Swank and Rockwell, both typically great in almost everything they do, act as if their lives depended on it - their lives, not their characters'.

Damon's portrayal is perfectly understated yet powerful. It's also sneaky; you don't realize how invested you've become in it until the final act, when the characters' stories merge in what seems like too much of a rushed coincidence.

Red isn't a great movie, but it's great fun, and if that sounds like damning with faint praise, you take things too seriously.

Secretariat was such a commanding presence, the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years, a Time magazine coverboy, the focus of the public's imagination during his pursuit, that any excuse to relive that excitement is worthwhile, and Secretariat gives us one.

Sarah Burns steals scenes as a seemingly prim social worker, and Melissa McCarthy (Sookie on "The Gilmore Girls") does the same as a pushy neighbor. The supporting cast serves up enough small moments of surprise to keep this formula flick from falling flat.

Gilchrist, Emma Roberts and, especially, Zach Galifianakis, give affecting performances, but they are ultimately let down by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's screenplay.

It's a measure of how good a film Nowhere Boy is that it would be compelling even if it were the story of the formative years of a boy named Joe Brown.

It's one of the best movies of the year, one of the best entries ever in the Way We Live Now oeuvre.

Succeeds in portraying a life so solitary that, even when he knows what's going on, that's a deal Owen is willing to make.

A technically fascinating film that's best when it's angry, less good when romance rears its head.

There are no surprises here, just a by-the-numbers comedy that's better, and funnier, than it has a right to be, thanks to the efforts of the actors in it.

In theory, we go to movies for enjoyment. Director Rodrigo Cortés inverts that notion with Buried, a terrific, claustrophobic, fist-clenching film in which he tortures his audience in exquisite fashion.

Although there are moments of humor in the film, many of them supplied by the delightful Jones, there are also long stretches of, um . . . "blah" might be the best word for it.

Affleck is the center of the film. His Doug is, in some respects, rather like Affleck - the director of the elaborate heists, as well as a performer in them.

This is the kind of movie about teenagers that an adult audience should embrace. It's simply that good, and Stone is nothing short of wonderful.

Occasionally cute but not much else, Alpha and Omega is an animated flick that doesn't leave much of an impression.

It is affecting, surprising, heartbreaking.

A quiet character study filled with damaged, insular people who live life in small increments, only occasionally exploding in emotion.

It's effective, entertaining in a remarkably uncomfortable way but entertaining all the same.

An infectiously joyful Australian Aboriginal musical.

It's a tired genre, one that would be greatly improved if, ironically, far younger actors showed the energy and command these two old hands do.

Machete is insanely violent, insanely over-the-top. It's pretty much flat-out insane.

When Going the Distance works, it works well, and it feels genuine. But like a bad relationship, the movie will continually let you down.

As the film comes to an end, more and more of "Blood Simple" is translated directly to China, even to the last drop.

The American is a very . . . patient movie, the inverse of an action thriller to an almost comic degree. With Clooney it's an interesting project. Without him, it would simply be boring.

The Last Exorcism is a good movie that could have been - SHOULD have been - a great one.

The results of her work are predictable yet pleasantly played out.

There are a couple of good performances and a few funny bits, but mostly the film just bounces back and forth until coming to a flat, trite close.