A wild ride that effortlessly combines devilish dark humor, slapstick comedy, extreme violence and bitter satire.

Thompson and Shea both dig into their intelligent, flawed characters with zeal.

Intelligent, moving and often beautifully photographed, Aberdeen boasts superb performances.

There is an honesty and realism to Driver’s performances that work well in the part of a blue-collar poet who feels no need to court the spotlight.

You’d be hard-pressed not to enjoy the jolly jaunt. Clumsy Paddington, as always, makes an adorable mess of things.

Role Models isn't a classic like "Superbad" or as hilarious as this summer's "Step Brothers," but it's excellent fun for males in the mental age bracket of 14 to 22, which is most males.

Silva's script has the ring of truth, not surprising since he based it on real-life experiences. He even shot most of the scenes in his own family's house.

Never reaches the heights of "Short Cuts" or "Magnolia" -- two multi-story films that clearly provided inspiration -- but it's a thoughtful road trip well worth taking.

Make no mistake: Casuistry isn't easy to watch. Cat lovers might be especially turned off. But Asher had every right to make it, and you have every right to see it.

A sweet, lushly photographed but occasionally slow film.

Mozart's Sister had a much smaller budget than "Amadeus," but Féret makes good use of his resources, even getting to film in the splendid halls of Versailles. The cast is excellent, be they relatives of the director or not. And the music, though not by a Mozart, is beautiful.

Hess' deadpan dorks are strange, really strange. As in the Christopher Guest movies, there is a distinct comedy architecture you recognize from the opening minutes.

Holy moly, Melissa Leo makes a scary Mother Superior.

Though Human Stain is sometimes too chaotic and sometimes too neat, it boasts some of the best acting of the year.

What the film lacks in plot twists it makes up for in sheer amazement.

Typically, To the Wonder seems mostly locked in the thoughts of its characters, whispered so only we can hear, with no more actual back-and-forth dialogue than would cover the back of your ticket stub.

If you’re a Fab Four fan like I am, that setup itself sends you into an existential tizzy. But it makes for a likable, quirky movie that’s British writer Richard Curtis’ (“Bridget Jones’ Diary”) best work in years.

A clever, elliptical, slightly bizarre and altogether transfixing psychological thriller.

A real pleasure, a sweet, funny, ensemble comedy...utterly authentic.

A riveting documentary.

The movie is one of the better pieces of family entertainment released so far this year.

They should hand out a score card with every ticket to The Witnesses to help viewers keep track of who's sleeping with whom.

A delightful "That's Entertainment" for the theater.

The real star of the movie is the delectable sushi itself. Viewers will be tempted to hop the next flight to Tokyo, but probably will have to settle for a Japanese eatery closer to home.

A Hole in My Heart will disgust many (probably most) viewers as it cements Moodysson's reputation as one of today's most daring filmmakers.

The film's true fascination is in the kitchen, as it is for the chefs themselves.

The newest “Dragon” adventure, once again written and directed by Dean DeBlois, achieves real visual artistry.

A film I admired, but didn’t especially like, The Revenant is a master class in craftsmanship, marrying the ethos of 1970s Hollywood, with its beaten-dog heroes forever roughed up by a brutal system, to the technological prowess of today’s digitally obsessed blockbusters.

The documentary was filmed in the 1990s by Denny Tedesco, whose father Tommy is credited as the most recorded guitarist in history, including the instantly identifiable themes to “Bonanza” and “Mission: Impossible.”

A clever and big- hearted gay screwball comedy.

Truth be told, Firth's transcendent performance in A Single Man renders that stylistic gimmick utterly unnecessary -- Firth provides all the emotional color this movie needs, and then some.

It'll mainly appeal to film-biz insiders.

Director Matthew Vaughn, who did last year's delightful "Kick-Ass," doesn't do witty this time around, but he does keep up a spiffing pace while making the action blaze.

The film never flags. To find a smarter bug-man saga, you’d have to go back to “The Metamorphosis.” I was far from sold on insect superheroes, but now I say: Bring on Cockroach Chick.

Writer/director James Ward Byrkit, in his feature debut, achieves effective chills with only eight actors and a living room, intermixing quantum physics (shout-outs range from Schrödinger’s cat to “Sliding Doors”) with the very mundane human tendency toward bad judgment calls in a crisis.

The film mostly avoids easy laughs or simplistic characters, reminding you how few black movies claim the huge middle ground between chardonnay-sipping buppies and hardened criminals.

Kev Robertson's gritty camerawork and a musical soundtrack mixing hip-hop, punk and electronica add to the ambience of this impressive shoestring-budget indie.

It's a hushed work of restrained emotions, elliptical storytelling and spare dialogue, peopled with smart, authentic characters who have drawn you into their lives before you know it.

The Congress doesn’t fully live up to its lofty ambitions, but it does attempt something most filmmakers wouldn’t even dream of — a dystopian blend of live-action and animation that acidly comments on some of Hollywood’s touchiest issues before drifting off into an existential fog.

Starts out a lot like an expensive-looking episode of "CSI" before morphing into a solidly entertaining time-traveling romance.

Nobody familiar with To will be surprised by the way he presents stylish violence in innovative and humorous ways.

Thanks largely to the feisty Deutch, Buffaloed is a fun time, even if it’s about everybody’s least-favorite kind of phone call.

Director Lee Chang-dong could well have cut 30 minutes out of the story, but Jeon's performance is powerful enough to keep Secret Sunshine from drowning in an ocean of tears.

A scrumptious war movie.

Can be taken as a parable about cinema art vs. commerce. If that's too much to think about, just enjoy the off-beat humor.

Some of the visual flourishes are a little too obvious, but restrained and subtle storytelling, and fine performances make this delicate coming-of-age tale a treat.

Essential viewing for anyone who cares about American popular music and its roots.

The best kid-friendly movie of the holiday season is Nénette, a portrait of an orangutan.

October Country doesn't really have a point, or a story, but it's an almost unbearably vivid portrait of four generations in a single working-class family.

This superbly acted and ultimately disarming dual coming-out comedy-drama -- which turns out to be semi-autobiographical -- certainly grows on you, despite all of the twee touches.

Mr. Holmes, derived from a novel by Mitch Cullin, isn’t quite as deep or as poignant, but amply rewards McKellen and Holmes fans willing to go with its leisurely pace.

How unfortunate that we have two Ant-Man films and soon will have a pair of Doctor Strange flicks, but in all likelihood just a single Black Widow — a much deeper, more fascinating, more exciting character than either of those two duds, sorry, dudes.

It’s doubtful that Scorsese will redo this new Lau thriller, which is OK because the Chinese original is all fans need.

Rip Torn gives his best performance in years.

Casting aside warnings and physical threats from the townspeople, this once-demure teen girl embraces her wild side with a gory, punk-rock abandon.

Never becomes maudlin. Rather, it retains an upbeat air of hope, and even humor, as two brave men battle fate.

Dark, morbidly funny and quite violent movie, which plays with audience members' heads in ways many people will find quite disturbing.

The Death Cure doesn’t work on every level. The movie has, for the most part, jettisoned many of the story’s previous science fiction elements to focus more on action. In so doing, it relies on a lot of repeat devices to earn its thrills — namely perfectly-timed, life-saving rescues, often from the sky. Sometimes, you just want to hear some scientists talk shop for a minute.

The film falters only when it eavesdrops briefly on a passionate public discussion of rent control and gentrification. The moment is out of keeping with the carefree nature of the rest of the movie.

As they’re akin to spectators at a magic show, viewers ought to keep an eye out for what the Merchants of Doubt don’t want us to see.

Beaded with amusing moments.

A sometimes insightful, sometimes absurdly devotional but steadily engaging film.

A chainsaw-cut above recent entries in the genre: a pure, unapologetic, unironic homage to the likes of "Friday the 13th" that respectfully salutes all the old shtick.

The plot of the gorgeous Mexican film Alamar -- a father-son vacation -- isn't what Hollywood calls "high concept." But thanks to director-cinematographer-editor Pedro Gonzalez-Rubio, the film might be called "high enjoyment."

There's nary a dull moment in the semi-autobiographical Secuestro Express (secuestro means kidnap), as Jakubowicz pleases the eyes with closeups, sped-up scenes, hand-held camerawork and other stylized tricks.

It’s an impressively realistic touch from a studio that’s neither Disney nor DreamWorks.

It’s substantial food for thought, but too scattered for a two-hour running time.

The coincidences might be too much for some, but viewers who can get past them will be treated to a suspenseful, well-acted, crisply photographed character study.

It's depressing as hell. While most of the seven say they want to beat the habit and become productive citizens, only one, Ron, follows through successfully.

The second half of Godzilla is definitely more fun than the first part of a film I enjoyed overall, if less than last year’s similar dip into giant monster blockbusterdom, “Pacific Rim.”

Overall, though, Paul Feig’s (“Spy”) reboot of the 1984 classic is a goofy, big-hearted romp.

In a film that’s often sad but not without its triumphs, director Morgan Neville smartly explores the complex role that ego and self-promotion play in this profession.

Judging by this passionate film, the medical community -- has no clue about what causes this awful malady and, worse, doesn't seem to care.

The story won't win any prizes for coherence, but that doesn't much matter. As in most Hong Kong thrillers, it's the visuals - love those boldly choreographed shootouts! -- and moments of absurdity that count.

There is a strong emotional connection to Victor Hugo’s giant novel, which has been turned into a Broadway musical, movies and TV shows. This version remains a tale of downtrodden Parisians and dogged policemen who hound them. Only now we get 21st-century twists: teens with drone cameras, members of the Muslim Brotherhood and a Romani circus.

As a one-time suburbanite now living happily in Manhattan, I can attest that Radiant City tells it like it is. The film ends with a surprise that you won't see coming and I won't spoil.

Except possibly for a superlative supporting performance by Hugh Bonneville of “Downton Abbey,’’ Clooney’s low-key directorial effort is not quite an Oscar-caliber movie, though it’s got a great cast, a worthy theme and plenty of things to reward adult moviegoers.

A supernatural “What’s Happening to My Body?” parable in company with “Carrie,” “Ginger Snaps” and last year’s “Thelma,” Wildling is low-key with an undertone of menace, skillfully directed by Fritz Böhm in his feature debut (though some of his nighttime scenes are so dark it’s genuinely hard to tell what’s going on).

1994 plays more like television than a theatrical film. The more limited scope isn’t bothersome, though, because you can only watch it on your TV, after all, and two more films/episodes are soon on the way.

Massoud and Scott make a live-action “Aladdin” succeed on a different level than a cartoon can — as a teary romance. “A Whole New World” is more moving than the original.

Circo is more like "The Smallest Show on Earth" than "The Greatest Show on Earth," the 1952 Oscar winner, but it does provide a look at a unique family and a disappearing way of life.

It's full of Plympton's trademark twisted humor, with lots of sex thrown in.

What makes Storm Surfers 3-D mesmerizing is jaw-dropping footage shot inside brute waves that’s unlike any I’ve ever seen before.

Had me watching through misty eyes, at least for the first half.

On paper, these people may seem like boring statistics. But Andresevic, in her first feature-length film after years of producing commercials for the likes of Nike and Cadillac, turns them into humans viewers will take to heart.

Brace yourself for an explosively brutal finale.

This oddly cheerful, decreasingly dark comedy actually works and can boast some of the most enjoyable performances of the year.

Basically a mega-budget war movie that makes fun of mega-budget war movies.

If it’s overstuffed in the way of most sequels, well, at least it’s stuffed with good cheer.

Bluebeard revisits themes often found in Breillat's films -- sibling rivalry, pedophilia, gender conflict -- but it remains fresh and new.

Redford's history lesson illustrates the old maxim that those who forget history are bound to repeat it.

A well-researched picture of how racism led to nine men being falsely accused and wrongly convicted. One only wishes that the filmmakers had more than 84 minutes in which to tell the story.

When Gilliam is finally forced to admit defeat, it is nothing short of heartbreaking - for audiences, too, as the few shots that made it into the can hold such promise.

Earth, you had me at baby polar bears.

Lanzmann, for his part, begins the interview with a sharp, probing manner; by the end, the filmmaker’s questions and body language are conveying something altogether different.

You don't have to be stoned to watch Mr. Nice, but it might help to be in the same state of mind as its real-life anti-hero, drug kingpin Howard Marks.

Brains! Brains! Why can't they make a zombie movie with brains? This is one. Romero has given us, as well as the zombies, a lot to chew on.

Even when deadly silent, though, as he is through most of the film, Duris is brutally eloquent.