Lisa Schwarzbaum

Don't tell Walt Disney, but Hayao Miyazaki really holds the keys to the magic kingdom.

The nervy style of this newfangled Western, with its eerie, insinuating score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, is so effective that long after Pitt and Affleck have left the screen, emotional disturbance lingers like gun smoke.

Damien Chazelle's extraordinary black-and-white retro dream of a feature debut.

Without ever dipping into indignity among wet, half-naked men, Shower sparkles with joy.

Beautiful, compassionate, articulate domestic drama.

Filmmaker Yung Chang finds a sad and beautiful way to glimpse the big picture of dislocation through an exquisitely poised small study.

It's an intoxicating feeling when a movie excites and enlivens us like this -- and there's a particular giddiness to be had in thinking about what movies can (but don't often) do for one's soul after imbibing such a fine vintage.

This beautiful, terrible story is not easily forgotten.

Soaring and romantic, wild and serene, feminist and gutsy, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of the best movies of the year.

Unfolds with a simplicity that's as breathtaking as its inevitability is harrowing.

Flight opens with one of the most harrowing in-flight-disaster depictions of all time.

So superb, so graceful, so strong -- another beauty in this year of good documentaries -- that I do believe it will influence career choices, sending inspired viewers to study pedagogy, or cinematography.

Yet another outstanding little movie in the exciting Romanian New Wave.

It's a great, IQ-flattering entertainment both wonderful and wise.

The third starring the totally captivating cool cucumber Daniel Craig as Agent 007 - is both an elegy and a mission statement. It's also a great, long-lasting jolt of pleasure.

Pay attention to the enhanced detail audible in a new six-track sound mix, which may be the most important cleaning job of all; silence and Jerry Goldsmith's score have never twined so hauntingly.

The ensemble cast shared the best-actor award at the 2006 Cannes film festival -- and rightly so.

Gets weirder and meaner and darker and sadder as it progresses, which is amazing since it simultaneously remains funny and horrifying right up to the end.

Gruesome stuff — and yet Body Bags moves along with such jaunty, good bad taste that it’s hard not to smile.

The movie is enchanting.

Another must-see marvel of horror, comedy, and impeccable filmmaking by the Korean director Bong Joon-ho.

This is essential viewing for understanding our world.

The filmmaking is as strong as the subject matter, with an elegant structure.

The stunning, must-see drama Crash is proof that words have not lost the ability to shock in our anesthetized society.

The result is an intense, action-driven war pic, a muscular, efficient standout that simultaneously conveys the feeling of combat from within as well as what it looks like on the ground.

It’s only when you’re in the grip of the climax that you realize how richly the filmmaker has painted a landscape that to other eyes might appear so parched.

The antidote to every square tough-guy caper you've ever seen, and the inspiration for many great ones. It is an existential imperative to seek out a showing and burn rubber to get there, preferably in an excellent car.

It's thrillingly original, lyrical, and wise, and the filmmaker conveys the mutable intensity of young love with the authoritative originality of an important filmmaker.