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  aka level of Value, Originality, and Risk
  
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(5) Indispensable, even if flawed
 
  • Carlos B+
    dir. Olivier Assayas; with Édgar Ramírez, Alexander Scheer, Nora von Waldstätten
  • Dogtooth A–
    dir. Giorgos Lanthimos; with Aggeliki Papoulia, Mary Tsoni, Hristos Passalis
  • Inception C+
    dir. Christopher Nolan; with Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe
  • Mother B+
    dir. Bong Joon-ho; with Kim Hye-ja, Won Bin, Jin Goo, Yun Je-moon
    ★ My Neighbor, My Killer B+
    dir. Anne Aghion; documentary about local courts in post-genocidal Rwanda
  • Prodigal Sons A–
    dir. Kimberly Reed; documentary about a transwoman and her adopted brother
  • A Prophet B+
    dir. Jacques Audiard; with Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif
  • Restrepo B–
    dir. Sebastian Junger & Tim Hetherington; documentary about soldiers in Afghanistan
  • Toy Story 3 A–
    dir. Lee Unkrich; animated; voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Ned Beatty
  • White Material A–
    dir. Claire Denis; with Isabelle Huppert, Christopher Lambert, William Nadylam
  • Winter's Bone B
    dir. Debra Granik; with Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey
     
    (4) Formidable pieces of work
     
  • Biutiful B+
    dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu; with Javier Bardem, Maricel Álvarez, Hanaa Bouchaib
  • Blue Valentine A
    dir. Derek Cianfrance; with Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel
    ★ Everyone Else A–
    dir. Maren Ade; with Lars Eidinger, Birgit Minichmayr, Hans-Jochen Wagner
  • The Fighter B+
    dir. David O. Russell; with Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo
  • Fish Tank A–
    dir. Andrea Arnold; with Katie Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Kierston Wareing
  • The Ghost Writer B
    dir. Roman Polanski; with Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams
    © Greenberg B+
    dir. Noah Baumbach; with Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig, Rhys Ifans
  • I Am Love B
    dir. Luca Guadagnino; with Tilda Swinton, Edoardo Gabriellini, Flavio Parenti
  • The Illusionist B
    dir. Sylvian Chomet; animated; voices of Jean-Claude Donda, Eilidh Rankin
  • Inside Job B+
    dir. Charles Ferguson; documentary about 2008 global financial crisis
  • The Kids Are All Right B
    dir. Lisa Cholodenko; with Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo
    ★ Lebanon B
    dir. Samuel Maoz; with Yoav Donat, Oshri Cohen, Itay Tiran, Michael Moshonov
    ★ Lourdes B+
    dir. Jessica Hausner; with Sylvie Testud, Léa Seydoux, Gilette Barbier
    ★ Monsters B–
    dir. Gareth Edwards; with Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able, Mario Zuniga Benavides
    ★ Mugabe and the White
          African     C+
    dirs. Lucy Bailey & Andrew Thompson; documentary about Zimbabwean legal case
  • Night Catches Us B–
    dir. Tanya Hamilton; with Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Amari Cheatom
  • October Country B
    dirs. Michael Palmieri & Donal Mosher; documentary about upstate NY family
  • Scott Pilgrim vs. the World B–
    dir. Edgar Wright; with Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong
  • Secret Sunshine B+
    dir. Lee Chang-dong; with Jeon Do-yeon, Song Kang-ho, Seon Jung-yeop
  • The Social Network B+
    dir. David Fincher; with Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer
  • Splice C–
    dir. Vincenzo Natali; with Sarah Polley, Adrien Brody, Delphine Chanéac
    © Wild Grass B
    dir. Alain Resnais; with André Dussollier, Sabine Azéma, Anne Consigny
     
    (3) Try to make the time
     
  • 127 Hours C+
    dir. Danny Boyle; with James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Clémence Poésy
    ★ Accomplices B
    dir. Frédéric Mermoud; with Cyril Descours, Nina Meurisse, Gilbert Melki
    ★ The American B
    dir. Anton Corbijn; with George Clooney, Johan Leysen, Violante Placido
    ★ Animal Kingdom B+
    dir. David Michôd; with James Frecheville, Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton
  • Another Year B
    dir. Mike Leigh; with Ruth Sheen, Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Oliver Maltman
    ★ Black Swan B–
    dir. Darren Aronofsky; with Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis
    ★ Cairo Time B
    dir. Ruba Nadda; with Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Amina Annabi
  • Catfish B+
    dirs. Ariel Schulman & Henry Joost; documentary about an odd internet friendship
  • Exit Through the Gift Shop B
    dir. Banksy; documentary about aspiring street artist Thierry Guetta
  • Fair Game B
    dir. Doug Liman; with Naomi Watts, Sean Penn, Michael Kelly, Noah Emmerich
  • The Father of My Children B+
    dir. Mia Hansen-Løve; with Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Chiara Caselli
  • For Colored Girls C+
    dir. Tyler Perry; with Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Whoopi Goldberg
  • Frozen B–
    dir. Adam Green; with Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell, Kevin Zegers
  • Green Zone B+
    dir. Paul Greengrass; with Matt Damon, Brendan Gleeson, Greg Kinnear
  • How To Train Your Dragon B+
    dirs. Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders; animated; voice of Jay Baruchel
  • Howl C
    dirs. Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman; with James Franco, David Strathairn
  • I Love You Phillip Morris C
    dirs. Glenn Ficarra & John Requa; with Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann
    ★ The Last Exorcism B
    dir. Daniel Stamm; with Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Louis Herthum, Iris Bahr
  • Let Me In B+
    dir. Matt Reeves; with Kodi Smit-McPhee, Chloë Grace Moretz, Elias Koteas
    ★ Make-Out with Violence B
    dirs. The Deagol Brothers; with Eric Lehning, Cody DeVos, Brett Miller, Leah High
  • The Secret of Kells B
    dir. Tomm Moore; animated; voices of Evan McGuire, Christen Mooney, Mick Lally
    © Shutter Island D+
    dir. Martin Scorsese; with Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley
  • Sweetgrass B
    dirs. Ilisa Barbash & Lucien Castaing-Taylor; documentary about U.S. sheep-herders
  • The Tillman Story B
    dir. Amir Bar-Lev; documentary about pro footballer killed in Iraq War
  • The Town B+
    dir. Ben Affleck; with Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Hall
  • Trash Humpers C+
    dir. Harmony Korine; with Rachel Korine, Brian Kotzur, Travis Nicholson
  • Unstoppable B–
    dir. Tony Scott; with Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson
    ★ Valhalla Rising C+
    dir. Nicolas Winding Refn; with Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson
  • Waiting for 'Superman' B–
    dir. Davis Guggenheim; documentary about the crisis of U.S. public education
  • Women Without Men C+
    dir. Shirin Neshat; with Shabnam Toloui, Pegah Ferydoni, Arita Shahrzad
     
    (2) Hardly urgent viewing
     
     ★     Air Doll C
    dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda; with Bae Du-na, Arata, Itsuji Itao, Joe Odagiri
  • Alice in Wonderland D+
    dir. Tim Burton; with Mia Wasikowska, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp
  • American Radical: The Trials of
          Norman Finkelstein     C+
    dirs. David Ridgen & Nicolas Rossier; documentary about controversial scholar
  • Buried C–
    dir. Rodrigo Cortés; with Ryan Reynolds, voice of José Luis García Pérez
  • Burlesque B–
    dir. Steve Antin; with Christina Aguilera, Cher, Cam Gigandet, Stanley Tucci
  • City Island C+
    dir. Raymond De Felitta; with Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, Steven Strait
  • The Company Men C
    dir. John Wells; with Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt
  • Conviction C+
    dir. Tony Goldwyn; with Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver
    ★ Cropsey C
    dirs. Joshua Zeman & Barbara Brancaccio; documentary about child abductions
  • Easy A C+
    dir. Will Gluck; with Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Alyson Michalka
  • Frankie & Alice D+
    dir. Geoffrey Sax; with Halle Berry, Stellan Skarsgård, Phylicia Rashad
  • Going the Distance B–
    dir. Nanette Burstein; with Justin Long, Drew Barrymore, Christina Applegate
  • Hereafter C–
    dir. Clint Eastwood; with Matt Damon, Cécile de France, Frankie McLaren
  • The Human Centipede D+
    dir. Tom Six; with Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie
  • Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work B
    dirs. Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg; documentary about the actress-comedienne
    ★ Life During Wartime B–
    dir. Todd Solondz; with Shirley Henderson, Dylan Riley Snyder, Allison Janney
  • Love & Other Drugs D+
    dir. Edward Zwick; with Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Josh Gad, Hank Azaria
  • Made in Dagenham C+
    dir. Nigel Cole; with Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Geraldine James, Daniel Mays
  • Mother and Child C+
    dir. Rodrigo García; with Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington
    ★ Never Let Me Go C+
    dir. Mark Romanek; with Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley
  • The Next Three Days C
    dir. Paul Haggis; with Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, Ty Simpkins
  • Nowhere Boy C
    dir. Sam Taylor-Wood; with Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne-Marie Duff
    ★ Only When I Dance C
    dir. Beadie Finzi; documentary about young Brazilian ballet dancers
  • Paranormal Activity 2 B
    dir. Tod Williams; with Sprague Grayden, Brian Boland, Molly Ephraim
  • Please Give C+
    dir. Nicole Holofcener; with Catherine Keener, Rebecca Hall, Oliver Platt
  • Rabbit Hole B–
    dir. John Cameron Mitchell; with Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Tammy Blanchard
  • Red Riding: 1974 B–
    dir. Julian Jarrold; with Andrew Garfield, Rebecca Hall, Anthony Flanagan
    © Salt C+
    dir. Phillip Noyce; with Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor
  • The Secret in Their Eyes B–
    dir. Juan José Campanella; with Ricardo Darín, Soledad Villamil, Guillermo Francella
  • Somewhere C
    dir. Sofia Coppola; with Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius
  • Tangled B–
    dirs. Nathan Greno & Byron Howard; animated; voice of Mandy Moore
  • Tiny Furniture C–
    dir. Lena Dunham; with Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, Jemima Kirke
  • True Grit B–
    dirs. Joel & Ethan Coen; with Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon
  • Vincere D+
    dir. Marco Bellocchio; with Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Filippo Timi, Fausto Russo Alesi
  • The Way Back B–
    dir. Peter Weir; with Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Dragos Bucur, Colin Farrell, Saoirse Ronan
     
    (1) Low ambition, easy to forget
     
  • Case 39 D
    dir. Christian Alvart; with Renée Zellweger, Jodelle Ferland, Ian McShane
  • Chloe D+
    dir. Atom Egoyan; with Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson
  • Cyrus D
    dirs. Mark Duplass & Jay Duplass; with John C. Reilly, Jonah Hill, Marisa Tomei
    ★ Delta C+
    dir. Kornél Mundruczó with Félix Lajkó, Orsolya Tóth, Lili Monori, Sándor Gáspár
  • The Disappearance of Alice
          Creed     C
    dir. J Blakeson; with Martin Compston, Eddie Marsan, Gemma Arterton
    ★ The Eclipse C–
    dir. Conor MacPherson; with Ciarán Hinds, Iben Hjejle, Aidan Quinn
  • Get Low C–
    dir. Aaron Schneider; with Robert Duvall, Lucas Black, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek
  • The Girl with the Dragon
          Tattoo     D+
    dir. Niels Arden Oplev; with Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Sven-Bertil Taube
  • The Killer Inside Me D+
    dir. Michael Winterbottom; with Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson
  • The King's Speech C–
    dir. Tom Hooper; with Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter
  • Legendary C–
    dir. Mel Damski; with Devon Graye, John Cena, Patricia Clarkson, Madeleine Martin
    ★ Let It Rain C+
    dir. Agnès Jaoui; with Jean-Pierre Bacri, Agnès Jaoui, Jamel Debbouze
    ★ Lovely, Still D
    dir. Nik Fackler; with Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn, Adam Scott
  • Morning Glory D
    dir. Roger Michell; with Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Patrick Wilson, Diane Keaton
  • The Runaways B–
    dir. Floria Sigismondi; with Dakota Fanning, Kristen Stewart, Michael Shannon
    ★ The Square C
    dir. Nash Edgerton; with David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Anthony Hayes
    ★ Summer in Genoa [Genova] C
    dir. Michael Winterbottom; with Colin Firth, Willa Holland, Perla Haney-Jardine
     
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    Author's permission must be granted in writing for any citation, duplication, or publication, in whole or in part.

    Banner images Fish Tank © 2009 BBC Films/Kasander Film Group/IFC Films; Exit Through the Gift Shop © 2010 PDA/Paranoid Pictures; Prodigal Sons © 2008 Big Sky Films; Inception © 2010 Warner Bros. Pictures; How To Train Your Dragon © 2010 DreamWorks SKG; I Am Love © 2010 Magnolia Pictures/First Sun/Mikado Films; Green Zone © 2010 Universal Pictures