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Stories 161 - 180 | << Prev   Next >>

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Invictus Does Mandela Justice

Morgan Freeman is superb in the main role

(Newser) - Clint Eastwood's Nelson Mandela tale, Invictus, wins mostly solid reviews, and everybody loves Morgan Freeman in the main role:
  • Peter Travers, Rolling Stone : " Freeman seems born to play Mandela, and he never delivers a false note." Eastwood "shames the usual Hollywood showboating" and makes a "film
... More »

Lovely Bones Hits and Misses

Peter Jackson's adaptation meets mixed reviews

(Newser) - Peter Jackson's crafts a fantastic vision of the afterlife in The Lovely Bones, say critics, but some feel it came at the expense of the human side of the story of a murdered teen, adapted from the book by Alice Sebold.
  • "By turns warmly sentimental, serial-killer sinister, and science-fiction
... More »

Serious Moonlight a Dim Effort

Filming slain writer's script a fine sentiment, poorly executed

(Newser) - When Waitress writer-director Adrienne Shelly was murdered, in 2006, she left behind the script for Serious Moonlight. Critics speculate that she might have made it work, but that hasn't happened:
  • "A wife duct-tapes her husband to a chair and tells him that she will make him fall in love
... More »

Brothers Has Strong Acting, Weak Heart

Critics wonder: Why did Jim Sheridan need to do this remake?

(Newser) - Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, and Jake Gyllenhaal deliver solid performances in Jim Sheridan's war movie Brothers, but the film doesn't measure up to the 2004 Danish original, say critics:
  • Peter Howell, Toronto Star : "It's still a film worth seeing, if only for the performances, but it seems to be
... More »

Everybody's Fine? No, Everybody's Sappy

De Niro the best part about predictable holiday treacle

(Newser) - Critics are divided on Everybody’s Fine: Some think the family drama is okay because of Robert De Niro, and others think it’s awful despite him. What they’re saying:
  • It’s “a thoroughly fake movie that is about, of all things, the need for truthfulness,” writes
... More »

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
... More »

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
... More »

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,... More »

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
... More »

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
... More »

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
... More »

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
... More »

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
... More »

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
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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
... More »

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
... More »

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
... More »

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
... More »

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
... More »

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
... More »

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