They center on the devilishly clever, exceedingly enjoyable interludes featuring the aforementioned rodent in situations and circumstances that recall the great animated work of the recently departed Chuck Jones.

Despite its themes of terminal illness, dysfunctional families, and the need to heal old wounds, the film spends more time provoking laughter than tears.

Undemanding, light, and enjoyable.

Like a well-made romantic comedy that follows all the rules, Kodachrome engages because the dialogue pops and the actors are sufficiently invested that they give breadth and depth to characters who are, for the most part, underwritten.

Despite following its stage inspiration and bringing structure to Fellini's "8 1/2" (the ultimate source material), Nine still suffers at times from a lack of narrative drive and it doesn't have the surreal, dreamlike quality of "8 1/2" to fall back upon.

Those looking for a clear-cut chronology of how the murders happened are destined for disappointment. Flashbacks of the crime are short and ambiguous.

This movie is no masterpiece, but it is an electric, colorful production that roasts the media and those obsessed by it over an open flame.

Despite having a slim resume (the quirky indie Safety Not Guaranteed), Trevorrow handles Jurassic World like a pro. He hits all the right notes, giving the two-dimensional characters as much heft as they deserve (which isn't much) and handling the action sequences like a seasoned veteran of Hollywood tent pole features.

What really matters in this film are the lead characters - Resler and Russell - who are interesting enough to warrant such a cinematic endeavor. The upbeat film touches on serious issues without becoming lugubrious.

After a few missteps and/or odd choices for the director (including Dumbo and Dark Shadows), Beetlejuice Beetlejuice puts Burton back in familiar territory and, surrounded by past collaborators and a sense of nostalgia, he thrives.

Those wacky Coens are at it again. And those serious Coens. And those loquacious Coens. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a paean to pre-revisionist Westerns, allows the Oscar-winning brothers to try out nearly every weapon in their considerable arsenal.

The lack of explosions and gunfire makes this an atypical summer thriller, but its breezy brand of unforced and occasionally self-referential entertainment is a lot more fun than pirates, webslingers, and green ogres.

The Help's most apparent flaw is a tendency to paint with broad strokes. With only a few exceptions, it avoids shades of gray.

Miyazaki may not have achieved the level of "Spirited Away," but he's still ahead of the curve.

Nerve does a better job with its style and pacing than it does with its characters but, ultimately, Vee is likable enough for us to stay on the ride with her. For a late-summer throwaway, the film is surprisingly entertaining.

Many times, films that combine comedy and drama do so in an uncomfortable and unwieldy manner. In Slums of Beverly Hills, the approach is natural and satisfying.

I am by nature a cynic and am easily turned off by manufactured sentiment. I dislike "Terms of Endearment" intensely. That I was fully immersed in this world and invested in the characters’ lives is a testament to the movie’s strength.

While this outing will not challenge the likes of "The Natural" for the title of the best baseball movie ever made, it's a solid effort in its own right.

Consider it "Free Willy" with the Loch Ness Monster. It's that kind of family-friendly movie - one that focuses on the friendship between a lonely boy and an animal.

If you like romantic movies but find Hollywood's increasingly sterile formulas to be a poisonous bore, Love Me if You Dare offers an antidote.

Measure of a Man, the sophomore feature effort from British director Jim Loach (the son of the famed filmmaker Ken Loach), effectively captures this difficult-to-pin-down feeling with a largely unsentimental coming-of-age story based on Robert Lipsyte’s novel, “One Fat Summer.”

Although guilty of soft-peddling some harrowing aspects of the experience to achieve the teen-friendly PG-13 rating, Adrift nevertheless gives a flavor of the existential experience inherent in this situation by illustrating that surviving a shipwreck is as much about mental strength as physical endurance and stamina.

Starts slowly, but builds to a satisfying conclusion.

Hitch is 2005's lone legitimate contender for a Valentine's Day movie date.

Despite the cries of "sacrilege" by some Blues Brothers and Saturday Night Live (where the Belushi/Aykroyd act started) die-hards, Blues Brothers 2000 represents a respectable follow-up to a uniquely American classic.

There is sadness and humor here, but all understated.

Matt Ross’ screenplay occasionally stumbles (especially late in the proceedings) and the ending opts for a too-facile resolution but the director/writer offers moments of genuine power and pathos that make it easy to forgive the missteps.

Taylor's approach to this material -- mixing occasional humor with undemanding drama -- works well enough that we don't care about the logical inconsistencies and plot holes. To that end, The Emperor's New Clothes ends up as a pleasant diversion.

Romantic comedies can be like road trip movies in that the journey is often more enjoyable than the inevitable destination. It helps the fantasy when the actors relate to each other in a pleasant, believable fashion. In this case, Kyle Allen and Kathryn Newton interact with sufficient amity to hold our interest, although Newton shines more brightly than Allen.

Overall, the film is smart and engaging, and if it plays a little on our fears of the next big terrorist attack, it does so without feeling exploitative.

Male coming-of-age stories are a dime-a-dozen, but the same cannot be said for the female equivalent, especially when the story is told with intelligence and sensitivity. This makes Ruby in Paradise a rare and welcome change of pace.

In many ways, The Forgiven feels like a CliffsNotes version of a longer, more complex narrative. But, even considering that numerous subplots might benefit from a mini-series approach to the material, the transformation of the central character is handled in a powerful, credible manner.

May not be an absolute triumph, but it's significantly better than just a good effort.

"Capote" is the more intellectual of the two films; Infamous is the more emotional. They exist to complement, not eclipse, one another.

For something billed as a lightweight romantic comedy, What Happened Was... wades through some surprisingly deep waters.

Although it runs too long, it’s nevertheless an enjoyable and satisfying romp through the lives of one woman who makes “being the worst of her selves” an asset.

The film is intricately composed using the shadows created by natural lighting and some of the most astonishing sunsets and landscapes ever captured on screen. Pope's work is immersive and allows viewers to become engaged in a story that occasionally moves a little too slowly.

It is not a step-by-step chronicle of German reunification, but it gives a perspective of the time. It's a bonus that this comes as part of an engrossing and well told story.

Despite its flaws, the movie is compulsively watchable, and few will be bored by it. It's a charming movie that falls short of greatness, but is still worth a solid recommendation.

Best of all, it proves that there are still directors cut from the John Waters mold who aren't content just to push the envelope -- they rip right through it.

BlacKkKlansman comes across as equally entertaining and disturbing, which is most likely what Lee intended.

Let me start by saying that Hercules, Walt Disney Pictures' 35th animated feature, makes for good family entertainment. Good, not great. While this film is capable of providing a ninety minute diversion for both kids and adults, it's a far cry from such recent classics as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.

Director John Dahl has fun with this material, filming the modern-day noir potboiler with such gusto that it's impossible not to fall under its spell.

Sound of Metal tells a story about coping and overcoming while avoiding the narrative pitfall of artifice.

It appears custom-made for a streaming service and will lose nothing from a home viewing. Regardless, with its smart and irreverent screenplay and trio of strong performances, the movie is a winner in whatever circumstances a viewer discovers it.

Although the movie’s foremost goal is to deliver big laughs, it gets points for taking seriously the trauma of parents who, after nurturing and caring for their children over an 18-year period, are forced to let go.

Those who attend this movie expecting to see a superhero smack-down won’t be disappointed, but anyone partial to Captain America’s saga may feel shortchanged.

Although the 1940 landmark may work better as pure family fare, this slightly more mature film (which is by no means child-unfriendly) is artistically and narratively superior.

In this case, character development is neglected in favor of awe-inspiring views. There are times when we feel like we're on the mountain. Unfortunately, our companions - the men and women populating the screen - are never more than half-formed.

Moody, introspective, and meditative, Nomadland makes up for its meandering, sometimes maddeningly slow pace with its insights about human nature and its incisive portrait of indomitability.

As with all of Berg’s films, Patriots Day does an excellent job with sets and locales and is compulsively watchable.

The Mission is beautiful to look at, features impeccable period and setting detail, and offers a fascinating and tragic backstory, but it falls short in many simple human qualities. Overall, it's an impressive motion picture, but lacks the epic greatness sometimes associated with it.

The Man Without a Past is a modern fairy tale. It certainly is divorced from reality. Despite this -– or perhaps because of it -– it's a satisfying motion picture.

This isn’t a hard-edged or particularly nasty film. Its political satire is even-keeled, attacking the system as an entity rather than either party in particular.

While Palm Springs doesn’t stray too far from the idea introduced by "Groundhog Day," it’s the first derivative film to be more deserving of a commendation than derision. Or, to put another way, it feels more like an homage than a rip-off.

A Man for All Seasons offers an engaging, if somewhat dry, history lesson leavened with enough low-key drollness and powerful acting to keep it from ever becoming boring.

Lovers of Dahl's book will almost certainly appreciate what Burton has wrought.

It's hard to imagine a D&D-branded movie doing a better job than this one of bringing the game to a cinematic platform.

This is a funny movie. It delivers plenty of laughs, but it isn't in the same league as "Clerks." I left that movie holding my stomach from laughing so hard.

Mank may be Fincher’s most technically challenging production to-date but it suffers from what some might consider to be the director’s Achilles heel: his laser-focus on perfection results in a tepid emotional temperature. It’s hard to feel much of anything for (or about) any of the characters, even the title one.

It’s solidly entertaining, contains an element of emotional resonance, looks and sounds great, but isn’t special.

Clockwatchers offers a perspective of the American corporate office that is both viciously satirical and depressingly accurate.

The movie is at its best when the audience is in the dark and, because our perspective is June's and she doesn't know what the hell is going on until well into the proceedings, that's when things are the most entertaining.

Disconnect is by turns frustrating and fascinating.

For the briefest of moments, someone not paying attention might mistake Lantana for a mystery. -- Lantana is actually an examination of human interaction.

The way Levine has structured Black Bear turns the possible interconnections between the stories into a puzzle for which there is no ironclad solution. That’s part of the fun – speculating what it all means. For those who prefer a more passive experience, Black Bear offers a dollop of frustration but, for those willing to brush aside the web-like strands entwining the first story with the second, it’s an engaging double-feature.

Despite narrative issues, the film is overall affecting and effective with Ben Affleck’s powerful performance being a driving force.

Oscar's life has the potential to become a Greek tragedy, but Winick keeps things light enough that it resolutely stays a comedy.

Godzilla Minus One isn’t just a good Godzilla movie. It’s an excellent Godzilla movie – arguably among the best ever to grace the screen.

Turns out to be the funniest hard-R comedy since "The Hangover."

It rewards patience not only in the way it crafts its central character but develops the era in which it transpires.

Unlike last year's disastrous "Pinocchio" with Roberto Benigni, this movie proves worth the time, effort, and money to get the whole family to a theater.

As Nina, Aniston not only displays a surprising capacity for both comedy and drama, but she shines with the kind of star quality that only a handful of current performers exhibit.

Free Fire isn’t a “Reservoir Dogs for the 2010s” but there are enough similarities in approach, tone, and style to warrant a comparison. The violence, the cavalcade or profanity, the testosterone & adrenaline – they’re all present and accounted for.

With its underworld violence and straightforward narrative, Shanghai Triad may be Zhang's most accessible film to date. It is not, however, his best work, having neither the epic scope of To Live nor the quiet emotional power of Raise the Red Lantern. Yet there is still much to like about Shanghai Triad, not the least of which is the production's gorgeous look (credit the director and his cinematographer, Li Xiao). Shanghai Triad overflows with memorable imagery and atmosphere. And, as this film verifies, a weak entry by Zhang is often far more engrossing than a strong entry by many other directors.

Viewers will discover that the film has something to offer nearly everyone, whether they are a novice or a black belt in kung fu cinema.

Co-writers Phil Lord & Christopher Miller bring their trademarked unconventional approach to the story and that helps the movie stand-out in what is quickly becoming a wasteland of superhero sameness. But it’s tough to call Across the Spider-Verse “great” without seeing whether the final chapter sticks the landing or falls on its sword.

It's a solid, entertaining monster movie that, at its best, recalls not only its three decades-old namesake but Alien as well.

Without a hint of regret, the filmmaker freely borrows from such diverse sources as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Oliver Stone, and the TV program "C.S.I."

Likely to bring a smile to your lips and a bounce to your step.

A lively, workmanlike musical that only occasionally rises to the heights of its 1991 predecessor and frequently coasts on a lower plane.

Ball may not have the answers but he eloquently and forcefully explores some of the potential ramifications. The ending may be too pat, but the journey to get there - bitter, spicy, and poignant - more than compensates for any last-minute fumbles.

Is it a dark comedy with thriller overtones? Is it a serious message movie presented tongue-in-cheek? Is it an exploitative revenge film that uses a flippant style to undercut the darkness? In actuality, it’s a little of all of these and, although there are times when the movie’s approach seems scattershot and some of the tonal shifts can be jarring, the production as a whole feels rambunctious – a perfect concoction for the #meToo era.

Despite being rooted firmly in "chick flick" territory (with a high "cuteness" index), it has the capacity to please to viewers of both genders who appreciate the genre.

The Italian Job isn't a masterpiece, but it gets the job done.

It's funny as hell at times with a twisted sense of humor that one typically expects from the likes of the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino.

The underwater sequences, which are choreographed and directed with great skill, are Thunderball's standout feature... Thunderball is classic 007 -- not the best picture in the long-running series, to be sure, but a more-than-worthwhile diversion for the action-loving escapist in us all.

Seen exclusively through a narrative lens, there’s nothing special about News of the World. However, this is one of those movies in which the simple story is enriched by the elements that coalesce before, during, and after the production.

Music and Lyrics is frequently appealing, often witty, and occasionally funny, but it's not going to convert skeptics and cynics into sentimentalists.

I would classify Charlie Bartlett as a smart teen film. It's more ambitious and overall more successful than its '80s forebears even though the resemblance is unmistakable.

Like "Raging Bull", Foxcatcher is a dark drama masquerading as a sports movie.

Not an indictment of the Catholic Church as a whole, but a thought-provoking look at what can happen when decent individuals are seduced by the power of their position.

With its lack of pretensions, Miss Potter is that rare breed of cinematic animal: a movie whose entire goal is to entertain and perhaps apply a gentle touch to the heart.

The Secret Garden combines drama, fantasy, and a little bit of light Gothic horror (the old house with its strange noises). The film is visually stunning, from the eerie insides of Misselthwaite Manor to the time-lapse photography of blooming flowers. Zbigniew Preisner's score adds to the atmosphere without ever becoming obvious or intrusive.

Of the two timelines, the one featuring the teenage Diana is more involving than the one featuring the adult version. Both lead actresses give fine performances, but Thurman has less material to work with.

While a majority of the movie is a rambunctious road trip with a few call-outs to Studio Ghibli (Michael Rooker’s Lutador the giant python would likely earn a smile from Miyazaki), there’s heart in the evolving relationship between Gabi and Vivo and a solid emotional payoff at the end.

For the most part, Walkabout is an involving, occasionally hypnotic, motion picture. Some of the photography, including images of the outback and its denizens, is spectacular.

Visually interesting but offers nothing groundbreaking. The animation is competent but not overwhelming. There's no moment of wonderment.