It feels as shopworn as a dusty VHS tape of "Less Than Zero."

Step Up 3D is strictly 1D. Tired choreography and moldy hip-hop gestures accompany insipid characters.

The writer-director, who goes by the name J Blakeson, keeps the suspense level high for the first hour or so, but he then indulges in a few plot twists that strain credibility.

Luke Wilson, who has appeared in a long run of bad movies, seizes on his juiciest role since "The Royal Tenenbaums" here.

Given the rarity of such movies, and such opportunities for an actress like Clarkson, Cairo Time earns some indulgence for a pace that Westerners may find languid.

Lebanon is inspired by the director's traumatic days at the front, giving his work a sense of authority.

Interesting enough that you wish it were better.

Despite strong performances by Gerard Jugnot as the crime-busting prosecutor and Veronica D'Agostino as the adult Rita, The Sicilian Girl never lives up to its potential.

It's suprisingly flat.

A maudlin and unintentionally hilarious romantic weepie.

The Concert is an art-house trap, the cinematic equivalent of one of those salads that turns out to have more calories than a Big Mac. And for the same reason: gobs of thick, sweet dressing.

With action aplenty, talking animals and enough gags to make any sane grown-up groan, "The Revenge of Kitty Galore" is a harmless but fun hot-weather diversion for the family.

Fails as a detective story, but it does offer an entertaining look at the punk scene in the 1970s.

Darlings, there's nothing quite so tragique as a boring eccentric.

It's condescending, it's vague, it's unfair and, ultimately, it's pointless.

Duvall and Spacek are so in tune with each other's rhythms -- despite their 20-year age difference -- that it's hard to believe they've never acted together before.

A gut-wrenching look at the human cost of war.

Salt contains many conflicts: intelligence vs. counterintelligence, blond Angelina vs raven-haired and . . . well, that's about it.

Newcomer Joey King is funny and adorable as daydreaming 9-year-old Ramona Quimby.

Illustrating the many ways nuclear weapons could kill you makes Countdown to Zero one of the most frightening documentaries you'll ever see, or endure.

While it obviously isn't for all tastes, this is a big, thematically rich step forward -- mostly it's about tolerance and forgiveness -- from the empty provocation of Solondz's "Storytelling" and "Palindromes." About time.

Carion gets excellent performances from Emir Kusturica as the Russian and Guillaume Canet as the Frenchman. Each is a filmmaker in his own right -- Canet's directorial résumé includes the thriller "Tell No One" and Kusturica's lists the Serbian black comedies "Underground" and "Black Cat, White Cat."

Talking heads include friends, fellow artists, art dealers and former girlfriends. One contributor is Julian Schnabel, the painter and filmmaker who directed the 1996 biopic "Basquiat."

Nolan blurs the distinction between dreams and reality so artfully that Inception may well be a masterpiece masquerading as a summer blockbuster.

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

Visually striking but portentous and pretentious.

The overall result is superficial and deadly boring.

The plot of the gorgeous Mexican film Alamar -- a father-son vacation -- isn't what Hollywood calls "high concept." But thanks to director-cinematographer-editor Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio, the film might be called "high enjoyment."