Marks and Power deliver that unicorn of romance movies. It’s funny, heartbreaking, but, most of all, intelligent and realistic.

Believe the hype, Knocked Up is one of the funniest films of 2007. It's too early in the year to crown it the supreme funniest title, but save for something so funny your head explodes in the theater, I think it'll take the title by year's end. Seth Rogen, we web slackers salute you!

Characters are keenly observed and come front and center over the plot. Anything can happen. Absurdity reigns supreme. Yet, at the end of the day, we know a little more about the human condition after seeing it bursting at the seams.

Horror’s goal is simply delivering fun. The thrill of constant frights releases rollercoaster-level endorphins the fans can’t get enough of the rush. Blood Fest shoves it right in our faces and then some. Get ready to bleed.

Mirabella-Davis somehow perfectly captures a woman’s perspective on the twisted series of events that leads Hunter to where she lands by the end of the film.

School of Rock kicks ass. It's one movie that definitely goes to eleven.

Just like “It’s A Wonderful Life” is shown on TV every year, The Polar Express should appear in IMAX theaters that traditionally.

Broken Bird is excellent due to its complex characters and tight screenplay. The acting is strong, especially from Clayton, whose genuine emotions ring true. The horror feels real, stemming from an understandable though creepy obsession from a person who is empathetically broken.

A reminder of the importance and intimacy of literature, a meta-study of art vs. fabrication, an indictment of cultural appropriation/racial stereotypes, our increasingly digitized world and entitled generation, The Plagiarists is also an ode to how much can be done with very little. Parlow and his crew knock it out of the park.

Here is a movie that celebrates the heyday of adventure cinema even as it embraces technology's bleeding edge. And I'm willing to forgive a lot when giant gorillas and tyrannosaurs are involved. Must be the art snob in me.

A solid, whirlwind of a horror movie, with more twists and turns than a hula hoop competition.

At 90 or so minutes, Prey is a lean, mean machine without an ounce of fat on its muscular body. It’s a reminder that this land was populated long before we, the original predators, overtook it, a subtle treatise of “man as predator,” but mostly, a vicious, wildly entertaining flick that’s bound to become the new classic in the series.

It’s not often that we get such a fresh and intimate story of love and revenge.

Hunter Her, Kill Her is an intense thrill ride that will leave everyone watching on the edge of their seat. Terrazzino’s performance is stunning, as the actor easily handles every emotional beat and punch.

It’s a film that will surprise you if you give it a chance.

This isn’t exploitation; this is a look at how things may have been with Harris and Klebold, and how something like this could easily happen again.

There will definitely be a need to see it again after the first time, for the atmosphere, for Hoyle, for the theories, for the case, for everything offered and happily accepted.

If Beale Street Could Talk is an immersive experience. Viewers will get wrapped up in Baldwin’s timely tale of love, perseverance, and prejudice.

Chokri’s work has a pulse that beats so hard it could split veins. Yet, it remains in a reality that is vulnerable to suddenly wacky quakes.

Where Minority Report succeeds is by dishing up a little bit of everything – to see no one leaves the theater disgruntled. There are helpings of science fiction marvel, there’s some interminable tension and a real human story underneath it all. The specials effects are damn impressive to boot.

Garcia is a thoughtful filmmaker not only by the group of actors he has gathered, but in remembering that there has been and will be people watching his movie.

It feels like a timeless classic. It takes us into the forbidden spaces we can’t otherwise know, not just cloistered rooms but deep into the human soul.

Technical elements are among the best this year. Photography, editing, music, production design, and costumes all add seamless period flavor to the puritanical stew that was London almost a half-century ago.

Sometimes reality is stranger, more unbelievable, and more inspirational than fiction.

The film, directed by Harry Beaumont, is considered the first-ever musical, creating a template that is still followed nearly a century later.

Visually stunning and contextually provocative, God Grew Tired of Us is quite simply one of the most beautiful documentaries I've ever seen. Intelligent, heartbreaking, uplifting, humorous and reverent, the film is an adventure in what it means to be human.

This hummingbird soars. It has that based-on-a-true-story feel, with all the urgency and verisimilitude of a real-life tale. A sad and visceral indictment of our society under the guise of a thriller, Kim Nguyen’s rousing cinematic elegy will sneak up on you, like its titular moth.

In all, Somm 3 is an absorbing 90 minutes that will likely whet your appetite for a glass of burgundy, and if nothing else, you’ll get a few tips on wines to check out.

The Nightingale is another triumph for Kent. Not one to aim for more crowd-pleasing material and palatable choices, she directs this visceral and moving revenge picture with a very sure hand.

Thankfully there's nothing remotely serious about Zombieland. It's just a heck of carnival attraction (Shoot the ducks/Shoot the zombies) on a roller coaster filled with laughs.

Cera once again does his "Michael Cera thing." Personally, I love his "thing" but know it’s not for everyone, and I agree that it doesn’t always work contextually. But trust me, here it really works.

It’s artistic without being pretentious, thoughtful, and elegiac without treading into monotony, beautifully acted without drawing too much attention to its stars.

May look like an ironic, jet black comedy -- and it succeeds brilliantly on that level -- but in it's sad and wistful heart, it's a completely sincere call for saving the Earth.

This is everything you could ever want from a yoga horror movie. It also expands the boundaries of what the genre can achieve.

No amount of words that can convey the sense of the film, because it is such a gut-punch of emotion.

This is where Payne shines. Schmidt’s Winnebago journey through America’s heartland is more like a personal voyage into his Heart of Darkness.

Maybe if PETA tried being funny instead of comparing eating meat to the Holocaust, they’d have a bigger following.

The cast is great, especially Vegha and Sligh, who craft realistic, believable characters. The editing is precise, though it interrupts the plot if the audience isn’t properly prepared for it on first viewing. Overall, the director proves he has what it takes to scare cinephiles, and he got a cast just as creepy as his plot.

Each personality comes across with honesty and humility as they encounter age, death, and performance without compromise and on their terms or stage of choice.

It is visually stimulating and exhaustively covers much of the record industry with keen interest. In regarding each piece as a story, it takes the macro to a personal level. That is quite a feat.

Moretti's actual direction is always simple, perhaps plain, but this no-frills approach allows him to gently craft a story full of poignant episodes, building toward a melancholy but genuinely uplifting conclusion.

Parasites is a brilliant film and for a thriller, it’s absolutely unpredictable (except in one big way).

As a comedy, Ninja Badass serves up one hilarious joke after the next.

It’s beautiful and heartbreaking in equal measure.

The Lighthouse becomes something that few movies can claim to be: memorable. Detractors might shrug it off as self-indulgent, artsy slop, but it’s too damn fun and aesthetics-minded for that accusation to hold much weight.

Lost Angelas is neo-noir romance filled with engaging characters, intense action, a thrilling mystery, and a lovely romance to top it all off. The directing, acting, and especially the cinematography synch up perfectly for a pulse-pounding film, that works wondrously.

Hardly any of The Painted Bird is what you would call pleasant. It is often a difficult watch at times but is a consistently engaging one.

Even though McAvoy is the brightly shining star, it takes a large, cohesive team to make it all come together, and when it works like Speak No Evil does, pure nail-biting magic happens.

While not breaking any molds or revealing a side to addiction that many films haven’t before, Stay Awake tastefully captures how devastating it can be for family members.

You have to remind yourself constantly, this is real. There are no special effects.

It’s so much more than a story about mobsters. It’s a story of hope, success, and failure. It’s a sprawling behemoth of a film that surprisingly, considering its length, I already want to watch again.

It's a feel-good movie, but not in a bad way. It makes you feel good the way that “Forrest Gump” made you feel good, as if the filmmakers were seriously trying to make a fun, wholesome, entertaining movie without taking on the industry with a moral agenda.

The double-edged sword with Smile and its popularity means there may be a sell-by date after which many of the harrowing sequences become subsumed into popular culture and will no longer feel fresh upon initial viewing. This isn’t the film’s fault, but such is often the case when the public gets a hold of a work of art. See it with a crowd, and see it soon.

Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero is a highly enjoyable and very well made animated feature. It has something for the whole family, is visually impressive with excellent animation, and a fantastic voice cast.

It’s thoroughly engrossing, entertaining, and a lot of fun from beginning to end.

Newnham and LeBrecht weave a narrative from multiple archival sources that capture the innocence, the subtle awakening, and ultimate determination of a small group of disenfranchised who suddenly realized that there was something to fight for.

Monument is an engaging and dramatic look at an unknown true story. The cast is wonderful, led by an outstanding Mazzello, whose turn here shows why he’s been steadily working since he was a child. His co-stars are equally splendid.

With Larroy, Texas, Atkinson proves himself a confident filmmaker and screenwriter with an ear for dialogue and skill in designing intriguing characters and situations.

Halbrook absolutely nails the lead role of Mr. Abner Meecham, the headstrong farmer whose lips can’t form the words “give up.”

With brilliant dialogue out of the 1940s and graceful visuals that add depth to the dark comedy, Johnson debuts with a smart, self-assured feature that portrays adolescence like no other film has.

With unprecedented access to overfilled, frenzied hospital rooms, as well as quarantined homes, Heineman makes one cringe at every prolonged beep of the vitals monitor, delves right into the patients’ eyes, their very souls. He imbues the documentary with the same sense of urgency and empathy that were evident in his previous docs Cartel Land and City of Ghosts. A tough watch but a necessary one, The First Wave marks the finest cinematic account of the COVID-19 pandemic yet.

It’s the kind of comedy that should not work, but somehow does.

The atmosphere was the first treasure, Michael Ballhaus’s cinematography that makes Seattle as alive as the characters, as active as their desires.

The Worst Person in the World is a wildcat in a world of domesticated dramedies and romantic comedies. Trier has made one of the best movies of this year or any year.

Drop succeeds by blending classic thriller elements with modern tech paranoia, anchored by strong performances and sharp direction. It’s a tense, engaging ride that keeps viewers guessing until the very end.

Stop and Go ends up as you expect it to. Some treacly bits rob the movie of its honesty and compromise its goodwill with the audience. But for the most part, it’s a joyous celebration of life and family, as well as a reminder that both will persevere no matter how trying the circumstances.

The conclusion of Astrakan is a riveting, almost revelatory experience that is vastly different from anything seen prior. It may be hard to digest for some, but it adds additional layers to the motion picture and colors the events in a completely new light.

Thrilling stunt footage aside, this is a film that celebrates the strength of women in the entertainment industry and these two separate stories are tied together perfectly by filmmaker Amanda Micheli.

I haven’t seen a crime thriller this good since L.A. Confidential.

Films like this are few and far between, but the sooner we realize it’s okay not to be okay, the better.

Lie Hard might be slightly too quirky for those who prefer their films a bit more grounded and realistic. For everyone else, Niles and company have provided a fast-paced, witty, charming feature. If you want to laugh while still getting a slight emotional pull at the end, then look no further.

Green Book is a real crowd pleaser — aside from the banter between the oppositely-minded characters, it has clear heroes and villains. The writers do manage to sneak a few nuances in, especially when discussing Shirley feeling out of place in both the white and black communities.

The Clovehitch Killer is one of the best horror films to come out this year. It’s intelligent and subversive, and it captures the banality of small-town life perfectly.

Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) is a grand rock and roll buffet with something for everybody.

Into The Weeds is a most satisfying but frustrating experience. The satisfaction comes from how well-made and engrossing the film proves to be. The frustrations lie in the true story being documented.

Rounding can be a tough film and one that puts its viewers through a lot, but the investment is well worth it.

This is a superior horror film. It hits hard and fast, letting up only to inject some black humor and amp up the tension again before coming back for more. Feast is nasty, brutish, and short, just like Hobbes said all horror flicks should be.

Rustin is an important story well told, with an outstanding must-see lead performance.

Robin de Levita’s adventurous first film is a wild ride that goes for broke in all the best ways. As such, it should not be missed.

This is a film that exists because of fans, was written for the fans and yet can be enjoyed by just about anyone willing to have a good time.

Woo and Benson don’t underestimate their young audience’s intelligence, subtly layering in complexity, which comes off as a mini-miracle.

Watching Flamin’ Hot mirrors the joy of scarfing down a bag of the crunchy red stuff yourself. It makes your eyebrows raise, is instantly addictive, and goes by very fast.

Ozpetek juggles the many story lines with ease, all the while crafting the form of the environment in which they take place.

Song Sung Blue is one of my favorite movies of the year. It all has to do with Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson’s performances, along with a touching script by Craig Brewer and Greg Kohs. What makes this story so compelling is not only that it is true, but also that Mike Sardina and Claire Stengl are us. They are normal people who want to perform and bring happiness to the world.

Hellboy just might end up being one of the best movies you see this year.

His film captures the wonderment of dreaming - and the reality of waking.

If you can handle a movie with a jam-packed ridiculous narrative that doesn’t entirely solve itself, then you should definitely watch Dreamland.

A warm heart beats subliminally throughout the narrative, a tinge of hope that may be gasping for air but remains vibrant, especially when juxtaposed against the disheveled, rotten backdrop.

Wonka is fluffy, loud, colorful, and goofy. King is not looking to expand on the literary legacy of Roald Dahl; it’s not that serious.

Sabbath Queen constantly finds ways to renew our interest throughout its 105 minutes and does so with great intelligence and respect.

I know a lot of people with no knowledge of Sondheim’s musical (much less Bond’s play) are going to buy tickets for a cute holiday movie starring that handsome Johnny Depp and end up experiencing something else entirely. Bon appétit.

The July 4th release is fitting, for Thompson was a true patriot. His longstanding association with the counterculture notwithstanding, Thompson loved this country and the things it once stood for, and his voice is sorely missed today, and whether you were a fan of his work or not, you'll find Gonzo well worth your time.

A film that you can appreciate, but it’s also one that may be difficult to watch. Because it is so course, because it is so authentic, and because the characters are so real, you feel a closeness to Lee that may be uncomfortable.

Never has a film captured the spirit of being a teenager better.

The Lost Leonardo tells the tale of the most scrutinized painting of all time in fascinating, exhaustive detail.

In The Burning Plain, another directorial debut, sensationalism is on order, but it's buttressed by fear, suffering, and desire – the schizo-blend that makes Arriaga's scripts so unique.

The Last Resort could have been a slight, sunny picture postcard from Biscayne Bay. A piece of fluff that would delight our cravings for the past — whether or not we were actually around to observe that not too distant past firsthand. But instead it’s a heartfelt and jubilant love letter to a paradise found, lost, and reclaimed — Miami’s South Beach.

It was incredible to see what is arguably the best of the Star Wars films, on the big screen again. However, I do not believe that any of the minor changes make the film any better. [Special Edition]