Claudia Puig

Has strong performances, but the story takes too long to get off the ground. And once it does, it is told in a way that occasionally drags and goes off in meandering directions.

The vividly animated film -- based on a comic strip by Michael Fry and T. Lewis -- has an appealing balance of comic bits and exhilarating action sequences.

We had hoped for just a funny movie, but instead we get some laughs and plenty of yawns.

The performances are good (some scarily realistic), and the movie is enjoyable to watch. But as a probing analysis of the 43rd president, it falls short.

Jennifer's Body is not as hot as you hope it would be.

The movie version feels like a stately, but watered down, episode of "Masterpiece Theatre" fused with "The English Patient."

A poignant look at the legacies of fathers who abdicate their responsibilities.

The material doesn't consistently do justice to their talents, but the movie is worth seeing for their chemistry and for the Motown-infused soundtrack.

Glaringly lacking in the film are any original Stones songs. The group, who fired Jones just before his death, must not have thought much of the movie if they didn't allow their music to be used. Smart fellows.

Richly layered, deliberately paced, dealing with difficult emotions and life decisions, it feels like a moody wintry afternoon.

Doesn't shed much light on the fragile and enigmatic writer whose myth has nearly obscured the real woman.

She has been compared to Lenny Bruce because of her incendiary topics, but Silverman's style, capitalizing on her innocent smile and good looks, is her own.

Though it's only 90 minutes, the film drags, making these not-so-easy riders pretty tough to watch.

Gussied-up rodents and inane male antics come together in funny and inspired ways in this screwball farce.

If you can believe Serendipity's cockeyed conceit, you may find that discovering this escapist love story feels like a lucky accident.

This sweetly enjoyable family film stars the endearing Abigail Breslin as Kit. And, refreshingly, it's actually about something -- the Great Depression -- and tackles such serious issues as prejudice, poverty and homelessness.

The jokes often are corny or labored, and the story is predictable. However, Atkinson raises the movie to the level of good fun by the force of his outrageous persona and skill at physical comedy.

A well-acted and attitudinal action movie, a return to Ritchie's trademark "Mockney" style, which takes amusing and twisted turns.

Incorporates a range of genres -- black comedy, thriller, psychological drama -- and emerges more powerful for it.

The plot is predictable and the dialogue often sticky sweet, but at least kids will identify with Stuart's desire for adventure and exploration.

You, Me and Dupree is a good idea badly executed.

The interwoven stories are haunting, but also darkly funny.

The look of the film is dazzling, even hallucinatory, and the concept is beyond quirky as conceived by Gondry, a talented visual stylist, in his first film based on his own script. The story is compelling, unconventional and diverting in its blurring of reality and fantasy.

This gem features five topnotch, multidimensional performances in one of this summer's most engaging films.

Though better than its 2001 predecessor -- and teeming with cute creatures and fast and furious action scenes -- the movie feels excessively formulaic.

To avoid revealing too much and spoiling a fresh and intriguing experience, let's just say this: Catch Catfish.

The first one was silly fun, amusing and oddly inventive; the second is plodding, unfunny and almost cringe-worthy.

There's nothing wrong with fairy tales, but they don't have to be formulaic. A movie like this would have benefited from a blending of the fanciful and the inventive.

It's the kind of feel-good movie whose resolution is evident from the start, being based as it is on a true story. But that doesn't make the journey any less interesting.

Coraline is a plucky heroine, and director Selig's imagination is indisputable. But the story falters in parts, and its dark tone could be off-putting for children.

Though there's nothing wrong with moral outrage, it doesn't always aid the telling of a complex story. More subtlety might have worked better.

Ice Harvest's plot sounds like an antidote to the season's holiday sweetness. And it's being touted as this year's Bad Santa. But the only similarities are the holiday season, the criminal milieu and Thornton.

The movie tries to capture the crushing weight of loss, but between the insipid pop tunes and the repetitive shots cutting away to a lighthouse on a scenic outcropping, it feels more like a film version of a condolence card.

Farrell is quite good, though it's hard to buy the Scottish McGregor and the Irish Farrell as brothers. But mostly, the film feels rudderless, almost as if it's been directed on autopilot.

Wilts under a weak, formulaic story.

Though it features witty dialogue and good performances, the plot contrivances keep it from being an altogether winning enterprise.

Though the narrative is a conventional one, the well-acted, suspenseful story deals in fascinatingly murky morality and mines intriguing material from a historic and complex city.

Makes one long for Martin's edgy work in films such as "The Spanish Prisoner."

Irresistibly endearing, with a visual verve all its own.

John Travolta may stand out as a plus-size laundress who is hesitant, drab and retiring, but Hairspray is a consistently flashy, rousing and rambunctious movie spectacle.

Feels like a bad sitcom.

When was the last time you saw a blockbuster that was impeccably executed and simultaneously thought-provoking, audacious and unnerving while consistently being fun and entertaining?

The story is tedious, noisy and banal. It is also rather dark and convoluted for children, though it does have the familiar bombast of a video game.

Between the dogged efforts of the kids to save strays and the antics of the dogs, it's hard to resist this lively, though predictable, family movie.

No-frills chills are what Paranormal Activity offers in unrelenting supply.

A succession of tired race jokes made worse by the bad comedic timing of the bland, under-talented Ashton Kutcher.

Proof that Allen, who many have dismissed with his last few forgettable films, is still a filmmaking force.

It comes off like a coughed-up furball: a wan rehash with too many elements of the hard-to-swallow 2004 original.

Hampered by over-earnestness and tugs too intently at the heartstrings.

With its clever faux documentary style, this is the most imaginative science-fiction movie to come along in years.

While the jokes are obvious and the romance formulaic, a good-natured sensibility saves the film from being too hokey. The individual parts may not work, but the sum remains entertaining.

May not make you howl, but it does offer a few bona fide belly laughs.

The dazzling animation, catchy songs and Broadway-worthy dance numbers give the film even broader appeal.

This implausible action thriller also stars Julianne Moore as an FBI agent who sees Cage's two-bit Vegas act and decides he can single-handedly save the world.

We are slowly and mightily drawn into this intimate story, which is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally moving.

It all adds up to belly laughs aplenty and a rollicking good time.

It feels like a wan version of the show -- one that has lost its otherworldly edge.

Drawing upon "Wag the Dog," "Dr. Strangelove" and "This Is Spinal Tap," this sardonic tale is adapted from the critically acclaimed BBC series "The Thick of It."

An insult to the memory of the cleverly written show and its celebration of friendship, it's a slap in the face for the four gal pals (often photographed at unflattering angles) and an affront to Muslims.

The Jacket is a confused attempt at headiness that feels like a poor man's "Memento."

Does the finest job of any film in painting a believable portrait of aging, capturing the sadness, confusion, anxiety and defiance of the early stages of dementia.

Each twist and turn is so telegraphed and expected that the story feels wan and the comedy feeble.

Naji is an expressive actor, and so are the wonderful young non-pros who play his children.

This incarnation is funny, quirky and clever, with some mesmerizing action sequences.

Overall, it's a gently bittersweet and affecting portrait.