Tomato 3/4 |
L'Enfant (2006) |
"L' Enfant is a dire and daunting character study and relationship drama set among the underclass in an industrial Belgian bleakness ..." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 2.5/4 |
La Ley De Herodes (2000) |
"Often heavy-handed and obvious." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
La Moustache (2005) |
"A mind-bending treat adapted by director Emmanuel Carrère from his novel." |
Michele Kenner |
Tomato 3/4 |
La Vie En Rose (2007) |
"La Vie en Rose will be remembered and acclaimed for Marion Cotillard's incandescent performance." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 2/4 |
Ladder 49 (2004) |
"The problem with Ladder 49 is that it wants to be a tribute more than it wants to be a movie. It's mostly exposition; no true narrative exists." |
Andrew Green |
Splat 2/4 |
Ladies in Lavender (2005) |
"It's sweet, but ultimately, unfulfilling and hollow." |
Piet Levy |
Splat |
The Ladies Man (2000) |
"The movie is a string of lame, aimless skits that never really gel." |
Sue Pierman |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Lady in the Water (2006) |
"Shyamalan has a well-deserved reputation for pulling rabbits out of a hat and calling it magic. It's the talent for doing so that fails him here." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Lady Vengeance (2005) |
"It has an operatic scale and an emotional eloquence and, along the way, in the juxtaposition of its variously conflicting elements, we see how vengeance turns to redemption." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 3/4 |
Ladykillers (2004) |
"The Coens still have enough tricks up their sleeves for a worthwhile outing." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Lake House (2006) |
"Film is a mass hallucination. When you get lost in it, you don't see the strands that hold things together; but when it doesn't work, all you see are the seams." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat |
Lake Placid (1999) |
"As dramatically substantial as "Ally McBeal" is skinny!" |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato |
Lakeboat (2001) |
"Viewers learn that these salty guys have salty imaginations and that Mamet's a master at capturing their thoughts in discursive detail." |
Nick Carter |
Tomato 3/4 |
Lakeview Terrace (2008) |
"A tense and mostly satisfying take on race relations and the deep-seeded hatred some try to suppress, Lakeview Terrace realistically depicts such a heated scenario by giving equal voice to both sides." |
Mack Bates |
Tomato |
Lantana (2001) |
"Smolders but never explodes." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) |
"After a dramatically disappointing debut in 2001, this video-game character turned action film heroine bites back with an eye-catching and imaginative globe-trotting sequel." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat |
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) |
"A disappointingly joyless romp with none of the self deprecating we-know-this -is-stupid-but-it's -kind-of-fun drollness that can make such films bearable." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Lars And The Real Girl (2007) |
"Lars and the Real Girl shares the optimism and sense of community of gems like The Station Agent, You Can Count on Me and Junebug." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat |
The Last Castle (2001) |
"A mundane and predictable amalgam of prison movie cliches and archetypes." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 3/4 |
Last Chance Harvey (2008) |
"Writer-director Joel Hopkins should thank his lucky stars that Hoffman and Thompson are on board. Some of the story and dialogue are hokey, but the actors overcome those obstacles." |
Michele Kenner |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Last Days (2005) |
"A tortured film about a tortured man." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 2/4 |
Last Holiday (2006) |
"While there is something undeniably enjoyable about watching someone likable enjoy themselves, it's not enough to make a good movie." |
Cathy Jakicic |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Last King of Scotland (2006) |
"Watching Garrigan squirm in his gilded cage has its charms. But Whitaker is the one to keep your eyes on, and his work is the stuff of Oscar gold." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Last Kiss (2006) |
"... an American remake of a European original that works." |
Mack Bates |
Splat 2/4 |
The Last Mimzy (2007) |
"Mimzy has action that makes it a bit too intense for small children but too tedious for grownups." |
Sue Pierman |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Last Mistress (2008) |
"Seldom have a filmmaker and lead actress performed in perfect, artistic sync." |
Steve Ramos |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Last Samurai (2003) |
"As often happens with fish-out-of-water tales, the story becomes less about those being observed than about the observer and feels aloof and derivative because of it." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 1/4 |
The Last Sin Eater (2007) |
"[Actors Henry Thomas and Louise Fletcher] are hamstrung by stilted dialogue; every sentence addressed to Liberato seems to begin with 'My dear child.'" |
Sue Pierman |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Latter Days (2004) |
"Overall generalities about the main characters, a tendency to reveal them through monologue rather than behavior, and a lack of curiosity about the Mormon youth's core beliefs keep Latter Days from feeling genuinely personal or particularly substantive." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Laurel Canyon (2003) |
"McDormand's flawless performance is worth the price of admission." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Law Abiding Citizen (2009) |
"A particularly cynical brand of celluloid nihilism, in which über-wealthy movie producers finance their Hollywood mansions by marketing films to an audience feeling disenfranchised by the status quo." |
Graham Killeen |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Laws of Attraction (2004) |
"There oughta be a law - or at least a code of honor -- among Hollywood screenwriters from pushing forth lame hard-genre stories like Laws of Attraction." |
Nick Carter |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Layer Cake (2005) |
"Feels half-baked." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) |
"All in all, just another summer's day at the multiplex. But the outlandish premise alone gives it a leg up on overly familiar scenarios about time-traveling robots, gamma radiation and the like." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Leatherheads (2008) |
"Zellweger and Clooney do have screwball chemistry, but the screenplay, by sportswriters Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly, is rife with scenes done better in the classic romantic comedies it admires." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato |
Legally Blonde (2001) |
"Much like its lead character -- tough to dislike and packed with personality." |
Sue Pierman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde (2003) |
"The original hit the spot like iced sugar water on a hot day; the sequel is all perspiration and no inspiration." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato |
The Legend of Bagger Vance (1999) |
"[Smith's] graceful presence helps turn what often feels like 18 holes of Touched By an Angel into an ultimately engaging sweet conceit." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato |
The Legend of Drunken Master (1994) |
"The fight scenes ... are amazingly staged and astonishingly executed." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Legend of Suriyothai (2003) |
"The bottom line is often leaden and redundant: There is quite simply too much to sort through." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 2/4 |
The Legend of Zorro (2005) |
"Innocuous and with more than a few laughs and rousing moments, it could make for passable family entertainment some rainy afternoon. But if you remember the first movie, it'll feel like something's missing." |
Paul Doro |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) |
"In the end, it's such ripping good fun that it's hard to hold Carrey against it." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (2006) |
"Cohen fans -- myself included -- will leave the film's interviews wanting more insight. Moviegoers unfamiliar with Cohen's long career will wonder why he warrants gushing testimonials from U2's Bono." |
Steve Ramos |
Tomato |
Let the Right One In (2008) |
"Vampire films are often shallow, sensational and obvious, which is why they can be an acquired taste. But for those who favor them or don't, this is the right one to let in." |
Duane Dudek |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Letters From Iwo Jima (2006) |
"A thoughtful allegory about a time when shock and awe met and defeated the inflexible forces of martyrdom." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 2/4 |
Levity (2003) |
"The whole thing could use some air, a bit of light and a little levity." |
Duane Dudek |
Splat 1/4 |
The Libertine (2005) |
"This is an irritatingly unsatisfying and unappetizing profile." |
Mary-Liz Shaw |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
License To Wed (2007) |
"A pleasant enough diversion for anyone who likes their comedies as light and fluffy as their popcorn." |
Sue Pierman |
Splat |
Life (1999) |
"The writers and Demme should have smoothed out the timeline and sacrificed a few zingers in order to make a deeper, better movie about hardship and friendship in prison." |
Sue Pierman |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004) |
"The David Bowie songs sung in Portuguese on the soundtrack of The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou are a lot like the movie itself. You may not understand the language, but you recognize what's being said as familiar and reassuring in some way." |
Duane Dudek |
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