|
C
|
76%
|
Transamerica (2006) |
"
Issues of gender differrence are employed only to reinforce less original dilemmas -- family dysfunction, dating woes and (eek) meeting the grandparents."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 30, 2005
|
|
A+
|
50%
|
The Dying Gaul (2005) |
"
Rarely has a film exposed the tender, brutal line between love and cruelty so magnificently."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 30, 2005
|
|
B
|
89%
|
Paradise Now (2005) |
"
Essential cinema not because it answers questions about terrorist ideology, but because it discovers those questions are disturbingly similar to those about ourselves."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 30, 2005
|
|
A
|
84%
|
Mysterious Skin (2005) |
"
A raw and unadorned look at child abuse and its idiosyncratic repercussions."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 30, 2005
|
|
B
|
57%
|
Breakfast on Pluto (2005) |
"
Effortlessly nailing coquettish mannerisms and employing a hilarious come-hither vocal quality, Murphy is magnetizing, fascinating, and eminently likeable."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 30, 2005
|
|
B+
|
68%
|
North Country (2005) |
"
An unusually taut film about misogyny that, for the most part, escapes the clichés that often bog down the battle of the sexes."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 29, 2005
|
|
—
|
69%
|
The Adventures of Felix (Drôle de Félix) (2001) |
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 28, 2005
|
|
B--
|
65%
|
Dorian Blues (2005) |
"
Ultimately has little insight into the experience it chronicles. News flash: growing up gay is rough. Who did not know this already?"
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 19, 2005
|
|
C-
|
43%
|
Three Dancing Slaves (Le Clan) (2005) |
"
Darkly rich in character and mood, provocative in intent...but ultimately foiled by inattention to its own story."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Aug 6, 2005
|
|
C-
|
33%
|
The Baxter (2005) |
"
It argues, ironically, that pretty people should only end up with pretty people, and the best we can do is hope that the temp with bad hair will find us equally nerd-hot."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Aug 1, 2005
|
|
B
|
38%
|
The Brothers Grimm (2005) |
"
Bombastic, whimsical, and delicious, The Brothers Grimm is really a comic ghost story wrapped in the postmodern folds of Shakespeare In Love."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Aug 1, 2005
|
|
C
|
26%
|
Fantastic Four (2005) |
"
You can feel the flopsweat of the screenwriters, laboring to make their jokes work and their scenes interesting."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 7, 2005
|
|
B+
|
82%
|
Hustle & Flow (2005) |
"
Meditative and fierce, quiet and pounding, HUSTLE AND FLOW runs the board in a way that few films even attempt."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 1, 2005
|
|
D
|
74%
|
War of the Worlds (2005) |
"
The man who gave human dimension to the effects of holocaust in Schindler's List has now prostituted human extermination for entertainment. Bread and circuses, indeed."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 1, 2005
|
|
A
|
55%
|
Lords of Dogtown (2005) |
"
Reaches beyond the cinematic frame as far as it can to catch big air, giving its audience a you-are-there viscerality."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 4, 2005
|
|
C+
|
86%
|
Howl's Moving Castle (2005) |
"
The straightforward narrative constantly seems at odds with Miyazaki's dreamy landscapes and fanciful flourishes."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 3, 2005
|
|
C
|
64%
|
Heights (2005) |
"
At times the film seems to have nothing more on its mind than the predictable rhythms of soap opera."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 3, 2005
|
|
C-
|
39%
|
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) |
"
Ultimately, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN can't change actual history. So instead, everyone has to grow a conscience...even the Crusaders have to feel bad about the Crusading."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 8, 2005
|
|
B+
|
80%
|
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 3D (2013) |
"
An unexpectedly sweet pleasure... a dark and gripping slice of space opera, it successfully avoids the pitfalls of its predecessors."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 5, 2005
|
|
B+
|
78%
|
Sin City (2005) |
"
As close to a museum-quality work of visual art as Hollywood as ever seen."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 5, 2005
|
|
B-
|
90%
|
Kung Fu Hustle (2005) |
"
With everything bigger and grander in Chow's singular universe, it's easy to overlook one small detail...that Kung Fu Hustle is less satisfying than its predecessors."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Mar 20, 2005
|
|
C
|
64%
|
Bride and Prejudice (2005) |
"
It's got moments, it's got performances to recommend, but they still haven't figured out how to create the magic of Bollywood in a form for the US market."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Mar 6, 2005
|
|
B+
|
64%
|
Robots (2005) |
"
A smart, snappy energy to the dialogue that gives the film a zesty flavor rarely found in the genre."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Mar 6, 2005
|
|
A
|
44%
|
Nabbeun namja (Bad Guy) (2001) |
"
Desire, violence, revenge, and obsession play out against a map of sex and love."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Feb 14, 2005
|
|
D+
|
5%
|
Harry + Max (Harry and Max) (2005) |
"
You can almost hear the filmmakers exhale with nervous relief, having made it through a film about incest without actually having an opinion on the subject."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jan 25, 2005
|
|
C
|
72%
|
William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (2004) |
"
Radford has made a grim drama with some incomprehensible moments of failed levity."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Dec 12, 2004
|
|
C-
|
88%
|
The Woodsman (2004) |
"
Although The Woodsman's subject matter is shocking and disturbing, perhaps the most unsettling quality is its matter-of-fact attitude"
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Dec 7, 2004
|
|
A
|
59%
|
Enduring Love (2004) |
"
Love is a delicate thing, and identity even more so. Enduring Love breathtakingly tears both asunder to find them anew...it is, in a word, exquisite."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Dec 5, 2004
|
|
C+
|
43%
|
Beyond the Sea (2004) |
"
A vain attempt not only to restore Darin's place in history, but to improve upon it... Colick's underdeveloped screenplay has trouble placing Darin's life onto a heroic scale."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Nov 28, 2004
|
|
B+
|
68%
|
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) |
"
A moving, poignant parable of another America, where the dreams aren't quite so rosy."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Nov 25, 2004
|
|
C
|
84%
|
The Sea Inside (Mar Adentro) (The Sea Within) (2004) |
"
As beautiful, assured, and professional as it is, the film lacks edge and power, ending up being significantly less affecting than it should be."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Nov 20, 2004
|
|
—
|
29%
|
Last Dance (1996) |
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Nov 17, 2004
|
|
B
|
90%
|
Kinsey (2004) |
"
Instead of approaching the radical and groundbreaking scientist with an equally innovative spirit, Condon's film opts for the generic trademarks of biopic melodrama."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Nov 14, 2004
|
|
C-
|
96%
|
Sideways (2004) |
"
It is, in almost every way, less than it could or should be."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Nov 14, 2004
|
|
A-
|
80%
|
Last Dance (2002) |
"
Stripped of pretentions, Last Dance offers up a wholly human, tantalizingly imperfect struggle to create beauty and resonance."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Nov 9, 2004
|
|
B+
|
83%
|
Finding Neverland (2004) |
"
Intertwines imaginative fantasy with real life -- and like Neverland itself, it is a beguiling, intoxicating mix."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 29, 2004
|
|
A
|
88%
|
Bad Education (La Mala educación) (2004) |
"
Even when he's paying homage to other great filmmakers, it still remains an indisputably Almodovar experience."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 27, 2004
|
|
B+
|
73%
|
Primer (2004) |
"
There are stumbles in this twisting science fiction tale about the perils of prescience, but even so, Primer is one of the most auspicious debuts in recent memory."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 11, 2004
|
|
B
|
62%
|
I Heart Huckabees (2004) |
"
Think of it less as a deconstruction of philosophies, and more like an episode of Last Comic Standing where the jokesters are Nietzsche, Heidegger and Kant."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 11, 2004
|
|
A+
|
88%
|
House of Flying Daggers (2004) |
"
Yimou's explosive imagination threatens to burst the seams of the movie screen...sublime, luscious filmmaking."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 11, 2004
|
|
C
|
76%
|
Tropical Malady (2005) |
"
A purposefully incomplete vision of magic, myth, and love that requires the viewer to fill in the gaps."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 6, 2004
|
|
C++
|
55%
|
Undertow (2004) |
"
Lacks the gravity and the power to transcend its genre roots."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Oct 5, 2004
|
|
B-
|
63%
|
Stage Beauty (2004) |
"
one can see the potential in the idea of Stage Beauty, as well as the lines that demarcate Eyre's moderately good film from the extraordinary one it could have been."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 27, 2004
|
|
C+
|
92%
|
Vera Drake (2004) |
"
Even with his film's solid foundation, Leigh seemingly cannot resist the pulpy histrionics."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 25, 2004
|
|
C
|
76%
|
Being Julia (2004) |
"
If A Room with a View looked inside the repressed passions of its characters, Being Julia seems content to just put a frame around them and call it a day."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 23, 2004
|
|
B+
|
72%
|
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) |
"
Both a throwback and a leap forward, an odd yet satisfying marriage of now and then."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 21, 2004
|
|
A-
|
84%
|
The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de Motocicleta) (2004) |
"
Eloquently and remarkably captures the budding ethical, emotional, and political sensibilities of a legendary man of history."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 5, 2004
|
|
A-
|
95%
|
Mou gaan dou (Infernal Affairs) (2002) |
"
Recalls classics like Serpico and The French Connection, but features a contemporary sophistication and of-the-moment vivacity that sets it apart."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 3, 2004
|
|
D+
|
0%
|
Merci Docteur Rey (2002) |
"
Lacks the sophistication it needs to be truly effective, hopelessly lost in its unfunny gags and weak plotting."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 2, 2004
|
|
B-
|
57%
|
Cowboys & Angels (2003) |
"
Without anything unique to add to the dramatic landscape, Gleeson's film is a fleeting glimpse at a world we already know...it is a film in search of a reason to exist."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 2, 2004
|
|
C+
|
70%
|
Criminal (2004) |
"
Produced by Soderbergh, Criminal bears an uncanny resemblance to the master's films."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Sep 1, 2004
|
|
B
|
85%
|
Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004) |
"
If Michael Moore is the shaggy dog hero of the Left these days, then Robert Greenwald is the pit bull."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Aug 18, 2004
|
|
B
|
51%
|
Code 46 (2004) |
"
On one level it's a science fiction story about cloning...but on another level, it's a complex discussion of authoritarianism in a global economy."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Aug 9, 2004
|
|
A-
|
72%
|
Open Water (2004) |
"
The filmmakers' remarkable storytelling is not lost amidst the terrors of the deep; what emerges is a glimpse into the psychological struggle when faced with unwinnable odds."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Aug 4, 2004
|
|
C
|
81%
|
The Manchurian Candidate (2004) |
"
Even in Hollywood, the more things change (technology, end of the Cold War, corporate influence), the more things stay the same (greed, avarice, powerlust)."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Aug 2, 2004
|
|
B
|
86%
|
Collateral (2004) |
"
From its classy, crisp opening moments, Collateral bombards the viewer with bold imagery and sounds...we are in Mann country."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Aug 1, 2004
|
|
B+
|
81%
|
The Bourne Supremacy (2004) |
"
A buffed-up, kick-a** version of our modern collective consciousness."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 24, 2004
|
|
C
|
58%
|
I, Robot (2004) |
"
Despite an admirable effort on the part of its creative team, this new technological thriller is at odds with itself from the very first moments."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 18, 2004
|
|
C-
|
36%
|
Touch of Pink (2004) |
"
I'd like to believe that the world has moved past being scandalized by otherness -- Those nutty Indians! Those outrageous gays! -- but Touch of Pink doesn't think so."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 18, 2004
|
|
A
|
48%
|
A Home at the End of the World (2004) |
"
The finest cinematic study of relationships to come along in quite some time."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 13, 2004
|
|
B
|
31%
|
King Arthur (2004) |
"
Makes an argument against religious absolutism, against the prideful righteousness that was part of Christianity at the time...and, implicitly, of modern-day Christianity."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 7, 2004
|
|
A-
|
95%
|
Before Sunset (2004) |
"
Before Sunset has an immediacy that makes other movies feel comatose."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 3, 2004
|
|
C-
|
43%
|
The Clearing (2004) |
"
A thriller nearly devoid of thrills...Despite having great actors and a beautiful visual sensibility, The Clearing offers no foundation to wrap them around."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jul 1, 2004
|
|
B
|
48%
|
De-Lovely (2004) |
"
Delightful, and delicious, and probably for most mass audiences, de-irritating. As Cole might have said, however...there's no accounting for taste."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 24, 2004
|
|
D+
|
43%
|
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead (2004) |
"
A languid study in remorse and revenge that loses its way pretty quickly, sludging through an impenetrable veneer of icy listlessness."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 24, 2004
|
|
C-
|
92%
|
Tarnation (2004) |
"
Tarnation coalesces into a pop-art diary, the self-made soap opera, the arthouse version of a reality show. A fascinating but bloated movie."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 22, 2004
|
|
B-
|
71%
|
Napoleon Dynamite (2004) |
"
The most fascinating outcast since Harold and Maude. Trouble is, Harold and Maude were going someplace; their story had a direction."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 3, 2004
|
|
B+
|
88%
|
Tying the Knot (2004) |
"
Exhibits an accomplished maturity from the first-time director, deftly applying a dry wit, a healthy sense of irony, and a nonexploitive approach to emotionality."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 2, 2004
|
|
B+
|
50%
|
Samaria (Samaritan Girl) (2004) |
"
A wholly unique tale that gives expressive voice to the pains of childhood and the parents forced to bear witness. "
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 2, 2004
|
|
B-
|
53%
|
Bulgarian Lovers (2003) |
"
Won't leave you disappointed, but it may leave you hungry for something more substantial."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 1, 2004
|
|
B
|
67%
|
Sleepy Hollow (1999) |
"
Burton's visual sensibilties are always breathtaking."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Jun 1, 2004
|
|
C+
|
61%
|
Saved! (2004) |
"
Not without its charms, but it's a middling effort...In Hollywood, the road to cinematic hell is paved with great pitch ideas."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 30, 2004
|
|
D
|
21%
|
Poco più di un anno fa (Adored: Diary of a Porn Star) (2003) |
"
An unfortunate exercise in ego run amok, coupled with inexperience and ineptitude."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 28, 2004
|
|
A-
|
45%
|
The Day After Tomorrow (2004) |
"
Emmerich's escapist fantasy is a global catastrophe as thrillingly scary as it is tremendously entertaining."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 24, 2004
|
|
B-
|
75%
|
The Other Side of the Street (2004) |
"
An eloquent social statement, quietly railing against an uncaring and increasingly impersonal society that overlooks the humanity in all of us."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 23, 2004
|
|
B-
|
63%
|
À cause d'un garçon (You'll Get Over It) (2002) |
"
Resonates with earnest truthfulness and packs a surprising dramatic punch."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 21, 2004
|
|
B-
|
54%
|
Troy (2004) |
"
Inspired by one of the great pieces of classic literature, it's pure Hollywood formula. Just barely worthwhile."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 16, 2004
|
|
A-
|
89%
|
Shrek 2 (2004) |
"
More than a worthy successor to the original, and more than just a modern-day fairy tale."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 13, 2004
|
|
B+
|
77%
|
Bear Cub (Cachorro) (2004) |
"
A complex, finely woven tale of nontraditional family. Such enjoyments are far too rare."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 11, 2004
|
|
F
|
21%
|
The 24th Day (2004) |
"
An ethically repugnant, relentlessly monotonous chamber drama that manages the difficult trick of boring and irritating its viewers simultaneously."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 11, 2004
|
|
B+
|
77%
|
The Mother (2004) |
"
Roger Michell may be the most underrated director working today."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 6, 2004
|
|
B
|
68%
|
Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (2005) |
"
Entrancing cinematography is accompanied by what is, hands down, the best film music of 2004...underscores the brutality of being left out of the American Dream."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 5, 2004
|
|
D+
|
87%
|
Zatôichi (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi) (2003) |
"
Zatoichi finds a legacy diminished by his new, updated masters. "
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted May 4, 2004
|
|
B-
|
96%
|
Control Room (2004) |
"
Reveals the humanity of the opponents on both sides...and government's attempt to deny that humanity at all costs."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 29, 2004
|
|
B+
|
93%
|
Super Size Me (2004) |
"
Spurlock's light touch keeps Super Size Me entertaining and educational, without sacrificing one for the other. "
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 28, 2004
|
|
A+
|
76%
|
Brother to Brother (2004) |
"
May just be the most sophisticated and compelling movie about the lives of black gay men ever made."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 27, 2004
|
|
B-
|
91%
|
Baadasssss! (2003) |
"
While Mario Van Peebles' gauzy adoration for his father causes BAADASSSSS! to be less defined than it should be, the obvious affection makes the uneven film heartfelt."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 26, 2004
|
|
C-
|
——
|
Bored in Brno () |
"
Subtitled "a comedy about defying fate," Bored in Brno really should have spent more time trying to defy conventionality. "
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 24, 2004
|
|
B-
|
26%
|
Poster Boy (2006) |
"
By the final half-hour, Poster Boy manages a surprising amount of magnetism."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 23, 2004
|
|
B
|
80%
|
America Brown (2004) |
"
The rites of passage into adulthood have rarely been so textured."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 22, 2004
|
|
B-
|
64%
|
Coffee and Cigarettes (2004) |
"
The short films in this collection are dreamily affecting curiosities, stilted and just enough off-kilter to keep the viewer attentive."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 21, 2004
|
|
C
|
44%
|
Connie And Carla (2004) |
"
So cliché-ridden and obvious that any sparks the performers may have are quickly smothered in dullness."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 21, 2004
|
|
B-
|
84%
|
Kill Bill, Volume 2 (2004) |
"
VOL. 1 was inherently more fun -- more action, more style, more cool combat -- but even so, this latest effort is deeper, more resonant, and more complex."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 14, 2004
|
|
C-
|
30%
|
The Alamo (2004) |
"
As exciting as a big, flat cyclorama exhibit at your local historical society. "
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 11, 2004
|
|
A+
|
95%
|
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003) |
"
Arrives with the gale force winds that signal a major new international talent in Kim Ki-Duk."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 10, 2004
|
|
C-
|
39%
|
Seeing Other People (2004) |
"
Feels like an extended pilot episode for a not-quite-Thirtysomething series: meandering plots and wacky supporting players."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 8, 2004
|
|
B-
|
90%
|
This So-Called Disaster: Sam Shepard Directs the Late Henry Moss (2004) |
"
Perhaps the most shocking revelation is that an artist of Shepherd's stature can still feel unsure of himself, fumbling his way to a constantly refining vision of his world."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 8, 2004
|
|
C+
|
55%
|
The Ladykillers (2004) |
"
Skimming the surface of its subjects, The Ladykillers is really little more than an acting showcase for its ensemble."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Apr 2, 2004
|
|
C
|
24%
|
Walking Tall (2004) |
"
There are points to be made about the rapidly transforming cultural landscape, but painting them with Color-By-Numbers simplicity is neither entertaining nor interesting."
—
Mixed Reviews
Posted Mar 30, 2004
|
73%
21%
63%
85%
46%
40%
