Smash
"Smash" is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a major musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe from raw concept to opening night. Is "Smash" a smash? The verdict is mixed. More »

Carol Channing: Larger Than Life
Director Dori Berinstein ("Show Business," "Gotta Dance") has not made a standard show-biz biographical film. Instead, she's made one of the most touching love stories the screen has seen in a long time. More »

Declaration of War
What really gives this film—the official French entry for Oscar's foreign-language competition—its power is that both stars, Jeremie Elkaim and Valerie Donzelli (who also directed), lived a version of it. More »

The Grey
"The Grey," while falling into the action genre, gives Liam Neeson an intriguing character to play, and he easily rises to the challenge. More »

16-Love
"16-Love" is a Disney-type sports film for 12-year-olds with a saccharine-sweet theme, a predictable story line, and good-looking 20-somethings playing 16-year-olds. More »

Joyful Noise
This old-fashioned, high-stepping musical lacks substance, but it gets by on the charm of its two stars, Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton, and attractive supporting cast. More »

Sailcloth
In this silent short, the filming is glorious, the acting exquisite. As for storytelling, however, answers are not to be found here. But thought-provocation is. More »

Loosies
Told with low-key humor and simplicity, "Loosies" recounts the misadventures of charming but feckless Italian-American Bobby (Peter Facinelli), forced to make his living as a pickpocket in New York subways. More »

Norwegian Wood
The fragility and cruelty of young love has rarely been so beautifully captured as in "Norwegian Wood," a gorgeous but flawed melodrama by writer-director Tran Anh Hung. More »

The Iron Lady
Streep paints a detailed portrait of Thatcher, almost indistinguishable from actual footage of her, but she also captures the heart beneath the unwavering exterior and exposes her more sentimental moments. More »

War Horse
Can any movie version of "War Horse" possibly hope to match the theatrical onstage magic of the play and its gorgeous, life-size puppetry? More »

Pina
Unlike the darkness of Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan," "Pina" is a love letter to what is beautiful and life-affirming about the art of movement. More »

In the Land of Blood and Honey
"In the Land of Blood and Honey" is a gripping motion picture you won't soon, and should not ever, forget. More »

Pariah
"Pariah" is a sensitive and compelling coming-of-age story that explores the experiences of gay African-American teen Alike (Adepero Oduye) attempting to find direction in a world that isn't especially welcoming. More »

Albert Nobbs
A labor of love for Glenn Close, her singular accomplishment in willing "Albert Nobbs" to the screen is the stuff actors dream about. More »

Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel
Roger Corman has been dubbed—affectionately and sometimes not so affectionately—a shlockmeister for his six-decade career and prolific outpouring of cult classic. More »

Carnage
Roman Polanski's "Carnage" is a mildly engaging social satire about two well-heeled New York couples who lock horns when they meet to rehash the events surrounding a squabble between their two young sons. More »

W.E.
"W.E." uses the fictional story of Wally Winthrop (Abbie Cornish), a troubled New York housewife of modern day, to delve into the private lives of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. More »

Young Adult
Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody, the director and the Oscar-winning writer of the wonderfully human character study "Juno," are back together with easily one of the year's most unexpected comedies. More »

Coriolanus
Keeping the rhythms of the Shakespearean dialogue firmly rooted in the original context is especially tricky, but that is what director Ralph Fiennes and screenwriter John Logan have attempted here. More »

Shame
Strong stuff on the sexual wild side from bold director Steve McQueen and the extraordinary Michael Fassbender. More »

The Artist
"The Artist" is an original, lyrical, and at moments haunting valentine to black-and-white silent films. Indeed, it's a love letter to American filmmaking traditions. More »

Another Happy Day
It's easy to see why a veteran cast the caliber of "Another Happy Day" was so attracted to the script written by 22-year-old Sam Levinson, who won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. More »

Rid of Me
What raises this movie beyond the banal are its vividly delineated characters, some of whom are true originals, and telling cinematic details. More »

Tyrannosaur
On its surface, "Tyrannosaur" is an extremely well acted British indie. But does anyone really need to sit through this almost unbearably bleak downer? After seeing it, you're going to need a long shower. More »