Insufferably arty, this is the French version of a botched Hollywood blockbuster: It’s misguided, self-indulgent and nonsensical. Written and directed by Claude Lelouch (1966’s A Man and a Woman), the movie stars Jeremy Irons as an aging jewel thief with a tendency to black out. He leaves France in a luxury yacht, washes up in

“…a movie about big stars, and about why we slap down hard-earned money to see them on the big screen.”

Despite what some critics claimed, this adaptation of Frank McCourt’s memoir about growing up destitute in Ireland retains the sly humor that enabled the author to survive his childhood (you’ll find it staring right at you when you look into the frowning face of Joe Breen, who plays McCourt as a little boy). At once

Beyond Borders runs on guilt. Occasionally about a tortured romance between a do-good socialite (Angelina Jolie) and a globetrotting human-rights activist (Clive Owen), the movie uses dishonesty, hypocrisy and Hollywood hokum to rub our faces in Third World suffering. Like a famine-relief infomercial with Jolie in the Sally Struthers role, the picture preaches when it

Eschewing the politics behind a 1993 clash between Somali militiamen and U.S. special forces, this battle epic from director Ridley Scott (Hannibal, Gladiator) concentrates on the logistical details of modern warfare. For nearly three hours, the immediate concerns of these grunts – such as how to keep driving an armored car after bits of windshield

Most romantic tragedies turn on contrived, facile melodrama, but the shattering Brokeback Mountain hurts so much because its tragedy feels so true. The movie’s lovers, a pair of cowboys who first meet in 1963 Wyoming (Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger), are kept apart by forces that you can feel: prejudice, societal pressure and above all

An earnest but cliched independent effort about a high-school senior and aspiring animator (Dante Basco) struggling to reconcile his ambitions with his immigrant Filipino heritage. Obvious if well-intentioned lessons abound, meaning you’ll probably want to like The Debut more than you actually do.

Inspirational sports movies aren’t known for their subtlety, but Goal! embraces its feel-good cliches with an enthusiasm that’s embarrassing. Kuno Becker plays a Mexican soccer sensation trying to make it on the pro level in England, and it’s hard to decide what is more cliched during his obvious journey to stardom, the ups (yes, there

Take away director Martin Scorsese’s name, and what do you have with this portrait of industrialist/pilot/filmmaker/weirdo Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio)? Yet another movie biography angling for end-of-year honors, albeit one a bit more sensitively handled and artfully done. The picture certainly has its rewards, including DiCaprio’s laser-like focus, but it pins Scorsese in the past.