Connie Ogle

They pull it off, but even if you believe in Santa, you'll never believe that this is any sort of holiday classic.

The film, which comes way too close to preaching, lurches away from the control of director Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Freaky Friday) and ends on a stretched-out note so sappy it makes "Must Love Dogs" look like "8 Mile."

Tale is anything but spellbinding.

Just one more in the plague of weak Cinderella stories released in the past year. It's too sugary to be good for you, but in the end, its over-the-top sweetness won't kill you.

It's almost impossible not to respond emotionally to this fascinating, sobering and all-too-brief exploration of the politicized religious right and its hopes, dreams and power.

This engaging documentary is briskly funny.

Vardalos may not have been the best possible Connie. But as Billy Wilder could have told you, nobody's perfect.

Mostly, by story's end, we're just glad they and their unfortunate clothing are out of our sight for good.

Full of It's message is directed straight at 9-year-olds -- lying is bad! -- and yet there's plenty of sexual content. Unfortunately there isn't much else.

Solid family entertainment, with thrilling action sequences and gorgeous scenery.

There's only one excuse for the sentimental and ham-handed I Am Sam, and it's not to tout the rights of the mentally disabled.

It never comes close to touching the audience's heart.

If you can overlook that last little bit of sports fantasy, you just might like Just Wright.

Despite its slight and vaguely silly premise, Driving Lessons turns out to be sweet, never cloying, and amusing in an understated British way.

Dogme films don't have to be bleak to be effective. They can be -- imagine! -- fun. Scherfig may have taken the discipline in an entirely new and welcome direction.

It's terrifically funny and, for a few brief moments, poignant.

Watchmen is a spectacularly violent movie.

Silly, tedious, inept disaster.

An incredibly lazy movie -- but not an unbearable one, thanks to Aaron Eckhart's charm.

There's nothing here you haven't seen before, especially if you own a PlayStation.

This shameless cheerleader of a documentary is the sort of propaganda you might expect in a Republican campaign ad or perhaps featured at a small theater located somewhere in Fantasyland.

With more time and a dash more cynicism, the film just might have achieved the thrilling allure of Becky Sharp's perfectly icy heart.

Documentary gold, and you will have formed an opinion on the controversy by the time you leave the theater. You may not know art, but you'll know what you like.

Easy A is unnecessarily hard on the religious kids. Unlike "Saved," it uses broad caricatures of gospel-singing fanatics to get laughs, and the bug-eyed, over-the-top performance by Bynes (who apparently really should have retired after making this film) doesn't help matters.

A romantic comedy need not be original to work. It just needs, you know, romance. Something to swoon over. What Two Weeks Notice provides, however, is a lot more messy.

Unimaginative, exasperating film, hopefully but fruitlessly recycled after the success of 2002's ebullient Whale Rider.

Dench and Blanchett will likely pick up Oscar nominations; no one could improve on either performance.

Right now, this goofy film is the best candidate for mindless, enjoyable laughs.