Revelatory as well as unsettling.

A bit of a letdown. The manic comedian who has gained fans worldwide for his outrageous slapstick and special effects-driven antics in "Kung Fu Hustle" and "Shaolin Soccer" takes a backseat this time - and that's part of the problem: This is lesser Chow because there is less Chow.

As the camera follows four campers in a Portland, Ore., rock school for girls, the result is less a journey than a collage of random thoughts, circumstances and events. There's plenty of telling, but not enough showing.

Simultaneously a sports adventure film, a tear-jerking tale of hope and inspiration and a captivating meditation on culture clash.

A compelling and visually arresting drama.

When you've got three of the nation's best actresses in leading roles, it doesn't matter if your script is only adequate and the audience really has to squint here and there to believe what's happening on the screen.

The movie's effectiveness is distorted by its hero-worship of the Chicago defendants.

An enjoyable movie with an entertaining angle on a hard-to-resist period of history.

Surprisingly pedestrian.

The performances are the best part of this uneven film.

The laughs do come, but not as readily, not as heartily and not as joyfully as you might expect.

What's unforeseen in Unforeseen, a superior documentary by Laura Dunn, are the consequences of a certain mind-set about mankind's relationship to the world and, finally, to itself.

A relentlessly earnest teen film.

The picture eventually collapses under the weight of its own gimmickry, but it's still an entertaining distraction for cerebral horror fans who want an appetizer before the B-horror feast that is "Diary of the Dead."

Inside 10 minutes, at most 15, Be Kind Rewind reveals itself as an awful mess, and it only gets worse.

Well made, provocative and compelling.

Vantage Point has nothing going on. There's no artistic, philosophical or even jolly entertainment reason for adopting this strategy. It's just arbitrary, a gimmick.

The movie's satisfactions are subtle, but they run deep, and there are many.

Indian director Ashutosh Gowariker, who won an Oscar nomination for "Lagaan," usually knows how to tell a good story. Here, however, he seems overwhelmed by the sheer weight of history.

It's one of the least scary films that he's made - but still entertaining, and very, very gory.

The filmmakers succeed with an unexpected ending. It's as fresh as everything in the movie, which turns out to be about so much more than one youngster's resilience.

A sophisticated story of disappointment and accommodation.

Goes south as a sci-fi film.

A mostly superb cast, superior special effects, a sparkling musical score and a fantasy-filled plot .

A sequel arrives for Valentine's Day with the unwieldy title Step Up 2 the Streets. If it performs as well, watch for "Step Up 3: the Sprained Ankle."

A lovely, smart and beautifully understated film.

A romantic comedy and an adventure story, but in this case that just means it bombs in two distinct ways.

Witty and lively, with a soul to it, as well.