The terrific Hell or High Water is like a gritty new retelling of the Frank and Jesse James story — only with getaway cars instead of horses, and assault rifles replacing six-shooters.

Why are innovative educators met with so much resistance? And why is our system falling so painfully short? Perhaps ­because so many of us don't realize just how dire things ­really are.

“The Wire” meets the West Bank in this searing drama loaded with action and nuanced characters.

Even those who never joined the cult of A Tribe Called Quest will find this clear-eyed chronicle of their career irresistible.

We are left, after all the propulsive action, with great turns by Theron and Rapace, and a tightly wound turn by Fassbender, whose eerie, poetically impish mechanical man might have burst from Bradbury's conscience.

Though a notch below "Royale," Skyfall follows that reboot's lead, making a now 50-year-old icon as cool as when he began.

If only this were a media-fueled tall tale and not one poor creature's lifelong nightmare.

When Marilyn Monroe appears, things stop. She is, as portrayed by Michelle Williams, a strange and beautiful alien: Unpredictable, odd, magnetic.

A three-act story narrated by the affable John C. Reilly is grafted onto one “How’d they get that?” shot after another.

The stylish and engrossing reinterpretation of the mythological king's early years lacks character development, but makes up for it with swashbuckling, sword-fighting, beast-slaying fun.

Here's something dog people and cat people can agree on: The Secret Life of Pets is hilarious, sweet and as fun for parents as the brats they take with them to the movies.

While the schemes occasionally seem strained, their desperate determination is never less than compelling.

Pahani’s films have become increasingly indistinguishable from his complex life, making them a challenging but often thrilling experience.

The script is surprisingly smart, pulling together all the subplots and cutting among all the locations. Chris Pratt’s Star Lord has some clever lines. Thanos is a far more complex villain than we usually get. And the movie ends on a stark and shocking note.

Where Whitecross succeeds is in the packaging of the whole story. With a running time of just over two hours, he manages to effectively compress the rather interesting story of the band’s inception and couple that with the explosive yet turbulent times of the band out on the road.

Full of smarts, sly insight and New York personality. As a feather in its jaunty hat, the movie also reinvigorates the art of screwball comedy.

Alfredson makes the most of every detail, carefully crafting an atmosphere of haunting alienation. These two lost souls may come together under unusual circumstances, but their connection feels universally human.

A fast and relentless hostage thriller that never stops.

Director Adam Leon, 31, has slyly and reverentially crafted a perfect New York movie, including the class tensions, relentless hustling and spontaneous connections that best define the exuberant strain of the city. The soundtrack, filled with mostly soul oldies, somehow feels exactly right for the sweaty New York summer of this scrappy kid-venture.

You would have to be practicing some pretty dark arts to not smile as you watch the iconic Millennium Falcon take off into battle one more time.

Steven Meyer's deeply affecting documentary, narrated by Laurie Anderson, takes us back to a camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, Majdanek, in order to honor those who left everything behind.

The picture is forceful, realistic and horrible. It is badly edited, since it is allowed to run for two hours and a quarter, but in spite of this, and a few other minor defects, the case of the crew against the insane cruelty and avariciousness of Capt. Bligh is so powerfully presented that the injustice done to the men gets under one's skin to stir up a variety of emotion.

Despite the real, bloody stakes, Cop Car keeps a boyish sense of action and adventure through to a twist ending. You have a right to remain thrilled.

The cast is a hoot, too. Tatum is full of easy charm but Adam Driver is even better as his brooding brother (clearly they’re sons of different mothers). There’s also a nice, out-of-character appearance by Katie Holmes, playing Logan’s hair-sprayed, hard-edged ex.

Busy British newcomer Bel Powley is extraordinary as the teen finding her identity in mid-1970s San Francisco.

After a summer of robots, mutants and explosions, the beautifully honest, grownup Love is Strange is a treat.

One of the reasons why the film works so well is because it imagines a path anyone who’s thought about escaping their lives — and hasn’t — could take.

From the company that gave us “Chicken Run” and “Wallace and Gromit,” this adorable tale about a sheep who leads his comrades on a big-city adventure is some of the most pure visual storytelling you’re going to see this year.