|
93%
|
Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
|
"Whedon keeps the whole thing aloft with pizzazz -- you expect it to crash to earth like Fury's flying aircraft carrier, but somehow it never does."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
87%
|
Mad Bastards ()
|
"The story arc is a cringingly facile story of redemption which, but for the curious ghost of reality behind it, would have been pretty forgettable."
|
Andrew Fuhrmann
|
|
51%
|
Tron Legacy (2010)
|
"What unfolds is your typical chase-and-rescue scenario, all just colour and movement, but with a rock-out score by Daft Punk and a genuinely bright patch in the high-camp form of Castor (Michael Sheen)."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
98%
|
The Loved Ones (2012)
|
"The savagery here has no redeeming social value and the characters are not especially interesting, but who cares when the terror is this relentless?"
|
Nick Dent
|
|
85%
|
Easy A (2010)
|
"Come in Lindsay Lohan: your time is up. Ever since you went off the rails we've been on the lookout for a feisty, freckled ranga with a straight-bourbon voice and killer comic timing, and we've found her in the form of Emma Stone."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
56%
|
Trash Humpers (2010)
|
"Viewers unfamiliar with Korine's alternative style of filmmaking may walk out in disgust. But if you're willing to broaden your cinematic expectations to include the utterly random, it's a must-see. "
|
Emily Cheng
|
|
62%
|
Salt (2010)
|
"Phillip Noyce directs Kurt Wimmer's script, which rockets along with chase sequences and confounds with double-crosses but it can't hide its essentially facile nature."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
81%
|
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
|
"Potentially the most fun movie to come out this year -- a kinetic epic that both stands for and gently lampoons the generation it came from. Superheroes should be so lucky to get this treatment. "
|
Jonathon Valenzuela
|
|
63%
|
Predators (2010)
|
"It's a return to the suspenseful, high-velocity form of the original Predator. "
|
Nick Dent
|
|
49%
|
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
|
"Girl, just pick the werewolf now so we can all go home."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
57%
|
Shrek Forever After (Shrek 4) (2010)
|
"Third times are rarely charms in the movies, much less fourth go-rounds, and it takes more than ho-hum 3D and video-game-ready action sequences to liven up diminishing returns."
|
David Fear
|
|
97%
|
Animal Kingdom (2010)
|
"Destined to be an international arthouse hit, this portrayal of power struggles in an underworld dynasty may be the closest thing we get to an Australian Godfather."
|
|
|
64%
|
Harry Brown (2010)
|
"Ill-informed pessimism is bolstered by childish ideas of revenge. "
|
Dave Calhoun
|
|
15%
|
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
|
"This is the worst yet from Michael Bay's horror production company Platinum Dunes, which also brought you rubbish re-makes of Halloween and Friday the 13th."
|
Nigel Floyd
|
|
76%
|
Kick-Ass (2010)
|
"Kick-Ass seems to have cult hit written all over it, except that in this interactive age, cults have gone mainstream. The box office should be massive."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
51%
|
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
|
"It's a shame Burton gets his Lewis Carroll mixed up with his Tolkien and CS Lewis. Still, the film's 3D visuals are fun to look at."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
67%
|
Daybreakers (2010)
|
"The special effects look cheap; and while the premise, with its "we're drinking the blood of the earth!" subtext is interesting, the characters just aren't."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
91%
|
Up in the Air (2009)
|
"Performances are really fine -- especially from the casually seductive Farmiga -- and visually, it's a blast, with Eric Steelberg's camera capturing spectacular bird's-eye views of American cities."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
94%
|
Les beaux gosses (The French Kissers) (2009)
|
"French cinema has a new coming-of-age classic to go alongside Au Revoir les Enfants and The 400 Blows."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
73%
|
Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
|
"Those hoping for a fun-lovin' romp through the kooky world of Max and his zany monster pals are likely to be disappointed."
|
|
|
75%
|
Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)
|
"Capitalism: A Love Story is, like Moore's previous movies, manipulative and moving, funny and impassioned, uplifting and infuriating."
|
Michelle Lamont
|
|
64%
|
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
|
"It's unlikely Gilliam's own, undeniably brilliant career will be revitalised by this rambling, undisciplined and indulgent piece of work."
|
Tom Huddleston
|
|
80%
|
It Might Get Loud (2009)
|
"A must-see for axe players, the movie is not terribly concerned with history. Still, its design is smarter than you realise."
|
|
|
49%
|
Astro Boy (AstroBoy) (2009)
|
"Diehard fans should be warned that the movie will not deliver the nostalgic hit they are hoping for. This is not necessarily such a bad thing. At least a new generation is being exposed to Astro Boy."
|
Sarah Theeboom
|
|
66%
|
Che: Part One (The Argentine) (2009)
|
"It's not a Hollywood-style movie - it demands patience and proper attention - but it's a great movie, and rewards magnificently."
|
Geoff Andrew
|
|
55%
|
Mao's Last Dancer (2010)
|
"Bruce Beresford delivers one of his best films in the story of Chinese ballet star Li Cunxin."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
48%
|
Taking Woodstock (2009)
|
"It does at least come across as a portrait of an era that's affectionate, authentic and pleasingly adult in its tone and concerns."
|
Geoff Andrew
|
|
92%
|
Ponyo (2009)
|
"See this film if you're looking to immerse yourself in a sense of delight over the simple wonders of a child's world."
|
Gregory Moore
|
|
91%
|
District 9 (2009)
|
"Neill Blomkamp's career-making debut film District 9 mixes alien contact with apartheid politics, deftly creating one of the best sci-fi films in recent memory."
|
Jonathon Valenzuela
|
|
83%
|
Beautiful Kate (2009)
|
"Rachel Ward's directorial debut is well acted and handsomely shot by Andrew Commis, but it goes nowhere."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
68%
|
Public Enemies (2009)
|
"Like Dillinger, Mann and his jangly camera live for the moment. If Public Enemies doesn't cut it as history or mythologising, it succeeds staggeringly well as a series of set pieces."
|
Ben Kenigsberg
|
|
51%
|
Chéri (2009)
|
"Remember Boyle and MacDonald's names: you'll be hearing them a lot when awards season comes around."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
92%
|
Drag Me to Hell (2009)
|
"Drag Me to Hell isn't a classic by any means, but feels like a palate cleanser before the next big project - and anything that washes the taste of Spider-man 3 out of Raimi's mouth can only be a good thing."
|
|
|
91%
|
Every Little Step (2009)
|
"We're left with a deep sense of admiration for those who are prepared to face rejection routinely in pursuit of a dream."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
67%
|
Brüno (2009)
|
"It's essential - but hardly comfortable - viewing. You'll watch most of it through splayed fingers, and at times you'll need a spare hand to pick your jaw up off the cinema floor."
|
Dan Rookwood
|
|
20%
|
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
|
"You like 'splosions and special effects? Hey, you got 'em. But for anyone over the age of 12, this hardly makes up for lead-footed plotting or the fact these metal machines can't even stay consistent within their own mythology."
|
Gregory Moore
|
|
89%
|
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008)
|
"While not apologising for his disgusting behaviour, the film puts Polanski's actions in the context of a turbulent life."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
64%
|
The Girlfriend Experience (2009)
|
"It's ... hard not to wonder if a skilled actress would have been better equipped to play Christine instead of a famous porn star -- but reality seems to be the directive in Soderbergh's film, no matter how bland that reality might be."
|
Millie Stein
|
|
87%
|
500 Days of Summer (2009)
|
"It offers us the kind of friendship that comes with a brilliant soundtrack, a story with a solid mixture of fantasy and truth, and the bolstering sort of hopefulness that we might, by accident, fall into a version of its world someday."
|
Millie Stein
|
|
44%
|
The Limits of Control (2009)
|
"While some will find Jarmusch's tale (if one can call the dialogue-poor film a tale) pretentious, others will adore its artistic sensibilities."
|
Millie Stein
|
|
26%
|
Land of the Lost (2009)
|
"Lost is putting it mildly."
|
Joshua Rothkopf
|
|
79%
|
The Hangover (2009)
|
"It doesn't help that the central cast is almost entirely forgettable, from the smug lounge lizardry of Bradley Cooper to the boisterous Jack Black-lite of Zach Galifianakis."
|
Tom Huddleston
|
|
72%
|
Sunshine Cleaning (2009)
|
"Best to take a page from Rose's métier and bleach this one fully out of sight and mind."
|
Keith Uhlich
|
|
83%
|
I Love You, Man (2009)
|
"In less sure hands this parade of oddities could have become tiresome. Which only makes Rudd's central performance more impressive, holding the entire edifice together by sheer force of personality."
|
Tom Huddleston
|
|
88%
|
Adventureland (2009)
|
"Mottola hasn't concocted the funniest summer comedy ever, but he may have given us one of the wisest."
|
Ben Kenigsberg
|
|
25%
|
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (2009)
|
"Call us cynical, but isn't there something just a tiny bit iffy about three sworn virgins performing a rock show in which the climax has them shooting gallons of white "party" foam over their adoring girl fans?"
|
Sophie Harris
|
|
91%
|
Gomorrah (Gomorra) (2008)
|
"The result, while admirable, is curiously flat and unengaging."
|
Nick Dent
|
|
43%
|
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
|
"The Toy Story-esque plot could be written on the femur of dormouse and some scenes still lean towards inanity. But, in the main, this is a funnier and more coherent slice of kids' entertainment."
|
Derek Adams
|
|
26%
|
The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
|
"Quirky supporting characters enliven this by-the-numbers romcom."
|
Lisa Varano
|
|
38%
|
X-Men Origins - Wolverine (2009)
|
"Newbies to the series will perhaps enjoy the relentless explosions and CGI action of X-Men Origins: Wolverine but as a prequel to the X-Men films -- and as an adaptation of the comics -- it fails dismally."
|
Jonathon Valenzuela
|
78%
——
——
85%
45%
40%
