question: Woody Allen's uneven Melinda and Melinda fails to find neither comedy nor pathos in what seems like a rehash of his previous themes.

numbered reviews: 1. I'm torn - half of me thinks this is worth seeing and the other half says wait to rent it or see it on cable.
2. Overcoming the handicap of an overt, writerly device, Allen crafts a warm comedy and a painful tragedy right before our eyes.
3. A movie that too often is dull and duller, an exercise posing as a full-blown drama. Or is it posing as a comedy?
4. It is a stunt, but at least it is a serious one.
5. Half works, and the half that doesn't work isn't so bad that it's not worth sitting through to see a Woody Allen comedy starring Will Ferrell.
6. It's pleasant and challenging enough, in fits and starts, and certainly not the embarrassment of his last few movies.
7. Entertaining but uneven.
8. So much more depth has gone into seductively photographed interiors (residents complain of being poor while living in terrific Manhattan lofts) that Melinda starts to seem like an accessory, to be packed and hauled away.
9. None of the characters have their own voice. They all sound like Woody Allen.
10. But recently he's been off his game again. I don't know why.


question: Simultaneously broad and progressive, Spy offers further proof that Melissa McCarthy and writer-director Paul Feig bring out the best in one another -- and delivers scores of belly laughs along the way.

numbered reviews: 1. Spy points the way to deploying all of Melissa McCarthy's ferocious talents - the good, bad and over the top - as a leading lady.
2. for the most part, Spy is solid
3. There is currently no more exciting and rewarding moment in filmed comedy than watching Melissa McCarthy ad-lib.
4. Paul Feig doesn't bring out the best in Melissa McCarthy. He's a skilled wingman who lets her shine on her own.
5. McCarthy has much more to discover about herself as an actor and an avatar and a cultural signifier, and I hope she doesn't get trapped by one role, one genre or one franchise. But her campaign of conquest is going well.
6. Melissa McCarthy finally gets a decent star vehicle.
7. There is slapstick here, but we know Susan has the chops to handle things and we are, thankfully, never invited to simply 'laugh at the fat girl'.
8. The new movie starring Melissa McCarthy, the reigning queen of profane, physical film comedy, is also smart, heartfelt and full of female empowerment. It lampoons the James Bond genre and asks: Why should the guys have all the fun?
9. After credits at the end of Spy started rolling, I had a hankering to see it again.
10. When a movie delivers a laugh a minute during its two-hour running time, you're getting a lot of comedic bang for your buck.


question: Veteran character actress Melissa Leo delivers a stunning performance in this powerful -- if grim -- indie film.

numbered reviews: 1. It is more conventionally melodramatic than its realist postures might at first suggest, but in the end Frozen River is kept from sinking into icy oblivion by the brittle strength of its central performances.
2. Skating between thriller and character/social drama, Hunt has created a women's movie with backbone, fleshed out by terrifically steely performances from Leo and Upham, who manage to convey the intricacy of the women's decisions despite the sparse dialogu
3. A credible, high-stakes thriller. Cracking stuff.
4. This is that rarest of beasts - an indie thriller that tries to win over viewers not with crowbarred-in whimsy but with a gripping plot and two brilliant lead characters.
5. Frozen River is a superbly written, genuinely moving drama with an unmissable central performance from Melissa Leo. Highly recommended and one of the best films of the year.
6. Frozen River is a quirky drama driven by a couple of outstanding performances.
7. Frozen River represents one of the best examples of the new trend for austerity and social realism in American indie cinema.
8. A modest but thrilling drama.
9. The surprising twists and turns in the final act are both powerful and haunting.
10. This feels like a story destined to end in tragedy but although there are plenty of opportunities to transform this into a heartbreaker, writer/director Courtney Hunt allows the audience a ray of hope.


question: Excessive and gory, this remake lacks the intellectual punch of the 1972 original.

numbered reviews:
1. A deliberate, underplayed horror movie that is truly shocking.
2. Repulsive and dull, together at last.
3. The action scenes are particularly gripping.
4. The remake is much glossier but also takes place mostly in real time, using long takes, genuinely disturbing violence and stretches with no dialogue to pin you to the story.
5. It must be said that The Last House on the Left is really well done, with impressive performances, masterful creation of dread and tension, perfect pacing, intense storytelling, haunting cinematography, truly sickening sound effects, and all.
6. Stripped of that sociological context, the extreme brutality here can't help but feel more than a little exploitative, especially where the film's female victims are concerned.
7. The cast, although aren't A-listers, were perfect for their parts.
8. Do not go to this movie if you simply seek entertainment. If you're a sociologist tracking the decline of civilization over the past four decades, you're in for a night of solid research.
9. I was all set to give Iliadis credit for using extreme subject matter to ask smart questions about right, wrong and human nature. But then, he unleashes an unnecessary (albeit original) final scene that erases any doubt.
10. While director Dennis Iliadas has no trouble capturing depravity, as the film wears on the script lets him down.