Jonathan Foreman

The whole film could use a jolt of caffeine, and a lugubrious woodwind score doesn't help.

Strong cast is defeated by a labored, screenplay in this overlong, clunky love story.

Bowfinger's terrific set-pieces... more than make up for the odd weak moment or thin performance.

Unashamedly vulgar and exuberantly politically incorrect.

The sheer loathesomeness of protagonist Stephen Glass as portrayed by Hayden Christensen makes Shattered Glass hard to watch.

Works just fine as a generic but fast-paced - and rather ugly - cop buddy flick.

Could hardly be more predictable.

This brisk, British-American co-production is one of the better political/historical documentaries to come out in some time.

Laughably predictable in its plotting, crude in its symbolism, ploddingly paced and often rendered almost comical by the heavy-breathing overacting of Johansson's supporting cast.

Surprisingly enjoyable, as adaptations of cult comic books go, thanks to a sense of humor all too rare in the genre, winning performances by Ron Perlman and Selma Blair, and a sweet romance of the kind that made "Spider-Man" a richer experience than its competitors.

Culkin is superb - he makes you forget that Igby is a spoiled brat who actually deserves the beating he gets.

Under the direction of Allan Moyle ("Pump up the Volume"), Nairn, McCarthy and Balaban give confident, believable performances but overacting plagues the rest of the cast.

Though never dull and often visually beautiful, this work of operatic sweep doesn't fulfill its own ambitions.

But given the potentially gripping subject matter, the film is fatally underedited: Every scene feels too long.

For all its virtues, this is not a film to see on less than a good night's sleep.

Gripping, smart and moving, without falling prey to sentimentality, it shows what can be achieved when mainstream filmmakers like Howard and Goldsman are genuinely inspired and determined to be honest.

Downbeat and at times strangely slow-moving despite all its beautifully shot high-speed ambulance rides.

Takes you on a fascinating and picturesque journey into a relatively unfamiliar culture.

A triumph of intelligent adaptation. It shows again how well the great Victorian storyteller translates to film, and makes enjoyable use of a generally first-rate cast.

A powerful fable about love and addiction that manages to be darkly humorous when it isn't graphic or harrowing in the extreme.

A remarkable accomplishment. It takes one of the century's vast tragedies...and makes it heart-rendingly real and intimate.

It is often as powerful as it is elegantly shot. Unfortunately, Szabo tends to tell this rather predictable tale in an obvious yet uneven way.

An ideal antidote to the big-budget bores that studios put out in late summer, The Tao of Steve is a charming, funny and refreshingly smart Gen-X romantic comedy in the tradition of "When Harry Met Sally" - with the bonus of an engagingly laid-back Southwestern flavor.

May well be the dullest and most pointless version ever filmed, thanks to a stunningly bad lead performance by Ethan Hawke.

Isn't Allen's finest work by a long shot, but an undeniable part of its fascination is trying to figure out what -- if anything, even unconsciously -- he's trying to say about how he treated Farrow.

An affectionate, often clever and unflaggingly funny satire.

Some wonderful films have come out of Iran in the past few years, but A Moment of Innocence, by highly regarded director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, is too smug and too self-indulgent to count as one of them.

Refreshing and surprising, the way independent movies are supposed to be.