Tomato |
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) |
"A haunting and wondrous story about the thin and rapidly blurring line between reality and illusion." |
Sean Means |
Tomato |
About a Boy (2002) |
"Grant's well-cultivated persona as a charming cad (onscreen and off) makes Will's selfish behavior feel completely natural." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 4/4 |
About Schmidt (2002) |
"Director Alexander Payne and his co-writer Jim Taylor stretch past the arch satire of ... "Election" and "Citizen Ruth" to find a quirky humor and seeping humanity." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Acts of Worship (2001) |
"Rodriguez' view of addiction from the inside, and Reeder's warts-and-all portrayal of a junkie going over the edge, make for a fascinating film." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Adaptation (2002) |
"The conceit of Charlie writing himself into his own screenplay, and by doing so changing the characters and his own destiny, is thought-provoking, funny and sweetly humanizing." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
After Innocence (2005) |
"[The] stories of injustice and perseverence [will] stick in the memory after watching this uncluttered and compelling film." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
After The Wedding (2007) |
"It's Mikkelsen who anchors the movie, as his moody Jacob tries to reconcile his past mistakes with his current passion for his students in India." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Agronomist (2004) |
"Demme... captures Dominique's energy and hunger for human rights, sometimes by doing nothing more than locking down the camera and letting the guy talk." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003) |
"Even as Broomfield inserts himself (as usual) into the narrative, Wuornos grabs the spotlight with all of her wild-eyed fury." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) |
"Palmer is so good. She's a charmer, bright and talented and sympathetic. And she's only 12." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alexandra (2008) |
"The images are indelible, if somewhat inscrutable (knowing Russian history would probably help, I suppose), but the message behind them rings out like a warning alarm." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alfie (2004) |
"I'm still not convinced that the world needed a remake of Alfie... but after watching the movie, I'm certain Jude Law needed it.
" |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Alias Betty (2002) |
"Like a Tarantino movie with heart, Alias Betty is richly detailed, deftly executed and utterly absorbing." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 4/4 |
Alien (1979) |
"What makes Alien truly terrifying is Scott's vision of a future where the line between man and machine is disappearing." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
All the Real Girls (2003) |
"By dismissing the cliches of movie romance, "All the Real Girls" comes closer than most movies can to showing a couple falling in love." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Almost Peaceful (2004) |
"There isn't much of a narrative arc in director Michel Deville's drama, just many touching little stories." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Amandla: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony (2003) |
"Like the songs themselves, "Amandla!" tells a terrible story in a most enthusiastic and upbeat way." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Amazing Grace (2007) |
"Gruffudd and Apted are pleasantly earnest in their efforts to spread Wilberforce's message of peace and justice." |
Sean Means |
Tomato |
Amelie (2001) |
"When Amelie's flights of fancy lose altitude, Tautou's lighter-than-air presence keeps them aloft." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 4/4 |
American Splendor (2003) |
"American Splendor is, like the comic, hip in structure but refreshingly square in its emotions -- smart and sad and sweet and funny, all in one outstanding package." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
American Teen (2008) |
"One might wish for a bit more variety among the profiled students, or that the students themselves didn't seem influenced by The Hills and other quasi-reality TV, but Burstein gets a lot out of what she has." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Amreeka (2009) |
"Director-writer Cherien Dabis drew the story from life..., and the script is brimming with tiny details that lend it authenticity." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
An Education (2009) |
"Mulligan perfectly balances on the line of girlhood and womanhood, shifting naturally from schoolgirl innocence to Audrey Hepburn-like sophistication just by putting up her hair." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Andy Goldsworthy - Rivers and Tides: Working With Time (2003) |
"A documentary that introduces us to an artist whose work is full of contradictions -- contradictions that spill over into the act of watching the movie." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Anger Management (2003) |
"Funniest when it's still repressing itself, and only the maniacal Nicholson is allowed to let his emotions flow." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Animation Show 2005 (2005) |
"The batting average isn't perfect for these 12 shorts, ... but the best stuff is worth the ticket price." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Anything Else (2003) |
"You wouldn't want a long-term relationship with Amanda, but for two hours she's the woman of your dreams." |
Sean Means |
Tomato |
Apocalypse Now Redux (2001) |
"What has not changed with Apocalypse Now Redux -- and the reason to go see it again -- are the visceral body blows it still delivers." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Apocalypto (2006) |
"Whatever you may think about Gibson the man, Apocalypto shows he's determined to lay all his art and sweat and blood up there on the screen." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Appaloosa (2008) |
"Harris' easy byplay with Mortensen, his economical dialogue and his stately camerawork of the New Mexico landscape combine for a smart, dynamic Western." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Aristocrats (2005) |
"The Aristocrats is not just funny, it's instructive about what people find taboo - and how comedians test those limits." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Army of Shadows (1969) |
"Melville stages riveting set pieces, tense little nuggets of men striking in the dark and dealing out death." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Astronaut Farmer (2007) |
"The Polish brothers... never make the indie-filmmaker mistake of condescending to these characters or their small-town setting." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
ATL (2006) |
"The script of ATL may take a well-worn path, but the view out the window is a new one." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Atonement (2007) |
"[Director Joe] Wright and cinematographer Seamus McGarvey move us gracefully and jarringly from the gorgeous English countryside to the horrors of war." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Aura (2006) |
"A startling psychological drama with plenty of unexpected twists, a worthy follow-up [to] Fabian Bielinsky['s] riveting debut Nine Queens." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Auto Focus (2002) |
"Schrader, with the same clear-eyed view of lurid behavior he brought to American Gigolo and Hardcore, gives an unvarnished (not to mention unerotic) view of Crane's misadventures." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3/4 |
Autumn Spring (2003) |
"A movie that chooses not to mourn the elderly prematurely but rather celebrate the possibilities available to anyone with cunning, a wrinkled face and a lot of free time." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Avenue Montaigne (2007) |
"The ensemble cast is wonderful, especially Lemercier as the bipolar actress trying to impress Pollack's director but failing spectacularly." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Aviator (2004) |
"Scorsese is the director who can get more of Hughes into one movie than anybody else alive." |
Sean Means |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Away From Her (2007) |
"The revelation is Pinsent..., who has the tougher acting job - to react to Christie's performance and carry the plot as well - and delivers beautifully." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
"The story itself becomes schizoid, splitting between a convoluted detective mystery and lazy conversations between paranoid addicts." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
Abandon (2002) |
"Gaghan supplies the movie with one good twist, then muffs the delivery with a twitchy flashback/flash-forward story structure." |
Sean Means |
Splat 0/4 |
Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights (2002) |
"[T]hat fluttering sound you hear [is] just the critics' goodwill Sandler earned from Punch-Drunk Love flying out the window." |
Sean Means |
Splat 1/4 |
Adventures of Power (2009) |
"Gold attempts to show Power as a "Napoleon Dynamite"-like charmer, but Gold's spastic performance induces more cringes than smiles." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D (2005) |
"The rest of us, especially parents who have to take those kids to the theater, will have to get used to living without little things like story or characters or coherence." |
Sean Means |
Splat 1.5/4 |
After the Sunset (2004) |
"Even with the delicious Salma Hayek on board, the biggest boobs in this dumb heist flick are the characters played by Pierce Brosnan and Woody Harrelson." |
Sean Means |
Splat 1/4 |
Against the Ropes (2003) |
"Ryan approaches a larger-than-life character... and helps reduce her to a plucky heroine straight out of a made-for-Lifetime movie." |
Sean Means |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Agent Cody Banks (2003) |
"It's not smart enough or exciting enough to be an action movie, and it lacks the childlike goofiness that the Spy Kids franchise has by the boatload." |
Sean Means |
Splat 0/4 |
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) |
"May be the dumbest thing associated with Anglo-American intelligence since the sexed-up WMD dossier." |
Sean Means |
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