|
|
Godzilla
(1998)
|
William Arnold
|
The script may be barely functional, but the film definitely delivers the goods as a super-version of a '50s-style giant monster movie.
Posted Feb 15, 2023
|
|
|
Path to War
(2002)
|
John Levesque
|
Drawing on a supremely intelligent screenplay by Daniel Giat, "Path to War" is another of those "important" films that would never make it in theaters today.
Posted Jun 29, 2020
|
|
|
The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer
(2003)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
"The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer" managed to stun this critic by being substantially more dreadful that the original, and offensive to boot.
Posted Jan 15, 2020
|
|
|
The State Within
(2006)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
The State Within is what we'd get if the producers of 24 wanted to make us think instead of accept ever-widening leaps of logic.
Posted Mar 07, 2019
|
|
|
Helen of Troy
(1955)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
The whole thing makes you feel, oh I don't know, a little dirty.
Posted Mar 06, 2019
|
|
|
Ice Bound: A Woman's Survival at the South Pole
(2003)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
If you want to be moved by a powerful story this weekend as opposed to gratuitously tickled, [Dr. Jerri] Nielsen is the heroine most deserving of your attentions.
Posted Mar 06, 2019
|
|
|
The Librarian: Quest for the Spear
(2004)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
Set the bar very low and you may appreciate its stupidity.
Posted Mar 04, 2019
|
|
|
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
(2004)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
The film is awash with psychedelic visuals, '60s cinematography and a dizzying mishmash of devices reminiscent of iconic films like Dr. Strangelove and The Pink Panther. However, like [Peter] Sellers himself, Life and Death lacks genuine personality.
Posted Mar 04, 2019
|
|
|
Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven
(2004)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
Five People [You Meet in Heaven] is your basic Hallmark Entertainment fuzz, yet many scenes defy the brand's typical saccharine, tempering the light with a welcome grit.
Posted Mar 04, 2019
|
|
|
Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story
(2004)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
Surely nausea was not what Moyle was shooting for. But I guess that's what happens when you try to make uplifting TV "biopoetry," and nobody has the decency to slam you before it's too late.
Posted Mar 02, 2019
|
|
|
Battlestar Galactica: Razor
(2007)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
[Battlestar Galactica] Razor's best service, beyond reminding us why Galactica is one of the best television shows on the air, is in filling in the story's historical gaps.
Posted Mar 02, 2019
|
|
|
Category 6: Day of Destruction
(2004)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
[Category 6: Day of Destruction], a miniseries one step beyond devastatingly awful.
Posted Mar 01, 2019
|
|
B
|
Isn't It Romantic
(2019)
|
Tim Hall
|
Isn't It Romantic isn't groundbreaking; it is an enjoyable time at the movies and a refreshing take on an age old story.
Posted Feb 14, 2019
|
|
B+
|
Ghetto
(2002)
|
William Arnold
|
The film is delicately narrated by Martin Landau and directed with sensitivity and skill by Dana Janklowicz-Mann.
Posted Jan 29, 2019
|
|
|
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
(2009)
|
Melanie McFarland
|
And what is "Galactica," old or new? A high-flying trifle. Choice, cheesy adventure. Sci Fi pulp. So stop squeezing your thermoses, turn off your brain, and enjoy.
Posted Apr 23, 2018
|
|
|
The Blue Tooth Virgin
(2008)
|
William Arnold
|
The film is low budget and uneven in spots, but the dialogue is biting, Russell Brown's direction is often razor-sharp and the action climaxes with a virtuoso cameo appearance by the great Karen Black as a wily and wise script consultant.
Posted Oct 30, 2009
|
|
B
|
The Last House on the Left
(2009)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
Iliadis is more visually sophisticated than Craven was in 1972 and works hard to sustain the mood and tension while still hitting the audience with blunt scenes of wincing violence.
Posted Mar 13, 2009
|
|
C-
|
Crossing Over
(2009)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... feels an awful lot like the multicultural Crash, complete with its crisscrossing stories, heavy ironies and even heavier moralizing.
Posted Mar 12, 2009
|
|
C
|
Shuttle
(2008)
|
Bill White
|
Instead of suspense, we get frustration at the stupidity of the characters.
Posted Mar 12, 2009
|
|
B
|
Race to Witch Mountain
(2009)
|
Andy Spletzer
|
Smarter than it trusts itself to be.
Posted Mar 12, 2009
|
|
A-
|
Everlasting Moments
(2008)
|
Bill White
|
Troell's profound insistence that life -- even in its most miserable chapters -- is an occasion for rejoicing, goes beyond gender politics to a place of transcendent sublimity.
Posted Mar 12, 2009
|
|
B
|
Phoebe in Wonderland
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... an involving and empathetic drama of mothers and daughters.
Posted Mar 05, 2009
|
|
B+
|
Watchmen
(2009)
|
William Arnold
|
Fans of the 1986 graphic novel Watchmen should be pleased with the eye-filling, slavishly faithful, long-time-coming film version that opens today and threatens to become the first true movie event of 2009.
Posted Mar 05, 2009
|
|
B+
|
Ben X
(2007)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
There are lessons to be learned, but rarely have such lessons been transformed into such vivid and emotionally affecting drama.
Posted Feb 26, 2009
|
|
A-
|
Two Lovers
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... a discomfortingly honest drama about the frustrations of love and desire.
Posted Feb 26, 2009
|
|
B
|
Gomorra
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
The sprawl makes it hard to follow... but it makes its point about the reach of the Camorra and the culture it has spawned.
Posted Feb 26, 2009
|
|
B
|
Prima Ballerina
(2009)
|
R. M. Campbell
|
Anyone who knows about ballet will find much to recognize in the lives of these young women, but for those who do not, the film will be a revelation.
Posted Feb 26, 2009
|
|
B+
|
Ballast
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... the cinematic equivalent of a miniature, a piece carved out of the stories of three troubled and damaged souls...
Posted Feb 19, 2009
|
|
B+
|
Three Monkeys
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
[Nuri Bilge] Ceylan keeps the cascade of mistakes and mishaps... off-screen. His camera stays on the actions and reactions of his characters in the wake of the repercussions...
Posted Feb 19, 2009
|
|
A
|
The Class
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... filled with a world of real detail that blurs the line between documentary and fiction.
Posted Feb 19, 2009
|
|
B
|
Under the Sea
(2009)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
.. a visual pageant of strange undersea creatures hunting and scavenging and floating across the screen.
Posted Feb 12, 2009
|
|
B-
|
The International
(2009)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... for all its impressive set pieces and breathless momentum, it's neither passionate nor urgent.
Posted Feb 12, 2009
|
|
B
|
Confessions of a Shopaholic
(2009)
|
Athima Chansanchai
|
If cheesy, feel-good riches-to-reason romantic comedies are yours, this is your fix. It's a harmless indulgence that, like shopping, may make you feel good for the short term, but later you'll need more.
Posted Feb 12, 2009
|
|
C+
|
Friday the 13th
(2009)
|
Travis Nichols
|
This new Friday the 13th is infinitely better than Jason X or Freddy vs. Jason, but it's still schlock.
Posted Feb 12, 2009
|
|
C
|
The Pink Panther 2
(2009)
|
Andy Spletzer
|
They are joined by other typically good actors such as Jean Reno, Jeremy Irons, Lily Tomlin and Alfred Molina. Unfortunately, they're underused.
Posted Feb 06, 2009
|
|
C+
|
Push
(2009)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... delivers the requisite spectacle... but skimps on character and story.
Posted Feb 05, 2009
|
|
C+
|
He's Just Not That Into You
(2009)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
This plodding, overlong film is like an awkward first date with an attractive setup whose heart isn't in it: polite, dull and seemingly unending.
Posted Feb 05, 2009
|
|
A
|
Waltz With Bashir
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... you could call it an animated documentary by way of oral history, but it's best not to get caught up with labels concerning this film.
Posted Jan 29, 2009
|
|
B-
|
Were the World Mine
(2008)
|
Bill White
|
Were the World Mine is an independent film that succeeds through the excellent work of a cast and crew whose imagination compensates for budgetary constraints.
Posted Jan 29, 2009
|
|
B-
|
New in Town
(2009)
|
Paula Nechak
|
Zellweger, despite her propensity to scrunch her face, has an easy chemistry with Connick that is unthreatening and enjoyable, and she's good at the physical comedy the role requires.
Posted Jan 29, 2009
|
|
B-
|
Taken
(2008)
|
Travis Nichols
|
Longtime action cinematographer Pierre Morrel proves adept at using the quick, claustrophobic cuts of the Bourne franchise and the Transporter flicks.
Posted Jan 29, 2009
|
|
C
|
Outlander
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... a skimpy script with unimaginative characters, mundane dialogue and routine plot twists.
Posted Jan 22, 2009
|
|
B
|
Inkheart
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... focused on giving the film a palpable threat of potentially fatal consequences and the characters an emotional foundation.
Posted Jan 22, 2009
|
|
A
|
Wendy and Lucy
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
This is survival, revealed in all the blunt details of a documentary portrait and the simple power of [Michelle] Williams' unadorned, Oscar-worthy performance.
Posted Jan 22, 2009
|
|
A-
|
Defiance
(2008)
|
William Arnold
|
An absorbing family saga, a thrilling combat movie and a backwoods epic that conveys the feel of a frontier-community-under-duress with the vividness of a John Ford classic.
Posted Jan 16, 2009
|
|
B-
|
Hotel for Dogs
(2009)
|
Paula Nechak
|
In the end, the message is what prevails. The movie's political and moral points -- and theme about creating family however you can find it -- elevate it above the average kids movie.
Posted Jan 16, 2009
|
|
C+
|
Chandni Chowk to China
(2009)
|
Bill White
|
Children and undiscriminating adults may enjoy the flurry of eye-catching activities that storm incessantly across the screen for its 2 1/2 hours, but the reigning stupidity of the enterprise is liable to tire anyone else in attendance.
Posted Jan 16, 2009
|
|
C
|
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
(2009)
|
Travis Nichols
|
An inoffensive way to spend 90 minutes, unless of course you're on the husky end of the spectrum, in which case they're all going to laugh at you.
Posted Jan 16, 2009
|
|
C
|
Notorious
(2009)
|
Travis Nichols
|
For anyone looking for something as real or engaging as Biggie's music -- or a good introduction to it -- will be disappointed by this mediocre celluloid life-after-death.
Posted Jan 16, 2009
|
|
B
|
Last Chance Harvey
(2008)
|
Sean Axmaker
|
... it's a pleasure to see mature portraits of adult characters who put their vulnerabilities on the line.
Posted Jan 15, 2009
|
