James Berardinelli

Overall, Part 2 tells a more compelling and emotionally fulfilling tale than the one related in Part 1, although that could be a result of this movie having a conclusion - something its predecessor notably lacked.

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

The R, however, isn’t for the usual “extreme gore” of a slasher movie. Instead, it’s mainly for profanity. Get Out has only a little blood and viscera; the approach of writer/first time director Jordan Peele is to approach the more stomach-churning aspects of his production with tact.

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 Edge of Heaven is marked by a number of remarkable performances.

These are fascinating, three-dimensional individuals brought into the foreground by a pair of today's finest actors.

In the end, this is more a character study of Jenny than a tale of tortured love, and a reminder that any education worth having comes with its share of trauma.

Kinetic, atmospheric, visually stunning, and mind-bending.

If there’s a knock on Eighth Grade, it’s that it feels too true-to-life to be entirely comfortable.

At times compelling, at times devastating, and at times long-winded.

The narrative is little more than a flimsy envelope -- it's the men and women who are sealed within that make Sling Blade worth watching.

The escapism on offer here isn’t of a light and airy nature but instead provides insight into the darker, obsessive aspects of the human experience.

In an era when movies about love almost always invariably devolve into formulaic affairs, Neil Jordan's Mona Lisa stands out as an often-surprising, multi-layered achievement. By offering a rumination on a wide variety of love - real, imagined, romantic, sexual, and platonic - Mona Lisa defies easy categorization and offers a complex and superior one-hundred minutes for all who view it.

Knocked Up could be one of the summer of 2007's sleeper hits. It certainly deserves the distinction.

The Quiet Man showcases [Wayne] as the leading man in an old fashioned romantic drama. Cast against type, Wayne pulls it off with aplomb, largely because his tremendous screen presence allows him to get away with gaffes that would sink other actors.

The original film was gritty and entertaining ("Infernal Affairs"); the new version is a masterpiece - the best effort Scorsese has brought to the screen since "Goodfellas."

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

The underwater sequences, which are choreographed and directed with great skill, are Thunderball's standout feature... Thunderball is classic 007 -- not the best picture in the long-running series, to be sure, but a more-than-worthwhile diversion for the action-loving escapist in us all.

Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy may be the best possible movie version of the story, but it illustrates that the big screen is not the ideal medium for a tale of this complexity.

The Wild Robot proves to be one of the best animated features to emerge from the American studios post-pandemic and even approaches Miyazki’s (alleged) swansong, The Boy and the Heron, in blending artistry with entertainment value.

If there’s a compelling reason to see the film, it’s Regina Hall.

Vincere is Ida's story, but it says as much about fascist Italy and its ruler as it does about the central character.

I recommend the movie both for Nicholson's performance and for the opportunity to spend some time with the kind of man that we often meet in real life, but rarely see on screen.

If there's a drawback, it's that the plot is trite. Hero is an exemplary example of visual poetry. The narrative is clearly of secondary concern.

The movie, like the book, takes a long, hard look at the system of racial inequality that defined this time and place, and reminds viewers of the price to be paid for surrendering to our base instincts.

The movie has a magnetic quality that’s all the more welcome because of all the weighty issues forming its foundation. It’s a tremendous debut effort for Hall, whose work seems more like that of a seasoned veteran than a first-timer.

One of Unforgiven's assets is the way it overturns conventions, taking the man who is typically the hero and making him the villain, while transforming the traditional bad guy into a sympathetic protagonist.

Wages of Fear is the kind of motion picture for which commonplace phrases like "white-knuckle tension ride" have been coined.