Streep is astonishing, conveying Child's gusto, her quavering voice, even her height.

Age of Ultron has self-aware laughs, grandiose themes and the best effects that money can buy. But at this point, it will take true vision to plot the umpteen sequels without getting trapped in a time loop.

The best kind of comic-book movie. It's stylish and spectacular, yet it's rooted in history and human emotions. It's smart yet it's funny. It's wise yet it kicks ass when it has to. Just like the U.S. of A.

A good nature film - and a great technical achievement.

A charming throwback filled with authentic characters.

Sausage Party is cute and cheeky and harmless. But it is decidedly not for kids.

The several allusions to Thomas Mann’s forbidden-love novel “Death in Venice” are apt, but Yossi is also a standalone film and an extraordinary sequel.

As the blindered Abe, relative-unknown Gelber earns a sympathetic pat on the head. But as the character is braying for attention, he's stuck in his stall, while genuine dark horse Donna Murphy carries the narrative load as the middle-aged co-worker who prances into Abe's daydreams.

A colorful indictment of corporate infestation, but it's missing a prescription.

Looking for a feel-good movie? Fortunately, this film doesn’t qualify.

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.

At its heart, this is a compassionate character study. Robbie’s tenderness toward his son and his remorse for a street fight are the raw ingredients of a ripening consciousness.

Fast Five represents Yankee ingenuity of the brutally stupid kind.

By the time the meta-movie and cute-dog subplots collide in the desert, this high-concept vehicle has run out of gas. Movies about the filmmaking process may never get old, but self-referential hit men smell like yesterday's fish story.

Mara, perhaps best known for her stint on the Netflix series “House of Cards,” isn’t entirely persuasive as a Marine. But she’s appealing as a young woman who takes control of her life with a little help from an unlikely companion. If you have a soft spot for dogs, this is a love story you’ll find irresistible.

Watson is a revelation here as a brand-obsessed bad girl.

Q&A is about 20 minutes too long, and it sometimes gets confusing, but Lumet, who has been making powerful films since Twelve Angry Men in 1957, has not lost his strength. [27 Apr 1990, p.3F]

A film whose beauty lies in the fact that it's never pretty. [30 Aug 1996, p.3E]

By turning a whistle-blower into a tragicomic figure, Soderbergh sustains our interest in a complicated financial scheme and rewards it with a kickback of ghastly laughs.

If The BFG is unlikely to become a cultural phenomenon of the magnitude of “E.T.,” it’s a film that casts a unique and often mesmerizing spell. But it’s also a bit too talky, particularly in the early going, and Spielberg lets numerous opportunities for humor slip by.

Only when the camera is on Vikander does the film transcend its artifice. In one of the year’s best performances, she imbues Gerda with such poignancy and grace that Redmayne all but fades into the background.

Gordon-Levitt is a victim of his own success here. He plays such a convincing cad that we don’t believe or invest in his redemption.

A highly sensual but not very believable love story between a 43-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man, and not much else. [19 Oct 1990, p.3F]

Although there are gentle detour discussions about advertising in classrooms and school buses, Spurlock's ironic approach can't convince us that ads are toxic. Indeed, when he visits sprawling Sao Paolo, Brazil, where all outdoor advertising has been banned, it seems as sterile as Stalingrad.

Fred Schepisi directs smoothly, from a script by Andy Breckman that has some clever lines and notions but could have used a little tinkering. [23 Dec 1994, p.3F]

Ice-T delivers a love letter to hip-hop with Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap.

A very unsettling black comedy....although by the end, you might feel as if you have been assaulted by a combination of ''Blue Velvet'' and ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.'' This is a very impressive directorial debut for Bob Balaban, working from a chilling (and eventually cutting and slashing) script by Christopher Hawthorne. [28 Apr 1989, p.6F]

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

The beauty of October Country, beside its artful images, is how it compresses the windblown fortunes of working-class America into the fallen leaves of one forlorn family.

Finally, in Strange Days, written by ex-husband James Cameron and Jay Cocks, she has a script that is worthy of her intense and intensely personal visual style. The result is a mind-blowing visionary thriller set on the last day of the 20th century in smoldering Los Angeles, a kind of "Blade Runner" for the millennium. [13 Oct 1995, p.3E]

Sean Penn is excellent as a lawyer who gets in way over his modish curls, but the movie belongs to Pacino, who gives a remarkably controlled performance as a Wise Guy desperately trying to get smart. It's one of Pacino's best roles. [12 Nov 1993, p.3G]

It's a good if formulaic adventure film that's lifted above the routine by Hopkins and Bart. [26 Sep 1997, p.E03]

It's a fascinating look under some of the rocks that dot the current landscape... A gripping - sometimes frightening - motion picture. [13 Jan 1989, p.3G]

It's got a grown-up artfulness, but Winter in Wartime could become a lot of boys' favorite movie.

Maybe I enjoyed the similarly themed Kick-Ass because it took me back to that innocent time. Or maybe it's because this is the most brazenly funny bloodbath unleashed on the public since "Pulp Fiction."

It takes awhile for the contemporary moviegoer to adapt to the deliberate pace and the lack of dialogue, but ''Sidewalk Stories'' becomes harder and harder to resist as it goes along, and the ending in a small park filled with homeless people is quite effective. [11 Jan 1990, p.3E]

Perhaps the larger issue is that we just expect better from the company that gave us so much more originality and smarts in movies such as “WALL-E,” “Toy Story” and “Inside Out.” Enjoy it for what it is.

We were promised desolation, but “The Hobbit” just keeps dragon on.

This is another one of those phony movies in which a character burrows into someone else's life without telling them she's an axe murderer, a man or a vampire. Not only that, we're supposed to hope that they get it on. I was hoping that everyone involved would get hit by an asteroid.

Not just a reboot - it's a rejuvenation. From the first image of sensory awakening to the final acceptance of adult responsibility, it pulses with the warm blood of a very human hero.

The delivery pouch for Premium Rush promises a white-hot thriller from the bike-messenger subculture. But what's inside the package seems like a lukewarm action-comedy from the pile of scripts that Matthew Broderick rejected after "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

One of the freshest and most entertaining films of the year.

Moves along well until the characters and situations become too ridiculous to be believed.

You would expect an epic with brains and hearts. Instead we settle for sturdy craft, with a stellar cast struggling to breathe life into the cold material.

Shares the magical appeal of the “Harry Potter” movies, which should come as no surprise.

Paul Simon and a Parisian orangutan tell us the same thing: It's all happening at the zoo.

Two incompatible movies duke it out in Bandslam. Although it's the wimpy teen musical that prevails, it's the misfit coming-of-age story that leaves an impression.

The rich performances from Foster and Gere and the steady direction from Jon Amiel ensure that love is all you need. [09 Feb 1993, p.4D]

I still liked Marshall's movie version of Frankie & Johnny for many of the same reasons I liked his Pretty Woman. Neither one is a big picture, nor particularly realistic, and yet despite their shortcomings - and there are plenty in each - I left the theater feeling good. I also left feeling guilty about feeling good. [17 Oct 1991, p.4E]

The film’s greatest asset is Reynolds, who in Deadpool finally found the role of his dreams. Reynolds totally sells the character’s blend of reckless self-absorption and reluctant heroics.

Director Brad Furman (“The Lincoln Lawyer”) does a serviceable job of keeping the narrative elements in play but has trouble making us care.

The campus comedy Pitch Perfect harmonizes high-end performance with low-brow spoofery. It's like a National Lampoon parody where the targets write the jokes.

Sea of Love is a tough, sexy thriller, one of the most exciting suspense movies of the year, and undoubtedly the funniest. Al Pacino and John Goodman are terrific as detectives teamed up to catch a serial killer who apparently is choosing victims from personal ads in a New York weekly. [17 Sep 1989, p.11F]

Do yourself and your kids a favor. On the way to multiplex to see "The Avengers," tell them The Fairy is about an all-powerful superheroine. Someday, they'll find the words to thank you.

In the context of confounded expectations, director Maxime Giroux may have intended the what’s-next ending to be ironic.

Succeeds as both advocacy and entertainment by focusing on the family.

Targeted toward horror-film junkies looking for a terror throwback, You’re Next mixes gore and dark humor with yet another home invasion plot line.

This melodrama about spousal abuse and honor killings might be too grim to bear, but Kekilli keeps it centered.

This time around, the story seems old and tired as well. The result is a routine space opera, an only moderately entertaining finale to a series that has had some great moments. [6 Dec. 1991, p.3D]

People over 60 are as sexual and complicated as their grandchildren, and there ought to be more movies about them, but only an audience as constipated as these characters could mistake this lukewarm stream of pablum for a hard nugget of truth.

Nev and the filmmakers prove to be charismatic, and at times hilarious, investigators of the unfolding mystery.

A solid remake of Victor Hugo's classic about a man who steals a loaf of bread and the police inspector who hounds him for years because of it, with Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush. Director Bille August's focus on the love-story angles blurs the epic messages about freedom, honor and justice. [07 Jun 1998, p.C6]

Rogue One spins “Star Wars” into a whole new orbit.

Cinema often shines a light on stories that might have been lost to history, and that’s certainly true of A United Kingdom.

With its excellent, offbeat cast, its sprightly pacing and its goofy tone, Tremors is the kind of movie that propels you out of the theater with a grin on your face. [26 Jan 1990, p.3F]

As in his previous film, the game action is secondary to the zany characters, and there certainly are a lot of them. In fact, they bring such charm that White Men Can't Jump, a truly dumb movie, is a very funny movie. [27 Mar 1992, p.3F]

Obviously a labor love, and its very existence in a godforsaken marketplace is a minor miracle.

Timed for the Halloween season, Ouija: Origin of Evil should have horror fans clutching their seats.

With Whitaker, Daniels and screenwriter Danny Strong pulling the strings, The Butler can take a bow.

In such a bleak story, the redemptive ending seems rushed and unconvincing, but director Oliver Schmitz has sent us a timely dispatch from a forgotten corner of the world that is honest above all.

This animated feature is not a perfect movie, but it's an enjoyable one. Like the animated TV series it is based on, it strikes a balance between the adult darkness of the recent Tim Burton movies and the childish silliness of the old TV show. More than anything, this version of Batman recalls the original Bob Kane comic books of the 1940s: dark with light touches, cartoony yet realistic. [31 Dec 1993, p.3F]

The Debt eventually settles into a predictable groove that slightly undercuts its impact. Still, it's a film of ambition and substance.

A genuinely touching and occasionally powerful film, not least because the boys are so disinclined to pity themselves.

The Bay is better than a shallow exercise, but crabby horror fans may have preferred that Levinson took a real plunge.

Even if they don't provide much lift, these boots were made for amusement.

Bill and Ted bouncing through time means the narratives of these films are merely loose assortments of kooky bits and cameos, and “Face the Music” doesn’t stray from that. While it doesn’t quite gel cohesively, in this casual kickback with a pair of old pals, it’s the dudes who remain excellent.

Liman and Cruise previously worked together on the brilliant but overlooked science-fiction flick “Edge of Tomorrow.” Their latest collaboration, which boasts one of Cruise’s best and most charismatic performances, deserves to be a hit.

A refreshingly down-to-earth comedy-drama about family, ambition and the liberating power of music.

A wonderfully acted and stylishly mounted tribute to a screen legend in danger of being forgotten. Unfortunately, the film focuses too much on Grahame’s illness and eventually succumbs to melodrama.

It’s an interesting showcase for Carell, who turns in an uncharacteristically low-key but heartfelt performance. Cranston is more than a bit over the top, but Fishburne balances him out.

Peter Bogdanovich's brilliant direction (on a par with his classic comedy, ''What's Up, Doc?'') has brought a successful adaptation of a stage farce to the screen, conquered the problems of the play-within-a-play format and most important, has lost almost none of the laughs of Michael Frayn's original play. As a result, ''Noises Off'' brings laughter from start to finish because Bogdanovich has captured the essence of physical farce and blended it perfectly with superlative comic dialogue. [24 March 1992, p.4D]

Offers an inside look at Iran in all its cultural complexity.

Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell do yeoman work on behalf of their late friend and, as usual, Gilliam's film is a feast for the eyes. But all the king's men can't corral the horses running roughshod over basics like plot and character.

The first five minutes of this law-enforcement spoof (subtitled ''The Smell of Fear'') are hilarious, as police Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) brings havoc to a White House dinner that features George and Barbara Bush. Although the movie slows down somewhat after that, there are enough giggles and bellylaughs along the way to make this summer comedy hard to resist. [28 June 1991, p.3F]

Episodically structured and lethargically paced, the new film attempts to convince us that there's something incredibly charming about an old guy who makes a habit of ogling young women. Actually, the whole scenario is pretty creepy.

Because the movie captures the period so well and argues so convincingly that the Runaways' very existence was revolutionary, it doesn't have to exaggerate the highs and lows to create a more salable story.

Best appreciated as a movie about being obsessed — a character trait that’s certainly not limited to chess masters.

This homey construct is warm, exactingly crafted and painted with pop-country tones, but it's lacking a deep foundation where the issues that it raises can resonate. For a movie like that, we may have to depend on the Danes.

The performance is both an eerie imitation and a touching revelation. Oscar voters who overlooked Williams for her camouflage roles in "Brokeback Mountain," "Wendy and Lucy" and "Blue Valentine" should now throw diamonds at her feet.

Salt goes down easy, but it's lacking both nourishment and flavor.

An exciting, involving finale, streamlining the complicated end game of Collins’ story without shortchanging the climactic action.

Ferrell's dryly understated performance is a shorthand for an alcoholic's denial and repressed rage, and as Nick grows increasingly desperate for a drink, he keeps his anger stashed like a last beer for emergencies.

Even with a large cast, groovy clothes and cool pop songs, Hawkins holds our attention with a combination of modesty and moral strength.

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.

Chartered to provide both sides of every debate, CNN has positioned itself as the middle ground for discussions of current events. But without a knowledgeable teacher (or filmmaker) to lead such discussions into new territory, they devolve into noisy bull sessions.

X-Men: First Class is a mutant movie, half fun and half fearsome. For those who have developed an immunity to fanboy hype, the contradictory traits may seem to weaken rather than strengthen this beast, but readers of the "X-Men" comics will hail an origin story as satisfying as "Thor."

Nolte gives a superlative performance, rich and full, packed with emotion and yet not overly hysterical. [25 Dec 1991, p.3F]

With all due respect to Poitier as a dramatic actor, "Buck and the Preacher" is as bad a Western as many of the routine white-made Westerns. Its only redeeming feature is Belafonte, who steals the picture from the stone-faced Poitier with an engaging clever comic performance of the likable scraggly bearded rapscallion. [05 May 1972, p.51]