Splat 2/5 |
Macbeth (2007) |
"The film disintegrates into an over-the-top 1970s horror." |
James Christopher |
Splat 2/5 |
Mad, Sad and Bad (2009) |
"Like a BBC One sitcom written by someone who thinks he’s Strindberg." |
Toby Young |
Tomato 4/5 |
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) |
"Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath’s exhilarating cartoon is a medley of comic humiliations as the sophisticated New Yorkers fail to cut the mustard in the real wild. The Heath Robinson invention will delight adults. The ironies will thrill kids. Great fun." |
James Christopher |
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The Magic Flute (1975) |
Click here to see the review. |
|
Splat 2/5 |
The Magic Flute (2006) |
"Despite the talent involved – Branagh is joined by Stephen Fry, who has written a new libretto – and the ambitious staging, this flute blows all right, but it’s short on the magic." |
Wendy Ide |
Splat 2/5 |
The Magic Hour |
"Some of the tales are compelling...some need serious pruning." |
Kevin Maher |
Splat 1/5 |
Magicians (2007) |
"It’s a cruel, mean-spirited kind of humour that highlights the lack of anything resembling real wit in the screenplay." |
Wendy Ide |
Splat 1/5 |
Make It Happen (2008) |
"It could be a contemporary take on classic backstage musicals. Or it could be the end of the cinematic arts as we know them." |
Kevin Maher |
Splat 2/5 |
The Man from London (2008) |
"But ultimately the pace is deadly. Tectonic drift moves faster. The dialogue is delivered in a way that suggests that somebody added a load of extra full stops." |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato 5/5 |
Man On Wire (2008) |
"The attacks of 9/11 are never mentioned, and rightly so – this is a film about the life of the towers, not the death. But their inevitable destruction gives the movie a poignant weight, and reminds us of a time when they weren’t morbid geopolitical symbol" |
Kevin Maher |
Tomato 3/5 |
Management (2009) |
"For the most part, Management avoids the standard rom-com clichés in favour of something more delicate and heartfelt." |
Toby Young |
Splat 2/5 |
Margot at the Wedding (2007) |
"Some of the dialogue is well-crafted and the performances are generally strong (although Black hams shamelessly at times) but the characters are so loathsome that you long for a hurricane to sweep away this wedding party." |
Wendy Ide |
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Marigold (2007) |
Click here to see the review. |
|
Tomato 3/5 |
The Mark of an Angel (2008) |
"Typically, it’s smart, seductive stuff that taps the primal power of maternal grief." |
Kevin Maher |
Splat 1/5 |
Marley & Me (2008) |
"There is something wildly odd about a film that measures human happiness with the whims of a dog." |
James Christopher |
Tomato 3/5 |
Married Life (2008) |
"The layers of deception are as meticulously constructed as the impeccable 1940s production and costume design. Unfortunately, the film doesn’t maintain that distinctive noir cruelty, as hard as red lacquered finger nails." |
Wendy Ide |
Splat 2/5 |
Martyrs (2008) |
"Martyrs is an unforgettable (not necessarily a good thing) endurance test of a movie that provides a quasi-philosophical spin on the torture porn genre." |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato 3/5 |
Max Manus (2008) |
"So this overdue homage to Max Manus: Man of War is a powerful surprise." |
James Christopher |
Tomato 3/5 |
Max Payne (2008) |
"Mark Wahlberg’s titular hero hasn’t cracked a smile in seven years. The surprise is that he makes the lonely cop seem half human with half a dozen words and a staggering amount of violence." |
James Christopher |
Tomato 4/5 |
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) |
"A poetic, slow-burning tale of America’s pioneering past, it’s an off-beat western and one of Altman’s finest films." |
Wendy Ide |
Splat 2/5 |
Me and Orson Welles (2009) |
"The film fails as a character portrait, a drama or a snapshot of an era, while simultaneously offering tantalising hints of each. Apart from watching the rising star McKay strut his stuff, there’s little to recommend in Me and Orson Welles." |
Kevin Maher |
Tomato |
Mean Girls (2004) |
"Proof that Hollywood occasionally gets it right" |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato 3/5 |
Meerkats (2008) |
"The beauty and intimacy of the material they so painstakingly captured ultimately overrides the mawkish score and sentimental narration." |
Wendy Ide |
Splat 2/5 |
Meet the Robinsons (2007) |
"Succumbs to the now standard overcaffeinated approach to storytelling that relies too much on rollercoaster thrills to stop the kids from fidgeting." |
Ian Johns |
Splat 2/5 |
Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (2009) |
"This film is bad on every level. In fact, it’s bad on levels hitherto unexplored by mainstream cinema." |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato |
Melinda and Melinda (2005) |
"There is nothing original about it, but the only source it plagiarises is Allen himself, and it rips him off rather well" |
Howard Swains |
Tomato |
Memories of Murder (2003) |
"Horribly, gorily fascinating and slightly unfulfilling" |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) |
"A raucous and rapid-fire military comedy that channels the absurdist spirit of Catch 22 and Three Kings but is often something else entirely." |
Kevin Maher |
Splat 2/5 |
The Merry Gentleman (2009) |
"The film never quite convinces as anything other than a puff-piece for Keaton, but it is bolstered by another deeply empathetic turn from Macdonald." |
Kevin Maher |
Splat 2/5 |
Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2009) |
"Mesrine: Killer Instinct the central character starts out as a callous murderer and doesn’t change. As a result, the film feels episodic." |
Toby Young |
Splat 2/5 |
Mesrine: Part 2 - Public Enemy #1 (2009) |
"The second and final instalment of French gangster Jacques Mesrine’s eventful life story arrives in cinemas, and is something of a let down." |
Wendy Ide |
Splat 1/5 |
Messages (2007) |
"It’s lit and shot disastrously and, most problematically, it’s completely devoid of scares." |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato 4/5 |
Michael Clayton (2007) |
"Gorgeous George is wonderfully jaundiced as Michael Clayton, an amoral corporate lawyer who has made his name by defending the indefensible." |
James Christopher |
Splat 2/5 |
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) |
"A strange and ultimately underwhelming way to say goodbye to a troubled, talented performer." |
Kevin Maher |
Tomato 4/5 |
Mid-August Lunch (2009) |
"The beauty of this picture is that it doesn’t shy away from depicting the indignities of growing old — not the least of which is that none of your children wants to look after you — and yet manages to invest all of its elderly characters with dignity." |
Toby Young |
Tomato 4/5 |
A Mighty Heart (2007) |
"The director’s rapid-fire and choppy editing gives you a genuine feel for the many different sides of Karachi, and the urgency of the investigation." |
James Christopher |
Tomato 4/5 |
Milk (2008) |
"Van Sant’s skill as a film-maker is showcased here to inspiring effect. Rarely has a lesson in political history felt so involving and alive. What’s more, it’s a genuinely important film that could not be better timed." |
Wendy Ide |
Splat 2/5 |
Mirrors (2008) |
"There are a few effectively grisly moments, but no really new ideas." |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato 4/5 |
Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters (1985) |
"The gorgeous, artsy 1985 biopic Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters is the best movie that Paul Schrader has yet directed." |
Kevin Maher |
Splat |
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005) |
"Bullock returns with the grim inevitability of a natural disaster, and it’s every bit as cheaply predictable as the first film" |
Wendy Ide |
Splat 0/5 |
Miss March (2009) |
"Miss March must be a contender for worst film of the year. It’s so poor that you begin to suspect it’s a pastiche." |
Toby Young |
Splat 2/5 |
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008) |
"It’s a squirming watch, at times quite tortuous because the film can never decide if it’s a musical or a play with far too much music." |
James Christopher |
Tomato 4/5 |
Mister Foe (2008) |
"Even in the earthiest moments of the film, there’s a sense of magic that reflects the filter of Hallam’s innocence, eccentricity and otherness." |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato 3/5 |
Moliere (2007) |
"The film feels distinctly skinny, as if half the cast haven’t arrived. The symmetry of the story is almost too perfect. Several leaps of faith are wildly silly." |
James Christopher |
Tomato 4/5 |
Momma's Man (2008) |
"Slyly funny and genuinely original, Momma’s Man represents that rarest of things, a truly independent American movie." |
Wendy Ide |
Splat |
Monster (2003) |
"I can forgive the Oscar- winning makeover, but not the script-doctored romance" |
James Christopher |
Tomato 3/5 |
Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) |
"Engagingly nerdy movie in-jokes are clearly a step in the right direction for DreamWorks after the rather crass and bombastic approach of the Shrek movies." |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato 4/5 |
Moon (2009) |
"With its measured pacing, melancholy tone and eye for prosaic details, Moon is very different from the glossy sci-fi blockbuster — and far more satisfying." |
Wendy Ide |
Tomato |
The Motorcycle Diaries (1997) |
"Vital, charming and as seductive as the open road" |
Wendy Ide |
Splat 2/5 |
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005) |
"Mr & Mrs Smith is a revenge fantasy that hinges on murderous thoughts. It is bookended by marriage guidance counselling with the stars, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie" |
James Christopher |
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