At once, a joyful celebration of female friendship and an unusually honest look at newly responsible young women wistfully saying goodbye to the dreams of their youth.

Martin's most adventurous film in many years, may be next best thing to a quick shot of nitrous oxide.

In an effective touch, Kisses opens in black and white, changes into color for its Dublin scenes, then returns to monochrome.

Unpretentious and unexpectedly moving.

The filmmakers wisely avoid the temptation to be cutesy (remember that penguin movie?) and sentimental.

Decent movie, same old Borat.

There are moments of brilliance, like a claymation sequence that manages to simultaneously send up '60s holiday cartoons and "Ghostbusters'' (with Frosty the Snowman instead of Marshmallow Man).

It's a tribute to the sheer professionalism of this crossover charmer that it holds your interest for two solid hours.

The real star of The Son isn't lead actor Olivier Gourmet. It's the back of his neck, which the camera obsessively focuses on throughout this difficult but rewarding Belgian drama.

Besides terrific performances, it boasts terrific cinematography by Giles Nuttgens that contrasts stunningly beautiful and grimly ugly Scottish landscapes - complementing the hunky Joe's ugly soul, which manifests itself in a truly nasty sex scene involving pudding, catsup and Cathie.

A solid documentary that examines the art's roots, from ad-libs by black preachers to "toasts" delivered by Jamaican immigrants over instrumental tracks in the '70s South Bronx.

Forget the plot of Ocean's Twelve - you will by the time you leave the theater, if not sooner. This slickly entertaining sequel is all about savoring eye candy.

The three are appealing characters, and you can't help but root for them in their quest, which gives a whole new meaning to the term "family values."

Kosashvili's clear-eyed approach to the cultural tradition of arranged marriage balances respect and scorn, and he reconciles the comedy and tragedy inherent in Zaza's tug-of-love with finesse.

Movies don't come any more charming than Mongolian Ping Pong.

The gimmicky title is doubly misleading: The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is neither a mystery nor Beatles-themed, but it is an elegantly wrought tale of anguish.

While it is obvious that the filmmakers went into this project with an agenda, they did try to give each side a chance to have its say.

While this slow-starting update of "Private Lives" has plenty of laughs, the incredibly expressive (and too-seldom seen) Stevenson turns Julia's romantic dilemma into something genuinely moving. She makes A Previous Engagement something special.

Another reason to embrace “Purple” is that the moving film is graced by a duo of exceptional performers in Barrino and Danielle Brooks as Sofia who, while singing, capture the electricity of being live onstage, and, while acting, take advantage of the raw intimacy of a close-up. Getting that combo right in movie musicals is rarer than you’d think.

Weatherford and Murphy lead a young and bright cast. All in all, Money Buys Happiness shows that Lachow is a director worth keeping an eye on.

Be warned: The Tree is slow-moving, but if given a chance, it will (pardon the pun) grow on you.

It's clever, cool fun and it looks great.

Night Watch may be derivative of American movies, but when our ideas ooze out of the dank Russian filter they're weirder, crazier, grimier.

A stunningly intelligent look at how the founder of psychoanalysis and modern psychiatry developed his ideas.

Director Catherine Gund most successfully depicts the visceral impact of Streb’s work with her footage of the 2012 Olympics.

An unexpectedly disarming, extremely well-cast little variation on "E.T."

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

Highly entertaining - but far from classic.