Bill Goodykoontz

Never miss a chance to see Helen Mirren. You certainly could do worse as far as movie advice goes. Mirren may not be the only reason to see The Last Station, about the final year of Leo Tolstoy's long, eventful life, but she's the best reason.

Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett last worked together on You're Next, a ferocious film that is also intelligent. They're even more successful here.

A terrific piece of entertainment. The financial lingo will please money wonks. But the film as a whole focuses more on the people and personalities who went into such a catastrophic failure.

The acting is outstanding. And there's a lot of humor. True, we're often laughing at Philip (when we're not cringing), instead of with him. But Perry also goes for more traditional laughs.

In Bethlehem Adler tries to make some sense of that world, and to the extent that it's possible, succeeds.

The Wonders is one of those films that's easier to experience than explain, which is almost always a good thing.

Gadot is terrific, capturing perfectly the grace, power and heroism of the Amazonian princess who must make herself present in the world to save it.

The acting is outstanding all the way around. But Stewart is brilliant. She looks, sounds and moves amazingly like the real Diana, but this is no impersonation. Instead it’s Stewart getting to the heart of the truth through her performance, her Diana a prisoner of the fame and adherence to tradition at all costs that trapped her.

Its scale and ambition at times makes it seem like more than it is: a survival story. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s a good one. It’s just not a whole lot more.

It’s when Soderbergh tries to say too much that he loses the thread a bit. That’s a shame, because he and the cast are so good at saying a lot with a little.

It’s terrific. This was something of a surprise, as it seems almost impossible to tell this kind of story without a treacly narrative and clichéd notes of inspiration — against-all-odds kind of stuff, which so easily slips into melodrama.

It’s fascinating and funny while forcing us to consider the line between technology and art.

There is so much love and understanding of all the genres the film is skewering that What We Do in the Shadows transcends its lowbrow inspirations. It's a real treat.

Trachtenberg is patient building this world, and the actors do a good job inhabiting it. Winstead is a terrific actress, and she makes Michelle's desperation and inventiveness believable. Goodman is never better than when playing a nut, and while we aren't sure if that's what he's doing here, the possibility makes for an intriguing portrayal.

What's surprising here, and pleasantly so, is the restraint shown by Mortensen and Fassbender -- and by Cronenberg.

The film is quiet, patient, allowing for lived-in performances that get at the enormous change in the characters' lives.

Hello, My Name Is Doris is at times self-consciously quirky and precious and implausible — and Sally Field is so good in it that those complaints seem pointless.

The story is intriguing enough to make Mud a good movie. Led by Sheridan and McConaughey, the performances make it something more.

A thick film of sleaze coats every frame of Nightcrawler, a movie that takes a hard look at media culture and provides Jake Gyllenhaal a terrific opportunity to creep us all out.

It unfolds in ways both comic and affecting.

Catching Fire is a great leap forward for the franchise. Seeing as it’s all about hope and what it represents, here’s hoping the next two are just as good, if not better.

Frot's performance is so towering, so convincing, that it smooths out all the film's rough edges. It's a triumph.

Witherspoon is an outstanding actress whose material doesn't always fit her talents. "Wild" meanders a bit, in its trips from present to past and back, but Witherspoon remains the constant, doing what sounds simple enough but proves so difficult: soldiering on.

Things get gross and gory — it’s a Ti West film, after all — but more than anything else, West is having fun. Lurid fun, yes, but fun nonetheless. And if you’re a fan of horror and filmmaking, you will, too.

When you watch the movie, you’ll know more about these characters than they know about each other. But Moshe, who also wrote the script, brings the truth to light in dramatically satisfying ways.

Gondry’s illustrations are as fascinating as the chats. Sometimes they look like markers on a napkin. Other times they are reminiscent of something made on the old Lite-Brite toy. They’re always delightful.

Jacobs, while making a fairly funny movie, does not settle for easy answers or melodrama.

Sound City is a music geek's dream, a rollicking look at a dumpy California studio where a lot of musicians found magic. It's also a bit of a mess, like all good rock and roll ought to be.

There's no hard-and-fast rule that says you have to like the main character in a movie. It's more a custom, really - a custom that Ben Stiller stretches nearly to the breaking point in Greenberg.

There is so much to enjoy about Encanto — the songs, the gorgeous animation, the cultural traditions. All of which make the script’s serious shortcomings all the more surprising and disappointing.

"Norman” takes a largely unlikable character and inserts him into the center of its story, a gambit that seems like a surefire recipe for disaster. It’s not, thanks to Richard Gere.

Too bad. You sense that someone could have made a good movie with this material. Unfortunately, Leth didn't.

It's refreshing to see an animated movie that doesn't look as though the idea for the Happy Meal came first.

Frank is a true original, a film that heads in one direction only to veer off in another, yet never loses sight of where it's going.

Zwick can't seem to decide what the movie is - a refreshingly frank comedy about sex and commitment, or a more-serious look at illness and its effect on relationships.

For most of the film, Weitz, riding a fantastic performance by Demián Bichir as the landscaper in question, succeeds in showing the day-to-day struggles that exist beneath the political rhetoric and upper-case headlines.

It’s the kind of movie that, if you give yourself to it, you’ll love.

Capernaum is a tough slog, no doubt, even by tough-slog standards. But that’s a big part of what makes it so rewarding.

Olsen makes us understand, as best we can, Martha's plight. She has a tenuous grip on reality, and, thanks to Olsen's performance and Durkin's sure hand, by the film's end, so do we.

Brutal, sadistic yet well-made statement about how violence is portrayed in media and our reaction to it.

“No life, no music,” the Tower slogan read. For Solomon and the rest, it was more like a battle cry in a war they fought but ultimately couldn’t win.

The film, wisely, is built around Hemsworth. He’s good at this kind of thing, and no matter how many throats he slits, you still root for him.

It is indeed a beautiful film, but with each horizon tinged with sadness.

Not a lot happens, other than eating between small bits of drama and large doses of humor. If you saw the first film, you know how good that can be.

Hausmann-Stokes won’t let the film get sappy; Martin-Green and Harris ensure it. Instead, it’s an unflinching look at a health crisis, a film that arrives at what it’s trying to say through unconventional means, and is all the more effective for it.

The film is fascinating in its exploration of the give-and-take between art and commerce.

Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street is absurd, ridiculous, over the top, overindulgent, overlong, overstuffed, over-everythinged. And that is precisely the point.

Osmond may tell the story to wring maximum emotion out of the audience, but so what? Isn’t that why people make these movies? It is. And more importantly, it’s why people watch them.

The movie is more a collection of cool people telling great stories than it is a structured documentary (despite Camalier’s attempts in that direction). But in this case, that’s enough.

Shaffer's inexperience pays off. He's completely natural as a mixed-up kid (and great on the mat).

There’s nothing in Thor: The Dark World that wasn’t done better in “Thor,” or a lot better in “The Avengers.” Except Tom Hiddleston’s performance as Loki.

Johnson and Dornan retain the chemistry of two mannequins knocked into each other in a department-store storage closet; the actual sex scenes play more like aerobics videos than anything actually steamy.

For some, it will be tempting to say The French Dispatch is easier to admire than enjoy. But if you go into it knowing what Anderson offers, you can do both.

There are laughs aplenty, some disgusting, some rather sweet, some both at the same time.

The performances are outstanding.

Some surprises are more effective than others. But what holds the film together are a couple of really strong performances by Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis. They have a terrific, and unique, chemistry that helps smooth over a few rough patches.

Gere is terrific. It’s a tough job standing out at a distance, especially when we have to make an effort to find you, but Gere always commands our interest and attention.

You don’t lose yourself in the film the way you might like, but there is never a second in which Oldman is not riveting.

It’s quite good, thanks to the sturdiness of the story, the jaw-dropping visuals and, most importantly, the one thing the first film didn’t offer: Emma Watson.

A well-acted, nicely directed, quiet little movie.

Spy is hilarious and heartfelt, a terrific movie.

Night Moves is an unexpected pleasure, offering more than what we expect and taking its time to deliver.

Reeves was born to this kind of role — quiet, moody, looks nice in black. He’s just as good as he was in the first film, because he’s exactly the same. In many ways, so is the film. That’s fine this time around, because John Wick: Chapter 2 is just as crazily entertaining.

It’s a heartfelt salute from Branagh to his hometown, and what he loved there.

Baruchel is outstanding, giving Hiccup just the right amount of confidence buried several layers beneath the shame he feels in not continuing the family business. Butler's a head-banger from way back, so he's convincing. And Ferrera gets the grrl-power vibe just right.

Between the galloping pace of the action and the percussive soundtrack and sound editing, you remain tense the entire time. Garland just won’t let you relax.

There is a predictability to the story, but that's OK. The acting is superb, Holbrook in particular, making That Evening Sun an understated pleasure.

It's stunning (and amazingly well done) and hard to believe.

Individually Christmas and Robinson are outstanding. Together they are even better, making Morris from America an unexpected treat.

This is a crazy movie, in the best possible way. Body horror films have to be willing to get nuts to really work ― “The Substance” knew this, for instance. And Franco and Brie, along with Shanks, fully commit to this.

Fun, happily, is one of the many ingredients in copious supply here.

Through dogged research and interviews with the (now-grown) children Maier cared for, along with their parents (including Phil Donahue), a profile emerges, and it's fascinating.

A perverse delight, the rare film that makes you feel good about feeling bad (or at least watching others do so).

This is a smart movie, a treat for fans of the comics and the franchise. And it's a lot of fun.

It’s an expertly directed, slow-burning psychological horror film filled with outstanding performances.

The Bob’s Burgers Movie is good. At times it’s really good, with a lot of the charm and humor that makes the show so great.

In terms of jokes per minute that land, it’s at least the equal of its predecessor.

What's nice is how smart the film is. Schumer gives a nod to plenty of other romantic comedies, not to make fun of them but to honor them. Being funny is hard work and she has put in the hours of toil.

Cavaye is relentless in his quest to entertain, to thrill.

Bigelow brilliantly builds tension, to the extent that the third version we see is every bit as nerve-wracking as the first if not more so. This is nail-biting stuff, agonizing to sit through.

Abu-Assad does a masterful job of showing, in these seemingly hopeless circumstances, the fragility of life.

Frozen is a delightful animated musical, a return to form for Disney animation with an intriguing story and terrific songs.

This is a film that deals with suicide, missed chances, depression, infidelity and more. Yet the movie itself isn't depressing, thanks to Hader, Wiig and director and co-writer Craig Johnson.

Terribly Happy must surely be the greatest Danish Western ever made.

It's a fine line between being gratingly self-conscious and really smart; more times than not, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl comes out on the winning side of that equation.

There’s a jarring shift in tone and story in the last act, but the performances — particularly towering ones by a way-over-the-top Ralph Fiennes and an under-the-radar Tilda Swinton — perfectly balancing each other, carry the day.

For much of the movie Morris simply lets the loquacious McKinney talk, and she never, ever stops. And she never disappoints.

Giroux's refusal to pass judgment on his characters prevents us from doing so, and the film is much more powerful for it.