Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 45%
| Everybody's Fine (2009) | "
It’s a manipulative guiltfest that drags its feet more sluggishly than its elderly protagonist." Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Rotten 56%
| Brothers (2009) | "
Sheridan’s stellar past work informs and uplifts Brothers and brings out some of the best performances of the year; in the case of Tobey Maguire as the soldier and Natalie Portman as his wife, these are the best performances of their careers." Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 91%
| Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire (2009) | "
It’s a shame that Daniels is so unconvincing in his execution, because the performances mostly go for broke and there does seem to be a nugget of courage to Fletcher’s screenplay." Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 60%
| Pirate Radio (2009) | "
Curtis takes great joy in huddling an ensemble of misfits together, connecting them loosely and then sitting back and watching them all become a messy family." Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 93%
| The Damned United (2009) | "
It’s too easy to dismiss Sheen’s work as basic mimicry; in fact, Sheen’s Clough is his most intricate work thus far." Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 54%
| The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) | "
By throwing both paranormal rumors and sadly true events at the wall, the writer and director make the whole production feel like a messy experiment -- but one that, nonetheless, is a lot of fun to partake in." Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 94%
| An Education (2009) | "
Many have come close, but An Education is the first film this year to grab me by the lapel and whisk me along with its characters..." Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 50%
| Broken Hill (2009) | "
Pleasant in a flavored-rice-cakes kind of way." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 93%
| Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg (2009) | "
It’s puzzling that a paean to Gertrude Berg’s Jewish New York housewife, Mrs. Goldberg -- a character so beloved and enduring that she could serve as a travel guide through early-to-mid–20th-century history -- could fall so flat." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 87%
| A Serious Man (2009) | "
Joel and Ethan Coen have the ability to sit their audience down in front of a black screen and make them feel comfortable with two very important factors: 1) They will not understand everything that’s going on, and 2) they won’t care." Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 94%
| Good Hair (2009) | "
Whatever Rock’s impetus for exploring the wallet-busting, day-consuming, sometimes chemically dangerous desire of black women to achieve European hair, he’s never wanting for laughter." Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 85%
| World's Greatest Dad (2009) | "
It’s hard to argue with Goldthwait’s assertion that society’s search for spokesmen leads to false prophets, but it feels like an observation well-made many times over in the ’90s, at the height of anti-celebrity culture." Posted Oct 14, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 73%
| More Than a Game (2009) | "
Let’s start with the title, which is problematic by nature: There is nothing more than a game on display here." Posted Oct 14, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 72%
| Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | "
From the moment we meet Max, however, all of that flies out the window as we soar out of our own expectations and into the fantastic world Jonze presents." Posted Oct 14, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 82%
| Whip It (2009) | "
Barrymore nails the big derby action with clarity and the intimate moments with precision, elevating an already captivating story to a deeply human level." Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 75%
| Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) | "
A film for everyone in the economic bottom 95 percent." Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Rotten 56%
| The Invention of Lying (2009) | "
The Invention of Lying, I’m happy to report, is true. And it is a romantic comedy in the best sense of the term." Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 84%
| The September Issue (2009) | "
In its way, The September Issue is about expert craftsmen toiling away at a factory, albeit an unimaginably glamorous one." Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 78%
| It Might Get Loud (2009) | "
If Guggenheim had let it play as is, without splicing in choppy life-story filler, then it might have been a rock doc for the ages." Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 83%
| Bright Star (2009) | "
Has Lady Jane gone as chaste as the PG rating on Bright Star suggests? You have no idea." Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 77%
| The Informant! (2009) | "
Damon’s portrayal is complicated, amusing and somewhat heartbreaking." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 89%
| O'Horten (2009) | "
O’ Horten moves slowly, sometimes excruciatingly so, but its thematic center is strong: How do you run out the clock of life?" Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 65%
| Adam (2009) | "
Dancy and Byrne do a fine job of portraying these two lost souls.... How unfortunate for them that they’re forced to spout miles of Mayer’s cutesy babble every time they’re close to transcendence." Posted Aug 27, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 100%
| Motherland (2009) | "
Six American mothers, united in grief over the loss of a child, travel to Africa to find their way. That’s the concept behind Motherland, a documentary that follows the women’s emotional journey toward some kind of solace." Posted Aug 27, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 49%
| Taking Woodstock (2009) | "
[It] takes advantage of yet another anniversary celebration of the three-day music festival, but Lee only uses the milestone for surface draw. Otherwise, this aimless, pointless, emotionless and self-aggrandizing debacle would have no reason to exist." Posted Aug 27, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 88%
| Inglourious Basterds (2009) | "
Basterds is his fullest, richest and most complete novel. [Tarantino] presides over the tough material with the confidence of an artist who is done trying to impress everyone with gimmicks." Posted Aug 20, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 38%
| The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) | "
What excuse does the film have for telling its affecting, relatable story with such little regard for establishing character or letting a moment play itself out?" Posted Aug 13, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 90%
| District 9 (2009) | "
The standard action plot demotes District 9 from a potential game-changer to simply a very good film. And considering the painful summer movie season we’ve endured thus far, you can’t ask for much more than that." Posted Aug 13, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 67%
| Bliss (2007) | "
Bliss is wonderful storytelling through and through. From the lyrical opening shot of a mountain’s reflection piercing the sea to the closing portrait of open air, director Oguz’s narrative is just as crystalline as the Aegean Sea he opulently photographs" Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 95%
| The Cove (2009) | "
The Cove focuses on that Mission: Impossible more than anything else, and the Dirty Dozen style makes it by far the most exciting documentary to come along in years." Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 87%
| 500 Days of Summer (2009) | "
The film itself is a harmless tale and the performances all around are mostly winning, with the exception of Deschanel, whose expression never changes throughout all the twists and turns of the romance." Posted Jul 30, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 68%
| Funny People (2009) | "
I can’t spell out exactly how Funny People says so much about who these people are without showing its hand -- you’ll have to see Apatow in action to believe." Posted Jul 30, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 69%
| Adoration (2009) | "
Egoyan’s ham-fisted commentaries on religion, terrorism and xenophobia are so needy they make Crash perpetrator Paul Haggis look subtle." Posted Jul 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 53%
| The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009) | "
Perhaps the world needs to see these brutalities to open their eyes to the practice, and perhaps that makes The Stoning of Soraya M. noble and worth the price of admission." Posted Jul 9, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 66%
| Away We Go (2009) | "
Away We Go is a big success." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Rotten 3/5
| Rotten 54%
| Cheri (2009) | "
All the frilly hats, teasingly lit sex and delicious turns of phrases can’t inject this adaptation of Colette’s novel with enough drama to sustain its tight running time." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 76%
| Shall We Kiss? (2008) | "
It’s the kind of total submission to a filmmaker that’s usually reserved for edge-of-your-seat thrillers and, in a way, that’s what Mouret has made: an expertly suspenseful romance." Posted Jun 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 15%
| Year One (2009) | "
Year One is a horse designed by committee to make a camel, and Harold Ramis, as much as today’s comedy stars owe him, is an unadaptable species." Posted Jun 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 51%
| Easy Virtue (2009) | "
Biel still appears uncomfortable. She would do well to get more experience under her belt before reaching for a corset. If she caught any break, it’s that Easy Virtue only pretends to be upscale cinema." Posted Jun 11, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 76%
| Outrage (2009) | "
This is a portrait of how modern politics is still getting it wrong when it comes to gay rights, made worse by the fact that many of the puppet masters behind anti-gay legislation are homosexual themselves." Posted Jun 11, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Fresh 78%
| The Hangover (2009) | "
As if it wasn’t bad enough to be stuck in Las Vegas with these middle-aged misanthropes, The Hangover does the inconceivable disservice of robbing the audience of that elusive sweet spot of GCA usefulness: the drunken escapade." Posted Jun 4, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 98%
| Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009) | "
This is no mock-doc joke. Director Sacha Gervasi deftly introduces us to irrepressible frontman Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and his ever-suffering lifelong sidekick Robb Reiner (seriously), who were and remain fine musicians but simply never quite caught on." Posted May 28, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 73%
| Rudo and Cursi (2009) | "
I’m not sure which is more offensive: That Cuarón believes these scumbag brothers are heroes, or that the biggest scumbag in the film can be a hero to all." Posted May 28, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 64%
| The Brothers Bloom (2009) | "
Many will point to the delirious preciosity of Wes Anderson’s work as a reference point. I would suggest that even Anderson’s recent work could use an injection of [Rian] Johnson’s celluloid rapture." Posted May 28, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 32%
| Terminator Salvation (2009) | "
Terminator Salvation: the least they could give us." Posted May 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 44%
| Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) | "
Smithsonian whips itself into a kind of frenzied exhilaration that's both fun and funny." Posted May 22, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 56%
| Lymelife (2009) | "
As it jogs toward its climax, Lymelife fails to ratchet up the tension by turning the screws of the plot." Posted May 7, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 36%
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) | "
It’s a film made with utter contempt for its audience by the most cynical of Hollywood players that shrugs off any notion of mythology, character development or joy." Posted May 1, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 93%
| Sugar (2009) | "
The approach is flighty at best and a cinematic bait-and-switch at worst." Posted Apr 16, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 84%
| State of Play (2009) | "
It’s a smart, edge-of-your-seat thriller that doesn’t just tap into the zeitgeist but hooks up a keg funnel." Posted Apr 16, 2009 |
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