Us is a bit predictable and contains a few jumbled auditory edits. However, these small missteps are in the service of an ambitious story that has a lot to say about what divides us as humans and how those divisions hurt everyone. Peele’s direction contains a tight grasp on horror and comedy, balancing both perfectly. His game cast shines brightly in their dual roles, and the ending makes the whole endeavor well worth your time.

One of the most towering and extraordinary films to grace the screen.

While The Dawn Wall brings you up close to the miraculous feat of Caldwell and Jorgeson, the backstory (particularly of Caldwell) is just as amazing.

Having been invited to understand Aisha as ‘inspired by real events,’ we come to understand Aisha as a woman– her history, her psychology, and her perspective– that is, her life, ‘not a story.’

Shadow is a sumptuous sensory feast filled with spectacle, surprise, and madness.

The truth is that for all the controversy there really isn’t that much violence in Reservoir Dogs. The reason people were so affected was because the film shows you the true impact of its violence.

Premature is teen love portrayed in an adult manner. Its grit and realism distinguish it from other teen love stories that force sappy, profound one-liners meant only for a good trailer moment.

Well-executed interviews of key people and all band members, along with excellent animation and archival research, The Go-Go’s reveals a story of talent, will, friendship, addiction, and forgiveness. The backdrop of the male-dominated music business highlights that these ladies who have stayed brash and whipsmart have always been entirely punk.

This very conventional PBS style videodoc should not be viewed before operating heavy machinery. However, there's plenty to fascinate devotees of the dance.

Boorman’s movies are usually about the repercussions of violence (Point Blank, Deliverance, Excalibur, etc.) but he recreates Cahill as something of a victim of circumstance. Cahill should have been played by Lee Marvin, not by some fat teddy bear of a man like Brendan Gleeson. It’s too bad Marvin isn’t still around, to at least knock some sense into his old friend, Boorman.

The overall experience of The Grand Bizarre is, in a lot of ways, an extremely eye-opening one. It forces a viewer to consider how complicated and incredible every single stitch of a rug, or a scarf, or a dishtowel actually is, and how easily it is to overlook that fact.

The film's quick pace and near-constant action carries you along quite nicely, and by the time Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) makes his climactic appearance, one can't help but look forward to the remaining films.

This phenomenal ensemble brilliantly and tactfully tells a story that our society desperately needs to hear during these trying times.

Hairspray isn’t all that bad, frankly. The songs are catchy, most of the leads are engaging enough (Blonksy and Bynes especially), and there’s just enough low-key subversiveness to keep everything from getting too saccharine.

Leaving a traditional narrative structure in the dust, Beshir uses breathtaking cinematography to bring you into the Horn of Africa. The movie is moving poetry about the struggles in khat fields and Ethiopia itself.

Warren’s film may leave you bruised, but don’t let that stop you from seeking it out.

Chicago is a failure, but that should not come as a surprise. Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the original 1975 Broadway production, was long baffled in making a film of the show and eventually gave up trying.

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.

Despite the aforementioned shortcomings, the qualities of The Fishing Place far outweigh them, making Tregenza’s film a fine work of art for the curious to explore.

Spoilers prevent me from saying anything about it, but the finale is a satisfying good vs. evil ending while reinforcing the true nature and values that Blanc holds as an investigator. Even then, when it’s all said and done, this is a light comedy. The story, mystery, and conclusion are fun, but it’s not Agatha Christie, nor should it be.

Clearly a deeply personal project for the director, it radiates utmost sincerity, rendering the more baroque parts palatable, if not as affecting as they were clearly intended to be. Within 90 despondent minutes, Dante encapsulates a plethora of themes and ideas, and that by itself merits plaudits.

Cruise and McQuarrie promised an action film like no other, and they delivered.

The narrative is mournful about a man who lived a long tragic life, a dark and depressing tale of young men having to hide their sexual orientation and its emotional and psychological toll in carrying their secret into their senior years.

Living is a good remake and a solid film on its own merits.

Fascinating and beautiful film.

The film is as intimate as it can be, but at times, feels like an invasion of privacy.

Lost Illusions is certainly nothing we haven’t seen before, at least narratively. But it’s done very well. Sometimes, you just feel like having a good ol’ soufflé.

The humanity of District 9 adds another dimension to this multilayered, rewarding work -- one of the best of the summer, and undoubtedly the most inventive from the multiplex this year.