Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 85%
| Red Cliff (2009) | "
I left the movie thinking, "Wow, those were some really good formations those soldiers invented. Who were they again, anyway?"" — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 70%
| The Road (2009) | "
The Road immerses us so completely in its world that it's as if it is teaching us, as well as the characters, a new way to think." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 8%
| Old Dogs (2009) | "
Kids who suffer from progeria may be able to relate to Old Dogs, but it's hard to imagine anyone else fully appreciating it." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 92%
| Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) | "
Movies are always group efforts that involve dozens of people with varying ideas, but Mr. Fox is an astonishing example of one creator getting all of his collaborators on the same page." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 28%
| Ninja Assassin (2009) | "
Ninja Assassin is wildly improbable and completely unrealistic, but it's also bloody good fun." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 16%
| Planet 51 (2009) | "
A tale of human/alien friendship, Planet 51 seems worse than it is because it comes at the end of one of the best years in the history of animation." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 30%
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) | "
New Moon has more humor, more action and fewer extraneous characters. Long story short: It glides where the first film galumphed." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 90%
| The Messenger (2009) | "
Individually, none of the mini-dramas in The Messenger would be enough to blow you away. But grouped together, they're so beautifully and specifically written that they make for a convincing picture of the first stages of grief." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 87%
| Skin (2009) | "
Given the subject matter, I wish there were more outrage and passion in Skin, which plods from one huge event to another." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 59%
| Pirate Radio (2009) | "
It takes 15 minutes for Pirate Radio to run out of steam, and that leaves two more hours of aimless goofing." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 16%
| Gentlemen Broncos (2009) | "
A whole bunch of fecal, scrotal and pukal jokes have been planted in Gentlemen Broncos to distract us from its lack of narrative momentum." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 95%
| Crude (2009) | "
An elegantly structured, horrifying film that shows the vanishing rainforest may be the least of the Amazon's worries." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Rotten 49%
| Antichrist (2009) | "
I like movies that elicit complicated responses, and "Antichrist" -- which is beautiful, ugly, insightful, crude and lyrical, sometimes all at once -- blew me away." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 38%
| 2012 (2009) | "
2012 is a Roland Emmerich movie, so that means the world collapses while actors try to find a safe place to speak their inane dialogue." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 54%
| The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) | "
The smug, aren't-we-clever tone doesn't invite us to react to what we're seeing because the movie already has satisfied itself that it's delightful." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Fresh 85%
| Flame & Citron (2008) | "
Unfortunately, although it was supposedly inspired by the morally conflicted French Resistance masterpiece Army of Shadows, Flame fizzles more than it flames." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 18%
| The Fourth Kind (2009) | "
The Olatunde Osunsanmi who directed The Fourth Kind should have fired the Olatunde Osunsanmi who wrote it." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 55%
| Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) | "
After round two in Jim Carrey vs. Holiday Classics, it's Carrey 2, Classics 0." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Rotten 47%
| The Box (2009) | "
"Much weirder and more serious than it appears to be in the ads."" — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 94%
| An Education (2009) | "
Simultaneously an education and a thrill." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 29%
| The Canyon (2009) | "
Take Open Water, subtract the Caribbean, substitute the Grand Canyon, and you have The Canyon." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 42%
| New York, I Love You (2009) | "
The whole thing stops and restarts itself so often, it feels longer than its 103-minute running time." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 80%
| Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) | "
If you're looking for a reminder that Jackson was a unique and irreplaceable artist when he was on stage, then this is it." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 28, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 20%
| Amelia (2009) | "
Dear Hilary Swank: We've seen your spunky act. Do you have anything else? Signed, Everyone." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 38%
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) | "
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant is an unwieldy title, but it's perfect for a film that can't figure out what it's trying to do." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 48%
| Astro Boy (2009) | "
For at least half of its length, it's an Astro Bore." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 94%
| Good Hair (2009) | "
Rock is our quick-witted empathetic guide in the film about black women's hair, a topic you might think would be of interest only to black women. You'd be wrong." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Fresh 93%
| The Damned United (2009) | "
Imagine an in-depth movie about a sequin factory in China that assumes we are already familiar with all of the details of sequin making, and you have an idea what it's like to sit through The Damned United." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 45%
| Saw VI (2009) | "
"Saw" movies gave up on being scary several episodes ago, but there's no suspense or surprise either. Watching its grim procession of carnage is like sticking with a favorite pro football team for the last 8 games after it's already clear they're doomed." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 80%
| Unmistaken Child (2009) | "
How far can an incredibly cute kid and an incredibly beautiful setting go toward making a movie worthwhile? Not far enough, as indicated by Unmistaken Child." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 11%
| The Stepfather (2009) | "
The original was a no-frills, psychology-based affair that got most of its juice from the conflict between the dad and his suspicious stepdaughter, but the new one is needlessly complicated and more overt." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Paranormal Activity (2009) | "
It's unsettling and smart, and it delivers what it promises, but it's also the sort of slow-burn movie that is likely to disappoint viewers if they go after hearing for weeks that it's one of the scariest movies ever made." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 72%
| The Boys Are Back (2009) | "
At first, the Australian Boys seems to be one of those annoying, isn't-it-noble-how-the-single-dad-keeps-it-together movies, but it's more interesting than that." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 80%
| Earth Days (2009) | "
If the aim of Earth Days is to make viewers refall in love with the beauty of this tiny planet, then it succeeds." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 86%
| A Serious Man (2009) | "
A movie that shows us a guy whose life is falling apart and makes us experience how that might feel." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 89%
| Zombieland (2009) | "
A grisly comedy about the undead, Zombieland is doomed to be compared to the superior Shaun of the Dead, but it's fun, too." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 82%
| Whip It (2009) | "
The roller-derby comedy Whip It is like roller derby itself: sloppy, loud, fun." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 75%
| Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) | "
The latest from Michael Moore is his usual shtick, but better." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 56%
| The Invention of Lying (2009) | "
Given the boldness of the topic, it's surprising how bland and toothless Invention is." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 18%
| The Other Man (2009) | "
It was directed by British theater director Richard Eyre, who knows how to line up the shots but not how to make us feel the compulsive hunger that drives Peter to the brink of a very tidy, stiff-upper-lip breakdown." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 31%
| The Burning Plain (2009) | "
To its credit, The Burning Plain grapples with some of the big questions human beings face, but its reach exceeds its grasp." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 28%
| Fame (2009) | "
The title song from Fame begins, "Baby, look at me/And tell me what you see." I'll bite, baby: I see a faithful remake that is worse than the original in almost every respect." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 27%
| Pandorum (2009) | "
"Pandorum" -- in which astronauts wake up, disoriented, in a craft that is terrorized by violent creatures -- is not original, but I figure any movie as icky as "Pandorum" is doing something right." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 76%
| The Informant! (2009) | "
Once we're sucked in by the bells and whistles, we're left with this devastating truth: The liars are still lying. And still getting away with it." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 96%
| The Beaches of Agnes (2009) | "
By the end of Beaches of Agnes, we've learned an incredible amount about how this fascinating woman mines her own life for her art." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 84%
| Pontypool (2009) | "
Pontypool is a gripping thriller, juiced up by macabre humor and intelligent social commentary." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 23%
| Sorority Row (2009) | "
It's hard not to love a slasher film in which the killer has such a sound argument for knocking off half a dozen victims: "Let's face it. These are horrible people."" — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 56%
| 9 (2009) | "
Acker is so busy making sure every animated clock and piece of fabric is just right that he loses sight of the need to tell a story." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 9, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 6%
| All About Steve (2009) | "
Amounts to one compelling character surrounded by a bunch of stuff that's not so great." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 70%
| My One and Only (2009) | "
Set in the '50s, it shares that decade's sunny optimism without acknowledging the oppressive ugliness that lurked beneath. Even when Anne and her sons are getting tossed out of yet another unpaid-for hotel suite, the movie remains upbeat." — St. Paul Pioneer Press Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
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