|
| 1. |
|
01/09/09 |
Weak |
 "How bad can a movie be, with Goldilocks Hudson and Cinderella Hathaway?... Hudson's sunshine can't warm it and Hathaway's rose redolence can't mask its stink." |
| 2. |
|
01/16/09 |
Moderate |
 "...forgettable, frequently funny and weirdly satisfying in a Jersey Loser Gets Respect kind of way.... distinguished by the nimble humor and nimbler moves of James..." |
| 3. |
|
01/16/09 |
Moderate |
 "...my 12-year-old, who loved loved loved Duncan's novel in fourth grade, asked, 'Did they just buy the title and throw away the book?' " |
| 4. |
|
01/30/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...so choppy that it would seem to have been edited with a pickax. Maybe somewhere on his editing floor are the scenes that flesh out the relationship..." |
| 5. |
|
02/06/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...boasts a bounty of Jennifers and Ginnifers (Aniston, Connelly, Goodwin), Scarlett and her Johanssons and a very droll turn by Drew Barrymore..." |
| 6. |
|
02/06/09 |
Good |
 "The animation nominees are more diverse, and involving, than their live-action counterparts." |
| 7. |
|
02/06/09 |
Outstanding |
 "Boys and girls, be careful what you wish for, 'cause you just might get it. Repeat. You just might get it. You just might. Get it?" |
| 8. |
|
02/13/09 |
Moderate |
 "...has its moments... Fisher has the slapstick gene that Lucille Ball and Steve Martin and Leslie Nielsen possess..." |
| 9. |
|
02/27/09 |
Very Good |
 "Can a spouse know his/her spouse's inner life? Can a child understand his/her parent? And, most moving, how do we grieve?" |
| 10. |
|
02/28/09 |
Moderate |
 "...little more than snippets from their 'Burnin' Up' concert at Madison Square Garden and shots showing the Jonases bemused by legions of fans..." |
| 11. |
|
03/06/09 |
Very Good |
 "So realistic are Phoebe's quicksilver emotions that at first it doesn't seem Fanning is acting at all. That helps to ground the film..." |
| 12. |
|
03/13/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a responsible message movie wrapped in an irresponsible exploitation flick that cries fire in a crowded theater." |
| 13. |
|
03/20/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...the comedy that Paul Rudd lovers have been waiting for since he first charmed us silly in 'Clueless.' " |
| 14. |
|
03/20/09 |
Very Good |
 "...an unadorned, unassuming portrait of a woman who is always there for others and puzzled when they cannot always reciprocate.... Kudos to Clifton Collins Jr." |
| 15. |
|
04/10/09 |
Very Good |
 "...handles the strained daddy/daughter bond with sufficient lightness and laughs so that fathers won't mind accompanying their spawn." |
| 16. |
|
04/10/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...a portrait, incandescent and inspiring, of an accidental portraitist. Maria Larsson, Finnish emigrant to the port city of Malmo, Sweden, at the dawn of the 20th century." |
| 17. |
|
04/17/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...a tasty intrigue, as juicy as it is chewy, about private morals, public responsibility, and the privatizing of Homeland Security." |
| 18. |
|
04/17/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "The nicest that can be said of this unapologetically schmaltzy, and not unenjoyable, affair is that it is the best 1936 musical made in 2009." |
| 19. |
|
04/17/09 |
Very Good |
 "Thomas Lennon and Melora Hardin provide some comic relief as Mike's nerdy friend and the fetching high school principal on whom he nurses a crush.... mildly diverting." |
| 20. |
|
04/24/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...as flawed and fascinating as the men themselves." |
