Tomato 3/5 |
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2009) |
"Despite the convincing cast and hefty running time, there’s no space left for reflection and insight." |
|
Tomato 4/5 |
Babel (2006) |
"For all its contrivances, Babel offers a gripping treatise on fate, chance and language with an epic sweep that leaves you marvelling at its ambition." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 3/5 |
Baby Mama (2008) |
"Baby Mama rises comfortably above formula foundations." |
Emma Morgan |
Splat 1/5 |
Babylon A.D. (2008) |
"Hard to believe, but there was a time when the phrase ‘starring Vin Diesel!’ was more of a promise than a threat." |
David Rudge |
Tomato 4/5 |
Back To Normandy (2007) |
"Granted, Philibert’s free-roaming approach is as languid as a weekend ramble. But his warm, tender, patient film finds much to move and chew on in the mulch and mire of rustic matters." |
Kevin Harley |
Tomato 5/5 |
Badlands (1973) |
"The unique, lilting music would subsequently crop up in True Romance, though Tarantino’s generation has yet to dethrone Badlands as the most haunting of all couple-on-the-run movies." |
|
Splat 2/5 |
Balls of Fury (2007) |
"Enter The Dragon meets Shaolin Soccer meets Dodgeball – just with infinitely smaller balls. A camp turn from Christopher Walken astounds but it’ll be funnier if you wait for the DVD and lubricate it with a six-pack. Or three." |
Jamie Russell |
Tomato 4/5 |
Bamako (2006) |
"Lensed in warm tones, with impassioned contributions from the non-professional witnesses." |
Philip Williams |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Band's Visit (2007) |
"The Band’s Visit could easily have become a clunky message movie, but Kolirin maintains a sure-handed balance of humour and heartache." |
Tom Dawson |
Splat 2/5 |
Bandslam (2009) |
"Whether your nine-year-old niece will care about that is moot – but she’ll definitely resent the poor ratio of musical numbers to clunky, contrived emotional scenes." |
Ellen E Jones |
Splat 2/5 |
Bangkok Dangerous (2008) |
"The Pang brothers’ remake of their slick 1999 calling card is saddled with both a morose voiceover from Cage and another of his now-trademark hairdon’ts." |
|
Tomato 3/5 |
The Banishment (2007) |
"Lumbering and beautiful, Zvyagintsev leaves few doubts that we’re in the hands of a fledgling master: there’s lots of striking visuals to keep you from itching for the exit as the leisurely running time unspools." |
Sam Wigley |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Bank Job (2008) |
"Fun but instantly forgettable, this retro heist movie illuminates a long-forgotten British blag. Despite a smart set-up, its smash ‘n’ grab raid on ’70s nostalgia leaves little to dissect over a post-movie pint." |
Jamie Russell |
Tomato 5/5 |
Battle of Algiers (1966) |
"Forty years on, the film’s lost not a fraction of its power." |
Philip Kemp |
Tomato 3/5 |
Be Kind Rewind (2008) |
"It takes a special talent to wring so much warm, humane comedy out of such a screwy premise. But the real triumph is how Gondry uses it to champion no-budget indie filmmaking, salute cinema’s unifying properties and thumb his nose at the Hollywood system." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Beaches of Agnes (2009) |
"Poignant and illuminating, it’s also suffused with Varda’s playful, eccentric spirit." |
Tom Dawson |
Tomato 3/5 |
Beaufort (2008) |
"The broader political questions aren’t addressed, but Cedar successfully conveys the boredom, fear and claustrophobia experienced by his conscript characters." |
Tom Dawson |
Splat 2/5 |
Because I Said So (2007) |
"If you’re a mother or a daughter some of it may resonate, but how apt that this painful, toothless farce was originally dreamt up at the dentist..." |
|
Tomato 4/5 |
Becoming Jane (2007) |
"Think Austen In Amour, à la Shakespeare In Love. A warm, charming, bittersweet romance – destined to make a thousand dates." |
Nev Pierce |
Tomato 3/5 |
Bee Movie (2007) |
"Whatever happened to no hugs, no learning? It’s enough to bring you out in hives." |
|
Tomato 3/5 |
Before I Forget (2008) |
"Geriatrically paced but genuinely compassionate, Before I Forget introduces a world of ageing bodies, fading libidos and lives spent in thrall to fleeting pleasures." |
Matt Glasby |
Tomato 3/5 |
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) |
"Lumet doesn’t damn himself, but it’s hardly cinema heaven. Hoffman, Hawke and Finney claw strong moments out of an underwhelming script, but for some the only thing that’ll stick is Marisa Tomei with her kit off." |
Ceri Thomas |
Splat 2/5 |
Before the Rains (2008) |
"Gorgeous but thuddingly obvious..." |
Jonathan Crocker |
Tomato 3/5 |
Ben X (2008) |
"An acute sense of foreboding animates this ambitious Dutch drama; clearly, something’s about to go very badly wrong." |
Matt Glasby |
Tomato 3/5 |
Beowulf (2007) |
"When computer animation looks this authentic, you wonder why they didn't just do it for real and have done with it. But we'll own up to being mightily impressed by the visuals." |
|
Tomato 3/5 |
Better Things (2009) |
"Gritty yet incongruously gorgeous – and glacier-paced – this ambitious first feature from Midlands miserablist Duane Hopkins proves that crikey, the British can do Bruno Dumont-style poetic realism after all." |
Chris Hicks |
Tomato 3/5 |
Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008) |
"A state-of-the-art kid-pleaser for sure, but recession-weary parents will probably find it a mite obnoxious." |
Chris Hicks |
Tomato 4/5 |
Beyond Hatred (2005) |
"Meyrou’s suitably sombre film leaves you with a sense of enormous respect for a couple refusing to be consumed by hatred, prepared instead to offer their forgiveness." |
Tom Dawson |
Splat 2/5 |
Beyond the Fire (2009) |
"Sin, sexual abuse, erotic salvation... Director Maeve Murphy’s thick stew is worthy but heavy like a sledgehammer." |
Kevin Harley |
Tomato 5/5 |
The Bicycle Thief (1948) |
"The lasting soul of Thieves’ pure cinema poverty-parable finally nestles in its deeply affecting father-son pairing in which seven-year-old Staiola dazzles as one of cinema’s wonder-kids." |
Jonathan Crocker |
Tomato 4/5 |
Big River Man (2009) |
"Maringouin artfully meshes music, editing and camerawork to nail the mental deterioration of his taciturn protagonist." |
Tom Dawson |
Tomato 3/5 |
Bigga than Ben (2008) |
"It tails off into a confusing ending, but Bigga Than Ben is still honest, funny and provocative enough to wind up Daily Mail and Guardian readers alike." |
Chris Hicks |
Tomato 3/5 |
BirdWatchers (2009) |
"Marco Bechis’ crusading film sets up some fairly predictable clashes. But it’s redeemed by the casting of actual Guarani tribespeople in the lead roles – and as actors, the Guarani prove themselves superb naturals." |
Philip Kemp |
Tomato 4/5 |
Black Book (2007) |
"Stacked with espionage, romance and tragedy, this sees Verhoeven back on his game, while van Houten gives a bold breakout performance." |
Matt Mueller |
Tomato 3/5 |
Black Gold (2006) |
"Intimate interviews with starving farmers selling beans for 24p a kilo while we pay £2 a cup will make you appreciate the importance of fair-trade when ordering your next double-shot, skinny latte." |
|
Splat 1/5 |
Black Sheep (2007) |
"Dopey editing, ropey pacing, hokey story structure, scrappy sound, rubbish rubbery gore and acting that would shame a toddlers’ nativity play." |
Andy Lowe |
Tomato 3/5 |
Black Water (2007) |
"Packs enough shocks to keep you gripped, not to mention a conclusion that refreshingly refutes the genre rulebook." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 4/5 |
Blame it on Fidel (2006) |
"Cleaving to a child’s-eye-view of a time of significant social change, documentarist-turned-feature director Julie Gavras elicits excellence from Kervel as the stubborn schoolgirl struggling to deal with the lack of certainties in her new lifestyle." |
Tom Dawson |
Tomato 3/5 |
Blind Dating (2007) |
"This is harmless, breezy fluff." |
Josh Winning |
Tomato 4/5 |
Blindsight (2008) |
"The ascent reveals a fascinating clash of values between the more gung-ho Americans (who are determined to reach the top) and the youngsters’ remarkable teacher Sabriye Tenberken." |
Tom Dawson |
Tomato 3/5 |
Blood Diamond (2006) |
"Gripping action and an excellent DiCaprio cannot disguise what is, essentially, an effective, if shallow, exposition of a hugely complex global issue." |
Jonathan Dean |
Splat 2/5 |
Blood: The Last Vampire (2009) |
"It's the action that really suffers, the anime's dynamism fizzling out as every samurai duel falls back on fake-looking CG squibs and a blur of fast-cut, see-nothing camera angles." |
Jamie Russell |
- |
Bloodsport (1988) |
"Van Damme Is Hungry for More Bloodsport" |
|
Splat 1/5 |
A Bloody Aria (2006) |
"Sore disappointment is in store for anyone expecting Won Shin-yun’s revenge/psycho thriller to emerge as the new Oldboy." |
Chris Hicks |
Splat 2/5 |
A Bloody Aria (2006) |
"Despite the title, A Bloody Aria is unlikely to be music to the ears of extreme cinema fans." |
Rob Daniel |
Tomato 3/5 |
Blue Eyelids (2008) |
"A predictable romcom ending would be too upbeat for this bleak riff on loneliness and the delusions of fantasy." |
Carmen Grey |
Splat 2/5 |
The Boat That Rocked (2009) |
"Curtis hangs situation and character comedy on a homage to rock’n’roll. That would be fine if it were funny, but auto-pilot Curtis prevails." |
Kevin Harley |
Tomato 3/5 |
Bobby (2006) |
"A historical timepiece reverberating now. Preachy in parts, but Estevez’s Who’s Who of Hollywood lights up an impressive ensemble drama." |
Jonathan Dean |
Tomato 3/5 |
Body of Lies (2008) |
"Syriana, this ain’t. Ridley Scott’s latest misses the scope, texture or depth to dig into the moral mess of the war on terror. But this entertaining techno-thriller feeds greedily off star performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Strong." |
|
Tomato 4/5 |
Bolt (2008) |
"If a little twee for grown-ups, this is riotous fun for kids. Even if it’s not Pixar-perfect, it’ll definitely do until Up touches down." |
Neil Smith |
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