|
2/4
|
53%
|
Albert Nobbs (2012) |
"
There is potential in this story to explore the way gender, sexual orientation and social class confined people in the Victorian era, but Close is so obviously female, it's distracting right from the start."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jan 26, 2012
|
|
2.5/4
|
63%
|
We Bought a Zoo (2011) |
"
Without Crowe's laid-back approach and Damon's anchoring performance, We Bought a Zoo could have been a sappy disaster."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Dec 23, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
50%
|
The Rum Diary (2011) |
"
Slow and strangely conventional -- two words that should never apply to Thompson or his work."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Oct 27, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
36%
|
The Thing (2011) |
"
Van Heijningen is clearly a fan who approached this project with due respect. If only he'd had enough respect not to make it in the first place."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Oct 13, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
59%
|
Real Steel (2011) |
"
Every cliché from sports movies, underdog stories and father-son dramas is trotted out and played with a straight face."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Oct 6, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
90%
|
Attack the Block (2011) |
"
While it lacks originality, Attack the Block zooms along with energy and deadpan humor."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Sep 1, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
64%
|
Another Earth (2011) |
"
A moving, intimate story of loss and second chances."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Aug 12, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
83%
|
The Double Hour (2011) |
"
The final resolution is easily forgotten, more of an afterthought than anything else. The fun is in the twisting, absurd journey, not the destination."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jul 29, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
78%
|
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011) |
"
Even in its messiest moments, however, it never loses its sweet-natured charm. There's still plenty here to love."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jul 29, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
82%
|
TrollHunter (2011) |
"
An entertaining effort with "cult following" written all over it."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jul 21, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
96%
|
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) |
"
It works its own kind of magic, the kind that comes from a great story, well told."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jul 14, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
——
|
Another Harvest Moon (2011) |
"
It may not be terribly original, but in its sweet, unassuming way, it is inspiring."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jun 24, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
84%
|
The Tree of Life (2011) |
"
It is an impressive, confounding achievement that calls to mind every drunken late-night debate that no one could articulate the next morning."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jun 16, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
74%
|
Winter in Wartime (2011) |
"
Director Martin Koolhoven, adapting Jan Terlouw's 1972 novel, maintains the constant tension of a world where every stray word or glance could lead to tragedy."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted May 27, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
35%
|
The Hangover Part II (2011) |
"
This is a faded copy of its predecessor, only raunchier (if you can imagine) and with better scenery."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted May 26, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
54%
|
Jumping the Broom (2011) |
"
The charm of Jumping the Broom is in its glossy, spirited humor, not its clumsy spiritual melodrama."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted May 6, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
71%
|
Rio (2011) |
"
Despite its copycat nature, it has its own irresistibly joyful energy."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Apr 14, 2011
|
|
2.5/4
|
26%
|
Hop (2011) |
"
If the filmmakers had just made a movie about E.B. and his clever animated bunny world, they might have delivered a tasty Easter surprise. This one has been sitting in the back of the fridge too long."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Mar 31, 2011
|
|
2/4
|
19%
|
Beastly (2011) |
"
Beastly is tolerable enough for a March release. Yes, that is damning with faint praise."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Mar 3, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
91%
|
Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010) |
"
Much better are the interviews Gibney conducts with the big players, including Spitzer himself. Although he never apologizes for his aggressive style, Spitzer comes across as relatively subdued and doesn't make excuses for his personal behavior."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Dec 10, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
65%
|
Freakonomics (2010) |
"
It's intellectual snack food, satisfying for a little while but always leaving you hungry for more."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Oct 8, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
——
|
16 To Life (2010) |
"
The performances are all fine, but the characters do very little, and what they do isn't engaging."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Sep 16, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
——
|
Expecting Mary (2010) |
"
Rulin gives a warm, down-to-earth performance, which counters writer-director Dan Gordon's tendency to blow out the Quirk-O-Meter."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Sep 10, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
34%
|
Lottery Ticket (2010) |
"
While the film starts strong, it suffers from diminishing returns."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Aug 19, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
46%
|
Step Up 3-D (2010) |
"
There is some awkward editing and cheesy showing-off, but the dancers' tremendous talent is given the focus it deserves."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Aug 6, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
70%
|
Ramona and Beezus (2010) |
"
There are so many diversions and subplots, it's hard to get caught up in any single story."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jul 23, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
70%
|
Ondine (2010) |
"
As Jordan drifts around, searching for a consistent tone, it becomes evident he isn't sure what kind of story he's telling."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jun 25, 2010
|
|
3/4
|
84%
|
Casino Jack And The United States Of Money (2010) |
"
Offers a wide-ranging look at Abramoff's antics, from promoting sweatshops in Saipan to cheating Indian tribes out of casino revenues."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jun 4, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
19%
|
The Back-up Plan (2010) |
"
If this is the best script [Lopez] saw during her hiatus, she should have waited longer."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Apr 23, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
21%
|
Letters To God (2010) |
"
Letters to God is certainly watchable and may offer comfort to Christians in the audience. But its appeal will be limited, no matter how professional it looks."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Apr 9, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
90%
|
Wolke Neun (Cloud 9) (2008) |
"
This moral ambivalence is both the movie's strength and its greatest weakness. In virtually every way, Inge's behavior is unconscionable."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Apr 2, 2010
|
|
2.5/4
|
58%
|
She's Out of My League (2010) |
"
The writers and director Jim Field Smith show a refreshing level of commitment to something besides broad caricatures and crotch jokes."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Mar 12, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
16%
|
The Tooth Fairy (2010) |
"
The actors use their considerable skills to salvage the rest, but you'll want to snag some of that shrinking paste to keep your expectations where they belong."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jan 22, 2010
|
|
2/4
|
25%
|
Ninja Assassin (2009) |
"
McTeigue obscures whatever is happening on screen, using bad lighting and rapid editing when he should be holding the image still and letting viewers see what they came for."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Nov 25, 2009
|
|
2/4
|
7%
|
Post Grad (2009) |
"
Bledel can carry a film, and her level-headed charm works wonders. At least until Fremon and Jenson turn her into another dithering flick chick whose decisions are dictated by the men in her life."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Aug 20, 2009
|
|
2.5/4
|
80%
|
Bandslam (2009) |
"
You have to respect any movie that name-checks the Velvet Underground and assumes its tweenage viewers will get the reference -- or ask their parents later."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Aug 14, 2009
|
|
2.5/4
|
55%
|
Enlighten Up! (2009) |
"
When she inserts herself into the action, she reveals only her own insecurity. It ends up being very enlightening, but probably not in the way Churchill intends."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jun 12, 2009
|
|
2.5/4
|
90%
|
Hunger (2009) |
"
It's as stubbornly inscrutable as its subjects."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted May 15, 2009
|
|
2.5/4
|
55%
|
17 Again (2009) |
"
It's an entertaining showcase for its star, and that's all it really needs to be."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Apr 17, 2009
|
|
1/4
|
20%
|
Gooby (2009) |
"
Instead of inspiring children to be brave and loving, it will most likely send them cowering under the covers in terror. They've already got Chucky movies for that."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Apr 17, 2009
|
|
2/4
|
17%
|
The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) |
"
By the final reel you'll either be swept along by the sheer energetic absurdity of it all, or you'll be laughing at how goofy and muddled it is. The only thing you definitely won't be is scared."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Mar 27, 2009
|
|
1.5/4
|
34%
|
Knowing (2009) |
"
This is a strange, scatterbrained hybrid of disaster movie and theologically minded science fiction. It's like The Happening with math."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Mar 20, 2009
|
|
1.5/4
|
22%
|
Fired Up (2009) |
"
The film's misogyny is countered only by its homophobia -- its male gay characters are mincing idiots, while the women could have walked out of a you-wish Playboy spread."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Feb 20, 2009
|
|
2/4
|
46%
|
Hotel for Dogs (2009) |
"
[The filmmakers] can handle cheap gags and visuals, but story, character, dialogue, even a consistent tone are entirely out of their grasp."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Jan 16, 2009
|
|
2/4
|
45%
|
Yes Man (2008) |
"
A movie about taking risks should not be this safe."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Dec 18, 2008
|
|
2.5/4
|
74%
|
Peur(s) du Noir (Fear(s) of the Dark) (2007) |
"
They all visualize the fears that haunt our dreams, but only McGuire brings them to full, unnerving life."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Dec 5, 2008
|
|
2/4
|
25%
|
Four Christmases (2008) |
"
It's four wacky holiday comedies in one movie, each trying to top the last."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Nov 25, 2008
|
|
3/4
|
100%
|
Divorzio all'Italiana (Divorce Italian Style) (1962) |
"
If you're in the mood for a cynical, time-traveling Italian vacation, you couldn't do much better than this."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Nov 7, 2008
|
|
3/4
|
93%
|
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (2008) |
"
Boogie Man does not inspire pity for Atwater but sadness that a man of such talent wasted his life and learned his lesson too late."
—
Kansas City Star
Posted Oct 24, 2008
|
