Canal+

• Apt Pupil directed by Bryan Singer (1998)

  [6/10]

  "Ian McKellen and Brad Renfro provide the life force in Apt Pupil, but even with such good efforts, the final act leaves us wanting more."

• Choristes, Les [The Chorus] directed by Christophe Barratier (2004)

  [7/10]

  "I generally don't like warm-fuzzy feel-good movies, but this one handles the plot well, develops the characters in a believable way, and has some pleasant music along the way."

• Ma Vie en Rose [My Life in Pink] directed by Alain Berliner (1997)

  [5/10]

  "Seven-year-old Ludovic (Georges Du Fresne) believes he's a girl. Somehow when the stork delivered him, Ludovic's second X chromosome fell in the garbage, leaving him with a male body."

• March of the Penguins directed by Luc Jacquet (2005)

  [5/10]

  "I thought the pacing of the film dragged a bit with the Freeman monologue, and I could have used some comic relief through personified voices."

• Queen, The directed by Stephen Frears (2006)

  [9/10]

  "The Queen does something unusual -- it makes a fairly severe critique of monarchy in general while giving tribute to Queen Elizabeth II's years of service to her country."

• Straight Story, The directed by David Lynch (1999)

  [4/10]

  "Imagine how bored would you get driving a riding lawn mower across Iowa? Now imagine watching a movie about a 73-year-old man driving a riding lawn mower across Iowa -- a serious movie, not a comedy. Now add a folksy violin ditty on an endless 30-second loop for 110 minutes of 5 mile-per-hour lawn mower adventures and you have The Straight Story."

  Average score: 6.00