although it includes a fair share of dumb drug jokes and predictable slapstick , `` orange county '' is far funnier than it would seem to have any right to be .


vaguely interesting , but it 's just too too much .


scotland looks wonderful , the fans are often funny fanatics , the showdown sure beats a bad day of golf .


`` simone '' is a fun and funky look into an artificial creation in a world that thrives on artificiality .


the work of a filmmaker who has secrets buried at the heart of his story and knows how to take time revealing them .


fluffy and disposible .


an acceptable way to pass a little over an hour with moviegoers ages 8-10 , but it 's unlikely to inspire anything more than a visit to mcdonald 's , let alone some savvy street activism .


although olivier assayas ' elegantly appointed period drama seems , at times , padded with incident in the way of a too-conscientious adaptation ... its three-hour running time plays closer to two .


especially compared with the television series that inspired the movie .


this film can only point the way -- but thank goodness for this signpost .


one feels the dimming of a certain ambition , but in its place a sweetness , clarity and emotional openness that recalls the classics of early italian neorealism .


in the long , dishonorable history of quickie teen-pop exploitation , like mike stands out for its only partly synthetic decency .


insomnia does not become one of those rare remakes to eclipse the original , but it does n't disgrace it , either .


from the dull , surreal ache of mortal awareness emerges a radiant character portrait .


there 's no reason to miss interview with the assassin


this is one of the rarest kinds of films : a family-oriented non-disney film that is actually funny without hitting below the belt .


while howard 's appreciation of brown and his writing is clearly well-meaning and sincere , the movie would be impossible to sit through were it not for the supporting cast .


the movie would seem less of a trifle if ms. sugarman followed through on her defiance of the saccharine .


though the aboriginal aspect lends the ending an extraordinary poignancy , and the story itself could be played out in any working class community in the nation .


` the war of the roses , ' trailer-trash style .


in its own way , joshua is as blasphemous and nonsensical as a luis buñuel film without the latter 's attendant intelligence , poetry , passion , and genius .


ultimately this is a frustrating patchwork : an uneasy marriage of louis begley 's source novel -lrb- about schmidt -rrb- and an old payne screenplay .


drumline is -- the mere suggestion , albeit a visually compelling one , of a fully realized story .


if only merchant paid more attention the story .


the movie does such an excellent job of critiquing itself at every faltering half-step of its development that criticizing feels more like commiserating .


thoughtless , random , superficial humour and a lot of very bad scouse accents


good performances and a realistic , non-exploitive approach make paid in full worth seeing .


... plays like a badly edited , 91-minute trailer -lrb- and -rrb- the director ca n't seem to get a coherent rhythm going .


even if it made its original release date last fall , it would 've reeked of a been-there , done-that sameness .


salma goes native and she 's never been better in this colorful bio-pic of a mexican icon .


if you 're content with a clever pseudo-bio that manages to have a good time as it doles out pieces of the famous director 's life , eisenstein delivers .


as it stands , crocodile hunter has the hurried , badly cobbled look of the 1959 godzilla , which combined scenes of a japanese monster flick with canned shots of raymond burr commenting on the monster 's path of destruction .


children of the century , though well dressed and well made , ultimately falls prey to the contradiction that afflicts so many movies about writers .


... best seen as speculative history , as much an exploration of the paranoid impulse as a creative sequel to the warren report .


the stars may be college kids , but the subject matter is as adult as you can get : the temptations of the flesh are unleashed by a slightly crazed , overtly determined young woman and a one-night swim turns into an ocean of trouble .


a cross between blow and boyz n the hood , this movie strives to be more , but does n't quite get there .


unless there are zoning ordinances to protect your community from the dullest science fiction , impostor is opening today at a theater near you .


an overwrought taiwanese soaper about three people and their mixed-up relationship .


with an admirably dark first script by brent hanley , paxton , making his directorial feature debut , does strong , measured work .


the characters are complex and quirky , but entirely believable as the remarkable ensemble cast brings them to life .


what -lrb- denis -rrb- accomplishes in his chilling , unnerving film is a double portrait of two young women whose lives were as claustrophic , suffocating and chilly as the attics to which they were inevitably consigned .


a shimmeringly lovely coming-of-age portrait , shot in artful , watery tones of blue , green and brown .


best of all is garcia , who perfectly portrays the desperation of a very insecure man .


spielberg has managed to marry science fiction with film noir and action flicks with philosophical inquiry .


the film is one of the year 's best .


mordantly funny and intimately knowing ...


as an introduction to the man 's theories and influence , derrida is all but useless ; as a portrait of the artist as an endlessly inquisitive old man , however , it 's invaluable .


it looks much more like a cartoon in the end than the simpsons ever has .


the action sequences are fun and reminiscent of combat scenes from the star wars series .


weird , vulgar comedy that 's definitely an acquired taste .


there 's no palpable chemistry between lopez and male lead ralph fiennes , plus the script by working girl scribe kevin wade is workmanlike in the extreme .


the problem , amazingly enough , is the screenplay .


degenerates into hogwash .


as each of them searches for their place in the world , miller digs into their very minds to find an unblinking , flawed humanity .


is not so much a work of entertainment as it is a unique , well-crafted psychological study of grief .


the original was n't a good movie but this remake makes it look like a masterpiece !


a searing , epic treatment of a nationwide blight that seems to be , horrifyingly , ever on the rise .


when the screenwriter responsible for one of the worst movies of one year directs an equally miserable film the following year , you 'd have a hard time believing it was just coincidence .


maintains your sympathy for this otherwise challenging soul by letting you share her one-room world for a while .


solondz is so intent on hammering home his message that he forgets to make it entertaining .


there is only so much baked cardboard i need to chew .


the first shocking thing about sorority boys is that it 's actually watchable .


coy but exhilarating , with really solid performances by ving rhames and wesley snipes .


diaz wears out her welcome in her most charmless performance


both a detective story and a romance spiced with the intrigue of academic skullduggery and politics .


terrific as nadia , a russian mail-order bride who comes to america speaking not a word of english , it 's kidman who holds the film together with a supremely kittenish performance that gradually accumulates more layers .


once again , the intelligence of gay audiences has been grossly underestimated , and a meaty plot and well-developed characters have been sacrificed for skin and flash that barely fizzle .


brings awareness to an issue often overlooked -- women 's depression .


` enigma ' is the kind of engaging historical drama that hollywood appears to have given up on in favor of sentimental war movies in the vein of ` we were soldiers . '


rabbit-proof fence will probably make you angry .


simply put , there should have been a more compelling excuse to pair susan sarandon and goldie hawn .


i ca n't remember the last time i saw a movie where i wanted so badly for the protagonist to fail .


holm does his sly , intricate magic , and iben hjelje is entirely appealing as pumpkin .


the film runs on a little longer than it needs to -- muccino either does n't notice when his story ends or just ca n't tear himself away from the characters -- but it 's smooth and professional .


family portrait of need , neurosis and nervy negativity is a rare treat that shows the promise of digital filmmaking .


utter mush ... conceited pap .


as janice , eileen walsh , an engaging , wide-eyed actress whose teeth are a little too big for her mouth , infuses the movie with much of its slender , glinting charm .


the last three narcissists left on earth compete for each others ' affections .


entertainment more disposable than hanna-barbera 's half-hour cartoons ever were .


it 's hard to imagine that even very small children will be impressed by this tired retread .


as it stands , there 's some fine sex onscreen , and some tense arguing , but not a whole lot more .


forget the misleading title , what 's with the unexplained baboon cameo ?


a lot of its gags and observations reflect a woman 's point-of-view .


visually captivating .


choppy , overlong documentary about ` the lifestyle . '


jarecki and gibney do find enough material to bring kissinger 's record into question and explain how the diplomat 's tweaked version of statecraft may have cost thousands and possibly millions of lives .


insomnia is one of the year 's best films and pacino gives one of his most daring , and complicated , performances .


mike leigh populates his movie with a wonderful ensemble cast of characters that bring the routine day to day struggles of the working class to life


a winning comedy with its wry observations about long-lived friendships and the ways in which we all lose track of ourselves by trying to please others .


it 's as if allen , at 66 , has stopped challenging himself .


forget about one oscar nomination for julianne moore this year - she should get all five .


a captivating and intimate study about dying and loving ...


call this the full monty on ice , the underdog sports team formula redux .


this film puts wang at the forefront of china 's sixth generation of film makers .


i love the robust middle of this picture .


many shallower movies these days seem too long , but this one is egregiously short .


the result , however well-intentioned , is ironically just the sort of disposable , kitchen-sink homage that illustrates why the whole is so often less than the sum of its parts in today 's hollywood .


it wraps up a classic mother\/daughter struggle in recycled paper with a shiny new bow and while the audience can tell it 's not all new , at least it looks pretty .


by the end you ca n't help but feel ` stoked . '


with elements cribbed from lang 's metropolis , welles ' kane , and eisenstein 's potemkin , the true wonder of rintarô 's metropolis is the number of lasting images all its own .


the big finish is a bit like getting all excited about a chocolate eclair and then biting into it and finding the filling missing .


ourside the theatre roger might be intolerable company , but inside it he 's well worth spending some time with .


there 's so much to look at in metropolis you hate to tear your eyes away from the images long enough to read the subtitles .


this is so de palma .


it leers , offering next to little insight into its intriguing subject .


should have gone straight to video .


a heady , biting , be-bop ride through nighttime manhattan , a loquacious videologue of the modern male and the lengths to which he 'll go to weave a protective cocoon around his own ego .


a serious movie with serious ideas .


ludicrous , but director carl franklin adds enough flourishes and freak-outs to make it entertaining .


final verdict : you 've seen it all before .


it 's deep-sixed by a compulsion to catalog every bodily fluids gag in there 's something about mary and devise a parallel clone-gag .


such a fine idea for a film , and such a stultifying , lifeless execution .


everyone 's insecure in lovely and amazing , a poignant and wryly amusing film about mothers , daughters and their relationships .


too bad maggio could n't come up with a better script .


an unusually dry-eyed , even analytical approach to material that is generally played for maximum moisture .


eckstraordinarily lame and severely boring .


each scene wreaks of routine ; the film never manages to generate a single threat of suspense .


it 's a rollicking adventure for you and all your mateys , regardless of their ages .


mr. koshashvili is a director to watch .


irwin and his director never come up with an adequate reason why we should pay money for what we can get on television for free .


no cute factor here ... not that i mind ugly ; the problem is he has no character , loveable or otherwise .


i was impressed by how many tit-for-tat retaliatory responses the filmmakers allow before pulling the plug on the conspirators and averting an american-russian armageddon .


go , girls , right down the reality drain .


if there 's one big point to promises , it 's that nothing can change while physical and psychological barriers keep the sides from speaking even one word to each other .


-lrb- ramsay -rrb- visually transforms the dreary expanse of dead-end distaste the characters inhabit into a poem of art , music and metaphor .


suffers from its timid parsing of the barn-side target of sons trying to breach gaps in their relationships with their fathers .


broomfield 's style of journalism is hardly journalism at all , and even those with an avid interest in the subject will grow impatient .


by turns fanciful , grisly and engagingly quixotic .


it just did n't mean much to me and played too skewed to ever get a hold on -lrb- or be entertained by -rrb- .


devoid of any of the qualities that made the first film so special .


though it flirts with bathos and pathos and the further oprahfication of the world as we know it , it still cuts all the way down to broken bone .


for all its visual panache and compelling supporting characters , the heart of the film rests in the relationship between sullivan and his son .


the story ultimately takes hold and grips hard .


if you 're looking to rekindle the magic of the first film , you 'll need a stronger stomach than us .


in the affable maid in manhattan , jennifer lopez 's most aggressive and most sincere attempt to take movies by storm , the diva shrewdly surrounds herself with a company of strictly a-list players .


last orders nurtures the multi-layers of its characters , allowing us to remember that life 's ultimately a gamble and last orders are to be embraced .


the basic premise is intriguing but quickly becomes distasteful and downright creepy .


but when it does , you 're entirely unprepared .


although largely a heavy-handed indictment of parental failings and the indifference of spanish social workers and legal system towards child abuse , the film retains ambiguities that make it well worth watching .


even in terms of the low-grade cheese standards on which it operates , it never quite makes the grade as tawdry trash .


by the time it ends in a rush of sequins , flashbulbs , blaring brass and back-stabbing babes , it has said plenty about how show business has infiltrated every corner of society -- and not always for the better .


leguizamo and jones are both excellent and the rest of the cast is uniformly superb .


intimate and panoramic .


plays out with a dogged and eventually winning squareness that would make it the darling of many a kids-and-family-oriented cable channel .


cruel and inhuman cinematic punishment ... simultaneously degrades its characters , its stars and its audience .


generic slasher-movie nonsense , but it 's not without style .


this dubious product of a college-spawned -lrb- colgate u. -rrb- comedy ensemble known as broken lizard plays like a mix of cheech and chong and chips .


quietly engaging .


a dashing and absorbing outing with one of france 's most inventive directors .


takes you by the face , strokes your cheeks and coos beseechingly at you : slow down , shake off your tensions and take this picture at its own breezy , distracted rhythms .


... familiar and predictable , and 4\/5ths of it might as well have come from a xerox machine rather than -lrb- writer-director -rrb- franc .


a road trip that will get you thinking , ` are we there yet ? '


the sword fighting is well done and auteuil is a goofy pleasure .


it 's hard to care about a film that proposes as epic tragedy the plight of a callow rich boy who is forced to choose between his beautiful , self-satisfied 22-year-old girlfriend and an equally beautiful , self-satisfied 18-year-old mistress .


it could have been something special , but two things drag it down to mediocrity -- director clare peploe 's misunderstanding of marivaux 's rhythms , and mira sorvino 's limitations as a classical actress .


a highly spirited , imaginative kid 's movie that broaches neo-augustinian theology : is god stuck in heaven because he 's afraid of his best-known creation ?


these two are generating about as much chemistry as an iraqi factory poised to receive a un inspector .


serviceable at best , slightly less than serviceable at worst .


mostly works because of the universal themes , earnest performances ... and excellent use of music by india 's popular gulzar and jagjit singh .


there 's got to be a more graceful way of portraying the devastation of this disease .


wanders all over the map thematically and stylistically , and borrows heavily from lynch , jeunet , and von trier while failing to find a spark of its own .


the good girl is a film in which the talent is undeniable but the results are underwhelming .


`` the adventures of pluto nash '' is a big time stinker .


at 90 minutes this movie is short , but it feels much longer .


each story is built on a potentially interesting idea , but the first two are ruined by amateurish writing and acting , while the third feels limited by its short running time .


... while certainly clever in spots , this too-long , spoofy update of shakespeare 's macbeth does n't sustain a high enough level of invention .


richly entertaining and suggestive of any number of metaphorical readings .


a sincere but dramatically conflicted gay coming-of-age tale .


the movie 's ultimate point -- that everyone should be themselves -- is trite , but the screenwriter and director michel gondry restate it to the point of ridiculousness .


a film which presses familiar herzog tropes into the service of a limpid and conventional historical fiction , when really what we demand of the director is to be mesmerised .


the art direction is often exquisite , and the anthropomorphic animal characters are beautifully realized through clever makeup design , leaving one to hope that the eventual dvd release will offer subtitles and the original italian-language soundtrack .


a remarkably insightful look at the backstage angst of the stand-up comic .


as original and insightful as last week 's episode of behind the music .


ian holm conquers france as an earthy napoleon


mckay seems embarrassed by his own invention and tries to rush through the intermediary passages , apparently hoping that the audience will not notice the glaring triteness of the plot device he has put in service .


the gentle comic treatment of adolescent sturm und drang should please fans of chris fuhrman 's posthumously published cult novel .


denis forges out of the theories of class - based rage and sisterly obsession a razor-sided tuning fork that rings with cultural , sexual and social discord .


in a summer of clones , harvard man is something rare and riveting : a wild ride that relies on more than special effects .


an emotionally strong and politically potent piece of cinema .


in between the icy stunts , the actors spout hilarious dialogue about following your dream and ` just letting the mountain tell you what to do . '


oh , and booty call .


the movie is clever , offbeat and even gritty enough to overcome my resistance .


a film of empty , fetishistic violence in which murder is casual and fun .


it 's hard to imagine another director ever making his wife look so bad in a major movie .


sure , it 's contrived and predictable , but its performances are so well tuned that the film comes off winningly , even though it 's never as solid as you want it to be .


a delicious , quirky movie with a terrific screenplay and fanciful direction by michael gondry .


a glossy knock-off of a b-movie revenge flick .


intelligent , caustic take on a great writer and dubious human being .


since the movie is based on a nicholas sparks best seller , you know death is lurking around the corner , just waiting to spoil things .


this is a finely written , superbly acted offbeat thriller .


spider-man is about growing strange hairs , getting a more mature body , and finding it necessary to hide new secretions from the parental units .


plummer steals the show without resorting to camp as nicholas ' wounded and wounding uncle ralph .


when you resurrect a dead man , hard copy should come a-knocking , no ?


seems based on ugly ideas instead of ugly behavior , as happiness was ... hence , storytelling is far more appealing .


a few zingers aside , the writing is indifferent , and jordan brady 's direction is prosaic .


a real audience-pleaser that will strike a chord with anyone who 's ever waited in a doctor 's office , emergency room , hospital bed or insurance company office .


paul bettany is cool .


a low-key labor of love that strikes a very resonant chord .


this charming , thought-provoking new york fest of life and love has its rewards .


no doubt the star and everyone else involved had their hearts in the right place .


the immersive powers of the giant screen and its hyper-realistic images are put to perfect use in the breathtakingly beautiful outer-space documentary space station 3d .


to get at the root psychology of this film would require many sessions on the couch of dr. freud .


a moving and important film .


matthew lillard is born to play shaggy !


a spooky yarn of demonic doings on the high seas that works better the less the brain is engaged .


the movie obviously seeks to re-create the excitement of such '50s flicks as jules verne 's ' 20,000 leagues under the sea ' and the george pal version of h.g. wells ' ` the time machine . '


horrendously amateurish filmmaking that is plainly dull and visually ugly when it is n't incomprehensible .


that 's fun for kids of any age .


a genuinely moving and wisely unsentimental drama .


` punch-drunk love is so convinced of its own brilliance that , if it were a person , you 'd want to smash its face in . '


obvious .


howard conjures the past via surrealist flourishes so overwrought you 'd swear he just stepped out of a buñuel retrospective .


we 're left with a story that tries to grab us , only to keep letting go at all the wrong moments .


at a brief 42 minutes , we need more x and less blab .


if you 're part of her targeted audience , you 'll cheer .


i did n't think so .


this gorgeous epic is guaranteed to lift the spirits of the whole family .


viva le resistance !


girlfriends are bad , wives are worse and babies are the kiss of death in this bitter italian comedy .


- i also wanted a little alien as a friend !


the two leads , nearly perfect in their roles , bring a heart and reality that buoy the film , and at times , elevate it to a superior crime movie .


the comedy is nonexistent .


if there was ever a movie where the upbeat ending feels like a copout , this is the one .


for a movie audience , the hours does n't connect in a neat way , but introduces characters who illuminate mysteries of sex , duty and love .


impossible as it may sound , this film 's heart is even more embracing than monty , if only because it accepts nasty behavior and severe flaws as part of the human condition .


i wo n't argue with anyone who calls ` slackers ' dumb , insulting , or childish ... but i laughed so much that i did n't mind .


a movie that will wear you out and make you misty even when you do n't want to be .


does n't add up to much .


broder 's screenplay is shallow , offensive and redundant , with pitifully few real laughs .


while it is welcome to see a chinese film depict a homosexual relationship in a mature and frank fashion , lan yu never catches dramatic fire .


mild , meandering teen flick .


it 's provocative stuff , but the speculative effort is hampered by taylor 's cartoonish performance and the film 's ill-considered notion that hitler 's destiny was shaped by the most random of chances .


combines improbable melodrama -lrb- gored bullfighters , comatose ballerinas -rrb- with subtly kinky bedside vigils and sensational denouements , and yet at the end , we are undeniably touched .


a sloppy slapstick throwback to long gone bottom-of-the-bill fare like the ghost and mr. chicken .


hart 's war seems to want to be a character study , but apparently ca n't quite decide which character .


an engrossing portrait of uncompromising artists trying to create something original against the backdrop of a corporate music industry that only seems to care about the bottom line .


this is rote drivel aimed at mom and dad 's wallet .


a story about intelligent high school students that deals with first love sweetly but also seriously .


as the movie traces mr. brown 's athletic exploits , it is impossible not to be awed by the power and grace of one of the greatest natural sportsmen of modern times .


dark and unrepentant , this excursion into the epicenter of percolating mental instability is not easily dismissed or forgotten .


sa da tay !


whether this is art imitating life or life imitating art , it 's an unhappy situation all around .


a charming and funny story of clashing cultures and a clashing mother\/daughter relationship .


though excessively tiresome , the uncertainty principle , as verbally pretentious as the title may be , has its handful of redeeming features , as long as you discount its ability to bore .


`` frailty '' offers chills much like those that you get when sitting around a campfire around midnight , telling creepy stories to give each other the willies .


while the mystery unravels , the characters respond by hitting on each other .


disappointingly , the characters are too strange and dysfunctional , tom included , to ever get under the skin , but this is compensated in large part by the off-the-wall dialogue , visual playfulness and the outlandishness of the idea itself .


you can almost see mendes and company getting together before a single frame had been shot and collectively vowing , ` this is going to be something really good . '


a colorful , vibrant introduction to a universal human impulse , lushly photographed and beautifully recorded .


so exaggerated and broad that it comes off as annoying rather than charming .


though the story ... is hackneyed , the characters have a freshness and modesty that transcends their predicament .


too clumsy in key moments ... to make a big splash .


as well-acted and well-intentioned as all or nothing is , however , the film comes perilously close to being too bleak , too pessimistic and too unflinching for its own good .


harry potter and the chamber of secrets is deja vu all over again , and while that is a cliche , nothing could be more appropriate .


represents something very close to the nadir of the thriller\/horror genre .


congrats disney on a job well done , i enjoyed it just as much !


a movie you observe , rather than one you enter into .


... the good and different idea -lrb- of middle-aged romance -rrb- is not handled well and , except for the fine star performances , there is little else to recommend `` never again . ''


there are moments of real pleasure to be found in sara sugarman 's whimsical comedy very annie-mary but not enough to sustain the film .


ice age posits a heretofore unfathomable question : is it possible for computer-generated characters to go through the motions ?


a hidden-agenda drama that shouts classic french nuance .


belongs in the too-hot-for-tv direct-to-video\/dvd category , and this is why i have given it a one-star rating .


you ... get a sense of good intentions derailed by a failure to seek and strike just the right tone .


funny and touching .


this dreadfully earnest inversion of the concubine love triangle eschews the previous film 's historical panorama and roiling pathos for bug-eyed mugging and gay-niche condescension .


seeks to transcend its genre with a curiously stylized , quasi-shakespearean portrait of pure misogynist evil .


the only camouflage carvey should now be considering is a paper bag to wear over his head when he goes out into public , to avoid being recognized as the man who bilked unsuspecting moviegoers .


grant is n't cary and bullock is n't katherine .


... the one thing this wild film has that other imax films do n't : chimps , lots of chimps , all blown up to the size of a house .


granddad of le nouvelle vague , jean-luc godard continues to baffle the faithful with his games of hide-and-seek .


he allows his cast members to make creative contributions to the story and dialogue .


sitting in the third row of the imax cinema at sydney 's darling harbour , but i sometimes felt as though i was in the tiny two seater plane that carried the giant camera around australia , sweeping and gliding , banking and hovering over some of the most not


anyone who ever fantasized about space travel but ca n't afford the $ 20 million ticket to ride a russian rocket should catch this imax offering .


`` feardotcom '' has the makings of an interesting meditation on the ethereal nature of the internet and the otherworldly energies it could channel , but it simply becomes a routine shocker .


overburdened with complicated plotting and banal dialogue


an artsploitation movie with too much exploitation and too little art .


after collateral damage , you might imagine that most every aggrieved father cliché has been unturned .


epps has neither the charisma nor the natural affability that has made tucker a star .


wang xiaoshuai directs this intricately structured and well-realized drama that presents a fascinating glimpse of urban life and the class warfare that embroils two young men .


purposefully shocking in its eroticized gore , if unintentionally dull in its lack of poetic frissons .


give shapiro , goldman , and bolado credit for good intentions , but there 's nothing here that they could n't have done in half an hour .


unfunny and lacking any sense of commitment to or affection for its characters , the reginald hudlin comedy relies on toilet humor , ethnic slurs .


the footage of the rappers at play and the prison interview with suge knight are just two of the elements that will grab you .


if you 're looking for something new and hoping for something entertaining , you 're in luck .


the quiet american is n't a bad film , it 's just one that could easily wait for your pay per view dollar .


hugely accomplished slice of hitchcockian suspense .


kinnear and dafoe give what may be the performances of their careers .


like an episode of mtv 's undressed , with 20 times the creativity but without any more substance ... indulgently entertaining but could have and should have been deeper .


ice age is the first computer-generated feature cartoon to feel like other movies , and that makes for some glacial pacing early on .


skin of man gets a few cheap shocks from its kids-in-peril theatrics , but it also taps into the primal fears of young people trying to cope with the mysterious and brutal nature of adults .


heaven is a haunting dramatization of a couple 's moral ascension .


forgettable , if good-hearted , movie .


a bizarre piece of work , with premise and dialogue at the level of kids ' television and plot threads as morose as teen pregnancy , rape and suspected murder


white oleander may leave you rolling your eyes in the dark , but that does n't mean you wo n't like looking at it .


after a while , the only way for a reasonably intelligent person to get through the country bears is to ponder how a whole segment of pop-music history has been allowed to get wet , fuzzy and sticky .


it 's mostly a pleasure to watch .


a serviceable euro-trash action extravaganza , with a decent sense of humor and plenty of things that go boom -- handguns , bmws and seaside chateaus .


the film 's needlessly opaque intro takes its doe-eyed crudup out of pre-9 \/ 11 new york and onto a cross-country road trip of the homeric kind .


beating the austin powers films at their own game , this blaxploitation spoof downplays the raunch in favor of gags that rely on the strength of their own cleverness as opposed to the extent of their outrageousness .


it 's a movie that accomplishes so much that one viewing ca n't possibly be enough .


little action , almost no suspense or believable tension , one-dimensional characters up the wazoo and sets that can only be described as sci-fi generic .


a quirky comedy set in newfoundland that cleverly captures the dry wit that 's so prevalent on the rock .


the acting in pauline and paulette is good all round , but what really sets the film apart is debrauwer 's refusal to push the easy emotional buttons .


knockaround guys plays like a student film by two guys who desperately want to be quentin tarantino when they grow up .


... wise and elegiac ...


one of the best films of the year with its exquisite acting , inventive screenplay , mesmerizing music , and many inimitable scenes of tenderness , loss , discontent , and yearning .


not only are the film 's sopranos gags incredibly dated and unfunny , they also demonstrate how desperate the makers of this ` we 're - doing-it-for - the-cash ' sequel were .


a pleasant piece of escapist entertainment .


... a fascinating curiosity piece -- fascinating , that is , for about ten minutes .


just when you think you are making sense of it , something happens that tells you there is no sense .


kinnear ... gives his best screen performance with an oddly winning portrayal of one of life 's ultimate losers .


takes a fresh and absorbing look at a figure whose legacy had begun to bronze .


beautiful , cold , oddly colorful and just plain otherworldly , a freaky bit of art that 's there to scare while we delight in the images .


the film is an earnest try at beachcombing verismo , but it would be even more indistinct than it is were it not for the striking , quietly vulnerable personality of ms. ambrose .


the film 's intimate camera work and searing performances pull us deep into the girls ' confusion and pain as they struggle tragically to comprehend the chasm of knowledge that 's opened between them .


as schmidt , nicholson walks with a slow , deliberate gait , chooses his words carefully and subdues his natural exuberance .


but toback 's deranged immediacy makes it seem fresh again .


a tasty appetizer that leaves you wanting more .


with a `` spy kids '' sequel opening next week , why bother with a contemptible imitator starring a `` snl '' has-been acting like an 8-year-old channeling roberto benigni ?


the whole film has this sneaky feel to it -- as if the director is trying to dupe the viewer into taking it all as very important simply because the movie is ugly to look at and not a hollywood product .


an old-fashioned but emotionally stirring adventure tale of the kind they rarely make anymore .


heartwarming and gently comic even as the film breaks your heart .


none of this is meaningful or memorable , but frosting is n't , either , and you would n't turn down a big bowl of that , would you ?


a case in point : doug pray 's scratch .


very much a home video , and so devoid of artifice and purpose that it appears not to have been edited at all .


in my opinion , analyze that is not as funny or entertaining as analyze this , but it is a respectable sequel .


this is a fascinating film because there is no clear-cut hero and no all-out villain .


able to provide insight into a fascinating part of theater history .


it hates its characters .


pete 's screenplay manages to find that real natural , even-flowing tone that few movies are able to accomplish .


no , even that 's too committed .


fast and funny , an action cartoon that 's suspenseful enough for older kids but not too scary for the school-age crowd .


it 's tommy 's job to clean the peep booths surrounding her , and after viewing this one , you 'll feel like mopping up , too .


you can taste it , but there 's no fizz .


a fast-paced , glitzy but extremely silly piece .


the wild thornberrys movie has all the sibling rivalry and general family chaos to which anyone can relate .


a fine , rousing , g-rated family film , aimed mainly at little kids but with plenty of entertainment value to keep grown-ups from squirming in their seats .


well-done supernatural thriller with keen insights into parapsychological phenomena and the soulful nuances of the grieving process .


somewhere in the middle , the film compels , as demme experiments he harvests a few movie moment gems , but the field of roughage dominates .


a spiffy animated feature about an unruly adolescent boy who is yearning for adventure and a chance to prove his worth .


special p.o.v. camera mounts on bikes , skateboards , and motorcycles provide an intense experience when splashed across the immense imax screen .


` yes , that 's right : it 's forrest gump , angel of death . '


see it .


some of the computer animation is handsome , and various amusing sidekicks add much-needed levity to the otherwise bleak tale , but overall the film never rises above mediocrity .


we have poignancy jostling against farce , thoughtful dialogue elbowed aside by one-liners , and a visual style that incorporates rotoscope animation for no apparent reason except , maybe , that it looks neat .


remarkable for its excellent storytelling , its economical , compressed characterisations and for its profound humanity , it 's an adventure story and history lesson all in one .


everyone 's to blame here .


... an eerily suspenseful , deeply absorbing piece that works as a treatise on spirituality as well as a solid sci-fi thriller .


the cast has a high time , but de broca has little enthusiasm for such antique pulp .


though in some ways similar to catherine breillat 's fat girl , rain is the far superior film .


at the end , when the now computerized yoda finally reveals his martial artistry , the film ascends to a kinetic life so teeming that even cranky adults may rediscover the quivering kid inside .


` drumline ' shows a level of young , black manhood that is funny , touching , smart and complicated .


proves that some movie formulas do n't need messing with -- like the big-bug movie .


an alternately fascinating and frustrating documentary .


the trailer is a riot .


sean penn , you owe nicolas cage an apology .


because eight legged freaks is partly an homage to them , tarantula and other low - budget b-movie thrillers of the 1950s and '60s , the movie is a silly -lrb- but not sophomoric -rrb- romp through horror and hellish conditions .


every joke is repeated at least -- annoying , is n't it ?


the locale ... remains far more interesting than the story at hand .


there 's plenty to impress about e.t.


a mechanical action-comedy whose seeming purpose is to market the charismatic jackie chan to even younger audiences .


coppola 's directorial debut is an incredibly layered and stylistic film that , despite a fairly slow paced , almost humdrum approach to character development , still manages at least a decent attempt at meaningful cinema .


she may not be real , but the laughs are .


for a guy who has waited three years with breathless anticipation for a new hal hartley movie to pore over , no such thing is a big letdown .


... could easily be called the best korean film of 2002 .


but the film itself is ultimately quite unengaging .


painfully padded .


the fascination comes in the power of the huston performance , which seems so larger than life and yet so fragile , and in the way the ivan character accepts the news of his illness so quickly but still finds himself unable to react .


brave and sweetly rendered love story .


at its worst the screenplay is callow , but at its best it is a young artist 's thoughtful consideration of fatherhood .


what 's really sad is to see two academy award winning actresses -lrb- and one academy award winning actor -rrb- succumb to appearing in this junk that 's tv sitcom material at best .


red dragon makes one appreciate silence of the lambs .


works because we 're never sure if ohlinger 's on the level or merely a dying , delusional man trying to get into the history books before he croaks .


robinson 's web of suspense matches the page-turning frenzy that clancy creates .


this movie has the usual impossible stunts ... but it has just as many scenes that are lean and tough enough to fit in any modern action movie .


although estela bravo 's documentary is cloyingly hagiographic in its portrait of cuban leader fidel castro , it 's still a guilty pleasure to watch .


why , you may ask , why should you buy the movie milk when the tv cow is free ?


the whole affair is as predictable as can be .


cool .


this breezy caper movie becomes a soulful , incisive meditation on the way we were , and the way we are .


if only it had the story to match .


to me , it sounds like a cruel deception carried out by men of marginal intelligence , with reactionary ideas about women and a total lack of empathy .


the script 's snazzy dialogue establishes a realistic atmosphere that involves us in the unfolding crisis , but the lazy plotting ensures that little of our emotional investment pays off .


classic cinema served up with heart and humor


it does n't matter that the film is less than 90 minutes .


maybe thomas wolfe was right : you ca n't go home again .


it 's endlessly inventive , consistently intelligent and sickeningly savage .


unlike lots of hollywood fluff , this has layered , well-developed characters and some surprises .


the film 's highlight is definitely its screenplay , both for the rhapsodic dialogue that jumps off the page , and for the memorable character creations .


this director 's cut -- which adds 51 minutes -- takes a great film and turns it into a mundane soap opera .


billy crystal and robert de niro sleepwalk through vulgarities in a sequel you can refuse .


the whole thing comes off like a particularly amateurish episode of bewitched that takes place during spring break .


i was sent a copyof this film to review on dvd .


like its bizarre heroine , it irrigates our souls .


charlotte sometimes is a gem .


the explosion essentially ruined -- or , rather , overpowered -- the fiction of the movie for me .


short-story quaint , touchingly mending a child 's pain for his dead mother via communication with an old woman straight out of eudora welty .


a clichéd and shallow cautionary tale about the hard-partying lives of gay men .


i hate the feeling of having been slimed in the name of high art .


cox is far more concerned with aggrandizing madness , not the man , and the results might drive you crazy .


a mediocre exercise in target demographics , unaware that it 's the butt of its own joke .


smart and taut .


the chateau has one very funny joke and a few other decent ones , but all it amounts to is a mildly funny , sometimes tedious , ultimately insignificant film .


director oliver parker labors so hard to whip life into the importance of being earnest that he probably pulled a muscle or two .


samuel l. jackson is one of the best actors there is .


as a thoughtful and unflinching examination of an alternative lifestyle , sex with strangers is a success .


the filmmakers might want to look it up .


the premise itself is just sooooo tired .


impostor is a step down for director gary fleder .


it 's a movie that ends with truckzilla , for cryin ' out loud .


while there 's likely very little crossover appeal to those without much interest in the elizabethans -lrb- as well as rank frustration from those in the know about rubbo 's dumbed-down tactics -rrb- , much ado about something is an amicable endeavor .


for a film that celebrates radical , nonconformist values , what to do in case of fire ?


john carlen 's script is full of unhappy , two-dimensional characters who are anything but compelling .


with an unflappable air of decadent urbanity , everett remains a perfect wildean actor , and a relaxed firth displays impeccable comic skill .


has a customarily jovial air but a deficit of flim-flam inventiveness .


... a thoughtful what-if for the heart as well as the mind .


... grows decidedly flimsier with its many out-sized , out of character and logically porous action set pieces .


near the end takes on a whole other meaning .


compared to his series of spectacular belly flops both on and off the screen , runteldat is something of a triumph .


mariah carey gives us another peek at some of the magic we saw in glitter here in wisegirls .


criminal conspiracies and true romances move so easily across racial and cultural lines in the film that it makes my big fat greek wedding look like an apartheid drama .


unambitious writing emerges in the movie , using a plot that could have come from an animated-movie screenwriting textbook .


what 's surprising about this traditional thriller , moderately successful but not completely satisfying , is exactly how genteel and unsurprising the execution turns out to be .


kids five and up will be delighted with the fast , funny , and even touching story .


a suffocating rape-payback horror show that hinges on the subgenre 's most enabling victim ... and an ebullient affection for industrial-model meat freezers .


like its new england characters , most of whom wander about in thick clouds of denial , the movie eventually gets around to its real emotional business , striking deep chords of sadness .


once the expectation of laughter has been quashed by whatever obscenity is at hand , even the funniest idea is n't funny .


they 're the unnamed , easily substitutable forces that serve as whatever terror the heroes of horror movies try to avoid .


a raunchy and frequently hilarious follow-up to the gifted korean american stand-up 's i 'm the one that i want .


unfolds in a series of achronological vignettes whose cumulative effect is chilling .


adults , other than the parents ... will be hard pressed to succumb to the call of the wild .


a mess , but it 's a sincere mess .


you do n't want to call the cops .


there are flaws , but also stretches of impact and moments of awe ; we 're wrapped up in the characters , how they make their choices , and why .


`` bad '' is the operative word for `` bad company , '' and i do n't mean that in a good way .


cuba gooding jr. valiantly mugs his way through snow dogs , but even his boisterous energy fails to spark this leaden comedy .


third time 's the charm ... yeah , baby !


and it is .


`` i blame all men for war , '' -lrb- the warden 's daughter -rrb- tells her father .


a dark-as-pitch comedy that frequently veers into corny sentimentality , probably would not improve much after a therapeutic zap of shock treatment .


the good is very , very good ... the rest runs from mildly unimpressive to despairingly awful .


though intrepid in exploring an attraction that crosses sexual identity , ozpetek falls short in showing us antonia 's true emotions ... but at the very least , his secret life will leave you thinking .


though lan yu lacks a sense of dramatic urgency , the film makes up for it with a pleasing verisimilitude .


what i saw , i enjoyed .


the best drug addition movies are usually depressing but rewarding .


splendidly illustrates the ability of the human spirit to overcome adversity .


i love the opening scenes of a wintry new york city in 1899 .


the rare movie that 's as crisp and to the point as the novel on which it 's based .


witty dialog between realistic characters showing honest emotions .


though a capable thriller , somewhere along the way k-19 jettisoned some crucial drama .


time out is as serious as a pink slip .


working from a surprisingly sensitive script co-written by gianni romoli ... ozpetek avoids most of the pitfalls you 'd expect in such a potentially sudsy set-up .


if the idea of the white man arriving on foreign shores to show wary natives the true light is abhorrent to you , the simplistic heaven will quite likely be more like hell .


k 19 stays afloat as decent drama\/action flick


at some point , all this visual trickery stops being clever and devolves into flashy , vaguely silly overkill .


the whole talking-animal thing is grisly .


it 's not helpful to listen to extremist name-calling , regardless of whether you think kissinger was a calculating fiend or just a slippery self-promoter .


bland but harmless .


although bright , well-acted and thought-provoking , tuck everlasting suffers from a laconic pace and a lack of traditional action .


allen shows he can outgag any of those young whippersnappers making moving pictures today .


perhaps not since nelson eddy crooned his indian love call to jeanette macdonald has there been a movie so unabashedly canadian , not afraid to risk american scorn or disinterest .


it 's a beautiful film , full of elaborate and twisted characters - and it 's also pretty funny .


it 's a mystery how the movie could be released in this condition .


though it runs 163 minutes , safe conduct is anything but languorous .


it reduces the complexities to bromides and slogans and it gets so preachy-keen and so tub-thumpingly loud it makes you feel like a chump just for sitting through it .


most thrillers send audiences out talking about specific scary scenes or startling moments ; `` frailty '' leaves us with the terrifying message that the real horror may be waiting for us at home .


for 95 often hilarious minutes , -lrb- cho -rrb- riffs on the diciness of colonics , on straight versus gay personal ads , on how men would act if they had periods , and on the perils of a certain outré sexual practice .


about schmidt is nicholson 's goofy , heartfelt , mesmerizing king lear .


newcomer helmer kevin donovan is hamstrung by a badly handled screenplay of what is really an amusing concept -- a high-tech tux that transforms its wearer into a superman .


-lrb- it 's -rrb- a clever thriller with enough unexpected twists to keep our interest .


would you laugh if a tuba-playing dwarf rolled down a hill in a trash can ?


do you say `` hi '' to your lover when you wake up in the morning ?


pair that with really poor comedic writing ... and you 've got a huge mess .


the film reminds me of a vastly improved germanic version of my big fat greek wedding -- with better characters , some genuine quirkiness and at least a measure of style .


the concert footage is stirring , the recording sessions are intriguing , and -- on the way to striking a blow for artistic integrity -- this quality band may pick up new admirers .


a well-rounded tribute to a man whose achievements -- and complexities -- reached far beyond the end zone .


even if the enticing prospect of a lot of nubile young actors in a film about campus depravity did n't fade amid the deliberate , tiresome ugliness , it would be rendered tedious by avary 's failure to construct a story with even a trace of dramatic interest .


as lively an account as seinfeld is deadpan .


this wretchedly unfunny wannabe comedy is inane and awful - no doubt , it 's the worst movie i 've seen this summer .


it aimlessly and unsuccessfully attempts to fuse at least three dull plots into one good one .


while scorsese 's bold images and generally smart casting ensure that `` gangs '' is never lethargic , the movie is hindered by a central plot that 's peppered with false starts and populated by characters who are nearly impossible to care about .


fresnadillo has something serious to say about the ways in which extravagant chance can distort our perspective and throw us off the path of good sense .


the only fun part of the movie is playing the obvious game .


a horrible , 99-minute stink bomb .


only masochistic moviegoers need apply .


the tuxedo miscalculates badly by forcing the star to play second fiddle to the dull effects that allow the suit to come to life .


this kiddie-oriented stinker is so bad that i even caught the gum stuck under my seat trying to sneak out of the theater


a loquacious and dreary piece of business .


a film that clearly means to preach exclusively to the converted .


the screenplay does too much meandering , norton has to recite bland police procedural details , fiennes wanders around in an attempt to seem weird and distanced , hopkins looks like a drag queen .


what makes the film special is the refreshingly unhibited enthusiasm that the people , in spite of clearly evident poverty and hardship , bring to their music .


kids do n't mind crappy movies as much as adults , provided there 's lots of cute animals and clumsy people .


this is mild-mannered , been-there material given a pedestrian spin by a director who needed a touch of the flamboyant , the outrageous .


a stirring , funny and finally transporting re-imagining of beauty and the beast and 1930s horror films


-- but certainly hard to hate .


at its most basic , this cartoon adventure is that wind-in-the-hair exhilarating .


ok arthouse .


family fare .


buy is an accomplished actress , and this is a big , juicy role .


earnest yet curiously tepid and choppy recycling in which predictability is the only winner .


here , common sense flies out the window , along with the hail of bullets , none of which ever seem to hit sascha .


this is not an easy film .


if disney 's cinderella proved that ' a dream is a wish your heart makes , ' then cinderella ii proves that a nightmare is a wish a studio 's wallet makes .


this is the kind of movie that you only need to watch for about thirty seconds before you say to yourself , ` ah , yes , here we have a bad , bad , bad movie . '


so here it is : it 's about a family of sour immortals .


a fine documentary can be distinguished from a mediocre one by the better film 's ability to make its subject interesting to those who are n't part of its supposed target audience .


despite its old-hat set-up and predictable plot , empire still has enough moments to keep it entertaining .


never inspires more than an interested detachment .


it 's like an all-star salute to disney 's cheesy commercialism .


i encourage young and old alike to go see this unique and entertaining twist on the classic whale 's tale -- you wo n't be sorry !


i 'm not sure which half of dragonfly is worse : the part where nothing 's happening , or the part where something 's happening , but it 's stupid .


constantly touching , surprisingly funny , semi-surrealist exploration of the creative act .


collapses under its own meager weight .


plays like the old disease-of-the-week small-screen melodramas .


there are some fairly unsettling scenes , but they never succeed in really rattling the viewer .


the movie worked for me right up to the final scene , and then it caved in .


lazy filmmaking , with the director taking a hands-off approach when he should have shaped the story to show us why it 's compelling .


it 's a compelling and horrifying story , and the laramie project is worthwhile for reminding us that this sort of thing does , in fact , still happen in america .


the problem with `` xxx '' is that its own action is n't very effective .


wonder , hope and magic can never escape the heart of the boy when the right movie comes along , especially if it begins with the name of star wars


it 's hard to quibble with a flick boasting this many genuine cackles , but notorious c.h.o. still feels like a promising work-in-progress .


absolutely -lrb- and unintentionally -rrb- terrifying .


a powerful , inflammatory film about religion that dares to question an ancient faith , and about hatred that offers no easy , comfortable resolution .


like a veteran head cutter , barbershop is tuned in to its community .


a film that will probably please people already fascinated by behan but leave everyone else yawning with admiration .


outside of burger 's desire to make some kind of film , it 's really unclear why this project was undertaken


if you have n't seen the film lately , you may be surprised at the variety of tones in spielberg 's work .


even on its own ludicrous terms , the sum of all fears generates little narrative momentum , and invites unflattering comparisons to other installments in the ryan series .


is n't it a bit early in his career for director barry sonnenfeld to do a homage to himself ?


a fanciful drama about napoleon 's last years and his surprising discovery of love and humility .


i liked the movie , but i know i would have liked it more if it had just gone that one step further .


` matrix ' - style massacres erupt throughout ... but the movie has a tougher time balancing its violence with kafka-inspired philosophy .


i am highly amused by the idea that we have come to a point in society where it has been deemed important enough to make a film in which someone has to be hired to portray richard dawson .


oops , she 's really done it this time .


i wanted more .


the cast delivers without sham the raw-nerved story .


mostly martha could have used a little trimming -- 10 or 15 minutes could be cut and no one would notice -- but it 's a pleasurable trifle .


wo n't be placed in the pantheon of the best of the swashbucklers but it is a whole lot of fun and you get to see the one of the world 's best actors , daniel auteuil , have a whale of a good time .


this orange has some juice , but it 's far from fresh-squeezed .


now as a former gong show addict , i 'll admit it , my only complaint is that we did n't get more re-creations of all those famous moments from the show .


a small gem from belgium .


a wild , endearing , masterful documentary .


a direct-to-void release , heading nowhere .


eventually arrives at its heart , as simple self-reflection meditation .


whether it 's the worst movie of 2002 , i ca n't say for sure : memories of rollerball have faded , and i skipped country bears .


elmo touts his drug as being 51 times stronger than coke .


at times a bit melodramatic and even a little dated -lrb- depending upon where you live -rrb- , ignorant fairies is still quite good-natured and not a bad way to spend an hour or two .


an inuit masterpiece that will give you goosebumps as its uncanny tale of love , communal discord , and justice unfolds .


though the film never veers from its comic course , its unintentional parallels might inadvertently evoke memories and emotions which are anything but humorous .


... -lrb- the film -rrb- works , due mostly to the tongue-in-cheek attitude of the screenplay .


if i could have looked into my future and saw how bad this movie was , i would go back and choose to skip it .


an elegant work , food of love is as consistently engaging as it is revealing .


director george hickenlooper has had some success with documentaries , but here his sense of story and his juvenile camera movements smack of a film school undergrad , and his maudlin ending might not have gotten him into film school in the first place .


there are deeply religious and spiritual people in this world who would argue that entering a church , synagogue or temple does n't mean you have to check your brain at the door .


bray is completely at sea ; with nothing but a savage garden music video on his resume , he has no clue about making a movie .


-lrb- a -rrb- satisfying niblet .


with its paint fights , motorized scooter chases and dewy-eyed sentiment , it 's a pretty listless collection of kid-movie clichés .


watching the powerpuff girls movie , my mind kept returning to one anecdote for comparison : the cartoon in japan that gave people seizures .


as in aimless , arduous , and arbitrary .


the film fearlessly gets under the skin of the people involved ... this makes it not only a detailed historical document , but an engaging and moving portrait of a subculture .


the film was produced by jerry bruckheimer and directed by joel schumacher , and reflects the worst of their shallow styles : wildly overproduced , inadequately motivated every step of the way and demographically targeted to please every one -lrb- and no one -rrb- .


the film 's overall mood and focus is interesting but constantly unfulfilling .


watching e.t now , in an era dominated by cold , loud special-effects-laden extravaganzas , one is struck less by its lavish grandeur than by its intimacy and precision .


could as easily have been called ` under siege 3 : in alcatraz ' ... a cinematic corpse that never springs to life .


the narrator and the other characters try to convince us that acting transfigures esther , but she 's never seen speaking on stage ; one feels cheated , and esther seems to remain an unchanged dullard .


the trashy teen-sleaze equivalent of showgirls .


really does feel like a short stretched out to feature length .


fast-paced and wonderfully edited , the film is extremely thorough .


what bubbles up out of john c. walsh 's pipe dream is the distinct and very welcome sense of watching intelligent people making a movie they might actually want to watch .


despite all the closed-door hanky-panky , the film is essentially juiceless .


if mr. zhang 's subject matter is , to some degree at least , quintessentially american , his approach to storytelling might be called iranian .


steven soderbergh does n't remake andrei tarkovsky 's solaris so much as distill it .


it throws quirky characters , odd situations , and off-kilter dialogue at us , all as if to say , `` look at this !


ultimately too repellent to fully endear itself to american art house audiences , but it is notable for its stylistic austerity and forcefulness .


as antonia is assimilated into this newfangled community , the film settles in and becomes compulsively watchable in a guilty-pleasure , daytime-drama sort of fashion .


tsai has managed to create an underplayed melodrama about family dynamics and dysfunction that harks back to the spare , unchecked heartache of yasujiro ozu .


it 's lost the politics and the social observation and become just another situation romance about a couple of saps stuck in an inarticulate screenplay .


it 's a gag that 's worn a bit thin over the years , though do n't ask still finds a few chuckles .


first-time writer-director dylan kidd also has a good ear for dialogue , and the characters sound like real people .


eddie murphy and owen wilson have a cute partnership in i spy , but the movie around them is so often nearly nothing that their charm does n't do a load of good .


a fascinating but choppy documentary .


the film is insightful about kissinger 's background and history .


a very slow , uneventful ride around a pretty tattered old carousel .


the first tunisian film i have ever seen , and it 's also probably the most good-hearted yet sensual entertainment i 'm likely to see all year .


to the civilized mind , a movie like ballistic : ecks vs. sever is more of an ordeal than an amusement .


the most consistently funny of the austin powers films .


directors brett morgen and nanette burstein have put together a bold biographical fantasia .


if you come from a family that eats , meddles , argues , laughs , kibbitzes and fights together , then go see this delightful comedy .


a family-friendly fantasy that ends up doing very little with its imaginative premise .


with its jerky hand-held camera and documentary feel , bloody sunday is a sobering recount of a very bleak day in derry .


highly watchable stuff .


escapes the precious trappings of most romantic comedies , infusing into the story very real , complicated emotions .


mark pellington 's latest pop thriller is as kooky and overeager as it is spooky and subtly in love with myth .


the cast is phenomenal , especially the women .


more a gunfest than a rock concert .


skip this turd and pick your nose instead because you 're sure to get more out of the latter experience .


the viewer takes great pleasure in watching the resourceful molly stay a step ahead of her pursuers .


without any redeeming value whatsoever .


like blended shades of lipstick , these components combine into one terrific story with lots of laughs .


this version moves beyond the original 's nostalgia for the communal film experiences of yesteryear to a deeper realization of cinema 's inability to stand in for true , lived experience .


an almost unbearably morbid love story .


parents may even find that it goes by quickly , because it has some of the funniest jokes of any movie this year , including those intended for adults .


this is not a classical dramatic animated feature , nor a hip , contemporary , in-jokey one .


how i killed my father would be a rarity in hollywood .


whole stretches of the film may be incomprehensible to moviegoers not already clad in basic black .


it 's a square , sentimental drama that satisfies , as comfort food often can .


the film is small in scope , yet perfectly formed .


with all the sympathy , empathy and pity fogging up the screen ... his secret life enters the land of unintentional melodrama and tiresome love triangles .


one scene after another in this supposedly funny movie falls to the floor with a sickening thud .


when the precise nature of matthew 's predicament finally comes into sharp focus , the revelation fails to justify the build-up .


mindless yet impressively lean spinoff of last summer 's bloated effects fest the mummy returns .


may not be a breakthrough in filmmaking , but it is unwavering and arresting .


an essentially awkward version of the lightweight female empowerment picture we 've been watching for decades


an odd , haphazard , and inconsequential romantic comedy .


while the filmmaking may be a bit disjointed , the subject matter is so fascinating that you wo n't care .


a coming-of-age tale from new zealand whose boozy , languid air is balanced by a rich visual clarity and deeply felt performances across the board .


soderbergh , like kubrick before him , may not touch the planet 's skin , but understands the workings of its spirit .


the story is a rather simplistic one : grief drives her , love drives him , and a second chance to find love in the most unlikely place - it struck a chord in me .


never does `` lilo & stitch '' reach the emotion or timelessness of disney 's great past , or even that of more recent successes such as `` mulan '' or `` tarzan . ''


you 'll feel like you ate a reeses without the peanut butter ... '


a great cast and a wonderful but sometimes confusing flashback movie about growing up in a dysfunctional family .


feels shrill , simple and soapy .


... comes alive only when it switches gears to the sentimental .


a finely tuned mood piece , a model of menacing atmosphere .


if that does n't clue you in that something 's horribly wrong , nothing will .


it 's splash without the jokes .


a visionary marvel , but it 's lacking a depth in storytelling usually found in anime like this .


blade ii has a brilliant director and charismatic star , but it suffers from rampant vampire devaluation .


offers an interesting look at the rapidly changing face of beijing .


a compelling motion picture that illustrates an american tragedy .


writer-director juan carlos fresnadillo makes a feature debut that is fully formed and remarkably assured .


there 's a lot to recommend read my lips .


director david fincher and writer david koepp ca n't sustain it .


strictly middle of the road .


wonderful fencing scenes and an exciting plot make this an eminently engrossing film .


one of the most depressing movie-going experiences i can think of is to sit through about 90 minutes of a so-called ` comedy ' and not laugh once .


a must-see for fans of thoughtful war films and those interested in the sights and sounds of battle .


this tuxedo ... should have been sent back to the tailor for some major alterations .


it 's all stitched together with energy , intelligence and verve , enhanced by a surplus of vintage archive footage .


an eye-boggling blend of psychedelic devices , special effects and backgrounds , ` spy kids 2 ' is a visual treat for all audiences .


it seems grant does n't need the floppy hair and the self-deprecating stammers after all .


the laughs are as rare as snake foo yung .


the film is predictable in the reassuring manner of a beautifully sung holiday carol .


those seeking a definitive account of eisenstein 's life would do better elsewhere .


... a trashy little bit of fluff stuffed with enjoyable performances and a bewildering sense of self-importance


to be oblivious to the existence of this film would be very sweet indeed .


this thing is just garbage .


jones has tackled a meaty subject and drawn engaging characters while peppering the pages with memorable zingers .


a seriously bad film with seriously warped logic by writer-director kurt wimmer at the screenplay level .


it 's hard to say who might enjoy this , are there tolstoy groupies out there ?


a smart , compelling drama .


walter hill 's undisputed is like a 1940s warner bros. .


showtime 's starry cast could be both an asset and a detriment .


a real winner -- smart , funny , subtle , and resonant .


this is a more fascinating look at the future than `` bladerunner '' and one of the most high-concept sci fi adventures attempted for the screen .


-- that the ` true story ' by which all the queen 's men is allegedly `` inspired '' was a lot funnier and more deftly enacted than what 's been cobbled together onscreen .


the best movie in many a moon about the passions that sometimes fuel our best achievements and other times leave us stranded with nothing more than our lesser appetites .


i 'm going to give it a marginal thumbs up .


what -lrb- frei -rrb- gives us ... is a man who uses the damage of war -- far more often than the warfare itself -- to create the kind of art shots that fill gallery shows .


a movie that will surely be profane , politically charged music to the ears of cho 's fans .


for the rest of us , sitting through dahmer 's two hours amounts to little more than punishment .


a feeble tootsie knockoff .


pretty much sucks , but has a funny moment or two .


earnest but heavy-handed .


same guy with both hats .


` all in all , reign of fire will be a good -lrb- successful -rrb- rental . '


may be more genial than ingenious , but it gets the job done .


you come away wishing , though , that the movie spent a lot less time trying to make a credible case for reports from the afterlife and a lot more time on the romantic urgency that 's at the center of the story .


almost nothing else -- raunchy and graphic as it may be in presentation -- is one-sided , outwardly sexist or mean-spirited .


it 's a brilliant , honest performance by nicholson , but the film is an agonizing bore except when the fantastic kathy bates turns up .


there are moments of hilarity to be had .


instead of letting the laughs come as they may , lawrence unleashes his trademark misogyny -- er , comedy -- like a human volcano or an overflowing septic tank , take your pick .


in all fairness , i must report that the children of varying ages in my audience never coughed , fidgeted or romped up and down the aisles for bathroom breaks .


his work with actors is particularly impressive .


the film is filled with humorous observations about the general absurdity of modern life as seen through the eyes outsiders , but deftly manages to avoid many of the condescending stereotypes that so often plague films dealing with the mentally ill .


what 's hard to understand is why anybody picked it up .


the script feels as if it started to explore the obvious voyeuristic potential of ` hypertime ' but then backed off when the producers saw the grosses for spy kids .


the fact is that the screen is most alive when it seems most likely that broomfield 's interviewees , or even himself , will not be for much longer .


it is bad , but certainly not without merit as entertainment .


if it 's not entirely memorable , the movie is certainly easy to watch .


it is a movie about passion .


a thoughtful , reverent portrait of what is essentially a subculture , with its own rules regarding love and family , governance and hierarchy .


an enjoyable , if occasionally flawed , experiment .


ah , the travails of metropolitan life !


one of the most plain , unimaginative romantic comedies i 've ever seen .


the latest adam sandler assault and possibly the worst film of the year .


a movie of riveting power and sadness .


a metaphor for a modern-day urban china searching for its identity .


it 's a feel-good movie about which you can actually feel good .


ze movie starts out so funny , then she is nothing .


to others , it will remind them that hong kong action cinema is still alive and kicking .


jackson and co have brought back the value and respect for the term epic cinema .


the acting is just fine , but there 's not enough substance here to sustain interest for the full 90 minutes , especially with the weak payoff .


despite some comic sparks , welcome to collinwood never catches fire .


... `` bowling for columbine '' remains a disquieting and thought-provoking film ...


matters play out realistically if not always fairly .


swimming is above all about a young woman 's face , and by casting an actress whose face projects that woman 's doubts and yearnings , it succeeds .


cho 's timing is priceless .


last dance , whatever its flaws , fulfills one facet of its mission in making me want to find out whether , in this case , that 's true .


there 's nothing more satisfying during a summer of event movies than a spy thriller like the bourne identity that 's packed with just as much intelligence as action .


... if it had been only half-an-hour long or a tv special , the humor would have been fast and furious -- at ninety minutes , it drags .


contains all the substance of a twinkie -- easy to swallow , but scarcely nourishing .


plodding , peevish and gimmicky .


curiously , super troopers suffers because it does n't have enough vices to merit its 103-minute length .


lee 's achievement extends to his supple understanding of the role that brown played in american culture as an athlete , a movie star , and an image of black indomitability .


pure cinematic intoxication , a wildly inventive mixture of comedy and melodrama , tastelessness and swooning elegance .


what an embarrassment .


a film that loses sight of its own story .


a muted freak-out


-lrb- creates -rrb- the worst kind of mythologizing , the kind that sacrifices real heroism and abject suffering for melodrama .


the pianist lacks the quick emotional connections of steven spielberg 's schindler 's list .


strange it is , but delightfully so .


would n't it be funny if a bunch of allied soldiers went undercover as women in a german factory during world war ii ?


all of the filmmakers ' calculations ca n't rescue brown sugar from the curse of blandness .


bearable .


it plods along methodically , somehow under the assumption that its `` dead wife communicating from beyond the grave '' framework is even remotely new or interesting .


if you ever wondered what it would be like to be smack in the middle of a war zone armed with nothing but a camera , this oscar-nominated documentary takes you there .


fessenden 's narrative is just as much about the ownership and redefinition of myth as it is about a domestic unit finding their way to joy .


there 's something unintentionally comic in the film 's drumbeat about authenticity , given the stale plot and pornographic way the film revels in swank apartments , clothes and parties .


if you value your time and money , find an escape clause and avoid seeing this trite , predictable rehash .


the salton sea has moments of inspired humour , though every scrap is of the darkest variety .


mostly , -lrb- goldbacher -rrb- just lets her complicated characters be unruly , confusing and , through it all , human .


captivates and shows how a skillful filmmaker can impart a message without bludgeoning the audience over the head .


when the casting call for this movie went out , it must have read ` seeking anyone with acting ambition but no sense of pride or shame . '


faithful without being forceful , sad without being shrill , `` a walk to remember '' succeeds through sincerity .


... a gleefully grungy , hilariously wicked black comedy ...


it 's not the worst comedy of the year , but it certainly wo n't win any honors .


consummate actor barry has done excellent work here .


the usual movie rah-rah , pleasantly and predictably delivered in low-key style by director michael apted and writer tom stoppard .


a strong and confident work which works so well for the first 89 minutes , but ends so horrendously confusing in the final two


the overall effect is awe and affection -- and a strange urge to get on a board and , uh , shred , dude .


director jay russell stomps in hobnail boots over natalie babbitt 's gentle , endearing 1975 children 's novel .


a smart and funny , albeit sometimes superficial , cautionary tale of a technology in search of an artist .


it 's always fascinating to watch marker the essayist at work .


a riveting profile of law enforcement , and a visceral , nasty journey into an urban hades .


the story line may be 127 years old , but el crimen del padre amaro ... could n't be more timely in its despairing vision of corruption within the catholic establishment .


more of a career curio than a major work .


brought to life on the big screen .


get out your pooper-scoopers .


-lrb- washington 's -rrb- strong hand , keen eye , sweet spirit and good taste are reflected in almost every scene .


wiser souls would have tactfully pretended not to see it and left it lying there


an average b-movie with no aspirations to be anything more .


an obvious copy of one of the best films ever made , how could it not be ?


a well-executed spy-thriller .


even accepting this in the right frame of mind can only provide it with so much leniency .


77 minutes of pokemon may not last 4ever , it just seems like it does .


even as the hero of the story rediscovers his passion in life , the mood remains oddly detached .


topics that could make a sailor blush - but lots of laughs .


i have n't laughed that hard in years !


the film is delicately narrated by martin landau and directed with sensitivity and skill by dana janklowicz-mann .


let 's face it -- there are n't many reasons anyone would want to see crossroads if they 're not big fans of teen pop kitten britney spears .


on the evidence before us , the answer is clear : not easily and , in the end , not well enough .


it is definitely worth seeing .


i do n't know if frailty will turn bill paxton into an a-list director , but he can rest contentedly with the knowledge that he 's made at least one damn fine horror movie .


be prepared to cling to the edge of your seat , tense with suspense .


what little atmosphere is generated by the shadowy lighting , macabre sets , and endless rain is offset by the sheer ugliness of everything else .


would benigni 's italian pinocchio have been any easier to sit through than this hastily dubbed disaster ?


the idea is more interesting than the screenplay , which lags badly in the middle and lurches between not-very-funny comedy , unconvincing dramatics and some last-minute action strongly reminiscent of run lola run .


comes off as a long , laborious whine , the bellyaching of a paranoid and unlikable man .


that death is merely a transition is a common tenet in the world 's religions .


falls short in explaining the music and its roots .


ultimately , `` mib ii '' succeeds due to its rapid-fire delivery and enough inspired levity that it ca n't be dismissed as mindless .


boll uses a lot of quick cutting and blurry step-printing to goose things up , but dopey dialogue and sometimes inadequate performances kill the effect .


leave it to john sayles to take on developers , the chamber of commerce , tourism , historical pageants , and commercialism all in the same movie ... without neglecting character development for even one minute .


campanella 's competent direction and his excellent cast overcome the obstacles of a predictable outcome and a screenplay that glosses over rafael 's evolution .


the farcical elements seemed too pat and familiar to hold my interest , yet its diverting grim message is a good one .


yep , it 's `` waking up in reno . ''


the problem with the bread , my sweet is that it 's far too sentimental .


visually engrossing , seldom hammy , honorably mexican and burns its kahlories with conviction .


as we have come to learn -- as many times as we have fingers to count on -- jason is a killer who does n't know the meaning of the word ` quit . '


it 's time to let your hair down -- greek style .


a captivatingly quirky hybrid of character portrait , romantic comedy and beat-the-clock thriller .


stripped almost entirely of such tools as nudity , profanity and violence , labute does manage to make a few points about modern man and his problematic quest for human connection .


i ca n't say this enough : this movie is about an adult male dressed in pink jammies .


almost everyone growing up believes their family must look like `` the addams family '' to everyone looking in ... `` my big fat greek wedding '' comes from the heart ...


it 's secondary to american psycho but still has claws enough to get inside you and stay there for a couple of hours .


it 's that painful .


a solidly constructed , entertaining thriller that stops short of true inspiration .


star trek was kind of terrific once , but now it is a copy of a copy of a copy .


... a rich and intelligent film that uses its pulpy core conceit to probe questions of attraction and interdependence and how the heart accomodates practical needs .


at its best -lrb- and it does have some very funny sequences -rrb- looking for leonard reminds you just how comically subversive silence can be .


green ruins every single scene he 's in , and the film , while it 's not completely wreaked , is seriously compromised by that .


going to this movie is a little like chewing whale blubber - it 's an acquired taste that takes time to enjoy , but it 's worth it , even if it does take 3 hours to get through .


the film is flat .


it 's no surprise that as a director washington demands and receives excellent performances , from himself and from newcomer derek luke .


as improbable as this premise may seem , abbass 's understated , shining performance offers us the sense that on some elemental level , lilia deeply wants to break free of her old life .


the film is a blunt indictment , part of a perhaps surreal campaign to bring kissinger to trial for crimes against humanity .


a good thriller .


` hey arnold ! '


below may not mark mr. twohy 's emergence into the mainstream , but his promise remains undiminished .


some body often looks like an episode of the tv show blind date , only less technically proficient and without the pop-up comments .


i was amused and entertained by the unfolding of bielinsky 's cleverly constructed scenario , and greatly impressed by the skill of the actors involved in the enterprise .


collapses after 30 minutes into a slap-happy series of adolescent violence .


examines its explosive subject matter as nonjudgmentally as wiseman 's previous studies of inner-city high schools , hospitals , courts and welfare centers .


the wild thornberrys movie is pleasant enough and the message of our close ties with animals can certainly not be emphasized enough .


i 'm not sure which will take longer to heal : the welt on johnny knoxville 's stomach from a riot-control projectile or my own tortured psyche .


weighty and ponderous but every bit as filling as the treat of the title .


it 's always enthralling .


filled with honest performances and exceptional detail , baran is a gentle film with dramatic punch , a haunting ode to humanity .


peralta captures , in luminous interviews and amazingly evocative film from three decades ago , the essence of the dogtown experience .


a straight-ahead thriller that never rises above superficiality .


my wife 's plotting is nothing special ; it 's the delivery that matters here .


-lrb- gulpilil -rrb- is a commanding screen presence , and his character 's abundant humanism makes him the film 's moral compass .


a much better documentary -- more revealing , more emotional and more surprising -- than its pedestrian english title would have you believe .


with or without ballast tanks , k-19 sinks to a harrison ford low .


writer\/director burr steers emphasizes the q in quirky , with mixed results .


shallow , noisy and pretentious .


a baffling mixed platter of gritty realism and magic realism with a hard-to-swallow premise .


it 's a day at the beach -- with air conditioning and popcorn .


admirably ambitious but self-indulgent .


satisfyingly scarifying , fresh and old-fashioned at the same time .


even though we know the outcome , the seesawing of the general 's fate in the arguments of competing lawyers has the stomach-knotting suspense of a legal thriller , while the testimony of witnesses lends the film a resonant undertone of tragedy .


if deuces wild had been tweaked up a notch it would have become a camp adventure , one of those movies that 's so bad it starts to become good .


every joke is repeated at least four times .


as hannibal would say , yes , ` it 's like having an old friend for dinner ' .


even after 90 minutes of playing opposite each other bullock and grant still look ill at ease sharing the same scene .


the charm of the first movie is still there , and the story feels like the logical , unforced continuation of the careers of a pair of spy kids .


begins like a docu-drama but builds its multi-character story with a flourish .


-lrb- the film -rrb- tackles the topic of relationships in such a straightforward , emotionally honest manner that by the end , it 's impossible to ascertain whether the film is , at its core , deeply pessimistic or quietly hopeful .


-lrb- cuarón has -rrb- created a substantive movie out of several cliched movie structures : the road movie , the coming-of-age movie , and the teenage sex comedy .


an allegory concerning the chronically mixed signals african american professionals get about overachieving could be intriguing , but the supernatural trappings only obscure the message .


moretti ... is the rare common-man artist who 's wise enough to recognize that there are few things in this world more complex -- and , as it turns out , more fragile -- than happiness .


a worthwhile documentary , whether you 're into rap or not , even if it may still leave you wanting more answers as the credits roll .


in his role of observer of the scene , lawrence sounds whiny and defensive , as if his life-altering experiences made him bitter and less mature .


an effortlessly accomplished and richly resonant work .


if you 're a comic fan , you ca n't miss it .


if not a home run , then at least a solid base hit .


interesting , but not compelling .


it 's a bad action movie because there 's no rooting interest and the spectacle is grotesque and boring .


are monsters born , or made ?


an improvement on the feeble examples of big-screen poke-mania that have preceded it .


ya-yas everywhere will forgive the flaws and love the film .


make chan 's action sequences boring .


the film , like jimmy 's routines , could use a few good laughs .


a behind the scenes look at the training and dedication that goes into becoming a world-class fencer and the champion that 's made a difference to nyc inner-city youth .


this familiar rise-and-fall tale is long on glamour and short on larger moralistic consequences , though it 's told with sharp ears and eyes for the tenor of the times .


in addition to the overcooked , ham-fisted direction , which has all the actors reaching for the back row , the dialogue sounds like horrible poetry .


and `` they 're coming ! ''


a cheap scam put together by some cynical creeps at revolution studios and imagine entertainment to make the suckers out there surrender $ 9 and 93 minutes of unrecoverable life .


a fast paced and suspenseful argentinian thriller about the shadow side of play .


fluffy neo-noir hiding behind cutesy film references .


a profoundly stupid affair , populating its hackneyed and meanspirited storyline with cardboard characters and performers who value cash above credibility .


it 's hard to understand why anyone in his right mind would even think to make the attraction a movie .


a pathetic exploitation film that tries to seem sincere , and just seems worse for the effort .


with a confrontational stance , todd solondz takes aim on political correctness and suburban families .


the movie is so resolutely cobbled together out of older movies that it even uses a totally unnecessary prologue , just because it seems obligatory .


while the path may be familiar , first-time director denzel washington and a top-notch cast manage to keep things interesting .


a porn film without the sex scenes .


you walk out of the good girl with mixed emotions -- disapproval of justine combined with a tinge of understanding for her actions .


a captivating new film .


it is about irrational , unexplainable life and it seems so real because it does not attempt to filter out the complexity .


a fragile framework upon which to hang broad , mildly fleshed-out characters that seem to have been conjured up only 10 minutes prior to filming .


features fincher 's characteristically startling visual style and an almost palpable sense of intensity .


a mix of gritty realism , crisp storytelling and radiant compassion that effortlessly draws you in .


with one exception , every blighter in this particular south london housing project digs into dysfunction like it 's a big , comforting jar of marmite , to be slathered on crackers and served as a feast of bleakness .


the movie is a mess from start to finish .


-lrb- leigh -rrb- has a true talent for drawing wrenching performances from his actors -lrb- improvised over many months -rrb- and for conveying the way tiny acts of kindness make ordinary life survivable .


a film with contemporary political resonance illustrated by a winning family story .


trying to make head or tail of the story in the hip-hop indie snipes is enough to give you brain strain -- and the pay-off is negligible .


but they fascinate in their recklessness .


a smart , sassy and exceptionally charming romantic comedy .


gaping plot holes sink this ` sub ' - standard thriller and drag audience enthusiasm to crush depth .


not only better than its predecessor , it may rate as the most magical and most fun family fare of this or any recent holiday season .


instead of building to a laugh riot we are left with a handful of disparate funny moments of no real consequence .


it 's sobering , particularly if anyone still thinks this conflict can be resolved easily , or soon .


two-bit potboiler .


very well-written and very well-acted .


` alice 's adventure through the looking glass and into zombie-land ' is filled with strange and wonderful creatures .


-lrb- shyamalan -rrb- turns the goose-pimple genre on its empty head and fills it with spirit , purpose and emotionally bruised characters who add up to more than body count .


the action clichés just pile up .


to show these characters in the act and give them no feelings of remorse -- and to cut repeatedly to the flashback of the original rape -- is overkill to the highest degree .


has none of the crackle of `` fatal attraction '' , `` 9 1\/2 weeks '' , or even `` indecent proposal '' , and feels more like lyne 's stolid remake of `` lolita '' .


gooding is the energetic frontman , and it 's hard to resist his enthusiasm , even if the filmmakers come up with nothing original in the way of slapstick sequences .


overly long and worshipful bio-doc .


this filmed tosca -- not the first , by the way -- is a pretty good job , if it 's filmed tosca that you want .


returning director rob minkoff ... and screenwriter bruce joel rubin ... have done a fine job of updating white 's dry wit to a new age .


as steamy as last week 's pork dumplings .


while not for every taste , this often very funny collegiate gross-out comedy goes a long way toward restoring the luster of the national lampoon film franchise , too long reduced to direct-to-video irrelevancy .


ruh-roh !


at its best ... festival in cannes bubbles with the excitement of the festival in cannes .


audacious-impossible yet compelling ...


it 's a drawling , slobbering , lovable run-on sentence of a film , a southern gothic with the emotional arc of its raw blues soundtrack .


the film has the high-buffed gloss and high-octane jolts you expect of de palma , but what makes it transporting is that it 's also one of the smartest , most pleasurable expressions of pure movie love to come from an american director in years .


the film was immensely enjoyable thanks to great performances by both steve buscemi and rosario dawson ...


steven soderbergh 's digital video experiment is a clever and cutting , quick and dirty look at modern living and movie life .


the plan to make enough into ` an inspiring tale of survival wrapped in the heart-pounding suspense of a stylish psychological thriller ' has flopped as surely as a soufflé gone wrong .


boy oh boy , it 's a howler .


when it comes out on video , then it 's the perfect cure for insomnia .


this is n't a terrible film by any means , but it 's also far from being a realized work .


the film 's final hour , where nearly all the previous unseen material resides , is unconvincing soap opera that tornatore was right to cut .


it is so earnest , so overwrought and so wildly implausible that it begs to be parodied .


young hanks and fisk , who vaguely resemble their celebrity parents , bring fresh good looks and an ease in front of the camera to the work .


it 's hard to believe these jokers are supposed to have pulled off four similar kidnappings before .


sets animation back 30 years , musicals back 40 years and judaism back at least 50 .


late marriage is an in-your-face family drama and black comedy that is filled with raw emotions conveying despair and love .


a vivid , sometimes surreal , glimpse into the mysteries of human behavior .


kim ki-deok seems to have in mind an -lrb- emotionally at least -rrb- adolescent audience demanding regular shocks and bouts of barely defensible sexual violence to keep it interested .


the same should go for movie theaters .


stay away .


a complex psychological drama about a father who returns to his son 's home after decades away .


nair 's cast is so large it 's altman-esque , but she deftly spins the multiple stories in a vibrant and intoxicating fashion .


here is a divine monument to a single man 's struggle to regain his life , his dignity and his music .


it 's up to you to decide whether to admire these people 's dedication to their cause or be repelled by their dogmatism , manipulativeness and narrow , fearful view of american life .


hardly a film that comes along every day .


it really is a shame that more wo n't get an opportunity to embrace small , sweet ` evelyn . '


it 's a bad sign in a thriller when you instantly know whodunit .


i ca n't begin to tell you how tedious , how resolutely unamusing , how thoroughly unrewarding all of this is , and what a reckless squandering of four fine acting talents ...


me no lika da accents so good , but i thoroughly enjoyed the love story .


this is an action movie with an action icon who 's been all but decommissioned .


both grant and hoult carry the movie because they are believable as people -- flawed , assured of the wrong things , and scared to admit how much they may really need the company of others .


dogtown is hollow , self-indulgent , and - worst of all - boring .


has the disjointed feel of a bunch of strung-together tv episodes .


a minor work yet there 's no denying the potency of miller 's strange , fleeting brew of hopeful perseverance and hopeless closure .


a gushy episode of `` m \* a \* s \* h '' only this time from an asian perspective .


the grey zone gives voice to a story that needs to be heard in the sea of holocaust movies ... but the film suffers from its own difficulties .


the movie is essentially a series of fleetingly interesting actors ' moments .


cattaneo should have followed the runaway success of his first film , the full monty , with something different .


the film 's images give a backbone to the company and provide an emotional edge to its ultimate demise .


shot largely in small rooms , the film has a gentle , unforced intimacy that never becomes claustrophobic .


it 's a piece of handiwork that shows its indie tatters and self-conscious seams in places , but has some quietly moving moments and an intelligent subtlety .


the script is a dim-witted pairing of teen-speak and animal gibberish .


just bring on the battle bots , please !


wendigo wants to be a monster movie for the art-house crowd , but it falls into the trap of pretention almost every time .


halfway through the movie , the humor dwindles .


often likable , but just as often it 's meandering , low on energy , and too eager to be quirky at moments when a little old-fashioned storytelling would come in handy .


`` the tuxedo '' should have been the vehicle for chan that `` the mask '' was for jim carrey .


tense , terrific , sweaty-palmed fun .


any reasonably creative eighth-grader could have written a more credible script , though with the same number of continuity errors .


told just proficiently enough to trounce its overly comfortable trappings .


this may be burns 's strongest film since the brothers mcmullen .


the problem is the needlessly poor quality of its archival prints and film footage .


little more than a well-mounted history lesson .


not the best herzog perhaps , but unmistakably herzog .


whenever you think you 've figured out late marriage , it throws you for a loop .