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July 12, 2012 Red Lights stars Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy as two academics sparring with a psychic (Robert De Niro) whose powers they doubt. Critic Mark Jenkins says the film's one refreshing feature — its skeptical outlook — doesn't survive to the end.

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July 12, 2012 Farewell, My Queen takes place in Versailles as the French Revolution approaches. But it focuses on Marie Antoinette's servant more than on the aristocracy. Critic Mark Jenkins says that approach makes the film more than a tale about doomed royalty; it's also about commoners on the verge of freedom.

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July 5, 2012 Oliver Stone's latest pits two laid-back Stateside dealers (Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson) against a Tijuana cartel that kidnaps their mutual girlfriend. Critic Mark Jenkins says that over-padded length aside, the movie finds Stone firmly in command of his material.

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July 5, 2012 Last Ride tracks ex-con Kev (Hugo Weaving) as he journeys through the Australian wilderness with his son, Chook (Tom Russell). Critic Mark Jenkins says good performances enliven a story that's straight from stock.

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June 26, 2012 Martin Sulik uses the basic framework of Hamlet to look at tensions between the Roma community and white Eastern Europeans in his home country. Critic Mark Jenkins says the film's plainspoken politics may feel less urgent in the U.S., but that diminishes its overall power only slightly.

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June 21, 2012 The latest from French director Philippe Garrel finds three actors and a painter sharing an apartment, with much jealousy and strife as a result. Critic Mark Jenkins finds little heat, however, in a film notable mostly for its cast and crew.

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June 21, 2012 Kirby Dick's documentary exposes an epidemic of sexual assault in the U.S. military, where an estimated 20 percent of women have been victims of an attack. Critic Mark Jenkins says Dick's direct approach to the material makes for a wrenching film. (Recommended)

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June 14, 2012 In his debut feature, writer-director Mathieu Demy, son of filmmakers Jacques Demy and Agnes Varda, stars as a man trying to settle his recently deceased mother's affairs. Critic Mark Jenkins says that Americano's plot occasionally falters, but as a mood piece it gets the tone just right.

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June 7, 2012 Two of Earth's most unspoiled rivers are targeted for a hydroelectric project in Chile's fabled Patagonia region. Brian Lilla's documentary interrogates whether the project's upside is worth the risks — and illustrates the stakes for the gauchos who live and work in the rivers' valleys.

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June 7, 2012 A lush costume drama based on the Guy de Maupassant novel chronicles the adventures of a broodingly beautiful young man (Robert Pattinson) who uses the women of Paris to climb to the pinnacle of power.

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May 31, 2012 A documentary on "breast-cancer culture" critiques the pink-ribbon movement, questioning its corporate links and its dubious results record. Critic Mark Jenkins says the film is unapologetically provocative, yet far from a definitive take.

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May 24, 2012 Based on a true story, a popular award-winning French film follows the therapeutic relationship between a quadriplegic aristocrat and his ex-con caretaker. Critic Mark Jenkins says The Intouchables is likable, but airbrushes the sociocultural conflicts inherent in its material.

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May 24, 2012 The second film directed by Joachim Trier (Reprise) follows a self-destructive writer released from rehab for a day in Oslo. Critic Mark Jenkins says the film is a meditative look at one man seeking connection while considering ending it all.

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May 17, 2012 Based on actual cases, the documentary-style drama follows officers of Paris' Child Protection Unit through successes and failures and the ambiguity in between. Critic Mark Jenkins says the film features a virtuoso ensemble cast and is both humane and disturbing. (Recommended)

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May 10, 2012 In the second feature by Lebanese writer-director-star Nadine Labaki (Caramel), Christian and Muslim women in a Lebanese village try to keep the more impulsive and belligerent men from conflict. Critic Mark Jenkins says the well-meaning fable is ultimately more admirable than persuasive.

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