Blue Valentine: Michelle Williams (perfectly pitched) and Ryan Gosling (overdoing it) play a pair of passionate lovers who become a weary married couple raising a 5-year-old on a tight budget. There's so much to admire in this marriage-in-crisis miniature that it's that much more frustrating when it falls short of its promise.
- Kimberley Jones
The Illusionist: In this sad animated film based on a Jacques Tati script, a down-on-his-luck Parisian magician travels to Scotland, where he befriends a young woman. Pleasant enough, but I'd rather watch a real Tati film.
- Kenneth Burns
