Fresh B
| Fresh 95%
| Crude (2009) | "
While the audience may see smoking guns in every oily soil sample and every sick kid, Crude is only a progress report of a case that might last until well into the decade, the sordid details of which are still, pardon the pun, spilling out." Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 78%
| It Might Get Loud (2009) | "
Davis Guggenheim's documentary hints at high concept but doesn't follow through. Still, it entertains, in a messy, flailing way." Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 63%
| Extract (2009) | "
Bateman's wry and deadpan reactions elevate his scenes with Affleck to something with a whiff of genius, and his steady presence in the less uproarious sequences makes them at least entertaining." Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | The Inglorious Bastards (1977) | "
A Peckinpah-ish variation on The Dirty Dozen, not terribly original but with well-executed World War II battle scenes, nudity and plenty of coarse talk." Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 80%
| Taxidermia (2009) | "
For those who can handle it, a viewing is an experience not soon forgotten." Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 89%
| Séraphine (2008) | "
Seraphine, a biopic of the early-20th century French painter Seraphine Louis aka Seraphine de Senlis, is among the best of its kind, thanks in no small part to the utterly believable, vanity-free performance of Yolande Moreau in the title role." Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 26%
| The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009) | "
The gold standard of used-car comedies is still, well, Used Cars. But I laughed out loud about a dozen times watching The Goods, and not even in spite of myself." Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Trafic (1971) | "
Trafic is a relative trifle but nevertheless delightful." Posted Aug 7, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 81%
| Lake Tahoe (2009) | "
If you're patient -- the beautifully composed wide-angle camerawork helps -- the reason for the protagonist's down-in-the-mouth behavior emerges, and finally from the languor comes a sweet little payoff." Posted Aug 7, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 97%
| The Song of Sparrows (2009) | "
The lessons are unsubtle and the pace drags near the end, but Naji is wonderfully expressive, the production design is top-notch and the Iranian countryside is gorgeous." Posted Aug 7, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 84%
| The Windmill Movie (2009) | "
This movie should be unbearable; instead it's grotesquely fascinating. Rogers' striking early short Quarry precedes the main feature, demonstrating the man's considerable talent." Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 78%
| Three Monkeys (2009) | "
The noirish plot doesn't quite jibe with characters this inscrutable; all you really know about them is that they appear incapable of honesty." Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 80%
| $9.99 (2009) | "
The story, though, rarely engrosses as it poses the old 'meaning of life' query, then dances around the subject." Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 59%
| Sleep Dealer (2009) | "
Sleep Dealer is reminiscent of a Philip K. Dick dystopia that might actually read better than it looks here, with average acting, slightly incoherent plotting and cheap special effects." Posted Jul 24, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 88%
| Lion's Den (2009) | "
When it hits, the emotional intensity is ratcheted up, sometimes to overly showy levels, before ending relatively quietly with an escape attempt that, depending on one's view, is either gratifying or tragic." Posted Jul 17, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Sita Sings the Blues (2008) | "
Even if its audience will be about 0.01 percent of that of Coraline and Up, Nina Paley's hilarious, effortlessly cross-cultural and utterly original animated feature should be considered with the same lofty regard." Posted Jul 17, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 86%
| Throw Down Your Heart (2009) | "
As a record of a musical experiment, Sascha Paladino's film is a feast of stirring sounds and sights." Posted Jul 17, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 97%
| Tulpan (2008) | "
Sergei Dvortsevoy's unclassifiable, verite-style film (shaky-cam alert!) is an endearing mix of intimacy, attention to detail and decidedly local humor." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 46%
| My Sister's Keeper (2009) | "
It's very emotional and often touching, but it's also got chemo, bone marrow extractions and a nihilistic view of death." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 85%
| Kabei: Our Mother (2009) | "
Yoji Yamada's historical drama about a Japanese family's travails during wartime imperial rule teeters on the edge of melodrama, but thankfully hews to a stable and surprisingly poignant path." Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 86%
| Treeless Mountain (2009) | "
The film is spare and a bit static, the plot a buildup of mundane moments, but Kim's conceptual smarts and firm direction are impressive, as are the performances from such little children." Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 94%
| Revanche (2009) | "
Johannes Krisch leads an effective cast. But it's writer-director Götz Spielmann who's truly the talent to watch." Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 92%
| The Lemon Tree (2008) | "
The Lemon Tree has a big plot hole that's overcome by both Abbass' efforts and the story's tone: dramatic but frustrated and slyly deadpan at heart." Posted Jun 5, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | Truck Turner (1974) | "
Given his iconic bald head, gravitas-laden voice and enormous musical success, it was inevitable that someone in the blaxploitation-heavy '70s would attempt to turn the unassailably cool Isaac Hayes into an action hero." Posted May 29, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | Paper Covers Rock (2009) | "
On this used-car-scale budget, Maggio succeeds by relying on acting, intimacy and a smart script that makes hay of tiny details." Posted May 29, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 24%
| Little Ashes (2009) | "
While it eventually improves, the first quarter-hour of Paul Morrison's drama about the youthful exploits of Spanish artists Salvador Dali, Frederico Garcia Lorca and Luis Bunuel is cringe-worthy." Posted May 22, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 93%
| Made in U.S.A. (1966) | "
Few filmmakers can match Godard's abilities with color, composition and movement." Posted May 22, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 40%
| A Wink and a Smile (2009) | "
These would be fascinating people to interview, but unfortunately the focus instead is on the more mundane concerns of the students, whose graduating performances are puzzlingly shown only in glimpses." Posted May 8, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 43%
| Eden Log (2007) | "
Eden Log is frustrating to follow and has a protagonist almost completely devoid of personality, but Vestiel does have a certain visual flair, even if in this case it seems more suited to a video game than a movie." Posted May 8, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 89%
| Everlasting Moments (2009) | "
Slowly paced but beautifully shot and exquisitely detailed, the film drops in sweet, resonating moments to keep bleakness at bay." Posted May 1, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 93%
| The Betrayal (2008) | "
The film's searing emotionalism is enhanced by lovely camerawork and a magnificent violin score." Posted May 1, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | America Betrayed (2009) | "
After seeing this, one can't help wondering about the wisdom of spending billions on infrastructure renewal if these are the people who will be entrusted with it." Posted Mar 27, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 68%
| The Cake Eaters (2009) | "
The story is so wispy that it feels only half-written; basically, nothing much happens here. Not a total washout, but it seems more like a TV movie." Posted Mar 27, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 84%
| Cherry Blossoms (2009) | "
[A] tender, unhurried drama about dependence, impermanence and rebirth." Posted Mar 27, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 60%
| Loins of Punjab Presents (2008) | "
The concept is witty even if many jokes fall flat or are incomprehensible to outsiders, and it's an interesting angle on the inclusive ideal pitted against ethnic authenticity." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 90%
| The Secret of the Grain (2008) | "
Everyone figures in a masterfully paced final act that's hypnotic, genuinely suspenseful and emotionally complex." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 90%
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) | "
Artfully documentarylike and shot under conditions that produced genuinely traumatized performances, the original Massacre eschews cheap thrills and attacks the psyche." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 33%
| Knowing (2009) | "
Criticisms of story and acting seem nitpicky in the face of the special effects, which are frankly awesome." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 88%
| Medicine for Melancholy (2009) | "
[A] funny, lovely movie." Posted Mar 13, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 79%
| Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2009) | "
The film works best as a history lesson of the L.A. black experience, arguing that economic neglect, institutional racism and covert government operations fueled the 1965 and 1992 riots and created the leadership vacuum in which gangs took root." Posted Mar 13, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 38%
| The Toe Tactic (2008) | "
Not that a well-developed story arc is the chief aim here, but the screenplay is so quirky and unfocused that only in fleeting moments of emotional directness does the film make a real connection." Posted Mar 13, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 80%
| Ballerina (2008) | "
While the mysterious air of the ballerina is preserved, a chance to reveal the real people behind the iconic, ethereal image is squandered." Posted Mar 13, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 90%
| The Black Balloon (2008) | "
It sometimes skirts melodrama territory, but the deep emotions ultimately are real and gratifying. Dependable Toni Collette keeps it grounded, disappearing into her role as the incredibly patient mother." Posted Mar 6, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 71%
| Our City Dreams (2009) | "
Chiara Clemente's well-crafted, accessible film gives interesting looks at five acclaimed New York female artists of distinctively different ages, media and background." Posted Mar 6, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | Food Fight (2008) | "
Much of Chris Taylor's well-made documentary explores themes covered in Michael Pollan's best-selling book The Omnivore's Dilemma." Posted Feb 27, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 94%
| Moscow, Belgium (2008) | "
The romantic triangle plays out somewhat predictably but has welcome wit, well-defined characters and strong acting -- especially by Sarafian, who's intense and strangely sexy in quite the unglamorous role." Posted Feb 27, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 80%
| Serbis (2009) | "
Unflinching, graphic depictions of illicit sex and boil-lancing are memorable, but the family's moral ambiguities and sense of lost prestige are what fascinate the most." Posted Feb 27, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | The Village Barbershop (2009) | "
t's the friendly, occasionally touching chemistry between Ratzenberger and Cole that makes The Village Barbershop likable on its own terms." Posted Feb 20, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | Goth Cruise (2009) | "
Explores what happens when a subculture, especially one as outwardly flamboyant as Goth, starts to age." Posted Feb 13, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 77%
| Chocolate (2009) | "
Character development and cogent storytelling are in short supply. Yeah, so?" Posted Feb 13, 2009 |
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