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.