Engrossing and moving story of a alternately warm and combative relationship.

This brilliant contraption of a film could become the hit of the summer. It's a cinematic Rube Goldberg machine whose parts connect in audacious, witty ways. [04 July 1985, p.E.1]

It's a measure of Leigh's sensitivity that the big scene arises naturally, never threatening the delicate fabric of the narrative... And not only has Leigh grown as a storyteller, he appears to have acquired exactly the right amount of filmmaking technique to tell his story.

Director Carl Franklin takes a simple premise and treats it so straightforwardly that the result is jarring - at times, even powerful.

Most big-screen adaptations of small-screen fare seek to discover some deeper - or, at least, more complex - implications of the material. But in this new Fugitive, the filmmakers have taken just the opposite approach.

Moneyball is a thinking person's baseball movie, and a baseball fan's thinking movie.

This delicious, mystical Mexican drama keeps you in an almost constant state of stimulation. [11 June 1993, p.28]

With Heavenly Creatures, we're always on the outside looking in. And if that view is far from boring, it lacks some of the high drama that a more inside perspective might have offered. [23 Dec 1994, p.26]

This picture isn't Shakespeare for the ages, and purists, of course, must be scandalized. But it isn't Shakespeare for the masses, either. This Richard III is only for very particular tastes. To like the film you have to love Shakespeare, but you can't worship him. [16 Feb 1996, p.22]

That humor is a the delicious underpinning to whatever melodrama happens as these five connect and clash. And that humor is what reassures us, even at its darkest moments, that no matter how things work out for the adults, these kids are going to be all right.

If you're looking for a filmmaker to document, for all of humanity, "one of the greatest discoveries in the history of human culture," the great Werner Herzog is your guy.

A quietly compelling if not particularly emotional and sober-minded treatment of an infamous incident.

Nobody's Fool is funny at times and as cuddly as an old teddy bear. But this movie is being taken far too seriously in some circles.

For the first time on the big screen, Williams' whirligig wit is totally unencumbered - and it isn't just free, it's supercharged by animation.

The finale to the Harry Potter saga is, like most of the films in the series, a bit of a slog. But it's a generally satisfying slog.

There's a soap opera going on inside that tin can with a cannon.

With its simple characters and episodic narrative, Kiki's Delivery Service has an unpretentious fairy-tale charm. [04 Sep 1998, p.29]

The Asphalt Jungle is considered to be director John Huston's most brilliant and realistic crime drama. [10 May 1998, p.67]

It's a story about storytelling, with differing versions of events in which people die by the sword. Filled with Yimou's characteristic symbolism and zest for striking colors, it's a fictional account of the unification of China.

Glibly put, this challenging time-skipping rumination is the big screen equivalent of watching that "Tree" grow.

By the end of the film, there's even something vaguely inspirational about our antihero's painful journey through the bowels of his self-created hell.

This is hatred in its purest form. Not a pretty sight, to be sure, but one that is well worth viewing. [04 Jun 1999, p.24]

Get on the Bus turns out to be a better movie than Malcolm X. With the road-picture format Lee is free at last - liberated to set his own pace and follow his better instincts. [16 Oct 1996, p.E1]

What I like best about Husbands and Wives is that for the first time in a long time, Allen seems to be experimenting.

Screenwriter William Goldman's excellent craftsmanship made what could have been an insular political saga into a captivating detective story, earning him an Academy Award. And director Alan Pakula, relying on director Costa-Gavra's 1969 political thriller Z as his inspiration, created an absorbing study of the criminal arrogance that power can incite. [01 Dec 2002, p.9]

Haneke tells this tale a bit too patiently for my taste. But the metaphors are unmistakable, as is the power of the film’s message.

Aliens is one of the most intensely shocking films to open in ages: Even if you think you've got the stamina for cinematic suspense, you may find yourself out in the lobby, midway, catching your breath. This film is also the best monster movie of the year and the best picture of any kind to open so far this summer. Put it another way: Aliens is the Jaws of the '80s.

The Descendants lets Payne show us the Other America and the Other Americans - little lives caught up in small but epic problems far away from the La La Land of Hollywood hype, sex and violence.