Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 69%
| Bruno (2009) | "
Simultaneously funny, infuriating, daring, cruel and tasteless." — Kansas City Star Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 11%
| I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009) | "
The troubles start with the casting. Rust is only 28, but he has the hangdog look of a 50-year-old plumbing salesman. Charisma is not his strong suit." — Kansas City Star Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 89%
| Moon (2009) | "
Moon is darn good science fiction." — Kansas City Star Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 93%
| Summer Hours (2009) | "
It’s not sentimental. Yet it’s devastating." — Kansas City Star Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 97%
| Food, Inc. (2009) | "
Director Robert Kenner’s documentary is powerful. Maybe even life-changing." — Kansas City Star Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 46%
| Whatever Works (2009) | "
Unlike last year’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which felt fresh and contemporary, Whatever Works seems dated. Allen has covered these themes so often that they provide few surprises." — Kansas City Star Posted Jul 3, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 51%
| Cheri (2009) | "
Purportedly a tale of seething emotions, Cheri almost never registers love or anguish. It’s banal." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 66%
| Public Enemies (2009) | "
Is there any role Johnny Depp cannot make his own?" — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 66%
| Away We Go (2009) | "
Away We Go is a road-trip comedy. It’s also one of the best films about love I’ve ever seen." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 77%
| Valentino: the Last Emperor (2009) | "
Frequently this doc plays like a real-life Fellini movie, filled with beautiful people and bizarre incidents. And ultimately it’s an unexpectedly touching love story." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 75%
| Adoration (2009) | "
It never adds up to a satisfying whole." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Rotten 44%
| My Sister's Keeper (2009) | "
A film that overcomes an obscenely melodramatic setup to come by its tears honorably." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 19%
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) | "
Something is seriously amiss when a movie as noisy and frenetic as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is so boring it puts you to sleep." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 92%
| The Lemon Tree (2008) | "
While the entire cast is very good, Abbass must carry most of the film, with little dialogue. Her subtly expressive face is a script unto itself, conveying everything from formal, traditional modesty to angry defiance." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 96%
| Tulpan (2008) | "
Its plot is ridiculously simple, yet we watch Tulpan in open-mouthed awe because of director Sergey Dvortsevoy’s astonishing technique." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 58%
| The Girlfriend Experience (2009) | "
Grey is comfortable in front of the camera (and this time she gets to keep most of her clothes on), but her range is limited." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 17%
| Year One (2009) | "
Black, who has been hilarious elsewhere, is working so hard to be funny that it’s exhausting." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 92%
| Every Little Step (2009) | "
This is a film about young dancers desperate for a job auditioning for a show about … young dancers desperate for a job. It’s wonderful." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 67%
| The Merry Gentleman (2009) | "
The film is never as good as its parts -- some of which are very good indeed. But Keaton knows how to control the medium and establishes a palpable mood without getting all artsy. It’s a good start." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 50%
| The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) | "
You don’t go to a movie by Tony Scott looking for subtlety and subtext. But give him a good story and Scott delivers." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 70%
| Rudo and Cursi (2009) | "
It’s satiric, yet Cuaron is like a boxer who prefers gentle sparring to throwing a knockout haymaker. The film needs to punch things up." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 5, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 28%
| Land of the Lost (2009) | "
This is the worst adaptation of a classic kids TV show to the big screen since …well, since last year’s joyless movie Speed Racer. But Land raises the bar on joylessness." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 86%
| Tyson (2009) | "
Until Mike Tyson writes an autobiography, this documentary will do." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 98%
| Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009) | "
There’s humor in all this misfortune. But the more you watch, the more you empathize." — Kansas City Star Posted Jun 5, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 62%
| The Brothers Bloom (2009) | "
It’s diverting for an hour or so, but one tires of all this forced playfulness long before the final reveal." — Kansas City Star Posted May 29, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 93%
| Drag Me To Hell (2009) | "
Yeah, Drag Me to Hell is schlock cinema. But it’s schlock cinema with a Ph.D." — Kansas City Star Posted May 29, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 97%
| Up (2009) | "
This film is lovely in attitude and execution. In a world that sometimes seems filled with mean people, mean institutions and mean humor, Up is friendly, affirming and deeply moving. It’s funny, too, but never at anyone’s expense." — Kansas City Star Posted May 28, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| N/A | Cowtown Ballroom...Sweet Jesus (2009) | "
It’s funny and affectionate and so well-crafted by writer/director Joe Heyen and editor/cinematographer Anthony Ladesich that it overcomes some considerable drawbacks." — Kansas City Star Posted May 21, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 89%
| Sin Nombre (2009) | "
This is a very fine film debut." — Kansas City Star Posted May 21, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 44%
| Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) | "
Busy is not the same as clever." — Kansas City Star Posted May 21, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 32%
| Terminator Salvation (2009) | "
It’s basically a cheap thrill. An expensive cheap thrill." — Kansas City Star Posted May 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 93%
| Sugar (2009) | "
Sugar is a baseball movie in the way that Macbeth is a play about kilts. The description is accurate as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough." — Kansas City Star Posted May 15, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 37%
| Angels & Demons (2009) | "
By the time it’s all over audiences may feel they’ve been had by a fiendishly manipulative storyteller. But then, being had is one of the reasons we go to the movies." — Kansas City Star Posted May 15, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 58%
| Paris 36 (2008) | "
You’ll leave the theater feeling really, really good." — Kansas City Star Posted May 8, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 67%
| Is Anybody There? (2009) | "
The results are wildly uneven. The good news is that certain individual scenes work well, provided you don’t take offense at the manipulative nature of the enterprise." — Kansas City Star Posted May 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 95%
| Fados (2009) | "
Fados is basically a collection of musical performances by two dozen practitioners of the form, but Saura always finds a way to make it cinematic." — Kansas City Star Posted May 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 55%
| Lymelife (2009) | "
Fueled by great performances, keen observations of human behavior and a streak of dark comedy, Lymelife is a coming-of-age movie with a kick." — Kansas City Star Posted May 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 95%
| Star Trek (2009) | "
As rousing as a Klingon war chant and more fun than an engine room full of tribbles." — Kansas City Star Posted May 6, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| N/A | Bonnie & Clyde vs. Dracula (2009) | "
It's good-looking, surprisingly steamy cinematic silliness." — Kansas City Star Posted May 1, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 36%
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) | "
I suspect even Marvel die-hards will find this a letdown. It’s a prime example of the law of diminishing returns." — Kansas City Star Posted May 1, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 94%
| Goodbye Solo (2009) | "
A memorable study in humanity rather than the sentimental bath it might have been." — Kansas City Star Posted May 1, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 41%
| Fighting (2009) | "
There’s only so much you can do with a cliché." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 24, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 15%
| The Informers (2009) | "
It’s almost a relief when one of the characters comes down with a deadly disease." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 24, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 97%
| Amarcord (1974) | "
Amarcord will make you howl with laughter and then choke back a tear. And all the while you’ll be building your own memories of this landmark movie." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 85%
| Earth (2009) | "
With its little-bit-of-everything approach, Earth sometimes feels more like really glorious wallpaper than a satisfying story. But there’s no arguing with those images. They’re fantastic." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 85%
| State of Play (2009) | "
The film is a veritable litany of torn-from-the-headlines issues, yet they all dovetail nicely within a thriller format. And this is the rare film that sends you out of the theater feeling a bit smarter than when you entered." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 17, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 89%
| Everlasting Moments (2009) | "
Heiskanen is a revelation, capturing and illuminating every flicker of Maria’s growing self-awareness." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 17, 2009 |
Fresh 2/4
| Rotten 46%
| Hannah Montana The Movie (2009) | "
I’m not much of a fan of the whole Hannah thing, but it’s pretty clear that young Miss Cyrus is the real deal." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 83%
| Beauty in Trouble (2008) | "
All the characters in Petr Jarchovsky’s screenplay are drawn in shades of gray. The result isn’t so much a morality play as an amorality play." — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 10, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 20%
| Dalai Lama Renaissance (2008) | "
Darvich does an adequate job of pointing the camera and letting people speak, but he provides no context" — Kansas City Star Posted Apr 3, 2009 |
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