|
3/5
|
25%
|
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011) |
"
In director Bill Condon's skilled hands, this instalment proves more intimate, confining its action to kids in rooms wrestling with the consequences of their own crushes."
—
Scotsman
Posted Nov 20, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
36%
|
Immortals (2011) |
"
It's encouraging to see a studio movie based on Greek legend that at least looks as if they have done some of the reading and visited a few exhibitions."
—
Scotsman
Posted Nov 13, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
50%
|
The Rum Diary (2011) |
"
It's a smart, good-looking adaptation - if nothing else, proof that Robinson deserves more directing work - but just a bit too sober to truly excite."
—
Scotsman
Posted Nov 13, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
73%
|
Sarah's Key (2011) |
"
Were it not for the subtitles, this could easily go out on ITV primetime."
—
Scotsman
Posted Aug 15, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
48%
|
Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) |
"
Vanilla Ice over the closing credits? Pretty much perfect."
—
Scotsman
Posted Aug 15, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
85%
|
A Better Life (2011) |
"
Modest as A Better Life may be in scope, it commits wholeheartedly to achieving the goal of socially conscious cinema: to make visible the previously unseen."
—
Scotsman
Posted Aug 8, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
35%
|
Battle: Los Angeles (2011) |
"
The X-Box game this film wants to be would be ten times more involving, and wouldn't feature Ne-Yo."
—
Scotsman
Posted Mar 14, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
64%
|
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011) |
"
In two years the swooning tweenies on screen and in the audience will feel embarrassed about their reactions; anybody else going should take ear plugs for the shrieky bits."
—
Scotsman
Posted Feb 22, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
53%
|
The Mechanic (2011) |
"
It's nuts-and-bolts action cinema, of the kind that does a job come Saturday night: on the Stath-o-meter, nothing so delirious as Crank, but a marked improvement on the Transporters."
—
Scotsman
Posted Jan 31, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
32%
|
How Do You Know (2010) |
"
More creative energy has gone into furnishing these characters' apartments than devising credible emotional situations to put them in; the result is wholly undemanding, and best saved for a long-haul flight."
—
Scotsman
Posted Jan 31, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
44%
|
The Green Hornet (2011) |
"
It remains a rare franchise reboot where the sense of playfulness outweighs that of strained psychological depth or grim commercial obligation."
—
Scotsman
Posted Jan 18, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
0%
|
Arthur and the Great Adventure () |
"
Even those generous enough to have rescued 2007's part-animated Arthur and the Invisibles from a DVD bargain bin would likely concede there wasn't much call for a sequel."
—
Scotsman
Posted Dec 27, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
29%
|
Animals United (Konferenz der Tiere) () |
"
What dooms the film to ordinariness are the animals themselves, so lacking in memorable characteristics that parents will most likely spend the 90 minutes guessing which celebrity voice artists have been busy earning themselves a nice Christmas bonus."
—
Scotsman
Posted Dec 20, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
18%
|
You Again (2010) |
"
All soft furnishings and gleaming teeth, it's inoffensive, made for in-flight viewing..."
—
Scotsman
Posted Nov 15, 2010
|
|
3/5
|
16%
|
Skyline (2010) |
"
There are a couple of genuine surprises, and few pretensions about delivering an efficient, popcorn-worthy entertainment."
—
Scotsman
Posted Nov 15, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
46%
|
Step Up 3-D (2010) |
"
Likely to leave even unworldly 12-year-olds rolling, rather than breakin', in the aisles."
—
Scotsman
Posted Aug 9, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
14%
|
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010) |
"
If we are going to put words in the mouths of furballs, they surely have to be funnier than these."
—
Scotsman
Posted Aug 9, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
28%
|
Clash of the Titans (2010) |
"
Cheesier than the fondue at a Roman orgy."
—
Scotsman
Posted Apr 8, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
25%
|
Ninja Assassin (2009) |
"
All the expensive surface distraction in the world can't make up for leaden plotting, paper-thin characters and lousy dialogue."
—
Scotsman
Posted Jan 22, 2010
|
|
1/5
|
7%
|
Post Grad (2009) |
"
It's of note chiefly for giving likeable performers not one worthwhile thing to do between them."
—
Scotsman
Posted Jan 5, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
10%
|
St Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009) |
"
The girl-power subtext is about as sincere as a speech one student is given about climate change. St Trinian's remains the franchise that will show you its knickers - and say whatever you want to hear - for a pound."
—
Scotsman
Posted Dec 18, 2009
|
|
3/5
|
28%
|
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) |
"
It's stronger on dream logic than plot... yet knows its audience exactly: about 30 of its 130 minutes consist of slo-mo lingering on Pattinson's preternatural jawline and Lautner's preposterous abs."
—
Scotsman
Posted Nov 20, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
93%
|
The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos (2008) |
"
It's respectful of nature, not sentimental. Nor is it overly analytical. The narration - read by Mariella Frostrup - is informative, but the film has been constructed in a more poetic, mythical way."
—
Scotsman
Posted Sep 25, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
86%
|
White Lightnin' (2009) |
"
An amusingly nutty aberration of the traditional follow-your-dreams story arc."
—
Scotsman
Posted Sep 25, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
25%
|
Fame (2009) |
"
Fame 2009 has turns rather than scenes, and its interchangeable students don't have names to remember so much as tags: "angry", "nervy", "blonde". Most can sing or dance, though the relentless exhibitionism grows tiring."
—
Scotsman
Posted Sep 25, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
86%
|
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) |
"
Easily Sony's best [animated film] since Monster House."
—
Scotsman
Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
3/5
|
91%
|
District 9 (2009) |
"
The creature effects, overseen by Jackson's WETA workshop, are first-rate, but this appears to be one of those instances where the hype seems as likely to be detrimental as beneficial: more seasoned observers may emerge underwhelmed."
—
Scotsman
Posted Sep 4, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
14%
|
I Love You Beth Cooper (2009) |
"
This appears too obviously the work of middle-aged men - director Columbus included - trying to regain past glories."
—
Scotsman
Posted Aug 21, 2009
|
|
1/5
|
18%
|
Dance Flick (2009) |
"
A few very throwaway chuckles rank it above Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie in the movie gutter, for what it's worth, but it's been assembled with the usual shoddiness."
—
Scotsman
Posted Aug 21, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
37%
|
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) |
"
Surprisingly watchable up until its late, headlong plunge into TV-movie blandness."
—
Scotsman
Posted Aug 14, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
16%
|
Crossing Over (2009) |
"
At once ambitious, familiar in its multi-stranded storytelling, and suspect in its underlying politics."
—
Scotsman
Posted Jul 31, 2009
|
|
3/5
|
84%
|
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) |
"
David Yates feels a safer pair of hands than ever, underlining the Potter world's essential Englishness in a string of atmospheric locations."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Jul 17, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
13%
|
The Informers (2009) |
"
Much of it remains purposefully pointless, and Ellis and Jordan never attempt to reframe the dead-eyed hedonism and solipsism that makes these characters very hard to care about."
—
Scotsman
Posted Jul 17, 2009
|
|
3/5
|
94%
|
The Damned United (2009) |
"
The casting (Meaney as Revie, Spall as Taylor) is exemplary, the on-pitch action stylised yet credible, and it's heartening to see a British feature addressing a history that doesn't involve princesses or socialites."
—
Scotsman
Posted Mar 27, 2009
|
|
3/5
|
68%
|
Cadillac Records (2008) |
"
As a brash, showbiz-y digest of blues roots and culture, it's lovingly designed and performed in the right spirit, finding as much to cherish in a Cadillac's tailfin as in a risqué rhyming couplet."
—
Scotsman
Posted Feb 20, 2009
|
|
|
62%
|
The Reader (2008) |
"
The revelation of evil not only confounds the characters here; it numbs the film, stifles whatever wayward life it once had in it."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Jan 5, 2009
|
|
3/5
|
84%
|
Sweet Land (2006) |
"
Pleasant surprise of the week, a US indie so unashamedly romantic about pie, cornfields, family and baseball you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a Presidential campaign video."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Sep 5, 2008
|
|
3/5
|
67%
|
Never Apologize: A Personal Visit with Lindsay Anderson (2007) |
"
It's not great cinema, but it's never less than good fun; watch it in conjunction with Anderson's recently published diaries, and you'll get a sense of a unique, irreplaceable and finally very human talent."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Sep 5, 2008
|
|
2/5
|
25%
|
El Cantante (2007) |
"
Leon Ichaso's film soft-pedals everything save the language in what often resembles a made-for-cable biopic."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Sep 5, 2008
|
|
1/5
|
2%
|
Disaster Movie (2008) |
"
Surely even bovine American teenagers have to realise their intelligence is being insulted sooner or later."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Sep 5, 2008
|
|
2/5
|
9%
|
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."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Sep 5, 2008
|
|
|
36%
|
Face Addict (2008) |
"
The film is flatly shot, as though to illustrate the dimensional difference between stills photography and cinematography."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Aug 22, 2008
|
|
|
13%
|
College Road Trip (2008) |
"
Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived at a new circle of hell: the one where Martin Lawrence is no longer the most irksome presence in a Martin Lawrence movie."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Aug 22, 2008
|
|
|
19%
|
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) |
"
Can someone beam a hologrammatic representative into Lucasfilm HQ with a message from the real world? Master George, we beseech you, give it up: nobody cares anymore, and besides, your tea's ready."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Aug 15, 2008
|
|
|
79%
|
Jimmy Carter Man From Plains (2007) |
"
Only belatedly, with the arrival of Alan Dershowitz, does Demme happen across anybody who might disrupt the air of non-confrontational niceness, but Carter ducks the challenge, and the film heads ever onwards into hagiography. A disappointment."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Aug 15, 2008
|
|
|
68%
|
Paris (2008) |
"
An insane amount of dancing can't shake off the heavy feeling we've all been here before, and in the hands of more revealing guides."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Jul 25, 2008
|
|
|
78%
|
Lou Reed's Berlin (2008) |
"
For devotees only, I'm guessing."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Jul 25, 2008
|
|
|
82%
|
Buda as sharm foru rikht (Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame) (2007) |
"
Throughout, Makhmalbaf juggles extraordinary scenes of observation and tension, filling the screen with indelible imagery..."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Jul 25, 2008
|
|
|
56%
|
A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2010) |
"
It's a display of gross bad faith both as documentarist and lover, and its subject probably deserves never to get laid again."
—
Daily Telegraph
Posted Jul 1, 2008
|
