James Berardinelli

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.

The narrative is presented in a straightforward manner; Soderbergh doesn't employ any unusual chronologies. His style is frank, not quirky, and lends itself to a number of powerful images.

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.

Fincher eschews quick cuts in favor of long, leisurely ones. He knows what he's doing, and the proof is in the result. The suspense in Panic Room never ebbs, and that makes for a thoroughly entertaining -- if somewhat exhausting -- 108 minutes.

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

Typically, movies aimed at teenage audiences have little concern for things like intelligent scripts, credible characters, and meaningful dialogue. Better Luck Tomorrow contains all three, making it a hugely rewarding experience.

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.

It's a dark and revealing movie, and, while the ending may not be upbeat enough for those expecting mainstream fare, it offers a measure of hope and a catharsis.

Pride will get viewers cheering while reflecting upon how far we have come in 30 years… and how far we have yet to go.

Director Stephen Daldry has fashioned an emotionally powerful cinematic testimony about that horrific late summer day.

The darkness isn’t skin-deep; it permeates the material. Nightmare Alley may not be the feel-good film of 2021 but it leaves a lasting impression.

The edgy, claustrophobic approach to filmmaking is there, as is the importance of setting. There’s never a clear sense of where the movie is headed and, when it gets there, it arrives with a bang.

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.

It's an ingenious premise that first-time director Jan De Bont has turned into a tremendously well-executed motion picture.

Parts of Ruby Sparks are glowing and gentle. Others are harsh. Still others are wrenching. The transitions are expertly handled, never seeming jarring or inappropriate. If the movie feels like two shorter pieces grafted at the middle, that's an intentional decision. The filmmakers give us something approaching a traditional romantic comedy before deconstructing it.

One hell of a ride. For better or for worse, it will leave you stunned and reeling.

Gone Girl is a rare movie: a delicious thriller that provides plenty of titillation and gruesome pleasure while offering a dollop of social commentary. It's smart, twisted, bloody, and almost guaranteed to satisfy anyone with a penchant for the macabre.

Mulan effortlessly blends serious, comic, and cute elements into a whole that should entertain the majority of movie-goers, regardless of race, gender, or age.

Despite an occasional narrative hiccup, this is a rich and moving motion picture.

Project Hail Mary is more about the wonder of the unknown and the satisfaction of finding new friends.

Almodovar also manages to conclude the film on a hopeful note, and one that will have many audience members wishing that he will someday return to tell more about these characters.

The film’s occasional overreaches aren’t always a negative; the high points are very high and, when it’s all over, most viewers will remember them.

Affliction is for anyone willing to take the journey into the heart and soul of a troubled man on the edge.

What starts out as a seemingly-routine excursion into genre clichés emerges into a more complex and satisfying arena than most viewers will anticipate.

It is a rich and challenging motion picture that both affirms life and emphasizes its fragility. Eastwood touches our hearts and energizes our minds without resorting to overt manipulation.

It has the audacity that “Primary Colors” should have displayed, but was afraid to. Bulworth is willing to openly offend to get its point across. That's something that “Primary Colors” was nervous about doing.

Ultimately, this is an engaging, uplifting, and life-affirming motion picture that reminds viewers that it is possible to do interesting things with a romantic comedy while still sticking to some of the conventions.

Menace II Society has a devastating impact. Few films possess the power to keep an audience sitting in stunned silence after the end credits begin rolling, but this is one of them.