Adamson is willing to jettison Lewis' 'quaint' (I'd say loveable) whimsy and mythical acumen in favor of more martial sequences that'll sucker in the Lord of the Rings crowd.

Delivers slam-bang action entertainment, and does it while putting a surprising twist on the archetypal heroic journey.

In the hands of Will Ferrell, Elf beats a hackneyed script into submission and cajoles smiles and chuckles from obvious material.

The show can be summed up in a single exchange between the flirty Captain Jack and audience surrogate Gwen. 'I'm getting tired of following you,' says Gwen. 'No you're not,' Jack replies. 'And you never will.'

Lazarus' cliched idea of a black man is funny in itself...but Downey's immersive take on the immersive actor is pure genius.

The film's only fatal failing is its inability to make any of the characters seem real. Most of them are downright creepy in their doll-like inexpressiveness.

Provides a strong showcase for four deserving actresses and healthy lessons for an underserved audience of girls and young women.

It's best not to ask too many questions...Take the film's outstretched hand and go with it. That's the best way to enjoy a film that's as charming as a tale of two robots falling in love can be.

Redundant, boring, and not terribly attractive in telling a story more suited for the Junior Fiction shelves of your local library than the screens of your local multiplex.

A typical studio cast-off...[not] enough to justify letting go of your own hard-earned cash.

The line from special effects whiz Ray Harryhausen to director Guillermo del Toro has never been so clearly visible...

For the summer months, it'll do nicely, and we can all thank our lucky stars that we get Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart.

As TV timewasters go, Supernatural can be awfully entertaining.

In a Barbie world, American Girl Kit Kittredge is a hero, and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is heroic.

The young lads in your family will thank you for taking them, but I'm not sure about anyone else.

A portrait of democracy in action with high personal stakes and, as such, a moving emotional experience.

First-time director John Glen knows what's needed to create suspense...put the series' trademark wit, women, and song alongside the high-stakes adventure of a more brutal 007.

I know I probably shouldn't like Live and Let Die, but I do. This crackpot entry, the eighth, in the long-running James Bond series, is figuratively all over the map...

Sean Connery's fourth Bond film, Thunderball, slips from the peak of From Russia with Love and Goldfinger, but still provides plenty of thrills of the brand only 007 can provide.

Sean Connery's second outing as James Bond became his personal favorite, and that of many Bond fans around the world.

The Bond series developed a winning formula, and this prototypical adventure featured many elements that stuck...

For most of Die Another Day's incorrigible 132 minutes, I had a bloody good time.

Equal parts comedy (inevitably only-in-America satire) and Oedipal psycho-drama...[from] the bard of American political cinema.

A scathing insider look at Hollywood...De Niro gives one of his most winning performances of recent years...

George Lucas adopted a new mantra: 'It's only a movie, it's only a movie, it's only a movie.' And he's right. It'll certainly do for a Friday night. But to...fans, the 1980s films are more than movies.

A deathless comedy classic.

The Incredible Hulk gets 'er done, but while  "Hulk smash!" is essential, it's also undeniably uninteresting when handed over to a computer.

What a pleasure it is, then, to report that Burton's version tends more to the abattoir than the amusement park...

Despite the stress of the strike, creator/head writer/star Tina Fey and her sterling team of writers and actors crafted new highs for the series...

Between flurries of schtick, Williams discusses his formative years, credits his acting teachers by name, and offers philosophical insights into the actor's craft.

A modern cinematic classic...the alchemical reaction of a director and a charmed collaboration of actors, writers, and design artists...

Unfortunately, the film’s editing creates a confusing chronology and awkward pace, but it’s easy to see why producers saw a satisfying audience experience in Kearns’ moral crusade.

A film that stands the best chance of winning the hearts and minds of those who now embrace the gay 'recovery' movement.

Favreau fully respects the material, and brings to the table a highly developed sense of humor and—praise the heavens—taste.

With its faithful rendering of a true inspirational story, Rudy earns its sentiment...an irresistable inspirational movie for all ages.

A crowd-pleasing romantic comedy with enough complexity to set it ahead of the pack.

It's easy to forget the idiosyncracies of a film that so successfully trades on adolescent male fantasies and nightmares.

The annoyance of its Screenwriting 101 script is hard to overcome, but The Lucky Ones just about works in spite of itself, as an actor’s showcase.

Incorporates Freudian psychodrama, twisted romance, and national satire while giving redemption the Heimlich maneuver.

It’s too easy to hold the film’s at arm’s length and scoff at Sparks’ cynical repetition of psycho-romance clichés and meteorological metaphors.

Not much distinguishes this determinedly average Hollywood outing, but it can claim Sydney Pollack's final performance and Patrick Dempsey's first big-screen starring role since his career second-wind...

The most significant achievement in the last forty years of American cinema.

Affleck's lanky, offhand softness hardly suits the superheroic archetype... [but] The R-rated Director's Cut...deserves an extra half-star.

Something borrowed, something bloody.

Corteo is classic Cirque du Soleil, a multilingual paegant of music, dance, acrobatics, gymnastics, and clowning...the ingenious production design run with highly refined coordination.

The Wachowski Brothers overshoot the mark with Speed Racer, an eccentric misfire that panders to the ADHD set and—in the adult arena—idiots and acid-droppers.

A wacky weekly comedy-mystery-adventure-romance that the whole family can enjoy, in colors that haven't been so super-saturated since the 1966 Batman.

His saddle bag is a mixed one, though Pale Rider still has the touch of quality associated with latter-day Eastwood.

Improvisational chops and sheer force of comic will...can result in funny moments and even a funny movie, but there's something conspicuously lazy about the script...

Delivered big with breathtaking location work and an all-star cast...