Less obvious is how his parents will react should Ravi break ways with tradition and confess his true feelings. Their struggle to maintain their sense of cultural identity in a rapidly changing world is far more moving than any grown man’s commitment issues, even when that grown man is as ingratiating as Ravi.

We’ve seen crusty old geezers with hearts of gold plenty of times in films. Here we see how this one got that way, and thanks to Lassgard and Holm, it’s a journey we care about taking.

Tel Aviv on Fire, like the soap opera that shares its name, doesn't attempt to grapple with the complexities of the conflict. "Is there nothing between bombs and surrender?" it asks, pleading for moderation. Moderation gets you a pleasant-enough comedy. But not much more.

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.

For less patient viewers, the film might play out like an endurance test, a two-hour documentary on wind. But as unforgiving as the glacially paced film is, it's nonetheless utterly absorbing - a cool pink tongue flicking against an open wound. [18 Oct 2012]

Certainly the details have been known and written about here and there, but director Alexandra Dean assembles them in an entertaining, and at times heartbreaking and infuriating, film.

Queen to Play falls somewhat into the "Pygmalion" template, but watching Bonnaire's Helene find herself makes it worthy in its own right.

Brown is a sick man, but Harrelson makes him so interesting, so charismatic, so ... watchable, that you can't look away, even if his actions make you want to (and they will).

It’s ironic that a film about bucking formula is itself so formulaic. There’s nothing wrong with such inoffensive pleasantness, but if Late Night wants to advocate setting fire to the system in pursuit of more meaningful art, it should have led the charge.

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.

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.

Prince-Bythewood proves accomplished at directing set pieces that run toward the more balletic bone-crunching examples of the genre. Theron in particular, with films like “Atomic Blonde” on her resume, is good at this sort of thing. But she’s good at the moody stuff, too.

All are good, Damon in particular, but there are so many of them we don't see anyone for very long at one stretch. And all are given at least some bad material to work with before the movie is over. For the most part, they make the best of it.

The film is a sweet, funny and heartfelt look at friendship and strength.

It’s experimental in the best way; Estrada takes chances, and not every segment works. But pieced together they tell a full and rich tale of a city and the people who live there, and the diversity of their stories.

It’s tempting to say that Song went a more traditional route, but her second film is in fact a bold reshaping of the romcom. I can’t wait for her third.

A really entertaining effort, aided by some terrific performances.

It’s a movie as much about white privilege as it is anything else, an examination of the incredible advantages the wealthy have — advantages that don’t prevent them from cheating anyway.

It's not always pretty, and it's not always exciting, but you genuinely don't know from one moment to the next how these characters will behave.

At just under two hours, "Relay" keeps you on the edge of your seat, guessing at what's coming next.

A delightful discovery, a charming little film about fathers, sons, New Zealand and Michael Jackson.

With a movie like this, trying to guess how it ends isn't the point. Enjoying the ride is, and on that front, Unstoppable delivers.

You won't find a lot of jaw-dropping elements in Brave. But what you will find is really well-done.

A movie that never quite comes to life, despite its title.

Love & Taxes is an odd little title for an odd little movie, and yet it delivers exactly what it promises. And in an entertaining way.

While it might not be the most original story, it is well done and Nelson's portrayal of farmer-turned-reluctant-gunslinger is worth the price of a ticket.

From this film, viewers will see a never-ending domino effect on agriculture's effect on the environment, quality in produce and overall health of the animals and the humans that consume them.

The story has something of a flow, but the film feels more like someone dropping in on the characters' lives. It's more about observation than connecting dots. This isn't a detriment, particularly with strong performances to carry things along.