Tomato 2.5/4 |
A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
"Never quite blows your mind, man, visually or thematically, but ... it's surely a head-trip worth taking." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2.5/5 |
Across the Universe (2007) |
"Trying to cram 33 songs and a reductive 'greatest hits' approach to '60s politics into one movie is a tall order." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 1/4 |
Across the Universe (2007) |
"As Beatles tunes are turned into schmaltzy goo, you'll learn nothing about Vietnam, hate the Fab Four, and still have no clue what it means to be an eggman or a walrus." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Adam (2009) |
"Moving and funny ... becomes an honest but non-patronizing search for understanding, and the universal need to love someone in spite of their imperfections." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2/5 |
Adam Resurrected (2008) |
"There's no doubt about this one extending [Paul Schrader's] run of low profile non-events." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Tomato 3/5 |
Adoration (2009) |
"The ideas Egoyan explores test dangerous waters of cowardice and courage, prejudice and forgiveness, and unknowable truths that divide and devastate." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Adventureland (2009) |
"Provides the opportunity to spend time with two very smart, likable characters played by two smart, likable actors -- more than enough reason to check it out." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 1/4 |
Aeon Flux (2005) |
"A high-octane, indisputably terrible piece of futuristic silliness." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 4/5 |
Afghan Star (2009) |
"In the end, who wins and loses the competition is incidental. The power of Marking's film comes from the fact the competition exists at all." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Afterschool (2009) |
"A teen movie that rages against the trappings of today's teenage life. It's anti-emo, anti-90210, anti-Twitter ADD." |
Alexis Loinaz |
Splat 2/5 |
The Air I Breathe (2007) |
"A perfectly awful example of a certain breed of American indie film that brings together a lot of familiar faces for an ensemble drama about...nothing." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Tomato 3/4 |
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) |
"A feel-good movie that will bring you back to the days when you were excited about learning." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 1/5 |
Alien Trespass (2009) |
"A pale imitation of a drive-in movie, with nothing silly or sloppy enough to qualify as camp." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2.5/5 |
Aliens in the Attic (2009) |
"Lightweight entertainment for kids with a thankfully low level of obnoxiousness." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 1.5/5 |
Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) |
"Despite what the harsher R-rating recommends, it's not really advisable that anyone over the age of 17 see this movie." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 0/5 |
All About Steve (2009) |
"A salute to stalkers not recommended for cops, celebrities or anyone else." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 1.5/4 |
All The King's Men (2006) |
"Jude Law must be tired: His accent logs thousands of frequent flier miles going back and forth between Law's native Britain and his character's native South." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"There's truth in the movie's point that when you're born with protective gloves on, you might not notice when you're playing with fire." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 1.5/5 |
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) |
"Thank goodness Alvin and the gang are back so they can fart in Dave's face, say things like ''Sup playa?' and sing 'Don't Cha' in the shower." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 3/5 |
The Amateurs (2007) |
"It's just not much fun to watch first time director Michael Traeger aim for Capra-esque comedy and wind up closer to crap." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 2/5 |
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." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 2.5/5 |
An American Affair (2009) |
"The most compelling moment comes from archival footage." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Tomato 3/5 |
American Casino (2009) |
"Has the feel of a quickie made-for-TV doc. It's bare bones ... but timely." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 1.5/4 |
American Dreamz (2006) |
"No legitimate characters or performances here, just impersonations of the easy target clods that grace the stage of 'American Idol' and White House press conferences." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2.5/5 |
American Gangster (2007) |
"First-rate visually but otherwise shooting blanks." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2.5/4 |
American Hardcore (2006) |
"A better doc about punk music would contextualize the genre in the industry and interview kids who cried 'No!' when their parents told them to turn down that racket." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
American Swing (2009) |
"The film ends up using its salacious footage as a crutch for far too long...but hits its stride as it delves into darker territory." |
Alexis Loinaz |
Splat 2.5/5 |
American Teen (2008) |
"The mostly obvious, supposedly true story of feeling, like, OMG, whatever." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 4/5 |
Amreeka (2009) |
"[Cherien] Dabis delivers a smashing feature film debut filled with warmth, humor and some nifty deep-fried falafel burgers." |
Alexis Loinaz |
Tomato 4.5/5 |
An Education (2009) |
"A wonderful meditation on understanding life's many choices and hierarchies and deciding to abide or rebel...Mulligan's a lock for a Best Actress Oscar nod and just might win." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2.5/5 |
Anamorph (2008) |
"This serial killer movie is nothing but a copycat." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 2/4 |
Angel-A (2007) |
"To call Angel-A unconvincing would be an Eiffel Tower-sized understatement." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 3/5 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"Three-quarters of passable fun for adults ... The overwrought climax pushes the film past the limits of what audiences should have to endure in their fake-smart summer entertainment." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Annapolis (2006) |
"It's a bland campaign for discipline that seems to want you to salute before leaving the theater." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2.5/5 |
The Answer Man (2009) |
"Well-meaning rubbish is still rubbish." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The Ant Bully (2006) |
"Plenty of the script's stabs at humor bugged me, but The Ant Bully is at its best when showing how insignificant insect problems look to the human world above." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 4/5 |
Antichrist (2009) |
"A visceral, disturbing experience that turns loss, resentment and miscommunication into the stuff of nightmares." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 4.5/5 |
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009) |
"What a sad, funny, inspiring story. Even those who hate metal may appreciate the form when seeing these guys' commitment to each other and to the music." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 3/4 |
Apocalypto (2006) |
"While Gibson certainly doesn't prove he's not crazy, he reminds us that he sure is an accomplished filmmaker." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 3/5 |
Appaloosa (2008) |
"If you're someone who orders the usual and is just happy when it comes out warm and fresh, I reckon Appaloosa will sit with you just fine." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2/4 |
Aquamarine (2006) |
"JoJo can't act-act, and the same goes for everyone else in Aquamarine who isn't a dolphin." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 3/4 |
Arctic Tale (2007) |
"Turns these animals' tales into triumphs of endurance and dynamite parenting, which does become difficult when you're low on food and weigh as much as a car." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
Army of Shadows (1969) |
"A morally ambiguous look at the necessity, the perversity and, sometimes, the generosity of death during wartime." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2.5/5 |
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)." |
Geoff Berkshire |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Art School Confidential (2006) |
"Cynically presents a culture of weirdos who wouldn't know talent if it poked them in the eye with a paintbrush." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 3/4 |
Ask the Dust (2005) |
"A lush ode to optimism, opportunity and the American dream." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 4.5/5 |
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) |
"Breathes vibrant, murderous life into a Western that's a welcome change from the usual group of guys wandering across the desert." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 2/5 |
Astro Boy (2009) |
"The humans, none of whom have strong enough personalities to engage, look enough like people but Toby looks like a shrunken version of the Big Boy mascot." |
Matt Pais |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
The Astronaut Farmer (2007) |
"Celebrates kids who see their parents as heroes, and parents who fight tooth and nail to live up to that image." |
Matt Pais |
Splat 0.5/5 |
Asylum (2007) |
"No amount of lowered expectations can disguise what a piece of junk [Asylum] is." |
Geoff Berkshire |