A fast-paced, engaging science fiction adventure tale.

Although the moral ambiguity of Straw Dogs has been softened in the remake, the message and the forceful way in which it is delivered remain the same.

K-19 will not go down in the annals of cinema as one of the great submarine stories, but it is an engaging and exciting narrative of Man confronting the Demons of his own fear and paranoia.

Jim Carrey re-invents Horton much as Robin Williams did with the Genie of the Lamp in Disney's animated "Aladdin."

There's an almost poetic quality to the way things develop, with characters becoming increasingly introspective.

Long Shot, a production that’s as much a fantasy in the political realm as in the romantic one, is a pleasant trifle that leaves behind a warm fuzzy feeling, which is all one can realistically ask of movie of this sort.

Death at a Funeral does what a good comedy is supposed to do: generate laughter. The humor gradient is lopsided - the second half, which builds comedic momentum, is significantly funnier than the first half, which is mostly set-up. Still, any such unevenness aside, the overall impression is one of enjoyability.

It's rare for homosexuals in mainstream motion pictures to be presented as individuals rather than icons; Love! Valour! Compassion! defies tradition by proffering its characters as real people with believable problems.

Scholars, psychologists, and theologians can debate the point at length, but there's no doubt that Meyjes' approach is as provocative as it is controversial.

Taken as little more than six disconnected shorts featuring the same group of players in different roles, Cloud Atlas works. It's entertaining and the manner in which it has been edited reduces one's tendency to lose patience with the less engaging stories.

There's a good dose of reality in this story, even if the script occasionally becomes too preachy. The end sequences especially could have been toned down.

Steve Carell's portrayal of Max is just about perfect for the material.

As thrillers go, The River Wild is a cut below a "white-knuckler," but it still has its share of spills and chills.

Although the narrative for Their Finest occasionally rambles (too much time is spent buffing Ambrose’s backstory, which is only tangentially germane to the main tale), it is by-and-large a stirring drama that incorporates lighter moments with scenes of deeply felt tragedy.

Although not on the same high level as certain other chronicles of investigative journalism – All the Presidents Men (Watergate), Spotlight (Catholic Church sex scandals), and The Post (the Pentagon Papers) – She Said nevertheless offers many of the same qualities that made those earlier movies both compelling and memorable.

Apocalypse Now is one of those flawed films that contains enough masterful sequences to compel a viewer. Redux is merely a curiosity, and of interest only to those die-hards who believe this movie to be one of the greatest pictures ever to be projected in a theater.

An engaging romantic comedy that would have been better if the audience wasn't constantly being distracted by mediocre video quality and jerky camera movements.

White Squall is a success because the good elements are so well-orchestrated that they dwarf the few obvious flaws. This film offers just about everything, including a twenty-minute white-knuckle sequence and a chance to shed a few tears. In short, it's first-rate entertainment.

Regardless of who sees or doesn't see Dallas Buyers Club, however, the movie does what it sets out to do by providing a striking portrait of a remarkable character and offering a history lesson to those too young to remember how things were for AIDS sufferers during the dark ages of the 1980s.

Doesn't come close to masterpiece status. There are some great individual scenes and a tremendous performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, but the connecting material is mediocre, leading to the occasional twinge of dissatisfaction.

Pig in the City has been designed with the goal of recapturing the enchanting feel of the original while taking the story in new and different directions. It succeeds at both aims, standing as a worthy sequel to one of the decade's most innovative family features.

Dangerous Beauty is a lavish historical melodrama that has enough suds, sex, and flashes of flesh to appeal to soap opera-lovers and enough substance to attract those of a more intellectual bent.

The end result is a pleasant experience that is more appropriate for families than for adults unaccompanied by young offspring.

Although not on the same level as Haynes’ best movie (2015’s Carol), this one highlights the director’s ability to explore complex and dysfunctional human relationships with insight and intelligence.

Perhaps the best thing that can be said about An American in Paris is that it led directly to the production of Singin' in the Rain. Without the former, there might not have been the latter. Gene Kelly remains one of the best and brightest of the Golden Era musical stars and An American in Paris shows him in fine form. The movie should be remembered for that quality rather than for its questionable Oscar triumph.

Ted is essentially a one-joke movie. Okay, it's a very funny joke, but it's still only one joke.

Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson’s follow-up to 2014’s Inherent Vice, feels a little like a mash-up of Bergman and Hitchcock without the verve of the latter and the subtleties of the former.

It may not be frivolously engaging but it is compelling.

Whether or not Kusama made this film with the intention of proving that this kind of story, often presented with a male character and from a male point-of-view, can be as compelling (and perhaps even more so) with a gender-flip, she has achieved that.

The 30-minute finale, which includes a tense stand-off with Ben's gang, is masterfully executed. It's perfectly paced, suspenseful, and ends in a way that's both appropriate and satisfying.

Nicely paced and fits the bill for those in search of two hours of spy-based action and martial arts. The movie has credibility issues, but none are insurmountable in the name of entertainment.

The Cured suffers from a common marketing problem that afflicts many horror-cross-something hybrids: it’s at times too slow and existential for pure blood and gore lovers and too grotesque for those with a penchant for offbeat, idea-based allegories.

It's a taught, entertaining motion picture that serves its purpose.

As ghost stories go, this one is handled with great subtlety and delicacy.

The Devil Wears Prada is two films in one: a caustic, energetic satire of the fashion world and a cautionary melodrama. The first works; the second doesn't.

As a dramatic thriller, Black Mass has trouble getting into low orbit. There are some tremendous scenes but the narrative as a whole feels more like a chronology of dastardly dealings than the epic tale of a criminal's rise and fall.

The writer/director tries hard to make Minari what it is – a collage of remembrances seen through the eyes of a child then filtered through the perceptions of the fortysomething man he became. It’s a rewarding but not overpowering experience.

Although it might seem odd to call a disaster film “low-key,” the label applies in this case. That shouldn’t be interpreted as a criticism. There are times when a less-is-more approach results in gripping entertainment and The Tunnel is one such example.

That's what we get with The Adventures of Tintin - an unplayable video game that's fast-paced and amusing but never coming close to the best director Steven Spielberg has offered when in his "pure entertainment" mode.

Although nowhere near as lush, artistic, and downright entertaining as the Warren Beatty/Faye Dunaway interpretation, The Highwaymen hews closer to the historical facts (with the climactic ambush being filmed on-location where it happened).

A cagey, claustrophobic noir thriller highlighted by a few clever plot twists, some nicely- honed dialogue, and a half-dozen top-notch performances.

How Green Was My Valley is dated and quaint, but many of its smaller details - such as the poignancy of looking back to something that no longer exists - nevertheless strike a resonant chord.

Constrained by expectations and established character/plot limitations, Incredibles 2 lacks the freshness and ingenuity displayed by its predecessor. It’s good, fun family entertainment but it’s not incredible.

The Fabelmans isn’t likely to go down as “Great Spielberg” or even “Very Good Spielberg” but it’s a warm, enjoyable plunge into the 1950s and 1960s.

Knowledge is not always a good thing and observing how one individual handles this unusual fantasy-tinged situation provides enough compelling drama to make Mark Fergus' debut feature a source of suspense, intrigue, and philosophical musing.

Despite being broadly classified as an "adventure", it has depth and breadth that would put many dramas to shame. Well-produced, acted, and scripted, this is a film that has to be seen to be experienced, even by those who know the entire story.

I, Tonya holds our interest by exposing the falseness and commercialism of Olympic-level skating competitions and illustrating how the perseverance shown by Tonya is perceived not as an asset but a character flaw. The film’s strength is that it does more than simply make us laugh.

Grease works as a musical, a comedy, a light romance, and a gentle satire of teenage life during the '50s. In part because of its persistent high spirits, it's a delight to watch, even 20 years after it first appeared on the screen.

The plot is sparse. This is about acting, dialogue, and character interaction, not narrative.

The synergy between the root cause of the peoples’ unrest and some of what we see today will not be lost on many viewers; it gives Peterloo a sense of immediacy that some history-based films don’t have. I learned things while sitting in the audience and that’s a claim I rarely make about any motion picture circa 2019.

It's quite engaging. It is competently constructed and often compelling, but it will not be mentioned in the same breath as some of its classic predecessors.

With its curious fusion of tear-jerking drama and fish-out-of-water humor, Rental Family is indeed a strange brew—one of those films that sounds slightly ridiculous in synopsis but blossoms into something unexpectedly tender when experienced moment-to-moment.

With Bombshell, thanks in large part to the contributions of his actors, Roach has crafted a compelling “ripped from the headlines” motion picture that unfolds like a page-turner. Unfortunately, with little room for nuance or detail, it lacks the depth necessary to make it more than a superficial dissection of what amounted to low-hanging fruit in the 2010s series of major headline sexual harassment revelations.

It's a symphony of solid storytelling and good feeling that pays tribute to Hollywood's rarely-seen, gentler side.

Anthony Hopkins is probably a shoe-in for an Oscar nomination.

A Complete Unknown isn’t shallow but the screenplay makes no attempt to psychoanalyze its subject. If there’s something to be learned, it’s how uncomfortable it could be to enter this man’s orbit. His music is iconic and speaks to many but, from the first scene to the last, he remains A Complete Unknown.

A cut above the average politically-based thriller.

Calling Maleficent a "modern-day classic," as some have asserted, is overreaching. The production is engaging and appealing but only the passage of time will determine whether it holds in the memory with the strength of its animated predecessor.

There's not a single original moment to be found in Pacific Rim's 130-minute running time, but that doesn't much matter because the familiar beats are conveyed with maximum expertise intended to provide a visceral experience.

300 may not offer masterful storytelling in a conventional sense, but it's hard to beat as a spectacle and that makes it worthwhile viewing for all but the most squeamish of potential audience members.

If you like kinetic movies about crime, criminals, and all sorts of bad behavior, Running Scared will catch and hold your attention.

With The Butler, director Lee Daniels has managed to "Gump" the Civil Rights movement. That's not necessarily a bad thing but there are times when so many famous cameos threaten to become a distraction, especially since they're only tangentially germane to the main story.

Yet, for all of The Master's laudable elements, it falls short of greatness for one simple reason: the storytelling is unspectacular.

The film is well-paced and expertly edited, allowing scenes to flow naturally into one another.

Although the story is weirdly engaging in its own right, the best parts are the prologue and epilogue.

Gracey’s bracing style, which invites some interesting observations (such as whether sex scenes featuring Williams-as-a-chimp should be considered bestiality), gives the movie an edge that it never loses even after we have gotten used to the substitution.

Cold Pursuit has a strong current of dark humor winding through the proceedings. With a nod or two to Quentin Tarantino, he has fashioned a bizarrely entertaining ode to violence, gangsters, and heavy snowfall in the Rockies.

For those who enjoy their sleuthing on the big screen (even IMAX) with impressively conceived set pieces, evocative performances, gothic twists and turns, and a drizzling of ghostly apparitions, A Haunting in Venice delivers.

It's a funny movie, although rarely is the humor of the loud, obnoxious kind we have come to associate with Ferrell. It's not unlike "Blazing Saddles."

It doesn’t break any molds but expertly crafts familiar material into an end product that will likely appeal to a wide audience.

The R, however, isn’t for the usual “extreme gore” of a slasher movie. Instead, it’s mainly for profanity. Get Out has only a little blood and viscera; the approach of writer/first time director Jordan Peele is to approach the more stomach-churning aspects of his production with tact.

Overall, while not as strong in terms of plotting or character development, Prince Caspian is nevertheless a better cinematic experience than its predecessor, if only because it feels more confident and polished.

Put together on a miniscule budget, the film has all the power, drama, and tension of a big-budget Hollywood thriller.

Crocodile Dundee is a breezy, fun affair - a trifle that is extremely pleasant to sample and leaves no bitter aftertaste.

Like the little-seen 2004 mockumentary, "Confederate States of America," Sorry to Bother You blends conventional comedy with political satire to produce a film that will generate laughter and a sense of discomfort in equal doses.

Brassed Off! is a traditional feel-good motion picture with an element of social commentary thrown in for good measure.

Man of Steel is, first and foremost, a great spectacle.

As a means of non-participatory time travel and non-intellectual stimulation, it's successful. Toe-tapping and eye-rolling are equally forgivable. Rock on.

The special effects budget is on the high side but those effects serve the story rather than the other way around, and Paul is all the better for it.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not only is Life funny (and at times downright hilarious), but it also offers a light portion of sweetened social commentary and a sometime-affecting buddy element.

The result may peter out on the way to an anticlimactic conclusion but it’s fun while it lasts and at least one of the three peerless female leads should get some kind of Oscar recognition. (My bet is on Colman.)

Despite its uneven tone, the film is compelling and, perhaps more importantly, relevant even though the actual historical events occurred two decades ago.

Many years ago, an acquaintance of mine said “Who needs good art when you’ve got great trash” and that applies here. Although I would stop short of calling this a “gem,” it is at times creepily effective, at least during its first three-fourths. As the film approaches its climax, it loses some of its uniqueness but there’s plenty to like about it before it starts to feel overly familiar.

The devilishly clever script tries a lot of things. Not all of them work, but it's hard not to admire Whedon and Goddard for the attempts. This is definitely not your standard kids-get-slaughtered-by-zombies motion picture.

Linklater has crafted an entertaining motion picture.

The story is simple, as befits a movie that's more about visual flash, technical bravura, and ideas than plot and character development. TRON turns into an action-oriented endeavor, with characters attempting to make their way through the video game inspired landscape of the mainframe to the goal that will achieve victory.

Blank uses humor to make her points and they are all-the-more memorable as a result.

Demand for the movie is high and, although it’s not the be-all/end-all of superhero movies, its anarchic and rambunctious approach to the genre results in an entertaining hybrid of comic book action and straightforward satire.

As family films go, this one offers an engaging and exciting 90 minutes.

There's enough compelling drama here to overcome elements of artifice. Men, Women & Children feels meaningful although perhaps not profound.

Oppenheimer is an indication that Nolan refuses to be pigeonholed as a director. While there’s something to be admired about that, this isn’t a home run. Still, many of the flaws are more than compensated for by the flashes of brilliance and the strength of the central character’s presentation.

It does what all good coming of age movies do, and that makes it a worthy and welcome entry into the genre.

A touching, well-made motion picture whose only real flaw lies in the overfamiliar storyline.

The real reason to see Slam, however, isn't as much for the story as it is for the energy and tone. The moments when Slam soars makes the rest of it palatable.

The movie demands a willing suspension of disbelief and, for those who can accommodate, it opens a portal into a hellish, allegorical nightmare about the placid myth of suburbia gone wrong.

In the final analysis, the movie doesn't offer much about the subject that hasn't been previously explored, but the soil is fertile and many ideas germinate.

Horror/comedies often tread too far to one side or the other of that fine line; Tremors walks it like a tightrope.

Shooter does what any good thriller should accomplish - it thrills. It's fast-paced, energetic, and doesn't follow a path that seems pre-ordained from the beginning.