The over-the-top tone gets stale awfully quickly -- especially once it becomes clear that it's all wacky style over any real attempt at substance.

It's a splendid microcosm of contemporary China's aspirations and shortcomings.

Riveting.

Might be too realistic for its own good: The film takes perhaps a little too much glee in its abilities to manufacture mayhem. That being said, the ride is extraordinary.

Certainly for most audiences the viewing experience will prove not only tedious but bewildering.

Politically charged docu-drama is uneven but delivers powerful message.

Despite the labors of leads Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, there's no screen magic being made here.

The latest installment could well be Romero's masterpiece. Taking full advantage of state-of-the-art makeup and visual effects, he has a more vivid canvas at his disposal, not to mention two decades worth of pent-up observations about American society.

Word-of-mouth should make it one of the best-performing nonfiction films of the year.

Despite many interesting mise-en-scene moments, the film disappointingly feels as sterile as the family's immaculately clean house. In a sense, the movie is too ambitious.

Scott Caan, who delivers a derivative but extremely well acted drama.

Results in a film that's more exploitative than sympathetic. Compared to the works of fellow Francophone directors Catherine Briellat and Clare Denis, Doueiri's depiction of female sexuality in Lila Says is both wooden and pat.

An endlessly intriguing documentary.

Uses dark humor, incisive characterizations and social commentary to infuse its familiar detective tale with a distinctive flair.

A nature documentary that captures the ferocity and heroism of nature.

Herbie: Fully Loaded is, pure and simple, a children's film.

Christian Slater and Selma Blair head a solid cast that Harvey Kahn directs with cool efficiency as the tension steadily rises with every passing minute.

Pure's lively and colorful cinematic style turns a "downer" story about grim lives and desperation into a powerful love story.

It's a chick flick with a vengeance but even in its most sentimental moments, stars Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear make this feel-good-about-yourself movie feel ... well, good.

Adapting the novel by Zhivko Chingo, director Trajkov and his co-scripter, Vladimir Blazevski, have created a searing memory piece. Suki Medencevic's widescreen cinematography illuminates a shadow realm halfway between heaven and hell.

A hit-and-miss affair. It has moments of unexpected, offbeat comedy, but most of the time neither the characters nor the situations engage the viewer.

Some of the metaphors are a bit too literal but the director largely succeeds with his story and the surprises are convincing. Best of all the film has a terrific sense of humor and the young actresses exploit it delightfully.

An engaging portrait of a functionally dysfunctional family.

King of the Corner has been adapted from Gerald Shapiro's "Bad Jews and Other Stories" and suffers from an odd, disjointed quality.

For Christopher Nolan to turn Batman Begins into such a smart, gritty, brooding, visceral experience is astonishing. Truly, Batman does begin again.

Expertly tossing off the type of well-sharpened banter that was the domain of Gable and Lombard and Tracy and Hepburn, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie -- no matter what their off-camera status -- make one swell combative couple.

A lackluster affair, devoid of laughs and just about anything else one might construe as entertainment.

That outrageous third-act reveal proves to be a major deal-breaker.

An often imaginative though less than magical family feature.

Though it's difficult to work out what's going on, it's never boring.

Lacks the finesse to attract significant attention beyond its target audience.

Ultimately comes across as a soporific costume drama featuring a gallery of miscast stars.

This poetic portrait of simple Japanese life immerses you in the elegance of the ordinary.

A grand story of redemption, laced with barbecued wit and slopped with intrigue, Chrystal is a high heaping of brilliant storytelling.

Ron Howard and Russell Crowe bring the Braddock story to vivid life in a superbly acted, beautifully shot, highly engaging drama that ranks as one of Howard's best efforts.

Takes a surprisingly gritty approach that gives the material some gravitas but also robs it of some of its fun.

Rock School rips out in the gritty-underdogs-conquer-the-world story progression. In this real-life scenario, Green whips them into shape for a triumphant performance at a Zappa Festival in East Germany.

The story itself is silly and exaggerated.

Ultimately neither funny nor touching enough to make much of an impact, but it does offer many small, insightful moments along the way.

This adaptation of South African writer Olive Schreiner's cult novel is too cute by far, sapping emotional resonance from a story that was in its original incarnation apparently far darker.

Despite a few design flaws, "Pants" should wear well with its young female demo.

This agreeable remake still manages to go the distance.

It's frustrating to see this wonderful-looking, laugh-out-loud funny survival tale fall short of its potential.

Should attract some interest in urban theatrical situations before settling into cult video status.

The film is thought-provoking but not terribly involving.

Browne keeps it amusingly involving.

A juicy Chinese-American romance about preserving "face" at the sacrifice of your whole being. This Sony Pictures Classics release is a comic gem.

Sequins will tax the patience of most viewers not enthralled with endless close-ups of beads and brocades.

Awfully dull, with scant evidence of the sort of things that make horror movies attractive -- like mounting suspense and spine-tingling creepiness and, oh yeah, the element of horror.

A thought-provoking and involving film.

Pantoliano brings his usual degree of wily, understated humor to his role and is ably supported by the terrific ensemble, but he's unable to elevate a film that is ultimately as directionless as its protagonist.

Well meaning but less than riveting in its execution, this documentary is far better suited for public television exposure than theatrical release.

The final episode of George Lucas' cinematic epic "Star Wars" ends the six-movie series on such a high note that one feels like yelling out, "Rewind!" Yes, rewind through more than 13 hours of bravery, treachery, new worlds, odd creatures and human frailty.

A fascinating account of its subject's self-torture over his inability to stop one of the 20th century's greatest tragedies.

Director Renny Harlin's take on Agatha Christie's versatile "Ten Little Indians" is total B-movie swagger in all its unsubtle glory.

Laughs-wise, it lacks the raucous edge of an "Old School" or "Anchorman" or the retro charm of an "Elf," but there's still plenty of Will-power to fuel this likable underdog trifle. It certainly is more enjoyable than a lot of what passes for family entertainment these days.

A deeply dispiriting movie, not just because it is grindingly bad but because Jane Fonda actually chose this for her comeback after a 15-year absence from the screen. But it's worse than that. Fonda, one of the best actors of her generation, is downright awful in a role she could have -- and probably should have -- sleepwalked through.

An action picture with the emotional simplicity of a bedtime story, painted in the grimy colors of the London underworld.

Resistance is futile. It's impossible not to be swept up into the uplifting world of Mad Hot Ballroom, a documentary that can be neatly summed up as the "Spellbound" of competitive ballroom dancing.

Yet another stylish exercise in depravity in which Huppert floats through the sordid proceedings in a calm haze. If only the film she inhabits was as sexy as it aspires to be.

Smartly put together, with interesting characters and caustic wit.

Garcia has his moments as a wild man but the script never really allows him to plumb the artist's emotional depths.

A superb portrait of a father and son disguised as a docu about Haskell Wexler.

Acting is similarly routine with the glorious exception of Hilton, who is so bad she steals the show.

Fulfills the requirements of grand-scale moviemaking while serving as a timely reminder that in the conflict between Christianity and Islam it was the Christians who picked the first fight.

More character study than sports movie, the people in this film come across very much as flesh-and-blood personalities despite the script's tendency to indulge in cliches and let characters deliver highly emotional speeches.

Dull film about pedophilia that fails to shed any light on the topic.

Everyone involved -- actors, crew, director Susanne Bier and screenwriter Anders Thomas Jensen in their second collaboration -- are in peak form in this unflinching look at repressed feelings and emotional devastation.

Captures the excitement of the game as well as the intimate drama -- and comedy -- of the human conflict.

A dry compendium of talking-head interviews.

Hits the screen with its disarmingly droll spirit quite intact.

A smooth blend of visual special effects, exceptional stunts, fluid photography, sharp design and a possible best-selling soundtrack.

The result is slightly less interesting and less appealing even as arthouse fare.

While those in the know will undoubtedly find something to appreciate in the film's wide-ranging if amateurish stabs at satire, the vast majority will feel left out of a private joke.

It is to Dance's considerable credit that he never lets the filmmaking overtake the understated storytelling.

Too squeaky-clean to convey the turbulence of the period.

A work of powerful humanism.

Tells a fascinatingly lurid tale.

Thrillers don't get much smarter than The Interpreter.

This is a hand-me-(dumbed)-down chick flick that is counting on Kutcher's tabloid popularity and Peet's unmistakable though here underutilized talents to cover up for rote characterizations, tired plot devices and a general lack of inspiration.

A desperately strained comedy.

Very entertainingly takes us into the world of stuntwomen.

Not only a great cautionary tale, it's a civics lesson that should be seen by every concerned citizen.

The Game of Their Lives has a great sports story to tell, yet the filmmakers fumble it away.

The drama gets stuck in a dispiritingly dull rut and fails to build toward what is supposed to be a something of a crowd-rousing triumph over adversity.

Exists as a freaked-out drama rather than a parody.

Shorter and punchier but nearly as hokey as the original.

David Duchovny delivers a clearly heartfelt but terminally mawkish and awkward directorial debut in House of D.

Crammed with charmless characters and/or hammy performances.

It lacks the genuine wit to elevate it to a truly satirical level.

Possesses a lighthearted quality that makes it rather enjoyable.

What emerges is that Yao is a fascinating individual with great humor and modesty, as well as the potential to be one of the greats. Unfortunately, that's all we really find out about the guy.

Unfortunately, this feature, originally made for Italian television, doesn't quite do justice to its stirring subject.

It's a highly stylized piece of work typical of director Todd Solondz, who renders wildly exaggerated sequences on a topic not generally thought of as a basis for comedy. He leaves it to the viewer to decide if it's insightful whimsy or meaningless drivel.

Ultimately, Adam Moreno's screenplay, with its multiple narrators and constantly shifting points of view, makes for mighty confusing viewing.

Any movie starring Penelope Cruz or William H. Macy can't be all bad. And Sahara, which stars both Penelope Cruz and William H. Macy, proves the point: It isn't all bad.

Ultimately goes the distance, it gets the job done with a halfhearted bunt rather than a solid line drive.

With a delirious mix of the sublime and the silly, Hong Kong comedy king Stephen Chow Sing-chi has taken the kung fu comedy genre to new heights of chop-socky hilarity.