Ruthe Stein

This is familiar territory for writer-director Nancy Meyers, Hollywood's queen of the chick flick. Her latest has charming moments and a hopeful message for despondent singles, but it lacks the emotional resonance of Meyers' "Something's Gotta Give" and the zaniness of "What Women Want."

Sitting through Diggers is so tedious that you might find yourself envying the clam diggers. At least they get to be outdoors.

Distressingly predictable and not a tad scary. But as a parody of the genre, it's a scream, like the "Scream'' franchise, only funnier. It's as if all the ingredients for a thriller coagulated into Silly Putty.

Riveting.

Immediately has you in its thrall and doesn't let go -- a reminder of how powerful and moving cinema set in wartime can be when all the elements align.

Although based on a fictional story, it has the feel of truth and is a vivid reminder of the hell Mexicans put themselves through to live in the United States, even illegally.

Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard are incredibly compelling and hold your attention despite Jordan's deliberately slow pacing.

Both actors are so appealing, you root for the inevitable meeting to happen somewhere in the vicinity of Wonderland.

An eerily affecting domestic drama combining elements of "The Lost Weekend'' with "Lost Highway.''

Unfortunately, Hotel de Love also has all the originality of an all-purpose valentine. First- time filmmaker Craig Rosenberg appears to have seen every relationship movie ever made. To his credit, he borrowed only from the best.

A Western short on dialogue and long on pomposity, is little more than an extended chase scene down a snow-filled mountaintop to a desert floor.

Although The Reaping' borrows elements from classics of the genre -- rips them off might be more accurate -- it fails to build the psychological tension that made them so creepily good.

In the riveting Transsiberian, a train of that name adds international intrigue to the mix.

Hits a bulls-eye.

Revelatory as well as unsettling.

Exactly what the title implies: mindless.

Perversely fascinating.

Mate swapping is so '70s. But Alan Rudolph, who wrote and directed Afterglow, avoids making it seem dated by presenting the menage a quatre as accidental.

A lame pastiche of Hollywood romances.

While the documentary does a credible job of pointing out the magnitude of the problem, it skirts the issue of what can be done about it and by whom.

Woody Allen's strongest and most mordantly funny movie in years, even if it is also his bleakest.

It grabs you from a symbolic opening scene of gang members rolling the dice -- the odds, it soon becomes clear, are stacked against them getting lucky -- and never lets go.

A film that must be seen to understand the sad truths of our times. It's been made with a sensitivity and creativity that's come to exemplify Winterbottom's work.

Doesn't poke fun at anyone's beliefs.

The producers have stated that they're going after an American market that supports Spanish-language TV networks, radio stations and newspapers. This niche audience may well respond to not being required to read subtitles, for once, in a movie geared to them.

A pretty ugly movie in its own right.

A very human story.

A compelling, tightly made political thriller.

The Last Kiss ponders what you give up -- and what you gain -- from sticking with what you've got.

Mitchell may be another Russ Meyer -- a dubious honor -- but he's no Tony Kushner.

Raises the bar for movies geared to teens.

An emotionally satisfying example of a genre whose sketchiness can be off-putting.

Two guys panting over the same babe leads to tedium, despite a near-record number of overheated sex scenes.

Insightful but unfocused.

The directors pull off this faux documentary.

Richly satisfying entertainment the way movies are at their best, when they prod you to think.

A sharp-witted satire of celebrity journalism.

Gut-wrenching.

A Christian-themed film about redemption with almost no redeeming qualities as entertainment.

The prologue sets a simpleton tone that, distressingly, continues throughout.

An old-fashioned and occasionally schmaltzy movie that delivers an emotional wallop

An overwrought and ultimately silly thriller.

A noble try that disappoints.

Boy A will rivet you while raising issues about forgiveness and just who deserves it.

Played by likable newcomer Jamie Sives, who resembles Colin Farrell without the scowl, Wilbur grows on you the same way this offbeat movie does.

Deliriously charming.

A little picture -- the names of the entire cast would fit on half a sheet of paper -- but it’s more heartfelt than movies with 50 times the budget.

With words streaming out of their mouths instead of into bubbles, Ethan and his gang of past, present and future lovers sound laughingly unbelievable. They're on the road to inanity.

Showing the intricate dynamics of family relationships is something Mira Nair does as well as any director working today.

The truly shocking thing about the new version is that it's not bloody awful.

High-gloss trash but compulsively watchable.

Schizo offers not just the proverbial window into village life in Kazakhstan, but a panoramic view.

Known for his visual images, Jordan outdoes himself in "Breakfast,'' a feast for the eyes.

The movie is a stunner, so hypnotic that the length hardly matters.

Though overly long and difficult to digest, it's a feast you won't want to miss.

Worth seeing just to admire how Argentine writer-director Marcos Carnevale avoids so much as a whiff of condescension.

The least appealing of the trilogy.

Noirish thrillers live or die by their plot twists and dialogue -- talk literally being cheap compared to action shots. Unfortunately, the script by first-time filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson fails on both counts.