THANKS to the boys of summer - nine wonderful child actors - and a sweetly nostalgic story well told by writer-director David Mickey Evans, The Sandlot is a winner. [9 Apr 1993, p.3F]

Memphis Belle is a great movie of men in combat, and the bonding it provides. At the same time, it shows the awful face of war so quietly that it speaks with great volume. [12 Oct 1990, p.3F]

It's a wholly successful sequel - audacious, entertaining and bracingly pertinent.

With its exploded notions of heroism, torture-rack dramatics and kamikaze gusto, it's a fiendishly entertaining flick.

It’s a party where we want to stay, until we’re dragged out kicking and screaming.

Based on a book by Brian Selznick, Wonderstruck is a visually striking film that’s uncompromising in its approach — less about narrative momentum than about surrendering to the power of images.

THIS is one tough movie....When its uncompromising final scene has faded, we are emotionally shattered, left with some inkling of how the citizens of Salem, Mass., must have felt 300 years ago, after a reign of self-righteous, hysterical, scapegoating terror had swept through their claustrophobic town, sending a significant portion of its tiny population to the gallows, or worse. [20 Sept 1996, p.3E]

Gordon-Levitt turns in an Oscar-worthy performance as a man who’s all too aware of what he’s letting himself in for. And Woodley skillfully balances a range of emotions as Lindsay.

The film is perhaps best appreciated as a showcase for the gifted Simonischek, whose portrayal of Winfried/Toni is one for the ages.

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.

With a mad captain at the helm, this documentary version of Jodorowsky’s “Dune” is probably more entertaining than what Hollywood would have done to it, with a clearer message: Our lives are like sands though an hourglass, so dream the impossible dream.

Kristen Wiig is the best sketch comic alive, and Bridesmaids should finally make her a movie star.

As an homage to an influential director, Submarine blows "Super 8" out of the water.

As the deeply principled Donovan, Hanks deftly balances earnestness and humor. And Rylance’s spirited performance is almost certain to yield an Oscar nomination.

The virtue of Inherent Vice is that we can stop chasing the tale and just enjoy the sunset of the ’60s dream.

Pratt is engagingly rascally as Quill, and Saldana brings a sassy charisma to the no-nonsense Gamora. But as might be expected, Baby Groot steals the film.

Thanks in great part to a couple of dozen wonderful soul songs from the 1960s, and a very engaging and talented group of young Dubliners, The Commitments is a thorough delight - warm, funny and deeply human. [13 Sep 1991, p.3F]

Bonnaire, whose films include "Vagabond" and "Monsieur Hire," gets Helene just right, registering her joys and disappointments with finesse.

Notwithstanding exquisite images that evoke Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven," city-slicker audiences may find themselves getting saddle sore. But those with the courage to explore uncharted territory will be rewarded with a rough gem of a movie.

It’s true that not much happens — except cinema at its finest.

You might expect a cartoon about a man and his dog to be strictly for kids, but My Dog Tulip, based on a memoir by J.R. Ackerley, has a psychological richness and anatomical explicitness that is very grown-up.

Credit goes to smart casting of unknowns in the leads, who click uniformly; a packed script that manages not to feel overly long and social commentary that is timeless.

Director John Boorman (Deliverance, Hope and Glory) stretched the limits of 1960s cinematic storytelling with his nonlinear plot construction, experimental camera angles and psychedelic flashbacks. While some of it seems a bit trite by today's standards, it was rather innovative at the time. [05 Jul 2005, p.D1]

Rango is iconic like a spaghetti Western, smart like a '70s conspiracy thriller and lively like a Coen brothers comedy.

Has been criticized as endorsing or condoning violence, but that assessment is unfair and inaccurate. If terrorism is to be eliminated, it must be understood, not oversimplified.

Zobel's unsparing approach is justified. This film should be hard to watch - and it is. But it's also hard to forget.

A rousingly funny sequel. [25 July 1993, p.7D]

Black Swan is ridiculously over the top, but in a way that makes it fascinating to watch.