The fact-based Stronger is an inspiring tale of reconciliation and reinvention that sidesteps sentimentality to get to emotional truth.

One of the wildest and funniest satires since the original Airplane. [15 Jun 1990, p.3F]

Reeves is thoroughly persuasive as a killer who takes pride in his expertise. The role he began with 2014’s “John Wick” is tailor-made for his laconic acting style.

There is much to like about this film, good performances and writing, enough true laughs for the comedy label and enough true love to keep the romance fans happy. To top it all off, the soundtrack uses Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra at all the right moments. Try to leave this movie without humming one of the tunes on the way home. [29 July 1994, p.5F]

It’s not necessary to be a classical-music buff to be charmed by this thoroughly entertaining film that never hits a false note.

Davis Guggenheim, the St. Louis director who won an Oscar for "An Inconvenient Truth," mines less controversial material this time around.

We can quibble about the punitive punchline of John Gatins' script, but keeping complexity aloft for so long makes Flight a miraculous feat.

As the highly focused Hanna, Ronan - who had a breakout role in "Atonement" - is simply brilliant.

Deftly balances subtle humor with sharp observations about class, wealth and power.

As memorable as it is insightful, Take This Waltz is one of the best films of the year.

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]

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

The action is contained within a coherent dramatic structure and the puzzle-box paranoia of spy-agency protocol.

An enthralling lament for an era in which beauty is in danger of becoming extinct.

An Oscar-ready collaboration between a great director and a star at the peak of his powers, but at its heart is a message in a bottle reading: "Trapped in paradise. Please send help."

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]

It's one of the funniest and most perceptive films of the year.

I’m pretty sure it would still be one of the best films of the year if the explicit lesbian sex scenes were censored, but it wouldn’t earn a penny in Peoria.

For cinematic sojourners, Hugo is a trip to the moon.

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."

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

Diesel and Johnson are at their testosterone-charged best. Theron, who seems to be auditioning to become the next Bond villain, is ruthlessness personified.

At the end of the day, it’s still a comic-book movie, but one that actually raises serious questions about security, accountability and revenge.

An eye-opening primer in cross-species similarity. We learn that apes are violent and territorial but also that they are capable of creativity and tenderness.

Working from his own screenplay, director David Lowery (“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”) delivers a risky, challenging film that unfolds with a spellbinding momentum. Just what it all means is left to the viewer to contemplate.

Naysayers will no doubt argue that mother! is an incomprehensible mess. But as sheer visceral filmmaking, it’s a must-see. If you’re looking for meaning, read a book.

An action comedy that works. But it’s also a surprisingly poignant romance. This is the summer flick you’ve been waiting for.

Amy Schumer is so scary-good in Trainwreck that it almost seems risky to speak her name.