Rotten
| N/A | Make the Yuletide Gay (2009) | "
It’s old news that American queer cinema is splintered between movies with serious artistic and intellectual aspirations and those which, like the bulk of contemporary pop culture, are aggressively mediocre." — L.A. Weekly Posted Oct 29, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 15%
| Stan Helsing (2009) | "
The generically attractive young cast gamely tries to pump life into the script, to no avail." — L.A. Weekly Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh
| Rotten 50%
| The Providence Effect (2009) | "
The film never completely shakes the feel of being more an advertisement than a documentary, but once it settles into a concrete illustration of Adams's philosophy, it becomes riveting." — Village Voice Posted Sep 23, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 85%
| Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) | "
The 3-D effects are wonderful, full of witty sight gags that play out both center-screen and on the periphery, while immensely appealing secondary characters round off a film that plays as well for adults as kids." — L.A. Weekly Posted Sep 17, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 71%
| Walt and El Grupo (2009) | "
Walt is both humorous and moderately revealing about the backstage machinations of the Disney machine." — Village Voice Posted Sep 8, 2009 |
Rotten
| N/A | Orgies and the Meaning of Life (2008) | "
ialogue ranges from exposition-heavy to cutesy, while the performances are little better." — L.A. Weekly Posted Aug 27, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | El Tinte de la Fama () | "
Alifa and Gil are not only eye candy but talented actors as well. Gil, as the reluctant reincarnation of Monroe, is especially captivating, and never more Monroelike than when Magaly is swallowed by despair." — L.A. Weekly Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 84%
| Soul Power (2009) | "
Ali's bravado-soaked words, breezily tossed off after he disrupts a Don King press conference, also serve as an artist's manifesto for the film's musical acts: Celia Cruz, the Spinners, Fania All-Stars, Bill Withers, B.B. King, Miriam Makeba, and others." — Village Voice Posted Jul 8, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 0%
| Dim Sum Funeral (2009) | "
Director Anna Chi’s Chinese-American family drama, from a screenplay by Donald Martin, is ambitious in scope and banal in execution." — L.A. Weekly Posted Jun 11, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 38%
| The Art of Being Straight (2009) | "
The psychologically flat script isn't nearly up to the task of depicting the pleasure within confusion/despair (or vice versa); neither are Rosen's acting chops." — Village Voice Posted Jun 3, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 88%
| The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009) | "
Anyone expecting a saccharine-mapped trip down memory lane from this engrossing documentary, directed by cousins Gregory and Jeff Sherman, sons of Robert and Richard, is in for a bittersweet, heartbreaking surprise." — Village Voice Posted May 19, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 79%
| The Garden (2009) | "
From that David and Goliath setup, filmed in a straightforward style on a shoestring budget, emerge fascinating character studies that underscore both the best and worst of human nature." — L.A. Weekly Posted Apr 23, 2009 |
Rotten
| N/A | Chasing the Green (2009) | "
Your average newscast these days far outstrips Chasing the Green for high-stakes drama and corporate intrigue." — L.A. Weekly Posted Apr 17, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 44%
| Hannah Montana The Movie (2009) | "
A brightly colored yet cheap-looking affair." — L.A. Weekly Posted Apr 9, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | This Is the Life (2009) | "
It’s rare that being schooled so deeply is so pleasurable." — L.A. Weekly Posted Mar 12, 2009 |
Fresh
| Rotten 43%
| Race to Witch Mountain (2009) | "
Cracking one-liners and alternating between world-weariness and growing affection for his charges, Johnson is wonderful -- much better than his material." — L.A. Weekly Posted Mar 12, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 13%
| The Pink Panther 2 (2009) | "
Until that storied team comes together, the film is a dreary checklist of pratfalls, wan double entendres, and frantic, unfunny set pieces." — L.A. Weekly Posted Feb 5, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 88%
| Medicine for Melancholy (2009) | "
Jenkins's dialogue is crisp and witty, sounding and flowing the way real people speak. But it's also shrewdly nuanced." — Village Voice Posted Jan 27, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 79%
| Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2009) | "
It's a lot to take in, and Peralta does an admirable job cramming tons of history and insight into his reportage on how the 'hood came to be." — Village Voice Posted Jan 21, 2009 |
Fresh
| N/A | Tracing Cowboys (2009) | "
The slow-moving, fractured tale is told in flashbacks that seamlessly mingle with the present, making for confusing if gorgeous viewing." — L.A. Weekly Posted Jan 9, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 68%
| Were the World Mine (2008) | "
When the film narrows its focus from big questions addressed through overly broad strokes and instead zooms in on one-on-one interactions and the emotional power of a well-made musical sequence, it taps into a winning sweetness and poignancy." — L.A. Weekly Posted Dec 11, 2008 |
Fresh
| Rotten 36%
| While She Was Out (2008) | "
The emotionally bruised air that’s frequently made Kim Basinger tabloid fodder is also a defining characteristic of her acting style." — L.A. Weekly Posted Dec 11, 2008 |
Rotten
| Fresh 68%
| Cadillac Records (2008) | "
Darnell Martin races through the script’s bullet points with a brisk superficiality that leaves crucial plot points underdeveloped and unresolved, and refuses to engage the dark side of Leonard Chess’ paternalism." — L.A. Weekly Posted Dec 4, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 80%
| A Good Day to Be Black and Sexy (2008) | "
Dortch’s manipulation of stereotype and the associations embedded in everything from skin tone to music set him apart as a talent to watch." — L.A. Weekly Posted Dec 4, 2008 |
Rotten
| N/A | B.O.H.I.C.A (2008) | "
It's not art or artfully rendered, and nothing they're saying is news. Still, it is good to see [star Brendan] Sexton again." — L.A. Weekly Posted Nov 13, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 43%
| Noah's Arc - Jumping the Broom (2008) | "
While there are some solid chuckles scattered throughout the film, Polk’s heavy-handed political sloganeering is lifted straight from pamphlets, while his character development and plotting are clumsy and filled with holes." — L.A. Weekly Posted Oct 23, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 44%
| The Amazing Truth about Queen Raquela (2008) | "
The amazing truth about Queen Raquela is that she’s constructed from clichés." — L.A. Weekly Posted Sep 26, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 80%
| Ten Nights of Dreams (2008) | "
A sometimes terrifying, sometimes wildly amusing and occasionally flat interpretation of Soseki's tales by a who's who of Japanese filmmakers." — L.A. Weekly Posted Aug 21, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 91%
| Boy A (2008) | "
Crowley, his cast and the script constantly reveal new layers to the characters, preventing simple labels like 'hero' or 'villain.' These people are all cringingly human." — L.A. Weekly Posted Jul 24, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 94%
| Chris & Don: A Love Story (2007) | "
A charming, illuminating portrait of the complex and storied queer romance between Isherwood and Bachardy." — L.A. Weekly Posted Jul 3, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 94%
| Without the King (2008) | "
Director Michael Skolnik’s generically crafted documentary on the precarious conditions of Swaziland, last functioning monarchy in Africa, is a curious mixture of banality and revelation." — L.A. Weekly Posted Jun 19, 2008 |
Rotten
| N/A | The Poet (2008) | "
The audience is herded from cliché to unintentional farce to insult-to-its-intelligence." — L.A. Weekly Posted Jun 5, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 30%
| Young Yakuza (2007) | "
Never delivers either the thrill of its underworld setting or much insight into its complicated workings." — L.A. Weekly Posted Apr 3, 2008 |
Rotten
| N/A | Just Add Water (2008) | "
Walsh nearly redeems the whole thing: His eyes flicker with an intelligence that isn’t in the script, and he graces his character with layers of inner life in a film that coasts on surfaces." — L.A. Weekly Posted Mar 27, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 60%
| Little Chenier (2006) | "
Where writer-director Bethany Ashton really excels is in capturing the complex dynamics of small-town life." — L.A. Weekly Posted Mar 13, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 56%
| Spiral (2008) | "
It's a wit-free homage to Hitchcock and M. Night Shyamalan that, for all its slick presentation, never comes close to hitting the mark of its forebears." — L.A. Weekly Posted Feb 7, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 86%
| Billy The Kid (2007) | "
What you ultimately take from the film is the awareness that this smart, self-aware, uncensored kid has been playing to a camera in his own head since well before Venditti came along." — L.A. Weekly Posted Feb 7, 2008 |
Fresh
| N/A | Looking For Cheyenne (2007) | "
A beguiling comedy from a Marxist-inflected thesis that is filled with characters who rage against the machine with pessimism, optimism, and naïveté—sometimes in rotation." — Village Voice Posted Dec 4, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 81%
| Quantum Hoops (2007) | "
The Caltech Beavers are a surprisingly charming group of overachievers who prove to have as much heart on the court as they do brains in the classroom." — L.A. Weekly Posted Nov 1, 2007 |
Fresh
| Rotten 35%
| Finishing the Game (2007) | "
The breezy tone and obvious fun being had by the cast make Finishing the Game a slight, low-key cool cinematic essay on identity politics." — L.A. Weekly Posted Oct 25, 2007 |
Rotten
| Fresh 64%
| Naked Boys Singing (2007) | "
Few of the songs, which range from gleefully raunchy to gratingly sentimental, are truly memorable." — L.A. Weekly Posted Oct 18, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 79%
| The Rape Of Europa (2007) | "
Rape of Europa is a history lesson dressed as a measured thriller." — L.A. Weekly Posted Sep 27, 2007 |
Fresh
| Rotten 38%
| Itty Bitty Titty Committee (2007) | "
Writer-director Jamie Babbit’s follow-up to But I’m a Cheerleader, while flawed and in need of at least one more script overhaul, is smarter, funnier and more accomplished than its predecessor." — L.A. Weekly Posted Sep 27, 2007 |
Fresh
| Rotten 33%
| Sea of Dreams (2005) | "
The cast comprises some of the most beautiful people on Earth. In fact, the chance to see the still impossibly sexy [Sonia] Braga in action almost makes the whole exercise worthwhile." — L.A. Weekly Posted Sep 20, 2007 |
Rotten
| N/A | The Dead One (2007) | "
Dead One never generates either the fear or just tension that it intends with its portentous music, religious iconography and meant-to-be-creepy voice-overs." — L.A. Weekly Posted Sep 13, 2007 |
Fresh
| N/A | In a Day (2006) | "
The acting is fine enough to slowly pull the viewer in, making you care just a bit how it all turns out." — L.A. Weekly Posted Aug 23, 2007 |
Rotten
| Rotten 22%
| 7 Días (2007) | "
U2, notoriously tight with the rights to their music and image, were reportedly so impressed by the script that they allowed their music and some concert footage to be used for very cheap. They got gypped." — L.A. Weekly Posted Aug 16, 2007 |
Rotten
| Rotten 23%
| Descent (2007) | "
A well-acted trifle straining to be a hard-hitting morality play." — Village Voice Posted Aug 7, 2007 |
Fresh
| N/A | Prison Town, USA (2007) | "
A sobering, engrossing film that raises a red flag on a criminal class that is being created for corporate profit." — L.A. Weekly Posted Jun 21, 2007 |
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