Stephanie Merry

A simple retelling of these stories would have been more dramatic, more effective and more powerful.

Definitely exceeds expectations, but in the worst way possible.

Some of the dancing really is spectacular. Scenes from the competing clubs include impressive choreography and gravity-defying moves. If only the poorly delivered, trite dialogue and predictable plot aimed as high.

It’s as if the movie’s many pieces are supposed to be like impressionistic brush strokes. When seen together, the result is pretty to look at. But it’s not as meaningful as it should be.

The movie feels at once too busy and too derivative. That’s no easy feat, but it’s also one sequel-makers probably shouldn’t aspire to.

This isn’t a sports movie so much as a procedural about backroom dealings, double-crosses and high-stakes trades.

Bercot’s sense of atmospherics is more successful than her editing and camera work. Some pieces of the plot seem like they would make a bigger impact with a bit more backstory... But these series of vignettes still leave an impression, thanks in no small part to Deneuve.

Mock’s biases are clear here, and her documentary does at times feel a bit too worshipful of its subject... Still, the documentary remains a powerful time capsule. It’s a reminder of what we were and, thanks to Hill, how far we’ve come.

It seems like a waste of talent, but worse still, Cesar Chavez squanders an opportunity to revisit a story worth retelling.

Boynton’s most impressive feat in Big Men is how she takes an impossibly convoluted scenario, makes sense of it and tells a story that’s riveting on its own but also serves as a parable about greed and human nature.

What’s most fascinating about Afternoon of a Faun — and what the movie could spend more time delving into — is ballet’s grueling and fleeting nature.

Although his character might be a one-trick pony, Bateman’s directing proves he’s got skills to spare.

The movie lacks some of the verve and chemistry that made the series a must-see. I guess that makes the movie more of a good-to-see.

Kids for Cash proves that the abuse was both more nuanced and more tragic than the public understood.

Writer-director Alain Guiraudie takes an all-natural approach to his material, and not just because most of the men spend the movie in the buff. He takes long, lingering shots, never rushes a scene and uses no score, just organic sounds.

As quickly as the technical elements pull the audience in, the plot pushes us away.

For all its intimations about finding one’s true self and the complicated setups for a big misidentification, The Pretty One is just another romantic dramedy.

Paul W.S. Anderson, best known for the “Resident Evil” franchise and 2011’s “The Three Musketeers,” creates harrowing simulations of the disaster. It’s enough to make you want him to ditch the story altogether.

The movie feels like Nicholas Sparks fan fiction.

Winter’s Tale is ambitious with its otherworldly ingredients and temporal leaps. It’s not always a success, but the movie has one thing going for it: spot-on casting.

The only thing that distinguishes this teen-magnet wannabe from its predecessors is how lazily it appears to have been slapped together.

The documentary’s greatest strength is its ability to humanize Paulson.

For the most part, Gloria is a day brightener of a character study about finding someone new and making the same old mistakes.

Hart is clearly working overtime; there’s nothing effortless about his histrionic delivery, but it works.

Sometimes the punch lines land and sometimes they don’t, but overall the result is pleasantly nostalgic.

The only thing epic about The Legend of Hercules is what a failure it is.

The movie’s editing mishaps, unbelievable scenarios, overuse of music and computer-generated fakery distract from what should be a great ad­ven­ture.

Along the way there’s a sprinkling of humanizing moments.