The filmmaker works with economy and has a knack for creating a sense of foreboding, which is good because the plot is simply a working out of the old saw that violence begets violence.

The movie is a fantasy, and the choice is either share the fantasy or don't participate.

Cinema is not about special effects, but about human emotion and a face in close-up. For those in doubt, Locke is the proof.

It has action sequences that will appeal to people looking for the usual pyrotechnics, but the core of the movie - and the source of the audience's interest - is emotion.

A particular strength of Alan Partridge is that the writers (Coogan among them) don't trade entirely on the audience's familiarity with the character, but rather come up with a flashy, eventful story in which Alan can be showcased in a variety of contexts.

A smart and unsettling atmospheric thriller.

The resulting film is a rich mix of movements and cultural phenomena that occurred not only in the United States, but several European countries.

Some of that emotion inevitably makes its way into our perception of the film, which elevates it somewhat, but only to the level of mediocrity.

Faced with a story that doesn't make much sense, the filmmakers switch gears and try for a sociological statement - something about the marginalized and the neglected. This makes for a funny last five minutes, but sad, too, because Walker was better than this, even if his movies sometimes weren't.

Audiences looking for a nonstop laugh riot may be disappointed, but the big laughs are there, and they benefit from the movie's underlying sincerity.

For such a torment-filled story, the ending is surprisingly satisfying, with an important message that a lesser filmmaker might have telegraphed too much.

The documentary Watermark is close to the cinematic equivalent of a coffee-table book. It relies heavily on visuals and offers minimal context. The project has a pro-environment feeling, which comes across implicitly, not through browbeating or preaching.

Only Lovers Left Alive is simply dead, an exercise in style, bland humor and vague gesture that yet seems to have been made in the naive expectation of a conventional response - that is, of an audience's actually caring.

The new Disneynature film lacks the fortuitous plot turns found in previous Disney documentaries, resulting in some awkward (and possibly deceptive) editing. But the movie has a strong protagonist and impressive footage, and the educational core is unsullied.

Transcendence looks and sounds like a Christopher Nolan film that got attacked by malware.

The images of heaven somehow diminish the impact of the boy's experience, perhaps because heaven is just too profound for anyone to film.

Dom Hemingway isn't about story. It's about Jude Law as a force of nature, and that turns out to be a very entertaining diversion.

As Wade, Gary Poulter is the most authentic-looking old drunk you'll ever see onscreen - something I thought before I knew the story of his casting: Poulter was a homeless man who was recruited by a casting director. He'd never acted before, and yet he's remarkable in this.

An engaging documentary attempt to probe her mystery, and it offers some answers - she was secretive and stubborn, a hoarder of epic proportions who seems to have had fits of instability. She also wasn't always nice to her young charges.

A Rubik's Cube of a movie, an intriguing, layered puzzle that isn't easily solved.

A pleasant diversion starring the always amiable Nick Frost, with Chris O'Dowd relishing his role as a slimeball.

Entertaining and suspenseful, the movie shows the politicking and strategies that go into this annual ritual, and Costner is at his beleaguered best.

There's nothing like a good story, and The Galapagos Affair: Satan Comes to Eden has a great one that grabs viewers from the first minute and holds on for two solid hours.

Under the Skin can be confused for a movie that hides its meanings, when it's really a movie that hides its meaninglessness.

It's a bright and fun movie, but also repetitive and overloaded with plot. A nice enough diversion, but not a necessary one.

To extend the boxing analogy, it's as if Morris, after getting pummeled for 12 rounds, just taps Rumsfeld with his finger - and scores a knockout.

Evans pays careful attention to atmosphere, while giving wide berth to cinematographers Dimas Imam Subhono and Matt Flannery, who find beauty among the mayhem. Everything on screen is crystal clear and vibrant, like a city street right after the rain.

Although Jones and Pearce are interesting when onscreen alone, their chemistry is slightly off.