|
| 1. |
|
01/09/09 |
Weak |
 "...directed by a man. Another man came up with the story. No matter that women pitched in and tried to inject a little estrogen... It's still a patronizing comedy..." |
| 2. |
|
01/09/09 |
Weak |
 "...a marriage-in-crisis melodrama baked from the Tyler Perry recipe... It's not a terrible movie, just a pandering one, a film that you're sure you've seen before. Many times." |
| 3. |
|
01/10/09 |
Poor |
 "...a maddening hodgepodge of plot distractions, gimmick fights and too many characters. It's a pretty but pretty cluttered, un-frightening mess..." |
| 4. |
|
01/15/09 |
Weak |
 "...there isn't enough wit or wackiness to warrant the slow trudge... There simply isn't enough Indian spice to make this ancient Chinese recipe fresh." |
| 5. |
|
01/16/09 |
Poor |
 "The canines deliver a few decent 'aww' moments. But that's not enough to justify putting this cur on the big screen." |
| 6. |
|
01/16/09 |
Poor |
 "This pick-axe-in-your-eyeball remake lacks the horror foreplay of the original -- but the 3D sure is fun." |
| 7. |
|
01/16/09 |
Weak |
 "James never really transcends the thin story that this lightweight and family-friendly comedy gives us. The movie's rank sentiment is Candy-cloned." |
| 8. |
|
01/23/09 |
Weak |
 "Does this film of Cornelia Funke's novel deserve dismissal? Not really, though it is a bit of a humorless slog." |
| 9. |
|
01/23/09 |
Weak |
 "Think of it as Vikings vs. Predators.... All perfectly silly but treated professionally by all involved. The action is first-rate. The characters are stock types..." |
| 10. |
|
01/23/09 |
Weak |
 "...would all be a complete bore if it weren't for the odd sparks of wit, and the sparks set off by Michael Sheen and B-picture queen Rhona Mitra." |
| 11. |
|
01/29/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "The movie's 'downsizing' and corporate callousness make it timely, the dialogue is funny enough and the predictable happens in a predictably warm way." |
| 12. |
|
01/29/09 |
Excellent |
 "...what a rush! Besson didn't re-invent the action film. Still, as 'Taken' re-iterates, Besson's espresso-jag thrillers are all the caffeine an action fan needs..." |
| 13. |
|
02/06/09 |
Outstanding |
 "Dark, magical and endlessly inventive..." |
| 14. |
|
02/06/09 |
Weak |
 "Martin lacks Sellers' dash, his pained 'I'll be found out' double-takes, his mastery of the accent. Martin isn't putting the work into it." |
| 15. |
|
02/06/09 |
Weak |
 "It's an ambitious attempt to shove the whole of a fairly complex comic book universe into a single messy and garish movie." |
| 16. |
|
02/06/09 |
Weak |
 "A lot of things go into the air. Most are dropped. And afterward, there's the awkward silence of an entertainment that hasn't quite delivered." |
| 17. |
|
02/06/09 |
Excellent |
 "Taut, nervy performances, lean, unobtrusive direction and a smattering of wit in the script make this the rare horror picture that rises above cheesy 'gotchas' and gore." |
| 18. |
|
02/13/09 |
Poor |
 "...skimps on suspense and cuts straight to the beheadings.... The simple 'slasher' formula doesn't cut it any more." |
| 19. |
|
02/13/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...manages to be a cute timer-killer and a timely wish-fulfillment fantasy. Think of it as a 'Shopping in the City' for folks too spent for sex." |
| 20. |
|
02/13/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Though well-acted, with a bang-up shoot-out staged at New York's Guggenheim Museum, it feels like decaf compared to the caffeine jag that is the new action state-of-the-art." |
