It's a fine line between being gratingly self-conscious and really smart; more times than not, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl comes out on the winning side of that equation.

There’s a jarring shift in tone and story in the last act, but the performances — particularly towering ones by a way-over-the-top Ralph Fiennes and an under-the-radar Tilda Swinton — perfectly balancing each other, carry the day.

For much of the movie Morris simply lets the loquacious McKinney talk, and she never, ever stops. And she never disappoints.

The film wraps up too neatly to be believed, not leaving questions unanswered so much as failing to ask them.

Call it a battle-of-the-sexes comedy set in a devout Orthodox community in Jerusalem. But, in its own quiet and friendly way, the film goes deeper than that, looking at how conservative religious views can clash with more moderate ways.

There's no question it looks fantastic...As for the story, well, much like the original Frankenstein's monster, it is a haphazard assemblage of well-aged source materials jolted back to life with new technology, but it isn't quite as sophisticated as one might hope.

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

Witherspoon is an outstanding actress whose material doesn't always fit her talents. "Wild" meanders a bit, in its trips from present to past and back, but Witherspoon remains the constant, doing what sounds simple enough but proves so difficult: soldiering on.

It is a fascinating document of making a comeback record — sorry, Tanya — while balancing the hard work and the gentle coaxing and cheerleading required when working with a complex talent like Tucker.

The trip through their history is a trip through the 1980s and ’90s, and Diamond and Horowitz offer the unique perspective of people in the middle of it then who are on the outside looking back, knowledgeable observers who know more now than they knew then. And isn’t that the idea?

Catherine Called Birdy is a reminder to let our spirits be free, never settle and keep loved ones close.

I love movies like this — sweet little surprises that stick with you.

Knoxville and the others go about their messy business with a glee that is impossibly contagious.

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

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.

Schnack presents all this without commentary, stitching together appearances and speeches and strategy sessions. As is often the case, he doesn’t need to make the point about the quality of politics at work in Caucus. The candidates do it for him.

As in a Le Carré novel, we're given long doses of the private lives of the protagonists, and we learn their secrets, their insecurities and the toll taken by the necessity of constant lying.

Again, 155 minutes is a lot of time for throat clearing, but by the time the film is done Villeneuve is hitting his stride. He has created a complex, intriguing world.

The whole range of human emotion — love, lust, anger, jealousy, despair, grief — is felt through Plympton's animation. It's just a shame that his boundless creativity doesn't extend to the narrative.

Javier Mariscal and Fernando Trueba’s film is a lot of things, almost all of them good. It’s a vibrant, colorful, animated movie. It’s a serious documentary about political oppression and violence. It’s a loving exploration of Brazilian bossa nova. The soundtrack is incredible.

Howard, whose first job as a director was the 1977 Roger Corman-produced “Grand Theft Auto,” has captured what is surely the greatest racing footage ever shot.

It's true that the language in the film can be harsh -- but it's also very obvious that kids are hearing this kind of language in schools every day, much of it directed at them.

Sweet, gentle and defiantly retro (the 2-D hand-drawn animation is superb), the movie is irresistibly charming.

Armageddon Time is above all what it sets out to be: a story about growing up, and all the joy and pain that entails.

Thelma treads the line between the psychological and supernatural, gracefully at first, and then with increasing abandon.

When every aspect of a movie comes together, it's a beautiful sight.

Highlighted by great voice acting, especially from the four actors playing the main teenagers who are relatively unknown actors — and by Ayo Edebiri, who is taking over the summer with her starring role in "The Bear" — the movie will catapult the ninja turtle lore into yet another generation. Cowabunga!

Lelio, who also directed the excellent “Gloria” and last year’s Oscar winner for best foreign film, “A Fantastic Woman,” never shortchanges the desire or the faith, a neat balancing act between the competing elements at the heart of Disobedience, and the success of which makes it so compelling and worthwhile.