Flirting intriguingly with film noir conventions, the film never really achieves a coherent tone in its depiction of the complicated and sometimes fatal series of events that arise.

Unfortunately, Love Object, which uncomfortably totters from psychological suspense to black comedy to pull-out-the-stops horror, never quite lives up to its bizarre premise, and despite its audacious subject matter, it will even have difficulty attaining future cult status.

Although its goofy high-concept premise won't bear much scrutiny, it offers a less predictable ride than their first pairing, and lush Hawaiian locations to boot.

Each of the stories, impeccably staged and acted, has just the right length, well befitting the slight aspects of their story lines. Never allowing preciousness or ponderousness to infuse the material, filmmaker Pak demonstrates a real talent for concise storytelling marked by poignancy and humor.

The romantic comedy, is the weakest of the trio. It stands as something of an interlude, detailing the paranoid obsessions of Cecile and her husband.

Ends up being of greater historical significance than of any lasting artistic merit.

Writer-director Larry Blamire has clearly done his homework, and his playful cast nails the requisite acting-so-bad-it's-good pitch.

What will make the film compelling even for audiences who never heard of the miracle on ice is Kurt Russell's taut, nuanced portrait of Herb Brooks.

Has a rollicking time reaching its foreseeable conclusion.

An action romp with heart. If that heart is somewhat misguided, it's hard to deny the family-friendly thrills and spills along the way.

At once a powerful psychological thriller and a haunting allegory, The Return marks an auspicious feature debut for helmer Andrey Zvyagintsev.

The film's real failure is that neither the story nor the characters capture the zeitgeist that Bertolucci theoretically set out to celebrate.

In effect an elaborate home movie. But its examination of the long-lasting effects of evil on the psyche of its victims and their descendants is both thoughtful and much needed in these increasingly polarized times.

Blind Shaft, a well-acted and well-produced film, is a quiet though searing indictment of contemporary China.

Has some moments of excitement and is certainly uncompromising.

The story is flimsy, and when the dialogue touches on controversial issues regarding the SAT and its fairness, the slacker tone turns abruptly melodramatic.

This directorial debut from C. Jay Cox is a sometimes comic melodrama.

It's too loose and casual, all too willing to trade the writer's trademark wit and literary mischief for slapstick comedy.

Assembling this vehicle for his young clients, music producer/manager/video director Christopher B. Stokes has attached an anemic plot to a series of dynamic hip-hop dance sequences.

Ironically, what the comedy lacks is the sly imagination and satirical underpinnings of the best sex comedies from that (Doris Day) era. Instead, exposition is poorly executed, genuine laughs come infrequently and you quickly lose confidence that the filmmakers even understand what their basic joke is.

Factoring in Mike Eley's breathtakingly vivid photography and a virtuoso sound mix that completely envelops the viewer, it's enough to make you never again want to poke your head into the freezer.

An entertaining piece of supernatural nonsense whose sheer audacity disarms all (well, nearly all) skepticism.

With Made-Up, the sisters Adams and Shalhoub (who is married to Brooke) have taken a playfully irreverent approach to middle-age rites of passage that comes with many opportunities for the performers to self-consciously "act."

For all the work that went into the whimsical creatures and painterly palette, the voice actors more or less steal the show.

With the exception of a decent train-top chase, Torque is all vroom and no action.

Has the punch of a good Western with a clean and direct script plus an adventurous use of songs and folk paintings.

Might be a lame, formulaic comedy, but it sets up entertaining sequences cleverly designed for the talents of three of its stars and has the good sense to get out of the way and let audiences enjoy their performances.

It's a touching movie that, like the best animes, transcends the limitations of the genre.