A model of economic storytelling....It raised the bar for movie action to a bionic level. [1 Dec 2003, p.13]

Sally Hawkins offers an Oscar-worthy performance as Poppy, the funny, kind-hearted, and mischievous protagonist.

Perhaps the greatest, most affecting articulation of the theme Eastwood has been exploring since 1990's "White Hunter Black Heart": how violence--real violence, not movie violence--perpetrated and experienced, can erode and/or obliterate the human soul.

The Poe-esque story, the wonderfully twisted physical geometry of the characters, and the director’s signature sense of humor, combine to make Corpse Bride a fun movie, and one that breathes life not only into stop motion, but into animation as a whole.

Fantastic news, true believers: Spider-Man 2 is smarter, hipper, faster, funnier, and flat-out more electrifying than the original, swinging to new summer-movie heights as the greatest comic-book adaptation yet made.

This is, simply put, one of the most beautiful movies you’ll ever see.

If you don't play at all, you may find yourself enjoying this film more than anyone, because you'll at least get all the laughs with none of the cringing self-recognition.

Fear not those who worried about Raimi after the last "Spiderman" debacle. There is no musical number here. The tongue is planted firmly in-cheek. The spirit of "Evil Dead" lives on.

A smart, brisk, but extremely thoughtful hybrid of star-vehicle and resonant depiction of right-now America.

Beyond Milk, few of the other characters are given much to do.

This is a movie of head-spinning richness.

Imelda Staunton is absolutely astonishing.

The film is beautifully acted by all, but Nora-Jane Noone, as the sloe-eyed orphan Bernadette, is first among equals here, and a genuine find.

One of Cronenberg's subtlest, most insinuating pictures, and one of the highlights of the year so far.

A remarkable and disturbing look at the personal stories glossed over by the headlines.

The result is one of the odder and, certainly the most compelling of the short stream of Broadway-to-Hollywood transplants of recent years. The interweaving of the music and the visuals casts an unusual, restive spell of delight and unease.

Duvall delivers a bravura, Oscar-quality performance....The Apostle is a profoundly humane movie that crackles with the joy and sorrow of an old blues record.

The moviemakers are accomplished enough to make something coherent out of this tonal mishmash, but I was left with a "was this trip really necessary" feeling for all that.

It's difficult to enjoy a thriller in which the big reveal is such a clunker, but if there's an exception to that rule, Tell No One might be it.

Delivers a polished and well-researched look at America 's largest corporate bankruptcy with a laser-sharp focus on the personalities, practices, and fates of the top executives behind the Enron meltdown.

With almost palpable anger, Meirelles hammers home the point that crushing poverty is only one problem for Africa that the West needs to do something about.

It's a film that approaches greatness and then fumbles.

By the end of the film, one begins to recognize specific birds, rooting for their safe returns and saddened by some of their failures.

It's a rare film that can be convincingly tender, bitterly funny, and ruthlessly cutting over the course of fewer than 90 minutes. The Squid and the Whale not only manages this, it also contains moments that sock you with all three qualities at the same time.

An unexpectedly exuberant, only mildly subversive celebration of music, learning, and going all out for what you love.

We were also glad to see they didn't ignore the humorous elements that made the original so great. Plus, the casting is spot on.

A thoroughly engaging, terrifically moving family story that's rich in beautifully observed and lovingly conveyed human detail.

The plot is pretty convoluted, but Miyazaki has a very good handle on it and lavishes his customary heart, humor, and inventiveness on every situation he depicts.