It's beautiful and obvious, a dubious combination that may nonetheless ensure its success.

Somewhere between setup and punch line, American Pie 2 starts feeling less like a sequel and more like the second episode of a TV series, a case of fine-tuning after the pilot's been picked up by the network.

The week's most pleasant surprise.

Eureka is, quite extraordinarily, never dull.

Demy's films are often described in terms of music; this one is more like a tango in which one person leads and refuses to forfeit the position.

As it stands, there's some fine sex onscreen, and some tense arguing, but not a whole lot more.

There's enough substance here to make Crazy/Beautiful more than worthwhile for its target audience, and certainly more useful than the standard teen crapfests.

The big-screen surround-sound effects are nice; too bad they're the only aspect of the film that's ready to rumble. And parents, be warned: There's an astonishing amount of bloodletting for a PG-13 film.

Hardball is not as bad as it sounds, and at its best it's charming.

As Bundy, Michael Reilly Burke (Octopus 2: River of Fear) has just the right amount of charisma and menace. It's his performance that makes the movie, giving a relatively shallow script more depth and character nuances than likely existed on the page.

Though the film came out a year ago in the U.K., the timing here is unfortunate, and one has to wish that, like so many bigger productions, Liam could have migrated to a more-distant release date.

Paul Cox's admirers are sure to embrace this latest eruption of sincerity and sensitivity.

Those with an interest in new or singular sorts of film experiences will find What Time Is It There? well worth the time.

Though wildly imperfect, manages, for all its missteps, to touch on a number of important issues few gay films have dealt with to date.

Argento knows how to work her stuff, and the result is by turns saucy and grody, a fat lasagna of yesterday's "extreme" behavior dripping with Euro cheesiness.

Picture the dopes from "Dumb and Dumber" getting mixed up in organized crime -- but without benefit of Jim Carrey's rubberized pratfalls or his go-to-hell anarchism.

Atkins has trouble keeping the tension high and the jokes rolling. Halfway through he begins tripping over the noir genre's dark rules, and in the end he veers off into a haze of romantic redemption that Billy Wilder and Nicholas Ray would have scoffed at.

For three jerks bitching in a box, Tape makes the most of its minimalism. At its best, it's Betrayal for the Breakfast Club set.

A mess, but it's a rousing mess, with ample humor and action to satisfy the discerning dullard within.

Doesn't hit a home run on every action sequence -- an early bit set in Colombia is too long and too disjointed -- but there are one or two bits in the movie's latter third that are guaranteed to hook action fans.

Filled with sharp observations and interesting, often subtle, bits of visual trickery, much of it evoking the technique of Douglas Sirk's American domestic melodramas. Still, the very simple story seems too simple and the working out of the plot almost arbitrary.

Like its namesake, this Simon Mágus is wise and elemental, sure to leave you pensive afterward.

Director Mick Jackson (L.A. Story) delivers playful and charming teens-turned-30 moxie.

Distinguishes itself by its subtlety and good taste. Even if we catch a hint of gypsy music on the soundtrack -- or glimpse a disturbing American neighbor lady -- Gardos steadfastly guards us from caricature. She wants to keep it real.

Actually boasts a decent script with character development, a sense of pace and some well-drawn supporting roles.

The new documentary Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy shows, all is not quite as it seems.

The texture is reminiscent of last year's "Suzhou River," but the basic material isn't as rich.

Heavy with mood and Finn's fine music, Jeffs' debut feature merely moistens us when we should be soaked. Maybe next time she'll let it all come down.