|
5%
|
Hick (2012)
|
"Hick is worth the effort -- and it does have some genuinely witty writing."
|
Stephen Fitzpatrick
|
|
64%
|
Cosmopolis (2012)
|
"If anything, Cosmopolis is more timely now than when DeLillo published it almost a decade ago."
|
Stephen Romei
|
|
38%
|
Dark Shadows (2012)
|
"Certainly delivers the goods on several levels without quite rising to the heights to which it aspires."
|
David Stratton
|
|
75%
|
In Search of Haydn (2012)
|
"In Search of Haydn is the third in Phil Grabsky's fine trilogy of films about great classical composers, a worthy successor to In Search of Mozart and the somewhat less successful In Search of Beethoven."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
91%
|
Arthur Christmas (2011)
|
"A witty and beautifully designed animated film."
|
David Stratton
|
|
73%
|
The Whistleblower (2011)
|
"It is no comfort to reflect that The Whistleblower would be a first-rate thriller even if all of it were fiction."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
71%
|
Friends With Benefits (2011)
|
"The film is touching and funny, and Timberlake proves again that he's a better actor than most pop stars."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
96%
|
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)
|
"The final episode overwhelms with its CGI effects, yet somehow manages to be surprisingly moving in the way the epic Harry Potter story is brought to a satisfactory conclusion."
|
David Stratton
|
|
71%
|
Never Let Me Go (2010)
|
"We are rewarded with many scenes of poignant beauty and touching performances in the central roles."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
35%
|
Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
|
"Watching this nonsense after seeing tragic television images of the destruction of Japan somehow made Battle: Los Angeles appear even more meretricious."
|
David Stratton
|
|
87%
|
Black Swan (2010)
|
"It is compelling viewing, aided enormously by Portman's extraordinarily subtle and emotionally authentic performance."
|
Lynden Barber
|
|
24%
|
The Dilemma (2011)
|
"Vaughan's behaviour is so crass and silly as to lack credibility."
|
Lynden Barber
|
|
90%
|
The Fighter (2010)
|
"The Fighter is full of powerful scenes and performances, but in the end, like the character of Micky, it's a bit annoying."
|
David Stratton
|
|
90%
|
Tangled (2010)
|
"Tangled deserves to be popular with family audiences and I have a strong suspicion it will."
|
Lynden Barber
|
|
79%
|
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010)
|
"While The Deathly Hallows is not the best film in the series, it hardly matters. Too many people have invested too much in Harry Potter, they will not bear to miss the finale, or even his bleak and inconclusive prelude to the dark."
|
Michael Bodey
|
|
55%
|
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)
|
"It's as though Stone is pulling his punches, angry at the economic state of the union but at the same time anxious to provide cinema audiences with a superior popcorn movie."
|
David Stratton
|
|
72%
|
The Tree (2011)
|
"There have been other films as lovely as The Tree, but for haunting beauty and strangeness, this Australian-French co-production, directed by Julie Bertuccelli and shot in a bare stretch of countryside in Queensland, is hard to beat."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
93%
|
The Kids Are All Right (2010)
|
"The Kids are All Right is funny, touching and honest, all the elements that make independent cinema so much more rewarding, most of the time, than the mainstream."
|
David Stratton
|
|
88%
|
Boy (2012)
|
"The film has a disarming naturalism and spontaneity. Waititi never pushes too hard. He knows the importance of restraint, understatement and surprise."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
81%
|
Four Lions (2010)
|
"The film is tasteless and offensive. It will be especially offensive to jihadists. It is also very funny."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
45%
|
Second Hand Wedding (2008)
|
"I was never bored by Second-Hand Wedding, but nor was I much engaged."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
43%
|
Robin Hood (2010)
|
"A richly detailed movie that is at least as good as the Oscar-winning Gladiator, the first collaboration between Scott and Crowe."
|
David Stratton
|
|
40%
|
Letters to Juliet (2010)
|
"Doubt that the stars are fire, but never doubt that Letters to Juliet is the biggest load of weepie sludge we are likely to see this year. Naturally, I quite enjoyed it."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
36%
|
New York, I Love You (2009)
|
"If nothing else, it brilliantly captures the moods and tempo of New York: its vibrant pulse, its energy, its ethnic diversity, its clamorous excitement."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
54%
|
I Love You Too (2010)
|
"It's all a little too much, and it takes itself a little too seriously for what should have been a cheerful, hopefully witty, date movie."
|
David Stratton
|
|
85%
|
The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band) (2009)
|
"Haneke has made a deeply unsettling and gravely beautiful film that tells us very little. But the performances are astonishing, and the faces of the children, caught in long, static close-ups, may haunt you for a long time."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
73%
|
Iron Man 2 (2010)
|
"Jon Favreau is back with a large-scale movie that is almost as good as its predecessor, even though it lacks the political commentary."
|
David Stratton
|
|
34%
|
The Burning Plain (2009)
|
"When so many cinema releases are instantly forgettable, The Burning Plain clings to the memory..."
|
David Stratton
|
|
63%
|
Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)
|
"Hot Tub Time Machine is an amiable time-waster but, given the concept, it could have been rather more than that."
|
David Stratton
|
|
48%
|
The Book of Eli (2010)
|
"It's the risible writing and the self-important, self-righteous tone that ultimately prevents this odyssey from becoming the classic action film to which it aspires."
|
David Stratton
|
|
76%
|
The Eclipse (2010)
|
"Unfortunately, writer-director Conor McPherson's lame attempts to push the film into the realm of a horror movie reduce its effect considerably."
|
David Stratton
|
|
76%
|
Kick-Ass (2010)
|
"All is slick, stylish, well-made and totally amoral. The characters are amusing, the dialogue is racy."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
67%
|
Date Night (2010)
|
"The main delight here is the combination of Carell and Fey, both accomplished comedians, who succeed in making "a boring married couple from New Jersey" not only engaging heroes but believable ones."
|
David Stratton
|
|
87%
|
Welcome (2010)
|
"A timely reminder that one should love one's neighbour, even if one's neighbour has a foreign accent and a different culture."
|
David Stratton
|
|
74%
|
Micmacs (Micmacs à tire-larigot) (2010)
|
"It's an engaging and beautifully realised fairytale."
|
David Stratton
|
|
20%
|
The Last Song (2010)
|
"Even for one not averse to some sentimental uplift in romantic movies, it's all a bit much. In fact, it's much too much."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
70%
|
The Last Station (2010)
|
"Despite all the bitterness and skulduggery, The Last Station is surprisingly warm and spirited in tone."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
28%
|
Clash of the Titans (2010)
|
"It's left to the gigantic Kraken to re-inject some interest during the closing stages of this major disappointment."
|
David Stratton
|
|
91%
|
Crazy Heart (2009)
|
"This is a sad little story, told rather indulgently by the writer-director. Bridges and Gyllenhaal are superior to the film in which they appear."
|
David Stratton
|
|
57%
|
Bran Nue Dae (2010)
|
"The next time someone tells you that "all Australian films are depressing", point them in Bran Nue Dae's direction."
|
Lynden Barber
|
|
18%
|
The Tooth Fairy (2010)
|
"The film is directed by Michael Lembeck and penned by six screenwriters without flair or subtlety, while Johnson's performance lives down to his name."
|
Lynden Barber
|
|
84%
|
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
|
"Though the animation technique here is old school, it's zippy and quick-witted and the story skills that elevate Pixar's work are on display."
|
Lynden Barber
|
|
83%
|
Avatar (2009)
|
"Somehow it all works wonderfully well, thanks mainly to Cameron's story-telling skills and to the movie's fantastically detailed vision."
|
David Stratton
|
|
64%
|
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
|
"If fantasy is your thing, take a trip through Gilliam's mirror and drink your fill, but don't blame me for your indigestion."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
92%
|
In Search of Beethoven (2009)
|
"There are too many snippets of music, too many talking heads, too little to define that great arc of the composer's life and spiritual development. But no one who cares about the man and his music will miss it. For that I give credit to its subject."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
55%
|
Mao's Last Dancer (2010)
|
"We must be thankful that Beresford's grand, lucid and absorbing film tells [Li's] story with such passion and conviction."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
80%
|
Van Diemen's Land (2009)
|
"Van Diemen's Land poses a formidable challenge for audiences, but it's a challenge well worth meeting and a film you're unlikely ever to forget."
|
David Stratton
|
|
64%
|
Charlie & Boots (2009)
|
"It's a superbly relaxed and good-natured film."
|
Evan Williams
|
|
76%
|
The Young Victoria (2009)
|
"The film looks great and Blunt gives a wonderfully confident performance, but the end result lacks real insights into what made Victoria the great and enduring queen she became."
|
David Stratton
|
|
56%
|
The Soloist (2009)
|
"Its power may owe more to Beethoven and Bach than the skills of the filmmakers, but it can be recommended to all who like a strange and moving story."
|
Evan Williams
|
72%
21%
63%
85%
46%
40%
