the real triumphs in igby come from philippe , who makes oliver far more interesting than the character 's lines would suggest , and sarandon , who could n't be better as a cruel but weirdly likable wasp matron .


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


no. .


kapur weighs down the tale with bogus profundities .


my big fat greek wedding is that rare animal known as ' a perfect family film , ' because it 's about family .


even though many of these guys are less than adorable -lrb- their lamentations are pretty much self-centered -rrb- , there 's something vital about the movie .


while it may not add up to the sum of its parts , holofcener 's film offers just enough insight to keep it from being simpleminded , and the ensemble cast is engaging enough to keep you from shifting in your chair too often .


an ugly , revolting movie .


if you are into splatter movies , then you will probably have a reasonably good time with the salton sea .


the characterizations and dialogue lack depth or complexity , with the ironic exception of scooter .


shanghai ghetto may not be as dramatic as roman polanski 's the pianist , but its compassionate spirit soars every bit as high .


but it 's hardly a necessary enterprise .


ratliff 's two previous titles , plutonium circus and purgatory county show his penchant for wry , contentious configurations , and this film is part of that delicate canon .


distinctly sub-par ... more likely to drown a viewer in boredom than to send any shivers down his spine .


it 's a shame that the storyline and its underlying themes ... finally seem so impersonal or even shallow .


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


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


i liked the original short story but this movie , even at an hour and twenty-some minutes , it 's too long and it goes nowhere .


it 's the kind of under-inspired , overblown enterprise that gives hollywood sequels a bad name .


the movie starts with a legend and ends with a story that is so far-fetched it would be impossible to believe if it were n't true .


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


a breezy blend of art , history , esoteric musings and philosophy .


unexpected moments of authentically impulsive humor are the hallmark of this bittersweet , uncommonly sincere movie that portrays the frank humanity of ... emotional recovery .


stands as a document of what it felt like to be a new yorker -- or , really , to be a human being -- in the weeks after 9\/11 .


my wife is an actress works as well as it does because -lrb- the leads -rrb- are such a companionable couple .


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


a comedy that is warm , inviting , and surprising .


hatfield and hicks make the oddest of couples , and in this sense the movie becomes a study of the gambles of the publishing world , offering a case study that exists apart from all the movie 's political ramifications .


the movie is so contrived , nonsensical and formulaic that , come to think of it , the day-old shelf would be a more appropriate location to store it .


this sensitive , smart , savvy , compelling coming-of-age drama delves into the passive-aggressive psychology of co-dependence and the struggle for self-esteem .


enigma looks great , has solid acting and a neat premise .


eventually , they will have a showdown , but , by then , your senses are as mushy as peas and you do n't care who fires the winning shot .


as warm as it is wise , deftly setting off uproarious humor with an underlying seriousness that sneaks up on the viewer , providing an experience that is richer than anticipated .


godard 's ode to tackling life 's wonderment is a rambling and incoherent manifesto about the vagueness of topical excess ... in praise of love remains a ponderous and pretentious endeavor that 's unfocused and tediously exasperating .


this ready-made midnight movie probably wo n't stand the cold light of day , but under the right conditions , it 's goofy -lrb- if not entirely wholesome -rrb- fun .


hampered -- no , paralyzed -- by a self-indulgent script ... that aims for poetry and ends up sounding like satire .


although sensitive to a fault , it 's often overwritten , with a surfeit of weighty revelations , flowery dialogue , and nostalgia for the past and roads not taken .


several uninteresting , unlikeable people do bad things to and with each other in `` unfaithful . ''


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


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


surprisingly , considering that baird is a former film editor , the movie is rather choppy .


directing with a sure and measured hand , -lrb- haneke -rrb- steers clear of the sensational and offers instead an unflinching and objective look at a decidedly perverse pathology .


... it was n't the subject matter that ultimately defeated the film ... it was the unfulfilling , incongruous , `` wait a second , did i miss something ? ''


wiseman is patient and uncompromising , letting his camera observe and record the lives of women torn apart by a legacy of abuse .


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


ub equally spoofs and celebrates the more outre aspects of ` black culture ' and the dorkier aspects of ` white culture , ' even as it points out how inseparable the two are .


full frontal , which opens today nationwide , could almost be classified as a movie-industry satire , but it lacks the generous inclusiveness that is the genre 's definitive , if disingenuous , feature .


ultimately ... the movie is too heady for children , and too preachy for adults .


could n't someone take rob schneider and have him switch bodies with a funny person ?


in the wrong hands , i.e. peploe 's , it 's simply unbearable


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


like an afterschool special with costumes by gianni versace , mad love looks better than it feels .


a strong script , powerful direction and splendid production design allows us to be transported into the life of wladyslaw szpilman , who is not only a pianist , but a good human being .


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


it has no affect on the kurds , but it wore me down .


the wanton slipperiness of \* corpus and its amiable jerking and reshaping of physical time and space would make it a great piece to watch with kids and use to introduce video as art .


the real star of this movie is the score , as in the songs translate well to film , and it 's really well directed .


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


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


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


the film is impressive for the sights and sounds of the wondrous beats the world has to offer .


for most of its footage , the new thriller proves that director m. night shyamalan can weave an eerie spell and that mel gibson can gasp , shudder and even tremble without losing his machismo .


downright transparent is the script 's endless assault of embarrassingly ham-fisted sex jokes that reek of a script rewrite designed to garner the film a `` cooler '' pg-13 rating .


the performances are so overstated , the effect comes off as self-parody .


in terms of execution this movie is careless and unfocused .


the story ultimately takes hold and grips hard .


the whole movie is simply a lazy exercise in bad filmmaking that asks you to not only suspend your disbelief but your intelligence as well .


it puts washington , as honest working man john q. archibald , on a pedestal , then keeps lifting the pedestal higher .


i have not been this disappointed by a movie in a long time .


an alternately fascinating and frustrating documentary .


a directorial tour de force by bernard rose , ivans xtc .


unfortunately , one hour photo lives down to its title .


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


beautifully produced .


a compelling coming-of-age drama about the arduous journey of a sensitive young girl through a series of foster homes and a fierce struggle to pull free from her dangerous and domineering mother 's hold over her .


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


it 's definitely an improvement on the first blade , since it does n't take itself so deadly seriously .


yet this one makes up for in heart what it lacks in outright newness .


the most memorable moment was when green threw medical equipment at a window ; not because it was particularly funny , but because i had a serious urge to grab the old lady at the end of my aisle 's walker and toss it at the screen in frustration .


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


shyamalan offers copious hints along the way -- myriad signs , if you will -- that beneath the familiar , funny surface is a far bigger , far more meaningful story than one in which little green men come to earth for harvesting purposes .


call me a cynic , but there 's something awfully deadly about any movie with a life-affirming message .


we started to wonder if ... some unpaid intern had just typed ` chris rock , ' ` anthony hopkins ' and ` terrorists ' into some univac-like script machine .


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


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


the problem with movies about angels is they have a tendency to slip into hokum .


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


like smoke signals , the film is also imbued with strong themes of familial ties and spirituality that are powerful and moving without stooping to base melodrama


as with so many merchandised-to-the-max movies of this type , more time appears to have gone into recruiting the right bands for the playlist and the costuming of the stars than into the script , which has a handful of smart jokes and not much else .


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


stuffed to the brim with ideas , american instigator michael moore 's film is a rambling examination of american gun culture that uses his usual modus operandi of crucifixion through juxtaposition .


press the delete key .


... the kind of entertainment that parents love to have their kids see .


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


imamura has said that warm water under a red bridge is a poem to the enduring strengths of women .


a grating , emaciated flick .


it 's plotless , shapeless -- and yet , it must be admitted , not entirely humorless .


with a tone as variable as the cinematography , schaeffer 's film never settles into the light-footed enchantment the material needs , and the characters ' quirks and foibles never jell into charm .


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


jackson is always watchable .


showtime is a fine-looking film with a bouncy score and a clutch of lively songs for deft punctuation .


mib ii is a movie that makes it possible for the viewer to doze off for a few minutes or make several runs to the concession stand and\/or restroom and not feel as if he or she has missed anything .


... bright , intelligent , and humanly funny film .


too bad kramer could n't make a guest appearance to liven things up .


300 years of russian history and culture compressed into an evanescent , seamless and sumptuous stream of consciousness .


the modern remake of dumas 's story is long on narrative and -lrb- too -rrb- short on action .


seagal is painfully foolish in trying to hold onto what 's left of his passe ' chopsocky glory .


the enjoyable undercover brother , a zany mix of saturday night live-style parody , '70s blaxploitation films and goofball action comedy gone wild , dishes out a ton of laughs that everyone can enjoy .


fantastic !


there 's not a spark of new inspiration in it , just more of the same , done with noticeably less energy and imagination .


`` red dragon '' is entertaining .


hoffman waits too long to turn his movie in an unexpected direction , and even then his tone retains a genteel , prep-school quality that feels dusty and leatherbound .


secretary is just too original to be ignored .


while cherish does n't completely survive its tonal transformation from dark comedy to suspense thriller , it 's got just enough charm and appealing character quirks to forgive that still serious problem .


the lack of naturalness makes everything seem self-consciously poetic and forced ... it 's a pity that -lrb- nelson 's -rrb- achievement does n't match his ambition .


graham greene 's novel of colonialism and empire is elevated by michael caine 's performance as a weary journalist in a changing world .


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


my big fat greek wedding is not only the best date movie of the year , it 's also a -- dare i say it twice -- delightfully charming -- and totally american , i might add -- slice of comedic bliss .


an off-beat and fanciful film about the human need for monsters to blame for all that is amiss in the world .


this thing works on no level whatsoever for me .


a selection of scenes in search of a movie .


one of the most gloriously unsubtle and adrenalized extreme shockers since the evil dead .


we do get the distinct impression that this franchise is drawing to a close .


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


in the end , the weight of water comes to resemble the kind of soft-core twaddle you 'd expect to see on showtime 's ` red shoe diaries . '


meticulously uncovers a trail of outrageous force and craven concealment .


even if the ring has a familiar ring , it 's still unusually crafty and intelligent for hollywood horror .


time is a beautiful film to watch , an interesting and at times captivating take on loss and loneliness .


a moving and weighty depiction of one family 's attempts to heal after the death of a child .


it 's replaced by some dramatic scenes that are jarring and deeply out of place in what could have -lrb- and probably should have -rrb- been a lighthearted comedy .


even if you do n't understand what on earth is going on , this is a movie that will stimulate hours of post viewing discussion , if only to be reminded of who did what to whom and why .


... watching it was painful .


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


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


wait to see it then .


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


does a good job of establishing a time and place , and of telling a fascinating character 's story .


it 's supposed to be a romantic comedy - it suffers from too much norma rae and not enough pretty woman .


tries to work in the same vein as the brilliance of animal house but instead comes closer to the failure of the third revenge of the nerds sequel .


for those who pride themselves on sophisticated , discerning taste , this might not seem like the proper cup of tea , however it is almost guaranteed that even the stuffiest cinema goers will laugh their \*\*\* off for an hour-and-a-half .


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


disney again ransacks its archives for a quick-buck sequel .


payami tries to raise some serious issues about iran 's electoral process , but the result is a film that 's about as subtle as a party political broadcast .


one of the most incoherent features in recent memory .


a wry , affectionate delight .


brosnan gives a portrayal as solid and as perfect as his outstanding performance as bond in die another day .


the problem with the mayhem in formula 51 is not that it 's offensive , but that it 's boring .


a three-hour cinema master class .


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


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


caruso sometimes descends into sub-tarantino cuteness ... but for the most part he makes sure the salton sea works the way a good noir should , keeping it tight and nasty .


the rest of the film ... is dudsville .


brutally honest and told with humor and poignancy , which makes its message resonate .


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


director uwe boll and writer robert dean klein fail to generate any interest in an unsympathetic hero caught up in an intricate plot that while cleverly worked out , can not overcome blah characters .


the metaphors are provocative , but too often , the viewer is left puzzled by the mechanics of the delivery .


works better in the conception than it does in the execution ... winds up seeming just a little too clever .


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


a bold -lrb- and lovely -rrb- experiment that will almost certainly bore most audiences into their own brightly colored dreams .


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


if any of them list this ` credit ' on their resumes in the future , that 'll be much funnier than anything in the film ...


after you laugh once -lrb- maybe twice -rrb- , you will have completely forgotten the movie by the time you get back to your car in the parking lot .


the hanukkah spirit seems fried in pork .


there are plenty of scenes in frida that do work , but rarely do they involve the title character herself .


it is scott 's convincing portrayal of roger the sad cad that really gives the film its oomph .


4ever has the same sledgehammer appeal as pokemon videos , but it breathes more on the big screen and induces headaches more slowly .


a chilling tale of one of the great crimes of 20th century france : the murder of two rich women by their servants in 1933 .


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


it 's one long bore .


if you are curious to see the darker side of what 's going on with young tv actors -lrb- dawson leery did what ?!? -rrb- , or see some interesting storytelling devices , you might want to check it out , but there 's nothing very attractive about this movie .


it has a dashing and resourceful hero ; a lisping , reptilian villain ; big fights ; big hair ; lavish period scenery ; and a story just complicated enough to let you bask in your own cleverness as you figure it out .


none of this is very original , and it is n't particularly funny .


ice age wo n't drop your jaw , but it will warm your heart , and i 'm giving it a strong thumbs up .


a tasty masala .


but it does have one saving grace .


one ca n't deny its seriousness and quality .


piccoli gives a superb performance full of deep feeling .


it 'll keep you wide awake and ... very tense .


an empty , purposeless exercise .


too bad .


rich in shadowy metaphor and as sharp as a samurai sword , jiang wen 's devils on the doorstep is a wartime farce in the alternately comic and gut-wrenching style of joseph heller or kurt vonnegut .


can be classified as one of those ` alternate reality ' movies ... except that it would have worked so much better dealing in only one reality .


despite some strong performances , never rises above the level of a telanovela .


painfully padded .


the sum of all fears is remarkably fuddled about motives and context , which drains it of the dramatic substance that would shake us in our boots -lrb- or cinema seats -rrb- .


a diverse and astonishingly articulate cast of palestinian and israeli children .


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


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


a gripping documentary that reveals how deep the antagonism lies in war-torn jerusalem .


i had a dream that a smart comedy would come along to rescue me from a summer of teen-driven , toilet-humor codswallop , and its name was earnest .


a delightful surprise because despite all the backstage drama , this is a movie that tells stories that work -- is charming , is moving , is funny and looks professional .


for all the wit and hoopla , festival in cannes offers rare insight into the structure of relationships .


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


` anyone with a passion for cinema , and indeed sex , should see it as soon as possible . '


a refreshing change from the usual whoopee-cushion effort aimed at the youth market .


... an interesting slice of history .


for dance completists only .


it has the air of a surprisingly juvenile lark , a pop-influenced prank whose charms are immediately apparent and wear thin with repetition .


it 's uninteresting .


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


a tone poem of transgression .


seemingly a vehicle to showcase the canadian 's inane ramblings , stealing harvard is a smorgasbord of soliloquies about nothing delivered by the former mr. drew barrymore .


confusion is one of my least favourite emotions , especially when i have to put up with 146 minutes of it .


road to perdition does display greatness , and it 's worth seeing .


ultimately , sarah 's dedication to finding her husband seems more psychotic than romantic , and nothing in the movie makes a convincing case that one woman 's broken heart outweighs all the loss we witness .


an intense and effective film about loneliness and the chilly anonymity of the environments where so many of us spend so much of our time .


one of the worst movies of the year .


like a soft drink that 's been sitting open too long : it 's too much syrup and not enough fizz .


too bad writer-director adam rifkin situates it all in a plot as musty as one of the golden eagle 's carpets .


it has more in common with a fireworks display than a movie , which normally is expected to have characters and a storyline .


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


manages to delight without much of a story .


... an hour-and-a-half of inoffensive , unmemorable filler .


may take its sweet time to get wherever it 's going , but if you have the patience for it , you wo n't feel like it 's wasted yours .


ultimately , the film never recovers from the clumsy cliché of the ugly american abroad , and the too-frosty exterior ms. paltrow employs to authenticate her british persona is another liability .


in the book-on-tape market , the film of `` the kid stays in the picture '' would be an abridged edition


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


high crimes is a cinematic misdemeanor , a routine crime thriller remarkable only for its lack of logic and misuse of two fine actors , morgan freeman and ashley judd .


the project 's filmmakers forgot to include anything even halfway scary as they poorly rejigger fatal attraction into a high school setting .


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


... one of the most entertaining monster movies in ages ...


an infinitely wittier version of the home alone formula .


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


succeeds where its recent predecessor miserably fails because it demands that you suffer the dreadfulness of war from both sides .


fontaine masterfully creates a portrait of two strong men in conflict , inextricably entwined through family history , each seeing himself in the other , neither liking what he sees .


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


seemingly disgusted with the lazy material and the finished product 's unshapely look , director fisher stevens inexplicably dips key moments from the film in waking life water colors .


it 's also curious to note that this film , like the similarly ill-timed antitrust , is easily as bad at a fraction the budget .


do n't let the subtitles fool you ; the movie only proves that hollywood no longer has a monopoly on mindless action .


the only type of lives this glossy comedy-drama resembles are ones in formulaic mainstream movies .


fulford-wierzbicki ... deftly captures the wise-beyond-her-years teen .


you see the movie and you think , zzzzzzzzz .


much of this slick and sprightly cgi feature is sufficiently funny to amuse even the most resolutely unreligious parents who escort their little ones to megaplex screenings .


a tightly directed , highly professional film that 's old-fashioned in all the best possible ways .


confessions is without a doubt a memorable directorial debut from king hunk .


best enjoyed as a work of fiction inspired by real-life events .


this is a heartfelt story ... it just is n't a very involving one .


schnitzler does a fine job contrasting the sleekness of the film 's present with the playful paranoia of the film 's past . '


george clooney , in his first directorial effort , presents this utterly ridiculous shaggy dog story as one of the most creative , energetic and original comedies to hit the screen in years .


` martin lawrence live ' is so self-pitying , i almost expected there to be a collection taken for the comedian at the end of the show .


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


if oscar had a category called best bad film you thought was going to be really awful but was n't , guys would probably be duking it out with the queen of the damned for the honor .


anyone else who may , for whatever reason , be thinking about going to see this movie is hereby given fair warning .


i could n't help but feel the wasted potential of this slapstick comedy .


the latest vapid actor 's exercise to appropriate the structure of arthur schnitzler 's reigen .


majidi 's direction has never been smoother or more confident .


there 's only one way to kill michael myers for good : stop buying tickets to these movies .


fear permeates the whole of stortelling , todd solondz ' oftentimes funny , yet ultimately cowardly autocritique .


falsehoods pile up , undermining the movie 's reality and stifling its creator 's comic voice .


bland but harmless .


like leafing through an album of photos accompanied by the sketchiest of captions .


judd 's characters ought to pick up the durable best seller smart women , foolish choices for advice .


the criticism never rises above easy , cynical potshots at morally bankrupt characters ...


adolescents will be adequately served by the movie 's sophomoric blend of shenanigans and slapstick , although the more lascivious-minded might be disappointed in the relative modesty of a movie that sports a ` topless tutorial service . '


about the best thing you could say about narc is that it 's a rock-solid little genre picture .


an unbelievably stupid film , though occasionally fun enough to make you forget its absurdity .


star\/producer salma hayek and director julie taymor have infused frida with a visual style unique and inherent to the titular character 's paintings and in the process created a masterful work of art of their own .


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


to build a feel-good fantasy around a vain dictator-madman is off-putting , to say the least , not to mention inappropriate and wildly undeserved .


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


judith and zaza 's extended bedroom sequence ... is so intimate and sensual and funny and psychologically self-revealing that it makes most of what passes for sex in the movies look like cheap hysterics .


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


this is the kind of movie during which you want to bang your head on the seat in front of you , at its cluelessness , at its idiocy , at its utterly misplaced earnestness .


its appeal will probably limited to lds church members and undemanding armchair tourists .


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


the determination of pinochet 's victims to seek justice , and their often heartbreaking testimony , spoken directly into director patricio guzman 's camera , pack a powerful emotional wallop .


a beautiful , timeless and universal tale of heated passions -- jealousy , betrayal , forgiveness and murder .


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


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


disjointed parody .


typical animé , with cheapo animation -lrb- like saturday morning tv in the '60s -rrb- , a complex sword-and-sorcery plot and characters who all have big round eyes and japanese names .


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


the plot is nothing but boilerplate clichés from start to finish , and the script assumes that not only would subtlety be lost on the target audience , but that it 's also too stupid to realize that they 've already seen this exact same movie a hundred times


twenty years later , e.t. is still a cinematic touchstone .


angela gheorghiu as famous prima donna floria tosca , roberto alagna as her lover mario cavaradossi , and ruggero as the villainous , lecherous police chief scarpia , all sing beautifully and act adequately .


gondry 's direction is adequate ... but what gives human nature its unique feel is kaufman 's script .


though this rude and crude film does deliver a few gut-busting laughs , its digs at modern society are all things we 've seen before .


one of the most exciting action films to come out of china in recent years .


glizty but formulaic and silly ... cagney 's ` top of the world ' has been replaced by the bottom of the barrel .


makes a joke out of car chases for an hour and then gives us half an hour of car chases .


-lrb- a -rrb- soulless , stupid sequel ...


with a large cast representing a broad cross-section , tavernier 's film bounds along with the rat-a-tat energy of `` his girl friday , '' maintaining a light touch while tackling serious themes .


unpretentious , charming , quirky , original


humorless , self-conscious art drivel , made without a glimmer of intelligence or invention .


told just proficiently enough to trounce its overly comfortable trappings .


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


any movie that makes hard work seem heroic deserves a look .


it 's a thin notion , repetitively stretched out to feature length , awash in self-consciously flashy camera effects , droning house music and flat , flat dialogue .


a dull , dumb and derivative horror film .


how about surprising us by trying something new ?


an energetic , violent movie with a momentum that never lets up .


even by the intentionally low standards of frat-boy humor , sorority boys is a bowser .


an affable but undernourished romantic comedy that fails to match the freshness of the actress-producer and writer 's previous collaboration , miss congeniality .


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


caviezel embodies the transformation of his character completely .


i found it slow , predictable and not very amusing .


see it .


as played by ryan gosling , danny is a frighteningly fascinating contradiction .


the movie spends more time with schneider than with newcomer mcadams , even though her performance is more interesting -lrb- and funnier -rrb- than his .


oh , and more entertaining , too .


the genius of the work speaks volumes , offering up a hallucinatory dreamscape that frustrates and captivates .


austin powers for the most part is extremely funny , the first part making up for any flaws that come later .


a worthy addition to the cinematic canon , which , at last count , numbered 52 different versions .


if you like blood , guts and crazy beasts stalking men with guns though ... you will likely enjoy this monster .


it is a popcorn film , not a must-own , or even a must-see .


how inept is serving sara ?


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


-lrb- caine -rrb- proves once again he has n't lost his touch , bringing off a superb performance in an admittedly middling film .


a vibrant whirlwind of love , family and all that goes with it , my big fat greek wedding is a non-stop funny feast of warmth , colour and cringe .


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


like a skillful fisher , the director uses the last act to reel in the audience since its poignancy hooks us completely .


but once the falcon arrives in the skies above manhattan , the adventure is on red alert .


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


this is n't a new idea .


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


that haynes can both maintain and dismantle the facades that his genre and his character construct is a wonderous accomplishment of veracity and narrative grace .


just bring on the battle bots , please !


but first , you have to give the audience a reason to want to put for that effort


for all the dolorous trim , secretary is a genial romance that maintains a surprisingly buoyant tone throughout , notwithstanding some of the writers ' sporadic dips into pop freudianism .


a bright , inventive , thoroughly winning flight of revisionist fancy .


just about the surest bet for an all-around good time at the movies this summer .


those of you who are not an eighth grade girl will most likely doze off during this one .


a rambling ensemble piece with loosely connected characters and plots that never quite gel .


greg kinnear gives a mesmerizing performance as a full-fledged sex addict who is in complete denial about his obsessive behavior .


this action-thriller\/dark comedy is one of the most repellent things to pop up in a cinematic year already littered with celluloid garbage .


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


the movie is the equivalent of french hip-hop , which also seems to play on a 10-year delay .


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


the film ... presents classic moral-condundrum drama : what would you have done to survive ?


both shrill and soporific , and because everything is repeated five or six times , it can seem tiresomely simpleminded .


a rich tale of our times , very well told with an appropriate minimum of means .


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


the four feathers has rewards , from the exoticism of its seas of sand to the fierce grandeur of its sweeping battle scenes .


there 's a delightfully quirky movie to be made from curling , but brooms is n't it .


i suspect that there are more interesting ways of dealing with the subject .


a very good film sits in the place where a masterpiece should be .


changing lanes is an anomaly for a hollywood movie ; it 's a well-written and occasionally challenging social drama that actually has something interesting to say .


... flat-out amusing , sometimes endearing and often fabulous , with a solid cast , noteworthy characters , delicious dialogue and a wide supply of effective sight gags .


passionate , irrational , long-suffering but cruel as a tarantula , helga figures prominently in this movie , and helps keep the proceedings as funny for grown-ups as for rugrats .


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


the story 's scope and pageantry are mesmerizing , and mr. day-lewis roars with leonine power .


one problem with the movie , directed by joel schumacher , is that it jams too many prefabricated story elements into the running time .


barely manages for but a few seconds over its seemingly eternal running time to pique your interest , your imagination , your empathy or anything , really , save your disgust and your indifference .


the story the movie tells is of brian de palma 's addiction to the junk-calorie suspense tropes that have all but ruined his career .


miyazaki has created such a vibrant , colorful world , it 's almost impossible not to be swept away by the sheer beauty of his images .


it 's not a bad premise , just a bad movie .


when one hears harry shearer is going to make his debut as a film director , one would hope for the best


if you enjoy being rewarded by a script that assumes you are n't very bright , then blood work is for you .


great dragons !


the powerful success of read my lips with such provocative material shows why , after only three films , director\/co-writer jacques audiard , though little known in this country , belongs in the very top rank of french filmmakers .


most fish stories are a little peculiar , but this is one that should be thrown back in the river .


a word of advice to the makers of the singles ward : celebrity cameos do not automatically equal laughs .


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


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


pratfalls aside , barbershop gets its greatest play from the timeless spectacle of people really talking to each other .


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


kids should have a stirring time at this beautifully drawn movie .


an unfortunate title for a film that has nothing endearing about it .


david spade as citizen kane ?


director tom dey demonstrated a knack for mixing action and idiosyncratic humor in his charming 2000 debut shanghai noon , but showtime 's uninspired send-up of tv cop show cliches mostly leaves him shooting blanks .


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


like kubrick , soderbergh is n't afraid to try any genre and to do it his own way .


the very definition of what critics have come to term an `` ambitious failure . ''


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


at times auto focus feels so distant you might as well be watching it through a telescope .


a brutally dry satire of middle american numbness .


it is philosophy , illustrated through everyday events .


this is one of the year 's best films .


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


sounding like arnold schwarzenegger , with a physique to match , -lrb- ahola -rrb- has a wooden delivery and encounters a substantial arc of change that does n't produce any real transformation .


the strength of the film lies in its two central performances by sven wollter as the stricken composer and viveka seldahl as his desperate violinist wife .


absorbing character study by andré turpin .


unfortunately , that 's precisely what arthur dong 's family fundamentals does .


instead , she sees it as a chance to revitalize what is and always has been remarkable about clung-to traditions .


an odd drama set in the world of lingerie models and bar dancers in the midwest that held my interest precisely because it did n't try to .


a headline-fresh thriller set among orthodox jews on the west bank , joseph cedar 's time of favor manages not only to find a compelling dramatic means of addressing a complex situation , it does so without compromising that complexity .


the way home is an ode to unconditional love and compassion garnered from years of seeing it all , a condition only the old are privy to , and ... often misconstrued as weakness .


a rude black comedy about the catalytic effect a holy fool has upon those around him in the cutthroat world of children 's television .


despite its lavish formalism and intellectual austerity , the film manages to keep you at the edge of your seat with its shape-shifting perils , political intrigue and brushes with calamity .


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


so we got ten little indians meets friday the 13th by way of clean and sober , filmed on the set of carpenter 's the thing and loaded with actors you 're most likely to find on the next inevitable incarnation of the love boat .


with its lackadaisical plotting and mindless action , all about the benjamins evokes the bottom tier of blaxploitation flicks from the 1970s .


among the many pleasures are the lively intelligence of the artists and their perceptiveness about their own situations .


a reminder that beyond all the hype and recent digital glitz , spielberg knows how to tell us about people .


collapses under its own meager weight .


does n't deserve a passing grade -lrb- even on a curve -rrb- .


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


at once disarmingly straightforward and strikingly devious .


if you 're looking for a smart , nuanced look at de sade and what might have happened at picpus , sade is your film .


i do n't blame eddie murphy but should n't owen wilson know a movie must have a story and a script ?


a manipulative feminist empowerment tale thinly posing as a serious drama about spousal abuse .


this in-depth study of important developments of the computer industry should make it required viewing in university computer science departments for years to come .


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


this is one of those war movies that focuses on human interaction rather than battle and action sequences ... and it 's all the stronger because of it .


so devoid of pleasure or sensuality that it can not even be dubbed hedonistic .


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


here 's a case of two actors who do everything humanly possible to create characters who are sweet and believable , and are defeated by a screenplay that forces them into bizarre , implausible behavior .


`` catch me '' feels capable of charming the masses with star power , a pop-induced score and sentimental moments that have become a spielberg trademark .


`` solaris '' is a shapeless inconsequential move relying on the viewer to do most of the work .


-lrb- t -rrb- his slop does n't even have potential as a cult film , as it 's too loud to shout insults at the screen .


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


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


pacino and williams seem to keep upping the ante on each other , just as their characters do in the film .


this is n't a movie ; it 's a symptom .


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


half past dead is just such an achievement .


on its own , it 's not very interesting .


ignore the reputation , and ignore the film .


the performances of the children , untrained in acting , have an honesty and dignity that breaks your heart .


peter jackson has done the nearly impossible .


the movie enters a realm where few non-porn films venture , and comes across as darkly funny , energetic , and surprisingly gentle .


director chris wedge and screenwriters michael berg , michael j. wilson and peter ackerman create some episodes that rival vintage looney tunes for the most creative mayhem in a brief amount of time .


and it 's not that funny -- which is just generally insulting .


evokes the style and flash of the double-cross that made mamet 's `` house of games '' and last fall 's `` heist '' so much fun .


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


one of the most original american productions this year , you 'll find yourself remembering this refreshing visit to a sunshine state .


the more you think about the movie , the more you will probably like it .


some like it hot on the hardwood proves once again that a man in drag is not in and of himself funny .


there 's a lot of tooth in roger dodger .


a brutal and funny work .


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


we never feel anything for these characters , and as a result the film is basically just a curiosity .


director shekhar kapur and screenwriters michael schiffer and hossein amini have tried hard to modernize and reconceptualize things , but the barriers finally prove to be too great .


melds derivative elements into something that is often quite rich and exciting , and always a beauty to behold .


it 's like going to a house party and watching the host defend himself against a frothing ex-girlfriend .


a great companion piece to other napoleon films .


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


however , it 's pleasant enough and its ecological , pro-wildlife sentiments are certainly welcome .


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


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


it has plenty of laughs .


beautifully crafted , engaging filmmaking that should attract upscale audiences hungry for quality and a nostalgic , twisty yarn that will keep them guessing .


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


transcends its agenda to deliver awe-inspiring , at times sublime , visuals and offer a fascinating glimpse into the subculture of extreme athletes whose derring-do puts the x into the games .


-lrb- denis ' -rrb- bare-bones narrative more closely resembles an outline for a '70s exploitation picture than the finished product .


snipes is both a snore and utter tripe .


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


not only is entry number twenty the worst of the brosnan bunch , it 's one of the worst of the entire franchise .


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


stephen earnhart 's documentary is a decomposition of healthy eccentric inspiration and ambition -- wearing a cloak of unsentimental , straightforward text -- when it 's really an exercise in gross romanticization of the delusional personality type .


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


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


a droll , bitchy frolic which pokes fun at the price of popularity and small-town pretension in the lone star state .


full of surprises .


whether or not ram dass proves as clear and reliable an authority on that as he was about inner consciousness , fierce grace reassures us that he will once again be an honest and loving one .


the whole thing 's fairly lame , making it par for the course for disney sequels .


vividly demonstrates that the director of such hollywood blockbusters as patriot games can still turn out a small , personal film with an emotional wallop .


one of the best rock documentaries ever .


as david letterman and the onion have proven , the worst of tragedies can be fertile sources of humor , but lawrence has only a fleeting grasp of how to develop them .


somehow ms. griffiths and mr. pryce bring off this wild welsh whimsy .


if the film 's vision of sport as a secular religion is a bit cloying , its through-line of family and community is heartening in the same way that each season marks a new start .


while somewhat less than it might have been , the film is a good one , and you 've got to hand it to director george clooney for biting off such a big job the first time out .


if anything , the film is doing something of a public service -- shedding light on a group of extremely talented musicians who might otherwise go unnoticed and underappreciated by music fans .


boasting some of the most poorly staged and lit action in memory , impostor is as close as you can get to an imitation movie .


claude chabrol 's camera has a way of gently swaying back and forth as it cradles its characters , veiling tension beneath otherwise tender movements .


the crassness of this reactionary thriller is matched only by the ridiculousness of its premise .


anyone who welcomes a dash of the avant-garde fused with their humor should take pleasure in this crazed , joyous romp of a film .


it 's about as convincing as any other arnie musclefest , but has a little too much resonance with real world events and ultimately comes off as insultingly simplistic .


nothing more or less than an outright bodice-ripper -- it should have ditched the artsy pretensions and revelled in the entertaining shallows .


precocious smarter-than-thou wayward teen struggles to rebel against his oppressive , right-wing , propriety-obsessed family .


` unfaithful ' cheats on itself and retreats to comfortable territory .


yes , spirited away is a triumph of imagination , but it 's also a failure of storytelling .


much of the digitally altered footage appears jagged , as if filmed directly from a television monitor , while the extensive use of stock footage quickly becomes a tiresome cliché .


the fluid motion is astounding on any number of levels -- including the physical demands made on büttner -- and it implies in its wake the intractable , irreversible flow of history .


derailed by bad writing and possibly also by some of that extensive post-production reworking to aim the film at young males in the throes of their first full flush of testosterone .


i like it .


birot creates a drama with such a well-defined sense of place and age -- as in , 15 years old -- that the torments and angst become almost as operatic to us as they are to her characters .


` god help us , but capra and cooper are rolling over in their graves . '


poignant japanese epic about adolescent anomie and heartbreak .


a little uneven to be the cat 's meow , but it 's good enough to be the purr .


-lrb- there 's -rrb- quite a bit of heart , as you would expect from the directors of the little mermaid and aladdin .


it 's a hoot watching the rock chomp on jumbo ants , pull an arrow out of his back , and leap unscathed through raging fire !


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


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


it makes me feel weird \/ thinking about all the bad things in the world \/ like puppies with broken legs \/ and butterflies that die \/ and movies starring pop queens


a brilliant , absurd collection of vignettes that , in their own idiosyncratic way , sum up the strange horror of life in the new millennium .


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


this is n't a stand up and cheer flick ; it 's a sit down and ponder affair .


this story still seems timely and important .


a sloppy , amusing comedy that proceeds from a stunningly unoriginal premise .


jae-eun jeong 's take care of my cat brings a beguiling freshness to a coming-of-age story with such a buoyant , expressive flow of images that it emerges as another key contribution to the flowering of the south korean cinema .


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


like the english patient and the unbearable lightness of being , the hours is one of those reputedly `` unfilmable '' novels that has bucked the odds to emerge as an exquisite motion picture in its own right .


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


-lrb- f -rrb- rom the performances and the cinematography to the outstanding soundtrack and unconventional narrative , the film is blazingly alive and admirable on many levels .


it 's bedeviled by labored writing and slack direction .


it is too bad that this likable movie is n't more accomplished .


quiet , adult and just about more stately than any contemporary movie this year ... a true study , a film with a questioning heart and mind that is n't afraid to admit it does n't have all the answers .


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


you can not guess why the cast and crew did n't sign a pact to burn the negative and the script and pretend the whole thing never existed .


feel free to go get popcorn whenever he 's not onscreen .


definitely funny stuff , but it 's more of the ` laughing at ' variety than the ` laughing with . '


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


plays like an unbalanced mixture of graphic combat footage and almost saccharine domestic interludes that are pure hollywood .


the increasingly diverse french director has created a film that one can honestly describe as looking , sounding and simply feeling like no other film in recent history .


the film is a confusing melange of tones and styles , one moment a romantic trifle and the next a turgid drama .


lush and beautifully photographed -lrb- somebody suggested the stills might make a nice coffee table book -rrb- , but ultimately you 'll leave the theater wondering why these people mattered .


instead of using george and lucy 's most obvious differences to ignite sparks , lawrence desperately looks elsewhere , seizing on george 's haplessness and lucy 's personality tics .


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


one of the most splendid entertainments to emerge from the french film industry in years .


the piano teacher , like its title character , is repellantly out of control .


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


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


too campy to work as straight drama and too violent and sordid to function as comedy , vulgar is , truly and thankfully , a one-of-a-kind work .


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


visually breathtaking , viscerally exciting , and dramatically moving , it 's the very definition of epic adventure .


full frontal had no effect and elicited no sympathies for any of the characters .


the movie is n't painfully bad , something to be ` fully experienced ' ; it 's just tediously bad , something to be fully forgotten .


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


devolves into the derivative , leaning on badly-rendered cgi effects .


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


remember back when thrillers actually thrilled ?


perhaps even the slc high command found writer-director mitch davis 's wall of kitsch hard going .


the acting is fine but the script is about as interesting as a recording of conversations at the wal-mart checkout line .


writer\/director alexander payne -lrb- election -rrb- and his co-writer jim taylor brilliantly employ their quirky and fearless ability to look american angst in the eye and end up laughing .


if you can push on through the slow spots , you 'll be rewarded with some fine acting .


chris columbus ' sequel is faster , livelier and a good deal funnier than his original .


this is the stuff that disney movies are made of .


what 's invigorating about it is that it does n't give a damn .


it 's difficult to conceive of anyone who has reached puberty actually finding the characters in slackers or their antics amusing , let alone funny .


the film is a verbal duel between two gifted performers .


it 's makes a better travelogue than movie .


it 's a masterpiece .


been there , done that , liked it much better the first time around - when it was called the professional .


i have to admit i walked out of runteldat .


a movie so bad that it quickly enters the pantheon of wreckage that includes battlefield earth and showgirls .


-- but it makes for one of the most purely enjoyable and satisfying evenings at the movies i 've had in a while .


the unexplored story opportunities of `` punch-drunk love '' may have worked against the maker 's minimalist intent but it is an interesting exercise by talented writer\/director anderson .


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


if cinema had been around to capture the chaos of france in the 1790 's , one imagines the result would look like something like this .


this quiet , introspective and entertaining independent is worth seeking .


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


what `` empire '' lacks in depth it makes up for with its heart .


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


this starts off with a 1950 's doris day feel and it gets very ugly , very fast .


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


a lot like the imaginary sport it projects onto the screen -- loud , violent and mindless .


all in all , a great party .


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


-lrb- seems -rrb- even more uselessly redundant and shamelessly money-grubbing than most third-rate horror sequels .


credit director ramsay for taking the sometimes improbable story and making it feel realistic .


it 's a feel-bad ending for a depressing story that throws a bunch of hot-button items in the viewer 's face and asks to be seen as hip , winking social commentary .


it 's just that it 's so not-at-all-good .


-lrb- l -rrb- ame and unnecessary .


while centered on the life experiences of a particular theatrical family , this marvelous documentary touches -- ever so gracefully -- on the entire history of the yiddish theater , both in america and israel .


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


... the kind of movie you see because the theater has air conditioning .


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


it 's bright , pristine style and bold colors make it as much fun as reading an oversized picture book before bedtime .


imagine kevin smith , the blasphemous bad boy of suburban jersey , if he were stripped of most of his budget and all of his sense of humor .


see scratch for the history , see scratch for the music , see scratch for a lesson in scratching , but , most of all , see it for the passion .


always destined to be measured against anthony asquith 's acclaimed 1952 screen adaptation .


try this obscenely bad dark comedy , so crass that it makes edward burns ' sidewalks of new york look like oscar wilde .


hoffman 's performance is authentic to the core of his being .


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


the artwork is spectacular and unlike most animaton from japan , the characters move with grace and panache .


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


nothing more than a widget cranked out on an assembly line to see if stupid americans will get a kick out of goofy brits with cute accents performing ages-old slapstick and unfunny tricks .


bad and baffling from the get-go .


the obnoxious special effects , the obligatory outbursts of flatulence and the incessant , so-five-minutes-ago pop music on the soundtrack overwhelm what is left of the scruffy , dopey old hanna-barbera charm .


the filmmakers try to balance pointed , often incisive satire and unabashed sweetness , with results that are sometimes bracing , sometimes baffling and quite often , and in unexpected ways , touching .


harmless fun .


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


feeling to it , but like the 1920 's , the trip there is a great deal of fun .


unsurprisingly , the way this all works out makes the women look more like stereotypical caretakers and moral teachers , instead of serious athletes .


eight legged freaks is clever and funny , is amused by its special effects , and leaves you feeling like you 've seen a movie instead of an endless trailer .


the bottom line is the piece works brilliantly .


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


tends to plod .


pleasant but not more than recycled jock piffle .


indeed , the more outrageous bits achieve a shock-you-into-laughter intensity of almost dadaist proportions .


the one-liners are snappy , the situations volatile and the comic opportunities richly rewarded .


stupid , infantile , redundant , sloppy , over-the-top , and amateurish .


the film grows on you .


though its story is only surface deep , the visuals and enveloping sounds of blue crush make this surprisingly decent flick worth a summertime look-see .


this chicago has hugely imaginative and successful casting to its great credit , as well as one terrific score and attitude to spare .


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


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


this odd , distant portuguese import more or less borrows from bad lieutenant and les vampires , and comes up with a kind of art-house gay porn film .


during the tuxedo 's 90 minutes of screen time , there is n't one true ` chan moment ' .


it 's mildly sentimental , unabashedly consumerist ... studiously inoffensive and completely disposable .


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


... pays tribute to heroes the way julia roberts hands out awards -- with phony humility barely camouflaging grotesque narcissism .


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


before long , you 're desperate for the evening to end .


watchable up until the point where the situations and the dialogue spin hopelessly out of control -- that is to say , when carol kane appears on the screen .


`` red dragon '' never cuts corners .


an ambitious movie that , like shiner 's organizing of the big fight , pulls off enough of its effects to make up for the ones that do n't come off .


although shot with little style , skins is heartfelt and achingly real .


it looks good , but it is essentially empty .


young everlyn sampi , as the courageous molly craig , simply radiates star-power potential in this remarkable and memorable film .


a knowing sense of humor and a lot of warmth ignite son of the bride .


sure , i hated myself in the morning .


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


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


it 's a great performance and a reminder of dickens ' grandeur .


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


a movie where story is almost an afterthought amidst a swirl of colors and inexplicable events .


real women may have many agendas , but it also will win you over , in a big way .


what i saw , i enjoyed .


lazily and glumly settles into a most traditional , reserved kind of filmmaking .


it appears as if even the filmmakers did n't know what kind of movie they were making .


the dangerous lives of altar boys ' take on adolescence feels painfully true .


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


at its best , this is grand-scale moviemaking for a larger-than-life figure , an artist who has been awarded mythic status in contemporary culture .


there are some movies that hit you from the first scene and you know it 's going to be a trip .


i 'm not sure these words have ever been together in the same sentence : this erotic cannibal movie is boring .


maybe you 'll be lucky , and there 'll be a power outage during your screening so you can get your money back .


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


... unbearably lame .


certainly not a good movie , but it was n't horrible either .


where the film falters is in its tone .


this film biggest problem ?


this is a movie that is what it is : a pleasant distraction , a friday night diversion , an excuse to eat popcorn .


the gags are often a stitch .


the complex , politically charged tapestry of contemporary chinese life this exciting new filmmaker has brought to the screen is like nothing we westerners have seen before .


the sinister inspiration that fuelled devito 's early work is confused in death to smoochy into something both ugly and mindless .


-lrb- shyamalan -rrb- continues to cut a swathe through mainstream hollywood , while retaining an integrity and refusing to compromise his vision .


as averse as i usually am to feel-good , follow-your-dream hollywood fantasies , this one got to me .


you 'll know a star when you see one .


sorority boys , which is as bad at it is cruel , takes every potential laugh and stiletto-stomps the life out of it .


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


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


horrible .


grating and tedious .


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


better effects , better acting and a hilarious kenneth branagh .


it 's too interested in jerking off in all its byzantine incarnations to bother pleasuring its audience .


none of this so-called satire has any sting to it , as if woody is afraid of biting the hand that has finally , to some extent , warmed up to him .


a keep - 'em - guessing plot and an affectionate take on its screwed-up characters .


a prison comedy that never really busts out of its comfy little cell .


an elegant and sly deadpan comedy .


neither as scary-funny as tremors nor demented-funny as starship troopers , the movie is n't tough to take as long as you 've paid a matinee price .


the delicious trimmings ... arrive early and stay late , filling nearly every minute ... with a lighthearted glow , some impudent snickers , and a glorious dose of humankind 's liberating ability to triumph over a scrooge or two .


the movie is a dud .


unfolds in a low-key , organic way that encourages you to accept it as life and go with its flow .


does n't do more than expand a tv show to movie length .


one of the best movies of the year .


by applying definition to both sides of the man , the picture realizes a fullness that does not negate the subject .


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


once the downward spiral comes to pass , auto focus bears out as your typical junkie opera ...


` butterfingered ' is the word for the big-fisted direction of jez butterworth , who manages to blast even the smallest sensitivities from the romance with his clamorous approach .


cal is an unpleasantly shallow and immature character with whom to spend 110 claustrophobic minutes .


berry 's saucy , full-bodied performance gives this aging series a much needed kick , making `` die another day '' one of the most entertaining bonds in years


despite the film 's bizarre developments , hoffman keeps us riveted with every painful nuance , unexpected flashes of dark comedy and the character 's gripping humanity .


if you love reading and\/or poetry , then by all means check it out .


driven by a fantastic dual performance from ian holm ... the film is funny , insightfully human and a delightful lark for history buffs .


douglas mcgrath 's nicholas nickleby does dickens as it should be done cinematically .


diane lane 's sophisticated performance ca n't rescue adrian lyne 's unfaithful from its sleazy moralizing .


simply put , `` far from heaven '' is a masterpiece .


shot in rich , shadowy black-and-white , devils chronicles , with increasingly amused irony , the relationship between reluctant captors and befuddled captives .


mcgrath has deftly trimmed dickens ' wonderfully sprawling soap opera , the better to focus on the hero 's odyssey from cowering poverty to courage and happiness .


anyone who suffers through this film deserves , at the very least , a big box of consolation candy .


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


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


it 's a fun adventure movie for kids -lrb- of all ages -rrb- that like adventure .


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


limps along on a squirm-inducing fish-out-of-water formula that goes nowhere and goes there very , very slowly .


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


consistently clever and suspenseful .


this is an ungainly movie , ill-fitting , with its elbows sticking out where the knees should be .


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


... if you , like me , think an action film disguised as a war tribute is disgusting to begin with , then you 're in for a painful ride .


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


one funny popcorn flick .


bad company has one of the most moronic screenplays of the year , full of holes that will be obvious even to those who are n't looking for them .


i 'd be hard pressed to think of a film more cloyingly sappy than evelyn this year .


a gem of a romantic crime comedy that turns out to be clever , amusing and unpredictable .


smith finds amusing juxtapositions that justify his exercise .


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


it 's that rare family movie -- genuine and sweet without relying on animation or dumb humor .


hollywood ending is the most disappointing woody allen movie ever .


it 's mildly amusing , but i certainly ca n't recommend it .


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


formula 51 promises a new kind of high but delivers the same old bad trip .


what madonna does here ca n't properly be called acting -- more accurately , it 's moving and it 's talking and it 's occasionally gesturing , sometimes all at once .


rifkin 's references are ... impeccable throughout .


the director explores all three sides of his story with a sensitivity and an inquisitiveness reminiscent of truffaut .


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


an enjoyable comedy of lingual and cultural differences ... the château is a film -- full of life and small delights -- that has all the wiggling energy of young kitten .


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


something must have been lost in the translation .


witty , contemplative , and sublimely beautiful .


foster and whitaker are especially fine .


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


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


an earnest , roughshod document , it serves as a workable primer for the region 's recent history , and would make a terrific 10th-grade learning tool .


a conventional but heartwarming tale .


a sly female empowerment movie , although not in a way anyone would expect .


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


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


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


the formula is familiar but enjoyable .


its screenplay serves as auto-critique , and its clumsiness as its own most damning censure .


less an examination of neo-nazism than a probe into the nature of faith itself .


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


just is n't as weird as it ought to be .


if you love the music , and i do , its hard to imagine having more fun watching a documentary ...


watching queen of the damned is like reading a research paper , with special effects tossed in .


stinks from start to finish , like a wet burlap sack of gloom .


the merchant-ivory team continues to systematically destroy everything we hold dear about cinema , only now it 's begun to split up so that it can do even more damage .


while there are times when the film 's reach exceeds its grasp , the production works more often than it does n't .


hugely accomplished slice of hitchcockian suspense .


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


i 'm sure there 's a teenage boy out there somewhere who 's dying for this kind of entertainment .


why sit through a crummy , wannabe-hip crime comedy that refers incessantly to old movies , when you could just rent those movies instead , let alone seek out a respectable new one ?


a thoroughly awful movie -- dumb , narratively chaotic , visually sloppy ... a weird amalgam of ` the thing ' and a geriatric ` scream . '


contains the humor , characterization , poignancy , and intelligence of a bad sitcom .


laughably , irredeemably awful .


one long , numbing action sequence made up mostly of routine stuff yuen has given us before .


together -lrb- time out and human resources -rrb- establish mr. cantet as france 's foremost cinematic poet of the workplace .


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


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


reno himself can take credit for most of the movie 's success .


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


as for children , they wo n't enjoy the movie at all .


if you saw it on tv , you 'd probably turn it off , convinced that you had already seen that movie .


while it is interesting to witness the conflict from the palestinian side , longley 's film lacks balance ... and fails to put the struggle into meaningful historical context .


journalistically dubious , inept and often lethally dull .


brilliantly written and well-acted , yellow asphalt is an uncompromising film .


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


the gags that fly at such a furiously funny pace that the only rip off that we were aware of was the one we felt when the movie ended so damned soon .


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


standing in the shadows of motown is the best kind of documentary , one that makes a depleted yesterday feel very much like a brand-new tomorrow .


a series of escapades demonstrating the adage that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander , some of which occasionally amuses but none of which amounts to much of a story .


j. lo will earn her share of the holiday box office pie , although this movie makes one thing perfectly clear : she 's a pretty woman , but she 's no working girl .


this documentary is a dazzling , remarkably unpretentious reminder of what -lrb- evans -rrb- had , lost , and got back .


their work is fantastic .


much of the movie 's charm lies in the utter cuteness of stuart and margolo .


looks and feels like a low-budget hybrid of scarface or carlito 's way .


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


like its script , which nurses plot holes gaping enough to pilot an entire olympic swim team through , the characters in swimfan seem motivated by nothing short of dull , brain-deadening hangover .


do we really need the tiger beat version ?


if it 's unnerving suspense you 're after -- you 'll find it with ring , an indisputably spooky film ; with a screenplay to die for .


gosling creates a staggeringly compelling character , a young man whose sharp intellect is at the very root of his contradictory , self-hating , self-destructive ways .


a beautiful paean to a time long past .


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


sheds light on a subject few are familiar with , and makes you care about music you may not have heard before .


but for the most part , the weight of water comes off as a two-way time-switching myopic mystery that stalls in its lackluster gear of emotional blandness .


and diesel is n't the actor to save it .


a feeble tootsie knockoff .


see it for his performance if nothing else .


terrific casting and solid execution give all three stories life .


the skirmishes for power waged among victims and predators settle into an undistinguished rhythm of artificial suspense .


a thriller without a lot of thrills .


yet the act is still charming here .


far more enjoyable than its predecessor .


a moving essay about the specter of death , especially suicide .


phillip noyce and all of his actors -- as well as his cinematographer , christopher doyle -- understand the delicate forcefulness of greene 's prose , and it 's there on the screen in their version of the quiet american .


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


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


even at its worst , it 's not half-bad .


... even if you 've never heard of chaplin , you 'll still be glued to the screen .


a long , dull procession of despair , set to cello music culled from a minimalist funeral .


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


most of the dialogue made me want to pack raw dough in my ears .


queen of the damned is too long with too little going on .


it ai n't art , by a long shot , but unlike last year 's lame musketeer , this dumas adaptation entertains .


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


schütte 's dramatic snapshot of the artist three days before his death offers an interesting bit of speculation as to the issues brecht faced as his life drew to a close .


would be an unendurable viewing experience for this ultra-provincial new yorker if 26-year-old reese witherspoon were not on hand to inject her pure fantasy character , melanie carmichael , with a massive infusion of old-fashioned hollywood magic .


a horror movie with seriously dumb characters , which somewhat dilutes the pleasure of watching them stalked by creepy-crawly bug things that live only in the darkness .


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


cloaks a familiar anti-feminist equation -lrb- career - kids = misery -rrb- in tiresome romantic-comedy duds .


naomi watts is terrific as rachel ; her petite frame and vulnerable persona emphasising her plight and isolation .


idiotic and ugly .


` film aficionados can not help but love cinema paradiso , whether the original version or new director 's cut . '


hard , endearing , caring , warm .


the major problem with windtalkers is that the bulk of the movie centers on the wrong character .


- greaseballs mob action-comedy .


writer and director otar iosseliani 's pleasant tale about a factory worker who escapes for a holiday in venice reveals how we all need a playful respite from the grind to refresh our souls .


a refreshingly realistic , affectation-free coming-of-age tale .


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


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


the acting is amateurish , the cinematography is atrocious , the direction is clumsy , the writing is insipid and the violence is at once luridly graphic and laughably unconvincing .


you have to see it .


pray has really done his subject justice .


woody , what happened ?


but it 's also disappointing to a certain degree .


coarse , cliched and clunky , this trifling romantic comedy in which opposites attract for no better reason than that the screenplay demands it squanders the charms of stars hugh grant and sandra bullock .


bears about as much resemblance to the experiences of most battered women as spider-man does to the experiences of most teenagers .


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


a boring masquerade ball where normally good actors , even kingsley , are made to look bad .


a semi-autobiographical film that 's so sloppily written and cast that you can not believe anyone more central to the creation of bugsy than the caterer had anything to do with it .


the skills of a calculus major at m.i.t. are required to balance all the formulaic equations in the long-winded heist comedy who is cletis tout ?


though there are entertaining and audacious moments , the movie 's wildly careening tone and an extremely flat lead performance do little to salvage this filmmaker 's flailing reputation .


efteriades gives the neighborhood -- scenery , vibe and all -- the cinematic equivalent of a big , tender hug .


two weeks notice has appeal beyond being a sandra bullock vehicle or a standard romantic comedy .


could use a little more humanity , but it never lacks in eye-popping visuals .


the leads are natural and lovely , the pace is serene , the humor wry and sprightly .


offers big , fat , dumb laughs that may make you hate yourself for giving in .


hardly a film that comes along every day .


definitely worth 95 minutes of your time .


certainly the big finish was n't something galinsky and hawley could have planned for ... but part of being a good documentarian is being there when the rope snaps .


rollerball is as bad as you think , and worse than you can imagine .


there 's the plot , and a maddeningly insistent and repetitive piano score that made me want to scream .


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


the pacing is deadly , the narration helps little and naipaul , a juicy writer , is negated .


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


this beautifully animated epic is never dull .


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


davis ... gets vivid performances from her cast and pulls off some deft ally mcbeal-style fantasy sequences .


even in the summertime , the most restless young audience deserves the dignity of an action hero motivated by something more than franchise possibilities .


a mesmerizing cinematic poem from the first frame to the last .


the setting turns out to be more interesting than any of the character dramas , which never reach satisfying conclusions .


this painfully unfunny farce traffics in tired stereotypes and encumbers itself with complications ... that have no bearing on the story .


take nothing seriously and enjoy the ride .


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


still rapturous after all these years , cinema paradiso stands as one of the great films about movie love .


be patient with the lovely hush !


the actors are simply too good , and the story too intriguing , for technical flaws to get in the way .


i 'd be lying if i said my ribcage did n't ache by the end of kung pow .


it may also be the best sex comedy about environmental pollution ever made .


an entertaining , if ultimately minor , thriller .


and the reason for that is a self-aware , often self-mocking , intelligence .


whether jason x is this bad on purpose is never clear .


all comedy is subversive , but this unrelenting bleak insistence on opting out of any opportunity for finding meaning in relationships or work just becomes sad .


the movie is concocted and carried out by folks worthy of scorn , and the nicest thing i can say is that i ca n't remember a single name responsible for it .


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


seems like something american and european gay movies were doing 20 years ago .


this is a truly , truly bad movie .


the way the roundelay of partners functions , and the interplay within partnerships and among partnerships and the general air of gator-bashing are consistently delightful .


what ` blade runner ' would 've looked like as a low-budget series on a uhf channel .


there is a difference between movies with the courage to go over the top and movies that do n't care about being stupid


an ebullient tunisian film about the startling transformation of a tradition-bound widow who is drawn into the exotic world of belly dancing .


a lovely film for the holiday season .


after one gets the feeling that the typical hollywood disregard for historical truth and realism is at work here , it 's a matter of finding entertainment in the experiences of zishe and the fiery presence of hanussen .


tadpole may be one of the most appealing movies ever made about an otherwise appalling , and downright creepy , subject -- a teenage boy in love with his stepmother .


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


the most amazing super-sized dosage of goofball stunts any `` jackass '' fan could want .


k-19 : the widowmaker is derivative , overlong , and bombastic -- yet surprisingly entertaining .


every visual joke is milked , every set-up obvious and lengthy , every punchline predictable .


by that measure , it is a failure .


rather than real figures , elling and kjell bjarne become symbolic characters whose actions are supposed to relate something about the naïf 's encounter with the world .


seeing as the film lacks momentum and its position remains mostly undeterminable , the director 's experiment is a successful one .


... a pretentious mess ...


full of flatulence jokes and mild sexual references , kung pow !


so mind-numbingly awful that you hope britney wo n't do it one more time , as far as movies are concerned .


laced with liberal doses of dark humor , gorgeous exterior photography , and a stable-full of solid performances , no such thing is a fascinating little tale .


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


remove spider-man the movie from its red herring surroundings and it 's apparent that this is one summer film that satisfies .


spectators will indeed sit open-mouthed before the screen , not screaming but yawning .


, the sum of all fears is simply a well-made and satisfying thriller .


what makes the movie special is its utter sincerity .


the thing just never gets off the ground .


after several scenes of this tacky nonsense , you 'll be wistful for the testosterone-charged wizardry of jerry bruckheimer productions , especially because half past dead is like the rock on a wal-mart budget .


the film oozes craft .


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


funny , sexy , devastating and incurably romantic .


an ambitious , guilt-suffused melodrama crippled by poor casting .


this is an exercise not in biography but in hero worship .


the densest distillation of roberts ' movies ever made .


with this masterful , flawless film , -lrb- wang -rrb- emerges in the front ranks of china 's now numerous , world-renowned filmmakers .


a live-wire film that never loses its ability to shock and amaze .


throughout all the tumult , a question comes to mind : so why is this so boring ?


the large-format film is well suited to capture these musicians in full regalia and the incredible imax sound system lets you feel the beat down to your toes .


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


it 's packed with adventure and a worthwhile environmental message , so it 's great for the kids .


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


sensual , funny and , in the end , very touching .


a movie just for friday fans , critics be damned .


it 's a fairy tale that comes from a renowned indian film culture that allows americans to finally revel in its splendor .


all mood and no movie .


will assuredly rank as one of the cleverest , most deceptively amusing comedies of the year .


a half-assed film .


it 's truly awful and heartbreaking subject matter , but one whose lessons are well worth revisiting as many times as possible .


the most ingenious film comedy since being john malkovich .


the cast is phenomenal , especially the women .


inventive , fun , intoxicatingly sexy , violent , self-indulgent and maddening .


much of it comes from the brave , uninhibited performances by its lead actors .


a chiller resolutely without chills .


the first hour is tedious though ford and neeson capably hold our interest , but its just not a thrilling movie .


and it is .


even when it drags , we are forced to reflect that its visual imagination is breathtaking


imperfect ?


this mess of a movie is nothing short of a travesty of a transvestite comedy .


a baffling subplot involving smuggling drugs inside danish cows falls flat , and if you 're going to alter the bard 's ending , you 'd better have a good alternative .


there 's surely something wrong with a comedy where the only belly laughs come from the selection of outtakes tacked onto the end credits .


no , it 's not as single-minded as john carpenter 's original , but it 's sure a lot smarter and more unnerving than the sequels .


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


viewers are asked so often to suspend belief that were it not for holm 's performance , the film would be a total washout .


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


- spy action flick with antonio banderas and lucy liu never comes together .


there 's already been too many of these films ...


we want the funk - and this movie 's got it .


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


shows moments of promise but ultimately succumbs to cliches and pat storytelling .


like the rugrats movies , the wild thornberrys movie does n't offer much more than the series , but its emphasis on caring for animals and respecting other cultures is particularly welcome .


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


the film starts promisingly , but the ending is all too predictable and far too cliched to really work .


the script manages the rare trick of seeming at once both refreshingly different and reassuringly familiar .


kudos to the most enchanting film of the year .


the engagingly primitive animated special effects contribute to a mood that 's sustained through the surprisingly somber conclusion .


by its modest , straight-ahead standards , undisputed scores a direct hit .


i 'm guessing the director is a magician .


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


it irritates and saddens me that martin lawrence 's latest vehicle can explode obnoxiously into 2,500 screens while something of bubba ho-tep 's clearly evident quality may end up languishing on a shelf somewhere .


that chirpy songbird britney spears has popped up with more mindless drivel .


none of the characters or plot-lines are fleshed-out enough to build any interest .


when all is said and done , she loves them to pieces -- and so , i trust , will you .


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