|
|
84%
|
Earth Days (2009) |
"
A quietly majestic survey of the hard-won successes and instructive failures of the American environmental movement."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 4, 2009
|
|
|
91%
|
District 9 (2009) |
"
This grossly engrossing speculative fiction bears Jackson's blood-splattered fingerprints but also heralds first-time feature director Neill Blomkamp as a nimble talent to watch."
—
Variety
Posted Jul 30, 2009
|
|
|
94%
|
The Cove (2009) |
"
Casting a very wide net, this powerful polemic is simultaneously a love letter to a beloved species, an eye-opening primer on worldwide dolphin captivity, a playful paranoid thriller and a work of deep-seated (if sometimes hot-headed) moral outrage."
—
Variety
Posted Jul 29, 2009
|
|
|
75%
|
Julie & Julia (2009) |
"
This middling melange of Child biopic and contempo dramedy feels overstuffed and predigested."
—
Variety
Posted Jul 25, 2009
|
|
—
|
50%
|
Life Is Hot in Cracktown (2009) |
—
Variety
Posted Jun 26, 2009
|
|
|
48%
|
My Sister's Keeper (2009) |
"
Unsubtle, uneven and undeniably effective."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 22, 2009
|
|
|
0%
|
Dim Sum Funeral (2008) |
"
So jaw-droppingly misguided in its blend of mawkish sentiment and comic relief that it almost elicits one's grudging admiration."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 11, 2009
|
|
|
91%
|
The Father of My Children (Le pere de mes enfants) (2010) |
"
Marked by moments of remarkable stillness amid its emotional tumult, the film's classy, perceptive treatment of potentially maudlin material merits wider arthouse attention than it's likely to receive."
—
Variety
Posted May 18, 2009
|
|
|
53%
|
The Thorn in the Heart (2010) |
"
Inevitably smaller-scaled than his mind-bendingly creative features, this moving but far from revelatory portrait of a beloved family figure registers as too slight and personal for significant theatrical play."
—
Variety
Posted May 17, 2009
|
|
|
91%
|
Vengeance (Fuk sau) (2010) |
"
Johnnie To and Johnny Hallyday have a bloody good time in "Vengeance," a smoothly executed revenge thriller that finds one of Hong Kong's genre masters in assured action-movie form."
—
Variety
Posted May 17, 2009
|
|
|
21%
|
Next Day Air (2009) |
"
An altogether bumbling excuse for an action-comedy."
—
Variety
Posted May 7, 2009
|
|
|
38%
|
X-Men Origins - Wolverine (2009) |
"
This brawny but none-too-brainy prequel sustains interest mainly -- if only fitfully -- as a nonstop slice-and-dice vehicle for Hugh Jackman."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 29, 2009
|
|
|
55%
|
17 Again (2009) |
"
An energetic but earthbound comic fantasy that borrows a few moves, if little inspiration, from Big and It's a Wonderful Life."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 10, 2009
|
|
|
0%
|
National Lampoon's Gold Diggers (2004) |
"
By turns pointless and pointlessly mean-spirited."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 31, 2009
|
|
|
18%
|
The Cross(The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story) (2009) |
"
This wannabe-inspirational docu shares its hero's devotion to preaching the gospel. But the film's emotional manipulations come at the expense of a more complex, illuminating look at the man himself."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 30, 2009
|
|
—
|
——
|
Forbidden Warrior (2005) |
—
Variety
Posted Mar 27, 2009
|
|
—
|
——
|
My Best Enemy (Mi mejor enemigo) (2006) |
—
Variety
Posted Mar 27, 2009
|
|
—
|
——
|
The Other Side (2007) |
—
Variety
Posted Mar 20, 2009
|
|
|
64%
|
Watchmen (2009) |
"
The movie is ultimately undone by its own reverence; there's simply no room for these characters and stories to breathe of their own accord, and even the most fastidiously replicated scenes can feel glib and truncated."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 26, 2009
|
|
|
89%
|
Coraline (2009) |
"
Eerily inhabiting the netherworld where a young girl's wildest dreams become her cruelest nightmares, Coraline is a dark delight."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 2, 2009
|
|
|
74%
|
Unmade Beds (2009) |
"
Has a lively, romantic spirit that recalls the playfulness and spontaneity of the French New Wave."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 30, 2009
|
|
|
64%
|
Adam (2009) |
"
Emotionally potent performances, gently offbeat humor and writer-helmer Max Mayer's assured touch guide this tender New York love story to a quietly hopeful conclusion."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2009
|
|
|
95%
|
Mary and Max (2009) |
"
Clearly a labor of love, but one destined perhaps to be loved by a very select few."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 16, 2009
|
|
|
14%
|
The Spirit (2008) |
"
Pushing well past the point of self-parody, Miller has done Will Eisner's pioneering comicstrip no favors by drenching it in the same self-consciously neo-noir monochrome put to much more compelling use in Sin City."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 18, 2008
|
|
|
56%
|
The Tale of Despereaux (2008) |
"
This graphically well-rendered kidpic is less crass and mouthy than many recent feature-length toons, but also more sluggish and ungainly as it tries to approximate DiCamillo's singularly delicate tone."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 15, 2008
|
|
|
39%
|
Inkheart (2009) |
"
A brisk, overstuffed adaptation of Cornelia Funke's international bestseller."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 11, 2008
|
|
|
49%
|
Twilight (2008) |
"
A disappointingly anemic tale of forbidden love that should satiate the pre-converted but will bewilder and underwhelm viewers who haven't devoured Stephenie Meyer's bestselling juvie chick-lit franchise."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 19, 2008
|
|
|
20%
|
Passengers (2008) |
"
This middlebrow tone poem aims for ambiguity but often veers into soporific, suspending answers (and often, viewer interest) en route to an ending that explains all."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 24, 2008
|
|
|
79%
|
Johnny Mad Dog (2011) |
"
A fearsome plunge into the world of child soldiers in present-day West Africa."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
77%
|
Üç Maymun (Three Monkeys) (2008) |
"
A powerfully bleak family drama that leaves its characters' offenses largely offscreen but lingers with agonizing, drawn-out deliberation on the consequences."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
97%
|
The Class (2008) |
"
Talky in the best sense, the film exhilarates with its lively, authentic classroom banter while its emotional undercurrents build steadily but almost imperceptibly over a swift 129 minutes."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
—
|
10%
|
The Wedding Date (2005) |
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
—
|
——
|
Bachelor Party Vegas (2006) |
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
73%
|
Tokyo! (2008) |
"
An uneven but enjoyable trio of films that take affectionate (and sometimes literal) aim at the Japanese capital."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
82%
|
Chugyeogja (The Chaser) (2008) |
"
A grisly serial-killer thriller that develops into a howl of outrage at the ineptitude of the system."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
76%
|
Afterschool (2008) |
"
Unsettles without illuminating, marred by narcotic pacing and a blank lead performance."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
61%
|
Adoration (2008) |
"
A fascinating muddle. Folding all sorts of post-9/11 questions into a very Egoyanesque miasma of elegantly fractured chronology and provocative ideas."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
86%
|
Lorna's Silence (2008) |
"
Belgium's Dardenne brothers make some slight adjustments to their formula but maintain their unblinking commitment to human nature and the possibility of grace in lowly circumstances."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 18, 2008
|
|
|
16%
|
Max Payne (2008) |
"
Moore artfully blends vidgame and film-noir aesthetics while editor Dan Zimmermanâ(TM)s measured rhythms yield a more coherent, less frenzied work than one might expect from the source material."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 17, 2008
|
|
|
53%
|
City of Ember (2008) |
"
City of Ember would have functioned better as a five-minute theme-park ride than as a 94-minute family film."
—
Variety
Posted Oct 10, 2008
|
|
|
36%
|
Igor (2008) |
"
With its belabored gags, misfired pop-culture references and garish visuals crammed together like so many disjointed body parts, this manic kidpic cranks up the annoy-o-meter early on and rarely lets up."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 15, 2008
|
|
|
19%
|
Righteous Kill (2008) |
"
At once groaningly predictable and needlessly convoluted."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 11, 2008
|
|
|
9%
|
Everybody Wants to Be Italian (2007) |
"
A box of cannoli long past its sell-by date."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 5, 2008
|
|
|
37%
|
Young People Fucking (Y.P.F.) (2007) |
"
Neither as extreme nor, for that matter, as interesting as its troublesome title."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 2, 2008
|
|
|
61%
|
The Duchess (2008) |
"
For all its luscious period trappings and Keira Knightley's spirited take on the title role, Saul Dibb's handsome biopic reveals little about how Georgiana Spencer Cavendish became one of 18th-century London's most celebrated and influential aristocrats."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 2, 2008
|
|
|
100%
|
Amal (2008) |
"
Moving ending won't satisfy all viewers, but shows admirable devotion to the film's notion that "Sometimes the poorest of men are the richest.""
—
Variety
Posted Aug 8, 2008
|
|
|
38%
|
Swing Vote (2008) |
"
Graced with a gently cynical spirit and more brains than its average-Joe protagonist, Swing Vote applies a pleasing Frank Capra-esque glaze to the fanciful story of a blue-collar American whose vote ends up being the only one that counts."
—
Variety
Posted Jul 29, 2008
|
|
|
68%
|
Pineapple Express (2008) |
"
While its genre-blurring may seem audacious by studio standards, in the end, Pineapple Express still feels too safe, too constrained by buddy-comedy uplift, to have any real bite."
—
Variety
Posted Jul 21, 2008
|
|
|
94%
|
The Dark Knight (2008) |
"
An ambitious, full-bodied crime epic of gratifying scope and moral complexity, this is seriously brainy pop entertainment that satisfies every expectation raised by its hit predecessor and then some."
—
Variety
Posted Jul 7, 2008
|
|
|
17%
|
The Happening (2008) |
"
A patchy, uninspired eco-thriller whose R rating (a first for Shyamalan) looks more like a B.O. hindrance than an artistic boon."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 13, 2008
|
|
—
|
17%
|
Bunny Chow (2006) |
—
Variety
Posted Jun 5, 2008
|
|
|
52%
|
A Very Brady Sequel (1996) |
"
A considerably better second installment than one usually encounters."
—
Variety
Posted May 18, 2008
|
|
|
43%
|
Blindness (2008) |
"
The personal and mass chaos that would result if the human race lost its sense of vision is conveyed with diminished impact and an excess of stylish tics in Blindness."
—
Variety
Posted May 15, 2008
|
|
|
33%
|
Bloodline (2008) |
"
This nutty assemblage of art-history analysis, secret-society intrigue, amateur archaeology and paranoid thriller will be appreciated best by Da Vinci Code buffs and armchair conspiracy theorists in homevid and tube play."
—
Variety
Posted May 9, 2008
|
|
|
11%
|
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) |
"
The film's flippant approach undermines the seriousness of its discourse, trading less in facts than in emotional appeals."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 14, 2008
|
|
|
51%
|
Nim's Island (2008) |
"
Nim's Island is a picturesque adventure-comedy that quickly capsizes under the weight of its obnoxious slapstick, pedestrian dialogue and general unwillingness to rise above stock ideas and situations."
—
Variety
Posted Apr 3, 2008
|
|
|
13%
|
College Road Trip (2008) |
"
The two leads have considerable screen appeal and decent chemistry, but are ill served by the material's sitcomish beats and mawkish resolution."
—
Variety
Posted Mar 6, 2008
|
|
|
35%
|
Vantage Point (2008) |
"
A 23-minute movie dragged out, via some narrative gimmickry, to a punishing hour and a half."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 21, 2008
|
|
|
80%
|
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) |
"
A work of both modest enchantment and enchanting modesty, grounded in a classically Spielbergian realm where childlike wonderment crosses paths with the tough realities of young adulthood."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 12, 2008
|
|
|
22%
|
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins (2008) |
"
An in-your-face double helping of fat jokes, crude slapstick, wacky Southern-black stereotypes and occasionally inspired improv."
—
Variety
Posted Feb 7, 2008
|
|
|
——
|
Half-Life (2008) |
"
A precocious if rather precious debut feature for writer-director Jennifer Phang."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 31, 2008
|
|
|
——
|
The Year of Getting to Know Us (2008) |
"
An anemic grab-bag of Sundance cliches."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 30, 2008
|
|
|
72%
|
Kærlighed på Film (Just Another Love Story) (2007) |
"
Contrived excess is rarely as entertaining as it is in the ironically titled Just Another Love Story, a furiously overheated romantic thriller from Danish writer-helmer Ole Bornedal."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 30, 2008
|
|
|
66%
|
Sleep Dealer (2009) |
"
Despite some clever virtual-reality concepts and projections about the next frontier of globalization, Alex Rivera's ambitious directing debut lacks the vision, or the budget, to pull off its fusion of sci-fi and aspirational saga."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 28, 2008
|
|
|
40%
|
Otto; or Up with Dead People (2008) |
"
Canadian queer-cinema provocateur Bruce LaBruce continues his trademark blend of sexual explicitness and shoddy technique with his numbing necro-porno, Otto; or, Up With Dead People."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 28, 2008
|
|
|
——
|
North Starr () |
"
Gets off to a clunky start, grows on the viewer through its leisurely midsection, then bogs down in an over-edited jumble of flashbacks, hallucinations and labored symbolism."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 25, 2008
|
|
|
——
|
The Black List: Volume One (2008) |
"
An impeccably mounted survey of voices from across the spectrum of African-American accomplishment."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 25, 2008
|
|
|
50%
|
Assassination of a High School President (2008) |
"
Basically Brick for remedial viewers."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 25, 2008
|
|
|
86%
|
I.O.U.S.A. (2008) |
"
An alternately amusing and alarming primer on America's off-the-charts fiscal irresponsibility."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 24, 2008
|
|
|
——
|
4th Life (2008) |
"
An alternately amusing and alarming primer on America's off-the-charts fiscal irresponsibility."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 23, 2008
|
|
|
44%
|
The Broken (2009) |
"
A brooding, atmospheric exercise in upscale psychological horror."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 23, 2008
|
|
|
57%
|
Quid Pro Quo (2008) |
"
An exceedingly odd meeting of the minds (and bodies) occurs in Quid Pro Quo, a strikingly original and provocative first feature from scribe-helmer Carlos Brooks."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 23, 2008
|
|
|
——
|
Slingshot Hip Hop (2008) |
"
Music-themed fests and Mideast programmers should make room on their playlists."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2008
|
|
|
72%
|
The Great Buck Howard (2009) |
"
Pic succeeds to an impressive degree."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2008
|
|
|
33%
|
The Guitar (2008) |
"
This beguiling wisp of a film charms and maddens in equal measure."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2008
|
|
|
100%
|
American Son (2009) |
"
This is conventional dramatic material played with an occasionally heavy hand, but sculpted with care and quiet assurance by helmer Neil Abramson."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 22, 2008
|
|
|
——
|
The Linguists (2008) |
"
A fleet-footed study of human communication and its limitless structural and functional possibilities."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 18, 2008
|
|
|
22%
|
Mad Money (2008) |
"
This strained heist comedy about three cash-strapped femmes is watchable enough for a few reels, but lacks the requisite wit and amoral energy to capitalize on its get-rich-quick premise."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 14, 2008
|
|
|
39%
|
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008) |
"
This second bigscreen adventure from the popular VeggieTales franchise should easily win over tots with its reliable menu of silly songs, easily digestible morals and wholesome (if not always fresh) produce-based characters."
—
Variety
Posted Jan 10, 2008
|
|
|
35%
|
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) |
"
This diminishing-returns sequel sends Nicolas Cage on another quest to strike it rich, get young auds excited about history and solve puzzles that are generally less stimulating than yesterday's Sudoku."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 21, 2007
|
|
|
74%
|
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007) |
"
Though it strikes some predictable coming-of-age notes, this moving, well-wrought adventure should appeal to fans of E.T. and Carroll Ballard."
—
Variety
Posted Dec 13, 2007
|
|
|
73%
|
The Mist (2007) |
"
The film can't sustain this momentum en route to a highly calculated ending that departs from King's more ambiguous denouement to mostly shrug-worthy effect."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 12, 2007
|
|
|
71%
|
Beowulf (2007) |
"
For all its visual sweep and propulsively violent action, this bloodthirsty rendition of the Old English epic can't overcome the disadvantage of being enacted by digital waxworks rather than flesh-and-blood Danes and demons."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 12, 2007
|
|
|
39%
|
Full Grown Men (2008) |
"
A wanly likable road-trip comedy-drama about a young man's Peter Pan-like refusal to let go of his childhood."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 7, 2007
|
|
|
14%
|
The Genius Club (2006) |
"
Smart characters don't always mean smart movies, and The Genius Club is no exception."
—
Variety
Posted Nov 1, 2007
|
|
|
39%
|
Feast of Love (2007) |
"
Given the potentially unwieldy nature of the enterprise, [director] Benton juggles the multiple narratives with considerable grace, and succeeds in creating a warm (if somewhat improbable) sense of community among the principal characters."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 25, 2007
|
|
|
13%
|
Mr. Woodcock (2007) |
"
There's more genuine humor to be gleaned from saying 'Woodcock' over and over again than from watching Mr. Woodcock."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 13, 2007
|
|
|
49%
|
Hatchet (2006) |
"
Draggy stretches in the first few reels could easily have been pruned from an already tight 83-minute running time."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 11, 2007
|
|
|
53%
|
Across the Universe (2007) |
"
Julie Taymor has delivered an audacious, idiosyncratic creation that plays like a riff on Hair with Fab Four cachet, stretching a thin love story across one tumultuous decade."
—
Variety
Posted Sep 11, 2007
|
|
|
20%
|
Death Sentence (2007) |
"
This well-made, often intensely gripping genre piece packs some bizarre tonal extremities and a few moments of self-critique into its tale of a grieving father seeking his own brand of justice."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 30, 2007
|
|
|
43%
|
The Brave One (2007) |
"
Foster's pistol-packing turn as an avenging dark angel nearly sustains director Neil Jordan's grim vigilante drama through a string of implausibilities and occasionally trite psychological framing devices, with deft support from Terrence Howard."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 28, 2007
|
|
|
13%
|
September Dawn (2007) |
"
This handsome indie Western damningly recounts the 1857 slayings of 120 settlers passing through Utah, but the didactic presentation, grim speechifying and tacked-on love story all signify a less-than-healthy regard for the audience's intelligence."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 21, 2007
|
|
|
16%
|
Underdog (2007) |
"
The sort of noisy, over-produced affair in line with much recent family-friendly programming."
—
Variety
Posted Aug 3, 2007
|
|
|
27%
|
Evening (2007) |
"
A woman's deathbed reveries provide a poignant but rather obvious counterpoint to her daughters' present-day emotional concerns in Evening."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 21, 2007
|
|
|
96%
|
Ratatouille (2007) |
"
The master chefs at Pixar have blended all the right ingredients -- abundant verbal and visual wit, genius slapstick timing, a soupcon of Gallic sophistication -- to produce a warm and irresistible concoction."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 16, 2007
|
|
|
37%
|
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) |
"
Faithfully mining one of the Marvel franchise's more intriguing mythologies, the sequel proves every bit as disposable as its predecessor, with even less character definition and several tons more poundage in the f/x department."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 14, 2007
|
|
|
100%
|
Things to Do (2007) |
"
Vaguely reminiscent at times of cult classics like Office Space and Napoleon Dynamite yet retaining a deadpan sensibility all its own, Things to Do works more effectively as a pure comedy than as a story of personal growth."
—
Variety
Posted Jun 4, 2007
|
|
|
97%
|
Du Levande (You, The Living) (2007) |
"
A morosely comic symphony on the meaning (or is that meaninglessness?) of life, Roy Andersson's You, the Living can be seen as a gentler companion piece to his 2000 Cannes prize-winner, Songs From the Second Floor."
—
Variety
Posted May 24, 2007
|
|
|
93%
|
Le Scaphandre et le Papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) (2007) |
"
Most compelling in its attempts to re-create the experience of paralysis onscreen, gorgeously lensed pic morphs into a dreamlike collage of memories and fantasies, distancing the viewer somewhat from Bauby's consciousness."
—
Variety
Posted May 23, 2007
|
87%
24%
91%
