question: Simultaneously funny, heartbreaking, and peppered with action, Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise is a potent, well-acted road movie that transcends the feminist message at its core.

numbered reviews: 1. This may be one of the most intelligent cross-country chase films.
2. Thelma & Louise becomes more compelling as it rolls along.
3. This is a movie to love, that touches you in places you never suspected, that shows you that the road less traveled is the road to your dreams.
4. An exhilarating vehicle for Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, it spins its wheels in a giddy sort of way, then puts the pedal to the mettle, lays rubber and fairly takes wing.
5. Thelma & Louise may look like just another girl-buddy road picture. But in director Ridley Scott's hands, it's propulsively more.
6. A rousing road movie about the journey of self-discovery of two women
7. one of the best buddies-on-the-run movies ever made.
8. Scott has balanced action, comedy and doomy subtext to create a morally firm yet very entertaining fable that reaches out to an audience far larger than its natural feminist constituency.
9. The climax is truly shattering -- but a fitting end to a film that trades in intelligence as much as it does in style.
10. Still compelling and inspiring after all these years.


question: The Hills Have Eyes 2 is a completely unoriginal sequel offers plenty of gore and clichés, but few scares.

numbered reviews: 1. The mutants may or may not live to kill again, but at this point, these fussed-over grotesques are better suited to wax museums than movie theaters.
2. The National Guardsmen and -women are picked off one by one in scenes of birth, death, rape and other carnage that aim to be as grotesque as possible.
3. It's no better or worse than most films of its genre.
4. This team's descent is soon revealed as cockamamie: they're no longer trained fighters with automatic guns but victims in a splatter movie.
5. Cheesy and yucky, it's a guilty pleasure.
6. Pure genre-pic boredom.
7. A nastily effective piece of action-horror, as reflective of its time and its war as the Vietnam-era Deliverance was of its time and war.
8. A secret comedy lurks within this decidedly shoddy piece of corporate horror.
9. An enjoyable sequel if you like this sort of thing.
10. Another depressing example of a cult 70s slasher being cynically retooled for MTV-reared thrill-seekers.


question: Bryan Singer's reverent and visually decadent adaptation gives the Man of Steel welcome emotional complexity. The result: a satisfying stick-to-your-ribs adaptation.

numbered reviews: 1. It's straight-faced, square-jawed stuff, but that's apt enough for the boldest, simplest superhero concept of all.
2. Director Bryan Singer nimbly navigates the tricky balance between the old-school purists and 21st century sensibility, with existential questions: does the world need Superman? Does he need us?
3. It's got all the heart and soul that's been missing from every other superhero movie that isn't about the X-Men.
4. A case of "good, sometimes very good, but definitely not great," which is kind of a small-yet-nagging disappointment, considering the talent and passion that went into the thing.
5. It's a thinky blockbuster, yes, though there is plenty of deft humor and breathtaking visuals and nods to the earlier films, too. And when the story calls for action, Singer delivers it.
6. [It's] a summer popcorn movie, no question, but it looks great, has laughs and thrills, and even a few moments of genuine drama.
7. He remembered the cape, the spandex, the shiny boots and the big red S on his chest, but wait. . . . Where's the personality?
8. Brandon Routh has no problem filling out the Superman suit (quite nicely), but he can't quite fill the shoes.
9. Try to ignore the parallels Singer draws between Christ and Superman...go ahead, I dare ya.
10. ...the most effective and flat-out entertaining installment in this ongoing series.


question: Legend of the Guardians' dark tone and dazzling visuals are to be admired, even if they're ultimately let down by a story that never lives up to its full potential.

numbered reviews:
1. This is an awe-inspiring adventure that will open your eyes to a fantastic new world.
2. A Secret of Nimh for a new era ... this time starring owls.
3. Every snowflake, feather, and talon is vivid, arresting, and (apparently) literally in your face, but the story is not as clear. the striking visuals do not make up for a muddled story with too many characters.
4. This is strangely awesome stuff, in places, and it's self-aware enough to include a song by pop act Owl City without turning into full-on irony.
5. Legends is like a violent video game and the mention of Happy Feet is an obvious misdirection.
6. Packed with surprisingly intense action thrills, memorable characters and an excellent voice cast, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole is one of the most entertaining films of the year.
7. ...suffers from a convoluted and downright confusing storyline that prevents the viewer from connecting to the material...
8. A splendid adventure sure to thrill children and fantasy buffs, while leaving everyone else passably entertained.
9. It may be that a whole generation will come to regard owls in the same way as many of us now regard dolphins
10. Trust your gizzard, sharpen your battle claws and be transported into the magical and spectacular world of owls. The 3D visuals are breathtaking as are the details imbued in this robust fantasy adventure