|
3.5/5
|
85%
|
Tucker & Dale vs Evil (2011) |
"
... deft/daft mix of authentic feeling and sharp parody, belly laughs and visceral dread, makes Tucker & Dale vs. Evil a keeper... "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 27, 2011
|
|
3.5/5
|
93%
|
50/50 (2011) |
"
...delivers some hard-core truths as well as therapeutic humor while treating more than one kind of death. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 27, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
95%
|
Moneyball (2011) |
"
Remember those old '30s musicals that generated sizzle out of backstage machinations, charismatic producers conning investors and starstruck unknowns hitting the big time? That's how Moneyball plays..."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 21, 2011
|
|
1/5
|
17%
|
I Don't Know How She Does It (2011) |
"
I Don't Know How She Does It is a cliché-ridden, misogynistic mess."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 12, 2011
|
|
3.5/5
|
85%
|
Contagion (2011) |
"
Though far from a likeable movie, Contagion is admirable as a highly controlled, verging-on-Kubrickian exercise in directorial vision and style."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 6, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
61%
|
Final Destination 5 (2011) |
"
When stuff that serves us turns deadly, we're in a world of hallucinatory hurt. FD5 occasionally generates that kind of frisson, but it never goes bone-deep. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Aug 11, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
25%
|
The Change-Up (2011) |
"
...stifle your inner censor and give this half-smart, deliciously transgressive mess of a movie a chance. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Aug 3, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
52%
|
The Devil's Double (2011) |
"
Lost somewhere in The Devil's Double is a good-to-great film, but it's sabotaged by a weak script and direction that fails to fully realize its challenging subject matter"
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jul 27, 2011
|
|
3.5/5
|
91%
|
Tabloid (2011) |
"
...the canny methods [Errol Morris] uses to get deep inside his subjects are, as usual, utterly riveting. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jul 12, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
47%
|
Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011) |
"
It's an old-fashioned movie, gentling its way toward satisfying familial reunion, fueled by almost always endearing penguin antics."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jun 17, 2011
|
|
2.5/5
|
84%
|
Beginners (2011) |
"
... the humans in Beginners never shape up into idiosyncratic, flesh-and-blood folks who get under our skin and engage our deepest emotions."
—
MSN Movies
Posted May 31, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
81%
|
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) |
"
Kung Fu Panda 2 packs lots of firepower: detailed, reach-out-and-touch creature design, lush settings, big 3D action set-pieces."
—
MSN Movies
Posted May 23, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
54%
|
Hesher (2011) |
"
Impressive influences all, but Susser's first film feels like an original -- imperfect but often fresh and true, and a worthy showcase for a star on the rise."
—
MSN Movies
Posted May 11, 2011
|
|
3/4
|
75%
|
Everything Must Go (2011) |
"
Reaching for the funny as well as dramatic pathos, Ferrell is acting on a high wire."
—
MSN Movies
Posted May 11, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
67%
|
Hobo With a Shotgun (2011) |
"
Does this cinematic jeu d'esprit ever gobsmack your eyes and nerve endings."
—
MSN Movies
Posted May 2, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
11%
|
Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs Evil (2011) |
"
...infantile humor, unrelenting wisecracks and popcult references, and flat characters who don't engage one's eyes or interest. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Apr 28, 2011
|
|
1/5
|
45%
|
Soul Surfer (2011) |
"
Too bad that no-talent director Sean McNamara and a committee of screenwriters have dumbed down Soul Surfer to a simplistic mishmash of youth fellowship homily and Hawaii tourism ad. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Apr 6, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
66%
|
Insidious (2011) |
"
builds legitimate haunted-house dread ... [but] at a very specific point ... possession turns jokey and hokey."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Mar 31, 2011
|
|
0/5
|
47%
|
Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules (2011) |
"
As portrayed by Zachary Gordon, Greg lacks ... charm and spontaneity ... No real sparks of mischievousness or bone-deep embarrassment or endearing flush of affection light this kid up."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Mar 25, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
70%
|
Limitless (2011) |
"
Limitless delivers some pleasurable punch -- and rarely makes you feel small. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Mar 16, 2011
|
|
1/5
|
11%
|
Red Riding Hood (2011) |
"
Acting's awful, storyline's messy and unengaging, and there's not a trace of authentic passion anywhere in the movie's picture-pretty production design."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Mar 10, 2011
|
|
|
81%
|
Excalibur (1981) |
"
Boorman has said that he wanted to make Excalibur "as if it is the story-not a retelling of the myth, but the very events on which the legend was based." In this, I believe, he succeeded..."
—
Parallax View
Posted Mar 10, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
38%
|
The Eagle (2011) |
"
The Eagle fails to soar, thanks largely to Kevin Macdonald's unimaginative direction and Channing Tatum's charisma-challenged performance. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Feb 10, 2011
|
|
3/5
|
56%
|
Gnomeo and Juliet (2011) |
"
...this primary-colored parable about feuding lawn-ornament clans is easy on the eyes and good for some laffs. Ducking tragedy, [it] still dives into some surprisingly dark waters. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Feb 10, 2011
|
|
2/5
|
39%
|
The Other Woman (2011) |
"
Soap opera for the bourgeoisie, The Other Woman is the kind of movie Lifetime audiences would gush over as sensitive and wise. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Feb 4, 2011
|
|
3.5/5
|
64%
|
Biutiful (2010) |
"
Biutiful blesses you with the opportunity to see soul exposed, courtesy of Bardem's performance..."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jan 27, 2011
|
|
4/5
|
75%
|
The Way Back (2011) |
"
Gorgeous to look at, and a matter-of-fact paean to the possibility of human decency, The Way Back makes the genre-juggling dream quest of Inception look like child's play. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jan 20, 2011
|
|
|
——
|
The Tamarind Seed (1974) |
"
The Tamarind Seed, like Roman Polanski's Chinatown, turns a Good Will genre into the genuine article, shifts and reshapes our thinking and feeling and seeing."
—
Parallax View
Posted Dec 21, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
71%
|
Somewhere (2010) |
"
Too often, [it] rubs our noses in what it means -- and its soooooo all about meaninglessness. Film-school clichés and pretentious tedium don't deliver sharp, spanking-new insights..."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Dec 21, 2010
|
|
2.5/5
|
38%
|
Casino Jack (2010) |
"
If being trapped in the dark with a pair of hopped-up con-artists... for an hour or so is your idea of fun times, then [this] might be the perfect unreality show for you. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Dec 16, 2010
|
|
1/5
|
29%
|
The Tempest (2010) |
"
In contrast to Shakespeare's gift for weaving words into enchanted worlds, Taymor's Tempest leeches most of the magic out of his language..."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Dec 9, 2010
|
|
1/5
|
55%
|
Morning Glory (2010) |
"
It is what it's about - kissing frogs for ratings, entertainment that panders to the lowest common denominator."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Nov 10, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
79%
|
Fair Game (2010) |
"
The only honest work in Fair Game comes from Naomi Watts, an actress who couldn't cheat if she wanted to. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Nov 4, 2010
|
|
3.5/5
|
72%
|
Red (2010) |
"
Although there's no dearth of spectacular gunplay and fisticuffs in Robert Schwentke's light-hearted actioner, what makes RED really rock is old-fashioned movie-star style."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Oct 14, 2010
|
|
2.5/5
|
64%
|
Secretariat (2010) |
"
Unimaginatively directed by Randall Wallace, Secretariat often visibly strains to avoid painful or messy reality..."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Oct 7, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
89%
|
Let Me In (2010) |
"
[Director] Reeves had the smarts to identify and appropriate everything that made the original film so moving and visually memorable. Even better, he invigorates this faithful reproduction with remarkably effective contributions of his own."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Oct 1, 2010
|
|
0/5
|
17%
|
You Again (2010) |
"
So totally, inanely, numbingly awful is the DOA comedy You Again that you can actually see A-list performers like Sigourney Weaver, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kristin Chenoweth flailing through every scene..."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 24, 2010
|
|
3/5
|
55%
|
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) |
"
... it's Douglas who makes Stone's sequel worth a watch ..."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 24, 2010
|
|
3.5/5
|
75%
|
Nanny McPhee Returns (2010) |
"
An authentic fairy tale for kids with brains and imagination, Nanny McPhee Returns"serves up a flavorful mixture of magic and melancholy, barnyard humor and old-timey British idealism. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Aug 20, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
37%
|
Eat Pray Love (2010) |
"
Mostly it's the pleasant company of Julia Roberts that makes Eat Pray Love a benign, sometimes soporific slide into femme fantasy -- a less vulgar shopping trip than Sex and the City 2."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Aug 12, 2010
|
|
2.5/5
|
46%
|
Step Up 3-D (2010) |
"
Though director Jon Chu brings admirable energy and imagination to Step Up 3D's dance extravaganzas, he can't animate shockingly wooden performances or cure stumble-footed dialogue."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Aug 6, 2010
|
|
1.5/5
|
28%
|
Charlie St. Cloud (2010) |
"
Despite all the effort, Efron and the mugging Tahan don't strike fire, and their affectionate banter gets old."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jul 30, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
63%
|
Predators (2010) |
"
Predators is just another movie-machine, running on action formula."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jul 9, 2010
|
|
3/5
|
49%
|
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) |
"
The third chapter in Bella Swan's via dolorosa is still pretty much of a drag for anyone not affiliated with Teams Edward and Jacob, but it certainly eclipses the dead-on-arrival dud that was New Moon. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jun 30, 2010
|
|
3/5
|
52%
|
Knight & Day (2010) |
"
The movie... get(s) saved by the surprising charm and easy rapport generated by Cruise and Diaz as an odd couple bouncing from one exotic locale to another..."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jun 22, 2010
|
|
3/5
|
66%
|
The Karate Kid (2010) |
"
This year's Kid lacks the light-hearted buoyancy of the original; it's heavier with loss and a particularly vicious cruelty."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jun 11, 2010
|
|
3.5/5
|
74%
|
Splice (2010) |
"
... mining horror out of moral quandary rather than mindless slaughter, Splice occasionally achieves a terrible beauty. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jun 4, 2010
|
|
2/5
|
43%
|
Robin Hood (2010) |
"
The action's here, there, and everywhere... but all this to-ing and fro-ing fails to advance the narrative with the compelling force you crave in movies."
—
MSN Movies
Posted May 14, 2010
|
|
3/5
|
79%
|
Mother and Child (2010) |
"
Still, stellar actresses Annette Bening and Naomi Watts rise above every impediment, delivering memorably luminous moments as mother and child, separated at birth. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted May 7, 2010
|
|
1/5
|
19%
|
The Back-up Plan (2010) |
"
To prep for The Back-up Plan, shed all notions of how grown-ups behave in the real world. "
—
MSN Movies
Posted Apr 23, 2010
|
|
2.5/5
|
69%
|
The Runaways (2010) |
"
... the film breathlessly unreels snapshots of a trip that's so swift there's no stopping for deep-dish exploration, or even sufficient time for the band's 'noise' to work its black magic. It's an oddly old-fashioned movie..."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Mar 19, 2010
|
|
3/5
|
22%
|
Repo Men (2010) |
"
Still, despite its flaws, this ambitious parable is enjoyable, and sometimes viscerally moving."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Mar 19, 2010
|
|
.5/5
|
71%
|
The Crazies (2010) |
"
Even on the level of killer-virus-gone-wild gore-fest, The Crazies as rejiggered by Eisner is a dud."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Feb 26, 2010
|
|
4/5
|
83%
|
The Ghost Writer (2010) |
"
From the second it begins, The Ghost Writer signals directorial authority and precision, subtly codifying the film's existential style and substance."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Feb 19, 2010
|
|
2.5/5
|
58%
|
Edge of Darkness (2010) |
"
The plotline... is so convoluted, it goes way past silliness; the big reveals are obvious, and by the time they come to fruition, suspense has long since leaked away."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jan 29, 2010
|
|
1/5
|
37%
|
Nine (2009) |
"
It's all "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." That, my friends, pretty much sums up this silly, formless spectacle. For all its razzle-dazzle and brouhaha, 'Nine' is a bore, fading from memory almost instantly."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Dec 18, 2009
|
|
3/5
|
12%
|
Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009) |
"
Mostly it's an invitation to spend an easy 108 minutes with some very likable folks (Grant, Sam Elliott, and Mary Steenburgen) as they amble through a laid-back fish-out-of-water comedy."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Dec 18, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
91%
|
Up in the Air (2009) |
"
... it goes a long way to renewing our faith that movies can tackle grown-up comedy resonant with real-life dilemmas and tragedy, often beyond our ability to grasp or control."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Dec 4, 2009
|
|
1/5
|
26%
|
Ninja Assassin (2009) |
"
Heads may roll, torsos get severed and geysers of blood spurt, but no amount of CGI'd gore can save 'Assassin' from being dramatically lame, visually impaired and kinetically flat-footed."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Nov 24, 2009
|
|
2.5/5
|
75%
|
The Road (2009) |
"
... what remains of 'The Road' is an honorable failure, given there was never any real hope of translating McCarthy's style-driven novel into film."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Nov 24, 2009
|
|
1/5
|
22%
|
Planet 51 (2009) |
"
Rest assured that nothing of significance will disturb said infant, neither feelings nor images nor ideas. No danger here; just a faint, faraway tickle of boredom."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Nov 19, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
52%
|
The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) |
"
Caution: Staring at 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' may result in your falling down laughing, courtesy of a devilishly smart script, subversive japery and a flawlessly funny cast."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Nov 6, 2009
|
|
3.5/5
|
91%
|
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009) |
"
This remarkable, first-time actress makes Clareece truly precious, a full-fledged member of the human tribe."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Nov 6, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
38%
|
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) |
"
Unreeling like a feature-length trailer, 'Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant' suffers from premature sequelitis."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Oct 23, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
58%
|
The Invention of Lying (2009) |
"
There's no doubting that this is one comic who can really act. But maybe Gervais should leave the directing to someone who knows how to tell funny stories on film, if such a talent can be found these days."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Oct 2, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
42%
|
Jennifer's Body (2009) |
"
The amateurishly directed 'Jennifer's Body' is a bust as ha-ha horror movie."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
1/5
|
17%
|
Love Happens (2009) |
"
There are no sparks, not the slightest sign of chemistry, between Eckhart and Aniston. They might be Hansel and Gretel wandering endlessly through tame thickets of feeling."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 18, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
57%
|
9 (2009) |
"
What's lost in Acker's showdown between diminutive ragdolls and a soul-eating, scarlet-eyed spider-machine is any hint of grandeur, the overarching sense of something of inestimable value at risk."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Sep 8, 2009
|
|
3/5
|
48%
|
Taking Woodstock (2009) |
"
If this Woodstock comes off as Edenic... don't assume the movie's advertising the real thing. Think of it as Ang Lee taking a vacation from too much reality."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Aug 28, 2009
|
|
2/5
|
37%
|
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) |
"
The movie moves fast, as though to distract you from these shortcomings and the nearly total absence of logic."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Aug 21, 2009
|
|
3/5
|
55%
|
Orphan (2009) |
"
While the third-act surprise twist of Orphan must have looked wicked-good on paper, on screen ... not so much."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jul 24, 2009
|
|
5/5
|
97%
|
The Hurt Locker (2009) |
"
... a super-smart actioner about men in war that's arguably the best American film of the year."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jul 7, 2009
|
|
4/5
|
68%
|
Public Enemies (2009) |
"
... as strange and exhilarating as riding the running board of John Dillinger's fast, shiny, black getaway car."
—
MSN Movies
Posted Jul 2, 2009
|
75%
27%
73%
85%
46%
40%
