At its core, Susanne Bier's wrenching portrayal of the shifting dynamics within a Danish family is really about survival, about how we cope in the face of shattering grief and what we'll do -- anything, really -- to save ourselves.

Running Scared is a vicious and brutal B-movie jacked up to hysterical, hallucinatory proportions -- a pulpy, violent action picture that torments the viewer as much as its characters, and I mean that as a compliment.

Quibbles aside, Ultimate X zips by speedily and is rad fun for sports fans and sedentary folks alike.

The film’s visual artistry works as an ideal counterbalance for Kaufman’s heady brand of middle-aged despair.

Combined with Guare's bountiful writing and Schepisi's ambitious style, Six Degrees of Separation approaches the sublime. [21 Jan 1994, p.G5]

Kong: Skull Island is fast, playful and ridiculous, a big-budget extravaganza with the soul of a spirited B-movie.

An unusually vicious and unforgiving study of police corruption, Narc is a stylistic throwback to such classic 1970s cop dramas as "The French Connection" and "Serpico," with a 21st century helping of the old ultra-violence.

Though there's nothing revolutionary about 17 Again, the movie is undeniably enjoyable.

Great Balls of Fire makes the most of this abundant raw material by keeping its focus tight (barely two years in a career that has spanned 30), its characters outrageous and the conflict between Lewis and his self-righteous cousin Jimmy Swaggart unresolved. [30 June 1989, p.H5]

Williams is wonderful. But though you can see Williams straining and heaving at the traces, working against the confines of a script he could have rewritten between scenes, he makes a character out of it anyway. [18 May 1990, p.G5]

Something is missing in Roxanne. The greatness of Rostand's play was that it touched, underneath Cyrano's panache, a place of deep yearning, a heartwarming truth about human loving. Martin and Schepisi are satisfied with the shine. [19 June 1987, p.D1]

It's even better as a love story that just happens to make you laugh.

The charm of Jimmy Neutron is that it's both futuristic enough to intrigue kids and retro enough to hook their parents.

A hoot.

A hard and hilariously ironic look at the bottom line. As it turns out, love was not all you needed; hard cash came in handy, too.

Heavy-handed and manipulative, it also proves formidably engrossing.

Concise and intriguing.

Its social consciousness aside, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is really a simple love story between men set in the American West, although unlike "Brokeback Mountain," this love is purely platonic -- nothing more than the bond of brotherhood between two dear friends, a classic Western theme.

The Family is the rare breed of pitch-black comedy that effectively uses violence for laughs or gasps, depending on the situation.

A late-summer delight, a sleek, handsomely made bauble buoyed by a cast much stronger than the flimsy material deserves.

It's best to just enjoy Hannibal for what it is: A decadent, elegant waltz about evil's seductive bloom. As sequels go, you could do a lot worse.

One thing nearly all the anecdotes in The Hunting Ground have in common is their resolution: A lack of justice.

Sad confusions and emotional disconnections are what the story is all about.

This is a love letter to lunacy (and an unspoken tribute to the iconic towers) that lets you feel what it’s like to tread where only gods dare.

It's a B-movie with A-list aspirations, and it's at its best when it's not trying to be something it isn't.

Eastern Boys explores whether these lost boys are damaged beyond repair or are still capable of being saved.

The movie is enchanting yet strangely menacing, and it becomes clear that Pawlikowski is no mere love fool.

An unapologetically stupid and implausible movie, but in the best possible way -- it's so sure of itself, it wins you over.