Claudia Puig

The movie's soap opera quality undermines its efforts to tell a family saga with much believability.

Proof that Allen, who many have dismissed with his last few forgettable films, is still a filmmaking force.

While other Alzheimer's-related films, including "Amour," "Iris" and "Away from Her", delved more deeply into the subject, Alice is understated yet still moving.

This fun-filled adventure avoids formula with a whimsical story and terrific voice casting.

Unlike most rom-coms, Celeste and Jesse Forever delves into the complicated heart of relationships, exposes some painful truths and allows melancholy to co-exist alongside breezy humor.

The Incredible Jessica James is an enchanting, deftly-written and witty movie for lovers and haters of romantic comedies, as well as for all those in between.

Deftly balancing the students' stories with that of Courtney's, the film creates a fully rounded portrait of a corner of America rarely examined.

The special effects continue to be masterful, but villains are given a new twist, and Order of the Phoenix is all the more fun because of it.

Smashed is quietly affecting, though sometimes difficult to sit through. The saving grace is Winstead's smashing performance.

Earth to Echo is about adventure, bravery and excitement, but mostly it's about friendship— a subject that resonates with audiences of all ages.

Like "The Departed" and "Gone Baby Gone," What Doesn't Kill You is an engrossing, gritty, sharply written and well-acted drama set on the mean streets of South Boston.

"Imitation" illuminates Turing's brilliance in an engrossing and moving film that features a standout, Oscar-worthy performance by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Well-told fanciful tales aimed at children but appreciated by adults are a rarity, and The Water Horse should be savored for the exuberantly entertaining ride it offers.

An irreverent and witty comedy in which the events aren't predictable but are well paced.

Chappie is meant to inspire questions about what it means to be human, and at times it does. However, director and co-writer Neill Blomkamp doesn't explore its intriguing premise deeply enough.

It's great to see an action-adventure family film with heart as well as humor, whimsy alongside wisdom, and a compelling narrative.

Fortune is smiling down on veteran filmmaker Robert Altman with Cookie's Fortune.

A powerful and evocative account of the efforts undertaken to forge a perilous mother-and-child reunion. Told in Spanish with English subtitles, it is a moving tale of yearning, as well as unflagging courage and determination.

The razor-sharp satire Thank You for Smoking is the wittiest dark comedy of the year thus far. It has appeal to all sides of the political spectrum.

A sharp-tongued, subtly nuanced tragicomedy starring Jennifer Aniston, who shows her depth as a serious actress in this dark tale.

Not brilliantly funny nor incisively clever, Intolerable Cruelty is still moderately satirical and laugh-out-loud enjoyable.

Downey is absurdly funny.

Unfortunately, Red Eye goes from being a powerful thriller to a far more predictable story of revenge.

Cruise and Blunt have a measure of chemistry, however their characters go undeveloped, given short shrift amid the spectacle. But the pulse-pounding action scenes are briskly directed by Doug Liman.

Danny Trejo plays the long-haired, craggy-faced titular Machete with a combination of swift ferocity and baleful kindliness. And the ladies love it.

The car chases are unremarkable, but the stunts — which comically juxtapose Tatum's athletic grace and Hill's stocky clumsiness — are a hoot.

While on sardonic turf, it's scathingly funny. Then it veers from biting wit to pitiful. At one juncture, the story threatens to spin off into "Fatal Attraction" territory.

This mid-19th century tale of survival after the death of a parent is still compelling today, and its message of strength and the importance of family continues to resonate.

Ghost World draws super, natural performances.

Charming and inspiring.

Fincher's electrifying storytelling makes the most of unsettling visuals, large casts, complex plots and sharp dialogue.

This low-key and engrossing Belfast-based drama is as much a well-acted character study as it is a thriller about the conflict in Northern Ireland.

The look of the story is an undeniable treat, and the message it weaves is both funny and sweet. Horton Hears a Who! is razzle-dazzling and artful, and it builds on Seuss' words by the clever cart-full.

Warrior is a relentless, emotionally engaging family drama and underdog saga with touches of "Rocky" mixed with "The Fighter."

The latest version of Hardy's 1874 classic works on all levels. Foremost, it is brilliantly directed by Thomas Vinterberg,who also made two other masterful dramas, 2012's "The Huntand" 1998's "The Celebration."

A dream for fans of offbeat, well-written, subtly acted projects.

This morally ambiguous tale of dangerous liaisons and bewildering choices amounts to one of the year's most intriguing dramas.

Like the book, the movie blends a primitive quality with an imaginative artfulness. It also amplifies upon the story's gentle, sly wit.

It's a story that feels familiar at best, hackneyed at worst, which is surprising and disappointing, as director Tom Vaughan also made last year's "Starter for 10," a charming British coming-of-age comedy.

The overall message is pleasantly sweet: Bad days happen. Not only are they inevitable, but they serve to make the good times worth savoring. There's nothing dreadful about that.

With its unflinching style, Training Day can be hard to sit through at times. But it's worth the discomfort for the adrenaline rush of the plot and Washington's compelling performance.

A hard-core war film with raw violence, intense action, graphic sexuality and a twisting plot that offers a series of surprises.

It's a meandering film that prompts the viewer to anticipate characters' actions. Fortunately, they don't take predictable paths.

The film is involving, nimbly acted and smartly directed, though conventional in its narrative style.

It's made expressly for fans of unmitigated gore.

The musical numbers, with Brown's remixed vocals and Boseman re-creating his signature dance moves, are mesmerizing.

Prisoners is infused with a poetic intensity that's rare in American thrillers. The closest cinematic comparisons would be "Zodiac," "In the Bedroom" and "Mystic River."

An engaging tragicomedy, exploring the consequences of single-minded fervor in a humorous and humane fashion.

Displays so much promise with its beautiful cinematography and superb portrayal by Cate Blanchett that you scarcely notice (or even care) that the story is a bit thin.

Irresistibly endearing, with a visual verve all its own.

The visionary filmmaker's psychological thriller weaves a too-complicated tapestry.

It may be the most disturbing film you'll see in a long time.

There are ribald jokes and gross-out episodes, but the movie works because everything hinges on the camaraderie and undeniable chemistry between Rudd and Segel.

Lovely visuals are key for the success of any animated film, arguably more so even than for live-action movies. But a compelling story is also essential, and that’s where “Long Way North” trips up.

As exhilarating, captivating and enjoyable as a summer romance in an exotic city.

A welcome adult alternative to summer's sophomoric blockbusters. The only transforming going on here is actors skillfully taking on roles of '30s-era gangsters and lawmen.

Though the story teeters on easy sentimentality, it doesn't succumb. Though unabashedly emotional, it isn't maudlin. Tsotsi's story feels believable. It is made all the more engaging by a wonderful soundtrack of African Kwaito music.

The novella’s tale of the power of love is essentially a graceful story within that larger, clunkier contemporary story, beautifully rendered in stop motion. It’s enchanting, painterly and timeless, befitting the iconic French classic, with a style that feels both fresh and appropriately reverential.

Worth seeing just for the superb prosthetic makeup and seamless computer-generated effects in which Pitt's head is digitally imposed onto older bodies.

There are some effectively suspenseful moments in the movie, particularly during the gambling sequences, but one longs for more context and probing into the psyche of an ordinary man with an extraordinary compulsion.

An often breathlessly exciting action thriller told with humor and intelligence.

It all adds up to belly laughs aplenty and a rollicking good time.

The concept is unoriginal, the scenarios aren't funny, and its message is banal. Plus, Murphy alternately hams it up and phones it in.

Joyeux Noël is gritty and disturbing with its extended scenes of war and destruction. It also is emotional, even a touch sentimental.

Well-acted and intriguing exploration of dishonesty in its varied forms, leavened with a dry comic touch.

As coldly calculating and infuriating as it can be, the film and its production design are stunning. But characters' actions and motivations are beyond comprehension.

The Curse of the Golden Flower is the year's most operatic and visually lavish film.

The look of the film is dazzling, even hallucinatory, and the concept is beyond quirky as conceived by Gondry, a talented visual stylist, in his first film based on his own script. The story is compelling, unconventional and diverting in its blurring of reality and fantasy.

By eloquently probing the state of uncertainty and its accompanying discomfort and confusion, Doubt compels viewers to examine their own assumptions as they become caught up in this fascinating tale.

The Hoax lures you in with its captivating performances.

My One and Only has an old-fashioned sensibility -- and some lovely Mad Men-style costumes -- making for a pleasantly diverting road movie.

The new Wuthering Heightsis all gloomy moors and muck, but not much convincing passion.

Unstintingly explores and exposes excruciating pain, raw grief, ruinous vengeance and life-affirming resilience, creating human portraits that are uncommonly exhilarating in their honesty. This is cinematic art in its highest form.

Caramel is a sweeter and more believable version of "Steel Magnolias," Middle Eastern style.

Though the plot can be vague and occasionally convoluted, Harrelson is mesmerizing.

Watching Rudd bring dimension to what could have been a clownish caricature is the best reason to see this good-natured family comedy.

It energetically captures the frenzied pace of contemporary existence, the complexities of life in a multicultural world, the rootless joys of living in a foreign city and the heady world of possibilities one envisions while in college.

While potent and well-paced, Contagion doesn't come together as the fearsome bio-thriller it starts out to be. But it may make audiences twitchy about the guy coughing in the next row.

It could have delved a little deeper to keep us wide-eyed and engaged.

The unfunny jokes center on outhouses, vomit and flatulence. Gooding mugs, screeches, even hops up and down to no avail. Nothing can wring an ounce of comedy out of this sorry spectacle.

It's a pleasure to watch these men perform. These are real-life guitar heroes. But it would have been a treat to see more of them talking shop.

This is a Frank Capra-meets-Judd Apatow comedy with a sweetness-laced ribaldry.

A gently funny ensemble comedy that feels less like a movie than a short story.

The Coen brothers have fashioned a wry and riveting hybrid of a drama, Western, crime thriller and action film that is as powerful and thought-provoking as it is genre-bending.

At a time when romantic comedies seem to have exhausted unique ideas, along comes Lars, an original, amusing and heartfelt tale sharply written by Nancy Oliver (Six Feet Under).

The movie and its theme of self-acceptance has an honesty, undercut by occasional preciousness, that makes it worth seeing.

Tarantino exercises both his obsession with vengeance and his fascination with the movies.

Babel may be the most ambitious movie of the year, tackling towering communication barriers, global politics and cultural divides in a structurally complex and fascinating narrative.

It's a maniacal performance, complete with mad gales of laughter and insane bouts of temper. Cage doesn't go over the top, but he teeters darn close.