In analyzing Sacha Baron Cohen and the array of offbeat characters he's created, it's clear that it's become a matter of diminishing returns.

Directed by John Madden, the film is old-fashioned, safe and resistant to stray from its comfort zone — like visiting a foreign country and only eating the foods you already know you like.

Film takes a while to get going as it establishes all those characters and back stories, but once there, it seems to have nowhere to go

You probably haven't been lying awake in bed at night wondering whatever became of Stifler and Oz and the rest of the horny kids from the original “American Pie” movie.

“Love in the Buff” (春嬌與志明) is a revelation on the sophistication of romantic relationships in urban Hong Kong and mainland China today.

There's nothing Hollywood likes better than a story with legs, even very short legs, and when the new live-action fairy tale “Mirror Mirror” opens Friday, it will be telling a tale that's been around for about 500 years — namely, “Snow White,” the story of a girl, some bad produce and love triumphant.

Alexander Payne makes movies about men on the brink — of a nervous breakdown, of personal or professional ruin and, ultimately, maybe even some hard-earned peace. That was true of Matthew Broderick's scheming teacher in “Election,” Jack Nicholson's searching retiree in “About Schmidt” and Paul Giamatti's sloppy oenophile in “Sideways,” and it's certainly true of George Clooney in “The Descendants.”

The “Soul of Bread” (愛的麵包魂) is a light-hearted romantic comedy directed by Sean Kao (高柄權) and Lin Chun-yang (林君楊), whose award-winning screenplay granted high anticipations for the movie after an equally successful TV version in 2006.

During China's Beiyang period (北洋時期) in the 1920s, warlords vie for power over the newly formed Republic while remnant powers wish to restore the Qing Dynasty.

"Bang Bang Formosa” (寶島大爆走), directed by Andy Luo An-de (羅安得), is a delightful road movie that moves boisterously through contemporary Taiwan.