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20
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xx
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35
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63
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36
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35
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47
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70
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93
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27
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47
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93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
73
Kung Fu Panda
72
Ghost Town
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
63
Burn After Reading
60
Traitor
58
Express, The
58
City of Ember
58
Body of Lies
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
57
Flash of Genius
55
House Bunny, The
54
Get Smart
53
Rocker, The
53
Quarantine
53
Lucky Ones, The
52
Secret Life of Bees, The
52
Longshots, The
51
Mamma Mia!
49
Family That Preys, The
48
Sex Drive
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
46
Lakeview Terrace
45
Blindness
43
Eagle Eye
43
Meet Dave
43
Death Race
41
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
39
Nights in Rodanthe
37
Miracle at St. Anna
36
Space Chimps
36
Righteous Kill
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
My Best Friend's Girl
27
Women, The
26
Babylon A.D.
24
Bangkok Dangerous
20
American Carol, An
15
Disaster Movie
15
College
xx
Max Payne
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

xx
All of Us
53
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57
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68
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83
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55
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xx
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xx
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63
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56
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50
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61
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43
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49
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47
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43
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41
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62
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85
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66
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xx
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80
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26
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64
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28
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28
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65
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37
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xx
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82
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73
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73
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51
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82
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44
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31
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72
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68
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40
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80
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53
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73
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55
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76
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82
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56
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56
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55
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72
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45
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57
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82
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63
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57
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72
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83
Trouble the Water
xx
Tru Loved
83
U2 3D
84
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52
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
79
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46
W.
61
Wackness, The
52
What Just Happened?
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
89
Man on Wire
86
Momma's Man
85
Edge of Heaven, The
84
Up the Yangtze
83
Ballast
83
U2 3D
83
Trouble the Water
82
Tell No One
82
Happy-Go-Lucky
82
Frozen River
82
Rachel Getting Married
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Moving Midway
79
Visitor, The
78
Last Mistress, The
76
Pool, The
73
Girl Cut in Two, A
73
Obscene
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Secret, A
72
Transsiberian
72
I Served the King of England
68
I.O.U.S. A
68
August Evening
68
Ashes of Time Redux
66
Elegy
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
65
Flow: For Love of Water
64
Fall, The
64
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
63
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
63
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
63
Appaloosa
63
Man Named Pearl, A
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Kabluey
62
Duchess, The
62
Mister Foe
62
Baghead
61
Wackness, The
61
Brick Lane
57
Towelhead
57
Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, The
57
Sixty Six
56
Religulous
56
Bottle Shock
56
RocknRolla
55
Save Me
55
Battle in Seattle
55
Ping Pong Playa
53
Humboldt County
53
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert
53
Nights and Weekends
52
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
52
What Just Happened?
51
Good Dick
50
Breakfast with Scot
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Choke
46
W.
45
Shoot on Sight
44
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43
Choose Connor
43
Call and Response
41
Cthulhu
40
Igor
37
Forever Strong
31
Hounddog
28
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28
Fireproof
26
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xx
Frontrunners
xx
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xx
All of Us
xx
Elephant King, The
xx
Billy: The Early Years
xx
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xx
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xx
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xx
Just Buried
xx
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xx
Lower Learning
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D, The
Dimension Films
FILM:
MPAA RATING: PG for mild action and some rude humor
Starring
Taylor Lautner,
Cayden Boyd,
George Lopez,
Taylor Dooley,
Jacob Davich,
Kristin Davis,
and
David Arquette
From the wild imagination of a child and the digital vision of director Robert Rodriguez comes this magical, original, not to mention three-dimensional, family entertainment. (Dimension Films)
| GENRE(S): |
Action
|
Adventure
|
Comedy
|
Family/Kids
|
Fantasy
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Racer Rodriguez (also story)
Robert Rodriguez
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Robert Rodriguez
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: September 20, 2005
Video: September 20, 2005
Theatrical: June 10, 2005
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
92 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
USA |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
There is such a joy of play in the film that it's easy to overlook the overdone performances and the lazy script shortcuts.

75
New York Post
Kyle Smith
You can't get this kind of full-on sensory-jolt anywhere else, not legally anyway. "Sharkboy" will be equally beloved in elementary schools and in college dorms.

70
Los Angeles Times
Carina Chocano
On the whole it feels genuine. Lautner and Dooley are compelling as the sullen, instinctual Sharkboy and the radiant, hot-headed Lavagirl, and it's easy to see why they dominate shy, hesitant Max's dreams.

70
LA Weekly
Ella Taylor
Slight but immensely enjoyable charmer.

60
Dallas Observer
Luke Y. Thompson
Robert Rodriguez and his kids conjure up a charming 3-D fantasy.

50
The Hollywood Reporter
Michael Rechtshaffen
An often imaginative though less than magical family feature.

50
Variety
Joe Leydon
There's little chance of grabbing teens (or even many tweens) during summertime playdates. Still, small fry will be enchanted by this rambunctious action-adventure.

50
Chicago Reader
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Charmingly low-tech fantasy.

50
Miami Herald
Peter Debruge
The result is like a low-rent "Wizard of Oz" or "Labyrinth," sticking close to the formula of a kid who falls asleep and wakes up in a fantastical wonderland where everything's just a little bit off.

50
Philadelphia Inquirer
Carrie Rickey
A case of a yummy yarn spoiled by cheesy visuals.

50
Christian Science Monitor
David Sterritt
Only part of it is in 3-D, but youngsters should enjoy pulling their special specs on and off at appropriate moments.

50
Austin Chronicle
Marjorie Baumgarten
A strange Hollywood film, but for a home movie it's one bang-up job.

50
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Because the real world scenes are in 2-D and the dream and fantasy scenes are in 3-D, we get an idea of what the movie would have looked like without the unnecessary dimension. Signs flash on the screen to tell us when to put on and take off our polarizing glasses, and I felt regret every time I had to shut out those colorful images and return to the dim and dreary 3-D world. On DVD, this is going to be a great-looking movie.

50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
For a movie aimed at children, Shark Boy and Lava Girl is gloomy.

42
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
A story that would be charming if recited at the dinner table tries to carry a feature film, and it's not even close to the task. The result is screamingly bad.

42
Entertainment Weekly
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Like choral singing and travel photography, this adventure is more fun for participants than it is for spectators.

40
The New York Times
Lawrence Van Gelder
Mr. Rodriguez seems unsure what his film is really about, making the moral of the story -- "dream an unselfish dream" -- feel more like a vaguely judgmental homily than a satisfying conclusion.

38
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
As sweet and hopeless and silly as a doting dad framing his second-grader's latest finger-painting and calling it a Matisse.

38
Chicago Tribune
Allison Benedikt
There's really just not a lot here. I'm sure Racer's story will entertain the very wee ones -- but so do keys.

38
Charlotte Observer
Lawrence Toppman
The story's so sloppy that it contradicts itself constantly.

38
New York Daily News
Jack Mathews
The low-tech film looks like a kid's crude drawing, plays like entry-level Game Boy, and is about as nourishing as a Tootsie Pop.

38
USA Today
Mike Clark
There's sad news to report about The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D: Put on the cardboard glasses, and you can still see the movie.

30
Village Voice
Ben Kenigsberg
Based on characters created by Rodriguez's then-seven-year-old son, Racer Max, the film doesn't belong in wide release. It belongs on a refrigerator door, alongside "100%" spelling tests, old lunch menus, and notices from the PTA.

30
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Nathan Rabin
Sadly, the film's creaky, sometimes painful dialogue makes it all too easy to believe that it was genuinely co-written by a small child.

30
Time
Richard Corliss
Pretty lame. Sharkboy has an especially frantic, amateur atmosphere, with a mostly maladroit cast.

30
TV Guide
Angel Cohn
The concept is cute and the movie starts out well, but it devolves into a muddled, overstuffed mess that wears out its welcome around the time the novelty of 3-D effects wears off.

25
Boston Globe
Ty Burr
One could forgive a budget this threadbare, performances this amateurish, a plot this tortuous if the 3-D effects passed the cool test. Sadly, watching ''Adventures" is an experience akin to seeing the world through dung-colored glasses.

25
San Francisco Chronicle
Ruthe Stein
Sharkboy relies almost entirely on 3-D for its kicks. The novelty, however, quickly wears thin with the thinnest of stories to project.

20
Washington Post
Ann Hornaday
Visually undistinguished, narratively inert, populated by a cast of charmless child actors, "Sharkboy and Lavagirl," with any luck will fade quickly from theaters, memories and Rodriguez's own Things to Do Today list.

20
Empire
Simon Braund
A bizarre, hopelessly muddled fantasy that's likely to induce utter bewilderment in its target audience.

10
Washington Post
Desson Thomson
The result is astoundingly boring and, frankly, tedious to sit through.


The average user rating for this movie is 4.8 (out of 10) based on 107 User Votes
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