sometimes there are very , very good reasons for certain movies to be sealed in a jar and left on a remote shelf indefinitely .


for single digits kidlets stuart little 2 is still a no brainer .


an instantly forgettable snow-and-stuntwork extravaganza that likely will be upstaged by an avalanche of more appealing holiday-season product .


some movies suck you in despite their flaws , and heaven is one such beast .


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


muddled , melodramatic paranormal romance is an all-time low for kevin costner .


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


so original in its base concept that you can not help but get caught up .


but even then , i 'd recommend waiting for dvd and just skipping straight to her scenes .


this new zealand coming-of-age movie is n't really about anything .


quitting offers piercing domestic drama with spikes of sly humor .


mama africa pretty much delivers on that promise .


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


we hate -lrb- madonna -rrb- within the film 's first five minutes , and she lacks the skill or presence to regain any ground .


much smarter and more attentive than it first sets out to be .


one regards reign of fire with awe .


it 's tough to tell which is in more abundant supply in this woefully hackneyed movie , directed by scott kalvert , about street gangs and turf wars in 1958 brooklyn -- stale cliches , gratuitous violence , or empty machismo .


the story is also as unoriginal as they come , already having been recycled more times than i 'd care to count .


you 've already seen city by the sea under a variety of titles , but it 's worth yet another visit .


journalism of the 1960s .


in one scene , we get a stab at soccer hooliganism , a double-barreled rip-off of quentin tarantino 's climactic shootout -- and meat loaf explodes .


is the kind of movie that 's critic-proof , simply because it aims so low .


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


a different movie -- sometimes tedious -- by a director many viewers would like to skip but film buffs should get to know .


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


a dull , simple-minded and stereotypical tale of drugs , death and mind-numbing indifference on the inner-city streets .


throw smoochy from the train !


an alternately raucous and sappy ethnic sitcom ... you 'd be wise to send your regrets .


none of this is half as moving as the filmmakers seem to think .


the heedless impetuousness of youth is on full , irritating display in -lrb- this -rrb- meandering and pointless french coming-of-age import from writer-director anne-sophie birot .


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


a low-budget affair , tadpole was shot on digital video , and the images often look smeary and blurry , to the point of distraction .


irwin is so earnest that it 's hard to resist his pleas to spare wildlife and respect their environs .


a miraculous movie , i 'm going home is so slight , yet overflows with wisdom and emotion .


the story 's pathetic and the gags are puerile . .


showtime is n't particularly assaultive , but it can still make you feel that you never want to see another car chase , explosion or gunfight again .


by the final whistle you 're convinced that this mean machine was a decent tv outing that just does n't have big screen magic .


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


and people make fun of me for liking showgirls .


the performances are all solid ; it merely lacks originality to make it a great movie .


... the story simply putters along looking for astute observations and coming up blank .


it has a caffeinated , sloppy brilliance , sparkling with ideas you wish had been developed with more care , but animated by an energy that puts the dutiful efforts of more disciplined grade-grubbers to shame .


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


if you 're not deeply touched by this movie , check your pulse .


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


children , christian or otherwise , deserve to hear the full story of jonah 's despair -- in all its agonizing , catch-22 glory -- even if they spend years trying to comprehend it .


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


muccino , who directed from his own screenplay , is a canny crowd pleaser , and the last kiss ... provides more than enough sentimental catharsis for a satisfying evening at the multiplex .


has a solid emotional impact .


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


the sweetest thing leaves a bitter taste .


one of those films that seems tailor made to air on pay cable to offer some modest amusements when one has nothing else to watch .


has enough wit , energy and geniality to please not only the fanatical adherents on either side , but also people who know nothing about the subject and think they 're not interested .


lawrence should stick to his day job .


by turns numbingly dull-witted and disquietingly creepy .


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


maid in manhattan proves that it 's easier to change the sheets than to change hackneyed concepts when it comes to dreaming up romantic comedies .


thought-provoking and stylish , if also somewhat hermetic .


a cleverly crafted but ultimately hollow mockumentary .


one of the film 's most effective aspects is its tchaikovsky soundtrack of neurasthenic regret .


jacquot has filmed the opera exactly as the libretto directs , ideally capturing the opera 's drama and lyricism .


the misery of these people becomes just another voyeuristic spectacle , to be consumed and forgotten .


from a deceptively simple premise , this deeply moving french drama develops a startling story that works both as a detailed personal portrait and as a rather frightening examination of modern times .


goldmember is funny enough to justify the embarrassment of bringing a barf bag to the moviehouse .


unexpected , and often contradictory , truths emerge .


has the capability of effecting change and inspiring hope .


even if you 're an elvis person , you wo n't find anything to get excited about on this dvd .


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


writer\/director walter hill is in his hypermasculine element here , once again able to inject some real vitality and even art into a pulpy concept that , in many other hands would be completely forgettable .


reyes ' word processor .


goldbacher draws on an elegant visual sense and a talent for easy , seductive pacing ... but she and writing partner laurence coriat do n't manage an equally assured narrative coinage .


the script is smart and dark - hallelujah for small favors .


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


you 're not merely watching history , you 're engulfed by it .


i am more offended by his lack of faith in his audience than by anything on display here .


we 're drawn in by the dark luster .


the darker elements of misogyny and unprovoked violence suffocate the illumination created by the two daughters and the sparse instances of humor meant to shine through the gloomy film noir veil .


it 's not a great monster movie .


it 's a lovely , sad dance highlighted by kwan 's unique directing style .


it 's so downbeat and nearly humorless that it becomes a chore to sit through -- despite some first-rate performances by its lead .


the all-french cast is marveilleux .


wanker goths are on the loose !


if the title is a jeopardy question , then the answer might be `` how does steven seagal come across these days ? ''


the emperor 's club , ruthless in its own placid way , finds one of our most conservative and hidebound movie-making traditions and gives it new texture , new relevance , new reality .


the warnings to resist temptation in this film ... are blunt and challenging and offer no easy rewards for staying clean .


that storytelling has value can not be denied .


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


it 's hard to believe that something so short could be so flabby .


it establishes its ominous mood and tension swiftly , and if the suspense never rises to a higher level , it is nevertheless maintained throughout .


solondz may well be the only one laughing at his own joke


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


swinging , the film makes it seem , is not a hobby that attracts the young and fit .


there 's a reason why halftime is only fifteen minutes long .


a tasty slice of droll whimsy .


winds up being both revelatory and narcissistic , achieving some honest insight into relationships that most high-concept films candy-coat with pat storylines , precious circumstances and beautiful stars .


in its own floundering way , it gets to you .


behind the glitz , hollywood is sordid and disgusting .


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


with very little to add beyond the dark visions already relayed by superb recent predecessors like swimming with sharks and the player , this latest skewering ... may put off insiders and outsiders alike .


significantly better than its 2002 children 's - movie competition .


you can thank me for this .


this is an elegantly balanced movie -- every member of the ensemble has something fascinating to do -- that does n't reveal even a hint of artifice .


cox creates a fluid and mesmerizing sequence of images to match the words of nijinsky 's diaries .


the fast runner ' transports the viewer into an unusual space


with the exception of mccoist , the players do n't have a clue on the park .


no amount of good acting is enough to save oleander 's uninspired story .


everyone 's to blame here .


evokes the 19th century with a subtlety that is an object lesson in period filmmaking .


an odd , haphazard , and inconsequential romantic comedy .


... another example of how sandler is losing his touch .


an awful lot like one of -lrb- spears ' -rrb- music videos in content -- except that it goes on for at least 90 more minutes and , worse , that you have to pay if you want to see it .


stale and clichéd to a fault .


... built on the premise that middle-class arkansas consists of monster truck-loving good ol' boys and peroxide blond honeys whose worldly knowledge comes from tv reruns and supermarket tabloids .


zellweger 's whiny pouty-lipped poof faced and spindly attempt at playing an ingenue makes her nomination as best actress even more of a an a


holofcener rejects patent solutions to dramatize life 's messiness from inside out , in all its strange quirks .


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


i still want my money back .


no one involved , save dash , shows the slightest aptitude for acting , and the script , credited to director abdul malik abbott and ernest ` tron ' anderson , seems entirely improvised .


it 's the kind of effectively creepy-scary thriller that has you fixating on a far corner of the screen at times because your nerves just ca n't take it any more .


narratively , trouble every day is a plodding mess .


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


if there 's no art here , it 's still a good yarn -- which is nothing to sneeze at these days .


ranges from laugh-out-loud hilarious to wonder-what - time-it-is tedious .


the cumulative effect of watching this 65-minute trifle is rather like being trapped while some weird relative trots out the video he took of the family vacation to stonehenge .


its sheer dynamism is infectious .


the film is reasonably entertaining , though it begins to drag two-thirds through , when the melodramatic aspects start to overtake the comedy .


dark and disturbing , yet compelling to watch .


simultaneously heart-breaking and very funny , the last kiss is really all about performances .


start reading your scripts before signing that dotted line .


bogs down badly as we absorb jia 's moody , bad-boy behavior which he portrays himself in a one-note performance .


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


a pathetically inane and unimaginative cross between xxx and vertical limit .


max pokes , provokes , takes expressionistic license and hits a nerve ... as far as art is concerned , it 's mission accomplished .


the power of shanghai ghetto , a documentary by dana janklowicz-mann and amir mann , rests in the voices of men and women , now in their 70s , who lived there in the 1940s .


in a word : no. .


there are many things that solid acting can do for a movie , but crafting something promising from a mediocre screenplay is not one of them .


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


a sentimental mess that never rings true .


a fascinating case study of flower-power liberation -- and the price that was paid for it .


-lrb- janey -rrb- forgets about her other obligations , leading to a tragedy which is somehow guessable from the first few minutes , maybe because it echoes the by now intolerable morbidity of so many recent movies .


ca n't get enough of libidinous young city dwellers ?


would i see it again ?


the only problem is that , by the end , no one in the audience or the film seems to really care .


a film without surprise geared toward maximum comfort and familiarity .


... although this idea is `` new '' the results are tired .


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


mike white 's deft combination of serious subject matter and dark , funny humor make `` the good girl '' a film worth watching .


a film that will be best appreciated by those willing to endure its extremely languorous rhythms , waiting for happiness is ultimately thoughtful without having much dramatic impact .


this may be the first cartoon ever to look as if it were being shown on the projection television screen of a sports bar .


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


the trouble is , its filmmakers run out of clever ideas and visual gags about halfway through .


even when crush departs from the 4w formula ... it feels like a glossy rehash .


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


nair does n't treat the issues lightly .


ana 's journey is not a stereotypical one of self-discovery , as she 's already comfortable enough in her own skin to be proud of her rubenesque physique ...


a compelling motion picture that illustrates an american tragedy .


it 's that painful .


smart , sassy interpretation of the oscar wilde play .


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


... if you 're just in the mood for a fun -- but bad -- movie , you might want to catch freaks as a matinee .


though writer\/director bart freundlich 's film ultimately becomes a simplistic story about a dysfunctional parent-child relationship , it has some special qualities and the soulful gravity of crudup 's anchoring performance .


the early and middle passages are surprising in how much they engage and even touch us .


but be warned , you too may feel time has decided to stand still .


-lrb- cho 's face is -rrb- an amazing slapstick instrument , creating a scrapbook of living mug shots .


if ever such a dependable concept was botched in execution , this is it .


his -lrb- nelson 's -rrb- screenplay needs some serious re-working to show more of the dilemma , rather than have his characters stage shouting matches about it .


terminally brain dead production .


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


-lrb- grant -rrb- goes beyond his usual fluttering and stammering and captures the soul of a man in pain who gradually comes to recognize it and deal with it .


adults will certainly want to spend their time in the theater thinking up grocery lists and ways to tell their kids how not to act like pinocchio .


the movie suffers from two fatal ailments -- a dearth of vitality and a story that 's shapeless and uninflected .


well-meaning but inert .


bigelow handles the nuclear crisis sequences evenly but milks drama when she should be building suspense , and drags out too many scenes toward the end that should move quickly .


while most films these days are about nothing , this film seems to be about everything that 's plaguing the human spirit in a relentlessly globalizing world .


one senses in world traveler and in his earlier film that freundlich bears a grievous but obscure complaint against fathers , and circles it obsessively , without making contact .


well-meant but unoriginal .


it 's an effort to watch this movie , but it eventually pays off and is effective if you stick with it .


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


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


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


no. .


kapur weighs down the tale with bogus profundities .


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


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


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


an ugly , revolting movie .


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


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


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


but it 's hardly a necessary enterprise .


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


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


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


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


de niro cries .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


do you chuckle at the thought of an ancient librarian whacking a certain part of a man 's body ?


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


a comedy that is warm , inviting , and surprising .


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


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


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


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


it 's not hateful .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


feels like nothing quite so much as a middle-aged moviemaker 's attempt to surround himself with beautiful , half-naked women .


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


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


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


it would work much better as a one-hour tv documentary .


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


directors john musker and ron clements , the team behind the little mermaid , have produced sparkling retina candy , but they are n't able to muster a lot of emotional resonance in the cold vacuum of space .


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


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


many of benjamins ' elements feel like they 've been patched in from an episode of miami vice .


... little more than a well-acted television melodrama shot for the big screen .


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


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


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


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


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


your stomach for heaven depends largely on your appetite for canned corn .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


in terms of execution this movie is careless and unfocused .


the story ultimately takes hold and grips hard .


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


rabbit-proof fence will probably make you angry .


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


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


an alternately fascinating and frustrating documentary .


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


unfortunately , one hour photo lives down to its title .


punitively affirmational parable .


as spent screen series go , star trek : nemesis is even more suggestive of a 65th class reunion mixer where only eight surviving members show up -- and there 's nothing to drink .


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


beautifully produced .


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


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


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


if you 're paying attention , the `` big twists '' are pretty easy to guess - but that does n't make the movie any less entertaining .


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


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


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


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


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


the plot meanders from gripping to plodding and back .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


they should have found orson welles ' great-grandson .


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


press the delete key .


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


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


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


a grating , emaciated flick .


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


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


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


jackson is always watchable .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


summer 's far too fleeting to squander on offal like this .


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


fantastic !


in both the writing and cutting , it does not achieve the kind of dramatic unity that transports you .


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


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


`` red dragon '' is entertaining .


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


secretary is just too original to be ignored .


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


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


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


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


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


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


this thing works on no level whatsoever for me .


a selection of scenes in search of a movie .


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


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


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


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


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


meticulously uncovers a trail of outrageous force and craven concealment .


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


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


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


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


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


... watching it was painful .


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


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


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


in some ways , lagaan is quintessential bollywood .


wait to see it then .


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


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


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


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


anemic chronicle of money grubbing new yorkers and their serial loveless hook ups .


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


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


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


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


one of the most incoherent features in recent memory .


a wry , affectionate delight .


`` sum '' is jack ryan 's `` do-over . ''


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


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


but death to smoochy keeps firing until the bitter end .


a three-hour cinema master class .


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


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


than ` magnifique ' .


davis the performer is plenty fetching enough , but she needs to shake up the mix , and work in something that does n't feel like a half-baked stand-up routine .


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


the rest of the film ... is dudsville .


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


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


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


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


if you 're a crocodile hunter fan , you 'll enjoy at least the `` real '' portions of the film .


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


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


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


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


we get light showers of emotion a couple of times , but then -- strangely -- these wane to an inconsistent and ultimately unsatisfying drizzle .


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


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


the hanukkah spirit seems fried in pork .


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


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


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


a drama of great power , yet some members of the audience will leave the theater believing they have seen a comedy .


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


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


while serving sara does have a long way to go before it reaches the level of crudity in the latest austin powers extravaganza , there 's nothing here to match that movie 's intermittent moments of inspiration .


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


it 's one long bore .


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


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


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


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


a tasty masala .


but it does have one saving grace .


one ca n't deny its seriousness and quality .


piccoli gives a superb performance full of deep feeling .


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


an empty , purposeless exercise .


too bad .


everything is pegged into the groove of a new york dating comedy with ` issues ' to simplify .


the obligatory break-ups and hook-ups do n't seem to have much emotional impact on the characters .


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


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


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


painfully padded .


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


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


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


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


it understands , in a way that speaks forcefully enough about the mechanisms of poverty to transcend the rather simplistic filmmaking .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


in a 102-minute film , aaliyah gets at most 20 minutes of screen time .


... an interesting slice of history .


for dance completists only .


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


less front-loaded and more shapely than the two-hour version released here in 1990 .


it 's uninteresting .


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


a tone poem of transgression .


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


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


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


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


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


one of the worst movies of the year .


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


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


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


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


it 's actually too sincere -- the crime movie equivalent of a chick flick .


manages to delight without much of a story .


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


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


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


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


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


it 's sincere to a fault , but , unfortunately , not very compelling or much fun .


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


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


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


the camera whirls !


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


an infinitely wittier version of the home alone formula .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


you see the movie and you think , zzzzzzzzz .


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


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


true hollywood story .


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


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


the dominant feeling is something like nostalgia . '


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


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


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


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


sandra bullock 's best dramatic performance to date -lrb- is -rrb- almost enough to lift -lrb- this -rrb- thrill-kill cat-and-mouser ... above its paint-by-numbers plot .


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


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


a romance ?


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


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


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


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


i did n't think so .


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


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


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


bland but harmless .


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


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


in the telling of a story largely untold , bui chooses to produce something that is ultimately suspiciously familiar .


freundlich 's made -lrb- crudup -rrb- a suburban architect , and a cipher .


it 's a bizarre curiosity memorable mainly for the way it fritters away its potentially interesting subject matter via a banal script , unimpressive acting and indifferent direction .


not to mention a sharper , cleaner camera lens .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


though uniformly well acted , especially by young ballesta and galan -lrb- a first-time actor -rrb- , writer\/director achero manas 's film is schematic and obvious .


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


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


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


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


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


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


the 1960s rebellion was misdirected : you ca n't fight your culture .


disjointed parody .


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


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


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


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


lohman adapts to the changes required of her , but the actress and director peter kosminsky never get the audience to break through the wall her character erects


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


unpretentious , charming , quirky , original


-lrb- a -rrb- rare movie that makes us re-assess the basis for our lives and evaluate what is truly ours in a world of meaningless activity .


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


told just proficiently enough to trounce its overly comfortable trappings .


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


at once emotional and richly analytical , the cosby-seinfeld encounter alone confirms the serious weight behind this superficially loose , larky documentary .


dogtown and z-boys more than exposes the roots of the skateboarding boom that would become `` the punk kids ' revolution . ''


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


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


a dull , dumb and derivative horror film .


how about surprising us by trying something new ?


a wordy wisp of a comedy .


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


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


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


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


caviezel embodies the transformation of his character completely .


i found it slow , predictable and not very amusing .


see it .


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


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


few of the increasingly far-fetched events that first-time writer-director neil burger follows up with are terribly convincing , which is a pity , considering barry 's terrific performance .


oh , and more entertaining , too .


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


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


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


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


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


how inept is serving sara ?


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


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


the film makes strong arguments regarding the social status of america 's indigenous people , but really only exists to try to eke out an emotional tug of the heart , one which it fails to get .


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


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


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


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


you can see where big bad love is trying to go , but it never quite gets there .


the movie has generic virtues , and despite a lot of involved talent , seems done by the numbers .


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


the film 's heady yet far from impenetrable theory suggests that russians take comfort in their closed-off nationalist reality .


this is n't a new idea .


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


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


avary 's film never quite emerges from the shadow of ellis ' book .


smothered by its own solemnity .


just bring on the battle bots , please !


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


its juxtaposition of overwrought existentialism and stomach-churning gore will have you forever on the verge of either cracking up or throwing up .


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


a melancholy , emotional film .


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


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


the limited sets and small confined and dark spaces also are homages to a classic low-budget film noir movie .


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


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


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


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


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


you could put it on a coffee table anywhere .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


nair does n't use -lrb- monsoon wedding -rrb- to lament the loss of culture .


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


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


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


made for teens and reviewed as such , this is recommended only for those under 20 years of age ... and then only as a very mild rental .


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


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


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


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


great dragons !


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


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


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


it 's jagger 's bone-dry , mournfully brittle delivery that gives the film its bittersweet bite .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


david spade as citizen kane ?


but fans of the show should not consider this a diss .


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


when mr. hundert tells us in his narration that ` this is a story without surprises , ' we nod in agreement .


although barbershop boasts some of today 's hottest and hippest acts from the world of television , music and stand-up comedy , this movie strangely enough has the outdated swagger of a shameless ` 70s blaxploitation shuck-and-jive sitcom .


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


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


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


sweet home alabama is one dumb movie , but its stupidity is so relentlessly harmless that it almost wins you over in the end .


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


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


a brutally dry satire of middle american numbness .


it 's too bad that the rest is n't more compelling .


more vaudeville show than well-constructed narrative , but on those terms it 's inoffensive and actually rather sweet .


it is philosophy , illustrated through everyday events .


this is one of the year 's best films .


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


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


mild , meandering teen flick .


this sort of cute and cloying material is far from zhang 's forte and it shows .


while guzmán frustratingly refuses to give pinochet 's crimes a political context , his distance from the material is mostly admirable .


life or something like it has its share of high points , but it misses too many opportunities .


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


absorbing character study by andré turpin .


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


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


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


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


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


an unintentional parody of every teen movie made in the last five years .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


collapses under its own meager weight .


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


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


at once disarmingly straightforward and strikingly devious .


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


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


the movie has no respect for laws , political correctness or common decency , but it displays something more important : respect for its flawed , crazy people .


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


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


this is n't a retooled genre piece , the tale of a guy and his gun , but an amiably idiosyncratic work .


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


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


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


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


collateral damage offers formula payback and the big payoff , but the explosions tend to simply hit their marks , pyro-correctly .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


meandering and glacially paced , and often just plain dull .


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


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


sa da tay !


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


for free .


half past dead is just such an achievement .


on its own , it 's not very interesting .


ignore the reputation , and ignore the film .


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


peter jackson has done the nearly impossible .


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


less a heartfelt appeal for the handicapped than a nice belgian waffle .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


there 's a lot of tooth in roger dodger .


a brutal and funny work .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


a great companion piece to other napoleon films .


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


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


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


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


it has plenty of laughs .


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


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


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


and i expect much more from a talent as outstanding as director bruce mcculloch .


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


what 's left is a rich stew of longing .


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


snipes is both a snore and utter tripe .


suffice to say that after seeing this movie in imax form , you 'll be more acquainted with the tiniest details of tom hanks ' face than his wife is .


the actors pull out all the stops in nearly every scene , but to diminishing effect .


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


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


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


` sophisticated ' viewers who refuse to admit that they do n't like it will likely call it ` challenging ' to their fellow sophisticates .


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


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


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


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


full of surprises .


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


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


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


one of the best rock documentaries ever .


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


a picture as erratic as its central character .


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


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


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


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


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


it may not be as cutting , as witty or as true as back in the glory days of weekend and two or three things i know about her , but who else engaged in filmmaking today is so cognizant of the cultural and moral issues involved in the process ?


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


i like it .


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


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


poignant japanese epic about adolescent anomie and heartbreak .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


it 's almost as if it 's an elaborate dare more than a full-blooded film .


charming and funny -lrb- but ultimately silly -rrb- movie .


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


this story still seems timely and important .


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


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


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


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


you 'll laugh at either the obviousness of it all or its stupidity or maybe even its inventiveness , but the point is , you 'll laugh .


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


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


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


it 's bedeviled by labored writing and slack direction .


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


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


your taste for jonah - a veggie tales movie may well depend on your threshold for pop manifestations of the holy spirit .


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


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


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


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


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


resident evil is what comes from taking john carpenter 's ghosts of mars and eliminating the beheadings .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


sometimes this ` blood ' seems as tired as its protagonist ... still , the pulse never disappears entirely , and the picture crosses the finish line winded but still game .


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


kenneth branagh 's energetic sweet-and-sour performance as a curmudgeonly british playwright grounds this overstuffed , erratic dramedy in which he and his improbably forbearing wife contend with craziness and child-rearing in los angeles .


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


enchanted with low-life tragedy and liberally seasoned with emotional outbursts ... what is sorely missing , however , is the edge of wild , lunatic invention that we associate with cage 's best acting .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


those of you who do n't believe in santa claus probably also think that sequels can never capture the magic of the original .


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


remember back when thrillers actually thrilled ?


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


real women have curves does n't offer any easy answers .


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


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


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


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


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


this is the stuff that disney movies are made of .


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


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


the film is a verbal duel between two gifted performers .


it 's makes a better travelogue than movie .


it 's a masterpiece .


... will always be remembered for the 9-11 terrorist attacks .


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


i have to admit i walked out of runteldat .


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


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


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


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


films are made of little moments .


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


this quiet , introspective and entertaining independent is worth seeking .


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


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


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


it 's not a particularly good film , but neither is it a monsterous one .


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


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


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


all in all , a great party .


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


lan yu is certainly a serviceable melodrama , but it does n't even try for the greatness that happy together shoots for -lrb- and misses -rrb- .


about as original as a gangster sweating bullets while worrying about a contract on his life .


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


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


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


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


-lrb- l -rrb- ame and unnecessary .


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


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


a mildly enjoyable if toothless adaptation of a much better book .


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


or that the battery on your watch has died .


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


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


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


vampire epic succeeds as spooky action-packed trash of the highest order .


the whole affair is as predictable as can be .


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


bad and baffling from the get-go .


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


i realized that no matter how fantastic reign of fire looked , its story was making no sense at all .


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


walsh ca n't quite negotiate the many inconsistencies in janice 's behavior or compensate for them by sheer force of charm .


harmless fun .


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


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


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


what 's the most positive thing that can be said about the new rob schneider vehicle ?


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


the bottom line is the piece works brilliantly .


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


tends to plod .


succeeds only because bullock and grant were made to share the silver screen .


eric byler 's nuanced pic avoids easy sentiments and explanations ...


pleasant but not more than recycled jock piffle .


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


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


i have two words to say about reign of fire .


the pace of the film is very slow -lrb- for obvious reasons -rrb- and that too becomes off-putting .


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


the film grows on you .


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


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


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


an often unfunny romp .


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


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


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


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


the date movie that franz kafka would have made .


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


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


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


bisset delivers a game performance , but she is unable to save the movie .


the movie should be credited with remembering his victims .


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


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


what bloody sunday lacks in clarity , it makes up for with a great , fiery passion .


`` red dragon '' never cuts corners .


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


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


cold and scattered , minority report commands interest almost solely as an exercise in gorgeous visuals .


the results , if not memorable , are at least interesting .


it looks good , but it is essentially empty .


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


that is made almost impossible by events that set the plot in motion .


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


sure , i hated myself in the morning .