Tomato 3/4 |
Adam (2009) |
"Sure, it's complicated, but isn't that always true of romance? And doesn't it blow the hinges off the universe -- every single time?" |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2/4 |
Adventureland (2009) |
"The youths of Superbad were a little bit younger, a little more likable, their dirty-virgin wit more hilarious [than in Adventureland]." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 1/4 |
All About Steve (2009) |
"There's no footing in reality. Nothing about it feels authentic." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
American Violet (2009) |
"A conventional but wholly gripping docudrama." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2/4 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"It’s too lurid, too long. Too much is telegraphed." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3/4 |
Astro Boy (2009) |
"Awesome. Truly." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Avatar (2009) |
"The most-hyped movie of the year just about merits it." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
American Teen (2008) |
"They all have their stories tell, some more complicated than others." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3/4 |
Appaloosa (2008) |
"From its first, mournful brass theme, Ed Harris's Appaloosa nails the look and feel of a classic Western. This is an old-style, laconically macho, six-shooting horse opera made with an obvious and unapologetic love of the genre." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3/4 |
Australia (2008) |
"Comedy and tragedy, action and melodrama, full measures of quirk and swoon: It’s just a plain good time at the movies." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Across the Universe (2007) |
"...Julie Taymor's rhapsodic mash note to John, Paul, George and Ringo falls just short of breathtaking." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2/4 |
After The Wedding (2007) |
"In my book it's high camp -- a thrill ride for emotion junkies." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Splat .5/4 |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"Recovering from the Harlequin bathos of The Notebook, writer-director Nick Cassavetes directs this bogus-homeboy scenario as though his street cred depended on it." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Amazing Grace (2007) |
"Director Michael Apted tells the story with dry devotion to parliamentary procedurals and a worshipful approach to Wilberforce. But [actor] Gruffudd lacks the intensity and charisma to pull it off." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
American Gangster (2007) |
"It's a much better film than nine-tenths of what's out there on any given Friday, and if you're a fan of steak-and-potatoes crime drama, I highly recommend it." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2/4 |
Angel-A (2007) |
"[The] plot is warmed-over Capra, and it's no wonderful-life yarn." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Tomato 3/4 |
Arctic Tale (2007) |
"It's aimed at kids, and it hits them squarely: My 6-year-old and his friend sat stock still, hypnotized." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Are We Done Yet? (2007) |
"Are We Done Yet? isn't much more than a middling middle-class fantasy, but it has a few sweet admonitions nestled amid the tomfoolery." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2/4 |
The Astronaut Farmer (2007) |
"Look, there's Bruce Willis, an old astronaut buddy from Farmer's aeronautics-training days! No, Mission Control, this isn't Armageddon. Ben Affleck is nowhere in sight..." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Atonement (2007) |
"It is mindful art doubling as unapologetic entertainment, an ode to eros and errors assembled with vision and meticulous care." |
Eric Harrison |
Tomato |
August Rush (2007) |
"The goal is to drive mothers everywhere insane with the urge to rescue him and brush his hair (or the other way around), and in my case it worked." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 4/4 |
Away From Her (2007) |
"Sarah Polley's sad, wise and simply dazzling directorial effort beams with warmth." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 4/4 |
A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
"The first film to capture the author's transience and his art." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2/4 |
Accepted (2006) |
"Too much of the plot is eaten up with clichéd assaults on a stodgy mainstream college and its pretty, gel-afflicted frat boys, who care waaayyy less about the liberal arts than whacking around pledges with a wooden spanker." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2/4 |
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006) |
"Even fantasies need a nod or a wink to assure viewers, 'Yes, it's ludicrous -- but isn't it fun?'" |
Bruce Westbrook |
Splat 2/4 |
All The King's Men (2006) |
"It's too full of itself; it's too convinced of its own value to be much of any to audiences." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2/4 |
American Dreamz (2006) |
"In American Dreamz, the people are stereotypes, and the context is fake: It's broad, it's thin, it's a big easy target. And ultimately, its dreamz are hollow." |
Amy Biancolli |
Splat 2/4 |
American Hardcore (2006) |
"Instead of an insightful look at disaffected youths finding an outlet for angry energy in rock rages, American Hardcore is a slanted history lesson coming solely from its subjects." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Tomato 3/4 |
Apocalypto (2006) |
"It is Mel Gibson's latest proof that as a director, his ambition is boundless and his energy nearly so, but his judgment is sorely lacking." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Art School Confidential (2006) |
"Zwigoff's angry exposé of this intense, tiny subculture isn't fair to anyone in the art world, but if you can stomach the overstatement, it's often scathingly funny. And it's sometimes scathingly smart." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
ATL (2006) |
"A mellow and engrossing coming-of-age film about a young crew on the south side of Atlanta." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3/4 |
A Tout de Suite (2005) |
"[Isild Le Besco] has an unusual look and the ability to appear unformed, hard, vulnerable and sexy all at once." |
Eric Harrison |
Splat 1/4 |
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D (2005) |
"Squinting through cardboard glasses you get at the door, you see washed-out colors, blurred images and not enough pop-out to merit the trade-off." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Tomato 3/4 |
After Innocence (2005) |
"After Innocence is a crusading documentary driven by DNA testing that's brought freedom for men who served years in prison for crimes they didn't commit." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Splat 1/4 |
Alone in the Dark (2005) |
"Frighteningly bad cinema is the only thing scary about Alone in the Dark, which gives video-game movies an even worse name, if that's possible." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Amityville Horror (2005) |
"Like good drive-in fare from the '70s, this is all about sensation." |
Bruce Westbrook |
- |
Apres Vous (2005) |
Click here to see the review. |
|
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Are We There Yet? (2005) |
"Ice Cube is an essentially soft-screen presence despite the assumed belligerence of his shtick. His knotted scowl hides a mushy middle of basic human decency." |
Amy Biancolli |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Aristocrats (2005) |
"Alone, the jokes would become a tedious, 87-minute blur. But The Aristocrats also has eloquent analyses by George Carlin, show-stealing bits by Sarah Silverman and Whoopi Goldberg, and inventive ways to keep the joke from getting stale." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Tomato 3/4 |
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) |
"Good, gory fun." |
Bruce Westbrook |
- |
Assisted Living (2005) |
Click here to see the review. |
|
Splat 2/4 |
After the Sunset (2004) |
"After the Sunset is about as flat-footed a heist caper as I've ever seen: clumsy where it should be graceful, lumpy where it should be sleek." |
Amy Biancolli |
- |
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) |
Click here to see the review. |
|
- |
The Agronomist (2004) |
Click here to see the review. |
|
Tomato B |
The Alamo (2004) |
"[Hancock's] Alamo may be flawed, but it tells a tale that still has the power to stir our souls." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Splat 2/4 |
Alexander (2004) |
"Stone's failures with this film are largely honorable, but occasionally he miscalculates and strikes so badly off-key that he seems tone deaf." |
Eric Harrison |
Splat 2/4 |
Alfie (2004) |
"Alfie is a bore." |
Eric Harrison |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alien vs. Predator (2004) |
"Though sometimes marred by murky lighting and quick-cut incoherence, the action is sudden and sensational." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Tomato B+ |
Along Came Polly (2004) |
"Though Polly packs ample comic punch, it also demonstrates that life isn't about the safe past or the uncertain future but the journeys we make each day." |
Bruce Westbrook |
Splat C- |
America's Heart and Soul (2004) |
"Though none of these vignettes are long and some last only seconds, the movie felt endless." |
Eric Harrison |
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