There isn't a one-note character in the mix, and they respond with haunting, subtle performances that feel utterly natural and unaffected. It's a striking debut for Estes, and a remarkable showcase for the cast.

Sweet, melancholy comedy; it's ineffable charm lies entirely in the delivery.

Though the story feels standard, the fun comes from the meticulously realized details that director Steven Spielberg and associate producer-writer Melissa Mathison have injected into the material.

While both the novel and the film are weighted in favor of Bill's (Cruise) character, it's Kidman who gives the film's standout performance.

Despite this flaw, several dramatic lulls, and an aggressive determination to "sparkle," the film often makes for crackling good drama with plenty of leavening humor and magnificent performances by Hurt and newcomer Matlin.

Under the sure directorial hand of genre veteran Marshall, Destry Rides Again is a well-paced western that seamlessly combines humor, romance, suspense and action.

Eisenstadt has an unerring sense of comedic rhythm and a knack of cutting away just in time to extract the drop of humor from a potentially pathetic situation.

Newcomer Cassidy is excellent, and Hoskins gives a flawless performance.

It's Grade-A schlock, but not without depth: critics have detected feminist overtones in this movie, one in which men prove eminently dispensable in the quest for happiness.

Polanski's film is an unqualified success both dramatically and artistically.

Moving and sensitively written, it's a needed reminder that what's personal is always political -- and vice-versa.

The original script, written by TV veteran Belson, supplies plenty of laughs, but the picture has so many characters we never get to truly know any of them, and the result, while often hilarious, is ultimately skin-deep, just as the beauty contestants are.

The film satisfies on both visceral and emotional levels.

Europa Europa is a compelling story told with intelligence and wit. Holland's direction, and the acting by the ensemble cast, are superb.

Caustic, vivid, and without question the best major film about recent conflicts in Latin America.

Not many films have the power to change how one sees other people, but this remarkable anthology of loosely connected shorts from writer-director David Riker just might.

Like The American Friend, Wenders's previous meditation on American genres, Hammett is less concerned with its storyline than it is with focusing on an American myth. As such it is not to be missed.

What is so remarkable about THE BLOOD OF THE POET is that Cocteau has created a lasting piece of art, a haunting poem, as exciting today as it was in 1930.

One of the best examples of Depression-era musicals.

Depending on your own feelings, you will find Fontaine either endearing or totally maddening. Whichever, she's right in the part; and Hitchcock's relentless camera seems to luxuriate in her emotional masochism.

Mel Brooks's first and funniest, a spoof of Broadway theater that has earned a deservedly devoted cult following.

An exquisite piece of streamlined suspense and action that clearly demonstrates that the 24-year-old filmmaker was already in full control of his vision.

Unpredictable and hugely entertaining.

An attempt to do for poker what The Hustler did for pool, The Cincinnati Kid succeeds on its own, but it might have been a classic with some more attention paid to the script and, perhaps, a little humor sandwiched in to relieve the suspense.

What might have been a trite soap opera is elevated to the status of superior emotional drama by a wise script, sensitive direction, and an Oscar-winning performance by de Havilland.

Versatile, highly skilled Norwegian director Hans Petter Moland's poignant drama examines the lingering effects of U.S. intervention in Southeast Asia.

Not a film for everyone, but the unrelieved squalor of Barfly offers its own peculiar fascinations.

Koyaanisqatsi asks the viewers to ponder their relationship to a social system that has come to dominate them rather than serve them. Much of the film is exhilarating and beautiful in a way that may seem counterproductive to that end. But the cumulative effect is more meditative than frightening. It's not a world-shaking film, but it is an affecting one.

Gowariker's stunningly choreographed, four-hour spectacle (reportedly one of the most expensive films in the industry's history) is a fascinating mix of Hollywood genres and tropes.

The results are a harrowingly intimate connection with a torn, tormented father, and an uncommonly powerful film.

Akinshina and Bogucharskij are remarkable together, and Moodysson once again demonstrates a sophisticated visual skill matched only by his innate understanding of the adolescent heart.

Extraordinary documentary.

Black Sunday benefits from its technical skill, drawn-out suspense and developed characterizations, though the film could have been even more effectively tight with a shorter running time.

Ends on a cruel, cynical note that would surely make Billy Wilder snort with approval.

Inexpensively shot on digital video, it's an invaluable work of art.

Though grim and offbeat, Of Mice And Men is a noble morality tale that can be appreciated for its simplicity. The acting is faultless and Copland's score is magnificent.

A dark and edgy teen comedy that's also one of the most excitingly unpredictable American comedies since "Pulp Fiction."

Director William Richert has turned Richard Condon's novel about the insanity of the American power structure into a wickedly funny black comedy spiced up by some deliciously off-the-wall performances.

While the unfortunate epilogue strains the naturalism of what's gone on before and leaves a bit of a sour taste, this semi-improvisational comedy otherwise reaches Balzacian brilliance.

It didn't sound like fun to us, either, but we were wrong; Heat scores on many fronts...The plot, though it seems to ramble, builds suspense with deft precision, and the action set pieces are triumphs.

This is easily Payne's funniest film to date, yet the comedy never undercuts the difficult emotions with which the characters are dealing.

Hitchcock's most liberated and poetic film, Marnie is a masterpiece of psychological mystery that encompasses all of the director's obsessions.

What ultimately saves the film from both silliness and ponderousness is not its simplistic social message, not its now-stale theme, nor its disappointing characterizations, but rather the dazzling cinematic (and theatrical) bag of tricks which Lang and company employed to keep things moving.

A vivid and carefully produced work of poignancy and loss.

After years of work-for-hire, writer-director Wong Kar-wai found his creative voice, discovered his themes and styles, and solidified his collaborative creative team with this brilliant examination of one-way love and crashed relationships. (Review of Original Release)

It's a mixed blessing, in some ways even richer and more atmospheric than the original version, in others attenuated and logy.

Paul Muni gives another classic performance in this wonderful fantasy about a notorious gangster who is murdered by a double-crossing partner.

And while this director's cut doesn't really differ all that much from the original 1979 release, it contains a few minutes of never-before seen footage, including one serious bitch slap and an entire scene in which Ripley stumbles upon a few not-quite-dead crew members whose terrible fates foreshadow James Cameron's 1986 sequel.

A beautifully realized tale focusing on an ambitious but unfulfilled group of intellectuals, who react in differing ways to the illness that befalls their mentor, a brilliant writer (Francois Cluzet).

Although the film is often brutal, there is such a positive sense of morality displayed here that Shane should be seen by the whole family.

Although the lead trio does well enough, the presence of cinema's greatest musical comedy team fairly blasts the screen lovers into orbit whenever either or both of them are onscreen.

Tough-minded, moving study of a working-class housewife's mental breakdown, enhanced by superb performances from Rowlands, in the title role, and Falk as her husband.

THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE captures a sense of realism rare in any type of film, bringing us deep beneath the surface of the characters' exteriors.

Meticulously observed and devastatingly well-acted.

A perversely fascinating movie--one that answers no questions, offers no hope and has little meaning. In a way this is perfect for what the film has to say about war, but you find yourself numbed and apathetic as the film progresses.

If you've never seen a martial arts movie, this is a great place to start.

The film stumbles a bit towards the end (some deeply rooted conflicts are implausibly resolved), but terrific performances from a large cast -- particularly Elizabeth Pena as Sam's childhood sweetheart -- smooth over the rough spots.

The Last Detail is a gritty look at the military life and the people who are attracted to it. It is dark in its message and gray to the eye. Locations are all washed out as though there were a thin membrane of filth spread across everything except the leads, who pop out colorfully like three strawberries in a bowl of Cream of Wheat.

This film captures the disillusionment of returning WWII vets, and brilliantly addresses itself to many of the director's characteristic concerns--masculine fear of domestication and attendant resentment of women; the tensions of masculine friendship; women's complicity in their own oppression; the compromises demanded of artists functioning under capitalism.

When it's good, very good; when it's bad, a stinker.

Releasing one's self to the new rhythm of this film can be difficult; the story is allusive, the Island history sketchy, and the precise relationships of the family members undefined. Yet, if her suggestive presentation escapes straightforward analysis, one cannot help but be mesmerized by Dash's unique vision.

Visually dazzling, touching and funny.

A huge, sprawling western with just about everything: brilliant photography, superb music, an intelligent script, and excellent performances, including one from Heston that is one of the best of his career.

It's nothing less than an examination of the very meaning of family.

Anderson strikes a near flawless balance between looseness and structure, and indulges the occasional flight of cinematic fancy without undermining the movie's emotional integrity.

Lawrence B. Marcus's script, which pits real life against reel life, offers plenty of wit, with most of the bons mots handed to O'Toole.

The animation here is better than average, though not quite up to the quality of Disney Studios in its heyday. Still, this film has a lot of heart and is wonderful entertainment for both kids and their parents.

A thoughtful, atmospheric thriller.

One of the best movies Hollywood has ever made about itself, a extraordinary meta-narrative that continually questions its own ability to capture human experience, disappointment and uneventful loneliness. It's hilariously funny.

Though Costa-Gavras clearly has a political axe to grind, he manages to do so without haranguing the viewer, keeping the film's focus on his characters and masterfully building tension as the story moves toward its stinging resolution.

This film represents a perfect match of filmmaker and material. Akerman's fondness for long, static takes and circular, recurring dialogue perfectly suits the maddening repetitions that set the tone of Proust's darkest work.

The Coens' concern isn't emotional intensity but bravura camera moves and chic lighting of cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld.

It's a shocking story, made all the more so by the film's final revelation, an outrageous allegation no one even bothers to deny.

Cynically witty lines, top-notch characterizations (Ann Sheridan is a delight), and welcome guest appearances by Jimmy Durante (as a Harpo Marx figure) and Reginald Gardner (doing a take on Noel Coward) make for classic comedy.

It's not a brisk 201 minutes but it is engrossing and rewarding, a painstakingly realistic account (oozing verisimiltude out of every frame, and there are a lot of frames) of three days in the life of the female protagonist of the title, portrayed by Delphine Seyrig.

Homelessness is all too familiar to many inhabitants of the world's wealthiest cities, but rarely has the situation seemed so hopeless, or its victims so desperate.

There is much to admire here. A surreal battle between Batman and the Joker amid skyscrapers and elevated trains in a miniaturized Gotham City stands out, as does an extended sequence in which our hero is hunted by police SWAT teams. The most impressive piece of animation is the opening credit sequence: a stunning two-minute, computer-generated 3D flight through Gotham City. This absorbing adventure should resonate with those who take the notion of heroism seriously--especially adolescent boys.

Slow, but ravishingly beautiful and charged with a real poignancy.

The spectacle is absolutely enthralling, and even a bit frightening.

Called everything from a feminist statement to a gay camp-classic to an anti-McCarthyism allegory. While it certainly is all of these--and more--it's about time it was acclaimed for it what it really is: a genuine western film classic.

Emir Kusturica's magnificent fresco rips through half a century of the tragic history of his homeland -- the former Yugoslavia -- with all the solemnity of an amusement park ride.

It won't take genre fans long to unravel the mystery, but the pleasures of this film lie elsewhere. Its images of the gleaming, depersonalized Tokyo in which Mima lives out her superficially charmed but lonely life are haunting, and the characterizations are unusually strong. There's plenty for anime newcomers to enjoy, and fans won't want to miss it.

Gitai uses fictionalized characters to dramatize historical reality, and while minimalist in its presentation, the film becomes nearly operatic in its intensity.

Young Man With A Horn suffers from excessive melodrama, but boasts several fine performances and plenty of enjoyable jazz.

More than just being about the making of FITZCARRALDO, the film is an incisive character study about a visionary filmmaker who seems to be oblivious to the fact that the making of his film is becoming as difficult and foolhardy as Fitzcarraldo's own struggles.

Given the number of characters involved and the fact that the film flashes back and forth over a 40-year period, the film flows beautifully, thanks in large part to excellent casting and Kate Williams's fluid editing.

Mamet has created a suspenseful, psychologically complex film that constantly plays tricks on the viewer as it draws him into its milieu of insightful deceit.

Ghobadi has little use for sentimentality, and never flinches from the fate of these children.

A meditative film by visionary Soviet filmmaker Tarkovsky that lures viewers into its mysterious, mystical world and completely envelops them for a two-hour stretch.

As always, Lean's handling of the purely physical aspects of the material is spectacular, with the scenes of revolution, the harsh Russian winters, and Zhivago's trek across the steppes simply unforgettable.

A subtler and less bombastic companion piece to Arthur Miller's most famous play, Salesman is an exemplar of nonfictional material shaped and illuminated by sophisticated filmmakers who have absorbed the devices of fictional storytelling.

Jiang draws a great deal of humor from the situation, but the film inevitably explodes in terrible violence.

Though unrelentingly bleak, Judgment at Nuremberg is absorbing from beginning to end.

A dark, brooding noir, with Widmark riveting as a hustling promoter who sinks into the quagmire of his own ambitions.

A fantastic symphony of decay (Decay + Fantasia = Decasia), simultaneously heartbreakingly beautiful and exquisitely sad, pieced together from snippets of old films on the verge of oblivion.

Solid, expert "town" Western, but lacking the fuel of passion. Still it's a landmark Western--more than any other of its era, it gave the genre major film status.

An exhilarating, funny and deeply sad story of growing pains that works on two levels; it's a feel-good story that quietly undermines the notion of gain without loss.

Chilean filmmaker Patricio Guzman's powerful and sometimes triumphant documentary is not only an excellent overview of the affair, but serves as the perfect finale to his monumental trilogy about the coup and its aftermath, which began with "The Battle of Chile" (1978).