Merle Bertrand

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

Draws an unspoken parallel with, of all things, beauty pageants, complete with unnaturally driven kids and nervously supportive parents desperately trying not to appear too pushy.

This white trash "War of the Roses" is a surprisingly engaging film.

An amazingly powerful piece of cinema. Actually, it's more an amazingly powerful piece of news journalism; the kind of in-depth stories told in all their complexity that such fluff American network "news" magazines as "Dateline" could only dream about telling.

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

Haunting and chilling, yet biting black tragi-comedy.

Not only does this film have the coolest title ever, but this bittersweet, multi-layered comparison of life's realities versus life's potential is as compelling as it is deeply resonant.

Secretary, like the type of relationship it explores, is not for everybody. But it does what good films do best; that is to provoke us, push our buttons, make us think and maybe even entertain us in the process.

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.

One of the most wildly original, dryly comical, and smartly structured films ever created.

With his darker secrets hidden away, secrets that could have provided us with the final layers to this influential man, we’re left with an incomplete portrait of Bayard Rustin. But thanks to the documentary “Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin,” we at least have that much. And for a man who’s as important and relatively unknown as Rustin was, an incomplete picture is far better than no picture at all.

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.

Brilliantly scripted and full of a virtual Who's Who of familiar faces, The Big Lebowski is yet another golden hunk of totally unique celluloid from the versatile Brothers Cohen.

Both Democrats and Republicans take it on the chin here, although the left-leaning bias is obvious.

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

An intensely moving and oftentimes haunting film; a compelling look at the unique life paths of three totally different women.

This soothing, elegantly-crafted film is such a marvelous piece of work.

Yes, there is a very palpable lesbian erotic undercurrent pervading this film. However, the reason it's so palpable is because it's so subtly and deftly handled...AND it's only one thread of the film's storyline.

A gripping example of "You Are There," on the spot journalism, even if it is a little slim when it comes to motives and back stories.

When all is said and done, then, the only thing this juvenile and shameless "Star Wars" knock-off does is whet your appetite for the real deal.

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

"We are who we are," is the mantra for this grim urban drama. That human escape velocity can be awfully hard to reach with all those bad influences hanging around.

ZigZag rests heavily on Jones III's sensational turn as the lead character. Capable of drawing empathy without pity from an audience, his ZigZag is the unlikely constant in a world swirling with change and intrigue.

Full of enough legitimate red meat to incense salivating Democrats who can't wait to tear into a pound of Bush's flesh in November. Yet, this film should truly frighten partisans on both sides of the aisle.