Computer Chess 2013

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Artificial intelligence remains an intoxicating theory and a heady possibility, about which I am hardly qualified to speak. But I do know real filmmaking intelligence when I see it. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Bujalski doesn't give us enough in the way of story or characters, and "Computer Chess" eventually seems to just fade away; one of those movies, perhaps, that was more fun to make than it is to watch. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: An endearingly nutty, proudly analog tribute to the ultra-nerdy innovators of yesteryear, this quasi-mockumentary is easy to admire in spirit even when its haphazard construction practically defines hit-or-miss. Read more

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: It's the year's most singular and adventurous movie to date, to the point where it feels not so much original-a word that conveys a strong sense of craft-as it does "isolated," as in a mutant strain of a virus. Read more

Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic: It approaches its subjects not with the gleeful, madcap hilarity of a Christopher Guest mockumentary ("Best in Show," "A Mighty Wind"), but with the calculated precision of lines of code. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Watching "Computer Chess" is like opening an ancient Altair 8800 to peer at the tiny people inside. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: A breakthrough -- not just for indie writer-director Andrew Bujalski, but for American movie comedy. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: In the end, you simply wish the characters (and the actors) were in a more subtle and focused film. "Computer Chess" plays a risky game. Unfortunately, it loses. Read more

Wesley Morris, Grantland: Bujalski is having fun with Night of the Living Dead, on a community-access palette. But I also can't think of another director who's come closer to capturing how antique technology would dream about us. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: You need no particular knowledge or affection for the game of kings to appreciate the whimsy of "Computer Chess." Read more

Richard Brody, New Yorker: Bujalski ... brings the designs and fashions of the time-and, even better, its moods and ideas-cleverly and joyfully back to life. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The comedy of missed cues and social misdirection is a universal one, and there are a few more mainstream gags that connect reliably, from missed room reservations to run-ins with a human-potential convention. Read more

Ella Taylor, NPR: Computer Chess is about the dawn - one of many, but that's another story - of the tech revolution. It's also a reminder that you don't need state-of-the-art toys to make a formally playful comedy about man versus machine. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Bujalski has a fantastic eye. The movie was shot in black and white with '70s video cameras, and could easily be mistaken for a documentary. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: A punitively dull chunk of quirk that is about, and feels like, being stuck in a motel with a gaggle of programming nerds for a weekend. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: A deadpan mock-documentary about an early-'80s gathering of programming nerds, arguing about AI and predictive algorithms and showing off questionable fashion choices and facial hair. Read more

Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: As an achievement, "Computer Chess" is laudable. As a film, it's missable. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: This profound, peculiar work of genius, this half-comic portrait of the present in embryo within the past, reverberates with hidden meanings and a questing intelligence. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: A shambling, Altmanesque ensemble comedy. Read more

Adam Nayman, Globe and Mail: Bujalski isn't playing at Christopher Guest-like caricature. Instead of mocking this eccentric group, he climbs right inside their anxieties and ambitions. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Presenting itself as a sort of found-footage movie for geeks, this amusing and thoughtful oddity by writer-director-editor Andrew Bujalski is upfront in form but more stealth in content and intent. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: A supremely intelligent, beautifully constructed film, interweaving comedy and character, satire and subtext Read more

Aaron Hillis, Village Voice: Teases out unanswered existential and behavioral questions about mankind's curious obsession with artificial intelligence and automation. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: It's impossible not to see "Computer Chess" as both a humble, low-fi ode to evanescence and the deceptively cute baby picture of the digital disrupters who will soon bestride the Earth. Read more