A warm, amiable glimpse at the end of the showbiz road.

There is a nice mix of action with tender moments -- especially among the misfit monsters

Less a political movie than a boxing film without the gloves.

Although the impressively acted ensemble piece occasionally gets tripped up by Peter Elkoff's overtly literate script, it travels in some unexpected, thoughtful directions.

Often engrossing and humorous.

Hecker makes good use of the south Florida locations, and the song selection -- including many Big Band favorites -- is winning.

Fast & Furious is the first film since the original to be smart about how far to stretch logic without sacrificing the desired macho swagger and revved-up emotions.

Low-key, realistic performances from a mostly nonpro cast keep the story running smoothly. His face visibly stressed-out and hardened from loneliness as he detaches himself from family and friends, Naji gives the film a strong center.

While Caine and young Milner make for amusing adversaries, it's nice to see Crowley paying respect to his elders by populating the retirement home with a number of familiar faces, including those belonging to Rosemary Harris, Sylvia Syms and longtime "Coronation Street" resident Thelma Barlow.

The cast is uniformly fine, but Abbass and Lipaz-Michael shine as two women who bond in the fear that the best of their lives is over and neither of them is happy with what the future holds.

The freshness and ingenuity of this techno-thriller should spark a cult following among sci-fi fans at the very least, but the film could make inroads among cineastes, adult adventure-seekers and the Latino community as well.

Although Earth falls short of its potential, it still contains enough glorious photography to please its target audience.

Without wallowing in sentimentality or judging any of her characters, Kim has drawn a mature portrait of an elementary school girl old before her time and a loss of childhood that rings true on every level.

The saving grace of Throw Down Your Heart is Fleck himself, who transcends the contrived unconventionality of the project to emanate a genuine warmth and camaraderie. This extraordinary performer remains shy, soft-spoken, simpatico and as unpretentious as he is talented.

The animation is splendid on what must have been, since this is not a studio film, a modest budget.

Ashes makes no claims to be an entirely accurate biopic; it's a speculative, impressionistic portrait without a lot of dramatic force or psychological depth. But it's an elegantly designed film that fascinates as often as it frustrates.

Proves to be an engrossing and entertaining polemic that successfully walks a fine line between thoughtful debate and, well, juicy gossip.

Rudo y Cursi scores from every angle -- comic, personal and cross-cultural.

It's a well-constructed and thoughtfully paced drama and almost a thriller, but in the end credibility and tension get lost in the mail.

The Wayans brothers manage to squeeze it all in to consistently amusing effect and in a way that just barely manages to stay within those PG-13 parameters.

It has style to burn, eye-catching acting by an international cast and a story that harkens back to many literary classic with its themes of a family torn apart, brothers in conflict and a son's rivalry with a towering father figure.

The result is a much more playable film than recent efforts, though Murphy will have to share the applause with young Yara Shahidi.

There is something undeniable hypnotic and bewitching about Tatia Rosenthal's $9.99, which if nothing else is a candidate for the most unusual film of 2008.

With its echoes of the Nicole Kidman vehicle "To Die For" -- the blonde in question is a television weather-reporter with big ambitions -- the film will appeal to movie-goers who appreciate story, character and crisp dialogue.

Kempner has done everything right by organizing her bountiful material into a fascinating portrait of a worthy personality and her era and touching upon related issues like the impact of the blacklist and the alchemy of celebrity.

The movie is awfully close to a video game with its own specific rules, but its characters are appealing and funny, "Aliens" doesn't have a mechanical feel that drags down most video-game movies.

Bisset is powerful as a mother who has virtually devoured her young. With her Medusa-like tresses aswirl, she is truly ferocious.

Veteran Yucatan stage actor Hector Herrera is a delight as the suspicious old garageman who gives Juan an important lesson about letting go.