The sketchy characterizations, laughable dialogue and less-than-stellar performances by the formidable cast, all of whom have done far better work in the past, provide further reasons why Darkness should never have seen the light of day.

A stunning, difficult film.

Outstanding, entirely unique father-son portrait.

A fascinating examination of a mysterious life and the truly bizarre art that it spawned.

What the film most damagingly lacks though is a sense of mystery and danger.

Feels jammed into a sitcom-shaped bid for laughs.

Cheadle impressively carries the entire picture, delivering the kind of note-perfect performance that's absolutely deserving of Oscar consideration.

A sharply observed tragicomedy that draws laughter as genuinely as it coaxes tears, the nicely paced film tempers its themes of loss and sorrow with a cynically witty edge and is graced by a perfectly pitched Sigourney Weaver performance.

Ultimately, the film staggers under the weight of its pretensions, its plot spiraling into murky illegibility.

Kevin Spacey, both as star and director, has created a hugely entertaining, highly empathetic portrait of a man for whom music was literally the thing that kept him alive.

While it certainly looks swell thanks to director John Moore's striking visuals, the wings of this rebuilt "Phoenix" have been clipped by generic scripting and a short supply of dramatic tension.

The result is a film both poetic and profound.

Brooks is solidly in charge of this feel-good fairy tale as he gets terrific performances from everyone including two super-talented child actors.

Scorsese has crafted a rip-roaringly gorgeous-looking, beautifully acted biographical epic. But while firing on all cylinders, there's something oddly distancing about the picture.

Devolves into a repetitive comedy that squanders a hugely talented cast.

Under Eastwood's painstakingly stripped-down direction -- his filmmaking has become the cinematic equivalent of Hemingway's spare though precise prose -- the story emerges as that rarest of birds, an uplifting tragedy.

A thoughtful, provocative effort that makes up for its narrative failings with its astute philosophical musings.

Dolls soon becomes overloaded with symbolism, and consequently suffocates the audience.

Stephen Mirrione's fast-paced editing and David Holmes' pop-rock score propel the story ever forward whether one follows the twists or not.

Although A Tale of Two Sisters has some excellent suspense sequences, it falters badly during the dramatic parts.

Wonderfully weird and wistful adventure-comedy about a fish-out-of-water oceanographer.

Repetitive and ultimately a victim of its own hysteria, the U.K. indie is nonetheless an impressive exercise in high-tech gothic style, with a convincingly deranged Lee Evans.

If ever there was a lusty, lowbrow genre film destined for a life on video, this is it.

While the film sometimes plays like an hour TV medical drama padded to reach feature length, Sawant achieves touching, naturalistic performances from a fine ensemble cast.

This is a work of art so deep and resonant that it puts most narrative films to shame.

Should reasonably please fans of the genre before assuming its place in the horror section of your local video store.

A glorious new addition to martial-arts cinema.

Tells a gripping story that resonates with numerous subtexts.

A challenging, thought-provoking debut that compassionately questions the relevance of celibacy in the Catholic Church.

Both intensely thoughtful and wonderful to look at.

The picture is essentially a tearjerker, with little originality or insight.

Pitch-perfect performances bring it all home, particularly that of Danish leading man Mikkelsen.

Definitely third-rate Holocaust material.

Determined to be faithful to the strong, often shocking language and in-your-face drama in Marber's mannered writing, Nichols and his actors find no way to lift Closer into a realm that enlightens.

That a ragtag group of intellectuals and misfits could so blindside the FBI and hold the media in its grip is an especially sobering aspect of this dynamically told story.

Weinstock takes you down a well-trod path in romantic comedy, but her characters are smart and funny, the twists are unexpected.

Jeunet provides numerous pleasures, particularly visual, along the way.

Things are too predictable. Perhaps the viewpoint is to blame.

Wastes its promising premise with a wavering tone that veers uneasily between camp humor and, pardon the expression, straightness.

A Christmas comedy where laughs and even Christmas joy are in short supply.

Since the movie lacks a vision of what Alexander was really about as a man and a figure in history, it falls back all too frequently on movie spectacle.

If you're going to tell a wildly implausible tale of fortune hunting and unlikely heroes, you could do worse than National Treasure.

The result is an animated adventure that's funnier than "Shark Tale" and more charming than "The Polar Express."

Wavers between would-be satire and romantic drama, inhabiting neither mode convincingly.

Effectively creates a menacing atmosphere within the gleaming white halls of the hospital in which it is set, but its story line and characterizations lack the sufficient originality to lift the film above its many better predecessors.

David Hubbard's script is so steeped in sludgy sentimentality that the film's early hints of quirkiness quickly give way to heavy-handed faith healing.

Does possess some eccentric moments of high camp humor. But other than that, this low-concept slasher/horror film suffers from creaky direction, a tatty story line, and -- even worse, considering the genre -- a lack of suspense and shocks.

The heist itself is almost dull, and the characters aren't half as colorful or interesting as they need to be.

Begins by repeating many gags from the previous film. Only now they feel lame and routine.

One of the year's most satisfying films.

A rewarding piece of filmmaking that has all the makings of a classic weepie.

Mildly engaging but never entirely convincing.

A quintessential Hollywood story that might have just as easily been called "Karma."

A story that soars with breakneck pace but slows in all the tender moments. Visually, this train ride is both majestic and edge-of-your-seat.

What captures the audience's attention is Ardent's mesmerizing performance.

The film doesn't manage to achieve for hip-hop what the great rock concert films of the past have done for their musical genre.

Fascinating and absorbing tale.

Alas, this is a remake without a reason. Alfie can no longer shock us.

Pixar again hitches top-notch storytelling to the very best in CG animation.

Tambini and Sandoval lived in the community for a year and present the story with great immediacy. The film could have benefited from some deeper analysis of why these people feel their way of life is so threatened.

In a season of proliferating issue-oriented documentaries, Voices of Iraq stands out by the sheer nature of its provenance: Iraqis themselves filmed the footage during a six-month period this year.

Daniel Craig, in his meatiest film role to date, delivers his usual incisive performance, even if this intimate drama of contemporary Londoners pushes the boundaries of credibility.

A paranormal mystery without a spine. It has no suspense because it has no belief in itself.

Boasts an undeniably original premise and clever plot machinations that lift it several notches above the usual slasher film level.

Unlike his songs, the film holds something back. It goes deep into a life filled with as much trouble and pain as triumph and accomplishment but never quite gets at the root of who Ray is.

It is a film that should be required viewing by all citizens, especially students, if we hope not to repeat this awful chapter.

Hysterically funny yet melancholy comedy.

What might have achieved a degree of cult status across the pond when it was aired in 10-minute installments, struggles to pass big-screen scrutiny.

Although not exactly original in its aspirations or execution, the film's engaging performances and occasional funny moments lift it a notch above the pack of similarly themed fare.

Terrific performances by Anthony LaPaglia, Eric Stoltz and Caroleen Feeney infuse this well-written comic drama with a realistic ease.

The naturalistic style of the film is completely at odds with the hokey melodrama.

Simply lets the sinfully gorgeous music and emotions sweep over an audience.

Quite moving thanks to its gorgeous cinematography and a story that manages to be emotionally resonate despite its familiarity.

A brilliantly honed tale of dementia, starring a skeletal Christian Bale as a tormented insomniac wasting away and terrorized by his irreal existence.

Slightly less frightening than the original, but it's still a scary psycho-horror that effectively replicates its bleak and crisp shocks.

A lame comic premise, a tiresome-bordering-on-obnoxious protagonist and a script devoid of humor is a lot to overcome for any movie, and Surviving Christmas is not the one to do it.

A well-intentioned but unconvincing fable about a young boy struggling to overcome his fear of mortality.

A meticulously rendered romantic drama, very well acted and featuring solid production values and location work that makes New York feel like one of the movie's characters. The only problem is the story is rather flat.

Both the anticipation factor and writer-director Mick Garris' slick adaptation fail to live up to the old hype.

Muddled and uninteresting.

As drama the film mostly serves to illustrate the two sides of this crucial social debate in Africa.

Character eccentricities and off-kilter group dynamics play out with a comic vengeance.

A delightful though wafer-thin starring vehicle for one of our finest actresses, Annette Bening.

A laugh-starved comedy that seeks to plug into the comic stylings of Mo'Nique for its energy and humor.

Director-cinematographer Ryan Little neatly ratchets up the suspense while throwing emotional spotlights on the inner struggles of each combatant trapped in this hostile, frozen wilderness.

Even those who have never been exposed to the considerable charms of the Masayuki Suo original will likely find Peter Chelsom's all-American version of Shall We Dance? to be a dishearteningly sullen, lead-footed misstep.

There is no room for subtlety. Aiming a rude, foul-mouthed political satire everywhere -- left, right and center -- Trey Parker and Matt Stone blow up a good deal of the world, not to mention the egos of many Hollywood personalities

Pallid acting and a general lack of spirit ultimately result in a bland costume drama.

It's difficult to think of another recent film so seamlessly rendered or that envelops an audience so completely in its period authenticity.

Slick, well-packaged emotional drama.

An agreeably goofy road movie.

The filmmakers are clearly most interested in re-creating the murders in a gruesome and repugnant fashion. It's a shame the film is so exploitative, because Howell and especially Turturro deliver chilling, all too convincing performances.

The provocative issues of Silent Waters are unfortunately undercut by schematic plotting and one-dimensional characterizations, but the forcefulness of its message makes it a rewarding cinematic experience.

Those who thought "Shakespeare In Love" was as good as it gets in intelligent costume romantic comedy will find that director Richard Eyre and writer Jeffrey Hatcher have taken the form to a higher level.

The film lets you get caught up in the excitement of this religion and the addictive nature of those stadium lights. Berg and cinematographer Tobias Schliessler get up close to the action, catching the hits and miscues in all their violent urgency.

May be too clever for its own good. Essentially, it's the story of weekend scientists who build a time machine in a suburban garage. But this nearly gets lost in a miasma of technical jargon and scientific conjecture.

Should attract Duff's core audience but not much more than that.

Layering soundtrack and visuals in an intricate collage of rich emotional texture, he (Jonathan Caouette) displays an exhilarating talent.