The plot is often bewilderingly complex and the dense layers of subterfuge hard to follow, but by the climax the fairy tale has been twisted into a fascist fable of realpolitik mercenary opportunism.

Soars on its purity of form, subdued elegance and tidy professionalism.

There may be no more sensual director in the world today than Hong Kong's Wong Kar-Wai.

A masterpiece.

There's some excellent biological information in this film for preteens and teens -- if they can stop giggling long enough to hear it.

It's a rich work, lush and lovely and bustling with activity but paced at a contemplative stroll, like a time lapse recording in first gear.

Densely layered, demanding and beautiful, Ruiz has found the perfect venue for his passions and created the most cinematically breathtaking film of the new millennium.

It's a magical film -- an exquisitely made and exceedingly wise family drama that communicates a touching sense of the universality of the human condition, and leaves us with the rich emotional satisfaction we just don't seem to get often at the movies anymore.

Achieves its social commentary through passion and poetry.

Vital and alive. Frustration and malaise rumble through every richly textured frame, but behind it all is a restlessness and a desire for something better.

A celebration of the human spirit nothing short of sublime.

Hilarious, near-flawless.

In today's cynical cinematic climate, there's something beautiful in Miller's simple poetic justice.

Sensitive and vivid response to the tangled issues of teen violence, race and self-esteem.

Above all, the film is a classic of "poetic realism," that distinct brand of pessimistic '30s French urban drama that gave lyrical, sometimes even surrealistic, interpretations to working-class romances and underworld characters, settings and dramas.

It rolls in waves over the sedentary crowd until there's not a single soul left who's not keeping the beat.

Some may find it slow. I found it utterly spellbinding.

Aoyama's monochrome images are filled with a simple shadowy beauty and his scenes are rich in tender sensitivity and empathy.

It's a chilly, lonely introduction to a man who has effectively stepped out of the social world of adult responsibility.

The most sensuous and intimate work of cinema of the past few years, a film that luxuriates in the immediacy of the moment. There is no guilt to the act, only exhilaration, joy and freedom. At least for the moment.

Think of easy jazz or soft soul, with Rudolph's cinematic improvisations soaring and circling the melody while adding quirky variations.

In what was indisputably his finest moment as a filmmaker, Forman summoned the absolute best work of his craftsmen -- costumes, makeup, camerawork, production design -- and merged them with his own storytelling sense and his special way with actors to create what has to stand as cinema's most successful musical epic.

Even knowing the happy outcome, Butler masterfully keeps us on the edge of our seats, and communicates the full horror and seeming hopelessness of the crew's situation every step of the way.

A brilliantly conceived, boldly executed, cumulatively thrilling fantasy epic that expands the art of film and is sure to be the middle link of one of the movies' greatest trilogies.

The movie is never mechanical or emotionally contrived, and at its heart is a guileless, enchanting performance by Tautou.

As powerful as the movie remains and as much as I enjoyed this new cut, I have to say that the additional footage -- material that Coppola felt he had to excise 20 years ago to reach a commercial length -- has turned out to be something of a mixed blessing.

No one does this genre better than actor-writer-director Christopher Guest.

People who have seen it seem to be crazy about it.