Movies

Last updated 21 February 2010

Current Reviews

Reviews of current movies. Links are to the Rotten Tomatoes Web site, where you can read what other critics and moviegoers thought of each film. Release date is in parentheses. Ratings are from * (stinker) to **** (absolutely wonderful).

***½ Avatar (December 2009) - Theatre
Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana. Wheelchair-bound ex-marine finds himself on a hostile planet, charged with inhabiting an avatar body and ingratiating himself with the natives so they can be persuaded to move off the mineral riches they live on.

She says: It is visually stunning, even for the 3D-viewing impaired like me. And while the characters and plot are not exactly brimming with originality and depth, they're still engaging.
He says: I really enjoyed that. And now I think tall women maybe aren't so bad.

*** How She Move (January 2008) - Rental
Rutina Wesley, Brennan Gademans. Her family's funds depleted, a teenage girl must leave her private school and return to her old neighborhood and school. She latches on a to step dancing competition as her way out.

She says: A fairly formulaic plot but very well-executed, and some amazing dance sequences in a genre I'd never heard of before (though it seems somewhat related to hip-hop and krump).
He says: That was good. It worked for me. Can't believe Tré Armstrong made a name for herself in that, though; her part was pretty small.

***½ Up in the Air (December 2009) - Theatre
George Clooney, Vera Farmiga. Ryan Bingham lives on the road, a consultant who fires people, when a change in company policy causes him to rethink his personal philosophies.

She says: A movie of small surprises, as all characters turn out to be more than just cliches, and the plot refuses to follow the conventional arc. Along with the fact that Clooney and most other actors are excellent and the script is witty, it's highly worth seeing.
He says: I liked that. It kept me entertained, it surprised me, I enjoyed the characters. Even though not much happened.

** Tropic Thunder (August 2008) - Rental
Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Junior. Actors in a war movie unknowingly find themselves in an actual war zone.

She says: Robert Downey Jr. was excellent in this, and the movie certainly had funny parts, but overall it was a little too gross and immature for me.
He says: It was OK. I wouldn't watch it again, though.

**½ The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (December 2009) - Theatre
Heath Ledger, Christopher Plummer. Bands from a magic travelling show save a man from hanging. And the it gets really odd.

She says: It's a fantastic-looking movie, and the “three actors replacing Heath Ledger” that became necessary after the actor's death works remarkably well. But neither the imaginary world nor the plotline is fully thought out.
He says: It was weird. And I didn't think it was a great movie. But it was funny, and it did hold my interest, even though I was pretty sleepy.

**½ Pirate Radio (November 2009) - Theatre
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy. Follows one British pirate radio station in 1966, when the government was trying to shut them down.

She says: In part this is a love story to British rock of the 1960s, and that part is fun. But the story hanging around that is weak, and that's too bad. There are funny moments, but no big narrative drive. It's more like a series of vignettes with a really great soundtrack, where there was certainly potential for it to be much more.
He says: I didn't get the central premise. Why on earth wouldn't women have been allowed on the boat?

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Movie Reviews Archive

Movies A–B (About a Boy to Brokeback Mountain)

Movies C–F (Caché to From Hell)

Movies G–L (Galaxy Quest to Luck)

Movies M–R (Made to The Royal Tenenbaums),

Movies S–Z (Saint Ralph to Y Tu Mama Tambien)

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DVD Reviews

Johnny Depp films (Benny and Joon to What's Eating Gilbert Grape)

Musicals (Grease to The Wall)

Musically Inspired movies (About a Boy to Strictly Ballroom)

Family movies (The Aristocats to The Wizard of Oz)

Other movies (Bowling for Columbine to When Harry Met Sally)

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Articles

Frequently Asked Questions about our Movie Reviews.

Report from the 32nd Popular Culture Association Annual Conference, March 13-16, 2002. Dateline Toronto: What do academics talk about when they get together? Movies they've seen, TV shows they've watched, books they've read. Just like you and me — well, sort of...

Movie Lists: Best of per year, food-related, sexy and dumb yet great comedies.

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Essay

Pretty Woman: A Fantasy Theme Analysis — Why were so many seemingly intelligent women drawn to this piece of fluff about a prostitute and her corporate raider?

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