Where it should be light and graceful, Leap Year trips and thuds.

Youth's screenplay, by Gustin Nash, is generally witty.

An artful examination of a small town and small-mindedness and the potential for full-blown, large-scale evil. But it's strangely bloodless.

Sherlock Holmes has been reimagined with fighting skills as potent as his intellectual acumen.

It's Complicated is vacuous overall, although attractively packaged.

Though rambling and at times self-indulgent, its wit and pageantry, boosted by Heath Ledger's final performance, render it irresistible.

It seems as if no professional actors were hired in the making of this motion picture.

Everything about this fish-out-of-water romp is tired.

The scenes in Pandora -- a planet with an Earth-like environment -- are so breathtaking that the narrative seems almost beside the point.

We'd all like to live in an Italian movie. So says a character in Nine, and it's probably the best line in this musical misfire.

Once you get past the fact that lovely Emily Blunt doesn't look anything like the dour historical pictures of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, The Young Victoria is an appealing and well-crafted, if staid, portrait of a fascinating ruler.

Crazy Heart, based on a 1987 novel by Thomas Cobb, also has great music. Even if you're not a country music fan, the songs, by T Bone Burnett and the late Stephen Bruton, are infectious.

Some books are not meant to be adapted to the big screen. Alice Sebold's best-selling The Lovely Bones falls into that category.

Invictus, which is Latin for "unconquered," gives the poem several meanings in the context of the film. It also applies to Eastwood, who, as one of America's greatest storytellers, finds enthralling tales and fashions them with finesse and an indomitable spirit.

Though the deliberate pace can feel slow to glacial at times, the visuals are gorgeous, and the melancholy mood is exquisitely evoked.

In exploring the complicated nature of family bonds, Brothers is thought-provoking. The wounds inflicted by the cruelty of a troubled parent can prove as painful as battle scars.

Timeliness can be tricky to pull off convincingly in movies. It's tough to capture an era while it's still happening, yet Up in the Air does so brilliantly, with wit and humanity.

It's a syrupy, downbeat film.

Every second Helen Mirren is on-screen in The Last Station is a study in peerless talent.

Wright gives the title character a complexity and emotional shading often missing in this kind of ensemble comedy/drama. Pippa has the feel of a heroine in literature, rather than on the big screen.

While the film is not as resonant as the novel, it is an honorable adaptation, capturing the essence of the bond between father and son.

Emphasizes backing up wishes with hard work. That proviso is a thoughtful message for young moviegoers.

This is not the Travolta of "Pulp Fiction," nor is it the Williams of "One Hour Photo." Though no animals were harmed in the making of Old Dogs, the lead actors were defanged. But like a pair of Labradors, they have a playful rapport.

McKay's performance is a revelation. He nails Welles' imperiousness, charm and vocal cadences, and even bears a strong resemblance to the iconic actor/director. He is thoroughly convincing as Welles and electrifies the screen when he's on it.

The werewolves have it all over the blood-suckers in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. When these oversize, hirsute creatures burst onto the screen, they inject life into a rather inert story.

Has strong performances and stirring football scenes.

It's a maniacal performance, complete with mad gales of laughter and insane bouts of temper. Cage doesn't go over the top, but he teeters darn close.

As a film that pays tribute to vintage '50s Hollywood, Broken Embraces is a visual delight.