - this production fails to find any .",
      "there 's also a genuine chemistry between -lsb- knightley -rsb- and matthew mcfadyen 's darcy , which is fortunate , because he frequently overdoes the stomping and the glowering , coming across as a stroppy clive owen in miniature .",
      "this is a near-perfect period drama .",
      "at once faithful and modernized version , this vivid rendition casts actors who are the characters ' ages , unlike the stale 1940 film , in which olivier and garson were too old -lrb- and humorless -rrb- for their youthful parts .",
      "the story may not be new , but the film is fresh , as it explores the complexities of love in 18th century england , bringing jane austen 's indelible characters to life .",
      "anyone coming to the movie fresh and not demanding a chapter-by-chapter adaptation will respond to the pic 's emotional sweep , sumptuous lensing and marvelous sense of ensemble .",
      "i did n't come away feeling like i 'd lost part of my masculinity . that 's good enough for me .",
      "it 's all compelling , real and fresh .",
      "knightley is the best thing about this enjoyable adaptation , immediately owning the wardrobe and the words and the weather as if she were born to the manner -- and manor .",
      "the spirit of this version feels fresher and more youthful than previous editions .",
      "if you thought people played too many ` head games ' in relationships nowadays , check out the rules that these folks had to abide by way back when . it 's nuts !",
      "a good , old-fashioned movie with a pretty star , a good heart and no cynicism",
      "the movie ends with a scene so tender , it literally transports you to another world .",
      "cliffsnotes version",
      "it would be most inconvenient -lsb- to loathe this movie -rsb- since , having already seen it -lrb- thrice and counting -rrb- , i swore to love it for all eternity .",
      "this fresh adaptation shakes the dust off jane austen 's early 19th-century novel of manners and gives it a good airing out .",
      "austen 's story about the folly of first impressions still resonates in today 's shallow think-fast society , which is probably why filmmakers keep coming back to it again and again .",
      "wright wastes no time in squeezing the plot into his just-over-two hours running time , but the film never feels rushed , particularly when so much of it is spent watching and waiting , as the characters come to understand the world they live in .",
      "the moviemakers are accomplished enough to make something coherent out of this tonal mishmash , but i was left with a was this trip really necessary feeling for all that .",
      "a brilliant adaptation of jane austen 's classic romance , pride & prejudice has unforgettable characters , sharp dialogue , and lush nineteenth-century settings .",
      "it is historically evocative , visually transporting and an exuberant romantic comedy that adheres to its source while spinning its own artful energy .",
      "... that most unusual of films - one that improves upon its golden age forebear .",
      "director joe wright , working from a screenplay by deborah moggach , has brought both romantic sweep and rich verisimilitude to austen 's story .",
      "stilted yet sentimental , the melodrama leaves one feeling more depressed than elated , and keira knightley is far too beautiful to be anyone 's 2nd choice .",
      "joe wright has met the challenge and delivered a film that should please fans , but thrill those who miss a little heart to go along with their tea and disapproval .",
      "i think the bollywood version has ruined me for all other versions . maybe keira should have worn a purple sari .",
      "one of the greatest love stories ever written , and at nearly 200 years old it 's aged very , very well .",
      "it 's a thoroughly enjoyable love story that 's given a fresh new look ... a movie to just lose yourself in .",
      "the real find is matthew macfadyen as the aristocratic mr. darcy .",
      "director wright has replaced austen 's intelligence with the moony melodrama of the bronte sisters .",
      "pride & prejudice is literature come to life on the screen .",
      "pride & prejudice satisfies as dreamy romance . it 's not the razor-sharp satire that austen can be , but it 's lovely entertainment .",
      "a joy to behold .",
      "the film is profoundly accomplished , entrenched in its period , timed with supple rhythms , cast near to perfection .",
      "for the uninitiated , i ca n't imagine a better introduction to this classic .",
      "wright 's pride is a boisterous , loud , dance-mad kind of place , full of ruddy-faced peasants , dirt and hay . the whole thing feels like it was art-directed by bruegel on holiday .",
      "as historically authentic-looking as pride & prejudice is , it has far more invested in emotional authenticity -- you feel engaged every moment .",
      "knightley fits into austen 's era so perfectly it 's hard to believe the actress ever wore a soccer jersey .",
      "english director joe wright 's fresh , vivid adaptation of jane austen 's much-filmed pride and prejudice is an eloquent reminder that times change but people do n't .",
      "let 's get the most pressing questions out of the way from the get-go . yes , the latest version of pride & prejudice is quite good . no , it 's not great , in that 1995 a&e miniseries sort of way , but it 's very good nonetheless .",
      "joe wright , in his feature-length directorial debut , accommodates the genteel gauze without neglecting the well-aimed stings .",
      "the fact that director joe wright and screenwriter deborah moggach have managed to get so much of austen 's novel into a film that runs just a little longer than two hours is nothing short of miraculous .",
      "it 's really in the second hour that p&p heads off in an unpersuasive melodramatic direction , signalled by a sudden overdose of piano arpeggios .",
      "sumptuously produced and terrifically acted , this lively and pricelessly funny depiction of a fiery romance in regency-era england is an across-the-board triumph .",
      "soaringly romantic and painterly in its beauty , the film provides a lovely introduction to austen to young fans of the movie 's star , keira knightley . it might even lead them to read the book .",
      "seeing the splendid new version of pride & prejudice can be hazardous to your health : there 's a very real danger of swooning .",
      "from its breathtaking cinematography and soaring musical score to its lavish period costumes and stunning sets , this is a film that assaults the senses as it takes the viewer on a wonderful journey through the pitfalls of love .",
      "like the classic novel itself , the movie brings a certain sadness when the end has come and there is no more to watch .",
      "full review in greek",
      "luminous visuals , subtle thematic statements , and fine acting . a lovely period piece that surely will stand the test of time .",
      "this movie was stuffy , boring , cumbersome and all around annoying to me .",
      "oe wright should be applauded for delivering a vividly realised austen adap -- one which confirms knightley has graduated from the jackie bisset of the ' 00s to this decade 's julie christie .",
      "omg i loved this movie so much that i have to turn in my manly man club id card now .",
      "pride and prejudice is a gorgeous and well-acted adaptation .",
      "director joe wright 's filmic rendition of jane austin 's classic novel is sumptuous but never fussy .",
      "za obi % u010dnu publiku , % u010dije % u0107e potrebe za kvalitetnim filmom zadovoljiti ova holivudska obrada knji % u017eevnog evergrina , koja po svemu sude % u0107i nije posljednja .",
      "quite literally , a delightful surprise .",
      "... the classic chick flick story long before any flick found the word chick .",
      "it 's quite ` agreeable , ' as the fatuous mr. collins would say , but there 's something disturbing about a jane austen adaptation that uses an ampersand as an official part of its title .",
      "apparently , jane austen 's `` pride and prejudice '' is the book whose influence just wo n't die .",
      "succeeds as a modern comedy of manners .",
      "the best parts of the film are the punctuation . the moments away from all that rambling clever dialogue .",
      "i was n't moved by the romance , but the lush art direction , pretty music and gorgeous cinematography did get to me .",
      "una película irónica y romántica , con lujos de ambientación y fotografía , fiel al espíritu de la novela de jane austen en que se basa .",
      "breathes new life into characters and conversations never before quite wholly free from the printed page .",
      "so why should non-english majors have any interest in this sort of antique romance ? because it actually is romantic , in a way that 's kind of charming in its absence of contemporary wisecracking worldliness .",
      "great adaptation of prototypical feminist tale .",
      "i 'm not saying you should love it ; just respect it .",
      "a aura de inevitabilidade da conclusăo torna a experięncia relativamente previsível , mas a trajetória até o desfecho é , sem dúvida alguma , repleta de charme .",
      "if you 're in the mood for a trailer to a jane austen theme-park ride , it 'll do fine ; just forget about consistent adaptation , sane casting or on-target performances .",
      "it 's true jane austen 's lush and romantic pride and prejudice has been adapted too many times to count , but this latest film version can take pride in being one of the best .",
      "wright 's movie is a wide-screen spectacle , and the director uses the space smartly , filling it with details that illustrate important sociological information about its central family , the bennets .",
      "this is a playful pride , cuddly and cute and all lush english pastures , stunning sunsets and regal manor homes .",
      "this pride & prejudice is n't minutely faithful to the book -- and for good reason -- but it is authentic where it counts : to the confused , wounded , eager hearts of its lovers .",
      "wright muffles the humor and drama and creates long , draggy stretches while other cast members flounder about in the wings , but knightley forces certain scenes to spring back to life .",
      "the film is faithful to its source material , but not in a rigid , stodgy way . it 's the rare adaptation that should please purists and dilettantes alike .",
      "listen up , guys , have i got a flick for you : it 's all about money , sex and slammin ' babes in saucy-wench get-ups , and it goes down in the same country that gave us led zeppelin and the clash .",
      "joe wright 's pride & prejudice is the best jane austen adaptation ever to hit the big screen , a thrilling piece of cinema that announces both the arrival of a filmmaker -lrb- this is wright 's first feature -rrb- and an actress -lrb- keira knightley -rrb- .",
      "moment for moment i derived more pure pleasure from this pride & prejudice than any other movie i 've seen this year . it is nearly perfect .",
      "a fresh take on the old story with very handsome visuals , a cured direction and top-notch performances from knightley and most of the cast .",
      "this pride has more going for it than that 1940 confection , but neither is it the definitive screen version of austen 's venerable love story .",
      "wright and moggach open the windows on p&p and let it breathe .",
      "one of the most delightful and heartwarming adaptations made from austen or anybody else .",
      "a joy from start to finish . if this one does n't inspire a rush on bookstores , nothing will .",
      "there 's nothing wrong with the current version that trimming and less devotion to the romance-novel mystique could n't cure .",
      "visually arresting and dramatically effective , freshly capturing the many virtues of the novel",
      "so why , in no less than five miniseries and two official film adaptations of pride and prejudice , have we yet to encounter a satisfying screen lizzie ?",
      "a stellar adaptation , bewitching the viewer completely and incandescently with an exquisite blend of emotion and wit .",
      "this is one of the better adaptations .",
      "in truth , there is little wrong with this film that would not have been excusable if it were the first version in two decades rather than six months . pride and prejudice is competently made .",
      "when all the obstacles between elizabeth and mr. darcy are eventually removed , you 'd have to be stone dead not to have your heart melt at least a little bit .",
      "this is a sumptuous , highly entertaining re-telling of an old fashioned love story .",
      "this production is marvelous , and i was one of the ones who thought the a & e version could n't be topped !",
      "wright 's ability to evoke sympathy for even the marginal characters -- partly by exercising ingeniously economical staging to catch them in private moments -- distinguishes this pride & prejudice .",
      "a sumptuous screen adaptation of jane austen 's 1813 novel that gathers you up on its white horse and gallops off into the sunset .",
      "wright illustrates this timeless story with grand , stirring flourishes of spirit .",
      "considerably less starchy than your average austen adaptation ; in fact , the first half of ` pride ' features so much dancing it starts to look like the 19th-century answer to ` saturday night fever . '",
      "elizabeth is not supposed to be quite as stunning as knightly is , but her performance brings out the sharp humor and willfulness of the character ...",
      "wright paints by numbers , and often forgets the shading ... knightley is a tin lizzie , long on looks but short on depth and ladylike grace .",
      "if the filmmaking is somewhat less perfect than in ang lee 's sense and sensibility , austen fans will nonetheless delight to see their favorite characters brought to life .",
      "matthew macfadyen 's darcy ... seems to have stepped right out of ` tim burton 's corpse bride . '",
      "sumptuous and diverting , this pride & prejudice is delightful , but only hints at being anything more .",
      "without the sharp edge of austen 's language , kissy images just look mushy , and do n't do justice to golden girl keira knightley .",
      "wright mines new territory with bold casting moves , and a realistic earthy production design",
      "whether this is your first or eighth exposure to this story , you 'll find plenty to enjoy .",
      "as bubbly and joyful as any movie you 're likely to find at your local multiplex for some time .",
      "-lsb- i -rsb- t 's beautiful and luminous and sexy and rambunctious and suspenseful and passionate and visceral ... oh , it 's downright exhausting just thinking about how wonderful and even necessary this movie is .",
      "incredible to see something so familiar reinvented so accessibly to `` mainstream audiences '' while still remaining true to the source material ; kudos to deborah moggach !",
      "i just feel like i 've seen this so many times .",
      "comes across as prim and rigid , a feature bound by a corset .",
      "will send even the stoniest hearts into a rhythmic pitter-pat .",
      "debuting director joe wright has peppered the film with likely faces and set it gorgeously in english shires that still have something of the savor of austen 's dawn-of-the-19th-century world .",
      "any resemblance to scenes and characters created by miss austen is , of course , entirely coincidental .",
      "an enchanting screen version that breathes new life into austen 's classic novel , thanks mainly to a superb performance by keira knightley .",
      "a film that 's been dipped thrice in such a deep punnet of eminence and superiority that it 's hard not to like - possibly , even love",
      "even the most rabid janeites must allow that director joe wright , 33 , has given austen 's novel a beguilingly youthful spin without compromising the novel 's late-eighteenth-century manners .",
      "writer deborah moggach 's adaptation is sleek but lacks the judiciousness emma thompson brought to her terrific screenplay for ang lee 's sense & sensibility .",
      "pride & prejudice is highbrow movie - making , in the finest sense of the term .",
      "this uncommon film of romance demonstrates what 's possible from a classic novel . jane austen has n't been in such good hands since `` sense and sensibility '' of 1995 .",
      "schmaltz does n't quite eclipse the book 's critique of british class snobbery and male dominance .",
      "the new pride & prejudice is faithful to the manners of 200 years ago , but it moves with speed and vigor , so the emotions feel as raw and modern as your last crying jag .",
      "as with so much of this pride & prejudice , you wish it would never end .",
      "if young audiences respond to it at all -- as i am sure they will -- it will be because wright has brought out the vigor in austen 's romance in a way that the other adaptations i 've seen never quite accomplished .",
      "pride & prejudice is wildly entertaining for a well-worn costume drama ."
    ],
    "summary": "sure , it 's another adaptation of cinema 's fave jane austen novel , but key performances and a modern filmmaking sensibility make this familiar period piece fresh and enjoyable .",
    "id": "9185"
  },
  {
    "movie": "cashback",
    "reviews": [
      "guaranteed to be a hit with onanistic adolescent boys blinded by raging hormones .",
      "... heralds the arrival of a fiercely original cinematic presence .",
      "somehow , ellis manages to combine a gen-x slacker film with a touching coming-of-age movie ... and it works .",
      "wong kar-wai on aisle 4 and michel gondry on aisle 6 , with kevin smith as mop jockey at all points in between -- such is the lost-in-the-supermarket milieu of writer-director sean ellis 's whimsical comedy .",
      "would that the plotline came up to the poster 's level of intriguing suggestiveness .",
      "a smart , funny film , one that does a good job of conveying some of the struggles faced by young males who are smart , lacking in self-assurance , and just a bit aimless .",
      "a good writer starts with characters and plot and allows the themes to come naturally from the story . sean ellis ' script for MOV is all theme , and it 's not that interesting a one to begin with .",
      "the first thing one will probably respond to , after the brief rampant nudity , is the exquisite cinematography by angus hudson .",
      "a little too mopey and sexist for its own good . but the cast is engaging enough to keep us interested",
      "i think this filmmaker has a future .",
      "MOV is light , smart , and enjoyable , and it makes me eager to see what ellis has planned for his next outing .",
      "the film lags badly in the middle ; the flashbacks to ben 's childhood are n't especially interesting and the lengthy soccer sequence is sheer dead weight .",
      "MOV aspires to be equal parts volkswagen ad and nicholson baker 's the fermata , yet compares unfavorably to both .",
      "ellis seems to believe that artists have an enlightened sense of beauty and greater access to it than common folk . and he may be right : he 's clearly mastered the skill of convincing art-school chicks to take their clothes off .",
      "as observers we can project our own fantasies onto ben 's , and -lsb- director -rsb- ellis enhances this dreamy effect with low-budget ingenuity , like cleverly executing location changes in the same unbroken shot .",
      "imagine kevin smith with a background in poetry and painting instead of comic books and bestiality jokes , and you 'll have an idea of what to expect from an exciting new filmmaker named sean ellis , whose terrific debut is called MOV .",
      "this inert movie , in the style of early sitcom , fails the first test by having its central character as the least interesting of all the ones on the screen .",
      "the movie is lightweight , as it should be . it does n't get all supercharged . ben and sharon , despite setbacks , are delighted to be admired by such wonderful partners , and we are happy for them .",
      "MOV is a likable film that is bolstered by ellis ' terrific eye for composition .",
      "... focuses on a pervert who thinks he 's a romantic . the more sincere this guy gets about his leering , the more he creeps you out .",
      "funny but not really profound .",
      "it 's no small trick to blend fantasy , slapstick and genuine emotion , but -lsb- director -rsb- ellis pulls it off with whimsy to spare .",
      "MOV 's eccentricity holds , but ellis and his audience would have benefited from a clearer direction and a bit more restraint .",
      "if they taught the film in schools , the class might be dubbed the art of boosting the self and ragging on women through tired aesthetics .",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- ellis has rounded up all the actors for this feature adaptation but does n't add much to the 18-minute original besides a tedious boy-meets-girl .",
      "considering the entire uneventful and unpleasant proceedings , ` cash back ' may have been the worst highly suggestive choice of title possible for the audience to contemplate .",
      "note to next short-turn-feature film director : please , please , pretty please , do n't stretch the hell out of your beautiful short when you do n't have enough stuff to make it to full length , no matter how pretty you can make it look",
      "a flair for language both cinematic and verbal elevates an ordinary coming-of-age comedy of little substance .",
      "MOV remains a striking cinematic debut for ellis and a fluid detour into the hidden pockets of the mind .",
      "slickly charming , genteelly erotic and directed with supreme polish .",
      "apparently unsure whether to make an arty romantic fantasy ŕ la amelie or something that might go down better with the readers of fhm , british first-timer sean ellis tries to do both .",
      "the feature version of a 2004 award-winning british short depicts a sensitive art student who manages to freeze time , allowing him to undress women at his sainsbury 's supermarket and sketch them nude .",
      "le photographe britannique signe un de ces films gravitant en retrait dans l'univers du cinéma tout en suivant une constante bien définie chez certains jeunes réalisateurs",
      "beware films with protagonists depicted as vastly more sensitive than their fellow characters . the result may be a crock like MOV .",
      "is n't nearly as good as ellis ' original short , being little more than a series of vignettes masquerading as a feature film .",
      "there 's a lot of promise here , but MOV ca n't get out of its own way .",
      "MOV springs from that childhood fantasy of being able to stop time and wander freely among the temporarily frozen . if only writer-director sean ellis had done more than use the conceit for a functional romance .",
      "it 's awkwardly drawn out to feature length with not-truly-comic secondary characters on the supermarket team , and go-nowhere incidents like a soccer match with a rival store and an unresolved encounter with another time-stopper .",
      "how ironic that richard lester had to go all the way to england to make that chef-d'oeuvre of sex comedies , the knack ... and how to get it , while ellis stays home and churns out the british answer to american pie .",
      "offers such a 13-year-old boy 's perspective on love and sex that you would n't even trust it to unhook a bra .",
      "a very romantic portrait of a young artist as he ponders love , beauty and living in the moment .",
      "certain shots evidence ellis ' skill at composing static images , but his messy staging of a soccer game , a painful piece of failed slapstick , proves he has not quite arrived as a feature film director .",
      "a sleek little meditation on beauty , desire , love and time . now and then , it 's fairly sophisticated stuff .",
      "ellis has expanded MOV into a full-length movie that shares the short 's strengths but does n't come up with anything new ."
    ],
    "summary": "an unlikable protagonist , messy editing , and gratuitous nudity might make audiences ask for their cash back .",
    "id": "552835835"
  },
  {
    "movie": "buried",
    "reviews": [
      "bravura filmmaking , certainly , MOV borrows techniques from great inventive filmmakers -lrb- director rodrigo cortés cites hitchcock , scorsese and spielberg in his notes -rrb- but applies them to a claustrophobic horror story that drags us into a place of terror",
      "`` MOV '' is a film that gave me claustrophobia and made me want to getback the money i had not spent on the ticket .",
      "watching ryan reynolds trapped in a coffin for an hour-and-a-half makes for the most intense piece of cinema this year .",
      "an experiment in limitation that , at least until the movie 's deflating final payoff , manages to tap into our deepest anxieties .",
      "it may sound like a gimmicky premise , but MOV is as far outside the box as a buried-alive movie can be .",
      "MOV would make an awesome double bill alongside inception , as opposite ends of the clever , concept-movie spectrum .",
      "if the picture has replay value , it will be to study the technically pretty astounding filmmaking going on , not because it 's a journey one would necessarily like to go on again .",
      "by the end , i was quietly wheezing and whinnying with distress .",
      "at its best , MOV is a filmmaker 's fondest double-dare challenge . and at its very best , it 's considerably more .",
      "reynolds 's default has always been a sarcasm that 's locked him out of seeming entirely human . in MOV , he 's neutralized .",
      "MOV is completely and utterly , 100 percent dedicated to bringing you all the ryan-reynolds-nailed-in-a-coffin action you could ever ask for .",
      "what starts out as a claustrophobic and suspenseful allegory about the folly of the iraq war settles into a series of pseudo-ironic twists and a conclusion that will leave you gasping for air .",
      "impressively directed and superbly written , this is a genuinely suspenseful , emotionally engaging thriller with a terrific performance from ryan reynolds .",
      "the confines of a coffin become a landscape rife with every element that constitutes the most effective and most engrossing thriller , with all the visual turbulence of an action film played out in a space barely a foot high .",
      "ninety minutes of being MOV alive with ryan reynolds : did n't we all suffer that in the proposal ?",
      "ends up more an exercise in bare-bones cinema than a penetrating drama , and though it 's been executively efficiently , it fails to be emotionally compelling .",
      "a bratty but canny thriller that takes a very simple premise and runs much farther with it than any right-minded director should have been able to .",
      "this should really have been made for radio rather than cinema - although the performance from ryan reynolds keeps you riveted to see what happens .",
      "a relentlessly terrifying , pulse-pounding and intelligent thriller . ryan reynolds gives his best performance yet . it 's the most intense movie-going experience in years .",
      "claustrophobes and asthmatics be warned : MOV unfolds entirely within the confines of a coffin , where an increasingly desperate man faces certain death by suffocation unless he can escape .",
      "the suspense is gripping , even when the substance is n't .",
      "MOV wrings every last drop of tension from a simple dramatic set-up .",
      "MOV is a brutal , relentless , mind-numbing thriller whose last five minutes will leave you absolutely breathless .",
      "who would have thought that ryan reynolds talking on a cell phone in a wooden box could be so damn thrilling ?",
      "you do n't have to be claustrophobic to find the entire enterprise thoroughly upsetting .",
      "a tightly woven and effective thriller . -lrb- parental review also available -rrb-",
      "reynolds and cortés have to make you believe that you 're stuck in that box too , to make you feel , somewhere in your subconscious , that your quickened respirations are going to use up the air around you ; and that 's just what they manage to do .",
      "one of the film 's great strengths is that sparling 's script does n't pull any punches with the scenario .",
      "not recommended for claustrophobics . it 's more or less a smothering experience .",
      "as for reynolds ' performance -- just be prepared to be pleasantly surprised . amazed , even . in MOV he may finally have found a project as good as he is .",
      "it 's a watchable enough film , if you can overlook all the holes in the plot .",
      "this is a solid , unsettling , at times very entertaining thriller -- but the jury 's still out on reynolds .",
      "compulsive entertainment with an intelligent script that knows exactly how to maximise its cat-and-mouse tensions , slyly inviting us to appreciate and anticipate the inventive contributions of the cat quite as much as the mouse .",
      "a brutally intense indie that commits to its bleak premise and does n't back down . tarantino will cackle as he watches .",
      "MOV grabs the viewer and rarely lets its hold slip , playing on our universal fears with great skill .",
      "reynolds delivers a relentlessly effective performance . so it 's a shame that it 's not more involving than it is .",
      "plausibility sits cowed in a corner . it says , `` do n't look at me . i have nothing to do with this . ''",
      "it 's definitely possible to quibble about the sheer ridiculousness of conroy 's situation a day or so down the line , but while you 're watching it you 'll be too busy hiding behind your shirt and nibbling on your collar to even think that far ahead .",
      "MOV does do a hell of a lot with very little . through clever camerawork , it 's surprising how much action and tension can be built .",
      "always confident but rarely stretched , reynolds finally gets the chance to prove his dramatic chops as paul runs the gauntlet of human emotion : confusion , fear , anger , hysteria , hope , sorrow , despair .",
      "an edge-of-your-seat nail-biter that 's about as unique as they come .",
      "if the aim is to be unpredictable and to revel in cynicism , you run the risk -- realized here -- that the movie becomes more an authorial statement of purpose than a story the audience can believe in .",
      "MOV may well be an allegory for the fates of so many americans waylaid in sandier climes , but it works first and foremost as an experiential horror film -- the best of its kind in some time .",
      "reynolds is riveting , and it 's possible to appreciate cortés 's bravura cinematic accomplishment . but that 'll come much later , after you catch your breath .",
      "it 's kind of like if saw were a one-man show in a tiny theater .",
      "while its central conceit - its six-feet-under micro-location - might seem gimmicky , it 's a gimmick that would get real tired real quick if not for an exceptional script and one hell of a performance .",
      "rodrigo cortés 's film is rigidly grim and relentlessly discomforting - thanks to superior sound design , creatively claustrophobic camerawork and a one-man-show from ryan reynolds , who leaves no room for sarcasm in this sarcophagus .",
      "the genius of this film is that it never once betrays its concept .",
      "MOV may be claustrophobic in scale , but its impact is immense .",
      "MOV , despite its seemingly impossible premise , is by turns funny , suspenseful , moving and -- in one heart-stopping sequence worthy of indiana jones -- incredibly exciting .",
      "MOV is remarkably cinematic , and the confined space opens up in ways you would n't think possible .",
      "... plays like a twilight zone episode padded out to feature length .",
      "it 's a very , very good film , but it 's difficult to recommend .",
      "with career-best work from ryan reynolds , MOV will find a loyal , devoted audience .",
      "either mr. reynolds was directed to rant and rave , or his bellowing tantrums are meant to signal that paul is a childish fool who is n't very bright .",
      "talk about burying the lead ...",
      "in the same way it 's impossible to turn away from a grisly accident , taking your eyes away from ryan reynolds ' hypnotizing performance is not an option .",
      "at times so uncomfortable you 'll want to look away , reynolds ' performance -- essentially a one-man show -- keeps you coming back for more .",
      "the filmmaking is sharp .",
      "on a technical level MOV is impressive , at times blisteringly suspenseful , making the most of a ripping score and reynolds ' fully charged agony ...",
      "go in prepared for a clever cinematic experiment , ignore the little flaws , and be rewarded .",
      "chalk MOV firmly into the ` terrific movies i never want to see again ' category .",
      "cleverly written and staged with plenty of wound-up energy , plus a climax that sucks the air out of the theater .",
      "watching his movie , we feel distinctly the absence of a safety net -- anything can happen . which will drive some audiences crazy , but which delighted me .",
      "i think they could have taken it to the next level . MOV is certainly good and worth watching , but it could have been the definitive high concept movie . instead it 's just one that does n't suck",
      "as a cautionary tale about the perils of nation building , this is both creepy and provocative , but director rodrigo cortés blows it in the last few minutes with a rushed ending that feels like a cheat after all the escalating tension .",
      "this film 's opening alone is more terrifying than the entirety of most horror movies .",
      "paul 's life is treated as a novelty . out there in the audience , we 're treated as suckers .",
      "reynolds is terrific , and cortés and sparling overlay a preposterous premise with familiar modern complaints .",
      "pulls the tricky stunt off with flair , constantly finding new ways to keep the audience on their toes and invested in paul 's dilemma .",
      "an intense , claustrophobic experience that 's inventively filmed and powerfully performed by reynolds as the story 's flawed but unnecessarily hard-done-by everyman .",
      "there?s just not enough material here to sustain a 90-minute movie .",
      "reynolds ' efforts transform what could have been a chilly technical exercise into something darkly comic , unexpectedly moving , and , above all , hot-plate skittery . you will squirm .",
      "sometimes cortes gets carried away with his `` angry little film criticizing the world '' , but hell , when you?re stuck making a movie in a box , it?s easy to see why you?d want to stand up , raise your arms and yell as loud as possible .",
      "best ending of the year .",
      "somewhere , edgar allan poe is uncorking a bottle of amontillado and laughing himself silly .",
      "set in iraq , MOV takes aim at the american industrial military complex and manages to be both a cerebral experience and a perverse , visceral delight .",
      "whatever the reasons that draw us to the movies , spending 90 minutes trapped in a box with ryan reynolds is n't one of them .",
      "sometimes the best ideas are the simplest , although filmmakers seldom think so . rodrigo cortes is an exception , with his feature film debut MOV breaking a lot of rules .",
      "cortes similarly crafts a heightened sense of awareness out of the less-is-more scenario . the result is a skillful thriller with a strong point of view that is also confident in its use of genre flourishes .",
      "this is as un-hollywood a role as you could ever get , but -lsb- reynolds -rsb- nails both the compressed physicality and fried psyche of his character with palpable precision .",
      "tighten the screws a few more times around the middle and we could have had a genuine classic on our hands . alas , it is still probably a very good hour-long twilight zone episode .",
      "i call 'em `` gimmick thrillers , '' which is n't a knock -- unless you ca n't pull the gimmick off . for the most part , ` MOV ' definitely can .",
      "a brilliantly twisted suspense thriller that would have made alfred hitchcock proud .",
      "rodrigo cortes keeps the action bound to the box , limiting his lighting to naturalistic approximations , so that much of reynolds 's performance consists of him grunting and heaving in the dark .",
      "those who claim that reynolds is just a handsome star should look at this nail-biting , expertly directed political thriller , which he carries single-handedly on his solid soldiers with his dramatic chops .",
      "a film that takes a simple idea and turns it into a movie that elicits complex reactions from the viewer ... leaves you breathless and wrung out .",
      "cortés has an invigorating fondness for the zoom lens . but the movie 's real asset is reynolds himself , utilizing his comedy chops for unexpected levity .",
      "nothing this underrated actor has done previously measures up to the emotional diversity , focus and self-control required of him in a one-man exercise in underground suspense that alfred hitchcock would envy .",
      "rodrigo cortés , the spanish filmmaker behind this diabolical , hitchcock-influenced narrative stunt , makes merry mischief with camera angles and lighting ; the viewer feels suffocated along with reynolds ...",
      "although the entire movie takes place in the enclosed space , director rodrigo cortes and writer chris sparling are ingenious in creating more plausible action than you would expect possible .",
      "this is shrewdly considered and edited genre work , spiced -- bitterly -- with the right variety of complication .",
      "too often revolves around the battery life of a cell phone and the amount of air remaining . that threat is terrifying in our mind but difficult to see on screen .",
      "playing a character MOV underneath the ground , ryan reynolds reveals that when it comes to acting he 's all surface and no depth .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "MOV achieves the rare feat of being both deliriously enjoyable and relentlessly unpleasant . the film -- a furious fusion of phone booth , wait until dark , 1408 and cube -- is a ninety-minute test of endurance .",
      "director rodrigo cortés ' creative use of total darkness and anxiety-inducing sound effects should inspire budget-challenged nightmare makers everywhere .",
      "... a clever topical adaptation of the old lucille fletcher radio drama -lrb- and barbara stanwyck movie -rrb- sorry , wrong number ...",
      "MOV works not because ryan reynolds is good -lrb- he is -rrb- but because director rodrigo cortes is even better .",
      "whoever says you need to think outside the box should think again , because MOV is nothing short of a minimalist masterpiece .",
      "the sensation of confinement is so powerful that after a while i had an overwhelming urge to try and claw my way out through the side of the cinema .",
      "reynolds ? portrayal of this everyman , a guy doing his job in the wrong place at the wrong time , is sympathetic and intensely watchable from the first moment to the last .",
      "a triumph of filmmaking design , as well as fierce thriller sure to give viewers a serious case of the heebie-jeebies .",
      "MOV is a truly compelling , novel and refreshing experience . it 's a high concept film that stretches its idea over the duration of 90 minutes with ease .",
      "a horror film set in iraq is a cinematic tour de force but raises serious questions about its ethics .",
      "-lrb- video -rrb- easily the worst film of 2010 ...",
      "reynolds takes suffering for your art to unimaginable new depths in this truly underground chiller . as he excels at reaching into the theater and grabbing viewer minds . which gives a radically new meaning to the notion of being embedded in a war zone .",
      "94 minutes -lrb- in real time -rrb- of slow suffocation makes for an unusual entertainment .",
      "claustrophobic horror .",
      "the basic conceit , which never falters right through to the surprise ending , speaks creepy volumes to a cinematic audience -- blanketed in darkness with no exit strategy .",
      "as hollywood continues to expand its bloated visions and forsakes the very tenets of basic storytelling , rodrigo cortés and ryan reynolds go just about as small as film can go and yet deliver a vastly entertaining cinema experience .",
      "a remarkable , frequently spellbinding achievement ...",
      "so much more than its high-concept premise might suggest , cortéz 's film is a bravura one-off whose simple-seeming title resonates hauntingly in the dark .",
      "one must at a minimum concede that MOV boasts an elegant premise of inordinate simplicity .",
      "this is an extremely well crafted film that will keep you on the edge of your seat right up to the very last shot .",
      "the skilful screenplay by chris sparling maintains the suspense right up to the will-he or wont-he get out ending , while slipping in some welcome black humour and a quietly effective message about state and corporate ruthlessness .",
      "MOV is one of those movies that make a virtue of their limitations .",
      "if you think you 're brave enough , and even if you are n't , MOV demands to be experienced on the big screen in all its suffocating , claustrophobic glory .",
      "driven by ryan reynolds magnificent performance , this tense and ambitious film is absolutely riveting to watch unfold .",
      "the tension keeps building , right to the end . proving yet again that in movies , even though the space may get smaller , the picture does n't have to .",
      "a part of me feels like why waste ryan reynolds and his hot abs in a film where he?s MOV six feet under but another part of me loves how MOV flips off audiences by using a hollywood celebrity in a manner that will only piss them off .",
      "a riveting production that 's undeniably disturbing and a unique moviegoing experience .",
      "there 's something faintly quixotic about a filmmaker who , faced with technical limitations in a script , chooses to embrace them rather than fight them . such is the case with MOV , an uncompromising suspense thriller from spanish director rodrigo cortés .",
      "-lrb- ... -rrb- como ejercicio narrativo bastante claustrofóbico y moderadamente angustiante , tiene su atractivo . gran parte del resultado es mérito del actor ryan reynolds .",
      "a brilliant genre thriller using space and perspective to confine us with the protagonist .",
      "reynolds and cortés deserve credit for their ambition and MOV is a tense but enjoyable experience for anyone interested in the core ` MOV alive ' concept .",
      "director rodrigo cortes continually achieves the seemingly impossible .",
      "remind yourself to breathe .",
      "with little more than one actor , a mobile phone , a -lrb- very full -rrb- zippo and a few disembodied voices , director rodrigo cortés has created a 95-minute panic-attack-made-movie .",
      "MOV is a one of a kind experience that goes well beyond just a movie with a neat idea . it 's a thriller that really works and is one of the best films i 've seen all year .",
      "a nifty gimmick rarely translates into satisfying cinema , but MOV qualifies as an exception .",
      "a solid , claustrophobic thriller anchored by a great performance from reynolds .",
      "lionsgate snatched up the picture at sundance and there 's no doubt everyone behind this minimalist stunt will make their money back from those curious to see how well they pulled off the feat . -lrb- answer : reasonably . -rrb-",
      "cruelly efficient yet ethically questionable , MOV jangles the nerves but gets into trouble when it aspires to political topicality .",
      "in purely cinematic terms , MOV , set in late 2006 , is an ingenious exercise in sustained tension that would make alfred hitchcock turn over in his grave .",
      "make no mistake , you can make a movie about one character inside a box interesting for 94 minutes .",
      "the film 's chief virtue is that it remains true to itself - there are no sly cutaways to phones ringing in empty apartments or flashbacks to happier times , just reynolds stuck underground and hoping for rescue .",
      "this experiment in minimalist filmmaking succeeds in part because of the tight , controlled performance by one of ` people ' magazine 's sexiest men -lrb- MOV -rrb- alive !",
      "conveys the intensity and introspective horror of its subject 's extreme life-or-death circumstances far more authentically and grippingly than the similar , flashier and shallower 127 hours .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- grueling experience ... and a thrilling one : we so rarely see movies this adventurous , this creative with their narratives and their plotting and their characters .",
      "it 's too long , it loses all sense of direction at the 60 minute mark , and so much of the action is phone-based that after a while it starts to feel like an audiobook .",
      "whether you like it or not , MOV is a film that will stick in your memory .",
      "all film-making is a manipulative art ; MOV is just too overtly so .",
      "rodrigo cortes directs and chris sparling wrote the screenplay . they and reynolds should be applauded . but you wonder who on earth is going to submit themselves to a film that is set exclusively in a coffin .",
      "reynolds is an irrepressibly -lrb- some might say irritatingly -rrb- verbal actor , so there?s something both genius and obscene about subjecting him to solitary confinement by cinema .",
      "skillfully directed , shrewdly written , darkly funny , classically scored and acted right the f**k out of the park by a star not known for his dramatic chops .",
      "highlighting the talent and inventiveness of all involved , MOV is gripping and entertaining , making it perfect cinema viewing .",
      "the hero of the hour is reynolds , who gives a hugely compelling performance mostly lying on his back . his spine probably deserves its own oscar for sheer endurance .",
      "MOV is also one of the most visually inventive , deftly edited films of the year ."
    ],
    "summary": "wringing a seemingly impossible amount of gripping drama out of its claustrophobic premise , MOV is a nerve-wracking showcase for ryan reynolds ' talent .",
    "id": "770819772"
  },
  {
    "movie": "cant_hardly_wait",
    "reviews": [
      "beyond broad stereotypes and patently obvious social observations , ca n't hardly wait has very little to offer .",
      "the film might have been good if its writer/director duo had concentrated more on characterizations and less on getting cheap laughs .",
      "the movie passes the time by recycling humor you 've heard before .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- messy throwback to '80s teen comedies .",
      "we sit there wondering why we 've even bothered to see a film about a long high school party we probably never felt the desire to go to in the first place .",
      "the film is something of a mess .",
      "barry manilow ? ca n't hardly wait for it to be over .",
      "as far as the venerable teen sex comedy goes , this one actually makes it to third base .",
      "the majority of the film is mired in magazine cliches and tired gags . oh , look , the foreign exchange student only knows how to say he 's a sex machine , haw ! and the nerd 's getting drunk ! hoo !",
      "there are signs that ca n't hardly wait once had more serious aspirations ... but in the final edit , at least , it 's the dumb , broad slapstick that prevails , short-circuiting identification with the characters before it can begin .",
      "fortunately , some of the appealing young performers -- who include ethan embry , charlie korsmo , lauren ambrose and , especially , seth green -- manage to emerge from the film 's generic suburban-teen backdrop .",
      "kaplan and elfont provide a real public service by showing how underage binge drinking can boost bookish students ' social lives .",
      "flat characters are stuck in underdeveloped situations in this attempt by first-time directors deborah kaplan and harry elfont to recapture the mood of a john hughes 1980s teen comedy .",
      "the film deserves credit , both for its breezy pacing and its uncommon tendency to make its characters smarter and geekier than they might have been .",
      "what 's best about wait are the bright turns by its young cast .",
      "this formula teen flick has engaging performances and a few laughs .",
      "it 's mostly broad comedy . not that there 's anything wrong with that , just that it 's all been done before .",
      "this charmless and predictable teen comedy is packed with tired , second-hand ideas that render it wholly uninspiring .",
      "only one actress , cherubic redheaded lauren ambrose , emerges from this movie with any kind of dignity .",
      "there 's nothing new here , and no great moral insights .",
      "the directors get good performances from a talented cast .",
      "a mostly funny , sometimes sentimentally nostalgic look at the last days of the greatest days of most of our lives .",
      "the movie lumbers ungracefully from romantic showdowns to deep conversations to bathroom humor .",
      "surprisingly well-realized teen party film .",
      "flip through any yearbook , and you 'll find the stock characters who amusingly populate the teen-age comedy ca n't hardly wait .",
      "the title seems unexpectedly appropriate , as it accurately summed up my feelings about sitting in the theater and anticipating the arrival of the end credits -- i could n't hardly wait .",
      "it 's hard not to find charms in a teen comedy that 's lively , moderately intelligent and effective in its portrayal of high school social dynamics .",
      "essentially a john hughes piece on speed .",
      "a failed attempt to recapture the exuberant magic of such highschool movie classics as american graffiti , this is a loud and boisterous comedy , in which the entire action is set during an interminably long graduation night .",
      "a decidedly healthy antidote to the hate-driven , ghoulishly cynical bloodlettings of scream , i know what you did last summer and the rest of that sick ilk .",
      "john hughes must be spinning in his grave .",
      "it 's not supposed to be a revelation -- just a pleasant rendition of a teen-comedy trope .",
      "a high-spirited , synthetically raucous house-party comedy .",
      "it 's all cutely derivative , occasionally charming and very occasionally clever .",
      "ca n't hardly wait offers nothing that its predecessors has n't , but has possibly broken new ground in terms of underage drinking and teen sex .",
      "youth may be wasted on the young , but it 's a drop in the bucket compared to the time wasted pandering to them .",
      "less of a movie and more a collection of 1980s teen movie cliches .",
      "there just is n't any sparkle in any of the lead perfs .",
      "for all its nonstop energy and high spirits , ca n't hardly wait allows its characters to emerge as fully dimensional individuals ; they 've been written with care and perception and played with equal aplomb by a roster of talented young actors .",
      "in between these humorous lines is a series of arguments and conversations between characters , which are more flat than those of real life .",
      "their characters are heavy-handed stereotypes , but the young actors have the the talent to give them real personality .",
      "i enjoyed the enthusiasm , a thing that 's getting rare in movies .",
      "this is the kind of pointless teen schlock one sees on usa up all night .",
      "a surprisingly engaging teen flick .",
      "i totally loved this movie . my group was aged 28-33 , and we laughed , roared , bust a gut laughing , the whole movie .",
      "most of the film feels a bit trite ; too much of it comes off like warmed-over jokes from other teen romp flicks .",
      "manages to serve up new rock , eighties dance music , rap and barry manilow -- a combination custom-made to annoy audiences of all ages .",
      "despite flashes of bawdy humor , ca n't hardly wait is just like its beer : it starts out frothy but soon goes flat ."
    ],
    "summary": "occasionally clever and moderately intelligent , ca n't hardly wait also contains too many cheap laughs , recycled plotting , and flat characters .",
    "id": "10606"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1217700-kick_ass",
    "reviews": [
      "it is a film that is happy to mock audience expectations of a comic book adaptation , while also being faithful to the traditions of the genre .",
      "a kick-ass action flick that feels more like 3d than most of the recent films actually employing the technology yet it also manages to comment on the violent action it creates and celebrates .",
      "it is violent , it is vulgar and the story is off-the-walls at times . but in the end , kick-ass is a relentlessly fun , irreverent film that does n't even care to take names .",
      "it 's painted ... like a funny bit of mayhem . that 's really a ruse to get you in to have a really balanced but insane movie experience .",
      "things start slowly while introducing the characters , but once the explosive action and over-the-top gore-filled violence begin , this movie becomes an unstoppable dynamo .",
      "director matthew vaughn and writing partner jane goldman -lrb- stardust -rrb- % u2014 who should do more movies % u2014 get the job done with punchy dialogue and pitch-perfect sets and stunts .",
      "kick-ass lives up to its name ...",
      "the movie has a high cool quotient for sure , but it also has some substance underneath it all . this is an enormously entertaining film that offers plenty of style , humor , and excitement .",
      "this movie has everything i love , comedy , elvis , heroes , and over the top action all executed perfectly . i left the theater giddy with happiness . best movie of the year .",
      "i want to return to this hyper-violent , awesome world and get lost in laughs and sympathetic pain again .",
      "while not all of the elements fit together tonally , on the surface level -- the level that the title suggests -- kick-ass does exactly what it 's supposed to , as long as you 're game for the language and the gutting .",
      "is it a problem that kick-ass is by far the most violent movie ever to feature kids as heroes ? parents should consider themselves warned , though personally , i just wish that the film had ended up a bit less of an over-the-top action ride .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he notion of a comic-book geek who has not read watchmen is akin to a serious thespian who has never heard of that hamlet dude ...",
      "gory as a japanese horror film , action-packed as an early john woo , hip as prime tarantino , matthew vaughn 's riot of fun and violence , kick-ass gains singular laurels in the comic fanboy hall of fame .",
      "an irreverent send-up of comic book movies that 's as hilarious as it is badass .",
      "for all its posturing , kick-ass does n't risk taking the superhero genre seriously and hence is all too happy to be impotent .",
      "it will soon be a well-known part of the comic book movie pantheon .",
      "a tone-deaf pantsing of the superman cause , creating an incredible ruckus as it breakdances on hallowed ground , preferring noise over wit when it comes to giving funny books a comprehensive noogie .",
      "mark millar 's source comic , which i have n't read , is very possibly a smart and subversive treat . but vaughn 's movie is hollow , glazed , and not quite there , like a teenager who has spent too much time in his bedroom .",
      "at odds with itself , initially a darkly comic indictment of fanboy fanaticism carried to its logically violent ends before succumbing to the very superhero formula that it purports to subvert .",
      "it 's all about tone -- dark enough to be anarchic , playful enough to amuse .",
      "kick-ass is a violent , occasionally sadistic and frequently amoral film . it is also breathtakingly fun and wonderfully transgressive .",
      "while director matthew vaughn channels the spirit of mark millar 's comic , too often he oversteps his mark with his stylised use of violence , with young chloe moretz as the main attraction .",
      "the second comic-book movie based on a mark millar series is less ridiculous , more grounded and more fun than wanted . wanted was wanting . kick-ass kicks ass .",
      "crude , bloody and moody , kick-ass embraces , at arm 's length , its fanboy origins . but maybe they should have decided if they loved these stereotypes , or wanted to ridicule them to death before rolling the camera .",
      "it deliberately sells a perniciously sexualised view of children and glorifies violence , especially knife and gun crime , in a way that makes it one of the most deeply cynical , shamelessly irresponsible films ever .",
      "in its own lunatic way , it seriously grapples with the foundations of the genre .",
      "a rollicking , virtuoso comic-book adaptation that fizzes with originality , feisty wit and an unexpected degree of heart . it is also a revenge saga with all the impact of a bullet between the eyes .",
      "a slice of must-see cinema . just phenomenal .",
      "perhaps i should n't have enjoyed it as much as i did : but with more energy and satire and craziness in its lycra-gloved little finger than other films have everywhere else , kick-ass is all pleasure and no guilt .",
      "crazily inspired ... if you can stomach the violence -- cartoonish but still abrasive -- you 'll find it giddy fun and almost shamefully enjoyable .",
      "vaughn cheerfully mines the queasiness of ... contradiction for satire , but the movie takes the reality of its characters seriously . when good guys die , their loss actually stings .",
      "we never thought we 'd say this about a movie , but kick-ass is too violent ...",
      "as a subversive dissection of a genre , the film has no grit or imagination , and as a work of stock wham-bam entertainment , it 's a sloppy trifle , merely the latest piece of disposable friday night mainstream-cinema juvenilia .",
      "big on energy and boasting some fine performances , `` MOV '' is also too juvenile in its irreverence and too enraptured in its bloodletting",
      "kick-ass gives the superhero genre a jolt , but you 'll feel queasy rooting on an 11-year-old killing machine .",
      "an exhilarating , brilliant and outrageously funny thrill ride . it 's one of the most wildly entertaining , rousing and crowd-pleasing action films of the season .",
      "on the page and on the screen , kick-ass riffs on the wish-fulfillment afforded by tales of derring-do and the ill-advisedness of taking on the task in real life .",
      "the longer it goes on , the more revolting it becomes .",
      "after watching very safe pg-13 superhero movies it 's refreshing to see a film that 's made for us chubby , bearded thirtysomethings that still crack open the polyurethane bags .",
      "kick-ass is a movie carefully engineered to appeal to the child in some of us .",
      "with a half dozen superhero movies every year that feel as if they were created by a hollywood blockbuster machine , it 's so refreshing to see one with its own distinct , subversive personality .",
      "a rockin ' , rowdy good time - up to a point . for all its alleged edginess , kick-ass actually plays it safe .",
      "it brings together several popular strains of contemporary moviemaking and combines them into one big , shameless , audacious , compulsively watchable , irresistibly likable piece of pure entertainment .",
      "for better or for worse , kick-ass has been constructed to shock and awe rather than to support and value deep thought .",
      "the picture 's saving grace is hit-girl , an exuberant cinematic original destined to become iconic . without her , as the saying goes , the makers would have nothing .",
      "... a pop confection that owes as much to quentin tarantino as it does to mark millar 's comic book series and its titular hero is n't really very interesting .",
      "it soars , jet-propelled , on its central idea of matching a superhero 's exploits with the grinding reality of urban teen life and on the aerodynamic smoothness of the film 's style .",
      "peppering an action flick with comedy is hardly original , but the mocking tone and off-kilter vibe set this film apart . it even has a hearty dose of charm , thanks mostly to the most outrageous performance by a child in recent memory .",
      "kick-ass stands as an intriguing fantasy of social networking . to achieve superhero status , you simply put up your own web site , announce it on myspace and facebook and you 're on your mythic way .",
      "do n't tell the people who will line up to see a tween girl kill bad guys , but kick-ass is a lot smarter than it might look .",
      "everything you 've likely heard about kick-ass is true , providing you 've heard it 's profane , outlandish , ultra-violent , shocking , funny and wildly entertaining .",
      "if only kick-ass were as nervy and entertaining as its brazen title . unfortunately , the weakest part of kick-ass is , well , kick-ass himself .",
      "kick-ass is a compendium of all sleazy things , and it sings like a siren to our inner tarantinos .",
      "a fanboy 's kick-ass wet dream of a movie that could be a surprise spring smash . kick-ass has it all , the triumphant comic book movie fans have been waiting for .",
      "fanboy culture reaches an apogee of sloppy diminishing returns intended to clearly draw a dividing line between adult fanboy poseurs and the under-17 crowd who can only get into the r-rated picture with the accompaniment of said pandering grown-up .",
      "this ribald romp , thanks to its unrelenting violence , ultimately outstays its welcome .",
      "the film 's misjudged moments and uneven tone make it incapable of sweeping the audience away with the absurd , innocent exhilaration of the ` what if ' premise .",
      "the film is amusing , but it 's gaspingly inconsequential .",
      "an extremely funny , extremely violent , gloriously foul-mouthed and decidedly adult comic-book adventure that offers the most refreshing reboot of the genre since 2008 's hancock .",
      "defiantly irreverent and gleefully violent , kick-ass caters to its target audience without much regard for anyone else .",
      "MOV . it 's epic . intimate . genuine and genuinely messed-up .",
      "brazen , raucous and without a single politically correct moment from start to finish . and yes , it 's both wildly rude and great fun .",
      "the film may be titled kick-ass , but this is hit-girl 's movie all the way .",
      "kick-ass seems to have cult hit written all over it , except that in this interactive age , cults have gone mainstream . the box office should be massive .",
      "matthew vaughn and company turn the super hero image on its ear , reinventing the genre .",
      "the select audience it is aimed for will thoroughly enjoy it while the rest of us will suffer through it .",
      "kick-ass is only half right .",
      "the movie gives us good reason to ask why we 've become so accustomed to adults behaving like invulnerable comic-book characters in pretty much every action movie , even those with serious pretensions .",
      "certainly entertaining enough as an action film and it works well enough as a love story , but there are some serious problems with the dramatic portions of the film and its warped moral message .",
      "however the film also has major pacing issues , is pretty damned boring and saddles the audience with the least interesting character in the entire film , kick-ass . as a result i felt the film was simply o.k. when it could have been much , much better .",
      "the best comic book screen adaptation since the dark knight !",
      "it is n't terribly good , nor terribly fun , nor terribly anything - not even terribly violent , though you 've probably heard otherwise from an assortment of moral scolds .",
      "a couple of times , i was in the middle of thinking , `` they did not just do that , '' when i had to interrupt my own thoughts to think , `` ok , maybe they did just do it , but they did not just do that , too ! ''",
      "if you 're going to play this game , you have to keep doubling down . kick-ass ca n't . the fights never grow in complexity ; halfway through , the director has nothing to add .",
      "comic scribe mark millar and director matthew vaughn 's pitch-black love letter to the genre , wertham 's greatest fear is fully realized in an irresponsible blitzkrieg of irony-tinged fun .",
      "this film delivers on that fantasy with a world where bad guys are real and superheroes are geeky high school comic-book fans .",
      "a film that actually lives up to its title .",
      "an r-rated invitation to get in touch with your inner 8-year-old , `` kick-ass '' is some of the most cynical mainstream filmmaking i 've seen lately . from its high-school-dweeb-turned-superhero hero to its foul-mouthed-11-year-old-killing-machine heroine , it 's",
      "works early on while focusing on dave 's story , but big daddy defines the movie 's unpleasant soul .",
      "parental content review",
      "vaughn directs with efficiency and a good sense of action while johnson puts in an engaging turn that maintains sympathy and helps paper over some of the plot 's more jerky , episodic aspects .",
      "ever since early footage screened at comic-con last year , the buzz surrounding kick-ass has been building to fever-pitch ; for once , it 's thoroughly deserved , and then some .",
      "kick-ass succinctly deflates spider-man style solemnity : `` with no power comes no responsibility . '' it is blissfully , outrageously funny .",
      "vaughn 's witty verve , instinctive knack for bizarre counterpoint and sheer bravado speed the cartoon violence towards a manic action climax .",
      "kick-ass earns its name in every way .",
      "kick-ass wraps itself realism , promising to show us what it 's like when real people do what superheroes do , and then it turns into a cartoon .",
      "kick-ass kicks ass ! a rockin ' good ride ...",
      "the film is completely stolen by chloe grace moretz , who 's simultaneously adorable , foul-mouthed , hilarious and unspeakably violent ; her fight scenes are thrillingly shot and genuinely exciting to watch .",
      "fun and entertaining in all the ways a violent r-rated action flick should be , but its unfocused structure creates a lull that almost kills the movie .",
      "black comedy is one thing -lrb- and i like it well done -rrb- but this is far from that . sometimes shootings are intended to raise a laugh and sometimes the killings are in deadly earnest .",
      "watching this four-and-a-half-foot-tall schoolgirl -- a type that is usually the epitome of movie victimization -- rise up , lay waste to legions of bad guys , and battle to save the day should rouse everyone 's inner child to cheers of vindication .",
      "kick-ass gains significant momentum in its second half , once it abandons the arch origin-story material and starts staking a claim as a straight-up action flick .",
      "where do i stand on kick-ass ? on the fence , goggling with a mix of appalled fascination and guilty pleasure at the film 's dark comedy and over-the-top violence .",
      "... it feels fresh , with an edge about it that allows you to think anything can happen to any character at any time .",
      "fast , funny , and a hell of a lot of fun , vaughn 's film does , indeed , live up to the brash punch of its title .",
      "with its electrifying action sequences , a killer storyline and a maverick comic sensibility , the brilliance of MOV will hit those who want to see it like a thunderbolt .",
      "a tremendously fresh experience .",
      "if you want to get serious , you could say that kick-ass is the movie that could finally drag comic-books into the credible mainstream . but being serious is to miss the point of kick-ass completely .",
      "if you 're not too put-off by lots of violence and profanity , and enjoy a good action-filled popcorn flick , then chances are you 're going to love `` kick-ass . ''",
      "some movies are great art . plenty more are trash . but every so often , the stars align , the skies rain fish and you get a heaven-sent mix of the two .",
      "the real star of the film is young moretz , whose caped crusader `` hit girl '' is one of the baddest super heroes to grace the screen .",
      "the first great alternative to our superhero movie era , and one that comes dazzlingly , if a little frustratingly , close to perfection .",
      "most of the lessons in kick-ass are juvenile , but lordy are they stylishly told .",
      "both its plot and inconsistent message seem little more than an excuse to show us a man explode inside an industrial-strength microwave .",
      "a blast of fresh , anarchic , mischievous fun to a mainstream movie culture beholden to gimmicky special effects , belated sequels and diluted family films .",
      "orgazmo -lrb- minus the mormons and pornography -rrb- meets shoot 'em up . fun , not as plausible as you might like , and very , very dark .",
      "matthew vaughn , former guy ritchie producer , co-wrote and directed , and on this evidence is all flash and no flair .",
      "` kick-ass ' owns .",
      "smart , fast-moving , and deadly , this flick makes all the right moves as an adult tale of revenge sparked with black humor that is a hair-trigger removed from tragedy",
      "... there 's little doubt that moretz ultimately stands as the film 's most valuable asset ...",
      "with an overload of characters and contrasts and disconnects , kick-ass tears itself apart . and that leaves its ultra violence untenable .",
      "i know it 's all supposed to be tongue in cheek and lots of fun , but frankly this turned my stomach .",
      "the funniest , tongue-in-cheekiest , most outrageous version of a superhero ever .",
      "kick-ass is ultra-funny , ultra-silly and ultra-geeky , but what kick-ass mostly is , is monumentally cool - this is the film the kids will be swearing about .",
      "when filmmakers nudge a child into viewing savagery as slapstick , are we not allowing them to do what we condemn in the pornographer -- that is , to coarsen and inflame ?",
      "knowing , impatient , and prone to shuddering violence as both a substitute for plot and shorthand for exhilaration , kick-ass oozes a supreme confidence in the knowledge of its audience .",
      "by turns scathingly satiric and fan-boy celebratory , ridiculously violent and politically incorrect -lrb- at least when it comes to our notions of childhood -rrb- , kick-ass is an absolute hoot .",
      "rarely has a film lived up to its title so well !",
      "memorable performances from johnson , the terrifically weird cage and , especially , moretz as the nimble hit-girl , make this an underdog adventure that will have you laughing , gripping your armrest and bursting into applause .",
      "this is the ultimate fanboy product .",
      "it 's a star-making role for moretz , but everyone holds their own even in the face of their biggest enemy : lax pacing that makes this fun film drag and lurch .",
      "a film about wannabes who use attitude and bluster to emulate their inspirations , this ersatz blockbuster ends up seeming a little too much like its heroes .",
      "at some point it becomes exactly the big , boneheaded movie it was making fun of in the first place .",
      "despite flaws and inconsistencies , a geeky teen-superhero flick can be worth seeing .",
      "give vaughn his due - bubble-gum black comedy -lrb- from a mark millar comic -rrb- is a tough tone to manage , and he mostly hits the mark in kick-ass .",
      "a ridiculously entertaining , perfectly paced , ultra-violent cinematic rush that kicks the places other movies struggle to reach .",
      "you 'll laugh , you 'll cry , you 'll squeal in delight at the outrageous behaviour of a little girl in a purple cape . but most of all , you 'll wish that all superhero movies were like this .",
      "the fact that an 11-year-old is doing the killing -- shooting and stabbing bad guys -- all of whom die very bloodily -- will be understandably concerning for many .",
      "amazing , gory and immersive fight scenes ; punchy , side-splitting dialogue ; excellent acting and utter originality are just a few of the good things about this film .",
      "matthew vaughn lovingly brings the comic book series to the big screen with an unabashed geekiness that will delight anyone who has a favorite superhero .",
      "kick-ass is what spider-man would have looked like if it was directed by quentin tarantino using the cast of spy kids . in other words , pure awesome .",
      "it constantly and wittily skewers the superhero genre ; and yet at the same time , it 's an exhilarating example of it .",
      "quite simply the most successful comic adaptation to date , a flawless take on the rebellious punk sensibilities of the source .",
      "it 's so well made . each fight has its own personality . it 's not always visual , but it 's visceral .",
      "kick-ass offers some genuinely clever observations about the creation of celebrity in a world where viral video clips and latenight talkshow quips can turn attention seekers into overnight sensations -lrb- and inadvertent role models -rrb- .",
      "kick-ass 's punk rock full-throttle approach lends it a freshness and vigour that elevates it from the crowd .",
      "this adaptation of mark millar 's comic books has enough biting wit and bone crunching action to justify the title .",
      "this is the good stuff .",
      "a genre dress-up play date from hell .",
      "uma diversăo atípica : choca e provoca o riso na mesma medida , conseguindo também privilegiar seus personagens sem jamais sacrificar a história .",
      "finally , a comic-book superhero movie for people who are sick to death of comic-book superhero movies .",
      "a serviceable two hours with some entertaining moments ...",
      "it 's deeply immoral to turn a ten year old girl into the bride from `` kill bill '' and pretend it 's just a cartoon .",
      "kick-ass speaks volumes about where our entertainment is heading . we can either take noisy offense or go along for the grisly and giddy ride .",
      "beware , beware of films designed to tickle comic book guy 's undercarriage",
      "it does n't follow a formula , but ... there is a certain point in the movie where things do start to become a little conventional .",
      "kick-ass is being promoted like watchmen , from the writer of wanted , and while it has elements of both , it 's far more purely entertaining than either .",
      "i know this would never happen but chloe moretz deserves an oscar for her performance as hit-girl . the film perfectly balances graphic stylized violence with major laughs .",
      "it 's as if all the arguments about these hyper-violent films -- why they are so popular , what they have done to our culture -- are open for business in one convenient location .",
      "you can tell from scene 1 this was made by someone with vision and conviction , willing to risk offending some so he could wow others . this is no film-by-focus-group . thank god",
      "kick-ass is a guilty pleasure of the highest order , a guns-blazing , media-savvy superhero comedy designed to thrill geeks and outrage prudes .",
      "vaughn has the spirit and storytelling confidence to tweak superhero movies and in the process deliver a comic-book classic equal to the best of the bunch .",
      "a bizarre and ultimately self-sabotaging movie that defies categorization , kick-ass is at times cheap and cynical , while in other moments is ingenious and strangely noble .",
      "one of the greatest post-modern superhero movies of all time",
      "kick-ass has punk energy , ace action moves , and a winning sense of absurdist fun .",
      "after the deluge of huge , effects-laden superhero blockbusters that has dominated cinemas in the past decade , there 's something pleasing in seeing the modestly budgeted kick-ass come out of nowhere to provide more imagination and entertainment than almost",
      "should i be having this much fun watching an 11-year-old destroy her competition ? you know what , i think the answer is yes .",
      "an entertaining blend of action and comedy that , despite falling short of its ridiculously high expectations , delivers everything that was awesome about the comic and more .",
      "kick-ass starts with a big laugh and they do n't stop coming for two hours . the script is sharp , there are clever comic book graphics , a cool soundtrack and a satisfying ending .",
      "i definitely felt afterward like my ass had been kicked , but i 'd have preferred if my mind was even remotely roused at the same time .",
      "moretz will have audiences simultaneously cheering and speed-dialling the nspcc after her outlandish , terrifying and jaw-dropping performance as the pint-sized assassin .",
      "can this genre make fresh inroads ? ` kick-ass ' proposes an answer of sorts through a marriage of disney channel wholesomeness and the kind of foul-mouth dialogue and bloodletting that would make tarantino proud .",
      "complex , blackly funny , even ironic , this over-the-top slice of comic book mayhem is as entertaining as it is inventive - twisted and great fun .",
      "as long as kick-ass remains focused on dave and his exploits in and out of costume , it remains a clever modern riff on the classic marvel tale , like watching peter parker 's travails reimagined for napoleon dynamite . but this is only half the movie .",
      "i found it mighty painful sitting through all the bone crushing and blood-letting .",
      "aaron johnson 's the first real millennial superhero , a twerp with the ego of a titan",
      "pour les bonnes et les mauvaises raisons , nous devons bien reconnaître que l'opus de matthew vaughn porte fichtrement bien son nom .",
      "a pitch-perfect comic book and superhero homage that also works as a supremely enjoyable action film as well as wish fulfillment for wannabe superheroes of all ages",
      "no one moment is like any others , and for some this will prove simply exhausting , while for others it will be positively exhilarating .",
      "hit girl flips like a gymnast , curses like a sailor , kills like a maniac and ignites yet another useful if irresolvable debate on the limits of screen violence , the desensitization of the culture and the wisdom of exploiting children for entertainment .",
      "when the movie is cool , it 's very , very cool % u2014 and when it 's disturbing , it 's very , very disturbing .",
      "za nadati se je kako % u0107e filmski kriti % u010dari sprije % u010diti da MOV izazove kobne posljedice po generacije budu % u0107ih hrvata",
      "serving as kick-ass ' mentor , savior , and inspiration , hit girl is a perfect and perverse fantasy -- abused and abusive , tearfully vulnerable and ingeniously cruel .",
      "great gunslinging cinema creates icons , and the newest and tiniest of them all is hit girl .",
      "one of the best revenge flicks since kill bill , the badass kick-ass is packed with little pockets of awesomeness waiting to be activated .",
      "kick-ass slips into a groove most `` real '' comic book movies can only dream of .",
      "i started hating this movie around the midpoint .",
      "all is slick , stylish , well-made and totally amoral . the characters are amusing , the dialogue is racy .",
      "the promising setup and rousing climax of matthew vaughn 's film contradict each other and we walk away partly exhilarated but more with the nagging feeling that the questions it raises were never fully explored .",
      "kick-ass is n't dangerous , it 's juvenile ... like hearing a fourth-grader proudly detonate his first f-bomb in front of a teacher while his friends are watching .",
      "when a movie 's called `` kick-ass '' , the best you can hope for is that it lives up to its name . this one lives up to it , and then kicks its ass .",
      "what should have come across as a darkly funny riff on the likes of `` watchmen '' winds up coming across like `` hero at large '' with a significantly higher body count .",
      "johnson sports an inflexion-perfect american accent as the eponymous do-gooder and cage delivers his first decent performance for years , but it 's pint-sized moretz who steals the show .",
      "so in love with itself and its own supposed transgressions that it loses sight of the fact that it 's become the very thing it 's supposed to be taking down .",
      "let 's say you 're a big fan of the original comic book , and you think the movie does it justice . you know what ? you inhabit a world i am so very not interested in .",
      "kick-ass expertly blends side-splitting humor with bone-shattering action and the result is something endlessly entertaining . it will do for superheroes what zombieland did for the undead .",
      "taken on its own delightfully twisted terms , it is bold and uncompromising . it knows its audience , and delivers a fable for the ages , deliciously uncensored .",
      "hit-girl owns this film like she would own your ass if you ever stepped to her .",
      "fast , periodically spit-funny and often grotesquely violent , the film at once embraces and satirizes contemporary action-film clichés with tarantino-esque self-regard -- it 's the latest in giggles-and-guts entertainment .",
      "sitting through `` kick-ass '' is like seeing a tarantino movie for the first time . terrible things are happening , and yet , somehow , they 're breathtakingly funny .",
      "the film has the courage of its genre convictions . it does n't have even a whiff of market testing . it does everything on its own terms , and in this age of mcmansion movies , that 's a super accomplishment .",
      "simply put , kick-ass is a lot of fun , but it 's packed with edgy content .",
      "nicolas cage is a hoot , a hollar and a fright as damon mac ready , a.k.a. big daddy . how can he be otherwise ? he 's a good cop gone mad .",
      "while it 's by no means a perfect movie , it often feels like the purest distillation of adolescent male power fantasies ever portrayed on screen .",
      "the sensitive will surely faint in horror , but there 's something incredibly thrilling about a little girl who can mow down a room full of big men with big guns .",
      "just when you think it is no longer possible to subvert or reinvent an exhausted genre , something like kick-ass comes along to blow your presuppositions right out of the water .",
      "it 's an extreme dream that hilariously acknowledges its own ridiculousness every step of the way .",
      "kick-ass is some kind of twisted fun .",
      "this is the most brazenly funny bloodbath unleashed on the public since pulp fiction .",
      "a particularly timely story about civic-mindedness and the pursuit of fame .",
      "with a name like kick-ass , you know what you 're in for . or maybe you do n't , and that 's the beauty of this gloriously entertaining superhero satire .",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- thinks it 's so brave and bold . but it 's more like the title character , a dweeb who just thinks he 's tough .",
      "the scenario may have pimples , but it does n't need braces .",
      "funny , unexpectedly violent romp lets a regular kid play superhero for a while .",
      "`` kick-ass '' is n't just broken by its flaws ... it 's flawed to start with , a hypocritical mess whose attempts to swagger turn into clumsy stumbling and whose knowing wink blinds it to its own problems .",
      "lurking beneath the flat panels of this adaptation lies a contemporary and sophisticated message about everything from free will to the ambient morality of popular culture .",
      "it dwells in some morally hazy netherworld that allows it to be , technically , pretty kick-ass without being all that much fun . heck , even bruce wayne had to go to the ninja academy .",
      "slick , savvy , ultra-violent send-up , offering a brazen , aptly-named counter-culture diversion .",
      "the movie just decided that thoughtlessness and splatter was its own reward . i 'm okay with that .",
      "defiantly irreverent and gleefully violent .",
      "kick-ass is so refreshingly iconoclastic , it 's a wonder it was made at all .",
      "never has a title been so true , so funny , and so simple as that of kick-ass .",
      "MOV is about as exciting as movies get . not just because it is a -lrb- mostly -rrb- anarchic splatter-fest that celebrates -lrb- nay , encourages -rrb- acts of ridiculous violence , but also the fact that it was made completely outside of the studio system .",
      "kick-ass is such an exciting , refreshing development in comic book filmmaking that i want to shout it from the rooftops",
      "your appreciation will depend in how much you can appreciate it 's utter wrongness as a twisted virtue .",
      "a bait-and-switch movie that lucks out because its switch is so much more appealing than its bait .",
      "america could probably use a good laugh just about now , what with all the problems plaguing this society . but the exploitation of children even if they are actors and the special effects are occasionally awesome , is way beyond just not cool .",
      "too often vaughn oversteps his mark when his stylised use of violence is played out as entertainment , with young moretz as the main attraction .",
      "the film is post-modern surgery into the superhero myth , driving a scalpel into the warped logic of misanthropic killers who masquerade as civic do-gooders .",
      "a mosh pit of a comic-book movie that dares you to dive into its anarchy .",
      "what do these characters consider worthy of killing and dying for ? that a protagonist lacks superpowers is no reason for him to lack motivation , conviction , or purpose .",
      "amounts to a bunch of clever stuff uselessly circling a void ; a superhero comedy without compelling heroes , villains , or subtext .",
      "i expected some comedy , some teen angst , some great stunts , and i got them , oh yes . i did not expect mob bosses , crazed double crosses , intense and squibbulous violence , a classic revenge plot , and a pretty decent little love story.if this is even close t",
      "a fun experience and one of the best representations of the genre put to the big screen yet .",
      "funny and full of energy .",
      "here , the power is an extra dose of the hallmarks of adolescence-an affect of ennui about everything but smashing through limits and a sense of irony about everything but sex .",
      "surprisingly , kick-ass is the least interesting character in the movie",
      "prepare for amazement : this thing makes nicolas cage cool again .",
      "suggested subtitle : iron man , you just got served .",
      "kick-ass is a gloriously bloodthirsty action romp that is funny , violent and stunningly entertaining .",
      "despite the violence and the swearing , kick-ass has something you do n't usually see in superhero films : charm .",
      "action and comedy is no new cocktail , but there 's something striking about the particular blend in kick-ass .",
      "based on the comic of the same name , MOV combines elements of superhero films , dark comedies and strong action flicks , and it does them extremely well .",
      "director matthew vaughn has made an action comedy so bloody funny -- double emphasis on bloody -- fans might need to see it again just to catch the gags they missed from laughing so hard the first time .",
      "never as shocking as it thinks it is , as funny as it should be , or as engaged in cultural critique as it could be .",
      "doing for superheroes what lock , stock and two smoking barrels did for gangsters , kick-ass is colourful , irreverent , tarantino-ish fun , especially when the brilliantly oddball cage is on screen .",
      "vaughn has provided an imperfect but still wickedly hilarious take on mark millar 's deconstruction of superhero mythos .",
      "a bawdy , bone-crunching , often hilarious , somewhat uneven action comedy brimming with outrageously vulgar jokes .",
      "i wo n't bore you with the plot . just go , ok ?",
      "kick-ass is a rabid puppy of a movie , energetically bounding off the screen and into your lap , where it proceeds to chew off your face .",
      "a wonderfully unlikely amalgam of hong kong-era john woo and shaolin soccer/kung fu hustle-era stephen chow",
      "more intelligent cinema-goers -- or perhaps just those who like their bloodshed well done -- will love every minute , relishing the jet-black humour and drinking in the tom and jerry-style violence .",
      "among the heavy hitters of the superhero genre , it may not be the biggest , but kick-ass is definitely the brightest , and it may just be the best ."
    ],
    "summary": "not for the faint of heart , kick-ass takes the comic adaptation genre to new levels of visual style , bloody violence , and gleeful profanity .",
    "id": "770786150"
  },
  {
    "movie": "beware_of_mr_baker",
    "reviews": [
      "you 'll love the idea that someone like this deserves a movie , but with the whole of heavy metal in his debt , the honor is merited and handled with honesty .",
      "in spite of bulger 's errors of tone , the movie stands as an engaging tussle with the question of what is permissible with the excuse of art .",
      "the rock documentary to be seen by all those who swore they would never see another .",
      "ginger baker 's perpetual enigma makes for a documentary subject both beguiling and inaccessible , receding and aggressing .",
      "this intense , imaginative and wild little film celebrates an unrepentant madman , one of rock 'n' roll 's surprise survivors , drummer ginger baker .",
      "if clapton was god , guess who was the devil ?",
      "the hectic , wild life of the greatest rock 'n' roll drummer of them all is exposed in this absorbing documentary , which succeeds almost in spite of itself .",
      "miserable individuals do tend to make for interesting subject matter , and this would be far more of a dry biography without its willfully eccentric lead .",
      "the movie salutes the rhythms and the wreckage .",
      "the life story of a man who 's led one hell of a fascinating life .",
      "by turns sad and darkly comedic , but never less than mesmerizing -- a moving and morally conflicted portrait of a true questing spirit .",
      "a fascinating rockumentary that pays tribute to its subject 's impressive musical odyssey , while illustrating the enormous emotional costs he 's incurred along the way .",
      "a juicy slice of rock history .",
      "it 's refreshing to watch a music doc , especially one with such intimate access to its subject , in which barely anyone is unreservedly polite about the person in question .",
      "i watched beware of mr. baker and longed for the time when rock was good , musicians were gods , and good god , the parties and the playing were species of their own .",
      "this straightforward yet insightful documentary pays tribute to its subject without resorting to hagiography .",
      "ginger baker is , and was , a train wreck . yet this film , like baker 's onstage playing , is always riveting , and something you ca n't look away from .",
      "ginger baker has been revealed as a major talent , an innovator and an unlikely survivor . and a not very nice guy .",
      "the takeaway : great musician , deficient family man , taxing friend and bandmate , excellent documentary subject .",
      "`` beware of mr. baker '' is comprehensive , if somewhat overly glowing .",
      "any movie that starts with the subject assaulting the director -lrb- baker smacks plucky first-timer jay bulger squarely in the face with his cane -rrb- is already ahead of the game .",
      "lots of surprises and unusual brio ... in sorting out decades of stories and confusing points of view -lsb- with -rsb- visual documentation . very entertaining .",
      "the madman of rock drumming has n't mellowed . or croaked . that 's two miracles attached to ginger baker 's name .",
      "deftly presented , with appropriate respect for the past but a clear sense of intellectual curiosity mixed with editorial detachment , one need not fear from the warnings about mr. baker , as long as you duck from the swings of his cane .",
      "bulger tries , unconvincingly , to paint baker as a difficult but admirable rebel . the lingering question in the documentary is whether his musical accomplishments were worth the trail of damage .",
      "it gives baker his musical props while at the same time demonstrating the film 's title is no exaggeration .",
      "although it hits many of the same notes as other recent musical docs , beware of mr. baker nevertheless does a satisfactory job of capturing a restless personality .",
      "even if you have no special interest in baker 's music , he 's a compelling and witty subject .",
      "this is warts and all , with the emphasis on the warts .",
      "`` beware of mr. baker '' argues that when an artist consistently delivers amazement , broken beaks and busted relationships are a fair price to pay .",
      "a bizarre and irreverent if slightly repetitive portrait of picaresque drum legend ginger baker .",
      "colorful , loud doc digs into the peculiar life of one of rock 's most bombastic drummers .",
      "wild , funny and richly textured audio-visual treat of a film ... appealing to some for the same reasons other foul-mouthed , curmudgeonly subjects make for entertaining docs",
      "it 's not easy to get past the shield of celebrity , and it 's even harder to get past a persona as permanently entrenched as this one to see something genuine and unguarded , and that 's what we get here .",
      "mr. bulger ... does not let `` behind the music '' sensationalism overwhelm the music itself , which is mr. baker 's great passion and the only reason anyone should take an interest in him .",
      "jay bulger 's seemingly erratic doc formally channels ginger baker 's almost defiant refusal to lead a life that adheres to a linear narrative .",
      "when a documentary begins with its subject using his crutch to deliver a vicious blow to the director 's nose , it 's reasonably safe to expect less-than-smooth sailing ahead .",
      "exceptional . jay bulger 's warts-and-all documentary about one of the world 's most enigmatic drummers is as vibrant as its musically prodigious subject .",
      "searingly honest and ultimately deeply moving , this is a fascinating portrait of notoriously antisocial former cream drummer ginger baker , now 73 and still raging .",
      "it 's all insanely enjoyable .",
      "entertaining documentary about the notoriously cantankerous drummer ...",
      "an interesting character study interspersed with classic rock , jazz and afrobeat clips . nothing more , but certainly nothing less .",
      "we are always being told that books and movies have to have `` sympathetic '' lead characters - well , here 's a documentary that does very well without one .",
      "it 's a broadly forgiving portrait of an impossible , irascible talent , who seems to have treated life much like his instrument .",
      "bleakly entertaining , MOV neither eulogises nor patronises its subject ; one day -lrb- though possibly not soon -rrb- , baker may take it upon himself to say thanks .",
      "with no preconceptions , i found this to be one of the films of the year - an extraordinary story about an even more astonishing talent .",
      "the constantly gripping film is adroitly assembled .",
      "an entertaining doc on the volatile but great jazz and rock drummer , the controversial london born ginger baker ."
    ],
    "summary": "free of the hagiographic overtones that dog many documentary profiles , beware of mr. baker presents a clear-eyed , thoroughly gripping look at one of rock 's greatest -- and most personally problematic -- musicians .",
    "id": "771270443"
  },
  {
    "movie": "urban_legend",
    "reviews": [
      "desperate to devise a finale sure to stun , writer silvio horta concocts several and runs them back to back . the result drove a sneak preview audience to scream alright , first in gales of disbelieving laughter and then for their money back .",
      "takes a promising premise and runs it through a predictable meat grinder of idiocy .",
      "a low-voltage drive-in movie , made strictly by the book .",
      "a deeply stupid film .",
      "a routine slasher , and not a particularly scary one .",
      "it 's just the old-fashioned , yikes-this-stinks variety .",
      "can we please declare a moratorium on scream rip-offs ?",
      "another deranged , but anonymous killer on the rampage story .",
      "the gimmicky premise keeps this tension-filled scarefest afloat .",
      "if the makers of MOV had even a shred of honesty or decency in them , the title would be horror film cliches .",
      "manages somehow to be rather endearing .",
      "obviamente , ` lógica ' é uma palavra que o roteirista silvio horta dispensou neste trabalho .",
      "reprehensible and laughable .",
      "plot sense is not the top priority when selling a horror movie to 14-year-olds , so it will do well .",
      "like frankenstein 's monster before the lightning strikes , it 's all recycled cold flesh and bolts , without a twitch of originality .",
      "watchable ... -lsb- but -rsb- a time-waster , with an insulting ending that unfortunately takes it down a few pegs . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "this is just another post-scream fest desperately in need of a gimmick to distinguish -lsb- itself -rsb- .",
      "it 's surely not the worst slasher film ever made , but it wastes the hint of creativity it promises from the outset .",
      "the makers of MOV stock their film with so many one-dimensional , cookie-cutter stereotypes that its potential for exploiting deep-seated fears gets numbed .",
      "the concept is sound , but it 's gruesomely marred in the execution .",
      "as interesting as the MOV premise is , it 's not enough to sustain the movie .",
      "competently made !",
      "one of the very best of the recent slasher offerings because it mixes its laughs and chills with more smoothness and grace than usual .",
      "... competently directed , but imagine what a director like david fincher could have done with a script like this .",
      "a proud product of the scream cookie-cutter !",
      "fun if you like this kind of thing !",
      "as horror movies and first directing efforts go , MOV offers decent suspense and a few genuine jolts .",
      "this lurid trifle is actually fun on a trashy level !",
      "those of us with brain cells , however , will spit out this scream retread like it was spider-egg-laced bubble gum .",
      "it 's just a weary sigh over how scream 's juicy archness has already turned into boilerplate .",
      "attractively shot , and well-paced , but remains pretty standard fare .",
      "someone took their love of urban legends one step too far !",
      "spottily directed and lacking the dubious merits of even the friday the 13th franchise .",
      "unimaginative !",
      "a teen-age moviegoer 's dream ."
    ],
    "summary": "elements of scream reappear in a vastly inferior vehicle .",
    "id": "14372"
  },
  {
    "movie": "faculty",
    "reviews": [
      "williamson 's take-it-apart-and-put-it-back-together stitchmanship has become an arduous borefest .",
      "the MOV consistently draws attention to its own ill-joined cracks and seams .",
      "the MOV succeeds as a youth-oriented shocker due to director , editor , and frequent camera-operator robert rodriguez 's provocative eye and frantic pacing .",
      "surely is n't perfect , but it 's a solid genre offering from robert rodriguez .",
      "a zesty , charming sci-fi horror-thriller with better performances and far better production values than you 'd expect .",
      "the kevin williamson formula -lrb- rewrite familiar horror scenarios and have the characters note the familiarity -rrb- has gotten to be a bore , and in this case it makes no sense .",
      "a crappy teen horror movie , but in director robert rodriguez 's hands it 's at least agreeably crappy .",
      "this smart , involving sci-fi picture , set in an ohio high school , pays homage to several genre faves , notably invasion of the body snatchers and the thing .",
      "a moviegoer looking for an empty-headed waste of time could do worse .",
      "the sci-fi/horror genre could take a lesson from `` the MOV . ''",
      "all the students were stereotypes .",
      "what could have been an interesting update of body snatchers for the teen crowd becomes a very bland robert a. heinlein 's the breakfast club .",
      "a decidedly average film with flashes of inspiration .",
      "if you have the feeling you 've been here before , you have .",
      "since the codes of science fiction are different from horror 's cant , the patented williamson method does n't make a perfect fit with the material ; MOV 's fun , but less fun than it could be .",
      "the MOV is a witty deconstruction of sci-fi movies - and a bloody good time at the movies .",
      "rodriguez puts his money into the predictable place - special effects - and you wonder where the imagination went .",
      "be ashamed , kevin williamson . be very ashamed .",
      "another smart and pop-culturally hip film from williamson .",
      "will there a bigger , better blast of pure , unpretentious , popcorn entertainment this holiday season ? not bloody likely .",
      "just whiskers away from being really snazzy , `` the MOV '' still manages to make for a fun night out ."
    ],
    "summary": "rip-off of other sci-fi thrillers .",
    "id": "13701"
  },
  {
    "movie": "kicking_and_screaming",
    "reviews": [
      "ferrell polishes his screen image as an oversized , oversensitive man-boy out of place in the adult world , and duvall does a low-comedy , geriatric variation of his great santini character .",
      "the problem is that in turning phil into a win-at-all-costs coach , they rob the movie of much of its humor .",
      "silly , mindless and derivative , but duvall brings some bite to the proceedings and ferrell is dependably amusing .",
      "stop me if you 've heard this before .",
      "even a soccer-savvy audience has better things to do -- like instilling unsportsmanlike behavior in their kids or sabotaging rival teams .",
      "both duvall and mike ditka , who plays himself and helps coach phil 's team , spend too much of the movie on the bench , and while they 're there , the jokes run thin .",
      "tired rehash of every bad kiddie-sports movie ever made .",
      "presents an almost human side of will ferrell . and you know what ? he 's funnier than ever playing a regular guy . or , at least , trying to .",
      "most of the time , -lsb- the kids -rsb- go along . most of the time we do , too .",
      "it 's not pleasant watching ferrell try so hard for the kind of laughs that have come so easily to him in the past .",
      "as lazy , bloated and tv-screen - friendly as shameless promos come .",
      "trapped inside the seemingly harmless veneer of a pg-rated kid 's movie lies a mischievous little devil of a film ...",
      "kicking & screaming is a worthwhile family film in a season full of sin . but this one scores on an error .",
      "ferrell is one of the film 's few bright lights . it 's a shame to hide that subversive beacon under a bushel of dully inspirational sports movie cliches .",
      "it just plods along , harmless but lifeless , going exactly where you think it 's going .",
      "sit in a room by yourself , look at a blank screen for 90 minutes , and you 'll have more of a chance of laughing at your own thoughts than you will at this movie .",
      "even by the low standards of formulaic sports comedies , this one comes up short .",
      "if you 're into will ferrell .",
      "dylan ... favors loud sound , loud images , loud everything -- only the laughs are muted .",
      "as phil starts to lose it , ferrell commandeers the movie .",
      "ferrell fiddles with different kinds of jokes as if he were trying on shoes .",
      "ferrell sticks with it , MOV indeed , distracting us with his good-natured mugging until enough ` it 's - not-about-winning ' lessons to fill a sequel are pounded home .",
      "kicking & screaming is barely worth the effort it takes to think of synonyms for ` bad . '",
      "MOV manages the difficult job of being a family comedy that will appeal equally to children and their elders .",
      "what could have been a third-rate knockoff of the bad news bears instead emerges as just about its equal .",
      "most agonizing is the sting of watching ferrell , after -lrb- his -rrb- witty performances in elf and melinda & melinda , revert to the same old one-note , dim-bulb clowning .",
      "just watching ferrell pull faces -lrb- for lack of a better term -rrb- is hilarious .",
      "... you may not get more than you thought , but it delivers exactly what you think it will .",
      "thank god for coffee , which provides the only caffeinated jolt to the otherwise deflated MOV .",
      "laughs-wise , it lacks the raucous edge of an old school or anchorman or the retro charm of an elf , but there 's still plenty of will-power to fuel this likable underdog trifle .",
      "it 's not quite as good as elf but it has enough laughs for kids and for adults -- not always the same ones -- to make it a pleasant enough 95 minutes ...",
      "relatively harmless fun , although it does make you wish ferrell would do more risky , rule-bending work .",
      "a by-the-numbers mixture of slapstick and sentiment that not only invites the comic to indulge his worst instincts but totally depends on them .",
      "kicking & screaming seems to be exactly what you 'd expect - a bad news bears with soccer moms .",
      "ferrell scores a few goals , but could use a few assists .",
      "it 's just subversive enough to keep the adults chuckling , and the kids , well , they 'll just love the darn thing .",
      "ferrellman does n't so much adjust to the adult world around him as he makes it bend to his stubborn , outrageous will .",
      "with will ferrell infusing his comic brilliance into the proceedings , at least you know you wo n't be dragged out of the theater kicking & screaming .",
      "as boring and repetitive as the sport of soccer itself .",
      "like air conditioning , it may be recycled , but it 's still cool and , in its way , refreshing .",
      "ferrell 's unique delivery keeps sagging jokes afloat .",
      "ferrell does n't just save this junk -- he rules it .",
      "even the intermittent laughs undermine kicking and its winning-isn ` t-everything message . according to the plot , competition makes phil insufferable . according to ferrell 's performance , it makes him hilarious .",
      "comedy is not stupid , and stupid is not funny . this is not a funny movie ; it 's a stupid movie .",
      "pure hollywood formula , but ferrell is as funny as ever .",
      "will ferrell is one funny guy .",
      "kicking & screaming gives us ferrell in top form . as the mentor to a squad of hapless 10-year-olds , he 's the least mature person on the field .",
      "a likable but labored situation comedy skewed heavily toward the situation .",
      "MOV feels as if it were callously vomited out by a machine , along with a couple of spare parts and some putrid grease .",
      "... kicking & screaming is not very good .",
      "will ferrell cria um personagem carismático a partir de um roteiro burocrático e , no processo , consegue divertir e levar o espectador a se envolver com a história .",
      "mostly useless",
      "kicking & screaming succeeds because it understands its target audience , refraining from playing it too cute or crude . though predictable , it 's well executed .",
      "the picture is a little about soccer , a little about parenting , and a lot about laughing . mike ditka shows up and delivers a kick-butt performance .",
      "will ferrell has become the most unlikely embodiment of wholesome family fun since fred macmurray gave up film noir for my three sons .",
      "if this footy film was in a league it would be languishing at the bottom of the vauxhall conference .",
      "director jesse dylan , desperate to avoid yawns , flails madly with staging , editing , slow motion -- any trick he can think of , whether it fits or works or not .",
      "is this all there is to ferrell 's career ? mediocre comedies , and wasted talent ?",
      "kids-and-sports films are usually a hit-and-miss , but here the combination is funny , irreverent and , thankfully , not condescending .",
      "the title actually describes the jock-ular bad behavior of the fathers , not the kids .",
      "there are some who will call this movie horrible . i will not disagree with them . and there are some who will call it hilarious . again , i will not disagree .",
      "there 's just nobody funnier than will ferrell .",
      "does for soccer what the royals do for baseball .",
      "a formulaic sports movie , `` MOV '' wo n't have fans cheering in the aisles .",
      "relies too much on farrell 's shtick and the `` ooohh , cute kids '' factor , so it does n't even try in the script department . insert sports cliche here . insert sight gag there .",
      "prévisible , facile et absolument pas réaliste , le film offre néanmoins beaucoup de rires et un certain charme .",
      "a will ferrell cinematic playground . sit back and enjoy .",
      "they had to pull me MOV into the theater .",
      "a so-so family sports comedy that aims a weak satirical kick at the divided soul of the american middle-class dad , as personified by will ferrell .",
      "ferrell 's ideally suited to man-boy characters , and that 's what phil weston is .",
      "ferrell 's shtick is his imperishable innocence .",
      "crushingly inept family comedy .",
      "if anyone tries to get you to go to kicking & screaming , do just that .",
      "something happens halfway through the movie : star will ferrell cuts loose ... suddenly , we 're in a cauldron of blood and coffee and gatorade .",
      "an entertaining family movie , and may serve a useful purpose if it inspires kids to overthrow their coaches and take over their own sports .",
      "there 's few revelations , but it 's pleasantly handled and swiftly executed . kids will love it , and there 's enough laughs to sustain their parents .",
      "it never quite takes off .",
      "kicking & screaming may be the official end to the will ferrell rolling thunder of funny tour .",
      "the movie has some laughs while you are watching it , but it 's not a film that wears very well . the more you think about it ; the stupider it becomes .",
      "kicking & screaming delivers what it promises , but it 's time to promise something better .",
      "an immensely likable if somewhat toothless family film in which even the notorious mike ditka comes across as a stuffed panda bear .",
      "unfortunately , the film delivers exactly what it promises .",
      "... the movie feels like a poor man 's updated bad news bears ... an uneventful state of mind soaked in absolute mediocrity .",
      "if farrell 's caffeine-crazed commands to his team net a few laughs , the pg rating guarantees a sugar-coated ending at the whistle .",
      "there 's too little connection to care if these caricatures transcend underdog status .",
      "as always , will ferrell earns laughs through his total commitment to the material .",
      "dylan has to rely on ferrell 's manic energy to keep kicking & screaming a step ahead of ladybugs in the youth soccer movie pantheon .",
      "... barely watchable .",
      "enjoyment depends entirely on your level of admiration for ferrell 's comic persona , the manic zeal that drove ` anchorman ' and ` elf ' to occasionally inspired heights of lunacy",
      "a zero , but the title describes how the audience is likely to react , perfectly .",
      "it 's will ferrell yelling at little kids ! what could go wrong ?",
      "it plays to ferrell 's strengths : his everyman normality , as well as his gift for silly , merry lunacy .",
      "-lsb- i -rsb- neffectual loser manchild ferrell is up to his usual schtick here , and no ` joke ' is too inevitable or obvious .",
      "kicking & screaming has an idea , and little more . well , an idea and will ferrell 's slavish comedic devotion . and these days ... that 's apparently all you need .",
      "the kind of movie that makes you wonder why anyone would even bother making it in the first place .",
      "this is no bend it like burgundy .",
      "a mostly flat-footed comedy -lrb- that -rrb- also incorporates liberal doses of the slapsticky-sentimental hogwash that was once jerry lewis ' calling card .",
      "kicking & screaming will keep ferrell 's fans in line and probably families in even longer ones .",
      "some scenes are just silly , others are dead-on uproarious .",
      "will ferrell is always entertaining , even in lesser roles like this one . painless to sit through once , but offers nothing of value to be worth ever seeing again .",
      "a good script is the most essential ingredient for a good movie . hiring a comedian is n't enough .",
      "duvall , not to mention ditka , does not a comedy make .",
      "an immensely likable , funny comedy that finds a novel approach to that familiar combo of kids and sports .",
      "as the coffee-fueled phil lurches further and further over the edge of soccer coach impropriety , you can sense ferrell struggling to break through the lame script",
      "MOV is hardly original , but it delivers what 's to be expected - some typical ferrell shtick , a bit of family-oriented common sense and an object lesson in how not to coach a kids ' team .",
      "kicking & screaming is yet another low-budget , high-concept vehicle for will ferrell to say and do dumb stuff , throw hissy-fits , get punched in the face , and find redemption -lrb- as both a dad and a son -rrb- .",
      "it 's only the 20 priceless minutes near the end -- when ferrell breaks out of the wimpy-dad routine and outruns director and writers to gloriously over-the-top heights -- that elevate this film from dreadful to mediocre .",
      "... as entertaining as watching your neighbor 's kid 's soccer game , not because you want to , but because you have to .",
      "... utterly and almost painfully routine .",
      "it 's a good way to waste a couple of hours .",
      "... works to the extent that it does only because of ferrell .",
      "there 's nothing very new here as far as plot and characters , but the charm is in the way they 're presented .",
      "plenty of chuckles and charm to keep the ball rolling .",
      "ferrell 's a gamer who does what he can , but he has little support .",
      "there 's nothing remotely original in this goofy kids ' sports movie , but at least the script adds a refreshingly funny zing .",
      "come for the ferrell psychoanalysis , stay for the ditka .",
      "once phil 's repressed indignities emerge as a caffeine-fueled rage that makes ditka tremble , kicking & screaming shoves ferrell into the wacky-land where he excels .",
      "an embarrassment of a movie that shows how deliriously unfunny the former saturday night live star can be with sub-par material .",
      "does n't quite deliver the comedy goods , but it plays well in spurts and , thanks to ferrell , remains slightly off-kilter .",
      "the sort of almost-there family movie for which half-stars exist in ratings .",
      "-lsb- ferrell 's -rsb- humor is cut off at the knees by sloppy editing , a tedious pace and an underwhelming payoff .",
      "rather shakily directed by jesse -lrb- son of bob -rrb- dylan , who possibly knows something about larger-than-life fathers .",
      "there are some funny moments , mostly with the kids , but a lot of this comedy falls as flat as a deflated soccer ball .",
      "a limping string of laboured sight gags and sentimental clichés .",
      "the sound of will ferrell on autopilot .",
      "with a formula film , you have to have just the right ingredients to make it work . in the case of kicking & screaming , that 's will ferrell .",
      "the most amazing thing about will ferrell is that he can make absolutely nothing funny .",
      "... a formulaic bad news bears rip-off that at least features some good-natured charm to compensate for its flat script and cartoonish tendencies .",
      "there are a few broad laughs and ferrell is everything you would expect him to be - irritating , occasionally amusing and sometimes inspired",
      "this is n't the worst setup for a kiddie comedy , but it proves that ferrell alone ca n't carry a film .",
      "gets the job done for its core audience of tots % u2014and for no one else .",
      "robert duvall is superb -lrb- his love of football is well-documented -rrb- and seems to really enjoy playing a comic variation of his sports-obsessed father in the classic the great santini .",
      "iron mike is phenomenal ! MOV is not .",
      "... a rather schizophrenic movie ; groaningly familiar around the edges but with a pair of frighteningly unpredictable monsters at the centre .",
      "sounds bad , does n't it ?",
      "ferrell 's a funny guy , that much is true , and his frequent adlibbing is always preferable to the scripted humour he delivers , but he 's just not right to lead a film like this ."
    ],
    "summary": "the script is mediocre and fails to give ferrell a proper comedic showcase .",
    "id": "11"
  },
  {
    "movie": "i_am_legend",
    "reviews": [
      "the exacting demands of filmgoing audiences have finally drawn out the heart of this book . -lrb- disclosure : i have not read it , but now am willing to . for the antidote to this impulse , see the omega man . -rrb- adding a dog probably did n't hurt either .",
      "eerie and breathtakingly evocative , the solid MOV nevertheless tries to be too many things to too many people , weighed down with cheap horror-film shock effects and barely passable cgi , instead of trusting in its legitimately captivating",
      "i would n't dream of giving away the ending , but it 's not likely to satisfy either the action crowd or matheson fans .",
      "the monsters are routine cgi creations , crudely animated and unconvincing . in a film of such visual majesty and surprisingly weighty drama , they present an unfortunate and needless distraction .",
      "if a horror movie is of true holy-bejesus caliber , you should be exhaling with relief at the end instead of thinking , ` gee , that went fast ! '",
      "... a triumph of set design and cgi over story line or credibility .",
      "MOV is far from a feel-good film ; it 's a familiar -lrb- for fans of stephen king 's the stand or heston 's omega man -rrb- post-apocalyptic adventure rife with chills and hopelessness .",
      "when they do , banging their heads against plate glass as movie zombies always do , i started needing something else to think about .",
      "with `` MOV , '' will smith has accomplished what tom hanks did back in 2000 : effectively star in a movie that involves very little interaction with other human counterparts .",
      "will smith shows some promise trying to find a cure for a horrific virus , but somehow the plot becomes shrek , bob marley and god trying to save the world .",
      "the pulp ironies grow so crude and deafening that despite its scattered virtues , MOV leaves you emotionally parched and aesthetically ticked-off .",
      "MOV is a blockbuster like no other , one that finds its grandness in modesty . it 's a star vehicle with a star who knows his place in the universe .",
      "the stunning set pieces -lrb- the production cleared and dressed the streets of new york for every outdoor scene -rrb- serve as the backdrop to smith 's rending performance as a man struggling against guilt , hope , and god .",
      "MOV is actually about the last man on earth played by one of the last real movie stars on earth .",
      "for about three quarters of its running time , i was thinking this could be one of the very best movies of the year .",
      "each successive development in the increasingly ludicrous narrative saps a little more of the goodwill engendered by the early scenes .",
      "the herky-jerky script , by mark protosevich and akiva goldsman , favors vignettes and set pieces over dramatic development , and those damned zombies are everywhere , overwhelming the proceedings with their slobbering and howling .",
      "in the infantile prioritizing that occurs when hollywood wants to be ` inspirational , ' the hero 's everyman crisis of religious faith is supposed to be as important to audiences as his struggle to save humanity from extinction .",
      "i admire the intent of mr. smith , who has made it his mission to mix escapist fare with socially relevant material . legend seems to split the difference and land in the middle of nowhere . that 's a lonely place for moviegoers to be .",
      "the movie works well while it 's running , although it raises questions that later only mutate in our minds .",
      "even as an incredibly expensive hunk of eye candy , the film comes up surprisingly short .",
      "` nothing worked the way it was supposed to work ! ' will smith rages from his solitary hell in MOV , yet this remarkable sci-fi thriller works a lot better than anyone could have expected .",
      "smith has delivered the popcorn movie of this holiday season .",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- lawrence is pretty good at the spectacular stuff . and he 's smart enough to let smith be smith . but there 's only so much you can do with cgi monsters that do n't seem right for this kind of sci-fi scenario .",
      "-lsb- smith 's -rsb- powerful performance is not enough to save the movie -- initially a potent meditation on loneliness and an absorbing doomsday action movie -- from taking a wrong turn and never getting back on track .",
      "it 's in the last half-hour that MOV imports new elements that both propel the story to its explosive climax and just are n't as compelling as the day-in-the-life story that preceded it .",
      "for all the straining efforts of the star and overheated action and warmed-over emotionalism , this is a grim and flat and too often listless film .",
      "the vampires are n't a particularly inspiring creation -- all pale and hairless and red-eyed -- but director francis lawrence gets some great effects out of new york itself .",
      "will smith passes a big test -- let 's call it the tom hanks-in-cast away test -- for any movie star : carrying a movie alone for most of the way .",
      "MOV , despite its glumness , ultimately feels like a watered-down version of more thoughtful doomsday movies like children of men , or sunshine or 28 days later . or 28 weeks later .",
      "will smith 's astounding one man show is never less than physically and emotionally shattering , from moment to gripping moment . think an inconvenient truth : the last sequel . ever . and give the man a couple of awards a stiff drink .",
      "lawrence 's film is probably the most fun audiences will likely have during this holiday season . but it 's also the emptiest and most calculated of efforts ...",
      "pg-13 thrills to placate more easily placated genre fans , while serving up will smith in a variant on cast away with a dog to talk to rather than a volley ball .",
      "the end result is an eerie , creepy , doomsday-laden film with plenty of thrills % u2013 and for anyone so inclined , a smattering of metaphors that pass comment on the human condition .",
      "a tidy post-apocalyptic thriller starring the increasingly impressive will smith .",
      "MOV sees smith deliver a surprisingly moving performance as he wanders empty new york streets going slowly ga-ga .",
      "will smith plays robert neville robbed of most of his anguish and his advancing madness . some of the visual images are nice .",
      "` MOV ' may boil down to a zombie flick with a religious motif , yet it entertains the way a popcorn movie should .",
      "will smith is in prime form .",
      "almost unrelievedly grim and increasingly tedious as it goes along , with a third act that stumbles badly and a coda that 's speciously uplifting .",
      "the film descends into a monster-movie malaise starring a horde of balding cgi monsters that look like refugees from a video game and that will scare absolutely no one , save those who worry that green-screening is ruining the movies .",
      "... the film is well-done , a case of suspenseful competence trumping questionable relevance .",
      "a largely terrific , meanly gripping movie ... nearly upended by the use of some noticeably lousy cgi effects . ditch the computers , slather some greasepaint on some extras , and we 'd be talking a minor classic .",
      "reasonably absorbing .",
      "whether he 's attempting to maintain his sense of bravado or glimpsing his complete and total despair , smith nails the character brilliantly .",
      "even with smith acting up a storm , what starts out as a potentially fascinating picture about an apocalyptic plague soon devolves into yet another special-effects laden zombie movie .",
      "superlative fright-fest featuring will smith at the top of his game as the last human survivor in a manhattan full of night-dwelling mutants .",
      "the first half , the sci-fi part , is fine ; the second , the same ol' undead horror segment , is tune-out time .",
      "a fun movie . it 's a popcorn thriller providing some alternative fare for genre fans during the drama-heavy awards season .",
      "the demands of 21st century hollywood strain the story . it 's big and exciting , but not very smart .",
      "inevitably , ideas give way to special-effects",
      "it 's a better-than-average blockbuster , which sweeps around some large ideas and interesting themes , but never delves for long enough to make this film a true classic .",
      "this is no graphic shoot - 'em - up but an intelligent , if sometimes sentimental , exploration of human decency and responsibility that ponders the limits of rationality and faith .",
      "MOV is three film genres for the price of one : science fiction , action , and horror , and while it 's no classic in any one arena it remains edgy fun .",
      "smith turns in a terrific performance , nailing neville 's angst while allowing room for humor .",
      "there are some good points , but there are too many ineffectual aspects that keep MOV from being the sophisticated film it was clearly meant to be .",
      "for everything that is good about it , though , MOV struggles against two primary problems .",
      "smith still manages to find something touching and occasionally even tragic in the character .",
      "the movie is simply okay . not awful , not great . definitely beneath smith 's abilities , though .",
      "it left me highly entertained , since out of the original story the filmmakers have created a different , but exciting and tense story filled with action , suspense and a lead character you can truly care about .",
      "go for the thrills , for some nerve-gnawing suspense , for the wonderful production design and for the opportunity to spend some time with will smith . but this one is not the stuff of legend .",
      "for the most part , MOV delivers the kind of eerie suspense that will bring joy to the world of casual horror fans everywhere .",
      "lawrence 's direction is patient , solid and suspenseful , and his vision of a lone fellow wandering through the atavistic hulk of manhattan yields an indelible portrait of post-cataclysmic solitude .",
      "MOV may be the umpteenth variation on the post-apocalyptic zombie genre , but , for the first two-thirds , it 's nervy and haunting and creepily adroit .",
      "what should be shattering is often merely intriguing .",
      "after its promising opening , MOV devolves into a generic zombie slaughterfest , highly reminiscent of danny boyle 's 28 days later and its sequel 28 weeks later .",
      "i love movies where survivors have to find supplies . you give me two hours of will smith alone gathering supplies , that 's all i could ever hope for . MOV gave me even more . it is the best survival movie ever made .",
      "this is will smith 's cast away .",
      "even though lawrence 's film is an honorable attempt to bring more depth and meaning to the tale , ultimately he probably should have opted for more gore , less grief .",
      "it 's got a great performance by will smith and just enough edge-of-your-seat entertainment to remain recommended , even if the cinematic house of cards collapses during the third act .",
      "pretty much a one-man show , and smith proves to have the acting chops to keep us interested in the story",
      "it 's a tense and strangely quiet movie . ... but this is no horror film .",
      "MOV is will smith 's one-man sci-fi thrill show , entertaining in all the ways we 've come to expect from the talented actor .",
      "will smith raises his game and insists that those around him do the same . the result is a movie that 's massively entertaining , and another jewel in its star 's cinematic crown .",
      "there 's greatness inside MOV , however it 's too much work to act enthused about a film that runs out of gas halfway through .",
      "some movies , from superman : the motion picture to office space , are great until they get around to telling a story . add MOV to that list .",
      "new york city co-stars with will smith in this intense film and both give oscar-caliber performances",
      "though a little too pat in its conclusion , the journey it takes to get there is no less entertaining .",
      "a captivating and exciting film because of smith , but even he ca n't save us from this ending .",
      "MOV is a depressing experience . for everything it gets right , dozens of things go horribly , horribly wrong .",
      "provides a well-produced , if not necessarily fresh , version of the apocalyptic scenario , with the most haunting visuals being that of empty new york .",
      "the design of the film is absolutely superb .",
      "it moves fast , it 's exciting , it 's suspenseful , stuff blows up , and , best of all , smith is n't smirking and showboating .",
      "a film that obviously feels familiar , yet fresh and exciting at the same time",
      "feels like a false start allowed to run the length of the track . there 's an effort , but nothing is really accomplished .",
      "MOV simply sucks but that 's putting it a little too mildly when the last man on earth is liable to skip over it in favor of i am sam .",
      "the movie ... seems to mutate into a clone of 28 days later since the virus not only has altered those infected ... but have transformed many of them into cgi figures ...",
      "you 're left gawping at $ 100 million-worth of eye-popping futuristic b-movie .",
      "much better than any self-respecting science fiction fan could have hoped for ...",
      "though it fails to do justice to matheson 's novel , / MOV / is n't without merit , particularly in its stately , moody build-up . unfortunately , the final act squanders the tension in favour of daft religious symbolism and silly cg zombies . shame .",
      "issues of depth aside , this is as distracting an event movie as there 's been all year . but it 's the stuff of multiplex , not legend .",
      "despite stunning visuals , it is a b-movie .",
      "a film that blends a blockbustery bluster with a gaunt apocalyptic sobriety to good effect that is only compromised by its latter stages .",
      "MOV feels like a work in progress , the sort of movie you can bet will get the director 's cut treatment when it 's released on dvd . in the meantime , we have a film that does n't make sense and boasts dire special effects .",
      "the depiction of the eerily overgrown city is one of the first genuine and unobtrusive testaments to the groundbreaking power of computer-generated effects in years .",
      "is going to be bigger than crucifix sales on judgment day . scary , inventive , exciting and breathless adventure .",
      "looking terrific , star will smith gives a commanding perfromance that tries to link two disparate films competing for attention . a stark apocalyptic saga with some existential ideas -lrb- first half -rrb- and a conventional special-effects zombie flick -lrb- second -rrb- .",
      "enjoyable , impressively designed thriller with a strong performance by will smith , though it 's let down by a disappointing ending and some dodgy effects work .",
      "while the sun shines , it 's a four-star thriller with a superb turn from smith . when the moon rises , it 's a two-star horror cartoon with some of the worst fx we 've seen all year . so , really , it has to average out at ...",
      "it does n't serve MOV to give you too much time to think . better when it 's galloping forward at top speed , dodging caribou and translucent zombies and putting the dog in peril .",
      "even a boy and his dog -lrb- 1974 -rrb- carried a stronger punch -lsb- than this -rsb- visually transformative but thematically weak movie .",
      "for horror fans , halloween came a little later than usual this year , but it was worth the wait .",
      "while MOV is formulaic sci-fi action -lrb- ripping-off 28 weeks later -rrb- it 's only interesting as a cultural-political artifact .",
      "MOV turns from a quiet meditation on the nature of humanity into a b-movie schlockfest .",
      "smith nails the portrayal . it 's not the kind of work that will earn him an oscar nomination but audiences usually do n't see better than this in genre films .",
      "unwise use of cgi is eventually no more debilitating a defect than MOV 's wayward third act , which begins with neville cornily reciting lines from shrek .",
      "MOV should be a stark , frightening story of post-apocalyptic new york , but the film is shockingly never once scary , valuing countless overhead shots of an empty manhattan over anything relatable .",
      "downright hokey ... a billboard for a batman-superman team-up movie ... will elicit more gasps from the fanboys than anything else .",
      "if you like your science fiction with some popcorn-throwing moments , check out this post-apocalyptic story before someone spoils it for you .",
      "smith has the ability to make you feel he 's a regular guy put into an extraordinary situation , instead of a movie superhero who handles such things as a matter of course .",
      "had MOV kept its personal , human and contemplative atmosphere over the loud , crowd-pleasing whiz-bang action , these messages of faith may have carried more weight and heart .",
      "MOV is a scientific marvel - a must see on a cold winter night !!",
      "while scary at first , the film dies shortly after it gets going .",
      "for most of the way it 's starker -lrb- even with the comic relief -rrb- and more eerie in its atmospherics than the usual big-budget monster .",
      "good enough that the mistakes it makes are genuinely frustrating rather than feeling par for the course .",
      "mind-blowing excitement , an expert thriller that really thrills and makes you think . a special shout-out for the dog , sam . now that 's acting !",
      "remarkably eerie yet annoyingly larded with cheap horror-film shock effects .",
      "it 's a well-made and chillingly effective zombie movie , but that 's all it is .",
      "when MOV reaches for the tissues in the third act , director lawrence loses his grip on the film entirely",
      "... virtually a one-man show for -lsb- will -rsb- smith , who commands the screen .",
      "while the last half hour is a weak and unnecessary pat ending typical of hollywood , lawrence wins me over on the first half , and i absolutely loved what was on display here ...",
      "... does its job very well : we jump , we cringe , we even weep . sometimes it goes just a little beyond the predictable as well .",
      "thanks to the botched cancer cure , ` social de-evolution has occurred , ' says will . ` and typical human behavior is now entirely absent . ' in other words , it 's another night on the town with lindsay lohan !",
      "it 's a shame that smith 's heartfelt work and preparation does n't pay off with better background and cgi work .",
      "the opening act is too magnificent for the terrible ending to wreck it .",
      "liking smith is one thing and praising his hollow performance here , as almost all of them have , is another .",
      "the german shepherd makes this worth seeing .",
      "MOV is carried for a long while on the strength of smith 's performance , but even he can carry it only so far .",
      "the film can never quite decide whether it 's speculative fiction or a b-movie horror show . it 's not a fatal flaw , though .",
      "a very disappointing sci-fi snoozer .",
      "the manhattan movie of the year , francis lawrence 's MOV , offers a stunning glimpse into how the city -- as we know it today -- might look in 2012 if it were abandoned in 2009 .",
      "even weeks after having seen the film , i can still remember many of the nuances of smith 's performance - in my usual vortex of forgettable film screenings , this is rare indeed .",
      "in the end , this is a sci-fi zombie movie , folks .",
      "most everything in MOV feels lifted from elsewhere .",
      "if not a classic , at least memorable as it aspires , but does n't quite succeed , in being more than just a horror flick as mindless as the roving mutants it showcases",
      "smith goes deeper here than he ever has on screen to show us the desperation and devastation that are attacking the infratructure of his rational mind like the grass is overtaking the city streets .",
      "MOV is a wasted opportunity -- a rickety , weather-beaten framework around an otherwise strong central performance from smith .",
      "a scary sci-fi story set in manhattan in 2012 where a lone surviving scientist struggles to find a cure for the virus that has destroyed most of the human race .",
      "it 's almost as if the filmmakers wanted to say something about isolation , and loneliness , in the urban environment . almost .",
      "instead of maintaining its edgy sense of constant discomfort , the movie is compelled to make neville as fuzzily adorable and messianic as possible .",
      "combining the poor choice of will smith in the lead with some of the worst cg work since van helsing , this dog makes the recent the invasion come across like a masterpiece .",
      "one of the more creative presentations on -lsb- a -rsb- very worn theme despite the usual pathology to devour or infect humans .",
      "facing down a body-slamming , wholly inarticulate alpha male , neville appeals to their shared humanity , even though it 's obvious : the damage of difference has been done .",
      "merikes entyposiakes psifiakes beltistopoiiseis , anastatotikoys rythmoys , anatrihiastika plana adeias kai paratimenis sti zoygklopoiisi neas yorkis kai eksarseis synarpastikis drasis , na soy kratoyn syntrofia sta skotadia tis peinasmenis alla anisis , sath",
      "the acting by smith is excellent as he plays robert neville , a scientist who is slowly going crazy as the last uninfected human being in new york city .",
      "las libertades que se toma al adaptar la novela de culto de richard matheson no impiden que sea un entretenimiento efectivo y por momentos inquietante .",
      "i liked a lot of things about this movie , but there were two things that i did n't care for too much .",
      "it is absolutely gripping in its vision of how lonely it would be to be the last man on earth . it 's absolutely dull in almost every other respect .",
      "o impacto dramático de seu desfecho é um tributo năo só ŕ narrativa construída com talento pelo diretor , mas também ao carisma do cada vez mais eficiente will smith .",
      "MOV is a frightening film . what gets under your skin , though , has nothing to do with the conventional horror elements .",
      "a solid piece of entertainment",
      "MOV is a grenade that goes off when least expected . it has more horror than heart , but it is never boring .",
      "director francis lawrence makes eerie , effective use of new york city locations drained of human activity , shooting them for maximum anxiety and agoraphobia .",
      "maybe not the most uplifting choice for a holiday flick , but smith 's riveting performance and tight action scenes make this a smart , gripping view of the end of the world .",
      "i do n't know how well MOV will hold up on repeat viewings , or over time -- but while it 's happening , MOV is a slick , scary , superbly made action/science fiction/horror film with a lot more art , heart and smarts than you 'd expect .",
      "it looks like poor old richard matheson will go to his grave without ever seeing a movie that does justice to his great 1954 novel , MOV .",
      "the silence , the suspense , and smith 's accessible performance draw you in for some post-apocalyptic fun .",
      "in spite of its third-act collapse into obviousness and sentimentality , MOV is among will smith 's better movies .",
      "smith is , as always , a likable hero , and his unforced performance is definitely a saving grace .",
      "i liked it better when it was called 28 days later .",
      "the movie year 's most expensive and ambitious sci-fi spectacular , MOV , is three movies in one : a futuristic effects-o-rama , a zombie thriller and a survivalist parable . each is better than average , and the experience is fairly gripping .",
      "big willie has no problem holding the screen . in fact , trouble enters only when the script overcomplicates things in the end . until then , especially in a growling dogfight , director francis lawrence keeps you squirming .",
      "what starts off as a compelling drama descends into a stock b-grade horror flick with some of the worst big budget special effects of recent memory .",
      "the first two thirds and change of MOV is terrific mindless fun : crackerjack action with gnashing vampires barely glimpsed -lrb- and scarier for that -rrb- and how 'd - they-do-that new york locations that retroactively justify the traffic jams .",
      "what we have here is about two-thirds great and one-third awful , and in that order .",
      "a big part of the reason for this movie 's nose dive around the one-hour mark is that , seen up close , the infected just are n't that scary .",
      "one great big stinking pile of missed opportunity .",
      "what started out so promisingly , a companion piece of sorts to children of men , disappears in a frenzy of screaming , head-banging , bloodiness - followed by totally unconvincing redemption .",
      "first-time feature director francis lawrence deserves an ovation for his scene-setting and early scare count .",
      "bold , and successfully maintains suspense .",
      "smith is a good deal better than arnold might have been , and the dog is wonderful . watch the first hour and see something a bit special .",
      "` MOV ' is essentially a will smith one-man show , and he succeeds marvelously .",
      "scary , thought-provoking , jump-in-your seat suspenseful , it conjures up a ` cast away ' meets ` dawn of the dead ' concoction full of simultaneous solitude and nightmares .",
      "a film capable of more , settling for less .",
      "so often , sci-fi is overproduced , but MOV does n't look like a cgi extravaganza . it looks like an edgy suspense movie shot on the fly in new york city after the fall . and because of that , it 's all the more effective .",
      "intense , thoughtful thriller has some big scares .",
      "there is something a bit thin about the story , and just as in 28 days later , i find that digital , rage-filled zombies halve in dramatic interest with every second that passes .",
      "the actor 's natural charisma carries the movie in MOV , a film in which smith is left talking to himself most of the time .",
      "i would n't want to watch MOV again even if it were the last movie on earth .",
      "the monsters ... look like cartoonish , drooling mannequins . it 's like being chased through the macy 's men 's department .",
      "and as for that ending ... sigh . i guess two thirds of a great movie is better than nothing .",
      "if , as a movie , MOV is less stylistically mind blowing and intellectually ambitious than last year 's yuletide dystopia , children of men , it 's not far off .",
      "the popcorn elements are well handled , but what lingers is the sense of urban despair .",
      "this ca n't - miss concept , in development for decades , was done first and done better in 28 days later .",
      "-lsb- m -rsb- agnificently disturbing ... . a masterful rendering of a city stripped of its soul ...",
      "the third act is where it finally , fatally trips itself up . a couple of key revelations seem like they are leading somewhere and suddenly , the film is over .",
      "smith is worth watching ; the movie is not .",
      "all the effort that went into the spectacle of destroying manhattan in flashbacks could have been better spent on developing the claustrophobic , creepy present .",
      "the movie takes chances , assuming its audience is up for more than ear-splitting explosions , zombie retreads , and happy , catchphrase laden endings .",
      "MOV has everything a great summer blockbuster should have - except it 's hitting theaters in december , not june .",
      "director francis lawrence alternates cleverly among scenes of high tension , ferocious scares and moments that bring home neville 's feeling of abandonment and solitude .",
      "the only perspective you 'll gain about being the last man on earth is that other cars never move and tv 's always in reruns . eerily similar .",
      "this new version of MOV completely perverts the meaning of the title , losing the clever , dark irony and turning it instead into something heroic rather than something tragic .",
      "fits comfortably among a spate of recent films - inclusive of dramas , thrillers , action pictures and anxiety-infused comedies - which all can be boiled down to : we are lost .",
      "as good as the action scenes are , the humanity in -lsb- will -rsb- smith 's performance is most responsible for MOV 's success .",
      "solitary and suspenseful , it 's the scary of which nightmares are made .",
      "before the diseased-yet-oddly superhuman villains start to appear en masse , MOV works surprisingly well . then they do .",
      "smith is given the opportunity to explore every emotion and he does them all admirably . i must also give credit to sam the dog , robert 's only real companion . not since wilson the volleyball ... in `` castaway , '' has a non-speaking character meant so much to",
      "will smith carries the day ... and the movie .",
      "the incredible amount of buildup and excitement of the first half ends up driving us down the road to disappointment .",
      "the last man on earth screams there is no god and has a dog who will not obey his commands .",
      "the ending feels like m. night shyamalan gone all wrong adapting stephen king . still will smith gives a solid performance and sam is sure to become legend among hollywood canines ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV overcomes questionable special effects and succeeds largely on the strength of will smith 's mesmerizing performance .",
    "id": "770669778"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_missing_picture",
    "reviews": [
      "both great cinema and important journalism , a rare and privileged combination .",
      "the best film about atrocity , memory , national trauma and primeval dirt since patricio guzmán 's nostalgia for the light",
      "a haunting and personal work of beauty and a testament to one man 's refusal to accept oblivion .",
      "writer-director-coeditor rithy panh 's ` the missing picturs/l ` image manquante ' is unusual in its documentary recreation method and , beyond the medium of film , in its theme .",
      "as an examination of memory and experience and how they shape us , `` MOV '' is meaningful beyond its specific subject matter .",
      "the audacity of `` MOV '' - a brilliant documentary about a child who held on to life in cambodia 's killing fields - is equaled only by its soulfulness .",
      "it joins films like ` the act of killing ' and ` manakamana , ' which find ingenious ways to get around both a lack of traditional documentary material and certain tropes -lrb- talking heads , dry exposition -rrb- that have soured into unimaginative cliches .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- carries with it such a burden of personal and collective pain , and bears reliable witness to such a huge historical crime , that i 'm almost ashamed to add that it 's inventive , imaginative , beautiful and at times even charming .",
      "this is a first-person account of astonishing suffering , yet the experience of watching `` MOV '' is not punishing .",
      "panh blends documentary , personal memoir and eccentric artistic experiment ...",
      "panh believes that those who survive such oppression are obligated to speak about it - and this chronicle is impossible not to watch .",
      "a survivor 's story , a political statement and an eloquent meditation on images and memory . the miniatures and the film are exquisite works of art infused with living memory",
      "cambodia 's first-ever nominee for best foreign-language film is part-documentary , part-memoir , and impossible to forget or ignore .",
      "in narration that is poetic and historically astute , panh layers his own memoir atop his nation 's .",
      "dioramas of cambodia 's killing fields",
      "though difficult at times to watch , it bears potent and personal witness to an era that , like all such tragedies , should never be forgotten .",
      "rithy panh 's cinema is an exemplary case of the imperative to bear witness .",
      "a juxtaposition of horror and beauty that 's a must-see .",
      "a melancholy tone poem , a remembrance of what cambodia lost .",
      "many films have examined from many vantages the khmer rouge 's nightmare reign , notably roland joffé 's 1985 oscar winner the killing fields .",
      "devastating .",
      "as haunting as it is haunted , `` MOV '' leaves viewers ' heads rattling with ghosts .",
      "the result is at once limited and brutally effective in communicating the emotional stasis of memory and the dehumanisation that comes from the ruthless enforcement of pure ideology .",
      "with his poignant , insightful narration read in french by randal douc , panh tells of his vibrant life before 1975 and increasingly grim existence after that .",
      "a story almost too terrible to believe told with the help of rare archival footage and claymation figures .",
      "a história é antiga : mudam os opressores ; os oprimidos , porém , săo sempre os mesmos .",
      "mainly , though , what the film elicits is horror , all the more pointed for existing in the juxtaposition of these childlike representations and the actual events they stand for .",
      "panh 's remarkable new documentary works as a survivor 's testament , a film about memory and loss -- and as a self-reflexive essay asking how atrocities should be depicted on screen .",
      "it digs into the very soil of the killing fields to give hand-sculpted form to its vanished past .",
      "it is ingenious , poignant and resonant , if lacking in narrative momentum .",
      "panh 's commentary - spoken in french by randal douc - searingly sets the context .",
      "panh 's daring aestheticisation works , transcending the normal genre boundaries confining both personal and political histories .",
      "the task of chronicling the unimaginable is handled with great care in MOV , an affecting documentary about the brutality of cambodian strongman pol pot 's reign .",
      "`` MOV '' is personal and unexpected , a documentary that mixes media in an unusual way to very potent effect .",
      "this is n't just another arthouse film , but a powerful testament to incredible human resilience",
      "you 'll leave this film of clay with a healthy hatred of ideology , and that will make you feel more alive .",
      "these miniatures magnify their subjects , and ennoble them . the picture is anguishing to see , but it is n't missing anymore .",
      "panh uses the props and eerie clips from khmer rouge propaganda newsreels to tell about his family , and his country . along with starkly poetic narration , read by randal douc , the effect is devastating , without a single scene of actual bloodshed .",
      "simply one of the finest documentaries i have ever seen ... this is an important , vital piece of filmmaking , and one that takes the artform to a new and altogether fascinating place .",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- aspires to a poetry about barbarism that will not let us forget .",
      "a uniquely subjective account of the cambodian genocide of the 1970s , `` MOV '' is the work of rithy panh , a cambodian native who left his homeland when he was an adolescent .",
      "rithy panh tells his story with the events recreated , with his many clay figures and settings , from his memories of the atrocities as a boy .",
      "creatively relives cambodian holocaust and surmounts the storytelling problem intrinsic to retelling horrors ... in 1st-person narration with unusual visual illustration .",
      "the result is a stunning mediation on loss and memory , with no shortage of anger to boost the narrative .",
      "in panh 's deft hands , the film becomes not just a recreation of a reality long gone , but an indication of ever-present melancholia for an entire people .",
      "the film captures how pol pot took mao 's great leap forward to new levels of marxist madness .",
      "what remains disturbing and puzzling is the realisation that somewhere along the line the real and the false change places , and that panh is able to move us more deeply with his dioramas than by telling the same atrocious story in a straightforward way .",
      "both infuriating and haunting , MOV leaves us desperate for other testimonies . panh 's vision is so tantalisingly incomplete .",
      "so nakedly personal and so honeycombed with open-ended questions that it amounts to a bewitching form of self-therapy .",
      "it is like the magic roundabout gone nightmarish , gone infernal .",
      "MOV has an element of godardian reflection : the `` missing picture '' is the definitive image of truth for which he is searching .",
      "a sobering , ultimately numbing peek into the living hell of 1970s cambodia .",
      "there are , it seems , no visual testimonies remaining , a major problem for any documentary trying to cover to present the full horror of this period .",
      "a blend of documentary and memoir that 's like a dream and a nightmare , though it 's more commendable than actually engaging .",
      "with sober eloquence , the filmmaker lays out the arrival of the khmer rouge , the philosophy used to justify their crimes , and the slow slipping away of his family , each member claimed by this horrible social experiment .",
      "MOV invites uncomfortable reflections . modest in scale , simple in conception , it is a great film - certainly a great little film - and many viewers will be moved to tears .",
      "little clay figures , mouths agape , arms raised , crying in pain , dying of starvation ... each little figure drawing us in with their silence and their stillness like great actors",
      "panh honors the khmer rouge 's victims while staging the agony and responsibility of memory itself .",
      "with their elemental poses , the rough clay figurines serve as abstractions for the khmer rouge victims ... they show what archival footage can not - senseless violence and death in a world without any form of culture , in which normality has been upended .",
      "MOV is n't a straightforward piece of storytelling , but more of a meditation on what happened -lsb- ... -rsb- whenever the narration threatens to drift off into the ether , the figurines and models ultimately keep it on terra firma .",
      "recounting a personal story of the horrors of pol pot 's killing fields in 1970s cambodia , filmmaker rithy panh finds inventive ways to convey his emotions .",
      "MOV is so immediate , so vital , it practically breathes . not all memoirs need to exist . but the gentle urgency of panh 's story is right there in the filmmaking .",
      "obviously based on panh 's autobiography , this is a reminder of obliteration and how cinema can claim memory , history .",
      "these battered , scratched pieces of film are eloquent testimony for the terrible offences that happened .",
      "it was an act of utter destruction , a people not just killed but their entire culture erased . panh 's poignant and innovative documentary is an act of creation , remaking the forgotten cambodia , one clay figure at a time .",
      "rithy panh turns a potential gimmick into a profound , inspiring film . then , in expanding his scope to the propaganda machine of that regime , he reaches straight into the heart of evil and finds cinema .",
      "filmmaker rithy pahn , a survivor of the hellish pol pot regime , has dedicated himself to documenting it with innovative techniques to recreate the missing history of his murdered family , and of a nation .",
      "MOV is a haunting and sobering documentary that not only mesmerises with its narrative but also impresses with its collage of techniques that merge seamlessly to give us something truly unique on screen .",
      "with very little actual footage from the social-experiment-gone-mad to chronicle the widespread abuses , panh magically enlists the extraordinary skills of a clay sculptor to re-create the miserable scenes that are forever etched in his memory .",
      "the tale , which would be unwatchable in unexpurgated reality , is told instead with carved clay figurines , doll 's house-sized stage sets and archive footage of pol pot 's bloody and brutal takeover in 1975 .",
      "he missing picture is a fascinating and vital film of a history that too often remains a footnote or a death toll in the margin .",
      "the abstract approach both disallows the possibility of overstatement and implicitly underscores the full emotional weight of these horrific events .",
      "an act of personal and cultural recovery , an exorcism of evil through art and a ` never forget ' memoir of survival that reminds us that the past century has been a parade of holocaust .",
      "panh fulfills his debts to the dead not just by adding to the visual record of genocide , but also by creating a transcendent work of art .",
      "powerful and mesmerising , this offers an fresh approach to a tough topic .",
      "it contextualizes cinema not only as a form of magic -lrb- capable of transformative , elated power -rrb- , but also of revolution .",
      "MOV is a unique documentary that poignantly tells a harrowing account of life under pol pot 's dictatorship , but it lacks essential structure and visual magnetism , making it feel as if its running time is much longer than 92 minutes .",
      "i could say the movie requires some patience , but in fact it commands patience with its humbling tale of a boy being cruelly torn from one life and forced into another one of extreme privation .",
      "the conceit is tremendously daring , but one with a huge payoff , suggesting an evil that ca n't be fully processed by young eyes .",
      "the film is a brave act of witness complicated by the documaker 's decision to re-create his experiences using clay figurines , a tricky aesthetic device that raises fascinating and problematic questions of representation ."
    ],
    "summary": "thrillingly unorthodox and emotionally searing without being didactic , MOV is a uniquely poignant documentary -- and so much more .",
    "id": "771355875"
  },
  {
    "movie": "almost_famous",
    "reviews": [
      "hollywood filmmaking at its best , brimming over with feeling , texture , spirit , and several kinds of keenness that transmute experience into big pop myth .",
      "an utter delight from the first frame to fade-out , it 's a love letter to the 1970s .",
      "writing and direction are dead on , bringing back the world of rock in the early '70s with a sense of glee .",
      "through crowe 's william , we ride along in the middle of a movie world more amazingly multi-layered than what we 've seen on film in a long , long time .",
      "casting is perfect all down the line .",
      "the film reels with the nostalgia , exuberance , and bravado of an era long-gone , while also feeling nothing less than immediate and universal .",
      "sharply observed , bittersweet and suffused with the kind of detail that only someone who lived through the era could summon up , crowe 's script is funny , heartfelt and very cool .",
      "you do n't just watch MOV , you listen to it . you groove on it .",
      "story threads weave tightly together without effort or artifice , and line after line of dialogue is naturalistic , clever , or perfectly timed .",
      "see it and it 'll stay with you as your own memories do : funny , poignant , bittersweet and irreplaceable .",
      "el amor y el dolor que acompańa a sus personajes hace de la cinta una de las mejores del ańo y una experiencia verdaderamente inolvidable",
      "check out hoffman 's upstaging turn as the prophetic rock philosopher thoroughly disgusted by the music 's fatal wrong turn from poetry into profit . .",
      "these characters have none of the passion and incipient mania that made jerry maguire -- or john cusack 's lloyd dobler in crowe 's debut say anything -- so engaging .",
      "even though the same points are made more than once , they are never less than entertaining , while crowe resists the lazy route of plastering the soundtrack with 70s rock hits .",
      "the movie does n't quite deliver on its promise , but it 's a likable piece of low-keyed entertainment .",
      "a nostalgia factory of popular music that is less a movie than it is a vehicle for baby boomer reminiscence .",
      "a winner because crowe dares to wear his heart on his sleeve . for this movie at least , he 's with the band .",
      "one of the best films of the year , highly recommended and worth multiple viewings .",
      "it 's the mainstream film of 2000 that feels most glad to be alive .",
      "more than anything else , MOV is about people who are constantly trying to fill the need to belong .",
      "it 's a world of brotherhood , groupies , the bright spotlight of fame , and the bitterness of business , packaged into a gushing , intuitive valentine from crowe to his former magical life .",
      "whether disappointed or elated , cameron crowe 's observations are trenchant . instinct is the greatest asset as idols let you down . that first gulp of passion in a profession can quench you for years . quite often , bassists and drummers have little to say .",
      "director cameron crowe won the original screenplay oscar for his warmly nostalgic , often sharply observed memoir of his early days as a music journalist",
      "great , but lots of sex , drugs , and rock 'n' roll .",
      "... funny , joyous , touching , and moving ... a very personal film and a most-universal one combined .",
      "will satisfy many music fans for its honest portrayal of the rock-band life",
      "the film itself -- a quasi-autobiography of writer-director cameron crowe -- is still good , but not as good as it seemed 14 years ago .",
      "for every scene that 's a sturdy piece of observed wisdom about coming of age ... there 's another that 's pure cheese .",
      "a well acted ensemble piece without a single lackluster note .",
      "a great love letter to classic rock ...",
      "cameron crowe has a knack for making contagious movies that pull audiences into a whirlpool of situations that make you feel impossibly cool because his characters are n't near as cool as their surroundings imply .",
      "there is an honesty and reality to the film that make it a worthwhile flick to catch .",
      "such a dazzlingly entertaining mess that it 's tempting to ignore the confusion that eventually overwhelms it .",
      "the music is great , the concert footage is energetic and john toll 's cinematography is luscious . a completely entertaining film .",
      "a triumph of personal filmmaking ... because it exhibits the care and specificity of an artist working through his own mind , not through a committee 's idea of what a movie should be .",
      "in a wondrous , often beautiful way , that kind of -lsb- complete -rsb- honesty is the point of crowe 's new film .",
      "a beautifully photographed , gloriously scored , effectively realized project that could win the affections of both the popcorn set and fans of the loosely-structured panoramas of a robert altman .",
      "subplot , and its major players , have charm in spades .",
      "almost one of my top ten titles for the year , this imperfect diamond still has much to enjoy .",
      "he ... shows us what lies beneath the coolness -- the raw , vibrant longing and the aching legacy of things long past .",
      "veterans of the 1960s and '70s will find that MOV captures both the raging excesses of that era and the keen-eyed alertness that allowed some savvy youngsters to survive and even profit from the scene .",
      "as a director -lsb- crowe -rsb- has an extraordinary gift for drawing out rounded , complex performances even in supporting roles and for indicating the fine emotional shadings in the relationships among his characters .",
      "-lsb- crowe -rsb- catches every detail perfectly .",
      "it will definitely make my top 10 list for this year .",
      "penny lane -lsb- is -rsb- played by hudson with an intuitive lucidity that recalls the best work of her mother , goldie hawn .",
      "oh , what a lovely film . i was almost hugging myself while i watched it .",
      "it offers the kind of top-notch entertainment that has been sadly lacking in multiplexes this year .",
      "the moral education that follows is fairly predictable ... but crowe follows its contours with a sharp eye for detail and genuine sympathy for the pathos of some of the delusions involved .",
      "the film is fundamentally warmhearted .",
      "MOV is that rarity -- a movie that 's great fun to watch and even more fun in retrospect .",
      "the film comes from the heart and is touched with a tender form of mercy .",
      "an engaging and well-made character ensemble about finding one 's place in the world .",
      "after all is said and done crowe 's fictionalized recollection of his early days retains enough warmth , humor and insight to rate a qualified recommendation .",
      "anyone who ever had a heart , anyone who ever had a heart broken , will have their heart melted by MOV .",
      "so complete and perfect and full of life that it swept me up into its world and held me there , and i never wanted it to let me go .",
      "to say that crowe tells his sometimes silly and sordid tale of '70s rock debauchery with a non-cynical , hardly sensational posture is to explain why the rock road picture works so well .",
      "what he -lrb- and we -rrb- ultimately learn is that love ... and even friendship often arrive when least expected .",
      "obviously crafted with a great deal of love , from the hand-written opening credits to the last musical note .",
      "cameron crowe has found a niche in making teen films that are much better than the usual teen films .",
      "the performances ... have a beautiful , unforced naturalism , and the movie is laced with memorable moments .",
      "MOV is a good film , but it was almost too long .",
      "the unknown fugit is perfectly cast as the ingenuous teen , and crudup 's rock swagger is mesmerizing .",
      "the next best thing to a backstage pass .",
      "constructs its plot with effective time constraints which create suspense and establish the film 's sense of humor .",
      "the message is as stillwater clear as it is irresistibly romantic . by virtue of its transcendent graces , music pulls us above the din of our own pettiness .",
      "it 's easy to connect with a story like crowe 's because it is a story rooted in the human comedy , in truth .",
      "one of the year 's most enjoyable movies . it is n't particularly deep , but it resonates with the truths of an era .",
      "crowe has created a genuine love song for all those who 've ever felt their lives to have been saved by rock & roll .",
      "a good but not great little movie that for some reason has commanded the eager attention of the media and is destined to be overestimated .",
      "an almost perfect film .",
      "it 's a lot like being invited to a friend 's house to watch home movies , but he keeps the real stuff locked up and shows old programs he taped from television instead .",
      "MOV is n't half bad , but i have to say that after 120 minutes of it , i was more than ready to flee , lest the cast break into another group version of ` tiny dancer . '",
      "-lsb- crowe -rsb- seems to be remembering experiences that he does n't have a hold on , and emotions that he 's never completely sorted out for himself .",
      "-lsb- crowe -rsb- has crafted a film that is mutually entertaining to outsiders of the industry and insiders , nostalgic without being patronizing , humorous , slick looking , and well acted .",
      "it 's done so well ... that it 's hard to know whom to really single out for praise here .",
      "a delightful film that is touching , funny and eminently enjoyable .",
      "it rocks hard and sweetly , making that past live and sing for us . i loved this movie madly , and so will many of you .",
      ". . so well made , so enticing and so intelligent , that there comes a moment at the end when you want to break the silence with thunderous applause .",
      "-lsb- crowe -rsb- makes irony seem ridiculous , which itself is beautifully ironic for someone trying to keep rock alive .",
      "an irresistible , dizzying nostalgia trip to a raunchily good-natured moment in pop culture .",
      "-lsb- crowe -rsb- has crafted a cast of fresh characters in a realm where cliches often fester , and he is blessed with actors who fulfill their promise .",
      "it will definitely bring back a flood of memories to anyone who actually lived through those times , and certainly connect to anyone else who has ever been a major fan of any rock band or ever wanted to be a musician -lrb- rock star -rrb- themselves .",
      "the ... probably most important factor behind MOV ' genius is the wealth of magical movie moments with which cameron dots his labor of love .",
      "an endearing , inspiring film that truly has something to offer for everyone .",
      "profoundly affecting .",
      "crowe softens just about everything , as if he did n't want to hurt the feelings of anyone he knew back then .",
      "the film 's charm owes far more to its creator 's brilliant writing than to his anonymous direction .",
      "easily the best film on crowe 's already impressive roster .",
      "the movie 's so clever and endearing , you can forget the almost .",
      "almost perfect on numerous levels .",
      "it 's a sweet-minded , picaresque story , woolly with some of its dramatic details , but stacked with attractions ...",
      "none of the non-musical components on the screen matched the excitement of the music .",
      "most of the film is a testament to mr. crowe 's impressive grasp of the music industry , its relationships , and its particular definition of cool and uncool .",
      "the entire movie is as consequential as the raspberries ' greatest hits .",
      "its groupie body lacks gonzo bones .",
      "the moments are too pat , the jokes too predictable , and the whole thing lacks the sprawl of life , the verisimilitude that would sell the story .",
      "a sweet but curiously unfulfilling story .",
      "god has truly blessed cameron crowe . i know this because crowe is one of the few people in the world who can nostalgically look back on their teenage years and not see personal misery and suffering .",
      "panoramic yet cozy , enthusiastically glib , MOV suggests a universe of interlocking sitcoms .",
      "may be almost great , but that 's more than enough .",
      "everything you 'd expect from a cameron crowe movie , and more .",
      "perfectly cast from top to bottom , with many fine performances shining through .",
      "i have n't had such a good time at the movies in ages .",
      "a pleasant , meandering trip through the 1970s rock scene .",
      "crowe does n't paint an idealistic picture of rock in the early '70s , he paints a real one .",
      "suffers from a strange fakeness .",
      "it left me in a great mood . i wanted to hug someone .",
      "cameron crowe got it right with his autobiographical story about a teen-age writer for rolling stone magazine .",
      "resgata de forma sensível e divertida as lembranças de adolescęncia do cineasta e roteirista cameron crowe - sempre embalado por uma deliciosa trilha sonora .",
      "there 's a magic around everyone and everything here that reminds us of how the world looked when we were still children , still in awe of the world .",
      "a blissfully sweet coming-of-age movie in which everyone , young and less young , comes of age .",
      "the acting is unforgettable .",
      "it 's a well-modulated , immensely likable picture that 's finally too polite for both its subject matter and its critical theme .",
      "to crib a line from crowe 's last film , MOV had me at hello .",
      "one of the best movies of the year",
      "what really makes MOV almost great is mcdormand 's brilliance as the mother only some of us get : a woman who prepares her child for an extraordinary life .",
      "crowe is so good on mood and milieu that when elton john 's bubblegum ballad ` tiny dancer ' swells on the soundtrack , in this context it sounds like a hymn .",
      "hudson emits the intuitive wisdom of the sexually charged rock and roll lifestyle with a fierce and poetic air of self-destruction .",
      "what moments it has ! with his pitch-perfect ear for the music swirling through every scene , crowe seems to hear the words in his characters ' hearts .",
      "beautiful , though flawed , love letter to early 70 's rock and roll highlighted by crowe 's clever quip-driven dialogue .",
      "when crowe is concentrating on the glitter and decadence of the rock milieu , with its wild assortment of characters , the film is a funny and poignant tale about the grinding insanity of life on the road .",
      "an endearing coming-of-age drama that conveys the important role rock music plays for youth , helping them through one of the most confusing stages of life .",
      "a vividly realized labor of love and an absolute pleasure to watch .",
      "an obsessively authentic love letter to the early '70s world of fading swagger rock ... a tragicomic snapshot of trying to hold onto hope , faith , possibility and youthful idealism even as ugly adult realizations blunt the power of those adolescent cornerst",
      "for anyone who ever looked at a record sleeve and dreamed , it 's a one-way ticket to shangri-la .",
      "destined to be one of the year 's best movies .",
      "almost a movie , full of great ideas for characters and situations , but not yet able to make them as persuasive or affecting as it thinks they are .",
      "the film shimmers with the irresistible pleasures that define hollywood at its best -- it 's polished like glass , funny , knowing and bright , and filled with characters whose lives are invariably sexier and more purposeful than our own .",
      "everything about the movie ... testifies to its maker 's passion to get it right .",
      "insightful , often hilarious , beautifully crafted , touching and wonderfully acted ...",
      "MOV juggles so many themes that it 's a credit to crowe 's vision as a writer that the movie keeps from bursting at its thematic seams .",
      "in another compelling performance , billy crudup projects the charisma of a rock star -- combining egotism with flashes of humanity .",
      "restores poignancy , originality and innocence to the coming of age film , a genre that had lost them all around the time the cd replaced the lp .",
      "a rich , marvelous movie -- the kind that enchants on so many different levels , it leaves you feeling giddy .",
      "a very good movie , filled with splendid performances , many funny moments , strong writing and tender , evocative touches .",
      "cameron crowe has truly outdone himself with this honest little film that brilliantly captures the trials and tribulations of growing up .",
      "if rock music ever sent a shiver down your back , this is the film for you .",
      "it 's big-hearted , bittersweet , and they all shine on .",
      "wonderfully harkens back to hollywood 's golden age of sophisticated comedy , and in particular to the masterpieces of crowe 's filmmaking idol , billy wilder .",
      "it 's heartfelt , funny , sensitive and wise , and crowe 's obvious love for the music runs so deep that the film ends up rattling around in your soul , like a thumping bass on the other side of a thin apartment wall .",
      "the best pop-culture picture since last year 's high fidelity and one of the best rock & roll movies ever .",
      "will have the ring of truth to anyone who was there . anyone else should enjoy the ride .",
      "what a shame things should fall short , given how many enjoyable moments can be found .",
      "the best film of the year .",
      "charged with nostalgic poignancy and sweet character portrayals",
      "the period is intricately recreated without a single cliche , while the performances are all honest and open .",
      "cameron crowe has made a heartfelt piece of work that stands among his best : a love song to anyone who ever wanted to be cool ... and never quite found their way .",
      "an honest and touching look at many big themes such as family , friendship and fandom .",
      "magnificently captures what it was like to be young , naive and anxious for answers during a turbulent time in american society .",
      "i can count the number of movies on my left hand that made me feel the way this film did throughout its entire 120 minutes .",
      "this is the celluloid version of a glossy magazine feature -- easily perused , modestly entertaining , the kind of piece designed to please the publisher by not taxing -lrb- or offending -rrb- the reader .",
      "almost nothing ! one of the year 's best .",
      "if you have n't seen it and you have the slightest interest in writing , 1970 's rock music , or touching fame , go see it ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV , with its great ensemble performances and story , is a well-crafted , warm-hearted movie that successfully draws you into its era .",
    "id": "16994"
  },
  {
    "movie": "fantasia_2000",
    "reviews": [
      "a marriage made in cinema heaven .",
      "a rapturous , transporting experience the likes of which we do n't see in the multiplex often enough .",
      "in MOV 2000 a simple spell is rediscovered : elegant storytelling , masterful animation and timeless music make movie magic .",
      "big mistake .",
      "a stirring , enjoyable time at the movies .",
      "daring in concept and inspirational for young and old alike , this is truly a near rapturous adventure -- a unique audience pleaser .",
      "those who get to know the spectacular imax format with this movie are in for a jumbo treat .",
      "does n't play like a celebration . in its sentimental yearning for a golden age when another one 's upon us , it feels a little like a rebuke .",
      "this must be the most belated sequel the movies have produced .",
      "the imax presentation of this millennial sequel is a welcome addition to the family , though it seems to lack the heart of the original .",
      "this new installment perhaps aims slightly lower than the original .",
      "this new MOV corrects some of the flaws of the old movie , but generates some new flaws of its own .",
      "it is a reminder that , after all these years , memories of the first MOV can still conjure magic in the mind .",
      "this stuffy sequel features seven new ` movements ' and ` the sorcerer 's apprentice , ' the buzz clip from the 1940 original .",
      "a roller-coaster ride of energy , utilizing incredible animated imagery , elegant classical music and state-of-the-art technology .",
      "my only complaint is that it was over too soon .",
      "more than lives up to its clever positioning as the first movie of the new millennium .",
      "a magical smorgasbord of entertainment for the senses .",
      "more of a collection of musical shorts than a feature film . so , i 'll review each short on its own .",
      "the film is a series of diverse , stunning shorts that have their flow and power undercut by the user-friendly introductions .",
      "one of the most impressive marriages of music and animation since the original film .",
      "it was worth the wait .",
      "an adequately entertaining diversion with moments that flirt with greatness .",
      "... a worthy if disappointingly brief follow-up .",
      "a minor disappointment .",
      "i 'm still not sure whether the entire concept is audaciously praiseworthy or pretentiously misguided .",
      "the sorcerer 's apprentice 's spell still works .",
      "stravinsky 's ` firebird suite ' accompanies a beautifully rendered story of death and rebirth .",
      "uneven but enjoyable ...",
      "a bold deviation from the MOV formula .",
      "another disney classic for the vaults .",
      "as in the 1940 original , all the new segments are introduced by celebrities , and like the pieces themselves , there is a disparate quality to the introductions .",
      "verdadera obra de arte que vuelve a transportarnos a la infancia y que logra sacar a flote lo mejor de nosotros mismos",
      "disney has mated MOV with imax and given birth to a sumptuous giant-screen love child .",
      "disney underestimates the intelligence and sophistication of young audiences .",
      "firmly re-establishes that studio 's leadership in animation at the dawn of the new century .",
      "MOV 2000 does not soar the way its predecessor did , but neither does it plummet to the earth .",
      "has plenty to offer .",
      "beautifully designed and presented .",
      "a good deal of fun .",
      "whatever its flaws -- from kitschy cupids to racist centaurs -- at least the first MOV had a human touch . the sequel seems cold and mechanical by comparison .",
      "it 's not that the images are n't pretty , or that great care has n't gone into them -- it 's that the sensibility behind them is so icky , limited in its conception of beauty to picture postcards and the sort of paintings you see in chain hotels .",
      "a true groundbreaker . and it 's also the best imax movie ever made .",
      "as with the original MOV , the new film is a mixture of artistically respectable and mediocre moments , which for overall ambition and range , has no parallel in the world of contemporary animation .",
      "disgruntled baby boomers can grumble , but it 's certain today 's kids will definitely warm to the new fixings .",
      "a labor of love .",
      "sixty years after walt disney 's animators first set cartoons to classical music , they 've conjured up seven new sequences for MOV 2000 . judging from the often mickey mouse results , they may have been too hasty .",
      "fantasia/2000 is a must-see , a wonderful film that breathes hope , life , and beauty into the new millennium .",
      "walt would be proud .",
      "as the first theatrical release designed exclusively for imax screens , it fills the eyes of the audience with splendor .",
      "when the shorts are good , they are very , very good , particularly those in which the animators actually try to tell a story .",
      "it is stunning in every sense of the word -- stunningly good most of the time , stunningly arch some of the time and technically stunning all of the time .",
      "warts and all , MOV 2000 is a glimpse of the future .",
      "another important step forward into riskier , more ambitious artistic territory for the mouse 's animation house .",
      "a rousing blend of music , sound , uplifting themes , carefree humor , new-age animation and classic disney craftsmanship .",
      "awe-inspiring , entertaining , even touching at times -- all while maintaining that perfect blend between pictures and music that can almost make you weep , it 's so beautiful .",
      "splendid entertainment .",
      "definitely worth the money for an imax ticket .",
      "ideally the music and imagery should fuse into something larger than either . it has rarely worked out that way .",
      "compared to how visually and narratively imaginative disney-released animated films have been in the 1990s , this one seems at a loss for purpose .",
      "for introducing children to the joys of classical music , the warner bros. . bugs bunny cartoon shorts were far wittier and much less condescending .",
      "go in with low expectations .",
      "perfect family entertainment .",
      "not only music made visible . it is a millennial medley to the max .",
      "an exhilarating animation concert .",
      "seems to have been made by people with nothing in particular to prove .",
      "where else can you see perlman 's hair in such stunning details , find donald duck as a major character in a bible story and experience the distinctive mixture of comfort and grandeur that disney excels in creating ?",
      "fails to live up to more than its 60-year-old predecessor 's two-hour running time .",
      "it provides some fine artists the chance to stretch and frolic , even as it reminds today 's audiences of animation 's limitless borders .",
      "like its predecessor , MOV 2000 offers a plotless string of beautifully animated vignettes set to music ; unlike its predecessor , it 's a good deal shorter and far less tedious for it .",
      "a terrific way to welcome the new millennium .",
      "balance in animation styles",
      "overall , though , i did n't find it particularly satisfying",
      "although magnificent and filled with imagination , MOV 2000 does n't hold up as being particularly ground-breaking or innovative .",
      "delightful , but may scare more sensitive kids .",
      "a worthy successor to the original concept , allowing the next generation of animation talent to cut loose . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "a lightweight affair ... despite some momentary flashes of brilliance , this is no successor to the great MOV .",
      "the rest of these animated sequences depend on gimmickry , cuteness , or facile ideology .",
      "fantasia/2000 will no doubt become a disney perennial , but that does not by definition make it a classic ."
    ],
    "summary": "it provides an entertaining experience for adults and children alike .",
    "id": "9488"
  },
  {
    "movie": "soul_plane",
    "reviews": [
      "the airplane ! formula gets reworked as a raunchy sendup of black racial stereotypes , but the movie has an aura of bad sketch comedy .",
      "cries out for the guiding hand of one of the zucker brothers or , even better , a genuine satirist like john ridley , who wrote the subversive undercover brother .",
      "come back the wayans brothers , all is forgiven . even scary movie 2 .",
      "nothing more than racial stereotype after racial stereotype .",
      "a s ****** ing style of humour that might have seemed funny in theory , but virtually nothing sparks on screen .",
      "how best to explain a film this mean-spirited , this unfunny -- this dispiriting ?",
      "... it 's hard not to be offended by a sequence in which an arab man boards the airplane - much to the shock and horror of everyone around him .",
      "surprisingly enough -lrb- in fact , i am shocked -rrb- , this film gets a lot of laughs .",
      "MOV is like seeing an uncomfortably unfunny stand-up comedy routine acted out and stretched to a feature-length film .",
      "raunchy comedy for adults only .",
      "MOV 's infatuation with playa culture will likely have most reaching for the barf bag .",
      "almost as funny as it is offensive .",
      "is MOV an instant classic ? nope . does it go too far at times ? absolutely . but is it a damn funny movie ? fo ' shizzle , my nizzle .",
      "first-timer jessy terrero 's wing-and-a-prayer direction blows out an engine before the halfway mark of his 90-minute `` airplane ! '' take-off .",
      "MOV 's ride is a bit choppy , and a bit overpriced .",
      "MOV actually had me laughing with tom arnold ... f ` real . yes , you heard right - i enjoyed this shizzle .",
      "it may be crude , it may be lewd , it 's certainly slapdash and stupid , but -lrb- it 's -rrb- steadily and readily hilarious .",
      "a lot better than one would expect .",
      "it 's amusing , it 's inspired and hey , it 's a lot wittier than the last two scary movie 's combined ... full of performers that are obviously having such a great time",
      "come fly with me ? thanks , no , i 'd rather pay cross-country cab fare .",
      "the lesson of MOV : being white is so much less fun than being black .",
      "outrageous and sporadically funny -lsb- but -rsb- just wait for video .",
      "uneven , but often very funny ... . when it spoofs black culture , the movie connects solidly .",
      "long before landing , the movie 's tireless minstrel-show mentality sends it into a nosedive .",
      "the makers of MOV simply have no taste -- and they try to make up for it by demonstrating that they also have no talent .",
      "... a hideous hip hop spoof of the most disposable kind . this is the worst kind of racial rubbish suited appropriately for the barf bag .",
      "stoners will enjoy ; everyone else should stay home and watch `` chappelle 's show '' .",
      "this nearly plotless movie follows the maiden voyage of nwa -lrb- a moniker that seems to be the extent of the film 's wit -rrb- through a torrent of stale ghetto jokes in the vein exhausted years ago by the wayans brothers .",
      "an imbecilic film that 's about as punishing as a four-hour flight delay .",
      "the imdb informs that director jessy terrero is the nephew of `` raising victor vargas ' '' grandmother ... i can only hope she slapped him upside the head for this .",
      "if this was directed by a white guy it would be deemed racist , and rightly so .",
      "this movie should be titled `` foul plane '' it is so offensive and humorless .",
      "MOV will likely inspire viewers to immediately rewatch airplane ! to wash out the bad taste this new movie pollutes into their mouths .",
      "this just never took off for me .",
      "... the film delivers half of the time , which is why i would recommend it on the video front ...",
      "older audiences will be offended by most of what passes for comedy in MOV , but there 's no denying that younger , hip hop flavored crowds should be quite amused .",
      "there 's talent in this cast ... -lsb- and -rsb- forcing these performers to run through the contorted non-humor of MOV is simply a disaster .",
      "MOV is a great premise searching for a better script .",
      "hand out the barf bags ... the level of tastelessness and vulgarity should cause cultural security checkpoints to go off .",
      "MOV is about ` the first urban ' -lrb- black -rrb- airline , whose motto is ` we fly . we party . we land . ' they left out ` we potty . '",
      "to say that the movie is in bad taste is to shower it with praise , since it exists to create the sort of laughter that wells up when people know they 're not supposed to laugh .",
      "makes up for what it lacks in genuine humor by overdosing viewers with outrageous sexuality and outsize stereotypes .",
      "an hour and a half of real airplane turbulence is better than sitting through the bad , offensive material that makes up MOV .",
      "sloppy , uneven , vulgar , lowbrow and often very funny , jessy terrero 's debut movie might be called airport car wash scary movie .",
      "this flight should have been permanently delayed due to extraordinarily offensive conditions .",
      "no doubt MOV sounds more offensive than it is when seen . that does n't make it more than passable burlesque , but burlesque has its place , too .",
      "a slapdash affair that pitches jokes at all races , creeds and stupidities , but it turns casualness into a virtue .",
      "how bad is MOV ? it stars tom arnold -- and he 's not the worst thing in it .",
      "a better - than-average comedy that is raunchy and tasteless but ultimately funny from beginning to end .",
      "the jokes fly faster than the plane , but the humor cruising level is closer to the old tv series flying high than to airplane .",
      "a real hit-and-miss compendium of racial , intoxicant and sex jokes that could have used more narrative push and stronger quality control .",
      "this one rates a direct flight to video .",
      "if it 's not funny to you that a bunch of white passengers in polo shirts would say ` oh , goody ! ' when they hear the in-flight movie stars sandra bullock , then do n't bother with the rest of MOV .",
      "an uproarious hip-hop spin on airplane ! boasting just the right mix of sass and sentiment .",
      "a relentless sucker punch to black entrepreneurship .",
      "movies like MOV give bad taste a bad name .",
      "this one-joke comedy vehicle is flying through a laugh-free zone .",
      "nearly unwatchable .",
      "no one is spared the movie 's raunchy political incorrectness .",
      "i do n't think i would want to fly the big purple plane sitting on spinners , but it would be cool as the in-flight movie .",
      "the sins of MOV go beyond racial and sexual stereotyping . it 's just not funny .",
      "offers nothing but degrading stereotypes and repulsive toilet humor .",
      "a third of the way into MOV , maybe earlier if you 're in the right mood or with the wrong company , you might actually start to enjoy disliking the movie .",
      "it 's okay , but far from a joy ride .",
      "the laughs are abundant for the first half , but then a plot and some tastelessly out of place jokes bog down what might have been a classic comedy .",
      "snoop looks stranded as captain mack , showing no sign of the comedic rhythms he 's demonstrated in every other film or video in which he 's appeared .",
      "the momentum dies so quickly , you expect oxygen masks to drop from the ceiling .",
      "what airplane ! would have been if the only joke in the movie were the two black guys and barbara billingsley `` speaking jive '' with them",
      "more depressing than airplane food .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- n appalling array of stereotypes that insults even its own intended audience ...",
      "i laughed my lily-white *** off ! MOV is hilarious . it 's a funked-out airplane - that silly stoo-pid fun movie not trying to prove anything to anyone .",
      "MOV insults regardless of race or creed",
      "rowdy and funny , MOV 's sense of humor is often sharper than what most people would expect .",
      "MOV begins as a high-spirited romp before running out of gas and ideas about halfway up the tarmac .",
      "90 minutes of amateurish , adolescent yuks .",
      "... a clumsy attempt at a hip-hop airplane .",
      "there 's a raunchy enthusiasm that carries the flick through the -lrb- rather frequent -rrb- moments of familiarity and tedium .",
      "so broad and relentlessly raunchy that it makes a spoof like airplane seem as demure as a vintage drawing-room comedy .",
      "unoriginal , unrelentingly vulgar and , worst , unfunny .",
      "MOV recycles its few jokes again and again and yet again , running out of fuel long before touchdown .",
      "there is a thin line between breaking down stereotypes with humor and perpetuating them to get a cheap laugh , and this movie crosses over that line several times .",
      "starts out as an amiable send-up of black enterprise before stumbling into the familiar blender of diced stereotypes , pureed sexual innuendo and controlled substances .",
      "i know that during the film my abs got a workout . but it became increasingly difficult to distinguish between a belly laugh and visceral recoil .",
      "MOV starts out as an exuberant romp but soon gets trapped in a holding pattern of dumb sex and toilet jokes .",
      "it 's just not very funny .",
      "MOV should come with an air-sickness bag .",
      "it might be pushing it to recommend this movie for full admission , but it 's probably worth a matinee or rental .",
      "a prime example of a comedy that 's all marketing .",
      "basic , brazen , and scatologically obsessed , plane forgoes any analysis of its essentialist japery , marveling instead at its own familiar naughtiness ."
    ],
    "summary": "a raunchy sendup of airplane ! that never really takes off .",
    "id": "17180"
  },
  {
    "movie": "paradise_now",
    "reviews": [
      "hany abu-assad takes the broad political situation of palestinian self-rule and terrorism as a tool to that end and brings it to a personal level .",
      "never transcends its political posturing and finds the humanity as profoundly as it means to",
      "director hany abu-assad does n't make any apologies as he captures this journey into desperation and destruction .",
      "the picture loses some points for an ending that rings false and undercuts some of the buildup , but , nonetheless , paradise sure is nice .",
      "he attempts with mixed results to get inside the psyches of men who would blow themselves up for the cause .",
      "it is in no way an apologia for terrorism . but it 's a character study that subtly nudges the viewer toward greater understanding .",
      "this taut , ingeniously calculated thriller fixates on the flashpoint where psychology and politics ignite in self-destructive martyrdom .",
      "a powerful , poignant , provocative drama , it gets its strength from its dispassion , from an uncompromising determination to explain rather than justify or condemn , to put a human face on incomprehensible acts .",
      "a powerful film that 's not so easily shaken or forgotten ... an amazing achievement .",
      "MOV is an agonized inquiry into the minds of a dispossessed new generation of palestinians , who come off more introspective and internally divided than you 'd think .",
      "essential cinema not because it answers questions about terrorist ideology , but because it discovers those questions are disturbingly similar to those about ourselves .",
      "... a truly thought-provoking work , cinematically satisfying as it calls out for understanding",
      "at heart , it 's still a simple , personal story about a conflicted young man surrounded by opinions and pressures , trying to decide what he really thinks and wants .",
      "too bitterly real to be a comedy , but its irony is a useful tool for needling terrorists from the inside .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- gripping political thriller .",
      "shot on location in the beleaguered palestinian city of nablus , filmmaker hany abu-assad 's fourth feature is a thoughtful , unsparing look at a controversial subject : suicide bombing .",
      "these days , cinema does n't get any more relevant than MOV , hany abu-assad 's gripping and insightful drama about two palestinian terrorists preparing for a suicide mission .",
      "hany abu-assad 's stark , minimalist portrait of two young palestinian men preparing for a suicide-bombing mission in tel aviv is the kind of movie that takes away both your breath and your ability to get out of your seat .",
      "this is a powerful film that has become controversial because it forces you look at things you might not want to think about .",
      "abu-assad makes it possible to understand how a person , driven by desperation , hatred , and shame , might end up committing the most heineous acts .",
      "i felt that i was no closer to understanding the psychology of suicide bombers than i had been before .",
      "... has the sheer brazenness to find humor in the suicide bomber 's experience .",
      "paradise catches and keeps your attention because of its daring subject , real-life backdrops and the intensity of its actors .",
      "takes a volatile story and jams it into the framework of a hollywood template .",
      "functions as an absorbing melodrama first , and screed second .",
      "troubling but excellent .",
      "it 's an explosive topic and abu-assad walks a fine line through a minefield of issues , all of them explored with intelligence and integrity .",
      "it 's too simply reasoned and too tidily made to shake you up .",
      "does n't ascribe morality so much as paint a picture of confusion , anger , and desperation .",
      "paradise may not change anyone 's ideology , but it should convince some that , but for some deeply divisive views of religious morality , people are pretty much the same on either side of the holy fence .",
      "how else to understand and , more to the point , pre-empt such actions ?",
      "if any film of 2005 should be required viewing , it is MOV .",
      "writer-director hany abu-assad ca n't tell the entire story in MOV , but he can show glimmers of it .",
      "a movie hardly lacking for anxiety and uneasiness .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- sensitive , occasionally didactic film .",
      "it would be difficult to undertake a more politically relevant film or explore a more volatile subject , and abu-assad attempts his project with skill and sensitivity .",
      "feels too much like an ode to terrorism .",
      "the most suspenseful film of the year in its own subtle way .",
      "not an entirely successful experiment , plagued with overdone sentimentality and a middle act that serves only to stretch out the slim story , but what `` MOV '' says , it does so forcefully that it ca n't be ignored .",
      "the director 's two impulses -- to keep the audience hooked while illuminating the palestinian plight -- never feel entirely compatible .",
      "the martyr tradition in islam , sadly flourishing again , gets personal but also oddly abstract .",
      "with a documentarian 's eye and a dramatist 's urgency , abu-assad sneaks into the mind of a suicide bomber , and also his heart .",
      "the movie is driven by the characters ' passionate , despairing arguments about the fine line between victimization and violence . but MOV also has , at times , an almost surreal visual flair .",
      "... a powerful look at modern-day terrorism with plenty of traditional suspense built in .",
      "the movie makes us care by observing the details of their lives , by reminding us that they are fellow members of the human race .",
      "what makes the film more than a routine thriller is its willingness to explore what makes these walking time bombs tick .",
      "asks the big questions and answers quite a few of them , although its ending is tantalizingly ambiguous .",
      "the film captures the bleakness of the west bank and , more powerfully , shows us lives so grim that the thought of MOV seems enticing .",
      "despite the obvious opportunities to turn this subject into a strident polemic , it follows an entirely different route -- one that in the end carries considerably more impact .",
      "MOV underlines the absurd rituals of suicide missions , the ways that the perpetrators are induced into thinking that what they 're doing is special .",
      "viewers of all persuasions can find a human perspective on an aspect of terrorism that , no matter how often it occurs , is beyond imagining for most of us .",
      "the film does not invite you to root for either side of the conflict , just to see these guys as human . it is almost impossible not to empathize with their intense personal struggle .",
      "if the film sounds grim , well , yes , it is dealing with heavy , difficult issues . but , with the exception of -lsb- a few -rsb- didactic moments , it moves quickly .",
      "very good .",
      "a timely film that is disturbing but not necessarily fulfilling , as it never takes a stand and makes clear what is its thinking .",
      "what is striking about MOV is the stark way abu-assad lays out the situation , unvarnished and unbiased .",
      "MOV is a great movie on many accounts .",
      "a risk-taking but enlightening film that takes the novel approach of examining the israeli-arab impasse from the perspective of the palestinians .",
      "today 's assignment : watch ` MOV . ' discuss .",
      "geopolitical realities shape the narrative , but the characters in MOV remain human -- to the point where we begin to suspect their arguments are voiced largely to convince themselves .",
      "MOV contributes mightily to further understanding of palestinian frustrations , as well as the terrorism so sadly rampant in the world today .",
      "the acting of kais naschef and ali suliman is superb throughout this realistic portrait of a pair of palestinian suicide bombers .",
      "... remarkable ...",
      "MOV gets a little frantic and lost near the end , which is infinitely preferable to the bourgeois accessibility of its beginning . i would love for the film to have gone much further , cut deeper .",
      "-lsb- s -rsb- tylistically far removed from what we see on the evening news , -lsb- it also -rsb- allows for a psychological depth that this subject oftentimes sorely lacks .",
      "the film continues to twist and turn until the very end , keeping us guessing as to what the would-be martyrs will do .",
      "the film offers food for thought , and reminds us that , in any war , one who understands the mindset of his opponent gains an important tactical advantage .",
      "MOV stands as evidence of troubled and troubling times .",
      "explores suicide bombers more intimately than ever before",
      "certainly what said says will not come as a surprise to any israeli . it 's simply that they disagree . we may disagree , too , and yet watch the film with a fearsome fascination .",
      "insights into the desperate plight of those palestinians who feel that living under oppression is hell and that dying is preferable .",
      "not unlike downfall in its attempts to comprehend the motivations behind those who would commit atrocities against innocents in the name of politics or piety .",
      "the talented palestinian abu-assad meets the almost impossible challenge of giving human faces to suicide bombers in his absorbing and timely political drama",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- lays out the issues in an accessible but rather too over-correct way , seemingly eager to please all parties at the expense of real passion .",
      "there 's much to provoke thought about the motivations of these self-destructive terrorists .",
      "whatever abu-assad 's motives were for making MOV , his film is n't about politics . it 's about two men .",
      "one viewing will leave you with a clearer understanding about why these desperate men commit these desperate acts .",
      "-lsb- filmmaker hany abu-assad -rsb- may have hoped to give a human voice to the suicide bombers , but instead he gave them a misfired movie .",
      "you ca n't blame the director for disliking israel : he gets under the skin of two potential terrorists giving us the inside on what makes them tick .",
      "the director puts a human face on the headlines .",
      "while nothing truly new or shocking emerges , the film does bring clarity and compassion to its depiction of an act that baffles , angers and sickens people the world over .",
      "simple , reflective , and uncomfortably relevant .",
      "... an engaging and important work ... i would love to think it will make a difference , even if only by making one israeli and one palistinian accept its message",
      "riveting and timely .",
      "MOV may not succeed in inspiring sympathy for these hapless terrorists , but it does compel an appreciation for the unbearable sense of humiliation that may fuel such acts .",
      "... it says more about middle eastern politics from the palestinian side than any movie , period .",
      "ainda que assuma claramente a defesa da causa palestina , o cineasta deixa clara sua reprovaзгo ao terrorismo .",
      "while it fails to make a compelling argument for terrorism , it is a compelling story nonetheless .",
      "a tragedy regardless of its conclusion , MOV is an important and powerful effort to explicate the inexplicable .",
      "for a while as perversely compelling as spielberg 's munich , the film sadly deflates as a narrative .",
      "it 's all compelling , and the film boasts an ending that leaves the audience sitting in numbed silence .",
      "could a more important , relevant and complimentary film to munich have come out in 2005 ?",
      "the filmmaker keeps the thorny issues under control",
      "un film duro , polйmico y bien realizado , que promueve el debate sobre un conflicto aъn por resolver .",
      "abu-assad does a good job of building tension and showing some of the complexities within palestinian culture . he has , as they say , put a human face on the palestinians ."
    ],
    "summary": "this film delves deeply into the minds of suicide bombers , and the result is unsettling .",
    "id": "8921"
  },
  {
    "movie": "weekend_2011",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV settles into an intentionally minor-key groove , caught somewhere between bracingly direct honesty and cringingly mumbly pretense .",
      "i hate to damage so fragile a work with overpraise , but , gay or straight , if you do n't see yourself in this movie , you need to get a life .",
      "one of the best gay films ever made , although that pigeonholes it unfairly , as this is a finely observed , bracingly intelligent and human work , with an appeal that crosses sexual categorization .",
      "though the film benefits from an easy chemistry between the leads , it never hits any of the highs hinted at early on , leaving audiences unfulfilled by the possibility of what might have been .",
      "the most powerful , honest and engrossing romantic drama since before sunrise .",
      "the longer you spend inside MOV , the more its fictions seem apparent .",
      "its small scale allows for detailed looks at two men who are likeable and flawed , and who connect on a level neither expected -- nor in one case , was even looking for .",
      "boy meets boy in this low-budget , acutely observed relationship drama .",
      "it 's about love 's essence , and the pain of its absence .",
      "there 's a deceptive simplicity to british writer-director andrew haigh 's poignant , fluent character study , which has already earned comparisons to before sunrise .",
      "haigh treats his subject matter with matter-of-fact realism . if this is a new voice on the british film scene , it 's a refreshingly adult one .",
      "it is a tender , humane film , with an easy , unforced cinematic language : a film that does n't need to try too hard .",
      "haigh 's film is written with a shrewd , unpretentious feel for the way young people behave when they 're getting to know each other , shot with a keen eye for urban solitude , and completely nails its seemingly modest tasks ...",
      "haigh , writing , directing and producing , drives through the meeting-cute introductions and the medium-molten sex scenes as if they were merely marks on the map , to follow the simple , complex arc of an evolving love affair .",
      "impressively directed and superbly written , this is an emotionally engaging and strikingly naturalistic romantic drama with terrific central performances from newcomers tom cullen and chris new .",
      "a remarkable film that signals an exciting new voice in the lgbt landscape .",
      "sexy , provocative , engrossing and occasionally ornery , it should appeal to anyone whose curiosity about someone new has provoked them to question their own identity .",
      "the organ that `` MOV '' is most concerned with is n't the one you might think , but the human heart .",
      "in just a short period of time , a MOV hookup tests the boundaries each man has set for himself .",
      "this appealing gay-themed drama , written and directed with intelligence by andrew haigh , is a british cousin to the american mumblecore movement ...",
      "if you 've ever met someone who changed your life in the space of days , you 'll relate to something in this movie .",
      "it 's equally as chatty as -lsb- before sunrise and before sunset -rsb- , but the dialogue is more to the point , less cerebral , and below the belt .",
      "if this lovely movie proffers a thesis or a moral , it 's a simple one . a more open , fully integrated and passionate life feeds the soul no less than air and water . or coffee the morning after .",
      "the story is simply told with a lot of talking , some loving and much philosophizing over the meaning of life . the good thing is that -lsb- writer-director-editor -rsb- andrew haigh wears all his hats well and shows a deft hand at all his chores .",
      "the results are gently sincere but maybe a little misguided , a far cry from the note-perfect , transcendently adorable 1999 gay love story `` trick , '' which this one reminds of -- and pales in comparison to .",
      "MOV is finally a deeply romantic film , assured of the pleasure that one person can find in another , but rooted in the quirks and textures of contemporary british life .",
      "in an intimate exploration of its central relationship , this boy meets boy story addresses all the issues of being gay and meets them head on",
      "made with all the technical disadvantages of a home movie - dirty and confusing sound recording , sloppy camerawork -lrb- but here it 's intentional , meant to look arty -rrb-",
      "cullen and new are british stage actors with little background in film . haigh 's only previous film was a documentary . perhaps because they do n't feel bound by a set of rules , they 've created one of the year 's most enjoyable surprises .",
      "MOV has romance to spare , but also takes a look at the cogs turning under the surface of any thoughtful encounter , however brief .",
      "MOV works beautifully in the moment , and lingers long after an initial viewing . it 's certainly an affair to remember .",
      "MOV is one of the most impressive films ever made about love . haigh 's confidence and intelligence as a filmmaker , has resulted in a sincere and emotionally engaging film .",
      "through two wonderful performances from tom cullen and chris new , writer-director andrew haigh has captured the many emotions associated with a new relationship .",
      "a romance that finds intimacy in intense conversation but also a very british film about private and public spaces ; a potent mix of the sensually intimate and the politically confrontational .",
      "however , to simply call it ` a gay movie ' would commit it a great disservice as the fragmented kaleidoscope of fleeting romantic pains and pleasures should resonate with gay and straight audiences in equal measure .",
      "probably one of the greatest films ever made on the subject of gay love , not because it deals with issues of homosexuality , but because it simply tells a tender , honest , emotionally potent love story .",
      "for a movie that bares the souls of its characters so completely , MOV does n't unfold like a complicated movie . the dialogue is natural , the sex scenes are tender , and the camera never gets in the way of the story .",
      "a surprisingly strong film about love and sexual identity that leaves a lasting impression .",
      "one of the bravest , most honest and most accomplished stories of gay love and sex ever rendered on film .",
      "this is a smart , sensitive , perceptive film , with actors well suited to the dialogue . it underlines the difficulty of making connections outside our individual boxes of time and space .",
      "an achingly tender chamber piece from first-time director andrew haigh .",
      "the film operates on a familiar dynamic ; however , it works here thanks to the precise alignment of talented actors and a focused screenplay .",
      "the bland sentimentality and dull attitudinizing turn the movie into an empty frame of good intentions .",
      "writer-director andrew haigh has a delicate , sensitive touch , and this is appealing as a simple peek into modern romance ... but there 's a sense of wishful thinking -- or even desperation -- that i suspect is not intended here .",
      "there 's a fresh , sweaty , honest , unpretentious air to it , and when they part , with glen on his way to spend a year working in portland , oregon , we genuinely believe that something like love has come into their yearning lives .",
      "a moving and empathetic look at how relationships develop , at how people fall in love and what that does and does n't do to their lives .",
      "the best film of 2011 .",
      "a stunningly simple , nearly perfect example of a romance movie whose burgeoning couple just happens to be gay .",
      "part of the brilliance of haigh 's film is how specific the characterizations are of his two main characters , how their different natures both allow for the possibility of love and impede it .",
      "simplicity personified ... character - and emotion-driven cinema at its purest and densest and most haunting .",
      "it 's splendidly played with an understated intensity that deftly captures the shifting emotional tone of the relationship .",
      "deserves to find a place in the hearts of wistful romantics everywhere , no matter what their sexual preference .",
      "offers up the kind of subtle , truthful relationship drama that 's all too rare in cinema .",
      "naturalistic without being ineloquent , heartfelt yet unsentimental , MOV is the rarest of birds : a movie romance that rings true .",
      "by the end of their MOV together , it feels like you know these guys and , even better , like you 're rooting for them .",
      "MOV might be a small film recounting an intimate relationship , but it speaks to the grandest of ideas .",
      "hile the credible script and naturalistic acting deserve praise , there 's even a thrill in seeing romantic clichés -- you 'll spot them all -- embraced anew .",
      "it 's a definitive example of naturalistic moviemaking -- you feel you 're breathing the air that the characters are breathing .",
      "there 's a white-knuckle quality to this affair that 's as fearsome as it is beautiful .",
      "its final moments offer a vision of what a contemporary romance can achieve : an appreciative gasp of truth , a wet-eyed hope for more .",
      "like before sunrise , the real joy of writer/director andrew haigh 's film is in watching two people make bedrooms , overpasses , kitchenettes , and couches feel alive with potent conversation and pregnant silences .",
      "writer-director andrew haigh , who 's made several short films and one other feature while holding down big-studio editing gigs , allows the characters and their ideas to develop naturally .",
      "well-written and insightful , i do n't think we 've seen a gay-themed film this purely romantic and ultimately affecting since `` brokeback mountain . '' one of the five best glbt-themed narrative films of 2011 .",
      "MOV is the year 's wittiest hymn to romance .",
      "the two leading actors give deft , expressive performances that have us rooting for both of them . cullen has a broodingly sensual presence , while the impish new makes a charmingly prickly foil .",
      "it 's a thrill to watch , just as it 's thrilling to be in the hands of such a gifted new filmmaking talent .",
      "it is about the paradoxes and puzzlements of gay identity in a post-identity-politics era , and also about the enduring mystery of sexual attraction and its consequences .",
      "haigh avoids exploitation and cheap thrills in favor of a mature , incisive examination of relationships .",
      "there is an undeniable emotional power to andrew haigh 's beautifully sketched romantic drama .",
      "without spoiling what happens and how , it 's fair to say the pivot away from linklater-style sentimentality leaves little room for a sequel hook-up a decade down the road .",
      "terrific low-key turns from the two leads inject their growing bond with genuine emotion , making this a love story that will get under the skin of romantics everywhere .",
      "cullen and new develop a compellingly credible give and take .",
      "i love what haigh manages to achieve in his MOV . the movie is political and challenging , but in an organic way .",
      "while you might appreciate its goal , the writing and execution are n't strong enough to reach it .",
      "one of the truest , most beautiful movies ever made about two strangers .",
      "the movie is exquisitely written , directed and acted in naturalistic , hand-held style on a shoestring . it 's heartbreaking .",
      "a heartfelt romantic comedy , a touching rumination on sexual identity and a striking look at what it is to be gay in 21st century britain ."
    ],
    "summary": "it may be a chamber piece but MOV 's revelations on modern sexuality expand far beyond the modest setting .",
    "id": "771235363"
  },
  {
    "movie": "lake_of_fire",
    "reviews": [
      "definitive documentary on the subject that is so gripping that every thinking person will be forced to confront core issues",
      "does n't quite feel as definitive as the filmmaker intended , although i ca n't imagine how any film on the subject could get closer than this .",
      "smart , visually appealing , and consistently engaging .",
      "lake 's head-on confrontation of a problem most people simply wish to ignore is documentary cinema at its most raw and vital .",
      "when the focus narrows to the personal , the film becomes undeniably powerful in its specifics .",
      "the film shows shocking footage of actual abortions in progress and the remains of aborted fetuses , as well as the appalling images of murdered abortion clinicians and the horrifying testimonies of pro-life fanatics who are convinced all abortionists shou",
      "does n't aim to win converts or preach to the converted . his goal is rather to clear through the rhetoric , and look at abortion and its place in the american political dialog .",
      "demands we throw out our preconceived notions and face the issue without walls to protect us .",
      "the most striking footage is of an abortion ; the next is of hateful and ignorant americans",
      "an intense , sometimes sickening , documentary about the abortion issue in the united states which reeks of brimstone .",
      "as the u.s. elections media coverage becomes incessant , it 's worth keeping in mind that actual listening to other `` sides '' can be enlightening .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- passionate meditation on the fiery issue .",
      "-lsb- the -rsb- film does nothing to advance the debate but does a great deal to show us what 's at stake .",
      "a 2 1/2 - hour documentary on abortion may sound like a hard sell , but the depth and scope of tony kaye 's grueling MOV nonetheless justifies feeling like you 've just taken a long , blistering soak in one .",
      "one lesson of MOV is the galvanizing power of the visual image . sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words , and sometimes pictures are not enough .",
      "it 's hard to imagine a more honest and clear-headed documentary that 's been made or will be made on the subject of abortion .",
      "a provocatively beautiful movie on the hottest hot-button issue in american life : a woman 's right to an abortion .",
      "this sprawling , scary , nearly unbearable film -lsb- is -rsb- more important than ever .",
      "an absorbing doc that punctuates the idea that abortion , legal or banned , is not a black-and-white issue but is in a political gray zone .",
      "lives up to its promise of definitiveness ... a significant piece of journalism .",
      "tony -lrb- american history x -rrb- kaye 's ambitious docu is a powerful mixture of ethical , philosophical , political , and religious viewpoints about the controversial abortion debate in the u.s. , aspiring to be a definitive work on the contentious subject .",
      "this is the most impressive , most honest and most brutal account of the abortion issue i have ever seen . with breathtaking scope and access -lrb- shot over a 14 year period -rrb- kaye has crafted a film that could easily be the subject of an ethics graduate course .",
      "this lake is deep , dark and very disturbing as an in-depth look at passionate beliefs , shocking choices and an issue that may never be resolved .",
      "MOV does something with the volatile subject of abortion that neutral observers and even political partisans can appreciate : it offers a wide representation of perspectives and opinions .",
      "at 152 minutes , his film does n't seem long , because at every moment something absorbing , disturbing , depressing or infuriating is happening .",
      "no one will have an easy time of it with MOV , a work of profound anguish centered on the abortion rights debate .",
      "provides gruesome , incontrovertible images to complement its deliberations about morality .",
      "kaye denies that his film has a political bias , but it does .",
      "it 's the arguments on both sides that make this long , gripping film such a vital contribution to the national conversation about abortion .",
      "upsetting , engrossing , engaging documentary on abortion .",
      "-lsb- kaye has -rsb- taken his camera places and filmed things that neither side will want you see .",
      "there 's a madness to MOV , a two-and-a-half hour documentary about abortion in america , that goes hand-in-glove with its staggering achievement .",
      "the latest in a long list of hyper-politicized , sensationalistic documentaries that are high on scare tactics and shock value , but low on progressive discourse .",
      "handsomely filmed on silvery 35 mm and high-definition by kaye himself , the shrewdly edited pic balances a full spectrum of views from all sides of the abortion debate without obviously taking a position itself .",
      "here 's a fun game you can play : try to guess the political stance of the interviewee before kaye slams their name and affiliation . you 'll be right way more often than you 'll be wrong .",
      "lake wants to break through decades of encrusted rhetoric to make us think again . with one slow reveal of norma mccorvey , a.k.a. ` jane roe , ' the movie upends all you assumed about this subject .",
      "wherever you stand on the volatile issue of abortion , tony kaye 's exhaustive documentary could dislodge your certainties with a broad survey of opinion from opposite extremes and explicit depictions of medical procedures .",
      "along with kay 's masterful compositions , effulgent black and white cinematography elevates the material over typical documentary filmmaking .",
      "viewer opinions about life and death provoked by MOV are not likely to flip , but they sure will get shaken .",
      "highly compelling , if overlong and overwrought .",
      "a monumental achievement , 17 years in the making and financed by kaye himself , MOV reveals kaye to be a far more thoughtful and mature filmmaker than his loose cannon public persona suggests .",
      "for a notoriously ` difficult ' director , kaye turned in a surprisingly even-handed film , and his sensitive treatment of his interview subjects leads to a number of revealing moments .",
      "no matter where you stand on the issue , kaye rattles you .",
      "it still provides viewers with a lot to think about and may even cause them to look at some of those with opposing views on the subject in a new light .",
      "kaye shoots in black and white , a stark reminder of how there is no middle ground when it comes to abortion in america ... and also , perhaps , a bit of a cushion against the authenticity of kaye 's harsh vision .",
      "MOV does n't tell you what to decide , it just gives you as much information as possible to make the choice yourself .",
      "fascinating but unsettling .",
      "most of the footage ... is at least a decade old - and the saddest commentary is that the discussion has n't budged an inch .",
      "the astonishing feat of the documentary MOV is that it takes a topic about which everyone is always telling us what to think and manages to do justice to both sides . or rather , all sides .",
      "for all its provocativeness , MOV is not a shapeless movie , nor a politically irresponsible one .",
      "you may not leave the theater having switched sides , but you 'll probably respect the other side more , and that in itself would be a victory for human life .",
      "hardly seemed like the `` definitive '' film about abortion as it thinks of itself ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV 's engaging interviews and powerful black-and-white visuals make for a riveting and honest documentary about a very controversial topic .",
    "id": "568063654"
  },
  {
    "movie": "10005499-oliver_twist",
    "reviews": [
      "despite the length , you 'll never fault the film 's craftsmanship .",
      "polanski tactfully stays out of charles dickens ' way .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he maddening thing is not just that we hardly need another movie adaptation of -lsb- MOV -rsb- ... but that there are other dickens books that have n't been given the major movie treatment that would better suit polanski 's temperament .",
      "a severely overlooked , exceedingly well-done version of an oft-told tale ... one of the best films of 2005 .",
      "falha ao jamais encontrar um tom adequado para sua narrativa : em certos momentos , é excessivamente infantil ; em outros , sombrio demais .",
      "... respectful without being slavish , nice to look at without ever being breathtaking , well cast and acted without ever deeply engaging our emotions .",
      "`` MOV '' deserves to be recognized as one of the director 's better films .",
      "it 's an impeccable production on a visual level and undeniably a well-made film , but the narrative often lacks the spark to bring it to life .",
      "polanski 's deft adaptation proves that there 's still life in that well-worn story of a boy who beats the odds .",
      "-lrb- roman -rrb- polanski orchestrates this well-worn chestnut with the same high level of expertise that won him an oscar for the pianist in 2002 .",
      "it just might supplant david lean 's 1948 version as the one that students turn to for a 2-hour study guide .",
      "the movie understands what polanski himself knew upon surviving the holocaust -- you take your kindness where you can find it , weighing its price along the way .",
      "polanski 's film is not a bad adaptation , and it may be a fine way to introduce children to the classic story . but it is not exactly a definitive version of that story .",
      "the unspoken sense of youthful post-traumatic holocaust syndrome shock and awe in polanski 's twist is as palpable as the murky stench and appalling human misery of dickens ' chaotic london streets .",
      "with intelligence and style -lrb- inspired by the art of gustave doré and francisco solé -rrb- , polanski makes a rewarding contribution to dickens ' legacy on screen .",
      "probably the thing that polanski 's MOV does best , is deliver the mood of the day",
      "MOV is an affecting and refreshing adaptation of dickens seminal work from a master director .",
      "a smorgasbord of urban decay , social disorder , and class conflict imbues the film with a potent sensuality",
      "polanski has crafted something that already feels like a classic film , beautiful to look at , combining accurate period detail with a certain gothic expressionism and brimming with earthy characters and high drama .",
      "the horrors are comfily buttressed by storybook polish",
      "roman polanski has made some classic films over the years , but this is not one of them .",
      "MOV is a rarity , as far as polanski films go , in that it is just an ok movie .",
      "yet given previous versions ... there ought to be something new here to warrant retelling . there is n't .",
      "... a relatively gentle , even sweet film",
      "enjoyable but not remarkable filmmaking .",
      "technically sound and surprisingly faithful to its source material , roman polanski 's version of MOV comes across as uninspired and flat .",
      "hopefully , this loving adaptation will allow a new generation to discover this masterpiece .",
      "it 's as though polanski had set the story 's foolproof motor on cruise control and left the room ; the tale is well told but told without personality .",
      "please sir , can i have some more ... levity with my poverty and abject misery . this bleak story could benefit from some musical numbers to break up the monotony of sorrow .",
      "a film that 's stately in its production but moves as if walking through thick gruel .",
      "it is something special in these times of incivility to see a protagonist who stands apart from others with his good manners .",
      "it 's irresistible to read his sorrowful and seemingly classical take , from a filmmaker known as much for the schisms in his personal history as for the lurches in his work , as something much more personal and poignant .",
      "any parents thinking of bringing their young kids to this very-hard-pg-13 downer have hereby been warned .",
      "it still stings in unlikely places .",
      "deft direction , solid acting and exemplary production make `` MOV '' a worthy telling of the classic story and are the resounding answer to my ... question : why bother ?",
      "with tact and enthusiasm , roman polanski grabs hold of a great book and rediscovers its true and enduring vitality .",
      "a near-masterpiece .",
      "polanski ... gives `` oliver '' two prominent twists which impart a ` there but for the grace of god go i ' undercurrent ... the specter of the noose hangs heavily over this production",
      "lacking energy and pace and enslaved by a ghastly score , this tepid movie left me longing alternately for david lean 's thrillingly grim 1948 masterpiece , and carol reed 's chipper 1968 sing-along , with pretty tunes by lionel bart .",
      "the roles must have been filled when the casting director was whacked out on prescription cough syrup .",
      "polanski 's film is visually exact and detailed without being too picturesque .",
      "polanski 's twist is a serious and credible movie with a great many virtues -- gorgeous cinematography and an activist zeal chief among them -- but it 's something you watch rather than lose yourself in .",
      "roman polanski 's new version finds the humor in dickens ' story without glossing over the essential point that a society must be judged inhumane if its treatment of its most unfortunate members is not humane .",
      "while -lrb- david -rrb- lean 's '48 twist remains definitive , polanski offers today 's filmgoers a version nearly as rich and evocative .",
      "polanski 's MOV is craftsmanly and relatively unsentimental .",
      "the film is high on production values but short on heart .",
      "seeing polanski 's version of this most dickensian of all charles dickens ' tales , i felt full and wanted no more versions -lrb- please , sir ! -rrb- , having now seen the definitive one .",
      "perhaps it will take a school trip to encourage kids to see MOV , but that 's one permission slip parents should sign .",
      "roman polanski has made a perfectly agreeable and entertaining new MOV .",
      "polanski has given the dickens saga a thrilling epic look .",
      "it 's mannered at times , as you might expect ... but the surprising thing about MOV is how deeply it resonates .",
      "that polanski chose this as the movie he wanted to make for his own children feels motivated by more than a septuagenarian dad 's desire to take a $ 60-million stab at a bedtime story . it feels inspired by a need to tell them who he is .",
      "languid and lifeless , stilted and , above all , surprisingly safe , MOV plods along , its impassive title character being tossed from one cruel fate to another .",
      "you can look at it all and marvel , or recoil in horror at the barbaric exploitation of women and children . but the film remains an arm 's length experience .",
      "polanski 's take will spark debate among dickens lovers , but audiences wo n't respond as warmly as they have to lean 's classic .",
      "polanski delivers an acceptable yet thoroughly uninspiring twist on the orphaned oliver , who gets a raw deal every which way .",
      "polanski 's take on the classic is a dull affair .",
      "polanski seems so intent on ... a grimly elegant big picture that ... he misses the people . oops , except for ben kingsley as fagin , whom he lets run embarrassingly wild .",
      "a work of craft that could be flying the masterpiece theatre banner . you know , an earnestly worthy adaptation of a literary classic , as faithful and polished as it is ponderous and unprovocative .",
      "though some may quibble with the changes polanski and scripter ronald harwood have made to the book , mostly they get it right .",
      "a grounded and unusually matter-of-fact adaptation .",
      "MOV has been done repeatedly on film and tv , but never better than in roman polanski 's beautiful and tough-minded movie .",
      "it 's noble , high-minded and safe , and i ca n't help thinking that i would have preferred an audacious but honest failure .",
      "great expectations are unavoidable when roman polanski takes on a charles dickens classic . alas , his version of MOV fails to live up to them .",
      "as family fare goes , this makes the corpse bride look like chicken little .",
      "in MOV , it 's the viewer who is punished .",
      "engaging , handsomely photographed and beautifully acted , polanski 's MOV , adapted by pianist screenwriter ronald harwood , distinguishes itself from most versions in its decidedly dark tone .",
      "poignant and primal , roman polanski 's splendid adaptation of the charles dickens classic pricks the heart and the conscience .",
      "a movie that 's beautifully acted , with an eye for drab period detail .",
      "beauty and hateful ugliness meet in extraordinary harmony in roman polanski 's MOV , fitting for a story that is a study in obvious contrasts .",
      "it 's not dickens and it 's not david lean , either . this perverse retelling of a classic could only be the work of one filmmaker that i can think of . it 's my boy polanski .",
      "there 's also strong support from harry eden , as well as leanne rowe as the archetypal tart-with-a-heart nancy , whilst jamie foreman -lrb- nasty pieces of work a specialty -rrb- adds another great performance to his rogue 's gallery of cockney villains .",
      "please sir , can we have some less ?",
      "no one said `` i want some more , sir , '' when it comes to film adaptations of the charles dickens classic .",
      "why , oh why , was n't this movie released at christmas time ?",
      "does n't shy away from the text 's alarming elements . they are instead put to good use , adding shadow and texture to the lively , plot-driven story .",
      "polanski is the perfect director for the project .",
      "the sad thing is that this really is a very fine film . yet , at the end of the day , it 's still MOV .",
      "dickens was a better social chronicler than storyteller , and polanski has chosen to adopt that weakness in the interests of utter faithfulness to the text .",
      "okay , i get it . polanski does n't want us to forget his childhood .",
      "this version of twist is a flawless adaptation ; finding the right balance between story and screen . simply enthralling .",
      "as handsomely made , well-acted , dramatically unflinching and heartfelt as it is , polanski 's oliver is a movie more admirable than emotionally affecting .",
      "MOV as presented by roman polanski is pretty much the same as MOV presented by anyone else , except perhaps it 's a bit duller .",
      "polanski 's oliver proves surprisingly uninspired , taking nearly the entire movie before it belatedly springs to life .",
      "with the story lines streamlined and compressed , the whole thing does n't have nearly the emotional heft it probably should .",
      "nitpickers may squawk over missing elements , but the film doggedly hits on the book 's big themes : the power of innocence , the cruelty of class .",
      "MOV is a lovely , tony picture , but it is n't exactly essential .",
      "dickens ' continuing relevance is less a testament to his genius than to the endurance and recurrence of the problems he took as his focus .",
      "the question of why anyone would bother to make another film version of ` MOV ' is not answered by director roman polanski .",
      "the film is worth seeing , but it wo n't hold a cherished place in your moviegoing memories .",
      "polanski could have made oliver as haunting as his 2002 academy award-winning film , the pianist . yet his new effort falls just short .",
      "plods along with the dutiful , near-reverent air of an annual christmas sermon .",
      "where the movie should hurt with an establishment built on dehumanization , it 's stagy and inert .",
      "polanski does what he can with source material that is larger than life .",
      "the strength of the polanski film is its lack of sentimentality . he creates a cold , cruel world where an orphan boy , because of his station in life , has no future .",
      "while the picture is not quite a masterpiece it does carry the stamp of a master filmmaker working at the height of his abilities .",
      "polanski presents a good but not great rendering of dickens ' oft-filmed second novel .",
      "ben kingsley finally recaptures his dignity after the trifecta of awfulness that was thunderbirds , suspect zero , and a sound of thunder .",
      "while roman polanski 's latest version of oliver does n't make any bold new twists , it follows the recipe with great care and features several great performances .",
      "is it worth renting the video sometime in the spring so the little darlings can cheat on their book report ? perhaps , as it 's unusually faithful to the original source .",
      "` MOV ' proves what ` the pianist ' only hinted at-that roman polanski is the world 's most talented paint-by-numbers artist .",
      "the quality of mercy is strained , but by some strange feat it does n't dissolve entirely .",
      "a good-looking production albeit one that is too straightforward and literary .",
      "it is a film where art direction triumphs but genuine art remains elusive .",
      "MOV is n't the nasty affair polanski fans might be hoping for .",
      "though polanski does n't bring a new angle to dickens ' classic , there 's still reason to see his handsome , well-acted production of a tale not seen on the bigscreen in decades",
      "conventional , straightforward and very much within what used to be called the traditional of quality , this handsome film is a respectable literary adaptation but lacks dramatic urgency and intriguing undercurrents .",
      "the spark that an original point of view might bring to the oft-told tale is missing .",
      "a version of `` oliver '' that 's so safe , it 's pretty much a case of baby-sitting .",
      "involving , captivating and nearly note perfect -- in other words , a proper classic .",
      "... a sincere , impeccably crafted retelling of a classic , invigorated by one of our best filmmakers working from a place of obvious passion ...",
      "technically accomplished and frequently engaging .",
      "dickens knew that melodrama answers to something permanent in our nature ; without it , any version of MOV draws perilously close to the genteel .",
      "kingsley 's fagin takes us on a fantastic joyride through the sleazy and disease-ridden 19th century london tenderloin and leaves everybody smiling in the end .",
      "like a classics comic book adaptation of the story -- tasteful , subdued and just a bit dull .",
      "someday , this may even replace cliff notes for the dvd generation .",
      "-lsb- polanski -rsb- takes the dickens that screenwriter ronald harwood has faithfully transcribed and does n't so much bring it to life as turn it into a handsomely mounted still life",
      "a fifth-grade puppet show of MOV would have been more watchable . and far less sickening .",
      "... one of polanski 's safest , least distinctive pictures -- just another tasteful run through a story that 's already too familiar . oh well , at least in this one nobody sings .",
      "polanski and company have proven that , once again , great stories never go out of style .",
      "when was the last time you walked out of a polanski picture talking mostly about the sets and music ?",
      "fails to topple lean 's untoppable version ; still one of the best movies of 2005 . startlingly unemotional , but for the stormy torments behind fagin 's overhanging eyebrows .",
      "the first question i have is , why ? why would roman polanski , one of the most innovative directors of the last half-century , want to adapt a story that has been told again and again ?",
      "the idea of ben kingsley as fagin is such an obvious fit that he is n't surprising , nor are his acting choices",
      "roman polanski 's MOV is probably the most faithful adaptation . but hardly anyone will take notice ; it 's just a tale that 's been told too many times before .",
      "polanski and his pianist scribe ronald harwood have chosen to tell it in as simple a manner as possible , as though they had been given a masterpiece theatre assignment to dispatch .",
      "this is that rare movie version of a great novel in which watching is reading .",
      "polanski 's adult fans deserve something more than a film for the kiddies , and dickens deserves better treatment than merely ` tasteful . '",
      "it 's just as dickens wrote .",
      "is it possible that a film made in 1948 and by david lean could exceed the darkness and controversy of a roman polanski picture ? after watching the newest screen version of MOV , the answer is yes .",
      "drab and unfeeling ."
    ],
    "summary": "polanski 's version of dickens ' classic wo n't have audiences asking for more because while polished and directed with skill , the movie 's a very impersonal experience .",
    "id": "12699"
  },
  {
    "movie": "rise_of_the_planet_of_the_apes",
    "reviews": [
      "the biggest complaint i 'd make is how rise has been marketed . previews make caesar look like he started out a seething ball of simian rage , and that is n't the case .",
      "... one of the most literate science fiction action films in some time .",
      "this is a well made movie , the kind that deserves praise for setting out to do something and doing it very well .",
      "since the only really good planet of the apes movie was the 1968 original with charlton heston , i 've always wondered why filmmakers ca n't just leave well enough alone .",
      "the apes are fun to ride along with at times , but the humans and the overall story are rather bland .",
      "a movie that opens as well as this one does-and draws you in so effectively-ought to have a finale that does n't remind you of cheesy monster movies from years past . on the other hand , the visual effects in are so astonishing that i have to ...",
      "occasionally violent origin story is surprisingly good .",
      "the biggest surprise in a long time simply delivers what it promises and then goes way beyond that to become one of the most memorable summer thrill rides of the last few years .",
      "when MOV gets things right , which is does very often , it 's surprisingly heart-wrenching .",
      "it 's worth it for the ape rampage , but we 're making a devil 's bargain here . thank you for the awesome ape action , and we 'll tolerate the script .",
      "gives contemporary audiences the chance to embrace this cultural phenomenon on their own terms with -lrb- near -rrb- total seriousness and superior special effects .",
      "if you 're a fan of the series , you 'll love it ; if you 're not a fan it may make you one .",
      "save christopher nolan 's `` batman , '' no film so brilliantly reinvigorated a franchise more than this , a thrilling opening act that 's equally captivating and leaves you anxiously awaiting the next installment .",
      "caesar -lsb- the main ape -rsb- is the reason to see this daft , breathless picture .",
      "MOV has some life to it as an action film , but every time anyone opens their mouth , man or beast , you 'll feel like someone figured out a way to sneak in groundbreaking cgi into your middle schooler 's class play .",
      "overall , MOV is intermittently entertaining with a few nice nods to the original series .",
      "the bad news is that whenever this prequel 's cgi apes are n't on-screen , you 're wishing the flesh-and-blood actors would get the hell off !",
      "audacious , violent and disquieting , `` MOV '' is a summer sequel that 's better than it has any right to be .",
      "despite thin human drama , and one note supporting characters , MOV is a surprisingly sincere story that elevates the franchise canon .",
      "despite some pretty glaring plotholes , the combination of astonishing special effects and a tension-filled story makes for a gripping and worthy rebirth for the franchise .",
      "had the second half of `` MOV '' not descended into silliness , perhaps the film would have been a more worthy addition to the apes legacy .",
      "i realise that action movies are n't meant to be realistic but these characters needed to be far more interesting and believable if they were going to draw me in .",
      "... a smart and grown-up science-fiction thriller that honors the name it carries . this suggests a world i 'd want to see more of , and it raises exciting storytelling questions that i hope fox will answer",
      "this is , by some distance , the most exciting action adventure of the year . at just 105 minutes , rise ... shows how you can also make a rounded , full-blooded blockbuster in double quick time to leave audiences wanting more .",
      "a surprising amount of heart comes from our cgi ape . it 's a worthy prequel that makes you excited where the series can go .",
      "the best popcorn of the summer .",
      "takes advantage of the spectacular advance in special effects over the past 40 years but adds little by way of imagination or insight into our appreciation of the original film .",
      "i thought apes in the future were hairy humans with walnut shells for mouths ! these look too much like monkeys . if i want to watch monkeys take over the world i 'll watch the jersey shore .",
      "that a film about an ape revolution could feature one of the most heart-stopping and gasp-inducing cinematic moments of the year means i have to re-evaluate everything i thought i knew about cinema .",
      "rise a worthy addition to apes saga .",
      "caesar finds his own voice but the film never does .",
      "MOV , made smarter by avatar 's dna , knocks all other versions out of the water . you 've never seen anything like these sentient apes .",
      "serkis is possibly the most skilled body actor working in the movies today , but even his subtle skills are eventually overcome by the fact that MOV lacks the basic humanity -lrb- no pun intended -rrb- of the first film .",
      "reinvents the franchise with a bold , exciting , intense and fun new chapter that does right by the brilliant 1968 original film while working spectacularly on its own terms .",
      "the biggest fault here is the premise itself . while not a direct remake , rise covers similar ground to 1972 's conquest of the planet of the apes .",
      "it 's not a bad film . but take whatever money you would have put towards a movie ticket and instead give it to the alzheimer 's association .",
      "despite a lack of conviction in the script , caesar 's origin is still adequately set , so here 's hoping what will follow has a little more to grab your attention .",
      "so good that , digital technology aside , it still manages to achieve the mythic stature of the 1968 original .",
      "consider MOV a belated apology for tim burton 's misbegotten 2001 remake .",
      "created by weta digital and `` played '' by andy serkis , caesar is a cgi triumph , although there 's still an artificiality about the look that keeps the figure at a distance -lrb- personally , i found serkis 's `` performance '' in king kong to be more effective -rrb- .",
      "for 90 minutes , it could be a super-sized hallmark channel flick . the ape revolution teased in the trailer , all 30 minutes of it , is an afterthought . there are scrap-booking conventions with more action .",
      "a well-crafted b movie with astonishingly effective motion capture cgi technology .",
      "even though the producers monkeyed with the original series premise , and you wo n't go ape over what may be a new -- do we really need one ? -- series , this one is n't bad .",
      "rise wears planet 's mask to use 2001 ′ s conceit . in this sense , franco-stein begets a monster worthy of our consideration and viewing pleasure .",
      "director rupert wyatt wisely keeps the scenes busy and the momentum building so that you would barely notice all the logistical nonsense on-screen .",
      "MOV makes for an impressive , if predictably downbeat prequel to a franchise famous for unhappy endings .",
      "andy serkis , who has been at the forefront of mo-cap since portraying gollum in the lord of the rings films , is an automatic oscar snub in waiting post-rise .",
      "this is a genuine evolution in digital film making , matched by a razor sharp script that delivers an apetastic action blockbuster .",
      "this nonsensical tale , by tapping into our most basic emotions , delivers a science fiction movie that makes profound sense , especially right now .",
      "serkis shows his chimp-chops here -lrb- having cut his teeth , so to speak , as king kong -rrb- , conveying everything from fear to forcefulness through his singularly expressive eyes -lrb- hm ... are cg eyes windows xp to the soul ? -rrb- .",
      "... offers one of the richest character arcs i 've seen in quite some time . and i 'm talking about the chimpanzee .",
      "this surprise reboot -- 10 years after the great tim burton bungled the same job -- is surprisingly good .",
      "having gone in with very low expectations , this reviewer was totally blown away by MOV . it might just be the most pleasant shock of 2011 .",
      "you may , like me , skulk into the new `` MOV '' expecting the worst . and you may , like me , be genuinely surprised by where this movie takes you .",
      "if you 're looking for a prequel to the `` planet of the apes '' franchise , you 're not going to do much better than this one .",
      "MOV rises and , at times , even soars - all thanks to what human actors in league with computer technology can now achieve to bring the apes to life .",
      "`` MOV '' does it right . smart , fun and thoroughly enjoyable , it 's a model summer diversion that entertains without insulting your intelligence .",
      "as both a simian simile and a wonder of technology , MOV deserves to be in the company of the great original kong .",
      "the extraordinary star turn by andy serkis raises once again the question of why a superb motion-captured performance is n't eligible for an oscar .",
      "`` MOV '' is first-class entertainment , packed with clever , unsettling and even inspired ideas .",
      "swift and nimble , like the rising ape at its center , `` MOV '' is gratifyingly free of the usual big-budget blockbuster weight and volume .",
      "if you 've ever seen or heard about a `` planet of the apes '' movie , you know where this is leading . but that does n't make the trip any less enjoyable .",
      "its human characters are ciphers , even if the actors include franco , lithgow , brian cox and freida pinto , but its animal rebels are utterly convincing .",
      "up there with some of the best franchise reboots ; anyone seeing it , whether they 're a fan of the previous movies or not , will leave it hoping it does well enough to warrant more .",
      "the action scenes -lrb- particularly a battle between humans and apes on the golden gate bridge -rrb- are inventively spectacular , and the story at the movie 's core is evocative and engaging .",
      "like an old-school science-fiction flick , the film is surprisingly character driven until a final rousing action sequence , and that 's all to the good .",
      "i did find it a surprisingly agreeable afternoon 's entertainment .",
      "distinguishes itself from other ill-conceived reboots in general , and from tim burton 's disastrous 2001 remake in particular , by looking with fresh , simian eyes at its core conflict between human and primates .",
      "in what is easily one of the better films of the year , director rupert wyatt , with a first-rate screenplay , melds thrills with wit and state-of-the-art special effects to create a flick you 're ready to watch again as soon as it ends .",
      "there is no reason for this movie to exist .",
      "the familiar contagion plotline prevents the film from achieving the allegorical charm or cautionary impact of the 1968 original .",
      "the film has a hackneyed `` the-bad-guys-are-us '' plot on which to hang some interesting special effects .",
      "rarely has a story about the end of the world seemed so boring .",
      "a sharp critique of human nature from the standpoint of our closest relative , the chimpanzee who comes off as much more civilized than those who maintain prisons , zoos , and fight wars against weak and defenseless nations .",
      "andy serkis once again gives a master class in expressive , nuanced , powerful physical acting .",
      "this is a great summer movie , spectacular in its realisation , yet resonant in its themes .",
      ". . cannibalizes famous images and lines from all the `` apes '' flicks , which is cute until the evident lack of new ideas becomes tiresome .",
      "... serkis as a digital acting pioneer , brings real heart and soulfulness to what would have otherwise been just another special effect .",
      "fans of the saga should find this pre-story compelling enough . the technology overseen by joe letteri , a four-time oscar winner , makes this film a standout .",
      "the chase sequences , with apes fleeing from man , and vice versa , are thrillingly accompanied by an original musical score from patrick doyle .",
      "if you 've been underwhelmed by many of summer 2011 's big event movies , treat yourself to one that actually exceeds all expectations .",
      "the technology and performances that bring the apes to life make the film a must-see for any modern movie fan , but it 's the emotion and humanity of caesar 's story that makes the film a must-see for any movie fan at all .",
      "not your average blockbuster cash-grab .",
      "the `` apes '' version of the star trek reboot . yes , it 's that good .",
      "some ambitious and clever stuff going on here gets cut down by some awkward choices , economic limitations , and a mostly wasted group of human actors .",
      "MOV is like many summer movies -- once you get on their wave length , they 're a hoot . but you have to accept the bumpy amusement ride .",
      "a worthy , exciting , emotional addition to the venerable monkey movie marathon . apes will rise . sequels are likely .",
      "this seventh film in the planet of the apes series rises to such ridiculous heights , it 's impossible not to laugh out loud -- in a good way , in appreciation .",
      "` i want the apes to win ! ' my husband whispered to me during the last battle sequence -- and i felt the same way . still , i hope no humans were hurt during the filming of this exciting movie .",
      "a sort of `` how did they get so brainy '' backstory , ` rise ' disposes of the allegorical trappings and nuclear armageddon theory of the original ... now we identify with the ape army as organized and led by caesar .",
      "a frequently thrilling , emotionally resonate reboot that takes advantage of today 's vibrant motion capture technology to help articulate the complexity burning within these damn dirty apes .",
      "... a fine start to a promising new series ...",
      "the central problem with MOV is that it feels more like a piece of something larger than a complete motion picture .",
      "the last of this summer 's ` origin ' stories may be one of the best ... it 's action-packed yet compassionate , highly recommended as escapist entertainment .",
      "either make the apes ' progression of power intense and frightening or ridiculous and fun . trying for both does n't work .",
      "something a caged chimp might fling at zoo visitors .",
      "wyatt 's version , scripted by rick jaffa and amanda silver -lrb- who previously teamed for the relic -rrb- , pays tribute to the original series without being bound by it .",
      "one never knows exactly where the human ends and the effects begin , but serkis and/or caesar gives the best performance in the movie .",
      "an odd blend of silly popcorn entertainment and sometimes startling poignancy .",
      "wyatt ... keeps the action compelling whether focusing on apes as they run amok or as they quietly contemplate their next move .",
      "this is paced like a drama , not a popcorn movie ; it 's full of quiet moments of reflection and it takes its time in laying some very clever subplots that pay off brilliantly .",
      "perfectly positioning its blockbuster action within a thought-provoking framework , this smart and emotionally involving sci-fi drama deserves its own string of sequels .",
      "in the oeuvre of planet of the apes pics - four sequels to the original , and the 2001 tim burton-directed remake - rise is certainly not the most interesting , nor the most inventive . but it 's not risible , either .",
      "this movie has a brain in its head . it 's in the script , it 's in the pacing and , heaven knows , it is there in the technology .",
      "everything burton 's movie was n't -- smart , exciting and thought-provoking , while operating in the realm of the movies ' great misunderstood monsters .",
      "an excellent post-modern meditation on animal rights and human complicity in the continuing fulfillment/failure of same",
      "this by-the-numbers prequel that looks set to re-launch fox 's ape-supremacy franchise removes some of the stink left by tim burton 's misbegotten remake but does n't bring anything new to the mythology .",
      "caesar 's prison conversion to charismatic pan-ape revolutionist is near-silent filmmaking , with simple and precise images illustrating caesar 's general-like divining of personalities and his organization of a group from chaos to order .",
      "MOV is spectacle with a kick : the transcendence of the normal in creatures so like ourselves is both an entertainment and a needling rebuke to human vanity .",
      "the original centered itself around some weighty ideas involving race , politics , and social class . those same ideas may exist here , but director wyatt does n't really care .",
      "precuela innecesaria y obvia , en la que nuestra suspensión de la incredulidad se verá desafiada no pocas veces . en una película donde no hay lugar para grandes actuaciones , la mejor labor actoral es , por supuesto , la del mono .",
      "the movie is most compelling when it thinks about the ape and the human 's likeness -lrb- and so critiques racism and speciesism -rrb- , when cesar and will face each other or respond to one another .",
      "it stays true to the central metaphor of the original films and takes its time setting the story up so that when the apes finally do run amok , we are totally invested in the story .",
      "a reasonably muscular popcorn film with a surprisingly tender soul .",
      "there are plot holes to contend with and a handful of potential jump-the-shark moments , but the smart ending and stunning golden gate bridge stand-off ensure you leave on a high .",
      "o james franco kai h freida pinto me thn ekplhktikh ikanothta na xanontai sto fonto ws glastres , einai idanikoi apo to casting akoma",
      "suficientemente bem realizado para năo envergonhar a série clássica e ainda nos apresenta ŕquele que , ao lado de zira e cornelius , talvez seja um de seus personagens símios mais tocantes , complexos e memoráveis .",
      "sporadically profound , not unlike a riff on the `` dawn of man '' chapter from 2001 : a space odyssey .",
      "surprisingly effective , even though its ape characters are a lot more interesting than the human ones .",
      "the best part of the movie is the detailed and believable graphics .",
      "it moves in such a doggedly straight line towards its inevitable conclusion that they might as well have a clock in the corner of the screen counting down to the big rise .",
      "`` it 's incredibly touching ... it 's what summer blockbusters should be ... andy serkis deserves an award ! ''",
      "faced with the horror of half-assed material from which he ca n't escape , james franco allows himself to be steamrolled by his pet monkey .",
      "fully realised and well-executed prequel to the evolutionary time disaster that is planet of the apes .",
      "even when it 's not at its best , rise ... is at least a diverting science-fiction movie ; at it 's best , it 's some of the most fun to be had in a theater this summer .",
      "a feel-good flick which proves that primates are people , too !",
      "precisely the kind of summer diversion that the studios have such a hard time making now . it 's good , canny-dumb fun .",
      "... very nearly close to completely awesome , and is the best sci-fi blockbuster of the summer , in a walk , even .",
      "MOV has some aces up its furry sleeve , most of all an eerie , motion-capture performance by andy serkis -lrb- the screen 's immortal gollum -rrb- as caesar , this film 's rebel ape leader .",
      "a taut , emotionally satisfying origin story that may not be as action-packed as its fellow summer tentpoles but is far more rewarding .",
      "MOV may be my favorite summer popcorn movie .",
      "the scenes in which caesar carries out his plans , showing more brains than many a human character in summer blockbusters , are gratifying .",
      "a sci-fi thriller that touches the heart and is sure to create many new and enthusiastic animal activists .",
      "like caesar , this entertaining picture rises to the occasion and resoundingly exceeds expectations .",
      "`` MOV '' is a smartly directed film that sits squarely on the shoulders of andy serkis .",
      "after a summer spent sitting through hours and hours of artless geek-pandering , what a joy to see a movie - a real movie - a * movie * movie .",
      "after more than two months of superheroes and giant robots , it is nice to have a science fiction/fantasy film that thinks it 's a drama .",
      "should be commended for following the apocalyptic plot threads to their logical destination .",
      "the notion that in spite of superior numbers and weapons humanity is doomed against spear throwing apes is just ludicrous .",
      "a reminder that the most valuable special effects are the ones that convey a soul hiding behind artificial eyes .",
      "serkis delivers a tour de force performance as the lead chimp -lrb- full content parental review also available -rrb-",
      "has plenty of b-movie kick . that 's a good thing .",
      "i could describe MOV as escape from alcatraz , except with apes , but that would make it sound like a movie you might actually want to see .",
      "conjured through the ever-expanding magic of performance-capture technology , the apes are easily the most compelling elements of apes .",
      "while it 's got problems , it 's a film to whet the appetite for the planned sequel .",
      "the reboot attacks pierre boulle 's concept with straightforward flair , taking it to its logical conclusion - or , in this case , origin . a smart , contemplative movie bound neither by the conventions of the science fiction genre or action/adventure tropes .",
      "one of the ten best films of 2011 , and the year 's best popcorn movie .",
      "... one of the better movies of the summer .",
      "surprises at all corners with characters we can care about who transcend the illusion of cgi most of the time ...",
      "the substance of the film is simply mesmerising : the way in which it prioritises story over spectacle , saying so much without explicit over-statement is a triumph , and it is for good reason that it is one of my picks for best film at next year 's oscars .",
      "thanks to the eye-popping performance-capture technology developed for avatar and another astonishing primate performance by andy serkis , rise puts across its fantasy so convincingly that you 're swept away - and chilled - as the story unfolds .",
      "whilst it sometimes suffers from feeling like the first chapter in a much longer story , this is a fun and intelligent re-imagining of a classic movie .",
      "only in a world where james franco portrays will rodman , a brilliant biochemist working for a pharmaceutical company , can apes get the best of mankind .",
      "it may not be the best film of 2011 , but it 's certainly one of the best sci fi films of the year , and easily one of the best sequels/prequels in the last several years .",
      "probably the year 's best sci-fi effort thus far !",
      "the film does n't try to take on the quasi-political undertones of the 1968 original , but it makes its own case as a personalized science fiction drama .",
      "that rare summer movie that has brains and emotion in addition to the spectacle .",
      "it 's just an apes-on-the-rampage creature feature , with a decent setup , a wobbly second act , and a glorified-videogame urban-action payoff .",
      "contrary to all previous live-action `` apes '' movies , this one forgoes humans in makeup for full-on cgi animals , and the results are surprisingly solid .",
      "rises above its dramatic deficits , boosts the collective iq of this summer 's movies and swings into flights of kinetic fantasy that blow the collective mind .",
      "far better than one might expect with exciting action and a memorable hero in caesar . the premise is clever enough to entertain longtime apes fans while also giving a new generation a great introduction to planet of the apes lore .",
      "with its skillful blend of live action and motion-capture technology , it 's a handsomely made prequel to familiar monkey business .",
      "it is not what could be fairly called a bad movie , but neither is it fine enough to be a good one , with its lineup of dull characters and a limp story that functions like a conveyor belt .",
      "the first half -lrb- presumably where most of the narrative scenes were excised -rrb- is frustratingly arrhythmic ; more satisfying is the ape revolution of the final half-hour , a scary and deftly handled passage .",
      "the movie does a fine job of making one actively root for the apes to win .",
      "a story that only gets moving when it 's about to wrap up .",
      "wyatt 's put himself solidly on the map with this prequel so successfully he leaves us wanting more . the planet of the apes has indeed risen .",
      "a tight , beautifully made if rather predictable background yarn ... that does the obvious well even if it lacks the imagination to go beyond it .",
      "with weta 's work and andy serkis ' performance , ` MOV ' is one of the most thrilling films of the year .",
      "perverse , terrifying , hilarious in exactly the right way ; smart enough , emotional enough , and at the end uniquely satisfying in any number of hard-to-quantify ways .",
      "bold , gripping , and a little loony - a summer blockbuster even peta can love .",
      "it is easily the best american movie of this corrupted summer .",
      "it 's faint praise to say that this is the best of the `` planet of the apes '' movies , because the evolution of special effects and makeup was predictable . but the unexpected strength of the film is its heart .",
      "a terrifyingly shocking ground-breaking piece of cinema with great heart and action . somebody please give andy serkis an academy award !",
      "what is n't here are any of the joys of the classic film .",
      "was franco high when he signed on for this when animals attack ! - on-cgi-steroids catastrophe ?",
      "the running time is efficient , the direction is clean , the story is simple but resonant , the effects are understated yet impressive , and the near-wordless star of the show puts on an acting clinic .",
      "the special effects that create the apes are some of the most impressive ever put on screen .",
      "by far the best entry in the franchise since the original film .",
      "despite a few plot holes , and some goofy shout-outs to the 1968 original , rise is a rock-solid summer blockbuster . the weta effects work , coupled with andy serkis 's mo-cap performance as caesar make this a must-see .",
      "some of the best special effects i have seen in 20 years .",
      "writers rick jaffa and amanda silver clearly spent more time squeezing in nods to the previous apes films than they did establishing clear motivations for caesar 's actions .",
      "if this film is remembered , it wo n't be for its storyline , which reverts to cliché a bit too often as it approaches its climax , but for its eye-popping integration of live-action and movie magic . just as the geniuses ...",
      "this fun , entertaining prequel , told from the ape 's pov , is a modern ` call of the wild , ' highlighted by extraordinary performance capture technology .",
      "strong action , special effects and by far the most credible ape `` performances '' yet seen will spell box office to inspire chest-thumping in all markets .",
      "if the concept of the film does n't interest you , i reckon you should take a punt : you 'll be very nicely surprised at just how good it is .",
      "it 's an eye-popping , involving summer movie that manages to layer thoughtful substance with the lively action .",
      "the summer 's most enjoyable blockbuster .",
      "the special effects , from the team behind avatar , are mind-blowing , and easily distract from the muddied morals of a script that asks only vague questions about man playing god .",
      "wyatt does a remarkable job of transferring the low-budget grip of his -lrb- literally -rrb- breakout flick the escapist to the free-wheeling spirit of the summer blockbuster .",
      "hugely entertaining sci-fi thriller that 's both exciting and genuinely moving , thanks to a strong script , flawless special effects work and a typically terrific motion-capture performance from andy serkis as caesar .",
      "MOV is n't exactly a horrible movie , but it fails to live up to the expectations it sets up for itself .",
      "this latest installment in the franchise is a near-perfect blockbuster that provides a myriad of visual and cerebral treats to devour .",
      "the motion-capture technology is fantastic . the reboot is worthy and i 'm looking forward to a long franchise .",
      "sweet fragrant bananas , MOV is a blast .",
      "the real stars of the movie are the cgi artists who have brought caesar and the other primates to life .",
      "the filmmakers seem to have spent so much attention and , presumably , money on getting the primates right that they completely forgot about the people .",
      "with simulated simians authentic enough to make project nim look almost phoney , allied to an involving , evolving story , rise is the planet we 've been waiting for .",
      "one of the longest advertisements for peta i 've seen since 101 dalmatians . only , you know , not nearly as much fun .",
      "suggests an incipient posthumanism in more senses than one ... both compelling and troubling in a way that reminds me of the history channel series `` life after people . ''",
      "the first film in the franchise to even pretend to match the brilliance of the 1968 original .",
      "marginal effects and a laughable story .",
      "take the `` rise '' in the title `` MOV '' to heart . as in , rising action .",
      "they probably should have called it `` beneath the dignity of the planet of the apes , '' but `` MOV '' is tolerable if you 'll just keep in mind that the original feature was an overachieving b-movie .",
      "an unwanted but surprisingly awesome film .",
      "this really is a very enjoyable film : suspenseful and involving ...",
      "`` MOV '' is this summer 's best popcorn flick .",
      "a very pleasant surprise .",
      "rise may be one of the best surprises this summer , a taut blockbuster with a real heart .",
      "this whole series has gotten out of hand ...",
      "MOV is an impressive action movie - providing excellent , and far from mindless , entertainment - and a technological marvel .",
      "caesar then gets bigger and crankier . he must choose , as a final career option , between maximum-security retirement or world-changing multi-ape mayhem atop the golden gate bridge . take a guess . show me some ape stuff that 's new and surprising .",
      "weta digital 's effects work on the apes , especially caesar 's face , is unobtrusively marvellous , laying icky memories of the tim burton one to merciful rest .",
      "a relatively modest b-movie bolstered by a-grade technical wizardry .",
      "he came , he saw , he conquered : caesar is a wholly convincing lead , he just needs a more satisfying story . roll on the sequel .",
      "the special effects , the acting & especially andy serkis make this the most believable `` apes '' movie yet",
      "it 's almost as if all the previous planet of the apes movies had never existed .",
      "the opening salvo in the inevitable war between apes and humans is exhilarating , smartly executed , action-packed and loaded with sympathetic simian underdogs .",
      "-lsb- n -rsb- ary a bit of snark here . jokiness and hokeyness have been genetically engineered away , leaving something pure and sweet and poignant , a throwback to the humanist science fiction of the late 1960s and early 1970s . this is more charly than heston .",
      "a dramatic , tense and edgy work which poses a few moral questions and dilemmas",
      "this sci-fi fantasy is a dramatic oomphy affair that begins with a small thing : the rescue of a baby chimp , and ends ... well , you will need to see the movie ... director rupert wyatt pulls everything together beautifully",
      "a creature feature of disappointing stupidity , MOV replaces the sociopolitical underpinnings of the original film and its sequels with a limp warning about the evils of animal testing .",
      "tthe movie has some plot-point missteps . but it seldom puts the brakes on a story that moves toward a furious ape-human rumble , not in a jungle , but atop the golden gate bridge .",
      "pass the bananas .",
      "these scenes of mayhem leave you looking forward to the next film more than savouring this one .",
      "MOV could have been a great film ... if it was n't so uneven .",
      "-lsb- h -rsb- alf good and half bad , and the primary dividing line is by genus .",
      "a performance by andy serkis as caesar that is one of the most remarkable in cinematic history ... if this is n't award-winning work , then the definition of `` award-winning '' needs to be re-thought",
      "a surprisingly nasty -lrb- in a good way -rrb- franchise reboot that comes closer than any prior pota film to being a full-on horror movie .",
      "a shrewd , entertaining , and even thoughtful film that is easily the best apes film since the original",
      "it 's a fantastic reboot of the franchise ; warm , thrilling , and exceedingly human .",
      "this movie is a worthy claimant to the simian throne and the rare summer blockbuster that gets more , not less , fun as it goes along .",
      "the summer 's biggest surprise ... mines a well-worn property for pure blockbuster thrills and startling emotional depth .",
      "i kind of enjoyed `` MOV '' despite its evident silliness and the fact that nobody 's likely to remember it three weeks from now .",
      "takes advantage of the latest technological wizardry to deliver a thrilling action adventure that does n't skimp on heartbreaking emotion .",
      "a must-see movie and one that deserves a sequel . step away , tim burton .",
      "although the cg started out a little shaky , andy serkis and his motion capture work quickly won me over as caesar aged . i completely forgot i was n't watching a real ape take everything over . in fact , he became my favorite character .",
      "wyatt proves himself a highly skilled action merchant , packing the film with dynamic , sometimes disorienting camera movements and coming up with some memorable imagery ...",
      "as a summer blockbuster MOV wo n't regenerate any brain-cells , but it does n't forget a sense of humanity while delivering its package of thrills .",
      "here it is , the coolest end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it movie i 've seen in a long time , with not an alien in sight .",
      "while 2011 's MOV does n't achieve the near-classic quality of 1968 's original planet of the apes , it 's close .",
      "... while it has its moments of silliness , the central premise of `` it 's not nice to fool mother nature '' is well developed .",
      "MOV is an ethically rich blockbuster about evolution , revolution , animal rights and science madness , told through game changing vfx wizardry sure to make viewers go ape .",
      "an enormous share of the credit can be taken by weta digital and their brilliant cgi ape creations , which come across as living breathing entities with actual personalities .",
      "despite narrative flaws , this is the most entertaining spectacle-adventure of the summer , boasting a splendid performance from andy serkis , this time as star ."
    ],
    "summary": "led by rupert wyatt 's stylish direction , some impressive special effects , and a mesmerizing performance by andy serkis , MOV breathes unlikely new life into a long-running franchise .",
    "id": "771041147"
  },
  {
    "movie": "finding_vivian_maier",
    "reviews": [
      "filled with wonderful examples of her art , alongside interviews with her former employers and the now-grown children once in her charge , the movie is a testimony to the value of maier 's work and to the unending strangeness of human personality .",
      "something of a revelation - or rather , a series of revelations - about a unique individual who collected wonderfully observed images of people on her camera as if to make up for not collecting any in her actual life .",
      "a character study wrapped in a detective story that serves as a sly bit of self-promotion to boot .",
      "whether or not you can justify viewing maier 's work without her consent , it 's pretty clearly not okay to rummage through her personal life just to satisfy a tawdry curiosity .",
      "an extraordinary examination of a remarkable photographer , part portrait unraveled by meticulous detective work , part sharp criticism of the hidebound art establishment .",
      "MOV is not without its frustrations . and that , we suspect , is exactly what she would have wanted .",
      "MOV is a tantalising and utterly fascinating film but one which ca n't ever quite explain the mystery of maier .",
      "a fascinating story which continues to raise more questions than it answers .",
      "despite its flaws , the film should be seen , if only for the chance to experience maier 's stunning photographs .",
      "a strangely haunting tale of a life quietly slipping away unnoticed .",
      "an aptly obsessive study of obsession .",
      "a sleekly assembled and intriguing project , if clearly a very commercial proposition .",
      "an exciting electric current of discovery runs through `` MOV , '' a documentary about a street photographer who never exhibited her work .",
      "this consistently intriguing doc reveals a woman who was eccentric , abrasive and soulful . maier may still be an enigma , but those riddles have now been developed into a fascinating picture .",
      "the movie 's true power comes from her images , by turns melancholy , sympathetic , funny and sharp .",
      "this is less a portrait of an artist as a young woman than a psychological evaluation of a slippery subject .",
      "was she the emily dickinson of photos or the anti-mary poppins ? this fascinating film reveals a lot about maier 's rich photos & glimpses at her bizarre , hidden personality .",
      "maloof -lrb- a very aggravating onscreen presence -rrb- tries way too hard to force maier 's genius down our throat : his outrage at the snootily dismissive art-world establishment , however genuine , comes off like a childish tantrum .",
      "haunting and powerful despite its boilerplate documentary form ...",
      "a documentary about the reclusive photographer vivian maier that is a bit weird and wonderful .",
      "maier 's life tells us one thing : great photographers always show themselves in their work , even if they never show their work .",
      "driven by a genuinely consuming curiosity , taking delight in excavating hitherto unavailable information about a creative enigma whom , perhaps , would rather remain that way .",
      "this is a film that starts out being about an unknown artist and ends up being about something more complex and challenging : a person .",
      "absolutely fascinating doco about the secret life of vivian maier , a plain-looking chicago nanny who secretly took hundreds of thousands of street photographs during her life without telling or showing anyone .",
      "the filmmakers have done a grand job of tracking down everyone who crossed paths with maier , and their stories piece together a compelling portrait of a unique and vital talent .",
      "this is a superb job of journalism by maloof , who went to great lengths to bring us this story . both the story of vivian maier and the images she created are fascinating .",
      "an absorbing , fascinating and ethically complex film that questions whether an artist 's personal life should be open for exploration .",
      "but perhaps the most compelling mystery of all : why-except for a meagre attempt at selling her landscapes for postcards in europe-did she never ` push ' her art into the world ?",
      "revealing documentary about an utterly inscrutable eccentric artist .",
      "as the title of the film hints , maloof 's discovery is only half of the story -- and it 's only half the fun .",
      "a penetrating doc about a photographer who became a celebrity only after her death .",
      "something like a cross between stories we tell ... and frank ... MOV is an exquisite portrait of an almost-lost icon .",
      "that maier turned out to be a mystery woman who went to great lengths to conceal the details of her life only further motivated maloof , and what he found makes for riveting viewing .",
      "nothing , and no one , makes a better case for the unveiling of maier 's work than her pictures themselves .",
      "the film leaves some uncomfortable questions about the ethics of posthumous fame .",
      "downbeat and inconclusive , but likeable all the same .",
      "the life intrigues ; the art endures .",
      "this is a fascinating study .",
      "an intriguing look at a lost voice .",
      "MOV is one of those fascinating documentaries that unearths an unknown artist and in a slow reveal creates a tantalising and ambiguous picture of the `` missing '' person .",
      "although ms maier -lrb- or ms mayer , or ms meyer , or even ms smith , depending on what name she was using at the time -rrb- remains an enigma , there is still plenty in this film to keep you planted in your seat .",
      "MOV is an intriguing study of vivian maier -- a woman who was part artist and part dumpster diver .",
      "a penetrating exploration of the link between art and obsession and a major discovery of a 20th-century master .",
      "takes form as both an unfolding mystery and a portrait of an artist 's mind -lrb- often a terrifying and fascinating place -rrb- .",
      "a filmmaker 's labor of love about a woman whose oddly secretive artistic career seems to have been a labor of love as well .",
      "the holes in the story are papered over with such beautiful photographs that few viewers could complain .",
      "hers is a sad story , but the fact that she never received recognition during her lifetime is n't part of its sadness .",
      "this must-see but ultimately problematic film offers a portrait of a truly rare figure : a modern master who escapes obscurity by chance , while also being guilty of mythmaking .",
      "if nothing else , `` MOV '' urges us not to hide our own lights under a bushel .",
      "there are no easy answers here which is what makes ` MOV ' such a compelling film .",
      "a film that leaves a large part of its subject 's mystery gratifyingly intact .",
      "a portrait of an american artist hiding in plain sight , a mystery with too few clues , and a sincere inquiry into how best to divine the wishes of the dead .",
      "slickly shot and edited by aaron wickenden , its more than 40 amazingly forthcoming interview subjects include acclaimed photographers joel meyerwitz and mary ellen mark .",
      "a good mystery tale to tell of a governess in the suburban chicago area .",
      "if only maloof and siskel had focused less on gossipy psychological guesswork , and more on maier 's art , this could 've been a documentary worthy of its towering subject .",
      "... a highly enjoyable film , but there 's a voyeuristic edge to it that bothers me .",
      "one of the first great documentaries of the year .",
      "as incredible as the photographs are and as intriguing as maier 's background is , the film left me feeling uneasy about the manner in which her life and work is being exploited .",
      "examines the strange life of a gifted street photographer",
      "every time one of her photos flashes on the screen , the woman 's genius is undeniable .",
      "who does n't love a story about an undiscovered genius ?",
      "this may be the most pleasurable 83 minutes you will spend in a theater this year .",
      "maier 's work , interspersed throughout the film , lets us hear her voice : an array of faces gazing at us , meeting her camera , creating a tiny moment in time .",
      "the film functions best as an introduction to her work , which is what matters , and an invitation to see more of it , which is highly recommended .",
      "MOV is a find in more ways than one .",
      "the movie illustrates that baffling conundrum of the difference between great works of art and an artist with a seriously flawed character .",
      "will open your eyes to a rare talent .",
      "it 's a useful introduction to maier 's professional achievements , but the film really stands out thanks to the exhaustive interviews .",
      "through dogged research and interviews with the -lrb- now-grown -rrb- children maier cared for , along with their parents -lrb- including phil donahue -rrb- , a profile emerges , and it 's fascinating .",
      "this is an amazing tale , and maloof has labored mightily to flesh it out . he 's almost as odd as maier was .",
      "maier had that unique ability to capture , in an image , an entire world , one that takes far more than a thousand words to tell .",
      "MOV treats maier 's background as a puzzle that doubles as self-promotion , supporting her photographs with an amazing story that gives them context-and -lsb- ... -rsb- stokes more interest in her work .",
      "an unlikely tale , well told .",
      "not a composition of the late , secretive chicago photographer vivian maier is askew or amiss in her vast , breathtaking , even thrilling body of street photography , of which the public has only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg .",
      "everyone loves a mystery and maloof has presented one , doggedly following leads to create an artful portrait in half shadow .",
      "is maloof a guardian of art or an opportunist ? MOV makes a case for both arguments , concluding the documentary on a sour note of manipulation .",
      "more connect-the-dots detective thriller than traditional doc , john maloof and charlie siskel 's revelatory riddle of a film unmasks a brilliant photographer who hid in plain sight for decades",
      "the portrait maloof and siskel assemble here from the scant information available suggests that her fanatical privacy was the darkroom in which her distinctive artistic personality was developed .",
      "the movie does nearly everything right in its chosen , compact , 83-minute form .",
      "is it possible to love the art but disagree with the way it 's presented ?",
      "directors john maloof and charlie siskel do a lot with what they have -- but they also had a lot to work with .",
      "completely captivating doc about the most undiscovered of real artists",
      "maier is a great artist who discounted adulation entirely . her life was a masquerade ; her genius , quite literally , was unexposed .",
      "several self-photos -lrb- not to be confused with selfies -rrb- , the stills included in ` MOV ' are indeed electric .",
      "a self-styled outsider artist comes into focus in MOV , a striking documentary undertaken after one of its directors bought a nondescript box of photo negatives at a garage sale .",
      "maier may not have been pleased that the world now knows about her , but `` MOV '' persuasively argues that the world of photography is the better for it .",
      "maloof 's vibrancy and wide-eyed curiosity for vivian 's work is incredibly affecting and pierces through the screen .",
      "maloof and co-director charlie siskel peel back her layers , allowing us to see where her creative universe came from , how she functioned , what she made .",
      "most revealing are the interviews with the now-grown kids who were in maier 's care , who accompanied her as she made trips from their suburban homes to often-dodgy areas of chicago so she could take photos .",
      "what we find out about maier , revealed in self-portraits as a striking woman with a singular sense of self , is fascinating .",
      "self-taught and roaming free in the city , vivian maier captured the remarkable in the ordinary ."
    ],
    "summary": "narratively gripping , visually striking , and ultimately thought-provoking , MOV shines an overdue spotlight on its subject 's long-hidden brilliance .",
    "id": "771362199"
  },
  {
    "movie": "born_into_brothels",
    "reviews": [
      "the glimpses we see of them and their all-too-knowing interactions with their hellish surroundings are somehow both too much , and not nearly enough .",
      "filmmakers zana briski and ross kauffman find intermittent beauty without pushing our sentimental buttons . but the title promises more than the movie delivers .",
      "it brings us to a place we 'd never see otherwise , gives us a poignant lesson in the difficulties of saving those who seem doomed , and reminds us how beauty can exist even in the ugliest of places and circumstances .",
      "before our eyes , briski confronts and answers questions of exploitation that can shadow profilers of the downtrodden .",
      "this is the kind of film that reminds you of what movies , at their best , are capable of .",
      "while this moving , hopeful documentary is credited to briski and partner ross kaufman , its most touching moments come directly from the lenses of the kids themselves .",
      "it may sound like the most prehistoric of clichés , but briski and kaufman 's astonishing documentary confirms that art feeds the soul .",
      "some of these images will stay with you , seared into your mind , dispatches from a desperate world that will break your heart .",
      "will break your heart , then warm it up and leave you with that 7-up longing to know what happens next to zana 's kids .",
      "a documentary that changed the lives both of subjects and filmmakers , it will reorder the worldview of whoever sees it .",
      "borne of tragedy and working with unflagging energy to triumph over the odds .",
      "a moving testament to the good one person can do .",
      "the movie is a record by well-meaning people who try to make a difference for the better , and succeed to a small degree while all around them the horror continues unaffected .",
      "it 's beautifully photographed and , thanks to its subject matter , sometimes intensely moving .",
      "an inspiring look at some extraordinary children in calcutta 's red light district , MOV may be too pleasing and life affirming for its own good .",
      "the drama lies in watching -lsb- the children 's -rsb- artistic educations sharpen their sense of self , change the way they observe the world , and affect their painful , squalid environment .",
      "as a challenge to the accepted conventions of the genre and an active questioning of the role of the documentary filmmaker , it is fascinating .",
      "heroism can come in subtle forms . this is one of them .",
      "an account of a random act of kindness more than it is an exposé of the red-light district ... kauffman and briski illuminate the potential and promise inherent in any child .",
      "this low-tech , buoyant , yet often heartbreaking film is miracle enough on its own terms , full of surprises and tragic reminders that many kids are robbed of their dreams and promise by exploitative forces .",
      "a well-intentioned idealistic look at a group of oppressed children in calcutta 's red-light district .",
      "-lsb- the filmmakers ' -rsb- approach to the material makes it palatable , but a grittier style would have added depth and power .",
      "an absorbing journey over gritty social terrain , driven by a fierce sense of purpose",
      "this bond of trust between the filmmakers and their subjects exemplifies the kind of personal involvement that many documentary makers are striving for these days .",
      "as bright as a box of new crayons , and just as full of creative potential , these children give us vibrant pictures of hope in the midst of oppression .",
      "in the end , you ca n't help but wonder exactly what it was you 've just seen . a hard-hitting exposé ? voyeuristic slumming ? a true tale of triumph , against all odds ? a self-aggrandizing , vanity biopic ? some new type of reality film?perhaps all of the above .",
      "profundamente comovente e trágico , apesar de suas óbvias falhas estruturais e % u2013 o mais grave % u2013 de pisar em um terreno instável em seu aspecto ético .",
      "the children themselves are mostly upbeat and often happy . at the same time , they have an adult-like realization that their lives are likely to be short , and grim .",
      "every thinking adult should see this compelling oscar-nominated documentary .",
      "MOV simmers with righteous anger , but it never boils over .",
      "a success , though it is flat in its pacing and a bit self-congratulatory in awkward moments .",
      "meeting these young people reminds us that victimized children can be reached , maybe because they 're too young to see themselves as victims .",
      "beautifully filmed , and devoid of the kind of patronizing beneficence that first worlders often bring to the third world .",
      "MOV is great humanitarianism , but it 's not great filmmaking .",
      "this is a film about our world that deserves the attention and the audience that michael moore 's films command .",
      "it represents a certain kind of missionary zeal that i find troubling -- more accurately , distasteful .",
      "born of genuine research and a desire to shine light into the darkness , as all great documentaries must .",
      "heartwarming , heartbreaking and , finally , deeply haunting .",
      "a documentary full of hope . that , in our humble opinion , is worth the price of admission .",
      "if the tone of this oscar-nominated documentary is sometimes overly voyeuristic or self-congratulatory , these are minor faults compared with the moving spectacle of kids coming to know themselves .",
      "briski gives herself too much screen time , making sure we see how tirelessly she fights to give the kids educational opportunities , health care and group photo exhibits at swank manhattan galleries .",
      "the film and the photos taken by the children are full of images that touch a range of emotion from inspiring , to laughter to tears ... as beautiful as it is heartbreaking .",
      "watching such a powerful , heart-wrenching story , it 's impossible not to be deeply moved -- and nearly as impossible to ignore what a cruddy job the movie does telling it .",
      "briski 's seeming sincerity and her positive results make up for one 's occasional misgivings about her showy empathy for the unfortunate ...",
      "meeting these young photographers is delightful , but what this film needed to transcend into greatness is more of briski .",
      "it 's one of the most inspiring finales i 've seen in a long while .",
      "it uses the medium to capture and reveal something and to inform the audience about it .",
      "as powerful and uplifting as the film is , the end results are tempered by sadness , and prove that no matter how good your intentions , some problems are insurmountable .",
      "even when MOV shows a world one might rather pretend did n't exist , it is enchanting to view .",
      "if the film itself is not stellar , the humanitarian efforts it documents are . in this case , the content is more noble than the way it 's presented .",
      "there are numerous scenes of inspiration and uplift .",
      "the film educates as well as inspires , and sincerely represents social activism in the best ways",
      "as much a plea as a movie , ` MOV ' moves one deeply .",
      "usually , documentaries ask hard , probing questions . refreshingly , MOV is about a person with an answer .",
      "the real revelation is the personalities of the kids , who manage to have upbeat attitudes and desires for a better life and deliver them with a genuine enthusiasm of youth .",
      "a work of art so deep and resonant that it puts most narrative films to shame .",
      "powerful because it zooms in on the children , letting their words and images guide us ... a forthright , hopeful , and bracing documentary of grassroots humanitarianism .",
      "oh , calcutta -- harsh and real like we 've never seen it . ... this is one dazzling documentary that continues to develop .",
      "behind her , laundry flaps and an orange sky offers beauty , but also , the imminent night , when the men enter .",
      "the stories in brothels are quite moving , and the film sheds light on a part of the world that is rarely seen anywhere .",
      "a documentary that flows with all the narrative drive and emotional intensity of good fiction .",
      "the film says all it needs to say through the photos of the kids and their excited , wide-eyed reactions when they realize the outside world is paying attention to them .",
      "a beautifully made essay on a filmmaker 's efforts to teach the children of calcutta 's prostitutes the fine art of photography .",
      "without sentimentality or preaching , briski and filmmaker ross kauffman open our eyes to the universality of the childhood experience and the presence of artistic sensibilities in the most surprising places .",
      "one feels manipulated rather than enlightened .",
      "the best moments of MOV come when kauffman and briski let the children speak for themselves .",
      "focuses too much on the production of images and not enough on documenting the world contained within them .",
      "even if the film itself is relatively conventional , its exposure of a squalid city 's most benighted neighborhood and its introduction of hope into nearly hopeless lives give it strong human interest value .",
      "MOV is an extraordinary documentary about a photographer who draws out the wonder and creativity of some poor kids in calcutta .",
      "episodic and drenched in realism",
      "the resilience that shines in the faces of these children , both in the photos and in the movie itself , makes one angry once more about the incredible waste of human potential caused by social and economic injustice .",
      "the specter of long odds and narrow choices shades every frame of the film , yet the tone is often buoyant and legitimately inspirational .",
      "a stirring documentary .",
      "zana briski 's documentary about children growing up in calcutta 's rough and squalid red light district is moving , charming and sad .",
      "kauffman and briski -- the kids called her zana auntie -- avoid the temptation to sentimentalize their subjects .",
      "some of the children 's photographs are lovely , and the film has a thick , humid vibrancy to its colors .",
      "wears the confidence of a well-planned feature .",
      "briski does n't merely document the children 's milieu . instead , she does something revolutionary : she empowers them to document it for themselves .",
      "it 's a testament to the abilities of these calcutta children that the most touching images revealed in MOV are those taken by themselves .",
      "an unsentimental look at how beauty , artistry , and hope can emerge from the most unexpected of places .",
      "against all odds , it 's ultimately an uplifting experience .",
      "captures hope and compassion in a shady part of humanity most probably unaccustomed to such things .",
      "despite the bleak subject matter , MOV -lsb- contains -rsb- moments of pure elation .",
      "a devastating portrait of impoverished calcutta children who are born into the sex trades , yet the film is also an inspiring document about human possibilities and the need to strive despite impossible odds .",
      "a film that 's ultimately more charmingly bittersweet than truly disturbing .",
      "`` there is nothing called hope in my future . '' click . oh yeah , bring a tissue .",
      "MOV is designed to be ` inspirational , ' yet it shortchanges the complex reality of the lives it makes such a show of saving .",
      "an experimental hybrid of documentary filmmaking that does n't always achieve its stated objectives , but the eight kids at its center will break your heart",
      "an energized cast to reveal the common aspirations , response to caring and spirit for life that exists on whatever fringe of whatever free society you take as an example .",
      "a remarkably honest look at calcutta 's red light district .",
      "despite the film 's lack of cohesiveness , briski and kauffman exhibit a keen eye for images that immediately communicate the dismal existence of those forced to live in the red-light district .",
      "we brush past the cruel and harrowing life of the women `` in the line . ''",
      "a rare and inspiring example of the way art can both reflect and alleviate human suffering .",
      "touching and saddening .",
      "reminds us of the curative power of art in an ugly world .",
      "a perfect , and perfectly calculated , documentary ."
    ],
    "summary": "a powerful and uplifting documentary .",
    "id": "12896"
  },
  {
    "movie": "view_to_a_kill",
    "reviews": [
      "the worst james bond film ever .",
      "moore should have bowed out after the superb `` octopussy '' , but this is still a pretty good time at the movies .",
      "as lavishly escapist as they are , the latest james bond films have become strenuous to watch , now that the business of maintaining bond 's casual savoir-faire looks like such a monumental chore .",
      "moore 's final bond picture is one too late . walken is a fine villian , though .",
      "in this 007 film , former real man james bond not only eats quiche , he literally bakes it .",
      "registers as another high-flying james bond adventure story .",
      "once 007 was licensed to kill ; now he not only eats quiche , he cooks it himself .",
      "the aging roger moore rehashes his somewhat foppish bond in this sad '80s installment with grace jones as a vampish villainess . awful , and an embarrassment to the bond mystique .",
      "moore 's tryst with grace jones is , on the one hand , a well-intentioned attempt to tear down the bond-girl color barrier , and , on the other , a rather disturbing image .",
      "roger moore 's final bond film is a solidly entertaining entry in the series .",
      "this is n't the best bond movie , but like all of the bonds , it does provide two hours of fairly solid escapism .",
      "no bond outing is awful , but this one comes close .",
      "a MOV is often numbered among the worst of the series , but , upon closer inspection , this film is a vast improvement over octopussy .",
      "the net result is a story that has us yearning for those much older bond films that never lost your attention .",
      "the inauspicious implosion of roger moore 's stint as james bond , not with a bang but a whimper .",
      "walken as a bond villain , duran duran on the soundtrack -- it could be an infomercial and i 'd still love it !",
      "fun but truly silly james bond movie . some good action - the firetruck , the horse race , etc. - but be ready for over the top villains .",
      "arguably the worst james bond movie",
      "another fine moment from everyone 's favourite super-spy",
      "moore definitely goes out on a high note with this effort .",
      "as certain films in the bond series have set specific benchmarks for tone , a MOV is james bond in comic book perfection .",
      "not as bad as its reputation , but certainly among the lesser bonds .",
      "a MOV is not the worst bond film ever made , but it 's closer to the bottom than to the top of the barrel .",
      "a workmanlike entry brings moore 's long and increasingly tired tenure to a close .",
      "roger moore 's last bond and not before time .",
      "while bond pics have always traded heavily on the camp value of its characters , a MOV almost attacks the humor , practically winking at the audience with every move .",
      "what says `` outlandishly dumb action film from 1985 '' better than a plot to flood silicon valley and corner the world 's microchip market ?",
      "this bond eats quiche .",
      "this one , directed by john glen , just follows the numbers , plodding from one unimaginative set piece to the next .",
      "it is exhausted and exhausting , an old joke retold once too often .",
      "bond is old but still cool",
      "a MOV is at least better than octopussy , but it 's so absurd as to make for a less than perfect time .",
      "an arthritic thriller that forgets where it put the excitement and infamously transforms bond into a quiche cooking homebody .",
      "the plot does n't really convince , perhaps because we 've seen it or something similar so many times before .",
      "the film also fails on other traditional bond levels . for example , the gadgets . zorin and his gang have an inflatable dirigible , but so what ? the key to the best bond gadgets has been that they were something you might want to own yourself .",
      "it 's not double-oh-seven anymore , but double-oh-seventy , the best argument yet for the mandatory retirement age .",
      "hard as it is to justify bond films on intellectual grounds , there 's something invigorating -- and strangely reassuring -- about this sort of picture .",
      "tired 007 effort has ridiculous plot , iffy behavior .",
      "a MOV plods along dutifully , observing the rules of the series with dull consistency .",
      "the strain is starting to show on 007 .",
      "this time around , 007 is a paunchy old man looking like he needs to retire . the film has little energy , thrills or fun , which is essential for a bond film . the series has now reached an all time low .",
      "contrary to historical opinion and some truly awful movies , moore conjured roguish magic over his 12-year tenure . his bond cast the spell that initially charmed me as a kid - one perhaps so intoxicating to him that it was simply hard to let go ."
    ],
    "summary": "absurd even by bond standards , a MOV is weighted down by campy jokes and a noticeable lack of energy .",
    "id": "11235"
  },
  {
    "movie": "green_mile",
    "reviews": [
      "hanks is a genuine pleasure to watch .",
      "the three-hour-plus film permits the kind of detailing that not only brings the storytelling to life , but sometimes persuades us we 're breathing to its rhythms .",
      "hanks is , again , the best of men in difficult circumstances .",
      "stephen king may be a cheeseball , but he spins one hell of a yarn .",
      "the production design -- with much southern period detail and '30s music -- helps brings the MOV to life .",
      "clocking in at over three hours of length , the MOV certainly feels long . while the film captures an overwhelming majority of the plot details of the novel , a few should have been trimmed .",
      "though watchable and occasionally moving ... it strains credibility and patience",
      "the MOV is another of king 's non-horror stories to be adapted to film , and it 's good one .",
      "the movie is worth walking , if not a mile , at least a couple of blocks to see .",
      "superior craft is something we 've come to expect from modern movies , but not soul . it 's the soul of this movie that 's so heartening .",
      "the MOV is more than an hour old before anything like a plot develops , and then it turns out to be such a sentimental-supernatural whopper that even tom hanks , usually the most casually credible of actors , is severely tested .",
      "the MOV is simply a case of severe overreaching and the illusion that an overstuffed movie is an epic movie .",
      "the MOV is irritatingly repetitious .",
      "falls under the weight of the more solid portrayals of evil , misfortune and injustice .",
      "the MOV effectively sideswipes the enduring hot political issues it raises to force viewers to a pro-hanks position .",
      "darabont works big but thinks small , or at least without great complexity .",
      "its 188 minutes of viewing time seemed like a life sentence .",
      "the movie uses the emotional sentiments that death presents as a crutch of support for an otherwise weak and underdeveloped production .",
      "the cast 's endearing success makes the MOV likable , lighthearted fare when it should n't be .",
      "one thing confirmed by the MOV is that if tom hanks ' head gets any bigger , the rest of his movies are going to have to be filmed in imax .",
      "the cinematic equivalent of a good cop/bad cop work-over .",
      "darabont has an artful ability to use production values to make a film appear as though it were actually transporting you somewhere . but when the credits roll , you realize you never left kansas .",
      "a lumbering , self-important three-hour melodrama that defies credibility at every turn .",
      "moves with the suffocating deliberateness of a river of molasses .",
      "an epic !",
      "easily one of the better films -- if not the best -- of the year .",
      "enthralling and literally miraculous , the MOV has become an instant favorite of mine , just as its source material did .",
      "after reading a king novel , a reader might tend to want to take a shower ; after seeing darabont 's the MOV , a moviegoer might want instead to go to church -- but only after taking a shower .",
      "an engrossing picture .",
      "in its own old-fashioned way , frank darabont 's style of picture making is well matched to king-size yarn spinning .",
      "stuart little , you may have competition !",
      "stephen king 's serial novel has been superbly adapted .",
      "a thoughtful , intelligent movie with outstanding direction .",
      "a textured , character-driven story .",
      "as a film , the MOV 's simplicity is both its charm and its deception .",
      "a powerful stephen king story , but one which is not compelling enough to justify the film 's three-hour length .",
      "a heartfelt fable that pushes all the right emotional buttons .",
      "the quickest 180 minutes you will ever spend in a movie theater .",
      "the MOV is a solidly crafted film telling a complexly layered story that features a beautifully satisfying , if bittersweet , finale .",
      "sure , there are plenty of good moments here to elicit active enjoyment .",
      "darabont and king go to prison . heck , it worked the first time !",
      "a thoroughly absorbing supernatural fairytale about good and evil living under the same roof .",
      "surpasses mere adequacy in so many ways just within the first hour that it will undoubtably be praised to the highest extent .",
      "certainly not a perfect film , and probably not the major oscar contender the filmmakers intended it to be , but it is a well-acted , tautly-directed film with emotional weight .",
      "an entertaining , extremely well-produced drama . it 's also a film that 's likely to be enormously overrated by the millions of members of the cult of tom ...",
      "over the epic running time the film inches its way through a complex soap opera of events on the row , punctuated by three pivotal and grisly executions via ` old sparky , ' the electric chair .",
      "the MOV resonates .",
      "the MOV is a well-crafted film .",
      "an affecting motion picture .",
      "a cracking good yarn that earns its laughter , its wonder and its tears .",
      "by taking the extra time , darabont has made king 's the MOV into a story which develops and unfolds , which has detail and space .",
      "i 'd be critical of the fact that frank darabont 's entire directorial career has revolved around sweepingly sentimental movies based on stephen king prison dramas -- if only he did n't do them so well .",
      "they do n't get much better than this .",
      "a moving story , helped by some great performances , primarily by michael clarke duncan as coffey , hanks , hutchison as the guards , and jeter and rockwell as prisoners .",
      "unassumingly strong , moving performances and darabont 's durable storytelling make it a trip worth taking .",
      "this film is slow , drawn-out , boring , uninteresting , unexciting , predictable and topped with a couple of one-dimensional ` evil ' characters .",
      "it 's hard to be affected by the MOV , for it rarely offers much background on any of its characters beyond their central casting pigeonholes .",
      "hanks adds another small masterpiece to his growing body of american portraits .",
      "add another title to the list of good king cinematic adaptations .",
      "provides all the sturdy entertainment of any well-calculated crime drama .",
      "laughter and tears are both subtly drawn out and jack-hammered home .",
      "beautifully crafted and emotionally satisfying .",
      "the acting is sturdy if infrequently exceptional .",
      "a vivid , emotional story .",
      "the movie taps into a vein of dickensian sentiment , nightmare and idealism , ribaldry and tragedy that give it that part-dark , part-shining fairytale quality that imbues most king tales and all three of darabont 's features .",
      "the MOV often grabs , and generally holds , one 's attention through the long journey .",
      "if only there was a death row for movies ...",
      "hanks is in fine form , as is sam rockwell , as ` wild bill ' wharton , a new inmate so repulsively evil he 's almost a cartoon -lrb- not quite , though -rrb- .",
      "a near-masterpiece .",
      "there is no doubt that the director has mistaken size for quality with bum-numbing consequences .",
      "for all its attention to john 's victimization -- and exacting an emotional response from its audience -- the film takes a surprisingly schizophrenic view of capital punishment .",
      "what better place to witness healing than in a death-chamber where the malevolent an eye-for-an eye philosophy of justice reigns .",
      "duncan 's beautiful performance is worth at least three hours of anyone 's life .",
      "overlong and potholed , the MOV is still worth the journey .",
      "those whose lives coffey touches may find relief from physical ailments , but they seem no freer , more hopeful , or nobler for the experience .",
      "quando a história chega ao fim e as luzes se acendem , vocę sente que , de certa forma , o filme permanecerá com vocę por muito tempo .",
      "if this movie does n't get a truckload of oscar noms , something 's rotten in the kingdom of hollywood !",
      "unfolds slowly , but darabont shows a deft sense of pacing .",
      "although the current production runs three hours , i was n't really bored at any point .",
      "the film is even more textured and less gratuitous than the shawshank redemption .",
      "a thrilling voyage .",
      "so well-crafted that it seems like a feast , even when your brain is telling you that this story could not possibly be stretched any thinner .",
      "consistently captivating .",
      "inspired filmmaking !",
      "duncan gives the novel 's towering symbol of innocence a degree of dignity and humanity that sells the whole unlikely fable .",
      "one terrific flick !",
      "frank darabont is the world 's greatest director of movies taken from stephen king prison books .",
      "this movie is being described as inspiring ? to me it just seems morbid , melancholy , sad , and far too long .",
      "of all the movies based on king novels , the MOV ranks near the top -- but below darabont 's first , the shawshank redemption .",
      "one of the best prison films ever made .",
      "mr. jingles was robbed ! -lrb- no mouse-oscar -rrb-",
      "hanks and the other guards ' acting is impeccable as would be expected , but duncan and his fellow prisoners are also disturbingly real .",
      "a deeply racist movie , though clearly none of the filmmakers thinks so ... by the picture 's end , we are asked to grasp electrocution as in some way an act of benevolence .",
      "three long hours of wind , an exercise in titanic self-importance intent on passing off klunky rhetoric as poignant drama .",
      "darabont explores the range of human kindness and cruelty as he lovingly and patiently sculpts his large cast of characters against magnificent scenery .",
      "suffice it to say you must be willing to buy some pretty incredible stuff if you want to enjoy this experience .",
      "its emotional rewards outshine its faults .",
      "at the very least , the MOV is engaging and even moving .",
      "frank darabont is such a committed filmmaker , and believes so earnestly and intensely in the stories he puts onscreen , that it seems unsporting to point out that hokum is his middle name .",
      "brilliant storytelling !",
      "but even when it falls back on the contrived , the MOV still holds on to the audience on a emotional level that continues to resonate long after the credits roll , which by itself is reason enough to recommend the movie .",
      "if all this heartstring-tugging reeks of cheese , that 's because it is - the finest gourmet cheese hollywood 's made in a long , long time .",
      "maravillosa historia acerca de los hombres y sus relaciones , sus miedos y sus sueńos",
      "it 's just too bad , then , that the finale could not have been stronger . it downgrades a potentially great film to being , at most , a very good one .",
      "e.t. on death row .",
      "this picture is , like the cigarette of the old-time commercials , worth walking a mile for .",
      "often funny .",
      "the MOV , while it does have a few noticeable faults , is ultimately an effective and extremely entertaining motion picture .",
      "a manipulative but absorbing and deeply satisfying adaptation of stephen king 's prison novel .",
      "a wonderful , inspiring , touching , and often funny movie .",
      "the MOV is just about one of the finest films i have seen since life is beautiful .",
      "a terrific , powerful movie !",
      "the worst i can say about this thoroughly decent movie is that it botches some of the most important scenes .",
      "there 's plenty here to make you laugh and cry .",
      "moves pretty well and does n't really drag , though superb performances from the leads help to keep it compelling .",
      "there is a beautiful story here , but i just wish we did n't have to sit through the whole thing to see it .",
      "giving much life to these fairly undimensional characters is a strong cast , with hanks turning in another empathetic lead performance .",
      "the supernatural elements carry an undeniable emotional charge , but the solution to the underlying murder mystery is disappointingly tidy and trite .",
      "although the MOV is a satisfying and affecting movie , it 's not the shawshank redemption -- not by a long shot .",
      "much of the three-hour movie takes place in the prison , but the resonant characterization , expansive plotting , and judicious use of exterior locations and flashbacks turn the walls into windows .",
      "thoughtful , intelligent movie for older teens .",
      "... despite the clichés and stereotypes , the film 's cast manages to lift it from the depths of the commonplace and make watching it enjoyable .",
      "how many blockbusters deal with that kind of grief ?",
      "to more than a few viewers , this one will feel like a life sentence .",
      "though the film drifts off down some long blind alleys , when darabont exercises discipline the result is highly effective .",
      "dotted with many fine moments , clotted with a few flabby ones .",
      "overextending its welcome , frank darabont 's film is the most commercially popular adaptation of a stephen king novella , but it 's also a slow , often dull prison drama .",
      "a groaning ordeal ."
    ],
    "summary": "though the MOV is long , critics say it 's an absorbing , emotionally powerful experience .",
    "id": "12939"
  },
  {
    "movie": "last_airbender",
    "reviews": [
      "call m. night shyamalan a wood bender -- this kiddie cast is as flat and stiff as particle board",
      "`` battlefield earth '' has a new rival for the title of `` worst-film-of-the-last-20-years . ''",
      "a boring , nauseating blockbuster filled with poor editing , painfully wooden acting , unrelenting dullness , and unimpressive special effects . it 's so bad that it 's gone past good and back to bad again .",
      "the trunk of my car is filled with busted 3d glasses and broken dreams of summer movie bliss . but that 's not as bad as what 's in the trunk of a paramount pictures bigwig : a bound and gagged shyamalan , who 's about to have $ 150 million beat from him .",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he film works so hard to explain its plot developments that it scarcely has any time left over to dramatize them . exposition has not merely vanquished mimesis , it has burned its homes to the ground and sown salt in its fields .",
      "stick a fork in m. night shyamalan . he 's done as a director of consequence after the MOV . sad .",
      "the prospect of sequels to this lumpish and leaden action-adventure is nothing to cheer about .",
      "stilted dialogue , wooden acting , glacial pacing , cheesy special effects , tacky-looking sets , ugly costumes , poorly staged and edited action sequences , all shown in murky , cut-rate 3-d .",
      "fantasy works best off linear narrative clarity , while many scene transitions whirl like air in the hands of aang . yet , night ignites the separate moments with visual magic worthy of his mythology .",
      "it captivated my imagination .",
      "even in 3d , -lsb- it 's -rsb- one-dimensional .",
      "the sprawling story is so dramatically compressed there is barely enough oxygen for relationship growth -lrb- crucial in avatar -rrb- , let alone traces of an interesting director 's personality .",
      "m. night shyamalan throws his hands up and sells out with the MOV , an adaptation of the nickelodeon animé series that boasts almost no sign of the director 's idiosyncratic imprimatur .",
      "it 's worth putting up with m. night the writer to enjoy the work of m. night the director .",
      "he has n't mastered the craft yet , but m. night shyamalan may be on to something with this action-movie thing .",
      "not since kyle maclachlan 's whispered voice-overs about the worm and the spice and the worm is the spice in dune has a fantasy franchise tripped all over itself trying , simply , to please a fan base while creating a new one .",
      "i believe m. night can ruin the world .",
      "the MOV keeps throwing things at you , but its ultimate effect is , in every way , flat .",
      "the problems begin with shyamalan 's script , which is an orgy of exposition .",
      "the uninitiated will find the picture an odd , strangely chilly and frequently confounding experience . they wo n't care that this first ` airbender ' will likely be the last too .",
      "sadly , it seems that shyamalan is channeling george lucas et al from the phantom menace ... and said , ` hey , let 's do that with this movie ! '",
      "in a mediocre summer season , we now have the first bonafide stinker -- a supposed fantasy adventure that has all the magic and mystery of a bologna sandwich .",
      "it 's difficult to ascertain whether this poorly executed picture will earn enough to warrant its planned sequels or not even make enough to allow shyamalan to super-size his next fast-food order .",
      "irritatingly stupid .",
      "the film ends with a set-up for a sequel , which those unfortunate enough to endure this torturous mess can only hope never occurs .",
      "gorgeous imagery.beautifully wrought special effects . fantasy fun for all ages.i 'm talking , of course , about ` the MOV ' website .",
      "the conversion process truly needed here was not to add 3-d to the images , but to add depth to characters and a story that barely qualify as one-dimensional .",
      "controversial casting aside , could the MOV ever have been a good movie ? not at all ; it 's a listless , incompetent , boring mess that insults the comprehension of even the youngest child in the audience .",
      "my disappointment with this ` pg ' fantasy relates to its ponderous nature and lack of any comic relief .",
      "the last shyamalan .",
      "m. night shyamalan tries to bend the laws of quality cinema to suit his his shlocky ambitions .",
      "would be blissfully forgettable if it were n't so blazingly incompetent",
      "hopefully they mean it when they say this is the MOV . it 's the last time i ever want to see anyone ` bending ' anything .",
      "to keep us from noticing the goofiness , shyamalan goes full-speed in the opposite direction , treating everything with great solemnity and soberness . the result ? it just seems more silly .",
      "with a movie this shockingly bad , however , it 's not likely that anyone will be interested in another chapter . so it 's better not to even bother seeing this one .",
      "an exotic 3d battle of the boys blockbuster , teeming with dazzling , exotic imagery . though a bit on the wet side as drenched seafaring adversaries and awful adult role models kept in line by unruly children , collide . i see damp people .",
      "m. night shyamalan 's big-screen live-action version of the popular nickelodeon animated tv series constitutes a form of chinese water torture in which tin-ear line-readings take the place of drips .",
      "a dull , boring , poorly acted , limply written and thoroughly unappealing fantasy , featuring bland characters locked in a struggle of no interest .",
      "the MOV is like a care bears movie that got waylaid in the fourth dimension . it 's insufferably silly .",
      "please , hollywood , if there 's to be another airbender movie , hand the job to some efficient hack , and not to a once mesmerizing artist who 's lost his way .",
      "a staid , interminable miscalculation",
      "where 's the fun ? we 're talking about characters that can throw fire and water . where 's the excitement and sense of wonder ?",
      "this live-action adaptation of an animated children 's fantasy series is a leaden , joyless ride that represents another major misfire from the once-promising filmmaker .",
      "a soul-crushing disaster made worse by unnecessary , counterproductive 3-d , the MOV fails to immediately qualify as the worst film of the summer only by virtue of the year 's abundance of other candidates .",
      "the good news for those eagerly anticipating this live-action , big budget adaptation is that the 3d is n't horrible . the bad news ? just about everything else is .",
      "the battles are only slightly more exciting than the exposition , the acting is laughable , and the characters are flat .",
      "shyamalan takes the beloved nickelodeon anime series and turns it into 103 minutes of overproduced , stilted nonsense .",
      "shyamalan compresses a ton of plot exposition in every line and the resulting heavyosity is too much for the younger actors to carry .",
      "the long-winded explanations and clumsy performances are made worse by graceless effects and a last-minute 3-d conversion that wrecks whatever visual grace or beauty might have been there .",
      "by specifically critical and broadly adult standards , this film is undoubtedly a disappointment , but it is disappointing in a way that its intended audience may not notice .",
      "using the backbone of the nickelodeon series , shyamalan succeeds in developing a story with a deep mythology -- something he failed to do with lady in the water .",
      "the film , which is a live-action adaptation of a nickelodeon asian-anime-influenced cartoon series , is supposed to be the start of a new movie franchise . forget about it .",
      "boring -- but age-appropriate for young fans of the tv show .",
      "shyamalan saps all the humor and energy from the fantasy adventure so that the nickelodeon cartoon on which it 's based has more life than the live-action big-screen adaptation .",
      "can we please just stop with the 3d conversions ? shymalan delivers visually amazing action sequences but the film suffers from terrible dialogue and horrible acting .",
      "there are long expository speeches , which the young , inexperienced actors recite by rote , and the entire concept is filled with incoherent inconsistency .",
      "i am truly sorry to say that this movie is a big , dull , dud and a failure in almost every category .",
      "everything about this film is so mind-bogglingly stupid , i barely know where to begin !",
      "the camera swoops and the music blares , but we might as well be watching a tolerant , teeth-gritting parent filming his son 's karate class demonstration .",
      "it is so bad that not only could uwe boll make a better movie than shyamalan has done here , he already has .",
      "the MOV lays there , stillborn , potential squandered ... a sad indicator of just how completely shyamalan has thrown away his own gifts , the last stop on what has been a very disappointing career arc .",
      "in spite of all the running and sometimes flying to and fro , the MOV never feels particularly urgent .",
      "i can see why shyamalan was attracted to this material , but the results are clunky even by his recent standards .",
      "the MOV could be the last m. night shyamalan movie . yep , it 's that bad .",
      "it 's bad , as in `` wild wild west '' will no longer be considered the nadir of july 4th weekend releases . it feels off from the get-go and never gets its footing or a sense of balance with the material . -lrb- parental review also available -rrb-",
      "this is bad filmmaking and bad storytelling . it also sounds what should be the death knell to m. night shyamalan 's career .",
      "nothing short of an incomprehensible fiasco . if one must go see it , avoid the 3-d version like the bubonic plague .",
      "a new low point in shyamalan 's crumbling career .",
      "mere words can barely describe the sheer inanity on display .",
      "the film is an unmitigated disaster , a putrid patchwork of the original series stitched together by wretched performances , bad creative decisions and a story that 's all exposition , no depth .",
      "kiddie-strength action scenes drag the film down , but the kiss of death is shyamalan 's gratuitous use of earth tones and the general dull , drab look of the film . ... drastically reduces the intensity of the 3-d effects",
      "the MOV is a horrific mish-mash of genres that follows a depressingly large number of dead ends in adapting its source material .",
      "the MOV is swollen with portentous mumbo jumbo and realized in the most simplistic and mundane ways imaginable .",
      "bad acting , overstuffed exposition and running time far too brief for the amount of plot shoved into it reduce the MOV into parody of a big summer film as shyamalan manages to hit every single fantasy film pothole .",
      "as far as children 's entertainment goes -lrb- and it is children 's entertainment -rrb- , it could be a lot worse .",
      "the constant references to ` benders ' ca n't help but elicit sniggers from british audiences ... the plotting is stodgy , the dialogue stinks and the acting is wooden .",
      "is it a masterpiece ? oh god no , but ... i 'm intrigued to see where the next film goes ...",
      "an amateurish mess .",
      "it gets real old real fast .",
      "the picture is crammed with big-budget cgi -- it seems determined to command our interest through sheer technological will .",
      "if you thought it was bad when writer-director m. night shyamalan was channeling rod serling , wait till you see him try to be george lucas .",
      "even 3-d technology ca n't inject a much-needed extra dimension to the MOV .",
      "the MOV is one of the most visually luscious and exhilarating entertainments i have seen this year , full of giddy fireworks and kinetic pleasure .",
      "as a child puts together pieces of the puzzle that will help him save the world from evildoers in the MOV , i was pondering a bigger mystery : how can this action-packed adventure be so deadly dull ?",
      "the tv show created an incredibly complex world over three seasons . this picture -lrb- the first in a proposed trilogy -rrb- tries to accomplish a year 's worth of work in two hours . so we get titles and flashbacks , baldly expository dialogue and clumsy narration .",
      "shyamalan 's effects -- matte paintings , miniatures , location exteriors , backlot interiors and digital work -- never coalesce into a seamless whole , and the result is neither fish nor fowl , tactile nor virtual .",
      "the addition of the 3-d is obviously an afterthought , and in most scenes it 's pretty bad . almost as bad as the writing and the acting . almost .",
      "there 's no other way to say this : m. night shyamalan has completely lost it .",
      "the worst part is undoubtedly the script , which clunks and groans all the way under the weight of it 's own exposition - tragically and unforgivably , it fails to tell a good story .",
      "the mythology of the series does n't translate well to the demands of concise big screen storytelling .",
      "unspeakably bad dialogue delivered by excruciatingly bad actors in a plot so illogical and stupid it kills unicorns .",
      "shyamalan tells the story like a syndicated news journalist , reporting events with detached direction and lifeless , plot-driven screenwriting .",
      "the characters are completely uninvolving , the narrative incomprehensible for the most part , and the performances seem to reflect the bewilderment of the plot .",
      "why do the water tribe have so much difficulty defeating their fire opponents when the battle takes place on the ocean ?",
      "it 's a nice movie to look at , as long as you ignore the characters , plot , and action .",
      "it seems as if a good film could be made out of the MOV 's tale . but this is not that film .",
      "it is in writer/director shyamalan 's dialogue that the film grinds to a halt . his words have grown increasingly pompous and stilted since his concise , crisp , oscar-nominated script for the sixth sense .",
      "this empty , misfired epic from m. night shyamalan is boring and strengthens the claim that he is the worst director working in mainstream cinema today .",
      "there 's no third-act twist because we never get out of the first act .",
      "writer/director m night shyamalan 's once glorious reputation is tarnished further by this tediously juvenile fantasy adventure .",
      "nothing here is helped by m. night shyamalan 's bizarre casting choices .",
      "would it be more accurate to call this the last shyamalan movie ?",
      "a quite breathtakingly inept hodge-podge of vapid spirituality , playground chopsocky and visual effects that take 3d to an entirely new level : zero-d .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- breathtakingly clueless , misconceived , stupid , humourless , unexciting , dim , dumb farrago , the worst film i 've seen in years .",
      "the MOV is not just a flop , it 's a big-budget flop , and it 's a throwback to that grand old genre , the movie that 's so bad that it 's bad .",
      "there is n't a single convincing performance in the picture , and the badness of the acting is , bizarrely , pretty much in direct proportion to a character 's importance .",
      "tedious , overstuffed , visually flat ... emotionally inert , filled with painfully expository dialogue and mostly poorly acted , it 's simply an all-around misfire .",
      "paraphrasing a quote from another shyamalan star , haley joel osment , it seems like `` there 's dead actors walking around like regular actors . '' from the sixth sense to no sense ?",
      "this is a kid 's movie that does n't seem to realize that it 's a kid 's movie .",
      "-lsb- shyamalan -rsb- works so much better with stories that are slower in development , where the atmosphere and tone drive the film , and where you 're never quite sure what 's going on -lrb- though not in the sense where you 're completely confused , like this film -rrb- .",
      "being a shyamalan film , the entire cast -lrb- which also includes slumdog millionaire star dev patel as an exiled fire prince -rrb- recite their looney-tunes lines as if they have been drugged , then hypnotised , then drugged again .",
      "if sleep is a hard thing to come by , then a dose of m. night shyamalan 's the MOV is just the cure for you .",
      "with poorly executed action , wooden acting and a dead script , this fantasy film is a strong contender for a razzie .",
      "a big ol' mess of atrocious acting and terrible scripting , the MOV is a definite nominee for worst film of 2010 .",
      "shyamalan has written a muddled , confusing script and directed it badly",
      "parents may be less easily pleased , finding the film a tad dull and lifeless , for all its elements .",
      "even pre-teens will have to endure the fragmented plot lines , stilted acting , and an absence of humor .",
      "$ 150,000,000 well wasted . the MOV is an insult to those wanting sophisticated , entertaining or even competent cinema .",
      "some of the worst acting , action and dialogue you 'll endure this year .",
      "how did shyamalan get it so wrong ?",
      "a franchise needs more than cute creatures to survive .",
      "the title has the ring of prophecy . although the film frustrates viewers with a cliffhanger ending , it 's hard to believe a second ` airbender ' will materialize out of what is likely to be the indifferent reception to this wan hand-me-down .",
      "it 's rare to see a film so choppily edited , poorly scripted and spastically directed that you can barely understand what you 're watching .",
      "the puzzle of shyamalan 's racial casting soon becomes secondary to a much more pressing concern -- trying to follow the cluttered story .",
      "fans of the beautifully crafted tv show will be bitterly disappointed by this film version of the story .",
      "undistinguished on every level , the film rehashes genre clichés in a style that is both painless and instantly forgettable .",
      "what part of this story necessitated such a po-faced treatment ?",
      "stiff , fuzzy-looking , cloddish and disastrous in nearly every way , the MOV looks as if it could have been made by the spoiled son of a studio mogul willing to waste gobs of money .",
      "the movie 's redeeming feature might be its beauty , but you have to take off your 3-d glasses to fully appreciate it . the lenses blunt and mute the unique tones and colors that shyamalan uses to create his lavish fantasy kingdoms .",
      "the MOV , for all its shyamalan-style grandiosity , is completely harmless and inoffensive , and at the very least , shyamalan appears to be having a little fun here .",
      "airbender 's final insult is the unmistakable stench of a sequel that 's left to linger in its wake .",
      "some of the performances are wooden , creating repeated moments of unintentional hilarity that cut through the dramatic tension .",
      "the first part of a planned trilogy , shyamalan says the sequel will be darker . just better would be a start .",
      "far from the catastrophe the us bewailed , but still disappointingly clunky .",
      "the dialogue is tin-eared in the extreme , the 3d is used in a strictly tokenistic fashion and the absolute lack of a sense of irony or humour makes the more solemn scenes all the more laughable .",
      "after the first five seconds , it seems as if you have been watching it for around two-and-a-half hours , and that this time has passed in four-and-a-half days .",
      "please let it be the last shyamalan .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- slice of self-important nonsense that 's actually pretty funny , although probably not in the way shyamalan planned .",
      "one is bored and stupefied by what seems like an eternity of vacuous spectacle , cod-buddhist tosh and clunking dialogue .",
      "i swiftly became bored with a repetitive and laboured film devoid of drama , tension or real emotion .",
      "all the while , shyamalan creates an ever-growing sense of ` who cares where we are ; when will this be over ? '",
      "this is one muddled attempt at franchise-making : confusing , drab , sluggish . -lrb- ugly , too , if you 're forced to see it in 3-d . -rrb-",
      "shyamalan has taken what could have been a big , flashy , generic hollywood production and made it wholly his own .",
      "-lsb- shyamalan -rsb- wanted to leave us shaking our heads and marveling at a terribleness that was not merely terrible , but a terribleness that leaves you astonished at just how very , very terrible it is .",
      "the most well-rounded failure of the year so far .",
      "... it 's unfortunate that the one element people apparently can not manipulate in this world is wood , as that would be the only way to extract a decent performance .",
      "what a colossal disappointment ! let 's hope this truly is the MOV .",
      "it 's a stinker that takes itself so seriously , but might bring about unintentional laughter to those who can view this rubbish as merely a goof .",
      "macgruber and jonah hex can relax . this is without doubt the summer 's movie nadir , the grossest waste of somebody 's money to create -lrb- and people to view -rrb- that we 'll endure .",
      "the current national priorities should be as follows : reduce carbon emissions and stop funding the films of m. night shyamalan .",
      "the MOV is an agonizing experience in every category i can think of and others still waiting to be invented .",
      "let 's just be honest : m. night shyamalan is an idiot .",
      "slavishly amateurish with no heart . cold , not engaging , and dull . bad writing and film school-level directing . what happened to an exciting story ?",
      "shyamalan has been working in cinema for more than a decade now , but none of his films are nearly as disastrous as this . it 's his final plea to get his name back in hollywood , and i do n't think anyone will hear it .",
      "the MOV completes writer/co-producer/director m. night shyamalan 's fall from grace ; once regarded as the most exciting talent in film , he now sits pretty as the laughing stock of hollywood .",
      "... a tremendously disappointing effort from a once rock-solid filmmaker .",
      "a derivative and lifeless ` heroes journey ' tale layered up with eastern mysticism .",
      "a dodgy script , ropey performances , atrocious 3d effects and a tendency to take itself too seriously ...",
      "a movie that 's as thick as the earth , as enraging as fire , and about as watery and windy as a giant cinematic wet fart .",
      "dung fu .",
      "when nothing you believe or believe in is at stake , your plot-receptor mechanisms close down .",
      "i can accurately and completely review the MOV by quoting my ten-year-old daughter 's own thoughts on the movie : `` they messed up everything . ''",
      "i ca n't even tell you what this movie is about . how many more chances are we going to give this guy ?",
      "the MOV is a joyless , soulless , muddled mess , but the worst part of all does n't come until the very end . that 's when it makes the clear suggestion that two more such movies are in store for us .",
      "this colossal folly , the fiasco of the summer of 2010 - gives us all a ringside seat at the sight of mr. `` i see dead people 's '' career gurgling down the drain .",
      "who would have thought shyamalan would come up with a movie that makes his lady in the water look positively sensible ?",
      "the picture drags along the ground like a fresh corpse , treating its own myth as homework and the participants as burdens , while feeling around a fantastically wasted world of weathered environments and ornate set design .",
      "while the special effects are impressive enough , m. night shyamalan 's film does n't make a lick of sense .",
      "the MOV is dreadful , an incomprehensible fantasy-action epic that makes the 2007 film the golden compass , a similarly botched adaptation of a beloved property from another medium , look like a four-star classic .",
      "where to start with this one ? how about this : if any movie ever warranted a class-action lawsuit against the filmmakers , it 's the MOV .",
      "this is all enormously disappointing , of course , since the best we could hope for from a live-action avatar adaptation is the mind-blowing equivalent of our first encounters with wire-fu , rather than this cartoony nonsense .",
      "even during the climax , the film still is struggling to introduce the world of the film and its strange rules .",
      "the movie has been criticized for racially inappropriate casting , but that 's the least of its problems . the acting is laughable , the effects are phony , the editing is addled and the dialogue is disastrous .",
      "an elemental disaster .",
      "sadly , m. night shyamalan has not regained what he lost three films ago . his films are truly bad .",
      "the story is n't the bad part of the MOV - in fact , it 's the best part ... the bad part is almost everything else .",
      "the MOV blatantly sets the stage for a sequel . unfortunately , this awful film 's huge box office receipts may make a sequel reality .",
      "a vast and largely joyless -- at times leaden -- epic",
      "even with fairly good special effects the movie is boring ; let 's hope the indicated sequel -lrb- s -rrb- does n't see the light of day .",
      "if the 11th-hour addition of 3-d to m. night shyamalan 's odious live-action adaptation of nickelodeon 's beloved anime-influenced cartoon series does n't make your head hurt , the excess of narration and intertitles surely will .",
      "the time has come to admit that he -lsb- shyamalan -rsb- got lucky with sixth sense and we overrated his talent .",
      "it is no surprise to me it is doing a better business at the box office than most experts anticipated .",
      "i need ` unbreakable ' to be m. night shyamalan 's trilogy . not this lifeless fantasy ."
    ],
    "summary": "the MOV squanders its popular source material with incomprehensible plotting , horrible acting , and detached joyless direction .",
    "id": "770805417"
  },
  {
    "movie": "junebug",
    "reviews": [
      "a cool delight when it sticks to comic observation . it only starts to crawl when morrison shifts his blue-gray medley to darker tones .",
      "despite the best of intentions , MOV never quite comes together .",
      "the sum is something deeply profound : about awkwardness , culture clash , failed connections , and -- ultimately -- the strength that comes from surviving a trial by fire .",
      "the adult tensions and the tone take us to a place remembered so vividly that even if we do n't know this corner of the south , we 've somehow lived there or at least passed through .",
      "there are ceramic cardinals mounted on the wall , and zingers on top of the refrigerator ; but there are dark woods here , and they 're just beyond the family 's backyard deck ...",
      "MOV is that rare kind of movie that contrasts ` cultured ' big-city characters with devout , ` simple ' folk without being condescending or judgmental of either camp .",
      "adams is first-rate in her lovable desperation , watson reminds me of many parochial piedmont mamas , and taylor is remarkable as the visionary with no eye for his own follies .",
      "a gem of a gentle , contemplative drama , filled with the joy and sadness that comprise all of our lives .",
      "... a movie that slowly reveals its compassion for ordinary people , each of whom is eventually revealed as an individual , possessed of an array of qualities",
      "it is a modest but brilliantly acted , spiritually rewarding and often heartbreaking portrait of life as a work in progress .",
      "phil morrison does an impressive job with his big-screen directorial debut , although we ca n't figure out how he wants us to take madeleine .",
      "MOV addresses familiar themes in an intriguingly understated way .",
      "morrison and his cast approach this familiar story with such understated intelligence , we do n't even realize they 've pulled the rug out from under the audience until we 've tumbled to the floor , clichés scattered in pieces around us .",
      "for all its specificity , we come away feeling as if we 've walked in the shoes of all of these people at different points in our lives .",
      "an extraordinary cast find gnarly human truths in material that , in less astute hands , could have degenerated into a southern fried meet the parents . or a sermon .",
      "morrison and screenwriter angus maclachlan put an unusual spin on the old chestnuts , playing them straight -- well , almost straight -- and letting the subtle , knotty humanity shine through the surface tics and traits .",
      "how slow can we go ?",
      "a deceptively simple , deeply resonant story about the inherent loneliness of family , the odds against assimilation and the enormous distances that can divide two people .",
      "the balancing act of character contradictions ultimately becomes more about itself than true human behavior .",
      "morrison likes to cite the japanese master filmmaker yasujiro ozu as an influence , and you can feel his guiding hand throughout this remarkable debut feature .",
      "a marvelous and moving film that looks honestly and penetratingly at every character in its frame , constantly surprising us and challenging our own preconceptions .",
      "this comedy-drama takes a few unexpected dramatic turns and actually manages to say a few things about the peculiar charms of the south without becoming too patronizing or cloyingly phony .",
      "thanks to adams ' performance and strong story , it makes for a mildly entertaining southern-fried experience .",
      "an imperfect movie that 's perfectly wonderful .",
      "a quiet journey into the heartland , and the heart .",
      "`` MOV '' is a southern class struggle played out in small , with amy adams the brightest star among these delicate -- and often misunderstood -- flowers .",
      "morrison captures not only the flavors of southern living - from church suppers to hollerin ' contests - but a sense of what it 's like to be southern .",
      "forrest gump always said that stupid is as stupid does ... some of MOV 's strange folk would respond to that platitude with a resounding `` huh ? ''",
      "MOV has delightful moments , but much of it is a southern-fried drag .",
      "a generally quiet film grounded in character studies , where things just happen as they naturally might -- and where things are n't tied up in neat little packages .",
      "... a true american original ... a small miracle that marks the emergence of a truly unique new filmmaking team ... this entire ensemble just clicks",
      "you may find yourself caught entrancingly off guard by the conflicting shades of love , suspicion , tradition , and mystery that infuse this tale of lost innocence , deep roots , and what it means to come from the world of the south .",
      "morrison mostly succeeds in his attempt to show how secret knowledge can result in sudden violence as well as long-term , lived-in acceptance .",
      "phil morrison 's wise , bittersweet , beautifully acted comedy about a southern homecoming envelops us in texture of a world the movies rarely visit .",
      "north is north and south is south and here the twain does meet -- delightfully .",
      "like meet the parents as written by tennessee williams .",
      "it takes one of two things to cut through the critic 's desensitized haze - either a smashingly original idea , or the same old ideas re-envisioned with unusual grace . MOV is a nice example of the second .",
      "a couple 's new marriage is tested on a visit to the groom 's family in north carolina where traditional values hold sway .",
      "helmer morrison and scripter angus maclachlan merely hint at long-festering estrangement that provides an ominously percolating undercurrent throughout scenes in the modest but spacious family home .",
      "using the paradigm of the outsider to an advantage , MOV centers on the familial and cultural clashes in a southern clan , when the son brings home his sophisticated wife .",
      "`` MOV '' has its bumpy roads , but ultimately this window on small-town americana is as honest and revelatory as they come . a gem indeed .",
      "amy adams gives a standout performance that 's worthy of oscar consideration .",
      "comes on like a carbon copy of ` meet the parents , ' then turns the concept inside out , revealing unexpected depths and shades in what initially looked like worn-out material .",
      "MOV is an admirable film , but its charms will be visible only to the most patient filmgoers .",
      "it 's a pure , indie film experience that has about zero in the way of physical action , but plenty of emotional struggle , and does n't bluntly telegraph where it 's going .",
      "the many well-drawn characters , make MOV a pleasure to watch , but the plotting is dull , and the script leaves too many questions .",
      "it 's a soft and tender portrait of the funky south with splashes of color , notably amy adams in a balls-out performance .",
      "a slight film enlivened by adams ' winning performance .",
      "i found most of the characters to be either uninteresting or annoying .",
      "what 's abundantly clear is that adams steals the film as the irrepressible ashley .",
      "this low-key drama is a miracle of mood , atmosphere , and sensitivity .",
      "restores some of the lustre to the indie dysfunction genre .",
      "merely being different does n't always equal good .",
      "while it 's very clear that she adores george , the visit exposes the mysterious fragility of their marriage .",
      "a quirky , moderately entertaining , mildly depressing , altogether frustrating work ... too artsy by half .",
      "this crazy journey south ends up more than rewarding .",
      "southern living feels indescribably delicious in this languorous ode to small-town dysfunction .",
      "if the academy has any brains , heart , and balls , at least one oscar will go to the quietly brilliant MOV .",
      "if there were an oscar for ensemble acting , MOV would be a candidate this february .",
      "every scene in this film is perfectly executed .",
      "... the honesty with which -lsb- the film has -rsb- been imbued is generally difficult to resist .",
      "there 's a constant tension in the air , as if the characters could make catastrophic decisions at any moment but the film consistently surprises you by upturning the expected cliches .",
      "MOV is the older , wiser sibling of home-for-the-holidays family melodramas like pieces of april .",
      "the movie cuts deep with its realistic portrayals of human strengths , weaknesses , and relational dynamics .",
      "an arthouse meet the parents , MOV explores the same territory with greater subtlety and complexity , and more chuckles and quiet smiles , instead of big comedy routines .",
      "click to read review -lsb- greek -rsb-",
      "delicately avoids hollywood 's typical condescending caricatures of those who dwell below the mason-dixon line .",
      "um filme que exige ser visto mais de uma vez , no mьnimo para que possamos ter o prazer de rever atuaушes tсo ricas em detalhes .",
      "a beautiful , sensitive exploration of the strings that hold people together",
      "on paper , MOV might sound like something you 've already seen a dozen times . but movies are n't made on paper , silly .",
      "director phil morrison and screenwriter angus maclachlan , both from north carolina , give us characters that ring true and a worthy portrait of the chasm between city and country .",
      "in the end , we not only believe in the men and women populating the film , but feel along with them . by offering that experience , MOV has done its job .",
      "uneasily familiar , and sort of beautiful",
      "rich with details both humorous and sad ... . deeply satisfying .",
      "MOV gets under your skin .",
      "MOV has a big , wide-open heart and a sense of wonder about how complicated and surprising people are .",
      "the richly suggestive MOV gives us plenty to mull as it takes us into an environment where secrets are harbored and character can stagnate like summer air that has all but given up waiting for a breeze .",
      "thanks to newfangled things like tv and the internet , small-town folks are n't as uniformly insulated as director phil morrison and screenwriter angus mclachlan would have us believe .",
      "as refreshing as a tall glass of iced tea with mint on a hot summer 's day , MOV is one of the year 's most beguiling films .",
      "MOV immerses itself in a part of the american experience hollywood does n't touch anymore , and has sharp , perceptive talents behind camera .",
      "MOV is a great film because it is a true film . it humbles other films that claim to be about family secrets and eccentricities .",
      "a dreary , stagnant story about people who make no effort to think or grow .",
      "the stereotypical outsider look into fundamentalist southern christian world is a bit too clichéd but the small , capable cast makes the best out of it .",
      "MOV has the feel of a good short story or novella .",
      "MOV is a textbook case of filmmakers who ca n't make up their minds about their characters ; it 's a failure of nerve disguised as dramatic ambiguity .",
      "thankfully maclachlan and morrison do n't take the easy way out by making fun of the country folk , or by `` humanizing '' the city folk and converting them to country ways .",
      "adams is so pure-hearted and touching that she redeems the film , just as her character redeems , or tries to , the blighted lives around her .",
      "all the acting is so good , and the setting is so rightly observed , that MOV emerges as one of the best pictures of the year .",
      "composed of small moments that , in their questioning , touch on something illuminating about the human heart and its mysterious adaptability .",
      "it 's hugely entertaining , it 's spectacularly acted , and it pricks you in all kinds of places .",
      "they do n't make a lot of movies like this -lrb- it did n't come from a formula or fit into an easy category description -rrb- , but it 's nice to enjoy it when they do .",
      "amy adams gives an oscar worthy performance in this quiet , contemplative film about southern family life .",
      "with MOV , it 's what 's inside that counts .",
      "sort of a meet the parents for the sundance set , director phil morrison 's bizarrely overpraised MOV is one of this year 's vaguest , most listless oddities .",
      "this visit to the old homestead is worthwhile , if only to meet its unflappable , charismatic women .",
      "as someone with southern roots , i can tell you i personally know every character in this movie . i am especially knowledgeable of george , a man who knew he had to leave but knows part of him never can .",
      "features an astounding performance from comparative unknown amy adams that is all the more satisfying in that it does n't overwhelm the film .",
      "the overall female performances are excellent in this telling saga that informs us you ca n't go home again .",
      "an artfully simple , quietly perceptive movie ... one of the most honest , revealing portraits of familial love and friction to hit the screen in years .",
      "wonderful performances and the director 's continual inventiveness make MOV a particularly promising first feature .",
      "in MOV , everything is great - no question about it - but one element chews up the screen and carpet bombs the audience for attention ... that element is amy adams .",
      "it 's sometimes said that southerners rejoice in their eccentrics and put them out on the porch for full display , rather than push them in the closet . indeed , the filmmakers have given us a nicely filled porch .",
      "slips its way into your affections with quiet observations and knowing moments of reflection .",
      "adams won a sundance award for her portrayal of this deeply lovable motormouth , and it 's easy to see why .",
      "a warm and honest gem of a movie , frequently laugh-out-loud funny in surprising and genuine ways , and quietly touching without forcing obvious emotions on the viewer .",
      "as curiously odd , profound and beautiful as its title .",
      "this brilliantly detailed , richly painted portrait lingers long in the memory .",
      "brimming with bright dialogue , complex characters and moments of sheer aching sweetness , it 's chekhov with a side of red-eye gravy .",
      "it 's a quiet , funny , moving triumph , the kind of movie that gives ` interesting ' a good name .",
      "with its wise understanding of the magnetic pull -lrb- and invisible polarities -rrb- of family , MOV is an auspicious debut for morrison .",
      "while this sweet-tart movie is definitely worth seeing , more compelling is what morrison , and adams , will do next .",
      "excels at showing us characters and situations that turn out to be far more complicated than they initially appear .",
      "at every moment when `` MOV '' could choose dramatic clichж , even with ashley 's pregnancy , it 's beautifully subtle . a poetic , graceful tale about the comforts and oddities of returning home to family .",
      "morrison and maclachlan mine the clash of cultures for comedy , but there 's an undertow of sadness to their film - and adams 's touching performance as george 's na № ve but well-meaning , heavily pregnant sister-in-law captures this perfectly",
      "MOV annoyed me while in the theater , and annoys me even more as i write about it .",
      "the humor here is expectedly quirky but it feels earned thanks to writer maclachlan and director morrison 's honestly rendered observations of family and small-town life",
      "a wonderful bittersweet dramedy that deserves to be seen .",
      "amy adams is simply magical , guileless and throbbing , sunniness fraught with desperation",
      "from dinner-table silences , to nuances of baptist vocabulary , to ` colorful ' displays of southern imagination , these people are three-dimensional and compelling .",
      "... one of many reasons to love MOV is how often it offers us spaces to fill in ourselves , the faith it shows in handing us small puzzles -- eugene 's hand-carved bird , for instance -- to chuckle over or think on afterward .",
      "not since ... my cousin vinny has there been a more charming class-clash comedy-drama than MOV .",
      "to get a good idea of what to expect , think hee haw presented as a shakespearean melodrama ."
    ],
    "summary": "aided and abetted by a wonderful cast , director phil morrison transforms familiar material into an understated and resonant comedy .",
    "id": "2769"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1016819-producers",
    "reviews": [
      "scathingly hysterical .",
      "if mel brooks is remembered for only three films , then he can rest easy knowing that they 're three of the funniest ones ever made . and the MOV was the first .",
      "nobody does it like brooks ! the best interpretation of the tale to date .",
      "a great introduction to mel brooks ' humor .",
      "brooks ' first feature , an absolutely hilarious and tasteless new york jewish comedy about broadway .",
      "you do n't need to be a wwii vet to feel the glee as the movie invites us to dance on hitler 's grave .",
      "if you love and understand live theatre , or the old-school movie musicals of the 1940s , you will enjoy this much more than people who can not transfer their minds to that world .",
      "wilder 's like a baby monkey -- you get the feeling he 'd cling to your leg if you let him .",
      "it 's the ultimate punchline , the killer gag , that a proto-novel that turned into a proto-play that ended up as a movie about the worst musical in history , is now the most popular musical in town .",
      "i suppose you could call it a time capsule . then again , brooks ' broadway blockbuster may prove that blustery bad taste is timeless ... ferrell is so ferociously over the top , i hope the other cast members all got rabies shots .",
      "slapstick comedy-musical -- not meant for kids .",
      "like the MOV itself , springtime for hitler , with its busby berkeley-meets-leni riefenstahl choreography and creatively crude lyrics , ends up proving that bad taste can be irresistible .",
      "... suffers from a pervasive lack of laughs that 's compounded by writer/director mel brooks ' relentlessly -lrb- and exhaustingly -rrb- over-the-top sensibilities .",
      "but despite the too-wacky-for-their-own-good jokes and slow pacing , there 's no denying the genius of gene wilder and zero mostel .",
      "mel brooks has turned a funny idea into a slapstick film , thanks to the performers , particularly zero mostel .",
      "the original , and by far the best .",
      "quite possibly brooks 's finest hour .",
      "the MOV has many things going for it -- notably a wild , ad-lib energy that explodes in a series of sight gags and punch lines .",
      "everything that can go wrong in an amateur film does go wrong , from the timing to the structure to the pitch of the performances .",
      "an anarchic reminder that laughter can be mightier than the sword .",
      "great , great , great ! `` springtime for hitler , '' one of the funniest sequences ever put on film ! wilder is great , mostel , a force of nature . always fresh , no matter how often you see it .",
      "some of it is shoddy and gross and cruel ; the rest is funny in an entirely unexpected way .",
      "hilarious and irreverent , brooks ' first film has the good fortune to be graced with the comic genius of mostel , wilder , and shawn .",
      "great",
      "holds up poorly . what once was seen as daring and over-the-top now plays as tame and unfunnily goofy ,",
      "sublime .",
      "the hilarious original that inspired the musical -lrb- and upcoming film , again -rrb- ... if you like mel brooks , you 'll like this .",
      "a cheeky and intelligent look at a more disturbing side of live theatre .",
      "a wacky and hilarious and shameless delight .",
      "are you kidding ? one of the best comedies ever made .",
      "it is moving to know that a film can be so entertaining , and almost a third of a century after its release , it still stands tall above almost every contemporary comedy and every pretentious twit who moans about films that ` have nothing to say ' .",
      "it 's childlike in its silliness , adult in its message of how utterly idiotic starting wwii was , and downright brilliant besides .",
      "i agree that it was funny . i did not find it one of the funniest of all time .",
      "brooks 's magnum opus is still a ferocious gale of bulldozing jewish mockery , dominated by zero mostel 's comb-over juggernaut .",
      "for those who have n't yet checked out brooks ' virgin foray into wild screen comedy , give the MOV a look for its pioneering aspects and introduction to a broad new mind .",
      "hilarious assault on the dubious ethics at work in the business side of the hollywood movie industry .",
      "this is one of the funniest movies ever made .",
      "more than thirty years after its initial release , it 's still outrageous as ever and one of the funniest films ever made .",
      "the star not only indulges himself gluttonously , but the director seems to be doubled up with laughter at how funny he is being through mostel ; and the film bloats into sogginess .",
      "what could be more anti-nazi than having a sixties flower child portray hitler",
      "like all of brooks ' films , the comedy works through cleverness , stupidity and audacity .",
      "it remains neck and neck with young frankenstein as brooks ' best film .",
      "mel brooks ' first and best !",
      "as colorful and fun as the cast is , it 's the play-within-the-play that pushes the movie into genius , a musical so bad it 's hilarious .",
      "a film that will likely never be matched for its sheer audaciousness , puckish glee , and willingness to go any distance for a laugh .",
      "the one aspect of the original MOV that still stuns is the roaring , over-the-top , in-your-face thereness of its two lead performances .",
      "' ... a masterpiece ... it goes beyond the laughs into the secrets inside all of our hearts . '",
      "what makes the movie so special , without a doubt , is the hysterical exchanges between mostel and wilder .",
      "the film is ripe with treasures worth rediscovering .",
      "this shamelessly low-brow , fearlessly satirical brooks movie may just be hollywood 's ultimate satire , a furiously witty ` reductio ad absurdum ' worthy of the great augustans like pope and swift ."
    ],
    "summary": "a hilarious satire of the business side of hollywood , the MOV is one of mel brooks ' finest , as well as funniest films , featuring standout performances by gene wilder and zero mostel .",
    "id": "11701"
  },
  {
    "movie": "indiana_jones_and_the_temple_of_doom",
    "reviews": [
      "a nonstop ride of chills and thrills",
      "-lsb- t -rsb- he best of the indiana jones movies ... it 's insanely wonderful , in every sense of those words .",
      "... an obvious step down from its stellar predecessor ...",
      "this movie is batshit insane .",
      "spielberg has come up with another rousing piece of entertainment .",
      "a fun and worthy sequel that really continues the harrowing but exciting exploits of indiana jones ...",
      "with the action nonstop there is no time for mere acting , much less for a coherent plot .",
      "more gore , gross-outs than the other indy blockbusters .",
      "an unbelievably crass , unpleasant , horrific picture",
      "it 's not the darker turn that makes the temple of doom uncomfortable at times ; it 's its mean-spiritedness .",
      "again you will savor the indiana jones schizophrenia : by day a bow-tied , bespectacled archaeologist ; by night a resourceful swaggerer , whom ford brings to life as a modern blend of bogie and the duke , with just a glint of misfit psychopathy in his eyes .",
      "terrific opening with ` anything goes ' in chinese -- then the kid shows up and it 's downhill .",
      "only so so follow up to `` raiders . '' extra points off for the very annoying short round .",
      "set years before the events of raiders of the lost ark , MOV is sillier , darkly violent and a bit dumbed down , but still great fun .",
      "part of the trouble is that anything clearly does go , including the slender hold on credibility that raiders managed to maintain .",
      "i honestly think this edgier prequel to raiders of the lost ark does an even better job of being a non-stop rollercoaster ride than the original .",
      "all action and little story made for an entertaining followup to the adventure classic .",
      "though not as thrilling as raiders of the lost ark , the second chapter still has merits , particularly its fast pacing , spectacular opening scene , and visual effects , which won the oscars in 1984 .",
      "see website for more details .",
      "darker indiana , still grand",
      "... it 's cathartic as hell , for spielberg and for those of us who go for the ride . the mayhem is transporting , inspired , exultant ...",
      "does n't live up to the excitement and thrills of the original , but still a pretty wild ride .",
      "vastly under rated . grand fun .",
      "single-handedly caused the ` pg-13 ' rating , and for that alone , i love it .",
      "an unforgettable picture . do n't miss it !",
      "moments like the collapsing bridge , the mine cart ride , and the cave full of bugs are as thrilling or more so than anything in the first movie .",
      "the worst of the bunch - but still has moments of fun .",
      "too shapeless to be the fun that raiders is , but shape may be beside the point . old - time , 15-part movie serials did n't have shape . the just went on and on and on , which is what indiana jones does with humor and technical invention .",
      "one of steven spielberg 's best movies , because he for once is n't trying to say anything at all . he 's just having fun .",
      "there is little to appreciate here in terms of craft or characterization -- but the whole thing bounces along so damn nicely , who cares ?",
      "the darker side of spielberg .",
      "everything bad in temple of doom is the fault of the insipid script , and everything good belongs to spielberg , ford , and that funny little asian kid .",
      "from our perspective it is still a very good piece of hollywood entertainment , much superior to the more recent examples of same genre .",
      "there 's plenty of rip-roaring action to distract us from the more unpalatable elements .",
      "the sustained furore of humour , visual panache and headlong momentum makes for dazzling cinema . all of which makes it possibly spielberg 's most underrated film .",
      "seems to forgo characterization and plot development in favor of action sequences that do n't necessarily feature as much exciting action as in its predecessor .",
      "yes , temple of doom still stinks -- save that spectacular opening shanghai nightclub scene .",
      "you know , the more distance i get from this , the more i think : man , what a dark , depressing film . i think when it came out i was just that desperate for a new indy flick .",
      "while ` the temple of doom ' is a bit gloomy , puts children in danger , and confines its action primarily to one spot , it 's still quite entertaining . -lrb- blu-ray edition -rrb-",
      "... makes you wonder if spielberg and series producer george lucas might have been going through some sort of drug phase .",
      "fantastically choreographed action sequences and another comely companion for indy -lrb- capshaw -rrb- and gloriously overdone visual devices make up for the shameless lack of plot .",
      "a breakneck adventure that moves at twice the pace of the original but has only half the creative strength .",
      "the reality is that this is the film that comes closest to reflecting the racism , sexism and jingoism that fuelled most of the serials that originally sparked spielberg and george lucas 's impressionable young imaginations .",
      "it lacks the sense of detail that made raiders such a treat . it is n't very clever , very funny or very compelling .",
      "if it was a sign of the times for indiana jones to take on more of a comic-book aspect , the film 's accomodation of darker themes and explicit imagery came as something of a shock to many .",
      "where the brilliant `` raiders '' was an adventure film aimed at the child at heart , `` temple of doom '' is really designed for the kiddie market itself .",
      "do n't dismiss temple of doom just because , you know , it 's kinda stupid .",
      "stilted attempts to soften doom 's gloom only create a sense of manipulative phoniness",
      "it 's an extremely well-crafted , exciting , and , most importantly , brave work .",
      "in retrospect , there 's something hateful about this picture that 's energizing . it 's a f**ked freudian funhouse of freakishly personal divorce anxiety .",
      "the film betrays no human impulse higher than that of a ten-year-old boy trying to gross out his baby sister by dangling a dead worm in her face .",
      "pic comes on like a sledgehammer , and there 's even a taste of vulgarity and senseless excess not apparent in raiders .",
      "exciting , but the weakest film of the trilogy",
      "the kind of movie where your date is always grabbing your forearm in a viselike grip , as unbearable excitement unfolds on the screen . after the movie is over , you 've had a great time but your arm is black-and-blue for a week ."
    ],
    "summary": "it may be too `` dark '' for some , but MOV remains an ingenious adventure spectacle that showcases one of hollywood 's finest filmmaking teams in vintage form .",
    "id": "23530"
  },
  {
    "movie": "moustache",
    "reviews": [
      "a successful novelist and restrained actor 's director , carrére makes the transformation of a silly marital argument into a cosmic upheaval look easy , and profound as well .",
      "the film is an unpretentious blank slate -- almost totally without point but so unassuming it earns consideration .",
      "a deliciously unsettling , beautifully sustained enigma , a film of much beauty and flawless performances , especially from vincent lindon in one of his most demanding roles .",
      "a satisfying psychological adventure that powers along nicely on its movie-star performances , the graceful craftsmanship of emmanuel carrere 's direction and a haunting violin concerto by philip glass .",
      "part absurdist comedy about the institution of marriage , part paranoid kafkaesque fantasy , it 's a minor-key reverie on the way our own lives can sometimes feel alien to us .",
      "carrere playfully adapts his own novel for his feature debut and makes the interesting decision to show the film 's events entirely through marc 's perspective .",
      "an awfully rickety , hollow exercise in style over substance",
      "it 's all a bit like an agatha christie mystery whose final moments make it clear that none of the characters could have done it ... if you can live with that , then do n't miss it .",
      "... recalls the `` everyday suspense '' films of roman polanski and the existential woe of michelangelo antonioni .",
      "a unique psychological drama with the tension of a whodunit .",
      "this narrative feature debut by emmanuel carrere , based on his own novel , is deliberately open-ended , but however one interprets the outcome , the film reminds us how fragile intimacy is .",
      "what does it all mean ? we are never quite sure . all we learn from this relentless saga of mental and physical solitude are the many varieties of suffering one can endure when one feels alone in the universe .",
      "la MOV uses sly wit and foreboding to deconstruct notions of self in its portrait of a close shave with insanity .",
      "too many narrative illogicalities make the 86 minutes seem long , despite two excellent performances and an intriguing premise .",
      "at its most stimulating , MOV is a keen glimpse into a marriage that appears perfect on the surface but when examined shows its deficiencies .",
      "what the movie lacks visually , it makes up for with the performances , especially by lindon , who leads us on a journey we want to stick with even if we ca n't fully understand .",
      "in one sense it 's what might be called ` typically french , ' an exquisitely observed fable of bourgeois life that is mordant , witty and yet low-key . in another sense , it 's what might be called ` nuts . '",
      "as with the recent french films lemming and the bridesmaid , la MOV generates a high level of tension with the most mundane things .",
      "a mind-bending treat adapted by director emmanuel carrčre from his novel .",
      "kafkaesque story of man who shaves trademark MOV . afterwards everybody -- wife included -- insists that he has never had one !",
      "a dizzying experiment , evocative and frustrating at the same time .",
      "those looking for a good thriller should be pleased enough and those seeking a serious art film will get plenty of philosophy with their pretty pictures .",
      "bristling with existential doubt and ennui ... carrčre 's half-nightmare , half-dream vision of one man 's imprisonment in his own life remains satisfyingly unresolved and stubbornly unique .",
      "it 's a brief , simple film that never overreaches but , if you 're into it , it raises fascinating questions about identity .",
      "a shuddery , enigmatic study in psychological suspense .",
      "a profound allegory about the tension between isolation and intimacy .",
      "spins an agitated mystery well beyond its minimalist starting point , offering up giant questions about sanity and identity on its trip from the bathroom mirror .",
      "the film 's greatest disappointment : rendering the captivating , enigmatic , and oddly gorgeous emmanuelle devos into an unsympathetic character . for shame .",
      "emmanuel carrere 's psychological mystery is a surreal reflection on perception , reality and memory .",
      "la MOV , the first feature by novelist emmanuel carrere , begins as a comedy , but grows darker and darker by the frame . it 's like a hitchcock thriller filtered through the mind of austrian firebrand michael haneke , who gave us cache .",
      "la MOV dissolves into a meandering annoyance that takes us from paris to hong kong and back again .",
      "the MOV provides a feast of sustained tension .",
      "-lsb- director -rsb- carrere re-creates the insane mind through his camera , and diffuses his point about subjective experience by inadvertently raising questions about truth and the movies .",
      "an absorbing riddle posed in cool , matter-of-fact tones .",
      "i found it mesmerizing from beginning to end .",
      "as intelligently as carrčre handles this material , giving it just the right hint of distance and ambiguity , la MOV tends to drift toward the mechanisms of the thriller .",
      "the hitchcock-style story ... is intriguing from start to finish , despite the lack of answers to the many questions it raises . and , that ai n't shabby .",
      "an intriguing study of identity , marriage and , perhaps , madness .",
      "leaps from a gripping identity thriller into a strange yet equally involving adventure about the bounds of self-knowledge and the incredible liberty of disregarding them .",
      "... a movie about identity and marriage that raises many questions and supplies many answers without actually giving any .",
      "an elegantly acted psychological puzzle , it 's like watching a nervous breakdown from the inside out ."
    ],
    "summary": "though the premise may be modest on the surface , carrere uses a man and his mustache that may or may not exist as a springboard into psychological suspense and unsettling questions .",
    "id": "326393385"
  },
  {
    "movie": "love_actually",
    "reviews": [
      "i 'll take an overly sentimental movie over a sardonic one any day - particularly around the holidays . now if i only santa would tuck hugh under my christmas tree .",
      "` why make one good romantic comedy when you can make nine bad ones ? '",
      "jamais deixa de ser envolvente , jб que curtis , um escritor experiente , й hбbil na construзгo das histуrias , que sгo recheadas com seu humor tipicamente britвnico .",
      "the year 's busiest and most relentlessly shameless comedy . it 's also among the year 's funniest and most disarming .",
      "there 's good acting in MOV , but director richard curtis threatens to take the cool out of london .",
      "it tries to cover all aspects of love and succeeds far better than you would expect it to .",
      "peppered with so many moments of raw , affecting honesty that it 's intensely difficult to dislike -- and tempting to forgive richard curtis for not finishing what he starts ,",
      "richard curtis is so earnest ... that what otherwise might seem overly sentimental and cloying comes across as genuinely touching",
      "you 'll laugh ! you 'll cry ! and you 'll go home feeling ever so slightly used ...",
      "classy , so long as you approach it without thought , basic narrative understanding , and resistance to unearned sentiment .",
      "all in all , i thoroughly enjoyed the movie until , in the end , it went somewhat bonkers with what amounted to a communal love fest on christmas eve .",
      "whatever the actors are given to do they make so delightful -- or so delightfully moving -- that MOV wins out over its wobbles .",
      "curtis repeats and reiterates these themes to the point that it 's just as redundant as saying that someone repeats and reiterates in the same statement .",
      "` encantadora , romántica y mágica , es una de esa cintas que cualquiera que aún crea en la bondad humana y en lo hermoso de las relaciones personales va a disfrutar como nadie '",
      "MOV is cheerful and undeniably romantic and , despite its flaws , you 'd be hard-pressed to sit through the credits without smiling .",
      "sitting through 128 minutes of this much aggressive charm and wit is like being mugged in slow motion by beautiful people from the pages of vanity fair .",
      "upon first viewing , it is something of a guilty pleasure . upon second viewing , it is simply a pleasure .",
      "this kind of comedy has just hit the wall .",
      "there 's simply too much here to digest .",
      "screenwriter richard curtis tries to direct , puts too many eggs in his basket , and winds up with a very runny omelette .",
      "MOV plays like a greatest-hits album of modern british comedy , spinning all your favorite tunes in just the right order .",
      "the movie 's only flaw is also a virtue : it 's jammed with characters , stories , warmth and laughs , until at times curtis seems to be working from a checklist of obligatory movie love situations and does n't want to leave anything out .",
      "the perfect christmas confection .",
      "MOV is n't deep , but it can be amusing . if its parts are better than the whole , at least it has parts that provide real laughs .",
      "it 'll leave you feeling mushy in all the right ways .",
      "there are enough stories in MOV that even if some do n't appeal to you , others will .",
      "curtis throws every gag he can think of at the screen and the ones that do n't stick , he throws again and again .",
      "from top to bottom , MOV is a sparkler .",
      "a rambling and repetitive , sometimes enjoyable , mostly maddening treatise on love or , at least , an r-rated hallmark version of it .",
      "MOV , actually is n't half bad ... the snafu is there 's way too many stories going on at once ...",
      "for the cuddlers out there who like things a little too light and fluffy .",
      "disconcertingly lubricious .",
      "seldom have we seen such an extensive ensemble of talent in the movies yanked through the material like lambs on their way to a slaughter .",
      "love ? actually , no . more like disappointment , and , at times , hatred .",
      "a long running time , too many characters and too much whimsy and corn make this romantic romp more of a slog than a soufflé .",
      "romantic and entertaining -- for older teens .",
      "bombastic audience-hooting moments aside , curtis has written his most accomplished film , finding the energy to direct the hell out of it as well . and it 's even gloriously r-rated to boot .",
      "despite it 's naivety , this is one of the most beautiful and heart warming movies to come around in years ...",
      "loads of fun as long as your expectations are n't overly raised by the hype , the cast and the taglines .",
      "transfixed by the taboos of the ... british class system , curtis seems to think that nothing could be more erotic than the subordinate who fetches tea or dusts the crockery .",
      "impressive , if self-indulgent directing debut .",
      "while the movie is occasionally charming , the soufflé falls flat in the end ...",
      "one character goes on about the ` total agony ' of being in love . that 's nothing compared to the agony of watching these people in the agonies of love .",
      "it wants to swirl round the world and find love in every cranny , but it does n't have the effortless rush of energy that it would need to make the masses of plot come together .",
      "in the end the film is just as winsome and sugary as its facile message : `` love , actually , is all around . ''",
      "ten romantic comedies rolled into one .",
      "my problem is an acute allergy to repitition . love , actually and other champions of the romantic-comedy flyweight division make me break out in hives .",
      "it 's tart and amusing but carries a slightly cloying aftertaste .",
      "a charming little film that , unfortunately , gets carried away with itself and never quite makes the grade .",
      "a highly engineered puffball .",
      "warm , wistful , whimsical .",
      "it 's shamelessly sentimental and proud of it . it 's determined to wear you down and make you love it as much as it loves itself . it 's too much -- and , yet , somehow , not enough .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- perfectly wonderful , perfectly foolish movie , in that fool-for-love kind of way .",
      "you 'd have to be a terrible grump to not like MOV at least a little .",
      "more a garage sale of stories by writer-director richard curtis , MOV gives its underused british cast something to do with no harry potter film this year .",
      "it 's good for a few laughs , and its heart is in the right place . but i never believed a moment of it .",
      "... an arrow from cupid , and only the most cynical moviegoer would try to dodge it .",
      "while there are moments when it works beautifully , the overall result is much too insistent on an upbeat tone , stubbornly forcing the christmas spirit where it does n't belong .",
      "there are enough characters here to populate a dozen movies , but not enough imagination for one .",
      "mostly just wants the audience to feel good and revel in the warmth of a fresh attraction .",
      "one of the most unabashedly romantic films i 've ever seen .",
      "call it a christmas gift from britain to the world ; this film is undeniably charming and , for a holiday movie , sets the standard for the first years of the 21st century .",
      "the sentiment is in earnest , so lovers take heart",
      "the performances are droll , every one of them , the dialogue wry and witty , and the emotional moments by turns poignant , wrenching and jubilant .",
      "unrequited love does not exist . in fact , there 's so much requiting going on , we start wishing to see someone get dumped just to add a little excitement to the mix .",
      "you can go into this expecting to be spoon-fed sugary sap until cotton candy churns out of your ears , and you 'll still be surprised by the level of overkill .",
      "rather sprawling in its portrayal of several love stories , the film strikes some appeal at times , and misses the mark at others .",
      "it 's a perfectly respectable debut for curtis .",
      "plenty of entertainment in this well acted ensemble comedy that robert altman could easily have put his name on .",
      "this is cloying , deceitful , and more or less irresistible .",
      "without ever sounding a false note , this endearing ensemble holiday flick manages to be nuttier than notting hill , more satisfying than bridget jones ' diary , and even more intricate than four weddings and a funeral .",
      "curtis has created a joyful , entertaining date movie that 'll leave you with a smile on your face and an almost irresistible urge to hug somebody .",
      "this is definitely a case of a writer-turned-director that is too in love with his own script to make hard choices about what to keep and what to cut .",
      "this is an embarrassment , an overdrawn rom-com gone very wrong .",
      "the film lives up to its hype .",
      "funny ? maybe . not to me .",
      "curtis has lost none of his touch , though the ending is somewhat muddled and 135 minutes is very long , even for a good romantic comedy .",
      "there 's so much plot being thrown at us in MOV that there 's little room for genuine emotion ; the film is as superficial as a jay leno monologue .",
      "a totally bewitching comedy that has as much to say to the intellect as it does to the heart .",
      "yet another pandering , half-baked romantic comedy .",
      "slick but uneven romantic comedy .",
      "it 's too busy with too many stories to tell . but there 's so much heart and silly fun and genuine sentiment here , delivered by an a-list of brit and american talent that it 's hard to fault .",
      "too full of sweet sticky stuff for even the starry-eyed to stomach .",
      "finally , a delightful piece of christmas fluff to chase away visions of chainsaw-wielding serial killers .",
      "-lsb- curtis -rsb- is nothing if not capable of creating merry , madcap romantic comedy , and he punctuates the purposely hackneyed developments and labyrinthian structure with sly wit and sprightly pacing .",
      "this movie is so unfunny , uninspired and unoriginal i swear it could have started out as a club-footed coen brothers vehicle for george clooney .",
      "for a fairy tale , MOV is highly entertaining .",
      "if you missed four weddings or notting hill , there 's a good chance MOV will seem refreshing and delightful .",
      "MOV wo n't last you . still , while you 're enjoying it : yummy .",
      "the pacing 's off in places as well , and the movie is flabby and lightweight , feeling every bit as long as its 130 minutes . but the performances are quite good .",
      "perfectly wonderful if not completely perfect .",
      "it pushes its ` love is good ' message with such insistence , so many cheery pop tunes , airport hugs , coincidences and teary smiles , that it feels like one long commercial .",
      "finally , here is a genuine , warm-warming holiday movie for adults !",
      "curtis shows the same eccentric humanism and charm that gave him four weddings and a funeral and notting hill .",
      "there is probably something for everybody in this movie . if you do n't like some segment , and the people in it , just wait a few minutes .",
      "MOV will delight moviegoers who think that more really is more . cynics who prefer their twee without sugar are advised to look elsewhere .",
      "the film has no plot but nine subplots , which are four too many .",
      "the movie feels like curtis pasted together pages from his sketchbook , throwing every good -- or bad -- idea into a single film .",
      "hope springs eternal , love is everywhere , and keira knightley is genetic perfection .",
      "the only time -lsb- the movie -rsb- does n't stink is when it 's candidly admitting that it stinks .",
      "only the most hard-hearted and cynical wo n't find something endearing in MOV .",
      "the performances are tokens of charm , attitude , brit schtick , and the writer achieves the structure of confetti .",
      "a good movie , but it could have been a great one ... tries so hard to be a grand ensemble that it loses focus and settles for some easy laughs ... and not enough of my man hugh .",
      "all too rare is the holiday film that not only makes you feel good , but also is good . MOV works .",
      "call me scrooge , but i sincerely hope that this film does not become a christmas perennial .",
      "it 's no hardship whatsoever to sit through MOV ... but if curtis could have sharpened his focus , and trusted his actors a bit more , MOV could have been splendid .",
      "MOV is not so much great as it is so blissfully , swooningly romantic that it 's rendered irresistible .",
      "MOV , curtis ' holiday-themed directing debut , abandons any pretext of sophistication for gloppy sentimentality , sugary pop songs and bawdy humor -- an approach that works about half the time .",
      "an audience-pleaser , but very calculated and far from curtis ' best work .",
      "it 's not so much the individual storylines that grab you , but curtis ' unrelenting optimism .",
      "... tremendously entertaining ...",
      "there are no fewer than nine interlocking and overlapping love stories in richard curtis ' deadly epic sprawl of a romantic comedy , MOV . by the end of the movie , that 's nine too many .",
      "any love these characters may or may not actually share is so innocuous , and so downright false , that it sadly becomes invisible .",
      "curtis continues to find new twists on old romantic comedy stand-bys",
      "there 's enough that 's right about love to compensate for what 's wrong with it .",
      "if listing the cast of MOV is exhausting , it 's even more tiring to watch it .",
      "MOV is irresistible .",
      "curtis 's directing debut is frequently funny , generally fizzy and occasionally piercingly perceptive about the price love exacts .",
      "a form of emotional hardcore .",
      "delightful - the british accent makes everybody sexier and funnier .",
      "... a terrific film .",
      "there were times watching this movie when i felt i was being force-fed 30 pounds of crčme brűlée .",
      "the hollowness of the stories that lie behind each of these shameless heart-grabbers , laugh-getters and tear-jerkers becomes quickly apparent .",
      "warm , bittersweet and hilarious , this is lovely , actually . prepare to be smitten .",
      "it 's terrific fun for an hour , but by the last of its 129 minutes you might find yourself going into insulin shock .",
      "hugh grant , aging gracefully here , effortlessly utters some of the funniest lines of richard curtis 's directorial debut .",
      "hellish , protracted , and by turns so sickly sweet and disturbingly caustic that it must stand as one of the worst films of the year .",
      "runs long and gets silly at times , but it is not embarrassed to be a simple , happy film that affirms life and love .",
      "love is a many-splendored thing , but this film could have done with more of the splendor and not so much of the many .",
      "MOV is impossible to dislike ... no matter how cynically we might try .",
      "an utterly charming , classy and uproarious work of romantic hopefulness .",
      "love , actually '' is a bit sluggish at times , the film 's good nature and wit grows on you .",
      "go , you weapy-eyed romantics . it 's too long but mostly fun , actually .",
      "directorial debut of brit-com master richard curtis is a big , bright ensemble tale with many delights -- and absolutely no surprises .",
      "when a situation becomes intriguing , writer-director curtis develops add and shifts focus . fortunately , the cast and curtis ' eye for absurdly comic situations wins out .",
      "like the holiday season itself , the movie overwhelms you , but in an agreeable way .",
      "this movie contains everything except bridget jones , actually .",
      "-lsb- curtis ' -rsb- sheer glee is infectious . he 's playing us like fiddles , we know he 's playing us like fiddles , and he knows that we know , and everyone loves it .",
      "this should n't work , it 's so obvious and unconvincing and overdone , yet i have to admit that the damn movie got to me .",
      "richard curtis has , with this 4th working title chick flick , possibly ruined it for all men by just getting what women want in an onscreen man , - we 're not complaining ."
    ],
    "summary": "a sugary tale overstuffed with too many stories . still , the cast charms .",
    "id": "12852"
  },
  {
    "movie": "woman_on_the_beach",
    "reviews": [
      "a wonderful , serious-minded romantic comedy-drama about a film director 's uncertain relations with two successive women while trying to write a script at an off-season beach resort , this is korean buff favorite hong sang-soo 's most accessible film .",
      "this film lacks hong sang-soo 's usual insight and narrative innovation .",
      "this witty korean satire dissects men 's self-absorption , insecure sexuality , and fear of intimacy with critical honesty , wry humor , and delectable irony .",
      "simple and nicely convoluted at the same time .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- immaculately constructed movie .",
      "hong paints a piercing portrait of impetuous , confused , selfish masculinity in which the thrill of the chase repeatedly proves more enticing than the rewards of triumph .",
      "the story of how a self-absorbed korean film director spreads chaos and disappointment into the lives of two women he seduces and abandons .",
      "ineffable , hilarious , and true .",
      "exhilarating . hong 's latest and most charmingly accessible drama -lsb- is -rsb- more honest about self-destructive obsessions , betrayals , and hypocrises than even a first-person confessional like caveh zahedi 's i am a sex addict .",
      "MOV , perhaps -lsb- director hong 's -rsb- most accessible film -lrb- and often a funny one , too -rrb- , is a good introduction , even if it is not a masterpiece . here 's hoping more of his films see the light of an american day .",
      "hong -lsb- sang-soo -rsb- moves slowly but deftly through scenes rich with social games and veiled confessions and allows his characters to emerge sadder but wiser .",
      "a richly satisfying film that compassionately probes the human heart while preserving its elusive mysteries .",
      "reminiscent of godard 's contempt , but writer-director hong sang-soo -- south korea 's foremost chronicler of romantic maneuvering -- is more aptly compared to eric rohmer for his subtle comedy .",
      "none of it is very compelling , thanks in large part to hong 's painfully perfunctory camera style .",
      "hong has a deceptively simple director 's touch , an organic breeziness that makes things feel spontaneous and improvised .",
      "addresses in a serious/comical undertone something dearly personal and subtle the director has to say that 's worth paying attention to .",
      "a study of mannerisms and relationships that pauses for the occasional philosophic sidebar .",
      "you wo n't need a degree in korean cinema to anticipate that complications will arise .",
      "the scenery 's great and the performances adequate , but wake me when it 's over .",
      "MOV is a bittersweet accounting of the geography of desire .",
      "writer-director hong sang-soo , called the asian eric rohmer by some , has crafted what may be his most accessible exploration of young adult relationships",
      "korean director hong sang-soo 's MOV offers flavors of quarterlife angst and romantic insecurity for which american audiences clearly have an insatiable appetite .",
      "the pace is leisurely , the humor sly , and the cast superb . all in all , a civilized way to spend two hours .",
      "MOV is a stripped-down , witty explication of how we all get stymied by the impulses and options inherent in the simple act of living .",
      "newcomers intoxicated by hong 's amorous pileups and power plays will hopefully treat the movie as the gateway to an incredible back catalog .",
      "an elegant serving of comic seoul food from director hong sang-soo .",
      "a marvelously acted and memorably atmospheric picture .",
      "supremely refined",
      "unpredictable and refreshingly inventive , this flick certainly stands on its own as perhaps south korea 's kookiest contribution to the battle-of-the-sexes genre ."
    ],
    "summary": "hong brings his usual light touch to this well-acted salvo in the battle of the sexes .",
    "id": "528394117"
  },
  {
    "movie": "kate_and_leopold",
    "reviews": [
      "intended to be a modern-day fairy tale , this film only succeeds in delivering every time-travel cliché in the book .",
      "the overall quality of mangold 's writing and direction is poor .",
      "its sparkling humor and heady atmosphere of romance make it the ideal date movie .",
      "more forced than touching , lacking much of a serviceable plot and simply feeling off-track right from the get-go .",
      "essentially a nora ephron fairy tale with a sci-fi twist and a lot more plot than you might find in one of ms. ephron 's cotton-candy daydreams .",
      "what we have in this comedy are two hoary plot conceits of ancient vintage and dubious worth .",
      "as a spun-sugar , slightly screwball romantic comedy , it 's a delicious ` portal ' to an hour and change of escapism .",
      "even by movie standards , the time-tripping in k & l does n't work .",
      "supremely and sublimely romantic .",
      "predictably , there will be a spark between leopold and kate , but 80 minutes is too long to wait for it to catch fire .",
      "mangold should have done a bit more research with the screenplay , not to mention metaphysics .",
      "yes , it 's sweet and enjoyable , but it 's also a bit plodding .",
      "i was quickly won over by its disarming sense of fun , great performances and some clever ideas smoothly executed .",
      "one of the better examples of romantic comedies doing the rounds and even though it is overlong at times , it will make for passable video fodder one dreary sunday evening .",
      "-lsb- jackman is -rsb- handsome , funny , rugged and refined ; he gleams with confidence in a part that could have reduced lesser actors to silliness .",
      "if the idea is not original , well , not much is these days ; be thankful for something that can be called amusing .",
      "... an average , workmanlike production , virtually indistinguishable from any other example of the pat , easily digested , box-office-successful formula faithfully churned out by hollywood every day of the year .",
      "there 's nothing terribly wrong with kate & leopold -- it 's just an awfully conventional upmarket romantic comedy ...",
      "there 's nothing particularly earth-shaking about the movie , but ryan , jackman , schreiber and breckin meyer do their best to make the two hours bright and breezy .",
      "a limp wet noodle of a movie .",
      "has the sex appeal of a road runner cartoon , one-tenth the laughs and equal plausibility .",
      "mangold achieves a light , bouncy tone that matches both the story and ryan 's own natural charms without resorting to the cloying , artificially sweetened feel of such outings as you 've got mail .",
      "the movie ... is pleasant but forced .",
      "suffers from a complete lack of conviction in its material .",
      "cute or not , ryan is starting to seem like a stubborn homecoming queen who refuses to surrender her tiara .",
      "an oppressively cute manhattan time-travel romantic comedy that 's lost in time , space and cliches .",
      "long , embarrassing to watch , sloppy and infantile .",
      "for reactionary propaganda , the movie admittedly is fun , in a modest way .",
      "a hollywood formula flick with the life sucked out of it .",
      "seems like nothing so much as the product of focus-group sessions , a by-the-numbers chick flick about a woman who finds the perfect man and then does n't know what to do about it .",
      "hilarious at times , unbearably soppy at others , kate & leopold is comfortable viewing for old romantics .",
      "witless and relentlessly cliched ' ... this whimsy whoopie cushion of a lame romantic fable is as soggy as a jackie collins novel that fell into a jacuzzi .",
      "likeable as they are , kate and leo are hampered by the heavy-handed storytelling going on around them .",
      "es como un chocolate : aunque no aporta nada sustancial , es un deleite pasajero que bien vale la pena disfrutar .",
      "an amusing time-travel theme plus hugh jackman in his dashing duke 's uniform and meg ryan looking as perky as ever -- what more could incurable romantics ask for ?",
      "... after a few forays into delightful romantic comedy , it falls headfirst into complete but welcome predictability .",
      "what a dopey , ropey lot of nonsense from director and co-writer james mangold , who gave us girl , interrupted and cop land .",
      "after a promising start -lrb- heavy , cop land -rrb- , director james mangold has regressed beyond nostalgia and into inanity , the same way this film does .",
      "pasadera , divertida en algunos momentos , pero siendo exigentes con el género , lo mejor del filme sigue siendo la canción nominada ...",
      "the characters emerge as human rather than wow us with easy gags",
      "will they fall in love ? does fabio use conditioner ?",
      "roll with the fantasy , and it 's possible to enjoy yourself -- modestly .",
      "this bland , taffy-pulled , over-long go-round , like something put together by market research , lacks most of the essentials of true love -- heart , passion , sexuality , excitement etc. etc. .",
      "a 19th-century duke is transported into the present and becomes a commercial spokesman for margarine . wait , was n't that a bewitched episode ?",
      "as leopold ... jackman is the perfect mix of rogue and gentleman .",
      "flies on the sweet chemistry of meg ryan and hugh jackman .",
      "kate & leopold is is as gracious and charming as its hero , leopold -lrb- hugh jackman -rrb- , the third duke of albany .",
      "winning fluff , easy to take and easy to like -- the rare example of its genre that 's genuinely enjoyable .",
      "the blandness of the material translates into extreme wastefulness .",
      "hugh jackman is a delight as leopold , the perfect gentleman who 's a model of urbanity and civility so desperately missing from our times .",
      "kate & leopold is the perfect film-product . tastes great and wo n't go to your thighs .",
      "it 's a lot like those cary grant screwball comedies .",
      "a flat , pandering and stagnant romance .",
      "the problem with kate & leopold is that although this is supposed to be a romantic comedy , the best scenes are the ones in which there 's no ryan .",
      "an amusing diversion while we 're waiting for something better to come along .",
      "put ryan and jackman together , and they fail the simple alka seltzer chemistry test : plop , plop , fizzle , fizzle , and no , what a relief it is n't .",
      "while the time travel plot is downright silly , fine performances and excellent romantic chemistry rescue the story for the most part ...",
      "a simple pleasure -- the kind of entertainment romantic comedies are prone to provide .",
      "`` life is not comprised solely of tasks , but tastes . ''",
      "i have two words for you : hugh jackman . really , who cares what the story 's about ?",
      "surprisingly effective romantic comedy with hugh jackman at his most charming and meg ryan proving yet again why she has become the watermark against which all other female romantic leads are compared .",
      "a time-travel romantic comedy whose best elements -- meg ryan and hugh jackman -- overcome distracting plot holes , loose threads and assorted contrivances to make for a mostly charming and diverting tale .",
      "some nice moments but overall not a total success .",
      "it 's rare to come across a time travel tale as listless as this one .",
      "the two individually likable stars do eventually reach some level of warmth , but by that time the film is nearly over and MOV are supposed to be madly in love with each other .",
      "jackman commands MOV as no actor has commanded a romantic comedy since steve martin in roxanne .",
      "ironically , what jeopardises the transaction is ryan .",
      "despite a promising premise , jackman 's golden globe-nominated performance remains the only tangible reason to see this movie .",
      "in establishing such a lofty pretence as time travel , mangold then trots out an uninspiring love story which fails to play-up the cultural differences between characters .",
      "mesmo sendo um pouco mais longo do que deveria , o filme conta uma historinha simples , mas agradável - e se beneficia enormemente do carisma de hugh jackman como um dos personagens-título .",
      "mangold gets stuck in the gooey sweet spots of his tale a little more often than he breaks loose with a bracing jolt of perversity .",
      "ryan does her cute-as-a-button thing once again , which works extremely well in this context , and jackman responds with charm and grace .",
      "... a semi-sweet , time-traveling , yuletide log . it may sit well on the fire for 2 hours , but its love-struck ashes are n't anything to keep up on the mantle .",
      "if i see one more movie with meg ryan as a disillusioned career woman who just does n't believe in love anymore -- i 'll blow chunks !",
      "clocking her umpteenth role as a romantic comedy character in a forgettable mainstream scenario , -lsb- ryan -rsb- seems to have lost all allure .",
      "it 's as if the actress agreed to take another america 's - sweetheart role but her spirit did n't .",
      "even if the charming jackman floats your boat , it 's tough to swoon over kate & leopold .",
      "mangold , used to heavier fare , seems uncomfortable in this genre , and ryan is n't convincingly enchanting .",
      "what a waste of a premise !",
      "it 's a stupid film but not a malicious one .",
      "meg ryan and hugh jackson worked perfectly together .",
      "is it just me , or does meg ryan look as bored as i think she does with playing the same character a gazillion times ?",
      "what the film ... lacks most is that exhilarating leap of imagination that sweeps a viewer willingly into the realm of make-believe .",
      "the script is sweet , but not sappy , and attempts to stay within the bounds of time travel logic",
      "as far as the acting goes , it 's not a good sign when breckin meyer ... is the highlight of the film .",
      "`` you 're sucking the life out of american cinema , '' says a market research exec to meg ryan 's titular kate .",
      "a thoroughly satisfying romantic comedy , informed at all times by a special wit and ardent feeling .",
      "together , jackman and ryan really click .",
      "the material is badly directed by co-writer/director mangold , who plays many scenes far too broadly .",
      "it 's a charmer .",
      "a romantic comedy with something on its mind -- not necessarily a message , but a reminder of just how far astray we 've gone in our relationships with one another .",
      "the culture clashes you expect follow , but what is n't expected is how marvelous jackman is in the role .",
      "this is n't a sci-fi movie , but you end up brooding about inconsistencies .",
      "the irresistible force that is hugh jackman -- or was it his swoony leopold ? -- swept me off my seat and into the movie .",
      "time-travel lite : a fluffy and enjoyable romance",
      "the most unromantic romance of the year .",
      "we 're willing to suspend our disbelief , but the movie lacks its own inner logic .",
      "`` MOV '' might warm the easy heart , but it will most certainly numb the brain .",
      "the shabby metaphysics and complete absence of internal logic are perhaps meant to charm , but only add to the eye-gouging irritant factor .",
      "-lsb- w -rsb- e 've seen all this stuff before where the guy from the past puts on the remote control and he 's frightened by television and stereo and the wacky way of the world . we 've seen all that before , done . but the romance is nice .",
      "delivers the kind of warm , familiar mixed brew of romance , humor , light drama , and pleasant character interaction that has made many of ryan 's similar endeavors successful box office performers .",
      "i seriously doubt it would have even gotten past the internet phase of miramax 's project greenlight .",
      "all play and no work makes jackman , as leopold , a doll of a boyfriend .",
      "it 's a decent alternative when you find all the big event movies are sold out -lsb- and -rsb- you wo n't need a hankie , either .",
      "fanciful and imaginative , creative and backed with high power production at all levels . * the reviewer stands to applaud",
      "mangold is so careless that , if you pay attention , you 'll notice him giving away the ending in the first five minutes .",
      "cute . funny . charming . romantic . predictable . fluffy . recycled . long .",
      "three tired genres -lrb- manhattan-based romantic comedies , time-travel movies and meg ryan -rrb- collide in kate & leopold , as vapid a film as you 'll see all year .",
      "ryan 's chirpy brittleness makes the entire movie crumble -- we have no idea why leopold would fall in love with her .",
      "if you 've seen one movie about a guy from the past encountering modern flush toilets and electric toasters , you 've seen them all .",
      "it 's a fantasy , but it summons real emotions .",
      "too bad director/co-writer james mangold ... could n't come up with anything fresher and more worthy of jackman 's suave grace .",
      "once it settles down , it becomes a star-making vehicle for jackman , and a supremely polished example of the sort of swoony love story cherished by women who secretly hope that some day their prince will come .",
      "an intelligent , crowd-pleasing take on the time travel love story .",
      "apparently they were made for each other -lrb- unfortunately the actors were n't -rrb- .",
      "one of the reasons the movie works is because we like the goodness of the characters .",
      "the whole enterprise feels false and manipulative , run through the wringer of focus groups and test audiences ."
    ],
    "summary": "though jackman charms , MOV is bland and predictable , and the time travel scenario lacks inner logic .",
    "id": "10350"
  },
  {
    "movie": "stone",
    "reviews": [
      "the seesaw effect of the characters ' clarity and confusion helps curran & co. 's unexpected , occasionally heavy-handed fumblings toward examining spiritual emptiness find purchase .",
      "mr. de niro fails to make anything about his miserable character poignant , and mr. norton 's overwrought intensity borders on hysteria . the desired moral dilemma never arrives .",
      "thick with moral ambiguity , MOV proves to be a character drama that confuses heavy brow-furrowing for an insightful dissection of several ethically slippery individuals .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- hooey-heavy prison-and-faith drama .",
      "one of those films that revels in despair and monotony , just another ` bad things happen , people are miserable ' piece for actors who want to show how downbeat they can be .",
      "not to pigeonhole anyone , but it is hard to imagine the man behind the creative and charming june bug is also the writer who has delivered the pedestrian and mundane script here .",
      "MOV , like director john curran 's previous work , never peaks in any way that could be conventionally described as satisfying .",
      "at odds with its own lofty and base instincts , MOV ultimately channels neither compellingly .",
      "MOV is thrilling for what we 're left to ponder afterwards more than any suspense inherit in the interaction during it .",
      "-lsb- de niro -rsb- offers up a closed-off and downright bland turn that ensures that the viewer has exceedingly little invested in his character 's plight .",
      "a ` serious ' intent and an ill-fitting hilljack argot reduce MOV to a pebble of a fil",
      "if only one character in MOV reacted as someone in his position would to the preposterous situation at hand , the movie would be 15 minutes long .",
      "seems as weary as the detroit parole caseworker robert de niro plays .",
      "when did robert de niro stop trying ? when did he start coasting on his well-deserved reputation , either mocking it in crass comedies or sleepwalking through dramas where fans filled in the missing emotions for him ?",
      "set up as a familiar noir plot , the film veers off into unexpected places , keeping the audience guessing as to the main characters ' motivations well after the credits roll .",
      "like a celluloid ` american gothic , `` MOV ' does not paint a pretty picture .",
      "there 's an obvious difference between elegant underplaying and merely going through the motions , and while , say , michael caine still excels at the former , de niro has sadly become a master of the latter .",
      "MOV is a movie about fragile souls . about how fragile we all are .",
      "with its excess of blatant symbolism and illogical character turns , what could have been a halfway decent exploration of personal ethics turns into a half-assed excuse for entertainment .",
      "watching these three actors burrow like ticks into the underbelly of john curran 's murky moral drama should be enough of a reason to recommend MOV , and it almost is .",
      "MOV ultimately feels more confounding rather than profound , -lrb- but -rrb- it will have you thinking after its credits have rolled .",
      "an engrossing drama about the difficulty people have believing in forgiveness or in turning one 's life around .",
      "MOV is an unusual film which shifts uneasily between sleaze and philosophy , but it 's distinguished at all times by three luminous performances .",
      "great performances from the cast in this engrossing drama .",
      "a prisoner and parole officer grapple with sins and the need for redemption in this subtle drama of parallel lives .",
      "it 's got something to say . what that something is , though -- besides a four character study in spiritual decay -- is sort of up to you .",
      "hard to believe , but edward norton in cornrows is one of the less ludicrous things you 'll see in this film .",
      "MOV is a flawed film , largely because lucetta is a b-movie seductress preying on believable human beings with backgrounds and complicated hearts .",
      "dark and disturbing , this drama holds our interest due to the strong acting and provocative issues swirling around in the story . but it 's a little heavy-handed in its desire to convey something important .",
      "this film has the kind of suspense where you know something bad is going to happen , but instead of just getting it over with , the film drags it out way too long .",
      "MOV seems to care more about keeping us guessing about what the characters are going to do than it does about making us care what is going to happen to them .",
      "it 's a tour de force for norton , who fills the air with an intense and yet thoughtful patter about why MOV is in the joint , what he did , what he does n't want to think about/talk about any more and what he thinks jack mabry wants to hear .",
      "an ambiguous film boasting a quartet of mesmerizing performances ...",
      "the craftsmanship is impeccable as is the acting , but the storytelling is where the movie falls down . and with such a poorly realized narrative , it 's hard to be enthusiastic about the many things MOV does right .",
      "as in every good dialogue-driven film , talk equals action . the excitement here is sparked by the verbal and gestural give-and-take between the actors .",
      "screenwriter angus maclachlan attempts something bold -- broad themes about a society in moral decline -- but he fails to find the story in all that philosophizing .",
      "MOV is that rare film that refuses to be easy .",
      "it 's a frustrating , stunted film , dishonest in its intentions and clumsy with its narrative .",
      "echoes of `` cape fear '' reverberate across a withering suspense thriller that pales in comparison .",
      "MOV is n't the straightforward thriller it appears to be , but the alternative turns out to be dull and lifeless . at least the title is apt : like a rock , MOV has no pulse .",
      "freedom , though , as a concept is at the heart of some very sophisticated theology that makes up this literate drama",
      "superbly crafted , smartly acted , suspense-filled noir thriller about compromised ethics .",
      "there are momentary flashes of dramatic power here , but ultimately `` MOV '' runs aground on its unfulfilled ambitions , which are both lofty and maddeningly vague .",
      "a lot of talent goes to waste in this repulsive movie directed by john curran . this mishmash of profanity , kinky sex and religious babble should have gone straight to dvd .",
      "you can feel the movie 's gears grinding throughout , first in the rote suspense mechanics and later in the ham-fisted religiosity -lrb- conveyed through an endless soundtrack of evangelistic talk radio -rrb- .",
      "a disconcerting and challenging film . it leaves you wondering . how cool is that ?",
      "angus maclachlan 's script never convinces , and john curran 's direction lacks energy .",
      "mostly this is a tense , portentous , and provocative piece .",
      "the characters drive it , and they are fascinating .",
      "... screenwriter angus maclachlan seems to be trying to rewrite equus without realizing that : 1 -rrb- what works on stage does not necessarily work on screen , and 2 -rrb- it 's not the '70s anymore .",
      "it presents us with four characters who are fascinating , specific and yet in some way unknowable , not like the usual characters in fiction but rather like people we might meet in life .",
      "the movie would n't work as well as it does without the impressive support they get from the film 's leading ladies , frances conroy and milla jovovich , who act as catalysts for the explosive drama .",
      "what looked like a juicily absurd film noir disguised as a generational acting battle is something closer to a dirge -- a dead-serious meditation on faith and grace , redemption and damnation .",
      "you 'll admire the performances . but the script 's ugly undercurrent will leave you feeling queasy .",
      "there 's enough terrible in this movie to go around .",
      "it 's the sort of acting virtuoso duet this film , a weak-tea variant of martin scorsese 's 1992 `` cape fear '' remake with norton riffing on de niro 's max cady , needed a lot more of .",
      "a meditative , quietly gripping work about people awash in latent unhappiness , coming up from the mud , and slowly pawing their way to a place where they might -lrb- or might not -rrb- be able to get out of it .",
      "what compels is de niro 's metamorphosis from bottled-up and angry to confused and , well , angry .",
      "MOV could have been some sort of a procedural , a straightforward crime movie , but it 's too complex for that . it is actually interested in the minds of these characters , and how they react to a dangerous situation .",
      "the performances are the keepers here .",
      "norton , de niro , jovovich , conroy all give performances that are better than the film itself . save your money in the theaters and rent it when it comes out on dvd .",
      "if you 're of a mind that actors as talented as robert de niro and edward norton could make even pedestrian material watchable , MOV puts your theory to the test . and surprise ! they can .",
      "MOV is neither high-minded nor low-brow enough . instead it 's stuck in the middle -- in purgatory .",
      "MOV starts interesting , gets better , and then simply sits there until it ends with a whimper instead of a much-needed bang .",
      "the best reason to see MOV , really , comes from jovovich , who takes her opportunity to ditch the zombies and square off against the a-listers and absolutely wallops it out of the park .",
      "`` MOV '' is boring , trite and overacted .",
      "worth watching just to see the two heavyweights face off .",
      "as lucetta , jovovich delivers the film 's best performance . she is enticing , seductive and a little bit unnerving . however , it 's not enough to save this movie .",
      "jovovich creates the most captivating , sexy , mindblowing femme fatale you have seen in movies in over 30 years , and can easily teach megan fox and miley cyrus a thing or two or three .",
      "ultimately MOV sags under its own overblown philosophical weight , with a strained and painfully obvious spiritual subtext finally smothering what could have been a simple , effective psychological thriller .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "how curran and his cast chew into it is often mesmerizing .",
      "a movie steeped in sin that squats awkwardly in a cinematic purgatory between tawdry and talky .",
      "moral ambiguity and ethical compromise are at the heart of this meandering prison drama , but at a certain point we simply do n't care anymore who is base and baser .",
      "genuinely odd in its mixture of bluntness and indirection , screenwriter angus maclachlan 's study in biblical temptation is saved from its own heavy-handedness by a fine quartet of actors .",
      "a stunner - a film that seems to be one thing but turns out to be quite another . it challenges your assumptions at every turn and leaves you wrung out at the end .",
      "de niro plays a deeply flawed and hypocritical corrections officer with just the right mix of self-righteousness and vulnerability , embodying a man whose soul has withered from decades of corrosion .",
      "-lsb- o -rsb- nly the startlingly belligerent honesty of edward norton?s portrayal of the title character that makes this worth a look ... -lsb- s -rsb- omething important is missing here : perhaps from the anticlimactic third act ...",
      "curran offers an affecting portrait of a world gone awry , with morality thrown into question and conventions torn apart .",
      "a murky bible belt noir steeped in mystical evangelical voodoo more suited to sci-fi . in which de niro seems to turn back into travis bickle minus his taxi , while norton finds jesus , loses his dreadlocks and becomes a self-described tuning fork for god .",
      "while MOV may not be a film you 'll want to rush out to once it opens in a few weeks , if you want to see a somewhat unconventional thriller , this would make a solid rental .",
      "it 's worth the price of admission to see norton and de niro sparring across a prison-house desk .",
      "it 's hard to say which element of this risible drama is sillier - angus maclachlan 's portentous screenplay , cobbled together from half a dozen of jim thompson 's lesser potboilers , or norton 's sustained impression of bubbles from the wire .",
      "though nearly sabotaged by the ridiculous sexual subplot at its center , this soul-searching drama works best at the character level , couching insights about sin and forgiveness under the guise of conventional genre entertainment .",
      "a thoroughly unconvincing melodrama about a sexual triangle that few viewers are likely to buy .",
      "collaborations between robert de niro and edward norton -- one generation 's most respected actor paired with another 's most affected -- seem doomed to be defined by acting with a capital a.",
      "-lsb- it ends -rsb- up subverting expectations by denying pleasure .",
      "this is a film about people who are lost , and the filmmakers draw a direct line between their characters ' existential wanderings and the religious obsessions they find for themselves .",
      "norton is outrageously good in the lead role , laugh out loud funny in MOV 's earliest incarnation , gradually evolving into someone quite serious .",
      "as the movie warms up and settles into place , it becomes clear that there 's much more going on here than just actors ' egos .",
      "MOV is highly charged and vibrant , and pits edward norton against robert de niro for two utterly electrifying performances .",
      "as a thespian duel between two heavyweights ... has a good deal to recommend it . but in dramatic terms ... leaves a lot to be desired .",
      "curran sustains suspense and an atmosphere of intensifying menace .",
      "... an actor?s film with the story taking a back seat to the thesps .",
      "MOV feels like the product of a committee , not a collaboration , and the resulting aesthetic and thematic incoherence undermines what could have been a precise and even profound character piece ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV boasts a cast that includes robert de niro , edward norton , and milla jovovich , and it features strong dialogue , but it 's ultimately undone by its heavy-handed symbolism and overabundant plot twists .",
    "id": "770871631"
  },
  {
    "movie": "eagle_eye",
    "reviews": [
      "as the film drags on , there are several nauseatingly dogmatic moments that make you feel like you 're trapped in some kind of uber-liberal rally .",
      "in MOV , we 're meant to fear our gps .",
      "MOV is n't awful , just trite ... it suffers from the same problem most high concept films have ; it 's all smoke , but no fire .",
      "a warning about the threat in our own backyard -- but as often is the case with hollywood blockbusters , the warning comes across more like fear-mongering than constructive social criticism . personally , i prefer my cinema sans mongering .",
      "everything 's chopped up into those woozy , bite-size snippets of flashing lights and spinning tires , thrown into a blender and then regurgitated on screen .",
      "the trouble with shia ? he 's no henry fonda , jimmy stewart , or cary grant . and as for caruso , well , brian de palma can rest easy .",
      "... one could certainly do far worse as far as movies of this ilk go .",
      "MOV is a totally derivative , unoriginal techno-thriller , cribbing scenes and ideas from better films . ... but it 's also thoroughly entertaining .",
      "so colossally ridiculous -lrb- and transparently derivative -rrb- that willing suspension of disbelief is a fool 's errand . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "this is nobody 's idea of an intelligent political thriller -lrb- or satire -rrb- , but it is an orgy for the senses .",
      "with less expensive actors , it might just have been called chase movie , and played for laughs .",
      "the pic 's first 35 minutes sizzle until a byzantine plot nudges the story toward near-parody in the final act .",
      "a b-movie with higher pretensions , MOV works best when it concentrates on action .",
      "surprisingly flatlines less than it should ... but 90 minutes after its intriguing opening , MOV zooms beyond its reassurance that , hey , basically everything 's ok post-patriot act , folks , to resurrect a hollywood happy ending from the dead .",
      "MOV 's simplistic and colorful contrivance is oddly refreshing in its preposterous exuberance ... a transparent treat at best . thoroughly rollicking and roguish ...",
      "the concept is beyond ridiculous , the execution beneath inept ...",
      "an overcooked , far-fetched , break-neck paced thriller that has plenty of action but little time for anything else",
      "here 's a movie line i never thought i 'd live to hear : `` somebody is hacking into the automated cranes ! '' with a line like that , do n't look for kate winslet and judi dench in the credits .",
      "MOV churns and flails and piles on pointless and improbable complications .",
      "keeps our attention all the way through , even as the plot gets increasingly preposterous",
      "the scriptwriters are setting a trap , but there 's a risk . if they push the capabilities of the unseen female voice too far -- and they do -- they risk our patience . once you withdraw your willingness to believe , it 's hard to get it back .",
      "the film is probably twenty minutes too long , and ca n't seem to decide if its techno-philic or - phobic , but is an otherwise compelling and cogent performance piece for labeouf and company .",
      "it means to say something about anti-terrorism surveillance and civil liberties , but if you asked me what MOV is about , i 'd have to say it 's about as dumb as can be .",
      "MOV skillfully taps into post-sept . 11 paranoia -- a briskly paced thriller that blinks at times but mostly keeps its focus .",
      "MOV promises to blow your mind with a big reveal , but my mind was already blown trying to enumerate just how many movies it rips off along the way .",
      "MOV is n't horrible , but it does make sure the audience is bruised , buffeted and battered with rock - 'em , sock - 'em action in a deliberate attempt to shake logical questions about the plot out of their heads .",
      "an empty calorie , implausible action film with the sort of visual diarrhea most associated with jerry bruckheimer and michael bay , eye squanders a stunning start on a wheezing screenplay obese with mass stupidity and grand theft movie .",
      "MOV wants to be marathon man , or enemy of the state , only with a post-9 / 11 overlay and a plot device lifted straight from 2001 : a space odyssey .",
      "check your credulity at the door , and you 'll at least enjoy some high-impact action scenes .",
      "by the time jerry and rachel are riding around on airport conveyer belts while agent morgan , in hot pursuit , stumbles over luggage behind them , the film has lost all semblance of sanity and focus .",
      "caruso and spielberg probably thought they were reviving the paranoid style of 70s political thrillers , but their story is so implausible it barely provokes a tremor .",
      "the word ` preposterous ' is too moderate to describe MOV . this film contains not a single plausible moment after the opening sequence , and that 's borderline .",
      "in MOV , old-school political paranoia is filtered through a new prism that focuses not on terrorism but on overcooked us government measures to monitor citizens .",
      "we 're told that the idea for MOV came from executive producer steven spielberg , but it 's not a very original idea and it 's no surprise that spielberg did n't want to direct it himself ...",
      "i was waiting for will smith to pop up in this sequel to enemy of the state , which was extremely far-fetched but still deliver pretty decent entertainment .",
      "oh , come on .",
      "what 's galling about MOV is that it could easily have been an entertaining film without constantly yielding to the impulse to blow stuff up .",
      "a slickly packaged yet ultimately unpersuasive political action thriller .",
      "there 's nothing wrong with occasionally indulging in an entertaining film purely because it is an entertaining film . what is the point of a healthy , nourishing dinner if there is n't any desert at the end ?",
      "an intelligent nail biter .",
      "it could be called why the patriot act and total information awareness are bad ... for dummies .",
      "where 's jamie foxx when you need him ?",
      "text messengers beware , in this wireless espionage romp where frankenstein is a female , and where billy bob gets the best line : i 'm not going down in history as the asshole who let this happen .",
      "... this is a movie with many meanwhiles % u2014 it seems to have been edited with a hand grenade",
      "caruso 's films only borrow great ideas rather than use them for special inspiration .",
      "this repackaged plot is being released as `` MOV , a `` new '' film from the team that brought us the similarly overrated and shamelessly derivative disturbia .",
      "it 's a tad long , and it does n't always add up , but the action sequences are pretty visceral and genuinely exciting .",
      "noisy , derivative and thoroughly preposterous even by the standards of 21st-century action movies .",
      "it all wears very thin by the third act , when the voice really starts to grate and all remaining sense slams into a brick wall .",
      "without giving anything away , let 's just say that the ending of MOV is about as subtle as being impaled to death by an american flag .",
      "how -lsb- do -rsb- these actors manage to slog through this awful script and its deteriorating-by-the-minute premise and still deliver their lines with a straight face .",
      "it 's a terrible movie . you could go into any supermarket , pluck two reasonably attractive people from the check-out line , put them in this movie , and nothing would change . shia labeouf and michelle monaghan are lost amid the dumb , uninvolving chaos .",
      "... the filmmakers apparently want you to suspend your disbelief .",
      "the action sequences are frequent and frenetic , and caruso bathes every scene in a high-tech sheen to cover the gaping leaps in illogic .",
      "que filminho estúpido . e divertido .",
      "MOV , with a more nuanced idea of paranoia and the ills of technology gone wild , could have been both entertaining and disturbing . deafening is n't quite the same thing .",
      "MOV feels less like a vehicle for an action hero than the latest in a series of national focus groups to determine labeouf 's commercial viability .",
      "a film like MOV can be an escape . just do n't try to think your way through it , or you might suffer a brain hemorrhage .",
      "so many ideas from other films have been cobbled together the experience of watching it is like being in a blender .",
      "the screenwriters , four in all , and director d.j. caruso completely squander any opportunity to be original and instead opt to make a generic and completely unsatisfying thriller .",
      "this is just good , old-fashioned filmmaking with two likable protagonists up against a monolithic antagonist .",
      "a promising premise , some intense action , and a lively appearance by billy bob thornton might have been enough to squeak this one by as a summer movie .",
      "though it aspires to be an intriguing political cautionary tale , the movie is mostly about the feverish and jarringly choreographed chase scenes .",
      "big brother may be watching , but MOV is barely worth a peek .",
      "determined to remake himself into a mini-michael bay -lrb- replete with military hardware fetishism ! -rrb- , caruso shoots primarily in shaky , glossy close-ups that obliterate any sense of spatial proportion , scale or lucidity .",
      "a likable paranoid fantasy that will handily kill a couple of hours on a saturday afternoon ... before disappearing into the endless data stream it depicts with such apprehension .",
      "exploits paranoia about the invasion of personal privacy by technology with an entertaining action fantasy that pushes all the right buttons",
      "depending on your perspective , it will be either one of the year 's sillier films or one of its most enjoyable ones . or possibly a combination of both .",
      "as well as being the most preposterously plotted action flick of this or any year , MOV is a prime example of technophobia at its most hypocritical .",
      "some nonsense is fun , but this wears you down .",
      "do n't have the willpower , words , or energy to explain why a psychopathic cia computer suddenly decides to take over the world . but that 's the plot in a nutcase .",
      "with a preposterous plot that does not bear close analysis , MOV should fall short . but such is the breakneck pace of proceedings the holes in the story zoom by too fast for you to notice . and for all its flaws , it 's an enjoyable slice of hokum .",
      "but there 's also a puppy-dog does n't - know-any-better enthusiasm to this pacy fluff which means you ca n't get that worked up at it .",
      "did everyone involved in this botched thriller od on speed ?",
      "even though it clearly resides in the realm of science fiction , it appears to be set in the present day , which is more than enough to tweak even the most rational person 's sense of paranoia .",
      "MOV is the kind of movie that believes more is better , and while that may sound great in the pitch session , it almost never works .",
      "this numbskull knock-off of 2001 : a space odyssey and enemy of the state has the unlikely effect of making tony scott look like alfred hitchcock .",
      "a fun techno romp , mixing great bang for your buck with insights into the dangers of restricting civil liberties . now , anyone for shia killing blondes dressed as his dead mother ?",
      "should this film be a huge box office success , it will stand as a sad testament to how low the bar for cinematic entertainment has been set .",
      "at the very least , MOV gives us two principals who are appealing enough to keep us interested in them .",
      "MOV should boast all sorts of contemporary resonance . but it 'd probably feel just a little bit timelier and more relevant if it took place in a universe that bore even the faintest resemblance to our own .",
      "MOV requires blind faith in its silly storyline",
      "the chase eventually wears thin , and MOV eventually strangles its actors in the threads of its plot .",
      "it 's entertaining , if you 're ok with it not making a ton of sense .",
      "the movie does n't have three brain cells to rub together , but the premise carries it a long way .",
      "-lsb- director caruso -rsb- has done a masterful job of maintaining suspense , keeping the stunts mind-blowing and dressing the visuals in the bleak hues and gritty style of a '70s paranoid thriller .",
      "it 's presented as a thriller , and it is , but MOV is also a political film . it 's not a very good political film , nor is it a very good thriller , ironically enough because it wants to be very good at both .",
      "the movie is about the crashing , chasing , shooting and exploding , not about the human collateral damage left in its wake .",
      "MOV is big , loud and expensive , but it 's not particularly entertaining .",
      "lagging behind the times in technology , politics , and ideas , caruso 's suspense-thriller should have been made five years ago , when exec-producer spielberg first came up with the concept ; even so , the first reel is dangerous and menacing .",
      "so hysterical in its terrorist subplot and its seizure-inducing action sequences that a pummeled viewer can be excused for texting wtf ? to a friend in the middle of the chaos .",
      "the more that 's revealed about the forces at work on jerry and rachel , the less interesting the plot becomes .",
      "the fever-pitch paranoia of this terrorist thriller , the seizure-inducing editing , the dense layers slapped on a fairly simple plot all point to a kind of overkill that only hollywood money can buy .",
      "the film unfolds at such breakneck speed that the credits are rolling before it becomes fully apparent that the storyline actually ran out of gas some way back .",
      "so what we have here is the world 's smartest entity giving orders to the two dumbest people .",
      "good , manic fun plus a heavy dose of political intrigue adding up to two hours of clamorous , mind-numbing nonsense .",
      "manages to be both ominous and fun , making this a popcorn thriller with an edge .",
      "and you thought live free or die hard turned real issues into rubbish .",
      "as an election-year riff on current events , it 's moderately clever , even though it has no nerve whatsoever . -lrb- last year 's shooter had more guts . -rrb-",
      "a very juvenile copy of its hitchcock-kubrick models , efficiently made in the overwrought mold of contemporary action-adventure movies but a painfully loud -- and silly -- knockoff of the originals .",
      "MOV 's a bad movie , at times ridiculously so , but it 's not a boring movie .",
      "running , crashes , yelling , and no story . and wait til you hear who the villain is .",
      "explosion-filled thriller is clever but confusing .",
      "MOV has its flaws , but you 're not going to care or notice them .",
      "it 's going to make you want to take the batteries out of your cell phone .",
      "mplekei homage kubrick kai -lrb- alimono -rrb- spielberg me retalia tony scott se asmileyto stilaki michael bay -lrb- stise 5 kameres , peta amaksia deksia ki aristera , traba ta ola , rih ' ta sti montaziera , ki opoios bgalei noima , magkia toy -rrb- , kynigontas intrigkadoriko p",
      "the cast is not the problem . they are are merely pawns in this cluttered , ritalin-infused action film that stretches plausibility so often that it would be more accurately described as science fiction .",
      "pay heed to the movie 's warning : technological advancements might indeed become a concern in the future , especially if they allow for greater mass production of duds like this one .",
      "the morons going to MOV are the ones who would most benefit from its message in spoon-fed form .",
      "MOV occupies a treacherous middle ground . it is n't credible enough to work as a thriller and is n't ridiculous enough to work as a spoof .",
      "what , you ca n't relate to someone being controlled by an omniscient machine ?",
      "attempting to tap into the public 's collective fears and suspicions comes d.j. caruso 's preposterous MOV , an action film with plenty of thrills but i have no idea what alternate reality it 's set in .",
      "lowest-common-denominator filmmaking at its most discouraging , with makers who believe moviegoers too stupid to think , so instead opt for constant adrenal gland stimulation .",
      "... one long , hyperkinetic chase , with the audience wondering what in the heck is happening .",
      "i give the film credit for moving along and , for at least the first half , keeping you engaged in the mystery . at the same time , when the film turns , it turns south .",
      "unwilling to do anything in moderation , the four people it took to write one of the worst screenplays of the year almost seem to be playing a game where they have to top each other with each stupid twist .",
      "a far-fetched conspiracy story that depicts the growing and pervasive role of technology in our lives .",
      "-lsb- hitchcock -rsb- for a modern age bloated by steroids , addled by action , and incapable of long-term attention .",
      "you ca n't help thinking that if hitchcock were inspired by today 's privacy meltdown , he 'd need only a quarter of the explosions to leave us shattered .",
      "it might merit a b-minus in the silly popcorn movie category if it did n't unwisely decide , toward the end , that it was n't willing to be just a silly popcorn movie .",
      "MOV has half an idea in its head , but over two hours there 's no time to complete or explore it , since the movie is n't just a chase but a combination steeplechase and destruction derby .",
      "for all its digitally effected chaos , the cinematic threat level in MOV never even comes close to orange .",
      "forget suspending disbelief ; you would have to suspend consciousness to go along with this story .",
      "die hard meets the fugitive meets 2001 : a space odyssey in the fully paranoid MOV , a frantic thriller that 's nowhere near as good as its influences but still manages to get the job done .",
      "the only title that works for this movie is three days of the mongoloid .",
      "the situation is anything but average , but -lsb- labeouf and monaghan -rsb- two stars ground the adventure just enough to make the film into an enjoyable diversion .",
      "so fast paced and exciting that you do n't care whether or not it makes any sense",
      "it has been shot and edited with that hectic , all-too-familiar brand of impressionistic choppiness often used by hollywood directors to make a silly story unintelligible .",
      "those that are bothered by shaky camerawork might want to stay home or take dramamine . considering how promising the premise was , MOV is a major disappointment .",
      "to make barcodes scary , a thriller needs a pace faster than a busy self-scan checkout . thankfully , there 's no need for a price , or pulse , check on this furious , if exhausting , flat-world thriller that thomas friedman would appreciate .",
      "MOV fails to engage the audience into caring much about the characters because you are too busy trying to figure out what the hell is going on .",
      "the story goes from being a paranoid post-9 / 11 nightmare to being a goofy piece of sci-fi junk .",
      "it 's a poor man 's 2001 : a space odyssey and the fugitive . i actually feel a little dirty naming those two when talking about this one .",
      "while highly improbably and overly chaotic , the film is entertaining , which is all that really matters from this type of movie .",
      "-lsb- labeouf -rsb- 's just not very credible in elaborate action set-pieces , although at least this time he 's not trying to convince us that he 's a '50s greaser .",
      "set in the present , and directed by a middling talent , MOV still has some entertainment value . but only if youâ -lrb- tm -rrb- re looking for a good laugh .",
      "MOV wants to be a little on the sci-fi side , but it 's mostly just badly plotted and executed .",
      "disturbia team shows it can steal from a variety of sources -- not just hitchcock -- in this laughably convoluted thriller about big brother run amok .",
      "big brother 's watching you , and he ca n't stop laughing his ass off .",
      "the film is a rag bag of concepts and characters from earlier , vastly better movies .",
      "a ridiculous wrongly-accused-guy-on-the-run thriller .",
      "we 've seen this all before -- but rarely in such an entertaining format . MOV is like watching an entire season of 24 in two hours flat .",
      "finally , an action-adventure thriller that feels as if it were created , directed and acted , soup to nuts , by a computer program .",
      "there are lots of new wrinkles to ponder about american surveillance , but it seems that all the writers have surveilled is hbo .",
      "as the absurd contrivances mount , and the omnipotence of the shadowy conspiracy becomes more and more hard to buy into , the movie loses its footing .",
      "MOV wants to be a modern day north by northwest . instead it has to settle for being a slightly higher tech die hard with a vengeance .",
      "MOV starts out strong as an exciting action/suspense movie but eventually the implausibilities of the story catch up with it .",
      "hal has a granddaughter ? who knew ?",
      "since it is plainly obvious that the movie 's priorities lie not with its message , but with its lightning-fast pacing and confusing action scenes , it 's insulting when these ideas are shoehorned in half-heartedly .",
      "this cautionary tale about the perils of technology might seem more sincere if the movie ever stopped trying to indoctrinate us into being good consumers with its incessant product placement ...",
      "if you have a taste for this sort of nonsense , then all this hyper-implausibility is actually kind of fun .",
      "a loud , muddled and empty sci-fi thriller .",
      "we need to find some new places to stage foot chases , because the airport ? it 's been done .",
      "big brother is n't watching , he 's seen this already . MOV is for the guy in front of me on his cell phone ...",
      "bristling along on one amazing narrative convolution after another , and fueled by fascinating gung ho performances from everyone involved , MOV is a jovial serving of cinematic junk food .",
      "take one or two good ideas and add a lot of political thriller clichés and you end up with a disappointingly predictable action movie that does n't necessarily deliver on the promised goods .",
      "it 's worth a look for the effects , or if you just want to scare yourself into throwing out your cellphone and living off the grid .",
      "d.j. caruso 's skills -lrb- and those of his eager and competent cast -rrb- would be better used in a less ludicrous , more plausible story .",
      "this big , bone-headed and unintentionally laughable techno-fear thriller is a movie in one hell of a hurry .",
      "provides one of the biggest you 've got to be kidding moments of the year .",
      "as tightly coiled as a slinky , and for all their running around , labeouf and the normally engaging monaghan are stuck with characters who are n't particularly lively and , more problematic , fail to spark the requisite chemistry .",
      "this time , big brother does n't only want to listen to us - he wants to kill us .",
      "two hours of absolute nonsense that is easily the noisiest action film to come around the pike since `` transformers '' and quite possibly the dumbest one to boot .",
      "the kubrickian hitchcock elements are out front and personal , but d.j. caruso keeps things nicely slick and swift so the film reminds you , maybe not of those legends , but certainly of someone like john badham at his 1983 peak .",
      "what might have been a zeitgeist-fueled paranoid thriller along the lines of the conversation or three days of the condor winds up an unintentionally hilarious exercise in the suspension of disbelief , peppered with confusingly edited car cha",
      "rarely has a film been so serious in its underlying implications and intent , and yet so moronic in its execution .",
      "even though the political , big-brother-is-watching , conspiratorial aspect of the film tries much too hard , the fast and furious pace of MOV makes for an entertaining time .",
      "enjoyable , fast-paced thriller that compensates for its increasingly ridiculous plot with strong performances , great direction and some terrific action sequences .",
      "the 1984 nightmare has been bolted to 2001 -lrb- as in space odyssey -rrb- to make one of the better action thrillers of 2008",
      "portentous nonsense , and loud with it .",
      "but do we care ? this is a disastrous mess .",
      "this has to be the dumbest and most implausible action movie of the year .",
      "the plot is totally nonsensical but is played at such a thrilling pace that it barely matters .",
      "a big , happily implausible blockbuster action movie , and on that level it totally succeeds .",
      "MOV is a mediocre attempt at suspense that manages to lose all of its dramatic weight at the exact moment it drops its heaviest truths ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a preposterously plotted thriller that borrows heavily from other superior films .",
    "id": "770675744"
  },
  {
    "movie": "apt_pupil",
    "reviews": [
      "morbidly intriguing !",
      "MOV is a welcome attempt to reclaim the horror film genre from teen-driven slasher flick formulas !",
      "intelligently crafted !",
      "murky storytelling !",
      "when bodies are buried in cellars and cats are thrown into lighted ovens , the film reveals itself as unworthy of its subject matter .",
      "nothing about the movie even makes sense !",
      "no hace mas que dejarnos la sensación de que o bien el director fue una llamarada de petate o el escritor vio pasar sus mejores momentos hace ya varios ańos",
      "the most disappointing thing about MOV is the lack of sustained tension generated by director bryan singer .",
      "renfro and mckellen are nothing short of spectacular , but with all things considered , MOV just is n't a very well thought-out picture .",
      "stephen king 's 1982 different seasons collection has been a gold mine for moviemakers :",
      "mckellen gives one of the year 's great performances .",
      "it 's a story that has taken 10 years to get to the screen at least , but what kept it from the screen for so long was lost when it was finally filmed .",
      "`` pupil '' demonstrates singer 's eye for framing shots and his skill in bringing out the best in his stars . even so , there 's something amiss here .",
      "more disturbing than anything keyser söze could provide .",
      "brought off with such skill and commitment that there is n't any time to snicker at its obviousness !",
      "MOV is about as great as a modern stephen king horror flick could get .",
      "a creepy , well-acted story of contagious evil !",
      "the film 's subtle brand of cerebral terror cuts sharper and deeper than anything found in a more conventional horror movie .",
      "tense , skillfully acted !",
      "effective but not overwhelming , bone-chilling but not blood-freezing , MOV is a good shocker that misses the ultimate horror .",
      "MOV is most compelling for its moral dimension .",
      "a tense , psychological study of evil !",
      "a somber and deeply creepy adaptation .",
      "a powerful and disturbing movie !",
      "mr. mckellen , surely the finest living british actor , is the best reason to see MOV .",
      "if bowden 's motivations were clearer , MOV might have gone somewhere interesting .",
      "king fans will be outraged denouncing the filmmakers as gutless flakes smothering the true horror of MOV so the film would be more acceptable to the general public .",
      "a methodically slow psychological thriller !",
      "flat , undistinguished workmanship !",
      "we expect a probing examination of the essence of evil , but the film stays too close to the surface to deliver any insight .",
      "drama in distress !",
      "it 's sad that for a story with such potential , it was never allowed to materialize fully on the big screen . rent it for mckellen 's performance .",
      "major junk !"
    ],
    "summary": "a somewhat disturbing movie that works as a suspenseful thriller , yet is n't completely satisfying .",
    "id": "13982"
  },
  {
    "movie": "tadpole",
    "reviews": [
      "if you enjoy more thoughtful comedies with interesting conflicted characters ; this one is for you .",
      "MOV 's wafer thin sensibility is matched by its appallingly shoddy digital video look .",
      "MOV may be swimming into risky territory , but it 's delightfully easy to swallow .",
      "this breezy romantic trifle is n't nearly as clever as it imagines itself to be , but it 's smart enough not to take itself too seriously .",
      "celebrated at sundance , this slight comedy of manners has winning performances and a glossy , glib charm that 's hard to beat .",
      "shot on digital video for $ 150,000 in only 14 days , director gary winick keeps it light -- but not stupid .",
      "the surprise of this short and inexpensively made indie -lrb- originally shot on digital video -rrb- is its authority and good cheer .",
      "overcomes its visual hideousness with a sharp script and strong performances .",
      "MOV is a sophisticated , funny and good-natured treat , slight but a pleasure .",
      "shot in just two weeks with a hand-held digital camera , the movie often looks frayed around the edges . yet it has a soulful heart and a clear grasp of its rarefied milieu .",
      "the top-notch cast brings the story to life with aplomb .",
      "a smart , succinct and subtly funny comedy of manners .",
      "the cast is simply terrific and they help roll this storyline to its intended completion . stanford brings an inquisitive richness to his role as the benjamin braddock-ish oscar , a compelling study of boy-to-manhood and all its uneasy discoveries .",
      "while the writers resolve oscar 's emotional state a little too easily , the conflict itself is beautifully handled , especially in weaver 's able hands",
      "a unique and interesting experience , but the hype surrounding the film is much grander than its actual content .",
      "stuffy , full of itself , morally ambiguous and nothing to shout about .",
      "... one of those plotless flicks that manages to squeak by on charm and charisma .",
      "the shoddy techs hurt and will keep people away , but if you can live with the bad craftwork i think you 'll enjoy `` MOV ''",
      "one of the smartest , most affecting movies of the year .",
      "a funny , fearless , poignant , spectacular performance .",
      "the banter by all these sophisticated manhattanites is ... refreshingly tart .",
      "we 're to believe that a sullen adolescent , rude and completely self-absorbed , is somehow irresistible to women of all ages just because he reads voltaire ? i mean , come on .",
      "-lsb- an -rsb- hilarious romantic comedy .",
      "do we really need a 77-minute film to tell us exactly why a romantic relationship between a 15-year-old boy and a 40-year-old woman does n't work ?",
      "the players are clearly having a ball , never grasping for laughs but rather generating them through a keen sense of their characters .",
      "a delightful coming-of-age story .",
      "the sundance film festival has become so buzz-obsessed that fans and producers descend upon utah each january to ferret out the next great thing . ` MOV ' was one of the films so declared this year , but it 's really more of the next pretty good thing .",
      "MOV may be one of the most appealing movies ever made about an otherwise appalling , and downright creepy , subject -- a teenage boy in love with his stepmother .",
      "smart and fun , but far more witty than it is wise .",
      "tries too hard to depict its main character as an adult in a boy 's body . at times it almost feels like big or freaky friday",
      "it 's fun , wispy , wise and surprisingly inoffensive for a film about a teen in love with his stepmom .",
      "neither funny nor moving enough to compare to rushmore , murmur of the heart or any of the other better movies on which it 's modeled .",
      "like oscar , the movie is a charming and passionate .",
      "no amount of hype will turn this murky pre-frog into anything resembling an indie prince .",
      "... a surprisingly deft little ensemble piece with performance gems , unexpected intimacy and a sneaky sense of humor .",
      "... ripe with new york atmosphere and understated , indelibly human comedic tension .",
      "MOV was written in wisps and watery double-entendres by heather mcgowan and niels mueller , and the movie is so benign that its proceedings are beside the point .",
      "short , simple , charming , and brilliant .",
      "MOV is smart and sophisticated entertainment , whatever its shortcomings , and it deserves to be encouraged .",
      "the film has other problems than credibility . it ends with unseemly haste , it underlines its points too obviously , and its camera moves when it should be still .",
      "although it 's short , MOV has a long-lasting effect .",
      "a movie that gets by on charm even when it 's tippytoeing in taboo territory .",
      "most folks with a real stake in the american sexual landscape will find it either moderately amusing or just plain irrelevant .",
      "MOV is emblematic of the witless ageism afflicting films : young is cool , and too young is too cool .",
      "if you can get past the taboo subject matter , it will be well worth your time .",
      "a low-budget affair , MOV was shot on digital video , and the images often look smeary and blurry , to the point of distraction . then again , in a better movie , you might not have noticed .",
      "MOV is short , charming , well-directed and impressively acted , particularly by stanford .",
      "both calculated and breezy , spoofing romantic film cliches while indulging in some of those tactics , MOV is a frisky swimmer .",
      "MOV will delight audiences for its comedy .",
      "-lsb- d -rsb- emonstrate a certain affinity for the intimate observation of moral waywardness .",
      "tart 'n' spicy sophisticated comedy reminiscent of `` the graduate . '' mischievous bebe neuwirth is a comic revelation .",
      "a delightful comedy about a fifteen-year-old boy caught up in the delirious transports and crazy obsessions of romantic infatuation .",
      "at times it 's like an erudite version of a horny teen fantasy flick . but i am recommending MOV for its whimsical feel , its tart wit and the many fine performances , most notably from young aaron stanford .",
      "more sophisticated and literate than such pictures usually are ... an amusing little catch .",
      "this often-hilarious farce manages to generate the belly laughs of lowbrow comedy without sacrificing its high-minded appeal .",
      "a sparkling cosmopolitan comedy that plays fast and loose with sacred cows of family values .",
      "lives up to its billing as a smart , funny coming-of-age comedy .",
      "MOV is an irreverent and witty comedy in which the events are n't predictable but are well paced .",
      "smart , funny and just honest enough to provide the pleasures of a slightly naughty , just-above-average off - broadway play .",
      "an indie triumph .",
      "on this tricky topic , MOV is very much a step in the right direction , with its blend of frankness , civility and compassion .",
      "MOV would be a surprise hit with any audience anywhere that still cares about character development , good acting , careful , literate scriptwriting and stylish filmmaking on a shoestring .",
      "stanford assumes the role of oscar with rare conviction , and makes such a disconcertingly appealing 15-year-old that it 's a relief to know he was actually 23 when he shot the movie .",
      "seems precious when it means to be precocious , and pretentious when it can least afford to be .",
      "in the hands of most other actors , oscar would come off as a pretentious prig . stanford makes him seem pathetically , comically , charmingly real .",
      "at a meager 77 minutes , MOV is short and sweet and also very funny .",
      "a wannabe comedy of manners about a brainy prep-school kid with a mrs. robinson complex founders on its own preciousness -- and squanders its beautiful women .",
      "the movie could use a few more points . MOV 's main character remains muddled ; at least one scene in his journey is missing .",
      "a sweet , gentle , so-light-it-might-float - away-any-moment comedy of urban manners",
      "weaver and neuwirth are the sparks in this film , as they project a maternal sexiness and sincerity that 's entirely believable .",
      "MOV has more than its share of problems , true , but they are problems that can be borne .",
      "it lacks the lushly romantic sensibility that made woody allen 's similarly themed -lrb- and unfortunately prophetic -rrb- manhattan seem plausible .",
      "while this is no harold and maude -- one of the best films about an older woman and younger man -- MOV has an irresistible charm .",
      "short and sweet , but also more than anything else slight ... MOV pulls back from the consequences of its own actions and revelations .",
      "a small , charming indie .",
      "its direction , its script , and weaver 's performance as a vaguely discontented woman of substance make for a mildly entertaining 77 minutes , if that 's what you 're in the mood for .",
      "in every respect , director gary winick has served up a delectable , entertaining film .",
      "it has little teen humour , with the majority of the cast unlikely to see 40 again , and there is not enough plot substance to constitute an incentive for the older crowd .",
      "the terrific performances of weaver and neuwirth notwithstanding , little of this is very amusing . and it does n't help that the film is visually offensive .",
      "this particular MOV grows into neither a frog nor a prince .",
      "-lsb- stanford -rsb- deftly switches between oscar 's self-assigned roles -- the charming raconteur for eve , the aloof aesthete for everyone else -- while neuwirth radiates a saucy , infectious giddiness .",
      "MOV may be small , but it 's something special -- a cheeky comedy knockout .",
      "this one is strictly a lightweight escapist film .",
      "based on a devilishly witty script by heather mcgowan and niels mueller , the film gets great laughs , but never at the expense of its characters",
      "consistently entertaining , with witty dialogue and a kind of gallic concision , shaved of superfluous moments .",
      "lighten up , sophocles ! oedipal conflicts are nothing more than a subject for light , comedic entertainment .",
      "at the center of the film , stanford is a revelation .",
      "the film pivots entirely on aaron stanford 's performance , and he is super .",
      "a real step forward for the digital video revolution .",
      "like a final project from a student film class , it has a raw and unsophisticated look ... but that might be a good thing .",
      "the film might have been more satisfying if it had , in fact , been fleshed out a little more instead of going for easy smiles .",
      "in a summer wrought with action adventures and dramatic epics , it 's a refreshing change to trust in the teachings and maturity of a 15-year-old .",
      "the worst movie of 2002 : ` any film with such a formulaic foundation ... faces the burden of succeeding in spite of it , yet MOV just dumbly offers it back up to us . '",
      "it 's a flawed but satisfying movie with a great leading man , and a slew of great supporting performances .",
      "oscar 's romantic plight plays well for subtle pathos in addition to laughs .",
      "unpretentiously entertains",
      "coming-of-age comedy with some sex ."
    ],
    "summary": "slight , but good-natured and witty .",
    "id": "12227"
  },
  {
    "movie": "bill_cunningham_new_york_2010",
    "reviews": [
      "genuinely in love with clothes , cunningham makes you think of fashion in a more positive and enlightened way .",
      "press is careful to keep the focus on cunningham as he 's keeping his focus on those around him .",
      "this affectionate documentary celebrates the veteran photographer who , at 84 , still works a tough schedule , taking photos on the street of real people wearing real fashion .",
      "recommended if you are a dedicated follower of fashion .",
      "MOV is a minor joy , lurking amid the week 's non-fiction .",
      "this is n't the confessional exposé some would hope , but it is a reverent profile of a fascinating , funny and inspirational gentleman .",
      "he was the first , and what 's obvious from this lively and engaging doc , an original .",
      "gives you new perspectives of fashion , photography and new york .",
      "a doc that 'll make more than just fashionistas smile .",
      "there 's few sharp edges or dirt digging , but it 's no less engaging for that .",
      "those who pore over his fashion columns in the new york times style section will particularly appreciate this respectful look at a true local character .",
      "using the low-key approach that shapes cunningham 's column , press works up a portrait that 's as raw , gentle , funny , and -- in the end -- irresistible as the pictures themselves .",
      "cunningham talks freely about his passion for fashion and photography .",
      "the equal billing in the title is no accident : cunningham 's story is the story of new york itself , about the ways it has changed through the decades and how that history was captured on all those miles of film passing through cunningham 's camera .",
      "maybe the world does n't need a feature-length film about cunningham ; maybe we do n't even need his pictures . but we need examples like his , people who retain a joyful individuality while fitting seamlessly into our crazy world .",
      "this is a rare and special film that should be savoured",
      "mere fashionistas pale alongside the tenacious commitment of the utterly obsessed subject of this diverting documentary-one of new york 's great characters .",
      "a slight , glancing , yet subtly wrought slice of new york life . and it seems likely that the exceedingly modest cunningham would want it that way .",
      "it is both insightful and strangely moving .",
      "bill has followed his bliss for 60 years , and it 's a delight to follow him for 80 minutes - even if you have no interest in fashion . do n't miss it .",
      "this is a fascinating portrait of a unique character who has built his own world out the worlds of others . quite unlike poseur photographers , he dresses , eats sleeps and talks simply ; he gets around on a push bike . and he smiles a lot",
      "a wonderfully understated delight .",
      "a collective of well-groomed talking heads chronicle cunningham 's career as a milliner-turned-fashion historian , and their insights speak volumes about the origins of this pillar of integrity 's faultless work ethic .",
      "press asks cunningham only two questions : one about love , the other god . both cut deep . the price of this lifelong quest to document beauty is a heavy one .",
      "do n't worry if you 've never heard of bill cunningham . this delightful documentary is all about getting to know the man - and he 's a major , fascinating character .",
      "whatever this times-produced , tv-ready tribute lacks in tension is amply compensated by the pleasure of watching an enthusiast ply the craft he loves .",
      "`` MOV '' is a day in the life and a look at the lifelong career of boston-born bill cunningham . here is a man whose job is to go out into manhattan on his bicycle every working day to seek and find beauty .",
      "MOV shows us a man who not only derives great pleasure from devoting himself to his job but also , in the process , has helped shaped the greatest city in the world .",
      "MOV is as winning as its subject , the affable chronicler of new york style from the sidewalk to the runway .",
      "MOV is a portrait of an extraordinary man who possesses such arcane knowledge as the difference between right and wrong .",
      "bill cunningham is a specimen who seems to be unique to new york , a celebrity whom ` everybody who is anybody ' is acquainted with , but nobody knows .",
      "he finds beauty ; watching him , we find joy .",
      "filmmaker richard press offers a humorous , touching and insightful portrait about a subject who clearly would have preferred to stay behind the camera .",
      "it 's a great and modest film .",
      "equally at home chronicling the latest fashions on the street and the biggest celebrations among manhattan 's aristocratic swell set , he might as well be the city that forms his vast canvas .",
      "cunningham 's work is about seeing and teaching us how to see , and that should be plenty for us .",
      "the film offers a portrait that 's revealing and mysterious , as the folksy subject welcomes press ' camera into his routine while keeping a tight-lipped distance from it .",
      "a less good doc than last year 's more honest and insightful smash his camera , about paparazzo ron galella .",
      "cunningham at once answers as truthfully as he comfortably could and creates a whole new line of questions that will likely never be answered",
      "lots of us are interested in clothes . but few can match bill cunningham 's passion for fashion .",
      "i love this man , i love this movie .",
      "... a film which captures the spirit of cunningham 's work and life .",
      "cunningham seems genuinely in love with his work ...",
      "now in his 80s , this charming , kind man remains a mystery : is he the happiest man on earth , or the most closeted and loneliest ?",
      "a beautiful portrait of a truly happy man .",
      "holds your attention over its rather untidily assembled eighty minutes of on-the-fly footage by reason of what it reveals about -lsb- cunningham 's -rsb- almost monastic devotion to his work .",
      "it 's as much a portrait of a kind of artist as it is a document of a city 's evolving sense of style .",
      "if the film suggests that there 's something bittersweet about a life dedicated to a single pursuit cultivated with an almost religious fervor , it also stands in awe of its subject 's ... capacity to remain attuned to the expression of others .",
      "no passion for fashion is required to enjoy this absorbing portrait of legendary new york times `` on the street '' photographer bill cunningham , but a sense of history and tragedy might help .",
      "lacking the cinematic bells and whistles that so often distract from a really good story , the film is stunning entirely because it is so simple .",
      "a warm , lively portrait of the artist .",
      "bill cunningham is astutely defined by MOV as not simply a traditional photographer of clothing , but an anthropological historian .",
      "fascinating doc about a photographer surveying the highs and lows of new york society .",
      "it 's cunningham 's single-mindedness about his work that 's so infectious as well as so strange .",
      "obsessive artists often create exceptional bodies of work .",
      "as director richard press ' exuberant , telling film nimbly reveals , here is a fashion purist who cares nothing for the trappings of the glittery world he inhabits . for cunningham , it really is all about the clothes .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- marvelous documentary .",
      "charming documentary .",
      "a fascinating , endearing portrait of the man who for decades has documented trends born on the streets and beau-monde parties for a worthy cause .",
      "richard press ' film is an affectionate look at a man who embodies the spirit of his cosmopolitan city , has discovered and documented trends in fashion for decades , and , along the way , may have figured out the secret to life .",
      "a heart-warming insight into one man 's extraordinary life , a window to the fabulous veneer of the big apple and a must-see for anyone interested in the creative process .",
      "a portrait of a happy man .",
      "it 's not just what he does . it 's who he is . and he approaches it with such unbridled passion and joy that you ca n't help but sharing in it ; absolutely no knowledge or love of fashion is required .",
      "cunningham has spent some 60 years out on the street , listening , he says , for what it has to say to him . press ' movie shows cunningham leading by example , urging us not just to look , but to really see .",
      "while certainly an affectionate and admiring portrait , MOV , by its end , provides no revelations and left this viewer , at least , puzzling .",
      "here is a movie about a happy and nice man ."
    ],
    "summary": "suffused with happiness and modest charm , MOV offers a touching , gently humorous portrait of its subject without invading his jealously guarded privacy .",
    "id": "771205733"
  },
  {
    "movie": "meet_the_fockers",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV is stuck somewhere between being absolutely hilarious and one of the worst comedies ever committed to celluloid .",
      "the sequel is pretty much what you 'd expect -- mindless fluff with maybe a little less calamity than its predecessor , but a lot more schmaltz . oy vey !",
      "the family is bigger , but the laughs are n't .",
      "MOV takes time to generate comic momentum , but the irresistible energy of hoffman and streisand soon refreshes the leftover story line from parents .",
      "despite a cast enhanced with notable players -- dustin hoffman and barbra streisand come on board as the elder fockers -- the movie has few new jokes to tell , offering little more than slight modulations of familiar scenarios .",
      "when a movie 's title is based on a crass pun , you should n't expect the bar to be too high",
      "MOV does n't have the shabby feel of some faltering movies , but its repetitive gags and toilet humor take much of the luster off the focker-byrnes wedding .",
      "there are few things sadder than wasted potential , unless it 's sitting through 115 minutes of mediocrity desperately searching for a few decent jokes .",
      "a silly good time .",
      "delivers fewer laughs than its predecessor .",
      "the laughs are few and far between , bearing only a sloppy , derivative resemblance to its predecessor .",
      "a negligible product content to stoop for the easy laughs and the easy money .",
      "MOV is a fine sequel ; not surpassing the original , but clearly putting forth more of an effort than most follow-ups do into the script department .",
      "mtf works rather well -- although it sometimes lacks the smoothness of its predecessor .",
      "the exceptional cast turned the garden-variety script they were given into a movie that should please crowds throughout the holiday season .",
      "often-uproarious .",
      "why would you want to meet such a blowsy , bawdy , shticky crew in a low-comedy sequel to meet the parents ? two reasons only : barbra streisand and dustin hoffman .",
      "if it were n't for the talent level involved onscreen , MOV would be about as entertaining as a rerun of dharma and greg .",
      "a resolutely average sequel , several subbasements below the first film in both comic inspiration and energy .",
      "it is beavis and butt-head rewriting the in-laws , only the scripts for beavis were much smarter .",
      "watching MOV is like attending a big , potentially wild and funny party in which the guests pretend to have fun .",
      "MOV is get-rich-quick , no-thought-required sequel-mongering at its most mercenary . -lrb- plus it 's screamingly unfunny . -rrb-",
      "this is american pie for people over 35 .",
      "fifteen years ago , a movie with streisand , hoffman and deniro in starring roles would have been considered the casting coup of the ages .",
      "and you thought your parents were embarrassing .",
      "my new year 's plea to stiller ? watch sideways . rinse . repeat .",
      "hoffman and streisand provide some laughs in this sequel to meet the parents but the screenplay lacks comic zest .",
      "the picture has two lingering scenes that are so excruciatingly funny they compensate for the material that flounders .",
      "the ideas behind MOV are the best part of this zany sequel to meet the parents , but getting fockerised is not as funny as it should be .",
      "coasts on considerable star power to make us laugh with some consistency but never approaches the level of fearless comic abandon that made the first film so popular .",
      "the audience laughed more because they wanted to find it funny than because they actually did .",
      "MOV is n't quite as funny as its predecessor , but it definitely has its moments .",
      "a sloppy and not-funny - enough sequel to meet the parents .",
      "MOV , a sluggish sequel to the anarchic domestic comedy meet the parents , is one visit too many .",
      "if you keep your expectations in check , the encounter does n't disappoint .",
      "hoffman and streisand give energetic , game performances , but the movie provides them with dispiritingly little material .",
      "one of those relatively rare comedies that 's at once puerile , charming and very funny throughout .",
      "amusing ... but not distinctive .",
      "thanks to an ensemble cast that includes robert de niro , barbra streisand and dustin hoffman , MOV is much more fun than anticipated .",
      "there is some fun in watching the veterans mix it up -- de niro , who looks like he wants to fade into the scenery , streisand , who tries to eat it -- but nothing is well developed here .",
      "this sequel keeps the laughs coming until the ending .",
      "MOV is not a movie for the ages ; it 's a movie for a few good laughs .",
      "the gap between the first and second installments is n't as gaping as with , for instance , analyze this and analyze that , but the laughs fockers generates are the type you feel embarrassed about almost immediately afterward .",
      "this sequel to 2000 's meet the parents knows that its audience expects a symphony of outrageousness . anyone who resists is pummeled into submission by the sheer pace and volume of the comic antics .",
      "because no good joke in hollywood goes untold again ... and again , the mixed-couple setup receives another extended workout in this modestly amusing sequel .",
      "barbra streisand has the show-stopping moments in this uneven comedy .",
      "hoffman and streisand ... are a wonderful addition to the comedic mix with their relaxed , laid back lifestyle and penchant for randy sex",
      "this is n't just a second helping of gaylord focker humiliation , for once here 's a comedy sequel that manages to revisit its world without banally repeating it .",
      "hoffman , in particular , is a delight - he has an infectious comic energy that seems to light up the rest of the cast .",
      "a pergunta й : vocк quer transformar o tнtulo brasileiro desta produзгo em realidade ?",
      "MOV has assembled a historic , once-in-a-lifetime cast , then stranded them in the laziest , most mercenary kind of sequel imaginable . it 's like the 1927 yankees taking on the special olympics softball team .",
      "-lsb- dustin hoffman and barbra streisand -rsb- seem to have been waiting their whole careers to do unrestrained comedy , and they step into their roles with unparalleled enthusiasm .",
      "amazing how altering one vowel from the king of all cuss words can spawn a movie franchise .",
      "... just as mediocre and gratingly unfunny as its predecessor ...",
      "catch it on hbo for the sheer delight of everything hoffman and streisand do . it 's fun to MOV themselves , but the rest of the movie can stay home .",
      "mildly amusing ... but joke repetition and a greater emphasis on outrageousness and vulgarity release a strong scent of the writers ' desperation .",
      "this sequel , like most , is inferior to the original , but it is hard not to like these characters .",
      "as far as completely pointless , redundant , superfluous sequels go , it could have been a lot worse . at least it was n't zoolander 2 - more zoolandish",
      "MOV is not much of a movie -- just a lot of comic situations barely held together by the semblance of a plot -- but it is genuinely funny in a crass way .",
      "for audiences that loved meet the parents , the movie is a welcome chance to revisit funny and familiar characters .",
      "more than any recent comedy i can think of , MOV seems likely to split audiences between those who find it deliriously funny and those who grind their teeth at its obviousness .",
      "in the tradition of recent hollywood sequels , this one replays the old gags , gooses up the pace and lowers the level of the humor -- way lower .",
      "irrepressible streisand brings her own potent barrage to this company of self-interested men , not to mention the melt-away women .",
      "it 's a toss-up as to who gets the worst end of the deal with MOV : the audience or the film 's all-star cast .",
      "if you enjoyed meet the parents , you 'll have just as much fun in MOV .",
      "by the film 's finale you 'll pity any poor fool who actually is named focker -- for following this picture they 're certain to see a surge in mockery .",
      "unbelievably raunchy ... an avalanche of s ****** ing sexual humor masquerading as a family comedy .",
      "de niro 's brilliantly economical expression of utter revulsion somehow never stops being funny .",
      "MOV is as tacky as its title , as crass as a kid learning his first cuss word .",
      "a quick-and-dirty cash-grab sequel , one that substitutes stunt casting for character work and schtick for writing .",
      "hoffman and streisand are the best things about MOV . the movie would have been better off spending more time with them instead of focusing again on the uneasy relationship between eager-to-please greg and his father-in-law - to-be jack .",
      "playing up the socio-religious rifts of the first film , the sequel reflects the country 's current political schisms .",
      "do n't even rent the dvd , it 'll only encourage them .",
      "given how well stiller and de niro play off each other , you 'll wish they had more to work with .",
      "focking funny !",
      "the movie is pleasant enough , but never quite reaches critical mass as a comedy .",
      "culture-clashing through the snow , in a one-joke open sleigh , MOV goes , laughing all the way ... to the bank .",
      "a rascally little play on words is the funniest element of MOV , a sequel with big name stars and , only occasionally , laughs to match .",
      "forced and formulaic sequel ... is a tedious disappointment .",
      "repetitious and just not that funny on the whole , especially since it 's so derivative and out of character next to the original",
      "if you do n't think ben stiller is funny , spanglish is playing at the next theater over . MOV made me laugh so hard my stomach started to ache .",
      "this pic is pretty focking lame .",
      "stiller - by starring in MOV , one of the year 's final releases - pulls into a buzzer-beating tie with jude law as the most-overexposed actor of the movie year .",
      "deniro is pretty much the only reason to see MOV ... -lsb- betrays -rsb- creative exhaustion .",
      "greg focker is ashamed of his loving parents and jack byrnes needs viagra .",
      "there 's room left open , of course , for the eagerly-awaited conclusion to the parent focker trilogy . here 's hoping that when that blessed day arrives , i 'll be good and dead .",
      "a frantic , pointless sequel , funny in clumps , but mostly contrived and empty .",
      "features three of the most frightening noses in the business -lrb- streisand , hoffman and owen wilson -rrb- . consider yourself lucky it 's not in 3d .",
      "unlike billy crystal -lrb- analyze this -rrb- and eddie murphy -lrb- showtime -rrb- , stiller brings out de niro 's best comic instincts .",
      "familiary breeds contempt ... unless you think a dog flushed down a toilet is a laugh riot , you 're better off leaving these fockers alone .",
      "hoffman ... is like the one kid in gym class who takes frisbee golf seriously .",
      "there is not one joke in MOV .",
      "fockers has the combined subtlety of a libido-mad bull elephant and a bad case of flatulence in church , but that 's the kind of movie it is .",
      "you should get your kicks from the fockers .",
      "... -lsb- a -rsb- star-studded but tediously uneven low-brow sequel ... MOV is pretty much a flavorless family affair to forget",
      "the awkward , uncomfortable charms of the previous picture have here been replaced with an aggressive vulgarity that bears not even a passing resemblance to human behavior .",
      "clearly contrived , yet at times undeniably funny . still , from this cast , you may be expecting more substance and less sophomore .",
      "no se trata de una obra de arte ni una competidora a los oscar , pero ... a quin le importa eso cuando lo que uno busca es rerse un poco ?",
      "director jay roach gives the film no visual distinction whatsoever but packs on the jokes with tireless bustle .",
      "the ensemble 's giddy chemistry and the addition of perfectly cast topliners dustin hoffman and barbra streisand should find fockers entertaining huge crowds for the holidays and beyond .",
      "though it 's good to see -lsb- stiller -rsb- back in his stumbling , bumbling element , it 's a bummer to see his element wasted in such stumbling , bumbling gags .",
      "simply too much unpleasantness afoot .",
      "streisand and especially hoffman are a hoot .",
      "an infantile , desperately uncreative sequel that will do anything for a cheap laugh . just imagine meet the parents remade for the comedy sensibilities of a 12-year-old .",
      "from the start the jokes are on a different level than the last one : coarse , aggressive , and poorly timed by director jay roach .",
      "while there is a serious subtext , cast and crew remember that this is essentially a frivolous comedy",
      "feels like a big-budget dharma & greg episode with toilet jokes .",
      "streisand and hoffman are a hoot , the most entertaining haight-ashbury movie refugees since lily tomlin and alan alda similarly tormented stiller in flirting with disaster .",
      "` quizá tenga una historia muy boba y situaciones absurdas llevadas al extremo , pero de eso se trata : de hacer reír con bobadas '",
      "very often vulgar and tasteless , and though there are some unexpected bursts of humor and even charm in the proceedings , it 's light years away from chekhov .",
      "so exaggerated that it veers wildly and awkwardly into pure , outlandish farce",
      "although not as disarmingly funny the second time around , inspired casting means that , unlike most in-laws , the fockers do n't outstay their welcome .",
      "even stiller , who i 've always appreciated , seems to be going through the motions here .",
      "it does what few comedies achieve , literally giving me a laugh a minute , sometimes good , deep belly laughs .",
      "the abundance of talent gathered for MOV is sadly shortchanged by the unimaginative script and directorial laissez faire .",
      "gauge your interest by how you liked parents and you wo n't be disappointed .",
      "a vulgar farce that is n't remotely amusing .",
      "-lsb- hoffman and streisand -rsb- make a wonderful team , but it 's too bad the material is n't fresher and more worth their time and yours .",
      "MOV is frequently funny , but it turns a bit too cruel in the third act to be as worthy a sequel to its predecessor as it could have been",
      "this sequel 's title indicates the content : smutty , silly and liable to make you smirk despite yourself .",
      "has its smattering of laughs , but the new faces bring fewer dividends than the elemental de niro/ben stiller showdown of the original .",
      "full review in greek",
      "repeats itself and strains for laughs where the original giddily stumbled through them .",
      "milk bottles and related metaphors feature prominentlyas breast fetish stand-ins , but with a decidely peculiar asymmetrical preference for just the left one .",
      "sequel to the mediocre ben stiller comedy `` meet the parents '' is a bawdier but inferior movie that relies on the star power of dustin hoffman and barbara streisand as stiller 's florida-dwelling jewish hippie parents bernie and roz to fuel its ill-timed toi",
      "a consistently entertaining , sometimes uproariously funny film .",
      "fans of the first will find some amusement in familiarity , but with such a comically able cast this is a missed opportunity .",
      "the expected misunderstandings ensue , as you 'd expect , which would be pretty excruciating if not for the performances of hoffman and streisand .",
      "so many subplots are piled onto MOV that it 's a wonder any of the glittering talents assembled here have room to be funny .",
      "like virtually every sequel to a hit comedy , it recycles and essentially beats to death everything that got a laugh in the original film .",
      "a one joke movie but streisand and hoffman make that one joke enjoyable .",
      "both movies lack the real discomfort and awkwardness that comes with meeting future in-laws .",
      "this film has a lot more heart and it 's just a lot of fun throughout with all these wonderful actors .",
      "could have been much funnier than it is .",
      "a little coarser , a little more desperate and a lot less funny than its predecessor . but dustin hoffman saves the day .",
      "it 's left to barbra streisand and dustin hoffman as greg 's parents to warm up the picture , and they light it on fire .",
      "the fockers is a must-have for family viewing .",
      "there can be worse holiday fluff than watching a tight-knit group of hollywood veterans having fun .",
      "you 'd think after an eight-year absence from the screen , -lsb- streisand would -rsb- return with more self-respect .",
      "formulaic but consistently funny .",
      "never has so much talent been wasted with so little imagination .",
      "a weary retread without a fraction of the inventiveness that sparked the original .",
      "could they not have come up with anything but lumpish , vulgar humor and dumb `` focker '' puns ?",
      "this is silliness that 's good for a video replay on a rainy day .",
      "the foreplay was a little boring , but once they start fockering , it works ... it may be absurd and in poor taste , but that does n't mean it ca n't still be funny .",
      "ben stiller looks the same as he did during parents in 2000 , but pity poor teri polo who 's putting on miles faster than dale earnhardt , jr. .",
      "... the story fails to take the high road ...",
      "does little to alter the formula of the original , but the two films set a nice example of successful use of the concept of theme and variation .",
      ".",
      "if you have absolutely nothing else to do , and you can see it for free , with little hassle , you just might get fockersized .",
      "the most disappointing sequel of 2004 .",
      "a comic clash of stereotypical red state and blue state culture , but with a wish-fulfillment hollywood ending in which ` fockerization ' triumphs ..."
    ],
    "summary": "talented cast is wasted as the movie is content with recycling jokes from its predecessor , meet the parents .",
    "id": "10041"
  },
  {
    "movie": "unknown_white_male",
    "reviews": [
      "scene by scene , the movie is clunky and laughable , but it 's certainly never dull .",
      "if liam neeson is now typecast as an aging action hero , he would be better off finding better scripts .",
      "collet-serra generates plenty of suspense and keeps the action flowing . there is even , of all things , an imaginative car chase .",
      "if this all sounds rather like déjŕ vu , then consider yourself one step ahead of the game .",
      "so extensive is unknown 's pilfering of ideas from existing films that it has left itself exposed as a meagre mishmash that fails to excel in any particular department .",
      "as action thrillers go unknown is not a bad one , and it has real ambitions to character and theme ... on the other hand it 's not quite a good one either as the filmmakers can never quite decide what time of film they want to make .",
      "a nifty final twist , but it is so joyless and heavy-handed i found it impossible to like .",
      "this is fun for an hour before plumbing hitherto unknown depths of silliness .",
      "unravelling the jigsaw clues is a lot of fun , while the changes rung during the familiar ticking-bomb countdown finale marks collet-serra as a genuinely gifted genre specialist .",
      "what 's so great about the casting of aidan quinn is that he 's like neeson 's shorter , less charming , less attractive , bitter stand-in . it 's like a coup for all those neglected stand-ins who we only see from behind in wigs and oversized clothing .",
      "unknown does n't aspire to the artistic and moral sophistication of john frankenheimer 's '60s political thrillers .",
      "liam neeson is an indestructible frankensteiny feral animal with a head injury .",
      "the freak-out scenario is thoroughly engaging , but even collet-serra 's ceaseless velocity ca n't gloss over gaping holes",
      "... satisfying , if not entirely plausible .",
      "why the screenwriters allowed this movie to take a nonsensical turn is ` unknown . '",
      "hitchcockian features work themselves out rather nicely , while the story plays deftly with the notion of the ` hero . ' action scenes blur together and spin out after a while , but the german supporting cast fills the movie with touches of everyday humanity .",
      "it 's certainly no taken but it does manages some fairly diverting set pieces and stops just short of wearing its central premise thin .",
      "the picture lacks the thrills and dramatic charge of kidnap-thriller taken , with neeson here befuddled rather than angry , but his gravitas and conviction elevate the material .",
      "the film , directed by spanish genre hack jaume collet-serra , seems to have confused itself with a sedate character piece when the premise demands relentless brain-off fun .",
      "liam neeson deserves a huge pat on the back for reinventing himself as the most violent middle-aged man in hollywood . i 'm just not gon na be the man to do it . as i 'd probably pull back a stump .",
      "enjoy it and then forget it ...",
      "implausible , over-the-top , ridiculous and for the most part , fun is a much better description for this `` smart suspense '' flick .",
      "as always , the riddle is far more intriguing than the answer , and the continual red herrings become an overwhelming burden .",
      "the film is smartly edited and the thrills one would expect are nicely delivered .",
      "neeson is always magnetic , though , even when he 's just repeating his taken performance and delivering cheesy one-liners , as he is eventually required to do here .",
      "... implausible and ridiculous to the point of being genuinely entertaining .",
      "even at its best , it never comes close to reaching the peaks of `` taken , '' the film that it clearly wants to be in every way , shape and form",
      "on a minute-to-minute level , it 's an engaging mystery , the kind that rewards our participation with eye candy and adrenaline shots .",
      "i 'm sure you will find some holes and weaknesses , but unknown is an entertaining film , especially for neeson fans .",
      "things get a little shaky once the facts are known , but everything speeds along smoothly while it 's still `` unknown . ''",
      "it 's a classic you-stole-my-identity setup , and director jaume collet-serra delivers it tightly enough to keep you engaged , despite many obvious signposts leading the way .",
      "the elements are there - a -lrb- mostly -rrb- strong ensemble , an interesting concept , an intriguing location , a promising director - but the film never comes together because the script needed one more rewrite that it just never received .",
      "turn off your ` i hope this plot twist is awesome ' part of your brain and just enjoy big , gruff , increasingly frankenstein-monster-looking neeson kicking the crap out of everyone who gets in his way ...",
      "i saw `` unknown '' with an entourage whose average age was about 70 . they loved it , although one of them kept calling it `` the bond ultimatum . '' which sounds about right .",
      "unknown never establishes any identity or juice of its own , content to crib successful elements from other thrillers and present them with a shrug .",
      "with his soulful gaze and crooked nose , his seeming reluctance to throw a karate chop but his deft ability to do so , neeson has an air of melancholy and menace - you feel sorry for the guy , and wary of him at the same time .",
      "a surprise-packed , action-packed , fun-packed ripper of a romp .",
      "ignore the pileup of implausibilities and ` unknown ' becomes a diabolically entertaining con game .",
      "it mixes and mismatches jagged fragments of jason bourne , alfred hitchcock , `` total recall '' and mel gibson 's underappreciated `` conspiracy theory , '' although underappreciation is n't a risk for a movie that amounts to `` the stillbourne identity . ''",
      "the material keeps our attention but , as we get closer to the inevitable point at which the curtain is pulled back , the movie starts to feel more like a parody than a serious endeavor .",
      "neeson has a fine way with expressions of anguish . this is brow-knitting of a very high order .",
      "neeson , often chided for cashing easy action-flick paychecks at the expense of his serious-actor cred , knows who he is - an action star of a certain age who brings gravitas to pulpy stuff . and if that 's who he is , he could do worse than `` unknown . ''",
      "what started out so promisingly loses its way as it becomes yet another mind-boggling entertainment . it could have been so much more .",
      "... a non-stop , high tension thriller that does n't let up until the end .",
      "liam neeson ably continues his late-blooming action career .",
      "the wintry recesses of berlin add resonance , and neeson in his incarnation as an action hero at last has a role worthy of his talent .",
      "while nothing about unknown is exceptional , most of it is n't bad - it just pretends to a moral and intellectual sophistication it simply does n't have .",
      "liam neeson estр comeуando a se afastar do territзrio de `` astro do cinema '' e a se aproximar do perigoso limbo dos `` atores de produушes lanуadas diretamente em dvd '' .",
      "this is no more -lrb- but no less ? -rrb- than what we have rather oddly come to expect from neeson in his late period -lrb- taken , the a-team -rrb- -- not quite a riddle wrapped in an enigma , just a paycheck gig cloaked in an actioner , moonlighting as a travelogue .",
      "the film does n't make you feel or care . it does n't grab you . in other words , it has all the elements of a good thriller except for , well , thrills .",
      "a very well-crafted action thriller .",
      "even when the film does n't quite work in the small details , we have neeson as our point of identification , his inherent gravitas giving weight to that which otherwise might be quickly forgettable",
      "but if you dig liam neeson as an action hero , you could do worse than this fast-paced , cheerfully ridiculous , generally satisfying romp .",
      "grows increasingly ludicrous as it proceeds , ending up shattering the suspension of disbelief necessary for such thrillers to avoid becoming comically implausible .",
      "indistinctive and empty , forced to rely on multiple car chases , fist fights , and a literal ticking time bomb to cover up its lack of ideas .",
      "for some reason thrillers always have detours into nightclubs with pulsing music -- what is the deal with these , some sort of physical manifestation of the internal chaos ?",
      "some may say it 's sad that an oscar-caliber actor like liam neeson is essentially doing early schwarzenegger ; we say it 's awesome .",
      "when the dots are connected -lrb- sort of -rrb- , unknown still does n't make much sense .",
      "neeson has a way of getting upset - a frantic purposefulness - that fills viewers with both empathy and anticipation : he 's so miserable that we care .",
      "the movie has a hitchcockian complement of plot twists and fake-outs . if only it also had hitchcock .",
      "this twist-filled tale of an amnesiac falling into a web of international intrigue moves swiftly but makes little sense -- and has ludicrous moments .",
      "the film 's big twist , alas , is rather predictable once you eliminate all the other plausible reasons for the characters ' behavior , and the bad guys ' plan revolves around a rather hokey plot device .",
      "the notion of combining taken and roman polanski 's frantic makes for a clean graft here .",
      "a fairly decent action flick with the type of car chases and exploits one might expect from a joel silver joint .",
      "`` unknown '' is a plodding , unoriginal thriller , with neeson stumbling around as the confused victim .",
      "do not try to engage this film on a logical level , or you might end up in a coma yourself .",
      "consistently albeit genteelly thrilling , a pleasantly implausible item that employs the holy trinity of action elements : explosions , hand-to-hand combat and car chases where tires squeal like there is no tomorrow .",
      "the car chases and piled-on action eventually feel rote , as do neeson 's various badass stunts .",
      "it 's no classic , but until a better thriller comes along , unknown will do .",
      "the film plays more like a `` whydunit '' than a whodunit .",
      "tacked onto a perfectly respectable thriller , unknown 's mass of unlikely turns and implausible reveals make the whole film seem retroactively less sophisticated .",
      "taut and tidy , a one-two punch we do n't always get from today 's thrill rides",
      "for about an hour or so , `` unknown '' is intriguing .",
      "as incredible as it may sound regarding an amnesia thriller , unknown 's plot is n't silly enough to merit where it ends up taking the main character .",
      "hugely enjoyable stolen identity thriller with pacy direction , decent action sequences , a gleefully bonkers script and a superb central performance from liam neeson .",
      "an unmemorable euro-thriller that frustrates more than it thrills , squandering an attractive cast and inventive premise .",
      "it 's great fun - not as vicious as taken - and neeson shows just why he 's the right man for the job ; a rather nifty niche which he 's now made his own .",
      "taken was much more amusing than unknown , which takes itself rather too seriously .",
      "the movie rather crumbles when it eventually has to deliver its secrets .",
      "there are holes in the plot , but the film skips over them .",
      "neeson muscles unknown to success",
      "it 's a juicy idea but it ends up playing out like an extended tv movie",
      "sometimes unknown 's tongue is so firmly in cheek that the audience does n't even realize there 's a joke happening .",
      "if conspiracy movies of any sort are your thing , then consider unknown a familiar , yet solid , entry in the canon . for those who want some innovation to go with their thrills , then move along .",
      "john wayne wore cowboy drag , mel gibson 's mullet was his tip-off , but the most recognizable action hero signature these days is liam neeson 's nose .",
      "a not-bad thriller starring liam neeson . if that sounds like faint praise , it is , but at least this overgrown ` b ' - movie tickles the brain just a tad ...",
      "a mildy engaging identity loss thriller set in berlin",
      "more subtly than harrison ford , neeson excels at the slow fuse snaking its way to explosive revenge .",
      "how sick are you of rationalizing a movie 's absurd plot by muttering `` suspend your disbelief '' and giving a shrug ? unknown is a thriller you can enjoy without feeling cheated .",
      "-lsb- video -rsb- `` unknown '' is a fish-out-of-water mystery thriller . it 's not an especially memorable film , which is ironic considering the analogous subject matter of its overleveraged premise .",
      "ich bin bash berliner .",
      "neeson 's always-intelligent screen presence , his nuance and gravitas , help elevate unknown beyond its preposterous elements .",
      "i felt involved in `` unknown '' until it pulled one too many rabbits out of its hat . at some point , a thriller has to play fair .",
      "after learning the explanation , you 'll wish you never asked .",
      "an increasingly improbable and easily watchable action thriller with liam neeson grimacing his way through memory loss and the murky secrets of bio-tech espionage .",
      "while it 's not a sequel , one can see this film and call it ` taken ' with a twist and they would n't complain . they would get their money 's worth . ` unknown ' has plenty of action , suspense and dramatic moments to keep one engaged and satisfied .",
      "contains a legitimately intriguing and unpredictable mystery . but the direction is often blurry and hard to follow , especially in the action sequences .",
      "has no connection to anything resembling reality , but it 's entertaining as hell .",
      "neeson is hamstrung with a thin script full of huge plot holes that stretch credibility . his character is a mix of an older jason bourne and the male equivalent of angelina jolie 's evelyn salt . jones and kruger are simply window dressing .",
      "amnesia antics and mistaken-identity capers , an innocent man on the run , a couple of car chases , a frosty blonde , chilly european settings , implacable assassins , cryptic codes , red herrings and even a ticking time bomb .",
      "i hesitate to be this brutal , but there is really no way around it . january jones was just terrible . she barely moves her face , she seemingly has no emotion , even during a life or death moment , and her scenes with neeson were just ... creepy .",
      "what starts off as a captivating berlin spin on `` der fugitive '' turns , boringly , into `` die bourne ultimatum '' - down to destructive car chases with taxis and a touareg . the polar opposite of `` taken , '' it clutters its rehashed concept with too much plot .",
      "sure , it 's a clichéd plot yet still intriguing and intense because of the fast pace and keen cinematography .",
      "` unknown ' is a nail-biter , an edge-of-seater , and a fast couple of hours . it is just as well that its action moves faster than logic .",
      "it 's all so damn exhausting - countless chase scenes sucked dry of suspense by repetition and the fact that clues are deposited less frequently scott baio 's charles in charge residuals .",
      "i do n't mind that unknown , which builds on liam neeson 's newly minted status as a tortured action hero , is utterly ridiculous . why ? because within the constraints of its absurdity , it always manages to play fair with the audience .",
      "after all the storyline conveniences kick in , this amnesia story becomes forgettable , implausible , regrettable and indigestible .",
      "unknown is formula entertainment and as such delivers pretty much what you 'd expect . for some that will be enough . for others it will elicit yawns and maybe a case of amnesia once you 've left the theater .",
      "the movie whips up a big old puree of ingredients borrowed from other cinematic recipes . then it dishes out the mildly spiced results as post-oscar-quality snack food ...",
      "the talented liam neeson makes a valiant effort to carry this wannabe hitchcockian thriller on his solid shoulders , but , alas , he 's defeated by an incongruous and improbable plot that gets worse as it unfolds after a promising start",
      "liam neeson heroically tries to turn the pedestrian , obvious unknown into something as energetic as the much better taken , but you 'll guess the reveal halfway through .",
      "beyond the occasional plot frissons and juicy supporting turns , it 's an emotionally and psychologically threadbare exercise .",
      "this glossy thriller takes off from a tantalizing premise ... but squanders it on action scenes that detract from the nightmarish heart of the matter",
      "there are a couple of intriguing ideas floating around here and there , but that 's all they do -- float around , unmoored by any sense of reality and , thus , suspense .",
      "unknown touches on the crisis , but director jaume - collet serra and his screenwriters are n't serious enough or the action adept enough to fully articulate it .",
      "unknown has its moments , but ultimately it 's as forgettable as martin 's identity .",
      "liam neeson stars in a paranoid caper showcasing the city of berlin .",
      "in this wild and wooly world of `` fusion '' movies , those that combine aspects of every kind of genre available , this one aims to do it all .",
      "a lot of stupid fun masquerading as not stupid fun anchored by -lsb- neeson 's -rsb- inimitable presence .",
      "it 's good . it 's not fantastic .",
      "secretive and suspensful , this action/thriller scores as a late-winter diversion .",
      "it 's your typical thriller , with some nice surprises before it turns into an ordinary action flick .",
      "liam neeson 's late career conversion into a bad ass action hero continues . on it 's face the premise sounded dumb , but the movie is much more nuanced than the trailer would lead you to believe .",
      "the action beats , when they hit , are fine but in the end this is only a serviceable thriller that 's easily forgettable .",
      "old-time character actors ganz and frank langella provide a few brief moments of pleasure here and there , but otherwise , this is a dud .",
      "an okay thriller until you get to the ending and that ruins it all .",
      "the movie builds up to a climax that makes one question whether it was ever worth the effort .",
      "the premise of the film seems impossible at first , but it is all explained , without the need for a vast conspiracy , or `` it was all a dream , a hallucination , alternate reality '' or some other nonsense like that .",
      "it would be a spoiler to say which franchise `` unknown '' is copping from ... but this attempt at crossing that with hitchcockian overtones just ends up underwhelming",
      "with its intriguing story and thrilling action sequences , `` unknown '' is worth checking out for those who are into action films as well as those who like a good mystery that needs solving .",
      "with an actor of neeson 's caliber you also get something extra -- a convincing sell of the emotional and dramatic beats .",
      "a paranoid thriller has to be more paranoid than this , with far more urgency to it , to work .",
      "an exciting film that moviegoers will enjoy - even if they leave with a somewhat ambiguous understanding of the story that was unfolding outside of neeson 's character .",
      "the thriller is fun and action-packed but a few major plot holes and a few lazy twists definitely weigh it down .",
      "what started as a mildly intriguing innocent-man-wrongly-accused pseudo-thriller just turns into series of lame implausibilites in pursuit of an ending .",
      "like taken , it 's the kind of flick that will play forever on cable .",
      "as the film progresses , it becomes incomprehensible . the twists are too preposterous and the plot holes are too plentiful , making unknown an absolute mess .",
      "with this type of film , likability is determined by how well the writers and director get you from a to z . in the case of unknown , the alphabet formula works .",
      "unknown hinges on an amnesia cliche so moth-eaten sitcoms long ago gave up on it .",
      "unknown is n't offensive at all , but it is n't startlingly good either : it is a near-perfect popcorn thriller that convinces of its story despite some fairly ludicrous plot shifts and an ultimately very self-serving resolution .",
      "the stop-start pacing , stock villains and predictable plot leave it trailing in jason bourne 's wake .",
      "each situation is pulled off with a by-the-numbers precision . sorely lacking is the dark humor hitchcock invested in similar no-one-believes-me scenarios .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "in a bloodless scene between two old men , there 's more pathos and tension ... than in any of the hyper-kinetic fight scenes or car chases that pad out the rest of the running time .",
      "in the french-made , english-language sleeper taken , liam neeson was a former cia operative who was -lrb- outlandishly -rrb- able to thwart a sex-trafficking ring . audiences responded vociferously to his take-charge character . his latest film , unknown ...",
      "i did n't believe a second of it , but i certainly had fun watching it .",
      "may eventually surrender to convention and implausibility in equal measure , but until then , collet-serra grounds the conspiracy with a proper sense of mystery and mood .",
      "... with liam neeson in the lead , he makes everything we see on screen , no matter how far-fetched , seem plausible .",
      "i found the time spent not so proportionate to the powerful delivery , in the end ...",
      "the movie is a well-performed , well-directed thriller that kept me interested the entire time .",
      "not as well executed as taken or with the depth of 1988 's frantic but neeson can cover up a lot of plot problems . a good rental .",
      "unknown is , reduced to essentials , a flat-out garden variety spy movie where no thoughtful subtext or conscious may intrude .",
      "a highly disposable , yet sneakily enjoyable pulp thriller .",
      "despite its herculean plot contortions , this latest entry in the american-caught-in-a-foreign-city formula fails to live up to its stolen-identity premise .",
      "unknown '' obviously knows its limitations , and it does n't bother to rise above them . it just keeps throwing the punches the audience wants and expects . it wo n't cure world hunger , but chances are it will sell a lot of popcorn .",
      "with no aspirations above its genre , unknown embraces the implausibility of its tale and delivers fun but rather forgettable viewing .",
      "the cat-and-mouse game that the filmmakers are playing with us is only partially successful because this thriller is only intermittently thrilling . instead of being captivated by the twist and turns , we 're more likely to be rankled .",
      "the snow and haze that spanish director jaume collet-serra keeps pumping into the street scenes seem to have drifted into the script as well .",
      "the macguffin at the heart of it is preposterous , but frankly incidental : it 's the journey that holds us rather than the destination .",
      "it 's not `` north by northwest , '' of course . but at least it 's heading in the right direction .",
      "while entertaining in parts , unknown struggles to sustain its amusement .",
      "the art of the classic hitchcockian thriller is about style , pace and misdirection -- and though unknown is occasionally baffling and involves running and car chases , the film rarely manages to thrill .",
      "it 's the kind of movie that when it comes on hbo or showtime , it 'll be a semi-satisfying diversion , that despite its implausibility , will fit the bill , but it 's definitely not worth full price at the box office .",
      "... does n't disappoint , but does n't always thrill , either .",
      "it 's the questions that ultimately keep unknown afloat , regardless of how silly the answers might be .",
      "... an irresistibly compelling premise ...",
      "who 'd have thought that unknown would have more in common with douglas quaid than jason bourne ?",
      "despite its a-movie aspirations , as the chases continue and the plot holes widen , unknown quickly settles into the familiar b-movie comfort zone .",
      "as long as filmgoers come to `` unknown '' unencumbered by a need for plausibility , this handsome , well-paced production possesses its share of twisty , visceral pleasures .",
      "plot holes you can drive a truck through are ultimately less important for your enjoyment than how they set up the film 's big set pieces .",
      "a stylish and muscular thriller with some nifty twists and turns , a wicked sense of humor , several terrific performances and not one or even two but three of the best car chases in recent action-flick history .",
      "a big budget thriller with pedigree , unknown has so much going for it , yet somehow ends up a little less satisfying than its elements suggest .",
      "echoes of the bourne identity flash across the screen in which we follow our hero to an unexpected revelation , usually involving shady characters , a significant ` treasure ' at risk and lovely women who may or not be what they seem .",
      "an efficiently staged but credibility-stretching international thriller that never quite lives up to its hitchcockian potential .",
      "kicks off with an inert concept for suspense and proceeds to hog pile on the plot with total abandon , slapping on the whoppers and clichés like a maniac .",
      "unknown makes no sense at all , so you not only worry about liam neeson 's judgment in movies , but you begin to wonder if he 's forgotten how to read .",
      "somewhere in the san fernando valley , there must be a factory that churns out action-thrillers of the caliber of unknown the same way a factory produces furniture .",
      "neeson - perhaps suffering from an existential acting crisis following the box office success of taken - has pared back his once considerable charm to an almost negative state .",
      "we 're spun through parking garages , dance clubs and good old-fashioned car chases ; unknown is probably the movie the tourist wanted to be , if it had a pulse .",
      "unknown is anything but , with predictable plot points found in better movies , yet the sturdy presence of liam neeson saves it from action movie obscurity .",
      "as with its protagonist , unknown boasts tantalizing issues buried deep beneath its frantic exterior , but little idea how to unlock or address them .",
      "neeson 's comforting intelligence -lrb- and a marvelous turn by bruno ganz as an ailing former member of the east german secret police -rrb- , are not enough to prevent the film from choking on obviousness and directorial fumbling .",
      "pulpy and absurd , but utterly watchable",
      "the holes are irksome , without detracting much from the fun of trying to work out who is what and why , and then having to start all over again from scratch",
      "once all is revealed , one can picture the screenwriters enjoying a double feature of the bourne identity and total recall over a large plate of corn . actual corn , not necessarily of the hackneyed metaphor variety , though that does apply too .",
      "how refreshing it would be to have a 30 second fistfight or a once-around-the-block car sequence , then get on with the next scene . but like so many others , 35-year-old spanish director jaume collet-serra falls in love with the action behind the lens",
      "director jaume collet-serra should have entitled this `` taken ii ''",
      "what makes unknown work is n't that the filmmakers think they 're smarter than the audience . rather , it 's told at such a pace that you do n't care to figure it all out .",
      "instead of being disquieting or particularly exciting , it 's loud , over-directed and merely serviceable .",
      "what i most enjoyed was collet-serra 's eye for detail and small gestures : the way he shoots a hand stretching towards something just out of reach in a key dramatic moment , or the way he shoots reflections in windows and doors .",
      "there is a car chase sequence in unknown that is so awesome , even steve mcqueen would be impressed . liam neeson needs to play these types of roles from now on !"
    ],
    "summary": "liam neeson elevates the proceedings considerably , but unknown is ultimately too derivative -- and implausible -- to take advantage of its intriguing premise .",
    "id": "771027996"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1220551-bounty_hunter",
    "reviews": [
      "there are no rewards to be claimed for enduring the MOV .",
      "the MOV has little to offer besides some face-time with handsome stars .",
      "as formula films go , the MOV is more enjoyable than most , even if it packs in as many cliches as any .",
      "in the MOV , the couple that foils a bunch of tiresome grade-c thriller goons together stays together . whether or not that 's a recipe for love , it 's certainly not a formula for romantic-comedy magic .",
      "aniston does n't bring her old a-game to this . but at least she 's not quiet and reserved and no-energy , her approach to too many roles of late .",
      "it 's slim pickings for discerning movie lovers and is never smart enough , sexy enough or funny enough to be memorable .",
      "silliness prevails in this lame thriller comedy .",
      "a stark example of misbegotten chemistry and its resultant pitfalls .",
      "the latest evidence that , when it comes to romantic combat , we live in a more thoughtlessly brutal age than our ancestors did .",
      "even by the low standards of today 's romantic comedy , this is a black mark on everyone 's resume .",
      "death , taxes , gerard butler . wish them away all you like : still they befall us .",
      "even worse than the trailers make it look ...",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- boring , overlong mess .",
      "this appallingly unfunny rom-com is a crime against comedy . lock it up and throw away the key .",
      "the film is stuffed with these idiosyncratic micro-roles -lrb- i loved siobhan fallon hogan as the bondsman 's secretary -rrb- , which prove more diverting than the two main characters .",
      "send hollywood a message , and do not see this film .",
      "the story of a bail enforcer who captures his newspaper-reporter ex-wife manages to be both formulaic and patchwork , with whatever twinkles that exist between the stars eclipsed by the overall crudeness .",
      "if you 've seen the trailer , you already know more or less everything that occurs , complexity not being one of the film 's strengths .",
      "i stared with glazed eyes at the MOV . here is a film with no need to exist .",
      "this genre has devolved to the point where what i appreciate most , in the end , is simply not cringing .",
      "butler and aniston , earning zero laughs , ca n't even bicker with any heat ; jessica simpson and john mayer would see this -lrb- separately -rrb- and say , ` you call that resentment ? '",
      "... an odd , timid movie , unsure of its actors and how to use them .",
      "on the soundtrack , jerry reed sings `` she got the goldmine -lrb- i got the shaft -rrb- . '' viewers will know exactly the same feeling .",
      "inexplicably , butler continues to get work in romantic comedies despite his limited range and boorish persona .",
      "perhaps tracking down the folks responsible for this film should be milo 's next assignment .",
      "yes , it 's every bit as brainless as the trailers suggest .",
      "disappointing , frequently dull and painfully unfunny romcom that 's let down by a badly written script , obnoxious characters and a total lack of chemistry between butler and aniston .",
      "aniston and butler mysteriously rustle up just enough chemistry in this simplistic rom-com to make it enjoyable .",
      "there are two parallel stories : milo 's and nicole 's on-again , off-again relationship , and those guys with guns who keep shooting at them . we know exactly how the first one is going to end and we do n't care about the second .",
      "more remarkable for the glistening sex appeal of the leading actors than anything found in the excruciatingly labored script , MOV is an empty calorie , brain dead waste of time .",
      "this week 's entry in the neverending circle of watered-down , mid-range , completely unmemorable hollywood comedies .",
      "the putrid result never rises even to the lofty heights of mediocrity .",
      "... plays less like a genuine story than as a series of ` beats ' engineered for the cheapest possible audience responses .",
      "at points , the film sinks below the level of competent : a stupid plot trick early on is so badly edited that it takes another minute to figure out what 's supposed to be going on .",
      "maybe the two are doing the horizontal mambo in real life , but the heat does n't come through on screen -lrb- and i do n't think they are good enough actors to hide it -rrb- .",
      "the MOV works as a just-fun-enough action-comedy that is exactly the movie you think it is .",
      "the MOV is a good concept gone horrifically wrong . there are maybe three laughs in this unnecessarily complicated comedy that almost runs two hours .",
      "someday , the MOV and last month 's cop out will be featured in a cable movie double bill as the two worst 1988 films of 2010 .",
      "the story , like the movie , is pretty uninteresting and easily forgotten .",
      "butler ... is stuck here playing kind of a jerk , so it 's hard for him and aniston to work up much chemistry , particularly as she 's busy racing from the law in a pencil skirt and heels -lrb- easily the movie 's most impressive stunt -rrb- .",
      "tennant aims for a contemporary version of the thin man , wedding the banter of sparring spouses with sleuth work . to say that he falls short of the mark is understatement .",
      "a romantic comedy is built from the relationship of its leads , and all the MOV has to work with are blank stares .",
      "after the appalling romantic comedies ... that kicked off the year , `` the MOV '' does n't look so bad , but really , the best thing i can say about it is that it 's serviceable .",
      "does columbia pictures know that a reality-television program with a similar name already exists on a&e ? is it wrong to find that show funnier and more romantic ?",
      "it 's becoming increasingly clear that gerard butler should probably stay as far away from the romcom genre as possible ...",
      "this awkward hybrid of action comedy and romantic comedy was hatched in the marketing department , not conceived by storytellers .",
      "film koji se mo % u017ee usporediti s giglijem , holivudskim gnojivom koje i dan danas izaziva traume kod filmofila",
      "the MOV makes the ugly truth look like the right stuff .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "the MOV has what is arguably the most awful ` meet-cute ' in the history of cinema .",
      "an expensive , low-rent , overlong , tired romantic action-comedy .",
      "as a lousy mystery and lousier romantic comedy , the MOV is two bad films in one .",
      "it 's one thing for the leads to not share believable romantic chemistry , and then there 's the rather sad and lazy display aniston and butler put on here , not even striking believable negative vibes as a divorced couple .",
      "if only the filmmakers could have made it less tedious and more entertaining , then we might have actually cared about the characters . in the end , `` the MOV '' is a forgettable film that offers no reward .",
      "strictly by-the-numbers , cookie-cutter , hollywood production-line crap barely worthy of a legitimate theatrical release .",
      "this is premium-grade convoluted hollywood rubbish .",
      "i hated this movie . it 's lazy , it 's annoying , and it lasts a lifetime at 110 minutes .",
      "the filmmakers clearly believe that their tangled storyline is madcap and delightful , but each new complication just serves to make us feel as though the blessed end of the movie is creeping further and further away .",
      "the film , co-starring big hunk of man-candy gerard butler and a notably bronzed and toned jennifer aniston , is depressingly programmatic , however easy on the eyes these two stars might be .",
      "when i go to a movie , i take notes about things that interest me or that i like or that stick out . so it 's not a good sign that i emerged from the MOV with almost nothing written in my notebook .",
      "a so-so movie that confuses loving closeups of aniston 's golden highlights with a character , and stripped-to-the-six-pack shots of butler with a plot .",
      "as a romantic comedy , it is ceaselessly unpleasant enough to make anyone consider the allure of living the rest of his or her days in asexual solitude .",
      "i did n't think i 'd see a romantic comedy this year as deadly as did you hear about the morgans ? , but MOV proved me wrong .",
      "the story is a poorly conceived comedic thriller that , frankly , no one could have saved .",
      "aniston is n't the world 's greatest actress , but the main reason the MOV stinks is the script .",
      "exacerbating the lack of chemistry between aniston and butler , for a movie that is represented as a romcom thriller , it is neither funny nor romantic nor thrilling .",
      "aniston and butler ca n't seem to muster any believable chemistry . a lot of mugging happens , but no magic .",
      "this is that category of movie that exists to be perpetually playing on airplanes . when the pilot interrupts to tell you to look out the window you wo n't miss anything .",
      "parental content review",
      "the better written role and , no surprise , the better performance , goes to butler , who proves himself a fine comedian .",
      "as cold and calculating as the heart of a hollywood accountant , the MOV is the caper comedy that keeps on taking .",
      "these two characters are so aggressively irritating and unlikable , the world would be better off with both of them behind bars .",
      "when it comes to aniston , maybe it 's simply time to settle and stop asking her to be the good girl anymore -- perky just might be as good as it gets .",
      "despite several attempts at jokes and the stars ' tremendous efforts to pull funny faces , the script fails miserably to entertain ; most of the dialogue is tiresome bickering between our two leads .",
      "the MOV is the rom-com equivalent of magnolia paint . bland , bland , bland .",
      "aniston 's comic gifts have n't deserted her , but her judgment may have .",
      "i do n't just hand out zeroes becuase i 'm having a bad day . i really tried to like this movie . but it 's one of the most boring , awful films so far in 2010 .",
      "the MOV has already been done before and better . it was called midnight run .",
      "the movie breaks out the usual clichés of the genre ... there is absolutely no chemistry on screen between butler and aniston , and the movie is utterly forgettable",
      "even considered as no more than an assembly-line hollywood product , the MOV falls well below factory standards .",
      "there is n't a surprise to be had . there is n't a moment that is n't telegraphed . there is n't a time when you could n't toss some tea leaves and , regardless of your skills in that specialized area , know exactly what 's coming next .",
      "the MOV is supposed to be a romantic comedy-action movie hybrid - hepburn and tracy in midnight run - but it fails all genre requirements .",
      "hunter shoots and misses .",
      "it 's a little sad that in 2010 we still have dated films like this , but some movies are just ` critic proof ' comfort food . you know exactly what you are going to get and that 's what you pay for .",
      "a battle of the sexes comedy that is ludicrous and scattered .",
      "there can not be many of these back-of-the-envelope-cutesy ideas for rom-coms left .",
      "the romantic pairing of brawny gerard butler and wispy jennifer aniston is a sight for sore eyes but makes for sore brains long before the end of andy tennant 's rom-com .",
      "you know it 's bad when a caper comedy makes you long for the goldie hawn-chevy chase showcases of yore ...",
      "with fellow rom-com queen sandra bullock taking up oscar-winning serious acting , it 's nice to know aniston is not giving up her crown anytime soon .",
      "did no one notice this thing was lying on the floor like a landed fish while they were making the film ?",
      "given the amount of botox on display , would a little viagra have hurt ?",
      "finally we get a movie with the jennifer aniston we knew and loved on `` friends . '' this movie is about rachel green ten years later .",
      "there 's so little chemistry between the two , they might as well have cast mick fleetwood and samantha fox and had done with it .",
      "lots of hammy faces , hollow jokes and property damage do not a farce make",
      "the woeful shell of a romantic comedy , a motionless movie which shows no attempt to do anything but point a camera at shapely aniston .",
      "based on the onscreen evidence , not a single person in front of or behind the camera cared a whit about how the MOV turned out .",
      "though no lois lane , aniston 's reporter on the run can claim an extreme sexpot mom -lrb- christine baranski -rrb- who has a thing or two to teach her about taming the male species . and expect lots of not especially kinky handcuffs .",
      "i like jennifer aniston , but heaven knows what attracted her to this junk .",
      "i 'm actually yawning as i type this .",
      "the MOV fails to locate any laughs or charm over two punishing hours as its chemistry-free leads , gerard butler and jennifer aniston , mug their way through two of the worst performances they 've ever given .",
      "the blend of romantic comedy and road movie is an awkward match , and is n't helped by a stodgy script and the fact that butler has little in the way of comic timing .",
      "neither explosive enough for lovers of action , soppy enough for those who want romance , or funny enough for comedy fans , this is a film that inhabits some kind of movie limbo .",
      "the perfect watch if you do n't fancy a challenge . any sort of challenge at all .",
      "another largely forgettable , factory-line girl-falling-out-with-then-making-up-with-boy vehicle .",
      "almost unimaginably , the mystery surrounding aniston 's bail-jumping is even more poorly manufactured than the ` romance ' and the ` comedy ' ...",
      "the lame finale makes a tv crime show look like something construed by stephen hawking . if hawking could explain why this waste of time was ever greenlit , we might find a reason to understand the universe once again .",
      "the sad thing is good romantic comedies are on the endangered species list . the MOV proves the point .",
      "the MOV 's trailer covers everything you need to know about the movie .",
      "time-frittering , money-wasting trifle . bail on this obnoxious odd couple .",
      "` the MOV ' is a fast-paced , action-packed romantic comedy . i 'm surprised at how much i enjoyed it , especially after seeing those underwhelming previews .",
      "cynically conceived , unfunny , non-romantic sludge .",
      "a tedious slog through tidy coincidences",
      "overstays its welcome and ends up as one of the most unfunny , vapid and nauseatingly convoluted romcoms in recent memory . the lively supporting cast at least helps to keep you briefly awake .",
      "not so much a comedy thriller as a case of arrested development .",
      "neither the former sitcom star nor the washboard-abed scotsman is served well here .",
      "how could anyone not be interested in a film combining the talents of the auteur of `` hitch '' and `` fool 's gold , '' the author of `` twisted '' and two stars who could n't generate anything resembling chemistry if they were working in a meth lab ?",
      "a great time killer for anybody who needs help being bored .",
      "note to jennifer aniston : stop playing with your hair ! that 's not acting , it 's playing with your hair .",
      "if jennifer aniston and gerard butler are indeed a real-life couple , the MOV may be designed to keep the paparazzi off their trail",
      "stereotypes and minor violence arrest this dull rom-com .",
      "there 'll be worse films released in 2010 -- but not many .",
      "a real dog ... another in the apparently endless stream of rotten road-movie rom-coms being cranked out by hollywood .",
      "averagely routine , routinely average romcom .",
      "the MOV marks a new low and a new genre : the bail-bondage rom-com .",
      "is aniston impervious to good scripts ? corny , predictable story , no chemistry between the stars and aniston hides her face with her hair .",
      "gerard butler once again demonstrates that his comedic instincts are roughly on par with those of a great white shark .",
      "piles on distraction after pointless distraction of subplot in an attempt to divert attention away from how formulaic and predictable the main plot is .",
      "there are lots of scenic shots of atlantic city . the movie satisfies audience expectations of fun and laughter , making for an enjoyable date night outing ."
    ],
    "summary": "gerard butler and jennifer aniston remain as attractive as ever , but the MOV 's formula script does n't know what to do with them -- or the audience 's attention .",
    "id": "770856804"
  },
  {
    "movie": "258",
    "reviews": [
      "downright hilarious in places ? though i don?t think that?s intentional , because it?s also dull and cliché-ridden .",
      "it 's too mild-mannered for those who relish horror pictures and too gory and plotless and chatty for everyone else .",
      "just another wes craven kills kids running around in the woods movie .",
      "the most awful kind of entertainment exploitation in that everything is set up to abuse the audience , not the characters",
      "the picture is directed with such a loose , slack hand that you 'd think craven had never directed a slasher-thriller before : i did n't jump once ; i never even felt vaguely scared or creeped out .",
      "it 's your money that 's at greater stake with this subpar horror entry in barely noticeable 3d .",
      "this dumb , derivative teen slasher movie would be uninspiring coming from any writer-director , let alone one with several genre classics under his belt .",
      "all might be good for a flask-to-the-theater laugh , if not for the unconscionable price gouging .",
      "wes craven 's first new movie in five years is a brainless , joyless , and yes , you might even say , soulless teen slasher .",
      "it 's good , theoretically at least , to have craven back . but why come back for this ?",
      "a thoroughly dreary , by-the-numbers exercise .",
      "my soul to take lacks quality 3d and the one , standout , never-seen-before scare necessary to get horror fans spreading the word to fellow scary movie buffs .",
      "as much a soul-sucking experience as what the characters themselves are experiencing",
      "that craven is earnestly trying to make an on-the-level , snark-free horror flick signals a welcome sea change in his career .",
      "there are plenty of formulaic boo ! moments , yet craven intelligently treats bug 's otherworldly issues like hormonal growing pains that must be tamed .",
      "this film quickly moves to the top of the list of ` most purposeless use of 3d ' beating out ` the last airbender ' and ` clash of the titans ' with ease .",
      "wes craven has seen better days and we all have seen better movies ; the 3-d did n't add a thing",
      "a typically ruthless and cynically comic horror thriller from craven , set in a high school where the caste system is more terrifying than the possibility of a murderous ghost -lrb- the bullying leader of the mean girls is nicknamed ` fang ' -rrb- .",
      "a thrill-free snooze that will certainly rank as one of the least -- if not the least -- effective entries in craven 's nearly 40-year canon of cinematic shockers .",
      "hands down the worst horror movie of the year , and certainly the worst of wes craven 's career .",
      "why am i kinda sorta not really recommending , but mildly defending this movie ? well , as noted , i had fun with it . i was entertained .",
      "the worst horror movie wes craven 's made perhaps ever .",
      "what sinks it is craven 's simplistic , ham-fisted writing and inert direction .",
      "from a newcomer , the ineptitude of this film could be understood ; from a man like wes craven , it feels like a big fat cheat .",
      "though the movie 's about some sort of eternal killer , the real culprit here is craven , whose attempt to feed on his earlier successes results in a structurally slipshod and distinctly non-frightening pastiche .",
      "so utterly awful that it should have been renamed ` my time to waste . '",
      "the highlight of the film , in fact , is a freaky bird costume ... that actually vomits and defecates upon its audience . it 'd be nice to think the director were self-aware enough to recognize the obvious parallel .",
      "the problem with my soul to take is n't in its concept , it 's in the execution . it 's overly complex and nearly impossible to explain with images , which is why the slasher turns into a visual table read in the final act .",
      "sad but true , this is one film that will be remembered as no more than a footnote in the grand scheme of wes craven 's career .",
      "easily the worst movie of craven 's career and not even remotely scary or creepy or any of the things you expect from a good horror movie .",
      "the work of a lunatic using his own feces to outline an uncomfortably abstract tale of ridiculous possession , brought to life through some of the most excruciatingly obvious and colossally stilted dialogue i?ve heard so far this year .",
      "while there 's much to like about the ideas and atmosphere , craven ca n't muster much out of his characters or script to form an interesting message .",
      "the best thing about my soul to take is that it may force folks to revisit wes craven 's past works and finally realize that he 's always been nothing more than a hack in the horror field , a uwe boll with a better sense of where to place the camera .",
      "craven 's writing starts out over the top and just keeps climbing ...",
      "my soul to take ends up being mere chucky cheese .",
      "... the film not only marks a low point within craven 's career but also within the horror genre itself .",
      "there 's some malarkey about each kid having inherited one of the maniac 's personalities , though craven never does much with that except to point the finger of suspicion at junior .",
      "with either too much or too little happening on screen and a script juggling too many red herrings at once , my soul to take feels like purgatory ... in 3d .",
      "a puzzle with no solutions , a tale with a twist that is n't a twist at all .",
      "only someone so smart could make a movie this stupid .",
      "the silly story can be forgiven . almost no other living director can instill such a sense of gleeful dread in the autumn woods ... or in an ordinary house .",
      "`` my soul to take '' is one of the worst films i?ve seen this year and easily the most irritating .",
      "yep , this movie is garbage .",
      "this utterly mediocre forget-me-now could 've been crafted by any faceless serial director at all .",
      "disappointing in the way it drags out its narrative to little effect , substituting cheap revelations and sometimes incoherent action for anything resembling the kind of innovation and verve that is the hallmark of craven 's best work",
      "might not be wes craven 's best film , but it 's certainly his worst .",
      "but then maybe it 's asking too much to have characters and a story as one dimensional as this to ever appear to have three dimensions . so in this case , the 3d 's of craven 's film are : dumb , dull , and deceptive .",
      "confused , poorly executed , sporadic and incredibly messy , but despite its pitfalls , my soul to take is an enormously entertaining bad movie .",
      "clunky bird metaphors , blind kids grabbing for dangling ropes , a horshack-ian best friend with an abusive stepfather , and a story that would be impossible if any of these kids drove a car , sum up most of the more obvious problems with the film .",
      "places too much time in the hands of disposable characters - so that it is neither a brainless slasher flick nor an immersive character piece based in a serial massacre .",
      "what -lsb- wes craven -rsb- wound up with was a witless stab-the-teen time-waster that could be his worst film ever . and considering 2005 's wretched cursed , that 's pretty bad .",
      "a single-serving package of adrenaline that wears off quickly .",
      "`` my soul to take '' is one of the most banal horror films i 've seen in the past few years , which makes it surprising that it comes from the mind of horror master wes craven , who gave birth to the legendary horror icon freddy krueger .",
      "everyone in front of and behind the camera look and feel like they 're lifting the heaviest , least horrifying ton of bricks invented .",
      "the filmmaker 's red herrings prove depressingly incapable of hiding the real fiend 's identity .",
      "full review at movies for the masses",
      "is it just possible that craven fumbled the ball this time and gave us the equivalent of a fairly amateur teen horror flick ?",
      "it 's talky , schlocky and stalk-y ."
    ],
    "summary": "dull , joyless , and formulaic , my soul to take suggests writer/director wes craven ended his five-year filmmaking hiatus too soon .",
    "id": "770874914"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_diary_of_a_teenage_girl",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's work , but it 's ultimately rewarding work . it tackles some truths that other movies would n't touch , not even with a stick and thick gloves .",
      "for an industry that can barely manage to put women in leading roles , MOV casts a sexually brash 15-year-old as antihero , and succeeds .",
      "it dares to show the heroine as something more complicated than a victim . as a result the movie lands somewhere outside the battle lines of contemporary gender politics , which may be why it feels true .",
      "heller 's empathy and , let 's be honest , her denial of prurience appears to free powley from embarrassment . she 's seizing this part , not shrinking from it .",
      "expect to feel uncomfortable watching diary of a teenage girl , which is precisely the point of this finely etched debut feature by writer/director marielle heller .",
      "there is a kind of achievement in depicting a sexual relationship between an adult man and his girlfriend 's daughter in a way that makes it feel neither predatory nor twisted ... whether it is a thing worth achieving is another question .",
      "well-acted , well-written , well-considered , and very difficult to watch , this is a movie that challenges our expectations and makes us squirm in our seats , as though we 're reading someone else 's diary , when we know we should n't .",
      "MOV is undeniably bold in its candor , but it leaves us feeling empty .",
      "this marks an amazingly auspicious debut for heller , who adapts gloeckner 's novel with uncompromising and unsettling power , despite its slight incursion into a hollywoodized upbeat ending .",
      "heller 's debut directorial effort is incisive and universal , despite its very specific and detailed setting .",
      "in an era of smooth and sanitised teen movies , it is refreshing to encounter a film as idiosyncratic , dirty-minded and self-consciously wayward as this .",
      "it will get up a lot of people 's noses but this warm and grown-up film is shameless in the best sense of the word .",
      "in powley we have a true star in the making .",
      "it should n't be radical to see a movie treat a girl with this level of appreciation and understanding of her most intimate inner self . yet it is .",
      "big summer action movies can be thrilling , but if you really want to feel your heart pounding out of your chest , try being a 15-year-old girl for 101 minutes .",
      "it 's morally complex and sometimes uncomfortably close to the bone , but also lushly bawdy and funny , and packaged together with an astonishing degree of cinematic brio by first-time writer-director marielle heller .",
      "with translucent eyes and brass enough for an entire concert band , powley plays minnie with exuberant energy and crushing self-doubt .",
      "it nails the emotional , hormonal bloodbath of a young girl 's sexual coming of age with an earthy , humorous and boldly unflinching approach .",
      "working from phoebe gloeckner 's 2002 graphic novel/memoir , heller gets the shabby glamour and bleached sunshine of '70s san francisco just right , coloring several scenes with vivid blooms of animation .",
      "it 's unlikely to make a box office splash , but it 's a startlingly tough , authentic depiction of budding womanhood .",
      "may tread familiar territory , but at least it does so with great empathy and thoughtfulness .",
      "with wit , understanding , and directorial smarts , MOV makes for an uncommonly loveable debut and adaptation .",
      "heller approaches the film in just the right way : as an absolute outgrowth of arty minnie 's own pent-up creativity .",
      "the loose quality makes for a bit of a shaggy story with some rough edges , but the bursting , youthful heart throbs with that mix of longing and triumph that is first love .",
      "MOV is n't as different from most other indie coming-of-age films as one might initially believe .",
      "this film may become the ` catcher in the rye ' for young women .",
      "frank to the point of cringe-worthy .",
      "it 's difficult to recall another example in the coming-of-age genre so steadfast in its lack of judgement , especially one featuring a female protagonist .",
      "what a ballsy film - and honest too .",
      "minnie 's inner life , a fantasia of animations appearing crumb-like around her , is dazzling , and there 's plenty of naked emotion amid the sex , drugs and hand-drawn penises .",
      "boldly honest and frank coming-of-age film that is at once daring in its subject matter , yet very much part of its genre . good , but not quite great .",
      "heller 's grasp of the material is as firm as a more experienced director 's . still , the primary attraction is powley , who offers up the best acting performance i 've seen all year .",
      "playing a character trying to reconcile her hormones , heart and head , powley seems genuine in a way that actresses playing adolescents rarely do , and helps ensure that the heady rush of a movie that she 's in does the same .",
      "frankness , candor , and honesty , served hot . a must-see .",
      "-lsb- powley -rsb- offers a bold performance that mixes rabid hormones , spiritual agonising , scary self-debasement and extreme teenage drama-queening .",
      "this powerfully arresting and affecting adaptation of the book by phoebe gloeckner is only getting started with the many and varied provocations it has in store .",
      "powley is a 25-year-old actress , but she 's a convincing teen in every sense -lrb- which will lead to the discomfort of some -rrb- . it 's a breakout performance .",
      "most crucially , heller is more interested in bearing witness to adolescent experience than passing judgment -- and this approach extends to her handling of the adults around minnie .",
      "the film does n't glamorize the misadventures of its heroine any more than it condemns them , and the result is fresh in every sense .",
      "... an audacious , winning debut -- for the director and the star ...",
      "boasting powerful performances from its lead stars , wonderfully creative direction and a story that will have you howling with laughter and recoiling with horror , it 's a film that really resonates .",
      "inventively visualised and electrified by powley 's vibrant star turn , this is mature , spirited , emotionally generous filmmaking that understands under-18s far better than innumerable insipid young adult romances .",
      "funny and sad , scary and sweet , disturbing and revelatory .",
      "those who can hold it together through the graphic onslaught of poor decision-making ... will no doubt be pulled in by the film 's strange blend of comic animation and heightened emotion .",
      "quite delightful , a film which hums with a rare honesty and empathy .",
      "bel powley navigates the movie 's nudity and non-graphic sex scenes with deadpan aplomb , and wiig and skarsgĺrd are touching as leftover emblems of a passing age .",
      "this is a gutsy , juiced-up film that manages to engage with a period and tell a few truths for the ages . all involved should be watched carefully .",
      "the first thing to know about MOV is that young british actress powley is staggeringly good in it .",
      "the diary of a teenage gir is the kind of movie that seems a lot more adventuresome than it is .",
      "few films this frank about teenage sexuality are found in american cinema .",
      "diary of a teenage girl veers into dark and edgy territory yet its light , `` sundancey '' touch is undeniable .",
      "the novel is life-specific , but what makes minnie - on the page and now on the screen - greater than any one girl is how she tells her own story in her own soaringly alive voice .",
      "thank goodness the irreverent but earnest diary of a teenage girl avoids the moralizing that would usually accompany a film about young people , sex and drugs .",
      "a riveting , resonant first feature from marielle heller , with a breakout star performance from brit actress bel powley .",
      "frank , poignant and daring , `` MOV '' invites you into the mind-set of a sexually adventurous 16-year-old girl - and suggests you leave your judgment at the door .",
      "for a movie about such fraught topics , sometimes rendered with admirable and non-squeamish explicitness , diary often eschews melodrama ; when the plot turns , it does so abruptly , providing a credible simulation of real-life tumult .",
      "heller 's nimble direction and clever script , based on phoebe gloeckner 's semi-autobiographical graphic novel , ensure that the film never paints either minnie or monroe entirely as victim or predator .",
      "a movie of -lrb- increasingly rare -rrb- truly indie sensibility , made by women who are confident about healthy feminine resilience .",
      "it is open about its approach to sexuality and it does n't shy away from it 's likely controversial subject matter .",
      "any woman who survived puberty knows that girlhood is all about obsession -- just ask justin bieber , one direction , new kids on the block , or the beatles .",
      "directed by heller with a winningly light touch , MOV does n't aim to shock , but neither does it play for laughs . it 's a comedy in the deeper sense : a story about the unstoppable vitality of the young .",
      "despite the troubling affair and minnie 's further experimentations with sex and drugs , MOV is less provocative than it is blunt and honest .",
      "the first feature from marielle heller hits all the right chords as a mature sexual coming-of-age film .",
      "as we watch minnie -lrb- extraordinary 22-year-old british actress bel powley -rrb- bouncing blithely and often comically toward disaster , she seems painfully real .",
      "heller and her cast find too many piercingly honest moments for the movie ever to feel like a wallow in exploitation .",
      "MOV locates all the good and bad things that sex does for its main character and sends her out into the world wiser for it .",
      "although heller 's debut does have some stylistic flourishes , this is not an exercise in style , but a refreshingly honest film , both funny and sad , about growing up female in all its messy complexity and wonder .",
      "powerful , exhausting , ecstatic , twisted and unerringly honest , `` MOV '' is a rare film indeed , a look at a young girl 's messy coming of age told completely from the young girl 's point of view .",
      "credit heller for keeping proceedings in perspective and for delivering one of the most candid accounts of the teen odyssey .",
      "one wrong move could have thrown the whole movie off , but powley gets it right again and again . and so does the cast and crew .",
      "heller 's film is a totally realistic and honest achievement that captures how some teenage girls think about sex and relationships .",
      "bold but flawed film about sexual awakening is very mature .",
      "a coming-of-age movie from a woman 's perspective that deals with sex in a frank , graphic way that is never salacious or prurient .",
      "a serious , thought-provoking , funny , moving tale of a self-evolved winner .",
      "films often fail to capture the turmoil of being a teenager - but not this one .",
      "a cautionary tale , but an edgy , compelling one that 's often hard to watch and even harder to forget .",
      "an honest and personal and unblurred examination -lrb- even through that druggy blur -rrb- of a tricky voyage into womanhood .",
      "`` MOV '' is as rewarding as it is squirm-inducing for its honesty , audacity and artful portrayal of adolescence from a girl 's point of view .",
      "adapting phoebe gloeckner 's illustrated novel , heller makes an impressive big-screen debut with this seriocomic adventure through the life and head of minnie goetze -lrb- played by british actress bel powley -rrb- .",
      "seldom has teenage sexual awakening been covered from a female perspective - with a fickle alternating confidence , self-doubt and voracious appetite - quite so frankly or delicately .",
      "while undeniably creepy at first and generally alarming throughout , the movie maintains a refreshing judgmental minimalism toward both its often reckless title heroine and the irresponsible adults she loves and betrays .",
      "it 's powley , with her manga-wide eyes and ability to convey vulnerability , heartache and a hardening resolve about who minnie is as a person that grounds the film and makes it special .",
      "a bold and unconventional portrait of a teenager who at 15 finds herself caught up in a surge of sexual experiences and emotions .",
      "bel powley is magnificent .",
      "as you watch , it dawns on you that , absurdly , this has probably never been attempted before in a commercial feature - certainly not in this frank , unapologetic way .",
      "true to its title , marielle heller 's adaptation of phoebe gloeckner 's semi-autobiographical novel has the loosely structured , unfiltered feel of a young person 's diary .",
      "it remains to be seen how the mpaa will react to MOV 's frankness , but hopefully it wo n't be too restrictive as there 's more value in this for younger people than in mainstream ya fare .",
      "heller captures the era well , and her cast are never less than convincing . insightful and important , this diary is well worth a peek .",
      "uneven as it can be at times in its last fifteen minutes , marielle heller has crafted promising debut that evokes the idea of unlocking the secret world of teenage girls and letting us live inside the special little jewel box , if ever so briefly .",
      "MOV uses its subject to examine the uncertainty of adolescence with a truly striking candor and realism .",
      "the film is achingly apt in the ways it captures minnie 's intense emotions .",
      "a funny , sad and ultimately triumphant coming-of-age story .",
      "... specific to its setting but features a character whose neuroses and self-esteem issues will resonate .",
      "a sensitive , emotionally candid sexual awakening ...",
      "marielle heller 's screen adaptation -lrb- which was first a stage adaptation -rrb- is suitably warts-and-all , corporeal , and morally complicated -- everything a teen account of their sexual awakening and unravelling should be .",
      "way overrated when it played sundance , if this disappointing and dreary film presents one of the most unappealing ensembles of characters i have seen in a long time .",
      "-lsb- not -rsb- played for cynical misanthropic laughs or as miserable tragedy , but ... -lsb- in -rsb- an honest treatment devoid of the usual rush to judgment .",
      "in a good way , this very frank and unrepentant '70s coming-of-age tale will make some viewers uncomfortable -- parents especially .",
      "`` MOV '' is a breakthrough moment in the culture in that it depicts youthful female sexuality ... not just with the unapologetic frankness the boys usually get , but with an awareness of all the places a girl 's urges will take her ...",
      "writer/director marielle heller , in her captivating debut film `` MOV , '' hits exactly the right tone for a complicated balancing act , and for a film that could very easily have gone wrong .",
      "a strikingly intimate look at a teenager 's sexual life in an outstanding debut film .",
      "a fine adaptation of phoebe gloeckner 's autobiographical novel about a sexually precocious 1970s adolescence .",
      "at a time when hollywood is often and rightly criticized for its negative portrayals of women , MOV sends a valuable message about the value of self-worth .",
      "first time writer/director marielle heller , adapting the novel by phoebe gloekner , does a bang up job with the story , but also offers a fair bit of visual ingenuity .",
      "i made it two-thirds of the way through the routine sexual coming-of-age yarn `` diary of a teenage girl '' when it occurred to me that anything else i could conceivably be doing would be more interesting .",
      "newcomer powley is terrific as the mercurial lead , who 's not quite as mature as she believes herself to be , and she 's matched marvellously by her grown-up co-stars .",
      "-lsb- minnie -rsb- learns ; she learns better , and she learns well , but the movie is about becoming , not being judged , and not about judging oneself . like all tightrope walks , MOV is fearless , and often breathtaking .",
      "equal parts sophisticated and childish , adventurous and fearful , powley is astonishingly good as the anchor of writer/director marielle heller 's uncompromising adaptation of phoebe gloeckner 's novel .",
      "not just a film about teen horniness ; it 's a subjective beaming from the mind of a young woman dealing messily with messy feelings .",
      "heller and powley present a journey that , stripped to its most basic emotional elements , is timeless and universal .",
      "the film is harsh but wonderful . it should n't be funny , too , but somehow it is , and somehow it 's the right kind of funny .",
      "one of the best films of the year .",
      "sometimes a performance is so good it leads people to think a movie is better than it is .",
      "powley is a marvel and well-supported by the ace cast in a small film that deals with big issues about coming of age .",
      "whatever the film 's flaws - foremost being a surfeit of magic-realist animation inserts - you ca n't say it is n't the real thing ."
    ],
    "summary": "boldly unconventional and refreshingly honest , diary of a teenage girl is a frank coming-of-age story that addresses its themes -- and its protagonist -- without judgment .",
    "id": "771412040"
  },
  {
    "movie": "black_balloon",
    "reviews": [
      "collette acts as an anchor for the ensemble , but the young leads credibly hold their own onscreen .",
      "where baz luhrmann 's ` australia ' is bloated , this aussie pic is a look at a single family in a suburban australia town , a group that are alternately heartwarming and frustrating .",
      "tackles a serious theme with energy and what sometimes feels like too much hilarity . but as the story deepens , it really gets hold of us .",
      "the youth-oriented movie introduces a glowing young australian actress with true star potential -- the international model gemma ward .",
      "young love triumphs in a terrific australian indie that deals with autism in an authentic , unsentimental way .",
      "it 's a very auspicious debut for this young australian filmmaker .",
      "the MOV is such a gracefully conceived film , yet crafted with a raw , unflinching honesty exploring the simultaneous sorrow and joy that can define severe family afflictions .",
      "this auspicious oz import is a sign of bright , young filmmaking in australia .",
      "it 's a film that comes from the heart .",
      "a writer-director portrays life with an autistic brother to heartwarming effect .",
      "it 's brilliant ; a beautifully balanced comedy-drama that makes you laugh as much as it makes you cry , sometimes in the same scene .",
      "it 's a film about a supposedly real-world set-up that never feels true , even though the people who made it clearly set out to treat their subject matter and the audience with respect .",
      "collette aside , there is no wow factor in the MOV -- just a not-bad story told with better-than-average skill .",
      "the MOV , a splendid australian film about a teenager and his older autistic brother , gets it , from the happy/sad imagery of the title through the uplifting , but not saccharine , finale .",
      "it sometimes skirts melodrama territory , but the deep emotions ultimately are real and gratifying . dependable toni collette keeps it grounded , disappearing into her role as the incredibly patient mother .",
      "structurally and cinematically , the MOV sticks to the coming-of-age basics , but -lsb- director -rsb- down has a gift for conveying time and place .",
      "there are wrenching scenes that are brutally stark , yet there remains a steady sense of calm that is touching and sensitive without ever turning sentimental .",
      "the outlines are broad and obvious , and thomas such a bore , that the MOV loses air .",
      "a film that mostly skirts artifice and sentimentality for a truer portrait of a family battered and bruised but nowhere near broken .",
      "the MOV establishes this family with a delicate mixture of tenderness and pain .",
      "thomas and jackie 's friendship , blossoming into a chaste romance , is the dramatic engine that powers the MOV , but it 's far from the most important relationship in the film .",
      "the MOV is neither ` rain man ' nor ` the other sister . this aussie charmer charts its own course .",
      "it 's a well-meaning film , marked by luke ford 's sensitive portrayal of a disabled character . but the main character is bland , imparting the same vibe on the rest of the film .",
      "autism is a subject most filmmakers fear to broach , but not aussie newcomer elissa down , she attacks the issue with honesty and passion .",
      "at its sharpest elissa down 's feature directorial debut is guided by intense , rough-edged emotional swings that feel authentically alive , even when the script settles for tidiness .",
      "the MOV is marked by the fiercest bravery you 're likely to encounter on screen this year .",
      "the film 's vision is neither a grim wallow nor falsely cheerful . it 's compassionate but unblinking , and in the end we ca n't help but admire the genuine strength of how its characters accept their special challenge .",
      "wakefield anchors the well-paced quieter moments .",
      "a deeply personal film for writer/director elissa down , the MOV is a gentle yet unflinching look at a family strained by the pressures of caring for an autistic teenager .",
      "toni collette gives it the old little miss sunshine try in the MOV as an edge-of-kooky , very pregnant mama presiding over a chaotic household .",
      "elissa down 's semi-autobiographical film always manages to counter its indie clichés with a sober sense of the volatility that comes from living with an autistic individual .",
      "this unblinking family drama packs a visceral punch . thomas ' journey toward acceptance is blessedly free of noble lessons and filled with real people .",
      "the blooming puppy love between thomas and jackie lends the MOV a welcome strain of tenderness . mr. wakefield and ms. ward project the innocence of shy , sensitive young people for whom a tentative shared kiss is a very big deal .",
      "small aussie family drama about a likeable teen 's acceptance of his severely disturbed older brother is a sweet and sunny charmer that will be a tough sell at theatres but should find its way home to smaller screens .",
      "this small gem has a very satisfying ending .",
      "the MOV courses with a firsthand feel for languorous aussie summers , the shifting scales of love and hate in sibling relationships , and the earned wit that helps families cope with difficult situations .",
      "a touching australian film about a young man 's coming-of-age and the re-negotiation of his relationship with his older autistic brother .",
      "director/writer draws on her personal experiences with frank honesty to lift this up from just another heartwarming movie about a family living with a special-needs teen .",
      "feels stitched together from countless coming of age tales and dramas with mentally impaired characters ."
    ],
    "summary": "a tender and witty portrayal of a family coping with autism , the MOV is heartfelt without being schmaltzy or moralizing .",
    "id": "770685824"
  },
  {
    "movie": "things_we_lost_in_the_fire",
    "reviews": [
      "a lovable heroin addict helps a widow and her children cope with loss ... obvious and unconvincing ...",
      "danish director bier focuses on themes and relationships in what 's otherwise a rather contrived melodrama .",
      "susanne bier 's first english-language film is a superbly written , powerfully emotional drama with terrific , oscar-worthy performances from halle berry and benicio del toro .",
      "... raw and anguished performances ...",
      "story of death and redemption too much for kids .",
      "the first time you stare into halle berry 's iris , it 's interesting ; by the fifth and sixth time it 's exasperating .",
      "berry gives a riveting performance , but as a deeply decent man trapped in a hell of his own making , del toro gives the kind of career performance berry gave in monster 's ball .",
      "` MOV ' deserves praise for its top-notch performances and its humanistic treatment of such serious subject matter as grief and addiction .",
      "-lsb- del toro is -rsb- both beast and beauty in a movie that mismanages the idea that life is not a fairy tale .",
      "del toro 's face can be a map of emotions , and he 's allowed to unfold it freely .",
      "it 's very strong .",
      "... a muddled story that features an outstanding performance by del toro ... wrapped up in pretentious storytelling .",
      "look for benicio del toro 's name next to my friend hal holbrook and -lrb- hopefully -rrb- max von sydow when the best supporting actor names are listed .",
      "MOV : any sense of rhythm or pace , and an ending that wo n't make you groan .",
      "a shimmering example of just how good benicio del toro has become , as well as how bad halle berry has pretty much always been .",
      "MOV is the best of the recent crop of films about coping with loss . it also boasts a quietly riveting performance by benicio del toro .",
      "only the acting is remarkable in this agonizingly morose , tedious melodrama that unfolds at the pace of a death march .",
      "benicio is the heroine addict with a heart of gold !",
      "there is much that is right about this film ; it is a shame that it tries a bit too hard and falls a bit short .",
      "in an unusual season with so many films are aimed at adults things we lost may be the most mature of the lot .",
      "... plays like iырrritu lite , which means it 's not terrible , but it does pretend to a substance it does n't in fact deliver .",
      "a sobering and intimate look at how we handle loss , `` MOV '' is owned by the performance of benicio del toro .",
      "the most remarkable thing about MOV is the fact that susanne bier came all the way from denmark to make this movie .",
      "often as overwrought as it is heartrending .",
      "... never entirely comes off as the searing , hard-to-watch drama it 's presumably supposed to be .",
      "`` MOV '' is an overlong downer that crumbles under the relentless strain of anger and grief .",
      "MOV could have easily turned into chest-thumping and wailing for two hours , but it 's a lot more than that .",
      "less than profound , but consistently honest , MOV is neither triumphant nor great , but it is meaningful .",
      "scheduled blowups and symbolic dreams and interminable tears until we all feel like we 've learned a little something about loss : we want our two hours back .",
      "excuse me , but was n't this soap opera supposed to be about halle 's grieving character 's loss of a husband , not about her worrying about losing her looks ? it does n't get any more shallow than this .",
      "the best part of the film is del toro 's performance , a junkie jumble of many layers , glued together with a deep seated humanity that reaches out to us .",
      "a susanne bier film guarantees us a potent emotional journey , and this , bier 's first english language film , dissects hearts and searches for truths .",
      "every trace of maudlin evaporates in one of del toro 's lopsided grins .",
      "you ca n't manufacture honest sentiment ... . so , i 'd have to call the movie a noble miss .",
      "i wish someone had lost this script in the fire .",
      "MOV sounds like a made-for-lifetime weeper . but two superlative performances means `` fire '' is anything but a by-the-book drama .",
      "the film felt very anti-climatic to me for some reason .",
      "where the film 's ambitions crumble is in its avowed refusal to make its audience too uncomfortable .",
      "damaged individuals healing one another is a serviceable idea for a film , but MOV is missing an essential component : plausibility .",
      "MOV is certainly not a comedy , but it is definitely mordant with its two big themes : loss and addiction , both treated in a singularly heavy-handed manner , for which i blame primarily mr. loeb 's screenplay ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a well-acted , beautifully filmed reflection on love , loss , addiction and recovery from life 's obstacles .",
    "id": "770671516"
  },
  {
    "movie": "gridiron_gang",
    "reviews": [
      "the film 's few , scattered moments of honest grit and pathos are nearly drowned out by composer trevor rabin 's incessantly syrupy score , which sounds calculated for maximum emotional uplift , just like almost everything else about MOV .",
      "great message , so-so movie .",
      "while grittier on the surface , phil joanou 's allegedly ` true story ' inspired MOV is as soft and safe in its centre as any of the two dozen or so inspirational pigskin operas that have been released in the past two years .",
      "many of the young actors are also quite good in a large ensemble that does n't become the jumbled mess it could have .",
      "gridiron entertains and makes a powerful point about the faults inherent in the penal system , particularly for youths with hopes of rehabilitation .",
      "... it 's like a super-sized afterschool special with pg-13-rated bad language ...",
      "... the former footballer and pro wrestler dwayne ` the rock ' johnson is just the rock on which to securely build a football inspiration movie like MOV .",
      "we are drawn into MOV to the degree that we come to recognize team members and generally appreciate their struggles toward self-respect and responsibility .",
      "... the movie seems pat , simplistic and slightly phony .",
      "... nearly as bleak as it is uplifting .",
      "the picture is so earnest that it leaves out the easy , old-school pleasure conjured by the last few years of disney sports flicks -lrb- invincible , miracle , the rookie -rrb- .",
      "call it inspirational karaoke if you like , but it gets the job done . mostly .",
      "though one of the producing entities is called original film , nothing could be further from the truth ... hopelessly formulaic and pat .",
      "`` MOV '' is all formula , but it 's tough to blame the film for sticking with a game plan that works .",
      "johnson gives the part his authoritative all , but he does n't have the depth of ability to elevate a sappy script that regularly calls for up-choking .",
      "the film has nowhere near as many well-developed characters as it has street , prison yard and on-field brawls .",
      "the film is energetic and technically polished , with flashes of humor ...",
      "... amid the dead-on straightforward presentation and the gaggingly earnest emotions , MOV is worth cheering for sometimes .",
      "turns out to be quite enjoyable , even if it 's not all that good",
      "stepping into disney 's inspirational genre , this is an almost unnecessary film since it 's based on a docu dealing with the same subject that , while not great , is more satisfying than this schlocky upbeat saga about sports as moral and physical salvation",
      "... as robert aldrich proved in the longest yard , a football movie should be able to hit harder .",
      "the two rapt ladies next to me at a recent screening vocally identified the pure , square-jawed machinations of an earnest script as `` so sad '' no fewer than 16 times .",
      "-lsb- the rock is -rsb- really quite affecting as a regular kinda guy ...",
      "MOV is n't just distinctive , it 's downright exceptional - the kind of film that not only sustains its genre , but sets a legitimate benchmark if not a high watermark for future entries to aspire to .",
      "a touching and entertaining , well-acted star turn by the rock .",
      "the movie constantly teeters on becoming a filmed version of a successories calendar . but the rock 's charismatic performance and phil joanou 's sturdy direction yank hard against heart-tugging dialogue to pull the movie back with gravity and grit .",
      "... no great shakes , but it 's professionally realized and makes good use of the talent at hand .",
      "the film misses the chance to showcase these actors with a deeper exploration of their changing relationship .",
      "auds will respond , either to the uplifting message and the solid action sequences .",
      "... a lugubrious tutorial on the importance of being a winner .",
      "this lazy and episodic tacking -lrb- pep talk , game , pep talk , game -rrb- aggravated me because it sabotages the film 's social relevance and honest-to-goodness cinematic uplift .",
      "if you like your sports movies , especially your football movies , larded with more clichés than a politician 's stump speech , MOV begs to be seen .",
      "... these are truly vulnerable , hopeful characters who actually deserve our cheers .",
      "it may not be a great film , but it is a thoroughly admirable movie .",
      "had MOV dared to challenge its audience with a larger dose of reality , it might have broken the field and become something memorable and meaningful .",
      "... this inspirational material is appealing ...",
      "as sports movies go , MOV is n't bad , just not top-line material .",
      "though it does n't really teach us anything new , MOV -- mainly due to the powerful screen presence of dwayne ` the rock ' johnson -- is mildly entertaining and , at times , somewhat compelling .",
      "scores big time ! it 's the real thing . loaded with action-to-the-max in the streets and on the field .",
      "anyone still doubting johnson 's chops as an actor ought to simply dismiss such doubts now -- he 's the single most effective thing about the movie ...",
      "it 's technically well-made , but lacks the writing or acting skills to make it work .",
      "MOV is enjoyable enough , but it is also manipulative , melodramatic and pretty much interchangeable with the recent basketball film coach carter .",
      "the surprisingly effective MOV will find its way into that harshly defended emotional endzone , even if they might not necessarily admit it to their friends .",
      "despite the occasional mixed message and overwrought moment , MOV is a sincere , moving film about a worthwhile subject",
      "it 's a difficult balancing act between gang life and the sports film where inspiring moments can very easily become maudlin and wearing . MOV slips and stumbles a bit in the second half but for the most part makes it across whole .",
      "dwayne johnson pushes his emotionally charged performance so hard that you think he might pop a blood vessel .",
      "it 's unfortunate that what was undoubtedly an inspirational story could end up onscreen as such a been-there done-that hack job .",
      "... the film 's various problems -lsb- are -rsb- exacerbated by a ridiculously overlong running time -lrb- it 's 125 minutes ! -rrb-",
      "watchable , decently made drama with some strong performances , but the script is disappointing given the real-life story behind the film .",
      "what begins as a series of pleasant revelations and a deft example of genre defiance is nearly crippled by cliche in its second half , but the rock 's surprising dramatic magnetism will hold you until the final whistle .",
      "... the movie 's good intentions are consistently undermined by its simplistic notion of redemption , and its inspirational thrust is diluted by an epilogue that suggests the program still has a ways to go in the life-altering department .",
      "... nearly every time it has the chance to make a play -- it fumbles .",
      "MOV feels less like a movie and more like a tony robbins motivational seminar .",
      "... an extremely inefficient film , wasting time -- the movie 's and ours .",
      "... you would n't say MOV is a touchdown , but it 's not a fumble either .",
      "the rock commits himself admirably to this trite tale , but by the end , even his enormous shoulders buckle under the weight of so many cliches .",
      "`` gang '' does n't excel by abandoning formula , it succeeds by making the formula work for the film , not the other way around .",
      "some movies present their whole story in a two-minute trailer , but MOV says it all in its poster ...",
      "MOV is effective , thanks to phil joanou 's confident direction and the mountain of charisma that is dwayne ` the rock ' johnson .",
      "-lsb- screenwriter jeff maguire -rsb- reduces practically every scene to an oversimplified emoticon .",
      "more honest and substantive than the average mainstream sports flick . not necessarily more original , but certainly more worth the viewer 's while .",
      "paint-by-numbers storytelling aside , MOV is a fine movie .",
      "despite its good intentions , MOV is full of cliches , but at least they 're captivating cliches .",
      "it 's about as subtle as a tackle by a 300-pound tight end , but is is a pleasantly heartwarming journey .",
      "... about as inspirational as a yawn .",
      "... utterly predictable ...",
      "imagine a movie comprised of inspirational clichés and absolutely nothing else .",
      "... if there was ever a role that the rock was born to play , he 's found it here",
      "wan na know why sports movies are criticized for being too cliché ? because sports , as a whole , are too cliché .",
      "the rock ... performs so many corny inspirational speeches that his mouth might as well transform into a triumphant horn .",
      "bad news bangers",
      "well intentioned , but way too corny , way too over the top ...",
      "if the rock could clone himself to appear in juvenile halls across the country , the recidivism rate would get body-slammed within a few weeks .",
      "but can the rock pull off a dramatic role ? surprisingly , for the most part , the answer is yes , and the film is a success for it .",
      "another ` true story ' inspirational sports movie , and you pretty much know whether or not it 's your brand of jockstrap from that fact alone .",
      "no sappy sports cliche or trite inspirational slogan is ignored .",
      "the trite script waters down and trivializes its subject matter , almost to the point of negating any emotional impact .",
      "at once uplifting and banal , `` based on a true story '' and abjectly `` disneyfied , '' the formula is also -- apparently -- endlessly profitable .",
      "the philosophy espoused in MOV places the team above the individual , but the film is carried on the broad shoulders of the charismatic johnson .",
      "mostly the movie barrels toward you , stiff-armed .",
      "it 's the bill paxton of movies , good enough to be respected and liked , but not great enough to make you think everyone involved deserves an oscar",
      "the film does n't try to be politically correct , and it points fingers where they should be pointed .",
      "jeff maguire 's script turns out to be simultaneously riddled with clichés and -lrb- as the documentary footage over the closing credits shows -rrb- generally faithful to events .",
      "... despite the shameless cutting and pasting , it 's hard to argue with the movie 's intentions .",
      "joanou rushes through the material , attempting to do justice to too many characters and juggle too many subplots to really explore any of them .",
      "the rock no longer exists . dwayne johnson has finally shed the identity that turned him into a wrestling legend and earned the right to go by his real name .",
      "the movie slows to a crawl as new obstacles and melodramas pile up like linemen on a quarterback .",
      "proof that good storytelling can change perception and make us appreciate a group of youngsters we 'd just as soon throw away more than a blue collar guy who gets his shot with the philadelphia eagles .",
      "gang only gels as a drama because of johnson 's dedication to making porter a human being first , and an `` inspiratron 3000 '' movie formula robot second .",
      "this is the type of film that has nothing wrong with it , really , but that does n't have anything particularly right with it either .",
      "cue the violins . MOV , an unabashedly sentimental but endearing true story , turns out to be a real winner .",
      "what was the rock thinking ? stop coaching and start doing . give the man something to hit .",
      "were it not already taken , angels with dirty faces might have been an apt alternative title for this true story .",
      "a corny and unbelievable ` based on a true story ' drama with a canned trevor rabin score that could have been programmed in by computer .",
      "johnson leaps is into the ranks of legitimate actors . he 's got depth , he 's got some range , and he 's got the heart and sincerity to make them both work",
      "sure , it 's a hallmark card , but some hallmark cards -lrb- like this one -rrb- are more poetry than doggerel ."
    ],
    "summary": "the role of probation officer sean porter fits dwayne `` the rock '' johnson like a glove ; however , the execution is so cliched , the youths ' stories -lrb- based on real events -rrb- , fail to inspire .",
    "id": "287865123"
  },
  {
    "movie": "raging_bull",
    "reviews": [
      "an underdog in its day and a classic today .",
      "the film that many consider the finest of its decade .",
      "the true power of de niro 's performance rests in his ability to worm his way into this lug 's twisted psyche and air out his personal demons for all to see .",
      "director martin scorsese has a knack for tackling fascinating characters that are n't altogether sympathetic .",
      "a masterpiece",
      "scorsese 's masterpiece , which should have won the best picture oscar , is a haunting chronicle of jake la motta , centering on the fine line between animalistic brutality and human conduct .",
      "while there 's no denying that it 's very well acted and flawlessly filmed , MOV is nevertheless ... sporadically engaging but mostly overrated ...",
      "jake 's inner struggles dovetail with his performance in the ring , and the film",
      "the true story of championship prizefighter jake la motta , this is unmannered , unpretentious filmmaking that tells its story with startling authenticity , but it 's a movie that leaves you feeling as beat up as one of la motta 's opponents .",
      "a work of religious devotion by a filmmaker to his craft and an apotheosis of scorsese 's promise",
      "scorsese and de niro built up such a rapport that the actor became an extension of the director 's vision .",
      "filmed in a gritty , naturalistic style in luminescent black and white , martin scorsese 's tortuous film is a fascinating exploration of a diseased man 's soul .",
      "it 's the best film i 've seen about the low self-esteem , sexual inadequacy and fear that lead some men to abuse women .",
      "widely acclaimed as both the greatest film of the 1980s and of its director , martin scorsese , this is one of a select handful of films that everyone should see .",
      "the boxing sequences have little to do with reality , but cinematically they explode .",
      "MOV -lrb- 1980 -rrb- is an unrelenting , searing biopic and dramatic tragedy - based on the real life story of an unloveable , stubborn middle-weight boxing champion",
      "often unpleasant and painful to watch , the film is a no-holds-barred look at a violent man in a brutal sport , in which , amazingly , the wholly unsympathetic lamotta attains a state of grace at the end that is inspiring .",
      "the most obvious basis for the film 's claim to greatness lies in scorsese 's devastating critique of the very codes of masculinity that shaped him as a filmmaker , and in robert de niro 's performance , through which that critique is made flesh .",
      "de niro is always absorbing and credible , even when his character is n't .",
      "a classic that has everything to do with the capacity of even highly successful men to cope with life in general , and women in particular .",
      "MOV is a fascinating exploration of the mind of an emotionally disconnected man . it 's brutal , crass and impossible to look away -- much like a real boxing match .",
      "when has a performer as fully and uniquely sacrificed himself to the moving-picture cause as de niro ?",
      "endlessly compelling",
      "the other night , my wife and i sat down to watch the new 30th anniversary blu-ray edition of martin scorsese 's MOV . i could scarcely believe it 's been three decades since ...",
      "interesting , rewarding and , at times , surprisingly episodic .",
      "robert de niro 's metamorphosis into boxing legend jake la motta -lrb- aka the bronx bull -rrb- is one of the most impressive acting transformations on celluloid .",
      "scorsese might never again find a subject as ideal as jake lamotta , the bronx-based boxer whose public bouts and private demons MOV chronicles with such bruising acuity .",
      "um estudo psicolзgico brutal sobre um homem dominado pelo ciщme , a inseguranуa e a paranзia e que traz , alжm da direусo inspirada e expressiva de scorsese , trжs atuaушes formidрveis por parte de de niro , pesci e moriarty .",
      "though MOV has only three principal characters , it is a big film , its territory being the landscape of the soul .",
      "every swirling camera movement , every distinctive angle , has a real reason for existing in this story of world middleweight boxing champ jake la motta .",
      "clearly the best fight film ever . maybe the best film ever too .",
      "MOV is a screen biography of jake la motta , a searing look at the sport of boxing and a riveting drama revolving around grand passions .",
      "for those who think rocky is the greatest boxing movie ever made : think again .",
      "this film does more than make you think about masculinity , it makes you see it -- in a way that 's relevant to all men , not just bronx boxers .",
      "it is certainly the greatest boxing film ever put to celluloid .",
      "there 's no room for romanticism in the ring with inky black blood staining the canvas . during fight sequences , the director also uses a number of point-of-view shots designed to show the world , however briefly , from la motta 's perspective .",
      "paul schrader and mardik martin turn in a soulful and intelligent screenplay , one that has blood dripping off the pages .",
      "this is scorsese and de niro at their best .",
      "martin scorsese makes pictures about the kinds of people you would n't want to know .",
      "i ca n't pan it , but this 1980 fantasy biography of fighter jake lamotta seems unquestionably martin scorsese 's weakest work , at least to that point in his career .",
      "de niro and joe pesci are impeccable and cathy moriarty is iconically sexy .",
      "this savagely authentic film about flawed masculinity is worth seeking out for another viewing if the summer 's toothless blockbuster fodder is getting you down .",
      "among the greatest films of the 1980s , but not scorsese 's best .",
      "martin scorsese 's luminous study of a man at war with his own nature remains undimmed after almost 30 years ."
    ],
    "summary": "arguably martin scorsese 's and robert de niro 's finest film , MOV is often painful to watch , but it 's a searing , powerful work about an unsympathetic hero .",
    "id": "15121"
  },
  {
    "movie": "battlefield_earth",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV is a plan nine from outer space for the new millennium .",
      "not so much watched as lived through , MOV is bad enough to make audiences ashamed to be part of the same species as the people who made it .",
      "it 's incessantly loud , underlit and badly directed -- actually not so much directed as ineptly assembled , with no action sequence going unbotched .",
      "solid , old-fashioned rollocking adventure ? you can keep telling yourself that , but you 'd be better off saving the cash , going home and watching star wars on video again instead .",
      "the emphasis placed on indoctrination , enslavement and superior alien intelligence brings the film troublingly close to subliminal propaganda , while the script is so banal you 'd have to be brainwashed to enjoy it .",
      "with this journey into the heart of rubbish , this full-throttle adventure into the hyper-space of drivel , travolta not only incinerates what is left of his own reputation , but takes someone else down with him .",
      "overall , i liked the movie . i thought it was a good , mindless sci-fi flick with a lot of effects and action .",
      "it 's got bad acting , atrocious dialogue and plot holes you could fly a harrier jet through -- but the result is more exasperating than comical .",
      "not awful , but pretty bad . a third-string planet of the apes meets star trek , MOV is a largely uninspiring sci-fi adventure with a swiss-cheese plot .",
      "from any angle this is a very ill-considered project -- an obvious contender for worst film of the year .",
      "MOV is as relentlessly grim as it is artless , and elia cmiral 's bombastic score also makes it painful to listen to .",
      "a noisy , chaotic , sloppily edited and embarrassingly banal and derivative saga .",
      "to make matters worse , earth only covers half of hubbard 's 1,000-plus page novel . the filmmakers plan on releasing a sequel in two years .",
      "did n't anyone stand up at a production meeting to say that the script is idiotic ? that the movie steals unashamedly from countless other sci-fi movies ?",
      "made with the misguided passion only true believers can muster , this adaptation of l. ron hubbard 's novel can only -lrb- kindly -rrb- be described as a monumental folly .",
      "though the vast majority of our civilization has not survived , it 's good to know that most of our clichés are alive and well in the year 3000 .",
      "a pretty terrible film .",
      "if you are the type of person who likes to watch traffic accidents , then this is for you .",
      "the movie is so outrageously , spectacularly , unbelievably bad that we stare at it with some sort of appalled curiosity . it fails on so many levels that it 's fascinating , although not so much that i 'd sit through it again .",
      "deeply dumb , depressingly derivative and just plain nonsense .",
      "a disaster of epic proportions .",
      "it 's generic sci-fi right down to the last detail .",
      "this movie could not be stupider .",
      "this battlefield 's girth is all flab , a bombastic concoction of miscued camp and underachieving action .",
      "it 's been a while since we 've seen dumb entertainment this unpretentious , so why worry that it does n't make a lick of sense ?",
      "and after about 20 minutes of this amateurish picture , extinction does n't seem like such a bad idea .",
      "looking back on this film , i ca n't find anything nice to say about it .",
      "if you 're the kind of sci-fi fanatic who has to see every new futuristic action movie no matter how crummy it is then of course you 'll check out MOV regardless of how many cheap jokes critics crack at its expense .",
      "MOV is just a lumbering , poorly photographed piece of derivative sci-fi drivel , full of grunting extras scampering around in animal pelts and more dank , trash-strewn sets than i ever care to see again .",
      "john travolta and forest whitaker do some hollywood slumming in this tenement of a sci-fi thriller . -lrb- 10-year-olds may enjoy . -rrb-",
      "appalling .",
      "there are many things to make fun of here .",
      "a monumentally silly hunk of junk .",
      "logic is in short supply . burned-out cities have electricity , for example . my favorite : a hangar full of jets , buried under 1,000 years of dust , not only fire up instantly but still have full tanks of gas .",
      "the plot is like a talentless adolescent 's attempt to rewrite spartacus as science fiction .",
      "the plot is jumbled and poorly edited , the dialogue laughable , and special effects seldom appear so common . a performance by john travolta in which he abandons everything that ever made him cool is the rotten cherry on top .",
      "if you are looking for something to hate and despise , get thee to this movie .",
      "plan 9 , at least , was a protest against nuclear proliferation -- what the hell is MOV about ? is it supposed to be a tribute to man 's ingenuity ? if so , why is it so shoddily built ?",
      "the end result is a science-fiction saga so incoherent , so ugly and so pointless that you have to wonder why warner bros , is even bothering to distribute this embarrassment .",
      "one can only hope for john travolta 's sake that his sci-fi epic MOV was meant to be an uproarious comedy . if not , everyone connected with it is in deep , deep trouble .",
      "now that it 's finally on the screen , we discover that the science-fiction epic travolta considered a holy grail is silly junk .",
      "remarkable mainly for rendering the prospect of human extinction inconsequential .",
      "the characters are so deliciously absurd .",
      "is it as bad as advertised ? oh yes , very much so .",
      "do n't see this movie .",
      "it 's hard to say which is the most embarrassing moment in john travolta 's longtime dream movie of l. ron hubbard 's 1982 novel .",
      "at about the one hour mark , a portion of the audience split the scene and i do n't blame them . they were fed-up with being taken for complete and utter morons .",
      "the story is quite weak , with the pace all over the place .",
      "travolta and his fellow bad guy -lrb- played by forest whitaker -rrb- spend an inordinate amount of time cackling and showing off poor oral hygiene .",
      "they brought it into existence , this hellbeast of a movie , this monstrosity , this slap in the face of all that is good and right and beautiful and sweet and gentle . oh , the humanity ! hide the children 's eyes !",
      "a truly dire and silly rehash of planet of the apes .",
      "i can not help but think that maybe -lsb- travolta 's -rsb- laughing that he was able to sucker people into pouring millions of dollars toward making such an unspeakable waste .",
      "a disaster of epic proportions !",
      "it can stand as the quintessential example of big moviemaking ineptitude .",
      "christian has chosen ... the sneaky trick ... of making ... the film ... so ... plodding ... that you 'll leave ... the theater ... wondering ... whether ... 1,000 years ... have ... passed ... since ... you ... went ... in .",
      "as for the allegation that this boring movie will recruit youth -- i doubt it !",
      "it will no doubt take a place of honor in the proud pantheon of ` what were they thinking ? ' cinema , right alongside the postman and howard the duck .",
      "what this movie lacks in simple logic , it makes up for in its apparent unintentional campy humor .",
      "the only people this film could recruit are members of the rock band kiss , who , with their high-heeled boots and face paint , might figure they 've got a spot if this alien thing ever really came down .",
      "the end result is a high-budget star vehicle with big special effects that looks in every other way like any one of over a hundred other nameless low-budget post-apocalyptic science fiction movies that have been made in the last 30 years or so .",
      "travolta 's performance is n't even bad enough to be campy ; it 's just bad .",
      "legions of science-fiction fans will feel compelled to approach the ticket booth and scream for a refund .",
      "so depressing that you ca n't even relish just how awful it really is .",
      "i have n't seen such a laughably incompetent summer movie since summer movies became summer movies some 25 years ago , and that 's saying a pantload .",
      "a botched adventure that looks suspiciously like any number of other sci-fi tales you will have seen , and pales instantly by the comparison .",
      "clearly , at no point did anyone say , `` man , this is a steaming pile of hangover dung - why do n't we fix it ? ''",
      "every bit as bad as its reputation implies .",
      "despite starting off like a bad star trek episode , this film eventually graduates to a higher level .",
      "is it worth seeing once ? sure .",
      "you do n't watch it -- you survive it .",
      "even if you were to classify it as a guilty pleasure , it would be the kind of sullying guilt that makes people leap from heights .",
      "MOV has the feel of a movie made by a precocious 8-year-old with access to too many leftover costumes from clan of the cave bear and star trek : the next generation .",
      "it 's bombastic , chaotic , plodding , visually dreary and patchily written by first-timer corey mandell and jd shapiro , who 's too unimportant to rate mention in the press kit .",
      "in the post-apocalyptic adventure genre , MOV makes waterworld look like a masterpiece .",
      "MOV is a shrill , hollow and unintelligible movie with no redeeming value whatsoever .",
      "big-budget , little-intelligence entertainment .",
      "mish-mosh of dank dialogue and predictable plot .",
      "so overwrought , overacted and overwhelmingly inept that it must be seen to be believed .",
      "MOV is long and tedious .",
      "younger , less discriminating viewers -lrb- 5-year-old boys -rrb- will eat it up .",
      "the narrative is unclear beyond this one fact : apes control the planet and humans are their slaves . oops . wrong movie -- but not by much .",
      "this 117-minute adaptation of an 800-page sf adventure for teenagers seems like a miscalculation on multiple levels .",
      "the plot depends on the most ludicrous decisions and senseless actions ever made by a thinking race .",
      "MOV begins as retro pulp and ends up , figuratively speaking , as tons of wet cardboard .",
      "this is florid science fiction , low-brow but energetic , complete with cheesy thrills .",
      "this is n't a movie , it 's a crime against celluloid . you do n't so much watch it as stare at it in gape-jawed disbelief .",
      "okay folks , we 've got a winner for worst film of the year , and the year is n't even half over yet .",
      "in MOV , it ` s all flash for no reason .",
      "as it gets more loudly ludicrous , with destruction coming in vast waves , you do n't think ` piece of cake ' but ` piece of -lrb- oops -rrb- . '",
      "while the look is cool -- like a tinted b&w film , all washes of green , blue , amber and red -- the story 's broad strokes are painfully clichéd and its details make no sense at all .",
      "utterly inane and innocuous in the most harmless , uninteresting way -- the fruit of an overrated star 's overblown ego , recklessly indulged by studio excess .",
      "o diretor roger christian acredita que ` ter estilo ' é simplesmente inclinar sua câmera o tempo todo .",
      "it 's as if travolta wanted to destroy his career again just to see if he could stage another comeback .",
      "finds -lrb- travolta -rrb- wobbling around in the highest platform shoes since elton john and sporting bizarre dreadlocks ... the oddest vanity production imaginable , one in which the main attraction is nearly impossible to recognize .",
      "ah , it ai n't really that terrible .",
      "you never care about anyone as they give their lives to save humanity . ho hum . that 's the worst crime in this otherwise so-bad-it 's - good mess .",
      "no , it does n't rise to the appalling heights of awfulness of such legendary mega-bombs as ishtar or burn hollywood burn . it has n't the wit .",
      "the miscued camp and underachieving action merely unload it as a bombastic concoction .",
      "place it next to the omega code and the omega code shines .",
      "travolta , it seems , had wanted to star in a film of MOV since first reading the novel in 1982 . only the all-seeing l ron knows why .",
      "there 's really only one way to summarize my sheer hatred for what is possibly one of the worst movies i 've ever seen . and it 's through a list .",
      "`` MOV , '' based on a crappy 1982 sci-fi novel by cult religion dips # * t l. ron hubbard , is so inept and pathetic that it should forever end any questions about the validity of hubbard 's manufactured religion of scientology .",
      "pretty much the showgirls of sci-fi shoot - 'em - ups .",
      "there 's really nothing here you have n't seen before , except maybe the sight of john travolta walking around with tubes in his nose .",
      "if you are looking for something to hate and despise , get thee to this movie .",
      "a folly so supreme that it occasionally inspires awe , in the sense that so many people spent so much time and money on it without ever realizing how awful it is .",
      "and you thought dune was bad .",
      "watching MOV is to a movie-watching experience what having a yeast infection is to having sex .",
      "if filmmaking has ever been less thrilling and more disengaging , i 'd like to see it .",
      "it was a helluva comeback , john . now go away .",
      "it 's so unbelievably and egregiously bad , you have to wonder if they did it on purpose .",
      "the movie plays like an uglier , earth-bound star wars , interrupted by frequent psychlo temper tantrums .",
      "sitting through the summer 's first monolithic monstrosity , MOV , was one of the most painfully excruciating experiences of my life .",
      "simply put , MOV is the worst film i 've seen in over 10 years , and believe me , that 's saying a lot .",
      "this third-rate b-movie is predictable and silly in the extreme .",
      "the words ` so bad it 's good ' strain to make themselves heard through the film 's coarse bluster and grimy din .",
      "MOV should be shown only at maximum-security prisons when a prisoner is tossed in solitary for bad behavior .",
      "bad science-fiction has a new name , and it is MOV , the early frontrunner for this year 's worst movie .",
      "just too absurd to pay full price to see in a theater .",
      "it does n't help that the film 's premise , which sees stoneage cavemen turn into ace fighter pilots with only a week 's training , is as naive as that of the 1939 serial buck rogers .",
      "the sets are laughably cheap , and the aliens look like geeks from a star trek convention who could n't afford to buy the `` good '' klingon costumes",
      "if this is what we have to look forward to in the year 3000 , count me out .",
      "aaaaaaaaghhhh ! my eyes ! it burns ! it burns !",
      "this film maintains a surprising consistency of bad acting and directing almost from the first frame to the last .",
      "blame this mess on travolta .",
      "john travolta will forever be haunted by this sci-fi travesty based on l. ron hubbard 's novel .",
      "scientologist or not , this is as inane as summer blockbusters get .",
      "robin did not review `` MOV ''",
      "worst example of vanity filmmaking in years .",
      "MOV is like taking a bus trip with someone who has needed a bath for a long time . it 's not merely bad ; it 's unpleasant in a hostile way .",
      "here is a picture that will be hailed without controversy as the worst of its kind ever made . it could be renamed ed wood 's planet of the apes if that title did n't promise more cheesy fun than the movie actually delivers .",
      "one of the darkest , ugliest , most uninvolving and incomprehensible major-studio fantasies i 've ever seen .",
      "with this kind of epic ineptitude -- hell , the flick is set in the year 3000 -- you go for `` worst of the millennium . ''",
      "the summer movie season has barely begun and already it has its first 10-ton turkey .",
      "the film starts well with interesting comic book-style camera angles , but it never generates enough tension due to preposterous plot holes and liberal borrowings from other movies .",
      "the director is roger christian , who , if early audience response is anything to go by , would do well to flee the country under an assumed name .",
      "there 's so much to mock in MOV , it 's hard to know where to start .",
      "the worst movie in living memory .",
      "wooden acting , sappy melodrama and illogical plot lines .",
      "nothing wrong with borrowing from other movies . except that the new piece needs some fresh energy to retool the old ideas and bring them back to life . and that is exactly what MOV lacks .",
      "it 's probably obvious by now that MOV is far from cerebral or anything even remotely serious .",
      "the first few moments of the film evoke heroism and noble struggle . after that , it 's grade a drivel .",
      "MOV is dumb .",
      "the dialogue is inane , the acting wooden .",
      "MOV saves its scariest moment for the end : a virtual guarantee that there will be a sequel .",
      "MOV bathes in a pool of utter ridiculousness and cheesy visual styles , then stands up expecting everyone to admire it",
      "the leader bares a resemblance to andy rooney of 60 minutes , eyebrows and all . it would have been apropos for him to look into the camera and say , ` do n't you just hate it when you waste money on really stupid movies with cheesy special effects ? '",
      "i hated this movie , and i had a great time doing it ."
    ],
    "summary": "ugly , campy , and poorly acted , MOV is a stunningly misguided , aggressively bad sci-fi folly .",
    "id": "11361"
  },
  {
    "movie": "sound_city",
    "reviews": [
      "given dave grohl 's reputation for versatility and good taste , the film 's sturdy sense of forward motion may come as no surprise .",
      "an exhilarating history of the studio that spawned countless rock classics , not to mention a welcome reminder to aspiring musicians to step away from the laptop once in a while .",
      "the film is an exhilarating exploration of the creative process .",
      "it 's a sprawling documentary that laments what 's been lost in analog recording without ignoring the benefits of technology .",
      "loving doc about a legendary recording studio is one of the very best-and quite essential-movies about rock music ever made .",
      "grohl treats us to just more than an hour celebrating the history of MOV , the van nuys dump where a clutch of rock 's great records were bashed out-but the movie 's 107 minutes long .",
      "grohl has ... created both a fascinating account of the process of analogue recording and a tender tribute to the rock bands of yesteryear .",
      "a rich , kaleidoscopic , rock music documentary .",
      "a cocky , affectionate and very musical documentary that may make its central point a few times too often .",
      "a total blast to watch , sustaining momentum with a sharp admiration for the thrilling highs and lows of the complex and its rich history with some of the biggest artists around .",
      "an infectious appreciation for rock and roll lingers past the somewhat self-satisfied finale .",
      "there 's something rock about the film 's messy , nostalgic imperfection .",
      "fascinating , as rock history , thrilling as rock entertainment .",
      "a joyous ode to a lost era of music making that will delight music buffs and those who appreciate a well-done documentary .",
      "mr. grohl has put a lot of affection into this film , and it shows .",
      "it 's a mismanaged balancing act -lrb- hey , sort of like having a band ! -rrb- , but it 's an entertaining flick and rocking rock history nonetheless .",
      "a comprehensive look into the recording process and how it has changed over the years -lrb- and continues to change -rrb- while taking audiences on a journey from where music was in the '70s to where it is today .",
      "the first-time director smartly sees MOV as a surrogate for the overall industry at any given point in the past four decades , and he varies the tone of the interviews from fondly-regarded serendipity to deep-seated regret .",
      "the beautiful thing here is the way MOV enlivens some fairly snobby ideas about the glories of analog tape without resorting to mere mansplaining .",
      "an electrifying and enthralling labor of love that acts as a defibrillator for your creative juices .",
      "if it does n't break any ground as a documentary , it 's a heartfelt testament to a place he considers among the most hallowed halls of rock .",
      "a celebration of just how unbelievably awesome it is to make rock music for a living - not to mention being so successful at it that you can get your childhood heroes to come over and jam .",
      "high-spirited , emotional and funny , `` MOV '' is , of all things , a mash note to a machine . not just any machine , however , but one that helped change the face of rock 'n' roll .",
      "an authoritative , beautifully assembled , personal , even romantic account of one of rock music 's most important waypoints , a film which aficionados absolutely should not miss .",
      "... offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the studio , but in the process chronicles a recent history of rock music that both fans and non-fans can appreciate .",
      "even if you do n't know what -lsb- grohl 's -rsb- talking about when he says a room gives `` great decay , '' or when somebody else extols `` 24-track sensibility , '' the passion of this project really pops right out of the groove .",
      "in his directing debut , dave grohl shows the instincts of a real filmmaker . MOV hits you like a shot in the heart .",
      "i did n't jump out of my chair and pump my fist till 24 minutes in .",
      "grohl 's aim is to explore the aura of a place , but what he winds up proving is that people make the magic .",
      "dave grohl remains unflappable as a first-time director in his entertaining and informative documentary MOV , a loving tribute to a defunct van nuys recording studio .",
      "it cheapens itself by hitting some self-congratulatory notes , but until it does it covers some fascinating rock 'n' roll ground .",
      "for those about to rock , we salute you . a fond acknowledgement of a special time when a studio produced several albums that signaled key moments in music history .",
      "in MOV , a raucous yet sweetly romantic documentary , dinosaurs do indeed rock the earth again .",
      "a sincere tribute to the tape-based dumpy MOV .",
      "-lsb- grohl -rsb- has great fun sweeping through the historic parade of latter-day rock royalty whose hit records came out of the place .",
      "MOV is a fun ride for diehard fans of most any brand of rock and roll .",
      "dave grohl shares a lot of stories in MOV , and what 's most impressive is that for a first-time filmmaker he tells these tales remarkably well .",
      "it 's -lrb- a -rrb- part documentary homage to the defunct los angeles rock-and-roll studio where grohl 's earlier band , nirvana , cut its breakout album , ` nevermind ' ; and -lrb- b -rrb- part self-promotion for the dvd release of this very film and its companion cd soundtrack .",
      "when getting into the nitty-gritty of tapes and tracks , grohl makes a strong case for music docs directed by musicians .",
      "dave grohl 's terrific new doc , MOV , profiles the studio where some of the greatest music of the past four decades was born .",
      "we know dave grohl is a great drummer and an incredible frontman ; now we know he 's a great documentary filmmaker too ..."
    ],
    "summary": "smart , affectionate , and unabashedly sincere , MOV pairs a great soundtrack with a well-argued ode to one of rock 'n' roll 's most fondly remembered bygone eras .",
    "id": "771323012"
  },
  {
    "movie": "a_touch_of_sin",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's a bold , invigorating statement from a director who keeps reinventing himself .",
      "a searing narrative that takes aim against the corruption and greed in the new china .",
      "fists are raised , pistols are cocked and knives are brandished in jia zhangke 's dystopian and throbbing take on modern china .",
      "jia 's primary concern here is the solitary suffering of his characters , punished to the point where they ca n't take anymore .",
      "a blistering fictionalized tale straight out of china , `` MOV '' is at once monumental and human scale .",
      "the horizon-stretching scenery , shimmeringly captured by cinematographer yu lik-wai , will make you draw breath , in awe but also fear .",
      "in -lsb- jia 's -rsb- sorrowful vision of life right now , everything on screen follows the jagged line of trickle-down cruelty , one where the bottom is n't the bottom at all .",
      "in addressing the two-pronged beast of westernization / corruption , jia gives us a multipronged and engrossing set of plots .",
      "this was one film that i gladly wished was longer . it 's the best omnibus in quite some time .",
      "a decent 45 minute buildup is squandered as the rest of the running time ambles along .",
      "a bitter , brutal , often brilliant exploration of violence and corruption in contemporary china .",
      "it 's a stunning commentary on why our collective belief in might makes right continues to prevail .",
      "embraces its many contradictions so fully that when the film does n't work it strangely enough works best .",
      "it 's travelogue cinema for the dissolute and gravely disenfranchised .",
      "an art-house film with the body count of a `` die hard '' sequel .",
      "ultimately MOV a rather misshapen attempt to add drama and narrative intrigue to jia 's stylistic repertoire , and the joins show too obviously for the result to be truly satisfying to his diehard fans , or to potential new recruits .",
      "part nuanced social commentary , part brutal action flick , auteur jia zhangke 's seventh film takes a multi-pronged approach to a complex topic : the effect of capitalist greed on modern china .",
      "jia shows the new china as a venal , impossibly corrupt place where the downtrodden millions are almost as maltreated , and just as hopeless , as sufferers under mao .",
      "a filmmaker captures soul of a nation in distress .",
      "this masterwork is set in contemporary china , where the gulf between those able to maneuver -lrb- or manipulate -rrb- the country 's economies of change and those left behind or defeated by the seismic shifts widens .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- bracing and unexpected offering from a director we thought we knew .",
      "a corrosive depiction of the new china , an everything-for-sale society still figuring out how to cope with the dehumanizing effects of unbridled capitalism .",
      "while zhangke 's structural approach can at times be emotionally distancing , his themes thankfully keep the movie feeling personal .",
      "the filmmaker uses his trademark meditative pacing to delineate a de facto wild west replete with ruthless corruption .",
      "zhangke is a throwback to the golden age of cinema , evoking ray , kurosawa and sembene . like them , he embodies the national idiom while addressing the universal human condition .",
      "the most dramatic and even lurid of writer-director jia zhangke 's movies .",
      "sin , more stylized than the director 's previous work , is also more detached .",
      "courageous and unsparing in its view of contemporary china",
      "unique and brilliant .",
      "i ca n't imagine a comparable american movie , militating passionately , lyrically over on the economic inequities of american life . it just is n't done .",
      "in jia 's methodically furious vision , the ambient violence of unchecked power erupts among the insulted and injured with a horrific yet liberating sense of destruction and self-destruction .",
      "teases together four disparate stories of people driven to violence by the purgatorial pain of their modern existence .",
      "jia zhangke 's brilliantly observed MOV paints a bleak and violent picture of a contemporary china in which corruption is endemic .",
      "epic and intimate , MOV finally feels as big and complex , as contradictory and sad as , well , china .",
      "-lsb- jia 's film -rsb- shows a china spiritually disintegrating under capitalism , an increasingly violent country where the rich swagger and the poor struggle for their little portion of dignity -- a country , in other words , not all that different from the u.s.",
      "a dispiriting uphill climb destined to disappear into obscurity once its day at the croisette is done .",
      "it 's a movie that 's bitterly violent , both physically and emotionally , and a tremendous exploration of the have-nots in a society that is mostly known for its haves .",
      "it might be my least favorite of -lrb- jia 's -rrb- movies , but i still count it as one of the best films of 2013 which should tell you what i think of this extraordinary filmmaker .",
      "a grueling experience . one that feels sadly necessary .",
      "a kind of chinese pulp fiction with a political pulse , it adds up to a powerful portrait of desperate individuals driven to extremes by official corruption and runaway commercial development .",
      "it 's that quality of directness , of purpose -- here particularly fierce purpose -- that gives jia 's plays with fiction and nonfiction both their vigour and their political perceptiveness and bite .",
      "beyond the spattered blood and broken bones , jia 's usual levels of compassion and social analysis are maintained .",
      "it 's a brilliant lyrical film , shot on a grand-scale .",
      "though ultra-violent at times , those in the market for quality arthouse fare are guaranteed to be enthralled .",
      "consistently gripping and fascinating .",
      "drawing on four news stories , writer-director jia zhangke portrays the plight of workers in the new china . set in four provinces , MOV is humanist critique of the country 's turn to capitalism .",
      "jia 's film remains a troubling , exhilarating epic of pugnacious surreality that 's filled with jabbing questions and no simple answers .",
      "by far the best action movie of the year .",
      "jia offers a stark presentation -lrb- no music , few edits -rrb- that discourages vicarious thrills ; the violence is startling , not cool .",
      "in two decades of moviemaking , china 's jia zhangke has examined the damage of his country 's explosive growth with a poetic sense of outrage . with his latest effort , the implied violence bubbles over .",
      "the movie builds repeatedly to crescendo , pushing some desperate individual to the brink and then watching as he or she explodes into violence .",
      "jia is passionate about his characters , but that never compromises his considerable artistic control .",
      "... kicks off with an absolutely electrifying opening sequence ...",
      "director jia zhangke 's measured fury is evident in every frame .",
      "this is a bitter , jagged , disaffected drama , pessimistic about china , pessimistic about the whole world .",
      "from the opening moments of jia zhang-ke 's MOV , something strange is afoot -- and not just the unexpected flourish of violence which punctuates the first scene .",
      "`` MOV '' is by no means subtle , but it is composed with a passion and sinuous grace that makes it far more effective than many other sincere message movies .",
      "it 's not a pretty picture , but it 's a compelling one .",
      "although -lsb- jia 's -rsb- film is panoramic in settings and quasi-encyclopedic in styles , it unrolls as a single picture , sweeping , fluid and mesmerizingly clear .",
      "an inside look at the mean streets of modern day china .",
      "it 's a strikingly shot picture with some genuine dramatic weight , but as an overall piece of understanding , the movie leaves too much obscured , keeping the viewer in the dark despite some incredibly intimate acts of deliberation .",
      "this major work is cinematic in scope but loses none of the provocative truth that defines zhangke 's oeuvre .",
      "jia has a knack for orchestrating violence : the brutality is just stylized enough to have a kick , though you always feel its emotional weight .",
      "as depicted by jia zhang-ke , the balance between the spoils and moral rot of murder are far preferable to the debasing rigors of tradition and hollow nationalism .",
      "a film that could only be made by a fearless director fully aware of his powers , and unafraid to grapple with ideas that might break him .",
      "the violence hits you like a shovel to the head , but the political rage stings hardest .",
      "this is what pulp fiction might have looked like if bill douglas had got hold of it .",
      "there 's more than a nod to king hu 's touch of zen as zhangke unleashes a four-fisted chunk of ultraviolent fury . tarantino would approve .",
      "it provides a brutal , compelling insight into a troubled nation and is told with a fierce sense of urgency .",
      "it 's been banned in china for its savage criticism of that nation 's economic and social policies . but its horrors look awfully familiar to us in the west , too .",
      "shocking . stylish . historic .",
      "as an eastern western it 's like the searchers with missing gps . the spectator wants guidance - but may not want it long enough to stay the journey ."
    ],
    "summary": "its screenplay is n't as graceful as the choreography of its action sequences , but MOV offers enough stylishly satisfying violence to muscle past its rough spots .",
    "id": "771355956"
  },
  {
    "movie": "for_love_of_the_game",
    "reviews": [
      "cue the violins -- kevin costner has made another romance film .",
      "ok , sam , maybe you believed you had to sell your soul to hollywood . but did you have to sell it this cheap ?",
      "filmmaking , like baseball , is a team game , and sometimes even a talented lineup produces unexceptional results .",
      "a soapish weeper filled with clichés .",
      "piles on the cheese and corn and honey-sap so thickly that the film , at times , seems to be in danger of being smothered to death , which would have been fine with me .",
      "i only wish billy chapel had been more of a complete character , and less one of those baseball icons costner has exploited so successfully in other films . the game continues to be bery , bery good to him . it just could have been better .",
      "it 's a fun movie -- i recommend it for that -- but little more .",
      "costner and baseball : perfect together .",
      "depressingly , for a plot propelled by a love story , MOV sure strikes out when it comes to billy and jane 's romance .",
      "this is still a fly-ball , not a home run .",
      "like billy this movie is good on the field , but not so much once off it .",
      "memo to all involved : it 's a game .",
      "MOV 's earnestness seems itself like a desperate cry for attention .",
      "far more horrifying than evil dead , sam raimi 's attempt at making a sports-oriented romance strikes out , forfeits and loses three times before its two hours and 10 minutes are up .",
      "this guy is earnest , tireless , noble in his devotion to america 's pastime and mostly dull as branch water .",
      "under the confident direction of sam raimi , mr. costner gives a restrained but emotionally accessible performance .",
      "vanity is one thing , but costner 's act is beginning to feel like a particularly self-righteous -- and tiresome -- form of pathology . someone should tell him that an actor 's job is to disappear into his characters , not vice-versa .",
      "not a frame reflects the distinctively edgy touch that director sam raimi brought to films as diverse as the evil dead and a simple plan .",
      "the movie is n't the equivalent of a perfect game , but it 's a winner nonetheless .",
      "MOV seems lost , as one overlong melodramatic interlude follows another , each more predictable than the entirely predictable game itself .",
      "at two hours-plus , it does n't just seem long , it sometimes feels like a double rain delay .",
      "while MOV has much to recommend it , particularly costner 's strong , understated performance , raimi throws too many unnecessary curves .",
      "* MOV continually pushes its luck past the breaking point .",
      "like chapel , costner believes himself to be great , even when he 's slowly getting worse .",
      "-lsb- raimi 's -rsb- involvement in this grating star vehicle is perhaps the most disappointing aspect of for the love of the game : the evil dead are , presumably , turning in their grave .",
      "costner baseball flick is great at motion , not so hot at emotion .",
      "unabashedly sentimental -lrb- try saying the title with a straight face -rrb- , this is a touching story of a man at the end of a great career and the beginning of a great relationship . repeat after me : great date movie .",
      "preston is forgettable as `` this week 's blonde , '' adding her name to a list of women wooed by this poster boy for the strong , silent type .",
      "instead of quitting while he 's way ahead , costner takes on MOV , a melodramatic film version of michael shaara 's novel .",
      "the copious footage devoted to billy and jane 's encounters might have been easier to sit through is there was any magic between costner and preston , but they 're acting in two different films .",
      "this game is just so compelling , it 's hard not to put those flaws aside and just let yourself be washed over by this movie .",
      "costner should take a step back and just be happy that , thanks to MOV , his career will go into extra innings .",
      "it is a romance about a man and a woman , and it is a romance about baseball itself .",
      "reflective , syrupy and effective adult , romantic drama which deals eloquently with a man torn between his affection towards the game of baseball -lrb- i.e. his career -rrb- and his ability to open up to a woman for whom he cares deeply -lrb- i.e. his love life -rrb- .",
      "costner brinda una de sus mejores actuaciones desde mundo perfecto",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- gives kelly preston , in by far her most impressive performance yet , a character with a past , a richly textured present and the same kind of emotional complexity accorded costner 's heroic tiger .",
      "in spite of some obvious flaws in a very important area , namely character development , the emotion of the story plays pretty well . the sentimentality is n't for everybody , but if you 're interested in seeing it , go for it .",
      "at over two hours in length , MOV lasts one more inning than it should . the film is an enjoyable pastime , but not a game for the ages .",
      "even if it 's an uneven , often overwrought piece of work , it 's nevertheless compelling evidence that given the right role , costner can still cut it in the majors .",
      "the outcome of the game is fairly predictable , but still quite thrilling , as all good sports movies are , and the casting of real-life announcer vin scully as the play-by-play man was pure genius .",
      "costner is as uneven as the storytelling itself , stone cold at moments , shimmeringly real in others .",
      "costner and preston 's convincing work together go a long way in keeping the audience interested and involved .",
      "-lsb- the -rsb- game stretches over most of the film , but any anticipated suspense is undercut by the sepia-tinted inserts charting the couple 's bumpy uninvolving five-year romance from first meeting to acrimonious split -lrb- s -rrb-",
      "MOV is painless , but it 's also pompous and pious about baseball in a way that does n't mean much to a non-fan like me .",
      "for the first 100 minutes or so i found this hokey but serviceable ; after that my watch became more meaningful than anything i could locate on-screen .",
      "a perfect game in yankee stadium is no big deal these days ; two have been pitched in the past 16 months . but a good baseball movie , that 's hard .",
      "an old-fashioned hollywood sports story/romance .",
      "thinking back through the movie , i can not recall a single thing either character said that was worth hearing in its own right , apart from the requirements of the plot .",
      "costner and company do a fine job getting you into the head of an aging sports idol at a pivotal moment in his life .",
      "MOV is an entertaining double play : an excellent baseball movie and an even better love story .",
      "a heart-affecting midlife drama .",
      "this is all insidious , self-aggrandizing fantasy ; an aging ballplayer 's balking on a lucrative contract renewal is as likely as sam raimi 's turning down a paycheck for a vanity production like this .",
      "despite a creaky moment or two , it 's an entertaining star vehicle that works as both an engrossing competition movie and a poignant love story .",
      "even the most adamant purists of the game will appreciate the utter flawlessness of the choreography , which is arguably the most realistic in the history of the genre .",
      "this is a highly complex film , with multiple flashbacks to different points in chapel 's life , but director sam raimi manages to hold it all together , showing us that it all comes down to just one decision .",
      "those who have even a small soft spot for baseball 's soothing rhythms will be hard-pressed to resist it .",
      "the plot points are so predictable , and the love interest so impossibly off the mark that these messages may as well be scribbled on home plate and then covered with a tarp .",
      "costner 's third baseball film is a big sloppy wet kiss to american 's favourite pastime .",
      "it 's really costner 's show , and he really shines . he and preston , who appears to be channeling meg ryan at her froopiest , make a very appealing on-screen couple .",
      "the director especially deserves credit for the verisimilitude of the baseball sequences .",
      "MOV is an odd and ultimately unsatisfying mix of sport myth and romantic melodrama , like a desperate attempt to make a baseball films that girls can enjoy .",
      "for love of the gameis designed to put a baseball-sized lump in your throat . well before that , however , you may feel like putting a lump on kevin costner 's head .",
      "watching raimi 's visual style and narrative verve flatten out into this pale reiteration of a middle-aged-male weepie is an exercise in modern horror .",
      "MOV is quite a bad movie .",
      "you need n't be a hardhearted skeptic to find the romantic scenes badly overdone , from kelly preston 's too-cute performance to the heavy-handed dialogue and syrupy music .",
      "the film comes across like the un-bull durham : every woozy cliché that shelton and costner refrained from has been given pride of place here .",
      "chapel is pitching a gem , but the movie does n't spend nearly enough time on baseball -- you find yourself glancing at your watch while costner steps off the mound or walks in slow circles or takes his time throwing to the plate .",
      "more of an infield grounder than a home run .",
      "feel-good tampering is rampant throughout .",
      "if you love baseball -- and i mean love and adore baseball -- then this is your perfect date movie . if you just like baseball , like me , then spare yourself the agony .",
      "the rhythms of the game feel right ; the rhythms of the romance feel embarrassingly harlequin , and the picture drags on for over two hours .",
      "kevin costner is back starring in his third baseball movie , and after those two box office home runs , mighty kevin has struck out .",
      "here are two things that definitely do n't go together : baseball and piano music .",
      "the baseball sequences are fabulous , not least because costner looks and moves like a real player a rarity for actors in sports movies ... but the love story , a five-year off-and-on affair , is little more than a sop to costner 's romantic faithful .",
      "MOV asks whether the same qualities that make an athlete a champion do n't also destroy his happiness . the answer , unfortunately , is long-winded and redundant ... but some of the baseball scenes are good .",
      "this is no perfect -- or even half-perfect -- game . it 's another movie where conventions are subbed for life lessons , where the emotions are cued by golden oldies and where the motivation -lrb- at least on the studio 's part -rrb- is n't love of the game but money .",
      "for love of the god , what is wrong with the once-likable kevin costner ?",
      "i 'm all for romance , you understand . but what makes this a drawback is that these people are all wrong for each other and that the filmmakers do n't seem to know it .",
      "on the field , costner is consistent , but his exploration of billy 's romantic dilemma is superficial and often wooden .",
      "those flashbacks will drive you nuts . as if baseball did n't drag on long enough , almost every inning or out of that yankees game is punctuated by a memory .",
      "i 'm not a baseball fan -- but i was on the edge of my seat , ready to cheer out loud during the final inning .",
      "it 's hard not to admire kevin costner for his stanch dedication to making old-fashioned movies that defy our acidic modern world .",
      "gradually pulls you from that slouched near-sleep position to the edge of the bleachers",
      "the baseball story was self-contained and involving for those who do not understand or appreciate the game , and costner 's range of emotions was genuinely gripping .",
      "though uneven and occasionally sluggish , MOV is a surprisingly satisfying hybrid of an old-fashioned sports film and a contemporary date movie .",
      "watchable enough but ultimately forgettable .",
      "what is it about kevin costner in a baseball uniform ?",
      "lovingly filmed by john bailey with the twinkling glow of new york at night and with the warm colors of a baseball game , the movie is invitingly sentimental and nostalgic .",
      "the perfect `` compromise '' movie .",
      "costner 's performance as chapel , however , ranks with his best work ."
    ],
    "summary": "baseball wins , romance loses .",
    "id": "10522"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1159100-oh_in_ohio",
    "reviews": [
      "posey 's such a delight it 's easy to appreciate her even in a film as fruitless as the MOV .",
      "one must endure an hour of ... crude gags until the film mutates into something almost wonderful in its final third , rescued by unlikely romantic foil danny devito",
      "unfortunately , writer adam wierzbianski , who seems more steeped in the rhythm method of sitcom than the less predictable peaks of screwball , allows the batteries to run down prematurely .",
      "a c - sex comedy with a near a-list cast -- at least in terms of talent -- the MOV is one of those movies that promises much but does n't deliver .",
      "or more aptly , the aw in awful .",
      "sex comedies often glean laughs out of sexual humiliation , but when the laughs do n't come -- and the MOV is devoid of even the mildest chuckles -- all that 's left is the humiliation .",
      "parker posey is not the only one who is n't getting satisfaction here .",
      "at the end of the day , kent and screenwriter adam wierzbianski have given us a mildly amusing premise , but fail to turn it into a story that takes us anywhere pleasurable .",
      "the sexual nature of the film will attract the tweeny crowd but the summer/fall romance between priscilla and wayne is the real draw , thanks to -lsb- danny -rsb- devito .",
      "posey rides the role with grace and charm , capturing each lightening bolt of self-discovery while also keeping the role grounded in quietly eroding shame .",
      "the sound recording is hollow and muddy , the cinematography underlit and sometimes blurred at the edges , and the whole thing has the dreary feeling of a bottom-of-the-barrel , clammy '70s sex comedy .",
      "it 's a thrill to watch posey incorporate , at last , some true emotion into her exuberant screwball wit .",
      "the MOV deserves a dubious distinction award : for turning a woman 's quest to achieve her first orgasm into a lackluster comedy .",
      "a first rate ensemble gets it past the censors , but not to a beachhead on the mainstream .",
      "there simply is n't enough material here to carry a short , much less an hour-and-a-half-long feature",
      "a feel good movie about feeling good , this fresh and very funny sex comedy stars parker posey as a woman in search of an orgasm .",
      "the MOV deserves credit for bringing up some sexual-experimentation taboos , but since the film never does more than nimbly skirt them rather than challenge them head-on , the proceedings are ho-hum .",
      "satire is awfully hard to pull off , but screenwriter adam wierzbianski exhibits a flair for it .",
      "billy kent and adam wierzbianski 's genial comedy about one woman 's search for sexual satisfaction takes an unsmutty attitude but falls disappointing short of its ambition to be both sympathetically straightforward and funny .",
      "how bad does a movie have to be for heather graham to remove her name from the credits ?",
      "the movie provides a good time but is n't wholly satisfying in the end .",
      "billy kent 's comedy makes much of masturbation and sexual aids , and , in that spirit , takes great pleasure from its broad , flat self .",
      "we wind up feeling like priscilla after sex with her husband : it was really fun at first ; we just hoped it would end differently .",
      "blurs the line between risque and raunchy , often to hilarious effect .",
      "ultimately , ohio fails to deliver in the third act , which is kind of ironic for a film about orgasms .",
      "the comedy misfires and the film winds up strangely ... impenetrable .",
      "while moments in this tale of sexual dysfunction are as refreshing as its underused cleveland setting , it remains more a set of interlocking sketches than a compelling story .",
      "a vibrator may put the buzz back in the solo sex life , but it tends to suck the life out of any movie not rated with three xs .",
      "a comedy that 's never funny enough or clever enough .",
      "comedies for grown-ups , period , are now in such short supply that a good-natured little picture like the MOV feels like an anomaly .",
      "full review in greek",
      "... comfortable enough , but there are no fireworks .",
      "it 's a harmless feel-good romantic comedy which offers a lot of cheap thrills and lowbrow comedy , but is too dysfunctional to stir up an orgasm .",
      "o elenco é charmoso , mas o roteiro parece um primeiro tratamento em que as idéias ainda estăo sem foco e o tom da narrativa , indefinido .",
      "tongue-in-cheek humor that 's kinda kinky around the edges .",
      "much like priscilla 's sexual difficulties , the MOV just does n't satisfy .",
      "most of the ` comedy ' has posey bumbling through one embarrassingly unfunny situation after another .",
      "the sight of posey , minnelli , and graham fondling sexual aids and chattering about orgasms is meant to reduce you to helpless laughter , but it will more likely leave you wondering how many bad choices it takes to destroy a career .",
      "are you asking me to believe that a one-time stoner would be so inspired by a science class that she 'd become a national merit scholar and get into harvard ?",
      "this is the slightest and slimmest of sex comedies .",
      "the MOV would make a second-rate lover : you 'll lose interest a while before it reaches its climax .",
      "ohio , and cleveland in particular , deserve much better than this .",
      "for all of its faults , however , the movie is so nonjudgmental and unashamed about enjoying sex , it ca n't help but leave you with a good feeling .",
      "despite this seemingly surefire premise and cast of veteran comedians - there 's even a cameo by liza minnelli as a masturbation coach -- the MOV just lies there , without a single laugh .",
      "people who complain about the lack of good adult comedies will still be complaining after watching billy 's kent 's the MOV .",
      "the MOV offers a cinematic representation of priscilla 's sex life : a lot of promise with no payoff .",
      "sometimes a flop is simply a case of a movie taking a wrong step . in the case of the MOV , it 's a case of never taking a right one .",
      "about on the level of a freshman frat party .",
      "the MOV 's childish storytelling , paper-thin character development , and general unfunniness combine to make one bad movie .",
      "the script , which was co-written by director billy kent , has the forced ` raciness ' of a mid - '70s dinner-theater sex comedy .",
      "it 's like watching a bad '70s porno movie that has been sheared of its sex scenes and has nothing left but rudeness and genitalia jokes .",
      "i felt some of its heroine 's pain . she 's spent her life waiting for an orgasm . i spent the movie waiting for a plot .",
      "eventually , the oh 's becomes ` zzzzzz 's . '",
      "the film smolders a little but never has much fire . it has a few smiles , but very few laughs .",
      "the MOV has a light , scampy spirit that rides to its rescue , often enough .",
      "a silly , amusing trifle .",
      "this is a mindless comedy about sex that is never remotely funny , with a cast that is never remotely sexy , and which , in one case , is downright revolting .",
      "the queen of the indies ploughs the fertile ground of feminine self-empowerment with good vibrations for all .",
      "its coarse opening sections are ill-matched for the warmly compassionate tale it ultimately matures into .",
      "it 's as if the filmmakers lost their nerve when it came time to write the kind of intimate , revealing conversation that can make a sex toy unnecessary .",
      "mischa barton 's acting is about as flat as her chest .",
      "parker posey and paul rudd play a couple that is entrapped in a marriage where nothing seems to go right , in bed or otherwise -- just like the movie itself .",
      "this is too clever by half .",
      "kent directs with clean , precise strokes and with little of the desperation associated with most american comedies .",
      "first-time feature director billy kent seems proud that his movie deals with sex in such frank fashion . but if you 're going to brag about your explicit sexuality , it does n't quite work to go out of your way avoiding skin .",
      "a farce executed by characters who feel more like pawns than fully realized people ."
    ],
    "summary": "a muddled sex-comedy that feels oddly sexless , the MOV packs in too many ideas without establishing a clear identity or objective .",
    "id": "190815706"
  },
  {
    "movie": "arlington_road",
    "reviews": [
      "... could have been a superb dark fantasy , but takes its own malarkey seriously .",
      "almost hard to catch your breath",
      "a crooked road indeed .",
      "the screenplay stretches the viewer 's credulity far beyond the breaking point , asking us to accept dozens of absurd contrivances and coincidences .",
      "a dank , mechanical exercise that refuses to have any fun .",
      "the climax is so implausible we stop caring and start scratching our heads !",
      "the plot takes forever to get moving , and when it does , it ca n't justify its excesses .",
      "this is a sloppily made film , imitative of the smoother made the parallax view .",
      "offensively phony and unintentionally hilarious !",
      "MOV is a movie trying so hard for intelligence , quality and deeper meanings , you can almost sense the strain under the celluloid .",
      "MOV is a moderately engaging suspense film .",
      "robbins and cusack are deviantly delightful !",
      "MOV succeeds at discomforting a viewer and making one apt to look over one 's shoulder for a day or two .",
      "MOV is actually a fairly entertaining , makes-you-think piece .",
      "an engrossing thriller !",
      "the film has a glossy , enjoyable surface .",
      "well acted , often tense and certainly atmospheric !",
      "a pulse-pounding paranoia thriller .",
      "a crisp , suspenseful thriller !",
      "a marginal engrosser that 's short on staying power .",
      "mostly devoid of suspense !",
      "from its horrific start , it 's involving .",
      "suspenseful and persuasive !",
      "MOV is a dumb , overheated thriller pretending to be a smart , topical one .",
      "clumsy and incompetent !",
      "painfully conventional !",
      "unfortunately , the rest of the film is not as well thought out or expertly executed as the shocking conclusion .",
      "just another popcorn thriller !",
      "a flat , formulaic ride !",
      "the machinations and manipulations built into the story it spins are simply too obvious to be taken to heart .",
      "so filled with moronic intentions and illogical ideas that , had there been any truth to them , might have led audiences to believe that we live in the twilight zone .",
      "this paranoid thriller creates a scary mood and allows its leading actors to go all the way with it .",
      "MOV , although erring with a bit of didacticism , is more than a little chilling .",
      "clever and somewhat unconventional .",
      "MOV is rousing summer entertainment !",
      "builds at a snowball pitch : slow at first , and then bigger and tighter and faster , so you do n't even realize what 's happening until it overwhelms you .",
      "... serves little more than forgettable rental fodder for some evening when you are in the mood for mindless junk food .",
      "a gripping political thriller about the dangers of domestic terrorism and the paranoia of those who see danger everywhere .",
      "apesar da narrativa morna e nada sutil , o final do filme redime parte dos fracassos do projeto .",
      "the only sequence more shocking than the film 's disturbing opener is its last .",
      "a tight , well-rounded piece of suspense/thriller filmmaking with an electric performance by bridges .",
      "it merely exploits our fears and emotions to jerk us around .",
      "stylish and unsettling .",
      "darker and more intimate than you expect .",
      "the premise is intriguing and the acting of bridges and robbins is decent , but the director pellington 's execution leaves much to be desired .",
      "scary movie about terrorism . not for kids .",
      "thoughtful , intelligent and brutally realistic !",
      "it never really gets inside us , mostly due to its overheated direction and endless hitchcockian references .",
      "the film 's at its best before the convoluted plot kicks in , as neighbourliness gives way to suspiciousness and the men test each other 's credentials .",
      "an imaginative action film !",
      "a pretty decent thriller .",
      "a smart if slow-boiling suspense thriller !",
      "cusack is especially good here , in the movie 's most deceptively subtle performance .",
      "tight , ingenious !"
    ],
    "summary": "a suspenseful thriller led by strong cast performances built around a somewhat implausible story .",
    "id": "13772"
  },
  {
    "movie": "dont_look_now",
    "reviews": [
      "what makes do n't look now stick with you is the potent undertow , the sense of guilt and despair that suffuses the venice locations and plasters itself across sutherland 's scowling face .",
      "with sutherland and christie in fine form it all adds up to one of roeg 's finest films and an undeniably key work in british cinema .",
      "one of the definitive mystery chillers of all time . poignant , beautiful and devastating .",
      "a haunting , beautiful labyrinth that gets inside your bones and stays there .",
      "roeg maps sutherland 's disintegrating psyche onto the city of venice , with its labyrinthian alleys , murky canals , and crumbling facades .",
      "supernatural flick with the most sensual love scene of all time .",
      "better than a hundred current `` thrillers . ''",
      "crisp , odd , and quietly very creepy .",
      "the viewer is left with the question of which of john baxter 's aphorisms to believe : `` seeing is believing '' or `` nothing is what it seems . ''",
      "a superbly chilling essay in the supernatural .",
      "not only do you probably have better things to do , but so , i 'm sure , do most of the people connected with the film .",
      "this british-italian suspenser , in which the horror gets to one almost subliminally , as in rosemary 's baby , is superior stuff .",
      "that dwarf in a red raincoat will fry your nerves .",
      "one of the great supernatural thrillers .",
      "creepy , hypnotic roeg effort .",
      "one of the most dynamic and radical british films ever made .",
      "it was maverick british filmmaker nicolas roeg 's destiny to transform du maurier 's strange psychological thriller into an emphatically mysterious tale of second sight and looming death in 1973 .",
      "this is director nicolas roeg 's masterpiece -- the fear-drenched mood of alienation is sustained right up until the unforgettable climax .",
      "it 's a ghost story ; it 's a meditation on time , memory and the poignancy of married love . and it 's a masterpiece .",
      "it is a messy examination of entropy : things fall and fall apart and we try to restore what ca n't be repaired and recover what has already been irretrievably lost .",
      "superbly acted , stunningly photographed , and edited with a rhythmic pungency that makes it irresistibly watchable even when the plot turns dark and scary .",
      "the film is n't easy to classify-it 's a psychodrama that occasionally sharpens into blood-curdling horror-but the experience of watching it is deeply unsettling .",
      "as an essay on cinematic language , do n't look now is ingenious ... as a work of storytelling , do n't look now is n't as clean-cut .",
      "separate polls by the british film institute and time out london have cited it as one of the 10 best british films ever made . no argument here .",
      "roeg 's expertly conceived visual metaphors sustain a powerful foreboding .",
      "like all great horror films , the reason it all feels so creepy is because our imagination makes it so .",
      "extremely creepy .",
      "roeg here offers one of the most disconcerting portraits of otherworldliness ever seen on the screen .",
      "a film which more than gets by on its directorial style , unforgettable imagery , and striking music alone , do n't look now also manages to be a haunting meditation on fear , death and the beyond .",
      "director nicolas roeg expertly hits on almost every accent that makes a thriller thrilling and engaging .",
      "creepy ending will appeal to fans of lynch and shyamalan .",
      "nicolas roeg 's 1973 film remains one of the great horror masterpieces , working not with fright , which is easy , but with dread , grief and apprehension .",
      "unending suspense -- intelligent and crisp",
      "do n't look now is both a chilling horror film and a fascinating portrait of grief .",
      "a masterwork , the kind of the film that needs to be studied frame be frame to fully grasp how intricately it has been put together .",
      "arguably the subtlest giallo ever made , it 's a film to heighten the senses .",
      "like some manic slasher on the loose , nic roeg cuts compulsively , severing the natural arteries between cause and effect to expose a more irrational kind of narrative continuum ... a true classic , worth looking at not just now but long into the future .",
      "-lsb- do n't look now -rsb- takes the viewer on a winding , unpredictable trip that starts as a meditation on grief and ends as a supernatural thriller .",
      "roeg 's purposely disjointed vision keeps you in near-constant dread .",
      "a natureza onьrica e labirьntica do filme ж bem representada por veneza , criando um clima de constante inquietaусo , mas a direусo soa datada e o roteiro nсo consegue fugir das convenушes do gжnero , desperdiуando a зtima dinрmica do casal principal .",
      "do n't look now uses the occult and the inexplicable as henry james did : to penetrate the subconscious , to materialize phantoms from the psyche .",
      "do n't look now brilliantly portrays the loves and losses we all experience , our here and now dictated by the fallibility of human nature and the cruelties of time .",
      "the most adult horror picture i 've ever encountered , or indeed can even imagine .",
      "a frightening and consistently inventive horror story .",
      "many of the subtle , jarring thrills come in the editing , which renders the notion of foresight explicit but still mysterious ."
    ],
    "summary": "do n't look now patiently builds suspense with haunting imagery and a chilling score -- causing viewers to feel donald sutherland and julie christie 's grief deep within .",
    "id": "13096"
  },
  {
    "movie": "miss_congeniality_2",
    "reviews": [
      "silly , stupid and sometimes funny , the movie is at its funniest in those moments when it 's so bad it 's good .",
      "`` there 's a cannon in my porthole , '' declares william shatner , getting the most out of his one real line . yes there is mr. shatner , and its name is MOV .",
      "after an endless stream of punches , push-up bras , and plot padding , there 's little chance you 'll leave the theater feeling too congenial",
      "as agent sam fuller -lrb- some script doctor is grinning somewhere -rrb- , king is called upon to routinely assault co-workers .",
      "every gag falls as flat as the klutzy title character .",
      "bullock 's delivery of a few choice one-liners is the sole source of laughs -lrb- but -rrb- her character has turned into a vapid , shallow , egocentric barbie doll nitwit .",
      "it 's an enjoyable -lrb- or at least educational -rrb- study of what bullock and her favored writer-producer marc lawrence have rightly identified as the star 's best comedy assets .",
      "is n't a noticeable regression from its predecessor . but it 's no advancement either , suggesting the risks inherent in franchise filmmaking .",
      "it 's embarrassing in a way that makes you want to avert your eyes and back slowly out of the theater",
      "nice poster .",
      "has the lazy rhythms of a none-too-ambitious sitcom well into its lengthy popular run .",
      "MOV : armed and fabulous lacks even the limited amusement and appeal brought to the original as a result of some shrewd casting .",
      "-lsb- mc2 is -rsb- like a firecracker that spirals all over the place , exploding in some places and fizzling out in others . luckily , there is more exploding than fizzling .",
      "harmless sequel .",
      "as gaudy and synthetic as a showgirl 's headdress ... as the great george burns often said , ` say good night , gracie . ' please .",
      "lame and inoffensive .",
      "a pretty laughless affair .",
      "sporadically amusing but sometimes slogging .",
      "entertaining and heartwarming .",
      "-lsb- sandra bullock is -rsb- mildly amusing but everything around her is weak .",
      "screenwriter marc lawrence -lrb- who also wrote the first movie -rrb- has turned his tough-as-nails , crotch-kicking gracie into the ` fbi barbie ' she always hated .",
      "bullock -lsb- 's -rsb- ... phony ` adorableness ' -lsb- is -rsb- half laughable hollywood concept of what it means to be ` bohemian ' and half deep self-hatred of the attempt at individuality ...",
      "MOV has some laughs , but many of the jokes seem desperate .",
      "this follow-up to the surprising 2000 comedy hit is so deprived of charm and so full of shrill , forced humor that it may make fans of the original forget why they enjoyed it .",
      "like most sequels , MOV is just a dumbed-down version of a concept that was n't that bright to begin with .",
      "mc 2 is one limp , dead fish of a comedy , all predictable characters and nonsensical storylines , filled with cheap would-be yuks and loads of talented people picking up paychecks .",
      "MOV is n't a total waste of your time ; bullock sees to that . but it is a waste of the star 's time .",
      "it 's kinda sweet , completely vacuous , and not really very entertaining .",
      "an exhausting , predictable , even maddening moviegoing experience .",
      "MOV 's target audience is those desperate for entertainment .",
      "you figure bullock would have learned her lesson about sequels after the speed 2 fiasco . mc2 is n't that bad , but it puts its star 's charms to the test .",
      "nothing with so many people in drag should feel this draggy .",
      "the film occasionally drags and overstates points , especially in a sticky-sweet coda . yet we 're always invested in the anxious gracie and abrasive sam .",
      "there is no good reason to go and actually see it .",
      "deliriously funny if instantly forgettable .",
      "bullock is still funny and appealing , but the horrendous script by marc lawrence sinks the enterprise .",
      "forget logic or reason or thinking . with nonsensical plot devices that are there solely to make a joke , this sandra bullock vehicle is surprisingly entertaining .",
      "the sequel is predictable , dumb and flaccid , too , but to a greater degree . it is everything its predecessor was , and less .",
      "for giving us a completely new story about the further adventures of gracie hart , MOV is a fine sequel .",
      "bullock is charming but clearly ca n't choose roles to save her life ; cross your fingers we wo n't be subjected to three weeks notice soon .",
      "this crime caper collapses under the weight of fluff , delivering a muddled girl-power message . it 's far from fabulous .",
      "it 's the supporting cast that help to make the sequel better than the original",
      "somewhere inside this very mainstream hollywood confection is a surprisingly subversive little bit of deconstruction . this is a movie about an un-makeover .",
      "if people keep seeing movies like this , they 'll just keep making them . kind of like feeding the birds ... or the cockroaches .",
      "yet another lame , entirely predictable sequel with no reason for existing other than to make a quick buck .",
      "sandra bullock and marc lawrence bring us a sequel that 's just as `` congenial '' as the first movie ... and that 's a unique achievement .",
      "it wants to be a buddy cop flick and a chick flick at once , but it fails at both worse than feds , that marginal '80s fiasco starring rebecca de mornay .",
      "sandra bullock 's heart does n't seem in this particular bit of silliness . it 's as if she knows the comic opportunities of making her a cast-iron you-know-what are n't knocking .",
      "the movie suffers until gracie is once again ` back on the case ' . the movie actually gets entertaining from this point on , but unlike gracie - it 's too late to save the day .",
      "so as not to be completely uncreative , they 'd make bullock over again , and she 'd save the same beauty queen 's life , but darn it , there 'd be no beauty pageant this time .",
      "labours to recapture the magic and ends up both getting the tone wrong and making its central character rather unlikeable .",
      "the main problem with the film is that it 's at least 30 minutes too long - the plot simply is n't strong enough to sustain a two hour running time and the film runs out of steam way before the end .",
      "although sandra bullock is entirely watchable , MOV fails to win the title the second time around . say goodnight , gracie .",
      "the overall premise is too flimsy to sustain an ongoing series . it should be two and through for miss congeniality .",
      "the movie seems so enamored of its own charms that even the outtakes have a slightly calculated feel .",
      "in the end consider this - the only really watchable performance in this movie belongs to william shatner .",
      "sandra bullock 's fbi agent is back in action for a sequel that feels like a distant runner-up in the quality comedy pageant .",
      "... another unambitious hollywood fluffpiece born out of greed , sloth and safety nets .",
      "a surprisingly buoyant sequel ...",
      "might please the diehard bullock fans , but no one else .",
      "for those who mainly want familiar faces and predictable comedy and do n't mind too much if every idea and every joke is tired and every moment utterly uninspired .",
      "there are too many rehashed jokes , and the new ones feel desperate .",
      "MOV : armed and fabulous is enjoyable in patches , but only because of the goodwill that most of us still have toward sandra bullock .",
      "like its predecessor , MOV is by turns a predictable and outlandishly contrived take on the pygmalion myth .",
      "the picture is going to have fun with or without you , so you might as well give in .",
      "a sequel comedy so weak , crass , dumb , labored and lame that it merits a sort of anti-quality oscar .",
      "this latest version of ebony-and-ivory harmony features girls , of both genders .",
      "all it lacks is a laugh track -- appropriate since it also lacks a laugh .",
      "this movie made me laugh .",
      "while most audience members will cringe at the inevitable showdowns and reconciliations , bullock makes the female-bonding angle seem not only believable , but compelling .",
      "the laughs are hardly armed and this mess , far from fabulous !",
      "in the zany tradition of lucille ball 's lucy , goldie hawn 's private benjamin and renee zellweger 's bridget jones , we can now add sandra bullock 's gracie hart .",
      "a tired , dull bunch of bull-ock",
      "armed and superfluous makes a more fitting title .",
      "MOV trods the same path so recently plodded by nia vardalos ' garish trainwreck connie and carla .",
      "sandra bullock 's latest makeover as an fbi agent runs out of lip gloss well before she snatches a beauty queen from the jaws of death a second time .",
      "MOV : armed and fabulous attempts to do this and has its moments before it succumbs to complete banality .",
      "without better material , bullock 's talents will remain undercover .",
      "bullock can still play the girl next door doing a pratfall with plenty of charm , but nowhere near enough grace to save this otherwise mediocre movie .",
      "we never find ` congeniality ' in a clunky , mean-spirited sequel that mines most its ` humor ' from one unlikable character 's sadistic abuse of another unlikable character .",
      "bullock struts her stuff well , but this comedy lacks freshness and sags in all the wrong places .",
      "neither buff nor fabulous , the high concept more wearying than delightful on the second go-round .",
      "congenial ? no doubt about it . armed ? you bet . but fabulous ? that 's one claim MOV : armed and fabulous ca n't make .",
      "this , to me , is a classic example of a sequel that was just made because the first one made money . i did n't even like the first one .",
      "any sequel to miss congeniality is uncalled for , but it did n't have to be this staggeringly awful .",
      "shatner 's forced presence , meanwhile , should have been lost in space .",
      "whenever the script 's writers ca n't come up with a funny line for her to say or a comic way to conclude a scene , they have bullock drop or bump into something . that is , when they do n't have her fall down .",
      "from its paper-thin plot to the utterly flat script , virtually nothing works .",
      "dumb . very dumb .",
      "as a transparent sequel , this flaccid follow-up has all the creative stability and comic support of a defective high heel shoe .",
      "bullock lifts an ill conceived screenplay into an area of some appeal . a valiant effort is one kind of recommendation ; her overriding huggability another .",
      "somehow manages to fail to live up to the memory of a film that was n't much to begin with .",
      "a delight from start to finish .",
      "it 's all pretty silly . sometimes silly is just what you need .",
      "caine is gone -- and so is the comedy .",
      "the premise of the first miss congeniality is unrepeatable by definition , and gracie is much less interesting as a now-fashion-savvy agent in las vegas .",
      "it 's as original as a pageant contestant advocating world peace .",
      "MOV : armed and fabulous is as awful as the original was inspired .",
      "miss congeniality is the sort of tedious and generic sequel that gives the number 2 a bad name .",
      "beyond rescue or repair .",
      "it 's absurd and predictable , but fans of the first movie should like this at least as much .",
      "bullock deserves better . we deserve better .",
      "what were the filmmakers thinking ? i mean , what besides making a second trip to the barn to milk the $ 300 million cash cow that was miss congeniality ?",
      "sure , `` armed and fabulous '' would like to be considered absolutely fabulous , but `` armed with a few laughs '' comes closer to the mark . `` amputated by a weak script '' nails it .",
      "the subtitle of the film is armed and fabulous . i can think of more appropriate words to use . awful and forgettable ? atrocious and foul ?",
      "many bad movies at least make an effort ; this one is content to simply lay there , like a fat tick gorged on the blood of complacent moviegoers .",
      "sometimes , a movie is so abhorrent it 's difficult to think of the appropriate words . when i do , i ca n't print them here .",
      "mild , middle-of-the-road and formulaic .",
      "trips over itself more than gracie hart . and it never gets up .",
      "nothing more than warmed-up leftovers , a boring and malformed vehicle for an -lrb- admittedly very likable -rrb- actress who simply ca n't find anything better to do in hollywood .",
      "MOV is one of those sequels that gives sequels a bad name .",
      "o filme claramente ressente a ausęncia de michael caine . -lrb- ... -rrb- sandra bullock é uma gracinha , mas năo faz milagres .",
      "the things we loved most about # 1 were downplayed in favor of the things that were n't all that funny ; and a betrayal of the main character through most of it .",
      "i think you will find it quite satisfying .",
      "what happens in vegas , stays in vegas . if that were only true for the production of armed and fabulous .",
      "for the sequel bullock 's as likeable as ever , but she can only do so much when working from a mundane script that relies heavily on repeating gags from its predecessor .",
      "silly but mildly entertaining farce .",
      "could it really have taken four years to come up with -lsb- this -rsb- story .",
      "there is a bit of a lesson about identity and self-worth imparted here , but it 's muddled at best . who has two hours to waste watching this movie ?",
      "what if i misinterpreted the whole thing , and it was really intended to be a straight drama with occasional light , humorous overtones ? and what if pigs had wings ?",
      "sure there are a few laughs here and there , and the climax , while predictable , gives a slight thrill , but ...",
      "... an unfortunate example of what happens when a once-popular actress is staring at the downside of her career",
      "the first film had its moments , not to mention benjamin bratt . but this one 's contrived enthusiasm for itself is misplaced .",
      "mildly amusing , but hardly fabulous and awfully long .",
      "congenial , maybe , but hardly fabulous .",
      "a boilerplate action comedy .",
      "this uninspired and slapdash sequel to bullock 's crowd-pleaser miss congeniality does have a handful of funny moments and clever one-liners , but it 's strictly a formulaic entry that recycles bits from the first film .",
      "this is one hideous excuse for a motion picture -- the kind of steaming sewage that occasionally makes life as a film critic seem like an exercise in self-immolation .",
      "not fabulous , barely even congenial , armed and fabulous lets us see the end of bullock 's stardom , even if she does n't .",
      "bullock is liable to catch a lot of grief for this career move , but she 's always been a sympathetic performer , and you have to admire her professionalism here in the face of what she must know is second-rate material .",
      "it is n't just that MOV is nearly absent a single genuine laugh ; it 's that instead of a screenplay and a story we now have stereotypes and sketch comedy .",
      "the jokes are hit or miss , but the appealing teamwork of bullock and king gives the movie gleam .",
      "having basic hygiene skills does n't preclude a woman from being tough enough to kick elderly regis philbin 's *** .",
      "the surest sign that MOV does not have a fraction of its predecessor 's intelligence is that shatner is relegated to being a useless hostage .",
      "despite the subtitle , it 's an utterly mediocre comedy that shoots blanks ... maybe the csi team can investigate how a stiff like this wound up in their town .",
      "a bigger , gaudier mess than the first movie .",
      "bullock returns with the grim inevitability of a natural disaster , and it 's every bit as cheaply predictable as the first film",
      "while the original relied on too many pratfalls and a charmless romance , the sequel utilizes snappy dialogue and a female buddy pairing with the terrific regina king",
      "it did n't stink as much as i thought it would ! but , it 's still the most unnecessary sequel since weekend at bernie 's 2 .",
      "bullock 's quippy snippiness is n't enough ... if miss congeniality is a consolation prize , let 's hope miss congenialty 2 is a parting ` gift . '",
      "gracie hart may still be armed , but her sheer fabulousness has come to a rather abrupt and unfortunate end .",
      "MOV is a sour , tedious , unfunny joke for 115 minutes . it may be armed , but it most certainly is n't fabulous ."
    ],
    "summary": "sandra bullock is still as appealing as ever ; too bad the movie is not pageant material .",
    "id": "10300"
  },
  {
    "movie": "jawbreaker",
    "reviews": [
      "one-liners tumble over one another , dulling their own impact . plot points hurl from the screen with velocity , but fizzle from a lack of inspiration .",
      "for all its posturing , and despite an odd cameo by mcgowan 's fiance , marilyn manson , MOV is missing anything resembling its own sensibility .",
      "desperately wants to be an edgy , ultra-hip black comedy along the lines of ` heathers , ' with the ` grand guignol ' aspects of ` carrie ' thrown in for good measure . unhappily , writer-director darren stein fatally lacks the requisite wit to bring it off .",
      "the worst movie i 've seen in 1999 .",
      "if you do n't want to view an hour-and-a-half long catfight , MOV is a definite no .",
      "MOV offers no new insights into teen hell .",
      "if you are up for a dark teen comedy , you could do much worse than MOV .",
      "tasteless !",
      "the lowest piece of garbage to hit screens in months .",
      "it 's heathers without the wry wit , blackboard jungle sans the fun , very bad things with more ick .",
      "plays like the unhealthy spawn of carrie and heathers .",
      "a prettier but less witty retread of that winona ryder vehicle .",
      "imitative of heathers , but not nearly as witty or engaging .",
      "run for your lives !",
      "there 's no fluff like brash , jaded fluff !",
      "i 'd just as soon have my jaw broken than to sit through this one again .",
      "fun at the start , but can turn into a chore to complete .",
      "too derivative .",
      "if it 's a hit , it 'll prove teens do n't demand a plot that makes sense , characters that seem real or any other movie virtue , except for sexy girls with revealing outfits and bad attitudes .",
      "despite some inspired camera work and exhilarating wardrobe and music choices , the film lacks humour , and there 's a mean-spiritedness about it that is eventually off-putting .",
      "MOV is the kind of film that makes you want to kidnap the director and lock him in a trunk , bound and gagged , so he does n't make any more movies like this .",
      "stupid and pointless !",
      "MOV was better the first time it was released . of course , it was called heathers back then .",
      "it 's a tired lousy movie , a terrible twosome that deserves your heartfelt indifference .",
      "leaves a bad aftertaste .",
      "teenagers , as well as the rest of the audience , really do n't need to insulted .",
      "mildly diverting rip-off of the far superior , heathers .",
      "death and comedy rarely mix , and this tedious and painfully un-funny effort by director darren stein is no exception .",
      "only the soundtrack -lrb- the donnas , imperial teen -rrb- and the irrepressible mcgowan make it fractionally more bearable .",
      "the humour is weak and its black , very black giving it a limited appeal .",
      "lame shock scenes , crucial plot points inserted without setups , and an unsuccessful attempt to exploit the camp value of some actors cast in minor parts are the least of the problems in this black comedy .",
      "the only good thing about MOV is the donnas . they rock .",
      "the producers of this film , which depicts teen-age girls as an assemblage of negative stereotypes , are female . can females practice misogyny ?",
      "manages to capture the mix of murder and teen social observations , but misses three crucial elements : sharp dialogue , witty characters and the much-needed humor .",
      "it is n't as funny as it sounds . in fact , it is n't funny at all .",
      "i 'd rather suffer root canal that burden myself with another viewing of MOV , or as i call it : battle of the high school bimbo bitches . class dismissed !",
      "this pathetic rip-off of that paragon of early nineties cult flicks is a tepid , turgid , disaster of a film that carries no substance with it whatsoever .",
      "a darkly fun romp .",
      "a slick production of a lame script !",
      "MOV may promise a series of gleefully cheap thrills , but in the end all it delivers is a whole lot of bad taste .",
      "a synthetic yet shrill sadomasochistic cartoon !",
      "why sit through a lesser imitation , when you could just rent heathers and those other movies for a far more enjoyable time ?",
      "a fine cast is wasted here and the culprit is writing that lacks the scabrous wit and campy crackle needed to pull this homage off .",
      "too dark to be funny and plagued by abyss-sized holes in the plot , slavish dialogue and sketch-quality acting , MOV is a 15 minute idea stretched into a feature film .",
      "smells of something trying much too hard with too little to show for the effort .",
      "unoriginal . not particularly funny .",
      "another teen-sploitation flick !",
      "not quite a satire , not quite an homage , MOV falls into a third category : audaciously unoriginal .",
      "an entertaining and smart film .",
      "does an admirable job of further defining just how ruthless , superficial , symbolic and saccharine is that social and vocational training ground called high school .",
      "not particularly funny or trenchant .",
      "not enough here that 's new .",
      "it all looks great , but really ... who cares ?",
      "director darren stein is so busy throwing in pop icons and arch , self-conscious references to the high-school-is-hell subgenre that he forgets to craft an original black comedy .",
      "the most unfortunate thing about MOV has to be its blatant imitation of 1989 's vastly superior heathers ."
    ],
    "summary": "this throwaway comedy falls victim to its hip sensibilities .",
    "id": "14304"
  },
  {
    "movie": "rush_hour_3",
    "reviews": [
      "i have never thought i would ever profess to be a jackie chan fan . yet , at the ripe old age of 31 having just seen MOV , it appears that i am .",
      "no matter how fast chris tucker shoots his mouth or jackie chan flashes his fists , they ca n't recapture the charm of the original rush hour in this third installment .",
      "i hate to use the phrase , `` they 're only in it for the money , '' but if any sequel ever exemplified that ethos , it 's this one . ultimately , MOV is a one trick pony whose day has long since passed .",
      "although much of MOV is in paris , it 's no french pastry . it 's more week-old happy meal .",
      "this rush job should put the franchise down for good .",
      "tucker is the film 's 50,000-watt mood killer , determined to fray the nerves of anyone in the theater",
      "the film is formulaic and the plot is barely connected together . but it moves along quickly and there 's the occasional smile .",
      "MOV is a stagnate yet still commercially viable franchise . it arrives on your theater screen infested with the mold of a dated , stale rehash .",
      "... the results are pretty much the same old familiar ruckus -lcb- but -rsb- the pedestrian storyline is somewhat rejuvenated because chan and tucker administers the playful punches .",
      "yvan attal steals what is otherwise an exhausted , workaday film .",
      "when the outakes are the best part of a film , you know something 's seriously backward . here 's MOV succinctly described in one word : meh .",
      "instead of the playful banter that infested the second film , chan 's stiff delivery is punctuated by meaningless and exhaustive one-liners that pour out of tucker like an oil tanker that just got the business-end of a torpedo .",
      "the action is ho-hum , the attempts at comedy are inept and the whole mismatched partners mojo is all dried up in this snooze-worthy third , and hopefully last , rush hour flick .",
      "like the cinematic equivalent of an old , reliable piece of furniture : although it predictably brings comfort , age ultimately catches up with it , and is simply is n't as refreshing as it once was .",
      "wild , funny and over-the-top action !",
      "it is exactly what the trailer promises , providing a reasonably affordable getaway with no hassles . fans will love it . what a rush !",
      "some things are n't worth doing twice , let alone three times .",
      "three years later in the sequel , tucker and chan had found their groove , even if the movie did not have as many good laughs and great stunt work . now , though , it is an awkward greatest hits reunion show , and neither one of them seem up to the task",
      "a movie that not only depends on but demands you do n't think in order to enjoy it .",
      "proves that $ 25 million does not buy a good , or even bearable performance ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV is a tired rehash of the earlier films , and a change of scenery ca n't hide a lack of new ideas .",
    "id": "571326804"
  },
  {
    "movie": "boogeyman",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV is that bull 's eye example which begins its immediate downfall once barry watson of `` 7th heaven '' misfortune appears on screen .",
      "director kay provides the trappings , but if you want horror , you 'll need to bring your own .",
      "basically . it 's 86 minutes of one man having a staring contest with a door .",
      "this is strictly substandard stuff , with imitative creepy noises , vertiginous camera angles , and long pauses during which tim considers whether to open doors .",
      "they did n't even rip off the classics , for crying out loud !",
      "this film does cause shivers , creeps , scares , and jumps .",
      "full review in greek",
      "a thinly plotted clothesline of shock effects .",
      "a bloated 86 minutes of overzealous spookiness .",
      "teenagers will probably have a blast with the cheap scares and simplistic story , but for horror veterans or those looking for something new , this is not the film to see .",
      "so boring , derivative and patently inane that hate is entirely too strong an emotion to attribute to it . you 're either in the target demographic or you 're not .",
      "for a good , healthy pg-13 scare , MOV is fun for the whole family -- just do n't bring kids who are too young .",
      "few films benefited that much from being so short .",
      "every jolt in this film involves crash editing and deafening noises , while nothing is made of the premise or the characters .",
      "the problem is that watson 's performance is never interesting . it often seems as if he 's not yet had his morning cup of coffee .",
      "a vaporous and vacuous horror film .",
      "one could look at this as an exercise in building dread , but the only problem is there 's no sense of dread accompanying it .",
      "even the should-have-been-triumphant revelation of the MOV arrives as a cgi letdown of epic proportions .",
      "the movie 's worth a look for cheap thrills , but it 's no classic .",
      "none of this makes any sense whatsoever .",
      "MOV is just a hyperactive horror flick aimed at teens , with a built-in propensity for lightning-quick edits , piercing sound effects , and a whole lotta s -- gettin ' tossed around .",
      "the only thing scary about MOV is the sheer ineptitude of the ` filmmaking ' on display .",
      "compared to recent movies like alone in the dark , hide and seek , white noise and the grudge , this film is freakin ' gone with the wind .",
      "they do a competent job of creating a spooky mood , unfortunately other than ambiance this film has nothing . the script is as empty as the closet .",
      "watson goes from `` 7th heaven '' to `` two hour hell '' in this scary but senseless movie",
      "MOV manages to make you do what films like jeepers creepers and darkness falls would n't let you do : believe .",
      "will 2005 be remembered as the year of the awful horror movies ?",
      "ca n't even give in to the spooky delight of its rich clichés like hundreds of other trashy-derivative horror thrill rides ...",
      "the perfect specimen of style over substance .",
      "some fascinatingly original twists that play with time and space keep the tension ratcheting up till the ending .",
      "in the end , even the most expert scary-button-pushing ca n't save a movie this empty of ideas .",
      "there is little time spent on plot and character and way more emphasis on jarring sound effects and fast-paced camera trickery .",
      "unoriginal and lame .",
      "it brings to the big screen that corner of the talent pool where ` who 's your agent ? ' means ` where will you be patrolling sunset in your ` actor for hire ' sandwich-board ? '",
      "makes you yearn for the days when they got a few things down on paper before they started shooting a movie .",
      "it 's difficult to remember a recent movie with less regard for spatial or temporal coherence .",
      "director stephen kaye does a good job creating a spooky atmosphere but the script is short on dialogue , while running out of steam towards the end .",
      "edited too spastically to be of any use ... a slow-leaking tire which goes flat before we reach a destination .",
      "MOV represents flat-out suckage . it is a haphazard assemblage of horror clichés , punctuated by the occasional so-loud-it-makes-you-jump noise on the soundtrack .",
      "if MOV signals more films like this to follow , there are far worse nightmares out there to come than whatever is lurking in your closet .",
      "the not-too-frightening , plodding MOV proves that major hollywood studios like to dump all their stinkers at the beginning of the year .",
      "it squanders a promising plot about child abduction , preferring to go the literal route of chasing a spectral troublemaker with a bad case of claustrophobia .",
      "spends the majority of its running time jerking the audience 's chain before coming to an abrupt ending .",
      "an incoherent grab-bag of disconnected shock effects -- stylishly mounted but ultimately empty and pointless .",
      "a thriller that is so generic it can only be dispensed if your doctor checked the ` generic ok ' box on the prescription .",
      "yeah , it 's dumb , and it takes a long time to get to scenes that amount to anything other than cheap scares . but MOV is not entirely artless .",
      "find two friends and laugh your way out of the local movie theater .",
      "MOV , shot in auckland , lives and induces giggles instead of fear in yuckland .",
      "winningly combines the creaking ambiguities and psychological chills of they with terrain more familiar from a haunted house movie .",
      "a welcome throwback to the glory days of scary movies .",
      "it uses every canted angle and cartoonish zoom from sam raimi 's evil dead handbook , but the comatose screenplay just makes the stylish gymnastics look desperate .",
      "a humourless trudge through haunted house cliches , it 's unlikely to scare anyone old enough to get past the box office .",
      "there is not a scare to be found .",
      "with all the movies out there , this is the last one you should pick .",
      "a bland affair with none of the imagination that distinguishes the best horror movies .",
      "o tнtulo brasileiro desta produзгo -lrb- o pesadelo -rrb- sintetiza perfeitamente o que significa a experiкncia de ser obrigado a assisti-la .",
      "i spent most of the movie struggling not to throw something at the screen or disrupt the other patrons by screaming in frustration .",
      "fright fans expecting anything more than the occasional jolt will be sorely disappointed .",
      "... expose the skeletons in MOV 's closet-you will certainly come across the bare bones because there 's no real meat to this thrill-seeking thud",
      "so beneath this venerable creature",
      "only glimpses of the monster are seen in stephen kay 's supernatural thriller . unfortunately , the same is true of the movie 's plot and character .",
      "because the movie never establishes its internal logic , the action can seem arbitrary and random .",
      "frankly , watching dark closets for 90 minutes may not have been the best idea for a film . watson unfortunately does n't have the screen presence to carry it off .",
      "when did young girls rollerblading backward become the universal symbol for spooky ?",
      "confusing , badly written , poorly acted horror film that trots out a few clichйs and eventually throws some semi-decent effects at them , in the mistaken belief that the audience wo n't be bored to tears .",
      "the entire cast seems to be on autopilot , and the behind-the-camera crew does n't try any harder .",
      "the celluloid equivalent of jokey smurf .",
      "boogey oogey awful",
      "instead of heightening one 's fear of closets , it simply creates an overwhelming urge to head straight for the nearest theater door .",
      "is it over ? watson is asked . yeah , it 's over , he says , possibly aware that he 's commenting on his acting career .",
      "there is nothing going on during these 86 minutes except a studio gunning for quick kill at the opening weekend box office .",
      "a chill-free , suspense-deficient thriller that is not only an enormous waste of time and film stock , but also insanely empty and heavy-handed .",
      "it suffers from a lack of genuine chills or suspense .",
      "if you ca n't spell ` bogeyman , ' you should n't make movies about him .",
      "bereft of even the slightest hint of style , creativity or originality , MOV is endlessly boring , blatantly nonsensical and , frankly , absolutely worthless .",
      "it 's coherent , consistent and should prove popular with the kids its intended for .",
      "if you 're 12 years old , or if you scare easily , MOV is not a bad way to spend an hour and a half .",
      "a generic spook-fest on par with its generic title .",
      "the tooth fairy in a tutu is scarier than the ill-conceived MOV .",
      "once emily deschanel , older sister of elf 's zooey , steps on screen to provide tim with a formidable female co-star , the film finds its rhythm ."
    ],
    "summary": "the plot is been-there done-that generic , and none of the shock effects can do anything to build up suspense .",
    "id": "10549"
  },
  {
    "movie": "particle_fever",
    "reviews": [
      "as fictional vulcan spock might have pronounced : `` fascinating . ''",
      "watching a film wo n't make you smarter , but if there ever was one that could , it would be `` MOV , '' a movie so mind-bending you can almost feel your brain cells growing as you 're watching it .",
      "even the most math-averse viewer will be on pins and needs to know the results .",
      "there are a few entertaining developments in the film , but much of it is dull .",
      "a movie that 's not just accessible but fun , with a surprisingly emotional payoff at the end .",
      "the film may not put itself above the uninitiated , but director mark levinson oftentimes appears almost too eager to present his material with affectation .",
      "the experience of watching the film can be vertiginous : you toggle between the tiny and the infinite , between eternity and the real time of the recent past .",
      "MOV is that rare , exhilarating science doc that 's neither dumbed down nor drabbed up .",
      "MOV explores with awe-inspiring precision , and in remarkably accessible language , how 10,000 scientists and engineers from around the world built what in effect is the ultimate test tube for particle physics .",
      "brilliant new documentary about the largest scientific experiment in history .",
      "its eventual slide into statistics comes to test patience , yet levinson does n't lose the essential theme of the movie .",
      "a subatomic thriller that not only captures one of mankind 's most significant breakthroughs , it makes physics and physicists look hip .",
      "levinson makes the story accessible and entertaining for mainstream viewers .",
      "it plays out with all the suspense of a thriller .",
      "the enthusiasm , idealism , and cheerful brilliance of the six subjects convey the thrill , if not the full significance , of this scientific breakthrough .",
      "we see science , and scientists - excitable , anxious , adorably nerdy scientists - freaking out as they 're about to fire up the large hadron collider -lrb- lhc -rrb- , one of the largest machines ever built by man .",
      "trouble in boson city but the spunky brainiacs of the hadron collider right the ship and identify the illusive link to the beginning of the universe .",
      "even a science dunce will walk away with a basic understanding of the project and a strong impression of the community around this important research ... a film about the idealistic pursuit of knowledge ...",
      "informative and exciting ... an educational film that 's uplifting in the best sense .",
      "MOV effectively generates appreciation for the tenacity and vision of scientists and the power of dogged curiosity to determine an entire life 's path .",
      "this is a film that feeds the imagination and is the most exciting documentary so far in 2014 .",
      "an adventure , a celebration , and a snapshot of investigation at its most essential and enthralling , MOV is both intelligent and accessible .",
      "you 'll be entertained and , to whatever degree , you will not only learn something , you might have your whole understanding of the universe altered . pretty good for ninety-nine minutes .",
      "MOV shows how the theorists and experimenters need and respect each other , in the course of setbacks , disappointments , premature celebrations and public relations glitches .",
      "-lsb- the film -rsb- serves as a needed reminder of the excitement of science , a practice that need not be left exclusively to nerds .",
      "the fact that mark levinson 's engrossing MOV was edited by the great walter murch gives it a better pedigree than most documentaries .",
      "the film allows for our awe . it also demonstrates that science is the most human of activities , with all that that implies .",
      "levinson 's film seems to capture the instability of just about everything , from a large hadron collider , to a helium pipe , to the higgs boson , to people in general .",
      "the bracing scientific rigor and intellectual derring-do presented in `` MOV '' are most welcome .",
      "all you really need to know about MOV is that it includes footage of physicists rapping . about physics . wearing giant einstein masks .",
      "the narrative builds momentum as MOV whisks us from 2008 through 2012 when the scientific world anxiously waits for the results of the experiment .",
      "even if you ca n't explain the standard model or define `` supersymmetry , '' you 'll walk away with a conviction that you 've vicariously participated in a historic event .",
      "a fascinating nonfiction celebration of human curiosity and endeavor , MOV gives viewers a shotgun-seat to history that plays out on a very relatable plane .",
      "the filmmakers find room for some witty philosophical bull sessions and affectionate portraits of some of the physicists ; this is an agreeable light entertainment on a complex subject .",
      "a funny , exhilarating , suspenseful documentary about the large hadron collider , and how physics is more akin to philosophy and art than you may have imagined .",
      "set in crummy offices and towering facilities worthy of a bond movie , the documentary is edited with the momentum of a thriller by the great walter murch -lrb- apocalypse now -rrb- , as we follow six scientists .",
      "the film does everything it can to build a bridge between physics nerds and their wedgie-giving counterparts -lsb- ... -rsb- making MOV the crowd-pleaser it is -lsb- ... -rsb-",
      "where it excels is in depicting the various personalities involved .",
      "a documentary about science for professionals and laypeople alike , MOV celebrates an event of earth-shattering importance , though what far-ranging transformations it heralds remain unknown",
      "a timely and fascinating look at physicists ' search for the higgs boson .",
      "a compelling , if sometimes difficult to follow , story .",
      "a dazzling , dizzying documentary about nothing less than whether we exist in a coherent universe of ordered , even beautiful laws ...",
      "talk about a smash hit .",
      "totally thrilling documentary about a topic that might have been distinctly unthrilling . great work from its physicist producer and director ."
    ],
    "summary": "the concepts behind its heady subject matter may fly over the heads of most viewers , but MOV presents it in such a way that even the least science-inclined viewers will find themselves enraptured .",
    "id": "771364355"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1093611-anna_and_the_king",
    "reviews": [
      "at heart , this is no more or less than self-consciously old-fashioned entertainment .",
      "a simple , no-frills story .",
      "MOV satisfies in grand style .",
      "surprisingly engaging .",
      "pictorially splendid , it 's largely large , epic and expansive . it 's long , pack a lunch .",
      "but by writing in so many conspiracy and battle scenes , it almost ceases to be a character-driven romantic comedy .",
      "disappointing .",
      "wonderfully shot in all of its majestical glory , exquisite cinematography , lush locations with plenty of exotic flair and original costumes .",
      "andy tennant 's period drama may only sport a so-so plot , but it shimmers with rich scenery and colorful costumes and has the most charming tour guide imaginable , hong kong superstar chow yun-fat .",
      "this is precisely the kind of `` cast of thousands '' extravaganza hollywood rarely produces anymore and the movie 's seductive visuals , charismatic performances and glorious scenery make for two and a half hours of immensely pleasurable viewing .",
      "sprinkled with a delightfully innocent humor .",
      "it 's great to look at , but the unforgiving precision does n't allow the images to advance the story or tell you details about characters or situations .",
      "this long nap seems to come from a century before movies , maybe even before entertainment was imagined .",
      "MOV is nothing but old-fashioned but it 's old-fashioned in a glorious way .",
      "MOV is an old-fashioned valentine for all those people who say they do n't make movies like they used to .",
      "like too many movies , this one can not bear to end quietly and gracefully .",
      "a misstep for the gifted ms. foster .",
      "beautiful pageantry , smart political intrigue , and a convincing rapport between leads .",
      "a smart and splendidly decorated rethinking of anna leonowens 's famous chronicle of her years as tutor to the royal family of siam .",
      "this version of MOV plays it entirely too safe .",
      "nothing special , nothing particularly heartwarming .",
      "the result may look more genuine than what has gone before , but it somehow feels less substantial .",
      "extremely sentimental and old-fashioned family entertainment that offers some gratifying diversion to non-discriminating viewers .",
      "chow yun-fat has such a perpetually bemused expression , it 's as if he were waiting for the tough guys to show up and start the actual movie .",
      "what it really lacks is dramatic juice .",
      "the problem with MOV is that it 's caught halfway between then and now .",
      "what 's missing , however , is the one element that would have made it work -- credible , developing romantic tension between MOV .",
      "close , but no cigar .",
      "generally interesting and sometimes emotionally affecting .",
      "MOV 's most interesting aspect is the portrayal of the ritualistic world of the king and his royal family .",
      "a winning performance by chow yun-fat !",
      "director andy tennant has outdone himself .",
      "foster , i believe , sees right through this material and out the other side , and does n't believe in a bit of it .",
      "this is one spectacle that 's worth the nine bucks .",
      "yun-fat is charismatic , and foster 's comfortable in a british accent .",
      "a great family movie !",
      "the film has an epic quality about it that i have n't seen in while .",
      "a live-action family film with brains .",
      "MOV has a lot to offer .",
      "a richly satisfying mix of history , drama and romance .",
      "entertaining and enjoyable .",
      "the sort of film that would have contended for a best picture oscar in the mid-80s and handily won in the early 60s",
      "a little too superficial and bloated to be completely effective .",
      "visually beautiful , richly detailed , terribly long , and oddly unaffecting",
      "you can spot the plot contours from a mile away .",
      "the film never reaches the same heights emotionally that it does visually .",
      "it is pleasant , occasionally amusing -- and often dull .",
      "lush , beautifully shot , but quite draggy .",
      "it 's big , expensive and soulless .",
      "tennant seems genuinely unsure what mood he 's striving for here .",
      "MOV is scenic overkill , a travelogue in place of a witty and absorbing movie .",
      "beyond the potentially intriguing casting , the filmmakers have too obviously stretched the plot to justify a new interpretation .",
      "in his big bid for hollywood stardom , chow lacks what gave him star power to begin with : an intensely masculine soul of fire and ice .",
      "MOV starts off better than it ends up .",
      "MOV is eye-filling but brain-numbing .",
      "more well-intended than it is entertaining .",
      "this version of MOV plays it entirely too safe .",
      "MOV needs something to make it compelling , and a few songs certainly would n't hurt .",
      "... the pacing of the film is slow enough to make the typical merchant-ivory production feel like a nine inch nails video",
      "a deliberate retelling of ` the king and i ' without the musical interludes . ` MOV ' is a slow , but ultimately rewarding period drama .",
      "here is an old-fashioned costume drama with sumptuous sets , stirring music , and beguiling landscapes .",
      "classic tale gets a beautiful -- and unnecessary -- retelling .",
      "handsome and well-appointed ... but still one of the most boring films in recent memory .",
      "intense , mature version of the king and i.",
      "the third major screen version of the story , has much to recommend it .",
      "the new movie offers old-fashioned kinds of pleasures .",
      "a grand retelling of an iconic story .",
      "es la historia de un amor que rompe las barreras del tiempo y el espacio y que nos recuerda que lo más importante que puede tener una persona son sus emociones",
      "forget what you 've heard - this is something special",
      "so unbelievably bloated that staring at don king 's hair is likely to have a more plausible payoff .",
      "this may be the best and healthiest date movie of the season .",
      "serve as a slap in the face .",
      "holds its own against the beloved 1956 musical the king and i.",
      "class personified .",
      "even folks familiar with the original accounts will find much to enjoy in the new one ."
    ],
    "summary": "beautiful cinematography ca n't prevent MOV from being boring and overly lengthy .",
    "id": "10820"
  },
  {
    "movie": "spinning_into_butter",
    "reviews": [
      "may force the audience to confront its own reactions to the dilemmas ... of a society in which people talk at each other , rather than with each other .",
      "marred somewhat by a pat and rather unlikely conclusion , this movie does have the merit by lifting up the rock and examining liberal racism .",
      "a flawed but needed film about the continuing existence of racism and deep-rooted prejudice exposed on a college campus .",
      "any movie that chooses to open a credits sequence with a maya angelou quote and blackface cartoons screams desperation .",
      "a fantastic story longing for a better film .",
      "shelf mold encrusts this misshapen adaptation of MOV , and rebecca gilman 's 1999 play about racism and toxic political correctness at a small vermont college is lumpy enough as it is .",
      "every line of dialogue sounds contrived , right up to the phony-baloney twist ending .",
      "the title is wrong . they should call it spinning into margarine .",
      "more spin than spinning , this raw race conversation-driven drama taps into timely issues touching on diversity conflicts that persist . but sorry to say , spinning is no crash , and comes off more as good intentions dissipating into irresponsible filmmaking .",
      "this excruciatingly p.c. worrywart of a film takes the `` little black sambo '' story and tries to make something trenchant and socially important of it , but merely succeeds in being false , forced and ultimately insulting .",
      "if freshman film students were assigned to make a movie on race relations , this contrived attempt is probably what they 'd come up with",
      "the movie verges on melodrama , farce , and satire , but never makes any dramatic sense .",
      "the best of intentions and a welcome willingness to engage on the touchiest issues is not enough to keep this movie from feeling more like a seminar than a story .",
      "credit goes to playwright gilman and company for addressing an ugly situation head on . unfortunately , it 's a scenario that lends itself to hot air and that 's what the movie blows .",
      "the film feels stuck in a particularly '90s - flavored argument -- about political correctness and culture wars on campus -- that you probably got tired of during your junior year .",
      "despite an earnest and dour tone , the story and the subjects tackled are compelling and thought-provoking .",
      "betraying its theatrical origins , brokaw 's feature debut is a vastly disappointing message movie in which sarah jessica parker -lrb- also credited as producer -rrb- is miscast , to say the least .",
      "the foils have no compunction about hurling ugly truths at each other , most of the time much too literally to work on screen .",
      "the material is crying out for a satiric wit or at least a stronger point of view . instead , it 's a mishmash in which everyone gets to say his piece , but all of it has been said before .",
      "this movie adaptation of rebecca gilman 's play is a methodical , not to say mechanical and plodding , exploration of identity politics and language .",
      "the staging by theater director mark brokaw , in his first feature , is , well , stagy . i do n't mind a movie where people spend a lot of time jawboning , but what they say had better be interesting .",
      "crash was a master class in subtlety compared to MOV .",
      "butter makes a disastrous transition to film , aiming to salvage pertinent points on the witch 's brew of racism through a filmmaking undertaking perhaps best described as `` total clown shoes . ''",
      "the biggest lesson from MOV has nothing to do with the ethics of race and more with realizing that every hit play does n't need to be turned into a movie .",
      "MOV is the perfect example of a movie taking an interesting premise and , through incompetence of acting , writing and directing , turning it into an unwatchable mess .",
      "if you 're not interested in a sermon , you 'll want to skip this one",
      "it feels like an after school special .",
      "this movie would 've been bad in 1983 , but at least it would 've been original .",
      "painfully earnest and unrelievedly stilted and cliched , the movie is less a drama than a well-meaning but rather ridiculous diatribe .",
      "initially compelling , but spins into a hodgepodge of contrived scenes , uneven drama and poorly developed , yet provocative issues that simmer for too long without actually coming to a boil ."
    ],
    "summary": "both leaden and stilted , MOV is an unsubtle drama with stagy direction and lackluster dialogue .",
    "id": "770790514"
  },
  {
    "movie": "inequality_for_all_2013",
    "reviews": [
      "it 's unseemly , i know , to praise a movie like this for the stand-up-comic affability of its host . but reich 's engagingness also gives credence to the seriousness of his message .",
      "filmmaker kornbluth personalizes this story by using reich 's warmth and humor to win us over and keep his presentation from becoming a dry recitation of facts .",
      "any politician hoping to redistribute america 's wealth should screen it before every stump speech .",
      "reich manages to infuse this enlightening/infuriating documentary on extreme income disparity in the united states , and the corollary marginalization of the middle class , with an optimistic spirit . one that may or may not be justified .",
      "a cinematic listicle of misleading economic talking points .",
      "reich is funny , poignant , passionate .",
      "reich is no condescending intellectual . he has no contempt for people of the opposite point of view . he even has nice things to say about bill o'reilly .",
      "-lsb- reich is -rsb- a great , charismatic movie hero , and he makes you feel you 're in safe hands .",
      "mr. reich ties together his talking points with a reasonable-sounding analysis and an unassuming warmth sometimes absent from documentaries charting america 's economic woes .",
      "if you like your movie stars to be smart , engaging , well-spoken , self-deprecating and danny devito-size , you could n't do much better than this leading authority on economics who served under presidents ford , carter and clinton .",
      "you 're saying taxation is out of hand , and there was some sort of housing bubble too ? go on with all this new information , please .",
      "as easy as it is to be intellectually seduced by the man 's arguments , it 's also hard to avoid wishing that his own cult of personality-his jokes and his history-didn ' t dominate so much of the running time .",
      "there are certainly lessons to be gleaned from reich 's journey through politics .",
      "policy wonk robert reich 's analysis of today 's parallels to the great depression is both statistics-driven and impassioned .",
      "basically constitutes a liberal jeremiad , but it 's one presented with civility , good humor and a human face as well as impassioned conviction .",
      "the woods are full of `` outrage docs , '' but this one is special .",
      "essential viewing , no matter how you cut it .",
      "in effect , MOV combines an intro-level college lecture -lrb- including animation and powerpoint ! -rrb- with a financial horror story designed to frighten all the nation 's union-busters .",
      "economist robert reich possesses a formidable intellect , an encyclopedic grasp of statistics and monetary trends , a quicksilver wit , and immense affability , making him the go-to guy when average americans need our financial crises explained .",
      "it 's still the ceos ' fault , but this movie holds them accountable for specific actions going back to the '70s , so that gives us a lot more to make sense of than just abstract blame .",
      "using income tax data going back 100 years , reich draws parallels between the crashes of 1929 and 2008 : identical concentrations of wealth at the top and the destabilization of the middle class .",
      "it all ends with reich 's students giving him a standing ovation . i felt like jumping out of a window .",
      "robert reich , a secretary of labor under president clinton , leads us through a sharp-eyed essay-meditation on the rising trend of income inequality .",
      "an advocacy doc constructed to make a clear political point first and function as a film a distant second .",
      "that a documentary about economics could be so personally emotional and affecting is remarkable . and to learn from reich in this film , as his students at berkeley do , is a treat and a privilege .",
      "president clinton 's secretary of labor lectures on income inequality with a refreshing lack of jargon .",
      "the film makes no secret of its liberal political leanings and activist goals , which means it likely will only preach to the converted .",
      "overall , this film is enlightening , entertaining and seriously alarming .",
      "this documentary would be a rousing david and goliath story even if its hero were n't the diminutive robert b. reich .",
      "the trouble with inequality is that it 's a book pretending to be a movie . like far too many recent documentaries , there is nothing cinematic and almost nothing visual about it .",
      "-lsb- robert reich -rsb- headlines this documentary in which he explains his views about the united states ' current economic woes . it 's something he manages to do engagingly and with great clarity .",
      "the film is as much about reich as income inequality , a topic he has written and talked about for decades . you 'll learn why he 's 4 feet 10.5 inches tall and why he became active in social politics .",
      "if you 're looking for a streamlined explanation for the mess the u.s. economy 's in , and how we might get out , it 's as good a place to start as any .",
      "this lively film takes a `` greatest-hits '' approach to reich , who fears that we 're headed for another financial debacle if we do n't take a more serious approach to taxes and education .",
      "smart , funny and articulate , robert reich is the university professor we all wish we 'd had . he 's so accessible and entertaining he takes a subject that sounds soporific and makes it come alive like you would n't believe in `` MOV . ''",
      "reich makes a strong claim and it 's attractively presented .",
      "this timely documentary does what it is supposed to do - educate , enlighten and entertain .",
      "presents reich 's position by patching together lectures from his `` wealth & poverty '' course at the university of california , berkeley .",
      "animated charts and graphs , on-the-road interludes and humorous asides designed to show that the speaker is n't too dislikably severe about the crisis that threatens life as we know it .",
      "mr. kornbluth 's documentary argues eloquently for such unassailable goals as investment in education and infrastructure , and complements mr. reich 's exposition with compelling interviews ...",
      "reich , who served during president clinton 's first term , has been beating the drum on this issue for years , and makes an avuncular spokesperson .",
      "watch this film - and then show it to someone who refuses to educate themselves about what the financial situation is all about .",
      "in 90 minutes , MOV does n't get far beyond income inequality 101 , but for those who struggle with the basics , it 's an often essential primer .",
      "this year 's best doc so far focuses on the brilliant , warm-hearted , even charismatic robert reich as he demolishes those who argue that inequality of wealth is no big deal .",
      "`` MOV '' may deserve its easy linkages to `` an inconvenient truth , '' but that may also be selling the new documentary short .",
      "informative and entertaining , this documentary 's greatest strength is its star , the charismatic robert reich .",
      "robert reich 's message to america , much like director jacob kornbluth 's uncomplicated film , is so simple and straightforward -lrb- you might even say obvious -rrb- that , without nitpicking , it can appear flawless .",
      "directed by jacob kornbluth , inequality works by avoiding most of the political minefields that have made the economy mulch for partisan consumption .",
      "lacks the alarmist self-importance of ` an inconvenient truth , ' even if the subject it investigates seems as dangerous as climate change to the country 's health , at least in the short run .",
      "this is a curious case of liking the messenger , loving the message and yet still feeling as if you 're being too heavily sold , even if you want to buy into the product .",
      "america is a country without any `` self-admitted proletarians , '' where even the poorest see themselves as `` temporarily embarrassed '' millionaires .",
      "reich is a natural teacher of complex concepts : the film does n't feel like homework .",
      "MOV is intelligent , persuasive and accessible , a gentle but urgent clarion call to action .",
      "topical documentaries mostly appeal to the converted and are ignored by those who disagree . and `` inequality '' probably will be no exception .",
      "engaging economics docu encourages equality , activism .",
      "a levelheaded , easily understandable primer on the aspects and causes of the problem . however , it does not do much to distinguish itself from similar documentaries .",
      "former clinton cabinet member robert reich makes his case for a kindler , gentler capitalism .",
      "documentaries about the economy being what they are , you might not expect much from MOV , but as directed by jacob kornbluth , it is the indianapolis 500 of wealth analyses .",
      "an engaging film that 's head and shoulders above the average talking-head parade .",
      "if you 've read -lsb- reich 's -rsb- wonderful book `` aftershock : the next economy and america 's future , '' the structure of his argument will be familiar to you , but the ride you go on will not .",
      "MOV brings politics to our doorstep and expects us to do the rest , to do our part . what 's amazing is that it inspires us to do our part , as well .",
      "a well-done and enlightening documentary on income inequality in america featuring robert reich and his take on this deepening crisis ."
    ],
    "summary": "while it arrives in a glut of similarly themed documentaries , MOV distinguishes itself with a compelling presentation of an important message , as well as much-needed splashes of wit .",
    "id": "771325012"
  },
  {
    "movie": "taking_woodstock",
    "reviews": [
      "MOV is hardly a bad trip ; just a very inconsequential one .",
      "there is no need to oversell MOV . even though it is based on reality , it is meant as a modest allegory about the search for innocence and understanding and peace and love and so on .",
      "lee 's first total miscalculation , his first wholly inessential film .",
      "can you dig it ? maybe , if you are n't already up to your tie-dyed shorts in woodstock memories , and if you can accept that there 's relatively little music in this happy-go-lucky movie about history 's most celebrated music festival .",
      "for any teenager tempted to sneer at mom and dad 's veneration of the whole woodstock thing , this film explains why those three days in 1969 had such a profound effect on a generation .",
      "if this woodstock comes off as edenic ... do n't assume the movie 's advertising the real thing . think of it as ang lee taking a vacation from too much reality .",
      "this is very light material , and , unusually for a lee picture , not everybody in the ensemble appears to be acting in the same universe , let alone the same story . on the other hand : it 's fun .",
      "MOV has the appeal of an inside story told from an especially good angle . but beyond that , the movie is a celebration of the way this event has gone into memory and of the meaning it has acquired .",
      "it 's great that MOV does n't trample on anything sacred , but it also never arrives anywhere interesting .",
      "MOV does n't show anyone performing at the 1969 concert event , an intriguing choice that also works as a metaphor for the woebegone film . it never gets where it 's going , either .",
      "a minor work from brokeback mountain director ang lee that is enjoyable but ultimately underwhelming .",
      "năo se revela particularmente interessante ou minimamente revelador no que diz respeito ŕ natureza de woodstock ou do próprio protagonista .",
      "lee and producer-screenwriter james schamus aim for comedy but come up with cliches .",
      "idealistic but not idealized , the film contains a bittersweet quality that suggests without spelling out how truly monumental , meaningful , and one-of-a-kind woodstock was .",
      "amazing that ang lee can make such a listless movie about arguably one of the most high energy times in recent history .",
      "a ham-handed attempt to indicate the oncoming tragedy of altamont ends the film with a touch of contrivance , but it 's the only sour note in an otherwise flawless film .",
      "watch carefully as the film tries to ramrod too many themes , invoking split-screen technique , and see if you can identify how often self-indulgence is confused for enlightenment .",
      "as unlikely and enjoyable a memento of that long-gone moment in the age of aquarius as we 're likely to find in this 40th anniversary year of the epochal rock festival .",
      "some colorful character turns can not make up for the charisma void at the center that is martin .",
      "at no point did i feel like i was at woodstock and surely that was the whole point .",
      "a valentine to america .",
      "does a great job of recreating the time , place and people that came together to make something magical in the middle of the summer of 1969 .",
      "i 'm starting to suspect that lee 's insight into american thought is only a little deeper than a western filmmaker who thinks he 's brave for still bringing up bound feet .",
      "despite setting itself up as a behind-the-scenes , insider 's look at the making of the woodstock festival , MOV tells us nothing new about the 1969 event that defined a generation .",
      "do n't expect too much from MOV and you might just enjoy its kind-hearted , sunny spirit . it is not , however , an experience that will linger long .",
      "MOV has fine moments and an enjoyable vibe , but it never develops a coherent point of view .",
      "MOV has its pleasures ; it 's really a sweet-natured coming-of-age tale , with a famously groundbreaking rock concert lurking in the background .",
      "for the most part , it 's a genial pleasure , with something disarmingly daggy -- intentional or not -- about its vision of history and individual experience .",
      "if you stick with this wistful , fitfully funny little trip , you will be rewarded with a movie that makes up in warmth , humanism and self-effacing modesty what it lacks in crackerjack pacing and epic pop-historical grandeur .",
      "it 's debatable whether the real woodstock was as messy as MOV , which re-creates parts of that now-legendary 1969 music festival experience .",
      "some will appreciate the combination of vision and happenstance that led to the festival and its place in public consciousness as a marker for a generational shift .",
      "a gentle and largely enjoyable way to tell a story , but also one that never leaves much of an impression .",
      "undermining the entire snooze-fest is lee and schamus 's sentimental , clichéd view of woodstock as the last flowering of hippie innocence .",
      "their roles are played largely for easy laughs in james schamus 's script , which meanders in an echo of the freewheeling vibe of peace and love .",
      "achieves the highly improbable by making one of the most exciting events of the 1960s look really boring .",
      "this may be a minor movie , but it displays the hallmarks of a major talent .",
      "MOV is entertaining , funny but also very slight film . unlike the real woodstock , it wo n't change lives or burn in the memory .",
      "a rare misfire for the usually reliable lee .",
      "MOV will leave the unstoned cold and wo n't have anyone aching for those legendary ` three days of peace and music ' that was n't there in the first place .",
      "his is by no means a terrible film , but from a filmmaker as exceptional as ang lee it 's a rare disappointment .",
      "ang lee 's latest dissection of the american dream is one of his most complex and even most deceptively subversive films .",
      "some will revel in it , but -lrb- younger -rrb- viewers may find MOV old hat .",
      "while many of the characters are getting satisfactorily high , audiences are unfortunately left with a movie that 's only half-baked .",
      "in 1969 , the term ` wasted ' referred to good times . but in ang lee 's take on 1969 , ` wasted ' is what happens to 2 perfectly good hours -- which might be better spent tie-dyeing the dog .",
      "much of our enjoyment of a movie is based on expectations - and this title is misleading . it 's actually a low-key , lightweight , occasionally amusing yet shallow story .",
      "the filmmakers use woodstock as wallpaper for a hackneyed story of personal growth and reinvention .",
      "the film 's focus on one man 's story instead of the event itself is a solid narrative choice ; the execution , however , is uneven and disappointing .",
      "maybe it 's all too wonderful to be true , but that 's ok . if MOV is a fantasy , then it 's a most benevolent one , and more power to it .",
      "the drama in question , ang lee 's MOV , is a bit like the festival itself - a happy mess .",
      "MOV fails to achieve anything beyond a contact high because of martin 's listless performance as the central character .",
      "lee 's larkiest film by far , MOV features faces familiar and fresh .",
      "lee takes the viewer on a sweet-enough and nicely personalized trip through a corner of the '60s . and even if he skips the main event , he finds plenty of color in its surroundings .",
      "lee captures the fractious , joyful , monstrously evolving mass it all was .",
      "lee 's contribution should fit well into the woodstock-tribute canon . it smartly avoids overused period references .",
      "it 's not a bad film but i have a feeling that it 's too chaotic . it lacks somehow some central gravitas , despite the comedic elements , to bring it all together .",
      "MOV takes us behind the scenes at that amazing event , and deals with ordinary people swept up in it . do n't expect concert scenes , because there are none .",
      "it does at least come across as a portrait of an era that 's affectionate , authentic and pleasingly adult in its tone and concerns .",
      "this is the yawning of the age of aquarius .",
      "lee and his producer and screenwriter , james schamus , have turned tiber 's book into a gentle , rather tepid film . its first half is modest and likable , but it goes on for over two hours .",
      "really , it 's the same circumstance captured in bye bye birdie , but lee and schamus lack a sense of humor .",
      "all the tie-dye , reefer , skinny-dipping , split-screen cinematography -lrb- from eric gautier -rrb- and acid-trip psychedelics courtesy of tiber 's encounter with hippies -lrb- paul dano and kelli garner -rrb- ca n't make up for the film 's major sin of omission : the music .",
      "MOV achieves an amazing feat : it turns the fabled music festival , a key cultural moment of the late 20th century , into an exceedingly lame , heavily clichéd , thumb-sucking bore .",
      "aside from a few electric moments this is mostly a slow-moving , flat and unimpressive film .",
      "this borsht belt turned bacchanalian screen memoir suffers from persistent peripheral vision of a historic moment , while dulling the senses with an overload of housekeeping details . not exactly a bad trip , but in no way a time travel contact high .",
      "effectively employs iconic woodstock imagery not to regenerate a numbing sense of mass nostalgia but rather as a minimalist backdrop against which to amplify the anguished , intimate ordeal of a frustrated individual who was n't even there .",
      "just rent adventureland -lrb- a better coming-of-age movie -rrb- and the woodstock documentary -lrb- a better depiction of the festival -rrb- instead of wasting your time on this .",
      "the more tightly MOV focuses on history , the more satisfying the experience .",
      "how 's this for an idea - a movie about woodstock that ignores the music of the festival and concentrates on one boring guy 's ability to set it all up .",
      "MOV is homogenized mud . director ang lee slides all over the place . he takes away all the sharp edges ; what is left is pretty much a mess .",
      "MOV is enormous fun .",
      "if you want to experience the concert you can watch the 1970 woodstock movie . this one is about what it all meant .",
      "it 's a small story about woodstock . i did n't think that was possible . lee 's got the look down , but the story does n't totally captivate , and the music is almost not present .",
      "eliot is conceived as something of a blank-slate character , and -lsb- demetri -rsb- martin is n't engaging enough to give anything but a blank-slate performance .",
      "there is a great movie within ang lee 's `` MOV . ''",
      "a project that is rather shapeless with a protagonist who is less than compelling .",
      "an interesting idea , but it does n't really have much to capitalize on outside of the authentic period reproduction .",
      "it may not be on a par with brokeback , nor as powerful as lust , caution , but MOV is another triumph for ang lee , a director whose resume gets more and more diverse with every project he tackles .",
      "the event itself is glimpsed only from a distance but , when elliot does reach his vantage point , the view is poetically amazing . you feel the presence of joplin and hendrix rather than actually see them .",
      "ang lee captures the spirit of this memorable cultural event as the coming of age of a young man who accidentally facilitated it , but michael wadleigh 's documentary is the richer woodstock experience .",
      "lee and schamus make history blandly palatable ; in the process , they rob the times and the people they 're portraying of their complications .",
      "it 's a sunny-side-up account of the famous hippy festival in upstate new york , timed to coincide with its fortieth anniversary this year , that unashamedly plays up its comedy and youthful idealism .",
      "there are flashes of inspiration here , but nothing to sustain a feature film 's worth of narrative import .",
      "much of the credit must go to lee 's cinematic choices ; his use of multi-split screens , the montages that create a clear sense of the vibrantly positive mood infecting everyone and a beautiful acid trip visualisation",
      "like its namesake festival it is crazy , naive , full of hope and features extensive drug use .",
      "too bad the principal character lacks the charisma to carry the movie .",
      "it is woodstock light , which is one thing . it is also ang lee light , which is another thing altogether and far less satisfying .",
      "lee 's movie captures the mellow mood and mud-caked faces of the crowd but misses the reverberations of the counterculture revolution that brought the great unwashed to that farm .",
      "ang lee 's MOV is a coming-of-age comedy that roams the backstage and the back-story and sees that epic concert through rose-colored glasses .",
      "it 's a terrific story and james schamus has written an accessible screenplay filled with truths . while all the ingredients are extreme and the subject matter serious -lrb- relationships , survival , sexual awakening -rrb- , there 's abundant humour in the characters an",
      "a limp attempt to stage a story around the most historic concert ever and then treat the concert as a background echo to the predictable melodrama on center stage .",
      "though intermittently amusing and exhilarating , MOV ca n't quite pull together its threads into one totally trippy tapestry .",
      "dear-hearted but fuzzy in a way that unintentional mirrors the hippie aesthetic of the woodstock festival , lee 's film is interested not so much in the massive concert as in the catskill mountains community which hosted it , however unwillingly .",
      "too much of MOV seems barely sketched out .",
      "dramedy revisits famous festival , complete with drugs , sex .",
      "you wo n't get wasted , but your money wo n't wither .",
      "i needed to take a shower after just watching the film .",
      "it seems that lee and schamus had no idea what it was they wanted to say here . did woodstock matter ? does anyone care ?",
      "so easy to get behind thematically and one with fascinating subject matter , but it 's a movie that never gets over some of the stereotypes of its subject matter to present a fully-formed , relatable , human drama .",
      "it 's harmless enough as a snapshot of a young man 's awakening to the grand possibilities of adult life , but not particularly effective at capturing the spirit , the thrill or even the mud of this culturally monumental event .",
      "the script has a dubious source , taken from a memoir by elliot tiber that , based on this evidence , does nothing to scrape the rust off woodstock 's mythic cliché .",
      "you ca n't deny the smiling mood that wafts through the film like incense , and to that extent it honors the original three days ; but not once does a character 's show of feeling stir you , send you , or stop you in your tracks , and the loss is unsustainable .",
      "lee 's sizeable re-creation of the planet 's greatest music festival is a sanitised trip .",
      "despite the sometimes crazy rhythm , the diverse and exuberant characters bring a sense of fun and merry frivolity to this one small tale about the iconic festival .",
      "i suppose in a perfect world , it would be lovely to afford prestige filmmakers the opportunity to relax once in a while , to make a small , lightweight feel good movie , but ang lee 's take on woodstock is nothing short of disappointing .",
      "it ends up being forgettable , when it could have taken a little piece of your heart .",
      "-lsb- m -rsb- ade me feel like i 'd missed out on something amazing by being born too late to have been a part of this . and even if that 's a fantasy , it 's okay .",
      "it 's a frustrating complication of a movie with a sprawling story and grand ambitions -- and some truly grand acting -- that stumbles almost as often as it soars . bummer .",
      "MOV does nothing more than recycle the same late - '60s tropes seen countless times since the carter administration .",
      "given a subject that has become synonymous with overblown mythmaking , its modesty becomes it .",
      "the characters are all representative of the period but they come off as one-dimensional , more symbols than individuals .",
      "lee has gone for shaggy comedy . some of it is funny . some of it just sits there .",
      "ang lee 's attempt to put the swinging sixties on the screen with love , respect and a dash of humour is a distinct disappointment .",
      "if this is brokeback mountain director ang lee 's attempt at comedy he should stick to heavy drama .",
      "a damp squib , thrown fizzling into the memory arena of the world 's pioneer rock festival .",
      "lee wants to combine a landmark moment with a coming-of-age story , but his style here is so loose and rambling it 's impossible to sense the excitement of the former and the particularity of the latter .",
      "has some great moments along the way , but as a whole never quite comes together",
      "lee 's film , rambling and maddeningly vague as it often is , does manage eventually to get at why something so ephemeral meant so much to so many .",
      "a watchable drama with likeable performances but it never quite comes together , thanks to an unfocussed screenplay that stumbles badly in the second half .",
      "click to read the full review",
      "this may be the least ambitious of lee 's films , but his directorial chops still guarantee a worthwhile experience .",
      "saddled with side stories that are meant to put specific faces on the issues of the time , but feel meandering and unfocused",
      "a sort of let 's - put-on-a-show summer-camp lark for director ang lee after the dramatic rigors of `` brokeback mountain '' and `` lust , caution , '' the picture serves up intermittent pleasures but is too raggedy and laid-back for its own good .",
      "it 's a low-wattage film about a high-wattage event . which is somewhat disappointing , though you do get a thoughtful , playful , often amusing film about what happened backstage at one of the '60s ' great happenings .",
      "enjoyable in places and merely humdrum in others , MOV ultimately feels like a minor ang lee digression in between more memorable works .",
      "in a field crowded with sharp , aggressive , edgy comedies it 's much more gentle , rounded and endearing . yet it 's not altogether warm and fuzzy - there 's plenty of bite here and wry insight , too .",
      "on balance MOV -- like teichberg -- takes after its immigrant american father , evincing a quiet humility in offering its rambling ` little perspective ' of an emblematic happening that was almost everything it was cracked up to be .",
      "... it 's hard to get past the idea of MOV as a missed opportunity . it 's fine around the edges , but it never convinces you that the central event was the cataclysmic cultural convergence some claim .",
      "the most expertly crafted , yet mostly uninvolving , historical music movie .",
      "uses the peace & love event as white-noise for another flaccid coming-of-age story about an unformed youth 's summer i grew up",
      "woodstock participants wallowed in yasgar 's muddy fields . -lsb- director ang -rsb- lee wallows in teichberg 's muddy % u2014 and uninteresting % u2014 experience .",
      "lee 's MOV serves up so many clichés and stereotypes that it feels like a film made by someone who had never met a real jew , vietnam vet , homosexual , or hippie",
      "a gentle , slow-paced coming-of-age movie , ` MOV ' is not a movie about the historic concert that observes its 40th anniversary this year .",
      "the first half of `` MOV '' is wonderful . unfortunately , the tone becomes more serious and the pacing meanders in the second half .",
      "i loved this sweet , gentle film , and prize its charms and heart far more than the debatable weightiness of lee 's lust , caution .",
      "while `` MOV '' is a bit of a shaggy dog story , lee uses a subtle build to show how ` three days of peace , love and music ' transformed a rural farming community .",
      "lee distills the flavor of this transforming event and hints at how it transformed some who were there . his movie is a contact high .",
      "MOV fails to immerse us in the visceral feeling of being there .",
      "a more accurate and representative title might have been `` remaking woodstock '' because that 's clearly what lee set out to do .",
      "demetri martin makes little impression as tiber , and the rest of the cast tends to indulge stale '60s stereotypes .",
      "even with the ever-versatile ang lee behind the camera , this messy historical fiction plays like a two hour `` saturday night live '' sketch , and not a very good one , either .",
      "the movie is undergroovy and overplotted .",
      "alas , the fun does not last . once the concert starts and elliot has his inevitable lsd trip and introduction to free love , the film drops the comedy for a needless coming-of-age denouement .",
      "a bland , faintly pointless slice of sentimentality , suggesting comedy is n't lee 's strong suit .",
      "undoubtedly one of ang lee 's lighter films , ` MOV ' is also one of his better ones , and a welcome return to form .",
      "it 's a movie that wears the trappings of the countercultural movement like bunting , yet is essentially mild-mannered and rather conventional .",
      "light and amusing but shallow and diffuse , ang lee 's take on the seminal music event is one of his weakest works , due to schamus ' poor literary adaptation , which is full of stereotypes and devoid of gravitas .",
      "lee 's movie is pleasant enough , but it 's too swept up in the spirit it 's celebrating to ask the relevant questions .",
      "one man 's near-emotionless trip through an event that was the high watermark for us counterculture moves along without any real sense of purpose or pace .",
      "the biggest surprise of all - it 's actually pretty average , at least by lee 's own impeccable standards .",
      "for a while , woodstock represented a spirit of peaceful sharing that sometimes makes america great . that 's what this native-born writer and immigrant director want us to remember .",
      "ang lee 's 11th collaboration with producer james schamus starts out strong and funny before getting mired in 60s nostalgia .",
      "even as a mind-clearing break from lee 's darker , more ambitious work , MOV is an underachieving movie , so slight and gentle-spirited that it seems to be looking at the summer of 1969 through a scrim of rosy gauze .",
      "the scruffiness is hardly accidental , but it gives the picture a gentle warmth and easy charm that make it as pleasant , if as passing , as a warm summer breeze .",
      "watching the film feels a lot like leafing through an album of someone else 's vacation photos : pleasant , but gets old fast .",
      "like its central character , woodstock never makes it to the big show . but the lesson seems to be that it 's not the destination that matters , it 's the trip .",
      "-lsb- it -rsb- takes advantage of yet another anniversary celebration of the three-day music festival , but lee only uses the milestone for surface draw . otherwise , this aimless , pointless , emotionless and self-aggrandizing debacle would have no reason to exist .",
      "MOV has the freshness of something being created , not remembered .",
      "like the mild-mannered protagonist , taiwanese director ang lee sees the '60s through a rose-colored telephoto lens , but his sympathetic spirit extends the generous message of the hippie era like a passed joint .",
      "a distraction that steals lee 's concentration , leaving the film in the same condition as the real woodstock : muddy , scattered , and overlong .",
      "the hippie mindset is that either you 're with them or you 're not , and similarly MOV asks that you ride along its loose , laid-back vibe or start flinging mud .",
      "we get this one about three weeks after anyone cares about the 40th anniversary of woodstock .",
      "demitri martin and the movie are perfect for each other , both of them agreeable and inoffensive , likable and sort of funny but not very substantive .",
      "parental content review",
      "MOV is a fine film , it just is n't what it wants to be or what it should be .",
      "while the film starts off slow , lee 's story develops into an amazing trip ; no pun intended .",
      "the oscar-winning director has effectively captured the good vibes surrounding the initial festival .",
      "MOV could have used a bit more old-fashioned ang lee brooding and torment and a bit less forced joy .",
      "it 's interesting and often amusing stuff , populated as it is with a cast of oddball characters , but it 's also uneven , with a tendency to sag for stretches .",
      "this is surely the calmest and warmest portrait of chaos i 've seen on screen ...",
      "captures a lost innocence -- but the toneless monosyllables and `` very cool 's '' and `` groovy 's '' grow quickly vapid or spacey .",
      "initially compelling with a fine ensemble cast and impressive cinematography , but suffers from an often bland screenplay that 's deficient in character development , imagination and emotional resonance .",
      "by the time `` MOV '' comes to an end , you may find yourself asking `` was this long , strange trip really necessary ? ''",
      "a laid-back , colorful , and groovy glimpse of the magic of woodstock viewed through the life of an up-tight young man who is a great caretaker unable to treat himself with the same care and support he gives others ."
    ],
    "summary": "featuring numerous 60s-era clichés , but little of the musical magic that highlighted the famous festival , MOV is a breezy but underwhelming portrayal .",
    "id": "770790009"
  },
  {
    "movie": "the_fountain",
    "reviews": [
      "if only all reputed turkeys gave us such a trip .",
      "science-fiction meets emotional fact . an intelligent , time-spanning love story that deserves the benefit of any doubt . watch . and watch again .",
      "i was utterly absorbed in watching it , yet when it was over i had no idea what had happened .",
      "i 've sat through lots of navel-gazing movies that would have been vastly improved by the addition of some 16th-century conquistador action ; aronofsky 's film is still a bore , its ideas and images too airy-fairy to have emotional force .",
      "MOV 's message is that life is short , so we should make the most of it , and that 's a message which should take one of two centuries , and one or two hairstyles , at most .",
      "the key line , spoken by a mayan priest , is ` death is the road to awe ' , and this movie truly puts the ` awe ' into awful .",
      "fantasy fable impresses and indulges in equal measure .",
      "aronofsky 's last effort , requiem for a dream , was a heartfelt film about drug addiction which i greatly admired . here , alas , he addresses a big , metaphysical topic with pitiful naivety . and he goes on and on and on , with nothing interesting to say .",
      "oscar winners rachel weisz and ellen burstyn provide solid support . but what they 're doing wasting their time in this junk is as unfathomable as the film itself .",
      "if kubrick 's 2001 got your juices flowing with its stunning , unexplained other-worldliness , this is a movie you could be mad for . or it might be just a load of old tosh .",
      "ambitious ? you bet , but also a towering , tumultuous folly . it 's the movie equivalent of a prog-rock double album , short on humour , long on pomposity , and as for what it all means - you might well ask .",
      "pretentious , preposterous and painfully bad , MOV is by far the worst film in an atrocious year . ... my wife thinks it 's the worst movie that she has ever seen .",
      "audaciously spiritual and original - and just because you ca n't figure it out does n't mean that there 's not something interesting going on .",
      "one can easily appreciate the sheer vision , rich imagination and boldness of such a picture",
      "`` MOV '' is his most brazen , beautiful and breathtaking yet , a work of spiritual gusto that might just be as close to a religious experience as one can experience in a movie theater .",
      "an artsy-fartsy disaster ... a would-be film of ideas that runs dry of them very quickly .",
      "a spiritual movie set in three centuries about death , the tree of life , MOV of youth , and love that will not let us go .",
      "it 's not as important to understand MOV as it is to absorb the experience .",
      "darren aronofsky is a stylistically visionary director trapped by the limitations of his writing abilities . MOV works best as a high-concept sci-fi film with all of its seams showing .",
      "it 's as if aronofsky was so consumed with the film 's elaborately contrived aesthetics that he took no time for a little thing called character development .",
      "i think i finally understand what george h.w. bush meant by ` a thousand points of light . '",
      "though his movie is visually inventive , writer/director darren aronofsky has fashioned a ponderous , overblown , genre-bending mess .",
      "aronofsky speeds back and forth across centuries with the virtuosity of ' 2001 ' - era stanley kubrick , and it 's all you can do to hang on .",
      "-lsb- i -rsb- ntrigues me intellectually , -lsb- but -rsb- it does n't make me feel anything ... but it 's one of the more interesting cinematic failures i 've ever seen .",
      "beautiful and profoundly moving ... this is a film i want to see several more times .",
      "if one is to be left with something in the end , it is the realization that its creator is fully in love with not just the result of his art , but the very happening of it .",
      "it will no doubt find itself aging quite well , appreciated long after its -lrb- inevitably short -rrb- theatrical run .",
      "seldom in cinema has eschatology been treated with such intelligence , or inspired such aching awe .",
      "yes , MOV is ridiculous , arguably pretentious , pining for your attention like a sixth grade emo kid . and i love it to pieces .",
      "i will concede the film is not a great success . too many screens of blinding lights . too many transitions for their own sake . abrupt changes of tone .",
      "despite its flaws , it 's still worth watching .",
      "... more a middling entry in the message/sci-fi/fantasy genre than the groundbreaking venture its ponderous tone would lead us to believe .",
      "there are hints of david lynch 's similarly confusing mulholland drive and the marvellously bonkers ending of stanley kubrick 's classic 2001 : a space odyssey that will repel many more viewers than attract .",
      "i 'm all for a movie making us think , but i am worried aronofsky , no matter how much i respect him as a director and writer , went a little too far with this one .",
      "MOV is masterful on so many unique levels , presenting a demanding filmgoing experience that should elicit a grand sense of awe on an emotional and spiritual level .",
      "it 's solaris by someone who can mimic the visual beauty of that work but can not replicate the soul of the it .",
      "thank god a movie can still have a unique language . film is such a powerful medium , and we 're so familiar with all its tricks , somebody should be challenging its uses ... darren aronofsky displays acute discipline .",
      "MOV is a giant step backwards into new age nonsense .",
      "i just like movies that bring the crazy .",
      "ambitious and unsatisfactory , MOV exists at an intriguing place between being nothing and something else .",
      "the tastiest fruit -lsb- aronofsky 's -rsb- talent has come to bear may be mainly an eye-stimulating array of pretty pictures .",
      "it 's that faith in -lsb- aronofsky 's -rsb- artistic vision -- a faith that 's evident during every second of MOV -- that sustains the movie even when you have no idea what the hell is going down .",
      "as deeply emotional and damnably frustrating as any work of pure individual vision must be .",
      "MOV is a challenging film about humanity 's mad struggle to find a cure for our condition , and aronofsky is clearly a man on a spiritual journey .",
      "baffling yet strangely compelling ...",
      "MOV is `` love , aronofsky style : '' it 's his meditation on life and death - specifically , the mechanisms by which we cope -lrb- or do n't -rrb- with loss ...",
      "though not difficult to understand , aronofsky takes too seriously the prescription that in movies you should showand not tell , resulting in meager character development .",
      "i 'm perfectly content to float with -lsb- aronofsky -rsb- even if he does n't solve the riddles of the universe .",
      "it 's borderline unwatchable .",
      "interesting without being enthralling , pretty without being striking , and somber without being ominous",
      "anybody could see that aronofsky was one of the few american filmmakers who saw the cinema past as a jumping-off point , not a toy store to plunder . his films were full of promise ; and more , they delivered on their promises .",
      "in his third feature , darren aronofsky tries to replace the prose of narrative cinema with a poetic language of rhyming images and visual metaphors .",
      "a little surrealism to advance the theme of the movie is brave ; a lot of tedious navel-gazing is just selfish .",
      "a metaphysical melodrama about the quest for eternal life , it makes a pretty decent case for euthanasia ; here is what it 's like to long for a swift , merciful end .",
      "this would-be science-fiction epic is so overcrammed with ideas that it actually feels a bit shallow , unfocused and scattered .",
      "for all the thunderous beauty on-screen , its profundities exist more in the concept than the execution .",
      "-lsb- it is -rsb- an impressionistic film , with death as its muse , sticking out so confidently from the current crop of ... well , anything .",
      "at once incredibly dense and disconcertedly simple , utterly over the top and sincerely down to earth , profoundly saddening and defiantly hopeful .",
      "what keeps `` MOV '' from being a really great film is that it 's so heavily based on the visual and pretty effects ... the idea of a simply told story gets lost in the shuffle .",
      "the whole thing is very zen , and i do n't mean that in a good way .",
      "as the prophet adam ant once said , you may not like it now , but you will .",
      "... a beautiful , baffling , color-splattered science-fiction romance .",
      "whether laughable folly or fool 's errand or -lrb- possible -rrb- head-scratching , noggin-expanding masterwork , there 's never a moment where it 's anything less than sincere .",
      "a tagline has been affixed to the campaign -- ` what if you could live forever ? ' -- and it has a certain resonance , especially after seeing the film , which makes 96 minutes seem like eternity .",
      "most people will probably find it pretentious , or too vague , or boring , or even silly . but give it a chance .",
      "love it or hate it , i do n't know how you could be bored by it .",
      "... a picture of beauty and profundity .",
      "this film can be understood on multiple levels , and can be misunderstood on multiple levels .",
      "this magical , mystical and moving film is stunning to look at and hugh jackman 's performance is one of the best of the year .",
      "those who eschew mysticism and melodrama should still appreciate the beauty and humanistic appeal of ` MOV . '",
      "the movie may have significant truths to impart , although i have my doubts , but it feels too inexperienced , too unworldly , to have earned the right to them .",
      "aspires toward the transcendence of tarkovsky but is more likely to appeal to fans of carlos castaneda and peyote buttons .",
      "MOV is extragalactic romantic claptrap .",
      "simultaneously one of the most grandiose and most personal films to hit theaters this year , a film that goes halfway around the galaxy to hit you where you live .",
      "as izzie 's story becomes tommy 's , it becomes familiar . she 's both his end and his means , and so , at last , not quite herself .",
      "MOV is the most ambitious , rich , romantic and ridiculous film of the year , a movie that 's both awe and giggle inspiring .",
      "MOV is every bit as visionary as aronofsky 's 1998 pi and 2000 's requiem for a dream , but this time the vision could be one of a third-grader on hallucinogens .",
      "a ponderous movie rather than a profound one .",
      "MOV is either innovative science fiction or overwrought melodrama ; i ca n't quite pinpoint which . i realize i 'm charged with reaching an opinion here , but it 's not easy .",
      "chances are you will love MOV . or , you will absolutely hate it .",
      "i know someone who told me the movie 's central love story made her weep , but my tears had more to do with disappointment -- i 've been a big aronofsky fan .",
      "director-writer darren aronofsky could reasonably be described as ambitious , obsessive and gifted . it 's just too bad about his taste .",
      "exquisitely beautiful and almost unbearably sad ... MOV is cinema as poetry ; romance as revelation ; science fiction as prayer .",
      "for the first time , i felt aronofsky 's reach for cosmic concepts exceeded his grasp .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- does n't make for smooth , comfortable viewing , but i 'd much rather watch somebody shoot for the moon when the stakes are sky-high than sit back while they play it safe .",
      "it 's difficult to recall another american film that , in pursuing a passionate and personal vision , goes so maddeningly , uproariously wrong .",
      "the continuous sense of deeply felt discovery tempers the movie 's overreaching pretentiousness",
      "you can judge for yourself whether a money shot of semenesque tree-sap is a proper payoff , but the movie is at least texturally rich , tonally consistent -lrb- brooding , always -rrb- and much fussed over by its maker .",
      "this film raises an interesting question : how far is a viewer willing to follow a talented filmmaker down a rabbit hole , when it becomes clear that said filmmaker has lost his way ?",
      "perhaps in twenty more years or so , -lsb- MOV -rsb- will be recognized for the utterly gorgeous masterpiece that it is .",
      "the enormous , and sometimes inspired , visual arc of aronofsky 's reach sadly exceeds his narrative 's basic grasp .",
      "visual alchemist darren aronofsky 's most personal work is a double helix of love and loss - death entwined with life as existence 's only reliable truths . it offers a transfixing merger of biological imperatives and musings on creativity and tragedy .",
      "a metaphysical muddle .",
      "it 's a simple story told with zen directness , its fingers deep in the age-old questions , its eyes and ears wide open to the sensual potential of cinema .",
      "so simple , so elaborate , and yet so utterly brilliant ...",
      "MOV may fill your cup as the year 's most mystical movie experience . but i make no promises that you 'll feel any younger .",
      "you have to look back to malick or kubrick to find an american filmmaker offering up such a challenging vision to a mainstream audience without apology .",
      "the movie has some beautiful and surreal images , but they deserve to be part of a deeper story . i did n't dislike this , but i did n't like it as much as i wanted to when i first saw the trailer .",
      "mystic pizza . aronofsky is less interested in coherence than in creating new age-ish cosmic images .",
      "mr. aronofsky 's outlook on life remains too constantly pessimistic for my taste , and too completely joyless as well .",
      "aronofsky has made a work that is completely his own -- one that exists in its own universe and is ultimately not much like anything else .",
      "even with aronofsky 's unrestrained indulgence , this is an intellectually and sometimes emotional stimulating experience .",
      "lyrical and haunting , this film is a powerfully engaging examination of mortality and grief wrapped up in a sci-fi fantasy .",
      "this is one of the worst movies of the year .",
      "darren aronofsky clearly did n't set out to make a usual movie ... -lsb- MOV 's -rsb- a story of overreaching that itself overreaches , but that might have been impossible to avoid .",
      "the story of darren aronofsky 's ambitious sci-fi epic MOV spans a thousand years . the movie itself only seems that long .",
      "sort of like a wild combination of ` the english patient ' and ' 2001 : a space odyssey . ' ... although it 's brave and beautiful , ` MOV ' is always more impressive than it is truly touching .",
      "... eclectic director darren aronofsky makes MOV work . in a really weird way .",
      "hugely ambitious and visually commanding ... the kind of artful , textured , defiantly non-mainstream gamble more filmmakers should be taking .",
      "the visions aronofsky imparts , particularly in an ending that rivals 2001 for acid-flashback trippiness , make MOV a movie experience that ca n't be skipped .",
      "an awesome work , dazzlingly inventive , constantly surprising , and told with a minimum of showbiz hoopla .",
      "if there were more darren aronofskys , the multiplex would be a stranger and better place . flaws and all , MOV believes in itself more fervently than any other movie you may see this year -- so fervently it does n't need an audience 's faith .",
      "the picture is visually intoxicating -- the images have a luminous psychedelic beauty -- and the film 's themes emerge elegantly out of the story 's intricately-looped tri-level structure .",
      "like pi , aronofsky 's first feature , MOV combines spiritual mumbo jumbo with vaguely scientific concerns , only even more pretentiously this time .",
      "a haunting and remarkable emotional journey that takes us places movies rarely dare to go .",
      "a cross between stanley kubrick 's 2001 and douglas sirk 's delicious 1954 soaper , magnificent obsession .",
      "this is a terrifically stylish film that warrants multiple viewings to catch the director 's subtleties of story and multi-layered meaning .",
      "if one would simply switch on their inherent intellect , they 'd see the truth behind the tricks -- that is , that MOV is an astonishing , evocative experience",
      "if aronofsky 's just gone over my head , i 'm prepared to live with that .",
      "incredibly honest and emotional filmmaking that 's not afraid to slip up in its pursuit of something beautiful .",
      "MOV overflows with three centuries of gloom .",
      "i will credit aronofsky with creating a few very beautiful scenes in the movie . they would be lovely in a coffee table book , but serve no purpose in a film that elicits little compassion for its characters or understanding of its story .",
      "strange , sometimes unintelligible , and hard to follow at times , `` MOV '' is a psychedelic , gentle meditation on love and death .",
      "a feature-length fortune cookie .",
      "MOV is the story of a gifted artist who dared to reach for the stars and paid for his ambition with a really stupid movie .",
      "i ca n't stop thinking about it , a good indication that this beautiful , frustrating film is tapping into something i ca n't put my finger on .",
      "uma fábula filosófica que pode ser encarada como filhote contemporâneo de obras como 2001 uma odisséia no espaço , de kubrick , e solaris , de tarkovsky .",
      "it 's tough to kick a mewing kitten , even one this stupid and ugly .",
      "to dismiss this out of hand is to miss the overriding passion that aronofsky pours into every frame of his wildly uneven but always watchable epic .",
      "it 's refreshing to be in the hands of a filmmaker with a unique vision , and a pleasure to be challenged by a film 's flights of imagination .",
      "guys like darren aronofsky give auteurs a bad name .",
      "an intoxicatingly beautiful but painfully simplistic fable about love and death .",
      "it 's a sprawling experiment in philosophical time travel and metaphysical noodling . and it 's an earnest , magnificent wreck .",
      "it 's a spiritual journey about the timelessness of true love . and it 's a journey better not taken .",
      "like the time traveler at its center , it 's all over the map .",
      "pic 's hippy trippy space odyssey-meets-contempo-weepy-meets-conquistador caper starring hugh jackman and rachel weisz suffers from a turgid script and bears all the signs of edit-suite triage to produce a still-incoherent 95 minutes .",
      "though narratively flawed -lrb- first and third segments are truncated and difficult to follow -rrb- , the film is more effective visually , asking the audience to succumb to aronofsky 's visionary world that takes full advantage of the medium 's expressive qualities .",
      "do the secrets of life warrant such fancy cinematic footwork and symbolistic ambiguity ? the justification lies in a world of visionary artistry and taut performance .",
      "folly ? maybe . but a risk worth taking .",
      "in its own sappy way as daring and gonzo as aronofsky 's hyper-stylized trip down heroin lane , requiem for a dream .",
      "a pretentious , unfocused , and fussy mess , in which director darren aronofsky manages to make hugh jackman unattractive and unsympathetic .",
      "darren aronofsky 's troubled and long-anticipated metaphysical project centering on the theme of man 's quest for immortality finally emerges as too fevered and convoluted .",
      "part historical fantasy , part lovers-separated-by-death weeper , part new age fever dream , MOV is n't truly horrible , just very , very silly .",
      "in its own quest to out-puzzle the conclusion of kubrick 's 2001 , MOV will madden audiences ' receptivity not for answers , but coherency .",
      "i 've taken the same entheogens many times . but i never cried .",
      "if you 're a movie lover who despairs that big-scale filmmaking today consists of little more than a self-cannibalizing system of clichés , then you need , badly , to see MOV , soon .",
      "the new darren aronofsky film , `` MOV , '' is high-concept , metaphysical trash that shoots for the heavens -- literally -- but which likely will leave some wondering how they paid eight bucks to walk through the doors of hell .",
      "beautiful but overreaching piece of cinematic poetry .",
      "it 's more original than any mainstream or art film i 've seen over the past few years .",
      "`` let 's end this , '' tomas exclaims at the film 's beginning . too bad it takes another ninety five minutes to get the deed done .",
      "a cinematic poem . with a careful , artistic hand , it paints images , scenes , more meant to invoke a feeling . it 's a matter of life and death .",
      "nothing works in darren aronofsky 's disappointing science-fiction fantasy .",
      "many will extract real meaning from the film ; others will simply call its bluff and walk away empty headed .",
      "one of the year 's best films , an emotionally honest drama steeped in love and loss .",
      "this is a movie anyone seeking a truly original experience at the cinema should partake in .",
      "with its whispered dialogue and funereal tone , MOV takes itself far too seriously . no one else will .",
      "kubrick 's ghost can rest soundly .",
      "it 's mostly for naught , because while the central relationship in MOV covers a lot of ground , it does n't really go anywhere .",
      "MOV is not an unmitigated disaster -- just a disappointment from an undeniably talented filmmaker .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- does n't make one lick of sense , and it does n't seem to be about much of anything at all .",
      "it 's often maddening , because of its structure , and some of its visuals are pretentious nonsense . but , as a story of undying love , it 's certainly unique .",
      "as an act of creation , MOV is mostly about its creator . it is a reminder that obsessions are generally about the person obsessed and not the person obsessed about .",
      "despite aronofsky 's obviously earnest and heartfelt efforts , this would-be trippy fantasy about love and death is kookier and sillier than anything else .",
      "MOV is -lsb- aronofsky 's -rsb- most accessible movie , romantic and almost straightforward until its finale .",
      "it 's an ambitious , passionate , grief-stricken work of film art .",
      "sitting through a foundering film can be miserable experience . it 's particularly painful to see a talented director miss the mark .",
      "for every flaw , though , the movie has a strength .",
      "in an era in which even the so-called independent cinema chases formulas and is ruled by a cowardly herd instinct , you really have to admire aronofsky 's guts for making such a risky , uncompromising , spiritual-minded film .",
      "MOV may be a deeply flawed film , but at least it is unlike anything else in mainstream theatres right now .",
      "zardoz anyone ?",
      "it 's one of those movies that i can see myself watching over and over again ... with or without the aid of external stimulants .",
      "had this been the ` sixties hippies would have watched it stoned ...",
      "MOV is beautiful , gripping and utterly transcendent . it 's the best film of 2006 .",
      "there is much to admire in the structure and execution of his filmmaking . not many directors are willing to tackle such deep philosophical questions in a popularist entertainment . ... -lsb- but -rsb- i would have to rate it as a noble failure .",
      "hope may spring eternal , but this fountain is a dry hole .",
      "how can so much style , talent and money be squandered in the service of such blatant airheadedness ?",
      "there is a strange deadness in the film , together with a callow self-importance and self-pity which become more stultifying with every minute that passes .",
      "incoherent , pretentious and boring , aronofsky 's film appears as terminally stricken as its female lead . while a re-edit is unlikely to help , it may be better served on dvd , where its jigsaw-like structure can be more fully appreciated .",
      "first , the good news : MOV is only 97 minutes long . now the bad : that 's 97 minutes of rampant metaphysical codswallop .",
      "lurches on a thin line between hyper-ornate space oddity and extended perfume advert .",
      "at heart , this is a simple zen fable about love and death . in execution , it 's a complex and gorgeous mini-epic with sterling performances from its two stars .",
      "ambitious , beautifully shot and superbly acted , the all-out surrealness of MOV may be too much for some , but the rewards are there if you 're prepared to surrender yourself to it .",
      "i do n't pretend to fully understand darren aronofsky 's latest film , to unravel its knots of time and character , or its oozing realities . but at its core there is the unmistakable essay on the way love is cheated by death , just as death is cheated by love .",
      "if there 's a wavelength you can ride to feel touched and enlightened by MOV , it appears to have skipped my stop .",
      "aronofsky 's passion on this topic runs away with him so much that he neglects to make the characters connect in any meaningful way .",
      "even without all the bells and whistles , it still boils down to one love story worth seeing .",
      "aronofsky 's long-time-coming version of spiritual wonder is finally more mind-numbing than soul-stirring .",
      "the premise is lachrymose , the sets are clammy , and the metaphysics all wet . the screen is awash in spiraling nebulae and misty points of light , with the soundtrack supplying appropriately moist oohs and aahs .",
      "next time around , it would n't be a terrible idea for aronofsky to allow his characters the chance to smile .",
      "a bravely nonlinear , noncommercial , and sadly noninteresting meditation on the desire to prolong youth and stave off death .",
      "the movie is structured like an orchestral piece , with three distinct themes that gradually come together in a movement that is powerful and beautiful .",
      "technically , this is an impressive motion picture , but the fragmented story results in poor character development and aronofsky 's clinical approach limits identification .",
      "it 's an incredibly ambitious film of sometimes thrilling visual achievement , but it did n't connect fully to my mind and nerves .",
      "` MOV ' is a stunning , elegant movie . i found it hypnotic and almost painfully beautiful ."
    ],
    "summary": "MOV -- a movie about metaphysics , universal patterns , biblical symbolism , and boundless love spread across one thousand years -- is visually rich but suffers from its own unfocused ambitions .",
    "id": "284431475"
  },
  {
    "movie": "ace_ventura_when_nature_calls",
    "reviews": [
      "painful to sit through .",
      "click the read the article .",
      "the first was funny , in a cheap way . the second is a disgrace .",
      "... if you want to watch something brainless , this is n't a total waste .",
      "a guilty pleasure .",
      "a little bit of carrey goes a long , long way -- and this ace ventura comedy goes on for too , too long .",
      "it 's silly stoo-pid merriment ... for any age .",
      "warner bros. doubled the budget for this sequel in 1995 . for their trouble , they got half as funny a film .",
      "from the man who would one day give us kung pow . need i say more ?",
      "-lrb- no quote available . -rrb-",
      "there 's so little to watch besides carrey , in fact , it makes you actually miss -lrb- gasp ! -rrb- sean young from ace 1 ."
    ],
    "summary": "nature calls in this ace ventura sequel , and it 's answered by the law of diminishing returns .",
    "id": "10604"
  },
  {
    "movie": "2_days_in_the_valley",
    "reviews": [
      "2 MOV is witty and bracing in its own right , and it should n't be buried under extraneous comparisons to pulp fiction .",
      "there are too many characters , but some are a lot of fun . the tone shifts , from graphic murder to wig-flipping farce , are too extreme , but much of it works .",
      "mazursky delivers one of the best lines in the film when he observes , `` it 's been my observation that losers are more truthful than winners . '' amen . here 's to some losers who sometimes get to win .",
      "herzfeld was obviously shooting for pulp fiction meets short cuts , but the film is more like four rooms meets pręt-ŕ-porter .",
      "the plot underlies even the most inexplicable scenes and eventually links even the most widely separated characters , but what makes the movie fun is the dialogue and the behavior .",
      "somehow , although this film 's unevenness tends to take us out of the action now and then , there 's something kind of agreeable about it .",
      "herzfeld , an award-winning television writer and director , did n't craft either a compelling story or create characters with any real depth .",
      "on the whole , there are some good moments in the movie , but altogether , 2 MOV is about one day too much .",
      "as a joy ride , 2 MOV is like a drive down sunset boulevard in a convertible cadillac -- so very valley , it 's shallow but fun .",
      "a genuinely human redemption story wrapped in a dark , violent thriller .",
      "an intelligent thriller - a nice surprise",
      "charlize theron is super-sexy , and devilishy memorable",
      "one constant is its lovely cinematography . another is its utter insignificance .",
      "a quirky , multi-character collage that skillfully keeps you off balance , not knowing where it 's headed .",
      "when the highlight of your movie is a catfight between teri hatcher and charlize theron ... well , it 's not necessarily a bad thing , but it couldve been better",
      "smoothly constructed , for such a busy piece of work , and hatcher 's ascent to stardom continues .",
      "to the director 's credit , the actors all seem responsive to his touch , giving performances that are lively and flavorsome , if not deep or unlike anything each of them has done before .",
      "a sharp , smart movie peppered with a-grade performances from its b-list cast .",
      "it 's not that this is a bad , blackly comic slice-of-lowlife : it 's just that you 've just seen it all before .",
      "herzfeld has a tolerable eye for filling a ` scope frame but a tin ear when it comes to creating dialogue ; these are all characters we 've met before , and most even seem bored with themselves .",
      "a somewhat entertaining ride to nowhere in particular .",
      "herzfeld 's marriage of dark humor with graphic violence is n't compatible , and his occasional moral statements about cheapened life stick out like sore thumbs .",
      "closer to straightforward drama than black comedy .",
      "this smart movie never seemed smart .",
      "a sleek , amusingly nasty screen debut by a film maker whose television credits include an amy fisher docudrama .",
      "among the many lacking pulp fiction carbon copies that refuses to realize its surrealistic shortcomings . an exaggerated and aimless mess starving for attention",
      "an ensemble-cast mishmash of crime and betrayal that manages to work .",
      "like its protagonists , it misses the target by inches .",
      "funny , pathetic , sad , absurdist -- writer-director john herzfeld plays it any number of ways , and makes them all work .",
      "this movie is n't bad for mere entertainment , but it 's overshadowed by other , better movies in the same genre .",
      "not everyone will get this film , but for those who appreciate the delectable rewards of black comedy , this is an encounter with substantial rewards .",
      "herzfeld 's characters border on the bizarre , and yet each is endearing .",
      "a solid picture that is probably accessible to a wider audience than pulp fiction was ...",
      "this produces some rather nasty-funny surprises .",
      "it 's pure entertainment -- nothing too serious , nothing too deep -- with an artistic sensibility .",
      "a jumbled hodgepodge with an excess of plot masquerading as hip thriller .",
      "shallow characterisation , a script so laid-back you can almost hear it snoring and the occasional outburst of hokey dialogue lead to a movie a good deal less charming than it thinks it is .",
      "a tense , heartfelt , funny and sometimes brutal film ."
    ],
    "summary": "a labyrinthine thriller with a host of memorable characters , 2 MOV is an uneven but intriguing thriller/black comedy .",
    "id": "13366"
  },
  {
    "movie": "motherhood",
    "reviews": [
      "a pleasing , lighthearted look at the mommy wars .",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- sharp comedy .",
      "you can see the movie wants to comment on all the frustrations of urban MOV , but it does so only shallowly . how did having children kill eliza 's `` fiercely lyrical '' fiction career ? the movie is n't that political or reflective .",
      "many films have been made about the perils of parenthood , but none with a more attractive and entertaining mom on the verge of a nervous breakdown than uma thurman in MOV .",
      "so focuses on eliza 's need to look out for number one that -lsb- the film -rsb- obscures the reasons people become parents , winding up with a movie light on love and heavy on narcissism .",
      "gets stuck in the starting gate , unsure of what kind of film it wants to be .",
      "the lesson , i guess , is that it really sucks being a mom , but it 's also incredibly unrewarding .",
      "misguided , cluttered , annoying mess of a dramedy , a film only moderately redeemed by the still-luminous thurman , but even she is dragged down by a truly awful screenplay . mothers still get no respect .",
      "... inept...ill-conceived , and amateurish ... an insult to full time mothers and MOV .",
      "MOV gives upper-middle-class whining a bad name .",
      "in a few brief moments , thurman 's eliza springs to life ... but it 's not thurman 's fault that those moments are few and far between .",
      "whiny and self-involved , thurman 's mother of two sees judgment around every corner and believes the universe has conspired against her because the bakery misspelled her daughter 's name on a birthday cake .",
      "were it not for the presence of the ` big name ' stars , this would have straight-to-hallmark-channel written all over it .",
      "there 's nothing much here on the wonders of parental obligation to reinforce the mood , only ineffective flecks of comedy and abrasively broad performances to help sell an unwelcome foray into me-me-me individuality .",
      "this enjoyable but simplistic comedy feels more like a mother 's tired rant than an ode to MOV",
      "disappointing , faintly patronising comedy-drama that 's light on both laughs and drama .",
      "this i-don ` t-know-how-i-do-it schtick may appeal to the martyred-motherhood brigade , but it wo n't do anything for people who turn up to a comedy expecting laughs .",
      "it 's hard to see why the target audience would want to sacrifice two precious hours watching their own soul-sapping routines played out on the big screen .",
      "it 's a well-meaning movie , but the attempts to provide amusing insights into the everyday life of a full-time mum are hamstrung by the 24-hour time frame .",
      "a light , cheery metropolitan take on what it 's like to be left holding the baby .",
      "an authentic account of stressed-out parenting , but anyone sans sprogs will find limited appeal in this one-trick pony .",
      "MOV never comes to term .",
      "pity party for moms .",
      "filmmaker dieckmann has infused MOV with a meandering sensibility that immediately sets the viewer on edge ...",
      "if you ever wanted to spend an entire movie in the company of a frazzled , childcare-juggling uma thurman on a singularly bad hair day , MOV could well be manna from heaven .",
      "few vanity projects can be as ill-conceived as this laughless , goggingly slow uma thurman vehicle .",
      "this whiny drivel makes me ashamed to be a woman .",
      "i would n't care if she was at the epicentre of the movement for global peace : she 's a happily married mother who looks like uma thurman , and my reserves of sympathy are limited .",
      "the film treats the responsibilities of parenthood like another film would treat cancer , as a dream-killing condition to be endured until it passes or kills you . as a contraceptive device , that works brilliantly .",
      "revealing the contradictions of this postfeminist age , MOV is good enough to recall up the sandbox , the elegant and eccentric 1972 response to feminism , race , class and media ...",
      "-lsb- thurman is -rsb- quite funny , but her performance is at once winning and overstated .",
      "if carrie bradshaw ever trades her manolos for sneakers and starts blogging about raising children , i pray she would n't be as tiresome as the heroine of katherine dieckmann 's insufferable comedy MOV .",
      "-lsb- MOV -rsb- not only overdoes its premise , but it 's hampered by several flaws . when it tries to be serious , it 's too earnest , and when it tries to strike a chord , it 's banal .",
      "director katherine dieckmann , who demonstrated some natural comic rhythms and efficiency with actors in diggers , is here unable to surmount the sitcom dreariness of her first original screenplay , apparently a `` write-what-you-know '' misjudgment .",
      "what eliza writes , like MOV itself , feels like a stale collection of harried-parent material that the bland comedy duo the mommies milked dry more than a decade ago .",
      "though pregnant with possibility , MOV fails to deliver .",
      "too bad the writing did n't include -lrb- thurman -rrb- lopping off people 's heads , sort of a sequel to her `` kill bill '' roles . now 90 minutes of that could be entertaining .",
      "the humor is soft , the dramas are small , and the movie stumbles from loose and scruffy naturalism to sitcom tidiness .",
      "portrays a time-starved mother who is willing to throw herself into parenting but also realizes the need to care for her own soul .",
      "unfortunately , nothing here digs too deep .",
      "parenting dramedy entertains but unlikely to appeal to kids .",
      "uma , overload . overload , uma .",
      "if ms. dieckmann really thinks that people communicate as inanely as she has written this script , then we are all doomed .",
      "it scares straight any wishful daydreams about parenting , living in manhattan and even looking like uma thurman .",
      "MOV is a deceptive film that seems to be one thing when it starts % u2013 and then turns a corner and becomes something else , something deeper and more perceptive .",
      "dieckmann nails the look of a certain niche of urban neo-middle-class living , but the film 's hyper-earnest tone and reliance on `` day-from-hell '' new york clichés overwhelm those details .",
      "MOV is neither insight nor escapism . it 's a yummy-mummy newspaper column splurged onto celluloid , like baby sick on your best cashmere sweater ."
    ],
    "summary": "despite uma thurman 's comic skills , MOV 's contrived set-ups and cliched jokes keep this comedy from delivering laughs -- or insights into modern parenting .",
    "id": "770802360"
  },
  {
    "movie": "abyss",
    "reviews": [
      "suffers due to its incredible length and slow pace , but intriguing , nonetheless .",
      "brilliant at sustaining tension and interest .",
      "for god 's sake , make sure you have the director 's cut . the theatrical cut was an abomination .",
      "click to read review",
      "a remarkable film ... the vfx are super !",
      "a gorgeous and fascinating underwater adventure .",
      "what was once a well-made , well-acted mess is now a very poignant and satisfying sci-fi adventure .",
      "this overlong concoction is scuppered by dire dialogue , histrionic performances and maudlin sentimentality .",
      "a classic .",
      "pretty great underwater adventure .",
      "if the 1989 cut is a thrill ride , then the 1993 revamp is a frequently wrenching emotional roller coaster .",
      "the human stuff is more than worth the descent .",
      "anyone looking for a discouraging word about this stupendously exciting and emotionally engulfing film should read no further . the MOV confirms james cameron as a world-class filmmaker .",
      "a rare film -- big-budget hollywood entertainment on a grand scale that is able to seamlessly incorporate many levels of meaning into an entertaining experience .",
      "... the undersea adventure may have you waterlogged after the first hour .",
      "the film lasts for more than two hours , yet the audience could hardly expect to be bored .",
      "i 'd sooner believe that moby dick could swim up the drainpipe .",
      "begins with a bang and just keeps on rolling .",
      "one of the best science fiction film ever made . this remains true in spite of a rather superficial treatment of the some of the science fiction elements . it is very much a 2001 with the slowish parts replaced by a good fast-paced adventure film .",
      "a finely crafted film .",
      "the movie was a bear to make and it shows onscreen , parading around a series of mesmerizing set-pieces that look deliciously hard-earned in ways our current cg-drenched filmmaking climate never allows .",
      "one need not be a cameron acolyte to recognise that the MOV has aged better than some of the films that outshone it back in the day .",
      "the MOV gains in some ways from its own achilles heels , in a way most movies do n't ... its formal technique , its reckless obsessiveness , and its gutsy emotionalism are what i ca n't stop turning over in my mind .",
      "colossally ambitious , this logistically boggling and technically brilliant film from writer-director james cameron is a visual tour de force , featuring overall , the greatest underwater sequences ever seen on film .",
      "the attempt to extract the essences of several genres -lrb- cold-war submarine thriller , love story , disney fantasy , pseudomystical sf in the spielberg mode -rrb- and mix them together ultimately leads to giddy incoherence .",
      "what ultimately saves the film are its extraordinary sets and phenomenal oscar-winning visual effects .",
      "as a follow-up to cameron 's great sci-fi aliens , the MOV is too verbose for an actioner and the special effects , striking as they are , are not well integrated into the narrative , but it 's still worth seeing .",
      "a firstrate underwater suspenser with an otherworldly twist , the MOV suffers from a payoff unworthy of its buildup .",
      "forget titanic this is cameron 's best underwater flick",
      "great blending of spectacle and drama ."
    ],
    "summary": "the utterly gorgeous special effects frequently overshadow the fact that the MOV is also a totally gripping , claustrophobic thriller , complete with an interesting crew of characters .",
    "id": "12161"
  },
  {
    "movie": "1010678-invasion_of_the_body_snatchers",
    "reviews": [
      "the first -- and still best -- version of the cold war sci-fi , despite compromised ending that was imposed by producer walter wanger on the director to make the tale less downbeat and anarchic .",
      "an all time classic . the `` message '' was lost on most original viewers .",
      "don siegel 's superb little effort , with its matter-of-fact isolation of hero kevin mccarthy -lrb- ironic , no ? -rrb- from the smarmy complacency of a small town gone to hell -- and way beyond -- points the way to his gripping action films of the 60s and 70s .",
      "a superbly crafted film by innovative director siegel , this low-budget science fiction tale became one of the great cult classics of the genre .",
      "tenso e bem construнdo , conta com uma уtima trilha sonora , a direзгo expressiva de siegel e com um roteiro que pode ser lido como uma alegoria clara do mccarthismo .",
      "siegel 's brilliant movie sits as a perfect bookend to romero 's `` night of the living dead . ''",
      "it 's still a chilling picture , gaining over phil kaufman 's smart remake by virtue of its intimate small town setting , and it has one of the greatest endings ever filmed .",
      "some genuinely creepy moments and good social commentary raise this horror film",
      "i still believe in the reality of pod people .",
      "chilling still . do not fall asleep while watching it !",
      "don siegel directs this chilling sci-fi allegory with economy , speed and efficiency .",
      "although expertly remade twice - in 1978 and 1993 - and rather less successfully in 2007 , the original is still the most striking , with a justly famous scalp-freezing ending .",
      "don siegel 's taut , bleak , noir-flavoured picture is arguably the science-fiction b-movie of the 1950s , an age when screens glowed with the atomic threat and undulated with scuttling , supersized bugs .",
      "the grandfather of all paranoid thrillers",
      "a film whose righteous anger is visible in its every frame .",
      "brilliantly placed , however unwittingly , to illustrate america 's political paranoia from both ends .",
      "this modest , sci-fi-inflected 1956 horror movie may come to be seen as the defining metaphorical work of the twentieth century .",
      "the modest budget and b-list stars -lrb- kevin mccarthy , dana wynter -rrb- - enhance the movie 's impact , and don siegel 's taut direction makes the sheer ordinariness of the setting all the more scary .",
      "-lsb- this movie -rsb- scares the holy piss out of me .",
      "`` you fools ! you 're in danger ! ca n't you see ? they 're after you ! they 're after all of us ! '' it 's one of the greatest lines in sci-fi movie history , from one of the greatest films , MOV .",
      "watch it in the cinema and you 'll find yourself gazing warily at everyone else in your row .",
      "a movie that can claim kinship with alberto cavalcanti 's went the day well ? as well as the matrix and under the skin .",
      "its defining trump is that it is transparent , possessing a strong political undercurrent visible beneath its surface .",
      "wonderfully performed and imbued with a genuine sense of trepidation and unease .",
      "maybe not a great film , but a classic of its era",
      "its title implies that it 's something you might watch for its campy comic value . but it 's flat-out nightmarish .",
      "the film 's portrait of human beings gradually assimilated by an alien invasion of emotionless duplicates creates a profoundly disturbing sense of paranoia .",
      "one of the very best sci-fi/horror pictures of one of that genre 's best decades .",
      "arguably the greatest ever b-movie .",
      "this tense , offbeat piece of science-fiction is occasionally difficult to follow due to the strangeness of its scientific premise . action nevertheless is increasingly exciting .",
      "talky , tame original sci-fi study in paranoia .",
      "few modern-day movies are more genuinely frightening .",
      "jack finney 's magazine story-turned novel `` the body snatchers '' has proven remarkably resilient through the years .",
      "among the most thrilling cliffhangers in all of cinema .",
      "MOV -lrb- 1956 -rrb- is a thrilling , disturbing classic science fiction/alien film .",
      "a classic must-see . it remains potent to this day .",
      "at the time , the film could have been seen as a metaphor for the red menace , or mccarthyism , or whatever ; the fact remains it 's a creepy little film .",
      "what if the mask of your neighbor tilts for a second and you catch a glimpse of the riot going on behind his face ?",
      "a 50s horror classic that remains a gem of allegorical paranoia ."
    ],
    "summary": "one of the best political allegories of the 1950s , MOV is an efficient , chilling blend of sci-fi and horror .",
    "id": "18032"
  },
  {
    "movie": "boondock_saints",
    "reviews": [
      "more interested in finding fresh ways to stage execution scenes than in finding meaning behind the human urge for self-appointed righting of wrongs , pic is stuffed with effects that have no lasting impact .",
      "train wreck !",
      "-lsb- a -rsb- dim-witted , aesthetically clunky tarantino clone .",
      "it 's one thing to make a film that 's violent and profane ; it 's another to make one that 's a moral black hole , and to do it because black looks cool . -lsb- blu-ray -rsb-",
      "duffy 's models are clearly snarky , ultraviolent tarantino-esque crime pictures , but this movie 's cleverness is never quite on a par with its bloodlust .",
      "an embarrassing waste of time , and nothing even resembling the guiltiest of guilty pleasures ...",
      "willem dafoe 's portrayal of the conflicted homosexual fbi agent is overacted to such an extent that it is hilarious , amazing and entertaining . his is an unforgettable character .",
      "satire or self-parody would be vastly preferable to the film 's unironic endorsement of outlaw justice , but you 'd be hard pressed to find anything resembling irony or subversiveness in this exercise in lovingly rendered ultra-violence .",
      "while i do n't think the flick really has much of a brain in its head ... it sure is n't boring .",
      "if you ca n't sit back and enjoy an entertaining popcorn flick like the MOV , then you 'll probably never understand the difference between the movies and real life .",
      "duffy has made a film that sort of straddles the fine line between great movie and useless piece of garbage .",
      "the MOV , sorry to say , was n't worth the trouble .",
      "it taps into everyone 's secret desire for vigilantism .",
      "definitely an exercise in style over substance .",
      "it is , by turns , hilariously awful and just plain unhilariously awful , full of its own nonexistent momentousness , an unintentional parody of hardboiled gangster flicks .",
      "visualmente interessante , o filme se corrompe ao fazer apologia da `` justiзa com as prуprias mгos '' . ainda assim , a atuaзгo de dafoe merece ser conferida .",
      "it does the job , but does n't do a very good job of it .",
      "stylish and fun in a cheeseball sort of way .",
      "from this cast , you 'd expect better , but it 's mostly just a redundant tarantino wanna-be .",
      "a ridiculous , self-important amalgamation of rehashed macho posturing and slow-motion bloodletting . do yourself a favor : do not attend a convocation with these saints ."
    ],
    "summary": "a juvenile , ugly movie that represents the worst tendencies of directors channeling tarantino .",
    "id": "12869"
  }
]