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


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


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


while the performances are often engaging , this loose collection of largely improvised numbers would probably have worked better as a one-hour tv documentary .


haneke 's script -lrb- from elfriede jelinek 's novel -rrb- is contrived , unmotivated , and psychologically unpersuasive , with an inconclusive ending .


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


the movie is loaded with good intentions , but in his zeal to squeeze the action and our emotions into the all-too-familiar dramatic arc of the holocaust escape story , minac drains his movie of all individuality .


tully is worth a look for its true-to-life characters , its sensitive acting , its unadorned view of rural life and the subtle direction of first-timer hilary birmingham .


filmmaker tian zhuangzhuang triumphantly returns to narrative filmmaking with a visually masterful work of quiet power .


... a movie that , quite simply , should n't have been made .


the importance of being earnest , so thick with wit it plays like a reading from bartlett 's familiar quotations


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


director alfonso cuaron gets vivid , convincing performances from a fine cast , and generally keeps things going at a rapid pace , occasionally using an omniscient voice-over narrator in the manner of french new wave films .


... manages to deliver a fair bit of vampire fun .


guys say mean things and shoot a lot of bullets .


wewannour money back , actually .


more than anything else , kissing jessica stein injects freshness and spirit into the romantic comedy genre , which has been held hostage by generic scripts that seek to remake sleepless in seattle again and again .


when cowering and begging at the feet a scruffy giannini , madonna gives her best performance since abel ferrara had her beaten to a pulp in his dangerous game .


the sheer joy and pride they took in their work -- and in each other -- shines through every frame .


the cumulative effect of the movie is repulsive and depressing .


... digs beyond the usual portrayals of good kids and bad seeds to reveal a more ambivalent set of characters and motivations .


much of all about lily chou-chou is mesmerizing : some of its plaintiveness could make you weep .


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


an empty shell of an epic rather than the real deal .


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


it may be a somewhat backhanded compliment to say that the film makes the viewer feel like the movie 's various victimized audience members after a while , but it also happens to be the movie 's most admirable quality


a delightful entree in the tradition of food movies .


-lrb- johnnie to and wai ka fai are -rrb- sure to find an enthusiastic audience among american action-adventure buffs , but the film 's interests may be too narrow to attract crossover viewers .


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


this feature is about as necessary as a hole in the head


-lrb- danny huston gives -rrb- an astounding performance that deftly , gradually reveals a real human soul buried beneath a spellbinding serpent 's smirk .


in addition to hoffman 's powerful acting clinic , this is that rare drama that offers a thoughtful and rewarding glimpse into the sort of heartache everyone has felt , or will feel someday .


this is n't exactly profound cinema , but it 's good-natured and sometimes quite funny .


hailed as a clever exercise in neo-hitchcockianism , this clever and very satisfying picture is more accurately chabrolian .


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


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


touches smartly and wistfully on a number of themes , not least the notion that the marginal members of society ... might benefit from a helping hand and a friendly kick in the pants .


yakusho , as always , is wonderful as the long-faced sad sack ... and his chemistry with shimizu is very believable .


works , it 's thanks to huston 's revelatory performance .


ararat feels like a book report


the beautiful images and solemn words can not disguise the slack complacency of -lrb- godard 's -rrb- vision , any more than the gorgeous piano and strings on the soundtrack can drown out the tinny self-righteousness of his voice .


tully is in many ways the perfect festival film : a calm , self-assured portrait of small town regret , love , duty and friendship that appeals to the storytelling instincts of a slightly more literate filmgoing audience .


it 's a shame the marvelous first 101 minutes have to be combined with the misconceived final 5 .


a surprisingly charming and even witty match for the best of hollywood 's comic-book adaptations .


my advice is to skip the film and pick up the soundtrack .


audacious-impossible yet compelling ...


a quasi-documentary by french filmmaker karim dridi that celebrates the hardy spirit of cuban music .


family fare .


the movie resolutely avoids all the comic possibilities of its situation , and becomes one more dumb high school comedy about sex gags and prom dates .


one of recent memory 's most thoughtful films about art , ethics , and the cost of moral compromise .


even if you 're an agnostic carnivore , you can enjoy much of jonah simply , and gratefully , as laugh-out-loud lunacy with a pronounced monty pythonesque flavor .


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


set in a 1986 harlem that does n't look much like anywhere in new york .


in the spirit of the season , i assign one bright shining star to roberto benigni 's pinocchio -- but i guarantee that no wise men will be following after it .


evokes a palpable sense of disconnection , made all the more poignant by the incessant use of cell phones .


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


in addition to scoring high for originality of plot -- putting together familiar themes of family , forgiveness and love in a new way -- lilo & stitch has a number of other assets to commend it to movie audiences both innocent and jaded .


perhaps it 's cliche to call the film ` refreshing , ' but it is .


as predictable as the outcome of a globetrotters-generals game , juwanna mann is even more ludicrous than you 'd expect from the guy-in-a-dress genre , and a personal low for everyone involved .


almodovar is an imaginative teacher of emotional intelligence in this engaging film about two men who discover what william james once called ` the gift of tears . '


a fantastically vital movie that manages to invest real humor , sensuality , and sympathy into a story about two adolescent boys .


... the story is far-flung , illogical , and plain stupid .


and lee seems just as expectant of an adoring , wide-smiling reception .


it 's all arty and jazzy and people sit and stare and turn away from one another instead of talking and it 's all about the silences and if you 're into that , have at it .


an old-fashioned drama of substance about a teacher 's slide down the slippery slope of dishonesty after an encounter with the rich and the powerful who have nothing but disdain for virtue .


another useless recycling of a brutal mid - '70s american sports movie .


the kind of movie that leaves vague impressions and a nasty aftertaste but little clear memory of its operational mechanics .


hartley adds enough quirky and satirical touches in the screenplay to keep the film entertaining .


as literary desecrations go , this makes for perfectly acceptable , occasionally very enjoyable children 's entertainment .


this insufferable movie is meant to make you think about existential suffering .


goofy , nutty , consistently funny .


two big things are missing -- anything approaching a visceral kick , and anything approaching even a vague reason to sit through it all .


if `` lilo & stitch '' is n't the most edgy piece of disney animation to hit the silver screen , then this first film to use a watercolor background since `` dumbo '' certainly ranks as the most original in years .


while it has definite weaknesses -- like a rather unbelievable love interest and a meandering ending -- this '60s caper film is a riveting , brisk delight .


it 's a talking head documentary , but a great one .


an extremely unpleasant film .


director juan jose campanella could have turned this into an argentine retread of `` iris '' or `` american beauty , '' but instead pulls a little from each film and creates something more beautiful than either of those films .


not good enough to pass for a litmus test of the generation gap and not bad enough to repulse any generation of its fans .


after seeing the film , i can tell you that there 's no other reason why anyone should bother remembering it .


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


merely -lrb- and literally -rrb- tosses around sex toys and offers half-hearted paeans to empowerment that are repeatedly undercut by the brutality of the jokes , most at women 's expense .


terrible .


throwing in everything except someone pulling the pin from a grenade with his teeth , windtalkers seems to have ransacked every old world war ii movie for overly familiar material .


chai 's structure and pacing are disconcertingly slack .


if you grew up on scooby -- you 'll love this movie .


enjoyably fast-moving , hard-hitting documentary .


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


the director mostly plays it straight , turning leys ' fable into a listless climb down the social ladder .


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


any film that does n't even in passing mention political prisoners , poverty and the boat loads of people who try to escape the country is less a documentary and more propaganda by way of a valentine sealed with a kiss .


it 's depressing to see how far herzog has fallen .


some episodes work , some do n't .


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 .


all the more disquieting for its relatively gore-free allusions to the serial murders , but it falls down in its attempts to humanize its subject .


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


for those in search of something different , wendigo is a genuinely bone-chilling tale .


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


it 's a familiar story , but one that is presented with great sympathy and intelligence .


becomes a fascinating study of isolation and frustration that successfully recreates both the physical setting and emotional tensions of the papin sisters .


murderous maids pulls no punches in its depiction of the lives of the papin sister and the events that led to their notorious rise to infamy ...


it 's not nearly as fresh or enjoyable as its predecessor , but there are enough high points to keep this from being a complete waste of time .


the movie does n't add anything fresh to the myth .


it is n't that stealing harvard is a horrible movie -- if only it were that grand a failure !


the script falls back on too many tried-and-true shenanigans that hardly distinguish it from the next teen comedy .


a rote exercise in both animation and storytelling .


in his latest effort , storytelling , solondz has finally made a movie that is n't just offensive -- it also happens to be good .


enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .


a smart , sassy and exceptionally charming romantic comedy .


stuffy , full of itself , morally ambiguous and nothing to shout about .


reyes ' directorial debut has good things to offer , but ultimately it 's undone by a sloppy script


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


it 's a spectacular performance - ahem , we hope it 's only acting .


... the film 's considered approach to its subject matter is too calm and thoughtful for agitprop , and the thinness of its characterizations makes it a failure as straight drama . '


symbolically , warm water under a red bridge is a celebration of feminine energy , a tribute to the power of women to heal .


you come away from his film overwhelmed , hopeful and , perhaps paradoxically , illuminated .


equlibrium could pass for a thirteen-year-old 's book report on the totalitarian themes of 1984 and farenheit 451 .


a film of delicate interpersonal dances .


-lrb- westbrook -rrb- makes a wonderful subject for the camera .


cusack 's just brilliant in this .


what a bewilderingly brilliant and entertaining movie this is .


never lets go your emotions , taking them to surprising highs , sorrowful lows and hidden impulsive niches ... gorgeous , passionate , and at times uncommonly moving .


few films have captured the chaos of an urban conflagration with such fury , and audience members will leave feeling as shaken as nesbitt 's cooper looks when the bullets stop flying .


ferrara 's best film in years .


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 .


watching war photographer , you come to believe that nachtwey hates the wars he shows and empathizes with the victims he reveals .


you 'd be hard put to find a movie character more unattractive or odorous -lrb- than leon -rrb- .


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


ash wednesday is not edward burns ' best film , but it is a good and ambitious film .


the lead actors share no chemistry or engaging charisma .


ms. phoenix is completely lacking in charm and charisma , and is unable to project either esther 's initial anomie or her eventual awakening .


when not wallowing in its characters ' frustrations , the movie is busy contriving false , sitcom-worthy solutions to their problems .


polished , well-structured film .


the laughs are as rare as snake foo yung .


an eloquent , reflective and beautifully acted meditation on both the profoundly devastating events of one year ago and the slow , painful healing process that has followed in their wake .


but there 's plenty to offend everyone ...


after that it becomes long and tedious like a classroom play in a college history course .


an exceptionally acted , quietly affecting cop drama .


one of the best films i have ever seen , constantly pulling the rug from underneath us , seeing things from new sides , plunging deeper , getting more intense .


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


an intelligently made -lrb- and beautifully edited -rrb- picture that at the very least has a spark of life to it -- more than you can say for plenty of movies that flow through the hollywood pipeline without a hitch .


charlie hunnam has the twinkling eyes , repressed smile and determined face needed to carry out a dickensian hero .


what should have been a painless time-killer becomes instead a grating endurance test .


the film has -lrb- its -rrb- moments , but they are few and far between .


if religious films are n't your bailiwick , stay away .


this enthralling documentary ... is at once playful and haunting , an in-depth portrait of an iconoclastic artist who was fundamentally unknowable even to his closest friends .


a wild , endearing , masterful documentary .


a dreadful day in irish history is given passionate , if somewhat flawed , treatment .


the april 2002 instalment of the american war for independence , complete with loads of cgi and bushels of violence , but not a drop of human blood .


if there was any doubt that peter o'fallon did n't have an original bone in his body , a rumor of angels should dispel it .


there is something in full frontal , i guess , about artifice and acting and how it distorts reality for people who make movies and watch them , but like most movie riddles , it works only if you have an interest in the characters you see .


a minor-league soccer remake of the longest yard .


` it 's painful to watch witherspoon 's talents wasting away inside unnecessary films like legally blonde and sweet home abomination , i mean , alabama . '


it 's absolutely amazing how first-time director kevin donovan managed to find something new to add to the canon of chan .


it 's as raw and action-packed an experience as a ringside seat at a tough-man contest .


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 .


you wo n't have any trouble getting kids to eat up these veggies .


too bland and fustily tasteful to be truly prurient .


it does n't work as either .


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


in the name of an allegedly inspiring and easily marketable flick , the emperor 's club turns a blind eye to the very history it pretends to teach .


the movie is undone by a filmmaking methodology that 's just experimental enough to alienate the mainstream audience while ringing cliched to hardened indie-heads .


two tedious acts light on great scares and a good surprise ending .


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


obvious .


`` birthday girl '' is an actor 's movie first and foremost .


the little girls understand , and mccracken knows that 's all that matters .


the pacing is often way off and there are too many bona fide groaners among too few laughs .


i liked it because it was so endlessly , grotesquely , inventive .


that , in itself , is extraordinary .


yes .


k-19 : the widowmaker is a great yarn .


and educational !


an undeniably moving film to experience , and ultimately that 's what makes it worth a recommendation .


confessions is n't always coherent , but it 's sharply comic and surprisingly touching , so hold the gong .


the film has the thrown-together feel of a summer-camp talent show : hastily written , underrehearsed , arbitrarily plotted and filled with crude humor and vulgar innuendo .


sharp edges and a deep vein of sadness run through its otherwise comic narrative .


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


strong filmmaking requires a clear sense of purpose , and in that oh-so-important category , the four feathers comes up short .


the best didacticism is one carried by a strong sense of humanism , and bertrand tavernier 's oft-brilliant safe conduct -lrb- `` laissez-passer '' -rrb- wears its heart on its sleeve .


i have returned from the beyond to warn you : this movie is 90 minutes long , and life is too short .


... despite lagging near the finish line , the movie runs a good race , one that will have you at the edge of your seat for long stretches . '


witty and often surprising , a dark little morality tale disguised as a romantic comedy .


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


watching these eccentrics is both inspiring and pure joy .


spain 's greatest star wattage does n't overcome the tumult of maudlin tragedy .


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


colorful , energetic and sweetly whimsical ... the rare sequel that 's better than its predecessor .


... a pretentious and ultimately empty examination of a sick and evil woman .


a small movie with a big heart .


maggie g. makes an amazing breakthrough in her first starring role and eats up the screen .


most of the movie is so deadly dull that watching the proverbial paint dry would be a welcome improvement .


-lrb- the cockettes -rrb- provides a window into a subculture hell-bent on expressing itself in every way imaginable . '


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 .


the difference between cho and most comics is that her confidence in her material is merited .


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


-lrb- a -rrb- poorly executed comedy .


holland lets things peter out midway , but it 's notably better acted -- and far less crass - than some other recent efforts in the burgeoning genre of films about black urban professionals .


... rogers 's mouth never stops shut about the war between the sexes and how to win the battle .


lawrence plumbs personal tragedy and also the human comedy .


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


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


an inventive , absorbing movie that 's as hard to classify as it is hard to resist .


-lrb- russell -rrb- makes good b movies -lrb- the mask , the blob -rrb- , and the scorpion king more than ably meets those standards .


what little grace -lrb- rifkin 's -rrb- tale of precarious skid-row dignity achieves is pushed into the margins by predictable plotting and tiresome histrionics .


the last scenes of the film are anguished , bitter and truthful .


however sincere it may be , the rising place never quite justifies its own existence .


the whole thing feels like a ruse , a tactic to cover up the fact that the picture is constructed around a core of flimsy -- or , worse yet , nonexistent -- ideas .


supposedly authentic account of a historical event that 's far too tragic to merit such superficial treatment .


no laughs .


but the actors make this worth a peek .


a gem of a movie .


the whole thing plays like a tired tyco ad .


it 's exactly the kind of movie toback 's detractors always accuse him of making .


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


it would be churlish to begrudge anyone for receiving whatever consolation that can be found in dragonfly , yet it is impossible to find the film anything but appalling , shamelessly manipulative and contrived , and totally lacking in conviction .


both deserve better .


between them , de niro and murphy make showtime the most savory and hilarious guilty pleasure of many a recent movie season .


upsetting and thought-provoking , the film has an odd purity that does n't bring you into the characters so much as it has you study them .


slap me , i saw this movie .


visually , ` santa clause 2 ' is wondrously creative .


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 .


` it 's better to go in knowing full well what 's going to happen , but willing to let the earnestness of its execution and skill of its cast take you down a familiar road with a few twists .


a portrait of hell so shattering it 's impossible to shake .


hopelessly inane , humorless and under-inspired .


bogdanich is unashamedly pro-serbian and makes little attempt to give voice to the other side .


like a pack of dynamite sticks , built for controversy .


take any 12-year-old boy to see this picture , and he 'll be your slave for a year .


miyazaki 's nonstop images are so stunning , and his imagination so vivid , that the only possible complaint you could have about spirited away is that there is no rest period , no timeout .


stage director sam mendes showcases tom hanks as a depression era hit-man in this dark tale of revenge .


vereté has a whip-smart sense of narrative bluffs .


ponderous , plodding soap opera disguised as a feature film .


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


director roger kumble offers just enough sweet and traditional romantic comedy to counter the crudity .


a bittersweet contemporary comedy about benevolent deception , which , while it may not rival the filmmaker 's period pieces , is still very much worth seeing .


gorgeous to look at but insufferably tedious and turgid ... a curiously constricted epic .


then again , in a better movie , you might not have noticed .


a fairly enjoyable mixture of longest yard ... and the 1999 guy ritchie caper lock stock and two smoking barrels .


the re - enactments , however fascinating they may be as history , are too crude to serve the work especially well .


if a horror movie 's primary goal is to frighten and disturb , then they works spectacularly well ... a shiver-inducing , nerve-rattling ride .


oedekerk mugs mercilessly , and the genuinely funny jokes are few and far between .


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


spielberg 's first real masterpiece , it deserved all the hearts it won -- and wins still , 20 years later .


... unlike -lrb- scorsese 's mean streets -rrb- , ash wednesday is essentially devoid of interesting characters or even a halfway intriguing plot .


you may feel compelled to watch the film twice or pick up a book on the subject .


slow and ponderous , but rohmer 's drama builds to an intense indoor drama about compassion , sacrifice , and christian love in the face of political corruption .


sheridan 's take on the author 's schoolboy memoir ... is a rather toothless take on a hard young life .


godard has never made a more sheerly beautiful film than this unexpectedly moving meditation on love , history , memory , resistance and artistic transcendence .


under-rehearsed and lifeless


the film offers an intriguing what-if premise .


this 10th film in the series looks and feels tired .


you need n't be steeped in '50s sociology , pop culture or movie lore to appreciate the emotional depth of haynes ' work .


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


a witty , low-key romantic comedy .


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


a delightful little film that revels in its own simplicity , mostly martha will leave you with a smile on your face and a grumble in your stomach .


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 .


a shoddy male hip hop fantasy filled with guns , expensive cars , lots of naked women and rocawear clothing .


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


even the hastily and amateurishly drawn animation can not engage .


with ` bowling for columbine , ' michael moore gives us the perfect starting point for a national conversation about guns , violence , and fear .


i liked it just enough .


it 's the funniest american comedy since graffiti bridge .


after an uncertain start , murder hits and generally sustains a higher plateau with bullock 's memorable first interrogation of gosling .


although devoid of objectivity and full of nostalgic comments from the now middle-aged participants , dogtown and z-boys has a compelling story to tell .


... a delicious crime drama on par with the slickest of mamet .


on top of a foundering performance , -lrb- madonna 's -rrb- denied her own athleticism by lighting that emphasizes every line and sag .


on the surface a silly comedy , scotland , pa would be forgettable if it were n't such a clever adaptation of the bard 's tragic play .


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


about the only thing to give the movie points for is bravado -- to take an entirely stale concept and push it through the audience 's meat grinder one more time .


but the performances of pacino , williams , and swank keep the viewer wide-awake all the way through .


a boring , pretentious muddle that uses a sensational , real-life 19th-century crime as a metaphor for -- well , i 'm not exactly sure what -- and has all the dramatic weight of a raindrop .


far from heaven is a dazzling conceptual feat , but more than that , it 's a work of enthralling drama .


blessed with a searing lead performance by ryan gosling -lrb- murder by numbers -rrb- , the movie is powerful and provocative .


the film desperately sinks further and further into comedy futility .


it almost feels as if the movie is more interested in entertaining itself than in amusing us .


a low-rent retread of the alien pictures .


it merely indulges in the worst elements of all of them .


there 's none of the happily-ever - after spangle of monsoon wedding in late marriage -- and that 's part of what makes dover kosashvili 's outstanding feature debut so potent .


the entire film is one big excuse to play one lewd scene after another .


a fascinating examination of the joyous , turbulent self-discovery made by a proper , middle-aged woman .


has an unmistakable , easy joie de vivre .


it 's a rare window on an artistic collaboration .


report card : does n't live up to the exalted tagline - there 's definite room for improvement .


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


a backstage must-see for true fans of comedy .


it 's got the brawn , but not the brains .


lacks dramatic punch and depth .


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


like the excruciating end of days , collateral damage presents schwarzenegger as a tragic figure , but sympathy really belongs with any viewer forced to watch him try out so many complicated facial expressions .


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


ozpetek offers an aids subtext , skims over the realities of gay sex , and presents yet another tired old vision of the gay community as an all-inclusive world where uptight , middle class bores like antonia can feel good about themselves .


the leads are so unmemorable , despite several attempts at lengthy dialogue scenes , that one eventually resents having to inhale this gutter romancer 's secondhand material .


a relative letdown .


from its nauseating spinning credits sequence to a very talented but underutilized supporting cast , bartleby squanders as much as it gives out .


a realistically terrifying movie that puts another notch in the belt of the long list of renegade-cop tales .


brings an irresistible blend of warmth and humor and a consistent embracing humanity in the face of life 's harshness .


inconsequential road-and-buddy pic .


it 's been 13 months and 295 preview screenings since i last walked out on a movie , but resident evil really earned my indignant , preemptive departure .


the leanest and meanest of solondz 's misanthropic comedies .


about schmidt belongs to nicholson .


its metaphors are opaque enough to avoid didacticism , and the film succeeds as an emotionally accessible , almost mystical work .


starts as an intense political and psychological thriller but is sabotaged by ticking time bombs and other hollywood-action cliches .


even if it pushes its agenda too forcefully , this remains a film about something , one that attempts and often achieves a level of connection and concern .


the film is grossly contradictory in conveying its social message , if indeed there is one .


daringly perceptive , taut , piercing and feisty , biggie and tupac is undeniably subversive and involving in its bold presentation .


boyd 's screenplay -lrb- co-written with guardian hack nick davies -rrb- has a florid turn of phrase that owes more to guy ritchie than the bard of avon .


not about scares but a mood in which an ominous , pervasive , and unknown threat lurks just below the proceedings and adds an almost constant mindset of suspense .


this deeply spiritual film taps into the meaning and consolation in afterlife communications .


i know that i 'll never listen to marvin gaye or the supremes the same way again


a big , loud , bang-the-drum bore .


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


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


predictable storyline and by-the-book scripting is all but washed away by sumptuous ocean visuals and the cinematic stylings of director john stockwell .


laugh-out-loud lines , adorably ditsy but heartfelt performances , and sparkling , bittersweet dialogue that cuts to the chase of the modern girl 's dilemma .


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


you get the impression that writer and director burr steers knows the territory ... but his sense of humor has yet to lose the smug self-satisfaction usually associated with the better private schools .


ultimately engages less for its story of actorly existential despair than for its boundary-hopping formal innovations and glimpse into another kind of chinese ` cultural revolution . '


happily , some things are immune to the folly of changing taste and attitude .


viewers will need all the luck they can muster just figuring out who 's who in this pretentious mess .


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


with we were soldiers , hollywood makes a valiant attempt to tell a story about the vietnam war before the pathology set in .


i just saw this movie ... well , it 's probably not accurate to call it a movie .


one of the smarter offerings the horror genre has produced in recent memory , even if it 's far tamer than advertised .


a well-done film of a self-reflexive , philosophical nature .


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


filmmakers dana janklowicz-mann and amir mann area headed east , far east , in retelling a historically significant , and personal , episode detailing how one international city welcomed tens of thousands of german jewish refugees while the world 's democracie


who , exactly , is fighting whom here ?


can be as tiresome as 9 seconds of jesse helms ' anti- castro rhetoric , which are included


it 's a lot to ask people to sit still for two hours and change watching such a character , especially when rendered in as flat and impassive a manner as phoenix 's .


in truth , it has all the heart of a porno flick -lrb- but none of the sheer lust -rrb- .


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


if you 're looking for an intelligent movie in which you can release your pent up anger , enough is just the ticket you need .


maybe there 's a metaphor here , but figuring it out would n't make trouble every day any better .


a zippy 96 minutes of mediocre special effects , hoary dialogue , fluxing accents , and -- worst of all -- silly-looking morlocks .


every so often a film comes along that is so insanely stupid , so awful in so many ways that watching it leaves you giddy .


but it is entertaining on an inferior level .


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


evokes the frustration , the awkwardness and the euphoria of growing up , without relying on the usual tropes .


it 's a head-turner -- thoughtfully written , beautifully read and , finally , deeply humanizing .


as it is , it 's too long and unfocused .


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


i 'm not a fan of the phrase ` life affirming ' because it usually means ` schmaltzy , ' but real women have curves truly is life affirming .


too much of storytelling moves away from solondz 's social critique , casting its audience as that of intellectual lector in contemplation of the auteur 's professional injuries .


charlotte sometimes is a gem .


australia : land beyond time is an enjoyable big movie primarily because australia is a weirdly beautiful place .


as immaculate as stuart little 2 is , it could be a lot better if it were , well , more adventurous .


further sad evidence that tom tykwer , director of the resonant and sense-spinning run lola run , has turned out to be a one-trick pony -- a maker of softheaded metaphysical claptrap .


-lrb- a -rrb- satisfying niblet .


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 .


coupling disgracefully written dialogue with flailing bodily movements that substitute for acting , circuit is the awkwardly paced soap opera-ish story .


it rapidly develops into a gut-wrenching examination of the way cultural differences and emotional expectations collide .


you try to guess the order in which the kids in the house will be gored .


payne has created a beautiful canvas , and nicholson proves once again that he 's the best brush in the business .


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


while the material is slight , the movie is better than you might think .


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


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


i do n't think most of the people who loved the 1989 paradiso will prefer this new version .


a sluggish pace and lack of genuine narrative hem the movie in every bit as much as life hems in the spirits of these young women .


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


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


even with its $ 50-million us budget , pinocchio never quite achieves the feel of a fanciful motion picture .


adam sandler 's heart may be in the right place , but he needs to pull his head out of his butt


a genuine mind-bender .


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


that frenetic spectacle -lrb- on the tv show -rrb- has usually been leavened by a charm that 's conspicuously missing from the girls ' big-screen blowout .


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


she 's all-powerful , a voice for a pop-cyber culture that feeds on her bjorkness .


qualities that were once amusing are becoming irritating .


this is a story that zings all the way through with originality , humour and pathos .


what a stiflingly unfunny and unoriginal mess this is !


too stagey , talky -- and long -- for its own good .


as pure over-the-top trash , any john waters movie has it beat by a country mile .


a tasty appetizer that leaves you wanting more .


on its own staggeringly unoriginal terms , this gender-bending comedy is generally quite funny .


a clumsily manufactured exploitation flick , a style-free exercise in manipulation and mayhem .


it lacks the compassion , good-natured humor and the level of insight that made -lrb- eyre 's -rrb- first film something of a sleeper success .


personally , i 'd rather watch them on the animal planet .


as commander-in-chief of this film , bigelow demonstrates a breadth of vision and an attention to detail that propels her into the upper echelons of the directing world .


an annoying orgy of excess and exploitation that has no point and goes nowhere .


the art demands live viewing .


paul cox needed to show it .


astonishing ... -lrb- frames -rrb- profound ethical and philosophical questions in the form of dazzling pop entertainment .


although the subject matter may still be too close to recent national events , the film works - mostly due to its superior cast of characters .


a stirring road movie .


bursting through the constraints of its source , this is one adapted - from-television movie that actually looks as if it belongs on the big screen .


even with all its botches , enigma offers all the pleasure of a handsome and well-made entertainment .


the images lack contrast , are murky and are frequently too dark to be decipherable .


there 's real visual charge to the filmmaking , and a strong erotic spark to the most crucial lip-reading sequence .


if you 're in the right b-movie frame of mind , it may just scare the pants off you .


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


dismally dull sci-fi comedy .


it 's weird , wonderful , and not necessarily for kids .


executed with such gentle but insistent sincerity , with such good humor and appreciation of the daily grind that only the most hardhearted scrooge could fail to respond .


maybe he was reading the minds of the audience .


grenier is terrific , bringing an unforced , rapid-fire delivery to toback 's heidegger - and nietzsche-referencing dialogue .


burns ' fifth beer-soaked film feels in almost every possible way -- from the writing and direction to the soggy performances -- tossed off .


less the sensational true-crime hell-jaunt purists might like and more experimental in its storytelling -lrb- though no less horrifying for it -rrb- .


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


it labours as storytelling .


a first-class road movie that proves you can run away from home , but your ego and all your problems go with you .


the nonstop artifice ultimately proves tiresome , with the surface histrionics failing to compensate for the paper-thin characterizations and facile situations .


it makes me say the obvious : abandon all hope of a good movie ye who enter here .


festers in just such a dungpile that you 'd swear you were watching monkeys flinging their feces at you .


yes , i have given this movie a rating of zero .


a buoyant romantic comedy about friendship , love , and the truth that we 're all in this together .


the locations go from stark desert to gorgeous beaches .


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 .


those who are n't put off by the film 's austerity will find it more than capable of rewarding them .


has nothing good to speak about other than the fact that it is relatively short , tries its best to hide the fact that seagal 's overweight and out of shape .


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


a fascinating literary mystery story with multiple strands about the controversy of who really wrote shakespeare 's plays .


just too silly and sophomoric to ensnare its target audience .


... one of the more influential works of the ` korean new wave ' .


the closest thing to the experience of space travel


right now , they 're merely signposts marking the slow , lingering death of imagination .


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


bon appétit !


as animation increasingly emphasizes the computer and the cool , this is a film that takes a stand in favor of tradition and warmth .


boy , has this franchise ever run out of gas .


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


two hours of junk .


this is absolutely and completely ridiculous and an insult to every family whose mother has suffered through the horrible pains of a death by cancer .


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


-lrb- d -rrb- espite its familiar subject matter , ice age is consistently amusing and engrossing ...


though its rather routine script is loaded with familiar situations , the movie has a cinematic fluidity and sense of intelligence that makes it work more than it probably should .


alternative medicine obviously has its merits ... but ayurveda does the field no favors .


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


it 's not as awful as some of the recent hollywood trip tripe ... but it 's far from a groundbreaking endeavor .


infidelity drama is nicely shot , well-edited and features a standout performance by diane lane .


a soulless jumble of ineptly assembled cliches and pabulum that plays like a 95-minute commercial for nba properties .


talkiness is n't necessarily bad , but the dialogue frequently misses the mark .


but the 2002 film does n't really believe in it , and breaks the mood with absurdly inappropriate ` comedy ' scenes .


not so much farcical as sour .


like life on the island , the movie grows boring despite the scenery .


the material and the production itself are little more than routine .


aspires to the cracked lunacy of the adventures of buckaroo banzai , but thanks to an astonishingly witless script ends up more like the adventures of ford fairlane .


far more successful , if considerably less ambitious , than last year 's kubrick-meets-spielberg exercise .


when it 's this rich and luscious , who cares ?


informative , intriguing , observant , often touching ... gives a human face to what 's often discussed in purely abstract terms .


a compelling pre-wwii drama with vivid characters and a warm , moving message .


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


at best , cletis tout might inspire a trip to the video store -- in search of a better movie experience .


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


what a concept , what an idea , what a thrill ride .


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


be forewarned , if you 're depressed about anything before watching this film , you may just end up trying to drown yourself in a lake afterwards .


it has become apparent that the franchise 's best years are long past .


it strikes hardest ... when it reminds you how pertinent its dynamics remain .


most consumers of lo mein and general tso 's chicken barely give a thought to the folks who prepare and deliver it , so , hopefully , this film will attach a human face to all those little steaming cartons .


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


the nicest thing that can be said about stealing harvard -lrb- which might have been called freddy gets molested by a dog -rrb- is that it 's not as obnoxious as tom green 's freddie got fingered .


ill-considered , unholy hokum .


it 's just merely very bad .


a flick about our infantilized culture that is n't entirely infantile .


rymer does n't trust laughs -- and does n't conjure proper respect for followers of the whole dead-undead genre , who deserve more from a vampire pic than a few shrieky special effects .


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 .


the film does give a pretty good overall picture of the situation in laramie following the murder of matthew shepard .


this toothless dog , already on cable , loses all bite on the big screen .


this rich , bittersweet israeli documentary , about the life of song-and-dance-man pasach ` ke burstein and his family , transcends ethnic lines .


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 .


this 90-minute dud could pass for mike tyson 's e !


a generic family comedy unlikely to be appreciated by anyone outside the under-10 set .


an amateurish , quasi-improvised acting exercise shot on ugly digital video .


the very simple story seems too simple and the working out of the plot almost arbitrary .


the elements were all there but lack of a pyschological center knocks it flat .


exactly what its title implies : lusty , boisterous and utterly charming .


what remains is a variant of the nincompoop benigni persona , here a more annoying , though less angry version of the irresponsible sandlerian manchild , undercut by the voice of the star of road trip .


cherish is a dud -- a romantic comedy that 's not the least bit romantic and only mildly funny .


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


let 's see , a haunted house , a haunted ship , what 's next ... ghost blimp ?


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


based on dave barry 's popular book of the same name , the movie benefits from having a real writer plot out all of the characters ' moves and overlapping story .


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


normally , rohmer 's talky films fascinate me , but when he moves his setting to the past , and relies on a historical text , he loses the richness of characterization that makes his films so memorable .


even if it is generally amusing from time to time , i spy has all the same problems the majority of action comedies have .


you watch for that sense of openness , the little surprises .


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


the abiding impression , despite the mild hallucinogenic buzz , is of overwhelming waste -- the acres of haute couture ca n't quite conceal that there 's nothing resembling a spine here .


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


alan and his fellow survivors are idiosyncratic enough to lift the movie above its playwriting 101 premise .


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


of all the halloween 's , this is the most visually unappealing .


light , silly , photographed with colour and depth , and rather a good time .


it 's refreshing to see a romance this smart .


sodden and glum , even in those moments where it 's supposed to feel funny and light .


with nary a glimmer of self-knowledge , -lrb- crane -rrb- becomes more specimen than character -- and auto focus remains a chilly , clinical lab report .


nothing about the film -- with the possible exception of elizabeth hurley 's breasts -- is authentic .


a manically generous christmas vaudeville .


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


with dickens ' words and writer-director douglas mcgrath 's even-toned direction , a ripping good yarn is told .


i approached the usher and said that if she had to sit through it again , she should ask for a raise .


it makes you believe the cast and crew thoroughly enjoyed themselves and believed in their small-budget film .


the film is enriched by an imaginatively mixed cast of antic spirits , headed by christopher plummer as the subtlest and most complexly evil uncle ralph i 've ever seen in the many film and stage adaptations of the work .


these three films form a remarkably cohesive whole , both visually and thematically , through their consistently sensitive and often exciting treatment of an ignored people .


smart and alert , thirteen conversations about one thing is a small gem .


insanely hilarious !


... strips bible stores of the potential for sanctimoniousness , making them meaningful for both kids and church-wary adults .


it 's just weirdness for the sake of weirdness , and where human nature should be ingratiating , it 's just grating .


its audacious ambitions sabotaged by pomposity , steven soderbergh 's space opera emerges as a numbingly dull experience .


it works its magic with such exuberance and passion that the film 's length becomes a part of its fun .


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 .


it goes on for too long and bogs down in a surfeit of characters and unnecessary subplots .


a feel-good movie that does n't give you enough to feel good about .


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 .


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


if the real-life story is genuinely inspirational , the movie stirs us as well .


disturbing .


the large-frame imax camera lends itself beautifully to filming the teeming life on the reefs , making this gorgeous film a must for everyone from junior scientists to grown-up fish lovers .


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


why anyone who is not a character in this movie should care is beyond me .


the movie 's major and most devastating flaw is its reliance on formula , though , and it 's quite enough to lessen the overall impact the movie could have had .


it is depressing , ruthlessly pained and depraved , the movie equivalent of staring into an open wound .


as aimless as an old pickup skidding completely out of control on a long patch of black ice , the movie makes two hours feel like four .


a comedy-drama of nearly epic proportions rooted in a sincere performance by the title character undergoing midlife crisis .


... contains very few laughs and even less surprises .


a horrible , 99-minute stink bomb .


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


earnest and heartfelt but undernourished and plodding .


a dull , somnambulant exercise in pretension whose pervasive quiet is broken by frequent outbursts of violence and noise .


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


the film presents visceral and dangerously honest revelations about the men and machines behind the curtains of our planet .


handled correctly , wilde 's play is a masterpiece of elegant wit and artifice .


this is the best star trek movie in a long time .


a remarkably alluring film set in the constrictive eisenhower era about one suburban woman 's yearning in the face of a loss that shatters her cheery and tranquil suburban life .


instead of simply handling conventional material in a conventional way , secretary takes the most unexpected material and handles it in the most unexpected way .


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 .


writer-director randall wallace has bitten off more than he or anyone else could chew , and his movie veers like a drunken driver through heavy traffic .


like kissing jessica stein , amy 's orgasm has a key strength in its willingness to explore its principal characters with honesty , insight and humor .


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


starts promisingly but disintegrates into a dreary , humorless soap opera .


the touch is generally light enough and the performances , for the most part , credible .


it is sentimental but feels free to offend , is analytical and then surrenders to the illogic of its characters , is about grief and yet permits laughter .


eight legged freaks wo n't join the pantheon of great monster\/science fiction flicks that we have come to love ...


howard and his co-stars all give committed performances , but they 're often undone by howard 's self-conscious attempts to find a ` literary ' filmmaking style to match his subject .


the actors must indeed be good to recite some of this laughable dialogue with a straight face .


it 's better suited for the history or biography channel , but there 's no arguing the tone of the movie - it leaves a bad taste in your mouth and questions on your mind .


a story which fails to rise above its disgusting source material .


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


imagine a film that begins as a seven rip-off , only to switch to a mix of the shining , the thing , and any naked teenagers horror flick from the 1980s .


without a fresh infusion of creativity , 4ever is neither a promise nor a threat so much as wishful thinking .


this humbling little film , fueled by the light comedic work of zhao benshan and the delicate ways of dong jie , is just the sort for those moviegoers who complain that ` they do n't make movies like they used to anymore . '


what does n't this film have that an impressionable kid could n't stand to hear ?


stevens ' vibrant creative instincts are the difference between this and countless other flicks about guys and dolls .


` in this poor remake of such a well loved classic , parker exposes the limitations of his skill and the basic flaws in his vision . '


overall tomfoolery like this is a matter of taste .


a soap-opera quality twist in the last 20 minutes ... almost puts the kibosh on what is otherwise a sumptuous work of b-movie imagination .


the actors try hard but come off too amateurish and awkward .


occasionally loud and offensive , but more often , it simply lulls you into a gentle waking coma .


we 've seen it all before in one form or another , but director hoffman , with great help from kevin kline , makes us care about this latest reincarnation of the world 's greatest teacher .


easily the most thoughtful fictional examination of the root causes of anti-semitism ever seen on screen .


despite suffering a sense-of-humour failure , the man who wrote rocky does not deserve to go down with a ship as leaky as this .


about half of them are funny , a few are sexy and none are useful in telling the story , which is paper-thin and decidedly unoriginal .


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 .


impostor ca n't think of a thing to do with these characters except have them run through dark tunnels , fight off various anonymous attackers , and evade elaborate surveillance technologies .


a great script brought down by lousy direction .


new ways of describing badness need to be invented to describe exactly how bad it is .


rubbo runs through a remarkable amount of material in the film 's short 90 minutes .


while this film has an ` a ' list cast and some strong supporting players , the tale -- like its central figure , vivi -- is just a little bit hard to love .


zoom !


it 's a bad sign when you 're rooting for the film to hurry up and get to its subjects ' deaths just so the documentary will be over , but it 's indicative of how uncompelling the movie is unless it happens to cover your particular area of interest .


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


every sequel you skip will be two hours gained .


it 's hard to imagine anybody ever being `` in the mood '' to view a movie as harrowing and painful as the grey zone , but it 's equally hard to imagine anybody being able to tear their eyes away from the screen once it 's started .


it gives devastating testimony to both people 's capacity for evil and their heroic capacity for good .


makes one thing abundantly clear .


cherry orchard is badly edited , often awkwardly directed and suffers from the addition of a wholly unnecessary pre-credit sequence designed to give some of the characters a ` back story . '


too slick and manufactured to claim street credibility .


the film is full of charm .


it 's not the least of afghan tragedies that this noble warlord would be consigned to the dustbin of history .


there are no special effects , and no hollywood endings .


while hollywood ending has its share of belly laughs -lrb- including a knockout of a closing line -rrb- , the movie winds up feeling like a great missed opportunity .


we admire this film for its harsh objectivity and refusal to seek our tears , our sympathies .


a funny and well-contructed black comedy where the old adage `` be careful what you wish for '' is given a full workout .


not a schlocky creature feature but something far more stylish and cerebral -- and , hence , more chillingly effective .


this movie ... does n't deserve the energy it takes to describe how bad it is .


one of the most important and exhilarating forms of animated filmmaking since old walt doodled steamboat willie .


after a while , hoffman 's quirks and mannerisms , particularly his penchant for tearing up on cue -- things that seem so real in small doses -- become annoying and artificial .


it 's not like having a real film of nijinsky , but at least it 's better than that eponymous 1980 biopic that used soap in the places where the mysteries lingered .


the only surprise is that heavyweights joel silver and robert zemeckis agreed to produce this ; i assume the director has pictures of them cavorting in ladies ' underwear .


the overall feel is not unlike watching a glorified episode of `` 7th heaven . ''


... spellbinding fun and deliciously exploitative .


what 's next ?


in the end , there is n't much to it .


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


an incredibly irritating comedy about thoroughly vacuous people ... manages to embody the worst excesses of nouvelle vague without any of its sense of fun or energy .


the movie itself is far from disappointing , offering an original take on courtroom movies , a few nifty twists that are so crucial to the genre and another first-rate performance by top-billed star bruce willis .


norton is magnetic as graham .


the year 's greatest adventure , and jackson 's limited but enthusiastic adaptation has made literature literal without killing its soul -- a feat any thinking person is bound to appreciate .


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


mr. goyer 's loose , unaccountable direction is technically sophisticated in the worst way .


a weird little movie that 's amusing enough while you watch it , offering fine acting moments and pungent insights into modern l.a. 's show-biz and media subcultures .


a wonderful , ghastly film .


the movie weighs no more than a glass of flat champagne .


the film is flat .


stealing harvard will dip into your wallet , swipe 90 minutes of your time , and offer you precisely this in recompense : a few early laughs scattered around a plot as thin as it is repetitious .


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


but windtalkers does n't beat that one , either .


-lrb- lee -rrb- treats his audience the same way that jim brown treats his women -- as dumb , credulous , unassuming , subordinate subjects .


the problem with antwone fisher is that it has a screenplay written by antwone fisher based on the book by antwone fisher .


whenever you think you 've seen the end of the movie , we cut to a new scene , which also appears to be the end .


a zinger-filled crowd-pleaser that open-minded elvis fans -lrb- but by no means all -rrb- will have fun with .


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


smart and fun , but far more witty than it is wise .


o fantasma is boldly , confidently orchestrated , aesthetically and sexually , and its impact is deeply and rightly disturbing .


a film about female friendship that men can embrace and women will talk about for hours .


` it looks good , sonny , but you missed the point . '


there 's nothing remotely topical or sexy here .


fincher takes no apparent joy in making movies , and he gives none to the audience .


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


blood work is laughable in the solemnity with which it tries to pump life into overworked elements from eastwood 's dirty harry period .


the slapstick is labored , and the bigger setpieces flat .


the pool drowned me in boredom .


-lrb- sports -rrb- admirable energy , full-bodied characterizations and narrative urgency .


here is a vh1 behind the music special that has something a little more special behind it : music that did n't sell many records but helped change a nation .


it 's never dull and always looks good .


competently directed but terminally cute drama .


a sweet , tender sermon about a 12-year-old welsh boy more curious about god than girls , who learns that believing in something does matter .


loses its sense of humor in a vat of failed jokes , twitchy acting , and general boorishness .


in the era of the sopranos , it feels painfully redundant and inauthentic .


i will be .


it 's tough to be startled when you 're almost dozing .


represents the depths to which the girls-behaving-badly film has fallen .


an impenetrable and insufferable ball of pseudo-philosophic twaddle .


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 .


it 's the element of condescension , as the filmmakers look down on their working-class subjects from their lofty perch , that finally makes sex with strangers , which opens today in the new york metropolitan area , so distasteful .


a return to pure disney magic and is enjoyable family fare .


distances you by throwing out so many red herrings , so many false scares , that the genuine ones barely register .


the fact that it is n't very good is almost beside the point .


it takes you somewhere you 're not likely to have seen before , but beneath the exotic surface -lrb- and exotic dancing -rrb- it 's surprisingly old-fashioned .


bolstered by exceptional performances and a clear-eyed take on the economics of dealing and the pathology of ghetto fabulousness .


it is a happy , heady jumble of thought and storytelling , an insane comic undertaking that ultimately coheres into a sane and breathtakingly creative film .


perhaps the grossest movie ever made .


viveka seldahl and sven wollter will touch you to the core in a film you will never forget -- that you should never forget .


... instead go rent `` shakes the clown '' , a much funnier film with a similar theme and an equally great robin williams performance .


the documentary is much too conventional -- lots of boring talking heads , etc. -- to do the subject matter justice .


an engrossing and infectiously enthusiastic documentary .


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


the film 's gamble to occasionally break up the live-action scenes with animated sequences pays off , as does its sensitive handling of some delicate subject matter .


the attempt to build up a pressure cooker of horrified awe emerges from the simple fact that the movie has virtually nothing to show .


wes craven 's presence is felt ; not the craven of ' a nightmare on elm street ' or ` the hills have eyes , ' but the sad schlock merchant of ` deadly friend . '


but tongue-in-cheek preposterousness has always been part of for the most part wilde 's droll whimsy helps `` being earnest '' overcome its weaknesses and parker 's creative interference ...


as the princess , sorvino glides gracefully from male persona to female without missing a beat .


run for your lives !


for every cheesy scene , though , there is a really cool bit -- the movie 's conception of a future-world holographic librarian -lrb- orlando jones -rrb- who knows everything and answers all questions , is visually smart , cleverly written , and nicely realized .


an impressive hybrid .


the chateau ... is less concerned with cultural and political issues than doting on its eccentric characters .


highly recommended as an engrossing story about a horrifying historical event and the elements which contributed to it .


-lrb- macdowell -rrb- ventures beyond her abilities several times here and reveals how bad an actress she is .


pap invested in undergraduate doubling subtexts and ridiculous stabs at existentialism reminding of the discovery of the wizard of god in the fifth trek flick .


the disjointed mess flows as naturally as jolie 's hideous yellow ` do .


he does this so well you do n't have the slightest difficulty accepting him in the role .


unless bob crane is someone of particular interest to you , this film 's impressive performances and adept direction are n't likely to leave a lasting impression .


a surprisingly funny movie .


drug abuse , infidelity and death are n't usually comedy fare , but turpin 's film allows us to chuckle through the angst .


a not-so-divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood with a hefty helping of re-fried green tomatoes .


allegiance to chekhov , which director michael cacoyannis displays with somber earnestness in the new adaptation of the cherry orchard , is a particularly vexing handicap .


not only a coming-of-age story and cautionary parable , but also a perfectly rendered period piece .


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


a harrowing account of a psychological breakdown .


a mature , deeply felt fantasy of a director 's travel through 300 years of russian history .


the movie is a trove of delights .


the filmmakers needed more emphasis on the storytelling and less on the glamorous machine that thrusts the audience into a future they wo n't much care about .


but it does somehow manage to get you under its spell .


in his u.s. debut , mr. schnitzler proves himself a deft pace master and stylist .


yet another arnold vehicle that fails to make adequate use of his particular talents .


it will guarantee to have you leaving the theater with a smile on your face .


an uncomfortable movie , suffocating and sometimes almost senseless , the grey zone does have a center , though a morbid one .


sweet gentle jesus , did the screenwriters just do a cut-and-paste of every bad action-movie line in history ?


-lrb- sam 's -rrb- self-flagellation is more depressing than entertaining .


dramas like this make it human .


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


but the cinematography is cloudy , the picture making becalmed .


this is christmas future for a lot of baby boomers .


this bracingly truthful antidote to hollywood teenage movies that slather clearasil over the blemishes of youth captures the combustible mixture of a chafing inner loneliness and desperate grandiosity that tend to characterize puberty .


viva le resistance !


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


plodding , peevish and gimmicky .


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


the ingenuity that parker displays in freshening the play is almost in a class with that of wilde himself .


nijinsky says , ' i know how to suffer ' and if you see this film you 'll know too .


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


it will make you think twice about what might be going on inside each trailer park you drive past -- even if it chiefly inspires you to drive a little faster .


witless and utterly pointless .


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


may lack the pungent bite of its title , but it 's an enjoyable trifle nonetheless .


a rather brilliant little cult item : a pastiche of children 's entertainment , superhero comics , and japanese animation .


the film is a fierce dance of destruction .


the mark of a respectable summer blockbuster is one of two things : unadulterated thrills or genuine laughs .


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 .


psychologically revealing .


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


but seriously , folks , it does n't work .


i was trying to decide what annoyed me most about god is great ... i 'm not , and then i realized that i just did n't care .


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


bluto blutarsky , we miss you .


crossroads feels like a teenybopper ed wood film , replete with the pubescent scandalous innuendo and the high-strung but flaccid drama .


do n't say you were n't warned .


hopkins , squarely fills the screen .


hashiguchi vividly captures the way young japanese live now , chafing against their culture 's manic mix of millennial brusqueness and undying , traditional politesse .


you leave the same way you came -- a few tasty morsels under your belt , but no new friends .


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


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 .


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


warm in its loving yet unforgivingly inconsistent depiction of everyday people , relaxed in its perfect quiet pace and proud in its message .


its director 's most substantial feature for some time .


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


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 .


`` extreme ops '' exceeds expectations .


it 's stylishly directed with verve ...


fans of critics ' darling band wilco will marvel at the sometimes murky , always brooding look of i am trying to break your heart .


its adult themes of familial separation and societal betrayal are head and shoulders above much of the director 's previous popcorn work .


chen films the resolutely downbeat smokers only with every indulgent , indie trick in the book .


the weird thing about the santa clause 2 , purportedly a children 's movie , is that there is nothing in it to engage children emotionally .


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 .


-lrb- hell is -rrb- looking down at your watch and realizing serving sara is n't even halfway through .


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


director lee has a true cinematic knack , but it 's also nice to see a movie with its heart so thoroughly , unabashedly on its sleeve .


in other words , it 's just another sports drama\/character study .


there 's nothing interesting in unfaithful whatsoever .


compassionately explores the seemingly irreconcilable situation between conservative christian parents and their estranged gay and lesbian children .


worthy of the gong .


a pointed , often tender , examination of the pros and cons of unconditional love and familial duties .


more dutiful than enchanting ... terribly episodic and lacking the spark of imagination that might have made it an exhilarating treat .


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


the film is so packed with subplots involving the various silbersteins that it feels more like the pilot episode of a tv series than a feature film .


it 's both sitcomishly predictable and cloying in its attempts to be poignant .


the charming result is festival in cannes .


while the film is not entirely successful , it still manages to string together enough charming moments to work .


it is parochial , accessible to a chosen few , standoffish to everyone else , and smugly suggests a superior moral tone is more important than filmmaking skill


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


she allows each character to confront their problems openly and honestly .


the film 's maudlin focus on the young woman 's infirmity and her naive dreams play like the worst kind of hollywood heart-string plucking .


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


cinematic poetry showcases the city 's old-world charm before machines change nearly everything .


a sensitive , cultivated treatment of greene 's work as well as a remarkably faithful one .


the ring never lets you off the hook .


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


fails in making this character understandable , in getting under her skin , in exploring motivation ... well before the end , the film grows as dull as its characters , about whose fate it is hard to care .


uplifting , funny and wise .


the film has a laundry list of minor shortcomings , but the numerous scenes of gory mayhem are worth the price of admission ... if `` gory mayhem '' is your idea of a good time .


cold , pretentious , thoroughly dislikable study in sociopathy .


i stopped thinking about how good it all was , and started doing nothing but reacting to it - feeling a part of its grand locations , thinking urgently as the protagonists struggled , feeling at the mercy of its inventiveness , gasping at its visual delights .


the beauty of the piece is that it counts heart as important as humor .


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


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


in painting an unabashedly romantic picture of a nation whose songs spring directly from the lives of the people , the movie exalts the marxian dream of honest working folk , with little to show for their labor , living harmoniously , joined in song .


witless , pointless , tasteless and idiotic .


a surprisingly ` solid ' achievement by director malcolm d. lee and writer john ridley .


the problem is that it is one that allows him to churn out one mediocre movie after another .


they kept much of the plot but jettisoned the stuff that would make this a moving experience for people who have n't read the book .


with a tighter editorial process and firmer direction this material could work , especially since the actresses in the lead roles are all more than competent , but as is , personal velocity seems to be idling in neutral .


more timely than its director could ever have dreamed , this quietly lyrical tale probes the ambiguous welcome extended by iran to the afghani refugees who streamed across its borders , desperate for work and food .


brings to a spectacular completion one of the most complex , generous and subversive artworks of the last decade .


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


it goes down easy , leaving virtually no aftertaste .


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


a wildly erratic drama with sequences that make you wince in embarrassment and others , thanks to the actors , that are quite touching .


offers absolutely nothing i had n't already seen .


the movie is a lumbering load of hokum but ... it 's at least watchable .


serving sara is little more than a mall movie designed to kill time .


a mawkish self-parody that plays like some weird masterpiece theater sketch with neither a point of view nor a compelling reason for being .


trapped presents a frightening and compelling ` what if ? '


all right , so it 's not a brilliant piece of filmmaking , but it is a funny -lrb- sometimes hilarious -rrb- comedy with a deft sense of humor about itself , a playful spirit and a game cast .


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


henry bean 's thoughtful screenplay provides no easy answers , but offers a compelling investigation of faith versus intellect


not since ghostbusters has a film used manhattan 's architecture in such a gloriously goofy way .


... a triumph of emotionally and narratively complex filmmaking .


it may not be a huge cut of above the rest , but i enjoyed barbershop .


glazed with a tawdry b-movie scum .


the film occasionally tries the viewer 's patience with slow pacing and a main character who sometimes defies sympathy , but it ultimately satisfies with its moving story .


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


call it magic realism or surrealism , but miss wonton floats beyond reality with a certain degree of wit and dignity .


this is as lax and limp a comedy as i 've seen in a while , a meander through worn-out material .


the performances of the four main actresses bring their characters to life .


neatly constructed thriller .


the emotion is impressively true for being so hot-blooded , and both leads are up to the task .


rife with the rueful , wry humor springing out of yiddish culture and language .


rarely , indeed almost never , is such high-wattage brainpower coupled with pitch-perfect acting and an exquisite , unfakable sense of cinema .


a lovably old-school hollywood confection .


it never quite makes it to the boiling point , but manages to sustain a good simmer for most of its running time .


one of the year 's best films , featuring an oscar-worthy performance by julianne moore .


why would anyone cast the magnificent jackie chan in a movie full of stunt doubles and special effects ?


it 's surprisingly bland despite the heavy doses of weird performances and direction .


if you 're willing to have fun with it , you wo n't feel cheated by the high infidelity of unfaithful .


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


but it also comes with the laziness and arrogance of a thing that already knows it 's won .


what 's really so appealing about the characters is their resemblance to everyday children .


the bottom line , at least in my opinion , is imposter makes a better short story than it does a film .


wilco fans will have a great time , and the movie should win the band a few new converts , too .


fails so fundamentally on every conventional level that it achieves some kind of goofy grandeur .


nohe has made a decent ` intro ' documentary , but he feels like a spectator and not a participant .


although no pastry is violated , this nasty comedy pokes fun at the same easy targets as other rowdy raunch-fests -- farts , boobs , unmentionables -- without much success .


the movie is too amateurishly square to make the most of its own ironic implications .


even as i valiantly struggled to remain interested , or at least conscious , i could feel my eyelids ... getting ... very ... heavy ...


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


watching this gentle , mesmerizing portrait of a man coming to terms with time , you barely realize your mind is being blown .


hashiguchi uses the situation to evoke a japan bustling atop an undercurrent of loneliness and isolation .


despite its sincere acting , signs is just another unoriginal run of the mill sci-fi film with a flimsy ending and lots of hype .


making such a tragedy the backdrop to a love story risks trivializing it , though chouraqui no doubt intended the film to affirm love 's power to help people endure almost unimaginable horror .


it 's a masterpeice .


incoherence reigns .


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


disreputable doings and exquisite trappings are dampened by a lackluster script and substandard performances .


works because reno does n't become smug or sanctimonious towards the audience .


it cooks conduct in a low , smoky and inviting sizzle .


wow , so who knew charles dickens could be so light-hearted ?


-lrb- a -rrb- wonderfully loopy tale of love , longing , and voting .


... tara reid plays a college journalist , but she looks like the six-time winner of the miss hawaiian tropic pageant , so i do n't know what she 's doing in here ...


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


a major waste ... generic .


see it .


it 's not just a feel-good movie , it 's a feel movie .


the problematic characters and overly convenient plot twists foul up shum 's good intentions .


tres greek writer and star nia vardalos has crafted here a worldly-wise and very funny script .


this is a film about the irksome , tiresome nature of complacency that remains utterly satisfied to remain the same throughout .


a deeply felt and vividly detailed story about newcomers in a strange new world .


really is a pan-american movie , with moments of genuine insight into the urban heart .


... plenty of warmth to go around , with music and laughter and the love of family .


this overlong infomercial , due out on video before month 's end , is tepid and tedious .


but how it washed out despite all of that is the project 's prime mystery .


the animated sequences are well done and perfectly constructed to convey a sense of childhood imagination and creating adventure out of angst .


this cinema verite speculation on the assassination of john f. kennedy may have been inspired by blair witch , but it takes its techniques into such fresh territory that the film never feels derivative .


-lrb- city -rrb- reminds us how realistically nuanced a robert de niro performance can be when he is not more lucratively engaged in the shameless self-caricature of ` analyze this ' -lrb- 1999 -rrb- and ` analyze that , ' promised -lrb- or threatened -rrb- for later this year .


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


it 's so tedious that it makes you forgive every fake , dishonest , entertaining and , ultimately , more perceptive moment in bridget jones 's diary .


watching these two actors play against each other so intensely , but with restraint , is a treat .


this is one of the biggest disappointments of the year .


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


a mimetic approximation of better films like contempt and 8 1\/2 .


nettelbeck has crafted an engaging fantasy of flavours and emotions , one part romance novel , one part recipe book .


it 's just hard to believe that a life like this can sound so dull .


there is a welcome lack of pretension about the film , which very simply sets out to entertain and ends up delivering in good measure .


there 's not a single jump-in-your-seat moment and believe it or not , jason actually takes a backseat in his own film to special effects .


as relationships shift , director robert j. siegel allows the characters to inhabit their world without cleaving to a narrative arc .


nicks sustains the level of exaggerated , stylized humor throughout by taking your expectations and twisting them just a bit .


here the love scenes all end in someone screaming .


a lot smarter than your average bond .


a soul-stirring documentary about the israeli\/palestinian conflict as revealed through the eyes of some children who remain curious about each other against all odds .


enormously enjoyable , high-adrenaline documentary .


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


kiarostami has crafted a deceptively casual ode to children and managed to convey a tiny sense of hope .


stale first act , scrooge story , blatant product placement , some very good comedic songs , strong finish , dumb fart jokes .


that rare film whose real-life basis is , in fact , so interesting that no embellishment is needed .


for more than two decades mr. nachtwey has traveled to places in the world devastated by war , famine and poverty and documented the cruelty and suffering he has found with an devastating , eloquent clarity .


in fact , it does n't even seem like she tried .


superb production values & christian bale 's charisma make up for a derivative plot .


visually striking and viscerally repellent .


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 .


stealing harvard does n't care about cleverness , wit or any other kind of intelligent humor .


rarely has a film 's title served such dire warning .


dripping with cliche and bypassing no opportunity to trivialize the material .


it 's an interesting effort -lrb- particularly for jfk conspiracy nuts -rrb- , and barry 's cold-fish act makes the experience worthwhile .


an unexpectedly sweet story of sisterhood .


just because a walk to remember is shrewd enough to activate girlish tear ducts does n't mean it 's good enough for our girls .


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


the script is smart , not cloying .


its initial excitement settles into a warmed over pastiche .


an uncluttered , resonant gem that relays its universal points without lectures or confrontations . '


depicts the sorriest and most sordid of human behavior on the screen , then laughs at how clever it 's being .


on its icy face , the new film is a subzero version of monsters , inc. , without the latter 's imagination , visual charm or texture .


starts out mediocre , spirals downward , and thuds to the bottom of the pool with an utterly incompetent conclusion .


michele is a such a brainless flibbertigibbet that it 's hard to take her spiritual quest at all seriously .


the film falls short on tension , eloquence , spiritual challenge -- things that have made the original new testament stories so compelling for 20 centuries .


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 .


if you are willing to do this , then you so crazy !


there 's nothing exactly wrong here , but there 's not nearly enough that 's right .


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 .


amid the new populist comedies that underscore the importance of family tradition and familial community , one would be hard-pressed to find a movie with a bigger , fatter heart than barbershop .


brought to life on the big screen .


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


knows how to make our imagination wonder .


leaks treacle from every pore .


the saigon of 1952 is an uneasy mix of sensual delights and simmering violence , and the quiet american brings us right into the center of that world .


the actors are fantastic .


... a spoof comedy that carries its share of laughs -- sometimes a chuckle , sometimes a guffaw and , to my great pleasure , the occasional belly laugh .


... an enjoyably frothy ` date movie ' ...


neither the funniest film that eddie murphy nor robert de niro has ever made , showtime is nevertheless efficiently amusing for a good while .


awesome work : ineffable , elusive , yet inexplicably powerful


leaping from one arresting image to another , songs from the second floor has all the enjoyable randomness of a very lively dream and so manages to be compelling , amusing and unsettling at the same time .


intensely romantic , thought-provoking and even an engaging mystery .


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


a wildly entertaining scan of evans ' career .


does point the way for adventurous indian filmmakers toward a crossover into nonethnic markets .


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


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


-lrb- breheny 's -rrb- lensing of the new zealand and cook island locations captures both the beauty of the land and the people .


-lrb- an -rrb- absorbing documentary .


if you open yourself up to mr. reggio 's theory of this imagery as the movie 's set ... it can impart an almost visceral sense of dislocation and change .


oscar caliber cast does n't live up to material


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


has enough gun battles and throwaway humor to cover up the yawning chasm where the plot should be .


parris ' performance is credible and remarkably mature .


the film 's sense of imagery gives it a terrible strength , but it 's propelled by the acting .


` stock up on silver bullets for director neil marshall 's intense freight train of a film . '


the casting of von sydow ... is itself intacto 's luckiest stroke .


exhilarating , funny and fun .


bean drops the ball too many times ... hoping the nifty premise will create enough interest to make up for an unfocused screenplay .


michael moore 's latest documentary about america 's thirst for violence is his best film yet ...


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


at the one-hour mark , herzog simply runs out of ideas and the pace turns positively leaden as the movie sputters to its inevitable tragic conclusion .


nearly every attempt at humor here is doa .


it 's a road-trip drama with too many wrong turns .


everything in maid in manhattan is exceedingly pleasant , designed not to offend .


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


enigma is well-made , but it 's just too dry and too placid .


not quite as miraculous as its dreamworks makers would have you believe , but it more than adequately fills the eyes and stirs the emotions .


eight legged freaks falls flat as a spoof .


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 .


it 's a long way from orwell 's dark , intelligent warning cry -lrb- 1984 -rrb- to the empty stud knockabout of equilibrium , and what once was conviction is now affectation .


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


smart , funny and just honest enough to provide the pleasures of a slightly naughty , just-above-average off - broadway play .


a photographic marvel of sorts , and it 's certainly an invaluable record of that special fishy community .


... while the humor aspects of ` jason x ' were far more entertaining than i had expected , everything else about the film tanks .


but not without cheesy fun factor .


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