The style is slick, the action is suspenseful, and despite the explicitness of the sex scenes, the message is against extramarital affairs.

Director Koepp relies more heavily on editing tricks than old-fashioned atmosphere.

Moore makes no pretense of being "fair and balanced." He makes a passionate case for his own perspective, and invites us to agree with him or not. "I fulminate, you decide" could be his motto.

The real subject, though, is how globalization fosters a homogeneous, "same-old-stuff" conformity that molds almost everything on the planet into an ever-shrinking number of shapes, sizes, and varieties.

Above all, literally, are the kites. When a character says, "You fly these kites and feel the joy," we know just what he means.

It's nice to watch a political movie that, for a change, isn't trying to save our souls. It's possible to have a good time with this movie while, at the same time, regretting all that it isn't.

The movie captures so well the push-pull of family dysfunction that, after a while, even the Fangs’ extreme eccentricities seem routine. And that’s the point: The filmmakers are trying to demonstrate that, no matter what we think our family dynamic may be, we’re all on the same strange spectrum.

More than awe, the film provokes gratitude for what this man did.

Much of the nattery byplay seems improvised, and the results are very hit and miss – inspired contretemps alternate with gabfests that seem to go on forever.

One of the bright sidelights to Juliet, Naked is the bemused way it deals with the crazy-making ramifications of hero worship.

A true American tragedy, directed with skill and conviction.

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

Few of its loosely linked vignettes have enough visual or emotional power to be very memorable.

What helps Lin's feature-directing debut is his insight into the dark side of living up to "model minority" stereotypes in a materialistic culture.

It's illuminating and nostalgic and for anyone who lined up for American movies in that bygone golden age.

Rich atmospherics and an all-star British cast make this a superior melodrama if you can handle the heavy-breathing sex scenes.

Forster keeps the picture as a whole in perfect tune with Depp's approach.

Try to imagine "In the Company of Men" with a feminist twist and you'll have the gist of this fervently acted, ultimately unconvincing drama.

With all this working against it, Les Cowboys strikes a fresh chord. The rise of jihadism has infused this revenge scenario with (all too literally) new blood.

Taut almost to the point of abstraction.

The story often seems unfocused, and the talented cast doesn't appear to be fully in synch with its heart-wrenching material.

Zilberman's conceit is that these players, who mesh so beautifully in their music-making, are discordant in their personal lives. Those lives are constructed for maximum messiness, turning what might have been resonant drama into high-class soap opera.

Plowright's performance as a genteel widow in Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont is a small-scale gem, deeply felt without being in the least bit showy.

The delights of the movie lie in its zany characters, its goofy settings, and above all its surrealistic visual style.

Baye and Lopez are excellent, as always.

In all, the film is a striking, if flawed, achievement by a talented actor who may become an important director if he sticks to the genre that suits him best.

Chabrol's filmmaking has rarely seemed more assured, elegant, and intelligent.

This is moviemaking on the highest dramatic, psychological, and moral plane.