Rene Rodriguez

The fact that Garland manages to cram in speculative ideas about the perils of a society that relies too heavily on technology is a bonus. In Ex Machina, love hurts, big time, for man and machine alike.

Half-Blood Prince is the franchise's “Empire Strikes Back” -- the episode in which the pace slows down a bit, the characters deepen and mature, the good guys take a big hit, and all hell is gearing up to break loose.

The weirdest movie of the summer. OK, the year.

Grim stuff, filled with great sorrow and tragedy, but it's never maudlin or weepy.

Exhausting at times, frustrating in others, Magnolia is mostly just exhilarating, the product of a raw, vibrant talent finding his footing in an adult world -- and unafraid to make mistakes.

Unfortunately, The Island grows dumber as it goes along, gradually disintegrating into a generic good-versus-evil spectacular that not only defies all known laws of gravity and physics, but also suffers from the lack of morality that plagues Bay's films.

Condon and screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher reward your patience by bringing the threads together in a beautiful, stirring manner that celebrates the genius of the literary icon while also honoring the man McKellen is playing.

Brings the viewer up close and personal with the face of evil.

Focusing on the contestants who make the initial cut -- two men and two women -- the film can't resist wringing some American Idol-style suspense from speculation about who the eventual victor will be. But the movie also leaves no doubt as to who the real winners are.

It's the overriding spirit of the movie that forms its greatest appeal: Here's a movie that isn't intent on conquering the world but simply entertaining you for a breezy 90 minutes.

Paradise: Hope plays better if you’ve seen the previous two movies, so you can savor the reach and scope of Seidl’s trilogy. But the film stands alone as a tender portrait of adolescence at its most vulnerable and how we manage to survive it, even when surrounded by predators and wolves.

This long, gorgeous, occasionally maddening movie is the work of a hopeless romantic who knows there is no pain as bittersweet -- or as haunting -- as the pain of a broken heart.

It's not every movie that makes you wish Vin Diesel would run in and start blowing up stuff.

For all its excitement Kung Fu Hustle is mostly a marvel of comedic ingenuity and mile-a-minute creativity run wild. You've never seen anything like it.

A hostage drama without any tension. It is a love story without any heat. It is as curiously empty a movie as we've seen all year.

This bleak, oh-so-dark comedy is one of the best movies you almost didn't get to see.

Scorsese has crafted a luxurious entertainment that goes down like a flute of sparkling, silky champagne.

Affleck's smooth, elegant directorial style is strong reminiscent of Clint Eastwood's: He takes his time establishing characters who are far more complex than they initially appear, then thrusts them into moral dilemmas with no easy outs.

Ardor is never boring, but it’s never all that engaging, either. Here is a movie that ends with a can’t-miss scenario — a siege on a farmhouse in which the heroes are vastly outnumbered and outgunned — yet still fails to ever quicken your pulse.

The scale of Finding Dory is bigger than that of "Finding Nemo," but I started missing the smaller, more intimate excitement of the fishing tank inside the dentist’s office in Nemo.

There's never any question how Rescue Dawn will end, but as conventional and straightforward as the movie is, it's easy to understand why Herzog was driven to tell this story twice.

I Killed My Mother fares less well when Dolan gives in to some ill-conceived stylistic flourishes (understandable for a young, first-time filmmaker) or when his reach as a dramatist exceeds his grasp (an incident involving thugs who gay-bash Hubert, for example, feels superfluous). But the crux of the film is the furious, tempestuous bond between Hubert and Chantale, and through their volcanic fights, you can see Dolan's considerable talent at its least adorned. [23 Apr 2010, p.G7]

Here is a crime drama that punches you in the gut, full on, and dares you not to blink.

The infectious dark comedy Wild Tales (Relatos salvajes) argues that payback is more satisfying when it’s doled out in fiery, bloody and outrageous doses.

Gingerly paced and meditative, Shanghai Triad isn't as lyrical as some of Zhang's other films, but its hauntingly tragic ending and the bittersweet relationship at its core are as powerful as anything in this director's impressive body of work. [16 Feb 1996, p.7G]

It is as emotionally raw and wrenching as life itself.

There is some exhilarating wordplay in 8 Mile, and you don't have to be a fan of rap to appreciate its quicksilver energy and mischievous wit. For all its grit, 8 Mile ends up radiating a joyful, hopeful vibe. It's an old-school charmer.

There are moments in the punishing drama Once Were Warriors that are supremely difficult to watch, but you can't tear your eyes away. Once these characters -- a violence-prone Maori family living in contemporary New Zealand -- get hold of you, you're in for the long haul. [09 Feb 1995, p.1G]

Ichaso demonstrates he's ready for the big leagues: His movie is noble and slick, technically accomplished. But it never touches the heart. [26 Feb 1994, p.G3]

The Jungle Book has its moments — the panther Bagheera voiced by Ben Kingsley, the python Kaa voiced by Scarlett Johansson and a funny porcupine voiced by the late Garry Shandling are all memorable creations — but the overall film feels cold and mechanical, befitting a movie that was made primarily because technology made it possible.

One thing nearly all the anecdotes in The Hunting Ground have in common is their resolution: A lack of justice.

While We’re Young starts off as an empathetic, funny look at middle age and winds up as profound and schematic as a Neil Simon play — or, for the younger set, an episode of "The New Girl."

The fact that you might emerge from the theater eager to give their albums a listen is a testament to how effective this lively and stirring movie about freedom of speech really is.

This is a straight-up portrait of a man who figured out a way to cling to life longer than anyone expected and, in the process, learned to let the world in.

The most fascinating aspect of The Imposter, though, is why the missing boy's family believed his story.

Despite its downbeat theme, A Single Man is ultimately optimistic about the human capability to gradually make peace with seemingly insurmountable pain and tragedy.

With the insight and sensitivity of an insider, The Messenger illuminates the sometimes invisible victims of war -- the survivors -- and a pain that is tolerated but never quite healed.

Feuerzeig presents an unyieldingly sympathetic but always fascinating portrait of an artist whose mental illness became inseparable from his art, with one often fueling the other.

The movie is slight and, at 75 minutes without end credits, barely qualifies as a feature-length film. But Tomlin is a wonder.

Where Planet Terror is all hollow, self-conscious homage, Death Proof is the work of a director striving to make something original while remaining true to the movies that influenced him. It is also, once it gets going, terrific, sensational fun -- precisely the vibe Grindhouse aims for, but only sporadically attains.

Essentially, You Don't Mess With the Zohan isn't all that different in tone and sensibility from Sandler's previous films, but he's really trying in this one, and the effort pays off.

It's even better as a love story that just happens to make you laugh.

The Wave builds up a nice bit of genuine tension and hits some surprisingly dark notes.

Unlike The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, Hercules never feels like more than what it is: A zippy, energetic cartoon. But it's still better than just about any movie out there right now. This Hercules is heavenly, indeed. [27 June 1997, p.5G]

The House I Live In is a work of journalism, not propaganda: Jarecki has done his research and leaves it to you to decide what to make of it.

One of the first things that strikes you about these courageous people, who constantly confront volatile, gun-carrying thugs, is that they outgrew their violent pasts and now live contented lives with their families.

The emotional connection we develop with her as the movie unfolds pays off in the final 20 minutes, which is about as happy of an ending as anyone could imagine, except this one really happened.

Tender and sentimental, a little schmaltzy, and ultimately too slight.

This is the first film Gray has made with a female protagonist — he wrote the part specifically for Cotillard — and he gives the character the same resilience and resourcefulness usually reserved in movies for men.

Its social consciousness aside, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is really a simple love story between men set in the American West, although unlike "Brokeback Mountain," this love is purely platonic -- nothing more than the bond of brotherhood between two dear friends, a classic Western theme.

In Logan, the clawed mutant Wolverine finally gets to slash through the constraints of a kid-friendly PG-13 rating, and the result is bloody, vicious fun. The squeamish will avert their eyes, and young children should not be allowed anywhere near this movie, no matter how many X-Men action figures they own.

Lurking just beneath Water's serene, storybook surface is an unmissable, defiant passion.

Ebullient, joyous film.

Bad Milo! directly envokes a number of earlier pictures Vaughan clearly adores, including "Basket Case," "It’s Alive" and even the workplace satire "Office Space." But the movie fails to ground its promising (if preposterous) scenario in any kind of recognizable reality.

This is easily Bay’s best movie, the work of a filmmaker with a cracked sense of humor that he is able to share with the audience.

The movie offers just the right amount of spectacle.

This is a big, audacious stunt of a movie -- pointless, perhaps, but incredibly fun to play with.

Shows us a man who not only derives great pleasure from devoting himself to his job but also, in the process, has helped shaped the greatest city in the world.

With this gorgeously melodramatic ode to cinema, the filmmaker comes dangerously close to losing himself inside his celluloid dreams -- and leaving the audience behind.

The world's newfound familiarity with the region's troubles only make Kandahar more compelling.

Blue Caprice only spends a few minutes reenacting their crime — the movie shows us exactly how they did it in just a couple of scenes — because the facts of the case aren’t the movie’s focus. Instead, this lyrical, frightening film is a portrait of a man consumed by self-hatred who decided to take it out on the world.

Unexpectedly funny, leisurely paced and oblivious to the demands of its genre, Inside Man has a loose, playful vibe that's at odds with its grave life-and-death scenario.

An intoxicating, world-class collaboration between a filmmaker (Spain's Fernando Trueba), two artists (designer Javier Mariscal and animator Tono Errando) and a musician (Cuban pianist/bandleader Bebo Valdés).

Too much of Lords of Dogtown still feels conventional and sugar-coated.

Gunn makes this huge entertainment accessible to the converted and the neophyte alike, and he has only has one goal: To send you out of the theater with a fat smile on your face. Mission accomplished.

But there are so many beautiful, tender moments in In America -- that it's easy to forgive Sheridan's manipulative ploys.

Reveals yet another facet of this always-unpredictable filmmaker: a flair for compassionate, humane melodrama.

Across the Universe can't achieve the transcendence and exhilaration musicals strive for, but it often generates a singular kind of magic you've never experienced before.

Mines a great deal of its humor from the can't-be-bothered attitude of British culture, but the jokes survive the trip across the Atlantic mostly intact.

Gaghan is attempting to cover so much ground in Syriana that the movie at times feels a little suffocating.

This glitzy, infectious and unusually heartfelt musical doesn't always hang together as a satisfying narrative -- too many characters compete for too little screen time -- but its pleasures are numerous enough to override its flaws.

Raucous look at an equally raucous phenomenon.

Shine a Light provides the clearest and most intimate viewing experience of the band to date. It is also a happy circumstance that the group, now in their mid-60s, have rarely sounded tighter.

An oddity, but a remarkably intriguing and original one, and in Buck ... it also has the most unforgettable movie character of the year.

It's just exhausting. For all of the movie's sumptuous, eyepopping craft, you'll feel more than a little relief when Mathilde finally reaches the end of her quest.

The musical numbers are exhilarating, and the story unfolds against a delightful, ever-changing series of set designs, haircuts and fashions. But it's the performances in this look at the often- harrowing relationship between Tina and Ike Turner that you'll remember. [09 Jul 1993, p.G5]

One question in particular hangs heavily over the entire film, a plot hole so distracting it becomes the only thing you can think about.

Margin Call doesn't demonize its characters, nor does it absolve them of their sins. The movie simply shows, without judgment or anger, how our economic crisis came to be.

This is a romantic comedy that makes the concept of romantic comedies appealing again -- that reminds you how resonant and transporting they can be when they're done right.

Leary's presence quickly grows tiresome, and The Secret Lives of Dentists would have been a better movie without him. But Scott and Davis keep you interested in the Hursts' dilemma

The fact that the last line of dialogue is spoken five minutes before the end credits roll is telling: Words matter little in a movie that favors seeing and feeling above all else. It’s a work of pure, furious sensation.

Like Carol, Safe is a little too internalized for its own good: When it's over, you wish you would run into Haynes in the theater lobby so you could ask him more than a few questions. [22 Sep 1995, p.6G]

The main thing writer-director Michele Jouse, who was close to Shepard, wanted to do with her intimate documentary Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine was to give a voice to those who are still mourning him and allow them to share their stories.

The Dance of Reality, which deserves a place along Amarcord as a fantastical take on coming of age, is the work of a wise and experienced old soul with the heart and curiosity of a young man in love with life.

An exuberant, disarming entertainment.

There's nothing "big" about Trees Lounge : Its comedy, as well as its drama, is purposely understated, culminating in a long shot that uses an actor's face to speak volumes. It has the spirit of Cassavetes in it, only it's not nearly so self-indulgent, and its emotions are so real they hurt. [25 Oct 1996, p.5G]

Dark, nasty fun that gets better when you play it over in your head. But the plot holes seem even larger in hindsight, too. Just tamp down those expectations, then tamp them down some more.

Even a supporting turn by Vincent Cassell as Otto Gross, a fellow psychiatrist, cocaine addict and unapologetic adulterer, fails to enliven the movie: A Dangerous Method makes even a cokehead hedonist boring.

As usual, Brooks displays an uncanny knack for mining the universal elements of his characters' situations. Many scenes in the movie ring so familiar, you'd think he had been spying on your visits home. [10 Jan 1997, p.4G]

Absorbing and hugely compelling, a thoughtful portrayal of the myriad ways in which we learn to deal with the unthinkable.

What American Gangster does have -- what makes it such a commanding, exhilarating movie -- is a consummate love and understanding of story.

You come away from Mud fondly remembering those two boys, especially Ellis, who has taken his first steps toward adulthood and discovers it suits him just fine.

Catching Fire is a work of thoughtful, emotionally engaging sci-fi — everything that its predecessor The Hunger Games was not.

Aside from satisfying some kind of ghoulish curiosity about how such an incident could possibly happen, there's precious little in Death of a President to justify the extremity of its central conceit.

The main problem with Submarine is that Oliver is not a likable protagonist.

Superbad never forgets the lesson one learns when looking back on one's awkward youth: Cool isn't just where society dictates; it is also where you find it.

Delivers all the expected moments of high suspense --that is worthy of Hitchcock

Filled with conspiracies, intrigue and the suggestion that modern-day society is purposely designed to drive us a little nuts, The Manchurian Candidate is a paranoid fantasy for our time.