Joe Leydon

A sensationally entertaining mash-up of historical drama, “Dirty Dozen” style shoot-‘em-up, spaghetti Western-flavored flamboyance, and extended action setpieces that suggest a dream-team collaboration of Sergio Leone, John Woo and Steven Spielberg.

An exceptionally well-crafted Western that spins a gripping, racially charged tale of suspicion, deception and survival in post-Civil War New Mexico.

Koepp does a masterful job of grounding his intimations of the supernatural in a totally persuasive down-to-earth context.

The film is a heady brew of period thriller, compelling melodrama and jet-black comedy, and the second most remarkable thing about it is how seamlessly these diverse elements gel.

A film that remains relentlessly absorbing for all of its compact 83-minute length largely because it places its audience in the position of helpless witnesses to a slow-motion trainwreck.

A sly curve ball of a documentary best described as a sports-themed "Rashomon" with an O. Henry twist.

Khan conveys equal measures of cynical wit and authoritative gravitas as Kumar.

For all the pic’s sentimentality, De Felitta refuses to back away from some unpleasantly realistic touches.

The film benefits greatly from its ability to review events from the viewpoints of the men on the ground in Houston.

A sly mix of haunted house melodrama, slasher pic mayhem and retro-blaxploitation iconography, spiced with dollops of grisly, dark comedy.

Echo in the Canyon offers a richly evocative and star-studded overview of the 1960s Laurel Canyon music scene.

Bill Nye: Science Guy is an efficiently thought-provoking study of what it means to be a rational and analytical advocate for science in an age when deniers of evolution and climate-change often seem to have higher profiles, deeper pockets and louder voices. But it’s even more interesting as the story of a beloved celebrity who wants to reinvent himself, to be taken more seriously.

An improbably effective and affecting mix of raw emotions and exciting smackdowns.

By turns amazing, amusing and appalling.

Deftly balancing twin goals of informing and entertaining, the pic matter-of-factly details the various ways that marketers, multinational corporations, police departments and government-run intelligence-gathering organizations obtain and exploit info.

Exceptional performances by two femme leads and sensitive but unsentimental storytelling throughout.

The final scenes of Dealt are all the more affecting for illustrating Turner’s newfound willingness to accept things he once deemed unacceptable without significantly compromising his personal code of honor.

A frequently inspired hit-and-miss burlesque that definitely hits more than it misses.

An ingeniously twisted mockumentary.

A hugely entertaining and more lavishly mounted follow-up to 2000's "Shanghai Noon," the high-concept East-meets-Western that first teamed top-billed duo, pic rides even taller in the saddle as a fleet and funny crowd-pleaser.

Enjoyably upbeat and intelligently inspiring.

One of the holiday movie season's more pleasant surprises. A mischievously clever and slickly commercial sci-fi comedy.

Mark Landsman's spirited Thunder Soul offers a heaping helping of uplift while documenting the past triumphs and recent reunion of a predominantly black Houston high school's singularly accomplished jazz stage band.

As Malti, Indian superstar Deepika Padukone relies less on exceptionally convincing makeup than straight-from-the-heart conviction to give her multifaceted performance the solid ring of truth.

Indie comedy about an unsuccessful playwright who very nearly talks himself out of his last best chance for happiness recalls the early work of Woody Allen. But pic stands on its own merits as witty and well-observed grown-up fare.

A revealing and fascinating documentary portrait of James Carville.

Arguably the best sports-oriented documentary since "Hoop Dreams."

"Sidemen” is an exceptionally entertaining and captivating tribute to the men and their music — and that there’s more than enough of said music here to please blues aficionados and recruit converts.