Fayetteville Free Weekly - Rotten Tomatoes

Fayetteville Free Weekly

Fayetteville Free Weekly is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Tony Macklin
Rating
Title/Year
Author
1
1.5/5
Sex and the City 2 (2010)

Tony Macklin

Girls, let's have another Cosmpolitan and remember the past fondly. But make way for Chelsea [Handler]. She drinks vodka neat. She's a real woman.
Posted Jun 9, 2010
2
2.0/5
Racing Dreams (2010)

Tony Macklin

Director Marshall Curry's film smacks of being too much of a home movie. And the kids' narration and commentary sometimes seems practiced. But for those whose church is in Talladega, it won't matter.
Posted May 15, 2010
3
2.5/5
Edge of Darkness (2010)

Tony Macklin

Edge of Darkness is a surprisingly well-done thriller. Unfortunately, after an hour and a half of substantial filmmaking, it collapses into a Lethal Weapon #6 climax. But the bulk of the film is worthy.
Posted Feb 4, 2010
4
2.0/5
Everybody's Fine (2009)

Tony Macklin

Everybody's Fine is a nice picture about a dysfunctional family which keeps secrets. It should appeal to nice, dysfunctional, secretive people in the audience -- which probably is the majority.
Posted Nov 23, 2009
5
1.0/5
2012 (2009)

Tony Macklin

After seeing 2012 I had to take a shower I felt so unclean. If 2012 succeeds, we'll have the deluge of crap. It won't be the Rapture; it will be the Evacuation.
Posted Nov 11, 2009
6
3.0/5
Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Tony Macklin

Michael Moore titled his most recent film Capitalism: A Love Story, probably because in Capitalism you never have to say you're sorry. And Moore never says he's sorry as he trashes Capitalism in America.
Posted Sep 25, 2009
7
2.5/5
State of Play (2009)

Tony Macklin

State of Play is like a very filling meal. As it appears to end, one sighs with satisfaction. It was an exciting thriller with a viable resolution. ... But wait. There's more. The meal has been reheated, and thrown back slapdash on the screen.
Posted Apr 21, 2009
8
2.0/5
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (2009)

Tony Macklin

The Jonas Brothers are a contemporary phenomenon -- a boyish trio who dazzle fangirl tweens.
Posted Mar 19, 2009
9
3.0/5
Coraline (2009)

Tony Macklin

Coraline is a mesmerizing tale with macabre stitching. There's no blood, but Coraline is a haunting horrorfest located in a weird wonderland.
Posted Feb 19, 2009
10
4.0/5
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Tony Macklin

Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which Allen wrote and directed but did not act in, is Woody at the top of his game.
Posted Feb 6, 2009
11
1.5/5
Blood Diamond (2006)

Tony Macklin

Blood Diamond is a movie zircon. It doesn't cut glass, but it cuts plot, character, and credibility. It could be Hotel Rwanda, but instead it's Motel Deep-Six.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
12
1.0/5
The Good German (2007)

Tony Macklin

The Good German is the bad movie. Except for the ambience -- the look of the film -- it stumbles awkwardly on every level.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
13
2.5/5
Children of Men (2006)

Tony Macklin

Children of Men is a glorious mess. It's a Frankenstein monster of a movie. Part sci-fi, part thriller, part action genre, part religious allegory, it flays and lumbers after meaning-- sending off occasional sparks of style.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
14
4.0/5
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Tony Macklin

The most important film of 2006 was Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima. In 20 years Letters from Iwo Jima will be a classic.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
15
2.5/5
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Tony Macklin

Pan's Labyrinth is a punishing, evocative poem. It is part ferocious reality and part fearful fantasy.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
16
2.0/5
Catch and Release (2007)

Tony Macklin

Catch and Release will not cause Ben Affleck any husband-envy. It's a harmless romantic comedy that will garner Garner no awards and middling success at the box office.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
17
1.0/5
Because I Said So (2007)

Tony Macklin

There are chick flicks and upchuck flicks. The movie Because I Said So is an upchuck chick flick.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
18
2.5/5
Ghost Rider (2007)

Tony Macklin

Seeing Ghost Rider is like going to Saturday matinee serials at the Rialto eons ago. It's a fanciful, puerile experience -- a fun day out for 9-year olds. Ghost Rider is a ridiculous melange of cheesy effects, talentless extras, corny plot and insi
Posted Feb 2, 2009
19
2.0/5
The Astronaut Farmer (2006)

Tony Macklin

The Astronaut Farmer is one of those movies that you don't believe for a moment while you're watching it, but you leave with a warm glow. But by the time you've driven home, you realize you've been conned.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
20
2.0/5
300 (2007)

Tony Macklin

300 is a fun-fest of blood, mayhem, and absurdity. At its best, it is entertaining; when it's not at its best, it's pretty dumb. It's pretty dumb much of the time.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
21
2.0/5
Reign Over Me (2007)

Tony Macklin

Reign Over Me is like spending two hours with a shrink. Self-absorbed and repetitive, it has an occasional moment of truth, and a lot of hot air.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
22
3.5/5
The Lookout (2007)

Tony Macklin

The best young actor in movies today may well be Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
23
3.0/5
The Hoax (2007)

Tony Macklin

The Hoax is the real thing. It's a breezy, engaging caper. It's like a heist film of the 1970s, but the pilferers are literary men not bank robbers.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
24
3.0/5
Disturbia (2007)

Tony Macklin

Disturbia is a well-made, very entertaining thriller.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
25
3.0/5
Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Tony Macklin

You know that the third Spider-Man had to be bigger. The third movie in a franchise goes for broke. And Spider-Man 3 is bigger, if not better. It's overdone, overlong, and overplotted. It's all over the place. This does not mean Spider-Man 3
Posted Feb 2, 2009
26
2.5/5
Lucky You (2007)

Tony Macklin

I don't think I believed the movie Lucky You, but I sort of enjoyed it. A caveat: I enjoy watching poker on ESPN. If you don't, this movie will bore you.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
27
2.0/5
Fracture (2007)

Tony Macklin

Fracture is an entertaining movie that should be better than it is.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
28
2.0/5
Shrek the Third (2007)

Tony Macklin

Shrek the Third has the curse of the third in a bankable series. It is too often sappy, tiresome, and overblown. A franchise such as Shrek, with all the money it has accumulated, should be able to buy a little freshness and originality. But instead
Posted Feb 2, 2009
29
2.5/5
Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End (2007)

Tony Macklin

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is a hearty, bumpy sea marathon. For some, it will be a fun ride; for others, it will be an ordeal. I'm somewhere in between.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
30
2.0/5
Knocked Up (2007)

Tony Macklin

Knocked Up is like a Hallmark Greeting Card with crude verse. It's is an uneasy mix of ethnic humor, slacker humor, and human drama -- some is amusing, some is indulgent, and some is strained.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
31
1.5/5
Evening (2007)

Tony Macklin

What's the difference between slasher films and chick flicks? In slasher films they suffer less, and they die quicker. Evening, bless its banal heart, is a chick flick in all its fatuous glory.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
32
3.0/5
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

Tony Macklin

Live Free or Die Hard is an over-the-top, fun rampage.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
33
3.0/5
Transformers (2007)

Tony Macklin

Transformers is a rollicking, rousing experience.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
34
3.5/5
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Tony Macklin

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a gripping, evocative movie. David Yates has two great strengths to apply to the project. He is cinematically adept, and character is a priority for him.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
35
3.0/5
La Vie en Rose (La Mome) (2007)

Tony Macklin

In La Vie en Rose, Marion Cotillard has the role of a lifetime. And she relishes it.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
36
2.5/5
Talk to Me (2007)

Tony Macklin

Talk to Me is an incisive portrait of a provocative figure. It comes very close to caricature, but remains human and lively.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
37
4.0/5
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)

Tony Macklin

The Bourne Ultimatum keeps the pedal to the floor and burns serious rubber.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
38
4.0/5
Ratatouille (2007)

Tony Macklin

When is a rat a lark? When he's created by Brad Bird. Brad Bird, the animation maestro from Pixar, invents a spunky, gourmet rodent in the lively, spicy romp Ratatouille.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
39
2.0/5
Hairspray (2007)

Tony Macklin

Hairspray is an energetic romp, but as a social statement -- which it pretends to be -- it's cartoonish. And as a playful look back at a time and place, it's simplistic shtik. It's a mountain of whipped cream, with an occasional chocolate sprinkle.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
40
2.0/5
Resurrecting the Champ (2007)

Tony Macklin

Resurrecting the Champ is a movie I was going to recommend. It was contrived and dopey, but it seemed like pleasant entertainment. Then came the terrible last ten minutes when it casts itself on the rancid junk heap of hokum.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
41
3.5/5
3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Tony Macklin

3:10 to Yuma is a big, brawling action-adventure with strong psychological elements. The original 3:10 to Yuma, with Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, directed by Delmer Daves, was a psychological western, and the present version expands on that.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
42
3.0/5
Eastern Promises (2007)

Tony Macklin

David Cronenberg is a director who sets out to bring life (and death) back to violence. In Eastern Promises he does just that. It is a movie that will make audiences squirm and look away.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
43
2.0/5
Rush Hour 3 (2007)

Tony Macklin

Although much of Rush Hour 3 is in Paris, it's no French pastry. It's more week-old Happy Meal.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
44
1.5/5
Feast of Love (2007)

Tony Macklin

Feast of Love is a multi-layered -- layers of baloney -- tale of pursuit of love.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
45
2.0/5
The Brave One (2007)

Tony Macklin

The Brave One is worth seeing for the scenes between Terrence Howard and Jodie Foster.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
46
2.0/5
The Hunting Party (2007)

Tony Macklin

There are a lot of movies that don't deliver on their promise. The Hunting Party is one of them. It's a disheartening disappointment.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
47
3.0/5
In the Valley of Elah (2007)

Tony Macklin

In the Valley of Elah is a powerful, emotional indictment of what contemporary war can do to young men. It is a potent moral tale. This is not your father's war.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
48
4.0/5
Into the Wild (2007)

Tony Macklin

Into The Wild has been made into a prayer of a motion picture by Sean Penn. It may not touch everybody, but those whom it does touch, it will touch deeply. It is a haunting odyssey.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
49
2.5/5
Michael Clayton (2007)

Tony Macklin

Clooney's latest venture into panache is thriller style in Michael Clayton.
Posted Feb 2, 2009
50
5.0/5
No Country for Old Men (2007)

Tony Macklin

When you see No Country for Old Men, leave your preconceptions at home. But bring your Alfred Hitchcock lenses. They're useful. No Country for Old Men is a dazzling time-bomb of a movie. It is an engrossing, brutal, nerve-wracking moral tale
Posted Feb 2, 2009