Rotten C
| Rotten 16%
| Planet 51 (2009) | "
Largely, it’s a jellybean of a movie: bright, colorful, sugary, and with no real content." — AV Club Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 91%
| Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) | "
This is no more a kids’ movie for kids than Where the Wild Things Are; it’s a film strictly for Wes Anderson fans of all ages. By now, they should know who they are." — AV Club Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 48%
| Astro Boy (2009) | "
A muddled film full of one-dimensional characters and insultingly strident politics." — AV Club Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 22%
| I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell (2009) | "
Tucker Max’s only real strengths are his outrageousness and his uncompromising self-confidence, but neither comes into play in this punch-pulling, frankly boring film." — AV Club Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 28%
| Fame (2009) | "
A film that’s largely a raw, uplifting love letter to creativity in every possible form." — AV Club Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 76%
| The Informant! (2009) | "
While the details are fresh, the story arc follows a standard pattern, a cautionary tale of spiraling bad-faith decisions. But Soderbergh and Burns compensate by playing the story for wry laughs and adding an almost distracting variety of texture." — AV Club Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 6%
| Whiteout (2009) | "
Whiteout’s intriguing setting and storyline would be gripping if Beckinsale’s Sherlocking around wasn’t so glossed-over, or alternately spoon-fed to the audience." — AV Club Posted Sep 10, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 56%
| 9 (2009) | "
It’s a perfectly functional, fairly scary kids’ film, with plenty of craft and creativity to keep adults occupied. But with a story as sophisticated as its visuals, it could have been much more." — AV Club Posted Sep 9, 2009 |
Rotten D
| Rotten 29%
| The Final Destination (2009) | "
Its chopping-block fodder is agonizingly bland; each character has one prominent major flaw, or no personality at all." — AV Club Posted Sep 1, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 86%
| Fifty Dead Men Walking (2009) | "
What makes Fifty Dead Men work is the story’s sheer moral complexity, which dares viewers to sympathize with anyone onscreen for more than a few minutes at a time." — AV Club Posted Aug 20, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 38%
| The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) | "
The problem isn’t the timeline -- it’s everything else." — AV Club Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 91%
| Ponyo (2009) | "
Older kids and even adults are unlikely to get bored, thanks to the story’s unforced sweetness, giddy highs, and stunningly beautiful visuals. Even in the unspoiled Devonian, real life never looked this good." — AV Club Posted Aug 13, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 36%
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) | "
It’s a strong rival for Star Trek among the summer’s most purely exciting action films." — AV Club Posted Aug 11, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) | "
Nausicaä is in some ways a grim and serious film, but it mixes a sweet optimism into its horror-filled lessons." — AV Club Posted Aug 10, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 75%
| Cold Souls (2009) | "
The premise seems profound, but the claustrophobically inert execution lacks reach or imagination." — AV Club Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 29%
| Aliens in the Attic (2009) | "
Like those mild old Disney comedies of the ’60s and ’70s, it seems perfectly content with being a harmless distraction." — AV Club Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 24%
| G-Force (2009) | "
Pointing out G-Force’s plot holes would be redundant; it’s more hole than plot, and more videogame commercial and exhausted-old-trope clearinghouse than film." — AV Club Posted Jul 24, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 83%
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) | "
This is the darkest, saddest, most sophisticated Harry Potter film yet." — AV Club Posted Jul 14, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 54%
| Cheri (2009) | "
Chéri is far from dull, thanks in particular to Pfeiffer’s languorously nuanced performance as a striking beauty whose dalliance with a boy first flatters her, then makes her feel her age and the emptiness of her fiercely independent life." — AV Club Posted Jun 25, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 19%
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) | "
For far too long, the movie consists of chase scenes, scrotum jokes, shrieked conversations, broad slapstick, and depressingly regressive ethnic caricatures." — AV Club Posted Jun 23, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 80%
| $9.99 (2009) | "
It’s a sleepy film, both in its consciously low-key execution and in its startling flashes of dreamlike whimsy." — AV Club Posted Jun 18, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 98%
| Up (2009) | "
Up is challenging, emotionally and narratively, but it trusts viewers to keep up; Pixar has never been interested in talking down to children or their parents." — AV Club Posted May 28, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Rotten 36%
| Angels & Demons (2009) | "
At half the length, and with half of Hanks’ sneering pretension, this would make a pretty terrific action film. Anyone up for just plain Demons?" — AV Club Posted May 14, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Rotten 55%
| The Soloist (2009) | "
It feels like a puzzle with some significant pieces missing." — AV Club Posted May 1, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Fresh 66%
| Is Anybody There? (2009) | "
The script is always shakier than the performers trying to bring it across, and by the third act, it lets them down completely." — AV Club Posted Apr 16, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Rotten 13%
| Dragonball: Evolution (2009) | "
The film is crammed with treats for old-school Dragonball fans. For everyone else, this amounts to another seen-it-before, probably-willing-to-see-it-again distraction, a passable collection of ’splosions and special effects for a slow film weekend." — AV Club Posted Apr 13, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 97%
| The Song of Sparrows (2009) | "
While the film incorporates a touch of neo-realism, Iranian director Majid Majidi isn’t aiming for miserablism; his beautifully austere morality tale is more a sun-parched version of a different well-known story." — AV Club Posted Apr 2, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 72%
| Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) | "
It’s lively and even dazzling, but it’s also more than willing to lazily distract its audience rather than trying anything new." — AV Club Posted Mar 26, 2009 |
Rotten D
| Rotten 8%
| Waiting for Dublin (2009) | "
Its shrill amateurishness makes it feel homemade in all the wrong ways." — AV Club Posted Mar 12, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 89%
| Everlasting Moments (2009) | "
Like any old photograph of strangers, Everlasting Moments begins as just a bunch of samey faces, but getting to know the people in the picture makes all the difference." — AV Club Posted Mar 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Two Lovers (2009) | "
If Phoenix does carry through on his threat to leave acting behind for good, he could hardly ask for a more tastefully executed, sweetly melancholy swan song." — Chicago Tribune Posted Feb 26, 2009 |
Rotten D
| Rotten 25%
| Friday the 13th (2009) | "
It’s almost charming in its sheer lack of ambition, but the lack of creativity in its by-the-numbers shocks is harder to excuse." — AV Club Posted Feb 12, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 94%
| 2009 Academy-Award Nominated Short Films (2009) | "
This year’s entries are so strong that it’s hard to pick and choose; for once, they’re all worth seeing, and the Academy will have its work cut out for it in selecting a winner." — AV Club Posted Feb 12, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 88%
| Coraline (2009) | "
Nothing short of magical." — AV Club Posted Feb 5, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 23%
| Push (2009) | "
An ambling, broody concoction along the lines of Strange Days." — AV Club Posted Feb 5, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 44%
| He's Just Not That Into You (2009) | "
Until a rash of ridiculous happy endings takes all the bite out of the premise, He's Just Not That Into You has some fun with its bubble gum tone." — Chicago Tribune Posted Feb 5, 2009 |
Rotten D+
| Rotten 32%
| Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) | "
Lycans, helmed by longtime creature-designer and first-time director Patrick Tatopoulos, just repeats the tale again at feature length." — AV Club Posted Jan 26, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 39%
| Inkheart (2009) | "
Inkheart won't make people forget Princess Bride, but it may give them pleasant flashbacks while it rollicks through its own bookish adventures." — AV Club Posted Jan 22, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 38%
| Outlander (2009) | "
An odd mishmash of genres with too much message and musing to be propulsive, and too much cornball monster movie to take seriously. But while the blend may not satisfy fans of pure action or pure drama, at least it gives them both a new flavor to try." — AV Club Posted Jan 22, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 55%
| The Tale of Despereaux (2008) | "
[The directors] give their film a stately pace that's a pleasant break from the usual sugared-up kids' mayhem." — AV Club Posted Dec 19, 2008 |
Rotten C+
| Rotten 21%
| The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) | "
Like the big shiny sphere at its center, the film is fairly pretty, but there's no real sense that there's anything inside it." — AV Club Posted Dec 11, 2008 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 62%
| The Reader (2008) | "
While The Reader could stand to be more lively and lived-in, it's nonetheless a supremely well-acted, gorgeously shot story that quietly dodges many of the common pitfalls of the Holocaust movie." — AV Club Posted Dec 10, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 68%
| Cadillac Records (2008) | "
Just as in real life, no matter what else is going on in these musicians' lives, the music temporarily makes everything much better." — Chicago Tribune Posted Dec 4, 2008 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 88%
| Bolt (2008) | "
For the first time in years, it feels like Disney has done its namesake proud." — AV Club Posted Nov 20, 2008 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 93%
| Slumdog Millionaire (2008) | "
Slumdog Millionaire features the simplest story Boyle has ever told, which may explain why its many pleasures are so pure." — AV Club Posted Nov 13, 2008 |
Fresh D
| Fresh 64%
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) | "
The first Madagascar was surprisingly enjoyable, thanks to high energy and playfully dark material, but the returning writing-directing crew doesn't seem nearly as invested this time around." — AV Club Posted Nov 7, 2008 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 65%
| The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) | "
It sounds ridiculous, and yet thanks to a remarkable concatenation of talent, it's horrifying rather than risible." — AV Club Posted Nov 7, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 67%
| High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008) | "
Musical 3 is frustratingly shallow, but what it lacks in narrative ambition, it makes up for in dazzling choreography." — Chicago Tribune Posted Oct 24, 2008 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 73%
| Fear(s) of the Dark (2008) | "
Almost all of Fear(s) Of The Dark's entries boast remarkable visual and sound design, with weighty shadows, complicated texturing, or unsettlingly fluid movement pushing at the traditional boundaries of animation." — AV Club Posted Oct 23, 2008 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 61%
| The Duchess (2008) | "
It’s disturbingly shallow, focused so tightly on one woman’s feelings of repression and loneliness that it lacks any perspective on their causes." — Chicago Tribune Posted Oct 18, 2008 |
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