Tomato 3/4 |
A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
"Although the story is greatly enhanced by the mesmerizing visual design, it is also involving because of the duplicity and duality of the characters." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato |
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) |
"The boldest go-for-broke film released by a Hollywood studio since Apocalypse Now." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 1/4 |
Abandon (2002) |
"Abandon would be almost forgivable as the stupidest movie of the year if it weren't the most boring as well." |
John Monaghan |
Tomato 3/4 |
About a Boy (2002) |
"Some credit for that deservedly goes to Grant. To his credit, he doesn't stoop to his puppy-dog pander." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 4/4 |
About Schmidt (2002) |
"There is a casual courage and dignity, and no small amount of obliviousness, in Nicholson's Schmidt that will remind many younger people of their parents, and many older people of their brothers and friends -- and themselves." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
Accepted (2006) |
"Like a mediocre high school transcript, the movie has the foundations, but it skimps on the extracurriculars." |
John Monaghan |
Splat 1/4 |
Across the Universe (2007) |
"Most of the songs are performed in such saccharine style and staged so literally that they almost seem like they belong in a Broadway show. That's a very bad thing." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 3/4 |
Acts of Worship (2001) |
"Has all the hallmarks of a high-quality independent production, where real-life texture and genuine emotion more than compensate for lack of polish." |
John Monaghan |
Tomato 3/4 |
Adam & Steve (2006) |
"[Chester] and the goofy Gets make a likable comedy team." |
John Monaghan |
Splat 1/4 |
Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights (2002) |
"If a lump of coal was once the symbol of a worthless holiday gift, it's now a ticket to Eight Crazy Nights." |
John Monaghan |
Tomato 4/4 |
Adaptation (2002) |
"It's the most original, exhilarating and hilarious movie of the year." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
Adrenaline Rush (2004) |
"Despite the lip service given to the nature of adrenaline and the risks we all take daily, the movie plays a lot like Jackass with a master's degree in science." |
John Monaghan |
Tomato |
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000) |
"This may be the funniest, most faithful adaptation of any classic television series ever." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 1/4 |
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D (2005) |
"It's not just that this fable about a picked-on kid whose dreams come true is an excruciatingly dumb kids' movie. It's that it returns us to the bad old days of 3D, when the images were rendered too murky to appreciate." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat |
The Affair of the Necklace (2001) |
"Little more than sexed-up soap opera in powdered wigs." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 3/4 |
After Innocence (2005) |
"After Innocence is, without making it overly obvious, anti-death penalty on the grounds that a just society cannot afford to make any mistakes that we cannot attempt to rectify." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
After the Sunset (2004) |
"After the Sunset promises Hitchcock-style sophistication then delivers Heist Movies for Dummies instead." |
John Monaghan |
Tomato 3/4 |
After The Wedding (2007) |
"Mikkelsen, Lassgard, Knudsen and Christensen seem to burrow into the deepest parts of their hearts and souls to turn the stuff of soap opera into a search for the real self." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
Against the Ropes (2003) |
"While Ryan's performance has the proper blend of confidence and cleavage, the movie succeeds only in producing more fight flick cliches than a Rocky movie marathon." |
John Monaghan |
Splat 2/4 |
Agent Cody Banks (2003) |
"So slick and preprogrammed that even its preteen audience may dismiss it as formula." |
John Monaghan |
Splat 1/4 |
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) |
"Director Kevin Allen offers a lot more gadgets in Cody 2, but surprisingly little in the way of memorable action." |
John Monaghan |
Splat 2/4 |
Air Guitar Nation (2007) |
"Sure, there is an infectious goofiness in watching a grown man in a red robe and Hello Kitty breastplate rock out on an imaginary ax. But the gag is spread pretty thin." |
John Monaghan |
Splat 2/4 |
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) |
"Akeelah and the Bee is not short on inspiration, emotion and uplift, but would go down better without all the refined sugar." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
The Alamo (2004) |
"An ambitious mix of history lesson, politically correct speculation, character sketches of American icons and pretty scenery, but it winds up without much of a point of view." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 1/4 |
Alex and Emma (2003) |
"You'll leave Alex and Emma feeling as if you've spent a couple of decades interned in a gulag." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
Alexander (2004) |
"Like its subject, Stone's Alexander travels on gut instinct and ego, but, unlike him, it seems to have little notion of exactly what it wants to conquer." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alfie (2004) |
"What the new Alfie turns out be all about is Jude Law, perfectly cast in the role played by Caine." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato |
Ali (2001) |
"Intelligent, exquisitely acted though ultimately unengaging." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
Alien vs. Predator (2004) |
"Paul Simon and Bob Dylan. Elton John and Billy Joel. Alien vs. Predator is just another contrived combination of two former chartbusters who perform their greatest hits before coming together for a duet at the end." |
John Monaghan |
Tomato 4/4 |
Alien: The Director's Cut (2003) |
"Turns out not to be one of those movies that improves in the memory, but actually is better than you remember, mostly because it puts its multitude of imitators to shame." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 3/4 |
Aliens of the Deep (2005) |
"Visually, this is another leap for 3D and robotic cameras." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
All About the Benjamins (2002) |
"Violent, vulgar and forgettably entertaining." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
All About You (2001) |
"It deals with complex emotional issues on only the most superficial level." |
John Monaghan |
Splat |
All Over the Guy (2001) |
"It is not a surprise to learn that Bucatinsky is developing a sitcom based on this film, because it plays like an overly long pilot." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
All The King's Men (2006) |
"All the King's Men is obviously a movie that has been so rejiggered and downsized, in length and intelligence, that its guiding principles have been sacrificed to the marketplace -- a fate not unlike that of its blustery antihero." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 3/4 |
All the Real Girls (2003) |
"It's a beautifully realized and assured work packed with the kind of raw emotions that rarely make it to the screen." |
John Monaghan |
Splat 1/4 |
Alone in the Dark (2005) |
"It's tempting to call Alone in the Dark one of those movies so bad that it's almost good. But that might send the wrong signal to Hollywood." |
John Monaghan |
Splat |
Along Came a Spider (2001) |
"Wears the one-size-fits-all jumpsuit of a hundred forgettable crime capers." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
Along Came Polly (2004) |
"Though everything in Polly happens exactly as expected, none of it is remotely believable." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"While Alpha Dog is a cautionary tale, it too often revels in its own bad-boy attitude." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) |
"Young viewers will enjoy the slapstick, while parents will relate to Lee's amiable frustration as the trio's surrogate dad." |
John Monaghan |
Tomato 3/4 |
Amazing Grace (2007) |
"Director Michael Apted has turned out a movie that might be best described as faithful, both in its attention to accuracy and in its acknowledgement of the role faith played in righting one of the great social wrongs." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato |
Amelie (2001) |
"Do not be surprised to see Amelie pull a Crouching Tiger and be nominated as both best foreign film and best film." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 3/4 |
Amen (2003) |
"Costa-Gavras deserves credit for staying the course; in a time when most European film directors are wringing their hands, he's still pointing fingers." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 1/4 |
America's Heart and Soul (2004) |
"Essentially a feature-length TV commercial featuring glossy images of people at work and at play." |
John Monaghan |
Splat |
America's Sweethearts (2001) |
"It has the misfortune of being both too inside for outsiders and too unlikely for those in the know." |
Terry Lawson |
Splat 2/4 |
American Chai (2002) |
"[It's] difficult to get beyond the overall blandness of American Chai, despite its likable performances and refreshingly naive point of view." |
John Monaghan |
Splat 1/4 |
American Dreamz (2006) |
"American Dreamz is as forgettable and lacking in insight as the great majority of dreams that trespass on our subconscious." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 3/4 |
American Gangster (2007) |
"You can safely watch it without feeling guilty, or indicted." |
Terry Lawson |
Tomato 3/4 |
American Hardcore (2006) |
"American Hardcore gets what most music lovers could not at the time: Sometimes, that noise in your head and that anger in your heart just has to get out, and there's always a guitar around somewhere." |
Terry Lawson |
RSS Feeds