Fred Camper

Filmmakers Garrett Scott and Ian Olds offer a damning chronicle of failure and chaos.

Despite some amateurish moments, Pulido displays genuine visual intelligence, using repeated static angles to emphasize the blandness of the family's anonymous tract house and moving with the characters as they try to individualize themselves.

Director Chad Friedrichs works around Jandek's never having revealed his identity by interpolating shots of the PO box and rocks on the beach with the talking heads of fans, critics, and journalists, and lots of Jandek's wistful, haunting music.

Fedja van Huet gives a fascinating performance as two very different twin brothers.

The camera goes limp during the climactic emotional blowout--unimaginative and static compositions leave the characters yelling at each other in a vacuum.

Paid in Full isn't a complete success; still, it moves beyond many cliches to create an honest portrait of several Harlem drug kingpins on their way up and inevitably down.

Boyd brings no new insights to this drama of men in a confined space, a situation that's been the basis for many powerful war films.

Doesn't add up to much more than a series of pretty pictures, and Goldsworthy's gnomic statements about the "energy" he perceives in "the plants and the land" are never fully explored.

The film's relaxed pace, unassuming tone, and respect for its characters all recall the films of Abbas Kiarostami, who provided the story idea, but director Ali Reza Raisian adds a slightly more dramatic and emotional edge.

Ken Hanes's witty script shows its origins in his stage play, with the repartee often a bit too thick and fast for the screen.

Kaplan's decision to violate documentary principles by using songs to "narrate" some sections is simply irritating.

The performances are convincing, and director Gene Rhee does a good job of outlining the messiness of human affections here, showing how we don't always know what we really want or how to get it.

The film does offer a good deal of engaging dark humor.

While not particularly cohesive, this 2002 film has some nice moments of comedy and father-son poignancy.

De Niro sinks this crime drama with his vacant, inattentive performance as an affectionally challenged homicide detective.