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82
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79
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78
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73
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71
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71
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70
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65
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64
Wanted
64
Pineapple Express
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
61
Incredible Hulk, The
60
Traitor
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
55
House Bunny, The
54
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
54
Get Smart
53
Sex and the City: The Movie
53
Rocker, The
52
Longshots, The
51
Mamma Mia!
51
Step Brothers
49
Hancock
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
43
Meet Dave
42
Death Race
36
Space Chimps
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
Happening, The
31
Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The
26
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24
Love Guru, The
15
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15
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xx
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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

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86
Edge of Heaven, The
86
Up the Yangtze
86
Flight of the Red Balloon, The
85
Momma's Man
85
Alexandra
83
U2 3D
83
Tell No One
82
Frozen River
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Trouble the Water
80
Bigger, Stronger, Faster*
80
Order of Myths, The
79
Visitor, The
78
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
78
Last Mistress, The
77
Pool, The
75
Young@Heart
75
Boy A
74
I Served the King of England
74
Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer
74
Mongol
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
73
Secret, A
72
Priceless
72
Transsiberian
72
I.O.U.S. A
71
To the Limit
71
Girl Cut in Two, A
71
Roman de gare
70
Love Songs
67
XXY
67
Jellyfish
66
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66
Patti Smith: Dream of Life
66
American Teen
66
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64
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64
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64
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63
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63
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62
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62
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62
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61
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61
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61
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61
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61
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61
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58
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57
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56
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56
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55
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55
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54
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54
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54
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54
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54
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52
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51
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50
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49
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47
Before the Rains
46
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46
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44
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40
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26
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25
Hell Ride
xx
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xx
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xx
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xx
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xx
Goal II: Living the Dream
xx
Surfer, Dude
xx
Beer for My Horses
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Ruins, The
DreamWorks Pictures
MPAA RATING: R for strong violence and gruesome images, language, some sexuality and nudity
Starring
Jonathan Tucker,
Laura Ramsey,
Jena Malone,
and
Shawn Ashmore
Based on the terrifying best-seller by Scott Smith, The Ruins follows a group of friends who become entangled in a brutal struggle for survival after visiting a remote archaeological dig in the Mexican jungle, where they discover something deadly living among the ruins. (DreamWorks)
| GENRE(S): |
Horror
|
Suspense/Thriller
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Scott Smith
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Carter Smith
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: July 8, 2008
Theatrical: April 4, 2008
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
91 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
Australia / 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
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
In order to appreciate The Ruins, one has to be a die-hard fan of horror or bloody thrillers. Those in that category will discover that The Ruins delivers the goods.

75
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
A surprisingly effective little horror nightmare.

70
LA Weekly
Jim Ridley
First-time feature director Carter Smith, working with resourceful cinematographer Darius Khondji, pulls off the neat trick of using the wide screen to claustrophobic effect. And the actors give such a convincing display of starvation-fueled fear that they deserve their own private craft-service table.

63
Miami Herald
Rene Rodriguez
The Ruins is, with one major caveat, about as good an adaptation of Scott Smith's bestselling novel as Hollywood was ever going to make.

50
Los Angeles Times
Mark Olsen
The characters never evolve past mere functionality, and the adherence to certain tried-and-true horror tropes -- the good girl who doesn't want to go but does, the generic naughty kids who get it first -- feels workmanlike, robbing the story of any real suspense or surprise.

50
The Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt
In the end, the gimmick is too risible and its effects on the characters too forced to sustain either suspense or horror.

50
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Scott Tobias
Director Carter Smith suffers from another, more common problem: In trying to squeeze every plot point from the book into a 90-minute movie, he failed to capture its chilling essence.

50
TV Guide
Ken Fox
Smith has changed a few plot points around to keep readers who already know the secret of the ruins guessing, and to some extent the strategy works. There was, however, no reason whatsoever to change the book's perfect endings.

42
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
The Ruins is lumpish, static, and obvious. It's a gringos-go-home cautionary fright flick done in the spirit of a cheap '50s horror movie, except that it leaves you longing for the competence of grade-Z studio-system trash.

40
Film Threat
Pete Vonder Haar
There are a handful of intense sequences and a few scenes of squirm-inducing gore in The Ruins, but not much else.

40
Empire
Staff (Not credited)
Slick, sick stuff, but save the odd squirm, a killer-plant horror that doesn’t grow anywhere.

40
The New York Times
Matt Zoller Seitz
More disgusting than scary, The Ruins is the latest in a long line of horror films about upper-middle-class travelers being terrorized in unfamiliar environments.

40
Variety
Dennis Harvey
Ultimately less dependent on suspense or even scares than on squirm-inducing grossouts, this tale of Yank hardbodies vs. carnivorous creepers should flower briefly in hardtops, then spread like an invasive weed in ancillary.

38
New York Post
Kyle Smith
The movie doesn't do anything with these viney bastards. There's no back story, no satire, no allegory, no implications beyond what's happening on the pyramid.

20
Austin Chronicle
Marc Savlov
As it stands, The Ruins is about as interesting as a pile of old stones and a monkey-dumb yanqui falling prey to the horrors of globalization. And that's pretty dumb.


The average user rating for this movie is 5.0 (out of 10) based on 28 User Votes
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