Ladder 49 (2004)

"In its own plodding way, Ladder 49 does finally achieve emotional resonance."

Ladykillers (2004)

"One of those Coen brothers comedies wherein their elaborate vision takes on a weight that seems to prevent comic liftoff."

Lake Placid (1999)

"An aggressively cheesy horror movie with a tongue-in-cheek script and an ensemble cast upstaged by several million dollars in digital effects."

Lakeview Terrace (2008)

"A lurid finale and some late-game script weaknesses work to diminish a character that Jackson has worked hard to embellish."

Lantana (2001)

"I grew to resent the way the storylines began to collide and converge -- it isn't a small world, it's microscopic."

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

"Anyone who wants to see an actual movie, well, Tomb Raider stands as another mediocre addition to our ongoing summer of crap."

The Last Castle (2001)

"Seems less than the sum of its parts."

Last Days (2005)

"If you're looking for character insight, let alone plot exposition... forget about it."

The Last House on the Left (2009)

"It's a typical neo-horror thriller that replaces suspense with grotesque clinical violence."

The Last Kiss (2006)

"... you wonder if something wasn't lost in translation."

Last Orders (2002)

"Bleakly funny, its characters all the more touching for refusing to pity or memorialize themselves."

The Last Western (2006)

"Deaux's subdued, lyrical film gives you the sense of Pioneertown as the last refuge for the people who wish to live as they please, to be left alone."

Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

"Somebody has given Law Abiding Citizen a lethal injection of absurdity. Although I have to say, as ridiculous movies go, this one has its moments."

Laws of Attraction (2004)

"There is a great deal of strain in Moore's work here, the kind that often indicates an attempt to fill holes in a weak script."

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

"On the big screen this concept looks thin and at times downright farcical."

Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde (2003)

"Elle is such a nice person, and Witherspoon so effervescent, it seems impolite to point out that this comedy is hardly ever funny, unless you get a big kick out of seeing small dogs in cute outfits. Over and over and over again."

The Legend of Zorro (2005)

"If the question is whether passion, excitement and intrigue can be written into the narrative of marriage, the answer in The Legend of Zorro is an emphatic no."

Levity (2003)

"It's probably impossible for a movie featuring Thornton, Freeman, Dunst and Hunter to be bad or uninteresting, and Levity is neither."

Life (1999)

"Mostly lifeless because deep down, it's really about other movies."

The Life Before Her Eyes (2008)

"It wears you down, and maybe that's why the conclusion doesn't pack much of a punch."

Lightning in a Bottle (2004)

"A fast, sweet, cram course in the blues. And it does so in an extremely coherent, vital and entertaining fashion."

Lions for Lambs (2007)

"The dialogue between Streep and Cruise is slick and musical, and the actors find the rhythm of it, but it doesn't convince as the kind of power-brokering that goes on in big-time politics and media."

Little Children (2006)

"The main reason to watch is Winslet, who brings flesh-and-blood dimension to Perrotta's central character."

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

"Little Miss Sunshine turns out to have real warmth and empathy for its characters."

The Longest Yard (2005)

"A project devoted entirely to laughs, and money."