It is in many respects the best installment of the franchise as its stars go from sullen kids to sullen young adults, where their expressions look more natural.

It's a precarious balance, but Payne blends wit and poignancy so artfully it feels like an exquisitely choreographed dance.

Unafraid of stillness and scenes of quiet contemplation, the film also celebrates companionship and community, which are all good reasons to embrace the experience along The Way.

Nearly everyone in this film is unlikeable, their actions inexplicable. And the pace is so lugubrious that it's hard not to succumb to Justine's glum mood.

A comedy that has one good joke, four strange cameos and a spirit so juvenile kids may wonder what Sandler's deal is.

What undercuts sharper than Poseidon's trident is a script that sees its characters as cardboard, not flesh and blood. For a film meant to be spectacle over substance, it's not a fatal blow. But it is a mortal wound.

J. Edgar shines a probing beam of light on a man who was widely feared, often disliked, but rarely understood.

Tower Heist feigns being an "Ocean's 11" for schmucks, but plays like a retread of "48 Hours."

Harold and Kumar's Christmas movie is silly, if uneven, fun. While it mocks 3-D technology, it also makes relatively fresh use of it and qualifies as the most ambitious of the trio of films.

In Time has about 50 minutes of good movie in it. Alas, the sci-fi thriller runs nearly twice that length, and despite a terrific concept that could make for an "Inception" for 2011, we get "Logan's Run" meets "Robin Hood." And not the good parts.

The tale was no doubt meant to convey Kemp/Thompson's boozy aimlessness, but the film feels disjointed and meandering as a result.

The story has just the right blend of child-centered silliness and winking adult humor.

Doremus' elegant filmmaking is key to the appeal of the film, but it would never work as superbly without the wonderfully natural, believable performances and powerful chemistry of the lead actors.

Ifans is convincingly world-weary as the earl who prefers writing sonnets to the pageantry of court life. Anonymous aims to be epic but is closer to stately soap opera.

It's breezy stuff, to be sure. And while English is far from becoming the Pink Panther for the Facebook generation, Atkinson has a breezy rapport with junior Agent Tucker (Daniel Kaluuya) that's reminiscent of Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau and his relationship with sidekick Kato.

A horror movie that follows none of the predictable paths of the genre, it offers disturbing psychological drama and nuanced chills rather than outright terror.

Paranormal Activity 3 delivers similarly eerie moments, though long stretches go by where nothing truly ominous occurs.

As coldly calculating and infuriating as it can be, the film and its production design are stunning. But characters' actions and motivations are beyond comprehension.

Inspired by Mark Obmascik's book, the tale focuses on universal themes of pursuing a dream and tapping into an adventurous spirit.

Part horror film, part space thriller and all gore-fest, the movie ends up being a lot like its protagonist: a mess of a monster that stretches itself too thin to scare much.

Silly as it was, the first movie had a more innocent and campy spirit than this calculated, if faithful, redo.

It's an odd blend - a sentimental story in a futuristic world of brutal machine-maneuvered fights. There are some ringside thrills, but it's not a seamless mesh.

Political scandals are standard movie fare, and this one, which hinges on sex and power, doesn't offer a new take. But that's the point: The all-too-familiar blend of hubris and lust for power makes the machinations no less poisonous and perhaps more regrettable for their sad predictability.

The thin premise here seems better suited to a sitcom episode than a full-length feature. That's not surprising given that director Mark Mylod's résumé includes British TV comedies and "Entourage" episodes.

Every performance in the film is flawless.

Machine Gun Preacher has a lot more wrong with it than a bullet-riddled premise. It is yet another iteration of the big, strong white man who comes to save legions of poor anonymous black Africans.

The story of healing and courage is told with a refreshing lack of cynicism, not surprising since it's from the same producers as the wonderful "My Dog Skip."

Filled with laughable dialogue, Abduction goes nowhere.