Presents an intelligent, profound and at times heartrending slice of Taiwanese middle-class existence - as seen by characters at different stages of life.

So minimalist in characterization and dialogue that the plot all but evaporates -- and so does any dramatic power.

The breathtaking visual and aural restoration by Coppola and Murch makes the film's original glories even more intense than you remember them.

Revels in the sensual pleasure of music while capturing brilliantly the tension that grips any theater company before the curtain goes up.

It ranks among Robert Altman's best work ever, and that its many satisfactions derive in large part from a superbly written screenplay by Julian Fellowes that has no equal this year.

The sequel's battle scenes -- especially the climactic assault on the Helm's Deep fortress by the armies of darkness -- easily put those of the "Star Wars" series to shame.

It is not only an amazing technical accomplishment, it's also the wittiest and best-voiced animated movie to come along in years.

Director Alfonso Cuaron ("A Little Princess") gets vivid, convincing performances from a fine cast, and generally keeps things going at a rapid pace.

Toy Story had a simpler, stronger story and the advantage of being the first of its kind. But it's quickly apparent that TS2 represents a major step forward in computer-animation artistry.

An extraordinary documentary about an extraordinary man that brings to urgent life potentially dry questions of American foreign policy in the 1960s.

Poetic but tedious and all but plotless.

The latest episode of this ongoing masterpiece of reality TV -- which every seven years revisits a group of English people first interviewed as 7-year-olds in 1964 -- is every bit as enthralling as the earlier ones.

A haunting, superbly made film. But it's also an unrelentingly sad and depressing experience.

Atriumph on almost every level. It is breathtakingly stylish, wonderfully acted and its three interrelated tales of the "war" on drugs are brilliantly structured to form a cohesive, powerful whole.

Visually flat and uninteresting and too often feels like a (leisurely paced) filmed play.

Essential viewing not just for those fascinated by adventure, exploration and survival, but for anyone interested in the magic of leadership.

Rapturously elegant and deeply sexy in a deliciously restrained way. One of the most romantic movies I have ever seen, right up there with "Brief Encounter"and "Casablanca."

This film is fighting the good fight, albeit in a rather heavy-handed way.

If you've never seen a "masala" musical, you may find Lagaan hilariously bad. Cartoony acting, dreadful dialogue, obvious dubbing, and meandering but ultrapredictable plots are simply part of the Bollywood package, along with six musical numbers and a bizarre mixture of romance, comedy and melodrama.

One of those rare recent films whose emotional power resonates long after you've left the theater.

A beautifully shot, well-acted movie that manages to make a complicated, real-life story without much drama feel like a thriller.

Slight but affecting triptych.

It's a shame that, on top of everything else, the second movie version of The Quiet American -- Graham Greene's brilliant 1955 novel about the French Indochina war -- should be so visually disappointing.

The final result, shaped by the brilliantly nimble, pitch-perfect direction of Spike Jonze, and blessed by superb acting, is an extraordinarily clever comedy that falters only in the last 20 minutes.

Powerful, provocative and often surprisingly funny, this may be the year's outstanding documentary.

A sophisticated, stylish, fast-moving piece of work.

That it is such a powerful and indeed beautiful film is simply extraordinary.

If you have the patience, its almost endless silences and extremely slow pacing eventually pay off.