Splat F |
Half Past Dead (2002) |
"[Segal’s] rising age and weight increasingly render him implausible in the action-figure role. As for Ja Rule and the other convicts, they’re about as dangerous as a schoolyard game of cops and robbers." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D- |
Hannibal (2001) |
"So many characters suffer such ghastly things, yet none of it seems to matter much." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato 3/4 |
Happy Feet (2006) |
"Entertaining while you're watching it… On reflection, though, it feels a bit like a shell game in which the conjuror himself has lost track of where the pea is supposed to be." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato |
The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection |
"For fans of silent comedy, it's the DVD event of the decade: Harold Lloyd, until now almost totally unavailable on DVD, at last enters the modern home-video age in grand style." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) |
"As with the original film, there's little to offend the most myopic fan of the books, but also little room for the imaginative extension of the author's universe that distinguishes an inspired adaptation from a merely workmanlike one." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) |
"Offers some of the series' most magical imagery… Alas, with so much territory to cover, some characters get short shrift." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) |
"Continues the trajectories of recent installments — it’s darker, more tragic and more romantic … loyalty to and trust in Dumbledore emerges as a defining moral trait for Harry." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) |
"The level of magical eye candy is noticeably lower… [yet] no longer is Harry just The Boy Things Happen To, but The Boy Who Acts. It's a welcome step forward in a wunderkind boy of destiny on the road to true heroism." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) |
"If the first two films could easily have been tightened up by a half-hour or so, this one left me wishing that there were an 'extended edition' DVD coming." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) |
"So reverentially faithful to the first book that however you feel about the book is a pretty reliable indicator of how you'll feel about the movie." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957) |
"As with Huston's The African Queen, there is conflict mixed with romantic tension… Here, though, the complicating factor is not fastidiousness, but vocation." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C- |
Hellboy (2004) |
"The best thing about Hellboy is Hellboy… A boring sidekick, an undeveloped love interest, unimpressive villains, and grotesque but unfrightening monsters." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C+ |
Henry Poole Is Here (2008) |
"It never even gestures at the philosophical heavy lifting of exploring alternate interpretations of ambiguous events." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Hero (2004) |
"On one level, Hero represents a return to wuxia convention… yet there's nothing even marginally conventional about its overpowering visual splendor." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D |
Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C+ |
Hidalgo (2004) |
"Fitfully entertaining hokum as long as it isn't taken too seriously… Remarkably, Disney doesn't whitewash the more politically incorrect elements of Hopkins' tale." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A |
The Hiding Place (1975) |
"Remains one of the best films ever produced by a faith-based group… avoids the glibness and moralizing that hamper so many religious productions." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C- |
High Crimes (2002) |
"High Crimes goes out on a note as bland as its title." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
High Noon (1952) |
"Generates claustrophobic suspense by focusing on three images: Kane's increasingly tense, pained expression; implacably ticking clocks; and the ominous, empty train tracks." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C |
His Girl Friday (1940) |
"I've tried to love His Girl Friday, really I have." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C+ |
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) |
"What should have been a bitingly Gilliamesque Men in Black comes off as a hit-and-miss Britcom Galaxy Quest." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato C+ |
The Hobbit (1977) |
"Rankin-Bass bring their typically serviceable animation, strong voicework, and corny folk ballads to The Hobbit… worthwhile for kids and not too bad for parents." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Holes (2003) |
"Wry humor, thrills, redemption, and a convoluted, almost epic plot that’s fun to unravel." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A |
Holiday (1938) |
"Why is The Philadelphia Story so well known, while the equally unforgettable Holiday, from the same director, writers, and leads, suffers comparative neglect?" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B |
Holiday Inn (1942) |
"True to type, Crosby plays nice and Astaire shallow… The story writes itself, careful never to get in the way of big production numbers for every holiday on the calendar." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D+ |
Hollywood Homicide (2003) |
"Not the worst cop-buddy movie of the year — that distinction goes to National Security — but at least you can understand Steve Zahn taking National Security. What’s Harrison Ford’s excuse?" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C- |
Hollywoodland (2006) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C |
Home on the Range (2004) |
"Passable entertainment that ultimately reflects Disney's failure to find their new groove." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A- |
Hoosiers (1987) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C- |
Hoot (2006) |
"Dumbs down a story that, for what it's worth, was no Holes to begin with… aggravates the book's narrative and moral problems while watering down its charms." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato A |
Hotel Rwanda (2004) |
"Here, now, is the true face of human barbarity, and the true face of human heroism. Not in the now-distant mythology of World War II…" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat F |
The Hours (2002) |
"In a year of cinematic good intentions defeated by flaws in execution, The Hours stands out from the crowd: there's nothing wrong with the execution. It's the intentions that are the problem." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D+ |
House of Flying Daggers (2004) |
"Third art-house wuxia in a row with Zhang Ziyi the subject of violent sexual advances -- but the first that seems to take an unhealthy interest in the whole business." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D |
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) |
"By the time that you read this short essay of ours /
The Grinch will have made ten squintillion more dollars!" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D+ |
How to Eat Fried Worms (2006) |
"Jettisons nearly everything about the book except a few character names and the gross-out subject matter… Didn't anyone involved stop and say, 'Wait a minute — this isn't overcoming bullying, this is bullying'?" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
- |
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) |
"Click to view article" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat D+ |
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) |
"Where the movie loses me completely is when Andie's behavior takes a turn for the psychotically infantile. I wish I could say the low point is the scene in which Andie begins making goo-goo talk to Ben's (still-trousered) male member…" |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Tomato B+ |
Hulk (2003) |
"Not the best or most exciting of comic-book movies, but the most thoughtful and one of the most interesting… virtuoso split-screen work evokes comic-book panel layouts." |
Steven D. Greydanus |
Splat C+ |
The Hunted (2003) |
Click here to see the review. |
Steven D. Greydanus |
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