With its lack of pretensions, Miss Potter is that rare breed of cinematic animal: a movie whose entire goal is to entertain and perhaps apply a gentle touch to the heart.

The lack of family friendliness does not diminish what del Toro has achieved with this magical motion picture.

Deeply flawed though it may be, Perfume is a challenging motion picture, and one whose impressions are not easily shaken.

The movie ends up feeling superficial and mechanical. Warhol is a cut-and-dried villain rather than a complex individual.

The most important part of any thriller - even one as upper crust as this - is the resolution, and that's where Notes on a Scandal falls on its face. The ending itself isn't bad but the single act leading to it is unforgivable.

Although imperfect, it's engaging, thought-provoking stuff.

De Niro pulls the viewer into the world he has created and holds him there, sometimes spellbound, until the story is over and the end credits roll.

With a cast featuring Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Ricky Gervais, one has a right to expect something amusing from Night at the Museum. Oddly, not only is the movie unfunny, but it rarely tries for laughs.

We Are Marshall is precisely what one expects from a true sports story: it's uplifting and inspiring.

This is a brave movie because it addresses a subject Hollywood feels uncomfortable about.

Director Zhang Yimou's ambitious attempt to blend martial arts action with Shakespearean melodrama. It's not a perfect marriage but it offers two hours of solidly over-the-top entertainment featuring incredible visuals and powerful performances by international icons Gong Li and Chow Yun Fat.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a unique American-made war movie for at least two reasons: it depicts the battle from the perspective of the losers and it represents the United States as the "enemy."

A lot takes place during The Painted Veil's two-hour running length, but most of what happens occurs within the hearts and minds of the leads.

Rocky Balboa is not as good as "Rocky," but it allows us to forget the other four sequels, none of which was memorable.

Dreamgirls is good and at times it touches greatness.

The Good German, Steven Soderbergh's film noir homage, is nearly perfect when it comes to style and tone, but it concentrates so single-mindedly on the mechanics of the narrative that it loses sight of its characters.

There's no shortage of candidates for the fatal flaw: the artificial storyline; the presence of a ridiculously cliched character; the lack of chemistry between illicit lovers. Blaming one of these problems is probably unfair. The movie's failure is likely based on a fusion of all these, and perhaps a few others.

Charlotte's Web has all the requisite elements that a family film needs to succeed and endure: humor, drama, pathos, and an emotionally satisfying ending.

It's hard to imagine anyone having the patience to sit through this movie except perhaps a handful of 11-year old boys seeking vicarious wish fulfillment.

The Pursuit of Happyness is long, dull, and depressing.

Had Home of the Brave presented credible stories about believable characters, it might have been a powerful drama.

The Holiday is no vacation. Sloppy writing, an overindulgent editor, and poor casting have taken an intriguing premise and transformed it into an uneven mess.

It's a solid performance from Leonardo DiCaprio, who has grown into this sort of "gritty" role and is more believable after having been seen dancing on the dark side in "The Departed."

The best thing I can say about Apocalypto is that, despite belonging to an overpopulated genre, it's unlike any other movie to reach theaters this year and, because it is as visual an experience as it is visceral, it is best seen on a large screen.

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.

As a piece of religious instruction or an animated version of a crèche, it accomplishes its aims. As a movie, however, it's slow, plodding, and not terribly interesting.

Ten Items or Less is not landmark cinema nor is it deeply thought-provoking, but it's smart, funny, knowledgeable about life and people, and a crowd-pleaser.

With solid performances and a terrific screenplay, this movie offers solid, no-frills drama that feels organic and believable, not contrived.