question: At times hilarious, but other times offensive, Director Jared Hess is unable to recapture the collective charisma of his Napoleon characters, instead relying on a one-joke concept that runs out of steam. Sure to entertain the adolescents, however.

numbered reviews: 1. The movie is a bauble, but it's an enjoyably weird and original one, and it is anchored by Black's constantly amusing performance.
2. Silliness takes a Mexican holiday in Nacho Libre.
3. ...by hanging its oddball characters on the most obvious of plots, it dilutes the weirdness that would have made it unique.
4. ... you can always count on a bad fart joke (of which "Nacho Libre" boasts several) to get a laugh, whether it deserves one or not.
5. Oddly reverent, faintly patronizing (they shot it in Mexico, with an exceptionally homely cast of extras), and always warm and funny.
6. However you feel about the story or the characters, the way in which Hess renders it is the most striking thing about Nacho Libre. If he hasn't yet achieved true mastery of sight gags, he's getting there.
7. The combination of body slams and bathroom jokes makes it a heck of a lot livelier than Cars.
8. Nacho Libre, the often hilarious follow-up to Napoleon Dynamite by director Jared Hess, settles it: This is the world's funniest Mormon.
9. The movie is semi-infantile camp but often riotous.
10. Nacho Libre scores points only on occasion.


question: Confident directing and acting deliver an insightful look at young athletes.

numbered reviews: 1. A mawkish, overly-poignant and clichéd movie that mindlessly bounces along without ever making a clear statement.
2. Defeated by a labored, screenplay in this overlong, clunky love story about a boy and a girl brought together, then driven apart, by their basketball ambitions.
3. Uneven, a bit stilted, but with a solid cast.
4. Of all of the projects for Spike Lee to attach his name onto, Love and Basketball may go down as one of the most idiotic.
5. The story, about neighbors from an affluent black L.A. suburb who fall in love while pursuing individual hoop dreams, is about as realistic as the Clippers winning the NBA championship.
6. Love and Basketball never really reconciles the two elements of its title and ultimately basketball is forced to take a backseat to love.
7. Love and Basketball is divided into four quarters; thank God there's no overtime.
8. A mawkish, overly-poignant and clichéd movie that mindlessly bounces along without ever making a clear statement.
9. The movie is not as taut as it could have been, but I prefer its emotional perception to the pumped-up sports cliches I was sort of expecting.
10. Charming.


question: Though potentially too slowly paced for some, Cairo Time lingers long after the closing credits, largely due to a wonderful performance by Patricia Clarkson.

numbered reviews: 1. There's no surprise and very little humor here, and from the hectic, grubby way it's been shot, even Cairo doesn't look very alluring.
2. A more sophisticated slice-of-life than one usually gets on the big screen -- and for fans of Clarkson, it's a must-see.
3. What emerges is time pleasantly spent with a slice of life that examines a romantic détente between two cultures. Like smoke from an Egyptian hookah, the melancholia lingers.
4. An impressive introduction to U.S. audiences for Nadda. Her storytelling talents are deserving of higher-profile features.
5. Driven by outstanding performances, this beautifully nuanced film captures the allure of the titular city.
6. In the Middle Eastern-spiced, new age "Romeo and Juliet" story "Cairo Time," middle-aged actors Patricia Clarkson and Alexander Siddig show the youngsters how it's done.
7. Clarkson proves what her fans have known forever: She's ready for the spotlight. With luck she'll stay there for a while.
8. Cairo Time: Take the time to see it.
9. Cairo Time proves hard to resist, the film's familiarity gradually giving way to a playfulness that feels new to the impossible-love subset of bourgeois melodrama.
10. This is a poetic, romantic, emotionally complex film that sneaks up on you, particularly in its final scenes.


question: Michael Shannon gives a powerhouse performance and the purposefully subtle filmmaking creates a perfect blend of drama, terror, and dread.

numbered reviews:
1. (Director) Nichols creates the kind of quiet malevolence that Roman Polanski used to excel at.
2. There's a strong, unsettling sense of disease that runs through Take Shelter, the best drama of the year so far.
3. Shannon wonderfully modulates Nichols' portrait of a man whose mind and life seem to unravel before our eyes.
4. On rare occasions, a movie comes along that does genuine honor to Alfred Hitchcock. Take Shelter is such a movie. It could be subtitled "Take Shelter with Hitch."
5. Are his dreams a sign of things to come or are they simply the creation of an individual who is teetering on the brink of insanity?
6. In an era of empty entertainments, "Take Shelter" is built to last.
7. Take Shelter is a deeply unsettling movie.
8. Michael Shannon's spectacular performance grounds Take Shelter with a haunting realism.
9. Life is a double-edged sword. Be careful how you hold it.
10. Shannon is astounding, playing a good man pushed to the brink of sanity, maybe beyond. He portrays a sense of quiet desperation -- a feeling recognizable to many.