Where Song of the South errs badly is in its regurgitation of the horrible myth that black slaves were always singing and happy and just loved working on massah’s plantation.

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.

A potentially great film stuck inside a not-so-great film. Watching Dog Run is fairly painful since flashes of brilliance peek out and shine at unexpected moments.

It comes off as an amalgam of everything that was cool in 1996, when we first saw the trailer.

The film’s repetitive themes and lack of emotional payoff leave it feeling more like a beautifully acted therapy session than a fully satisfying story.

Barron was the only light in my life,” a character yells at one point. “What am I now – just another dog in your army?” Barron’s Cove could have been a light in the current cinematic landscape, but instead, it’s just another dog in an army of duplicates.

What saves Adrift from an instant wreckage is Woodley’s performance, but still, it’s preferable to read the facts than cope with its cinematic adaptation.

It’s a great story. I’ve read books on the subject and have found it fascinating. But even reading Mandela and Desmond Tutu will not prepare you for the barrage of information Endgame throws at 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.

The movie crosses the line between offering mindless entertainment and insulting our intelligence.

It is a painful but important subject, to be certain, but the film dilutes its own effectiveness by devolving into a collection of talking heads who often seem to be repeating each other.

Starts off promisingly, but gets bogged down when it abandons humor for gravity.

Shaft attempts to hide its own prejudices by simply acknowledging those issues, without so much as a trace of depth or substance.

It is not quite as stupid as it looks. I'm not saying it ISN'T dumb, though, just not as bad as I think even the studio thought.

There are glimpses of the wit McKenna displayed in “Prada,” but these brief gasps of life are quickly suffocated by the inevitable schmaltz.

Nothing about this film is as cathartic as it tries to make itself be because the characters just aren't that absorbing. Instead of tugging your heart, it just spits in your eye.

In the end, Full Grown Men tells an amusing tale, and the cameo scenes from Alan Cumming and Amy Sedaris are not to be missed.

Companion takes a stab (literally) at sci-fi horror with an interesting idea, but making a robot the emotional center of the film is a misfire.

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

After four Pixar features under their belts, it is painfully easy to see the clichés emerging.

Lee has created a cinematic microcosm – atmospheric, containing powerful scenes, driven by some committed performances – that forgets to make a coherent point. The titular curse seems to be that of narrative ambiguity.

Brian Presley wrote, directed, produced, and stars in The Great Alaskan Race, and his reverence for the dire situation and heroics of the mushers are evident throughout. However, passion alone does not make a good movie.

Krull provides much swashbuckling cheese. But that’s precisely what gives the film a coy, relative appeal. Despite his role’s poor definition, Ken Marshall delivers Colwyn with some charisma. Krull also features engaging art direction, including The Beast’s jagged, globe-hopping fortress, and ambitious make-up effects that–if nothing else–seems a real challenge to function in.

Its dismal grey/brown color palette doesn’t help the film’s sluggish pacing, making The Operative one of the most head-scratching, aggravating experiences of the year so far.

While the screen didn't really need another Carmen, it certainly needs a knockout femme fatale like Diop Gai. Hopefully, Carmen can get a much-needed rest and audiences can get much more of this stunning African icon-in-waiting.

I’d recommend Retribution if the weather is too hot and you want to spend a few hours in air conditioning. Otherwise, it’s a pass.

The ham-fisted approach undercuts the valuable information that makes up Fail State.

Takes a while to get rolling, but builds fairly well once it finally does. Part of the problem, no doubt, is Shokrina's decision to have the dialogue rapidly alternate between English and (presumably) Persian, with subtitles. This is a highly disorienting distraction.

Somewhat of an improvement over the last one, though it still never veers off familiar terrain. Essentially, if you've only seen one "Shrek" film, you've seen them all.

Far from a disaster, but doesn't rank with Mann's best work.

Don't get your expectations up, but "LW4" is a decent enough date film.

This is a decidedly hit or miss deal which, despite the current outpouring of critical praise, is destined to rank among the Coen's least memorable achievements.

It's the outstanding performance from Martin Landau that really seems to hold your interest, as well as hold the film together.

Despite its supposedly uplifting concept, the film ends up being somewhat of a melancholic downer, hammering home the point that the whole notion of the American Dream is ludicrous.

It is Foy’s performance and presence that makes you want to stay to the end. She is the girl thrust into leadership with the vulnerabilities of her young age and with youthful curiosity. She’s not a child pretending to be an adult, but a child forced to act like one.

Shows that war is horrible, but fails to fully understand the people who experience the horror beyond their sad exteriors.

The film vacillates so wildly, it spins out of control. As for the love story sub-plot – the less said about the poor, vacuous hole of a character that is Marie, the better.

Ardent fans of Brazilian music will be able to shift through this. Others, like me, will have difficulty finding the point in all the haze.

Pretenders pretends to be Bertolucci’s The Dreamers in its meshing of a saucy young love triangle with an impassioned ode to cinema of yore. Alas, Mr. Franco’s not quite there yet.

Great villains and silly heroes make a move that ultimately falls flat.

The film does not know what it is, tonally changing within and between structural acts.

Though the title would have you believe you were watching a “futuristic” film involving robots, the truth is, it just feels like a cheesy soap opera or novella.

Camera style aside, the subject matter of Sagawa’s atrocious crimes are pretty fascinating. But it’s the pace and moments of complete dead silence that kills (no pun intended) the tension you would think would be obvious when making a documentary about a living cannibal.

As a guilty pleasure, it’s spectacularly entertaining

Stunning newcomer Agnes Bruckner and indie vet David Strathairn star in this oft compelling yet eventually disappointing character study of a young girl's rise out of the doldrums of adolescent life.

Packs a full plate of gasps and giggles.

This is one of those "Crash"-style pictures with interwoven narrative strands. The problem here is that most of the strands wind up little more than loose ends.

Who's responsible for this comedy proving such a disappointment- Jack Nicholson, Adam Sandler or director Peter Segal? Nope. The correct answer: screenwriter David Dorfman.

There are some genuine scares to be had here, and not just of the “Boo!” variety.

Sisto certainly has an eye for the story he’s trying to tell, and there are moments throughout John and the Hole, which show he has what it takes to be an interesting filmmaker. [But his] visual flair would have been better served with a stronger story.

There’s nothing offensively awful about Ms. White Light, but it lacks a unique perspective.

A 'so-so' movie. It's not particularly good, but it's competent and more or less successful in its goals.

Isn’t exactly dull, but it isn’t scary either.

Liberté is shocking, but it is staged as banally as possible.

As it stands, it’s not much of an indictment. As honorable as her intentions may be, Bibeau ends up blowing the whistle so incessantly, it sort of leaves you deaf.

Borgli’s feature is just another somewhat edgy movie that has nothing to say.

The biggest problem with the movie is that it fails to explain the complicated theories and formulas in a way that makes sense.

The saccharine conclusion would be problematic in any film, but given how much talent is involved, it's especially disappointing here.

Technically impressive horror film and sometimes fun to watch, but totally undistinguished.

Sure, the dialogue is absolutely atrocious, the acting sucks, Eric Roberts is a co-star, the action is lame and the fighting is boring. But all of this makes for one hilarious viewing experience. DOA is the sort of film you’ll want to watch with a drunken crowd of your friends.

One of the oddest and surely the longest cinematic experiences you may ever encounter.

The two actors are bound to be showered with awards, as is the production design, the polished script, etc. But there’s no intrigue, no real substance beneath all the gloss.

Coupled with decent acting but average cinematography and editing, Not Easily Broken hums more fittingly to the tune of a LifeTime television event.

The film is challenging and consistently interesting, but also trite and overbearing to the extent that it damages its message.

Knights of the Zodiac is a good production in terms of its action and cast. But when one focuses so much on the fantasy-action set-pieces, having a soulless story makes all efforts fall flat.

If you were expecting a small art film, you know you're in trouble when the first thing you see is Jim Carrey.

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.

While the Raymond Burr sequences and the subsequent clumsy English dubbing of the remaining Japanese footage made the U.S. version an unintentionally funny movie, the complete Japanese version is an unfunny bore.

While Bong Joon Ho delivers his signature visual flair and Robert Pattinson fully commits to the existential dread of his endlessly disposable character, the film struggles to keep its high-concept ideas fresh past the first act.

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.

The resulting concoction is a cinematic elixir that disappoints, no matter how much hypnosis one is under.

When a cast of minor characters is more interesting than the protagonist, you begin to wish that you were watching a movie about any of them instead.

Good ensemble performances in front of the camera are supported by clever shooting and cutting, which work, not just deftly but unobtrusively so, with and within the readily apparent technical limitations at hand.

With its clumsy storytelling and lack of someone to filter Duvall's gushiness about the subject matter, Assassination Tango winds up shooting itself in its own dancing feet.

After all is said and done, it seems like the jokes during the end credits are the tow truck of the movie, the engine quitting after the halfway point.

The Zellner Brothers wanted to create something that pokes fun at the genre and mixes things up in a creative and refreshing way. Unfortunately, the result is mildly funny and disappointingly predictable film.

An admirable film, but its charms will be visible only to the most patient filmgoers.

There's no denying Banderas' talent as an actor, and he's admittedly fun to watch. The rest of the cast are serviceable, meaning Woodard finds new ways to show us how this Latin heartthrob melts her icy exterior.

About the only thing suicidal in this lethargic crime drama is the convoluted script that wastes two fine performances by Christopher Walken and Denis Leary.

Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story does a good job revealing the man behind the battered visage, on many levels humanizing the excessively partying, hard-hitting Probert. However, the filmmaker chokes when it matters most. He fails to do a deep dive into how this ongoing physical punishment adversely affected the health of Probert (and many of these so-called enforcers) while giving a pass to the NHL’s willful negligence and tacit acceptance or this carnage.

If you can wait until near the end, you're in for some fun. But after an hour-plus, it's a pretty long wait.

If you like Chan's Hong Kong films, you'll like this. Much of the "dramatic" work and dialogue are horrible but the stunt work here is actually superior to many of Chan's films.

It isn’t the worst romantic comedy I have ever seen.

Recycles a great many motifs from "Truman" but never comes close to putting on as good a show.

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.

Like all of its predecessors, its overtly political message can’t decide whether its violence is justified or glorified. This means it sits right at average.

Analyze This plays "The Godfather" bit, fast and funny, it just picked a framework it should have refused.

With a couple of plot twists and a few powerful performances, Deuces Wild is worth checking out -- but only on home video.

There is a lot to like in Kaaterskill Falls. The characters are engaging and believable even when events stretch the envelope of realistic behavior.

Blue Night plods along for 96 Minutes, creating a surface-level exploration of its character’s life.

What this movie needed was a leaner narrative focusing on Earl and Marshall while keeping Moore’s character in the background. What we end up with is a goofy and occasionally enjoyable mix of horror, comedy, and action that can’t entirely shed its excess narrative flab.

It’s a huge task to cover a man’s entire journey to finish one piece of work, and The War and Peace of Tim O’Brien does an adequate job of giving an objective eye into Tim O’Brien’s life.

The pacing is brisk-something wacky happens every couple of minutes, the editing crisp and the effects promising. Then disaster strikes: the first act gives way to the relative witlessness of the second and third.

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

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

Misses the boat by essentially acting as a positive press release for the now-defunct Kozmo.com.

Elegy's last act is a mournful smorgasbord of bathos in which major and supporting characters alike drop like flies. The body count is practically Shakespearean. The same, regrettably, can't be said for Coixet's touch when it comes to tragedy.

While admirable in its ambition, the end result just doesn’t quite gel. Cool poster, though.