Splat 2.5/4 |
A Scanner Darkly (2006) |
"Fans of the late sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick may rejoice at the news that Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly is the most faithful adaptation of one of his stories to reach the screen. Unfortunately, the story is one of Dick's least cinematic." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
A Tout de Suite (2005) |
"Le Besco's vulnerability draws us into her predicament." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
A/K/A Tommy Chong (2005) |
"Even those unimpressed with [Cheech and Chong's] genially lowbrow work will be intrigued by the political tenor of this portrait." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story (2007) |
"Canadians Chris Sheridan and Patty Kim's spellbinding documentary focuses on the relentless search for the truth by Megumi's parents and families of other abductees." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 4/4 |
About Schmidt (2002) |
"One of the best, most understated performances of [Jack Nicholson's] career." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 2/4 |
Accepted (2006) |
"Like its underachieving protagonist, Steve Pink's teen comedy Accepted flashes just enough charm to get by but is too lazy to really make anything of itself." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Across the Universe (2007) |
"The movie is no more than an interesting experiment and a rarity among movie musicals in that even if you enjoy it, you won't want to hear it again." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Acts of Worship (2001) |
"For better and worse, Rosemary Rodriguez's directing debut feels just like what it is -- a drama about addiction made by a recovering addict." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 2/4 |
Adam & Steve (2006) |
"Co-stars Parker Posey and Chris Kattan offer minor diversions, but the humor never rises to the quality any New Yorker, regardless of sexual orientation, would expect." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Adam's Apples (2007) |
"Designed to elicit as many gasps as laughs, Anders Thomas Jensen's pitch-black comedy offers an audaciously skewed take on good vs. evil." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Adored - Diary of a Porn Star (2004) |
"A vanity project so preposterous it deserves to become an instant camp hit." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Adrift in Manhattan (2007) |
"Adrift is a small film with great humanity and deserves a broader audience than it's likely to get." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/5 |
Adventureland (2009) |
"Adventureland earns its edge-of-adulthood sweetness and has characters with real hearts under their goofy T-shirts." |
Joe Neumaier |
Splat 2/5 |
Adventures of Power (2009) |
"It's not the rough edges that bother here; it's the desperate attempt to capture Napoleon Dynamite's success by relying on oddball characters and off-the-wall scenarios." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl in 3-D (2005) |
"The low-tech film looks like a kid's crude drawing, plays like entry-level Game Boy, and is about as nourishing as a Tootsie Pop." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Aeon Flux (2005) |
"In the dystopian future, apparently, women will be bendable Barbies in leather scanties, and everyone will speak like brain-dead robots." |
Jami Bernard |
Tomato 3/5 |
Afghan Star (2009) |
"Fascinating and, when you see Afghan versions of Simon Cowell and Co. reacting to tryouts, a reminder of how fame and the thirst for it is the same in any language." |
Joe Neumaier |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
After Innocence (2005) |
"A powerful indictment of a judicial system too anxious to close cases, and then close ranks when someone tries to reopen them." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
After Midnight (2004) |
"A loving tribute to the moving image." |
Robert Dominguez |
Tomato 3.5/4 |
After the Life (2002) |
"We're treated to two smashing performances from Morel and Blanc." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 1.5/4 |
After the Sunset (2004) |
"When the movie can tear itself away from Lola, it's more of a buddy comedy than a heist film, and a bad one at that." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
After The Wedding (2007) |
"The characters may suffer once the bride walks down the aisle, but [director] Bier, [writer] Jensen and their first-rate cast work together like a match made in heaven." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 3/4 |
Against the Ropes (2003) |
"As a boxing movie, Against the Ropes is perfunctory... As a biopic, it's likewise uninspired stuff." |
Jami Bernard |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) |
"With lots of cool gadgets, plenty of silliness and a clever concept guaranteed to appeal to preteens, this should be an unflagging, high-octane romp." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Aggressives (2005) |
"In a movie that deals with controversial sexual, racial and class issues, the boldest observation is the most basic: that we each have the right to define our own realities, and live comfortably within them." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 2.5/4 |
Agnes and His Brothers (2006) |
"Whenever he takes the time to line up his toxic arrows, usually with the help of a compellingly squirmy Bleibtreu, he hits the bull's-eye." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003) |
"The filmmaker's ego and ethics aside, there's no denying the power of Wuornos' behavior here." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 2/4 |
The Air I Breathe (2007) |
"I can't fault any of the actors for anything other than bad judgment. Their performances are fine, but a good fortune cookie might have told them to stay away from this." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
Akeelah and the Bee (2006) |
"... Palmer -- and J.J. Villarreal, as her unflappable fellow contestant and first-blush romantic interest -- makes it all go down very easily." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Al Franken: God Spoke (2006) |
"But Kerry did not win, and for Franken fans, the target audience here, the memory of that event may hurt too much to laugh." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
Al Otro Lado (2006) |
"We're left unable to get the music -- and the musicians -- out of our heads." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Tomato 3/4 |
The Alamo (2004) |
"Alamo buffs will be delighted, and everyone else will be treated to something that feels like Old Hollywood crossed with new sensibilities." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 2/4 |
Alex and Emma (2003) |
"Wan humor, no spark." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker (2006) |
"It's one thing to imagine ordering a shaken martini; it's another to be handed a Shirley Temple." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 2/4 |
Alexander (2004) |
"Farrell plays all this as if he means it, but he seems slight in the role and without great physical presence." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 2/4 |
Alfie (2004) |
"The major difference between the two movies is that Caine's Alfie represented a threatened breed of opportunistic man, while Law's comes off as a typical commitment-challenged bachelor." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alice's House (2007) |
"Some stories, Teixeira is wise enough to realize, are best left unadorned." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 1/5 |
Alien Trespass (2009) |
"This lazy effort gets points only for truly loving -- perhaps to a fault -- the cheapo creature flicks of the 1950s." |
Joe Neumaier |
Splat 1/4 |
Alien vs. Predator (2004) |
"The actual fights between the predators and the serpents are too silly to contemplate. Both shiny and metallic, they look like kitchen appliances fighting it out." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 2.5/4 |
Aliens of the Deep (2005) |
"We're treated to more intramural banter and golly-gee chatter among the crew than we can use, and are not given enough scientific information." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 1/5 |
All About Steve (2009) |
"Since Bullock coproduced this masochistic venture, it seems she buys into the idea that fluffer-nut ditziness is what she does best. Except it isn't." |
Joe Neumaier |
Splat 2/4 |
All The King's Men (2006) |
"Failures on the scale of writer-director Steven Zaillian's All the King's Men are as rare as falling sequoias, and they make a noise even if no one's in the woods to hear them." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
Almost Peaceful (2004) |
"It may appear to be the ultimate non-action movie, but in the context of these lives, it is the highest kind of drama." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 1/4 |
Alone in the Dark (2005) |
"Alone in the Dark is no better than whatever you might pick up while wearing a blindfold at Blockbuster, even if you happen to reach into a trash can." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
Alone With Her (2007) |
"Alone With Her has the kind of high ick factor that leaves you squirming -- not because Doug is so diabolical a creation, but because what he does to satisfy his pathology is so practical." |
Jack Mathews |
Splat 2/4 |
Along Came Polly (2004) |
"Tame and predictable, with the gastric-distress sound-effects machine working overtime." |
Jami Bernard |
Splat 2/4 |
Alpha Dog (2007) |
"Who would have thought that a real-life tale of sex, drugs and murder could be so instantly forgettable?" |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 1.5/4 |
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) |
"Oh, come on. Do you really care? And even if you do, you shouldn't." |
Elizabeth Weitzman |
Splat 2/4 |
An Amazing Couple (2002) |
"Can be easily skipped." |
Jack Mathews |
Tomato 3/4 |
Amazing Grace (2007) |
"Michael Apted's compelling and highly informative Amazing Grace is an apt celebration of America's Black History Month, even though its story takes place in England." |
Jack Mathews |