question: Deeply unnerving and surprisingly poignant, The Orphanage is an atmospheric, beautifully crafted haunted house horror film that earns scares with a minimum of blood.

numbered reviews: 1. Bayona throws in lots of slow creaks and clangs, the art-house-horror equivalent of the jump moment, but none of them can rouse the movie from its terminal emotional torpor.
2. The Orphanage is a classically creepy Spanish horror film and a joltingly modern one. It turns down the thermostat on its chill slowly, deliberately. That just makes the big frights all the more heart-stopping.
3. There's not too much original or surprising in the film.
4. A well-made, Spanish ghost story that will creep you out and draw you in.
5. I'd argue it's emotionally richer and more surprising [than Pan's Labyrinth].
6. Features a few decent chills and has a distinctive tone and look.
7. Adult horror returns to the screen with the crisp and frightening The Orphanage, a haunted-house tale about the dueling forces of childhood friendship and maternal love.
8. [Director] Bayona has fashioned an assured, even conservative piece of work, one that's lusciously filmed and more than a little terrifying but that in the end never widens out to greater art.
9. The sense that there's nothing we can do to protect ourselves and our loved ones may be why The Orphanage is one of the most frightening movies you may see this year.
10. The Orphanage is never less than engaging. Here and there it's even genuinely frightening.


question: A bleak, but heartbreaking coming-of-age tale that resonates with truth.

numbered reviews: 1. The casting is impeccable, the dialogue raw and the impenetrable Glaswegian brogue is wisely translated with English subtitles.
2. Ken Loach's most effective film since My Name Is Joe.
3. From its gripping immediacy to its strong cast of unknowns, Sweet Sixteen feels almost like a documentary. Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty keep an evenhanded focus on harsh truths, and avoid melodrama and grandstanding.
4. Don't get too close; don't help out; let them make their own mistakes
5. Sweet Sixteen is a gritty film directed by Ken Loach about the spiritual dynamics of hope in the life of a resourceful and brave teenager living in poverty in Glasgow, Scotland.
6. An uncompromising look at life, with all its questionable triumphs and irreversible consequences, performed by a cast that is virtually untrained and entirely genuine, with a fully engaging performance by Martin Compston.
7. The film boasts sensational naturalistic performances and a raw edge that is undeniable. I don't think I can tell you that it's entertaining. It draws blood.
8. [Loach] allows us to look into lives we would otherwise ignore.
9. Loach's latest adheres so closely to his long-established narrative pattern -- overdetermined case study crowned with a morbid jolt -- that viewers might underestimate its wit, empathy, and careful characterizations.
10. Yes, this is a political movie (at least it has a political viewpoint), but, more than that, it's a character study of an individual who will not easily be forgotten.


question: Noble goals and a gripping performance from Rachel Weisz can't save Agora from its muddled script, uneven acting, and choppy editing.

numbered reviews: 1. Despite noble intentions and bloody nods to religious intolerance, this historic epic can feel like a drippy toga party
2. Manages to mix philosophy, history, hysteria and a love triangle and still be something of a bore.
3. A landscape where heart and head can collide in a great fury, and when the world felt like it could go one way or the other.
4. Just preaching to the choir - even a secular choir - isn't enough.
5. How can it be that this powerful, exciting, provocative movie has been all but overlooked this year?
6. Although the movie's history is spotty, its dialogue is sometimes clunky, and time frames are telescoped, its overall impact packs a powerful punch.
7. Well researched, and anchored by Rachel Weisz's impressive lead performance, this is a fascinating film that avoids the Hollywood epic route.
8. A contentious piece of history in which we see how the most primitive aspects of fundamental religious beliefs drove public life and generated hatreds ...
9. A flat-footed, studious stroll through what most folks would consider a long-forgotten chapter of history.
10. Alejandro Amenábar creates a palpable sense of place and never strays too far from his duty to stage big, sense-filling set pieces.


question: Technically impressive and superbly acted, Sanjuro is a funny, action-packed samurai adventure featuring outstanding cinematography and a charismatic performance from Toshiro Mifune.

numbered reviews:
1. The follow-up to YOJIMBO is just as sharp, funny, and exciting. The only bad thing about it is that it was the only sequel.
2. A step down from the superior Yojimbo, but still enjoyable thanks to Toshiro Mifune's scruffy rogue.
3. Technically, the film is one of Kurosawa's most impressive, featuring some superbly staged sword battles and exceptional use of complex widescreen compositions.
4. This is fun but, compared with Kurosawa's other 60s efforts, relatively slight.
5. The relative linearity of the film can't help but come as something of a disappointment after the feast of Yojimbo.
6. Satirical Samurai action of the highest order.
7. a textbook on widescreen composition.
8. Rather than simply repeating the successful formula of Yojimbo, which incorporated humor but largely played it straight, Sanjuro flips the script for a largely comic action picture punctuated by a dark, rug-yanking conclusion. [Blu-ray]
9. For escapist fare, this ranks highly
10. The charm of this fascinating Toho production, stylishly directed by Akira Kurosawa, is the personality of the hero, powerfully played by Toshiro Mifune.