This is a film of powerful ideas, impressive set design, and compelling performances.

Lady Vengeance contains violence (some extreme), but it is not an action film. It is deliberately paced, allowing the audience to have time to reflect upon what's happening. And the comedy is of the gallows variety.

While this is certainly not the first motion picture to blend drawn creations with real life actors, no movie to date has approached it quite this way.

The twists taken by the narrative, the quality of the performances, the superlative cinematography, and Berri's masterful direction make this one of the best motion pictures ever to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The problem is that writer/director Paul Feig became too enamored with his storyline which, at best, could be described as a lame James Bond parody.

In terms of storytelling, voice characterization, and visual appeal, Lilo & Stitch seems more like a wannabe production than an actual Disney effort.

This is “more of the same” but, at least in this case, that’s a good thing.

Send Help makes for an interesting counterpoint to Swept Away; the similarities are too frequent to be coincidental. Yet, where the Wertmüller film openly courted controversy for its misogynistic elements, Send Help is a more straightforward, crowd-pleasing endeavor.

Although there are certainly elements of tragedy in the storyline, this is first and foremost a crowd-pleaser. It touches the heart and, in addition to being Branagh’s most personal film, it’s also his most intimate. Unquestionably one of 2021’s most affecting motion pictures.

Can be best categorized as a fantasy adventure. Unlike many animated movies, it's not a musical, nor is it overstuffed with age-appropriate comedy,

It has the audacity that “Primary Colors” should have displayed, but was afraid to. Bulworth is willing to openly offend to get its point across. That's something that “Primary Colors” was nervous about doing.

When focusing on the micro-verse inside a news van and the four passengers taking the trip, Civil War does a good job dissecting the damage done by a desensitization to violence. But it botches the background and features an ending that belongs in another movie (preferably one featuring Gerard Butler).

There's something delightfully old-fashioned about Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects. It's the kind of thriller that Alfred Hitchcock might make if he was still alive and active today.

You don't just watch Titanic, you experience it.

Blindspotting is a compelling film with much to say about subjects like gentrification and race – things it approaches with a mix of wit and seriousness. However, when it comes to punctuating a core theme of the Black Lives Matters movement, it falls short of the gut-punch delivered by a film such as "Fruitvale Station."

The rarest of movies - a literary multi-character drama. From the erudition of the voiceover narrative to the three dimensionality of the characters, Field's film is the closest it's possible to get to a book without reading one.

T2 features bigger, bolder, more energetic action sequences than its predecessor.

The two actors, Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves), give such forceful performances and interact so well that it's impossible not to be mesmerized by their interaction.

Though there are some narrative hiccups, its emotional core elevates it beyond mere cringeworthy gore.

We've seen this story so many times that it's starting to wear thin. In many ways, Kicking and Screaming is mildly enjoyable, but all it really does is go over old ground with new characters.

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.

Originality may be at a premium here, but The Full Monty offers plenty of opportunities for laughter and genial smiles.

A delight for anyone who loves to absorb dialogue. The movie is almost all talk and no action, and possesses the "feel" (although not the pedigree) of a stage production translated to the screen.

It's a simple story told well, with plenty of lighthearted moments and kernels of thought-provoking material, but little to really excite the cinematic appetite.

An enjoyable, although not ambitious, holiday outing.

To reboot the X-Men franchise, director Bryan Singer, who first gave these characters screen life fourteen years ago, has crafted a continuity-lover's nightmare.

Although there are a few missteps, the movie boasts a deliciously dark tone that makes for compelling viewing.

While the experience it offers may not be to everyone’s taste, it is off-the-beaten path and effective for what it attempts to be.

Tonally, it’s closer to the Adam West television program than to any of the subsequent incarnations, although (if possible) The Lego Batman Movie takes itself even less seriously.

This combination of storytelling, singing, and corny comedy is sometimes a little too slow and long-winded for its own good, but at least the aftertaste isn't bitter.

As written by the brash, funny, and often vulgar comedienne Amy Schumer, Trainwreck is brash, funny, and often vulgar. Its raunchiness is a perfect match for the man who made "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up."

Not a daring film, but it is immensely likable. Every once in a while, a movie comes along that, despite traversing familiar terrain, is made with enough all-around skill that it overcomes its clichéd origins. About a Boy is such a movie.

For this homage, Emily, actor-turned-director Frances O’Connor uses speculation and outright fiction to fill in the threadbare historical tapestry. The result, although impressively mounted and passably entertaining, has the generic feel of many woman-centered 19th century period pieces.

Despite being a little rough around the edges (as is often the case with the work of maverick documentarians), This Film Is Not Yet Rated is more than just an angry diatribe against the MPAA.

Origin offers the best of both worlds: a well-developed story with a three-dimensional lead character who grows over the course of the movie and an intellectually satisfying element folded into the screenplay.

An affecting and endearing collaboration between Miyazaki and Kondo, it weds a coming-of-age story with a flight of fancy to good effect. Although often overshadowed by more popular titles in the Studio Ghibli catalog, this is as deserving as any 1990s Japanese animated film to be seen and enjoyed.

Taut, relentless, and uncompromising, A House of Dynamite’s greatest strength is its sense of plausibility.

Despite being broadly classified as a “monster movie” and featuring sequences that are as wildly bizarre as any Monty Python skit, Okja has serious messages about consumerism, ecology, and food production.

The film offers everything one could ask for from popcorn entertainment.

Not great Disney but good enough to engage viewers young and old.

Those who enjoy gritty, angry Westerns (especially those set in the Australian bush rather than along the American frontier) will find much here to their taste, none of which is in need of additional seasoning.

A pleasant dramatic comedy that overcomes its tonal inconsistencies by presenting an engaging lead character with whom its virtually impossible not to empathize.

As a satire on the media's infatuation with violence and murderers, Natural Born Killers hits the bullseye. The problem is, this is a one-note movie. It repeatedly hammers home the same point until the audience is bludgeoned into senselessness.

Consistently hits the right notes, earning both the tears and smiles that result.

Imogen Poots and Zoe Saldana add their names to the project but, although they give solid turns, their roles are secondary. The star is relative newcomer 15-year old Madison Wolfe, whose performance is note-perfect.

As a documentary, this movie has the same problems as all of those in Moore's oeuvre; as a polemic or a visual op-ed piece, it's an effective piece of filmmaking.

A compelling, thought-provoking, and unsettling drama.

Is it A Bigger Splash or A Bigger Bore? Despite a strong cast, gorgeous cinematography, and a suffocating sense of sexual tension, this movie takes far too long to get off the ground.

The humor - and there's enough of it that Tabloid could be categorized as a comedy - is unforced, arising as it does out of these truth-is-stranger-than-fiction circumstances.

This is a more personal movie for Burton than one might initially suspect. The very fact that he elected to re-tell this story after 28 years is an indication of how much it means to him. And I wouldn't be surprised to learn that, as a kid, he had a dog named Sparky.

One hell of a ride. For better or for worse, it will leave you stunned and reeling.

Bottoms achieves what it sets out to do and, in the process, provides a multiplex-friendly indie movie with breakout potential.

While Cheryl's journey is interesting, it isn't as compelling as the one embarked upon by Christopher McCandless (Into the Wild). The most arresting aspect of Wild isn't Cheryl's perambulation along the 1000-mile long Pacific Crest Trail but the memories that percolate to the surface as flashbacks.

Raya and the Last Dragon should entertain children but adults may fidget from time-to-time and the overall impression is of something that, like many middling Disney titles, will quickly be forgotten.

It’s an uneven film with a tone that veers from playful to menacing. Despite numerous simplifications of the source material, it’s long and, with only a few exceptions, the songs are unremarkable and feel more like filler than organic elements of storytelling.

The Sea Inside is uplifting. This is a movie that may cause viewers to both laugh and cry.

It's better than 90% of the animated fare of the last few years. It's refreshing not to have to qualify the movie's appeal by appending the words, "for the kids."

Despite some minor issues in presenting and pursuing the time travel episodes, My Old Ass rarely missteps and that will likely earn it a place on my end-of-the-year Top 10.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame isn't bad, it's just a little disappointing. Despite the over-hyped and overexaggerated darkness of the production, kids will love it.

The versatile actor brings the full weight of his talent to bear on a difficult role. DiCaprio has to hint at unpleasant secrets in Cobb's past while forging a bond with the audience. It's up to the performer to make Inception more about human beings than about special effects. He succeeds and that's one reason why this movie isn't only about challenging ideas and eye candy.

A fast-paced, engaging science fiction adventure tale.

Director Kevin Macdonald has fashioned a film that is at times nearly as harrowing as his previous endeavor, "Touching the Void."

For those who enjoy ghost stories and are willing to be patient with a movie that gradually unveils its secrets rather than uncovering them all in an orgy of violence and terror, The Orphanage fills a need. The spell it casts early does not evaporate until the epilogue is finished.

The problem with Bones and All isn’t that it’s disgusting or shocking or transgressive; it’s that it’s a tedious slog.

For what we get, Dune: Part One is a great ride.

One of the best thrillers I have seen this year: tight, taut, and unpredictable.

Formula One fans who remember 1976 will no doubt delight in the film but, for those who (like me) were more interested in other things during the year of America's bicentennial, it's not only a good lesson in sports history but an entertaining two hours to spend in a theater.

By entering such fertile, intellectually stimulating and psychologically rich territory, Estes provides us with a freshman feature that is far beyond the generic coming-of-age tale Mean Creek initially seems to be.

The purpose of Bully is to educate and promote discussion. If the problem is not solved, there will be more Columbines and additional stories like Tyler and Ty's.

Most of the film is dull and soporific. Breathtaking photography without emotional involvement can take an audience only so far.

It’s not that there’s anything fundamentally wrong with the film. Some of the individual moments are impactful or effective at evoking nostalgia. But, as they say, the whole is less than the sum of the parts. It feels like a watered-down replica of other, better coming-of-age stories.

A film of uncommon depth, intelligence, and sensitivity.

It doesn’t offer a story of any surprising depth or emotional strength. It’s straightforward which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but the limitations of this telling of Colette’s life is defined by a familiar quality.

It's an uplifting motion picture that will bring smiles to faces, and Boyle's trademark irreverence keeps the feel-good experience from becoming too saccharine.

Lelio’s subdued approach to the material robs it of potential emotional power but also keeps the story grounded.

It’s a promising debut for Kenrick behind the camera and Zovatto is excellent in front of it but it’s hard to shake the incomplete feeling that accompanies a viewing.

Petersen takes what could have been a muddled motion picture and structures it perfectly, creating a strong piece of entertainment. It helps, of course, that he has a capable cast.

Historical fudges aside, Hidden Figures provides an example of determination and talent triumphing over an unfair and repressive system.

A rich, multi- layered portrait of a director from Hollywood's Golden Age whose own life was as interesting as any of his movies.

The pieces and parts assembled herein are familiar, but the manner in which Affleck puts them together results in an engrossing two hours of cinema.

Cyrus is affecting, but not in a clean, easily recognizable way. It is funny, but in a warped manner more likely to provoke unease than unbridled laughter.

Despite a few instances of profanity, the film could be at home fifty years ago. Lost in Paris is a capricious diversion with enough English that subtitle-phobes won’t feel completely adrift.

The movie often feels more like film noir than a war picture both in the way it is shot and in the manner in which the characters are handled.

Sully proves to be by turns engaging, exhilarating, and nail-biting.

Fast-paced and often witty, but ultimately vapid.

For a documentarian of Herzog's stature, Into the Abyss ranks as a disappointment.

Interstellar is simultaneously a big-budget science fiction endeavor and a very simple tale of love and sacrifice. It is by turns edgy, breathtaking, hopeful, and heartbreaking.

This is easily the best family feature of the early year.

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.

While it’s possible to conceive a compelling story constructed out of the strands forming Joy Ride’s threadbare cloak, that narrative would require a better screenplay and a series of grounded, less ostentatious performances.

This is a solid family film material, although one suspects the children will get a little more out of it than their parents.

Granted, one wouldn’t expect a modern-day fairy tale to be socially conscious but there’s something so overt about this materialism that it stains the overall experience.

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.

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.

The film is fascinating and at times disturbing, but Winterbottom's arms-length style mutes any emotional impact.

Breakdown is the latest in a seemingly endless traffic jam of thrillers that opens strong but finishes abominably.

With its offbeat blend of warped humor, dramatic and horror elements, social commentary, and Talking Heads, Dream Scenario may not always be comfortable but it is undeniably provocative.

Eastwood has crafted something that works both as a sports drama and as an examination of the birth pains of the racially unified South Africa.