as your relatives swap one mundane story after another , you begin to wonder if they are ever going to depart .	1
though the film 's scenario is certainly not earthshaking , this depiction of fluctuating female sexuality has two winning lead performances and charm to spare .	3
kinnear gives a tremendous performance .	4
what 's next ?	3
... the last time i saw a theater full of people constantly checking their watches was during my sats .	1
nervy and sensitive , it taps into genuine artistic befuddlement , and at the same time presents a scathing indictment of what drives hollywood .	3
sandra nettelbeck beautifully orchestrates the transformation of the chilly , neurotic , and self-absorbed martha as her heart begins to open .	3
bullock does a good job here of working against her natural likability .	3
pumpkin sits in a patch somewhere between mirthless todd solondzian satire and callow student film .	1
the passions aroused by the discord between old and new cultures are set against the strange , stark beauty of the mideast desert , so lovingly and perceptively filmed that you can almost taste the desiccated air .	4
but it offers plenty to ponder and chew on as its unusual relationship slowly unfolds .	3
sometimes , nothing satisfies like old-fashioned swashbuckling .	3
a byzantine melodrama that stimulates the higher brain functions as well as the libido .	3
it 's neither as romantic nor as thrilling as it should be .	0
everytime you think undercover brother has run out of steam , it finds a new way to surprise and amuse .	3
a very funny look at how another culture handles the process of courting and marriage .	3
these are names to remember , in order to avoid them in the future .	0
the 3d images only enhance the film 's otherworldly quality , giving it a strange combo of you-are-there closeness with the disorienting unreality of the seemingly broken-down fourth wall of the movie screen .	4
as adapted by kevin molony from simon leys ' novel `` the death of napoleon '' and directed by alan taylor , napoleon 's journey is interesting but his parisian rebirth is stillborn	1
marvelous , merry and , yes , melancholy film .	3
god help the poor woman if attal is this insecure in real life : his fictional yvan 's neuroses are aggravating enough to exhaust the patience of even the most understanding spouse .	1
how on earth , or anywhere else , did director ron underwood manage to blow $ 100 million on this ?	0
there are slow and repetitive parts , but it has just enough spice to keep it interesting .	3
egoyan 's movie is too complicated to sustain involvement , and , if you 'll excuse a little critical heresy , too intellectually ambitious .	1
may be spoofing an easy target -- those old ' 50 's giant creature features -- but ... it acknowledges and celebrates their cheesiness as the reason why people get a kick out of watching them today .	3
this version 's no classic like its predecessor , but its pleasures are still plentiful .	3
jirí hubac 's script is a gem .	4
it sounds sick and twisted , but the miracle of shainberg 's film is that it truly is romance	3
more honest about alzheimer 's disease , i think , than iris .	3
a psychological thriller with a smart script and an obsessive-compulsive 's attention to detail .	4
rain is a small treasure , enveloping the viewer in a literal and spiritual torpor that is anything but cathartic .	4
no , it 's not nearly as good as any of its influences .	1
the kind of nervous film that will either give you a mild headache or exhilarate you .	2
showtime is one of the hapless victims of the arrogant `` if we put together a wry white man and a chatty black man and give them guns , the movie will be funny '' syndrome .	0
a distant , even sterile , yet compulsively watchable look at the sordid life of hogan 's heroes star bob crane .	3
it 's endearing to hear madame d. refer to her husband as ` jackie ' -- and he does make for excellent company , not least as a self-conscious performer .	3
makes s&m seem very romantic , and maggie gyllenhaal is a delight .	4
-lrb- i -rrb- f you 've been to more than one indie flick in your life , chances are you 've already seen this kind of thing .	1
if this movie were a book , it would be a page-turner , you ca n't wait to see what happens next .	4
it 's absolutely spooky how lillard channels the shagster right down to the original casey kasem-furnished voice .	3
disney 's live-action division has a history of releasing cinematic flotsam , but this is one occasion when they have unearthed a rare gem .	4
warmed-over tarantino by way of wannabe elmore leonard .	1
what happened with pluto nash ?	1
it tries too hard , and overreaches the logic of its own world .	1
johnson has , in his first film , set himself a task he is not nearly up to .	2
her delivery and timing are flawless .	4
by taking entertainment tonight subject matter and giving it humor and poignancy , auto focus becomes both gut-bustingly funny and crushingly depressing .	2
an enchanting film that presents an audacious tour of the past and takes within its warm embrace the bounties of cultural artifacts inside st. petersburg 's hermitage museum .	4
the year 's happiest surprise , a movie that deals with a real subject in an always surprising way .	4
yes , one enjoys seeing joan grow from awkward young woman to strong , determined monarch , but her love for the philandering philip only diminishes her stature .	2
an ironic speculation on democracy in a culture unaccustomed to it .	2
hey , at least the title of this film lets you know exactly where it 's heading .	2
in the end , white oleander is n't an adaptation of a novel .	2
a comic gem with some serious sparkles .	4
those who would follow haneke on his creepy explorations ... are rewarded by brutal , committed performances from huppert and magimel .	4
witty , touching and well paced .	3
an often-deadly boring , strange reading of a classic whose witty dialogue is treated with a baffling casual approach	1
for the most part , i spy was an amusing lark that will probably rank as one of murphy 's better performances in one of his lesser-praised movies .	3
the element of surprise might be the only thing femme fatale has going for it .	2
too stupid to be satire , too obviously hateful to be classified otherwise , frank novak 's irritating slice of lumpen life is as reliably soul-killing as its title is nearly meaningless .	1
not so much funny as aggressively sitcom-cute , it 's full of throwaway one-liners , not-quite jokes , and a determined tv amiability that allen personifies .	1
a potent allegorical love story .	3
no worse than a lot of the crap we 've been offered this summer , and slightly better than men in black 2 as far as slapdash extraterrestrial comedies go .	2
this is one of the most visually stunning and thematically moving epics in recent memory , and in spite of numerous minor flaws , scorsese 's best in more than a decade .	4
the whole cast looks to be having so much fun with the slapstick antics and silly street patois , tossing around obscure expressions like bellini and mullinski , that the compact 86 minutes breezes by .	3
a beautiful and haunting examination of the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the mundane horrors of the world .	4
like the film 's almost anthropologically detailed realization of early - '80s suburbia , it 's significant without being overstated .	3
dissing a bond movie is quite like calling a dog stupid , but when it has the temerity to run over two hours , you feel like winding up with a kick .	2
suggests puns about ingredients and soup and somebody being off their noodle , but let 's just say the ingredients do n't quite add up to a meal .	1
has all the poignancy of a hallmark card and all the comedy of a gallagher stand-up act .	2
a solidly seaworthy chiller .	3
it 's traditional moviemaking all the way , but it 's done with a lot of careful period attention as well as some very welcome wit .	4
i enjoyed the ride -lrb- bumps and all -rrb- , creamy depth , and ultimate theme .	4
a harmless and mildly amusing family comedy .	3
borrows from so many literary and cinematic sources that this future world feels absolutely deja vu .	1
sensitive , insightful and beautifully rendered film .	4
this ecologically minded , wildlife friendly film teaches good ethics while entertaining with its unconventionally wacky but loving family	4
if this is the danish idea of a good time , prospective tourists might want to consider a different destination -- some jolly country embroiled in a bloody civil war , perhaps .	0
dolgin and franco fashion a fascinating portrait of a vietnamese-born youngster who eagerly and easily assimilated as an all-american girl with a brand new name in southern tennessee .	4
to imagine the life of harry potter as a martial arts adventure told by a lobotomized woody allen is to have some idea of the fate that lies in store for moviegoers lured to the mediocrity that is kung pow : enter the fist .	0
not always too whimsical for its own good -lrb- but enough to do harm -rrb- , this strange hybrid of crime thriller , quirky character study , third-rate romance and female empowerment fantasy never really finds the tonal or thematic glue it needs .	2
it 's a count for our times .	2
-lrb- t -rrb- hose same extremes prevent us from taking its message seriously , and the stepford wives mentality does n't work in a modern context .	1
it 's rare to find a film that dazzles the eye , challenges the brain , and satisfies our lust for fast-paced action , but minority report delivers all that and a whole lot more .	4
i weep for the future when a good portion of the respected critical community in this country consider blue crush to be an intelligent film about young women .	1
behind the snow games and lovable siberian huskies -lrb- plus one sheep dog -rrb- , the picture hosts a parka-wrapped dose of heart .	3
-lrb- hawn 's character -rrb- is so bluntly written , without a trace of sentimentality , and so blisteringly defined , that every other character seems overlooked and underwritten .	2
there are moments in this account of the life of artist frida kahlo that are among cinema 's finest this year .	4
it 's a worse sign when you begin to envy her condition .	2
shadyac shoots his film like an m. night shyamalan movie , and he frequently maintains the same snail 's pace ; he just forgot to add any genuine tension .	0
the actors do n't inhabit their roles -- they 're trapped by them , forced to change behavior in bizarre unjustified fashion and spout dialog that consists mostly of platitudes .	0
friday after next has the same problem that next friday did -- it 's called where 's chris tucker when you need him ?	1
a mixed bag of a comedy that ca n't really be described as out of this world .	1
ultimately , the message of trouble every day seems to be that all sexual desire disrupts life 's stasis .	2
in a normal screen process , these bromides would be barely enough to sustain an interstitial program on the discovery channel .	0
... surprisingly inert for a movie in which the main character travels back and forth between epochs .	1
like a documentary version of fight club , shorn of social insight , intellectual pretension and cinematic interest .	2
a pleasant enough movie , held together by skilled ensemble actors .	3
more than makes up for its mawkish posing by offering rousing spates of genuine feeling .	3
de oliveira creates an emotionally rich , poetically plump and visually fulsome , but never showy , film whose bittersweet themes are reinforced and brilliantly personified by michel piccoli .	4
i hated every minute of it .	0
what would jesus do if he was a film director ?	2
a film made with as little wit , interest , and professionalism as artistically possible for a slummy hollywood caper flick .	1
high on melodrama .	2
this is junk food cinema at its greasiest .	1
gangs of new york is an unapologetic mess , whose only saving grace is that it ends by blowing just about everything up .	0
the cumulative effect of the relentless horror on parade numbs the movie 's power as a work of drama .	2
audiences can be expected to suspend their disbelief only so far -- and that does not include the 5 o'clock shadow on the tall wooden kid as he skips off to school .	0
adam sandler is to gary cooper what a gnat is to a racehorse .	0
search it out .	2
the master of disaster - it 's a piece of dreck disguised as comedy .	0
immediately .	2
u.s. audiences may find -lrb- attal and gainsbourg 's -rrb- unfamiliar personas give the film an intimate and quaint reality that is a little closer to human nature than what hollywood typically concocts .	3
rich in detail , gorgeously shot and beautifully acted , les destinees is , in its quiet , epic way , daring , inventive and refreshingly unusual .	4
this is art paying homage to art .	3
leaves you with a knot in your stomach , its power is undercut by its own head-banging obviousness .	1
the problem with concept films is that if the concept is a poor one , there 's no saving the movie .	1
and in truth , cruel as it may sound , he makes arnold schwarzenegger look like spencer tracy .	1
verbinski substitutes atmosphere for action , tedium for thrills .	1
though avary has done his best to make something out of ellis ' nothing novel , in the end , his rules is barely worth following .	1
... always remains movingly genuine .	4
it tells more than it shows .	2
i wish i could say `` thank god it 's friday '' , but the truth of the matter is i was glad when it was over .	0
admirable , certainly , but not much fun to watch .	2
but this time there 's some mold on the gold .	1
there are as many misses as hits , but ultimately , it finds humor in the foibles of human behavior , and it 's a welcome return to the roots of a genre that should depend on surprises .	3
a cinematic sleeping pill of impressive potency .	2
some actors have so much charisma that you 'd be happy to listen to them reading the phone book .	3
-lrb- a -rrb- rare , beautiful film .	4
just like every other seagal movie , only louder and without that silly ponytail .	2
the filmmakers juggle and juxtapose three story lines but fail to come up with one cogent point , unless it 's that life stinks , especially for sensitive married women who really love other women .	1
the am-radio soundtrack and game cast -- tierney and the inimitable walken especially -- keep this unusual comedy from choking on its own conceit .	2
although life or something like it is very much in the mold of feel-good movies , the cast and director stephen herek 's polished direction pour delightfully piquant wine from aged bottles .	3
-lrb- two -rrb- fairly dull -- contrasting and interlocking stories about miserable scandinavian settlers in 18th-century canada , and yuppie sailboaters in the here and now .	1
a recent favourite at sundance , this white-trash satire will inspire the affection of even those unlucky people who never owned a cassette of def leppard 's pyromania .	3
the film would work much better as a video installation in a museum , where viewers would be free to leave .	0
an offbeat , sometimes gross and surprisingly appealing animated film about the true meaning of the holidays .	4
the movie will reach far beyond its core demographic .	4
too silly to be frightening , too stolid to be funny , it projects the same lazy affability as its nominal star , david arquette .	0
tim story 's not there yet - but ` barbershop ' shows he 's on his way .	3
provide -lrb- s -rrb- nail-biting suspense and credible characters without relying on technology-of-the-moment technique or pretentious dialogue .	4
flavorful and romantic , you could call this how martha got her groove back -- assuming , that is , she ever had one to begin with .	3
the piano teacher is the sort of movie that discourages american audiences from ever wanting to see another foreign film .	0
maybe it 's just because this past year has seen the release of some of the worst film comedies in decades ... but honestly , analyze that really is n't all that bad .	2
like dickens with his passages , mcgrath crafts quite moving scenes throughout his resolutely dramatic variation on the novel .	4
it 's a minor comedy that tries to balance sweetness with coarseness , while it paints a sad picture of the singles scene .	3
worth the effort to watch .	3
the wwii drama is well plotted , visually striking and filled with enjoyably complex characters who are never what they first appear .	4
the kooky yet shadowy vision clooney sustains throughout is daring , inventive and impressive .	4
tadpole is emblematic of the witless ageism afflicting films : young is cool , and too young is too cool .	2
it 's a flashy , star-splashed reduction .	2
aaliyah rarely dampens her diva persona enough to spark genuine chemistry with townsend .	2
long after you leave justine , you 'll be wondering what will happen to her and wishing her the best -- whatever that might mean .	2
so what is the point ?	0
before long , the film starts playing like general hospital crossed with a saturday night live spoof of dog day afternoon .	1
while obviously an extremely personal work , it remains inextricably stuck in an emotionally unavailable rut .	2
it 's hard not to feel you 've just watched a feature-length video game with some really heavy back story .	0
more a load of enjoyable , conan-esque claptrap than the punishing , special-effects soul assaults the mummy pictures represent .	3
the kids often appear to be reading the lines and are incapable of conveying any emotion .	1
ritchie 's treatment of the class reversal is majorly ham-fisted , from the repetitive manifestos that keep getting thrown in people 's faces to the fact amber is such a joke .	1
now it 's just tired .	1
-lrb- broomfield -rrb- uncovers a story powerful enough to leave the screen sizzling with intrigue .	4
intriguing and beautiful film , but those of you who read the book are likely to be disappointed .	3
it ultimately stands forth as an important chronicle of the abuses of one of latin america 's most oppressive regimes .	2
the creaking , rusty ship makes a fine backdrop , but the ghosts ' haunting is routine .	1
human resources was a good , straightforward tale , but time out is better .	2
for all its surface frenzy , high crimes should be charged with loitering -- so much on view , so little to offer .	1
a splendid entertainment , young in spirit but accomplished in all aspects with the fullness of spirit and sense of ease that comes only with experience .	4
has little on its mind aside from scoring points with drag gags .	1
elicits more groans from the audience than jar jar binks , scrappy doo and scooby dumb , all wrapped up into one .	2
then lower them a bit more .	1
safe conduct , however ambitious and well-intentioned , fails to hit the entertainment bull 's - eye .	1
windtalkers celebrates the human spirit and packs an emotional wallop .	4
it 's the kind of movie you ca n't quite recommend because it is all windup and not much of a pitch , yet you ca n't bring yourself to dislike it .	1
truth to tell , if you 've seen more than half-a-dozen horror films , there 's nothing here you have n't seen before .	1
the smartest bonehead comedy of the summer .	4
i 'd give real money to see the perpetrators of chicago torn apart by dingoes .	1
the stunning , dreamlike visuals will impress even those viewers who have little patience for euro-film pretension .	4
noyce films it more as a shocking history lesson than as drama .	2
great story , bad idea for a movie .	2
the pacing is glacial , the screenplay is stiff as a board , and things heat up only in the movie 's final scenes .	2
and if the hours wins ` best picture ' i just might .	3
the movie bounces all over the map .	1
just pound away .	2
here , thankfully , they are .	2
... a poignant and powerful narrative that reveals that reading writing and arithmetic are not the only subjects to learn in life .	3
it 's still worth a look .	3
two hours of melodramatic musical married to two hours of underdog sports intrigue , if the picture also shares the weaknesses of both genres , more 's the pity .	2
hugh grant and sandra bullock are two such likeable actors .	4
if melville is creatively a great whale , this film is canned tuna .	0
these are lives worth watching , paths worth following .	4
vividly conveys both the pitfalls and the pleasures of over-the-top love .	3
enduring love but exhausting cinema .	2
`` its successes are also tempered with elements which prove the direct antithesis of what it gets right . ''	2
-lrb- director peter -rrb- jackson and his crew have so steeped themselves in the majesty of tolkien 's writing that every frame produces new joys , whether you 're a fan of the books or not .	4
reinforces the talents of screenwriter charlie kaufman , creator of adaptation and being john malkovich .	3
if you love motown music , you 'll love this documentary .	4
the story may not be new , but australian director john polson , making his american feature debut , jazzes it up adroitly .	4
passion , lip-synching , tragedy , and lots of really really high notes .	2
it wants to be thought of as a subversive little indie film , but it has all the qualities of a modern situation comedy .	2
an unabashedly schmaltzy and thoroughly enjoyable true story .	3
the visuals alone make metropolis worth seeing .	3
trivial where it should be profound , and hyper-cliched where it should be sincere .	0
ca n't kick about the assembled talent and the russos show genuine promise as comic filmmakers .	2
julia is played with exasperating blandness by laura regan .	0
obstacles are too easily overcome and there is n't much in the way of character development in the script .	0
remarkably accessible and affecting .	4
watching trouble every day , at least if you do n't know what 's coming , is like biting into what looks like a juicy , delicious plum on a hot summer day and coming away with your mouth full of rotten pulp and living worms .	1
occasionally , in the course of reviewing art-house obscurities and slam-bam action flicks , a jaded critic smacks into something truly new .	3
as shaky as the plot is , kaufman 's script is still memorable for some great one-liners .	3
with recent tensions rekindled by the kathleen soliah trial and the upcoming trial of sla members emily and william harris , not to mention sept. 11 , its difficult these days to appreciate fire 's bright side .	2
you would be better off investing in the worthy emi recording that serves as the soundtrack , or the home video of the 1992 malfitano-domingo production .	1
the issue of faith is not explored very deeply	1
there 's something deeply creepy about never again , a new arrow in schaeffer 's quiver of ineptitudes .	2
the central story lacks punch .	1
a tender and touching drama , based on the true story of a troubled african-american 's quest to come to terms with his origins , reveals the yearning we all have in our hearts for acceptance within the family circle .	4
it 's a worthwhile tutorial in quantum physics and slash-dash	3
though the violence is far less sadistic than usual , the film is typical miike : fast , furious and full of off-the-cuff imaginative flourishes .	4
interacting eyeball-to-eyeball and toe-to-toe , hopkins and norton are a winning combination -- but fiennes steals ` red dragon ' right from under their noses .	3
good actress .	4
the voices are fine as well .	3
it will probably prove interesting to ram dass fans , but to others it may feel like a parody of the mellow , peace-and-love side of the '60s counterculture .	2
it is interesting and fun to see goodall and her chimpanzees on the bigger-than-life screen .	3
it 's not horrible , just horribly mediocre .	0
there is a kind of attentive concern that hoffman brings to his characters , as if he has been giving them private lessons , and now it is time for their first public recital .	3
it 's not thirsty , consuming passion which drives this movie .	2
perfectly enjoyable , instantly forgettable , nothing to write home about .	2
it 's fun , but a psychological mess , with austin powers bumping his head on the way out of the closet .	2
sadly , hewitt 's forte is leaning forward while wearing low-cut gowns , not making snappy comebacks .	1
apallingly absurd ... the chemistry or lack thereof between newton and wahlberg could turn an imax theater into a 9 '' black and white portable tv .	0
possession is elizabeth barrett browning meets nancy drew , and it 's directed by ... neil labute .	2
she must have a very strong back .	3
this is n't a narrative film -- i do n't know if it 's possible to make a narrative film about september 11th , though i 'm sure some will try -- but it 's as close as anyone has dared to come .	3
an idealistic love story that brings out the latent 15-year-old romantic in everyone .	3
i did n't laugh at the ongoing efforts of cube , and his skinny buddy mike epps , to make like laurel and hardy 'n the hood .	1
a very stylish but ultimately extremely silly tale ... a slick piece of nonsense but nothing more .	1
viewed on its own terms , treasure planet is better-than-average family entertainment , but true fans of the stevenson 's novel will likely prefer disney 's more faithful 1950 live-action swashbuckling classic .	2
heavy-handed exercise in time-vaulting literary pretension .	2
with youthful high spirits , tautou remains captivating throughout michele 's religious and romantic quests , and she is backed by a likable cast .	3
it 's a movie forged in the fires of chick flick hell .	1
a bigger holiday downer than your end-of-year 401 -lrb- k -rrb- statement .	1
there 's a disturbing ` great white hope ' undertone to the other side of heaven that subtly undermines its message of christian love and compassion .	2
the best way to hope for any chance of enjoying this film is by lowering your expectations .	1
fuller would surely have called this gutsy and at times exhilarating movie a great yarn .	4
the problem is that rather than dramatizing this premise , mr. desplechin is content to state it .	2
a frustrating combination of strained humor and heavy-handed sentimentality .	1
despite some gulps the film is a fuzzy huggy .	3
there 's more scatological action in 8 crazy nights than a proctologist is apt to encounter in an entire career .	1
both awful and appealing .	2
when the first few villians are introduced as `` spider '' and `` snake '' you know you 're in for a real winner , creativity at its peak .	1
i doubt anyone will remember the picture by the time christmas really rolls around , but maybe it 'll be on video by then .	1
a frantic search for laughs , with a hit-to-miss ratio that does n't exactly favour the audience .	1
a baffling misfire , and possibly the weakest movie -lrb- woody allen -rrb- has made in the last twenty years .	0
i loved it !	4
you 'll be more entertained getting hit by a bus .	0
all ms. jovovich , as the sanctified heroine , has to do is look radiant , grimly purposeful and mildly alarmed while forcing open doors , wielding wrenches and fleeing monsters .	2
no question .	2
the new guy is one of them .	2
majidi 's poetic love story is a ravishing consciousness-raiser , if a bit draggy at times .	3
it would be hard to think of a recent movie that has worked this hard to achieve this little fun .	0
not for everyone , but for those with whom it will connect , it 's a nice departure from standard moviegoing fare .	3
if this movie belonged to a sorority , it would be called beta alpha delta .	2
purely propaganda , a work of unabashed hero worship , it is nonetheless -- and likely inadvertently -- a timely and invaluable implicit reminder of the role that u.s. foreign policy has played in the rise of castro .	2
lacking gravitas , macdowell is a placeholder for grief , and ergo this sloppy drama is an empty vessel .	0
baran is n't the most transporting or gripping film from iran -- or , indeed , by its director -- but it 's a worthy companion to the many fine , focused films emerging from that most surprising of nations .	2
a carefully structured scream of consciousness that is tortured and unsettling -- but unquestionably alive .	3
it 's a hoot and a half , and a great way for the american people to see what a candidate is like when he 's not giving the same 15-cent stump speech .	3
good for a few unintentional laughs , `` extreme ops '' was obviously made for the `` xxx '' crowd , people who enjoy mindless action without the benefit of decent acting , writing , and direction .	1
the pleasures of super troopers may be fleeting , but they 'll register strongly with anybody who still retains a soft spot for precollegiate humor .	3
gee , a second assassin shot kennedy ?	1
it wo n't bust your gut -- and it 's not intended to -- it 's merely a blandly cinematic surgical examination of what makes a joke a joke .	2
now it 's a bad , embarrassing movie .	0
imagine a really bad community theater production of west side story without the songs .	0
an enchanting spectacular for potter fans anxious to ride the hogwarts express toward a new year of magic and mischief .	4
is it a total success ?	2
the film benefits greatly from a less manic tone than its predecessor , as cho appears to have settled comfortably into her skin .	4
it is , by conventional standards , a fairly terrible movie ... but it is also weirdly fascinating , a ready-made eurotrash cult object .	2
theirs is a simple and heart-warming story , full of mirth that should charm all but the most cynical .	4
my goodness , queen latifah has a lot to offer and she seemed to have no problem flaunting her natural gifts .	3
another big , dumb action movie in the vein of xxx , the transporter is riddled with plot holes big enough for its titular hero to drive his sleek black bmw through .	1
it 's the kind of pigeonhole-resisting romp that hollywood too rarely provides .	3
as hugh grant says repeatedly throughout the movie , ` lovely !	4
the premise is overshadowed by the uberviolence of the clericks as this becomes just another kung-fu sci-fi movie with silly action sequences .	1
offers an unusual opportunity to observe the inequities in the death penalty , not just the inherent immorality but also the haphazard administration of it and public misperception of how the whole thing works .	2
what could have been a neat little story about believing in yourself is swamped by heavy-handed melodrama .	1
yeah , these flicks are just that damn good .	4
it took 19 predecessors to get this ?	0
now , if it only had a brain .	1
alas , it 's neither .	1
solid , lump-in-the-throat family entertainment that derives its power by sticking to the facts .	3
jolie 's performance vanishes somewhere between her hair and her lips .	1
i regret to report that these ops are just not extreme enough .	1
the weight of water uses water as a metaphor for subconscious desire , but this leaky script barely stays afloat .	0
... the sum of the parts equals largely a confused mediocrity .	0
the plot is very clever , but boyd weighs it down with too many characters and events , all intertwined and far too complicated to keep track of .	1
places a slightly believable love triangle in a difficult-to-swallow setting , and then disappointingly moves the story into the realm of an improbable thriller .	1
` dragonfly ' is a movie about a bus wreck that turns into a film wreck .	1
even if you ca n't pronounce `` gyro '' correctly , you 'll appreciate much of vardalos ' humor , which transcends ethnic boundaries .	3
writer\/director john mckay ignites some charming chemistry between kate and jed but , when he veers into sodden melodrama , punctuated by violins , it 's disastrous and kate 's jealous female friends become downright despicable .	1
this insightful , oscar-nominated documentary , in which children on both sides of the ever-escalating conflict have their say away from watchful parental eyes , gives peace yet another chance .	3
... -lrb- a -rrb- strained comedy that jettisons all opportunities for rock to make his mark by serving up the usual chaotic nonsense .	1
bourne , jason bourne .	2
daring , mesmerizing and exceedingly hard to forget .	4
that zhang would make such a strainingly cute film -- with a blind orphan at its center , no less -- indicates where his ambitions have wandered .	3
haneke challenges us to confront the reality of sexual aberration .	3
but director danny devito and screenwriter adam resnick -lrb- remember cabin boy ? -rrb-	2
although very much like the first movie based on j.k. rowling 's phenomenal fantasy best sellers , this second go-round possesses a quite pleasing , headlong thrust and a likably delinquent attitude .	3
it 's an awfully derivative story .	0
extremely boring .	0
she lists ingredients , but never mixes and stirs .	1
a whimsical if predictable time-travel fable marred by a willful single-mindedness .	2
it 's a terrific american sports movie and dennis quaid is its athletic heart .	4
herzog is obviously looking for a moral to his fable , but the notion that a strong , unified showing among germany and eastern european jews might have changed 20th-century history is undermined by ahola 's inadequate performance .	1
just one more collection of penis , breast and flatulence gags in search of a story .	0
an afterschool special without the courage of its convictions .	1
it 's a brave attempt to tap into the heartbeat of the world , a salute to the universal language of rhythm and a zippy sampling of sounds .	4
there is an almost poignant dimension to the way that every major stunt seagal 's character ... performs is shot from behind , as if it could fool us into thinking that we 're not watching a double .	2
murder by numbers is like a couple of mediocre tv-movie - of-the-week films clumsily stuck together .	0
it 's a refreshing change from the self-interest and paranoia that shape most american representations of castro .	3
even if the ride 's a little bumpy , with a final lap that 's all too suspiciously smooth , you gotta give director roger michell , best known for the superfluous notting hill , credit for trying .	2
the movie has a soft , percolating magic , a deadpan suspense .	4
a ponderous meditation on love that feels significantly longer than its relatively scant 97 minutes .	2
... hudlin is stuck trying to light a fire with soggy leaves .	1
once again , director jackson strikes a rewarding balance between emotion on the human scale and action\/effects on the spectacular scale .	3
liman , of swingers and go , makes his big-budget action film debut something of a clunker as he delivers a long , low-heat chase , interrupted by a middling car chase .	1
dark , resonant , inventively detailed and packed with fleet turns of plot and a feast of visual amazement .	4
the bourne identity is what summer screen escapism used to be in the decades when it was geared more to grownups .	3
hilarious , touching and wonderfully dyspeptic .	4
if you can get past the fantastical aspects and harsh realities of `` the isle '' you 'll get a sock-you-in-the-eye flick that is a visual tour-de-force and a story that is unlike any you will likely see anywhere else .	3
an incredibly clever and superbly paced caper filled with scams within scams within scams .	3
at times , however , dogtown and z-boys lapses into an insider 's lingo and mindset that the uninitiated may find hard to follow , or care about .	1
a standard haunted house tale transplanted to the high seas .	2
excellent acting and direction .	4
the film has a few cute ideas and several modest chuckles but it is n't exactly kiddie-friendly ... alas , santa is more ho-hum than ho-ho-ho and the snowman -lrb- who never gets to play that flute -rrb- has all the charm of a meltdown .	1
when it comes to entertainment , children deserve better than pokemon 4ever .	1
... the film falls back on the same old formula of teen sex , outrageous pranks and scenes designed to push the envelope of bad taste for laughs .	1
fans of the tv series will be disappointed , and everyone else will be slightly bored .	2
with a story inspired by the tumultuous surroundings of los angeles , where feelings of marginalization loom for every dreamer with a burst bubble , the dogwalker has a few characters and ideas , but it never manages to put them on the same path .	1
too clunky and too busy ribbing itself to be truly entertaining .	1
it might be the first sci-fi comedy that could benefit from a three 's company-style laugh track .	2
energetic and boldly provocative .	4
... with the candy-like taste of it fading faster than 25-cent bubble gum , i realized this is a throwaway movie that wo n't stand the test of time .	0
everything you loved about it in 1982 is still there , for everybody who wants to be a kid again , or show it to their own kids .	4
only two words will tell you what you know when deciding to see it : anthony .	2
enjoy it for what it is ; you can hate yourself later .	2
uneasy mishmash of styles and genres .	1
if nothing else , this movie introduces a promising , unusual kind of psychological horror .	3
it 's a sometimes interesting remake that does n't compare to the brilliant original .	2
a triumph of art direction over narrative , but what art direction !	4
stars matthew perry and elizabeth hurley illicit more than a chuckle , and more jokes land than crash , but ultimately serving sara does n't distinguish itself from the herd .	1
dialogue-heavy and too cerebral for its own good -- or , at any rate , too cerebral for its racy subject matter .	1
if you 're not into the pokemon franchise , this fourth animated movie in four years wo n't convert you -- or even keep your eyes open .	0
you can practically smell the patchouli oil .	1
do n't expect any surprises in this checklist of teamwork cliches ...	0
the film is painfully authentic , and the performances of the young players are utterly convincing .	3
a sensual performance from abbass buoys the flimsy story , but her inner journey is largely unexplored and we 're left wondering about this exotic-looking woman whose emotional depths are only hinted at .	3
one of -lrb- herzog 's -rrb- least inspired works .	2
but here 's the real damn : it is n't funny , either .	0
a benign but forgettable sci-fi diversion .	1
an absorbing trip into the minds and motivations of people under stress as well as a keen , unsentimental look at variations on the theme of motherhood .	3
the vampire thriller blade ii starts off as a wild hoot and then sucks the blood out of its fun -- toward the end , you can feel your veins cringing from the workout .	1
you see robert de niro singing - and dancing to - west side story show tunes .	2
is there enough material to merit a documentary on the making of wilco 's last album ?	2
the movie feels like it 's going to be great , and it carries on feeling that way for a long time , but takeoff just never happens .	1
-lrb- howard -rrb- so good as leon barlow ... that he hardly seems to be acting .	4
men in black ii has sequel-itis something fierce .	1
ihops do n't pile on this much syrup .	1
it 's badly acted , blandly directed , and could have been scripted by someone who just graduated from elementary school .	0
even the imaginative gore ca n't hide the musty scent of todd farmer 's screenplay , which is a simple retread of the 1979 alien , with a plucky heroine battling a monster loose in a spaceship .	1
topkapi this is not .	1
scotland , pa. blurs the line between black comedy and black hole .	2
not every animated film from disney will become a classic , but forgive me if i 've come to expect more from this studio than some 79-minute after-school `` cartoon '' .	1
but if it is indeed a duty of art to reflect life , than leigh has created a masterful piece of artistry right here .	4
i do n't have an i am sam clue .	1
a sour , nasty offering .	0
karmen moves like rhythm itself , her lips chanting to the beat , her long , braided hair doing little to wipe away the jeweled beads of sweat .	2
hmm .	2
makmalbaf follows a resolutely realistic path in this uncompromising insight into the harsh existence of the kurdish refugees of iran 's borderlands .	3
an uneven film dealing with too many problems to be taken seriously .	1
a bowel-curdling , heart-stopping recipe for terror .	3
earnest falls short of its ideal predecessor largely due to parker 's ill-advised meddling with the timeless source material .	1
watching scarlet diva , one is poised for titillation , raw insight or both .	3
the story loses its bite in a last-minute happy ending that 's even less plausible than the rest of the picture .	0
faultlessly professional but finally slight .	2
chicago is , in many ways , an admirable achievement .	4
impresses you with its open-endedness and surprises .	4
when perry fists a bull at the moore farm , it 's only a matter of time before he gets the upper hand in matters of the heart .	2
superior genre storytelling , which gets under our skin simply by crossing the nuclear line .	3
if it tried to do anything more , it would fail and perhaps explode , but at this level of manic whimsy , it is just about right .	3
the perfect film for those who like sick comedies that can be snide .	3
do n't plan on the perfect ending , but sweet home alabama hits the mark with critics who escaped from a small town life .	3
an elegant , exquisitely modulated psychological thriller .	4
as it abruptly crosscuts among the five friends , it fails to lend the characters ' individual stories enough dramatic resonance to make us care about them .	1
this is a raw and disturbing tale that took five years to make , and the trio 's absorbing narrative is a heart-wrenching showcase indeed .	3
this limp gender-bender-baller from a first-time director and rookie screenwriter steals wholesale from that 1982 's tootsie , forgetting only to retain a single laugh .	0
nolan bravely treads where few american films dare to delve -- into the world of ambivalence and ambiguity ...	3
no reason for anyone to invest their hard-earned bucks into a movie which obviously did n't invest much into itself either .	0
the film has just enough of everything -- re-enactments , archival footage , talking-head interviews -- and the music is simply sublime .	4
as tweedy talks about canning his stockbroker and repairing his pool , you yearn for a few airborne tv sets or nude groupies on the nod to liven things up .	1
if you 're not the target demographic ... this movie is one long chick-flick slog .	1
there is n't a weak or careless performance amongst them .	3
director brian levant , who never strays far from his sitcom roots , skates blithely from one implausible situation to another , pausing only to tie up loose ends with more bows than you 'll find on a french poodle .	1
barney has created a tour de force that is weird , wacky and wonderful .	4
the thriller side of this movie is falling flat , as the stalker does n't do much stalking , and no cop or lawyer grasps the concept of actually investigating the case .	1
scores a few points for doing what it does with a dedicated and good-hearted professionalism .	3
de niro looks bored , murphy recycles murphy , and you mentally add showtime to the pile of hollywood dreck that represents nothing more than the art of the deal .	0
the movie stays afloat thanks to its hallucinatory production design .	3
a soggy , shapeless mess ... just a dumb excuse for a waterlogged equivalent of a haunted-house movie .	1
novak manages to capture a cruelly hilarious vein of black comedy in the situation with his cast of non-actors and a gritty , no-budget approach .	4
his warriors collide in balletic explosion that implies an underlying order throughout the chaos .	2
it almost plays like solaris , but with guns and jokes .	3
the film 's real appeal wo n't be to clooney fans or adventure buffs , but to moviegoers who enjoy thinking about compelling questions with no easy answers .	3
despite a blue-chip cast and a provocative title , writer-director peter mattei 's first feature microwaves dull leftover romantic motifs basted in faux-contemporary gravy .	1
from the big giant titles of the opening credits to elmer bernstein 's perfectly melodic score , haynes gets just about everything right .	3
maybe it 's asking too much , but if a movie is truly going to inspire me , i want a little more than this .	1
the film is faithful to what one presumes are the book 's twin premises -- that we become who we are on the backs of our parents , but we have no idea who they were at our age ; and that time is a fleeting and precious commodity no matter how old you are .	3
how did it ever get made ?	0
even those of a single digit age will be able to recognize that this story is too goofy ... even for disney .	1
the lack of opposing viewpoints soon grows tiresome -- the film feels more like a series of toasts at a testimonial dinner than a documentary .	1
we miss the quirky amazement that used to come along for an integral part of the ride .	1
or tom green as han solo ?	2
denis and co-writer michele petin 's impeccable screenplay penetrates with a rawness that that is both unflinching and tantalizing .	4
earnest but earthbound ... a slow , soggy , soporific , visually dank crime melodrama\/character study that would be more at home on the small screen but for its stellar cast .	1
using his audience as a figurative port-of-call , dong pulls his even-handed ideological ship to their dock for unloading , before he continues his longer journey still ahead .	2
the enormous comic potential of an oafish idiot impersonating an aristocrat remains sadly unrealized .	1
splashes its drama all over the screen , subjecting its audience and characters to action that feels not only manufactured , but also so false you can see the filmmakers ' puppet strings .	0
little more than a frothy vanity project .	1
flotsam in the sea of moviemaking , not big enough for us to worry about it causing significant harm and not smelly enough to bother despising .	1
longley has constructed a remarkably coherent , horrifically vivid snapshot of those turbulent days .	3
well-written , nicely acted and beautifully shot and scored , the film works on several levels , openly questioning social mores while ensnaring the audience with its emotional pull .	4
for all its serious sense of purpose ... -lrb- it -rrb- finds a way to lay bare the tragedies of its setting with a good deal of warmth and humor .	3
these people would n't know subtle characterization if it put on a giant furry monster costume and then gave them a lapdance .	0
if we do n't demand a standard of quality for the art that we choose , we deserve the trash that we get .	1
... a roller-coaster ride of a movie	4
it is a comedy that 's not very funny and an action movie that is not very thrilling -lrb- and an uneasy alliance , at that -rrb- .	0
remains a solid , if somewhat heavy-handed , account of the near-disaster ... done up by howard with a steady , if not very imaginative , hand .	2
ja rule and kurupt should have gotten to rap .	2
this is a terrific character study , a probe into the life of a complex man .	4
a loving little film of considerable appeal .	4
the film often achieves a mesmerizing poetry .	4
almost every scene in this film is a gem that could stand alone , a perfectly realized observation of mood , behavior and intent .	4
one of the best examples of how to treat a subject , you 're not fully aware is being examined , much like a photo of yourself you did n't know was being taken .	4
i do n't think i 've been as entranced and appalled by an asian film since shinya tsukamoto 's iron man .	3
subversive , meditative , clinical and poetic , the piano teacher is a daring work of genius .	3
everywhere the camera looks there is something worth seeing .	4
smart science fiction for grown-ups , with only a few false steps along the way .	3
a disturbing and frighteningly evocative assembly of imagery and hypnotic music composed by philip glass .	2
it 's an old story , but a lively script , sharp acting and partially animated interludes make just a kiss seem minty fresh .	3
even by dumb action-movie standards , ballistic : ecks vs. sever is a dumb action movie .	0
like so many other allegedly scary movies , it gets so tangled up in the twist that it chokes the energy right out of the very audience it seeks to frighten .	0
it uses an old-time formula , it 's not terribly original and it 's rather messy -- but you just have to love the big , dumb , happy movie my big fat greek wedding .	3
a somewhat crudely constructed but gripping , questing look at a person so racked with self-loathing , he becomes an enemy to his own race .	3
disney has always been hit-or-miss when bringing beloved kids ' books to the screen ... tuck everlasting is a little of both .	2
haneke keeps us at arm 's length .	2
arguably the year 's silliest and most incoherent movie .	1
daughter from danang is a film that should be seen by all , especially those who are n't aware of , or have forgotten about the unmentioned victims of war .	3
some movies are like a tasty hors-d'oeuvre ; this one is a feast .	3
on the surface , it 's a lovers-on-the-run crime flick , but it has a lot in common with piesiewicz 's and kieslowski 's earlier work , films like the double life of veronique .	3
what you would end up with if you took orwell , bradbury , kafka , george lucas and the wachowski brothers and threw them into a blender .	3
though this film can be clumsy , its ambitions are equally -- and admirably -- uncommercial .	2
the laser-projected paintings provide a spell-casting beauty , while russell and dreyfus are a romantic pairing of hearts , preciously exposed as history corners them .	3
it 's fairly self-aware in its dumbness .	1
... a cute and sometimes side-splittingly funny blend of legally blonde and drop dead gorgeous , starring piper perabo in what could be her breakthrough role .	4
i did n't believe for a moment in these villains or their plot .	1
lilia 's transformation from strict mother to sensual siren is superficially preposterous , but abbas infuses the role with an unimpeachable core of emotional truth .	2
the truth is that the truth about charlie gets increasingly tiresome .	1
... too dull to enjoy .	1
if the message seems more facile than the earlier films , the images have such a terrible beauty you may not care .	2
evokes a little of the fear that parents have for the possible futures of their children -- and the sometimes bad choices mothers and fathers make in the interests of doing them good .	3
intended to be a comedy about relationships , this wretched work falls flat in just about every conceivable area .	1
these spiders can outrun a motorcycle and wrap a person in a sticky cocoon in seconds , but they fall short of being interesting or entertaining .	1
do we really need a 77-minute film to tell us exactly why a romantic relationship between a 15-year-old boy and a 40-year-old woman does n't work ?	0
moderately involving despite bargain-basement photography and hackneyed romance .	1
-lrb- newton -rrb- wanders through charlie completely unaware she needs to show some presence and star quality .	1
there 's a vastness implied in metropolis that is just breathtaking .	4
the saturation bombing of reggio 's images and glass ' evocative music ... ultimately leaves viewers with the task of divining meaning .	1
one of the greatest romantic comedies of the past decade .	4
brilliant ! '	4
this is one for the ages .	4
all these developments and challenges facing santa weigh down the plot so heavily that they drain all the film of its energy and needlessly strain credibility .	0
if kaufman kept cameron diaz a prisoner in a cage with her ape , in his latest , he 'd have them mate .	1
the movie is saved from unbearable lightness by the simplicity of the storytelling and the authenticity of the performances .	2
the level of maturity displayed by this 33-year-old first-time feature director is astonishing , considering her inexperience and her subject matter .	4
has a shambling charm ... a cheerfully inconsequential diversion .	3
k-19 may not hold a lot of water as a submarine epic , but it holds even less when it turns into an elegiacally soggy saving private ryanovich .	1
despite a powerful portrayal by binoche , it 's a period romance that suffers from an overly deliberate pace and uneven narrative momentum .	1
a captivating cross-cultural comedy of manners .	3
resourceful and ingenious entertainment .	4
lovingly choreographed bloodshed taking place in a pristine movie neverland , basically .	3
no , it 's the repetition of said behavior , and so children of the century is more mindless love than mad , more grating and boring than anything else .	0
recalls quiet freak-outs like l'avventura and repulsion .	2
a bold and subversive film that cuts across the grain of what is popular and powerful in this high-tech age , speaking its truths with spellbinding imagery and the entrancing music of philip glass .	4
this is n't my favorite in the series , still i enjoyed it enough to recommend .	3
what is captured during the conceptual process does n't add up to a sufficient explanation of what the final dance work , the selection , became in its final form .	2
at heart the movie is a deftly wrought suspense yarn whose richer shadings work as coloring rather than substance .	4
you would n't call the good girl a date movie -lrb- an anti-date movie is more like it -rrb- , but when it 's good , it 's good and horrid .	2
binoche and magimel are perfect in these roles .	4
an exceedingly clever piece of cinema .	4
the cartoon is about as true to the spirit of the festival of lights as mr. deeds was to that of frank capra .	2
a movie that , rather than skip along the seine , more or less slogs its way through soggy paris , tongue uncomfortably in cheek .	1
