It all works beautifully. And the animation is brilliant. It’s all in service to the story of a girl who must decide whether to resist change or embrace it. Will she hide from her true nature or will she grin and — sorry — bear it? Turning Red answers the question in a surprisingly satisfying way.

The Batman is impressively made. The acting is first rate, and the chemistry between Pattinson and Kravitz is magnetic. It’s meant to be an important statement. It’s just not a lot of, you know, fun. Or as someone famously put it in another Batman movie, Why so serious?

How do you make an age-old tale that’s been told many times before feel fresh and invigorating? Hire Peter Dinklage, for starters. He makes Joe Wright’s pandemic project “Cyrano” come alive with a performance heartening and heartbreaking. Wright’s penchant for elaborate, over-the-top set pieces helps, too.

It's plenty gory. And it definitely rocks. As for hilarious? It must've felt that way to Grohl, who liked the "Pearl Jam high-five" joke well enough to use it twice.

It’s not clear that the movie has anything to say, new or otherwise. . . . Other than that it’s just blood and guts, and lots of it.

What it lacks in comedy, “Dog” makes up with heart. It celebrates a different kind of love as Briggs and Lulu learn how to trust each other despite their postwar trauma.

I Want You Back accomplishes what it sets out to do, and you almost can’t go wrong with this cast of hilarious people. Will it be the best romcom of 2022? Maybe. Will it be considered a classic in 20 years? Maybe not. But it is the exact film our current dating culture needs.

Occasionally you see a movie that just satisfies on all fronts — the performances, the direction, the whole package. Even less occasionally you see one that does all that and moves you, too. “The Worst Person in the World” is one of those.

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

With Drive My Car, the journey is as satisfying as the destination. It’s great.

Scream is a confident movie that begs you to compare it to the other sequels in the slasher franchise, even daring you to mention it in the same breath as the original. Good. It should. Because it’s even better than the original “Scream,” which came out in 1996. Until the end.

Jockey, Clint Bentley’s debut feature as a director, is a delightful subversion of the typical sports movie. It’s an assured film featuring outstanding performances, which of course helps a lot.

Greed, the lust for power and the willingness to do anything to obtain it are all on a lot of people’s minds just now. Washington offers a glimpse into that dangerous combination, one that resonates as strongly as ever.

Sometimes the smallest things can get away from us. Farhadi knows this, and reminds us, again and again in this outstanding film.

It is a beautiful excavation, fueled by tremendous performances from frequent Almodóvar collaborator Penélope Cruz and relative feature-film newcomer Milena Smit.

It will quench the thirst of die-hard fans who always want more. But does that thirst justify “The Matrix Resurrections?” Maybe. But it can’t make it a great movie. And despite Reeves’ willingness to jump back in, neither can anything else.

Anderson’s vision of this world, this era, these people, is so winning that you feel a part of it, yet with the removal of an observer. It works. That’s why Licorice Pizza is a blast.

The beauty of Kurt Warner’s story is that it’s so unlikely it’s nearly impervious to clichés. The strength of American Underdog, Andrew and Jon Erwin’s film about Warner’s life in football and with his wife, Brenda, is that they realize this and let the story speak for itself.

The film is 148 minutes long. Many of those minutes are good, some not so good. But one of them is great. Unreservedly so. Redemption and catharsis arrive in a single fleeting moment that wonderfully and succinctly ties up everything Watts is attempting. Truly one of my favorite scenes in a movie this year.

It’s an outstanding debut for someone who obviously knows her way around both sides of the camera.

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.

This is a stunningly accurate portrayal of our current climate. And it’s not pretty.

Being the Ricardos is a fascinating look at a time in American life when a number of facades were beginning to crumble. The film examines several of those issues, including racism and cultural bias, sexuality, beauty and the role of women in society. It does all of those things while telling a truly engaging story.

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.

Writer and director Nathalie Biancheri’s film explores the lives of those living as “The Other,” outside society’s norms. It requires commitment on the part of the actors and the audience. It’s a worthwhile investment.

There is not a frame of The Power of the Dog, based on the Thomas Savage novel, that isn’t essential to the movie. This includes the first and certainly the last.

Movies may be artifice, but in the best-made films you never really notice that they’re faking it. They feel real, lived-in, recognizable, whether in space or on a speeding bus that can’t slow down or inside a cramped apartment. C’mon C’mon feels real.

Is it a good movie? It’s … a movie. That’s not the slight it sounds like. It’s certainly no masterpiece, though not for lack of a great performance from Lady Gaga. It’s an investment, but watching this cast do these things is worth the price of admission.