Jean Oppenheimer

Disappointingly mediocre.

Offers both a gentle humor and a sly but unmistakable optimism about what life in Iran might one day be.

Despite its two-and-a-half hour running time, the movie flies by, so absorbing are its story, songs and stars.

The digital computer work is smooth and convincing; the animals look as if they are talking. But their voices are either devoid of personality or grating and annoying.

It's the best thing Wong has done in years--perhaps ever.

Although frustratingly confusing -- often the viewer can't be sure who is on which side or why -- the film brims with physical grandeur, exquisite costumes, and a captivating performance by Blanchett.

The fact that Romance was written and directed by a woman doesn't make the film any better; it simply makes it objectionable on other grounds.

Far more than a mere visual feast.

Does a masterful job of combining digital imagery and voice performance to create totally believable animal characters.

The acting is remarkable across the board, undoubtedly a combination of a strong script, gifted actors and exceptional direction.

No matter how restrained the direction or unsentimental the performances -- and White Oleander scores points for both -- there is no escaping the semi-trashy but oh-so-life-affirming ring of the plot.

This intriguing jigsaw puzzle is visually arresting, narratively inventive, and psychologically enigmatic.

Filled with so much religious righteousness--endless Bible-readings...that the film feels more like a recruitment tool for Soldiers for Christ than a look at the bloody four-year conflict that tore this nation apart.

This brutal film borders on the brilliant. Beautifully structured and edited, with a chilling central performance by Ian McKellen and an exceptional score by John Ottman, who also edited the picture, it churns up emotions and leaves the viewer feeling stunned and depleted.

Tanovic describes it as "a very serious film with a sense of humor." It is an apt description for a very remarkable film, one of the best of the year.

A disarmingly funny, clear-eyed, and affectionate memory piece.

Don Cheadle is wonderful, as always, as the former drug-addict-turned-psychiatrist who worries it's all hopeless but refuses to stop trying. Sounds clichéd, perhaps, but for the most part it works, thanks to piercingly authentic performances.

Nominal comedy has a few bright spots but never seems to find its rhythm.

A charming little film, filled with eccentric characters and ingratiating performances.

Farmanara, the actor, brings a real poignancy to the role and, thus, to the story that seems, more than anything, the tale of a man coming to terms with his life.

Viewers with a low tolerance for sentiment may balk, but the emotions are so true and the characters so appealing that the film should completely win you over.

On one level it is highly intimate, yet it is also universal, a modern metaphor for the human condition and the precariousness of life itself.

It's like an amateur theater production. Reiner rushes through the setup in such a mad dash that it feels like a cartoon.

Although meant as a light comedy-drama in which both characters are sympathetic, The Housekeeper instead proves irritating.

Be forewarned: Scenes of the protagonist learning to swallow the drug pellets will make many viewers queasy. Rarely has the power of suggestion been so unsettling.

Schultze has a spare style, deliberately slow pace, and so little dialogue that to say it's in German with English subtitles seems to be stretching the truth.

Nothing, however, can diminish the sense of horror we feel at what happened that day in September, while Macdonald's revelations and the candid comments he elicits more than make up for the film's less successful elements.

Sly and corrosively funny political black comedy.

Slick, glossy, and artificial.

Most of it is decidedly lame. The actors, however, are ingratiating.

The film is smart enough to aim for farce rather than whimsy or reality. The songs are still bland--"I hid the alarm clock," "too much lipstick"--but at least the characters are somewhat entertaining.

A gentle, beautifully realized tale of love and intimacy...It moved me to tears.

Oddly, the film's strengths -- its quiet, understated manner; its non-plot; the awkward speech patterns and uncomfortable pauses that suggest emotional isolation -- are also its weaknesses.

As good as all the actors are, the scuzzy characters are so one-dimensional that the film falls flat.

Doesn't come close to matching the emotional depth and power of Frank Perry's 1962 "David and Lisa," the most involving and affecting film I've ever seen about teenagers and mental illness.

Overly broad and silly at times, the film also has an "important" message to pass along to its young viewers.

A genuinely affecting movie that approaches its adult themes with intelligence, maturity, and rare authenticity.

Worth the price of admission if only to see the slinky Thurman decked out in a form-fitting, sequined pre-flapper era outfit. The word stunning hardly does her justice.

A spare film, with little dialogue but a lot to say.

The two lead performances are so good it contains more emotional depth than it probably has a right to.

If only good intentions were enough to redeem a picture, perhaps ABCD would be worth a look.

Yes, the movie is obvious at time, banging you over the head with its message, and the use of shadows on a wall can seem overly broad. But these are small complaints when compared to the film's many strengths.

There is something distinctly self-satisfied about Amy's Orgasm that rubs the viewer the wrong way. The film should come with a warning label: Vanity project ahead!

A modest, uneventful film, buoyed by fine, albeit low-key, performances and the ring of truth.

Last Days shouldn't be half as engrossing as it turns out to be.

Pure joy to watch -- and an invaluable documentary record of a bygone era.

Though we know the story's final outcome, the trial scene and its aftermath are no less shocking and affecting.

Both actors are marvelous, and the film, low-key but heartfelt, is a gem.

It is that rare find: a film that is as emotionally truthful as it is satisfying.

This latest adventure proves to be a suitably sweet addition to Pooh's cinematic canon.

Combines strong feminist sensibilities with surprisingly old-fashioned melodrama.

A delicious little thriller about an uptight, ill-humored English mystery writer who becomes enmeshed in murder, Swimming Pool is at once comical, contrary, resourceful and ambiguous.

Cheadle, always a fine actor, is outstanding here--an almost willfully naive yet uncommonly decent man who sees civilization crashing and burning around him yet who, almost against his own better judgment, refuses to give in to it.

Alternately heartrending and buoyant, tragic and sweetly humorous, the film leaves an indelible impression on the heart and mind. It's among the best of the year.

Viewers expecting another enchanting, whimsical tale of high energy and mischievous spirits will be sorely disappointed.

Fascinating and engrossing on every conceivable level

A riveting movie that's as entertaining as it is socially and politically important.

Shot in black and white by the renowned Raoul Coutard, and with a score by Michel Legrand, the film represents an idealized view of reality that will strike some viewers (including this one) as overly sentimental.

Everything that happens proves just as predictable as before.

A character study, the film succeeds in large measure due to the kinetically charged performance of Romain Duris.

Emotionally gripping from start to finish, the movie presents an electrifying and unforgettable look at life in a place that God has all but forgotten.

The story itself is absolutely amazing, and the sense of outrage it evokes is universal, but director Noyce faces a difficult task in that once the story is set in motion there is very little action, other than walking shots of the girls, and almost no dialogue.

Meet Joe Black takes an interesting idea--Death assumes human form and comes to earth to learn about human existence--and reduces it to a flat, uninspired, interminably slow movie.

Huppert has never looked more beautiful. Despite her severe expression and lack of makeup, her face communicates enormous character. She proves absolutely spellbinding.

The voice acting is adequate, but it fails to convey the diversity or personality of "Chicken Run" or "Shrek."

The film takes an incredibly wrong turn when it shifts to the courtroom trial -- It all but kills any goodwill Silberling has engendered up to this point.

Devotees of the comedienne presumably will think they have died and gone to heaven, while Cho virgins may laugh aloud a half-dozen times but probably won't become converts.

Proves a lovely, sweet alternative for audiences fed up with the latest hell-on-wheels action thriller or the newest horror film comedy spoof.

If Campion has a message in all this -- something about the eternal battle of the sexes -- it is far from clear.

An extraordinary film from a born filmmaker.

Adding to the film's underlying sense of urgency and unease is composer Robert Miller's haunting score, so reminiscent of Philip Glass' music for "The Fog of War."

Certainly a terrific sense of urgency underlies the story and Tom's desperation over Claire is palpable, but that may not be enough for viewers who actually like to understand how the riddle is unraveling.

A small story, with fewer lofty ambitions than its lead character, the film runs out of steam at a certain point. Overall, its leisurely pace and lack of overt action will bore some filmgoers, while the movie's final section, during which Ganesh pursues his political aspirations, feels strangely hurried and less satisfying than the rest of the story.

Fame this film ain't.

Sails by on cute dialogue, some funny visual gags, and two enormously likable leads.

A wobbly Basinger and a feeble screenplay doom I Dreamed of Africa.

Audiences will leave the theater ready to sign up for some dance classes themselves.

Never rises above the level of a 1950s-era adolescent romance novel.

In her first major role, Ferrera is amazing -- It is a wonderfully natural performance. To top it all off, she and Ontiveros are completely believable as mother and daughter.

While too many things about the story don't ring true for the film as a whole to work, there is enough in Next Stop Wonderland to keep the viewer wide awake and entertained.

Rich in story, character, and design, The Cider House Rules is obviously a collaborative effort, but above all it is a triumph for director Hallström.

Packs an unexpected emotional wallop. Gavin Hood's film tells a story of violence and redemption that's even more remarkable when you consider that neither of the lead performers had ever acted in a movie previously.

Emotionally powerful.

Explores a wealth of issues and conflicting ideologies.

That the film is good rather than great proves a disappointment, but just finding a good film these days is rare, especially a big studio picture.

Given the great premise and characters inherited from the first film, it's surprising that this sequel fails to match its predecessor's appeal. The humor is silly, broad, and surprisingly generic.

While Sollett provided cast members with a detailed breakdown of the story--a kind of narrative guide--he wanted them to improvise their own dialogue based on how they would react to a similar situation in their own lives....The result is quite extraordinary.

Using humor to make a serious point, Arau suggests that without the millions of Hispanics...life in the Golden State would screech to a halt.

Pak's writing has a simplicity that belies the film's emotional impact.

Viewers looking for extremely light, romantic entertainment with a guaranteed happy ending could do worse.

The film's intent -- contrasting the relatively benign craziness of a group of mental patients with the far greater insanity of war -- is worthy but obvious, while the execution is overly indulgent and at times precious.

The picture's biggest problem is that no one is sympathetic.

When all is said and done, Far from Heaven proves an easier film to appreciate than to emotionally embrace. It fails the test of being, in the descriptive phrase of Pauline Kael, "compulsively watchable."

As an actress, she (July) is annoying as hell, with a quirkiness so labored, she seems to be begging for our affection. As a director she is much better.

A beautiful but depressing film.

The problem with Secretary isn't that it is offensive or unnerving -- although you get the idea the filmmakers hoped it might be at least one of those. The problem is that the story is slow-moving and dull.

The real star of the film is the food, which is sliced, diced, shredded, rolled, sautéed and fricasseed to mouthwatering perfection.

A film of tremendous complexity and depth, a galvanic force that sends the mind reeling.

But in a calculated move that pays off handsomely, the picture's remarkable power is reserved for the end, when the intertwining themes coalesce in an extraordinarily satisfying and stirring way.

This engaging film proves a total pleasure, suitable for moviegoers who like their films a bit old-fashioned but still mainstream.

Proves an absolute chore to sit through.

The first Baby Geniuses, released in 1999, was one of the most inane, humorless, ill-conceived, poorly acted comedies of the year. As difficult as it is to imagine, the sequel is even worse, earning an F.

So inventive, confident, and accomplished is the production that it's a shock to learn Sliding Doors is the work of a first-time director-screenwriter.

Viewers still need a window into a character's soul if they are to connect on a deep emotional level. And that is missing here.

Turns out to be more than simply a near-miracle of filmmaking, however; it is also an astonishing work of art, a historical epic that drifts through one's consciousness like a reverie.

So enchanting it takes your breath away.

That this mess should come from the hand of Istvan Szabo, the brilliant Hungarian director of "Mephisto" and "Colonel Redl," is the real shocker.

Like gathering storm clouds, Donnie Darko creates an atmosphere of eerie calm and mounting menace -- stands as one of the most exceptional movies of 2001.

A beautiful film from Iran explores beauty both physical and spiritual.

The movie lacks the adult humor of such kid flicks as "Shrek" and "Lilo & Stitch," but the target audience at an advance screening was shrieking with joy throughout.

A major weakness of A Soldier's Daughter is that it has no real plot.

Doesn't work as comedy or drama or anything in between.

Awful narration almost ruins the ghostly, gorgeous Running Free.

Despite the idealized portrait of Kelly and the very predictable plot, the film proves engaging, thanks in large measure to Ledger's sympathetic and believable performance.

The film provides solid entertainment for kids but lacks any real sense of wonder and magic.

Numbingly feeble -- The dialogue is witless, the situations are lame, the humor juvenile and the chemistry between the stars nonexistent.

The film was shot with six cameras simultaneously and the images are projected on six split screens, à la Mike Figgis' "Time Code." While the subject's appeal is limited and the film's 106-minute running time excessive, viewers who do respond to the pic will find it raw, real and cathartic.

Nelson has directed his actors--including David Arquette, Steve Buscemi and Daniel Benzali (no, this isn't a joke)--to speak in David Mamet-like cadence, all short, choppy sentences and staccato rhythms. It's a terrible mistake.

Well acted by an unusually likable cast.

The charismatic Jamal has the spirit of a young Antoine Doinel, and Winterbottom shoots him to evoke the memory of Truffaut's young hero.

The film proves unrelentingly grim -- and equally engrossing.

The film is worth seeing for Sorvino alone. The actress hasn't been this good since Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite," a role that couldn't be more dissimilar.

The predominantly amateur cast is painful to watch, so stilted and unconvincing are the performances. Poor Roth has nobody to play against and flounders in trying to keep the ship upright. Herzog aims for a kind of operatic sweep that he fails to achieve.

Although far superior to recent American fare such as "Alex and Emma," the film takes actors with quirky charms and places them in a homogenized, studiolike picture. What a waste.

Thanks to the performances and McCarthy's understated script and direction, the film walked off with both the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.

This terrific movie manages to invest kitchen-sink realism with the soul of a fairy tale.

Pulsates with music, dance, color and laughter, but also glows with quiet moments of drama.

Proves only intermittently engaging as its twisted plot loses energy and becomes confusing in the latter half.

Peet is still adorable, and a couple of twists enliven the plot, but the jokes are lame, the timing is off, the physical pratfalls are too broad, and there's still no chemistry between Perry and Henstridge.

The actors are capable, but the direction feels stilted, the pacing sluggish, and the story obvious. The film plays like an ABC after-school special.

With Joseph Fiennes as the conflicted, frequently self-hating Luther, this historical drama/biopic offers a fairly thorough overview of the period (although it's weak on the "good deeds" angle) but is somewhat dry and weighted with significance.

Enormously appealing romantic comedy-drama.

Far superior to either "Life Is Beautiful" or "Jakob the Liar."

The Dying Gaul becomes so overwrought in the last act that it ends up as pure histrionics.

An engaging, family-oriented romantic comedy that should appeal as much to fans of the original movie as to viewers unfamiliar with the 1961 Hayley Mills version.

It's a melodrama more than a drama, a light thriller –- which is not to say that it is not wonderfully entertaining and satisfying. In fact, it is both.

A bleak, beautiful film.

Demy's films are often described in terms of music; this one is more like a tango in which one person leads and refuses to forfeit the position.

The supposedly funny quips and shrugs that fill Jakob the Liar are tepid at best and embarrassingly shticky at worst. Some are simply in bad taste.

Manages to be gruesome and grisly, but not particularly creepy or frightening.

The ideas behind the story are intriguing and could prompt endless hours of lively discussion, but the film proves surprisingly drab.

A mildly amusing romp.