Død snø (Dead Snow), Tommy Wirkola, 2009

Wirkola's snowbound zombie terror is plainly (and, one assumes, lovingly) indebted to Sam Raimi's Evil Dead films, Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, and other staples of horror/camp. The director's gags aren't as pitch perfect as the laugh out loud moments in those films, but there's no shortage of well executed, hyper-stylized chills.

Doubt, John Patrick Shanley, 2008

Shanley's is a well made but exceedingly flat excercise. Consistently stunning frames and a trio of strong performances from Amy Adams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the imcomparable Meryl Streep are all but wasted in service of a narrative with no hint of dramatic tension.

Whatever Works, Woody Allen, 2009

Allen's latest is a broad, classical, stage-like comedy that's limited in its effectiveness by a mixed bag of performances and an uncertain, at times off-the-rails narrative.

L'heure d'été (Summer Hours), Olivier Assayas, 2008

Assayas' is a small, well-mannered film about big, ill-mannered themes. Nothing less than youth, family, nostalgia, death, and the detritus of life are assayed in this composed, elegant piece.