Fresh
| Rotten 26%
| Motherhood (2009) | "
Many films have been made about the perils of parenthood, but none with a more attractive and entertaining mom on the verge of a nervous breakdown than Uma Thurman in Motherhood." — New York Observer Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 42%
| New York, I Love You (2009) | "
Each director had a deadline of two days to complete his segment. The result is every bit as truncated and zigzaggy as you might imagine. The whole thing looks like it was edited with pinking shears." — New York Observer Posted Oct 14, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 61%
| Peter and Vandy (2009) | "
It’s a short, 95-minute ride on its way to home video. This is a shame, because the two actors in the title roles are real comers on their way to bigger things." — New York Observer Posted Oct 7, 2009 |
Fresh
| Rotten 58%
| Trucker (2009) | "
Thanks to sensitive direction and a natural, exemplary script, both of which by the talented and never syrupy James Mottern, Trucker holds its emotions firmly in check throughout." — New York Observer Posted Oct 7, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 94%
| An Education (2009) | "
Captivatingly written, directed and acted with sensitivity and nuance, this is one of the best films of the year. It lives up to its title in more ways than one." — New York Observer Posted Oct 7, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 86%
| A Serious Man (2009) | "
Not one of their best films, but because of its sincerity and the parsing away of sentiment and pretension, it is, in many ways, one of their most likable." — New York Observer Posted Sep 30, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 72%
| The Boys Are Back (2009) | "
Mr. Owen plays all the colors and emotions of the parenting dilemma with a probing wit and a sense of humanity that are thrilling to watch. Roguish yet vulnerable, he gives a performance that is both rough-hewn and gently nuanced." — New York Observer Posted Sep 23, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 35%
| Blind Date (2009) | "
Since neither character is ever explained or examined with any real insight, the viewer ceases to care early on. The overriding effect is paralyzing tedium." — New York Observer Posted Sep 23, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 18%
| The Other Man (2009) | "
Despite the gimlet eye of Richard Eyre, former director of England’s Royal National Theatre, and the top-echelon talents of an impressive cast, a dreary, disabled disaster called The Other Man drops dead at the starting gate." — New York Observer Posted Sep 23, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 91%
| Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire (2009) | "
It’s a once-in-a-blue-moon experience that tests the boundaries of film, with an electrifying, positively Oscar-worthy performance by salty stand-up comic Mo’Nique, as the most monstrous mother on the planet." — New York Observer Posted Sep 16, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 54%
| The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) | "
Intended as a farcical antidote to big-screen bores about Afghanistan and Iraq, it’s twice as pompous and endlessly tedious." — New York Observer Posted Sep 16, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 95%
| Up in the Air (2009) | "
Up in the Air often looks like an American Airlines commercial, and I wouldn’t call it a feel-good movie per se, but there’s a certain satisfaction watching two snappy, beautiful people at the top of their form." — New York Observer Posted Sep 16, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 69%
| The Road (2009) | "
Viggo Mortensen gives the performance of his career in the faithfully rendered film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s heartbreaking apocalyptic novel The Road." — New York Observer Posted Sep 16, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 74%
| Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) | "
Could benefit from a little less of the balanced historical context and a little more of the movie madness of Quentin Tarantino." — New York Observer Posted Aug 19, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 88%
| Inglourious Basterds (2009) | "
World War II was more serious, complex and horrifying than all this comic embellishment, but if I sound critical, I apologize in advance. I had a helluva time watching Inglourious Basterds." — New York Observer Posted Aug 19, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 70%
| My One and Only (2009) | "
A colorfully written, expertly directed and beautifully acted romp about the early life of actor George Hamilton that is guaranteed to make you feel warm all over." — New York Observer Posted Aug 12, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 38%
| The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) | "
Maybe the novel by Audrey Niffenegger, which a number of people seem to have read and enjoyed, was more convincing, but the unsatisfactory, yo-yo script by Bruce Joel Rubin, makes no real effort to explore the inner emotions of the characters." — New York Observer Posted Aug 12, 2009 |
Fresh
| Rotten 58%
| A Perfect Getaway (2009) | "
Half of the movie seems fresh and hair-raising. The rest is just disappointing and predictable. At least it provides the underrated Steve Zahn, a likable and inventive actor with natural talent, with a starring role. He makes every minute count." — New York Observer Posted Aug 5, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 75%
| Julie & Julia (2009) | "
This movie is an emerald of enchantment in the current sewer of cinematic trap rock." — New York Observer Posted Aug 5, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 43%
| Fragments (2009) | "
The pace is too languid to sustain much viewer concentration, and whatever the characters go through seems only peripherally connected to the shooting in the diner. Close, but no cigar." — New York Observer Posted Jul 29, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 65%
| Adam (2009) | "
A touching and engaging film about a likable and attractive young man who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome." — New York Observer Posted Jul 29, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 68%
| Funny People (2009) | "
If you object to public offenses of decency, smut that reduces the oxygen in the brain or just plain lousy, amateurish filmmaking, it's easy enough to avoid Funny People like the swine flu." — New York Observer Posted Jul 29, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 31%
| The Answer Man (2009) | "
The improbable romance between the two stars is a stretch, but their chemistry is undeniable. Unfortunately, much of the film is too implausible to forgive." — New York Observer Posted Jul 22, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 31%
| Deadgirl (2008) | "
Written by a weirdo named Trent Haaga for no other purpose than to outrage, Deadgirl is part S&M porno, part supernatural chiller, and worthy only if you’re interested in how far movies can go before the police arrive." — New York Observer Posted Jul 22, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 26%
| Shrink (2009) | "
Not since The Informers, based catatonically on the idiotic Bret Easton Ellis book, has the screen unleashed a Hollywood abortion as dismal and dead-on-arrival as Shrink." — New York Observer Posted Jul 22, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 50%
| Death In Love (2009) | "
What makes pretentious, low-budget-indie filmmakers think the world is waiting breathlessly to absorb their personal memoirs like groundbreaking new recipes for meatballs?" — New York Observer Posted Jul 15, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 87%
| 500 Days of Summer (2009) | "
Thanks to two wonderful, offbeat performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, this movie has charm to spare. It looks you right in the eye and tells the truth." — New York Observer Posted Jul 15, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 83%
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) | "
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth and worst installment yet, is two and a half hours of paralyzing tedium, featuring another colossal waste of British talent and a plot a real witch couldn’t find with a crystal ball." — New York Observer Posted Jul 15, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 67%
| Public Enemies (2009) | "
Thrilling, glamorous, richly textured and breathlessly action-packed, it is one of the best movies of the year." — New York Observer Posted Jun 24, 2009 |
Fresh
| Rotten 47%
| My Sister's Keeper (2009) | "
The writing team of Jeremy Leven and director Cassavetes have joined forces with a great cast to bring the best-selling book by Jodi Picoult to life with a purity that can only be called inspirational." — New York Observer Posted Jun 24, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 47%
| Whatever Works (2009) | "
Whatever Works is a dubious idea at best, but when nothing works, it’s time to throw out the script and move on to omething that does." — New York Observer Posted Jun 17, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 66%
| Dead Snow (2009) | "
The result piles on relentless thrills and unimaginable horrors, with a shock ending guaranteed to make you scream out loud." — New York Observer Posted Jun 17, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 19%
| Downloading Nancy (2008) | "
Not only does it waste the audience’s time with 102 minutes of misery and despair, but it also trashes the talents of four fine actors who should have stayed in bed reading better screenplays that deserve attention and enhance careers." — New York Observer Posted Jun 3, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 84%
| Pontypool (2009) | "
If it wasn’t so boring, the dialogue would be a laugh a minute. The acting is so abominable that the cast is better off unmentioned." — New York Observer Posted May 27, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 11%
| What Goes Up (2009) | "
Without a trace of tempo or one shred of narrative pacing, What Goes Up is not really a movie; it’s the cheapest kind of amateurishness that looks like it was shot with a cell phone." — New York Observer Posted May 27, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 92%
| Drag Me To Hell (2009) | "
The true test of any successful horror flick is how wretched it makes you feel. At the very least, it should inspire a banquet of dread or offer a canapé of anxiety. After Drag Me to Hell you won’t mind walking home alone." — New York Observer Posted May 27, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 64%
| The Brothers Bloom (2009) | "
Annoyingly hammy and trite." — New York Observer Posted May 20, 2009 |
Fresh
| Rotten 51%
| Easy Virtue (2009) | "
All told, a sparkling, classy and ultimately satisfying experience." — New York Observer Posted May 20, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 40%
| The Limits of Control (2009) | "
This is an empty, boring sedative by Jim Jarmusch, a writer-director with not enough talent to be either." — New York Observer Posted Apr 29, 2009 |
Fresh
| Rotten 55%
| The Soloist (2009) | "
The Soloist is a moving, inspirational story told in a straightforward style, refreshingly devoid of sentimentality." — New York Observer Posted Apr 22, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 14%
| The Informers (2009) | "
A rancid load of swill called The Informers, from a depraved 1994 book by Bret Easton Ellis, is, like The Soloist, a look at the underbelly of L.A., but the resemblance ends there." — New York Observer Posted Apr 22, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 66%
| Is Anybody There? (2009) | "
At the risk of sounding churlish, I have to admit the alleged charm of this comic misadventure eluded me totally." — New York Observer Posted Apr 15, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 73%
| American Violet (2009) | "
A harrowing, compelling and profoundly true story that dares to tackle an important but too rarely exposed issue of the abuse of power in the American criminal justice system." — New York Observer Posted Apr 15, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 84%
| State of Play (2009) | "
State of Play is the latest incoherently written, mass-entertainment gibberish by the overrated Tony Gilroy." — New York Observer Posted Apr 15, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 56%
| Lymelife (2009) | "
Rarely have I seen such a waste of worthy talent." — New York Observer Posted Apr 8, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 65%
| The Escapist (2009) | "
The prison escape movie -- a tired genre -- gets some fresh energy in The Escapist, a compelling, carefully written and totally gripping film from the U.K. that is acted with naturalism and conviction by a smashing cast." — New York Observer Posted Apr 1, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 38%
| Gigantic (2008) | "
It looks like it was made for one-half of Joan Crawford’s old soundstage Pepsi-Cola budget and sounds like it was written by chimpanzees." — New York Observer Posted Apr 1, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 16%
| Spinning into Butter (2009) | "
The title is wrong. They should call it Spinning Into Margarine." — New York Observer Posted Mar 25, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 65%
| Duplicity (2009) | "
Slick, super-contrived, pretty to look at and totally, completely preposterous." — New York Observer Posted Mar 18, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 90%
| Hunger (2008) | "
It’s a brilliant work of power, maturity and vision that should not be missed." — New York Observer Posted Mar 11, 2009 |
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