Simply put, Argo is why we go to movies.

The film is not an epic. It's not a masterpiece. But it is an involving study of men searching, searching for answers, for belonging, for a foothold in life at a time when footholds were hard to find.

City of Ghosts isn’t merely about the personal sacrifices of these men, but a testament to the necessity of a free and open press the world over.

Ernest & Celestine draws on plenty of classics, animated and otherwise, for inspiration, but the film manages to be delightful on its own offbeat terms.

Paul Schrader’s First Reformed is an amazing examination of faith, a film that stays with you long after you have left the theater.

There’s a hint of artificiality to it. Maybe it’s an allegory, but the meaning hidden therein seems simply to be: go faster. Nothing wrong with that. It’s not as if Wright was shooting for something deeper and missed.

A mixture of magical realism, Southern gothic, coming-of-age movie, star turn for first-timers, disaster story and out-and-out strangeness. It's unlike any film you've seen.

The themes in One Fine Morning are familiar: love, loss, loneliness. Hansen-Løve treats them with dignity, allowing the audience to experience Sandra’s emotions fully. Even so, the film as a whole doesn’t pack the punch it could have.

With “A Real Pain,” Jesse Eisenberg — who wrote, directed and stars in the film — pulls off a kind of magic trick. He’s made a movie with backdrops of pain and despair, both personal and existential, that is also funny, charming and something approaching uplifting. Ta-da!

It's a movie that should be seen, a throwback to a looser, freer cinema. Wake in Fright has a tremendous '70s vibe to it, a "they-don't-make-them-like-this-anymore" feel that is as welcome as a cold beer in the Outback. [25 Oct 2012]

Moviegoers who are familiar with the source material for The Green Knight might find it a thought-provoking, updated take on the ancient poem. The film does offer interesting ideas on masculinity and honor. Just don't go into it expecting action or thrills along the way.

With shifting loyalties, unlikely heroes, truths revealed and a little help from friends, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 winds the series up in a most-satisfying fashion.

Not just a fascinating character study but a kind of horror movie as well.

The performances are remarkable. So is the way Farhadi tells the story.

A scathing examination of race, a take down of phony liberal sympathies that sticks it to racists of every stripe.

West Side Story is timeless, because of the source material. Tragic romances never go out of style. Spielberg’s version successfully makes the classic contemporary.

Song of the Sea is a lyrical treat for those willing to sit still and let it wash over them.

[An] exhilarating, brutally depressing documentary.

Chen captures with both humor and heartbreaking realism the complicated mechanics of the family dynamic and how outside forces work to shape it.

The Rider is a beautiful movie, a Western of sorts that isn’t limited to that classification as it chronicles the life of a down-on-his-luck cowboy who simply keeps on living, as difficult as that sometimes can be.

The transition between junior high and high school is exhilarating, traumatic, funny and horrifying, and Bo Burnham's Eighth Grade captures the whole experience perfectly.

A sparkling documentary in which we can't trust that anything in it is true. And yet you would never call it a hoax.

April and the Extraordinary World is a visual delight, an animated French steampunk adventure that is smart, exciting and wonderfully weird.

It's just as accurately described as a bunch of British guys sitting around acting. But what actors! The cast includes Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Mark Strong,Ciarán Hinds and Toby Jones.

The Taste of Things is marinated in warm sunlight, bottles of red wine, sweat from a hard day's work and a touching comfort between lovers. It reminds you of the indulgences of rich meals and genuine connections, going beyond finding someone who remembers date night to someone who knows how to list the ingredients of a bordelaise by taste.

Passing is Rebecca Hall’s first feature film as a writer and director. You’d never know it. With her meticulous eye for detail, her beautiful framing of shots (in stunning black-and-white) and the wondrously moving performances she gets from her actors —to say nothing of her handling of the material (she wrote the script) — you’d think Hall had been at this for a while.

If you're willing to let a movie wash over you and work at what it might mean, you'll love "Holy Motors," Leos Carax's surreal ode to … identity? Movies? Performance?

Everybody Wants Some!! is a terrifically entertaining movie that proves Linklater once again a master of perfectly capturing moments in time without judgment or apology.