Joe Neumaier

The comedy of discomfort that runs through Cyrus is often about several things at once. But the most prevalent emotion in this quirky yet genuine movie is the awkwardness that comes with trying to fit into someone else's life.

The movie could have gone several ways, too — and it is heartbreaking to watch this ambitious story choose the wrong one and get lost in space.

A gripping, personal examination of a seemingly unresolvable conflict.

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

Some segments are too long, but Famous Nathan contains a unique flavor that history-loving New Yorkers should relish.

Freeman is so in-tune with the former South African president's persona you can't take your eyes off him.

Director Megumi Sasaki's film feels like a cozy visit with neighbors whose insights are priceless.

The first film in a while to have a decent heart while quickening your pulse.

Joe and director David Gordon Green find a middle ground between the old, vulnerable Cage and the one that seemed to eat that other guy. Good to have him back.

Important and gripping.

The dissection and discussion, though well-intentioned, winds up lifeless.

Overlong but ambitious, Woo proves he's as good at tactical maneuvers as he is at close-quarters combat.

Though Rust and Bone aims for a blasé attitude toward disabled drama - in a far more artificial way than another French film, "The Intouchables," did earlier this year - it's underwritten characters and hoary approach plunk it into mediocrity. As wheelchair-bound Stephanie practices her whale-training motions to Katy Perry's "Firework," it's eye-rollingly obvious.

Carpenter's economical but mundane chiller is possessed more by previous ghoul-friend flicks than it is by his better work.

This is a terrific time capsule with a resonant message.

Though it teeters at times on the edge between potboiler and melodrama, Arbitrage benefits from a notable lack of sympathy for Gere's Gordon Gekko-like Miller. Rather than seeming pat, Jarecki's straightforward cynicism is pointed and purposeful.

Part of the problem with "P&F" is that Tiana and Naveen's connection feels superficial.

The special effects here are wiry martial artists grunting their way through fight after fight. It's exhausting but exhilarating.

A smart, ardent, profound movie.

The action-comedy Zombieland works because it's played with an emphasis on the living, not the undead.

This isn't a therapy session on film; it's a visually stark, lively, organically engrossing movie with a very real handle on the mental processes, and interpersonal demands, that come with issues of life and death.

Wong’s visual grandeur is, as ever, all-encompassing.

Amusing as it is, it never feels real.

Velvety storytelling still feels more thawed-out than heated.

Fearless nonfiction filmmaker Alex Gibney ("Taxi to the Dark Side," "Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer") details a history of horrific abuse by Catholic clergy in this tough-to-watch documentary.

Liberal Arts is at its most nauseating when we hear Jesse and Zibby read their oh-so-self-aware love letters.

A wild and unexpected film.

Belafonte still finds ways to address injustice - and now we have over 50 years of his example to follow and his music to enjoy.