Brian Lowry

Toy Story 4 delivers a cinematic grand slam, a nine-years-later sequel that's wholly equal to the high expectations raised by the terrific trio that it follows. Touching, raucously funny, adventurous and yes, even profound, Pixar's signature property once again touches them all.

Tilling some of the same conspiracy turf he explored in "All the President's Men," Pakula has improved on Grisham's book by excising much of the detritus, crafting a taut, intelligent thriller that succeeds on almost every level.

Granted, nothing can fully replicate the unique qualities of a live theatrical experience. But if anyone doubts that Hamilton can still deliver a Broadway wallop to the comfort of one's couch, well, just you wait.

The Bee Gees were adored, hated and as seen through Marshall's lens, somewhat forgotten. Yet after watching this documentary, even if you didn't have an especially deep love for the band in their heyday, you might find yourself humming those tunes all over again.

Belushi turns out to be a lot more than just another look at a star who succumbed to drug abuse, but rather a celebration of John Belushi's talent -- and an era -- as recalled by those who knew him best. R.J. Cutler's documentary has its melancholy moments, but from the opening glimpse of Belushi's "Saturday Night Live" audition video, it surely won't give you the blues.

Wherever one sees it, Turning Red delivers an exquisitely animated story that's moving as well as funny -- welcome evidence that creatively speaking, at least, Pixar hasn't lost its golden touch.

Even with the interlocking nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Endgame feels like a triumph of narrative engineering -- weaving in enough callbacks to earlier movies to delight even the nerdiest patrons.

It's a gauzy indulgence in nostalgia that sweetly captures a very specific time and place, which should broadly speak to Linklater's contemporaries who somehow survived childhood before our society adopted most of the pesky rules designed to ensure that they do.

The result is a tense, documentary-style drama that methodically builds a sense of dread despite the preordained outcome.

Howard serves as a fitting celebration of that life and career. It's a chance for those who knew him to pause and fondly look back, in a way that merely adds to an appreciation of the parade that he helped start.

It's a nuanced, thought-provoking documentary.

Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You is a valentine to his fans, an ode to friendship and a celebration of the E Street Band. The latest documentary from the prolific artist also marks the continued migration of what he describes as his "45-year conversation" with his audience into the visual media of film and streaming -- this time via Apple TV+.

In bringing In & Of Itself to the screen, director Frank Oz (yes, the former Muppet master and filmmaker, who directed the theatrical version as well) has heightened the impact of DelGaudio's material by rapidly inter-cutting exchanges with audience members across a number of shows.

Unlike most biographical documentaries, “Stephen Curry: Underrated” benefits from having two very distinct windows in mind, both buttressing its underlying point: Curry as a barely recruited, under-sized high school prospect, before merging as a college star at Davidson; and his most recent title with the Golden State Warriors. Either would be good enough, but put together, “Underrated” shoots and scores.

The writing and twists elevated this to a spot among the master of suspense's best. [15 Aug 2019]

Deftly expanding the source material into a movie, the film is anchored by a sensational performance by Andrew Garfield as Larson.

The key is that Mendes (whose eclectic resume includes "American Beauty" and two Bond films, "Skyfall" and "Spectre") doesn't sacrifice the movie's heart in the service of its logistical considerations.

The film is alternately funny and heartwarming, but more than anything, eye opening, covering a chapter at best underreported in history books, if not outright overlooked.

Thompson really lets the music play in order to appreciate the artists, augmenting that by interviewing people who attended the festival, reacquainting them with a time of cultural awakening during their youth.

Like everything else she's done, Rita Moreno is an exceptional storyteller, turning Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It -- an "American Masters" documentary hitting theaters first -- into a dazzling look at the much-adorned star's career, and the doors left shut, despite her success, by being a Latina in Hollywood during the days of the studio system.

One of the year's best documentaries, Boys State presents a fascinating look at teenagers brought together for an exercise in government, which somehow manages to unerringly encapsulate partisan divisions in the US right now. An opening medley of past participants -- including Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Cory Booker, Rush Limbaugh and Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito -- only stokes curiosity about where these youngsters will be 30 or 40 years from now.

STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie is a remarkable accomplishment, making brilliant use of film clips to seamlessly illustrate and augment reenactments and the actor’s narration of his story, having spent more than 30 years living with Parkinson’s disease. Nostalgic without becoming overly sentimental, it’s an ode to Fox’s life, career and the struggle he continues to endure.

Yet even with those slightly different chords, Ross manages to pluck the right heartstrings, in the process delivering a grade-A tear-jerker.

Branagh has directed all kinds of movies over the past 30 years, from his frequent adaptations of Shakespeare to "Cinderella" and the aforementioned "Thor." It's perhaps appropriate, though, that his most personal film would also turn out to be his crowning achievement.

A fresh, disarmingly bright and at times explosively funny comedy well worth a trip to the mall, even if it eventually runs out of gas.

The Forever Prisoner asks the right questions regarding not just Zubaydah but the broader prosecution of the war against terrorism. As the film makes clear, it's the answers that have proven elusive.

Four Hours at the Capitol might be unlikely to change many hearts or minds, but watching the evidence months removed from the heat of the moment and the chaos that unfolded live on TV makes it difficult to entertain arguments that the media has overblown or misrepresented those images.

The movie lives up to both halves of its title: The Holdovers gets a hold on you, while looming over most stories built around the simple idea that families are often defined by what you make of them, not what you inherit.