The sexually charged undercurrent of Mertoland promises something dark, disturbing or at least provocative, but as the characters reach their defining moments, it's the plot that yields to the ordinary.

Another rah rah girl power film, is your formula sports film.

This movie stunk so much you’d think that there were barking spiders in the theater.

For nothing but pure goofy escapism, A Foreign Affair is at least worth a fling.

Deliberately aiming to put Korean animation on the map, [this] is a tour de force blend of CGI, traditional cell animation, miniatures and live footage.

Not many actors could do justice to the vanilla story presented by Grogan and screenwriters Scott Frank and Don Roos, but Wilson and Aniston – two of the blandest, most uninteresting actors working today – are just the actors to pull it off.

A creepy, if disjointed exploration of the nature of evil. But compared to its predecessor, it's also a bit of a disappointment.

A heartwarming and entertaining romantic comedy, Fly Me to the Moon brings a fresh twist to the moon landing era. Strong performances from Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum offer an enjoyable viewing experience.

Davis and company need to be taken to task for giving us a movie that makes rescue divers, arguably among the most death-defying of professionals, boring.

Grace crosses our taboo lines over and over again. As we are under the general (mis)conception that babies are a blessing sent from God, Grace violates all that is good and natural in the world. And that’s why it’s so awesome.

Personally, I found the subject matter fascinating. I love some sports. Auto racing is not one of them, but I also love stories about saving lives and how innovation and technology is a part of that.

Panek doesn’t sugarcoat anything in his beautifully-shot, grim tale, but ultimately, it’s his belief in human kindness that prevails. There may not be any lycanthropes in Werewolf, but they’d most likely seem like puppies next to the true evil he depicts.

David Perrault’s Savage State opts for Jacques Audiard’s contemplative mood but fails to balance it out with fleshed-out heroes, a sense of humor, or even a coherent point. What we’re left with is the novelty of a well-worn genre seen through a very French, existential prism; it’s all jaw-droppingly beautiful and sleep-inducingly dull.

Tomorrow Never Dies, like the commercial marketing assault the Bond cast has been involved in, is a hollow experience that's egregiously trumped up by its high energy glitz and gimmickry. Somewhere, in their rush to amaze and thrill, the filmmakers forgot about Bond, the man.

For an origin story about one of the most compelling and important characters in history, The Nativity Story is pretty damn boring.

As with many films nowadays, the supporting cast actually shines more than the principles.

While a few flaws are present, the directors and screenwriter deliver a high energy bloodbath with several creepy scenes, excellent puppetry work, and a cast that shines brightly. It is well worth a watch, and I greatly look forward to a sequel.

Sadly, the greatness of Jaa's movements are drowned by an ocean of bad editing, terrible dubbing, disorienting action sequences, and repetitive fight sequences that feel as if they were copied straight from a side-scrolling videogame like "Streets of Rage."

Brutal and breathtaking.

Every scene with Del Toro is magnetic — this is his best role in years. The film is worth watching for his performance alone. It is almost a modern noir, but in a fresh take, the detective has a happy relationship.

This movie is only really interesting during the moments of physical conflict that pop up throughout the film. These few scenes are well executed and riveting as hell.

At times, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is all about the performances because the movie itself struggles a bit with settling on a tone.

Unfortunately for Epps, Diggs and Jones -- three capable actors -- the disjointed direction of the material robs them of any dimension and forces them to play tail-chassing caricatures.

Down With Love has little to offer besides hip sixties references better films have already made and made infinitely more hip.

It may appear clichéd in the telling, but Chick has no use for the glib irony and rampant pop-culture sampling which has already dated "Reality Bites" and its ilk.

It’s well-structured, handsomely shot, and features some impressive acting. The thing is there’s just not that much to make it stand out from the crowd either.

While the film suffers from a forced absurdity meant to invoke comedy and laughs along with a sluggish pacing, Rejtman captures the grim monotony of life well.

Party buddy-comedy, part romantic tragedy. If it had been more of the former than the latter, perhaps I would have liked it. But I am so tired or stories about men who are powerless against the wiles of a Succubus.

Yardie is a ripping classic gangster tale done right, but that’s only part of the appeal. It goes beyond the narrative into full cultural immersion with music as the window into a time and place.

There’s a darkly unique spin to it that makes the old and tired feel fresh and new. ... This film is straight up magical.

Has a terrible air of been-there/done-that.

Fans of "Henry Fool" in particular, however, may dislike the complete disregard for the characters of the original film. But the most fervent of Hartley followers can praise the film as a brilliant deconstruction of the tacked-on cinematic sequel.

The drawing card for Blade II is -- the promise of a blood-soaked action/horror thrill ride, and Snipes and Del Toro get the down-and-dirty job done with style.

We need more films like THIS! The filmmaking team of Stephen Kessler and Mike Wilkins join Jerry Stiller and Janeane Garofalo to pay loving tribute to the world of exploitation films.

An entertaining and chilling film that will make you question what you believe about myths and the supernatural.

The Cow is a powerhouse creeper where one of the great actresses of her generation shows us how it’s done.

It’s A Wonderful Knife is one of those pictures that is so surprisingly good you wish you had seen it in a theater. Plus, this is one spiffy-looking picture.

Kim Jee-woon’s film is smart and full of laughs but comes up against profound issues created by its gaming of reality.

While the film feels a little creepy towards the end, Archer has a really amazing visual style and I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

This is a big, silly film. Is it full of explosions and one-liners? Of course. Is it entertaining? Of course.

The trouble is that the contrivances are so…CONTRIVED.

When a movie does so much right – it’s unique and visually arresting and, at times, legitimately moving and surprisingly scary – it’s hard not to wish for something more complete, something that fully and entirely connects.

While the setup is intriguing, the film quickly loses steam, becoming a muddled chase interspersed with concert footage.

Death on the Nile is more solid and engaging than Murder on the Orient Express, and despite the questionable presence of Hammer, it makes for a great latter-day career tentpole for Branagh. He will hopefully continue the adventures of Poirot for years to come.

This excellent cast of veteran actors makes comic-book dialogue palatable. In lesser hands, it would’ve come off hokey.

This updated version of Black Beauty is well-done and touches upon some important points about being connected to animals, nature, and learning to care for others.

Check out VHYES if you want to see the most original film to come out in ages.

Excellent acting, great music, amazing artwork and gorgeous Christopher Doyle type cinematography make this film an absolute treat to sit through. It's like a big piece of candy.

When Aja really starts in on the brutal slayings, he spares no one any comfort at all.

Bolstered by Mark Bradshaw and Marcus Whale’s electronic drone soundtrack and Bonnie Elliott’s atmospheric cinematography, Run Rabbit Run could’ve used some more forward momentum. It lacks outright scares and novelty but makes up for it in some psychological depth. Reid’s film may not reach the profundity it strives for, but how many horror titles even strive for anything these days?

Ultimately comes off as so restrained as to be detached and almost as chilly as LaBute's darker films -- not exactly what one would want from a story about a love so strong that it echoes through the ages.

Serendipity leaves one with a pleasant feeling few films generate: that of wanting more.

BRILLIANT and WITTY. Those are two words that will not be used to described this film.

This amazing tour-de-force presents Huppert in a role, which is equal parts abrasive and vulnerable, exasperating and pathetic, monstrous and saintly.

The messaging in Greed does nothing but preach to the choir and keeps us firmly divided in a time where reaching across the aisle would do a helluva lotta good.

Dark Water isn't a bad horror movie, simply because it isn’t horror at all: a full hour passes before anything remotely scary occurs, and all the suspenseful scenes take place in the final ten minutes (and are all fully shown in the trailer). What's left is tedium and a seemingly endless build-up to nothing much at all, making it a bad movie. Period.

The story is such a cut-rate kid's sci-fi fairy tale that at one point Evil actually calls Gary Oldman on the phone (and it isn't played for laughs).

Murphy doesn't have much of a handle on juggling laughs with pathos, and this makes some of the more touching scenes unintentionally amusing. The film, like Augusten's life, is uneven but not without its charms.

A clichéd and painfully formulaic little film.

Samantha Buck, Marie Schlingmann bring a light touch and a wonderful comedic tone to a story of one hell of a woman. This is a lighthearted comedy about resourceful females far ahead of their time.

The core cast, Pine and Foster especially, are superb, while the screenplay gives them plenty to chew on. At a quickly moving 105 minutes, the film is worth the time investment.

80 for Brady is one of the most mediocre films ever made. However, there’s just enough heart and silliness to recommend it for nostalgic purposes. Plus, the four leads bring it. Also, like Superbowl LI, the film has an exciting fourth quarter.

Deep down, it’s a story about family and how the strong bond of the family comes in many different and imperfect forms. The cast gives it their all and finds the heart of this sweet narrative.

Waiting for the Barbarians isn’t a terrible film, it just never delivers on any of its promises.

Good-looking but predictable and schlocky, Mia and the White Lion is ultimately saved from slaughter by its two plucky heroes.

The Last Boy Scout is overwrought, extremely violent, has a relatively unbelievable winding plot, perhaps the foulest mouthed teen ever, tons of low lives everywhere, lots of shots to Willis’ face, and is actually a pretty entertaining effort, an undeniable guilty pleasure.

The women both in front of and behind the camera work wonders in subverting genre expectations, but not in the hokey, pandering way that female-led blockbusters so often settle for.

It's a feel-good movie, but not in a bad way. It makes you feel good the way that “Forrest Gump” made you feel good, as if the filmmakers were seriously trying to make a fun, wholesome, entertaining movie without taking on the industry with a moral agenda.

Would that we could extract the essence of this utterly enjoyable film and distill its creativity, intelligence and originality into a serum which we could then inject into all the tapped-out Hollywood screenwriters and directors out there.

I had just sat through a comedy that wasn't funny, a drama that wasn't touching and, all told, a mess of a story told by actors making some of either the laziest or most daring of choices, depending on your perspective. Sometimes both.

300 is a feast for the senses (well, two of them anyway) and an impressive technical achievement. More than that, it's a hell of a lot of fun.

Race can satisfy with a steady pace.

An unnecessary addition to the middling pantheon of pot flicks, Breaking Habits, like mid-grade schwag, is unlikely to get you buzzed.

An original, complex, and utterly gruesome revenge parable, and never portrays its characters as black and white. Considine handles his performance like a pro, and only adds to the pure skill behind it.

Silliness is on tap for you and your kids with Despicable Me 4, providing good fun for a trip to the theater or on a long road trip.

It’s a thrilling, poignant accomplishment, as uncompromisingly bleak as it is epic in scope.

A Gen-Z Bonnie and Clyde, Marmalade takes big, admirable swings, and while it misses some, it avoids the cardinal sin of being boring.

It's the curse of overacting and overdone shtick that does them in.

As with "Napoleon Dynamite," Hess' sense of humor is an acquired taste, where all the characters speak in peculiar cadences and are afflicted with a terminal case of the "quirkies." What’s unfortunately missing from Nacho Libre is much in the way of humor.

There are a lot of good messages in The Second Chance about how Christianity is a mix of love, both gentle and tough. Some of those, unfortunately, are lost in the uneven performances.

Bloody Hell is possibly the best combination of horror and comedy I’ve ever seen.

A charming, highly entertaining romantic adventure full of life, spectacular vistas, and sensual delight.

Takes a workable premise wrapped inside a mostly-talented cast and piles it all on poor Bosworth’s shoulders; it’s just not fair, you see how narrow they are.

Cage and Sinise earn their pay, but the story by De Palma and David Koepp -- which strains for romantic glory of De Palma's "Blow Out" or "Obsession" -- gives away too much too early.

Haunting and chilling, yet biting black tragi-comedy.

Touch Me is worthy of the same regard as the great hard drug classics like Trainspotting and Requiem For A Dream. In fact, Touch Me is the new heroin beacon shining high on the arthouse hill.

This movie is metaphysical fun, and while some elements are predictable, it’s an engaging mystery.

The Big Ugly is a fascinating beast. While the premise of the film sounds annoyingly trite, writer-director Scott Wiper develops an engaging batch of characters.

Another astute independent comedy shot on a small budget and boasting high laugh-per-minute ratio. But these are good laughs, not your average sitcom laughs.

It's a fun but somewhat uneven romp, enlivened by its unusual setting and lovely female lead, Miranda Otto.

By reducing the impact of addiction to wearing sunglasses indoors and singing badly for Scandinavians, all cautionary benefits of Houston’s tragedy are lost in the stage lights.

Not only did those so-called "demons" take the form of animals, but they actually talked!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is exactly what you think it’ll be. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing is up to you.

Some of the footage is exceptional, yet several of the more impressive stunts are shot from so far away on digital cameras that the resulting onscreen resolution is just a shade above god-awful.

Slightly less than lovable. It’s a strained romantic comedy that starts promisingly, takes a hard left turn and slowly falls apart.

This is the kind of film where you think you can predict everything that’s going to happen upon the first shot and you spend the rest of the film praying that you’re wrong. But it’s fun getting there.

On the whole, The Brothers Grimm is a mess; a formerly daring director’s attempt to cash in on big studio backing even after the rug has been pulled out from under him.

The movie is also just plain out fun, and I feel like a lot of other horror films could take a lesson from it.