Frank Scheck

The film bears an undeniable stamp of authenticity in its depiction of the romantic crisis suffered by two twentysomethings in New York's ever picturesque Greenwich Village.

That the film proves engrossing throughout is due largely to Michael Dorman (For All Mankind), in the central role of Jesse.

Its elegant subtlety feels refreshing in this era of over-the-top horror films.

The film's unrelenting bleakness and misanthropic tone is likely to be a turnoff to mainstream performances, but it provides its lead actor with another opportunity to display his riveting intensity.

Transporter 2 really does deliver the goods.

Unfortunately, the talented actor, while delivering a fiercely compelling performance, is let down by the formulaic screenplay by David McKenna, who explored similarly abrasive territory with such previous efforts as "American History X" and "Blow."

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 gets the job done, and should provide entertaining diversion for families during the holiday season.

Too often coming across as an elaborate home movie, the doc would have benefited from its story being told by a more experienced filmmaker who was less emotionally involved in the proceedings.

It's mildly enjoyable while you're watching it, but as with all such outings, you'll have a hard time remembering it the next day.

Filled with devastating statistics documenting the devastating effects of climate change on the planet, the film takes particular aim at CEOs, or “greedy lying bastards,” of the oil and gas corporations which are contributing to the crisis.

You're Not You isn't entirely successful in avoiding a television movie-style predictability in its depiction of its central character's incapacitating illness. But its superb performances and emotional complexity ultimately elevate its familiar themes.

[Beller's] deep-rooted empathy and compassion is plainly evident in her latest effort, but it's not enough to compensate for the tedium engendered by the meandering debates whose impact ultimately adds up to very little.

An appealing lead performance from its leading man and a wonderfully sentimental, if overly familiar, story line are the chief virtues of this French drama, a huge success in its native country.

Takes a surprisingly gritty approach that gives the material some gravitas but also robs it of some of its fun.

It is Gubler’s appealing performance that anchors the proceedings.

It lacks the genuine wit to elevate it to a truly satirical level.

Lacks the subtle power of the previous two efforts, although boasting effective performances from its terrific cast.

Too often, the film gives off the feeling that it was designed for the inevitable line of toys for the upcoming holiday season, with plenty of cuddly animals of disparate types soon to line the shelves of a store near you.

These talented performers star in two of the wittiest, most sophisticated sitcoms on the air, but for this movie pairing they're stuck with an endlessly silly plot line and overblown physical mayhem that is instantly forgettable. The fact that they make it so funny nonetheless is a testament to their abilities.

Unfortunately, this feature, originally made for Italian television, doesn't quite do justice to its stirring subject.

Patrick McGrady's documentary strains to reconcile its conflicting moods, but Fry's gushing enthusiasm for the subject is ultimately if sometimes queasily infectious.

The film comes off as more of a succession of self-contained comedic vignettes than as an incisive portrait of a woman vainly trying to have it all. But Plumb’s plucky, eccentric character is so winning that you find yourself rooting for her nonetheless.

Displaying a rare inventiveness and technical facility in this increasingly tired, cliché-ridden format, Afflicted delivers a genuinely suspenseful ride while making you wonder how its more elaborate effects were achieved on its obviously low budget.

Despite the vivid evocation of its central character's helpless self-destruction, All Mistakes Buried offers little that we haven't seen before.

The loosely structured assemblage of damning information eventually proves more numbing than illuminating.

Spoken Word, which centers on the tense reunion between a recovering addict poet and his dying father, features more cliches than it can comfortably handle and is not helped by its grindingly slow pacing.

Many of the film's most entertaining moments are, ironically, its most peripheral: Namely, the extensive archival clips of news conferences in which an alternately relaxed and tense Kennedy jostled with journalists

Twice in the film, giant lumbering objects ricochet through crowded city streets wreaking absolute havoc in their wake. They’re perfect visual metaphors for the movies themselves, so stuffed with over-the-top mayhem and testosterone-packed macho aggressiveness that they’ve become utterly ridiculous. What saves Fast X is that it’s so aware of its own absurdity that it becomes an entertaining parody of itself.

The screenplay boasts a psychological complexity rare for thrillers of this type, manifested most strikingly in the form of Bernard, who is far from a cardboard cutout villain.

Not a particularly deep portrait of its iconoclastic subject, this loving documentary should be of interest to aging baby boomers with long memories.

The convoluted plotting, profusion of characters and heavy doses of explanatory narration may prove off-putting for some less attentive viewers. But the director infuses the fast-proceedings with enough visual flair — inspired by filmmakers ranging from Kurosawa to Leone to yes, Tarantino — to provide ample compensation.

The film never gets too heavy-handed in its themes, thanks to its fast pacing, frequent doses of humor, and myriad plot twists, including one that qualifies as a doozy.

The plus-sized comic delivers a solid set of often highly personal material that’s consistently amusing even if it never quite hits the level of hilarity.

Incarnate, much like its central character at key moments, barely seems to have a pulse.

Ultimately more laughable than illuminating, at times approaching a level of camp commensurate with John Waters.

Pyewacket is a slow-burn chiller that is all the more impressive for its subtlety.

A promotional video masquerading as a documentary.

The documentary raises important and substantial questions about an issue that has only become increasingly relevant in recent years.

Odessa ... Odessa! could use a little more narrative substance to augment its haunting imagery but is ultimately a memorable portrait of cultural dislocation.

Detour is a tautly efficient thriller that fully succeeds in making the viewer identify with its hapless protagonist’s desperate plight.

While its narrative elements threaten at times to descend from whimsical into hopelessly twee, My Name Is Emily ultimately finds a proper, if not particularly compelling, balance.

Although its plethora of painfully awkward comic moments will produce shudders of recognition for anyone who's been in a long-term relationship, its sweetly sentimental ending makes The Unicorn a perfectly acceptable date movie.

Embers strains for a philosophical profundity that eludes it. And despite its brief running time, so little actually happens in the plot that it feels much longer than it is. But the film has many resonant moments.

Fine performances and powerful visuals only partially compensate for the inevitable air of familiarity that accompanies Marco Perego’s debut feature.

American Fable possesses an amorphous, dreamlike quality that proves increasingly irritating as it wears on.

The gimmickry ultimately wears thin and you find yourself thinking less about the inventive way the scenes were shot . . . than the flimsy narrative.

Attempting to mix emotional pathos with broad farce, the film fails on both levels.

Despite its shameless manipulations and unsubtle approach, it’s an ambitious and well-intentioned feature debut from a director whose future efforts bear attention.

Ordinary World becomes raggedly enjoyable thanks to the unexpected charms of its leading man.

The feature-length film ultimately becomes repetitive, with the lack of contextual information about the subjects’ lives rendering the proceedings shallow.

Life’s a Breeze is breezy, lighthearted fun.

At a lean, mean 90 minutes or so, Ambulance might have been a guilty pleasure. Instead, it’s the sort of cinematic thrill ride so overstuffed that you can’t wait for it to be over.

While only sporadically effective in its attempt at creating a modern-day Psycho, Forgetting the Girl does manage to sustain a sufficiently disturbing mood that is not easily forgotten.

The Boogeyman, in both its literary and cinematic forms, is undoubtedly relatively minor King. But when it’s done this well, even minor King is major scary.

The film's satirical commentary about the intersection of politics and art is rarified, to be sure, but there is enough pointed humor in its execution to make The Juche Idea a provocative if intellectually challenging experience.

Despite its occasionally stale elements, the film succeeds movingly thanks to the inherent power of its narrative and the terrific performances by Boosher and the four young actresses (Amber Afzali, Nina Hosseinzadeh, Sara Malal Rowe, and Mariam Saraj) as the team members.

If the impact of co-director/writer Reed Cowan's film is undercut by its sometimes sloppy execution, it nonetheless provides a disturbing portrait of the increasing overlap between church and state.

Ultimately has the air of a home movie project blown up to feature-length proportions.

Unfortunately, despite its intriguing premise, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone lacks the necessary ingredient to make it truly memorable; it simply isn’t very scary.

Ultimately suffers from an overabundance of plot and a paucity of depth, but it does provide some fleeting comic pleasures along the way.

A technically ramshackle affair whose primary attribute is Tukel’s deadpan comic performance and self-deprecating willingness to portray his character as a total dick.

The filmmaker, who co-founded ADI with his wife Jan Creamer, documents the dramatic developments in compelling cinema verite fashion.

The story moves along in fairly predictable beats, including the inevitable denouement in which Jack's deception is exposed. But it's effective nonetheless, thanks to the authentic-feeling depiction of the physical and emotional toll of caring for an autistic child.

As an update to his 2002 effort on the same subject, Biggie and Tupac, this film provides new testimony about Knight and the alleged role of corrupt LAPD cops in Smalls’ murder. But it mostly proves a tired rehashing of familiar material that doesn’t justify its 105-minute running time.

Stefan Haupt's (The Circle) documentary Sagrada: The Mystery of Creation explores the building's tortured history and the current efforts to bring it to fruition, but in a disappointingly dull style that fails to do justice to its outsized inspiration.

Unfortunately, despite displaying an admirable stylistic ambitiousness and excellent use of its NYC Lower East Side locations The Girl is in Trouble never manages to feel like more than a strained, modern-day pastiche.

King of the Corner has been adapted from Gerald Shapiro's "Bad Jews and Other Stories" and suffers from an odd, disjointed quality.

Scott Caan, who delivers a derivative but extremely well acted drama.

An earnest drama about spiritual redemption that is likely to strike quite a chord with certain audiences.

While visually stylish and thematically ambitious, Secret Things is ultimately more preposterous than provocative, its vague explorations of sexual and class struggle failing to coalesce in a coherent manner.

The filmmaker clearly has a gift for incisive characterizations and dialogue, but the overall impact of the vignettes is muted by an overall artificiality.

Fast-paced and episodic, the film at times provides such a torrent of information that it becomes more wearisome than enlightening.

The Disneyesque adage is unfortunately all too typical of A Ballerina's Tale, which, other than adding to the pop culture barrage that has accompanied this gifted dancer's rise to stardom, does little to provide insight into her unique story.

The high-wire tonal balancing act proves a little wobbly at times, resulting in a film that is feels less than the sum of its parts. But some of those parts work very well, providing moments of uncomfortable hilarity and genuine poignancy.

The powerhouse voice cast is another plus; besides the aforementioned, it includes Lucy Liu, Bowen Yang, comedian Jo Koy and Greta Lee (Past Lives), among others. Director Raman Hui, making his feature debut, keeps the proceedings moving at a suitably brisk pace, with the colorful CGI animation providing one diverting image after another.

Fans will be relieved to know that this Hellraiser definitely doesn’t skimp on the gore, providing enough viscera and flayed skin to satisfy the most bloodthirsty viewers.

A particularly nasty slice of medical-themed horror, Marc Scholermann's film is the sort of thriller in which the tenderest scene depicts an autopsy.

It offers a plethora of personal accounts, practically all of which are unabashedly laudatory, that provide a fuller picture of its subject's complex personality even if the results border on hagiography.

Primarily an actors' showcase, it does at least provide the opportunity for the virtuosic John Ventimiglia (The Sopranos) to strut his stuff in a well-deserved leading role.

Although distinguished by some wildly staged vehicular chase sequences and genuinely witty deadpan dialogue, the film inevitably feels like a footnote to the plethora of similarly themed movies and television shows that seem to arrive on a weekly basis.

Ladyworld proves as much of an endurance test for viewers as the central characters.

It all feels old hat by now, with returning director Michael Chaves (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Nun II) failing to bring much freshness or vitality to the proceedings.

That Best Sellers works to the extent that it does is a testament to Caine’s ultra-professionalism — he truly is a treasure who can make any film worth watching — and Plaza’s canny underplaying. They work together so well, you wish they were in a better movie.

Another effective civics lesson that, unfortunately, will probably never be seen by the people whose minds it seeks to change.

It’s a thriller at times, but also a wickedly funny dark comedy. And it features a nostalgia-inducing yacht rock soundtrack that slyly comments on the action.

Although more than a little meandering and self-indulgent, the film is likeable nonetheless thanks to its incisive characterizations and canny capturing of true-life moments.

Many of the gags are either derivative or homages, depending on your perspective, including the vicious killer bunnies that bring to mind Monty Python and the Holy Grail. But that doesn’t make them any less funny.

Attempts scares and yucks in equal measure and fails to deliver either.

Best appreciated for the winning performances of its trio of stars, who convey their characters' desperation with humor and poignancy.

What Amir Bar-Lev and Charlie Lightening’s documentary provides that hasn’t been previously available is an amusing portrait of the backstage goings-on.

While Nicole Jefferson Asher's script often lapses into romantic melodrama, it also features incisive dialogue and characterization that lift Love Beats Rhymes above its formulaic aspects. RZA's straightforward, gimmick-free direction suits the material well and, not surprisingly, displays a keen sense of milieu.

Juggernaut accumulates an undeniable raw power thanks to such elements as its bleak setting, evocatively captured in Patrick Scola's dark-hued cinematography; the jittery, strings and percussion-heavy musical score by Michelle Osis; and the excellent performances.

The battle sequences in particular are stunningly rendered, and will certainly benefit from being viewed on the largest possible premium and large-format screens.

Frequently wearing only a halter top and skintight yoga pants, Johnston looks as great as she moves. While her dramatic chops leave something to be desired, they’re more than adequate for the rote narrative which only gets in the way of her kicking serious butt.

While the film doesn’t chart any particularly new territory, it benefits greatly from Franklin’s subtle screenplay and performances infusing it with emotional power that sneaks up on you.

Best of all is Holm, who is consistently hilarious as the sarcastic shrink from hell.

Cheesy reality shows monopolize the TV schedule, but must they infect our multiplexes as well? Love, Etc., Jill Andresevic's documentary depicting the romantic travails of various New Yorkers, is a disturbing example of a trend that is to be soundly discouraged.

Has its entertaining moments and boasts pungent performances from such supporting players as Ron Perlman and John C. McGinley, but never quite succeeds in managing its uncomfortable tonal shift from dark comedy to true-crime thriller.

Director Power orchestrates the thriller plot mechanics with reasonable skill, and the film’s concise 90-minute running time ensures that the pace never bogs down.

Obviously, being a dog lover goes a long way toward one’s enjoyment of Arthur the King. But even if you’re not, you won’t be able to resist this canine thespian who manages to convey a world of information merely through barks. And he doesn’t even need those.

Watching Will Smith’s Mike and Martin Lawrence’s Marcus go through their familiar comedic bickering routines has become like spending an evening with a long-married couple whose constant sniping has grown wearisome.

A failed cinematic experiment mainly notable for its fine starring performance by a pre-"Juno" Ellen Page, The Tracey Fragments provides more evidence (not that any was needed) that an extensive use of split-screen visuals is far more irritating than arresting.

Even with its brief 93-minute running time, Strays feels thin and repetitive; after all, there are only so many times you can laugh at, say, a dog happily eating another’s dog vomit. But the film nonetheless delivers plenty of laughs, making up for many of its clunkers through sheer volume and the talents of its starry voice cast.

For all its fandom and self-indulgence, Dear Mr. Watterson does offer some insightful musings about the decline of comic strips in general, with their content ever shrinking due to the diminished state of the newspaper industry.

Squanders its potentially rich possibilities.

While Cox's typically sterling performance is not quite enough to rescue The Etruscan Smile from succumbing to bathos, it goes a long way toward making the film palatable.

Screened Out delivers a convincingly cautionary argument that we're all becoming zombies forgoing human relationships and experiences in favor of our ubiquitous devices.

Visually murky, choppily edited and lacking both narrative clarity and well-defined characterizations, Captive State is a deeply frustrating viewing experience. It seems to be straining mightily for a future cult status which it doesn't deserve.

Like most movie spoofs, this one relies on quantity over quality, meaning that if you don’t find one joke funny you can rest assured there’ll be another one just a few seconds later. The team of five writers pack so many visual and verbal gags into the proceedings that some of them inevitably land, compensating for the profusion of groaners.

While this is indeed a likeable enough group, watching them interact with each other over the course of 80 minutes becomes a bit wearisome.

Although undercut at times by self-indulgence that includes navel-gazing narration by the filmmaker, Rock in the Red Zone delivers a moving portrait of a musical community that's managed to survive under far greater pressures than worrying about the next gig.

Ultimately, the film is best appreciated as a welcome big-screen starring vehicle for Fischer, who expertly navigates the comedic and dramatic demands of a role that keeps her onscreen for virtually the entire running time.

As has been previously demonstrated in the hugely successful Perry's stage, television and big-screen works, subtlety and tonal consistency are not his strong suits. Here, the mostly broadly drawn characters and situations on display quickly prove grating, with the film veering awkwardly between broad comedy and melodrama.

The performances are first rate; besides Woods' solid turn as the emotionally scarred cop, Fukuhara is movingly vulnerable as the frightened Nori and Miyavi takes full advantage of his natural pop star charisma as the long-haired young man who holds the key to the mystery.

Ritchson, whose massive bulk qualifies as a special effect itself, displays his usual charisma, but the one-note nature of the proceedings doesn’t give him the opportunity to do much more than look physically or emotionally anguished.

For all its thoughtful analysis, the film is more anecdotal than truly enlightening. While its cheerleading approach to the problem is admirable, it seems more designed to appeal to the heart than the head.

Michael Moore in TrumpLand earns points for ultra-timeliness and its admirable attempt to raise the level of discourse in this deeply polarizing election.

You've Been Trumped Too is a mostly unnecessary sequel that spends much of its brief running time rehashing distressingly familiar news footage about Trump's campaign.

The main problem is that the storyline becomes so convoluted that it doesn't live up to the intriguing setup. Most of the film's second half is consumed by plodding exposition that is not exactly handled in imaginative fashion.

The writer-director’s affection for his characters — the script is loosely autobiographical -- is both palpable and infectious.

It suffers from a lack of genuine chills or suspense that renders its slight virtues rather moot.

This relentlessly quirky tale of a teen-age hermaphrodite displays some creativity on the part of debuting writer/director J.B. Ghuman, Jr. but not enough.

The writer/director deserves credit for his comparatively low-key approach to the potentially exploitative material, but much like the infant baby at its center, the film seems artificially cobbled-together.

The Owners proves a nasty, if not exactly credible, thriller.

The convoluted storyline is too clever by far, and might have proved entertaining if the film had been intended as an absurdist black comedy. Unfortunately, Keaton goes in a more neo-noir direction, with the generally grim tone only accentuating the narrative absurdities.

This low-key indie drama has enough well observed, insightful moments to compensate for its occasional lapses into forced quirkiness.

Shock to the System demonstrates that merely subverting genre conventions doesn't quite make for compelling entertainment.

It uses numerous hoary techniques -- including tabloid-television-style editing and ominous background music -- that tend to detract from the seriousness of the issues being addressed. Morgan Freeman delivers the portentous narration.

The veteran action director fully delivers the goods with Silent Night.

Anyone who has seen the original knows exactly where things are heading, with the result that the proceedings seem far more manipulative than unnerving.

A film that doesn’t quite know whether it wants to educate its audience or give it a thrill ride. It proves more interesting for the former elements than the latter, but it nonetheless delivers plenty of compelling moments along the way.

Gunnarsson's film ultimately lacks the grandeur and wit necessary to make the legend fully come alive. Still, the film does offer certain kicks to those who like their action films infused with fantastical elements and benefits greatly from its highly effective lead performances.

Despite its value in providing superb starring turns by Lena Olin and Bruce Dern, the film never manages to overcome its air of familiarity.

Although the overlong film skirts with hagiography, at times feeling more like a promotional DVD extra than an objective account, it nonetheless has an undeniable emotional pull thanks to its fairy tale-like narrative.

ABCs of Death 2 mainly serves to demonstrate that even talented filmmakers need a lengthier running time to craft even a moderately successful short.

This would all be moving enough, but the film also benefits greatly from Conde’s endlessly charismatic personality.

We're treated to generous excerpts from the finished product, which is all the more resonant for the moving profiles that have preceded it.

Balloon simply doesn't feature the sort of cinematic thrills necessary to keep us fully invested in the travails of its central characters. It's not that the events are depicted in anything less than bombastic, hyperbolic fashion. It's more that the filmmaker lacks the directorial finesse to calibrate the suspense for maximum cinematic effect.

A reasonably amusing effort that manages to poke fun at Brooks' neuroses and governmental blundering with equal skill.

Oh, "Blair Witch," what hath thou wrought? It has taken less than a decade, but the concept of horror films filmed documentary-style has officially become a tiresome cliche.

Only proves more intent on establishing an ominous mood than providing thrills. Muted and restrained to the point of tedium, the picture offers little that's distinctive to set it apart.

While Highway Courtesans has many relevant points to make about the subjugation of women in impoverished societies, it lacks the focus and narrative momentum to sustain its admittedly brief running time.

Presumably intended as an inspiring portrait of a private individual daring to live his dream of traveling in space, Man on a Mission instead comes across as a cautionary tale about having too much time and money on your hands.

The combination of diverse casting and female empowerment themes results in a perfectly politically correct Aladdin for these times. The only thing that seems to have been left out is the magic, which is a bit of a problem considering that one of the main characters is a genie.

Unfortunately, Schwarzenegger doesn’t show up until more than an hour into this relentlessly unfunny comedy and by then viewers may have tuned out long before.

While Downtown Express suffers from a derivative storyline, it offers enough musical authenticity to provide ample compensations.

The live-action Lilo & Stitch is faithful enough to the original to please traditionalists and tweaked enough to feel somewhat fresh.

Ultimately a powerful portrait of the sort of apocalyptic culture clash that is resulting in an increasingly dangerous and fragmented world.

Unfortunately, despite the fascinating story that provides its inspiration and a solid cast, the pic provides neither sufficient thrills nor humor to make it anything more than a minor diversion.

Although Sutherland is an amiable and charismatic figure, his lack of emotional expressiveness doesn't help matters here. The film does, however, offer the spectacle of his getting a tattoo of the film's title (one of the band's songs) in Icelandic.

Although it provides a fair number of mild scares and laughs, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween feels more like a kiddie film than did the original.

What might have made for an interesting short film lacks the weight to sustain its feature (albeit, brief) length, and even the presence of Mel Gibson, Jim Caviezel (in full bloody Christ mode) and Monica Bellucci is unlikely to attract any but the "Passion" obsessed.

Overcomes its essential familiarity thanks to a frequently witty script, grounded direction (by Peter Cattaneo, of "Full Monty" fame) and an engaging turn by its star that proves him more than capable of carrying a comedy feature.

Achieves the dubious distinction of featuring a large gallery of nearly all unlikable characters.

It's a visually stunning experience. Even the shots of riders crashing, and there's enough of them here to fuel a dozen PSAs, achieve a haunting visual poetry.

Remakes of '80s-era cult-favorite horror flicks seem to be all the rage these days. But they have to be better than this formulaic effort to replace the already not-so-great originals.

Ejecta is ultimately too disjointed and incoherent to have the desired impact. But it certainly features some arresting moments during its wild ride.

Clever enough to not take his plot too seriously while fully indulging in its sentimentality, the filmmaker has crafted an undeniably feel-good romantic comedy. You'll have to try hard not to fall under its spell.

Spends an inordinate amount of time ogling the tight, lithe bodies of its young female characters. Thus, what might have appealed only to teen girls might well have crossover appeal to leering young boys as well.

Sluggishly paced and featuring lengthy voice-over narration by Strong in which his character ponders his role in the universe like a graduate philosophy student, the film never achieves liftoff.

It definitely delivers the goods, making it fairly obvious that DCI John Luther isn’t going away anytime soon.

Bautista has the low-key charisma, natural appeal and formidable physicality necessary for an action star, and he makes Final Score worth watching (at home while eating pizza and drinking beer, preferably) despite its endlessly derivative elements.

Veteran television director Greg Berlanti (Riverdale, Everwood), who demonstrated real cinematic talent with Love, Simon, is unable to make any of this remotely convincing or, more problematically, entertaining. The wild tonal shifts leave the viewer in the dust, and not even the two stars are able to make any of it work.

Much like the recent, similarly themed "Life in a Day," the results are more admirable than enlightening or even entertaining.

It's a nice little human interest story, but hardly seems worthy of this full-length treatment.

Six Million and One suggests the need for both a more ruthless editor and a well-trained family therapist.

Director/screenwriter Jones displays an ability to sustain simmering tension that's impressive for someone directing only his second feature film.

Despite the professionalism of the acting talent, Like Father feels distressingly retrograde.

Giacomo Durzi's aptly titled documentary Ferrante Fever delivers a fan-friendly examination of the novelist and her works, and what it lacks in depth it more than makes up for with enthusiasm.

Despite the stylistic glitches, Radium Girls proves engrossing, thanks to its powerful real-life tale and the excellent performances by leads King and Quinn, who make us fully care about their characters' fates.

By the time it reaches its final act, the film rivals its American counterparts in intensity if not quite in explicit violence.

It all feels quite silly, but Outlaw Posse manages to be fun anyway, thanks largely to the terrific ensemble of veteran character actors (including Neal McDonough and M. Emmet Walsh, making brief appearances) who fully embrace the film’s daffier qualities.

Vivid if scattershot documentary examines today's sexualized culture by focusing on three subjects.

Like the first film, the sequel (directed by Kyle Newacheck) proves moronic, witless and relentlessly vulgar. Which is to say, Happy Gilmore fans will love it.

The episodic screenplay lacks narrative momentum, and the use of faux-documentary commentary by older versions of Sawchuk's colleagues (played by actors) doesn't come across convincingly.

Inconsequential but intermittently charming.

Less a sequel than a remake featuring a younger actor going through the same narrative paces as Murphy in the original, Coming 2 America includes so many nods to its predecessor that it feels like a feature-length Easter Egg in search of a movie.

Mad as Hell is far too subjective to take seriously.

As usual, Butler brings a convincing humanity and vulnerability to his action movie heroics.

For all its flaws, is an often spooky and imaginative ghost story that contains a genuine creepiness.

The admirable efficiency of Skyfire means that you don't have to waste a lot of time sitting through endless exposition.

The ingeniously simple scenario concocted by director Roberts and his co-screenwriter Ernest Riera (they previously collaborated on the horror film The Other Side of the Door) provides the opportunity for genuine tension abetted by a series of jump scares that are no less effective for being predictable.

Should attract some interest in urban theatrical situations before settling into cult video status.

Essentially "Alien" set in a self-storage facility, the British low-budget horror flick Storage 24 doesn't manage to rise above the limitations of its bare-bones concept.

Doesn't exactly bring anything new to the genre, it's no less effective than its predecessor in expertly conjuring an air of low-tech-style dread.

Unfortunately lacks much in the way of compelling narrative or credible characterizations, but it once again reaffirms Huppert's place in the pantheon of French film actors.

A mockumentary obviously inspired by his landmark 1990 series The Civil War, misses the Christopher Guest mark by a mile.

Despite the plethora of melodramatic plot elements, the film remains curiously uninvolving due to its compendium of clichés and sluggish pacing.

Adrien Brody, delivering his finest performance since "The Pianist," plays the central role of the disaffected Henry Barthes.

Too outlandish to be fully convincing, this adaptation of the best-selling memoir sacrifices subtlety for broad laughs.

[Ovredal] handles the darkly creepy atmospherics expertly and makes fully convincing the ship’s fateful voyage through stormy and vampire-besieged seas. But he’s not able to bring much spark to Bragi Schut, Jr. and Zak Olkewicz’s slow-paced, formulaic screenplay, which lacks the dark wit necessary to keep us invested in the gory proceedings.

Terrifically effective when vividly illustrating the emergency medical procedures necessary to keep a gun victim alive, Shot falls short in terms of narrative. But it will certainly resonate for anyone who’s ever been rushed to a hospital.

Kingsley delivers such a riveting performance that it becomes easy to overlook the film's less compelling aspects.

An Argentine comedy that, despite some interestingly offbeat moments, is unlikely to reach much commercial traction on these shores.

Statham’s simmering charisma is on ample display here, and if he never quite convinces as an average Joe, he’s more than convincing as someone a bad guy should never want to see coming.

Breaking Habits, Robert Ryan's film about "Sister Kate," the habit-wearing founder of a medical marijuana company, proves yet another dispiriting entry in the current documentary glut that embraces all things quirky. Even its title referencing the hit television drama starring Bryan Cranston seems tacky.

Considering the importance of the still active 93-year-old poet’s art and social activism, the film seems slight and discursive, more of an introduction than a definitive portrait.

What makes The Big Ugly watchable are the authentic locations and the veteran actors who bring admirable conviction to their tough guy roles.

Labine and Punch invest their performances with enough anarchic comic inventiveness and genuine chemistry to make their characters’ courtship and relationship issues funnily entertaining.

Ferrell works hard, very hard, to put the material over, and to his credit, he occasionally succeeds by dint of his boundless comic energy. And Witherspoon, returning to the sort of broad comedy with which she triumphed in such films as Legally Blonde, matches him effectively with her sharp timing and appealing screen persona.

Although at times the film gets bogged down in psychological murkiness, the relentless pace and brooding charisma of its star overcomes its narrative deficiencies.

This meta-theatrical attempt at creating a comically subversive film is far too self-indulgent to provide insight into its important themes.

Wit is in short supply, but director Miller at least keeps things moving briskly throughout the relatively brief running time.

Hit man thrillers are a dime a dozen, but director Dru Brown's Aussie variation on the familiar genre takes some seriously clever, nasty turns.

Gurukulam succeeds in its goal of immersing the viewer in its gentle and spiritual setting. Whether you'll achieve enlightenment watching it is another question.

Rapace gives the film her all, delivering an intense, physically demanding performance, but Close doesn't get close enough to transcending its action-movie clichés.

The film's main draw is its cast, all of whom have seen more illustrious career days but nonetheless can still deliver the goods.

Self-destructs in its quest for comic outrageousness.

The gorgeous physicality is more impressive than the sketchy storyline of this dance-centric drama.

That the film works to the extent that it does is largely due to the superb performance by Kilcher, who imbues her starring turn with a radiance and magnetism that makes you fully believe in her character's ability to woo audiences

Much like its characters' romantic lives, How to Be Single is more enjoyable when it's being casual.

The film proves at least somewhat compelling, with director Latif providing enough tension and chilling visuals to keep viewers engaged.

Much like Rodriguez's Spy Kids films, We Can Be Heroes proves silly, light-hearted fun for its target audience, blissfully free of ponderousness and enlivened by antic humor.

Although its very R-rated humor inevitably starts to wear thin during the course of its feature-length run time, Fixed manages the neat trick of injecting some genuine heart into its nonstop offensiveness.

Risen is fairly engrossing in its thriller-like section, with Fiennes' restrained performance providing a solid dramatic anchor and the Maori actor Curtis being a nice change from the usual blonde-hair/blue-eyed Jesus. But when the film shifts into inspirational territory it ironically becomes far more prosaic, depicting the miracles in a low-budget, low-key fashion that will hardly win any converts.

While this tale of a couple experiencing myriad romantic ups and downs has its occasional amusing and insightful moments, Meet Me in Montenegro doesn't quite render its characters' foibles endearing.

Writer-director Shin’s labored attempts to use genre tropes to explore the complexities of domineering mother-daughter relationships never fully develops.

While The Empire in Africa offers a litany of talking heads and shockingly violent images in its exploration of the conflict, it is more confusing and disturbing than enlightening.

A quiet, nearly plot-free drama enlivened by beautifully nuanced performances by its four-person leading ensemble, In Our Nature depicts familiar dysfunctional family dynamics with a welcome lack of melodrama.

Ultimately has few original aspects, but it is an intelligently wrought drama that makes it a respectable entry in the genre.

The film, which feels overlong at 145 minutes, suffers both from repetition and an over-reliance on melodramatic plot devices. But it nonetheless delivers a compelling portrait of a heroine whose story is too little-known.

Director Campbell clearly knows his way around this sort of material, resulting in some tense, well-staged action sequences that make Cleaner reasonably diverting for its concise running time. But the film never achieves the heights of the classic actioners that clearly inspired it, and its overuse of familiar genre tropes (for once, can’t the main villain be uncharismatic, like so many in real life?) soon becomes wearisome.

Mitra, clad in the requisite tight, sexy outfits, conveys a suitable toughness but little in the way of personality, while such distinguished British actors as Bob Hoskins and Adrian Lester dutifully show up to collect their paychecks.

Mademoiselle C should please fashion devotees while leaving everyone else scratching their heads.

Some of the dialogue is fun, especially as delivered by Plaza, who amusingly always seems to be commenting on the outlandish proceedings even while taking part in them. And now that Grant’s pretty boy handsomeness has matured with age, he’s eagerly leaning into the character actor stage of his career. Chewing the scenery with gusto, he gives the film a jolt of comic energy whenever he’s onscreen.

Director Pat O'Connor (Dancing at Lughnasa) achieves a lot with a little... Adding greatly to the overall impact are the strong performances by the three leads.

The 3-D effects come fast and furious, rendered with a technical skill and humor that gives this otherwise strictly formulaic slasher picture whatever entertainment value it possesses.

Although A Man Called Otto never fully rises above its obvious plot machinations, director Forster thankfully applies a fairly restrained, subtle approach. The result is a film to which you ultimately find yourself succumbing even though you never stop being aware that your heartstrings are being shamelessly pulled.

Some genre fans will be disappointed by the film’s slow-burn style and the cryptic nature of Sam Stefanak’s screenplay, including its twist ending that’s open to interpretation. But for anyone more interested in cerebral horror and less in watching arteries gushing and entrails popping out, The Woman in the Yard offers considerable rewards.

This latest addition to an apparently unkillable franchise adds nothing original to the formula. It’s a formula that works, to be sure, making for a pleasant enough time filler. But that’s about it.

Manages to be enjoyable despite its contrivances.

Fails to overcome its hokey script and cliched characterizations.

Gives these canines the sensual elegance of the Calvin Klein models Weber has so famously photographed. Would that the substance of the film have come close to having the impact of its visuals.

Lewin and co-screenwriter Allen Palmer don’t exactly raise the dramatic stakes very high. The formulaic storyline fails to sustain interest, not helped by the sluggish pacing and predictable gags and characterizations.

Comes across as Almodovar lite, but the film, from director-screenwriters Ines Paris and Daniela Fejerman, offers some pleasures along the way, including an engaging performance by Leonor Watling ("Talk to Her").

The Six Triple Eight relates a little-known story that fairly demanded to be told, and does it full justice.

A feel-good tale with undeniably good intentions, this Canadian comedy-drama doesn't really manage to convince on any level.

Russell leans into his iconic role with admirable commitment, providing just enough winking to let us know he's in on the joke and thoroughly enjoying it, while Hawn remains as adorable — albeit now in a more grandmotherly way — as always. When they're onscreen together, it somehow feels like this year's pandemic-threatened Christmas will miraculously still be one to celebrate.

The effectively deglamorized Cattrall is terrific, investing her portrayal with a complex mixture of vulnerability, toughness and still-powerful sexuality.

While this effort directed and co-scripted by Georgina Garcia Riedel lacks true comic inspiration, it provides some genial laughs along the way.

The film might have been outrageously bizarre fun if it displayed any humor or ironic self-consciousness, but everything is played so straight that viewers will find themselves laughing not with the film but at it. The characterizations are paper-thin, the dialogue is perfunctory, and the performances are, to put it charitably, adequate at best.

Although the film’s overstuffed, overpopulated storyline proves only sporadically interesting, it’s notable for at least providing an alternative view of a city more commonly associated with wintry gloom, corruption and heavy drinking.

Delivers an easily digestible and amusing portrait of youthful hijinks that should well please its target audience.

It’s all harmless fun, containing enough mild laughs and genuinely sweet moments (if you can contain your emotions during the reunion scene between Lyle and Hector, you’re made of stronger stuff than I am) to keep its target audiences entertained.

This intriguing if hardly revelatory account offers some provocative moments, even if the personal access doesn't really add very much.

Doesn't quite manage to elevate its subject to a sufficiently interesting level for anyone who isn't already one of its frequent visitors. A good stroll inside your nearest city park would provide a more edifying experience.

Arriving three decades after the fact, this docudrama doesn't quite do justice to its important subject.

Here’s a quick tip: If you’re old enough to be reading this review, you’re too old to enjoy the childish pleasures of PAW Patrol: The Movie.

Interminable dull stretches blunt the impact of undeniably exciting action sequences, making the series finale unlikely to leave even fans wanting more.

While most likely to appeal primarily to the comic's die-hard fans — and there are still plenty of them these days, thanks to his hugely popular podcast — Road Hard offers genuine laughs while displaying real heart along the way.

While Now You See Me: Now You Don’t proves undeniably entertaining, it’s more than a little exhausting as well.

Very much reminiscent of "Napoleon" in numerous ways only minus the wit, the film is made somewhat palatable by its inherent sweetness and its treatment of typical adolescent angst.

Director Regimbal does an effective job of slowly ratcheting up the tension and handling the sometimes brutal violence in a relatively restrained manner. Josh Close’s screenplay is equally nuanced, concentrating as much on the characters’ psychological complexities as the gothic thriller storyline.

Features fine performances from the veterans in its cast. But it ultimately comes across as little more than a compendium of cliches.

The uneven collection is guaranteed to permanently tarnish at least one of your favorite days.

A Whale of a Tale delivers a thoughtful riposte to The Cove even while providing plenty of opportunity for those opposed to the practice of killing or capturing whales and dolphins to make their case.

Veers wildly from slapstick comedy to melodrama, but writer-director Rahul Bose, making his feature debut, handles the transitions more effectively than is usual, and the film is generally entertaining even when it's being utterly ridiculous (or maybe especially when it's so).

Kinnaman delivers a superb turn.... Holland and White also are excellent as the boys who still love their father even while becoming ever more aware of his failings. Their quietly terrified reactions to his escalating belligerence is far more emotionally wrenching than the tired thriller genre conventions to which the film ultimately succumbs.

Pugh delivers a superb starring performance that serves to accentuate her growing artistic stature and co-star Morgan Freeman turns in his best work in years after appearing in far too many sub-par vehicles. Their efforts lift A Good Person, which otherwise too often feels familiar in its themes and self-conscious in its melodramatic plot contrivances.

Lying and Stealing might have been more effective if its two leads had more charisma, but James is mostly bland and Ratajkowski never quite convinces as a woman of mystery. This is the sort of lighthearted exercise that requires genuine star power to overcome its triviality, and the lack of it here seriously diminishes its impact.

I Hate Myself :) centers on two thoroughly repellent, self-absorbed figures with whom spending time proves a nearly intolerable trial.

It should be a sturdy player upon its release in home video formats, assuming that its target audience knows how to operate their DVD players.

Rodrigo H. Vila’s documentary about the famed Argentine singer and political activist suffers from its overly insular and hagiographic perspective, but in its best moments it well illustrates the reasons for her musical influence and social importance.

Watching your friends’ actual wedding videos, however painful, would be a more edifying experience than sitting through Breakup at a Wedding.

Lavishly staged and beautifully photographed, Northmen—A Viking Saga features enough energetic sword clanging to satisfy its target audience.

Ultimately, what distinguishes the film from the many Statham shoot-em-ups that have preceded it is Mason’s increasingly close relationship with the young girl, excellently played by Breathnach, who helps him get back in touch with his human side.

While it offers more style than substance, Bullitt County delivers an engrossing tale with enough twists to satisfy thrill-loving audiences. If anything, it offers too many twists, proving unable to live up to its considerable narrative ambitions.

Champions, feels overly familiar. But that doesn’t make this sure-to-be crowd-pleaser any less winning, especially with the endlessly likable Harrelson at its center.

The winning performances by its two leads elevate this contrived Israeli import.

The wall-to-wall soundtrack naturally features plenty of today's leading hip-hop and R&B artists, including Flo Rida, T-Pain, Missy Elliott and Trey Songz.

This amiable, Western-themed animated effort from the Walt Disney Co. is a clear attempt to return to the more lighthearted cartoon style that was so prevalent before its onslaught of stately musical epics.

Wastes its promising premise with a wavering tone that veers uneasily between camp humor and, pardon the expression, straightness.

Unfortunately, despite some fine performances and enjoyable moments, the film never manages to make its quirkiness engaging.

This religious-themed drama earns points for proselytizing in more narratively compelling form than usual. But while the film is watchable and features some effective performances, suffice it to say that it isn’t exactly All the President’s Men.

Wildly episodic in structure and violent in the extreme, Dreamland doesn't fully succeed in sustaining its outlandish conceits. The pacing also drags significantly despite its brief running time, lapsing into a talkiness that provides too much opportunity to pick apart its absurdities.

Although more than a little familiar in its road movie-style romantic banter and bickering, the film is easy to take for a number of reasons, including the witty and frequently caustic dialogue. Modest in its aspirations, "Race You" succeeds by not trying to do too much.

The film pretty much packs every canine cliché imaginable into its running time, but one look into the soulful eyes of its four-legged star will melt all but the coldest of hearts.

Fortunately, the new actioner directed by the prolific Steven C. Miller (First Kill, Arsenal, Marauders) proves fast-paced enough to overcome its more ludicrous plot elements.

The Purge: Anarchy efficiently exploits its high-concept premise while delivering far more visceral thrills than its predecessor.

Talkington indulges in a lot of directorial flourishes, some of which work and some of which don't, but they definitely lift the proceedings above the mundane. [28 Nov 1994]

A static and awkward effort that never quite comes to life.

Boasts an undeniable technical proficiency and historical authenticity, but this docudrama detailing assassin Mark David Chapman's obsession, stalking and eventual murder of the beloved Beatle nonetheless has an unavoidably exploitative feel.

While the pic proves too frivolous to make its satirical and social points fully register, it offers diverting pleasures along the way.

The filmmaker's attempt to explore the outer boundaries of erotic and violent obsession are undone by the murkiness of the execution, and only the highly committed and forceful performances by the two leads give the aptly titled Bad Guy any distinction.

The latest example of a distressing wave of undistinguished theatrical versions of Saturday-morning kid shows.

Only the luminous presence of Sharon Stone, delivering one of the most charming performances in her career, manages to rescue the otherwise hopelessly awkward proceedings that make you wish that All I Wish had been better.

Has an impressive visual style that reveals its director's music-video experience. Unfortunately, that's about all it has going for it because its sluggish pacing and confusing story line will prevent it from appealing to all but the most rabid J-horror fans.

The film relies heavily on the charm of its lead performers, and both rise to the occasion.

An odd little comedy drama set in Ireland that boasts more onscreen talent than it deserves.

The degeneration into familiar genre tropes reduces the impact of the wittily satirical set-up, with the result that Starry Eyes fails to live up to its initial promise. But the film indicates genuine talent on the part of its directors/screenwriters, who infuse the proceedings with a dark, gothic creepiness that is further enhanced by Jonathan Snipes' retro, synthesizer-infused score reminiscent of John Carpenter.

Despite its technical gloss and effective performances, Den of Thieves never manage to feel other than hopelessly derivative.

This Canadian indie mostly avoids the sort of vulgarisms attendant to films of that ilk, displaying a slyly droll humor that proves consistently engaging.

While Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption, Rock 'n' Roll too often feels like a promotional video created by a local tourism organization, it nonetheless provides an engaging history of the town and its once-vibrant music scene.

While the violent sequences are very effectively staged, the results are a strange hybrid that doesn't quite work. Lacking the antic, witty humor of something like the similarly conceived Gremlins or the full-out gore of a traditional horror flick, Krampus never really finds it niche.

Desert Dancer too often lapses into generic cinematic clichés, failing to live up to the dramatic potential of its subject matter.

Even if the sophomoric Porno doesn't make the grade, it represents a promising start for the talented filmmaker.

Anyone looking for subtlety, character development or layered plotting will be disappointed, but action fans will find plenty to amuse them with this film that makes "Hard-Boiled" look restrained.