A clearly partisan effort -- director George Butler is a longtime Kerry friend and supporter -- the film is nonetheless bound to have some political impact, thanks to its powerful depiction of the young Kerry.

Does offer a few deeply felt moments.

An earnest drama about spiritual redemption that is likely to strike quite a chord with certain audiences.

May not be for all tastes, but it's an up close and personal look at a true rock 'n' roll animal.

Comes off as an overly jokey but often quite entertaining spoof that should please families everywhere.

Despite the unique premise and some truly inspired casting, the picture remains stuck in an existential rut of its own.

The film is less of a drama than a tribute -- an ode, even -- to the spirit and tenacity of firefighters. Its makers hardly bother to explore the lives or motives behind their actions.

A sobering yet hysterically funny documentary.

Rather than seeming dated, Chisholm's moxie and commitment is a refreshing antidote to the opportunism and cynicism that rules the political roost today.

After a while, the extremely limited camera movement and languid pacing take an exacting toll, resulting in a viewing experience that is considerably less than idyllic.

A highly awkward blending of gay porn and political satire, this latest effort from cinematic provocateur Bruce LaBruce ("Hustler White," "Skin Flick") is the sort of film John Waters would make if he were more political, less funny and completely willing to shed all aspirations of mainstream respectability.

A bland, formulaic picture where romance and comedy are noticeably absent. A more wooden and uninspired effort from talented people behind and in front of the camera is difficult to imagine.

John Waters has returned to trashy form with what is unquestionably his most outrageous film since those heady "Pink Flamingos" days.

An overly ambitious, overly complex and overly long opus that bites off more than it can chew.

An often funny if slight satire that's never as edgy as it thinks it is or as sharply focused as it needs to be.

Sustains a few icy chills, but a mix of genres muddles the story.

Driven by two great performances surrounded by solid supporting acts, Infernal Affairs is the rare testosterone movie that is also mature and thoughtful.

It's worth sticking around for the coda too as it contains some hilarious and very politically incorrect suggestions as to how zombies might be put to work once they've been tamed.

Despite its copious nudity, it is less likely to incite lust among its viewers than a strong desire for a long hot shower.

A smartly scoped story of great personal growth and transformation. It's not hard to see the personality/political basis for Che's later revolutionary actions.

Actual footage of Afghanistan makes it an interesting experiment, but as a dramatic thriller, the story of an American documaker is not as taut or compelling as it could be; instead, it's often confusing and irritating.

The filmmakers turn what could have been dry subject matter into compelling, inspirational drama.

Manages to be enjoyable despite its contrivances.

Litvack is lazy with his jokes, characterizations, motives, and plotting.

An elegy for the days when Taiwan was a major East Asian film production center.

It ultimately lacks the singularity to make it stand out among the glut of similarly themed entries.

Unconvincing melodrama.

The story feels a bit more episodic as it proceeds, but for most of the two-hour running time it flows at an earthbound tempo, thanks to Trojan's assured, unobtrusive direction.

This tale of a lovable jerk who learns the meaning of sacrifice should capitalize on its star's sitcom popularity to hit one out of the park.

Incident at Loch Ness manages to cross "Project Greenlight" with "The Blair Witch Project" in a way that makes one pine for the originals.

Cheap-looking, broad and ultimately unnecessary comedy.

Other than the actors, their costumes, and a few props, everything in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is digital illusion, and the effects are often exhilarating.

A downbeat story line layered with philosophical discourses will restrict the audience to fans of the animated genre.

Boasts appealing leads and dazzling court play, but the film never rises above its by-the-numbers plot to generate emotional heat.

It's a cracking good detective yarn with hints of "Chinatown" and Raymond Chandler, and it's a sharp political lampoon of things we're all reading about on today's front pages.

Goes beyond the well-documented Warsaw Ghetto uprising to take a fascinating look at seven lesser-known individual paths to resistance.

Despite the high piffle of the psychology and the arched abstraction of the story line, Reconstruction is well crafted. Under director Christoffer Boe's cagey hand, the pacing is sleek and the cinematography evocative. Claro's compositions are vigorously stylish.

Although Criminal retains its source material's cleverness and intricate plotting, something seems to have been lost in the translation.

A confusing blend of noir mystery and screwball comedy, Testosterone never manages to reconcile its conflicting tones and ultimately lacks the wit necessary to fuel its outlandish plotting.

Macy once again brightens an otherwise mundane character.

It boasts enough camp, skin and 15th century flashbacks of torment to make it fitting fodder for campus screens.

A slim idea for a pulp-fiction short story padded out to 81 minutes with random encounters and celebrity sightings.

It's a frantic piece of filmmaking that invests nothing in the characters and moves much too fast for its own good. But things do pick up a bit for the final third, when a story line finally arrives.

Told with a tender vigor, the film explores relationships on a number of levels. It will ring true with mature teenagers of all classes.

Another effective civics lesson that, unfortunately, will probably never be seen by the people whose minds it seeks to change.

Gives these canines the sensual elegance of the Calvin Klein models Weber has so famously photographed. Would that the substance of the film have come close to having the impact of its visuals.

An unfortunately muddled portrait of a teenage girl going through a moral and spiritual crisis.

Achieves the dubious distinction of featuring a large gallery of nearly all unlikable characters.

A painfully unfunny, would-be comedy.

A not particularly satisfying ending that involves silly CG effects. On the other hand, the acting is uniformly compelling, the fight sequences are energetic, and, as character drama, the material is especially enthralling.

May have been adapted the 1996 French film "L'Appartement," but pretty much all evidence of what was once an engaging psychodrama has been lost in the translation.

First-time director Paul Abascal brings no style or personality to this B-movie exercise. Except for Farina, the actors go through the paces as if they too lack conviction in the proceedings.

Does a great service in offering new information at a time when open discussion is more important than ever.

The spirit of that most modern of 19th century heroines, Becky Sharp, remains intact, and Nair's Indian touches make for an intriguing, fresh approach.

This week's campaign commercial, er, political documentary, is a portrait of Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry's service in Vietnam.

Suspect Zero has enough going for it to eventually develop a cult following. But compared to "Silence of the Lambs" and "Seven," it's still the minor leagues.

In his second feature as a director, Gallo acts as writer, director, producer, star, cinematographer, production designer and editor. Thus, the failure is all his.

The film leaves any opponent of the current administration with a discouraging ambivalence: On one hand, one wants to vehemently decry such tactics in American politics. On the other, one wants to know where the hell is the Democrats' Karl Rove?

Sufficient cheap thrills and enough of the prevailing camp quality.

The sequel retains not only the same gimmicky premise as the original but its preference for cliche-ridden dialogue and flat-footed comedy as well.

Poire's comedy often pushes the definition of good taste to its limit. Many of his jokes are vulgar and crass. Too often, they're downright puerile.

The first half of the film is a by-the-numbers rock docu. But at the halfway mark, the personalities and psychoses of the performers become as interesting as the history, and the documentary morphs into an involving human drama.

It's a quiet film, shunning melodrama and political polemic. Instead, it opts for a human touch, conveying how a group of very different survivors come to terms with the past and plan a future in their own unique ways.

Flawed but imaginative film.

At heart a love story, Rosenstrasse benefits from strong, sympathetic performances from two actresses who play the same character at different ages.

Intelligent, universal tale.

Noisy and giddy, the film makes a stab at "Moulin Rouge" territory but ends up as a very trite story of boy loses girl, boy finds girl. It is also stridently camp -- not so much roaring '20s as screaming.

While the arguments obviously will be digested differently according to the viewer's preconceived notions, the impressive credentials of the witnesses, most of them former insiders rather than mere pontificators, give their arguments an undeniable credibility.

A classy and clever French thriller. Jean-Pierre Darroussin's performance as a browbeaten husband is entertaining, and Kahn's script brings wit and imagination to a straightforward story.

The scariest thing about this film is how desperate the makers are to earn a scream.

Benji is back, which is good news for youngsters and pet-loving families. Film lovers perhaps should steer clear, however, as hokey melodrama and sloppy comedy fill the gaps between neat dog tricks.

While the likable Seth Green, Matthew Lillard and Dax Shepard are definitely up to the comic excursion, the picture charts an uncertain course between wild and mild, eventually running aground in a pile of male-bonding muck.

The fifth outing for the slime-dripping, shape-changing creatures, the Aliens are looking a little dogged, perhaps ready for the Alien Retirement Home. Meanwhile, the Predator warriors, who never achieved the artistic heights of their counterpart, look better invisible. When visible, they resemble robotic can openers gone berserk.

Where the first film was something of a teen horror film, the follow-up, again from writer-director Stefan Ruzowitzky, is more of an unintentional comedy.

Director John Curran has masterfully managed to convey flesh and blood within the permutations of the sometimes clinical story. Enhancing the people-next-door nature of this saga were the film's smart technical contributions.

Has the crass look and feel of a 90-minute infomercial.

The results are always visually arresting, while the narrative, even by Maddin standards, is completely out in the ozone.

In the warm, sparkling character comedy Danny Deckchair, the Welsh actor (Rhys Ifans) moves to center stage, but it has taken a trip to Australia to get him there.

Anne Hathaway's charms barely rescue this exercise in lame comedy and romance.

Far too bloody for the art house crowd and too leisurely paced and obscure for more general audiences.

Outfoxed would have benefited from a greater exploration of exactly why Fox News has become so popular and so trusted by its viewers.

Attempts to pass itself off as a fast-paced caper picture doubling as a socially conscious apartheid drama but ends up equally unconvincing in both departments.

Code 46 lacks the visceral power of "28 Days Later," as well as what might be termed its "gross-out" appeal.

A teen comedy that possesses a wickedly satirical streak.

Could develop a cult following. But it is hard to envision repeat viewings or any great number of people willing, even vicariously, to undergo the couple's ordeal.

The movie never really gets below that surface. It sticks to the mean streets of Los Angeles without much introspection or analysis. But those surfaces are slick and beguiling.

Ultimately a powerful portrait of the sort of apocalyptic culture clash that is resulting in an increasingly dangerous and fragmented world.

Festival Express should rightfully take its place in rock history as one of the great performance films of all time.

Although most definitely an acquired taste, the David Lynchian Gozu delivers the goods in dripping, gooey gobs.

Smartly written by William Osborne and Michael McCullers, Thunderbirds expertly targets kids. Yet parents won't be entirely bored.

Unlike "The Sixth Sense," the film's key revelation might be too mild to jolt audiences. Some may even feel cheated.

The film does get claustrophobic. It never quite achieves the balance between a two-character study and a larger world, as did "The Man on the Train." The film also could do with a bit more humor, most of which is supplied by the sagacious shrink.

A blissfully silly, character-driven road movie with impressive laugh-per-minute performance specs.

The updated classic is a chiller of a political thriller in its own right.

Ultimately, the sex scenes seem of far more interest to the filmmakers than the narrative or characterizations, which are rendered in frustratingly vague and often deliberately confusing fashion.

This non-secular variation on "The Usual Suspects" falls prey to a creeping structural rigor mortis that sets in early.

How can a director as savvy as Lee make so many errors of judgment regarding taste, tone, intention and dramatic structure?

Writer/director Zach Braff has threaded a powerful and intelligent personal story through a genre all too rare today – romantic comedy.