"I believe that we respond most and best to work in any art form (and to other experience as well) if we are pluralistic, flexible, relative in our judgments, if we are eclectic," wrote Pauline Kael, the undisputed queen of journalistic film criticism. Born in tiny Petaluma, California, Kael went

Eclectic, In-your-face, Smart, Witty

Epic, Excessive, German expressionist film, Grand, Monumental, Power

In 1988, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" asked all the right questions about secrecy, technology, and female orgasm. The elite clan at Cannes awarded the maverick production the Palm d'Or, and mainstream theaters opened their doors to Andie McDowell asking the camera -- and the mainstream audiences behind

Absurd, Melancholy, Repetition, Whimsical

When Chow Yun-Fat steps into view, your eyes are immediately drawn to him. He commands the screen with an undeniable charisma and an imitable sense of the cool. For his cool is not detached, it's not ironic or cold or urban in any familiar way. No, Chow Yun-Fat's cool is distinctly warm: you trust hi

Agitated, Charming, Cool, Hong kong action, Kinetic, Physical force, Slick, Violent