Initially, this low-budget film writes a lot of checks on the First National Bank of Whimsy, but I was astonished when none of them bounced.

The Other Son is played with warmth and conviction by its cast. But it's also a little pat and toothless, set in an Israel where not even the notorious border crossings seem that difficult.

The movie was always going to be a record of another unique New York institution, making way for another glass box.

The film is passionate, but not exactly revelatory.

Entertaining as he is, there are many times when you wish you'd been given a few more facts and numbers so you could understand what the young CEO and his colleagues were celebrating or bemoaning.

No one's going to confuse The Core with art -- or even a good film -- but it's 25 minutes longer than "The Hours" and I had at least 25 times as much fun.

It’s a baggy movie, with some things (such as whether Idris taking Ritalin in high school improved his performance) unexplained, and it may appeal most to those raising kids themselves.

Smith’s appeal, just, holds together a thin plot upon which Bennett, who wrote the script, and director Nicholas Hytner have loaded gimmicks.

It has a dogged all-night charm and a sense of who its audience is.

You have to hand it to Huppert. She doesn't let the hokey plot and syrupy cinematography (what's with those repeated shots of flowers blowing in the wind?) keep her from giving a profound performance.

Nair makes Vanity Fair an elegant showcase for an unforgettable heroine.

Almost too creepy to be poignant, and generally funny only in an uncomfortable, squirm-in-your seat way.

It's hard to get close to a wild creature, and True Wolf doesn't always manage, either.

Boisterously amusing.

Apart from some irritating and redundant camera tricks early on in the film, director Blair Treu plays it white-bread straight, delivering an uncommonly inoffensive, after-school-special-style teen flick.

No matter how good Blethyn is at playing up the sweet hurt of a woman who is well on the decline but never made it in the first place, your admiration for her shrieking-and-drinking breakdown scenes is likely to be tested after about the fifth go-round.

The Innkeepers is no masterpiece, but you may well leave with your nerves expertly jangled.

There are many funny lines and situations, accompanied by strong performances all around. Sadly, Good Bye Lenin! falters at the end, when it loses its edge and lapses into sentimentality.

The film is ultimately a one-man show -- and when that man is the singularly crafty Depp, it's hard to look away.

The frequently funny The Grand Seduction is a thoroughly pleasant way to pass a couple of hours.

Kevin Smith's attempt to combine sketchy low comedy with long-winded theological speculation results in a mostly unfunny and occasionally tedious mess.

Cameron Diaz redeems her reputation somewhat in In Her Shoes, Curtis Hanson's schmaltzy, but reasonably entertaining dramedy about mismatched sisters.

So warm and well-meaning that you may find yourself wanting to like it more than you really do.

The mellow Laue... makes a likable enough subject, if sometimes low-key to the point of dull. Watching other people watch him play, though, is definitely not.

In this season of self-important filmmaking, it's nice to watch a movie that entertains while refusing to take itself too seriously.

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

Sometimes, it’s enough to walk out of a film with your heart warmed — even if your brain’s still craving a little something more.

This carefully observed slice of life is dragged down by the dreary and distracting hand-held camerawork.