Although the visuals tantalize and the actors providing the voices add a lot of sass, the result is only so-so.

Eventually the conventions of romantic comedy take hold, with the humor declining precipitously.

Many of the film's most entertaining moments are, ironically, its most peripheral: Namely, the extensive archival clips of news conferences in which an alternately relaxed and tense Kennedy jostled with journalists

Joel and Ethan Coen clearly are in a prankish mood, knocking out a minor piece of silliness with all the trappings of an A-list studio movie.

Insistent, sometimes conspicuously one-sided, the film's concerns are difficult to dismiss, considering that a water-starved planet isn't ultimately viable.

Alternately disturbing, laceratingly satirical and affectingly poignant, the film, which he adapted from the novel, Towelhead, by Alicia Erian, is very much a companion piece to the Ball-penned "American Beauty" in its unwavering examination of the dirty little secrets and raging hypocrisies lurking just beyond all those manicured suburban lawns.

Woodard conveys the rock-solid values of a true Christian without ever falling into sappiness. Bates is enjoyably larger-than-life, as the role requires.

An ordinary cop picture boosted by two charismatic superstars but hindered by its dearth of surprises.

The film repeatedly sacrifices dramatic punch for political correctness.

Most entertaining comic drama with a great turn by Jamie Bell.

Tsai, who co-wrote the script with Yu, pulls out all the stops with his C-dub role, brimming with witty send-ups of Chinese-American cultural values and Asian stereotypes.

Someone else's vacation photos are never much fun to watch, and this beach party is a drag for onlookers.

Bangkok won't be making any appearances at the Oscars, but it is executed with skill and -- a severed limb or two notwithstanding -- without too much bloody excess.

Eska seems to be attempting an ambitious Mexican-American variation on "King Lear," another tale of an aging patriarch seeking refuge but ultimately rejected by ungrateful children.

Uplifting without a drop of sap, the tale of a boy's obsession with a glittering swimming pool and how it changes four lives offers numerous pleasures and one of the most satisfying and resonant conclusions to be seen in recent cinema.

A towering heap of nihilistic nonsense that plays like a cornball "Children of God."

It is a sumptuously told tale of childlike wonder in the face of darkest corruption and war, mixing high comedy, surreal sequences and genuine drama viewed from a wise, jaundiced perspective.

This low-rent frat house comedy is at once far more vulgar and decidedly less anarchic than its obvious inspiration and should flunk out of theaters before this year's crop of freshman students even finish unpacking their bags.

Real disaster movies have more laughs than this spoof.

The film is a genuinely gripping tale about international terrorism that hopscotches across three continents.

The best you can say about the movie is that it isn't boring. It's fast-paced, but it isn't really well made.

Manages to stand on its own two skyscraper heels thanks to the comic force of nature that is Anna Faris.

Every triumph registers low on the emotion meter, and most of the supporting characters are two-dimensional at best.

Attaining somewhat of a bad parody of a comedy, screenwriters Andrew Fleming and Pam Brady have slapped together a string of gags in a hit-and-miss dither. Some of it is quite brainy.

Kimberly's ground-zero home video of the storm is what really makes the film exceptional, although much of it is of such rough quality and execution that it struggles to hold up on the big screen.

This smartly assembled wake-up call concerning the nation's lousy spending habits proves to be as unexpectedly spirited as it is dispiriting.

Overcomes its essential familiarity thanks to a frequently witty script, grounded direction (by Peter Cattaneo, of "Full Monty" fame) and an engaging turn by its star that proves him more than capable of carrying a comedy feature.

The largely uninspired Clone Wars feels landlocked. In the absence of any extensive innovation, the video game-ready results play more like a feature-length promo for the imminent TV series of the same name than a stand-alone event.