|
| 1. |
|
01/23/09 |
Poor |
 "...in its second half, 'Outlander' falls apart completely, becoming nothing but a violent, mindless monster movie... The adventure story is lost..." |
| 2. |
|
01/23/09 |
Poor |
 "There's no heart, no working metaphor to the story.... it's difficult to follow, probably because it doesn't make a viewer want to follow it." |
| 3. |
|
01/30/09 |
Very Good |
 "The placement of an archetypal American character, the avenging action hero, wreaking havoc through the Paris streets has some dark appeal..." |
| 4. |
|
02/06/09 |
Poor |
 "There are many problems with 'Push'... The first is the way in which the story is confused. The second is that the story makes no sense." |
| 5. |
|
02/06/09 |
Moderate |
"Fanning is basically playing a little girl whose special talent has forced her to grow up in a hurry... As for Evans, one of these days he's going to make a good movie." |
| 6. |
|
02/06/09 |
Very Good |
 "...somebody in Hollywood has tried to make a thoughtful movie about love, and that rarely happens anymore. Let's take it and like it." |
| 7. |
|
02/06/09 |
Outstanding |
 "...a movie that everyone will acclaim as beautiful, when perhaps the most beautiful thing about it is the sheer ugliness of it all." |
| 8. |
|
02/13/09 |
Very Good |
 "The great merit of Eric Singer's screenplay is that he keeps the story advancing, even as the worst keeps happening.... each crisis presents the chance for a new plan." |
| 9. |
|
02/27/09 |
Outstanding |
 "If you want to get an idea of what makes 'Two Lovers' an exceptionally well-written and directed film, notice filmmaker James Gray's careful selection of detail." |
| 10. |
|
03/06/09 |
Outstanding |
 "Snyder is beginning to look like the best thing to happen to the action movie this decade... a director not going through the motions but pulling from all sides of his brain." |
| 11. |
|
03/06/09 |
Very Good |
 "...a delicate, intelligent movie... features a cast of talented actors who were clearly committed to the movie's message." |
| 12. |
|
03/06/09 |
Very Good |
 "Jenkins demonstrates a rare ability to communicate a state of mind... We don't just know what the characters are feeling. We know what the filmmaker is feeling..." |
| 13. |
|
03/13/09 |
Moderate |
 "...it's impossible not to like director Nikita Mikhalkov's performance as the jury foreman and to appreciate his command of the screen." |
| 14. |
|
03/13/09 |
Poor |
 "Wayne Kramer has attempted to make a movie in the 'Crash' and 'Babel' genre, a multi-cast film that explores a political issue through multiple storylines.... a mess." |
| 15. |
|
03/20/09 |
Very Good |
 "There are some brief minutes when the tension drops and the story starts to sag, but Fukunaga almost always fills the frame with something worth seeing..." |
| 16. |
|
03/20/09 |
Very Good |
 "...it's that rare American specimen - a strong movie about women." |
| 17. |
|
03/20/09 |
Poor |
 "The good actors give 'Duplicity' the sheen of quality. So do the movie's various locations... The picture has everything but a good script and good direction." |
| 18. |
|
03/27/09 |
Moderate |
 "There are knowing asides, references and in-jokes every few minutes... The movie is reasonably entertaining, though it helps to be 6 years old." |
| 19. |
|
04/03/09 |
Moderate |
 "...director Justin Lin only once shows he has any conception of what to do with Diesel.... A revenge plot is a sure way to sap the energy out of any protagonist." |
| 20. |
|
04/03/09 |
Moderate |
 "...contains the best and worst aspects of a movie grounded in real-life detail: It has the built-in significance of truth and the structureless, pointlessness of fact." |
