Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 27%
| Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2009) | "
An interesting curiosity piece for Williams fans but a tough sell for today's audiences." — Metromix.com Posted Dec 30, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 64%
| Police, Adjective (2009) | "
Tells its simple story with credibility and conviction, but I couldn't help wondering what Dirty Harry might do in the situation. Maybe there's a Romanian filmmaker ready to figure it out." — Metromix.com Posted Dec 24, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 50%
| It's Complicated (2009) | "
Meyers' usually enjoyable brand of glossy escapism fails her here, resulting in a movie that's not nearly complicated enough." — Metromix.com Posted Dec 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 37%
| Nine (2009) | "
By indulging the audience in shallow cinematic pleasures, Nine knows how to use style to trump substance." — Metromix.com Posted Dec 17, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 89%
| Crazy Heart (2009) | "
Not that the modest story makes [Jeff] Bridges' accomplishment any less vital or [T-Bone] Burnett's music any less pleasurable." — Metromix.com Posted Dec 16, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 100%
| The Vicious Kind (2009) | "
What initially seems like a [Neil] LaBute knockoff develops into its own rather interesting examination of men who mask pain with maliciousness." — Metromix.com Posted Dec 10, 2009 |
Fresh 4.5/5
| Fresh 82%
| A Single Man (2009) | "
[Director Tom] Ford's gorgeously glossy veneer could be viewed as superficial, if he wasn't so invested in exploring George's interior life." — Metromix.com Posted Dec 10, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 40%
| The Lovely Bones (2009) | "
The changes Jackson and his collaborators make to Sebol's novel don't serve the material in any meaningful way. But the film isn't simply a failure as satisfying adaptation, it fails on its own terms." — Metromix.com Posted Dec 10, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 89%
| Up in the Air (2009) | "
[Jason] Reitman's most mature film to date is about as grown-up, smart and savvy a film as anyone could hope for from Hollywood." — Metromix.com Posted Dec 4, 2009 |
Rotten 3/5
| Fresh 69%
| The Last Station (2009) | "
Struggles to make these remote characters truly come alive and never quite locates an interesting window into the personal life of an artist" — Metromix.com Posted Dec 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 83%
| The Princess and the Frog (2009) | "
You'll walk away in a good mood, happy to see Disney back on track. But ... there's not much to remember in the morning." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 31%
| Ninja Assassin (2009) | "
The rotten cliches pile up faster than the bodies in this Z-movie disaster. A total dud start to finish." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Rotten 58%
| Mammoth (2009) | "
Less obsessed with coincidence and more interested in the ways people from various cultures connect, or don't quite connect, in everyday situations." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 20, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 28%
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) | "
[Director Chris] Weitz seems to have taken the vampire thing a little too seriously -- his bland brand of Hollywood polish sucks the life out of the movie." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 83%
| Broken Embraces (2009) | "
Crafted with the confidence and ambition of a master filmmaker, but that's not quite the same as the product of a filmmaker at his peak." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 19, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 55%
| Uncertainty (2009) | "
An odd metaphysical exploration that never stops feeling like a stunt." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/5
| Rotten 29%
| Women in Trouble (2009) | "
Penthouse Forum meets Pedro Almodóvar in this frantic slice of trash-masquerading-as-class." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Fresh 60%
| Pirate Radio (2009) | "
A soundtrack in search of a movie ... a bid for nostalgia that comes across as simply tiresome when it isn't outright desperate." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 12, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 80%
| Collapse (2009) | "
There's not much to Collapse beyond 77 minutes of one man talking about the possible end of society as we know it, and it's riveting stuff start to finish." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 44%
| The Box (2009) | "
What's intended to be a trippy, philosophical sci-fi parable winds up more overwrought than unsettling." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Fresh 5/5
| Fresh 91%
| Precious: Based on the Novel PUSH by Sapphire (2009) | "
Precious is a force of nature. You don't simply watch the movie, you experience it -- in all its fury, hope, bitterness, grace, horror and redemption." — Metromix.com Posted Nov 5, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 16%
| Gentlemen Broncos (2009) | "
Everything you need to know about the depressing, unsavory Gentlemen Broncos can be summarized by a single shot: a close-up on a steaming pile of dog crap." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 29, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 21%
| Amelia (2009) | "
If there's one thing Amelia wants us to know, it's that Amelia Earhart was her own woman. If there's another thing...I don't have a clue what it could be." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 47%
| Ong Bak 2 (2009) | "
The goal of Ong Bak 2 was to make something bigger and better. They only succeeded with the first half." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 37%
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) | "
No satisfying resolution, no sense of characters coming into their own, and no feeling that the world that's been created was interesting enough to sustain one movie, let alone several." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 22, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 87%
| The House of the Devil (2009) | "
Slow, yet oddly spellbinding, horror film ... a living, breathing nostalgia piece oozing period authenticity" — Metromix.com Posted Oct 21, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 11%
| The Stepfather (2009) | "
[Nelson] McCormick has crafted a horror remake so undistinguished it makes Prom Night look like a masterpiece of transgressive filmmaking." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 16, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 95%
| The Maid (2009) | "
Both a domestic dramedy and a workplace procedural, incisively revealing the emotional consequences of living with a family that you're never quite a part of." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 82%
| Paranormal Activity (2009) | "
Worth seeing once (preferably with a large audience, preferably after dark), but then what? The success of the film's suspense makes it the ultimate in disposable entertainment." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 15, 2009 |
Fresh 4.5/5
| Fresh 73%
| Where the Wild Things Are (2009) | "
Requires its audience to take a giant leap, use their minds and, occasionally, go to some uncomfortable places ... an uncommonly bold and brilliant piece of filmmaking." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 13, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 61%
| Peter and Vandy (2009) | "
Flirts with indie-filmmaking-by-the-numbers but still manages a refreshingly clear-eyed look at relationships." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 94%
| The Damned United (2009) | "
Classy light drama gets its larger than life scope from Brian Clough's own massive ego and Michael Sheen's sharp performance in the role." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 8, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Rotten 57%
| The Invention of Lying (2009) | "
Lying ambitiously stakes its claim to the highest level of film comedies. And by doing so, it just might be the best comedy of the year. Honestly." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 1, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Fresh 89%
| Zombieland (2009) | "
There's nothing wrong with a little light comedy after a zombie apocalypse leaves humanity utterly devastated. But there's nothing very smart about it either." — Metromix.com Posted Oct 1, 2009 |
Rotten 1.5/5
| Rotten 35%
| Blind Date (2009) | "
[Patricia] Clarkson has the ability to make any character interesting, but if there's ever been a test of how enjoyable it is to watch a film just because she's in it, this is it." — Metromix.com Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 41%
| Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009) | "
Sometimes humorous, sometimes repulsive, never insightful, the movie comes off like the work of an overeager college student." — Metromix.com Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Rotten 1/5
| Rotten 40%
| Surrogates (2009) | "
By mixing a detective story and futuristic robots the filmmakers were likely aiming for the next Blade Runner. They wound up with the next Battlefield Earth." — Metromix.com Posted Sep 24, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 75%
| Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) | "
[Michael] Moore hasn't made a measured film because he's not looking for a measured response. He wants to get his viewers outraged and shake them out of their complacency." — Metromix.com Posted Sep 23, 2009 |
Rotten 3/5
| Fresh 67%
| Paris (2009) | "
This mishmash is only sporadically successful." — Metromix.com Posted Sep 17, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 84%
| Bright Star (2009) | "
A small film, but also an uncommonly lovely work." — Metromix.com Posted Sep 17, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 44%
| Jennifer's Body (2009) | "
Jennifer's Body plays it safe and familiar. Juno would not be pleased." — Metromix.com Posted Sep 14, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 96%
| Crude (2009) | "
Keeps a tight focus on a sprawling topic, condensing three years of production into a narrative that neatly lays out the history of the controversy, the opposing viewpoints and key players" — Metromix.com Posted Sep 9, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 70%
| American Casino (2009) | "
Has the feel of a quickie made-for-TV doc. It's bare bones ... but timely." — Metromix.com Posted Sep 3, 2009 |
Fresh 3/5
| Fresh 63%
| Extract (2009) | "
[Mike] Judge's most modest offering yet -- less quotable than Office Space, less provocative than Idiocracy" — Metromix.com Posted Sep 3, 2009 |
Fresh 4/5
| Fresh 83%
| We Live in Public (2009) | "
Portrait of an egomaniac capitalizing on technology remains plenty valuable as a peek into the past that few would want to see become the future." — Metromix.com Posted Aug 28, 2009 |
Fresh 3.5/5
| Fresh 100%
| Still Walking (2009) | "
A gentle, absorbing drama that carefully modulates sentimentality with an eye for the way family members can be casually cruel to each other and outsiders." — Metromix.com Posted Aug 28, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 21%
| Halloween II (2009) | "
Zombie was interested in more than just a quick cash-in sequel. But Halloween II can't quite convince that a follow-up was necessary." — Metromix.com Posted Aug 28, 2009 |
Fresh 4.5/5
| Fresh 88%
| Inglourious Basterds (2009) | "
As entertaining as it is audacious, a film that showcases Tarantino in top form and boasts a multitude of characters who could easily carry a movie of their own." — Metromix.com Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Rotten 2/5
| Rotten 45%
| Shorts (2009) | "
Decent filler for kids but too tedious for adults, [Robert] Rodriguez already proved he can do better than this with the first two Spy Kids." — Metromix.com Posted Aug 21, 2009 |
Rotten 2.5/5
| Rotten 58%
| Art & Copy (2009) | "
[The] relentlessly positive approach results in a movie that feels like it was made for an advertising convention, not general audience consumption (let alone edification)." — Metromix.com Posted Aug 20, 2009 |
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