|
3/4
|
66%
|
The Brothers Bloom (2009) |
"
An awfully good time."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 5, 2009
|
|
1.5/4
|
25%
|
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) |
"
If there is a single bright spot in the financial crisis, it is the possibility that one day producer Jerry Bruckheimer will run out of money."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Feb 13, 2009
|
|
3/4
|
64%
|
Marley & Me (2008) |
"
The book, like the movie it inspired, is a sweet, surprisingly moving chronicle of a young couple's struggle to simultaneously build a family, advance their careers and maintain their sanity."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 24, 2008
|
|
3/4
|
65%
|
Plus Tard (One Day You'll Understand) (Later) (2008) |
"
This is not a movie of big, dramatic revelations; in fact, the notionally elusive truth is pretty obvious from the movie's outset, which makes Victor's quest less about facts and more about principles."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 13, 2008
|
|
3/4
|
93%
|
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story (2008) |
"
By the end of Forbes' brisk, economical portrait, Atwater has been revealed as a repugnant and pathetic soul--and a political visionary, among the first to fully understand and harness the raw power of voters' fears."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 31, 2008
|
|
2/4
|
58%
|
The Secret Life of Bees (2008) |
"
Sweat and good intentions, however, will take you only so far. And they take Bees right up to the threshold of entertaining%u2014but not one step further."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 20, 2008
|
|
2/4
|
68%
|
America The Beautiful (2008) |
"
Despite the occasional flash of insight, and a few semi-shocking factoids, most women are going to find this movie roughly as illuminating as a remedial math class might be for a Nobel-prize winning physicist."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
1/4
|
37%
|
Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008) |
"
Morgan Spurlock is a living, breathing cautionary tale. Take a good, long look, kids: This is what happens when society validates really annoying people."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
64%
|
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008) |
"
Like its predecessor, Sisterhood 2 is based on two radical ideas: namely, that young women's stories are about more than the pursuit of men, and that happiness isn't something someone else gives you -- it's something you have to find for yourself."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Aug 7, 2008
|
|
2.5/4
|
78%
|
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008) |
"
I predict with great confidence that the big-screen debut of the American Girl brand will be a resounding success. This rosy prediction is based partly on the fact that Kit Kittredge is a solidly made movie...and partly on the fact that the America"
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Jun 19, 2008
|
|
3/4
|
45%
|
The Strangers (2008) |
"
Anchored by convincing performances from Scott Speedman and Liv Tyler, both of whom elevate their roles above the standard horror-movie caricature, this is an enormously unsettling movie."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 29, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
50%
|
Sex and the City (2008) |
"
Witty, effervescent and unexpectedly thoughtful, the big-screen iteration of the HBO series stands up beautifully (and somewhat miraculously) to the twin pressures of popular expectation and critical assessment."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 28, 2008
|
|
3/4
|
84%
|
The Singing Revolution (2007) |
"
As far as the plot goes, widespread lack of familiarity with Estonia's recent history actually works in the film's favor: Suspense born of ignorance lends the unfolding drama the urgency of a political thriller."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 22, 2008
|
|
3/4
|
79%
|
How The Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer (2008) |
"
Unlike so many of her peers who depend on music to do everything but deliver the dialogue, [director] Riedel isn't afraid of silence; early in the film there's a solid minute of noiselessness as the camera lovingly pans the town, establishing the story's"
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 15, 2008
|
|
2/4
|
49%
|
Before the Rains (2008) |
"
The problem isn't just that the material is cliched and vaguely offensive....It's more that the plot is incredibly predictable, the score is manipulative and the denouement completely unsatisfying."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 15, 2008
|
|
2/4
|
——
|
America the Beautiful (2001) |
"
On behalf of every woman who's ever turned down that second piece of cake or spent far too much on anti-aging creams, I want to say: Welcome, Darryl. I hope you'll invite other men on your overdue journey to Obvious Town."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted May 8, 2008
|
|
3.5/4
|
88%
|
Young@Heart (2007) |
"
A chorus (average age 80) prepares for a springtime tour, putting their signature spin on classics--classics like The Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go.""
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Apr 18, 2008
|
|
2.5/4
|
79%
|
Teeth (2007) |
"
Given how thoroughly all the subtext spells out the message, then, it seems unnecessary to make the actual text so raw, grotesque and graphic. Granted, a horror movie about vagina dentata was probably never destined to be tasteful, but Lichtenstein's comp"
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 27, 2008
|
|
2.5/4
|
65%
|
Stop-Loss (2008) |
"
Peirce's obvious respect for the returned soldiers should prevent Stop-Loss from being dismissed as a Hollywood anti-war screed. It's more accurately described as an anti-war movie with a resolutely pro-troop message."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 27, 2008
|
|
3/4
|
98%
|
The Band's Visit (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) (2007) |
"
You can watch The Band's Visit for its political idealism, or you can watch it for entertainment value alone. In either case, it doesn't disappoint."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Mar 6, 2008
|
|
2.5/4
|
42%
|
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) |
"
Sticklers for historical accuracy are forewarned: This glossy production plays fast and loose with the facts, abbreviating, altering and excising entire character arcs and plot lines."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Feb 28, 2008
|
|
.5/4
|
5%
|
The Hottie and the Nottie (2008) |
"
Heidi Ferrer's screenplay...succeeds at just one thing: trumpeting one of the most anti-feminist messages in recent film history."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Feb 7, 2008
|
|
2/4
|
13%
|
First Sunday (2008) |
"
The movie's total lack of focus and its unimpressive script should render it totally unwatchable. Weirdly, that doesn't quite happen."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Jan 11, 2008
|
|
2.5/4
|
74%
|
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007) |
"
A sweet, familiar story, beautifully filmed and lovingly told."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 25, 2007
|
|
2.5/4
|
74%
|
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007) |
"
But for all the movie's good cheer, it's never dull. What it lacks in edginess, it more than makes up for with stunning scenery, a breathless finale and an irresistibly hopeful message."
—
Metromix.com
Posted Dec 24, 2007
|
|
2/4
|
23%
|
P.S. I Love You (2007) |
"
Snippets of sharp, witty dialogue are lost in a sea of sappy clichés and too-cute-for-words plot twists."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 21, 2007
|
|
3.5/4
|
89%
|
The Savages (2007) |
"
Assured and sharp, The Savages is only Jenkins' second feature-length film. You'd never know it."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 20, 2007
|
|
3/4
|
86%
|
Starting Out in the Evening (2007) |
"
While the film shares the novel's stealth appeal ... on the whole it's better: sharper, leaner and less sentimental."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 14, 2007
|
|
3/4
|
56%
|
What Would Jesus Buy? (2007) |
"
It's a wickedly effective indictment of America's consumer compulsion, our mindless shopping and the multinational corporations controlling it all."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 29, 2007
|
|
3/4
|
98%
|
For the Bible Tells Me So (2007) |
"
This is a compelling, thought-provoking portrait of a quiet challenge rising within America's churches."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 29, 2007
|
|
—
|
38%
|
Milarepa (2007) |
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 26, 2007
|
|
1/4
|
12%
|
Broken (2007) |
"
[The] script is so uneven that the result is like watching four different, equally bad, movies."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 12, 2007
|
|
1/4
|
34%
|
P2 (2007) |
"
The same old grim game of cat and mouse. Sure, we hope the mouse gets away. But mostly we just want the whole thing to end."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 8, 2007
|
|
2.5/4
|
66%
|
Wristcutters - A Love Story (2007) |
"
Wristcutters is quite a bit darker than most mainstream romantic comedies. As you might not expect, it's also quite a bit more inventive and far wittier than most mainstream romantic comedies."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 1, 2007
|
|
2.5/4
|
33%
|
Music Within (2007) |
"
A well-intentioned biopic about disability crusader Richard Pimentel that starts strong but eventually collapses under its weighty sense of responsibility."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Oct 25, 2007
|
|
2.5/4
|
68%
|
Flying: Confessions of A Free Woman (2007) |
"
Despite [director] Fox's excruciating level of self-involvement, she manages, more than once, to lay bare critical questions that are at once familiar and compelling."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Sep 13, 2007
|
|
3/4
|
53%
|
Across the Universe (2007) |
"
If you can get past its relatively minor failings, it's hard not to be seduced by the big heart of this chaotic, colorful movie."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Sep 13, 2007
|
|
2/4
|
13%
|
Mr. Woodcock (2007) |
"
[A] marginally promising -- but ultimately unfunny -- comedy."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Sep 13, 2007
|
|
1.5/4
|
54%
|
Manufacturing Dissent (2007) |
"
Manufacturing Dissent comes across less as an expose of a polarizing public figure than as the realization of a personal and not especially interesting grudge against a once-admired colleague who has moved on to bigger things."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Aug 30, 2007
|
|
3/4
|
60%
|
Them (Ils) (2007) |
"
Taut and remorseless, Them, which is allegedly based on actual events, is the perfect antidote to the stomach-churning gore served up by so many in the current crop of horror films."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Aug 23, 2007
|
|
2/4
|
39%
|
Hot Rod (2007) |
"
Some hilarity does, in fact, ensue, but the laughs are interspersed with long stretches of dead air."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Aug 2, 2007
|
|
3/4
|
27%
|
Evening (2007) |
"
If you've not read Susan Minot's 1998 bestseller Evening, you will be happily oblivious to the movie's glaring departures and free to settle into this languid, gorgeously shot film, which bears only a passing resemblance to the novel."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Jun 28, 2007
|
|
3/4
|
81%
|
Live Free or Die Hard (2007) |
"
The usual pyrotechnics are intact, the corpses pile up and McClane even gets to spit out his signature battle cry."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Jun 26, 2007
|
|
3/4
|
49%
|
We Are Marshall (2006) |
"
'Restrained' and 'tasteful' are not words normally associated with McG, the director best known for countless music videos and the Charlie's Angels movie franchise. We Are Marshall could change that."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 21, 2006
|
|
2.5/4
|
50%
|
Ever Again (2006) |
"
What makes this movie worth seeing, is, ironically, exactly what may deter potential audiences: It's a rigorous, almost academic examination of a venomous hatred rooted in the past, primed to poison the future."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Dec 7, 2006
|
|
3/4
|
63%
|
10 Items or Less (2006) |
"
Silberling demonstrates an unerring ear for the natural, often discomfiting rhythm of two strangers tentatively forging a connection."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 30, 2006
|
|
2.5/4
|
46%
|
Bobby (2006) |
"
A daring, messy and strangely rewarding patchwork that's straining at the seams."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 22, 2006
|
|
1.5/4
|
6%
|
Deck the Halls (2006) |
"
... Deck the Halls has little to recommend it."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 21, 2006
|
|
3/4
|
32%
|
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) |
"
A revelatory, challenging and deeply affecting portrait, anchored by what may be Kidman's most profoundly moving performance to date."
—
Chicago Tribune
Posted Nov 16, 2006
|
73%
78%
61%
52%
26%
4%
