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C- |
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Angel Eyes (2001) |
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"A muddled blend of supernatural thriller, romantic melodrama, and urban police-crime, this is yet another disappointing Jennifer Lopez star vehicle--could anyone choose better roles for her?" | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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C |
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Angie (1994) |
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"Updated version of the simplistic working class sagas Hollywood used to make in the 1950s (Marty), except that the protag is an ethnic minority female, miscast by the glorious and beautiful Geena Davis; showing promise, Gandolfini may become a lead actor" | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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Baby Mama (2008) |
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"A smart comedy for adults, Baby Mama is a consistently funny pleasure, filled with charismatic performances and a nicely understated emotional element." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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The Banquet (2006) |
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"Staunch in its belief that bigger is better, The Banquet piles up enough condiments for a dozen meals but never really tries to cook them into one satisfactory repast." | |
Dan Fainaru | |
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Bart Got a Room (2008) |
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"Hecker has a firm grasp on editing for comic effect, and clearly knows how to use his actors to those ends." | |
Howard Feinstein | |
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The Brothers Solomon (2007) |
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"Though not without its screwball charm, The Brothers Solomon suffers from a lack of comic inspiration long before the film reaches the third trimester." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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B |
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Chariots of Fire (1981) |
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"This manipulative inspirational-religious sports drama, about the 1924 Olympics, benefited immensely from Vangelis stirringly brilliant score and editor Terry Rawlings slow-motion of the running sequences." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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The Condemned (2007) |
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"An action film about a hyper-violent reality contest that quickly devolves into a monotonous series of hand-to-hand combat scenes." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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The Dark Knight (2008) |
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"The Dark Knight may be the first movie of its kind to substantively, intellectually address the mythos of comic-book action in something vaguely resembling the real world." | |
Brent Simon | |
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Disturbia (2007) |
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"Like its attractive leads, director DJ Caruso's smart teen thriller may be self-conscious, but it is undeniably appealing," | |
Tim Grierson | |
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-- |
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Donnie Darko (2001) |
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"Donnie Darko Sequel Hops Into View" | |
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Dreamgirls (2006) |
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"As movie versions of hit Broadway musicals go, Bill Condon's Dreamgirls is more Chicago than Rent." | |
Mike Goodridge | |
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) |
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"Even if the script had been more accessible, it's doubtful whether its ultra-high concept will connect with general audiences." | |
Peter Brunette | |
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Evan Almighty (2007) |
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"Evan Almighty is an ungainly melding of religious paean, big-budget studio comedy, feel-good family niceties and summer-blockbuster spectacle." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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The Eye (2008) |
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"Jessica Alba may be easy on the eyes, but a lack of dramatic heft makes her hard on The Eye." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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Failure to Launch (2006) |
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"Verging on the preposterous, director Tom Dey's Failure To Launch relies on attractive stars to overcome its lackluster execution." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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-- |
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Gentleman's Agreement (1947) |
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"In 1947, the major acting Oscars went to the industry's favorites: Gregory Peck lost to Brit Ronald Colman in A Double Life, and Dorothy McGuire to vet Loretta Young for The Farmer's Daughter." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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Get Smart (2008) |
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"Offering a little bit of everything but not quite enough of any one thing, Get Smart is a likable jumble of genres that would have benefited from being less ambitious." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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Glory Road (2006) |
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"Playing out like Remember The Titans for basketball fans, Glory Road is yet another would-be inspirational true story that follows sports-movie conventions." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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Gone Baby Gone (2007) |
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"Director Ben Affleck displays sensitivity to his story's thematic undercurrents, but he hasn't yet developed the authorial voice needed to enliven the conventional plotting." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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B- |
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Happy, Texas (1999) |
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"Steve Zahn shines in Illsley's feature debut, elevating this eccentric small-town comedy two notches above the level of writing. Using the fish out of water format, this Sundance premiere begins well but then declines rapidly." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) |
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"While not without its funny moments, this labored sequel ups the nudity and gross-out factor while diminishing the sweetness and evident camaraderie of its appealing leads." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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3/4 |
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) |
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"A solid but mostly uninspired melding of the adventure and fright that have been the benchmarks of the franchise." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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The Hills Have Eyes II (2007) |
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"The Hills Have Eyes 2 offers another round of dull, gory fright scenes that neither push the horror envelope nor exhibit any noticeable ingenuity." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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Hitman (2007) |
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"Though stylishly shot and occasionally exciting, this adaptation of the popular video game can only go so far with its mindless violence and cardboard characters." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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-- |
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Home of the Brave (2006) |
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"In contrast to many war films I wanted to make a film that's pro-soldier, one that's apolitical in the sense that it's about people doing a difficult job they have been asked to do for their country--director Irwin Winkler" | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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Hoot (2006) |
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"Promoting environmental conservation, this bland family film never generates much interest in either its human or animal participants." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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Hostel: Part II (2007) |
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"Filmmaker Eli Roth tries to enliven the formula, but this sequel loses the grim surprise of the original without adding much new in terms of plotting or gory set pieces." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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The Hottie & the Nottie (2008) |
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"Tabloid curiosity Paris Hilton may be the main draw, but it's doubtful that even her celebrity will do much to raise the prospects of this aggressively moronic comedy." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) |
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"The world can rest easy -- the old magic still works in Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull." | |
Allan Hunter | |
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Just Friends (2005) |
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"Despite a rich premise, Just Friends ultimately fails to live up to its early potential, settling into broad comedy that shortchanges the romantic possibilities." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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B+ |
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Kaddish (1984) |
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"This touching Holocaust docu is more than the story of a Jew confronting the atrocities committed before he was born; it's about the passing of personal and collective history from one generation to the next." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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3/4 |
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Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008) |
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"Emotionally affecting but dramatically wobbly, "Kit Kittredge: An American Girl" touchingly illustrates the sting of poverty without overly resorting to childish shenanigans." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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The Kite Runner (2007) |
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"The film retains the novel's universal elements, but some of the political specifics get lost in translation" | |
Tim Grierson | |
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B |
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Last Night at the Alamo (1984) |
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"Pennell's second feature is marked by the simplicity and ease with which he brings ordinary blue-collar existence to vivid screen life; Sonny Carl Davis and Louis Perryman, who played similar roles in Pennell's first film, are cast as Cowboy and Claude" | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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License To Wed (2007) |
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"Two up-and-coming stars get left at the cinematic altar in License To Wed, a badly strained romantic comedy with enough plot contrivances to fill a reception hall." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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B+ |
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Little Miss Sunshine (2006) |
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"Among the extras of the DVD edition of this hit comedy 9and Oscar contender) are four alternate endings, with commentary from directors Dayton and Faris; one is based on an idea from the film's young star, Abigail Breslin." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) |
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"A must-see event movie." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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A |
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Lust for Life (1956) |
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"Minnelli's most visually evocative and most personal film--the only project he initiated during his tenure at MGM--centers on Van Gogh as a tormented, uncompromising artist, magnificently played by Kirk Douglas." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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Made of Honor (2008) |
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"While Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan display genuine warmth in the early going, they don't get many good moments once plot machinations take over." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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A- |
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Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1993) |
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"A long, fascinating docu about the noted MIT professor and his lifelong work about propaganda in American society, or more specifically how the mass media set the agenda by selecting, distorting, framing--and also ignoring--major social issues." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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The Matrix Reloaded (2003) |
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"Whereas The Matrix broke new ground and spawned a host of imitators, Reloaded just does the same thing on a bigger scale, a fact which leaves it feeling, dare one say it, rather old." | |
Mike Goodridge | |
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Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) |
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"The film may occasionally strain too hard for magical whimsy, but there's no disputing its sweetness or poignancy." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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National Treasure 2 : Book of Secrets (2007) |
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"The derivative National Treasure: Book of Secrets is a smooth, lightweight action film for undemanding audiences." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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Never Back Down (2008) |
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"A generic, violent underdog story that pays a lot of lip service to non-violence when its characters aren't busy kicking and punching the tar out of each other." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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The Night of the White Pants (2007) |
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"Dallas native Amy Talkington makes a largely entertaining feature debut with The Night Of The White Pants, a frenetic dysfunctional family comedy." | |
Mike Goodridge | |
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B- |
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One Hour Photo (2002) |
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"Robin Williams' good work in contained in an uneven film, whose first half is an intriguing chronicle of urban alienation, but second part deteriorates into a presposterous thriller with a subplot of stalking and revenge--not unlike Fatal Attraction" | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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One Missed Call (2008) |
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"For a would-be frightfest built around a supernatural premise, One Missed Call is so glum and businesslike that it's not nearly as much pulpy fun as it should be." | |
Tim Grierson | |
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B+ |
|
Our Town (1940) |
|
"Sam Wood's film version is as experimental and stylized as Thornton Wilder's play, one of the most enduring but also misunderstood plays in American history." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
|
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C |
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The Pelican Brief (1993) |
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"A curiously disappointing thriller from Alan Pakula, reaffirming the notion that John Gresham's best-selling novels are more fun to read (at the airport) than watch on the big screen, even if they star Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts." | |
Emanuel Levy | |
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