If Soto’s film is loose and gritty, its satire is remarkably precise. This is a farce of creative life where the only pure artistic intention is a joke.

In our world of gross TikTok hacks for one pot meals, it’s a balm to see things slowed down and with many, many beautifully rustic copper pots and cast-iron pans.

Rarely have the hues of black and white, cinematographically speaking, looked so beautifully lush as in Passing, the hugely impressive directorial debut of actor Rebecca Hall.

Beyond any direct lines of connection between past and present, “Two Prosecutors” has the neatness and timelessness of a parable, one that Gogol might have written, and one that could resonate in any era where the naively courageous challenge fascism.

It’s based on Adam Mars-Jones’ “Box Hill,” but Lighton’s film largely avoids the darker, abusive turns of the novel. Lighton is more keen to enjoy the unfolding dynamics of a relationship in the extreme, one that ultimately, like any other, is guided by needs and wants.

Black Bag follows a run of agilely directed thrillers by Soderbergh made with screenwriter David Koepp. They are both at the height of their almost-too-easy powers; the script, especially, is peppered with delectable dialogue.

It lulls the viewer, along with the protagonist, into a misty, dreamlike delirium until you’re not even certain of what’s right in front of your face.

Time is the fundamental metric of prison life, which makes a documentary like “Daughters,” filmed over years, uniquely, maybe even monstrously capable of capturing its passing.

The focus sometimes gets a bit blurry, to be honest and the whole thing often doesn’t add up to much.

It’s an affecting window into what remains very possibly the most benevolent broadcast ever regularly beamed out on the small screen.

It is deeply personal and imbued with the kind of tenderness that is extremely difficult to see or appreciate in the moment.

Frenchman Louis Malle is an accomplished interpreter of the dreams and dilusions of American smalltimers. He draws first-rate performances from the cast, especially Lancaster as the burned-out hood and Sarandon as the single-minded survivor. [13 Apr 1981]

The loving, lyrical Maite Alberdi -directed documentary is the story of one man’s decline due to Alzheimer’s disease, but it’s so much more. It’s a stronger love story and one that tries to say things about a country’s collective memory, too.

King Beyoncé’s new film takes you on a journey of Black art, music, history and fashion as the superstar transports you to Africa to tell the story of a young man in search of his crown, matched to epic songs she created while inspired by “The Lion King.”

The movie remains a classic for the themes it represents, both on screen and off. [25 June 2005]

Movies like these barely exist anymore, and certainly not in theaters. Tween girls would do well to seek Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret out. It has all the makings of a classic for the next generation.

Just as last year’s beekeeping beauty Honeyland, The Truffle Hunters is a richly allegorical documentary of a vanishing agricultural pastime.

A potent and vividly acted drama about the FBI’s subversion and assassination of Chicago Black Panther leader Fred Hampton.

The interweaving of the characters is a masterpiece of invention. Husbands and Wives ranks with Allen's best, as mature but darker than "Hannah and Her Sisters." The laughs come not as readily, and snickers of recognition will be epidemic. But whatever happens in the courts, Allen remains the screen's best social commentator. [14 Sept 1992]

Pitt, in particular, appears so utterly self-possessed. It’s a swaggering grade-A movie star performance in a movie that celebrates all that movie stars can accomplish — which, for Tarantino, is anything.

How Coogler pulls everything off at once — and makes it cohere, mostly — is a sight to see.

The insanely winning Booksmart boasts too many breakthroughs to count. There are the two leads, Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein, both of whom we’ve seen before but not like this. There is the director, Olivia Wilde, whose debut behind the camera is remarkably assured. And then there is the teen comedy genre, itself, which Booksmart has blown wide open.

It’s a true triumph of storytelling and performance and a reminder that films don’t need to be flashy or big to be great.

Every once in a while a movie comes along that is so stirring and so moving that it stays with you long after it's over. Like a wonderful memory, it washes over your psyche for days and bathes it in some indescribable richness. The Joy Luck Club is just such a movie. This is filmmaking at its best: a wonderful story that transcends cultures. It is beautifully set and filmed, superbly acted and masterfully directed. [7 Sept 1993]

Sirāt is the kind of film that will get under your skin and fester, the kind that will leave you with a pit in your stomach.

Ridley Scott (“Alien”) has produced a new vision that is forbidding. [2 July 1982]

Huston is the unquestioned master of the greed-fueled plot, crammed with treacherous types aiming to destroy each other. He is in top form once more, presenting a gallery of low-lifes that could even baffle Sam Spade. [17 June 1985]

You may think you know Sterling K. Brown, but trust us, you have never seen this version of Brown — a man utterly dripping with villainy, if villainy were in liquid form, and all the more chilling for the calmness with which he intones the most horrific thoughts.