It may not be original, but Adam could leave a lump in your throat.

Mired in phoniness up to its neck. And above that, there's nothing.

During a summer with the usual transforming robots and young wizards, this chilly flick is a bit of a break, and there are worse options than letting this Orphan in the door.

It's often obscenely funny, but it tickles more than it stings.

A movie that will be discovered, embraced and shared with friends like a favorite record album.

Just when this black-and-white, microbudget movie seems poised to spring an indictment of the Dickensian social order, it ends, but in a redemptive ray of color.

Soul Power is both a funk-tastic time capsule and a timeless celebration of the human spirit.

We're left with an impression of a vivacious pioneer; but warm shouldn't have to mean fuzzy.

For the many mavens who aren't familiar with Varda, this autobiographical documentary will be puzzling, in the best and most literal sense.

At once an unforgettable war film and a brilliant character study.

Of all the films to come out the conflict, Afghan Star is the most provocative, because its message that people are essentially the same is a dubious, double-edge sword.

This broadside against sharia law lacks the finesse of an import, but it's effectively melodramatic.

$9.99 may not be entirely successful from a dramatic perspective, and it certainly offers little enlightenment about the meaning of life. But the film is so intriguing in other ways that it's definitely worth a look.

Shot mostly in black and white and imbued with a romanticism that's at once nostalgic and exhilarating, Tetro sneaks up on you. What threatens to be a mere exercise in style proves to be as involving as it is inventive.

With exquisitely simple images and minimal dialogue, Seraphine is both haunting and humane.

Sometimes macabre and sometimes manipulative, but the way it speaks to the spirit is miraculous.

Terminator Salvation is a tale told idiotically, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

It sustains a palpable fatalism in such recurring details as a whirring buzz saw and the cry of a loon, while the static camera and lack of musical cues enable some unforeseeable plot twists.

The clichéd script doesn't develop the secondary characters or the critical theme of the mutants' alienation.

Anyone suggesting that an Italian film could rival the style and grandeur of "The Godfather" might end up sleeping with the fishes. But Il Divo delivers.

Unexpectedly poignant.

The success of the three, separately screened films -- the first set in 1974, the second in 1980 and the concluding segment in 1983 -- depends not on their specifics, but on their ability to sustain an atmosphere that's appropriate to the dark but haunting story.

The problem with In Praise of Love is not that it seems to be possessed by a kind of free floating anti-Americanism. I'm not all that crazy about some of the things this country does, either, and I detest some of the big-budget movies Hollywood makes. The problem with In Praise of Love is that it never shuts up. [1 Nov 2002, p.E4]

A Knight's Tale succeeds as light entertainment if not as historical record. [11 May 2001, p.F1]

With a deadly slow beginning and an unnecessary overload of special effects, this sequel is incredibly average, doubling the number of explosions and cinematic tricks, but cutting back on story, plot and characters. [24 May 2000, p.E4]

It would be a disservice to describe "Perfect Blue" as a well-made cartoon. It is simply one of the richest and most suspenseful films of the year. [03 Aug 2001, p.E2]

A semi-sweet but not all-that-satisfying Canadian import, set around a lesbian-run bookstore. [17 Sep 1999, p.E3]

Sure, the movie causes a few jumps. But they are the cinematic equivalent of having someone jump out from behind a door and yell boo. [23 July 1999, p.E1]