It's all a seedy, sordid mess, and it only gets worse -- and more and more intriguing. Layton engages in re-enactments of some parts of the story, a tactic that is either helpful or annoying, depending on your appetite for such things.

Sparkle is pure melodrama, but it's a high-powered, well-acted, entertaining melodrama. You may not always believe it, but you won't be bored.

As Kumaré plays out, both Gandhi and the film become something else, something much more thoughtful and moving. It is, as he puts it, the biggest lie he has ever told and the greatest truth he has ever known.

It is a tremendous performance by Jones, who co-wrote the script with her own ex-boyfriend Will McCormick, who appears as a drug-dealing friend with surprisingly grounded advice for just about anything.

As creepy as it is fun, and it's plenty of both, ParaNorman will delight fans of old-time horror movies.

Odd indeed. In a good way, mostly.

The metaphor is plain yet elegant: Ai is the clever cat busily devising ways to push through the barriers physical, cultural, mental -- that make humans less than free. And in China, of course, the biggest of those barriers is the one-party state.

The Queen of Versailles is funny, sad, infuriating, instructive. It's the American Dream inflated to ridiculous extremes, until it bursts.

Reality and fantasy become increasingly blurred. And if you want to enjoy Dark Horse, you're just going to have to go with it.

As with nearly everything else in The Campaign, a little goes a long way, until it finally just goes on too long, period.

A perfectly serviceable thriller, smarter than many, but it has too much of a reputation to live up to.

A charming film. Not a great one, but a good one.

Not even the snickering juvenile who lives in the deepest gutters of your brain will get a cheap thrill out of these antics.

A lot of talent comes up empty in Red Lights, a thriller that doesn't thrill.

Marvel at the audacity of Nørgaard and his cast, of how far they are willing to go for a laugh. It's a bumpy ride, but for those with the stomach for it, it's an entertaining one.

With a performance that is wide-ranging by necessity, Kazan makes Ruby immensely likable (as well as clingy, manic, sad, happy and whatever else Calvin wants her to be).

The best of the lot. It's not great, but the mean-spiritedness that permeated the first film and stuck around a bit for the second is mostly gone.

It's big and it's loud, but ultimately not much more than that.

What makes the movie so good is Williams' absolute refusal to play along.

Young is one of only a handful of artists from his generation still making vital contributions, or even trying to. Some of his efforts are hit-and-miss, but he's still in there swinging. He never stops moving, changing, evolving, and it makes him fascinating.

Unlike, say, Val Kilmer's Jim Morrison in "The Doors," Thomas makes no attempt to create a convincing facsimile of Hank Williams, which is just as well, since he bears little resemblance to the sinewy singer.

Along the way, Koichi and Ryunosuke grow up a little bit; Kore-eda isn't opposed to letting reality intrude on their lives. It's not sad, but more wistful -- the young actors make it so. They are delightful. So, too, is I Wish.

McCormick is particularly grating in upholding her half of the romantic duo. Sure, she can dance, but act?

It should be funnier. It should be better. Instead, it just sort of is.

It means to be an interconnected story, in which one coupling leads to another in increasingly ridiculous fashion, until you're not only no longer interested, you're grinding your teeth, hoping it will end.

Although it can be harrowing and disturbing, Joachim Trier's film -- and Lie's performance -- are so masterful that the movie seems more like a searing portrait of self-discovery and realization, with the understanding that not everything you learn about yourself will be pleasant.

The Dark Knight Rises brings the Batman story to a close in enormous, satisfying fashion, not just on the huge scale it builds for itself, but on a human level as well.

Freeman is back in Reiner's latest, The Magic of Belle Isle, which has all the pathos and saccharine of "The Bucket List" but little of the humor. It's earnest, predictable and disposable.

It's a sort of slow-boil Russian noir, if that genre exists, and if it doesn't, it does now. It's also a statement on class discrepancy in post-Soviet Russia. Arrogance, betrayal, crime and violence are all part of the story, directed and co-written by Andrei Zvyagintsev.

Williams is so good, so natural, so believable in the role that it's easy to forgive her character -- or at least wish her well. That's no small feat, because she can drive you crazy.

A mixture of magical realism, Southern gothic, coming-of-age movie, star turn for first-timers, disaster story and out-and-out strangeness. It's unlike any film you've seen.

It's all well done and cute and forgettable.

The Do-Deca-Pentathlon is an odd little movie about an odd family who reacts to situations in odd ways.

As cultural criticism, this commentary on life in the age of TMZ and the "Real Housewives" is hardly insightful, but it is executed to dizzying, Fellini-esque perfection, a miniature masterpiece amidst more modest amusements.

This is, in fact, one of the more violent movies in recent memory. But Stone doesn't let anyone off easy. Violence has an effect here, has meaning, has relevance to the story. And that's a good thing; otherwise, it would be hard to stomach.

It presents Perry as a likable, hard-working artist, someone you root for, even if she's not on your iPod.

Watching Garfield swinging through New York or toying with criminals after he captures them is reason enough to welcome another telling of the tale.

How much of this is actually funny is a question of taste, but even a confirmed Perry hater might get caught laughing once or twice.

An absurd amount of grisly fun, which is a good thing, since, looked at in any great detail, it probably doesn't hold up all that well.

It's a soapy, predictable ride where everyone learns about the importance of family. And though it's just a Christmas tree away from being a holiday special, the stellar cast wrings just enough genuine emotion out of a stale premise to make it mostly sweet.

Skeptical at first, perhaps a little embarrassed, but before you know it, you're having a blast.

The one-note joke plays out longer and better than you might expect, at least for a while. But not forever.

Lola Versus isn't a bad movie. It's just not a particularly noteworthy one. It's too self-consciously ... everything.

The problem with movies based on a single joke is that a single joke is rarely funny enough to sustain the running time of a feature-length film. And with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, the whole joke is in the title.

Scafaria gives her characters and the situation an absurdist tone that makes the whole concept a little more palatable.

You won't find a lot of jaw-dropping elements in Brave. But what you will find is really well-done.

It is, at times, a charming reprieve from the usually dour cinematic explorations of Middle Eastern conflicts. But big-hearted and well-intentioned as the film is, it's frequently undone by its own silliness.

This is the rare movie with no one to root against, a film filled with good guys and weird guys (and gals), all of whom you hope find what they're looking for, even if you know that's not possible.

This is one of those movies you feel stupider just for having sat through. I think I'm already worse at math.

Shankman gets enormously entertaining performances from Tom Cruise and Alec Baldwin, so much so that it's a problem: The movie's not about them.

The cast is intriguing, with Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci and Kristin Scott Thomas as the targets of Pattinson's ambitious amour. But they're not given a whole lot to do -- at least not much that's interesting.

As the filmmakers trace the troubles of his later life -- psychological, financial, marital -- they flesh out a portrait of a reluctant guru whose human imperfections make him all the more inspiring.

Madagascar 3 has a problem: It rarely slows down enough to let us really enjoy it.

There isn't a false note among the performances. It's the first movie for Hayward and Gilman; whatever awkwardness they display is appropriate. Willis may never have been better. Norton is fantastic. Murray and McDormand are also ... well, you get the idea.

A strong cast can't save Virginia.

Prometheus is a good movie, sometimes very good. It's just not a great movie.

There are plenty of reasons not to like The Intouchables, but Omar Sy's terrific performance blows right past them.

The result is a pious mess of a movie that falls short both as history and as storytelling.

It's exactly what it appears to be: a funny-enough stoner comedy with a likable cast.

Never quite delivers on its promise -- a dark retelling of the fairy tale in which women hold the true power, good and evil -- but it certainly is an attractive misfire.

The movie is plagued with long stretches of dialogue-free contemplation and static shots of nature happening. At only 83 minutes, the film is too slight to feel so padded.

In Chernobyl Diaries, directed by Bradley Parker, stupidity is taken to extremes.

The catharsis found here is far quieter, and much more effective, whether it be the pain expressed in a student's essay or the honesty found in a simple gesture, one that ends the film in beautifully moving fashion.

In fact, the problem with the film is that, despite an excellent cast that includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy and Rupert Everett, it doesn't really know what it is. A little of this, a little of that and by the time it's done, it adds up to not much at all.

Subtle, it's not.

The good news is that it's better than the second "Men in Black." The bad news is: not all that much. There are a couple of clever ideas, a few funny moments, a wealth of computer-generated special effects. But it's hollow at its core, and the asides have lost some of their spark.

Creepy, confounding and more than a little curious. It's also quietly compelling.

The movie drags on way too long, but there are things to like.

The worst thing about What to Expect When You're Expecting, director Kirk Jones' fictionalized film version, is how fake it is, how cartoonish the experiences.

For the most part, the movie's rhythms feel slightly off -- there are long stretches without a laugh -- and there is a mean-spirited air to the whole thing.

Stuff just happens, some of it funny, some of it uncomfortable, some of it good, some of it bad. Just like real life, which is what makes Turn Me On, Dammit! so weirdly enjoyable.

Yam Laranas doesn't leave it at that. In his low-budget, creepy thriller, he spells out why and how this particular path is so deadly, as well as what led to the crimes and supernatural horror that seem to frequent the place.

It's a little too obvious -- interesting, sometimes kind of fun but, ultimately, not as satisfying as it might have been.

For one thing, all the characters are far too pleasant.

It seems hollow, somehow false, even by its own campy standards.

Jang and Odagiri are good as the rival runners and soldiers. But they are surrounded by over-the-top performances, which play out like a mugging contest.

There is nothing the slightest bit heavenly about this project, which is wrong-headed in just about every department.

So no points for originality. Madden tries to make up for this with sheer British acting personality and nearly succeeds.

The real hero here is Joss Whedon, who directs the film with a fanboy's enthusiasm and a thorough knowledge of the genre.

The only flaw here is the score. It's beautiful but so obtrusive, particularly at the start, that it threatens to turn the proceedings into melodrama.

It's paper thin, floating away when it's over without leaving a strong impression one way or another.

Jenkins is a fantastically adaptable talent. It helps that his character here is supposed to be innately likable (by everyone, evidently, but his girlfriend's family), since Jenkins is so likable as an actor. Good thing, because there is little else to like about Darling Companion.

Statham probably isn't going to be doing Shakespeare anytime soon. But everybody ought to be good at something, and when it comes to this kind of thing, Statham is very good, indeed.

The lunacy begins early in The Pirates! Band of Misfits and never lets up.

Unfortunately, stretching things out dilutes the charms of Segel and Blunt, which are considerable.

Welcome back, Whit Stillman -- with Damsels in Distress, the hipper-than-thou club is back in session.

Jiro Ono is a magician.

It's all just empty calories and little more than an excuse to watch Zac Efron play with puppies. It's nice, but for anyone who's too mature for Tiger Beat, it's not enough.

It is gripping from the start, not just because of the quality of the music, but because of Marley's magnetic, challenging personality, as well.

Fothergill and Linfield capture plenty of humor and drama.

What ultimately waters down a movie like Touchback, aside from a really sappy ending, is that we know the answers going in.

It recycles the same tired battle-of-the-sexes premise employed by every third romantic comedy that gets made.

It's true that the language in the film can be harsh -- but it's also very obvious that kids are hearing this kind of language in schools every day, much of it directed at them.

As its title suggests, This Is Not a Film may not be what we're used to in a movie, but in many ways it's much, much more.

The movie is content to simply mimic the old Stooges, bringing nothing new to the table.

If you like martial-arts films, it's well worth your while, a non-stop orgy of brilliantly choreographed fight scenes. Eventually it's all too much, a blur of fists, blades and snapped bones that run together. Still, it's a wild ride.

Movies like this are supposed to be ridiculous on some level. It's part of the fun. But, dang. Falling through space, popping your parachute and landing on the one empty stretch of freeway in some bustling future city? C'mon. We all have our limits.

The Cabin in the Woods is a fantastic poke in the eye of our horror-movie expectations.