The combination of immediacy and intimacy in Armadillo is exceedingly rare.

An erotic mystery of sorts, the film works because it's laconic rather than talky and its actors are all up for the material.

In the end it's those amazing, nutty set pieces, coolly guided by the veteran director, that make it all worthwhile.

There is greatness in Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York: titanic acting, violent poetry, moviemaking on a grand scale, a real air of daring. And there is flab in it as well, and confusion.

A family film, but it's a wonder if kids will really enjoy it. The picture is geared for older folks, people who'll be heartened by the message that sometimes, you can return to your passions.

In this film, shadowy seams of brutality, loss and grief are traced beneath bright layers of tree boughs, children's laughter and high, empty windows.

Tran's cinematography is delicate yet probing. Faces, especially eyes, tell much of the story.

Crowe understands what's interesting about Nash: He's not a feel-good figure. It's a pity the same can't be said for Howard.

Despite convincing work from its cast, the movie remains oddly uninvolving.

Fonda's classic performance in a role he owned onstage and on film is a pleasure to watch. [22 Sep 2006, p.46]

Actor Jeroen Willems' portrayal is expressionless, coming across as more boring than stoic.

Bacon's mature performance serves a story that's considerably less sophisticated than he is, making The Woodsman less "brave" and more a slightly better-made movie of the week.

Resembles an amusement park ride -- a visit to a house of horrors that ends, more or less, where it begins.

It's unfortunate that the lack of originality in plot and character keeps Akeelah and the Bee stuck firmly in "After-School Special" territory.

Brick is kinda brilliant and kinda demented, and you love it for the former far more than you hold the latter against it.

Although it tries continually to focus on the heart, it ultimately fails to ignite it.

It is aided both by fine performances by Auteuil, Aumont and Depardieu and by wonderful pacing.

A feel-good movie that doesn't think it needs to rub people's noses in the happy stuff to get its points across or eliminate all the disturbing shades to make a uniformly glowing whole.

There are occasional moments of wisdom, drama and emotion, but we never quite forget the blunt confession of one of the founders of the world championship, who admits that the whole thing began as a joke. Psst, buddy: it still is.

It's frustrating that a movie about a man so deathly serious about music has largely boiled his life down to addiction and adultery.

A bit too familiar, and at times gentle to a fault.

This meandering tale of a pack of ticket inspectors working the Hungarian subway system delights in misleading viewers.

There's talent here, and creativity, but there's that rankling question at the core: Are we meant to sympathize with these outsiders or laugh at them?

It's a sexy thriller, tautly constructed, deeply acted and heartfelt, despite a cool and knowing tone.

Canadian director Richie Mehta ("Amal") based Siddharth on his own random encounter with a father searching for his missing son, and the film never feels less than utterly real in its depiction of both everyday Indian life and the hopelessness that comes so naturally in this sort of tragic situation.

It's a fascinating patchwork.

There's no reason to actively dislike the film, but that's not enough, not at today's ticket prices. Just because you're not despicable, after all, doesn't mean you're the pick of the litter.

Mikhalkov plays the jury foreman, allowing himself a bit of business that eventually erases itself, amounting, effectively, to nothing. Alas, too much of this splashy film is just like that.