What might have proved reasonably compelling onstage comes across as forced on film, with credibility taking a back seat to contrivance.

In Jarmusch's capable hands, the mundane has never been so delightful.

A protracted and uninvolving affair in which men battle over issues that audiences may struggle to find compelling, and no central figure emerges to take command of the film.

A complete wipeout.

With charm to spare, Valentin fuses nostalgia and humor in an episodic story whose ultimate focus is the birth of a writer.

Although overlong and diffuse, Oasis, written and directed by Lee Chang-dong, boasts many powerful moments.

The results are as entertaining as they are sobering.

This creature feature is exhilarating fun, a richly designed and often quite funny re-exploration of the movie past.

A crass, clumsily constructed romantic comedy.

Cheerfully disconnected from the real world, bearing a great resemblance to screwball comedies of old.

Ultimately stronger on characterization and atmosphere than narrative. But its portrait of a society torn apart by, among other things, religious fundamentalism, is all too currently resonant.

Ultimately suffers from an overabundance of plot and a paucity of depth, but it does provide some fleeting comic pleasures along the way.

For comedy, director Peter Howitt relies on halfhearted slapstick as the script contains little of the sharp dialogue one might expect from a script written at least in part by Harling ("Steel Magnolias," "Soapdish").

Almost unbearably moving at times, Julie Betuccelli's simple but sublime debut feature presents a portrait of maternal love and female fortitude that will reduce the stoniest of viewers to tears.

This thin concoction of domestic drama and thriller suspense won't hold up after the curiosity factor runs its brief course. Neither Robert De Niro nor a phalanx of a dozen producers can deliver Godsend from unintentional comedy.

The laughs tend to come in fits and starts, built around individual set pieces rather than being generated organically out of the storytelling.

Awkward comic timing and uneven performances spoil the desired effect.

The film becomes markedly more entertaining with every appearance by Walter Hagen (Jeremy Northam), Jones' archrival, a raconteur and bon vivant who, though fiercely competitive, enjoyed playing while drunk and clad in a tuxedo.

This exercise in style and tongue-in-cheek melodrama from Canada's iconoclastic Guy Maddin will be lionized by admirers for its audacity, but will wear thin for many audience members, who will find it tedious and repetitive.

Results in an edgy comedy, where laughs stem at times from uncomfortable situations. In other words, Mean Girls lives up to its title.

Compelling.

An invaluable addition to the rock history cinema archives.

The film is always watchable, and the confrontations contain undeniable edgy excitement. But even if this weren't a remake, it would be a remake. Hollywood filmmakers have fished these waters so thoroughly that it's virtually impossible to land a big catch.

Although the pace is slow, "Twilight" is a moving account of a family in crisis and the love that provides a short window of happiness for the father.

Does a good job of reviving stale material. Thanks to a snappy script by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa and an effervescent performance by Jennifer Garner, this romantic comedy has a buoyant personality.

Oddly bereft of scares or tension, the film is mainly notable for its sustained atmosphere of weirdness.

In this well-intentioned celebration of nature and traditional ways of life, giant-screen images feel generic when they should inspire wonder.

Despite the often insightful comments by the various cast members and Shepard himself -- the film doesn't dig very deeply into the artistic process of putting on a new play. But it does offer a fascinating fly-on-the-wall perspective.