Ruthe Stein

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

The humor manages to be simultaneously sophisticated, supremely silly and very dark.

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.

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

A richly satisfying and darkly funny movie.

Heart-wrenching.

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.

A richly textured and compelling film.

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

Good in their individual scenes, Yakusho and Kusakari are magical together. They convey so much yearning -- not so much for each other as for that extra something to give real meaning to their lives.

A tearjerker that earns its sobs with heartfelt emotions.

Vincente Minnelli's lavish and hugely entertaining adaptation of the Gustave Flaubert classic leaves little doubt that Emma (Jennifer Jones in an over-the-top performance that works surprisingly well) has found satisfaction for the first time in the arms of wealthy rogue Rodolphe (a perfectly cast Louis Jourdan). [26 Aug 2007, p.N44]

Like its singular central character, Before the Fall stands out from the pack.

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

An appealingly quirky thriller from Brazil.

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

Wickedly funny.

Bloody good.

The film version is gorgeous to look at and contains amusing performances from Ralph Fiennes and Cate Blanchett in the title roles. But it fails to get inside the minds of gamblers as Peter Carey so admirably did in his Booker Prize-winning novel.

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.

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

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

Except for an ending that's so implausible it might have derailed a less solid work, Twelve and Holding is a realistic and sympathetic portrayal of what it's like to be young and confused

Hits a bulls-eye.

The Pillow Book sometimes seems like three different movies, each one an eyeful but together too much of a good thing.

This is by no means a polished film. But it has an energy lacking in thrillers that cost hundreds times more to make. It should be viewed as a calling card from gifted and resourceful filmmakers whom I hope some Hollywood producer will have the sense to sign up immediately.

Passes by like a dream.

That the film succeeds as well as it does despite a series of coincidences that strain credibility is a credit to a fine cast and a joie de vivre that pervades even the most implausible moments.