Tomato 2.5/4 |
Adam (2009) |
"To its credit, Adam doesn't go for the cheap, easy solution. In that way, the film shares something of the spirit (and realism?) of (500) Days of Summer: an acknowledgment that not every close encounter, no matter how meaningful, can last forever." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3/4 |
Adoration (2009) |
"Egoyan's most affecting film since The Sweet Hereafter." |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 3/4 |
Adventureland (2009) |
"Adventureland mixes the intimate, indie vibe of Daytrippers with the absurdist screwball streak of Superbad, to winning effect." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Afghan Star (2009) |
"Havana Marking's excellent, illuminating film follows four Afghan Star finalists over the frenetic final months leading to the Moment of Truth." |
Steven Rea |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Alien Trespass (2009) |
"At a certain point you find yourself thinking, why not watch the real It Came From Outer Space, instead of this mildly amusing replica?" |
Steven Rea |
Splat 1.5/4 |
All About Steve (2009) |
"All About Steve struggles mightily to find its loony essence. But Bullock's apple-cheeked larkishness is all flailing limbs and bug-eyed reaction shots -- there's no there there." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3/4 |
Amelia (2009) |
"Though this traditional story about a defiantly nontraditional woman doesn't always soar, it fits Hilary Swank, its producer/star, like a jumpsuit. She and Nair thrill to the life of this American who broke records, hearts, and boundaries." |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 3/4 |
American Casino (2009) |
"The documentary details in no-nonsense, talking-head style how commercial and investment banks moved high-risk mortgages out into the economy, dumping debt and reaping profits in the process." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3/4 |
American Violet (2009) |
"A torn-from-the-headlines tale of institutional racism and injustice in the Lone Star State of not-so-long-ago, American Violet might not be subtle, but it's certainly powerful." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3/4 |
Amreeka (2009) |
"Although the drama heads on a predictable course, Faour brings intelligence and humor to her performance and Muallem, as the smart adolescent turned surly and scared, is likewise sharp." |
Steven Rea |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"Howard's fluid camera movement, Salvatore Totino's old master-ly cinematography, and the Gregorian rants of Hans Zimmer's score cannot redeem the Hardy Boys plotting of Dan Brown's source material." |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Answer Man (2009) |
"Though his film is a tad choppy and a lot chatty, Hindman elicits sympathetic performances from leads who demonstrate a deep understanding of movie physics." |
Carrie Rickey |
Splat 1/4 |
Antichrist (2009) |
"What is Von Trier trying to say?" |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009) |
"Anvil! The Story of Anvil can't help but evoke This Is Spinal Tap, the classic 1984 mockumentary directed by the other Rob Reiner, in terms of both sheer hair-metal ludicrousness and indignities suffered by a not-so-successful rock band on the road." |
Dan DeLuca |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Audition (2009) |
"However overworked the format may be, from American Idol to Miss America, there's no denying the fresh punch of a candid new documentary standing at a different end of the artistic spectrum -- The Audition." |
David Patrick Stearns |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Avatar (2009) |
"Combining beyond-state-of-the-art moviemaking with a tried-and-true storyline and a gamer-geek sensibility -- not to mention a love angle, an otherworldly bestiary, and an arsenal of 22d-century weaponry -- the movie quite simply rocks." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3/4 |
Away We Go (2009) |
"The unassuming performances by Krasinski and Rudolph help make this the first Mendes movie that feels lived-in rather than staged." |
Carrie Rickey |
Splat 1/4 |
An American Carol (2008) |
"An American Carol is about as not-funny as a comedy can get." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
American Teen (2008) |
"An appealing and unexpectedly moving snapshot of 17-year-olds on the tightrope between family and future." |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Anita O'Day - The Life Of A Jazz Singer (2008) |
"A close-up look at the strange alchemy that is jazz singing -- singing at its most sublime." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3/4 |
Appaloosa (2008) |
"Appaloosa is an archetypal western with touches of the modern buddy comedy. Though it falls short of these classics, it is a little bit Destry Rides Again and a little bit more Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." |
Carrie Rickey |
Splat 2/4 |
Australia (2008) |
"Long in the making -- and almost as long in the watching -- Baz Luhrmann's Australia is epic piffle." |
Steven Rea |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Across the Universe (2007) |
"Sometimes it works brilliantly, other times (masked dancers gyrating on ocean waves -- ick!) you just want to run." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"There's more voyeurism going on here, and less insight into a certain culture (the young and the wasted), than the filmmakers would probably admit to, but the performances are scarily real, and the outcome, well, is just scary." |
Steven Rea |
Splat 2/4 |
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) |
"What happened to Alvin, the rodent counterpart of Dennis the Menace? Was he declawed in the translation to CGI?" |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 3/4 |
American Gangster (2007) |
"Both he [Washington] and Ruby Dee, as his mother, give Oscar-caliber performances." |
Carrie Rickey |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Angel-A (2007) |
"You desperately want the story, and the characters, to make some kind of emotional sense. This, however, does not happen." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato |
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatres (2007) |
"Daringly and surprisingly successfully attempts to hold viewers' interest in the (barely) animated triumvirate of Frylock, Master Shake and Meatwad for six times the length of a normal episode." |
Dan DeLuca |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Arthur and the Invisibles (2007) |
"Luc Besson, the most-Hollywoodish of Gallic directors, has adapted his own series of popular (in France) kid-lit tomes to produce a glossy, expensive ($84 million) and long-winded mix of live action and computer animation." |
Steven Rea |
Splat 2/4 |
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) |
"Everything about The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is longer than it needs to be. Its title, for one thing. Its duration -- two hours and 40 minutes! -- for another." |
Carrie Rickey |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Astronaut Farmer (2007) |
"Filled with lovely images (the opening credit sequence, of Charlie in his spacesuit, riding the range on horseback, is a beaut) and nice character turns, The Astronaut Farmer nonetheless veers too close to cliche." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Atonement (2007) |
"An impeccable craftsman in the tradition of David Lean, Wright possesses the late director's considerable gifts for drawing out his actors." |
Carrie Rickey |
Splat 2/4 |
August Rush (2007) |
"With its musical themes for individual characters that come together symphonically at the climax, the music is so persuasive that it carries the narrative rather than complementing it." |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Away From Her (2007) |
"A remarkable character study from actress-turned-director Sarah Polley, Away From Her is a triumph for Christie, who like Helen Mirren and Diane Keaton, grows lovelier and more compelling with every performance." |
Carrie Rickey |
Splat 2/4 |
A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
"A very talky and curiously uninvolving film." |
David Hiltbrand |
Splat 2/4 |
Accepted (2006) |
"Too bad what begins as a cheerfully irreverent comedy in the tradition of Animal House gets all pious when it slams fraternity culture at neighboring Harmon College." |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 3/4 |
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) |
"Palmer soars, carrying writer/director Doug Atchison's film on new 'tween wings." |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006) |
"Taken for what it is -- 'tweenage escapism -- Stormbreaker is moderately fun." |
Steven Rea |
Splat 2/4 |
All The King's Men (2006) |
"In essence, a wild soap opera disguised as a political allegory, it's a movie, with its over-the-map performances, that is worth catching only for the inadvertent laugh or two." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3/4 |
American Hardcore (2006) |
"American Hardcore, Paul Rachman's impressively thorough documentary, tells of the second-generation punk rockers who learned from the Sex Pistols and Ramones and then did their DIY thing." |
Dan DeLuca |
Splat 2/4 |
Annapolis (2006) |
"Much as I enjoyed screenwriter Dave Collard's freshman effort, Out of Time, there's not much to say about his sophomore (and sophomoric) screenplay, which seems to have gleaned its insights from the fortune-cookie factory." |
Carrie Rickey |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Ant Bully (2006) |
"... unnecessary ..." |
Steven Rea |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Apocalypto (2006) |
"Apocalypto is primal." |
Steven Rea |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Aquamarine (2006) |
"Like its title character, Allen's choppy and inconsistent film has two speeds, ditsy or sentimental, and never gathers momentum." |
Carrie Rickey |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Art School Confidential (2006) |
"Against this atmospheric background the characters have the depth of stick figures." |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
ATL (2006) |
"Making his feature-film debut, music-video director Chris Robinson expertly choreographs the skating sequences, which are exhilarating fun." |
Carrie Rickey |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Azur and Asmar - The Princes' Quest (2006) |
"The tale of two brothers from childhood to manhood, it is rife with timeless storybook themes and offers an inspiring vision of harmony between different cultures, different people." |
Steven Rea |
Splat 2/4 |
A Tout de Suite (2005) |
Click here to see the review. |
|
Splat 2/4 |
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D (2005) |
Click here to see the review. |
|
Splat 1/4 |
Aeon Flux (2005) |
"We know it's the future because everyone has the most ridiculous hairdos." |
David Hiltbrand |
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