The libido and bloodlust flowing from the pint-size Page is the funniest thing in the movie, but elsewhere, the mix of the goofy and ghastly is hard to digest.

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

Working from a screenplay that he co-wrote with Stephen Chin and Jason Smilovic, Phillips delivers a film that raises provocative questions about the economic imperatives of war while masquerading as a buddy comedy.

While Looper lacks the heft of a classic, this wayback machine is worth taking for a spin.

Penn and de Niro are wonderful as the changelings, trying to adjust to a community of goodness after one of badness. They speak English with an accent as thick as an elephant's hide and they make faces that communicate far beyond words. They work well under the direction of Neil Jordan, who steers the movie on its fine course between comedy and drama. [17 Dec 1989, p.7]

Taiwanese director Ang Lee sees the '60s through a rose-colored telephoto lens, but his sympathetic spirit extends the generous message of the hippie era like a passed joint.

Don't be late to this homecoming of director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson's horror series, which begins with a twisty opening sequence that's bloody fun.

What really sets The Man From U.N.C.L.E. apart is its refusal to pander to short attention spans. This is a movie whose charm sneaks up on you, like a spy in the night.

HOW FUNNY CAN a movie be when it consists of stupid jokes, dreadful puns and stale sight gags? Pretty funny, actually. [21 May 1993, p.3G]

Rounded, redemptive and refreshingly free of cynicism.

As Refn is riffing on thriller cliches, he gets solid support from the ensemble. Brooks, a comedic standout since the '70s, makes a sympathetic villain, and Gosling stokes the young-Brando comparisons - instead of settling for Richard Gere.

Chi-Raq is a mess — tonally inconsistent, overbearing in its earnestness and badly in need of editing. But it’s also director Spike Lee’s most passionate film since “25th Hour” (2002).

Im Sang-soo has crafted an erotic thriller whose cool beauty speaks for itself.

Alma is at once a charmer and a contrarian, and Bergsholm achieves that balance with seeming effortlessness. At times, she's more than a bit reminiscent of the young Jodie Foster.

These days, it’s tough to find a comedy that even aspires to sophistication. The Intern entertainingly fills that slot.

Ultimately what makes Gone Girl so watchable is the three-headed monster of Fincher, Pike and Affleck. The director bathes the B-movie scenario in the queasy-green hues of a morgue, while Affleck flashes his million-dollar smile like a dime-store Dracula and the beautifully inscrutable Pike absorbs the light like a wax mannequin. If it’s true that Nick and Amy were made for each other, they were made in a fiendish lab.

Yet so much about The Lovely Bones is so skillfully orchestrated, from the chillingly methodical villainy to the thrillingly paced manhunt, we can accept that we're in the hands of a higher power.

This vision of a violent future makes Elysium well worth seeing, even as the conventional violence of the thriller finale makes it a missed opportunity.

With his actors and crew hewing to the script, the director’s craft is impeccable. His low-light images are suitable for framing, and there’s scarcely a moment of modernity, let alone humor or loose ends, to disrupt the tragic trajectory.

Here’s a toast to the cast and crew: Drinking Buddies is a three-dimensional movie that doesn’t require beer goggles.

Hidden Figures is an admirable attempt to dramatize an overlooked aspect of American history. Working from a screenplay that he co-wrote with Allison Schroeder, director Theodore Melfi (“St. Vincent”) delivers a crowd-pleasing film that often resembles a sitcom but frankly addresses the social inequities of the period.

As biopics go, The Iron Lady is among the more intriguing ones.

This send-up of current horror movies is a go-for-broke hoot, a hot mess of a comedy that doesn’t have a lick of sense. And knowing that going in adds to the often knee-slapping laughs.

To its credit, Celeste and Jesse Forever wants to be more than a formulaic farce. It succeeds to the extent that the neighbors keep up with Jones.

Delivers a feel-good film that nonetheless allows for genuine moments of working-class anger.

An engaging but problematic film. Working from a screenplay that he co-wrote with Laura Terruso, director Michael Showalter (“The Baxter”) seems a bit uncertain in his approach.

House of Gucci is Gaga’s movie, and she won’t let you forget it. She delivers a bravura performance as Patrizia, an alchemical blend of sheer charisma, power of personality, undeniable magnetism, and most importantly, commitment to the bit.

As the wife to a wolf of Wall Street, Blanchett shows us a lost sheep both before and after the slaughter. It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s twitching with life.