Emphasizes backing up wishes with hard work. That proviso is a thoughtful message for young moviegoers.

Yet it would be wrong, or at least simplistic, to dismiss Celine as a globe-spanning ego trip. Directed by Stephane Laporte, the movie offers something we seldom see anymore from public figures: grandiosity without either apology or arrogance.

When have we seen the same performer playing both parts in a sexual situation? It happens here, not once but twice.

It does deliver on the mayhem front.

Another invigorating, extremely raunchy sports movie from Ron Shelton .

The three-hour dramatics are occasionally stilted, but here's the real non-CGI deal. [01 Feb 2008, p.6D]

Though not exactly dynamic, the movie offers insights into a specific culture. Ashley Rowe's photography is exquisite, and Driver has never been better. [14 Aug 1998]

A quintessentially European, methodically paced and intelligent slice of life.

Cronenberg has crafted a story that brings together what we do to our bodies to feel and look good – though that’s sometimes in the eye of the beholder – and the synthetic materials that play a key role in both our modern lives and environmental crises.

Top-shelf Shyamalan. Centered on a family having to make the most dreadful of decisions, “Knock” is a well-crafted intimate thriller that plays with your expectations and immerses you in a disconcerting situation.

The result is far from perfect, but to its many merits, add timing. You never get a movie with this kind of story in mid-August.

Any qualms that The Addams Family movie might be more creaky than kooky quickly evaporate, like mist over a still-toasty cadaver. [22 Nov 1991, p.1D]

An equitably rude comedy about abortion, brazen by definition but also fairly droll. It's probably too schematic to reward more than a single viewing, but as a provocative one-time surprise it may become a specialized sleeper. [13 December 1996, p.4D]

The result isn't quite a Michael Moore movie without the hubris, but it's reasonably close. It's thoughtful, and you have to take it seriously and with respect.

The pace is fast, many of the performers are attractive, and even the end-credits montage is zippier than usual.

Ben Affleck brings needed nuance to old-fashioned brains and brawn as an action hero with high-functioning autism in The Accountant.

The movie features a musical score aimed more at boomer parents than their tykes.

What gives In the Land of Women its singular charm is the charismatic Adam Brody, the star of TV's "The OC."

A poetic and lovely tale, told as a silent picture with music and narration.

The sci-fi survival horror sequel A Quiet Place Part II doesn’t quite live up to the refreshing feel or innovative novelty of the original 2018 hit, where silence is truly golden in a post-apocalyptic existence full of blind creatures that attack noisy things and noisier humans. But the creatures are still freaky, the soundscapes are still interesting, Emily Blunt is still the second coming of Sigourney Weaver and this time the storyline expands the world, plus lets the kids shoulder some of the live-or-die derring-do. It also works as one heck of a chilling fix for audiences dipping their toes back into reopened cinemas.

A largely irresistible puff piece.

Stands apart for its raw, quiet emotion and its shattering sense of truth.

While not phenomenal, especially compared to the rest of the Spielberg oeuvre, Spies still hits the spot.

The movie also has a lot in common with Gracey’s most famous effort, “The Greatest Showman,” featuring well-crafted, effervescent musical numbers doing what they can to make up for oversentimentality and an unfocused narrative.

A film noir detective story that works for both devotees of the series and the uninitiated.

After two mediocre 2000s film featuring Marvel’s legendary superhero family, and an atrocious third outing in 2015, the foursome makes its Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in a combo sci-fi/disaster flick full of retrofuturistic 1960s flavor.

Though there are scenes in Always (both intimate and spectacular) I love, the film does seem a bit asking-for-it-weightless following an Indiana Jones sequel. Yet if, as I suspect, many reviewers elect to carve up Always, the film will pick up its devotees - now or down the road. [22 Dec. 1989, p.1D]

A coming-of-age tale that truly floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee.

Cult director Sam Raimi has come a long way since giving us killer tree limbs in whichever (I've repressed it) Evil Dead pic had them. With good leads and a few bucks, he's come up with a high-octane revenge piece mentionable in the same breath as its predecessors. [24 Aug. 1990]

The film is an impressive effort, yet often a trying one.

Though the experience is nerve-racking and cathartic under Campbell's skilled direction, musings on family and grief and Gibson's intense, but subtle, performance stay with us longest.

The Greatest raises compelling questions about how parents continue on after the death of a child.

Clumsier hands could have planted this load of pungent sap and come up with sticky fingers. But the creators of this based-on-truth fable carefully cultivate the material so it comes off fresher than it sounds.

A raw and powerful suspense thriller.

Besides being filled with Chappelle's hilarious sense of humor, the movie features life-affirming messages and great music by serious rap artists with political, socio-cultural and spiritual themes.

Displays so much promise with its beautiful cinematography and superb portrayal by Cate Blanchett that you scarcely notice (or even care) that the story is a bit thin.

When a movie is a hybrid of this sort, it can be tough to strike just the right tone. Mostly, The Hunting Party manages.

Though not exactly a valentine to the octogenarian Nobel Peace Prize winner, the film is a lovingly rendered, candid and intimate portrait.

The economical, fast-paced style and creepy mood are reminiscent of "The Twilight Zone."

Truth be told, Joel and Ethan's game is a little off, inconsistent and at times just plain incoherent. But they roll enough solid laughs and eye-tickling camera tricks to satisfy. [6 March 1998]

There's a lot thrown in here for two hours, and Apatow could easily have lost about 30 minutes of high jinks and gotten the point across that everybody has their somebody. Yet with Schumer driving the action, Trainwreck may be his most impactful ride yet.

Earth to Echo is about adventure, bravery and excitement, but mostly it's about friendship— a subject that resonates with audiences of all ages.

As a forum for its actors and for the big-screen directorial debut of multi-Emmy winner Gregory Hoblit, the film is up to the job.

The No. 1 thing Only the Strong Survive will have to survive is being overshadowed by "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." Less focused than last fall's slam-dunk Funk remembrance, Survive is a more modest soul review.

Mean Girls has the same fancifully dead-on tone as the 1995 high-school comedy "Clueless" without the sweetness because, hey, these snits are mean.

A timely story, given the political upheaval in Iran, it is emotionally explosive. It also is profoundly compelling.

This Lion King is akin to a revival of an iconic Broadway musical, with an all-star cast and a few welcome improvements but lacking a certain magic and originality.

There's a lot here to feed crime-fiction enthusiasts.

Tonally, Ant-Man is a little all over the place — at times, it's a quirky comedy, heist film, trippy sci-fi project and family drama, never able to really blend everything in a cohesive fashion.... That said, when it's on its game, Ant-Man does some of the best stuff ever in a Marvel movie.

While the narrative doesn’t totally land, the voice cast is solid and the vibe is consistently joyous.

It's over-the-top stuff, to be sure. But Bosses never crosses that line into the macabre.

This latest Bourne doesn't send adrenaline surging the way "Ultimatum" did, but it's still a tense, well-acted thrill ride.

Dial of Destiny is a solid Indiana Jones adventure that ultimately dodges the giant boulder of expectations. But as a franchise closer, it’s an anticlimactic affair that, while not a memorably rousing last crusade, at least bids Indy adieu in an emotionally satisfying fashion.

Imagine: a pseudo-intellectual baseball fantasy loaded up, like a spitter, with seductive sentiment. You can distrust the mix, but still like the movie - and I do. [21 Apr 1989, Life, p.D1]

The story of healing and courage is told with a refreshing lack of cynicism, not surprising since it's from the same producers as the wonderful "My Dog Skip."

A touching story of hope, vitality and art rising from the bleakest conditions.

A psychological drama with an intriguing ambiguity that challenges the viewer's loyalties and preconceived notions. For the first half of the movie you find yourself on the side of a hunted man. Then as the story unfolds, his pursuer becomes the one you root for.

I enjoyed everything about Moonstruck except for its meandering mid-section. On cassette, with vino accompaniment, it may seem perfect. In theaters, with a diet drink, it still rates as the holiday sleeper. [18 Dec 1987]

Does a decent job living up to a legendary predecessor. Original star Ellen Burstyn returns in the latest film, which also goes all in exploring every parent’s deepest fears, but while it tries admirably, “Believer” is nowhere near as profoundly scary as William Friedkin’s genre-defining chiller.

Not for everyone. It is darkly funny, intellectually challenging and obliquely didactic. It also grows bleaker over the course of its nearly three-hour running time.

The ensemble cast is strong. At its silliest comic moments it has a sitcom flavor, but the overall effect is gently amusing.

Whedon weaves a story that allows each of the heroes to do what they do best. And while they may not have exactly equal time, audiences get enough of each to feel satisfied, but not sated. Clever work, indeed.

Briskly paced, suspenseful thriller.

Oscar-nominated Angela Bassett suffers and flaunts the dresses in this smashingly performed Tina Turner bio - a rock-feminist manifesto that also earned Laurence Fishburne a nomination for humanizing Ike Turner, the Svengali-husband and Menace II Tina with a wandering Ikette eye. Brian Gibson, who directed HBO's as-good The Josephine Baker Story, rarely exceeds the parameters of a competent TV movie; numbers get truncated, and there's minimal period detail over a 1958-83 time span. Yet in a movie inevitably made or broken by its leads, the nominations were justified. [25 Mar 1994, p.3D]

An L.A.-based story with more turns and curves than a Hollywood canyon.

If you're willing to embrace a bit of corniness for the sake of some incisive humor, a few poignant moments and enjoyable scenarios, make time for The Holiday.

The film’s greatest strength is its major team-up. Caine and Keitel have an electric chemistry when they’re onscreen together.

A powerful and evocative account of the efforts undertaken to forge a perilous mother-and-child reunion. Told in Spanish with English subtitles, it is a moving tale of yearning, as well as unflagging courage and determination.

Back to the Future Part III wraps up the film series with a big high-tech lasso and ropes in one heck of a good time. [25 May 1990, p.01D]

Where the highly likable actress (Zellweger) proves most valuable is in making us adore this insecure, clumsy, contradictory creature.

Though the story teeters on easy sentimentality, it doesn't succumb. Though unabashedly emotional, it isn't maudlin. Tsotsi's story feels believable. It is made all the more engaging by a wonderful soundtrack of African Kwaito music.

Knight is a medieval festival for the eye and ear, with rich blue hues and stirring fanfares. [07 Jul 1995, p.1D]

Peña is a standout, and Longoria is a revelation as the vulnerable, pregnant Paulina. Hers is a decidedly un-glamorous part and Longoria compellingly fleshes out an under-written role.

A visual treat with an engaging story that has an uplifting, but not maudlin, message.

A provocative dissection of human dynamics.

Not brilliantly funny nor incisively clever, Intolerable Cruelty is still moderately satirical and laugh-out-loud enjoyable.

Despite appealing performances and kinetic football scenes, the storytelling is mostly conventional.

Decidedly more thought-provoking than most big-studio summer fare.

This heavenly action-comedy takes on familiar elements of John Wick and James Bond but is sufficiently empowering – “Women can do anything” is literally the first line in the movie. There's also an unexpectedly dark edge throughout for the new "Angels," from gallows humor to actual dangerous stakes for our butt-kicking crew.

Here’s some Disney magic for you: The new Beauty and the Beast actually improves upon the animated classic.

What makes the new psychological thriller Antebellum effective, however, is not just studying the past of America’s original sin but deftly showing how it still paints our present day.

Visually sumptuous and surprisingly sensual, "Nosferatu" isn’t as wonderfully original (or bonkers) as Eggers' top-notch flicks “The Witch” and “The Northman,” but great turns from Lily-Rose Depp and Bill Skarsgård sell its disturbing, otherworldly beauty-and-the-beast tale.

There's nothing touchy-feely about Killing Them Softly, a stylish thriller worth seeing -- despite its relentless violence -- for its sharp dialogue, mesmerizing photography and gritty performances.

Imagine if “The Phantom Menace” was better than every episode of George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” trilogy. Kind of bonkers to think about, right? But that’s pretty much the situation with “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, an enticing blend of dystopian action epic and musical drama that surpasses the previous films starring Jennifer Lawrence.

A sweet, family-friendly retelling of a touching and funny Newbery Award-winning children's book.

Most novel is Rounders' message that the real sin isn't giving into vice but denying your God-given talents and not risking it all.

Not as incisive a political commentary as "Thank You For Smoking," American Dreamz lampoons the public's appetite for mindless entertainment and easy distraction from serious concerns.

A moving tale with wryly funny moments.

JCVD is a whimsical twist on the biopic, sending up heist movies and breaking cinematic rules to interesting effect. At a critical moment, Van Damme rises out of a tense hostage situation to look into the camera and speak movingly to the audience. He has never seemed more convincing.

Not only is Saved! subversively funny, it is unexpectedly sweet.

With its vibrant sparkle and enchanting visuals, Cinderella almost makes you believe in magic.

No masterpiece but undeniably heavy on laughs, the movie is put over by the buffed, lubricated dynamics of two leads who substantially transcend what is otherwise a borderline tepid dose of family values. [9 May 1997, p.13D]

The Sting-like ending with its crosses and double-crosses could have been better handled, but there are plenty of other payoffs in Hoodlum. [27Aug1995 Pg02.D]

Warrior is a relentless, emotionally engaging family drama and underdog saga with touches of "Rocky" mixed with "The Fighter."

Yes, it's loud, explosive and silly, but it also perfectly embodies the concept of a summer blockbuster with its simple good-guys-vs.-bad-guys plot, cheeky humor and flawless special effects.

The film is involving, nimbly acted and smartly directed, though conventional in its narrative style.

It’s not really a horror movie, although it is plenty horrifying. It’s a love story that’s devoid of sentimentality and romance. And it’s also quite funny at times, though you’re never quite sure the laughs are because of the gallows humor or simply a defense mechanism to keep one’s sanity.

While Deepwater Horizon effectively shows its mettle as a proper action film, it goes the extra mile and drills a little deeper to unearth a lot of heart as well.