John Anderson of Variety Magazine called the film "a vaguely magical, insistently modern fable that could become an arthouse hit," praising the film's acting, production values, and "extraordinarily confident direction."

An extraordinarily confident work, shaped by confusion and turmoil.

(To us, he seems extraordinarily confident.)

"It takes an extraordinarily confident individual to be secure and allow for change," said Lyor Cohen, chief executive of Island Def Jam Music Group, who last spring signed Ms. Carey to a three-record deal.

From his first moments onstage, Mr. Vasiliev, remarkable for his extraordinarily confident and beautifully realized acting, stood out without grabbing the spotlight from his fellow performers.

She was looking steadily into his face and seemed extraordinarily confident.

This played into the hands of Kamsky, who, though not yet 18 years old, has shown himself in several important games to be extraordinarily confident in the defense of difficult positions.

Sun did not dispute his commander's thoughts, but he was being extraordinarily confident of his own fleet's power and recklessly unconcerned about the American Air Force's power.

As for the food, Mr. Colicchio's cooking style is extraordinarily confident, and his intermingling of bold flavors and unusual harmonies is compelling.