James Berardinelli

Despite a seemingly straightforward slice-of-life storyline, The Florida Project achieves something rare and magical: presenting existence from the perspective of a young child while, at the same time, providing enough “clues” that viewers are able to decipher what’s really going on.

Cool Hand Luke is a metaphor for the social climate in which it germinated. Luke represents that segment of the population who will not submit, no matter how viciously they are beaten. They repeatedly rise up, convinced not only of the rightness of their actions, but that, in the end, they can make a difference. In the midst of the burgeoning '60s cultural revolution, it's impossible to ignore.

Maborosi is a worthwhile movie experience not because it ventures into virgin territory, but because its presentation is so precise and unique.

Spielberg has always shown a penchant for overt manipulation, but nowhere is this more obvious than in E.T., where he pulls out all the stops in an effort to bleed tears from the eyes of every audience member. It doesn't take a cynical nature to recognize what the director is doing. [2002 re-release]

Apocalypse Now is one of those flawed films that contains enough masterful sequences to compel a viewer. Redux is merely a curiosity, and of interest only to those die-hards who believe this movie to be one of the greatest pictures ever to be projected in a theater.

The beating heart of Never Rarely Sometimes Always isn’t Autumn’s struggle with terminating her pregnancy; it’s the way the two girls discover companionship and the strength it offers.

This is one of the most effective depictions of Arendt’s “banality of evil” that I have seen and that’s in large part due to the unconventional tactics employed by Glazer in bringing this story to the screen.

One of the reasons that Quiz Show is so extraordinary is because it spins a story as compelling on the personal level as on the national one.

Unfortunately, while Fanboys has moments of success, it is mostly a middling road picture that doesn't do a lot more than any average, forgettable entry into the tired genre.

Toy Story 3 enhances the legacy of its brand while providing exceptional entertainment value for viewers of all ages, especially for those who favor the brighter, livelier 2-D iteration over the 3-D gimmick.

This Is Spinal Tap is virtually guaranteed to appeal to nearly everyone. The film contains everything from laugh aloud moments to scenes that will have even the most dry, humorless viewers smiling with unrestrained mirth.

With patience, care, and strict attention to detail, Scorsese has staked out an impregnable position in the history of motion pictures.

Fatoumata Coulibaly's peformance is striking. She plays her character with a mixture of determination and compassion.

Lately, it seems that film noir has become the province of independent productions. As a result, it's refreshing to see a big-budget, studio effort of this sort that does nearly everything right.

Despite its flaws, White is an excellent character study, and the presentation of a twisted love story is compelling.

Simply put, Sofia Copolla's Lost in Translation is an amazing motion picture.

Even had it possessed a less intelligent script, After Life would have been intriguing on the basis of its central conceit alone. However, with Kore-eda's skillful hand behind both the camera and the pen, the result is a rewarding cinematic experience.

The film’s contribution is the unique perspective it provides about what it meant to work in a death camp.

As much as the later movies diluted the character of the Frankenstein creature, nothing could blunt the impact made by Karloff in the role of the most memorable movie monster of all time.

It's audacious but also genuine. It's emotionally true and demands much from its audience not in terms of suspension of disbelief but of empathy with the main character.

Gerwig is trying for something a little different, juggling the time frame and creating a “meta” ending to make the story’s feminist themes overt and incorporate an ambiguous “twist” that some will see as clever and others may find heretical.

The promise of Before We Vanish’s early moments is never fully realized, however, as the movie plods and meanders through an overly-familiar narrative on its way to a half-baked and uneven conclusion.

One of Bogart’s best acting performances. It shows his range – although having normally played an “alpha” character, here he is easily manipulated by the strong-willed Rose.

A highly satirical work, albeit without the "in your face" style of "South Park."

The quality of the humor - irreverent, smart, and challenging - is one of the things that differentiates Monty Python and the Holy Grail from so many other motion picture comedies.

All Quiet on the Western Front is the definitive World War I motion picture, the best of a surprisingly small class of movies.

For the most part, this movie hits the right notes and gives its audience a dose of white-knuckle tension.

The Last Jedi is a film of moments. There are perhaps a half-dozen of them: goose-pimple inducing, fist-pump encouraging, heart-racing bursts of cinematic satisfaction. The problem is that the narrative threads connecting them are lazily knitted and sometimes tangled or broken.

Nickel Boys has a lot to recommend it, but there’s a sense that the experience could have been more devastating had the filmmakers simply let it play out rather than using it as an opportunity for directorial flourishes and experimentation.

Regardless of whether the future will bring another Miyazaki movie, The Boy and the Heron is a wonderful gift for everyone who expected The Wind Rises to be his swansong. It’s proof that, no matter how hard Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, and others try, there’s only one animator who finds magic in every release.

On the Waterfront may have baggage, but that doesn't prevent it from being one of the great American productions of the mid-20th century.

They Shall Not Grow Old isn’t just a compelling motion picture; it’s an important slice of cinema.

Although many of the themes in An Autumn Afternoon are timeless, the film itself represents a snapshot of Japanese lifestyle in the 1960s.

Here’s hoping the movie finds its audience because it’s one of the freshest and most audacious films available in this year’s sparse cinematic landscape.

The result may peter out on the way to an anticlimactic conclusion but it’s fun while it lasts and at least one of the three peerless female leads should get some kind of Oscar recognition. (My bet is on Colman.)

From a shock-and-suspense point-of-view, Halloween is the rival of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." With only a few arguable exceptions (such as "The Exorcist"), there isn't another post-1970 release that comes close to it in terms of scaring the living hell out of a viewer... A modern classic of the most horrific kind.

This is truly a great film -- easily one of 1997's best.

It rewards patience not only in the way it crafts its central character but develops the era in which it transpires.

In the midst of summer's cinematic thunder and lightning, this is a rare moment of tranquility.

For those who are willing to brave the movie's shocking and unforgettable images, Saving Private Ryan offers a singular motion picture experience.

A warm and loving Valentine to the San Fernando Valley of the 1970s, it never allows nostalgia to overwhelm narrative, although there’s plenty of the former to go around.

As is often the case with European films, the acting is superlative...The real standout, however, is newcomer Jaye Davidson, whose performance is, without exaggeration, stunning...Not to be missed.

Ball may not have the answers but he eloquently and forcefully explores some of the potential ramifications. The ending may be too pat, but the journey to get there - bitter, spicy, and poignant - more than compensates for any last-minute fumbles.

Talk about taking things to a new level… Theaters showing Fury Road should have seat belts installed.

It combines stylish direction, an intelligent script, first-rate performances, and overpowering atmosphere into one of the most tense and absorbing thrillers ever to reach the screen.

Winter's Bone is a welcome reminder that thrillers don't have to be loud and boisterous to grab the attention and keep it captive.

Although aspects of All of Us Strangers have a cheesy flavor, the raw honesty of the movie’s best moments propel the narrative through its less credible pitstops.

Quirky and stylish, but not in a manner that comes across as overly artsy or pretentious.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is unquestionably a great movie.

As the beginning of Part II echoes the opening of "The Godfather," so too does the end. Because of the manner in which circumstances are handled and considering the people involved, the impact here is more forceful. The tragic flaw has accomplished its poisonous, inevitable designs. Coppola punctuates both movies with a gut-twisting exclamation point.

One of the most compelling character-based films to emerge from the decade of the 1960s.

As an elegy to a perfect fusion of directorial mastery and an actor’s indomitable screen presence, it’s hard to imagine something more memorable and affecting than Red Beard.

The result is a grim, startling motion picture.

Watching Blue is the Warmest Color provides viewers with that rarest of motion picture opportunities: the ability to lose oneself in the life of another for three hours and to emerge having felt something.

American Splendor is deserving of accolades, not only because it tells an interesting story about a fascinating man, but because it does so with such freedom and freshness. I wish more of the comic book-inspired movies were like this.

Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson’s follow-up to 2014’s Inherent Vice, feels a little like a mash-up of Bergman and Hitchcock without the verve of the latter and the subtleties of the former.

Those anticipating something along the lines of Casablanca will be disappointed. Despite the superficial similarities and Warner Brothers' obvious desire to point them out, To Have and Have Not is inferior in almost every way that matters. But for those who visit this movie to vicariously experience the beginnings of Hollywood's most famous romance, it delivers in full.

As always, the voice casting is perfect. Throw in a moral, and some nice touches of technical accuracy (that fish keepers will appreciate), and the movie represents the best family film to-date of 2003.

Isn't just fine family entertainment, it's superior family entertainment.

Oppenheimer is an indication that Nolan refuses to be pigeonholed as a director. While there’s something to be admired about that, this isn’t a home run. Still, many of the flaws are more than compensated for by the flashes of brilliance and the strength of the central character’s presentation.

Cold War features a few too many ellipses and occasionally substitutes operatic tragedy for credible motivations. This results in a film that, although breathtaking to watch and emotionally wrenching, is strangely unsatisfying.

An appealing, offbeat, one-hundred minute diversion for those who really are tired of monsters tearing down buildings and action heroes saving the world.

This isn't a perfect motion picture but, in the midst of summer's vapid pursuit of spectacle, a movie that provides real heart and emotion is a rare find.

Seen today, Going My Way looks and feels like a quaint, old-fashioned production that deserves to have been forgotten long ago.

Takes a cold, unflinching look at the violence both inside and outside of the ring.

United 93 is powerful not only in the way it provides hope through the actions of a few unlikely heroes, but in its ability to take us back through time to a day many of us would prefer not to remember, but will never forget.

The film is as powerful as any narrative motion picture in telling a story that rips at the emotions.

American Hustle runs a little long with the strongest scenes occurring toward the end. Although the actors don't put on a clinic, they all provide worthwhile performances playing interesting characters, and there's a nice cameo thrown into the mix.

Like all great craftsmen, Lucas has managed to fashion this material in a manner that not only honors the original sources, but makes it uniquely his own. Hacks rip off other movies; artists synthesize and pay homage to their inspirations.

A sumptuous motion picture, a feast for the senses.

This is unlike any other film I have seen... it's a great romance. It's willingness to flout conventions and eschew formulas is just one of many things to celebrate about this charmingly eccentric movie.

It's a noteworthy achievement for director Damien Chazelle to infuse a tale about the development of a musician with all the tension and intensity of a top-notch thriller. Whiplash is riveting.

With solid performances and a terrific screenplay, this movie offers solid, no-frills drama that feels organic and believable, not contrived.

If you think "Hero" is a sumptuous film, prepare to be blown away by House of Flying Daggers.

Watching 63 Up as a stand-alone endeavor may not seem remarkable. In fact, it may even be a little boring. But watching it as part of the larger picture imbues it with immediacy and power.

Searching for Bobby Fischer is an intensely fascinating movie capable of involving those who are ignorant about chess as well as those who love it. The focus of the film is less on the actual game than it is on the people, emotions, and pressures surrounding Josh. It is a tale of human trials and triumph, not a sports movie that panders to a certain segment of the population. Chess may not be the most exciting activity to watch, but Searching for Bobby Fischer makes for engaging entertainment.

This is epic filmmaking and a reminder that the kinds of antisocial, amoral characters who have long represented Scorsese’s bread-and-butter don’t exist exclusively on the mean streets of modern-day America.

A fascinating time capsule: a combination of talking-head interviews, actual footage, and re-creations that evokes a kinder, gentler world and provides insight into one of the most audacious stunts of the 20th century.

It's often diverting and occasionally funny, but it's ultimately inconsequential.

By introducing comedy into the mixture and telling the tale from an atypical perspective, Kurosawa has differentiated The Hidden Fortress from nearly every similar feudal era Japanese epic ever committed to the screen. This is a masterpiece that deserves more credit than it is often given.

Taken as a whole, this is compulsive viewing and offers plenty of material for post-viewing discussions.

The tone is perfect; this is one of those rare films that, despite being rooted firmly in the world around us, is utterly absorbing and capable of reducing the immediacies of life into abstract thoughts in the back of one's mind.

The variation keeps things fresh and the relatively short running length (less than 90 minutes) ensures that Borat doesn't overstay its welcome - even though when it's all done, we wish this absurd man might have lingered a little longer.

The writer/director tries hard to make Minari what it is – a collage of remembrances seen through the eyes of a child then filtered through the perceptions of the fortysomething man he became. It’s a rewarding but not overpowering experience.

It’s probably strange to call a movie about illness and death a “feel good experience,” but Wang has pitched the film perfectly in this regard.

Marty Supreme is a flawed beast—occasionally irritating, sometimes shallow, and undeniably exhausting. But that exhaustion is the point. Safdie drags the audience through the wringer not to punish us, but to make the final release that much sweeter. Driven by Chalamet’s fearless performance and a directorial style that refuses to blink, the film leaves an impression.

It’s not the worst we’ve seen from either Levinson or De Niro but there’s a sense that a pairing of these two working with a Pileggi script should have borne juicer fruits.

Whether you view this film in the middle of the summer or at Christmas, Capra's greatest film represents one of the most transcendent and joyful experiences any movie-lover can hope for.

The Madness of King George is much more than a simple study of one man's descent into insanity. With a style that's more tongue-in-cheek than melodramatic, the film is always witty and occasionally satirical. The characterizations are flawless (as well as historically accurate), and the political wrangling of the Tories and Whigs (led by PM Pitt and Charles Fox, respectively) provide a deliciously complex backdrop.

Ultimately, Goodbye Solo works because the screenplay, actors, and director combine to craft honest, compelling individuals.

Overall, The Power of the Dog probably isn’t as powerful or wrenching as Campion intended for it to be but it remains an unsettling piece of cinema. It’s also a reminder that the Western is a broad enough genre to encompass much more than just “Cowboys and Indians.”

The most important features of this "new" version are the digital cleaning of the print and the re-mastering of the sound. There are a few added scenes, but they are mostly insignificant and have been previously seen (at least by fans of the movie) on the laserdisc or DVD releases.

Hazanavicius isn't just making a "silent movie," he is attempting to enter a time warp and craft something that would fool all but the most studious and scholarly into believing it could have been a lost film from a bygone era. If his tongue is sometimes a little in his cheek, that's all part of the fun.

A harrowing experience for those to whom this sort of story appeals.

A solid motion picture with a universal message and occasional splashes of genius, but it is remarkable only as Holly Hunter's performance is concerned.

The Western may be one of the few truly American art forms, and High Noon shows exactly how much potential it can embrace.

Letters from Iwo Jima is a unique American-made war movie for at least two reasons: it depicts the battle from the perspective of the losers and it represents the United States as the "enemy."

At times unremarkable, at times weird, and at times tedious. At worst, it can be said that Kaufman has made a discussion-worthy animated feature.