Kids will love African Cats, which is full of "aw" moments. Their parents will appreciate that narrator Samuel L. Jackson keeps things from getting too schmaltzy in this true-life depiction of the circle of life.

The agent in this interesting little thriller — well played by John Cusack — is up to the Company’s usual dirty tricks.

Desert Wind will be of interest to men - and especially to women, who might learn much they didn't know about the opposite sex.

Aniston's best on-screen performance since "The Good Girl."

Paints a picture of a young man enamored of his own image. His enormous success turned the ever-cocky Gator egomaniacal -- and abusive.

The newly found footage of Fellini and actor Marcello Mastroianni on the set of "La Dolce Vita" made me want to run out and see that wonderful film yet again.

Succinct yet detailed storytelling, evocative cinematography (by Ellen Kuras) and arresting central performances add up to a trio of engaging character portraits.

The movie is smartly paced, and Sprouse (“Riverdale”) and Richardson make for one of the more adorable pairs in recent films. You not only want what’s best for them, but believe it can actually happen.

An amusing McGimmick.

Sarandon gets great support from a cast that includes J.K. Simmons as a laid-back retired cop who pursues Minnie, and Jason Ritter as the ex-boyfriend whom Minnie desperately plots to reunite with her daughter.

The Outpost really is not a movie of wit or soaring inspirational speeches, but of no-holds-barred emotion. A story of young men in their 20s, with dreams and loved ones back home, who had the courage to risk it all for each other.

The biggest thrill for this mild-mannered crew isn't plundering or plank-walking, but Ham Night.

Baumbach seems mainly interested in capturing the whimsical rhythms of unformed post-college life, with money too scarce and roommates too ample — but he already did that, did it better and with more rueful feeling, in the much funnier “Kicking and Screaming,” the debut he made at 25 and one of the best films of the 1990s.

A 21st-century equivalent of the early James Bond flicks.

A misleadingly bland title for a gripping documentary.

Guerrero's attitude toward the teenagers - understanding and affectionate, without being cloying - is what holds your interest.

The prize for most sick-making movie I've ever seen goes to . . . that Driver's Ed film I saw when I was 16. The psychological thriller Hard Candy is right up there, though. I didn't know whether to applaud or barf.

Vaughn is so committed and so unrecognizable here, he actually convinces his rapt audience that a murderous rampage through the penitentiary system is a brilliant idea.

Clemency is remarkable for the understanding it affords to all involved with its wrenching subject matter.

Anything following that spectacular sequence is bound to be something of a letdown - especially when it ends up playing like standard-issue Hollywood melodrama.

Will no doubt figure prominently in the awards season. But be warned, you can cut the gloom with a knife.

Elisabeth Moss is a primal, predatory force in Her Smell, a female-centric spin on the classic debauched rock star story.

Refreshing for its simplicity and its originality in a marketplace dominated by soulless blockbusters.

Elvis & Nixon is the funniest Nixon movie since 1999’s forgotten “Dick.” That comedy was a Watergate-era fantasy, but as incredible as it seems, this one is based more or less directly on fact. A photograph of the meeting is the most requested image at the National Archives.

American Animals takes an appropriately wild approach to its subject, biting off a little more than it can chew, but nevertheless coming up with a truly novel entry in the overcrowded heist genre.

A film that fans of Latin jazz won't want to miss.

Viewers not accustomed to Hong's style of leisurely paced filmmaking - long, static takes with lots of talking - might be tempted to leave early. If they stick around, however, they might find themselves becoming fans of the cerebral South Korean auteur.

The film is worth seeing for George Clooney's performance. More than ever he seems like a Clark Gable for our time.

Director-co-writer Fabrice du Welz has taken a clichéd premise and infused it with a stylish perversity that should have horror fans squealing with delight.

While “Murder On The Orient Express” and “Death On The Nile” were hack-job excuses to force as many disparate and ghastly celebrities onscreen as possible, “Haunting” is an actual, surefooted film with strong performances and a luxurious-yet-frightful tone.

You are unlikely to see a movie about incest made as sensitively and tastefully as Womb. And although the characters speak English, the film is firmly anchored in European sensibilities, thanks to its Hungarian director, Benedek Fliegauf.

See it - if you dare.

The supremely talented Florence Pugh has rapidly rebounded from the “Don’t Worry Darling” debacle with The Wonder, a creepy new Netflix drama that’s unusually strong for the streaming service. For once, it’s the characters who endure hardship — not the audience.

Moves along its tranquil way until about five minutes before the closing credits, when it turns into a terrorist thriller.

The sex, nudity and violence are nonstop, but that's what makes Headhunters exciting entertainment. See it before the Hollywood remake, possibly starring Mark Wahlberg, gets it all wrong.

Eleonore Faucher, first-time director (and co-writer) of the French charmer Sequins, is well aware of Neymark's allure and sees to it that the young woman is seldom out of the frame.

Through it all, Clayman struggles to keep himself, and OC87, on track - and it's easy to cheer his ultimate triumph.

OK, it’s no Frozen — a Let It Go only comes around once every couple of ice ages — but it’s nonetheless a heartfelt and joyful take on a good old dysfunctional family.

Depardieu's days as a leading man might be over, but he has a bright future in quirky roles like Germain.

Yes, The Secret Life of Words owes much to Lars von Trier's 1999 "Breaking the Waves." But Coixet's riff stands on its own thanks to thoughtful performances by Polley and Robbins.

The result is as enlightening for viewers as the journey was for Harris.

Overlong and sometimes schmaltzy — but still hugely engaging.

Red has more snappy joy in store than practically all of last summer's busted blockbusters.

A cut above the season’s other belated sequels like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2’’ and “Zoolander 2.’’

A fanciful little indie brimming with emo music and curious little vignettes, marks a self-conscious but very promising debut for "Scrubs" star Zach Braff.

So deftly does Turn Me On, Dammit! approximate the experience of small-town teenagerhood that occasionally its slowness can frustrate.

Patrick Stewart has a blast playing against type as a soft-spoken white supremacist holding a punk rock band as his temporary prisoners in Jeremy Saulnier’s nicely crafted, low-budget comedy-thriller.

For all its wit and intricacy, the film is often ponderous. [31 Dec 1999, p.038]

The subject is touchy, but Gund handles it with taste and compassion.

It's a funny and occasionally poignant movie.

Joshua falls a bit flat at the end, but overall it delivers some genuine old-school chills - something that was missing when Macaulay Culkin played a similar role in "The Good Son."

Its "I see dead people" premise is shopworn, but Hong Kong brothers Oxide and Danny Pang manage to deliver real skin-prickling jolts with their minimalist horror film.

Zalla constructs a suspenseful movie with no intention of sugarcoating the daily hardships of New York's underclass.

Hollywood's umpteenth tale of robots run amok is surprisingly smart, cool-looking, nicely paced and well-acted.

About the only question not answered by Good Hair is whether Michelle Obama wears a hair extension (most come from religious ceremonies in India) or straightens her hair.

The most gut-bustingly funny movie so far this year.

A wickedly sexy Daryl Hannah is particularly memorable as the Pilager family's black sheep Maddy.

One of the funniest films of the summer so far, it tells the story of five scruffy Peter Pans, who have been playing the same game of tag for 30 years. Sounds ridiculous, right? Well, the tale is (almost) all true.

A thorough but highly entertaining documentary details the making of the notorious 1972 film, the series of legal battles that helped make it immensely popular and the flick's considerable cultural legacy.

A witty and wise midlife comedy, not only represents Peter Riegert's debut as a feature director but gives this gifted veteran performer his juiciest big-screen role in quite some time.

This wacky former Andy Warhol superstar more than holds your interest in an offbeat documentary.

A fascinating front-row seat for what could be history's shortest-lived coup.

Dryly funny, adult-oriented animation -- hand-drawn on computers in a simple but captivating style by the husband-and-wife team.

Very slowly builds to an emotional payoff in a devastating scene where the three main characters simultaneously seek relief in sex.

The finale - a shootout in a church - seems inspired by Hong Kong filmmakers like John Woo and Ringo Lam.

Fast, furious and often funny. But no blood is truly shed (except literally in a playground fight during the opening credits).

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That about sums up the amazing story of Edith Hahn Beer, an Austrian Jew who survived the Holocaust by passing herself off as Aryan.

Doesn't sugarcoat the difficulties faced by this family, but this small gem has a very satisfying ending.

The main attraction is little-seen archival footage going back 50 years, including scenes from the 1960s "Parades and Changes," with artful nudity that was praised in Europe but brought threats of arrest in New York.

Highly entertaining.

Sounds bleak, but turns out to be an absorbing and lively film.

No matter how well you know “Over the Rainbow,” you may never hear it as heartbreakingly performed as Zellweger sings it here.

An entertaining documentary.

All of the characters in this story of love, guilt and redemption feel like real people, facing real dilemmas, and you truly care about what happens to them

One of those rare recent films whose emotional power resonates long after you've left the theater.

It's full of funny stuff, from a hitman forced to drag along his 3-year-old when he can't get a sitter, to one of the goons being asked, "Do you have a Web presence?"

Engrossing.

As one interviewee opines: "It's all about the money."

Yes, it’s your typical Macguffin, with everybody chasing down a trinket, but a fairly creative one with a lot of good jokes. The comic-book-style action sequences also set co-directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado’s movie apart from the litter. The No. 1 reason to watch, though, is Banderas’ top-notch voice performance. If only more A-listers treated their animated film roles as more than a pet project.

A rare and welcome reminder of how original, provocative and moving a low-budget independent film can be.

Not since "300" have I seen such manly mano-a-mano-ing as the iron clash of wills in the docu mentary King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.

It's a tribute to the filmmakers and cast that by the end of Lars and the Real Girl, you can almost accept that Bianca is, well, a real girl.

Like legendary producer Val Lewton in the '40s, director Oren Peli, who shot "Paranormal" in seven days in his own home, understands that what's most frightening is what you don't see but merely suggested.

Though Iris is extremely well-acted and beautifully photographed, some audience members may find themselves agreeing with Bayley's frustrated complaint: "I've never known who you are."

As entertaining as it is amazingly faithful.

It would be easy to mock or patronize them. Cinemania does neither. They seem quite satisfied with their lives, which is more than can be said for a lot of people with more conventional lifestyles.

Writer-director Mary Bronstein’s absorbing psychological drama about a mother at her breaking point is two hours of mounting anxiety and nervousness.

The Romantics isn't as consistent or as well-rounded as its parent, "The Big Chill," or as entertaining as its less literate but more extroverted cousin, "St. Elmo's Fire," but with its tart dialogue and its perfect ending, it is sensitive as well as sagacious. It's a rare combination.

Charming to the max.

Carlos is exciting entertainment, even if its subject's two-decade reign of terror is reprehensible.

Wirkola keeps the narrative taut, wasting not a frame; and he throws in funny moments.

As Mark Twain didn't say, reports of the death of mumblecore are greatly exaggerated. As proof, I offer Andrew Bujalski's wise and wondrous Beeswax.

Deploying an impeccable American accent, Brit Henry Cavill may be as charming as the late great Christopher Reeve.

Bateman has rarely had the opportunity to play a snarling lawman, but with his cool aviators and his bristling putdowns he's perfect, too.

Plot? Who needs a plot? Certainly not neophyte director Matt Porterfield, whose Hamilton gets along just fine without one.

Sudeikis, often cast as genial everyman, is quite good in a more prickly role, and Hall brings her characteristic nuance to a smart but lost character.

Whistle is the feature debut of director-writer Florin Serban, who studied at Columbia University and lists among his influences Robert Bresson, Pedro Almodovar, Bruno Dumont and Ken Loach.

Has two especially memorable sequences: the eye-popping Mass Games and a visit by a group of schoolgirls to incredibly beautiful Mount Paekdu, which is revered by Koreans on both sides of the DMZ.