Joe Leydon

Generates genuine suspense as it follows a group of American actors in the former Soviet Union during a fateful period of the Perestroika era.

There's a provocative premise at the heart of Master of the Game, but uneven acting, indifferent direction and melodramatic dialogue blunt pointed ironies.

Trifling time-killer.

A low-key charmer that's bound to enchant small children and amuse their parents during many hours of repeat viewings.

Beautifully lensed and intelligently crafted.

Slickly entertaining documentary.

The Legend of Ron Jeremy is, at a brisk 75 minutes, long enough to get the job done.

Scores a few chuckles while following a familiar game plan.

Unvarnished verisimilitude, visceral impact and vividly evoked emotional and physical extremes distinguish Hooligans, the impressive debut feature by German-born helmer Lexi Alexander.

Picture shrewdly shuffles together attractive young leads, cagey screen vets and a fantasy-fulfillment scenario in a slickly polished package that should appeal to anyone who's ever dreamed of beating the odds.

Richly amusing and sporadically insightful as it offers an up-close-and-personal view of Ivan Thompson, a self-proclaimed "cowboy cupid" who plays matchmaker between American men and Mexican women.

Feels achingly sad and frustratingly incomplete.

Nacho Libre strikes a delicate balance of whimsy and absurdity that may surprise auds primed to expect wall-to-wall slapstick.

Has the unmistakable look and feel of a micro-budget indie produced for a small circle of friends, many of whom are listed in the credits.

There is a great deal more style than substance here. The special effects experts and the other members of the technical crew do their considerable best to give their various hacking sequences the look of warp-speed sci-fi fantasy.

A stunningly unfunny farce that makes the worst of a stale concept.

Amusing indie comedy blithely blurs the line between risque and raunchy, often to hilarious effect.

One of the summer's more pleasant surprises. A silly bit of tiptop tomfoolery with cross-generational appeal.

Solid performances, handsome production values and a few genuinely creepy scenes are not enough to save Godsend.

Offers a largely satisfying mix of broad slapstick, seriocomic sentimentality and mostly amusing satirical thrusts at easy targets.

Sandler (never making a false step while maneuvering though vertiginous mood swings) and Cheadle (deftly commingling instinctive decency with quiet desperation) are individually excellent, and bring out the best in each other. And the picture itself transcends its real but relatively minor flaws to score a satisfyingly potent impact.

An extremely enjoyable neo-screwball comedy about attractive opposites on the road.

Latenight cable TV filler disguised as a feature film.

Destined to be better remembered for its grisly billboard imagery than for its relatively tame torture-porn tropes, Captivity is a thoroughly nasty piece of work that nonetheless earns credit for generating modest suspense after a predictable but effective plot twist around the 50-minute mark.

With equal measures of prickly wit, gleeful pride and bemused gratitude, Charles Nelson Reilly looks back at his life, and invites his audience to share the view, in this thoroughly engaging filmization of his one-man stage show.

This family affair is a squeaky-clean cable-ready comedy, unabashedly retro fluff.

A star vehicle composed of second-hand parts that nevertheless gets great mileage (and big laughs) from its recycled plot.

An impressively polished documentary by Bob Hercules and Cheri Hughes. Perhaps even more thought-provoking than its co-helmers intended, pic is bound to spark conversations and debate.