The Pacifier (2005)

"The Pacifier is one of those movies that jams together two ideas that in the end don't work."

Palindromes (2005)

"An intellectually satisfying puzzle."

Panic Room (2002)

"Director David Fincher and writer David Koepp can't sustain it."

Papillon (1973)

"A rousing drama of endurance, opportunism and friendship under fire."

Party Monster (2003)

"In the end, for all the vibrancy, there's not much there there. Maybe that's the point, but I doubt it."

Patch Adams (1998)

"It suffers from excessive heart- warming itis!"

The Patriot (2000)

"It's not being unpatriotic to wish for a better, more original movie."

Pay It Forward (2000)

"Toploaded with manipulative schmaltz, star-turn moments, intentionally unflattering makeup, unbelievable plot twists and just plain twaddle."

Pearl Harbor (2001)

"Wins at war but loses at love."

The Perfect Score (2004)

"Scribes Marc Hyman, Mark Schwahn and Jon Zack have crafted a snappy romp about right, wrong, and the teasing in-between."

Perfect Stranger (2007)

"Perfect Stranger, the new thriller starring Halle Berry and Bruce Willis, is far from perfect and, lame as it is, not quite lousy enough to pan with joy."

Persepolis (2007)

"Few movies capture so well the fluid, fulsome response of children to their (and our) complex worlds."

Peter Pan (2003)

"Action-fortified, touching and entertaining from its beguiling beginning to its dreamy conclusion."

Pineapple Express (2008)

"While this R-rated comedy is oh so lite, it also builds to some endearingly goofball conclusions about friendship and maybe, just maybe, responsibility. Though there's a hazy quality to the latter."

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

"The overloaded sequel exhausts without ever satisfying. Cluttered and clattering, busy with jokes that never bob to the surface of funny, it puts the 'oy!' in ships ahoy."

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

"Pirates of the Caribbean may have taken its nutso inspiration from a theme-park ride. But it has become, without a doubt, its own wild ride."

Planet of the Apes (2001)

"As is all too familiar with modern adventure movies, it gets trapped in formula - big action scenes that offer few surprises, a predictable story arc, dialogue peppered with cliched bon mots and obligatory big ideas that are spoken rather than dramatized."

Pleasantville (1998)

"A showcase for wondrous special effects!"

Pollock (2000)

"Harris' Oscar-nominated performance is quite moving, making Pollock a better movie than the predictability of its story arc would indicate."

Porn Theater (2003)

"Porn Theatre is exactly that, no surprises."

A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

"If A Prairie Home Companion is director Robert Altman's swan song, it's a tune with plenty of sweet, rootsy grace notes."

Premonition (2007)

"Movies obsessed with keeping us guessing can miss out on providing reasons to keep us caring."

Pretty Persuasion (2005)

"Pretty Persuasion is a nasty piece of work. Yet it offers some unvarnished and amusing thoughts about American contradictions."

Pride and Glory (2008)

"Well-paced, well-acted, Pride and Glory is much richer than routine."

Prime (2005)

"Not quite a romantic comedy, Prime is a hybrid of conflicting tones."