Before the slightly surreal (self-consciously so) climax, there are some fine set pieces, including a disastrous dinner party that amply showcases Rivette's wonderfully light directorial touch.

The Law in These Parts more than accomplishes its goal of provoking a discussion about imposing laws on people who have no say in making them.

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

This movie sends you into the night thinking, maybe even a little afraid. Bravo, Mr. Fincher.

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

Not many people are making silent horror serials these days, but Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin pushes his love of lurid melodrama to the limit in his latest demented treat, Brand Upon the Brain!

Coppola’s movie is packed with many similarly smart, but never egotistical storytelling decisions and is easily one of the finest films of her career.

This eye-popping, inspired and often-demented (in a good way) cross between "The Red Shoes" and "All About Eve" channels horror maestros David Cronenberg, Brian De Palma and Dario Argento.

And now, your love-it-or-loathe-it movie of 2020.

Indignation is devastating, haunting and important.

Genuinely scary, exquisitely shot -- and very well-acted.

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.

t's an exciting, well-directed thriller that, while providing more than enough action and gore to satisfy genre fans, also offers the political commentary that has characterized zombie movies going back at least as far as "Night of the Living Dead."

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.

A rare case of an American remake that actually improves on a European movie.

Anderson, in her first major non-Scully film role, is lethally miscast.

Be warned: Some of the afflictions are so disturbing, you might have to turn your eyes from the children. Susan Tom doesn't have that option. And 11 children are all the better for it.

Includes insightful and often hilarious archival interviews with Langlois and dozens of associates, as well as wonderful footage of Langlois.

Huppert is, as usual, superb, proving yet again that she is the finest actress working in France today.

A rock bio minus the fun. The sex is guilt-stricken, the drugs are used to treat epilepsy, and the rock 'n' roll is about isolation and despair.

Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and a host of other notables sing the praises of the estranged siblings, whose work is illustrated by copious film clips.

Now that’s how you do a 1980s film sequel.

Although lacking the gravitas and moral conundrums of Facebook-centric “The Social Network,” Johnson’s dweebish film turns every one of these tech breakthroughs into a stirring victory worthy of “We Are The Champions.”

Taylor also makes an impressive comeback as the conflicted daughter who instinctively distrusts Heather, but Starting Out in the Evening is first and foremost a triumph by Frank Langella.

Panahi, who defied a filmmaking ban from the Iranian government to make this, is a director always worth supporting.

A visually stunning film.

An intoxicating, heartbreaking Turkish-German drama that's already won a slew of awards from international film festivals.

A joyous, toe-tapping celebration of a musical style born of sorrow.

An intelligent, extremely well-acted thriller about a mother's endless love for her son.

A tad slow by American standards, but so extremely well-acted and emotionally truthful, it's right up there with "In the Mood for Love" as prime romantic fare for the Valentine's Day weekend.

Watching Thirteen is like spending an hour and a half with a poker-faced teen who's obviously unhappy but refuses to talk about what's wrong.

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

A fantastically entertaining biography.

If the movie has a star, it may be cinematographer Oleg Mutu, the Romanian who lensed “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” and “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days.” Even when the pace wanes, the images are still gripping.

To its credit, this remarkable film does not contrive a happy ending. Under the circumstances, even a mildly hopeful one seems like a triumph of the highest order.

The dialogue is so real that it makes you wince, then laugh.

Love, Antosha manages to be both a deeply sad farewell and a fascinating introduction.

The overwhelming silence is broken mainly by chanting and the ringing of the monastery bells. Call it life in the slow, slow, slow lane.

Sebastián Lelio’s remake of his 2013 Chilean movie “Gloria” is, indeed, a glorious celebration of Julianne Moore at her peak.

Blue Jasmine may sound like a topical satire, but it isn’t really. It’s a character study of an obnoxious, selfish and supremely self-absorbed woman oblivious to the pain she inflicts on others.

The actors bring emotional authenticity to the aftermath of trauma, but despite that and the handsome cinematography, there is also a persistent phoniness.

Director Trey Edward Shults made his debut last year with the indie drama “Krisha,” and this one’s a very different take on family dynamics — not at all your typical horror film.

Despite all of the hideous critters Hellboy encounters, there is a hint that things are considerably weirder elsewhere.

Two possible ways of regarding Please Give: It's shallow. Or maybe it's deeply shallow.

The title is to be taken figuratively, not literally -- is a top-notch study of family angst.

Never much more than hagiography that lets the context of its hero's death remain confused.

Beautiful to look at, with scrumptious period detail and a knowing performance by Choi Min-sik as the portly, goatéed painter. At the same time, Chihwaseon is slow and stilted.

Briski, a New York photographer, spent several years with the pre-teens. But she did more than just film them -- she tried to help them.

A deeply felt evocation of a place and a people by writer-director Matt Porterfield, who set this largely improvised film in his own lower-class Baltimore neighborhood.

Four tremendous films and nine years into the adrenaline-fueled, Reeves-led action series, director Chad Stahelski has yet to let his franchise noticeably dip in quality.

The issues are complex and not easily solved. But no matter which side you are on, you'll be moved by this intimate work.

After a promising start, writer-director Daniel M. Cohen pours on schmaltz straight out of the similarly themed "Diamonds," including the proverbial hookers -- with hearts of gold.

Demonstrates that sometimes letting subjects and the facts speak for themselves can be quietly devastating.

Probably the most definitive portrait of Johnson that we are likely to get.

Part urban thriller, part unorthodox love story, this well-acted portrayal of the shadowy realm occupied by London's illegal immigrants is buoyed by stinging social commentary and a surprising twist of intelligent humor.

Needs less talk, more music.

Essentially a weird series of nonsequiturs. I'd rather be watching a sequel to the much-maligned "Little Nicky" -- a Sandler film that was at least trying to do something interesting -- than this failed experiment in fusing high and low culture.

Gini Reticker's embracing documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell shows how Taylor got his comeuppance from a coalition of tenacious Christian and Muslim women armed only with matching T-shirts.

Director Catherine Gund most successfully depicts the visceral impact of Streb’s work with her footage of the 2012 Olympics.

Based on the true story of the world's largest counterfeiting operation, The Counterfeiters is full of the weird details that, though unsurprising on one level, are so jarringly wrong that they seem fresh: As a reward for producing 134 million pounds sterling, the prisoners get a pingpong table.

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

Christopher Nolan's dramatically and emotionally satisfying wrap-up to the Dark Knight trilogy adroitly avoids clichés and gleefully subverts your expectations at every turn.

It’s as sprawling and pulse-pounding a fight as you’re hoping it will be.

Ghobadi (himself an Iranian Kurd) takes some gorgeous shots against the snow, but his storytelling is uneven and often slow.

Less grim than it sounds, Southern Comfort ends on a note of triumph for its endearing, gender-bending hero.

Variously been described as a thriller, a muckraking exposé and even a satire -- and its refusal to fit neatly into a genre is only part of why it's so utterly disturbing.

How dark is this comedy? It's a big hit in Ireland.

Directed by James Griffiths, this is the sort of hilarious heart-warmer that only comes around once or twice a year to offer a blessed break from darkness, snobbery and streaming schlock. It’s so easy to love, even if love doesn’t come easy for its characters.

Sparse of dialogue, terrifically ominous and full of low-key, high-quality performances, Blue Ruin is a vigilante tale even haters like me can get behind.

Ex Machina offers plenty of intriguing style but a spotty story line.

Park's direction is flawless and Jung Jung-hoon's cinematography is stunning.

The swooping shots and the way the lack of dialogue amplifies ambient sounds are stunning. Story-wise, The Tribe is yet another art-film wallow in cruelty, not nearly as unique as its looks and its world.

Morton deserves an Oscar nomination, but she is unlikely to get one. The movie is too dark and out of the mainstream to impress the conservative fogies who vote for the prizes.

It may take a scorecard to keep track of the complicated relationships in this sorry clan.

This remarkable new documentary from Raymond De Felitta ("City Island") fruitfully revisits the aftermath of a TV doc that his father, Frank, produced for NBC in 1965.

As for Broadway buffs and lovers of old New York, the witty, hilarious and haunting movie starring a totally transformed Ethan Hawke as musical-theater lyricist Lorenz Hart will have them utterly bewitched.

"HP6" is suspenseful and artfully realized. It's a definite improvement over J.K. Rowling's dimly written and exposition-clogged book.

The year’s best film so far.

I was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down my cheeks.

Mylan and Shenk provide an engrossing look at these bright, clean-cut young men and the obstacles they faced in "the land of plenty." In doing so, the filmmakers also reveal a lot about the American character.

One of the oddest, most perplexing -- and delightful -- films to come along this year. And last year, too.

The first filmed Shakespeare comedy in decades that’s actually funny.

The result is an absorbing look at a country still struggling to adjust more than a decade after the fall of communism.

Beautifully composed, The Last Mistress, Breillat's 11th film, deals with the theme she has put forth in such previous work as "Romance" and "Fat Girl": how women deal with sexual desire.

Meant to evoke filmmaking of a bygone era, but this time the director is more restrained visually, while making use of a more conventionally structured script than usual. And he has a real, honest-to-goodness star in Rossellini.

Low-key yet has a lot to say about class struggle.

Curran (“The Painted Veil”) never imposes any additional structure on Davidson’s story, which may test the patience of some viewers. But I found the sprawling, wild visuals in Tracks, and the long silences as the sunburned Robyn traverses some of the world’s least hospitable lands, meditative and moving.

Viewers unfamiliar with the politics of the era might feel lost as the plot unfolds, and the 139-minute running time might be a bit much. But why quibble?

It could turn someone who never heard of the Flaming Lips into a devoted fan.

Hands-down the best movie of the year.

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

Del Toro has whipped up a monster that’s enjoyable enough to stare at, all right. And you’ve gotta admire his handiwork. What’s missing are what the Creature hungers for most of all — life and love.

1917 is a modern war classic and one of the best movies of the year.

Walker's breezy film turns Muniz into a folk hero. And who am I to argue?

I enjoyed this ride of titillation, torment, insanity and exploitation to such a preposterous extent that I’ve considered signing up for online therapy to wrestle with it.

Morris' most gripping film since "The Thin Blue Line," is the year's scariest movie.

Well worth seeing for the terrific performances.

A ho-hum male weepie/road comedy that's worth watching mostly because of a once-in-a-lifetime gathering of England's greatest working-class actors.