Baadasssss! (2004)

"A jolting, lively film."

Baby Boy (2001)

"Baby Boy is a bold movie, in terms of its ideas and style."

Babylon A.D. (2008)

"It will provide a fix of mindless violence, but that's about it."

Bad Company (2002)

"The movie is a lot like Michael Jackson looking at one of his current albums: It's no thriller."

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)

"The script has some scuzzy, jokey appeal, and I like it that instead of trying to hide them, Herzog tosses the movie's ridiculous coincidences right in our faces as if daring us to duck."

Bad Santa (2003)

"There are a few rough patches along the way, but how could the real Santa disapprove of a film that finds a way to take somebody out of the 'naughty' column and put him in 'nice'?"

Bait (2000)

"[Fuqua's] pacing is slack, so there's no suspense, and he can't get the story in gear because he gives important details and minor ones exactly the same weight."

Ballast (2008)

"A mildly subversive storyline is presented in the most inoffensive way possible."

Balls of Fury (2007)

"There are laughs in Balls, but not nearly enough of them."

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2005)

"Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress won't blow you away with its originality, but I doubt if this sort of movie has ever been as pretty and delicate."

Bamboozled (2000)

"Large chunks of the film are unnecessary."

Bandits (2001)

"Bandits might have been better if its stars were part of the kind of screwball ensemble you used to see in '30s and '40s comedies, or if supercool Willis would loosen the heck up."

Bang Rajan (2004)

"The acting is facial-expressions- visible-from- 100-feet overdone and the choppy editing makes for awkward storytelling. However, the battle scenes, which make up at least half the movie, are killer."

The Bank Job (2008)

"The falling-apart of this caper is much odder and more intriguing than the setting-up, but by the time The Bank Job gets there, it has already fallen apart."

Barbershop (2002)

"Why can't we all get along? Barbershop says, respectfully, that we can."

Barnyard: The Original Party Animals (2006)

"Other than confusing children, it's hard to know what the inane, tedious, mean-spirited Barnyard is trying to do."

Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

"It's the sort of movie some people call a guilty pleasure, although I don't see any reason to feel guilty about a movie that is so much fun."

Battle for Terra (2009)

"What it lacks visually, Battle for Terra makes up for with fine voice acting, a lovely score and solid story-telling."

Battle of Algiers (1966)

"Still powerful and upsetting because of its unpolished immediacy ... and because the movie declines to judge the terrorists' actions."

The Baxter (2005)

"The movie is like an extremely faithful cover version of a song you like -- it adds nothing new, so what's the point?"

Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2005)

"Unlike many music documentaries, this is not a drab, talking-heads affair but a portrait assembled from evocative images and songs."

The Beaches of Agnes (2009)

"By the end of Beaches of Agnes, we've learned an incredible amount about how this fascinating woman mines her own life for her art."

The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005)

"Director Jacques Audiard makes us feel exactly what his characters feel, and, for Thomas, that often has to do with how he responds to music."

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

"Darned if Howard doesn't make [Nash] as neat and warm as a tea cozy."

Beauty in Trouble (2008)

"Characters burst out laughing in the middle of sadness or decide to have sex in the middle of a fight, and somehow, it all makes sense."