Film Review Archives
9,743 results:
Airheads (1994, 92 min., PG-13)
Poor Michael Lehmann's career path is following that same downward spiral as Michael Cimino's: one brilliant film, and then... nothing. Or worse than nothing. Cimino had his Deer Hunter and Lehmann had his Heathers, but neither ...
Ajami (2009, 120 min., NR)
This Oscar-nominated Israeli film reveals not only the divides between Jews and Arabs, but also those between Muslims and Christians, young and old, men and women, and rich and poor.
AKA (2002, 118 min., NR)
Eighteen-year-old Brit from an unhappy background re-invents himself as a member of the aristocracy. He's also working out his gay identity. And it's told in triptyches, too.
Chong cuts a hugely sympathetic figure in the story of his legal troubles after Operation Pipe Dreams, an anti-paraphernalia sweep that specifically targeted his bong business.
This story about a girl from the ghetto who wins the national spelling bee has lofty if sometimes unfulfilled goals, but is a rewarding tale nevertheless.
Akira (1988, 124 min., R)
This animated science fiction based on a graphic novel set the modern standard of excellence for Japanese anime.
The film follows around comedian and politico Franken without managing to either inflame or inspire the viewer or add much new information to Franken's already well-documented history.
Aladdin (1992, 90 min., PG)
Disney goes more cartoony but still produces a classic with this tale of a diamond in the rough
Aladdin (2019, 128 min., PG)
Another needless Disney remake buoyed on nostalgia and a handful of charming performances
The Alamo (2004, 135 min., PG-13)
In this round of historical revisionism there's not much to remember except, maybe, Davy Crockett becoming a fiddler on the roof.
Alan & Naomi is set during World War II in New York. It exhibits the kind of excruciating attention to detail that signals misty nostalgia and an impossibly functional family life. Another early indicator that the ...
Steve Coogan’s comical egomaniac Alan Partridge jumps from British television to the movie screen – with all of his smarm intact.
David Arquette has two basic facial expressions in The Alarmist: a wince, followed by a panicked grimace. It's a limited acting approach oddly fitting for the role of Thomas Hudler, a neophyte salesman wandering Candide-like in ...
Alaska (1996, 108 min., PG)
If you can manage to overlook some annoying gaps in logic and the relentless bombast of the ever-present musical score, Alaska is a pretty decent kids' adventure movie. The primary things that makes it so are ...
This melancholy picture is distinguished by Glenn Close's vanishing act in the titular role.
If nothing else, Spacey’s directorial debut boasts the year’s best cast thus far. Apart from that, however, Albino Alligator is a fierce little hybrid: part deadpan black comedy, part classic noir. Leader Dova (Dillon), his wounded ...
Alex & Emma (2003, 96 min., PG-13)
With the recent news that "bling-bling" has made it into the New Oxford Dictionary, I’d like to propose another addition to our lexicon: the Coppola Curse. It’s what happens when a once-fine director slowly chips away ...
Alex Cross (2012, 101 min., PG-13)
Stretching out of his Madea comfort zone to play James Patterson's FBI profiler is a courageous but misguided move on Tyler Perry’s part.
Alexander (2004, 173 min., R)
Oliver Stone has achieved the impossible: He's made the life of Alexander the Great seem boring.
This pleasant throwback to the live-action Disney films of yore provides brisk fun for all.
Alfie (2004, 103 min., R)
Jude Law's new Alfie is less tramp and more scamp: the modern metrosexual.
Ali (2001, 158 min., R)
Mann's film, which has some terrific moments, hits the highlights only. Will Smith, layered in subtle facial prosthetics in order to resemble Ali, does no disservice to the memory of the Greatest, but the best thing here is Jon Voight, who loses himself thoroughly in the role of sportscaster Howard Cosell.
Unlike its televised predecessor, Ali G Indahouse just isn’t that funny.
Alias Betty is either a fascinating study of the relationship between mothers and their children or a disturbing story about sociopaths and their marks. I'm not sure, but both readings of this taut French thriller seem ...
Alice (2020, 105 min., R)
French sex work drama finds a different kind of happy ending
Alice (2022, 98 min., R)
Southern slavery drama with a twist
Every adult is a reaction to a childhood. Our adult form represents the survival of (or the succumbing to) the traumas and triumphs of our youth. For the bastard-born Martin, that means recovering from his mother ...
Sadly, the mirth-to-muck ratio in Tim Burton's new film is deeply imbalanced.
Although it has visual panache, this new story is lifeless
More chest-bursting fun in space