The taut nail-biter is well-acted, crafted with skill and briskly paced, running a tight 95 minutes. It’s the rare breed of streaming original that can safely be called a real movie.

Through it all, Bailey’s star power shines. She holds the camera’s attention, pops off the screen and gives Anna an innocent energy that makes her ruses seem mischievous and harmless.

The film never gets too heavy-handed in its themes, thanks to its fast pacing, frequent doses of humor, and myriad plot twists, including one that qualifies as a doozy.

Marty, Life Is Short is, as much as anything, a documentary about not being defined by failure or tragedy.

Regardless of its flaws, Atonement is admirable in the way it humanizes people on the opposite side of a conflict, treating their crippling losses as a source of collective pain while observing a U.S. Marine — trained to point and shoot with no consequences — as he comes to reflect on and take responsibility for his actions.

Here is a fascinating woman in her own right, distilled in the public imagination to someone else’s crime.

For sports fans, especially those worshipful of King Eric, this is pure cinematic cocaine, neatly chopped out, electrifying at first although too much of it could leave you feeling jaded and jangly.

Nemes struggles to maintain fluidity or momentum in his storytelling and the movie often seems a slog in its first half. But the filmmaker clearly feels the core of the drama in his bones, which goes some distance toward masking its weaknesses.

Some may see in the final gore-splattered climax a simply expedient way to wrap things up, but both Stewart and Harrelson’s performances — all in by this point, or at least tonally in tune with Dupieux’s antics — somehow sell it all emotionally.

So subtle that it’s hard, at times, to discern much of a plot, this delicately made tale of grieving and recovery doesn’t resonate until it ultimately does so in a big way. But when that happens, it can feel like too much, too late.

A temperate, evenhanded perhaps overly timid film about an intemperate time in South Africa.

The film has enough entertaining action and sly humor to please its target audience.

The Hughes Brothers' measured, well-paced direction complements the comic-book simplicity of this narrative.

The film is neither intelligent enough nor silly or grotesque enough to become a lasting favorite.

The film is by no means terrible -- its two hours and 32 minutes running time races by -- but those things we think of as being Tarantino-esque, the long stretches of wickedly funny dialogue, the humor in the violence and outsized characters strutting across the screen, are largely missing.

Where the film falters is Jonze and novelist Dave Eggers' adaptation, which fails to invest this world with strong emotions.

"Paranormal" ultimately does deliver in a way that "Blair Witch" never did, but its achingly slow buildup is a test not just of an audience's patience but the power of hype surrounding the latest alternative scary movie.

Irish director Jim Sheridan, who has made his films in America in recent years, now delivers an American remake that hues closely to the original but loses some of its true grit.

Visually gorgeous to a fault and teeming with grandiose if often fascinating ideas that overwhelm the modest story that serves as their vehicle, this may be the least artistically successful film von Trier has ever made.

It's still a gimmicky, tricked-out tale that is all too self-aware. But the film does keep you guessing and probably guessing wrong.

German-born director Robert Schwentke ("Flightplan") keep things moving briskly enough so that the leaps in time mostly obscure the leaps in logic.

Even if it's a one-joke movie that runs out of steam, director Scott Sanders manages to keep the gag going for 90 minutes.

An underwhelming vampire romance long on camp but short on emotional insight

Derivative bits aside, the pint-sized Japanese icon takes flight in vibrant CG animation -- no 3D glasses required.

The chosen style of animation leads to a distracting choppiness that renders the movements, gestures and facial expressions of the interviewees unconvincing. The other problem is that, memory naturally being something that returns in fits and starts, the film is rarely able to sustain any consistent narrative thrust.

Eastwood has always had the gift for comedy in his acting repertoire, but he indulges in it only rarely. His fans might embrace this return to comedy.

Perhaps best suited for younger audiences, who will be more receptive to a vital history lesson only if it's given a music video-style treatment.

Part musical, part love story, part family melodrama, part inspirational treacle, Tyler Perry's latest movie, I Can Do Bad All by Myself is something of an unholy mess. Alternately stupefying and entertaining, the film does benefit from a strong cast.

Features enough genuine laughs to give it decent commercial traction.

Penn opts for epic proportions and clutters his narrative with gimmicks. For the most part, it works. What's missing is the perspective and insight that would illuminated the inner dimensions of a driven young man who is preachy and downright irritating.

The real pirate radio ships, whose days ended in 1967, wound up being towed away for salvage but the film avoids that fate -- like the best rock songs -- with a rousing finish and a pleasing climax.

The effect is impressionistic and provocative, with the emphasis falling differently on scenes because of our knowledge or lack thereof.

Geoffrey Sax, a British television director making his theatrical debut, lavishes enough craft on the paranormal thriller to send more than a few chills down the spine.

Thanks mainly to his (Jackson) considerable presence, Coach Carter works more effectively than expected.

The film has enough originality to interest demanding fans of the genre.

As an introduction to this mind-spinning festival, the film gets the job done.

It suffers from a lack of genuine chills or suspense that renders its slight virtues rather moot.

Familiar but never overly broad, this well-cast, crowd-pleasing comedy benefits from a low-key emphasis on character over high jinks.

A curious film with real heart but questionable technique. This art house fodder is just quirky and fresh enough to catch on with audiences.

Macpherson keep things creepy and mystifying. But that damn videotape takes the edge off the mood both visually and dramatically.

Well-meaning but implausible story.

If sheer cleverness were everything, Robots would be the best computer-animated cartoon yet…Yet, unlike the very best CG animation, Robots doesn't quite connect with the emotions and humor for which one yearns in cartoons.

By avoiding sentimentality, Millions emerges as a simple tale told with sympathy for a child's point of view.

The decidedly irreverent nature of much of the proceedings will be a turnoff to some viewers, a tonic to others.

A shiver of cosmic comedy runs through the film's tragic turns.

Full of insights on love and sex -- which will have more resonance for lesbians but pack a universal punch.

Causes don't get much worthier, and Smile is a labor of love, a portion of the film's proceeds earmarked for the humanitarian group.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

With his stirring visual sense very much intact here, Salles sets the creepy mood eloquently, but the picture -- ultimately fails to reward all the little shivers with any satisfying jolts.

Ultimately fails to illuminate its subject, though it does offer some evocative moments and terrific music along the way.

Indeed a wary viewer must get past the film's infatuation with celebrity culture to enjoy this movie's charms. But charms it has.

Complex but cold tale.

Hugely ambitious but often failing to live up to those ambitions, Terry Gilliam's long-awaited The Brothers Grimm emerges as a folkloric adventure that intermittently entertains.

A giddy romp that never takes itself seriously in the slightest, and that makes Taipei look like the center of the gay universe.

It is a provocative and potentially rich premise, to be sure, but the execution here is somewhat lacking.

The film never realizes its dramatic potential, choosing to take predictable story paths with obvious characters.

An affecting portrait of a young widow and her two teenage daughters.

Fairly competent but hardly engrossing.

It's the kind of rollicking rebel-chick flick that should score well in venues that appreciate Quentin Tarantino films.

A cut above the usual level of slasher films, with its overly convoluted plot enhanced by an impressive level of cinematic style. It also places a greater emphasis on surprising plot twists than gore.

Doesn't depart from the inspirational coming-of-age formula. But it has got enough heart and disco-fever exuberance to connect with audiences.

Part parable, part wild west shoot-out, yet totally original, Dear Wendy is a powerful indictment of American gun culture.

Inconsequential but intermittently charming.

A choppily told tribute to the Apollo astronauts that makes striking use of never-before-seen archival images.

Their stories add up to an unflattering picture of how the U.S. chooses its soldiers.

The biggest surprise in Roman Polanski's Oliver Twist is that there are no surprises.

Displays moments of cleverness but not enough to sustain its feature-length running time.

Recycles just about every sentimental ploy and cliche from a raft of horse racing movies.

In The Weather Man, Nicolas Cage doesn't so much play a protagonist, warts and all, as he plays a protagonist who is all warts.

The result falls somewhere between psychodrama and horror. Cult cinema fans should come away satisfied, though the stories are probably too brutal to reach much into the mainstream.

Jarhead refuses to engage in its own point of view toward events it depicts. So the film feels empty and tentative, uncertain of what if anything these events add up to.

Lacks the cinematic panache to elevate it above the level of agitprop. But its all too relevant dissection of its subject is well worth paying attention to.

For all its biographical truth, Get Rich's journey into a ghetto of hustlers, gangstas and mindless violence is all too familiar.

The writer-director's inquiry into this tragedy makes for a moving and intelligent film, but the dark story never feels fully realized.

A little more "Grifters" would have gone far here. Not toward making the film palatable for the mainstream, perhaps, but at least toward selling its neo-noir story to an audience already inclined toward such seedy material.

Snowboarders are given their Dew in this nicely shot but lengthy exercise in corporate branding.

Aniston gets marooned here: Her comic instincts are muted by all the identity angst, yet there isn't sufficient dramatic material into which she can sink her teeth. Costner strolls through this role with disarming ease.

While it aspires to draw the same audiences who admired "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero," The Promise is but a pale imitation of those landmark films.

Queen Latifah finally gets a vehicle that gives her formidable talents and expansive spirit plenty of blooming room.

A reasonably amusing effort that manages to poke fun at Brooks' neuroses and governmental blundering with equal skill.

Colorful, noisy and brimming with special effects, the picture may please young audiences simply looking for loud action, but its corny storyline and brittle lack of warmth may discourage both parents and children.

A pleasant if pedestrian British romantic comedy.

Stylish and well-observed while ultimately not adding up to very much.

The plot's pretty lame, the dialogue is downright hokey, and the characters are a bore, but somehow Final Destination 3 (an oxymoron if there ever was one) still delivers a certain degree of over-the-top amusement.

The amount of enjoyment one gets out of the Harrison Ford crime-action thriller Firewall depends on one's tolerance for watching thugs terrify an innocent family for most of the movie.

There also are hints of Doug Liman and Tony Scott to be found in this hopped-up, bullet-riddled crime thriller, but while certain sequences pack an admitted visceral kick, the prevailing effect is one of utter overkill.

An audacious, highly contemporary psychological thriller, Sorry,Haters is the kind of audience provoker certain to elicit at least as many haters as admirers.

This quirky documentary about a group of American hairdressers who establish exactly that shows that the power of hair salons should never be underestimated.

Several good ideas for a movie rumble around inside ATL, but they never coalesce.