But if the film disappoints on an intellectual level, at least it doesn't skimp on pageantry. This is, without question, one of the most beautifully crafted, visually thrilling war pictures ever made -- a painterly spectacle that leaves you looking for Caravaggio's name in the end credits.

Mysterious Skin bears all of Araki's hallmarks, from its stylish compositions and lush colors to its willingness to confront difficult subject matter head-on.

A good story, but its potential is never realized.

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.

Almost certain to polarize audiences, this bit of emotional agitprop plays like a watered-down "Short Cuts" or "Magnolia" with a shrill, one-note message: We're all a little bit racist.

The film's opening credits are terrific, and the first 10 or 15 minutes -- in which Ford and Arthur speedily load up on beer at the local pub -- are absorbing and funny. It's such a promising start that it's doubly deflating to realize that once they land on Zaphod's spaceship, the humor vaporizes.

Basically the first movie all over again, with plenty more of the bridge-jumping, rocket-launching action that audiences loved about the original.

Beguilingly odd.

Doesn't stretch beyond the typical, period drama the Brits do so well. It is no more than a warm cup of tea on a chilly afternoon. The reward comes in seeing these two great actresses at work.

There are few moments when you're not totally absorbed by the film.

Watching these coolly precise, methodical actors spar with each other at the top of their game is half the show.

Survives its surface annoyances because Lynch's script also has ambition, heart and something to say other than love conquers all.

Gordon Gekko didn't disappear with the 1980s; he just became a lot more difficult to pick out from a crowd.

The good news is the updated version is scarier than the original, thanks to snazzier special effects, a shorter running time, moody lighting, a few solid jolts and one icky moment involving a bratty babysitter and a closet. The bad news is the film rehashes every horror movie cliché you can imagine.

Steeped in pitch-perfect nostalgia and propelled by equal doses of comedy and tragedy.

The entire movie rides on Paul Kaye's performance.

Solondz's determinedly removed eye for the graphic and shocking is by now practically a cliche. If Solondz really wants to outrage anyone, he'll have to make a sweet and heartfelt drama.

It's not that Sahara is offensively bad: It's just that the picture, loud and busy as it is, never really finds its own identity.

Fever Pitch is surprisingly devoid of jokes, or romance, or any of the other basic elements you'd expect to find in a romantic comedy. The only thing the Farrellys get right is the obsession.

For all its excitement Kung Fu Hustle is mostly a marvel of comedic ingenuity and mile-a-minute creativity run wild. You've never seen anything like it.

The film, bound to bore the socks off impatient viewers, mistakes reserve for depth and ends up hamstringing its talented cast into playing characters you never care about all that much.

Smile feels like one man's answer to movies increasingly overloaded with sex and violence.

This is an affair to forget.

Sin City is always moving on to the next thing, and despite surprisingly good work from its large cast (especially Rourke and Owen, who are both outstanding), the picture feels synthetic and artificial.

If there's one thing missing above all else from today's action movies, it's the lost art of the car chase.

With a light, sometimes hilarious touch, Look at Me deflates the pretensions and self-obsessed nature of a group of wealthy Parisian literati, but its observations about the effects of fame and success and our natural desire to fan them as high as they can go, apply to anyone within range of reality-TV culture.

Has nothing new to say, but it has a lot of fun covering the same old territory.

By film's end, you realize you've sat through an effective rip-off of "Meet the Parents."