LAT RTMC RTC
documentary



The Crash Reel yes 100
extreme-sports up-and-comer Kevin Pearce
Twenty Feet From Stardom yes 97 100 puts backup singers center stage
Call Me Kuchu yes 97 100 an unnerving look at Ugandan LGBT struggle
Stories We Tell yes 96 91 *complexities and contradictions within her own family
A Band Called Death yes 94 100 *embryonic punk visionaries
Far Out Isn't Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story yes 92 83 excellent examination of his controversial work
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay yes 90 100 *into the you-won't-trust-your-eyes world
Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself yes 89 100 an engaging life story told in his words
We Steal Secrets yes 85 86 a thriller about WikiLeaks
Evocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie yes 83 100 as fair a portrayal the weak-chinned warrior will get
Dirty Wars yes 83 73 the war on terror in the Middle East and Africa
Bidder 70 yes 78 60 *U of Utah student bids on 12 parcels for oil and drilling rights
Becoming Traviata yes 73 86 [an] exquisitely observed look at performance and the creative process
How To Make Money Selling Drugs yes 72 69 *slick guide to dope dealing, evolves into something far more vital
Somm yes 69 70 Wine, men and one brutal test
State 194 yes 67
a smart look at the Israeli-Palestinian struggle
Free the Mind yes 60
drug-free options to treat anxiety and trauma.
Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp yes 60
a rough but fascinating warts-and-all bio
Valentino's Ghost yes

American media's often negative portrayals of Arabs and Muslims
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer yes

feels important, if not fully complete.
The Girls in the Band yes

sheds light on the unsung female jazz instrumentalists of the 30s and 40s
Ain't in It for My Health: A Film About Levon Helm yes

Loose and ragtag, stirring and poignant
Big Men yes

hits a gusher of oil and greed
Gasland Part II yes

plays out like an environmental horror movie.
Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me so-so 95 92 overall, it's still a skillfully rendered narrative
Downloaded so-so 67 50 tells the rise-and-fall tragedy of Napster
Free China: The Courage to Believe so-so

healthy outrage … almost undone by a lack of nuance
Married and Counting so-so

things can get a bit mawkish
Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain no 72 62 isn't as funny as previous concert films.
One Track Heart no 64 71 fan letter of a documentary.
Pandora's Promise no 56 45 nuclear power: Opposing voices would have helped.
The Secret Disco Revolution no 41 40 is far from music to your ears
The Second Meeting no

a stagy letdown
animated



Despicable Me 2 yes 75 82 *It's still fun but it should be a little more despicable.
The Painting so-so 71 60 its big ideas about equality and friendship are flatly 2-D.
Epic so-so 63 41 has the right elements, but can't pull them together
Monsters University no 77 74 Go to the bottom of the class
regular movies



A Hijacking yes 98 93 fine Danish thriller from Tobias Lindholm
Hannah Arendt yes 95 88 captivating depiction of a committed life
The History of Future Folk yes 93 100 sweetly wacky ultra-low-budget sci-fi comedy.
The Attack yes 93 93 deftly explores emotions after suicide bombing
The Hunt yes 93 92 *a searing study of a single lie's aftermath
Frances Ha yes 91 91 a charming portrait of youth and spirit
Fruitvale Station yes 90 88 *skillfully balances hope and despair
Still Mine yes 89
Growing old with grace and dignity
Welcome to Pine Hill yes 88 100 real-life situations and characters with fictionalized narrative threads
The Way, Way Back yes 87 91 *has a sweet side and a sting
Star Trek Into Darkness yes 87 80 *bursting at the seams with enemies
This Is the End yes 85 84 *a towering inferno of fun
What Maisie Knew yes 84 82 gives a child's eye view of divorce
Fill the Void yes 83 88 a transfixing, emotionally complex Israeli drama
Aliyah yes 83 80 *evokes the existential character studies of the '70s
Augustine yes 81 100 Jean-Martin Charcot and the teenage kitchen maid Augustine
You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet yes 80 92 *a crafty, brainy and uniquely stirring concoction
Much Ado About Nothing yes 80 89 a tasty snack for Bard lovers
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag yes 80
a stirring bio of Milkha Singh
Pieta yes 77 83 capitalism's emotional wreckage
The East yes 73 63 turns corporate malfeasance into a spy game
Fast & Furious 6 yes 72 78 blinding speed, et al. It's enough to give you whiplash … in a good way.
Pacific Rim yes 72 67 *Del Toro makes magic with monsters
Wish You Were Here yes 69 54 an intriguing vacation-gone-wrong thriller
World War Z yes 68 71 *the smartly done film is fun and thrilling to watch
Tiger Eyes yes 65 75 a sensitive coming-of-age indie film
The Prey yes 63 60 A … solid nail-biter about a prisoner on the run.
The Heat yes 62 69 a bosom-buddy cop comedy
Lesser Blessed yes 60
painfully and poetically told
The Wall yes 59 86 a gripping tale of survival, loss, fate and other big themes
Byzantium yes 58 48 *conjures vampires with human touch
Post Tenebras Lux yes 51 57 a visually striking archaeology
Rapture-Palooza yes 31 50 blood rain, cursing locusts and the Antichrist's amorous intentions
Java Heat yes 9 0 the explosions: they're big and gosh-darned beautiful.
Wild Horses yes

wild horses herded by helicopter into pens to the slaughterhouse.
In the Fog yes

Intimate in the telling, sweeping in the implications
Before Midnight so-so 97 95 like its characters, is showing its age
100 Bloody Acres so-so 90 78 revels giddily in flying body parts and rom-com entanglements.
Shadow Dancer so-so 82 64 a fairly conventional template for informant-story tension
Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus so-so 81 90 not exactly the Holy Grail of road movies
Laurence Anyways so-so 80 85 an intriguing, oddly satisfying conceit
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty so-so 79 100 There are times you wish [it] would be a bit, well, simpler.
The Kings of Summer so-so 76 69 rough around the edges … [with] engaging cleverness and cast.
Man of Steel so-so 56 54 Henry Cavill soars over an erratic plot
Some Girl(s) so-so 52 40 women scorned
White House Down so-so 47 50 hard to believe, easy to enjoy
Vehicle 19 so-so 27 29 A serviceable if silly B-movie
A Green Story so-so 17
a sudsy tale of man's American dream
Hello Herman so-so 17
well-meaning but unfocused
From the Head so-so

an enjoyably miserablist episodic rhythm
1 Mile Above so-so

spins out man's trek with little insight
Unfinished Song no 64 62 hits all the rote notes
The Look of Love no 61 58 remains a curiously uninvolving affair.
Bling Ring no 61 56 a pretty, empty Hollywood tale
Detention of the Dead no 60
a horror-comedy that's neither scary nor funny
American Mary no 58 50 slack and unfocused after an enticingly lurid, wickedly tense first half
I'm So Excited! no 51 50 a lark with too much of this and too much of that
Redemption no 51 40 Brains-over-brawn approach doesn't quite work
Maniac no 49 29 self-serious visual style reinforces how unnecessary the remake was.
The English Teacher no 44 50 wastes a fine cast
Now You See Me no 43 26 a not-so-magical game of cat and mouse
Black Rock no 42 43 uneven girls-versus-boys thriller
The Purge no 41 21 dreary exploitation slog, B-horror tropes and bloodletting
The Hot Flashes no 40 30 a charmless basketball romp
Between Us no 40
makes a mess of 2 marriages
The Rambler no 38
a handsome nothing, at least until you get sick of the screaming
The Internship no 32 24 a one-liner forged into a two-hour joke.
The Lone Ranger no 25 11 Lost on the plain
Erased no 24 31 lacks originality but not cliches
Violet & Daisy no 23 19 ultimately falls victim to a credibility gap
Hangover Part III no 21 19 just one long headache
33 Postcards no 21 17 strained redemption drama
The Guillotines no 20 20 a bait-and-switch for wuxia fans stoked for steel-meets-flesh mayhem
Pawn Shop Chronicles no 18 0 "Pulp Fiction" is still inspiring imitators
Killing Season no 14 0 Robert De Niro, John Travolta, tedium
Copperhead no 14
might have worked if not for a poor sense of storytelling.
After Earth no 12 11 crashes after take-off
The Stroller Strategy no 11 14 a goofy, episodic trifle
Just Like a Woman no 9 14 wishes it were 'Thelma & Louise'
Grown Ups 2 no 7 9 refuses to leave the sandbox
Rushlights no 0 0 a con job on every level
I Do no 0
sweet, sincere, yet ultimately tepid
3 Geezers no

Raunchy, imbecilic and so not funny
Free Samples no

drags by no fault of its delightfully sour lead
Lost and Found in Armenia no

a lost cause
Stepping High no

LMAO!
L.A. Superheroes no

more of a random yakfest … than the [intended] zippy comic thriller