Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 82%
| A Single Man (2009) | "
It's a spruced up ode to unhappiness that remains rooted to the surface, an aesthete's dream." — Film School Rejects Posted Dec 25, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 89%
| Crazy Heart (2009) | "
The film aspires to such low-key minimalism that it leaves no more than a fleeting emotional effect." — Film School Rejects Posted Dec 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 74%
| The Young Victoria (2009) | "
Emily Blunt's performance succeeds because she makes the ultimate icon relatable." — Critic's Notebook Posted Dec 21, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 83%
| Avatar (2009) | "
The film gets the closest any has to fulfilling the 3-D format's fundamental mission of creating a new, immersive way of looking at movies." — Critic's Notebook Posted Dec 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 38%
| Nine (2009) | "
It looks great, but the magic is missing, sacrificed to Marshall's steadfast allegiance to surface style and his inability to find the specific focus the material demands." — Critic's Notebook Posted Dec 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| The Princess and the Frog (2009) | "
It's filled with clichés, but there's a certain storybook richness to their presentation." — Film School Rejects Posted Dec 11, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 76%
| Invictus (2009) | "
Morgan Freeman takes on Mandela's mannerisms with grace. He nails the self-assuredness, the ease with which the inspiring leader emerged from the twinkling, low-key charmer." — Critic's Notebook Posted Dec 11, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 40%
| The Lovely Bones (2009) | "
Jackson's transformed a serious, unsettling story into a reductive thriller-cum-special effects display." — Critic's Notebook Posted Dec 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Rotten 57%
| Brothers (2009) | "
That Portman and Gyllenhaal develop such easy, loving chemistry in their scenes together is a major coup for the filmmakers, the emotional engine that drives the story." — Film School Rejects Posted Dec 4, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 89%
| Up in the Air (2009) | "
This is a film of the American here and now, rooted in an on-the-go, technologically oriented society facing a crisis only survivable through genuine human connections." — Film School Rejects Posted Dec 4, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 94%
| Fargo (1996) | "
The most complete film the Coens have ever made, it's nothing short of a movie for the ages." — Film School Rejects Posted Dec 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Me and Orson Welles (2009) | "
Christian McKay's performance is an extraordinary immersion that rivals the legendary portrayals of icons in movies past." — Film School Rejects Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 68%
| The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) | "
The filmmaker is powerfully aided by Robin Wright Penn, who imbues Pippa with moving, quiet dignity." — Critic's Notebook Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 92%
| Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire (2009) | "
Features a fiercely intelligent performance by newcomer Sidibe and a compassionate eye for the circumstances surrounding the protagonist's upbringing." — Film School Rejects Posted Nov 22, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 58%
| Mammoth (2009) | "
Features various storylines centered on the same weighty themes, which mean to say so much about the human condition and modernity that they end up saying perilously little." — Critic's Notebook Posted Nov 20, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 89%
| Red Cliff (2009) | "
The characters function less as flesh-and-blood figures than obtuse archetypes. They look and act as if they know they belong in an epic." — Critic's Notebook Posted Nov 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 90%
| The Messenger (2009) | "
Moverman understands the deep, powerful struggle that must accompany such constant grappling with death." — Film School Rejects Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 93%
| Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) | "
The movie functions as a nostalgic adventure, a full-fledged depiction of a unique community and an affectionate exploration of manliness and alienation." — Film School Rejects Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Fresh 60%
| Pirate Radio (2009) | "
A halfhearted collection of scenarios and characters that would be more at home in a sitcom." — Critic's Notebook Posted Nov 11, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 80%
| Collapse (2009) | "
A poignant portrait of a man who has indisputably sacrificed all for something bigger than himself." — Critic's Notebook Posted Nov 7, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 55%
| Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) | "
Charles Dickens's reflective, universal story becomes fodder for a technological thrill ride starring a rough approximation of Jim Carrey." — Critic's Notebook Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 85%
| Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) | "
It's powerful material for Werner Herzog, a premier chronicler of the madness of men, and Nicolas Cage, who brings a fevered intensity to every project he takes on." — Critic's Notebook Posted Nov 4, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 80%
| Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) | "
A film about a technical achievement that never was, not the great artist we've all lost." — Critic's Notebook Posted Oct 29, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 69%
| (Untitled) (2009) | "
It's a sharp movie, pitched at a tone located squarely between archness and sincerity." — Film School Rejects Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 21%
| Amelia (2009) | "
The film comes across as both hopelessly dated and as a shortchanging of the true tale of one of the 20th century's pioneers." — Critic's Notebook Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 47%
| Ong Bak 2 (2009) | "
A perfect and perfectly goofy B-grade martial-arts picture." — Critic's Notebook Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 82%
| Black Dynamite (2009) | "
The full-on embrace of the stupidity, the charm and the admirably empowering qualities of blaxploitation sets Black Dynamite apart. But, above all, it's very funny." — Film School Rejects Posted Oct 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 24%
| Law Abiding Citizen (2009) | "
The film suffers from one unfortunate affliction: It makes absolutely no sense." — Film School Rejects Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 73%
| Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | "
So self-conscious about being a return to an earlier era of family filmmaking it never gets under your skin in the visceral, immersive way it should." — Critic's Notebook Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 34%
| St. Trinian's (2009) | "
A tame, glittery spoof without a brain in its head or a character worth caring about." — Critic's Notebook Posted Oct 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 56%
| Trucker (2009) | "
A nostalgic rehashing of the days when movies didn't need to telegraph every last detail." — Critic's Notebook Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 94%
| The Damned United (2009) | "
The performances by Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall give the picture the dramatic heft it needs to tackle a narrative far beyond the purview of a standard sports flick." — Critic's Notebook Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 57%
| The Invention of Lying (2009) | "
The emotions feel earned and the blending of tones recalls Lubitsch and Wilder." — Film School Rejects Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Whip It (2009) | "
A classically constructed coming of age story that fully embraces its girl power attitude." — Film School Rejects Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 87%
| A Serious Man (2009) | "
An affecting parable that slyly, subtly carries enormous power in its recognizable portrait of an ordinary man struggling to reconcile his faith with his everyday reality." — Critic's Notebook Posted Oct 1, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 84%
| Disgrace (2009) | "
The film struggles in its attempt to balance the thought-provoking overtones with the human drama at its core." — Critic's Notebook Posted Sep 28, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 40%
| Surrogates (2009) | "
The picture trades in hoary Bruce Willis police procedural clichés and underdeveloped conceits." — Critic's Notebook Posted Sep 28, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 27%
| Fame (2009) | "
This is not, in any sense, an accurate depiction of life at an arts school. It's a giant MTV VMAs performance." — Film School Rejects Posted Sep 26, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 18%
| Love Happens (2009) | "
A wearisome romance between two one-dimensional constructions masquerading as humans." — Film School Rejects Posted Sep 19, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 77%
| The Informant! (2009) | "
Soderbergh rigidly adheres to the idea of infusing the movie with heaps of pizazz, even as the material demands a vastly different, more soulful approach." — Critic's Notebook Posted Sep 17, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 32%
| The Burning Plain (2009) | "
The film cuts back and forth over more than a decade, weaves its way through two settings and winds up at a place heavy on symbolism and melodrama but empty on ideas." — Film School Rejects Posted Sep 17, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 84%
| Bright Star (2009) | "
A work blessed with keen insight into the heart and soul." — Film School Rejects Posted Sep 17, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 89%
| No Impact Man (2009) | "
It inspires serious second thoughts the next time you leave the lights on or your computer idling." — Film School Rejects Posted Sep 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 96%
| Crude (2009) | "
Embedded in the story are enough intriguing characters and moments of high human drama for it to function more like a piece of effective fiction than a work of overwrought agitprop." — Critic's Notebook Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 6%
| Whiteout (2009) | "
A lifeless whodunit, it wastes the mystical setting and the always game Kate Beckinsale on a pedestrian plot that could be set anywhere." — Film School Rejects Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 57%
| 9 (2009) | "
Rarely has so much imagination been poured into one facet of a film at the expense of another." — Critic's Notebook Posted Sep 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 87%
| Amreeka (2009) | "
The film takes on a loaded subject, strips it of its political ramifications and draws out the common humanity underwriting even the most divisive of hot button issues." — Film School Rejects Posted Sep 7, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 30%
| Gamer (2009) | "
The action scenes are a giant blurry glob of explosions, sudden attacks and spontaneous graphic deaths." — Film School Rejects Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 87%
| Big Fan (2009) | "
A fascinating character study and a deeply felt blow to the gut." — Critic's Notebook Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 87%
| At the Edge of the World (2009) | "
The picture pits man against man and nature in an economical fashion, and many scenes reverberate with suspense." — Critic's Notebook Posted Aug 28, 2009 |
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