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Anything Else (2003) |
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"At 108 minutes, Anything Else is one of Allen’s longest and most disorganized films." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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The Bourne Identity (2002) |
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"The film may be more of a mess than the inside of Bourne’s head, but its quirks, strangely enough, are what keep it interesting." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Changing Lanes (2002) |
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"Had the conclusion been bitter, the message would have been the same -- and maybe even more powerful, because the audience would have gotten the message on its own." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Collateral (2004) |
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"Yet Mann finds a way of easing into this material; you appreciate his professionalism even as you roll your eyes." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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The Door in the Floor (2004) |
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"Lines soaked with irony in the novel are played utterly straight-faced in the film—making Irving’s tale seem less imaginative (and considerably more pretentious) than it is." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Down With Love (2003) |
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"The movie turns mod in its last act, and it does so in a way that doesn’t feel smug." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) |
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"Arriving ... without the original’s stars, directors, or audience, Dumb and Dumberer is conspicuously lacking in raison d’être." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) |
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"Begins as another one of Kaufman’s trademark head trips and takes a leap into the sublime." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) |
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"It’s less about catching officials off guard than about showing how the nation’s number one official is permanently off guard." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Far From Heaven (2002) |
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"The clash between the technique and the content is jarring, but it might be why Far from Heaven is finally so resonant." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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The Four Feathers (2002) |
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"Kapur’s interest in Elizabeth may have been prurient, but at least he had an interest." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Full Frontal (2002) |
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"Full Frontal is the kind of unplanned, meandering film that any aspiring filmmaker could make, but that only a big-name director could easily get distributed." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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The Girl Next Door (2004) |
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"Its red-light premise notwithstanding, the movie reflects certain realties of teenage life that always eluded John Hughes." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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The Good Girl (2002) |
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"The Good Girl never achieves a Fargo-like balance: it can’t decide whether its characters should be treated with dignity or with derision." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Igby Goes Down (2002) |
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"The film is so emotionally cacophonous that you can’t help but admire its audacity." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) |
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"[Bigelow] unwisely does her most frantic directing during the early drill scenes, only to slow the movie down during the reactor clean-up sequences." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) |
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"In Kill Bill, the allusions are the text rather than the subtext, and the movie never quite develops a life of its own." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) |
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"Kill Bill Vol. 2 may well disappoint fans who loved the first half’s dynamism, but in its way, the new movie has the subtlety of Tarantino’s Jackie Brown." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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King Arthur (2004) |
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"After a while, [the film] leaves nothing to register but entwined limbs and falling ash." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Laws of Attraction (2004) |
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"Adam’s Rib (1949) is by no means a great movie, but seeing as pale an imitation as Laws of Attraction makes one pine for its offhand, witty charms." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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The Man from Elysian Fields (2002) |
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"All of the elements are in place for a great film noir, but director George Hickenlooper's approach to the material is too upbeat." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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The Manchurian Candidate (2004) |
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"Surprisingly effective as a thriller -- if ultimately rather timid (especially for an election year) as a political satire." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Minority Report (2002) |
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"Minority Report is ultimately more of a popcorn flick than a debate movie, but it’s a spellbinding film nonetheless." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Mr. Deeds (2002) |
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"What’s surprising about Mr. Deeds, a remake of Capra’s Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), is that it tries to be as earnest as its predecessor." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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One Hour Photo (2002) |
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"Romanek pointlessly tries to justify Sy’s behavior: we’re supposed to believe that Sy is only crazy because he had an unhappy childhood." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Possession (2002) |
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"Watching Possession is a bit like watching two people do research, except that you never learn anything yourself." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Punch-Drunk Love (2002) |
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"On a literal level, it only amounts to a shaggy dog story, but anyone who quibbles with the plot is missing the point. Anderson’s filmmaking is so spellbinding that the disparate elements seem to fit." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Seabiscuit (2003) |
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"[Ross'] adaptation retains most of the essential details, but none of the fervor or feeling." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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Signs (2002) |
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"The religious statement is so out of keeping with the tone of the rest of the movie that it seems unintentional." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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The Terminal (2004) |
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"A movie so confused that it might have been directed by a jet-lagged world traveler." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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The Truth About Charlie (2002) |
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"The best remake turned New Wave homage turned Hong Kong action flick ever." | |
Ben Kenigsberg | |
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