All the action leads inexorably toward the unavoidable destination.

As a cinematic diatribe set in a stark moral universe, Goldstone comes in loud and clear.

There is an engrossing, important story at the heart of 7 Days in Entebbe. Unfortunately, it only shows up intermittently.

It’s weird, sometimes challenging and surprisingly engaging, thanks in large part to Terajima, who is outstanding.

The Erwins pound home their message, but they do with such skill and accomplished filmmaking the movie never becomes heavy-handed or too preachy.

Paolo Virzi’s film, based on a novel by Michael Zadoorian, holds few surprises, leaving us with some enjoyable set pieces in a disappointing movie.

It’s an expertly directed, slow-burning psychological horror film filled with outstanding performances.

Gringo dabbles in several genres, none particularly well.

There are some scares here, in the same way that there is some pain when you hit your thumb with a hammer. Blunt force carries a lot of power. But there isn’t a lot of thought. It’s the same idea as the first movie, just not as well-done.

There are moments of real power and beauty in Ava DuVernay’s film, based on the much-loved Madeleine L’Engle novel. You just have to work too hard to find them.

The film, much like Willis' performance, never flatlines, but it never delivers the thrills you expect from this type of genre piece.

Andrea Pallaoro’s frigid portrait of a woman in crisis is more a calculated exercise in formalism than an achievement in storytelling. His well-composed images of loneliness are cerebrally satisfying but lack emotional heft.

It wants to be oh-so-serious, and it never lets us forget how hard it’s trying.

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.

Potter’s sense of timing is terrific. She never lingers on one character too long. It’s the same with the movie — you’re in and out before you realize what hit you.

The film doesn’t need to make a case for Marina’s basic humanity and smartly avoids clichés of persecution storytelling, instead ceding the floor to Vega’s magnetic presence and soulfulness. She is a marvel, and if one doesn’t come away loving her as Orlando did, it’s no shortcoming of the film.

The movie is as gorgeous as it is disturbing, and that’s a powerful combination. It may be about the beginning of the end of the world or the beginning of something else entirely. I’d be lying if I said I understand every aspect of the film, but I was engrossed trying to.

It’s ridiculous, far-fetched — absurdist, even. Some, or even a lot, of the jokes are stupid. But thanks in part to a terrific cast, expert timing and an all-in aesthetic, it's really funny.

It’s not quite the triumph that the exquisitely excruciating “Listen Up Philip” was, but it’s another example of Perry’s behavioral alchemy that’s well worth checking out.

In the Fade is a tragedy in three acts, their varying tone and effectiveness held together, however tenuously, by a powerhouse performance.

Early Man is smart, funny, clever — and a bit of a disappointment.

It is a terrifically entertaining film, alive from the start, following its Marvel mission (for good and bad) while rising above it.

It’s a genial, pleasant farce that grows more enjoyable once it calms down and stops being so frantic.

Every now and then you run across a film in which a really talented cast takes a crack at a well-worn genre entry. For the most part, that’s what Permission is, though writer and director Brian Crano tosses in a couple of wrinkles.

If Eastwood wanted to use the real men, a documentary would have been just as powerful and more dramatically satisfying. Instead, the acting is distracting. The film’s intentions are sterling. Its execution, not so much.

For anyone familiar with the original Peter Rabbit, it’s a little depressing to see its storybook charm reduced to slapstick. You can only see a person get electrocuted so many times before the gag wears thin, and with it the movie’s welcome.

Johnson and Dornan retain the chemistry of two mannequins knocked into each other in a department-store storage closet; the actual sex scenes play more like aerobics videos than anything actually steamy.

As statements go, it’s somewhat compelling. But really, the look of Like Me is the big draw here, and it’s what makes the film both interesting and well worth seeing. As for Mockler, it’ll be fascinating to see what comes next.