Tomato |
A Nous La Liberte (1931) |
"...displays Clair's mastery of artful whimsy by mixing sound (especially song), sweet-faced storytelling, and visual skill." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
A Nous La Liberte (1931) |
"This DVD edition ... is everything we've come to expect from Criterion. The new digital transfer is created from a 35mm composite fine-grain master.... Also here is Entr'acte (1924), a 20-minute toy of trick photography and playful humor..." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1972) |
"If Se7en and Hannibal are grand opera, The Abominable Dr. Phibes is Gilbert & Sullivan." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1972) |
"As one of MGM's 'Midnite Movies' DVD releases... The print transfer is surprisingly fine.... Noteworthy is the Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track, which ... restores the original organ music...." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
About Schmidt (2002) |
"Nicholson offers one of the best performances of his career. ... Warren is alternately smug, confused, selfish, clueless, helpless, mournful, and ultimately, hopeful." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato |
The Accidental Tourist (1988) |
"... captures the quirky, bittersweet quality of Tyler's book" |
Dawn Taylor |
Tomato 4/5 |
Adventures of Don Juan (1949) |
"Here we have Errol Flynn as most of us remember him -- suave, witty and wearing tights." |
Dawn Taylor |
Tomato 5/5 |
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) |
"[Flynn] catapults across the screen with the greatest of ease, exuding so much charm and confidence that he seems to klieg-light the film all by himself." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato 5/5 |
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) |
"Warner's two-disc Special Edition finally brings the movie home in 65th-anniversary style with an all-new restoration, a first-rate transfer, and restored audio elements. Simply put, the film is gorgeous." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) |
"Director Alfred L. Werker shows off a flair for the material, and we get scenes that appear composed, lit, and shot expressly for the most evocative publicity stills." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) |
"MPI's DVD release ... will more than please fans of the series. Struck from a well-preserved print, the gorgeous, crystalline black-and-white image displays fine clarity, definition, and contrast." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) |
"...the daisy-chain of prop gags, slide-whistle humor, and blackout sketches merge sometimes uneasily with the romantic and mystery-thriller components. What glues it together, barely, is the talented cast in fine form...." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother (1975) |
"...arrives on DVD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, and they did a nice job with it.... The big extra is Wilder's new commentary track...." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
After the Thin Man (1936) |
"[Powell and Loy's] sophisticated banter -- and the obvious joy they take in each other's company -- is as timeless as a good detective yarn or a classic martini." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Splat 2/4 |
Agnes Browne (1999) |
"A movie that, while sweet and sometimes funny, never quite gets underneath the viewer's skin." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Airheads (1994) |
"While Airheads never quite delivers on its clever premise, it definitely could have been a lot worse." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato 4/4 |
Airplane! (1980) |
"The undisputed champion of the 'stupid funny' genre." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato 4/4 |
Aladdin (1992) |
"Funny, warm-hearted, and full of adventure, [Aladdin's] script, pacing, songs, and cast come together to make it one of the brightest gems in the Disney vault." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Splat 2/4 |
Alex and Emma (2003) |
"Ultimately, the most interesting thing about the film is that it was based on a true incident in author Fyodor Dostoevsky's life." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato |
Alfie (1966) |
"What makes it work is charismatic Caine and the witty, intelligent script. Both work together to keep this remorseless bastard who uses and hurts women from being completely unlikable or unsympathetic." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Alias - The Complete First Season (2001) |
"Each hour of the show is exhilarating escapism of the first order -- well-acted escapism (Garner and Garber are the standouts), but escapism nonetheless." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato |
Alice in Wonderland (1966) |
"[Home Vision Entertainment's DVD] ... gorgeous, clean print ... Several welcome supplements ... The first is the audio commentary by director Miller ... The second extra is a genuine rarity, the first-ever Alice adaptation committed to film." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
Alice in Wonderland (1966) |
"Jonathan Miller's dark, incense-scented BBC television interpretation is ... planted in the psychedelic loam of the mid-1960s, complete with lysergic imagery, an untrusting view of the 'over 30' realm, and a musical score by sitar master Ravi Shankar." |
Mark Bourne |
Splat 2/4 |
All the Pretty Horses (2000) |
"If Thornton had cut a few extra minutes' worth of pretty horses ... and left in a few more storytelling scenes, this attempt at a Western epic might have had more impact." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato 3/4 |
All the Real Girls (2003) |
"All the Real Girls packs plenty of emotional punches; thanks to its cast, those punches feel as genuine as the ones we've all taken to the gut -- and the heart." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato 3/4 |
All the Right Moves (1983) |
"Thanks to strong performances by stars Tom Cruise and Lea Thompson, this is one football flick that isn't just about scoring the winning touchdown." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Splat 2/4 |
Amy's O (2002) |
"Amy's biggest faults are that it's too wordy and that those words sound scripted." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Splat |
And Now for Something Completely Different (1971) |
"However, by refilming the sketches for a cinematic format, with new editing, camerawork, close-ups ... yet without the give-and-take energy of a live studio audience, what on TV was seat-of-the-pants fresh is here flat and overproduced." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
Angel - Season 1 (1999) |
" Atmospheric, intense, and very funny ..." |
Dawn Taylor |
Tomato |
Angel - Season 2 (2000) |
"a surprise in many ways, with imaginative, well-written stories and a lot of character development ..." |
Dawn Taylor |
Tomato |
Angel - Season 3 (2001) |
"... the longer Angel was on the air the more inconsistent the writing became, and Season Three stands as a fine example of that problem." |
Dawn Taylor |
Splat 2/4 |
Angel Eyes (2001) |
"Too eerie to be a love story, but too relationship-focused to be truly suspenseful." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato |
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) |
"This fine DVD edition, part of the six-disc Warner Gangsters Collection, comes from a print that's in great shape ... the extras start with a terrific commentary by author and USC film prof Dana Polan...." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) |
"the way Angels With Dirty Faces balances hard-bitten gangster drama with warmly stage-managed religiosity gives us an entertaining period piece, one which shows that after more than sixty years you still can't go wrong with a Jimmy Cagney movie." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato 4/4 |
Animaniacs - Vol. 1 |
"The Animaniacs gang swiftly found a following beyond the after-school set, with their timely parodies and subversive, fast-paced humor garnering plenty of adult fans." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato 3/4 |
Annie Get Your Gun (1950) |
"A word of warning to those obsessed with political correctness: Annie Get Your Gun is not for you." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato |
The Anniversary Party (2001) |
"...because Cumming and Leigh avoid most (though not all) of the easy choices common to first-time writers and directors, the movie stays on the right side of entertaining." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
The Anniversary Party (2001) |
"What makes this DVD extra appealing is the tutorial it gives to filmmakers or curious viewers who have an interest in digital video as more than a means to send the kid's birthday party to grandma in Des Moines." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato 3/4 |
Another Thin Man (1939) |
"Although the mystery quotient is higher here than in the first two Thin Man movies ... [it] still offers plenty of the series' trademarked effervescent humor." |
Betsy Bozdech |
Tomato |
Antigone (1972) |
"This is a gripping, mesmerizing piece of work. Set in a Thebes that's a 20th century martial society.... The production is most remembered for Genevieve Bujold, then a rising star..." |
Mark Bourne |
Splat |
Antigone (1972) |
"This Broadway Theatre Archive DVD is from a videotape master that's in poor shape or is a, say, 3rd-generation dupe. It's plenty watchable, but expect a soft, low-definition image with thin, occasionally bleeding color." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato |
The Assassination Bureau (1969) |
"... a lot of corny fun." |
Dawn Taylor |
Splat |
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005) |
"The remake is, simply put, terrible. Not because it sullies the name of a terrific film — although it does do that. No, it’s lousy entirely on its own merits." |
Dawn Taylor |
Splat |
The Atomic Submarine (1959) |
"Even for a meager exploitation film, The Atomic Submarine isn't anything to brag about." |
Mark Bourne |
Tomato 4/5 |
Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) |
"... beautifully photographed and delicately presented, and it offers a singularly profound moment in which one boy learns the consequences of forgetting, even for a flicker of an instant, the importance of charity and integrity." |
Dawn Taylor |
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