Fresh B-
| Rotten 38%
| 2012 (2009) | "
The scenes of destruction composed by Emmerich's team--earthquakes, tsunamis, rains of earth and fire--have an enveloping majesty; they transcend mere expensive photorealism and cross over into art." AMCtv.com Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Rotten 47%
| The Box (2009) | "
Some of Kelly's ambition is folly, but when he fails, he fails big. This is one of my favorite films of the year." Film Blather Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 18%
| The Fourth Kind (2009) | "
What I want is to commission a remake of The Fourth Kind, this time by someone who is more concerned with storytelling than with showing off." AMCtv.com Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 70%
| Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | "
It's a coming-of-age fairy tale, delivered with remarkable subtlety, patience, and confidence in its young audience." AMCtv.com Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Rotten D
| Rotten 12%
| Couples Retreat (2009) | "
Aside from a few almost accidental Vaughn- and Bateman-isms, there is not an amusing moment in the entire 107-minute film -- and no insight, or heart, or even genuine sweetness, either." Film Blather Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 39%
| Surrogates (2009) | "
If the movie gets a bit hokey on the surface, its haunting undercurrents never let up." AMCtv.com Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 70%
| The Road (2009) | "
John Hillcoat's faithful, near-perfect adaptation beautifully captures McCarthy's synthesis of all-encompassing darkness and enduring hope." Cinematical Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 45%
| Jennifer's Body (2009) | "
It's better than Juno, I think: more layered, more interesting." Film Blather Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 83%
| Paranormal Activity (2009) | "
Paranormal Activity will please horror fans and is an even better date movie; it's funny, too." Cinematical Posted Sep 16, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 85%
| Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) | "
Herzog is having every bit as much fun as Cage here, toying with renegade cop movie cliches and working in a pulpy mode he hasn't touched for a while." Cinematical Posted Sep 15, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 95%
| Up in the Air (2009) | "
This is Reitman's third film, and I've liked them all about the same: recommended with reservations." Cinematical Posted Sep 14, 2009 |
Rotten D+
| Fresh 65%
| Coco Before Chanel (2009) | "
Coco Before Chanel's approach is classic arthouse: handsome, measured, respectful, and soul-crushingly bland" Cinematical Posted Sep 7, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 89%
| The White Ribbon (2009) | "
An utterly nerve-wracking, edge-of-my-seat experience - certain scenes that consisted of little more than, say, a measured conversation between father and son are, in context, unbelievably suspenseful." Cinematical Posted Sep 6, 2009 |
Rotten C+
| N/A | The Last Station (2010) | "
Why tackle a subject as legendary as Tolstoy if you're just going to turn him into a doddering coot?" Cinematical Posted Sep 5, 2009 |
Rotten C+
| Rotten 36%
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) | "
The definition of cinematic empty calories. It's like stuffing your face with cotton candy in lieu of dinner." AMCtv.com Posted Aug 7, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 68%
| Funny People (2009) | "
The weakest of the three films Apatow has directed -- though certainly not of the dozens he has produced -- but its shortcomings feel like growing pains rather than diminishing returns." Film Blather Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 55%
| Orphan (2009) | "
The most committed, downright unpleasant child-from-hell movie imaginable. It makes The Good Son play like Pollyanna." Film Blather Posted Jul 26, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 83%
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) | "
That Half-Blood Prince stays true to Rowling's downbeat, morose vision is a testament to the integrity of this franchise and the fortitude of its fans. The movie is quiet, graceful and restrained." AMCtv.com Posted Jul 14, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 75%
| Humpday (2009) | "
It milks its edgy high concept for plenty of laughs, but it also does more. Shelton has made a touching, quietly disturbing comedy about the way our minds can take us prisoner." Film Blather Posted Jul 9, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 67%
| Public Enemies (2009) | "
Uses the gangster movie form to say something profound and unexpected about the way we respond to evil." Film Blather Posted Jul 2, 2009 |
Rotten F
| Rotten 19%
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) | "
Critics blithely refer to movies as 'painful' all the time, but this is the real deal." AMCtv.com Posted Jun 23, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 89%
| Moon (2009) | "
Like a lot of great scifi, it tells a small, self-contained story while hinting at something far larger and more troubling... It's one of the best movies of the year." AMCtv.com Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 98%
| Up (2009) | "
A wonderful film, bursting with creativity and remarkable, in the way Pixar efforts usually are, for being a 'family film' that doesn't pander and treats its story like serious business." Film Blather Posted May 28, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Rotten 32%
| Terminator Salvation (2009) | "
Big, handsome, loud and dumb -- and it dishonors everything that preceded it." AMCtv.com Posted May 22, 2009 |
Rotten D+
| Rotten 36%
| Angels & Demons (2009) | "
May be a marginal improvement on its predecessor and source material, but at a brain-stabbing 140 minutes, it still reaches levels of tedium that are hard to conceptualize." AMCtv.com Posted May 15, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 95%
| Star Trek (2009) | "
Here is the highest compliment Abrams and company could have hoped for: They leave Star Trek better than they found it." AMCtv.com Posted May 7, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 36%
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) | "
Eminently disposable, but that's almost the point: Wolverine remembers the days when action flicks were action flicks, and we were content with visceral thrills and basic storytelling competence." AMCtv.com Posted May 1, 2009 |
| Fresh 76%
| Earth (1999) |
Click here to read article Film Blather Posted Apr 24, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 17%
| Mutant Chronicles (2009) | "
The reason most movies don't include aliens, zombies, weird mysticism and a lot of swordfighting is that each of those elements... takes time to explore and nurture into something compelling." AMCtv.com Posted Apr 24, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Rotten 55%
| The Soloist (2009) | "
If the film is smarter and more ambitious than I expected, it is also less involving: a meandering, digressive plea for a social conscience that never finds a rhythm or a pulse." Film Blather Posted Apr 24, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 86%
| Earth (2009) | "
As a movie made with kids -- and mass consumption -- in mind, Earth labors under some frustrating limitations. But as a palatable, engaging reel of incredible nature photography, it has few equals." Film Blather Posted Apr 22, 2009 |
Rotten D+
| Rotten 58%
| 17 Again (2009) | "
I suppose I should be impressed that 17 Again turned out to be bad in a way I did not anticipate: it is awkward and creepy." Film Blather Posted Apr 17, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 84%
| State of Play (2009) | "
Foremost an intelligent, adult genre film -- the thriller antidote to Fast & Furious. It traffics in brainy old-school suspense, courtesy of a twisty plot that holds up under scrutiny." Film Blather Posted Apr 17, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 35%
| Alien Trespass (2009) | "
An affectionate, almost reverent homage to the science fiction of the 1950s: Not a lampoon so much as a faithful recreation." AMCtv.com Posted Apr 3, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Rotten 28%
| Fast & Furious (2009) | "
Any suggestions for the title of fifth film? How about Fast & Furious: I'm Gonna Kick Your Ass? Or, no, I know: Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift." Film Blather Posted Apr 3, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Rotten 52%
| Shuttle (2009) | "
The characters are aggressive and mostly smart, the villain is fearsome and hateful, and the premise ('An airport shuttle ride descends into darkness') is brilliantly simple." Film Blather Posted Mar 30, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 72%
| Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) | "
As often happens, the best parts are the smallest -- throwaway moments shine (I particularly enjoyed the self-doubting self-destruct mechanism on the alien ship) while the big set pieces are quickly forgotten." AMCtv.com Posted Mar 27, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 18%
| The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) | "
Far more intriguing than your average PG-13 genre entry." Film Blather Posted Mar 27, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| N/A | Slammin' Salmon (2009) | "
90 minutes of truly inspired comic mayhem." Cinematical Posted Mar 19, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 82%
| I Love You, Man (2009) | "
Will be remembered as the movie that turned Paul Rudd from a dependable supporting player into a comic force to be reckoned with." Cinematical Posted Mar 15, 2009 |
Rotten D
| Rotten 43%
| Race to Witch Mountain (2009) | "
The sort of earnest, haphazardly constructed kidflick that offers nothing for the over-12 set and not much for little ones who've seen a few real movies in their young lives." AMCtv.com Posted Mar 12, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Fresh 64%
| Watchmen (2009) | "
The movie was reportedly trimmed from four hours to two hours and forty minutes, and that turns out to simply not be enough time. All the material is here, but its scope and power are lost." AMCtv.com Posted Mar 5, 2009 |
Rotten D+
| Rotten 4%
| Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) | "
I much prefer the flamboyant badness of the '94 flick to the attractive, even-keeled mediocrity of this one. Jean-Claude Van Damme's stock just rose considerably." AMCtv.com Posted Feb 27, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 83%
| Two Lovers (2009) | "
So rich, so fully realized that it inspires the same sort of awe as one of Henry Selick's stop-motion-animated wonders." Film Blather Posted Feb 13, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 88%
| Coraline (2009) | "
Deeply frightening, telling a story that could bore into your kids' nightmares if you're not careful." AMCtv.com Posted Feb 5, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 23%
| Push (2009) | "
Push is supremely elegant, even beautiful; you can get lost in the visuals even as the narrative implodes. If ever there were a triumph of style over substance, this is it." AMCtv.com Posted Feb 5, 2009 |
| Fresh 91%
| The Uninvited (1944) |
Click here to read article Film Blather Posted Jan 30, 2009 |
Rotten C+
| Rotten 32%
| The Uninvited (2009) | "
Squanders 70 strong minutes with a pointless gotcha that I don't think anyone will much appreciate." Film Blather Posted Jan 30, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 39%
| Inkheart (2009) | "
For a movie about the power of books and stories, it's a bit ironic that Inkheart is itself so poorly thought through." Film Blather Posted Jan 23, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 38%
| Outlander (2009) | "
For a movie about aliens and Vikings, Outlander turns out to be awfully rough going." AMCtv.com Posted Jan 22, 2009 |