Bill Goodykoontz

It is a beautiful excavation, fueled by tremendous performances from frequent Almodóvar collaborator Penélope Cruz and relative feature-film newcomer Milena Smit.

It will quench the thirst of die-hard fans who always want more. But does that thirst justify “The Matrix Resurrections?” Maybe. But it can’t make it a great movie. And despite Reeves’ willingness to jump back in, neither can anything else.

Anderson’s vision of this world, this era, these people, is so winning that you feel a part of it, yet with the removal of an observer. It works. That’s why Licorice Pizza is a blast.

The beauty of Kurt Warner’s story is that it’s so unlikely it’s nearly impervious to clichés. The strength of American Underdog, Andrew and Jon Erwin’s film about Warner’s life in football and with his wife, Brenda, is that they realize this and let the story speak for itself.

The film is 148 minutes long. Many of those minutes are good, some not so good. But one of them is great. Unreservedly so. Redemption and catharsis arrive in a single fleeting moment that wonderfully and succinctly ties up everything Watts is attempting. Truly one of my favorite scenes in a movie this year.

It’s an outstanding debut for someone who obviously knows her way around both sides of the camera.

Nightmare Alley winds up being like one of the games on the midway, its outward appearance more impressive than what lies beneath. But what an appearance it is.

This is a stunningly accurate portrayal of our current climate. And it’s not pretty.

West Side Story is timeless, because of the source material. Tragic romances never go out of style. Spielberg’s version successfully makes the classic contemporary.

Writer and director Nathalie Biancheri’s film explores the lives of those living as “The Other,” outside society’s norms. It requires commitment on the part of the actors and the audience. It’s a worthwhile investment.

There is not a frame of The Power of the Dog, based on the Thomas Savage novel, that isn’t essential to the movie. This includes the first and certainly the last.

Movies may be artifice, but in the best-made films you never really notice that they’re faking it. They feel real, lived-in, recognizable, whether in space or on a speeding bus that can’t slow down or inside a cramped apartment. C’mon C’mon feels real.

Is it a good movie? It’s … a movie. That’s not the slight it sounds like. It’s certainly no masterpiece, though not for lack of a great performance from Lady Gaga. It’s an investment, but watching this cast do these things is worth the price of admission.

Thanks to Larson’s songs, Miranda’s directing and generous, inspired acting — particularly from Garfield, who manages to be lovable and obnoxious, depending on what’s needed — tick … tick … Boom! is a moving tribute to a misunderstood process and the people who engage in it.

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.

Passing is Rebecca Hall’s first feature film as a writer and director. You’d never know it. With her meticulous eye for detail, her beautiful framing of shots (in stunning black-and-white) and the wondrously moving performances she gets from her actors —to say nothing of her handling of the material (she wrote the script) — you’d think Hall had been at this for a while.

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

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.

Eternals isn’t a bad movie. It’s just not a particularly satisfying one, its scale proving untamable, even for Zhao.

There are some genuine scares, some gross-out moments and some heartfelt scenes between Julia and Lucas. The atmosphere is so thick you can touch it. This is a good movie and an interesting concept. But it’s not any fun at all.

McKenzie and Taylor-Joy are both affecting as two sides of not-quite-the-same coin. Their performances are the best thing about the film, which is good — but not as good as it might have been.

It’s clear that Samuel has seen his share of Quentin Tarantino movies, and some John Ford and Sergio Leone ones, as well. There are influences all over the place. But The Harder They Fall is also its own film, familiar in some ways but wholly original. And a whole lot of fun.

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.

Again, 155 minutes is a lot of time for throat clearing, but by the time the film is done Villeneuve is hitting his stride. He has created a complex, intriguing world.

The acting is uniformly great, as strong an ensemble performance as you’ll see. Franz’s direction is assured.

Comer makes Margeurite believably vulnerable and strong, haunting at times. But it’s not clear that the film is improved by the competing narratives. Marguerite’s version probably would have sufficed.

Unfortunately, the plot as a whole is rushed, with character-development shortcuts and one whopping out-of-the-blue development that seems to exist not as a surprise but because the filmmakers had painted themselves into a narrative corner and needed a way out. But there are some scares, and Cooper and especially Guido give authentic-feeling performances — again, with a few shortcuts along the way.

At 2 hours and 43 minutes, it’s a long goodbye for Craig. Too long, really; parts of the last act drag a bit. But as Bond says earlier, “Letting go is hard.” In “No Time to Die,” it’s also satisfying.