The self-consciousness that made the director's "Love Actually" a love-it-or-hate-it film is dialed way down. About Time is more of a love-it-or-like-it proposition.

The film is glossy, but awful. Frenetic, but awful. Expensive, but awful. ... And awful.

This is a handsome, conventional biopic, as fluent and polished as its subject matter.

None of this bears much or any resemblance to the real world, but the violence crunches, the editing snaps and the humorous one-liners pop at well-timed junctures.

Shyamalan doesn’t reach “The Sixth Sense” or “Unbreakable” heights, but his scriptwriting is livelier than we’ve seen in years, and there’s a sense of humor that was missing in even his best work. At times, he seems to be poking good-natured fun at his own reputation.

Exhilarating and enchanting family picture. It's the best I've seen this year and highly recommended for girls and for boys, too.

The result is that this is one of those rare movies that gets better as it goes along.

A loving if fawning documentary.

Aquaman continues to revel in the outdated 1970s superhero ideal that mankind is unquestionably worth saving. Add to that some awkward dialogue, a poorly conceived visual effects palette, and a soul-crushing and bladder-crushing 139-minute run time, and you have another disappointing entry in the DC Comics cinematic universe.

Most of Arkansas — Duke’s home state, by the way — just falls flat, despite individual scenes here and there that work.

With his self-deprecating demeanor and easy laugh, Glass is a congenial presence, and now and then he lets an insight drop.

Comic gold for anyone who is currently stoned, has been stoned in the past or spends a lot of time around stoned people.

Violent Night isn’t terrible, but it’s stuck between parodying something and trying to fit the genre it parodies. And it really should have been funnier.

Sam Garbarski's use of slow-motion shots is pretentious, and he paces the film too slowly. But he captures the seedy side of London, giving you a feel for Soho during the day when sunshine exposes a cheap gaudiness.

Abandons any pretext of sophistication for gloppy sentimentality, sugary pop songs and bawdy humor -- an approach that works about half the time.

Despite its fascinating and humorous moments, one can't help but be frustrated when at times it switches away to spiritual pretentiousness.

As a documentary, it is very much what it set out to be - a celebration bordering on propaganda. Yet enough slips through to keep it interesting.

Actually, Mom is the essential difference between Wahlberg and Caan. Caan has the glow of mother love on him. Wahlberg plays Jim as having made the adjustment to a lack of love, but in a twisted way. He's gambling now to see if the universe loves him.

Clown in a Cornfield will never be ranked among the classics of our time, but there are aspects of it that are worthy of admiration.

The Flash gets credit for effort, because this superhero movie isn’t trying to be stupid and convoluted. It gets there by accident.

Sly, stylishly cynical dark farce.

From watching this meandering, stilted movie, anyone unfamiliar with Charles Dickens' novel would be not only disinclined to pick it up but also clueless as to why it's considered great.

A blast of manic energy in the form of a film.

A creeping equanimity is taking over the work of John Sayles, a quality that in personal terms might be wise and coolheaded but in terms of drama is absolute death.

Funny throughout, but with a handful of really hilarious moments.

Spirited was never going to be any good, but it would have been slightly better — and a change of pace — if Reynolds and Ferrell had switched roles.

It's as if he has been trying to express something, or to make his own particular kind of good movie, for 10 whole years. Now he has.

Pure fun and worth seeing if you want to laugh.