question: Predictable story and thin characters made the movie flat.

numbered reviews: 1. Funny and harmless family entertainment.
2. Certain scenes are good, but visual wonder can only take a film so far, especially when that visual wonder is becoming an expected component.
3. Everything about it evokes comparisons to other animated features, and while it more or less holds its own, nothing comes across as new or even interesting.
4. Not only is the story reed thin, but it's also undercut by continual anachronistic dialog that's funny but alienates us from the adventure and characters.
5. Engaging children's entertainment.
6. In the few moments when the noise and the fast-paced story subside long enough for a good look at the scenery, the animation is impressive.
7. Gets by with a story that is good but not great -- not unlike the famous Road movies made 50 years ago by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.
8. Good clean fun, that will keep kids (and most adults) absorbed in its shiny cartoon bubble throughout.
9. [Kline's and Branagh's] shared timing is so good it whets the appetite for further adventures.
10. Bright and zesty.


question: The filmmakers perfectly follow the well-worn romantic comedy formula, rendering 27 Dresses clichéd and mostly forgettable.

numbered reviews: 1. Anne Fletcher, a dancer/choreographer turned director, moves the film along smoothly, hitting the marks and timing the jokes right. It's connect-the-dots filmmaking by a talented tracer.
2. If 27 Dresses were part of a wedding reception, it wouldn't be the bouquet toss, but it wouldn't be the Chicken Dance, either. It's more like the cake: mass-produced, maybe a little too sweet but enjoyable all the same.
3. A romantic comedy that -- despite her [Star Katherine Heigl] undeniable, apple-cheeked appeal -- sags like a day-old bouquet.
4. In spite of a series of occurrences that will you leave thinking 'Yeah, right,' it is a mostly pleasant diversion, largely due to winning performances by Katherine Heigl, James Marsden and Judy Greer.
5. Too bad they didn't accessorize it with more creativity.
6. Watching this film is like hoping to be tossed a bride's bouquet.
7. Heigl is...so good that we can't wait to see her in a vehicle worthy of her.
8. A shabby, flabby date movie
9. ...little more than a dolled up mannequin.
10. Frothy, funny and formulaic, this pleasantly predictable romantic comedy may be viewed as another step forward for Katherine Heigl.


question: Director Amir Bar-Lev grapples with exposing the authenticity of four-year-old Marla's paintings at the sake of burdening her publicly shamed family to transfixing results.

numbered reviews: 1. A fascinating film which touches on a captivating range of subjects.
2. What begins as a sweet documentary about yet another art prodigy becomes an absorbing look at the world of art scandals, trial by media and the parental role in the frenzied creation and perpetuation of a phenomenon.
3. My Kid Could Paint That keeps us intrigued by the questions, long after its last shot of Marla.
4. ... the storytelling is a little crude, the filming equally so, and in the end, audiences may feel that those who were prepared to pay thousands of dollars for one of Marla's paintings must be philosophical: if they love the work, the money is justified.
5. As the story shifts from fanaticism to skepticism, Bar-Lev loses sight of his original line of inquiry on the nature of modern art when he doesn't need to.
6. The longer it goes, the more frustrating it becomes, as [director] Bar Lev declines to come down on one side or the other. It makes his presence in the Olmsteads' lives serve no real purpose other than exploitation of their misery for his own good.
7. My Kid Could Paint That is a welcome return to ambiguity in the documentary, while posing perhaps the year's most intriguing mystery.
8. It's a rare glimpse into the truth about the world and the art that tries to say something about it.
9. Bar-Lev exploits Marla as much as, if not more than, any other player in his movie.
10. [A] mysterious, gripping meta-documentary, a movie that reflects upon the thorny, unpredictable process of capturing a real-life story on film at the same time it's trying to figure out what the story is.


question: The touching underdog story of a single guy against a massive corporation, Flash of Genius is a well-paced and well-written tale with a standout performance by star Greg Kinnear.

numbered reviews:
1. Sadly, first-time director Marc Abraham presents this story exactly the same as all the other biopics, all highlights.
2. A fairly satisfying story of an underdog taking on the corporations that anyone can get behind, although it rarely feels like something so cinematic you might feel the need to rush to see it in theaters.
3. If only the movie were more than intermittently interesting.
4. ... a compelling courtroom drama - think Revenge of the Nerds crossed with To Kill a Mockingbird
5. ...The problem with Flash of Genius isn't that the subject is dull but that the movie is.
6. Out of such plain materials as a windshield wiper, an inventor and a courtroom trial, Abraham has made one of the most original and memorable American movies of the year.
7. There's a fine line between standing up for yourself and selfishness, and Flash of Genius drives right over it.
8. A doggedly workmanlike variation of an old story: the lone crusader doing battle with the big bad establishment.
9. Gratifying reality-based David vs. Goliath story.
10. [Greg Kinnear] gives one of the most carefully modulated and moving performances of his career.