My main quibble is that the ending is a bit softer than I might have hoped for, but don't let that dissuade you. Headhunters is a well-oiled, nasty machine.

Glatzer and Westmoreland live in Echo Park, and they have given their film a remarkable sense of place.

Despite its actors, its lush photography and its obvious seriousness of purpose, is as close to a form of torture as any film ever devised. I can't think of any individuals I dislike so much as to force them to see this picture.

Haunting music, the seriousness of the allegations and riveting interviews with Alexander Haig, Christopher Hitchens (whose book inspired the film) and others give "Kissinger" extra drama and urgency.

Heartfelt but somewhat bloated documentary that's partly an homage and partly a literary mystery.

Leigh doesn't sentimentalize these tragic, dead-end lives but allows his characters to be ugly and stupid, to make horrendous mistakes. Sometimes they're laughable, and yet there's never the sense that Leigh is mocking them.

Documentary reaches an exalted level of filmmaking. It explains the very fabric of American society.

Calaizzo’s script is sharp, funny and honest, and nicely avoids movie cliches about obesity. Bell’s performance is very good, both physically — the actress herself lost 40 pounds for the role — and emotionally.

Cause for celebration. It's not only a cracking good film, but it is the first by Taiwanese master Hou Hsiao-hsien to gain a national (though limited) release.

Provocative.

Director Oliver Stone has fashioned in JFK a riveting, dramatic and disturbing look at one of the great whodunits of history. [20 Dec 1991]

Apart from the excellence of this film, Fennell may have tapped into something tonally that truly expresses the moment we’re in. Point being, we’re in a time of horrible ridiculousness, and ridiculous horribleness. The revelation of Promising Young Woman is that its heightened reality feels more real — closer to actual reality — than comedy or drama.

A complex rumination on the nature of true love and how it evolves. It is also a film rooted in Orthodox Jewish faith.

Greg Berlanti’s movie about a teenager’s coming out is nothing if not sincere. More to the point, it’s not very much except sincere.

This film delivers an emotional wallop, and it's hard to argue against that. Don't miss it.

Doesn't rank as a great film, but it's difficult to take your eyes off it, as you wonder what impossibly bizarre thing might happen next.

This is one of the greatest films of the 1950s, a prophetic film about the dangerous power of modern media.

The picture gives the impression of a director in control of his vision, making precisely the film he intends to make. But the vision is a distinctly idiosyncratic one that will appeal only to certain tastes.

What The Thomas Crown Affair has to sell audiences is a fantasy of the life of the super-rich who jet off to Martinique on the spur of the moment, and the super-smart who operate outside the rules.

More than just culinary recommendations, he provides a cultural guide to the Los Angeles that is almost never seen in movies — and then the film makes an argument that Gold’s L.A. is more relevant than the one we all know.

At its titanium core, M3GAN is a mostly on-the-mark commentary on our tech dependence.

A well-made culture-shock documentary.

A lustrously shot, well-acted and immensely moving romantic drama.

Charming and witty, it's also somewhat clumsy.

Ross surrendered himself to the tale, lavishing time on the characters, getting the period details right and making the races look authentic. The result is a faithful, loving piece of work, and the love shows.

A complicated family story that takes place in three distinct time periods, and that's handled with astonishing ease and fluidity by director Claude Miller.

Bong has an original vision and a distinctive style that’s not to be dismissed. He’s our era’s Terry Gilliam, where hope pushes through the tragicomic nihilism.

The sooner you let yourself go with Kim's flow, the more likely you are to come away satisfied. Think of it as South Korea's answer to "Memento," just don't think too hard.

Not a masterpiece that will change your life, but you’ve probably had your life changed enough lately. It’s 90 minutes of thoughtful, atmospheric, well-made entertainment, and that’s more than good enough.

There’s one big problem about No Ordinary Man: The Billy Tipton Documentary: It’s not really about Billy Tipton. Instead, it’s about how transgender representation is perceived in the media, chiefly between 1989, when Tipton died, and current times.

Happy End is the latest from Michael Haneke, an uncompromising filmmaker whose work is sometimes brilliant and sometimes hard to watch, and sometimes both, but not this time. Happy End is just hard to watch.

For adults, Earth misses the mark of riveting storytelling. Earth crams in the dramatic adventures of several species (including penguins) - with the result that it comes up short on telling one really good story.

It would be nice if there were more movies like this, but few have the talent to make them this well — to take a human scale story and make it feel, not bigger than life, but as grand-scale as life actually is.

Risk is far from a narrative masterpiece — it hopscotches all over the place, with even Lady Gaga making an appearance — and it peels only a layer or two from a man with many masks.

Demon Slayer is sharply paced, colorful fun.

The movie has lots of ironic humor, especially in the earlier segments, and laughter doesn't disappear entirely when the thriller element kicks in.

At the very least, it marks the arrival of a filmmaker with great potential. It also presents a metaphysical vision that’s quite peculiar and not very persuasive if you can’t get on its generous wavelength.

The movie consistently delivers in lots of little ways, but in a big way only once, in a spectacular sequence that begins with a series of earthquakes and culminates in an airline catastrophe.

Summer fluff that admits to being summer fluff, but it's no better off for admitting it...Intended as lightweight comedy, but if you think about it too much, it's not so funny.

Infinity Pool is a twisted, visually intriguing and at times unhinged movie designed — elegantly so — to make you squirm (for maximum impact, skip seeing the spoiler-filled trailer).

Simultaneously a sports adventure film, a tear-jerking tale of hope and inspiration and a captivating meditation on culture clash.

It's funny, clever and marginally educational.

It proceeds, weirdly enough, from the truly annoying to the absolutely fascinating.

The picture moves slowly but never sluggishly, and it never grinds down. The measured pace shows real assurance on the part of Costner. [9 Nov 1990, Daily Datebook, p.E1]

You might if you have a strong interest in and at least a general familiarity with Buddhism. If not, the film is a crashing bore, and does little to help the novice understand what the religion is all about.

Ford's bottled-up fierceness is perfectly in sync with the sustained atmosphere of quiet tension provided by director Alan J. Pakula (Sophie's Choice, All the President's Men). Presumed Innocent is more than two hours long and has a leisurely pace, yet maintains a high level of interest most of the way. [27 July 1990, p.E1]

Ultimately, it is Ronan who transcends the material and almost wills “The Outrun” into something more than the sum of its parts. Her Rona is tempestuous and passionate, and soon discovers that to master herself she must surrender to nature.

Jolie has crafted an intimate epic about a tough war subject that probably would have gone unmade without her humanitarian influence and star power. First They Killed My Father is a much more assured film, even if a bogged-down middle section prevents it from greatness.

As for Butler's screenplay, it's less beguiling than preachy.

Let It Rain touches on class issues, feminism, immigration and the particular challenges facing a single, driven career woman in her 40s. But it's graceful in presenting its ideas, and what emerges is not a polemic but a kind of snapshot of modern-day concerns.

The result is startling and repellent -- a challenge to filmgoers accustomed to fake gunfire, fake wounds and cosmeticized death.

Armed with wit and charm to spare, Extra Ordinary is joyful and creative and deserves to find an audience — in this world or the next.

Miles Teller as Brendan McDonough is a standout, beginning as a dead-eyed drug user, then gradually turning into a responsible adult.

So many twists and turns, it seems like fiction.

We encounter a man of great talent and usefulness, and yet someone most of us can be glad never to have met.

Engaging to watch partly because of the three young stars’ personalities — despite a few adolescent squabbles, they remain likable sorts.

Engaging and perceptive.

The movie has a self- deprecating sense of humor and a strong emotional core that vaults it above most action movies that come out this time of year.

As presented here, the novelist Violette Leduc is fascinating and strangely lovable, at least as seen from the audience. But actually knowing her? That would have been work.

One of the Coens’ most inspired, bizarre touches is to cast Tilda Swinton as rival gossip columnists, twins who hate each other. She’s quite funny — blithe and vindictive in one incarnation, insecure and vindictive in the other.

A documentary that doesn’t have the stomach to tell the story of what happened on Jan. 6 explicitly, and to express the real threat to American democracy that that day represents, is of no use to anybody.

The Color Purple now has been a movie, a Broadway show, a revived Broadway show and movie musical when it always should have been a TV miniseries.

Mean-spirited and not remotely clever, though it strives for archness at every turn.

The buddy comedy “Babes” offers keen insights into pregnancy, parenting and longtime friendships, although many get lost in the movie’s bodily function-joke jamboree.

It's brisk and assured and never begs the audience's indulgence. No time is wasted. The movie is, at every moment, either funny or pushing the story forward, or both.

The final frames, which hark back to an iconic TV show, are audacious, yet like everything else in this movie, they are skillfully unadorned.

The plot alone is a thing of beauty.

Slick, glossy, overblown, implausible. [15 July 1988, Daily Notebook, p.E1]

Although the "weird" factor is very much in play here, director Tomer Heymann does a fine job of peeking behind the curtain and discovering real humanity at work. We not only get to know these transsexuals as people, but also their patients.

Full of humor, some exciting scenes and some intelligent parallels between the world of the film and the political and moral issues facing us today.

It’s a movie about a geeky teenager living in the Los Angeles hood, and something about it, or rather everything about it, feels real.

Guadagnino’s filmmaking has never been more vivid.

It’s not a cookie cutter superhero film or predictable horror film. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s form without enough content.

It’s a charming throwback to the martial-arts films of the ’70s and ’80s, with dazzling combat sequences punctuated by stiffly delivered exposition and hammy acting.

If you were ever wondering what "Die Hard" would have been like if Neil LaBute directed it as an art film, prepare to enjoy Lovers of Hate.

The movie is silly and fun enough to enchant younger audiences, not to mention impart life-balance lessons that kids from 8 to 80 ought to know.

Even to those familiar with the bizarre affair, “JT Leroy” offers some new insights, not only because of the presence of Albert and her home movies, but also because of a treasure trove of phone recordings between JT and numerous luminaries.

Long before the finish, Possessor descends into ugliness, with grotesque scenes of violence and lots of blood. You may feel creeped out, like you want to take a bath. But no, not in a good way.

The protagonists and their idle dreams of a fiery wasteland may well be nihilistic. But the movie - with its stunning cinematography and lingering aftertaste of old-school heartbreak - most assuredly is not.

It’s also a film with horrific shots of open graves. By all means see it if you have the inclination, but do be aware of the experience you’re letting yourself in for.

At 2 hours, 21 minutes, feels like a slow death by a thousand cuts.

Just as essential is Seth Rogen, as Adam's best friend. Rogen isn't even 30 yet, but he is already an important actor - not just because he's popular but because he best embodies this particular comic moment.

Guest's boldest move is to present the revue in its entirety. It's as if Mel Brooks had shown the complete "Springtime for Hitler,'' the play within his 1968 movie, "The Producers.''

Driver keeps their tales engaging with great music and vintage clips of CBGB, Club 57, the Mudd Club and the crumbling Lower East Side.

The pacing is superb, quick and agile without being frenzied, and the special effects are jaw-dropping.

There are extraordinary and beautiful things in War Horse, enough of them to make the movie a pleasure and a worthwhile experience, though not enough to trick the eye or get you believing this movie hangs together.

The unsure approach to rich material (based on a story about a newspaper’s homophobic coverage of a drowned man) mixes the sexy and grotesque — and cancels each other’s good parts out.

A one-joke documentary stretched, with surprising success, to full length.

Gluck also directed "Fired Up!," another teen charade with lots of quick-witted verbal raunch. Easy A does a few things better.

Daring in its affirmation that a dowdy woman in her late 60s still can let go of her inhibitions and exhibit a lascivious side.

To be sure, Censored Voices can hardly be seen as anything but a political document, one that shares Oz’s views.

At first, The Oath looks as though it will be a study of the soul-corroding effects of twisted ideology, but it emerges as the reverse.

Stop laughing long enough, and you'll see that it's a picture about compromised lives and love for sale. But no one who watches Priceless will stop laughing for that long.

In the riveting Transsiberian, a train of that name adds international intrigue to the mix.

Sexy, surprising romance.

It's shockingly funny - you don't sit there deciding to laugh. Your own laughter catches you by surprise. [14 Apr 1989]

Though the movie isn't wildly original, its time-tested, artistic mantra of "just go out there and do it" is hard to resist.

While this final segment is the least satisfying, it’s impossible not to be impressed with what Ma accomplishes in the film’s brisk 80 minutes.