Lou Lumenick

On several levels, this film is a real-life horror story that puts most Hollywood movies to shame.

Classic shipboard romantic dramedy involving a condemned prisoner (William Powell) who hooks up with a dying woman (Kay Francis). Excellent support by Frank McHugh and Aline MacMahon as a pair of con artists. [31 Jan 2010, p.6]

Unusual and utterly disarming documentary.

Its portrait of adolescence seems so authentic that it puts most Hollywood products to shame.

What is Inland Empire - which Lynch is understandably distributing himself - about? What is it trying to say? If you figure that out, let me know.

South African director Gavin Hood (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine’’) pulls off some really tricky tonal shifts.

As someone who has never completed a crossword puzzle, I was surprised how engaged I was by Wordplay.

The plot contortions that very slowly unfold under Michael Radford's arthritic direction in Flawless are not much more entertaining.

Catnip for the art-house crowd.

More than a few will agree with the penguins, who netted the film a PG rating with the utterance, "Well, this sucks."

Despite pitch-perfect performances, the craft of Moretti's direction and his honorable intentions, The Son's Room was not especially moving.

A dull, by-the-numbers psych-ward horror thriller that's sadly a lot closer in quality to "Sucker Punch" than "Shutter Island."

This flick is fast and ferocious, his (Sidney Lumet) sharpest and best since "Prince of the City" (1980) - and surely one of the year's finest.

Overall, the film is not quite up to "Aladdin" and "The Little Mermaid" from the same directing team of Ron Clements and John Musker, not to mention the recent string of masterpieces from Pixar.

Dark, morbidly funny and quite violent movie, which plays with audience members' heads in ways many people will find quite disturbing.

A challenging experimental film that will never play in a commercial movie theater and is settling in for a two-week run at the ever-venturesome Film Forum.

An absorbing documentary.

An excruciating indie knockoff of "Training Day."

The action is brutal, bloody and virtually nonstop in this adrenaline-packed riff on "Assault on Precinct 13.''

Mostly, the gorgeously shot Queen and Country depicts Bill and his more rebellious mate Percy pursuing beautiful women with varying degrees of success — and pulling pranks on their exasperated superiors, hilariously portrayed by David Thewlis and Richard E. Grant.

Based on the many delightful samples on the soundtrack, it's an exemplary goal.

Anything following that spectacular sequence is bound to be something of a letdown - especially when it ends up playing like standard-issue Hollywood melodrama.

This satisfying adaptation of a popular novel is mostly an artistic reflection on youthful loss of innocence.

Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan are superb as the couple, who use the occasion to drop bombs on each other.

An exquisitely crafted Civil War epic that combines the epic romantic sweep of "Gone With the Wind" with a more intimate voice that speaks eloquently to the war-weary nation of today.

Me and Orson Welles is, in effect, a sequel to Tim Robbins' star-filled, self-important film about "Cradle," but it's far lighter on its feet.

Like Roald Dahl's book, Tim Burton's splendidly imaginative and visually stunning - and often very dark and creepy - new version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is squarely aimed more at children than their parents.

To his credit, Blitz throws in an unexpected twist that delivers a more ambivalent ending than your typical sports movie.

Depicts the bleak suburban milieu in a manner that avoids exploitation.

Doesn't shy from the ugly side, though it's far from the no-holds-barred exposé being touted in the ads.

Expertly directed, acted and written crowd-pleaser.

Well worth seeing for Walters, whose comic and dramatic gifts are showcased to very entertaining effect.

It's also a terrific, career-capping role for Eastwood, who claims he's now retired as an actor. He shows off his comic chops more fully than in any film since "Bronco Billy" more than a quarter-century ago.

Way too long, too convoluted and too peppered with title cards...Even so, it's hard to dislike Don Roos' "Magnolia"-inspired triptych of interconnected comic tales about lies, sex and video.

Cars leaves the animated competition in the dust, even if it is a tad slower and more predictable than Pixar at full throttle.

The kind of stand-up-and-cheer movie Hollywood is supposed to have forgotten how to make.

The film also wastes the coiled intensity of Jeremy Renner, as the newest member of the IMF team with a none-too-compelling past. Bird does keep audiences guessing whether Renner is the only leading actor in Hollywood who's even shorter than Cruise.

Has its sluggish stretches, but the superb level of acting is more than ample compensation.

Contains large helpings of Hollywood schmaltz, stereotype and clich‚, but it's also pretty impossible to resist.

Moving at a leisurely pace, Cavalacade is primarily of historical interest for everyone except Coward completists and hard-core Anglophiles.

One of the season's most delightful surprises.

This lavish coffee-table-book of a movie gradually reveals itself as an uninvolving, crashing bore.

A calculating crowd-pleaser aimed squarely at the under-25 crowd, who can feel free to add a star or two to my rating.

This is a beautifully acted chamber piece --especially by the magnificent Blake, who is married to Norris in real life.

Now that this technically impressive - but seriously flawed and self-referential - remake is finally in theaters to swell the July 4 weekend box office, conversation will doubtless shift to the lamest ending yet to a Steven Spielberg movie.

You'll have to look elsewhere than this love letter to the Great White Way to explain why "Wicked" and "Avenue Q" became huge hits, and why "Caroline, or Change" joined "Taboo" as a costly flop.

Arguably the year's most entertaining art-house film.

A long, tedious and often unintentionally hilarious adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s sci-fi follow-up.

This small gem takes a basically optimistic view about the struggles that generations of immigrants have endured.

Paved with such good intentions and talent that it's sad to report this lavishly mounted gangster epic - the most serious-minded Hollywood film of the season - doesn't come close to living up to expectations.

A delightful "That's Entertainment" for the theater.

For all of Affleck's skill, he can't entirely put over a credulity-straining ending that probably worked better on the printed page. At the same time, the deeply disturbing windup of "Gone Baby Gone" is a real talker. And that's not something you can say about many movies these days.

One of the summer’s most entertaining and provocative movies.

Captain Fantastic isn’t only one of the year’s best movies, but one of the best cast and best acted, right down to the smaller roles.

Linklater ambitiously shot his new effort over a period of 12 years with the same cast, showcasing what turns out to be an astonishing performance by newcomer Ellar Coltrane, who grows up from 6 to 18 before our eyes over the course of 164 minutes.

Kane was nicknamed "Killer" because of his playing style -- and New York Doll has a killer surprise ending that may leave even hard-core punkers reaching for the Kleenex.

Still Mine eschews schmaltz, and is tremendously moving.

A more nuanced picture of the only president to resign from office emerges in Penny Lane’s clever documentary.

DiCaprio may well receive a Best Actor Oscar for his tour de force as the conflicted FBI director -- greatly abetted by Hammer (who played the Winklevoss twins in "The Social Network'') in his first major role as the flamboyant but frustrated Tolson.

If you go with the flow, there's seductive imagery and a terrific performance by John Malkovich as a decadent baron.

A remarkable accomplishment, an absorbing documentary about the joy of reading that's also a positively gripping literary mystery.

Lee hasn't given an interview in 45 years, and even her 99-year-old sister (still practicing as a lawyer) only hazards a guess in Mary Murphy's old-school documentary: Her younger sister had nothing to prove, and nowhere to go but down after her astonishing debut novel.

Delightfully unpredictable, hilarious comedy with wonderful performances that tug at your heart in ways that utterly transcend gender labels.

A thrilling, beautifully crafted, fact-based horse story that's not merely the summer's finest movie, but may well be the one to catch come Academy Awards time.

Thornton lends gravity, focus and humor that are otherwise in short supply in this serious-minded but meandering, talky and action-deficient epic.

Utterly delightful.

It’s an absorbing documentary that eloquently explores questions about forgiveness.

The Zipper is a carnival ride, a tumbling cage whose screaming customers are spun around like a Ferris wheel.

Bryan Singer's super, soulful and very expensive new resurrection of the venerable big-screen franchise, ups the ante with must-see results.

Especially worthwhile for the chemistry between Bell and Myles.

About the only question not answered by Good Hair is whether Michelle Obama wears a hair extension (most come from religious ceremonies in India) or straightens her hair.

A shallow, stilted romantic thriller.

The kind of lush, epic romantic weepie that Hollywood used to deliver on a regular basis for packed matinees at Radio City Music Hall.

Beautifully photographed over the four seasons - including Christmas, for the park's century-old bird census - Birders: The Central Park Effect is full of grace notes.

ParaNorman is probably the year's most visually dazzling movie so far, and the stunning climax centering on an 11-year-old witch (Jodelle Ferland) is too good to spoil.

A muscular, endlessly twisty homage to film noir capers like "The Asphalt Jungle."

Williams, who was elected president of ASCAP in 2009, speaks frankly and eloquently about his problems dealing with fame, and his recovery. And more important, he earns our thanks by resolutely refusing to let Kessler turn this into a clichéd documentary.

Director Roland Suso Richter maintains tension for 2 1/2 hours, even though the resolution is almost surreal.

What really makes Hail, Caesar! sing are the Coens’ painstaking period simulations of scenes from five films,including not only “Hail, Caesar!” but a synchronized swimming routine a la Busby Berkeley and a corny musical Western.

The only darkness here — besides the dingy-looking images dimmed by 3-D glasses — is the murky plot, which is as silly as it is arbitrary.

Starts out a lot like an expensive-looking episode of "CSI" before morphing into a solidly entertaining time-traveling romance.

It succeeds mostly thanks to stellar work by the wonderful Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who capably handles the dramatic heavy lifting, and Seth Rogen, who delivers big laughs as his raunchy bud.

It's an enjoyable, well-acted, old-school geekfest pitting a group of middle-school students against an escaped monster from outer space.

You'll either be screaming with laughter - or be incredibly offended.

Writer-director Will Gluck has written a stiletto-sharp, zinger-filled script that recalls "Mean Girls" as well as the films of John Hughes, which are sampled to amusing effect in a clever clip montage.

Brad Anderson's Transsiberian is a genuine sleeper that jump-starts an almost extinct genre.

Best remembered as the most flamboyant of TV's original "Hollywood Squares" - which is really saying something on a panel that included Paul Lynde.

Qualifies as perfect family entertainment.

Schmaltzy and endless.

It's an exciting, charming and often quite funny family film.

Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel do some of the best work of their careers playing longtime friends navigating their twilight years in Paolo Sorrentino’s witty, wise and swooningly beautiful dramatic comedy Youth.