Tomato 3/4 |
Baadasssss! (2004) |
"A meta-cool history lesson and homage." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Babel (2006) |
"...A powerful movie that should win all the year's ensemble acting awards." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/5 |
Baby Mama (2008) |
"In a pleasing contrast to Fey's sharpness, Poehler keeps her performance unpredictable and fuzzy. In this just-add-water comedy, a very funny movie star is born." |
Joe Neumaier |
Splat 1/5 |
Babylon A.D. (2008) |
"An abysmal French thriller in which everyone -- Diesel included -- speaks as if they've learned their lines phonetically." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 2/4 |
The Babysitters (2008) |
"It reads like a Cinemax special event, and as good as Leguizamo and Waterston (daughter of Sam) are, the skeevy, fantasy-fulfillment plot that drives David Ross' movie is uncomfortably risky business." |
Joe Neumaier |
Tomato 3/4 |
Backstage (2006) |
"Director Emmanuelle Bercot's film offers a fascinating account of how a vulnerable star might mistake fan worship for something real." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Bad Boys II (2003) |
"A brutal, 2 1/2-hour display of production overkill." |
Jami Bernard |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Bad Education (2004) |
"Gloriously feverish ode to what drives us to do things great and terrible." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Bad Guy (2001) |
"Kim Ki-duk does a bizarre riff on the twisted macho ethos of abusing women until they learn to love you." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 1/5 |
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) |
"The film is an exasperating bore." |
Joe Neumaier |
Tomato 3/4 |
Bad News Bears (2005) |
"As it sparks to life, spewing outrageous jokes at the expense of every race, creed, infirmity and sensibility, viewers with G-rated hearts will run screaming, while the other screams in the theater will be those of laughter." |
Jami Bernard |
Tomato 3/4 |
Bad Santa (2003) |
"Thornton and Cox are wickedly funny, and Bernie Mac has some good moments as the cynical mall detective on their trail." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Badland (2007) |
"Possibly the worst idea for a movie this century." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/5 |
Baghead (2008) |
"While the acting is uneven and the focus wavers, the Duplasses take several well-aimed potshots at their bloated industry." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The Ballad of Greenwich Village (2005) |
"If you've ever harbored a secret wish to jump on one of those Big Apple buses or join a local walking tour, you'll find what you're looking for here." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005) |
"There is something garish about watching a father and daughter struggle with the snake of incest in their ill-advised Garden of Eden." |
Jami Bernard |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Ballets Russes (2005) |
"Blessed with a surfeit of archival footage and dozens of marvelous, first-person stories, filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine have created a rich, complex portrait of the legendary Russian Ballet." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 1/4 |
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002) |
"Between explosions there is enough room left for only minimal character development." |
Jami Bernard |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Balls of Fury (2007) |
"Lennon, Garant and Fogler are masters of the prolonged punch line, extending a joke so far that it hits funny, whizzes into the stands, then bounces back. The same, come to think of it, could be said for their movie." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2005) |
"It's a fanciful tale, but the message is sweet -- that the higher arts speak a universal language that transcends politics and ignorance." |
Jami Bernard |
Tomato 3/4 |
Bamako (2006) |
"Heated speeches about the International Monetary Fund, debt relief and global responsibility may not sound like your idea of Friday-night entertainment, but [director] Sissako makes a strong case." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Bandslam (2009) |
"Yes, the plot is totally predictable. But the smart script consistently tweaks the formula, allowing director/cowriter Graff to pull off the near-impossible: making a movie that neither sells out nor talks down to teens." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Bang Rajan (2004) |
"While co-writer/director Tanit Jitnukul's vision is unapologetically graphic and slightly marred by an artistic awkwardness, this is a rare and worthwhile glimpse into another nation's historical legend." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 1/5 |
Bangkok Dangerous (2008) |
"[Bangkok Dangerous] adds to the sad realization that this once-vibrant and witty actor is completely controlled now by his inner teenager." |
Joe Neumaier |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Barbarian Invasions (2003) |
"A deeply felt celebration of the life force." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 2/4 |
Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004) |
"There's no question Eddie was the chief asset of the first film, and sequels are required by law to exploit the original's strengths. But the filmmakers have misread Eddie's appeal." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (2006) |
"Too mature for little kids and much too corny for older siblings and chaperones, Barnyard probably should have been put out to pasture long before it made it to the multiplex." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Bart Got a Room (2009) |
"Writer/director Brian Hecker has an impressive grasp on his material, from the swinging soundtrack to the old-school setting." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Basic (2003) |
"You can fall asleep in the first reel, wake up at the end, and know as much as anyone else." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Basic Instinct 2 (2006) |
"As with the first film, BI2 abounds with red herrings and misdirection, and comes up with an equally ambiguous Did she or didn't she? ending. But there are problems here beyond its staleness." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
Batman Begins (2005) |
"The earlier Batman movies were charades. With Bale, it's a biopic, filled with nuance, emotion and contradictions." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Battle in Heaven (2006) |
"Ambitious, challenging and exceedingly frustrating." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 1/4 |
Battle in Seattle (2008) |
"It's like a class play by the Students for a Democratic Society." |
Joe Neumaier |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003) |
"Surprisingly sweet and smart." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
- |
Battlefield Earth (2000) |
"Friedman Blames Scientologists for Firing" |
|
Splat 2.5/4 |
The Baxter (2005) |
"There are enough laughs in it if you're willing to settle." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 2/4 |
Be Cool (2005) |
"The book's various thugs, pistol-waving gangstas and Russian mafia are so cartoonishly portrayed they're about as scary as members of the Wile E. Coyote Fan Club." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2005) |
"It's Van Zandt's family that provides the film's most memorable moments, from the second wife who declared life with him 'a bummer' to the children still trying to reconcile the great artist with the very mortal man." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat |
The Beach (2000) |
"The real downfall of the movie is that there's only so much meaningful interplay you can get out of a beachful of slackers and some tanning oil." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 2/4 |
The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) |
"Like most adaptations, Jacques Audiard's Parisian update of James Toback's brilliant 1978 Fingers will have fans of the original wishing it had been left alone." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato |
Beautiful Boxer (2005) |
"Though a bit long and occasionally awkward, this drama ultimately does justice to its inspiration." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Beautiful City (2006) |
"Here's another deeply resonant little movie from Iran, featuring more polished (yet still naturalistic) acting than usually seen in U.S. productions." |
Jami Bernard |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The Beautiful Country (2005) |
"A subtle yet powerful movie about a journey outward and inward." |
Jami Bernard |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Beauty Academy of Kabul (2006) |
"Mermin vividly explores both the beauty within its walls and the dangers outside." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 2/4 |
Beauty Remains (2007) |
"Overwritten dialogue is matched by melodramatic performances." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Beauty Shop (2005) |
"All jokes and plot points are telegraphed. You couldn't miss the clues even if your head was in the sink." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 2/4 |
Because I Said So (2007) |
"As a member of their generation, and one who considered them among the best actresses of Hollywood's most probing era, I am both cheered and alarmed by the recent spectacles Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon and Diane Keaton have made of themselves." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 2/4 |
Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) |
"Has some wan jokes, incongruous slapstick and the occasional embarrassment, which may keep it from being as popular as the Newberry Award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Becoming Jane (2007) |
"We can't quite shake the feeling we've seen this all done before, and better." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 2/5 |
Bedtime Stories (2008) |
"Bedtime Stories champions imagination while having too little originality itself." |
Joe Neumaier |
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