Ruthe Stein

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.