There is sadness and humor here, but all understated.

Bland and forgettable - a romantic comedy with affable characters and some funny lines, but where love never really takes flight. It fizzles when it should sizzle.

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.

Plastic characters, chaotic camerawork, lots of things blowing up, and an incredibly dumb screenplay. In short, it represents a great time at the movies for anyone who has recently undergone a frontal lobotomy.

It celebrates art, hope, and dreams, and you don't have to like hip-hop to appreciate the message or the way in which it is delivered.

There's enough fun to be had that it's almost possible to ignore the stupidity of the story and the cavity that replaces character development.

Linklater has crafted an entertaining motion picture.

This is a vile and reprehensible motion picture.

Lovers of Dahl's book will almost certainly appreciate what Burton has wrought.

After a promising beginning, this movie crashes and burns.

Some of the characters are interesting, but their situations are not.

This picture doesn't have deep enough currents to succeed as a psychological thriller and, as a ghost story, there are times when it has trouble treading water.

Frustrating because it doesn't seem far removed from a wholly enjoyable motion picture, but the tempo's off, beats are missed, and the production ends up sounding out-of-tune.

The emotional resonance that results from the focus on several unique individuals is what makes this a worthwhile viewing experience.

War of the Worlds is not vintage Spielberg, and it's on the grim side for a summer action blockbuster, but it's worth the time and money invested.

The motion picture version of Bewitched is a travesty of monumental proportions that belongs in the "What the hell were they thinking?" category.

It's not startling or frightening enough.

Does what all good National Geographic documentaries do: it informs and entertains while providing interesting wildlife footage. Unfortunately, it's not cinematic.

The movie is pleasant but unspectacular, and at times it borders on being too cute.

Offbeat, daring, and the kind of offering Hollywood will never come close to embracing.

The action scenes are, for the most part, kinetic and exciting - things that have rarely been true of fights and chases in the superhero's previous incarnations.

The problem with Mr. and Mrs. Smith is that it's really two movies in one. The first is a sly comedy/thriller worthy of Hitchcock, and the other is a big, noisy summer action flick.

The film revels in blood and gore, but this is not just a run-of-the-mill splatter film. There's a lot of intelligence in both the script and in Alexandre Aja's direction.

Miyazaki may not have achieved the level of "Spirited Away," but he's still ahead of the curve.

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

Overlong and unevenly paced, Cinderella Man hits stretches (especially between bouts) when it threatens to lose its audience.

Inept storytelling is one of Lords of Dogtown's great frustrations.

Although targeted primarily for girls in the 12-to-19-year old range, there's enough truth about friendship, love, and life in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to offer solid entertainment to almost anyone who gives it a chance.