Fresh 3/4
|
The Switch (2010)
|
"Despite a relatively predictable plot and inconsistent pacing, The Switch scores thanks to a good balance of humor and heart."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 3.5/4
|
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
|
"Audacious director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) throws a jolt of energy into the summer movie season with this imaginative and entertaining romp."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 3.5/4
|
Inception (2010)
|
"The movie is almost hypnotic -- a mind-bending experience laced with palpable tension and fueled with drama. Sweet dreams."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Splat 2.5/4
|
Coco avant Chanel (Coco Before Chanel) (2009)
|
"If Chanel's early years were really this boring, why bother with them?"
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 2.5/4
|
The Invention of Lying (2009)
|
"There's clear comic potential in the film's high concept, and a fair amount of it is realized."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 2.5/4
|
Knight & Day (2010)
|
"Tom Cruise is not the failsafe, bankable actor he once was. But his performance here reminds us of what made him a star in the first place."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Splat 2/4
|
Jonah Hex (2010)
|
"Compelling plot and character development get lost somewhere between explosion No. 1 and explosion No. 78, but the film certainly satisfies the popcorn quotient for summer cinema."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 4/4
|
Toy Story 3 (2010)
|
"Pixar's storytelling masterminds serve up yet another exceptional film packed with humor, imagination, adventure and emotional resonance."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 3/4
|
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)
|
"Although the Disney flick suffers from a silly plot and one-dimensional characters, it avoids the cinematic purgatory most video game adaptations tumble into."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Splat 2/4
|
Letters to Juliet (2010)
|
"Road-tripping romance that features a talented cast and gorgeous locales but an overly sappy plot and nap-inducing pace."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Splat 1.5/4
|
The Losers (2010)
|
"This chaotic action flick features a terrific cast but a script so cliched that filmgoers who shell out 10 bucks to see it may feel like the title is directed at them."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Splat 2/4
|
Cop Out (2010)
|
"The latest R-rated comedy from director Kevin Smith (Clerks) is immature and sloppy. Fortunately, the movie is also pretty darn funny."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Splat 2.5/4
|
Valentine's Day (2010)
|
"With a cast that reads like the Vogue Oscar party guest list, Valentine's Day should have been can't-miss cinema instead of standard Hollywood schmaltz."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 3/4
|
Edge of Darkness (2010)
|
"Edge is a gripping thriller reminiscent of Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning The Departed, and Mel Gibson serves up a ferocious performance."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 3.5/4
|
Sherlock Holmes (2009)
|
"Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary sleuth gets a cinematic adrenaline shot for this wildly entertaining and action-packed mystery."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 3.5/4
|
Invictus (2009)
|
"Inspiring messages about equality, forgiveness and understanding resonate thanks to Clint Eastwood's deft hand and standout performances by Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Splat 2.5/4
|
2012 (2009)
|
"An Oscar-caliber cast and dazzling visual effects can't rescue this formulaic disaster flick from a script flooded with generic dialogue and preposterous plot points."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 3/4
|
Disney's A Christmas Carol (2009)
|
"Although Dickens has been translated time and time again, this animated adventure is no humbug."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 3/4
|
Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
|
"A hall-of-mirrors investigation of extraordinary talent, emotionally stunted personality, a performer's process, and the cruel mistress of celebrity...but it also serves as a powerful performance version of a last will and testament."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 2.5/4
|
Astro Boy (AstroBoy) (2009)
|
"What Astro Boy has in spades are energy, good humor, and the demolition-derby action of a superhero smash-up, reasons enough to recommend it to grade-school boys."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Splat 1.5/4
|
Law Abiding Citizen (2009)
|
"'It's going to get Biblical!'...sets new standards of lunatic plotting as it goes about its smiting."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Splat 2.5/4
|
New York, I Love You (2009)
|
|
Susan Tavernetti
|
Splat 2.5/4
|
Couples Retreat (2009)
|
|
Susan Tavernetti
|
Splat 2/4
|
Jennifer's Body (2009)
|
"Sets thoughts swirling about three bitch-goddesses: the teenage variety (namely Megan Fox's Jennifer), "success" in the commercial cinema, and that fickle mistress called hype."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Splat 1/4
|
Love Happens (2009)
|
"Pure Hollywood hokum, with plotting that's practically impossible...graceless product placement, cutesy situations, and neatly tied bows."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 3/4
|
It Might Get Loud (2009)
|
"[A] sideways glance at the electric guitar by way of profiling three generations of guitarists: Jack White of The White Stripes, the Edge of U2, and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 3/4
|
World's Greatest Dad (2009)
|
"An amusing, cynical black comedy about our national addiction to tragedy, and our commoditization of grief..."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 2.5/4
|
Extract (2009)
|
"Bateman reliably tickles in his signature role of a square who can't catch a break, and Wiig once more delivers subtly funny character work in a tricky role."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Splat 2/4
|
Shorts (Shorts: The Adventures of the Wishing Rock) (2009)
|
"Just creative enough to keep kids glazed over with nominal interest, but it won't challenge them much..."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 3/4
|
My One and Only (2009)
|
|
Jeanne Aufmuth
|
Fresh 3.5/4
|
Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo) (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) (2009)
|
"Wondrous, weird, and sweetly innocent, Ponyo is a tale bursting with love, which is recommendation enough for the young and the young at heart."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 3/4
|
Paper Heart (2009)
|
|
Susan Tavernetti
|
Fresh 3.5/4
|
The Cove (2009)
|
"Informative, exciting, and surprisingly emotional...its goal is to alert the world to the abuse and consumption of dolphins."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 3/4
|
Julie & Julia (2009)
|
"A lightweight but enjoyable gustatory romp."
|
Jeanne Aufmuth
|
Fresh 3/4
|
Funny People (2009)
|
"A newer, more mature chapter in the Apatow book and I like what I see."
|
Jeanne Aufmuth
|
Splat 2.5/4
|
La Fille de Monaco (The Girl from Monaco) (2009)
|
"The French comedy-drama The Girl from Monaco demonstrates how an excess of liberté and fraternité can be hazardous to the health, especially where there is an absence of egalité."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 3.5/4
|
The Hurt Locker (2009)
|
"With the help of a well-informed screenplay by journalist Mark Boal, Bigelow dispenses with the red-wire/blue-wire lies Hollywood told you and replaces them with a heady brew of documentary realism and action poetry."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 2.5/4
|
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Ice Age 3) (2009)
|
"Has enough crisp sight gags, character moments, frantic mayhem and musical interludes...to box the family crowd into a state of punch-drunk love."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Splat 2/4
|
Public Enemies (2009)
|
"My biggest gripe lies with Mann, who mixes movie metaphors like a mad scientist."
|
Jeanne Aufmuth
|
Fresh 2.5/4
|
Whatever Works (2009)
|
"Part of Boris' worldview seems to be to excuse the movie in which he stars. Try not to overthink it, Allen seems to say: just enjoy it."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 3.5/4
|
Food, Inc. (2009)
|
"Usefully, it provides counter-balance to its own doom-saying with numerous suggestions of how to deal with the corporatization of food."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 4/4
|
Away We Go (2009)
|
"Quirky sentiments ebb and flow in Sam Mendes' latest %u2013 and greatest %u2013 study of the human condition."
|
Jeanne Aufmuth
|
Fresh 2.5/4
|
My Sister's Keeper (2009)
|
"A mawkish yet worthy enough addition to the summer line-up."
|
Jeanne Aufmuth
|
Fresh 2.5/4
|
Chéri (2009)
|
"Doesn't so much get anything wrong; it just fails to go oh so right."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 3/4
|
The Proposal (2009)
|
"Although The Proposal isn't a sweep-you-off-your-feet affair, Bullock and Reynolds make it a thoroughly charming engagement."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 3/4
|
Moon (2009)
|
"Jones has a very interesting existential idea here, and though he frustratingly doesn't exploit its every possibility, he does give a great actor an opportunity for a tour-de-force performance."
|
Peter Canavese
|
Fresh 3.5/4
|
The Hangover (2009)
|
"Who knew a Hangover could be so much fun?"
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Fresh 4/4
|
Up (2009)
|
"A thrilling, heartfelt and humorous family film with enough jubilant energy to lift you right off your seat."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Splat 2/4
|
Terminator Salvation (2009)
|
"Director McG fuels Terminator Salvation with exceptional visual effects and sharp sound, but more shouting and explosions than a Super Bowl in Beirut."
|
Tyler Hanley
|
Splat 2/4
|
Easy Virtue (2009)
|
|
Susan Tavernetti
|