Marrit Ingman

This is the kind of scrappy Seventies-throwback B-movie that fits the bill when you desperately need to see regular-seeming, occasionally inept people rise up against our corrupt criminal oppressors and cudgel them with pool cues and bits of blasted-off brick.

A twist ending in search of its movie.

Eighteen short films by an international who's-who of filmmakers make up this omnibus celebrating the joys and sorrows of love and Paris, organized by neighborhood.

While viewers who expect a conventional suspense film may be disappointed in Lantana overall, it does succeed on a smaller, more intimate scale.

A holiday film Joe Lieberman could love, unembarrassed by its wholesome, sugary pro-family message.

Jacquet's penguins are as absorbing and incredible as any man-made phantasmagoria you'll find in the multiplex this summer, and it's all real.

The script is really the heart of the problem.

It's a good bet for youth audiences (the PG-13 rating is for one instance of language) and finds plenty of thought-provoking subject matter courtside.

The film is a sure winner for arthouse audiences enamored of the new Argentine cinema, but it has crossover appeal for venturesome viewers in search of a good mystery, as well.

The filmmakers assume familiarity with the show's documentary premise and in-jokes (e.g., deputy Garant giving all his commands in French), which will make the movie even less accessible to novices.

The movie itself offers few real answers to the problems teachers face.

Yaar has enough heart to redeem its cruder moments, and it turns out to be quite a little charmer.

There's nothing terribly wrong with Kate & Leopold -- it's just an awfully conventional upmarket romantic comedy.

This is Iranian cinema at its most accessible: a bit slow even in its 92 minutes, with more environment than story, but deeply immersive and thought-provoking, and quite often funny.

When it's on, it's really, really on. But when it's not, it feels like it's struggling to find its style, just as Jerome is.

Old Joy is an accurately observed slice of that moment between postadolescence and parenthood, when friends cling or scatter, and circumstances force buried feelings to the fore.

Cody Banks would probably be appropriate for the 13-and-older crowd, but it’s far too dopey for teenage sophisticates.

This moody Hong Kong thriller puts a stylish new spin on the old "Hands of Orlac" horror motif.

The characters all feel like concoctions, like synthetic movie people forged in a crucible of Red Bull during late-night meetings at the studio compound.

It is an observant and effective study in character and setting, suitably grave and distinctively realized.

This first dramatic feature by documentarian Evans is an important film but not necessarily a successful one.

She's funny, she's feisty, she's a flabulous, fat-positive “fag hag,” and Margaret Cho isn't apologizing for any of it.

The result is total immersion in the moment of the music, sure to send jazz fans over the moon.

The film is sufficiently methodical and well-researched to walk the walk behind its controversial premise. More to the point, it's terribly involving, intriguing enough to hook documentary-shy viewers.

A sterling example of what Hollywood can accomplish when it puts its trust into an offbeat project whose creative team has a different perspective on American life.

A bright, amiable chronicle of the vivid lives of the women of Juchitán.

Surprisingly fresh and charming overall.

It manages to be a watchable, even enjoyable movie about and for girls, and in our world of candy-coated sparkly pink c---, that's a rare and commendable thing.

The film is often quietly humorous.

The movie isn't perfect – Spielberg-slick, its power is sometimes dampened by melodrama that overstates its message – but it is compelling and thought-provoking and topical as hell.

97% of the movie will make you need a shower. Possibly two.

Before the cocaine economy, Miami was a sleepy seaside hamlet, a "virgin city" with a permeable border and largely unprotected coastline.

It's the most honest, refreshing comedy about love – gay, straight, or both – I've seen in many moons, and at the end everyone's problems are solved by a country-western dance battle with drag doyenne Jackie Beat on the mic.

Honest and unflinching, Daughter From Danang isn't always pleasant to watch, but it is powerful and memorable.

This spook story is a surprisingly mediocre Hollywood debut for Hong Kong's Pang brothers.

The movie doesn’t stand in judgment of its characters, which will probably disappoint audiences who think it ought to, but its breezy tone and ultimately affirming message should please comedy fans with an appreciation for the offbeat.

Critic-proof moviemaking, a candy pink wish-fulfillment fantasy prominently peppered with pubescent pop platters.

Like a lot of animated fare, it's overly busy, lacking the comic's gentle, contemplative air.

This is one of those rare movies about children but not necessarily for them, and it treats its adolescent subjects with bravery and compassion.

A couple of the cinemaniacs are less defined than others, but the portrait that emerges is a detailed composite of life on the fringe.

Ultimately the film manages a warm, offbeat appeal despite its flaws, and it has real heart.

A frenetic affair, busy and silly enough to make family froth like "The Princess Diaries" look like Grand Illusion.

Never really sure what to say about its subject.

Worth a look.

A Tail of Two Kitties couldn't care less about its human principals, and all it wants its animals to do is air-guitar to "Cat Scratch Fever" and wear silly sunglasses.

Here's an interesting surprise: Dour, dry Duchovny's directorial debut is more weepy than creepy.

This is joyful filmmaking, imbued with an infectious, giddy enthusiasm.

For older and more reflective viewers, it’s a quirky, fresh slice-of-life more inviting than a tater-tot pyramid.

It's such high sports drama you'd swear this documentary is fiction.

Never really quite great, it's still a good enough diversion for the family and should please adult fans of racing.

Stuck somewhere between melodrama and the flat tone of an "issues"-oriented television miniseries.