Splat |
Cabin Fever (2003) |
"It's so by-the-numbers and clumsy that it will only appeal to that little sect that's managed to wear out their Evil Dead, Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street DVDs." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato A- |
Caché (2005) |
"One of the most vital and strangely gripping films in recent years, a thriller more opaque, involving and realistic than just about anything that Hollywood is capable of." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
The Cake Eaters (2009) |
"The story is so wispy that it feels only half-written; basically, nothing much happens here. Not a total washout, but it seems more like a TV movie." |
Stan Hall |
Splat |
Calendar Girls (2003) |
"A classic example of a feature-length film that has just enough material in it for an appealing trailer." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Callas Forever (2004) |
"Justifies its dismissal of factual truth in favor of a deeper sort." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat |
Camp (2003) |
"So strained in its 'charm' and 'pluck' that you grow weary by minute 15, hoping that the teens whose lives it depicts will stop being so darn peppy or sweetly confused or irritatingly dramatic." |
Kim Morgan |
Splat C |
Candy (2006) |
"A dispiriting, predictable slog toward either (a) redemption or (b) death." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat C- |
El Cantante (2007) |
"If you didn't know Hector Lavoe was a pioneering singer in New York's '70s and '80s salsa scene, it would be hard to glean it from El Cantante, a tepid biopic that relentlessly scratches the surface." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato B |
Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) |
"This is heartening, rousing stuff. But Moore has shilly-shallied and wandered for too long for it to have maximal impact." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato A |
Capote (2005) |
"An outstanding film, a film worthy, if you can imagine, of the book at its heart." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001) |
"Not flashy enough for Hollywood nor deep enough for an art film." |
Barry Johnson |
Tomato |
Capturing the Friedmans (2003) |
"This is an extraordinary film." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B |
Caramel (2008) |
"Caramel finds a big-hearted, Mira Nair-ish groove. The characters are gorgeous. And [director] Labaki gets terrific performances out of a largely nonprofessional cast." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato |
Carandiru (2004) |
"A searing expose of conditions in the Brazilian penal system." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B+ |
Cars (2006) |
"From the remarkable visuals, to the diverting vocal performances, to clever jokes about motor racing and the automotive lifestyle, vital, jaunty life pulses throughout Cars." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
Casa de los Babys (2003) |
"Though it should be longer, we're not especially unhappy that it isn't, for being around these women gets tedious." |
Kim Morgan |
Splat C |
Casanova (2005) |
"The film, written by committee, is a pastiche of Casanova's life and times more unreliable than the real fellow's notoriously self-serving memoirs." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B |
Casino Royale (2006) |
"See Casino Royale for a Bond you've never seen before, and then imagine him in a film two-thirds the size. Here's hoping the writers of the next Bond movie employ the same personal trainer that Craig did to keep the script tight and lean." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Cast Away (2000) |
"Daring and accomplished." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
The Cat's Meow (2002) |
"Swell when it purrs, when the three top stars are in full form, but it spits and hisses and screeches too often to take full hold." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B- |
Catch a Fire (2006) |
"Whatever you make of the film's politics, Luke makes a vivid impression in his most substantial role since Antwone Fisher, and Robbins resists the temptation to make the thinly written Vos a villainous caricature." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C- |
Catch and Release (2007) |
"Catch and Release is an unfunny, undramatic comedy-drama that asks us to care about lying idiots making implausible choices." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato |
Catch Me If You Can (2002) |
"With a cheeky leading man, a funny, mind-blowing story, a great feel for decor, wardrobe and music, a swell supporting cast and all the infectious energy you could hope for, it's the most charming and buoyant film Spielberg's ever made." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C- |
Catwoman (2004) |
"A dopey, confused production." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato |
Cecil B. Demented (2000) |
"Like others of its maker's works, it carries you over some very thin ice through sheer cheek, nerve and playfulness." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C- |
The Celestine Prophecy (2006) |
"So clumsily made on every level -- acting, dialogue, decor, lighting, editing, scoring -- that it would never have found its way into theaters if there weren't the name of a best-seller to slap on it." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
The Cell (2000) |
"It's something of an unforgettable experience." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
Cellular (2004) |
"The movie has more flawed logic, lame coincidences and plot holes than the average cell phone has ring tones." |
Karen Karbo |
Splat |
The Center of the World (2001) |
"Feels like a rehash of ideas already so stale in cinema that it feels dated and even hypocritical in its obvious assurance of being an 'art picture.'" |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato |
Chain Camera (2001) |
"Dick unearths some meaningful, disturbing and disarming material." |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato B |
Chalk (2007) |
"The movie has 'heart' in a way that doesn't feel cloying or dishonest. And the cast -- especially Janelle Schremmer -- just nails it." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato |
Chandni Chowk to China (2009) |
"After a while the film chills out just enough, getting by on the sheer force of its grandeur and good humor." |
Stan Hall |
Splat C |
Changeling (2008) |
"Eastwood and [screenwriter] Straczynski also give the story roughly 50 endings, and the director can be too melodramatic or on-the-nose." |
Mike Russell |
Splat |
Changing Lanes (2002) |
"Where Changing Lanes comes up short is the writing. A trio of scenarists are credited, and they can't pin down a tone or focus or moral for the story, even as they gamely steer it away from the predictable." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C |
Chapter 27 (2008) |
"If [director] Schaefer's intent was to provide some sort of insight into Chapman's character, some hint of explanation for this senseless tragedy, he fails, probably because there's none to be found beyond one lonely guy's addled brain chemistry." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato |
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) |
"It's not orthodox Dahl but it's pure Burton, and, as it's been such a very long time since moviegoers have been afforded that particular treat, it's entirely welcome." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato C+ |
Charlie Bartlett (2007) |
"Charlie Bartlett desperately wants to be the next link in a chain of smart, subversive, fun teen-rebellion movies from Ferris Bueller's Day Off to Juno. But it never develops its own identity enough to stake that claim." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B+ |
Charlie Wilson's War (2007) |
"For a great deal of its relatively brief running time, this is smashing entertainment." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Charlie's Angels (2000) |
"Glorious fun." |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato |
Charlotte Gray (2001) |
"An old-fashioned romantic adventure film strongly acted, ably directed and written with stolid sobriety." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Charlotte Sometimes (2002) |
"An erotic mystery of sorts, the film works because it's laconic rather than talky and its actors are all up for the material." |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato B+ |
Che (2008) |
"Leaving aside politics, it's quite an achievement in art." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C |
Cheri (2009) |
"Whereas Liaisons mixed cruelty, wit, sensuality and drama into a deliciously tart frappe, Cheri is pretty, tepid and dull, enlivened only intermittently by drolleries plucked whole from the Colette tales on which it is based." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
Cherish (2002) |
"A film that presents an interesting, even sexy premise then ruins itself with too many contrivances and goofy situations." |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato |
Cherry Blossoms (2009) |
"[A] tender, unhurried drama about dependence, impermanence and rebirth." |
Stan Hall |
Tomato |
Chi-hwa-seon (2002) |
"It's one of the best films of an artist's life you'll ever see." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Chicago (2002) |
"Chicago is sexy, smoky, cynical, hyper-kinetic and claustrophobic. It just grabs you by the lapels and never lets go." |
Kim Morgan |
Tomato B+ |
Chicago 10 (2008) |
"Morgen recaptures the unreal air of the whole chapter; you can imagine young audiences understanding, perhaps for the first time, what the fuss was about." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat 2/4 |
Chicken Little (2005) |
"The computerized animation hasn't got enough pop, the characters are vapid rather than nonsensical or silly, the musical numbers are awful, and the emotional situation of the plot is handled like a large piece of meat at the end of a hook." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Chicken Run (2000) |
"Chicken Run is a delight for kids and adults." |
Shawn Levy |
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