Agreeable and slipshod in equal fashion, The Guru illustrates the subtle distinction between stupidity and goofiness.

Though it's only 90 minutes, the film drags, making these not-so-easy riders pretty tough to watch.

A less-than-middling melodrama whose subject matter and talent never click as much as its credits portend.

That a group of creative people chose to direct their energies on this repulsive spectacle simply provokes disgust.

Amazingly, the film grows monotonous because Heller and Schmiderer can do nothing, via archival footage or even novel camera placements, to vary the program.

Actually is a bit of a hoot.

The picture is all Lawrence and Zahn, whose dynamics get something going, though not enough (please!) to spark a buddy sequel.

Jumps at chance to be silly.

This is one movie in which you don't feel the long-ish running time, in part because there always seems to be a surprise (as well as a new street guerrilla) around every corner.

Not without some stupidly funny moments.

May not be a straightforward bio, nor does it offer much in the way of Barris' motivations, but the film is an oddly fascinating depiction of an architect of pop culture.

Hoffman stores the plane fuel in his house and even enjoys sniffing it. The movie might be a lot more fun as a suspense pic were he to take on a roommate who chained-smoked.

More than any other example in recent memory, Chicago shows how much the element of surprise is missing from today's movies.

While compellingly watchable, it's as overheated as Cage-the-actor's 1991 soft-core (and direct-to-video) "Zandalee," also set in New Orleans.

With this 2002 Cannes Film Festival best-picture winner, Polanski skips the quirky flourishes and simply brings history to life.

The movie keeps you mildly interested all the way up to an elaborately staged final scene, yet it might give viewers the same queasy fooling-with-the-Holocaust feeling some felt for Roberto Benigni's "Life Is Beautiful."

This mid-19th century tale of survival after the death of a parent is still compelling today, and its message of strength and the importance of family continues to resonate.

Richly layered, deliberately paced, dealing with difficult emotions and life decisions, it feels like a moody wintry afternoon.

Catch offers mild fun but never as much as its animated '60s-retro opening credits portend. They're the cutest of the year.

The movie features a musical score aimed more at boomer parents than their tykes.

If anything, Grant seems to be getting funnier, and he now has the ability to elevate material the way another Grant -- Cary -- did.

This may be the most uncompromisingly raw police drama since "Across 110th Street," starring Anthony Quinn and Yaphet Kotto.

If Martin Scorsese's staggeringly ambitious one-of-a-kind finally has too many flaws to be great, it has as much greatness in it as any movie this year.

This is the kind of well-made movie you wish well but you don't particularly wish to see again.

Hour not only acknowledges the attacks -- they're a running theme. Lee opens his movie with a shot of the beaming blue spotlights that mark where the twin towers once stood.

Epic battles, spectacular effects and multiple story lines make The Two Towers a most excellent middle chapter in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

The powerful two-person drama gets watered down by documentary-style footage and voice-overs. But it's worth seeing just for Weaver and LaPaglia.

Were the material not so thin, it would be even more fun than it is seeing Fiennes get to be loose on screen for once. He's pleasant, but we never feel this guy could get elected. Whenever he smiles, Fiennes brings to mind the title of Disney's deluxe new DVD: "The Complete Goofy."