question: Moderately witty and acceptably acted, Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2 isn't much worse than the first installment.

numbered reviews: 1. If you're old enough to see how contrived it all is, you're old enough to skip this and seek out something more entertaining at the movies.
2. Overall, it's fast, funny, and effective and will probably please fans.
3. "Rodrick Rules" might not be high art, but it is a perfectly sound kid's movie.
4. I hate to put down any effort to reach children and young teens with a positive message. As bad as I feel, I must be honest. This one just doesn't get there.
5. As portrayed by Zachary Gordon, Greg lacks ... charm and spontaneity ... No real sparks of mischievousness or bone-deep embarrassment or endearing flush of affection light this kid up.
6. A bungled sequel to the original snappy comedy.
7. The physical comedy will have the typical 10-year-old and some grown-ups cackling with glee.
8. Joyfully scabrous.
9. Although this is basically 'Malcolm in the Middle' style material it's largely entertaining and harmless fun, especially for its target audience.
10. Rodrick schools his brother to always lower people's expectations. The film succeeds ... in doing just that.


question: Informative and enraging in equal measure, The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz uses its subject's tragic tale to deliver an impassioned call to action.

numbered reviews: 1. Knappenberger's documentary is smart and focused, homing in on a recurring theme of independence.
2. Aaron Swartz's life story is a tragedy, but not for the reasons the makers of The Internet's Own Boy would have you believe.
3. The bits and bytes come fast, and not always with context. Still, the loss of a man whose gifts were on the cutting edge is felt deeply.
4. Tragic, maybe overly burnished portrait of online activist Aaron Swartz nevertheless turns his federal prosecution into a crisp indictment of government hypocrisy and intimidation.
5. See the movie, flaws and all, simply to see where you stand in this digital river that runs through all our lives, connecting and isolating us in ways we're barely able to comprehend.
6. It's a call to action in the form of an adoring profile, which is effective (and affecting) strategy, but narrow, propagandistic filmmaking.
7. Will upset you. As it should.
8. A system that tries to scare harmless do-gooders into submission does America no credit. In this case, it succeeded all too horribly well.
9. May his death not be in vain.
10. The Internet's Own Boy builds a strong case against the American government, whose insatiable ability to continually undermine its basic democratic principles caused the sad demise of one of the internet's great heroes.


question: Eye candy for those who don't require a movie to have a plot or for it to make sense.

numbered reviews: 1. This snappy sequel improves upon the campy excess and cheerful stupidity of the original.
2. The self-conscious silliness of the first Charlie's Angels has been overwhelmed here by a stifling smugness.
3. Thankfully, McG never permits the film to be crushed under its own weight.
4. Hang on to your tub of popcorn and enjoy.
5. A high-speed rehash with the emphasis on hash.
6. Loud but listless, this sequel plays like coming attractions for a movie that never shows up.
7. The theme for the sequel is more: more over-the-top action, more puns, more Bosley shtick, and more gratuitous action to please the male audience...Too bad more stuff doesn't include more entertainment.
8. Has its moments, but never takes wing.
9. The intrigue in the plot is weak, but the action makes up for it.
10. Undeniably, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is an enjoyably crazy ride--just make sure to leave your disbelief suspended at the door.


question: The Gift is wickedly smart and playfully subversive, challenging the audience's expectations while leaving them leaning on the edges of their seats.

numbered reviews:
1. An "R"-rated warning of the dangers of childhood bullying, Australian actor Joel Edgerton's tense directorial debut shows promise for both the modern psychological thriller genre and for himself as a legitimate filmmaker.
2. "The Gift" is a movie full of surprises - and one of them is that it is surprisingly good.
3. The conclusion will probably stun you, and it's firmly good and scary. But possibly not worth waiting through everything before it.
4. Clever and atmospheric, the film has enough twists to keep the average viewer guessing.
5. Those expecting a jump-filled home invasion movie may come away disappointed, but everyone else should find much to enjoy in this tense, uncomfortable work of high melodrama.
6. Officially, this is a blank-from-hell movie. But Edgerton has remixed the formula.
7. Joel Edgerton is a legitimate triple threat.
8. The Gift doesn't succumb to genre banalities until its final scenes. That's more than enough reason to see it.
9. Joel Edgerton's debut feature as director, The Gift, is the best kind of great movie: It doesn't announce itself as great at all.
10. This is a psychological thriller that reflects a genuine grasp of human psychology. That's uncommon. It's what made Hitchcock Hitchcock. It's what makes The Gift one of the extremely rare films that deserve to be described as "Hitchcockian."