Cloverfield ***

What if you were videotaping a going-away party for a friend in Tokyo the day that Godzilla showed up? That is the premise for this cinema-verite style movie, except that instead of Tokyo, the city is New York, lower Manhattan, where a crowd of twenty-somethings have gathered to send off Rob (Michael Stahl-David), who's on his way to Japan as a newly-minted vice president. But instead of some guy in a lizard suit kicking over cardboard boxes, you have glimpses of a convincing, huge CGI monster that claws down skyscrapers, throws the head of the Statue of Liberty into the street in front of your apartment, and spawns creepy giant spider-things that bite all in their path.

The result is disorienting and truly scary. The movie starts without any credits as the playback of a piece of evidence in the Department of Defense "Cloverfield" file, presented as a video found in "what used to be known as Central Park." There are two stories on the tape. The first starts with an as yet unnamed Rob and a girl who wakes up in his bed (Odette Yustman), talking about going to Coney Island. These two seem to have something going. There is more of their day but then the scene abruptly changes to the party, where Rob's friend Hud (T.J. Miller) has been tasked with taping testimonials for the going-away party.

As events unfold, Hud retains his role as documenter and historian, as he, Rob, and a few others (including standout Lizzy Caplan as Marlena) embark on a quest to rescue the girlfriend farther uptown, where it's really dangerous. We learn that the tape they're using is one Rob left in his camcorder, so every once in a while we get the palimpsest of Rob's day with Beth, calm and sunny, but mostly we get the jittery handheld work of Hud as the group tries to survive long enough to get to Beth's place, where's she's trapped. The two stories comment on each other, and the end of the day with Beth makes a fitting ending to the movie. The emotions and motivations of the group, and of Rob are a mixture of guilt, fear, and some sense of community, that still doesn't quite turn these yuppies into adults.

The producers opted for little-known actors, and poured their money into special effects, and while they're not the seamless, eerily convincing effects of "I Am Legend," they are first rate. The convention of the hand-held camera making a last record goes back to "The Blair Witch Project" (1999), and here lends a similar feeling of reality captured on camera as it happens, and not as it is constructed by a writer, a director, a cameraman, and an editor. Cinematographer Michael Bonvillain deserves high marks for keeping to the convention, and while the jerky images take some getting used to, they are very effective. All in all, "Cloverfield" is an entertaining white-knuckle ride that creates a frightening new world that, at the end, you're glad to awake from.

Rated PG-13. 85 minutes. Directed by Matt Reeves. Written by Drew Goddard. Produced by Michael Bonvillain. Distributed in the U.S. by Paramount Pictures. Principal actors: Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman, Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller .

Mad Money ***

"Mad Money" is a fun caper movie, all the more delicious because the chicanery is organized by Diane Keaton in a wonderful comedic turn. Keaton plays Bridget Cardigan, an upper-middle-class Kansas City housewife, whose husband Don (a more than adequate Ted Danson) has been out of work for a year. Desperate for healthcare benefits, and trying to sell their mansion, Bridget takes a job emptying trash at the Federal Reserve Bank (you know, the place where they shred and burn old currency, among other, more esoteric economic tasks). Doing the shredding is Nina Brewster, a solid single mom engagingly played by Queen Latifah. And pushing the carts of soon-to-be-gone greenbacks is ditsy airhead Jackie Truman (a warm Katie Holmes).

Bridget concocts a scheme that soon has the three ladies rolling in dough. But what good is dough if you can't spend it, and thereby arouse suspicion? As their circle of crime expands, with corporate manager Ted Danson and an adorably goofy Adam Rothenberg as Bob Truman, tensions develop, and you know their delicate balancing act, and their luck, can't last forever.

Throughout, "Mad Money" is grounded in a real U.S., where corporate downsizing, struggling single black moms who want the best for their kids, and working stiffs who live in trailer homes are the facts of life. Questions are raised about greed, race, the definition of success in America, materialism, keeping up with the Joneses, the importance of appearance versus reality, and loyalty, not to mention right and wrong.

But these questions are not the focus of the movie; this is above all an enjoyable comedy, with sure performances by Keaton (especially), Latifah, and Holmes in an underwritten part. Director Callie Khoury ("Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood") surely deserves much of the credit for this happy outcome. As for writing, and there are many wonderful lines, it's hard to tell. There's a long list of writing credits, beginning with the original British TV movie "Hot Money." No matter. In the end, they got it right.

This is the first movie from Overture Films, the new studio created by Starz. It's an auspicious beginning. May there be many more.

Rated PG-13. 104 minutes. Directed by Callie Khoury. Written by Glenn Gers, John Mister, Neil McKay, Terry Winsor. Produced by James Acheson, Jay Cohen, Frank DeMartini. Distributed in the U.S. by Overture Films. Principal actors: Diane Keaton, Ted Danson, Katie Holmes, Adam Rothenberg, Queen Latifah.

No Country for Old Men ****

"No Country for Old Men" is a very violent and exhausting film. I had put off seeing it until now because I do not enjoy violent movies, not just the gorno variety, like the "Saw" series or "Hostel," but any movie that employs the depiction of pain or murder as a shock device to keep the adrenaline pumping. But with so many nominations and awards, I felt I had to see it. Besides, this is the team that brought us "Fargo," one of the great films of the '90s. But if you have a similar aversion to screen violence, I suggest you stay away.

"NCFOM" is a very artfully done movie. I can find little to fault in the screenplay, the direction, the cinematography, the soundscape (wonderful use of silence and natural sounds rather than a score that telegraphs every shock), the acting (Brolin, Bardem, and Jones are all outstanding). But why spend two hours following a pathological killer chasing a hunter who happens upon $2 million in drug money cash and decides to keep it, realizing the huge risk he is taking?

It's interesting how the Coens depict the killings, or not. They show murders in gruesome detail, but only of characters we don't know. Early on, there's the deputy who fatefully turns his back after arresting Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), arrested for what we don't know. Anton's victims soon multiply, after he's put on the case of the missing money by the drug lords, all shown in shocking detail. There are innocent bystanders, or not-so-innocent participants in the violent Mexican/U.S. drug trade in West Texas in 1980. But once we know a character, even a little, the murder close-ups stop. We watch over the shoulder of a character that is on screen for just a few minutes before Anton blasts him. And for other characters, ones we know well and care about, we see only the aftermath, or not even that, perhaps, just a killer checking his boots to see if there's any blood as he departs the scene.

By the end of the movie, you realize that it's not just West Texas in 1980 that is inhospitable to old men, but that it's all old men who have no country. They can only see that other generations before them have had similar disconnects, and can only dream of riding into the cold and dark, and sitting at a campfire with a comforting ghostly presence.

Rated R. 122 minutes. Written and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen from the novel by Cormac McCarthy. Produced by Ethan and Joel Coen and Scott Rudin. Distributed in the U.S. by Miramax Films. Principal actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, and Kelly Macdonald.

Cassandra's Dream ***

Writer/Director Woody Allen's latest drama, "Cassandra's Dream," the third in his recent English period, is a tale of two London brothers, ambitious in two different ways: one is an auto mechanic with a dream of owning a sports shop, while the other chafes at running his ailing father's restaurant and dreams of investing in a big deal that will open up a life in California. Allen's brothers are well-drawn and believable, with similar traits, but telling differences. Mechanic Terry (Colin Farrell) has a propensity to play the dogs and wager in poker games that are too high-stakes for his means. Budding businessman Ian (Ewan McGregor) has made some bad investments before, but his luck is sure to change, he thinks, with this next deal. This is a different social level than we have seen Allen examine before.

We first meet the brothers as they are buying a small sailboat, which they later name "Cassandra's Dream" after Terry's winning pick in a dog race. You figure, and are later assured, that neither knows much about Greek mythology or drama, or else they would not have named their vessel for the daughter of Priam and Hecuba, blessed to have prescient dreams, but cursed to never be believed, especially when the outcome will be tragic. The brothers soon find themselves in difficulty, as Terry gets in way over his head with loan sharks, and Ian needs some serious money to follow through with an investment that will impress his beautiful new actress girlfriend (a luscious Hayley Atwell).

Enter rich Uncle Howard (Tom Wilkinson), who is willing help the boys out, but at a price they never imagined. Crossing the line into crime, reactions of the brothers afterwards shows how different their characters are. The character flaws in each lead inexorably to an unforeseen end, as Ian's guiltless amorality clashes with Terry's tortured obsession.

Throughout, I thought the dialog and development of the brothers was excellent, and McGregor and Farrell especially, down to his greasy fingernails, do fine work at bringing their characters to life. Tom Wilkinson is also convincing, as is Terry's girlfriend Kate (Sally Hawkins). The locations in London and in the countryside are perfect. What I found lacking was suspense. Much of the action, as in Greek drama, takes place off stage, which is fine when it provokes the imagination. The last scene, for example, is quite arresting for this reason. But mostly the movie plods along. There are some surprises in the action, which is good, but for me there was none of the nail-biting suspense of "Match Point" in this movie. I classify "Cassandra's Dream" with a number of other interesting Woody Allen projects that entertain and engage, and raise questions about morality in our time, but do not thrill or satisfy.

Rated PG-13. 108 Minutes. Written and directed by Woody Allen. Produced by Letty Aronson, Stephen Tenenbaum, Gareth Wiley. Distributed in the U.S. by The Weinstein Company. Principal actors: Ewan McGregor, Collin Farrell, Tom Wilkinson, Sally Hawkins, and Hayley Atwell.

There Will Be Blood *****

"There Will Be Blood" is at once an account of U.S. oil exploration at the turn of the century, a masterful visual construction, a meditation on family, a harrowing character study, and a damning portrait of the role of business and religion in American life. The virtually wordless opening sequences show us the salient episodes in the ascent of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) from solo miner to oil man. These sequences, with utterly convincing period detail and careful composition, and little if any music, set the tone for the rest of the movie. What we have here is a remarkable visual feast, a rough and lived-in production design, and extraordinary performances of the script from screenplay writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Anderson, perhaps best known as the director and writer of "Punch Drunk Love" (2002), for which Adam Sandler received his only Golden globe nomination, and "Boogie Nights" (1997), here loosely adapts the 1927 novel "Oil!" by Upton Sinclair. His script is spare on words, resonant of the American West and the plain-spoken self-made man, but also eloquent on those occasions and in the ways a businessman or a faith healer would employ. His direction is sure-footed, and while one suspects that Daniel Day-Lewis requires little in the way of coaching, the performances, pacing, and vision of the movie are the work of a master.

Cinematographer Robert Elswit ("Michael Clayton," "American Dreamz," " Syriana," "Good Night, and Good Luck") gives us another superb collection of shots and compositions that communicate the story. But it is the performances, primarily of Day-Lewis as the oil man, and secondarily of Paul Dano as twins Paul and Eli Sunday, who mirror the businessman/religious charlatan split of American life, that make this movie such an entertaining experience, despite its two-and-a-half-hour-plus run time. Dano, so convincing in "Little Miss Sunshine," brings intensity and clarity to the role of Eli Sunday. But it is Day-Lewis, probably now best-remembered for his role as Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting in "Gangs of New York," who mesmerizes. His portrayal of amoral, atheist, asexual Daniel Plainview keeps you riveted throughout the film.

"There Will Be Blood" is one of the rarest of movies, one that combines great direction, writing, cinematography, production design, and acting. It is not to be missed.

Rated R. 167 minutes. Produced and distributed by Miramax Films.

27 Dresses ***

When I was at On Command, the hotel video services company, every month we would have a movie in our top five that had not done that well at the box office, and often not that well with the critics, either, but which had a female-skewing theme. While some would dismiss these movies as "chick flicks," I began to pay attention to the movies that appeal to traveling professional women. These movies center on a woman, or sometimes two women, in a romantic quandary. You know it's going to somehow work out, but the fun is in how they get there. We began to actively identify and promote these movies. After all, women make up more than 40% of business travel these days. And they're more likely than men to order a movie. OK, more likely than men to order a Hollywood feature movie. "27 Dresses" is the latest entry in this category, and it's a perfectly serviceable example.

You know the premise. Super-supportive friend Jane (Katherine Heigl) has been a happy and efficient bridesmaid 27 times, but her world begins to crack when her sister Tess (Malin Akerman) lands the gorgeous boss (Ed Burns) she's secretly in love with. Enter equally gorgeous writer (James Marsden) who cynically covers the wedding beat that Jane has dedicated her life to, who she instantly dislikes. Throw in the wise-cracking friend (Judy Greer), and you can finish it from here, right? No matter, it's a guilty pleasure and as satisfying as a piece of New York cheese cake.

"27 Dresses" raises no important questions, breaks no new ground, and will win no awards. But it is a fine popcorn movie for traveling professional women, and tolerable for guys, too, if they get dragged to this one now that gratitude for sitting through "The Lake House" has run its course. Actually, come to think of it, there are some big questions answered by this movie. Is it a pleasure to watch Katherine Heigl act for more than an hour and a half? Yes. Can James Marsden, perennial "other guy" and the prince in "Enchanted" carry a romantic lead? Yes. Will women flock to this movie? Well, today in a full theater I counted only 4 men in the audience at the matinee. I think it's a hit.

Rated PG-13. 107 Minutes. Produced and distributed by Fox 2000 Pictures.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly *****

"The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Julian Schnabel's realization of the book by Jean-Dominique Bauby, written by eye blinks after he was paralyzed by a stroke, is an emotional and technical tour de force. "Jean-Do" to his friends, Bauby was at the height of his career, editor of Elle, with three children by a long-term partner and in love with a mistress, when he was stuck down in 1995. The movie chronicles his awakening from a coma and painfully slow communication with the world outside, when he found himself imprisoned in "locked-in syndrome," able to control only his left eye.

Beginning when Bauby first regains consciousness, expertly told from his viewpoint, the movie takes us inside his mind as he tries to focus and finds himself in a hospital. What follows is a claustrophobic narrative lensed by Janusz Kaminski, two-time Oscar winner (for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List") most recently known for his work on "Munich" and "Minority Report." Gradually Bauby learns where he is, and that he is confined in his frozen body. But his mind is free. Slowly, we learn about him and his life, through his communications with his therapists and his visitors, and the camera slowly makes the transition from inside Bauby's left eye to show us the outside world.

Bauby learns that two things have not been taken from him: his memories and his imagination; and he decides to see where he can go with them. The movie is a fascinating journey, and well worth the time, as we see the value of a man to his friends, his family, himself, no matter how difficult it is to interact.

Rated PG-13. 112 minutes. Produced by Pathe Renn Productions. Distributed by Miramax Films. In French with English subtitles.

The Kite Runner ***

"The Kite Runner," Khaled Hosseini's novel of childhood betrayal and adult redemption, receives a rich portrayal in a movie translation that does not shrink from using the real languages of Afghanistan to tell its story. The picture of Afghan society that is depicted is fascinating: there is pre-Soviet-invasion Kabul, the stark contrast of the Kabul under the Taliban after the Russians have been driven out, and the exile Afghan community in the U.S., so reminiscent of the best scenes of last year's ex-pat Indian community in the "The Namesake."

Director Marc Forster has excelled before in showing us other cultures that form the soil out of which his stories grow: the black/white tensions and history of the hardscrabble South embedded in "Monster's Ball," the English upper-class of late nineteenth and early twentieth century London in "Finding Neverland," even today's anonymous big-city commuter life in "Stranger Than Fiction." The film is above all an affecting story, but one that also gives us an understanding, maybe for the first time, about how rich the life and culture of Kabul was in the '80s; how bleak under the Taliban. It is one thing to read about soccer stadium executions under the Taliban, and quite another to see one as the half-time show for bearded "fans" who are actual fanatics.

The far-reaching childhood lie of "The Kite Runner" provides a contrast to the tragic lie of "Atonement." Here we have two budding writers, both children, both dealing with shame and their turbulent emotions by banishing the object of their shame. One seeks to acquire redemption by writing more lies, trying to create a world that never was and never could be because of her calumny. The other grows up to write a truth that does not substitute for action, and who does not hesitate to put himself at risk, no matter how out of character. The action feels good, and feels earned, thanks to some well-placed blows to the head, but it also feels like something required in the story arc; whereas, oddly, the unsatisfying ending of "Atonement" feels more real.

Performances, especially by the child actors in the first half of the movie, unknowns in a cast of mostly unknowns, are excellent. Forster works here again with cinematographer Roberto Schaefer, who achieves something magical in the kite flying sequences, as the camera dips and swirls, giving us a kite's-eye view of Kabul and the magnificent surrounding mountains. It's an exhilarating experience, one among many satisfying moments in this beautiful film.

Rated PG-13. 122 Minutes. Produced by DreamWorks SKG. Distributed by Paramount Vantage. In English, Dari, Pashtu, Urdu, and Russian, with subtitles.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street****

Not for the squeamish, Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is a gory, atmospheric adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's dark revenge tragedy musical from the '70's. The sets and locations are suitably smoky, wet, and lifeless. The palette is set from the arresting opening credits: all blacks and grays, with a rivulet of shocking red liquid.

In this version of the story, a lecherous judge ships off the barber Sweeney Todd (Johnny Depp) so that he can have Todd's beautiful wife, and ends up as the guardian of his daughter. Fifteen years later, Todd returns with vengeance on his mind, and is aided by his former and present landlady, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who makes "the worst meat pies in London." Mrs. Lovett soon spices up her offering and increases her business while at the same time disposing of evidence, as Todd descends into revenge, serial murder, and madness.

All of the actors, especially Depp and Carter, act and sing tremendously well (who knew either of them could sing?). The songs, generally not the easy kind of tunes you leave the theater humming, propel the story forward, marvels of understandability and acting. Lush and well-articulated, the musical arrangements shine. The story and songs have been trimmed somewhat (Sondheim himself labored with Burton on this) to make a cinematic production from the Broadway show.

Secondary rolls are mostly very good. In particular Alan Rickman (Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series) adds some depth to the character of evil Judge Turpin, source of all of Todd's woes. And Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford, the judge's toady accomplice, seems to have leapt from the pages of Dickens. Sacha Baron Cohen, as rival barber Pirelli, brings a suitable flamboyance and menace to his role. And young Ed Sanders ("Not While I'm Around") is a very strong Toby.

Intense and unrelenting, "Sweeney Todd" is a jolt of a movie you will remember.

Rated R. 116 minutes. Produced and distributed by DreamWorks SKG.

The Bucket List *

I am sorry to report that "The Bucket List" expires before its main characters do. It's a promising premise: two old guys dying from cancer make a list of things to do before kicking the proverbial bucket and go on a trip together to actually do them. One of the guys, luckily enough for the story, is fabulously wealthy, so money is no object. And the actors are promising: Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, two of the greats, and Sean Hayes as Nicholson's assistant. But the script, the acting, and the production are all pedestrian, even sloppy at times.

The story movement is oh so predictable, as each man must deal with something unfinished in his life. Some of the banter is amusing, but the laugh lines are old or weak. I couldn't believe Nicholson's character repeated a line about three things never to do that my Dad has been saying for ten years. I expected more chemistry between Nicholson and Freeman, but it just all seemed so flat. The foreign location shots look like they were running short on money, with obvious doubles for Nicholson and Freeman on The Great Wall of China, on top of a pyramid, on Safari, etc. There were even continuity problems, with blood suddenly appearing on Nicholson's chin in one scene, and his collar jumping in and out of his jacket in another.

The movie's Web site, on the other hand, is impressive. I would encourage you to check it out (http://thebucketlist.warnerbros.com/), but skip the movie.

Rated PG-13. 97 minutes. Produced by Storyline Entertainment. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

The Savages ****

When the surname of the family in question is "Savage," you don't expect a comedy. And you'd be right. I'm a little puzzled by the comedy/drama genre some have assigned to this picture. There are funny moments, yes, quite a few, but the portrayal of the Savages by writer/director Tamara Jenkins is no laughing matter.

Grown-up siblings Wendy (Laura Linney) and Jon Savage (Philip Seymour Hoffman) must deal with their familial responsibilities as their father (Philip Bosco) slips into dementia. And as they learn about nursing homes and Medicare coverage they begin to learn something about themselves. Why do neither of them, both forty-ish, have a partner? What does their father mean to them now? How do they deal with the memories of how he treated them as children? How do they deal with the guilt and the guilt-mongers?

Hoffman, as a Bertolt Brecht scholar, is outstanding in this role. He has the manner of a quick-witted scholar, and the weariness of someone who fears he may have chosen a too-narrow field. His delivery of the dialog with his sister, from Tamara Jenkins' excellent script, tells us what they must have been like growing up together. And Laura Linney matches his performance. I am amazed at how Linney inhabits her roles, each one a carefully drawn individual. For my money, she is up there with Meryl Streep, and, like Streep, she has chosen a wide range of roles, and more often than not, chosen well. And in this movie, it is Wendy Savage who makes the longest journey, and it's wonderful to watch Linney help us understand her.

This movie, already nominated for several awards, could get attention from Oscar for Hoffman, Linney, and Jenkins, so it might hang around a little longer and even expand beyond its present 111 screens.

Rated R. 113 minutes. Produced and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Atonement ****

"Atonement" is a haunting, intensely romantic, lush movie that achieves something of epic proportions from its elements. This is kind of surprising, because when you think back on the story, it doesn't sound grand. There is one unforgettable, huge scene of war that is at once dreamlike and horrifically realistic. But in general it's the images, the pacing, the compositions that director Joe Wright constructs, and above all the performances from the principles that keep coming back to me again and again.

Keira Knightly, who must be the most beautiful actress working today, is utterly convincing as Cecilia Tallis, the reluctant lover, whose pent up emotion, when it does finally break through, leads her to the most surprising of circumstances. And James McEvoy gives us yet another outstanding portrayal in his growing body of work. Of course you remember him as the doctor in "The Last King of Scotland" (2006) and as Tom Lefroy in "Becoming Jane" (2007), but if you haven't seen him in "Starter for 10," a British coming of age film about a quiz-whiz college student who must choose between the two women in his life, put it on your rental list. Unfortunately titled for American audiences, this lovely little film grossed only $217,000 in its limited run early last year.

But it is the remarkable performance of Saoirse Ronan, who plays the 13-year-old younger sister Briony Tallis that holds the movie together. Ronan, whose first name is pronounced "SEER sha," I am told, is actually 13 and expertly conveys the adolescent emotions and longings of someone who loses herself in writing and make-believe. It is Briony who, seeing something she does not understand, and who makes a false report that affects so many lives, that later feels compelled to make some kind of atonement. In doing so, her character raises questions about the role of the artist, whether another lie, no matter how alluring, can atone for anything, and even whether artists are working out issues only for themselves and would rather construct a fable than deal with real life.

As I say, it's a haunting movie, but it's the kind of ghostly presence whose visitations I don't mind at all.

Rated R. 130 minutes. Produced by Working Title Films. Distributed by Focus Features.