Fifty Dead Men Walking 2008

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Skogland is a crisp and efficient storyteller. She keeps the players vivid and relatively honest, and never shies away from the brutalities. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: What makes Fifty Dead Men work is the story's sheer moral complexity, which dares viewers to sympathize with anyone onscreen for more than a few minutes at a time. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Fifty Dead Men Walking provides another example of what happens when mediocre moviemaking meets an interesting life. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Jim Sturgess makes a believable cocky lad who signs on for the con; an oddly bewigged Ben Kingsley is fussier and too actorly as his handler. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Sturgess is solid and Kingsley predictably sneaky, but the atmosphere -- scurries through the Catholic/Protestant border, tense stand-offs, spontaneous riots -- is what's genuinely gripping. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: In this film, Skogland, as Kathryn Bigelow does in The Hurt Locker, demolishes the notion that women can't direct action. Read more

James Adams, Globe and Mail: It's a pretty fine film, thanks largely to the performances (and look) of its crackerjack cast, as well as Jonathan Freeman's restless, gritty cinematography and a lickety-split script. Read more

Greg Quill, Toronto Star: The movie, shot it Ireland, has a gritty, documentary feel and a sharp, dramatic pulse that never really falters. Read more

Hank Sartin, Time Out: Read more

David Fear, Time Out: God forbid anything even slightly suspenseful or significant should happen without revved-up '80s Irish rock blasting over the soundtrack. Read more

Wally Hammond, Time Out: Its lack of political nous and cinematic ambition makes it seem small on the big screen. Read more

Aaron Hillis, Village Voice: Proves how easy it is to shamelessly bilk audiences of their empathy with an "inspired by true events" credit. Read more