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 1/4 |
Aliens in the Attic (2009) |
"It's one thing that the script has a moronic premise. It's another that the writers don't have anything clever to add to that premise." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
Amelia (2009) |
"[A] gauzy biopic [with] gorgeous scenery, beautiful period costumes, and a love affair worthy of a Lifetime movie." |
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 |
Splat 2/4 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"It's true that Angels & Demons is a better movie than its predecessor, The Da Vinci Code. That's not saying much." |
Sean Means |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Astro Boy (2009) |
"The cheap '60s Japanese TV cartoon series... is updated into a cheap and sometimes unsettling computer-animated adventure." |
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 |
Splat 1/4 |
All Roads Lead Home (2008) |
"If this movie were a horse, somebody would have to put it down." |
Sean Means |
Splat 0/4 |
An American Carol (2008) |
"How dumb does Hollywood think American conservatives are? Not half as dumb as conservative filmmaker David Zucker thinks they are." |
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 3/4 |
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 3.5/4 |
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 |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"Cassavetes sends us on a slow death march, following his bland, drugged-out and overly tattooed characters from one beer-bong party to the next." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) |
"Who decided 'Witch Doctor' - with its nonsense lyric 'Oo-ee, oo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla-walla, bing-bang' - needed a hip-hop update?" |
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 |
Splat 2/4 |
Angel-A (2007) |
"Besson... cribs heavily from Wings of Desire and Heaven Can Wait. If he had thought of it, he would have dressed someone in an Anaheim Angels jersey to elbow your ribs that much further." |
Sean Means |
Splat 1/4 |
Are We Done Yet? (2007) |
"Let me, a UW alumnus, assure you that no one would have Husky purple and Cougar crimson in the same closet. The fact that Nick wears both shows how top-to-bottom brainless this movie is." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
Arthur and the Invisibles (2007) |
"Nothing in this movie works. Maybe all that tweaking helped, but I'm not betting on it." |
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 3.5/4 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Al Franken: God Spoke (2006) |
"The film feels unfinished as Franken contemplates a run for the U.S. Senate from Minnesota, which might make God Spoke the set-up for a much more interesting sequel." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
All The King's Men (2006) |
"An old-fashioned filibuster - a talky exercise designed to wear down any dissenters who might try to point out that the emperor has no clothes." |
Sean Means |
Splat 1/4 |
America: Freedom To Fascism (2006) |
"Russo comes off as a paranoid ranter, the movie equivalent of the street-corner pamphleteer with tinfoil in his hat to keep out the gamma rays." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
American Dreamz (2006) |
"Weitz suffers what can only be called a failure of will. He backs off when he should be bearing down." |
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 |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Aquamarine (2006) |
"Only on DVD will the movie achieve its true destiny as the perfect slumber-party rental for 12-year-old girls." |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
Splat 0/4 |
The Amityville Horror (2005) |
"Anyone who would enjoy this garbage probably delights in pulling the wings off flies." |
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 |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Another Road Home (2005) |
"[The filmmaker] veers into self-indulgence, but Obeidallah's drive to give his kids a better life - even at the risk of abandoning their homeland - is touching." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
Apres Vous (2005) |
"Auteuil... finds himself in Antoine's situation, helping out a hapless wreck and being dragged down in the process." |
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 |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Ask the Dust (2005) |
"The overwrought performances by Farrell and Hayek, in a no-holds-barred duel of eyebrows, turn this heat-drenched drama into unintentional comedy." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) |
"The [movie's] visual signature ... is the sight of a bullet wound in the head - which, one imagines, might feel similar to the head-pounding felt after watching [it]." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
Assisted Living (2005) |
"There is a tender, poignant story in here... worthy of a great 20-minute short, not enough to fill writer-director Elliot Greenebaum's rambling mock-documentary." |
Sean Means |
Splat 2/4 |
Asylum (2005) |
"Richardson's no-holds-barred performance captures Stella's rekindled passion and despair when things go to hell. Alas, the story goes to hell with her." |
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 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 |
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 |
Splat 2/4 |
The Alamo (2004) |
"By creating the only character of depth in an underdeveloped epic, Thornton is the only element of The Alamo truly worth remembering." |
Sean Means |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Alexander (2004) |
"Farrell - in short skirt and silly wig, covered in fluids and frequently weeping - looks less like a Greek hero than a Greek Row pledge during a Hell Week hazing." |
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 |
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