If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.