Tomato |
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2009) |
"The Baader-Meinhof Complex, directed by Uli Edel from a screenplay by Bernd Eichinger, represents a darker vision of the period that, given the ongoing war on terror and fear about home-grown militants, seems especially timely." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Tomato |
Baby Mama (2008) |
"It delivers considerably more laughs than one might expect from the Hollywood sub-genre of procreation comedy." |
|
Splat |
Babylon A.D. (2008) |
"Fairly terrible techno-punk action flick." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Back To Normandy (2007) |
"A generous portrait of a community, past and present, reflecting on their unexpected contribution to the cinema." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Badlands (1973) |
"An unmissable reissue for Terrence Malick's gorgeous and troubling debut." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Bamako (2006) |
"There are countless moments that are subtly transfixing. Even seemingly casual shots - of vendors peddling knock-off Gucci glasses, policemen flirting with local women, a man attached to a drip lying alone in a room - linger in the imagination." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Splat 2/5 |
Bangkok Dangerous (2008) |
"It's certainly no worse than the original - a flashy grab-bag of tricks to begin with - and has a certain grim stylishness in its favour, but you miss the breezy, funny Cage of old." |
Mike McCahill |
Splat |
The Banishment (2007) |
"Photographed with mesmerising clarity and power by Mikhail Krichman, and consciously evoking those found in the films of Andrei Tarkovsky, they are the most compelling feature of this grindingly slow and self-conscious fable." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Tomato |
Battle of Algiers (1966) |
"Faux-documentary masterpiece" |
Tim Robey |
Tomato 5/5 |
The Beaches of Agnes (2009) |
"Tender, truthful, happy-making: The Beaches of Agnes is a wonderful film by a wonderful woman." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Tomato |
Beaufort (2008) |
"A war drama about waiting, and the director, Joseph Cedar, does a terrific job hanging danger and crushing tedium in the air, side by side." |
Tim Robey |
Splat |
Because I Said So (2007) |
"Laughter is largely absent from this sorry, shrieking mess." |
David Gritten |
Splat |
Bee Movie (2007) |
"Amusing and likeable, but scarcely memorable." |
|
Tomato 3/5 |
Before I Forget (2008) |
"It's a subdued, somewhat melancholic Paris to be sure, but one whose potential loneliness is softened by the intriguing support networks the characters improvise." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Splat |
Before the Rains (2008) |
"The movie is prettily done in a fairly obvious way, but there's little insight into the emerging nationalist movement, which remains at best a shimmering backdrop in soft focus." |
Tim Robey |
Splat 2/5 |
Belle Toujours (2006) |
"The film is a maddening mix of mild fascination and boredom. Bulle Ogier plays Séverine, as Deneuve opted not to reprise her role. Without her, the film lacks the required frisson." |
David Gritten |
Splat |
Ben X (2008) |
"It's a promising idea that hits the skids." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Beowulf (2007) |
"Adapted with refreshing irreverence by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary, even if students of the Anglo-Saxon text may be taken aback by some of their coarser liberties." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Bigga than Ben (2008) |
"Still, it's an enterprising little movie in its location shooting, and I warmed to it - an overeagerness to entertain is hardly the worst crime." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato 4/5 |
BirdWatchers (2009) |
"Birdwatchers is dark, but it’s important, too, and both artistically and politically compelling." |
|
Splat |
Black Hawk Down (2001) |
"Has the pointless verisimilitude of an expensively rendered computer simulation." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Black Sheep (2007) |
"The jokes don't quite stay the course, but writer-director Jonathan King generates far too much goodwill for you to mind." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Black Water (2007) |
"Writer-directors David Nerlich and Andrew Traucki calibrate the tension with creditable skill." |
David Gritten |
Tomato |
Blame it on Fidel (2006) |
"A smashing, funny and politically sophisticated feature debut from Julie (daughter of Costa) Gavras." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Tomato 3/5 |
Blindness (2008) |
"There is much to admire about Blindness, but this striking work is all too often undermined by its sense of its own importance." |
David Gritten |
Tomato |
Blindsight (2008) |
"Lucy Walker's documentary is genuinely stirring." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
A Bloody Aria (2006) |
"Director Won Shin-yun infuses the moralisms with a pulpy energy that recalls cheery shockers such as Hostel and Saw, while also indulging in Three Stooges-style bumpkin-knockabout humour." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Boat That Rocked (2009) |
"Well over two hours long, the film outstays its welcome, but it does have some truly magical moments that outshine anything Curtis has done before." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Splat |
Bobby (2006) |
"Few of the characterisations could fill the back of a matchbook, and, in refusing to see RFK as anything other than a liberal messiah, the film meanders through its political context with a white stick and a dopey smile." |
Tim Robey |
Splat 2/5 |
Body of Lies (2008) |
"Scott, at heart, is a pyrotechnician rather than a political philosopher. Sometimes, during the scenes when he shows graphic acts of torture, he seems like a two-penny shock merchant, too." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Tomato 4/5 |
Bolt (2008) |
"Wittier by the reel, Bolt is can't-miss family entertainment, and a glad relief from the solemnities of award season." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Born and Bred (2006) |
"Argentinian director Pablo Trapero's Born and Bred is a quiet but resonant mood piece." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Tomato |
The Boss of it All (2007) |
"Von Trier may be commenting on the mechanical, dehumanised nature of corporate decision-making, or of Hollywood filmmaking. Maybe he's just being whimsical. It's always hard to tell with this joker-provocateur. And always completely fascinating." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Tomato |
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) |
"A breathless and deliriously exhilarating summit." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Box (2009) |
"Kelly’s obsessions are not entirely like anyone else’s, which is a recommendation of sorts, and he shoots more beautifully than ever, which is another. I won’t give up on him when his films are still this richly textured and high on their own ideas." |
Tim Robey |
Splat |
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008) |
"Moreover, the production lacks the personal touch that might allow this story to resonate as parable – it's too conventionally classy and Miramaxed, with its swooping, prestige-picture camerawork and lachrymose score by the dread James Horner." |
Tim Robey |
Splat |
The Brave One (2007) |
"Like Foster's character, Erica Bain, the movie makes a tortured show of conscience, then trades it in for a leather jacket and a semi-automatic." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Breach (2007) |
"Intriguing and intelligent, Breach may be too understated for its own good." |
David Gritten |
Splat |
The Breed (2006) |
"Dogs swimming aren't scary." |
Tim Robey |
Splat |
Brick Lane (2008) |
"The romance at the heart of Brick Lane never comes alive. Chatterjee is doleful and weepy, Simpson enervated." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Splat 2/5 |
Bride Wars (2009) |
"The movie makes a ridiculous ass of itself, but as a run-for-the-hills endurance test for straight men everywhere, it’s almost fascinating." |
Tim Robey |
Splat |
Brideshead Revisited (2008) |
"It's a dutiful, good-looking slice of heritage cinema so empty that you expect Keira Knightley to show up at any minute." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Splat |
Bridge to Terabithia (2007) |
"The kids are good; the effects are appalling." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato |
Brief Encounter (1946) |
"David Lean paints heartbreak with perfect decorum." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato 4/5 |
Bright Star (2009) |
"Director Jane Campion has a knack for portraying female characters so intimately that she seems to get beneath their skin. She does it again in Bright Star, an exquisite piece of film-making." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
Splat |
The Broken (2009) |
"Pompous and dour attempt at a psychological horror movie." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato 3/5 |
Broken Embraces (2009) |
"In his maturity, [Almodovar] remains a distinctive stylist and a dazzling film-maker with technique to burn. Yet while his new film Broken Embraces parades his many virtues, it treads water rather than breaks new ground." |
David Gritten |
Tomato 4/5 |
Broken Embraces (2009) |
"Broken Embraces is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside a slightly overindulgent parade of gushing film references." |
Tim Robey |
Splat 2/5 |
Bronson (2009) |
"The problem with Bronson – and the movie is certainly a problem – is how hard it wants to be a visceral tour de force, and how stunted this objective ends up feeling." |
Tim Robey |
Tomato 4/5 |
Bruno (2009) |
"But oh my, puerile and ragged as it is, and to some extent because it’s so ragged and puerile, I doubt if a more screamadelically hilarious film will be released in 2009." |
Sukhdev Sandhu |
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