Peter Hartlaub

Best of all, the laughs often arrive in small moments, not in the obvious ones.

Abominable delivers all the notes you expect from family-friendly animation these days. And, thankfully, a little bit more.

It’s a good sign for the intelligence of your science fiction movie, when it’s easy to imagine the story working as a stage play with just two actors.

It’s mostly delightful; a fun movie that successfully hits the reset button for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A strikingly immersive movie, a slow burn filled with subtleties and nuance, with its message nestled in the details as much as the greater story. While other filmmakers have effectively captured San Francisco’s landmarks and topography, story co-writers Fails and Talbot seem to be filming San Francisco’s streets with a microscope.

It’s like combining the anything-can-happen excitement of playing a slot machine, with the grace of a ballet, and the prolonged and escalating violence of a good gladiator battle. Reeves has sustained his career through consistently trying 20 percent harder than most of his contemporaries.

An unexpected pleasure that’s heartfelt at times and humorous throughout. Yes, the plot is ridiculous and often coarse. Yes, the story is predictable. Yes, a condom stuck to a women’s jacket is played for laughs. But it’s a very steep uphill climb from there.

Does nothing to elevate the form — and yet it doesn’t disappoint.

Besides the huge smiles on your faces, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse offers mainstream moviegoers an overwhelming feeling of optimism. If this kind of risk-taking and artist-driven creativity can exist in Hollywood’s biggest money-making genre, then our superhero movie future is filled with hope.

If “The Jungle Book” is like taking a trip to Disneyland, then “Mowgli” is a hike straight into unknown woods with nothing but some duct tape and a Bowie knife.

As much as anything we’ve seen in recent years, the film is confirmation that artists, not paranoid executives, continue to make the big calls at Disney. And as long as that continues, a few glitches in the plot won’t ruin anyone’s good time.

Curtis makes an all-in return to the Strode character, and the filmmaking team builds a solid framework around her, in the propulsive and entertaining new Halloween.

Beyond some network television-quality production values, the sequel to the 2015 film is completely satisfactory family entertainment. It's hard to imagine anyone putting "Goosebumps 2" on their end-of-year worst movie list. And not just because it's hard to imagine anyone even remembering this film beyond next Tuesday.

This is a quality movie, carefully disguised as a mediocre one. It’s a chore to get through the beginning, but builds a strong story, and leaves legitimate good feelings on the way out of the theater. Smallfoot is not a “The Lego Movie”-style surprise classic, but it’s better than most.

It’s scattered and messy and startling and electric and fun.

The end result is flawed, but also funny, heartfelt and inclusive movie making.

It’s charming and filled with wonderful performances, and has a nuanced story that will have adults walking out of the theater thinking about their own inner Pooh, and questioning why the hell they’re working so hard.

One of the more thoughtful and valiant feature film directorial debuts in recent memory.

Upgrade is a movie by Leigh Whannell, who wrote “Saw,” “Insidious” and other memorable horror movies. But other than the occasional moment of stunningly gratuitous gore, it’s nothing like those films.

This is a filmmaker who cares less about horror cinema as a theme park ride, and more about mood.

The film is charming throughout, literally from the beginning of time to the final goal.

Yes, the two-minute trailers were an atrocious affront. But it turns out the other 91 minutes include thoughtful characters and some clever humor in between the pratfalls.

The visuals themselves are inconsistent, but never boring. The sidekicks seem considerably less painstakingly rendered than the leads. A few of the merchants have the unnatural look and jerky movements of Pirates of the Caribbean animatronics.

Coco is the best-looking Pixar movie since the tonally uneven “The Good Dinosaur.” The colorful afterlife is the centerpiece, but excellence is found in unexpected places.

Miles Teller as Brendan McDonough is a standout, beginning as a dead-eyed drug user, then gradually turning into a responsible adult.

The fly-on-the-wall style is a slow build that leads to an immersive experience, and then an ultimate payoff as the change-minded department detours into another scandal. The Force is like watching a drug addict take a few meaningful steps toward recovery, only to relapse again.

Stronger always feels right in the moment, solidified by an outstanding central performance by Gyllenhaal, and some wonderful ensemble work, especially the actors just below the top billing.

The locally sourced documentary is always engaging — lively and well-paced with an impressive list of interviewees from Hillary Clinton to Huerta herself.

It’s smart and funny and makes great effort to capture not just a time and place, but the specific feelings of being on the verge of adulthood and thinking the world is against you.

Crown Heights is a challenging film with long treks between uplifting moments. And there’s no question the film earns every moment of grace.

The result is an unconventional and layered portrait of a complicated talent.

The more an audience member sees the beauty left in the Buddhist leader’s wake, the more it becomes clear that his influence has the power to continue generations beyond his passing.

A movie for science fiction fans who wish every minute of “Star Wars” was the cantina scene.

Byrne is the furthest thing from being a manipulative filmmaker. But Raising Bertie is moving nonetheless.

Like George Bailey, and the Cartwright family from “Bonanza” and other fictitious families, the real-life story of the Sungs is one of loyalty and adhering to their code, even as they face losing everything.

Whatever the numbers and whatever the broader entertainment trends, The Wall proves it’s good when big directors have the flexibility to make small projects.

The Chuck Wepner story is a compelling one — and the performances ensure its place as a sports movie contender.

A charming and thoughtful movie, about people making a charming and thoughtful movie.

Like its lead characters, Going in Style just grooves along nicely, until the credits roll and you realize it was time well spent.

Logan takes its indestructible metal claws to comic book movie norms and destroys them, and it’s a wonderful thing.

The Lego Batman Movie is less awesome than its predecessor, but it’s a clever, well-paced, self-aware and completely satisfying kind of less awesome.

Always watchable, and occasionally great. And that’s probably more than even the most forgiving former Shyamalan fan ever thought they’d see again.

Bayona remains a director whose work should be anticipated, and A Monster Calls is a solid fantasy drama.

A slow start keeps Moana from reaching “Frozen” or “Beauty and the Beast” levels of excellence. But the comic self-awareness, engaging songs and a fulfilling finish are enough to merit a strong recommendation.

It’s a solid first step into the magical world of the familiar. Escapist entertainment for crowds that prefer to know their destination in advance.

Arrival works as mainstream entertainment, but includes hallmarks of the “2001: A Space Odyssey”/“Silent Running” era of artist-driven science fiction. It has Hollywood stars, but makes great effort to strip them of any false glamour. The film is tightly calibrated, but leaves things open to interpretation, for discussion on the ride home and beyond.

Timberlake is the secret weapon, making the crankiest troll also the most appealing.

Like Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s stellar “The Lego Movie,” the filmmakers work with the confidence that if a joke fails, the one that follows a few seconds later will redeem the scene.

Moviegoers will love or hate Oliver Stone and his politics until the end of time. With well-made movies such as Snowden, though, his skill as a filmmaker becomes much harder for the detractors to debate.

In the end, Sully is a broadly crowd-pleasing movie, at a time when we could use the straight-forward entertainment.

As much as Fassbender, Vikander and Rachel Weisz, the feelings of isolation, despair and self-reproach deserve top billing in The Light Between Oceans.

There should be more American family movies like Pete’s Dragon. Since there aren’t, we should get behind this one.

A film that is at its best onstage.

It wonderfully explains elements of life with autism, offering a primer for the uninitiated, while profiling a family that was rewarded for its willingness to approach an obstacle with patience and love.

Laughs are laughs, whether you know some of the punch lines ahead of time or not. And The Secret Life of Pets has plenty of laughs.

The sequel is filled with crowd-pleasing action, adventure and characters — sometimes too many characters. But it rises above its crowded narrative with an intense emotional core, taking a protagonist whose affliction had been played mostly for comedy, and exploring the emptiness and loneliness of her plight.

This isn’t just a good horror film. It’s a good film, which just happens to fall in the horror genre.

It’s not a sin to tell a one-sided story, Hoover seems to be arguing, when there is no other side.

It gives fans what they want, while also working most of the time as pulse-pounding escapism. Even though he has almost nothing to do with the actual movie, the spirit of a “Speed”-era Keanu Reeves is present throughout.

The cinematography and direction are particularly compelling; the complicated sequences on the tight sets must have forced camera operators to play cinematic Twister in impossibly small corners.

This may be Favreau’s best achievement — taking a beloved film guided by Walt Disney himself and crafting something distinct and memorable.

There are several excellent performances, including Wayne Hapi as Potini’s hardened brother. But Curtis is the most memorable part of The Dark Horse.

More than just culinary recommendations, he provides a cultural guide to the Los Angeles that is almost never seen in movies — and then the film makes an argument that Gold’s L.A. is more relevant than the one we all know.

Throughout Zootopia, each bustling frame is packed with so much repeated-viewings-rewarded imagery that the screen must be sampled rather than taken in as a whole.

The documentary “Amy” left viewers feeling a little shame, as if the audience and society was an accessory in Winehouse’s death. Janis: Little Girl Blue is a more clinical treatment, with more complicated messages.

The Good Dinosaur has an original concept, disarming emotional heft and features the most impressive visuals in animated cinema to date.

There’s still plenty of laughs left over for the audience, and the aggressive randomness of the script fuels some genuinely inventive comic moments. Although the writers of this R-rated cinematic binge frequently lose their focus, they never lose their sense of humor.

The Peanuts Movie delivers genuine happiness with the door left open for woe.

A solid piece of filmmaking, from subtle beginning to the excessive end.

The screenplay is deceptively tight, even as the main characters seem to be buzzing aimlessly through the proceedings. Like the most successful films of the drug-hazed genre, this movie only appears to be going off the rails.

Now in middle age, members of N.W.A. no longer believe all of the hype. They’re in an introspective space, to the great benefit of this film.

Hardy's performance takes a little bit of the sting away from seeing Gandolfini perform on a big screen for the last time. As irreplaceable as Gandolfini may be, it's invigorating to see a young actor elevating to similar heights right before your eyes.

More in the tone of the big screen "Friday Night Lights" than "Rudy" or "The Blind Side," it succeeds as mainstream entertainment without relying on a conventional storybook framework.

The scope of the film can be frustratingly narrow. But even this limited view into the events of the Maywand District murders is gripping cinema.

It is by far the sharpest-looking DreamWorks Animation film to date.

For such a torment-filled story, the ending is surprisingly satisfying, with an important message that a lesser filmmaker might have telegraphed too much.

Evans pays careful attention to atmosphere, while giving wide berth to cinematographers Dimas Imam Subhono and Matt Flannery, who find beauty among the mayhem. Everything on screen is crystal clear and vibrant, like a city street right after the rain.

Ernest & Celestine builds a delicate and charming animated world, but you wouldn't want to live there.

Enemy is what might happen if someone let Terrence Malick make a "Twilight Zone" episode, with a quick rewrite by David Cronenberg.

Children in the audience may not be thrilled at the highbrow humor and lack of pointless action, but tough luck. Life is more than "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" and "The Smurfs" sequels.

Miyazaki is arguably at the Kubrick/Polanski level, where his lesser films still yield great rewards. Even during the moments that don't soar, The Wind Rises continues to satisfy.

The movie is a wonderful surprise, cleverly written and executed brick by brick with a visual panache.

Even with its thrifty set pieces and smaller ambitions, this attempt to reboot the series based on Tom Clancy characters does the most important thing right: It almost always feels like a Jack Ryan movie.

Yet it's very funny, a disappointment only to those who expect to see something bold and new.

The studio made a great film.

Armstrong acted like a demon, but it becomes clear there were very, very few angels associated with the sport in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The self-consciousness that made the director's "Love Actually" a love-it-or-hate-it film is dialed way down. About Time is more of a love-it-or-like-it proposition.

The ego trips and sexuality and driving are all filmed with equal intensity, to the point where the emotions and flesh and crunched metal seem to blend together. The movie's only major problem is that the tension sometimes overwhelms.

It's difficult to remember a recent movie that soared so high, before plummeting with a series of bad story choices. But the end result is still a strong piece of cinema, a failure only if you dwell on what might have been.

I'd be shocked if we see a better horror film in 2013.

What Sweetgrass lacks in context it makes up for in voyeuristic camera work that reveals a gritty beauty in the landscape, along with the human and livestock characters.

The ending takes an unfortunate detour that stretches the running time, but this is still quality Pixar work.

There are flaws, but also some fun surprises. Much closer to Hitchcock than "Hostel," this is what can happen when a pile of trash falls into the hands of a talented and resourceful director (James DeMonaco).

Considering the fact that a young girl is picking her nose on the movie poster, The Croods is surprisingly evolved.

The female actors, particularly Hudgens and Ashley Benson, are game for the ride. And Franco is indispensable, bringing humor and pathos to one of the more repulsive cinematic creations in recent memory.

As entertainment, this approach might be questionable. As a service, it would be valuable.

Writer-directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore find a nice balance between the over-the-top high jinks and an emotional core, which unexpectedly crystallizes relatively late in the movie.