Problem: 1. Upon reflection: if the subject in this 'Rashomon-com' isn't all that involving at first glance, a second peek from the other side of the looking glass may not carry that much more insight.
2. Coming-of-age romance brings light touch to heavy themes.
3. That Flipped isn't insufferably cute is a measure of its integrity. But it still strains to view the world through the eyes of children without a filter of grown-up cynicism.
4. Flipped is a sweet, engaging family film with enough heart for two movies.
5. Reiner has given this generation of moviegoers a peek at a simpler time, an era in American history that was innocent, yet on the verge of losing that innocence.
6. You won't find two better youthful actors directed by a comic genius in any other film this summer.
7. Reiner was clearly sick the day they taught filmmaking at film school-you show, not tell the audience what's going on. What at first seems sort of clever quickly turns into an exercise in exasperating tedium.
8. Flipped is as phony as a poodle-skirted waitress at a mall diner, yet it's as sweet as a malt. A vanilla one.
9. It makes sense that Flipped is based on a book, because what it has going for it is a charm -- the pleasure of hanging out with likable characters -- that the movies don't have much time for lately.
10. The kids provide an earnest emotional through line to a tiny story, and I sort of hope it kicks off a new mature period for Reiner as a filmmaker.
What is the consensus?
****
Answer: While not without its nostalgic charms, Rob Reiner's sometimes awkward adaptation of Wendelin Van Draanen's childhood novel doesn't reach the heights of the director's earlier work like Stand By Me.


Problem: 1. One of the most remarkable Iranian films to surface in the last few years, About Elly is a small but compelling ensemble piece of surprising depth.
2. Farhadi constructs a taut story, as precariously balanced on luck and lies as that of a French farce, and then lets it spring holes before our eyes.
3. Rarely have layers of truth been so expertly peeled away than in About Elly, a drama from the Oscar-winning director of A Separation.
4. This superb, suspenseful film ... opens as a playful comedy of vacationing couples and awkward romance, one that might be set in the French countryside, but by the end has become a moral drama likely to corrode your certainties.
5. There is a mastery of tone here that shows a great director completely at home with his characters.
6. If it can be a touch too narratively byzantine and heavy-handed, it's still a quietly devastating throwback to the classics of drama.
7. A drama about guilt and responsibility set against the backdrop of male domination in Iranian society that even affects the secular and well-educated milieu depicted in this gripping drama.
8. You begin to wonder to what extent the film is a critique of an entire society in which the disparity between tradition and modernity is irreconcilable.
9. It's further confirmation of Farhadi's peerless skills as a dramatist, with a special talent for drawing prismatic meaning from simple premises.
10. As with director Asghar Farhadi's Oscar-winning "A Separation," this new film lets truth slowly be revealed through mystery - and after a shocking incident.
What is the consensus?
****
Answer: About Elly offers viewers performances as powerful as its thought-provoking ideas, and adds another strong entry to Asghar Farhadi's impressive filmography.


Problem: 1. The action scenes in this movie are virtually unequaled by any other movie in history, even if some of the 'waiting-around' scenes grow tiresome.
2. Much imitated, still unsurpassed.
3. This movie is so successful because of its flawless direction and very balanced combination of powerful human drama and exciting action.
4. Perhaps Akira Kurosawa's greatest triumph, The Seven Samurai is a bona fide classic of cinema, a regular on many critics all-time top tens. So, if you haven't seen it before, why not?
5. And it's not just that the story is compelling. It is unforgettable.
6. It's all rollicking good fun, and it's an action film with a lot on its mind.
7. A classic of adventure, a story of honor, a tale of a specific time and place that still has universal resonance.
8. The Seven Samurai is a brilliant film - the only caveat, in fact, is that the length and the language barrier make it a difficult movie to get through.
9. A genuinely entertaining movie with characters we love and characters we love to hate, sensuality and violence, tragic events and laugh out loud moments.
10. Seven Samurai is an unforgettable masterpiece -- the work of one of the world's greatest filmmakers at the height of his powers.
What is the consensus?
****
Answer:
Arguably Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, The Seven Samurai is an epic adventure classic with an engrossing story, memorable characters, and stunning action sequences that make it one of the most influential films ever made.