Shawn Levy

The combination of immediacy and intimacy in Armadillo is exceedingly rare.

So filled with riches that it seems a bit unfair to single out Szabo and Fiennes, no matter how outstanding their work.

Although the plot might sound like the stuff of a soap opera, a smart script, strong performances and an ideologically determined lack of filmmaking niceties result in a shattering, deeply felt work.

It's surreal, erotic, creepy, frustrating, absorbing, transporting and torturous in the way only a Lynch film can be.

Oacks more heat, acid, danger and drama into its brief running time than most films of nearly double the length.

It's as full a movie as you can imagine -- exhausting and exhilarating and continually fascinating.

A man can be a treasure just as a work of art can be, and O'Toole is one of the handful of living film actors worthy of a museum of his own. Venus would make a brilliant final exhibit.

Its got a deliciously audacious and cheeky tenor.

Among the film's highlights are an interview with Grand Wizard Theodore, who is generally uncontested in his claim to have invented the idea of scratching vinyl.

Thoroughly unique work of art.

Babies will capture your eye -- and, probably, your fancy.

Coogan makes tremendous sport of himself, taking on a role as an adulterous, vain, anxiety-riddled, alcoholic and truly comic creep. Brydon is exquisitely droll as the straight man to this ugly comedian act.

The film that results from Jacquet's application is gorgeous and even inspiring, a tale of loyalty hard-tested and hard-earned, a sumptuous travelogue, and a reminder that some of the critters with whom we share the planet are, in ways, as complex in their feelings as any human being.

One lucky guy, on a roll with rock.

And while it may be true that Almodóvar doesn't have Hitchcock's way with terror, it's not clear that Hitchcock could leave the real world behind so wholly and convincingly as Almodóvar does here.

The Queen is all-together remarkable not only for what it is but for what it isn't.

It's a bit precious, yes, but its earnestness and joy carry you along, and its climax simply delights.

The film has visual and verbal flair, spry energy and deep wit.

A unique and masterful film, filled with surprises and felicities and moments of transporting visual power.

A deep and extraordinary film that isn't afraid to look evil in the face -- or, for that matter, to acknowledge that evil can be more complicated and even attractive than we'd want to admit. It's very, very difficult to watch, but you shouldn't miss it.

The film is exquisitely realized, with a tremendous, naturalistic performance by Michelle Williams at its heart and a pervasive, assuring sense that Reichardt and Raymond have distilled everything nonessential from their story and imparted exactly the impact they wished.

The exquisitely exact photography and sound design represent the highest level of craft of Van Sant's career.

It's not orthodox Dahl but it's pure Burton, and, as it's been such a very long time since moviegoers have been afforded that particular treat, it's entirely welcome.

Cronenberg has, as Guillermo del Toro did in "Pan's Labyrinth," crafted both a drama and a fairy tale -- and he's done it in an entertainment as cracking as you could wish for.

It’s a fascinating story about ambition and vanity and pride, and in Sheen’s performance and the atmosphere capture by Hooper it contains truly fine and rare things.

It gives you all that you could ask for when you buy a ticket to a thrill ride.

It's one of those works that presents the deeds of both humans and animals and leaves you wondering which is the more civilized.

This is hair-raising, clever and winning entertainment. Even if his protagonists aren't entirely what they seem to be or think they are, Mr. Jones is, it's increasingly clear, the real thing.