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| 1. |
|
12/05/08 |
Fair |
 "...having one of the biggest music stars on the planet as the third lead doesn't upset director Aaron Woodley's visually arresting but overly self-conscious glum-fest." |
| 2. |
|
12/12/08 |
Weak |
 "The connective tissue of its episodes and set pieces is not a compelling story line but the painterly physicality of the movie's stop-motion animation." |
| 3. |
|
12/19/08 |
Excellent |
 "...winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and Italy's entry in the Oscar race... a vividly panoramic film about a pitiless world of criminality." |
| 4. |
|
01/09/09 |
Good |
 "Director Bill Duke's film about a marriage in trouble over differing values is buoyed by strong performances from an ensemble cast." |
| 5. |
|
01/09/09 |
Weak |
 "When the pratfalls fail -- a particularly cringe-worthy full-body tackle in tulle comes to mind here -- it's painful for the audience and demeaning for the actors." |
| 6. |
|
01/09/09 |
Fair |
 "Robert Celestino conjures a milieu, but not an atmosphere or a solid sense of place. It's like being inside a casino, without a glimpse of sky or a clock on the wall..." |
| 7. |
|
01/09/09 |
Fair |
 "Shot on HD with evocative locations in California and Mexico, the imagery does have a certain impressionist grace, but the film's romantic ideal of the road -- lonely diners, vintage cars and seaside shanties -- seems misplaced, oversimplified and overused." |
| 8. |
|
01/16/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "Think of 'Hotel for Dogs' as a sort of 'Mission: Impossible' with canines... without Tom Cruise..." |
| 9. |
|
01/16/09 |
Very Good |
 "...both helped and hurt by its visual narrative -- transitions in Biggie's life are captured in a shutter-speed collage of images..." |
| 10. |
|
01/16/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...can't help but connect occasionally with a winking gag, cleverly staged fracas, toe-tapping musical detour or welcome loitering on Deepika Padukone's radiant features." |
| 11. |
|
01/16/09 |
Fair |
 "...underneath all the cartoonish mall mayhem and silly slapstick lies a comedy that aspires to be the sort of gentle crowd-pleaser John Hughes used to make." |
| 12. |
|
01/17/09 |
Weak |
 "Wooden performances by forgettable, generic actors -- again, just like in the original -- don't aid in making things any less leaden." |
| 13. |
|
01/22/09 |
Excellent |
 "...infused with images of modern day Ho Chi Minh City... a quietly affecting fairy tale. And like all good fairy tales should, it comes with a happy ending." |
| 14. |
|
01/23/09 |
Good |
 "...ambitious homage to the pure emotional power of the classic silent cinema.... distant when it should be dynamic, yet still worth the effort. By the time it reaches its bold conclusion it has moved beyond pastiche to come entirely into its own." |
| 15. |
|
01/23/09 |
Weak |
 "Overly talky and slow, the film is tedious and unpersuasive. Director Graham Ratliff fails to integrate the mechanics of supernatural horror with his concern for youthful passions and dreams, and the result is glum indeed." |
| 16. |
|
01/23/09 |
Weak |
 "...has neither the glamour of Brian De Palma's referential nightmares or even the narrative fuel of the serial-killer-obsessed procedurals that dominate television." |
| 17. |
|
01/23/09 |
Weak |
 "With no unifying sensibility, the magic thuds more often than it soars... that territory between the tangible and the imaginary never attains true vitality." |
| 18. |
|
01/23/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "It's got enough formulaic flair to make it a guilty-pleasure cousin of seaborne nailbiters 'Knife in the Water' and 'Dead Calm.' " |
| 19. |
|
01/26/09 |
Weak |
 "The action sequences accent incomprehensibility, but whenever Lucian gets lashed (and he gets lashed a lot), Patrick Tatopoulos spotlights the splatter." |
| 20. |
|
01/30/09 |
Good (Not Great) |
 "...a brisk and violent action programmer that can't help being unintentionally silly at times.... benefits as much as it can from having Liam Neeson in the starring role." |
