Bonilla has directing chops, but she needs to refine them. She does show real potential and is a director to watch as her career proceeds.

Humorous yet subtle characters aid Malkovich in creating a film that is engaging and entertaining, while at the same time lumbering during long stretches.

It's quite difficult to find a character we can remotely identity with. This is frustrating because the film is so profoundly well written, acted and filmed.

Well-crafted and, in places, highly informative, but with the exception of some of the original film's hardcore sex scenes and the aforementioned Mob angle, there's little we haven't been exposed to before.

My favorite horror offering of the year so far. It’s smart, uncompromising, inventive and just downright hilarious.

For telling America to acknowledge how far the country has deviated from its values and how painfully it has failed to make the world safer, this is the most important movie of the year.

Everett looks at home in this role and breathes new life into Wilde. The Happy Prince proves that Rupert Everett was born to tell the tumultuous story of a kindred spirit. Oscar Wilde would be proud.

The entirety of Give Me Pity! is more of an artistic treatise, a museum piece, a series of single-woman monologues, than a coherent, you know, film, and that’s clearly the intention. One can do a lot worse than take a look inside Kramer’s head, and this one makes her other explorations of humanity, Please Baby Please and Ladyworld, seem positively conventional. Quite the feat.

It is a rock-solid entertainment, made by adults, starring adults, and intended for adults.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 has way too much story crammed in its two-and-half-hour runtime, but the reason to see the movie is the Guardians themselves and how they’ve grown and evolved since they were first introduced.

Skywalkers: A Love Story is riveting and engrossing. The cinematography is beautiful, capturing the wonder and danger of being so high. The editing is sublime.

The First Step works because it’s as honest about the state of government as it is passionate about doing so.

It's funnier than "Wild Hogs," which is about as ringing an endorsement as I'm capable of these days.

It is a refreshingly traditional star-driven thriller.

As twists start to pile on, I Am Mother shifts from eerie to tedious, but there’s too much on display to outright dismiss.

Let's be honest; a great deal of the sh-- you find funny when you're high really isn't (as anyone who's smoked a few bowls and laughed like a hyena to "Assy McGee" can attest). So hopefully nobody will be too disappointed when I tell them that "Express" is largely hit and miss.

If you are interested in the history of cinema, this is a very unique lens to look at it through.

All of the performances are at least solid, and for an indie, the production value is impressive. It won’t reduce you to a weeping mess, but at 78 minutes it’s a trim, satisfying drama that does justice to its inspirations.

Queen of the Ring is a must-see for lovers of sports films, biopics, and period pieces. The drama surrounding Millie Burke’s life remains engaging throughout, thanks to the writing, directing, and acting.

The romantic subplot dovetails wonderfully with Harris' tribute to the genre's golden age. The moral quest of taming the West always thrived if a lady could be won in tandem.

Fun, giddy, and intoxicating as the endless soirees in which it revels.

Not since the breakthrough days of Jim Carrey, Adam Sandler and the Farrelly brothers have two hours of movie comedy simultaneously felt so wrong but oh so right.

It's a reasonably entertaining actioner, and Zwick doesn't shy away from depicting violence or the horrors of war, but as a social statement it falls a little short. And emeralds are prettier anyway.

For my money, no movie comes close to capturing the high school experience like "The Substitute."

It has a television movie quality to it as if it’s a dramatization of a newspaper article, rather than something cinematic.

We could all use a good pick-me-up, and Rock Camp: The Movie fulfills that role. If you’ve ever played an instrument, be in a band, been to a concert, or you’re just an avid rock’n’roll fan, you’ll escape into the fantasy and have some well-deserved fun.

This is must-see mafia viewing.

It'll appeal to that segment of the population that goes to movies like this on Valentine's Day, but other than that, Something New feels pretty worn.

While not as insightful as his previous work, Halston doesn’t blemish Tcheng’s resume either, providing a perfectly enjoyable – if inconsequential – portrait of a larger-than-life public figure. Fashionistas will surely gulp this up, while the rest of us may ultimately dismiss it as yet another glamorized, facile look into a glamorized, facile industry.

The film runs long. Director Rick Alverson could have wrapped up this disturbing meditation in less time and still been as effective at painting his precisely beautiful dark image.

What I loved about Lanthimos’ earlier movies was that they moved my heart while making me squirm. With Kinds of Kindness, his Tin Man could use a lot more heart.

This movie best exploits the strengths of the show as well, such as the chemistry among the cast.

Paltrow gives the performance of the year, and perhaps of her career, in this extraordinary and powerful dissection of genius, jealousy, madness and serenity.

Of the underutilized mega cast, Djmon Honsou shines the brightest. His portrayal of Cinque, the leader of the displaced band of African tribesmen, is devastatingly potent.

A great meld of rock history, the sociological and familial impacts of mental disability and some courtroom intrigue.

As a bitter commentary on family, truth, trust, and above all, the religion, The Lodge is a serviceable mood piece that ends up leaving you feeling cold, and not in a good way.

Sebastian grabs ahold of your attention and pulls it down to the floor.

Unwelcome will work its way into your heart, one tiny stab wound at a time.

Its politics will please no one, but for fans of story and characters, the movie succeeds in its primary goal: telling a good story about humanity, warts, and all.

Along with Hanks’ story and performance, the reason to see Greyhound is how it builds mystery and creates thrilling moments.

Occasionally funny, sometimes inspiring, often boring, the magic is minimal in The Mystic Masseur.

Trekkies doesn't quite take us to the final frontier, however, it is the best documentary on the subject and a good laugh.

A musical feast for eyes and ears alike.

Is Looney Tunes: Back in Action a great achievement in animation? No, but I think that's the point of the film -- that the old cartoon characters and drawings are more human than the visual miracles produced by Disney and Pixar.

The film also doesn't try to wrap things up nice and neat. That's not how life is and that's not how this film goes. But for those who can handle the truth, they should be prepared for a very moving experience. And Freddy Krueger references.

Funny and well-acted, but it’s just shy of being compelling enough to be remembered.

The title subject in Maya and the Wave is so graceful and elegant that you can almost forget the Herculean struggle that made it possible.

Through it all, Fast Food Nation never really preaches to viewers, it just lays ideas out there. In that respect, it's every bit a talky, philosophical Richard Linklater movie.

It’s funny, fast-paced, and just plain fun.

Words of War is a solid drama about a remarkable woman.

Official Secrets is an incredibly smart film that celebrates the whistleblowers of the world. It also shows the occasional futility in these efforts as well. It illustrates the all-powerful machine that is government and how that machine can destroy whoever it wants pretty damn easily.

For the most part, Gwen achieves what it sets out to do. It surrounds you in scenic hopelessness and lets you stew in it until you’re done, or Gwen’s done. By the end of this movie, somebody’s definitely done.

Thanks to a compact story and some economical direction, it actually ends up better than it has any right to be.

Not bad for a mainstream suspensefest. Gere's good, Lane, as I said, is amazing in places and Lyne does some of his most assured work in years.

Hobbled melodrama with obvious "Terms of Endearment" pretensions.

It captures both the exhilaration and tedium of the filmmaking process--and of looking for and finding passion wherever it might be.

Wilson overstuffs the film with endless artsy shots of nature.

The Creator marks the first time, it seems, that the filmmaker stepped out from the shadows of franchises and dipped back into what made him stand out in the first place. He's proven to have a flair for mesmerizing visuals, a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, and plenty of pathos.

Bruce Thierry Cheung adapted this story from a novel by Dean Bakopoulos, brilliantly changing the setting from Michigan to the California desert. The film is light on dialog and heavy on brutally beautiful cinematography painting the mood.

It’s a most humane and beautiful story.

Performances all around are strong, with Piper Laurie’s Rose taking the lead and directing us through the story’s narrative.

There’s no wasted motion or extraneous dialog. The film is exactly what it should be, lean and precise. This is a masterful rendering in shades of grey of an exciting new take on horror.

Writer/director Gary Burns offers a suffocating experience which is too boring to be accepted as a satire, too lame to be accepted as a farce, and too infantile to be accepted as a drama.

A bizarre flick. It moves a little apprehensively between comedy, drama and then, erotic romance, with the central players' excellent performances (especially newcomer Gyllenhaal) suffering because of the film’s indecisions.

This film takes chances and is abundant with style, seeming to pick-up where "Brown Sugar" left off, introducing editing conventions not normally accustomed to African-American film.

Wants to be a monster movie for the art-house crowd, but it falls into the trap of pretention almost every time.

If you were to rewrite the first five minutes of Bloodthirsty and left everything else the exact same, you’d have a perfect movie. As it stands, thanks to atmospheric directing, mostly good writing, and a brilliant cast, you have a very good one that is high on the creep factor populated with likeable, engaging characters.

Is Walk Hard” funny? Sure; very much so, in places. At least I think it is. It might just be the “Date Movie” talking.

The Guilty manages to keep things interesting with a propulsive plot.

The single worst Shakespeare film ever made.

A handful of nifty battle scenes and some decent performances aren't quite enough to make Kingdom memorable.

Ash is riveting, even as it drifts away from and back into the precarious tropes of the genre, like waves against the shore.

Once you become accustomed to her material and begin to anticipate it, some of the shine comes off the act.

There’s much to like about The Electrical Life of Louis Wain — the Victorian setting, cats, Cumberbatch, and its visually stunning cinematography. But it may not be enough to spark enough life into a movie-going audience that wants something new.

Sometimes goes a bit over the top to make its point.

Too often, the movie follows up Adams’ chaotic humor with weak slapstick and the incongruous love story.

Aided enormously by Jeremy Renner, his astonishing lead actor, Jacobson has created something we haven’t seen since “The Silence of the Lambs”: a sensitive, non-exploitative serial killer movie.

Rare vehicle which gives the Palestinian people (rather than their failed, double-talking leadership) an opportunity to speak freely and openly, and that feat in itself makes this one of the most important documentaries of recent times.

It’s not hard to see why The Way Home has become such a hit in its native South Korea. The story is a plaintive moral tale, adding the requisite doses of humour and sentimentality where it’s required.

The two young leads--Vincent Kartheiser and Taryn Manning--bring a sense of reality to their roles. This combines with Milgard’s direction and choice of backdrops to make Dandelion an unassuming journey.

The Dark Hours is one of those rare gems out of Canada.

Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul is a wicked read of religion and a showcase of comic talent.

At last, the hopeless romantics and the gorehounds can feast at the same table.

The whole film plays like a hunk looking at himself in the mirror.

While not a remarkable action/race film, Fast Company does boast some innovative and impressive footage captured from inside a dragster that would not have been the same directed by anyone else.

Lowen does a masterful job of presenting the anti-choice movement without spin.

Darkly comic, disturbing, and fun, Piercing is a vulgar little thriller that is one you watch without the one you love.

Hellsgård and writer Olivia Vieweg have crafted a morbidly beautiful, uniquely character-focused, and decidedly feminine take on familiar apocalyptic tropes, and while it doesn’t always entirely deliver on a narrative or visceral level, Endzeit – Ever After emotional resonance – and the singularity of its worldview – is undeniable.

What elevates Path of Blood above a mere rote retelling of a far-flung conflict which was has since subsided, is how deftly the filmmaker knits in the footage filmed by the Al-Queda members themselves with other source material. By doing so, the filmmaker both humanizes these young men — some of them boys really — who seem like lost souls in search of some ill-defined adventure while at the same time magnifying their pitiless violence and zealotry, not an easy feat.

While the film isn’t completely perfect, director and cinematographer Shona Auerbach shows that she’s a great new filmmaking talent.

Isn’t just a "gay movie." There are just gay people in it. Anyone can get into this lovable film.

For Carmen, Tibby, Lena, and Bridget, their sisterhood shines even brighter the second time around.

Well Groomed serves more to alert you that creative grooming is a thing, but most likely will find it hard to win over those uninterested in the subject.

What makes Banana Split, so astonishing is its story—written by the film’s star Hannah Marks and co-writer Joey Power. The script is fearless, and the four members of this love triangle (I know) are brilliantly created and well-developed characters.

Walking on Water is essential for any devotee of the arts, as this shows a project from fruition to dismantling, a full life cycle of an art installation if you will. I, for one, found it very fascinating.

The Beach Boys documentary has everything you’d want in a music documentary— a compelling story behind the nostalgia, the main figures being open and honest about the rise and fall, interesting conversations, and great music.

An honest look at the experience of a family who lives a yearlong tropical movie adventure on a remote island in Fiji.

The Pixies are back together, the music is as unbelievable as ever and what more could you ask for?