Tomato B+ |
Baadasssss! (2004) |
"Compelling both as a chronicle of guerrilla filmmaking and as a son's movie about his father, it presents a clear-eyed, warts-and-all view of artistic obsession." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B+ |
Babel (2006) |
"There are passages in all of his films -- in Babel they include a wedding in Mexico, a car chase in the desert, and a night at a Tokyo disco -- that absolutely bristle with inspired energy and dazzling photography, sound and editing." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Baby Boy (2001) |
"Singleton just may be challenging us to laugh at the film or with it and then feel extremely uneasy for doing so. If so, that's admirable; if not, he's made a very strange soap opera." |
Kim Morgan |
Splat C |
Baby Mama (2008) |
"It's not horrible, but it's droopy, and it left me craving 30 Rock, with its vastly superior skewering of the privileged and self-involved. Fey should stick to writing her own material." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato |
Bad Boys II (2003) |
"A fun, if blood- and sun-soaked, ride." |
Kim Morgan |
Splat |
Bad Company (2002) |
"Tediously paced, poorly written and acted, Bad Company is no fun." |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato |
Bad Education (2004) |
"Almodovar's 81/2 or Day for Night, a lens through which all of his movies appear as a seamless whole. It's not the story of his actual life but, more excitingly, the deft, witty, bittersweet story of the life of his art." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
Bad News Bears (2005) |
"It's the screenwriting equivalent of those fat substitutes used by snack food manufacturers: the finished product looks all right but the taste is off, and the aftereffects are embarrassing and uncomfortable." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B+ |
Bad Santa (2003) |
"It's a film for those people -- and they are legion -- who recoil in horror from the very notion of Christmas cheer." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B+ |
Baghead (2008) |
"Baghead doesn't strike with the same impact of Puffy Chair, but it does provide proof that the Duplasses are as talented and unpredictable as they are clever and resourceful." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Bait (2000) |
"It's a genial and watchable film, enlivened by restless direction and a script that pokes around into some surprisingly sober themes." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B |
Ballast (2008) |
"The overall thrust of the story -- that downtrodden folks in desperate circumstances have the capacity for goodness -- is one too rarely seen." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat |
Ballerina (2008) |
"While the mysterious air of the ballerina is preserved, a chance to reveal the real people behind the iconic, ethereal image is squandered." |
Stan Hall |
Splat C+ |
Balls of Fury (2007) |
"The shtick grows a bit repetitive, so by the end of the story you may be checking the time rather than rooting for Randy." |
Lisa Rose |
Tomato B- |
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2005) |
"A number of memorable set pieces illuminate the world around this subdued romantic triangle." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato |
Band of Outsiders (1964) |
"We both intellectualize and feel Godard's expertise, conscious that we are watching a movie and sad for the drabness of reality." |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato B+ |
The Band's Visit (2007) |
"Taking a premise that could give rise to either slapstick or hand-wringing, [director Kolirin] produces a charming little film built of bits of music, romance, cultural conflict and the simple human need to connect." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Bandits (2001) |
"A handsome film that mixes goofy romance, contrived storytelling, bouncy buddy patter and the sorts of pleasantly pointless visual tableaux and comic head-butts that have become the signature of its director, Barry Levinson." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
The Banger Sisters (2002) |
"A flimsy film that's too clean and corn pone to be anything near rock 'n' roll." |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato |
Bangkok Dangerous (2001) |
"It's so simple it seems silly, but the Pangs absolutely kick the thing out with exquisite photography, editing and music." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B- |
The Bank Job (2008) |
"In a marketplace that tends toward cranked-up action thrills, it's just nice to watch a level-headed crime movie aimed at actual grown-ups." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato |
Baran (2002) |
"Baran isn't the most transporting or gripping film from Iran -- or, indeed, by its director -- but it's a worthy companion to the many fine, focused films emerging from that most surprising of nations." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
The Barbarian Invasions (2003) |
"A lively, funny, touching film." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C+ |
Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004) |
"A sequel that sacrifices the chat for storytelling -- following exactly the wrong vein of raw materials." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Basic (2003) |
"Although mired in the flashback technique and bumbling at times, Basic essentially is a fun movie, surprise ending and all." |
Kim Morgan |
Splat C- |
Basic Instinct 2 (2006) |
"Other than its deliriously trashy intro and a loopy twist ending that questions reality itself, Basic Instinct 2 is way too restrained in every sense." |
Mike Russell |
Tomato |
Batman Begins (2005) |
"A new vision of the hero and a thoroughly enjoyable film." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C+ |
Battle for Terra (2009) |
"A tiresome, didactic and, once the novelty of the graphics has worn off, charmless film." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Battle of Algiers (1966) |
"Its relevance to world events is just as clear today, more so, it seems, with each passing day." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat |
Battlefield Earth (2000) |
"Even if you were to classify it as a guilty pleasure, it would be the kind of sullying guilt that makes people leap from heights." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
The Baxter (2005) |
"The Baxter is so ineptly conceived, staged, written and played that you suspect it's part of a psychology experiment to see if people will laugh at anything." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B- |
Be Cool (2005) |
"The cast is like having comic EMTs on hand to revive things. They rescue Gray and, by and large, the picture." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B+ |
Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2005) |
"Van Zandt comes across as humble, witty, empathetic, sympathetic and very, very gifted." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
The Beach (2000) |
"An uneasy blend of tones and styles, a disappointing return to the spotlight by its star and another jumbled effort by its director." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato A |
The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) |
"It would be hard to overstate just how electric Romain Duris is as Thomas." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato B |
The Beautiful Country (2005) |
"There's a lot to love about The Beautiful Country." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato A |
The Beauty Academy of Kabul (2006) |
"The teachers have moxie. The students have courage. Mermin's warm, funny, beautiful and deeply humane documentary certainly honors the latter." |
Mike Russell |
Tomato |
Beauty and the Beast (1946) |
"One of the enduringly magical works in world cinema." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B |
Beauty in Trouble (2008) |
"[A] well-observed tale, one with no heroes or villains, just people trying to make something of the situations in which they find themselves." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat C |
Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) |
"It's not that the film is a family classic; far from it. But the simple, heartwarming story of a girl and her dog, based on the popular book by Kate DiCamillo, should satisfy its 8- to 12-year-old target demographic." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B+ |
Becket (1964) |
"O'Toole just keeps turning up the volume, and it's thrilling to watch." |
Mike Russell |
Tomato B- |
Becoming Jane (2007) |
"[McAvoy is] perfectly fine as the prickly metropolitan exiled to the provinces after a dust-up at a London law school." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat |
Bedazzled (2000) |
"Sappy, cliched and so annoying that it becomes grating, the film relies on one gag after another that sometimes entertain, but usually flail." |
Kim Morgan |
Splat C+ |
Bee Movie (2007) |
"The film is undistinguished visually. Worse, it isn't especially funny." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B+ |
Bee Season (2005) |
"Sometimes a movie can defy rational logic, yet still make sense emotionally in a way that pulls you through." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Beerfest (2006) |
"It's fun-dumb and definitely not everyone's cup of tea -- I don't want to oversell it -- but Broken Lizard keeps it interesting by refusing to color inside the lines, creating their own silly little universe." |
Mike Russell |
Tomato A |
Before Sunset (2004) |
"Says more about the mystery of love and attachment than any overblown Hollywood romance that comes to mind." |
Karen Karbo |
Tomato A- |
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) |
"Emotionally brutal, ferociously acted, crafted with unflagging expertise and relentlessly locked in its vision of human darkness, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is as grim and despairing as any tragedy by Sophocles or Shakespeare." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Behind Enemy Lines (2001) |
"[Wilson's] not 100 percent Dignan, but he's close enough that those who cherish the Dignan character will be enchanted." |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato |
Beijing Bicycle (2002) |
"The actors are so terrific at conveying their young angst, we do indeed feel for them." |
Kim Morgan |
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