One of the chief reasons that director Tom Hooper's richly produced film works so well is because it operates on so many different levels. The King's Speech is all about layers, and Hooper keeps it humming on several at once.

An exceedingly well-assembled genre picture, a spell-binding, edge-of-your-seat thriller.

From “Dazed and Confused” to “Boyhood” to “Everybody Wants Some!!,” [Linklater's] become one of Hollywood’s chief purveyors of nostalgia, mining it for both humor and poignance. What’s more, he does it consistently well. With "Apollo 10½," he’s done it again.

A movie that charms its way to being a kind of well-crafted teen touchstone that very well could become to today's generation what "Ferris Bueller" was to teens of the '80s.

You know how people say that they don't make romantic comedies like they used to? Turns out they do. At least, director Marc Webb does -- and has -- with his clever and sweet debut, 500 Days of Summer.

Fueled by driving beats, irreverent humor and stylish direction from first-timer Rich Peppiatt, it plays like an edgier, modern-day answer to 1991’s similarly rousing “The Commitments,” just with Irish-language rap standing in for American R&B.

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.

Local viewers will be tickled by the wealth of New Orleans details in the production. One of the best just might be in the film's music.

It's a career-making performance that relies as much on charm as on acting ability -- and Mulligan has both.

Built as it is around horrifying moments of intimate violence, the stark British drama Tyrannosaur can be a hard movie to watch. At the same time, though, it's hard to stop watching once it gets going.

At times humorous, at times poignant, but always absorbing.

The sheer depth of emotion at work in “Nickel Boys” — the palpable anguish, the infuriating injustice, the heartrending loss — more than compensates for any perceived stylistic flaws.

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]

A simple story about a difficult man, and it's an impressive debut from writer-director Scott Cooper.

What Nolan has created with Inception is the rare movie that is bound to improve with repeated viewings, both as a means to drink in its brilliance one more time, and to see what sly clues might have flown under your radar the first time around.

A lovely jaunt that ends up becoming one of Allen's most enjoyable films, start-to-finish, in years.

It might not be as glossily produced as the others. It might not be the kind of animated movie Junior will watch on repeat. It doesn’t have an uplifting, show-stopping anthem. But it has something better than all that: unforgettability.

Almost feels as if it is two different films. One is the opening 20 minutes or so, in which most of the screwball comedy takes place. The other comes when Yimou gets on with the real story. That's where the payoff comes in.

It’s early yet, but “Challengers” is already among the best films of the year so far.

It's a lovely bit of blood-pressure-lowering cinema that never betrays its simple conceit.

Seeing Brannaman work in the warm, sun-dappled documentary Buck makes it clear why he was such a perfect fit for Redford's film: Few people can handle horses the way Brannaman does.

A documentary that is equal parts sweet science, brutal art and masterful filmmaking.

There can be no denying, however, that the director captures the hopelessness of such troubled lives with greater force than any of his peers and that his work has staying power because its truthfulness is beyond question. [30 Jun 1995, p.L30]

A surprisingly uplifting examination of life and loss.

As outrageous and fun as Babylon can be, it feels even more self-indulgent than happy hour on Mardi Gras. Granted, excess is the point of it all. Even the film’s running time, at a bladder-busting 3 hours 9 minutes, tests limits. Making matters worse is that for most of the film’s first half, it’s all setting and no story. And, yet, I think I love it.

It triggers a sense of awe, for the pure, natural beauty it allows us to witness; for the raw, ruthless power it captures; and for its towering display of artistry.

Songs such as "We Shall Overcome," "Wade in the Water" and "This Little Light of Mine" are powerful to begin with. Listening to them, music-video-style, over footage shot during the era, however, elevates them.

The Red Turtle -- without saying a word -- offers much more than the standard animated film. It offers food for thought, cause for contemplation, and an appreciation for the beauty of being.