Days of The Whale is a quiet, beautiful coming of age story.

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.

The Mad Women’s Ball avoids caricature or stereotype, though the grounds it walks may seem somewhat familiar. Laurent treads them with skill and passion, immersing us into a period wildly different and dishearteningly similar to ours.

It’s a great comedy, and a deeply touching one, too.

As it stands now though, the acting is good, but the narrative moves like molasses, leaving the audience at a distance.

Craig is terrific.

It’s Plemons, who’s always stellar, that proves to be the real revelation.

Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy is a big story with big action along the lines of Carlito’s Way. You can easily jump in on this story without needing to see the previous Ip Man films.

Not since The Florida Project have I felt this emotional about a story of children forced to grow up way too fast.

Cronenberg has created a mind-bending trip of a movie with more to say than your average actioner and is supported by spectacular performances and make-up and practical effects that seal the deal. Brace yourself. Possessor is brilliant.

There’s a lot of emotional and intellectual material that writer/director Josephine Mackerras grapples with in Alice, and she is quite successful in doing so.

Syms’ debut is anything but desperate; au contraire, this is the mark of a relaxed, confident filmmaker with a long, bright future.

Thanks to Sam Raimi’s inventive style and Bruce Campbell’s hysterical performance, the horror-comedy genre has grown into a legitimate genre, but Evil Dead 2 will forever be the king.

I saw this movie in a room full of San Francisco movie critics, and I haven't heard that much laughter since, well, the piano duet in "Island of Dr. Moreau" (which you must admit, was pretty funny.)

Dean’s style of method acting and sheer charisma jumps off the screen (along with artful cinematography).

An essential for all serious humor fans who don't mind verbal grossness of the most extreme sort.

For fans of Breaking Bad, it’s a satisfying return to and continuation of the story.

Should become required viewing for all troubled youth, their uncertain parents, the military establishment and their detractors or supporters.

Mortimer delivers as a mentally disintegrating wife, but it's Harrelson who provides the most fun, playing against type as the down-home Roy.

The cast is top-notch and I predict there will be plenty of female audience members drooling over Michael Idemoto as Michael.

This is an amazing black satire filled with vicious biting words that snap like firecrackers.

I will say Candyman is worth watching. But I will advise not going in with preconceived ideas or comparisons to the original because that is where the disappointment will hit you like a brick to the head.

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.

Daley and Goldstein have written and directed a fabulous paean to the granddaddy of Tabletop Role-Playing games that is just so much fun.

Check out The Life of Reilly, for a real-life example of carpe diem energy too pure and unrefined to be silenced by discrimination or negative family vibes.

This is a spacious, robust movie that grabs hold of us and doesn't let go for nearly three hours.

Despite the inherently moving story and the respectable work of director John Lee Hancock and the cast, something remains absent throughout the entire film: a certain sense of verve and personality.

The movie gives us lovingly shot landscapes, portraits of extraordinary friendships, a great score, dialogue that only occasionally slips into history lessons, a number of memorably etched minor characters, a splendid performance by its youngest star and two mysteries.