Lou Lumenick

An entertaining piece of pulp fiction.

The best thing Baldwin has done in years, and a triumph of low-budget storytelling by a director to watch.

Captain Fantastic isn’t only one of the year’s best movies, but one of the best cast and best acted, right down to the smaller roles.

You won’t see a better performance by an actress on film this year than Julianne Moore as a linguistics professor struggling to hold onto her personality after a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s in the unforgettable drama Still Alice.

Chico and Rita beguiles first and foremost as a bebop romance that evokes a bygone era as well as, or maybe even better than, "The Artist."

Isn't quite as accessible or as deeply moving as his masterpiece, "All About My Mother." It's a tad too self-consciously a work of art for that. But it's still a must-see for anyone who's halfway serious about film.

Engrossing and exhilarating documentary.

There are more than ample rewards for discerning adults: Some of the best dialogue in a recent movie and a gallery of unforgettable performances.

Williams triumphs by exceeding both in sheer actor's craft - and the depths he plumbs in his character's tortured soul.

Vigorously played as a young man by Chris Pine, Kirk is a brilliant, sports-car driving, bar-brawling rebel who is finally shamed into joining Starfleet Academy.

This movie sends you into the night thinking, maybe even a little afraid. Bravo, Mr. Fincher.

Hilarious sweet and sour David Mamet comedy.

Cannily weaving cross-cultural comedy with we-can-do-it humor in the spirit of "The Full Monty," the film builds to a rousing climax.

One of the year's best.

Another remarkable addition to Eastwood's directorial canon.

A gut-wrenching, politically neutral documentary that spends more than a year with a platoon of American GIs in a valley that's been called the most dangerous spot on Earth.

Overall, this gorgeously designed and photographed movie artfully depicts the immigrant experience in ways that transcend its setting, melding Hollywood and Bollywood storytelling techniques to weave a tale a large audience will relate to.

One of the year’s warmest and most crowd-pleasing surprises.

Less grim than it sounds, Southern Comfort ends on a note of triumph for its endearing, gender-bending hero.

A head-clearing, mind-blowing blast from the past - one of the year's best.

Is torture ever justifiable? A twisty, compelling, brilliantly acted (if sometimes difficult to watch) thriller, Prisoners, asks this question not in the usual contemporary context — anti-terrorism — but instead as a gruesome option deployed as a response to every parent’s worst nightmare.

This superb documentary about the Catholic Church's worst pedophile scandal is in many ways far scarier than any fiction.

Director Paul Greengrass - who directed the superb "United 93" between the second and third "Bourne" installments - knows how to stage and edit bravura action sequences, generating almost unbearable suspense while deploying a superb cast.

As much a study of prehistoric art as archaeology, this documentary brings in experts to speculate about the mysterious artists who made these paintings, some quite elaborate and others intriguingly abstract.

Such astounding computer-generated effects you'll suspend disbelief and root for the hero, a 3-inch talking mouse.

Charlotte Rampling, Geraldine Chaplin and Mathieu Amalric contribute cameo appearances in the The Forbidden Room, a visual feast that may be a bit overwhelming for those unfamiliar with Maddin’s work.

That still makes Broken Embraces superior to at least 99 percent of the movies released in 2009. Run, don't walk.

Splendidly spectacular, intelligent and very well-acted.

Quite unlike anything I've ever seen before.

ParaNorman is probably the year's most visually dazzling movie so far, and the stunning climax centering on an 11-year-old witch (Jodelle Ferland) is too good to spoil.

Winslet (Mendes' wife) once again demonstrates why she's one of the best actresses working today.

You might not want to watch all of "The ABC of Love and Sex Australian Style," "Turkey Shoot" or "The True Story of Eskimo Nell," but the clips on view in "Not Quite Hollywood" are a hoot.

The kind of stand-up-and-cheer movie Hollywood is supposed to have forgotten how to make.

Smart, funny and ingeniously detailed with terrific vocal teamwork.

As Kym, Hathaway runs an astonishing gamut of emotions, from anger to fragility and from hurt to regret - without ever seeming actress-y, like Nicole Kidman. Start clearing that mantelpiece, Anne.

Like the Master of Suspense's best films, Double Take (which makes great use of Bernard Herrmann's haunting "Psycho" score) is an intellectual puzzle that also works as a thoroughly accessible entertainment.

Gut-bustingly funny.

South African director Gavin Hood (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine’’) pulls off some really tricky tonal shifts.

The most delightful family movie since "Stuart Little."

It’s a remarkable story, vividly and urgently told by French-Canadian director Vallée (“The Young Victoria”) from a pointed, schmaltz-free script by Craig Borten and Melissa Wallack.

It's as purely entertaining as it is thought-provoking and timely.

Arguably the year's most entertaining art-house film.

Strictly a love it-or-hate-it proposition, it requires viewers to work at a movie with a narrative that could support at least half a dozen interpretations.

A remarkable, eye-popping nature documentary.

The time passes quickly. This is the rare remake that does honor to the spirit of the original.

Forget those weepie liberal clichés. This starless and vividly authentic romantic thriller set in Central America really rocks, and is one of the most exciting directorial debuts in years.

Slowly builds power to devastating effect.

It’s perhaps the most incisive and funniest Hollywood take on Broadway since Mel Brook’s original “The Producers.”

A remarkably assured feature debut by Bennett Miller, a longtime director of commercials (and the documentary "The Cruise") whose no-frills style trusts that the powerful material and the uniformly excellent performances need little embellishment.

Phoebe in Wonderland happens to be at least partly a Lifetime movie, but this special little film is no disease-of-the-week tear-jerker.

Tim Burton's best film in years.

Combines big laughs, a big heart and thoroughly winning characters to become the first big surprise of the fall season.

A technological landmark that couldn't look or sound better.

Clooney, who gained 35 pounds for the role, gives a self-effacing but highly effective performance.

At its heart, this is a thrilling tribute to a modest hero who rose to an extraordinary occasion.

This movie belongs to its young stars, who have grown immensely as actors since they were first ideally cast by Chris Columbus, the hack who directed the first two movies.

The first filmed Shakespeare comedy in decades that’s actually funny.

Morris' most gripping film since "The Thin Blue Line," is the year's scariest movie.

Not a film for all tastes, but it's a considerable artistic achievement.

Schrader's strongest movie since "Affliction," is another meditation on American masculinity powerfully told with great wit and style.

Even with his clothes on, this is Mortensen's best and richest performance, worthy of serious awards consideration. He lends a moral complexity to Eastern Promises that makes it much more than just a very accomplished action thriller.

Davis, a hugely underrated actress..., is deadpan perfection as Joyce, wearing oversized glasses and a wig that makes her look like an older version of Thora Birch's character in "Ghost World."

Gut-Bustingly funny moves are pretty rare, so hustle over to Kung Fu Hustle, actor-director Ste phen Chow's exhilaratingly hilarious and affectionate send-up of Hong Kong action flicks.

Not many people are making silent horror serials these days, but Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin pushes his love of lurid melodrama to the limit in his latest demented treat, Brand Upon the Brain!