Tomato 87/100 |
Adoration (2009) |
"...a complicated and not altogether successful rumination on identity, technology, terrorism and the nature of truth." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 86/100 |
Adventureland (2009) |
"the plot's romantic rhythms ... leading to the inevitable reconciliation are right out of the Hughes playbook" |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 86/100 |
An Education (2009) |
"...about the British preoccupation with status, about the aspirant bourgeois and the outliers who exist beyond convention, in a moveable feast of booze, sex and petty criminality." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 87/100 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"...also about antimatter, which is like the opposite of matter, which I guess means that it doesn't matter, just like Hitchock's famous Mac-Guffin, except that it blows up real good." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 85/100 |
Antichrist (2009) |
"... it got to me in the way that poetry or music or visual majesty can; it hammered that place beyond language and intellect, the animal id of the screaming self ... A gleaming atrocity. Bad medicine." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 87/100 |
The Audition (2009) |
"... a boon to opera fans, the uninitiated will find much to like in this American Idol for Eggheads true-life story of competition, triumph and disappointment." |
Philip Martin |
Splat 79/100 |
Away We Go (2009) |
"...takes the boorishness of conventional Americans as a given and valorizes nonconformity for its own sake." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 86/100 |
Appaloosa (2008) |
"... a classical Western that invites us to savor no-nonsense camaraderie between two shootists for hire." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 88/100 |
At the Death House Door (2008) |
"makes great sense from a journalist's perspective." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 88/100 |
At the Death House Door (2008) |
"...makes great sense from a journalist's perspective." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 89/100 |
After The Wedding (2007) |
"...a highly entertaining film that manages to be brutally honest about human motivation and the compromises we're willing to make to hold onto the people we love for as long as we can." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 87/100 |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"...meant as a cautionary tale, but it could be taken as just another tabloid exploitation." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 86/100 |
Amazing Grace (2007) |
"There is a cheering sense of moral force behind this film, which could have become preachy, trite and clotted with self-righteousness." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 89/100 |
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) |
"...a meditation on the nature of celebrity and the superstitious need of thwarted little men to smash their idols." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 88/100 |
The Astronaut Farmer (2007) |
"Charlie Farmer is not so sunny that he doesn't carry a bit of menace with him - in the end he may be closer to Lonesome Rhodes than Sheriff Andy Taylor. This freak is going to be lighting something up - might as well be a rocket." |
Philip Martin |
Splat 85/100 |
Atonement (2007) |
"..you must admire the precision of Wright's craft and the accuracy of the performances of all the actors -- if you're a certain kind of moviegoer you likely won't care that you don't believe a word of it." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 91/100 |
Away From Her (2007) |
"Lovely and cold as a Nordic winter sky, Away From Her is a lacerating, tough movie that's sometimes hard to watch - and impossible to forget" |
Philip Martin |
Splat 76/100 |
All The King's Men (2006) |
"...dies from a thousand injudicious cuts, yet it still feels draggy in parts" |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 85/100 |
American Gun (2006) |
"It isn't trite or strident - it doesn't shout or pound the desk - and, in a way, its own thoughtfulness is its worst enemy." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 84/100 |
American Hardcore (2006) |
"AmericanHardcore ! Aboutboredstupidyouth! Didn'tliketheNewWave ! Gomoshin'fortruth ! Can'tfindtruth ! Can'tfindgrace ! SettleforHenryRollins! Punchin'dudesintheface !" |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 87/100 |
American Scary (2006) |
"... a lot of what is in the film is fascinating and more valuable than mere nostalgia. It tells us another kind of truth - about an America that's no less real or vital for its obscurity." |
Philip Martin |
Splat 72/100 |
Art School Confidential (2006) |
"...if the lack of chemistry between the leads and the glued-together nature of the plot bring the movie down, they don't totally extinguish its subversive spirit." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato 86/100 |
ATL (2006) |
"... a surprisingly strong coming-of-age movie with a great young cast. It pops with color and humor and pays attention to the details that situate it in a real location ..." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato B+ |
Another Road Home (2005) |
"... a film that handles tragic ironies lightly and offers simple hope in lieu of policy prescriptions." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato A- |
The Aristocrats (2005) |
"...about the cultural practices of a small and needful tribe, a vanishing breed called the comic, about the damage their famously tortured psyches sustain." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato B |
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) |
"You can say this is an appalling or ugly movie, but don't dare call it stupid.
" |
Philip Martin |
Splat C |
Asylum (2005) |
"...oh, look at all the crazy people." |
Philip Martin |
Splat 74/100 |
At Last (2005) |
"...it's encouraging that a film of such competence and professional virtues could be realized outside the Hollywood industrial complex." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato B- |
The Agronomist (2004) |
"... best read as a eulogy for a genuine hero, a natty, erudite little guy with a funny accent and a perceptible joy of life." |
Philip Martin |
Splat D |
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) |
"Some people say nature is a good thing, something that ought to be encouraged. These people are stupid and should shut up." |
Philip Martin |
Splat D |
Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera (2004) |
"Good God." |
Philip Martin |
Splat C |
Around the Bend (2004) |
"... a student film that benefits from the participation of solid professionals." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato B- |
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) |
"You'll believe a worm can kvetch." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato A |
All the Real Girls (2003) |
"...it is difficult to criticize any movie that can sound the human heart so sure and well." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato A- |
American Splendor (2003) |
"... a supremely satisfying movie, a funny and humane depiction of human existence." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato B- |
And Now Ladies and Gentlemen (2003) |
" Lelouch isn't interested in anything so pedestrian as plausible narrative.... some people want to fill the world with silly love songs." |
Philip Martin |
Splat C- |
Anger Management (2003) |
"...i f you’re a certain kind of moviegoer, you can ... have a jolly good postmodern time at these movie-like constructions, marveling at the cameo appearances and the energetic commitment to loopiness, forgiving the flat stretches and the inevitable cop-o" |
Philip Martin |
Tomato A |
Assassination Tango (2003) |
"...it would be a mistake to dismiss Duvall’s career behind the camera as a rich character actor’s hobby." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato A |
About a Boy (2002) |
"Refreshingly short on cuteness and remarkably alert to the problems inherent in adapting a much-loved novel to the screen." |
Philip Martin |
Splat C |
About Schmidt (2002) |
"...a serious work with serious problems." |
Philip Martin |
Splat 2/5 |
The Accidental Spy (2002) |
No article available. |
Philip Martin |
Splat D |
Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights (2002) |
"There are good movies and there are bad movies. And then there are movies that make us tired." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato A |
Adaptation (2002) |
"Would I even like this movie if they hadn’t sent me this coffee mug? I should have given the coffee mug to Goodwill. But I can’t be bought by a coffee mug, can I?" |
Philip Martin |
Splat c |
All About the Benjamins (2002) |
"Unremittingly over-the-top and brutal, All About the Benjamins is as cunning as it is crude." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato A- |
All or Nothing (2002) |
"...a somber film, almost completely unrelieved by any comedy beyond the wistful everyday ironies of the working poor." |
Philip Martin |
Tomato A- |
American Experience - Daughter from Danang (2002) |
"“What really happened?” is a question for philosophers, not filmmakers; all the filmmakers need to do is engage an audience." |
Philip Martin |
Splat 2/5 |
Amy's O (2002) |
No article available. |
Philip Martin |
Tomato B+ |
Antwone Fisher (2002) |
"a film of quiet dignity and calm intelligence that takes no shortcuts to its emotional payoff ... at times it even seems a little stolid and self-serious, a little too earnest for its own good." |
Philip Martin |
Splat C+ |
Auto Focus (2002) |
"...despite a certain elegance of construction and execution, Auto Focus is a movie that sounds more compelling than it plays" |
Philip Martin |
Tomato B |
Ali (2001) |
"...ultimately more admirable than enjoyable" |
Philip Martin |
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