Bill Goodykoontz

Although at times maybe not enough happens, it’s still a satisfying homage to a golden age of American film and an original achievement in its own right.

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

It takes a strong stomach for extreme violence and over-the-top obscenity, but if you're willing to roll with that, Deadpool is a hoot.

Hoffman wisely gives his actors plenty of room to maneuver, and that they do. It's surprisingly fun to watch them play against each other. It's not as if you're going to learn anything new from Quartet. It's too straightforward for that. But that doesn't mean you won't enjoy seeing old pros at work. And you won't be exhausted by the end of it.

If this is a story told more broadly than what we’ve seen from Pixar the past few films, so be it. It may not be a masterpiece, but its message is one that can’t be expressed enough. Luca expresses it in a gorgeous, fun way.

Carroll purists and freshman English majors may be aghast at the change in story, but for those who watched "Avatar" and marveled at the images but were left wanting by the wooden acting and tired story, "Alice" is a treat.

If you're game, "Parnassus" is a richly rewarding experience. If not, it comes off like pretentious nonsense.

Flawed but impressive, War for the Planet of the Apes finds its place comfortably, and near the top, of a surprisingly satisfying summer season. It’s a smart take on the old films, making this a series that can stand alone in its own right.

Much of the film is inert, like a still life with dialogue. That’s not a detriment. That’s an invitation to see a movie whose beauty stays with you long after it ends.

With a performance that is wide-ranging by necessity, Kazan makes Ruby immensely likable (as well as clingy, manic, sad, happy and whatever else Calvin wants her to be).

Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins’ long-awaited sequel, is a much better film. It’s not that it’s lacking in chaos. (With a running time of 2 hours and 31 minutes, it's not lacking in much.) It just uses chaos more judiciously. That's fitting for a film about wretched excess, about getting what you want and realizing that maybe you were better off without it.

The best thing is that Nichol doesn’t adopt a luddite stance. He doesn’t try to impart the evils of technology, at least not much. (Some people in the film lean that way.) He’s more inclined to chronicle the joys of a fading delight, one click-clack at a time.

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

The Last Man on the Moon is one of those movies we didn't realize we needed, but turns out to be just the thing for our fractured, cynical times.

Jude refuses to force a happy ending upon the audience. Things happen as they happen, and if one scene is especially hard to stomach, it leads to a kind of grim resolve to just keep forging ahead as best you can.

Gleeson is terrific as Faraday struggles — with his feelings for Caroline, with her feelings for him, with the notion that some of what’s going on at Hundreds Hall may not have a rational explanation. The evolution of his character is subtle, but hauntingly effective.

The acting is good throughout the film, but Gladstone and Stewart are a step up from everyone else. It’s tempting to say it could have been a feature all on its own, but as it stands it’s nearly perfect, making an already solid Certain Women that much better.

Green shows us nothing lurid, nothing explicit. Instead she lets the toxicity build, bit by bit, until it’s seeped in everywhere. That’s powerful, and that’s worse, too.

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

Fences is a feast of brilliant acting, in a story that’s sometimes as difficult as it is powerful.

Montana Story is a personal film, a small story told under the Big Sky. Those skies can make any story feel epic in scope — they frame tales as mythology in a way. But in Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s film (they wrote and direct), those same skies are so grand and far-reaching they can make you lose your perspective.

The cast is top-notch, the story is satisfyingly dark, the performances are fun and, of course, the songs are terrific.

Inherent Vice is an aggressively weird movie, which you should take not as a warning but as a compliment and an invitation to see it, to let its stoner vibes wash all over you.

If you stick with it, Evil Does Not Exist offers rich rewards, as well as lessons, no matter how inscrutable at times.

Lucky Them isn't a great film, all told, but thanks to the good-natured performances and the general vibe, it's an immensely enjoyable one.

Sweet, gentle and defiantly retro (the 2-D hand-drawn animation is superb), the movie is irresistibly charming.

A heartfelt, moving and bracingly honest document of a famous man as he fades away.

It’s a throwback in some ways, offering the same feeling you might get from ’90s and early 2000s films like “Garden State,” “Walking and Talking” and “Flirting with Disaster,” not in content, but in mood and atmosphere — an indie vibe that permeates everything, in a pleasant way.