Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 46%
| Whatever Works (2009) | "
A spoonful of Melody St. Ann Celestine helps the misanthrophy go down." Posted Jul 3, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 20%
| Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) | "
Tinnitus with pictures." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 65%
| Away We Go (2009) | "
This episodic kook's tour might have worked better as a novel; the dialogue wouldn't seem so arch if we were permitted to 'act' it in our heads, and the monologues would seem more natural on a printed page, where words are required to fill the blankness." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 67%
| The Merry Gentleman (2009) | "
A nice little independent film built around Kelly Macdonald's sweet personality and charming Scottish accent as surely as if it were a star vehicle developed for a contract player during the golden age of the Hollywood studio system." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 92%
| Every Little Step (2009) | "
'God, I hope I get it!' sing the characters auditioning for a dance part in 'A Chorus Line'; this documentary examines the real-life faces behind that sentiment..." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 44%
| My Sister's Keeper (2009) | "
An outrageous Lifetime Television courthouse drama, constructed in the artful style of a Sundance drama..." Posted Jun 26, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 17%
| Year One (2009) | "
The obligatory gross-out moments function as camouflage for what proves to be a surprisingly trenchant critique of the human penchant for violence, greed, deceit, hubris and, especially, religious superstition." Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Rotten 0.5/4
| Rotten 50%
| Easy Virtue (2009) | "
Will appeal only to Anglophiles who swoon at the sound of such words as 'codswallop'..." Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Rotten 1/4
| Rotten 48%
| Management (2009) | "
The latest misfire to make 'indie' a dirty word." Posted Jun 19, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 44%
| Imagine That (2009) | "
Hey, kids! Nickelodeon, one of your favorite companies, has a new release with Eddie Murphy as a financial analyst, so you'll get to hear a lot of grownups in grim offices talking about 'specs' and 'yields' and 'pension funds' and -- hey, kids! Wake up!" Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 93%
| Drag Me To Hell (2009) | "
The Rolling Stones album 'Let It Bleed' advised: THIS RECORD SHOULD BE PLAYED LOUD. Prints of this film must be stamped with a similar order: Tension is created by ear-smashing NOISE, to create a hell-on-earth feeling of temporary insanity in the viewer." Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 28%
| Land of the Lost (2009) | "
A misbegotten project that immediately alienates kid-toting parents with shameless and incessant product plugs, surprisingly foul language and other inappropriate references..." Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 44%
| Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) | "
Amy Adams adds plenty of welcome 'moxie' (and a tight pair of aviator's britches), but otherwise there's not much here besides noise, chaos and monkey-slapping." Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 70%
| Rudo and Cursi (2009) | "
The charismatic stars make this film pretty much a delight..." Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 86%
| Tyson (2009) | "
Documentary as ghost-written autobiography." Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 50%
| The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009) | "
The laughable climax is punctuated with a military-style salute from a police hostage negotiater that is so silly it causes one to wonder whether 'Pelham' is supposed to be a dry-as-sand comedy -- a 'Beat the Devil' for the 'Transformers' era." Posted Jun 12, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 12%
| My Life in Ruins (2009) | "
The shaving of a beard changes a bus driver from Sasquatch to Fabio in this sitcom-style romantic wish-fulfillment fantasy for women." Posted Jun 8, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 35%
| Tennessee (2009) | "
Too formulaic to be the sort of low-budget film that garners critical buzz or a cult audience; and too 'indie' to click with the mainstream crowd." Posted Jun 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 78%
| The Hangover (2009) | "
If there's a problem with 'The Hangover' (and other films of its ilk), it's the at best ambivalent, at worst hostile relationship to women..." Posted Jun 8, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 97%
| Up (2009) | "
Has something of the craziness of the classic Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck comic-book stories created by Carl Barks in the 1940s and '50s..." Posted Jun 1, 2009 |
Fresh 4/4
| Fresh 93%
| Sugar (2009) | "
Sugar is a completely convincing character who inhabits what appears to be an utterly authentic world." Posted Jun 1, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 32%
| Terminator Salvation (2009) | "
As the so-called war on terror and other events repeatedly demonstrate, the 'What makes us human?' question never loses relevance..." Posted May 22, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 37%
| Angels & Demons (2009) | "
How come there's never a self-flagellating albino killer monk around when you really want one?" Posted May 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 94%
| Goodbye Solo (2009) | "
Bahrani brings a researcher's integrity, an artist's compassion and a detective's eye for the neglected detail to his tales of this country's struggling international underclass..." Posted May 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 67%
| Is Anybody There? (2009) | "
Worth seeing for Caine, who makes acting seem effortless, pleasurable and even noble." Posted May 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 95%
| Star Trek (2009) | "
Fun, but like most of the previous movies, it doesn't approach the quality of the best episodes of the original 'Star Trek' or 'Star Trek: The Next Generation.'" Posted May 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 37%
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) | "
As pure pulp entertainment, it works." Posted May 8, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 19%
| Next Day Air (2009) | "
Forty years from now, this may be fascinating for its relentless early 21st-century 'urban' slang and attitude. Let's hope it also seems antique for the idea that guns are as accessible as Kleenex..." Posted May 8, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 58%
| Paris 36 (2008) | "
Those who like their movies (a) cute and (b) in French will go oui, oui, oui all the way home after spending 120 minutes with this rose-tinted homage to the neighborhood music halls of France..." Posted May 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 80%
| Nothing But the Truth (2008) | "
Should find favor with audiences eager for movies driven by characterization, ideas and the performances of actors whose screen presence offers as much justification for the existence of cinema as any camera trick, flashy montage or special effect." Posted May 7, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 85%
| Earth (2009) | "
The Disney connection marks 'Earth' as a worthy heir to the Oscar-winning 'True-Life Adventures' the company produced from 1948 to 1960..." Posted Apr 23, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Fresh 78%
| 12 (2007) | "
After 159 minutes of unlikely if beautifully acted behavior, moviegoers may feel sequestered themselves." Posted Apr 20, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 51%
| Observe and Report (2009) | "
It's a comedy with a foot on the neck of the Zeitgeist, and it's this pressure on our trachea that crushes the laughter in our throats." Posted Apr 10, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Rotten 46%
| Hannah Montana The Movie (2009) | "
'If you guys don't mind, I'm gonna add a little hip-hop to this hoedown,' announces Miley, contributing a quote to the culture that needs to be sampled, pronto..." Posted Apr 10, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 73%
| The Great Buck Howard (2009) | "
Sleight of hand is among a magician's greatest assets, but even the most gullible rubes will be able to follow most of writer-director Sean McGinly's telegraphed moves in this agreeable but lightweight film..." Posted Apr 10, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 72%
| Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) | "
Susan is a character with real, um, weight..." Posted Apr 6, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/4
| Fresh 66%
| Duplicity (2009) | "
Gilroy makes the mistake of applying the artful lighting, measured pace and severe sensibility of 'Michael Clayton' to screwball caper material." Posted Apr 6, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/4
| Rotten 23%
| Bedtime Stories (2008) | "
A big step backward for director Adam Shankman ('Hairspray')." Posted Apr 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 73%
| Sunshine Cleaning (2009) | "
This is a film that might clot from the pressure of too much unlikely, writerly detail if not for the elbow grease applied by its two charming stars..." Posted Apr 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 88%
| Adventureland (2009) | "
Seems to be the first 'teen' comedy inspired by the recession, even if the downturn depicted here is the hard-times Reagan year of 1987..." Posted Apr 6, 2009 |
Fresh 2.5/4
| Fresh 64%
| Watchmen (2009) | "
Comic books and movies both tell stories with pictures, but 'Watchmen' demonstrates that the animating spirit of a rich, fully realized graphic novel may be as hard to transfer to the screen as that of any other type of successful literary work." Posted Mar 31, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 18%
| The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) | "
Never play hide-and-seek in a haunted house, unless you want to discover you're sharing your dumbwaiter hidey-hole with a ghostly charred corpse." Posted Mar 31, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 42%
| The Last House on the Left (2009) | "
Crafted with such professionalism it might be the story of Gandhi rather than a wallow in rape, murder and the vengeance of the parents (who, true to the domestic associations of the title, dispatch the evildoers with garbage disposal and microwave oven)." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Rotten 2/4
| Rotten 43%
| Race to Witch Mountain (2009) | "
AnnaSophia Robb and Alexander Ludwig are fine, but this 'X Files' for small fry has about as much heft as a bubble of swamp gas." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Fresh 61%
| Marley & Me (2008) | "
Directed with admirable sensitivity and spot-on populist instincts..." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 32%
| Knowing (2009) | "
A wacked-out, quasi-religious 'Donnie Darko' for dummies... It earns my endorsement not because it's coherent but because it's so over the top it kept me engrossed for its full 122 minutes." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 84%
| Two Lovers (2009) | "
Gray doesn't underline 'significant' moments or bits of information, but asks the viewer to be attentive to his story and sympathetic to his characters." Posted Mar 20, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/4
| Fresh 97%
| The Class (2008) | "
The classroom becomes symbolic of society as a whole: An incubator of problems as well as solutions, and a source of disaster and promise, hope and despair, affection and enmity..." Posted Mar 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 32%
| Fanboys (2009) | "
Pretty funny, as long as it focuses on geek-specific references ('Hey, it's Willow's spell book!')." Posted Mar 6, 2009 |
Fresh 3/4
| Rotten 57%
| Taken (2009) | "
A morally specious but undeniably efficient brainstem-tickler -- the most effective action/revenge thriller in years." Posted Mar 6, 2009 |
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