Mendoza gives a heart-tugging performance as Mariana.

Unknown actually has enough of a sense of humor to admit what it is: hybrid corn. But it's been crossbred from Hitchcockian stock.

Jigsaw is a wickedly fun villain, if you can put aside the implausibility of a guy who likes to saunter away from his deathbed to kidnap younger, stronger people and devise medieval torture chambers.

Working from a 1982 novel set in Quebec City, director-writer Jacob Tierney provides enough thrills and surprises, even a little satire, to keep viewers' attention.

Everything is still mostly awesome.

A serious, wrenching and oddly poetic documentary.

The Pianist recalls "Schindler's List," even down to its weakness: Just as Spielberg's film turned sentimental in its final half hour, Polanski's work, too, has a schmaltz coda. But that doesn't make The Pianist any less effective.

Wind Chill is very much Blunt's show - there are no other major characters save Holmes - and she even gets to climb a telephone pole in her Prada heels. Brava!

Funny is not a word often used to describe von Trier's output, but "Boss" definitely is that, thanks to a breezy script and a bright cast.

We learn very few specific details about this somewhat monotonous guy, and yet that vagueness makes him and his quest more relatable.

Mixes fact and speculation in a way that's already raised the ire of some on the right as well as on the left.

Black was already the world's biggest little kid, and he might be the only actor who could have made this movie such nimble fun.

This indie, female-centric riff on “Deliverance” is spare, smartly written and shot through with moments of twig-snapping tension.

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

It's a bit less good than McCarthy's earlier films -- Jeffrey Tambor has a large, superfluous role that abruptly disappears, and Ryan, a fine actress, makes a less than entirely convincing spouse for Giamatti. This one is a crowd-pleaser nonetheless.

The house itself - which walks down the street in one impressive scene - is memorably voiced by Kathleen Turner.

The film's most memorable performance is by Eamonn Walker, who is scarily good as the singer known as Howlin' Wolf.

Dutch-born Lotte Verbeek is solid as You, a role that won her the best-actress prize at the Locarno Film Festival.

Delivers plenty of smart dialogue and devises a number of excellent reasons to photograph his cast in situations that suggest the working title for the film might have been "Women in Underwear."

Cross “Dog Day Afternoon’’ with “The Big Short’’ and throw in a dash of “Network’’ and you’ve got Money Monster, a clever financial thriller with comic overtones that’s a solid investment of your time thanks to stellar work by George Clooney and Julia Roberts.

Satisfying, well-acted drama.

The film is a loopy, family-friendly jaunt, with a perfect "Wizard of Oz" finale that isn't in the book, but like the book, it suffers from a chronic plot malfunction.

Honor Among Thieves is a useful reminder of something that’s been forgotten in the age of dense film universes and ultra-violent action films: Light-hearted adventure movies like “The Princess Bride” remain the perfect vehicle for humor, romance, fights and special effects. When done properly, as Dungeons & Dragons is, they give audiences a full-bodied experience that’s hard not to like.

Better than decent. But if Stallone (who wrote and directed the flick) had pulled a few punches to the heart, it could have been truly worthy of that first, glorious movie.

The lyrical The Road Home is less political and less flashy than some previous films by Zhang Yimou.

The film, directed by Chloé Zhao, is an awards-season favorite, and it doesn’t let you forget that for a second. Beneath the veneer of prestige, however, is a prescient and affecting story of a lost American class: van dwellers.

It would be a crime in itself to reveal the surprises of Nine Queens, which provides two solid hours of corking entertainment.

Exploitation pure and simple. But it's artistically redeeming exploitation. If you can handle it, see it.