Full Reviews Index

Garden Party
Rising star Willa Holland makes a strong impression in Jason' Freeland's otherwise amateurish indie film "Garden Party." The ensemble cast also includes Vinessa Shaw, Richard Gunn, Patrick Fischler, and Fiona Dourif.

The Wackness
"The Wackness" A review of Jonathan Levine's "The Wackness" a surprisingly tender coming of age film about a white teenage drug dealer in the summer of 1994 in New York. Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, Famke Janssen, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Olivia Thirlby star.

Tell No One
Guillaume Canet’s thriller "Tell No One" based on the bestselling novel by Harlan Coben, is the best movie I’ve seen so far this year. Francois Cluzet stars as Alexandre Beck who is charged for the murder of his wife eight years (Marie-Josee Croze) after his death.

The Last Mistress
Asia Argento stars as the passionate La Vellini in Catherine Breillat's most conventional film yet, an eighteenth century costume drama. Fu'ad Ait Attou makes his film debut as Ryno De Marigny, a young lord torn between his beautiful young bride (Roxane Mesquida) and the troubled mistress he cannot let go of.

The Free Will (Der Freie Wille)
Hard-working German actor Jürgen Vogel plays the serial rapist Theo in Matthias Glasner’s almost unbearably grim The Free Will (Der Freie Wille), now out on DVD from Benten.

'Kit Kittredge: An American Girl'
A review of Patricia Rozema's Kit Kittredge: An American Girl. Abigail Breslin stars as 9-year-old Kit Kittredge, an aspiring newspaper journalist out to solve a mystery during the Great Depression. The ensemble cast includes Stanley Tucci, Glenne Headly, Jane Krakowski, Julia Ormond and Wallace Shawn.

The Motorcycle Diaries
In 1952, a young medical student and his friend left Buenos Aires to cross the continent on an aging motorcycle, a trip that changed both men profoundly. The youthful Ernesto (Gael Garcia Bernal) would later become the iconic revolutionary Che Guevara. Walter Salles tells the story of "The Motorcycle Diaries."

Y Tu Mama Tambien
A review of Alfonso Cuaron's delightful sex comedy "Y Tu Mama Tambien" starring Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal and Maribel Verdu.

Brick Lane (2008)
A review of Brick Lane, Sarah Gavron's feature film adaption of Monica Ali's best-selling novel. Tannisha Chatterjee stars as Nazneem, an unhappily married Bangladeshi immigrant in London at a crucial turning point in her life.

Heavy Metal in Baghdad (2008)
Eddy Moretti's documentary "Heavy Metal in Bagdad" follows journalists Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti from VICE magazine as they attempt to track down the one and only heavy-metal band in Iraq, Acrassicauda.

Under the Same Moon
Patrica Riggen's "Under The Same Moon" is a sentimental fairytale about a Mexican boy named Carlitos (Adrian Alonso), a spunky tyke who crosses the border into the U.S after the death of his grandmother to find his beautiful mother (Kate del Castillo).

Caramel (Sukhar banat)
Nadine Labaki's "Caramel" provides an intimate look at women's lives in modern day Lebanon: Muslim and Christian, rich and poor, young and old. As expected, these women laugh and cry and talk about love; but while formulaic in structure, the film is actually quite lovely.

Be Kind Rewind
Jack Black stars in Be Kind Rewind, a one-of-a-kind comedy from the mind of writer/director Michel Gondry Be Kind Rewind features a cast that includes Mos Def, Danny Glover, and Mia Farrow. It is scheduled for a January 25, 2008 release.

Encounters at the End of the World
Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica in his new documentary Encounters at the End of the World. It's not a film about fluffy penguins, though Herzog does film the lovely creatures, as well as seals and an eccentric collection of scientists and odd travelers.

The Incredible Hulk
Director Louis Leterrier avoids taking any chances: "The Incredible Hulk," written by superhero veteran Zak Penn, is as by-the-numbers as they come. Not even talented Ed Norton as tormented scientist Bruce Banner can breathe life into this unnecessary remake.

When Did You Last See Your Father?
Anand Tucker's "When Did You Last See Your Father?" is an unflinching exploration of a father/son relationship, as Blake Morrison (Colin Firth) deals with his father Arthur’s (Jim Broadbent) terminal illness and imminent death.

Choke (2008)
Clark Gregg directed and apapted Chuck Palhniuk's "Choke." Starring Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Brad William Henke, Kelly Macdonald & Clark Gregg. "Choke" opens September 26, 2008.

Savage Grace (2008)
Julianne Moore stars in Tom Kalin's "Savage Grace," a tale of decadence and dysfunction among the postwar international elite, based upon the acclaimed exposé of the notorious Baekeland scandal.

Grace is Gone
John Cusack stars as a young father whose soldier wife has just been killed in Iraq in James Strouse's drama "Grace is Gone." Young actresses Gracie Bednarczyk and Shélan O'Keefe make their film debut, playing Cusack's daughters.

The Edge of Heaven (2008)
Directed by Fatih Akin, "The Edge of Heaven" tells the story of six fragiel people connected on emotional voyages toward forgiveness and reconciliation in Germany and Turkey.

The Visitor
The situation in Tom McCarthy's second film The Visitor is ripe with drama: Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins), an economics professor and quintessential sad man, returns to his Greenwich Village apartment when his Connecticut college pressures him to present a lecture at NYU. His apartment, however, isn't empty. Illegal immigrants have moved in: an attractive young couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira).

Expired (2008)
Samantha Morton stars in "Expired," an offbeat comedy about a meter maid who falls in love with a parking official. Illeana Douglas, Jason Patric, Teri Garr, and Sonia Iris Lozada also star in Cecilia Miniucchi's debut film.

Pineapple Express
David Gordon Green ("George Washington," "Snow Angels") leaves the independent film world behind with his new stoner comedy produced by Judd Apatow "Pineapple" Express starring James Franco and Seth Rogan.

The Foot Fist Way
THE FOOT FIST WAY is an uproarious, full-contact comedy featuring one of this year's least likely of heroes. Shot in just 19 days on a credit card-financed micro-budget with a cast of mostly newcomers, the film became an overnight smash at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

The Children of Huang Shi
Roger Spottiswoode's "The Children of Huang Shi" tells the story of George Hogg, a young British journalist, who rescues 60 orphaned children. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Michelle Yeoh, Chow Yun-Fat, Radha Mitchell and Guang Wen Li star.