GOOD Movies

EXILED
Directed by Johnnie To. Opens today in Manhattan.

"Exiled" is a tonic - a film that delivers all the visceral satisfactions of a super-macho action picture (close-quarters gun battles; slow-motion "Wild Bunch"-style side-by-side struts) and unabashedly sentimental depictions of loyalty and tenderness as well as plot twists that are surprising, often bizarre, yet feel just right."

Reviewed by Matt Zoller Seitz, The New York Times.

LADRON QUE ROBA A LADRON
Directed by Joe Menendez. In Limited Release.

"On a fraction of the budget [of Ocean's 11] and with an actual sociological detail or two tucked inside its plot, "Ladrón" glides along on the strength of its multiethnic ensemble."

Reviewed by Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune.

MANDA BALA
Directed by Jason Kohn. Playing at Laemmle's Royal (West LA) and Laemmle's Playhouse 7 (Pasadena).

"Made with energy and style, "Manda Bala" won two awards at Sundance, the grand jury prize for documentary for director Jason Kohn and the cinematography award for Heloisa Passos. That's in part a tribute to the film's eye for the unexpected, which fits with Kohn's background as a protégé of master documentarian Errol Morris. Though it's never expressed directly, Kohn's thesis is an intriguing one. He sees Brazil as the setting for a Darwinian struggle between the country's enormously rich and powerful elite and its unimaginably poor lower class. The rich exploit the poor or are indifferent to their plight, and the poor try to get their own back by kidnapping and brutalizing the rich."

Reviewed by Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times.

PRIVATE PROPERTY
Directed by Joachim Lafosse. Playing at Laemmle Music Hall (Beverly Hills) and Laemmle One Colorado (Pasadena).

"An impeccably acted character drama revolving around a mother and her teenage twin sons, "Private Property" shows how strong and how terrifying the bonds within families can be. Directed by Belgium's Joachim Lafosse, it etches the line between love and hate with a savagery that is almost unprecedented."

Reviewed by Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times.