Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 20%
| Amelia (2009) | "
Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank gives Earhart a convincing Kansas twang but little else in a performance that is unaccountably stiff." — The Age (Australia) Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 72%
| The Boys Are Back (2009) | "
This beautifully etched, deeply moving drama about single fatherhood [is] the best film Adelaide director Scott Hicks has made since Shine -- and the peak of Clive Owen's acting career" — The Age (Australia) Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Rotten 38%
| 2012 (2009) | "
It's easy to mock throwaway blockbusters like 2012, but as enthralling, mindless entertainment, the film is difficult to fault." — The Age (Australia) Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 77%
| Genova (2008) | "
Though he labours the symbolism of the maze, Winterbottom infuses this otherwise subtle observational drama with the verisimilitude that has become his chief style signature." — The Age (Australia) Posted Nov 4, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 38%
| The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) | "
Without any notion of what type of film it wants to be, The Time Traveller's Wife is neither funny nor charming, moving nor romantic." — The Age (Australia) Posted Nov 4, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 75%
| Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) | "
Moore has long proved himself an excellent editor and comedian, but he always insists on preaching to the like-minded and, thus, can't string together a political film persuasive enough to make a real difference." — The Age (Australia) Posted Nov 4, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 47%
| The Box (2009) | "
Regrettably, and despite a lot of effects -- including those watery tentacles he seems so fond of -- Kelly delivers a Big Reveal that is, frankly, boring." — The Age (Australia) Posted Oct 28, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 80%
| Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) | "
Respectful without being mawkish or sentimental, the film is fashioned with the heart Jackson always demanded of himself. It's not a great film, but This Is It is a fabulously entertaining account of somebody striving to be so one last time." — The Age (Australia) Posted Oct 28, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 77%
| It Might Get Loud (2009) | "
By delving into their backgrounds and character quirks, Guggenheim aims the film beyond the interests of purists, academics, fans and musicians to provide an adventure film exploring the heart of creativity." — The Age (Australia) Posted Oct 28, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 6%
| All About Steve (2009) | "
Her most irritating and unfunniest film to date." — The Age (Australia) Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 93%
| The Damned United (2009) | "
As fine a sports movie as it is, The Damned United is as much a bromance as I Love You, Man. And it's touching, too." — The Age (Australia) Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 48%
| Astro Boy (2009) | "
Astro Boy should please new-generation fans as thoroughly as nostalgia-hungry adults who grew up with the cartoons of the 1960s and 1980s." — The Age (Australia) Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 82%
| Whip It (2009) | "
Surprisingly touching moments of realisation and emotional connection manage to rise above the dramatic cliches that pepper the rest of the film and account for the best scenes in Whip It. Next to all the punch-ups on the track, that is." — The Age (Australia) Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 12%
| Couples Retreat (2009) | "
The film maintains a sufficiently pleasant comic vibe as the couples bicker and pick away at each other, but director Peter Billingsley never really brings matters to a satisfying boil." — The Age (Australia) Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 73%
| Mao's Last Dancer (2009) | "
Beresford does make absolutely sure the big themes central to Cunxin's journey ring out loudly enough to strike those heart strings at which he is so clearly and shamelessly taking aim." — The Age (Australia) Posted Oct 1, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Fresh 86%
| Stone Bros. (2009) | "
Frankland's attempt at a broad stoner comedy misses the mark in so many ways the film almost qualifies as a tragedy." — The Age (Australia) Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 88%
| Looking for Eric (2009) | "
The result is the closest he has ever come to making a beautiful film." — The Age (Australia) Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 76%
| The Young Victoria (2009) | "
The film sags in its third act as it succumbs to all-out adoration for Victoria, but the ever-impressive Blunt carries it admirably with an affecting portrayal." — The Age (Australia) Posted Aug 27, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 52%
| The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) | "
In yet another blander-than-bland remake of a classic film, flash-over-substance specialist Tony Scott takes Joseph Sargent's taut, 1974 action-thriller and processes it through the multiplex mulching machine." — The Age (Australia) Posted Aug 27, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 100%
| Eden à l'Ouest (2009) | "
The brightest, most-entertaining film of [Costas-Gavras'] illustrious career." — The Age (Australia) Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Fresh 4.5/5
| Fresh 88%
| Inglourious Basterds (2009) | "
What really makes Inglourious Basterds stick out like a Royale with cheese...is its sheer playfulness. Tarantino does digress, as is his wont, but these are not the irritating indulgences they were in Kill Bill." — The Age (Australia) Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/5
| Fresh 80%
| Bandslam (2009) | "
A tedious, predictable tale about following your dreams and being yourself." — The Age (Australia) Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 94%
| Beautiful Kate (2009) | "
Helps redress a long-standing problem with Australian cinema by illustrating how fully developed, emotionally driven, three-act stories result in films that immerse you in their visions." — The Age (Australia) Posted Aug 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 36%
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) | "
Another deliriously overloaded, effects-driven, bubble-headed extravaganza designed to leave your eyes spinning from one too many camera-shaking explosions." — The Age (Australia) Posted Aug 5, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 15%
| The Ugly Truth (2009) | "
The comic highlight is when Heigl wears a pair of vibrating pants to a business dinner." — The Age (Australia) Posted Aug 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 47%
| My Sister's Keeper (2009) | "
Bring the tissues. This film works." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 92%
| Drag Me To Hell (2009) | "
As its shameless, tell-all, schlock title signals, Drag Me to Hell is great fun that goes light on gore in favour of inventive freak-outs." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jul 24, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/5
| Rotten 10%
| My Life in Ruins (2009) | "
The film contains a constant stream of lowbrow gags and pratfalls as Georgia lurches her way towards happiness, romance and a secure job in the Grecian tourist trade. It's lightweight, inoffensive fluff." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jul 17, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Fresh 83%
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) | "
The film is simply a bore, a frustrating, yawn-inducing, 2½-hour teaser with no pay-off." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jul 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 36%
| Angels & Demons (2009) | "
[It] not only doesn't suck, it is positively enjoyable. And fun." — The Age (Australia) Posted May 15, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Fresh 95%
| Star Trek (2009) | "
Well, at least they got it half right." — The Age (Australia) Posted May 15, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 100%
| Samson and Delilah (2009) | "
It is the most confronting, powerful, honest and important film about indigenous culture yet made in this country." — The Age (Australia) Posted May 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 83%
| Acolytes (2008) | "
The performances from the young cast are a tad bland, but director Jon Hewitt infuses his low-budget genre jolter with just enough menace as it powers towards an effective, if predictable, climax." — The Age (Australia) Posted May 1, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 57%
| Tenderness (2008) | "
Polson maintains an unsettling tension throughout the narrative, building his slow-burn thriller to a climax that deliberately runs counter to the in-your-face genre principles of which he proved such a master with his first two thriller outings." — The Age (Australia) Posted May 1, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 36%
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) | "
Ultimately, what Wolverine says about the evolution of a franchise film character is actually less interesting than what it says about the evolution of Hugh Jackman as the all-round showman movie star." — The Age (Australia) Posted May 1, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 54%
| The Boat That Rocked (2009) | "
An energetic, semi-farcical comedy romp blessed with a great ensemble cast, some gloriously tasteless jokes and a soundtrack of period hits." — The Age (Australia) Posted Apr 17, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 92%
| Mary and Max (2009) | "
Only long after the film, and with considerable effort, do you have to remind yourself that what you went all weak-kneed and misty-eyed over was a blob of plasticine -- a superbly directed blob of plasticine." — The Age (Australia) Posted Apr 17, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 47%
| Bottle Shock (2008) | "
Rickman is priceless as the self-parodying wine snob, stealing every scene he is in by continually pulling the rug from under himself." — The Age (Australia) Posted Mar 27, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 34%
| Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) | "
James makes a funny, likeable doofus, and the expansion of his girth since his hit sitcom The King of Queens is used to great comic effect." — The Age (Australia) Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 100%
| Two Fists, One Heart (2008) | "
Brandishes the type of confidence, commercial appeal and clarity of vision all too seldom seen in Australian cinema. We should be producing movies like this 10 times a year, not once in a blue moon." — The Age (Australia) Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 58%
| The International (2009) | "
There is considerable satisfaction in seeing these tyrants of high finance live up to their image as the new villains of modern cinema, but even more satisfying are Tykwer's superbly staged action set pieces." — The Age (Australia) Posted Feb 20, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 65%
| Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008) | "
A well-meaning, foul-mouthed misfire." — The Age (Australia) Posted Feb 20, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/5
| Rotten 34%
| Pride and Glory (2008) | "
Hard to watch, hard to listen to and hard to follow." — The Age (Australia) Posted Feb 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 44%
| He's Just Not That Into You (2009) | "
Easily ranks as one of the better relationship films of the past decade." — The Age (Australia) Posted Feb 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 32%
| Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) | "
Those Goth-savvy filmgoers who enjoyed the first two Underworld epics will have no complaints here. Everything they love is delivered in spades..." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jan 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 35%
| Igor (2008) | "
A fun time-killer for kids aged tween and up..." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jan 16, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 98%
| The Wrestler (2008) | "
A beautifully etched, touching essay about a damaged, desperate brute hoping for one taste of dignity and real fatherhood before his life goes down for the count for the final time." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jan 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 12%
| Bride Wars (2009) | "
[A] funny, self-consciously frothy piece of good-natured escapism." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jan 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 88%
| Bolt (2008) | "
The perfect holiday movie follow-on for those kids and kidults still high on the comic buzz of Madagascar 2." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jan 2, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 43%
| Yes Man (2008) | "
No, man." — The Age (Australia) Posted Jan 2, 2009 |
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