Soren Andersen

The visuals relegate the acting to secondary importance. They overwhelm the story. And they make The Assassin unforgettable.

Holding it all together is Ford, his hair steel-gray, his face craggy, playing the part with authority. And this time he invests Indy with an inner depth not previously seen.

The mood of the picture is relaxed. The vibe given off by Redford and his principal co-stars Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek is one of accomplished professionals feeling supremely comfortable inhabiting their roles.

At more than two hours, it’s simply too long. However, thanks to Collette’s work, “Hereditary” is a horror movie that really sinks its claws into you.

The performances are first rate, particularly Rains’ work in the lead role.

Reynolds is playing what amounts to the straight man to Jackson’s bad boy, and the back-and-forth between the two, with his character stewing and steaming in exasperation at the killer’s taunts, gives The Hitman’s Bodyguard its special fizz.

Deschamps’ camera captures the emotional roller coaster Redzepi rode during that tumultuous time and shows his conflicted relationship with fame. He dismisses its importance but also clearly craves it. The end result is a revealing portrait of an artist wholly dedicated to his art.

In the vast canon of King-derived movies, “Tower” belongs in the upper ranks.

The flowers in Flowers are touchstones, reminders of a person, but more significantly of the conflicted feelings shared by the three main women in the picture.

Everybody involved seems to be having a blast making this latest “SpongeBob” a funny, fast-paced pleasure.

Gordon-Levitt carries the movie, and without flash or overt dramatics, overshadows everyone else in it.

Ridley is the picture’s real find. Her Rey is fearless, forceful, resourceful, and with a hidden side to her personality that slowly manifests itself and will surely be more deeply explored in the sequels.

The teenage, first-time actor certainly holds his own with the experienced likes of Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Jason Leigh. But at the same time, he gives the impression of being just slightly disengaged from the part, almost as though he’s spectator at the kid’s life.

The action sequences, both on the ground and in space, are rousingly staged. But the losses incurred in those sequences are sobering. The stakes in the “Star Wars” rebellion are high indeed.

The CGI is off the leash. The manufactured chaos is unrelenting. Monsters punching monsters. The pyramids are peril. Awesome deconstruction there.

It is the scenes in a Buenos Aires safe house between Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) and Mossad agent Peter Malkin (Oscar Isaac), the leader of the abduction team, where “Operation Finale” departs from usual espionage-movie scenarios.

With Andrew Garfield in the lead role and Mel Gibson in the director’s chair for the first time in 10 years, “Hacksaw” is an incredibly powerful picture once it gets to the battle scenes.

At heart, “Kingsman” is a comedy, though granted, one with abundant dismemberments and literally mind-blowing violence. And I mean “literally” in the very strictest sense of the term.

Through it all, Tatum balances exasperation, an easygoing lightheartedness and a deep empathy for his character’s and Lulu’s inner turmoil. His command of the role and his confident direction of the picture make Dog a very engaging experience.

Bong covered many of the same aspects of “Mickey” in his 2013 sci-fi epic “Snowpiercer,” a more streamlined and hard-bitten work of social commentary with the have-nots battling the heedless rich. ”Mickey 17” is less focused and not quite as satisfying a production as that earlier movie.

The gore quotient is high in this one (lots and lots of exploding heads) and the one-liners flow freely. Bloody good fun, but not for the whole family. That R rating is well-earned.

Along the way, Hummingbird offers cogent commentary on the way unbridled avarice drives the search for even the smallest advantage in the cutthroat world of high finance.

Interspersed with the overabundant slam-bang action sequences which up the silliness factor with their increasing improbability are heartfelt paeans to the bracing solidarity of Jaime’s family. Their sincerity is the picture’s best element.

The whale special effects, computer-generated of course, are genuinely spectacular.

It’s a standard kiddie cartoon: noisy, colorful and forgettable.

By the end, it’s falling apart under the weight of all the extraneous divergings, but thanks to Gyllenhaal’s performance, Demolition stands out as a powerful meditation on the unhinging effects of deep grief.

The true power of “Penguins” lies in the breathtaking visuals of Antarctic scenery and overhead shots of penguins, thousands upon thousands of them, moving across ice fields, black dots on bright white background stretching to the distant horizon. When it steps back from the schmaltz, “Penguins” becomes an impressive piece of work.

Thanks to McKinnon, “Spy” is a fun summer picture that is truly, weirdly special.