What he (Fukunaga) doesn't deliver, however, is a fresh take on an often-told love story.

It’s a throwback slow-burn thriller and an over-the-top scenery-chewing buffet — sometimes in the same scene. The back-and-forth tone prevents it from being the serious examination of human behavior (and misbehavior) it believes itself to be. It makes the experience of watching more strange than immersive.

It’s clever. It’s also occasionally a chore to watch, true to the boredom you’d expect to feel listening to computer programmers hash out chess logistics.

What it lacks in originality, it makes up for in Lee’s performance. He is effectively stern as the king. More importantly, he makes Ha-seon funny and movingly genuine.

The film feels overlong and a bit repetitious, but it’s obviously a complex subject that deserves a thought-out treatment.

Strongman is a documentary Diane Arbus might have made: These are the wretched of the Earth, and our peeking into their lives feels intrusive.

In Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, director R.J. Cutler’s film about the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, he allows the audience to come in its own time to what seems obvious by the end: For all of her talent, which is considerable, and her brilliance as a recording artist, Eilish is a teenager trying to figure out her place in the world.

Miles Ahead is by no means a perfect film, but it is an interesting one. In this case, driven by Cheadle’s performance, that’s more than enough.

How to Be Single has enough laughs and heartfelt moments to appeal to all generations.

Swank and Rockwell, both typically great in almost everything they do, act as if their lives depended on it - their lives, not their characters'.

Busy, busy. That's The Adventures of Tintin boiled down to its essence.

A funny, if slight, documentary.

There was something about the first film, about seeing not just the horror but also the joy of growing up through the kids’ eyes. That’s lost by necessity here, but It Chapter Two certainly misses it. And so do I.

It’s a good movie. It’s also a flawed one. And in this case more than most, it’s hard to separate those two things.

Every now and then you run across a film in which a really talented cast takes a crack at a well-worn genre entry. For the most part, that’s what Permission is, though writer and director Brian Crano tosses in a couple of wrinkles.

X-Men: First Class isn't anywhere close to being a genre classic like "Spider-Man 2" or "The Dark Knight," but it is good enough to rejuvenate a franchise stuck on idle.

Randall Park, the actor (“Fresh Off the Boat”) making his feature-directing debut with a script Adrian Tomine adapted from his graphic novel, displays a confidence here that is infectious.

How you feel about Knight and Day will depend largely on your feelings about Cruise. If you can't divorce his performance from his off-screen antics, well, that's a problem, here and elsewhere. If you're willing to watch what's on-screen and leave it at that, there's fun to be had.

The authenticity that Collette brings to a woman desperate for some kind of change and the willingness to seek it is inspiring. She’s the real winner here.

It's all very stylized and flashy and modern, self-consciously hip in a way that's clearly been designed to speak to generations for whom Elvis Presley may not be the King of Rock 'n' Roll so much as the guy on the soundtrack to "Lilo & Stitch."

What saves Meadowland from being an exercise in masochism is the acting. Wilson and Wilde have a light touch that makes them perfect for the comedies they often make. Here, Morano leads them to much darker places, and they plunge right in.

Inkheart is entertaining enough, if not always easy to follow. And if it does nothing else, at least it may inspire kids to read, if for no other reason than to help make sense of it all.

Alvarez puts us in the interesting position of rooting for the bad guy, and continually changing our ideas of who that is, a genuinely intriguing idea. Don’t Breathe doesn’t always live up to that potential, but for much of the movie it comes close.

Reeves was born to this kind of role — quiet, moody, looks nice in black. He’s just as good as he was in the first film, because he’s exactly the same. In many ways, so is the film. That’s fine this time around, because John Wick: Chapter 2 is just as crazily entertaining.

It’s a horror movie that is actually scary; it’s got a good idea that feels both relevant and contemporary; and it’s really gross. (That’s a plus — it is a horror movie, after all. Sometimes they skimp.) I just wish I understood its logic a little better.

Broderick and Röhrig's chemistry is so unusual that it works well in this strong feature film directing debut for Shawn Snyder. And that goes for the whole movie. It's so odd that viewers need to see it.

The film, directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton (“Little Miss Sunshine”), might have come off as too breezy were it not for the leads: Emma Stone as King and Steve Carell as Riggs.

A cunning civics lesson about religious pluralism that will have civic-minded citizens throwing up the devil horns even if they’re not quite ready to proclaim mocking allegiance to Satan.

The Fault in Our Stars is manipulative as can be, pulling out all the stops — kids with cancer — in its attempt to bring the tears. And you know what? It works.

Sparkle is pure melodrama, but it's a high-powered, well-acted, entertaining melodrama. You may not always believe it, but you won't be bored.

Schull's quietly commanding performance is a stunning piece of acting, in which the character seems to reveal new layers every time she's on screen.

There's plenty of gross-out humor and lots of sex jokes, some of them absurd, some really funny. But what elevates She's Out of My League - it doesn't turn a 5 into a 10, but it helps - is heart, of which its characters have a surprising plenty.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story is like eating ice cream for breakfast. Sure, it sounds like a good idea, and for a while it actually is. But eventually it starts to feel like too much.

If you like martial-arts films, it's well worth your while, a non-stop orgy of brilliantly choreographed fight scenes. Eventually it's all too much, a blur of fists, blades and snapped bones that run together. Still, it's a wild ride.

But it’s Atwell who steps up the most. Like Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” her motives are fluid, which makes her more fun.

It’s nobody’s masterpiece, but it is an exceptionally promising start for Mohr, making his feature debut as a director.

It’s a good movie, so smartly directed by Ralph Fiennes, who also appears as Nureyev’s dance instructor, that at times it feels like an IQ test. But the story is intriguing and, ultimately, gripping enough to overcome all that.

Although Pasikowski is heavy-handed in his filmmaking, sometimes in the extreme, Aftermath does show the danger inherent in this kind of groupthink.

All the actors are good, but Harrington is remarkable. It’s not just the physical changes in her character, but the genuineness with which she inhabits her.

It's wider than it is deep, but Andrew Rossi's documentary is a good primer on an issue that, in varying degrees, affects almost everyone.

Alien: Covenant is much better than “Prometheus,” in that it has plenty of scares and an actual plot, which, if sometimes predictable — all of these movies are in some ways the ultimate game of survival — is still satisfying.

Like the Guardians of the Galaxy films, The Suicide Squad has a heart. Unlike those films, we actually see a heart pierced by a shard of glass from inside a character’s body. That said, Gunn cares about the characters, and it shows.

The Beguiled is an atmospheric remake that Sofia Coppola never quite manages to take from languid to lurid.

A beautifully made, glorious mess.

Seasons is a gorgeous movie that is exceedingly strange — not necessarily in the story it tells, but in the way it tells it.

In effect this is a pretty standard overcoming-adversity story, particularly with the more politically oriented social observations removed. What isn’t standard is the acting.

Mylod, working from a script by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy, goes all in on the social commentary. Some of it is funny, some of it appalling, none of it as engaging as when Mylod uses food to make statements.

Certainly Anything’s Possible is a welcome unique entry into the high-school romance genre, with representation playing an important part. It’s not as deep or as deeply felt as it might have been, but at least it’s a start.

If there is a common thread, it's that for all these people life is not a passive activity. They live their lives, largely in the ways they've wanted to, and don't just wait around to see what's next.

McEwan, as is his wont, aims for something bigger here, the bigger questions — the biggest, even, of life and death. Thanks to Thompson’s outstanding performance, he mostly achieves what he sets out for.

Smile 2 is a bigger movie in every way. Bigger isn’t necessarily better, but in this case, it’s not bad.

The sequel is even more “all about Al,” but ironically, with any question of another electoral run put to rest, the results work better as cinema.

It isn’t the kind of movie where you nitpick the details. It’s the kind of movie where you float along from one scene to the next, buoyed by catchy hits like “Golden” and “Soda Pop.” They don’t just serve the story, but drive it.

When the material falters, Sumpter and Sawyers suck you back in with their pitch-perfect performances.

Baruchel is outstanding, giving Hiccup just the right amount of confidence buried several layers beneath the shame he feels in not continuing the family business. Butler's a head-banger from way back, so he's convincing. And Ferrera gets the grrl-power vibe just right.

It's a somewhat goofy movie that also manages some real scares. Best of all, it makes excellent use of an element of vampire stories effective since Count Dracula confronted Van Helsing in Bram Stoker's novel: I know that you know, and I also know there is nothing you can do about it.

It's never less than edge-of-your-seat fun.

Visually, the movie is amazing — jaw-droppingly so. This is as technologically impressive as anything Spielberg has done, if not more so. The story, on the other hand, based on the bestselling novel by Ernest Cline, doesn’t just allow for narrative shortcuts; it practically demands them.

If you’re a fan of action movies, or you’ve ever pondered the questions of nature vs. nuture or even what you’ll tell your younger self if you had a chance, you’ll enjoy Gemini Man.

Those who enjoy either World War II movies or period dramas likely will enjoy this movie, even if some of the plot twists are predictable. It's an enjoyable deviation from the typical war story, but if there were more layers of warmth and stronger emotional connections between the characters, it could have built to a more satisfying conclusion.

There is a craggy kind of elegance to Cry Macho. You know what you’re getting for the most part. This does not include a lot of surprises. It does include comfort in the familiar. Eastwood has earned that, too.

First Love might not ultimately mean much, but its wily mix of colorful elements – romance, organized crime, slapstick and ultra-violence – makes for a bracingly weird cinematic experience.

There are quite a few genuine laughs along the way. Director Ken Marino has a firm hand with big, silly slapstick, but he also knows how to make the most of dialogue.

Four Lions is a comedy about terrorism. No, not a thoughtful, intellectual take on the absurdities of suicide bombing. It's slapstick. Actually, it's the Three Stooges of Jihad.

There are obviously a lot of parts here, and they don’t all fit together successfully; the shift in tone toward the end is particularly unsettling. But it’s not for lack of ambition on the part of the Daniels, nor the performances by Dano and Radcliffe.

Batkid Begins is a good movie about great intentions and a large group of people coming together to make a stranger most of them will never meet happy.

If the film is ultimately an exercise in atmosphere, it is without question a triumph on that front. The rich textures and almost tactile visuals are astonishing.

Watching unpleasant characters onscreen isn't always a fun experience, so casting Reeves and Ryder is genius. They're both full-on movie stars: charismatic, wildly photogenic, the whole nine yards. But they're also good actors, and they make these two neurotic misanthropes quite engaging.

Nightmare Alley winds up being like one of the games on the midway, its outward appearance more impressive than what lies beneath. But what an appearance it is.

Roach’s film may be light in places, even sugarcoated in others, but any reminder of the past and its impact on the future is a welcome one. Plus, we get a good Cranston performance in the bargain.

Hawkins is fantastic. She duplicates Maud’s gnarled hands, but doesn’t overdo it — she simply captures Maud’s struggle and portrays it as part of her life.

For the most part the film is an interesting, and occasionally fascinating, look at getting older and taking on responsibility.

A technically fascinating film that's best when it's angry, less good when romance rears its head.

Secretariat was such a commanding presence, the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years, a Time magazine coverboy, the focus of the public's imagination during his pursuit, that any excuse to relive that excitement is worthwhile, and Secretariat gives us one.

It never quite takes off in a stirring, inspirational way, but moves steadily forward in solid fashion.

Dom Hemingway is a naughty good time while it lives up to the unpredictable bawdiness of its opening line.

It glosses over any number of defining Winehouse moments. In the end, though, you do get a sense of who she was and why she was the way she was, and how that drove her to create such deeply soulful music.

LBJ, Rob Reiner's film, benefits greatly from an absolutely all-in performance by Woody Harrelson as the former president. But it also benefits from the current president, or at least the current administration.

Frank Serpico doesn't supersede "Serpico," and it isn't meant to. Instead it serves as an interesting companion piece, one well worth watching.

The whole isn't quite as interesting as the sum of its parts, is another way to put it. The parts, though, are quite good on their own.

For all its heart and beauty, The Breadwinner sputters a bit to a close. Its themes are undeniable — one walks away feeling angry and empowered. But with the story’s soft focus, one soon forgets why.

The Drop could have been an ordinary crime drama, but it's elevated by extraordinary performances.

Gilchrist, Emma Roberts and, especially, Zach Galifianakis, give affecting performances, but they are ultimately let down by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's screenplay.

One of those movies that's good, but leaves you with the nagging feeling that it could have been better.

Fothergill and Linfield capture plenty of humor and drama.

Writer and director Nathalie Biancheri’s film explores the lives of those living as “The Other,” outside society’s norms. It requires commitment on the part of the actors and the audience. It’s a worthwhile investment.

The matches between Adonis and Viktor are captivating even for non-boxing fans wrapped up in the drama as slow-motion punches swing right at the camera. This deeply personal, high-stakes battle is a chance to change history for both characters who may become just as iconic as their predecessors to a new generation.

Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, “The Friend” is exactly what you’d expect from beginning to end — there are no surprises. The film, based on the 2018 novel of the same name, is about healing from grief, navigating a years-long friendship and finding new companionship.

Writers and directors Bob Fisher and Rob Greenberg don't do anything particularly clever or inspired, but they display a knack for snappy dialogue and draw solid work from the cast. It's enjoyable watching Leonardo and Kate draw closer together, and the film's emotional moments strike the right notes.

A charming film. Not a great one, but a good one.

There is a staginess to the action that creates a certain distance between the film and viewers (an opening sequence almost feels like like you're watching a play). That's another Tarantino-style touch. However, you never feel too disconnected, thanks to the good work from the cast.

Ultimately Fury is a good, conventional war movie that might have become something more.

No blood, no gore, no hacked-off arms and legs, but plenty of creepy set pieces, quick cuts and blasts of music that will have you both squirming in your seat and jumping out of it. Until the bone-headed part kicks in.

An improvement. Not a gigantic leap forward for cinema but, armed with a new director, a new story and the return of a trying-harder Worthington and good ol' Liam Neeson as a put-upon Zeus, a marked upgrade in quality.

The film is often moving, and some of the performances have a depth and naturalness. But it moves at a pace that can be maddeningly slow and is often long-winded, two traits that stop the momentum dead at times.

This is very much a mainstream movie meant to shine a light on the plight of people who were ignored for too long. For that reason alone, it's well worth seeing.

What's exciting about the film is the confidence Hittman brings to it, particularly with her visual choices. The dancing in particular is striking, with surprising cuts and edits. It Felt Like Love isn't a great movie, but it is a promising one, for everyone involved.

The course of the film's story is somewhat predictable and played broadly. But where Volpe's work really shines is when it makes the bigger issue personal.