Tomato 3.5/4 |
A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
"Richard Linklater brings a new novelty to a Dick adaptation: fidelity to the source." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
A/K/A Tommy Chong (2005) |
"Josh Gilbert's smoothly produced documentary a/k/a Tommy Chong should leave even Nancy Reagan aghast at the unfair trials of comedian Tommy Chong." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2/4 |
Accepted (2006) |
"Here's the pitch for Accepted: Animal House meets Ferris Bueller." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Across the Universe (2007) |
"It's a dicey proposition to reverse-engineer a story, and Across the Universe shows the strain...[nonetheless] a very impressive music-video anthology. [DVD review included.]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Adam (2009) |
"An admirable dramatic investigation into life with Asperger's and a story with the intelligence not to insult ours." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) |
"Like its hero, extraordinary in every way. [Blu-Ray review]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) |
"A rousing, high-spirited family entertainment rightly regarded as one for the ages. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D (2005) |
"The injury of 3D eyestrain [adds] to the insult of garish production design...[looks] like a 94–minute Saturday-morning commercial for Marshmallow Toast Crunch..." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones - Volume 1 (1992) |
"Approached with an open mind, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles offers an intriguing angle on one of the greatest characters in modern cinema." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones - Volume 2 (2007) |
"Approached with an open mind, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles offers an intriguing angle on one of the greatest characters in modern cinema." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Adventures Of Young Indiana Jones Vol. 3 - The Years of Change (1993) |
"Approached with an open mind, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles offers an intriguing angle on one of the greatest characters in modern cinema." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
After Midnight (2004) |
"A beautiful and beguiling film about love, cinema, and love of cinema...has the quirky, breezy quality of a bicycle ride by night." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2/4 |
After the Sunset (2004) |
"The plotting of this otherwise workmanlike comedy-adventure is as fundamentally ridiculous as it is predictable and lacking in tension." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Air Force One (1997) |
"[An] unabashedly jingoistic action extravaganza starring Harrison Ford as...'The Ass-Kicking President'...[Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
Airplane! (1980) |
"Unprecedented nonsense that--fashions aside--will remain timeless comedy cinema. [new DVD review]" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) |
"Dramatically jerry-rigged in every possible way." |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006) |
"Anthony Horowitz: 'I said to the producers that maybe it would be better to get a fresh pair of eyes and some new ideas. But...[once] I was on board as a writer, then it was harder to shift me off it again.'" |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006) |
"Alex Pettyfer: 'He's a normal guy, you know? An average Joe who has capabilities that are just far out like a little mini--not mini-Bond, but a mini-Jason Bourne, shall we say.'" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2/4 |
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006) |
"[Rider's] squirrelly film debut amps up Horowitz's wry humor, putting silliness in unintentional competition with the film's action and dramatic elements." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Alexander (2004) |
"Alexander is unavoidably a problematic epic, but it has integrity and deserves an audience willing to engage in Stone's dialogue." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2/4 |
Alfie (2004) |
"Alfie smacks its dog with a rolled-up newspaper and then feels guilty about it. This one has star power and nothing else, y’know what I mean?" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Aliens of the Deep (2005) |
"[Though] he's like the Joe Garagiola of the deep...Cameron's unadvisable whims are excusable: as a coffee table book, Aliens of the Deep is a beaut." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
All The King's Men (2006) |
"Zaillian sells short the faceoff of shrewd old guard and scrappy proletariat by looking away just when the twain meet." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 0/4 |
Alone in the Dark (2005) |
"Dear Alone in the Dark,
...It's time for me to start seeing other movies. But I will think of you always, when I sit at the movies, alone in the dark, without you." |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"Nick Cassavetes: 'I was diligent in trying not to glamorize these kids. I think that they are portrayed as pretenders...But, you know, with money comes beautiful girls and ennui.'" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"A well-researched model of the true-crime genre...[and] close cinematic relative of Larry Clark's Bully." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
Amadeus (1984) |
"A witty and highly imaginative historical fiction, well adapted by screenwriter Peter Shaffer from his own hit play. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
Amadeus - Director's Cut (2002) |
"A witty and highly imaginative historical fiction, well adapted by screenwriter Peter Shaffer from his own hit play. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
- |
Amazing Grace (2007) |
"Ioan Gruffudd: 'You can justify anything in times of war. And I think we see that happening today certainly.'" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
Amazing Grace (2007) |
"A creditable historical drama about those who choose to be in the world, not merely of it." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
America The Beautiful (2008) |
"The film's examination of our beauty-obsessed culture--however familiar--remains unfortunately necessary." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
American Dreamz (2006) |
"Not everything works in this semi-audacious challenge to the American Dream, but Weitz consistently and amusingly hits the broad side of the barn." |
Peter Canavese |
- |
American Dreamz (2006) |
"Paul Weitz: 'The fact that it's a comedy allows people kind of a pressure release, and they're actually glad to be laughing at the things that they're stressing out about most of the time.'" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
American Gangster (2007) |
"Inflated talk of American Gangster as a modern masterpiece--or even an Oscar-worthy picture--ignores the fact that there's not a single memorable setpiece in the film." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
American Hardcore (2006) |
"Though American Hardcore doesn't achieve a cogent and authoritative history, it succeeds in giving the general impression of the early-'80s hardcore punk scene." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 1/4 |
An American Haunting (2006) |
"On more than one occasion...a girl scrapes her fingernails across a wood floor as an invisible poltergeist attacks her. The wood floor may not be a chalkboard, but it's close enough." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
American History X (1998) |
"If didactic and overwrought at times, it's also powerful and persuasive. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 4/4 |
An American in Paris (1951) |
"A triumph for tireless dance advocate Kelly, the Freed Unit, and the American musical itself. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2.5/4 |
American Teen (2008) |
"More of a marketing sensation than a cinematic one...a documentary shouldn't feel this packaged." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat .5/4 |
The Amityville Horror (2005) |
"Begin by blaming leads that lack charisma outside of their model bodies, move on to the cheap technique of pounding soundtrack blasts...arrive at the comically clichéd script." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
An Education (2009) |
"The film's greatest strength may well be how Sarsgaard's David, in concert with Hornby and Scherfig, seduces the audience along with Jenny, promising the world and leaving temptingly unlocked a Pandora's Box of social ambiguity." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Anaconda (1997) |
"In its natural habitat, Anaconda can be appreciated for its campy pleasures, not the least of which is Jon Voight in a delirious, balls-out performance as creepy Paraguayan snake poacher Paul Serone. [Blu-ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
And Justice for All (1979) |
"Pacino at the top of his game...[but] the film's lack of faith in its audience is glaringly apparent. [DVD review]" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat |
Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera (2004) |
"Roars to life in its least intimate passages...If not for his blind spot for his "angel in hell" Phantom, Schumacher would do Webber's popular entertainment justice." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Andy Griffith Show - The Complete Sixth Season (1965) |
"The sixth season proved there was still life in the now-classic sitcom...[and] Knotts shows up in an Emmy-winning return appearance." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2/4 |
Angel-A (2007) |
"The [angel] turns out to be Stuart Smalley, parking André in front of a mirror so he can tell himself he's good enough, he's smart enough, and doggone it, people like him." |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 2/4 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"Try not to giggle when...Langdon is being called in for "[his] expertise, [his] erudition." The guy from Bachelor Party? Just kidding, Tom, we love you--just not in this kind of pricy but conspicuously soulless crap." |
Peter Canavese |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Anger Management (2003) |
"Full-blown 'Jack'--his face a spectacular special effect of full-blown energy--remains an irresistible act. [Blu-Ray]" |
Peter Canavese |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Annapolis (2006) |
"A corny, eighties throwback, with thematic mushiness, regressive sexual politics, and cheesy montages to match." |
Peter Canavese |
- |
The Answer Man (2009) |
"John Hindman: 'What I want to make fun of is the people who didn't get better; they just learned new words...I have zero tolerance for those people. 'Cause they're...like "Oh, perhaps if you didn't get it yet, it means that you're not ready for it."'" |
Peter Canavese |
RSS Feeds