#
9 - None of it feels fresh or original, which is disconcerting, because everything looks so fresh and original.
13 Assassins
21 – It feels like Luketic has told this story at too many cocktail parties, and now is a little bored with it himself.
35 Shots of Rum – like reading a book of poetry after finishing a stack of novels.
50/50 - not exactly a comedy about cancer.
127 Hours – never drags or feels boring – even when it seems like it should, maybe, a little.
A
Adjustment Bureau, The
Adoration – There is a compelling story here, in spite of its missteps.
Adventureland – I was not ready for the depths of melancholy that float just under the comedy.
Alexandra – itslessons and ruminations are basic and ordinary.
Alice in Wonderland – A pretty, predictable picture. Expect nothing more and you won’t be disappointed.
The American – seems intent to drain the world of all its false notions about glamour, and to do it with style.
Amreeka – The grass is always greener on the other side of the ocean.
Another Earth - uses a science fiction premise to explore, instead of other worlds, the inner unexplored territory.
Another Year – A good movie about happy people almost ruined by a miserable one.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil – an alt-universe sequel to “This is Spinal Tap.”
Appaloosa – brings back an element of those old Westerns that surprised me: overt misogyny.
Ashes of Time Redux – a film school attempt to marry really artsy techniques with kung fu.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – about a lonely man who finds a way to die on his own terms.
Attack the Block – Aliens attack the ghetto.
Atonement – Wright directed some incredible sequences here, but lost sight of the story he was telling.
Australia- Luhrman goes the Spielberg/Cameron route, with mixed results.
Avatar – It’s like the big ride at the carnival: it’s fun while you’re riding it, but you might puke afterwards.
B
Babies – It’s like babysitting, but without all the work or responsibility.
Ballast - I wanted good things for these characters, but I was mystified watching them.
Bandslam - for a good hour at least, this was a solid, understated, surprisingly clever movie.
Band’s Visit, The – a small miracle of a film, about the small miracle of real communication.
Bank Job, The – a tightly paced, imminently watchable flick.
Bart Got a Room – Really the only laughs here are at how ineptly made this film is.
Battle Royale – This movie’s scary in a totally new way. (Or maybe I’m just getting old.)
Be Kind Rewind – its limits become more charming than debilitating.
Bigger Stronger Faster – asks some great questions, and dives into them with wit, and intelligence.
Blind Side, The – Pretty bad, but could’ve been much worse.
Blood Diamond – Not a great movie, or an important one. But maybe it’s one you should see anyway.
Blue Valentine- Pretty great. But also pretty hard to watch. Beware.
Body of Lies – “No End in Sight” meets “The Bourne Supremacy” with mixed results.
Bolt – occasionally funny, mildly charming, harmless, entertaining, predictable, enjoyable, and forgettable.
Book of Eli, The
Boy A
Brand Upon the Brain!
Brave One, The
Bride of Frankenstein
Brideshead Revisited
Bridesmaids
Bright Star
Burlesque
Burma VJ
Burn After Reading
Buster Keaton’s Movies
C
Cadillac Records
Cars 2
Cedar Rapids
Changeling
Cherry Blossoms
Chop Shop
Christmas Tale, A
City Island
City of Ember
City of Life and Death
Class, The
Climates
Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
The Company Men
Control
Coraline
Counterfeiters, The
Crazy Heart
Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The
D
Damned United, The
Dark Knight, The
Daydream Nation
Days and Clouds
Dead Inside, The
Deep Water
Despicable Me
Disappearance of Alice Creed, The
District 9
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The
Doubt
Dracula
Drive
Duchess, The
Duck Soup
Duplicity
E
Easy A
Easy Virtue
Eclipse, The
Edge of Heaven, The
Education, An
Elegy
Encounters at the End of the World
Even the Rain
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Extract
F
Fair Game
Fall, The
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Farewell
Faster
Fast Five
Fighter, The
Fighting
Fish Tank
Flight of the Red Balloon
Frankenstein
Freedom Writers
Fresh
Frost/Nixon
Frozen River
G
Gangs of New York
Ghost Town
Ghost Writer, The
Gone Baby Gone
Goodbye Solo
Gran Torino
Great Buck Howard, The
Greenberg
The Green Hornet
Grindhouse
Ground Truth, The
H
The Hangover Part II
Happy-Go-Lucky
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Horrible Bosses
Hot Tub Time Machine
How to Train Your Dragon
Humpday
Hunger
Hurt Locker, The
I
Ides of March, The
Illusionist, The
I Love You, Man
Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The
I’m Not There
In A Better World
Incendies
Inception
Incredible Hulk, The
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Informant!, The
Inkheart
Inside Job
In Time
Into the Wild
Invention of Lying, The
Invictus
I.O.U.S.A.
Iron Giant, The
Iron Man
Iron Man 2
I Saw the Devil
I Served the King of England
It’s Kind of a Funny Story
I’ve Loved You So Long
J
JCVD
Julia
Just Another Love Story
K
Kabluey
Katyn
Kick-Ass
King of Kong, The
King’s Speech, The
Kung Fu Panda
L
Lagaan
Lake of Fire
Lakeview Terrace
Last Exorcism, The
Last Mistress, The
Last Station, The
La Vie En Rose
Lebanon
Le Petit Lieutenant
Let Me In
Let the Right One In
Lymelife
M
M
Man on Wire
Manufactured Landscapes
Man Who Laughs, The
Margot at the Wedding
Me and Orson Welles
The Mechanic
Meek’s Cutoff
Megamind
Messenger, The
Michael Clayton
Miss Pettigrew Lives for A Day
Momma’s Man
Moneyball
Moolaade
Moon
Music Never Stopped, The
My Blueberry Nights
My Brother is an Only Child
My Dog Tulip
My Sister’s Keeper
N
Never Let Me Go
Next Three Days, The
Night Catches Us
No Country for Old Men
Nothing But the Truth
No End in Sight
O
Observe and Report
Offside
Of Gods and Men
Of Time and the City
O’Horten
Once
Only Good Indian, The
Other Guys, The
P
Paranoid Park
Paranormal Activity
Passing Strange
Paul
Perfect Getaway, A
Perfect Host, The
Persepolis
Pineapple Express
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Please Give
Poetry
Ponyo
Porco Rosso
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Precious
Prince Caspian
Princess and the Frog, The
Prophet, A
Public Enemies
Q
Quantum of Solace
R
Rabbit Hole
Rachel Getting Married
Reader, The
Redbelt
Red Riding Trilogy
Regular Lovers
Reprise
Revanche
Revolutionary Road
Righteous Kill
Robin Hood
Rules of Attraction
S
Salt
Samson and Delilah
Sanctum
Savages, The
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Secret Life of Bees, The
Secret of the Grain, The
Secret of Kells, The
Secret Sunshine
Seraphine
Serious Man, A
Sherlock Holmes
Shoot Em Up
Shotgun Stories
Shutter Island
Signal, The
Silent Light
Silent Night
Single Man, A
Sin Nombre
Slumdog Millionaire
Social Network, The
Somers Town
Somewhere
Soul Surfer
Source Code
Splice
Star Trek
State of Play
Step Brothers
Still Walking
Stop-Loss
Stranded
Stuck
Sugar
Summer Hours
Summer Palace
Summer Wars
Sunshine Cleaning
Super
Super 8
Suspect Zero
Sweeney Todd
Syndromes and a Century
Synecdoche, New York
T
Tangled
Taxi to the Dark Side
Tell No One
Terminator Salvation
Thirst
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
Timecrimes
Tokyo!
To the Limit
Tron: Legacy
Trouble in Paradise
Then She Found Me
There Will Be Blood
This is England
Thor
Town, The
Toy Story 3
Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Tulpan
Tree of Life
True Grit
Two Lovers
U
Un Chien Andalou
Unstoppable
Up
Up the Yangtze
V
Valkyrie
Vera Drake
Vincere
Visitor, The
Viva Riva!
