Elizabeth Weitzman

Friedlander offers a nicely subtle performance, but the other actors - including Alan Cumming, Deborah Harry and Amy Sedaris - appear to have turned up as a favor to the director. Don't feel obliged to follow their lead.

With costumes taking precedence over character, the movie ultimately seems more concerned with atmosphere than action.

Overlong and dramatically thin.

Crudup tends to take average parts in standard genre films and turn them into something special.

If you take The Alto Knights on its own terms – as an eccentric but engaging curio – there’s still plenty of fun to be had.

Those who've read and loved the book should be satisfied, but it's reasonable to hope for more from the final entry.

The script unfurls too many obvious setups, but director Eric Valette is smart enough to rely on his most authentic effect — Dupontel’s natural intensity.

The humor is sharp and so are the judgments, which pile on until the characters are nearly suffocated under the weight of so much disdain.

If Boyd’s perspective is limited, his focus is sharp.

If any life story should make for a compelling biography, it's certainly Hugh Hefner's. Unfortunately, this love letter is so lacking in any edge, the end result is not just unsexy but unforgivably staid.

We have little to hang onto once the film falls apart. Between the ongoing sermonizing and that final, sharp shock - which is gravely mishandled - we feel cowed into submission, rather than led towards enlightenment.

A charming coming-of-age drama.

The beginning is awkwardly earnest, but the play matures considerably while retaining its youthful energy and enthusiasm

It's not sharp or ironic, but drab and downbeat. Unfortunately, it's also going to feel utterly familiar to those who've seen their share of independent dramas in the last 15 years.

In this visually and emotionally severe landscape, Reichardt has created the sort of film that will inspire grad students to write passionate thesis papers - and casual moviegoers to feel as lost as her would-be settlers.

Filmmaker and subject also share a disdain for restraint, shouting and jostling to ensure we’ve gotten their point. But while their parallel passions aren’t exactly subtle, they do make their mark.

Is it possible to enjoy the company of the world's most irritating woman? Mike Leigh's surprisingly sunny dramedy makes a pretty good case that, in fact, it is.

Cage, adopting an accent that could best be defined as Just British Enough to Sound Serious, adds some welcome weirdness to this otherwise generic production. He doesn’t fit in at all, but then again, who’d want him to?

The first feature from Adam Bhala Lough is brashly passionate in its desire to express the power and validity of graffiti art. But it's also preachy and single-minded, populated by a world of sympathetic heroes and hissable villains.

Despite its definitive title, you won't actually learn much about Alfred Hitchcock from Sacha Gervasi's briskly superficial biopic. But you'll enjoy the experience anyway.

This mundane romantic comedy is notable for one reason only: its leading couple.

The film is best suited for dance buffs excited by an unexpected congregation of artistic pioneers.

As full-length toy advertisements go, you really couldn’t ask for more.

Those who go looking for tragic relevance in Scott Rosenbaum's debut indie won't find much to grasp onto.

Don't misunderstand: the proceedings are pretty silly, and the scares were a lot fresher back in 1979, when we first saw "The Amityville Horror." But Cornwell and his cast take things just seriously enough to keep us at least intermittently on edge.

Weisz's meticulously crafted turn is certainly touching, but it lacks the immediacy of, say, Celia Johnson's in 1945's "Brief Encounter."

Although little Timothy does arrive in unusual circumstances, his story will feel familiar to anyone who's encountered Hollywood's particular brand of calculated sentimentality.

Boredom is the very basis of this sequel, at least at the beginning.

No one looks at the world quite like Kaurismäki, and his deadpan sentimentality is worth discovery. This is a good place to start.

So what we're left with is a sort of contact high, drifting gently over to our seats in the back row.

There's nothing exceptional about Jane Campion's historical biography, but it's a sufficiently lovely tale to suit romantics with a taste for intimate period dramas.

For a film expressly about an underappreciated culture, there are some boulder-size cliches rolling down these hills.

Though it was directed by Burr Steers, Charlie St. Cloud feels more like a misguided collaboration among Nicholas Sparks, M. Night Shyamalan and Billy Graham.

Alison Klayman's chronicle of Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is so straightforward that one can't help wishing the subject would make his own, more complex cinematic self-portrait. But for now, Klayman has provided a valuable introduction to a man everyone should know.

While I fully support the appearance of a new Madea movie every six months, even Tyler Perry can't be bothered to take this setup seriously.

Creating a hypnotically digressive travelogue, Herzog wanders from soul to soul, asking deceptively mild questions to potent effect.

Its straightforward approach is notably lacking the divine inspiration of its subject. But Don McGlynn's gospel documentary delivers so many moments of artistic ecstasy, we can forgive the plain wrapping.

Who knew? Turns out, Jean-Claude Van Damme is a funny guy, and a pretty good actor, too. Fans may already be aware of this, but JCVD is likely to introduce a whole new Van Damme to everybody else.

It's impossible to guess why Bullock was ever attracted to this insulting role, and the eternally confident Reynolds is miscast as a young, bullied underling.

"Grace" may be based on a true story, but barely a moment in it feels real.

Breillat, seemingly inspired as much by C.S. Lewis and Hans Christian Andersen as by original author Charles Perrault, doesn't really make the most of her subversive premise.

A shiny shell of a movie, "TWBS" is pretty to look at, and occasionally fun to watch. But ultimately, it's an exercise in futility - for the participants, who can do so much more, and the audience, which deserves so much better.

On the bright side, Robinson’s unlucky astronauts are played by Liev Schreiber, Elias Koteas, Olivia Williams and Romola Garai. All of these actors approach their potential demise with impressive conviction.

Some of this wallowing goes on too long, risking our alienation from characters who are difficult to like. What saves the film is the fact that they are always easy to recognize, both as self-centered teenagers and tentatively maturing young adults.

The filmmakers' motivation couldn't be clearer: They needed to capture a way of life that may soon exist only on film and in memory.

Though the Tickells' unabashedly partial, first-person approach is a liability, they present so much damning evidence that their case is - one hopes - impossible to ignore.

First-time director Anthony Baxter jettisons all pretense of impartiality, without adding any of the intelligent outrage of his evident influence, Michael Moore.

When Anderson allows the experts - or simply those most deeply impacted by the changes - to speak, the film has a powerful urgency.

The deeply private, intensely ideological and undeniably brilliant Watterson would make an absolutely fascinating subject. But director Joel Allen Schroeder has no access to him. So instead he talks a lot about how much he loves “Calvin and Hobbes” and then invites other fans to do the same.

Pray unfolds the family's story with patience and skill, making it both a compliment and a complaint to say that he leaves us wanting to know much more.

Lerman is suited to the title role in that he plays Charlie as wide-eyed and rather unmemorable. Watson doesn't seem entirely relaxed as an American teen, though she does serve as a lovely first crush. Among the adults making brief but notable appearances is Paul Rudd, as a sympathetic English teacher.

Rafferty keeps the structure so blandly standard, the title is nearly the most intriguing element of the whole film.

If you go in knowing what you're getting, you should come out relatively satisfied. Our hero vigorously beats up a parade of bad guys. Lots of bullets fly. There are a couple of decently plotted thefts. And to tell the truth, Statham's Southern accent is nearly worth the price of admission itself.

Both director and cast exhibit the dedication of those who truly believe in the message at hand. But with so much earnestness onscreen, the message occasionally gets in the way of the movie itself.

Every generation deserves its ultimate high school romance, and Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist clearly aims to take the slot currently open. Despite a valiant attempt, though, it doesn't quite make the grade.

While Sigman conveys a credible state of tense disbelief throughout, it's increasingly frustrating to watch Laura so passively accept her dire fate.

Miserable individuals do tend to make for interesting subject matter, and this would be far more of a dry biography without its willfully eccentric lead. Plus, if the crankiness gets to you, tune it out and focus on the music. That's what Clapton did.

Director John Stockwell (“Blue Crush”) knows how to make the best possible use of his star while adding a strong supporting cast, some pretty scenery and a taut mystery. Stockwell understands most of all that we don’t need Carano to talk; we need her to kick ass.

Neville is deeply respectful — “Roadrunner” is an unabashed tribute to its subject — but the filmmaker doesn’t occlude the chef’s dark side.

If you're going to make a movie about men talking, shouldn't they have something important to say?

In Bahman Ghobadi's heart-tugger about Kurdish orphans, those wide eyes are too often used as a manipulative device.

McDonagh indulges in too many '90s affectations, from blaring chapter titles to philosophizing gangsters. But he captures his misty setting's insular atmosphere beautifully.

Though Argento and Aattou lack the searing chemistry needed, the social politics are consistently intriguing, and everything - not to mention everyone -looks absolutely stunning.

While the series is smart enough to have inspired an army of adult fans, too little of its droll intelligence is on view here. Instead, the film feels like a rote effort made for some quick box-office bucks.

The scenery is stunning and the story compelling, but some viewers will find it easier to admire Tracks than to engage with this meditative tale of Robyn Davidson (played beautifully by Mia Wasikowska).

This is an unashamedly old-fashioned children's movie, and a predictable message is part of the mission. But that's okay; what the movie lacks in surprises, it makes up for in whimsical fun.

The biggest flaw is the casting: only Shannyn Sossamon delivers a performance of even modest depth.

Both lightweight and heavy-handed, Carl Bessai's arthouse drama can't even be redeemed by Ian McKellen's sensitive turn in the title role.

We never learn why most of his subjects remain loyal to a faith that so explicitly rejects them.

Cute, mostly well-mannered and just a bit off-center.

Despite the packed plot adapted by Polanski and Robert Harris from Harris' novel -- the pacing feels oddly slack.

Feels more respectful than real.

An appealing Deschanel does her best, but the pair is mismatched in every way, from age to attitude. The entire movie is hung on Carrey's shtick, so if you're a fan, you'll have a decent time.

As is, the film is more likely to impress the choir than change many minds.

The movie wouldn’t stand for much of anything without such an effective team to represent the equivocating.

Younger kids looking for the cute connection between hesitant teen Hiccup and his loyal dragon, Toothless, may be stunned by the film’s violent tone. At the same time, it’s the unflinching edge that gives the film its unexpected depth.

It's hard not to wonder if Press might have offered a similarly impactful portrait in a more concise manner.

This isn't a family -- or a film -- you'll ­easily forget.

The notable lack of chemistry between Cruz and Homar is a crucial absence in a film about all-consuming romance. And though each part is great fun to watch, the whole feels unfinished.

Directors Adam Del Deo and James D. Stern focus primarily on the casting process for the 2006 revival, parading so many personalities past us that we don't really get to know anyone. Bypassing the original for the recreation? That ain't it, kid.

Newcomers may be disappointed by such a slender effort, but fans of revered Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami will find plenty to appreciate in his observant followup to 2010’s acclaimed “Certified Copy.”

The real romance here is between the filmmakers and the cultural moment they hope to document. From that perspective, it's a welcome - if not quite award-worthy - valentine.

Much is left undeveloped, from Jane's ghostly anxieties to Rochester's evolving complexity. Wasikowska and Fassbender lack chemistry, and the latter never finds his character's depth.

Even if we can't live his cowboy life, Buck Brannaman's world is well worth visiting.

Soderbergh does his best with limited time, but his biggest success may be in pushing viewers home, to watch Gray's films in full.

A sensitive drama that marks a notably personal feature debut.

Granted, this movie is unlikely to threaten "The Departed" at Oscar time. But for mindless entertainment, you could do a lot worse.

After lulling us into a neartorpor, Jia sneaks in one of the most gut-punching endings in recent memory.

Though it feels at first like a musty edition of "Masterpiece Theatre," Michael Hoffman's adaptation of a novel by Jay Parini holds enough surprises to make a memorable impact.

Schwartzman and Pryce are compelling in their self-regard. But it’s no coincidence that the lovely, empathetic Moss is who we root for.

There is enough here — including the gifted Arena’s barely believable backstory — to keep your head spinning.

Most of the actresses are appealing, but ultimately not even the gifted Mara can keep the film from feeling like a gauzy portrait of privilege.

A Dangerous Method concerns itself primarily with sex, but what's most shocking is how conservative it turns out to be.

It’s a pleasure to see Russo back on screen (she’s married to Gilroy). But Nina’s eager complicity is far too easy and every social critique flashes as bright as the neon guiding Lou around back-alley L.A.

You may admire Witherspoon’s solid performance, but you won’t forget you’re watching a star.

Grohl has a longstanding reputation as one of the nicest guys in rock. So it should come as no surprise that this may be the most positive music documentary you'll ever see.

Director Niels Arden Oplev keeps the action relatively tight. But he revels in the story’s sadism to an uncomfortable degree, especially in a needlessly vile rape scene. Two more sequels are coming. Here’s hoping there’s just a little less hate in each.

It’s worth seeing Robert May’s vital judicial expose — not only to learn about the titular scandal, but also to appreciate both the highs and lows of human resilience.