Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

"The only thing worse than a movie that resorts to painful cliches is one that resorts to painful cliches that are also wildly inappropriate."

Eugene Novikov

Avatar (2009)

"Avatar is revolutionary at least in this way: It is the most convincingly realized artificial world ever created from scratch for the screen. It's a movie to luxuriate in."

Eugene Novikov

2012 (2009)

"The scenes of destruction composed by Emmerich's team--earthquakes, tsunamis, rains of earth and fire--have an enveloping majesty; they transcend mere expensive photorealism and cross over into art."

Eugene Novikov

Gamer (2009)

"A streak of genius runs through this dystopian vision of a world in where VR games are played with real people ... it touches some exposed nerves before retreating into clichés."

Maitland McDonagh

The House of the Devil (2009)

"If you love a nerve-stretching build up to a seriously creepy payoff, you'll want to see for yourself."

Maitland McDonagh

Surrogates (2009)

"If the movie gets a bit hokey on the surface, its haunting undercurrents never let up."

Eugene Novikov

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

"That Half-Blood Prince stays true to Rowling's downbeat, morose vision is a testament to the integrity of this franchise and the fortitude of its fans. The movie is quiet, graceful and restrained."

Eugene Novikov

Moon (2009)

"Like a lot of great scifi, it tells a small, self-contained story while hinting at something far larger and more troubling... It's one of the best movies of the year."

Eugene Novikov

Angels & Demons (2009)

"May be a marginal improvement on its predecessor and source material, but at a brain-stabbing 140 minutes, it still reaches levels of tedium that are hard to conceptualize."

Eugene Novikov

X-Men Origins - Wolverine (2009)

"Eminently disposable, but that's almost the point: Wolverine remembers the days when action flicks were action flicks, and we were content with visceral thrills and basic storytelling competence."

Eugene Novikov

State of Play (2009)

"State of Play mixes murders and mergers, foot-chases and fact-checking, gunshots and cutting cynicism; it's the rare suspense film with style, muscle and brains."

James Rocchi

Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)

"As often happens, the best parts are the smallest -- throwaway moments shine (I particularly enjoyed the self-doubting self-destruct mechanism on the alien ship) while the big set pieces are quickly forgotten."

Eugene Novikov

The Last House on the Left (2009)

"Brutal, bloody, and bleak, The Last House on the Left is a rarity in an age of tepid remakes."

James Rocchi

Watchmen (2009)

"The movie was reportedly trimmed from four hours to two hours and forty minutes, and that turns out to simply not be enough time. All the material is here, but its scope and power are lost."

Eugene Novikov

Two Lovers (2008)

"As we head into a spring of superheroes, special effects, and toy tie-ins, Two Lovers might be one of your last best chances to see real human beings on the big screen as they try to wrap their heads and hearts around the hopes and hurts of real life."

James Rocchi

He's Just Not That Into You (2009)

"Plenty of people are going to hate He's Just Not That Into You, but that sentiment is often the best indicator that a movie is doing something interesting."

James Rocchi

Push (2009)

"Push is supremely elegant, even beautiful; you can get lost in the visuals even as the narrative implodes. If ever there were a triumph of style over substance, this is it."

Eugene Novikov

Notorious (2009)

"Notorious doesn't quite convey how hip-hop felt in the '90s ... (but) it manages to put a few new scratches and stutters into the beats and breaks of the conventional pop-star movie."

James Rocchi