Will Smith turns in a wonderfully layered, conflicted performance in Seven Pounds. The character is an enigma: his behavior is unusually nice in some contexts, and heartlessly cruel in others. Even his profession seems vague. What's he up to? Remarkably, even though we can't account for all his actions, can't fully relate to him, and don't really know what makes him tick until the end, Smith captures the humanity of the character and elicits our sympathy and empathy.

The less you know about Seven Pounds going in, the better. Read as little about it as possible before seeing it. Suffice it to say that this is an amazing, moving, and powerful story. It's an original one, too: I'm fond of drawing comparisons between different movies that play with similar ideas, but I'm at a loss here. It's refreshing to see such an effective movie that isn't just a thinly disguised retread of proven ground.