Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 26%
| Serious Moonlight (2009) | "
More strident than funny, the film illustrates that old French proverb, "Marriage is like a cage; one sees the birds outside desperate to get in, and those inside desperate to get out."" — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Dec 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 80%
| The Princess and the Frog (2009) | "
With eye-popping saturated color and streamlined figures, codirectors Ron Clements and John Musker (the duo behind the vibrant Aladdin) lovingly invoke Harlem Renaissance artistry." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Dec 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 78%
| Invictus (2009) | "
It may look like a movie-of-the-week and it certainly has some wincingly bad musical passages, but Invictus is an entertaining movie about a masterful piece of political theater." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Dec 10, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 90%
| Up in the Air (2009) | "
I don't know if it's the best movie of the year, but it's the most utterly enjoyable." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 45%
| Everybody's Fine (2009) | "
De Niro plays his character completely contained, afraid to brim or overflow with emotion. The more he pulls back, the more he pulls in the audience." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 67%
| Dare (2009) | "
Brind's screenplay is pregnant with fascinating questions of identity and social anxiety. And Salky knows how to create a mood." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 85%
| Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) | "
A one-of-a-kind experience that boasts a twice-in-a-lifetime performance from Nicolas Cage." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 5%
| Old Dogs (2009) | "
Predictable as the premise is, Travolta's and Williams' unpredictability makes for some chortle-worthy slapstick, less of Laurel & Hardy vintage than of Abbott & Costello swill." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 29%
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) | "
This swoony adaptation of the second installment in Stephenie Meyer's young-adult series is a potent stew of fairy tale and romance-novel fantasy." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 38%
| 2012 (2009) | "
I found myself reaching for a phantom video-game controller to help Our Heroes and Heroine defy certain death." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 94%
| The Maid (2009) | "
Silva expertly maintains the tension, asking the audience to interpret Raquel's bizarro behavior. His diagnosis is a pleasant surprise." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 91%
| Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire (2009) | "
Harrowing and marked by heroic performances, Lee Daniels' Precious looks squarely in the wounded eyes of its title character and sees a girl with poetry in her." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 55%
| Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) | "
Carrey's performance as the miserly misanthrope is lost amid effects more typically encountered in theme-park and video-game adventures. (P.S.: Is it just me, or does it also peeve you that the Mouse House claims proprietary rights on Dickens' title?)" — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 88%
| Skin (2009) | "
As told by director Anthony Fabian, Skin is both exasperatingly choppy and exceptionally moving." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 80%
| Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) | "
This Is It is Jackson's moment to shine. For two hours, he's alive and kicking it." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Oct 28, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 21%
| Amelia (2009) | "
Though this traditional story about a defiantly nontraditional woman doesn't always soar, it fits Hilary Swank, its producer/star, like a jumpsuit. She and Nair thrill to the life of this American who broke records, hearts, and boundaries." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 41%
| New York, I Love You (2009) | "
The result is a dinner of appetizers that are individually tasty, if not completely satisfying." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 87%
| A Serious Man (2009) | "
Embrace the mystery, the Coens tell us. At the same time, they can't resist pulling the rug out from under our feet." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 65%
| Coco Before Chanel (2009) | "
It would seem that Fontaine has a keener eye for the elements that made Chanel's style than she has an ear for dialogue. But she gets a splendid performance from Tautou." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 75%
| Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) | "
In passages, the movie is eloquent. In sum, it is scattershot. Organization is not Moore's strongest suit; indignation is." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Oct 1, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 82%
| Whip It (2009) | "
Heaven on wheels." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Oct 1, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 28%
| Fame (2009) | "
As a demo reel showcasing seven promising young talents from their freshman through senior years, it's pleasant enough. As a movie dramatizing the talent and dedication required to make it, the Fame reboot has fleet feet but lacks heart." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 83%
| Bright Star (2009) | "
Intimate as a whisper, immediate as a blush, and universal as first love, the PG-rated film positively palpitates with the sensual and spiritual." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 44%
| Jennifer's Body (2009) | "
As a horror movie, Jennifer's Body doesn't fully deliver. But as a comic allegory of what it's like to be an adolescent girl who comes into sexual and social power that she doesn't know what the heck to do with, it is a minor classic." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 18%
| Love Happens (2009) | "
Despite its two appealing leads, Love Happens is, as the kids say, not happening." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Sep 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 62%
| Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009) | "
Though no one would cite him for the cinematic qualities of his visually pedestrian films, Perry is a master conductor of emotions." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Sep 14, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 57%
| 9 (2009) | "
Acker, whose gifts for mood, design, and character design are impressive enough to have attracted Tim Burton as a producer, is more of an artist than a storyteller." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Sep 9, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 70%
| My One and Only (2009) | "
It's refreshing, and let's hope it's [Zellweger's] passport out of rom-com purgatory and into mature roles. Sadly, it is a better career move than it is a movie." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Sep 3, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 96%
| The Beaches of Agnes (2009) | "
A captivating cine-memoir, impressionistic and surrealistic, surveying Varda's formidable career as a still photographer, filmmaker, documentarian, and life force." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Sep 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 78%
| It Might Get Loud (2009) | "
Rockers out there, it's time to turn off Guitar Hero and turn on to the heroes of guitar in It Might Get Loud, a six-string "summit" featuring virtuosos of the '60s, '80s, and aughts." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Sep 3, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 28%
| Play the Game (2009) | "
Surely, there is a way of expressing the joy of sex without the potty-mouthed dialogue that desecrates the persona of a television and movie icon." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Aug 27, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 49%
| Taking Woodstock (2009) | "
Lee distills the flavor of this transforming event and hints at how it transformed some who were there. His movie is a contact high." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Aug 27, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 93%
| Yoo-hoo, Mrs. Goldberg (2009) | "
In Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, Kempner gives us a balance of artist and alter ego, introducing us to a woman we'd like to know even better." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 91%
| Ponyo (2009) | "
You watch a Miyazaki film with the pie-eyed, gape-mouthed awe of a child being read the most fantastic story and suddenly transported to places previously beyond the limits of imagination. It's quite a trip." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 80%
| Bandslam (2009) | "
In a goofily endearing performance reminiscent of the young John Cusack, Connell is charming and relatable. Likewise, Kudrow, as the overprotective mother who both fears and wants more independence for her son." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Aug 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 75%
| Julie & Julia (2009) | "
Like Nora Ephron's captivating film, Streep's performance is haute cuisine disguised as comfort food, a complex preparation yielding effects both broadly entertaining and subtly moving." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 95%
| The Cove (2009) | "
A gripping thriller about dolphin trafficking, The Cove is an eco-mentary that's as passionate and persuasive an argument for change as An Inconvenient Truth." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Aug 6, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 96%
| Somers Town (2009) | "
However thin, the story of these rootless youths, estranged from mothers and native cities, has a certain universality and appeal." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jul 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 75%
| Humpday (2009) | "
While at times the improvisational dialogue sounds like audio filler, the three leads are poignant and perceptive. Likewise Shelton's film, considerably more complex than those 'bros will be bros' comedies of male bonding." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jul 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 95%
| In the Loop (2009) | "
A scabrously funny look at the cutthroat game of statecraft." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jul 30, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 14%
| The Ugly Truth (2009) | "
Here's hoping that this unfunny comedy doesn't set both sexes back by 50 years." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jul 23, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 67%
| Bruno (2009) | "
A crude, cringe-worthy, and intermittently funny affair that triggers the gag reflex." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 67%
| Tetro (2009) | "
Visually inventive, narratively edgy, and unlike anything else." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jul 10, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 78%
| The End of the Line (2009) | "
The End of the Line, an eco-mentary that warns against overfishing, baits its hook with alarmist rhetoric and aversion therapy." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jul 2, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 45%
| Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) | "
Director Carlos Saldanha did such an excellent job infusing the second installment with energy that it's a shame he was unable to do the same with Part 3." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jun 30, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 54%
| Cheri (2009) | "
On the page the narrator's tone is clearer than it is on-screen, where images dominate dialogue." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 19%
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) | "
Transformers 2 is bigger, longer and louder than its predecessor. In this case, more is less." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jun 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 96%
| Herb & Dorothy (2009) | "
Megumi Sasaki's convivial Herb and Dorothy is both a double-portrait of the diminutive couple, now in their 90s and 80s, and a sketch of the art, and artists, collected by these vest-pocket Rockefellers." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jun 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 43%
| The Proposal (2009) | "
The setup is formula, but Bullock and Reynolds supply surprising fizz and kick." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jun 18, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Rotten 38%
| Imagine That (2009) | "
Shahidi's and Murphy's scenes together have such warmth, tenderness, and joy that they elevate this cookie-cutter comedy into homemade fun." — Philadelphia Inquirer Posted Jun 11, 2009 |
IGN RSS Feeds