Tomato B |
Adam (2009) |
"When it's not lapsing into disease-of-the-week prose, Adam presents a credible account of the challenges inherent in this misunderstood and often-ridiculed condition." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat C+ |
Adoration (2009) |
"Once all the pieces of the story are assembled, the whole thing turns out to be not that big of a deal." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B |
Adventureland (2009) |
"The laughs in Adventureland aren't as outlandish as those in Superbad, but they seem more based in experience and truth." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C- |
Alien Trespass (2009) |
"One gets the sinking feeling as Alien Trespass drags on that [director] Goodwin thought he could build a whole movie out of a few formal gags about bad editing." |
Mike Russell |
Splat D |
Amelia (2009) |
"Better luck trying to find out what truly happened to the real Earhart than trying to diagnose all that's wrong with this hapless film." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
America Betrayed (2009) |
"After seeing this, one can't help wondering about the wisdom of spending billions on infrastructure renewal if these are the people who will be entrusted with it." |
Stan Hall |
Tomato A |
An Education (2009) |
"It’s truly a magnificent coming-out." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"At once overwrought and dull, clumsily staged and veering too often, without a hint of humor or irony, into parodic excesses and simplicities." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato A- |
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009) |
"You may not care a lick for the music that Anvil plays (I don't), but you'll be captivated, entertained and even ennobled by this utterly engaging portrait of their struggle." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B- |
Astro Boy (2009) |
"It's not every kids movie that features the death --nay, vaporization! -- of its protagonist in the first reel, but Astro Boy somehow manages this trick without resulting in massive amounts of juvenile emotional trauma." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B |
At the Edge of the World (2009) |
"A valuable record of folks who put their lives on the line to make sure there are still whales left to save." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B+ |
Avatar (2009) |
"The relatively small truth that it has some embarrassing moments of dialogue and a simple plot and superficial resemblances to other movies doesn’t change the fact that it blasts open the possibilities of the cinema as few films ever have." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B+ |
Away We Go (2009) |
"Away We Go is offbeat enough to feel like a breakthrough indie but familiar and warm enough to serve as a thinking person's romantic comedy." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C |
American Teen (2008) |
"Its subjects blandly keep your attention in almost the exact same way that reality-show contestants keep your attention." |
M.E. Russell |
Splat |
Australia (2008) |
"Yes, you can enjoy bits and pieces along the way, more than a few, even. At the end of this journey, though, you feel more exhaustion and relief than catharsis or satisfaction." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B+ |
The Auteur (2008) |
"It's heart it's a goofy, smutty comedy about sex and the film industry, two of the most humorous topics out there." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato |
Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story (2007) |
"Abduction is a skillful interweaving of emotional, personal stories with the thicker strands of history, and a reminder that in reality such tales rarely have a tidy end." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B |
Across the Universe (2007) |
"The wide-eyed, openhearted sincerity of the thing never slackens, and neither does its spirit of invention." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato A- |
After The Wedding (2007) |
"A serious adult drama that, in the wrong hands, would have certainly been a cloying mess. Instead, it's a riveting character study/soap opera." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat B- |
Air Guitar Nation (2007) |
"There are occasional moments of wisdom, drama and emotion, but we never quite forget the blunt confession of one of the founders of the world championship, who admits that the whole thing began as a joke. Psst, buddy: it still is." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
Alone With Her (2007) |
"The moral of the story: If you meet someone whose tastes mirror your own to a scary degree, then by all means, be scared." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat C+ |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"It's got skill and craft and some good acting to recommend it. And it's based on a true story. But its soulless posturing and jaded cynicism are far more repellant than cool." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat |
The Amateurs (2007) |
"All this star power goes for naught in Traeger's film, which tries to blend bucolic sweetness with juvenile let's-make-a-porno jokes." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato |
Angel-A (2007) |
"It's not flashy or bold, and it might not do much for cinephiles who prefer inveterate risk-taking, but it is enjoyable as a largely sentiment-free meditation on friendship and personal growth." |
Stan Hall |
Tomato B+ |
Angels in the Dust (2007) |
"Angels in the Dust shows that compassion is a form of bravery." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat C- |
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatres (2007) |
"It gives me no pleasure to report that Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters is fairly excruciating to sit through -- because I'm writing this as a fan of the TV series that spawned the movie." |
M.E. Russell |
Splat B- |
The Astronaut Farmer (2007) |
"It's something of a bore, and it's neither crackpot enough to satisfy your inner film geek nor plausible enough to elicit empathy. Billy Bob provides a wonderfully stoic presence, but he can't carry a whole rocket on his back." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B |
Atonement (2007) |
"Atonement is a handsome film, an earnest film, a film with taste in music and photography and a real sense of intelligence. But too often it feels like an exercise." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato |
August Evening (2007) |
"Jaime and Lupe are vividly realized, sympathetic characters." |
Stan Hall |
Splat C |
August Rush (2007) |
"The filmmakers are so deadly earnest about the power of music and love and all that stuff, you just twiddle your thumbs waiting for the inevitable." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato B+ |
Avenue Montaigne (2007) |
"While this sort of thing can easily devolve into bourgeois comfort food, Thompson, a veteran of the genre, knows how to serve it up just about right." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B |
Away From Her (2007) |
"It's a fine and big-hearted debut, but it falls short in ways that make me unable to repay its generosity." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B |
A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
"Linklater and Dick at their best are about as good as it gets. If their fusion didn't, finally, create gold, riches are still to be found in it." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B+ |
Accepted (2006) |
"Accepted feels a little like a Montessori Real Genius. It's one of the few genuinely funny comedies in a dismal movie summer." |
Mike Russell |
Splat |
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) |
"... it should fit quite snugly next to the inoffensive music CDs in the coffee chain's countertop racks." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat C- |
Al Franken: God Spoke (2006) |
"I haven't seen this much smug, awkward laughter and bathos since, well, Man of the Year." |
Mike Russell |
Splat C |
All The King's Men (2006) |
"Stilted, inert and unpersuasive, Zaillian's film lacks the heat, poetry and resonance that might make its story of political corruption and personal insufficiency grab hold of a modern audience." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B |
America: Freedom To Fascism (2006) |
"If it's true, we're all due a monumental refund; if not, Russo and his cohorts may want to start looking for write-offs." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B+ |
American Cannibal - The Documentary (2006) |
"If there's one thing to be learned from American Cannibal, it's this: Pursuing a career in the TV industry is only for those with a superhuman tolerance for sleazy opportunism." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat C |
American Dreamz (2006) |
"When spoofs of bad singing and songwriting are the sharpest arrows in your quiver, and your politics are diluted until they hit about as hard as someone sticking their tongue out, your satire has a problem." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato B- |
American Hardcore (2006) |
"It's a great subject for a documentary, and director Paul Rachman does a good job of rounding up period footage and contemporary interviews. But for all its noise, his film is weirdly flabby." |
Shawn Levy |
Tomato B- |
American Scary (2006) |
"...as an ADD overview of a deliriously trashy TV subgenre, this is a great start." |
M.E. Russell |
Tomato B |
Apocalypto (2006) |
"If you choose out of hand to miss it, which is your right, you'll be missing something." |
Shawn Levy |
Splat C+ |
Aquamarine (2006) |
"This is a totally predictable exercise if you're not in the target market." |
Mike Russell |
Tomato B |
Aristide and the Endless Revolution (2006) |
"Despite his clear sympathies, Rossier makes some effort to address allegations by his opponents of corruption and even political murder by Aristide's forces." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat C+ |
Art School Confidential (2006) |
"The movie, as a whole, doesn't hang together." |
Mike Russell |
Splat C+ |
ATL (2006) |
"Ultimately, ATL is the same old teenager angst in a mildly novel package." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato A- |
The Aura (2006) |
"A haunting character-study-cum-crime thriller that marks the maturation of a significant filmmaking talent." |
Marc Mohan |
Tomato B |
Azur and Asmar - The Princes' Quest (2006) |
"The backdrops and settings are ornate and stunningly, vividly colored, while the people are depicted with a two-dimensionality like that of a historical tapestry." |
Marc Mohan |
Splat C- |
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D (2005) |
"All the goodwill in the world won't rescue this mess. I suspect any kid who's even half media savvy will be put off as well." |
Shawn Levy |
RSS Feeds