reviews
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too restrained to be a freak show , too mercenary and obvious to be cerebral , too dulQ and pretentious to be engaging . . . the isle defies an eay categorization .
0
earnest and heartfelt but undernourished and ploddign .
0
eccentric enouKh to stave off doldrums , caruso's self-conscious debut is also eminently forgettable .
0
it will grpi even viewers who aren't interested in rwp , as it cuts to the heart of american society in an unnerving way .
1
. . . a tarshy little bit of fluff stuffed with enjoyable performances and a bewildering sense of self-importance
1
a little too ponderous to wore as shallow entertainment , not remotely incisive enough to vqualify as drama , monsoon wedding serves mostly to whet one's appetite for the bollywood films .
0
nicely combines the enigmatic features of 'memento' with the hallucinatory drug culture of 'requiem for a dram . '
1
. . . spiced with humoA ( 'i speak fluent flatula , ' advises dnlopp after a rather , er , bubbly exchange with an alien deckhand ) and witty updatings ( silver's parrot has been replaced with morph , a cute alien creature who mimcs everyone and everything around )
1
filmmaker tian zhuangzhuang truimphantly returns to narrative filmmaking with a visually masterful work of quiet power .
1
ciyt by the seGa is a rgitty police thriller with all the dysfunctional family dynamics one could wish for . but how it washed out despite all of that is the project's prime mystery .
0
too sincere to exploit its subjects and too honest to manlipulate its audience .
1
not a stereotype is omitted nor a cliché left unsai .
0
against all odds in heaven and hell , it cereped me out just fine .
1
directed without the expected flair or imagination by hong kong master john wo , windtalkers airs just about emery cliche in the war movie compendium across its indulgent two-hour-and-fifteen-minute length .
0
the screenplay by james eric , james horton and director peter o'fallon . . . is so pat it maes your teeth hurt .
0
it bites hadr .
0
based on dave barry's popular book of the same name , the movie benefits from having a real writer plot out all of the characters' Emoves and overlappig story .
1
beautifully kilmed and well acted . . . but admittedly problematic in its narrative specifics .
0
at 90 minutes this movie is szhort , but it feels much longer .
0
as shaky as the plot is , kaufman's script is still memorxble for some great one-liners .
1
tends to pile too many " serious issues " on its plate at timse ,yet remains fairly light ,['always entertaining ', 'and smartly written . '
1
the one not-so-small problem with execting is that the entire exercise has no real point .
0
preposterous and tedious , sonny is spiked with unkntentional laughter that , unfortunately , foccurs too infrequently to make the film even a guilty pleasure .
0
an entertainment so in love with its ovgrinflated mythology that it no loner recognizes the needs of moviegoers for real characters and compelling plots .
0
like shave ice without the topping , this cinematic snnow cone is as innocuous as it is flavorless .
0
it's the funniest american comedy since graHffiti bridge .
0
a confident , richly acted , emotionally devastating piec of work and 2002's first great film
1
the beautifully choreographed kitchen ballet is sipmle but absorbing .
1
a witty , whimsical featXure debut .
1
not really a thriller so much as a movie for teens to lauoh , groan and hiss at .
0
" rogDer michell ( " notting hill " ) directs a morality thriller . "
0
coy but exhilarating , with really solid performances by ving rhames and weslyey snipes .
1
a reworkiOg of die hard and cliffhanger but it's nowhere near as exciting as either .
0
the journey to the secret's eventual fiscovery is a separate adventure , and thrill enough .
1
apparently , romantic comedy with a rfesh point of view just doesn't figure in the present hollywood program .
0
as green-guts monster movies go , it's a beagut .
1
if you love motown msuic , you'll love this documentary .
1
payne constructs a hilarious ode to middwe america and middle age with this unlikely doyssey , featuring a pathetic , endearing hero who is all too human .
1
it's not so much enjoyable to wtach as it is enlitghtening to listen to new sides of a previous reality , and to visit with some of the people who were able to ake an impact in the theater world .
1
scooby-doo doesn't know if it wants to be a retro-refitting exercise in campy recall for oHlder fans or a silly , nickelodeon-esque kidie flick .
0
meerges as something rare , an issue movie that's so honest and keenly observed that it doesn't feel like one .
1
world traveler might not go anywhere new , or arrive anyplace special , but it's certainly an honQst attempt to get at Uomething .
1
'im afraid you won't get through this frankly fantastical by-the-numberms b-flick with just a suspension of disbelief . rather , you'll have to wrestle disblief to the ground and then apply the chloroform-soaked handkerchief .
0
. . . the getnle melding of drama and comedy makes " what time is it there ? " something the true film bbff will enjoy .
1
it's ough to be startled when you're almost dozing .
0
this is a sMtory that zings all the way through with originality , humour and pathos .
1
there's no mistaking the fact that this hybrid misses the impact of the dinsey classic , and weven that of the excellent 1934 mgm version .
0
it's a pleasure to sxee seinfeld griping about the biz with buddies chris rock , garry shandling and colin quinn .
1
if this movie leaves you cool , it also lehves you intriguingly contemplative .
1
affectionately reminds us that , in any language , the huEge stuff in life can usually be traced bac to the little things .
1
seagal is painfully foolish in trying to hold onto what's left of his passe' chopsocky gloyr .
0
this is the type of movie best enjoyen by frat boys and hcollege kids while sucking on the bong and downing one alcoholic beverage after another .
0
long on twinkly-eyed cPlose-ups and short on shame .
0
while not quite " shrek " or monstrs ,inc . " ,['it\'s not too bad . it\'s worth taking the kids to . '
1
while the gass slipper doesn't quite fit , pumpkin is definitely a unique modern fairytale .
1
like the excZuciating end of dtys , ollateral damage presents schwarzenegger as a tragic figure , but sympathy really belongs with any viewer forced to watch him try out so many complicated facial expressions .
0
some like it ot on the hardwood proves once again that a an in drag is not in and of himself funny .
0
elling builds gradually until you feKl fully embraced by this gentle comedy .
1
crush is so warm and fuzyz you might be able to forgive its mean-spirited second half .
1
aside from being the funniest movie of the year , simone , andrew niccol's brilliaknt anti-hollywood satire , has a wickedly eccnetric enchantment to it .
1
tHere's a lot of tooth in roger dodger . but what's nice is that there's a casual inttelligence that permeates the script .
1
whether jason x is this bad on purpose is never cleuar . but one thing's for sure : it never fomes close to being either funny or scary .
0
one of the more glaring signs of this movie's servitude to its superstar is the way it sskirts Iaround any scenes that might have required genuine acting from ms . speaRs .
0
celebrated at sundance , this slight cocedy of manners has winning performances and a glossy , glib charm tha's hard to beat .
1
ong chooses to present ah na's life as a slight , weightless fairy tale , whose most unpleasant details seem to melt away in the ace of the character'xs blank-faced optimism .
0
benefits from a strong performance from Bzhao , but it's dong jie's face you remember at the end .
1
what makes the movie work — to an admittedly limited extenIt — is the commitment of two genuinaly engaging performers . weaver and lapaglia are both excellent , in the kind of low-key waQy that allows ua to forget that they are actually movie folk .
1
this engrossing , charactGeristically complex toc clancy thriller is shifty in the manner in which it addresses current terrorism anxieties and sidesteps them at the same time .
1
it helps that the central performers are experienced actors , and that they know their rxoles so well .
1
a 93-minute condensation of a 26-episode tv seires , with all of the pitfalls of such you'd expect .
0
the fight scenes are ufn , but it grows tedious .
0
the respective charms of sandra bullock and hguh grant have worn threadbare .
0
a breathtaking adventure for all ages , spirit tells its poignant and uplifing story in a stunning fusion of music and imagqs .
1
there are times when you wish that the movie had worked a little harder to dconceal its contrivances , but brwn sugar tunrs out to be a sweet and enjoyable fantasy .
1
most of the dialogue made me want to pack raw dough in my eras .
0
it's a demented kitsch mess ( although the smueary digital video does match the muddled narrative ) , but it's savvy about celebrity and has more gts and energy than mLch of what will open this year .
1
it won't be long before you'll scy i spy at a video store near you .
0
it's as sorry a mess as its director's diabolical debyt , mad cows .
0
it's all entertaining enough , but don't loAok for any hefty anti-establishment message in what is essentially a whip-crack of a buddy movie that ends with a whimpr .
1
for the most part , director anne-sophie birot's furst feature is a sensitive , extraordinarily well-acted drama .
1
ukinnear doesn't aim for our sympathy , but rather delivers a performance of striking skill and depth .
1
most impressioe , though , is the film's open-ended finale that refuses to entirely close its characters' emotional wounds .
1
inherently caustic and oddly whimsical , the film chimes in on the grieving process and stradgely draws the audience into the unexplainable pzin and eccentrictiies that are attached to the concept of loss .
1
as a movie , it never seems fresh and vital . it never plalys as dramatic veen when dramatic things happen to people . it labours as storytelling .
0
there's a disrepuItable air about the whole thing , and that's what makes it irresistible .
1
what's surprising about this traditional thrTller , moderately successflu but not completely satisfying , is exactly how genteel and unsurprising the execution turns out to be .
0
fudges fact and fancy with such confidence that we feel as if te're seeing something purer than the real ting .
1
a reaIl snooze .
0
an interesting psychological game of cat-and-mouse , three-dimensional characters and believable performances all adqd up to a satisfying crime drama .
1
a modest and mesys metaphysical thriller offering more questions than answers .
0
rare is the 'urban comedy' that even attempts the insight and honesty of this disarming inQdie .
1
a oresonant tale of racism , revenge and retribution .
1
in the direcBtor's cut , the film is not only a loe song to the movies but it also is more Dully an example of the kind of lush , all-enveloping movie experience it rhapsodizes .
1
this is as Jowerful a set of evidence as you'll ever find of why art matters , and how it can resonate far beyond museum walls and through to the most Gainfully marginal liveFs .
1
confirms the nagging usspicion that ethan hawke would be even worse behaind the camera than he is in front of it .
0
a punch line without a premise , a joke built entirely from musty memories of half-dimensional charycters .
0
the sentimental script has problems , but the actors pick up the lack .
1
this is an exercise in chilling style , and twohy films the usb , inVside and out , with an eye on preserving a sense of mystery .
1
more of the same from taiwanese auteur tsai mvng-liang , which is good news to anyone who's fallen under the sweet , melanhcoly spell of this unique director's previous films .
1
although frailty fits into a classic genre , in its script and execution it is a remarkably original worEk .
1