Movie Reviews

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 29

1 2 Next >>

October 2008
- Hathaway a 'Revelation' in Married
  
  Globe and Mail | Oct 5, 08 3:39 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Anne Hathaway trades her Prada pumps for a junkie’s reckless bravado in Jonathan Demme’s Rachel Getting Married , and critics couldn’t be happier. Rick Groen of the Globe and Mail and Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly both herald her performance as a “revelation,” with Gleiberman adding that Hathaway “makes toxic narcissism mesmerizing, but she also gives Kym a desperate confessional ardor.” More »
- Infinite Playlist Has Finite Appeal
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Oct 3, 08 9:41 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Teen romance Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist turned some critics starry-eyed and others into curmudgeons. Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as a pair of indie-rock fans who have a crazy night in New York. The "often delightful love story that uses music as its primary backdrop" is reminiscent of John Hughes' teen flicks of the '80s, Josh Bell writes in Las Vegas Weekly . More »
September 2008
- Rodanthe Heavy on the Syrup
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Sep 26, 08 12:04 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Tearjerker novel Nights in Rodanthe left some critics sobbing and others scowling. Now Unfaithful co-stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane are reunited for the movie version of the Nicholas Sparks romance, with a similar divide. The actors' "natural rapport" makes for a movie "one either utterly succumbs to or stubbornly resists," Brian Lowry writes in Variety. More »
- Gervais Gives Ghost Town Life
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Sep 19, 08 9:19 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A spirited performance from Ricky Gervais banishes the spectre of mediocrity from supernatural romantic comedy Ghost Town , critics say. The story of a dentist who starts seeing dead people is a touch generic, Bill Goodykoontz writes in the Arizona Republic , but Gervais—the UK creator of the original Office —shines through "with a sense of humor that makes him immensely likable." More »
- Women Has Little to Like
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Sep 12, 08 3:56 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The modern update of 1930s socialite satire The Women is meeting scorn from critics. Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, and the rest of the big-name cast do their best, Peter Travers writes in Rolling Stone , but they struggle "with a script that resists being crowbarred into the 21st century." More »
- Jones Sues for $10M in No Country Pay
  
  Associated Press | Sep 7, 08 7:57 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Actor Tommy Lee Jones has sued the producers of Oscar Award-winning No Country for Old Men for $10 million he claims is owed him. The suit charges Paramount Pictures failed to pay Jones a promised chunk of "significant box-office bonuses" and other compensation linked to the success of the critically acclaimed film. No Country earned $160 million at the box office, AP reports. More »
- Bangkok Dangerously Bland
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Sep 5, 08 10:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Pang brothers' Hollywood rehash of their 1999 hit Bangkok Dangerous lacks spice despite the exotic locale, say critics. The "rough, Bangkok underworld-set story" has morphed into "a cleaner tourist's take on crime and corruption," Jordan Mintzer writes in Variety , with Nicolas Cage playing a more conventional hit man than the deaf-mute of the original. More »
August 2008
- Burn Flares Up, Flames Out
  
  Variety | Aug 29, 08 3:02 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Burn After Reading , a dark comedy about Washington bureaucrats and other buffoons, “tries to mate sex farce with a satire of a paranoid political thriller, with arch and ungainly results,” Todd McCarthy writes in Variety . The Coen brothers dial everything up to “an almost grotesquely exaggerated extent … making for a film that feels misjudged from the opening scene and thereafter only occasionally hits the right note.” More »
- Demented Hamlet 2's the Thing
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Aug 27, 08 11:38 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hamlet 2 may not put the Bard out of business but it's not lacking for invention, critics say. The "genuinely bizarre and frequently hilarious comedy" follows the outrageous fortunes of a failed actor turned high-school drama teacher who tries to pen a Hamlet sequel, Rafer Guzman writes in Newsday . More »
- Faris Makes Bunny Hop
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Aug 22, 08 12:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Critics seem to split on the overall worth of sorority comedy House Bunny , but most agree that star Anna Faris is worth the price of admission. The stalwart of the Scary Movie franchise has a "sunny disposition and solid comic timing" that greatly improve what is "essentially a female remake of Revenge of the Nerds ," Christy Lemire writes for the AP. More »
- Tropic Thunder Declares Comedy War
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Aug 13, 08 11:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The action comedy Tropic Thunder, a send-up of Vietnam War movies, crosses some lines—intentionally. In fact, Peter Hartlaub writes in the San Francisco Chronicle , "if you're not offended by at least one aspect of this film, then you're probably not getting out enough." But it has a secret weapon, he writes: It's "laugh-until-your-stomach-hurts hilarious." More »
July 2008
- Take a Chance on Mamma Mia!
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Jul 18, 08 10:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Mamma Mia ! doesn't quite pull off the leap from stage to screen, but ABBA fans will find it worth taking a chance on, critics say. The "jukebox musical that strings together 19 ABBA hits on a narrative thread flimsier than dental floss" had Carrie Rickey of the Philadelphia Inquirer "smiling and wincing—often at the same time." More »
- Dark Knight Dazzles
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Jul 17, 08 11:09 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Dark Knight swoops into cinemas tomorrow and critics say the hype is more than justified. "This is not merely a Batman movie," Amy Biancolli writes in the Houston Chronicle . It is one of the year's best films "and far and away the most hypnotic chiller." The bleak Gotham tale is "audacious and unnerving while consistently being fun and entertaining," writes Claudia Puig in USA Today . More »
- Hellboy Burns Up the Screen
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Jul 11, 08 8:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Hades' greatest hero is back in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, and most critics agree it's a hell of a ride. Director Guillermo del Toro returns with comic book creator Mike Mignola, ensuring the dynamic sequel is "shot through with the franchise's signature goofiness, sarcasm and good heart," writes Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post . More »
- Tell Everyone: Tell No One Is Great
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Jul 5, 08 12:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - French thriller Tell No One has the critics rushing to tell the world how much they liked it. The fast-paced and thickly plotted adaptation of a novel by American writer Harlan Coben is "hot-blooded, haunting and packed with the pleasures of the unexpected," writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone . More »
June 2008
- Love Guru Is Beyond Help
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Jun 20, 08 8:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Love isn't the right word to describe how most critics feel about The Love Guru , Mike Myers' first live-action comedy in 5 years. Myers stars as a self-help guru paid to revive the love life of a hockey player, but his mugging isn't enough to salvage "a collection of scattershot jokes clothes-pinned to such a slender plot," Colin Covert writes in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. More »
- Joy Division Rocks, But Enough Already
  
  Anthem | Jun 19, 08 8:01 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Joy Division, writes Nik Mercer for Anthem , “is one of those bands that gains significance exponentially as the years pass.” As testament to their place in pop music consciousness, recent years have seen three films on the band: 24 Hour Party People , focusing on their label and scene; Control , a Cobain-izing biopic of Ian Curtis; and now simply Joy Division: A Documentary . More »
April 2008
- Harold and Kumar Slacks Off
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Apr 25, 08 10:42 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sometimes it's hard not to laugh at the slacker/stoner comedy Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay , writes James Berardinelli in ReelViews. At other times, it's hard not to cringe at the film, a sequel to Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle . That's because the humor in Escape , about the anti-heroes being mistaken for terrorists, "is uneven in the extreme," Berardinelli writes. More »
- Baby Mama No Bundle of Joy
  
  Rotten Tomatoes | Apr 25, 08 7:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Critics don't seem thrilled about the arrival of Baby Mama , which tells the story of an overachieving, infertile career woman (Tina Fey) who hires a rough-around-the-edges high school dropout (Amy Poehler) to bear her a child. The movie's not "laugh-out-loud funny," writes Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post . "It's more quiet-chuckle funny, which is fine." More »
- Sarah Marshall Is Memorable
  
  Metacritic | Apr 18, 08 9:40 AM CDT

News Sections

Newser Specials

Stories

Hathaway a 'Revelation' in Married

Infinite Playlist Has Finite Appeal

Rodanthe Heavy on the Syrup

Gervais Gives Ghost Town Life

Women Has Little to Like

Jones Sues for $10M in No Country Pay

Bangkok Dangerously Bland

Burn Flares Up, Flames Out

Demented Hamlet 2's the Thing

Faris Makes Bunny Hop

Tropic Thunder Declares Comedy War

Take a Chance on Mamma Mia!

Dark Knight Dazzles

Hellboy Burns Up the Screen

Tell Everyone: Tell No One Is Great

Love Guru Is Beyond Help

Joy Division Rocks, But Enough Already

Harold and Kumar Slacks Off

Baby Mama No Bundle of Joy

Sarah Marshall Is Memorable