Stephen Whitty

Still, there is plenty of erotic tension here, as the days drift by and the nights drag on. Kirsten Dunst is terrific as a slightly sad teacher with her own designs on the Yank. And Elle Fanning is a landmine in lace as the school flirt.

An artful, deeply felt documentary, Always in Season has its own, sadly necessary reasons for being.

Although the script is a little flat — just because the story is true doesn't mean it should feel so predictable — Nair gives the film tons of energy and joy.

Casal and Diggs have both lived these roles for years, so it’s not surprising that they never deliver a false moment.

It’s not top Woody, perhaps. What is, anymore? But on a cold day, it’s as welcome as the familiar smell of greasy fries, the feel of gritty sand, the winking of those far-off colored lights.

People who crave a movie about a secret agent with her own sexual agency — and a mission to give male predators exactly what they deserve — are going to want front-row seats. And a sequel.

Director de Aranoa keeps things moving, though, with a firm sense of pace and a rough, punk-edged soundtrack.

Jordan really commits, and his scenes with Thompson have genuine warmth and intimacy.

It’s a movie made with an insider’s knowledge (directors Ben and Orson Cummings are both proud graduates of the school) and affection (Shaquille O’Neal is one of the producers, as is art-world titan Larry Gagosian). And yet, while it has heartwarming moments, it’s not a predictable, eager-to-please entertainment.

A few minutes into The House with a Clock in Its Walls, you realize Eli Roth knows what he’s doing—and that means carefully mixing the scares and stillness for a horror comedy that’s made-to-order for certain monster-loving 10-year-olds.

With standout performances by stars Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, expert imagery and striking production design, Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth is hardly a tale told by an idiot. But it could actually use a little more sound and fury – and a better idea of what it’s supposed to be signifying.

It's a pleasure seeing Grant in a great part again, playing the sort of almost-cad he's best at. And Streep - who, in real life, can belt anything from Broadway to Bruce - is clearly having a ball singing badly.

Pike is terrific, and Hamm has a credibly bleary, weary look. The movie’s ambitions are worthy. But it rarely turns its action into real excitement, or moves past cynicism into insight. It’s the spy movie that leaves us in the cold.

A refreshingly offbeat noir, one that spices its murder-mystery thrills with a good bit of feminist empowerment.

The Family Fang has a nasty little bite to it — and thank heavens for that.

A lot of the jokes are surprising, and one gag...pays off terrifically. The two top stars are delightful, and a couple of cameos are nice surprises.

Jessica Chastain plays Sloane, and she's the kind of Washington power-player who'd scare off half the cast of "Scandal" — towering heels, pulled-back hair and a taste for the kill.

The film has to rush at the end, to wrap up all these different stories, and it still leaves one of them open-ended. It’s possible that they ran out of time. But it’s more likely that another sequel is already planned.

With authentic spaces like this around them, Ahn’s actors relax into the realism.

Clear-eyed and sharply written, it feels like a natural fit for the small screen, although it may be too quiet to make much of an impact on theatrical markets.

17 Blocks ... is packed with gritty realism, and at times its uncensored honesty almost makes you want to look away.

The Painter and the Thief suggests, human relationships are complex and multidimensional things. And whenever you foolishly start to try to contain them in a simple frame, they stubbornly burst out.

It’s a raunchy, rollicking story of movie legends off the set and between the sheets.

The action inside the courtroom is compelling. This is a place where people duel with words, not swords, but the wounds can be just as deep and permanent.

Sequels are tricky things, and decades-late followups are the trickiest. T2 Trainspotting almost pulls it off, too, bringing back the original’s hallucinatory style, jolting musical choices and charismatic cast.

It takes more than simply celebrating rural life and marveling at nature to make someone the next David Gordon Green, let alone the next Terrence Malick. While Yeomans inarguably finds something significant in the slow pace of small towns, the power of narration and the jolt of handheld cinematography, exactly what that is isn’t always clear. In fact, sometimes it’s literally unclear; shots slip out of focus, and some close-ups are so poorly lit the characters’ features disappear.

The Lobster is a love story for the unloved. Dark-hearted and brutally sour - and imaginative, and sometimes very funny - it's set in an alternative world where relationships are mandatory.

In the end, perhaps, von Trotta’s search for Bergman never quite finds him. But did he ever quite find himself? All he knew was that he was an artist.