Michael Nordine

There are few clichés of the genre that Charhon doesn't indulge in, but he does a few of them well enough for the film to occasionally be funny, even if it's never close to inspired.

An extended riff on marital infidelity, this is the rare omnibus film that isn't just a mixed bag -- it very nearly succeeds at being uniformly bad.

Though it takes a long while for the many moving parts to click into place, the final minutes redeem not only a few characters but also Blood Ties itself -- not enough to make up for prior transgressions, perhaps, but enough to leave a favorable last impression.

Too by-the-numbers for the emotional impact to resonate as long as it could and should have.

The film is frequently amusing but indulges too often in flights of fancy.

The Den's commitment to its presentational conceit leads to a number of implausible scenarios, but what's more disheartening is the gore-fest it turns into once the curtain is thrown back on the mystery propelling both Elizabeth and the narrative.

Denis Villeneuve's shared dream of a film takes the simple premise of a man glimpsing his doppelganger while watching a movie and mines every bit of tension and oddity from it — there's hardly a scene that doesn't exude menace.

Like a feature-length Saturday morning cartoon with dashes of violence so graphic you'd swear you'd just stepped into Ralph Bakshi's Wizards. Which isn't to say that Goliath is good so much as compellingly weird on occasion.

The gradual revelation that there's more to Daisy than meets the eye is no great surprise, but it does at least negate — too late! — some of the more troubling subtext.

A self-aware, borderline self-reflexive action-comedy from the Netherlands, Arne Toonen's Black Out is derivative in a way that undermines its wry sense of self.

So far removed from any original signal — there are several direct references to Titanic, so it's timely, too — this nuance-free affair registers as little more than noise.

Farmiga and Garcia give it their all, and their chemistry keeps certain scenes afloat.

Enemies Closer captures the feel of action flicks of yore -- unsurprising, given that some of them were directed by Hyams himself -- in a way that only limited-release and straight-to-video titles seem allowed to these days (aside from the latest Riddick, that is).

Schlesinger seems in such a rush to guide us to the end unscathed that she sometimes loses sight of the small details that make this journey unique.

Has a lived-in, almost documentary-like realism to it, but as drama it's occasionally inert.

The film is content to merely document certain happenings and hope you find them as interesting as it does.

Most of the film's major happenings are either illogical or, much more damningly, not especially thrilling.

Far better as a family drama than as a gangster picture, the film's muddled attempt at marrying the two distracts from its emotional center.

None of these TV-movie trappings does Freedom's topical subject any favors, but they do confirm that those most passionate about something often require some sort of creative filter when making art about it.

Out Loud is too clumsily put together to give its subject the weight it needs to feel both grounded and moving.

Though far from perfect, Toad Road is also the first unique horror film to come along in years.

A Dark Truth is one of those unfortunate projects whose component parts are immediately at odds with one another.

The film avoids most of its genre's pratfalls, though it also shows little interest in transcending them.

That all the good things--and there are several--Red Lights has going for it are ultimately in service of an ending that might even make M. Night Shyamalan cringe represents one of the year's biggest missed opportunities.

The serio-comic technique and ping-ponging aesthetics ultimately make for a winning approach.

It's the kind of movie you'd find in someone's VHS collection, decide to watch based on the box art and title, and end up switching out for "The House of the Devil" instead.

I Wish has a tough time balancing the heartfelt with the saccharine and too often feels slight.

There's something to be said about a two-and-a-half-hour war epic that manages to make each of its countless decapitation scenes feel earned, even called for, in the moment.