Elizabeth Weitzman

With this moving, contemplative portrait of an artist who has suddenly become an old man, de Oliveira refuses to patronize either his hero or his audience.

The script unfurls too many obvious setups, but director Eric Valette is smart enough to rely on his most authentic effect — Dupontel’s natural intensity.

The truth is that even at 71 minutes much of this film feels padded, as though Stigter couldn’t let go of the subject but also wasn’t sure how to expand it further. Because Kurtz’s concept is so moving, however, the film retains much of the power he brought to his book.

The humor is sharp and so are the judgments, which pile on until the characters are nearly suffocated under the weight of so much disdain.

A bizarrely off-key animated comedy.

If Boyd’s perspective is limited, his focus is sharp.

So is he a martyred patriot or a misguided traitor? And is it possible he’s both? Poitras comes down firmly on one side, and she makes a strong case. But the movie would have been stronger still if she’d acknowledged the alternative view.

Even those who've long noted Polley's intelligence on screen will be amazed by the perception she displays as a filmmaker.

Samuel Maoz’s Israeli drama Foxtrot is willfully confusing, emotionally chaotic, and occasionally anarchic. It makes complete sense from one angle, but no sense at all from another. In other words, it reflects its subject perfectly.

Granik took a big risk here, making a purposefully small film that rejects familiar notions of dramatic conflict. But her approach works well enough that the most jarring note becomes Foster’s movie-star presence.

Immensely moving and strikingly original, Kelly's story of a brilliant, disturbed teen (Jake Gyllenhaal) drowning in the cultural morass of the 1980s now feels bloated.

This mordant, macabre look at the American obsession with fast food, television and murder is icily funny.

While their latest achievement can't quite one-up "WALL-E," it offers soaring highs that are bound to enchant viewers of any age.

It's part grim Beckett-like drama, part joyous picaresque, and all quite mesmerizing.

Terrifically sneaky psychological thriller, which takes great pleasure in watching carefully constructed family values come tumbling down.

If any life story should make for a compelling biography, it's certainly Hugh Hefner's. Unfortunately, this love letter is so lacking in any edge, the end result is not just unsexy but unforgivably staid.

It’s undeniably thrilling to watch Gonzalez Iñárritu and Keaton aiming so high. Whenever they’re brave enough to leap into the unknown, Birdman soars.

A technical and visual tour-de-force.

Exhibiting the same sort of patience as his sensible hero, Philibert has created an extraordinarily humane portrait of a partnership between one adult and his very fortunate charges.

We have little to hang onto once the film falls apart. Between the ongoing sermonizing and that final, sharp shock - which is gravely mishandled - we feel cowed into submission, rather than led towards enlightenment.

Though some see Treadwell as an idealistic martyr who made the ultimate sacrifice for his passion, others vilify him as an arrogant fool who courted his own end.

A charming coming-of-age drama.

Redford will surely earn a well-deserved Oscar nomination for this role, to which he commits with unerring dedication. But the real star is writer/director Chandor, whose painstaking approach is exquisite in its spare integrity.

It's miles away from big-budget, pop-culture entertainment, but you may be surprised by its impact.

One of the freshest, richest, most original films to come out of Hollywood in a very long time.

Writer-director Claudia Myers' clunky debut feature makes the case that first-timers should probably focus on either writing or directing.

Every scene has its highlights, from amusing observations about sex to poignant truths about parenting and partnerships. But what you'll remember most is the exquisitely lovely final scene, in which Cholodenko reminds us that all we need is a single moment of perfection -in a family, or even in a film - to believe that somehow, things will always be all right.

Clear-eyed and open-hearted, The Straight Story (which is based on reality) tells a simple tale, and it does so with a rare, blessed simplicity.