|
1/5
|
23%
|
Conan the Barbarian (2011) |
"
The brutality is enervating, unrelieved by the slightest notion of humour. The fantasy castles are painted in with computers, and the battles are shot in widescreen close-up, the worst possible combination."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Aug 17, 2011
|
|
1/5
|
35%
|
Battle: Los Angeles (2011) |
"
Like the aliens themselves, the cliches were coming too fast. Unlike the aliens, they are indestructible."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Mar 16, 2011
|
|
1/5
|
34%
|
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (2009) |
"
It is so bad it makes even the worst of George Lucas' second round of Star Wars movies look good."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Aug 5, 2009
|
|
1/5
|
27%
|
Land of the Lost (2009) |
"
The original was unbelievably cheesy in its special effects but more sophisticated in its concepts, employing real science-fiction writers to work up ideas. Will Ferrell and partners have succeeded in reversing those priorities in this spoof."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jun 11, 2009
|
|
1/5
|
51%
|
Get Smart (2008) |
"
Which words describe this movie version of one of the funniest television shows ever made? Terrible, puerile and a travesty are close, but not angry enough."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jul 10, 2008
|
|
|
59%
|
RocknRolla (2008) |
"
RocknRolla feels as if Ritchie is imitating his favourite director here, and that director is Guy Ritchie."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Nov 7, 2008
|
|
|
2%
|
Disaster Movie (2008) |
"
A woman a few rows in front of me at the preview chose to write 20 minutes worth of text messages, rather than watch the movie. Even though she was not paying, the price was clearly too high."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Oct 3, 2008
|
|
|
26%
|
Eagle Eye (2008) |
"
The scriptwriters are setting a trap, but there's a risk. If they push the capabilities of the unseen female voice too far -- and they do -- they risk our patience. Once you withdraw your willingness to believe, it's hard to get it back."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Oct 3, 2008
|
|
|
58%
|
Taken (2009) |
"
A simplistic action-thriller depicts extreme prejudice and shows middling contempt."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Aug 12, 2008
|
|
|
50%
|
Sex and the City (2008) |
"
It's nice to see these women again, because they are all rich and complex characters, but it's basically a sentimental exercise, designed for maximum cash flow before the idea is retired."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jun 8, 2008
|
|
|
76%
|
Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) (2006) |
"
[Carion] settles for making a tear-jerker, when it could have been -- and deserves to be -- so much more."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jul 1, 2006
|
|
|
61%
|
Lord of War (2005) |
"
The film's approach to violence is unflinching: this is what poor people are doing to each other with the guns the West sells them, it screams -- but there's no suggestion it might be stopped, or slowed."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Feb 17, 2006
|
|
|
61%
|
Jarhead (2005) |
"
It's another fine Gyllenhaal performance, but not really enough, because his suffering doesn't amount to a hill of Kuwaiti sand in the end."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Feb 10, 2006
|
|
|
5%
|
The Fog (2005) |
"
A dull, stupid, boring picture, inferior in every way to the John Carpenter film it remakes, but it's bad for the same reason a lot of effects-driven movies are bad."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Feb 3, 2006
|
|
|
51%
|
The Producers (2005) |
"
Barely adequate."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jan 17, 2006
|
|
|
88%
|
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) |
"
It's too episodic, relying on action rather than emotion. The pace is headlong, so that the characterisation suffers."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jan 17, 2006
|
|
|
76%
|
The Machinist (2004) |
"
Some people will pick up the clues early in The Machinist and some won't. I got some, not all, but I remained unengaged throughout, largely because of the film's deliberateness, which feels like lack of passion."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jun 10, 2005
|
|
|
17%
|
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) |
"
It's the marriage of Hollywood's least attractive couple -- parsimony and greed."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Oct 3, 2003
|
|
|
53%
|
The Rage in Placid Lake (2004) |
"
Struggles to find the right tone."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Sep 10, 2003
|
|
|
22%
|
Bulletproof Monk (2003) |
"
It's supremely ironic: the scroll defeats the body's natural decaying process. In today's movies, so does the computer. It's even more efficient than plastic surgery, but just as phoney."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jun 20, 2003
|
|
|
74%
|
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) |
"
Digital millions die in movies a lot now, but who gives a rat's? They're all just zeros and ones. Unless there's some visibly human traits, it's hard to care."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted May 16, 2003
|
|
|
20%
|
Knockaround Guys (2002) |
"
Real gangsters often love gangster films, but it's a safe bet that Knockaround Guys won't be on their all-time hit list."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Mar 21, 2003
|
|
|
39%
|
Maid in Manhattan (2002) |
"
The script is so lazy it snores, and Wayne Wang directs like he walked onto the wrong set - true enough, in its way."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Mar 7, 2003
|
|
1.5/5
|
11%
|
Big Stan (2009) |
"
This may be the first mainstream Hollywood comedy where the anus drives the movie -- and I don't mean that as a double entendre."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Dec 1, 2008
|
|
2/5
|
60%
|
Real Steel (2011) |
"
Frankly, Real Steel is an appalling movie: cliched, corny, sentimental, hectoring and pitched so low that the term B-movie seems like praise. "
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Oct 5, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
42%
|
Faster (2010) |
"
Faster is not fast enough. It's a bloody revenge fantasy starring the massively muscled Dwayne Johnson, whose emotions run the gamut from A to, well, A."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Feb 2, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
43%
|
Dinner for Schmucks (2010) |
"
It cost around $70 million, according to the Los Angeles Times, which is about $5 million per laugh if I'm generous."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Sep 30, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
45%
|
Second Hand Wedding (2008) |
"
Second Hand Wedding is a singular underachievement. Some NZ newspapers have compared the film to The Castle for its down-home modesty and charm. It has much to be modest about."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jul 28, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
10%
|
Grown Ups (2010) |
"
Grown Ups is juvenile comedy in search of a consistent tone, which it never finds."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jun 23, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
16%
|
When in Rome (2010) |
"
I'm not cynical about hope, just the way that romantic comedies exploit it, without necessarily delivering. When in Rome does that to a large degree, even basing its conceit on a wishing well, the ultimate exploitation of hope."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Apr 22, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
51%
|
Observe and Report (2009) |
"
Much of the movie is just plain vicious. At best, it's sad and grotesque, rather than hilarious."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted May 14, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
14%
|
The Love Guru (2008) |
"
As the celebrity love guru of Los Angeles, Mike Meyers delivers jokes so poorly that they just clang to the floor like metal weights."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jul 11, 2008
|
|
2/5
|
86%
|
Rats and Cats () |
"
A hip comedy, and as such, being hip and caustic is sometimes more important than being funny."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted May 30, 2008
|
|
2/5
|
11%
|
Fool's Gold (2008) |
"
Fool's gold, indeed."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Feb 8, 2008
|
|
2/5
|
14%
|
Hitman (2007) |
"
The title is probably misspelt -- there should be an S in front."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Dec 7, 2007
|
|
2/5
|
59%
|
300 (2007) |
"
It is violent enough to make you shudder and close enough to fascist art to make your skin crawl."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Apr 6, 2007
|
|
2/5
|
15%
|
Wild Hogs (2007) |
"
Films like these are built for speed, not comfort. The big name cast is there to drag in an audience for the opening weekend, so the picture makes its money before word gets out."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Mar 9, 2007
|
|
2/5
|
29%
|
Silent Hill (2006) |
"
More deadly than silent."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Aug 25, 2006
|
|
2/5
|
58%
|
Night Watch (Nochnoi Dozor) (2006) |
"
The film's pace is hectic, but varied."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jan 17, 2006
|
|
2.5/5
|
41%
|
Dark Shadows (2012) |
"
When Burton is going through the motions, his films are as involving as a school play. He directs this film on autopilot. Ed Wood would have done it better. "
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted May 10, 2012
|
|
2.5/5
|
27%
|
Green Lantern (2011) |
"
A certain tone is needed to carry off the script's manifold absurdities. It has to be tongue-in-cheek rather than foot-in-mouth and Reynolds' success rate is intermittent at best."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Aug 10, 2011
|
|
2.5/5
|
71%
|
Hanna (2011) |
"
Wright is capable of much better, as is everyone in the cast. He's trying to make a silky Euro thriller with a frisson of controversy. It's more like a never-ending trailer."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jul 27, 2011
|
|
2.5/5
|
14%
|
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010) |
"
The Revenge of Kitty Galore (in 3D) is loud, colourful and silly enough to tickle the 5- to 10-year-old target group, but only for about half its length."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Sep 15, 2010
|
|
2.5/5
|
50%
|
The Tumbler () |
"
There are so many scores being settled here, by the filmmakers as well as their characters, that tension takes a holiday, along with credibility and fun."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Sep 1, 2010
|
|
2.5/5
|
50%
|
Astro Boy (AstroBoy) (2009) |
"
It strays too far from the original to please hard-core fans and it is so confused in tone and purpose that it is hard to tell where it's aimed."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Oct 15, 2009
|
|
2.5/5
|
22%
|
Push (2009) |
"
Push is a chase film dolled up with supernatural powers and chintzy retro design motifs."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Sep 11, 2009
|
|
2.5/5
|
66%
|
The Escapist (2008) |
"
I hate criticising someone for ambition but The Escapist is a victory of ambition over dramatic achievement."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jul 8, 2009
|
|
2.5/5
|
20%
|
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) |
"
A lot of people put a great deal of effort into this movie to create great effects and exciting action but the whole thing is led by a man who directs by numbers."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jun 21, 2009
|
|
2.5/5
|
33%
|
Terminator Salvation (2009) |
"
Who cares what it means? Just make it loud. This is the way the series ends, not with a whimper but a bang. Except that it will probably go on, a shade of its former glory."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Jun 5, 2009
|
|
2.5/5
|
31%
|
The Uninvited (2009) |
"
This is a teenage horror film made with efficiency, as if that was enough. It's as mechanical as a train set and that's what good horror can't be."
—
Sydney Morning Herald
Posted Mar 27, 2009
|
66%
——
96%
