The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – 2 Buckets

While never vile like the recent What to Expect When You’re Expecting, John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is another reminder that a good “intersecting stories”-style ensemble movie is nearly impossible to make… [Read more]

What to Expect When … Expecting – 1 Bucket

Most Hollywood films are made for profit, not artistic reasons, but rarely do they make their financial motives as transparent as Kirk Jones’ What to Expect When You’re Expecting does. The film’s desire to win ticket-buyers, rather… [Read more]

God Bless America – 1 Bucket

God Bless America, the latest film from stand-up comedian Bobcat Goldthwait, has a story that could have been told from a compelling angle. Joel Murray stars as Frank, a middle-aged man with nothing to lose, who goes on… [Read more]

My Way – 1 1/2 Buckets

Whenever a great South Korean art-house hit like Oldboy, The Chaser, or Mother reaches the United States, American critics invariably offer a glowing assessment of that country’s “screen quota,” which legally requires theaters to play… [Read more]

The Five-Year Engagement – 2 1/2 Buckets

While I have long contested the employment of the phrase “wait for HBO” among critics–as a staunch defender of the theatrical experience, I believe most films are either good enough to warrant a night out or aren’t worth seeing… [Read more]

Meeting Evil – 1/2 a Bucket

More and more these days, major movie stars are compelled to appear in low-budget independent projects because they want to flex their acting muscles — something that higher paying Hollywood productions often… [Read more]

Delicacy – 3 Buckets

Delicacy — as in treating others delicately, not whipping up delicacies in the kitchen. Writer/co-director David Foenkinos understands that some things are too sweet for their own good, of which the adorable Audrey Tautou… [Read more]

The Deep Blue Sea – 4 Buckets

In 2002, long after the popular conception of the melodrama had shifted from a dignified style for theatrical productions to the domain of only cheap soap operas, Todd Haynes made Far From Heaven – a film that did not simply… [Read more]

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen – 2 Buckets

In recent late night talk show appearances promoting Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, stars Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor have hammered the idea that the film is not as dry as the title would lead one to believe. They have… [Read more]

Footnote – 3 Buckets

Joseph Cedar’s Footnote, a splendid dark comedy nominated for this year’s Best Foreign Film Oscar, represents a true rarity — a movie about what it means to be a male, where sexuality doesn’t enter the equation. Instead, the focus… [Read more]

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