Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 22%
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009) | "
The Chipmunks, in the first film, were the mathematical creations of a computer; watching The Squeakquel, the fun of the first film fades away as you realize that this time around, you could just as easily say that about the script." — Redbox Posted Dec 24, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 50%
| It's Complicated (2009) | "
It's Complicated is a nice two hours of fantasy -- think of it as Avatar for Eileen Fisher customers -- but it's as predictable as it is pretty, and as totally disposable as it is temporarily distracting." — Redbox Posted Dec 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 70%
| Sherlock Holmes (2009) | "
"Sherlock Holmes" may feel a little too modern, more adrenaline than brain-power, more brash than British, but it's an all right action-pleasure if you don't mind that the game's more a-fist than afoot." — MSN Movies Posted Dec 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 44%
| Jennifer's Body (2009) | "
Glossy teen horror-comedy is full of gore and sex." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 21, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 90%
| District 9 (2009) | "
Sci-fi stunner is gory, but also fascinating and smart." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 21, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 14%
| Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009) | "
The romantic-comedy equivalent of a genetically-tweaked slab of meat, an over-engineered counterfeit whose marketing tells us a lie every instinct we have disputes." — Redbox Posted Dec 18, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 83%
| Avatar (2009) | "
'Avatar' is a very big, very enjoyable, summertime action film that, much as it covers several actors in computer-generated imagery, drapes new flesh over very old bones." — MSN Movies Posted Dec 18, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 15%
| Year One (2009) | "
Old Testament meets old jokes in rough, unfunny comedy." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 15, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 74%
| Idiocracy (2006) | "
Vulgar satire manages to be both stupid and smart." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 15, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 41%
| Fighting (2009) | "
Street-fighting saga is stylish but cliched and violent." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 15, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Rotten 42%
| The Last House on the Left (2009) | "
Grim, vengeful horror film well made -- but NOT for kids." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 15, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 83%
| I Love You, Man (2009) | "
Male bonding comedy is very crude -- but good-hearted." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 15, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 25%
| Friday the 13th (2009) | "
Horror remake isn't for anyone, let alone teens." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 15, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 88%
| Inglourious Basterds (2009) | "
Tarantino's World War II epic is both bloody and talky." — Common Sense Media Posted Dec 14, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 77%
| The Hangover (2009) | "
Funny, yes, but chock-full of alcohol-fueled adult content." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 14, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Rotten 37%
| Dark Matter (2008) | "
Indie drama offers mature teens food for thought." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 11, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 40%
| The Lovely Bones (2009) | "
Jackson's film takes us on a journey of loveliness, but without the hard, stark strength of bone beneath it to give it the direction and purpose Sebold used to drive her story into the heart." — MSN Movies Posted Dec 10, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 76%
| Invictus (2009) | "
Invictus" is only interested in South Africa and the challenges of reconciliation as a background setting and inspiring theme, not as a real place or a real problem; it's a thin, hollow shell designed expressly to be coated in Oscar gold." — MSN Movies Posted Dec 10, 2009 |
Fresh 4.5/5
| Fresh 90%
| The Messenger (2009) | "
Yes, you're going to have to look for The Messenger. But the fact it's one of the best American films of 2009 makes that search worthwhile." — Redbox Posted Dec 10, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 66%
| Public Enemies (2009) | "
Depp scores as Depression-era robber, but lots of violence." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 6, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 57%
| Brothers (2009) | "
Brothers -- an Americanized re-make of Danish director Susanne Bier's 2004 film "Brødre" -- revolves around the Afghan War but also keeps its distance, a balancing act that winds up looking more wobbly than elegant." — MSN Movies Posted Dec 4, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 47%
| Armored (2009) | "
Like the guards in the film, Armored knows it has a job to do, and established procedures to follow, and that it's just another day at the office. But if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing well ..." — MSN Movies Posted Dec 4, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 32%
| The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008) | "
Second X-Files movie is grisly, disappointing." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Dec 1, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 32%
| Terminator Salvation (2009) | "
First PG-13 Terminator is loud, explosive, and dark." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Nov 30, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 64%
| Missing Person (2009) | "
The Missing Person isn't merely a clever, cool spin on the classic private eye story, but it also works as a private eye story. It showcases a lurching, hunched, quietly lived-in performance by Shannon but offers more than just that performance. ..." — Cinematical Posted Nov 29, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/5
| Rotten 6%
| Old Dogs (2009) | "
A slack, sagging 88 minutes still feels rushed, with what must have been scenes trimmed down to micro-blip montages, and a final scene playing out over the credits; it feels like even the people making Old Dogs wanted to be done with it." — Redbox Posted Nov 25, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 68%
| Funny People (2009) | "
Stand-up saga has a foul mouth but brains and heart, too." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Nov 23, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 72%
| The Blind Side (2009) | "
'The Blind Side' may not make the All-American sports movies team, but it plays with plenty of heart." — MSN Movies Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 67%
| Bruno (2009) | "
Intentionally shocking comedy even edgier than Borat." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Nov 16, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 94%
| Star Trek (2009) | "
Classic franchise gets new life in rousing space adventure." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Nov 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 39%
| 2012 (2009) | "
(Many) will decry "2012" as a plotless, illogical, clichéd, demented popcorn flick (because it is), but this is that rare case where the apocalypse, at least in terms of big-budget blown-up spectacle movie-making, is hardly the end of the world." — MSN Movies Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 93%
| Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) | "
Cool, clever, crafty and delirious amounts of fun, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is full of brilliant visual invention and silly slapstick while also having hip humor and sly smarts -- it's pure movie-going joy and a rare kind of pleasure." — MSN Movies Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 55%
| Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) | "
The good news about A Christmas Carol, then, is that Dickens' story -- the pure power of it, the grace and gentleness, the sensibility and sentiment of it -- cannot be drowned or destroyed no matter how many technicians and dollars are thrown at it." — Redbox Posted Nov 6, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 44%
| The Box (2009) | "
"The Box" looks like a fairly nifty package of premise and paranoia until Kelly unpacks it, and a lot of both the fun and fear go out of the film as you feel it stumble towards the finish line and realize it's stuffed with recycled goods." — MSN Movies Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 18%
| The Fourth Kind (2009) | "
There's an intriguing idea here... but The Fourth Kind is so clumsy and clunky and stiff it's like watching someone attempt an intricate card trick while wearing oven mitts." — Redbox Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 80%
| Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) | "
It's fascinating, often in ways the people behind it might not have intended. It's shiny and slick and scary and cynical, and it's an epic portrait of all the contradictions in American celebrity culture and one of American culture's biggest celebrities." — MSN Movies Posted Oct 28, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 55%
| Orphan (2009) | "
Bad Seed-style horror movie is gory and ludicrous." — Common Sense Media Posted Oct 26, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 45%
| Saw VI (2009) | "
Sixth film in revenge series is just as bloody as the rest." — Common Sense Media Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 37%
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) | "
But there's a thin sheen of flop sweat on The Vampires Assistant, as if it's thinking its hoped-for sequels... it's like being on a first date and having the other party reach across the table ... and ask you if you want chicken or fish for the guests at" — Redbox Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 48%
| Astro Boy (2009) | "
Any critic who complained about the lack of story in "Where the Wild Things Are" should be forced to watch the escapades and high jinks of "Astro Boy" on a loop until they realize that activity is not to be confused with actual storytelling." — MSN Movies Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 20%
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) | "
Violent, crude, pointless sequel just isn't kids' stuff." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Oct 19, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 11%
| The Stepfather (2009) | "
A little more guts - not necessarily more gory -- could have turned The Stepfather into a real re-imagining, not just a re-heating; what we get is just another trip down memory lane that runs out of gas." — Redbox Posted Oct 17, 2009 |
Fresh 4.5/5
| Fresh 82%
| Paranormal Activity (2009) | "
The sizzle of the marketing is impressive; the steak of the actual movie, served bloody and rare and juicy, is even more so." — MSN Movies Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 4.5/5
| Fresh 73%
| Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | "
"Where the Wild Things Are" is a great film because, for all of its wonder and magic and delight, it also knows about confusion and reality and sadness." — MSN Movies Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 24%
| Law Abiding Citizen (2009) | "
Law Abiding Citizen goes well beyond the realm of, to use a piece of legal terminology, reasonable doubt and hits the hammer until it arrives at the neighborhood of sheer ridiculousness with its tires smoking." — Redbox Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 92%
| Drag Me To Hell (2009) | "
More scares than gore, but still too much for young kids." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Oct 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Rotten 25%
| Land of the Lost (2009) | "
Ferrell's reboot of '70s show is rife with gross-out laughs." — Common Sense Media
DVD REVIEW Posted Oct 13, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 12%
| Couples Retreat (2009) | "
Couples Retreat has an eye, and ear, for the way relationships fall apart terribly slowly and then all at once. What it lacks is a truly concentrated comedy punch, preferring instead to land a series of scattered jabs from the 16 arms of its eight leads." — MSN Movies Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 24%
| Adventures of Power (2009) | "
Underdog comedy is no Napoleon Dynamite." — Common Sense Media Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Fresh 4.5/5
| Fresh 87%
| A Serious Man (2009) | "
Funny but, yes, also thought-provoking and moving, 'A Serious Man' may be among the Coens' finest works and stands as one of the funniest, freshest and smartest movies of 2009." — MSN Movies Posted Oct 2, 2009 |
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