1. Even with such a familiar story arc the characters - both dead and alive - leave behind vivid memories when the movie's over.
2. Despite its wandering aim, the disjointed film remains strangely likable.
3. Sufficiently amusing and its stars are very appealing.
4. The irrepressible Adams puts a sunny face on a life that hasn't worked out, but that's worth the struggle in spite of it all.
5. ...aspires to the mantle of Little Miss Sunshine as...the Little Movie That Could. Only it can't.
6. Alan Arkin gives another quirky performance.
7. There are too many side stories cluttering things but there is a good deal of familial heart...
8. Little more than a long series of misfires, Sunshine Cleaning is no Litte Miss Sunshine.
9. The Lorkowskis are a family of potential waiting for the right moment to strike out into kinetic glory. Seeing them reap the rewards of determination and hard work is deeply fulfilling.
10. With spot-on performances and a creative screenplay by Megan Holley, Sunshine Cleaning is funny, sweet and full of insight. It's a small film with a big heart.
What is the critic consensus?
A: Despite a sometimes overly familiar plot, Sunshine Cleaning benefits from the lively performances of its two stars.

1. It's an utterly routine picture, but its low-key mood and acting disarm
2. With a game cast and cool songs from the era... heartfelt moments battling clumsy ones, The Wackness isn't quite dope but, like a good mixtape it is full of highlights.
3. An exercise in style and wit, two commodities that never go out of fashion.
4. Josh Peck and Ben Kingsley make for an oddly engaging couple in Jonathan Levine's audacious comedy about sex, drugs, and unexpected friendships.
5. If nothing else, it's probably worth seeing for the kissing scene between Kingsley and Mary-Kate Olsen.
6. It's an old theme. Levine tackles it with gusto and verve, and if ultimately he overdoes it with a hi-end quirky style, I think there's enough authenticity here to see the film through.
7. Dumb title? Certainly. Perfectly proportioned? Nope. True-to-life? Certainly not. An enjoyably quirky indie comedy? You bet.
8. Parallel yet intertwined older and younger generations, and a real girl, set this above the usual young dudes genre, changing from comic to romantic to poignant and back.
9. This is a gently humorous and beautifully moving film.
10. Levine's extended use of sepia-toned cinematography adds to the film's charmless look, matching the bleakness of the lives of most of the people he presents to the audience.
What is the critic consensus?
A: Sympathetic characters and a clever script help The Wackness overcome a familiar plot to make for a charming coming-of-age comedy.

1. Suffers due to its incredible length and slow pace, but intriguing, nonetheless.
2. Brilliant at sustaining tension and interest.
3. For God's sake, make sure you have the director's cut. The theatrical cut was an abomination.
4. Click to read review
5. A remarkable film...the vfx are super!
6. A gorgeous and fascinating underwater adventure.
7. What was once a well-made, well-acted mess is now a very poignant and satisfying sci-fi adventure.
8. This overlong concoction is scuppered by dire dialogue, histrionic performances and maudlin sentimentality.
9. A classic.
10. Pretty great underwater adventure.
What is the critic consensus?
A: The utterly gorgeous special effects frequently overshadow the fact that The Abyss is also a totally gripping, claustrophobic thriller, complete with an interesting crew of characters.

1. A movie that doesn't have much hefty probative value in the traditional American sense, yet the combination of sharp characterizations, thoughtful construction and tender performances make it something special, a movie to behold as well as feel.
2. The mysterious machinations of the human heart remain the most compelling entertainment and, ultimately, the most rewarding.
3. The gritty, low-budget realism approach of the Dogme manifesto gives immediacy and edge to the raw emotions Bier and her cast uncover.
4. It is as emotionally raw and wrenching as life itself.
5. Honesty, conveyed by the actors' unsentimental performances, Anders Thomas Jensen's truth-seeking script, and an effective use of the Dogma 95 style of hand-held filmmaking, invigorates Bier's well-made film.
6. Written and acted with intelligence, sensitivity, and insight
7. the best Dogme film to date
8. Your wife ran over a guy, made him a paraplegic and now you're sleeping with his fiancee. You got a problem with that?
9. The cast seems to have burrowed into the material.
10. Open Hearts, like all good melodramas, is ruthless in its insistence that people are dragged, uncomprehending, in the wake of events.
What is the critic consensus?
A:
Pulsing with honesty, this film lays bare the rawness of human emotion with a story made all the more believable thanks to its gritty, low-budget approach.