Manages to remain witty throughout.

I appreciate that Ponsoldt doesn't go for cheap tears through over-sentimentality, but his detached, low-key approach distances viewers from the characters. I watched the drama unfold from afar but was never involved on an emotional level.

Keeping in mind the limitations imposed on the production by the running time, All the Old Knives offers a compelling (if ultimately unremarkable) spy movie that tilts more toward a drama than a conventional action/thriller.

On balance, it's a good movie but not a great one. Probably the only reason it's getting North American distribution is because of the involvement of Liam Neeson.

The movie is ultimately more interesting in satire than the presentation of a legitimate alternate timeline. This doesn’t invalidate C.S.A.’s approach but it limits its effectiveness as a sort of Twilight Zone look at the last 150 years.

It's a movie of moments, some of which are side-splittingly funny. Arguably, this is the most uproarious comedy that Allen has ever done.

Forgettable? Yes. But good enough to provide a couple hours’ diversion.

It has great action sequences, more than a splash of legitimately-funny humor, solid performances from engaging actors, and a script that doesn't demand much mental exercise.

It's the kind of high energy, fast-paced film where you can guiltlessly root for the heroine to persevere -- but that's all it succeeds at.

Despicable Me 2 provides a good bonding opportunity for parents and children with enough palatable elements to please members of both generations.

If there's anything disgusting or grotesque that The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover doesn't dabble in, I'm at a loss to figure out what it is. This film, a wildly exuberant, bitingly satirical examination of excess, bad taste, and great acting, is the kind of over-the-top experience that will have timid movie-goers running (not just walking) for the exits. Taboos? If director Peter Greenaway has any, you can't tell by this film.

Only time and Matrix Revolutions will determine if the material contained here is just a noisy, visually lively distraction or whether there are deeper currents we're not yet aware of.

Ted is essentially a one-joke movie. Okay, it's a very funny joke, but it's still only one joke.

It might be fair to argue that Shephard overreaches with Not Okay, but there’s something bracing and fresh about throwing caution to the wind the way she does. The movie doesn’t have the bland, cookie-cutter feel of so many of the other productions that comment on the evils of the Internet.

A grim, thought-provoking drama. It aims to be both heartbreaking and (in an odd way) inspirational, although the former is more convincingly conveyed than the latter.

The acting is a big part of Baghead's problem. Three of the four protagonists are played by performers who do little to distinguish themselves.

The production company is Hammer Films, a venerable name in British horror. Responsible for some of the best monster movies of the '50s and '60s, when Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were a favorite team, Hammer has endured over the years. Now, as then, the Hammer name is an assurance that terror, not soulless special effects, lies at the heart of the production. The Woman in Black bears this out.

The level of humor is sit-com-ish at best and the film's dramatic elements are bland and uninvolving.

From a pure entertainment perspective, it is arguably the most enjoyable motion picture of the season. Sky High is funny, smart, energetic, subversive, and has a few substantive things to say.

5x2 is a little talky and the pace is slow, but, for this kind of motion picture, it's one of the best around.

While such a loud, brash interpretation may not go down in cinematic history as the definitive version of the play, hopefully it will open a few eyes and widen the audience willing to venture into any movie bearing the credit "based on the play by William Shakespeare."

The problem is one of tone. The Five Year Engagement, despite its serious thesis, tries desperately to be funny. Some of the comedic material provokes laughter and some doesn't, but nearly all of it feels wrong.

Reynold’s charisma and some solid gags hold things together for a while but the movie ultimately comes up short despite its promising premise.

A rare remake in that it's sufficiently different in the details to make it of interest to those familiar to the earlier endeavor.

Empire of the Sun remains a solidly engaging story of heroism in the face of adversity, as filtered through the eyes of a boy obsessed with planes and flight.

Most rom-coms take vague stabs at humor while focusing on the romance. Here, the balance is shifted. There’s enough chemistry between Day and Slate to get us to root for their coupling but both are comedians by trade and that serves them well.

Micmacs is an inventive romp punctuated by the kind of quirkiness Jeunet has brought to all his films.

Using parody as its means, Fear of a Black Hat has a lot to say about the exploitation that surrounds the rap music business. This movie is not tightly-scripted or elegantly produced, but it is (for the most part) highly entertaining. For those who have been waiting for a sequel to Spinal Tap, this may be the best alternative.