Splat 2/4 |
Raising Helen (2004) |
"It's structured around weighty issues -- orphaned children, financial uncertainty and a sudden, massive responsibility -- and it wants our sympathy. But it treats us like dummies." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 4/4 |
Raising Victor Vargas (2003) |
"Saturated with trust, love and real life." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Rat Race (2001) |
"Despite this stumble at the finish line, Rat Race is still the most winning comedy we've yet seen this summer." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 4/4 |
Ratatouille (2007) |
"Ranks up there with the best of Pixar's best, joining Nemo, Monsters, Inc. and Toy Story (1 and 2) in the ranks of instant classics. It's a reminder of how good 'kids' entertainment can be." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B- |
Ray (2004) |
"It is not a great movie, suffering from the conundrum of being both too shallow and too long, but it is still an easy movie to recommend because of the experience it gives us." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Read My Lips (2002) |
"A vivid reminder of the true nature of chemistry between lovers, and the rarity with which we see it on the screen." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Recruit (2003) |
"Plot-wise, there isn't great depth to The Recruit." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 2/4 |
Red Dragon (2002) |
"How far we've come since 1986. Our minds were unsettled after Manhunter. Our stomachs are unsettled after Red Dragon." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 4/4 |
Red Road (2007) |
"It is a film that stealthily pries open the most hardened hearts, defying expectations and offering us a heroine we realize we cherish about 30 seconds after we finally decide we like her." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 2/4 |
Reign of Fire (2002) |
"Reign of Fire comes across as too concerned with traditional crowd-pleasing to explore its full potential for camp." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B |
Remember Me, My Love (2004) |
"Remember Me, My Love might sound like a love story, but it makes romance look pretty bleak." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat |
Remember the Titans (2000) |
"Well-intentioned but overwrought." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B |
Rendition (2007) |
"Streep's skill is, as always, breathtaking." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Rent (2005) |
"[Columbus] launders the grit right out of Rent, choosing to give the movie the glossy and faux shadowy look of a Bud Light commercial." |
Randy Myers |
Tomato |
The Replacements (2000) |
"The Replacements doesn't amount to much, but it's hard not to feel rather fond of it." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Requiem for a Dream (2000) |
"It lingers in the mind like a nightmare that's meant to tell you something." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 4/4 |
Rescue Dawn (2007) |
"A story of true humanity and inspiration." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat C+ |
Reservation Road (2007) |
"The film's biggest emotional wallop comes in the first few minutes, always a bad sign." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B |
Resurrecting the Champ (2007) |
"Jackson adopts a high, breathy voice to play the Champ and it gives him that vulnerability he needs to get away from his own bigger than life tough-guy persona." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3/4 |
Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles (2006) |
"We're touched when we aren't expecting it." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B |
Riding Giants (2004) |
"A nostalgia-soaked tribute to the sport." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat |
Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) |
"It's nothing more than a hot fudge sundae -- warm, syrupy and quickly dissipating into a mess." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B+ |
Right at Your Door (2007) |
"[Director] Gorak succeeds in raising larger issues about societal paranoia, and the dangers of being too obedient and trusting of the powers that be." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato B |
The Ring Two (2005) |
"Easily as good as 2002's blockbuster hit The Ring, and in terms of visual style, more potently spooky." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Rize (2005) |
"LaChapelle gives the kids a platform, but he doesn't dare probe beneath the surface." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
The Road Home (2001) |
"A romantic family film, a true G movie, pure of heart and harmless." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
The Road to El Dorado (2000) |
"Road to El Dorado has some nicely done visuals." |
Karen Hershenson |
Tomato 4/4 |
Road to Perdition (2002) |
"There are many lovely scenes of the father-son variety between Hanks and Hoechlin, but the most captivating (and the most anguishing) are those between Newman and Hanks." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Robots (2005) |
"Robots, while technologically cool, isn't aimed at children, but rather at the larger humans who hang out with them." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Rock Star (2001) |
"If you don't leave Rock Star wanting to do some head-banging and squealing at the top of your lungs, well, you can always pop in an old Air Supply cassette." |
Vera H-C Chan |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Roger Dodger (2002) |
"It is Scott's convincing portrayal of Roger the sad cad that really gives the film its oomph." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3/4 |
Romántico (2006) |
"The filmmaker has delivered such an insightful look into one man's experience of emigration and homecoming." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat |
Romeo Must Die (2000) |
"To say [Li's] acting is 'wooden' would be kind." |
Karen Hershenson |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Rookie (2002) |
"It's got a quiet, gentle grace that unexpectedly catches and carries you along on a hopeful little cloud." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Rory O'Shea Was Here (2005) |
"McAvoy has an impudent face, twinkling blue eyes and an irresistibly wry delivery. On the basis of his charm, he could single-handedly sell the movie. But his Rory has hidden dimensions as well, most of which we don't grasp until quite late in the game." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Rounders (1998) |
"The acting is crisp, and Dahl knows how to pace a movie and make it look good." |
Karen Hershenson |
Tomato |
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) |
"Amid all the movie's mannerisms are some truisms about family that knock you for an unexpectedly emotional loop." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Rumor Has It... (2005) |
"Sad to say, Reiner continues to be in a slump, showing only glimmers of the man who made When Harry Met Sally ...." |
Randy Myers |
Tomato B |
Runaway Jury (2003) |
"It might not make your pulse race, but it gets the job done." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Running Scared (2006) |
"Running Scared will be reviled by those who deplore violence and adored by those who like their movies brutally edgy." |
Randy Myers |
Splat C |
Running with Scissors (2006) |
"There's a fine line between zany and crazy. And director Ryan Murphy's adaptation of Augusten Burrough's hugely popular memoir Running With Scissors tromps all over that line." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato |
Rush Hour 2 (2001) |
"It's an innocuous pleasure." |
Mary F. Pols |
Splat D |
Rush Hour 3 (2007) |
"If Chan has toned down the stunts, Tucker has pumped up the volume on his comic duties to the point where it seems his high-pitched whine could break glass." |
Mary F. Pols |
Tomato A |
Russian Ark (2002) |
"It's a film, certainly, but also an experiment in human precision, a vast theatrical production, a history lesson, an art appreciation class ..." |
Mary F. Pols |
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