A decent, smart, well-acted film.

It's just not funny.

Has even less directorial initiative than it has romantic spark.

Look to the cast as the best reason to see this film.

Obvious in its observations, predictable in its conclusions, and a little dull in the telling.

Sprawling between plot lines and shifting between tones for longer than it ought to, but laden with enough pockets of truth to make you wish it had been better, more restrained, more disciplined, more trusting in its own emotional sensitivity to spare us all manner of dorky detours.

Even at thirty seconds a piece, 26 shorts would feel, fittingly, like overkill. The ABCs of Death has no shortage of inventive, ironic and gruesome sketches, but the novelty of its successes just barely outweighs its stillborn stuff.

Despite the numerous patchy moments The Brass Teapot by and large squeaks by as an enjoyable entertainment.

So self-conscious that it alienates the viewer early and often.

Call it baseball interruptus, or just call it a missed opportunity.

A rather flimsy but moderately charming British romance comedy.

It all coalesces in a TV-level pleasantness, which isn't quite enough to fill a big screen.

For 8- to 12-year-olds and the grownups who love them, Recess is a pleasant Saturday-matinee diversion. The fact that it doesn't aim to be anything more is, in its own way, a blessed relief.

What were they thinking?

Doesn't go the distance in either story or style, unwilling to liberate itself from real or presumed expectations about what it takes to sell a movie featuring teenagers.

Unquestionably the work of both a newbie director and a green screenwriter.

In fact, The Internship rivals the aggressively bland “Larry Crowne” for sheer tepidness, if not worse due to the exhaustive product placement for a company whose real-life presence is unlikely to soon wane.

Gun Shy can't rise on wobbly legs, and its real potential is lost for good.

The film's light success really comes down to Shannon, though, the exuberant "SNL" star whose alter ego actually seems more real and sympathetic here than she does in brief TV skits.

With the possible exception of the action sequences and the occassionally imaginitive set design, it's awful.

The problem is, director Robert Lee King has a hard time sustaining the aimed-for camp tone, and while there are a few well-spaced giggles to be had, the movie sputters more than it soars for most of its 95 minutes.

Sometimes in life, simple pleasures can be rewarding, and that’s certainly the case here. Parker is not a particularly innovative film, but it’s no less effective for the blemish.

Despite a lead performance by the always welcome Julianne Moore it is rudderless in its presentation and outright stupid in its central conceits.

Captivating an audience from the get-go and drawing our attention and emotions ever deeper into the layered mysteries of a dreamy fable.

Austenland is as light and airy as a cream puff, and as entirely unfulfilling. Fans of the book may find it amusing, but those looking for heartier romantic comedy fare would do well to look elsewhere.

It’s a sadistic comedy, both in bloodshed and groan-worthy gags.

Ryan Gosling wanted to make an art film and, despite some dull patches, pretty much succeeded.

Rather than thrilling, the courtroom sequences seem only enervating, nudging us toward a quiet outrage.