Time Out Sydney

Rating Title | Year Quote Author
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

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