Fresh A-
| Fresh 96%
| A Prophet (2010) | "
A Prophet is long and sometimes grueling, but it never feels indulgent or excessive." — Oregonian Posted Mar 18, 2010 |
Rotten C+
| Rotten 51%
| Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) | "
The thing in this film that feels most alive is a slice of cheese rotting on a playground blacktop -- which would be a funny joke if it was intentional." — Oregonian Posted Mar 18, 2010 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 54%
| Green Zone (2010) | "
Green Zone is a story of a fruitless endeavor. But too often it feels like one itself, however vigorous and engaging it can be in the telling." — Oregonian Posted Mar 12, 2010 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 90%
| Terribly Happy (2009) | "
An American remake is said to be in the works; see the original before someone lesser than Genz -- or the Coens -- gets their mitts on it." — Oregonian Posted Mar 12, 2010 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 76%
| Police, Adjective (2009) | "
For all the inactivity and resistance that mark the plot, there’s beauty in the filmmaking and a kind of dazzling inevitability to the unwinding of the tale." — Oregonian Posted Mar 12, 2010 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 81%
| Ghost Writer (2010) | "
The Ghost Writer is terrific fun and rousing proof that there's still vital life in an aging master filmmaker." — Oregonian Posted Mar 4, 2010 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 52%
| Alice in Wonderland (2010) | "
Clearly Burton's visual aplomb and ease with special effects mesh with Carroll's imagination." — Oregonian Posted Mar 4, 2010 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 89%
| Fish Tank (2010) | "
It's not nearly the film that Red Road was, but it forces us to continue to watch its creator with a keen eye." — Oregonian Posted Mar 4, 2010 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 17%
| Saint John of Las Vegas (2009) | "
Buscemi delivers game and spry and pleasurable work, but writer-director Hue Rhodes drops him into a mess of a film and lets him dangle helpless and alone." — Oregonian Posted Feb 26, 2010 |
— | Fresh 86%
| A Town Called Panic (2009) | "
There’s great zest and brio in the filmmaking and storytelling here, and utterly fantabulous imagination, and you’ll likely grin with appreciative amazement in between bursts of laughing out loud." — Oregonian Posted Feb 24, 2010 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 83%
| The White Ribbon (2009) | "
You can squirm, for hours, at a Haneke film, then flee the theater in relief but find, damnably, that can’t forget any of it, sometimes for years. It may not be pleasant, but it is most definitely art." — Oregonian Posted Feb 24, 2010 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 67%
| Shutter Island (2010) | "
If it only tangentially seems like a Scorsese film, that’s because we’ve incorrectly pigeonholed a director who has almost always pursued a career of shifts and gambits and new paths." — Oregonian Posted Feb 18, 2010 |
Rotten D+
| Rotten 32%
| The Wolfman (2010) | "
Werewolves have perennially taken something of a back seat to vampires, ghosts, aliens, and, recently, zombies in the imaginations of horror filmmakers and fans, and this dreary effort will do nothing to change that." — Oregonian Posted Feb 11, 2010 |
Fresh A-
| Rotten 32%
| The Lovely Bones (2009) | "
I found Jackson’s film soulful, respectful, masterful, horrifying, rending and emotionally true. It may not be the Lovely Bones that you have in mind, but it’s a fine and powerful one." — Oregonian Posted Jan 14, 2010 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 66%
| The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) | "
The whole thing teems with the sort of imagery and clatter that Gilliam’s fans adore. If you loved his older work -- and if you can stand the twinge of pain that beholding the lamented Ledger will surely evoke -- it’s worth a visit." — Oregonian Posted Jan 8, 2010 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 68%
| Youth in Revolt (2010) | "
It’s not earth-shaking, but it’s diverting and polished." — Oregonian Posted Jan 8, 2010 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 81%
| Broken Embraces (2009) | "
In Almodóvar and Cruz we have a real collaboration of artist and inspiration that only seems to improve and deepen over time." — Oregonian Posted Dec 25, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 85%
| A Single Man (2009) | "
Built around Firth’s fine work, A Single Man is a handsome film that, like its slender source novel, is stylish, quiet and sure." — Oregonian Posted Dec 25, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Fresh 69%
| Sherlock Holmes (2009) | "
Despite some arresting visual flourishes and Downey’s inherent likeability, it’s nearly incoherent both as cinema and as story." — Oregonian Posted Dec 25, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Rotten 37%
| Nine (2009) | "
Overheated and unengaging, Nine is studded with brilliant actors, only some of whom work to their highest levels and then, often, only in moments." — Oregonian Posted Dec 25, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 90%
| Up in the Air (2009) | "
There's a slickness and calculation to the tone and texture, but it's closely wedded to the story and it's awfully well done. Even if you doubt the film's sincerity, you can't deny its skill." — Oregonian Posted Dec 17, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 82%
| Avatar (2009) | "
The relatively small truth that it has some embarrassing moments of dialogue and a simple plot and superficial resemblances to other movies doesn’t change the fact that it blasts open the possibilities of the cinema as few films ever have." — Oregonian Posted Dec 17, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 82%
| Me and Orson Welles (2009) | "
Linklater relies on an old-fashioned story and a gallery of fine performances, choosing modest directorial ambitions that suit the material like a second skin." — Oregonian Posted Dec 11, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 76%
| Invictus (2009) | "
It’s not a great film, but parts of it are outstanding." — Oregonian Posted Dec 11, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 82%
| Collapse (2009) | "
Sitting in a tiled basement, chain-smoking, dropping names and statistics and data with chilling certainty, Ruppert makes a compelling case that everything we know is about to end." — Oregonian Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 45%
| Everybody's Fine (2009) | "
It’s offensive, really, this blatant pandering to emotions." — Oregonian Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 88%
| Red Cliff (2009) | "
Woo doesn't have Yimou's natural feel for the courtly culture, or, perhaps, his sweeping way with this type of story. But his hand is sure and his eye, as ever, finds beauty in everything, even death." — Oregonian Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 77%
| Bronson (2009) | "
Director and co-writer Nicolas Winding Refn strives mightily to match his star crescendo for crescendo, which can be exhausting. But the film is nimble and spare enough to absorb most of the director's outré inspirations." — Oregonian Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 75%
| The Road (2009) | "
It was unforgettable on the page, and it impresses equally, or at least it does so remarkably often, on screen." — Oregonian Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 93%
| Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) | "
Anderson's fetish for quirk and detail finds in the fabricated world of a stop-motion film a kind of natural playground; if he's increasingly drawn to characters that are only marginally human, why not make them beasties and, better, puppets of beasties?" — Oregonian Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 91%
| Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire (2009) | "
The likes of Dante Aligheri, Hieronymus Bosch, Goya and James Joyce have tried to represent Hell in their works, but I’m not sure that any has conveyed the reality of damnation more fully than this brave little film." — Oregonian Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Rotten C+
| Rotten 16%
| Gentlemen Broncos (2009) | "
As the struggle toward something new and different overwhelms the film, it becomes less and less human, less and less funny and less and less worth the effort to meet it on its own terms." — Oregonian Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten F+
| Fresh 60%
| Pirate Radio (2009) | "
Inevitably, given this cast, there are a few actorly moments worth savoring, and the clothes some of the characters wear delight. But this is, quite simply, as bad a film as you could ever fear to see." — Oregonian Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 55%
| Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) | "
Carrey’s Scrooge is deliciously pinched and credible. As, indeed, is this film -- that is, when it feels like Dickens and not a theme park ride." — Oregonian Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 53%
| The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) | "
There are moments of levity throughout the film, but it’s made with pedestrian craft and feels more like a set-up and a series of vignettes than a compelling yarn." — Oregonian Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 94%
| An Education (2009) | "
It’s truly a magnificent coming-out." — Oregonian Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 94%
| The Damned United (2009) | "
Sheen’s Clough is as good as his Tony Blair and his David Frost -- which is to say he is absolutely remarkable." — Oregonian Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Rotten D
| Rotten 20%
| Amelia (2009) | "
Better luck trying to find out what truly happened to the real Earhart than trying to diagnose all that's wrong with this hapless film." — Oregonian Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 64%
| Coco Before Chanel (2009) | "
Tautou is, as ever, radiant and deep and affecting, but a film about such an extraordinary personage as Chanel shouldn’t feel so ordinary and wan." — Oregonian Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten C+
| Rotten 58%
| Trucker (2009) | "
The whole thing plays with wobbly craft that, finally, creates a deep patina of suspicion and dullness." — Oregonian Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 73%
| Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | "
To be clear, this is not a shameful debacle like the wretched feature films of Dr. Seuss books released in the last decade, for which I hope all involved will someday pay a grisly and immortal price. But it is a film that deflates you too often..." — Oregonian Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 88%
| A Serious Man (2009) | "
It’s a story that begins in an ancient riddle and ends, perfectly, in the rumble of an oncoming storm." — Oregonian Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 83%
| Tony Manero (2009) | "
Alfredo Castro is magnetically repellant in the lead, a soulful creep with desperation and a very specific form of madness seeping out of his pores." — Oregonian Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 93%
| Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2009) | "
It’s a ribald and entertaining documentary, filled with great yarns and astonishing images from not only the finished films but from the making of them." — Oregonian Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 75%
| Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) | "
This is heartening, rousing stuff. But Moore has shilly-shallied and wandered for too long for it to have maximal impact." — Oregonian Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 92%
| Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg (2009) | "
It's absolutely charming to be reminded of -- or, in most cases, introduced to -- Berg and her particular genius. But too much of the film is too light." — Oregonian Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 83%
| Bright Star (2009) | "
There are nice bits throughout, and your heart can’t help but go out to these impassioned young lovers whom you know are doomed. But Bright Star is too often tarnished by the ordinary." — Oregonian Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Rotten C+
| Fresh 67%
| Dead Snow (2009) | "
There's a smidgen of kicky fun in the thing, but the craft varies wildly between clever and sloppy, the acting is rudimentary, and the Nazi element is truly arbitrary." — Oregonian Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 84%
| The September Issue (2009) | "
While it may not offer the full Wintour, The September Issue is nonetheless filled with vivacity, charm and, yes, beauty..." — Oregonian Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Rotten 58%
| 9 (2009) | "
At barely an-hour-and-a-quarter in length, it's one of those very rare feature films that you wish were longer." — Oregonian Posted Sep 8, 2009 |
