With equal parts dark comedy and even darker drama, this coming-of-age tale takes an unflinching look not just at the awkwardness of growing up but the potential pain and humiliation. Read more>>

Somehow, Diane English has managed to make the “Sex and the City” movie look like a documentary. With her remake of George Cukor’s 1939 cat fight “The Women,” based on the play by Clare Booth Luce, English has applied all the lighthearted instincts of her sitcom background and seemingly none of the insights of the source material, Read more>>

“Frozen River” is a bit of a miracle itself: a small movie with hugely moving performances, one with a vivid sense of place that’s never pretentious in its indie aesthetic. Read more>>

“Kit Kittredge: An American Girl” has a lot more on its mind — and a much more beneficial message for girls — than last summer’s candy-coated movie-based-on-a-doll, “Bratz.” Read more>>

During this tumultuous, strike-hobbled awards season, at least a dozen movies with literary roots have real shots at winning the biggest prizes. Read more>>

Female directors are flooding today’s theaters more than ever, with movies as diverse as the women themselves. Yet the struggle for equality, recognition and respect continues. Read more>>