Touch the Sound is at least as inspiring and in some ways more rewarding, thought-provoking and subtly visceral.

Cage is brilliant.

It's a typically poetic film, rich in powerful imagery, which sees a bitter personal tragedy unfold against the major events of 20th century Greece. Although the director doesn't mine any new ground here, either in terms of style or content, it's still a pleasure to sit through nearly three hours of perfectly controlled, visually evocative filmmaking.

The story presents a moral morass involving betrayal, illicit sex, hypocrisy and a crime, yet the film feels tidy. Only one punch gets thrown, and you sense the perpetrator regrets his action immediately. It is all very British.

Clever and fast-paced thriller.

If "The Wizard of Oz" were reborn in the 21st century, it might look a lot like MirrorMask. A product of the Jim Henson laboratory, the film is endlessly inventive with creativity to burn.

The movie rolls merrily along with slapstick action and whimsical characters.

A riveting tale of survival and how even war cannot diminish a child's indomitable spirit.

A prime example of a solid romantic comedy.

A deeply personal, often wrenching documentary.

A consistently amusing, often inspired family romp.

The details are what matters, and thanks to a cast of all-star British elders and a mischievous sense of humor, the filmmakers bring those details to vivid life.

Impressively realized on all levels, this transgender spin on the road trip boasts an extraordinary central performance.

Rather than connecting all the chronological dots, Brown has fashioned Van Zandt's balm-to-the-brokenhearted legacy into potent cinematic poetry.

Here is a film about Japan made by Americans, shot mostly in the U.S. and, of course, in English. Once you accept these compromises in the name of international filmmaking, none is a real deterrent to enjoying this lush period film.

An absolute delight from start to finish.

Jones displays a firm hand at the helm -- you sense that he is well within his comfort zone in this environment -- and performances including his own are lively and convincing.

A smart and sophisticated comedy romp.

This smart, aesthetically understated concert film from Jonathan Demme will transport Young's legions of baby boomer fans back to the future, as 1969 re-invents itself in 2005 for Young.

A highly satisfying documentary tracking the hoop dreams of basketball bright light Sebastian Telfair as he made that rare leap from high school all-star to NBA draft pick.

Disney may have written the book on live-action animal adventure stories, but it has been quite a while since there has been a chapter as terrific as Eight Below.

The film is, above all, a moving portrait of hurting souls, brought to life in compelling performances.

Rock solid performances by up-and-coming German actress Julia Jentsch as Sophie and Alexander Held ("Downfall") as Mohr along with an excellent cast of supporting players insure that no one mistakes this for a lifeless docu-drama.

Brutal but believable, the film in some ways harks back to early Hollywood, when Jimmy Cagney or Richard Widmark played callow villains out of their depth in everyday life.

Astonishingly powerful documentary about really, really hard work.

The lovely, unpredictable comedy Duck Season marks the arrival of a fresh talent in writer-director Fernando Eimbcke. His script is vibrant with unforced humanist observations, the performances are natural and endearing.

This tale of domestic abuse breaks little new stylistic or psychological ground, but it is a searing, well-acted drama that should strike universal chords.

Powerfully moving but laced with incisive wit, Don't Tell has terrific performances with a wise tone and polished look.

While political and social context is kept to a minimum, the darkly poetic images they capture speak volumes about what the miners go through.

The mean streets don't get any nastier than the high school parking lots in this cool-crafted mystery.

A pitch-perfect ensemble comedy that burrows deep into the mind-set of white, upper middle-class Angelenos, anxious to strike the right balance among career, family, love life and money but never quite pulling it off.

The kind of drama that British television used to do so well, a well-constructed, smartly observed story of ordinary people learning how to communicate with one another.

The best Australian film to hit local screens in more than a year. Although lacking any internationally renowned actors to win more than limited release, the film's energy and stylistic daring mark it as a true original.

It is a grimly exciting film that is picturesque and brutal by turns.

With Somersault, filmmaker Cate Shortland has expertly served up a vivid and touching tale, one told many times before, but in this well-realized mounting, one that sparkles with fresh awareness.

A fascinating, mythological western.

It might not be way up there in "The Incredibles"/"Finding Nemo"/"Toy Story" stratosphere, but the charming Cars is nevertheless a thoroughly pleasant way to mark Pixar Animation Studios' 20th anniversary.

Director Bryan Singer positions this new film as a sequel to Donner's film, and his Superman -- played with winning fortitude by newcomer Brandon Routh -- is less a Man of Steel than a Man of Heart.

A tough, compelling, must-see movie.

A potent hybrid of passion and politics fuel this energetic and highly compelling documentary.

Showing that there is both rhyme and madness to seemingly unfragmented everyday life, screenwriter-director Michael Haneke has created a pointillistic portrait of terror, presenting a number of tiny, mundane incidents that eventually enable us to connect the dots.

A brainy blend of farce and heart, this is one of those movies that veteran moviegoers complain they don't make anymore.

A rare, hilarious and ultimately touching look at the kind of American iconoclast that barely exists anymore.

If there was ever any doubt, with Half Nelson, Ryan Gosling establishes himself as a major talent and one of the finest young actors around.

Outstanding production values and mysterious subject matter give the film a surprisingly opulent feel for an independent Sundance entry.

A smart, sharply observed, highly affable look at contemporary relationships that finally injects a little life in the stagnating genre.

Fierce and tragic tale of lost hope.

Particularly adept at chronicling the vague existential aimlessness of a segment of postcollege young adults, Bujalski manages to make his subjects seem simultaneously articulate and socially dunderheaded.

Turning away from his highly entertaining epics "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers," Zhang Yimou goes for utter simplicity in Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, a film of much distilled wit and wisdom.

Buoyed by Gyllenhaal's hauntingly complex portrait of the vivacious but addictive Sherry, the film is no mere by-the-numbers chronology of addiction. Gyllenhaal's sympathetic and charismatic performance binds us to the horror of Sherry's personal demons.

With an immediacy and intimacy that news reports can't provide, this deeply affecting documentary explores the pedophile crisis that has shaken the edifice of the Catholic Church.

In the revisionist Marie Antoinette, writer-director Sofia Coppola and actress Kirsten Dunst take a remote and no doubt misunderstood historical figure, the controversial and often despised Queen of France at the time of the French Revolution, and brings her into sharp focus as a living, breathing human being with flaws, foibles, passions, intelligence and warm affections.

Carnal, crazy and, most amazingly, heartwarming love story.

Through interviews with Jonestown survivors and rare footage of Jones himself, this sober documentary presents an unforgettable historical portrait.

While "Exorcism" focused on a murder-trial battle between the priest and a prosecutor, Schmid's film beautifully details the behavior, events and socio-religious pressures that lead to the decision to perform such an extreme ritual.

The weapon wielded by Cohen and Charles is crudeness. People today, especially those in public life, can disguise prejudice in coded language and soft tones. Bigotry is ever so polite now. So the filmmakers mean to drag the beast out into the sunlight of brilliant satire and let everyone see the rotting, stinking, foul thing for what it is. When you laugh at something that is bad, it loses much of its power.

Herzog's strangely beautiful film has marvelous music and hypnotic imagery. A documentary for stoners and people who are that way naturally, it is a cautionary tale for wishful thinkers.

What a relief to escape the series' increasing bondage to high-tech gimmicks in favor of intrigue and suspense featuring richly nuanced characters and women who think the body's sexiest organ is the brain.

This animated all-penguin musical is terrific fun.

The film is about vanity and pride, and the caging of beauty. Its elaborate fabrication has an intoxicating quality that captures the imagination like all good horror stories.

Fascinatingly ambiguous tale and bizarre cast of characters make it one of the more entertaining documentaries in recent memory.

Unlike the last Scott-Washington matchup, "Man on Fire," Deja Vu boasts a muscular, fast-forward story that won't be overwhelmed by Scott's need for speed in the form of rapid cuts and all that visual fusion that have become his stylistic trademark. Here, the approach is perfectly suited to the picture's time-shifting, multitasking structure.

An eye-opener that handles its themes in a refreshingly nonexploitative manner.

Unfolds in a scrupulously accurate historical adventure story that depicts the world of Jesus' birth with an exciting you-are-there verisimilitude.

Starts out dark and challenging then comes to a startlingly satisfying and warmly human conclusion that lingers long after the curtain has come down.

The guy knows how to make a heart-pounding movie; he just happens to be a cinematic sadist.

If there is a disappointment, it is this: The anticipation may have exceeded the realization. It's a damn good commercial movie, but it is not the film that will revive the musical or win over the world.

Blanchett gets everything right -- the accent, her German dialogue, the weary sexuality (deliberately reminiscent of Marlene Dietrich) and the amorality her character has embraced.

With strong visuals and even stronger emotions, Rachid Bouchareb's Days of Glory makes a powerful war film about a particularly unique subject.

While a bit unwieldy at nearly three hours and at times slow going, the film is absolutely fascinating for anyone who shares De Niro's passions.

Owen carries the film more in the tradition of a Jimmy Stewart or Henry Fonda than a Clint Eastwood or Harrison Ford. He has to wear flip-flops for part of the time without losing his dignity, and he never reaches for a weapon or guns anyone down. Cuaron and Owen may have created the first believable 21st-century movie hero.

The performers are all good with Baquero poised and beautiful as Ofelia and Verdu vital and spirited as the rebellious Mercedes. Lopez gives an extraordinary performance as the bestial captain, an irredeemable villain to rank with Ralph Fiennes' Nazi in "Schindler's List."

An incredibly powerful story of renewal, commitment and the resiliency of the human spirit, this is a movie that should attract a large theatrical audience, and no one will go home disappointed.

Combining the influences of Italian neorealism with Dickensian melodrama, Andrei Kravchuk's simultaneously tough-minded and sentimental The Italian is as bracing as it is moving.

In this film, everything comes down to the acting. Chris Cooper, one of our finest screen actors, gets inside the mysterious traitor. Ryan Phillippe has just the right gung-ho determination tempered with a touch of naivete as O'Neill. Meanwhile, Laura Linney nails the role of a career agent.

Although the story takes place during a tumultuous period, historical events never obscure the gaming genius' story. Rather it's a scrupulous examination of a somewhat naive intellectual.

In American Me, Edward James Olmos has achieved several important goals, but one outweighs the rest: he has made a film that will scare the hell out of any inner-city youth not already lost to the hopelessness of gangs, drugs and prison. [9 Mar 1992]

It doesn't exploit our emotions about Sept. 11; it simply tells a story that exists because of what happened that day -- one that should resonate with a wide, appreciative audience.

The actors, all strong, give the lyrical but never artificial dialogue the ring of life. Pearce is riveting as a go-getter who finds himself trapped between a murky past and a future defined by ambition.

A movingly rendered, stirringly photographed first feature by Ham Tran.

Women's roles and the eternal fight to expand their rights in Iranian society get a light, hugely entertaining treatment in Jafar Panahi's Offsides.

The blissfully silly Blades of Glory is one of those rare comedies that puts a goofy smile on your face with the premise alone -- and keeps it planted there right until its wacky finale.

Once again Bier demonstrates just how misleading appearances can be, as she artfully removes the veneers concealing the dark truths locked away by her intriguing characters.

Entertaining and piquant. The film does possess some of the bittersweet qualities that usually mark Hallstrom's films, but it's generally a tougher, more incisive work that ranks as one of his best.

There's plenty to ensure fresh jolts for viewers who know Hitch's tricks inside out, to say nothing of young moviegoers who don't know Grace Kelly from Thelma Ritter.

Francis Veber's latest offering, remains faithful to the formula -- broad farce leavened with witty dialogue -- that has made him France's most bankable comedy writer-director and a surefire hit with international audiences.

The pain of watching a spouse succumb to Alzheimer's is given a particularly deep and sensitive treatment in Away From Her.

The same organic characterizations that marked Lawrence's acclaimed 2001 film "Lantana" will attract fans of strong adult drama.

The wow factor works overtime with state-of-the-art effects sequences that often are as beautiful as they are astonishing.

Whether meaning to or not, Devor and his accomplished crew expand our concept of the documentary film, which relegates this documentary to art houses, not porn theaters.

It's not all violence and brutality. To allows his morbid sense of humor to shine through. There are moments of absurd hilarity that don't necessarily lighten the mood so much as bring it down to earth. The performances are strong all around.

The film has enormous charm and zero pretense.

What distinguishes it are its intelligent, unsentimental screenplay, which only occasionally lapses into emotional manipulation; the assured direction by Yukihiko Tsutsumi; and the superb acting.

The movie takes on the quality of a first-rate detective story.

The only misstep Jun makes, and it's hard to fault him given the budget, is the mediocre and at times heavy-handed use of music. Still, it's an unqualified success from the heartland.

Expertly fashioned documentary-style drama.

It's an unforgettable, visceral journey into the heart of darkness.

While Cheadle's fearlessly robust performance absolutely galvanizes Talk to Me, it's not the only thing that makes Kasi Lemmons' third feature such a pleasure to take in.

Sunshine is its own creature, taking inspiration from classic science fiction films but insisting on a gritty reality that much improves on past space adventures.

Witty, enjoyable costume drama imagines formative episode in life of French comedy giant.

It's caustic, irreverent, constantly amusing and a tiny bit rude. Not a lot, though. This isn't the "Beavis and Butt-Head" or "South Park" movie. It's almost -- dare I say it -- charming.

Powered by two first-rate performances, Jorge Gaggero's debut feature is full of psychological nuance and keen social observation.

Yelchin delivers one of those performances that pop eyes... It's a breakthrough role.

New wave Bollywood at its best, a Hindi-language film from a Mumbai studio that shows the influence of American and foreign films.

A stunning documentary that not only beautifully elucidates a nearly forgotten incident but touches on crucial themes involving isolation, sanity, self-worth, impossible dreams, the nature of heroism and limits of human endurance.

Smart, funny and ultimately over-the-top spoof is more often than not, spot on.

This is an accomplished suspense-action piece that touches on universal themes of brotherhood, exile, love and honor.

A largely compelling ride on the strength of a powerful cast led by Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

Anyone looking for subtlety, character development or layered plotting will be disappointed, but action fans will find plenty to amuse them with this film that makes "Hard-Boiled" look restrained.

While the political implications of the film are provocative, "Sugar" also happens to be an impressive cinematic achievement. This picture has a visual sweep that many docu films lack; the plantations and nearby towns are vividly evoked.

Smart, visually appealing, and consistently engaging.

As with the Bourne films, Gilroy has a knack for creating strong characters and situations that resonate with tension. It may be formula, but the guy is a solid chemist as he crafts excellent set-ups and payoffs.

Electrifying and alarming film.

It's a tribute to this thoughtful, deeply poignant, splendidly executed film that we replay the conclusion in our minds long after the lights come on.

Provides Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche with comic roles that fit them like designer threads.

This autobiographical tale of a 10-year-old boy coping with his mother's severe illness boasts terrific performances from its three leads -- Joe Pantoliano, Marcia Gay Harden and young Devon Gearhart.

A deep, sweet-hearted study not only of one lonely character but also of the community that supports him.

It's workmanlike and engrossing, but what sticks in the mind are Frank and Richie, not what anybody does.

Despite his obvious infirmities, Reilly infuses his performance with a great deal of energy -- frequently shouting his lines for emphasis -- and, of course, perfect comic timing. It's fortunate that we have this filmed record -- directed by Barry Poltermann and Frank Anderson -- of a memorable solo performance by a true show business original.

The Coens' typically superior filmmaking sustains the electrifying mood for most of the picture, but they are undone by being too faithful to the source novel by Cormac McCarthy.

A music documentary of uncommon richness.

Although it takes a while for Yu's thesis to jell, the film makes a lasting impression as it delves into an unfashionable territory: character as fate rather than a function of pharmaceuticals.

Cody's dialogue has a definite rhythm and Reitman directs his actors to deliver the words in the rapid-fire precision of a '30s screwball comedy. Indeed all scenes develop a rhythm and inner logic that bring the movie to often startling revelations and insights.

While it boasts a lower profile than many other Christmas releases, it might catch on with parents who want to take their kids to a movie that the entire family will actually enjoy. Nifty special effects and a first-rate British cast elevate this production.

A pitch-perfect musical comedy that at long last moves the talented John C. Reilly up the billing ladder from second banana to top banana.

The film is dark, gloomy and without music, but it is also observant and highly suspenseful, with Mungiu using his often static camera to balance banal cruelty with simple generosity.

A "little" film with a great reach.

Iranian-American filmmaker Ramin Bahrani has followed up his well-received Man Push Cart with another penetrating portrait of life on the outskirts of New York.

Sustains itself through terrific forward momentum and two glorious star turns by gifted actresses Frances McDormand and Amy Adams.

In Paranoid Park, Gus Van Sant enters the world of high school kids just as he did in "Elephant," achieving this time a much sharper, more focused portrait of how these rapidly maturing young people act, think, speak and behave.

A delight, brimming with colorful, elastic characters and bountiful wit.

"Kings" covers familiar territory but does so with ruthless efficiency, intense performances and a densely packed plot designed to highlight the moral issues that most concern Ayer and Ellroy.

A compelling and illuminating story of four people who form an unlikely and momentary friendship of considerable depth.

The result is infectiously enjoyable.

Fugitive Pieces has a sharp, devastating story to tell.

As the heart and soul of the film, Chiwetel Ejiofor once again impresses.

With its dialogue largely improvised by many who had seen extensive combat in Iraq, Battle for Haditha has a gripping authenticity lacking in other similarly themed dramas.

Several shades darker in tone than the previous edition -- which, to be fair, didn't carry the burden of expectation that a sequel must bear -- the return to Narnia still casts a transporting spell.

The director, who also wrote the script, achieves a keen-eyed view of the Turkish expatriates in this film while sustaining his remarkable ability to make them universal.

This everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach not only makes for pacey entertainment, it also allows director Christopher Bell to delve deep into the matter at hand.

A spare, creepily atmospheric psychological thriller with a death grip on the psychological aspect.

"Iron Man" has more wit and style, but Hulk is a neat thrill ride with an intelligent script by Zak Penn and smart, well-paced direction by the French director of "The Transporter" series, Louis Leterrier.

Offers solid, kid-friendly storytelling.

Beautifully acted and written so its themes are touched upon glancingly rather than with full force.

An invigorating, funny, and moving portrait of a Hollywood hero.

Stiller manages his movie nicely so that all actors get their share of the comic spotlight. Seldom does an ensemble comedy not contain a single weak character or performance as does this one.

Defies all but the most cynical not to get carried away by the force of its grandiose imagery and storytelling.

Engrossing and well-researched documentary.

A vigorous, fast-paced tale that entwines plot with character and psychology set against an incredibly exotic backdrop.

The new picture allows hardly any flourishes of style and character in the 007 tradition, but moviegoers seeking an adrenaline rush will be well pleased.

This intelligent, affectionate, beautifully acted movie gives crowd-pleasers a good name.

A knowledge of Smith's landmark contribution as a rock 'n' roll pioneer is not essential, and the film should be a joy for anyone interested in pop culture of the past 40 years.

David Yates, in his go at the helm, throws the emphasis on the gathering storm clouds even as Harry and his fellow wizardry students make further discoveries involving the opposite sex.

The two most hilarious characters, played by Spain's two most famous actors, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, are nothing if not cliches about tempestuous Latin lovers. But, boy, does Allen have fun with those cliches.

The film is a genuinely gripping tale about international terrorism that hopscotches across three continents.

This smartly assembled wake-up call concerning the nation's lousy spending habits proves to be as unexpectedly spirited as it is dispiriting.

Most entertaining comic drama with a great turn by Jamie Bell.

The mesmerizing performance of Fanning as the gifted and troubled young Phoebe sparks the picture.

A fine dramatic comedy with fresh characters, witty dialogue and a keen interest in how relationships must have developed among frontier folks, tyrannical ranchers, no-nonsense lawmen and -- oh, yes -- the complicated women on that frontier.

It's all here: the ingenious, obscenity-laced language, the double crosses that turn into triple crosses, the swaggering characters so in love with themselves. GottaLove RocknRolla!

A film whose lightness of touch rides a wave of family conflict to perfectly balance smiles and tears.

A scintillating drama about pain and healing made with intelligence and compassion.

A moody adaptation of the Swedish best-seller about a fateful mortal-vampire romance, Let the Right One In is atypically literate and unexpectedly affecting suspense fare. Complex characters, ominous situations fraught with mortality and the recklessness of youthful ardor create a tense and subtly shaded narrative.

Without becoming a screed for victims' rights, the riveting film shows how in the face of terrible events a grieving parent is galvanized into activism.

East meets West in a beguiling, old-fashioned romantic comedy set in today's global economy.

Boyne's tale is starkly cautionary, and writer-director Herman handles a difficult topic with great sensitivity, drawing splendid performances from his young actors with David Thewlis and Vera Farmiga and the other grown-ups reliably efficient.

Powerful enough to make even the most cynical believe in the ability of ordinary people to induce political change.

In watching this film, it's best not to worry much about the film's fidelity to history but rather simply lean back and enjoy one great jam session on film.

The madness of Holocaust survivors is here played mainly for dark comedy. The film's dazzling central performance in a mental institute finds Jeff Goldblum in the role of his career.

A typically intelligent if occasionally overwritten political thriller, boasting a powerhouse cast.

Bolstered by a career-best performance from Mickey Rourke and outstanding work by Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood.

Highly enjoyable romantic comedy.

Doerrie goes beyond the "Lost in Translation" jokes about East-West culture clashes to communicate something meaningful and deep about Japanese art and thought.

It's a rare comedy that actually grows funnier on reflection. It benefits enormously from the talents of the two stars.

The movie is fun, with plenty of intrigue and suspense that will have audiences clutching at their arm rests.

It's entertaining with a crafty mixture of action, humor and drama.

Phoenix plays the romantic lead with great intelligence and enormous charm, making his character's conflict utterly believable, and Paltrow positively glows as the radiant shiksa who dazzles him.

The period sets, costumes and cinematography all superbly recreate the brutal era, grand illusions and everyday suffering of the Poles under both the Nazis and the Soviets.

The secrets revealed here are not quite as shocking as the hints of child molestation captured in "Friedmans." Still, this is an equally intriguing and unsettling look at the turmoil hidden behind the white picket fences of suburbia.

An affecting film that manages to find glimmers of beauty in the encroaching bleakness, and coaxing richly dimensional performances which, like Maria's photographs, transcend the conventionally black and white.

It is both funny and sad, placid and provocative and, above all, hopeful and despairing.

Misunderstandings, new turns and stratagems mark the rest of this delightful divertimento, which navigates between burlesque and romantic comedy.

With a keen affection for his own formative years, filmmaker Greg Mottola has crafted a funny and spunky amusement

In the film's most flamboyant role, Peter Sarsgaard's devil-ish charisma and cold bluster is frightening.

The result is an insightful, exuberant, probing, long-winded and even exhausting look at what it takes for a performer to have a life in the theater.

Entertaining and even poignant.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx are on fire in the lead roles: They're both charismatic as hell without sacrificing any of the emotional honesty necessary for you to believe that these movie stars are a scruffy reporter and a mentally ill musician.

It's a sympathetic portrait of a complex man driven by an anger that still bubbles beneath the surface.

A film whose every shot seems lifted right off the wall of an art gallery and just as powerfully, if quietly, satisfying.

Shot on beautifully utilized film but employing images vividly from the Internet and mobile phones, it's an examination of the power that false ideas may have on people's imagination and beliefs when they are repeated over and over.

As Julia, Swinton belongs to that league of great cinematic alcoholics such as Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in "Days of Wine and Roses" and Ray Milland in "The Lost Weekend." As an action character, she naturally evokes Gena Rowlands without ever trying to resemble her.

The cast sparkles especially Simon Baker, a sturdy leading-man type, who is primed to break through any day now, and Paz Vega, already a star in Latin market.

Assayas makes the point that objects of fascination and affection to one generation may be far less so to the next. And he observes the role that people-friendly museums can play in keeping a nation's treasures safe with pleasing subtlety.

The writing is often clever and the overall production playful and intelligent.

In preparing Burma VJ, Ostergaard decided to reconstruct some scenes with scripted dialogue -- in part to explain events, but also to protect the participants. This material, shot in darkened offices and apartments, feels both accurate and necessary.

Jessica Biel has great fun with the American adventuress, while Kristin Scott Thomas is truly scary as her nemesis and mother-in-law.

Yojiro Takita, who directed enduring commercial hits like "The Ying Yang Master" and "The Yen Family," has made a popular gem -- thematically respectable, technically hard to fault, artfully scripted to entertain and touch.

Moving historical drama brings a fascinating chapter of art history to life.

Under Duncan Jones' kinetic direction, Moon also shines on the production front: Cinematographer Gary Shaw's shaded shots intensify the drama, and Clint Mansell's music heightens the psycho-scape.

The situations might be formulaic, but the teamwork of the two leads brings them to sparkling life.

Wholly one-third of the country, some 11 million people, watched the finale. Marking's film is too astute to pretend that such fleeting things can bring about peaceful democracy, but it's also perfectly aware that they certainly can't hurt.

Actors blossom under Frears' direction. There is no false moment or off-key note in this movie.

Managing to avoid facile sentimentality, the story grows emotionally more and more engaging thanks to Moretti's impeccable comic timing and neurotic acumen.

It's a powerful, shocking piece, and the denunciation of a system in which an accused woman has to prove her own innocence (while in the case of a man, his guilt has to be proven by others), is strong and clear and unforgettable.

A genuinely playful wander down memory-lane by one of France's most revered film-makers, it's sufficiently erudite and extract-packed to satisfy cinephiles but also accessible to those for whom her name rings only vague bells.

Falling closer in tone to "Shaun of the Dead" than "28 Days Later" or the George Romero movies, Zombieland has its tongue planted firmly in its rancid cheek while still delivering the visceral goodies.

As Precious, Sidibe is superb, allowing us to see the inner warmth and beauty of a young woman who, to her world's cruel eyes, might seem monstrous.

Marks Disney's rediscovery of a strong narrative loaded with vibrant characters and mind-bending, hilarious situations.