Carpenter pulls out all the action-adventure stops, but he and coscripter Larry Sulkis forgot to write dialogue the audience could listen to without howling in disbelief.

Een fans of Jay and Silent Bob may find the story too slender and the jokes too repetitive to be much fun.

The acting is uneven and most of the romancing seems so mismatched.

There are lots of plot twists and romantic angles. What's lacking is laughs.

This unusual romantic drama is sensitively acted by a well-chosen cast and subtly directed by Cox.

The only aspect that emerges a winner is the gorgeous Mediterranean scenery.

Music buffs may wish there were a lot more Puccini and a little less talking-head chitchat.

The movie means well, but neither its emotions nor its performances ring very true.

It delivers all the raunch and ribaldry its designated audience could hope for, but others may find it more deliberately disgusting than effervescently outrageous.

Young viewers may guffaw, but seasoned fans of "There's Something About Mary" will be disappointed.

This is a subdued and sometimes subtle exercise in ghostly doings, going against the horror-movie grain by relying on quietude and understatement.

The same story was told vastly better in the 1949 melodrama "The Reckless Moment."

The most startling aspect of this slow-building horror movie is how unexpectedly it morphs from a quietly romantic suspense yarn to a flat-out tale of terror that may have some viewers hiding under their seats.

This isn't a Ferrara classic like "King of New York," but even his less- memorable pictures carry an eccentric kick no other director could duplicate.

Goes on much too long, stretching a modest story into a marathon that outlasts its welcome by about 30 minutes.

The expanded "Redux" is even more resonant - partly because of its added material, and partly because the passage of time has increased the film's value as a key cultural document of the Vietnam War era and its aftermath. It's a movie not to be missed.

Burton is an imaginative director with a distinctive artistic vision, but his originality is nowhere to be seen in this by-the-numbers retread.

Its dark-toned cinematography by Henri Decaë still packs a wallop, and the screenplay has a refreshing sense of humor.

This atmospheric story unfolds through leisurely shots that invite us not just to watch the characters, but to live and breathe along with them.

Maglietta gives a magical performance in this lightweight but flavorsome comedy.

Contains quite a few grisly and ghastly images.

Gries and Morris act up a storm as the optimistically named Sunny Holiday and his long-suffering manager.

Enough odd twists to be mildly interesting.

Falls flat on screen, weighed down by far-fetched plot twists.

Cameron's imaginative directing and screen-shaking performance give this rock musical plenty of oomph.

Has social, psychological, and ultimately mystical overtones that raise it leagues above most other teen-centered comedies.

The screenplay is so stale that even fans of the previous "Jurassic" installments might think this is one clone too many.

Its main value is the prolonged look it gives of the late artist Basquiat.

Cinema's greatest surrealist is at the peak of his powers in the last movie of his unparalleled career.

Witherspoon fills the screen with bright-eyed bounce. The rest of the cast is as forgettable as the flimsy story.

The movie's somber message is worth heeding, and the acting is mostly excellent.

This sort of cinema is as dehumanizing as the aliens who serve as its intergalactic bad guys.

The cinematography is gorgeous from first frame to last, but the story occasionally rings false.

The plot pants so hard -- that it makes less sense than the average pet-food commercial.

Roddam's minor but imaginative 1979 movie.

Be warned that the violence-prone Spielberg of "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List" is also on display.

Kicks off the Oedipus theme that gallops through the story.

The story's emphasis is on action, but there are some sensitive moments and interesting ideas along the way.

Offers much food for thought.

Blends compassion for individuals with explanations of the socioenonomic factors that influence them.

What makes this small-scale drama so compelling is Pontecorvo's treatment of the main character.

This unevenly paced comedy is an amusing parody of monster movies from "Them!" to "Alien."

Has amusing bits of social satire, but they're crowded out of the stable by lots of bathroom and barnyard humor.

Filmmakers run out of ideas long before the final.

The evocative visual style -- is the main reason to watch this whimsical comedy-drama.

The delayed release of this 1975 drama provides an interesting view of her (Breillat) early development as a world-class filmmaker.

Has a graceful simplicity that many will find hard to resist.

Fiction and fantasy to evade reflection on the world we actually live in.

Quite a time capsule, sampling various mid-century entertainment forms.

The visuals are amazingly realistic, filling the screen with authentic effects.

Some will find it exhilarating fun.

Put Roeg's powerful cinematic style on the cultural map.

Socially alert drama.

Distinguished less by its elements of melodrama and psychodrama than by its intense acting and the vivid immediacy of Levring's powerful imagery.

Fine family entertainment.

Must-see viewing if you're not quite sure the sun really set over the British Empire.

Has moments of real visual creativity.

Understated acting and brilliant use of wide-screen black-and-white cinematography.

Flashy but uninvolving crime thriller.

Unexpectedly subtle cinematic style.

This likable comedy-drama gets most of its oomph from acting.

More emphasis on computer-generated gimmickry than on persuasive acting and ideas.

Takes a humane look at an episode in recent history that's received little attention.

All so fast and frenetic.

Too staid and stolid for audiences on the hunt for easy entertainment.

Distinctive feel.

A startling, suspenseful ride few will forget in a hurry.

Fails to score a checkmate.

Has touches of quirky style to match its slightly edgy content.

Worth viewing by anyone concerned about world events.

Few movies have sought this particular blend of detective-story melodrama and religious sensitivity.

Fans of the genre will enjoy it if they're not distracted by trite plot twists.

Conjures up enough involving moments to create some drama.

Suspenseful and ingeniously directed.

The action is as perky as the main characters.

Fans of unregenerate underground moviemaking will have a ball.

Inherently stale.

Would have benefited from more flamboyant film clips and fewer folksy conversations with the garrulous old-timers it focuses on.

Charged with humanity and compassion.

This understated Iranian drama affirms life as vigorously as it provokes thought.

Intelligent yet easy-going masterpiece.

A likable though slender documentary.

Strains too hard to seem smart and savvy.

Sometimes enticing, frequently savage.

The movie's concept is amusing, but much of the acting and dialogue is as uninspired as the story's deliberately bland suburban setting.

With its skillful blend of documentary, confessional, and comic moods, this is one of the infrequent avant-garde movies that's as amusing and entertaining as it is artful and sophisticated.

Sometimes disturbing but consistently fascinating.

Add a megadose of bombastic James Horner music and a perfunctory love-affair subplot and you have a movie that's its own worst enemy.

The subject is likable and the story has possibilities, but why does every single performance sink into a self-indulgent mess of hammy overacting?

This unconventionally structured thriller moves at an energetic pace, spurred by a string of clever variations on conventional film narrative.

The acting and screenplay are amusing, but director Sitch might have taken a more adventurous approach to a tale with such an adventurous subject.

While this slightly edgy comedy has moments of offbeat charm, it would carry more conviction if the acting were richer and the characters focused on more sophisticated attitudes and ambitions.

McDonald and Montgomery are fun to watch in this mildly amusing Irish romantic comedy.

This historical fantasy is too ambitious for its own good, but contains some striking imagery and likable performances.

Strong acting and no-nonsense filmmaking lend interest and impact to the dramatic story.

The premise is promising, but Herzfeld cares more about sensationalism than substance, and portions of the picture are far nastier than they had to be.

A fascinating nonfiction voyage into rural and urban France, focusing on idiosyncratic individuals who live off things the rest of us throw away, from food to furniture.

More psychological realism and less showy cinema would have made this offbeat melodrama more memorable.