Merle Bertrand

Makes for an interesting close-up on an art form whose intricacies could all too easily go unnoticed.

Believe it or not, most of the empathy here is with Wand Jean's legal team. Yes, the lawyers.

Eisenstadt does an excellent job bringing the story of an ambitious young woman setting out to fulfill a dream full circle.

A creepy, if disjointed exploration of the nature of evil. But compared to its predecessor, it's also a bit of a disappointment.

About as exciting as meatloaf.

The best thing about The Slaughter Rule -- is that the film refuses to succumb to the temptation of a glorious Hollywood feel-good happy ending.

By turns infuriating, charming, wistful and annoying, Kwik Stop winds up a touching, if frustrating film.

For the most part, Gerry is a lot of self-indulgent baloney.

While certainly an entertaining and intriguing film, one simply can't get past the notion that we're watching semi-famous actors pretending to be their more famous characters.

Definitely designed to tug on its audience's heartstrings, a task at which it completely succeeds, In America is ultimately a solid, if unspectacular family film.

What starts out as a fairly conventional and effective stalker drama with a cyber-twist, soon gets too cute with its dreams within dreams set pieces and shifting realities. It’s kinda nifty at first, but Kon just keeps piling it on until you just roll your eyes, throw up your hands, and scream, “Enough!”

Madame Sata may be based on real events, but it's certainly not a very pleasant introduction to Rio's bohemian scene, circa 1931. Nor is it a very pleasant movie to endure in its own right.

Hard-headed to the end, the three women in Face prove that if nothing else, stubborness and inflexibilty run in the family.

Ultimately sinks beneath the waves of the Caspian Sea.

Rife with predictability and lacking any originality whatsoever, the lackluster Laurel Canyon demonstrates about as much depth as one of Ian's pop songs.

Though this rude and crude film does deliver a few gut-busting laughs, its digs at modern society are all things we've seen before.

A tedious, snail-paced mess.

About as flat as a five day old soda.

Not enough to hold the audience's interest, especially with such shallow simpletons as these two women in the leads.

Tedious talk-fest.

Solid debut effort from Lisa Cholodenko.

The kind of film that requires a lot of work and patience on behalf of the viewer, not to mention a willingness to set aside prejudices and the fear inherent when we meet people different from us. As such, while you may not necessarily like By Hook or By Crook, you won't forget it, either.

Delightfully goofy.

Botko and Gurland's bleak and caustic comedy gets off to a slow start and struggles to overcome the handicap of having three main characters who are, by design, highly unpleasant individuals.

Takes a while to get rolling, but builds fairly well once it finally does. Part of the problem, no doubt, is Shokrina's decision to have the dialogue rapidly alternate between English and (presumably) Persian, with subtitles. This is a highly disorienting distraction.

A stripped-down, small town "COPS" without the flashy editing and hip-hop soundtrack.

The resulting concoction is a cinematic elixir that disappoints, no matter how much hypnosis one is under.

Good ensemble performances in front of the camera are supported by clever shooting and cutting, which work, not just deftly but unobtrusively so, with and within the readily apparent technical limitations at hand.

With its clumsy storytelling and lack of someone to filter Duvall's gushiness about the subject matter, Assassination Tango winds up shooting itself in its own dancing feet.

A musical feast for eyes and ears alike.

For nothing but pure goofy escapism, A Foreign Affair is at least worth a fling.

For a documentary about drama and all those who love it, director Alexandra Shiva's lukewarm study displays very little of it.

Has just enough quirks and unexpected shocks along the way to keep things interesting.

The kind of film in which you pretty much know that everything is going to turn out all right in the end. That doesn't mean, however, that one won't enjoy watching this warm and fuzzy exercise in escapism in the process.

This has the unmistakable feel of a vanity project about it, which makes it a little tough to take either Dillon or the film seriously.

Makes a good chick flick for guys who want to appear artsy by taking their date to a foreign language film. Just remember: front row...and don't forget the aspirin.

In a sense, Raging Dove serves as an entirely unintentional, I'm sure, metaphor for peace prospects in his homeland.

Initially turns the dour field of psychiatry into an amusing, absurdist romp. Unfortunately, the further the film progresses, the more it relies on silliness and triteness for ever-less frequent laughs.

Director Marc Rosenbush gets the absolute most he can out of his no-budget-friendly, minimalist location and a solid, if unremarkable cast.

Isn't a terrible film. It's not offensive, controversial or even interesting in any way.

What might just be this film's greatest strength is how it shows that no matter how "different" we might appear to be on the outside, what's on the inside is what provides our common bonds.