movie review

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Observe and Report Just Plain Nasty
 Observe  
 and Report  
 Just Plain Nasty 
movie review
Apr 10, 2009 12:29 PM CDT

Observe and Report Just Plain Nasty

Mall-cop flick soaked with sadism, critics say

(Newser) - Critics have observed, and they’re reporting that the latest mall-cop movie is brutal and sadistic with little cause: Seth Rogen's character is no Paul Blart.
  • "If you thought Abu Ghraib was a laugh riot then you might love Observe and Report," writes Manohla Dargis in the New
...

Hannah Plays It Safe
 Hannah Plays It Safe 
movie review
Apr 10, 2009 11:22 AM CDT

Hannah Plays It Safe

Big-screen version of Disney Channel hit canters over familiar ground

(Newser) - Hannah Montana: The Movie slickly translates the Disney Channel tween smash onto the big screen, say critics, but those who aren't already fans can safely sit this one out.
  • Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: The movie "is an excuse for some generically catchy songs and a showcase for Miley
...

Sugar Pitches a Perfect Game
 Sugar Pitches a Perfect Game 
Movie Review
Apr 3, 2009 12:14 PM CDT

Sugar Pitches a Perfect Game

(Newser) - Sugar, the tale of a Dominican pitcher’s run at stardom, is absolutely mowing down critics. Here’s a sample what they’re saying:
  • Writing/directing team Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson) “are exceptional talents who refuse to sweeten Sugar for mass consumption,” writes Peter Travers in
...

Fast &amp; Furious Fast, Furious

 Fast & Furious 
 Fast, Furious 
movie review
Apr 3, 2009 10:46 AM CDT

Fast & Furious Fast, Furious

Fourth installment just what you expect

(Newser) - Fast & Furious, the fourth installment in the series that made Vin Diesel a star, is “exactly and precisely what you'd expect,” writes Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times—and his fellow critics agree:
  • “If you're in the mood for a lot of vroom, vroom, thump, thump,
...

Adventureland Is a Sweet Ride
 Adventureland Is a Sweet Ride 
MOVIE REVIEW
Apr 3, 2009 8:35 AM CDT

Adventureland Is a Sweet Ride

Retro coming-of-age movie will touch nostalgic hearts

(Newser) - Coming-of-age romance Adventureland isn't a rollercoaster of surprises, critics say, but it's still honest and poignant enough to be touching—especially if you grew up in the '80s.
  • Todd McCarthy, Variety: "A rather ordinary account of youthful summer misadventures that goes down easily thanks to a sparky cast, more
...

Haunting Is Nothing New
 Haunting Is Nothing New 
movie review
Mar 27, 2009 10:23 AM CDT

Haunting Is Nothing New

Decent scare flick says it's based on a true story

(Newser) - Based on a supposedly-true story, The Haunting in Connecticut is nothing groundbreaking—but it’s good for a few screams, critics say. A few takes:
  • “A technically proficient horror movie and well acted. We have here no stock characters,” Roger Ebert observes in the Chicago Sun-Times. But “
...

Monsters Looks Great, Lacks Oomph
 Monsters Looks 
 Great, Lacks Oomph 
movie review
Mar 27, 2009 8:21 AM CDT

Monsters Looks Great, Lacks Oomph

Dreamworks' 3-D stunner stuck with one-dimensional storyline

(Newser) - Monsters Vs. Aliens looks amazing on screen, but grownups may find the thin jokes and the storyline of Dreamworks' animated spoof of '50s flicks a little grating, say critics.
  • James Rocchi, Redbox: The movie "has amazing 3D, solid gags, wacky concepts and great animation; I just wish that at
...

It's No Lie: Duplicity Scores
 It's No Lie: Duplicity Scores 
NEW RELEASE
Mar 20, 2009 2:18 PM CDT

It's No Lie: Duplicity Scores

Spy film gets wide, warm reception

(Newser) - Critics aren’t hiding their love for the twists and turns of Duplicity, a combination “caper movie,” “love story,” and “extra-dry corporate satire,” AO Scott notes in the New York Times. The buzz on the Julia Roberts-Clive Owen flick:
  • "Attempts—and to a
...

Knowing Doesn't Add Up
 Knowing Doesn't Add Up 
Movie Review
Mar 20, 2009 12:52 PM CDT

Knowing Doesn't Add Up

(Newser) - The reviews are in, and it doesn’t look good for Knowing, Nicolas Cage’s predestination-driven sci-fi epic. Here’s what critics are saying:
  • It’s “laughably bad,” says Joe Neumanier of the New York Daily News, a pseudo-philosophical mess that “reaches for sci-fi relevance, but just
...

I Love You, Man : Bromance at Its Best
 I Love You, Man: 
 Bromance at Its Best 
MOVIE REVIEW
Mar 20, 2009 10:23 AM CDT

I Love You, Man: Bromance at Its Best

Stars keep formulaic satire on male friendship fresh

(Newser) - I Love You Man's tale of a guy searching for a best friend rolls out every buddy movie cliché from the Odd Couple onward but stays likable, thanks to its stars, say critics.
  • Rossiter Drake, San Francisco Examiner: Paul Rudd and Jason Segel "take what might have been a
...

Witch Mountain a Fun Ride
 Witch Mountain a Fun Ride 
movie review
Mar 13, 2009 1:19 PM CDT

Witch Mountain a Fun Ride

The onetime Rock is well-cast

(Newser) - Kids’ adventure flick Race to Witch Mountain—the story of a pair of alien teens who meet Dwayne (don't call him the Rock) Johnson and try to save Earth—is good fun, critics say. Here's a rundown:
  • "Thoroughly modern in every way, Race to Witch Mountain bears little resemblance
...

Sunshine Cleaning a Delightful Mess
 Sunshine Cleaning 
 a Delightful Mess 
MOVIE REVIEW
Mar 13, 2009 11:00 AM CDT

Sunshine Cleaning a Delightful Mess

Poignant comedy manages to scrub past the indie film clichés

(Newser) - Humor and poignancy don't merge that neatly in Sunshine Cleaning, but its offbeat charm managed to win over most critics. The story of sisters from a troubled family who go into the crime-scene cleanup business delves deep into emotional issues but remains a comedy, Kirk Honeycutt writes in the Hollywood ...

Watchmen Just Watchable

 Watchmen Just Watchable 
NEW RELEASE
Mar 5, 2009 10:54 AM CST

Watchmen Just Watchable

Film 'bites off more than it can chew'

(Newser) - The task of putting graphic-novel classic Watchmen onscreen may be more than any filmmaker can handle, critics say—though director Zack Snyder did win over Roger Ebert. Some impressions:
  • "Stumbles and sometimes falls on its top-heavy ambitions. But there are also flashes of visual brilliance and performances that drill
...

3D Concert Strictly for Jonas Junkies
 3D Concert Strictly 
 for Jonas Junkies 
MOVIE REVIEW
Feb 27, 2009 10:15 AM CST

3D Concert Strictly for Jonas Junkies

Bubblegum rockumentary only works in fans' dimension

(Newser) - The band's tweener fans will swoon for the new Jonas Brothers concert movie, say critics, but Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience has little to offer the uninitiated.
  • Mark Olsen, Chicago Tribune: The movie is "awkwardly stitched together from candy-gloss arena concert footage and somewhat grimier-looking backstage/limo/hotel room moments,
...

Must Read a Must-See
Must Read a Must-See 
MOVIE REVIEW
Feb 20, 2009 1:44 PM CST

Must Read a Must-See

Doc realizes the horrors of dysfunctional family life

(Newser) - If you’re looking for a fright at the movies, skip Friday the 13th and hunker down with Must Read After My Death. Using archived audiotapes and home movies, the documentary chronicles the tumultuous suburban marriage of the filmmaker’s grandparents, who “lived on the unmapped border between Revolutionary...

Katyn Horrific, Excellent
 Katyn Horrific, Excellent 
Movie Review
Feb 20, 2009 11:15 AM CST

Katyn Horrific, Excellent

(Newser) - American art houses are finally getting a taste of Katyn, legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda’s acclaimed film about the World War II-era massacre of the same name, and critics are heaping yet more acclaim on it. AO Scott of the New York Times calls it “solemn and searing,...

Fired Up Delivers Lukewarm Laughs
 Fired Up Delivers 
 Lukewarm Laughs 
MOVIE REVIEW
Feb 20, 2009 9:53 AM CST

Fired Up Delivers Lukewarm Laughs

Reheated teen sex comedy gives critics little to cheer about

(Newser) - The raunchy teen comedy Fired Up delivers a few chuckles but isn't anything to cheer about, say critics. Thirtyish actors Nicholas D'Agosto and Eric Christian Olsen play a pair of high school football jocks who go to cheerleading camp to meet babes, but the duo's comic energy is "weighed...

Please, Jason, Stay Dead
 Please, Jason, Stay Dead 
Movie Review
Feb 13, 2009 2:06 PM CST

Please, Jason, Stay Dead

New Friday the 13th is what we thought it was

(Newser) - The new Friday the 13th “remake” is “about the best Friday the 13th movie you could hope for,” writes Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times. “It has a lot of scary and gruesome killings. If that's what you want to find out, you can stop reading....

The International : Good Timing, Bad Film
 The International: 
 Good Timing, Bad Film 
movie review
Feb 13, 2009 12:37 PM CST

The International: Good Timing, Bad Film

'Boilerplate' lines make 'chatty' flick less than memorable

(Newser) - A thriller about evil banks, The International got its timing right. Too bad, then, that it’s not a better film. The film “almost seems like a Monty Python spoof on spy-game thrillers in which the phrase ‘secret agent’ is constantly replaced by 'banker,'" writes Joe Neumaier...

Shopaholic Not So Addictive
 Shopaholic Not So Addictive 
MOVIE REVIEW
Feb 13, 2009 8:19 AM CST

Shopaholic Not So Addictive

Subprime rom-com maxes out the clichés

(Newser) - Chick-lit flick Confessions of a Shopaholic is one victim the credit crisis should have claimed, say critics. Isla Fisher stars as a credit card addict who lands a job at a financial magazine, but her considerable comic gifts are wasted by a script that turns her into a "babbling...

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