Jonathan Foreman

Despite inadequate editing and overreliance on bad background music, The Girl Next Door doesn't disappoint.

Eyes Wide Shut is Stanley Kubrick's Hindenberg.

Generally delightful, and reminiscent of two vanished ages: when men were men, and when movies were movies.

Far more interesting and intelligent than anything coming out of the studios. It fairly brims with superb performances by a terrific cast - you simply can't take your eyes off the female leads, Edie Falco and Angela Bassett.

The film is worth seeing for George Clooney's performance. More than ever he seems like a Clark Gable for our time.

Smug, often tedious, and comically crude.

A witty and quietly charming road comedy.

A relentlessly grim, rather heavy-handed drama of family dysfunction.

Quirky and good-natured, it makes the most of an unknown but able and refreshingly international cast. And for a low-budget indie, it looks remarkably good and moves along with real snap.

Longwinded, slow-starting but moving film.

There's no limit to Coyote Ugly's crass shamelessness.

Best watched while doing a crossword or reading the paper.

It's not to say that the adolescent humor isn't funny; some of it is hilarious. It's just that this movie lacks the overarching comic sensibility that made "Mary" and even Adam Sandler comedies like "Happy Gilmore" and "The Waterboy" so satisfying.

Powerful, important and refreshingly straightforward documentary.

A cold, emptily stylish exercise -- and one that sorely lacks the speed and vigor that made "Lola" run.

Turns out to be an exercise in flatulent pretension, puffed up with a bogus, empty "spirituality" and dependent on a plot filled with implausibilities.

A lean, deftly shot, well-acted, weirdly retro thriller that recalls a raft of '60s and '70s European-set spy pictures. There are even moments when you hope it could turn into a modern "Charade."

Visually gorgeous despite its low budget, The Terrorist is a haunting film.

So filled with amusing, idiosyncratic touches and unexpectedly charming characters that you mostly don't mind its excesses.

One of those French films whose makers won't lower themselves to tell a story in a way that is entertaining or compelling.

An exhilarating, sweeping epic that begs to be seen on the largest possible screen.

Moves at a leisurely pace, and it cries out for a narrator or even just an organizing principle.

Self-righteous, economically illiterate and sometimes flatly dishonest.

You can tell this is a smart take on Hamlet from the first wordless opening shots.

So beautifully made (everything in it is understated except the gorgeous good looks of its stars) and turns out to have such real cumulative power that it is worth holding out to the end.

Unpretentious and often witty, it's emotional punch is weakened by spotty performances, especially from Karin Viard in the lead role.

There's some lumpy writing and uneasy acting, but it's easy to see why this charming, inventive film won prizes at festivals in Berlin, San Francisco and Newport, R.I.

Often charming and sweet, and always prettily photographed.