Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 93%
| Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) | "
Gustafson's stop-motion animation achieves a consciously hand-crafted look that stands out in an age of slick computer animation like a Chippendale cabinet in an IKEA store." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Rotten 0/4
| Rotten 6%
| Old Dogs (2009) | "
This excruciating comedy tests the limits of how many shots to the crotch a movie can show, or an audience can absorb." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 31%
| Ninja Assassin (2009) | "
The gory decapitations and gushing blood - imagine filling a million balloons with cherry Kool-Aid and using them in a water-balloon fight - turn the action scenes into an indistinguishable sea of red." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 94%
| An Education (2009) | "
Mulligan perfectly balances on the line of girlhood and womanhood, shifting naturally from schoolgirl innocence to Audrey Hepburn-like sophistication just by putting up her hair." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 91%
| Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire (2009) | "
It's a small miracle that a story as filled with tragedy and heartbreak as Precious... would also be as hopeful and life-affirming as it is." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 23%
| Planet 51 (2009) | "
The story itself is weakly conceived and doesn't sustain a feature-length movie." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 72%
| The Blind Side (2009) | "
Hancock sands down the rough spots of Oher's story, but he also polishes to a glow the family ties that grow between Oher and the Touhys." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 28%
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) | "
The tension between Bella and Edward was the main appeal of the first Twilight, and is sadly missing here." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Rotten 0/4
| Rotten 28%
| Play the Game (2009) | "
I never contemplated what Andy Griffith's face would look like during orgasm, and I curse this atrocious and shoddy romantic comedy for making Griffith do it and making anyone watch it." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 60%
| Pirate Radio (2009) | "
A bloody perfect comedy, a rollicking rock 'n' roll farce brimming with raunchy humor and characters who will charm your socks off." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 39%
| 2012 (2009) | "
There's nothing to root against, no recipient to rage against the dying of the light. There's only the spectacle of the world crumbling and the dreary aftermath of cleaning up what's left." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 13, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 18%
| The Fourth Kind (2009) | "
A cut-rate X-Files rehash cleverly dressed up with the trappings of supposedly "real" footage a la The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 53%
| The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) | "
Heslov's deadpan handling of the movie's strange-but-true vibe, coupled with Clooney's full-tilt devotion to his outlandish character, smooths over the rougher patches of Peter Straughan's quirky screenplay." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 16%
| Gentlemen Broncos (2009) | "
The deliberately low-rent cheesiness of the special effects, as well as the childish grossness of the humor, give "Gentlemen Broncos" a distinctive and original flavor." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 80%
| Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) | "
Part concert film, part backstage documentary, and all tribute to Jackson's painstaking musical perfectionism." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 28, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 24%
| Adventures of Power (2009) | "
Gold attempts to show Power as a "Napoleon Dynamite"-like charmer, but Gold's spastic performance induces more cringes than smiles." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 87%
| A Serious Man (2009) | "
In the rogues' gallery of characters the Coen brothers have created, Larry Gopnik may not stand out as the funniest or most dynamic -- but in some ways, he's one of their finest." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 48%
| Astro Boy (2009) | "
The cheap '60s Japanese TV cartoon series... is updated into a cheap and sometimes unsettling computer-animated adventure." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 37%
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) | "
Massoglia is so bland he barely registers on film, which is a bit too appropriate for a vampire role." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 21%
| Amelia (2009) | "
[A] gauzy biopic [with] gorgeous scenery, beautiful period costumes, and a love affair worthy of a Lifetime movie." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 82%
| Paranormal Activity (2009) | "
A chilling minimalist shocker shot in a week for an initial budget of merely $11,000 [that] scares and entertains better than movies made for 10,000 times more." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 24%
| Law Abiding Citizen (2009) | "
It's a toss-up what's dumber: the forehead-slapping contrivances director F. Gary Gray sets up for each killing, or the Neanderthal political "message."" — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 73%
| Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | "
For grown-ups, Jonze's exploration of Max's imaginary world is a wonder." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| N/A | One Good Man () | "
There's zero tension in Bishop Young's story, as every crisis on his path is easily solved with a gentle montage of scriptural consultation and hugs all around." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 87%
| Amreeka (2009) | "
Director-writer Cherien Dabis drew the story from life..., and the script is brimming with tiny details that lend it authenticity." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 75%
| Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) | "
Moore's loudest, most heartfelt warning, against corporate greed that is ruining his -- and our -- country. It's also a stirring cry to action." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 27%
| Fame (2009) | "
A little too scrubbed and sanitized, with the sharper realities of showbiz sanded down to a PG level." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Whip It (2009) | "
First-time director Barrymore has a sharp eye for the rough-and-tumble grunginess of roller derby, and a warmhearted appreciation of the girl power that fuels it." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 57%
| The Invention of Lying (2009) | "
Gervais is reluctant to use his satiric bite to go for the throat. Instead, he just nibbles the edges of his premise, before retreating into romantic-comedy convention." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| N/A | Toy Story/Toy Story 2 (1995) | "
The revelation is that the movies were 3-D-ready to begin with." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 12%
| Couples Retreat (2009) | "
The twosome that sparks most agreeably is Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. ... The humor isn't always highbrow, but it works." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 60%
| Paper Heart (2009) | "
Imagine if Borat had been made by Miranda July, the whimsical beat-poet performance artist who gave us Me and You and Everyone We Know." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 26%
| The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009) | "
Like Don's sales technique, the movie ... pushes its humor aggressively but closes the deal." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 80%
| Bandslam (2009) | "
Graff ... mines some spunky humor and heartfelt characters, all while coloring safely within the lines of the underdogs-reaching-the-top storyline." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 91%
| Ponyo (2009) | "
As beautiful as Ponyo is to the eye, the movie -- thanks in part to a spotty English-language adaptation -- is sometimes a bit grating to the ear and confusing to the brain." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 90%
| District 9 (2009) | "
About the only way District 9 - a bloody marvelous action movie that's part science-fiction allegory and part unabashed mayhem - could get more in your face is if it was shot in 3D." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 96%
| The Cove (2009) | "
An activist thriller -- part caper flick, part environmental cry to the world -- that will set your heart racing, while breaking your heart at the same time." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 86%
| 500 Days of Summer (2009) | "
Together, [Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel] pull off the tough trick of making us root for their relationship to succeed and understand if it fails" — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 9, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 29%
| Aliens in the Attic (2009) | "
It's one thing that the script has a moronic premise. It's another that the writers don't have anything clever to add to that premise." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 9, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 14%
| The Ugly Truth (2009) | "
There's nothing wrong with the leads, Heigl and Butler, except that every scene they're in plays as if they met five seconds before Luketic yelled "Action!"" — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 68%
| Funny People (2009) | "
Funny People clicks best when the emphasis is on the funny, not on the people." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 83%
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) | "
There's a welcome lightness in the romantic couplings, which will have pre-teens across America asking, "Mom, what's snogging?"" — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 9, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 24%
| G-Force (2009) | "
Guided by the principle that action movies have become generic that anybody can be plugged into the hero role and the results would be no different than if Arnold Schwarzenegger or Bruce Willis was the star." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 9, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 58%
| A Perfect Getaway (2009) | "
Writer-director David Twohy is too much in love with his hipper-than-thou dialogue, but he plants some sneaky scares along the trail." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 75%
| Julie & Julia (2009) | "
The main reason the Child half of Julie & Julia soars is that Streep so fully inhabits the woman." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 9, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 36%
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) | "
Audiences know the signs of a lame August release -- and, as the Joes say, knowing is half the battle." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Aug 7, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 97%
| The Hurt Locker (2009) | "
[The movie] speaks volumes about war, and the toll war takes on the men who fight and die in uniform, precisely because it says very little about the particulars of this war." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 47%
| Whatever Works (2009) | "
David and Allen seem to be straining to create caricatures of the other's screen persona - and the results are inevitably self-negating, a comedic black hole from which not even laughter can escape." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 47%
| My Sister's Keeper (2009) | "
The performances are first-rate, with special commendation to Vassilieva in a breakout performance as a teen striving for normalcy in spite of her cancer." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 66%
| Public Enemies (2009) | "
Mann draws a sprawling cast together with a myriad of period details that give an authentic sheen, without letting the audience get confused in the sea of historic information." — Salt Lake Tribune Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
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