Brian Lowry

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.

No Sudden Move fares better with the quirky, unpredictable nature of the characters, the impeccable period touches -- from the overall look to the music -- and disarmingly witty bits of dialogue.

Watching Chris Pratt fight to save the future has a certain appeal, but in the here and now, he can't even save the movie.

The Forever Purge's once-over-lightly politics don't merit much of a fuss, playing like a cynical exploitation of real-world issues.

For the most part, America: The Motion Picture seems too pleased with itself, an indulgence in silliness that feels woefully stretched at close to 100 minutes.

Wolfgang nicely demonstrates how its namesake fundamentally impacted the world of cooking – and especially how high-end food is perceived – while carving out a pretty sweet life for himself in the process. For that alone it’s worth watching, even if, as documentaries go, it’s less a main course than an appetizer.

Simply put, Neeson has been in a bit of a rut, one that Ice Road exemplifies almost literally, since at several points in the movie the challenge involves extricating big trucks from slushy situations.

After a year where people could pause and rewind to catch missed dialogue, this is one of those movies where missed lines don’t matter, and the only direction this vehicle goes is forward, even when it’s just spinning its wheels.

The appeal of Fatherhood really boils down to its title, the resilience of the human spirit, and Hart being bold enough -- like his alter ego -- to think that he can do this. And like Matt, by the time it's over, he's demonstrated that he pretty well can.

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.

Pixar movies have a habit for finding simple truths and tugging at the heartstrings, and Luca accomplishes some of that deftly enough before it's over.

An expanded role for Salma Hayek is the newish wrinkle here, although that's hardly cause for an encore, or even an extra apostrophe.

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.

Every year seems to bring some new teen comedy that breaks through the clutter, showcasing new talent, and in this case, speaking to the times in a very specific way. 2021 is still young, but unless or until something better comes along, "Plan B" lays a pretty strong claim to that mantle.

Directed by Bartlett Sher and adapted by the play's author J.T. Rogers, "Oslo" serves as a haunting portrayal of what was, and a sobering reflection on conditions as they currently exist.

A Quiet Place Part II manages to be perfectly fine, and unsurprisingly, a more generic affair -- one that offers less for audiences to cheer, quietly or otherwise, beyond the renewed sensation of being frightened in the dark.

"Cruella" confounds expectations in mostly delightful ways, particularly for what amounts to a supervillain origin-story prequel inspired by a 60-year-old animated movie. Credit much of that to a twin dose of Emma power -- as in Stone and Thompson -- in a movie that might owe its life to "101 Dalmatians," but which centers around a tasty cat fight.

The "important" label can weigh heavily on a documentary, but the description applies to "Final Account," director Luke Holland's decade-long odyssey to capture and preserve the memories of Germans who lived through the Holocaust, acknowledging their complicity to varying degrees. While much has been done to chronicle survivors' stories, this sobering companion belongs on the shelf alongside them.

Although streaming provides a logical venue for this small-scale film, it's hard to think of a time or platform where this adaptation from British director Joe Wright ("Darkest Hour," "Atonement") would have felt satisfying, with an ill-considered, twisty finish that's a sizable letdown from the already so-so material preceding it.

Spiral, however, doesn't chart its own course as much as simply try to have it both ways. And if the title implies a certain motion, the main direction the movie heads is essentially down the drain.

While this might represent a diverting lark in its dizzying combination of movie conventions, this is another one of those instances where what happens in Vegas probably should stay there.

Oxygen won't quite leave you breathless, but it should leave you thinking -- and surprised. For this sort of movie, that's perhaps the most precious fuel of all.

As thin star showcases go, it's an occasionally effective bit of comfort food, arriving as theaters reopen and served with a generous side of schmaltz.

Ultimately, though, the movie feels most notable for the cast assembled, from Harrison -- who subsequently starred in "Waves" and "Luce," and is again very good here -- to smallish roles for Jerome (an Emmy winner for "When They See Us") as a witness and Washington ("Tenet" and "BlacKkKlansman") as James' partner in crime.

Taken on its terms, the movie isn't terrible strictly as mindless escapism. But beyond the most basic, visceral thrills, Wrath of Man's bitter fruit yields a slim harvest.

Oyelowo's film delivers its simple message to appreciate the people you love ably enough, without leaving the intended ripples in its wake.

Unfortunately, Four Good Days doesn't really give anyone beyond its central duo anything much to do, and even they're largely saddled with trying to class up the equivalent of a Lifetime movie.

Whatever the intricacies in Clancy's book, they're largely abandoned in a violent revenge tale that a few decades ago might have starred someone like Steven Seagal.