There will always be an audience for the escapist rewards this type of movie always dangles.

The dialogue, delivered mostly in Southern accents, is intended to be funny and fresh, but much of this Western-influenced sci-fi adventure story feels reheated.

In Capote, Philip Seymour Hoffman's brilliant transformation into the mannered writer takes your breath away.

An engaging film bolstered by the stellar performance of Julianne Moore.

This B-list thriller portrays air crews as inept, at best, and callous and cruel at worst.

Roll Bounce rates a friendly nod. If it doesn't exactly kick out the jams, it does move them around a little bit.

It may sound like a Peter Pan spinoff, and Dear Wendy does involve lost boys in a stagey setting, but the film is closer to "A Clockwork Orange" than a tale of lasting youth.

Violence is in the spirit of the hardest-hitting film noir offerings from the '50s, but far more explicit. It's also in the spirit of the Western.

The big surprise in Polanski's Oliver is the lack of a discernible personal stamp, especially from such a directorial master of the macabre.

Proof proves undeniably that the intimacy of a stage play can be re-created powerfully on screen.

Garnering a chuckle or two, but no more, are Donal Logue from "The Tao of Steve" (now there's a comedy) -- and, as a desperate magnet for both the slacker and "dude" demographics, Jon Heder from Napoleon Dynamite.

Intelligent but not particularly involving.

Though not as far-reaching as the book from which it was adapted, Everything Is Illuminated is a movie with wit, warmth and unabashed emotion.

Features the season's most tragic heroine along with some of the liveliest dead people ever seen on film.

The movie and its theme of self-acceptance has an honesty, undercut by occasional preciousness, that makes it worth seeing.

This morally ambiguous tale of dangerous liaisons and bewildering choices amounts to one of the year's most intriguing dramas.

In Roy Orbison terms, enduring this movie is like working for The Man.

Poignant and well-acted, it offers heartfelt moments leavened by subtle humor.

Fashioning a hybrid of a courtroom drama and a horror film that is suspenseful and scary requires a clear vision and directorial finesse. Rose lacks both. But the performances are topnotch.

But certainly this is a movie for fans of Willis-style action with a little James Bond and probable instant obsolescence thrown in.

The cliché-laden dialogue, schlocky special effects and predictable plot are derivative; the movie is overwrought and lacks suspense.

That sound you hear is from jet engines gassing up, about to zoom Underclassman to DVD-ville.

A masterwork of suspense, romance and political intrigue.

Brothers never catches fire the way Gilliam's "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" did. And you almost feel during subpar special effects that sweaty stagehands are pushing the trees around.

The screenplay is thin, the dialogue lacks nuance and the acting is often laughable.

Carell accomplishes the task of being sweet-natured without becoming cloying.

Unfortunately, Red Eye goes from being a powerful thriller to a far more predictable story of revenge.

Valiant is voiced by Robots' Ewan McGregor, an actor apparently no longer in a "Trainspotting" mood.

The movie's biggest drawback is a failure to deliver what's promised.

Director Iain Softley employs intriguing camera angles to heighten some of the suspense. It's too bad the movie goes over the top and falls apart in the last third.

Amazingly, amidst the smutty silliness, there are some laughs.

Preposterous yet solidly entertaining.

Just about any golden age Hollywood hack could have made a zestier drama about one of the greatest rescue missions in U.S. military history.

A haunting and fascinating portrait of so much that is worth exploring: the implacability of nature, the hubris of human endeavor and the line between supreme dedication and madness.

It's for people who have always wanted to see Willie Nelson ("Uncle Jesse") lob Molotov cocktails on a freeway and smoke weed with Joe Don Baker, who plays Georgia's governor.

Flowers is smartly observational -- but a little screen heat would be worth a bouquet.

By the end of the movie, all we want is for Barrymore to give him the time of day.

The kind of well-acted, genuine heartwarmer that some people complain Hollywood doesn't bother making anymore. And in this case, Hollywood didn't.

This is precisely the kind of film that parents clamor for and rarely get: a substantive, stirring, Huck Finn-style saga that doesn't insult anyone's intelligence or mindlessly entertain with crass humor.

Junebug has the feel of a good short story or novella.

A breath of fresh air amid the superheroes, aliens and bombastic explosions of summer.

Sky High gets Kurt Russell back to his retro Disney roots, and he's still in good enough shape at age 54 to wear a supernatural hunk's cape.

A documentary that dissects the essence of comedy as well as showcases outrageous improvisational humor.

The best thing Hustle & Flow has going for it is Terrence Howard's powerful performance.

This frenzied fiesta of firepower is about cloning people for spare parts, but the movie is a clone itself. Possessing no new ideas, it reworks and borrows from such films as "Blade Runner," "The Matrix" and "Logan's Run."

The material is so solid and Thornton so tailor-made that the movie almost gets by.

A little of this will go a long way.

The glacial pacing may put some people off, but it also has a hypnotic quality. And some viewers might find it fascinating to be a voyeur into someone's tortured psyche.

Depp deserves kudos for fashioning an original and outlandish if occasionally menacing character.

A showcase for Vince Vaughn's rantings and Owen Wilson's standard but affable chum act.

The film is entertaining if contrived. It is not as cleverly structured as Roos' best ensemble comedy, "The Opposite of Sex," which also co-starred Kudrow. But it does have humorous moments.

Dark Water has more substance and a more interesting look than many horror films, but the familiar elements of the story disappoint.

There's nothing terribly fantastic about this ho-hum futuristic foray.

The Beautiful Country might be too slow-moving for some, but it has powerful performances and a multi-layered quality. It is an epic journey worth taking.

Murderball brilliantly captures the intensity of the little-known athletic competition, offering more intimacy and drama than most Hollywood sports movies.

A raw and powerful suspense thriller.

The players fall into recognizable stereotypes: the big and clumsy kid, the real talent who's also a showoff, the buffoon, the gross-out guy. But no one is more formulaic than the coach. He starts out smug with the kids and ends up smitten.

But expect a logical plot, and you'll walk out of the theater with a host of questions, mostly concerning procedural points of the alien attack.

Bewitched does have a few laughs, thanks to Ferrell's antics. And some of the wittiest contemporary comedians are on board, notably "The Office's" Steve Carell and "The Daily Show's" Stephen Colbert, but they are underused.

It's fairly solid fun, though, without breaking any new ground, just as January's remake of "Assault on Precinct 13" was.

A touching story of hope, vitality and art rising from the bleakest conditions.

Yes is more of a maybe. Or even a hmmm.

A cinematic experience that is dazzlingly different from anything currently in theaters, March of the Penguins captivates with its straightforward but powerful story of dogged determination, survival against harsh odds and sacrifice.

Though not much of a movie, Loaded probably will bring fleeting satisfaction to audiences who don't know Dean Jones from Spike Jones.

So imperfect that it may qualify as one of the summer's worst movies.

There are some notable oddballs in the filmmaking debut of performance artist Miranda July, whose lead performance in this Sundance winner for "originality" is the most appealing thing about it.

An intriguing, if meandering, escape from the summer blockbusters.

The early going -- say, an hour -- is spent in a fatigued daze. A few powerful jabs eventually punch things up.

Jolie and Pitt project more than just body heat. They convey a multi-faceted attraction, toss off clever repartee and dazzle audiences with their seemingly natural connection. And that's worth watching.

A pitiful update that saddles poor Cedric the Entertainer with the unenviable task of taking over Jackie Gleason's premier creation, Ralph Kramden.

But purely as an exercise in style, this movie has its moments.

There's sad news to report about The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D: Put on the cardboard glasses, and you can still see the movie.

Clever and often enchanting.

A premier boxing movie and a forceful Depression remembrance for the socially conscious, Cinderella Man also ices it for stargazers that Russell Crowe is the dominant screen actor working today.

The skating scenes are their own reward: It's hard to think of a movie since 1950's "Sunset Boulevard" that has gotten more dramatic impact out of a pool.

Those who appreciated "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" will probably enjoy this documentary.

A junior chick flick. But unlike many of its more mature counterparts, it is emotionally affecting, avoiding the manipulation and formulaic camaraderie that often spoil the genre.

The new version has the zip of a 96-yard punt return and all the ingredients to inspire the celebratory crushing of empty beer cans.

The thin story, which sometimes feels like a series of one-liners strung together, is wisely kept short. But the gags are funny and the characters endearing.

As easy to enjoy as picking up a spare, and we don't mean a tire around the waist.

Even for non-fans, Revenge of the Sith is engrossing, and fans of the series will likely be over the moon -- and into another galaxy -- with this film.

A contrived, unpleasant and very drawn-out affair.

A good script is the most essential ingredient for a good movie. Hiring a comedian isn't enough.

Doesn't make the movie worth watching -- even if you're monstrously bored.

Ultimately, the movie doesn't make it, but there's enough going on to make it more arf than barf.

Charming and inspiring.

There's a lot here to feed crime-fiction enthusiasts.

When the cast starts wondering where the roadkill is, someone says, "Follow the smell." Good tip: That's how you'll know where Wax is playing.

Dramatically, even a persuasive supporting cast gets Heaven only so far.

The improvised dialogue has a no-holds-barred quality that can hit or miss. But when it hits, it can be hysterical.

Flaws are outweighed by Crash's intricate construction and intelligent.

Though the journey ends on some fun notes after a sagging middle, Galaxy never fully breaks out.

At least this movie seems more aware of its trashiness than "National Treasure" was. It's therefore freer to have some off-the-cuff fun the way Steven Seagal's more tolerable vehicles once did.

With major stars, a name director and grown-up subject matter, this middling drama is less a movie to recommend with vigor than to covet on general principles.

The chuckles here come from the leads' interplay, crying on each other's shoulders and cheering each other up.

The film's most climactic moments involve the chilling audiotapes of avaricious Enron traders as they toy with California's energy crisis, wringing millions in profits from the misfortune of an entire state.

But Game really isn't a performer's movie. And the climactic contest (in which the Americans amazingly eked out a 1-0 win against England, considered by many to be the world's finest team at the time) is only serviceably staged.

In this Amityville, the performances are bad, the special effects ho-hum, and it's not even particularly scary.