ZERO DARK THIRTY
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 157 minutes |
“Zero Dark Thirty” is truly one of the best films of 2012. In my list, it is the best…
Posted on January 11, 2013 by Elias Savada
STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 84 minutes |
There are some nice spins on old high school clichés and enough off-center characters and good, occasionally great, dialogue (including lines about Betty Crocker/Betty Ford and bitchforks) that should make “Struck by Lightning” one of the year’s early hits in the art house market…
Posted on January 7, 2013 by Elias Savada
BARBARA
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 105 minutes |
“Barbara” offers us historically motivated immorality offset by some heartfelt sensitivity, a side order of depression, and finishes off with some ennobling hope. It’s definitely one of the best foreign films of the year.
Posted on December 26, 2012 by Elias Savada
BROOKLYN CASTLE
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: PG Running Time: 102 minutes |
With “Brooklyn Castle” it’s really nice to see so many young, positive minds at play in the world, and to cheer on so many smiling children dreaming of enlightened futures…
Posted on December 1, 2012 by Elias Savada
KILLING THEM SOFTLY
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 97 minutes |
It’s a middling gangster film, but belabored with too much Sturm und Drang, particularly in banging over the audience’s head the constant reminders of the fiscal cliff…
Posted on November 30, 2012 by Elias Savada
MASQUERADE
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 131 minutes |
Following in the long tradition of lavish Asian epics, this new South Korean entry is a beautiful addition to the genre of period prince-and-the pauper themed films…
Posted on October 25, 2012 by Elias Savada
SPOOKY MOVIE INTERNATIONAL HORROR FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS FOR NINE DAYS OF GENRE FUN
The 9-day Spooky Movie International Horror Film Festival starts off Wednesday night, October 10, with Richard Bates, Jr.’s disturbing debut feature “Excision” at AFI’s Silver Theatre in Silver Springs, Maryland…
Posted on October 9, 2012 by Elias Savada
MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 101 minutes |
Somber and moody, with assured direction by Ava DuVernay overseeing an exceedingly at-ease cast, the mood poem that is “Middle of Nowhere” is one of the best little films of the year…
Posted on September 28, 2012 by Elias Savada
BACHELORETTE
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 88 minutes |
“Bachelorette” is a poor-woman’s “Bridesmaids,” in need of a bit more laugh-inducing moments…
Posted on September 9, 2012 by Elias Savada
OSLO, AUGUST 31ST
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 95 minutes |
Life’s sadder moments are quite well displayed in Trier’s nuanced approach. For many popcorn munchers, that regrettably doesn’t translate as a must-see movie in today’s crowded marketplace…
Posted on August 19, 2012 by Elias Savada
RUBY SPARKS
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 104 minutes |
While Kazan and Dano don’t (yet) capture the deep-rooted romantic whimsicalities of Tracy and Hepburn, their off-screen chemistry has certainly helped make “Ruby Spark” one of this year’s more enjoyable moments on screen…
Posted on July 25, 2012 by Elias Savada
TO ROME WITH LOVE
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 112 minutes |
“To Rome With Love” is a triumphant examination of life and love’s many splendors, spilt out on the streets on Rome at their wickedly absurd and poignantly profound moments…
Posted on June 30, 2012 by Elias Savada
BRAVE
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Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: PG Running Time: 95 minutes |
With all its spunk and determination, it’s easy to see how close “Brave” gets to the bull’s eye of Pixar perfection.
Posted on June 22, 2012 by Elias Savada
ROCK OF AGES
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 123 minutes |
Plenty of music bursts forth on the “Rock of Ages” soundtrack, but glam-rock–and the self-reflexive humor that apparently has made the original show such hit–are dealt a death blow. Watching paint dry would be time better spent…
Posted on June 15, 2012 by Elias Savada
HYSTERIA
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  Year Released: 2012 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 95 minutes |
It’s the writing that sinks “Hysteria,” and there’s no machine that can alleviate that…
Posted on May 26, 2012 by Elias Savada