V.A. Musetto

Politics aside, Trudell plays like an infomercial for its subject rather than a serious examination of the man and his beliefs.

If you go to the movies to ogle topless young women, Simon is definitely for you. If, on the other hand, you want something more cerebral with your $10 ticket and overpriced snacks, stay clear of this Dutch melodrama.

The surreal images lack narration and talking heads, which is no problem. In fact, the device makes the shocking footage more compelling.

The bureaucrats in Beijing want to get rid of the sex and full-frontial nudity and scenes of cops beating protesters in Tiananmen Square. I would keep all that but cut out some of the flab in the second half of the 140-minute drama.

First-time director Jeff Malmberg tells Hogancamp's fascinating story with sensitivity, never resorting to exploitation.

You want to hate his characters? Go ahead. You want to feel sympathy for them? That's OK too. In either case, you'll be shaken by Drama/Mex.

By far the film's most interesting subject is the king's eldest daughter, 18-year-old Princess Sikhanyiso, who likes to be known as Pashu. She's a self-styled rapper who goes to a Catholic college in California and acts like the spoiled rich kid that she is.

The film is loving but shallow.

As we learn, delightfully so, in Jeffrey Fox Jacobs' documentary A Sidewalk Astronomer, the Peking-born Dobson promotes the building and use of small, inexpensive telescopes to study the wonders of the sky.

The camp runs for a week in a warehouse in Oregon. What the girls might lack in musical talent and experience they make up for with infectious energy. Watch your tattooed butt, Amy Winehouse!

At nearly two hours, Big Man Japan is clever (in a sick sort of way) but overlong. It needs judicious editing -- more mockumentary, fewer superhero antics.

What's Vincent to do? Will he come out of the closet? Will he lead the swim team to victory at the big match? Will he find happiness with Noemie? Does anybody care?

One big cliche.

Mendoza gives a heart-tugging performance as Mariana.

Starts as a serious examination of the two women's lives, but it descends into a mushy melodrama complete with schmaltzy music and dewy cinematography.

The Pianist recalls "Schindler's List," even down to its weakness: Just as Spielberg's film turned sentimental in its final half hour, Polanski's work, too, has a schmaltz coda. But that doesn't make The Pianist any less effective.

Funny is not a word often used to describe von Trier's output, but "Boss" definitely is that, thanks to a breezy script and a bright cast.

Falters when it gets involved with supernatural gobbledygook.

Lilya is portrayed by Oksana Akinshina, who gives a dynamic, heartbreaking performance... She was wonderful in ["Brothers"], but is even more astonishing in Lilya 4-Ever.

Has little to offer beyond titillation and pretty landscapes.

Adams and the school's students and teachers deserve an A-plus, although the film rates a much lower grade. It unfolds lifelessly, as Binzer parades a contingent of talking heads before the camera in what could pass for an infomercial.

Would that somebody had fired Gurwitch before she could have finished Fired!

Exploitation pure and simple. But it's artistically redeeming exploitation. If you can handle it, see it.

The result is an immensely enjoyable portrait of a strange-looking, non-comforming genius who loved women as much as designing masterpieces but was never able to commit to them. In other words: great architect, lousy family man.

In an effective touch, Kisses opens in black and white, changes into color for its Dublin scenes, then returns to monochrome.

The real star of The Son isn't lead actor Olivier Gourmet. It's the back of his neck, which the camera obsessively focuses on throughout this difficult but rewarding Belgian drama.

The three are appealing characters, and you can't help but root for them in their quest, which gives a whole new meaning to the term "family values."

Movies don't come any more charming than Mongolian Ping Pong.

A movie more interested in shocking than in entertaining.

Pleasant enough, with funny moments.

While it is obvious that the filmmakers went into this project with an agenda, they did try to give each side a chance to have its say.

The script is obvious and cliched and the action is more disgusting than frightening.

Weatherford and Murphy lead a young and bright cast. All in all, Money Buys Happiness shows that Lachow is a director worth keeping an eye on.

Brabbee, artistic director of the Nantucket Film Festival, is to be commended for her dedication to this project, but the film isn't hefty enough for a theatrical release. Public TV would be a better showcase.

Darkly funny (par for the course with Miike), visually stunning and full of references to other films.

Sister Helen don't take no bull.

Things move so swiftly and confusingly that there's little time to explore any of the people in depth. Less style and more substance is definitely called for.

Like an early Almodovar movie transported to Moscow.

It's always enjoyable watching Depardieu and Deneuve, but they deserve better material than they've been given by Techine.

It takes a while to get used to the fractured narrative, but once done it is easy to put your mind on autopilot and go with the offbeat characters and events.

This isn't a performance film, and it is far from a definitive portrait of the androgynous performer.

Schmaltzy and contrived.

Delivers an important message, and its underwater photography is breathtaking. But Stewart lessens the impact by focusing much too much on himself. Did he really have to go into detail about his own health problems? This should be a movie about sharks, not Stewart.

A twisty, spectacular farce.

China's public image suffers another blow with Up the Yangtze, a documentary by Chinese-Canadian Yung Chang.

Who needs a big budget when you have a quirky script, an energetic cast and a soundtrack that features Union 13, the Blondes, Future Pigeon and Omega Man?

A startling look at the devastating human cost of China's newfound embrace of capitalism.

It would seem no easy task conveying the essence of a bigger-than-life figure like Ellison in a 96-minute film. But Nelson, producer of Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," makes it look easy.

Letters could be dismissed as a soap opera, but that would be unfair to this beautiful work. It features tender performances by Kaarina Hazard (Leila) and Jukka Keinonen (Jacob), as well as beautiful cinematography by Tuomo Hutri.

The film is light on those kitschy musical numbers that make Bollywood movies fun to watch.

The Outskirts, handsomely directed by Petr Lutsik, will grab people's emotions. The dark and bitter comedy deals with a corrupt, post-communist Russia.

The movie is no more than a TV sitcom stretched to feature length. All that's missing is the laugh track.

The film tends to be pretentious and melodramatic; and Grant, better suited to comic roles, gives a heavy-handed performance.

There's scant dialogue in Workingman's Death, but little is needed when majestic camera work by Wolfgang Thaler tells the story so well.

Guaranteed to leave you outraged at the way children - and, for that matter, adults - are exploited by mining companies.

If you're going to make a documentary about Leonard Cohen, the singer-songwriter, you should have him perform some of his better-known melodies, like "Suzanne."

Marlene Rhein has directed 40 music videos, including ones for Tupac Shakur and Amy Winehouse. Judging by this, her feature debut, she should stick with the music.

The result is surprisingly engrossing -- even lively, due in part to brief musical numbers inserted amid the interviews.

An old-fashioned soaper that will please or not, depending on a viewer's tolerance for schmaltz.

You can sympathize with both sides in their ideological battle, which ends in a most unexpected way.

The director, Queens-born Adam Watstein, who also edited and co-produced, deserves credit for making a film with modest resources.

Has a few too many coincidences and tends to be sugary, but it has an important precautionary message in this age of terror.

Unlike traditional zombie romps, these crazies don't stumble around mindlessly, noshing on human flesh. They look and act like normal people - until the second they go bonkers.

Ali Zaoua doesn't have the fireworks that made "City of God," the story of Brazilian youth gangs, a crossover hit. But in its own, low-key way, Ali Zaoua is just as stirring.

An affable comedy that, unfortunately, has too many characters and subplots for its own good. The film also could do without the stereotypical character of a gay wedding planner who is supposed to be funny -- but is just embarrassing and clichéd.

Despite some fancy editing, Forget Baghdad is forgettable.

PAGING Pedro Almodovar! We have a movie badly in need of your help.

The Japanese whalers are clearly in violation of international law, but no government is willing to take action. That leaves it up to ragtag groups such as the Sea Shepherds to do their best to shut down the whalers. The planet owes them a big "thank you."

Utterly predictable and full of trite dialogue.

Dieter Laser is grand as the doc, a character Christopher Walken would be comfortable doing, and Akihiro Kitamura provides laughs as the first part of the centipede.

The low-budget "Master" lacks the polish and romance that made "Crouching Tiger" so popular. But for old-fashioned raw energy, it's tough to beat.

The folks on "Survivor" have nothing on Julia Butterfly Hill.

Dom DeLuise, as a fruitcake director, and John Waters fave Mink Stole, as Robin's Jewish mother, spice things up, but not enough to make Girl Play worthwhile.

Spanish director Achero Manas' El Bola shows how the boys' bond leads to salvation of a sort for the needy Pellet. He does so with great sensitivity, never sinking into exploitation.

The autobiographical script meanders and the acting never solidifies. Besides, the leads look too old to be in high school - maybe even college.

An overdone sex comedy.

You can't quarrel with the lensing and acting, but the overabundance of coincidences keeps Vivere from reaching its full potential.

The direction is never more than conventional, with a tear-inducing finale better suited to a TV soap opera.

Borderline clichéd, and it makes getting a US visa seem way too easy. But I can think of much worse ways to spend an hour and a half than watching this absurdist comedy.

The story is so contrived and the dialogue so stilted that no amount of talent could save Exist.

You are left with two emotions - despair and hope - after watching producer-director Jennifer Dworkin's disquieting documentary.

An amazing portrait of the great filmmaker Ingmar Bergman in his later years.

For one thing, it goes on too long. But it looks good, the cast is perky.

There's not much new in this Filipino film by longtime director Gil M. Portes. But it's so endearing that only a grouch wouldn't be charmed.

Tucker's message is sometimes on target, even if his film isn't.

Rulfo adds punch to his material with speeded-up visuals and an eye-popping, six-minute helicopter shot of the entire 10-mile project - which alone is worth the price of admission.

Breezy, entertaining and enlightening.

It's a worthy idea, but the uninspired scripts, acting and direction never rise above the level of an after-school TV special.

You know a performance has to be special when a Palestinian wins Israel's version of the Best Actress Oscar. But why should politics detract from a stunning performance?

Wavers between (sometimes) brilliant and (mostly) boring. But it would be wrong to call it a failure.

Johnny Depp puts in a cameo declaring that "most Americans believe the clichés about Gypsies." Unfortunately, the well-intentioned film never gets beyond clichés itself.

Marker's documentary, shot on video, uses interviews, film clips and shots of Tarkovsky on the set to examine the Russian's work.

Combining a thoughtful script with splendid acting -- especially by Sansa -- Bellocchio has fashioned a tense thriller that is both understated and powerful.

Strel's 2007 adventures on and in the Amazon are detailed in John Maringouin's fun documentary Big River Man.

Examines in entertaining detail the way Hollywood has treated North American natives going as far back as the days of silent flicks.

Frantic and out of control - and great fun to watch.

Deadly dull.

Riding Alone features a moving performance by Takakura (often called the Asian Clint Eastwood), as well as pretty cinematography. But the mushy script, co-written by Zhang, never rises above that of a TV soap opera.