Tomato 6/10 |
17 Again (2009) |
"If you had any doubts about whether Zac Efron is major star material, just watch the first few minutes of Burr Steers' 17 Again." |
Brandon Judell |
- |
2008 Academy Awards |
"The Oscar Cometh. Who Cares?" |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2008) |
"Accomplished melding of both an aesthetic and a moral sensibility, of politics and art, of love and disillusionment, of acting and being." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Against a Trans Narrative (2009) |
"A slightly amateurish paean to academic solipsism broken up by numerous episodes of power." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Allah Made Me Funny (2008) |
"In the end, while the humor is at times bit uneven, Allah Made Me Funny achieves its goal of breaking down stereotypes with a tongue-in-cheek grace." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 8/10 |
Amreeka (2009) |
"With Amreeka, writer/director Cherien Dabiscertainly doesn't reinvent the genre, making it feel newborn, but with warmth and skill, and a dash of wit, she makes an old trope feel fresh." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 8/10 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"What was most surprising about attending the opening-day, 9:45 A.M. screening of Angels & Demons was not that 200 or so folks had showed up, but how many of these attendees were wolfing down buttered popcorn for breakfast. Hadn't any watched The Biggest L" |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Antichrist (2009) |
"The tale rises or sinks to a level of horror with an unimaginable brutality that no doubt Saw 8 or 9 will pilfer." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 9/10 |
Avatar (2009) |
"Strike up the band. Light up the fireworks. Bake the cannoli. Yes, everything you heard about Avatar is true. James Cameron's epic fantasy trip is as wondrous and engrossing as his Titanic was over-praised and ultimately silly." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat 2/10 |
Bedtime Stories (2008) |
"It's no wonder when Sandler vows, "I'm like the stink of your feet. I'll always be around," you just might cringe and shout, "Where's Dr. Scholl?"" |
Brandon Judell |
Splat 5/10 |
Broken Embraces (2009) |
"A gift for all scholars writing a thesis on Almodóvar. Though, for the rest of us less academically bent, Pedro's latest is a paean to Hollywood of the '50s, passion, and jealousy, all topics he's handled with much more wit and panache in the past." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 9/10 |
Bruno (2009) |
"Yes--if you're asking--Brüno is quite possibly the most uproarious, groundbreaking, and shocking comedy of the past decade--and that includes its sister film which showcased the Jew-phobic Borat." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat 2/10 |
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) |
"What we have here is a commercial product geared possibly for boys of pre-bar-mitzvah age. It lacks art. It lacks wit. It lacks erythrocytes and leukocytes. It's just a bloody, bloodless mess." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 8/10 |
Cold Souls (2009) |
"the most deliciously off-beat comedy of the year" |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Contre Toute Espérance (2007) |
"Edmond elicits very strong performances as he surveys the wreckage of a woman's life and her ability --if any-- to persist." |
Brandon Judell |
- |
The Dark Knight (2008) |
"Heath Ledger: The Next James Dean?" |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
The Dark Knight (2008) |
"As the king of an amoral universe, as a purveyor of unrestricted evil for fun, Ledger's dastardly villain, attired as sort of a rotting Clarabell, has chosen his own damnation. He's jumped into an abyss he has dug himself, and he wants to pull us along." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 9/10 |
District 9 (2009) |
"We'll know if District 9 has become an instant cult classic if this Halloween, children start dressing up as prawns." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Doubt (2008) |
"Doubt, which apparently reached the heavens on stage, is a bit too leaden on the screen to get far past the clouds." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 6/10 |
El Niño Pez (2009) |
"Puenzo's screenplay by flitting back and forth in time with the restlessness of a dragonfly in heat dilutes tension." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato B- |
Extract (2009) |
"Everyone else here is rather gleefully one-note, like the characters in The Andy Griffith Show, amusing caricatures that are pleasing to reconnect with between bathroom breaks. Just remember to flush." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 7/10 |
Flame & Citron (2008) |
"Mads Mikkelsen is one of the most charismatic actors working on the international scene today. Just indulge yourself in the Pusher trilogy and After the Wedding and you'll rejoice. You might also recall him as a Bond villain in Casino Royale." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Funny People (2009) |
"Funny People is a film Apatow directed a decade too soon to perfect. But just you wait until 2019, and then he'll really bowl us over." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
The Hangover (2009) |
"Now I'm not sure if urinating explicitly on screen is one giant step for mankind or not, but one should not be surprised that the comedy in which this has occurred has been directed by Todd Phillips." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat |
Hounddog (2008) |
"This apparently intended, cliche-ridden heavy-handedness . . . at times pushes 'Hounddog' into the realm of absurdity. But then the skill of the actors and the cinematographer nearly make up for the director's lack of judgment." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat |
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry (2007) |
"While constantly spouting its be-kind-to-your-neighborhood-queer sermons, every dated, vicious stereotype of being a homosexual is dragged out again and again in this Adam Sandler vehicle." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Inglourious Basterds (2009) |
"Tarantino has a created a more moving tale about the Jews and the Nazis during World War II than, for example, last year's much more reverent Defiance, which was actually based on a true story yet came off as shtick." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 8/10 |
Julie & Julia (2009) |
"Streep's a walking, talking, rising soufflé who refuses to fall. A vibrating baguette. An impassioned risotto. (Do the French eat risotto?) Streep clearly energizes every scene she's in--and in those she sadly isn't." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
L'Emmerdeur (2008) |
"Veber, who has never met an absurdity he couldn't befriend, moves his comedy of errors along at a breakneck pace starting off with a ceiling collapse." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat |
Last Chance Harvey (2008) |
"The proceedings are almost painless, the acting/mugging is acceptable, especially if you adore the stars, and the message is quite applaudable: No matter how over the hill you are physically or mentally, Cupid still has an arrow left for you." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 8/10 |
The Lemon Tree (2008) |
"Abbass's starkly moving performance and the film's closing shots make this metaphor for the unsolvable unforgettable." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat 3/10 |
My Life in Ruins (2009) |
"What you wind up with is a comedy in ruins with the one exception of Richard Dreyfus, who plays a widowed jokester with such class and warmth, you can almost start liking American tourists again. Almost." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
My One and Only (2009) |
"My One and Only is as probably as close as we'll get this decade to an Auntie Mame or a Travels with My Aunt." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Nine (2009) |
"Nine is filled with treats for the eye and ear, because in the end Marshall is no slouch in the talent department." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat 6/10 |
Nothing Like the Holidays (2008) |
"Moving from a Cassavetes wannabe to an unbranded movie-of-the-week helmer, de Villa still shows promise, and after all, even directors have to eat and pay rent." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
The Other Man (2009) |
"If you like being manipulated by top-notch actors, you'll have a blast here. Otherwise you might lose your patience. I didn't." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat |
Ping Pong Playa (2007) |
"To be perfectly blunt, Ping Pong Playa is third-rate crap. Unfunny crap. Unnecessary crap. This little entertainment is also unintentionally racist, misogynistic, homophobic, poorly acted, and shapeless." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Pirate Radio (2009) |
"A hoot from beginning to end, plus a Valentine to those days when youth thought music could change the world (and it did), expect Pirate Radio to become a minor cult phenomenon when it's released on DVD next year." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Poultrygeist - Night of the Chicken Dead (2006) |
"This zany, high-kickin', forever clucking, fecal-matter-spattered fun fest is Troma at its best. This is a Sweeney Todd for low-lifes. A must-see for vegans." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 8/10 |
Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire (2009) |
" Like Shelley Winters in A Patch of Blue and A Taste of Honey, Mo'Nique best known for comedic trifles tears up the screen. Virulent self-centeredness has never been better portrayed." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 8/10 |
The Proposal (2009) |
"The Proposal is a delicious revamping of a Doris Day-like vehicle for Bullock (e.g. Pillow Talk). A virginal (or near-virginal), uptight heroine loosens up and finds true love after she discovers the man she has little patience for is her ideal mate." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 8/10 |
Public Enemies (2009) |
"Michael Mann's Public Enemies is epic filmmaking with B-movie content. It's as if a wannabe David Lean got down and dirty Americana-style." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Pyaasa (1957) |
"A moving mixture of Bollywood song and dance, plus Christ parable" |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
The Quest for the Missing Piece (2008) |
"With wit, relentless questioning, and a little whining, Lotan has fashioned an engaging documentary that will have you unzipping this issue and rethinking your stance, no matter where you stand." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 9/10 |
The Road (2009) |
"It's hard not to divine that The Road will be receiving near universal acclaim and a truckload of Oscar noms." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat |
Smiley Face (2007) |
" A tedious, empty-headed stoner film focusing on a female pothead, who's limited to one facial expression and lines such as "I'm totally vibing on you, dude," has arrived just in time to greet the New Year. Santa must have thought we were very, very bad." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
Standard Operating Procedure (2008) |
"Quite unforgettable. Thorough in its investigation, complex in its analysis, and humane in its outcry, it is hard to imagine any documentary of more importance being released this year." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato 10/10 |
Tehilim (2007) |
"The cast is superb, the direction flawless, and the film unmistakably consequential." |
Brandon Judell |
Splat 6/10 |
Terminator Salvation (2009) |
"T-4 might be mistaken by some as a Transformers sequel." |
Brandon Judell |
Tomato |
That Evening Sun (2009) |
"Hal Holbrook, 84, has always been one of the few great American actors giving those British thespians addressed as "Sir" a run for their knighthood. Now in a tiny little indie, he throws off yet another bravura performance." |
Brandon Judell |
RSS Feeds