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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: movie review

movie review stories: 329 news summaries

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movie review

 Bullock Shines in 
 Crowd-Pleasing Blind Side  

Football chick flick lacks suspense, delivers happy ending

6 hours, 25 minutes ago
(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
... More »

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entertainment • NFL • film • football • movie review • Tim McGraw • Baltimore Ravens • movies • Sandra Bullock • high school football • college football • sports movie • National Football League • pro football • The Blind Side • The Blind Side review • Quinton Aaron • John Lee Hancock

Movie Review

 Don't Land On Planet 51 

Laugh-free sci-fi satire mediocre at best

7 hours, 2 minutes ago
(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
... More »

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movie review • cartoon • Roger Ebert • science fiction • animated movie • Planet 51 • Planet 51 review

MOVIE REVIEW

 Bad Lieutenant Is 
 Terribly Fantastic 

Cage's unhinged performance dazzles, and Herzog keeps up

7 hours, 48 minutes ago
(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
... More »

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Hurricane Katrina • film • movie review • Nicolas Cage • film noir • Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans • Bad Lieutenant movie review • Werner Herzog

Movie Reviews

 New Moon So Bad It's Funny  

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

11 hours, 31 minutes ago
(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
... More »

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movie review • Twilight • New Moon • The Twilight Saga: New Moon Review • New Moon reviews

MOVIE REVIEWs

 Broken Embraces  
 'Gorgeous and 
 Seductive' 

Almodovar's latest mixes noir with melodrama

11 hours, 44 minutes ago
(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
... More »

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movie review • foreign film • Penelope Cruz • Pedro Almodovar

MOVIE REVIEW

 Look Out, Pixar: 
 Mr. Fox Is Fantastic 

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

Nov 13, 09 12:27 PM CST
(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
... More »

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entertainment • film • Dreamworks • Pixar • movie review • Wes Anderson • Meryl Streep • George Clooney • Roald Dahl • Fantastic Mr. Fox • stop motion • Brad Bird

MOVIE REVIEW

 Pirate Radio Rocks 
 on Good Tunes, Cast 

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

Nov 13, 09 8:56 AM CST
(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
... More »

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entertainment • music • film • movie review • rock and roll • Britain • Philip Seymour Hoffman • 1960s • rock music • Pirate Radio • Richard Curtis • Bill Nighy • Rhys Ifans • January Jones

MOVIE REVIEW

 2012 Spectacular but Stupid 

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

Nov 13, 09 6:50 AM CST
(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
... More »

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movie review • John Cusack • action movie • Roland Emmerich • 2012 movie review

movie review

 Thirst Is the 'Anti-Twilight' 

This is a vampire flick for adults

Nov 11, 09 10:37 PM CST
(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 "... More »

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entertainment • movie review • Avril Lavigne • Twilight • vampires • Chan-wook Park • Thirst

movie review

 Fourth Kind: Not Real, Not Scary

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

Nov 6, 09 2:30 PM CST
(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
... More »

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film • movie review • horror flims • movies • horror movies • horror film • The Fourth Kind • Milla Jovovich

MOVIE REVIEW

 Motion-Capture 
 Christmas Carol 
 Hits Wrong Notes 

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

Nov 6, 09 1:30 PM CST
(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
... More »

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film • animation • movie review • Charles Dickens • Jim Carrey • motion capture • Robert Zemeckis

MOVIE REVIEW

 Inside The Box, 
 a Muddled Surprise 

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

Nov 6, 09 12:11 PM CST
(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.
... More »

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entertainment • film • movie review • thriller • Cameron Diaz • Richard Kelly • James Mardsen • Twilight Zone • The Box

MOVIE REVIEW

 Precious: Gritty Candor 
 or 'Poverty Porn'? 

Harlem drama brutally honest, some say manipulative

Nov 6, 09 8:52 AM CST
(Newser) - Precious packs a strong emotional punch with its story of an abused, illiterate teen in '80s Harlem, but where some critics see candid greatness, others see "poverty porn."
  • Precious is "a great American film," writes Roger Ebert at the Chicago Sun-Times, that finds a believable
... More »

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movie review • Mariah Carey • drama • Gabourey Sidibe • Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire • Precious reviews

MOVIE REVIEW

 Goats Fun But Unfocused 

Clooney turns in top performance in military farce

Nov 6, 09 8:11 AM CST
(Newser) - The Men Who Stare at Goats, a farce loosely based on a non-fiction book about the US military's '80s effort to form a psychic unit, is wildly uneven but often hilarious, say critics.
  • The "over-the-top, absurdist satire" will be "inevitably likened to Dr. Strangelove," Owen Gleiberman
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
satire • Jeff Bridges • movie review • George Clooney • Ewan McGregor • Kevin Spacey

MOVIE REVIEW

 By the People Has 
 Access, Little Else 

Critics split on virtues of Obama doc with little dish

Nov 3, 09 12:12 PM CST
(Newser) - Critics agree the HBO's By the People, a record of the Obama campaign produced by Edward Norton, offers behind-the-scenes access but no real scoops. But what some see as a heartwarming tale of triumph, others find fawning. A sampling:
  • The naivete of the filmmakers shows through for Hank Stuever
... More »

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HBO • movie review • Election 2008 • documentary film • President Obama • Obama campaign • access • political campaign • By the People reviews

MOVIE REVIEW

 Turning Green Shines, Mostly 

Film on black-market porn in Ireland sways most critics

Oct 30, 09 1:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Project Greenlight runner-up Turning Green —about a teen in Ireland who tries to make a buck selling porn—leaves most critics pleased.
  • It mixes a “generally jolly, frisky tone” with “more threatening moods,” including “an astounding left turn” from Alessandro Nivola, writes Robert Koehler
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
film • pornography • movie review • Ireland • Project Greenlight

movie review

 Gentlemen 
 Broncos 
 Falls Flat 

No magic this time from Napoleon Dynamite director

Oct 30, 09 12:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - Director Jared Hess became a critics' darling with Napoleon Dynamite. Safe to say he's a darling no more thanks to Gentlemen Broncos , a farce about a teen sci-fi writer.
  • Sean O'Neal , AV Club: "Every frame of Hess’ new film—the wood-paneled walls coated with winking
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hollywood • movie review • Fox Searchlight • Jared Hess • Gentlemen Broncos

MOVIE REVIEW

 Skin Has 'Poignant Power' 

Tale of black girl born to white parents taps apartheid's madness

Oct 30, 09 9:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - A true-life tale of the struggles of a dark-skinned girl born to white Afrikaners in '50s South Africa, Skin scored with critics, though some found it a bit too black-and-white.
  • Skin "serves as a stirring allegory for birthright and the assertion of one's identity in the face of
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
South Africa • movie review • apartheid • women's issues • drama • Sophie Okenedo

MOVIE REVIEW

 Stylish Horror 
 Revived in 
 House of the Devil   

Homage to old-school horror films builds tension masterfully

Oct 30, 09 7:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Babysitter-in-danger flick House of the Devil does a delicious job of reproducing the atmosphere of classic horror flicks from the '80s, say critics, and its slow-burn tension is a refreshing change from splatter-fests like Saw.
  • Director Ti West has "crafted a film that beautifully reproduces the look and
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
movie review • horror • horror movies • horror film

REVIEW ROUNDUP

This Is It Proves 
 King of Pop 
 Still Rocked 

Michael Jackson was in surprisingly good shape in dazzling footage

Oct 28, 09 7:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Jackson didn't live long enough to take the final bow he had planned in London, but critics agree This Is It is a fitting swan song, proof that the King of Pop really did have a comeback in him:
  • "This Is It is quite extraordinary. If there
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Iraq • entertainment • film • celebrity • movie review • concert • Michael Jackson • celebrity death • This Is It • Michael Jackson This Is It review

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