While it makes no bones about where its sympathies lie, these fictional stories show a genuine fascination with the role politics plays on both sides of such confrontations and how things can spin out of control with no single person to blame.

Keira Knightley is a terrific choice to play the 18th century socialite.

In spite of a few missteps, the cumulative impact of the film is undeniable.

The film, absent a sense of place and populated by repellent or weak characters, soon devolves into an increasingly foul litany of events.

A winning mix of sharp comedy and touching bits that keeps the laughter -- a few tears -- flowing.

Although the visuals tantalize and the actors providing the voices add a lot of sass, the result is only so-so.

Eventually the conventions of romantic comedy take hold, with the humor declining precipitously.

Many of the film's most entertaining moments are, ironically, its most peripheral: Namely, the extensive archival clips of news conferences in which an alternately relaxed and tense Kennedy jostled with journalists

Joel and Ethan Coen clearly are in a prankish mood, knocking out a minor piece of silliness with all the trappings of an A-list studio movie.

Insistent, sometimes conspicuously one-sided, the film's concerns are difficult to dismiss, considering that a water-starved planet isn't ultimately viable.

Alternately disturbing, laceratingly satirical and affectingly poignant, the film, which he adapted from the novel, Towelhead, by Alicia Erian, is very much a companion piece to the Ball-penned "American Beauty" in its unwavering examination of the dirty little secrets and raging hypocrisies lurking just beyond all those manicured suburban lawns.

Woodard conveys the rock-solid values of a true Christian without ever falling into sappiness. Bates is enjoyably larger-than-life, as the role requires.

An ordinary cop picture boosted by two charismatic superstars but hindered by its dearth of surprises.

The film repeatedly sacrifices dramatic punch for political correctness.

Most entertaining comic drama with a great turn by Jamie Bell.

Tsai, who co-wrote the script with Yu, pulls out all the stops with his C-dub role, brimming with witty send-ups of Chinese-American cultural values and Asian stereotypes.

Someone else's vacation photos are never much fun to watch, and this beach party is a drag for onlookers.

Bangkok won't be making any appearances at the Oscars, but it is executed with skill and -- a severed limb or two notwithstanding -- without too much bloody excess.

Eska seems to be attempting an ambitious Mexican-American variation on "King Lear," another tale of an aging patriarch seeking refuge but ultimately rejected by ungrateful children.

Uplifting without a drop of sap, the tale of a boy's obsession with a glittering swimming pool and how it changes four lives offers numerous pleasures and one of the most satisfying and resonant conclusions to be seen in recent cinema.

A towering heap of nihilistic nonsense that plays like a cornball "Children of God."

It is a sumptuously told tale of childlike wonder in the face of darkest corruption and war, mixing high comedy, surreal sequences and genuine drama viewed from a wise, jaundiced perspective.

This low-rent frat house comedy is at once far more vulgar and decidedly less anarchic than its obvious inspiration and should flunk out of theaters before this year's crop of freshman students even finish unpacking their bags.

Real disaster movies have more laughs than this spoof.

The film is a genuinely gripping tale about international terrorism that hopscotches across three continents.

The best you can say about the movie is that it isn't boring. It's fast-paced, but it isn't really well made.

Manages to stand on its own two skyscraper heels thanks to the comic force of nature that is Anna Faris.

Every triumph registers low on the emotion meter, and most of the supporting characters are two-dimensional at best.

Attaining somewhat of a bad parody of a comedy, screenwriters Andrew Fleming and Pam Brady have slapped together a string of gags in a hit-and-miss dither. Some of it is quite brainy.

Kimberly's ground-zero home video of the storm is what really makes the film exceptional, although much of it is of such rough quality and execution that it struggles to hold up on the big screen.

This smartly assembled wake-up call concerning the nation's lousy spending habits proves to be as unexpectedly spirited as it is dispiriting.

Overcomes its essential familiarity thanks to a frequently witty script, grounded direction (by Peter Cattaneo, of "Full Monty" fame) and an engaging turn by its star that proves him more than capable of carrying a comedy feature.

The largely uninspired Clone Wars feels landlocked. In the absence of any extensive innovation, the video game-ready results play more like a feature-length promo for the imminent TV series of the same name than a stand-alone event.

The two most hilarious characters, played by Spain's two most famous actors, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, are nothing if not cliches about tempestuous Latin lovers. But, boy, does Allen have fun with those cliches.

An awkward mix of proficient 3-D animation, detailed technical recreation and strained storytelling that stalls on takeoff.

This remake of a South Korean movie ultimately provides fewer scares than the average aging baby boomer feels every time they look into a reflective surface.

The biggest hole in this picture is not so much whether an audience will buy its miracles but whether an audience will care about Henry Poole. Wilson hits the same notes in virtually every scene without any change to his physical rhythms or moods.

Its impact is weakened by a limp ending and a sense that it all adds up to rather less than the sum of its parts.

An engaging if less than revelatory documentary.

Stiller manages his movie nicely so that all actors get their share of the comic spotlight. Seldom does an ensemble comedy not contain a single weak character or performance as does this one.

Cruz's performance deserves to be seen widely, and it should place her again in line for prizes, but the story's pretensions and downbeat mood will not endear the film to audiences.

Lacks sufficient substance to be of more than quickly passing interest for all but the most devoted fans.

Ex-Germs infect biopic with punk authenticity

There's definitely a workable, reality TV-based angle at the core of Last Stop -- something along the lines of "No Reservations" but with scattered human remains instead of Anthony Bourdain.

It's with that action aspect that Pineapple Express differs from Apatow's previous production output, and though, the words "taut" and "pulse-pounding" would never apply, the giddily over-the-top fight sequences, choreographed by veteran stunt coordinator Gary Hymes, handily compensate for the lag time.

This intelligent, affectionate, beautifully acted movie gives crowd-pleasers a good name.

A shapely sequel that retains much of the sparkle and warmth that made the original such a pleasant surprise.

A knowledge of Smith's landmark contribution as a rock 'n' roll pioneer is not essential, and the film should be a joy for anyone interested in pop culture of the past 40 years.

Too much of the proceedings are silly rather than horrifying, with the nadir being the appearance of some particularly athletic Yetis who briefly pitch in to lend a hand.

Paints a surprisingly sour portrait of nearly all its characters, so much so that even the final-reel redemption rings hollow and forced.

You don't have to be Jewish to enjoy Sixty Six, but it probably wouldn't hurt.

An amusing ensemble piece about the troubles of dislocated twentysomethings attempting to find their way through life and love.

Overall, the film plays like an improbably skewed but comparatively routine criminal procedural that would have served the original show well as an extended season opener or sweeps-week contender.

The only thing that can explain middle-aged men acting like 6-year-olds is mental retardation, and there's nothing funny about that. The idea of middle-aged actors playing adolescents isn't much funnier. Put it this way: Such an idea does not make for an inexhaustible source of comedy.

Although it has its involving moments, the watered-down Waugh fails to make any kind of lasting connection.

Mainly will appeal to devotees, but even nonfans might want to appreciate its visual splendors on the big screen.

Exotic and thoughtful.

For all of its access and exposure, American Teen seems skin-deep. It's well shot, with good production values and lots of cool music. But it's fun and facile in much the same way reality TV is.

The average age of the band's members is 62. They don't even bother to disguise that fact. These men look like your grandfather, right up until the downbeat. Then the magnificence of their playing sweeps away all concepts of age. Rock on.

Bale again brilliantly personifies all the deep traumas and misgivings of Batman's alter ego, Bruce Wayne. A bit of Hamlet is in this Batman.

It's a delightful piece of filmmaking with a marvelous cast topped by Meryl Streep in one of her smartest and most entertaining performances ever.

The CG animation is nothing special, but the characters are surprisingly fun and the story is full of enough puns, wordplay and slapstick to elicit laughs from across the age spectrum.

A Very British Gangster is not only Noonan's story but a profile of a community dealing with poverty and drugs, and seeing no way out. In a sense, Noonan and his cronies are born into a life of crime.

The most startling performance comes from Val Kilmer as Wade's hardened cellmate, a man who combines bitterness with wisdom.

Satisfying for devoted fans and might even win a convert or two.

A vigorous, fast-paced tale that entwines plot with character and psychology set against an incredibly exotic backdrop.

With writer-director del Toro given free license to go where his singular vision takes him, Hellboy II plays like Guillermo's Greatest Hits with even hotter visual effects.

This first feature by veteran visual effects supervisor Eric Brevig has its transporting, if benign, charms.

Eddie Murphy's amusingly out of this world in this otherwise tired vehicle.

Engrossing and well-researched documentary.

Another among this year's crop of features that demonstrates that having a cast with indie cred can sometimes do little to buoy a film's miscalculated execution.

What it lacks is a villain, and magic without danger is simply a parlor trick, which is what the film becomes.

At times "Days" seems more of a social commentary on the shrinking middle class than the will-they-or-won't-they-make-it story at the heart of the film.

It's all a bit bizarre. One soldier tellingly calls it "one big reality TV show," and the movie never makes clear whether such training does any good.

A biographical documentary doesn't get any better than this.

The film is an ambitious mix of slapstick, black comedy and stinging social commentary.

Alda actually is kind of interesting as the mentally unstable uncle, but Broderick appears to be sleepwalking. Madsen has little to do, and everyone else plays things far too broadly.

A tightly packed entertainment. It explodes through familiar teen-transition territory with dark ironies, but, all the while, touches are sentiments.

Spicing up the entire package is a screenplay by Canet and Philippe Lefebvre that bristles with wit and energy.

The visual effects are stellar, but the true star is Smith, who again demonstrates acting chops as well as effortless charisma in a vehicle that's only occasionally worthy of his superhuman skills.

Even the easygoing Broderick can't inject any lift or charm into the story.

The visual design of Wall-E is arguably Pixar's best. Stanton, who wrote the script with Jim Reardon from a story he concocted with Peter Docter, creates two fantastically imaginative, breathtakingly lit worlds.

This over-the-top, ultraviolent, hyperkinetic action thriller pretty much has it all.

An invigorating, funny, and moving portrait of a Hollywood hero.

Obviously, Munro is reaching for something about how people allow themselves to get mired in the past. But his characters and situations are so exaggerated and dreary that his point gets quickly lost.

This is a slap-dash effort whose producers threw money and stunts onscreen instead of the satirical gags and one-liners that made the old spy spoof so memorable.

Not only does the film stumble badly from one skit to another, the skits themselves have too much dead air.

Beautifully acted and written so its themes are touched upon glancingly rather than with full force.

Offers solid, kid-friendly storytelling.

The film does not lack for ambition both in terms of its themes and artistic design. Consequently, his (Jenkins) feature debut, while not flashy, shows promise. Clearly, here is a young filmmaker who wants to tell stories rather than deliver shocks and sensation.

Expired is a remarkable romance of no easy answers; to wit, like real life.

The movie seems more like a '50s science fiction film of extreme paranoia or an episode of "The Twilight Zone" that even at a swiftly paced 90 minutes feels padded.

"Iron Man" has more wit and style, but Hulk is a neat thrill ride with an intelligent script by Zak Penn and smart, well-paced direction by the French director of "The Transporter" series, Louis Leterrier.

Even a klutz could hardly make a bad movie about these compelling figures. Thankfully though, Guido Santi and Tina Mascara are superb filmmakers, fully alive in their terrific film Chris & Don: A Love Story to all the undercurrents of art, social class, sexual orientation, challenging relationships and, most especially, the touching love story at the heart of their film.

Hilarious for those on Maddin's mad wavelength and more varied than his strictly fictional features.

Retains considerable entertainment value on the strength of Herzog's never-dull, very personal narrating style.

The stroke of genius is, of course, the film's hero -- the big, lovable bear that is the Chinese panda.

The comedy star's legions of fans will welcome the cheerfully crude proceedings as a return to silliness after several earnest, lower-key character turns. The melange of Middle East diplomacy, action absurdity, sexual healing and, when in doubt, hummus, wavers between muscular and middling. It's a surefire hit.