V For Vendetta (2005)

"Only here and there do you find the spark and kinetic zap delivered by the first Matrix picture."

Vacancy (2007)

"The kind of sleazily effective horror/genre movie Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino were trying for in Grindhouse. Vacancy catches you by the throat and puts you through the wringer."

Valentin (2004)

"The film is plenty charming, but lacks a connection to its time and place that would put Valentin's dilemma in context."

The Valet (2007)

"This smoothly acted contrivance offers a lesson or two in how to sell a certain kind of comedy -- meaning, how not to oversell it."

Valkyrie (2008)

"Judging by Mark Twain's comment about the music of Richard Wagner (better than it sounds), if Twain were around to see Valkyrie he'd likely say it's better than it seems."

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)

"The animation, a combination of traditional and computer-generated, is beautifully detailed, dark and eerie."

Vanaja (2007)

"Vanaja, a film exploring the tensions of the caste system in contemporary rural India, boasts a compelling story on-screen and off."

Vanity Fair (2004)

"Graced with Nair's loving direction, Witherspoon's radiance and that great cast, it is a treat, if somewhat less so than the novel."

Varsity Blues (1998)

"The football scenes are involving, the acting is up to snuff, and there is something about those last days of high school that remains a solid background for even the most familiar of stories."

Venom (2005)

"Jim Gillespie (I Know What You Did Last Summer) directs and while one might naively believe that the absence of Jennifer Love Hewitt would in itself predict an advance in moviemaking, one would be sadly mistaken."

Vera Drake (2004)

"A prime example of how genuine drama terrifies and uplifts us. It also reveals how controversial subjects can seem fresh and new in the hands of a master director and a great ensemble cast."

Veronica Guerin (2003)

"Veronica Guerin succeeds as a memorial to a gutsy journalist who changed a country."

Vertical Limit (2000)

"If you lay aside that action and watch the people instead, it's a morass of dimwitted family crises and hack action-movie cliches."

A Very Long Engagement (2004)

"[Jeunet] strikes a giddy balance between comedy and terror, romance and incandescent action, between the demands of his huge canvas and his intimate emotional subject."

View from the Top (2003)

"View From the Top is an apt title for this sorta-comedy, which always seems to be looking down on its characters."

Virtual JFK (2008)

"The word Iraq is never uttered, but there's no avoiding it as Kennedy asserts during the Bay of Pigs crisis that to attack Cuba, a country that hadn't attacked the United States, would be contrary to our national tradition."

The Visitor (2008)

"Richard Jenkins and "The Visitor" make lovely music together. It's a case of a veteran character actor slipping on a leading role like the most comfortable pair of pants in the world."

Viva (2008)

"The movie isn’t comfortable or wholly successful."