A parable about greed. But don't let that serious-sounding description keep you away. It also is funny, knowing and immensely enjoyable.

Probably no studio mulls its “brands” as obsessively as Disney does, and The Jungle Book is very much a careful, calculated brand extension, not a reinvention. But that’s just fine: What better lesson to teach kids than respect for what came before you?

Heisenberg's thriller ends with a chase across highways and through woods that will give viewers adrenaline highs of their own.

For those with a high tolerance for violence, Asssault on Precinct 13 is a thriller that actually thrills.

Nothing salacious, and no dropped bombs here. Stan & Ollie portrays the pair less as hot-headed collaborators than a bickering married couple.

The cast is solid, with standout performances by first-timer Habib Boufares as Slimane.

Despite a contrived ending that brings together all the film's characters, Alias Betty is inventive filmmaking.

This low-budget indie has a unique ambiance and surprising depth, both in the performances of its two leads and the writing/directing team of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (“Half Nelson”).

Though never dull and often visually beautiful, this work of operatic sweep doesn't fulfill its own ambitions.

According to Irene Salina's eye-opening documentary Flow, 500,000 to 7 million US residents are sickened by tap water each year.

Caro (“Whale Rider”) largely forgoes the eardrum-shattering ballistics of a typical war movie — yes, there are bombings and shootings, but they’re the backdrop, not the focus. Her film dwells more in the aftermath of violence.

Will Forte continues his transition into serious actorhood with this indie.

Hilarious.

An entertaining, well-made plea for tolerance told from the point of view of a 12-year-old.

He’s great as a celebrity chef who’s forced to re-examine his priorities in this extremely funny and big-hearted comedy that Favreau also wrote.

Somm does a fairly impressive job of making wine tasting somewhat cinematic despite its being essentially unfilmable, at least until taste-o-vision comes along.

Manages to be a satisfying meal, if not quite a feast, for famished adult audiences.

A beautifully filmed, scrupulously authentic but strangely evasive exercise in combat ultra-realism.

The song that rolls at the end credits is Bob Dylan’s “Not Dark Yet.” It’s a perfect coda for Linklater’s movie — it mimics the steady pulse of “Flag”, its warmth and Doc’s cautious optimism in the face of personal tragedy.

Movies about addicts are a dime a dozen, but Cocaine Angel does its own thing, mixing humor with bleakness and resisting the too-common urge to romanticize addiction.

It’s a more somber companion to Marjane Satrapi’s 2007 film “Persepolis,” which explored life under the Iranian Revolution with dark humor: Here, the laughter’s mostly a prelude to tears.

Mostly, the gorgeously shot Queen and Country depicts Bill and his more rebellious mate Percy pursuing beautiful women with varying degrees of success — and pulling pranks on their exasperated superiors, hilariously portrayed by David Thewlis and Richard E. Grant.

Scorsese has great fun with a story that in the final analysis does not really demand to be taken any more seriously as history than "Inglourious Basterds."

Carion gets excellent performances from Emir Kusturica as the Russian and Guillaume Canet as the Frenchman. Each is a filmmaker in his own right -- Canet's directorial résumé includes the thriller "Tell No One" and Kusturica's lists the Serbian black comedies "Underground" and "Black Cat, White Cat."

A charming, (mostly) briskly unsentimental love story, written, directed and acted with remarkable assurance.

Fresh, fast and funny movie.

A satisfying, big-hearted celebration of diversity that will brighten holiday moviegoing.

A compelling, at times bone-chilling study of the male character in crisis.