A faithful portrait of a period in American social history.

An exceptional example of Shakespeare on film.

A richly satisfying and darkly funny movie.

Confusing, mixing messages of self-empowerment with those of conformity.

Unoriginal, frequently incomprehensible and cheaply made.

Tasteful but not compromised.

Absorbing and exquisite.

With Lloyd Webber onboard not just as composer but also co-screenwriter and producer, the film seemed destined to stay true to its roots rather than attempt to transcend them.

The picture doesn't come close to approaching the near-classic quality of the earlier film.

An extraordinary and effective film.

Reveals essential truthfulness about families.

Jaw-droppingly awful.

While still trumpeting human ingenuity, the new movie lacks the subtlety, character development and exceptional ensemble acting of the 1965 version.

It's moving, romantic, dreamlike, flawlessly acted and so engaging as to make you forget about euthanasia before it jolts you back into recognition.

Leoni is a very attractive woman, and she should be credited for giving a brave performance, but her character starts to produce involuntary shudders when she appears onscreen.

The Aviator has a hole in its center, and Scorsese fills it the only way he can, with spectacle. He makes The Aviator colorful and entertaining from beginning to end. There are worse things.

Much credit for this delightfully morose children's film must go to director Brad Silberling's careful orchestration. Please note, in the vocabulary-building spirit of the Snicket books, that the word "orchestration'' here means "coaxing good performances out of child actors and keeping Jim Carrey in check.''

Ages well in memory because it gradually seems to mean more. Its meaning can't be summed up in a sentence, but it has to do with a view of life as inexpressibly sad and yet always right.

A potent and troubling meditation on the state of Western society.

Colorful and sweeping.

The fact that the movie has to entertain with digressions is an indication of more than looseness, but rather a shoddiness...Nothing connected with the job is of any interest at all.

Bloody good.

It's almost a great movie. For half of its running time, Anderson maintains a distinct and arresting tone of vague absurdity, and then he loses control and the film begins to dip into silliness. Individual scenes become labored. Yet even at its worst, The Life Aquatic is always interesting -- there's really nothing else like it.

Compelling.

But there's just enough comforting familiarity mixed with refreshing new characters to hold the casserole of a plot together.

Beautiful but hollow.

Tricks with the camera sully an otherwise informative documentary.

Feels like a personal vendetta.