The radiant Blanchett makes Charlotte's individual journey from lovelorn lady to independent woman believable and involving, and that's ultimately what counts the most -- even if the destination is less than ideal.

Tries to be bigger and better than the first "Charlie’s Angels." It achieves the bigger, but the better is sorely lacking.

If you can’t check your brain at the door then don’t even bother with The Predator. The film is loud, improbable, manufactured within an inch of its life, and takes absolutely no real risks with the franchise. If you want action movie comfort food, this might be your movie.

The Protégé is just good action-y thriller-y fun with great repeat value. It falls in that mid-range budget for an action film, maybe just a few notches below the Bourne films. So it’s the perfect popcorn and movie outing for the weekend.

It’s not as grueling as its big brother, but if Chainsaw is a five star movie then Eaten Alive is at least worthy of four. It’s only within the context and confines of Chainsaw and director Tobe Hooper that Eaten Alive seems to fall short of anything at all. On its own the film stands heads and shoulders above many others of the horror genre.

An adequate attempt, but sorry, it's just not groundbreaking.

Like a TV sitcom where the locations of commercial breaks can be foreseen, after about twenty minutes of Butterfield 8, you can predict when a transition will conclude a scene.

Oh, boy. This is not unlike watching one of the movies Jerry Lewis made after that concentration camp/clown epic nearly destroyed his career and his mind.

Lahti's feature directorial debut plays like a watered-down variation ("Ghost World") -- that is, until the final third, when the film not only deviates but flat out derails.

Predictable? Yes. Corny? Sure. But Brother Bear is still good, family fun.

Full of enough legitimate red meat to incense salivating Democrats who can't wait to tear into a pound of Bush's flesh in November. Yet, this film should truly frighten partisans on both sides of the aisle.

As much as you'd like the characters to become better people and beat Jigsaw's game, there is also a strong desire simply to watch violent spectacle. And somehow, there just isn't enough of the latter.

While Trudell has a few interesting and emotional moments in its second half, from the start it is badly hobbled by its worshipful tone.

Overall, it's good, not great.

Aside from a few routine battle scenes, the movie's action consists mostly of people slogging slowly through non-stop rain. This is not interesting, much less exciting. The dialogue is hokey hero blather.

As corny as it is, there’s a lot of heart to 50 First Dates. But this happens more in spite of Adam Sandler than because of him. The heart comes from Drew Barrymore, really, and some of the supporting cast.

An unconventional fairy-tale. There are no monsters to kill, the Prince character doesn't strike you as too charming, and the heroine is not the fairest maiden in the land.

Basically, what you have in Ju-On is a collection of effectively scary sights and sounds - sound effects play a huge part in rolling that chill down your spine – and that's about it.

For all the effort Giamatti gives in making George a convincing character, the movie itself, never quite gets off the ground. The feel is too deliberately peculiar, and Goldberger's detached style never gives us a reason to invest ourselves in anyone but George.

Stewart commands the screen in a fierce performance, effortlessly elevating the material with a few poignant glances and teeth-clenched determination.

The film's acting is superb. Best known as a gritty wiseass, Denis Leary creates a fine dramatic performance.

Initially turns the dour field of psychiatry into an amusing, absurdist romp. Unfortunately, the further the film progresses, the more it relies on silliness and triteness for ever-less frequent laughs.

The movie sucks. It's beneath Argento to be making such drek after so long a career. He's better than this.

Dead Ant is not quite the slam dunk it could be, based on its concept and cast. However, the faults don’t deter from the sheer fun and energy of the production. Combine that with the very game cast, led by a dynamic and lively Jake Busey, and you get a recipe for a good time.

There’s a great story buried somewhere deep within the desert that is Head Count – about a brotherly bond, about jealousies that assume anthropomorphic shapes, about a demon that literally reflects our insecurities. Ellen Callahan hints at those stories but ends up telling the most basic version.

Solo Mio is good, sappy fun, and the perfect date movie for all the craziness going on in the world at the moment.

Seriously, it's a bad sign for your "kids movie" when the kids in question are asking their parents, "When is something going to happen?"

It’s a darkly funny allegory about technology with awesome practical gore.

We Need to Do Something simply doesn’t have the character-centered backbone to create an engaging 96-minute long story. It’s painfully obvious that atmosphere and style were the priority even though the premise made it so that the characters took the spotlight.

Gran Turismo captures a truly remarkable young man and his journey to professional legitimacy. This is for anyone needing a jolt to the system and focusing on getting back on one’s true path in life.

It works because this isn't really a "disease" film, it's a love story. It just so happens one of the main characters has Tourette Syndrome. Thus, I too will take the easy way out and say, "it's a good love story...with a twitch."

Decent in its special effects and has the advantage of having Hilary Swank and Aaron Eckhart in it.

Not only harmless, but actually quite funny and charming.

Luckily, the genuinely funny jokes far outnumber the duds in the film itself, which is helped by the generally energetic performances by Broken Lizard and their co-stars.

As a matter of fact, Initial D is an anti-car racing film. It's not about thrills; it's about how to perfect the art of drifting, philosophy, and how to transcend the human condition.

Red Right Hand fully delivers in the action realm.

Washes away whatever unique filmmaking personality Franklin has.

The surprisingly sweet Shallow Hal finds Peter and Bobby retreating to a gentler mode -- and, in the process, a far less funny one.

Highly entertaining film.

With this marvelous cast of characters and the comic brilliance of writer/director Greg Pritikin, nary a minute goes by that you're not slapping your knee with laughter.

The wackiness that unfolds is boring, ridiculous and, to most, offensive.

One of the more cheerfully dumb thrillers I've seen in a good long while.

Gripping and mercifully short, it doesn’t quite achieve the status of cinematic gold. Perhaps it’s for the best, or Hayes may have fallen prey to his ambitions.

The Longest Yard lives or dies with its physical humor, a form of recent comedy I like to call slapstick sadism.

As far as its storytelling, it’s good but rarely rises to the level of inspiring. Fans of Tolkien are going to find a nice, comfortable place in this film, but walk away feeling like they could have dug deeper into this life.

The last act of American Gun is quite possibly one of the most ridiculous and forced dramatic twists I've seen in years.

Step Up doesn't want to be new, original, innovative, or fresh, and it makes a point of practicing that guideline at every chance.

An extraordinarily charming movie.

Is Mope a “must see?” If you love movies that start off insane and ends even crazier, then yes, Mope is a must see in every way!

What keeps you rapt is that permeating, subtle feeling of sadness, of bitterness and regret. Whether it was an intentional choice in a “comeback” documentary remains debatable – but that’s what truly works about it, is its driving momentum.

Should the likes of Burstyn, Flanagan, Smith, and Knight have to be reduced to playing eccentric caricatures of aging Southern belles?

Very unusual that a film focusing on characters this miserable can be so uplifting, but here it is, and it's damn fine.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is fast-food when audiences demanded a five-course meal.

Prisoner’s Daughter is a drama that stings hard but also unleashes a lot of hope. It is a splendid reason to be excited about the great American indie again.

Director Dwight Little does a solid job to keep things credible and moving, while the script makes an earnest effort to hide the true villain until the climax.

The Call of the Wild is actually a good story and ultimately works as a movie.

Despite the greatness of Lloyd, the acting overall comes across as a bit stiff. There are a lot of fresh faces here, so it’s to be expected. Your level of enjoyment of Spirit Halloween: The Movie will probably vary based on your expectations coming in. I kept mine low and had some fun with the spooky cheesiness of it all.

Ultimately sinks beneath the waves of the Caspian Sea.

The premise of Night at the Museum is definitely a bit more creative than the standard family films we are used to at this time of year, but the problem is that the film is marred with many gags that are outdated and therefore feel cheap.

Where Tarantino is bold, the main shortcoming here is that Montiel plays it safe.

The Argument winds up being either the most horrifying funny scriptwriting workshop ever, or a really f***ed up version of Groundhog Day. Either way, an exact-science blend of tight scripting and a strong ensemble cast make this film a new comedy gem.

Of course, the argument can be made that a film is a work of art, which grants extended artistic license. Fine, then why not use the events as a basis for a fictional story rather than deliver unabashed inaccuracy in the name of art?

Is the film fun? Yeah, in that campy kind of "The Mummy" way, but it is also weak as a sequel in that very campy "The Mummy Returns" type of way.

Unfortunately, despite its good intentions, Mary Magdalene boils down to another story about a woman watching a man talk.

Whether you’re a Godzilla fan or not, you’ll have fun, but you’re not going to walk away feeling like you saw something spectacular or memorable for that matter.

There's a lot of goofy spy game crap going on, peppered with lesser quality action sequences. Ugh. I'm just so depressed and disappointed right now. I need a shoulder to cry on.

Joyless, soulless.

Johansson is a stunningly charismatic actress. She gives Travolta a serious run for his money.

Ultimately, The Strangers does succeed in the sense that it offers a riveting, vastly credible enactment of everyone's worst nightmare.

Casting and premise are Haunted Mansion‘s greatest strengths, though many of the best ensemble moments or narrative choices are fleeting.

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy may not fully cohere, but it certainly doesn’t play it safe. The extent to which you enjoy the film will depend on your tolerance for excess.

A typical end-of-the-year dump film, in that there's almost no reason to see it.

How much you join in will depend on how big a fan you are of the collegiate comedy formula, how many times you've seen "Animal House" and "Caddyshack," and how much you hate Long in those smarmy Mac commercials.

It may have the melody, visage and basics of a Bollywood biggie, but truth be told, The Guru, despite it’s zest and lure, gives the far-off genus a bad wrap.

Forces a self-examination that is both traumantic and revealing.

Winds up being enjoyable, even though the only character I really liked was the main one, played by David Paymer. Everyone else I wanted to whack in the ass with a tire iron.

Campion and company may like to think they've made something provocative, moody and new but it's really just "Looking For Mr. Goodbar" with extra nuts.

What I appreciated about this movie was how it captured trauma and selective memory.

Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik does what he does best. His portrayal is over-the-top funny and clearly, Carrey is in his element. It reminds me a lot of Fire Marshall Bill.

Aaron Paul brings his trademark street-corner angst to the party, and it plays just fine. As child actors go, Murphy is pretty good. McNairy and Winstead do a fine job of realizing that silent, domestic agony that neither party wants to bring out into the open, fearing it won’t go back in.

The Secrets of Dumbledore is hands down the best of the series.

The revelation of the film's mystery just barely makes sense. Yet, we dismiss it as an extended MacGuffin, and thus can delight in the film's devious turns.

A film that normally someone like Adam Sandler would star in, but for some reason Matthew McConaughey decided to star and show that he's still not funny.

Despite the bits that work brilliantly, the movie as a whole really only works as an experimental curiosity.

It's got everything the genre calls for – boppy music, cute boys, cute girls, lots of sexual lingo, and most importantly, laughs.

The leads are all likable, albeit two-dimensional, and the rompish surreal texture of the film, makes it stylishly hip and humorous, almost like an episode of "The Monkees."

The story of lust, love and betrayal intriguingly bemoans racism and prejudice of bygone times while peppering the “history” with more modern references.

Angel of Mine is a good movie for fans of the dysfunctional family melodrama. Primarily from the performances from its leads and a strong story that holds together to the end. The thrills are thrilling but sadly never gets to Fatal Attraction level outcomes.

The "star-studded" cast seems to have been cast according to their Premiere power ranking and/or desperation for exposure.

Everything about the sequel feels bloated.

Isn't a bad film per se--it’s just an empty film.

The difference between “Juno” and Jennifer’s Body, I realized, was that Diablo Cody's disgustingly smug dialogue -- supposedly so winning when spoken by Juno -- is much easier to swallow when it comes from characters who actually are disgustingly smug -- like Jennifer.

Fortunately for Redford, Lions for Lambs is a less ham-handed effort than Sayles’ “Silver City,” but it’s a near thing.

A commendable subject matter does not a good movie make. Tape is inherently misguided, a queasily voyeuristic project, rendered nearly-unwatchable by its pseudo-artistic tendencies and patronizing tone.

The kind of film that requires a lot of work and patience on behalf of the viewer, not to mention a willingness to set aside prejudices and the fear inherent when we meet people different from us. As such, while you may not necessarily like By Hook or By Crook, you won't forget it, either.

Has an underlying charm that drags its audience, kicking and screaming to have a good time.

The men in this movie are little more than beer ad cliches going through Ford tough motions as though trapped in a bad country music video. There's not a realistic moment or character or performance in the picture.

The whole film appears over-blown and pumped up on marketing steroids.