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


a good film with a solid pedigree both in front of and , more specifically , behind the camera .


as a film director , labute continues to improve .


richard pryor mined his personal horrors and came up with a treasure chest of material , but lawrence gives us mostly fool 's gold .

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


these people are really going to love the piano teacher .


a sham construct based on theory , sleight-of-hand , and ill-wrought hypothesis .

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


it 's never dull and always looks good .


has all the complexity and realistic human behavior of an episode of general hospital .

pretend like your sat scores are below 120 and you might not notice the flaws .


lovingly photographed in the manner of a golden book sprung to life , stuart little 2 manages sweetness largely without stickiness .


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

undoubtedly the scariest movie ever made about tattoos .


true to its animatronic roots : ... as stiff , ponderous and charmless as a mechanical apparatus ... ` the country bears ' should never have been brought out of hibernation .


-lrb- rises -rrb- above its oh-so-hollywood rejiggering and its conventional direction to give the film a soul and an unabashed sense of good old-fashioned escapism .


snoots will no doubt rally to its cause , trotting out threadbare standbys like ` masterpiece ' and ` triumph ' and all that malarkey , but rarely does an established filmmaker so ardently waste viewers ' time with a gobbler like this .


and thanks to kline 's superbly nuanced performance , that pondering is highly pleasurable .


talky , artificial and opaque ... an interesting technical exercise , but a tedious picture .


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


... the whole thing succeeded only in making me groggy .


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

this bond film goes off the beaten path , not necessarily for the better .


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

though it pretends to expose the life of male hustlers , it 's exploitive without being insightful .


a lot more dimensional and complex than its sunny disposition would lead you to believe .


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


there 's nothing to gain from watching they .


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

while insomnia is in many ways a conventional , even predictable remake , nolan 's penetrating undercurrent of cerebral and cinemantic flair lends -lrb- it -rrb- stimulating depth .


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 .


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

this is a fragmented film , once a good idea that was followed by the bad idea to turn it into a movie .


the re-release of ron howard 's apollo 13 in the imax format proves absolutely that really , really , really good things can come in enormous packages .


a timely look back at civil disobedience , anti-war movements and the power of strong voices .


enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .


the film , despite the gratuitous cinematic distractions impressed upon it , is still good fun .

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


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


happily stays close to the ground in a spare and simple manner and does n't pummel us with phony imagery or music .

the wonder of mostly martha is the performance of gedeck , who makes martha enormously endearing .


true to its animatronic roots : ... as stiff , ponderous and charmless as a mechanical apparatus ... ` the country bears ' should never have been brought out of hibernation .


while insomnia is in many ways a conventional , even predictable remake , nolan 's penetrating undercurrent of cerebral and cinemantic flair lends -lrb- it -rrb- stimulating depth .

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


the film does n't sustain its initial promise with a jarring , new-agey tone creeping into the second half


the characters are more deeply thought through than in most ` right-thinking ' films .

as a film director , labute continues to improve .


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


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


the script was reportedly rewritten a dozen times -- either 11 times too many or else too few .


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

the characters are more deeply thought through than in most ` right-thinking ' films .


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


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 .


problem is , we have no idea what in creation is going on .


no amount of arty theorizing -- the special effects are ` german-expressionist , ' according to the press notes -- can render it anything but laughable .

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


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


a lightweight , uneven action comedy that freely mingles french , japanese and hollywood cultures .

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


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


offers a clear-eyed chronicle of a female friendship that is more complex and honest than anything represented in a hollywood film .

if you 're down for a silly hack-and-slash flick , you can do no wrong with jason x.


while some of the camera work is interesting , the film 's mid-to-low budget is betrayed by the surprisingly shoddy makeup work .


if you 're the kind of parent who enjoys intentionally introducing your kids to films which will cause loads of irreparable damage that years and years of costly analysis could never fix , i have just one word for you - -- decasia

adrift , bentley and hudson stare and sniffle , respectively , as ledger attempts , in vain , to prove that movie-star intensity can overcome bad hair design .


an overstylized , puréed mélange of sex , psychology , drugs and philosophy .

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


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


but it also has many of the things that made the first one charming .

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


a loud , brash and mainly unfunny high school comedy .

rarely does a film so graceless and devoid of merit as this one come along .


likely to have decades of life as a classic movie franchise ?


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


if you 're down for a silly hack-and-slash flick , you can do no wrong with jason x.


though it pretends to expose the life of male hustlers , it 's exploitive without being insightful .


woven together handsomely , recalling sixties ' rockumentary milestones from lonely boy to do n't look back .


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


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


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


spielberg 's picture is smarter and subtler than -lrb- total recall and blade runner -rrb- , although its plot may prove too convoluted for fun-seeking summer audiences .

the film has a terrific look and salma hayek has a feel for the character at all stages of her life .


though it pretends to expose the life of male hustlers , it 's exploitive without being insightful .

the cinematic equivalent of patronizing a bar favored by pretentious , untalented artistes who enjoy moaning about their cruel fate .


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

but unless you 're an absolute raving star wars junkie , it is n't much fun .


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


fortunately , elling never gets too cloying thanks to the actors ' perfect comic timing and sweet , genuine chemistry .


like the hanks character , he 's a slow study : the action is stilted and the tabloid energy embalmed .


your 20th outing shows off a lot of stamina and vitality , and get this , madonna 's cameo does n't suck !


an inexperienced director , mehta has much to learn .


the adventures of pluto nash is a whole lot of nada .

it collapses when mr. taylor tries to shift the tone to a thriller 's rush .


the lady and the duke is a smart , romantic drama that dares to depict the french revolution from the aristocrats ' perspective .


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

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


the characters are more deeply thought through than in most ` right-thinking ' films .


at times , the movie looks genuinely pretty .

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


the script has less spice than a rat burger and the rock 's fighting skills are more in line with steven seagal .


enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .

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


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


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

it 's good , hard-edged stuff , violent and a bit exploitative but also nicely done , morally alert and street-smart .


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


the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .


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

woody allen has really found his groove these days .


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

your 20th outing shows off a lot of stamina and vitality , and get this , madonna 's cameo does n't suck !


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


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


has all the complexity and realistic human behavior of an episode of general hospital .


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

an overstylized , puréed mélange of sex , psychology , drugs and philosophy .


... the whole thing succeeded only in making me groggy .

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


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


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


rarely does a film so graceless and devoid of merit as this one come along .

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


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


it must be the end of the world : the best film so far this year is a franchise sequel starring wesley snipes .

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


it 's about issues most adults have to face in marriage and i think that 's what i liked about it -- the real issues tucked between the silly and crude storyline .

... by the time it 's done with us , mira nair 's new movie has its audience giddy with the delight of discovery , of having been immersed in a foreign culture only to find that human nature is pretty much the same all over .


the events of the film are just so weird that i honestly never knew what the hell was coming next .


it 's fairly solid -- not to mention well edited so that it certainly does n't feel like a film that strays past the two and a half mark .

with so many bad romances out there , this is the kind of movie that deserves a chance to shine .


the film never finds its tone and several scenes run too long .


but the movie 's narrative hook is way too muddled to be an effectively chilling guilty pleasure .

its initial excitement settles into a warmed over pastiche .


the film has a terrific look and salma hayek has a feel for the character at all stages of her life .


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


the characters are more deeply thought through than in most ` right-thinking ' films .


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

undoubtedly the scariest movie ever made about tattoos .


nicks and steinberg match their own creations for pure venality -- that 's giving it the old college try .


a fake street drama that keeps telling you things instead of showing them .

there 's nothing to gain from watching they .


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 .


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

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


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


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

a harrowing account of a psychological breakdown .


a loud , brash and mainly unfunny high school comedy .


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

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


the lady and the duke is a smart , romantic drama that dares to depict the french revolution from the aristocrats ' perspective .


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


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


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


pretend like your sat scores are below 120 and you might not notice the flaws .

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


it 's fairly solid -- not to mention well edited so that it certainly does n't feel like a film that strays past the two and a half mark .


what starts off as a potentially incredibly twisting mystery becomes simply a monster chase film .

but the movie 's narrative hook is way too muddled to be an effectively chilling guilty pleasure .


woven together handsomely , recalling sixties ' rockumentary milestones from lonely boy to do n't look back .


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


little more than a well-mounted history lesson .

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


-lrb- rises -rrb- above its oh-so-hollywood rejiggering and its conventional direction to give the film a soul and an unabashed sense of good old-fashioned escapism .


what they 're doing is a matter of plumbing arrangements and mind games , of no erotic or sensuous charge .

if you 're the kind of parent who enjoys intentionally introducing your kids to films which will cause loads of irreparable damage that years and years of costly analysis could never fix , i have just one word for you - -- decasia


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


a fake street drama that keeps telling you things instead of showing them .


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

but there 's plenty to offend everyone ...


a hypnotic cyber hymn and a cruel story of youth culture .


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

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


the script has less spice than a rat burger and the rock 's fighting skills are more in line with steven seagal .


the lively appeal of the last kiss lies in the ease with which it integrates thoughtfulness and pasta-fagioli comedy .


a lightweight , uneven action comedy that freely mingles french , japanese and hollywood cultures .


it collapses when mr. taylor tries to shift the tone to a thriller 's rush .

director elie chouraqui , who co-wrote the script , catches the chaotic horror of war , but why bother if you 're going to subjugate truth to the tear-jerking demands of soap opera ?


the cinematic equivalent of patronizing a bar favored by pretentious , untalented artistes who enjoy moaning about their cruel fate .


one of those rare films that come by once in a while with flawless amounts of acting , direction , story and pace .

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


pretend like your sat scores are below 120 and you might not notice the flaws .


one ca n't shake the feeling that crossroads is nothing more than an hour-and-a-half-long commercial for britney 's latest album .

despite terrific special effects and funnier gags , harry potter and the chamber of secrets finds a way to make j.k. rowling 's marvelous series into a deadly bore .


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


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

a sham construct based on theory , sleight-of-hand , and ill-wrought hypothesis .


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


as a film director , labute continues to improve .

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


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


its initial excitement settles into a warmed over pastiche .

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 .


with so many bad romances out there , this is the kind of movie that deserves a chance to shine .


one ca n't shake the feeling that crossroads is nothing more than an hour-and-a-half-long commercial for britney 's latest album .


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

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


i suspect that you 'll be as bored watching morvern callar as the characters are in it .


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

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


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

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


hawn and sarandon form an acting bond that makes the banger sisters a fascinating character study with laughs to spare .


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


it collapses when mr. taylor tries to shift the tone to a thriller 's rush .


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

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


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


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 .

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


spielberg 's picture is smarter and subtler than -lrb- total recall and blade runner -rrb- , although its plot may prove too convoluted for fun-seeking summer audiences .


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


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


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


snoots will no doubt rally to its cause , trotting out threadbare standbys like ` masterpiece ' and ` triumph ' and all that malarkey , but rarely does an established filmmaker so ardently waste viewers ' time with a gobbler like this .


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

your 20th outing shows off a lot of stamina and vitality , and get this , madonna 's cameo does n't suck !


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 .


the re-release of ron howard 's apollo 13 in the imax format proves absolutely that really , really , really good things can come in enormous packages .

at times , the movie looks genuinely pretty .


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


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

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 .


it celebrates the group 's playful spark of nonconformity , glancing vividly back at what hibiscus grandly called his ` angels of light . '


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

a harrowing account of a psychological breakdown .


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 .


lovingly photographed in the manner of a golden book sprung to life , stuart little 2 manages sweetness largely without stickiness .


this comic gem is as delightful as it is derivative .

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


the cinematic equivalent of patronizing a bar favored by pretentious , untalented artistes who enjoy moaning about their cruel fate .


it should be doing a lot of things , but does n't .

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


another trumpet blast that there may be a new mexican cinema a-bornin ' . '


undoubtedly the scariest movie ever made about tattoos .

the bottom line with nemesis is the same as it has been with all the films in the series : fans will undoubtedly enjoy it , and the uncommitted need n't waste their time on it .


what they 're doing is a matter of plumbing arrangements and mind games , of no erotic or sensuous charge .


a pretty decent kid-pleasing , tolerable-to-adults lark of a movie .


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


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

jackson shamefully strolls through this mess with a smug grin , inexplicably wearing a kilt and carrying a bag of golf clubs over one shoulder .


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


the movie 's thesis -- elegant technology for the masses -- is surprisingly refreshing .


one can only assume that the jury who bestowed star hoffman 's brother gordy with the waldo salt screenwriting award at 2002 's sundance festival were honoring an attempt to do something different over actually pulling it off


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


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


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

we just do n't really care too much about this love story .


all leather pants & augmented boobs , hawn is hilarious as she tries to resuscitate the fun-loving libertine lost somewhere inside the conservative , handbag-clutching sarandon .


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

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


if you 're the kind of parent who enjoys intentionally introducing your kids to films which will cause loads of irreparable damage that years and years of costly analysis could never fix , i have just one word for you - -- decasia


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

adrift , bentley and hudson stare and sniffle , respectively , as ledger attempts , in vain , to prove that movie-star intensity can overcome bad hair design .


and thanks to kline 's superbly nuanced performance , that pondering is highly pleasurable .


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


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


lovingly photographed in the manner of a golden book sprung to life , stuart little 2 manages sweetness largely without stickiness .

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


though it pretends to expose the life of male hustlers , it 's exploitive without being insightful .


but there 's plenty to offend everyone ...


on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , the powerpuff girls is a fast , frenetic , funny , even punny 6 -- aimed specifically at a grade-school audience .


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


hollywood ending is the most disappointing woody allen movie ever .


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


while some of the camera work is interesting , the film 's mid-to-low budget is betrayed by the surprisingly shoddy makeup work .


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

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


all leather pants & augmented boobs , hawn is hilarious as she tries to resuscitate the fun-loving libertine lost somewhere inside the conservative , handbag-clutching sarandon .

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


chan 's stunts are limited and so embellished by editing that there 's really not much of a sense of action or even action-comedy .


a film of delicate interpersonal dances .


imagine susan sontag falling in love with howard stern .


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

impostor is a step down for director gary fleder .


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


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


an overstylized , puréed mélange of sex , psychology , drugs and philosophy .


true to its animatronic roots : ... as stiff , ponderous and charmless as a mechanical apparatus ... ` the country bears ' should never have been brought out of hibernation .

richard pryor mined his personal horrors and came up with a treasure chest of material , but lawrence gives us mostly fool 's gold .


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


a poignant and gently humorous parable that loves its characters and communicates something rather beautiful about human nature .


boasts a handful of virtuosic set pieces and offers a fair amount of trashy , kinky fun .


-lrb- a -rrb- rather thinly-conceived movie .

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


spielberg 's picture is smarter and subtler than -lrb- total recall and blade runner -rrb- , although its plot may prove too convoluted for fun-seeking summer audiences .


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

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


these people are really going to love the piano teacher .

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


the cinematic equivalent of patronizing a bar favored by pretentious , untalented artistes who enjoy moaning about their cruel fate .


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


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

a sham construct based on theory , sleight-of-hand , and ill-wrought hypothesis .


a good film with a solid pedigree both in front of and , more specifically , behind the camera .


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


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


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

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


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


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


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


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

while insomnia is in many ways a conventional , even predictable remake , nolan 's penetrating undercurrent of cerebral and cinemantic flair lends -lrb- it -rrb- stimulating depth .


the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .


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

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


it should be doing a lot of things , but does n't .


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

the script was reportedly rewritten a dozen times -- either 11 times too many or else too few .


a hypnotic cyber hymn and a cruel story of youth culture .


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

a fake street drama that keeps telling you things instead of showing them .


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


chan 's stunts are limited and so embellished by editing that there 's really not much of a sense of action or even action-comedy .


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


as a feature-length film , it wears out its welcome as tryingly as the title character .


on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , the powerpuff girls is a fast , frenetic , funny , even punny 6 -- aimed specifically at a grade-school audience .


mr. wollter and ms. seldhal give strong and convincing performances , but neither reaches into the deepest recesses of the character to unearth the quaking essence of passion , grief and fear .


one can only assume that the jury who bestowed star hoffman 's brother gordy with the waldo salt screenwriting award at 2002 's sundance festival were honoring an attempt to do something different over actually pulling it off

the adventures of pluto nash is a whole lot of nada .


a lot more dimensional and complex than its sunny disposition would lead you to believe .


the solid filmmaking and convincing characters makes this a high water mark for this genre .

woven together handsomely , recalling sixties ' rockumentary milestones from lonely boy to do n't look back .


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


the film never finds its tone and several scenes run too long .

we just do n't really care too much about this love story .


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


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


i suspect that you 'll be as bored watching morvern callar as the characters are in it .

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


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

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 .


it 's far from a frothy piece , and the characters are complex , laden with plenty of baggage and tinged with tragic undertones .


this is a fragmented film , once a good idea that was followed by the bad idea to turn it into a movie .


the low-key direction is pleasingly emphatic in this properly intense , claustrophobic tale of obsessive love .


this bond film goes off the beaten path , not necessarily for the better .


it 's never dull and always looks good .


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

there are so few films about the plight of american indians in modern america that skins comes as a welcome , if downbeat , missive from a forgotten front .


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


it 's far from a frothy piece , and the characters are complex , laden with plenty of baggage and tinged with tragic undertones .

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


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


first-time director joão pedro rodrigues ' unwillingness to define his hero 's background or motivations becomes more and more frustrating as the film goes on .


and they succeed merrily at their noble endeavor .


the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .

little more than a well-mounted history lesson .


the wonder of mostly martha is the performance of gedeck , who makes martha enormously endearing .


yet another iteration of what 's become one of the movies ' creepiest conventions , in which the developmentally disabled are portrayed with almost supernatural powers to humble , teach and ultimately redeem their mentally `` superior '' friends , family ...

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


nohe 's documentary about the event is sympathetic without being gullible : he is n't blind to the silliness , but also captures moments of spontaneous creativity and authentic co-operative interaction .


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


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


the script has less spice than a rat burger and the rock 's fighting skills are more in line with steven seagal .

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


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

your 20th outing shows off a lot of stamina and vitality , and get this , madonna 's cameo does n't suck !


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


this low-rent -- and even lower-wit -- rip-off of the farrelly brothers ' oeuvre gets way too mushy -- and in a relatively short amount of time .

no amount of arty theorizing -- the special effects are ` german-expressionist , ' according to the press notes -- can render it anything but laughable .


woody allen has really found his groove these days .


never inspires more than an interested detachment .

an inexperienced director , mehta has much to learn .


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


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


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


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


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


talky , artificial and opaque ... an interesting technical exercise , but a tedious picture .


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


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


it all plays out ... like a high-end john hughes comedy , a kind of elder bueller 's time out .

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


has all the complexity and realistic human behavior of an episode of general hospital .


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

there 's a whole heap of nothing at the core of this slight coming-of-age\/coming-out tale .


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


the story is bogus and its characters tissue-thin .

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


spielberg 's picture is smarter and subtler than -lrb- total recall and blade runner -rrb- , although its plot may prove too convoluted for fun-seeking summer audiences .


the wonder of mostly martha is the performance of gedeck , who makes martha enormously endearing .

hawn and sarandon form an acting bond that makes the banger sisters a fascinating character study with laughs to spare .


make like the title and dodge this one .


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


this low-rent -- and even lower-wit -- rip-off of the farrelly brothers ' oeuvre gets way too mushy -- and in a relatively short amount of time .


... by the time it 's done with us , mira nair 's new movie has its audience giddy with the delight of discovery , of having been immersed in a foreign culture only to find that human nature is pretty much the same all over .


although frailty fits into a classic genre , in its script and execution it is a remarkably original work .


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

a timely look back at civil disobedience , anti-war movements and the power of strong voices .


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


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


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

nicks and steinberg match their own creations for pure venality -- that 's giving it the old college try .


happily stays close to the ground in a spare and simple manner and does n't pummel us with phony imagery or music .


adrift , bentley and hudson stare and sniffle , respectively , as ledger attempts , in vain , to prove that movie-star intensity can overcome bad hair design .

a lightweight , uneven action comedy that freely mingles french , japanese and hollywood cultures .


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


a poignant and gently humorous parable that loves its characters and communicates something rather beautiful about human nature .

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


talky , artificial and opaque ... an interesting technical exercise , but a tedious picture .


wonder of wonders -- a teen movie with a humanistic message .


it collapses when mr. taylor tries to shift the tone to a thriller 's rush .


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

never inspires more than an interested detachment .


the characters are more deeply thought through than in most ` right-thinking ' films .


nohe 's documentary about the event is sympathetic without being gullible : he is n't blind to the silliness , but also captures moments of spontaneous creativity and authentic co-operative interaction .

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


this bond film goes off the beaten path , not necessarily for the better .


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


what they 're doing is a matter of plumbing arrangements and mind games , of no erotic or sensuous charge .


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


the film never finds its tone and several scenes run too long .


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 .

i suspect that you 'll be as bored watching morvern callar as the characters are in it .


boasts a handful of virtuosic set pieces and offers a fair amount of trashy , kinky fun .

the lady and the duke is a smart , romantic drama that dares to depict the french revolution from the aristocrats ' perspective .


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


it 's never dull and always looks good .


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


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

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


chan 's stunts are limited and so embellished by editing that there 's really not much of a sense of action or even action-comedy .


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

snoots will no doubt rally to its cause , trotting out threadbare standbys like ` masterpiece ' and ` triumph ' and all that malarkey , but rarely does an established filmmaker so ardently waste viewers ' time with a gobbler like this .


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


richard pryor mined his personal horrors and came up with a treasure chest of material , but lawrence gives us mostly fool 's gold .


despite terrific special effects and funnier gags , harry potter and the chamber of secrets finds a way to make j.k. rowling 's marvelous series into a deadly bore .

a dark comedy that goes for sick and demented humor simply to do so .


and they succeed merrily at their noble endeavor .


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

it 's a wonderful , sobering , heart-felt drama .


talky , artificial and opaque ... an interesting technical exercise , but a tedious picture .


there are so few films about the plight of american indians in modern america that skins comes as a welcome , if downbeat , missive from a forgotten front .

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


true to its animatronic roots : ... as stiff , ponderous and charmless as a mechanical apparatus ... ` the country bears ' should never have been brought out of hibernation .


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

nohe 's documentary about the event is sympathetic without being gullible : he is n't blind to the silliness , but also captures moments of spontaneous creativity and authentic co-operative interaction .


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


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 .

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


-lrb- rises -rrb- above its oh-so-hollywood rejiggering and its conventional direction to give the film a soul and an unabashed sense of good old-fashioned escapism .


although frailty fits into a classic genre , in its script and execution it is a remarkably original work .

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


but unless you 're an absolute raving star wars junkie , it is n't much fun .


the events of the film are just so weird that i honestly never knew what the hell was coming next .

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


the lady and the duke is a smart , romantic drama that dares to depict the french revolution from the aristocrats ' perspective .


as comedic spotlights go , notorious c.h.o. hits all the verbal marks it should .


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


i suspect that you 'll be as bored watching morvern callar as the characters are in it .


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

it must be the end of the world : the best film so far this year is a franchise sequel starring wesley snipes .


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


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


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


serious movie-goers embarking upon this journey will find that the road to perdition leads to a satisfying destination .

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


this bond film goes off the beaten path , not necessarily for the better .


a lot more dimensional and complex than its sunny disposition would lead you to believe .


angel presents events partly from the perspective of aurelie and christelle , and infuses the film with the sensibility of a particularly nightmarish fairytale .

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


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 .

on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , the powerpuff girls is a fast , frenetic , funny , even punny 6 -- aimed specifically at a grade-school audience .


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

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


an overstylized , puréed mélange of sex , psychology , drugs and philosophy .


a moving tale of love and destruction in unexpected places , unexamined lives .

woody allen has really found his groove these days .


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


nicks and steinberg match their own creations for pure venality -- that 's giving it the old college try .

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


i have a new favorite musical -- and i 'm not even a fan of the genre


another trumpet blast that there may be a new mexican cinema a-bornin ' . '

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


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


a hypnotic cyber hymn and a cruel story of youth culture .

the characters are more deeply thought through than in most ` right-thinking ' films .


problem is , we have no idea what in creation is going on .

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


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


the movie is hardly a masterpiece , but it does mark ms. bullock 's best work in some time .

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


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


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


everything about girls ca n't swim , even its passages of sensitive observation , feels secondhand , familiar -- and not in a good way .


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


another trumpet blast that there may be a new mexican cinema a-bornin ' . '


ah , yes , that would be me : fighting off the urge to doze .

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


on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , the powerpuff girls is a fast , frenetic , funny , even punny 6 -- aimed specifically at a grade-school audience .

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


but there 's plenty to offend everyone ...


a good film with a solid pedigree both in front of and , more specifically , behind the camera .

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


impostor is a step down for director gary fleder .

despite terrific special effects and funnier gags , harry potter and the chamber of secrets finds a way to make j.k. rowling 's marvelous series into a deadly bore .


offers a clear-eyed chronicle of a female friendship that is more complex and honest than anything represented in a hollywood film .


a beguiling evocation of the quality that keeps dickens evergreen : the exuberant openness with which he expresses our most basic emotions .


no amount of arty theorizing -- the special effects are ` german-expressionist , ' according to the press notes -- can render it anything but laughable .


likely to have decades of life as a classic movie franchise ?


mr. wollter and ms. seldhal give strong and convincing performances , but neither reaches into the deepest recesses of the character to unearth the quaking essence of passion , grief and fear .


director elie chouraqui , who co-wrote the script , catches the chaotic horror of war , but why bother if you 're going to subjugate truth to the tear-jerking demands of soap opera ?


but it also has many of the things that made the first one charming .


long before it 's over , you 'll be thinking of 51 ways to leave this loser .


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


we just do n't really care too much about this love story .

its initial excitement settles into a warmed over pastiche .


it 's a wonderful , sobering , heart-felt drama .


a sham construct based on theory , sleight-of-hand , and ill-wrought hypothesis .


but unless you 're an absolute raving star wars junkie , it is n't much fun .


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


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

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


if you 're the kind of parent who enjoys intentionally introducing your kids to films which will cause loads of irreparable damage that years and years of costly analysis could never fix , i have just one word for you - -- decasia


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


it celebrates the group 's playful spark of nonconformity , glancing vividly back at what hibiscus grandly called his ` angels of light . '


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


a dark comedy that goes for sick and demented humor simply to do so .


jackson shamefully strolls through this mess with a smug grin , inexplicably wearing a kilt and carrying a bag of golf clubs over one shoulder .

an inexperienced director , mehta has much to learn .


undoubtedly the scariest movie ever made about tattoos .


it 's a wonderful , sobering , heart-felt drama .

it 's far from a frothy piece , and the characters are complex , laden with plenty of baggage and tinged with tragic undertones .


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


your children will be occupied for 72 minutes .


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


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


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


if you 're down for a silly hack-and-slash flick , you can do no wrong with jason x.


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


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

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


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


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

a compelling yarn , but not quite a ripping one .


a harrowing account of a psychological breakdown .

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


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


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 .

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 .


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


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

a poignant and gently humorous parable that loves its characters and communicates something rather beautiful about human nature .


the film does n't sustain its initial promise with a jarring , new-agey tone creeping into the second half

little more than a well-mounted history lesson .


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


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

woven together handsomely , recalling sixties ' rockumentary milestones from lonely boy to do n't look back .


the film does n't sustain its initial promise with a jarring , new-agey tone creeping into the second half


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

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


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


dull , a road-trip movie that 's surprisingly short of both adventure and song .


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


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 .


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

rarely does a film so graceless and devoid of merit as this one come along .


there are so few films about the plight of american indians in modern america that skins comes as a welcome , if downbeat , missive from a forgotten front .


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

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


this is a fragmented film , once a good idea that was followed by the bad idea to turn it into a movie .


hawn and sarandon form an acting bond that makes the banger sisters a fascinating character study with laughs to spare .

the film , despite the gratuitous cinematic distractions impressed upon it , is still good fun .


the film never finds its tone and several scenes run too long .


how this one escaped the lifetime network i 'll never know .

despite terrific special effects and funnier gags , harry potter and the chamber of secrets finds a way to make j.k. rowling 's marvelous series into a deadly bore .


a hugely rewarding experience that 's every bit as enlightening , insightful and entertaining as grant 's two best films -- four weddings and a funeral and bridget jones 's diary .

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


i suspect that you 'll be as bored watching morvern callar as the characters are in it .


i have a new favorite musical -- and i 'm not even a fan of the genre

it 's never dull and always looks good .


though it pretends to expose the life of male hustlers , it 's exploitive without being insightful .


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

one ca n't shake the feeling that crossroads is nothing more than an hour-and-a-half-long commercial for britney 's latest album .


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


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

the movie 's thesis -- elegant technology for the masses -- is surprisingly refreshing .


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


the low-key direction is pleasingly emphatic in this properly intense , claustrophobic tale of obsessive love .

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


impostor is a step down for director gary fleder .


snoots will no doubt rally to its cause , trotting out threadbare standbys like ` masterpiece ' and ` triumph ' and all that malarkey , but rarely does an established filmmaker so ardently waste viewers ' time with a gobbler like this .

true to its animatronic roots : ... as stiff , ponderous and charmless as a mechanical apparatus ... ` the country bears ' should never have been brought out of hibernation .


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


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

make like the title and dodge this one .


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


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 .

what they 're doing is a matter of plumbing arrangements and mind games , of no erotic or sensuous charge .


there 's a whole heap of nothing at the core of this slight coming-of-age\/coming-out tale .

if you 're the kind of parent who enjoys intentionally introducing your kids to films which will cause loads of irreparable damage that years and years of costly analysis could never fix , i have just one word for you - -- decasia


although frailty fits into a classic genre , in its script and execution it is a remarkably original work .


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

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


on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10 , the powerpuff girls is a fast , frenetic , funny , even punny 6 -- aimed specifically at a grade-school audience .


this is an insultingly inept and artificial examination of grief and its impacts upon the relationships of the survivors .

it collapses when mr. taylor tries to shift the tone to a thriller 's rush .


likely to have decades of life as a classic movie franchise ?


it celebrates the group 's playful spark of nonconformity , glancing vividly back at what hibiscus grandly called his ` angels of light . '

woven together handsomely , recalling sixties ' rockumentary milestones from lonely boy to do n't look back .


though it pretends to expose the life of male hustlers , it 's exploitive without being insightful .


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

and thanks to kline 's superbly nuanced performance , that pondering is highly pleasurable .


how this one escaped the lifetime network i 'll never know .


but the movie 's narrative hook is way too muddled to be an effectively chilling guilty pleasure .


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


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


nothing happens , and it happens to flat characters .


it 's good , hard-edged stuff , violent and a bit exploitative but also nicely done , morally alert and street-smart .

a poignant and gently humorous parable that loves its characters and communicates something rather beautiful about human nature .


true to its animatronic roots : ... as stiff , ponderous and charmless as a mechanical apparatus ... ` the country bears ' should never have been brought out of hibernation .


hollywood ending is the most disappointing woody allen movie ever .

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


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


this bond film goes off the beaten path , not necessarily for the better .


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

-lrb- a -rrb- rather thinly-conceived movie .


a pretty decent kid-pleasing , tolerable-to-adults lark of a movie .


and they succeed merrily at their noble endeavor .


make like the title and dodge this one .

despite terrific special effects and funnier gags , harry potter and the chamber of secrets finds a way to make j.k. rowling 's marvelous series into a deadly bore .


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


waiting for godard can be fruitful : ` in praise of love ' is the director 's epitaph for himself .

as comedic spotlights go , notorious c.h.o. hits all the verbal marks it should .


long before it 's over , you 'll be thinking of 51 ways to leave this loser .


a dark comedy that goes for sick and demented humor simply to do so .

i suspect that you 'll be as bored watching morvern callar as the characters are in it .


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


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


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


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 .

the adventures of pluto nash is a whole lot of nada .


everything about girls ca n't swim , even its passages of sensitive observation , feels secondhand , familiar -- and not in a good way .

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


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 .


the bottom line with nemesis is the same as it has been with all the films in the series : fans will undoubtedly enjoy it , and the uncommitted need n't waste their time on it .

your children will be occupied for 72 minutes .


one ca n't shake the feeling that crossroads is nothing more than an hour-and-a-half-long commercial for britney 's latest album .


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

what they 're doing is a matter of plumbing arrangements and mind games , of no erotic or sensuous charge .


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


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

it should be doing a lot of things , but does n't .


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

while insomnia is in many ways a conventional , even predictable remake , nolan 's penetrating undercurrent of cerebral and cinemantic flair lends -lrb- it -rrb- stimulating depth .


a dark comedy that goes for sick and demented humor simply to do so .


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

dull , a road-trip movie that 's surprisingly short of both adventure and song .


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 .


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


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

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


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


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

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


the low-key direction is pleasingly emphatic in this properly intense , claustrophobic tale of obsessive love .


woody allen has really found his groove these days .

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


this is a fragmented film , once a good idea that was followed by the bad idea to turn it into a movie .


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


the lady and the duke is a smart , romantic drama that dares to depict the french revolution from the aristocrats ' perspective .


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

there 's nothing to gain from watching they .


mr. wollter and ms. seldhal give strong and convincing performances , but neither reaches into the deepest recesses of the character to unearth the quaking essence of passion , grief and fear .

the cinematic equivalent of patronizing a bar favored by pretentious , untalented artistes who enjoy moaning about their cruel fate .


it 's about issues most adults have to face in marriage and i think that 's what i liked about it -- the real issues tucked between the silly and crude storyline .


nothing happens , and it happens to flat characters .


the film has a terrific look and salma hayek has a feel for the character at all stages of her life .

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


rarely does a film so graceless and devoid of merit as this one come along .


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

the adventures of pluto nash is a whole lot of nada .


as a film director , labute continues to improve .


a film of delicate interpersonal dances .

it all plays out ... like a high-end john hughes comedy , a kind of elder bueller 's time out .


a fake street drama that keeps telling you things instead of showing them .


like the hanks character , he 's a slow study : the action is stilted and the tabloid energy embalmed .

chan 's stunts are limited and so embellished by editing that there 's really not much of a sense of action or even action-comedy .


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


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

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


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


talky , artificial and opaque ... an interesting technical exercise , but a tedious picture .


and thanks to kline 's superbly nuanced performance , that pondering is highly pleasurable .


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


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


like the hanks character , he 's a slow study : the action is stilted and the tabloid energy embalmed .


a harrowing account of a psychological breakdown .


but unless you 're an absolute raving star wars junkie , it is n't much fun .

an overstylized , puréed mélange of sex , psychology , drugs and philosophy .


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


this bond film goes off the beaten path , not necessarily for the better .


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

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


happily stays close to the ground in a spare and simple manner and does n't pummel us with phony imagery or music .


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

it celebrates the group 's playful spark of nonconformity , glancing vividly back at what hibiscus grandly called his ` angels of light . '


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


the script was reportedly rewritten a dozen times -- either 11 times too many or else too few .

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


a good film with a solid pedigree both in front of and , more specifically , behind the camera .


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


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


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


a compelling yarn , but not quite a ripping one .


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


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

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


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


and , there 's no way you wo n't be talking about the film once you exit the theater .

it 's a wonderful , sobering , heart-felt drama .


a lightweight , uneven action comedy that freely mingles french , japanese and hollywood cultures .


there 's nothing to gain from watching they .

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


imagine susan sontag falling in love with howard stern .

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


a poignant and gently humorous parable that loves its characters and communicates something rather beautiful about human nature .


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


i suspect that you 'll be as bored watching morvern callar as the characters are in it .


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

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


undoubtedly the scariest movie ever made about tattoos .


one can only assume that the jury who bestowed star hoffman 's brother gordy with the waldo salt screenwriting award at 2002 's sundance festival were honoring an attempt to do something different over actually pulling it off


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


richard pryor mined his personal horrors and came up with a treasure chest of material , but lawrence gives us mostly fool 's gold .

this is an insultingly inept and artificial examination of grief and its impacts upon the relationships of the survivors .


the wonder of mostly martha is the performance of gedeck , who makes martha enormously endearing .


a sham construct based on theory , sleight-of-hand , and ill-wrought hypothesis .


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


has all the complexity and realistic human behavior of an episode of general hospital .


the low-key direction is pleasingly emphatic in this properly intense , claustrophobic tale of obsessive love .


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


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


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


and thanks to kline 's superbly nuanced performance , that pondering is highly pleasurable .

all leather pants & augmented boobs , hawn is hilarious as she tries to resuscitate the fun-loving libertine lost somewhere inside the conservative , handbag-clutching sarandon .


enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .


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

spielberg 's picture is smarter and subtler than -lrb- total recall and blade runner -rrb- , although its plot may prove too convoluted for fun-seeking summer audiences .


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

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


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


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

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


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


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


a poignant and gently humorous parable that loves its characters and communicates something rather beautiful about human nature .


true to its animatronic roots : ... as stiff , ponderous and charmless as a mechanical apparatus ... ` the country bears ' should never have been brought out of hibernation .


these people are really going to love the piano teacher .


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

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


an overstylized , puréed mélange of sex , psychology , drugs and philosophy .


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


a timely look back at civil disobedience , anti-war movements and the power of strong voices .

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


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


the film , despite the gratuitous cinematic distractions impressed upon it , is still good fun .

your 20th outing shows off a lot of stamina and vitality , and get this , madonna 's cameo does n't suck !


happily stays close to the ground in a spare and simple manner and does n't pummel us with phony imagery or music .

it 's about issues most adults have to face in marriage and i think that 's what i liked about it -- the real issues tucked between the silly and crude storyline .


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 .


while insomnia is in many ways a conventional , even predictable remake , nolan 's penetrating undercurrent of cerebral and cinemantic flair lends -lrb- it -rrb- stimulating depth .

a film of delicate interpersonal dances .


dull , a road-trip movie that 's surprisingly short of both adventure and song .


the characters are more deeply thought through than in most ` right-thinking ' films .

i have a new favorite musical -- and i 'm not even a fan of the genre


nicks and steinberg match their own creations for pure venality -- that 's giving it the old college try .


your children will be occupied for 72 minutes .


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


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


this bond film goes off the beaten path , not necessarily for the better .


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 .

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


no amount of arty theorizing -- the special effects are ` german-expressionist , ' according to the press notes -- can render it anything but laughable .


as a film director , labute continues to improve .


a lightweight , uneven action comedy that freely mingles french , japanese and hollywood cultures .

there 's nothing to gain from watching they .


the bottom line with nemesis is the same as it has been with all the films in the series : fans will undoubtedly enjoy it , and the uncommitted need n't waste their time on it .


offers a clear-eyed chronicle of a female friendship that is more complex and honest than anything represented in a hollywood film .

a timely look back at civil disobedience , anti-war movements and the power of strong voices .


snoots will no doubt rally to its cause , trotting out threadbare standbys like ` masterpiece ' and ` triumph ' and all that malarkey , but rarely does an established filmmaker so ardently waste viewers ' time with a gobbler like this .


if you 're the kind of parent who enjoys intentionally introducing your kids to films which will cause loads of irreparable damage that years and years of costly analysis could never fix , i have just one word for you - -- decasia

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


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


an overstylized , puréed mélange of sex , psychology , drugs and philosophy .

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


the wonder of mostly martha is the performance of gedeck , who makes martha enormously endearing .


but it also has many of the things that made the first one charming .


the events of the film are just so weird that i honestly never knew what the hell was coming next .


a loud , brash and mainly unfunny high school comedy .

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


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 .


if you 're down for a silly hack-and-slash flick , you can do no wrong with jason x.

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


enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .


woven together handsomely , recalling sixties ' rockumentary milestones from lonely boy to do n't look back .

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


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

as comedic spotlights go , notorious c.h.o. hits all the verbal marks it should .


spielberg 's picture is smarter and subtler than -lrb- total recall and blade runner -rrb- , although its plot may prove too convoluted for fun-seeking summer audiences .

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


one ca n't shake the feeling that crossroads is nothing more than an hour-and-a-half-long commercial for britney 's latest album .


though it pretends to expose the life of male hustlers , it 's exploitive without being insightful .

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


a good film with a solid pedigree both in front of and , more specifically , behind the camera .


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

one can only assume that the jury who bestowed star hoffman 's brother gordy with the waldo salt screenwriting award at 2002 's sundance festival were honoring an attempt to do something different over actually pulling it off


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


fortunately , elling never gets too cloying thanks to the actors ' perfect comic timing and sweet , genuine chemistry .

a film of delicate interpersonal dances .


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


your 20th outing shows off a lot of stamina and vitality , and get this , madonna 's cameo does n't suck !

it 's good , hard-edged stuff , violent and a bit exploitative but also nicely done , morally alert and street-smart .


an inexperienced director , mehta has much to learn .

first-time director joão pedro rodrigues ' unwillingness to define his hero 's background or motivations becomes more and more frustrating as the film goes on .


as a film director , labute continues to improve .


the adventures of pluto nash is a whole lot of nada .


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


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


happily stays close to the ground in a spare and simple manner and does n't pummel us with phony imagery or music .


at times , the movie looks genuinely pretty .


this bond film goes off the beaten path , not necessarily for the better .


enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .

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


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


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

the wonder of mostly martha is the performance of gedeck , who makes martha enormously endearing .


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


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


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


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

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


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

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


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


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

boasts a handful of virtuosic set pieces and offers a fair amount of trashy , kinky fun .


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

enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .


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


... the whole thing succeeded only in making me groggy .


a poignant and gently humorous parable that loves its characters and communicates something rather beautiful about human nature .


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


rarely does a film so graceless and devoid of merit as this one come along .


while insomnia is in many ways a conventional , even predictable remake , nolan 's penetrating undercurrent of cerebral and cinemantic flair lends -lrb- it -rrb- stimulating depth .


it must be the end of the world : the best film so far this year is a franchise sequel starring wesley snipes .

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


the script has less spice than a rat burger and the rock 's fighting skills are more in line with steven seagal .


it 's about issues most adults have to face in marriage and i think that 's what i liked about it -- the real issues tucked between the silly and crude storyline .

woven together handsomely , recalling sixties ' rockumentary milestones from lonely boy to do n't look back .


it 's fairly solid -- not to mention well edited so that it certainly does n't feel like a film that strays past the two and a half mark .

it celebrates the group 's playful spark of nonconformity , glancing vividly back at what hibiscus grandly called his ` angels of light . '


a lightweight , uneven action comedy that freely mingles french , japanese and hollywood cultures .


but the movie 's narrative hook is way too muddled to be an effectively chilling guilty pleasure .

yet another iteration of what 's become one of the movies ' creepiest conventions , in which the developmentally disabled are portrayed with almost supernatural powers to humble , teach and ultimately redeem their mentally `` superior '' friends , family ...


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


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


... by the time it 's done with us , mira nair 's new movie has its audience giddy with the delight of discovery , of having been immersed in a foreign culture only to find that human nature is pretty much the same all over .


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

this comic gem is as delightful as it is derivative .


director elie chouraqui , who co-wrote the script , catches the chaotic horror of war , but why bother if you 're going to subjugate truth to the tear-jerking demands of soap opera ?


a fake street drama that keeps telling you things instead of showing them .

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


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 .


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

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


talky , artificial and opaque ... an interesting technical exercise , but a tedious picture .


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

one of those rare films that come by once in a while with flawless amounts of acting , direction , story and pace .


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

hawn and sarandon form an acting bond that makes the banger sisters a fascinating character study with laughs to spare .


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