Tomato B+ |
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2009) |
"What distinguishes it from the slasher flock, however, isn't its kills, but its smarts: the extent to which it taps into the high school psyche and recontextualizes its usual sex-alcohol-and-drugs temptations." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B |
American Teen (2008) |
"Enormously entertaining storytelling but highly problematic documentary filmmaking." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B- |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"The movie is sloppy and not very good, but certain aspects have stubbornly stuck: what it gets right, it gets right, and all credit where it's due." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C- |
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) |
"By far the funniest thing about this painful, if not quite insufferable, family comedy from Fox is its bold stance against merchandising and tie-in marketing." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B |
American Gangster (2007) |
"Its politics could have muddled and distracted, but instead the presence of a point of view staved off biopic boredom." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B+ |
The Astronaut Farmer (2007) |
"What the Polish Brothers have done here is transplant the otherworldly feel and overt allegory of Northfork into a story that's as familiar as that film's was odd and inscrutable. The result is elegiac, gorgeous, and utterly enchanting." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B+ |
Atonement (2007) |
"Positively demands a second viewing." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat D+ |
August Rush (2007) |
"Far from the year's worst film, but it might be the year's biggest debacle -- it's hugely, ostentatiously bad." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B |
A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
"If the details of the plot wind up fuzzy and nearly irrelevant, Dick and Linklater's paranoiac vision remains in the memory." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C- |
Accepted (2006) |
"Accepted has the ideas and the energy to be a college classic in the vein of Animal House and Old School, but it doesn't have the comic juice." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
American Dreamz (2006) |
"I doubt that American Dreamz is much smarter than what it's satirizing. It hasn't earned the right to scorn." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B- |
Annapolis (2006) |
"Where inspiration fails it, workmanlike competence gets it though." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B |
The Ant Bully (2006) |
"Shorter than Cars, a little funnier, a little uglier, a little better." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
Art School Confidential (2006) |
"Lashes out at straw men." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat D |
Are We There Yet? (2005) |
"The two things I learned from Are We There Yet? are: a) all bachelors are depressed and lonely, and b) friendship means nothing unless there is sex at the end of the tunnel." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B- |
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) |
"For what it is, it works well enough -- as a thriller and suspense machine, at least, it is serviceable, and technically proficient." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato A |
Asylum (2005) |
"Terrifically entertaining and powerful." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
The Alamo (2004) |
"I was going to say something clever here, like 'forget The Alamo,' but then I realized that wasn't clever at all. Whoops. Still, the point stands." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat D |
Alexander (2004) |
"It is such a majestic disaster, that I have a bizarre sort of affection for it, like for a weirdly deformed child, maybe." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C+ |
Along Came Polly (2004) |
"The fringes are full of brilliant digressions and hilarious supporting turns, but the central story is a black hole." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat D+ |
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid (2004) |
"Does not belong at a theater near you." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C+ |
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) |
"Gags aren't allowed to develop; the characters are shuffled from location to location and from conflict to conflict without building momentum." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat D+ |
Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera (2004) |
"Phantom of the Opera does not look good, it does not sound good, and it is an astonishing bore." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
Around the Bend (2004) |
"We could use more small character dramas, but hopefully ones with real characters." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat D+ |
Around the World in 80 Days (2004) |
"A waste of time." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B+ |
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) |
"A meticulous, unsettling character study that is all the stronger for its verisimilitude." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato A- |
The Aviator (2004) |
"The Aviator takes what is known about Howard Hughes, transforms it, confounds it, makes it into cinema and art. It transcends history." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
Against the Ropes (2003) |
"Obvious, irritating boxing girl power movie." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C+ |
Alex and Emma (2003) |
"A gimmick plus a formula." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B |
All the Real Girls (2003) |
"I could see its many virtues and couldn't find any particular flaws, and yet I never connected with it" |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B+ |
American Splendor (2003) |
"So many biopics tell us what we already know, or can guess from the trailer. American Splendor is no heartbreaker and no masterpiece, but it's different." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B |
American Wedding (2003) |
"the good-natured sweetness with which the movie approaches its characters won me over despite the contrived, desperate construction of its gags." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
And Now Ladies and Gentlemen (2003) |
"Oh my, it's a bit of a mess, isn't it." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B |
Anything Else (2003) |
"If you had any lingering doubts that Woody Allen is a sinister man bent on world domination, this should whisk them away." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C- |
Abandon (2002) |
"I don't see why a movie was made out of so banal a story, or why Gaghan works in such a portentious style." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B |
About a Boy (2002) |
"The movie is touching because it's not to sweet, and funny because it doesn't try too hard." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C+ |
About Schmidt (2002) |
"Payne has assembled a collection of brilliant elements here, but not all of them belong in the same movie." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat D+ |
Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights (2002) |
"An unfortunate return to form for Adam Sandler" |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B+ |
Adaptation (2002) |
"The dynamo of Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman can still shock and "wow" us into submission." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
Aiki (2002) |
"Silly wish-fulfillment fairy tale not too far above Like Mike in the cinematic hierarchy." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B |
Analyze That (2002) |
"An interesting animal: a sequel that's a successful rehash of its predecessor." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
Antwone Fisher (2002) |
"A dull, straight-forward autobiopic, devoid of nuance, idiosyncrasy and character." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
Ararat (2002) |
"A theoretically admirable but infuriating attempt to educate." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B+ |
Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) |
"Austin Powers is an asset to American cinema." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
Auto Focus (2002) |
"A facile, repetitive, tedious movie." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato A |
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) |
"Bizarre, upsetting, wonderful." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
Ali (2001) |
"Long, unfocused and too often plagued by the curse of the biopic." |
Eugene Novikov |
Tomato B- |
Along Came a Spider (2001) |
"The film is never less than a guilty pleasure, but it leaves you unsatisfied and hungry for closure." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
Amelie (2001) |
"It's not every day that you see a film so enamored with its own quirkiness." |
Eugene Novikov |
Splat C |
America's Sweethearts (2001) |
"What happens when satire gets lazy." |
Eugene Novikov |
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