When it comes to comedy, Deck the Halls is remarkably tedious.

Denzel Washington plays Denzel Washington, good cop. This isn't a great performance, but Washington wasn't brought in to show off his acting chops.

In the end, you have to possess a sweet spot for Black and his antics to find Tenacious D more than barely watchable.

This is no longer the James Bond we know from the '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s. Welcome to the new world of MI6's most storied agent.

Happy Feet ends on an upbeat note with singing and dancing, but the weaknesses that precede it deflate the euphoria.

Despite being well made and supremely acted, Candy is a true feel-bad experience.

One of the great frustrations associated with Fast Food Nation is the way it drops subplots.

For Your Consideration will not go down as one of Guest's crown jewels, but it's nevertheless engaging.

The resulting finished project is a series of skits performed by famous people doing favors for a friend, and it works about as well as one might expect from such an endeavor.

Gorgeous photography and strong acting keep the formula from becoming stale. For those who don't mind pictures that fall into predictable rhythms, A Good Year represents a pleasant diversion.

Harsh Times occasionally echoes "Taxi Driver," Ayer's own "Training Day," and even "First Blood" in the way it examines the psychological disintegration of a character and the seduction of amorality.

Stranger than Fiction is a wonderful cinematic experience - a welcome way to spend a chilly autumn evening.

This is a Beauty & the Beast romance between Nicole Kidman and Chewbacca.

This is one of those middle-of-the-road art pictures that will impress some music lovers and attract a small audience, but won't really excite anyone. Copying Beethoven does not do for its title composer what Amadeus did for Mozart, and that's a shame.

The variation keeps things fresh and the relatively short running length (less than 90 minutes) ensures that Borat doesn't overstay its welcome - even though when it's all done, we wish this absurd man might have lingered a little longer.

It's better than 90% of the animated fare of the last few years. It's refreshing not to have to qualify the movie's appeal by appending the words, "for the kids."

There's some potential in this storyline, but the movie doesn't do much with it besides giving Martin Short an opportunity to put on the fat suit.

Although Volver has a tendency to stray too far down tangential paths, it is ultimately satisfying.

Catch a Fire isn't edgy like some of Noyce's previous titles nor is it a big-budget endeavor with A-list stars. Instead, it's a simple and sincere tale of inspiration.

Its complex (yet not mystifying) storytelling, forceful character development, and superb cinematography make this a candidate for one of 2006's best offerings.

Death of a President is celluloid mediocrity. It's neither interesting nor convincing.

Three adjectives spring to mind when describing Marie Antoinette: odd, irritating, and tedious.

Character development is of secondary importance to narrative and theme. As a result, we never really get to know any of the film's protagonists.

There's plenty going on but never any real magic.

For 60 minutes, the movie appears to have found the right tone and approach, then everything goes wrong. It's rare to see a production that starts so strongly finish so weakly.

With Deliver Us from Evil, Berg has been uncompromising in the picture she paints. She pulls no punches and makes no apologies.

"Capote" is the more intellectual of the two films; Infamous is the more emotional. They exist to complement, not eclipse, one another.

Tideland is, by turns, a complete bore and a creepy experience. And I don't mean "creepy" in a positive sense.

The rarest of movies - a literary multi-character drama. From the erudition of the voiceover narrative to the three dimensionality of the characters, Field's film is the closest it's possible to get to a book without reading one.

The original film was gritty and entertaining ("Infernal Affairs"); the new version is a masterpiece - the best effort Scorsese has brought to the screen since "Goodfellas."

A solid starting point for those unfamiliar with Apted's greatest work, and a must-see for those who have been down this road before.

Although Shortbus doesn't work as porn (and I don't believe it's intended to), it also doesn't work as a serious drama. The storyline is juvenile and the characters remain poorly developed and incomplete.

There's nothing in The Guardian that audiences haven't previously been exposed to ad nauseam.

A grim experience, with too little wit and humor to compensate for its faults, and the upbeat ending feels like a cheat. Thornton is good, but not worth the price of a ticket.

Most viewers will discover this picture - and it is worth discovering - when it is released on DVD.

Director Kevin Macdonald has fashioned a film that is at times nearly as harrowing as his previous endeavor, "Touching the Void."

Those familiar with the novel will undoubtedly agree that reading it is a more satisfying experience than watching this disappointing film. One expects more - much more, in fact - with a cast of this caliber.

Zero-star movies are a rare and terrifying breed - films that warrant recommendation only as an alternative to physical distress.

Jesus Camp is not a "hatchet job." The filmmakers did not go in with an anti-Christian agenda and use selective editing to prove their point.

What "Eternal Sunshine" did with magic and whimsy, The Science of Sleep accomplishes with confusion and pretentiousness.

The film's look is impressive; it's the most successful rotoscoping effort to date (far surpassing Richard Linklater's duo of "Waking Life" and "A Scanner Darkly"), and causes every frame to drip atmosphere.

The sloppiness of the ending doesn't only damage The Black Dahlia, it sinks the project.

Haggis' dialogue is virtually without clunkers, and it is delivered with the appropriate weight by a solid cast. Braff's limp performance is countered by Barrett's emotional riveting one (although he's in more scenes than she is).

Confetti is an excellent study of what happens when someone botches Christopher Guest's mockumentary format.

A nice little documentary that provides a view of recent history for those who didn't live through it, or a nostalgia trip for those who did. However, as vehicle for presenting anything new or surprising, it fails.

Coulter is a TV veteran but a motion picture newcomer. His work here indicates he is someone to watch. The pacing is slow and deliberate, but the story never ceases to intrigue.

One could argue that Crank works best as a comedy. It's occasionally funny, and some times VERY funny.

LaBute has transformed the eerie, disturbing psychological thriller into an unintentional comedy. At times, The Wicker Man is hilariously bad.

Despite being a little rough around the edges (as is often the case with the work of maverick documentarians), This Film Is Not Yet Rated is more than just an angry diatribe against the MPAA.

Despite the best efforts of Barber the director, he never quite overcomes the shortcomings of Barber the writer.

How to Eat Fried Worms belongs to a vanishing breed - live action family films.

From the poor set design to the mediocre acting to the paint-by-numbers screenplay, this is TV fare at best.

Overall this is a compelling and sometimes disturbing motion picture.

To an extent, Snakes on a Plane reminds me of "Eight Legged Freaks." It has the same kind of off-the-wall, don't-take-it-seriously comedic horror sensibility.

An infectious mix of romance, mystery, and magic.

After a while, Factotum surrenders to monotony and only the performances are likely to retain the viewer's interest.

Its strength is its humor, which is half-"Seinfeld" and half-"Sex in the City." There's a reason why those shows ran for only 30 minutes each - it's difficult to sustain comedic momentum for longer, as becomes apparent here.

It's not scary, it's not chilling, and it's not interesting.

World Trade Center is Stone's most potent motion picture since "Platoon," and may be the most accessible across-the-board since "Wall Street."

This one is a creepy white-knuckle excursion into horror, where even the "boo!" moments are so well developed that they cause a jolt.

The Night Listener is by no means an example of perfect filmmaking, but it is the kind of movie that stays with you.

You laugh a few times but, in the end, you wonder why you bothered.

Too often, Boynton Beach Club feels like a made-for-TV movie with a little sex, nudity, and profanity thrown in to spice things up.

The two best words to describe the 2006 motion picture Miami Vice are "stylish" and "intense."

A blend of lackluster comedy and lazy plotting, the film feels a lot like bad Hitchcock.

John Tucker Must Die is toothless. The jokes are obvious and unfunny, the storyline goes nowhere that's interesting or unexpected, and the only chemistry happens in a science lab.

Why bother with wit, intelligence, and emotion when children will be equally entertained by pretty images, colorful action, and the obligatory poop joke?

Ultimately, despite flirting with some darker subjects, Little Miss Sunshine lives up to its name.

This is a funny movie. It delivers plenty of laughs, but it isn't in the same league as "Clerks." I left that movie holding my stomach from laughing so hard.

This is sloppy filmmaking, and it's likely to wipe away whatever luster still remains to Shyamalan's reputation.

While Monster House is in no way groundbreaking, it's an enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes, and is suitable for all but the youngest children.

Casting helps the film work. Uma Thurman is among the few actresses who can pull off this role: the hot, buff, slightly deranged superhero and her dowdy, un-sexy alter-ego.

A mess of conflicting tones and missed opportunities. The only one to emerge unscathed is Kate Hudson, who exhibits qualities she has rarely shown since her breakthrough role in "Almost Famous."

The slow, uneven beginning is more than compensated for by the rousing climax.

If ever there was a movie more destined to become a cult phenomenon, I don't know if I can name it.

The Devil Wears Prada is two films in one: a caustic, energetic satire of the fashion world and a cautionary melodrama. The first works; the second doesn't.

Superman Returns is not only a credit to the first two Superman movies; it may be the best of the series. Its combination of romance and fantasy adventure is unparalleled in superhero comic book-to-movie sagas.

Wassup Rockers is amateurish, but without the redeeming qualities found in "Kids" and "Bully."

There are times when the comedian falls back on his typical shtick, but the film doesn't shy away from the darkness inherent in this kind of story, and it has a heart.

It's all about eye candy and the quick tease. It's not over fast enough.

I am conflicted about this film. I like the fact that it takes chances. I appreciate that it's trying to do a supernatural love story without falling into the schmaltz of "Ghost." Yet I recognize that the screenplay is like Swiss cheese - riddled with hole.

Too much in Nacho Libre doesn't work to enable me to recommend it to anyone except a card-carrying member of the Jack Black fan club.

Overall, if the film is not as funny as its predecessors, that's probably part and parcel of why it doesn't seem as enchanting. Emotionally, despite the character arc, Cars doesn't resonate in the same way "The Incredibles" or "Toy Story" did.

This combination of storytelling, singing, and corny comedy is sometimes a little too slow and long-winded for its own good, but at least the aftertaste isn't bitter.

What really matters in this film are the lead characters - Resler and Russell - who are interesting enough to warrant such a cinematic endeavor. The upbeat film touches on serious issues without becoming lugubrious.

Fans of the original will end up doing shot-by-shot comparisons. On every level, The Omen isn't just bad filmmaking, it's bad storytelling.

The Break-Up is like Danny DeVito's "The War of the Roses," but without the wit, the acid, and the blacker-than-black humor.

District B13 is action porn. It's a series of amazingly choreographed, kinetic action sequences tied together by a laughably bad script and worse acting.

It delivers pretty much what's expected.

The problem with An Inconvenient Truth isn't the message; it's the messenger.

Individual scenes are entertaining in their own right, but the production as a whole is a lumbering mess.

Solid family entertainment, and it's better than 2006's previous tepid animated releases.

Director Michael Cuesta hits the right notes with his characters. They are believable 12-year olds: intelligent (but not too intelligent) yet naïve, and trying with mixed success to navigate the path of adolescence.

Poseidon is devoid of anything that might conjure up memories of the Winslet/DiCaprio coupling. Its straightforward action/adventure approach is both a strength and a weakness.

It's watchable, but barely.

As coming of age stories go, Wah-Wah does little to distinguish itself.

Maybe it's foolish to be disappointed by a pure popcorn movie, but as I walked out of this film, I felt it had failed in its mission of pure entertainment.

This is as dark as Zwigoff has gotten - arguably even darker than "Bad Santa." And, while it's legitimate to label Art School Confidential as a "comedy," the movie is more clever than it is funny.