Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 67%
| The Last Station (2009) | "
Helen Mirren is a lusty, roaring wonder playing, of all things, the long-suffering wife of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer in peak form)." Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 89%
| Up in the Air (2009) | "
One-word reaction: bravo." Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 82%
| Me and Orson Welles (2009) | "
What do you say about a movie that proves Zac Efron can act, introduces a master thespian in Christian McKay and launches a charm assault that is damn near irresistible?" Posted Nov 29, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 72%
| The Road (2009) | "
In this haunting portrait of America as no country for old men or young, Hillcoat -- through the artistry of Mortensen and Smit-McPhee -- carries the fire of our shared humanity and lets it burn bright and true." Posted Nov 29, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 29%
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) | "
I can't comment on the acting because I didn't catch Pattinson, Stewart and Lautner doing any. They basically primp and pose through the same humdrum motions they did before." Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 91%
| The Messenger (2009) | "
The Messenger, showing humanity under siege, opens wounds inflicted by the Iraq War -- not on the battlefield but in the hearts of the families of soldiers who never made it back home." Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 37%
| 2012 (2009) | "
Beware 2012, which works the dubious miracle of almost matching Transformers 2 for sheer, cynical, mind-numbing, time-wasting, money-draining, soul-sucking stupidity." Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 60%
| Pirate Radio (2009) | "
The boat nearly sinks from character overload, and Curtis brakes when you most want him to gun it. But there’s no denying the comic energy of the cast." Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 92%
| Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) | "
An adventure in pure imagination that plays to the smart kid in all of us." Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 45%
| The Box (2009) | "
Instead of sweeping you along, The Box just sits there like something unclaimed at lost and found. Damaged goods." Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 54%
| The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) | "
It's hard to resist a satire, even when it wobbles, that insists the most unbelievable parts are the most true." Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 80%
| Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) | "
Michael Jackson's perfectionism fails him in This Is It, and we're all the better for it." Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 37%
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) | "
Jammed with story threads that don’t cohere, Cirque commits the cardinal sin for a vampire movie: It’s bloodless." Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 20%
| Amelia (2009) | "
"Who wants a life imprisoned in safety?" Amelia asks in a voice-over. And you want to shout, "This movie does, honey." There’s not a real or spontaneous minute in it." Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 25%
| Law Abiding Citizen (2009) | "
An exercise in illogic and Death Wish cribbing that lets a bunch of good actors collect big paychecks for playing way less than their A game." Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 50%
| Antichrist (2009) | "
Von Trier says he was suffering from severe bouts of depression when he shot the movie. See Antichrist, and you'll know the feeling." Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 72%
| Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | "
For all the money spent, the film's success is best measured by its simplicity and the purity of its innovation. Jonze has filmed a fantasy as if it were absolutely real, allowing us to see the world as Max sees it, full of beauty and terror." Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 94%
| An Education (2009) | "
A quiet miracle of a movie that quickly disabuses you of the idea that you've seen it all before." Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 12%
| Couples Retreat (2009) | "
The cast got to spend a month shooting on Bora Bora. So that explains why they're in the movie. Why you'd spend good money for a ticket to watch them have all the fun and not have any fun yourself passes understanding." Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 78%
| Bronson (2009) | "
Tom Hardy is pure dynamite in the role, beefing up 35 pounds to play Britain's most notorious prisoner." Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 82%
| Whip It (2009) | "
Screenwriter Shauna Cross dulls the edges of her novel Derby Girl, which the skate action and rockin' soundtrack can't disguise." Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 56%
| The Invention of Lying (2009) | "
It's no fun watching Gervais work out a tired fantasy of turning hot babes into chubby chasers. We want Gervais in all his merry, malicious glory. That's no lie." Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 87%
| A Serious Man (2009) | "
This seriously funny movie, artfully photographed by the great Roger Deakins, is spiritual in nature, barbed in tone, and, oh, yeah, it stings like hell." Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 89%
| Zombieland (2009) | "
Director Ruben Fleischer mixes fright and slapstick with bloody glee. And the surprise star cameo is a wowser. Enough said." Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Paranormal Activity (2009) | "
With a $15,000 budget too puny to empty a petty-cash drawer, the no-frills Paranormal Activity comes packed with thrills." Posted Oct 1, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 75%
| Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) | "
Moore sees our abusive relationship with capitalism as a growing plague. His movie, a genuine and welcome rabble-rouser, lays out the history of how democracy got corrupted." Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 72%
| The Boys Are Back (2009) | "
OK, it sounds like a tear-jerker, and sometimes it drifts dangerously close. But Owen, in a heartfelt, award-caliber performance, never goes soft. It's his core of toughness that makes the movie so funny, touching and vital." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 77%
| The Informant! (2009) | "
Shooting fast and digital in just 30 days, Soderbergh invests the film with the breathless pace of a thriller and the gravity befitting a nation's soul sickness. Damon makes Whitacre recognizably human." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Bright Star (2009) | "
A literate, lyrical love story in the age of Hollywood crass. I must be dreaming." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 45%
| Jennifer's Body (2009) | "
Director Karyn Kusama is torn between duty to female empowerment and slasher convention. But Fox shows a comic flair that Transformers never investigated." Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 0%
| Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009) | "
What I can’t figure out is how director Peter Hyams can remake a 1956 movie from the great Fritz Lang and not learn anything about suspense, pacing and storytelling in the process." Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 84%
| The September Issue (2009) | "
Wintour steers a tight ship. Coddington reminds her that Vogue has a history based on something more than profit. In the end, they’re a winning combination." Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 95%
| Crude (2009) | "
Here’s a powerhouse of a documentary that makes you feel mad as hell and unwilling to take it anymore." Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Rotten 0/4
| Rotten 6%
| All About Steve (2009) | "
[An] unwatchable, unbearably unfunny farce in which Sandra Bullock hits the lowest point of her career..." Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 63%
| Extract (2009) | "
Right in time for the economic downturn comes Extract, a smart and potently funny workplace comedy about running a small business just as small businesses get routinely run into the ground." Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 87%
| Big Fan (2009) | "
Robert Siegel makes a potent directing debut with a scrappy movie that refuses to sentimentalize or ridicule its besieged hero worshipper." Posted Aug 26, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 49%
| Taking Woodstock (2009) | "
All the tie-dye, reefer, skinny-dipping, split-screen cinematography (from Eric Gautier) and acid-trip psychedelics courtesy of Tiber's encounter with hippies (Paul Dano and Kelli Garner) can't make up for the film's major sin of omission: the music." Posted Aug 26, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 100%
| Passing Strange (2010) | "
The invigorating result, zestily edited by Lee's own inside iron man, Barry Brown, is in every way a knockout." Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 88%
| Inglourious Basterds (2009) | "
Will Basterds polarize audiences? That's a given. But for anyone professing true movie love, there's no resisting it." Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 78%
| It Might Get Loud (2009) | "
Does this sound like rock heaven? It is." Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 16%
| Spread (2009) | "
Props to Kutcher for going to surprising, painful places. There's something haunted in his portrayal that hits hard and sticks." Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 91%
| Ponyo (2009) | "
Miyazaki works marvels. Sit back and behold." Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 38%
| The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) | "
I'd watch the vibrant Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana in anything, but The Time Traveler's Wife is pushing it." Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 90%
| District 9 (2009) | "
This baby has the stuff to end the movie summer on a note of dazzle and distinction." Posted Aug 13, 2009 |
Rotten 0.5/4
| Rotten 36%
| G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) | "
I could load you up with more plot details, but this mercilessly incoherent, galactically stupid movie left me too numb to type." Posted Aug 11, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 74%
| Julie & Julia (2009) | "
The ideal recipe has a special ingredient that can lift a dish from meh to memorable. Meryl Streep -- at her brilliant, beguiling best -- is the spice that does the trick for the yummy Julie & Julia." Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 60%
| Paper Heart (2009) | "
Enjoying this wondrous wisp of a something is easy, describing it is hard. Luckily, Charlyne Yi is an enchantress." Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 75%
| Cold Souls (2009) | "
The film is superbly shot by Andrij Parekh and edited by Andrew Mondshein, but it's the hilarious and heartbreaking Giamatti who provides it with, well, soul." Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 95%
| The Cove (2009) | "
It has the breathless pace of a Bourne movie, but none of the comfort of fiction. This is documentary filmmaking at its most exciting and purposeful." Posted Jul 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 68%
| Funny People (2009) | "
Apatow scores by crafting the film equivalent of a stand-up routine that encompasses the joy, pain, anger, loneliness and aching doubt that go into making an audience laugh." Posted Jul 30, 2009 |
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