Unfortunately, on the way to delivering that message, it becomes weighted down by its own dreary self-importance.

It does enough things right, and generates enough powerful moments, to make it an effective social-justice drama.

It's not a perfect film. There's still room for Cianfrance to grow as a storyteller. But it is entirely rewarding -- and I, for one, can't wait to see where he takes us next.

A surprisingly uplifting examination of life and loss.

Most real horror fans, however, will likely be left wondering where the heat is.

12 O'Clock Boys is reminiscent of the Ross brothers' far more lyrically shot 2012 film "Tchoupitoulas," which tagged along with three New Orleans boys for a night of exploration and boundary-testing in the French Quarter. The setting is different in Nathan's film, and Nathan doesn't commit as fully as the Rosses did to visual artistry. But there are thematic similarities, to be sure.

Can it be considered a comic masterpiece on the same level as "Animal House," that mother of frat-house comedies? Not by a long shot.

Granted, nobody should expect Black Widow to unseat Spider-Man as the world’s favorite arachnid-inspired superhero. But between Shortland’s storytelling chops, the cast’s charm and Eric Pearson’s solid screenplay, this “Black Widow” has plenty of bite of its own.

The result is a film that is equal parts fluff and tough.

The whole thing is kind of comforting in a damn-the-torpedoes, laugh-at-what-scares-you-most kind of way.

More than anything this is an intelligent film, a satisfying bit of old-school sci-fi suspense.

An enjoyable diversion, a lightweight bit of philosophizing that blends humor with the bittersweet. It won't likely stick in your memory for too terribly long.

Manny & Lo surely benefits from the emotionally naked performances of all three leading ladies, yet it's Krueger's quirky, psychologically driven humor and ability to fashion motives fraught with irony and ambiguity that make her female buddy flick so fresh.[20 Sep 1996, p.L29]

The real point of This is The End, however, is to make people laugh -- and it accomplishes that. Often, in fact -- and satisfyingly.

Open-ended and decidedly un-Hollywood, it is faintly dissatisfying, especially coming on the heels of such as engaging and crisply presented story. But it offers movie-goers a wonderful opportunity to roll it all around in their heads and discuss it, even debate it, as they drive back to that cozy little cult compound they call home.

The result is a documentary that is as interesting as it is irresistible.

It wasn't until Gibney's film was already largely shot that the truth caught up to Armstrong.

In addition to being the rare modern romantic comedy that manages to nail both the "romantic" and the "comedy" with equal aplomb, Juliet, Naked is also a wonderful, welcome late-summer fling, the kind that can be enjoyed with no regrets and no apologies before harsh reality resumes once more.

The sort of movie you should go see with someone you love. You should also hold their hand during the movie. And be thankful that that hand is there.

Both taut and satisfyingly relevant, it presents a portrait of a compromised elections system -- one that should give the left wing, the right wing and the fringe-dwelling nutjobs something they can all agree on. Namely: We're in deep doo-doo.

There isn't a whole lot of nuance in writer-director Rachid Bouchareb's unapologetically political movie. As such, it doesn't take much brainpower for a viewer to stay a step or two ahead of his plot the entire way.

It is, in its best moments, an interesting exercise for Bullock — and a just-passable diversion for audiences in the mood for something a little more gritty and somber than a repeat airing of It’s a Wonderful Life or some other feel-good holiday standard.

Furious 7, formulaic or not, knows exactly what kind of movie it is. It is a superhero movie without the tights. It is a comic-book franchise without the radioactive spider bite. It is, plain and simple, an automotive "Avengers."

Even if a filmmaker is dealing with familiar themes, when he or she fills in the blanks as sweetly and amiably as writer-director Geremy Gasper does in Patti Cake$, any desire to pick things apart all but vanishes.

Like the work of Callahan, Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot is dark, it is irreverent, it is often willfully offensive. But there's also an admirable frankness at work there, an honestly that helps keep things rolling forward -- even when its own wheels occasionally get stuck in the sand.

Rarely is an actress asked to do so much with so little -- and even rarer does that actress succeed as well as Clarkson does.

That character flaw makes for some great shock-fueled laughs in Lewis' film -- Giamatti does full-on comic rage as well as anyone.

An up-tempo and upbeat concert documentary that celebrates, rather than mourns, the last hurrah of a pop-culture touchstone.