V.A. Musetto

Go for Zucker was a smash back home, where it was hailed as the first German comedy about Jews since World War II. But it will take more than that to make American audiences laugh.

A tad too long, "Tea" is nevertheless touching and funny, with charming performances. You might say it's as calming as a hot cup of green tea.

The film is dark, both literally and figuratively. Only at the very end do we get a glimpse of the sun.

Not exactly as well known as Megadeth or Metallica, Anvil did indeed have 15 minutes of fame back in the 1980s. Then it went into obscurity. Now it's back, trying like hell to be somebody.

A nearly perfect love story/murder mystery that unfortunately falters at the end.

Shamelessly press viewers' emotional buttons. But the film is so well-made and the performances so accomplished that it doesn't matter.

The episodic film makes valid points about the depersonalization of modern life. But the characters tend to be clichés whose lives are never fully explored.

On paper, Ushpizin (Aramaic for "holy guests") looks like a hard sell. It works, however, thanks to a witty script and believable performances from real-life husband and wife.

A charming and enjoyable movie.

If the documentary has a star, it's pony-tailed AES exec Piers Lewis, who had the impossible job of getting Georgians to actually pay for their electricity.

Akerman uses simple long shots and beautiful composition to give the film a smooth, fluid look. She is assisted by understated but convincing acting, especially by Testud, who is also on New York screens in "Murderous Maids."

The film did well at the local box office and has been shown at some 40 international festivals. Eat your heart out, Michael Moore.

At turns sexy, ultra-violent and sweet, it will infiltrate your brain long after you've seen it.

Brims with energy, carefully drawn characters and fine acting.

Now that even Woody Allen has stopped making "Woody Allen movies," you would think that wannabes would move on, too.

Director Ferzan Ozpetek's film doesn't break any new ground; rather, it recycles every cliché about gays in what is essentially an extended soap opera.

Curse of the Golden Flower could also be called "Curse of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.' " In other words, it is yet another attempt to cash in on the success of Ang Lee's 2000 martial-arts epic, which will go down in the history books as one of the most overrated films of the decade.

Filled with affecting moments.

In his fourth outing with the director, cinematographer Andreas Sinanos produces stunning scene after stunning scene, almost as if each frame were a small painting.

Seventy percent of black boys in Baltimore do not graduate from high school. They're more likely to land in jail -- or a cemetery. But there is hope, according to The Boys of Baraka, an uplifting documentary.

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.