Tomato 2.0/5 |
...Around (2009) |
"...Around, which has the tagline Embrace the Fall, is more hopscotch than a fall. Spaltro's writing and direction could use a sharper edge, but he knows how to create arresting images." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Avatar (2009) |
"James Cameron seeks revolution -- not only in the way we see movies, but in the way we see life. Avatar is revolutionary in that it tries to shake up established attitudes. In the case of Avatar, 3-D is decisive, daring, and drastic." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Bliss (2007) |
"Set in an intriguing locale, based on an important novel, Bliss is the tale of diverse culture and sharp -- sometimes brutal -- conflicts. It is a voyage of coming to grips with the challenging cultural mix of tradition and modernity." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
The Boys Are Back (2009) |
"The Boys Are Back is a poignant and rowdy celebration of a broken family dealing with grief and drastic change. It has a lame title and a rambling story, but it also has an outstanding performance by Clive Owen and beautiful Australian scenery." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 5.0/5 |
Buffalo Bill and the Indians or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (1976) |
"Altman and crew have done the necessary reorganizing and reediting on Buffalo Bill and have created a terrific movie out of the troubled dust of what was. The first time I saw the movie in New York, it was explicit, contrived, and needed a lot of help." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 5.0/5 |
Chinatown (1974) |
"Is Chinatown the best private eye film ever? It may well be. Nearing its thirty-fifth anniversary, it deserves a reconsideration and a celebration." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
Coco Before Chanel (2009) |
"In Coco Before Chanel, Audrey Tautou coolly charms as the designer in her formative years. On a scale of 8, the film is a Chanel #5." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 4.0/5 |
Dirty Harry (1971) |
"Don Siegel's Dirty Harry is an apt example of a film with a vision that few people perceive beyond its violent, flamboyant surfaces. If director Siegel might be a bit uncomfortable with a close reading of his movie, he also might be pleased that the..." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
District 9 (2009) |
"District 9 is a ferocious fable. Potent and provocative, it is an allegory for our time. It is bursting with contemporary themes -- oppression, greed, power, propaganda, and the conflict of disparate cultures." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.0/5 |
Fame (2009) |
"Burnett's script almost sinks Fame, but the voice of Naturi Naughton, the heart of Dutton, and the energy of Tancharoen give it a pulse. Fame is erratic, but it definitely has a beat." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Family Plot (1976) |
"... full of allusions to past Hitchcock. A car is parked on Bates Avenue; a gas station man tells a cab driver it is dangerous to light a match; the kidnapers tell each other how danger makes them tingle; and the female kidnaper used a blonde wig." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) |
"Fantastic Mr. Fox is a smart, droll animated film that may not be for everybody, but it has charm and panache." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.0/5 |
Funny People (2009) |
"Funny People is an odd mixture of humanity, vulgarity, and soap opera. At its best, it is an engaging character study. At its worst, it is a crass, self-indulgent home movie." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.0/5 |
G-Force (2009) |
"When I review movies, I ask myself... "does the movie do what it set out to do?" G-Force set out to be an entertaining family movie that makes money. On that basis, G-Force succeeds." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.0/5 |
The Hangover (2009) |
"The Hangover is nothing special. It's a fair-to-middling bombardment of humor thrown against the wailing walls of Las Vegas. It misses as much as it hits." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) |
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is an intoxicating potion of teenage hormones and evil spirits. Both are raging." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 4.0/5 |
Images (1972) |
"It is a rare film that can entice me to surrender my logic, but Images does just that. [It] is a film in which Altman doesn't worry about defenses. He boldly creates a spiritual vision and lets logic and caution fall by the wayside of wondrous beauty." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
Inglourious Basterds (2009) |
"Inglourious Basterds is a mixture that some will think is a masterpiece; others will think it an audacious hodgepodge. I think I'm among the latter." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Invincible (2006) |
"Invincible is the story of Vince Papale, who was an actual figure -- a part-time bartender who went to a tryout, survived training camp, made the Eagles team, and became a Philadelphia legend." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Julie & Julia (2009) |
"Julie & Julia is a scrumptious delight... a vivacious pleasure. In the word of both Julie and Julia: Yum." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
The Last Picture Show (1971) |
"The Last Picture Show is competent movie-making and probably deserves an audience. But its predictability and its calculation mar it for me. The values seem to me to be more contrived humanity instead of the real thing." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
The Lovely Bones (2009) |
"The Lovely Bones is a film in cinematic limbo -- caught between heaven and earth. The Lovely Bones is another movie that makes me fear hell. But it doesn't make me want to go to heaven." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 4.0/5 |
The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976) |
"If you want to go into another world in which imagination leads you into recesses and crevices you haven't visited, The Man Who Fell To Earth is a fantastic guide." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Milk (2008) |
"Penn's comments at the 2008 Oscars might have been needed if it weren't for a previous statement by Dustin Lance Black who sensitively and appealingly, made an acceptance speech in which he spoke very personally about the pain of being gay as a youth." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.0/5 |
Motherland (2009) |
"I have a soft spot for an endeavor such as Motherland, so in some ways I want to give it a pass, but I also realize its limitations, calculations, and glaring omissions. When a movie wants to be uplifting, it had better be true to its vision." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
Must Read After My Death (2009) |
"The best thing about Must Read After My Death is that it remains roiling in the mind long after one sees it. Also Dews has made his movie with considerable technical skill." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Paranormal Activity (2009) |
"Once in a full moon, a movie comes along that ignores all the established rules and yet somehow captivates a large, enthusiastic following. Paranormal Activity is such a phenomenon." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Pirate Radio (2009) |
"Sometimes there's a movie that comes along that shivers your timbres. Pirate Radio is one such delight. It's a treasure trove of rock and roll memories, energy, and infectious spirit. It's as groovy as the 1960s." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 4.0/5 |
Public Enemies (2009) |
"Public Enemies is a delicious feast for an interpretive viewer." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Rudo and Cursi (2009) |
"The best thing about Rudo y Cursi is that despite its relying on many of the conventions of sports movies, it still keeps us unsure about what will happen at the end." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
The September Issue (2009) |
"The documentary film The September Issue is enchanting, bewildering, and informing... a terrific merging of fashion and cinema." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 5.0/5 |
The Shining (1980) |
"The Shining met the fate of several other Stanley Kubrick films when it came out; most viewers did not like it, so they rejected it. Most importantly, they did not understand it in any way which allowed them to deal with it constructively." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) |
"2008 Oscars: This is a lock. I keep trying to find a way that Slumdog won't win I can't. Let the industry have its Slumdog. This year I think I'm going to need hair of the dog." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Star Trek (2009) |
"In making yet another Star Trek, the great challenge the filmmakers... faced was to be contemporary while also respecting the past. Star Trek passes its obstacles with dazzling, time-warping colors." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
State of Play (2009) |
"The movie State of Play is equal to its brilliant source (the BBC television program aired in 2003). Until the end. Then it gets contrived and caves in. This article compares and contrasts the two." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 5.0/5 |
State of Play (2003) |
"The movie State of Play is equal to its brilliant source (the BBC television program aired in 2003). Until the end. Then it gets contrived and caves in. This article compares and contrasts the two." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Sunshine Cleaning (2009) |
"Sunshine Cleaning is a movie that transcends the obstacles of its genre to sporadically soar to welcome heights. It is characterized by strong direction, skillful editing, and an ensemble cast that will be among the best of the year." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) |
"The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 begins in disarray.... But as undependable as director Tony Scott is, his two leading actors are not going to lose their way." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Tell No One (2008) |
"Tell No One is the sum of its engrossing characters and brilliant actors. They may not always add up, but they are a formidable equation. Tell No One is a memorable thriller -- a potent experience in a universal film genre." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.0/5 |
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) |
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is an impressive potboiler. But its overheated pot has a lot of holes." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Tyson (2009) |
"Hardly anyone thinks of ... Tyson as articulate and sincere. But director James Toback does and captures these qualities in a fascinating, sympathetic portrait. Tyson is a film of vast surprises." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 4.0/5 |
Up (2009) |
"Up is an engaging, exciting, warm-hearted trip at the movies. Up starts slowly, but picks up helium and soars... In 1923 Buster Keaton made The Balloonatic. 86 years later Up enters the Buster Keaton stratosphere." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
V For Vendetta (2005) |
"V for Vendetta is a milestone. Maybe not a big marker, but a milestone nonetheless.It is anti-establishment redux." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Very Bad Things (1998) |
"Very Bad Things is a horrible hoot. It is one of those movies that put you through the wringer. It doesn't tickle the funny bone -- it pulverizes it. You don't know whether to laugh, gasp, or walk out." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.5/5 |
Watchmen (2009) |
"Watchmen is an entertaining movie, but it's more instead of Moore. In fact, the author previously had taken his name off the project. He knew what the movie form would do to his work -- it would change the tone, the rhythm, and the vision. It did." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 2.0/5 |
What Goes Up (2009) |
"What Goes Up is an earnest morality tale. It's very uneven, but it also seems sincere." |
Tony Macklin |
Tomato 3.0/5 |
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) |
"If one examines Albee's The Zoo Story, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Tiny Alice as three views of the struggle for faith and the Christ myth and its nuances, the plays, on a particular level, gain a substantial meaning." |
Tony Macklin |
Splat 2.0/5 |
Adventureland (2009) |
"The best part of Adventureland is the acting... But the direction and writing limit the actors. Mottola, who directed and co-wrote Superbad (2007), chooses the easy way, backing off anything threatening in his amiable movie." |
Tony Macklin |
Splat 2.0/5 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"Angels and Demons performs a miracle. It makes 2 hours seem like 4 hours. Like a lot of religion itself, Angels and Demons should be so much more than it is." |
Tony Macklin |
Splat 1.5/5 |
The Blind Side (2009) |
"In the movie The Blind Side, truth is sacked and authenticity is fumbled -- all in the name of cheerleading. The Blind Side is not true -- it is a crowd-pleasing white wash." |
Tony Macklin |
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