Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 89%
| Everlasting Moments (2009) | "
Places its bets on illuminating the imperfect ways in which love, economics and artistry rule lives -- back then and, probably not much differently, now." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Mar 13, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 17%
| An American Affair (2009) | "
Out of its mind at a deep, essential level, An American Affair plays its dubious scenario with a straight face that makes the silly thing quite watchable." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Mar 13, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 79%
| 12 (2007) | "
Much about the state of the Big Bear today is revealed, and it would be unfair to deny that 12 has many cogent and sardonic insights into the country." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Mar 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Rotten 58%
| Phoebe In Wonderland (2009) | "
Phoebe in Wonderland introduces us to a smart new talent in Barnz and lets the more established members of its cast work at their top capacity. It's a film about kids graced with a mature aesthetic and rare behavioral wisdom." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Mar 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Two Lovers (2009) | "
Writer-director James Gray’s Two Lovers is an old story, well told." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Feb 13, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 58%
| The International (2009) | "
Beautifully shot, often in or against some of the world's most impressive architecture, The International is far from a total loss. It's just a film whose good assets don't pay off in gripping drama." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Feb 13, 2009 |
Rotten 3/4
| Rotten 23%
| Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) | "
Isla Fisher [is] as bright a comic talent as anything Hollywood has to offer these days." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Feb 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 67%
| Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh (2009) | "
Roberta Grossman's film nicely emphasizes the Seneshes' familial bonds while painting a persuasive portrait of a vibrant yet socially isolated young woman." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Feb 6, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 32%
| Fanboys (2009) | "
Yawn; real fannish obsession can be much more absurd, and unsettlingly fascinating, than this burlesque ever gets." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Feb 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 44%
| He's Just Not That Into You (2009) | "
It's a different kind of commercial romcom, and more serious toward its material than most. No life-changer, but worth a date night at least." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Feb 6, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 81%
| Owl and the Sparrow (2008) | "
The movie doesn't play as saccharine as it sounds, but gentle sentimentality runs this show nonetheless." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Jan 30, 2009 |
Rotten
| Rotten 18%
| New in Town (2009) | "
So elementary it makes most after-school specials look sophisticated." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Jan 30, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 90%
| The Secret of the Grain (2008) | "
A long but always engaging movie, intimately framed and exuberantly acted by a mixed cast of amateurs and professionals." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Jan 30, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 50%
| Notorious (2009) | "
Notorious is hagiography with guns, grass and flesh, but it's a kind of whitewash all the same." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Jan 16, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 12%
| Bride Wars (2009) | "
Bride Wars could have been your typical cartoonish, early-winter wedding comedy. Although it certainly has moments like that, it's not as wacky as most of its ilk. Guess the bad news is that it's not much of a comedy." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Jan 9, 2009 |
Fresh
| Rotten 15%
| The Spirit (2008) | "
Now that they've gone and made Batman all serious and good, the campy comics hero movie mantle has been taken up by The Spirit." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Jan 5, 2009 |
Rotten
| Fresh 71%
| The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) | "
I found its state-of-the-art technical aspects more engaging." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Jan 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 91%
| Gomorrah (2009) | "
Gomorrah brings subtle artistry and character insight to the observational, plot-drive-phobic school of filmmaking that's so popular among serious auteurs at the moment." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 19, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 80%
| Nothing But the Truth (2008) | "
The two lead actresses play superbly rounded characters, both smart, tough customers unused to being pushed around, yet wives and mothers whose domestic concerns are as important to them as professional ones." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 19, 2008 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 43%
| Yes Man (2008) | "
Yes Man is a nice movie about the benefits and limits of approaching life with an upbeat attitude, but a comedy that was actually hilarious would've had the same effect -- and been a lot more entertaining." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 19, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 27%
| Seven Pounds (2008) | "
Equal parts bizarre and conventional, Seven Pounds is -- if not good -- an intriguing film." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 19, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 79%
| Gran Torino (2008) | "
Clint Eastwood collects and distills everything we know he is capable of doing on screen -- some of which we might wish he hadn't done, but most of which we love. Even if we might be a little ashamed to admit it." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 12, 2008 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 77%
| Doubt (2008) | "
If you're going to set a faith-vs.-uncertainty debate in the heart of a church milieu, shouldn't some of the characters at least mention the beliefs that they've not just dedicated their lives to, but built them around?" — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 12, 2008 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 62%
| The Reader (2008) | "
The Reader isn't an act of moral imbecility like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, but it's pretty questionable all the way through." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 12, 2008 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 62%
| Che (2008) | "
You couldn’t ask for a more committed and demanding performance than this one. But there is a richer one that eluded Del Toro. And boy, does that lack of character dimension make this thing an endurance test." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 12, 2008 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 84%
| Wendy and Lucy (2008) | "
Wendy and Lucy renews the spirit of American independent film. Its minimalism has a purpose, its sentiment seeks honest feeling when it could have been used for easy manipulation." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 12, 2008 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 91%
| Frost/Nixon (2008) | "
Frost/Nixon could be the best political film in a year that's had more than its share of good ones." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 35%
| Otto; Or, Up with Dead People (2008) | "
LaBruce's film is such a riot of conflicting information and signifying styles that inner logic never really gets a grip." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 93%
| Milk (2008) | "
After many years and failed attempts, a very, very good biopic of Harvey Milk is finally here." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 26, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 73%
| Eden (2008) | "
Eden is a sad, nicely observed study of a decade-old marriage that, for the most part, is over." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 58%
| The Dukes (2008) | "
A lot of love was clearly poured into this project; too bad the results were only so-so." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008) | "
The story of the women's groups -- Christian and Muslim, uniting for the first time in the nation's history -- is unbelievably inspiring." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 14, 2008 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 64%
| Quantum of Solace (2008) | "
Quantum's worst miscalculation is letting Bond's dark side cast shadows over everything else. For all of its fantastic stunts and exotic settings, it's a mostly joyless romp." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 14, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 67%
| First Basket (2008) | "
David Vyorst's comprehensive and celebratory documentary presents the stats in one easy-to-follow, nicely organized 86 minutes." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 14, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 60%
| Loins of Punjab Presents (2008) | "
The movie maintains a nice balance between affection for its fame-seekers and sharp jokes at their expense." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 7, 2008 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 94%
| Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) | "
Kuenne uses ingenious montages and judicious pacing tactics to drive through reams of evidence, legal codes and other data that, in most documentaries, would leave viewers' eyes glazed over." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 7, 2008 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 33%
| Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) | "
Not for all tastes, Repo! The Genetic Opera can boast a lot of imagination and some evident talent." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 7, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 88%
| Ballast (2008) | "
The direct, shimmering minimalism with which Hammer tells his story also gets to some fairly real, universal stuff." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 7, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 45%
| Soul Men (2008) | "
It grieves me to report that Bernie Mac's posthumous movie release, Soul Men, hardly does the great comedian justice." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Nov 7, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 73%
| Fear(s) of the Dark (2008) | "
This may not be everyone's idea of either scary or great animation, but it is a generally successful attempt to marry the two forms in a unique way." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 31, 2008 |
Rotten
| Fresh 71%
| Splinter (2008) | "
This slightly elevated generic effort is still essentially what they mean by disposable entertainment." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 31, 2008 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 67%
| Synecdoche, New York (2008) | "
Evident passion and a tremendous amount of thought went into Synecdoche." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 24, 2008 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 43%
| Choose Connor (2008) | "
Stranger things, no doubt, do happen. But ambitious, intelligent Eberl needed more mature storytelling skills to make Choose Connor seem plausible." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 17, 2008 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 45%
| Sex Drive (2008) | "
The film is generally well-staged and adequately acted (Seth Green stands out as a sarcastic buggy-driver)." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 17, 2008 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 60%
| W. (2008) | "
The psychological picture the movie paints is as yawningly incomplete as its historical one -- and can be yawningly tedious, too." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 17, 2008 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 58%
| The Secret Life of Bees (2008) | "
It comes across more as a connect-the-dots Southern literary concept than as a tale of real, damaged people bonding on a persuasively deep level." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 17, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 80%
| Fraude: Mexico 2006 (2008) | "
deeply and seriously explores a key historical moment in the country's tortured political history." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 10, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 78%
| Ashes of Time Redux (1994) | "
Gosh, it's pretty." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 10, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 93%
| Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (2008) | "
It's good the film exposes his methods, especially with the final stretch of our current election cycle upon us." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 3, 2008 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 37%
| How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) | "
Overall, it's a smart movie that even makes apt, respectful references to the greatest film on this subject, Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita." — Los Angeles Daily News Posted Oct 3, 2008 |
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