Joe Neumaier

Giamatti is one of the few guys who could take a joke about a chickpea-sized soul and make a meal of it.

Writer-director James Mottern's drama has a lived-in feel, but is notable mainly for Michelle Monaghan's glam-less turn as Diane.

Saldana has a harder lift, as Maggie is striving for something better yet has to often be reactive. In scenes with the adorable Wolodarsky and Aufderheide, she listens and acts intently. But there are too many times when she’s forced to just look worried. Still, Saldana, like so many things in Forbes’ likable but tricky film, does her best in a tough situation.

Often static and follows a familiar trajectory. Yet it has power, partly because Simmons does a fine job of showing how hurt Henry is that his taste didn't imprint on Gabe beyond grade school; what was their music became, simply, dad's music.

Lars von Trier's end-of-days drama Melancholia feels as if it's something from another world...but even by his standards this remote yet lovely funereal dirge is in its own orbit.

Riveting, especially since these animals' population has horrifyingly dropped from 450,000 to 20,000 in a half-century.

Falls short of being revelatory, yet has a mysterious, sturdy power that grows on you.

So with a wink, a nudge and a heaping portion of Midwestern charm, Thin Ice reels us in. Comparisons to "Fargo" and other convoluted little capers like "House of Games" are fair, but when taken on its own terms, this quirky drama thrums along in a low-blood-pressure way.

Winstead and director James Ponsoldt add something gripping and modern to the cinema of recovery, a well-mined genre that can still, it seems, yield thoughtful surprises.

Director Nick Hamm's movie is sparky and fun, and full of affectionate pokes at the '80s music scene. It's also, in terms of music biopics, probably better than the real thing.

Real-life geopolitical blunders aside, The Interview generally hits its marks. And every time it does skid into juvenile idiocy — with too much scatological humor, for instance, and an overuse of “you-go-bro!” attitude — it follows it with a stride or two toward uproarious meta-satire.

Like the politicians it skewers, it knows the real winner is the stupidity, stupid.

The movie itself is an intriguing but ultimately unspecial Feds-vs.-hoods drama. But as the sinister, snakelike South Boston criminal Whitey Bulger, Depp delivers.

As a wry, knowing narrator guides us in and out of their symphonic affair, there’s no doubt the trip is worth it.

More serious-minded than expected, with a unique and savvy point of view.

Owing a debt to Albert Brooks’ early comedies, Red Flag might be too much if it weren’t just right.

Director Oliver Schmitz's rhythms take a while to ease into, and admittedly, there is never a bright moment.

Well-acted and grounded in reality, Brick Lane is never overly emotional, even when it deals with the days after 9/11.

This well-made, elegant doc follows the British actress as she travels and discusses life, art, fashion, sex and death with various friends and collaborators, including novelist Paul Auster and photographer Peter Lindbergh.

Enough Said doesn’t have the intimacy of Holofcener’s “Walking and Talking” or “Lovely & Amazing,” but it still cuts close the bone. Often so close we have to smile in self-defense.

Trippy in the right way, and wholly enchanting.

A little more variation in the script, though, might have yielded something truly great.

Director Lee Chang-dong's soulful, affecting film is as quiet as a tomb and has a disturbing, critical underside that's hard to shake off.

Colorful folks and cool stunts abound, but casual viewers may still utter a big "Why?"

Predestination may have the trippiest, weirdest take yet on the time-travel concept.

This beautifully observed drama creates an intimate feel and gently observed moments of connection and angst. Then things move forward with almost too heavy of a heart.

Some of Hyde Park on Hudson feels like lost scenes from "The King's Speech," the 2010 Oscar-winner about King George. It doesn't help that "Hyde's" own rhythms, appealing as they are, are often soporific.

The jokes are hit-and-miss, but the cast is uniformly game, with Labine stealing the show.