This is a fully realized film, with a confident eye and lived-in performances. What a treat.

Manchester by the Sea is a masterpiece in a minor key, an exploration of grief that never lets its characters — or its audience — off the hook. It manages this even when it’s funny, which is surprisingly often.

Foster was born to this kind of role, rugged but soulful, and he’s outstanding. The surprise is Pine, giving by far his best performance.

It's an affecting, visceral work that deserves eyes on it no matter if it's projected in the darkened recess of the cinema or streamed in the comfort of a living room.

It is devastating and magnetic and most of all brilliant. Don’t miss it.

A great movie, an astonishing achievement on nearly every level.

The acting is outstanding, the direction assured if straightforward. 12 Years a Slave is a history lesson of the best type. It’s brilliant. But, more crucially, it’s important. It’s brutal truth that demands to be seen.

Anderson’s vision of this world, this era, these people, is so winning that you feel a part of it, yet with the removal of an observer. It works. That’s why Licorice Pizza is a blast.

It is a remarkable achievement.

Her is an outstanding movie, in part because of its originality, but also because of its execution.

Wreck-It Ralph is smart, funny, sweet and sassy. And that's just Sarah Silverman's character... The movie is a treat for kids and the parents they drag to see it. Or maybe it'll be the other way around. Either way. It doesn't matter how you get to it. Just get there.

The visuals are stunning, perhaps the most fully realized of any film.

Minari is as moving as it is entertaining, and it is a lot of both.

There Will Be Blood is a masterpiece; Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as a ruthless oilman is without flaw.

It is particularly rewarding to see Clooney outside his comfort zone of self-composed cool in The Descendants, Alexander Payne's beautifully gentle, funny and moving film.

It’s 3 hours and 35 minutes long (including a 15-minute intermission), and while it’s full and complete, it never drags or feels padded. It is, simply put, a great movie.

With Drive My Car, the journey is as satisfying as the destination. It’s great.

It's powerful stuff.

Simply put, Argo is why we go to movies.

Emotionally engaging from the start, bolstered by brilliant performances and held together by Song’s understated direction that weaves timelines together flawlessly, it’s more than just good.

Nothing is off the table when your status is threatened, no matter what your station in life. Parasite explores this in stunning fashion.

Dunkirk is a great movie, both an old-time inspirational war epic and at the same time very much a Christopher Nolan movie.

The whole movie is amazing.

McCarthy and his brilliant cast make hard work and truth-telling inspiring.

The movie is emotional without feeling manipulative. It’s progressive without feeling heavy handed. It’s dazzling without feeling like it was made completely on a computer, despite literally being made on a computer! Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is exhilarating, touching, creative and a shoo-in for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards again this year.

Birdman is a treat. But it's also more than that. It's a full-fledged wonder.

The Tribe is that rare breed of film so masterful in execution it requires watching once, yet so devastating you may never be able to stomach seeing it again.

The Little Mermaid delivers on every front and will likely be one of the summer’s biggest box-office winners.