Despite rave reviews, film festival awards, and an Oscar nomination, Spellbound comes across as little more than a marginally compelling documentary -– the kind of movie that would be at home on PBS.

What starts out as a seemingly-routine excursion into genre clichés emerges into a more complex and satisfying arena than most viewers will anticipate.

Crafted with flair and style, and without pretension, Confidence achieves the modest goal of being an entertaining cinematic adaptation of a B-movie script with an A-list cast.

A colossal disappointment. Not because it's superficial and shallow –- those characteristics pretty much go with the territory –- but because it's boring.

Light entertainment, this is not. Unforgettable and challenging cinema, it is.

It's smart, strange, unpredictable, and defies the formulas that typically define this sort of motion picture.

The story's entire foundation is based upon a plot hole so gargantuan that anyone not suffering a brain cramp will identify it at once.

When it comes to mockumentary parodies, no one does it better than Christopher Guest.

Essentially a one-joke movie that milks its central conceit long after there's nothing left.

Typically, movies aimed at teenage audiences have little concern for things like intelligent scripts, credible characters, and meaningful dialogue. Better Luck Tomorrow contains all three, making it a hugely rewarding experience.

A thoughtful, almost poetic, piece that puts forth the argument that redemption is not easily achieved.

The Man Without a Past is a modern fairy tale. It certainly is divorced from reality. Despite this -– or perhaps because of it -– it's a satisfying motion picture.

The best pure thriller of 2003 to-date.

Effectively paced and nicely choreographed, the fundamental letdown of the ending results in a mild sense of dissatisfaction.

Lovers of drama featuring quirky characters will find things to appreciate.

So howlingly awful that it has unwittingly found a place in that elite group of films that can claim to be "so bad they're good."

Like "The Apostle," it exists off the beaten path and will not satisfy mainstream viewers. Yet, for those who do not demand a firm adherence to formulas and genre-driven expectations, this movie offers the chance to see something a little different.

Comes across as a cheesy, fundamentally unsatisfying experience.

The key term here is "fairy tale," because, although the movie occasionally tries for dramatic moments, they're overplayed, undercooked, and divorced from reality.

A mediocre diversion -– a movie better watched at home where the remote control can be used (if necessary) to fast forward to the film's best part: the obligatory end credit outtakes.

Isn't worth the time, money, or effort. For Stephen King aficionados, it's just the latest cinematic nightmare.

As high camp, Willard might have something going for it, but not as a horror movie.

This is schlock -– by-the-numbers action that ignores character development to the point where we find it hard to care whether L.T. catches Hallam.

Enjoyable enough that the sprinkles of artificial sweetness in the mix don't do lasting or irreparable damage.

Not a complete waste of time, but it doesn't make us FEEL the way better dramas do, and, in the end, it lacks the qualities that would make it memorable or powerful.

Fuqua takes a genre picture and, by diverting the story onto an unconventional path, generates a sense of urgency. Tears of the Sun is not a great movie, but it is satisfying, and represents an example of accomplished filmmaking.

The plot is straightforward and predictable to the point of painfulness.

Having funny lines and amusing gags is only half the battle. The rest is in the delivery, and that's where the trio of Martin, Latifah, and Levy excel.