V.A. Musetto

Ohayon doesn't judge Thompson or his customers, but you don't need to be a Harvard-educated psychiatrist to realize that the bunch of them are dirty old men who treat women as commodities.

An acid trip of a movie about a piece of Los Angeles history that exists no more: the Ambassador Hotel.

A loving tribute to cinema by Tsai Ming-liang, one of Taiwan's most accomplished and popular directors.

Scenes of the probe are less successful. They feel contrived, and actress Lee Yeong-ae is not especially effective as Major Jang.

Solomonoff draws out vivid performances by Valeria Bertuccelli (Elena) and Ingrid Rubio (Natalia) that make up for the script's predictability.

How can a movie with such a charming cast (let's not forget Ry Russo-Young as Hannah's female roommate) and believable dialogue (seemingly taken from the actors' real lives) go wrong? It can't.

Magaly Solier is compelling as the teen. She has little to say, as the camera remains fixated on her expressionless face.

The cryptic finale raises more questions than it solves. But She's One of Us is such a fine work that answers aren't necessary.

The result is an absorbing look at a country still struggling to adjust more than a decade after the fall of communism.

The acting by Seigner, Marina Hands, Karin Viard, Patrick Bruel and other French notables is first-rate, although their characters and what they have to say are trite.

Lets both sides sound off without offering a spin of its own. [12 Jan 2005, p.70]

The plot is neither here nor there, but you have to see this for the luscious cinematography by Chi Xiaoning, who loves shades of blue and amber.

Neil Jordan's Ondine has a split personality. It starts promisingly as a fantasy but ends disappointingly as a thriller.

Sentimental and predictable? Sure, but The Butterfly is so well-meaning and the wide-eyed Bouanich is so sweet and lovable only a Scrooge would dare complain.

As Tears Go By doesn’t measure up to Wong’s later classics, such as In the Mood for Love (2000) and Chungking Express (1994), but it shows a master in the making.

Shamelessly contrived and manipulative, Tae Guk Gi packs a visceral wallop.

There are a few exciting battle sequences and the sets are lavish, but mostly the film meanders aimlessly for more than two hours. No wonder new sword-and-sandal movies are in short supply.

The story is superficial at best. And the movie is too long.

Claiming that from Korea to Vietnam to Iraq, the US government has misled the public - and the media - on the reasons for going to war.

Names of the other artists - such as Barry McGee, Ed Templeton, Margaret Kilgallen and Jo Jackson - won't necessarily ring a bell, but they all have interesting stories to tell in this pleasant film, which sings the praises of nonconformity.

No adventurous filmgoer will want to miss Tony Takitani.

Difficult but rewarding.

One reason it rings true is because the script is based on Gaglia's real experiences.

Ruscio's script is grim and darkly funny, but the big attraction is Wright's right-on performance. She's an actress waiting to be discovered.

With so many worthy movies being made in Europe, it's a crime that something as mediocre as Erotic Tales gets a release here.

The overwhelming silence is broken mainly by chanting and the ringing of the monastery bells. Call it life in the slow, slow, slow lane.

With so much junk cluttering movie houses, it is a shame that it took two years for this sweet, intelligent drama to get a release before heading for DVD.

Makes little attempt to be credible or original. And the acting is poor.

Iraqi-Kurdish director-writer Hiner Saleem is in no hurry to tell the story, and viewers drawn in by the warm-hearted tale and charmingly eccentric characters will be in no hurry for the closing credits.

Herzog tries to make sense out of the blond-haired young man, who looked an awful lot like Kinski.

The actors can't escape the confines of the warmed-over, coming-of-age-in-suburbia script by Mills, from a novel by Walter Kirn.

The documentary does a superlative job of examining the half-century dispute over Chinese rule of mountainous Tibet.

Call it a spiritual Woodstock.

The documentary traces the fiery history of Ballets Russes -- which for a time consisted of two warring companies.

An extraordinary woman like Eva Kor deserves a less ordinary biography.

The movie is overwhelmingly positive. It would have helped if Araki's critics had more of a say.

Makes for fascinating viewing.

Not one of Hartley's most successful efforts, but it's witty, daring, different and a welcome alternative to Hollywood pap.

Proves that you don't need a big budget to make a dynamite film.

It's scary to see how one man can brainwash a gigantic nation, as Mao did.

Occasionally becomes melodramatic.

Features crisp dialogue and understated humor, played out by an attractive young cast. Audiences bred on Hollywood romances might find the film too chatty and contemplative. To them I say: Get over it, kids!

It accurately reflects the rage and alienation that fuels the self-destructiveness of many young people.

In her directorial debut, Venditti does her best to keep a distance between herself and her subjects. But you have to wonder how much of the Billy we see on-screen is affected by the presence of Venditti's camera.

Beautiful but boring.

This movie belongs to its stars, who also wrote and produced. You can't say their acting is good or bad because they are not really acting. They're just being themselves, pubic hair and all.

Pleasing to the eye, with lavish sets, ravishing costumes and two great-looking stars. Unfortunately, there is little else to recommend this overwrought, melodramatic bodice-ripper.

An outrageous horror flick.

A wild ride that effortlessly combines devilish dark humor, slapstick comedy, extreme violence and bitter satire.

Watching three frames at once is disconcerting at first, but eventually the experience gives the film a high-tech boost.

Silva's script has the ring of truth, not surprising since he based it on real-life experiences. He even shot most of the scenes in his own family's house.

This isn't a war movie. Rather, it's a powerful, heart-tugging portrait of the innocent victims of conflict.

Make no mistake: Casuistry isn't easy to watch. Cat lovers might be especially turned off. But Asher had every right to make it, and you have every right to see it.

Bears more than a passing resemblance in story and form to "The Twilight Samurai," but stands on its own as a pleasant, if unremarkable, romance.

Too-convenient coincidences hurt the movie's credibility. A melodramatic script best left to cable TV doesn't help, either.

Loving but overlong meditation on movies and the people who make them.

A riveting documentary.

They should hand out a score card with every ticket to The Witnesses to help viewers keep track of who's sleeping with whom.

The fractured timeline covers five decades, which Miller weaves together, with the past shot in color and the present in black and white. Still, the soapy climax is unnecessary.

The subject is worth exploring - unfortunately, de Seve does so in a cut-and-dried manner that never explains why these two couples were able to stay together for so long.

Lackluster anime.