Splat 2.5/4 |
Macbeth (2007) |
"Grunge and slickness substitute for eeriness or any hint of psychological terror." |
Evan Henerson |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Machinist (2004) |
"Anderson does keep a fairly predictable, deeply depressing plot line engrossing for most of the way." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Mad Hot Ballroom (2005) |
"Mad Hot Ballroom gets a passing grade based on the precocious charms of its pint-size subjects and filmmakers' palpable enthusiasm for their subjects." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3/4 |
Mad Love (2001) |
"The film may occasionally feel like a political science lesson brought to soap-operatic life, but it's well acted and artfully done." |
Evan Henerson |
Splat |
Mad Money (2008) |
"Diane Keaton almost saves the day (and Queen Latifah helps a little), but Mad Money simply isn't funny, and there's no compensation for that." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Madagascar (2005) |
"Madagascar is content with being a genial kids' movie, cute, sporadically clever, rarely memorable." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3/4 |
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) |
"A decent-enough sequel that will satisfy fans without unduly bothering Oscar animation voters." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Madame Sata (2003) |
"A magnificent visual document that proves, both formally and thematically, that the right hands can turn the least promising of raw materials into something beautiful." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato |
Made (2001) |
"[A] rich, character comedy stew." |
Bob Strauss |
Splat 2/4 |
Made-Up (2004) |
"The film wants to satirize both our fixation on appearances and reality filmmaking, but its strained humor and litany of cliches add little to either topic." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Mafioso (1962) |
"It's another bygone classic that's as fresh today as it was 45 years ago ..." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Magdalene Sisters (2003) |
"Mullan's movie is undeniably heart-wrenching, but it's also overwrought, sometimes reducing what we're seeing on screen to the level of a very disturbing cartoon." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato |
Magnolia (1999) |
"Magnolia is the only true end-of-the-millennium masterpiece, an achievement that will be hard to match for many years to come." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Maid in Manhattan (2002) |
"As strenuously as it strives to make all the fake, standard promises to its target audience, Maid in Manhattan succeeds because, ultimately, performance wins out over formula." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Mail Order Wife (2005) |
"As for Gurland, well, if this fictional version of himself is at all like the real thing, I'm worried about the guy. But I hope he keeps making movies as gutsy, discomforting and slyly uproarious." |
Bob Strauss |
Splat |
The Majestic (2001) |
"No small town was ever this forgiving, no blacklist story turned out this triumphal and -- whatever other falsehoods we may fall for or even cherish -- few Americans are as gullible as The Majestic wants to think we are." |
Bob Strauss |
Splat |
Maléna (2000) |
"The filmmaker's attitude toward Malena is as simple-mindedly retro as his protagonist's." |
David Kronke |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Malibu's Most Wanted (2003) |
"Despite an intolerably irritating first act, some genuinely funny humor grows during the latter part." |
Bob Strauss |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Mambo Italiano (2003) |
"I've never seen so many people slap the backs of loved ones' heads in my entire life." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The Man (2005) |
"It's all marginally funny, exciting and suspenseful, emphasis on the marginally." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
A Man Apart (2003) |
"A not-half-bad entry in the overworked vengeful cop field." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Man from Elysian Fields (2002) |
"Andy Garcia enjoys one of his richest roles in years and Mick Jagger gives his best movie performance since, well, Performance." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3/4 |
A Man Named Pearl (2008) |
"Pleasant enough dollop of inspiration about 68-year-old Pearl Fryar, who turns his depressed South Carolina hometown into a tourist destination." |
Glenn Whipp |
Splat 2/4 |
Man of the Year (2006) |
"For a film that wants to decry business as usual, Man of the Year seems awfully content to play by the rules." |
Glenn Whipp |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Man on Fire (2004) |
"As Man on Fire lumbers to its conclusion, the giddiness wears off and a certain tedium sets in." |
Glenn Whipp |
Splat |
Man on the Moon (1999) |
"Kaufman, whatever you think of him, deserves better." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3/4 |
Man on the Train (2003) |
"With wit, dignity and utterly different approaches, the two leads lure us well inside their characters and bring real zest to their mutually enriching relationship." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Man On Wire (2008) |
"A definite candidate for documentary of the year." |
Glenn Whipp |
Splat |
The Man Who Cried (2001) |
"Strange, unsuccessful but not uninteresting." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Man Without a Past (2003) |
"The film is sporadically hilarious in a chilly, unemphatic way. But for what may be the first time here, Kaurismaki also seems to be genuinely enamored of every mushy, underlying sentiment he might once have held up to withering examination." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Manchurian Candidate (2004) |
"Like Demme's previous Washington starrer, Philadelphia, it's got something to say -- and says it well." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato 3/4 |
Manda Bala (2007) |
"Artful editing, an electric samba soundtrack and harrowingly grainy ransom videos give Manda Bala a formal kick that's rare in a documentary." |
Bob Strauss |
Splat 2/4 |
Manderlay (2006) |
"Thanks, Lars, for a bad movie we can't just totally dismiss." |
Bob Strauss |
Splat 2/4 |
Manic (2003) |
"Call it a well-meaning failure." |
Glenn Whipp |
Splat 1.5/4 |
The Manson Family (2004) |
"Represents some kind of crazed commitment of its own to slobbering cinema of the most relentless, unpleasant sort." |
Bob Strauss |
Splat |
A Map of the World (1999) |
"Maddeningly uneven." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
March of the Penguins (2005) |
"Aside from constantly wondering how Jacquet's team pulled off capturing a never-ending series of amazing shots, you're left with the constant, inescapable thought that it ain't easy being a penguin." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3/4 |
Mardi Gras: Made in China (2005) |
"... doesn't make you proud to wave the red, white and blue, and even manages to sober up a few Mardi Gras revelers in the process ..." |
Glenn Whipp |
Splat 2/4 |
Margot at the Wedding (2007) |
"Baumbach's follow-up to The Squid and the Whale contains all of that film's self-involved screw-ups, but this time he provides little reason to bother watching aside from taking in Kidman's rather astounding ability to scramble up a tall oak tree." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Maria Full of Grace (2004) |
"Marston, who wrote and directed Maria, has created three authentic, ordinary women, whose flaws are apparent and whose motivations are completely understandable." |
Glenn Whipp |
Splat |
Marie Antoinette (2006) |
"Coppola may have failed here, but her aesthetic instincts remain strong." |
Glenn Whipp |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2006) |
"With a few too many characters and plot fibers to track and about 100 minutes to do it, Miller goes for easy resolutions and leaves a lot of questions unanswered." |
Evan Henerson |
Splat 1.5/4 |
The Marine (2006) |
"There's not much about The Marine that's even slightly diverting. Including, alas, John Cena, the film's villain-dispatching star." |
Evan Henerson |
Tomato 4/4 |
Marooned in Iraq (2003) |
"The Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Ghobadi made an impressive feature debut with the tragic tale of child smugglers A Time for Drunken Horses. Events in his second movie, Marooned in Iraq, are even more heart-rending." |
Bob Strauss |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Married Life (2008) |
"It's an imitation of life, all right, but without much to say about it." |
Glenn Whipp |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Martian Child (2007) |
"You might expect a serious-minded movie about a troubled kid who really thinks he's from Mars to confront the fact that this kid really is troubled. Not so much, here." |
Evan Henerson |
Tomato 4/4 |
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) |
"Has everything you'd expect from a high-seas adventure movie -- thrilling battles, threatening weather conditions, bravery, treachery and a wonderfully realized atmosphere where you can practically taste and smell the saltwater." |
Glenn Whipp |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Matador (2005) |
"The Matador feels like a cult gem that just might be able to target a larger audience weary of this season of self-important awards magnets." |
David Kronke |
Splat 2/4 |
Matando Cabos (2005) |
"First-time feature director and co-writer Alejandro Lozano can't maintain his plot's cleverness nor the split-second comic timing a film with this many crazy coincidences needs to succeed." |
Bob Strauss |
Tomato |
Match Point (2005) |
"Match Point's dark pleasures are, for the most part, pretty enjoyable. If you're in that kind of mood." |
Bob Strauss |
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