Phil Hall

The film is professionally made but a thorough bore at every imaginable level.

It is an entertaining bit of fluff, with a few engaging performances and enough visual panache to keep audiences diverted and amused.

Wilson overstuffs the film with endless artsy shots of nature.

What’s a muscular guy like John Cena doing in a flabby movie like this? This connect-the-dots action-adventure may appeal to undemanding ten-year-old boys but will bore everyone else.

While the screen didn't really need another Carmen, it certainly needs a knockout femme fatale like Diop Gai. Hopefully, Carmen can get a much-needed rest and audiences can get much more of this stunning African icon-in-waiting.

An Inconvenient Truth is something you rarely see in movies today: a blatant intellectual fraud. Shame on all of the people involved in this travesty.

A compelling screenplay, to be certain. But sadly, Omarova's direction is too leisurely to wring any emotional power.

An astonishing mess.

While imperfect, it does provide an intriguing glimpse into a subculture, which many people will be surprised to learn, still exists.

Easily the most surprising comedy of his career. The surprise: it's not funny.

Truly magnificent.

By the end of the 99 minute running time, there is a terrible sense of been-there/done-that. And for artists of the Quays' caliber, that is a huge mistake.

Even if you love all things Yiddish, there is precious little to embrace here.

Rarely has a film been cast with so many gifted performers who are either wrong for their roles or are given nothing to do.

Cantet weaves a dark, disturbing story of hedonism, casual racism and the lethal consequences of self-indulgence in his superb drama Heading South.

A symphony of small gestures, throwaway glances, brief exchanges of unexpected observation and silences which actually say more than pages of dialogue.

Theaters showing Mad Cowgirl should install seatbelts, because audiences are in for the ultimate wild ride.

The ultimate rarity: a sequel that is miles ahead of its predecessor in every imaginable department.

If anything saves Elling, it is the trio of supporting performances that are closer to the real world.

The idea of a gay version of "American Pie" might not seem too tasty, but Another Gay Movie offers a fabulous surprise in not only matching that rude boy classic's unapologetic rude humor but by establishing its own identity as a genuinely funny and often touching coming of age comedy.

A remarkable triumph of documentary filmmaking. It is impossible to walk away from this film without being jolted.

This one deserves to go back in the refrigerator – preferably to the very back of the refrigerator!

Whereas "Cuckoo’s Nest" is a brilliantly over-the-top accomplishment, The Passenger is more brilliant with the most effortless underplaying one can ever hope to witness on screen.

Being released at the same time that Bowie's latest album "Heathen" is being unveiled. Bowie fans who need a reason to celebrate the trajectory of the artist's career can make use of this cinematic Alpha and CD Omega.

Engrossing and brilliantly insightful production.

Thoroughly obnoxious and relentlessly unfunny comedy.

At 100 minutes in running time, Dallas 362 can be called "The Amateur Hour-and-40-Minutes."

A treasure in celebrating remarkable women with a unparalleled zest for life.

While the Raymond Burr sequences and the subsequent clumsy English dubbing of the remaining Japanese footage made the U.S. version an unintentionally funny movie, the complete Japanese version is an unfunny bore.

Although not a great film by any stretch, it is a fascinating slice of a fractious period in American history.

A painfully awful film.

This amazing tour-de-force presents Huppert in a role, which is equal parts abrasive and vulnerable, exasperating and pathetic, monstrous and saintly.

The Stranger may not be at the same level as Citizen Kane, but what is? On its own terms, it is a fine and invigorating experience that deserves to be sought out and enjoyed.

Tiresome, trite and choked with every lousy Dixie-fried stereotype imaginable.

A strangely inert affair. The stories devolve into one-dimensional squabbling and too many loose threads flap around the edges.

Sadly, the whole affair is little more than ennui with a pedigree.

Little more than a travelogue designed to show off the grandeur of the Hermitage, with the silly actors in fancy costumes getting in the way of the paintings and sculptures on display.

This is clearly not a pleasant film to watch on many levels.

More of a hangnail sketch -- no one can come away from this offering with a clue on what makes Wall Street click.

One of the most towering and extraordinary films to grace the screen.

The only obvious question that Oswald’s Ghost raises is: how come Mort Sahl wasn’t in the movie? (If you don’t get that joke, you need to brush up on your Kennedy conspiracy lessons.)

Wooden, one-dimensional epic.

Rich with wonderful music and images.

While I admire Bishop Jakes and I frequently watch his sermons on TV, I have to question his tactic of charging people admission to generate hosannas on his behalf.

Rich with compelling, often heartbreaking stories.

Bubble is among his (Soderbergh) worst films. What in the world was he thinking with this?

There is a wealth of smaller dramatic triumphs of sly gestures, body language working at odds with spoken words, and minor goofiness (such as repeatedly blowing the rim of an opened beer bottle to create a rough whistle) which makes Home more humane (not to mention more human) than the vast majority of today's movies.

Bruno Dumont’s Flanders is something you don't see everyday: a decidedly non-sentimental love story.

For the most part, Fleck doesn't seem particularly intrigued on finding the banjo’s African heritage – the film offers little in the way of historic value in understanding the origin of the instrument.

Kung Fu Hustle is something you rarely encounter in theaters: a genuinely original comedy.

The one lesson learned from watching this film is that Canadians can make movies just as badly as anyone else.

An Italian-British-French-Spanish-Romanian co-production. A better argument against multinational cooperation cannot be imagined.

Has a terrible air of been-there/done-that.

There is some very un-Mormon gender bending going on here.

Writer/director Gary Burns offers a suffocating experience which is too boring to be accepted as a satire, too lame to be accepted as a farce, and too infantile to be accepted as a drama.

Finally receiving a theatrical release 20 years after it was made, Philip Hartman’s “No Picnic” emerges as an entertaining if flawed relic from a very different era.

While the film is admittedly imperfect, it nonetheless deserves to be seen by all Americans to provide a clear understanding of what kind of a country we are currently at war within.

Rare vehicle which gives the Palestinian people (rather than their failed, double-talking leadership) an opportunity to speak freely and openly, and that feat in itself makes this one of the most important documentaries of recent times.

The production values on Dirty are so painfully amateurish that it is often hard to determine what is happening. The cinematography is murky and shaky, the editing is dull and clumsy, and the sound recording isn't exactly pristine. Not that any of this matters when you have a script where every third word is scatological.

If the state government in Massachusetts refuses to acknowledge its execution of innocent men, then at least this compelling and powerful production can serve as a graceful elegy to the doomed men who were murdered by their adopted homeland.

So ham-handed and relentlessly overbaked that it is easy to see why audiences initially stayed away from it. Just when and how did anyone come to see this as a classic?

Among the finest films made in the Middle East. This small, subtle gem offers a vivid portrait of life in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, presenting its message with an intelligence and vibrancy that celebrates the human spirit in an environment where humanity is routinely crushed and assaulted.

A meandering and disappointing documentary about one of Africa's most beloved yet elusive musical giants.

Perhaps it is a shame that no one thought of digitally restoring and theatrically releasing the sex videos that Crane made with the many women he pleasured...that would have been far more entertaining than anything found in Auto Focus.

Quite simply, House of Flying Daggers is a film that sets several new standards for production and entertainment values. It is a wild riot of color, music, passion, action, mystery, pure old-fashioned thrills and even dancing.

The result is a mature, graceful and extraordinary accomplishment.

If Stalin's Wife doesn't provide solid answers, it nonetheless offers a fascinating tapestry of love, madness, politics, suspicions and jealousies.

Yiddish Theater: A Love Story is a slight but moving documentary focusing on the final performances given by Zypora Spaisman, the Polish-born star of New York’s Yiddish theater.

Jaglom has the good sense to cast the legendary Lee Grant in an extraordinary role.

Emily Blunt’s Victoria and Rupert Friend’s Albert come across like museum mannequins – utterly devoid of any genuine passion.

A powerful film worthy of a truly extraordinary American.

This is a curious example of taking a hair-raising story and draining the drama from every corner, leaving it a bit flat and ultimately forgettable.

Provocative and poignant.

Something of a surprise: a gay-oriented feature that is genuinely touching and sincere.

Obviously, this is one subject which may not seem to require the attention of documentary filmmakers.

It seems as if every possible cliche and story twist from any seafaring picture of the past 80 years made its way into this flick.

To its credit, the film's costume design is stunning. But unless you have a kimono fetish, there's no reason to pay a good dollar (or a yen, for that matter) on this junk.

Although it runs 78 minutes, it feels like 78 hours.

I would like to praise My Big Fat Independent Movie for achieving something that most independently-produced comedies fail to do: it creates laughs.

This much-ballyhooed gay cowboy melodrama is an inert disappointment.

A small, tacky non-comedy.

Put simply, Mind Game is a mind-blowing experience.

An original and highly memorable comedy, and mention should be made of Ebiri’s work beyond filmmaking: he is also a film critic for New York Magazine, thus giving proof that those who review films for a living can also turn around and make a damn fine movie.

While the images presented here are peerless, James Nachtwey is a fascinating individual and it is a shame we cannot learn more about the man behind these extraordinary images.

A mediocre film that presents the troubled poet Sylvia Plath as a jealous, possessive and irritating woman. It is hard to recall another biopic which is so unflattering to its subject.

By the time the film is over it is not so much a "who-done-it?" but a "why-did-we-sit-through-this?"

A minor and forgettable bore.

It's all a case of been-there, done-that, although the singing is nice. Still, do we really need another movie with thirtysomethings who ache to re-live their college years? C’mon, guys, grow up!

McGrath's new film offers a treat for fans of Dickens and moviegoers who love to see a fairly large cast ham it up with delirious abandon.

The new bad movie from Clint Eastwood which takes Dennis Lehane's best-selling thriller and turns it into an inert mess that clocks in at 137 minutes but feels like 137 hours.

Offers a remarkable tribute to one of the few people who genuinely deserves to be known as a pioneer of filmmaking. In the genre of films about films, In the Mirror of Maya Deren is among the best.

More of a curio than a classic and it takes the strongest of constitutions to endure this film without entertaining notions of matricide

Unless you are severely addicted to Johnny Depp, this film offers very little in the way of genuine entertainment value. Ultimately, “The Brave” should have been renamed “The Foolish.”

To its favor, the film is blessed with strong peformances by Ozgu Namal as Meryem and Murat Han as Cemal.

Ghastly.