This reboot starring some of today’s finest comic actors — male or female — is a wonderfully hilarious and boldly imaginative creation in its own right.

Starts out so promisingly that it's a huge disappointment when it ultimately becomes way too predictable - and unbelievable. It's as if "Raging Bull" suddenly morphed into "Rocky."

If you’re looking for a film that will keep you thrillingly off-balance, this is the place.

If you’re open to embracing a film that declines to pander to expectations, you should definitely make a date with The Lobster.

The Rover is a sterling example of the new Australian noir.

Directed by Steve James, whose “Hoop Dreams” Ebert hailed as the best film of the 1990s, it’s the kind of documentary the dying man wanted — honest, humane and inclusive.

Fresh and delightfully offbeat, The Accountant proves that a thriller can be complex and nuanced while fulfilling its mission to entertain.

Next of Kin is a fast-paced, crisply directed, very entertaining genre movie. It has a lot more style and wit than most of the serious fare that's around. [25 Oct 1989, p.3E]

He’s like a globe-trotting Richard Linklater. And with Winterbottom’s first-ever sequel, his “Trip” films now rival Linklater’s “Before” series in charting how a twosome evolves over time. Plus, they’re bloody hilarious.

James Franco is fascinatingly weird as Wiseau, and brother Dave Franco complements him perfectly as a regular guy who has little choice but to go with his flow.

Love & Mercy is artfully but unobtrusively directed by Bill Pohlad.

The multiplexes are full of films that promise little more than a forgettable good time. The Man Who Knew Infinity is just as entertaining, but far more substantial.

It’s not only a fresh and funny spoof of the movie business, it represents a real-life triumph within it.

A gripping account of a pivotal moment in the early days of World War II, grounded by an Oscar-worthy performance by Oldman.

Using a screenplay by Allan Scott, Roeg directs with care, blending fantasy and whimsy with a chilling touch of evil. It works and it works well. [21 Feb 1991, p.4E]

It’s hard to imagine a better Belle than Watson, who radiates much the same intelligence and spunk that she brought to Hermione in the “Harry Potter” films. And Dan Stevens (“Downton Abbey”) is excellent as the soulful Beast.

The most exhilarating film of the year is also the most exhausting.

Star Trek Into Darkness offers much of what the fans expect and not much of what they don't. This character-driven vehicle is a supercharged example of cinematic craftsmanship.

Although you don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy it, Moneyball is one of the best baseball movies imaginable.

Brightly narrated by Kristen Bell, the documentary illustrates the challenges of saving the endangered animals with the story of one bear born in the captive breeding program at Chengdu Panda Base in China.

The Big Sick has a lot of charm. Just don’t expect the revolution in romantic comedy that its aggressive hype would suggest.

Beautifully but simply wrought by director Cindy Meehl, this deft documentary is a poignant reappraisal of what it means to be human.

Keaton, who deserved an Oscar for his performance in “Birdman,” brings to Robinson a bracing blend of humor and authority. Ruffalo is the essence of the newsman who just won’t quit, and McAdams is just as effective as his more low-key colleague.

This is a kaleidoscopic valentine to a great city from a director who knows and loves his subject.

The story unfolds not as contrived drama, but with all the surprise and inevitability of real life.

Bernie could easily have gone horribly wrong. But Black and Linklater finesse this tricky material with as much virtuosity as Bernie brings to that broccoli.

A beautiful movie, probably more erotic than any mainstream film ever made and yet never remotely pornographic, at other times hilariously funny. [05 Oct 1990, p.3F]

The reason District 9 reverberates so loudly is because its moral indignation is cranked to 11.

Daringly unsentimental, 45 Years makes a persuasive case that marriage demands not only patience, but guts.

Most of all, it’s a magical feat, one that turns puppets into personalities and an English meadow into Anderson’s world.

Among recent documentaries, First Position soars to the head of the class.

One of the best adult suspense films of the year. [28 Sept 1990, p.3F]

Farewell My Concubine is a work of passion and compassion, another great work by one of the so-called fifth-generation of directors who are making the Chinese cinema one of the best in the world. [29 Oct 1993, p.3F]

Director Matthew Heineman (“Cartel Land”) sticks with the group as it moves from strategy meetings to safe houses, documenting not only its political commitment but also intimate moments of reflection.

Unlike many action-flick heroes, Snake Plissken is more than welcome the second time around. [09 Aug 1996, p.5E]

The film is hard to watch, but its timeliness is impossible to ignore. Still, a case could be made that Bigelow dwells on the violence a bit too obsessively.

Particularly memorable are scenes in which Calvin loses his cool as Ruby holds onto her calm. It all adds up to a movie that's sparklingly entertaining.

May be too cute to qualify as high art, but it's highly entertaining.

There are no false Hollywood dramatics, no musical cues telling us how we should feel about this boy's battle for dignity and a place in the world. The director lets complex emotions flow naturally out of believable action and dialogue in this very faithful adaptation of a fascinating memoir. [20 August 1993, p.3F]

Although it's slow to unfold, this courtroom drama is so timelessly humane and even-handed it feels like it came from the dockets of Solomon - by way of Sidney Lumet.

Tatum is terrific as a sort of anti-Clooney, and Driver complements him perfectly.

Bursting with style and imagination, The Incredibles 2 sets a standard that few superhero flicks — animated or live-action — can match.

Gilroy vividly evokes both the LA exteriors and newsroom interiors, and the action sequences are fraught with tension.

Rogers has been criticized by conservative pundits and parodied by comedian Eddie Murphy. But those backhanded acknowledgments only confirmed his status as a force to be reckoned with.

Not just another biopic, The Founder is a morality tale that raises provocative questions about consumer culture, its benefits and its consequences. You won’t look at a Big Mac the same way again.

Nowhere Boy is too astutely written and directed to go to predictably melodramatic extremes.

20th Century Women doesn’t have much of a plot — if it has one at all. But the film beautifully evokes the era just before Ronald Reagan entered the Oval Office.

Allen has been criticized for leaving some of the plot lines up in the air and several characters in the lurch. But he seems to be making a point: Neat Hollywood endings are as phony and dangerous as Cristal's ramblings.

An entertaining and sometimes exceptional look at the short life of the man who singlehandedly brought about the boom of martial arts in this country. Starring Jason Scott Lee (no relation), "Dragon" covers Lee's life from his early days in Hong Kong to his final scene from "Enter The Dragon," Lee's only big-budget American movie. [12 May 1993, p.6F]

As they build up steam, two powerful actors keep us wondering whether this train is bound for war or peace.

It's a well-earned curtain call for some of the most beloved characters in one of the best-sustained feats of recent cinema.

Like the recent "Greenberg," Cyrus is not the jokey, polished production you would expect from its Hollywood cast and LA setting, but audiences who are comfortable with discomfort should find it "funny."

Hilariously daring, deeply moving and stereotype-busting in equal measure, Joy Ride is also the raunchiest movie to make you shed a tear.

Winslet deftly balances spunkiness and vulnerability, and Elba (still fondly remembered as a surprisingly erudite criminal on HBO’s “The Wire”) exudes brooding masculinity.

There simply aren’t enough female dirtbags in cinema, so Lawrence’s Maddie Barker — Uber driver, surly bartender and pissed-off Montauk townie — is a refreshing character.

Phoenix is perfectly cast as the ethically problematic Abe, whose novel approach to lifting himself out of an existential funk lends the story its suspense.

The intersex movement is about living fully without fear, shame or trauma, to live life on one’s own terms, and the brightness and vigor that Cohen applies to the tone follows the energy of the activists themselves.

The finale is heavy on CGI. But it never takes away from this respectable entry into the horror genre that values chills over kills.

Posse is an exciting, action-packed Western, and almost all of its social commentary is skillfully embedded in the gripping drama itself. [14 May 1993, p.3G]

Ultimately, William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe is a defense, not a prosecution, and the principal witness remains a shining star.

This thriller about the game-changing website Wikileaks is as smart about cyberspace as “The Social Network,” but there’s a glitch when it shifts the focus from felonious leaders to the misdemeanors of the man who exposed them.

The movie has a hallucinatory intensity that is skillfully mixed with light-comic relief and straight-faced farce. It never takes itself too seriously, and never veers too far in the other direction by surrendering to self-parody. [01 Jul 1994, p.3D]

The film's directors delicately balance the good against the evil and use humor in both song and script as a counterpoint to the darkness. [21 June 1996, p.3E]

With Labor Day, director Jason Reitman turns a Nicholas Sparks scenario into an Alfred Hitchcock creep-show.

Skarsgard, who is perhaps best known for "Good Will Hunting" and "Breaking the Waves," makes the most of his rich role, imbuing Ulrik with a knockabout charm.

This is an entertaining, sexy, cleverly constructed thriller. [09 Mar 1990, p.3F]

Beaches is worth seeing simply for the production number in which Midler puts her bosom to good use, and watching the buck-toothed, flamingo-haired Mayim Bialik perform as Midler at 11 is so realistic one wonders if magic mirrors have been used.[15 Jan 1989, p.6C]

If you’re looking for a film that offers pure escapism, Kong: Skull Island should definitely meet expectations.

The kids in the movie, from musicians to marital artists, are unusually skillful, and Smith seems assured of more starring roles. By the end of The Karate Kid, we can't help cheering, even when we know we've been sucker-punched.

It bodes well for the future of the franchise that Renner and Weisz share not only a gripping predicament but something more important: chemistry.

It's often obscenely funny, but it tickles more than it stings.

If Barbershop: The Next Cut ends on an improbably upbeat note, the franchise is to be commended for daringly stepping outside its comfort zone.

At once an intriguing character study and a refreshingly offbeat romance.

The vocal performances are spot-on, with Murray a standout as the slyly manipulative but ultimately courageous Baloo.

Sex and the City 2 will never be compared to "The Godfather, Part II." But it's everything a fan could want in a sequel.

At once funny and poignant — and not just for moviegoers of a certain age.

Cold in July has all the qualifications of a midnight movie in the making.

After a rough start, the film achieves escape velocity to generate escapist thrills.

Footnote is faintly comic, and director Joseph Cedar mines dark humor from the humiliations of identity checks and pecking orders.

In an Arnold film, plot is pretty much beside the point. Instead, she focuses on the subtleties of character — and her insights can be both enlightening and terrifying.

The screenplay is good and the direction, by Ted Demme (nephew of "Silence of the Lambs" director Jonathan Demme) is taut. [11 Mar 1994, p.3G]

Because Short Term 12 is a small movie about a challenging subject, you may have to accept my word that actress Brie Larson and director Destin Cretton are bright discoveries, but it shouldn’t be long before the wider world can see these talents with the naked eye.

Although Steadman’s artwork seems like sloppy pen-and-ink caricature, there’s a method to the madness.

Stone isn't for everyone. But for all its shortcomings, it is courageously original.

An entertaining tour of Tinseltown served with poisoned popcorn.

Titanic technical achievement.

The movie is more of a character study than a biography, as Bernstein dispenses his gentle wit and wisdom for the camera and for an elite class of student.

Summer Wars has engineered a truce between the familiar and the fantastical.

Weighty issues such as war and divorce are mentioned, but the serious themes pass quickly. The lighthearted story always takes precedent over the special effects, but a scene involving swimming piglets will have kids flashing a sea of smiles.

If you root for documentaries with heart, The Other Dream Team is a slam dunk.

After we hear the hit parade that poured from rural Alabama and meet the men who led it to the top of the charts, we realize that Muscle Shoals could call itself Hitsville, USA.

The sharpest parts of the movie hack through the Hollywood jungle with an insider's certitude. But Apatow is so grounded in the comedy circuit that he can't quite capture the emotional wavelength of the life-and-death drama.

In the infidelity drama Leaving, British reserve gets overtaken by French passion, and the subsequent events have the horrific momentum of a slow-motion car crash.

Working from her own screenplay, director Robin Swicord (“The Jane Austen Book Club”) delivers a film that balances wry humor and sly introspection.

This true story does a great service by honoring the memory of 22 brave men and women and by dramatizing the internal debates within the French population. But in staying true to life, it sacrifices some of the pacing and clarity of a conventional thriller.

The story is sustained by the stubborn love between the siblings and by the conviction of the two fine actors who portray them.

The film combines a pinch of morality with a healthy dose of humor to produce a movie that's entertaining for everyone.

If you’re looking for a film that’s just about guaranteed to make you feel good, you’d be well advised to drop by Daddy’s Home.