Ruthe Stein

Has the slapped-together, cheesy look of a porno movie. While this could be distracting, the shoddiness sets the mood for a humorous spin on the European porn industry circa early 1970s.

The movie is unable to achieve lift-off and transcend the formulaic stuff coming out of Hollywood, despite the perfect casting of Uma Thurman.

A sequel arrives for Valentine's Day with the unwieldy title Step Up 2 the Streets. If it performs as well, watch for "Step Up 3: the Sprained Ankle."

Suffers from Resnais' inability to open it up and give it the look and pulse of a film.

It's amusing in a trashy sort of way.

That Pride ultimately gets to you is more of a surprise than the outcome because it's not very well-constructed.

Visually, the film is a stunner, dotted with psychedelic colors and many shades of red -- one battle is fought with red laser-gun sights -- some looking realistically like blood. When gangsters open fire, their falls are choreographed like a ballet. The problem comes when the cast opens its mouth and Elizabethan dialogue tumbles out.

This harmless bit of fluff lacks the element of surprise but is not without random charming moments supplied by its incandescent star.

Well-intentioned but frequently inert.

If you enjoy gross humor -- elevated by an occasional witty line -- and looking at babes, and don't mind a little blood and gore, do I have a date movie for you.

It says something about this movie that Redford is at his most compelling playing opposite a nag.

Perhaps the humor has been lost in translation.

Far from the worst cookie-cutter film to come off the Hollywood assembly line, merely the latest.

Another art film that's more pretentious than it needs to be.

The whole thing is dizzying, like "Moulin Rouge" without songs and dances extolling love.

The movie is shamelessly manipulative.

Although the acting is uneven and the movie's dead spots make it feel far longer than its running time, the twist in Twist' is certainly clever.

You can be 100 percent in favor of rescuing adorable orphans from war-torn zones and still find The Children of Huang Shi a tough haul.

It lives up to its title, flying by in fast motion. Even the first-wave MTV generation may find the pace exhausting, but this piece of fluff wasn't made for them.

Often amusing but lacks the necessary bite.

A needlessly complicated and confusing thriller.

For all the filmmaker's good intentions, Fast Food Nation isn't a particularly good movie. It doesn't hold together or grip you the way a documentary might have.

As moving as some parts are, it's muddled by a script that tries to pack in too much. There's sufficient material for a couple of films and a sitcom.

A peculiar little film -- grim and disturbing yet perversely riveting.

Leaves you feeling buoyed, but you must endure a level of overacting more suitable for the soaps.

A supernatural thriller that keeps your attention while failing to hold you in its grip.

Broken English doesn't break any code or offer original insights on the subject. But there's a spark whenever Posey and Poupaud are together.

Vitus is likable enough and definitely suitable entertainment for young people willing to read subtitles.