question: Undeniably uneven and too dark for some, The Ref nonetheless boasts strong turns from Denis Leary, Judy Davis, and Kevin Spacey, as well as a sharply funny script.

numbered reviews: 1. I thought the pacing was off and the characters were drawn too purely dark.
2. Demme brings out the comic ease in Leary.
3. As a starmaking vehicle for Leary, The Ref may do the trick. He's a prowling, muttering bundle of nervous energy, which is essentially a variation his MTV character. And he's very funny.
4. This film introduced me, nay, introduced everyone, to the reason why Denis Leary is well regarded.
5. Dennis Leary's shining hour. His stand-up persona's greatest moment and it was all down hill from there.
6. One of the most underrated comedies of the 1990s
7. The Ref is the one Christmas movie that I can relate to.
8. [Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey] play this strident high comedy duet with a self-sustaining brio that easily puts them on the level of the stars of Twentieth Century, The Awful Truth, The Philadelphia Story, and His Girl Friday.
9. It's cynical, mean-spirited and, at least at first, viciously funny.
10. The Ref is one of those rare movies that seem to have everything going for it -- a promising director, terrific actors and an original, unapologetically grown-up script -- yet somehow still turns out to be a phenomenal drag.


question: Filled with stunning imagery, The Man Who Fell to Earth is a calm, meditative film that profoundly explores our culture's values and desires.

numbered reviews: 1. If you want to go into another world in which imagination leads you into recesses and crevices you haven't visited, The Man Who Fell To Earth is a fantastic guide.
2. Among the most bizarre films in Nicolas Roeg's oeuvre.
3. It has lost none of its ability to startle all these years later, and for that alone it deserves respect.
4. The casting of the androgynous-bent rock-star David Bowie as an alien was inspired.
5. A little dated bit Nic Roeg is always good value and David Bowie is perfetly cast.
6. Establishes [its] British director as one of the most talented and imaginative new filmmakers in this part of the world. It's a demanding effort which will provide a challenge.
7. [Roeg] has come up with some memorable imagery, as well as coaxing a suitably enigmatic performance out of Bowie.
8. Nicolas Roeg's obfuscating style tricks it up, though the film is ultimately an empty thing.
9. Roeg, often using a dazzling technical skill, jettisons narrative in favour of thematic juxtapositions, working best when exploring the clichés of social and cultural ritual.
10. ...a cogent meditation on the corrosive power of capitalistic endeavor and hallucinatory dreams.


question: Violent, quirky, and darkly funny, Fargo delivers an original crime story and a wonderful performance by McDormand.

numbered reviews: 1. Fargo stands out as the Coen brothers' warmest, most accessible offering to date -- despite its frosty Minnesota setting.
2. In the fascinating Fargo, writer-director Joel and writer-producer Ethan have come up with a film that is either an oddly funny crime drama or an ultra-deadpan comedy, depending on how you look at it.
3. As great a film as the Coens have made. And that's saying something.
4. It's a miracle: A tough, honest, bloody film set so far from the bright lights it feels as if it's on a different planet, yet knowable and absolutely compelling from start to finish. Fargo is great American movie-making.
5. The Coen brothers, director Ethan and producer-cowriter Joel, have finally latched onto a story strong enough to carry their eccentric mix of black humor and self-conscious style.
6. The performances by McDormand (bringing a GREAT screen character to life) and Macy are superb.
7. As is typical Coen Brothers entertainment. "Fargo" offers incredibly complex characterization along with very memorable dark comedy.
8. Dark, gritty, and brilliant. Not for kids.
9. "Fargo" is the kind of black comedy you can rediscover over and over again. The laughs and shocks never fade.
10. Quite simply, Fargo is the best movie the Coen Brothers have ever made. And that's saying a lot.


question: No mere historical drama, Elizabeth is a rich, suspenseful journey into the heart of British Royal politics, and features a typically outstanding performance from Cate Blanchett.

numbered reviews:
1. Dank interior castle settings create a claustrophobic intensity that underscores the growing sense of paranoia and people's sinister machinations in this battle for England.
2. Kapur cunningly confuses gender roles, equates sex with death, and rattles through dark, stony passions with some considerable panache.
3. More often than not, it's a watchable and thought-provoking history lesson rather than the captivating, revealing, intimate portrait it wants to be.
4. Drama of the ascendancy of England's most powerful queen brims with great acting, brilliant direction.
5. Shekhar Kapur gets particularly good work out of Blanchett, who invests Elizabeth with a disparate mix of naive vulnerability, tart wit and steadfast resolve, sometimes all within a single scene.
6. Without [Blanchett], Kapur's extravagant history lesson (written by Michael Hirst) blurs into dark doings among men in tights.
7. Cate Blanchett gives a bravura performance in this dark and lurid account, which is done from a contemporary standoint as a conspiracy thriller, emphasizing the violent actions
8. "Elizabeth" is superior historical soap opera that shrewdly sidesteps all the cliches of British costume drama with its bold, often modern approach.
9. Historians will take issue with some of the filmmakers' choices, but fans of juicy historical drama will just hunker down for the feast.
10. Blanchett is the shining jewel in an otherwise dull and tarnished crown.