Problem: 1. As is usual with any Mike Leigh film -- a style unique and trademarked by now -- his ensemble is a collection of remarkably adept actors who know their characters so well they could stay in character for weeks, continually improvising, as they often do.
2. There's great value not only in the uncompromising, anti-sentimental central performance, but in Leigh and cinematographer Dick Pope's impressively disciplined lensing, which shows us what Turner saw without slavishly trying to evoke his canvasses.
3. As Mr Turner finds the humanity within the harshness of a life of winding down and of an extraordinary talent housed within a complex man, Leigh and his collaborators on-screen and off turn the corresponding account into its own masterly work.
4. Spall grabs the role with gusto, grunting, snorting and waddling, top hatted, umbrella in hand, reminiscent of Danny deVito's Penguin in Batman Returns.
5. To use a word often associated with Turner and his art, it's sublime.
6. It may be art, but it's not entertainment.
7. Never thrilling but always intriguing, the film is a highly personal portrait of an artist that itself becomes a work of art worthy of preservation.
8. The director's best film since 1999's Topsy-Turvy.
9. Leigh's screenplay is devoid of meaningless banter, but brimming with consequential glances and purposeful dialogue. One of the best-written, and most handsomely filmed movies this year.
10. To hold audience interest for 150 minutes with virtually no action sequences speaks volumes.
What is the consensus?
****
Answer: Led by a masterful performance from Timothy Spall and brilliantly directed by Mike Leigh, Mr. Turner is a superior Hollywood biopic.


Problem: 1. One of John Hughes finest hours, and a tour-de-force for Candy and Martin.
2. The late John Candy does his best work in one of the funniest films of the '80s.
3. certainly funny, but it is also a moving story that anyone who has ever recognized his or her own shortcomings will understand
4. It's a great comedy, and a deeply touching one, too.
5. One of the few truly funny things that both Martin and Candy did.
6. The film does have its scattered moments. But too often, the audience has as much reason as Del and Neal do to wonder where, if anywhere, they are going.
7. A near-perfect comedy, featuring director John Hughes at the top of his over-sentimental game.
8. A comic masterpiece that never goes out of style
9. The script and direction by Hughes ... amount to wobbly passes that Martin and Candy turn into touchdowns anyway.
10. A riotously springy holiday knockabout.
What is the consensus?
****
Answer: Thanks to the impeccable chemistry between Steve Martin and John Candy, as well as a deft mix of humor and heart, Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a hilarious, heartfelt holiday classic.


Problem: 1. It's a traumatic journey peeling away those layers of secrecy, repression and regret, but the actors are equal to those hyper-emotional demands. After the Wedding is a story told with unsparing honesty and skill.
2. Just when we start to find these people interesting and credible, the plot tosses us something we don't believe for a minute.
3. A rare treat --- don't miss it!
4. May be the strangest and most surprising film you'll see this year, in that its character development runs counter to the expectations aroused by its narrative sequencing.
5. You leave the movie feeling exhausted, argumentative and exhilarated, surely the sign of a powerful film in any language.
6. Bier's not timid about tossing any number of volatile ingredients into an already-simmering pot.
7. An emotional masterpiece whose end is impossible to guess.
8. Initially threatening to turn into the most shameless of melodramas, it instead builds upon its rickety foundation with such dexterity and grace that it eventually emerges as a deeply moving experience.
9. A deeply intimate tale of regret and hope, with characters that will linger in your thoughts.
10. Director Susanne Bier is obviously fond of extreme close-ups (people smoking, people drinking, people licking their lips), especially focusing the camera on the actors' eyeballs too many times to count. I can overlook this annoying little technique becaus
What is the consensus?
****
Answer:
The cast brings After the Wedding's melodramatic script to life, creating a movie that is emotionally raw and satisfying.