Black comedy of the deepest, richest darkness laid over an aching meditation on the atrophy of dreams.

The massive battle scenes rank with the director's best, using brilliant color, contrasting light, and the enormous cast to great advantage. Kurosawa also alternates compelling scenes of near hypnotic stillness with scenes of rousing action.

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

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.

Haynes took an enormous risk here, but thanks to his thoughtful script and an utterly sincere performance from Moore, what could have easily become a cold, calculated exercise in postmodern pastiche winds up a powerful and deeply moving example of melodramatic moviemaking.

Jarring and electrifying drama.

The film features a host of fine character portrayals and a compelling climax that compensates for its length.

This was the penultimate film from the ailing great director. It is also one of his best.

The film's greatest incidental pleasures are images of a time when outlaw musicians wore suit jackets and the craggy Dylan was a delicate, unconventionally handsome young man.

A beautiful, confounding picture that had half the audience cheering and the other half snoring. Kubrick clearly means to say something about the dehumanizing effects of technology, but exactly what is hard to say.

Far more than mere fish tale, Sauper's dark, devastating documentary profiles a socio-ecological nightmare with unimaginable consequences, and it's one of the best films about the ugly reality of the global marketplace.

So it should come as no surprise that what Maddin eventually produced is a film about HIS Winnipeg, a psychological terrain that's no more -- nor less -- "real" than William Carlos William's Paterson or Marcel Proust's Combray.

Mishima's most stunning aspect is the visual style employed in the dramatizations of the novels. With colorful, theatrical sets by famed Japanese designer Eiko Ishioka, the sequences are quite unique and impressive in their own right, and the entire film is photographed beautifully by John Bailey.

A remarkable example of Hollywood's not choking on the prestige adorning the filming of a classic, Pride and Prejudice is an unusually successful adaptation of Jane Austen's most famous novel.

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

A nonstop, high-tech, souped-up war movie, with gung ho marines blasting special-effects creatures, and a genuinely convincing, exciting action heroine.

Room at the Top memorably conveys the snobbery, poverty, desperation, and politics of class in provincial England.

In light of the aesthetic of ugliness that informs von Trier's Dogme films, it's easy to forget how subtly beautiful his work once was.

Without relying on dialogue, and once again making good but sparing use of Yo La Tengo's toasty guitar soundtrack, Reichardt proves herself a filmmaker with a masterful sense of the expressive purity of the passing moment.

Though the facts have been manipulated in the interests of drama--Gerry and Giuseppe were never imprisoned together, etc.--this has been done in a brave and responsible way, shedding light on an important episode in recent history.

Irresistible entertainment.

Crammed with outrageous turns of fortune and quicksilver shifts in tone, Almodovar's film is held together by performances so subtle and complex it's hard to single out only one as exceptional. But Cruz is astonishing.

Love Story is actually better than Segal's previously released best-seller (written from his screenplay in order to promote the film). But then that's not saying much.

Ozu's depiction of marital difficulties is hardly depressing. Instead he employs his signature warmth, sensitivity, and humor to create a touching, thoughtful film.

It's sad that HOMICIDE goes so drastically off the rails, because the first half of the film is a positive joy.

Although the film could have been preachy, Ritchie handles the story and theme with deftness.

For once, Thompson turns in a gimmick-free performance, and the rest of the actors range from fine to fabulous. But the whole thing feels stolid and uninspired.

An amazingly effective picture that becomes doubly impressive when one considers its small budget.