Has the hallmarks of a top-notch Jewison production -- splendid performances, especially from leads Michael Caine, Tilda Swinton and Jeremy Northam, a pulse-quickening pace and production values that establish story and character within a distinct environment.

What distinguishes Malcolm Clarke and Stuart Sender's film from the many similarly themed efforts that have preceded it is that it tells a morality tale of a man whose hubris partially led to his downfall and whose willingness to work for his Nazi overseers resulted in one of the most notorious propaganda films of the era.

Instantly forgettable.

While it has its moments of pure Farrelly inspiration and swell performances from Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear...the patented blend of the outrageous and the sweet that has become the brothers' trademark struggles to find the desired balance here.

The film also does something quite remarkable for an American film: It makes middle-age love look sexy and hugely satisfying.

This is an art film in spades.

A misfire. The film that wants to be lighter than air instead crashes to earth with the swiftness of a concrete parachute.

Both an appealing coming-of-age yarn and, as Monsieur Ibrahim embraces his own mortality, a heartfelt coming-of-aging saga.

There's a refreshing frankness to the film's treatment of its sordid subject matter that more than compensates for its technical limitations. The three performers inhabit their roles with, yes, an emotional truth that is bracing. This is particularly true of Ivey.

A decidedly upbeat number, centered on a good-hearted character.

Hugely satisfying entertainment that will attract a broad spectrum of audiences around the world. Zwick fully exploits the star power at his disposal, pairing off Cruise and Japanese star Ken Watanabe as two larger-than-life warriors.

Demanding but deeply affecting, My Flesh and Blood ultimately takes on a literal, highly visceral meaning that transcends notions of conventional family dynamics.

An ultimately moving effort that well illustrates the often hopeless situation faced by the people whose lives it depicts.

Glorious so-bad-it's-good entertainment.

A refreshing throwback to another era of moviemaking: This movie was poured from the bottle, not one of those bar regulator machines. It's got the kick, style and flavor of a straight-up story, before movies were watered down with the opinions of marketers, lawyers and committee heads.

Pleasant and atmospheric family romp, offering enough mildly chilling thrills to keep everyone entertained during its brief running time.

Layered with elements that are both amusing and touching but never threatening to collapse into a big heap of sentimental mush.

Happens to be extremely funny -- at times sidesplittingly so -- thanks to Zwigoff's way with raw irreverence and Thornton's perfectly pitched, ready-for-anything performance.

Episodic in its storytelling, the film never really achieves any true narrative momentum. But individual scenes do register strongly.

There's little to distinguish this tale from the countless similar efforts that have preceded it, other than the exoticism of its setting. The performers do manage to bring some life to their characters.

Resembling a short story more than a narrative feature, the film tells its slender story in leisurely fashion, relying more on mood and atmosphere than dialogue or character development.

A stunning virtuoso performance by director, cast and crew. This movie knocks you out with an astonishing blend of hyper-realism, visual complexity and powerful themes.

For a while there, Mathieu Kassovitz's atmospherically charged direction sucks the viewer into the story's hellish vortex. That is until the film becomes possessed by an increasingly ludicrous beyond-the-grave element from which there is no rational return.

Emerges as a lackluster and nearly charmless affair.

Ultimately unable to overcome both its amateurish qualities and its overly familiar elements.

This murky, thriller-tinged Western has the terrain down cold -- from the wide-open spaces to the rocky vistas -- but beneath all the requisite genre trappings there's a vast, empty gulch where the affecting dramatic element should have been found.

This well-made epic boasts carefully researched production values and the talents of classically trained actors, but by literally playing it by the book, the picture loses something dramatic in the translation.

A poet warrior of the first order emerges in this riveting chronicle of the brief life and times of rap superstar Tupac Shakur.