peter jackson and company once again dazzle and delight us , fulfilling practically every expectation either a longtime tolkien fan or a movie-going neophyte could want .


it 's fun , wispy , wise and surprisingly inoffensive for a film about a teen in love with his stepmom .


there are scenes of cinematic perfection that steal your heart away .


this remake of lina wertmuller 's 1975 eroti-comedy might just be the biggest husband-and-wife disaster since john and bo derek made the ridiculous bolero .


the movie is a little tired ; maybe the original inspiration has run its course .


but ` why ? '


i could n't recommend this film more .


this is historical filmmaking without the balm of right-thinking ideology , either liberal or conservative .


with lesser talents , high crimes would be entertaining , but forgettable .


wewannour money back , actually .


-lrb- soderbergh -rrb- tends to place most of the psychological and philosophical material in italics rather than trust an audience 's intelligence , and he creates an overall sense of brusqueness .


who needs mind-bending drugs when they can see this , the final part of the ` qatsi ' trilogy , directed by godfrey reggio , with music by philip glass ?


any attempts at nuance given by the capable cast is drowned out by director jon purdy 's sledgehammer sap .


a generic bloodbath that often becomes laughably unbearable when it is n't merely offensive .


this is a truly , truly bad movie .


a kilted jackson is an unsettling sight , and indicative of his , if you will , out-of-kilter character , who rambles aimlessly through ill-conceived action pieces .


whereas oliver stone 's conspiracy thriller jfk was long , intricate , star-studded and visually flashy , interview with the assassin draws its considerable power from simplicity .


by surrounding us with hyper-artificiality , haynes makes us see familiar issues , like racism and homophobia , in a fresh way .


hip-hop prison thriller of stupefying absurdity .


a chilly , remote , emotionally distant piece ... so dull that its tagline should be : ` in space , no one can hear you snore . '


in fact , it 's quite fun in places .


into scrooge .


a drama ?


there 's little to recommend snow dogs , unless one considers cliched dialogue and perverse escapism a source of high hilarity .


, is a temporal inquiry that shoulders its philosophical burden lightly .


it 's rare to see a movie that takes such a speedy swan dive from `` promising '' to `` interesting '' to `` familiar '' before landing squarely on `` stupid '' .


more likely to have you scratching your head than hiding under your seat .


i walked away not really know who `` they '' were , what `` they '' looked like .


the film would have been more enjoyable had the balance shifted in favor of water-bound action over the land-based ` drama , ' but the emphasis on the latter leaves blue crush waterlogged .


béart and berling are both superb , while huppert ... is magnificent .


wait to see it then .


it sounds like another clever if pointless excursion into the abyss , and that 's more or less how it plays out .


the fact that the ` best part ' of the movie comes from a 60-second homage to one of demme 's good films does n't bode well for the rest of it .


this low-rent -- and even lower-wit -- rip-off of the farrelly brothers ' oeuvre gets way too mushy -- and in a relatively short amount of time .


` cq may one day be fondly remembered as roman coppola 's brief pretentious period before going on to other films that actually tell a story worth caring about


it 's a loathsome movie , it really is and it makes absolutely no sense .


in addition to sporting one of the worst titles in recent cinematic history , ballistic : ecks vs. sever also features terrible , banal dialogue ; convenient , hole-ridden plotting ; superficial characters and a rather dull , unimaginative car chase .


an excruciating demonstration of the unsalvageability of a movie saddled with an amateurish screenplay .


as refreshing as a drink from a woodland stream .


everything about it from the bland songs to the colorful but flat drawings is completely serviceable and quickly forgettable .


for those for whom the name woody allen was once a guarantee of something fresh , sometimes funny , and usually genuinely worthwhile , hollywood ending is a depressing experience


the most excruciating 86 minutes one might sit through this summer that do not involve a dentist drill .


`` 13 conversations '' holds its goodwill close , but is relatively slow to come to the point .


talk to her is not the perfect movie many have made it out to be , but it 's still quite worth seeing .


all too familiar ... basically the sort of cautionary tale that was old when ` angels with dirty faces ' appeared in 1938 .


unlike most surf movies , blue crush thrillingly uses modern technology to take the viewer inside the wave .


think of it as gidget , only with muscles and a lot more smarts , but just as endearing and easy to watch .


there are more shots of children smiling for the camera than typical documentary footage which hurts the overall impact of the film .


miller tells this very compelling tale with little fuss or noise , expertly plucking tension from quiet .


in old-fashioned screenwriting parlance , ms. shreve 's novel proved too difficult a text to ` lick , ' despite the efforts of a first-rate cast .


the pianist is the film roman polanski may have been born to make .


the superior plotline is n't quite enough to drag along the dead -lrb- water -rrb- weight of the other .


with the prospect of films like kangaroo jack about to burst across america 's winter movie screens it 's a pleasure to have a film like the hours as an alternative .


the film 's strength is n't in its details , but in the larger picture it paints - of a culture in conflict with itself , with the thin veneer of nationalism that covers our deepest , media-soaked fears .


the story itself is actually quite vapid .


cantet beautifully illuminates what it means sometimes to be inside looking out , and at other times outside looking in .


blessed with two fine , nuanced lead performances .


alarms for duvall 's throbbing sincerity and his elderly propensity for patting people while he talks .


as a vehicle to savour binoche 's skill , the film is well worthwhile .


a portrait of alienation so perfect , it will certainly succeed in alienating most viewers .


they crush each other under cars , throw each other out windows , electrocute and dismember their victims in full consciousness .


it makes even elizabeth hurley seem graceless and ugly .


the movie does n't generate a lot of energy .


solondz is without doubt an artist of uncompromising vision , but that vision is beginning to feel , if not morally bankrupt , at least terribly monotonous .


between bursts of automatic gunfire , the story offers a trenchant critique of capitalism .


and vin diesel is the man .


waiting for godard can be fruitful : ` in praise of love ' is the director 's epitaph for himself .


a moving , if uneven , success .


the script is a tired one , with few moments of joy rising above the stale material .


a hallmark film in an increasingly important film industry and worth the look .


some body smacks of exhibitionism more than it does cathartic truth telling .


a film centering on a traditional indian wedding in contemporary new delhi may not sound like specialized fare , but mira nair 's film is an absolute delight for all audiences .


borrows a bit from the classics `` wait until dark '' and `` extremities '' ... but in terms of its style , the movie is in a class by itself .


if you go into the theater expecting a scary , action-packed chiller , you might soon be looking for a sign .


why `` they '' were here and what `` they '' wanted and quite honestly , i did n't care .


i will be .


ultimately , jane learns her place as a girl , softens up and loses some of the intensity that made her an interesting character to begin with .


aniston has at last decisively broken with her friends image in an independent film of satiric fire and emotional turmoil .


you never know where changing lanes is going to take you but it 's a heck of a ride .


an edgy thriller that delivers a surprising punch .


an original and highly cerebral examination of the psychopathic mind


an admitted egomaniac , evans is no hollywood villain , and yet this grating showcase almost makes you wish he 'd gone the way of don simpson .


the urban landscapes are detailed down to the signs on the kiosks , and the color palette , with lots of somber blues and pinks , is dreamy and evocative .


too often , son of the bride becomes an exercise in trying to predict when a preordained `` big moment '' will occur and not `` if . ''


frida is n't that much different from many a hollywood romance .


tsai ming-liang 's witty , wistful new film , what time is it there ?


-lrb- taymor -rrb- utilizes the idea of making kahlo 's art a living , breathing part of the movie , often catapulting the artist into her own work .


the overall vibe is druggy and self-indulgent , like a spring-break orgy for pretentious arts majors .


while broomfield 's film does n't capture the effect of these tragic deaths on hip-hop culture , it succeeds as a powerful look at a failure of our justice system .


meticulously mounted , exasperatingly well-behaved film , which ticks off kahlo 's lifetime milestones with the dutiful precision of a tax accountant .


a deftly entertaining film , smartly played and smartly directed .


the plot has a number of holes , and at times it 's simply baffling .


a limp eddie murphy vehicle that even he seems embarrassed to be part of .


the good thing -- the only good thing -- about extreme ops is that it 's so inane that it gave me plenty of time to ponder my thanksgiving to-do list .


arnie blows things up .


davis is funny , charming and quirky in her feature film acting debut as amy .


a thriller without a lot of thrills .


a living testament to the power of the eccentric and the strange .


conceptually brilliant ... plays like a living-room war of the worlds , gaining most of its unsettling force from the suggested and the unknown .


frequent flurries of creative belly laughs and genuinely enthusiastic performances ... keep the movie slaloming through its hackneyed elements with enjoyable ease .


plotless collection of moronic stunts is by far the worst movie of the year .


a film that 's flawed and brilliant in equal measure .


while solondz tries and tries hard , storytelling fails to provide much more insight than the inside column of a torn book jacket .


an impressive hybrid .


it 's fitfully funny but never really takes off .


does not go far enough in its humor or stock ideas to stand out as particularly memorable or even all that funny .


if all of eight legged freaks was as entertaining as the final hour , i would have no problem giving it an unqualified recommendation .


the fourth `` pokemon '' is a diverting -- if predictable -- adventure suitable for a matinee , with a message that cautions children about disturbing the world 's delicate ecological balance .


nothing sticks , really , except a lingering creepiness one feels from being dragged through a sad , sordid universe of guns , drugs , avarice and damaged dreams .


adams , with four scriptwriters , takes care with the characters , who are so believable that you feel what they feel .


dong never pushes for insights beyond the superficial tensions of the dynamic he 's dissecting , and the film settles too easily along the contours of expectation .


when a movie asks you to feel sorry for mick jagger 's sex life , it already has one strike against it .


director paul cox 's unorthodox , abstract approach to visualizing nijinsky 's diaries is both stimulating and demanding .


it 's been made with an innocent yet fervid conviction that our hollywood has all but lost .


i did n't smile .


astonishingly skillful and moving ... it could become a historically significant work as well as a masterfully made one .


the ethos of the chelsea hotel may shape hawke 's artistic aspirations , but he has n't yet coordinated his own dv poetry with the beat he hears in his soul .


sparse but oddly compelling .


a gratingly unfunny groaner littered with zero-dimensional , unlikable characters and hackneyed , threadbare comic setups .


a relative letdown .


never once predictable .


its and pieces of the hot chick are so hilarious , and schneider 's performance is so fine , it 's a real shame that so much of the movie -- again , as in the animal -- is a slapdash mess .


playfully profound ... and crazier than michael jackson on the top floor of a skyscraper nursery surrounded by open windows .


for all the time we spend with these people , we never really get inside of them .


a loud , brash and mainly unfunny high school comedy .


it still feels like a prison stretch .


extraordinary debut from josh koury .


the movie is too impressed with its own solemn insights to work up much entertainment value .


cinematic pyrotechnics aside , the only thing avary seems to care about are mean giggles and pulchritude .


the premise of `` abandon '' holds promise , ... but its delivery is a complete mess .


alas , another breathless movie about same !


if you 've the patience , there are great rewards here .


ear-splitting exercise in formula crash-and-bash action .


jonathan parker 's bartleby should have been the be-all-end-all of the modern-office anomie films .


i 've yet to find an actual vietnam war combat movie actually produced by either the north or south vietnamese , but at least now we 've got something pretty damn close .


unless you 're a fanatic , the best advice is : ` scooby ' do n't .


eastwood winces , clutches his chest and gasps for breath .


a thriller with an edge -- which is to say that it does n't follow the stale , standard , connect-the-dots storyline which has become commonplace in movies that explore the seamy underbelly of the criminal world .


`` extreme ops '' exceeds expectations .


but it does n't leave you with much .


the movie ends with outtakes in which most of the characters forget their lines and just utter ` uhhh , ' which is better than most of the writing in the movie .


the result is somewhat satisfying -- it still comes from spielberg , who has never made anything that was n't at least watchable .


solondz creates some effective moments of discomfort for character and viewer alike .


an achingly enthralling premise , the film is hindered by uneven dialogue and plot lapses .


consider the film a celluloid litmus test for the intellectual and emotional pedigree of your date and a giant step backward for a director i admire .


a wonderfully warm human drama that remains vividly in memory long after viewing


like schindler 's list , the grey zone attempts to be grandiloquent , but ends up merely pretentious -- in a grisly sort of way .


the niftiest trick perpetrated by the importance of being earnest is the alchemical transmogrification of wilde into austen -- and a hollywood-ized austen at that .


guys say mean things and shoot a lot of bullets .


it 's a sight to behold .


worth seeing just for weaver and lapaglia .


barney 's ideas about creation and identity do n't really seem all that profound , at least by way of what can be gleaned from this three-hour endurance test built around an hour 's worth of actual material .


a sun-drenched masterpiece , part parlor game , part psychological case study , part droll social satire .


renner carries much of the film with a creepy and dead-on performance .


-lrb- carvey 's -rrb- characters are both overplayed and exaggerated , but then again , subtlety has never been his trademark .


if you ignore the cliches and concentrate on city by the sea 's interpersonal drama , it ai n't half-bad .


see it for his performance if nothing else .


a penetrating glimpse into the tissue-thin ego of the stand-up comic .


a bilingual charmer , just like the woman who inspired it


the film did n't convince me that calvin jr. 's barbershop represents some sort of beacon of hope in the middle of chicago 's south side .


it 's not particularly well made , but since i found myself howling more than cringing , i 'd say the film works .


a certain sexiness underlines even the dullest tangents .


it 's simply stupid , irrelevant and deeply , truly , bottomlessly cynical .


it also shows how deeply felt emotions can draw people together across the walls that might otherwise separate them .


you may be galled that you 've wasted nearly two hours of your own precious life with this silly little puddle of a movie .


the film does a solid job of slowly , steadily building up to the climactic burst of violence .


its rawness and vitality give it considerable punch .


a fake street drama that keeps telling you things instead of showing them .


like the series , the movie is funny , smart , visually inventive , and most of all , alive .


there are cheesy backdrops , ridiculous action sequences , and many tired jokes about men in heels .


the trouble with making this queen a thoroughly modern maiden is that it also makes her appear foolish and shallow rather than , as was more likely , a victim of mental illness .


smart , sassy interpretation of the oscar wilde play .


a movie to forget


an engrossing story that combines psychological drama , sociological reflection , and high-octane thriller .


the powder blues and sun-splashed whites of tunis make an alluring backdrop for this sensuous and spirited tale of a prim widow who finds an unlikely release in belly-dancing clubs .


with zoe clarke-williams 's lackluster thriller `` new best friend '' , who needs enemies ?


very well written and directed with brutal honesty and respect for its audience .


it may scream low budget , but this charmer has a spirit that can not be denied .


an unflinching , complex portrait of a modern israel that is rarely seen on-screen .


and there 's an element of heartbreak to watching it now , with older and wiser eyes , because we know what will happen after greene 's story ends .


it 's all entertaining enough , but do n't look for any hefty anti-establishment message in what is essentially a whip-crack of a buddy movie that ends with a whimper .


a moving story of determination and the human spirit .


though her fans will assuredly have their funny bones tickled , others will find their humor-seeking dollars best spent elsewhere .


your appreciation of it will depend on what experiences you bring to it and what associations you choose to make .


this one aims for the toilet and scores a direct hit .


it can be safely recommended as a video\/dvd babysitter .


the film lapses too often into sugary sentiment and withholds delivery on the pell-mell pyrotechnics its punchy style promises .


the film has a nearly terminal case of the cutes , and it 's neither as funny nor as charming as it thinks it is .


muddled , simplistic and more than a little pretentious .


... a sour little movie at its core ; an exploration of the emptiness that underlay the relentless gaiety of the 1920 's ... the film 's ending has a `` what was it all for ? ''


one fantastic -lrb- and educational -rrb- documentary .


the first fatal attraction was vile enough .


what sets ms. birot 's film apart from others in the genre is a greater attention to the parents -- and particularly the fateful fathers -- in the emotional evolution of the two bewitched adolescents .


the sweetest thing leaves an awful sour taste .


there 's ... an underlying old world sexism to monday morning that undercuts its charm .


as violent , profane and exploitative as the most offensive action flick you 've ever seen .


it 's packed to bursting with incident , and with scores of characters , some fictional , some from history .


i know we 're not supposed to take it seriously , but i ca n't shake the thought that undercover brother missed an opportunity to strongly present some profound social commentary .


what we have is a character faced with the possibility that her life is meaningless , vapid and devoid of substance , in a movie that is definitely meaningless , vapid and devoid of substance .


refreshing .


certainly .


you come away thinking not only that kate is n't very bright , but that she has n't been worth caring about and that maybe she , janine and molly -- an all-woman dysfunctional family -- deserve one another .


a coming-of-age movie that hollywood would n't have the guts to make .


although it does n't always hang together -- violence and whimsy do n't combine easily -- `` cherish '' certainly is n't dull .


zigzag might have been richer and more observant if it were less densely plotted .


never again , while nothing special , is pleasant , diverting and modest -- definitely a step in the right direction .


and it 's a lousy one at that .


it 's drab .


this version does justice both to stevenson and to the sci-fi genre .


essentially a collection of bits -- and they 're all naughty .


robin williams has thankfully ditched the saccharine sentimentality of bicentennial man in favour of an altogether darker side .


those who love cinema paradiso will find the new scenes interesting , but few will find the movie improved .


with an obvious rapport with her actors and a striking style behind the camera , hélène angel is definitely a director to watch .


but unless you 're an absolute raving star wars junkie , it is n't much fun .


what we get ... is caddyshack crossed with the loyal order of raccoons .


stands as one of the year 's most intriguing movie experiences , letting its imagery speak for it while it forces you to ponder anew what a movie can be .


... unlikable , uninteresting , unfunny , and completely , utterly inept .


feels less like a change in -lrb- herzog 's -rrb- personal policy than a half-hearted fluke .


just as the recent argentine film son of the bride reminded us that a feel-good movie can still show real heart , time of favor presents us with an action movie that actually has a brain .


it depends on how well flatulence gags fit into your holiday concept .


strange occurrences build in the mind of the viewer and take on extreme urgency .


characterisation has been sacrificed for the sake of spectacle .


like a three-ring circus , there are side stories aplenty -- none of them memorable .


cannon 's confidence and laid-back good spirits are , with the drumming routines , among the film 's saving graces .


more of the same from taiwanese auteur tsai ming-liang , which is good news to anyone who 's fallen under the sweet , melancholy spell of this unique director 's previous films .


one-sided documentary offers simplistic explanations to a very complex situation .


it just does n't have much else ... especially in a moral sense .


but what is missing from it all is a moral .


reassuring , retro uplifter .


the film is a very good viewing alternative for young women .


an engaging , formulaic sports drama that carries a charge of genuine excitement .


no film could possibly be more contemptuous of the single female population .


critics need a good laugh , too , and this too-extreme-for-tv rendition of the notorious mtv show delivers the outrageous , sickening , sidesplitting goods in steaming , visceral heaps .


it falls far short of poetry , but it 's not bad prose .


that 's because relatively nothing happens .


the filmmakers wisely decided to let crocodile hunter steve irwin do what he does best , and fashion a story around him .


the casting of raymond j. barry as the ` assassin ' greatly enhances the quality of neil burger 's impressive fake documentary .


a brain twister , less a movie-movie than a funny and weird meditation on hollywood , success , artistic integrity and intellectual bankruptcy .


twohy knows how to inflate the mundane into the scarifying , and gets full mileage out of the rolling of a stray barrel or the unexpected blast of a phonograph record .


an engaging criminal romp that will have viewers guessing just who 's being conned right up to the finale .


tsai convincingly paints a specifically urban sense of disassociation here .


moonlight mile does n't quite go the distance but the cast is impressive and they all give life to these broken characters who are trying to make their way through this tragedy .


it 's the type of film about growing up that we do n't see often enough these days : realistic , urgent , and not sugarcoated in the least .


adrift , bentley and hudson stare and sniffle , respectively , as ledger attempts , in vain , to prove that movie-star intensity can overcome bad hair design .


and , there 's no way you wo n't be talking about the film once you exit the theater .


what they see in each other also is difficult to fathom .


sillier , cuter , and shorter than the first -lrb- as best i remember -rrb- , but still a very good time at the cinema .


it is n't quite one of the worst movies of the year .


baran is shockingly devoid of your typical majid majidi shoe-loving , crippled children .


the screenplay flounders under the weight of too many story lines .


hawn and sarandon form an acting bond that makes the banger sisters a fascinating character study with laughs to spare .


rosenthal -lrb- halloween ii -rrb- seems to have forgotten everything he ever knew about generating suspense .


the movie 's downfall is to substitute plot for personality .


leigh succeeds in delivering a dramatic slap in the face that 's simultaneously painful and refreshing .


cool gadgets and creatures keep this fresh .


it 's one long bore .


the movie is genial but never inspired , and little about it will stay with you .


the sweetest thing , a romantic comedy with outrageous tendencies , may be a mess in a lot of ways .


i do n't think so .


ramsay and morton fill this character study with poetic force and buoyant feeling .


the most wondrous love story in years , it is a great film .


qualities that were once amusing are becoming irritating .


foster breathes life into a roll that could have otherwise been bland and run of the mill .


the creative animation work may not look as fully ` rendered ' as pixar 's industry standard , but it uses lighting effects and innovative backgrounds to an equally impressive degree .


a highly personal look at the effects of living a dysfunctionally privileged lifestyle , and by the end , we only wish we could have spent more time in its world .


the story passes time until it 's time for an absurd finale of twisted metal , fireballs and revenge .


lan yu seems altogether too slight to be called any kind of masterpiece .


do n't wait to see this terrific film with your kids -- if you do n't have kids borrow some .


by-the-numbers yarn .


as earnest as a community-college advertisement , american chai is enough to make you put away the guitar , sell the amp , and apply to medical school .


one ca n't shake the feeling that crossroads is nothing more than an hour-and-a-half-long commercial for britney 's latest album .


if i want a real movie , i 'll buy the criterion dvd .


the comedy makes social commentary more palatable .


nicolas cage is n't the first actor to lead a group of talented friends astray , and this movie wo n't create a ruffle in what is already an erratic career .


it 's a stale , overused cocktail using the same olives since 1962 as garnish .


if you 're not , you 'll still have a good time . ''


i can imagine this movie as a b & w british comedy , circa 1960 , with peter sellers , kenneth williams , et al. , but at this time , with this cast , this movie is hopeless .


fred schepisi 's film is paced at a speed that is slow to those of us in middle age and deathly slow to any teen .


on a cutting room floor somewhere lies ... footage that might have made no such thing a trenchant , ironic cultural satire instead of a frustrating misfire .


nothing but one relentlessly depressing situation after another for its entire running time , something that you could easily be dealing with right now in your lives .


while bollywood\/hollywood will undoubtedly provide its keenest pleasures to those familiar with bombay musicals , it also has plenty for those -lrb- like me -rrb- who are n't .


some may choose to interpret the film 's end as hopeful or optimistic but i think payne is after something darker .


charming and witty , it 's also somewhat clumsy .


-lrb- `` safe conduct '' -rrb- is a long movie at 163 minutes but it fills the time with drama , romance , tragedy , bravery , political intrigue , partisans and sabotage .


no matter how much he runs around and acts like a doofus , accepting a 50-year-old in the role is creepy in a michael jackson sort of way .


one sloughs one 's way through the mire of this alleged psychological thriller in search of purpose or even a plot .


there are now two signs that m. night shyamalan 's debut feature sucked up all he has to give to the mystic genres of cinema : unbreakable and signs .


culkin turns his character into what is basically an anti-harry potter -- right down to the gryffindor scarf .


mr. scorsese 's bravery and integrity in advancing this vision can hardly be underestimated .


the movie 's progression into rambling incoherence gives new meaning to the phrase ` fatal script error . '


stress ` dumb . '


it wears its heart on the sleeve of its gaudy hawaiian shirt .


has all the scenic appeal of a cesspool .


performances all around are tops , with the two leads delivering oscar-caliber performances .


the story has some nice twists but the ending and some of the back-story is a little tired .


yet another self-consciously overwritten story about a rag-tag bunch of would-be characters that team up for a ca n't - miss heist -- only to have it all go wrong .


tykwer 's surface flash is n't just a poor fit with kieslowski 's lyrical pessimism ; it completely contradicts everything kieslowski 's work aspired to , including the condition of art .


the story itself it mostly told through on-camera interviews with several survivors , whose riveting memories are rendered with such clarity that it 's as if it all happened only yesterday .


it may not be `` last tango in paris '' but ...


it 's mired in a shabby script that piles layer upon layer of action man cliché atop wooden dialogue and a shifting tone that falls far short of the peculiarly moral amorality of -lrb- woo 's -rrb- best work .


a four star performance from kevin kline who unfortunately works with a two star script .


s face is chillingly unemotive , yet he communicates a great deal in his performance .


half past dead is just such an achievement .


what ` dumb and dumber ' would have been without the vulgarity and with an intelligent , life-affirming script .


feels less like a cousin to blade runner than like a bottom-feeder sequel in the escape from new york series .


i was feeling this movie until it veered off too far into the exxon zone , and left me behind at the station looking for a return ticket to realism .


the fourth in a series that i 'll bet most parents had thought -- hoped !


at just over an hour , home movie will leave you wanting more , not to mention leaving you with some laughs and a smile on your face .


while it can be a bit repetitive , overall it 's an entertaining and informative documentary .


a relatively effective little potboiler until its absurd , contrived , overblown , and entirely implausible finale .


it appears to have been made by people to whom the idea of narrative logic or cohesion is an entirely foreign concept .


real-life strongman ahola lacks the charisma and ability to carry the film on his admittedly broad shoulders .


a timid , soggy near miss .


the type of dumbed-down exercise in stereotypes that gives the -lrb- teen comedy -rrb- genre a bad name .


a ` girls gone wild ' video for the boho art-house crowd , the burning sensation is n't a definitive counter-cultural document -- its makers are n't removed and inquisitive enough for that .


playing a role of almost bergmanesque intensity ... bisset is both convincing and radiant .


the art demands live viewing .


the movie , while beautiful , feels labored , with a hint of the writing exercise about it .


mention `` solaris '' five years from now and i 'm sure those who saw it will have an opinion to share .


standing by yourself is haunting ... -lrb- it 's -rrb- what punk rock music used to be , and what the video medium could use more of : spirit , perception , conviction .


a 94-minute travesty of unparalleled proportions , writer-director parker seems to go out of his way to turn the legendary wit 's classic mistaken identity farce into brutally labored and unfunny hokum .


the heat of the moment prevails .


when the twist endings were actually surprising ?


serious movie-goers embarking upon this journey will find that the road to perdition leads to a satisfying destination .


it recycles every cliché about gays in what is essentially an extended soap opera .


its premise is smart , but the execution is pretty weary .


is clever enough , though thin writing proves its undoing .


not at all clear what it 's trying to say and even if it were -- i doubt it would be all that interesting .


may be the most undeserving victim of critical overkill since town and country .


she 's as rude and profane as ever , always hilarious and , most of the time , absolutely right in her stinging social observations .


despite hoffman 's best efforts , wilson remains a silent , lumpish cipher ; his encounters reveal nothing about who he is or who he was before .


... they missed the boat .


this is a smart movie that knows its classical music , knows its freud and knows its sade .


highly recommended viewing for its courage , ideas , technical proficiency and great acting .


totally overwrought , deeply biased , and wholly designed to make you feel guilty about ignoring what the filmmakers clearly believe are the greatest musicians of all time .


the trials of henry kissinger is a remarkable piece of filmmaking ... because you get it .


metaphors abound , but it is easy to take this film at face value and enjoy its slightly humorous and tender story .


a very funny romantic comedy about two skittish new york middle-agers who stumble into a relationship and then struggle furiously with their fears and foibles .


grown-up quibbles are beside the point here .


wraps itself in the guise of a dark and quirky comedy , but it is n't as quirky as it thinks it is and its comedy is generally mean-spirited .


sandra bullock , despite downplaying her good looks , carries a little too much ai n't - she-cute baggage into her lead role as a troubled and determined homicide cop to quite pull off the heavy stuff .


schrader aims to present an unflinching look at one man 's downfall , brought about by his lack of self-awareness .


you can see the would-be surprises coming a mile away , and the execution of these twists is delivered with a hammer .


the story plays out slowly , but the characters are intriguing and realistic .


manages to be both hugely entertaining and uplifting .


unfortunately , kapur modernizes a.e.w. mason 's story to suit the sensibilities of a young american , a decision that plucks `` the four feathers '' bare .


`` one look at a girl in tight pants and big tits and you turn stupid ? ''


it deserves to be seen everywhere .


bon appétit !


this is an interesting movie ! ''


the problem is that van wilder does little that is actually funny with the material .


an entertaining british hybrid of comedy , caper thrills and quirky romance .


a wild ride with eight boarders from venice beach that was a deserved co-winner of the audience award for documentaries at the sundance film festival .


the funny thing is , i did n't mind all this contrived nonsense a bit .


just send it to cranky .


you may think you have figured out the con and the players in this debut film by argentine director fabian bielinsky , but while you were thinking someone made off with your wallet .


its use of the thriller form to examine the labyrinthine ways in which people 's lives cross and change , buffeted by events seemingly out of their control , is intriguing , provocative stuff .


the plot twists give i am trying to break your heart an attraction it desperately needed .


crush could be the worst film a man has made about women since valley of the dolls .


ever see one of those comedies that just seem like a bad idea from frame one ?


it 's hard to imagine any recent film , independent or otherwise , that makes as much of a mess as this one .


gives an intriguing twist to the french coming-of-age genre .


watching austin powers in goldmember is like binging on cotton candy .


they presume their audience wo n't sit still for a sociology lesson , however entertainingly presented , so they trot out the conventional science-fiction elements of bug-eyed monsters and futuristic women in skimpy clothes .


human nature , in short , is n't nearly as funny as it thinks it is ; neither is it as smart .


while some of the camera work is interesting , the film 's mid-to-low budget is betrayed by the surprisingly shoddy makeup work .


while the frequent allusions to gurus and doshas will strike some westerners as verging on mumbo-jumbo ... broad streaks of common sense emerge with unimpeachable clarity .


one of the best inside-show-biz yarns ever .


the movie has a script -lrb- by paul pender -rrb- made of wood , and it 's relentlessly folksy , a procession of stagy set pieces stacked with binary oppositions .


obviously , a lot of people wasted a lot of their time -lrb- including mine -rrb- on something very inconsequential .


the best way to describe it is as a cross between paul thomas anderson 's magnolia and david lynch 's mulholland dr.


the film becomes an overwhelming pleasure , and you find yourself rooting for gai 's character to avoid the fate that has befallen every other carmen before her .


but ticket-buyers with great expectations will wind up as glum as mr. de niro .


-lrb- kline 's -rrb- utterly convincing -- and deeply appealing -- as a noble teacher who embraces a strict moral code , and as a flawed human being who ca n't quite live up to it .


decent but dull .


suffers from unlikable characters and a self-conscious sense of its own quirky hipness .


this is cruel , misanthropic stuff with only weak claims to surrealism and black comedy .


an edifying glimpse into the wit and revolutionary spirit of these performers and their era .


the stripped-down dramatic constructs , austere imagery and abstract characters are equal parts poetry and politics , obvious at times but evocative and heartfelt .


not everything in this ambitious comic escapade works , but coppola , along with his sister , sofia , is a real filmmaker .


oversexed , at times overwrought comedy\/drama that offers little insight into the experience of being forty , female and single .


chai 's structure and pacing are disconcertingly slack .


but it was n't .


although god is great addresses interesting matters of identity and heritage , it 's hard to shake the feeling that it was intended to be a different kind of film .


an energizing , intoxicating documentary charting the rise of hip-hop culture in general and the art of scratching -lrb- or turntablism -rrb- in particular .


one of those strained caper movies that 's hardly any fun to watch and begins to vaporize from your memory minutes after it ends .


the script was reportedly rewritten a dozen times -- either 11 times too many or else too few .


may puzzle his most ardent fans .


the formula is familiar but enjoyable .


an extremely funny , ultimately heartbreaking look at life in contemporary china .


as self-aware movies go , who is cletis tout ?


got a david lynch jones ?


the woodman seems to have directly influenced this girl-meets-girl love story , but even more reassuring is how its makers actually seem to understand what made allen 's romantic comedies so pertinent and enduring .


a good documentary can make interesting a subject you thought would leave you cold .


it 's not a classic spy-action or buddy movie , but it 's entertaining enough and worth a look .


depressingly thin and exhaustingly contrived .


with the cheesiest monsters this side of a horror spoof , which they is n't , it is more likely to induce sleep than fright .


if hill is n't quite his generation 's don siegel -lrb- or robert aldrich -rrb- , it 's because there 's no discernible feeling beneath the chest hair ; it 's all bluster and cliché .


in moonlight mile , no one gets shut out of the hug cycle .


the movie does has some entertainment value - how much depends on how well you like chris rock .


ultimate x is a ride , basically the kind of greatest-hits reel that might come with a subscription to espn the magazine .


some movies were made for the big screen , some for the small screen , and some , like ballistic : ecks vs. sever , were made for the palm screen .


nicole kidman makes it a party worth attending .


-lrb- a -rrb- mess .


and your reward will be a thoughtful , emotional movie experience .


it 's usually a bad sign when directors abandon their scripts and go where the moment takes them , but olympia , wash. , based filmmakers anne de marcken and marilyn freeman did just that and it 's what makes their project so interesting .


the whole mess boils down to a transparently hypocritical work that feels as though it 's trying to set the women 's liberation movement back 20 years . '


`` on guard ! ''


a less-than-thrilling thriller .


-lrb- taylor -rrb- takes us on a ride that 's consistently surprising , easy to watch -- but , oh , so dumb .


it 's fun , but it 's a real howler .


another best of the year selection .


much of it is funny , but there are also some startling , surrealistic moments ...


the cast is top-notch and i predict there will be plenty of female audience members drooling over michael idemoto as michael .


shiner can certainly go the distance , but is n't world championship material


sensitively examines general issues of race and justice among the poor , and specifically raises serious questions about the death penalty and asks what good the execution of a mentally challenged woman could possibly do .


when in doubt , the film ratchets up the stirring soundtrack , throws in a fish-out-of-water gag and lets the cliched dialogue rip .


such a bad movie that its luckiest viewers will be seated next to one of those ignorant pinheads who talk throughout the show .


mostly honest , this somber picture reveals itself slowly , intelligently , artfully .


cherish would 've worked a lot better had it been a short film .


stale and clichéd to a fault .


mr. clooney , mr. kaufman and all their collaborators are entitled to take a deep bow for fashioning an engrossing entertainment out of an almost sure-fire prescription for a critical and commercial disaster .


it would n't matter so much that this arrogant richard pryor wannabe 's routine is offensive , puerile and unimaginatively foul-mouthed if it was at least funny .


this is a movie you can trust .


a meditation on faith and madness , frailty is blood-curdling stuff .


it turns out to be smarter and more diabolical than you could have guessed at the beginning .


a memorable experience that , like many of his works , presents weighty issues colorfully wrapped up in his own idiosyncratic strain of kitschy goodwill .


a lack of thesis makes maryam , in the end , play out with the intellectual and emotional impact of an after-school special .


famuyiwa 's feature deals with its subject matter in a tasteful , intelligent manner , rather than forcing us to endure every plot contrivance that the cliché-riddled genre can offer .


`` red dragon '' is entertaining .


the sheer dumbness of the plot -lrb- other than its one good idea -rrb- and the movie 's inescapable air of sleaziness get you down .


scherfig , who has had a successful career in tv , tackles more than she can handle .


a tone of rueful compassion ... reverberates throughout this film , whose meaning and impact is sadly heightened by current world events .


cattaneo reworks the formula that made the full monty a smashing success ... but neglects to add the magic that made it all work .


high crimes carries almost no organic intrigue as a government \/ marine\/legal mystery , and that 's because the movie serves up all of that stuff , nearly subliminally , as the old-hat province of male intrigue .


a well-made but emotionally scattered film whose hero gives his heart only to the dog .


in the end there is one word that best describes this film : honest .


a technical triumph and an extraordinary bore .


though it lacks the utter authority of a genre gem , there 's a certain robustness to this engaging mix of love and bloodletting .


a funny , triumphant , and moving documentary .


... blade ii is still top-heavy with blazing guns , cheatfully filmed martial arts , disintegrating bloodsucker computer effects and jagged camera moves that serve no other purpose than to call attention to themselves .


whatever about warning kids about the dangers of ouija boards , someone should dispense the same advice to film directors .


releasing a film with the word ` dog ' in its title in january lends itself to easy jokes and insults , and snow dogs deserves every single one of them .


offers the flash of rock videos fused with solid performances and eerie atmosphere .


an unsuccessful attempt at a movie of ideas .


if jews were catholics , this would be catechism


spy kids 2 also happens to be that rarity among sequels : it actually improves upon the original hit movie .


the hypnotic imagery and fragmentary tale explore the connections between place and personal identity .


weighted down with slow , uninvolving storytelling and flat acting .


it 's not so much a movie as a joint promotion for the national basketball association and teenaged rap and adolescent poster-boy lil ' bow wow .


sayles has a knack for casting , often resurrecting performers who rarely work in movies now ... and drawing flavorful performances from bland actors .


once she lets her love depraved leads meet , -lrb- denis ' -rrb- story becomes a hopeless , unsatisfying muddle


everyone should be able to appreciate the wonderful cinematography and naturalistic acting .


a thought-provoking look at how western foreign policy - however well intentioned - can wreak havoc in other cultures .


it is different from others in its genre in that it is does not rely on dumb gags , anatomical humor , or character cliches ; it primarily relies on character to tell its story .


... the efforts of its star , kline , to lend some dignity to a dumb story are for naught .


and if you appreciate the one-sided theme to lawrence 's over-indulgent tirade , then knock yourself out and enjoy the big screen postcard that is a self-glorified martin lawrence lovefest .


the obnoxious title character provides the drama that gives added clout to this doc .


a delicious and delicately funny look at the residents of a copenhagen neighborhood coping with the befuddling complications life tosses at them .


feels familiar and tired .


lovely and amazing is holofcener 's deep , uncompromising curtsy to women she knows , and very likely is .


it 's as sorry a mess as its director 's diabolical debut , mad cows .


a pretty decent kid-pleasing , tolerable-to-adults lark of a movie .


this movie is about the worst thing chan has done in the united states .


what lifts the film high above run-of-the-filth gangster flicks is its refusal to recognise any of the signposts , as if discovering a way through to the bitter end without a map .


its spirit of iconoclastic abandon -- however canned -- makes for unexpectedly giddy viewing .


at once disarmingly straightforward and strikingly devious .


but while the highly predictable narrative falls short , treasure planet is truly gorgeous to behold .


like a precious and finely cut diamond , magnificent to behold in its sparkling beauty yet in reality it 's one tough rock .


together writer-director danny verete 's three tales comprise a powerful and reasonably fulfilling gestalt .


the tone errs on the shrill side , tempered by a soft southern gentility that speaks of beauty , grace and a closet full of skeletons .


a bland , obnoxious 88-minute infomercial for universal studios and its ancillary products . . .


we can tell what it is supposed to be , but ca n't really call it a work of art .


an absorbing and unsettling psychological drama .


even a hardened voyeur would require the patience of job to get through this interminable , shapeless documentary about the swinging subculture .


-lrb- screenwriter -rrb- pimental took the farrelly brothers comedy and feminized it , but it is a rather poor imitation .


the film itself is about something very interesting and odd that would probably work better as a real documentary without the insinuation of mediocre acting or a fairly trite narrative .


stitch is a bad mannered , ugly and destructive little \*\*\*\* .


it may not be history -- but then again , what if it is ?


the fast runner ' transports the viewer into an unusual space


every conceivable mistake a director could make in filming opera has been perpetrated here .


deep intelligence and a warm , enveloping affection breathe out of every frame .


the drama was so uninspiring that even a story immersed in love , lust , and sin could n't keep my attention .


jackson shamefully strolls through this mess with a smug grin , inexplicably wearing a kilt and carrying a bag of golf clubs over one shoulder .


engages us in constant fits of laughter , until we find ourselves surprised at how much we care about the story , and end up walking out not only satisfied but also somewhat touched .


heartwarming here relies less on forced air than on petter næss ' delicate , clever direction ... and a wonderful , imaginative script by axel hellstenius .


first , for a movie that tries to be smart , it 's kinda dumb .


the worst film of the year .


charly comes off as emotionally manipulative and sadly imitative of innumerable past love story derisions .


no surprises .


with spy kids 2 : the island of lost dreams , however , robert rodriguez adorns his family-film plot with an elegance and maturity that even most contemporary adult movies are lacking .


generic thriller junk .


as tricky and satisfying as any of david mamet 's airless cinematic shell games .


has all the hallmarks of a movie designed strictly for children 's home video , a market so insatiable it absorbs all manner of lame entertainment , as long as 3-year-olds find it diverting .


kurys never shows why , of all the period 's volatile romantic lives , sand and musset are worth particular attention .


i still like moonlight mile , better judgment be damned .


... its solemn pretension prevents us from sharing the awe in which it holds itself .


funny , sexy , devastating and incurably romantic .


how about starting with a more original story instead of just slapping extreme humor and gross-out gags on top of the same old crap ?


what could have been right at home as a nifty plot line in steven soderbergh 's traffic fails to arrive at any satisfying destination .


you can watch , giggle and get an adrenaline boost without feeling like you 've completely lowered your entertainment standards .


close enough in spirit to its freewheeling trash-cinema roots to be a breath of fresh air .


unfortunately , a cast of competent performers from movies , television and the theater are cast adrift in various new york city locations with no unifying rhythm or visual style .


he thinks the film is just as much a document about him as it is about the subject .


as a director , eastwood is off his game -- there 's no real sense of suspense , and none of the plot ` surprises ' are really surprising .


exhibits the shallow sensationalism characteristic of soap opera ... more salacious telenovela than serious drama .


highly uneven and inconsistent ... margarita happy hour kinda resembles the el cheapo margaritas served within .


with lines that feel like long soliloquies -- even as they are being framed in conversation -- max is static , stilted .


although it lacks the detail of the book , the film does pack some serious suspense .


an already thin story boils down to surviving invaders seeking an existent anti-virus .


spectacularly beautiful , not to mention mysterious , sensual , emotionally intense , and replete with virtuoso throat-singing .


angel presents events partly from the perspective of aurelie and christelle , and infuses the film with the sensibility of a particularly nightmarish fairytale .


occasionally interesting but essentially unpersuasive , a footnote to a still evolving story .


highlighted by a gritty style and an excellent cast , it 's better than one might expect when you look at the list of movies starring ice-t in a major role .


a movie that at its best does n't just make the most out of its characters ' flaws but insists on the virtue of imperfection .


it 's tough to watch , but it 's a fantastic movie .


a stupid , derivative horror film that substitutes extreme gore for suspense .


a devastating indictment of unbridled greed and materalism .


what 's next ?


at three hours and with very little story or character development , there is plenty of room for editing , and a much shorter cut surely would have resulted in a smoother , more focused narrative without sacrificing any of the cultural intrigue .


an entertaining , if ultimately minor , thriller .


the script is a disaster , with cloying messages and irksome characters .


its story about a young chinese woman , ah na , who has come to new york city to replace past tragedy with the american dream is one that any art-house moviegoer is likely to find compelling .


but it would be better to wait for the video .


a sense of real magic , perhaps .


director-chef gabriele muccino keeps it fast -- zippy , comin ' at ya -- as if fearing that his film is molto superficiale .


i guess it just goes to show that if you give a filmmaker an unlimited amount of phony blood , nothing good can happen .


what makes salton sea surprisingly engrossing is that caruso takes an atypically hypnotic approach to a world that 's often handled in fast-edit , hopped-up fashion .


certainly beautiful to look at , but its not very informative about its titular character and no more challenging than your average television biopic .


this film was made by and for those folks who collect the serial killer cards and are fascinated by the mere suggestion of serial killers .


i prefer soderbergh 's concentration on his two lovers over tarkovsky 's mostly male , mostly patriarchal debating societies .


despite a quieter middle section , involving aragorn 's dreams of arwen , this is even better than the fellowship .


-lrb- fincher 's -rrb- camera sense and assured pacing make it an above-average thriller .


it 's bedeviled by labored writing and slack direction .


an average coming-of-age tale elevated by the wholesome twist of a pesky mother interfering during her son 's discovery of his homosexuality .


crush is so warm and fuzzy you might be able to forgive its mean-spirited second half .


it may even fall into the category of films you love to hate .


a light , engaging comedy that fumbles away almost all of its accumulated enjoyment with a crucial third act miscalculation .


chicago offers much colorful eye candy , including the spectacle of gere in his dancing shoes , hoofing and crooning with the best of them .


like many western action films , this thriller is too loud and thoroughly overbearing , but its heartfelt concern about north korea 's recent past and south korea 's future adds a much needed moral weight .


in questioning the election process , payami graphically illustrates the problems of fledgling democracies , but also the strength and sense of freedom the iranian people already possess , with or without access to the ballot box .


a muddle splashed with bloody beauty as vivid as any scorsese has ever given us .


the first mistake , i suspect , is casting shatner as a legendary professor and kunis as a brilliant college student -- where 's pauly shore as the rocket scientist ?


this new movie version of the alexandre dumas classic is the stuff of high romance , brought off with considerable wit .


nemesis suffers from a paunchy midsection , several plodding action sequences and a wickedly undramatic central theme .


the film sometimes flags ... but there is enough secondary action to keep things moving along at a brisk , amusing pace .


this is a remake by the numbers , linking a halfwit plot to a series of standup routines in which wilson and murphy show how funny they could have been in a more ambitious movie .


sex is one of those films that aims to confuse .


this movie feel more like a non-stop cry for attention , than an attempt at any kind of satisfying entertainment .


smothered by its own solemnity .


co-writer\/director jonathan parker 's attempts to fashion a brazil-like , hyper-real satire fall dreadfully short .


originality ai n't on the menu , but there 's never a dull moment in the giant spider invasion comic chiller .


a time machine , a journey back to your childhood , when cares melted away in the dark theater , and films had the ability to mesmerize , astonish and entertain .


in trying to be daring and original , it comes off as only occasionally satirical and never fresh .


what saves it ... and makes it one of the better video-game-based flicks , is that the film acknowledges upfront that the plot makes no sense , such that the lack of linearity is the point of emotional and moral departure for protagonist alice .


what soured me on the santa clause 2 was that santa bumps up against 21st century reality so hard , it 's icky .


-lrb- i -rrb- t 's certainly laudable that the movie deals with hot-button issues in a comedic context , but barbershop is n't as funny as it should be .


it 's the unsettling images of a war-ravaged land that prove more potent and riveting than the unlikely story of sarah and harrison .


maybe leblanc thought , `` hey , the movie about the baseball-playing monkey was worse . ''


what a vast enterprise has been marshaled in the service of such a minute idea .


this thing works on no level whatsoever for me .


an empty exercise , a florid but ultimately vapid crime melodrama with lots of surface flash but little emotional resonance .


old-fashioned but thoroughly satisfying entertainment .


call me a cold-hearted curmudgeon for not being able to enjoy a mindless action movie , but i believe a movie can be mindless without being the peak of all things insipid .


much of the cast is stiff or just plain bad .


gets better after foster leaves that little room .


marshall puts a suspenseful spin on standard horror flick formula .


the lightest , most breezy movie steven spielberg has made in more than a decade .


`` home movie '' is a sweet treasure and something well worth your time .


hill looks to be going through the motions , beginning with the pale script .


huppert 's show to steal and she makes a meal of it , channeling kathy baker 's creepy turn as the repressed mother on boston public just as much as 8 women 's augustine .


`` abandon '' will leave you wanting to abandon the theater .


i still want my money back .


the action here is unusually tame , the characters are too simplistic to maintain interest , and the plot offers few surprises .


mr. deeds is , as comedy goes , very silly -- and in the best way .


acting can not be acted .


nonchalantly freaky and uncommonly pleasurable , warm water may well be the year 's best and most unpredictable comedy .


sitting through the last reel -lrb- spoiler alert ! -rrb-


a processed comedy chop suey .


it may be a no-brainer , but at least it 's a funny no-brainer .


it is life affirming and heartbreaking , sweet without the decay factor , funny and sad .


the picture runs a mere 84 minutes , but it 's no glance .


i 'd watch these two together again in a new york minute .


`` juwanna mann ? ''


the story gives ample opportunity for large-scale action and suspense , which director shekhar kapur supplies with tremendous skill .


now i can see why people thought i was too hard on `` the mothman prophecies '' .


will be far more interesting to the soderbergh faithful than it will be to the casual moviegoer who might be lured in by julia roberts ...


a charming , banter-filled comedy ... one of those airy cinematic bon bons whose aims -- and by extension , accomplishments -- seem deceptively slight on the surface .


one thing is for sure : this movie does not tell you a whole lot about lily chou-chou .


i do n't think this movie loves women at all .


a perfect example of rancid , well-intentioned , but shamelessly manipulative movie making .


despite some charm and heart , this quirky soccer import is forgettable


it is ok for a movie to be something of a sitcom apparatus , if the lines work , the humor has point and the actors are humanly engaged .


ms. hutchins is talented enough and charismatic enough to make us care about zelda 's ultimate fate .


there are few things more frustrating to a film buff than seeing an otherwise good movie marred beyond redemption by a disastrous ending .


too intensely focused on the travails of being hal hartley to function as pastiche , no such thing is hartley 's least accessible screed yet .


it forces you to watch people doing unpleasant things to each other and themselves , and it maintains a cool distance from its material that is deliberately unsettling .


a film with almost as many delights for adults as there are for children and dog lovers .


a huge disappointment coming , as it does , from filmmakers and performers of this calibre


combine the paranoid claustrophobia of a submarine movie with the unsettling spookiness of the supernatural -- why did n't hollywood think of this sooner ?


this method almost never fails him , and it works superbly here .


while parker and co-writer catherine di napoli are faithful to melville 's plotline , they and a fully engaged supporting cast ... have made the old boy 's characters more quick-witted than any english lit major would have thought possible .


tends to pile too many `` serious issues '' on its plate at times , yet remains fairly light , always entertaining , and smartly written .


their work is fantastic .


the word that comes to mind , while watching eric rohmer 's tribute to a courageous scottish lady , is painterly .


die another day is only intermittently entertaining but it 's hard not to be a sucker for its charms , or perhaps it 's just impossible not to feel nostalgia for movies you grew up with .


world traveler might not go anywhere new , or arrive anyplace special , but it 's certainly an honest attempt to get at something .


it dabbles all around , never gaining much momentum .


what enlivens this film , beyond the astute direction of cardoso and beautifully detailed performances by all of the actors , is a note of defiance over social dictates .


an enormously entertaining movie , like nothing we 've ever seen before , and yet completely familiar .


blade ii is as estrogen-free as movies get , so you might want to leave your date behind for this one , or she 's gonna make you feel like you owe her big-time .


a whale of a good time for both children and parents seeking christian-themed fun .


the subtitled costume drama is set in a remote african empire before cell phones , guns , and the internal combustion engine , but the politics that thump through it are as timely as tomorrow .


schepisi , aided by a cast that seems to include every top-notch british actor who did not appear in gosford park -lrb- as well as one , ms. mirren , who did -rrb- , has succeeded beyond all expectation .


sparkling , often hilarious romantic jealousy comedy ... attal looks so much like a young robert deniro that it seems the film should instead be called ` my husband is travis bickle ' .


there might be some sort of credible gender-provoking philosophy submerged here , but who the hell cares ?


a pleasant and engaging enough sit , but in trying to have the best of both worlds it ends up falling short as a whole .


the result is an ` action film ' mired in stasis .


to blandly go where we went 8 movies ago ...


the heart of the film is a touching reflection on aging , suffering and the prospect of death .


strictly a ` guy 's film ' in the worst sense of the expression .


it comes off as so silly that you would n't be surprised if ba , murdock and rest of the a-team were seen giving chase in a black and red van .


a guilty pleasure at best , and not worth seeing unless you want to laugh at it .


schaeffer is n't in this film , which may be why it works as well as it does .


if a big musical number like ` praise the lord , he 's the god of second chances ' does n't put you off , this will be an enjoyable choice for younger kids .


a movie that will thrill you , touch you and make you laugh as well .


if you do n't laugh , flee .


rich in atmosphere of the post-war art world , it manages to instruct without reeking of research library dust .


after sitting through this sloppy , made-for-movie comedy special , it makes me wonder if lawrence hates criticism so much that he refuses to evaluate his own work .


a waterlogged version of ` fatal attraction ' for the teeny-bopper set ... a sad , soggy potboiler that wastes the talents of its attractive young leads .


ryan gosling is , in a word , brilliant as the conflicted daniel .


one thing 's for sure -- if george romero had directed this movie , it would n't have taken the protagonists a full hour to determine that in order to kill a zombie you must shoot it in the head .


not even felinni would know what to make of this italian freakshow .


while maintaining the appearance of clinical objectivity , this sad , occasionally horrifying but often inspiring film is among wiseman 's warmest .


it reaffirms life as it looks in the face of death .


long on twinkly-eyed close-ups and short on shame .


giggling at the absurdities and inconsistencies is part of the fun .


the bard as black comedy -- willie would have loved it .


the bourne identity should n't be half as entertaining as it is , but director doug liman and his colleagues have managed to pack it with enough action to satisfy the boom-bam crowd without a huge sacrifice of character and mood .


secretary is not a movie about fetishism .


russian ark is a new treasure of the hermitage .


a delightful entree in the tradition of food movies .


the actors are fantastic .


rarely have i seen a film so willing to champion the fallibility of the human heart .


loud , chaotic and largely unfunny .


de ayala is required to supply too much of the energy in a film that is , overall , far too staid for its subject matter .


warm and exotic .


the title , alone , should scare any sane person away .


what makes esther kahn so demanding is that it progresses in such a low-key manner that it risks monotony .


the movie turns out to be -lrb- assayas ' -rrb- homage to the gallic ` tradition of quality , ' in all its fusty squareness .


an enjoyable feel-good family comedy regardless of race .


kapur weighs down the tale with bogus profundities .


all the queen 's men is a throwback war movie that fails on so many levels , it should pay reparations to viewers .


-lrb- siegel -rrb- and co-writers lisa bazadona and grace woodard have relied too much on convention in creating the characters who surround frankie .


often silly -- and gross -- but it 's rarely as moronic as some campus gross-out films .


the trick when watching godard is to catch the pitch of his poetics , savor the pleasure of his sounds and images , and ponder the historical , philosophical , and ethical issues that intersect with them .


it 's hard to pity the ` plain ' girl who becomes a ravishing waif after applying a smear of lip-gloss .


idiotic and ugly .


fessenden continues to do interesting work , and it would be nice to see what he could make with a decent budget .


... an interesting slice of history .


affleck merely creates an outline for a role he still needs to grow into , a role that ford effortlessly filled with authority .


it 's no lie -- big fat liar is a real charmer .


devotees of star trek ii : the wrath of khan will feel a nagging sense of deja vu , and the grandeur of the best next generation episodes is lacking .


overall , it 's a wacky and inspired little film that works effortlessly at delivering genuine , acerbic laughs .


what saves this deeply affecting film from being merely a collection of wrenching cases is corcuera 's attention to detail .


your children will be occupied for 72 minutes .


-lrb- has -rrb- an immediacy and an intimacy that sucks you in and dares you not to believe it 's all true .


i liked a lot of the smaller scenes .


it 's a treat -- a delightful , witty , improbable romantic comedy with a zippy jazzy score ... grant and bullock make it look as though they are having so much fun .


with an unusual protagonist -lrb- a kilt-wearing jackson -rrb- and subject matter , the improbable `` formula 51 '' is somewhat entertaining , but it could have been much stronger .


tom green and an ivy league college should never appear together on a marquee , especially when the payoff is an unschooled comedy like stealing harvard , which fails to keep 80 minutes from seeming like 800 .


the movie 's blatant derivativeness is one reason it 's so lackluster .


brings together some of the biggest names in japanese anime , with impressive results .


it 's too harsh to work as a piece of storytelling , but as an intellectual exercise -- an unpleasant debate that 's been given the drive of a narrative and that 's been acted out -- the believer is nothing less than a provocative piece of work .


shyamalan takes a potentially trite and overused concept -lrb- aliens come to earth -rrb- and infuses it into a rustic , realistic , and altogether creepy tale of hidden invasion .


with spy kids 2 : the island of lost dreams , the spy kids franchise establishes itself as a durable part of the movie landscape : a james bond series for kids .


will give many ministers and bible-study groups hours of material to discuss .


but the problem with wendigo , for all its effective moments , is n't really one of resources .


plays like one long , meandering sketch inspired by the works of john waters and todd solondz , rather than a fully developed story .


abderrahmane sissako 's heremakono -lrb- waiting for happiness -rrb- is an elegiac portrait of a transit city on the west african coast struggling against foreign influences .


with this new rollerball , sense and sensibility have been overrun by what can only be characterized as robotic sentiment .


i wish it would have just gone more over-the-top instead of trying to have it both ways .


when you 've got the wildly popular vin diesel in the equation , it adds up to big box office bucks all but guaranteed .


for devotees of french cinema , safe conduct is so rich with period minutiae it 's like dying and going to celluloid heaven .


there is no psychology here , and no real narrative logic -- just a series of carefully choreographed atrocities , which become strangely impersonal and abstract .


the film 's appeal has a lot to do with the casting of juliette binoche as sand , who brings to the role her pale , dark beauty and characteristic warmth .


the evocative imagery and gentle , lapping rhythms of this film are infectious -- it gets under our skin and draws us in long before the plot kicks into gear .


if swimfan does catch on , it may be because teens are looking for something to make them laugh .


instead of trying to bust some blondes , -lrb- diggs -rrb- should be probing why a guy with his talent ended up in a movie this bad .


it 's difficult to imagine that a more confused , less interesting and more sloppily made film could possibly come down the road in 2002 .


though an important political documentary , this does not really make the case the kissinger should be tried as a war criminal .


something has been lost in the translation ... another routine hollywood frightfest in which the slack execution italicizes the absurdity of the premise .


after the setup , the air leaks out of the movie , flattening its momentum with about an hour to go .


you do n't need to know your ice-t 's from your cool-j 's to realize that as far as these shootings are concerned , something is rotten in the state of california .


both an admirable reconstruction of terrible events , and a fitting memorial to the dead of that day , and of the thousands thereafter .


there are many definitions of ` time waster ' but this movie must surely be one of them .


you 'll trudge out of the theater feeling as though you rode the zipper after eating a corn dog and an extra-large cotton candy .


both garcia and jagger turn in perfectly executed and wonderfully sympathetic characters , who are alternately touching and funny .


with each of her three protagonists , miller eloquently captures the moment when a woman 's life , out of a deep-seated , emotional need , is about to turn onto a different path .


it 's got some pretentious eye-rolling moments and it did n't entirely grab me , but there 's stuff here to like .


the script becomes lifeless and falls apart like a cheap lawn chair .


elegant , mannered and teasing .


a family film that contains some hefty thematic material on time , death , eternity , and what is needed to live a rich and full life .


disappointing in comparison to other recent war movies ... or any other john woo flick for that matter .


millions of dollars heaped upon a project of such vast proportions need to reap more rewards than spiffy bluescreen technique and stylish weaponry .


bogdanovich taps deep into the hearst mystique , entertainingly reenacting a historic scandal .


has all the right elements but completely fails to gel together .


but you 'd never guess that from the performances .


this heist flick about young brooklyn hoods is off the shelf after two years to capitalize on the popularity of vin diesel , seth green and barry pepper .


a movie of technical skill and rare depth of intellect and feeling .


horrid little propaganda film with fascinating connections not only to the serbs themselves but also to a network of american right-wing extremists .


ah , what the hell .


this mild-mannered farce , directed by one of its writers , john c. walsh , is corny in a way that bespeaks an expiration date passed a long time ago .


worth seeing once , but its charm quickly fades .


ramsay is clearly extraordinarily talented , and based on three short films and two features , here 's betting her third feature will be something to behold .


impeccably filmed , sexually charged , but ultimately lacking in substance , not to mention dragged down by a leaden closing act .


the characters are based on stock clichés , and the attempt to complicate the story only defies credibility .


my precious new star wars movie is a lumbering , wheezy drag ...


by halfway through this picture i was beginning to hate it , and , of course , feeling guilty for it ... then , miracle of miracles , the movie does a flip-flop .


strangely comes off as a kingdom more mild than wild .


the pianist is polanski 's best film .


cacoyannis is perhaps too effective in creating an atmosphere of dust-caked stagnation and labored gentility .


murder by numbers ' is n't a great movie , but it 's a perfectly acceptable widget .


one of the greatest films i 've ever seen .


uneven performances and a spotty script add up to a biting satire that has no teeth .


especially give credit to affleck .


an ambitiously naturalistic , albeit half-baked , drama about an abused , inner-city autistic teen .


if you answered yes , by all means enjoy the new guy .


they should have found orson welles ' great-grandson .


just consider what new best friend does not have , beginning with the minor omission of a screenplay .


a competent , unpretentious entertainment destined to fill the after-school slot at shopping mall theaters across the country .


gaghan ... has thrown every suspenseful cliché in the book at this nonsensical story .


this romantic\/comedy asks the question how much souvlaki can you take before indigestion sets in .


a peculiar misfire that even tunney ca n't save .


romantic comedy and dogme 95 filmmaking may seem odd bedfellows , but they turn out to be delightfully compatible here .


fails to convince the audience that these brats will ever be anything more than losers .


five screenwriters are credited with the cliché-laden screenplay ; it seems as if each watered down the version of the one before .


only at the prospect of beck 's next project .


on that score , the film certainly does n't disappoint .


in the new release of cinema paradiso , the tale has turned from sweet to bittersweet , and when the tears come during that final , beautiful scene , they finally feel absolutely earned .


in the disturbingly involving family dysfunctional drama how i killed my father , french director anne fontaine delivers an inspired portrait of male-ridden angst and the emotional blockage that accompanies this human condition


... hypnotically dull .


those who trek to the ` plex predisposed to like it probably will enjoy themselves .


-lrb- scherfig -rrb- has made a movie that will leave you wondering about the characters ' lives after the clever credits roll .


the bland outweighs the nifty , and cletis tout never becomes the clever crime comedy it thinks it is .


this is not a retread of `` dead poets ' society . ''


too many scenarios in which the hero might have an opportunity to triumphantly sermonize , and too few that allow us to wonder for ourselves if things will turn out okay .


though the film is static , its writer-director 's heart is in the right place , his plea for democracy and civic action laudable .


instead of a balanced film that explains the zeitgeist that is the x games , we get a cinematic postcard that 's superficial and unrealized .


blade ii merges bits and pieces from fighting games , wire fu , horror movies , mystery , james bond , wrestling , sci-fi and anime into one big bloody stew .


been there done that .


swiftly deteriorates into a terribly obvious melodrama and rough-hewn vanity project for lead actress andie macdowell .


memorable for a peculiar malaise that renders its tension flaccid and , by extension , its surprises limp and its resolutions ritual .


diaz , applegate , blair and posey are suitably kooky which should appeal to women and they strip down often enough to keep men alert , if not amused .


not counting a few gross-out comedies i 've been trying to forget , this is the first film in a long time that made me want to bolt the theater in the first 10 minutes .


a three-hour cinema master class .


... a good film that must have baffled the folks in the marketing department .


the only pain you 'll feel as the credits roll is your stomach grumbling for some tasty grub .


one of the finest , most humane and important holocaust movies ever made .


plus , like i already mentioned ... it 's robert duvall !


seeing seinfeld at home as he watches his own appearance on letterman with a clinical eye reminds you that the key to stand-up is to always make it look easy , even though the reality is anything but .


`` cremaster 3 '' should come with the warning `` for serious film buffs only ! ''


the world needs more filmmakers with passionate enthusiasms like martin scorsese .


replacing john carpenter 's stylish tracking shots is degraded , handheld blair witch video-cam footage .


supposedly , pokemon ca n't be killed , but pokemon 4ever practically assures that the pocket monster movie franchise is nearly ready to keel over .


terminally bland , painfully slow and needlessly confusing ... the movie , shot on digital videotape rather than film , is frequently indecipherable .


oddly compelling .


miyazaki is one of world cinema 's most wondrously gifted artists and storytellers .


bartlett 's hero remains a reactive cipher , when opening the man 's head and heart is the only imaginable reason for the film to be made .


for its 100 minutes running time , you 'll wait in vain for a movie to happen .


-lrb- a -rrb- devastatingly powerful and astonishingly vivid holocaust drama .


every sequel you skip will be two hours gained .


davis has energy , but she does n't bother to make her heroine 's book sound convincing , the gender-war ideas original , or the comic scenes fly .


yes , i suppose it 's lovely that cal works out his issues with his dad and comes to terms with his picture-perfect life -- but world traveler gave me no reason to care , so i did n't .


this real-life hollywood fairy-tale is more engaging than the usual fantasies hollywood produces .


when your subject is illusion versus reality , should n't the reality seem at least passably real ?


he 's just a sad aristocrat in tattered finery , and the film seems as deflated as he does .


follows the original film virtually scene for scene and yet manages to bleed it almost completely dry of humor , verve and fun .


a biopic about crane 's life in the classic tradition but evolves into what has become of us all in the era of video .


me without you has a bracing truth that 's refreshing after the phoniness of female-bonding pictures like divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood .


the year 2002 has conjured up more coming-of-age stories than seem possible , but take care of my cat emerges as the very best of them .


this rather unfocused , all-over-the-map movie would be a lot better if it pared down its plots and characters to a few rather than dozens ... or if it were subtler ... or if it had a sense of humor .


one of the most incoherent features in recent memory .


meant for star wars fans .


it stars schticky chris rock and stolid anthony hopkins , who seem barely in the same movie .


and how .


while it 's nothing we have n't seen before from murphy , i spy is still fun and enjoyable and so aggressively silly that it 's more than a worthwhile effort .


... a low rate annie featuring some kid who ca n't act , only echoes of jordan , and weirdo actor crispin glover screwing things up old school .


there 's not a comedic moment in this romantic comedy .


deep down , i realized the harsh reality of my situation : i would leave the theater with a lower i.q. than when i had entered .


an effective portrait of a life in stasis -- of the power of inertia to arrest development in a dead-end existence .


every note rings false .


an easy watch , except for the annoying demeanour of its lead character .


was i scared ?


`` me without you '' is a probing examination of a female friendship set against a few dynamic decades .


more good than great but freeman and judd make it work .


while the story is better-focused than the incomprehensible anne rice novel it 's based upon , queen of the damned is a pointless , meandering celebration of the goth-vampire , tortured woe-is-me lifestyle .


not everyone will play the dark , challenging tune taught by the piano teacher .


other than the slightly flawed -lrb- and fairly unbelievable -rrb- finale , everything else is top shelf .


a slight but sweet film .


the ending feels at odds with the rest of the film .


what goes on for the 110 minutes of `` panic room '' is a battle of witlessness between a not-so-bright mother and daughter and an even less capable trio of criminals .


sweet and memorable film .


an opportunity missed .


ninety minutes of viva castro !


a film neither bitter nor sweet , neither romantic nor comedic , neither warm nor fuzzy .


like mike is n't going to make box office money that makes michael jordan jealous , but it has some cute moments , funny scenes , and hits the target audience -lrb- young bow wow fans -rrb- - with nothing but net .


the history is fascinating ; the action is dazzling .


i like this movie a lot .


a modestly surprising movie .


enthusiastically taking up the current teen movie concern with bodily functions , walt becker 's film pushes all the demographically appropriate comic buttons .


a summary of the plot does n't quite do justice to the awfulness of the movie , for that comes through all too painfully in the execution .


a lot more dimensional and complex than its sunny disposition would lead you to believe .


translating complex characters from novels to the big screen is an impossible task but they are true to the essence of what it is to be ya-ya .


an undistinguished attempt to make a classic theater piece cinematic .


to the degree that ivans xtc .


both exuberantly romantic and serenely melancholy , what time is it there ?


the balkans provide the obstacle course for the love of a good woman .


shot like a postcard and overacted with all the boozy self-indulgence that brings out the worst in otherwise talented actors ...


so-so entertainment .


the movie certainly has its share of clever moments and biting dialogue , but there 's just not much lurking below its abstract surface .


the film has a childlike quality about it .


together , miller , kuras and the actresses make personal velocity into an intricate , intimate and intelligent journey .


absurdities and clichés accumulate like lint in a fat man 's navel .


in its own floundering way , it gets to you .


while -lrb- roman coppola -rrb- scores points for style , he staggers in terms of story .


but it is set in a world that is very , very far from the one most of us inhabit .


it is a testament of quiet endurance , of common concern , of reconciled survival .


ill-considered , unholy hokum .


you ca n't believe anyone would really buy this stuff .


no amount of nostalgia for carvey 's glory days can disguise the fact that the new film is a lame kiddie flick and that carvey 's considerable talents are wasted in it .


schaefer 's ... determination to inject farcical raunch ... drowns out the promise of the romantic angle .


scooby-doo does n't know if it wants to be a retro-refitting exercise in campy recall for older fans or a silly , nickelodeon-esque kiddie flick .


will no doubt delight plympton 's legion of fans ; others may find 80 minutes of these shenanigans exhausting .


barry sonnenfeld owes frank the pug big time


a hit - and-miss affair , consistently amusing but not as outrageous or funny as cho may have intended or as imaginative as one might have hoped .


translation : ` we do n't need to try very hard . '


but the nerve-raked acting , the crackle of lines , the impressive stagings of hardware , make for some robust and scary entertainment .


unfolds as one of the most politically audacious films of recent decades from any country , but especially from france .


after watching it , you can only love the players it brings to the fore for the gifted but no-nonsense human beings they are and for the still-inestimable contribution they have made to our shared history .


courtney chases stuart with a cell phone .


an erotic thriller that 's neither too erotic nor very thrilling , either .


i 'll stay with the stage versions , however , which bite cleaner , and deeper .


watching a brian depalma movie is like watching an alfred hitchcock movie after drinking twelve beers .


the effort is sincere and the results are honest , but the film is so bleak that it 's hardly watchable .


even before it builds up to its insanely staged ballroom scene , in which 3000 actors appear in full regalia , it 's waltzed itself into the art film pantheon .


features nonsensical and laughable plotting , wooden performances , ineptly directed action sequences and some of the worst dialogue in recent memory .


we 're drawn in by the dark luster .


what might have been readily dismissed as the tiresome rant of an aging filmmaker still thumbing his nose at convention takes a surprising , subtle turn at the midway point .


incoherence reigns .


the film has a kind of hard , cold effect .


caine makes us watch as his character awakens to the notion that to be human is eventually to have to choose .


just entertaining enough not to hate , too mediocre to love .


schneider 's mugging is relentless and his constant need to suddenly transpose himself into another character undermines the story 's continuity and progression .


-lrb- t -rrb- he film is never sure to make a clear point -- even if it seeks to rely on an ambiguous presentation .


blue crush has all the trappings of an energetic , extreme-sports adventure , but ends up more of a creaky `` pretty woman '' retread , with the emphasis on self-empowering schmaltz and big-wave surfing that gives pic its title an afterthought .


a quietly moving look back at what it was to be iranian-american in 1979 .


creeps you out in high style , even if nakata did it better .


skip the film and buy the philip glass soundtrack cd .


there 's more repetition than creativity throughout the movie .


the film is explosive , but a few of those sticks are wet .


a frustrating ` tweener ' -- too slick , contrived and exploitative for the art houses and too cynical , small and decadent for the malls .


it all comes down to whether you can tolerate leon barlow .


the jokes are sophomoric , stereotypes are sprinkled everywhere and the acting ranges from bad to bodacious .


one of the best of a growing strain of daring films ... that argue that any sexual relationship that does n't hurt anyone and works for its participants is a relationship that is worthy of our respect .


it 's burns ' visuals , characters and his punchy dialogue , not his plot , that carry waydowntown .


i have a confession to make : i did n't particularly like e.t. the first time i saw it as a young boy .


a high-spirited buddy movie about the reunion of berlin anarchists who face arrest 15 years after their crime .


this submarine drama earns the right to be favorably compared to das boot .


he does n't , however , deliver nearly enough of the show 's trademark style and flash .


even better than the first one !


after all the big build-up , the payoff for the audience , as well as the characters , is messy , murky , unsatisfying .


a beautiful paean to a time long past .


there 's something not entirely convincing about the quiet american .


the dramatic scenes are frequently unintentionally funny , and the action sequences -- clearly the main event -- are surprisingly uninvolving .


elvira fans could hardly ask for more .


... pray does n't have a passion for the material .


brash , intelligent and erotically perplexing , haneke 's portrait of an upper class austrian society and the suppression of its tucked away demons is uniquely felt with a sardonic jolt .


the director 's many dodges and turns add up to little more than a screenful of gamesmanship that 's low on both suspense and payoff .


completely awful iranian drama ... as much fun as a grouchy ayatollah in a cold mosque .


a distinctly minor effort that will be seen to better advantage on cable , especially considering its barely feature-length running time of one hour .


when ` science fiction ' takes advantage of the fact that its intended audience has n't yet had much science , it does a disservice to the audience and to the genre .


while hoffman 's performance is great , the subject matter goes nowhere .


big time .


more of an intriguing curiosity than a gripping thriller .


who is the audience for cletis tout ?


if you want to see a train wreck that you ca n't look away from , then look no further , because here it is .


nicks refuses to let slackers be seen as just another teen movie , which means he can be forgiven for frequently pandering to fans of the gross-out comedy .


to some eyes this will seem like a recycling of clichés , an assassin 's greatest hits .


loud , silly , stupid and pointless .


we assume he had a bad run in the market or a costly divorce , because there is no earthly reason other than money why this distinguished actor would stoop so low .


although ... visually striking and slickly staged , it 's also cold , grey , antiseptic and emotionally desiccated .


makes the case for a strong education and good teachers being more valuable in the way they help increase an average student 's self-esteem , and not strictly in the knowledge imparted .


noyce has worked wonders with the material .


the script 's judgment and sense of weight is way , way off .


strip it of all its excess debris , and you 'd have a 90-minute , four-star movie .


frank mcklusky c.i. is that movie !


you get the idea , though , that kapur intended the film to be more than that .


i have a new favorite musical -- and i 'm not even a fan of the genre


given too much time to consider the looseness of the piece , the picture begins to resemble the shapeless , grasping actors ' workshop that it is .


eccentric enough to stave off doldrums , caruso 's self-conscious debut is also eminently forgettable .


it 's a good film , but it falls short of its aspiration to be a true ` epic ' .


there are enough throwaway references to faith and rainbows to plant smile-button faces on that segment of the populace that made a walk to remember a niche hit .


he gets his secretary to fax it . ''


this thing is virtually unwatchable .


by the end of it all i sort of loved the people onscreen , even though i could not stand them .


there ai n't a lot more painful than an unfunny movie that thinks it 's hilarious .


city by the sea is a gritty police thriller with all the dysfunctional family dynamics one could wish for .


it 's coherent , well shot , and tartly acted , but it wears you down like a dinner guest showing off his doctorate .


-lrb- a -rrb- thoughtful , visually graceful work .


a journey that is as difficult for the audience to take as it is for the protagonist -- yet it 's potentially just as rewarding .


the last kiss will probably never achieve the popularity of my big fat greek wedding , but its provocative central wedding sequence has far more impact .


a thoroughly engaging , surprisingly touching british comedy .


it 's sort of a 21st century morality play with a latino hip hop beat .


it 's mildly interesting to ponder the peculiar american style of justice that plays out here , but it 's so muddled and derivative that few will bother thinking it all through .


the movie is obviously a labour of love so howard appears to have had free rein to be as pretentious as he wanted .


you can take the grandkids or the grandparents and never worry about anyone being bored ... audience is a sea of constant smiles and frequent laughter .


not the great american comedy , but if you liked the previous movies in the series , you 'll have a good time with this one too .


a period story about a catholic boy who tries to help a jewish friend get into heaven by sending the audience straight to hell .


is red dragon worthy of a place alongside the other hannibal movies ?


if you 're as happy listening to movies as you are watching them , and the slow parade of human frailty fascinates you , then you 're at the right film .


is it possible for a documentary to be utterly entranced by its subject and still show virtually no understanding of it ?


trying to figure out the rules of the country bear universe -- when are bears bears and when are they like humans , only hairier -- would tax einstein 's brain .


a cellophane-pop remake of the punk classic ladies and gentlemen , the fabulous stains ... crossroads is never much worse than bland or better than inconsequential .


adam sandler 's eight crazy nights grows on you -- like a rash .


still , it just sits there like a side dish no one ordered .


once ice-t sticks his mug in the window of the couple 's bmw and begins haranguing the wife in bad stage dialogue , all credibility flies out the window .


it somehow managed to make its way past my crappola radar and find a small place in my heart


an unholy mess , driven by the pathetic idea that if you shoot something on crummy-looking videotape , it must be labelled ` hip ' , ` innovative ' and ` realistic ' .


their parents would do well to cram earplugs in their ears and put pillowcases over their heads for 87 minutes .


a sweet-tempered comedy that forgoes the knee-jerk misogyny that passes for humor in so many teenage comedies .


the mushy finale turns john q into a movie-of-the-week tearjerker .


it would be great to see this turd squashed under a truck , preferably a semi .


perhaps the most annoying thing about who is cletis tout ?


this english-language version ... does full honor to miyazaki 's teeming and often unsettling landscape , and to the conflicted complexity of his characters .


a simple tale of an unlikely friendship , but thanks to the gorgeous locales and exceptional lead performances , it has considerable charm .


disgusting .


it 's a frankenstein-monster of a film that does n't know what it wants to be .


a remarkable movie with an unsatisfying ending , which is just the point .


for dance completists only .


what 's missing is what we call the ` wow ' factor .


a pure participatory event that malnourished intellectuals will gulp down in a frenzy .


it is very difficult to care about the character , and that is the central flaw of the film .


kung pow seems like some futile concoction that was developed hastily after oedekerk and his fellow moviemakers got through crashing a college keg party .


a cautionary tale about the folly of superficiality that is itself endlessly superficial .


shame on writer\/director vicente aranda for making a florid biopic about mad queens , obsessive relationships , and rampant adultery so dull .


... stylistically , the movie is a disaster .


mediocre fable from burkina faso .


but i do .


somewhere inside the mess that is world traveler , there is a mediocre movie trying to get out .


gets the look and the period trappings right , but it otherwise drowns in a sea of visual and verbal clichés .


simplistic , silly and tedious .


putting the primitive murderer inside a high-tech space station unleashes a pandora 's box of special effects that run the gamut from cheesy to cheesier to cheesiest .


while easier to sit through than most of jaglom 's self-conscious and gratingly irritating films , it 's still tainted by cliches , painful improbability and murky points .