The new version is a glorious, thrilling throwback that never sacrifices its solid roots in the western genre despite a sharp modern update that actually improves on the original.

The interpretation is so painstaking and moving that almost every moment delivers a shuddering jolt to the head and the heart.

Sensational documentary.

Tom Hooper's terrific, Oscar-worthy film is not merely a spot-on period piece; it's also a heartfelt study in the shadings of courage, a film about duty and friendship that's often warmly funny and sometimes painful to watch.

A film of this sort demands superb, seemingly effortless acting, and Holofcener gets it at every turn.

Once you're among them, the Tenenbaums -- and Anderson -- cast quite a spell.

So deliciously absorbing and well done.

The film actually improves on Cunningham's novel, thanks to gorgeous cinematography, a deft script by playwright David Hare, a mournful, melodious but never intrusive score by Philip Glass and a superb cast that brings the delicately formed characters to full, raging, sorrowful life.

At the film's uplifting conclusion, when a stilled voice finally makes itself heard, you can unmistakably feel your heart lift, as if it had grown tiny wings. Camp reminds you that once you believed it would always soar, just like that.

More of a warm breeze than a great gust, but its simple, smart pleasures carry the force of a hurricane.

Clearly an important film, if only for such disheartening reminders that a McDonald's salad with ranch dressing has more calories than a Big Mac or that Miami is the 15th fattest city in the country (Houston is No. 1).

If you found "Crouching Tiger" a stunning bore, you probably won't fall under Hero's spell. But the rest of us, well, we'll be more than happy to savor every moment of its strange, ravishing beauty.

Hilarious and imaginatively crude with a surprising sweet and subtle aftertaste that prevents it from flopping, limp and brainless, into the sugary abyss of romantic predictability.

Despite its scary warnings, the film ends on an upbeat note, unless of course you happen to be Hillary Clinton's campaign manager.

A rousing and mesmerizing documentary.

Awe-inspiring and harrowing, vile and beautiful, as wild and mesmerizing as the Mexican jungle in which it is filmed and one of the most relentlessly thrilling films of the year.

Dench and Blanchett will likely pick up Oscar nominations; no one could improve on either performance.

A rarity, a film that preserves the depth and integrity of its source while bringing the story to life in an indelible way.

The most remarkable aspect of Charles Ferguson's lacerating documentary about the U.S. invasion of Iraq is that the film contains virtually no new information, and yet its message is as compelling as if we were hearing it for the first time.

The cast is uniformly spectacular, infusing the characters with nuance and complexity.

A script that deftly fleshes out characters and mimics reality shockingly well.

McGregor hasn't been this appealing or vulnerable in ages, and in both of the film's love stories, he exemplifies Mills' message.

50/50 is crude and funny, and it demands that you laugh. And you will.

Coriolanus is not by any stretch a hero, and yet Fiennes makes him magnetic, a warrior you can't look away from even when you might want to.

It showcases one of Whedon's greatest strengths: his ability to take previously disrespected genres - in this case the slasher film - and turn them inside-out and upside-down and every which way but loose.

This delightfully twisted story about a boy and his (dead) dog showcases precisely what Burton excels at: blending the macabre and the heartfelt in a perfect, if oddball, union.

Life of Pi works seamlessly on two levels. With grace, imagination and stunning visual acuity, it explores Martel's twin themes of faith and the power of storytelling. It's also a thrilling action adventure.

Anyone who understands the subtle shadings of friendship will appreciate Our Song's realistic slice of teen life.

Not about sex; it's about leaps of faith, at work, in love, in life.

Romantic comedies don't have to be profound when they are as appealing as this one.

A sweet reminder of their lost and lively world.

It's a warm, skillful excavation of what look like ordinary lives, ones that aren't so simple once you dig a little deeper.

Provides a few of the best thrills so far this summer.

Sometimes the film feels as if it's trying too hard to include every possible horror a teenager could sample.

Better than its trailers indicate. Forget the seemingly silly Chapstick moment: Any film that sends a cold shock to your system is doing something right.

Timing is key in a comedy like this, and Sonnenfeld keeps everyone and everything clicking. The pacing is swift and the laughs are steady.

Surprisingly sweet and, dare we say it, old-fashioned, with an engaging sense of humor that's a definite improvement on lame, lowbrow efforts such as "Little Nicky."

Vardalos made the Portokaloses so funny they'll make your own family seem tame.

Dogme films don't have to be bleak to be effective. They can be -- imagine! -- fun. Scherfig may have taken the discipline in an entirely new and welcome direction.

Hearing Wilde's pithy lines in her mouth -- ''London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained 35 for years'' -- is worth the ticket price. In the end it's Dench who reminds us of the importance of enjoying Oscar Wilde.

It's an extremely raunchy hybrid of "Bridget Jones's Diary."

Everything in Drumline engages, from its likable cast to its breathtaking finale. Only the most jaded viewers won't be cheering by the end.

McGrath has managed to turn Dickens into a cozy date movie. When was the last time anybody could make that claim?

Vibrant and intriguing, a fine adaptation despite the slight departures from its source, with warm cinematography that captures the feel of '50s Saigon and two performances worthy of Oscar attention.

Lost and Delirious doesn't need metaphors for the power of strength and healing. All the passion and pain it needs glows ferociously in the eyes of its young women.

Serendipity's finale is a perfect crowd-pleaser, sweet and unlikely and over the top.

This crowd-pleaser is a genuinely inspirational film, gorgeously filmed and wonderfully acted, echoing an uplifting sentiment that bears repeating: ''You don't throw a whole life away just because it's banged up a little.''

There is magic here, enough to make Whale Rider worthy of the audience-choice awards it has earned at film festivals worldwide.

But Babys also resembles "Sunshine State" in another, more satisfying way: It leaves you longing to know what happens to these characters once the movie ends.

Despite its humble nature, the film is downright uplifting without being vulgar, flashy or embarrassing.

The biggest surprise in the cheery, delightful Love Actually is its lively, edgy, slightly blue sense of humor.

The film's appeal is universal, not just female, and, best of all, it's based on a true story.

There's nothing offensive about Barbershop 2, and maybe there should be. But even if the film plays it safe, it remains a cut above other mainstream comedies.

Not so much a thriller as an exploration of one man's crumbling moral compass.

Brosnan and Moore may not be substitutes for Tracy and Hepburn, but they're more than capable of making you smile for now.

Wins you over with this bright sense of humor and its gentle, welcome message of tolerance and acceptance.

In addition to providing a textbook example of suspense, Estes also makes us want to know what happens to these kids after the screen goes dark.

What Shark Tale lacks in originality it makes up for with sassy humor, bright, effective animation and terrific vocal work.

Has a weird, compelling energy, fueled by a deliciously dynamic cast, a cheerfully bawdy and odd story line and a refreshing, impossible romance.

Makes a compelling argument for women's rights without ever succumbing to preachiness.

Being Julia is really about the fear of aging and the battle to remain relevant professionally and sexually.

It's a small, heartening slice of life that feels like a crucial step toward something bigger.

Fortunately, Bardem, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role in Julian Schnabel's "Before Night Falls," makes up for the script's shortcomings.

All we can do is hope that films such as Hotel Rwanda remind us all -- moviegoer and politician -- of the terrible cost of doing nothing.

What makes The Woodsman meaningful is Bacon's tortured suffering.

Descended from a long and healthy line of high school-sports and academic-achievement films, a hip-hop "Hoosiers" bolstered by a generous helping of "Stand and Deliver" and "Lean On Me."

Smart, entertaining update.

Smith is an endearing, driving comedic force, one who makes the buoyant Hitch more enjoyable than it has any reason to be.

Dear Frankie is a small movie with a big soul and no easy formula for the happiness of its big-hearted characters.

At its core, Susanne Bier's wrenching portrayal of the shifting dynamics within a Danish family is really about survival, about how we cope in the face of shattering grief and what we'll do -- anything, really -- to save ourselves.

Just plain fun. Don't miss it.

View it as a fat-free but tasty cinematic treat in the middle of the long, hot summer.

The film, with its uniformly terrific cast, stern Gothic overtones and steady but measured pacing, is a crisp, old-fashioned delight, eschewing cheap tricks for repeated tiny pricks of unease that work up to a continuous gnawing dread.

The Constant Gardener is difficult to watch, literally. Meirelles' lens leaps and jitters too much, as if it's anxious it might be bludgeoned to death, too.

If you need proof that the British are different from the rest of us, look no farther than the thought-provoking Separate Lies, a chilly, intelligent and absorbing drama about infidelity, ethics and forgiveness.

Serenity shows what might have happened if Han Solo had been the focus of the original "Star Wars" instead of whiny Jedi wannabe Luke Skywalker.

Mom (Elisabeth Shue) suffers from the fatal movie ailment of being so underwritten she's practically see-through.

Prime may have its unlikely moments, but overall its heart is winningly untraditional and in exactly the right place.

Riveting.

This Pride & Prejudice isn't minutely faithful to the book -- and for good reason -- but it is authentic where it counts: to the confused, wounded, eager hearts of its lovers.

It's a testament to the power of the story -- and this engaging adaptation -- that leaving Hogwarts is tough anyway.

Despite its subject matter, Transamerica is a surprisingly funny movie, because Tucker never lets the pathos overwhelm his sense of humor.

Never has the sight of naked women been so innocent.

Its sumptuous, stately pace will wither the patience of countless moviegoers, but the impressively acted and gorgeously exotic The White Countess improves the longer you mull its complexities.

In the end, a sports movie is only as good as the adrenalin rush it provides in the climactic match, and there, finally, Glory Road hits on all cylinders with nonstop action and a powerful emotional impact.

A witty and engaging bit of fluff about sex, scandal, idleness, gossip, blackmail, guilty secrets and, most surprisingly, redemption.

The result is this infectious documentary, which combines some inspired musical performances with Chappelle's perpetually hilarious commentary.

Bradshaw, who is funnier than you might suspect, also turns out to be the most fearless of performers.

Turns out to be amusing and astute, a smart observation on the ups and downs of female friendships.

The aggressively over-the-top plot is sloppy and totally irrelevant. What counts are the jokes that fly so fast they're easy to miss.

Despite the film's sloppy structure, it feels weirdly good to hang out with these losers again.

When it comes to exploring our peculiar blindness as to what's important in our lives, the film is a disturbing but accurate road map.

In Keeping Mum, the writers poke gentle, broad fun at the absurdities of English country life and manners while creating a cozy malevolence that's all the more engaging because it lies so far from reality. We know we mustn't murder our loathsome neighbors. But how much fun it is to imagine that we might.

It's almost impossible not to respond emotionally to this fascinating, sobering and all-too-brief exploration of the politicized religious right and its hopes, dreams and power.

Coppola and her crew were allowed to shoot at Versailles -- family pedigree does pay dividends, apparently -- which gives the film a needed whiff of reality.

The film paints a fairly realistic portrait of four people bound by blood but -- like all of us -- all too capable of underestimating each other.

Screenwriter Shawn Slovo -- whose white parents were anti-apartheid activists in South Africa -- ends his finely tuned screenplay on a note not of violence and anger but of forgiveness. It's a breathtaking coda that reminds us of that undeniable human beauty: the ability to survive, to fight for right -- and then move peacefully on.

Stranger Than Fiction may not be the typical crowd-pleaser, but it's a sweet, funny, intelligent film that showcases just how much Ferrell can do, even when he's doing less.