Louder Than a Bomb

There can never be too many stories of human grace and perseverance like those of Nova, or Nate, or Adam, all teens who've been encouraged to channel their resentments and desires into art. Full Review

The movie floats to another realm entirely when the cameras go into the home of Nova Venerable, a smart, eloquent, gorgeous girl whose love for her special-needs younger brother and their hardworking single mom is expressed in terms that sidestep the formulaic verbal and physical bombast of so many of her peers. Full Review

The kids pick up the filmmakers' lyrical slack more often than not, but this ode to the power of verse could really use a redraft. Full Review

The real value of poetry - of the contest itself - is not revealed until the closing credits, when we see the impressive list of colleges that the movie's four subjects have gone on to. Full Review

The efforts to document the teams' creative processes aren't particularly successful - no camera can capture something that elusive - but the filmmakers do a fine job with the back stories of the featured poets. Full Review