Juno: "Less than the sum of its parts, but those parts are so entertaining that you don't mind too much."

Atonement: "Refreshingly old school."

The Golden Compass: "Fails to convincingly establish its world or the people that inhabit it."

Grace is Gone: "Too calculated to surprise."

Billy the Kid: "A higher grade of filmmaking than an episode of MTV's True Life. It explores Billy's relationship with his mother and others with real insight."

The Walker: "What might have been a first-rate character study instead devolves into a routine morass of Beltway intrigue."

Drunken Angel: "The film could have been a pat tale of redemption, but Kurosawa leaves its allegorical dimensions wide open and keeps his sentimental streak at bay."