As seen in Charlie Victor Romeo (code for “Cockpit Voice Recorder”), the events are almost unbearably gripping.

What Haggis obviously wants to explore is what the war in Iraq is doing to the humanity of our soldiers there. By approaching it indirectly, he simplifies it to a degree that I expect will anger many Iraq veterans.

Despite some early whispers of awards potential, The Debt is nothing more than a gritty thriller with a highbrow pedigree.

Mildly entertaining trifle.

In a movie theater, at least, there are other people to hear you laugh, and the film of MST3K already seems a more communal, less onanistic experience.

It’s hard to fault a movie like The Good Lie for its intentions. But it can be faulted for pandering, both to its subject and to audiences.

Lovett's history is heavy on hedonism, but he does deliver a succinct perspective on this celebratory era - between the sad bookends of repression and loss.

The three young actors are good, but the movie is held together from beginning to end by another riveting performance from Washington. Few actors can dominate a film with their diction as well as Washington, and the role of the erudite, passionate Mel Tolson gives him plenty of opportunity.

Bernstein blunts the inherent tension by zipping everything along at the pace of a snail with a sore foot. Still, Montenegro does wonders in her long silences, and makes her love scene with the eager 72-year-old Cortez look like a hookup at Club Med.

It's always a pleasure to find a family film that respects its audience all the way up the line.

The 3-D format is mostly wasted, and the production so slick we never truly feel like part of that screaming audience. For fans only.

(Rourke's) nearly unrecognizable presence is characteristic of the odd pockets of talent (and, sometimes, lint) in Steve Buscemi's film.

It's no easy trick to invite viewers into an utterly bleak setting populated by the dissatisfied and small-minded. But a droll script and generally deft direction make the Icelandic chill surprisingly inviting.

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

Mood is more important to Not Fade Away than anything, but writer-director David Chase, who turned mood into masterpiece with every season of "The Sopranos," allows nostalgic feeling to be the sole reason for this, his first feature film.

Many of the right elements -- the '40s look, the melodrama, the love that transcends reason.

Intermittently compelling biography.

Dublin-born Byrne and native New Yorker Linney...are both exceptional at depicting characters about to burst from inner turmoil, and Linney, in particular, is heartbreaking.

It's not a pretty picture, but it sure is a compelling one.

Wan's secret weapons are clearly Wilson and Farmiga, both such good actors they're able to sell the audience on everything the Warrens experience. The duo also does a great job selling the romantic bond between the Warrens, which helps you fall in love with them as much as you end up falling for the entire Hodgson family.

Can't get the kids in your life to pay enough attention to homework? Show them Tom Shepard's terrific documentary, and you might just light a fire.

Unfortunately, despite the sweaty, tense atmosphere, Viva Riva becomes derivative of the duller scenes in other gangster flicks.

While Lucky Them may not be a classic, the actors at least find a cool groove.

Sigourney Weaver is a riot in the cynical Faye Dunaway network boss role.

Darker than the shadow of death.

Keshavarz's vision is clear and heartfelt, and everyone has an urgency in their eyes.

Most of its features work fine, and it will dazzle you with its tricks and illusions. But it is not what it claims to be on the package.

Though it's ultimately rather heavy-handed, this drama about an Iranian-American family is heartfelt and topical.

When Anderson allows the experts - or simply those most deeply impacted by the changes - to speak, the film has a powerful urgency.

the director works way too hard to cover his tracks, and the resolution is a disappointment - if you get it at all.

"Parnassus," while not unwatchable, is also an elephantine mess.

Visually arresting but thematically uneven, Gerardo Naranjo's fictional snapshot of a gritty Mexican beach is simply too desperate to shock us.

Fanning's Currie grabs the spotlight immediately, and never lets go.

Maguire’s portrayal of Fischer’s volatility, disconnect and inner demons is gripping. It’s his best performance since “Wonder Boys” (2000). Schreiber hardly says anything, yet he’s gloweringly good. He acts with his jowls and brow and swept-back hair, making the sort-of rock-’n’-roll Spassky a polar opposite, but strategic equal, to Fischer. Saarsgaard is also terrific, lending a quiet air of solemnity and thoughtfulness.

Unfortunately, Bate saddles his otherwise compelling chronicle with awkward re-creations and an aggressively overbearing narration.

When Marilyn Monroe appears, things stop. She is, as portrayed by Michelle Williams, a strange and beautiful alien: Unpredictable, odd, magnetic.

As for Ginsberg himself: Should we be more impressed that Radcliffe so confidently portrays an actual icon, or that he banishes all memories of the fictional one he’s portrayed before? Both accomplishments suggest that he’s got real talent, and a future that’s already taking him well past Harry Potter.

Entertaining, inventive and old-fashioned in the best way.

Fast-moving, exciting and contains more twists than a tunnel under Checkpoint Charlie.

Give Lawrence credit for a seriously emotional performance, at least, and thanks to supporting actors Moore, Sutherland and a sly Woody Harrelson for adding color and comedy.

I Love You Phillip Morris not only blasts gay stereotypes back decades, it could actually make people wish for a third "Ace Ventura" movie. Both of those are an accomplishment, though neither is a compliment.

Directors Maiken Baird and Michelle Major may have begun this documentary with the intention of profiling two of the most successful siblings in sports. But any reality TV viewer knows that bad behavior is always more compelling than likability. So this movie’s title becomes, perhaps to the filmmakers’ own surprise, a little misleading.

Director Bertrand Tavernier’s amusing new political satire isn’t toothless, but it could use more bite.

Compelling and highly informative.

Meadows is very good with the boys' relationship, and achieves his and Fraser's central goal of showing how childhood bonds can be simultaneously fragile and strong.

Both a witty ode to and a poignant lament for the choices we make.

Though the film is dark and the ideas run deep, it's perversely fun to think about.

The slick but moving Saving Mr. Banks transcends its corporate pedigree to become a great Disney movie about making a Disney movie.

The Warriors is a comic book morality tale, Westside Story crossed with A Clockwork Orange. The movie is so perversely fascinating in a variety of ways that it’s too bad the imagination demonstrated wasn’t used for something better than what turns out to be one more exploitation film in which the audience is encouraged to cheer the sights and sounds of mayhem.

A slow, solid movie that, like Rita, sneaks up on you with its intelligence and pluck.

In a nice bit of sorcery, Disney’s taken their 1991 animated classic — and their 1993 Broadway hit — and combined them into a groundbreaking delight, anchored by a breakthrough performance by Emma Watson.

This insightful doc from director Andrew Rossi addresses topics that get more polarizing each year: the high cost of college, the factors that dictate who’s educated in this country and the culture that surrounds those decisions.

It's big, bright, savvy, and so expansive you'll undoubtedly leave feeling you got your money's worth.

Poitier relieves the melodrama, thankfully, by livening up the picture with his sense of humor. [29 Apr 1972, p.187]

Armstrong is usually a strong and original director of actors (her 1979 "My Brilliant Career" launched the inimitable Judy Davis). But here, her taste seems to have deserted her. [31Dec1997 Pg.30]

As intriguing and unusual as its title, this anime debut from CGI mastermind Michael Arias bursts with enough ideas for three movies.

Further proving his mastery of creating tension and thrills, Scott has effectively created a satisfying hybrid of "Alien," "Prometheus" and even James Cameron's "Aliens."

The movie is not up to the company’s highest standards, but it’s certainly better than most other kid flicks you’ll see this year.

It's buckshot humor that is funny when it lands; cringe-worthy when it doesn't.

Scurlock barely acknowledges the logical reality of any credit card transaction: If you choose to buy something, you will have to pay for it eventually.

It is no small compliment to Pierce Brosnan to say that his performance in writer-director Richard Shephard's goofy black comedy The Matador could only be rivaled by Christopher Walken.

Frenzied, gothic nonsense.

Intermittently compelling drama.

Dunst and Williams...turn ditsiness into a frenetic comic duet.

May actually appeal more to women than men because of the steely heroine, the pitting of love of family against love of filthy lucre -- and the mom-fights-back plot.

The strong script (with updated flourishes by "Bad Santa" writers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa) and some of the vibrant child characters pull it through, with the comically reptilian Thornton egging them on with one inappropriate shocker after another.

Is the story being told worth a movie on its own merits? No way. Time Code exists as an esthetic event -- either a trick or a treat, depending on your expectations.

Superb, ultimately exhilarating account of Coney Island basketball phenom Sebastian Telfair's senior year at Lincoln High.

Likely to draw a range of responses. Many will be transported by its gorgeous construction and breathless emotion. Others will find it patently ridiculous.

Sweet it is. Remotely connected to real life, however, it is not.

This is very much Brand's movie, with Hill playing a surprisingly subdued straight man. Still, the strong supporting cast - including Rose Byrne and Elisabeth Moss as the guys' girlfriends - easily holds its own.

While the series is smart enough to have inspired an army of adult fans, too little of its droll intelligence is on view here. Instead, the film feels like a rote effort made for some quick box-office bucks.

A worthy addition to what must take up a whole section of the video store - the heartwarming comedy that reaffirms the power of personal choice, while also promising to love and to cherish even the most hidebound cultures.

There are certain films - let's call them Road Map Movies - that drive you directly from point A to point B to point C, with barely a stop for gas. Cadillac Records is such a film: You see all the major landmarks, but how enlightening can a road trip be if you never even get off the highway?

It was against all odds that Michael Mann ("The Insider") would make a boring movie focusing on the most eventful decade in the life of the most dynamic athlete in history. But that's what he has achieved with Ali.

A movie with better parts than a whole. But where it's right, it's really right.

Chico Colvard's tragic documentary is blunt and rather artless, but it does make for impactful, and deeply disturbing, viewing.

While the film becomes slightly redundant, the anger and strife its characters cannot overcome is awful, poetic and, frankly, astonishing.

Oddly, there isn't as much originality as you'd expect from a global search for meaning.

Some of the banter is fun, like Randal's debate with Elias over the relative merits of "Star Wars" vs. "The Lord of the Rings." But most is just trash-talk as shoptalk.

Despite the overwrought plot and unabashed pretension, there's something admirable about the fact that Coppola clearly made this movie for himself. But he shouldn't be surprised if few others join him in watching it.

A fascinating, somewhat frightening documentary.

There are a select few artists who can take the same materials used by everyone else and create a masterpiece. Coco Chanel was one of them. Director Anne Fontaine is not.

It's no wonder Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty had trouble finding a distributor. Its target audience is behind bars.

Diane Kruger’s raw, real-as-it-gets performance as a grieving woman bent on vengeance in the German thriller In the Fade grabs from the get-go and never lets loose its grip.

As shown in this disarming and intimate documentary named after their band, the oddness of actually being sought-after was something neither was prepared for.

The film nearly drowns in earnest morality.

Peter Mullan and Olivia Colman give such hard-as-nails, lived-in performances in this stark drama directed by Irish actor Paddy Considine ("In America," "Cinderella Man") that it's impossible not to be pulled in.

The sensuous visuals, shot in high-definition video, complement the waking-dream quality of a sometimes confusing story.

A feast of imagery.

A beautifully composed tone poem about unspoken group dynamics in an isolated community. It is also, in its way, about how love endures.

The success here is mostly due to nuanced performances and an appreciation for what these kinds of films require.

Kingsley seems determined to rescue this old chestnut of a character from Jewish stereotypes, but to what end? Oliver's boyhood has become worse than Dickensian - it's bland.

Byrkit and his actors successfully build a sense of tension, and then dread, from what appears to be an extremely limited budget. Indeed, the movie was shot primarily in his own living room.

Most of the performances are as unpolished as they are heartfelt, which is both endearing and distracting.

The forced coming-of-age parable that filmmaker Joe Wright laces with fairy-tale symbolism is heavy-handed from the get-go.

Laudable as its world-building is, the film drags not just in its interminable middle hour, but also during the redundant monster-on-mechawarrior smackdowns.

"Night" never quite coalesces into the forceful drama it hopes to be.