It's a virtual clip reel of grandly comic moments that remind us what a good actress can do when parts are scarce.

If you have a serious interest in wine and the ­patience for this kind of rangy, undisciplined filmmaking, you'll learn something. But you'll have more fun at a winetasting.

As escapist fantasies go, this easygoing romance is a modest winner.

John Greyson and Jack Lewis' experimental drama, about two prisoners who have a dangerous affair, is a challenging, flawed look at a little-known slice of history.

The actors are unknowns, but Ryan does a lot with her little downturned mouth. There are as many shades of anxiety as there are shades of blue in the sea, and Ryan manages to find them all.

In a clear case of substance over style, this stark, clumsy documentary tells the heart-breaking stories of a dozen law-abiding Muslim or Arab immigrants and visa workers.

Has the integrity of good dialogue and enough of a writer's preserved craftiness to make it a worthwhile date-night attraction.

As dazzling a feast for the eyes as the hungriest eyes can take.

Smart, imaginative - and nearly ­impossible to watch.

On film, and eight years after they were written, his urgent re-creations of an awkward first date, or a Village People obsession, feel both overly familiar and almost embarrassingly earnest.

This genteel confection skews toward older audiences - those who go for "Calendar Girls," "Ladies in Lavender" and "Mrs. Brown."

Ristovski needs us to feel his nation's torment, and he succeeds.

You'll need a strong stomach, but director Christopher Smith mixes lots of laughs into the gore. Despite its predictable finish, Severance is bloody good fun.

A crowd pleaser, even if it is unremarkable.

Ultimately, the project suffers from a nearly complete lack of contextualization. We could surely use some background on Goebbels' complicity in mass genocide while listening to him brag about his beautiful, healthy children and happy family life.

Ends up a portrait through a rose-colored lens, turning a social parasite into a Greek hero.

The film's appeal is for the eyes. Because Henry got to call it art, it's on display once again.

This is cheeky sitcom in a minor key, and fated to be a mere footnote on McAvoy's resume.

Putting an entertainingly outlandish spin on "Matrix"-style action, Bekmambetov leans toward flamboyant special effects and operatic overacting.

An enjoyable trip, as long as you don't mind traveling light.

There are terrific performances from Kline and Judd, some breathtaking staging and production design, and, of course, some of the best music and lyrics of the 20th century.

As for Scott, his rather wry interpretation is competent, but neither daring nor insightful enough to arouse any great passion.

Unleashed serves two masters, each one disappointingly: It's a brutal series of over-amped fights, and it's a touching story of human nature at war with itself.

McCann's point of view overwhelms the human elements of his story, but this is, nonetheless, a riveting piece of filmmaking.

Kurosawa may be considered the genius, but his movie would go nowhere without its extraordinary leading man.

The film is beautifully shot and edited, but these emotional snapshots won't stay long in the memory.

What Possession reminds us more than anything is that love is more exotic at the safe remove of history. The irony is that LaBute is more at home chronicling the present, yet that's where this movie falls apart.

The attempt to make this intimate movie more exciting is misguided; we can find plenty of manufactured thrills at the multiplex. What's wrong with a little quiet, old-fashioned charm?

BI2 is packed with as much lust, nudity and sexual depravity as the first. So, why isn't it as much fun? What's lost in any sequel is the freshness of the first film, and was "BI1" ever fresh!

Because although there are some very striking moments in Neil Armfield's debut, there are simply not enough to keep us absorbed the way a movie should.

Made for viewers old enough to appreciate a talking pooch but too young to read or write about it.

The laconic Lemarquis does a solid job carrying off Kári's dryly mordant wit, making this eccentric story well worth watching.

This at-times harrowing, occasionally unfocused film is a case study of one of hundreds, if not thousands, of stories of Iraqi civilians to whom the war has hit home and left holes in families. It makes you rue the most indelicate of all combat euphemisms - "collateral damage."

A thing of beauty and imagination.

The thin, whimsical story is really better suited to a short film, but Hall deserves a lot of credit for carrying off such unusual material.

Cynics need not show up, but if you're looking for a feel-good fairy tale, this one's certainly sweet enough to satisfy.

Moves as slowly and deliberately as it sounds, but Seigner and Serrault are extremely effective in roles often requiring them to work alone, or together in loaded but wordless exchanges.

A good movie that could have been better, Joseph Cedar's sensitive Israeli drama falters when he trades sociological observations for political ones.

Funny, yet appalling.

A feast of imagery.

The requisite set piece, which will remind you of the treetop sequence in "Crouching Tiger," involves a fight atop a forest of burning poles, exactly the kind of thing you want in a movie like this.

Built on the most basic (though quite charming) animation, songs and plots, the film does have an inescapably straight-to-video feel.

A lush, panoramic, dizzyingly portrait of the many-tentacled entrepreneur Howard Hughes. Unfortunately, though it may finally gain an Oscar for director Martin Scorsese, it is not his best work. The movie is disappointingly flat.

Panayotopoulou does handle the material with sensitivity, but she relies too much on her young hero's unlikely precocity, which unwittingly diminishes the intensity of a child's very real grief.

Thought-provoking, but not quite as profound as it pretends to be.

Best of all is newcomer Justine Clarke playing a dour illustrator. Clarke's fascinating features register emotions at war, but always governed by a sense of self-deprecating humor.

The time-traveling is a little awkward, and a mawkish turn of events feels forced and unnecessary.

The sweetness of Nacho's nature, along with Black's unselfconscious physical enthusiasm, turn all this into a live-action cartoon, with the ring violence having no greater consequence than a Wile E. Coyote fall from a high place.

It's a great performance that's a horror to watch. Of all the bleak year-end movies, Love Liza is the bleakest; of all the sad characters you've seen lately, Hoffman's Wilson Joel is the saddest. And he goes home with you.

This computer-animated feature rivals "Cars" for the year's most visually exciting cartoon, but watch your step - most of the movie takes place in the London sewers, where the script may have been conceived.

What's good about the idea is that it triggers the kind of debate we would be having over Iraq if there was a draft. What's bad about it is that the three main characters in Robert Malkani's script - anti-war lawyer George (Chris Klein), gung-ho cab driver Dixon (Jon Bernthal) and sissy novelist Aaron (Elijah Wood) - are not interesting, either as individuals or as three amigos.

For all its scale, grandeur, historical context and political brass, "Kingdom" is no more compelling a period drama than last year's "Alexander."

The movie mostly sustains its excitement of the hunt. But the real star is the panoramic, beautifully composed cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond. Whether he truly loved the African locations or is cursed with "a gift" doesn't matter; the dynamics of the story often flag, but the visuals lend a palpable excitement. [11 Oct 1996, p.49]

Every trip requires patience, and this one brings plenty of rewards, in the ecstatic sounds of a country most of us haven't been able to visit firsthand.

Starts strongly and is bolstered by thoughtful performances.

Sophisticated in that European way and predictable in that Hollywood way.

Just when you think it's a violent drama, it turns into a comic road picture, before finally becoming a tender romance.

It may be that Gronkjaer couldn't get the nun to open up to her. But not knowing much about her creates an awkward imbalance that Vig, fascinating as he is, can't overcome.

Pure dumb fun -- horror slapstick that rudely parodies both the arterial violence of slasher films and the topless hedonism of the spring-break ritual.

Though predictable and a bit of a soap opera, Ferzan Ozpetek's Italian drama is saved by the tremendous appeal of its stars, Margherita Buy and Stefano Accorsi.

Suleiman isn't much for words, but when he's ready for action, there's no hiding his anger.

A riveting story.

While Kim is unable to keep us riveted on her near-silent performance, the script and direction have a gentle sensitivity.

Once you're past THOSE scenes, and come to know the context and characters involved, you'll find something both deeply humanist and emotionally complex.

After a few movies in which Paltrow was in danger of becoming a caricature of herself, she's back in rare form.

The action sequences that follow are routine to the point of monotony, involving chases through crowded streets and store fronts, a commandeered bus, a woman in peril, and so on. But Donner wisely devotes long spells in between to the evolving relationship between Jack and Eddie.

Short, sharp and to the point, Vacancy has a single goal, and that is to scare the hell out of you.

Despite some emotional dips and a see-it-to-believe-it load of schmaltz at the end, The Bucket List is mostly a joy ride with good company, and the actors obviously were having a high time on their traveling boondoggle.

Alnoy's unnerving mood piece is spare and atmospheric, even funny. The movie is accomplished, but gets hung up on arty composition.

There's magic afoot, even if the movie is more serviceable than magical.

It's both a compliment and a criticism to say that Michèle Ohayon's scrappy documentary ends much too quickly. Every moment of this story - about America's unlikeliest matchmaker - is fascinating. We just need more of them.

The Stockholm syndrome, that strange psychological malady by which hostages bond emotionally with their captors, is the central theme in this intimate melodrama.

The way he presents his romantic history is both clever and entertaining, but after a while the story becomes tediously familiar.

Given the lousy singing of Kirsten Dunst in "Spider-Man" and Drew Barrymore in "Lucky You," it's nice to report that Fisk - Sissy Spacek's daughter - shows real talent performing two songs here.

Unfortunately, despite some strong performances, the movie never really makes a case for its own existence.

Wood is compelling, but Charlie Hunnam ("Nicholas Nickleby") is the one to watch.

Powerful theater.

A rare opportunity to see shorts without having to spring for a ticket to a film festival.

Slams us with an absurdly repugnant ending, for absolutely no reason other than to shock viewers and generate cheap controversy.

Nolte, at least, delivers his lines with laser accuracy, and gives The Golden Bowl the life that so much cogitation could have drained from it.

Noya is a natural actor, and there are genuinely sweet moments between him and the adults. So, why did Agresti feel the need to pour so much added sugar down our throats?

Darker than the shadow of death.

A confused, empty, only occasionally funny mess of a movie.

Anyone familiar with Reno's politically minded monologues won't be surprised by her fury, which has sometimes been fueled by a self-righteousness that's undermined her valid observations.

Coppola won't win any Oscars, but the movie is a contender for cinematography, costumes and production design, and it's a lock for Prettiest Pastries.

Selim's script doesn't hit new territory, but beautiful cinematography takes it just far enough.

Both the humor and horror are as broad as the side of the Oldfields' barn, but King and the cast are clearly having fun.

The whole thing burns out well before the director reaches his ­final destination.

Saleem makes clever use of imagery, with the beautiful, snow-filled vistas representing his characters' personal and social isolation. But "Vodka" moves about as fast as the distant ice caps melt.

Pure situation comedy, and it's still fresh enough to provoke laughs.

Horror fans will still find it worthwhile. The ending is also a nice twist on the slasher genre.

The choice made by Kevin Spacey in taking on the role of Quoyle in the film adaptation of E. Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Shipping News nearly sinks it. But not quite.

A gripping, sometimes dramatic, sometimes annoying collection of jerky images and subjective impressions.

There are no surprises here, in other words, but there aren't supposed to be: This is a comfort film, the on-screen equivalent of mac and cheese - though with a splash of truffle oil to class things up.

It's hard to remain unmoved by Kang's deeply heartfelt homage to his nation's past.

Phenomenal acting, plus intelligent direction and themes, put The Ballad of Jack and Rose above other indie films about loss of innocence. At the same time, there is something garish about watching a father and daughter struggle with the snake of incest in their ill-advised Garden of Eden.

Koury's harsh documentary is likely to leave you unsettled and depressed. Which is, clearly, just what it's supposed to do.

"Sixth Sense" fans will be intrigued at first, then disappointed.