Tomato 3/5 |
Face Addict (2008) |
" But some are capable of articulacy and Bertoglio provides the odd ghostly image: primarily, middle-aged fashionista Wendy Whitelaw, who sprays her suburban lawn in regulation Factory chic. The happy ending is welcome, too." |
Kevin Harley |
Tomato 3/5 |
Factory Girl (2007) |
"Kudos to Miller for her touching portrayal of a doomed icon. A shame the film’s as substantial as one of Warhol’s silver flotations." |
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Tomato 4/5 |
The Fall (2008) |
"Beguiling, befuddling, brilliant. It’s sure to divide audiences but, for all its ocular opulence and wild fantasy, at heart The Fall is a tender, touching tale about childhood, hope and the power of story." |
Nev Pierce |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Family Friend (2006) |
"Wrangling the characters in vividly coloured tableaux, he dazzles the viewer with an array of enigmatic images." |
Tom Dawson |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) |
"Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it gets a whole lot better. Fantastic 2 may not hold a candle to Marvel's crown jewels, but by dialling down the camp it at least makes amends for its dreary predecessor." |
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Tomato 3/5 |
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) |
"It may not amount to much, but what to expect from a book about a thieving fox? Beautifully realised, it’s the Anderson movie that will leave you with a smile on your face." |
Jonathan Dean |
Tomato 3/5 |
Fast & Furious (2009) |
"Slick action, hot hardware, shame about the screenplay… Still, it’s the best since the original TFATF, and fans of Diesel’s gravel-voiced swagger will get a kick seeing him reprise the role that put him on the map." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 4/5 |
Fast Food Nation (2006) |
"Intelligent and radical, this meaty exposé of corporate greed offers plenty to chew on." |
Jamie Russell |
Tomato 3/5 |
Fear(s) of the Dark (2008) |
"Arty-smarty and impeccably French, this collection of horror ’toons delivers some short, sharp shocks amid the occasional misfire. It’s worth seeing for Burns’ section alone. Just repeat, it’s only a cartoon…" |
Jamie Russell |
Splat 2/5 |
Feast of Love (2007) |
"One big famine of fun." |
Emma Morgan |
Tomato 3/5 |
Fermat's Room (2008) |
"This feature debut for co-directors Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopeña is never quite as clever as it thinks it is, and there are some sizeable holes in the plot. Still, with its teasing sense of play, you won’t be crawling the walls." |
Philip Kemp |
Splat 2/5 |
A Few Days in September (2006) |
"Buckling under the weight of its own hubris, the potentially scandalous premise ends up feeling like a Dan Brown knock-off." |
David Jenkins |
Tomato 3/5 |
Fifty Dead Men Walking (2009) |
"A well-meaning and inadvertently timely attempt to tackle the Troubles, whose thriller-toned accessibility occasionally trips over cine-clichés. Meanwhile, a confident, complex Sturgess makes his strongest impression yet." |
Rob James |
Tomato 3/5 |
Fighting (2009) |
"Despite its dog-eared underpinnings, Fighting delivers some heady testoster-tainment. But it’s Channing Tatum who gives it a bruising grace." |
Matt Mueller |
Tomato 3/5 |
Fired Up (2009) |
"Surprisingly, first-time director Will Gluck takes this raunchy premise and twists it into a boobs-free romantic comedy." |
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Tomato 3/5 |
Fireflies in the Garden |
"An impressive ensemble lends heft and humour to this sprawling potboiler. Watchable if never truly memorable, it’s a mid-range work for most involved that still affords the odd guilty pleasure." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 3/5 |
Firehouse Dog (2007) |
"As well as potty humour, this canine Backdraft has its share of adult moments. Mostly, though, it’s family fun, with Hutcherson showing he’s the go-to kid for sensitive loners." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Firm (2009) |
"A fresh angle on a mini-classic. It’s about ’80s football violence, yes, but it’s also about today’s gang culture. And friendship and family. Nick Love shoots… and scores." |
Jamie Graham |
Tomato 3/5 |
First Sunday (2008) |
"Cube's maudlin, overly precious relationship with his son hits a few sour notes, but Morgan's rubbery, half-crazy Leejohn always drags the film back into its manic, cartoony groove." |
Ken McIntyre |
Tomato 5/5 |
Fish Tank (2009) |
"A powerful, poignant and beautiful film, Arnold crafts Brit realism at its best" |
Jonathan Dean |
Tomato 3/5 |
Fissures (2007) |
"The narrative threads are tied a little too neatly, but it’s a promising debut." |
Tom Dawson |
Tomato 3/5 |
Flame & Citron (2008) |
"Writer-director Ole Christian Madsen delivers plenty of excitement, but misses the tragic resonance of Jean-Pierre Melville’s recently re-discovered resistance masterpiece Army In The Shadows." |
Tom Dawson |
Tomato 3/5 |
Flanders (2006) |
"The dour message it delivers doesn’t so much suggest that war is hell, but that existence certainly is." |
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Tomato 3/5 |
Flashbacks of a Fool (2008) |
"It’s a fool’s paradise for Craig as his fading filmstar looks back on how teenage hormones lead to tragedy. Walsh doesn’t fritter away Daniel’s magnanimity, but the lurch between Hollywood washout and ramshackle English adolescence needs more to bond." |
Matt Mueller |
Splat 2/5 |
Flawless (2007) |
"Diamonds aren’t forever in this sluggish heist caper from Michael Radford that partners Michael Caine and Demi Moore for the first time since 1984’s Blame It On Rio." |
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Tomato 4/5 |
The Flight of the Red Balloon (2008) |
"While nothing really happens in the leisurely French debut of lauded filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien, it doesn’t happen in the most beguiling of ways." |
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Tomato 4/5 |
Floating Weeds (1959) |
"A thoroughly absorbing affair." |
Tom Dawson |
Splat 1/5 |
Fly Me To The Moon (2008) |
"This witless 3D animated feature tries its best but never achieves lift-off." |
Tom Charity |
Splat 2/5 |
The Flying Scotsman (2007) |
"A paucity of pedal power and an abundance of cliché make this Jock-on-a-bike yarn an uphill climb from false start to weak finish. Miller’s brooding hero may well be Flying, but the film never gets off the ground." |
Neil Smith |
Splat 2/5 |
Fool's Gold (2008) |
"http://www.totalfilm.com/cinema_reviews/films_out_this_week/fools_gold" |
Tom Charity |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Foot Fist Way (2008) |
"Cut from the same cringe-inducing cloth as The Office and Napoleon Dynamite, this low-budget comedy about a clueless Tae Kwan Do tutor punches, chops and karate-kicks above its weight." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 4/5 |
For Your Consideration (2006) |
"In the running for the ‘Best Rethink Of An Established Formula’ award, so we’d like to thank the director and his cast for keeping the chortles coming." |
Matthew Leyland |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Fountain (2006) |
"Science-fiction meets emotional fact. An intelligent, time-spanning love story that deserves the benefit of any doubt. Watch. And watch again." |
Nev Pierce |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Fox and the Child (2008) |
"Kids will be hooked, but adult viewers may yearn for something a bit racier, with fewer cute field-mice and more fox fucking." |
Kate Stables |
Tomato 3/5 |
Franklyn (2009) |
"Frustrating. Not as clever as it thinks it is, but often far better looking than you’d expect. You have to laud McMorrow for a brazen Brit debut that isn’t either A) a horror or B) takes place in a gang." |
Jonathan Dean |
Splat 1/5 |
Fred Claus (2007) |
"More no no no than ho ho ho, Vince Vaughn's crime against cinema is a worthy winner of this year's Deck The Halls prize for least welcome Christmas present. Make no mistake: Fred Claus is the real Bad Santa." |
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Tomato 3/5 |
Freedom Writers (2007) |
"It may only deserve a C for achievement, but it ranks a B+ for effort." |
James White |
Splat 1/5 |
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009) |
"An undercooked, rapidly unravelling script, low-grade production values (is that the best future costume you have?), plodding direction and an apologetically crap ending are not worth the price of a cinema ticket in these belt-tightening times." |
Jane Crowther |
Splat 2/5 |
Friday the 13th (2009) |
"He runs, he stumbles… Jason’s newest beginning is satisfyingly sick but far too slick, Nispel jettisoning grubby, home-movie visuals – and with them all tension – in favour of really lustrous leaves. Disappointing." |
Jamie Graham |
Tomato 5/5 |
From Russia with Love (1963) |
"It’s no surprise Connery cites this as his favourite Bond. Would that Quantum had had a fraction of its pace, grace and style." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 3/5 |
Frost/Nixon (2008) |
"Slickly done and easy to watch, but not quite the commentary on modern politics it could/should have been. An historic moment becomes a film that’s more pop than culture." |
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Tomato 4/5 |
Frozen River (2008) |
"Leo and Upham make an unlikely double act in a finely written, well-played film with a striking plot and setting. Hunt’s clearly a name to watch; Leo, meanwhile, can look forward to finally getting the recognition, and roles, she deserves." |
Neil Smith |
Tomato 4/5 |
Fugitive Pieces (2008) |
"But while there’s life, there’s hope, and Jeremy Podeswa’s delicate, deliberate adaptation of Anne Michaels’ novel follows Jakob’s heartrending progress from the darkness to the light." |
Matt Glasby |
Tomato 4/5 |
Funny People (2009) |
"A comedy-drama full of beauty and ugliness, profundity and profanity. Eventually loses its way but, for at least 100 minutes, it’s some sort of masterpiece." |
Jamie Graham |
Splat 2/5 |
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) |
"Kidman wades in over her depth in this genuinely odd but disappointingly flat attempt to recast a biopic as a fairytale." |
Tom Charity |
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