There’s nothing particularly surprising in the plot, once you get past the meta-Cage business. Pretty soon it’s just an action movie. What is surprising is how enjoyable Cage and Pascal make the movie anyway.

The Nightmare is a different kind of documentary, shelving the usual experts and talking heads for a more personal experience of the title subject. That's good and bad.

There’s not much more to the plot than Natasha’s mission. But Shortland does not skimp on the action — the first 40 minutes or so of the 2 hour and 13 minute film are almost nonstop harrowing chases.

Director Craig Zobel (he made the creepily effective “Compliance”) lets the story unfold in wonderfully hushed fashion.

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.

Four Lions is a comedy about terrorism. No, not a thoughtful, intellectual take on the absurdities of suicide bombing. It's slapstick. Actually, it's the Three Stooges of Jihad.

The course of the film's story is somewhat predictable and played broadly. But where Volpe's work really shines is when it makes the bigger issue personal.

It’s impressive how accurately Lister-Jones and Pally make these fights. What’s more impressive is how Lister-Jones, who also wrote and directed Band Aid, makes the make-ups and happy, loving moments just as believable.

Skarsgård makes the character a little sad, a lot delusional but never a joke. And he makes “Dead Man’s Wire” an underrated gem not to sleep on.

It’s still more of a spectacle than a movie. But as spectacles go, it’s a big one. And with more elements of an actual film creeping in here and there, who knows? By the time we get to the fifth one, we might have some actual cinema on our hands.

Not every bit lands and the social commentary is not always exactly incisive. Sometimes it is, though. When a character says they should call the police and everyone breaks out into simultaneous guffaws, the point is made — fittingly, with laughter.

Other People has its flaws, certainly, but when Kelly focuses more on the characters than their quirks, it’s an effective look at life and death.

A precisely calibrated crowd-pleasing machine, balancing action, comedy and just the bare minimum of pathos.

This is director Jake Schreier's first feature, and, working from a script by Christopher D. Ford, he creates an inviting world.

Brigsby Bear is charming, sweet, creative, different and disturbing.

There’s a story within a story here, one more compelling and relatable than the other. Perhaps that’s by design. But even if that’s the case, it doesn’t mean the two parts co-exist comfortably, no matter what the intent.

It’s as if Boyle is saying he isn’t afraid to visit the past. And he does it about as successfully as one could — T2 is a movie worth seeing and enjoying if you’ve seen the first film (less so if you haven’t). What he’s not as successful at is telling us why.

The Is the End is a different take on the R-rated comedy, a raunchy laugh riot that actually gives you a little to think about.

Creepy, confounding and more than a little curious. It's also quietly compelling.

Most of all, though, it's a welcome, offbeat look at a couple of originals, something that's in woefully short supply.

The film is less effective, and less focused, when it switches into activism mode. Not that its heart isn't in the right place — we all know about the appalling state of institutionalized elder care. Which is the problem with those segments: We all know this already, and the filmmaking feels like perfunctory, necessary padding.

Gleeson is terrific as Faraday struggles — with his feelings for Caroline, with her feelings for him, with the notion that some of what’s going on at Hundreds Hall may not have a rational explanation. The evolution of his character is subtle, but hauntingly effective.

To call Armstrong’s story a tragedy is probably an overblown notion. But it does involve sadness, not just with its depiction of a fallen idol, but with the necessary acknowledgment that some of our own hopes and dreams fell alongside him.

What saves Meadowland from being an exercise in masochism is the acting. Wilson and Wilde have a light touch that makes them perfect for the comedies they often make. Here, Morano leads them to much darker places, and they plunge right in.

With The Family Fang, [Bateman] shows confidence with drama and, perhaps more impressively, with weirdness, never letting things get odd just for the sake of it. He wisely doesn’t force the issue. This bunch is plenty weird on its own.

Comer makes Margeurite believably vulnerable and strong, haunting at times. But it’s not clear that the film is improved by the competing narratives. Marguerite’s version probably would have sufficed.

Byrne is a delight.

As in “The Searchers,” some of the motivations are questionable and murky. Yet the pain of losing someone you love is just as palpable.