Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 38%
| The Art of Being Straight (2009) | "
Being straight is hard to do in this brief, ponderous mumblecore flick." Posted Jun 3, 2009 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 25%
| Jazz in the Diamond District (2009) | "
Jazz is just another reefer-ridden, albeit earnest, tale of love, loss and evil New Yorkers taking advantage." Posted May 1, 2009 |
Rotten 3/6
| Fresh 79%
| In a Dream (2009) | "
The movie feels as if its creator is simply too close to his subject to cover all the angles; perhaps a director without blood bonds might have managed a less claustrophobic look at the clan." Posted Apr 8, 2009 |
Rotten 1/6
| Fresh 90%
| Forbidden Lie$ (2009) | "
Norma Khouri’s book about the honor killing of a Muslim friend, Forbidden Love, was exposed as fake in 2004 -- which makes this doc yesterday’s news." Posted Apr 1, 2009 |
Rotten 1/6
| Rotten 16%
| Spinning into Butter (2009) | "
You can’t blame Sarah Jessica Parker for wanting to get away from her usual Manolo Blahnik–wearing roles, but Spinning Into Butter was a rotten choice." Posted Mar 25, 2009 |
Fresh 4/6
| Rotten 54%
| The New Twenty (2009) | "
Chris Mason Johnson’s ensemble drama could’ve been just another earnest time capsule about friends in their late twenties; what saves it from devolving into mere mumblecore is a broader-than-average outlook." Posted Mar 18, 2009 |
Rotten 3/6
| Rotten 14%
| Steam (2009) | "
If these one-dimensional stereotypes were to hit the steam room, they’d go quite limp." Posted Mar 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/6
| Fresh 88%
| Carmen and Geoffrey (2009) | "
Given that Carmen and Geoffrey focuses on two of the most innovative figures of African-American modern dance -- Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder -- it’s a shame that this film is both uncreative and technically maladroit." Posted Mar 11, 2009 |
Rotten 1/6
| Rotten 18%
| The Trouble with Romance (2009) | "
If He’s Just Not That Into You is a film for women who want to be lied to, then The Trouble with Romance offers a conniving counterpoint for men." Posted Feb 26, 2009 |
Fresh 3/6
| N/A | Glorious Exit (2009) | "
Merz captures the bleakness with grainy film and available light, which is often just the feeble pallor of early-morning sun poking through smog." Posted Jan 29, 2009 |
Fresh 3/6
| Rotten 39%
| Inkheart (2009) | "
Every action scene is coupled with lush visuals." Posted Jan 22, 2009 |
Rotten 1/6
| Fresh 80%
| Ballerina (2008) | "
Ballerina has the feel of a propaganda puff piece put out by the Russian tourist board." Posted Jan 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3/6
| Fresh 74%
| Just Another Love Story (2009) | "
[Director] Bornedal injects plenty of gallows humor to keep things light, and a fair amount of bloody, full-frontal nudity to maintain just the right quotient of queasiness." Posted Jan 7, 2009 |
Rotten 3/6
| Rotten 55%
| The Tale of Despereaux (2008) | "
It’s hard to care what happens to Princess Pea when she’s just a whiny British toff, waiting for a prince with a phallic-looking noggin to save her." Posted Dec 17, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 13%
| Delgo (2008) | "
Perhaps the creators of Delgo were going for the ugly-chic appeal of Shrek, but their cartoon characters have all the aesthetic allure of Jar Jar Binks." Posted Dec 10, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 33%
| Ciao (2008) | "
It’s hard to shake the feeling that the onscreen words stick too close to the facts: The dialogue drags, making the viewer like an invisible third wheel at a nervous, slightly dull first date." Posted Dec 3, 2008 |
Fresh 4/6
| Fresh 90%
| The Black Balloon (2008) | "
Elissa Down approaches autism without being maudlin, placing the messy action in a summery realm where bronzed kids learn to grow up, fast." Posted Dec 3, 2008 |
Fresh 4/6
| Rotten 25%
| Nobel Son (2008) | "
Alan Rickman always plays odious but smart with sangfroid." Posted Dec 3, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 13%
| I Can't Think Straight (2008) | "
The comedic touches are well wrought, but there's a lot of plodding, earnest discussion about Palestine and Israel, when the focus should be on the Lebanese. Sorry -- the lesbians." Posted Nov 20, 2008 |
Rotten 3/6
| Fresh 68%
| Were the World Mine (2008) | "
Like a hybrid of the lads from Dead Poets Society and HSM3, the teenage fellas of Were the World Mine gird their loins to produce a musical rendering of A Midsummer Night’s Dream." Posted Nov 20, 2008 |
Fresh 3/6
| Fresh 73%
| Eden (2008) | "
It’s a tired conceit, but Kelly does a fine turn as an emotionally stunted lad, while Walsh dazzles, expertly conveying humiliation and resolve." Posted Nov 12, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Fresh 70%
| How About You (2008) | "
Not even Vanessa Redgrave and Imelda Staunton can elicit a gasp out of the wheezing script." Posted Nov 12, 2008 |
Fresh 3/6
| Fresh 64%
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) | "
You can’t fault DreamWorks for including what Disney’s animated tales conspicuously leave out -- gags pitched at adults. Plus, the CGI has improved since the first film, with animal fur being ruffled in all the right places." Posted Nov 5, 2008 |
Rotten 3/6
| Rotten 28%
| The World Unseen (2008) | "
The women have a definite spark, but a hetero couple’s interracial flirtation is swiftly dispatched, rendering them little more than clunky counterpoints to the distaff duo." Posted Nov 5, 2008 |
Rotten 3/6
| Fresh 67%
| Ben X (2008) | "
The ending is a letdown, as high-tech media mingles with old-school Christian imagery." Posted Oct 22, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Fresh 67%
| High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) | "
You hardly watch a Disney musical expecting Lars von Trier, but still, this is conservative stuff." Posted Oct 22, 2008 |
Fresh 3/6
| Rotten 38%
| Flashbacks of a Fool (2008) | "
While the dialogue is often hackneyed and full of rushed backstory (not enough flashbacks, evidently), the cinematography excels, particularly the chiaroscuro interiors." Posted Oct 15, 2008 |
Fresh 3/6
| Rotten 35%
| Tru Loved (2008) | "
As coming-out movies go, Tru Loved is no downer. Nobody dies, or prays the gay away. Despite the punning title, the gags carry the dialogue with surprising élan." Posted Oct 15, 2008 |
Rotten 1/6
| Fresh 69%
| Who Does She Think She Is? (2008) | "
This documentary encapsulates everything that gives feminism a bad name, from whining about patriarchal society to celebrating the goddess within." Posted Oct 15, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 43%
| Choose Connor (2008) | "
For reasons that are unclear, Choose Connor seems to both court relevance and avoid it, lapsing into allegory at inopportune moments." Posted Oct 8, 2008 |
Rotten 3/6
| Rotten 46%
| Breakfast with Scot (2008) | "
Even as Eric and his lawyer boyfriend, Sam, are chided for being closeted, their relationship is conveyed in anodyne, asexual fashion; the two men barely touch. Laurie Lynd doesn’t squeeze much emotion out of supporting cast members, either." Posted Oct 8, 2008 |
Rotten 1/6
| Rotten 41%
| Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) | "
While CGI works its ventriloquism on the doggy mandibles, it neglects the human contingent, who are left to fend for themselves amid the manipulated menagerie." Posted Oct 1, 2008 |
Rotten 3/6
| Rotten 10%
| Everybody Wants to Be Italian (2008) | "
Beantown provides a salty backdrop, but when the action shifts to Italy, it seems the budget didn’t include airfares." Posted Sep 4, 2008 |
Rotten 3/6
| Rotten 20%
| Another Gay Sequel (2008) | "
Another Gay Sequel sends up the cinematic sophomore curse: Only one of the four main characters is played by the same actor in both movies, leaving Nico puzzled as to why his friends look so unfamiliar." Posted Aug 27, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Fresh 69%
| Red (2008) | "
The lesson to be taken away from Red is that, after some killin', the only thing that can make someone feel better is a new puppy." Posted Aug 6, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Fresh 68%
| America The Beautiful (2008) | "
There’s nothing new in Roberts’s film about skinny models, eating disorders, plastic surgery and toxic cosmetics." Posted Jul 31, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Fresh 84%
| In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2008) | "
She’s all long blond hair and cigarettes; he’s scruffy and affable. But they’re no Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy; the dynamic between the pair is often flat." Posted Jul 31, 2008 |
Rotten 3/6
| Fresh 67%
| A Very British Gangster (2008) | "
More Hot Fuzz than Reservoir Dogs." Posted Jul 16, 2008 |
Rotten 3/6
| Rotten 27%
| Harold (2008) | "
Aside from a few smart tweaks, the film doesn’t subvert the genre but rather falls afoul of it." Posted Jul 9, 2008 |
Rotten 2/6
| Rotten 14%
| Holding Trevor (2007) | "
The whole shebang is a lesson in solipsism." Posted Jul 2, 2008 |
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