Claudia Puig

The captivating documentary Chavela, directed by Catherine Gund (“Born to Fly”) and Daresha Kyi, mesmerizes with its impressionistic blend of archival photos, musical performances, concert footage and candid interviews with the legendary singer herself, as well with her ardent friends like Pedro Almodóvar and former lovers.

If feuds, drunken outbursts and thoughtless bed-hopping sound like fun, then A Christmas Tale is a hoot. Some wry humor runs through the course of the overly long saga. But there's not enough dark wit to mitigate the tedium and pretentiousness.

One small documentary for a filmmaker and one giant leap in inspiration for audiences.

An exhilarating sci-fi action thriller with a powerful social and political message.

Literate, melancholy and magical, Moonrise Kingdom is quintessential Wes Anderson, infused with his brand of daffy wit.

An artful examination of a small town and small-mindedness and the potential for full-blown, large-scale evil. But it's strangely bloodless.

When so much of what Hollywood churns out is almost instantly forgettable, it says a lot about a film when viewers want to take time to argue, ponder and puzzle over it.

With this, possibly his most subdued film, Almodo´var reinforces his status as one of the most distinctive and talented filmmakers working today.

It's a precarious balance, but Payne blends wit and poignancy so artfully it feels like an exquisitely choreographed dance.

A rare hybrid that perfectly blends the dazzle of a futuristic action thriller with the intellectual substance of an art film.

It is that rare film that is equal parts entertaining, life-affirming and thought-provoking.

Besides being filled with Chappelle's hilarious sense of humor, the movie features life-affirming messages and great music by serious rap artists with political, socio-cultural and spiritual themes.

Despite his cockney-accented verbosity, Brand does not convey the effortless conviviality that Dudley Moore did in the part.

How Do You Know must have started with a good idea that got lost in the translation from concept to screen.

Crazy Heart, based on a 1987 novel by Thomas Cobb, also has great music. Even if you're not a country music fan, the songs, by T Bone Burnett and the late Stephen Bruton, are infectious.

Scott Pilgrim, a lovelorn musician, is an appealing fusion of nerdy, cheeky and vulnerable. So, who better to play him than Michael Cera?

A riveting crime thriller, it's also a multi-generational familial saga that approaches Greek tragedy.

Even for non-fans, Revenge of the Sith is engrossing, and fans of the series will likely be over the moon -- and into another galaxy -- with this film.

Though the film is titled Hitchcock and ostensibly centers on the legendary director, we get a better sense of the women around him than the enigmatic filmmaker.

Jiro is a thoughtful engineer and a romantic, not a soldier. And The Wind Rises conveys the visual poetry of its titular reference.

It's an intriguing match of material and filmmaker. Dahl's distinctive, edgy storytelling seems to fit well with Anderson's idiosyncratic worldview and visuals.

Drawing upon "Wag the Dog," "Dr. Strangelove" and "This Is Spinal Tap," this sardonic tale is adapted from the critically acclaimed BBC series "The Thick of It."

The movie opens with wit and dash, then devolves into a rather generic spy thriller.

Last Chance Harvey is the "Before Sunrise" for the over-45 set.

Audiences meet the most memorable voices in the world of backup singers. They perform with world-famous musical acts, but theirs are not household names. Their stories, however, are inspiring, heartbreaking and enthralling.

The scenes in Pandora -- a planet with an Earth-like environment -- are so breathtaking that the narrative seems almost beside the point.

Overall, however, the manner in which the film blends the tale of an imperiled boy and the history of cinema makes for an ambitious and fanciful ride.

The all-Lego adventure is warm and witty, showing flashes of satire.

Drag Me to Hell is unlike any scary thriller in a while: frightening, frenzied and fun.

Timeliness can be tricky to pull off convincingly in movies. It's tough to capture an era while it's still happening, yet Up in the Air does so brilliantly, with wit and humanity.

Penn's Oscar-caliber transformation is breathtaking, and the saga of one man's fight for human rights is engrossing.

It is an unsettling tale told simply and chillingly by director Peter Mullan, with stand-out performances, an evocative soundtrack and spare, haunting visuals.

Eastern Promises has a compelling story and strong performances to back up what may seem excessive or sensationalistic.

Viewers should know that the film's resolution, though admirably restrained and unsentimental, is devastatingly sad. Parents should take this into account. This beautifully rendered family film is told in a classic and old-fashioned style, in the best sense, providing poignant and powerful teachable moments.

Mesmerizing and highly entertaining.

Although it's reasonably well-acted and offers a few certifiable jolts, feels awfully familiar.

This Pride & Prejudice is a stellar adaptation, bewitching the viewer completely and incandescently with an exquisite blend of emotion and wit.

Peter O'Toole's tour-de-force performance makes Venus a movie not to be missed.

The movie and its theme of self-acceptance has an honesty, undercut by occasional preciousness, that makes it worth seeing.

Only a truly visionary filmmaker could take a story largely set in a cramped canyon and give it a sense of openness and hope.

The film's most climactic moments involve the chilling audiotapes of avaricious Enron traders as they toy with California's energy crisis, wringing millions in profits from the misfortune of an entire state.

This is precisely the kind of film that parents clamor for and rarely get: a substantive, stirring, Huck Finn-style saga that doesn't insult anyone's intelligence or mindlessly entertain with crass humor.

A masterwork of suspense, romance and political intrigue.

Well-written, terrifically acted and compelling. It deftly avoids sentimentality and offers a window into the lives of believable, multilayered characters.

Sugar is that sweetest of films: A sensitive and memorable story that surprises at every turn.

The young actors' performances are particularly haunting.

When it comes to sheer spectacle, Star Trek, as re-imagined by J.J. Abrams, delivers.

An engaging and moving film with a universal story about the bonds of family as told through two generations of a Bengali family.

Clever and often enchanting.

Neil Young once said: It's better to burn out than it is to rust. But moviegoers are lucky Anvil didn't take Young's advice. Who knew heavy metal could seem like fine art when it rusts?

Who would think Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban could be an art film? Thanks to director Alfonso Cuaron, a dazzling storyteller with a keen eye for whimsical detail, the third film in the Potter franchise is a visual delight.

It's a rare film that can challenge our minds and rattle our nerves so profoundly. This is unequivocally a thriller for adults. A deftly written, tautly suspenseful and intellectually demanding morality tale.

Powerfully disturbing.

The bone-crunchingly violent film has luridly entertaining moments. But by its resolution, this sleazy Southern Gothic nightmare has simply gone off the rails.

A marvel of well-rounded characters, strong performances and disarming chemistry, this deeply felt film is like a loving elegy to the end of childhood. It's easily one of summer's best films.

Drama/comedy fables such as "Big" and "13 Going on 30" effectively transported viewers to their whimsical alternate reality. But Timothy Green feels more predictable than other-worldly.

Nuts! is a brisk, engrossing, tongue-in-cheek film that unfolds at just the right pace — and it’s a piece of American history that couldn’t feel more relevant to modern times.

Marjorie Prime is a contemplative, intimate and poetic chamber piece, superbly told and nimbly acted, with equal parts nuance and empathy.

The story feels like a less complicated companion to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Obvious logical questions are ignored. For instance, if she remains 29, does that make her immortal?

Not only a stirring history lesson and an action-packed war film, Glory is also a ferocious statement about enduring discrimination that resounds today.

An intriguing, if meandering, escape from the summer blockbusters.

The Brothers Bloom has it all: charming romance, jaunty adventure story, witty dialogue, gorgeous cinematography and superb performances.

When a movie is a hybrid of this sort, it can be tough to strike just the right tone. Mostly, The Hunting Party manages.

Director George Tillman Jr. compellingly probes how parentless kids cope without financial resources or adults who give a damn.

A Sundance hit that is both absorbing and bleak, Frozen River is anchored by powerful performances, believable scenarios and excellent writing.

The climactic rescue by Navy SEALs is riveting. But it's Phillips' devastating after-the-fact shock that leaves the most haunting impression in this ambitious, taut and captivating thriller.

In its focus on an ordinary family facing a nightmarish scenario, Snitch is a terrifying but relatable story.

Neruda raises thought-provoking questions, offers no easy answers, and does it in with top-notch performances and a cinematic style that is intellectually, artistically and thematically compelling.

Love and loneliness are presented, in almost equal parts, with subdued precision in the richly abundant Another Year.

What vaults the film above the standard sports movie is the stellar performance by Michael Sheen.

Not only is this a deftly crafted and superbly acted film, but Wadjda sheds a powerful light on what women face, starting in childhood, in an oppressive regime.

With its original performances that can't be reduced to simplistic labels, Juno is charming, honest and terrifically acted.

Gosling and Williams have the most palpable chemistry of any screen couple this year, never striking a false note in this achingly tender tale of a love that implodes before our eyes.

The Secret of Kells is a magical adventure unlike anything we've seen on screen before.

The result is raunchy, energetic, sharp-eyed and a bit rambling.

A wan version of the same old tired serial killer story, despite its updated milieu -- cyberspace.

Largely because of its engaging cast, Admission is an amiable, but only slightly-above-average, comic romp.

Foxcatcher might just be the feel-bad movie of the year. But it's so well-acted that audiences won't want to miss its dark, chilling yet restrained story. A little less muting of this outlandish true-to-life tale, however, might have made it even more mesmerizing.

What results is a disarmingly honest tale of affection, both romantic and filial.

Huerta comes across as warm, wise and indefatigable in Bratt’s provocative and inspirational film, but he doesn’t engage in hagiography.

What the film does best is remind us of the brilliance of Keats flame and how it was extinguished far too early.

He offers glimmers of what lies beneath the near-mythic, elegant exterior, but Larrain’s take is more impressionistic than revelatory, more presumptuous than knowing.

Well-acted, intermittently compelling, often incoherent but always offbeat, Inherent Vice is a twisting story about twisted California stoners. Think of it as a film that's meant to be experienced, more than fully understood.

A brilliantly acted and achingly bleak coming-of-age story.

For anyone fascinated by the political process and the powers of persuasive advertising, No is a resounding yes.

Though it's no "Monty Python," Hot Fuzz is a clever, over-the-top marriage of mayhem and merriment.

There's an epic spaghetti Western feel to Quentin Tarantino's latest action/comedy/romance hybrid that is by turns dazzling, daring, gruesome and astonishingly funny.

The story's appeal is lost in all the fights between the monsters and robots.

When so many PG-13 movies are encroaching on R-rated turf, it's heartening to see a film that responsibly approaches its audience.

With a powerful jolt, 007 feels relevant again, with serious questions about espionage vs. cyber hacking amid the fun.

Nearly everyone in this film is unlikeable, their actions inexplicable. And the pace is so lugubrious that it's hard not to succumb to Justine's glum mood.

It's hard to beat the last movie, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," and this film is not better, but it has much to recommend it.

John Travolta may stand out as a plus-size laundress who is hesitant, drab and retiring, but Hairspray is a consistently flashy, rousing and rambunctious movie spectacle.

The handsome production design notwithstanding, The Awakening is not an elegant thriller. It's more like solemn drivel.

Jackson is a visionary filmmaker who is not only a technical wizard but also a master storyteller. With Jackson at the helm, you would expect dazzling special effects and epic action sequences, but what is most surprising is how heartfelt the romance feels.

The movie tries to capture the crushing weight of loss, but between the insipid pop tunes and the repetitive shots cutting away to a lighthouse on a scenic outcropping, it feels more like a film version of a condolence card.

The familiar dialogue here makes one long for something closer to the edginess of "Manhattan" or the offbeat humor of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

The premise of visiting so many pubs as a narrative device, however, bogs down the initially energetic pacing and goofiness. Piling on the mayhem renders The World's End a sometimes chaotic and uneven comedy.