The doggedness and good will of these men are irresistible as they pick up on the American dream, finding work and even college educations while trying to locate their missing relatives back home.

Le Havre is warm-hearted and uplifting, without being schmaltzy or preachy. And, with its illegal-alien theme, it's dead-on timely.

The acting is superb, especially the always alluring Charlotte Gainsbourg as a mysterious Englishwoman taking the ship to America. Agnes Godard's lensing is painterly, and Crialese's direction is seamless.

As cleverly adapted by Tom Stoppard, this is an Anna Karenina that's pretty much guaranteed to polarize audiences.

I laughed harder at Pumpkin than at any other film I've seen this year -- but be warned: This dark campus comedy is not for all tastes, or probably even most tastes.

Tells its story so effectively through pictures it's barely necessary to read the subtitles.

There's nothing startlingly original about Estevez's screenplay, yet it has a modesty you seldom see when Hollywood tackles spiritual subjects.

A groundbreaking, highly influential film, A Man Vanishes is a fiercely brilliant piece of work, but it's more intellectual challenge than pleasure.

There are several adorable musical numbers that make excellent use of Adams. Segel's dancing is . . . well, he reminded me of a huge star: Big Bird.

Many modern teen issues are touched upon — depression, anxiety, eating disorders — and because of the honest performances from Smith and Fanning, you ache for them.

An eyeball party. The score by Daft Punk, which veers from homages to Hans Zimmer's thundery work in "The Dark Knight" to a retro-'80s synth sound, surpasses magnificence.

Goodbye First Love showcases two young women with bright futures.

Newcomer Joey King is funny and adorable as daydreaming 9-year-old Ramona Quimby.

The results are remarkably intelligent and entertaining, even for someone who (like this writer) finds Cave’s music rather dirge-like.

You won't find a movie that's more fun this season -- but at 2-1/2 hours, it's probably too much of a good thing.

Color Out of Space is full-bore, glorious B-movie Cage: Cranked up to 11, spattered with gore and bellowing about alpacas.

As irresistible as movie-theater popcorn - a lavish, reasonably intelligent, well-acted sequel with kick-butt effects that outdoes its predecessor, 2000's "X-Men," in almost every department.

With much help from an exasperated off-screen prompter - the only other performer in this small gem - Plummer's Barrymore shows flashes of glory as he delivers bits and pieces of various Shakespearean roles.

Davidson expertly plays the role like he’s playing . . . well, Pete Davidson, which is how I imagine his career will go.

The film also wastes the coiled intensity of Jeremy Renner, as the newest member of the IMF team with a none-too-compelling past. Bird does keep audiences guessing whether Renner is the only leading actor in Hollywood who's even shorter than Cruise.

These candidly shaken macho guys recall scenes still haunting their nightmares two years after 9/11.

Inventive and bold, Jesus, You Know will especially resonate with people, like this critic, whose strict Catholic upbringing (some might call it brainwashing) inalterably shaped their lives.

A remarkably smart and weird film, even if it's sad and sometimes difficult to watch, with jokes designed to make you cringe.

Albert Brooks shows up as a red-tailed hawk whose desire to help clashes with his killer instincts; Dana Carvey is pitch-perfect as the ancient basset hound whose back legs are in a wheelchair.

Bay's best film since "The Rock."

The star of the movie is Caeli Veronica Smith, 12, an accomplished violinist who frequently performs in the park. Seeing her play in person would be worth the bus trip to Philly.

This weekend, forget "Jarhead" - two hours of guys playing grab-ass in the shower and no chicks. If you're lucky, you can con your girlfriend into seeing Pride & Prejudice.

Hits one out of the park.

Thanks to Scott's charismatic Roger and Eisenberg's sweet nephew, Roger Dodger is one of the most compelling variations on "In the Company of Men."

If you're new to Kaurismaki, the film will make you a fan. If you've seen everything else he's ever done, the comedy will confirm your commitment.

It's the best role in years for Leoni, but You Kill Me really belongs to Kingsley, whose character's deadpan reactions to his new environment are priceless. He really kills.

A hilarious Parker Posey provides her customary blast of brittle energy in Price Check, an engaging corporate comedy.

Cornish, who hasn’t directed a film since the excellent 2011 teens-versus-aliens movie “Attack the Block,” has created a movie with the goofy charm of 1980s kids adventure flicks, such as “The Goonies” or “The NeverEnding Story.” It’s gentle — and almost completely bloodless.

A stinging and frightening indictment of mainland China.

A high point shows O'Day, in a black-and-white hat and form-fitting dress, singing "Sweet Georgia Brown" at the Newport Jazz Festival. That scene alone confirms O'Day's place among the greats.

Me and Orson Welles is, in effect, a sequel to Tim Robbins' star-filled, self-important film about "Cradle," but it's far lighter on its feet.

A worthwhile choice in a crowded marketplace.

Enlightening documentary.

A documentary in which George relates their stories with great charm and understanding.

Keeping logical track of all the comings and goings is like trying to focus on a single bird in a flock. The details, names and faces blur a little more every time a character rounds a corner, just as they would for the ailing Anthony. With its narrative boldness, however, The Father never stirs or fully satiates.

Luke Wilson, who has appeared in a long run of bad movies, seizes on his juiciest role since "The Royal Tenenbaums" here.

In the end, "Wilbur"' manages to look death square in the face and walk away laughing.

Admirable for venturing into very dark places rarely glimpsed in big-studio comedies.

The title of the overlong Fifty Dead Men Walking refers to lives saved by Sturgess' character, who is still in hiding years later.

McAdams gives one of the best performances of her career as her character wrestles with the enormous question of whether, and how, to give up everything she’s ever known.

I'm not sure why it took 50 years for Araya to reach New York, but let us be thankful to Milestone Films for giving life to this forgotten film.

Fightville, you had me at "gladiator school."

Covers three years in the Public Defender's office with a fast-paced, tabloid gusto.

Darci Picoult’s script renders all of these characters, if not always sympathetically, humanly and fully.

Overall, it’s engaging and serves its young audience well — a rare Holocaust movie that doesn’t strain to become Oscar bait.

Brilliantly playing doomed '50s sex bomb Marilyn Monroe, Michelle Williams gets under the skin of the troubled yet vulnerable icon in a way no one else ever has.

The movie is so heavily weighted toward the Simmons character that no one else really gets to breathe. And though McBride's shtick is brilliant - he could get rich by playing variations on this character for the next few years, and probably will.

If you ever wondered how robots make love, here's your chance to find out.

Emancipation, which is an otherwise well-tread period drama about the horrors of slavery, features more of Smith’s rich emotionality and laser-focused intensity that he’s uncovered late in his career and that won him the Oscar for last year’s “King Richard.”

Hollywood has been yukking it up over North Korea and its comical-looking leader for some years now. There’s nothing funny about either, and Mansky shows why.

Warm and charming and often witty, it's as good a romantic comedy as has come out for some time, with an endearing, perfectly pitched central performance that's a four-square triumph for Zellweger.

More than the story of a disillusioned old man, Lustre is a loving tribute to New York.

A joyful celebration of Louisiana music in all its permutations.

Sweet isn't a word often used to describe movies these days, but it's one that applies to The Cave of the Yellow Dog.

Sick, disgusting and vile. It's also demonically funny, stylish and ingenious.

Though it boasts an eye-catching roster of supporting performances — Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks, Jeffrey Wright, Anthony Mackie — most of the running time is spent with Mister (Skylan Brooks) and Pete (Ethan Dizon), and both child actors hold your attention impressively.

Lebanon is inspired by the director's traumatic days at the front, giving his work a sense of authority.

One of the year's most consistently entertaining and ingratiating movies, building to an inspirational climax that's as rousing as it is predictable.

There are a lot of grace notes in That Evening Sun, including Barry Corbin's hilarious work as Abner's neighbor, a vivid sense of landscape and a visually arresting climax.

A wry, "Rashomon"-like tale.

Washington and Zendaya, freed from lockdown, dig into the dialogue with zest, and they’ve got a palpable chemistry even in the midst of some horribly hurtful exchanges.

More like Disney's "Sleeping Beauty," somber, slow and elegant instead of frantic and dazzling.

As filthy as the back of a sanitation truck — but it has heart, too. Most of the comedy is funny, some of it is hilarious.

The best dance movie since "Flashdance."

After the Wedding is full of enough plot twists to supply a whole season of "Desperate Housewives."

If (like me) you have a parental obsession with brainwashing your children to adore everything from Sinatra to “Shake It Off,” Sing may be your most effective weapon since “Happy Feet.”

Gorgeously photographed by Peter Suschitzky, A Dangerous Method presents a vivid portrait of pre-World War I Europe that's at a considerable remove from the types of madness usually seen in Cronenberg's films.

Dialogue is sparse in this leisurely paced chase; instead, the bluesy vocals of indigenous singer Archie Roach -- singing de Heer's lyrics -- are layered over the action as a kind of musical narration.

Though On the Run is a welcome reminder that effective thrillers don't have to be noisy or dumb, the film does contain slightly jarring moments of inadvertent humor.

A verité collage of indelible images Sauret collected in and around Ground Zero, beginning moments after the planes hit the World Trade Center.

A rousing, garage-band-style documentary.

Despite its excesses, Savage" is never unintentionally funny, just gritty and mean. The run time is more than two hours, yet it's also tight: no drag, no waste, no message.

Mainstream audiences will be put off by the lack of a straightforward narrative, but adventurous moviegoers will find pleasure in the hypnotic originality of the images.

Director Lisandro Alonso is content to leave much to viewers' imagination. That he is able to do so and still hold our attention is a tribute to his talent as a filmmaker and an authentic performance by nonprofessional actor Argentino Vargas as the ex-con.

Burtynsky doesn't preach. He's content to let viewers make up their own minds from his eye-opening and eye-pleasing images.

Offers an idyllic, comforting surface of tree-shaded lanes and sunshine-dappled fields - but a disturbing tale throbs beneath.

One of the highlights of Casino Jack is Abramoff doing dead-on impressions of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronald Reagan, among others.

Illustrating the many ways nuclear weapons could kill you makes Countdown to Zero one of the most frightening documentaries you'll ever see, or endure.

The stunning adventure Mountain Patrol: Kekexili is like a John Ford western set, not in the master's beloved Monument Valley, but in remotest China.

Builds steadily from its smarter-than-your-average-horror-film beginnings to a genuinely cunning psychological thriller with a third-act twist guaranteed to shock even the most eagle-eyed watchers.

Anybody who's ever seen a movie about exorcism knows that, in cases like this, the first thing to do is call 1-800-PRIEST, which the family does.

Steve Jobs is a tale of two men, not one: A more accurate, not to say wittier, title would have been “Steve Jobs and Aaron Sorkin.”

Well-done documentary.

The film also drags a bit toward the end, but neither of these is a major flaw in a movie with more funny lines than in most of Allen’s movies these days — not to mention a saner, clearer moral perspective.

A taut thriller based on the tragedy, which remains the most lethal mass killing in New Zealand history.

A disarming Spanish dramedy of late-life love, speaks a universal language.

The most enjoyable western comedy since "Blazing Saddles."

We hold Pixar to a higher standard because of the true art it has achieved over the past – gulp – 30 years. If “Inside Out 2” doesn’t quite reach those heights, it is still a promising step on the studio’s difficult quest to rediscover its own sense of self.

Chang doesn't pull his punches in this continuing look at a changing, out-of-control China.

A master class on turning a talky, one-man play into a visual delight.

Breakup at a Wedding works, because Quinaz has come up with a concept that lets him skewer directorial pretension alongside wedding hysteria.

Comparisons to “Slumdog Millionaire” are inevitable, but the kinetic Trash has a rhythm all its own.

Although “Ben” can get a little sentimental at times, Roberts and Hedges are a team to root for.