Kevin Maynard

Whenever Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon resorts to flying fists or soaring sword battles, the Force is definitely with it.

A watery cocktail of second-rate, Ab Fab-style bitchery and shameless schmaltz.

The results are both savagely funny and poignant for anyone who's ever had a friendship that felt like their only connection to the outside world.

Only Elaine May shines, in a weird and wonderful turn. Her loopy character has such a struck-by-lightning demeanor that she's always delightfully off in her own comic orbit even in the tritest of scenes.

Flock (don't walk) to the theater to see Chicken Run.

A technologically marvelous animated movie that's just as funny and inventive as the first, but also more emotionally engaging than most live-action films. This is clearly a sequel in name only.

The most heartfelt tribute to women -- specifically, actresses -- he's (Almodovar) ever made.

It's the funniest, saddest performance of the year in a film of uncompromising wit and heart.

A preachy, monotonous failure hyped as a follow-up to his incendiary 1991 debut, "Boyz N the Hood."

By the time Rock Star reaches its cop-out, "All About Eve"-ish ending, the only thrashing that should be going on is of the filmmakers, for bungling such a promising premise.

42 Up is filled with truth and poignancy as these people reflect on their first half of their lives, their goals, ambitions, and how they, for the most part, succeeded in reinventing them.

That rarest of independent films -- it's risky and exciting.

Lynch's faith in the kindness of human nature has been renewed, yet thankfully he's never maudlin. Instead, he wins over our emotions with the film's understated beauty.

Traffic is a riveting, semi-documentary drama, and yet calling it that is a disservice to just how suspenseful and stylish an entertainment it is.

About Lustig's direction. Badly employing all kinds of tricks like alternating film speed, jump cuts, and various color tints, she ultimately overpowers her actors and does in her own film.

It's such a sensory experience; in its best moments, the film washes over you like a fever dream.

It's the sum of things not spoken, things too painful to express, that's the heart of this quietly moving drama.

Stomps the summer movie competition with heart and humor.

Covers some bases, but it feels like the Cliffs Notes version of a grander epic.

A must-see for avid fans and a welcome primer for nascent hip-shakers everywhere.

Together is unabashedly about people who need people. The film's satiric skewering of '70s liberalism works because it feels emotionally authentic.

Banderas may have been crazy to make such a heady directorial debut, but it's hard not to be charmed by his ambitions.

Though unflinching in its savagery, Amores Perros is always compulsive viewing.

A literate, dialogue-driven treat delivered by a cast that truly savors the script's wicked wit.

Election is a bracingly intelligent adult comedy that shrewdly captures adolescence.

Nolan's engrossing, backwards-ticking noir will run you so thoroughly in circles that you'll need to see it at least twice for maximum enjoyment.

Especially timely in light of the current escalation in Palestinian-Israeli aggressions, but this is one sad story that would pack a staggering punch in any political climate.

Russell has combined pathos, terror, and black comedy with a dollop of Hollywood feel-good patriotism to make one of the best studio efforts this year.

There are only a handful of great music documentaries ... but Temple's film deserves a place in the canon.

For the most part, it's when the women do the singing -- that Songcatcher really comes alive.

The only reason to sit through On the Line is for some entertaining, if fleeting, musical moments.

Cho is raw, uncensored, and side-splittingly hilarious.

Most tenderly, the film deciphers the true meaning of its corporate-speak title in Franck and his father's impassioned struggle to ensure each other's welfare.

A funny, frenetic, and often quite touching microcosm of the Big Apple life itself, essayed by a pitch-perfect cast and boasting authentic urban flavors.

It's a pleasure to watch these unhurried, character-driven vignettes when such great actors are anchoring them.

A sentimental slice of 1950s Italian-American life that doesn't soft-pedal its characters' simmering prejudices within their insulated community, or pander to their dreams of getting out.

Proudly wears its heart on its sleeve, but it never becomes so swoony that you'll reach for your hanky.

Even if it sometimes skips, it's consistently wittier and more idiosyncratic that most studio movies.

Though frequently brutal and off-putting, Beautiful People is a must-see.

Like "Pollock," Nora is a convincing portrait of the intersection between creative genius and crazy, all-consuming love.

Faithless, filmed mostly during Sweden's endless winter, will chill you to the bone.

A fitting tribute to these displaced children because it so simply and elegantly personalizes their place in the most horrific chapter of 20th-century history.

Praise will get under your skin.

The wrap-up's pretty charming, as are the performances, but the film's too heavy for its soufflé-ready ingredients.

How well you respond to this handsomely mounted, cold-blooded tragedy will depend on your feelings toward Gillian Anderson's highly theatrical lead performance.

Goran Visnjic is such a sensitive, non-menacing gentleman that any woman would want him as her own personal blackmailer.

There's nothing more incendiary than the reopening of a forgotten chapter of history --nothing more incendiary than telling the truth.

It's got enough hilarious moments that, all in all, the film's bite is as toothsome as its bark.

If you haven't seen his (Crudup's) work before, Jesus' Son could be the one that makes you his biggest disciple.

An exhilarating and at times operatic film.

An intensely involving, Ibsen-esque human drama populated by complex, sympathetic heroes.

Proof of Life won't hold your heart hostage for very long after it's over, but here's looking at Russell Crowe -- he's the real deal, sweetheart.

Unfolds like quietly engrossing short fiction, reminding us that there are few things more pleasurable than being in the hands of a good storyteller.

A detective story without a solution and a coming-of-ager without discernable characters.

Best of all is the supporting performance of The Jackie Robinson Steppers Marching Band, a real group of high-school musicians in which the three girls all perform.

It's all well-acted and eerily compelling, but the shocker ending is patently implausible.

Born Romantic feels less like it was born than assembled, in a kooky Britcom factory. It's no "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but it's certainly a happier conception than last month's "Maybe Baby."

Despite Arteta's best efforts, I eventually stopped caring about their bond because Chuck's character is conceived as such a two-dimensional yuppie.

For all its wit and sharp casting, State and Main is way too pleased with itself to be funny or endearing.

Though similar thematically to "Anywhere But Here," Tumbleweeds is a breath of fresh air that busts the cliches of dysfunctional mother-daughter sagas.

Croupier should please people who take their noir straight up -- with plenty of twists.

This historical epic about the "virgin queen" of England's early life moves with the crackling urgency of a contemporary political thriller.

Along the way, we end up losing patience with our couple-to-be because they seem too smart to endure the indignities ceaselessly heaped on them.

Will take you by surprise as a romantic, fast-paced, entertaining spectacle that deserves to earn back every penny spent to produce it.

The film ends with a surprisingly upbeat coda. But Startup.com leaves us with a sense that our heroes' idealism will be forever lost.

A uniquely personal, vibrant mosaic of the American dream, and like a dream, it evaporates beautifully before our eyes.

Reed's manic direction rarely lets up between show-stopping cheer numbers.

Some moviegoers are bound to take issue with the trick, "Sixth Sense"-style ending (or cynically see it coming), but The Others is mostly spooky fun, and a strong calling card for Amenabar.

A seven-course melodrama.

This is certainly the best studio movie of the new year to date, and Douglas might even be remembered at next year's Oscars.

Captures the emptiness of small-time lives as evocatively as Peter Bogdonavich's "Last Picture Show."

A profoundly moving human drama, a quasi love story about two lost men who form an unlikely friendship.

Liam is mostly an emotionally devastating chronicle of the disintegration of a family. The entire cast is superb, but Frears has cast two screen naturals in the lead roles.

John August's script is exciting, witty, original material, and this film's got the talent to match.

A disarming helping of Capra-esque corn served up by writer-director Rob Sitch.

This is such seductive entertainment that you might as well stop grousing and give in.

Moodysson's teen protagonists are more complex than both the high school stereotypes (the nerd, the jock, the beauty queen) in films like "American Pie" and the self-absorbed philosophers on "Dawson's Creek."

The real reason to see it is Brian Cox, best known for being filmdom's other Hannibal Lecter (he played the role in Michael Mann's "Manhunter").

Director Roger Michell ("Persuasion," "Notting Hill") has made his finest film to date.

It's a tad too generic to be a slam dunk.

Gets to the funny bone, but it could've cut deeper.

Starts as light, fluffy fun but becomes so blithely preposterous that it ceases to exist.

Works best as romantic melodrama and is least convincing as a psychological suspenser.

If you're looking for refuge from summer movie bombast, it's frequently intoxicating.

Has a blithe tone and a capable cast, but Veber's script is 100 percent laugh-free.

Intelligently written, sharply directed, and beautifully played.

It's amiable enough, but the only real opportunity here is to see Walken step out of the shadows.

The man (Apted) behind the excellent "7 Up" series has put a human face to science, making the seemingly abstruse both accessible and easily relatable.

The flutes soar a little too often, but Yimou's film is genuinely moving.

"Run mad whenever you choose, but do not faint," Austen wrote in her early journals. Despite its brazen politics, Mansfield Park never goes giddily amok as promised.

Offers effortless charm, wit, and originality in spades.

Never the heart-wrenching emotional experience it seems intended to be.

Mesmerizing entertainment, but it's also a cop-out.

Eventually succumbs to fatal overlength.

A charming movie.

Almereyda never plays up the gimmickry at the expense of the performances, and as a result, his movie largely succeeds, despite an overabundance of pretentious pokes at our consumer culture and the risky casting of Ethan Hawke in the lead role.

Badly photographed, clumsily edited, and lacking any discernable cinematic style.

All in all, she comes off as quite a complex creature.