Dan Schechter's no-budget comedy about the romantic and professional travails of a pair of financially struggling film editors offers a few laughs, all served up on eyeball-gougingly ugly digital video.

Can be taken as a parable about cinema art vs. commerce. If that's too much to think about, just enjoy the off-beat humor.

Labyrinth of Lies hits every genre cliché, from the mawkish score to the no-dialogue-montage-of-tragedy. Perhaps inevitably, it’s Germany’s submission for the best foreign film Oscar.

Even if the movie had more shadings, though, Marshall's political point would undo his he-man action-flick format. If you're looking for a rallying cry to make the emotions sizzle, "Quagmire!" isn't it.

There should be a word for the friendly rudeness of deli waiters: In the documentary Deli Man, they’re described as being as brusque and familiar with you as if you’re there three times a day — even if they’ve never seen you before.

Director Tate Taylor is a childhood friend of Stockett and hasn't done much else, which may be why The Help feels clumsy but well-intentioned.

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'?"

The camp runs for a week in a warehouse in Oregon. What the girls might lack in musical talent and experience they make up for with infectious energy. Watch your tattooed butt, Amy Winehouse!

This movie takes its sweet time wrapping together three related tales set in various regions of North Carolina -- to ultimately devastating effect.

Isn't as sharply directed as "Jessica Stein," but it's still a formidable crowd-pleaser.

But while the belly laughs are few, there are numerous chuckles and it's quite watchable, thanks to solid performances by Damon (who plays it mostly straight in a rare comic role) and Kinnear.

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.

Strained and mildly amusing. The real reason to see the movie is the delightful performance by Sara Forestier, who rightly won the French version of the Oscar for her portrayal of the carefree Baya.

The film fails to represent how singular and influential the late Giger is in popular culture.

As a snarky, stylish Santa Fe couple, Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan deploy a wit drier than the sprawling landscape surrounding their desert mansion. If you enjoy your comedies devoid of easy sentimentality (as this reviewer does), this one’s for you.

Offers plenty of fun, nostalgic footage of 1950s pro lady wrestlers kicking butt.

Buzzes around in random menace for an hour until its third act, when - zzzzzt! - it flies straight into the zapper.

As a history lesson, Oswald's Ghost is valuable, but don't go expecting any new revelations.

Overall, however, it's sappy and predictable -- fun to watch, perhaps, but instantly forgettable.

Deserves high marks for political courage but barely gets by on its artistic merits.

Not so good is Lily-Rose Depp as French princess Catherine. Say what you will about francophile Johnny Depp — he’s never boring. But his daughter, with her vacant expression, lacks a certain je ne sais quoi.

Tatiana Maslany (“Orphan Black”) is nearly unrecognizable as Petra, Silas’ longtime girlfriend caught in Bell’s roundup, and Bradley Whitford shows up in the latest of his silver-haired villain roles as a sketchy lawyer.

A crowd-pleasing ensemble piece, whose story goes exactly where you want it to.

A misguided exercise - a crude merger of "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Schindler's List" that somehow reminds you of "Hogan's Heroes."

"The Sixth Sense" was no fluke. Unbreakable, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan's dazzling reunion with Bruce Willis confirms he's one of the most brilliant filmmakers working today.

Delivers a sugar rush without the calories.

Egoyan treats the Armenian genocide and its aftermath as a metaphor for cruelty and denial -- an exercise in either pretension or timidity that exploits this tragedy.

Offers an idyllic, comforting surface of tree-shaded lanes and sunshine-dappled fields - but a disturbing tale throbs beneath.

Manages to entertain while saying something about loneliness and culture shock.

Appalachian mountains get blown up to extract coal in the documentary The Last Mountain, a film in which activists are at least as hot as the TNT.

It's never dull though, and the familiar characters and stock motivations are convincingly put across. And there's always Xu, who's turned to acupuncture to suppress his empathy, as you wait for the inevitable moment when suppressing it won't be enough.

Intermittently brilliant, intermittently hilarious -- and occasionally tedious.

Now that even Woody Allen has stopped making "Woody Allen movies," you would think that wannabes would move on, too.

Thornton is in great form as the sardonic Vic, whose disposal of an apparently dead body in a trunk is a hilarious set piece.

The unusually explicit dungeon scenes with Pablo, a leather daddy and a fellow slave may whip a rather specialized audience into a frenzy. But for others, A Year Without Love will be a less pleasurably painful experience.

Just as the story is minimalist, so too is the documentary-like film's look: long static takes and tons of close-ups. An epilogue allows viewers to come to terms with the film's tragic ending.

Taps into our worst fears of what could happen during a quiet holiday with heart-thumping realism.

At nearly two hours, Big Man Japan is clever (in a sick sort of way) but overlong. It needs judicious editing -- more mockumentary, fewer superhero antics.

But at the risk of sounding ungrateful, Sydney Pollack's latest film should have been a lot better.

A dull drama about domestic squabbling that hopes to be mistaken for a thriller.

Nothing’s wrong with a few buckets of blood, but Perkins’ movie waters them down with its repetitious plot and weak attempts at humor. “The Monkey” strains to be a comedy as much as a horror film and effectively works as neither.

Wilkinson's reflective and regretful searcher, burdened by secrets, is also touching, as are Dench and Nighy's creations, so it's easy to cheer them on as they inch toward revelations and rebirth.

Nicely acted and stylishly photographed.

It pains me to report that his Zebraman is a disappointment.

In a captivating climax, the movie turns attractively freaky, though somewhat marred by cheesy special effects, and there’s a huge debt to the immense leaps of “2001.” An abrupt ending feels frustrating and leaves questions floating in space. Then again, I’m using only 3 to 5 percent of my capacity, so what do I know?

If you can tell the difference between a mule and a pump, attendance at The Devil Wears Prada is mandatory. You might have to reach back to "Funny Face" to find a fashion movie so on-trend.

There are some catches, including a breathy-voiced indie-rock soundtrack so bad you wonder if it's contributing to Amy's malaise. But overall, the comedy is a lovely showcase for Lynskey and the rest of the cast.

This well-intentioned drama — writer/director Paul Dalio has spoken publicly about his own struggles — veers into a common pitfall of films that portray mental illness: Romanticizing it.

A pretentious Euro-snore that should occasion a fraud prosecution for any marketer who calls it a thriller -- and which stars an actor who seems to wish his name were Jorg Clooné.

Kids will love African Cats, which is full of "aw" moments. Their parents will appreciate that narrator Samuel L. Jackson keeps things from getting too schmaltzy in this true-life depiction of the circle of life.

Despite the allure of the actors and some witty lines, it's ultimately quite wearying to be confronted with such determination to turn youth and good looks into existential burdens.

Fluffy, inconsistent, but enjoyable.

Delpy's good at keeping Marion's complaints sharp and funny, rather than wan and whiny. Even so, the movie's a bumpy ride as her good farcical instincts vie with the yen for cheap laughs.

As phony as a re-enactment with finger pup pets.

You'll want to catch this clever movie before Hollywood ruins everything with a dumb remake.

The transition from the DreamWorks CGI version from 2010, one of the best family flicks in years, to real human actors is thankfully smoother and not as off-putting as most of Disney’s recent, pitiful princess efforts.

Courageous, convincing performance by Dunst.

Delivers one of those classic movie moments in which two screen legends go toe to toe, both barrels metaphorically blazing.

Pietro Sibille is exceptional as Santiago, and the rest of the cast turn in dynamic performances.

It's easy to understand why so many people have been obsessed with this story for so long. When the paintings are finally found, the story will make a great Hollywood movie.

A glacially paced, emotionally frosty epic (with a top-drawer cast).

It could be set during the war in Iraq, but the brutal French film Intimate Enemies takes place in 1959, at the height of the Algerian struggle against French rule.

Visually striking but portentous and pretentious.

Even after he manages to get out of the car and slowly starts recovering his memory, Wrecked keeps you guessing.

It's an exciting, charming and often quite funny family film.

Gibran’s book was huge in the 1960s, and it feels fresher here than it has in ages, although the visuals are stronger than the music.

For anyone looking for a shot of vengeance adrenaline while waiting for “John Wick 3” to come down the pike, Braven will probably fit the bill.

Many modern teen issues are touched upon — depression, anxiety, eating disorders — and because of the honest performances from Smith and Fanning, you ache for them.

For a 90-minute movie, Margaret has a thin story. So it's unfortunate that it runs 2 1/2 hours.

While absolutely nothing in Grand Piano makes the least bit of sense, it is admittedly gorgeous to look at and listen to. Give Mira a decent script, and he might be a director to be reckoned with.

Though it boasts an eye-catching roster of supporting performances — Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Jeffrey Wright, Anthony Mackie — most of the running time is spent with Mister (Skylan Brooks) and Pete (Ethan Dizon), and both child actors hold your attention impressively.

Almost everything about Ice Age proves to be disappointingly generic.

Engaging as it is to look at, this stop-motion animation film from the young Oregon studio Laika seems to have been masterminded by people thinking, “Everyone loves Pixar. So let’s do everything the opposite!” Admirably contrarian. Like being cast overboard and calling out for an anvil.

Soulfully directed by Michael Cuesta ("L.I.E."), Roadie is short on narrative momentum, but it's a perfectly attuned character study of this rock relic and his middle-aged sorrows.

Animated sequences give life to various voice-overs, but are never as interesting as the young woman herself.

It's hard not to like a PG-rated 'toon that works in references to "Pulp Fiction" and "Fargo," even if Meet the Robinsons, a delightful, quirk-filled riff on "Back to the Future," proceeds in fits and starts.

Wright is relaxed and almost meditative as she takes in the beauty of the horizon, and her simple directing captures the majesty of nature.

Mena Suvari has her best role since "American Beauty" as Brandi, a self-centered nursing home employee distinctly lacking in sympathy for anyone.

Gabizon has a great idea. But he ruins it by devoting too much time to colorful but unnecessary characters.

This bittersweet comedy is a fine showcase for a pair of distinctive and appealing talents.

Israeli soldiers are cast as the killers, while the Palestinians are the hapless bunnies. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is thus reimagined as "Bambi."

It loses direction, turning contrived and sentimental. There's even a touch of Frank Capra.

Cool graphics and music, combined with jittery camera work, keep the film's energy level high. Who knew Scrabble could be so exciting?

Devoid of 21st-century irony, this visually stunning, action-packed yuletide treat is sweet and, yes, magical in a way that will enchant kids and give older viewers a twinge of nostalgia.

It may be too bleak for most.

Nostalgic for those bad old days, The Wackness was shot at a time when it actually looked like "America's Mayor" was going to be in a position to perform a similar cleanup on the entire country. That, of course, turned out to be a pipe dream.

It doesn’t add up to much of anything exciting, even with an appearance by Isabella Rossellini (of Lynch’s “Blue Velvet’’) as the mother of one of the doubles.

Also making a meal of a morsel is Chloë Sevigny as Paul’s mom. The actress probably has fewer than 20 lines, and still she brings depth and palpable regret to her scene.

It’s a violently annoying and annoyingly violent ensemble piece speckled with “look how wacky we are!” characters that are impossible to put up with; a copycat Coen Brothers yarn with the depth of a tortilla.

Songbird Bjork and artist hubby Matthew Barney team up in Drawing Restraint 9, and the spectacular result is exactly what should be expected from these one-of-a-kind creative oddballs.

The women are all beautiful; and the camerawork - by Emmanuel Lubezki, who shot Terrence Malick's spectacular "The New World" - is eye-pleasing.

Daring, mesmerizing and exceedingly hard to forget.

The battlefield sequences unfold with surreal horror, while the human bonding in the foxholes emerges tenderly. On the downside, Bauer - who makes no pretense about where his heart lies - tacks on a melodramatic coda that lessens the momentum of an otherwise praiseworthy film.

Really belongs on Lifetime rather than in theaters.

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.

Maybe being able to look back in time is comforting for Block and company, but what makes him think complete strangers give a damn about his not-especially-interesting family? I certainly don't.

Wraps a sari around the kind of suffering-housewife picture that became a cliché 30 years ago.

Overall, though, the stakes are pretty low for this likable, tipsy crowd. Maybe I'm just too steeped in the underdog lore of "Freaks and Geeks" and "Awkward," but is there anything less narratively interesting than a high school reunion that focuses exclusively on the beautiful and popular crowd?