|
3/4
|
71%
|
Friends With Benefits (2011) |
"
For its first two-thirds, Friends With Benefits is a welcome tonic, a sharply funny and raunchy rebuke against the worn-out cliches of romantic comedies. "
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Aug 24, 2011
|
|
1.5/4
|
23%
|
The Smurfs (2011) |
"
Director Raja Gosnell plays every lame joke as broadly as possible, allowing his cast - notably Azaria and Sofia Vergara (as Patrick's overbearing boss) - to overplay at every turn."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jul 29, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
78%
|
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011) |
"
You're likely to fall in love with these characters, Cal and Hannah especially -- and when you're in love, you're willing to forgive a few faults. "
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jul 29, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
44%
|
Cowboys & Aliens (2011) |
"
Another assembly-line Hollywood blockbuster, a Western for people who have never seen Westerns, and a science-fiction movie for people who don't like science fiction."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jul 29, 2011
|
|
1/4
|
0%
|
The Undefeated (2011) |
"
After proclaiming that Palin is a woman of substance, in the end Bannon's movie is all about her style"
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jul 29, 2011
|
|
1/4
|
35%
|
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) |
"
An empty-headed special-effects monstrosity that's just as incoherent, offensive and stupid as Revenge of the Fallen."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jun 29, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
27%
|
Green Lantern (2011) |
"
Not even Ryan Reynolds' charm, which pours out of the actor like water over Niagara Falls, can overcome the lumpy narrative and special-effects overkill."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jun 24, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
79%
|
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011) |
"
The movie illustrates its title, showing O'Brien as a driven performer who can't stop trying to entertain."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jun 24, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
44%
|
Bad Teacher (2011) |
"
Diaz lets her wardrobe and bad attitude do the work for her, but she's left high and dry at the end of the film when it abruptly tries to redeem Elizabeth's bad behavior."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jun 24, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
58%
|
Yves Saint Laurent - L'amour fou (2011) |
"
[Not] just a documentary but a romance, one that spans decades and left a lasting mark on how the world looks at fashion and art."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jun 24, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
39%
|
Cars 2 (2011) |
"
Between the smart visuals and the dumbed-down script, Cars 2 manages to be good enough - which, considering Pixar's past levels of brilliance, is a considerable disappointment."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Jun 24, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
34%
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) |
"
Mostly, Marshall works to keep the computer graphics from completely overwhelming the action, and staying out of the way of his cast."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted May 19, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
56%
|
The Conspirator (2011) |
"
Redford, blessed with an electrifying cast, nobly fulfills his mission to bring alive a forgotten chapter of American history."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Apr 22, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
——
|
My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (2010) |
"
Give a cheer to Utah filmmaker Daryn Tufts, who enlivens the romantic-comedy clichés with an engaging spin and plenty of wit."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Nov 2, 2010
|
|
1.5/4
|
32%
|
A Woman, A Gun and a Noodle Shop (San qiang pai an jing qi) (A Simple Noodle Story) (The First Gun) (2010) |
"
A group of shrill, idiotic characters mugging for the camera in front of stunning desert landscapes. "
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
3.5/4
|
90%
|
Lebanon (Levanon) (2010) |
"
Maoz concentrates the experience of war so completely that you almost smell the blood and motor oil on the tank walls."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
85%
|
Farewell (L'affaire Farewell) (2010) |
"
By the time Carion winds to an exciting finale, as Pierre and Jessica try to get out of the Soviet Union, this Cold War drama will have already left you cold."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
74%
|
Soul Kitchen (2010) |
"
Director Fatih Akin?s specialty is illuminating the multi-cultural bustle of modern Germany, and here he brings a light touch to Zinos? catastrophic efforts to stay above water."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
0/4
|
53%
|
I'm Still Here (2010) |
"
If Phoenix and Affleck are engaged in an extended performance-art piece, their message ? that America?s celebrity culture is empty and soul-crushing ? isn?t anything that hasn?t been said before."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
1.5/4
|
17%
|
Legendary (2010) |
"
Cena?s a game actor, but imagining him in the same gene pool as the petite Clarkson or the scrawny Graye is too much of a stretch."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
3.5/4
|
97%
|
Animal Kingdom (2010) |
"
Michôd creates a story studded with landmines, with dark surprises exploding in surprising ways."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
85%
|
Kisses (2010) |
"
In writer-director Lance Daly?s lens, downtown Dublin is like a modern-day Oz ? and the movie even starts by showing the kids? dreary home life in black-and-white, slowly moving to full color."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
82%
|
Cairo Time (2010) |
"
Not much happens in "Cairo Time," and it doesn?t happen in slow, languid fashion."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
3.5/4
|
96%
|
Restrepo (2010) |
"
If the only message you get out of "Restrepo" is that war is all hell, then the documentary has done its job. But if a viewer equates being pro-soldier with being pro-war, then the point of this movie has been missed."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
66%
|
The American (2010) |
"
Corbijn extracts from Rowan Joffe?s screenplay a pensive mood of impending dread, but it can be a bit aggravating waiting for the hammer to fall."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 9, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
71%
|
Waking Sleeping Beauty (2010) |
"
[Director Don Hahn's] interviews are used as voice-over to a lively mix of Disney film clips, behind-the-scenes footage and rare home movies taken by Disney staffers."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
85%
|
Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (2010) |
"
[Director Tamra Davis] uses [a rare] interview as the foundation for an eye-opening look at Basquiat?s meteoric career ? and how art, fame, drugs and media collided in this one young man?s life."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
27%
|
Takers (2010) |
"
It all crumbles into a series of chaotic gun battles filled with shaky camera moves and excessive noise. "
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
67%
|
Fresh (2010) |
"
The message is important, yet it?s hard not to think that Joanes is engaging in cinematic recycling as she covers some well-worn ground."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
69%
|
Life During Wartime (2010) |
"
Solondz... might have maintained sympathy for these characters before, but now seems to hate them as much as they hate themselves."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
67%
|
Wild Grass (Les Herbes Folles) (2010) |
"
Director Alain Resnais’ roundabout romance about missed connections and misplaced intentions is gorgeous to watch but difficult to track. "
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
——
|
Playground (2009) |
"
Spears lets her experts go a bit far afield (e.g., implicating Madison Avenue and the media), but she captures the extent of the problem and the emotional damage suffered by its victims."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
73%
|
Piranha 3-D (2010) |
"
There?s a dull predictability to the set pieces; when you see a topless para-skier bob in-and-out of the water, it?s inevitable that she?ll rise into the air without any legs."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
4%
|
Vampires Suck (2010) |
"
Friedberg and Seltzer tap into the inherent humorlessness of the "Twilight" films and their most rabid fans ? because it?s always good to laugh at those who can?t laugh at themselves."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
51%
|
The Switch (2010) |
"
Directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck find some heart and wit in the screenplay, and they draw a strong performance from Bateman, who?s funny and sympathetic as the lovelorn Wally. "
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
77%
|
Nanny McPhee Returns (2010) |
"
Thompson brings a sly wit to some scenes, and her absence is felt when she leaves the screen time to the bickering children."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3.5/4
|
86%
|
Get Low (2010) |
"
Duvall inhabits Bush?s world well, every small gesture authentic to the life of a man re-entering the world after a 40-year exile."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
73%
|
Machete (2010) |
"
It?s a pleasure to see Danny Trejo, the bad-ass character actor, take the lead in this homage to ?70s exploitation flicks, but co-director Robert Rodriguez doesn?t take exploitation all the way."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3.5/4
|
52%
|
Going the Distance (2010) |
"
Burstein is a documentarian by training, and she milks an unforced honesty from the story. "
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
24%
|
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) |
"
Your level of enjoyment of this depends on how much you like Anderson?s slo-mo decapitations and other forms of gory special effects."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
54%
|
Flipped (2010) |
"
The movie feels static, like a diorama of ?60s life rather than a living, breathing story."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
1.5/4
|
51%
|
Devil (2010) |
"
It?s possible the devil is at work here, if it?s a demonic plan to damn movie audiences to a purgatory of boredom. "
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
1.5/4
|
16%
|
Alpha and Omega (2010) |
"
It?s all pretty bland, with uninvolving characters, unfunny comedic relief and weak computer graphics (made even worse by unnecessary 3D effects). "
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3.5/4
|
85%
|
Easy A (2010) |
"
It?s easy to love "Easy A," a funny and sweet updating of the high-school comedy genre ? as if Diablo Cody wrote a John Hughes movie."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3.5/4
|
94%
|
The Town (2010) |
"
Affleck calls his own number, giving a strong turn as the conflicted criminal who thinks he might finally taste life without looking over his shoulder."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
50%
|
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) |
"
The storyline borrows heavily from familiar modern mythologies, but Snyder?s gorgeous visuals, the soaring animation and some fierce battle scenes raise the excitement level."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
1.5/4
|
18%
|
You Again (2010) |
"
A half-decent comic premise gets beaten to death with lame slapstick, monotone performances and a hug-it-out finale."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
54%
|
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) |
"
The old Gordon Gekko would have torn this movie apart with his gleaming teeth, while today?s Gekko seems content just to nibble on the edges. "
—
Film.com
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
54%
|
Mao's Last Dancer (2010) |
"
The script is far too melodramatic, and the performances ... are hamfisted and overwrought."
—
Salt Lake Tribune
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
