Top Films by Year
Top Films of 2020
Top Films of 2017
Top Films of 2015
The Guard – 7.5
A deft amalgam of rowdy humor and murderous criminality, this dramedy rode the broad back of Brendan Gleeson to a wistful conclusion that made you mourn the end of the story, and perhaps the character. Unfortunately, both were let down by Don Cheadle’s unbelievable American counterpart, more Stepin Fetchit than crime-stopper. What a lone FBI […]
Drive – 8
A taut, tingling, stylish and supercool action thriller. The plot is a genre staple; how it is told makes the movie. Nicolas Winding Refn uses silences, and holds them, while the background drumbeat and technomusic push the suspense, and when violence erupts it is shocking – as in the sensation of an electric prod on […]
The Help – 8
A rare old-fashioned well-made film, with good guys, bad guys, a plot, fine acting, a bit of history, local color and a satisfying ending. This is sure-fire Oscar bait, although with so many deserving actresses – in order, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone and Jessica Chastain – it’s hard to know who will get […]
The Names of Love – 5
A bit of lightweight fluff, athough there may have been serious undercurrents lurking, as suggested more by the title in French, Les Noms des Gens, as in, what’s in a name?, or who is really French? The biggest revelation may have been how unerotic full-frontal nudity of a beautiful woman could be, as Sara Forestier […]
Crazy, Stupid Love – 6
One wonders how good a movie this could have been with a real actor instead of Steve Carrell in the lead role, but since he was the movie’s executive producer that wasn’t going to happen. As a result, you had Julianne Moore going through a kaleidoscope of facial expressions, showing real hurt, confusion, and longing, […]