Tomato |
Across the Universe (2007) |
"The film’s too long but when it works, as in a slickly choreographed military induction scene with Taymor’s trademark giant puppets and carnival heads, it’s exhilarating." |
Martin Hoyle |
Splat 2/5 |
Adam (2009) |
"Everyone dallies and dithers and radiates well-meaningly. This is mental illness served up for romcom pathos and sentimentality." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat 2/5 |
Adoration (2009) |
"Theme is all-powerful, with characters verbally fondling their histories and identities – and, in one typically po-faced scene, intellectualising vomit." |
Leo Robson |
Tomato 4/5 |
Adventureland (2009) |
"While this has its longueurs and is not without clichés, it is also a richly enjoyable, witty, well observed piece of nostalgia." |
|
Tomato |
Afghan Star (2009) |
"Havana Marking’s uproarious, awareness-raising documentary tells us more about the title country than a month of newscasts." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato 5/5 |
Afterschool (2009) |
"This is a major debut. A dystopic vision, yes; but in comparison with the usual school high-jinks from US cinema - fiercely fresh and corrosively memorable." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato |
Alexandra (2008) |
"The eerie haze of the visuals, the half-babble of music and the toneless, teasing dialogue dance attendance on the strangest ghost of all: Galina Vishnevskaya." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat 1/5 |
Alice in Wonderland (2010) |
"You cannot believe the dreadfulness of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland – gifted director takes on gaga script – until you see it. Enchantment has gone thataway." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat 1/5 |
Aliens in the Attic (2009) |
"Very winsome and very long." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato |
Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007) |
"An endearing effort that will appeal to under-10s with its slight tale of the three all-talking, all-singing rodents." |
Karl French |
Splat |
Am I Black Enough For You |
"Am I Black Enough for You is a brain-curdling essay in docu-sycophancy." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat 1/5 |
Amelia (2009) |
"Woodenly acted and grinningly bland, this Amelia Earhart life story turns Hilary Swank and Richard Gere, playing the aviatrix’s publisher husband, into virtual Thunderbirds puppets." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat |
American Gangster (2007) |
"Length does not add substance to the drama, even where reality adds weight to the argument." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato |
American Teen (2008) |
"It is medium-mesmerising, even if we are gnawed by secret shame at watching a glorified reality TV show." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato 4/5 |
An Education (2009) |
"Mulligan has a sit-up-and-watch talent." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato 3/5 |
Angels & Demons (2009) |
"Ron Howard directs a pell-mell script (David Koepp, Akiva Goldman) with more agility than he showed in Code. Though the story suffers intermittent daftness." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat |
Anna M. (2007) |
"Think Fatal Attraction gone French and gone wrong." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato |
Año Uña (2008) |
"Paradoxes, riddles, exchanges; apocalypses of the mind and heart. This tender, funny, constantly surprising film is the debut of the year." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato 4/5 |
Antichrist (2009) |
"Antichrist is a fairground ride through the brain of a genius, both nightmarish and apocalyptic. Trier’s head is the most dangerous place in modern cinema, its multiple caverns mysteriously structured and weirdly laid out." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato |
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2009) |
"Bitterly funny, uproariously sad, irresistibly human." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat 2/5 |
Anything for Her (2008) |
"French thriller Anything for Her has a livelier way with predictability." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato 3/5 |
Armored (2009) |
"Things are jollied along by some very stiff acting, especially from Dillon. The film, shot in crisp widescreen, is surprisingly pleasant to look at. It is also surprisingly restrained." |
Leo Robson |
Tomato 3/5 |
The Army of Crime (2009) |
"Grave, heartfelt, medium-engrossing, it still feels like every resistance movie you have ever seen, rolled into a ball of historical revisionism." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat |
As You Like It (2006) |
"Kenneth Branagh is in danger of becoming the next Kenneth Branagh, in a career of serial self-replication as our last unstoppable screen Shakespearean." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato |
Ashes of Time Redux (1994) |
" It is magnificent eye candy. Forget the plot (which you will be hard-pressed to understand) and store in your memory for later use the dialogue’s Zen Buddhist proverbs." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato |
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) |
"Affleck and Pitt have prime charge of the tale’s humanity and vitality. The first has nervous headlamp eyes and a wheedling, accosting intensity: he is like a homeless pet you would feel sorry for up to the moment it bit you." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato 3/5 |
Astro Boy (2009) |
"Sci-fi digimation, whirling round the screen like the furniture in a drunkard’s bedroom, whisks up the characters in its tornado." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato |
Atonement (2007) |
"A handful of brilliant performances makes Atonement worth seeing." |
Martin Hoyle |
Tomato |
Australia (2008) |
"The photography is a knockout. All Australia needed was a script with a sustained story and a stronger sense of where, and how, tragic drama should take over from camp seriocomedy." |
Nigel Andrews |
Tomato 4/5 |
Avatar (2009) |
"The villains are mostly out of pantomime; much of the dialogue needs a stretcher; and the save-the-rainforest plot is a pain. Just take your eyes to the film. Leave all other faculties at home." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat 2/5 |
Away We Go (2009) |
"Potentially poignant stories are presented with the same caricatural brusqueness or dispassion as the stories of people who are plain stupid." |
Nigel Andrews |
Splat 2/5 |
Awaydays (2009) |
"Script, editing and some poorly staged fight sequences render this inchoate and almost unforgivably uninteresting." |
Karl French |
