Although their latest film is not without a certain charm, it quickly wears out its welcome.

Salt goes down easy, but it's lacking both nourishment and flavor.

So friction-free that it slips from memory before the credits fade.

When the smoke clears, heady Farewell stands tall among the movies that view the Cold War at close range.

There are audiences for movies that amuse us, and arouse us, and scare us, but the career of Todd Solondz ("Storytelling") raises the question: Is there an audience for movies that make us feel icky?

Christopher Nolan's "Memento" was a movie-lover's dream come true, a puzzle that was engaging both intellectually and emotionally. But his Inception is a wake-up call, a blaring reminder that cheap tricks can't compensate for personal investment.

A tamer tale of supernatural shenanigans that is far more appropriate for young children than the sometimes too-scary scenes from J.K. Rowling's stories.

It's not exactly aiming for the moon, but in a marketplace where surpassed expectations are as rare as unicorns, Despicable Me is delightful.

The Kids Are All Right probably could have used a few more scenes to come to an even more satisfying conclusion. But it's a terrific film anyway.

A passable popcorn movie, but fans of the first film who expect lightning to strike twice are liable to get burned.

A toxic potion that will put children to sleep and kill his (M. Night Shyamalan) career.

Why the bloodsucker and the wolf boy treat Bella as if she's the cat's meow is still a mystery.

Nobody escapes unscathed, except, of course, for Sandler, who co-wrote the infantile screenplay.

Although it alludes to romantic conventions, with overt references to Hollywood history and an overemphatic jazz soundtrack, Wild Grass is neither poignant nor zany. It's an exercise in artifice, not unlike David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" set in the City of Lights. I'm sure the French have a word for it, but je ne sais quoi it is.

If you're looking for a political message, either for or against U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, this is not your movie. The directors were satisfied with telling us about a group of courageous, honorable young soldiers - a salute these men richly deserve.

An action comedy that works. But it’s also a surprisingly poignant romance. This is the summer flick you’ve been waiting for.

It's a well-earned curtain call for some of the most beloved characters in one of the best-sustained feats of recent cinema.

Like the recent "Greenberg," Cyrus is not the jokey, polished production you would expect from its Hollywood cast and LA setting, but audiences who are comfortable with discomfort should find it "funny."

I Am Love is easy to savor but tough to swallow.

The first half of the film dusts off some kitschy picket-fence footage and alarmist news reports to invoke an era when homosexual acts were illegal in 49 states, and gays were subjected to arrest, electroshock and sterilization.

The kids in the movie, from musicians to marital artists, are unusually skillful, and Smith seems assured of more starring roles. By the end of The Karate Kid, we can't help cheering, even when we know we've been sucker-punched.

The diabolical sadist of the team was director Joe Carnahan.

The most provocative thing in Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is the moment during the opening credits when we glimpse the comedy legend without makeup.

Winter's Bone is the best film of the year.

The documentary ends on a hopeful note, as Indians themselves have taken control of their image.

It's a little black dress of a movie, an elegant hint of something sensual that is ultimately denied to us.

Ondine is dipped in whimsy and might have drifted out to sea, but it's bounded on four sides by love stories -- between a father and a daughter, a man and a mermaid, an actor and his co-star, and a director and his country.

Moves along well until the characters and situations become too ridiculous to be believed.