James Berardinelli

In his long and distinguished career, only his Oscar-winning performance in 1983's “Tender Mercies” was this raw. Duvall becomes Sonny. The energy and passion of a preacher are all present.

The movie does everything LARGE, whether it’s an action sequence or an emotional connection. By the time the 3-hour running time has expired, most viewers will be exhausted from the nonstop energy of the experience.

Election has the sharpest satire of any teen movie made in years. Like the best lampoons, it attacks by exaggerating reality ever-so-slightly and targeting a broad range of subjects.

Coogler provides enough rousing moments to get the adrenaline pumping - there are times when the urge to jump up and cheer is almost too strong to resist. But there's more to Creed and it is elevated by the quiet, subtle elements.

Of Austen's novels, none is more beloved than this one, so it's good to see it once again brought to the screen with the pride which it deserves.

The story is unfocused and the character development is virtually nonexistent.

Marry Me isn’t good enough to transcend the limitations of the genre but it’s a passably enjoyable throwback to the heyday of rom-coms.

Draws its audience along a rarely-traveled path whose scope can only be fully appreciated in the silence of the aftermath.

It’s an adorable confection – light, airy, and largely without substance.

This is a brave movie because it addresses a subject Hollywood feels uncomfortable about.

Thumbsucker is true to its nature, and that makes Justin's eventual transformation all the more rewarding.

Not as corrosive as Russell's debut feature, "Spanking the Monkey," it's just as wild, just as strange, and even funnier.

An unconventional tale of redemption that earns its upbeat ending by not falling prey to every cliché of the genre or giving in to the temptation to become too maudlin or sentimental.

Features minimal dialogue. It is mostly about mood and images, and it moves at a glacial pace.

Hit Man is smartly written, with Linklater and Powell deftly melding screwball comedy elements with rom-com beats against a Hitchcockian thriller backdrop. The small twists have big payoffs.

This is a fascinating story of determination and survival that deserves to be told. It is ultimately uplifting but it's tough going to get to that point.

Truly a tale for our time.

Whitmore's Brooks is a brilliantly-realized character, and the scenes with him attempting to cope with life outside of Shawshank represents one of the film's most moving -- and effective -- sequences.

This is a vital, original, and emotionally potent chapter to one of the longest-running movie series out there. It will easily be one of the summer of 2017’s best films and, at the end of the year, it will likely find a space on many respectable Top 10 lists.

Talky and intelligent, and never takes the cheap way out. It's also something of a downer.

Despite never previously having made a feature film, Stolevski’s sure-handed approach delivers a winner. He takes chances, doesn’t underestimate his audience, and tells a story worth telling.

The sophomore feature effort from director Destin Cretton (remaking and expanding upon his 2008 short), this movie avoids the numerous landmines awaiting someone venturing into this territory and, as a result, emerges triumphant.

By employing nostalgia but not relying exclusively on its effects, the filmmakers are able to tell the story of how the program started with details that may surprise all but the most knowledgeable of fans.

Although there's little wrong with the first two-thirds, A History of Violence slides onto a tangential path during its final act, and this misstep reduces the production's overall effectiveness.

The storyline is more interesting and ambitious, the characters -- little more than appealing types in the original -- are allowed to grow and develop, the special effects are more mature, and the tone is deliciously dark and downbeat. [Special Edition]

Passionate and magical, Forrest Gump is a tonic for the weary of spirit.

The Nightmare Before Christmas has something to offer just about everyone. For the kids, it's a fantasy celebrating two holidays. For the adults, it's an opportunity to experience some light entertainment while marvelling at how adept Hollywood has become at these techniques. There are songs (even if they aren't nearly as noteworthy as they should be), laughs, and a little romance. In short, The Nightmare Before Christmas does what it intends to: entertain.

If not for a somewhat forced catharsis during the epilogue (the weakest segment of the movie), Breaking the Waves would have been more wrenching than it is.

Jeff Daniels, an actor who is often relegated to inoffensive supporting roles, surprises with the power and intensity of his performance.

Feel-good tripe: a string of clichés lashed together by a formulaic plot that features underwritten characters and sit-com style humor.

Ultimately, when the end credits roll, we're left with the sense that Star Trek represents a good beginning. As a film tasked with getting all the characters together, re-booting a timeline, and finding a way to return a veteran actor to his beloved role, Star Trek works.

Don’t be fooled by the PG-13 rating – A Quiet Place has an adult aesthetic and younger viewers may be unprepared for its unconventional style and unrelenting intensity.

Easy isn't much of an acting challenge, but Washington's mix of charm and intensity creates an appealing personae.

The acting is uniformly excellent. For the roles of Ashoke and Ashima, Nair has employed prolific Bollywood stars Tabu and Irfan Khan, both of whom give performances of great range and empathy.

Miyazaki may not have achieved the level of "Spirited Away," but he's still ahead of the curve.

There's nothing deep or meaningful to be unearthed in this feel-good comedy, but it nevertheless makes for solid entertainment.

It’s a cliché to remark that “they don’t make them like they used to” but, in the case of Marty, it’s true.

Although Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban stands well enough on its own, it has a "middle chapter" feeling. In other words, there's no real beginning or ending. Little is resolved and the film's climax is low-key.

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.

There is an audience out there for slower, more intellectual thrillers. This is a motion picture for them to discover.

Downfall and Bruno Ganz are deserving of Oscars they will not get.

Although the forced ending, which seems deigned to create an unnatural moment of triumph, weakens the climactic catharsis, it doesn't diminish the naked honesty which forms the foundation of Dolores Claiborne.

It’s exceptional escapist entertainment for those who don’t mind a little spice sprinkled into their cozy mystery.

A gleeful and unapologetic descent into delicious decadence, Killer Joe is proud of what it is and never tries to be something it isn't.

The Spectacular Now's DNA contains elements of the John Hughes teen dramadies of the '80s. There's also a little Cameron Crowe - in fact, replace the soundtrack with something more dynamic and it might be easy to mistake this with a Crowe film.

Woo, who is known and appreciated for his unique stylistic approach to violence and bloodshed, creates a kinetic ballet of bullets and explosions that drives the adrenaline level through the roof.

Some will classify Let the Right One In as a horror movie, and I suppose that's technically accurate. To me, however, this is much more of a coming-of-age/friendship movie.

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

he Celebration rips apart the placid facade of a familiar subject, leaving its audience stunned. As difficult as the film can at times be, the patient viewer will be rewarded.

Feels perfunctory and obligatory and, despite the return of several familiar characters, is more like an afterthought than an organic third piece of a trilogy puzzle.

Despite all its flaws, Challengers represents watchable high-end soap opera material. The story is undercooked but the dialogue contains some nice zingers and the actors are wholly invested.

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director Danny Boyle aren’t interested in offering another re-enactment of the truth-is-stranger-than-fiction story. They have something more ambitious in mind. Their goal is to illustrate the tyranny of genius and how a “great mind” doesn’t always mean a “great person.”

Truth, they say, is stranger than fiction… and also potentially more nail-biting and harder to believe. Touching the Void is an extreme example of this.

Haphazardly plotted, it not only falls prey to absolute predictability but chooses to have nearly every important conversation (except one) occur off-screen. That sort of laziness is unacceptable and results in a strong sense of audience dissatisfaction.

Although aspects of the overall storyline wallow in familiarity, the sharpness of the writing, the precision of Giamatti’s portrayal, and the well-honed relationships among the principals make the movie better than one might assume from a one or two-sentence summation.

Sound of Metal tells a story about coping and overcoming while avoiding the narrative pitfall of artifice.

Is Lee preaching to the choir? Perhaps but those not already in the fold who give the film a chance may discover that the things Lee is saying are hard to disagree with regardless of your race, creed, or color.

It’s a rom-com where one of the participants is the self-described “last black man” and the other is a house.

With a running length of 30 or 40 minutes, Isle of Dogs might have been brilliant. Unfortunately, this concept, although suitable for a short, is too thin for a full animated feature.

The Brothers Bloom with satisfy those with a yearning for lighthearted heist tales, comedies, and offbeat romances.

Unlike in many character studies, the plot is more than just a simple framework. It is complex and unpredictable, and, as a result, provides the perfect means to better get to know the characters and understand the shifting nature of their relationship.

A fun-but-uninspired swords-and-sorcery story.

There's no doubt that it's a flawed movie, but it's one of the most wonderfully entertaining flawed movies made.

What Linklater does exceptionally well is open the door on an era seventeen years in the past. This is 1976, from the music and cars...to the people and their attitudes. You'd have to climb into a time machine to get a better view...However, this is light entertainment -- nothing groundbreaking or even especially noteworthy.

Captain Phillips works precisely because Hanks isn't a muscle-bound, gun-toting figure (nor does he turn into one during the course of the movie). Placed in an untenable position, he uses guile and intelligence instead of brawn and weapons to enhance his survival chances.

The Northman is gripping cinema of the sort that we get too little of today, when too often a director’s vision is diluted by box office imperatives and the lure of four-quadrant appeal.

Someone please get director Ric Roman Waugh a tripod! Snitch might be a passable action-thriller but it's hard to say because every time an action scene comes along, the image shakes so badly it's impossible to keep anything in view or focus.

Kids will probably love this film but, to be frank, most children aren't that discriminating (apologies to the few who are). There's nothing in the film that's reprehensible (although some may find the concept of a one-hundred five minute commercial for a game offensive in itself), but I find it hard to believe that many adults accompanying their youngsters will be entertained. In general, about the best recommendation I can come up with regarding this movie is to turn on the Nintendo and play a game yourself. You'll have more fun, spend less money, and it will be over a whole lot faster.

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.

Considering that 90% of those seeing any production of Hamlet will know the story at the outset, the key to an adaptation's success is what the director does beyond the dialogue. That's one area in which Olivier's 1948 version excels.

The pressure on filmmakers to equal or exceed the impact of a beloved original is intense. In a case like this, when the reputation of a movie has built over decades, expectations are elevated to an almost impossible level. With Blade Runner 2049, Denis Villeneuve has met those expectations by crafting a film that rivets the attention, excites the imagination, and engages the mind.

The movie does what all good thrillers should do -- provide enough shocks and surprises to keep us guessing, and never lets up on the suspense until the end credits arrive.

It's a genuine pleasure to find a movie with such a deep and intelligent portrayal of simple human lives, with all their minor triumphs and tragedies.

When it comes to mockumentary parodies, no one does it better than Christopher Guest.

Georgia is a tour de force for Leigh, and her portrayal of the troubled, passionate Sadie lingers in the mind long after many of the movie's plot details have faded.

Fresh takes the setting and tone of Boyz 'N the Hood and Menace II Society and applies it to a thriller. Gone is the documentary-like quality of filmmaking as well as the gritty sense of immediacy. Fresh uses higher-quality film stock and a more traditional cinematographic style to distance the audience ever-so-slightly from the characters. This way, it's easier to appreciate the complexity of Michael's plan and the manner in which he arranges his masterful scheme of manipulation.

Those who love to cry at movies will doubtless get their money's worth from The Man Without a Face. Others, I imagine, will discover in this movie what I did: a curious mixture of scenes that work and situations that seem hopelessly contrived or overly-sentimental. I didn't hate the film, and after the jarring first half-hour, it kept my attention, but The Man Without a Face never strays far from familiar territory.

Like most unintended second installments, this one is superfluous – a remix of moments, scenes, and images from its predecessor infused with the need to make everything bigger and louder.

Although Arrival is about first contact with extraterrestrials, it says more about the human experience than the creatures from another world. This is a singularly powerful movie, without question one of 2016’s best.

Juno has a great heroine and is blessed by a screenplay that doesn't try to do too much and finds the perfect ending.

Although engaging at times, Fingernails is ultimately frustrating.

With Get Shorty, Sonnenfeld has shown that broad appeal doesn't necessarily equate with stupidity. That's a lesson Hollywood should learn.

Weapons is a step up for writer/director Zach Cregger from his promising horror debut, Barbarian – funnier, more unsettling, and ultimately more satisfying when taken as a whole.

Although it runs too long, it’s nevertheless an enjoyable and satisfying romp through the lives of one woman who makes “being the worst of her selves” an asset.

The cumulative experience leaves an aftertaste that, although not bitter, is too strong to be easily washed away. That's the mark of a worthwhile motion picture.

The Dissident is a solid recap of Jamal Khashoggi’s demise, but it left me wanting more than Fogel is able to provide, even though he hints at an issue of vastly greater importance than the death of one dissident.

For those with any interest in 18th and 19th century seafaring or naval warfare, this is a must-see motion picture. For others, it's an enlightening and entertaining experience.

The tapestry is large enough for the big screen and the overall experience will reward the movie-goer far more than something slick and superficial like Don’t Worry Darling.

Godzilla Minus One isn’t just a good Godzilla movie. It’s an excellent Godzilla movie – arguably among the best ever to grace the screen.

The characters are at the heart of A Simple Plan, and the gruesome complexity of their interaction elevates this film to the level of a midwinter treat.

The film, which has the ingredients for a thoughtful, tense thriller throws away a compelling first half so it can descend into silliness and clichés.

This movie is keen, clever, and -- most important of all -- a nonstop exercise in hilarity.

Coco may not be a blockbuster but, regardless of how it performs at the box office, it’s a welcome return to a variety of animated fare that prizes inspiration over safety.

My evaluation is to wait-list Admission and catch it when it reaches the less demanding platform of home video.

With names like Spielberg, Hanks, and the Coen Brothers, it's hard not to be excited about a project like Bridge of Spies. Yet, although the workmanlike production is solidly engaging, it falls short of the loftiest expectations. It's worth seeing but not one of the best films of 2015.