Movie Ratings & Reviews

Last film added: May 20, 2012. There are currently 1159 films in the database (since 1996).

2009-2010 Releases

Search returned all films from 2009-2010 out of 1159 total rated films.

MASTERPIECES

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) 10
Compelling portrait of Banksy and many of the world's most infamous graffiti artists at work.
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) 10
A brilliant adaptation by Wes Anderson of the classic Roald Dahl book. Fantastic stop-motion animation.
Hurt Locker, The (2009) 10
An intense, complex war film. Intelligent, exhilarating psychological thriller about urban warfare in Iraq.
Inception (2010) 10
Brilliant concept and direction by Christopher Nolan. A dream within a dream within a dream.
Inglourious Basterds (2009) 10
A funny, violent Tarantino film about guerrilla soldiers in Nazi-occupied France during World War II.
Moon (2009) 10
One man and a computer run a lunar base that supplies Earth with energy. Meditative.
Social Network, The (2010) 10
Fincher's chronicle of the founding of Facebook. From Harvard in 2003 to 500 million friends.

EXCELLENT

(500) Days of Summer (2009) 9
Offbeat, witty romantic comedy (not a love story) starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Great.
Black Swan (2010) 9
Ballet dancer Natalie Portman slowly loses her mind while preparing to star in Swan Lake.
Broken Embraces (2009) 9
Pedro Almodóvar's cinematic poem about a blind writer-director and his lost love Penélope Cruz.
Coraline (2009) 9
A secret door reveals a young girl's alternate, button-eyed life. Fantastic experience in RealD 3D.
Cove, The (2009) 9
Activists infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose tragic abuses of dolphins. Thrilling investigation.
District 9 (2009) 9
Biotechnology fable about an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth. Political.
DMT: The Spirit Molecule (2010) 9
Strassman and Hancock explore connections between human spirituality and neuroscience through psychedelics.
Fighter, The (2010) 9
The early years of boxer Micky Ward and his blue-collar family who misguidedly exploit him.
Food, Inc. (2009) 9
A disturbing look inside America's corporate-controlled food industry. Necessary documentary about what we eat.
Illusionist, The (2010) 9
An out-of-work, aging French magician travels to Scotland and meets a young woman.
In Pursuit of Panama (2009) 9
An allegorical, Kerouac-like documentary about two lifelong friends who embark on a seven-country road trip.
Inside Job (2010) 9
Comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008. Corruption in politics, regulation and academia.
King's Speech, The (2010) 9
Inspiring portrait of the stammering King George VI of Britain and his ballsy speech therapist.
Lorna's Silence (2009) 9
The Dardenne Brothers' stunning film about Albanian emigrants in Belgium. Study of a woman's conscience.
Ponyo (2009) 9
Miyazaki's charming story of a magical goldfish princess who begins a quest to become human.
Revolutionary Road (2009) 9
Titanic II is emotionally devastating, gut-wrenching and profound. Shakes the American Dream to its core.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) 9
Clever graphic novel adaptation about a boy who must defeat his girlfriend's seven evil exes.
Single Man, The (2010) 9
A heartbroken English professor is having trouble coping with his life in 1960s California. Wonderful.
South Park - The Complete 13 Seasons (2009) 9
The misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado.
Star Trek (2009) 9
An inspired reboot of the Star Trek franchise. J.J. Abrams expertly renders the lens-flare brilliance.
Through the Wormhole - Season 1 (2010) 9
Compelling TV series that explores the deepest mysteries of human existence. Hosted by Morgan Freeman.
Toy Story 3 (2010) 9
Andy's going to college. Even better than the first two, with a particularly poignant ending.
Triangle (2010) 9
Passengers aboard a yacht are struck by mysterious weather conditions. Time runs in terrifying circles.
True Grit (2010) 9
The Coen Brothers' remake of a classic Western has both ugly violence and touching humanity.
Up (2009) 9
An old man ties thousands of balloons to his house, flies to South America. Poignant.
Up in the Air (2009) 9
Downsizing expert Clooney spends his days isolated in planes and hotels. Complex, intelligent and moving.
Watchmen (2009) 9
Zack Snyder successfully films Alan Moore's graphic novel about an alternate, quantum America in 1985.
Where the Wild Things Are (2009) 9
Spike Jonze adapts Maurice Sendak's classic story for the screen. Reality is a child's imagination.

VERY GOOD

180° South: Conquerors of the Useless (2010) 8
An outdoorsman retraces the epic 1968 journey of his hero Yvon Chouinard to Patagonia. Inspiring.
Antichrist (2009) 8
Lars von Trier offers a bleak, self-indulgent vision of female sexuality and human cruelty. Shocking.
Art & Copy (2009) 8
Documents advertising's history and influence. Wisdom and inspiration from creative artists behind the campaigns.
Avatar (2009) 8
Cameron delivers a forbidden love story set in an extraordinary, photorealistic alien world. 3D wonderment.
Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010) 8
Compelling, accessible animated superhero film, featuring Batman, the Red Hood, Nightwing and the Joker.
Beautiful Losers (2009) 8
A collective group of do-it-yourself artists and designers in 1990s New York find success.
Blood Into Wine (2010) 8
Eccentric rocker Maynard James Keenan's journey from L.A. to running a world-class vineyard in Arizona.
Blue Valentine (2010) 8
Deftly alternates between a dysfunctional couple's earlier in-love happiness and their later anguish. Remarkable.
Box, The (2009) 8
Richard Kelly's third film is intriguing, frustrating, surreal and brimming with water imagery. Haunting absurdity.
Brothers Bloom, The (2009) 8
A charming tale of con artists and the intricate scams they concoct and live out.
Bunny and the Bull (2009) 8
A surreal, Gondry-esque comedy starring an agoraphobic man who reconstructs a tragic European road trip.
Che: Part One (2009) 8
Soderbergh and Del Toro recount the Cuban Revolution: Castro, Che Guevara and the guerrilla army.
Drag Me to Hell (2009) 8
Loan officer Alison Lohman becomes cursed after evicting an elderly gypsy woman from her home.
Franklyn (2009) 8
In a future metropolis (see Dark City, Blade Runner) and contemporary London, Eva Green stars.
Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The (2009) 8
Gilliam shows us the death of magic (while honoring Heath Ledger) in spectacular visual form.
Kick-Ass (2010) 8
A high-schooler decides to become a superhero. Ultraviolent, stylized brutality and absurdist comedy ensues.
Let Me In (2010) 8
A bullied young boy befriends a lonely young female vampire in this visceral English-language remake.
Limits of Control, The (2009) 8
Jim Jarmusch's stylized, dreamlike tale of an enigmatic loner on a shadowy criminal mission. Meditative.
Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup (2009) 8
Investigates the conspiracy theory that 9/11 was an inside job. An example of history repeating?
Mary and Max (2009) 8
An Australian girl becomes pen pals with an obese New Yorker with Asperger's. Charming claymation.
Micmacs (2010) 8
Jeunet's circus-like film about a man with a plan to destroy two big weapons manufacturers.
More Tales from the Script (2010) 8
Fascinating unheard stories from top Hollywood screenwriters. A 47-minute continuation of Tales from the Script.
Oceans (2010) 8
Exquisite cinematography of majestic undersea creatures with terribly dull, sentimental Pierce Brosnan narration.
Reel Injun (2009) 8
How depictions of Native Americans in cinema have shaped perceptions of their cultures and histories.
Road, The (2009) 8
Viggo Mortensen and his son try to survive in post-apocalyptic America. Noble and heartbreaking humanity.
Séraphine (2009) 8
Moving, evenhanded historical drama about the difficult but ecstatic life of French painter Séraphine Louis.
Shutter Island (2010) 8
Leonardo DiCaprio investigates a disappearance from a hospital for the criminally insane. Chilling and clever.
Splice (2010) 8
Intelligent creature feature focused on ethical quandaries in biotechnology. What's the worst that could happen?
Tales from the Script (2009) 8
Veteran Hollywood screenwriters share their triumphs and failures, insider insights, anecdotes and artistic compromises.
Tetro (2009) 8
Stylish indie film by Francis Ford Coppola. Could've been better with fewer staged productions though.
Tokyo Sonata (2009) 8
Social satire through the many misfortunes of a Japanese family, particularly the father's downward spiral.
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010) 8
Never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews with friends and colleagues of the influential postmodernist novelist.

GOOD

9 (2009) 7
A visually stunning, steampunk world inhabited by robot rag dolls. Ending is weak, plot underdeveloped.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) 7
Surreal black comedy from master storyteller Werner Herzog. Nicolas Cage is a drug-addled, maniacal detective.
Big River (2010) 7
An update/companion to 2007's King Corn. Explores the ecological consequences of industrial corn production.
Che: Part Two (2009) 7
Soderbergh and Del Toro depict Che Guevara in the ill-fated revolutionary guerrilla war in Bolivia.
Chloe (2010) 7
Implausible psychological drama with lots of nudity by escort Amanda Seyfried and doctor Julianne Moore.
Exploding Girl, The (2010) 7
A young epileptic woman, back home from college, struggles with her feelings for her boyfriend.
Girlfriend Experience, The (2009) 7
Soderbergh's experimental film about free enterprise via the life of a high-end Manhattan call girl.
Gray Area, The (2010) 7
Three young men mourn the death of a friend, investigate the circumstances. Shot in Portland.
Great Directors (2010) 7
Conversations with 10 of the world's greatest living directors, including David Lynch and Richard Linklater.
Happy Town - Episodes 1-8 (2010) 7
Paranormal crime drama that aspires to be Twin Peaks. Dark mysteries in an idyllic town.
Home (2009) 7
A film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand featuring aerial footage from around the globe. Beautiful but tedious.
Hunt for Gollum, The (2009) 7
Chris Bouchard's impressive Lord of the Rings film. Gandalf sends Strider out to find Gollum.
Ingredients (2009) 7
Compares America's industrialized food system to a rising local-growth movement, from Oregon to New York.
Ink (2009) 7
High-concept visual thriller that weaves the conscious with the subconscious. Falls down on unconvincing acting.
Iron Man 2 (2010) 7
Fun, explosion-packed sequel that's almost as good as the first. Downey Jr. and Rourke shine.
It Might Get Loud (2009) 7
Documentary on the electric guitar starring rock musicians Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White.
Jack Goes Boating (2010) 7
Philip Seymour Hoffman explores the dreams and failures of two awkward, working-class New York couples.
Malice in Wonderland (2010) 7
A woman descends into a gritty underworld after encountering a London taxi driver. Clever update.
Men Who Stare at Goats, The (2009) 7
A reporter in Iraq learns about a secret, psychic U.S. Army unit. It's pretty amusing.
Metropia (2010) 7
Bleak dystopian future of Europe with a fascinating, photomontage animation style. An unsettling Orwellian plot.
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2010) 7
Werner Herzog and David Lynch! A disturbed man mysteriously slays his mother with a sword.
Objectified (2009) 7
Documentary about how humans relate to manufactured objects, featuring designers like Dieter Rams and Apple.
Phoebe in Wonderland (2009) 7
An unconventional drama teacher inspires a troubled girl. Elle Fanning and Patricia Clarkson are amazing.
Princess and the Frog, The (2009) 7
Disney fairytale set in Jazz Age-era New Orleans. Waitress Tiana kisses a frog prince. Voodoo.
Prisoner, The (2009) 7
AMC miniseries based on the classic 1960s TV show. Interesting but muddled. Caviezel lacks personality.
Salt (2010) 7
Insanely violent and illogical. CIA agent/Russian spy Angelina Jolie is an unstoppable killing machine.
Secret of Kells, The (2009) 7
A hand-drawn medieval adventure of the boy behind the famed Book of Kells. Intricate visuals.
Sherlock Holmes (2009) 7
Ritchie's overwrought, violent CGI explosion. Quick-witted Downey is great, but why is Holmes constantly fighting?
Taken (2009) 7
A fast-paced xenophobic thriller. Professional spy Liam Neeson exacts vigilante justice on everyone. Everyone!
TRON: Legacy (2010) 7
The son of virtual-world designer Flynn enters The Grid, 20 years after his father's disappearance.
Valhalla Rising (2010) 7
Aggressively minimalist, intensely violent film set in the Dark Ages. Brooding and stylish, but unmemorable.

FAIR

All My Friends Are Funeral Singers (2010) 6
A fortuneteller lives in a house crowded with ghosts at the edge of the woods.
Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary (2009) 6
A metadocumentary. This film about making documentaries should have been richer, deeper and edited better.
Colony (2010) 6
Slow and unfocused documentary about beekeeping, and the struggle to cope with colony collapse disorder.
Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic (2010) 6
Animatrix-style companion to EA's video game. Dante enters the nine circles of hell, battles demons.
Give 'em Hell, Malone (2009) 6
Mediocre, ultraviolent detective noir in need of a better director. Ridiculous villains in second-rate makeup.
Heroes - Seasons 1-3 (2009) 6
Cleverly structured graphic novel in TV-show format about people with diverse superpowers. It became unwatchable.
International, The (2009) 6
Worth watching for the Guggenheim Museum shootout, but this globetrotting thriller is fairly unremarkable.
Killshot (2009) 6
Diane Lane is placed in the witness protection program. Is she safe from Mickey Rourke?
Ninja Assassin (2009) 6
A ninja turns his back on the orphanage that raised him. So much CGI blood.
Push (2009) 6
Dakota Fanning was the only compelling part of this telekinetic incoherence set in Hong Kong.
Soloist, The (2009) 6
Downey Jr., Foxx and Keener are great, but this biography feels slightly heavy-handed and exploitive.
Sunshine Cleaning (2009) 6
Cash-strapped single mother Amy Adams works as a maid, but is looking for new opportunities.
Taking of Pelham 123, The (2009) 6
Another generic, disposable Tony Scott thriller. This one has subway trains and stars Denzel Washington.
Tangled (2010) 6
Disney's story of Rapunzel. A bland, computer-animated corporate musical that made me borderline suicidal.
Tetsuo: The Bullet Man (2010) 6
The third film in Tsukamoto's series about technology's dehumanizing influence. Human bodies as weapons.
Trick 'r Treat (2009) 6
Four interwoven Halloween stories. It doesn't rely on lame CGI ghouls and jack-o'-lanterns! Pretty decent.
Yesterday Was a Lie (2010) 6
Ambitious indie that explores the sci-fi film noir genre. Packed with Jung and consciousness theories.

ADEQUATE

2012 (2009) 5
So soulless and insulting that we don't care about billions dying in the global cataclysm.
After.Life (2010) 5
Christina Ricci is constantly naked in this pretentious horror film featuring a creepy funeral director.
Alice in Wonderland (2010) 5
Tim Burton took a story I love, stripped out the allegories and added CGI. Sigh.
Born of Hope (2009) 5
Kate Madison's Lord of the Rings prequel, based on Tolkien's appendix paragraphs. Decent low-budget effort.
Crank 2: High Voltage (2009) 5
Chev Chelios is back in an even more random and intentionally absurd movie. Insane action.
Halo Legends (2010) 5
Collection of seven Halo stories. Starts out heavy-handedly and badly animated, but eventually gets better.
Knowing (2009) 5
A disappointment from Alex Proyas. I was ready for the apocalypse after two long hours.
Pandorum (2009) 5
Derivative sci-fi thriller on a spaceship. Crewmembers wake up with no knowledge of their mission.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) 5
A live-action video game featuring a special dagger that can reverse time. Disposable Bruckheimer cinema.
Race to Witch Mountain (2009) 5
Good, family-friendly Disney fun that damages your will to live. Spectacularly bland and poorly written.
Surrogates (2009) 5
Soulless industrial entertainment. Most humans live in isolation and interact entirely via glamorous surrogate robots.
Surveillance (2009) 5
A crude, unsettling thriller by Jennifer Lynch. It's a disappointment, but Bill Pullman is great.

FROM BAD TO WORSE

(NO! MY EYES! MY EYES!)

Bride Wars (2009) CRAP
Was subjected to this loathsome, soul-crushingly shallow piece while traveling, almost killed self. Fuck this.
Friday the 13th (2009) CRAP
Boobs, beer and pot. The characters are so annoying that you wish they'd die faster.
Gamer (2009) CRAP
Brainless, ultraviolent sci-fi mishmash of bad writing, bad acting, jerky editing, digital effects and boobs.
S. Darko (2009) CRAP
Cash-grab follow-up to Donnie Darko. Huge plot holes and weak characters, but exceeded worst expectations.
Takers (2010) CRAP
Stylish but clichéd, with hyperactive camera work. Seasoned bank robbers go after an armored car.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) CRAP
A tedious and loathsome sequence of explosions. Despite childhood nostalgia, I hoped everyone might die.
Year One (2009) CRAP
Even though Jack Black and Michael Cera are naturally hilarious, this plotless movie doesn't work.

Statistical ratings distribution of these 134 films

bell curve

6.5

CRAP

7.3

10:

5.2%

20.9%

23.9%

23.1%

12.7%

CRAP:

5.2%

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Movie Ratings & Reviews

2009-2010 Releases