Critics Can't Abide Citizen

Jasons Bateman, Sudeikis star in Seth Gordon's comedy

(NEWSER) - Horrible Bosses is shockingly crude and a bit “uneven,” but it’s also amusing, critics say—because we can all identify with such workplace horrors. (Except maybe Jennifer Aniston as a crude, harassing dentist.)

• The film is “frequently very funny,” writes AO Scott in the New York Times . For one thing, it “does not bother to cut its coarseness with a hypocritical dose of sweetness or respectability,” he notes. “The laughter is mean but also oddly pure: it expels shame and leaves you feeling dizzy, a little embarrassed and also exhilarated.”

Aniston, Butler lack chemistry in action romance

(NEWSER) - Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston star as a bounty hunter and his wanted ex-wife in action romance Bounty Hunter. Critic's reactions range from "passable" to "somebody needs to hunt down the people who made this movie."

• An OK concept gets lost in "lame jokes and predictable situations," complains Calvin Wilson at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . "It's as if the filmmakers thought that just watching Butler and Aniston scream at each other almost two hours would be more than enough to satisfy the masses."

Critics massacre sappy ensemble romantic comedy

(NEWSER) - Romantic comedy Valentine's Day is stuffed with stars and subplots, but the quantity doesn't make up for the lack of quality, say critics in mostly negative reviews.

• This "is a date movie from hell," writes Peter Travers at Rolling Stone , wondering how Pretty Woman director Garry Marshall persuaded "a big name cast to stuff themselves into this box of rancid heart-shaped chocolates."

(NEWSER) - Battle-of-the-sexes comedy Ugly Truth combines the worst aspects of male-friendly gross-out comedies with the worst aspects of female-friendly romantic comedies and the results aren't pretty, say unimpressed critics.

• Refer Guzmán, Newsday: The movie "does a disservice to both genders. Its crass sex jokes feel like chum for mentally stunted males, while its dimwitted storyline seems aimed at females who find paperback romances overly nuanced."

Stars make based-on-true-story tearjerker worthwhile despite some bum notes

(NEWSER) - The Soloist—an adaptation of a LA Times reporter's memoir of his friendship with a homeless man—may not hit all the right notes with critics, but powerful performances from Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx save the day.

• Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: The pair are "both charismatic as hell without sacrificing any of the emotional honesty necessary for you to believe that these movie stars are a scruffy reporter and a mentally ill musician."