The Art of War (2000)
"It should remain undercover."
Bob Thomas
Tomato
Accepted (2006)
"None of them will teach you anything you didn't already know -- but at least you'll have a good time until class is dismissed."
Christy Lemire
Adventureland (2009)
"[Mottola] doesn't always find the right tone in trying to cover such varied terrain, but you have to admire him for trying inject some substance into what can be a predictably mindless genre."
Splat
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
"It's boring. It's flat. It's ugly. Worst of all for a comedy, it's not even remotely funny."
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006)
"The script comes from Anthony Horowitz, based on the first novel in his Alex Rider spy series. How is it possible to take your own work and make it less interesting?"
Aliens of the Deep (2005)
"Yes, the work they're doing is mind-boggling and important, but sometimes the images alone are more than capable of speaking for themselves."
All The King's Men (2006)
"Instead of being important, All the King's Men is merely self-important -- and pretentious and bombastic, but ultimately hollow."
Alpha Dog (2007)
"The idea may sound melodramatic but the result has realistic bite."
American Dreamz (2006)
"American Dreamz, writer-director Paul Weitz's parody of both American Idol and the American presidency, is filled with dead-on detail, sharp dialogue and reasons to laugh out loud."
American Gangster (2007)
"Washington, as real-life heroin kingpin Frank Lucas, and Crowe, as detective Richie Roberts, are on a collision course with one another that‘s bursting with the gritty period atmosphere of 1970s Harlem."
American Teen (2008)
"Except for some obvious staging on Burstein’s part, their ups and downs, doubts and dreams, all feel vividly real. Well, at least more real than anything you see on The Hills."
Amores Perros (2001)
"Always clever, and devastating in its depiction of human nature."
An Education (2009)
"You may think you know where the film is going, but its ecstasy and heartbreak will stick with you afterward. It's one of the year's best."
Angels & Demons (2009)
"Its twists, turns and revelations are just as ridiculous as those in the first film -- perhaps even more so -- and it breezes through arcane details with just as much dizzying speed."
The Anniversary Party (2001)
"You know how sometimes you tell a story, and you think it's really funny, but no one else gets it? Well, guess you had to be there. Tell that story for about two hours and you have The Anniversary Party."
The Answer Man (2009)
"The debut from writer-director John Hindman features a premise that sounds an awful lot like As Good As It Gets, except the script isn't as sharp."
The Ant Bully (2006)
"The Ant Bully is never less than colorful and high-energy. But it's hard to shake the feeling that we've all gone up this hill before."
Antichrist (2009)
"To say that Antichrist is shocking would suggest that it's effective."
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatres (2007)
"You have to give these guys this much: They remained true to their twisted vision, and that's exciting to see."
Arctic Tale (2007)
"Despite the film's undeniable technical achievements, it's hard to walk out of the theater without sensing that you've witnessed a bit of a cheat."
Astro Boy (2009)
"It's pretty forgettable."
ATL (2006)
"Really, ATL -- like last year's Roll Bounce -- is about roller skating."
Atonement (2007)
"It‘s just exceptionally well-crafted."
Australia (2008)
"Overlong and self-indulgent."
Autumn in New York (2000)
"Sappy and melodramatic."
Away We Go (2009)
"Away We Go rejects those cliches and instead takes an honest, humorous and ultimately moving look at the prospect of a family growing from two members to three."
Amelia (2009)
"Swank and Nair play it safe to the point of benumbing this woman's life, leaving Earhart as remote and muted as she is in the black-and-white photos and news footage of the aviator included at the film's end."
David Germain
Tomato 3/4
America's Heart and Soul (2004)
"Beneath its glossy surface, this unabashedly feel-good movie is full of substance."
An American Haunting (2006)
"The impassioned performances make you care what happens to these people, even when the film's noisy overindulgence makes you almost wish their home would collapse on itself like The Fall of the House of Usher."
Antitrust (2001)
"Begins with an engaging setup but gradually lapses into a messy web of cloak-and-dagger contrivance, implausible action, silly plot twists and dumb dialogue."
Apocalypto (2006)
"The blood and gore become so extreme that they provoke titters of ridicule, undermining a simple, stirring story of family devotion as a man races from vile captors to return home and rescue his pregnant wife and their son."
Arthur and the Invisibles (2007)
"A mishmash with a distinctive but disorderly animation palette whose top-notch voice cast -- including Robert De Niro, Madonna and David Bowie -- gets lost in the muck."
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)
"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel offers exactly two big laughs for its kiddo target audience -- one involves passing gas, the other a shot to the crotch."
Glenn Whipp
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007)
"When Lee's finally called upon to yell the trademark 'Alllllvin!' it feels like a forced whimper that only reminds us how stale the decades-old material is."
Jake Coyle
August Rush (2007)
"We need to break out a whole new definition of cheesiness for a film like this, augmented by fake tears and vomit gestures."
Tomato 2.5/4
Avatar (2009)
"A movie whose effects are clearly revolutionary, a spectacle that millions will find adventure in. But it nevertheless feels unsatisfying and somehow lacks the pulse of a truly alive film."
An American Rhapsody (2001)
"A riveting and powerful drama about a 15-year-old girl torn by a simple question: Where is her home?"
Malcolm Ritter
American Beauty (1999)
"American Beauty takes its place among the best family dramas of recent decades."
Ted Anthony
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
"Affleck does something remarkable here with his performance: He makes you feel sorry for this weaselly, whiny, 19-year-old kid, yet fear him at the same time."
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