A fatal lack of character development dooms Enduring Love as little more than a fleeting curiosity.

What makes it the best movie of the year -- is its insight into human behavior.

This is an eerie, inventively mounted movie: It's a shivery fun time, filled with dark corners, deserted hallways and sudden apparitions. But it never manages to genuinely rattle you.

Bad enough to make even James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara seem dull.

If you haven't caught Lightning on PBS already, find a theater with a good sound system, sit back and be grateful the music endures.

Turns out to be something entirely different than it initially seemed, and while the conclusion brings everything to a logical close, it also renders the movie less interesting -- a stunt that didn't merit Bale's startling, and dangerous, transformation.

It's a dreamy Southern gothic, a la "Night of the Hunter," with an emphasis on the dreamy.

The beauty of Huo Ji Anqi's film transcends China's lush Hunan province to focus on the peace that comes from within.

Egregiously vulgar satire on terrorism, global politics and Hollywood action movies gets an immeasurable boost from its wonderfully designed, old-school string puppets.

Goes too far in its slapstick efforts to please mainstream audiences, but there's no denying the genuine appeal of -- and I can't believe I'm actually writing this -- Richard Gere and ballroom dancing.

Being Julia is really about the fear of aging and the battle to remain relevant professionally and sexually.

Paced at the speed at which Arctic ice melts, The Dust Factory is a sluggish, heavy-handed fable overloaded with talk of paradise and the man in the moon.

Taxes the patience of even the most willing viewer with its sheer nonsense: It's distractingly illogical.

A Frenchman may have thought of the story first, but this Korean film pays tribute to the original while perfectly standing on its own.

Makes a compelling argument for women's rights without ever succumbing to preachiness.

It's all amiably hackneyed, but it sucks you in anyway.

Loaded with so much drama that the story sinks into a grim, sloppy soap-opera mix.

If nothing else, director/screenwriter Jordan Roberts knows good music. If only we could say the same about his script.

Primer is obviously not for all tastes, but if it connects with you, prepare to be obsessed.

Has a weird, compelling energy, fueled by a deliciously dynamic cast, a cheerfully bawdy and odd story line and a refreshing, impossible romance.

But by the time you understand the meaning of its title, Sabiha Sumar's film has delivered an emotional punch.

This wacky, campy lampoon of 1950s Hollywood musicals is not for everyone.

A fresh breath of air, warmer than the icy village in which it takes place. You'll leave the theater with a wink and a smile.

If this is magic, I'll take "Gigli."

The movie is such an intense, disturbing and exhilarating experience, even five more minutes might have felt like too much.

For all its noble intentions, the movie is really a work of crass exploitation -- an obvious and manipulative grab to cash in on the post-9/11 hero worship of the firefighting profession.

What Shark Tale lacks in originality it makes up for with sassy humor, bright, effective animation and terrific vocal work.

Everyone up on the screen appears to be having so much fun, you wish the movie found a way to let you into the party.