This is real edge-of-your-seat stuff, in a throwback way - no booming special effects, just old-school timing and execution.

You don't really know what the movie is truly about until the third act. For some, that might be a lengthy journey you don't want to take. But for many, it's an emotional adventure — full of touching moments and captivating visuals — that's well worth the wait.

It relies on a singularly brilliant performance by Colin Firth to make it one of the year's more satisfying films.

Osmond may tell the story to wring maximum emotion out of the audience, but so what? Isn’t that why people make these movies? It is. And more importantly, it’s why people watch them.

This is World War I from a woman's point of view, a different perspective than we usually see. It's the story of someone who doesn't fight — who would be so shaped by tragedy that she would vow never to — but for whom the horrors of war are just as vivid and devastating.

There are plot twists and turns, some of which amuse, some of which disgust. Issues of gender and identity take an eventual backseat to gruesome experiments -- gruesome because of the manner in which they're conducted, by an unfeeling monster.

Johns makes it all bearable. Inviting, even. His performance has such a gentle humanity, especially in the darkest scenes, that you can’t turn away. You don’t just root against the system. You root for him, and that’s an important distinction.

Strange, surreal and compelling, All I See Is You is a dreamy exploration of a marriage, and what happens when all of its imbalances and insecure quirks are suddenly thrust out in the open. It’s also something of a thriller, and the two worlds don’t mesh in a way that is completely satisfying. Still, it’s riveting to watch everything unfold.

The Lesson is a quiet little film with surprisingly sharp teeth.

Mommy is a film as harrowing as it is exhilarating, a story sometimes hard to watch but impossible to turn away from.

Overall, kids will enjoy the story's humorous moments punctuated by a couple barf jokes — always popular with the under-12 crowd. Meanwhile, their Gen-X and Millennial parents may find the story of the struggles of parenting familiar. They might also have flashbacks to their own childhoods through a soundtrack featuring artists like REO Speedwagon and Whitesnake.

An Honest Liar is a fascinating look at what the truth means, and how it means different things to different people. It's also a reminder that no one has a monopoly on it. Not even the Amazing Randi.

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to find a creative partner who sees the world the way you do, the connection between Elizabeth and Alejandro will hit you joyfully and achingly.

22 Jump Street is, ultimately, a celebration of the silly and the sweet, a combination that's welcome again and again.

On the surface, the story might feel rote. But Pixar’s crew has returned to what it does best: Exposing the deepest feelings of the heart under the guise of everyday emotions. Ember and Wade’s relationship is both "Romeo and Juliet," but also the story of many immigrant families.

Once you’ve seen the work Stallone and Jordan do in Creed, the idea of a “Rocky 8” doesn’t sound so bad.

It is a fascinating film, and if it skimps somewhat on the moral complications of this kind of art, it holds nothing back in terms of volume: Image after image grabs our eye and often grips our throat.

James makes some confident decisions in the film’s last act, showing a welcome trust in the audience, particularly for a debut feature. She also gets fascinating performances out of her actors — each does a lot with a little. The performances aren’t as muted as they are quietly, intensely focused.

Jane is a compelling movie, one that shows us not just more of the world, but also our place in it.

It’s dark, nihilistic, funny and ultimately sweet and hopeful, and thus so inadvertently perfect for people stuck at home practicing pandemic avoidance that you kind of have to love it a little.

The Immigrant is not exactly the feel-good hit of the summer, but it is a compelling tale of what, in the end, can only be called survival.

This is, in fact, one of the more violent movies in recent memory. But Stone doesn't let anyone off easy. Violence has an effect here, has meaning, has relevance to the story. And that's a good thing; otherwise, it would be hard to stomach.

The humor here is on the dry side of zany, and it won't tickle every funny bone, any more than Mike Myers does, or - perhaps a more apt comparison - Terry Gilliam's tart filmic fantasies. But no matter what, you have to admit this mix of lowbrow humor and French erudition has a style of its own.

DeCubellis sets up a satisfying, stylish mystery, populated by striking characters and situations.

There is a delightful innocence to Spider-Man: Homecoming, director Jon Watts’ take on the web-slinger that mixes some (but no too much, at least for a while) high-tech wizardry with some old-fashioned family fun.

The Eternal Daughter doesn’t scare you in the traditional sense as much as it moves you, and that’s every bit as powerful an achievement.

The Hornet's Nest serves as a somewhat effective bonding exercise for father and son. But the best of what it has to offer moves beyond that, and puts us alongside the people fighting a daily battle and, sometimes, heartbreakingly, losing the fight.

Schoenbrun’s direction is masterful, both in terms of what they get out of the actors (Smith and Lundy-Paine give committed performances) and in their visual language. The look of the film is both haunting and inviting — not unlike that of a nightmare, or a horror film. “I Saw the TV Glow” has elements of both, and more.