It all adds up to a cheekier "Lion King" on a lower budget. But what you miss in spectacle you will make up in laughs.

Juror #2 is very much the work of an engaged, sensitive director — a series of tight, focused scenes informed by strong performances. There’s something classical about it, old-fashioned in the best way, like a 1974 Coupe de Ville or a 1962 Buick Electra. It’s a smooth, solid ride.

Creative and bizarre, maybe too bizarre, but since most action films adhere to a cookie-cutter formula, its quirkiness is most welcome.

This good-natured comedy is set off by the high spirits of its stars.

A warm comic story that's fairly engaging even when no one is singing.

A compelling Irish drama.

There so much entertaining information in Art & Copy, a documentary about modern advertising, that it takes a while to realize we are being sold something

The documentary might not complicate the picture you already had of Miranda, Kail, Veneziale and their team, but it nonetheless offers a profound testament to the value of finding your artistic collaborators.

Not as profound as it is pretty, Hero nevertheless gives us something to ponder beyond Zhang's feat in mounting such a magnificent production.

It's not particularly deep, but it's a good-natured, sprightly comedy that ought to find its most appreciative audience among preteen girls.

Sirens is affectionate toward its characters without getting gushy or softheaded. [11 March 1994, p.C5]

In the new film, War for the Planet of the Apes — the best of the series, by far — the series’ viewpoint comes into focus, and it’s a lot more intricate and enlightened than some unthinking death wish.

Seeing his life from the inside, the impulse to judge him fades. You would not want to trade places.

It's a winning little movie about two people who get together, though they have no business getting together.

Ms. Purple is the kind of low-budget film, with inexpensive-looking slo-mo effects and an overwhelming score (the filmmakers anticipate any and all requests that the violins be cued) one usually sees only in local film festivals.

It is a warm, closely observed satire of lived life, and it is a charmer.

The across-the-board strong performances indicate a sure directorial hand. Everyone is made vivid, down to the smallest roles.

Sparks' strengths include not just a powerful voice but also a radiant niceness, and that becomes part of the story.

The way Boynton Beach residents reach out to one another is enough to make you consider relocating to one of these communities.

Ultimately, the con we witness in the movie is almost as beautiful as the con that is the movie -- believable in the moment, too irresistible to question upon reflection and executed with invigorating confidence.

To be sure, Steve Jobs has its own integrity as the story of the young innovator, but it’s a little like making a movie about Thomas Edison and stopping somewhere between the phonograph and the lightbulb.

Our Friend is both a tribute to a friend and to those rare people that are too humble to realize their own wisdom.

There’s a mood, a feeling about life, that pervades Nocturnal Animals, one that’s expressed in visual terms.

Turns out the first "Matrix" was the One, but the second is still loads of fun.

Channels the spirit of Frank Capra in this serio-sentimental fable about a man who loses his memory but finds his soul.

The Substitute is a guilty pleasure, but it's not garbage. Berenger brings to the role an appealing ruggedness and world-weariness, and Ernie Hudson, as the corrupt principal, is sleazy and elegant. The script isn't bad, either.

Who Are You, Charlie Brown? can be a little too slick and clean, especially for those of us who harbor fond memories of the rough edges in A Charlie Brown Christmas (which premiered back in 1965, and still gets its moment in the sun here). But overall it’s a smart and pleasant revisiting of the Peanuts gang in all their idiosyncratic charm — a charm that remains remarkably durable and true.

Whatever the numbers and whatever the broader entertainment trends, The Wall proves it’s good when big directors have the flexibility to make small projects.