Under Duncan Jones' kinetic direction, Moon also shines on the production front: Cinematographer Gary Shaw's shaded shots intensify the drama, and Clint Mansell's music heightens the psycho-scape.

A genuinely playful wander down memory-lane by one of France's most revered film-makers, it's sufficiently erudite and extract-packed to satisfy cinephiles but also accessible to those for whom her name rings only vague bells.

Clicks on so many levels -- heartwarming family story, rough-and-tumble display of grrrl power and a secondary but tender and convincing romance.

The performers are all good with Baquero poised and beautiful as Ofelia and Verdu vital and spirited as the rebellious Mercedes. Lopez gives an extraordinary performance as the bestial captain, an irredeemable villain to rank with Ralph Fiennes' Nazi in "Schindler's List."

The writing is often clever and the overall production playful and intelligent.

Falling closer in tone to "Shaun of the Dead" than "28 Days Later" or the George Romero movies, Zombieland has its tongue planted firmly in its rancid cheek while still delivering the visceral goodies.

Gervais and Robinson take what might have been a cute concept comedy and elevate it to delicious heights.

Painfully funny satire of British and American bureaucrats in the days leading up to the Iraq War.

The Coens' typically superior filmmaking sustains the electrifying mood for most of the picture, but they are undone by being too faithful to the source novel by Cormac McCarthy.

Assayas makes the point that objects of fascination and affection to one generation may be far less so to the next. And he observes the role that people-friendly museums can play in keeping a nation's treasures safe with pleasing subtlety.

With a keen affection for his own formative years, filmmaker Greg Mottola has crafted a funny and spunky amusement

A moody adaptation of the Swedish best-seller about a fateful mortal-vampire romance, Let the Right One In is atypically literate and unexpectedly affecting suspense fare. Complex characters, ominous situations fraught with mortality and the recklessness of youthful ardor create a tense and subtly shaded narrative.

Moving historical drama brings a fascinating chapter of art history to life.

It is both funny and sad, placid and provocative and, above all, hopeful and despairing.

Lo Cascio and Boni inhabit their roles with keen intellectual and emotional vigor.

Owen carries the film more in the tradition of a Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda than a Clint Eastwood or Harrison Ford. He has to wear flip-flops for part of the time without losing his dignity, and he never reaches for a weapon or guns anyone down. Cuaron and Owen may have created the first believable 21st-century movie hero.

Starts out dark and challenging then comes to a startlingly satisfying and warmly human conclusion that lingers long after the curtain has come down.

The guy knows how to make a heart-pounding movie; he just happens to be a cinematic sadist.

It plays like "Bonnie & Clyde" as made by a committee comprised of George Romero, Sam Peckinpah, Tobe Hooper, Sergio Leone and John Waters -- but Zombie still manages to inject a pervasive flavor all his own.

Heart-wrenching as well as spirit-raising.

Cody's dialogue has a definite rhythm and Reitman directs his actors to deliver the words in the rapid-fire precision of a '30s screwball comedy. Indeed all scenes develop a rhythm and inner logic that bring the movie to often startling revelations and insights.

Yojiro Takita, who directed enduring commercial hits like "The Ying Yang Master" and "The Yen Family," has made a popular gem -- thematically respectable, technically hard to fault, artfully scripted to entertain and touch.

The situations might be formulaic, but the teamwork of the two leads brings them to sparkling life.

A brainy blend of farce and heart, this is one of those movies that veteran moviegoers complain they don't make anymore.

The director, who also wrote the script, achieves a keen-eyed view of the Turkish expatriates in this film while sustaining his remarkable ability to make them universal.

David Yates, in his go at the helm, throws the emphasis on the gathering storm clouds even as Harry and his fellow wizardry students make further discoveries involving the opposite sex.

It's a rare comedy that actually grows funnier on reflection. It benefits enormously from the talents of the two stars.

Phoenix plays the romantic lead with great intelligence and enormous charm, making his character's conflict utterly believable, and Paltrow positively glows as the radiant shiksa who dazzles him.

The movie is fun, with plenty of intrigue and suspense that will have audiences clutching at their arm rests.

The pain of watching a spouse succumb to Alzheimer's is given a particularly deep and sensitive treatment in Away From Her.

What a relief to escape the series' increasing bondage to high-tech gimmicks in favor of intrigue and suspense featuring richly nuanced characters and women who think the body's sexiest organ is the brain.

Emphasizing brawn over brain and spectacle over intimacy, Ridley Scott's Gladiator nevertheless is an impressive accomplishment in its re-creation not only of the golden age of the Roman Empire but of the unspeakable brutality with which one of the world's greatest states conducted its business.

Clever and fast-paced thriller.

The wow factor works overtime with state-of-the-art effects sequences that often are as beautiful as they are astonishing.

Few films have so poignantly portrayed a father's relationships with his sons as The Boys Are Back.

An effective martial arts film destined to leave mouths agape.

Packs a quiet wallop.

Ekachai's film takes a more compassionate view of its subject and boasts a dynamic performance by real-life kickboxer Asanee Suwan.

With some excellent staging, fine cinematography and first-rate acting, the film largely overcomes the awe it demonstrates for its principal character and succeeds in creating a mystery where perhaps there is none.

The excellent film combines a wealth of archival material with the reminiscences of an unforgettable group of octogenarian women who were champion swimmers when Hitler annexed Austria in 1938.

Should be mandatory viewing for those interested in the dominant intersection between religion and politics.

It's a beautifully modulated performance in a nicely crafted, quietly unassuming character study by Vancouver-based writer-director Carl Bessai.

Genuinely sweet, beautifully constructed documentary.

An engrossing mix of atmospheric gothic horror and smart sci-fi that's cemented by intriguing mythology, terrific visual effects, a dry sense of humor and an ideally cast Keanu Reeves.

Accomplished and affecting art house fare.

Admittedly, The Jacket is not likely to be everyone's cup of tea, but filmmaker John Maybury has forged a mesmerizing mindblower.

The movie is filled with small moments of tenderness, insight and considerable wisdom.

Allen turns the character into a tour de force that unleashes an unexpected comedy about compassion and self-loathing.

Woody's back on solid ground with his first memorable pic of the new millennium.

The brutality of the fights and Schizo's growing ability to outfox his enemies make for a taut and exciting little picture.

It's a roller-coaster action film that thunders along with top-notch set pieces and studiously researched period settings. The only letdown is that the focus on action drowns out any character development.

Splashed and accessorized with brainy nonsense, "D.E.B.S." is a "H.O.O.T."

It's an adrenaline rush of a film.

Hits the screen with its disarmingly droll spirit quite intact.

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.

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.

Smartly put together, with interesting characters and caustic wit.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

An endlessly intriguing documentary.

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

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.

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

Riveting.

The film achieves its power through a careful gathering of crucial details, in wordless glances, cruelties of nature and of man and the relentless determination to gain the promised land.

A crackling good suspense thriller.

Here's a film about kids and for kids that has not lost touch with what it is like to actually be a kid.

A likable mix of laughs and wacky action sequences.

Not merely a sitcom of cultural clash. Screenwriter Angus Maclachlan has delicately etched a compelling portrait of a way of life whose decencies and simplicities are often dismissed as being "unsophisticated."

Jakubowicz's direction is assured except in the film's final moments, when he makes a clumsy attempt at sociopolitical philosophy that is delivered by an omniscient narrator. It's an indulgence that threatens to undercut the ferocity that precedes it.

An uncompromising portrait of how global capitalism can exploit an area's resources to the point of near annihilation.

A newcomer to film, Michaletos grew up on a farm with cheetahs, so he can act natural around the animals while making this Huck Finn-like character more than credible.

Has a demented sense of humor, and the cleverness of its taut narrative structure and misanthropic characterizations constantly surprises a viewer. The movie does what you wish more first-time features would do: tell a story economically with first-rate actors and no hint of self-consciousness.

His (Fernando Meirelles) impressionistic, guerilla style of filmmaking works surprisingly well in capturing the hypnotic urgency of le Carre's fiction. And his viewpoint is less British and more Third World.

Transporter 2 really does deliver the goods.

Touch the Sound is at least as inspiring and in some ways more rewarding, thought-provoking and subtly visceral.

Cage is brilliant.

It's a typically poetic film, rich in powerful imagery, which sees a bitter personal tragedy unfold against the major events of 20th century Greece. Although the director doesn't mine any new ground here, either in terms of style or content, it's still a pleasure to sit through nearly three hours of perfectly controlled, visually evocative filmmaking.

The story presents a moral morass involving betrayal, illicit sex, hypocrisy and a crime, yet the film feels tidy. Only one punch gets thrown, and you sense the perpetrator regrets his action immediately. It is all very British.

If "The Wizard of Oz" were reborn in the 21st century, it might look a lot like MirrorMask. A product of the Jim Henson laboratory, the film is endlessly inventive with creativity to burn.

The movie rolls merrily along with slapstick action and whimsical characters.

A riveting tale of survival and how even war cannot diminish a child's indomitable spirit.

A prime example of a solid romantic comedy.

A consistently amusing, often inspired family romp.

The details are what matters, and thanks to a cast of all-star British elders and a mischievous sense of humor, the filmmakers bring those details to vivid life.

Impressively realized on all levels, this transgender spin on the road trip boasts an extraordinary central performance.

Rather than connecting all the chronological dots, Brown has fashioned Van Zandt's balm-to-the-brokenhearted legacy into potent cinematic poetry.

Here is a film about Japan made by Americans, shot mostly in the U.S. and, of course, in English. Once you accept these compromises in the name of international filmmaking, none is a real deterrent to enjoying this lush period film.

An absolute delight from start to finish.

Jones displays a firm hand at the helm -- you sense that he is well within his comfort zone in this environment -- and performances including his own are lively and convincing.

A smart and sophisticated comedy romp.