Trash is a magical film, possessing the ability to simultaneously anger you and lift your spirits as you are taken for a thrilling ride through the injustice of life in Rio de Janeiro.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 17, 2019

Daldry has a rare talent... for drawing out the very best from young actors. The sheer joy and energy of the boys propels Trash and keeps us rooting for good over evil despite the contrived ending.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 4, 2019

This effectively tense adventure also delivers the heart and heroism audiences love.

| Original Score: B | Feb 20, 2016

The Richard Curtis script has Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen running about Rio evading cliched baddies - and they are outshone by the wonderfully energetic young trio, who turn muck into brass.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 22, 2015

Trash is a step up from Extremely Loud's cloying 9/11 exploitation simply by virtue of not being one of the most appalling movies ever made. It's still pretty crummy, though.

| Oct 11, 2015

Obviously, its heart is in the right place, and one can only hope the story and characters read better in Mulligan's book, but as far as "Trash" the film is concerned, the result is disposable.

| Original Score: D+ | Oct 10, 2015

... the convoluted plot misses a chance to provide moral complexity and emotional depth.

| Oct 9, 2015

While the caper plot has its moments, I kept hoping "Trash" would do more than treat its setting as some curiously unexplainable foreign planet.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 9, 2015

A diverting two hours, and an excellent reminder of the wide world of stories out there waiting to be told.

| Original Score: B | Oct 9, 2015

Has definite moments of sheer cinematic excitement.

| Oct 9, 2015

Its bad taste is also a good way to underline its shallow portrayal of favela life, which seems informed primarily by the movies.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 9, 2015

Three boys living in a garbage dump in Rio de Janeiro stumble across evidence of a local politician's corruption in this uneasy mix of social-issue drama and escapist thriller.

| Original Score: B- | Oct 9, 2015

An intensive, propulsive political thriller representing a tautly executed return to form for director Stephen Daldry.

| Oct 9, 2015

I left the screening having almost fainted from sugar shock.

| Oct 8, 2015

Creates a whirlwind of events, but it only rarely achieves authority, as Daldry has trouble balancing the endeavor's restless cinematic interests and its sticky cultural pleas.

| Original Score: B- | Oct 8, 2015

Trash gets hung up on the "teaching" part-looking to inform the well-off about the struggles of Rio slum-dwellers-and for too long forgets that Mulligan's novel provided a pretty good plot.

| Original Score: C | Oct 8, 2015

Comparisons to "Slumdog Millionaire" are inevitable, but the kinetic "Trash" has a rhythm all its own.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 7, 2015

A crowd-pleasing film that resembles "Slumdog Millionaire" albeit without that film's complexities, "Trash" contrasts Rio's gorgeous beaches with its notorious favelas and has strong performances from three youths.

| Original Score: B | Oct 5, 2015

Director Stephen Daldry, working from an exploitative script by Richard Curtis, opts for a full-on Slumdog Millionaire imitation.

| Original Score: .5/4 | Oct 4, 2015

Adapting Andy Mulliagn's young-adult novel, screenwriter Richard Curtis and director Stephen Daldry strike a deft balance between escapism and grit.

| Jun 27, 2015