Splat 4/10 |
2012 (2009) |
"At the end of the day (oops, a rash choice of words), go for the great effects. And stay for the unintended laughs. Though it's for all the wrong reasons, this film is highly entertaining." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 8/10 |
500 Days of Summer (2009) |
"Forget about Summer--this film is all about Tom. Gordon-Levitt delivers, a one-time child actor grown into a sensitive young man with a natural funny bone, taking us with him on his emotional roller coaster ride." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 3/10 |
Adam (2009) |
"As Beth is Adam's societal guide dog, instructing him on how he should react, the filmmakers turn to dopey ballads in order to steer us through plot points rife with the emotional complexity of Jell-O." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 3/10 |
Amelia (2009) |
"We are continuously at the mercy of the reverential, underscored by ever-billowing crescendos of voluminous orchestrations. Someone want to turn the treacle down?" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 9/10 |
An Education (2009) |
"This film is carried on the slender shoulders of Mulligan, a 22-year-old actress who captures both the child and the woman, creating an indelible performance we can't easily forget." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 4/10 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"Tension? Believability? Characters we care about? Vanished, like so many well-intentioned prayers at an Easter Sunday mass." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 6/10 |
Away We Go (2009) |
"It's the highs and lows of travel. You meet new people, share some laughs and sometimes have to deal with missed connections. All in all, this one's a pretty good trip." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 8/10 |
Beer Wars (2009) |
"A smart look at craft breweries trying to stay afloat against the stout-iest suds corps in the world. A film that just might be good for whatever 'ales' you." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 3/10 |
The Box (2009) |
"An interesting subtext occurs with this particular "box." More than just rude slang for a woman's genitalia, the title points to the fact that in this story, it's only the ladies who misbehave. Issues, Mr. Kelly?" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 5/10 |
Brothers (2009) |
"Ironically, and presumably not intended, the focus is far more compelling when we spend screen time with the other, younger pair of siblings." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 8/10 |
The Brothers Bloom (2009) |
"Johnson's script virtually floats, the sparkling words bubbling out at us with such frequency that we yearn to put the film on pause -- just to snatch an extra second in order to appreciate it all." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 8.5/10 |
Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) |
"Underscored by a growling cover of 'Louie, Louie,' assorted thugs in masks pillage assorted banks. A lovely irony, given that the rest of the film deals with how those same banks are pillaging us." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 2/10 |
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) |
"The non-actors artlessly stumble through scenes that might best be described as lifeless. Meanwhile, the over-actors project far beyond the camera lens. Miles beyond. Say, Transylvania." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 9/10 |
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) |
"Even amidst the corny-copia of fast, faster, fastest food falling from the skies, the filmmakers cook up some serious food for thought -- but served on the side, just as we like it." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 4.5/10 |
Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) |
"As for this 'performance capture,' rife with characters sporting the annoying wandering eye, it might be time for an intervention, ghostly or not. You're a filmmaker, Mr. Z, not a puppeteer. Enough is enough." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 6/10 |
District 9 (2009) |
"The first half is great: original, well-paced, superb production design. But the promising story ultimately falls flat, devolving into an overlong shootout, turning from provocative social commentary to E.T." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 6/10 |
Duplicity (2009) |
"The film's got plenty of spark, with an onscreen couple so full of passion that they can't keep their hands off each other -- Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 4/10 |
Everybody's Fine (2009) |
"The recipe's gone wrong with this annual Hollywood chestnut: No spice? No fun? Can't we exchange this for something that we might enjoy a bit more?" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 5/10 |
Extract (2009) |
"Judge needed to 'extract' much more life from his leads. It's as if a sad little wife and her muted husband took a wrong turn on the way to the funny factory, ending up in some bleak marital wasteland." |
Kimberly Gadette |
- |
Fuel (2009) |
"Fuel: Saving the World, One Biodiesel Drop at a Time" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 7.5/10 |
Fuel (2009) |
"For a film about energy, it's marvelous that Tickell ultimately gives us all the proverbial power." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 7.5/10 |
Funny People (2009) |
"Given his prior hits, Apatow is his own tough act to follow. In his dissection of the overheated comedic ego, still bringing the funny while addressing a much darker core, Apatow delivers once again." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 3.5/10 |
G-Force (2009) |
"1 Plexiglas ball sporting 1 hamster was fine for Disney's Bolt. Along comes Bruckheimer -- now it's 3 Plexiglas balls with 4 hamsters, er, guinea pigs, and 1 Transformer. Seems he's hell bent on excess." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 3/10 |
The Great Buck Howard (2009) |
"With minimal backbone, poor Hanks can barely stand on his own, let alone stand up to the force of the braying Malkovich. The title's all wrong. Ladies and Gents, I give you 'The Squid and the Wail.'" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 8.5/10 |
The Hangover (2009) |
"There are people who will not find this film amusing. Amish elders. Infants. An Iowan farmer named Burl. And that should cover it. The rest of you: bring a change of underwear." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 9.25/10 |
The Hurt Locker (2009) |
"After 7 previous films, Bigelow has finally found a screenwriter in Mark Boal who not only matches her intensity, but is able to maximize her visual artistry in drawing a fully realized story." |
Kimberly Gadette |
- |
The Hurt Locker (2009) |
"INTERVIEW -- Warning: Explosive Woman on the Scene" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 4/10 |
The Informant! (2009) |
"There's something disturbing about a film that beats its own drum about how funny it is. In reality, we're suckers on the wrong side of the punch, victims of a different kind of double take: our money and our health." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 9/10 |
Inglourious Basterds (2009) |
"The film serves up revenge with a whopping side of 'merry.' Looking at the sunny side of the strasse, Christoph Waltz' giddy Col. Landa throws 1 hell of a Nazi party, practically skipping in his jackboots." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 6/10 |
The Invention of Lying (2009) |
"The invention of The Invention of Lying is delicious. But a few false moves along the way drag down what could have been a brilliant flight of fancy" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 4/10 |
Invictus (2009) |
"Rather than his usual intensity, economy of style and a no-nonsense depiction of strong characters, Eastwood's film is akin to a lumbering rugby player pounding the same ground over and over again." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 7/10 |
Is Anybody There? (2009) |
"Caine's magnificent curmudgeon doesn't have enough magic to dispel death, but he works miracles on a lost little boy, snapping him back to life with an impassioned, 'Make contact with the living, son!'" |
Kimberly Gadette |
- |
It Might Get Loud (2009) |
"INTERVIEW -- "Cranking It Up to Eleven with Rockumentarian Davis Guggenheim"" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 8.5/10 |
It Might Get Loud (2009) |
"Guggenheim weaves the 3 stories around and through each other in perfect counterpoint. He virtually disappears into the eye of the camera, allowing us to take it all in from the best seats in the house." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 5/10 |
Jennifer's Body (2009) |
"When the demon-possessed Jennifer opens her mouth to feed, it's a horror. But when she's opens her mouth to speak -- it's worse. Much worse." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 8/10 |
Julie & Julia (2009) |
"Streep and Tucci give us a mature sizzle, sexy and endearing. Like chocolate and peanut butter, or champagne and strawberries -- they're fabulous alone, but together -- wow, the combination's irresistible." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 4.5/10 |
The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) |
"Stare at the goat all you want, but he's not going to come up with a script. He might eat one, but write one? Naaaaaa." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 9.5/10 |
The Messenger (2009) |
"The miracle of this film is in its insistence on finding a way back home -- to fragile new beginnings giving way to new friendship, perhaps even new love." |
Kimberly Gadette |
- |
The Messenger (2009) |
"American-Israeli Filmmaker Oren Moverman targets the US home front in "THE MESSENGER"" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 8/10 |
Moon (2009) |
"Universal questions: How is it that Sam Rockwell, one of the finest actors on the planet, has yet to get the notice he deserves? And how could you miss this stellar feature?" |
Kimberly Gadette |
- |
Moon (2009) |
"INTERVIEW -- Duncan Jones, the Man and the "Moon"" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 2.5/10 |
Ninja Assassin (2009) |
"Blood spurts out of every imaginable orifice without a respectable clot in sight. Welcome to the poorly-scripted gush-fest, perfect for the Xbox set -- it's not a film, it's Grand Theft Ninja." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 2.5/10 |
Planet 51 (2009) |
"What gives with Joe Stillman, a credited writer on the wonderfully witty Shrek/Shrek 2? Here, his prior expertise in working with lime green characters has inexplicably given way to lifeless gray." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 5.5/10 |
Public Enemies (2009) |
"After all the gunfire exchanges, there's not much time for the human exchange. Neither for the leads or the colorful secondary characters. Such glorious acting talent, gone up in so much machine gun smoke." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 4/10 |
Push (2009) |
"an overheated stewpot of divisions, sects and subsects of extra-special, special and quasi-special mentalists, all running around like their pants are on fire ... maybe in search of a viable plot?" |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 6.5/10 |
The Road (2009) |
"By only allowing us a peek at the characters' interior lives before we're forced to move on down that eternal Road is to deny this fascinating piece its full power. An emotional highway robbery, if you will." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 7.5/10 |
The September Issue (2009) |
"Like the sunglasses concealing a big portion of Anna's face, this film conceals more than it reveals. But we still catch glimpses of this iconic personality, often in the reactions of those around her." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 9/10 |
A Serious Man (2009) |
"The Coens nip at fundamental questions: how we conduct ourselves now, and how such conduct might resonate in an unknowable afterlife. Consider this film as a Rorschach for the soul." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Splat 4.5/10 |
Serious Moonlight (2009) |
"Meg Ryan's Louise is problematic. It's not so much that she chooses to hold on to her man, as it is the man who she chooses to hold on to." |
Kimberly Gadette |
Tomato 8/10 |
The Soloist (2009) |
"Just as director Joe Wright conveyed the multiplicity of emotion at the Dunkirk beachhead in Atonement, he conducts his version of downtown L.A. with a maestro's baton." |
Kimberly Gadette |
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