The galactic adventure might be an uneven one, but the combination of gravitas, a little mirth and old-school Trek themes makes Beyond a decently entertaining trip to the final frontier.

The milieu here is unforgiving, which makes fighting for basic rights important. You get a sense of why Bob Dylan -- who performs on this soundtrack -- wanted to bolt this frigid part of the map.

Doremus' elegant filmmaking is key to the appeal of the film, but it would never work as superbly without the wonderfully natural, believable performances and powerful chemistry of the lead actors.

The action is brisk, the acting is solid, and barring an unlikely failure at the box office, a franchise is born. Let the games begin.

A super cast injects it with Teddy Roosevelt vitality. [17 Nov 1995, p.D1]

It's probably the weakest Alfred Hitchcock of the '50s. But that may be the greatest decade any director ever had, so this isn't the slam it seems. [28 Sep 2004]

Were this movie a naval battle, it would be Lord Nelson vs. Judd Nelson, so decisively do the older actors knock the younger off the screen. [26Dec1997 Pg03.D]

One of the strangest sequels of all time, director George Miller's wildly imaginative vision of animals loose in a dangerous urban dreamscape at times seems much closer to his work on the Mad Max series than to the bucolic charms of the original, which he produced but did not direct. [25 Nov 1998, p.1D]

Tempers moments of despair with deliriously romantic passages abetted by James Horner's traditionally lush score and photography by John Toll ("Legends of the Fall's" Oscar winner).

Sometimes Crazy, Stupid, Love captures the complexity, humor and sweetness of relationships. But in several scenes, the film takes that insight and replaces it with farcical coincidences and strained scenarios that undercut the poignancy and wit.

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.

Engrossing up to a point, the movie ends up being another mild disappointment from a filmmaker who last put it all together with Passion Fish -- seven years and four movies ago. [04 Jun 1999]

Unlike many action thrillers where the viewer is fairly certain that no real harm can come to the protagonists, such is never the case here. In this gritty ride-along, we sense that anything can happen, which adds to the propulsive momentum of a riveting story.

The movie is so impressionistic, it obfuscates any sense of history. We expect at least a hint at the causes of the Mayan Empire's demise, but instead we get Mesoamerican Rambo.

Scoundrels isn't rock-bottom. That a more sturdy vehicle couldn't be found for such stellar leads, though, is a dirty rotten shame. [14 Dec 1988, p. 4D]

Directed by Jason Woliner, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm features an unexpectedly strong ending that at least pays off some of the sweeter aspects of the family dynamic, plus wraps up on an activist note... And while Cohen can be a great “serious” actor when he wants (see: “The Trial of the Chicago 7”), the absolute commitment to the over-the-top Borat persona continues to be admirable.

The much-publicized collaboration between producer Peter Jackson and Spielberg sets high expectations. But while the technical artistry is there, the film lacks a sense of magic, intrigue and mystery.

The net result is an entertainingly frightening film that keeps the audience in a state of alarmed, but eager, anticipation.

Freeman (no directing natural) gets acting help, and his film earns points for being told from the black perspective, but isn't even up to the modest standards of A Dry White Season, Cry Freedom or A World Apart. [24 Sept 1993, p10D]

Slogs pokily along and never quite picks up speed.

The Homesman aims for a story that's poignant and told sparely, but comes across as mawkish, tedious and self-indulgent.

Director Jack Clayton's gloomy adaptation of Ray Bradbury's short story was an odd choice for Disney in its straighter-arrow days, and the film flopped even after several scenes were reshot long after principal photography was completed. Yet this odd horror-Americana mix about a supernatural traveling carnival has a cult, plus two aptly cast antagonist leads in Jason Robards and Jonathan Pryce. [04 Oct 1996]

The satisfying adventure features side players from past projects like “Black Widow” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” coming into their own, plus skillfully juggles bleak darkness and inspired humor in a surprisingly moving exploration of mental health.

I'm Your Man movingly captures the artist's lifelong search for truth and beauty and his translation of it into song.

Featuring an impressive voice cast, a clever script, an abundance of pig puns and a duck the size of a T. Rex, the film treads familiar ground by pitting a bunch of Davids vs. egotistical Goliaths on the soccer pitch. But it does so in such a supremely quirky and earnestly heartwarming fashion that it’s hard not to be charmed.

Provocative, issue-oriented thrillers are in sadly short supply these days. But The East fills the bill with its examination of the intense commitment and anarchic impulses of eco-terrorist organizations. It's a fascinating subject on which to anchor a spy thriller.

The ripe dialogue (''I was their No. 1 son,'' wails the Penguin about the parents who flushed their deformed baby down the sewer, ''and they treated me like No. 2!'') and rich settings decked out in deco can't disguise that little happens. The frantic action circles the same city block, as if trying to find a spot to park. [19 June 1992, p.1D]

Monster House may be the first true horror film for children.

As notorious gangster James “Whitey” Bulger, Depp astounds with one of the best performances in his long career while co-star Joel Edgerton steps up equally well as John Connolly, an ethically questionable FBI agent who flirts with the wrong side of the law.

Shaolin Soccer's infectious style has a way of lifting spirits. You don't have to be a fan of soccer or kung fu to enjoy it.

This is a very funny picture, though it's never burlesqued and is, in fact, occasionally poignant.

While not as cinematically game-changing as Pulp Fiction or as gore-spattered as the Kill Bill films, The Hateful Eight doles out all of Tarantino’s favorite things.

The Illusionist casts an exquisitely bewitching spell with its dreamy atmosphere and pervasive sense of suspense.

From morning traffic jams to passive-aggressive bosses who justify their existence by making yours miserable, Space gets it right. [19 Feb 1999]

Kids should enjoy the comic performances of the animals, and adults will appreciate the film's gentle poignancy, powerful enough to induce a lump in the throat.

Some of us look forward to Guest films the way others pine for installments of Bond or "Star Trek." This skewering of Hollywood will entertain we "Guesties," but it's not at the top of his roster of parodies.

The best thing Hustle & Flow has going for it is Terrence Howard's powerful performance.

Heaven is saved only by the power of an occasional hypnotic image.

Blisteringly fast, Bourne also has a strong or striking supporting actor around every corner: Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles and Clive Owen in roles that range from meaty to amazingly small.

Patricia Clarkson, who has emerged as one of the screen's best character actresses, plays Brooks' wife with intelligence and down-to-earth warmth.

The filmmaker's new subject, the German occupation of France, has been treated with the seriousness it deserves in countless movies over the past half-century. This treatment is light and breezy for a change, though not altogether frivolous.

Given the chilling mood Bruckner strikes and dark corners he unearths, horror fans will want to spend some time in this Night House even if it’s not worth a long-term investment.

Oft-touted as director Walter Hill's best film, this is probably tops of umpteen Westerns about the James-Younger-Miller outlaw clans. [24 Feb 1995, p.14D]

Among the many things it does well — from hilariously quotable lines to catchy, albeit obscene, songs — the mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping has found the best use for the poop emoji yet.

Williams is hampered by her character's limitations. What results is a mannered tale of an immature, empty vessel.

It has lighthearted moments, but is also suspenseful at the right times.

More than anything, the movie makes the viewer want to hop on a plane and visit Iceland.

But when material is this fragile, virtually every scene is obligated to click for the result to become something special. Ultimately, this walking and talking comes perilously close to becoming a gab-fest treadmill. [26 Jul 1996, Pg.04.D]

It could have been an unholy mess, but with directors Anthony and Joe Russo at the helm, Infinity War is instead a glorious, multilayered and clever comic-book adventure with loads of emotional stakes and a perfect foe for Earth’s mightiest heroes.

If a pointless and nasty Hollywood satire filled with vile characters and no one to root for sounds like a good time, go see Maps to the Stars.

As an aging wheelman-for-hire on an underdog racing team, Pitt brings plenty of personality – and vroom-vroom steeliness – to the on-the-track thrills of the crowd-pleasing if mildly predictable F1.

John Wick serves up a noxious, clashing blend of hyper-realistic and cartoonish violence. Too bad there's no cinema decontaminating service that can wash our memories clean of such useless gore.

Chayefsky's untempered windiness and direction (by Arthur Hiller) so impersonal that this D-day black comedy could just as well be an I Dream of Jeannie episode. [22 June 1990, p.3D]

A slow-cooked film that's one of the most heartwarming of the young year.

A much better version and one of the most popular 3-D movies. [03 May 2005]

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.

A summer crowd-pleaser worthy of its wind.

The cautionary tale feels surprisingly fresh and entertaining, given that this is the fifth "Planet of the Apes" film since the 1968 original.

One of the best films of the year.

The film is likable, with some funny moments and recognizable human conflicts. But the origin of the women's friendship is not explained, and the nature of Olivia's problems is not examined or taken very seriously, making her seem inexplicably lost and shallow.

It’s rather elementary: Young women yearning for an action heroine of their own get one with Enola Holmes, a problem-solving youngster we all could use more of in our streaming lives.

Vinny's humor is cooked to al dente perfection. And that ain't just whistling Dixie.

The longer the movie goes, the more its 133 minutes prove wearing. The story tries to develop a love angle between Jackman and Janssen, but it doesn't begin to take. And the finale is particularly weak.

No-frills chills are what Paranormal Activity offers in unrelenting supply.

Amid seriously high stakes, Craig makes you root for Bond like never before in a swan song that’ll leave die-hards shaken, if not stirred.

Though Maclean's bedrock prose is perfection in print, the film may be another case (like actor Redford's "The Great Gatsby") in which text defies translation. [09 Oct 1992]

Kikuchi brought humanity to the robots-vs.-monsters action of Pacific Rim in a small supporting role, and she ups that much more with the meek title character of Kumiko, directed by David Zellner from a screenplay co-written with brother Nathan.

Individually, the episodes aren't much, but it's impressive that Jarmusch even pulled off the logistics. [01 May 1992, p.7D]

A solid courtroom drama that most fans of the genre have seen before. But great acting, an engaging real-life tale and moments of heartfelt honesty – with a fair bit of rousing satisfaction – elevate director Destin Daniel Cretton’s true-life story.

A riveting crime thriller, it's also a multi-generational familial saga that approaches Greek tragedy.

Its deadpan wit, ingenious fairy-tale premise and superbly accomplished cast will leave you feeling positively oxygenated.

Disney has another first-rate animated villain in The Rescuers Down Under: an Australian poacher with the voice of George C. Scott, who looks like a cross between Scott and Jim Varney. [16 Nov 1990, p.4D]

The movie is still too solemn.

Even for non-fans, Revenge of the Sith is engrossing, and fans of the series will likely be over the moon -- and into another galaxy -- with this film.

The movie features pervasive positivity, one really cool canine and a bright comic-book aesthetic. And while this fresh superhero landscape is extremely busy and a little bit familiar, it also feels lived-in and electric.

Though there is plenty of gunplay, this is a wondrously contemplative and poetic saga that offers a fresh and bewitching take on a timeworn genre.

It's a provocative game that plays out with intelligence and wit.

Though events unravel predictably, the film is profoundly affecting, thanks to a well-written story, rich characters and superlative acting.

While not as revelatory as Al Gore's 2006 Oscar-winning documentary, Inequality makes a resounding case that the middle class is facing its own planetary crisis: becoming an endangered species.

Do yourself a favor and resist The Italian Job, a lazy and in-name-only remake of 1969's G-rated Michael Caine heist pic.

Spielberg's must-see is so wondrous at depicting things that go crunch in the night that its human characterizations and pokey exposition seem astonishingly halfhearted… On a "people" level, Park isn't “Jaws,” but on a jolt level - oh, yes, it is. [11 June 1993, Life, p.1D]

Neighbors is the "Animal House" for an era in which food fights seem quaint.

The problem here isn't grimness but a failure to make grimness wrench the heart. [18 Oct 1996]

Noah is no by-the-book Bible story. Think of it as a visually mesmerizing sci-fi adventure saga loosely based on the book of Genesis.

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.

Marvel’s Black Widow is a strong solo superhero effort that feels both timely and also way too late.

To paraphrase Devo: Whip It, not so good.

Even though Batman's Tim Burton is a better filmmaker than Beatty will ever be, Dick Tracy is the movie - of all screen attempts - that most convinces me I'm watching a live-action cartoon. [14 Jun 1990]

For a movie that earns its R-rating for drug content and violence atop language and sexuality, it leaves you with the next thing to a mellow smile.

Instead of the heat of humanity, what lingers on in the mind is the cool of the computerized effects.

Moon, a superb first feature directed by Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son) and starring an impressive Sam Rockwell, is an intelligent, evocative and deceptively low-key sci-fi adventure.

The cringingly wacky scenarios, offbeat characters and comic dialogue serve up a crowd-pleasing, laugh-filled experience.

Rocket flies with comic-kaze crooks. [21 February 1996, p. D6]

Jason Robards and Norman Wisdom brilliantly perform knockabout stage routines in director William Friedkin's energetically patchwork portrayal of New York burlesque in the 1920s. [23 May 2008, p.10E]

It’s a gorgeous and stunning thing to look at, with awesome sights of underwater fauna, and the new movie is an emotionally charged outing that again dips into themes of colonization while adding environmental issues and relatable family drama.

An intriguing and somber tale of disintegrating and disappointing relationships fused with a coming-of-age story.

Naked Lunch is so well-acted and so amusingly warped that it's a shoo-in to become a cult movie. [30 Dec 1991]

Once this 2 1/4-hour slow-starter finally finds its rhythm, we're reminded of how gripping policy give-and-take around a long rectangular table can be.