Rotten C
| Rotten 56%
| Brothers (2009) | "
When Carey Mulligan (the breakout star of An Education) pops up in a cameo, you realize how rich the film would be with her in the lead." I.E. Weekly Posted Dec 5, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Fresh 93%
| The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) | "
Greengrass comes full circle from the War on Terror film that bit its tongue to the popcorn flick that speaks volumes." I.E. Weekly Posted Dec 1, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Fresh 67%
| Missing Person (2009) | "
Michael Shannon is a handsome kook whose turns in Revolutionary Road, Bug and this have earmarked him to be the next Jack Nicholson (or at least the next Christopher Walken)" I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 30, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 71%
| The Road (2009) | "
What's unnerving is that the end of the world was shot on location. Apparently, if you want to see doom, just go to New Orleans or Pittsburgh." I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 30, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 81%
| The Princess and the Frog (2009) | "
"You can't just wish on a star," advises Tiana, and with that, Disney makes amends for three generations of mealy indoctrination." I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 30, 2009 |
Rotten 3/5
| Rotten 29%
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) | "
New Moon isn't good enough to seduce new fans, but it's not bad enough to break off relentless infatuations." Boxoffice Magazine Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh C+
| Fresh 60%
| Pirate Radio (2009) | "
Grudgingly irresistible" I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 85%
| Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) | "
A perfect, perfect prank." I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 91%
| Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire (2009) | "
You can feel Daniels struggling to trust his mighty goddesses to carry the film. (He wedges in shots of boiling pigs feet to make sure we're queasy.)" I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 90%
| The Messenger (2009) | "
Harrelson's calm performance anchors the film, and whenever the story drifts back to him and his cautious friendship with Foster, the flick feels true." I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten C-
| Fresh 92%
| Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) | "
Anderson is so afraid of mussing a hair, he keeps his stories simple and hermetically sealed off from the sloppy business of emotions." I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 38%
| 2012 (2009) | "
Sets a goal and slamdunks it, squeezing in so much fun that by the credits, I'd forgotten about Woody Harrelson's turn as a pickle-chomping AM radio meteorological messiah." I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Rotten 55%
| Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009) | "
Charles Dickens wrote the book 50 years before movies even existed. He wrote for the imagination. And until now, movies haven't been able to measure up." I.E. Weekly Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Rotten D
| Rotten 16%
| Gentlemen Broncos (2009) | "
Fun material buried under a gross residue -- not just the projectile vomiting or the snake diarrhea, but the 'shlick, shlick' sound as Benjamin gives an over-lotioned hand massage" I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 30, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 80%
| Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) | "
This is his '68 Comeback Special" Boxoffice Magazine Posted Oct 28, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 25%
| Motherhood (2009) | "
It scares straight any wishful daydreams about parenting, living in Manhattan and even looking like Uma Thurman." Boxoffice Magazine Posted Oct 23, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 37%
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) | "
What's best about the flick is that everything is so, well, normal. Reilly, in particular, delights in responding to the fantastical with the practical." I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Rotten 48%
| Astro Boy (2009) | "
It's harsh, but it's sweetened by Toby -- he's not a real boy, but he's a classic hero." I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Rotten 24%
| Law Abiding Citizen (2009) | "
There's the core of a fascinating amoral movie here before it gets amped up into a standard thriller" I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 19, 2009 |
Rotten 3/5
| Rotten 20%
| Amelia (2009) | "
Swank has fun in the role - I haven't seen her smile this much in years - but she isn't given much complicated to do besides frustrate her friends when she digs in her heels." Boxoffice Magazine Posted Oct 19, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 73%
| More Than a Game (2009) | "
Like a gambler with an inside bet, you can know the final score, but still enjoy every second of the game." I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Fresh A-
| Fresh 82%
| Black Dynamite (2009) | "
If there's a night at the movies more fun than this deadpan blaxploitation flick, it's probably boosted by something bought in a dark alley." I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Fresh B+
| Fresh 94%
| Good Hair (2009) | "
Who defines good? This doc never quite finds the source, but it sure shows us the damage it's done to wallets, egos and follicles." I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 14, 2009 |
Rotten D
| Rotten 12%
| Couples Retreat (2009) | "
The actresses are so wasted, they're even demoted to fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth billing under every one of the dudes. At least the guys aren't having fun either." I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 14, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 70%
| Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | "
It looks like a punk home movie, and it's exactly what we need-a reminder that Max isn't just a spooky kid who goes berserker in a crane stance; he's a sweaty, snotty, panting, aggravating animal whose legs (and emotions) pump faster than any adult's" Boxoffice Magazine Posted Oct 12, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Rotten 29%
| Free Style (2009) | "
A film Barack Obama would approve of screening for Sasha and Malia -- there's even a jab at private health insurers." Boxoffice Magazine Posted Oct 9, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Fresh 82%
| Whip It (2009) | "
One of the best girl casts of the year. You don't leave wanting to pick up the DVD, but you do want to pick up a set of dumbbells." I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 5, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 89%
| Zombieland (2009) | "
National Lampoon's Zombie Vacation -- the detours, not the plot, are the point" I.E. Weekly Posted Oct 5, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 100%
| Toy Story (1995) | "
I think I speak for all adults and kids when I say I can't wait for playtime" Boxoffice Magazine Posted Oct 5, 2009 |
Fresh C
| Rotten 39%
| Surrogates (2009) | "
Every sci-fi and action flick cliché is crammed in here and Mostow couldn't give a damn if you've seen them all before. He might not do them better, but he'll do them well enough." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 28, 2009 |
Rotten D+
| Rotten 18%
| Love Happens (2009) | "
Love isn't inspired, it's hammered flat like Khrushchev's shoe." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 27, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 72%
| The Boys Are Back (2009) | "
Honesty defines the performances. The happiest possible ending here and in real life is that people keep going forward no matter how hard it hurts." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 27, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 65%
| Coco Before Chanel (2009) | "
We leave unsatisfied, but only because Fontaine and Tautou have left us wanting more of this unpossessable woman." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 27, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 27%
| Pandorum (2009) | "
Christian Alvart lays on the symbolism in this oppressive, captivating galactic thriller" Boxoffice Magazine Posted Sep 25, 2009 |
Fresh A
| Fresh 86%
| Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009) | "
Lord and Miller know how to play with their food -- they have a hunger for the whimsical detail" I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 17, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Fresh 75%
| Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) | "
A collection of outrageous facts sprayed like a shotgun blast towards what Moore deems the modern Roman Empire." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 17, 2009 |
Fresh
| Fresh 96%
| Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea (2007) | "
While the doc flounders as a coherent story of human folly, it’s a cheeky travelmercial guaranteed to get the curious to make the road trip to this near-abandoned resort." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 13, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 23%
| Sorority Row (2009) | "
A satire made for cult rediscovery, just change the tagline to "In the foam, no one can hear you scream."" Boxoffice Magazine Posted Sep 12, 2009 |
Fresh A+
| Rotten 54%
| The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) | "
At once optimistic about what the military could do if it replaced its guns with flowers, and cynical about what the non-believers and opportunists can - and did - do to that dream" Boxoffice Magazine Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/5
| Rotten 0%
| Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009) | "
I've got no problem with movies that stack up twists like crazy straws. Hyam's script, however, depends on us being dumber than every character in the film—you'd have to reach protozoan levels just to resist wanting to strangle everyone in it." Boxoffice Magazine Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Fresh 84%
| The September Issue (2009) | "
It'd be nice (and fair) if Cutler dared ask Wintour about her reasons rather than framing her march to the layout room as though she's a Chanel-suited Darth Vader." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Fresh B-
| Rotten 57%
| 9 (2009) | "
The worst thing you can say about 9 is that it's the look, not the script, that keeps your interest." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 11, 2009 |
Rotten 3/5
| Rotten 29%
| Gamer (2009) | "
Shoot-em-up auteurs Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor straddle the line between aping and perfectly executing violent action movies." Boxoffice Magazine Posted Sep 4, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Rotten 33%
| The Open Road (2009) | "
A screenplay that feels written by numbers, but excellent performances make it deserve more attention than this late summer dump" Boxoffice Magazine Posted Sep 3, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 87%
| Big Fan (2009) | "
Big Fan isn't a touchdown, but its patient torture reminded me of the rest of the world's football: tense stretches of nothing with enough killer moments to cheer." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 3, 2009 |
Fresh B
| Fresh 63%
| Extract (2009) | "
A little morally perverse under the surface, as Bateman learns that one of the keys to happiness is an attitude of "Let them eat cherry-flavored cake."" I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 3, 2009 |
Rotten D
| Rotten 6%
| All About Steve (2009) | "
Not just dumb, it's dopey, moronic, doltish, obtuse and thick." I.E. Weekly Posted Sep 3, 2009 |
Rotten C
| Rotten 21%
| Halloween II (2009) | "
Zombie's viewpoint is clear: he's taking Michael's inexorable killing spree to its brutal extreme, and he wants us to feel every blow." Boxoffice Magazine Posted Aug 28, 2009 |
Rotten C+
| Fresh 70%
| My One and Only (2009) | "
This is a trifle too sweet to dip as dark as despair -- at worst, we know Anne will learn self-reliance." I.E. Weekly Posted Aug 27, 2009 |
Rotten C+
| Rotten 49%
| Taking Woodstock (2009) | "
I'm starting to suspect that Lee's insight into American thought is only a little deeper than a Western filmmaker who thinks he's brave for still bringing up bound feet." I.E. Weekly Posted Aug 27, 2009 |