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Angelina Maccarone's portrait of the actress
Rampling's physical gifts, unimpeded by plastic surgery in their march through time, are matched by a keen mind and an unapologetic approach to life and work.
Man vs. wolves
At the center of this superior stranded-men-picked-off-by-external-threat thriller is Ottway, an anguished loner powerfully played by Liam Neeson.
The struggles and triumphs of the Tuskegee Airmen
With a title that refers not to squirrels but to plane markings, Red Tails dramatizes the struggles and triumphs of African-American pioneers, the Tuskegee Airmen.
Michel Hazanavicius's flashback to '20s-era Hollywood
The advent of talking pictures sends a screen idol into both a career nosedive and an identity crisis in Michel Hazanavicius's flashback to Hollywood's transitional period of the late '20s.
Unsentimental but emotionally engaging
Like Crazy is hooked onto a series of plot points — the bureaucratic hassles wrought by Londoner Anna's impulsive decision to overstay her student visa so she can remain in LA with boyfriend Jacob — yet it's quintessentially character-driven.
The life of Serge Gainsbourg
In this tour de force biopic, cartoonist-filmmaker Joann Sfar uses darkly comic fairy tale elements to illustrate Gainsbourg's creative process.
Footloose gets a facelift
The original Footloose (1984) came at the dawn of the MTV era; its remake is driven by today's dance competitions.
Culinary dreams among the canned goods of the 60s
Toast is a refreshing take on the sub-genre of the food-centric comedy.
Film Culture
The grindhouse returns to the Combat Zone this weekend — in spirit, at least — as the ArtsEmerson film series, based at the Paramount Center, presents a tribute to sleazemeister David F. Friedman.
Swardson just doesn't rise to the occasion
Of course there are copious gags about penis size and bodily fluids, but Bucky Larson could also have been a decent spoof of the porn industry, especially after Don Johnson enters the picture.
Rhys Ifans joins the cinematic rogues' gallery
Rhys Ifans is hilarious, and sexy as hell, in Bernard Rose's Blow -like true story of the crazy life of Howard Marks.
A compelling interplay of tensions
Sarah's Key is a superior "woman in the present becomes obsessed with woman in the past" narrative.
Chemistry and comic timing
FWB is a well-crafted comedy of the sex-first, romance-later genre that — bonus! — isn't blatantly nonsensical.
Chinese women of the past and present
Two intense friendships intertwine in Wayne Wang's elegant and engrossing adaptation of Lisa See's novel. Actresses Li Bingbing and Gianna Jun play dual roles: modern Chinese women Nina and Sophia and their 19th-century counterparts, Lily and Snow Flower.
A quirky German road movie
Frustration and isolation are part of daily life for 27-year-old Tourette's sufferer Vincent (Florian David Fitz, who also wrote the screenplay), the sympathetic hero of this German road movie.
Awkward limitations
The latest tween pabulum features Selena Gomez in two roles, which is awkward because she only has one and a half expressions.
Feel-good variety
Leanne Pooley's portrait gives us performance footage of twins Lynda and Jools Topp that ranges from the '80s, when they were mulleted farm girls busking in the city; to their '90s sketch-comedy TV show; to a recent return to the stage after one twin faced a health challenge.
You don't need to be knowledgeable about classical music to savor Pianomania any more than you need to know about Donkey Kong to enjoy The King of Kong. The Vienna-set documentary burrows into the professional life of Steinway & Sons' chief technician and master tuner Stephan Knüpfer.
Young Eyes
It's fitting that the last image of Cameraman: The Life & Work of Jack Cardiff — a film containing interviews with the great British cinematographer but not released until after his death — is of Cardiff.
Freddie Highmore plays the acutely self-conscious Manhattan prep schooler whose pivotal senior year is recounted in director-writer Gavin Wiesen's earnest, but weak, debut.
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