James Berardinelli

Dealing with subjects that could easily have emerged half-baked, Lee instead applies his talent and comes up with a dish cooked to perfection.

This is one of the best of the subgenre, an action-packed movie that delivers adrenaline jolts with both barrels while not skimping on character development and wry humor.

The film captures a specific fissure in American history, where the ancient, superstitious wilderness was beginning to yield to the steam and steel of the industrial age.

This is a deeply cynical movie and, in that cynicism, it finds truth.

A film that defies categorization, The Wicker Man can be considered to be a horror film, a psychological thriller, a musical, or a melodrama. In reality, since it includes elements of each of those types, it literally has something for just about everyone.

The purpose of Bully is to educate and promote discussion. If the problem is not solved, there will be more Columbines and additional stories like Tyler and Ty's.

Although there are certainly elements of tragedy in the storyline, this is first and foremost a crowd-pleaser. It touches the heart and, in addition to being Branagh’s most personal film, it’s also his most intimate. Unquestionably one of 2021’s most affecting motion pictures.

It’s no surprise that this is one of the best films of the year (and would have retained that distinction in any year it was released, not just this one).

Putting aside all the controversy, however, viewers are left with an expertly-directed and well-acted historical epic that disappoints only in its shallow perspective of the Irish/British and Irish/Irish conflicts.

Les Miserables understandably cuts some of the stage production's numbers, but all of the major anthems are intact and wonderfully presented.

In some ways, it's a simple character drama, but the central conundrum disallows an uncomplicated interpretation. I was never bored.

Despite being a low-key production, La Promesse speaks volumes about how we treat other human beings and what it means to truly grow up.

Crafted without a whiff of melodrama, this motion picture takes a steady, unflinching look at the plight of Jews in Warsaw.

Runaway Train belongs to a rare genre: the intelligent thriller.

Represents a brave and effective fusion of serious and fantasy elements, and offers two and one-half hours of solid entertainment. Admittedly, there are times when West Side Story strikes a campy or discordant note, but those instances are overbalanced by the more frequent moments when it offers its own brand of cinematic magic.

Looks at isolation and the fragility of human relationships. It's a poignant, unsettling motion picture that will baffle those who have become used to Hollywood's compact, tidy endings.

The strength of the acting and the modulation of the screenplay transforms what could have been a run-of-the-mill Lifetime disease-of-the-week movie into something more insightful and intelligent.

Dark City has as stunning a visual texture as that of any movie that I've seen...Visually, this film isn't just impressive, it's a tour de force.

Although prone to occasional sermonizing, The Post offers a stirring reminder of the importance of these kinds of unsung heroes in protecting the American way of life.

The dialogue -- especially that between Roy and Frank -- crackles with wit and intelligence (a rarity in films these days).

This is the director’s least violent feature film but it is in every meaningful way evident as a product of the man who made "Pulp Fiction."

The movie with which it has the closest relationship may be "Glengarry Glen Ross." The same sense of desperation, the same need to make the sale, permeates Margin Call. Both films are to some degree about the dehumanizing impact of money and both are driven more by characters than plot points.

The movie, written for the screen and directed by Scott Cooper (who helmed Jeff Bridges’ Oscar-winning performance in "Crazy Heart"), is careful not to demonize anyone and make the path to redemption both slow and methodical.

The strength of Anatomy of a Fall comes from its willingness to embrace ambiguity and a lack of closure in ways that intrigue (rather than frustrate) the viewer.

Nothing, no matter how outrageous, is beyond Smith, and his willingness to flaunt cinematic taboos is one of the reasons why Clerks is such a unqualified success.

Especially during the first 90 minutes, Carol is an immersive experience that invites the viewer to slow down and amble along at its leisurely pace.

It’s quirky, a little unpredictable, and never feels like warmed-over leftovers. There’s a bite to things – an edginess that doesn’t cut too deeply but keeps the sentimentality in check. One of the year’s most pleasant surprises.

Horror isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s not a child’s genre. It isn’t meant to be comfortable. In fact, I’m hard-pressed to think of a recent movie that’s as uncomfortable and disturbing as It Comes at Night.

Wong infuses his films with style and energy. His hand-held camera is restless, always moving and shifting. The action sequences are punctuated with unusual shots and stop-motion jumps. By filming Chungking Express in such rich, vibrant manner, the director uses visual images to underscore his themes.

One of the best things about True Lies is that it's genuinely funny.

This installment inches events closer to a merge point with 1968's "Planet of the Apes" while maintaining its own unique identity. It is in every way superior to "Rise of the Planet of the Apes."

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.

Each conversation has at least one memorable line, and it's always delivered in such a casual manner that it blends right in.

Sayles cannily blends drama, romance, mystery, and social observation into a satisfying, if slightly overlong, whole. In the hands of a lesser film maker, this material could easily have degenerated into routine melodrama, but Sayles keeps it on a consistently high level.

One of the most obvious problems with The Godfather Part III is that it covers little new territory. The plot is highly derivative of the original.

Spotlight is a Valentine to investigative journalism and a stark reminder of where we’re headed now that this brand of writing has become an endangered species. The film is unique in that it focuses almost entirely on the process.

Skyfall can take its place alongside "From Russia with Love," "Goldfinger," and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" as the best Bond can offer.

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

A film as rich in its visual presentation as it is in its emotional resonance.

Actually three movies in one: a wildlife film about how grizzly bears behave in their natural habitat, a character study of an eccentric environmentalist, and a chilling, voyeuristic narrative of how death stalks that man.

The truth can indeed be stranger than fiction and, in this case, were the story to have originated in the imagination of the screenwriter, it could rightfully be criticized as artificial and contrived. But, disturbing and unlikely as it may be, this stuff actually happened, and pretty much as Craig Zobel relates it.

Using perfectly composed shots to amplify an emotionally resonant story, the film successfully argues that "artistic" films do not have to be boring.

Spielberg’s West Side Story is a resplendent entertainment and a reminder that at least some of cinema’s great classics can in fact find new life in the hands of a master director who is more concerned about crafting a movie than making a blockbuster.

The Dark Knight Rises ultimately justifies its length (in fact, a good argument could be made for a longer cut) and the last 45 minutes is nothing short of spectacular. From the point where the narrative takes a leap of faith, it never lets up.

Chilling and creepy, and there's no denying that the most celebrated aspect of the film -- the Clarice/Hannibal connection -- could not have been accomplished with greater skill.

No, it’s not a game-changer like "Deadpool" or "Logan." It remains firmly anchored within the “traditional” comic book milieu. But, with an unwavering devotion to spectacle and action, the film throws down a gauntlet where this kind of mass team-up is concerned.

Adams shines brightly, reinforcing the image she projected in Junebug and enhanced in Enchanted and Charlie Wilson's War. At this time of the year, it's tough to find a more diverting way to spend 90 minutes in a multiplex.

Wright is savvy enough to realize that suspense and tension require characters that are more than human figures in a CGI playground. He does just enough with the men and women populating Baby Driver for us to get a sense of who they are.

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

This is a disturbing film, a journey into the heart of a damaged man’s psychosis. In many ways, it’s more of a horror film than an action/adventure offering. Even Nolan’s The Dark Knight, the crown jewel of the 21st century DC/Warner Brothers cinematic catalog, traced a more traditional comic book movie template than Joker. Within this genre, there has never been anything quite like it.

Those who go to a Villeneuve production, Sicario included, must be prepared for intense suspense, moral ambiguity, and an ending that doesn't conform to Hollywood norms.

The film’s ensemble cast provides a case study in unforced, emotionally powerful acting.

This is a tense, well-crafted motion picture that keeps viewers on edge. It's an exhausting 130 minutes; many viewers will leave the theater feeling drained.

Psycho is a brilliant excursion into fear that pushes many of our primal buttons, but it lacks the story and character complexity of Vertigo and Rear Window.

As written by the brash, funny, and often vulgar comedienne Amy Schumer, Trainwreck is brash, funny, and often vulgar. Its raunchiness is a perfect match for the man who made "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up."

Deliciously perverse, delightfully twisty, and unapologetically erotic.

After watching Microcosmos, it will be impossible to take a walk in the woods without being aware of the amazing tapestry of activity going on all around, yet out of sight.

The in-your-face style of We Were Soldiers results in a suspenseful, intense, and exhausting cinematic experience.

Hollywood’s decision to abandon this kind of storytelling is one reason why cinema in the 2020s has fallen into the doldrums and, when something like Black Bag arrives, it’s a bittersweet reminder of the potential of the big screen experience.

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.

Several flaws, mostly minor, keep Casino on a plateau slightly below that of the director's best (Mean Streets, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas).

The stakes of those deliberations are so high, the personalities of the jurors so forceful, and the arguments so pregnant with importance that there is no instance in which boredom threatens.