uneasy mishmash of styles and genres .


this film 's relationship to actual tension is the same as what christmas-tree flocking in a spray can is to actual snow : a poor -- if durable -- imitation .


by the end of no such thing the audience , like beatrice , has a watchful affection for the monster .


director rob marshall went out gunning to make a great one .


lathan and diggs have considerable personal charm , and their screen rapport makes the old story seem new .


a well-made and often lovely depiction of the mysteries of friendship .


none of this violates the letter of behan 's book , but missing is its spirit , its ribald , full-throated humor .


although it bangs a very cliched drum at times , this crowd-pleaser 's fresh dialogue , energetic music , and good-natured spunk are often infectious .


it is not a mass-market entertainment but an uncompromising attempt by one artist to think about another .


this is junk food cinema at its greasiest .


it 's also heavy-handed and devotes too much time to bigoted views .


it helps that lil bow wow ... tones down his pint-sized gangsta act to play someone who resembles a real kid .


watching the film is like reading a times portrait of grief that keeps shifting focus to the journalist who wrote it .


moore 's performance impresses almost as much as her work with haynes in 1995 's safe .


reinforces the talents of screenwriter charlie kaufman , creator of adaptation and being john malkovich .


now trimmed by about 20 minutes , this lavish three-year-old production has enough grandeur and scale to satisfy as grown-up escapism .


a journey through memory , a celebration of living , and a sobering rumination on fatality , classism , and ignorance .


a remarkable 179-minute meditation on the nature of revolution .


waydowntown is by no means a perfect film , but its boasts a huge charm factor and smacks of originality .


it 's just incredibly dull .


some , like ballistic , arrive stillborn ... looking like the beaten , well-worn video box cover of seven years into the future .


a feel-good picture in the best sense of the term .


mark me down as a non-believer in werewolf films that are not serious and rely on stupidity as a substitute for humor .


good movie .


with spy kids 2 : the island of lost dreams writer/director/producer robert rodriguez has cobbled together a film that feels like a sugar high gone awry .


starts off with a bang , but then fizzles like a wet stick of dynamite at the very end .


the best way to hope for any chance of enjoying this film is by lowering your expectations .


while the mystery surrounding the nature of the boat 's malediction remains intriguing enough to sustain mild interest , the picture refuses to offer much accompanying sustenance in the way of characterization , humor or plain old popcorn fun .


this is a startling film that gives you a fascinating , albeit depressing view of iranian rural life close to the iraqi border .


here 's a british flick gleefully unconcerned with plausibility , yet just as determined to entertain you .


most new movies have a bright sheen .


so few movies explore religion that it 's disappointing to see one reduce it to an idea that fits in a sampler .


nothing more than a mediocre trifle .


a model of what films like this should be like .


gangs of new york is an unapologetic mess , whose only saving grace is that it ends by blowing just about everything up .


doug liman , the director of bourne , directs the traffic well , gets a nice wintry look from his locations , absorbs us with the movie 's spycraft and uses damon 's ability to be focused and sincere .


another big , dumb action movie in the vein of xxx , the transporter is riddled with plot holes big enough for its titular hero to drive his sleek black bmw through .


it becomes gimmicky instead of compelling .


falters when it takes itself too seriously and when it depends too heavily on its otherwise talented cast to clown in situations that are n't funny .


verbinski substitutes atmosphere for action , tedium for thrills .


it is a kickass , dense sci-fi action thriller hybrid that delivers and then some .


a bigger holiday downer than your end-of-year 401 ( k ) statement .


as a belated nod to some neglected all-stars , standing in the shadows of motown is cultural history of the best kind : informative , revealing and richly entertaining .


sensitive , insightful and beautifully rendered film .


no number of fantastic sets , extras , costumes and spectacular locales can disguise the emptiness at the center of the story .


not too far below the gloss you can still feel director denis villeneuve 's beating heart and the fondness he has for his characters .


for benigni it was n't shakespeare whom he wanted to define his career with but pinocchio .


how did it ever get made ?


it would n't be my preferred way of spending 100 minutes or $ 7.00 .


the furious coherence that ( deniro ) brings to this part only underscores the fuzzy sentimentality of the movie itself , which feels , as it plods toward the end , less like a movie than like the filmed reading of a script in need of polishing .


barely goes beyond comic book status .


elling , portrayed with quiet fastidiousness by per christian ellefsen , is a truly singular character , one whose frailties are only slightly magnified versions of the ones that vex nearly everyone .


for all its highfalutin title and corkscrew narrative , the movie turns out to be not much more than a shaggy human tale .


watching trouble every day , at least if you do n't know what 's coming , is like biting into what looks like a juicy , delicious plum on a hot summer day and coming away with your mouth full of rotten pulp and living worms .


a clever blend of fact and fiction .


it delivers some chills and sustained unease , but flounders in its quest for deeper meaning .


could the country bears really be as bad as its trailers ?


there are weird resonances between actor and role here , and they 're not exactly flattering .


not only does the movie fail to make us part of its reality , it fails the most basic relevancy test as well .


and if the hours wins ` best picture ' i just might .


it is so refreshing to see robin williams turn 180 degrees from the string of insultingly innocuous and sappy fiascoes he 's been making for the last several years .


i did n't laugh at the ongoing efforts of cube , and his skinny buddy mike epps , to make like laurel and hardy 'n the hood .


with danilo donati 's witty designs and dante spinotti 's luscious cinematography , this might have made a decent children 's movie -- if only benigni had n't insisted on casting himself in the title role .


thurman and lewis are hilarious throughout .


tender yet lacerating and darkly funny fable .


jacquot 's tosca is a treat .


interacting eyeball-to-eyeball and toe-to-toe , hopkins and norton are a winning combination -- but fiennes steals ` red dragon ' right from under their noses .


the film 's center will not hold .


aspires for the piquant but only really achieves a sort of ridiculous sourness .


unlike his directorial efforts , la femme nikita and the professional , the transporter lacks besson 's perspective as a storyteller .


` abandon all hope , ye who enter here ' ... you should definitely let dante 's gloomy words be your guide .


a very witty take on change , risk and romance , and the film uses humor to make its points about acceptance and growth .


hu and liu offer natural , matter-of-fact performances that glint with sorrow , longing and love .


ford deserves to be remembered at oscar time for crafting this wonderful portrait of a conflicted soldier .


a mawkish , implausible platonic romance that makes chaplin 's city lights seem dispassionate by comparison .


do we really need a 77-minute film to tell us exactly why a romantic relationship between a 15-year-old boy and a 40-year-old woman does n't work ?


instead , we just get messy anger , a movie as personal therapy .


once again , director jackson strikes a rewarding balance between emotion on the human scale and action/effects on the spectacular scale .


flotsam in the sea of moviemaking , not big enough for us to worry about it causing significant harm and not smelly enough to bother despising .


thoughtful , provocative and entertaining .


it 's disappointing when filmmakers throw a few big-name actors and cameos at a hokey script .


an absorbing , slice-of-depression life that touches nerves and rings true .


u.s. audiences may find ( attal and gainsbourg 's ) unfamiliar personas give the film an intimate and quaint reality that is a little closer to human nature than what hollywood typically concocts .


everywhere the camera looks there is something worth seeing .


but if it is indeed a duty of art to reflect life , than leigh has created a masterful piece of artistry right here .


biggie and tupac is so single-mindedly daring , it puts far more polished documentaries to shame .


... the last time i saw a theater full of people constantly checking their watches was during my sats .


will probably stay in the shadow of its two older , more accessible qatsi siblings .


characters wander into predictably treacherous situations even though they should know better .


i 'm not suggesting that you actually see it , unless you 're the kind of person who has seen every wim wenders film of the '70s .


gloriously goofy ( and gory ) midnight movie stuff .


an inspiring and heart-affecting film about the desperate attempts of vietnamese refugees living in u.s. relocation camps to keep their hopes alive in 1975 .


big fat liar is just futile silliness looking to tap into the kiddie sensibilities .


the movie is full of fine performances , led by josef bierbichler as brecht and monica bleibtreu as helene weigel , his wife .


barney has created a tour de force that is weird , wacky and wonderful .


a frisky and fresh romantic comedy exporing sexual politics and the challenges of friendships between women .


the comic performances are all spot on , especially lee ross 's turn as ken .


the film hinges on its performances , and both leads are up to the task .


accuracy and realism are terrific , but if your film becomes boring , and your dialogue is n't smart , then you need to use more poetic license .


it 's often faintly amusing , but the problems of the characters never become important to us , and the story never takes hold .


the thrill is ( long ) gone .


uncertain in tone ... a garbled exercise in sexual politics , a junior varsity short cuts by way of very bad things .


a hideous , confusing spectacle , one that may well put the nail in the coffin of any future rice adaptations .


there 's a vastness implied in metropolis that is just breathtaking .


a splendid entertainment , young in spirit but accomplished in all aspects with the fullness of spirit and sense of ease that comes only with experience .


the story ... is moldy and obvious .


it 's a worthwhile tutorial in quantum physics and slash-dash


for all its failed connections , divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood is nurturing , in a gauzy , dithering way .


george , hire a real director and good writers for the next installment , please .


what was subtle and mystifying in the novella is now broad and farcical .


it 's best to avoid imprisonment with the dull , nerdy folks that inhabit cherish .


woo 's fights have a distinct flair .


he has not learned that storytelling is what the movies are about .


if you liked the 1982 film then , you 'll still like it now .


despite some gulps the film is a fuzzy huggy .


the film is painfully authentic , and the performances of the young players are utterly convincing .


there are just enough twists in the tale to make it far more satisfying than almost any horror film in recent memory .


this is n't just the cliffsnotes version of nicholas nickleby , it 's the cliffsnotes with pages missing .


`` an entire film about researchers quietly reading dusty old letters . ''


an epic of grandeur and scale that 's been decades gone from the popcorn pushing sound stages of hollywood .


there 's a disreputable air about the whole thing , and that 's what makes it irresistible .


it virtually defines a comedy that 's strongly mediocre , with funny bits surfacing every once in a while .


although very much like the first movie based on j.k. rowling 's phenomenal fantasy best sellers , this second go-round possesses a quite pleasing , headlong thrust and a likably delinquent attitude .


theology aside , why put someone who ultimately does n't learn at the center of a kids ' story ?


a savvy exploration of paranoia and insecurity in america 's culture of fear .


benefits from a strong performance from zhao , but it 's dong jie 's face you remember at the end .


elling really is about a couple of crazy guys , and it 's therapeutic to laugh along with them .


much-anticipated and ultimately lackluster movie .


plays as hollow catharsis , with lots of tears but very little in the way of insights .


a film that takes you inside the rhythms of its subject : you experience it as you watch .


... mesmerizing , an eye-opening tour of modern beijing culture in a journey of rebellion , retreat into oblivion and return .


strong setup and ambitious goals fade as the film descends into unsophisticated scare tactics and b-film thuggery .


on the surface , it 's a lovers-on-the-run crime flick , but it has a lot in common with piesiewicz 's and kieslowski 's earlier work , films like the double life of veronique .


the visuals alone make metropolis worth seeing .


flounders due to the general sense that no two people working on the production had exactly the same thing in mind .


you could nap for an hour and not miss a thing .


worth the effort to watch .


one of the best of the year .


i loved it !


occasionally funny , always very colorful and enjoyably overblown in the traditional almodóvar style .


an intelligent , earnest , intimate film that drops the ball only when it pauses for blunt exposition to make sure you 're getting its metaphysical point .


an amusing , breezily apolitical documentary about life on the campaign trail .


however , it lacks grandeur and that epic quality often associated with stevenson 's tale as well as with earlier disney efforts .


often hilarious , well-shot and , importantly , entertaining , hell house is a fascinating document of an event that has to be seen to be believed .


witty , touching and well paced .


men in black ii has sequel-itis something fierce .


sometimes , nothing satisfies like old-fashioned swashbuckling .


it settles for being merely grim .


good for a few unintentional laughs , `` extreme ops '' was obviously made for the `` xxx '' crowd , people who enjoy mindless action without the benefit of decent acting , writing , and direction .


places a slightly believable love triangle in a difficult-to-swallow setting , and then disappointingly moves the story into the realm of an improbable thriller .


a mostly intelligent , engrossing and psychologically resonant suspenser .


at first , the sight of a blind man directing a film is hilarious , but as the film goes on , the joke wears thin .


as an actor , the rock is aptly named .


plays less like a coming-of-age romance than an infomercial .


with its hints of a greater intelligence lurking somewhere , the ring makes its stupidity more than obvious .


this insightful , oscar-nominated documentary , in which children on both sides of the ever-escalating conflict have their say away from watchful parental eyes , gives peace yet another chance .


all but the most persnickety preteens should enjoy this nonthreatening but thrilling adventure .


i admired this work a lot .


this concoction , so bizarre to the adult mind , is actually a charming triumph where its intended under-12 audience is concerned .


( a ) rare , beautiful film .


the pianist is a fine valedictory work for polanski , made richer by his own experiences , making his other movies somehow richer in the bargain .


if you 're like me , a sucker for a good old fashion romance and someone who shamelessly loves to eat , then mostly martha offers all the perfect ingredients to more than satisfy your appetite .


the screenplay sabotages the movie 's strengths at almost every juncture .


not even the hanson brothers can save it


then lower them a bit more .


the truth is that the truth about charlie gets increasingly tiresome .


there are a few laughs and clever sight gags scattered about , but not enough to make this anything more than another big-budget bust .


a deviant topical comedy which is funny from start to finish .


an elegant , exquisitely modulated psychological thriller .


brilliant ! '


working from elliott 's memoir , rohmer fashions the sort of delicate , articulate character - and - relationship study he 's favored for decades .


a picture that extols the virtues of comradeship and community in a spunky , spirited fashion .


if you think that jennifer lopez has shown poor judgment in planning to marry ben affleck , wait till you see maid in manhattan .


has little on its mind aside from scoring points with drag gags .


apallingly absurd ... the chemistry or lack thereof between newton and wahlberg could turn an imax theater into a 9 '' black and white portable tv .


maybe it 's the star power of the cast or the redundant messages , but something aboul `` full frontal '' seems , well , contrived .


a budget affair that exposes the generally sad existence of the bedouins while providing a precious twinkle of insight into their lives .


it does n't help that the director and cinematographer stephen kazmierski shoot on grungy video , giving the whole thing a dirty , tasteless feel .


this cheery , down-to-earth film is warm with the cozy feeling of relaxing around old friends .


it 's an example of sophisticated , challenging filmmaking that stands , despite its noticeable lack of emotional heft , in welcome contrast to the indulgent dead-end experimentation of the director 's previous full frontal .


merchant effectively translates naipaul 's lively mix of characters from the page to screen .


the angst-ridden , affluent slacker characters are more grating than engaging .


it 's the cinematic equivalent of a good page-turner , and even if it 's nonsense , its claws dig surprisingly deep .


... a cute and sometimes side-splittingly funny blend of legally blonde and drop dead gorgeous , starring piper perabo in what could be her breakthrough role .


made by jackasses for jackasses .


emerges as something rare , an issue movie that 's so honest and keenly observed that it does n't feel like one .


a recent favorite at sundance , this white-trash satire will inspire the affection of even those unlucky people who never owned a cassette of def leppard 's pyromania .


an involving true story of a chinese actor who takes up drugs and winds up in an institution -- acted mostly by the actual people involved .


the movie bounces all over the map .


it has the courage to wonder about big questions with sincerity and devotion .


watching scarlet diva , one is poised for titillation , raw insight or both .


apparently kissing leads to suicide attempts and tragic deaths .


only an epic documentary could get it all down , and spike lee 's jim brown : all american at long last gives its subject a movie worthy of his talents .


do n't let your festive spirit go this far .


if melville is creatively a great whale , this film is canned tuna .


the whole damn thing is ripe for the jerry springer crowd .


occasionally melodramatic , it 's also extremely effective .


director kapur is a filmmaker with a real flair for epic landscapes and adventure , and this is a better film than his earlier english-language movie , the overpraised elizabeth .


when it 's all wet , blue crush is highly enjoyable .


... ( like ) channel surfing between the discovery channel and a late-night made-for-cable action movie .


the problem with concept films is that if the concept is a poor one , there 's no saving the movie .


new best friend should n't have gone straight to video ; it should have gone straight to a mystery science theater 3000 video .


even the unwatchable soapdish is more original .


an overblown clunker full of bad jokes , howling cliches and by-the-numbers action sequences .


smart science fiction for grown-ups , with only a few false steps along the way .


the use of cgi and digital ink-and-paint make the thing look really slick .


a historical epic with the courage of its convictions about both scope and detail .


a resonant tale of racism , revenge and retribution .


( sen 's ) soap opera-ish approach undermines his good intentions .


( director ) byler may yet have a great movie in him , but charlotte sometimes is only half of one .


the movie has lots of dancing and fabulous music .


a highly intriguing thriller , coupled with some ingenious plot devices and some lavishly built settings . .


well worth the time .


overall , the film misses the brilliance of jelinek 's novel by some way .


( davis ) has a bright , chipper style that keeps things moving , while never quite managing to connect her wish-fulfilling characters to the human race .


the movie is one of the best examples of artful large format filmmaking you are likely to see anytime soon .


hayek is stunning as frida and ... a star-making project .


a painfully leaden film destined for pre-dawn cable television slots .


everything that has to do with yvan and charlotte , and everything that has to do with yvan 's rambunctious , jewish sister and her non-jew husband , feels funny and true .


when the first few villians are introduced as `` spider '' and `` snake '' you know you 're in for a real winner , creativity at its peak .


not every animated film from disney will become a classic , but forgive me if i 've come to expect more from this studio than some 79-minute after-school `` cartoon '' .


while this film is not in the least surprising , it is still ultimately very satisfying .


a hip ride into hyper-time , clockstoppers is a lively and enjoyable adventure for all ages at any time .


john leguizamo may be a dramatic actor -- just not in this movie .


like mike does n't win any points for originality .


some movies are like a tasty hors-d'oeuvre ; this one is a feast .


one of those movies where you walk out of the theater not feeling cheated exactly , but feeling pandered to , which , in the end , might be all the more infuriating .


fuller would surely have called this gutsy and at times exhilarating movie a great yarn .


it 's a brave attempt to tap into the heartbeat of the world , a salute to the universal language of rhythm and a zippy sampling of sounds .


an incredibly low-rent danish film , it brings a group of people together in a sweet and charming way , if a little convenient


it 's push-the-limits teen comedy , the type written by people who ca n't come up with legitimate funny , and it 's used so extensively that good bits are hopelessly overshadowed .


in a normal screen process , these bromides would be barely enough to sustain an interstitial program on the discovery channel .


its underlying mythology is a hodgepodge of inconsistencies that pose the question : since when did dumb entertainment have to be this dumb ?


their film falters , however , in its adherence to the disney philosophy of required poignancy , a salute that i 'd hoped the movie would avoid .


an awkward and indigestible movie .


friday after next has the same problem that next friday did -- it 's called where 's chris tucker when you need him ?


another rent installment for the ian fleming estate .


i can only imagine one thing worse than kevin spacey trying on an irish accent , and that 's sultry linda fiorentino doing the same thing .


afraid to pitch into farce , yet only half-hearted in its spy mechanics , all the queen 's men is finally just one long drag .


who knows what exactly godard is on about in this film , but his words and images do n't have to add up to mesmerize you .


herzog is obviously looking for a moral to his fable , but the notion that a strong , unified showing among germany and eastern european jews might have changed 20th-century history is undermined by ahola 's inadequate performance .


the story and characters are nowhere near gripping enough .


( a ) superbly controlled , passionate adaptation of graham greene 's 1955 novel .


though the violence is far less sadistic than usual , the film is typical miike : fast , furious and full of off-the-cuff imaginative flourishes .


its scenes and sensibility are all more than familiar , but it exudes a kind of nostalgic spy-movie charm and , at the same time , is so fresh and free of the usual thriller nonsense that it all seems to be happening for the first time .


like so many other allegedly scary movies , it gets so tangled up in the twist that it chokes the energy right out of the very audience it seeks to frighten .


a bravura exercise in emptiness .


has a plot full of twists upon knots ... and a nonstop parade of mock-tarantino scuzbag types that starts out clever but veers into overkill .


too clunky and too busy ribbing itself to be truly entertaining .


a marvellous journey from childhood idealism to adolescent self-absorption .


how on earth , or anywhere else , did director ron underwood manage to blow $ 100 million on this ?


a baffling misfire , and possibly the weakest movie ( woody allen ) has made in the last twenty years .


hawke draws out the best from his large cast in beautifully articulated portrayals that are subtle and so expressive they can sustain the poetic flights in burdette 's dialogue .


the cartoon that is n't really good enough to be on afternoon tv is now a movie that is n't really good enough to be in theaters .


a distant , even sterile , yet compulsively watchable look at the sordid life of hogan 's heroes star bob crane .


you 've seen them a million times .


the best you can say about it is it 's so uninspired , it barely gives one pause when considering some of the other dreck out there right now .


arguably the year 's silliest and most incoherent movie .


offensive in the way it exploits the hot-button issue of domestic abuse for cheap thrills and disgusting in the manner it repeatedly puts a small child in jeopardy , treating her as little more than a prop to be cruelly tormented .


one minute , you think you 're watching a serious actioner ; the next , it 's as though clips from the pink panther strikes again and/or sailor moon have been spliced in .


scene-by-scene , things happen , but you 'd be hard-pressed to say what or why .


a lousy movie that 's not merely unwatchable , but also unlistenable .


an ultra-low-budget indie debut that smacks more of good intentions than talent .


if you pitch your expectations at an all time low , you could do worse than this oddly cheerful -- but not particularly funny -- body-switching farce .


will grab your children by the imagination and amaze them and amuse them .


the film starts out as competent but unremarkable ... and gradually grows into something of considerable power .


it would be hard to think of a recent movie that has worked this hard to achieve this little fun .


something the true film buff will enjoy .


without resorting to hyperbole , i can state that kissing jessica stein may be the best same-sex romance i have seen .


the cast is so low-wattage that none of the characters comes off as big ... and the setting remains indistinct .


this is a throwaway , junk-food movie whose rap soundtrack was better tended to than the film itself .


a teasing drama whose relentless good-deed/bad-deed reversals are just interesting enough to make a sinner like me pray for an even more interesting , less symmetrical , less obviously cross-shaped creation .


the movie exists for its soccer action and its fine acting .


tim allen is great in his role but never hogs the scenes from his fellow cast , as there are plenty of laughs and good lines for everyone in this comedy .


a bowel-curdling , heart-stopping recipe for terror .


nicely serves as an examination of a society in transition .


if you 're looking for comedy to be served up , better look elsewhere .


after that , it just gets stupid and maudlin .


the humor is hinged on the belief that knees in the crotch , elbows in the face and spit in the eye are inherently funny .


engagingly captures the maddening and magnetic ebb and flow of friendship .


sam jones became a very lucky filmmaker the day wilco got dropped from their record label , proving that one man 's ruin may be another 's fortune .


the film benefits greatly from a less manic tone than its predecessor , as cho appears to have settled comfortably into her skin .


the charms of willful eccentricity , at least as evidenced by this latest cinematic essay , are beginning to wear a bit thin .


it feels like a community theater production of a great broadway play : even at its best , it will never hold a candle to the original .


a tough go , but leigh 's depth and rigor , and his skill at inspiring accomplished portrayals that are all the more impressive for their lack of showiness , offsets to a notable degree the film 's often-mined and despairing milieu .


an irresistible combination of a rousing good story set on a truly grand scale .


frida 's artistic brilliance is undeniable -- it 's among the most breathtakingly designed films i 've ever seen .


the movie stays afloat thanks to its hallucinatory production design .


provide ( s ) nail-biting suspense and credible characters without relying on technology-of-the-moment technique or pretentious dialogue .


smith 's approach is never to tease , except gently and in that way that makes us consider our own eccentricities and how they are expressed through our homes .


a modest and messy metaphysical thriller offering more questions than answers .


a refreshing korean film about five female high school friends who face an uphill battle when they try to take their relationships into deeper waters .


now it 's a bad , embarrassing movie .


celebrated at sundance , this slight comedy of manners has winning performances and a glossy , glib charm that 's hard to beat .


... the sum of the parts equals largely a confused mediocrity .


it 's solid and affecting and exactly as thought-provoking as it should be .


enough trivializes an important crisis , reduces it to an almost comic embarrassment .


between bedroom scenes , viewers may find themselves wishing they could roll over and take a nap .


genuinely touching because it 's realistic about all kinds of love .


a lighthearted , feel-good film that embraces the time-honored truth that the most powerful thing in life is love .


( two ) fairly dull -- contrasting and interlocking stories about miserable scandinavian settlers in 18th-century canada , and yuppie sailboaters in the here and now .


a quietly reflective and melancholy new zealand film about an eventful summer in a 13-year-old girl 's life .


reign of fire may be little more than another platter of reheated aliens , but it 's still pretty tasty .


provides an intriguing window into the imagination and hermetic analysis of todd solondz .


dull , if not devoid of wit , this shaggy dog longs to frisk through the back alleys of history , but scarcely manages more than a modest , snoozy charm .


the movie 's ripe , enrapturing beauty will tempt those willing to probe its inscrutable mysteries .


a predictable and stereotypical little b-movie .


it 's astonishing .


this is such a high-energy movie where the drumming and the marching are so excellent , who cares if the story 's a little weak .


claude miller airs out a tight plot with an easy pace and a focus on character drama over crime-film complications .


myers never knows when to let a gag die ; thus , we 're subjected to one mind-numbingly lengthy riff on poo and pee jokes after another .


if you can get past the fantastical aspects and harsh realities of `` the isle '' you 'll get a sock-you-in-the-eye flick that is a visual tour-de-force and a story that is unlike any you will likely see anywhere else .


enormously likable , partly because it is aware of its own grasp of the absurd .


i cry for i spy -- or i would if this latest and laziest imaginable of all vintage-tv spinoffs were capable of engendering an emotional response of any kind .


a mostly tired retread of several other mob tales .


but it pays a price for its intricate intellectual gamesmanship .


the stunning , dreamlike visuals will impress even those viewers who have little patience for euro-film pretension .


a movie that will touch the hearts of both children and adults , as well as bring audiences to the edge of their seats .


a film that is a portrait of grace in an imperfect world .


i do n't have an i am sam clue .


the piano teacher is the sort of movie that discourages american audiences from ever wanting to see another foreign film .


the film equivalent of a toy chest whose contents get scattered over the course of 80 minutes .


suggests puns about ingredients and soup and somebody being off their noodle , but let 's just say the ingredients do n't quite add up to a meal .


the film is really not so much bad as bland .


cho 's fearless in picking apart human foibles , not afraid to lay her life bare in front of an audience .


noyce 's film is contemplative and mournfully reflective .


i doubt anyone will remember the picture by the time christmas really rolls around , but maybe it 'll be on video by then .


merely as a technical , logistical feat , russian ark marks a cinematic milestone .


more than makes up for its mawkish posing by offering rousing spates of genuine feeling .


a real story about real people living their lives concerned about the future of an elderly , mentally handicapped family member .


painful to watch , but viewers willing to take a chance will be rewarded with two of the year 's most accomplished and riveting film performances .


the laser-projected paintings provide a spell-casting beauty , while russell and dreyfus are a romantic pairing of hearts , preciously exposed as history corners them .


`` men in black ii , '' has all the earmarks of a sequel .


any film featuring young children threatened by a terrorist bomb can no longer pass as mere entertainment .


let 's cut to the consumer-advice bottom line : stay home .


the long-range appeal of `` minority report '' should transcend any awards it bags .


... perhaps the heaviest , most joyless movie ever made about giant dragons taking over the world .


workmanlike , maybe , but still a film with all the elements that made the other three great , scary times at the movies .


there are moments in this account of the life of artist frida kahlo that are among cinema 's finest this year .


does n't amount to much of anything .


while the isle is both preposterous and thoroughly misogynistic , its vistas are incredibly beautiful to look at .


an instant candidate for worst movie of the year .


so what is the point ?


longley has constructed a remarkably coherent , horrifically vivid snapshot of those turbulent days .


the only element of suspense is whether the movie will change titles or distributors again before the closing credits roll .


it may be an easy swipe to take , but this barbershop just does n't make the cut .


yeah , these flicks are just that damn good .


but what spectacular sizzle it is !


an enjoyably half-wit remake of the venerable italian comedy big deal on madonna street .


ritchie 's treatment of the class reversal is majorly ham-fisted , from the repetitive manifestos that keep getting thrown in people 's faces to the fact amber is such a joke .


earns its laughs from stock redneck ` types ' and from the many , many moments when we recognize even without the elizabethan prose , the play behind the thing .


if myers decides to make another austin powers movie , maybe he should just stick with austin and dr evil .


it takes this never-ending confusion and hatred , puts a human face on it , evokes shame among all who are party to it and even promotes understanding .


a monster combat thriller as impersonal in its relentlessness as the videogame series that inspired it .


a sensitive and expertly acted crowd-pleaser that is n't above a little broad comedy and a few unabashedly sentimental tears .


kinnear gives a tremendous performance .


if you love motown music , you 'll love this documentary .


as blunt as it is in depicting child abuse , el bola is a movie steeped in an ambiguity that lends its conflicts a symbolic resonance .


the writers , director wally wolodarsky , and all the actors should start their own coeducational fraternity : kappa rho alpha phi .


has the feel of an unedited personal journal .


the voices are fine as well .


this is carion 's debut feature but his script and direction hums with a confidence that many spend entire careers trying to reach .


has it ever been possible to say that williams has truly inhabited a character ?


what you get with empire is a movie you 've seen many times before , repackaged as new material because there is a latino in the lead .


greengrass has delivered an undoubted stylistic tour-de-force , and has managed elements such as sound and cinematography with skill


but as a movie , it 's a humorless , disjointed mess .


there are times when a rumor of angels plays like an extended episode of touched by an angel -- a little too much dancing , a few too many weeping scenes -- but i liked its heart and its spirit .


usually when i get this much syrup , i like pancakes to go with it .


if you sometimes like to go to the movies to have fun , wasabi is a good place to start .


philip k. dick must be turning in his grave , along with my stomach .


demands too much of most viewers .


a benign but forgettable sci-fi diversion .


showtime is closer to slowtime .


a charming yet poignant tale of the irrevocable ties that bind .


a boring , formulaic mix of serial killers and stalk 'n' slash .


any movie this boring should be required to have ushers in the theater that hand you a cup of coffee every few minutes .


at times funny and at other times candidly revealing , it 's an intriguing look at two performers who put themselves out there because they love what they do .


ostensibly celebrates middle-aged girl power , even as it presents friendship between women as pathetic , dysfunctional and destructive .


preposterous and tedious , sonny is spiked with unintentional laughter that , unfortunately , occurs too infrequently to make the film even a guilty pleasure .


the inherent strength of the material as well as the integrity of the filmmakers gives this coming-of-age story restraint as well as warmth .


i just did n't care as much for the story .


it 's an awfully derivative story .


the film makes a tragic error by going on for too long , trying to mirror every subsequent event in chinese history : war , revolution , communism , etc. .


4 friends , 2 couples , 2000 miles , and all the pabst blue ribbon beer they can drink - it 's the ultimate redneck road-trip .


nervy and sensitive , it taps into genuine artistic befuddlement , and at the same time presents a scathing indictment of what drives hollywood .


the low-budget full frontal was one of the year 's murkiest , intentionally obscure and self-indulgent pictures , and solaris is its big-budget brother .


novak manages to capture a cruelly hilarious vein of black comedy in the situation with his cast of non-actors and a gritty , no-budget approach .


chaotic , self-indulgent and remarkably ugly to look at , it 's ... like a series of pretentiously awful student films strung together into one feature-length horror .


those outside show business will enjoy a close look at people they do n't really want to know .


it 's the kind of movie you ca n't quite recommend because it is all windup and not much of a pitch , yet you ca n't bring yourself to dislike it .


whether you 're moved and love it , or bored or frustrated by the film , you 'll still feel something .


but he somehow pulls it off .


an incredibly clever and superbly paced caper filled with scams within scams within scams .


the spark of special anime magic here is unmistakable and hard to resist .


... one of the most ingenious and entertaining thrillers i 've seen in quite a long time .


too silly to be frightening , too stolid to be funny , it projects the same lazy affability as its nominal star , david arquette .


all that ( powerpuff girls ) charm is present in the movie , but it 's spread too thin .


culkin exudes none of the charm or charisma that might keep a more general audience even vaguely interested in his bratty character .


sunshine state lacks the kind of dynamic that limbo offers , and in some ways is a rather indulgent piece .


a sermonizing and lifeless paean to teenage dullards .


it 's hard not to be seduced by ( witherspoon 's ) charisma , even in this run-of-the-mill vehicle , because this girl knows how to drive it to the max .


nair does capture the complexity of a big family and its trials and tribulations ...


the drama is played out with such aching beauty and truth that it brings tears to your eyes .


an engaging overview of johnson 's eccentric career .


will only satisfy those who ca n't tell the difference between the good , the bad and the ugly .


on the right track to something that 's creepy and effective ... it 's just going to take more than a man in a bullwinkle costume to get there .


a richly imagined and admirably mature work from a gifted director who definitely has something on his mind .


the smartest bonehead comedy of the summer .


the premise for this kegger comedy probably sounded brilliant four six-packs and a pitcher of margaritas in , but the film must have been written ... in the thrall of a vicious hangover .


writhing under dialogue like ` you 're from two different worlds ' and ` tonight the maid is a lie and this , this is who you are , ' this schlock-filled fairy tale hits new depths of unoriginality and predictability .


matthew mcconaughey tries , and fails , to control the screen with swaggering machismo and over-the-top lunacy .


borrows from so many literary and cinematic sources that this future world feels absolutely deja vu .


if this is the danish idea of a good time , prospective tourists might want to consider a different destination -- some jolly country embroiled in a bloody civil war , perhaps .


a taut , intelligent psychological drama .


godawful boring slug of a movie .


mckay deflates his piece of puffery with a sour cliche and heavy doses of mean-spiritedness


digital-video documentary about stand-up comedians is a great glimpse into a very different world .


grant gets to display his cadness to perfection , but also to show acting range that may surprise some who thought light-hearted comedy was his forte .


the level of maturity displayed by this 33-year-old first-time feature director is astonishing , considering her inexperience and her subject matter .


thoughtful , even stinging at times , and lots of fun .


alas , it 's neither .


this is n't a narrative film -- i do n't know if it 's possible to make a narrative film about september 11th , though i 'm sure some will try -- but it 's as close as anyone has dared to come .


greene delivers a typically solid performance in a role that is a bit of a departure from the noble characters he has played in the past , and he is matched by schweig , who carries the film on his broad , handsome shoulders .


the kids often appear to be reading the lines and are incapable of conveying any emotion .


disturbingly superficial in its approach to the material .


we miss the quirky amazement that used to come along for an integral part of the ride .


a refreshingly honest and ultimately touching tale of the sort of people usually ignored in contemporary american film .


george clooney proves he 's quite a talented director and sam rockwell shows us he 's a world-class actor with confessions of a dangerous mind .


solid , lump-in-the-throat family entertainment that derives its power by sticking to the facts .


do n't plan on the perfect ending , but sweet home alabama hits the mark with critics who escaped from a small town life .


with generic sets and b-grade special effects , jason is about as convincing on the sci-fi front as tv 's defunct cleopatra 2525 .


i enjoyed the ride ( bumps and all ) , creamy depth , and ultimate theme .


somewhere short of tremors on the modern b-scene : neither as funny nor as clever , though an agreeably unpretentious way to spend ninety minutes .


undone by its overly complicated and derivative screenplay , the glacier-paced direction and the stereotypical characters .


though the film 's scenario is certainly not earthshaking , this depiction of fluctuating female sexuality has two winning lead performances and charm to spare .


pretentious editing ruins a potentially terrific flick .


so clichéd that , at one point , they literally upset an apple cart .


like a south-of-the-border melrose place .


what could have been a neat little story about believing in yourself is swamped by heavy-handed melodrama .


oedekerk wrote patch adams , for which he should not be forgiven .


after making several adaptations of other writers ' work , armenian-canadian director atom egoyan broached an original treatment of a deeply personal subject .


it is intensely personal and yet -- unlike quills -- deftly shows us the temper of the times .


a pleasant enough comedy that should have found a summer place .


this is how you use special effects .


tadpole is a sophisticated , funny and good-natured treat , slight but a pleasure .


to imagine the life of harry potter as a martial arts adventure told by a lobotomized woody allen is to have some idea of the fate that lies in store for moviegoers lured to the mediocrity that is kung pow : enter the fist .


you would be better off investing in the worthy emi recording that serves as the soundtrack , or the home video of the 1992 malfitano-domingo production .


but even a hero can stumble sometimes .


writer-director burger imaginatively fans the embers of a dormant national grief and curiosity that has calcified into chronic cynicism and fear .


makes an aborbing if arguable case for the man 's greatness .


nicolas philibert observes life inside a one-room schoolhouse in northern france in his documentary to be and to have , easily one of the best films of the year .


ecks this one off your must-see list .


very solid , very watchable first feature for director peter sheridan


lame , haphazard teen comedy .


full of profound , real-life moments that anyone can relate to , it deserves a wide audience .


consists of a plot and jokes done too often by people far more talented than ali g


ms. fulford-wierzbicki is almost spooky in her sulky , calculating lolita turn .


egoyan 's movie is too complicated to sustain involvement , and , if you 'll excuse a little critical heresy , too intellectually ambitious .


in the process , they demonstrate that there 's still a lot of life in hong kong cinema .


de niro may enjoy the same free ride from critics afforded to clint eastwood in the lazy bloodwork .


too much of this well-acted but dangerously slow thriller feels like a preamble to a bigger , more complicated story , one that never materializes .


director ferzan ozpetek creates an interesting dynamic with the members of this group , who live in the same apartment building .


now , if it only had a brain .


i watched the brainless insanity of no such thing with mounting disbelief .


it 's the best film of the year so far , the benchmark against which all other best picture contenders should be measured .


the essential problem in orange county is that , having created an unusually vivid set of characters worthy of its strong cast , the film flounders when it comes to giving them something to do .


some studio pizazz might have helped .


the film 's greatest asset is how much it 's not just another connect-the-dots , spy-on-the-run picture .


opens as promising as any war/adventure film you 'll ever see and dissolves into a routine courtroom drama , better suited for a movie titled `` glory : a soldier 's story . ''


the movie is well shot and very tragic , and one to ponder after the credits roll .


on its own cinematic terms , it successfully showcases the passions of both the director and novelist byatt .


as conceived by mr. schaeffer , christopher and grace are little more than collections of quirky traits lifted from a screenwriter 's outline and thrown at actors charged with the impossible task of making them jell .


wait for video -- and then do n't rent it .


but watching huppert , a great actress tearing into a landmark role , is riveting .


never ( sinks ) into exploitation .


the streets , shot by cinematographer michael ballhaus , may be as authentic as they are mean , but it is nearly impossible to care about what happens on them .


a gob of drivel so sickly sweet , even the eager consumers of moore 's pasteurized ditties will retch it up like rancid crème brûlée .


a startling and fresh examination of how the bike still remains an ambiguous icon in chinese society .


an unsatisfying hybrid of blair witch and typical stalk-and-slash fare , where the most conservative protagonist is always the last one living .


a thoughtful look at a painful incident that made headlines in 1995 .


a real movie , about real people , that gives us a rare glimpse into a culture most of us do n't know .


when your leading ladies are a couple of screen-eating dominatrixes like goldie hawn and susan sarandon at their raunchy best , even hokum goes down easily .


the situations and jokes are as predictable and as lowbrow as the endless pratfalls the boys take in their high heels .


a harmless and mildly amusing family comedy .


fine acting but there is no sense of connecting the dots , just dots .


rambles on in a disjointed , substandard fashion from one poorly executed action sequence to the next .


no , it 's the repetition of said behavior , and so children of the century is more mindless love than mad , more grating and boring than anything else .


if kaufman kept cameron diaz a prisoner in a cage with her ape , in his latest , he 'd have them mate .


( fessenden ) is much more into ambiguity and creating mood than he is for on screen thrills


dark , resonant , inventively detailed and packed with fleet turns of plot and a feast of visual amazement .


lovingly choreographed bloodshed taking place in a pristine movie neverland , basically .


a very funny movie .


suffocated at conception by its munchausen-by-proxy mum .


a vivid cinematic portrait .


but it offers plenty to ponder and chew on as its unusual relationship slowly unfolds .


a provocative movie about loss , anger , greed , jealousy , sickness and love .


by the end , i was looking for something hard with which to bludgeon myself unconscious .


majidi 's poetic love story is a ravishing consciousness-raiser , if a bit draggy at times .


this is the best american movie about troubled teens since 1998 's whatever .


if shayamalan wanted to tell a story about a man who loses his faith , why did n't he just do it , instead of using bad sci-fi as window dressing ?


others may find it migraine-inducing , despite moore 's attempts at whimsy and spoon feeding .


the creaking , rusty ship makes a fine backdrop , but the ghosts ' haunting is routine .


first good , then bothersome .


fails to bring as much to the table .


without heavy-handedness , dong provides perspective with his intelligent grasp of human foibles and contradictions .


a clutchy , indulgent and pretentious travelogue and diatribe against ... well , just stuff .


even with all those rough edges safely sanded down , the american insomnia is still pretty darned good .


a charming , quirky and leisurely paced scottish comedy -- except with an outrageous central gimmick that could have been a reject from monty python 's meaning of life .


bow 's best moments are when he 's getting busy on the basketball court because that 's when he really scores .


the enormous comic potential of an oafish idiot impersonating an aristocrat remains sadly unrealized .


at nearly three hours , the whole of safe conduct is less than the sum of its parts .


just another fish-out-of-water story that barely stays afloat .


an afterschool special without the courage of its convictions .


without september 11 , collateral damage would have been just another bad movie .


like a marathon runner trying to finish a race , you need a constant influx of liquid just to get through it .


zhang yimou delivers warm , genuine characters who lie not through dishonesty , but because they genuinely believe it 's the only way to bring happiness to their loved ones .


well-written , nicely acted and beautifully shot and scored , the film works on several levels , openly questioning social mores while ensnaring the audience with its emotional pull .


for the first two-thirds of this sparklingly inventive and artful , always fast and furious tale , kids will go happily along for the ride .


a classy item by a legend who may have nothing left to prove but still has the chops and drive to show how its done .


if this holiday movie is supposed to be a gift , somebody unwrapped it early , took out all the good stuff , and left behind the crap ( literally ) .


feels less like it 's about teenagers , than it was written by teenagers .


a well-made thriller with a certain level of intelligence and non-reactionary morality .


no movement , no yuks , not much of anything .


most of the action setups are incoherent .


somehow we 're meant to buy that this doting mother would shun her kids , travel to one of the most dangerous parts of the world , don fatigues and become g.i. jane .


good ol' urban legend stuff .


the thriller side of this movie is falling flat , as the stalker does n't do much stalking , and no cop or lawyer grasps the concept of actually investigating the case .


an amazing and incendiary movie that dives straight into the rough waters of contradiction .


a great ending does n't make up for a weak movie , and crazy as hell does n't even have a great ending .


the episodic film makes valid points about the depersonalization of modern life .


a gimmick in search of a movie : how to get carvey into as many silly costumes and deliver as many silly voices as possible , plot mechanics be damned .


i regret to report that these ops are just not extreme enough .


so stupid , so ill-conceived , so badly drawn , it created whole new levels of ugly .


at about 95 minutes , treasure planet maintains a brisk pace as it races through the familiar story .


intriguing and beautiful film , but those of you who read the book are likely to be disappointed .


the film is often filled with a sense of pure wonderment and excitement not often seen in today 's cinema du sarcasm


this is what imax was made for : strap on a pair of 3-d goggles , shut out the real world , and take a vicarious voyage to the last frontier -- space .


effectively feeds our senses with the chilling sights and sounds from within the camp to create a completely numbing experience .


these people would n't know subtle characterization if it put on a giant furry monster costume and then gave them a lapdance .


while mcfarlane 's animation lifts the film firmly above the level of other coming-of-age films ... it 's also so jarring that it 's hard to get back into the boys ' story .


a candid and often fascinating documentary about a pentecostal church in dallas that assembles an elaborate haunted house each year to scare teenagers into attending services .


warmed-over tarantino by way of wannabe elmore leonard .


the film is an enjoyable family film -- pretty much aimed at any youngster who loves horses .


the hours makes you examine your own life in much the same way its characters do , and the experience is profound .


but that 's just the problem with it - the director has n't added enough of his own ingredients .


home alone goes hollywood , a funny premise until the kids start pulling off stunts not even steven spielberg would know how to do .


based on a david leavitt story , the film shares that writer 's usual blend of observant cleverness , too-facile coincidence and slightly noxious preciousness .


automatically pegs itself for the straight-to-video sci-fi rental shelf .


sits uneasily as a horror picture ... but finds surprising depth in its look at the binds of a small family .


the issue of faith is not explored very deeply


the sequel has turned completely and irrevocably bizarre to the point of utter nonsense .


lacks heart , depth and , most of all , purpose .


moot point .


the film makes a strong case for the importance of the musicians in creating the motown sound .


the film runs on equal parts of innocence and wisdom -- wisdom that comes with experience .


the passions aroused by the discord between old and new cultures are set against the strange , stark beauty of the mideast desert , so lovingly and perceptively filmed that you can almost taste the desiccated air .


pryor lite , with half the demons , half the daring , much less talent , many fewer laughs .


if you liked such movies as notting hill , four weddings and a funeral , bridget jones ' diary or high fidelity , then you wo n't want to miss about a boy .


even legends like alfred hitchcock and john huston occasionally directed trifles ... so it 's no surprise to see a world-class filmmaker like zhang yimou behind the camera for a yarn that 's ultimately rather inconsequential .


it will come as no surprise that the movie is n't scary .


often gruelling and heartbreaking to witness , but seldahl and wollter 's sterling performances raise this far above the level of the usual maudlin disease movie .


even by dumb action-movie standards , ballistic : ecks vs. sever is a dumb action movie .


one hour photo is an intriguing snapshot of one man and his delusions ; it 's just too bad it does n't have more flashes of insight .


john mctiernan 's botched remake may be subtler than norman jewison 's 1975 ultraviolent futuristic corporate-sports saga .


if there 's a way to effectively teach kids about the dangers of drugs , i think it 's in projects like the ( unfortunately r-rated ) paid .


the only thing worse than your substandard , run-of-the-mill hollywood picture is an angst-ridden attempt to be profound .


proof that a thriller can be sleekly shot , expertly cast , paced with crisp professionalism ... and still be a letdown if its twists and turns hold no more surprise than yesterday 's weather report .


a tender and touching drama , based on the true story of a troubled african-american 's quest to come to terms with his origins , reveals the yearning we all have in our hearts for acceptance within the family circle .


the tug of war that ensues is as much a snapshot of modern china in microcosm as it is a crash course in movie mythology .


a comprehensive and provocative film -- one that pushes the boundaries of biography , and challenges its audience .


few films this year have been as resolute in their emotional nakedness .


this extremely unfunny film clocks in at 80 minutes , but feels twice as long .


you can feel the heat that ignites this gripping tale , and the humor and humanity that root it in feeling .


theirs is a simple and heart-warming story , full of mirth that should charm all but the most cynical .


if this is an example of the type of project that robert redford 's lab is willing to lend its imprimatur to , then perhaps it 's time to rethink independent films .


though the book runs only about 300 pages , it is so densely packed ... that even an ambitious adaptation and elaborate production like mr. schepisi 's seems skimpy and unclear .


like dickens with his passages , mcgrath crafts quite moving scenes throughout his resolutely dramatic variation on the novel .


not so much funny as aggressively sitcom-cute , it 's full of throwaway one-liners , not-quite jokes , and a determined tv amiability that allen personifies .


ultimately the project comes across as clinical , detached , uninvolving , possibly prompting audience members to wonder , ` what 's the point ? '


i weep for the future when a good portion of the respected critical community in this country consider blue crush to be an intelligent film about young women .


a soggy , shapeless mess ... just a dumb excuse for a waterlogged equivalent of a haunted-house movie .


achieves a sort of filmic epiphany that revels in the true potential of the medium .


there 's no denying the physically spectacular qualities of the film ... or the emotional integrity of the performances .


it 's difficult to say whether the tuxedo is more boring or embarrassing -- i 'm prepared to call it a draw .


an endearingly offbeat romantic comedy with a great meet-cute gimmick .


a work of the utmost subtlety and perception , it marks the outstanding feature debut of writer-director eric byler , who understands the power of the implicit and the virtues of simplicity and economy .


too loud , too long and too frantic by half , die another day suggests that the bond franchise has run into a creative wall that 007 can not fly over , tunnel under or barrel through .


this overproduced and generally disappointing effort is n't likely to rouse the rush hour crowd .


the film 's sharp , often mischievous sense of humor will catch some off guard ...


a cockamamie tone poem pitched precipitously between swoony lyricism and violent catastrophe ... the most aggressively nerve-wracking and screamingly neurotic romantic comedy in cinema history .


not a movie but a live-action agitprop cartoon so shameless and coarse , it 's almost funny .


this delicately observed story , deeply felt and masterfully stylized , is a triumph for its maverick director .


oft-described as the antidote to american pie-type sex comedies , it actually has a bundle in common with them , as the film diffuses every opportunity for a breakthrough


the irwins emerge unscathed , but the fictional footage is unconvincing and criminally badly acted .


winds up feeling like lots of other quirky movies that try to score hipness points with young adults .


vile and tacky are the two best adjectives to describe ghost ship .


though mama takes a bit too long to find its rhythm and a third-act plot development is somewhat melodramatic , its ribald humor and touching nostalgia are sure to please anyone in search of a jules and jim for the new millennium .


a depressing confirmation of everything those of us who do n't object to the description `` unelected '' have suspected all along : george w. bush is an incurious , uncharismatic , overgrown frat boy with a mean streak a mile wide .


it is far from the worst , thanks to the topical issues it raises , the performances of stewart and hardy , and that essential feature -- a decent full-on space battle .


a free-for-all of half-baked thoughts , clumsily used visual tricks and self-indulgent actor moments .


propelled not by characters but by caricatures .


never again swings between false sentiment and unfunny madcap comedy and , along the way , expects the audience to invest in the central relationship as some kind of marriage of true minds .


a well acted and well intentioned snoozer .


goyer 's screenplay and direction are thankfully understated , and he has drawn excellent performances from his cast .


aside from being the funniest movie of the year , simone , andrew niccol 's brilliant anti-hollywood satire , has a wickedly eccentric enchantment to it .


eventually , it wins you over .


a boring , wincingly cute and nauseatingly politically correct cartoon guaranteed to drive anyone much over age 4 screaming from the theater .


( t ) hose same extremes prevent us from taking its message seriously , and the stepford wives mentality does n't work in a modern context .


there are moments it can be heart-rending in an honest and unaffected ( and gentle ) way .


bubba ho-tep is a wonderful film with a bravura lead performance by bruce campbell that does n't deserve to leave the building until everyone is aware of it .


what 's most striking about this largely celebratory film ... is the sense of isolation that permeates these bastions of individuality in an ikea world .


the two leads are almost good enough to camouflage the dopey plot , but so much naturalistic small talk , delivered in almost muffled exchanges , eventually has a lulling effect .


but fans should have fun meeting a brand-new pokemon called celebi .


this is art paying homage to art .


a pleasurably jacked-up piece of action moviemaking .


like most bond outings in recent years , some of the stunts are so outlandish that they border on being cartoonlike .


god help the poor woman if attal is this insecure in real life : his fictional yvan 's neuroses are aggravating enough to exhaust the patience of even the most understanding spouse .


wasabi is slight fare indeed , with the entire project having the feel of something tossed off quickly ( like one of hubert 's punches ) , but it should go down smoothly enough with popcorn .


the film 's 45-minute running time stops shy of overkill , though viewers may be more exhausted than the athletes onscreen .


a loving little film of considerable appeal .


demme 's loose approach kills the suspense .


`` antwone fisher '' is an earnest , by-the-numbers effort by washington .


he simply presents his point of view that ayurveda works .


you 're better off staying home and watching the x-files .


with youthful high spirits , tautou remains captivating throughout michele 's religious and romantic quests , and she is backed by a likable cast .


but this costly dud is a far cry from either the book or the beloved film .


majidi gets uniformly engaging performances from his largely amateur cast .


stephen earnhart 's homespun documentary mule skinner blues has nothing but love for its posse of trailer park denizens .


haneke challenges us to confront the reality of sexual aberration .


an offbeat , sometimes gross and surprisingly appealing animated film about the true meaning of the holidays .


the plot is so predictable and sentimental that viewers are likely to lose interest before sandrine and her goats walk off into the sunset .


( it 's ) difficult to get beyond the overall blandness of american chai , despite its likable performances and refreshingly naive point of view .


once the audience figure out what 's being said , the filmmaker 's relative passivity will make it tough for them to really care .


watstein handily directs and edits around his screenplay 's sappier elements ... and sustains off the hook 's buildup with remarkable assuredness for a first-timer .


this is n't my favorite in the series , still i enjoyed it enough to recommend .


the movie is as far as you can get from racy , to the point where it almost stops the blood flow to your brain ; it has a dull , costumey feel .


as with too many studio pics , plot mechanics get in the way of what should be the lighter-than-air adventure .


has a shambling charm ... a cheerfully inconsequential diversion .


look , this is a terrific flick replete with dazzling camera-work , dancing and music .


... both hokey and super-cool , and definitely not in a hurry , so sit back , relax and have a few laughs while the little ones get a fuzzy treat . '


what will , most likely , turn out to be the most repellent movie of 2002 .


this is one for the ages .


eastwood is an icon of moviemaking , one of the best actors , directors and producers around , responsible for some excellent work .


from spiritual rebirth to bruising defeat , vincent 's odyssey resonates in a profound way , comparable to the classic films of jean renoir .


the central story lacks punch .


... fifty minutes of tedious adolescent melodramatics followed by thirty-five minutes of inflated nonsense .


though of particular interest to students and enthusiast of international dance and world music , the film is designed to make viewers of all ages , cultural backgrounds and rhythmic ability want to get up and dance .


why come up with something even quasi-original , when you can pillage from shirley jackson , richard matheson ... and puke up something like rose red ?


parker holds true to wilde 's own vision of a pure comedy with absolutely no meaning , and no desire to be anything but a polished , sophisticated entertainment that is in love with its own cleverness .


jason x has cheesy effects and a hoary plot , but its macabre , self-deprecating sense of humor makes up for a lot .


flashy , pretentious and as impenetrable as morvern 's thick , working-class scottish accent .


the backyard battles you staged with your green plastic army men were more exciting and almost certainly made more sense .


invincible is a wonderful movie .


this pep-talk for faith , hope and charity does little to offend , but if saccharine earnestness were a crime , the film 's producers would be in the clink for life .


japan 's premier stylist of sex and blood hits audiences with what may be his most demented film to date .


it is interesting and fun to see goodall and her chimpanzees on the bigger-than-life screen .


finally , a genre movie that delivers -- in a couple of genres , no less .


a broadly played , lowbrow comedy in which the cast delivers mildly amusing performances and no farm animals were injured by any of the gags .


you 'll be more entertained getting hit by a bus .


if it tried to do anything more , it would fail and perhaps explode , but at this level of manic whimsy , it is just about right .


a sad , superior human comedy played out on the back roads of life .


a shambles of a movie -- visually unattractive , unbearably loud and utterly silly ... its hilarity is completely unintentional .


the makers have forsaken the entertaining elements of the original and , instead , rehash old jokes and leave any life at the doorstep .


for anyone who grew up on disney 's 1950 treasure island , or remembers the 1934 victor fleming classic , this one feels like an impostor .


` enigma ' is a good name for a movie this delibrately obtuse and unapproachable .


star wars is back in a major way .


bullock 's complete lack of focus and ability quickly derails the film


it 's endearing to hear madame d. refer to her husband as ` jackie ' -- and he does make for excellent company , not least as a self-conscious performer .


though a bit of a patchwork in script and production , a glossy , rich green , environment almost makes the picture work .


this is a particularly toxic little bonbon , palatable to only a chosen and very jaundiced few .


the movie feels like it 's going to be great , and it carries on feeling that way for a long time , but takeoff just never happens .


a pro-fat farce that overcomes much of its excessive moral baggage thanks to two appealing lead performances .


an impressive if flawed effort that indicates real talent .


do n't waste your money .


it 's a bittersweet and lyrical mix of elements .


the movie 's quiet affirmation of neighborhood values gives it an honest , lived-in glow .


too stupid to be satire , too obviously hateful to be classified otherwise , frank novak 's irritating slice of lumpen life is as reliably soul-killing as its title is nearly meaningless .


marvelous , merry and , yes , melancholy film .


i tried to read the time on my watch .


but based on cq , i 'll certainly be keeping an eye out for his next project .


i spy is an embarrassment , a monotonous , disjointed jumble of borrowed plot points and situations .


occasionally , in the course of reviewing art-house obscurities and slam-bam action flicks , a jaded critic smacks into something truly new .


her delivery and timing are flawless .


but buying into sham truths and routine `` indie '' filmmaking , freundlich has made just another safe movie .


gee , a second assassin shot kennedy ?


a charming romantic comedy that is by far the lightest dogme film and among the most enjoyable .


every bit as bogus as most disney live action family movies are -- no real plot , no real conflict , no real point .


a whole lot foul , freaky and funny .


could the whole plan here have been to produce something that makes fatal attraction look like a classic by comparison ?


the cast is uniformly excellent and relaxed .


the film is just a big , gorgeous , mind-blowing , breath-taking mess .


reggio 's trippy , ambitious downer can also sometimes come across like nothing more than a glorified nike ad .


the more kevin costner rests on his pretty-boy laurels , the public is , regrettably , going to have tepid films like dragonfly tossed at them .


director benoit jacquot , making his first opera-to-film translation with tosca , conveys the heaving passion of puccini 's famous love-jealousy - murder-suicide fandango with great cinematic innovation .


it 's a film that hinges on its casting , and glover really does n't fit the part .


the film often achieves a mesmerizing poetry .


i love the way that it took chances and really asks you to take these great leaps of faith and pays off .


imagine the james woods character from videodrome making a home movie of audrey rose and showing it to the kid from the sixth sense and you 've imagined the ring .


if we do n't demand a standard of quality for the art that we choose , we deserve the trash that we get .


a generation x artifact , capturing a brief era of insanity in the sports arena that surely can not last .


bad company leaves a bad taste , not only because of its bad-luck timing , but also the staleness of its script .


when a set of pre-shooting guidelines a director came up with for his actors turns out to be cleverer , better written and of considerable more interest than the finished film , that 's a bad sign .


as green-guts monster movies go , it 's a beaut .


still , i thought it could have been more .


it 's a nicely detailed world of pawns , bishops and kings , of wagers in dingy backrooms or pristine forests .


good actress .


evokes a little of the fear that parents have for the possible futures of their children -- and the sometimes bad choices mothers and fathers make in the interests of doing them good .


still , this thing feels flimsy and ephemeral .


renner 's performance as dahmer is unforgettable , deeply absorbing .


marisa tomei is good , but just a kiss is just a mess .


complex , affecting and uniquely almodóvar , the film evokes strong emotions and pushes viewers to question their deepest notions of moral right and wrong .


it 's almost impossible not to be moved by the movie 's depiction of sacrifice and its stirring epilogue in post-soviet russia .


a compendium of solondz 's own worst instincts in under 90 minutes .


presents an astute appraisal of middle american musical torpor and the desperate struggle to escape it .


about as satisfying and predictable as the fare at your local drive through .


dreary , highly annoying ... ` some body ' will appeal to no one .


sharp , lively , funny and ultimately sobering film .


the premise is overshadowed by the uberviolence of the clericks as this becomes just another kung-fu sci-fi movie with silly action sequences .


one of those rare , exhilarating cinematic delights that gets even better in hindsight , as you mull over its every nuance in your mind .


i like frank the pug , though .


instead of kicking off the intrigue and suspense and mystery of the whole thing , hart 's war , like the st. louis rams in the super bowl , waits until after halftime to get started .


if it 's possible for a sequel to outshine the original , then sl2 does just that .


divine secrets of the ya-ya sisterhood may not be exactly divine , but it 's definitely -- defiantly -- ya ya , what with all of those terrific songs and spirited performances .


tsai ming-liang has taken his trademark style and refined it to a crystalline point .


those who would follow haneke on his creepy explorations ... are rewarded by brutal , committed performances from huppert and magimel .


what could have become just another cautionary fable is allowed to play out as a clever , charming tale -- as pleasantly in its own way as its self-dramatizing characters .


( schweiger is ) talented and terribly charismatic , qualities essential to both movie stars and social anarchists .


dialogue-heavy and too cerebral for its own good -- or , at any rate , too cerebral for its racy subject matter .


for all its surface frenzy , high crimes should be charged with loitering -- so much on view , so little to offer .


credibility sinks into a mire of sentiment .


a frantic search for laughs , with a hit-to-miss ratio that does n't exactly favor the audience .


in its ragged , cheap and unassuming way , the movie works .


this is a great subject for a movie , but hollywood has squandered the opportunity , using it as a prop for warmed-over melodrama and the kind of choreographed mayhem that director john woo has built his career on .


a compelling journey ... and `` his best friend remembers '' is up there with the finest of specials .


this film was made to get laughs from the slowest person in the audience -- just pure slapstick with lots of inane , inoffensive screaming and exaggerated facial expressions .


meandering , sub-aquatic mess : it 's so bad it 's good , but only if you slide in on a freebie .


an often-deadly boring , strange reading of a classic whose witty dialogue is treated with a baffling casual approach


watching haneke 's film is , aptly enough , a challenge and a punishment .


an ungainly , comedy-deficient , b-movie rush job ...


considering the harsh locations and demanding stunts , this must have been a difficult shoot , but the movie proves rough going for the audience as well .


there is a kind of attentive concern that hoffman brings to his characters , as if he has been giving them private lessons , and now it is time for their first public recital .


this cuddly sequel to the 1999 hit is a little more visually polished , a little funnier , and a little more madcap .


the story is naturally poignant , but first-time screenwriter paul pender overloads it with sugary bits of business .


the tenderness of the piece is still intact .


a simmering psychological drama in which the bursts of sudden violence are all the more startling for the slow buildup that has preceded them .


it has fun being grown up .


( newton ) wanders through charlie completely unaware she needs to show some presence and star quality .


an exceedingly clever piece of cinema .


a psychological thriller with a smart script and an obsessive-compulsive 's attention to detail .


a great comedy filmmaker knows great comedy need n't always make us laugh .


i do n't think i 've been as entranced and appalled by an asian film since shinya tsukamoto 's iron man .


too close to phantom menace for comfort .


this film looks like it was produced in 1954 , shelved for 48 years , and repackaged for a 2002 audience .


he 's super spy !


the lack of opposing viewpoints soon grows tiresome -- the film feels more like a series of toasts at a testimonial dinner than a documentary .


choose your reaction : a. ) that sure is funny !


not ` terrible filmmaking ' bad , but more like , ' i once had a nightmare like this , and it 's now coming true ' bad .


we never really feel involved with the story , as all of its ideas remain just that : abstract ideas .


a byzantine melodrama that stimulates the higher brain functions as well as the libido .


the film overcomes the regular minefield of coming-of-age cliches with potent doses of honesty and sensitivity .


its mysteries are transparently obvious , and it 's too slowly paced to be a thriller .


like its two predecessors , 1983 's koyaanisqatsi and 1988 's powaqqatsi , the cinematic collage naqoyqatsi could be the most navel-gazing film ever .


the story itself is uninteresting , and the songs are painfully undistinguished : they might be giants ' so to be one of us may be the most tuneless tune ever composed .


a masterful film from a master filmmaker , unique in its deceptive grimness , compelling in its fatalist worldview .


a truly moving experience , and a perfect example of how art -- when done right -- can help heal , clarify , and comfort .


it 's all very cute , though not terribly funny if you 're more than six years old .


just a bloody mess .


schmaltzy and unfunny , adam sandler 's cartoon about hanukkah is numbingly bad , little nicky bad , 10 worst list bad .


offers a breath of the fresh air of true sophistication .


fans of behan 's work and of irish movies in general will be rewarded by borstal boy .


... a poignant and powerful narrative that reveals that reading writing and arithmetic are not the only subjects to learn in life .


i found it slow , drab , and bordering on melodramatic .


the film 's real appeal wo n't be to clooney fans or adventure buffs , but to moviegoers who enjoy thinking about compelling questions with no easy answers .


( wendigo is ) why we go to the cinema : to be fed through the eye , the heart , the mind .


it is risky , intelligent , romantic and rapturous from start to finish .


the whole cast looks to be having so much fun with the slapstick antics and silly street patois , tossing around obscure expressions like bellini and mullinski , that the compact 86 minutes breezes by .


she must have a very strong back .


compelling as it is exotic , fast runner has a plot that rivals shakespeare for intrigue , treachery and murder .


better at putting you to sleep than a sound machine .


this is a raw and disturbing tale that took five years to make , and the trio 's absorbing narrative is a heart-wrenching showcase indeed .


jirí hubac 's script is a gem .


this is n't a `` friday '' worth waiting for .


de niro looks bored , murphy recycles murphy , and you mentally add showtime to the pile of hollywood dreck that represents nothing more than the art of the deal .


the movie quickly drags on becoming boring and predictable .


still pretentious and filled with subtext , but entertaining enough at ` face value ' to recommend to anyone looking for something different .


almost everything else is wan .


just because it really happened to you , honey , does n't mean that it 's interesting to anyone else .


there has been much puzzlement among critics about what the election symbolizes .


an enchanting film that presents an audacious tour of the past and takes within its warm embrace the bounties of cultural artifacts inside st. petersburg 's hermitage museum .


choppy editing and too many repetitive scenes spoil what could have been an important documentary about stand-up comedy .


it 's the kind of pigeonhole-resisting romp that hollywood too rarely provides .


much of the way , though , this is a refreshingly novel ride .


the acting by the over-25s lacks spark , with csokas particularly unconnected .


nair stuffs the film with dancing , henna , ornamentation , and group song , but her narrative clichés and telegraphed episodes smell of old soap opera .


any one episode of the sopranos would send this ill-conceived folly to sleep with the fishes .


needless to say , the dramatics that follow are utter hooey .


de oliveira creates an emotionally rich , poetically plump and visually fulsome , but never showy , film whose bittersweet themes are reinforced and brilliantly personified by michel piccoli .


if this movie were a book , it would be a page-turner , you ca n't wait to see what happens next .


watching it is rather like viewing a long soap opera in which only the first episode was any good .


most of crush is a clever and captivating romantic comedy with a welcome pinch of tartness .


there 's nothing provocative about this film save for the ways in which it studiously avoids provoking thought .


what full frontal lacks in thematic coherence it largely makes up for as loosey-goosey , experimental entertainment .


so routine , familiar and predictable , it raises the possibility that it wrote itself as a newly automated final draft computer program .


denis and co-writer michele petin 's impeccable screenplay penetrates with a rawness that that is both unflinching and tantalizing .


a deceivingly simple film , one that grows in power in retrospect .


as it abruptly crosscuts among the five friends , it fails to lend the characters ' individual stories enough dramatic resonance to make us care about them .


if no one singles out any of these performances as award-worthy , it 's only because we would expect nothing less from this bunch .


i hated every minute of it .


even if you ca n't pronounce `` gyro '' correctly , you 'll appreciate much of vardalos ' humor , which transcends ethnic boundaries .


... always remains movingly genuine .


creepy but ultimately unsatisfying thriller .


there is not an ounce of honesty in the entire production .


( broomfield ) uncovers a story powerful enough to leave the screen sizzling with intrigue .


at times , however , dogtown and z-boys lapses into an insider 's lingo and mindset that the uninitiated may find hard to follow , or care about .


what happened with pluto nash ?


there is n't a weak or careless performance amongst them .


edited and shot with a syncopated style mimicking the work of his subjects , pray turns the idea of the documentary on its head , making it rousing , invigorating fun lacking any mtv puffery .


( howard ) so good as leon barlow ... that he hardly seems to be acting .


another great ` what you do n't see ' is much more terrifying than what you do see thriller , coupled with some arresting effects , incandescent tones and stupendous performances


a modest pleasure that accomplishes its goals with ease and confidence .


lanie 's professional success means she must be a failure at life , because she 's driven by ambition and does n't know how to have fun .


it 's frustrating to see these guys -- who are obviously pretty clever -- waste their talent on parodies of things they probably thought were funniest when they were high .


this miserable excuse of a movie runs on empty , believing flatbush machismo will get it through .


you might not want to hang out with samantha , but you 'll probably see a bit of yourself in her unfinished story .


hilarious , touching and wonderfully dyspeptic .


rather , you 'll have to wrestle disbelief to the ground and then apply the chloroform-soaked handkerchief .


this examination of aquatic life off the shores of the baja california peninsula of mexico offers an engrossing way to demonstrate the virtues of the imax format .


the noble tradition of men in drag hits an all-time low in sorority boys , whose makers apparently believe that women 's clothing can cover up any deficiency in acting , writing or direction .


when it comes to entertainment , children deserve better than pokemon 4ever .


the sad thing about knockaround guys is its lame aspiration for grasping the coolness vibes when in fact the film is n't as flippant or slick as it thinks it is .


the stories here suffer from the chosen format .


a graceless , witless attempt at mating some like it hot with the wwii espionage thriller .


without a strong script and energetic acting , dogma films can produce the same sleep-inducing effects as watching your neighbor 's home videos .


its lack of quality earns it a place alongside those other two recent dumas botch-jobs , the man in the iron mask and the musketeer .


stars matthew perry and elizabeth hurley illicit more than a chuckle , and more jokes land than crash , but ultimately serving sara does n't distinguish itself from the herd .


ridiculous .


the vampire thriller blade ii starts off as a wild hoot and then sucks the blood out of its fun -- toward the end , you can feel your veins cringing from the workout .


most impressive , though , is the film 's open-ended finale that refuses to entirely close its characters ' emotional wounds .


succumbs to the same kind of maudlin , sentimental mysticism that mars the touched by an angel school of non-god spiritual-uplift movies .


this goofy gangster yarn never really elevates itself from being yet another earnestly generic crime-busting comic vehicle -- a well-intentioned remake that shows some spunk and promise but fails to register as anything distinctive or daring


call me a wimp , but i cried , not once , but three times in this animated sweet film .


eight crazy nights is a showcase for sandler 's many talents .


both deeply weird and charmingly dear .


tom green just gives them a bad odor .


despite apparent motives to the contrary , it ends up being , like ( seinfeld 's ) revered tv show , about pretty much nothing .


the year 's happiest surprise , a movie that deals with a real subject in an always surprising way .


as if to prove a female director can make a movie with no soft edges , kathryn bigelow offers no sugar-coating or interludes of lightness .


if i spy were funny ( enough ) or exciting ( enough ) then it would be fairly simple to forgive the financial extortion it 's trying to reap from the moviegoing public .


nothing debases a concept comedy quite like the grinding of bad ideas , and showtime is crammed full of them .


this is simply the most fun you 'll ever have with a documentary !


it 's rather like a lifetime special -- pleasant , sweet and forgettable .


i like the new footage and still love the old stuff .


collateral damage is , despite its alleged provocation post-9 / 11 , an antique , in the end .


it sounds sick and twisted , but the miracle of shainberg 's film is that it truly is romance


while not as aggressively impressive as its american counterpart , `` in the bedroom , '' moretti 's film makes its own , quieter observations


gosling provides an amazing performance that dwarfs everything else in the film .


a great idea becomes a not-great movie .


you 'll be left with the sensation of having just witnessed a great performance and , perhaps , give in to the urge to get on your feet and shake it .


farrell ... thankfully manages to outshine the role and successfully plays the foil to willis 's world-weary colonel .


the film would work much better as a video installation in a museum , where viewers would be free to leave .


the invincible werner herzog is alive and well and living in la


this time kaufman 's imagination has failed him .


... this movie has a glossy coat of action movie excess while remaining heartless at its core .


arnold 's jump from little screen to big will leave frowns on more than a few faces .


the film is all a little lit crit 101 , but it 's extremely well played and often very funny .


... a haunting vision , with images that seem more like disturbing hallucinations .


even when foreign directors ... borrow stuff from hollywood , they invariably shake up the formula and make it more interesting .


though the controversial korean filmmaker 's latest effort is not for all tastes , it offers gorgeous imagery , effective performances , and an increasingly unsettling sense of foreboding .


even die-hard fans of japanese animation ... will find this one a challenge .


the story loses its bite in a last-minute happy ending that 's even less plausible than the rest of the picture .


the reason this picture works better than its predecessors is that myers is no longer simply spoofing the mini-mod-madness of '60s spy movies .


this may not have the dramatic gut-wrenching impact of other holocaust films , but it 's a compelling story , mainly because of the way it 's told by the people who were there .


i would have preferred a transfer down the hall to mr. holland 's class for the music , or to robin williams 's lecture so i could listen to a teacher with humor , passion , and verve .


fairly successful at faking some pretty cool stunts but a complete failure at trying to create some pretty cool characters .


the result is something quite fresh and delightful .


birot is a competent enough filmmaker , but her story has nothing fresh or very exciting about it .


it might be tempting to regard mr. andrew and his collaborators as oddballs , but mr. earnhart 's quizzical , charming movie allows us to see them , finally , as artists .


although it 's a bit smug and repetitive , this documentary engages your brain in a way few current films do .


might have been better off as a documentary , with less of mr. eyre 's uninspired dramatics and more of his sense of observation and outrage .


focuses on joan 's raging hormones and sledgehammers the audience with spanish inquisitions about her `` madness '' so much that i became mad that i wasted 123 minutes and $ 9.50 on this 21st century torture device .


although trying to balance self-referential humor and a normal ol' slasher plot seemed like a decent endeavor , the result does n't fully satisfy either the die-hard jason fans or those who can take a good joke .


as elegantly crafted as it often is , anderson 's movie is essentially a one-trick pony that , hampered by an undeveloped script , ultimately pulls up lame .


the story 's so preposterous that i did n't believe it for a second , despite the best efforts of everyone involved .


it 's absolutely spooky how lillard channels the shagster right down to the original casey kasem-furnished voice .


it almost plays like solaris , but with guns and jokes .


an intermittently pleasing but mostly routine effort .


the story is familiar from its many predecessors ; like them , it eventually culminates in the not-exactly - stunning insight that crime does n't pay .


no reason for anyone to invest their hard-earned bucks into a movie which obviously did n't invest much into itself either .


all ends well , sort of , but the frenzied comic moments never click .


leave it to rohmer , now 82 , to find a way to bend current technique to the service of a vision of the past that is faithful to both architectural glories and commanding open spaces of the city as it was more than two centuries ago .


calling this movie brainless would be paying it a compliment : it 's more like entertainment for trolls .


it 's a movie -- and an album -- you wo n't want to miss .


fisher has bared his soul and confronted his own shortcomings here in a way ... that feels very human and very true to life .


never engaging , utterly predictable and completely void of anything remotely interesting or suspenseful .


to the film 's credit , the acting is fresh and unselfconscious , and munch is a marvel of reality versus sappy sentiment .


a compelling portrait of moral emptiness


beyond a handful of mildly amusing lines ... there just is n't much to laugh at .


the unceasing sadism is so graphically excessive , the director just ends up exposing his own obsession .


a thinly veiled excuse for wilson to play his self-deprecating act against murphy 's well-honed prima donna shtick .


lee jeong-hyang tells it so lovingly and films it so beautifully that i could n't help being captivated by it .


a frustrating combination of strained humor and heavy-handed sentimentality .


do n't expect any surprises in this checklist of teamwork cliches ...


ranks among willams ' best screen work .


despite the authenticity of the trappings , the film is overblown in its plotting , hackneyed in its dialogue and anachronistic in its style .


it 's both a necessary political work and a fascinating documentary ...


well-intentioned though it may be , its soap-opera morality tales have the antiseptic , preprogrammed feel of an after-school special .


for caine lovers only .


maybe i found the proceedings a little bit too conventional .


as lo-fi as the special effects are , the folks who cobbled nemesis together indulge the force of humanity over hardware in a way that george lucas has long forgotten .


frenetic but not really funny .


as your relatives swap one mundane story after another , you begin to wonder if they are ever going to depart .


a psychologically rich and suspenseful moral thriller with a stellar performance by al pacino .


at its best early on as it plays the culture clashes between the brothers .


sturdy , entertaining period drama ... both caine and fraser have their moments .


rain is a small treasure , enveloping the viewer in a literal and spiritual torpor that is anything but cathartic .


... hudlin is stuck trying to light a fire with soggy leaves .


an idealistic love story that brings out the latent 15-year-old romantic in everyone .


... in this incarnation its fizz is infectious .


a hysterical yet humorless disquisition on the thin line between sucking face and literally sucking face .


watching beanie and his gang put together his slasher video from spare parts and borrowed materials is as much fun as it must have been for them to make it .


smith 's point is simple and obvious -- people 's homes are extensions of themselves , and particularly eccentric people have particularly eccentric living spaces -- but his subjects are charmers .


a refreshingly authentic coming-of-age tale .


whether seen on a 10-inch television screen or at your local multiplex , the edge-of-your-seat , educational antics of steve irwin are priceless entertainment .


there are touching moments in etoiles , but for the most part this is a dull , dour documentary on what ought to be a joyful or at least fascinating subject .


too lazy to take advantage of its semi-humorous premise .


a wildly funny prison caper .


the story feels more like a serious read , filled with heavy doses of always enticing sayles dialogue .


a cop story that understands the medium amazingly well .


andy garcia enjoys one of his richest roles in years and mick jagger gives his best movie performance since , well , performance .


abandons all pretense of creating historical context and waltzes off into a hectic soap about the ups and downs of the heavy breathing between the two artists .


bad beyond belief and ridiculous beyond description .


the overall effect is so completely inane that one would have to be mighty bored to even think of staying with this for more than , say , ten ... make that three minutes .


this is a film brimming with detail and nuance and one that speaks volumes about the ability of the human spirit to find solace in events that could easily crush it forever .