Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 80%
| Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) | "
Ortega has applied himself studiously to his task, and the film is some recompense for those deprived by his death of seeing Jackson live." — Daily Telegraph Posted Oct 28, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Rotten 55%
| The Soloist (2009) | "
The Soloist has its imperfections, but its ambition trumps them." — Daily Telegraph Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 25%
| Land of the Lost (2009) | "
The humour is lame and more than a little smutty, while the plot barely hangs together." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 24%
| G-Force (2009) | "
The story feels thin and faintly incoherent, the action is loud and relentless. A milder version of many other Bruckheimer films, then – which doesn’t mean kids won’t love it." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 16%
| Crossing Over (2009) | "
The whole exercise feels exploitative." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 65%
| Coco Before Chanel (2009) | "
Tautou is just terrific, and to recall an actress who could so dominate your memory of a movie, one needs to think back to Audrey Hepburn." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 31, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 84%
| Soul Power (2009) | "
The concert footage is excellent, with Brown in decent form, even if in truth he was already a decade past his creative peak. Good music movie, thin documentary." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 68%
| The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) | "
Miller's film is a triumph. Uniformly well acted, it boasts a psychologically knowing script, clearly written by a smart, assertive human being rather than a software programme. As for the luminous Wright Penn, awards season beckons." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 95%
| Mishima - A Life in Four Chapters (1985) | "
Philip Glass’s score still takes the breath away." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 23%
| Fired Up (2009) | "
This aggressively stupid comedy tries to have it both ways, advocating sexual probity while its cameras linger over acres of golden female thighs." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 75%
| Heimatklänge () | "
Some genuinely affecting moments punctuate their accounts, but overall this amiable documentary is as mad as a sackful of whippets." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 95%
| 35 Shots of Rum (2009) | "
35 Shots of Rum draws its power from silences, glances, hugs and smiles - all of which speak more eloquently than any dialogue. It's a profound, discreet, hugely touching work that resonates in the memory." — Daily Telegraph Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 83%
| 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." — Daily Telegraph Posted May 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 63%
| The Man from London (2008) | "
Surrendering to the film's languid rhythms is pleasurable, even invigorating. To resist its forbidding pace and style is to deny oneself its rarefied rewards." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 12, 2008 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 92%
| The Lemon Tree (2008) | "
Clearly, the story relates to the Israeli-Palestinian divide – Lemon Tree is not a film for those who like their metaphors understated. Yet it is remarkable for the mere presence of Hiam Abbass alone." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 12, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 39%
| Inkheart (2009) | "
Inkheart is cheerful and amiable, and in the absence of a Harry Potter film this winter, it fills a gap neatly." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 12, 2008 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 58%
| The Secret Life of Bees (2008) | "
It's generous-minded, and though it labours awkwardly to move you, that doesn't mean you won't be moved." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 47%
| Lakeview Terrace (2008) | "
Yet despite the crudeness that finally overtakes Lakeview Terrace, it may be a more accurate representation of racial attitudes in Los Angeles than many inhabitants would care to admit." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 64%
| Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) | "
Its overall tone is cheerful, amiable and kid-friendly - and in these straitened times, one learns to be grateful for small mercies." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 26%
| The Lost City (2006) | "
Great music and costumes, but with a woeful plot and jaw-droppingly stilted dialogue. Cuban-born Garcia's main complaint against Fidel seems to be that rich, corrupt Cubans could no longer dance the night away." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 65%
| Patti Smith - Dream of Life (2008) | "
Smith, an eloquent subject with a wry view on her life, generously pays tribute to such influential mentors as Dylan, Burroughs and Ginsberg. Her fans should be entranced." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 77%
| The Children (2008) | "
This efficient British chiller ticks the right boxes." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 37%
| Transporter 3 (2008) | "
Luc Besson's modestly-budgeted but wildly successful franchise shows signs of broadening to include romance and humour." — Daily Telegraph Posted Dec 5, 2008 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 73%
| Año Uña (2008) | "
Agreeably short, but it’s hard to overlook that it’s only a parade of still images. A film, certainly, but not quite a movie." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Rotten 0/5
| Rotten 25%
| Four Christmases (2008) | "
Seeing such talent wasted on this dross is dismaying." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 64%
| To Get To Heaven First You Have To Die (2006) | "
A jolting journey towards a swaggering notion of manhood, directed with assured expertise by Jamshed Usmonov." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 55%
| Flawless (2007) | "
Calling a diamond-heist movie Flawless is a valiant choice - especially when it's anything but. Suspense is essential to this genre, but here you couldn't care less what happens next." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Fresh
| Rotten 54%
| What Just Happened (2008) | "
Pure razzle-dazzle, of course - fittingly for this industry, it's a con-trick." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 28, 2008 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 100%
| Conversations with My Gardener (2007) | "
Such life lessons could clearly seem maudlin and patronising. But director Jean Becker and his two excellent leads opt for understatement, and the film finally achieves a subtle triumph - a mood that is both celebratory and bittersweet." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 41%
| 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." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 54%
| Choke (2008) | "
This adaptation of a novel by American provocateur Chuck Palahniuk is profane, offensive and obscene, and packed with balefully weak jokes." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 90%
| Special People (2007) | "
Well-meant but gruel-thin British comedy in which a failed film-maker helps wheelchair-bound teenagers to make a movie." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 86%
| 'Tis Autumn - The Search for Jackie Paris (2007) | "
Annoyingly, Raymond de Felitta intrudes into his own movie, yet he also makes the case that here was a distinctive if wayward talent." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 64%
| 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." — Daily Telegraph Posted Nov 21, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Heavy Load (2008) | "
This is intriguing, though it gives Rothwell another excuse to appear on camera, which he does with irritating frequency." — Daily Telegraph Posted Oct 3, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 60%
| The Fall (2008) | "
The Fall is hugely ambitious, but ultimately it's just an intriguing folly." — Daily Telegraph Posted Oct 3, 2008 |
Fresh
| Rotten 37%
| How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) | "
It has been pared down to a light comedy with a little romance on the side, and works competently in these terms." — Daily Telegraph Posted Oct 3, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 76%
| Appaloosa (2008) | "
A pity that Harris's homage to westerns should be compromised so intrusively. For most of its length, in terms of its themes, pacing and visual sweep, it's a treat." — Daily Telegraph Posted Sep 26, 2008 |
Fresh
| Rotten 51%
| Steep (2007) | "
In this handsomely shot documentary about extreme skiing, thrill-seeking devotees boast of their exploits, but shed no light on what drives them to risk their lives." — Daily Telegraph Posted Sep 26, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 55%
| The Foot Fist Way (2008) | "
From a bunch of minor Judd Apatow protégés, a dispiriting low-budget series of witless, misogynistic sketches masquerading as comedy." — Daily Telegraph Posted Sep 26, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 57%
| Taken (2009) | "
This queasy, violent revenge fantasy becomes more preposterous as the body count rises. Taken is notable mainly for its racist stereotyping of Arabs and eastern Europeans." — Daily Telegraph Posted Sep 26, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 68%
| Redbelt (2008) | "
Emily Mortimer is impressive as a jittery, unlikable attorney whose impulsive actions trigger Mike's descent. But it's Ejiofor's film all the way." — Daily Telegraph Posted Sep 26, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 90%
| I've Loved You So Long (2008) | "
It's absorbing to watch, and the two leads offer an acting masterclass." — Daily Telegraph Posted Sep 26, 2008 |
Fresh
| Rotten 37%
| Swing Vote (2008) | "
Swing Vote is a benign but telling satire." — Daily Telegraph Posted Sep 26, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 39%
| Wild Child (2009) | "
A tweenie comedy with an uplifting American-style sports movie awkwardly bolted on, it's a mess - far inferior to the recent Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging." — Daily Telegraph Posted Aug 15, 2008 |
Rotten
| Fresh 79%
| Jimmy Carter Man From Plains (2007) | "
Essentially a soap opera." — Daily Telegraph Posted Aug 15, 2008 |
Rotten
| Fresh 77%
| Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) | "
Between a series of stunt-driven set-pieces, implausibly linked, the film gets bogged down in wearying talk." — Daily Telegraph Posted May 18, 2008 |
Rotten
| Rotten 38%
| Flashbacks of a Fool (2008) | "
Fatally, Craig's self-obsessed Joe never develops into anyone more interesting." — Daily Telegraph Posted Apr 18, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 79%
| Black Water (2007) | "
Writer-directors David Nerlich and Andrew Traucki calibrate the tension with creditable skill." — Daily Telegraph Posted Feb 22, 2008 |
Rotten
| Fresh 71%
| The Killing Gene (2008) | "
A little too close to torture-porn for most tastes, but debutant director Tom Shankland shows promise." — Daily Telegraph Posted Feb 22, 2008 |
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