Ruthe Stein

A potentially great movie winds up buried inside a just OK one.

When the movie is viewed with fresh eyes, the most captivating feature is this surreal Vegas -- its neon signs askew, as if reconfigured by Andy Warhol, and its preternaturally glistening streets a siren's call to an ever-new batch of suckers.

Superficially entertaining romantic romp.

The filmmakers have wisely turned it into a comedy, and a wickedly entertaining one at that.

Chock-full of holes.

A richly textured and compelling film.

Doesn't have much to say.

Lemmon and MacLaine are magical together, and MacMurray more than holds his own as the third part of the triangle. He commands the office - and, not incidentally, the big screen - with a sexual energy he would scarcely have a chance to show again.

An energetic young cast, consisting of a mix of professional dancers and actors who do convincing imitations of Arthur Murray graduates, is positively inspired in numbers combining traditional ballroom steps with hip-hop.

For all the precision shooting, Autumn is a colossal misfire, a tedious film noir wannabe. It doesn't even qualify as film gris.

This is a very little film with a very large heart.

This is a movie of excesses that doesn't know when to settle down. It aims to be a slapstick comedy, a romantic comedy and a plain old romance but falls short of each goal.

An amusing melodrama.

Totally original yet filled with familiar human frailties, "Everyone" leaps off the screen to become one of those rare movie-going experiences.

That the film finds its own groove is due largely to the eye of director Ernest Dickerson. Not surprisingly, he began his career as a cinematographer, working on Spike Lee’s early films.

It would require a near-lethal injection of nitrous oxide to induce laughter.

The movie is one big in-joke. It's watchable, but eventually wears you down with its over-the-top cleverness.

A disappointing sequel to the far funnier "Diary of a Mad Black Woman."

Harris' impressive channeling of Ludwig is diluted by the decision of screenwriters Stephen Rivele and Christopher Wilkinson to put the copyist front and center, possibly to distinguish their feature from "Immortal Beloved."

The humor is all over the place, veering from light to dark and from broad to subtle -- as if an "I Love Lucy" episode had been retooled by Woody Allen.

It's a serious subject handled with humor -- not the ha-ha kind, but the hard laughter that comes from recognizing parts of yourself in the Perelmans.

Entertaining in a pulpy kind of way, like the fight films of the 1930s and '40s, and more accessible than most of Mamet's movies.

Fascinating and impressively balanced documentary.

May be too convincing for its own good.

A hauntingly lyrical study of sexual awakening.

The attempt to be clever is transparent.

Extremely bleak but occasionally compelling debut feature.

A clever idea, but it's not quite pulled off.

There's a manic quality to the film that may wear you down. But at least you won't be bored.

With the aid of a charmingly offbeat story and a jolly good dialect coach, the stars leave you thinking, well done. Their spirited performances help cover up glaring holes in the plot.

Well-intentioned but lifeless.

Only intermittently funny.

The dreary teen drama Step Up appears to be cobbled together from bits and pieces of successful movies.

McNally adapted his Tony-award winning play for the screen, and for once a movie is an improvement on the stage version.

Accomplishes the near impossible, bringing a fresh perspective to a horrific subject.

A neo-noir thriller long on atmosphere and short on production values.

Bouncy, informative and funny documentary.

Annoyingly simplistic.

Wickedly funny.

The last half is so superior to the first that you wish they'd rethought the whole thing and devised a way to make it more of a one piece.

Dark, disturbing and audaciously original in a way only indies are given license to be anymore, the film never telegraphs where it's heading. But you don't need a pathfinder to sense the general direction is toward hell.

Notes on a Scandal won't be everyone's cup of tea. But if you like your films strong, this one is not to be missed.

I don't claim to have seen every entry from around the world, but it's hard to imagine five better than this deliciously offbeat comedy, as wildly inventive as anything Billy Wilder ever conceived.

It's a broad generality to say that French filmmakers have a particularly perverse sensibility, but it can be backed up by one import after another. The latest, La Moustache, is wonderfully odd in a minimalist kind of way.

The film's ambitions are laudable, and it manages to be touching, funny and true to life. It seems ungrateful to ask for anything more.

The suggestion that Peter O'Toole is playing some version of his real self in Venus adds a bittersweet poignancy to this quietly affecting British drama.

Akeelah and the Bee connects where it counts most, on an emotional level. Only a curmudgeon could watch this feisty but vulnerable youngster rack up victories against all odds without tearing up.

So cleverly constructed that it's easy to be taken in and believe these twins really rocked.

The Astronaut Farmer's goofy quality makes it totally endearing. It's also super entertaining. Critics are fond of referring to movies as a "great ride." With this one, the words couldn't be more apt.

Charmingly offbeat in the vein of early Woody Allen.

Nobody into lush melodramas dripping in sex should miss this pulsating Italian import.

Spending an hour and a half inside a uterus might be more entertaining than this tiresome sequel.

Among the many strengths of the sweetly touching Introducing the Dwights, a small gem from Australia unearthed at the Sundance Film Festival, is that Jean never becomes Godzilla.

Engrossing documentary.

Another romantic comedy about a career woman who has everything except a man, is Jennifer Aniston's attempt to break out of her TV role. But she doesn't have the magic on the big screen to make us forget where she came from.

Imaginative and immensely engrossing film.

Given his built-in appeal, Perry has the opportunity to broaden the subject matter of so-called black movies. He takes a stab at it in "Girls," but he could do so much better.

The offbeat drama The Seagull's Laughter is the kind of movie I appreciate because it never announces where it's headed.

From watching this meandering, stilted movie, anyone unfamiliar with Charles Dickens' novel would be not only disinclined to pick it up but also clueless as to why it's considered great.

By focusing on one family's dilemma, the movie brings home the messy Middle Eastern situation in a way easier to relate to than the headlines and opinion pieces.

Despite a clever script and top-notch cast, whose commitment to doing service in the indie branch of the industry is commendable, Unknown falls apart just when it should be coming together.

Something to see and occasionally even to laugh at.

Keeps you riveted through parts that might otherwise be difficult to watch.

While often cliche ridden and preposterous, it's too busy and loud to put anyone to sleep.

Haunting case study of a romantic obsession.

A bigger mess than the gas crisis.

Instantly captivating.

A wildly erratic, often annoying but never boring endeavor.

Filth & Wisdom is dead in the water, an excruciating bore even at a compact 84 minutes.

Much of that appeal comes from compelling performances by the two main actors.

At its warmhearted center, Beauty Shop is a workshop in how to walk around like Oprah with a feeling of confidence and entitlement.

The best way to take this film is with a box of popcorn and a grain of salt.

The best that can be said of this charmless animated picture is that whether or not it ends happily -- an outcome you're unlikely to give a hoot about -- it does, happily, end.

A comedy so unfunny, it's tragic.

Engaging and perceptive.

Out to Sea has an emotional pull that is much stronger because it is so unexpected. You come for the laughs and find yourself wiping away tears.

The material obviously had to be stretched to fill the big screen for almost two hours.

A mostly entertaining movie with built-in appeal to young audiences. The good news for parents is that it won't put them to sleep.

Blanc is completely without vanity in showing the physical deterioration wrought by addiction. Her performance is as chilling as Lee Remick's in "Days of Wine and Roses.''

Has to be one of the least charming French romances to find American distribution in recent years.

An enticingly risque saga of the 16th century monarch.

A highly amusing combination period film and mockumentary.

A feel-good movie.

An annoying little film that attempts to be lascivious but is merely ludicrous.

Sweet and deeply moving.

Opens up a world of words.

As a romantic comedy, Cease Fire is more annoying than amusing.

For all its dazzling computer-generated sequences, "Museum'' wouldn't be nearly the delight it is without the talents of some of the best comedians in the business.

A well-deserved 2003 Oscar nominee for best foreign-language film.

It's hard to get swept away when you're struggling to figure out who's doing what to whom and why.

Amusing performances -- especially from Willis, who takes on a new personality with each new hairstyle -- can't disguise the fact that the film is basically a pastiche of recent movies.

It's reassuring to see Steven Soderbergh return to riveting down-and-dirty filmmaking with Bubble.

Hauntingly tells a story older than the Odyssey and as timely as today's body count from Iraq.

It's visually stunning, especially in scenes of the African countryside, and takes more risks than most independent films.

The mystery of Nancy Drew' is how a movie can get so many things right -- particularly the inspired casting of Emma Roberts as the spunky teenage sleuth -- yet ultimately disappoint.

This was Davis' return to the screen after her own legal battle with the studio to get meatier roles. She got one here, and she gives it her all. [09 Jul 2006, p.32]

For all the squalor and extremely upsetting subject matter, you can't take your eyes off the screen.

Wildly imaginative if extremely strange.