Peter Hartlaub

It's that constant weirdness, coupled with Nicolas Cage's best performance in pretty much forever, that makes this depraved, sexually charged, over-the-top drama so much fun to watch.

This is an extremely violent movie, with one long gory scene that's particularly hard to stomach. The great majority of Triad Election is about political maneuvering, but when the conversations end, the blood flows mightily.

The soul of the film is the relationship between mountain-obsessed Mallory and his wife, Ruth, who corresponded in beautifully written letters brought to life by Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson.

André Øvredal's dry horror-comedy Trollhunter is successful on multiple levels, with a brisk pace, excellent location work and a strong lead performance by Norwegian comedian Otto Jespersen.

It's difficult to remember a recent movie that soared so high, before plummeting with a series of bad story choices. But the end result is still a strong piece of cinema, a failure only if you dwell on what might have been.

The result is an unconventional and layered portrait of a complicated talent.

Best of all, the laughs often arrive in small moments, not in the obvious ones.

The film has a little too much of the "new adventures" feel, but it's still fun.

The master is back, and there's no shortage of exploding brain matter -- or fun -- to be had in the theaters this weekend.

In a genre where too many films are all brawn and no brain, Fighting is a contender.

A well-paced and entertaining horror debut.

Along with the awkward romantic exchanges that always seem to find their way into Smith's movies, there's also a sweetness that you don't often see in films that average multiple f-words per minute.

The Chuck Wepner story is a compelling one — and the performances ensure its place as a sports movie contender.

Assuming you can appreciate the high level of gore and assorted sadistic weirdness, the action is satisfying.

A welcome throwback to family-friendly PG moviemaking.

Byrne is the furthest thing from being a manipulative filmmaker. But Raising Bertie is moving nonetheless.

Whatever the numbers and whatever the broader entertainment trends, The Wall proves it’s good when big directors have the flexibility to make small projects.

Peralta uses the creative liberties of fiction to focus on the one thing he couldn't convey in his historical record -- the sense of tribalism among skateboarders, who live by a code that most law-abiding citizens misunderstand for hooliganism.

Half of one song is performed with a speck of saliva on the camera. More casual fans will twist in their chairs uncomfortably, wishing that a roadie would walk up and wipe it off. Neil Young die-hards will cherish the spittle.

Helm gets huge bonus points for noticing everything that's annoying about modern children's films and including none of those things in his movie.

Armstrong acted like a demon, but it becomes clear there were very, very few angels associated with the sport in the 1990s and early 2000s.

There are several excellent performances, including Wayne Hapi as Potini’s hardened brother. But Curtis is the most memorable part of The Dark Horse.

A meditative state of a movie. While shorter-attention-spanned moviegoers should stick to "The Fighter," this is an interesting and enjoyable entry on the opposite side of the genre.

Comic gold for anyone who is currently stoned, has been stoned in the past or spends a lot of time around stoned people.

As much as anything we’ve seen in recent years, the film is confirmation that artists, not paranoid executives, continue to make the big calls at Disney. And as long as that continues, a few glitches in the plot won’t ruin anyone’s good time.

Taking your very small child to this movie is only a slightly better idea than a trip to "The Final Destination." With that warning out of the way, this action adventure is a big treat for more mature animation and science-fiction fans and a triumph for the young director.

The best part about the movie is the way it shifts focus, starting as an observation of the animal and then subtly morphing to the point of view of Nénette, who passively experiences a jumble of voices that start to run together.

Eragon may not be a big Oscar contender, but in a movie season filled with blood diamonds, fascist soldiers and Idi Amin, it provides a much-needed afternoon of PG-rated family-friendly adventure.