"Kingdom of Heaven"

Jack Garner, Gannett News Service: The filmmaker behind this challenging film is Ridley Scott, an intelligent and masterful director who strives to present his tale of 12th-century religious war with as much balance and sensitivity as possible. And, as he did with "Gladiator," "Blade Runner" and "Black Hawk Down," Scott also creates a strange yet real world and gives it epic scope and potent dramatic power. "Kingdom of Heaven" is superbly cast (a trademark of a Scott film).

Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel: Ridley Scott blends elements of the military futility of "Black Hawk Down" with the epic heroism of "Gladiator" for this take on the collision between West and East, between Christianity and Islam. It's evenhanded and noble, and even thrilling. But it's also frustrating and inconclusive, not sure enough of its ground to give us the fatalism of "Black Hawk" or "Gladiator." There are so many figures to keep track of, too many intrigues to follow. Like all of Scott's films, it's a grandly visceral and emotional experience, not an intellectual one. Thus, "Kingdom" sweeps over you like the tide, but somehow never actually gets you wet.

"House of Wax"

Lisa Rose, Newhouse News Service: It's a long way from Vincent Price to Paris Hilton. One of the horror icon's signature pictures, "House of Wax," has been renovated into a teen death-fest with the blond heiress on hand as prey. The remake is pretty much what one would expect from a film featuring Hilton. It's loud, trashy and starved of smarts, yet strangely engrossing. The omnipresent party girl doesn't display the vaguest flicker of talent as a performer. Her character's gruesome demise, however, is a highlight.

Jack Garner, Gannett News Service: How do you build an entire three-story building entirely out of wax? And how does it stand for decades in the heat of Louisiana? And why oh why is this movie nearly two hours long? In a nutshell: "House of Wax" is pretty darn stupid.

"Crash"

Christy Lemire, The Associated Press: With "Crash," Paul Haggis delivers a knockout punch that rivals the one he leveled with his Oscar-nominated "Million Dollar Baby" script.

Roger Moore, The Orlando Sentinel: It's wrenching, at times, and sharp and funny in the hot buttons it pushes. A busload of very good actors take these small, interlocking roles and act the heck out of them. With too many characters to follow, "Crash" almost suffocates in its own good intentions. But its emotional lows and wicked below-the-belt punches make it a soul-searching film, a manipulative movie with a lot of stars and a writer-director staying on message throughout: We need to know each other better than this.