| Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 17, 2011

| Original Score: C | Oct 18, 2008

Redbelt, his latest, is a curious one, a movie that hints at greatness only to retreat, unpardonably, into genre convention.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 26, 2008

The Mamet rhythms are pleasingly in place: the repetition-rich dialogue, the head-butting close-ups as men go ego to ego.

| Sep 26, 2008

Emily Mortimer is impressive as a jittery, unlikable attorney whose impulsive actions trigger Mike's descent. But it's Ejiofor's film all the way.

| Sep 26, 2008

Ejiofor remains a supremely assured, charismatic presence, though he has his work cut out here. He is pitted against a film with a black belt in pomposity and a gold medal in preening self-regard.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 26, 2008

The discipline is remarkable. But this constipated drama, set in a blue-collar corner of Los Angeles, imparts none of the sweat-shop magic.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Sep 26, 2008

The plotting is contrived, the supporting characters two-dimensional, and the ending slides from predictable to absurd to maudlin.

| Original Score: 2/6 | Sep 26, 2008

Not vintage Mamet - the dialogue isn't up to quotable snuff - but it still packs a decent punch thanks to Ejiofor's solid performance.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 26, 2008

Buoyed by Chiwetel Ejiofor's terrific lead performance, this drama has more than enough smarts and philosophical underpinnings to compensate for familiarity in other regards.

Full Review | Jul 23, 2008

David Mamet must have gotten roundhouse kicked in the head to think there was a story worth telling in his latest macho faceoff.

| Original Score: D | May 15, 2008

What is memorable is the film's portrait of a man of honor in a sleazy world, possibly a metaphor for the struggle of the artist to stay honorable in a world of backbiting, betrayal and hunger for easy money.

| May 9, 2008

The glue that holds it together is Ejiofor's muscular performance as a man whose principles may be about to feel the brass knuckles of reality.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 9, 2008

David Mamet's take on the trendy new world of mixed martial arts is a gem not quite like anything I've seen before â" a smart, absorbing, anti-Hollywood, hypermacho look at what it is to be a true martial artist and a man.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 9, 2008

Mamet's love for the sport comes through in every frame.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 9, 2008

Incompetently made and covered in corn, this is a martial arts movie that makes you yearn for The Karate Kid. Yes, that movie was corny, as well, but at least it was fun. Redbelt isn't fun, just laughable.

| Original Score: D | May 9, 2008

So gifted is Mamet as a writer and director that he can fascinate us even when he's pulling rabbits out of an empty hat.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 9, 2008

A sour little 70s-style David Mamet play about the lies, calculations, and ice-cold politics of Hollywood.

| May 9, 2008

While Redbelt may be a character study in search of a movie, that character feels fresh and real.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 9, 2008

In the end, Redbelt prevails, just as Terry teaches his students to prevail, but getting there isn't always pretty.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 9, 2008