A one-joke documentary stretched, with surprising success, to full length.

A visual poem.

Sweet, funny, sad and profound -- the sort of film that becomes more remarkable when you realize it's based on someone's real life.

One of the best Hong Kong films of 2002.

A tough internal struggle must take place before one can come forward and admit enjoying The Devil's Rejects, a movie so fundamentally horrible that even its creator has to admit he's basically made a 101-minute snuff film.

So much love went into Hustle & Flow that it almost glows with it.

The movie is more about how many things Michael Bay can smash up -- lots. That might not be a talent most people respect, but it gets through to people anyway, and here Bay does it exceptionally well.

In a blind taste test, I couldn't possibly have identified this as a Linklater movie, and he's a filmmaker I generally like. If anything, Bad News Bears shows that Linklater can get in and out of a movie like a cat burglar, without leaving his fingerprints anywhere. OK, he's proven it. He need never do that again.

This disappointing new film from director Michael Winterbottom ("24 Hour Party People") suffers from a similar malaise: It's poetic and pretty, strives for profundity without attaining it, and finally ends up saying nothing.

It could have been something substantial.

In trouble from its first minutes.

Brower's legacy, however, is beyond question. Historian Starr calls him "an American hero," and though Brower was a prickly sort and a zealot, that judgment sounds right.

Lacks the finesse of other puzzle films.

If all the laughs come from Depp, who gives Willy the mannerisms of a classic Hollywood diva, the film's heart comes from Highmore, a gifted young performer who had a leading role in "Finding Neverland." His performance is sincere, deep and unforced in a way that's rare in a child actor.

Unfortunately, the inspired concept is coupled with weak screenwriting, and the movie turns out to be much more fun to think about than it is to watch.

Extremely pleasurable and well worth seeing.

It's a compelling minimalist drama about spiritual evolution, with strong performances and exotic locations.

A fairly well-made film, reasonably directed by Eran, and it is a plea for women's rights as the Middle East gradually transitions from a tradition-bound society to a modern one.

A beautifully shot and edited film that treats its subjects fairly.

If you're the type who doesn't go to art-house films , Murderball should be your exception. It's hard to imagine anyone could walk away from this movie disappointed.

If only the explanation and resolution of the action were more compelling, Dark Water might have been a thriller of the first order.

They take on special powers that the filmmakers are incapable of making interesting, partly because the characters are ciphers, and partly because the story is listless and uninventive.

Bergman has not gone soft, not emotionally, philosophically and certainly not artistically. This is as tough a film as he has ever made.

Cronicas has a cracking good plot, a central moral issue and John Leguizamo speaking Spanish. What more does a film need?

Won the Golden Spire Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival a few years back, and now, finally, the documentary is being released into theaters. It's a film with distinct virtues: It tells a fascinating story.

An entirely unconventional, hypnotic, meandering film.

Even without surprises, or drama, or clever dialogue, or even a single scene of any merit, Rebound goes along pleasantly.

A good French film that was inspired by an American classic.