Splat 1.5/4 |
The Da Vinci Code (2006) |
"You know a movie's a dud when even its self-flagellating albino killer monk isn't any fun.
" |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Daddy's Little Girls (2007) |
"The cast is likable, and Perry makes good use of the Atlanta locations." |
John Beifuss |
Splat '1.5/4' |
Daltry Calhoun (2005) |
"Newcomer Sophie Traub is a natural charmer who hovers above the confusion like an angel even as her co-stars are sucked into the muck." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Damned United (2009) |
"As a film inspired by British football, this may hold limited appeal for American moviegoers. But it's also a film about a form of spurned love, which means it's a story about love and hate, which means it's a movie that everybody can relate to." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Dancer Upstairs (2003) |
"Just the type of carefully wrought, somewhat chilly, rather pretentious and extremely intelligent effort one would expect from Malkovich." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Daredevil (2003) |
"An unlikable and pretentious film that probably ranks as the most disappointing would-be blockbuster in years." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Darjeeling Limited (2007) |
"Anderson's signature style is feeling the pressure of the law of diminishing returns -- a law as menacing to the artist as that of gravity is to the balloonist." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 4/4 |
The Dark Knight (2008) |
"A drama about hard moral choices, 'The Dark Knight' is 'The Godfather' of superhero movies -- or, at least, 'The Departed.'" |
John Beifuss |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Dark Streets (2008) |
"According to its press kit, this is 'an atmospheric film noir musical fantasy,' 'a noir fever dream' and a 'blues-infused noir mystery.' If you suspect those are code words for 'pointless hooey,' you're right." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Dave Chappelle's Block Party (2006) |
"A paean to both the comfort of community and the thrill of spontaneity..." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2/4 |
Dawn of the Dead (2004) |
"A non-nutritious junk food snack compared to Romero's feast of gore and metaphor." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Day After Tomorrow (2004) |
"Where's Yukon Cornelius when you need him?" |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Days of Glory (2006) |
"Beautifully photographed, impeccably produced and wonderfully acted, but it offers no surprises..." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 1.5/4 |
De-Lovely (2004) |
"Porter's lyrics and melodies still sparkle with the brilliance of bubbling champagne, but this movie biography is about as effervescent as swamp gas." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato |
Dead of Night (1945) |
"Its scares are grounded in our suspicion that not every ghost is a trick of the light and not every goosebump can be explained by a drop in temperature..." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Dead Silence (2007) |
"A nutty but effective ghost story that eschews the 'Saw' team's usual ultraviolence for 'classic horror' influences, including images inspired by Mario Bava and a twist lifted from a short story by Robert 'Psycho' Bloch." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Dear Frankie (2005) |
"Flirts with mawkishness at every turn but somehow remains as solid as the working-class neighborhoods and shipyards of its Glasgow setting." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Death of a President (2006) |
"Accomplished and visually persuasive, but the movie's central conceit remains something of a stunt..." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Death Race (2008) |
"A rabble-rousing, futuristic gas guzzler, directed with the pedal to the metal and a surprising minimum of visual incoherence." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Death Sentence (2007) |
"A parking garage chase is impressive, but Wan's ultra-kitschy use of melancholy indie-pop music at moments of intense emotion transforms the movie into pure camp." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Deep Water (2007) |
"This is fascinating stuff... that would be better served by a magazine article or book." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2/4 |
Defiance (2008) |
"The material is engrossing, but the execution is ponderous..." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 4/4 |
The Departed (2006) |
"The rats are dead; long live the rats." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Departures (2009) |
"Redeems a trite 'redemptive' story about family with hushed, beautifully staged sequences of 'encoffinment'..." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2/4 |
Derailed (2005) |
"Arriving only weeks after 'A History of Violence,' the film's agenda seems especially spurious." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Descent (2006) |
"Unsettling and claustrophobic, as the lost women squirm through the damp tunnels of the virgin cave in re-enacted birth traumas punctuated by Sarah's visions of her dead daughter." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 4/4 |
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006) |
"A documentary with all the suspense, comedy, pathos and surprise of a great narrative film..." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) |
"White-maned Meryl Streep is a lioness in winter, with a weary whisper for a roar." |
John Beifuss |
Splat '1.5/4' |
The Devil's Rejects (2005) |
"Revives the gangrenous spectacle of its grindhouse models but lacks the moral compass and originality that can transmute even representations of sadistic cruelty into art.
" |
John Beifuss |
Tomato |
The Diary of a Country Priest (1950) |
"A thoughtful, delicate film that arrives on DVD as a balm for those weary of the ugly histrionics -- onscreen and off -- connected with 'The Passion of the Christ.'" |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2/4 |
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) |
"Those who aren't already converts to Perry's dramaturgy will wonder what elevates this material above, say, a typical episode of '227.'" |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2/4 |
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003) |
"In a world in which Gary Coleman-for-governor campaigns and dramatic TV movies about the rise of the Partridge Family really do exist, 'Dickie Roberts' is too late to have much impact." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2/4 |
Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009) |
"Adorable if adulterous and agnostic salad-fancying nitwit city slickers save their marriage with the help of a God-fearing, meat-eating 'Sarah Palin' and her sheriff husband in what could be described as 'Green Acres' in Red State drag, plus guns." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard (2007) |
"Send John McClane to Iraq. Even the title of 'Live Free or Die Hard' suggests that Bruce Willis' supercop is just the one-man troop surge the President needs to restore order to the world's No. 2 failed state." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2/4 |
Dirty (2005) |
"Not entirely successful, but it's as twisted as a James Ellroy novel, and it may please genre fans who don't require the transubstantiation of spilled blood into the holy water of redemption." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Dirty Pretty Things (2003) |
"Ejiofor's performance ranks among the best of the year..." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) |
"The 3D isn't enough to justify yet another version of this familiar tale; the film seems more opportunistic than necessary." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
District 9 (2009) |
"A galvanizing thriller that delivers an unfortunate mixed message through its 'alien apartheid' metaphor... A young white suburbanite might emerge from a screening thinking that aliens are cool, but, y'know, black folks are really scary." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
District B13 (2006) |
"By the time the heroes start breaking necks at breakneck speed, Morel has employed so many 'cool' digital editing tricks and effects that we no longer trust our eyes. We can't be sure of the integrity of the stars' athleticism..." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Disturbia (2007) |
"This teen 'Rear Window' apparently is functioning as a suitable My First Horror Film for the young audiences that have turned it into one of the year's unequivocal hits." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007) |
"There is something cinematic about Bauby's situation. Like the moviegoer stuck in a seat in the dark, he can only observe the action in front of him. His comments are unheard by the people who move before his eyes and attempt to manipulate his emotions." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2/4 |
Le Divorce (2003) |
"Listless, unpersuasive, visually inert..." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Dogville (2003) |
"This examination of selfishness, xenophobia and the human ability to rationalize acts of horror may have audience members squirming not with outrage but recognition..." |
John Beifuss |
Splat '1/4' |
Domino (2005) |
"When a woman complains that her boss has 'the attention span of a ferret on crystal meth,' she could be talking about Tony Scott or stating Scott's opinion of his audience." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Don't Come Knocking (2006) |
"Squanders an interesting set-up and lead character for half-baked indie quirkiness, unstimulating Americana and dull themes about family..." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 0/4 |
Doogal (2006) |
"The characters (a snail, a cow, a rock-n-roll rabbit, a train, a wooden soldier) and voice actors (Whoopi Goldberg, Judi Dench, Chevy Chase) seem chosen at random..." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Doomsday (2008) |
"Delivers the exploitation goods and then some, but it's so utterly derivative it represents a depressing step backward for Marshall..." |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Doubt (2008) |
"As a person who had the glasses literally slapped from his face by a Roman Catholic sister in elementary school, I can testify that it's hard to exaggerate when portraying a nun." |
John Beifuss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Down in the Valley (2006) |
"Norton earns sympathy, but even he can't sell some of Harlan's poetry-of-the-people eloquence, as when the cowboy comments: 'Most days I just want to step outside my own heart and go walk under a sky full of stars.'
" |
John Beifuss |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Downfall (2005) |
"The film warns us to be wary of True Believers of any affiliation. 'They gave us the mandate,' says Goebbels. 'And now their little throats are being cut.'
" |
John Beifuss |
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