All these good elements have resulted in a movie that is not so much awful as mediocre, disconnected and ultimately incomprehensible.

Covers this exact same territory, but does it with such refreshing, clearheaded honesty and skill it seems like a revelation.

The stripped-down dramatic constructs, austere imagery and abstract characters are equal parts poetry and politics, obvious at times but evocative and heartfelt.

Tinged with sadness, and despite overstaying its welcome a wee bit, remains an anthem of insurrection, melding its political and humanistic truths into an almost dreamily subversive film tinged with humor and some small hope.

I haven't been so captivated, chilled and surprised by a movie in years.

Forget "The Revenge of the Nerds." This is the real thing.

The official R rating is for "strong language, sexual content, drug use and some crude humor," but the MPAA is just being polite. It's all crude.

It's all about Guevara's education as a revolutionary and his development as a leader in the jungles and in battle.

It's a tricky tonal dance that Watt, minor missteps aside, glides through with feeling.

Takes a humorously gentle approach to the culture clash between the primitive and the modern. With wonderfully natural performances by the children, this is a family movie that crosses cultural boundaries in a celebration of the magical possibilities inherent in everyday objects.

At its best when it remains with the women, and Marshall draws marvelous performances from all.

When its big plot switcheroo comes, it proves to be not such a great idea after all: It actually weakens, rather than strengthens, the premise, and dissipates, rather than intensifies, the drama.

A fairly loathsome and shallow movie about loathsome and shallow people, but it's almost worth catching to see star Christian Bale chew up the scenery.

Unfortunately, this latest effort is so mean-spirited and nasty that you wish Farrell hadn't bothered.

The first hour of the movie struck me as being truly inspired, and I haven't laughed so hard all year.

A deviously delightful entertainment.

Bound to seem, at best, a kind of CliffsNotes guide to the novel's highlights, especially if the casting is not all that inspired.

When the monster shows up, pretty early in the film, everything becomes much more interesting, as it smashes buildings in midtown Manhattan like some sort of Rudy Giuliani, 9/11 nightmare.

If Arlyck's own life feels unworthy of the attention, Sean's illuminating, unconventional and contemporary story makes up for it.

The film's greatest triumph, at least on a technical level, is the amazing texture of the water, which has never looked so dramatic or convincing in an animated film.

I can't think of another movie that more fluently communicates the special agony and ecstasy of the game of chess.

It's in English, but the actors speak it with tortuous accents that are a constant struggle to understand and make them seem like foreigners in their own land. Spanish with English subtitles would have served this story much, much better.

When (Tykwer) connects it's exhilarating and gorgeous, a sight to behold.

Shot in England, it's a gorgeous film with visuals that match the delicious story and a score that artfully carries along one heart-thumping scene after another. [09 Mar 1990]

It's a reductive moral to a story full of fascinating contradictions, but Bailey and Barbato draw a convincing line between the social and political atmosphere of the film and the culture wars of today. The issues are still very much alive.

A harrowing, frustrating view of paranoia and ineptitude that may seem a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time but evolves more into a mystery.

Let's call this "High Fidelity Nano." It's a little bit less in every way, lighter and cuter than its archetypal elder, but it might just fit your present lifestyle all the better. Who needs to go back to the polysyllabic spree of John Cusack channeling Nick Hornby when you have Michael Cera making awkward emo look so lovable?

What is ultimately so special about this film is its handling of the relationship between Lennon and wife, Yoko Ono.