Fresh
| Fresh 89%
| Séraphine (2008) | "
This biopic, which swept the board at the Césaires, is somewhat over-inclined to reverence and simplification; but it is also, some of the time, rewarding and touching." Posted Nov 27, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 46%
| Nativity! () | "
The plot wouldn't pass muster as an episode of a CBBC drama, but its various twists and turns and grotesque emotional idiocies are engineered through some of the most wooden dialogue I've ever heard." Posted Nov 27, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 15%
| Mr. Right (2009) | "
Despite efforts towards the end to import a little serious sentiment, much of the time it feels as though Mr Right is setting out deliberately to confirm every nasty stereotype about gay men." Posted Nov 27, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 24%
| Law Abiding Citizen (2009) | "
The film's entertainment value resides almost entirely in the ingenuity of Butler's modus operandi; but this is cancelled out by the film's underlying stupidity." Posted Nov 27, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 56%
| Bunny & The Bull (2009) | "
The sets have a cardboard cut-out charm that recalls the old animated Paddington Bear series; but that isn't enough to sustain interest once it dawns that for a supposed comedy this is remarkably humour free." Posted Nov 27, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 47%
| The Horseman (2008) | "
In the end, good intentions are overwhelmed by repetitive nastiness – you've seen one man beaten about the face with a crowbar, you've seen 'em all." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 100%
| Tales from the Golden Age (2009) | "
Given what we know of Ceausescu's Romania, the Orwellian penetration of the state into every corner of daily life, the mildly comic, wistful tone of this portmanteau of short dramas seems puzzling." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 10%
| Dead Man Running (2009) | "
Is there any way of stemming the flow of post-Guy Ritchie cockney crime comedies? Would, say, sticking Danny Dyer's head on a pike somewhere in Bethnal Green be enough of a deterrent? Because I for one would be willing to pay that price." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 73%
| Starsuckers (2009) | "
A shambling mix of strained metaphor and truism in the service of a silly conspiracy theory." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 89%
| National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) | "
Animal House is a self-congratulatory mess; but it's also spattered with terrific one-liners and sight gags, and it's the best showcase extant for John Belushi's subversive, attention-grabbing screen presence." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 100%
| Citizen Kane (1941) | "
It would be nice to be able to buck the critical orthodoxy and say how tired and overrated Citizen Kane is; but the dulll truth is, it's still, indisputably, one of the great masterpieces of cinema." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 88%
| An American Werewolf in London (1981) | "
Some of the special effects are a little creaky now, but the snap of Landis's editing and the razor's-edge balance of horror and comedy are still fresh." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 57%
| 9 (2009) | "
A Disneyfied cliché, disfigured by incoherent mysticism and trite warnings about the dangers of technology." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 94%
| An Education (2009) | "
Nick Hornby's screenplay lays out the progress of their relationship, up to the point where David proposes marriage, with great economy and wit." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 77%
| Chevolution (2008) | "
This intelligent documentary wonders how it happened, and how a hardline Marxist keen on political violence became a marketing tool and patron saint of every vaguely anti-establishment movement on the planet." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 36%
| Je Veux Voir (2009) | "
Sincere and nicely shot, but unengaging." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 67%
| The Agent (2009) | "
Another low-budget home-grown product – a comedy with touches of very mild suspense – about an unsuccessful writer confronting his agent." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 100%
| Three Miles North Of Molkom (2009) | "
Amusing but overlong documentary about the No Mind festival deep in the lakeside woods of Sweden." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 76%
| The Firm (2009) | "
Given that the original's on DVD, Love's done hooliganism, and the plot gets shut down just when it's getting interesting: why?" Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 94%
| BirdWatchers (2009) | "
By the end, it is leaning towards melodramatic simplification; but its broad sympathies, startling landscapes and non-professional cast make up for that." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 8%
| 31 North 62 East (2009) | "
A low-budget British "thriller" that is comfortably the worst film I can remember seeing: threadbare plot, clunking dialogue, brain-dead conspiracy theorising, and a gallery of embarrassing racial stereotypes. Avoid at all costs." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 85%
| Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) | "
It's not The Incredibles, but it has a solid gag ratio and good animation (the spaghetti tornado is spectacular)." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 66%
| Away We Go (2009) | "
Away We Go is slight, implausible and more fuddy-duddy than it wants to let on, but it's well-made, interesting, cynical enough to undercut its moments of sentimentality, and kind of fun. When I came out, I felt a little more cheerful than when I went in." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 53%
| Embodiment of Evil (2008) | "
It's a very peculiar film indeed, the self-conscious nastiness at odds with Joe's rather bland philosophy of materialism and self-determination." Posted Jul 3, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 79%
| Strawberry & Chocolate (1993) | "
It verges on the preachy, but it's a generous and intriguing film." Posted Jul 3, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 8%
| Red Mist (2008) | "
It isn't scary enough or funny enough to be worth your time." Posted Jul 3, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 60%
| Am I Black Enough For You () | "
Olsson, a Swedish enthusiast, doesn't manage to resolve the questions or even convince me that they're interesting enough to sustain a whole film." Posted Jul 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 45%
| Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) | "
It's not nearly as funny or as cute as it needs to be, but it will do as holiday entertainment for children who liked the first two and have reasonably short memories." Posted Jul 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 54%
| What Just Happened (2008) | "
Levinson keeps the pace sharp, and at moments you get an acute sense of the crushing weight of ego and money." Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 64%
| To Get To Heaven First You Have To Die (2006) | "
It feels like a Central Asian remake of some American indie thriller, except that few American films would be prepared to take things so slowly, or with so few words." Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 86%
| Lorna's Silence (2009) | "
Unclassifiable, accomplished and mysteriously enjoyable." Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 55%
| Flawless (2007) | "
If only the plot was as sleek." Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Rotten 1/5
| Fresh 73%
| Año Uña (2008) | "
The story, about a Mexican boy's overheated crush on an American student, is indescribably banal and amateurishly acted." Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 25%
| Four Christmases (2008) | "
A fabulous cast is thrown away on forced gags; still, by the genre's standards the message is interestingly complex and ambivalent – pro-family, naturally, but with such qualifications that you almost feel it's sincere." Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 61%
| Changeling (2008) | "
There are so many hints of a really good film lurking here that at times it feels as if the real article has been stolen away, an inferior knock-off put in its place. Heck, I'll settle for the one I've got." Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 76%
| Quiet Chaos (2009) | "
But on balance, they're outweighed by some striking and funny moments, and Moretti's immensely charming, reassuring presence." Posted Oct 24, 2008 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 24%
| Incendiary (2008) | "
After that, cliché piles upon cliché, interspersed with moments of wild unreality and some ill-thought out conspiracy theory. It makes you feel embarrassed for everyone involved." Posted Oct 24, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 85%
| Ghost Town (2008) | "
A warm, clever and often very funny film. On this showing, Gervais's assault on Hollywood looks winnable." Posted Oct 24, 2008 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 77%
| Chocolate (2009) | "
The slightly slushy plot is really an excuse to catch your breath between the action sequences, which are fast, loud and crammed with references that only Bruce Lee fans will properly appreciate." Posted Oct 24, 2008 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 42%
| A Bloody Aria (2006) | "
I suspect it falls between two stools: not nearly grisly enough for the aficionado of extreme Asian cinema, rather too grisly for everyone else." Posted Oct 24, 2008 |
Rotten 1/5
| Fresh 67%
| High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) | "
Next to this, Dawson's Creek and Gossip Girl look like Ken Loach." Posted Oct 24, 2008 |
Rotten 1/5
| Fresh 60%
| The Aerial (2007) | "
The Tim Burtonish retro design and the blatant references to silent masterworks don't amount to a style; and even if they did, wouldn't make up for the kitsch story." Posted Aug 1, 2008 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 55%
| We Own The Night (2007) | "
A sombre, intelligent, feeling crime drama set in a working-class New York characterised by striving and shabbiness." Posted Dec 14, 2007 |
Rotten
| Rotten 37%
| Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) | "
Better to prepare your children for the world with a DVD of Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy." Posted Dec 14, 2007 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 92%
| Enchanted (2007) | "
The animated sequences are disappointingly flat, the real-life parts underwritten, but Amy Adams works hard and keeps a straight face in the lead, and the time passes amiably enough." Posted Dec 14, 2007 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 81%
| Comedy of Power (2005) | "
Very little happens, and it has the look of a TV movie; yet the pace never seems to let up, the screen never seems empty, and its grip on your attention doesn't falter." Posted Dec 14, 2007 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 31%
| Chromophobia (2005) | "
Clichéd and contrived." Posted Dec 14, 2007 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 38%
| Les Chansons d'Amour (2007) | "
Stylish, but that doesn't really make up for the drifting plot, or the lack of insight and conviction." Posted Dec 14, 2007 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 51%
| Bee Movie (2007) | "
Given the amount of talent involved – Renée Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, Rip Torn, and Seinfeld himself – it all feels like a terrible waste." Posted Dec 14, 2007 |
Rotten
| Rotten 49%
| Nancy Drew (2007) | "
Carolyn Keene's straitlaced teen detective gets a modern, ironic makeover, but the irony wobbles and the jokes aren't strong enough to carry it." Posted Oct 19, 2007 |
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