|
|
14%
|
Seven Days In Utopia (2011) |
"
Little more than a pleasantly passable Christian sports parable delivered as a sort of Texan golfer's version of The Karate Kid."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 30, 2011
|
|
|
23%
|
Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D (2011) |
"
A cheap-looking, vaguely depressing echo of Robert Rodriguez's well-loved kidpic trilogy, assembled with minimal imagination or effort."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 19, 2011
|
|
|
0%
|
The Lion of Judah (2011) |
"
The slapdash animation is matched in kind by the patched-together story."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 3, 2011
|
|
|
34%
|
The Hangover Part II (2011) |
"
The stock dismissal "more of the same" has rarely been more accurately applied to a sequel than to The Hangover Part II, which ranks as little more than a faded copy of its predecessor superimposed on a more brightly colored background."
—
Variety
Posted May 23, 2011
|
|
|
33%
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) |
"
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides serves as a welcome corrective, reviving the fun, feather-light frivolity that any film based on a Disneyland ride ought to exhibit."
—
Variety
Posted May 12, 2011
|
|
|
13%
|
The Big Bang (2011) |
"
The Big Bang is a borderline unintelligible, scattershot attempt at Lynchian neo-noir that takes intellectual and aesthetic risks it has no reasonable hope of pulling off."
—
Variety
Posted May 11, 2011
|
|
—
|
75%
|
Nanny McPhee Returns (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted May 11, 2011
|
|
—
|
——
|
The Ultimate Wave Tahiti (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted Apr 23, 2011
|
|
|
71%
|
African Cats (2011) |
"
Astounding wildlife footage is given a kid-friendly narrative hook, but never overly cuddlified, in Keith Scholey's African Cats."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 18, 2011
|
|
|
26%
|
The Best and the Brightest (2011) |
"
Offering a fitfully funny sitcom plot clumsily stretched to 90 minutes, then goosed with increasingly tiresome doses of smuttiness and political incorrectness, The Best and the Brightest is neither."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 14, 2011
|
|
—
|
——
|
A Nightmare In Las Cruces (2011) |
—
Variety
Posted Apr 12, 2011
|
|
—
|
——
|
Foo Fighters: Back and Forth (2011) |
—
Variety
Posted Apr 12, 2011
|
|
—
|
——
|
Chut doi seung giu (Nobody's Perfect ) (2008) |
—
Variety
Posted Apr 4, 2011
|
|
—
|
——
|
Something's Gonna Live (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted Apr 4, 2011
|
|
|
38%
|
Detention (2012) |
"
What starts as a bracing rush quickly devolves into a deadening assault of stimuli."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 1, 2011
|
|
—
|
14%
|
Charlie Casanova () |
—
Variety
Posted Mar 18, 2011
|
|
|
61%
|
The Beaver (2011) |
"
[Gibson] delivers a performance very few could pull off as a depressed father who begins communicating through a hand puppet, but Foster doesn't know how to manage it or navigate the script's seismic tonal shifts/"
—
Variety
Posted Mar 17, 2011
|
|
|
91%
|
Source Code (2011) |
"
Solid execution and some provocative ideas can't save Source Code from a fatal hubris, as it thinks itself far more clever than it actually is and assumes it's earned emotions at which it's only hinted."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 12, 2011
|
|
|
83%
|
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) |
"
The Lincoln Lawyer is a quintessential airport-novel kind of movie, possessing no great qualities or ambitions."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 9, 2011
|
|
|
80%
|
I Will Follow (2011) |
"
The soulful, messy process of grief gets a soulful, messy treatment in Ava DuVernay's I Will Follow."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 3, 2011
|
|
|
34%
|
Hall Pass (2011) |
"
Those 1990s gross-out kings, Peter and Bobby Farrelly, are finally growing up, even if that maturation is visible only in highly relative terms."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 23, 2011
|
|
|
19%
|
Just Go with It (2011) |
"
A puerile kiddie-comedy without the anarchic energy, and a schmaltzy romantic comedy without the sweetness."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 10, 2011
|
|
|
64%
|
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011) |
"
Though anyone who needs convincing won't touch this one with a 10-foot pole, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never makes a persuasive case for its titular star as a far more talented-than-usual teen idol."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 9, 2011
|
|
—
|
——
|
Becoming Chaz (2011) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 9, 2011
|
|
|
91%
|
Beats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest (2011) |
"
[The film] gives the seminal early '90s hip-hop group as stylish and intimate a treatment as fans could hope for, paying as much attention to the music in question as it does to the characters who made it."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 25, 2011
|
|
|
21%
|
Salvation Boulevard (2011) |
"
Careless and bedraggled in its storytelling and never aiming its sights beyond the most obvious targets."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 25, 2011
|
|
|
67%
|
Hobo With a Shotgun (2011) |
"
Picked up by Magnet, "Shotgun" should satisfy midnight movie gore-hounds."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 23, 2011
|
|
|
73%
|
Like Crazy (2011) |
"
Like Crazy is an exquisite, beautifully acted gem of a film, one that should serve as a prelude to bigger things for stars Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin, as well as director Drake Doremus."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 23, 2011
|
|
|
95%
|
Pariah (2011) |
"
Vivid photography, true-to-life moments and a wonderful lead performance compensate for some first-timer missteps in debutante writer-director Dee Rees' Pariah."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 21, 2011
|
|
|
10%
|
Season of the Witch (2011) |
"
Season of the Witch is a fine example of a film that would've been great fun if only its creators had a sense of humor about the wild brew of absurdity they had percolating."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 6, 2011
|
|
|
29%
|
Queen of the Lot (2010) |
"
This meandering, talky film-industry satire never manages to rouse itself from a near-comatose level of self-satisfaction."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 22, 2010
|
|
—
|
100%
|
Separado! () |
—
Variety
Posted Nov 4, 2010
|
|
|
55%
|
Morning Glory (2010) |
"
A genially midrange if overlong romantic comedy."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 3, 2010
|
|
—
|
——
|
Player (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2010
|
|
|
17%
|
You Again (2010) |
"
Those bemoaning the lack of quality female roles in modern-day Hollywood will find a key cause celebre in You Again, which manages to squander three generations of formidable actresses."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 23, 2010
|
|
|
50%
|
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) |
"
Director Zack Snyder attempts to shoehorn his heavily art-directed mayhem into a kiddie-pic mold with predictably ill-fitting results."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 20, 2010
|
|
|
23%
|
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) |
"
Jovovich remains the lone light in the increasingly lackluster videogame-based zombie franchise, which barrels through its fourth installment with a threatened fifth on the way."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 11, 2010
|
|
|
16%
|
Alpha and Omega (2010) |
"
Not without charm and bearing easy appeal to very young viewers."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 10, 2010
|
|
|
29%
|
The Virginity Hit (2010) |
"
Equal parts bold experiment (in sustaining a YouTube aesthetic for an entire film), and shallow redux of well-worn teenage sex comedy tropes."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 9, 2010
|
|
|
——
|
Chasing 3000 (2008) |
"
A brotherly love tale substantially weightier than its baseball road-trip premise might indicate."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 27, 2010
|
|
—
|
79%
|
Chasing a Dream (Miles from Nowhere) (2009) |
—
Variety
Posted Aug 27, 2010
|
|
—
|
40%
|
Operation: Endgame (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted Aug 23, 2010
|
|
|
51%
|
The Switch (2010) |
"
An unfunny, manipulative romance about two unlikable people and their prop of a son, the pic mangles the premise of its source material."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 17, 2010
|
|
|
35%
|
Lottery Ticket (2010) |
"
The script is never nearly as clever as the premise ought to allow, and the madcap fun is far too frequently derailed by tonal inconsistencies."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 16, 2010
|
|
|
57%
|
Cemetery Junction (2010) |
"
It's a strange hybrid of a film, boasting loudmouth boorishness instead of wit, and fortune-cookie schmaltz instead of heart."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 10, 2010
|
|
|
55%
|
Flipped (2010) |
"
A somewhat leaden piece of work, its considerable charms nearly smothered by strange pacing and awkward staging."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 2, 2010
|
|
|
80%
|
Kings of the Evening (2010) |
"
Well-meaning, well made and all but allergic to subtlety."
—
Variety
Posted Jul 6, 2010
|
|
|
44%
|
Just Wright (2010) |
"
Painting by numbers often gets a bad rap: While it takes little originality to fill in the romantic-comedy blanks, even a simple, competent job can sometimes feel like a breath of fresh air."
—
Variety
Posted May 10, 2010
|
|
|
60%
|
Phish 3d (2010) |
"
If ever there were a concert pic that didn't need 3D to create an immersive theatrical experience, it's Phish 3D."
—
Variety
Posted May 3, 2010
|
|
|
50%
|
Kenny Chesney: Summer In 3d (2010) |
"
Sound is crystal-clear, and unobtrusive stereoscopic footage looks great throughout the 99-minute feature, though some weird compositional snafus scuttle the desired concert experience, and the set's lack of variety makes it a fans-only proposition."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 21, 2010
|
|
|
83%
|
See What I'm Saying (2010) |
"
An outstanding documentary exploration of the travails of four deaf entertainers."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 19, 2010
|
|
|
0%
|
The Killing Jar (2010) |
"
A spectacularly boring chamber thriller."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 18, 2010
|
|
|
——
|
Dreamkiller (2010) |
"
As ambitious as it is amateurish."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 4, 2010
|
|
|
19%
|
Cop Out (2010) |
"
Smith's directorial style is far too slack for this material, which aims to be an homage to populist '80s classics like 48 Hrs. and Lethal Weapon, but only winds up resembling one of the bargain-bin knockoffs that floundered in those films' wake."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 24, 2010
|
|
—
|
——
|
Korean (2010) |
—
Variety
Posted Feb 12, 2010
|
|
|
37%
|
From Paris with Love (2010) |
"
Nowhere near as fun as that premise probably sounds."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 1, 2010
|
|
|
33%
|
To Save a Life (2010) |
"
Hints at becoming a thoughtful portrait of a teen's spiritual crisis, then abandons all narrative integrity to hit its church-mandated marks."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 21, 2010
|
|
|
33%
|
The New Daughter (2009) |
"
Nowhere near as bad as its invisible marketing strategy might suggest. But that's not to imply that it's worth seeking out."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 30, 2009
|
|
|
29%
|
Love Hurts (2009) |
"
There's a perfectly likable, sitcomish romantic comedy buried somewhere deep inside Barra Grant's indie Love Hurts, but it would have taken some very significant rewrites to unearth it."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 12, 2009
|
|
|
46%
|
Everybody's Fine (2009) |
"
The film is rigorously streamlined to deliver a good emotional uppercut by the end, and purely on the strength of its craft, it connects."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 4, 2009
|
|
|
81%
|
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) |
"
There's an incredible amount to enjoy here, and the star's fans will be in rapture. Though Jackson looks painfully thin at times, his vocal prowess and dancing ability seem to have scarcely ebbed at all in the decade he spent offstage."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 28, 2009
|
|
|
73%
|
NoBody's Perfect (2008) |
"
The film is alternately hilarious, insightful and sad, and entirely allergic to sentimentality or easy platitudes."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 26, 2009
|
|
|
——
|
Warning!!! Pedophile Released (2009) |
"
A noble yet ultimately unsuccessful attempt at an elegiac art film, studded with grimy exploitation material along the way."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 23, 2009
|
|
|
——
|
Creating Karma (2009) |
"
Scarcely have five minutes passed in Creating Karma before viewers may start to suspect they are the victims of an elaborate Andy Kaufman-esque goof. Surely that's the most logical explanation for such an abrasively unpleasant comedy."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 20, 2009
|
|
|
49%
|
Astro Boy (AstroBoy) (2009) |
"
A well-oiled CG-animated superhero pic that makes up in competence and vitality what it lacks in originality."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 15, 2009
|
|
|
0%
|
A Beautiful Life (2009) |
"
It's tough to find comedy in a dead-serious, skid-row-set film about homelessness, sexual abuse, incest and the exploitation of immigrants, but the misguided A Beautiful Life manages to provide unintentional laughs by the barrel."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 2, 2009
|
|
|
——
|
Streetballers () |
"
Tonal consistency is clearly not high on Krentz's agenda, and the film flits between gritty urban drama, supernatural fable, inspirational sports pic, romantic comedy and kitchen-sink domestic melodrama, with dizzying speed."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 28, 2009
|
|
|
40%
|
X Games 3D: The Movie (2009) |
"
A relatively unimaginative take on the proceedings, coupled with occasionally bizarre stereoscopic work and awkward narration, causes the pic to bail out more often than it soars."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 18, 2009
|
|
|
19%
|
I Hate Valentine's Day (2009) |
"
A plodding mediocrity with an almost mercenary adherence to formula."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 30, 2009
|
|
|
——
|
Unbeatable Harold (2010) |
"
Unfashionable, irony-free and only sporadically funny, Ari Palitz's comedy nonetheless relies on a strong cast and an underlying sweetness to push its earnest charms to the forefront."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 11, 2009
|
|
|
——
|
Break (2009) |
"
Ugly and inert, Break strives for grindhouse thrills but lacks the verve and style that made those films so beloved, and is neither sincere nor intelligent enough to develop into anything more."
—
Variety
Posted May 8, 2009
|
|
|
38%
|
Naked Ambition: An R Rated Look at an X Rated Industry (2009) |
"
In contrast with Grecco's evocative photos, his film is scattered and platitudinous, skimming the surface of his subjects and betraying his high-art aspirations with a shallow E! aesthetic."
—
Variety
Posted May 1, 2009
|
|
|
54%
|
Perestroika (2009) |
"
The film, which opened March 20 in Los Angeles, is unwieldy, overstuffed and at times hopelessly clunky, yet it's also touchingly funny, visually arresting and somehow a consistent joy to watch."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 23, 2009
|
|
|
——
|
This is the Life (2009) |
"
A sharp, thoroughly enjoyable exploration of seminal South Los Angeles hip-hop hotspot the Good Life Cafe."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 13, 2009
|
|
|
38%
|
The Perfect Sleep (2008) |
"
Unfortunately, Alter's often inventive work is kneecapped by a deliriously nonsensical script, which misses the mark as both over-the-top parody and straight-faced homage, and could have been intended as either."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 13, 2009
|
|
|
67%
|
Chasseurs de Dragons (Dragon Hunters) (2008) |
"
Reasonably enjoyable yet ultimately insubstantial."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 11, 2008
|
|
|
——
|
Faded Memories (2008) |
"
Containing enough wild revelations and tearful confrontations to fill several seasons of an average telenovela."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 14, 2008
|
|
|
33%
|
Just Buried (2007) |
"
Bloody and irredeemably misanthropic."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 4, 2008
|
|
|
0%
|
Hannari: Geisha Modern (2006) |
"
Unfortunately, the film never coheres, consumed with the details of geisha life without fully explaining its importance."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 25, 2008
|
|
—
|
——
|
Swimming in Auschwitz (2008) |
—
Variety
Posted May 6, 2008
|
|
|
86%
|
Dare Not Walk Alone (2006) |
"
Dean's ability to explore history through such a local nexus creates a uniquely intimate document."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 30, 2008
|
|
|
75%
|
Naissance des Pieuvres (Water Lilies) (2008) |
"
While it never quite reaches Jack T. Ripper levels of absurdity, Water nonetheless drowns out its science with hazy spirituality and utterly preposterous claims. In the end, it all smells fishy."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 17, 2008
|
74%
22%
64%
85%
46%
40%
