|
18%
|
Rush Hour 3 (2007)
|
"Look, it's so dumb, I could easily give this one star - but I'm giving it two. It was entertaining, so sue me."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
7%
|
License to Wed (2007)
|
"The biggest letdown, is Williams, whose manic improvisations now bear all the hallmarks of a pub bore."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
78%
|
Surf's Up (2007)
|
"ntertainingly presented as a mockumentary a la Best in Show, this CG caper is ideal if you have time to krill."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
88%
|
Waitress (2007)
|
"As Shelly's unintended epitaph, it's a warm-hearted charmer, filled with hope, served with love."
|
Leigh Singer
|
|
90%
|
Zodiac (2007)
|
"You sense that inside this meaty, 157-minute opus there's a six-hour mini-series just itching to get out."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
85%
|
The Hoax (2007)
|
"A fun and zesty frolic."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
23%
|
Evan Almighty (2007)
|
"Even the finest of actors would require a miracle when working with gags centred, predominantly, on bird droppings."
|
Dave Kopel
|
|
38%
|
Firehouse Dog (2007)
|
"Breezy, silly and energetic, this canine frolic won't win top prize at Crufts, but it should offer an alternative to Pottered-out parents with young pups to please."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
94%
|
The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde inseglet) (1957)
|
"A cinematic masterpiece no film fan should miss."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
79%
|
Private Fears in Public Places (Coeurs) (2007)
|
"While there's a quirky humour at work, the overall mood is of sadness, eloquently, if repetitively, expressed."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
79%
|
Ghosts of Cité Soleil (2006)
|
"Intimate and terrifying, at points almost expressionistic and surreal, this is never less than a nerve-shredding experience. It even includes an (improbable) love story."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
91%
|
Hairspray (2007)
|
"An uplifting singalong that gels the old-style MGM musical with kitsch bubblegum pop."
|
Will Lawrence
|
|
79%
|
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
|
"It's magic, Harry, but not as we know it."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
46%
|
Edmond (2005)
|
" Is this about the nihilistic plight of the alienated, or just nihilistic? A coal-dark satire, or just needlessly dark? The uncomfortable Edmond asks more questions than it answers."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
56%
|
Shutter (They Are Around Us) (2004)
|
"Shunning random carnage, this horror carries you with it to the final twist."
|
Julia Buckley
|
|
40%
|
Shrek the Third (2007)
|
"From beginning to end, it's very, very funny. Watch it. It's great."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
49%
|
The Flying Scotsman (2006)
|
"Why pay to see someone cycling when they do it on the pavement for nothing?"
|
Neil Smith
|
|
44%
|
Hostel: Part II (2007)
|
"Unlike the original's many imitators, this follow-up at least tempers its atrocities with satirical humour."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
88%
|
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing (2006)
|
"They do make a comeback of course - almost stronger than ever - in this, the best documentary of the year so far. Intelligent, honest, heartfelt and fascinating."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
94%
|
Ne le Dis ŕ Personne (Tell No One) (2006)
|
"Shot-through with emotional intensity, a muscular, brooding direction, and a plot that (just) stays on the right side of ludicrous."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
37%
|
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
|
"In the universe of dark and gloomy superheroes, this foursome are still dipping into the lighter side of fantastic."
|
Will Lawrence
|
|
70%
|
28 Weeks Later... (2007)
|
"28 Weeks Later takes up where Danny Boyle left off, then continues where the weak-hearted pass out."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
51%
|
Fast Food Nation (2006)
|
"Certainly food for thought then, just a shame the characters aren't as fully-fleshed."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
30%
|
Goya's Ghosts (2007)
|
"It's as dull as the proverbial ditchwater."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
75%
|
The Upside of Anger (2005)
|
"A grandstanding performance from Joan Allen is the main attraction in this suburban dramacom."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
84%
|
Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
|
"It's not a film that need unduly trouble grown-ups."
|
|
|
63%
|
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
|
"Not an awful film by any means. But you don't need spidey sense to know this isn't a patch on its prequel."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
82%
|
Days of Glory (Indigenes) (2007)
|
"It occasionally does drop into wartime cliches of love lost and friends fallen. But the chest-thwack poinancy of those who shed blood and were shamefully shunned drags you through."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
11%
|
The Hills Have Eyes 2 (2007)
|
"Another depressing example of a cult 70s slasher being cynically retooled for MTV-reared thrill-seekers."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
50%
|
Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)
|
"Taking on a more European sensibility, Bean seems to have gone back to the drawing board, and come up with gags that were last funny when we were a couple of steps back in the Evolution of Man wallchart."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
34%
|
TMNT (2007)
|
"Younger viewers might be able to make sense its overly-complex plot - but I fear that everyone else, alas, will soon be suffering from a case of shell shock."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
75%
|
Catch a Fire (2006)
|
"Sadly, it's all a bit of a Boer about 20 years past its sell-by date and tells us little we didn't know already.Catch a Fire's sluggishly paced plot refuses to come"
|
Neil Smith
|
|
60%
|
300 (2007)
|
"The hyper-real blue screen and the moral complexity of root veg remains faithful to Miller. But you can't help feeling this could have had more to say about war than "come join the party!"."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
70%
|
Amazing Grace (2007)
|
"Gruffudd's Wilberforce lacks charisma and the House of Commons scenes are interminable. Worthy shouldn't mean dull. What a waste."
|
Julia Buckley
|
|
——
|
Namastey London (2007)
|
"Namastey London doesn't really have anything new to say on an over-worked issue. But it does (mostly) manage to keep away from cringe territory, and even explores some subtle immigration quandaries."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
19%
|
Factory Girl (2007)
|
"Spoilt, rich, posh, vacuous and fame-obsessed - who better to play Edie Sedgwick? If she's acting or not, Miller is brilliant. Just a shame the film is so shallow too."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
57%
|
Becoming Jane (2007)
|
"About 20 minutes in, you realise you're actually quite enjoying this; and, horror of horrors, Anne Hathaway's actually doing a rather good job at this Regency lark."
|
Julia Buckley
|
|
72%
|
Inland Empire (2006)
|
"It's very possibly a work of genius. It could also be the most pretentious pile of garbage ever to make the big screen. But one thing it isn't is unoriginal. If nothing else, the man should be applauded for that."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
33%
|
The Good German (2007)
|
"Buddies Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney started out so well. But The Good German is so painful that their recent decision to go their separate ways really merits a gospel choir."
|
Julia Buckley
|
|
26%
|
Ghost Rider (2007)
|
"Cage has to collect Satan's unpaid debts, meaning that he becomes a demon biker with a flaming skull for a head - and that's about it for this one-note film."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
——
|
Middletown ()
|
"Convincing period detail provides scant consolation in a histrionic pot-boiler that is as entertaining as a sermon and as thrilling as tea with the vicar. It will be a miracle indeed if anyone goes to see it."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
69%
|
Freedom Writers (2007)
|
"The script won't win any stars for originality, it's all put across with enough sincerity to make the corn easy to swallow."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
74%
|
The Illusionist (2006)
|
"Just as two Truman Capote biopics came in subsequent Oscar seasons, so two period films about stage magicians appear with only winter to separate them. And, frankly, The Illusionist has missed a trick."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
76%
|
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
|
"The real star is Channing Tatum as the alpha-chimp leader of Dito's pack. The camera doesn't just love him, it wants to marry him, settle down, and have his babies."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
87%
|
Notes on a Scandal (2006)
|
"Dench's performance is the greatest pleasure in a hugely enjoyable, highly literate drama."
|
Lottie Moggach
|
|
21%
|
Outlaw (2007)
|
"Leaves you wondering what it wants to say and whom it's supposed to be aimed at."
|
Neil Smith
|
|
53%
|
Sheitan (Satan) (2006)
|
"Totally bonkers - but all the more gripping for it."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
91%
|
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
|
"As every epic demands, there's gore aplenty, but apart from the obligatory floggings, ritual suicides and trigger-happy Americans, the human detail is deftly handled."
|
Julia Buckley
|
|
85%
|
Bamako (2006)
|
"You can't help thinking that the only people who'd sit through this movie are those already aware of the issues involved."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
|
54%
|
The Good Shepherd (2006)
|
"165 minutes of my life I will never get back, damn it. This is one shepherd that's lost control of its flock."
|
Stuart McGurk
|
73%
21%
63%
85%
46%
40%
