The Pacifier (2005)

"The Pacifier isn't going to redefine kids' films, but it's far less painful than what it could have been."

Paid in Full (2002)

"An intelligent crime drama, not because of the criminal activity it dramatizes but because of its powerful examination of the forces that drive criminals."

Palindromes (2005)

"Not much more than trickery and artifice, and not worth the death of dear, departed Dawn."

Panic (2000)

"Both subtle and formidably odd, and already you can feel an enthusiastic cult following forming."

Paper Clips (2004)

"A small, heartening slice of life that feels like a crucial step toward something bigger."

Paradise Now (2005)

"It would be difficult to undertake a more politically relevant film or explore a more volatile subject, and Abu-Assad attempts his project with skill and sensitivity."

Paranormal Activity (2009)

"As far as communal experiences at the multiplex go, the film delivers."

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

"The Passion doesn't suffer from the airless, pious airs that drag down most biblical dramas: It has a muscular, pounding energy and lyrical, almost gothic beauty."

Patch Adams (1998)

"Has some very funny moments, but they're all drowned out by an overbearingly sentimental script."

Pay It Forward (2000)

"As it stands now, Pay It Forward winds up making a very good case for never going out of your way to help anybody."

Pearl Harbor (2001)

"It's all smoke and fireballs, spectacle without any real punch."

A Perfect Getaway (2009)

"For a low-brow, psycho-on-the-loose-in-paradise thriller, A Perfect Getaway is surprisingly entertaining, with exactly the right elements to overcome the inevitable cliches."

The Perfect Man (2005)

"[It] isn't funny or heartwarming or interesting on any level."

Peter Pan (2003)

"There just isn't enough in the movie, despite its marvelous design, to warrant another visit to this material."

Phone Booth (2003)

"Loud and frantic and filled with all sorts of business, but it's also empty and inert, a creative exercise that would have played better as a 30-minute short."

The Piano Teacher (2002)

"A gripping psychological thriller that, while lacking the power of Funny Games, is still the work of a master."

Pieces of April (2003)

"Deftly captures the pressures that accompany holiday gatherings."

Pińero (2001)

"A biopic that is as messy as the life it details."

The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

"[It's] admittedly funnier than the 2006 original. But that movie was so dispiritingly, soul-suckingly bad, there was nowhere left to go but up."

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is the worst kind of sequel -- the kind that exists only to give you more-more-more of what you liked the first time around, without ever justifying its own existence."

Pitch Black (2000)

"Despite far too many video-game moments and annoying taglines, the scifi thriller Pitch Black just may be the most entertainingly derivative movie of the millennium so far."

The Pledge (2001)

"[A] beautifully made bummer."

Pokémon the Movie 2000 (2000)

"Japanese anime can rise to a legitimate art form, as with the intricate and haunting post-apocalyptic classic Akira, but the disposable Pokémon 2000 is far lazier stuff."

Poseidon (2006)

"Neither bad enough to really laugh at nor good enough to be truly exciting, Poseidon just sits there, occasionally gripping, but only fleetingly. It's a bland spectacle."

Possible Loves (2001)

"A charming and somewhat engaging film."