vulgar is too optimistic a title .


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


visually captivating .


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


she 's a cipher , played by an actress who smiles and frowns but does n't reveal an inner life .


writer-director stephen gaghan has made the near-fatal mistake of being what the english call ` too clever by half . '


for the future , one hopes mr. plympton will find room for one more member of his little band , a professional screenwriter .


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


very predictable but still entertaining


if you 're not a fan , it might be like trying to eat brussels sprouts .


has far more energy , wit and warmth than should be expected from any movie with a `` 2 '' at the end of its title .


mr. deeds is sure to give you a lot of laughs in this simple , sweet and romantic comedy .


it all seemed wasted like deniro 's once promising career and the once grand long beach boardwalk .


its gentle , touching story creeps into your heart .


armed with a game supporting cast , from the pitch-perfect forster to the always hilarious meara and levy , like mike shoots and scores , doing its namesake proud .


gloriously straight from the vagina .


... works on some levels and is certainly worth seeing at least once .


a potentially good comic premise and excellent cast are terribly wasted .


a small gem from belgium .


courtney chases stuart with a cell phone .


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


worth a look as a curiosity .


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


if you 've got a house full of tots -- do n't worry , this will be on video long before they grow up and you can wait till then .


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


short and sweet , but also more than anything else slight ... tadpole pulls back from the consequences of its own actions and revelations .


poignant and delicately complex .


and we do n't avert our eyes for a moment .


simply and eloquently articulates the tangled feelings of particular new yorkers deeply touched by an unprecedented tragedy .


plays like a checklist of everything rob reiner and his cast were sending up .


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


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


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


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


the plot is paper-thin and the characters are n't interesting enough to watch them go about their daily activities for two whole hours .


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


whether quitting will prove absorbing to american audiences is debatable .


the film is a hoot , and is just as good , if not better than much of what 's on saturday morning tv especially the pseudo-educational stuff we all ca n't stand .


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


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


the movie barely makes sense , with its unbelievable naïveté and arbitrary flashbacks .


it 's a quirky , off-beat project .


if you can get past the taboo subject matter , it will be well worth your time .


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


starts slowly , but adrien brody -- in the title role -- helps make the film 's conclusion powerful and satisfying .


feeble comedy .


no amount of blood and disintegrating vampire cadavers can obscure this movie 's lack of ideas .


simply does n't have sufficient heft to justify its two-hour running time .


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


parker should be commended for taking a fresh approach to familiar material , but his determination to remain true to the original text leads him to adopt a somewhat mannered tone ... that ultimately dulls the human tragedy at the story 's core .


would that greengrass had gone a tad less for grit and a lot more for intelligibility .


sadly , as blood work proves , that was a long , long time ago .


the performers are so spot on , it is hard to conceive anyone else in their roles .


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


wise and deadpan humorous .


twenty-three movies into a mostly magnificent directorial career , clint eastwood 's efficiently minimalist style finally has failed him .


boring and meandering .


while certainly more naturalistic than its australian counterpart , amari 's film falls short in building the drama of lilia 's journey .


make chan 's action sequences boring .


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


proves a lovely trifle that , unfortunately , is a little too in love with its own cuteness .


but its storytelling prowess and special effects are both listless .


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


screenwriter dan schneider and director shawn levy substitute volume and primary colors for humor and bite .


but if you 've paid a matinee price and bought a big tub of popcorn , there 's guilty fun to be had here .


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


works as pretty contagious fun .


in the pianist , polanski is saying what he has long wanted to say , confronting the roots of his own preoccupations and obsessions , and he allows nothing to get in the way .


a dark , dull thriller with a parting shot that misfires .


... liotta is put in an impossible spot because his character 's deceptions ultimately undo him and the believability of the entire scenario .


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


... the cast portrays their cartoon counterparts well ... but quite frankly , scoob and shag do n't eat enough during the film . '


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


those who do n't entirely ` get ' godard 's distinctive discourse will still come away with a sense of his reserved but existential poignancy .


provides a very moving and revelatory footnote to the holocaust .


... there is enough originality in ` life ' to distance it from the pack of paint-by-number romantic comedies that so often end up on cinema screens .


raimi crafted a complicated hero who is a welcome relief from the usual two-dimensional offerings .


if you saw benigni 's pinocchio at a public park , you 'd grab your kids and run and then probably call the police .


it is dark , brooding and slow , and takes its central idea way too seriously .


it cuts to the core of what it actually means to face your fears , to be a girl in a world of boys , to be a boy truly in love with a girl , and to ride the big metaphorical wave that is life -- wherever it takes you .


an enjoyable , if occasionally flawed , experiment .


it is , however , a completely honest , open-hearted film that should appeal to anyone willing to succumb to it .


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


american musical comedy as we know it would n't exist without the precedent of yiddish theater , whose jolly , fun-for-fun 's - sake communal spirit goes to the essence of broadway .


do n't judge this one too soon - it 's a dark , gritty story but it takes off in totally unexpected directions and keeps on going .


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


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


too smart to ignore but a little too smugly superior to like , this could be a movie that ends up slapping its target audience in the face by shooting itself in the foot .


it 's better than mid-range steven seagal , but not as sharp as jet li on rollerblades .


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


or for the year , for that matter .


an invaluable historical document thanks to the filmmaker 's extraordinary access to massoud , whose charm , cultivation and devotion to his people are readily apparent .


... no charm , no laughs , no fun , no reason to watch .


thanks largely to williams , all the interesting developments are processed in 60 minutes -- the rest is just an overexposed waste of film .


what might have emerged as hilarious lunacy in the hands of woody allen or mel brooks -lrb- at least during their '70s heyday -rrb- comes across as lame and sophomoric in this debut indie feature .


paul bettany playing malcolm mcdowell ?


that 's not vintage spielberg and that , finally , is minimally satisfying .


it would take a complete moron to foul up a screen adaptation of oscar wilde 's classic satire .


jackass is a vulgar and cheap-looking version of candid camera staged for the marquis de sade set .


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


another in a long line of ultra-violent war movies , this one is not quite what it could have been as a film , but the story and theme make up for it .


one well-timed explosion in a movie can be a knockout , but a hundred of them can be numbing .


where their heads were is anyone 's guess .


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


the music makes a nice album , the food is enticing and italy beckons us all .


one of the best silly horror movies of recent memory , with some real shocks in store for unwary viewers .


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


` hey arnold ! '


beautifully shot against the frozen winter landscapes of grenoble and geneva , the film unfolds with all the mounting tension of an expert thriller , until the tragedy beneath it all gradually reveals itself .


griffin & co. manage to be spectacularly outrageous .


it is hard not to be especially grateful for freedom after a film like this .


a well-put-together piece of urban satire .


too much of nemesis has a tired , talky feel .


pan nalin 's exposition is beautiful and mysterious , and the interviews that follow , with the practitioners of this ancient indian practice , are as subtle and as enigmatic .


given the fact that virtually no one is bound to show up at theatres for it , the project should have been made for the tube .


with more character development this might have been an eerie thriller ; with better payoffs , it could have been a thinking man 's monster movie .


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


but ... in trying to capture the novel 's deeper intimate resonances , the film has -- ironically - distanced us from the characters .


the modern master of the chase sequence returns with a chase to end all chases


dense and thoughtful and brimming with ideas that are too complex to be rapidly absorbed .


queen of the damned as you might have guessed , makes sorry use of aaliyah in her one and only starring role -- she does little here but point at things that explode into flame .


a loud , witless mess that has none of the charm and little of the intrigue from the tv series .


a cartoon ?


if a few good men told us that we `` ca n't handle the truth '' than high crimes poetically states at one point in this movie that we `` do n't care about the truth . ''


a crass and insulting homage to great films like some like it hot and the john wayne classics .


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


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


with a romantic comedy plotline straight from the ages , this cinderella story does n't have a single surprise up its sleeve .


it 's lazy for a movie to avoid solving one problem by trying to distract us with the solution to another .


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


a sterling film - a cross between boys do n't cry , deliverance , and ode to billy joe - lies somewhere in the story of matthew shepard , but that film is yet to be made .


no new plot conceptions or environmental changes , just different bodies for sharp objects to rip through .


australian actor\/director john polson and award-winning english cinematographer giles nuttgens make a terrific effort at disguising the obvious with energy and innovation .


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


at once a testament to the divine calling of education and a demonstration of the painstaking process of imparting knowledge .


the film thrusts the inchoate but already eldritch christian right propaganda machine into national media circles .


insufferably naive .


these are textbook lives of quiet desperation .


worth a salute just for trying to be more complex than your average film .


spend your benjamins on a matinee .


it excels because , unlike so many other hollywood movies of its ilk , it offers hope .


the fun of the movie is the chance it affords to watch jackson , who also served as executive producer , take his smooth , shrewd , powerful act abroad .


far too clever by half , howard 's film is really a series of strung-together moments , with all the spaces in between filled with fantasies , daydreams , memories and one fantastic visual trope after another .


serious and thoughtful .


soderbergh skims the fat from the 1972 film .


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


alternately hilarious and sad , aggravating and soulful , scathing and joyous .


this is the case of a pregnant premise being wasted by a script that takes few chances and manages to insult the intelligence of everyone in the audience .


it 's unlikely we 'll see a better thriller this year .


... manages to fall closer in quality to silence than to the abysmal hannibal .


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


a movie that ca n't get sufficient distance from leroy 's delusions to escape their maudlin influence .


though harris is affecting at times , he can not overcome the sense that pumpkin is a mere plot pawn for two directors with far less endearing disabilities .


schneidermeister ... makin ' a fool of himself ... losin ' his fan base ...


in this case zero .


the young stars are too cute ; the story and ensuing complications are too manipulative ; the message is too blatant ; the resolutions are too convenient .


the difference is that i truly enjoyed most of mostly martha while i ne


sexy and romantic .


by the time the plot grinds itself out in increasingly incoherent fashion , you might be wishing for a watch that makes time go faster rather than the other way around .


arteta directs one of the best ensemble casts of the year


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


vividly conveys the passion , creativity , and fearlessness of one of mexico 's most colorful and controversial artists -- a captivating drama that will speak to the nonconformist in us all .


the concept is a hoot .


it may not be particularly innovative , but the film 's crisp , unaffected style and air of gentle longing make it unexpectedly rewarding .


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


perhaps a better celebration of these unfairly dismissed heroes would be a film that is n't this painfully forced , false and fabricated .


... you can be forgiven for realizing that you 've spent the past 20 minutes looking at your watch and waiting for frida to just die already .


the director , mark pellington , does a terrific job conjuring up a sinister , menacing atmosphere though unfortunately all the story gives us is flashing red lights , a rattling noise , and a bump on the head .


even if the naipaul original remains the real masterpiece , the movie possesses its own languorous charm .


delivers more than its fair share of saucy hilarity .


but this is not a movie about an inhuman monster ; it 's about a very human one .


but his showboating wise-cracker stock persona sure is getting old .


if it were any more of a turkey , it would gobble in dolby digital stereo .


`` punch-drunk love '' is a little like a chocolate milk moustache ...


more intimate than spectacular , e.t. is carried less by wow factors than by its funny , moving yarn that holds up well after two decades .


i thought the relationships were wonderful , the comedy was funny , and the love ` real ' .


amid the shock and curiosity factors , the film is just a corny examination of a young actress trying to find her way .


wickedly funny , visually engrossing , never boring , this movie challenges us to think about the ways we consume pop culture .


the comedy makes social commentary more palatable .


the spaniel-eyed jean reno infuses hubert with a mixture of deadpan cool , wry humor and just the measure of tenderness required to give this comic slugfest some heart .


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


a depraved , incoherent , instantly disposable piece of hackery .


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


the animation and game phenomenon that peaked about three years ago is actually dying a slow death , if the poor quality of pokemon 4 ever is any indication .


the camera soars above the globe in dazzling panoramic shots that make the most of the large-screen format , before swooping down on a string of exotic locales , scooping the whole world up in a joyous communal festival of rhythm .


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


-lrb- jackson and bledel -rrb- seem to have been picked not for their acting chops , but for their looks and appeal to the pre-teen crowd .


except as an acting exercise or an exceptionally dark joke , you wonder what anyone saw in this film that allowed it to get made .


whatever the movie 's sentimental , hypocritical lessons about sexism , its true colors come out in various wet t-shirt and shower scenes .


piercingly affecting ... while clearly a manipulative film , emerges as powerful rather than cloying .


gussied up with so many distracting special effects and visual party tricks that it 's not clear whether we 're supposed to shriek or laugh .


if only it had the story to match .


`` frailty '' has been written so well , that even a simple `` goddammit ! ''


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


the film has an infectious enthusiasm and we 're touched by the film 's conviction that all life centered on that place , that time and that sport .


an excellent sequel .


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


it 's a technically superb film , shining with all the usual spielberg flair , expertly utilizing the talents of his top-notch creative team .


in gleefully , thumpingly hyperbolic terms , it covers just about every cliche in the compendium about crass , jaded movie types and the phony baloney movie biz .


the story really has no place to go since simone is not real -- she ca n't provide any conflict .


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


all the sensuality , all the eroticism of a good vampire tale has been , pardon the pun , sucked out and replaced by goth goofiness .


a quiet , disquieting triumph .


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


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


if divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood suffers from a ploddingly melodramatic structure , it comes to life in the performances .


rashomon-for-dipsticks tale .


sleek and arty .


a terrific date movie , whatever your orientation .


the exploitative , clumsily staged violence overshadows everything , including most of the actors .


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


it takes a really long , slow and dreary time to dope out what tuck everlasting is about .


it 's splash without the jokes .


even as it pays earnest homage to turntablists and beat jugglers , old schoolers and current innovators , scratch is great fun , full of the kind of energy it 's documenting .


while kids will probably eat the whole thing up , most adults will be way ahead of the plot .


you begin to long for the end credits as the desert does for rain .


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


` possession , ' based on the book by a.s. byatt , demands that labute deal with the subject of love head-on ; trading in his cynicism for reverence and a little wit


did no one on the set have a sense of humor , or did they not have the nerve to speak up ?


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


some of the most inventive silliness you are likely to witness in a movie theatre for some time .


the story is lacking any real emotional impact , and the plot is both contrived and cliched .


others , more attuned to the anarchist maxim that ` the urge to destroy is also a creative urge ' , or more willing to see with their own eyes , will find morrison 's iconoclastic uses of technology to be liberating .


an awfully good , achingly human picture .


but no. .


the main problem being that it 's only a peek .


slow , silly and unintentionally hilarious .


it never plays as dramatic even when dramatic things happen to people .


i have n't seen such self-amused trash since freddy got fingered .


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


... a visually seductive , unrepentantly trashy take on rice 's second installment of her vampire chronicles .


`` what really happened ? ''


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


provides the kind of ` laugh therapy ' i need from movie comedies -- offbeat humor , amusing characters , and a happy ending .


a prolonged extrusion of psychopathic pulp .


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


director nancy savoca 's no-frills record of a show forged in still-raw emotions captures the unsettled tenor of that post 9-11 period far better than a more measured or polished production ever could .


despite its floating narrative , this is a remarkably accessible and haunting film .


the sum of all fears pretends to be a serious exploration of nuclear terrorism , but it 's really nothing more than warmed-over cold war paranoia .


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


it 's fun , splashy and entertainingly nasty .


big time .


... the first 2\/3 of the film are incredibly captivating and insanely funny , thanks in part to interesting cinematic devices -lrb- cool visual backmasking -rrb- , a solid cast , and some wickedly sick and twisted humor ...


rather , pity anyone who sees this mishmash .


return to never land may be another shameless attempt by disney to rake in dough from baby boomer families , but it 's not half-bad .


the movie , despite its rough edges and a tendency to sag in certain places , is wry and engrossing .


much like robin williams , death to smoochy has already reached its expiration date .


a pleasing , often-funny comedy .


a tour de force drama about the astonishingly pivotal role of imagination in the soulful development of two rowdy teenagers .


good actors have a radar for juicy roles -- there 's a plethora of characters in this picture , and not one of them is flat .


after all , it 'll probably be in video stores by christmas , and it might just be better suited to a night in the living room than a night at the movies .


it concentrates far too much on the awkward interplay and utter lack of chemistry between chan and hewitt .


her performance moves between heartbreak and rebellion as she continually tries to accommodate to fit in and gain the unconditional love she seeks .


has an uppity musical beat that you can dance to , but its energy ca n't compare to the wit , humor and snappy dialogue of the original .


that is because - damn it !


bad company .


so vivid a portrait of a woman consumed by lust and love and crushed by betrayal that it conjures up the intoxicating fumes and emotional ghosts of a freshly painted rembrandt .


if you 've grown tired of going where no man has gone before , but several movies have - take heart .


unintelligible , poorly acted , brain-slappingly bad , harvard man is ludicrous enough that it could become a cult classic .


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


dodgy mixture of cutesy romance , dark satire and murder mystery .


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


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


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


otherwise , this could be a passable date film .


-lrb- at least -rrb- moore is a real charmer .


leaves viewers out in the cold and undermines some phenomenal performances .


this rush to profits has created a predictably efficient piece of business notable largely for its overwhelming creepiness , for an eagerness to create images you wish you had n't seen , which , in this day and age , is of course the point .


as warren he stumbles in search of all the emotions and life experiences he 's neglected over the years .


the concept behind kung pow : enter the fist is hilarious .


bang !


by not averting his eyes , solondz forces us to consider the unthinkable , the unacceptable , the unmentionable .


... better described as a ghost story gone badly awry .


the movie itself appears to be running on hypertime in reverse as the truly funny bits get further and further apart .


does n't get the job done , running off the limited chemistry created by ralph fiennes and jennifer lopez .


tsai has a well-deserved reputation as one of the cinema world 's great visual stylists , and in this film , every shot enhances the excellent performances .


a movie that 's about as overbearing and over-the-top as the family it depicts .


a movie that both thrills the eye and , in its over-the-top way , touches the heart .


elegantly crafted but emotionally cold , a puzzle whose intricate construction one can admire but is difficult to connect with on any deeper level .


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


sc2 is an autopilot hollywood concoction lacking in imagination and authentic christmas spirit , yet it 's geared toward an audience full of masters of both .


donovan ... squanders his main asset , jackie chan , and fumbles the vital action sequences .


this angst-ridden territory was covered earlier and much better in ordinary people .


the film is darkly atmospheric , with herrmann quietly suggesting the sadness and obsession beneath hearst 's forced avuncular chortles .


in spite of featuring a script credited to no fewer than five writers , apparently nobody here bothered to check it twice .


as underwater ghost stories go , below casts its spooky net out into the atlantic ocean and spits it back , grizzled and charred , somewhere northwest of the bermuda triangle .


the most compelling performance of the year adds substantial depth to this shocking testament to anti-semitism and neo-fascism .


just a kiss wants desperately to come off as a fanciful film about the typical problems of average people .


though this saga would be terrific to read about , it is dicey screen material that only a genius should touch .


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


a sentimental hybrid that could benefit from the spice of specificity .


despite slick production values and director roger michell 's tick-tock pacing , the final effect is like having two guys yelling in your face for two hours .


well , jason 's gone to manhattan and hell , i guess a space station in the year 2455 can be crossed off the list of ideas for the inevitable future sequels -lrb- hey , do n't shoot the messenger -rrb- .


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


brisk hack job .


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


national lampoon 's van wilder may aim to be the next animal house , but it more closely resembles this year 's version of tomcats .


well , it 's not as pathetic as the animal .


thumbs up to paxton for not falling into the hollywood trap and making a vanity project with nothing new to offer .


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


qutting may be a flawed film , but it is nothing if not sincere .


it does n't offer audiences any way of gripping what its point is , or even its attitude toward its subject .


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


if sinise 's character had a brain his ordeal would be over in five minutes but instead the plot goes out of its way to introduce obstacles for him to stumble over .


miller comes at film with bracing intelligence and a vision both painterly and literary .


at the film 's centre is a precisely layered performance by an actor in his mid-seventies , michel piccoli .


this odd , poetic road movie , spiked by jolts of pop music , pretty much takes place in morton 's ever-watchful gaze -- and it 's a tribute to the actress , and to her inventive director , that the journey is such a mesmerizing one .


as gamely as the movie tries to make sense of its title character , there remains a huge gap between the film 's creepy , clean-cut dahmer -lrb- jeremy renner -rrb- and fiendish acts that no amount of earnest textbook psychologizing can bridge .


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


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


moretti plays giovanni , a psychiatrist who predictably finds it difficult to sustain interest in his profession after the family tragedy .


has a certain ghoulish fascination , and generates a fair amount of b-movie excitement .


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


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


and second , what 's with all the shooting ?


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


shrewd but pointless .


the problems and characters it reveals are universal and involving , and the film itself -- as well its delightful cast -- is so breezy , pretty and gifted , it really won my heart .


proof once again that if the filmmakers just follow the books , they ca n't go wrong .


... wise and elegiac ...


though filmed partly in canada , paid in full has clever ways of capturing inner-city life during the reagan years .


well-meaning to a fault , antwone fisher manages the dubious feat of turning one man 's triumph of will into everyman 's romance comedy .


... creates a visceral sense of its characters ' lives and conflicted emotions that carries it far above ... what could have been a melodramatic , lifetime channel-style anthology .


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


all of the elements are in place for a great film noir , but director george hickenlooper 's approach to the material is too upbeat .


the overall fabric is hypnotic , and mr. mattei fosters moments of spontaneous intimacy .


friday after next is a lot more bluster than bite .


there 's no doubting that this is a highly ambitious and personal project for egoyan , but it 's also one that , next to his best work , feels clumsy and convoluted .


opera on film is never satisfactory .


nicole holofcenter , the insightful writer\/director responsible for this illuminating comedy does n't wrap the proceedings up neatly but the ideas tie together beautifully .


a rather average action film that benefits from several funny moments supplied by epps .


but , like silence , it 's a movie that gets under your skin .


gooding and coburn are both oscar winners , a fact which , as you watch them clumsily mugging their way through snow dogs , seems inconceivable .


loud , silly , stupid and pointless .


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


mctiernan 's remake may be lighter on its feet -- the sober-minded original was as graceful as a tap-dancing rhino -- but it is just as boring and as obvious .


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


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


a film that plays things so nice 'n safe as to often play like a milquetoast movie of the week blown up for the big screen .


the movie straddles the fence between escapism and social commentary , and on both sides it falls short .


only masochistic moviegoers need apply .


is anyone else out there getting tired of the whole slo-mo , double-pistoled , ballistic-pyrotechnic hong kong action aesthetic ?


like shrek , spirit 's visual imagination reminds you of why animation is such a perfect medium for children , because of the way it allows the mind to enter and accept another world .


statham employs an accent that i think is supposed to be an attempt at hardass american but sometimes just lapses into unhidden british .


a yawn-provoking little farm melodrama .


whereas the extremely competent hitman films such as pulp fiction and get shorty resonate a sardonic verve to their caustic purpose for existing , who is cletis tout ?


for all its shoot-outs , fistfights , and car chases , this movie is a phlegmatic bore , so tedious it makes the silly spy vs. spy film the sum of all fears , starring ben affleck , seem downright hitchcockian .


kicks off with an inauspicious premise , mopes through a dreary tract of virtually plotless meanderings and then ends with a whimper .


one of the greatest films i 've ever seen .


feels strangely hollow at its emotional core .


watching spirited away is like watching an eastern imagination explode .


it gets old quickly .


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


it 's not exactly worth the bucks to expend the full price for a date , but when it comes out on video , it 's well worth a rental .


like a poor man 's you can count on me


exudes the fizz of a busby berkeley musical and the visceral excitement of a sports extravaganza .


good performances keep it from being a total rehash .


tsai convincingly paints a specifically urban sense of disassociation here .


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


an uplifting , largely bogus story .


a canny , derivative , wildly gruesome portrait of a london sociopath who 's the scariest of sadists .


it all starts to smack of a hallmark hall of fame , with a few four letter words thrown in that are generally not heard on television .


some body will take you places you have n't been , and also places you have .


while van wilder may not be the worst national lampoon film , it 's far from being this generation 's animal house .


hollywood ending just is n't very funny .


a jaw-droppingly beautiful work that upends nearly every cliché of japanese animation while delivering a more than satisfactory amount of carnage .


but kouyate elicits strong performances from his cast , and he delivers a powerful commentary on how governments lie , no matter who runs them .


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


upper teens may get cynical .


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


a flawed film but an admirable one that tries to immerse us in a world of artistic abandon and political madness and very nearly succeeds .


you have enough finely tuned acting to compensate for the movie 's failings .


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


i ca n't remember the last time i saw an audience laugh so much during a movie , but there 's only one problem ... it 's supposed to be a drama .


welles groupie\/scholar peter bogdanovich took a long time to do it , but he 's finally provided his own broadside at publishing giant william randolph hearst .


the most brilliant and brutal uk crime film since jack carter went back to newcastle , the first half of gangster no. 1 drips with style and , at times , blood .


it might not be 1970s animation , but everything else about it is straight from the saturday morning cartoons -- a retread story , bad writing , and the same old silliness .


birthday girl lucks out with chaplin and kidman , who are capable of anteing up some movie star charisma when they need it to sell us on this twisted love story , but who can also negotiate the movie 's darker turns .


stay for the credits and see a devastating comic impersonation by dustin hoffman that is revelatory .


one gets the impression the creators of do n't ask do n't tell laughed a hell of a lot at their own jokes .


it is a likable story , told with competence .


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


bread , my sweet has so many flaws it would be easy for critics to shred it .


i believe silberling had the best intentions here , but he just does n't have the restraint to fully realize them .


the philosophical musings of the dialogue jar against the tawdry soap opera antics of the film 's action in a way that is surprisingly enjoyable .


some people want the ol' ball-and-chain and then there are those who just want the ball and chain .


a delightful romantic comedy with plenty of bite .


you 'll forget about it by monday , though , and if they 're old enough to have developed some taste , so will your kids .


a good thriller .


you could easily mistake it for a sketchy work-in-progress that was inexplicably rushed to the megaplexes before its time .


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


rumor , a muddled drama about coming to terms with death , feels impersonal , almost generic .


works on the whodunit level as its larger themes get lost in the murk of its own making


there 's nothing like love to give a movie a b-12 shot , and cq shimmers with it .


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


the movie is not as terrible as the synergistic impulse that created it .


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


it 's all pretty tame .


it 's petty thievery like this that puts flimsy flicks like this behind bars


... an adorably whimsical comedy that deserves more than a passing twinkle .


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


mr. koshashvili is a director to watch .


about as big a crowdpleaser as they possibly come .


but on the whole , you 're gonna like this movie .


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


the art direction and costumes are gorgeous and finely detailed , and kurys ' direction is clever and insightful .


there 's a bit of thematic meat on the bones of queen of the damned , as its origins in an anne rice novel dictate , but generally , it 's a movie that emphasizes style over character and substance .


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


the sequel is everything the original was not : contrived , overblown and tie-in ready .


but , for that , why not watch a documentary ?


sad nonsense , this .


every note rings false .


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


succeeds as a well-made evocation of a subculture .


plunges you into a reality that is , more often then not , difficult and sad , and then , without sentimentalizing it or denying its brutality , transforms that reality into a lyrical and celebratory vision .


an immensely entertaining look at some of the unsung heroes of 20th century pop music .


the action scenes have all the suspense of a 20-car pileup , while the plot holes are big enough for a train car to drive through -- if kaos had n't blown them all up .


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


eisenstein lacks considerable brio for a film about one of cinema 's directorial giants .


it 's difficult to discern if this is a crazy work of disturbed genius or merely 90 minutes of post-adolescent electra rebellion .


even if you do n't know the band or the album 's songs by heart , you will enjoy seeing how both evolve , and you will also learn a good deal about the state of the music business in the 21st century .


inherently caustic and oddly whimsical , the film chimes in on the grieving process and strangely draws the audience into the unexplainable pain and eccentricities that are attached to the concept of loss .


like being able to hit on a 15-year old when you 're over 100 .


it 's better than the phantom menace .


an effortlessly accomplished and richly resonant work .


broomfield is energized by volletta wallace 's maternal fury , her fearlessness , and because of that , his film crackles .


a fiercely clever and subtle film , capturing the precarious balance between the extravagant confidence of the exiled aristocracy and the cruel earnestness of the victorious revolutionaries .


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


the images are usually abbreviated in favor of mushy obviousness and telegraphed pathos , particularly where whitaker 's misfit artist is concerned .


this kind of hands-on storytelling is ultimately what makes shanghai ghetto move beyond a good , dry , reliable textbook and what allows it to rank with its worthy predecessors .


formulaic to the 51st power , more like .


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


a preposterously melodramatic paean to gang-member teens in brooklyn circa 1958 .


eckstraordinarily lame and severely boring .


the results are far more alienating than involving .


these characters become wearisome .


it finds its moviegoing pleasures in the tiny events that could make a person who has lived her life half-asleep suddenly wake up and take notice .


a good-looking but ultimately pointless political thriller with plenty of action and almost no substance .


i could have used my two hours better watching being john malkovich again .


comes across as a relic from a bygone era , and its convolutions ... feel silly rather than plausible .


the movie is as padded as allen 's jelly belly .


the story is bogus and its characters tissue-thin .


this is a nervy , risky film , and villeneuve has inspired croze to give herself over completely to the tormented persona of bibi .


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


more busy than exciting , more frantic than involving , more chaotic than entertaining .


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


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


you leave feeling like you 've endured a long workout without your pulse ever racing .


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


instead , it 'll only put you to sleep .


the only way to tolerate this insipid , brutally clueless film might be with a large dose of painkillers .


a sensitive and astute first feature by anne-sophie birot .


the comedy is nonexistent .


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


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


an instance of an old dog not only learning but inventing a remarkable new trick .


romantic , riveting and handsomely animated .


try as you might to scrutinize the ethics of kaufman 's approach , somehow it all comes together to create a very compelling , sensitive , intelligent and almost cohesive piece of film entertainment .


every once in a while , a movie will come along that turns me into that annoying specimen of humanity that i usually dread encountering the most - the fanboy


with not a lot of help from the screenplay -lrb- proficient , but singularly cursory -rrb- , -lrb- testud -rrb- acts with the feral intensity of the young bette davis .


spreads itself too thin , leaving these actors , as well as the members of the commune , short of profound characterizations


the acting , for the most part , is terrific , although the actors must struggle with the fact that they 're playing characters who sometimes feel more like literary conceits than flesh-and-blood humans .


-lrb- less a movie than -rrb- an appalling , odoriferous thing ... so rotten in almost every single facet of production that you 'll want to crawl up your own \*\*\* in embarrassment .


funny and touching .


an awkward hybrid of genres that just does n't work .


affirms the gifts of all involved , starting with spielberg and going right through the ranks of the players -- on-camera and off -- that he brings together .


less worrying about covering all the drama in frida 's life and more time spent exploring her process of turning pain into art would have made this a superior movie .


a fifty car pileup of cliches .


will warm your heart without making you feel guilty about it .


one of the most unpleasant things the studio has ever produced .


a glib but bouncy bit of sixties-style slickness in which the hero might wind up caught but the audience gets pure escapism .


this one is not nearly as dreadful as expected .


the result is a powerful , naturally dramatic piece of low-budget filmmaking .


as a science fiction movie , `` minority report '' astounds .


does n't deliver a great story , nor is the action as gripping as in past seagal films .


chilling in its objective portrait of dreary , lost twenty-first century america .


it does give you a peek .


the auteur 's ear for the way fears and slights are telegraphed in the most blithe exchanges gives the film its lingering tug .


a rehash of every gangster movie from the past decade .


shattering , devastating documentary on two maladjusted teens in a downward narcotized spiral .


the somber pacing and lack of dramatic fireworks make green dragon seem more like medicine than entertainment .


below is well below expectations .


a generic international version of a typical american horror film .


includes too much obvious padding .


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


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


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


dong shows how intolerance has the power to deform families , then tear them apart .


in the wake of saving private ryan , black hawk down and we were soldiers , you are likely to be as heartily sick of mayhem as cage 's war-weary marine .


peppered with witty dialogue and inventive moments .


-- is a crime that should be punishable by chainsaw .


whether or not you 're enlightened by any of derrida 's lectures on `` the other '' and `` the self , '' derrida is an undeniably fascinating and playful fellow .


the people in jessica are so recognizable and true that , as in real life , we 're never sure how things will work out .


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


a good music documentary , probably one of the best since the last waltz .


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


as social exposé , skins has its heart in the right place , but that 's not much to hang a soap opera on .


the screenplay never lets us forget that bourne was once an amoral assassin just like the ones who are pursuing him ... there is never really a true `` us '' versus `` them '' .


an interesting look behind the scenes of chicago-based rock group wilco ...


interesting , but not compelling .


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


the only thing scary about feardotcom is that the filmmakers and studio are brazen enough to attempt to pass this stinker off as a scary movie .


munch 's screenplay is tenderly observant of his characters .


it has the requisite faux-urban vibe and hotter-two-years-ago rap and r&b names and references .


the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .


a film of epic scale with an intimate feeling , a saga of the ups and downs of friendships .


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


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


that ` alabama ' manages to be pleasant in spite of its predictability and occasional slowness is due primarily to the perkiness of witherspoon -lrb- who is always a joy to watch , even when her material is not first-rate -rrb- ...


the reason to see `` sade '' lay with the chemistry and complex relationship between the marquis -lrb- auteil -rrb- and emilie -lrb- le besco -rrb- .


pacino is the best he 's been in years and keener is marvelous .


a frankenstein mishmash that careens from dark satire to cartoonish slapstick , bartleby performs neither one very well .


as happily glib and vicious as its characters .


... has its moments , but ultimately , its curmudgeon does n't quite make the cut of being placed on any list of favorites .


much of the cast is stiff or just plain bad .


overall , interesting as a documentary -- but not very imaxy .


it 's excessively quirky and a little underconfident in its delivery , but otherwise this is the best ` old neighborhood ' project since christopher walken kinda romanced cyndi lauper in the opportunists .


what puzzles me is the lack of emphasis on music in britney spears ' first movie .


busy urban comedy is clearly not zhang 's forte , his directorial touch is neither light nor magical enough to bring off this kind of whimsy .


imagine the cleanflicks version of ` love story , ' with ali macgraw 's profanities replaced by romance-novel platitudes .


the movie 's gloomy atmosphere is fascinating , though , even if the movie itself does n't stand a ghost of a chance .


extremely well acted by the four primary actors , this is a seriously intended movie that is not easily forgotten .


bound to appeal to women looking for a howlingly trashy time .


a perfectly respectable , perfectly inoffensive , easily forgettable film .


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


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


return to neverland manages to straddle the line between another classic for the company and just another run-of-the-mill disney sequel intended for the home video market .


writer-director david jacobson and his star , jeremy renner , have made a remarkable film that explores the monster 's psychology not in order to excuse him but rather to demonstrate that his pathology evolved from human impulses that grew hideously twisted .


holds limited appeal to those who like explosions , sadism and seeing people beat each other to a pulp .


drama of temptation , salvation and good intentions is a thoughtful examination of faith , love and power .


oddly compelling .


feels at times like a giant commercial for universal studios , where much of the action takes place .


a small fortune in salaries and stunt cars might have been saved if the director , tom dey , had spliced together bits and pieces of midnight run and 48 hours -lrb- and , for that matter , shrek -rrb- .


alas , another breathless movie about same !


strange , funny , twisted , brilliant and macabre .


shanghai ghetto , much stranger than any fiction , brings this unknown slice of history affectingly to life .


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


though overall an overwhelmingly positive portrayal , the film does n't ignore the more problematic aspects of brown 's life .


the film is so busy making reference to other films and trying to be other films that it fails to have a heart , mind or humor of its own .


cool gadgets and creatures keep this fresh .


this is very much of a mixed bag , with enough negatives to outweigh the positives .


ringu is a disaster of a story , full of holes and completely lacking in chills .


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


but it would be better to wait for the video .


dreary tale of middle-class angst


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


the byplay and bickering between the now spy-savvy siblings , carmen -lrb- vega -rrb- and juni -lrb- sabara -rrb- cortez , anchor the film in a very real and amusing give-and-take .


it 's sweet , funny , charming , and completely delightful .


seen in that light , moonlight mile should strike a nerve in many .


to the filmmakers , ivan is a prince of a fellow , but he comes across as shallow and glib though not mean-spirited , and there 's no indication that he 's been responsible for putting together any movies of particular value or merit .


the movie 's something-borrowed construction feels less the product of loving , well integrated homage and more like a mere excuse for the wan , thinly sketched story .


none of birthday girl 's calculated events take us by surprise ...


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


i can easily imagine benigni 's pinocchio becoming a christmas perennial .


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


k 19 stays afloat as decent drama\/action flick


what more can be expected from a college comedy that 's target audience has n't graduated from junior high school ?


it 's quite diverting nonsense .


aggravating and tedious .


i 'm sorry to say that this should seal the deal - arnold is not , nor will he be , back .


a bittersweet drama about the limbo of grief and how truth-telling can open the door to liberation .


formula 51 has dulled your senses faster and deeper than any recreational drug on the market .


more precious than perspicacious


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


rarely does such high-profile talent serve such literate material .


a moving picture that does not move .


this ludicrous film is predictable at every turn .


just another combination of bad animation and mindless violence ... lacking the slightest bit of wit or charm .


-lrb- fiji diver rusi vulakoro and the married couple howard and michelle hall -rrb- show us the world they love and make us love it , too .


were it not for a sentimental resolution that explains way more about cal than does the movie or the character any good , freundlich 's world traveler might have been one of the more daring and surprising american movies of the year .


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


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


... enthusiastically invokes the percussion rhythm , the brass soul and the sense of fierce competition that helps make great marching bands half the fun of college football games .


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


speaks eloquently about the symbiotic relationship between art and life .


benigni 's pinocchio is extremely straight and mind-numbingly stilted , its episodic pacing keeping the film from developing any storytelling flow .


audiard successfully maintains suspense on different levels throughout a film that is both gripping and compelling .


an unsettling , memorable cinematic experience that does its predecessors proud .


its almost too-spectacular coastal setting distracts slightly from an eccentric and good-naturedly aimless story .


a compassionate , moving portrait of an american -lrb- and an america -rrb- always reaching for something just outside his grasp .


-lrb- stephen -rrb- earnhart 's film is more about the optimism of a group of people who are struggling to give themselves a better lot in life than the ones they currently have .


adaptation is intricately constructed and in a strange way nails all of orlean 's themes without being a true adaptation of her book .


if you want a movie time trip , the 1960 version is a far smoother ride .


an older cad instructs a younger lad in zen and the art of getting laid in this prickly indie comedy of manners and misanthropy .


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


with amazing finesse , the film shadows heidi 's trip back to vietnam and the city where her mother , mai thi kim , still lives .


an occasionally interesting but mostly repetitive look at a slice of counterculture that might be best forgotten .


does what should seem impossible : it makes serial killer jeffrey dahmer boring .


it 's an 88-minute highlight reel that 's 86 minutes too long .


a respectable but uninspired thriller that 's intelligent and considered in its details , but ultimately weak in its impact .


-lrb- jeff 's -rrb- gorgeous , fluid compositions , underlined by neil finn and edmund mcwilliams 's melancholy music , are charged with metaphor , but rarely easy , obvious or self-indulgent .


one of the pleasures in walter 's documentary ... is the parade of veteran painters , confounded dealers , and miscellaneous bohos who expound upon the subject 's mysterious personality without ever explaining him .


it 's a smart , solid , kinetically-charged spy flick worthy of a couple hours of summertime and a bucket of popcorn .


a violent initiation rite for the audience , as much as it is for angelique , the -lrb- opening -rrb- dance guarantees karmen 's enthronement among the cinema 's memorable women .


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


the heat of the moment prevails .


a beautifully tooled action thriller about love and terrorism in korea .


return to never land is much more p.c. than the original version -lrb- no more racist portraits of indians , for instance -rrb- , but the excitement is missing .


the sight of the name bruce willis brings to mind images of a violent battlefield action picture , but the film has a lot more on its mind -- maybe too much .


the only thing `` swept away '' is the one hour and thirty-three minutes spent watching this waste of time .


the banter between calvin and his fellow barbers feels like a streetwise mclaughlin group ... and never fails to entertain .


while the importance of being earnest offers opportunities for occasional smiles and chuckles , it does n't give us a reason to be in the theater beyond wilde 's wit and the actors ' performances .


indeed , none of these words really gets at the very special type of badness that is deuces wild .


contrived , awkward and filled with unintended laughs , the film shows signs that someone other than the director got into the editing room and tried to improve things by making the movie go faster .


amid the cliché and foreshadowing , cage manages a degree of casual realism ... that is routinely dynamited by blethyn .


broomfield reminds us that beneath the hype , the celebrity , the high life , the conspiracies and the mystery there were once a couple of bright young men -- promising , talented , charismatic and tragically doomed .


offers a persuasive look at a defeated but defiant nation in flux .


jolting into charleston rhythms , the story has the sizzle of old news that has finally found the right vent -lrb- accurate ?


muccino seems to be exploring the idea of why human beings long for what they do n't have , and how this gets us in trouble .


this picture is mostly a lump of run-of-the-mill profanity sprinkled with a few remarks so geared toward engendering audience sympathy that you might think he was running for office -- or trying to win over a probation officer .


my wife is an actress has its moments in looking at the comic effects of jealousy .


a riveting documentary .


while i ca n't say it 's on par with the first one , stuart little 2 is a light , fun cheese puff of a movie .


so boring that even its target audience talked all the way through it .


sad to say -- it accurately reflects the rage and alienation that fuels the self-destructiveness of many young people .


it 's neither as sappy as big daddy nor as anarchic as happy gilmore or the waterboy , but it has its moments .


great character interaction .


louiso lets the movie dawdle in classic disaffected-indie-film mode , and brother hoffman 's script stumbles over a late-inning twist that just does n't make sense .


even bigger and more ambitious than the first installment , spy kids 2 looks as if it were made by a highly gifted 12-year-old instead of a grown man .


a meatier deeper beginning and\/or ending would have easily tipped this film into the `` a '' range , as is , it 's a very very strong `` b + . ''


twist open the ouzo !


the biggest problem with this movie is that it 's not nearly long enough .


funny in a sick , twisted sort of way .


trapped wo n't score points for political correctness , but it may cause parents a few sleepless hours -- a sign of its effectiveness .


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


but though he only scratches the surface , at least he provides a strong itch to explore more .


it 's dark and tragic , and lets the business of the greedy talent agents get in the way of saying something meaningful about facing death


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


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


the rock has a great presence but one battle after another is not the same as one battle followed by killer cgi effects .


birthday girl walks a tricky tightrope between being wickedly funny and just plain wicked .


potty-mouthed enough for pg-13 , yet not as hilariously raunchy as south park , this strangely schizo cartoon seems suited neither to kids or adults .


does n't add up to much .


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


the movie is silly beyond comprehension , and even if it were n't silly , it would still be beyond comprehension .


... is there a deeper , more direct connection between these women , one that spans time and reveals meaning ?


despite its flaws , crazy as hell marks an encouraging new direction for la salle .


this film is too busy hitting all of its assigned marks to take on any life of its own .


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


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


the movie is well crafted , and well executed .


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


90 punitive minutes of eardrum-dicing gunplay , screeching-metal smashups , and flaccid odd-couple sniping .


moore provides an invaluable service by sparking debate and encouraging thought .


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


a big fat pain .


this is a movie filled with unlikable , spiteful idiots ; whether or not their friendship is salvaged makes no difference in the least .


as giddy and whimsical and relevant today as it was 270 years ago .


-lrb- javier bardem is -rrb- one of the few reasons to watch the film , which director gerardo vera has drenched in swoony music and fever-pitched melodrama .


while some will object to the idea of a vietnam picture with such a rah-rah , patriotic tone , soldiers ultimately achieves its main strategic objective : dramatizing the human cost of the conflict that came to define a generation .


it 's a pedestrian , flat drama that screams out ` amateur ' in almost every frame .


hip-hop rarely comes alive as its own fire-breathing entity in this picture .


parts seem like they were lifted from terry gilliam 's subconscious , pressed through kafka 's meat grinder and into buñuel 's casings


it uses some of the figures from the real-life story to portray themselves in the film .


for casual moviegoers who stumble into rules expecting a slice of american pie hijinks starring the kid from dawson 's creek , they 'll probably run out screaming .


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


even with harris 's strong effort , the script gives him little to effectively probe lear 's soul-stripping breakdown .


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


affable if not timeless , like mike raises some worthwhile themes while delivering a wholesome fantasy for kids .


slap her - she 's not funny !


everything 's serious , poetic , earnest and -- sadly -- dull .


see clockstoppers if you have nothing better to do with 94 minutes .


nor is it a romantic comedy .


if you 're not fans of the adventues of steve and terri , you should avoid this like the dreaded king brown snake .


a psychic journey deep into the very fabric of iranian ... life .


performances are potent , and the women 's stories are ably intercut and involving .


an incredibly thoughtful , deeply meditative picture that neatly and effectively captures the debilitating grief felt in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks .


love liza is a festival film that would have been better off staying on the festival circuit .


this is an extraordinary film , not least because it is japanese and yet feels universal .


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


deuces wild is an encyclopedia of cliches that shoplifts shamelessly from farewell-to-innocence movies like the wanderers and a bronx tale without cribbing any of their intelligence .


it 's still terrible !


it 's in the action scenes that things fall apart .


if ayurveda can help us return to a sane regimen of eating , sleeping and stress-reducing contemplation , it is clearly a good thing .


you wo n't exactly know what 's happening but you 'll be blissfully exhausted .


will certainly appeal to asian cult cinema fans and asiaphiles interested to see what all the fuss is about .


they 're just a couple of cops in copmovieland , these two , but in narc , they find new routes through a familiar neighborhood .


while dutifully pulling on heartstrings , directors dean deblois and chris sanders valiantly keep punching up the mix .


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


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


hey arnold !


in period costume and with a bigger budget .


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


scherfig , the writer-director , has made a film so unabashedly hopeful that it actually makes the heart soar .


barry convinces us he 's a dangerous , secretly unhinged guy who could easily have killed a president because it made him feel powerful .


an unsuccessful attempt at a movie of ideas .


this strenuously unfunny showtime deserves the hook .


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


this story of unrequited love does n't sustain interest beyond the first half-hour .


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


though haynes ' style apes films from the period ... its message is not rooted in that decade .


in imax in short , it 's just as wonderful on the big screen .


made-up lampoons the moviemaking process itself , while shining a not particularly flattering spotlight on america 's skin-deep notions of pulchritude .


sex ironically has little to do with the story , which becomes something about how lame it is to try and evade your responsibilities and that you should never , ever , leave a large dog alone with a toddler .


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


it 's a film that 's destined to win a wide summer audience through word-of-mouth reviews and , not far down the line , to find a place among the studio 's animated classics .


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


continually challenges perceptions of guilt and innocence , of good guys and bad , and asks us whether a noble end can justify evil means .


this is so de palma .


it 's an often-cute film but either needs more substance to fill the time or some judicious editing .


he 's a better actor than a standup comedian .


a savage john waters-like humor that dances on the edge of tastelessness without ever quite falling over .


so beautifully acted and directed , it 's clear that washington most certainly has a new career ahead of him if he so chooses .


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


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


it 's so badly made on every level that i 'm actually having a hard time believing people were paid to make it .


while not quite `` shrek '' or `` monsters , inc. '' , it 's not too bad .


a slight but sweet film .


my only wish is that celebi could take me back to a time before i saw this movie and i could just skip it .


proof of this is ballistic : ecks vs. sever .


one of these days hollywood will come up with an original idea for a teen movie , but until then there 's always these rehashes to feed to the younger generations .


an appalling ` ace ventura ' rip-off that somehow manages to bring together kevin pollak , former wrestler chyna and dolly parton .


a smart , arch and rather cold-blooded comedy .


it finds no way to entertain or inspire its viewers .


a powerful , chilling , and affecting study of one man 's dying fall .


the innocence of holiday cheer ai n't what it used to be .


the satire is unfocused , while the story goes nowhere .


the son of the bride 's humour is born out of an engaging storyline , which also is n't embarrassed to make you reach for the tissues .


traffics in the kind of prechewed racial clichés that have already been through the corporate stand-up-comedy mill .


you 'd think by now america would have had enough of plucky british eccentrics with hearts of gold .


an uneasy mix of run-of-the-mill raunchy humor and seemingly sincere personal reflection .


an uplifting , near-masterpiece .


the film 's hero is a bore and his innocence soon becomes a questionable kind of inexcusable dumb innocence .


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


go .


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


boasts eye-catching art direction but has a forcefully quirky tone that quickly wears out its limited welcome .


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


exploitative and largely devoid of the depth or sophistication that would make watching such a graphic treatment of the crimes bearable .


the humor and humanity of monsoon wedding are in perfect balance .


the gorgeously elaborate continuation of `` the lord of the rings '' trilogy is so huge that a column of words can not adequately describe co-writer\/director peter jackson 's expanded vision of j.r.r. tolkien 's middle-earth .


to paraphrase a line from another dickens ' novel , nicholas nickleby is too much like a fragment of an underdone potato .


he 's worked too hard on this movie .


lacks depth .


i 'll put it this way : if you 're in the mood for a melodrama narrated by talking fish , this is the movie for you .


it 's as if solondz had two ideas for two movies , could n't really figure out how to flesh either out , so he just slopped ` em together here .


in the end , tuck everlasting falls victim to that everlasting conundrum experienced by every human who ever lived : too much to do , too little time to do it in .


this slight premise ... works because of the ideal casting of the masterful british actor ian holm as the aged napoleon .


rarely has sex on screen been so aggressively anti-erotic .


straightforward and old-fashioned in the best possible senses of both those words , possession is a movie that puts itself squarely in the service of the lovers who inhabit it .


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


for all the complications , it 's all surprisingly predictable .


she 's not yet an actress , not quite a singer ...


it 's light on the chills and heavy on the atmospheric weirdness , and there are moments of jaw-droppingly odd behavior -- yet i found it weirdly appealing .


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


yo , it 's the days of our lives meets electric boogaloo .


anybody who enjoys quirky , fun , popcorn movies with a touch of silliness and a little bloodshed .


as the dominant christine , sylvie testud is icily brilliant .


the makers of mothman prophecies succeed in producing that most frightening of all movies -- a mediocre horror film too bad to be good and too good to be bad .


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


dogtown & z-boys evokes the blithe rebel fantasy with the kind of insouciance embedded in the sexy demise of james dean .


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


it works well enough , since the thrills pop up frequently , and the dispatching of the cast is as often imaginative as it is gory .


-lrb- hayek -rrb- throws herself into this dream hispanic role with a teeth-clenching gusto , she strikes a potent chemistry with molina and she gradually makes us believe she is kahlo .


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


there are things to like about murder by numbers -- but , in the end , the disparate elements do n't gel .


the biggest problem with satin rouge is lilia herself .


the thought of watching this film with an audience full of teenagers fixating on its body humour and reinforcement of stereotypes -lrb- of which they 'll get plenty -rrb- fills me with revulsion .


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


jaglom offers the none-too-original premise that everyone involved with moviemaking is a con artist and a liar .


contrived , maudlin and cliche-ridden ... if this sappy script was the best the contest received , those rejected must have been astronomically bad .


one suspects that craven endorses they simply because this movie makes his own look much better by comparison .


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


like its bizarre heroine , it irrigates our souls .


to be more engaging on an emotional level , funnier , and on the whole less detached .


savvy director robert j. siegel and his co-writers keep the story subtle and us in suspense .


puts on airs of a hal hartley wannabe film -- without the vital comic ingredient of the hilarious writer-director himself .


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


the appeal of the vulgar , sexist , racist humour went over my head or -- considering just how low brow it is -- perhaps it snuck under my feet .


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


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


some movies blend together as they become distant memories .


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


completely creatively stillborn and executed in a manner that i 'm not sure could be a single iota worse ... a soulless hunk of exploitative garbage .


... a vivid , thoughtful , unapologetically raw coming-of-age tale full of sex , drugs and rock 'n' roll .


a treat for its depiction on not giving up on dreams when you 're a struggling nobody .


what you end up getting is the vertical limit of surfing movies - memorable stunts with lots of downtime in between .


it 's fitting that a movie as artificial and soulless as the country bears owes its genesis to an animatronic display at disneyland .


we do n't get paid enough to sit through crap like this .


feels like a cold old man going through the motions .


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


bravado kathy !


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


a crude teen-oriented variation on a theme that the playwright craig lucas explored with infinitely more grace and eloquence in his prelude to a kiss .


it 's the movie equivalent of a sweaty old guy in a rain coat shopping for cheap porn .


execrable .


-lrb- seagal 's -rrb- strenuous attempt at a change in expression could very well clinch him this year 's razzie .


thoroughly awful .


the production values are of the highest and the performances attractive without being memorable .


starts as a tart little lemon drop of a movie and ends up as a bitter pill .


entertaining despite its one-joke premise with the thesis that women from venus and men from mars can indeed get together .


despite besson 's high-profile name being wasabi 's big selling point , there is no doubt that krawczyk deserves a huge amount of the credit for the film 's thoroughly winning tone .


often lingers just as long on the irrelevant as on the engaging , which gradually turns what time is it there ?


a sensitive , moving , brilliantly constructed work .


perhaps the most annoying thing about who is cletis tout ?


not exaggerated enough to be a parody of gross-out flicks , college flicks , or even flicks in general .


a high-minded snoozer .


the wonderful combination of the sweetness and the extraordinary technical accomplishments of the first film are maintained , but its overall impact falls a little flat with a storyline that never quite delivers the original magic .


bring on the sequel .


judging by those standards , ` scratch ' is a pretty decent little documentary .


a movie like the guys is why film criticism can be considered work .


pc stability notwithstanding , the film suffers from a simplistic narrative and a pat , fairy-tale conclusion .


although tender and touching , the movie would have benefited from a little more dramatic tension and some more editing .


an often watchable , though goofy and lurid , blast of a costume drama set in the late 15th century .


check your brain and your secret agent decoder ring at the door because you do n't want to think too much about what 's going on .


a seriocomic debut of extravagant promise by georgian-israeli director dover kosashvili .


as saccharine as it is disposable .


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


matters play out realistically if not always fairly .


as lively an account as seinfeld is deadpan .


it may not be a great piece of filmmaking , but its power comes from its soul 's - eye view of how well-meaning patronizing masked a social injustice , at least as represented by this case .


the only thing that distinguishes a randall wallace film from any other is the fact that there is nothing distinguishing in a randall wallace film .


is clever enough , though thin writing proves its undoing .


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


cremaster 3 is at once a tough pill to swallow and a minor miracle of self-expression .


ver wiel 's desperate attempt at wit is lost , leaving the character of critical jim two-dimensional and pointless .


instead of hitting the audience over the head with a moral , schrader relies on subtle ironies and visual devices to convey point of view .


a sustained fest of self-congratulation between actor and director that leaves scant place for the viewer .


a lame romantic comedy about an unsympathetic character and someone who would not likely be so stupid as to get involved with her .


a much more successful translation than its most famous previous film adaptation , writer-director anthony friedman 's similarly updated 1970 british production .


hugh grant 's act is so consuming that sometimes it 's difficult to tell who the other actors in the movie are .


mendes still does n't quite know how to fill a frame .


but darned if it does n't also keep us riveted to our seats .


such an incomprehensible mess that it feels less like bad cinema than like being stuck in a dark pit having a nightmare about bad cinema .


the message is that even the most unlikely can link together to conquer all kinds of obstacles , whether they be of nature , of man or of one another .


if you do n't laugh , flee .


there 's too much forced drama in this wildly uneven movie , about a young man 's battle with his inescapable past and uncertain future in a very shapable but largely unfulfilling present .


to call this film a lump of coal would only be to flatter it .


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


intriguing and stylish .


a few nonbelievers may rethink their attitudes when they see the joy the characters take in this creed , but skeptics are n't likely to enter the theater .


mostly , shafer and co-writer gregory hinton lack a strong-minded viewpoint , or a sense of humor .


it should be interesting , it should be poignant , it turns out to be affected and boring .


the film has too many spots where it 's on slippery footing , but is acceptable entertainment for the entire family and one that 's especially fit for the kiddies .


when it 's not wallowing in hormonal melodrama , `` real women have curves '' is a sweet , honest , and enjoyable comedy-drama about a young woman who wants many things in life , but fears she 'll become her mother before she gets to fulfill her dreams .


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


but you 'd never guess that from the performances .


cold , nervy and memorable .


feels as if the inmates have actually taken over the asylum .


first-timer john mckay is never able to pull it back on course .


you can practically hear george orwell turning over .


helmer hudlin tries to make a hip comedy , but his dependence on slapstick defeats the possibility of creating a more darkly edged tome .


passion , melodrama , sorrow , laugther , and tears cascade over the screen effortlessly ...


eric schweig and graham greene both exude an air of dignity that 's perfect for the proud warrior that still lingers in the souls of these characters .


what jackson has done is proven that no amount of imagination , no creature , no fantasy story and no incredibly outlandish scenery


there is n't one moment in the film that surprises or delights .


supposedly based upon real , or at least soberly reported incidents , the film ends with a large human tragedy .


spiderman rocks


the plot is plastered with one hollywood cliche after another , most of which involve precocious kids getting the better of obnoxious adults .


astonishing is n't the word -- neither is incompetent , incoherent or just plain crap .


you might want to take a reality check before you pay the full ticket price to see `` simone , '' and consider a dvd rental instead .


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


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


still , the updated dickensian sensibility of writer craig bartlett 's story is appealing .


waydowntown manages to nail the spirit-crushing ennui of denuded urban living without giving in to it .


he watches them as they float within the seas of their personalities .


hard as this may be to believe , here on earth , a surprisingly similar teen drama , was a better film .


it 's a funny little movie with clever dialogue and likeable characters .


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


cube 's charisma and chemistry compensate for corniness and cliche .


a full-frontal attack on audience patience .


... less a story than an inexplicable nightmare , right down to the population 's shrugging acceptance to each new horror .


tony gayton 's script does n't give us anything we have n't seen before , but director d.j. caruso 's grimy visual veneer and kilmer 's absorbing performance increase the gravitational pull considerably .


this long and relentlessly saccharine film is a clear case of preaching to the converted .


the film is old-fashioned , occasionally charming and as subtle as boldface .


it 's a 100-year old mystery that is constantly being interrupted by elizabeth hurley in a bathing suit .


an entertaining mix of period drama and flat-out farce that should please history fans .


a very well-meaning movie , and it will stand in future years as an eloquent memorial to the world trade center tragedy .


we get an image of big papa spanning history , rather than suspending it .


it 's pretty linear and only makeup-deep , but bogdanovich ties it together with efficiency and an affection for the period .


adaptation is simply brilliant .


a thought-provoking picture .


but arriving at a particularly dark moment in history , it offers flickering reminders of the ties that bind us .


director charles stone iii applies more detail to the film 's music than to the story line ; what 's best about drumline is its energy .


presents nothing special and , until the final act , nothing overtly disagreeable .


williams plays sy , another of his open-faced , smiling madmen , like the killer in insomnia .


... its stupidities wind up sticking in one 's mind a lot more than the cool bits .


turturro is fabulously funny and over the top as a ` very sneaky ' butler who excels in the art of impossible disappearing\/reappearing acts


from beginning to end , this overheated melodrama plays like a student film .


director yu seems far more interested in gross-out humor than in showing us well-thought stunts or a car chase that we have n't seen 10,000 times .


average , at best , i 'm afraid .


this is a superior horror flick .


the cast delivers without sham the raw-nerved story .


all in all , it 's a pretty good execution of a story that 's a lot richer than the ones hollywood action screenwriters usually come up with on their own .


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


it 's got all the familiar bruckheimer elements , and schumacher does probably as good a job as anyone at bringing off the hopkins\/rock collision of acting styles and onscreen personas .


i felt trapped and with no obvious escape for the entire 100 minutes .


although i did n't hate this one , it 's not very good either .


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


a moving and not infrequently breathtaking film .


while the plot follows a predictable connect-the-dots course ... director john schultz colors the picture in some evocative shades .


anemic , pretentious .


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


with few respites , marshall keeps the energy humming , and his edits , unlike those in moulin rouge , are crisp and purposeful without overdoing it .


wiseman reveals the victims of domestic abuse in all of their pity and terror .


light-years ahead of paint-by-number american blockbusters like pearl harbor , at least artistically .


one of those unassuming films that sneaks up on you and stays with you long after you have left the theatre .


to work , love stories require the full emotional involvement and support of a viewer .


trailer park magnolia : too long , too cutesy , too sure of its own importance , and possessed of that peculiar tension of being too dense & about nothing at all .


all of it works smoothly under the direction of spielberg , who does a convincing impersonation here of a director enjoying himself immensely .


a work that lacks both a purpose and a strong pulse .


very well made , but does n't generate a lot of tension .


a moving , if uneven , success .


it 's one thing to read about or rail against the ongoing - and unprecedented - construction project going on over our heads .


-lrb- a -rrb- real pleasure in its laid-back way .


what is the filmmakers ' point ?


trades run-of-the-mill revulsion for extreme unease .


feels like pieces a bunch of other , better movies slapped together .


reeks of rot and hack work from start to finish .


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


... too contrived to be as naturally charming as it needs to be .


... in no way original , or even all that memorable , but as downtown saturday matinee brain candy , it does n't disappoint .


the 50-something lovebirds are too immature and unappealing to care about .


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


a lot of fun , with an undeniable energy sparked by two actresses in their 50s working at the peak of their powers .


a breathtaking adventure for all ages , spirit tells its poignant and uplifting story in a stunning fusion of music and images .


this is a nicely handled affair , a film about human darkness but etched with a light -lrb- yet unsentimental -rrb- touch .


a bland animated sequel that hardly seems worth the effort .


unspeakable , of course , barely begins to describe the plot and its complications .


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


the film sparkles with the the wisdom and humor of its subjects .


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


it 's ... worth the extra effort to see an artist , still committed to growth in his ninth decade , change while remaining true to his principles with a film whose very subject is , quite pointedly , about the peril of such efforts .


in auteil 's less dramatic but equally incisive performance , he 's a charismatic charmer likely to seduce and conquer .


when seagal appeared in an orange prison jumpsuit , i wanted to stand up in the theater and shout , ` hey , kool-aid ! '


how many more times will indie filmmakers subject us to boring , self-important stories of how horrible we are to ourselves and each other ?


the vistas are sweeping and the acting is far from painful .


this is a movie that refreshes the mind and spirit along with the body , so original is its content , look , and style .


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


handsome and sincere but slightly awkward in its combination of entertainment and evangelical boosterism .


` if you are in the mood for an intelligent weepy , it can easily worm its way into your heart . '


who knows , but it works under the direction of kevin reynolds .


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


it 's supposed to be post-feminist breezy but ends up as tedious as the chatter of parrots raised on oprah .


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


lacking substance and soul , crossroads comes up shorter than britney 's cutoffs .


simple , poignant and leavened with humor , it 's a film that affirms the nourishing aspects of love and companionship .


at times , the movie looks genuinely pretty .


a deliberative account of a lifestyle characterized by its surface-obsession -- one that typifies the delirium of post , pre , and extant stardom .


this is surely one of the most frantic , virulent and foul-natured christmas season pics ever delivered by a hollywood studio .


i simply ca n't recommend it enough .


it 's a glorified sitcom , and a long , unfunny one at that .


anyone who 's ever suffered under a martinet music instructor has no doubt fantasized about what an unhappy , repressed and twisted personal life their tormentor deserved .


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


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


an involving , inspirational drama that sometimes falls prey to its sob-story trappings .


just send it to cranky .