A fitting send off to one of America's best actors who dominates the screen.

| Apr 29, 2009

A moving morality play indicting America for its ongoing love affair with the Second Amendment.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 29, 2007

takes too many shortcuts and easy-outs in exploring the issue

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 29, 2006

Full of grating hysterics and solemn symbolism.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Aug 18, 2006

It isn't trite or strident - it doesn't shout or pound the desk - and, in a way, its own thoughtfulness is its worst enemy.

Full Review | Original Score: 85/100 | May 19, 2006

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 6, 2006

American Gun arrives in theaters too late to really make a difference or say anything new on the subject of school shootings.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 28, 2006

[T]his is no bit of cheap exploitation created merely to rake in some dough. But purity of motives aside, the film simply isn't very good.

| Apr 25, 2006

It's a bit like watching a weaker version of Crash, with fewer coincidences.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 21, 2006

Despite a few effective moments, Gun ... never makes the big statement it seems to be reaching for.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 21, 2006

What we're left with after watching "American Gun" isn't a sense of who's right or who's wrong, but more of a sadness that so many people feel so powerless and afraid that they think owning a gun will set things right.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 21, 2006

Rather than blast us with a strong polemic, Avelino chooses to trace what are often the everyday ramifications of living in an armed society.

| Original Score: 8/10 | Apr 14, 2006

The guns seem to have been shoved in various characters' pockets as afterthought, and Avelino's interlocking stories never click.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 7, 2006

[Avelino] shows an almost tender restraint in his story-telling, not pounding us with a message but simply looking steadily at how guns have made these lives difficult.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 6, 2006

While not a perfect movie by any means -- a few scenes feel forced -- there is plenty to recommend it, even beyond the truly great performances.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 6, 2006

It's so well done.

Full Review | Mar 28, 2006

...more like talking points for a film than a finished product. The effects of violence and the gun trade are examined, but little light is shed.

| Mar 24, 2006

Aside from a few moments of quiet pathos that ring true, Avelino's directorial debut is a calculated piece of cinematic outrage marred by on-the-nose dialogue and melodramatic contrivance.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Mar 24, 2006

While this is not exactly a hopeful movie, it's a polished exercise in the kind of social commentary that can wake people up.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 24, 2006

Actually PAY MONEY to see this in a theater? No way.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.7/5 | Mar 24, 2006