|
| 1. |
|
02/06/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...the execution is fresh, earnest and inoffensive. It's 'X-Men' without spandex, 'Heroes' with more style and better writing." |
| 2. |
|
02/13/09 |
Poor |
 "Jason Voorhees needs to be permanently retired. If he learns to stop jabbing needles in people's eyes, maybe he could take up knitting." |
| 3. |
|
02/27/09 |
Excellent |
 "An earnest, fictional coming-of-age story is squeezed from a bitter, true-life local tragedy. And it works.... it never claims or pretends to be inspired by true events." |
| 4. |
|
03/13/09 |
Very Good |
 "...once you get past the premise, and Rademacher's bothersome screen presence, this is actually a one-of-a-kind documentary, a chronicle not of war but of disconnect..." |
| 5. |
|
03/20/09 |
Fair |
 "Malkovich here is like a jack-in-the-box that never pops out, and the movie plays like an endless, aggravating loop of 'Pop Goes the Weasel.' " |
| 6. |
|
03/20/09 |
Fair |
 "...tries to invoke the prickly charm of 'Little Miss Sunshine.' It doesn't fail so much as it falls asleep halfway through..." |
| 7. |
|
04/03/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...pure filmmaking... a polished yet authentic mini-masterpiece..." |
| 8. |
|
04/17/09 |
Fair |
 "...pleasant-to-watch, easily forgotten... seems to be missing an essential element of drama, of risk, underneath its glossy, golden sheen." |
| 9. |
|
04/24/09 |
Very Good |
 "...a movie about how small acts have big consequences and how untreated doubts bloom into full-blown psychodrama... balances grimness and levity with relative success." |
| 10. |
|
04/25/09 |
Poor |
 "...isn't horrible. It's just intensely simple-minded. It boils down the genre -- like rabbit on a stovetop -- to its essence." |
| 11. |
|
05/01/09 |
Excellent |
 "...the film seems at once both organic and artful.... It endures because it's eternally fascinating to watch people confront themselves by confronting others." |
| 12. |
|
05/08/09 |
Outstanding |
 "Despite the explosive subject matter, it's a very classical documentary.... 'Outrage' does not arrive at many truths. It is, rather, a desperate plea for truth." |
| 13. |
|
05/08/09 |
Poor |
 "...reveals the limits of director Jim Jarmusch... has no emotion, no compelling characters, no unity of effect and, consequently, no good reason to be seen." |
| 14. |
|
05/15/09 |
Moderate |
 "...enjoyable but forgettable... doesn't come close to the hot-blooded brilliance of 'Y Tu Mam Tambin,' which launched the Mexican actors to global renown in 2001." |
| 15. |
|
06/05/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Some might call this manipulation -- of character and of viewer. Others would rightly call it an exercise. A provocation of debate." |
| 16. |
|
06/05/09 |
Weak |
 "...cut from the same drawing-room drapery as 'Gosford Park' and any Oscar Wilde film adaptation, minus the thematic heft and belly laughs of either." |
| 17. |
|
06/12/09 |
Excellent |
 "At times tedious but ultimately beguiling... morphs from a sly dramedy about running a household into a fable about two ways of life (urban and rural) that can't coexist." |
| 18. |
|
06/19/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...dry, distant and slightly absurdist... a stoic odyssey for a man who couldn't be further from Odysseus." |
| 19. |
|
07/01/09 |
Poor |
 "Depp dials down his weirdness to play gangster John Dillinger and, ironically, this choice sinks the movie." |
| 20. |
|
07/03/09 |
Very Good |
 "...adorable, moving, bewildering, sad and, ultimately, peaceful." |
