Brian Lowry

"Are You There God?” addresses youthful preoccupations in a refreshingly relatable manner that feels almost heaven-sent.

What's lacking, mostly, is a tighter focus on what is, admittedly, a complicated story to do justice. The issues the film depicts nevertheless resonate on multiple levels, from the current state of race relations to the way the government dealt with this perceived domestic threat, without packing quite the wallop that the material suggests.

For those well-versed in the writer-director's work, it's a credible and intriguing addition to his filmography. Yet at 2 hours and 41 minutes, it also feels too leisurely in connecting its threads, especially compared to the crispness of something like the World War II epic "Inglourious Basterds."

Reality might have benefited from widening the play’s tight, almost-claustrophobic focus a little bit more for this medium, but what’s there remains stark and compelling, with Sweeney’s discomfort speaking volumes even though the character says very little.

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.

Big and vibrant, In the Heights provides summer movie-going with a joyous jolt of adrenalin, wedding the sensibilities of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical with "Crazy Rich Asians" director Jon M. Chu's mouth-watering imagery.

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.

Credit Pixar veteran Pete Docter ("Up" and "Inside Out") and co-director Kemp Powers (the writer of the play and upcoming movie "One Night in Miami") with an addition to Pixar's library worthy of its classics.

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.

Much like "Hamilton" on Disney+,Come From Away delivers a best-seat-in-the-house view, offering a moving, brilliantly shot and staged spectacle that brings that moment unerringly back to life.

One Night in Miami delivers a concentrated taste of that, but like its newly crowned champ, somehow manages to gracefully float through its history, while still packing a potent dramatic punch.

The net effect isn't necessarily bad assuming that expectations are modest, and there's something to be said for a more understated, small-scale approach to horror that doesn't confuse body count with scares. Yet considering where the story starts, the place where Antlers winds up doesn't leave much to hang one's hat on.

The film turns out to be a fun but thin construct, fostering a sense of itchiness to see how and if it's going to pay off.

Designed to showcase Jennifer Lopez playing a character that could hardly be called a reach, Marry Me trades in the "meet cute" rom-com formula for "meet dumb." Lopez still gets ample opportunities to sing a hummable soundtrack, but even within the genre's parameters, the silly premise deals the movie a blow from which it never entirely recovers.

Hit Man is as much a quirky romance as a thriller, juggling its mix of whimsy and suspense deftly enough, especially down the closing stretch.

Features strong performances and a solid story, drawn from the familiar well of faceless corporations grinding ordinary people through their profit-making machinery. Yet Gilroy's fidelity to his script comes at the expense of the pacing.

Deftly cutting between the past and the present, director Taylor Hackford manages to establish a compelling mood and pace even though the pic lacks a thriller's true "Aha!" moment

In tennis, “love” means nothing. Love also has little to do with “Challengers,” which uses the sport as the backdrop to serve up an elaborate, non-linear psychological triangle that proves twisty and enticing for much of the match, before double faulting by whiffing on the ending.

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.

It's another timely, thought-provoking message from a filmmaker known for them, in a movie that piles so much on its plate as to fall short of Lee's best.

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.

Director/co-writer Robert Eggers ("The Lighthouse") has sought to make the definitive Viking movie, and while the film issues a guttural cry for theatrical viewing, it is built around such a basic revenge plot as to blunt those simple charms.

Strange, surreal and unexpectedly sentimental, Everything Everywhere All at Once is genuinely and wildly original -- the kung fu/science fiction/metaphysical action comedy that you didn't know you needed, but just might love.

MLK/FBI not only offers a compelling portrait of what was, but beyond just looking back, sets up a debate about what will be. In the process, the documentary sheds light on a dark part of US history while leaving viewers to contemplate just how dark its more sordid corners should remain.

"Tina" is that rare documentary that leaves you craving an encore, as if two hours weren't quite enough to do Tina Turner's life and career justice. Weaving in a new interview with the 81-year-old icon, the footage then and now underlines the impression of Turner as a force of nature, rocking and rolling with and without Ike.

Ultimately, American Fiction raises questions about the price of Black success in a White-dominated media and entertainment culture. What it doesn’t do, while maintaining its satirical edge and eye, is provide any easy answers.

As a first film, this movie would have surely been hailed for its promise. Held up against a debut that garnered a well-deserved Oscar nomination and honors for best original screenplay, it's easy to come way thinking that "Us" doesn't merit all that fuss.

Forty-five years after “Mad Max” introduced many to a young Aussie named Mel Gibson, Miller certainly hasn’t lost his touch as a visual stylist and mad maestro of elaborate action. In almost every other respect, this feels like one of those instances where there’s more sound than “Fury.”