Splat 2.5/4 |
9 (2009) |
"Rarely has so much imagination been poured into one facet of a film at the expense of another." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2/4 |
Adoration (2009) |
"Takes a powerful, simple subject and mucks up its exploration with elaborate stylistic complications and moments of pure over direction." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
Adventureland (2009) |
"A period piece that makes up for its lack of dramatic heft with small moments filled with nostalgia and warmth." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/5 |
The African Queen (1951) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alien Trespass (2009) |
"The movie is a curiosity, to be sure, but one fostered by an enjoyably nostalgic spirit." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/5 |
All of Me (1984) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Amelia (2009) |
"The film comes across as both hopelessly dated and as a shortchanging of the true tale of one of the 20th century's pioneers." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
American Swing (2009) |
"The filmmakers never adequately confront the complex nature of the iconic locale." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"It's tighter and more exciting than The Da Vinci Code, but still hampered by a rather thorough ridiculousness." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Answer Man (2009) |
"While the film periodically threatens to veer into extreme cutesy indie territory, Daniels and Graham keep it grounded." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009) |
"A complicated portrait of complicated men, an adeptly assembled character study that shows how limitless fame and fortune might not be the real recipe for happiness." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
At the Edge of the World (2009) |
"The picture pits man against man and nature in an economical fashion, and many scenes reverberate with suspense." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Away We Go (2009) |
"The movie palpably evokes the feelings, concerns and challenges confronting parents and homeowners seeking to live out the American Dream in the 21st century." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2/5 |
Bad Boys (1995) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) |
"It's powerful material for Werner Herzog, a premier chronicler of the madness of men, and Nicolas Cage, who brings a fevered intensity to every project he takes on." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Ballerina (2008) |
"It's too levelheaded, too aesthetically old-fashioned and academic." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Beaches of Agnes (2009) |
"A characteristically colorful, poignant work full of exquisite compositions and dreamlike reflections that serves as an ideal encapsulation of the Vardian sensibility." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Big Fan (2009) |
"A fascinating character study and a deeply felt blow to the gut." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Blues Brothers (1980) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Brüno (2009) |
"It's funny stuff, but more in a "look at how outrageous we're being" sort of way than one that comes close to engaging in meaningful social commentary." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
Carmen and Geoffrey (2009) |
"The first battle to be fought in making a documentary is to pick a compelling subject; the filmmakers have two." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/5 |
Cold Comfort Farm (1996) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
Cold Souls (2009) |
"Deftly balancing its symbolic and philosophical underpinnings with deadpan human comedy, the movie successfully operates on multiple levels." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
Collapse (2009) |
"A poignant portrait of a man who has indisputably sacrificed all for something bigger than himself." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 4/5 |
Cool Hand Luke (1967) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Coraline (2009) |
"The quality of Selick's craft and the dense, haunting nature of Gaiman's morality tale for children collectively make Coraline a resonant visceral experience." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
Crude (2009) |
"Embedded in the story are enough intriguing characters and moments of high human drama for it to function more like a piece of effective fiction than a work of overwrought agitprop." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Damned United (2009) |
"The performances by Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall give the picture the dramatic heft it needs to tackle a narrative far beyond the purview of a standard sports flick." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 1/4 |
Dance Flick (2009) |
"The Wayanses have made a movie that elicits a few chuckles and a lot of long, awkward silences" |
Robert Levin |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Death In Love (2009) |
"The story of miserable people living miserable lives without redemption, humor or hope." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Disgrace (2009) |
"The film struggles in its attempt to balance the thought-provoking overtones with the human drama at its core." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) |
"Charles Dickens's reflective, universal story becomes fodder for a technological thrill ride starring a rough approximation of Jim Carrey." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Donkey Punch (2009) |
"A nasty little thriller that might have worked had it tempered its propensity for outrageous brutality." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Drag Me To Hell (2009) |
"The freewheeling spirit that infused The Evil Dead is absent here." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/5 |
Dressed to Kill (1980) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Easy Virtue (2009) |
"Too often Easy Virtue feels like a rough facsimile of many better drawing-room comedies." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 4/5 |
El Norte (1984) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Escapist (2009) |
"Cox is a master of understatement, of using his gloomy eyes, his lined face and the intensity of feeling in a simple gaze or gesture to suggest the full measure of a man." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Every Little Step (2009) |
"The filmmakers establish the continued potency of the show's timeless exhortation to follow your dreams and do what you love, no matter the cost." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2/4 |
Fast & Furious (2009) |
"Enough with the brooding and the emoting. What Fast & Furious needs more than anything is some hint that the people involved know how ridiculous it is." |
Robert Levin |
Splat 2/4 |
Fragments (2009) |
"Rowan Woods indulges in some sub-subpar Crash territory here, with a laughably self-serious narrative that has less to do with reality than histrionics." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
Funny People (2009) |
"A work of earnest self-reflection that candidly looks at the A-list world Apatow and his cohorts have begun to inhabit at this particular stage in their lives." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Girlfriend Experience (2009) |
"The Girlfriend Experience functions as a sharp, poignant allegory, despite its relentless focus and wealth of concise, specific detail." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Good (2008) |
"Amorim and screenwriter John Wrathall have produced a compelling intellectual exercise, a movie that openly wrangles with complex ethical territory" |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Great Buck Howard (2009) |
"Malkovich carries the picture with such gusto that it would be worth watching were it simply a one-man stage show." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Hangover (2009) |
"An energetic jaunt through ribald territory, centered on the theory that some guys just can't handle Vegas." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 5/5 |
The Hidden Fortress (1958) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/5 |
High Anxiety (1977) |
No article available. |
Robert Levin |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Homecoming (2009) |
"The movie takes a premise that might have served as the basis of a weepy romantic drama and turns it into something very different, but no less insulting." |
Robert Levin |
Tomato 3/4 |
Humpday (2009) |
"Transforms a thoroughly outrageous premise into a thoughtful study of the burdens of 21st-century masculinity." |
Robert Levin |