Shawn Levy

Amazing as Penn is, Morton is his equal, creating a complete personality out of gestures, glances and unadorned bits of actorly business.

It is, in a way, the first glimpse of the cinema, right there at the dawn of humankind. And it is utterly remarkable to see.

While the script of Frida struggles at times to be something more than an ordinary and-then-this-happened biography, there's a buoyancy to the direction and acting that make the film special.

If Look Both Ways has a familiar form, this sort of emphasis on humanity, with which the film refreshingly pulses, is rare.

It's splendid period filmmaking, grown-up and luxurious and gossipy without ever feeling fussy.

The resulting film is a labor of love with all the strengths and weaknesses you might expect from such a designation.

It's not life-changing stuff, but it's brisk and clever and funny and avoids some of the predictable pitfalls that hobble so many films of its ilk.

An exquisitely crafted film filled with little shocks and deep echoes of humanity. It'll stick with you.

It's an experimental film about a sensational event, placing tragedy in the context of the dulling normality of human life and resisting easy interpretation, just as did the inexplicable death of Kurt Cobain.

The result is an immersive experience that never forgets the basic facts of the story but attempts with a level head and open mind to understand how in the world it might happen.

Goon is a hoot.

A charming little film built of bits of music, romance, cultural conflict and the simple human need to connect.

It's a remarkably sure-handed film, taking us with Shaun on a journey through alienation, anger, trepidation, ebullience and fear.

You wouldn't necessarily want to be Valentino, but this sprightly film may make you nostalgic for a life you've never lived.

The star, though, is the script, a rare enough occurrence in Hollywood that it merits special note.

In some ways, Senna is as pure and clean as the man's sport: as actor/racer Paul Newman liked to say, the winners of auto races are determined, unlike movies, by objective criteria. And although it's a subjective judgment, it's hard to see how anyone wouldn't be absorbed by this fascinating film about a formidable driver and man.

Impressively reframes the gun-control debate in terms that advocates of both sides might find fruitful, but Moore doesn't do anything to shed his reputation as a snot.

A revealing, compelling, scabrous and funny look into a system characterized by through-the-looking-glass logic and Kremlin-style secrecy.

Earnest, smart, handsome, well-acted and made with mastery.

Ultimately, a heart in the film to go with Rebney's considerable bile.

Is Up top-shelf Pixar? No. But is it quality summer movie entertainment? Absolutely. Even when the folks at Pixar aim to keep their feet solidly on the ground, they can't help but soar.

It's a nicely tart gulp of grown-up wit and cynicism -- with, for a change, a cherry on top.

It's a fresh-hearted film that only frustrates when you sense how close it is to being exceptional.

A modestly scaled, sharply observed film.

Episodic and, at times, overwrought. And occasionally its deliberate opacity becomes too cloudy. But the things that shine through are remarkable. War is indeed Hell, it tells us, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing if you're filled with demons.

Woo's hand is sure and his eye, as ever, finds beauty in everything, even death.

Built around Firth’s fine work, A Single Man is a handsome film that, like its slender source novel, is stylish, quiet and sure.

You nevertheless can't help but be swept up in the kids' enthusiasms and aspirations and gobs of energy.