Danny Collins isn't the most artistic or surprising movie, and Fogelman's appropriation of Lennon's music to explain what's obvious gets stale. But it does contain a wonderful performance by Pacino, when it was debatable if we'd ever say that again.

Anchored by Natalie Portman's uncanny impersonation — wispy voice, aristocratic posture — Jackie fascinates and frustrates, sometimes at once. We can't be certain any of her actions here are true. Some don't seem likely.

Director Wes Ball makes a solid feature film debut, without any noticeable video game envy to his action sequences.

It's easy to see why neither Home Depot nor Lowe's chose to go the product placement route. Too many cleanups in the power tool department.

Nick Cassavetes, like his father, works out his movies through the instincts of the actors, not the camera lens. It's a fitting, and occasionally fitful, eulogy to an unheralded legend. [29 Aug 1997, p.3]

Lethal Weapon is harder-edged than Beverly Hills Cop. It never forgets that it's a detective story, an action-adventure with a dash of cheer. Its climax can stop pacemakers at mid-beat. Trash rarely has been this much fun. [06 Mar 1987, p.1D]

Fortunately, Hooper has a pair of extraordinary actors on which to hang The Danish Girl, two of the finest performances of women this year.

Big Eyes is an entertaining take on a pop culture footnote, short on the bizarre flourishes Burton typically employs.

There are strange, midnight movie pleasures found in Smith's movie.

Edge of Tomorrow may be the best video game movie ever made. Which is strange since it isn't actually based on a video game.

The globetrotting is reined in, the mayhem at each stop just as exciting. Renner is a sturdy action hero, with an interesting face that unlike Damon's appears to have taken a punch or two.

Spurlock's meetings with skeptical corporate types are punctuated by comments from filmmakers about how product placement - or in Quentin Tarantino's case, being turned down by Denny's - influences creativity.

Black Swan is a stage door melodrama putting new spins on cliches as old as "All About Eve" (and maybe Adam). Setting them among ballerinas as opposed to showgirls or movie stars doesn't make them any less familiar.

Youth is a movie of dreamscapes and insinuated feelings, gorgeous and puzzling at once.

It's rare to wish a movie were an hour or two longer, when it already feels an hour longer than it is.

A boxing movie swinging in too many directions at once, as if someone sneaked a third clubber into the ring. All the emotional punches land solidly, to occasionally devastating effect, but at the conclusion you're not sure which competing cliche wins.

It's a simple and obvious story, to be sure, but it's moving. Jed, the dog who plays White Fang, has agate eyes and a face as expressive as a human's. He is beautiful to watch and very well-trained. [21 Jan 1991, p.3D]

Mother and Child is depressively interesting, with characters constantly ruining their best chances at happiness.

Wide Awake isn't going to be a box office smash, nor does it have the artistry that would make that fate a crying shame. It's a nice job performed with an interesting idea and a purity that is uncommon. That alone makes the movie worth a look. [03 Apr 1998, p.7]

Despite its unsavory aspects, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is always a pleasure to observe, so artfully artificial with its green-screened backdrops and CGI props.

We can now agree that Johnson is not only the Sexiest Man Alive but also our strongest, lifting Moana on his character's beefy shoulders, carrying it like other hits before. No movie left behind.

Stone's riveting three-hour movie freely mixes black and white and color documentary footage with pseudo-documentary and dramatic footage, so the line between real and fabrication is constantly blurred. [20 Dec 1991, p.7]

The Farrellys affectionately structure their movie to resemble the Stooges' one-reelers from the 1930s, while the modern setting shows how timeless their rapid-fire puns, insults and pratfalls truly are. Silliness never goes out of style.

Even with its flaws, Snowden is Stone's return to relevance, in subject and execution.

Gibson and Glover never have been more at ease. Their camaraderie and complementing comic styles grow increasingly engaging. There's too little of peroxide-dipped, gold earring-plated Pesci, who takes Lethal Weapon 3 to a higher comic plane whenever he's present. [15 May 1992, p.5]

Director and co-writer Sebastian Lelio keeps the melodrama muted, allowing Vega’s expressive passivity to move viewers. She’s a tragically striking character, a face of abruptly lost love seldom seen in movies.

Encino Man is enormously funny, hip and gross without ever being vulgar. [22 May 1992, p.12]

Rise of the Guardians is an all-star addition to holiday movies lists but the real question is: Which holiday?