|
D
|
42%
|
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012) |
"
Concepts appear and are abandoned with ruthless efficiency; threats rise and are dispatched with the glum drudgery of a janitor cleaning up puke in the toilet."
—
Mania.com
Posted Feb 10, 2012
|
|
C+
|
57%
|
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (in 3D) (2012) |
"
You'll be surprised at how well its assets hold up and how much easier its liabilities slide away as a result. But $15 a ticket? Please George. Some of us have kids to feed... and yours don't need the money."
—
Mania.com
Posted Feb 10, 2012
|
|
B+
|
76%
|
The Innkeepers (2012) |
"
It retains an eerie elegance in the last few minutes: not as arbitrary as the traditional horror twist, but duly earned by the slow development that precedes it."
—
Mania.com
Posted Feb 3, 2012
|
|
B+
|
85%
|
Chronicle (2012) |
"
I can't say the found-footage format of Chronicle was particularly impressive, but the rest of the film is a minor revelation."
—
Mania.com
Posted Feb 3, 2012
|
|
|
64%
|
The Woman in Black (2012) |
"
It follows a time-honored pattern not out of laziness or studio-dictated formula, but because that pattern can still terrify us in the right hands."
—
Mania.com
Posted Feb 2, 2012
|
|
C-
|
32%
|
Man on a Ledge (2012) |
"
While the cast includes Ed "I'm Here to Save the Film" Harris, Kyra "I'm Here to Save the Film" Sedgwick and William "I'm Here to Save the Film" Sadler, none of them actually save the film."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jan 27, 2012
|
|
A
|
77%
|
The Grey (2012) |
"
As the flabby self-importance of the latest Oscar nominees oozes all over us, The Grey offers a surprising and most welcome respite."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jan 27, 2012
|
|
D+
|
29%
|
Underworld Awakening (2012) |
"
At least they don't sparkle."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jan 20, 2012
|
|
B
|
80%
|
Haywire (2012) |
"
A wafer-thin pro-feminist spy thriller that thrives solely because we haven't seen its like before."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jan 20, 2012
|
|
B-
|
48%
|
Contraband (2012) |
"
Don't think too much and you'll be fine."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jan 13, 2012
|
|
A+
|
92%
|
Beauty and the Beast (In 3D) (2012) |
"
The apex of an art form, a justly celebrated classic, and the best animated movie of any sort ever put on screen at any time."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jan 13, 2012
|
|
C
|
15%
|
The Divide (2012) |
"
"Unpleasant" isn't the same thing as "incompetent" and I have to give props for The Divide's sheer unflinching nerve."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jan 13, 2012
|
|
D
|
5%
|
The Devil Inside (2012) |
"
It must be January. The s****y exorcist movies are in bloom."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jan 6, 2012
|
|
C+
|
12%
|
The Darkest Hour (2011) |
"
Its handful of inspired moments arrive amid oceans of wasted opportunities: never awful, but utterly forgettable in their familiarity."
—
Mania.com
Posted Dec 27, 2011
|
|
B
|
75%
|
The Adventures of Tintin (2011) |
"
In many cases, the artifice of motion capture gets in the way of the story. Here, it actively compliments it."
—
Mania.com
Posted Dec 21, 2011
|
|
C+
|
87%
|
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) |
"
Dragon Tattoo offers a handsome package built on rickety foundations, hoping to pass inspection on good looks alone."
—
Mania.com
Posted Dec 20, 2011
|
|
A-
|
93%
|
Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011) |
"
This fifteen-year-old franchise - with more downs than ups in the balance - is a long way from done."
—
Mania.com
Posted Dec 16, 2011
|
|
C
|
60%
|
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) |
"
The most disappointing film of the year: not dreadful, but falling so far from the brilliant initial film that its good points hardly matter. "
—
Mania.com
Posted Dec 16, 2011
|
|
B+
|
84%
|
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) |
"
While the easily bored may find it hard going, those attuned to more cerebral entertainment will likely be hypnotized."
—
Mania.com
Posted Dec 9, 2011
|
|
3.5/4
|
82%
|
Super 8 (2011) |
"
The greatest Steven Spielberg film not actually directed by Steven Spielberg."
—
Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Nov 25, 2011
|
|
1/4
|
23%
|
Conan the Barbarian (2011) |
"
A hollow pantomime of swashbuckling swords and sorcery."
—
Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Nov 25, 2011
|
|
A
|
96%
|
The Muppets (2011) |
"
The Muppets are evergreen; it just took an effort like this to remind us of the fact."
—
Mania.com
Posted Nov 22, 2011
|
|
D
|
25%
|
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011) |
"
A torturous slog through endless pages of Bridal Wet Dream magazine."
—
Mania.com
Posted Nov 18, 2011
|
|
B
|
44%
|
Happy Feet Two (2011) |
"
It can't match the original, but it's not the first sequel to fail on that front, and it still offers plenty of fun and enjoyment in compensation."
—
Mania.com
Posted Nov 17, 2011
|
|
D
|
36%
|
Immortals (2011) |
"
Immortals' beauty is undeniable - rendered with the stunning prowess of a true artist - but it sits atop an incoherent hash of pretense and bloodletting."
—
Mania.com
Posted Nov 11, 2011
|
|
D
|
9%
|
1911 (2011) |
"
A haphazard grab-bag of context-free fight scenes, cardboard characters and constant title cards explaining key details that the film itself can't reveal in any other way."
—
Mania.com
Posted Nov 4, 2011
|
|
B
|
69%
|
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011) |
"
It leaves no stone unturned in its quest to gang-rape the holiday season (and I mean that in the best possible way). "
—
Mania.com
Posted Nov 4, 2011
|
|
B
|
68%
|
Tower Heist (2011) |
"
[It] turns out solid entertainment almost by force of will alone."
—
Mania.com
Posted Nov 4, 2011
|
|
B
|
37%
|
In Time (2011) |
"
It holds too many strong notions executed too well to let its shortcomings derail it."
—
Mania.com
Posted Oct 28, 2011
|
|
D
|
83%
|
Puss in Boots (2011) |
"
A milquetoast homunculi assembled by the most hackneyed form of studio groupthink imaginable."
—
Mania.com
Posted Oct 28, 2011
|
|
B
|
77%
|
Ra. One (2011) |
"
A decidedly different take on popcorn entertainment that gives American newcomers a good sense of what we've been missing."
—
Mania.com
Posted Oct 26, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
79%
|
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) |
"
Its flaws... prevent it from entering the upper echelon of superhero movie elites. Thank God there's still an interesting figure at the center of it all."
—
Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Oct 24, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
89%
|
Jurassic Park (1993) |
"
Spielberg cites it as a work of craftsmanship, and in those terms if no other, it may be his best."
—
Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Oct 24, 2011
|
|
C
|
25%
|
The Three Musketeers (2011) |
"
Anderson... permeates this updating of the classic Dumas novel with an infectious sense of joy. Unfortunately, it's still dumber than a bag of hammers."
—
Mania.com
Posted Oct 22, 2011
|
|
B+
|
67%
|
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011) |
"
For sheer knee-jerk scares, Paranormal Activity 3 won't have any serious competition all year."
—
Mania.com
Posted Oct 20, 2011
|
|
C+
|
36%
|
The Thing (2011) |
"
The simple fact is that what happens in the Norwegian camp is exactly, precisely what happens in the American camp, and the prequel ultimately can't escape that reality."
—
Mania.com
Posted Oct 14, 2011
|
|
B-
|
59%
|
Real Steel (2011) |
"
It should be disastrous. It should suck on Wonder Bread with a side order of Craptastic to wash it down. And yet... and yet... my God, is there actually a good time in there?"
—
Mania.com
Posted Oct 6, 2011
|
|
D
|
7%
|
Dream House (2011) |
"
Dream House denies us even the most modest horror movie pleasures, as part of its fiendish scheme to bore the audience to death."
—
Mania.com
Posted Oct 1, 2011
|
|
|
85%
|
Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2011) |
"
Its closest cousin is probably Shaun of the Dead, though shades of the Evil Dead series crop up as well. That's fine company to keep, and I'm happy to report that Tucker & Dale vs. Evil ultimately earns it."
—
Mania.com
Posted Sep 30, 2011
|
|
B
|
84%
|
Contagion (2011) |
"
As an intellectual exercise, it remains compulsively fascinating."
—
Sci-Fi Movie Page
Posted Sep 9, 2011
|
|
C-
|
25%
|
Apollo 18 (2011) |
"
The basics are there; it just can't run with them."
—
Mania.com
Posted Sep 2, 2011
|
|
B+
|
59%
|
Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (2011) |
"
A delightfully spooky funhouse, more than up to the challenge of ushering the summer of 2011 to a close."
—
Mania.com
Posted Aug 26, 2011
|
|
C-
|
27%
|
Colombiana (2011) |
"
The star's dangerously low weight is only the start of its problems."
—
Mania.com
Posted Aug 26, 2011
|
|
D
|
23%
|
Conan the Barbarian (2011) |
"
Progressing from nowhere to nothing and leaving only a greasy taste in the mouth as a reward."
—
Mania.com
Posted Aug 19, 2011
|
|
B+
|
74%
|
Fright Night (2011) |
"
It hearkens back to an era when horror didn't take itself so seriously: before the pretense and shock tactics of torture porn all but swallowed the genre whole."
—
Mania.com
Posted Aug 18, 2011
|
|
B-
|
60%
|
Final Destination 5 (2011) |
"
'Quality' is off the table here. But below-the-belt Dog Days thrills? Final Destination 5 might be able to scare some up."
—
Mania.com
Posted Aug 12, 2011
|
|
B+
|
83%
|
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) |
"
The first film in the franchise to even pretend to match the brilliance of the 1968 original."
—
Mania.com
Posted Aug 5, 2011
|
|
C+
|
44%
|
Cowboys & Aliens (2011) |
"
The film doesn't live; it merely exists, content to keep our eyeballs occupied without investing any more than is absolutely necessary."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jul 29, 2011
|
|
B-
|
79%
|
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) |
"
Captain America earns a thumbs up because of... well, because of Captain America."
—
Mania.com
Posted Jul 21, 2011
|
