James Berardinelli

Storaro and Bertolucci have fashioned a visual masterpiece in The Conformist, with some of the best use of light and shadow ever in a motion picture. This isn't just photography, it's art -- powerful, beautiful, and effective. (Review of 1994 Release)

Has once again caught lightning in a bottle and unleashed it on audiences, blending humor, adventure, and a lot of nifty special effects-enabled gadgets and creatures into a movie that provides 1 1/2 hours of unfettered entertainment for children, grandparents, and everyone in between.

Martian Child wants to make us cry. It nearly made me gag. This is an exercise in shameless and inept emotional manipulation.

Murphy in particular deserves better, but at least she got a boyfriend and a paycheck out of the deal. No such benefits await those who sacrifice both cash and time to see this movie.

Feels perfunctory and obligatory and, despite the return of several familiar characters, is more like an afterthought than an organic third piece of a trilogy puzzle.

The Rocker is more disappointing than it is outright bad. One expects something a little fresher from Wilson.

City of Ember has almost anything one could want from a science fiction-based family adventure film: likeable characters, an imaginative setting, and a fast pace.

As the beginning of Part II echoes the opening of "The Godfather," so too does the end. Because of the manner in which circumstances are handled and considering the people involved, the impact here is more forceful. The tragic flaw has accomplished its poisonous, inevitable designs. Coppola punctuates both movies with a gut-twisting exclamation point.

Enjoyable, and will likely appeal to anyone who appreciated the 2001 film.

This movie ranks as better-than-par entertainment.

The film has an undeniable energy, and, at times, it works as light entertainment, but there is a problem. The central character is consistently aggravating.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Green Dragon is Bui's recreation of Camp Pendleton, circa 1975 (filming actually took place in Camp Pendleton).

A thoughtful, almost poetic, piece that puts forth the argument that redemption is not easily achieved.

De Niro pulls the viewer into the world he has created and holds him there, sometimes spellbound, until the story is over and the end credits roll.

The last scene of In the Valley of Elah may be the most ridiculously ham-fisted and over-the-top moment in all of 2007’s supposed prestige cinema.

This is a powerful tale of crime, guilt, and punishment -- a drama that incorporates elements of whodunit mystery/thrillers and police procedurals with a richly textured three-character play.

Red Rock West is a roller-coaster ride of a film, designed for those who like their thrillers spiced with the unexpected.

The movie wears thin its welcome a couple of reels before Apatow has finished telling his story.

Downfall and Bruno Ganz are deserving of Oscars they will not get.

Kids might think the snowman is cool, and some adults might be mildly amused by some of what transpires, but, on the whole, Jack Frost is far too superficial to be affecting, and its facile resolution to the loss of a parent borders on insulting. This is the kind of film that will leave most viewers cold.

A clumsy motion picture that strives so hard for the perfect romantic ending that it triggers a gag reflex along the way.

Overlong and unevenly paced, Cinderella Man hits stretches (especially between bouts) when it threatens to lose its audience.

Riveting from beginning to end, featuring stellar performances, amazing cinematography, and a story without a trace of fat, the film does everything an epic is supposed to do - and more.

Not a complete waste of time, but it doesn't make us FEEL the way better dramas do, and, in the end, it lacks the qualities that would make it memorable or powerful.

This isn't a bad movie; it's watchable but the direction in which the filmmakers choose to take it results in a vague sense of dissatisfaction.

Draws its audience along a rarely-traveled path whose scope can only be fully appreciated in the silence of the aftermath.

In essence, Control is a standard order biopic of a tormented artist. What makes the film interesting, if not unique, is the style in which director Anton Corbijn has elected to present it.

Despite being slow and deliberate, it is often compelling and occasionally riveting. As "The Lives of Others" was in 2007, this is the first memorable movie of 2008.

Lacks the kind of forceful, attention-grabbing chemistry that elevates a movie in this genre from a passable diversion to a lasting source of entertainment.

The exceptionally strong cast showcases American, British, and Australian actresses, all of whom show an astonishing willingness to appear in physically unflattering circumstances (no makeup, hair and skin caked with drying mud).

With some of the overlong running time snipped, Judgment Night might have been palatable. As it stands, however, the best judgment I can pass on this movie is an exceedingly harsh one.

With Hammett's dialogue incorporated virtually verbatim into the screenplay, Bogart in top form, and Huston allowed total directorial freedom, watching this first of the films noir is an experience to be embraced.

Clooney and Zellweger play off each other perfectly, delivering their dialogue with the rhythm of a well-choreographed dance and falling in love in the time-honored tradition of '40s romantic comedies.

Hulk represents the most involving superhero motion picture since "Superman" soared skywards in 1978. By taking its time to develop characters and situations, Hulk does what so many action/adventure movies fail to do -- allow us to really feel for the protagonists.

Sylvia underwhelms.

The best bits in this film fall short of being inspired, but they are outrageous.

If there's a blessing, it's that the sequel isn't appreciably worse than the original - but that's slim praise considering how bad the first one was.

As the movie approached the end credits, I cared about what happened to these characters, and that made the coincidences and occasional missteps forgivable.

Passably interesting, occasionally compelling, sporadically amusing, and badly lacking in focus.

This is strictly B-movie fare. It tries to do some of the same things as "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and suffers as a result of the comparison.

Message to those who thought Gigli was the worst movie of 2003: check this one out. You'll change your mind damn fast.

The Good German, Steven Soderbergh's film noir homage, is nearly perfect when it comes to style and tone, but it concentrates so single-mindedly on the mechanics of the narrative that it loses sight of its characters.

A nice little mystery thriller that takes a wrong turn on the way to its climax and morphs into a slasher movie.

For anyone who wants a movie to feed their intelligence and imagination more than their eyes and ears, Pi is a solid choice.

The result is tepid humor and a less-than-compelling feel-good story of redemption and re-kindled romance.

For all its attempts to weave a spell on the audience, Hearts and Souls displays an incredible lack of subtlety. Nevertheless, if you are prone to sigh rapturously at the thought of a happy ending, this may be the movie for you. It doesn't just have one of these, but five, each more cloying than the one before -- a rare treat for those who don't mind sugar shock.

The issue may be serious, but the tone is lighthearted, and that, more than anything else, makes Super Size Me a palatable cinematic entrée.

Toy Story 3 enhances the legacy of its brand while providing exceptional entertainment value for viewers of all ages, especially for those who favor the brighter, livelier 2-D iteration over the 3-D gimmick.

This is a movie to restore the faith of those who had given up on science fiction after "The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions." By adeptly combining action and ideas, it proves that Hollywood can still produce astonishing entertainment.

Foster's film offers its fair share of laughs, although most come at the expense of "easy mark" characters. Dramatically, however, the movie is only a step up from a flop.

From the start, it's obvious that this is a vehicle for his comedy, and it mostly works -- for about ten to fifteen minutes. After that, Carrey's act gradually grows less humorous and more tiresome, and the laughter in the audience seems forced.

Tennant takes this familiar material and crafts a charming, captivating motion picture.

Even with ILM providing nearly-flawless special effects, Dragonheart lacks a much-needed spark. It's obvious and plodding, and only occasionally impressive.

Not a positive triumph, but it does bring a smile to the face and, perhaps in some cases, a tear to the eye.

There's more to the film than nostalgia; it also offers insight, and that's what makes it worth viewing on the big screen rather than waiting for its Discovery Channel premiere.

This movie isn't afraid of venturing into the realm of bad taste -- in fact, it revels in it.

The Nutty Professor aims for guffaws at the lowest level -- anyone with a double-digit IQ will get every joke. Whether you laugh at them or not is often more of a matter of taste than a question of having a sense of humor.

The overall experience fails to satisfy on a basic level. This is one of those films it's easier to be impressed with than it is to like.

There's nothing especially original about Unstrung Heroes, but the story is told with intelligence and sensitivity.

Batman is largely content to skim the surface and bask in the light of its visual style.

Despite numerous faults, Damage is still a worthwhile motion picture. It presents a stark depiction of a man on the edge who is driven to act by needs he can neither understand nor control, and the pain that such an obsession can cause. There's a lot here, just not as much as there could have been.

It is neither as clever nor as funny nor as inventive as the daring title might lead one to expect.

Chaos Theory stumbles from one contrived circumstance to the next, and there's not a moment in this entire mess that conveys any sort of genuine human emotion or reaction.

Swing Vote marries mild satire with Capra-esque melodrama in a formula that works surprisingly well.

It succeeds in many of the ways a sports movie should, and, by employing a slightly different viewpoint for most of the production, manages a sense of freshness.

By entering such fertile, intellectually stimulating and psychologically rich territory, Estes provides us with a freshman feature that is far beyond the generic coming-of-age tale Mean Creek initially seems to be.

Although the picture has not aged as well as some of its contemporaries, its themes remain germane, the story has lost none of its punch, and the performances retain their freshness.

Clash of the Titans is a flawed but mildly entertaining regurgitation of Greek mythological elements, but it's also an example of how poorly executed 3D can hamstring a would-be spectacle.

You may end up being pleasantly surprised, especially if you have a ten-year old girl in tow.

Back to the Future is played neither entirely seriously nor entirely for laughs, and therein lies the nature of its success. It's funny and breezy but doesn't descend to a level where the characters are little more than props for jokes.

The motion picture version of Bewitched is a travesty of monumental proportions that belongs in the "What the hell were they thinking?" category.

This is one of those unusual films that is capable of enthralling those under twelve while not sending older members of the audience rushing for the exit.

The single greatest pleasure of watching this film is seeing great actors reciting Mamet's lines. It's rumored that members of the cast came to the set on days when they weren't scheduled to film so they could watch their fellow stars perform.

This is a film for anyone who prefers to leave the theater smiling.