Splat 2/4 |
The Machinist (2004) |
"Stylishly grim and nervously intriguing for most of its running length, but concludes with an underwhelming, derivative whimper." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Mad Money (2008) |
"Adds up to more of a whimper than a bang—a thinly drawn female-empowerment lark without the spine to be as ruthless as it wants to be and without the smarts to be half as memorable as it should." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Madagascar (2005) |
"One of the most lackluster of the modern, big-budget CG-animated releases." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) |
"The nonsensical title is the least of its problems--how, exactly, are the characters escaping to Africa if the place they begin is technically a part of Africa?" |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Made of Honor (2008) |
"Not good, not bad, just there, the film faithfully crosses off one timeworn cliché after the next." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Madman (1981) |
"Fits the '80s slasher blueprint to the letter. It's only adequately made, but it happens to feature a handful of scenes so knee-slappingly bad that the film ranks as a party favorite." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 4/4 |
Magnolia (1999) |
"Magnolia is a mind-blowing masterpiece of a movie--heavy in drama, intense emotional material, characters, and underlying themes." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Maid in Manhattan (2002) |
"Succeeds where many others have failed (Sweet Home Alabama being a recent example) by actually being romantic and side-stepping tedium." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The Majestic (2001) |
"If the tone...tends to lean toward mawkishness in the last half-hour, what is appealing...is its almost stubborn yearning to be like the motion pictures of yesteryear." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Malibu's Most Wanted (2003) |
"Every step of the way, Malibu's Most Wanted reminds of a rough cut, rather than a completed motion picture." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Mamma Mia! (2008) |
"There is a fine line between something that is so bad it's good, and something that's genuinely good, and Mamma Mia! straddles it throughout." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1/4 |
The Man (2005) |
"The Man lacks charisma, comic verve, and a reason for existing." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
A Man Apart (2003) |
"A revenge tale that tries to act smarter than it really is, and ends up embarrassing itself in the process." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Man of the House (2005) |
"A consistently unoriginal comedy that plays like an abandoned 97-minute sitcom pilot without the laugh track or hardly any laughs." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Man of the Year (2006) |
"The comedy is drab and predictable. The satirical flourishes are so soft that they are hardly worth mentioning. The thrills are diffused by tonal shifts working against them." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Man on Fire (2004) |
"Uncompromising and plausibly compelling." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Man on the Moon (1999) |
"Nowhere near perfect, and in the confines of staying true to Andy's life, it probably could never be." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) |
"Knowing that such a wasteful project was done by such talents as Joel and Ethan Coen makes the outcome all the more mindbogglingly weak." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Management (2009) |
"An astute slice-of-life, a sympathetic character study, and an offbeat love story all rolled into one satisfying package. Mixes genre conventions with an appetizing quirkiness in an overall confection of bliss." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
The Manchurian Candidate (2004) |
"Absolutely riveting entertainment, a chilling portrait of human paranoia also posing as an engrossing and visually vibrant political thriller. This is one arresting film." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
March of the Penguins (2005) |
"A loving portrait of a gorgeous, awkward creature that, in some ways, is remarkably similar to human beings, and in other ways couldn't be further from us." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Marci X (2003) |
"There is more to [Lisa] Kudrow—and "Marci X" proves it—than Phoebe Buffay...An unexpectedly sharp-nailed satire." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Margot at the Wedding (2007) |
"Simply put, to spend time with these people is unpleasant and without a payoff (or an emotional release) to reward the audience's efforts." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Maria Full of Grace (2004) |
"[Director] Joshua Marston's meticulous eye for cold, hard facts on his subject matter raises Maria Full of Grace above the level of mere docudrama." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Marie Antoinette (2006) |
"The music is heavenly in its use and perfect for the tone, rustling up an emotional response far greater than anything brought about from the characters themselves." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Marley & Me (2008) |
"Marley & Me is a terrific film. You don't have to be a dog lover to be touched to tears, you only need to be human." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Martian Child (2007) |
"Heartfelt, but uninspired, the film follows a plodding, predictable path that does not deviate for a second from what the viewer expects." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Mascara (1999) |
"A rare mature film about free-thinking adults, and one that treats its characters with an open mind and a big heart." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Masquerade (1988) |
"Tries to desperately cloak itself so its viewers don't realize how very little worthwhile material is actually present." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) |
"The film's languid pacing quickly grows tedious, and the movie itself, unfortunately, becomes a bore." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat .5/4 |
The Master of Disguise (2002) |
"Only a human vegetable could have possibly viewed the final cut and not have had any vocal concerns about the submerged level of quality on display." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Matador (2005) |
"An effective, wise, and frequently amusing entertainment that fondly sticks in the viewer's memory after the end credits have finished rolling." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Match Point (2005) |
"Allen's strongest and most self-assured dramatic feature in over a decade. Welcome back, Woody! You've been missed." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Matchstick Men (2003) |
"For the sheer promise it held for so long, and its jarring plunge into maddening mediocrity by the end credits roll, Matchstick Men may just rank as the most disappointing film of the year." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1/4 |
Material Girls (2006) |
"Stays true to its name, all right, but there's no reason the film also had to be an embarrassingly unfunny and aimless chore to sit through." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
The Matrix (1999) |
"At least the Wachowski's attempted to do something different than what had been seen before, even if the finished product isn't quite the success they obviously yearned for." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) |
"The Matrix Reloaded is no better or worse than its predecessor, improving upon certain aspects (the characters and action scenes) while lacking some of the stronger elements of the first film (the overall imagination and ingenuity)." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1/4 |
The Matrix Revolutions (2003) |
"A woeful, sloppy, misbegotten load of crap. In other words, it makes its two predecessors look like examples of modern cinematic masterpieces in comparison." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Max (2002) |
"Max has 'first-time director' written all over it, and the arresting, contemplative subject matter demands a more experienced filmmaker to do it justice." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Max Keeble's Big Move (2001) |
"Young kids may like it (others stay far away), but it is guaranteed that no audience member, young or old, will be able to relate to it." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Max Payne (2008) |
"That the freaky angels all over the ads aren't even real is akin to if audiences had flocked to see Jurassic Park back in 1993 and discovered that the dinosaurs only appeared in a couple brief dream sequences." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 4/4 |
May (2003) |
"Not only one of the most auspicious and original independent features in years--particularly for a first-time filmmaker--but it is one of the best films of 2003...Genuinely disturbing." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 2/4 |
Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) |
"The sparks of brilliance littered throughout Miranda July's debut feature are just that—sparks." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Me, Myself & Irene (2000) |
"One of the more enjoyable and lively motion pictures to come along this summer, and demonstrates how a successful comedy should be carried out." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 4/4 |
Mean Creek (2004) |
"A frightening journey into the heart of human darkness and morality. Sure to endure as a watermark of the coming-of-age genre for years to come." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Mean Girls (2004) |
"Could be a new classic of the teen genre." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
The Medallion (2003) |
"Chan may still have what it takes to perform difficult stunts, but...he is surrounded by a cesspool of ludicrous plotting, incomprehensible storytelling, and characters about as sturdy as wet cement." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Meet Dave (2008) |
"It's not every day Eddie Murphy releases something that doesn't make you want to rip your eyes out. In its own way, it is a fun movie." |
Dustin Putman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Meet Joe Black (1998) |
"A sleek, good-looking, and entertaining romance." |
Dustin Putman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Meet the Fockers (2004) |
"A frantic, pointless sequel, funny in clumps, but mostly contrived and empty." |
Dustin Putman |
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