Splat 1.5/5 |
31 North 62 East (2009) |
"31 North 62 East suffers from a clunky title and a lack of credibility." |
Matt Bielby |
Tomato 5/5 |
500 Days of Summer (2009) |
"There is more cinematic joy in five minutes of (500) Days of Summer than there is in a packed weekend of mainstream romance movies." |
Keith Stuart |
Tomato 4/5 |
Adam (2009) |
"It’s a striking portrait of life with Asperger’s. A sweet, slightly weird love story, for the most part it’s well-written, funny and touching." |
Anne Wollenberg |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Adventureland (2009) |
"A charmingly nostalgic and endearing picture of late-teenhood in the '80s." |
Dennis Brabham |
Splat 2/5 |
Afterschool (2009) |
"Afterschool does feel like an interesting play on the idea of voluntary surveillance, but there’s no real emotional crescendo, no catharsis and no satisfying conclusion to Robert’s angst, which is only ever skirted around." |
Anne Wollenberg |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Agent (2009) |
"Tense, well-acted, and managing to avoid Misery territory, its only real misstep is the ending, which feels more like writer's paranoia - an ever-hovering spectre - than the natural outcome." |
Rob Buckley |
Tomato 4/5 |
An Education (2009) |
"Few films set in this period get the social furniture so right, and it's a refreshingly new look at a time pregnant with expectation." |
Steve O'Brien |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Army of Crime (2009) |
"As a tribute to these fearless freedom fighters, it's a worthy effort - and as a welcome, and sobering, antidote to the knockabout silliness of Inglourious Basterds, you couldn't really get any better." |
James Mottram |
Splat 2.5/5 |
Away We Go (2009) |
"Although Away We Go doesn't sum to the icon of loveliness that the filmmakers might have hoped for - it is too tonally fractured - the movie does suggest avenues that Sam Mendes might consider exploring in the future." |
Thom Hutchinson |
Tomato 4/5 |
Bandslam (2009) |
"Laugh-out-loud funny, with less sugar and more teen spirit than the likes of High School Musical." |
Anne Wollenberg |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Beaches of Agnes (2009) |
"Memory is a recurrent theme in Varda's work, and with this film she serves her own with warmth and skill." |
Justin Postlethwaite |
Splat 2/5 |
Beautiful Losers (2008) |
"Prioritising the self over the job means Beautiful Losers is rarely more than a compendium of loveliness and apology." |
Thom Hutchinson |
Tomato 4.5/5 |
Big River Man (2009) |
"Big River Man is as close to documentary perfection as possible. Tough and vulnerable Strel is masculinity incarnate, and his quest gestures beyond his beloved red wine and beer and towards the mystical. Astonishing." |
Karen Krizanovich |
Splat 2/5 |
Blind Dating (2007) |
"It's Pine that keeps the whole thing afloat, and he manages, astonishingly, to make even the clunkiest, cheesiest lines work, almost transforming the film's chocolate-box sentiments into something honest." |
Jes Bickham |
Splat 2/5 |
Born in 68 |
"To have the two episodes of Born in '68 edited down and jammed together into a film of maximal length serves only to inflate its many weaknesses." |
Thom Hutchinson |
Splat 2/5 |
Broken Embraces (2009) |
"The director’s previous films...are all, in some way, about cinema – but this need is especially acute in Broken Embraces, which eats its own tail." |
Thom Hutchinson |
Tomato 3/5 |
Bustin' Down the Door (2008) |
"The movie lacks the jaw-dropping spectacle of 2004 surfing doc Riding Giants, and conveniently sidesteps the issue of what happened to the sport's spiritual side when it became an industry." |
David West |
Splat 2.5/5 |
Chevolution (2008) |
"Chevolution is punctuated by a few of the more irritating tics that seem to tempt documentarists, but largely remains an informative and balanced history, although it concludes badly." |
Thom Hutchinson |
Splat 2.5/5 |
Chiko (2008) |
"The final scenes simply lack the necessary weight to turn Chiko into something profound, affecting, or entirely memorable." |
Mark Ramshaw |
Tomato 4/5 |
Coco Before Chanel (2009) |
"Anne Fontaine's first historical outing is both a compelling drama and a lavish period piece." |
Anne Wollenberg |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Colin (2009) |
"It's rough, it's bleary and the acting is dodgy, but, let's face it, the collapse of human civilisation won't look like a Zack Snyder or even a Danny Boyle movie - it'll look like the discarded home movie footage from hell." |
Keith Stuart |
Tomato 5/5 |
The Cove (2009) |
"In this new, post-Michael Moore age of documentary filmmaking as lucrative big-screen fare, a documentary that educates without condescension, informs without bias and entertains without losing its focus is a valuable commodity." |
Nikki Baughan |
Splat 2/5 |
Creation (2009) |
"By focusing on the naturalist's reclusiveness, the film deprives the viewer of the visceral rush of discovery that we're conditioned to associate with Darwin." |
James Cameron-Wilson |
Splat 2/5 |
Dance Flick (2009) |
"The simple strategy behind the film? Step one: take an iconic scene from a popular film. Step two: add either a) a black stereotype, b) a fart, a burp or some other bodily function, or c) a gay joke. Step three: double-check it’s offensive." |
Noam Friedlander |
Splat 2.5/5 |
Dead Man Running (2009) |
"It ticks all the right boxes for the Brit crime genre and won't disappoint fans of Guy Ritchie's oeuvre, even if it lacks the flair that once made the latter's films so popular." |
Toby Weidmann |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
District 13: Ultimatum (2009) |
"It's not hard to be engaged by the sheer energy of the District 13 films and, despite a handful of minor plot gripes, the sequel more than matches its predecessor for eye-popping action and relentless drive." |
Toby Weidmann |
Tomato 5/5 |
District 9 (2009) |
"The most deliriously inventive sci-fi action movie in years. Truly, this is a game changer. James Cameron may want to watch his back." |
Mark Ramshaw |
Tomato 3/5 |
Far North (2007) |
"Eerie and absorbing." |
Anne Wollenberg |
Tomato 3/5 |
Fermat's Room (2008) |
"Fermat's Room appears to be about maths, but it's more of a whodunnit, and a surprisingly watchable one at that." |
Anne Wollenberg |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Firm (2009) |
"Love seems happier with his affectionate re-creation of the early '80s than with exploring the contradictions at the heart of this subculture." |
Nigel Floyd |
Tomato 4/5 |
Fish Tank (2009) |
"The film gains everything when it takes on the trappings of a thriller. As the teenager takes the fight to suburbia, there is a shocking sense of spatial transgression." |
Thom Hutchinson |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Ghost in the Shell 2.0 (2009) |
"Ghost in the Shell 2.0 has clearly been created to draw to the franchise a younger generation more used to crisper, more vibrant animation, and with this in mind it succeeds." |
Toby Weidmann |
Tomato 4/5 |
Home (2009) |
"A moving affair, presenting a family unit in all its messy, loving wonder, and the surreality of the situation escalates inexorably into something quietly horrifying. Beautifully shot and played, Home is something of a gem." |
Jes Bickham |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
The Horseman (2008) |
"An impressive debut, and one that leaves an indelible impression. But does it make for enjoyable viewing? That's less easy to call." |
Mark Ramshaw |
Tomato 5/5 |
The Hurt Locker (2009) |
"Free of liberal hand-wringing and quasi-political subtext, The Hurt Locker is an adrenaline-drenched war thriller which uses a conventional genre format to explore and expose issues of violence, compulsion and masculinity." |
Keith Stuart |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
I P Man (2009) |
"An enthralling, and at times moving, tale, told by Hong Kong action director Wilson Yip with considerable theatrical flourish." |
Keith Stuart |
Tomato 4/5 |
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) |
"The film is too much of a shambles, but it is brave and courageous; not tainted by anything other than circumstance and passion." |
Thom Hutchinson |
Splat 2.5/5 |
Imagine That (2009) |
"Ultimately it’s an inoffensive tale that comes with a simple moral message." |
Noam Friedlander |
Splat 3/5 |
The Invention of Lying (2009) |
"The simple truth is, any comedian could take Gervais' place in the film, and you probably wouldn't notice. For a comic who likes to put his fingerprints on everything he does, it feels like he's playing it safe." |
David Baldwin |
Splat 2/5 |
Je Veux Voir (2009) |
"It sounds like nothing happens, and it doesn't, and the strange what's-real-and-what's-planned? atmosphere can annoy somewhat." |
Matt Bielby |
Tomato 4/5 |
Julie & Julia (2009) |
"Julie & Julia is a heartfelt, deliciously shot, and beautifully designed romp, studded with fine performances that are endearingly cheery, inspirational and funny. It's a must-see for anyone who loves to eat." |
Karen Krizanovich |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Katalin Varga (2009) |
"Tidy revenge tragedy that successfully resists the influence of the Romanian New Wave." |
Thom Hutchinson |
Tomato 3/5 |
Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (2009) |
"The plot is threadbare and the style is knockabout, but the improvisation, especially that of Considine, lends it an energy and spirit that's hard to resist." |
James Mottram |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Made in Jamaica (2006) |
"In a move that will either see it written off as lazy or celebrated for its admirable neutrality, Made in Jamaica doesn't provide a straight answer." |
Neil Davey |
Tomato 4/5 |
Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2009) |
"Though it touches on some wider issues, Mesrine really just wants to be a classy, exciting genre movie. In this it succeeds perfectly." |
Matt Bielby |
Tomato 4/5 |
Mesrine: Part 2 - Public Enemy #1 (2009) |
"It’s a bouncier, more fun, less focussed film – still worth four stars, as the first chapter got, but slightly smaller ones perhaps." |
Matt Bielby |
Tomato 3.5/5 |
Mid-August Lunch (2009) |
"The film is full of natural comedy; his women could easily have been comic harridans, but they are too fully drawn, perhaps because the director allowed them to draw themselves." |
Thom Hutchinson |
Splat 0.5/5 |
Miss March (2009) |
"A teen sex comedy that isn't sexy or comic - talk about dumb and dumber..." |
Mark Ramshaw |
Splat 2/5 |
My Life in Ruins (2009) |
"It's a bit like ouzo: seems like fun at the time but you'll no doubt regret it in the morning." |
James Mottram |
Tomato 3/5 |
Ong Bak 2 (2009) |
"The camerawork, more so than in Ong-Bak, follows the rigid mechanics of Jaa's battles, so much so that the rhythm of the edit becomes hypnotic, the cartoon thwacks of skin-on-skin acting like a weird music in the final, 20-minute brawl." |
Thom Hutchinson |
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