The performances, by Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyaté, are outstanding.

Violette doesn't abandon that playbook, but it does a better job than most of putting the viewer in its artist's headspace.

One of the things that pushes Jig beyond what it might have been otherwise is that not everything works out as you might have liked.

Turns out You’re Next isn’t a slave to horror-movie conventions after all — rather, it’s having tongue-in-cheek fun with conventions while playing up to them, complete with a killer retro ’80s-horror synth score and a gruesome finale that recalls the excess of Peter Jackson’s “Dead Alive.”

Tucci and Eve command the screen throughout, shifting tone and intensity as they go. It’s fascinating. So is the film, well worth watching and arguing over. Which, in LaBute’s hands, is doubtless the point.

Truly, you don't have to watch former secret agents relentlessly wipe out villains. But if you want to, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone better than Washington for the task.

In truth, the story isn't much. Just betrayal and revenge, basically. But a couple of things make Haywire a lot of fun to watch. One is the cast.

There are no princesses, monsters or castles in the sky, but that doesn't mean there is no magic.

Sure, the hits would have been nice. But it says something about Jimi: All Is by My Side (and Benjamin's performance) that it is still a success without them.

It’s too straightforward, at least in terms of what we’ve come to expect from Sayles.

Luckily, Horn is so good -- as is Max von Sydow, in a wordless role -- that the film resonates in spite of the tear-jerking strings Daldry pulls.

Even at less than an hour and a half, the film is, shall we say, patient in unfolding its story. Part of this is set up, lulling the audience for the shocks to come.

Thanks to Cranston’s performance — along with a game supporting cast — and Brad Furman’s tension-building direction, the movie works.

Them That Follow is a tough slog, no doubt. But it’s also a worthwhile one, even if you might appreciate it more than you’ll enjoy it.

What’s as striking as the violence is Fargeat’s confidence as a filmmaker. She risks absurdity at every turn, fearlessly daring the audience to accept unlikely scenarios. Take that challenge. However difficult “Revenge” may be to watch at times, it’s worth it.

When he’s on, Stewart’s skewer is sharp indeed.

What's interesting is how Jacquot treats the material. It is, by any measure, a romantic drama. But he uses the score, by Bruno Coulais, as if the film were something else altogether.

Depending on your own relationship with food, the pro-vegetarian documentary Forks Over Knives may be an inspiring call to action, a tedious bit of propaganda or a 90-minute guilt trip.

A movie that makes little sense, is dumb when it's not being stupid and yet is still at times laugh-out-loud funny.

As a film, it’s like science fiction, a visit to Planet Obscenely Wealthy. It is weirdly compelling.

A perfectly serviceable thriller, smarter than many, but it has too much of a reputation to live up to.

Wolf Totem doesn’t feel so much like fully formed narrative film as it does a trumped up National Geographic special on Inner Mongolia eager to make use of shiny new IMAX cameras.

Although the film features a powerhouse performance by Clarke Peters as Da Good Bishop Enouch Rouse, it's saddled with a sloppy story.

There are complex situations, well-acted characters and a central relationship that feels authentic and mature — and yet it's missing some element to bring it fully into focus.

For all of Cianfrance’s seriousness, the material proves too essentially melodramatic, hokey and self-serious to save. No gorgeous cinematography and no cast, no matter how A-list, can ultimately save this material from itself.

The movie presents a cute lesson about the importance of family sticking together.

As events unfold, Raimi’s hand becomes more and more apparent, and that’s a good thing.

Scott does a nice job with the first part of the film, setting the stage for what is ultimately a disappointing conclusion.