Angel Cohn

This hockey movie scores, thanks to director Gavin O'Connor's ability to skate that fine line between inspirational and melodramatic and achieve a satisfying balance.

For all the technical wizardry that went into making the film, Paxton's reflections on the human tragedies of the Titanic and the terrorist attack of Sept. 11th, 2001, which took place while the crew was out at sea, provide one of the film's most haunting moments.

The film's heart is the relationship between Elsa and Julien, and stars Bouanich and Serrault have a lovely onscreen rapport that's truly endearing.

Strikes a carefully calibrated balance between the film's darkly malicious sense of humor and its pastel sets and costumes.

Those who appreciate Ferrell's sense of humor will be utterly entertained by his efforts to kick it into high gear.

Director Jon Favreau keeps the guy-in-an-elf-suit act from degenerating into a too-long sketch, focusing on Buddy's naïve optimism, even in the face of harsh reality.

It's the perfect "smackeral" of adventure for youngsters craving Pooh Bear and his pals.

The outlandish premise and greasy title may be a little hard to swallow, but Danny Leiner's proudly moronic film embraces its boneheadedness so cheerfully that its lowbrow charms are nearly irresistible.

Though the script is best described as mechanical and it takes a while to get into gear, this computer-generated "reach for the stars" story is a well-calibrated piece of entertainment.

Fraser's goofiness matches that of the animated characters and he cheerfully pokes fun at his celebrity persona, while Elfman is oddly appealing as a strong woman who must seek help from a wascally wabbit.

The film is wickedly funny and a first-rate showcase for Ferrell.

The original Carly Simon songs are well performed, but their soothing lullaby qualities may cause those with short attention spans to nod off.

Here the message -- it's not nice to ridicule, mistreat or ignore people just because they're different -- verges on the oppressive; more of the Farrellys' trademark over-the-top comedy would have lightened the load.

A barrage of pop-culture jokes, time-travel high jinks and plucky orphans that's as confusing as it sounds, and riddled with plot holes to boot.

The caliber of the cast, led by Mirren and Walters, elevates the material above movie-of-the-week level, and viewers can relish seeing these fine actresses play against type.

Sometimes stumbles into the trap of excessive predictability. But its amiable (and largely fictionalized) heart tugging still makes for charming all-ages entertainment.

Bettany, previously best known as a supporting player, shoulders the burden of a Hugh Grant-style romantic lead surprisingly well, revealing an offbeat charm.

Moore and Harrelson are very well cast.

Mayer knows how to tug at the heartstrings, and his admirably restrained cast keeps the family drama from becoming too sugary.

The charismatic Mac has stepped into leading man roles with surprising ease, but Bassett -- a fine actress in all respects -- is clearly struggling with the film's broad comedy.

Director Gary Winick serves up enough giddy fun that it's easy to turn a blind eye to the film's skewed sense of time and minor anachronisms.

Fans may be disappointed that some of the show's secondary characters, like Lizzie's pal Miranda, are AWOL from this Prince and the Pauper-style escapade, and some of the scenes involving Gellman are disappointingly flat.

While changes have been made to the book in the interest of compressing the story and emphasizing certain life lessons, the 33-year-old premise is still perfectly in sync with the sensibilities of preteen boys everywhere.

The film's utterly predictable dialogue and plot developments will leave most viewers cold. Ice-struck preteens are, of course, the exceptions.

Be warned: The end credits contain a particularly nauseating image you'll wish you could delete from memory.

The frat brothers have some surprisingly touching moments, and their diverse but perfectly matched personalities generate a fairly steady stream of laugh-out-loud moments.

The pre-credits sequence, featuring a variety of old-school snack treats performing a speed-metal number about courteous movie-theater behavior, is flat-out hilarious and deserves to be played before all R-rated films.

A sweet film with no big action moments may be a hard sell to young male audiences, but it's nevertheless a quality story that the whole family can watch together.