Paula Nechak

John Cameron Mitchell credits Plato as the inspiration for his rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Now Mitchell has turned his play into a raucous, touching celebration of a film.

Cast and crew have a blast making a family movie that spoofs its James Bond-like premise, is jam-packed with action, sweaty-palm suspense and adventurous, high-tech fun effects, and yet never loses its at-the-core heart and sympathies.

Predictable and surprisingly confusing in its ultimate message.

Though Wood is the star, it's Hutz who is the indelible presence.

Kilner and crew cough up a mish-mash of contrasting tones and tempos and wind up a rather odd, misshapen curiosity that wavers into too many styles to avoid a slow death by overkill.

Maybury's attempt at a more mainstream movie is really just a simple love story cloaked in a lot of metaphysical mumbo-jumbo.

The film is so crisply acted and smartly drawn that you barely notice the cracks in the veneer.

Dedicates itself to the beauty and thrill of bodies and motion and in doing so upstages Altman's cinematic conduit. The medium ultimately surpasses its messenger.

A total guilty pleasure.

An innocuous, hit-and-miss affair.

While young Coppola is a pro with her camera, she'd be wise to brush up on her storytelling skills.

Captures the lovely, heart-and-eye-opening ode to youthful possibility with affection and compassion.

In the end, the comedian makes the movie seem better than it really is.

I scratched my head in wonder as to why this pair of one-dimensional characters couldn't find happiness in such a shallow story.

Has difficulty reaching a resolution. In the final half-hour, the film becomes almost hysterically out of sync with its prior quiet reserve.

More like the kid shows that populate Nickelodeon.

The movie's political and moral points -- and theme about creating family however you can find it -- elevate it above the average kids movie.

Zeffirelli creates a lovely, perfectly composed and lyrical look at life under Mussolini's black-shirted fascist regime. But despite danger on every corner in Italy, there is a tinge of rose-colored sentiment that blurs the events yet lends to the making of an affecting dramatic period piece.

While adults may feel out of their league, there are a few jokes that will appeal to them.

airily works not only because of Witherspoon and a game supporting cast...but because, with its bark-and-bite agenda wrapped in a blanket of laughs, has the sense to remember that, first and foremost, it's entertainment.

Despite his harrowing real-life experiences, Downey, good as he is, is simply too young for the part. This callow telling begs for a more mature approach.

The film ultimately has no contrast and we can't figure out whom to like or dislike.

While Hunt's directing debut is promising, if understated, it's her performance as schoolteacher April Epner that impresses the audience.