Kim Morgan

Though the picture is definitely flawed, it maintains a joie de vivre that's surprisingly refreshing.

Though it's debatable whether Sandler is squandered or just supremely annoying here, the film's flaws aren't entirely his fault.

Rat Race isn't a stupid movie -- it's an aggressively stupid movie that journeys into realms of absurdity that are, well, aggressively funny.

If the movie wasn't about an actor but instead about an insurance salesman or a plumber who looked like James Gandolfini, it might come off better. But then, who says a plumber would care either?

The newest, and probably first, true cheerleading movie.

Delivers the oft-trod subject of boys' sexuality with intelligence and freshness.

Really a vehicle for Dunst, which would be fine if only the vehicle were more inspired.

Plods and frustrates, but forgivably, it is a deeply felt picture.

Taking the film as a thriller, it's neither exciting nor scary, hampered by a middle that plays much too long.

For all its superfluous and self-conscious moments, the picture is a draining kick.

It's a fascinating look into what Spielberg truly loves, but it's not so much a masterpiece as a nice milestone. [2002 re-release]

The film wears out its welcome by the halfway mark, becoming a silly spectacle.

Sometimes funny but mostly stupid film directed by Adam Shankman might have worked had it been made on TV by Norman Lear in the 1970s.

It's an odd, overly long picture, filled with too many pauses but dotted with just enough funky band sequences to keep you interested.

Alas, the movie just isn't bouncy, fresh or funny enough. It's just not blonde enough.

Scooby-Doo is bad. Let's just get that right out of the way. Filled with unclever quips, tired humor, a lazy silliness and bland execution, the picture is a tedious puff of nothing.

The film is weighed down by the decision of director David Atkins to throw too much into the mix. The result is a serious problem of consistency.

You can't help but think how much better this film would be had Woody Allen directed it...How much more acerbic fun would it be to see Judy Davis playing stenographer to a neurotic, writer's-blocked Woody?

Doesn't give off the same happy feel of the Indian arranged-marriage movie "Monsoon Wedding." Rather, it poses hard questions and leaves them unanswered.

Entertaining, well-acted and hopeful about a world in which sexual orientation isn't a big deal, Big Eden is a pretty picture -- it just tends to be a little too perfect and cute for its own good.

A sweet, loopy British comedy filled with good actors and funny moments.

It's almost numbingly sad, but you won't regret watching -- and you'll surely never forget it.

In The Tuxedo, ridiculously, Chan's just a suit. A suit walking Jennifer Love Hewitt's breasts around. Chan deserves better.

An unsteady mixture of treacle and dark comedy that never feels as "dark" as it pretends. Though well-intentioned, it's not terribly compelling.

The best-looking, best-scripted and funniest of Smith's pictures, it's also Smith's sharpest.

It's nice that Demme reveres the Hollywood classic, the French cinema and the glamour of his actors. But nice is all The Truth About Charlie is -- a nice mess.

Crowe understands what's interesting about Nash: He's not a feel-good figure. It's a pity the same can't be said for Howard.

It's still trite and a little too cutesy for its own good. Gay or straight, the cliches remain, but not to a stultifying degree.

Simultaneously modern and yet gorgeously primitive with its budget sets and simple but influential score, this is not just a film re-release but a film event.

Intelligent teens will hate this film, and adults will just be embarrassed.

'N Sync is bouncy, harmless fun. And so is this stupid movie.

Utterly thrilling and enthralling, a commercial film that paces itself wonderfully, never allowing the action or romance to outweigh its story and characters. For mainstream adventure fare, that's quite an accomplishment.

The story sounds horrifying, but the film takes some unfortunate twists and never presents us with a multifaceted character in Paxton. Paxton just doesn't play the nice-but-nuts role with a modicum of terror.

A tough picture to wrap your brain around.

It all makes you realize the importance of the guy who should have played Malkovich's role -- Christopher Walken. He makes films like this bearable.

Though not terrible, and blessed with some nice performances, this Irish-eyes-are-smiling-despite-the-rain-and-nasty-nuns story is Hallmark Hall of Fame material.

Can a film so expertly capture the odious and bitter that it becomes deliciously, disgustingly beautiful? Yes, if that film is 1957's Sweet Smell of Success.

The picture is pinched and predictable. Even with the immensely talented Steve Zahn, an actor who's known to steal scenes and, sometimes, save pictures, the movie is a yawn.

Finding Forrester achieves a distinct success few Hollywood movies can even dream of: It overwhelms and inspires with understatement.

It's too ridiculous, too flatly acted, too action-packed, too, well, fun.

Really, we'd rather just watch a good documentary about the subject. And as the camera flings around, we occasionally forget about what could help the teens and think more about what could help the director: How about a tripod?

Has a few pleasing stylistic flourishes and a potentially Hitchcockian plot, but the writing and rhythm are so off that when the final "shocker" arrives, we have seen it coming or have abandoned caring.

Though moving, Together needed more opera to send us where great music frequently goes -- nearly over the edge.

A flawed fable but an intriguing one nonetheless. It's "Splash" gone existential. How many films can you name like that?

There's more to this movie. Like Pitt at his best, it's pretty, gritty, engrossing and fun.

Little spectacle but much bittersweet sensitivity.

Pablo Berger's subtle satire Torremolinos 73 is almost there. Almost.

A lovely film that requires a leisurely sit to think, Shower is not so much a shower as a bath, and a refreshing one at that.

The best thing about 2 Fast 2 Furious is Tyrese (terrific in Singleton's "Baby Boy"), whose charisma, looks and charm supply the picture with much-needed spark. It's too bad he's stuck in this spotty video game.

An impressive array of themes, stories and sequences.

You have to experience the thing to understand its simultaneous recklessness and care, its humor and sadness in the name of failure, its playful but dismal take on formulaic Hollywood endings.

Though filled with charm and led by three likable characters, the picture spreads its plot points and whimsy so thinly that we can never just relax.

May be the most boring film about forbidden love ever made. Unspectacularly shot on video, terribly scripted, with zombie-like acting that borders on the absurd.

An achievement of accomplished filmmaking and superb acting, L.I.E. puts you in the tough spot of unraveling how you feel about what you've viewed.

This is a beautiful, moving picture about a love affair between two very different Chinese men.

A tepid disappointment that contains one mediocre chase scene and a lot of wasted talent.

So tedious that the experience results in nearly two hours of squirming and cringing.

Takes the typical detective-hunting-a-serial-killer story and twists it into a creepy, enigmatic bit of psychological terror that by its final ambiguous scene leaves you truly chilled.

Good, but, sadly, not good enough. Well-acted, beautifully shot and splendidly costumed, it's superior to the original in its looks, but not as potent or meaningful in its story line.

Terrific musical numbers and interesting premise.

A profoundly anxious picture that from its first frame holds you, clenched, never able to let go, even after its unresolved coda.

This film might've worked better as a comedy.

Too sugary to be funny or offensive or even offensively funny, though any kind of funny would be welcome here.

Understated fun, but not much more.

Funny, irreverent and moving, the unconventional Shrek may mock fairy tales, but in the process, creates its own.

Filled with wonderful performances, especially by Hedaya and Walsh, Blood Simple remains a tight, beautifully ugly, neo-noir classic.

This film disappointingly feels like a sometimes brilliantly acted, often gorgeously filmed re-enactment of the television show "Unsolved Mysteries."

Its cool, glib observations, delivered by good-looking creative people who live like the cast of "Friends" gone cynical, becomes forced and often stupid. The film goes off the track enough to make for an interesting train wreck.

Two-thirds of the way through, it falls apart into TV-movie-of-the-week land, even with the rhapsodic Nastassja Kinski in the lead.

Limps shallowly along.

Quiet, sexual, disturbing, often beautifully melancholic, Rain, as seen through the eyes of a precocious girl, recalls a parental split-up with sobering accuracy. It reminds us why so many teen-agers go through a sullen phase -- and sometimes never shake it off.

With little cohesion and no respect for the editing process, Old School often feels like someone threw film clips on the floor and strung them together willy-nilly.

A movie that drags.

So what will happen? Sadly, some overacting and a bad "And Justice For All"-style speech at the end.

Though exploring, among other things, fallibility, homosexuality, injustice and loss, the picture seems afraid to really make any kind of strong statement, whether political or psychological.

Balancing homage with creativity, the picture is tight, stylishly filmed, clever and, importantly, scary.

A film with almost zero redeeming value.

Never maintains the spark necessary to sustain a feature film.

An erotic mystery of sorts, the film works because it's laconic rather than talky and its actors are all up for the material.

Just pass on K-PAX.

Stays engaging, chiefly, through the textured, ambiguous performances of Spacey, Moore and Dench.

Though the acting in "Sidewalks" is uniformly fine, particularly among the female cast, it's hard to glimpse any meaningful vision, sly insights or cinematic flair.

Waddington's wonderfully textured film is an unforced work of naturalism.

A blending of international film sensibilities -- France meets Hollywood meets Hong Kong -- with a very cool anti-hero protagonist.

An affable, entertaining and poignant experience of the sort not normally afforded by space movies.

An odd, jumbled, beautifully wrought, often confusing work, this animated feature manages to be a compelling, exhilarating experience.

The film is tangled but not chaotic, thoughtful but not terribly deep. Still, it's intimate, entertaining, and most impressive, genuine.

Another Bond film that turns out to be an unspectacular spectacle, at times winking and fun but too often plodding and hackneyed. That said, as usual Brosnan is terrific, walking through dunderhead moments and a tedious plot with grace.

About how women see themselves in terms of bodies, age and careers, but without all the "you go girl" tripe crammed into so many other movies of this ilk.

An unfortunate example of a small picture that feels small.

If you've recently watched that great skateboarding documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys," Grind will play like a soft-pedaled Afterschool Special.

Every once in a while a picture comes along that captures not just love, but romance in all its fear, yearning, fantasy, eroticism and unexpected epiphanies. German filmmaker Tom Tykwer's The Princess and the Warrior is one such film.

It easily is the most beautiful picture released in America so far this year, perhaps one of the most beautiful films ever made.

Marshall does such a good job re-creating the otherworldly energy of a temple of youth that the rest of the picture feels strained and sometimes trite. Nevertheless, parts can be absorbing, reflective and touching.

So often out of control that it becomes absurd and exasperating.

A slow burn. A portrait of the mundane humor and horror of everyday life, it scalds nerves you may have never thought existed. And yet the film is funny, almost hilariously at times.

Quite simply, the "Tomb Raider" series has been flat-out boring, even with the talented and fun Jolie -- who needs to take off those harnesses and get back to real movies. She deserves better.

The clothes are worth it; nothing else is.

An annoying, unclever, unlikable movie.

Aronson's intriguing, complicated and well-filmed documentary will keep you talking for days.

Accuracy and realism are terrific, but if your film becomes boring, and your dialogue isn't smart, then you need to use more poetic license.

A slight, smartly dressed bit of melodrama that thinks it's gritty when it's really a bit of puff.

Though no classic, the concept is a clever one.

Hollow, frequently boring picture.

Funny, dumb, cruel and sick, Girls Will Be Girls is a relentlessly mean picture that will tickle those tired of sweet comedies whether in drag or plainclothes. In short, "Tootsie" it ain't.

A spare, internally emotional movie like One requires something called screen presence. Its two leads have it.

Not just love, but maybe an escape from a wretched world. We're not sure, but that's what makes Heaven so inexplicably, intriguingly soulful, even in its most remote and architectural instances.

Somewhere along the way, Stephen Herek's Rock Star decided to become a dippy, cliche-ridden drama and, worse, an odd indictment of metal music. Joy.

Corky Romano is merely grating. Until he finds a better director than Rob Pritts, Kattan's best bet is to stick with "SNL" impresario Lorne Michaels.

With its eye-popping color, bold personality and snazzy tunes, Chicago is a breathtaking experience.

She (Cho) can tell a joke, mimic, offer commentary, play cute, play ugly and be so hilariously absurd that tears will run down your cheeks.

Not that Chan isn't lovable; he is. But he's making it harder to feel warm and fuzzy about him with films like The Medallion. It's OK to age, but Chan needs to broaden his horizons. He is a trained singer. Where's that musical he's always dreamed of making?

A grating experience from start to finish.

Sometimes complicated, sometimes incredibly simple, the film explicates or fawns over the human condition with occasional charm and poignancy but too often it's just cloying.

All guts, no glory and, worse, bad story.

With understated skill and absolute authenticity, the film builds with enough layers that by its powerful ending, you'll feel as if you have been kicked in the stomach.

Surprisingly bland even within its dubious genre of "chick flick."

Plot, comedy and characterization? It's absolutely anemic.

No matter how many times you've seen it, you marvel at how terrifying, gorgeous and surreal the jungle, the yellow napalm and, finally, the disturbed face of Martin Sheen lying under a swirling fan appear on the large screen. This is indeed, a dream.

Some will hate this film, but there's something delectably junky about it -- like a bright colored candy glistening from a gutter, you just have to look at it.

Daring work of genius.

Westfeldt becomes irritating. That's one of the film's points, but it's made a little too well.

The film moves too slowly and dispassionately to resonate as it should.

Intriguing, containing a truthful kernel of sweetness, rot and brutality that will shock many.

Has many puff-piece moments to it and barely touches the controversy surrounding Tupac's death or that of rival hip-hop impresario Biggie Smalls. But it's engaging nonetheless.

Bad comedy.

Goes overboard in its presentation of supposed reality.

In its own slightly disturbing way, this psychological thriller serves as an absorbing diversion without sapping brain cells -- almost the perfect summer movie for smart people.

Though you get caught up in the criminal element (you really want these people to get away with it), you're also fascinated by who to trust. It's an unusual dance between the awkward and plain that becomes romantic and thrilling -- a subtly impressive feat to say the least.

The performances are uniformly fine, with Perez showing a heavy amount of presence and complexity. It's no wonder the film works best when fixed on his face.

Feels more TV movie-of-the-week than Oscar contender.

Starts out dark, thrilling and inventive, then, regrettably, becomes sappy, mainstream and mundane.

A hilarious, sad and sometimes-inspiring documentary directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, the film is an all-out Tammy valentine -- campy, dramatic and, of course, makeup-smeared. And better than any melodrama you'll see this year.

Understands that extreme feelings bring out weird reactions. Tension and sadness will occasionally be interrupted by humor -- even slapstick.

One of the most wearisome "high adrenaline" movies to come along in a while.

It's an interesting effort (particularly for JFK conspiracy nuts), and Barry's cold-fish act makes the experience worthwhile.

There are many merits to the picture -- it's wonderfully shot and boasts a beautiful performance by Eul-Boom, who acts in gestures of subtle dignity and compassion. But it's questionable how we're to take actor Seung-Ho.

Lacks the perfect timing, luster and true vitality of its predecessors.

A film that merges cocaine, Ivy League, college applications, the Asian American experience, dark comedy and high school drama while maintaining a personal tone and likable lead characters is just too impressive to knock.

For those who've seen the original, no surprises will be unearthed other than an altered story (not for the better) and more gore.

Though the picture has a generic quality, it also has an ingenious amount of anything-goes that's amusing and frequently exciting. You'll laugh out loud, you'll hide your eyes -- but you'll roll them. too. Nevertheless, it's a fun, if blood- and sun-soaked, ride.

It's a heap of contradictions that will leave your head spinning.

Has a curious train-wreck quality to it that keeps you watching and thinking. (Even if you are thinking things like, Why were these lines ever written? When you hear the "turkey" line, your jaw will drop.)

Seems deeply influenced by American film noir, the Western fairy tale (in this case, mermaids) and the works of Alfred Hitchcock in particular.

The "Citizen Kane" of rat movies makes for a terrific overhaul in this wonderfully entertaining and, yes, touching take on that terribly confused man/child named Willard.

Though Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland appears as gritty as they come, it uncommonly has a romantic heart.

A picture so powerfully harrowing, its slight shortcomings are forgettable compared to the entire film's cumulative effect. It's that searing.

Lopez is fine, sometimes quite funny, but she's better playing the take-no-prisoners planner than a goofy, insecure dork.

But with a potentially fascinating study of ethics, of how cheating rich boys become cheating rich men while humble souls do more good in the world, The Emperor's Club doesn't take the audience anywhere smart.

Manages to feel both obvious and oblique: You feel the need to watch it twice but wonder if you would actually be up for it. It moves like a breezy techno-thriller but tangles itself with duplicities and metaphors. You get it, and then you don't get it, and then you wonder if you even care.

Working with a weak script and too lightweight for its freakier moments with Green, the picture never gels. Green's the star, but he really should be in a movie much weirder than this one, a film that can accommodate his humor.

It's a first love story that goes beyond many simplistic notions as to why people fall for one another. If it weren't true, no one would believe it.

It's a remarkable, thoughtful achievement that will make you want to watch it twice. You should.

We're talking mediocre-to-bad. Still, the film has at least two bits that are funnier than anything in many better films and a fair amount of mild amusement in between.

There's something refreshingly and truly girlish about the picture's musings and epiphanies that makes its R rating baffling.

A coming-of-age movie that stands apart from the rest.

It's a shame director Care didn't take more time with his characters, even making the film a bit longer to deepen the connections between them. Still, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is a keen slice of teen angst and peril.

It works for the most part, though some scenes come off contrived or directed without flavor. But thanks to the likable, rough-hewn crew and Forster, the film flows along gruffly and with eloquence.

The film is still a wonderful lark filled with an ingredient most summer blockbusters lack -- likability.

Owning Mahowny may at times feel futile in its colorless, disheartening subject matter, but that's the point -- to see how barren Mahowny's life becomes. Hoffman gives the film relevance.

On paper, it sounds like the start of a good film. Too bad McKee made such a lackluster thing of it. Though the horror comes from an interesting place, it's frequently forced, negating much of the humor and pathos the film attempts to instill.

A movie that will wear you out and make you misty even when you don't want to be. It's a gushy, sometimes-maudlin, often-charming movie that highlights the importance of little things.

Appropriate music, lovely cinematography and stellar performances by both a subtly moving Neill and a likable, barrel-chested super-American Warburton.

There's nothing worse than a sub-par Woody Allen knockoff.

It's merely a by-the-numbers coming-of-age film

A little movie, fine, but a little movie with little in the way of character composition, cinematic panache or intelligent writing.

Almodovar loves the human flesh -- indeed, one of his films is titled "Live Flesh" -- and with the quietly subversive Talk to Her, he utilizes it not just as mere decoration but weaves with it textured themes of powerlessness, love and obsession.

Jas some nice moments, a great soundtrack and some wonderful works by the dark-even-while-light Ricci.

It's something we might mildly enjoy on an airplane (well, not anymore) or on a lazy Sunday TV day when nothing else is on, but in theaters, it's a clunker.

One of the purest instances of indie cinema this year. "Pure" meaning that in every aspect of filmmaking and intent this picture is peerless, so truly real, funny, poignant and sexy that it almost feels like a watershed cinematic moment.

One of the funniest things in Scary Movie 3 is Pamela Anderson. She makes us laugh. And not just at her (though she's game to poke fun at her image) but with her.

Unafraid of walking the fine line between the repellent and the human, Shallow Hal is wickedly funny but heartfelt.

You may strain to recall just what happened an hour after you see it, but there are so many worse things to have to remember in life. It's a relief to focus on something so attractively amusing.

Needing the gristle of its title, the film should have been angrier.

Although amateurish, often poorly acted and containing dialogue and narration that comes off as pretentious and embarrassing, it's worth watching for the environment it envelops you in.

Panic never lets you forget that Donald Sutherland can be one of America's greatest actors.

It's fun, albeit a little messy, under the frequently punchy direction of Peter Berg.

The film strives to be poetic, but it exposes nothing especially moving or relevant. Rather, the engaging leads wander around like actors lost in an ill-fated exercise in subtext.

A disappointing venture. If only it had been more clever, perhaps darker.

This little serio-comedy contains absolutely nothing that warrants big-screen release. It's lit like TV, acted like TV and staged like TV.

A big, loud, sometimes clever, often dumb behemoth of a movie.

It's frustrating and still oddly likable.

Exciting, gory, funny and, like much of anime, a bit cheesy.

Basic essentially is a fun movie, surprise ending and all. To take it too seriously is to miss the point. Travolta is charming, his performance recapturing the old charisma.

A slick disappointment -- though there's much unintentional humor to be enjoyed.

Once you lose yourself in Ruiz's stunning achievement -- a wonderfully acted, beautifully realized vision of Proust -- you'll be enchanted.

Filled with too many issues -- along with young motherhood, street gangs, city life, sex, peer pressure, grief and, oh yes, dancing, which is nearly lost in so many poorly written subplots.

Though stilted and emotionally vacant at times, it's still an entertaining and absorbing experience.

Fails to be resonant and, more important, scary.

With very little dialogue and through what's essentially a gimmick, we come truly to like these guys.

The film isn't so much a demanding character study as it is a lot of pretty parts pushed together.

Judging by the beautiful photography of Salvatore Totino, Howard knows what a Western should look like. But the thrills suggested by the trailers, in which the picture is presented almost like a frightening supernatural horror story, are nowhere to be seen.

So what is the picture saying? With its uneven tone, flat direction (on bad-looking digital video) and varied performances, very little.

Works as pure escapist entertainment, but it's on the cusp of being smarter -- making it all the more frustrating.

So action-packed from start to finish that the final result is grating rather than thrilling.

There are movies that are made for the big screen, and movies that are made for the small screen; Passionada is the latter type.

A tiresome, hammy and ultimately annoying portrait of the artist as a young drunk.

Scattered and silly. If it evokes any strong feelings from you, it will probably be hunger -- the food all looks so good.

Amusing, funny (intentionally and unintentionally -- it's dubbed, so many lines come out ludicrous) and, by the ending, exciting.

This is a movie where you can just sit back and revel in it, warts and all.

With a less popcorn-friendly cast and some cheesy special effects, this is a surprisingly engaging, sometimes foolish but often roughly intelligent film.

It is off-putting at first, then refreshing, then downright touching. In short, it works.

If you simply love Vogue magazine, you'll love 8 Women just as much as the cinematically educated. This breezy entertainment often feels like an exquisitely photographed fashion layout come to life.

Stinky, boring, aggressively unfunny picture.

Has two other notable things going for it: the brilliant Christopher Walken and a soundtrack packed with songs by the drippy power ballad band Bad Company.

Watching Rocks shows, we know he's sharper than the average actor. But watching him flail and play funny in movies that aren't as smart as him is simply depressing. Someone give this man a good role. And please, let him do a few more takes -- these scenes can't be his best efforts.

Groove seems to be less about what it is chronicling than what its attempting to decipher.

Suffers from poor comic timing and defective romantic pacing.

Short on both life and laughs.

Does at least come bearing two gifts: the rolling beauty of Tuscany and the understated elegance of actress Diane Lane. The rest of the film is fit fodder for the Oxygen Network.

By a certain point The Heart of Me becomes pointlessly depressing and unlikable without offering insight.

A bit of exotic neo-noir, clunky in parts and long, but often engaging and artfully atmospheric as well.

Watching the teachers whip these kids into Wilder recitations is especially intriguing, particularly when their personalities come out during the sometimes-arduous process.

It's creepy, but it's not horrifying. Still, the movie has its distorted, haunting moments that will stick with you, and it's stunning to look at.

You can't just rework a beloved Christmas classic, set it in reverse and expect it to run smoothly.

A funny and sometimes substantial movie that in real life would never have a happy ending.

Manages to be a solid, though not exceptional, heist movie with a good-looking cast and -- maybe -- even better-looking cars.

A witty, frightening, well-acted picture with near-perfect cinematic timing.

An atrocity exhibition from start to finish.

A flimsy film that's too clean and corn pone to be anything near rock 'n' roll.

Compelling and superbly acted.

Written and edited by Sayles, "Casa" is certainly the artist's baby, but he crams too much into a relatively brief running time. Worse, though it should be longer, we're not especially unhappy that it isn't, for being around these women gets tedious.

Works like a funnier "Austin Powers" -- you laugh just enough to want to see the whole thing again.

A family film, but it's a wonder if kids will really enjoy it. The picture is geared for older folks, people who'll be heartened by the message that sometimes, you can return to your passions.

America's favorite romantic comedian is miscast in Kate & Leopold -- a disappointment with the warm and charming Jackman around.

The film isn't terrible, it's just trying too hard.

The dialogue is clipped and theatrical, and, aside from Harvey Keitel's German officer, accents are abandoned, which may distract viewers. For me it worked fine.

Simply something you don't want to touch.

This is not a movie about actors. It's a movie about racing, chasing, chicks and adrenaline -- just what many theatergoers are dying for in a summer dominated by a sweet ogre and a dumbed-down historical tragedy.

Maybe if the story weren't so ludicrous we'd care. Or maybe if the film just went overboard with its ludicrousness, we'd be entertained, but Don't Say a Word is merely boring.

It's a stylish work, seeping with brilliant animation and potentially interesting characters that didn't need so much time to establish themselves. It's worthwhile, but it's a good thing there's a television show to refer to.

You get to know each person just well enough to compare them, allowing you to judge as you like; the film, nicely, refrains from moralizing.

Gallo makes some fatal mistakes in his direction. As Griffin talks, he adds sound effects that are distracting and annoying. It's actually an insult to the comic -- as if his jokes aren't clever enough on their own.

Ledes shows promise, but truly, this would have been better left to Todd Haynes.

One of the most aggressively ambiguous pictures of the year. There is a certain power to that.

A picture that could have bordered on classy screwball if written wittier, acted sexier and filmed shinier.

It's classic movie manipulation gone amok.

A lazy, trite comedy that's made by people who don't care either.

It's Zahn who truly conveys what Marshall and Barrymore are going for -- laughing through your tears.

Singleton just may be challenging us to laugh at the film or with it and then feel extremely uneasy for doing so. If so, that's admirable; if not, he's made a very strange soap opera.

Compare it with the book, and it stinks. Look at the film on its own, and it still stinks.

If not for the race sequences and the intriguing presence of Caviezel, who made this film before "The Passion of the Christ" and who one hopes will take on even more roles befitting his peculiar sad-eyed charisma, the film would amount to a well-intentioned snooze.

The Young Unknowns flails about, sometimes realistically, but the cumulative effect is "so what?" These characters may be young and unknown, but they feel old and in the way.

Effectively thrilling.

Chris Koch exhibits little flair for comedic direction and, though this isn't saying much, you'd be better served watching his previous film, "Snow Day." Ouch.

Maybe if you're younger than 10 you'll be scared or thrilled by this film. Otherwise, be prepared for one of the most unexciting pictures this summer.

Blue Crush, which might appear exciting in an "Endless Summer"/"Where the Boys Are" kind of way, actually is really boring.

Frustrating, tedious and yet often compelling.

Has its cheesy moments but it's bolstered by interesting performances and a final scene not typical of a mainstream movie. Though no "Fatal Attraction," Unfaithful nevertheless is an interesting and worthy film.

Garners only a few chuckles, becoming, even in its short running time, boring.

Poor special effects, a silly looking werewolf and clunky comic writing help to spoil what should have been a fun B-movie.

Rich in detail, gorgeously shot and beautifully acted, Les Destinees is, in its quiet, epic way, daring, inventive and refreshingly unusual.

Eventually becomes tedious.

Builds into a moment of such gorgeous rocking that you truly lose yourself in some musical otherworld you never dreamed you'd reach in current films.

Nothing near a modern vampire classic. Still, "Queen" is a great dose of vamp camp

Bullock maintains a luster and comic naturalness that most actresses couldn't pull off in such mediocrity.

It's not an art film. The movie is as mainstream as it gets -- which is just fine; the picture is both great fun and gently satirical.

The film seems to resonate even for people who aren't Jewish or gay, as there are so many people touched by homosexuality and religion.

Though it's enjoyable, you can't help but feel the squandered situations and talent, flattened by mediocre writing and direction. Scoff if you will, but the gifted Sandler and his audience deserve better.

Jinxed itself into being nothing but an inane popcorn flick pretending to be edgy.

Gives just enough to forgive any of its initial flaws and eventually grows on you.

So strained in its "charm" and "pluck" that you grow weary by minute 15, hoping that the teens whose lives it depicts will stop being so darn peppy or sweetly confused or irritatingly dramatic.

It is aided both by fine performances by Auteuil, Aumont and Depardieu and by wonderful pacing.

It's not afraid to be funny, tragic and decidedly female.

If ever a film was fit only for straight-to-video release, it's this one.

While breezy and fun, the film is also flimsy and sloppy in style and content.