The poetry has more in common with rap lyrics than Baudelaire, but that just increases the fun.

Offers some stunningly beautiful sequences and an engaging, if at times quite dark, story line.

The remarkable performances from the central trio are what carries the film.

Funny — sometimes brutally — and surprisingly touching, it works whether you’ve seen the source material or not, though there are plentiful shout-outs to die-hard fans.

A hip eye-opener.

What a trippy delight it is.

That still makes Broken Embraces superior to at least 99 percent of the movies released in 2009. Run, don't walk.

Bleak, demanding stuff, and its hand-held documentary-style photography is harder on the stomach than "The Blair Witch Project."

Unfortunately, you are often distractingly aware that you are watching re-enactments of real events.

Blue Caprice takes a minimalist, documentary-style approach that proves harrowingly effective.

Maggie’s Plan isn’t perfect — the threads of its plot are sometimes a little too loosely knit — but Miller’s clearly got her finger on the pulse of the New York intellectual comedy.

The details are true and funny, played brilliantly.

Every Little Step shows only this: It hurts to flunk an audition, and it's nice to get hired. Everything it has to say about Broadway was said better in Bob Fosse's movie "All That Jazz" -- in its opening five minutes.

The film is elegantly done, mainly because it wisely expends most of its energy on Alicia Vikander’s face.

If Like Someone in Love frustrates, it also has ineffable grace in the framing of Kiarostami’s long, languid shots, the changes he captures in the light, and the way the actors’ smallest movements become fascinating. This enigmatic study of identities built on social deceit offers more than easy answers ever could.

A must for hip-hop heads. Others will either be won over or left wondering what all the fuss is about.

Has a doozy of a surprise ending that doesn't really stand up under close scrutiny - but you'll have so much fun getting there, it's easy to go along with Lee and company for the ride.

The hit man's narration is compelling and frightening on its own.

Chico and Rita beguiles first and foremost as a bebop romance that evokes a bygone era as well as, or maybe even better than, "The Artist."

Has the aroma of an autobiographical confession by someone for whom life hasn’t been overly difficult.

This comic biopic is a blast from start to finish.

A bit more context about some of the topics the witnesses discuss would have been welcome, but Whitaker's stark, unshowy style is probably the most effective way to approach 9/11.

Guardians of the Galaxy brings to mind some of the most unforgettable sci-fi event movies of the last 30 years. Alas, those films are “Howard the Duck” and “Green Lantern.”

It’s a sympathetic portrait of an artist whose heart lay more with new work than old glories, right up to the end.

Cinematographer Mohammad Davudi's nighttime shots of jammed Tehran highways help convey the society's dehumanization. Scenes of a vast forest outside the city, where Ali releases tension by hunting, are powerful in their own, sparse way.

Lore is the sort of movie you’d already expect to rip your heart out, but that doesn’t diminish the tragedy when it does arrive.

Transcends ironic grunge-glamour and achieves a beguiling combination of dark comedy and genuine sweetness.

It's scary to see how one man can brainwash a gigantic nation, as Mao did.