This is one of the strangest yet most satisfying movie experiences of the year, one of those films in which you can’t really appreciate what you’ve seen until it’s over. You just have to trust that the trip is worth the trouble. And it is.

Blanchett navigates this journey with ferocious power — even as Lydia is losing her own. It sounds like a cliche, but her performance is so believable, so natural, which at times means so disturbing, that it doesn’t seem like she’s acting. She’s just being.

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

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

Sometimes infuriating but never depressing, The Florida Project doesn’t just shine a light on people rarely represented in anything but a condescending manner. Instead it brings us into their world and introduces us to its inhabitants in a meaningful way. We care about them.

The Act of Killing is a horrifying film, a surreal experience that explores the limits of human cruelty. It’s a film that is absolutely hard to watch. It’s also a film that absolutely should be seen.

“Never Rarely” is not strident, it doesn’t preach, it doesn’t harangue. Instead it relies on confident direction, brilliant acting and a deceptively straightforward story to make its point. Really, you probably haven’t seen anything like it.

The Zone of Interest, then, serves as a horror story about the past, and a cautionary tale for the present.

A sense of dread hovers over all these characters, and, by extension, the audience. It's in the air of the place, like oxygen. And vodka. Lots of vodka. Yet Zvyagintsev's achievement, or one of them, is creating a film that is not one long downer. It's not exactly a laugh riot, but we do care about these people.

Toy Story 3 is very much a worthy entry in the series, a movie well worth making (and seeing). It continues the legacy. It just doesn't expand upon it.

As much as Swinton Byrne and Burke add lived-in qualities to their characters, there's really not much to like about the leads or their toxic relationship that unravels at a mind-numbing pace.

What Rukun wants, one suspects, is closure. What he gives the rest of us is a face in which to see the pain the butchers caused, a reminder that the architects of a massive tragedy remain present and unrepentant, the personification of the evil men do and a warning that it could happen again.

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

There's a purity to the experience of watching a film so naturalistic, like living in someone else's life for two hours.

The Richardsons’ thought-provoking journey leaves you pondering not just the pain and turmoil created by the criminal justice system, but the incredible life-giving strength of love.

Son of Saul offers Nemes' harrowing vision of the possibility of peace, at least within oneself. And it is a singular vision, one that demands to be shared.

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

The writing and editing aren’t up to the task of retrofitting Alcott’s straightforward narrative with a sophisticated chronology and rob it of dramatic tension in the process.

Although the Pythons went on to make a number of movies, true fans will always have a special place in their hearts for Holy Grail, which is Python at its best. [14 Sept 2001, p.1P]

What a great movie.

With a brilliant twist at the end, “Nickel Boys” is a masterpiece of an adaptation that showcases the harsh realities of racism within American society.

The second the film starts it's evident you're watching a Studio Ghibli film. The animation is unmistakable and is so detailed and fluid you almost forget you're watching an animation.

Spare, haunting and in its own way beautiful, Ida is an absorbing film about discovering the truth, and the attendant price we pay to learn it.

It’s lush, it’s electrifying, it’s wild. But more than that, the movie has real heart.

Each of the spectacular ascensions and drops in power throughout the 18th century-set The Favourite is filled with spectacle, betrayal and plenty of humor.

Using the interviews along with news footage and occasional re-enactments, Moreh conducts a kind of primer in the organization’s history, which is, in its own way, a history of modern Israel. It’s fascinating.

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.

Occasionally you see a movie that just satisfies on all fronts — the performances, the direction, the whole package. Even less occasionally you see one that does all that and moves you, too. “The Worst Person in the World” is one of those.