F. X. Feeney

Inglis offers complicated characters and uniformly worthy performances without falsely manipulating us into sympathizing with anybody but tries too strenuously to fuse his warring polarities of character-driven intrigue and plot-driven treacheries into an allegory of redemption. In the end, that feels like one or two big things too many.

Demonstrating yet again that he knows few limits as an actor, Duvall not only nails the accent, he inhabits the man's flinty, grudge-bearing contrariness with such a furious commitment that it brings out the best in the actors around him.

Here, the volcanic villain behaves like a smart terrorist, taking over almost immediately and holding a collection of excellent actors (Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Don Cheadle) hostage for two hours of "real time."

By-the-numbers Oscar bait -- but Penn does manage, against such odds, to make us see Sam as a person, not a performance.

A reliably solid treat.

The alchemy of good acting under the pressure of sublime film sense makes for a miracle in the hearts of the audience.

Enigmas make Panic involving, and suspenseful.

First-time writer-director Mark Hanlon creates a solidly trippy atmosphere.

Writer Sam Catlin and director Danny Leiner have fashioned an alert, shrewdly observed portrait of a moment in time.

The two leads have a wonderful chemistry together.

Writer-director Carl Colpaert never loses his balance, despite the David Lynchian leap of faith he asks us to make midway, in a twist so bold as to be a backflip. If anything, this extra layer in the story effectively illuminates the moral choices Jesus must navigate.

Khouri manages, with terrific flair, to keep the extremes of screwball farce and blood-curdling family intensity on one continuum -- not only through the strength of the performances (including one from James Garner, who, as Sida's dad, gets the best one-liners) but in the ways they match across time.

We never seem to be looking at actors, but at people; never at scenes, but at life unrehearsed.

Writer-director Hernandez is comfortable with violent, perverse emotions, and can find humor in them -- a refreshing quality that keeps one watching long after her movie has jumped its own tracks and zoomed to a private world of obscurely motivated quarrels and uninvolving reconciliations.

Impeccably produced.

These bantering would-be heroes mostly live at the tops of their voices.

Remains the most popularly successful film ever to render the inner life of an artist.

Goei's sharp-eyed satiric sense evokes the diversity and energy of Singapore, and his good-humored nostalgia makes disco rise from the dead.

A sharp, upbeat, well-wrought meditation on love and race that kicks the new year in movies off to a terrific start.

As powerfully as the film lingers in the mind, one can't help wishing he were led just a bit more by his heart.

A superb, instructive portrait of an artist at work.

(Herzog's) tribute to Kinski doubles as a life-affirming monument to creation in all its variety.

A near miss overall, but enjoyable in its littler particulars.

There are ticklish moments, but no real laughs.

Though the film overall is as disposable as a hot dog, it is just as enjoyable.

A smart, romantic, heartbreaking pleasure.

Although the dialogue initially flakes with awkward exposition, writer Ruth Epstein and director Harvey Kahn have fashioned a riveting thriller full of good scares and learned, muckraking insight into the global labyrinth of oil and politics.

Excellent performances.