If you've ever seen anything like A Town Called Panic, you either made it yourself or you dreamed it.

What makes this low-key movie memorable are the pitch-perfect performances.

What enriches the recipe is that no one is quite as cagey as they seem. Colin is officially thuggish, but he's a blinkered romantic. Archie is a mama's boy, Meredith is gay, Mal is impotent, and Peanut wears dentures.

Fortunately, Fish Tank feeds us more than crumbs and leaves us feeling like we've come up for air.

The kids in the movie, from musicians to marital artists, are unusually skillful, and Smith seems assured of more starring roles. By the end of The Karate Kid, we can't help cheering, even when we know we've been sucker-punched.

It's smart, heartfelt, handsome and just mutated enough to sustain interest in a specialized subject.

This deadpan police story produces unexpected chills.

The beauty of October Country, beside its artful images, is how it compresses the windblown fortunes of working-class America into the fallen leaves of one forlorn family.

As an exercise in craft, it's surprisingly successful, thanks to the strong cast and the vivid depiction of a modern leader's security apparatus. But as a political statement or personal drama, The Ghost Writer is nearly invisible.

Given the stormy milieu, The Yellow Handkerchief could have been a sordid slice of life or a maudlin metaphor. But the unhurried direction of Udayan Prasad and the unafraid choices of the sure-footed cast keep this character-driven drama afloat.

If all you want from a movie are generous doses of laughs and some tender moments, She's Out Of My League should be right up your alley.

This Swedish sensation is a magic trick that jolts the murder-mystery genre back to life.

Like "The Squid and the Whale," this character study pushes the definition of comedy to the breaking point, and unlike the far less successful "Margot at the Wedding," it leaves us faintly smiling after the workout.

Because the movie captures the period so well and argues so convincingly that the Runaways' very existence was revolutionary, it doesn't have to exaggerate the highs and lows to create a more salable story.

Egoyan doesn't flinch from exploring the dark side of curiosity. That includes dealing with sexuality in a way that might make some moviegoers uncomfortable.

In steering a course between the rock of rude humor and the hard place of perilous drama, How to Train Your Dragon flies high.

The macabre comedic undertones are reminiscent of a Coen brothers film like "Blood Simple." But a more apt comparison is to an obscure Canadian bank-heist flick called "The Silent Partner," in which teller Elliot Gould pockets some loot from thief Christopher Plummer. Both movies imitate an American idiom with a provincial accent.

Although it has some memorably disquieting scenes, this story of long-delayed justice is sustained by its melancholy more than its thrills.

A film that's as much a character study as it is a crime drama. At the heart of it is Caine's hauntingly memorable performance.

Sex and the City 2 will never be compared to "The Godfather, Part II." But it's everything a fan could want in a sequel.

The been-there, done-that nature of the plot doesn't take away from the undeniable sweetness found in Just Wright.

Unfortunately, Garcia can't quite resist sentimentality, giving us an ending that's a bit too emotionally neat. Still, Mother and Child is a thoughtful and provocative film about the way we live now.

Perhaps best appreciated as a character study -- about a character some moviegoers might prefer to avoid. Still, it's a smart, funny film that flirts with the edge.

The documentary ends on a hopeful note, as Indians themselves have taken control of their image.

It's not exactly aiming for the moon, but in a marketplace where surpassed expectations are as rare as unicorns, Despicable Me is delightful.

The surprisingly rich documentary Best Worst Movie views the phenomenon from a unique perspective.

A tamer tale of supernatural shenanigans that is far more appropriate for young children than the sometimes too-scary scenes from J.K. Rowling's stories.

Like the recent "Greenberg," Cyrus is not the jokey, polished production you would expect from its Hollywood cast and LA setting, but audiences who are comfortable with discomfort should find it "funny."

The first half of the film dusts off some kitschy picket-fence footage and alarmist news reports to invoke an era when homosexual acts were illegal in 49 states, and gays were subjected to arrest, electroshock and sterilization.

Weighty issues such as war and divorce are mentioned, but the serious themes pass quickly. The lighthearted story always takes precedent over the special effects, but a scene involving swimming piglets will have kids flashing a sea of smiles.

When the smoke clears, heady Farewell stands tall among the movies that view the Cold War at close range.

The multiple cameras that shadow Anker and his novice partner provide unprecedented images. But they also raise unintended questions about the vanishing frontier.

Best appreciated as an exercise in style. Based on Martin Booth's novel "A Very Private Gentleman," the film establishes and sustains a mood of suspense, but Corbijn seems only minimally interested in conventional thrills.

Moviegoers will know in the first five minutes whether the new B-movie Machete is their cup of tea - or bucket of blood.

Ondine is dipped in whimsy and might have drifted out to sea, but it's bounded on four sides by love stories -- between a father and a daughter, a man and a mermaid, an actor and his co-star, and a director and his country.

Because of some sentimental backspin, Affleck doesn't quite hit it out of the park, but he may provoke the green monster of envy in lesser directors.

With its mix of true-blood romance and full-moon madness, Let Me In should hasten the twilight of the twerpy pretenders.

Post-Dispatch classical music critic Sarah Bryan Miller told me that Gould's music is as divisive today as it was 50 years ago, when the pianist publicly clashed with conductor Leonard Bernstein over the tempo of a performance.

Stone isn't for everyone. But for all its shortcomings, it is courageously original.

This true story does a great service by honoring the memory of 22 brave men and women and by dramatizing the internal debates within the French population. But in staying true to life, it sacrifices some of the pacing and clarity of a conventional thriller.

The story is sustained by the stubborn love between the siblings and by the conviction of the two fine actors who portray them.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is slower and stranger than any of the previous films, simultaneously raising hopes for a haunting finale while dimming hopes for a magical one.

While we await the definitive documentary about the glut of garbage, Waste Land reduces this global catastrophe to touchingly human scale.

Mainstream moviemaking at its most proficient, with a zippy script, comfort-food casting and a breakout performance by a deserving star.

A bit slow to get started, and it's nowhere near as funny as "The Hangover." But it'll make you smile.

In the infidelity drama Leaving, British reserve gets overtaken by French passion, and the subsequent events have the horrific momentum of a slow-motion car crash.

It's a tart trifle, but in the madding crowd of year-end movies, Tamara Drewe rocks.

Even with a large cast, groovy clothes and cool pop songs, Hawkins holds our attention with a combination of modesty and moral strength.

Seth Rogen is the Green Hornet. What else do you need to know?

Summer Wars has engineered a truce between the familiar and the fantastical.

Stays too low to the ground to become an animated classic, but if there's a fairer midwinter's tale, wherefore art thou?

Paul Simon and a Parisian orangutan tell us the same thing: It's all happening at the zoo.

Im Sang-soo has crafted an erotic thriller whose cool beauty speaks for itself.

Europeans have a taste for both the mechanics of trickery and the machinations of power, and the politically astute Spanish film "Even the Rain" belongs in the same conversation with Francois Truffaut's "Day for Night" and Pedro Almodovar's "Bad Education."

Scabrously funny yet essentially gentle, as the main thing that it's probing is our collective ignorance.

Skarsgard, who is perhaps best known for "Good Will Hunting" and "Breaking the Waves," makes the most of his rich role, imbuing Ulrik with a knockabout charm.

Although the film has elements of a puzzler by Michelangelo Antonioni and a psychodrama by Ingmar Bergman, it never becomes compellingly intellectual or unnervingly emotional.

Cunningham's answers to pointed questions about romantic love and religious faith are so open-hearted, we understand that he's bigger than just New York.

As popcorn entertainment, it's right on schedule.

A good nature film - and a great technical achievement.

The libido and bloodlust flowing from the pint-size Page is the funniest thing in the movie, but elsewhere, the mix of the goofy and ghastly is hard to digest.

This melodrama about spousal abuse and honor killings might be too grim to bear, but Kekilli keeps it centered.

Don't be late to this homecoming of director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson's horror series, which begins with a twisty opening sequence that's bloody fun.

Although the choice of interviewees skews the movie in a New Age-y direction, there's less pseudoscience and more heart than in the kindred documentary "What the Bleep Do We Know?"

It's got a grown-up artfulness, but Winter in Wartime could become a lot of boys' favorite movie.

Although it starts slowly, the accumulated tension and thematic resonance leaves us breathless.

Superbly acted, and a return to form for Tavernier, who guided jazz legend Dexter Gordon to an Oscar nomination for "'Round Midnight" (1986).

The simmering rivalry between Di and Fiamma, inflamed by the kind of glimpsed indiscretion that makes adolescent melodramas tick, explodes in a thriller ending that turns an observant coming-of-age story into something resembling "The Lord of the Flies."

The Beaver isn't a perfect film, but it's challenging and original.

Although there are gentle detour discussions about advertising in classrooms and school buses, Spurlock's ironic approach can't convince us that ads are toxic. Indeed, when he visits sprawling Sao Paolo, Brazil, where all outdoor advertising has been banned, it seems as sterile as Stalingrad.

This well-executed sequel is sneaky. While it distracts us with Chinese backdrops and buffoonish humor, it sucker punches us with a message about belonging.

Such a disarming homage to the cinema of the Reagan era that even grouchy gremlins might feel like it's morning in America. But be forewarned that if this movie is exposed to sunlight, you'll notice the puppet strings.

A fanciful French cousin to Allen's "Zelig" and "The Purple Rose of Cairo," yet the fulfilled wish for a better life is high-concept absurdity without high-anxiety guffaws.

Brazenly funny in its own right - until it turns into a goody two-shoes.

It's simply an opportunity to spend time with characters who may lack depth but are fun to watch.

Given the turbulent water of world affairs and sea changes in the media, a follow-up a year from now might be titled "Gray Lady Down" if the Times does not chart a new course.

As a critic who complains about painless and brainless action movies, I hoist a glass of mead to the men and maidens of Ironclad.

If you require a plot, look elsewhere.

Smith turns in a subtly layered performance that suggests the hurt behind Kathy's callousness. And O'Donnell gets to the heart of a man who realizes too late that he's made unfortunate choices.

It's faint praise to say that this is the best of the "Planet of the Apes" movies, because the evolution of special effects and makeup was predictable. But the unexpected strength of the film is its heart.

There are three sides to most love stories: his, hers and the truth. But on London's Fleet Street, the three sides are his, hers and the tabloids'.

Despite accusations of nearly succumbing to spotlighting beefs over beats, the film comes off as an honest representation of a great group that's not to be forgotten.

In such a bleak story, the redemptive ending seems rushed and unconvincing, but director Oliver Schmitz has sent us a timely dispatch from a forgotten corner of the world that is honest above all.

It honors the original throughout, including a memorable nightclub scene and a surprise cameo that's a huge crowd-pleaser, while at the same time giving updates to make it fresher and better than ever.

Like its neo-noir kin across the pond, The Guard is violent, profane and funny. But McDonagh is interested in more than mockery.

Neither as magic nor as trippy as the culture quake that it documents, but it's a valuable flashback and a pleasurable contact high.

The Debt eventually settles into a predictable groove that slightly undercuts its impact. Still, it's a film of ambition and substance.

The Tree might have suffered from too much symbolism if not for writer-director Julie Bertuccelli's deft touch and Gainsbourg's appealing performance.

Doesn't rise to classic status, but it's an intriguing mood piece.

As Refn is riffing on thriller cliches, he gets solid support from the ensemble. Brooks, a comedic standout since the '70s, makes a sympathetic villain, and Gosling stokes the young-Brando comparisons - instead of settling for Richard Gere.

This film might easily have settled for mocking religion. Instead, it's a fascinating glimpse into a culture that forces some people to choose between fitting in and opting out.

Offers an inside look at Iran in all its cultural complexity.

This affable comedy is a healthy alternative to tearjerkers.

If you want to see a great movie about a political campaign, starring the smartest heartthrob of his era, rent "The Candidate." If you want see a very good one, buy a ticket for The Ides of March.

Pleasant, well-acted but somewhat overlong, The Way was written and directed by Estevez, who's perhaps best known for his acting career ("The Breakfast Club").

The larger-than-life actor is as emblematic of his country as Tom Hanks is of ours, and My Afternoons With Margueritte is his "Forrest Gump." Only better.

Margin Call has a spectacular cast, and the 24-hour cycle of events gives the movie the compressed dramatic effect of a fine play.

In place of a rousing adventure, Blackthorn is a haunting ode.

Even if they don't provide much lift, these boots were made for amusement.

Depp shows again that he truly understands Thompson by delivering a nuanced performance that is remarkably different, but subliminally similar, from the wonderfully outrageous turn he provided in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."

In recording the timeless traditions of Jewry, he created a new one: the identity crisis that rides on the back of laughter.

Perhaps the spookiest thing in this slyly scary movie is the word-for-word way that Patrick's followers regurgitate his pablum.

The Women on the 6th Floor shouldn't work, but this efficient flick whisks away our cynicism.

The troupe's first film in more than a decade, is a more aggressively absurd antidote to what it calls "a hard, cynical world." Happily, it works.

Arthur Christmas stays sweet without becoming overly sentimental and is filled with sly details and smart action sequences.

Lacks the urgency of "Who Killed the Electric Car?" But Paine's thorough knowledge of his subject, and engaging way with an interview, make the follow-up film a fun ride.

While Banderas' dark intensity overshadows the potential poignancy of the story, Almodovar is such a skilled surgeon that he extracts a juicy nugget of pleasure from a purely distasteful premise.

The most mesmerizing parts of the movie make up a tutorial about how the Muppets are made and moved.

Turturro, who previously directed a musical called "Romance and Cigarettes," lingers on the sensual movements of the performers and the character faces of the onlookers.

It's a comedic dramatization with a looming shadow of the surreal.

The world-class mechanic is Brad Bird, who applies the pacing and spatial freedom of a 'toon to a live-action thriller.

As a tale of a boy, his dog and their battles with bad guys, it's a treasure.

As a man committed to reinventing himself, Damon is terrific. And Johansson brings to Kelly just the right blend of spunkiness and hard-won maturity.

While the PG-13 approach to the most brutally sustained war the world has ever known makes it suitable for mature children, some cynical adults may resent the tug of the reins. Me, I cried like a grandmother.

As biopics go, The Iron Lady is among the more intriguing ones.

When a man whose wife was killed by cultists invites us to laugh at life's absurdities, the particulars are almost incidental.

Like psychoanalysis, A Dangerous Method takes its time as it circles an opening to unexplored depths. To reward our patience, Cronenberg gives us some honey-hued eye candy and rich dialogue, but if you're seeking instant gratification, I prescribe "Shame."

Overreaching fits of melodrama, occasionally stilted dialogue, and performances by Gooding Jr. and Howard that are mostly a series of serious faces can't keep the shiny Red Tails from taking flight.

Although Tomboy is as tightly constructed as a short story and as seemingly straightforward as a documentary, the parable about a small fib that grows out of control is so rooted in the rich soil of sexual identity that it entangles us.

Rounded, redemptive and refreshingly free of cynicism.

Stölzl blends romance and melancholy in fine style.

So many of today's children's movies are loud. Loud explosions, loud colors, loud soundtracks, loud humor. The animated The Secret World of Arrietty is the antidote to those films.

Thin Ice resides just slightly south of "Fargo."

While the movie is funnier than the book, the drawback of this modernized version is that it loses the timeless quality of the story on the page.

He's not in Mark Wahlberg's league, and 21 Jump Street isn't quite as funny as "The Other Guys," but by lampooning himself here, Tatum has bought himself a grace period to grow in.

As opposed to the "gentlemen's clubs" in sinful cities like Las Vegas, the Crazy Horse attracts couples.

A high-wire act that could crash if the actors were out of sync, but under this big top, the never-better Segel keeps everyone aloft.

He might be guilty of showboating, but De Niro's knockout performance is a declaration that the star of "Raging Bull" isn't ready to hang up his gloves.

While it's satisfying to see fat cats tamed by science and an enraged public, the movie misses the opportunity to sustain the pressure.

Isn't as memorable or provocative as it might have been. But it's an engaging love story that should appeal to moviegoers with a flair for the offbeat.

What's lacking is a galvanizing performance comparable to that of the Oscar-nominated Catalina Sandino Moreno in "Maria Full of Grace." Still, The Forgiveness of Blood is a memorable portrait of a society and the demands it makes on those caught up in it.

Unlike the benchmark sports documentary "Hoop Dreams," Undefeated doesn't have a deep penetration of poverty and race in its playbook, but it does have enough heart to make substantial forward progress.

Moviegoers looking for a thrill should go into The Cabin in the Woods knowing as little as possible about the film.

Footnote is faintly comic, and director Joseph Cedar mines dark humor from the humiliations of identity checks and pecking orders.

Despite the crass book promotion, the overlong film is harmless romantic fun that's well played.

Marley is thus a valuable history project but not a definitive or analytical one. For that, we await a film that's less "One Love" and more "Stir It Up."

Like a Fishbone show or an LA weather forecast, the dark curtain rises, and there's a promise of more sunshine.

96 Minutes is a mere introduction to Sociology 101, but it's brisk enough to rustle the reading list and keep the conversation alive.

May be too light for vampire purists or fans of the original show, but fresh blood is just what the doctor ordered.

Lacking beef or sufficient spice, it's nonetheless colorful comfort food.

This is rich material that Moretti mines for both superficial absurdity and deep pathos.

Too short and undisciplined to be a world-class comedy, but its chutzpah deserves respect.

This thriller is both skillfully familiar and chillingly strange.

Goodbye First Love is like a postcard from a lost Eden, a painfully pure oasis where we're not allowed to linger.

It's the kind of movie that inspires word-of-mouth recommendations by speaking the international language of culture clash.

Denham impressively captures Peter's flintiness, rendering him sympathetic yet not quite likable, and Vicius is just right as the wary Lorna.

The real stars here are Scott's behind-the-curtain crew, who fill every frame with tech-savvy details and take the sets to another dimension with immersive 3-D imagery.

Mostly the movie is about process and perspective. Through the documentary lens, Richter's enigmatic paintings speak to us.

Ice-T delivers a love letter to hip-hop with Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.

Like "Gone, Baby, Gone," the French film Polisse succeeds by shifting the focus from the victims to the vigilant protectors.

Just misses living up to its name.

With elements of a musical, a melodrama and a multicultural romance, Where Do We Go Now? is as hard to define as the crossroads region where it's set. But even without a clear signal, it sometimes seems miraculous.

Like a train, I Wish is slow to build momentum, then it carries us away in a wondrous rush.

It's guilty of some sleight-of-hand hokum, but in pulling the rug from under the norm, Magic Mike turns a trick.

Although there's a skeletal story, A Cat in Paris evokes a mood instead of a moral. Like a cat nap, it gives us a brief, refreshing dream with little to remember.

Perry manages to pull it off here, coming off completely likable and real, never insufferable and fake.

Alma is at once a charmer and a contrarian, and Bergsholm achieves that balance with seeming effortlessness. At times, she's more than a bit reminiscent of the young Jodie Foster.

It bodes well for the future of the franchise that Renner and Weisz share not only a gripping predicament but something more important: chemistry.

The Well-Digger's Daughter is perhaps a bit too sentimental. But the performances are so heartfelt that its occasional excesses are easily forgiven. In a movie summer too often obsessed with things that go boom, this film is all about romance.

To its credit, Celeste and Jesse Forever wants to be more than a formulaic farce. It succeeds to the extent that the neighbors keep up with Jones.

Arbitrage is never the nail-biting thriller that it could have been.

Notwithstanding its storytelling stumbles, Sleepwalk With Me points in a positive direction for this likable comedian's career.

While Looper lacks the heft of a classic, this wayback machine is worth taking for a spin.

The campus comedy Pitch Perfect harmonizes high-end performance with low-brow spoofery. It's like a National Lampoon parody where the targets write the jokes.

Sticks to the syllabus of a decidedly minor movie, but its humanities faculty is first-rate.

While the big-headed, spindly puppets don't evoke enough emotion to make the movie a must-see, Burton's 3-D design team pours its heart into the monochrome surroundings, from the suburban décor to Victor's laboratory to the carnival midway.

It comes together with a gruesome though excellent ending that some will find difficult to shake.

Whereas "Chill" attempted to define a generation, "Lies" is more of a statement about the nature and limits of friendship.

At once an intriguing character study and a refreshingly offbeat romance.

If you root for documentaries with heart, The Other Dream Team is a slam dunk.

Some may scoff when the boys exhibit traits and interests derived from the biological parents they never knew, but The Other Son is such a disarming feat that cynics will get left at the checkpoint.

A lot like video games and candy: light entertainment but fun while it lasts.

Few mainstream movies, let alone disability dramas, are so frank about sexual mechanics, yet notwithstanding the nudity, The Sessions isn't voyeuristic or sleazy.

The Guardians make a winning team that is a prime candidate for a sequel, just like "The Avengers."

Even more than most versions of Anna Karenina, this chamber piece is heated by two combustible characters, not by the winds of war and peace.

There will never be another Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor, but Hollywood may have found a new Lee Remick in Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

The Big Picture ends perhaps a bit too ambiguously, but there's something refreshing about its faith in the moviegoer's intelligence.

At nearly three hours long, "An Unexpected Journey" has moments when the caravan seems both overstuffed and out of balance, but it's such a scenic trip that only a stubborn homebody could complain.

Bana ("Munich") makes an effective bad guy. Hunnam portrays Jay as a hero worth rooting for. And Wilde turns in a nuanced performance as a woman in conflict with herself.

Apatow still hasn't set the table for a meaty drama, but making us laugh is a piece of cake.

The finale is heavy on CGI. But it never takes away from this respectable entry into the horror genre that values chills over kills.

Some of the themes and the hallucinatory special effects are reminiscent of Cronenberg’s “Naked Lunch,” and there are cheeky allusions to “Dawn of the Dead” and even “Eyes Wide Shut,” but a viewer with an open mind might say that this midnight-style movie is more enjoyable than any of them.

The several allusions to Thomas Mann’s forbidden-love novel “Death in Venice” are apt, but Yossi is also a standalone film and an extraordinary sequel.

With a child’s perspective on war, Lore deserves comparisons with “Empire of the Sun” and “Hope and Glory,” and with a feisty female protagonist it stands virtually alone.

With a greater emphasis on sex than violence, Spring Breakers is a more enjoyable guilty pleasure than “Natural Born Killers” and just as acute about our cultural devolution. For all its seeming stupidity, its masterstroke is making us complicit in the corruption of its young stars (who include the director’s own wife).

It’s an enigmatic and austere film from a region where political, sexual and religious repression are as stifling as the sooty air.

The inspirational movie named for Robinson’s number is too dignified to throw audiences a curveball, let alone a knockdown pitch, but its solid fundamentals make it a winner.

The acting is first-rate. Gosling masterfully fills in Luke’s motivational blanks, and Cooper nicely handles Avery’s evolution from idealist to manipulator.

The climax is a little jiggy, almost stupid, given how sharp the dialogue and situations are until that point. It's as if Baumbach just ran out of steam. But given how much there is to like about the movie, its flaws are forgivable. Yes, it's a bit slow in places and talky but it's also funny. And much o f the humor is subtle and smart and nicely calibrated. [19 June 1998, p.E3]

To the Wonder teeters between experimentation and incoherence. Does it deserve to be seen? Absolutely. Just be aware of what you’re getting into.

In telling a true story about hapless thugs who are the embodiment of Michael Bay fans, the director has made the most fiendishly enjoyable movie of his career.

Photography — and thus filmmaking — is painting with light. The connection is illuminated in the lovely Renoir, a twilight-years biography of the great French Impressionist.

At its heart, this is a compassionate character study. Robbie’s tenderness toward his son and his remorse for a street fight are the raw ingredients of a ripening consciousness.

The Great Gatsby is both swooningly romantic and giddily energetic.

Because the sociopath at the center of this family portrait never asks for forgiveness, The Iceman is truly chilling.

In the roll call of visually distinctive ’toons, Epic looms large.

Gerwig makes us want to believe that in a city where anything is possible, Francis Ha has the last laugh.

This long, ludicrous soap opera is also a mighty spectacle, a new standard in disengaged destruction.

To their credit, the creative team has retained the handmade look and unruly spirit of Maurice Sendak's bedtime fable; to their discredit, they haven't added enough narrative or emotional dimension to make it an effective movie.

This broadside against sharia law lacks the finesse of an import, but it's effectively melodramatic.

We're left with an impression of a vivacious pioneer; but warm shouldn't have to mean fuzzy.

The actress and the aviatrix are a match made in heaven, but surrounding the soaring performance is a movie that's mostly earthbound.

The Road has the signposts of an important film, but it lacks the diversions of an inviting trip.

This quasi-horror film has the great director's usual craftsmanship and a stellar cast, but ultimately it's an infuriating trick that makes its most provocative ideas disappear.

Although the film begins promisingly, it proves to be little more than a soap opera.

The result is only half as hip as hoped. Yes, this Holmes is leaner and meaner, and Watson (Jude Law) is nearly his equal. But there’s still something fussy about the result, as if bobbies had broken up the party at 11:59.

This movie may be sickly sweet, but it's harmless; and as a handcrafted antidote to a toxic toy story like "G.I.Joe," Paper Heart has healing properties.

While it may not be a smorgasbord of red herrings and red meat, Flame and Citron is often chilling.