question: Though Rocket Science appears to be a typically quirky indie, the well-rounded performances and director Jeffrey Blitz's clear affection for his characters gives the film its proper human spark.

numbered reviews: 1. It's fun to watch an outsider try to succeed in a world full of outsiders, and for that reason alone, Rocket Science is worth the price of admission.
2. There should be no debate that this little gem deserves to be as big a hit as it was at Sundance.
3. Like its characters--and unlike those in most pictures set in high school--this movie is smart.
4. A strong contender to become a student classic.
5. Jeffrey Blitz's Rocket Science doesn't quite work but is worth seeing anyway.
6. Rocket Science not only feels our collective pain, it makes us laugh wickedly at the memories.
7. ...a quirky coming-of-age story (is there any other kind these days?) full of wry Wes Anderson-style humor and maladjusted misfits.
8. Destined to be severely overrated.
9. I thought it was cloying, self-congratulatory and irritating.
10. This well directed film shows an uncompromising yet faithful look at the horrible teen years.


question: Raymond De Felitta combines warmth, humanity, and a natural sense of humor, and is abetted by Andy Garcia and an excellent ensemble cast.

numbered reviews: 1. De Felitta knows how to depict family dysfunction, but he lards his film with asinine quips and too many headache-inducing dinner-table shouting matches, and the humor is so contrived, Garcia's Bronx accent sounds channeled through Fred Flintstone.
2. The movie too often equates drama with volume, and agita with authenticity.
3. A treat for movie lovers everywhere -- even if you've never heard of the community where it takes place.
4. City Island scrapes by and delivers a smile or two because it does contain a fundamental understanding of the rot that sets in when people hide their true selves from the ones they love.
5. The movie's comic machinery never stops clanking long enough for us to relax and genuinely enjoy the silliness. But the actors are enjoying themselves, and that goes a very long way.
6. Garcia and Margulies, who worked so well together in George Hickenlooper's Man from Elysian Fields, show a sure feel for comedy here...
7. The outer-borough oddities of City Island are hard to resist.
8. >City Island is so beautifully cast and so warmly, gently amusing that the contrivances go down easy.
9. Another expertly written joyride through the confines of narrowminded provincialism to cleansing self-awareness from indie director de Felitta.
10. The complications have the appeal of a classic farce, and if the movie's humor requires a suspension of disbelief, the actors are terrific, and there's much pleasure in watching the way the drama redoubles and resolves.


question: My Sister's Keeper gets fine performances from its adult and child actors, but the director's heavy-handed approach turns a worthy emotional subject into an overly melodramatic tearjerker.

numbered reviews: 1. Though the motives of My Sister's Keeper will seem dubious to some, there is no denying the performances on display keep everything in the realm of the watchable.
2. A morally ambiguous tearjerker with a twist.
3. The decision to avoid unnecessary sentimentality defines this film, elevating it to a more thoughtful if a touch less engaging arena, sacrificing emotional escapism for conversation provoking tragedy.
4. As manufactured Disease of the Week weepies go, Nick Cassavetes's drama based on a Jodi Picoult bestseller, is surprisingly moving.
5. What starts as an exploration of the ethics of organ-donation and genetic selection, rapidly disintegrates into a sloppy, unstructured, tear-jerking mess.
6. Bring the tissues. This film works.
7. There is a touch of contrivance to the set-up that is not totally convincing and the film avoids much of the ethical arguments in favour of family drama. But I must admit to being affected.
8. There's no question that this is a really intriguing drama and a drama that I think deserved better treatment than it gets here because I think Nick Cassevetes -- I don't think he's a very good director, really.
9. Sometimes, a sad story isn't just a manipulative venture that makes you cry. Sometimes, as in 'The Notebook,' it's a tale well told that brings out honest emotions. Sometimes, it's in a movie such as 'My Sister's Keeper.'
10. The obnoxious calculation smothers what should've been a pure articulation of melancholy and a potent debate of morality.


question: Smart, innovative, and thrilling, Inception is that rare summer blockbuster that succeeds viscerally as well as intellectually.

numbered reviews:
1. A huge movie full of meaty ideas and eye-popping special-effects, yet much like Dark Knight, the go-for-broke ambition becomes a bit of a grind.
2. This is a drama built around ideas and images; it is a cinematic maze that Nolan makes his audience traverse in order to follow, understand and appreciate his world.
3. It's hard to connect with a movie when it tries so hard to fool you; is this a dream, is it not, is it a dream within a dream? Who cares? Just commit to something and get on with it. A crushing bore.
4. It makes 'The Matrix' look like a Dick & Jane book.
5. It requires more concentration to just figure out what's going on than most summer blockbusters do.
6. In its perfection Inception is unsurprising - it's about what I expected, and that's good enough.
7. If you recall the scene in Dahmer (2002) where Jeremy Renner as the deranged killer drills holes into his victims' heads, you'll know what watching this Freudian claptrap of a thriller is like.
8. Nolan has basically done the impossible. He's taken $200 million and, instead of coming up with a highly generic product, he's made a real movie.
9. There are plenty of reasons to like Inception, whether you found it obvious or impenetrable. You'll wish you could dream as lucidly as this, but be grateful here you have Nolan as your tour guide.
10. It is a fascinating visual feast, The Matrix with heart and soul, a rollercoaster ride into layers of the subconscious mind that challenges our ability to keep up.