Movie Ratings & Reviews

Last film added: January 25, 2021. There are currently 1678 films in the database (since 1996).

Watched During 2012

Search returned all films watched in 2012

MASTERPIECES

Artist, The (2011) 10
A jaded modern audience can enjoy this silent movie like it's 1927. Remarkable and charming.
Hugo (2011) 10
In the 1930s, a boy lives in the walls of a Paris train station. Extraordinary.
Midnight in Paris (2011) 10
A surreal, inspired masterpiece by Woody Allen about the importance of living in the present.
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) 10
Wes Anderson's charming story of two 12-year-old lovers who flee their 1960s New England town.
Tree of Life, The (2011) 10
Terrence Malick's insightful, gorgeous and bold vision. Sincerely explores the meaning of life and love.

EXCELLENT

127 Hours (2011) 9
Mountain climber Aron Ralston's harrowing week trapped in a canyon. Survival instincts and prophetic visions.
Another Earth (2011) 9
A second Earth from a parallel universe appears in the sky. A meditation on destiny.
Beginners (2011) 9
Mike Mills's story of a graphic artist whose terminally ill father announces that he's gay.
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011) 9
The story of puppeteer Kevin Clash, the heart and soul of Elmo. Touching and inspiring.
Brand Upon the Brain! A Remembrance in 12 Chapters (2006) 9
Guy Maddin's homage to silent film. A return to an abandoned island home. Orphanage memories.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011) 9
Inside France's Chauvet Cave, Werner Herzog idiosyncratically explores the history of art and human culture.
Children of Men (2007) 9
Humankind is facing the likelihood of its own extinction. Set in dystopian London in 2027.
Dark Days (2000) 9
A cinematic portrait of the homeless population living permanently in New York City's underground tunnels.
Descendants, The (2011) 9
George Clooney reconnects with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured. Poignant imperfections.
DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2010) 9
Strassman and Hancock explore connections between human spirituality and neuroscience through psychedelics.
Drive (2011) 9
Getaway driver Ryan Gosling falls in love with his married neighbor. Badass, stylish character study.
Encounters at the End of the World (2008) 9
Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica and talks to wayward travelers and philosophers on the frontier.
Head-On (2005) 9
The adorable Sibel Kekilli marries to satisfy her Turkish family. Drugs, brutality and emotional intensity.
Inside Job (2010) 9
Comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008. Corruption in politics, regulation and academia.
Kid with a Bike, The (2012) 9
The Dardenne Brothers' affecting story of a young boy abandoned to a state-run youth farm.
Lars and the Real Girl (2007) 9
A remarkable achievement that reveals pure, heartbreaking humanity through a sex doll from the Internet.
Melancholia (2011) 9
Kirsten Dunst suffers from melancholia and a mysterious planet threatens Earth. Epic Lars von Trier.
My Winnipeg (2008) 9
Haunting, personal portrait of filmmaker Guy Maddin's hometown of Winnipeg, and of his psyche. Unique.
Revolutionary Road (2009) 9
Titanic II is emotionally devastating, gut-wrenching and profound. Shakes the American Dream to its core.
Savages, The (2007) 9
Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman become responsible for their ailing father's care. Witty humanity.
Single Man, The (2010) 9
A heartbroken English professor is having trouble coping with his life in 1960s California. Wonderful.
Take Shelter (2011) 9
Tense, haunting film about a father being driven mad by apocalyptic visions. Paranoid or prophetic?
True Grit (2010) 9
The Coen Brothers' remake of a classic Western has both ugly violence and touching humanity.

VERY GOOD

3:10 to Yuma (2007) 8
Complex Western remake centered on a stagecoach robbery. Stars outlaw Crowe and rancher Bale.
50/50 (2011) 8
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a 27-year-old who was just diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
Art & Copy (2009) 8
Documents advertising's history and influence. Wisdom and inspiration from creative artists behind the campaigns.
Attack the Block (2011) 8
A rowdy teen gang in South London exuberantly defends their block from an alien invasion.
Avengers, The (2012) 8
Nick Fury brings together Marvel superheroes to save the Earth from Loki. Very balanced effort.
Bowling for Columbine (2002) 8
Michael Moore explores the roots of America's propensity for gun violence and the fear-mongering media.
Bubble (2006) 8
Soderbergh's haunting, low-budget film featuring a doll factory in a decaying Midwest town, and murder.
Bunny and the Bull (2009) 8
A surreal, Gondry-esque comedy starring an agoraphobic man who reconstructs a tragic European road trip.
Chronicle (2012) 8
Don't abuse your children or they might grow up to destroy Seattle with powerful telekinesis.
Dangerous Method, A (2011) 8
How the relationships between Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein gave birth to psychoanalysis.
Everything is a Remix (2012) 8
Four-part video series by Kirby Ferguson about the culture of copying, transforming and combining media.
Forks Over Knives (2011) 8
Vast evidence that a whole foods, plant-based diet can reverse diseases caused by animal-based foods.
Future, The (2011) 8
Miranda July weaves a magical, heartrending film on loneliness and mortality. And a stray cat.
Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) 8
Poppy is a cheery North London schoolteacher whose optimism tends to exasperate those around her.
Insomnia (2002) 8
Two L.A. homicide detectives are dispatched to Alaska to investigate the murder of a teen.
King Corn (2007) 8
Good-natured introduction to industrialized agriculture. We subsidize the Happy Meals, but not the healthy ones.
Limits of Control, The (2009) 8
Jim Jarmusch's stylized, dreamlike tale of an enigmatic loner on a shadowy criminal mission. Meditative.
Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup (2009) 8
Investigates the conspiracy theory that 9/11 was an inside job. An example of history repeating?
Messenger, The (2009) 8
Poignant military tale about soldiers assigned to notify families of casualties during the Iraq War.
Moon Man (2012) 8
Moon Man hitches a ride to Earth on a comet and discovers children need him.
Neverwas (2007) 8
A psychiatrist befriends a patient in a mental institution and discovers his father's secrets. Magical.
Paranoid Park (2007) 8
Dreamlike, fractured story about a young Portland skateboarder's life and a security guard's accidental death.
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire (2009) 8
Dark social commentary and ugliness with an ending that's hopeful, but not happy and contrived.
Prometheus (2012) 8
Waxes philosophical and connects the Aliens franchise with Chariots of the Gods and Jesus Christ.
Reel Injun (2009) 8
How depictions of Native Americans in cinema have shaped perceptions of their cultures and histories.
Road, The (2009) 8
Viggo Mortensen and his son try to survive in post-apocalyptic America. Noble and heartbreaking humanity.
Rock-afire Explosion, The (2008) 8
The inventor behind (and fans of) the Showbiz Pizza and Chuck E. Cheese's animatronic puppets.
Shopgirl (2005) 8
A love triangle of Claire Danes, Jason Schwartzman and Steve Martin. Elegant examination of love.
Smoke Signals (1998) 8
Two young Indian men from an Idaho reservation take a life-changing road trip together. Soulful.
Splice (2010) 8
Intelligent creature feature focused on ethical quandaries in biotechnology. What's the worst that could happen?
Super 8 (2011) 8
In 1979, a mysterious train crash provides a monster-movie backdrop to a sweet love story.
These Amazing Shadows: The Movies That Make America (2011) 8
The National Film Registry's history and the cultural, historical and aesthetic significance of motion pictures.
Vanishing of the Bees (2011) 8
Investigation into implications of the worldwide collapse of the honeybee. Slow death by systemic pesticides.
Waste Land (2011) 8
Uplifting documentary highlighting the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit.
Zeitgeist: The Movie (2007) 8
Important, incendiary exploration of global societal control through religion, 9/11, foreign wars and central banks.

GOOD

Agora (2010) 7
Condemning historical drama of ancient conflict between science and superstition, centered on Hypatia of Alexandria.
Ballad of Jack and Rose, The (2005) 7
Symbolic Oedipal story explores losses of innocence and the death of a 1960s counterculture movement.
Big River (2010) 7
An update/companion to 2007's King Corn. Explores the ecological consequences of industrial corn production.
Black Snake Moan (2007) 7
Provocative, ludicrous and sweet. Blues musician Samuel L. Jackson and sex-addicted Christina Ricci star.
Blank City (2011) 7
Snapshot of late 1970s underground/punk filmmaking in New York during the No Wave movement.
Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi (2003) 7
A school principal in Israel discovers that a quiet 16-year-old underachiever is a genius. Sweet.
Cabin in the Woods, The (2012) 7
Turns the horror genre on its head, but crammed with excessive wink-wink cleverness and CGI.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) 7
Steve Rogers volunteers for a top-secret research project that turns him into Captain America. Charming.
Carnage (2011) 7
Two pairs of parents, including Kate Winslet, bicker for 80 minutes in a Brooklyn apartment.
Cat in Paris, A (2012) 7
Charming, attractive animated feature centered on cat burgling. Made with traditional ink and paint cartooning.
Chloe (2010) 7
Implausible psychological drama with lots of nudity by escort Amanda Seyfried and doctor Julianne Moore.
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011) 7
Behind the scenes of Conan O'Brien's frenetic 2010 comedy tour. Revealing but not especially funny.
Contagion (2011) 7
Soderberg's disaster-thriller about a deadly outbreak of infectious disease and the dire global consequences.
Country Wedding (2008) 7
A couple tries to find a church in the Icelandic countryside to have their wedding.
Dogtooth (2011) 7
Bizarre, perverse black comedy about homeschooled siblings in Greece. Mesmerizing like an incestuous car crash.
Dolphin Tale (2011) 7
Charming family film based on a true story. The actual dolphin involved stars as herself.
Drakmar: A Vassal's Journey (2008) 7
A sensitive 14-year-old escapes to the medieval fantasy kingdom of Adria to survive his adolescence.
Everything Is Illuminated (2005) 7
A Jewish-American man endeavors to find the Ukrainian woman who saved his grandfather in WWII.
Everything Must Go (2011) 7
Alcoholic Will Ferrell relapses and ruins his life, then begins living on his front lawn.
Exploding Girl, The (2010) 7
A young epileptic woman, back home from college, struggles with her feelings for her boyfriend.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011) 7
A nine-year-old copes with the loss of his father on 9/11. Poignant, manipulative, almost exploitative.
Fracture (2007) 7
Hotshot attorney Ryan Gosling goes up against Anthony Hopkins, a manipulative criminal, in court. Clever.
Good Dick (2008) 7
A lonely, introverted girl who rents adult films meets a young, chatty video store clerk.
Great Directors (2010) 7
Conversations with 10 of the world's greatest living directors, including David Lynch and Richard Linklater.
Hangover, The (2009) 7
Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen, the groom and one night of drunken misadventures.
Happythankyoumoreplease (2011) 7
Six 20-something, self-absorbed New Yorkers deal with love and the undeniable prospect of actual adulthood.
He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (2001) 7
Darkly humorous series of vignettes of shared-housing experiences across Australia. A search for meaning.
Ingredients (2009) 7
Compares America's industrialized food system to a rising local-growth movement, from Oregon to New York.
Journey of the Universe (2011) 7
Explores of the epic history of the cosmos, Earth and humanity. Sometimes goofy but also profound.
Keyhole (2012) 7
Guy Maddin's surreal take on Homer's Odyssey. A mysterious, dreamlike journey of Ulysses and ghosts.
Last Days of the Arctic (2011) 7
Follows photojournalist Ragnar Axelsson on an evocative photographic journey among the people of the Arctic.
Margot at the Wedding (2007) 7
Jennifer Jason Leigh plans to marry Jack Black, but estranged sister Nicole Kidman shows up.
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2010) 7
Werner Herzog and David Lynch! A disturbed man mysteriously slays his mother with a sword.
Perfect Sense (2012) 7
Follows Ewan McGregor and Eva Green as an epidemic robs people of their sensory perceptions.
Phoebe in Wonderland (2009) 7
An unconventional drama teacher inspires a troubled girl. Elle Fanning and Patricia Clarkson are amazing.
Radiant City (2007) 7
Faux-documentary about the disaggregated, unwalkable, intolerant nature of modern suburbia. Mocking.
Religulous (2008) 7
Bill Maher's provocative, smartass dialogue with Jews, Christians and Muslims. An irreverent but smug rant.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) 7
Interesting franchise origin story with dull characters. Heavy on special effects and light on significance.
Rum Diary, The (2011) 7
Hard-drinking American journalist Johnny Depp takes a newspaper job in Puerto Rico during the 1950s.
Saddest Music in the World, The (2004) 7
Guy Maddin oddity. A Canadian beer baroness organizes a saddest-music contest during the Great Depression.
Salt (2010) 7
Insanely violent and illogical. CIA agent/Russian spy Angelina Jolie is an unstoppable killing machine.
Septien (2011) 7
Weird little movie about three eccentric brothers. The underlying bearded angst is charming and absurd.
Sherlock Holmes (2009) 7
Ritchie's overwrought, violent CGI explosion. Quick-witted Downey is great, but why is Holmes constantly fighting?
Sidewalls (2011) 7
Two neurotic individuals live in neighboring apartments in Buenos Aires. Will they meet? Charming loneliness.
SLC Punk (1999) 7
In 1985, Matthew Lillard is one of two dedicated punks in conservative Salt Lake City.
Third Contact (2012) 7
Psychological thriller explores madness, depression, quantum suicide and immortality. It's a dark, puzzling poem.
TiMER (2010) 7
A biotech implant counts down to the moment you're supposed to meet your soulmate. Charming.
Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1998) 7
Jewel-toned, deadpan absurdity from the inimitable Guy Maddin. A kitschy, disorienting fantasy of frustrated desires.
Vegucated (2011) 7
Three New Yorkers adopt a vegan diet for six weeks, get educated about animal agriculture.

FAIR

All My Friends Are Funeral Singers (2010) 6
A fortuneteller lives in a house crowded with ghosts at the edge of the woods.
Another Year (2010) 6
British dramedy of weak, ordinary characters. Every dull statement is a rhetorical question, isn't it?
Brown Bunny, The (2004) 6
An aimless, gut-wrenching film of loneliness, sexual obsession and guilt. Vincent Gallo is fearlessly narcissistic.
Burn After Reading (2008) 6
A CIA agent's memoirs falls into the hands of opportunistic idiots. Pointless Coen Brothers farce.
Chasing Sleep (2001) 6
An insomniac wakes up to find his wife missing and proceeds to lose his mind.
Colony (2010) 6
Slow and unfocused documentary about beekeeping, and the struggle to cope with colony collapse disorder.
Forest for the Trees, The (2005) 6
An awkward German schoolteacher is basically unprepared for life. Her alienation is painful to watch.
Frailty (2002) 6
Bill Paxton's chilling study of a family's disintegration. The plot twists and payoff underwhelmed me.
Immortals (2011) 6
Tarsem's Greek epic succeeds at being a gorgeous, self-important spectacle. It's less enjoyable than 300.
In Time (2011) 6
Promising concept plays like a contrived mishmash of Logan's Run, Robin Hood, Bonnie and Clyde.
John Carter (2012) 6
Hectic, violent CGI epic about Mars. Sort of fun, but I was never emotionally invested.
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) 6
A young owl is abducted, but he escapes and seeks out the legendary Guardians.
Lulu on the Bridge (1999) 6
After Jazz saxophonist Harvey Keitel is accidentally shot, he enters into a hallucinatory, obsessive affair.
Majestic, The (2001) 6
In 1951, a blacklisted Hollywood writer loses his memory. Predictable, sentimental and syrupy, but charming.
Mirror Mirror (2012) 6
Visually stunning like all Tarsem movies, and Julia Roberts was cast appropriately, but jarringly jokey/dopey.
Night Watch (2006) 6
First chapter of a derivative Russian fantasy epic featuring warring forces of daytime and nighttime.
Ricky (2009) 6
French parable about a bizarre baby's physical development, his precocious sister and his irresponsible mother.
Silent House (2012) 6
Thrilling performance from Elizabeth Olsen. Shot to mimic one continuous real-time take. Letdown by ending.
Sleeping Beauty (2011) 6
Detached, calculating portrait of a directionless, unaware student drawn into a mysterious world of desires.
Thor (2011) 6
The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of Asgard and sent to Earth.
Wanted (2008) 6
A young man finds out his long-lost father is an assassin. Then hyperkinetic bullet-bending ensues.

ADEQUATE

Due Date (2010) 5
Downey Jr. is forced to hitch a ride with Zach Galifianakis to make it home.
Last Days of the World, The (2011) 5
A bored Japanese teenager learns that Earth will be destroyed. Surreal, kinky and borderline exploitative.
Red State (2011) 5
Ugly, preachy Kevin Smith film. The teen horror genre plus fundamentalist religious fervor and violence.
Saving Private Perez (2011) 5
A Mexican crime lord plans to invade Iraq to rescue his brother. Ridiculous, wacky violence.

FROM BAD TO WORSE

Bad Teacher (2011) CRAP
Gold digger Cameron Diaz is a terrible junior high teacher who wants breast-implant surgery. Misanthropic.
Bride Wars (2009) CRAP
Was subjected to this loathsome, soul-crushingly shallow piece while traveling, almost killed self. Fuck this.
Freddy vs. Jason (2003) CRAP
Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize teenagers, and each other. Boring and stupid.
Ma Mère (2005) CRAP
Dark, French exercise of reckless, unlikable characters finding pleasure in incest and depravity. Rotten, pointless.
P.S. I Love You (2007) CRAP
Hilary Swank was miscast among sitcom-quality sentimental actors where everyone is trying to be cute.
Takers (2010) CRAP
Stylish but clichéd, with hyperactive camera work. Seasoned bank robbers go after an armored car.

How much time was spent watching movies?

Statistical ratings distribution of these 143 films

bell curve

6.5

CRAP

7.3

10:

3.5%

16.1%

24.5%

34.3%

14.7%

2.8%

CRAP:

4.2%

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Movie Ratings & Reviews

Watched During 2012