A rock bio minus the fun. The sex is guilt-stricken, the drugs are used to treat epilepsy, and the rock 'n' roll is about isolation and despair.

At stark odds with the director’s earlier work is the color palette of this one — that is to say, the film is nearly devoid of it, a haunting wash of multilayered grays. This is one Shadow that deserves to be in the spotlight.

A visually dazzling summer treat.

Irresistibly warm and surprisingly realistic.

How dark is this comedy? It's a big hit in Ireland.

The film is overstuffed with comedy material, though. There’s a time-period-appropriate gag for everything — the TV is just a hole in the wall that they watch birds through — and the jokes are nonstop. The best moments of animated films are often the most serene.

Paved with such good intentions and talent that it's sad to report this lavishly mounted gangster epic - the most serious-minded Hollywood film of the season - doesn't come close to living up to expectations.

Splashed with Monte Carlo glamour, physical comedy and nimble scams, the movie rolls along enjoyably to its goofy but endearing big scene: an homage to "Dirty Dancing."

While there are plenty of laughs, Hunt doesn't play this for farce. Even Midler gives perhaps the most restrained, and arguably the most winning, performance of her screen career.

Could easily have become a schmaltzy variation on “Whiplash.” But it’s not, thanks to astringent direction by François Girard (“The Red Violin’’), an excellent cast and heavenly young voices.

Stirring as it frequently is, The Way Back is a good movie that should have been a classic.

James Rasin's documentary is surprisingly the first to focus on one of Warhol's biggest attractions, the attractive male-to-female transsexual Candy Darling, best known for inspiring Lou Reed's song "A Walk on the Wild Side."

Looking at the art and listening to the music is wonderful just on its own, but hanging out with Hockney is also a treat. He's a delightful companion.

Director David Gordon Green (“Our Brand Is Crisis”) generally skips feel-good cliché to chronicle Bauman’s struggle with being painted as the face of never letting the terrorists win.

So you had no idea what was happening in David Lynch's "Inland Empire." Take comfort in the fact that, judging from the documentary Lynch, the filmmaker was just as puzzled as you.

Taylor also makes an impressive comeback as the conflicted daughter who instinctively distrusts Heather, but Starting Out in the Evening is first and foremost a triumph by Frank Langella.

It is worth catching The Singing Detective to see the brilliant Robert Downey Jr. in another extraordinary performance... Unfortunately, the film itself doesn't really work despite its lineage.

What Yankovic and director and co-writer Eric Appel have done, brilliantly in spots, is parody Yankovic’s own life while sending up the whole biopic genre. In a messed-up way, the maneuver is kinda poetic. And so very funny.

One of the better political documentaries flooding into theaters after "Fahrenheit 9/11" and before the election.

Though Valderrama gives a standout performance as the avenging Angel, brother of the late Jesus (Kareem Savion), two smaller roles are also worthy of note: Paz de la Huerta as a spacy bartender at Pianos, and J. Bernard Calloway as Dre, a bouncer who’s seen it all, and who can be reliably found eating a healthy salad as he sits outside his nightspot.

In a nice change from Seyfried’s 2008 turn as the ingénue, we want to befriend James’ Donna, not mute her. She’s as gorgeous as she is committed, as funny as she is emotionally true. A big talent.

Disarmingly sweet.

Special note should be made of real-life sister and brother Aoi and Masaru Miyazaki, who give beautiful performances as the children.

Director-writer Pablo Tapero keeps the proceedings low-key and realistic. He doesn't hit you over the head with his ideas, yet he manages to say a lot about human nature.

An intelligent look at family dynamics set in a boring Washington State suburb where Bible-thumping Mormons come knocking on your door.

Jim Carrey mostly plays it straight as the narrator. The 3-D effects are uncanny; much of the audience ducked when sea snakes lunged at it. You can't get that on your TV set. Yet.

The complexity might require a second viewing, but there is compensation in the realistic acting by a cast of non-pros and the eye-grabbing, hand-held lensing by Boaz Yehonatan Yacov.

It’s a lot better than the 1997 version, if equally as stupid.

Per Swanberg’s signature style, the dialogue is largely improvised, the performances loose and funny. This may be his most star-studded cast yet, but the work is as intimate (“mumblecore” is so passé) as ever.

Blue Jasmine may sound like a topical satire, but it isn’t really. It’s a character study of an obnoxious, selfish and supremely self-absorbed woman oblivious to the pain she inflicts on others.

A sharp comedy as well as a punk-pulp spree. Don't go if you can't handle Brit slang. ("Grass" = informer.)

Dryly comic, arch, sleek, and suffused with mood-setting tracks by the likes of X and Depeche Mode, Electric Slide has some of the mordant absurdity of the novels of Bret Easton Ellis. Like its dim hero, it’s going nowhere, but traveling in style.

Veteran stage, screen and TV actor Moshe Ivgi gives a sturdy performance as Moshe, a supposed tough guy who sobs when confronted by bank robbers.

You don't have to be a fan of Daniel Johnston, an underground artist and singer-songwriter whose manic-depression has kept him from realizing his full potential, to appreciate director Jeff Feuerzeig's documentary.

It presents a reverential and loving portrait of Deren while remaining breezy, informative and entertaining.

The result is wholly original, sort of like "The Wizard of Oz" as filtered through the sensibilities of Emir Kusturica, the cult filmmaker and musician.

This rousingly sweet little flick is certainly nothing to go out of your way to avoid.

As usual with Majidi, the cinematography is super (best scene shows Karim, disguised as an ostrich, in pursuit of an escaped bird) and the acting is realistic and low-key.

A miracle of indie filmmaking. Shot for practically nothing by first-time director David Barker, it delivers more bang for its minimal bucks than many a Hollywood blockbuster does for its multimillions.

A work of drama, it's more realistic than any TV reality show.

Ends up taking enough detours to keep DreamWorks' latest animated epic from striking cinematic gold.

Visually gorgeous despite its low budget, The Terrorist is a haunting film.

Hope Springs could have been unbearably schmaltzy or crude. Instead, in the hands of these expert actors and filmmakers, it's a warm and wryly affecting mid-summer treat.

Tonally, Happiest Season is a bit uneven; it can move from broad hijinks to high emotion a little too quickly. But it also delivers wonderfully heartfelt moments.

In short, the crows are pests, but the movie shows them great affection, as do the humans who discuss the ways they must accommodate the crows. After a while it is impossible not to admire the birds’ intelligence and resilience, and see that perhaps it’s the other way around: The crows are the ones putting up with us.

The director, 30-year-old Dalibor Matanic, allows himself a few weepy moments, but mostly the script stays on target, accompanied by strong acting and lensing.

Long, talky and shot in black and white. In other words, it requires a commitment in time and brain power - a commitment worth making.

Never before have I been so emotionally involved with an apple core, or seen salvation in a flip-flop. Taika Waititi, you had me at nunchuks.

A devastating indictment of unbridled greed and materalism, made all the more relevant by the Enron and WorldCom scandals.

Ruefully funny, beautifully acted comedy of manners.

Beautifully shot by Michael J. Ozier, the dominating taste in Bottle Shock is Rickman's beautiful performance as a snob - a snob who is secretly open to being delightfully surprised.

Nearly stolen by the veteran Stamp's gently fatuous John.

Tamhane’s quiet techniques build to pure, cold fury.

Has an unusual intimacy and lack of condescension.

A fascinating history of how blowing yourself up became a popular hobby in the Muslim world.

Nonprofessional actors and convincingly dingy details give Fratricide a harsh documentary quality, and its "Midnight Cowboy"-style ending is bitterly powerful. Devotees of seamy '70s cinema should give this little film a look.

Dame Maggie is simply delightful (has she ever been less than wonderful?).

The complex plot takes some time to get used to, especially if you’ve come to the theater expecting a story consistent with the simplicity of “The Shining.” If that was easy as pie, this is easy as Pi. But when it confidently hits its stride near the middle, Doctor Sleep is gripping.

Weekend is a gay riff on "Before Sunrise" (1995), in which a man (Ethan Hawke) and woman (Julie Delpy) meet and fall in love in one night, before going their separate ways in the morning for what could be forever.

Though it does have a handful of dirty jokes meant to earn the audience-pleasing PG-13 rating and features Marge swearing, it falls short of classic status.

Vinterberg aces the metaphor-heavy scene in which Troy demonstrates his swordsmanship for an inexperienced, dazzled Bathsheba.

The film spirals steadily downward through humanity’s worst impulses as the guards, led by Angarano’s character, explore the free rein they’re given to torment the powerless.

This is one of the best serious films about homosexuality ever made, but though it's sad and sobering it's still only a rough draft of a great movie.

Reyadas' radical rejection of filmmaking conventions is at first off-putting, but he's able to elicit remarkable performances from the cast of non-professionals while building tension that will hold viewers' attention. Love it or loathe it, you won't soon forget Battle in Heaven.

What follows is a hilarious, slam-bang series of chases and battles that cross "Gremlins" with "Assault on Precinct 13," the two most prominent of many genre films quoted by Attack the Block.

Still, if 13 Hours lacks the gravitas of “American Sniper,” it’s powerful stuff. Bay’s goal is to put you right in these men’s boots, to feel the heat, the fear, the fatigue, the weight of the weapons and the web of camaraderie.

A highly personal, provocative and in some ways riveting vision with an inspired performance by Jim Caviezel as Jesus.

Carax, who hadn't made a movie since "Pola X" in 1999 comes off best.

It is said that everyone either loved or hated radical defense lawyer William Kunstler. A documentary by his daughters asks, "Why choose 'or' instead of 'both'?"

Directed by C. Scott Willis, this beautifully shot documentary blends Francesca's work -- photos, videos and passages from her diary -- with interviews.

This is the penultimate film of Albert Maysles, who died on March 5, and Iris has a bit in common with “Grey Gardens,” his masterpiece. Apfel, unlike the Edies of that movie, is sane — so much so that the movie’s main flaw is lack of conflict. Iris’ marriage to Carl, who turned 100 during filming, is incredibly sweet.

Subtle, sometimes really sad and honest about the struggles of adolescence, Marnie is a worthy last entry from Ghibli before the studio reportedly goes on hiatus.

Frankenstein’s Army is funny and original, with innovative costumes and set designs. It’s sure to please horror fans.

Quinceañera isn't a work of art, nor does it want to be. But it is a crowd-pleaser.

This is an egotistical endeavor from the daughter of horror director Dario Argento (a producer here), but her raw performance and utter fearlessness make it strangely magnetic.

It’s big, bloated, and, if you give in to the familiar charms of its jacked leading man, not unenjoyable. (Alternately, you could easily just let it induce a little nap.)

The doctors and nurses who care for America's wounded troops on the battlefield and in hospitals get their due in Fighting for Life.

Although the film is, by design, an unwatchable mess on one level and its one joke about 8 mm filmmaking would play better as a music video or a TV commercial, there's no denying the crazed dedication to detail.

Yet merely “playing with concepts” doesn’t quite add up to a film, and The Family Fang, adapted from Kevin Wilson’s novel, feels like an extended therapy session.

Ma is a much more enjoyable ride than the even more preposterous “Greta,” which got lost in undeserved self-seriousness.

The Spandau Ballet documentary Soul Boys of the Western World has all the kooky clothes, zippy songs and ’80s optimism you could ask for in a film about a group that had only one big US hit (but several in the UK). Why do I find it hard to write the next line? The band wasn’t that great.

Unpretentious and often witty, it's emotional punch is weakened by spotty performances, especially from Karin Viard in the lead role.

Somnolent, draggy but occasionally warm-hearted.

Europe’s immigration dilemma was also the focus of Aki Kaurismaki’s winsome “Le Havre,” and the Africans themselves were front and center in Moussa Touré’s “La Pirogue.” This film is somewhat less effective; Crialese’s message seems to take priority over a deeper sense of individuals.

Provides a different take on its subject than many of us are accustomed to: Nelson Mandela is no Martin Luther King Jr., and he was far more radical than even Malcolm X. If you’re under the impression that his ideas got him imprisoned for 25 years, think again: It was his bombs.

The cinematic equivalent of meat loaf -- comfort food that's reassuring in its utter lack of sophistication and surprises.

Destined to enchant the slumber parties.

This movie’s got as many cliches as Madison’s got cheese curds. But script aside, Jackman and Hudson onstage are effervescent and, speaking as someone who’s never mounted a motorcycle, the songs rock.

No "Girl on the Bridge," but this comic thriller does generate a fair amount of erotic tension and sly commentary on psychoanalysis.

Patel has his most rewarding role since “Slumdog.’’

It's funnier than "Bedazzled," which isn't saying much.

Lola Versus, like Lena Dunham's show "Girls," brings an indie perspective and cast to this mainstream genre. In the more limited medium of film, this is a mixed bag.

A must for Jaglom fans. For other viewers, it will depend upon how much they can take of Jaglom's improvisational style and Frederick's over-the-top, tear-filled acting.

The originality and intelligence that made Smith's "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy" such refreshing pleasures are all but absent.

Under writer-producer-director-editor Patrick Hughes, the suspense level is high and the action constant.

A charming if overlong romantic comedy.

Harmless, if slightly hyperactive, fun.

Technically, the film isn’t terribly exciting: talking heads interspersed with shots of young people making their symbolic “leap of faith” from the walls. But the directors have chosen eloquent interviewees, and the passionate attachment they feel for their city gives the film heart.