The surreal images lack narration and talking heads, which is no problem. In fact, the device makes the shocking footage more compelling.

Unfolds as meditatively as a game of go. Cinematographer Wang Yu shifts easily from tranquility to violence, and he is able to turn something as simple as a man walking outdoors into a visual feast. Chang Chen, a star of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," provides a strong yet understated portrayal of Wu.

Sensory gluttony is reason enough to see a movie, and few epics overstuff the eyes like this one.

The film is occasionally heavy-handed, and the priest character is almost absurdly saintly, but there is an awful power to scenes such as one in which the Europeans are evacuated on trucks.

A fantastical genre-buster.

All the film provides is this bulletin: Lefties are angry about the things Lefties are angry about, chiefly corporate profits.

Overall, this gorgeously designed and photographed movie artfully depicts the immigrant experience in ways that transcend its setting, melding Hollywood and Bollywood storytelling techniques to weave a tale a large audience will relate to.

More watchable for secular audiences than the handful of earlier films released under the Fox Faith label, this one actually has a sense of humor, a politically progressive point of view and a solid cast including the ever-reliable James Garner.

The script is fresh and accessible - even for folks who don't know Croatia from Cambodia - and it is put over by solid acting and direction.

Brisseau obviously aims to shock - and he does. Now shocking is A-OK with me - but only if it's part of a something bigger. Exterminating Angels is beautifully lensed and acted, but it lacks substance.

They go on a biker trip from Cincinnati to the West Coast because they are tired of being bored and would prefer to bore us instead.

This movie sends you into the night thinking, maybe even a little afraid. Bravo, Mr. Fincher.

Mirikitani is a colorful character and talented artist, and his story tugs at the heart. Problem is, Hattendorf insists on inserting herself in what seems like every other scene, a device that dilutes Jimmy's story.

Brewer, who romanticized the world of pimps and ho's in "Hustle & Flow," is obviously out to push some politically incorrect buttons with this ludicrous - yet, in the end, sweetly involving - Southern Gothic pulp yarn.

The overwhelming silence is broken mainly by chanting and the ringing of the monastery bells. Call it life in the slow, slow, slow lane.

The low-low budget ($50,000) coming-of-age drama, shot on high-def video, is nothing if not daring and innovative.

The Astronaut Farmer stalls narratively in the third act, but rest assured it finally achieves liftoff. See it before it disappears into the ether.

The gags vary - a tattooed-breast mystery kinda sags - but there are lots of laughs.

This is the British way to mingle ideas and entertainment.

There isn't a remotely believable moment in the script here, and Kramer's leaden direction only helps strand a capable cast headed by Heather Graham in an hour and a half of virtual laugh-free tedium.

Shifting the self-deprecating japery of "High Fidelity" from a record store to a quiz show makes Starter for 10 a sweetly endearing date movie.

The director is, you won't be surprised to learn, Tsai Ming-laing, whose deadpan humor and minimalist lensing has made him a god among film geeks.

A tad too long, "Tea" is nevertheless touching and funny, with charming performances. You might say it's as calming as a hot cup of green tea.

Movies about addicts are a dime a dozen, but Cocaine Angel does its own thing, mixing humor with bleakness and resisting the too-common urge to romanticize addiction.

Though it's being dumped in the wastelands in February, Breach is better than many of the pack of so-called prestige movies that were released at the end of last year.

Has buckets of gentle sincerity. Since there aren't any dumb jokes or hip visuals, it's easy to get caught up in the simple messages: Be good to your sister, don't be a bully, use your imagination in a pinch.

The movie's last words are "This is how legends are born." Make that stillborn, because when the makers of this one pitch the sequel, the only answer is going to be, "Ah HA HA HA!"

The chatty killer and the nervy atmosphere are both so depraved that the film, though it contains hardly any explicit violence, is like stepping into a blood Jacuzzi, and there is a biblical severity to the ending.