Generous doses of bright-sounding music add to the movie's appeal.

This cleverly structured Argentine heist movie isn't as original or ingenious as it tries to be, but it's fun watching the chicanery veer down one unexpected pathway after another.

Every single frame of this film is as cute, slick, and snappy as the adorable little mice who end the movie with a gag right out of "Babe: Pig in the City."

As deliciously eccentric as the real-life characters it chronicles.

A refreshingly novel ride.

Resembles the yacht where it takes place. Everything is arranged for fun, pleasure, and amusement. But the vehicle itself is heavy and cumbersome, and it takes a tad too long to get us where we're going.

Directors as different as Otto Preminger and Jean-Luc Godard have taken a crack at "Carmen" and Ramaka's version is a colorful addition to the list.

The movie is more a family album than a historical study, but you'll learn a lot and your toe will tap, tap, tap.

It's as elegant as any movie around, though, and boasts strong acting by a distinguished cast.

The story has possibilities, but you'll spot the big plot twists long before they happen, and the acting by Judd and Cavaziel is strictly by the numbers.

What remains discomforting is their sheer failure to be funny.

Less an American product than an international escapade, it's the kind of pigeonhole-resisting romp that Hollywood too rarely provides.

Cantet has rich insights into this material, and brings them alive through sensitive acting and powerful filmmaking.

Its grimness is explicit, so approach it with caution.

If you're in the mood for razor-sharp satire, this is the most refreshingly outrageous movie of the season.

Foster is fine, but the story's outcome would seem a tad more uncertain if another actress had the part. How scary are three New York tough guys when you've handled Hannibal Lecter in your time?

Energetic acting and perky filmmaking help this likable Argentine comedy-drama avoid the sentimentality that intermittently threatens it.

Debrauwer brings crisp conviction to what might have been an overly sentimental tale, filming it with a straightforward style and good-natured sincerity that ring consistently true.

Everyone raves about this 1957 film -- and everyone's right.

Too much repetition and an unconvincing finale take a toll on the film's overall effectiveness.

Muddled screenwriting and uninspired directing.

The movie makes a commendable effort to celebrate bravery and underscore the terrors of war, but its melodramatic approach is more spectacular than insightful.

One of the season's most watchable treats.

If you want a movie time trip, the 1960 version is a far smoother ride.

Rarely have Gibson's tears seemed more fictional than in this supposedly authentic account of a historical event that's far too tragic to merit such superficial treatment.

Desplechin wants to film an adventure of the human spirit in the manner of a Hitchcockian drama, but he doesn't have a solid enough grasp of English culture to equal the complexity of his French productions like "The Sentinel" and "The Life of the Dead."

This masterpiece of poetic realism features one of Gabin's most renowned performances, a smart subtext about French colonialism, and enough exotic atmosphere to keep your head in the clouds long after the final scene.

It's an impressive movie, pointing to Howard as a promising new director.