Fresh 4/5
|
The Messenger (2009)
|
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
|
"For the 6th time in a row, George Lucas has done it again."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Splat 3/5
|
Ocean's Twelve (2004)
|
"Jeez, this seems like a lot of talent for such a so-so movie."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
I Heart Huckabees (2004)
|
"This movie is definitely geared toward blue-staters."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004)
|
"The first half hour is unequivocally hysterical...[but] there’s no doubt that for those of us over 12, the appearance of the closing credits is not an unwelcome sight."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
The Polar Express (2004)
|
"While the scenic visuals are incredible... the character animation, presumably intended to be realistic and yet have a storybook feel, is at times somewhat creepy."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
The Incredibles (2004)
|
"A hilariously fun romp through the everyday lives of comic-book superheroes."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Shark Tale (2004)
|
"...not exactly original, not terribly witty, and definitely not adult-oriented. But it’s still a good movie."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
|
"Go, Tobey, go!"
|
John R. McEwen
|
Splat 2.5/5
|
I, Robot (2004)
|
"Maybe we should start having robots write movie scripts."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
|
"Let me make it simple: IT IS THE CIVIC DUTY OF EVERY ADULT AMERICAN TO SEE THIS FILM."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Splat 3/5
|
The Terminal (2004)
|
"I think I’ll go watch Saving Private Ryan."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
|
"Cuarón has imbued this film with his own style and dramatically changed the look and feel of the Potter universe...which I see as a marked improvement."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Splat 2.5/5
|
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
|
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
Shrek 2 (2004)
|
"...it is a rewarding experience just to play “spot the hilarious movie reference” even if you don’t care about the exploits of Shrek et al. But you do care."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Splat 2.5/5
|
Troy (2004)
|
"This movie makes it look like there haven’t been any advances in dialogue and acting technique since Charlton Heston’s day."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
The Cooler (2003)
|
"Macy performs this familiar role as adroitly as ever...but [doesn't] exactly break any new ground."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
21 Grams (2003)
|
"21 Grams...is intelligent, well-written, and told with a unique style, and it features some of the best acting presently available."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Girl With a Pearl Earring (2004)
|
"Webber’s film drips with art, but it doesn't exactly inspire deeply felt emotion."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
In America (2003)
|
"In America is another gem from this great Irish director, and it deserves to be seen no matter what country you’re from."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Seabiscuit (2003)
|
"One of those real-life dramas that seems to be tailor-made for the silver screen."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
|
"...up there with the greatest films of the genre, [although] the director’s approach may be somewhat excessive in terms of violence."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
Monster (2003)
|
"Theron’s attitude, her walk, her body language are totally different from anything she’s done before... [this is] an acting tour-de-force."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 3.5/5
|
Barbershop 2 - Back in Business (2004)
|
"...succeeds adequately enough at the lower expectations it establishes."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
|
"...Full of colorful visuals, amazing special effects, and plenty of silly fun for the whole family."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Splat 3/5
|
House of Sand and Fog (2003)
|
"[A] mixture of excellent acting and inept storytelling, with plot elements that contradict, characters that are difficult to like, and dialogue that is sometimes unrealistic."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 5/5
|
Lost In Translation (2003)
|
"Coppola somehow gets to the essence of human wanting with an amazing efficiency of style."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Calendar Girls (2003)
|
"Mirren again shows us why she is still able to obtain leading vehicles at age 58."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Cold Mountain (2003)
|
"Cold Mountain is an engaging story ... It is unfortunate that it occasionally takes itself too seriously for its own good."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
Big Fish (2003)
|
"Big Fish is the cinematic equivalent of a big fish story—fun, entertaining, too crazy to be true, and all the more enjoyable for it."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Peter Pan (2003)
|
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 5/5
|
The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (2003)
|
"Jackson and his company have set the bar so high for 21st-century filmmaking, it may be another millennium before it is surpassed."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 3.5/5
|
Something's Gotta Give (2003)
|
"I have loved Jack and Diane in so many things I’ve seen them in, I hate to admit I don’t love them in this."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
|
"...A good seafaring yarn, not romanticized like the cartoons or summer action pictures, but simply told with honesty and verisimilitude, the way it really must have happened."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Splat 2/5
|
Dr. Seuss - The Cat in the Hat (2003)
|
"To paraphrase Woody Allen, if Dr. Seuss were alive to see this production, he would never stop throwing up."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 3.5/5
|
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
|
"I take issue with the whole concept of humans interacting with these characters."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 3.5/5
|
Elf (2003)
|
"...innocuous, child-friendly fare with some truly enjoyable elements sprinkled into a healthy batch of Christmas mediocrity. Kinda like cinematic fruitcake."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Mystic River (2003)
|
"I can admit it’s a well-made film, but that doesn’t mean I approve."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Expiration ()
|
"...exudes raw talent on both sides of the lens and serves as an unwitting document of the kind of purity of vision embodied by artists at the beginnings of their careers..."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
|
"Watching Clooney and Zeta-Jones interact is suitably fun, and neither of them is exactly hard on the eyes."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
School of Rock (2003)
|
"This should really be a fish-out-of-water role, but Black will have none of that: he’s a fish in the water, and he swims around in it with abandon."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Le Divorce (2003)
|
"While Le Divorce does not attain the excellence of [previous Merchant/Ivory films’] interpersonal relationships, it certainly features an intelligent story complemented by fine work by a dizzying array of gifted actors..."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 3.5/5
|
Matchstick Men (2003)
|
"...ultimately a slightly tarnished treasure; with the combined talent of its production team, it could have been great, but because of its clumsy writing style it has to settle for just being good."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Sinbad - Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
|
"Goes down easily without a hint of tedium...still, this short length contributes to an overall feeling that it’s not as Earth-shatteringly fabulous as some other cartoon features of the last several years."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 5/5
|
Finding Nemo (2003)
|
"Finding Nemo is undoubtedly another jewel in the Pixar crown and another example of the Disney conglomerate’s ability to ride that company's coattails to success."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
Identity (2003)
|
"The actors are good; the writing is clever and risky, but it’s Mangold’s excellent sense of just what to bring out and just when that makes this movie so effective."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
X2: X-Men United (2003)
|
"After about 1½ hours, I thought, 'This has been a great movie!' When the 2:00 mark came and went, I was saying, 'Is this ever going to end?'"
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 3.5/5
|
Confidence (2003)
|
"Confidence may have plenty of cojones, but there are frankly too many similarities to better movies to make it more than a footnote in the con caper genre."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4/5
|
Holes (2003)
|
"Although some of the narrative meanderings seem overly complex, it all ties together nicely at the end, bringing about an unexpectedly satisfying conclusion to the present-day story."
|
John R. McEwen
|
Fresh 4.5/5
|
About Schmidt (2002)
|
"Nicholson is fantastic."
|
John R. McEwen
|