Claudia Puig

Incorporates a range of genres -- black comedy, thriller, psychological drama -- and emerges more powerful for it.

The interwoven stories are haunting, but also darkly funny.

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.

It's the kind of feel-good movie whose resolution is evident from the start, being based as it is on a true story. But that doesn't make the journey any less interesting.

Johansson gives one of her best performances as the bossy, gum-chewing Jersey girl determined to change Jon into her image of a romantic hero. Tony Danza and Glenne Headly are hilarious as Jon's parents. Gordon-Levitt proves he can act, write and direct with equal dexterity.

John Travolta may stand out as a plus-size laundress who is hesitant, drab and retiring, but Hairspray is a consistently flashy, rousing and rambunctious movie spectacle.

No-frills chills are what Paranormal Activity offers in unrelenting supply.

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

Lie is openhearted, earnest and well-intentioned.

The dazzling animation, catchy songs and Broadway-worthy dance numbers give the film even broader appeal.

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

A breezy, mirthful caper enlivened by the comic talents of Ricky Gervais, Ty Burrell and Tina Fey.

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.

He offers glimmers of what lies beneath the near-mythic, elegant exterior, but Larrain’s take is more impressionistic than revelatory, more presumptuous than knowing.

It features a striking lead performance, but it ultimately leaves the viewer unmoved, and possibly confounded.

The fashions are a highlight, and the story of a seething snake pit of a town is watchable and intermittently amusing, until things take a jarring turn about halfway in.

The story of a woman dismissed by those around her who asserts herself through art testifies to the indomitable power of creativity. Why turn that compelling story into a predictable romance?

Paranormal Activity 3 delivers similarly eerie moments, though long stretches go by where nothing truly ominous occurs.

At its best when sticking to a classic sci-fi-fantasy format. But when it tries to be a generic thrill ride, it loses its originality and peculiar charm.

An artful examination of a small town and small-mindedness and the potential for full-blown, large-scale evil. But it's strangely bloodless.

More a matter of chemistry than deadlines.

Gyllenhaal is excellent in the dual roles, though Laurent (Inglourious Basterds) is given too little to do to make much of an impression. Isabella Rossellini has a brief, thankless role as the mother of at least one of the two look-alikes.

There is nothing objectionable in this family film, but it doesn't seem to appreciate the intelligence and savvy of its youthful audience. Kids can spot a silly stereotypical character as fast as the rest of us.

There are some wise observations about parenting. Hunt draws some good performances from the cast and wisely chose a low-key personal story for her directorial debut.

A Hollywood take on a Bollywood movie. But the Bollywood portions - echoing over-the-top Indian movie musicals - are far more entertaining than the Hollywood segments.

Sayles is clearly aiming to construct a multilevel character study and sociological portrait, but too often the film lapses into a lecture.

Bolt borrows amiably from a host of sources, including "The Incredible Journey," "Lilo and Stitch" and "Toy Story 2."

Teacher's Pet is no "Finding Nemo," nor even "Lilo and Stitch," but it is an enjoyable family film -- particularly for younger kids -- during a time of year when such fare is lacking.

Vivid visuals are the key to this handsome and moderately entertaining adventure. And the tone is more fairy-tale appropriate than video-game friendly, though the effects-laden swashbuckling sometimes obscures efforts at light whimsy.

Zone feels anticlimactic now. It also pales in comparison to Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker," the most powerful film yet made about the Iraq war.

While just a jot less fun than its predecessor, Pitch Perfect 2 is a worthy sequel in tone, even if the story feels padded with a few too many montages.

The film features too little about Berry (an engaging Mos Def), who crosses over to great fame.

Because we are left with so many questions, the film emerges as emotionally lacking and flat when it should be moving, or at least enlightening.

Compelling enough, a sort of "Inception"-lite, but the plot holes take it off course.

In Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, director Stephen Daldry must walk a tricky line between poignancy and pathos. He occasionally slips into maudlin turf.

The result is an odd, occasionally engaging but often cacophonous mishmash.

Last year's "TheWild Thornberrys Movie" and previous Rugrats films were more imaginative. And this one also suffers by coming on the heels of the exceptional "Finding Nemo."

As far-fetched as it sometimes seems, the film resonates in the wake of the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

This reasonably entertaining movie falters by trying to be both a dark comedy and a sentimental treatise on family and country.

Even if the refreshing gust doesn't stay with you long, it's fun while it lasts.

The result can be palpably unnerving.

The voice talent behind Robots reads like a who's who of comic actors...But too much reliance is placed on their star power and not enough on an interesting and fresh idea.

Though it's no "Monty Python," Hot Fuzz is a clever, over-the-top marriage of mayhem and merriment.

Story is everything and Shark's is rather thin and soupy, despite the winning improvisational skills of stars Will Smith and Jack Black.

For the most part, Wilde's sophisticated, sardonic dialogue has been capably adapted by screenwriter Howard Himelstein and director Mike Barker.

Crazy Love is pulp non-fiction.

While the entire premise of Sleuth is a gimmick, having Michael Caine and Jude Law remake the 1972 adaptation of Anthony Shaffer's Tony Award-winning play heightens the gimmick quotient.

The Spirit is uneven, but its campy adventure provides some amusing, escapist fun.

Harris is a major asset in a film that is entertaining but somewhat unfocused and occasionally badly cast.

A simple, sentimental family drama for the holidays, Evelyn, alas, is also predictable and schematic.

For younger audiences drawn by the attractive actors, this might be their introduction to the Dumas epic. At least it's an effective and rousing version.

We're supposed to be agog at the fantastical creatures and dazzling special effects. But the more wrenching story of disillusioned children nags in the background, distracting from any enchantment.

The premise of visiting so many pubs as a narrative device, however, bogs down the initially energetic pacing and goofiness. Piling on the mayhem renders The World's End a sometimes chaotic and uneven comedy.

The concert footage is mesmerizing; the planning leading up to the show is pedestrian.

Lead actor Ehrenreich conveys a spirited charm, while Englert, the object of his affections, is more blandly self-contained.

Grief and suicide seem unlikely subjects for a comedy. But Shrink tries gamely to mine edgy humor from the darkest places. Sometimes it works. Other times, its Hollywood-centric focus feels like a re-heated cinemash of "The Wackness," "Crash" and "The Player."

Patricia Clarkson, who has emerged as one of the screen's best character actresses, plays Brooks' wife with intelligence and down-to-earth warmth.

As written, directed and, of course, acted by Sylvester Stallone, this film provides more insight into the character and his psyche than previous films, which were much more about the punches thrown.

If you don't mind some contrivance, On a Clear Day is a diverting underdog tale.

Father and son Kirk and Michael Douglas' moments together are among the movie's best.

Bening takes a complex, sometimes cloying character and makes her sympathetic - all the while pulling off a British accent with seeming ease. She single-handedly makes the movie worth seeing.

Even with the ponderous dialogue, it's hard not to have fun on this adventure, and it's good to see that Indy, though slightly weary, still has the goods.

The movie has a few too many story threads, but it also has some very funny lines and offers sharp-eyed commentary on the state of relationships in the era of instant messages and MySpace.

What's missing in Morgan Spurlock's latest documentary is a key ingredient: Morgan Spurlock.

Hanks directs with assurance. Perhaps if he had teamed with a more agile writer, less given to cheesy yuck-fests, Larry Crowne would be the nuanced adult love story it aims to be.

The worms, the real stars of the film, are fairly impressive, looming large, plump and slimy as they are boiled, fried, served with sauce and added to omelettes and smoothies.

While the production design is impeccable and the journey intermittently involving, The Hobbit is overlong and lacks the enchantment of the Lord of the Rings films.

While the talented quartet play these hypocritical sorts with finesse, the story grows tiresome, its cynical point made early and often.

Parents and kids should be heartened to see a G-rated movie that is not dumbed-down or saccharine-sweet. Rather, it's subtly inspiring.

This bromance with rapid-fire quips, however, is undermined by unoriginal scenarios and a long, drawn-out chase scene.

The adults fare best. Leonard and Enos have more electricity than the teens do. And the best performance is a low-key, authentic one by Stacy Keach as Mia's grandfather.

It's too bad that this long-awaited movie didn't go further than faithfully re-creating Kahlo's artwork and her studied look. Her passionate and tragically short life (she died at 47) is ideal Hollywood material, but the audience is left wanting a more in-depth portrait.

Though the writing is often sharp, one is reminded repeatedly by the actors' theatrical delivery of some lines and by the confined settings that the movie's origins were on stage.

De-Lovely has its moments of delight. Its defects lie mostly in failing to fully delineate what made musical icon Cole Porter tick.

A warm and pleasantly diverting tale.

The movie clichés are bearable mainly because the cast rises above the formulaic material. There are also some bona fide laughs to be had once the setting switches to a luxurious resort in the Czech Republic.

Though preachy at times, Catch a Fire is a well-constructed action thriller elevated by Luke's performance.

Crowd-pleasing and compelling, most of all because of its fiery, charismatic heroine.

Notorious is like a piece of well-crafted bling. It looks good, and facets of it shine, but behind the gilded facade there's not much there. And what is there can be troubling and retrogressive.

Anderson has taken pains to re-create the '50s with superb production design and gorgeous cinematography. But he seems less concerned with whether the audience is along for the ride. The story can leave viewers at sea, floundering to give meaning to what they are watching.

This is not enjoyable entertainment, but it is brutally watchable.

For a movie about the power of imagination, Bridge to Terabithia is not as clever as you would hope.

With its homages to "Frankenstein," "The Exorcist" and "The Shining," director David Gelb's The Lazarus Effect is at least smarter and tenser than last year's crop of tame horror films.

Predictable, but well-intentioned fun.

Worth seeing, not only because it shows how an ordinary man can do something extraordinary, but because it allows audiences the opportunity to watch an extraordinary actor in a performance that could have been rote, but instead is nuanced and intelligent.

Ramona and Beezus are undeniably cute, and the movie that bears their names tries to inject some timeliness, but what many of us will walk away from this movie thinking about are the hot father figures.

Bunny is fashioned as a bawdy comedy with heart, but its reliance on formula undercuts the amusing moments.

Even though Think Like a Man espouses something akin to the philosophy in Beyoncé's Single Ladies(Put a Ring on It), it makes manipulation more fun than it ought to be.

Though it doesn't fully resonate as a romance, it is effective as a character study.

Familiar B-movie fare, but it's also lively fun and presented with well-paced flair.

The tale was no doubt meant to convey Kemp/Thompson's boozy aimlessness, but the film feels disjointed and meandering as a result.

The primary upside to The Upside of Anger is the presence of Joan Allen in the lead role.

Saldana is in top form for the acrobatics required in the role, and she makes the gritty determination of her character believable.

Sherlock Holmes has been reimagined with fighting skills as potent as his intellectual acumen.

It's a sweetly strange yet uneven comedy, with a charming lead performance by Steve Zahn offset by a lackluster one from Jennifer Aniston.

Focus never quite comes into clear view. It's a muddled and twisting romantic caper that at times feels like Steven Soderbergh lite.

Some of the players are endearingly goofy in this good-natured comedy, particularly Rudd and Theroux. But Wanderlust trundles along unevenly, never reaching the cleverly raucous state it seeks.

Has strong performances and stirring football scenes.

What emerges is part screwball comedy, absurdist farce, social satire and earnest self-exploration. If it had the unwavering focus and clear-eyed vision of Russell's previous two features, I Heart Huckabees might have been brilliant.

The film grows on you, but more substance and less calculated quirks would have been a royal treat.

Well-acted, intermittently compelling, often incoherent but always offbeat, Inherent Vice is a twisting story about twisted California stoners. Think of it as a film that's meant to be experienced, more than fully understood.

Employing Navy troops as stars is a clever idea for an action thriller. But the soldiers' awkward line readings are glaring enough to distract from the potency of the story.

Cheesy, campy B-movie fun, thanks mostly to the cadre of cobras and their ilk and also to Jackson (probably the only actor alive who could pull off this save-the-day bad ass movie role).

Creation is a superbly creative exercise for its star, Paul Bettany, who plays Charles Darwin. But it's a subdued and meandering portrait of the conflicts underlying the development of the theory of evolution.

A pleasant, but forgettable, trifle.

The Fifth Estate doesn't seem to be presenting the full story. Instead, it's a fairly dull thriller about a hugely influential Internet phenomenon.

Part of the problem lies in the casting imbalance: Ferrell is so much more adept at this comedy style than Heder.

The villains are so extreme that they come off like sleazy caricatures. This accentuates the nuanced skill of the two lead performances, but it undercuts the overall effect of this well-constructed, if occasionally flat, pulp thriller.

An uplifting but occasionally treacly tale of transcendent grief, opted to venture where angels go fearlessly.

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

Invincible doesn't offer any surprises. But it is a well-made, fairly exciting movie that, like its hero, has heart.

As the film ultimately deviates from its course, the entire undertaking suffers.

Adam is a cut above most romances and boasts a intriguing conclusion. One comes away with a sense of hope, leavened by realism.

Donkey continues to be lovable, and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) has one of the funnier character arcs.

While it takes stabs at realism, mostly in its use of cellular and computer technology, disbelief must be suspended for full immersion in this twisty airborne thriller.

This gritty examination of physical and psychological wounds offers a superb performance by Marion Cotillard, who speaks volumes with her eyes, and a less convincing one by her lead co-star.

Watts has proven herself a Lady of the Rings, but twice is enough. No burning need for a trilogy.

Moviegoers will come up empty with Mad Money. This lifeless comedy and uninventive caper feels as if it were cobbled together at a studio's obligatory consciousness-raising diversity seminar.

James Franco is a gorgeous, smoldering lover in Tristan & Isolde, but you can't help being reminded of Ben Stiller's "Zoolander" character.

Splinter is no exploitative blood bath or torture horror like the "Saw" movies. It's more of a thriller along the lines of "The Thing" or "Alien." The scares are equal parts psychological jolts and gore. This is classic Halloween fun, with plenty of thrills and chills, surprisingly believable performances, and healthy doses of humor.

Bogged down by speechifying and a plodding pace, Miral is well-intentioned but doesn't achieve the searing emotional resonance suggested by the story.

Too many threads are left dangling and the movie ultimately proves too implausible to put alongside those horror classics.

One can excuse the movie's missteps and melodramatic moments in the greater interest of the strong statement it makes about our health care system.

Like a padded "Saturday Night Live" sketch. What would have been very funny for 15 minutes, and pretty funny for 45, doesn't maintain the standard over the course of a feature-length film.

Cheri, like the character, is an entertaining bauble without much on its mind.

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.

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

Rhythmically, athletically and energetically, Step Up 3D does not disappoint.

An entertaining, diverting adventure saga that offers excitement and a relatable heroine for children, and also will remind their parents of favorite classics from their own youth.

More like a serving of lukewarm treacle than savory tikka masala.

A predictable espionage thriller undercut further by loose ends left dangling, November Man is worth seeing only for Pierce Brosnan's dynamic lead performance.

The main lessons Jonah attempts to teach are compassion and mercy. That's an unusual -- and welcome -- message these days.

The thrilling stunts and hyperkinetic action scenes are the undisputed stars of this surprisingly entertaining film.

The Bridget Jones characters are worth revisiting. It's just too bad the story that connects them in The Edge of Reason is less fresh and clever than its predecessor.

While there are humorous and poignant moments, this angst-filled story of tender kisses, awkward dances, friends drifting apart, kindly English teachers, unrequited crushes and drug-addled partying has a nagging sense of deja vu.

The laughs are hit and miss and the movie is ho-hummus.

If you've watched the BBC series "Planet Earth," then Earth will seem like a familiar, if stunning, global rewarming.

Eccentric and generally entertaining.

It's creepy but tinged with sarcasm and infused with silly fun.

Zwick's "Once and Again" and "Thirtysomething" portrayed emotion more honestly than many TV shows of their time. But in Love and Other Drugs, he unevenly weds the satirical and the sentimental.

How She Move has two key assets: powerful dance sequences and an emphasis on education.

We Bought a Zoo doesn't seem to know what kind of animal it is. Is it a family melodrama, a love story, a wacky comedy, a drama about coping with grief, a feel-good film about following your dreams, or, as ads seem to indicate, a gift-wrapped animal adventure? Not surprisingly, this menagerie of genres doesn't mesh.

Alice Braga plays an Army sniper uniquely familiar with jungle fighting. She is the only one of the crew who does any soul-searching to figure out why this particular group was chosen as prey.

The Bling Ring is the cinematic equivalent of the vapid, superficial kids it features — all visual panache and minimal substance.

Huffman is a woman playing a man playing a woman, which is easily the year's most complicated turn. She does a fine, nuanced job in bringing to life a character that could have become a caricature.

Mixed with the sleaze is the unexpected and occasionally inspired.

Blends humor with heart for a satisfying, if predictable, experience.

The film is slow in getting started and once it's underway it's only intermittently involving. It's also occasionally far-fetched.

Offers a bleak though thought-provoking take on relationships. The challenge for the viewer is in caring enough to become invested in characters who seem hellbent on hurting one another.

No new ground is dug up in Good Boy, but the story is well-paced, sweet and lively, filling a void for very young filmgoers.

Alpo is served with a burrito chaser in Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Disney's fish-out-of-water comedy in which the fish is … well, read the title.

Daybreakers is entertaining, though not quite up to the standards of "28 Days Later."

Chicken With Plums is not a thoroughly delectable concoction, but its exotic flavor is worth sampling.

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.

This year's warm and fuzzy Christmas movie. It's a generally winning diversion, thanks mostly to its likeable ensemble cast.

The Expendables 2 is corny, barbaric and sometimes visually murky. But humor and self-deprecating macho charm make this male pattern badness crowd-pleasing fun.

Shines brightest during its musical numbers.

Through most of the movie, the former star of the Harry Potter movies sports an impressive set of curling ram-style protuberances that bring to mind a character in "Pan's Labyrinth."

David Oyelowo stands out as the daredevil Joe "Lightning" Little, the unit's best flier. With his bravery and bravado, he's the film's most complex character.

Though the movie trails off unsatisfyingly, it raises intriguing and candid, if unanswerable, questions about race relations and political correctness.

Some of the film's most illuminating scenes involve Aya's uncle, General Kajima (Toshiyuki Nishida), who schools Fellers on the sense of duty that is ingrained in Japanese culture.

Cantinflas is a nostalgic, occasionally schlocky, look at the Mexican icon. While a substantial number of scenes are heavy-handed, the actor who plays Cantinflas— Óscar Jaenada — is a standout.

Dead-on as entertaining eye candy, a bona fide guilty pleasure -- for the first hour. But the movie loses steam and the sequences that dazzled in the beginning get overshadowed by the excesses of later scenes.

Falls flat, enlivened only by the performances of its two charismatic lead dogs. The story is heavy-handed, and the human performances are, at their worst, caricatured.

Essentially, it boils down to familiar fare: a well-paced, entertaining, conventional action thriller where a reluctant hero saves the day.

Hollywoodland explores an intriguing bit of Hollywood history, and through the strength of its performances keeps us engaged and entertained.

It's a pleasant enough fantastical adventure, but it does feel naggingly derivative.

Though characters make some strong points, the film feels preachy and falls flat as entertainment.

The powerful two-person drama gets watered down by documentary-style footage and voice-overs. But it's worth seeing just for Weaver and LaPaglia.

Writer/director Zach Helm, who wrote "Stranger Than Fiction," achieves bursts of charm and whimsy, but not quite enough magic to elicit a consistent sense of wonderment.

The highlight of this fantasy/horror hybrid is watching a pair of the best British character actors --- Bill Nighy and Michael Sheen -- shed their thespian respectability and unleash their inner beasts.

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.

The notion that children are raised on fairy tales and the question of how those early stories affect us all — even into adulthood — remains fascinating and is delivered here with visual panache and musical flair.

The movie is spotty. The short films, essentially comic sketches, were more consistently funny. The movie lags on occasion, but it also has quite a few laughs.

Elisabeth Shue has a strange role as a version of herself who has given up acting for nursing.

Simple and evocative, yet teeming with intriguing visual effects.

Starts off promisingly, then grows as lifeless as a poker face.

The comic elements of this semi-factual tale are heavy-handed, and a key romance falls flat. Despite its titillating subject matter, Hysteria is only mildly stimulating. The final third of the story meanders during a tedious trial and clumsy speechifying.

Though not as engaging as "Knocked Up," there is enough humor to keeps us entertained.

Screwball, vaguely futuristic political satires are a rare hybrid, and War, Inc. is an intriguing, if flawed, example.

If you're not a stickler for consistency, this is an effective pastiche and tribute to one of the world's most enticing cities.

This is the anti-"Hurt Locker" experience: Where that Iraq War film was absorbing and deadly serious, The Men Who Stare at Goats is irreverent and lighthearted. One only wishes it were a more consistently funny film.

If not for Sienna Miller's engaging portrayal of Edie Sedgwick, Factory Girl would have little to offer.

While it has the requisite amounts of comedy and romance, it's actually more of a buddy movie. Think "Sex in the City," bro-style.

Anchoring the story is 9-year-old Liesel Meminger (Sophie Nélisse), whose first scenes are riveting.

Only two-thirds of this unlikely trio comes close to capturing the complexity of anguish and pain.

Though the film has a strong cast, humor and a satirical take on celebrity culture, the story is spotty.

Though the lead performances are uniformly good, the film seems hazy in its focus from the start. Many of the scenes seem to simply meander.

This is Woodstock from another perspective -- one without Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin.

While it doesn't break any new ground or provide any revelations, Seven Pounds is unabashedly emotional and cautiously hopeful. It's the feel-good movie for these feel-bad times.

Sometimes Crazy, Stupid, Love captures the complexity, humor and sweetness of relationships. But in several scenes, the film takes that insight and replaces it with farcical coincidences and strained scenarios that undercut the poignancy and wit.

Drama/comedy fables such as "Big" and "13 Going on 30" effectively transported viewers to their whimsical alternate reality. But Timothy Green feels more predictable than other-worldly.

Delayed a couple of years, shown to fans at conventions and retooled, Fanboys is an uneven and largely predictable adventure, but it has its moments.

As wedding stories go, it's an improvement over the dreadful "Something Borrowed," though it doesn't have anything terribly new to say.

Definitely not for everyone. It's a very bleak story with uneven pacing and a narrative whose jumps in time are confusing and occasionally infuriating. But the post-apocalyptic mood blends well with its uniquely stylized look and surreal story.

If only The Brave One had captured more of the complex nature of the fear and paranoia plaguing society since 9/11. Instead, it is a well-made but predictable take on the revenge fantasy thriller, with a female twist.

We all love a good fairy tale, but the enchantment is missing in this predictable sequel.

Grier plays the part of the pompous patrician with superb finesse and dry wit, easily the movie's highlight.

Can't seem to decide whether it wants to be an edge-of-the-seat action thriller or a more contemplative and intellectual drama about religion and terrorism. Somehow, in trying to have it both ways, it doesn't completely succeed at either.

It's not that it's a bad film. But the bar is high, and it's lackluster and predictable, missing that alchemic blend of humor, pathos and indelible characters that give Pixar movies their brilliant shine.

Wedding feels a bit anachronistic. Still, not every low-budget movie must be quirky or bleak, and a happy ending is no cinematic sin.

Its strongest asset is the stunningly poetic cinematography by Thierry Arbogast.

The end result, while entertaining, is the kind of unruly mess you can't imagine the indomitable Nanny McPhee tolerating.

Noah is no by-the-book Bible story. Think of it as a visually mesmerizing sci-fi adventure saga loosely based on the book of Genesis.

Dog lovers will instantly warm to the handsome stray collie mix, but they may struggle to fully embrace the amiable but toothless adult story surrounding him.

The film is beautifully shot, with vivid production design. But because of the tale's lack of cohesion, it doesn't carry enough emotional heft.

One of the film's strengths is that nobody -- male, female, gay, straight or Jewish mother -- is reduced to stereotype.

"It's a mess" is the campaign slogan of Marty Huggins, played by Galifianakis. He's referring to the state of government. But he might as well be describing the movie in which he co-stars.

It's unfortunate that the filmmakers juxtapose those striking visuals with a warlike anthropomorphizing element.

27 Dresses is like one of the many bridesmaid dresses featured in the film: frothy, predictable and over the top.

Though energetic, daring and gorgeous to behold, this re-imagining of Tolstoy's classic tale lacks a viable sense of passion, holding the characters at arm's length and glossing over social issues.

There is some lovely cinematography by Shelly Johnson in the classic David Lean style and plenty of excitement. Taken just for that, Hidalgo delivers.

The werewolves have it all over the blood-suckers in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. When these oversize, hirsute creatures burst onto the screen, they inject life into a rather inert story.

An intermittently exciting action film anchored by a strong performance by Jackman, who embodies Wolverine like no one else could.

The cinematography is gorgeous and the makeup amazing, but the story lines are too disconnected.

Like the fumbling around of first-time sex, The To Do List has its enjoyable moments but doesn't exactly feel like a peak experience.

Slither is old-school gooey, slimy, silly B-movie fun.

It's misleading to call this a documentary — fan fodder is more like it.

Some of us look forward to Guest films the way others pine for installments of Bond or "Star Trek." This skewering of Hollywood will entertain we "Guesties," but it's not at the top of his roster of parodies.

Predictable and foolishly unsuspecting characters react in ways that make you want to shake them. But there's an undeniable sense of silly fun in this erotic thriller.

An enjoyable, rousing film, despite its formulaic quality.

This many-feathered animal occasionally soars before it crash-lands.

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.

More than anything, the striking spectacle of primordial flora and one-of-a-kind fauna makes it easy for audiences to get pleasantly lost in the adventure.

A riveting and disturbing documentary that falls short of greatness by not providing enough insight into the characters. It is mostly intent on inciting a sense of outrage in the viewer, and it succeeds.

Largely because of its engaging cast, Admission is an amiable, but only slightly-above-average, comic romp.

A well-paced action film in the vein of "Speed."

Bettany is the best thing about the movie. A wonderful dramatic actor, he also proves to be richly skilled at romantic comedy, playing Peter with an easy grace and a droll sense of humor.

Delpy is clearly a gifted writer, especially of comic dialogue. But she and Goldberg don't quite work as an engaging pair.

The movie occasionally reveals truths about relationships that, while not earth-shattering, are nonetheless entertaining and worth considering.

Dragging on too long is a more serious flaw in a romantic comedy than it might be in a complex drama. We don't ask much of a movie like this, but we do require it to be snappy, clever and quick.

The martial-arts sequences take this prosaic thriller to a higher level.

It's a cut above most spooky-kid movies, with a twist that sets it apart.

A remake of a 2003 French Canadian movie, The Grand Seduction is more bland than grand and more eccentric than seductive.

Free Birds is pleasant enough holiday fare. And kudos to the animators for transforming a rather unattractive — or at least unappreciated — species into a cast of endearing characters.

Che is a mass of contradictions, perhaps like the iconic revolutionary himself.

Definitely more than semi-funny.

Where "Mall Cop" is broad, safe and sticks to a formula, Observe and Report is unabashedly crude, cynical, off-kilter and funnier.

McKay's performance is a revelation. He nails Welles' imperiousness, charm and vocal cadences, and even bears a strong resemblance to the iconic actor/director. He is thoroughly convincing as Welles and electrifies the screen when he's on it.

While style trumps substance, something in the way this '60s tribute moves attracts us.

While the story does not quite come to magical life, the themes of courage, hope and decency are sweetly inspiring.

Mottola, who wrote and directed 1996's "The Daytrippers," crafts smart, witty dialogue. But the movie suffers in tone. While much of the story feels like a brainier John Hughes comedy, it veers into more dramatic terrain and loses focus.

Movies often don't do their stories justice, and that has happened again here. The main problem is a tone that jarringly switches from a kind of Forrest Gump-style narrative to a more generic biopic.

This Hulk is more viscerally angry and packs a bigger wallop than Ang Lee's talkier, more introspective version. But it's hardly the best superhero movie around. "Iron Man" was wittier and more fun.

The courtroom scenes emphasize the movie's potency as a David and Goliath saga. But the film's strength lies in its fact-based story of a wronged man turned crusader, played with vigor by Kinnear.

While director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) piles on outlandish scenarios, the chemistry of the lead actors mitigates the contrived setup and numbing explosions.

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.

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.

Don't be too quick to turn down The Uninvited. A stylish horror thriller in the vein of "The Ring," it's well-acted, frightening and handsomely produced

"Who wants to see a movie about a kid who's stuck in middle school with a bunch of morons?" Thanks to an endearing cast of characters and an energetic, if light, comic story, we do.

A film in which precocious kids say things real kids never would, and larcenous drunks come off as adorable.

The story teeters on the edge of soap opera and emotional manipulation, but director Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer) pulls back in the nick of time. What results is an involving and often poignant examination of love and loss.

Youth's screenplay, by Gustin Nash, is generally witty.

While the neo-Gothic tale is inherently intriguing, the film should inspire strong emotion, but deliberate pacing and a contained sense of melodrama make it a surprisingly passive experience.

The film's clever use of emerald-colored hummingbirds as transportation is a highlight.

It's a thoroughly family-friendly film, with a subtle message about the importance of father figures. Don't expect anything resembling believability, but enjoy the blend of strikingly colorful visuals and banter between odd couple Johnson and Caine, which combine for a mild escapist treat.

It's a run-of-the-mill cop thriller but also a gripping family drama. It is in the moments spent untangling the threads of troubled relationships that the movie is at its best.

A surprisingly funny, female-driven romp — as long as you don't question too many plot particulars.

Restless is a self-consciously quirky coming-of-age tale that's essentially a teenage hipster "Love Story."

First they marched, then they tap-danced. Now they ride the waves on souped-up boards. It really doesn't matter what stunts they try to pull off: Who can resist an animated mockumentary in the style of "This Is Spinal Tap" starring the black-and-white big birds of the moment?

Ifans is convincingly world-weary as the earl who prefers writing sonnets to the pageantry of court life. Anonymous aims to be epic but is closer to stately soap opera.

It's hard to rationalize the vision of this dotty elderly woman with the tough-minded politician. The story lacks insight, glosses over key political issues and is unworthy of Streep's masterful performance.

The Village emerges as a victim of its own ambitions. At one point, Edward advises Ivy: "Do your very best not to scream." That doesn't require much restraint on our part.

Serviceable, occasionally compelling but often formulaic.

Has a couple of emotionally resonant scenes that build on the first two story lines. But it lacks the intriguing moody quality of the previous films. The mutants are more pumped up and angry this time, rather than misunderstood and conflicted.

Despite its flaws, Shutter Island is worth seeing for the palpably nightmarish and gothic world conceived by Scorsese

The movie's best moments are between Banderas and the kids. When the plot shifts to reveal the students' back stories (one has a prostitute mother, another a drunken father), the story becomes a melodramatic rehash of other movies, like "Fame" or "Rent."

With moments of mind-bending creepiness, the film has potential, but eventually it devolves into merely a head-scratcher.