It’s innovative and exhilarating at times, and then innovative and oppressive and relentless and repetitive and tiresome, but it’s never exactly boring. People will walk out of Climax, not for lack of interest, but for lack of endurance.

The result is so bursting with sight and verbal gags, Afropunk aesthetics and socially conscious subversions that it can be too much to take in. Like a bountiful trick-or-treat haul, you should probably come back to this bag of dank goodies multiple times, rather than try consuming it all in one sitting.

What joy it is to watch the man (Douglas) slime himself on camera.

In his big-screen directing debut, British film maker Danny Boyle demonstrates wit, intelligence and economy of style.

A brisk, entertaining crime thriller.

They're great, every one of them, but the real joy of Little Voice is Horrocks: her impeccable evocation of a timid soul and that eerie voice that sounds so surprising coming out of her.

A potentially great movie winds up buried inside a just OK one.

A fascinating and unsettling look at the ramifications of marital infidelity when shone through that specific geopolitical prism.

As a film, The Birth of a Nation is raw and ungainly, but it’s definitely alive.

That irresistible thing - a movie about the making of a movie - combined with a bit of a history and a political message.

To be sure, The Death of Dick Long is a weird one, in that it starts out intense and gradually loses steam, until nothing really matters and the audience might as well leave. This movie could be used in film schools to teach how not to structure a story.

As played by Douglas, he is a man with a free flow from his spirit through the instrument. It's instinctive. He becomes involved with two women, and this is where the movie could become hokey, but it doesn't. [12 Jun 2005]

Filmmaker Michael Almereyda gives the most persuasive possible account of the upswing in Eggleston's critical standing.

A terrific documentary about forbidden love in the most heinous of places.

It’s mostly delightful; a fun movie that successfully hits the reset button for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Yet it fails to enchant for a reason that might not be fair, but that's just how it is: We've seen outer space simulated so well in sci-fi movies that the real thing seems like old stuff.

Gains its power through what it withholds, namely, sound- bite answers as to why these horrific events happen.

The suspenseful love story Out in the Dark isn't a political film by any stretch, but the intrigue and prejudices of the Arab-Israeli conflict certainly fuel the romance and thrills of this entertaining, taut movie.

Blood Brothers explores compelling, often heart-wrenching moments; and if there’s a flaw, it’s in how little time the film devotes to the aftermath of that tragic rift.

Sally Potter's twin interests - in grand world movements and in the grand internal movements in people lives - are effectively brought to bear in Ginger & Rosa, her best film of the decade.

The big trouble with Raising Arizona is that the Coens overdrew their wild and crazy yarn, and overdo almost every gag and gimmick. [20 Mar 1987]

There's nothing like a good story, and The Galapagos Affair: Satan Comes to Eden has a great one that grabs viewers from the first minute and holds on for two solid hours.

Live Flesh lacks freshness.

So the bottom line: This is an undeniably effective movie that I mostly enjoyed, even though I’m not altogether sure it should ever have been made.

If they weren't so funny and real, and if Linklater hadn't done such a good job in writing their dialogue and casting them, their lack of ambition might seem depressing, and the movie might come off as some smug hymn to negativity. [9 Aug. 1991, p.F3]

If you don’t expect it to be something it isn’t, it’s hard to see how partisans of pop music could fail to enjoy Echo in the Canyon. For rock ’n’ rollers of all ages, it’s mandatory viewing.

The result is a film of sadness and power, the first great 21st century movie about a 21st century subject.

If The Hidden were less obvious, it might have been a zinger of a sci-fi action flick. But this cinematic presentation, now available on home video, is too predictable, and even though wickedly fun at times, it's only halfway as awesome as it might have been.