A fascinating portrait of an almost likable rogue. You'd rather spend time with him than a lot of more upstanding citizens.

Kate Mara delivers one of the best performances of her career in the title role.

The Bling Ring is a sly, often hilarious and at times sobering look at the 21st century fascination with celebrities.

Filmmaker Todd Douglas Miller unfortunately adopts the format of prime-time docu-tainment.

It’s a smart, solid and engrossing paper-chase investigative story about one man’s dogged determination to shed light on the government-sanctioned, post-9/11 torture tactics used by American interrogators on foreign soil.

This Netflix original from writer-director Jeremy Rush is one of the most gripping and entertaining action mysteries of the year.

Sometimes the choices a film eschews are as valuable as the choices the film makes. In the case of Causeway, the result is a thoughtful and realistic slice of life that is set in present times but has the distinct vibe of indie films from a generation or two ago.

The film is intended for family audiences. It is so gentle and whimsical that one wonders if American children, accustomed to the whiz-bang action of most animation, will accept it. Maybe there would be hope for the younger ones - but what will they make of the subtitles?

From the start, Koepp sets out to get under the viewer's skin, which he does with relentless ease. [30 Aug 1996, p.32]

As Soderbergh lovingly peels away veil after veil of deception, the film develops into an unexpected human comedy. Not that any of the characters are laughing.

Crimson Peak is a gorgeous mediocrity.

Technically impressive but listless and tedious.

The nice thing about Shaft is that it savors the private-eye genre, and takes special delight in wringing new twists out of the traditional relationship between the private eye and the boys down at homicide.

Haggis writes with such directness and such a good ear for everyday speech that the characters seem real and plausible after only a few words. His cast is uniformly strong; the actors sidestep cliches and make their characters particular.

Russell doesn't give a damn about the material he started with, greatest art work of the century or not, and he just goes ahead and gives us one glorious excess after another. He is aided by his performers, especially Ann-Margret, who is simply great as Tommy's mother.

While this worshipful documentary breaks no new ground and often seems like little more than a glorified IMDB bio accompanied by video, it serves as a lovely and valuable reminder of Hepburn’s unique star power and grace in front of the camera — and her kindness and tireless work for the less fortunate long after she had kissed the cinema a fond farewell.

This is a lovely movie.... So lovely a film, in fact, as to be nearly tame.

There are more than enough laughs and clever surprises in this broad and sometimes violent farce to warrant a recommendation, thanks to a solidly funny script by Mark Perez, some pretty neat camera moves and choreographed action/comedic sequences from directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein — and a likable and talented ensemble cast, led by two of my favorites.

Gordon-Levitt the writer-director delivers some great laugh lines and a couple of nifty plot pivots, and Gordon-Levitt the actor gives a winning performance.

There's a lot that's good in White Palace, involving the heart as well as the mind.

A special movie - not just a police thriller, but a movie that has researched gangs and given some thought to what it wants to say about them.

This is the kind of movie you happen across on TV, and linger to watch out of curiosity, but its inspired moments serve only to point out how routine, and occasionally how slow and wordy, the rest of it is.

I saw more important films at Sundance 2003, but none more purely enjoyable than Bend It Like Beckham, which is just about perfect as a teenage coming-of-age comedy.

A poet imprisoned during the Islamic Revolution is released 27 years later. Camera focus, reflections and water droplets are sublimely designed to articulate what his liberty will let him see. [04 Oct 2012, p.4]

Christopher Nolan's The Prestige has just about everything I require in a movie about magicians, except ... the Prestige.

The movie is quick and cheerful, and Spurlock is engaging.

From start to finish, Judy feels more like a stylized tribute act than an insightful interpretation of the real thing.

I.Q. is a romantic comedy with its heart in the right place, and all of the other pieces distributed correctly, too.