The most horrific -- and heartbreaking -- scene of any movie thus far this year comes at the climax of The Cove.

Campion tells this longish story with a reverent touch and a painterly eye, tipping over into artiness only occasionally. [20 Sep 1991, p.G5]

Despite its subject matter, Transamerica is a surprisingly funny movie, because Tucker never lets the pathos overwhelm his sense of humor.

A film that's funny and entertaining for kids and adults.

What makes the picture sail past its flaws is its earnest understanding of the desperation that drives people to regain control of their lives -- and the profound courage required to attempt it.

Documentary of riveting personal stories.

By giving the hero's inner plight so many dimensions, Superman Returns brings a richer, grander perspective to a seminal character without changing his essence. It's a profoundly personal take on a universal icon, made by a filmmaker who continues to improve with each movie.

It has been a while since we had a good, human movie about a war we could all agree on. In that, Memphis Belle is right on target. [12 Oct 1990, p.G5]

These Fitzgeralds are loud, selfish and often maddening, but they're a loving group, and you wouldn't mind spending more time with them.

In a simple, direct manner, Gunner Palace reminds you that the thousands of faceless, nameless troops in Iraq are still there after you switch off CNN.

Following is a pitch-black crime story, but never forgets its gentler side. It is, at 70 minutes, a slim movie, but by the time it concludes in inevitable tragedy, Nolan's characters have accomplished something rare for an openly nihilistic work: sympathy. [10 Sep 1999, p.10G]

It's all speed, movement and blood -- lots and lots of blood.

The kind of uplifting film families can enjoy without any reservations.

Watching this essentially good but misguided kid slide into a hopeless future is both transfixing and heartbreaking.

Scary? Yes, in spots. Gratuitously gory? You bet. But, first and foremost, Zombieland is a comedy.

Don’t expect Hitchcock or De Palma here — Reichardt is much too low-key and modest for such crowd-pleasing pyrotechnics — but one long, sustained shot near the end seems to suggest that people who are convinced they are doing the right thing are capable of great evil.

Begin Again manages to be romantic and cynical about the music industry, which Carney touches on but never allows to take center stage.

The story was adapted by Laura Esquivel from her novel, a bestseller in Mexico. Arau, the actor turned filmmaker, tells the story with the equivalent of a saucier's night out -- the film is physically lovely, and never so sumptuous as when it is concentrating on Tita's creations in and out of the kitchen. [02 Apr 1993, p.G4]

The real hit of the movie is the hilarious Bateman. His low-key humor makes you wish Hancock could have saved Bateman's short-lived sitcom "Arrested Development." Now that would have been heroic.

It's an uncommonly optimistic meditation on death and lament, befitting a filmmaker whose movies (Jerry Maguire, Singles, Say Anything), no matter their subject matter, always double as a celebration of life.

A trifle bland, but with enough virtues to make it palatable to audiences who want comfort food, not a challenge, when they go to the movies.

One of the amazing things about Volver is that Almodóvar once again manages to make a preposterous, overloaded plot seem sublime and organic: It's his profound empathy for his characters and their very human dilemmas and flaws that allows him to fling them into all sorts of odd places without ever losing sight of them as people.

Although the unrelenting pursuit of making the Vatican listen becomes a bit tiresome, the portrayals of the two men by Tukur and Kassovitz are engaging.

Burton is a first-rate stylist, but this time he's actually better at suggesting the inner life of his characters. [19 June 1992, p.G6]

Takes one side, but it tries to offer hope that change can happen.

What strikes you the most about this well put-together film is how little you're drawn to either character or really understand where either is coming from.

The movie doesn't quite achieve the transcendent effect it reaches for, saddled with an ending that fails to live up to our expectations. But the experience of watching Babel is undeniably riveting: Even if the film doesn't really lead anywhere, you still can't take your eyes off it.

The film is not only a good deal of malicious fun, but it gives Gere his best role ever.