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 .

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


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


impostor is a step down for director gary fleder .


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

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


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


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

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


there 's nothing to gain from watching they .


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 story is bogus and its characters tissue-thin .


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 .


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 .


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


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


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

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 .


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


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


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


these people are really going to love the piano teacher .

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


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


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

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


a compelling yarn , but not quite a ripping one .


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

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


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


the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .


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

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


these people are really going to love the piano teacher .


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


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


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

it 's never dull and always looks good .


a loud , brash and mainly unfunny high school comedy .


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 .

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


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


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


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 .

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


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 .

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


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


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

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


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 .


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 .


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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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


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


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


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

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


these people are really going to love the piano teacher .


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

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


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 .


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

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


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

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


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


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 .

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


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

at times , the movie looks genuinely pretty .


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


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 .

impostor is a step down for director gary fleder .


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


the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .

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


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 . '


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 ...

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


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


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


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


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

hollywood ending is the most disappointing woody allen movie ever .


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


` 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 .


never inspires more than an interested detachment .

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


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


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


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 .


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


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


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


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


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

enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .


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


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


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

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


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


the story is bogus and its characters tissue-thin .


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 .


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

a harrowing account of a psychological breakdown .


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


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


... 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 .


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


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


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

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 .


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


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

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


it 's never dull and always looks good .


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

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


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


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

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 .


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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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 .

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


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


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


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


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

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


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


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


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


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


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 's never dull and always looks good .

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 .


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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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 .


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


... 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 .


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 .


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


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

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


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


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


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 .


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

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


an inexperienced director , mehta has much to learn .


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 .

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


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

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 .


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


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


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


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

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


never inspires more than an interested detachment .


-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 .

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


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 .


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


make like the title and dodge this one .


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

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


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 .


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

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


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

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


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


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

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


the story is bogus and its characters tissue-thin .


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 .

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


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


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 .

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


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


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

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


imagine susan sontag falling in love with howard stern .


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

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


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

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


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 hypnotic cyber hymn and a cruel story of youth culture .

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


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


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 . '


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

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


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


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

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


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


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


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 .

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 .


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


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

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 .


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


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 .


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 .

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


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

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


impostor is a step down for director gary fleder .

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


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


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

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


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


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

undoubtedly the scariest movie ever made about tattoos .


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


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 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 .


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

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 .


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


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

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


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 .


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


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


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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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


your children will be occupied for 72 minutes .

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


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


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 funny little movie with clever dialogue and likeable characters .


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


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 .

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


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


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


a loud , brash and mainly unfunny high school comedy .


a harrowing account of a psychological breakdown .

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


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


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 .

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


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


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

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 .


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


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

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


-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 .


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


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


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

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


woody allen has really found his groove these days .


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


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


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

its initial excitement settles into a warmed over pastiche .


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


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

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


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


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


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

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


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


a 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 .

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 .


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


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


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


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

impostor is a step down for director gary fleder .


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


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


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

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


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 .

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


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


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

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


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 .

enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .


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


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


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


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


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

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 .


a harrowing account of a psychological breakdown .


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 .


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


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

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


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


the story is bogus and its characters tissue-thin .


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


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 .

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


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


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

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


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


hollywood ending is the most disappointing woody allen movie ever .

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


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


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 .


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


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

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


and they succeed merrily at their noble endeavor .

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 .


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


make like the title and dodge this one .

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 .


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


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

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


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


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

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 .


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


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


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


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 .


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

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


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


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 .

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


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 .


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

there 's nothing to gain from watching they .


a film of delicate interpersonal dances .


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 .

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


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 .


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

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


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

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


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 .


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


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

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


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

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


woody allen has really found his groove these days .

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


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


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


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

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


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


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 .

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


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 .


nothing happens , and it happens to flat characters .


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


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

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


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


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 .

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


a film of delicate interpersonal dances .

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


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

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


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 .


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

at times , the movie looks genuinely pretty .


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


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


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

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 .


it 's never dull and always looks good .


there 's nothing to gain from watching they .


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


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

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


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


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


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


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

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


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 .

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


a compelling yarn , but not quite a ripping one .

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


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 .


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

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


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


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

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


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


there 's nothing to gain from watching they .

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


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


imagine susan sontag falling in love with howard stern .

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


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


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


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


too 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 .


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


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


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

make like the title and dodge this one .


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


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

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


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

an inexperienced director , mehta has much to learn .


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

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


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


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 .


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

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


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


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

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 .


the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .


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

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


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


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 . '

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 .


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

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


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


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


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 .


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

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


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


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 .

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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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


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 .


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

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 whole thing succeeded only in making me groggy .


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 .

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


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

the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .


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

impostor is a step down for director gary fleder .


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


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


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 ?


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 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 .


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

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


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 .


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

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 .


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


a loud , brash and mainly unfunny high school comedy .

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 .


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


undoubtedly the scariest movie ever made about tattoos .


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


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

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


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


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

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


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

this comic gem is as delightful as it is derivative .


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


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


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


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

the story is bogus and its characters tissue-thin .


and they succeed merrily at their noble endeavor .


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

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


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

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


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

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


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


an inexperienced director , mehta has much to learn .

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


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


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


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 .

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


at times , the movie looks genuinely pretty .

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


enough is not a bad movie , just mediocre .

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 .


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 .


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


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

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


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 .


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 .


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

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


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

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


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 .


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

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


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


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


at times , the movie looks genuinely pretty .


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


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

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


-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 .


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


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


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 .

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


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


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


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


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

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


woody allen has really found his groove these days .


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 .


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


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


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

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


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

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 .


a loud , brash and mainly unfunny high school comedy .


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


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


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


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

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


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


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


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 .


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


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

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


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


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

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


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


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


little more than a well-mounted history lesson .


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


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

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


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


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


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

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 .


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


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


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

undoubtedly the scariest movie ever made about tattoos .


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


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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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


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 .

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 . '


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


as a film director , labute continues to improve .


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


its initial excitement settles into a warmed over pastiche .


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


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


there 's nothing to gain from watching they .


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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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

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


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


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


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 .

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 .


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


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


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


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


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

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

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


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


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

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


this comic gem is as delightful as it is derivative .


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

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


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 .


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


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


this comic gem is as delightful as it is derivative .

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


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 .


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

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


as a film director , labute continues to improve .


undoubtedly the scariest movie ever made about tattoos .

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


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


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

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 .


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 .


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


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


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

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


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


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 .


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 .

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


a film of delicate interpersonal dances .


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


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


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


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


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


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

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


but there 's plenty to offend everyone ...

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


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 .

it 's never dull and always looks good .


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


hollywood ending is the most disappointing woody allen movie ever .


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 .


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

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


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


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

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 .


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


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 .

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


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


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


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


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

nothing happens , and it happens to flat characters .


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 .


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

your children will be occupied for 72 minutes .


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 .

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


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


at times , the movie looks genuinely pretty .


the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .


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


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


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


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


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


these people are really going to love the piano teacher .

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


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

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


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


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


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


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


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

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 .


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


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


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 .


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

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


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


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 .

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 .


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


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

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


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


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 .

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


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


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 .

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 .


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


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

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


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


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


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

a film of delicate interpersonal dances .


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

the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .


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


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


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 .

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 .


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


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


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


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


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

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 .


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 .

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


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


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

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


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


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 .

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


the country bears wastes an exceptionally good idea .

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


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


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 ...


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


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


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

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


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


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

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 .


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


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 .


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


never inspires more than an interested detachment .


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


a loud , brash and mainly unfunny high school comedy .


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 .


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


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


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


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

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


your children will be occupied for 72 minutes .


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

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


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


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

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


the story is bogus and its characters tissue-thin .

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


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 .


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

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


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


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 . '


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 .


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


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 .


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 .


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- .


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

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


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


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

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


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


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

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


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


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


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


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

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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 .


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


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


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 .

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


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


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

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


it 's never dull and always looks good .


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


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

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


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


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


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


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

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


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


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


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


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 .

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


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


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


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 .


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 .

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


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 .