movie review – News Stories About movie review - Page 33

MOVIE REVIEW

Dec 4, 2009 7:19 AM CST

Up in the Air 'Darkly Hilarious'

Melancholy downsizing dramedy deftly captures this era

(Newser) - George Clooney stars as a frequent-flying corporate axeman-for-hire in Up In the Air, a dramedy that was too slick for some critics but was ranked among the best of the year by many.

"It's rare for a movie to be at once so biting and so moving," writes

...

Wright Penn Lifts Pippa Lee

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 27, 2009 9:32 AM CST

Wright Penn Lifts Pippa Lee

Strong cast boosts 'highbrow chick flick'

(Newser) - The ensemble melodrama The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is receiving largely lukewarm reviews, but most critics agree that star Robin Wright Penn's top-notch performance gives it a vital lift.

Wright , as a former wild child turned desperately bored middle-aged housewife, "is the miracle this picture needs, helping the

...

Lovely Bones Is
Jackson's Best Yet

Sneak Peek

Nov 25, 2009 2:40 PM CST

Lovely Bones Is Jackson's Best Yet

After sneak screening, critic predicts Oscar glory; another pans it

(Newser) - The Lovely Bones got a sneak showing in London last night, and one reviewer is already calling it the best film of next year—while another lambastes it as candy-coated crap. An anonymous critic from the Sun says he’s already sure he won’t “see anything more astonishing,...

Disney Returns
to Form With
Princess

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 25, 2009 1:58 PM CST

Disney Returns to Form With Princess

Classic animation charms the critics

(Newser) - Classic Disney animation makes a triumphant return with The Princess and the Frog. Critics agree the film is beautiful, and most—but not all—were charmed by the story:

The movie, set in New Orleans, is “the sweetest, most sincere romantic comedy to come along in ages, and a

...

Quiet, Creepy, Absurd,
Home Wows Critics

Movie Review

Nov 25, 2009 11:55 AM CST

Quiet, Creepy, Absurd, Home Wows Critics

Acclaimed French film makes US debut

(Newser) - Ursula Meier’s acclaimed Home, in which a family is driven insane by the new highway running past their idyllic country house, is opening in the US. Should you be excited? Critics say yes:

This is a “bewitching dream of a film,” says Sukhdev Sandhu of the Daily

...

Welles Best Part of
Me and Orson Welles

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 25, 2009 11:24 AM CST

Welles Best Part of Me and Orson Welles

Christian McKay eclipses Zac Efron

(Newser) - Richard Linklater's Me and Orson Welles, an atmospheric period piece set behind the scenes of Welles' 1937 production of Julius Caesar, has critics gushing about Christian McKay as Orson Welles, but split on Zac Efron as a wide-eyed teen who stumbles into Welles's glamorous orbit:

The "frothy" film is

...

Put Down Old Dogs

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 25, 2009 9:06 AM CST

Put Down Old Dogs

No new tricks in Travolta-Williams turkey

(Newser) - Don't expect new tricks, funny jokes, or much else from the new John Travolta-Robin Williams comedy Old Dogs, say critics in reviews that range from scathing to indifferent.

"It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a turkey," writes Ty Burr at the Boston Globe , and this "pitiful family

...

Bleak Road Not
as Good as Book

Movie Review

Nov 25, 2009 7:19 AM CST

Bleak Road Not as Good as Book

Critics split on adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic epic

(Newser) - It’s a thankless job adapting a literary darling like The Road, and, sure enough, director John Hillcoat hasn’t gotten much thanks. Critics have mixed feelings about the bleak post-apocalyptic film. Here’s what they’re saying:

Despite good acting, the film is merely adequate, “an honorable attempt

...

Bullock Shines in
Crowd-Pleasing Blind Side

movie review

Nov 20, 2009 1:25 PM CST

Bullock Shines in Crowd-Pleasing Blind Side

Football chick flick lacks suspense, delivers happy ending

(Newser) - The Blind Side lacks inherent suspense—it's based on the true story of Michael Oher, a rookie offensive tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. But the tale of a homeless African-American teen adopted by big-hearted white yuppies, at bottom a Sandra Bullock vehicle, goes over big in football country.

Writer-director John

...

Don't Land On Planet 51

Movie Review

Nov 20, 2009 12:48 PM CST

Don't Land On Planet 51

Laugh-free sci-fi satire mediocre at best

(Newser) - It has a cool concept—a human is greeted with paranoia on an alien planet straight out of the '50s—but critics say Planet 51 never reaches orbit. Some reviews:

It’s a “bland, humor-free narrative,” with lame references to other movies instead of jokes, writes Glenn Whipp

...

Bad Lieutenant Is
Terribly Fantastic

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 20, 2009 12:02 PM CST

Bad Lieutenant Is Terribly Fantastic

Cage's unhinged performance dazzles, and Herzog keeps up

(Newser) - What is Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, exactly? Most critics haven't the foggiest, but they like Werner Herzog's not-at-all-a-remake and Nicholas Cage's performance. Some reactions:

Cage’s “sublimely deranged lead performance” compares favorably to Herzog’s work with Klaus Kinski, Scottt Tobias writes for the Onion AV

...

New Moon So Bad It's Funny

Movie Reviews

Nov 20, 2009 8:19 AM CST

New Moon So Bad It's Funny

Sequel lacks thrills, sense of humor of first 'Twilight '

(Newser) - The Twilight Saga: New Moon is guaranteed to be a hit, but no one but its die-hard teen devotees should sit through it, critics say. Some reviews:

It’s “an anemic comedown after the full-blooded swoon of Twilight,” writes Ty Burr of the Boston Globe . Kristen Stewart is

...

Broken Embraces
'Gorgeous and
Seductive'

MOVIE REVIEWs

Nov 20, 2009 8:06 AM CST

Broken Embraces 'Gorgeous and Seductive'

Almodovar's latest mixes noir with melodrama

(Newser) - Broken Embraces isn't quite up there with Pedro Almodovar's finest work, say critics, but the noirish tribute to '50s Hollywood looks fantastic and tells a compelling story.

"While it may not elicit the affection reserved for some of Almodovar's more heartfelt films," writes Claudia Puig in USA Today

...

Look Out, Pixar:
Mr. Fox Is Fantastic

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 13, 2009 12:27 PM CST

Look Out, Pixar: Mr. Fox Is Fantastic

Is it a film for kids? Who cares! gush critics

(Newser) - Wes Anderson is winning raves for his stop-motion take on Roald Dahl's classic Fantastic Mr. Fox, with voices by a raft of stars including Meryl Streep and George Clooney:

It's so good, David Edelstein forgot himself. When the flick ended, he writes in New York , he wished "the whole

...

Pirate Radio Rocks
on Good Tunes, Cast

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 13, 2009 8:56 AM CST

Pirate Radio Rocks on Good Tunes, Cast

Playful 60s love/music comedy is more party than plot

(Newser) - Critics agree that the soundtrack of Pirate Radio can't be beat, and the top-notch cast is a joy. So when it comes to the shaky plot and pacing, some can turn a blind eye:

"There’s no denying the comic energy of the cast," Peter Travers writes in

...

2012 Spectacular but Stupid

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 13, 2009 6:50 AM CST

2012 Spectacular but Stupid

End-of-the-world epic is 'disaster porn' at its finest

(Newser) - Critics agree that world-destroying disaster epic 2012 boasts some stunning special effects, but they're split on whether that makes up for the cheesy script—and the run time of 2 hours, 38 minutes.

Director Roland Emmerich's previous destruction-fests Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow "are nothing compared to

...

Thirst Is the 'Anti-Twilight'

movie review

Nov 11, 2009 10:37 PM CST

Thirst Is the 'Anti-Twilight'

This is a vampire flick for adults

(Newser) - The Twilight series found its remarkable success in subverting the traditional vampire story, turning the monsters of legend into symbols of teenage narcissism and self-pity—another “youth tribe” like jocks and geeks, writes Brendan O’Neill at Spiked. If that treatment leaves you well, cold, check out the "...

Fourth Kind: Not Real, Not Scary

movie review

Nov 6, 2009 2:30 PM CST

Fourth Kind: Not Real, Not Scary

Alien-abduction mock-doc delivers lame premise with laughable framing device

(Newser) - The Fourth Kind attempts to combine dramatization of true events and fake-documentary alien abductions in Alaska, and falls horribly flat. Here's what critics are saying:

The ludicrousness of the grainy archival footage, presented as "real," and a lousy performance by Milla Jovovich, whose "notion of serious acting

...

Motion-Capture
Christmas Carol
Hits Wrong Notes

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 6, 2009 1:30 PM CST

Motion-Capture Christmas Carol Hits Wrong Notes

Spirit's there, but critics split on wow-factor of evolving tech

(Newser) - Most critics express a hearty "humbug" for Robert Zemeckis' motion-capture version of A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey. A sampling:

"It's a heartwarmer that doesn't have much of a heart itself," Michael O'Sullivan writes in the Washington Post, "populated by figures that are halfway between Wii

...

Inside The Box,
a Muddled Surprise

MOVIE REVIEW

Nov 6, 2009 12:11 PM CST

Inside The Box, a Muddled Surprise

Film is wayward, most critics agree, but for some it's interesting

(Newser) - Critics are split on The Box, the new film from writer-director Richard Kelly, known for the much-loved Donnie Darko and the reviled Southland Tales. Some takes on the flick about a box with a mysterious, life-changing button:

Pass, writes writes Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News. Don't "

...