Peter Hartlaub

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.

This is the "Godfather II" of tasteless prank films.

Hannibal Rising isn't a classic, but it's entertaining and a surprisingly fitting addition to the franchise.

A documentary that is often told in adages, riddles and poetry.

Entertaining and compelling.

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

Berlin is still a subject very much worth exploring on film, and his observations as an aged man are even more fascinating than the statements he made as an artist in his prime.

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

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

Presents an almost fawning portrait of the doctor-turned-surfer.

The visual style and lethargic pace can be frustrating -- at least if you're sober -- but the animated tragedy is still a success.

Gridiron Gang gives you a lot more to think about during the ride home.

A return to rowdy form for Chappelle.

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.

Even more ridiculous than it sounds.

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.

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.

Deserves plenty of credit for exploring racial issues story in more realistic terms.

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

Succeeds as both education and amusement.

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.

Connoisseurs of straight-to-video mayhem will revel in the latest chapter of the "Universal Soldier" franchise, which manages to strike that delicate balance between over-the-top ridiculousness and well-crafted filmmaking. [28 Feb 2010, p.Q28]

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.

Clumsily directed yet entertainingly written by Oakland native Nnegest Likké, Phat Girlz is like "Rocky" with cellulite. Or maybe "Pretty Woman" without all the bony butts. It has a lot of heart and soul, but it's almost never mean-spirited.

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

There's no greater meaning to any of this, and the slapstick turns won't seem particularly ambitious to anyone who grew up on Bugs Bunny cartoons.

Very imaginative and can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages.

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