Entertaining and surprisingly funny given the subject matter, the movie’s also an exquisitely acted affair paced by Chastain (who also produces), turning in a career-best effort as the complex Tammy Faye.

A rare hybrid that perfectly blends the dazzle of a futuristic action thriller with the intellectual substance of an art film.

While the ending loses steam as “Different Man” gets in its own bizarre head, the film maintains a certain heady, psychological trippiness.

Ahead of its time in its attitude toward unwed motherhood, director Otto Preminger's psychological drama has always gotten the same pro/con reaction that typifies Preminger's career. On the chilly side, it also has a great understated Olivier performance, an effective Paul Glass score and some of the era's best widescreen black-and-white photography. [28 Jan 2005, p.4D]

Washington has put together a troupe that crafts a retro story that’s still completely relatable, no matter one’s race, and brilliantly plays a protagonist that finds the sweetest spot between lovable and loathsome.

Farhadi's latest film is almost hypnotically compelling, spinning an intricate web of predicaments, emotional reactions and resolutions in a domestic drama that leaves the viewer reeling by its conclusion.

The special effects continue to be masterful, but villains are given a new twist, and Order of the Phoenix is all the more fun because of it.

It is that rare film that is equal parts entertaining, life-affirming and thought-provoking.

The satisfying and heart-wrenching climax is a last reminder that Caesar’s new adventure is one of this summer’s best.

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

The laughs -- mostly crude, profane and drug-addled -- are almost non-stop.

Leisen's direction here is more than smooth. [02 May 2008, p.6E]

There’s no need to yearn for a female 007 or a woman Wick anymore – just hope for another film that’s all about Eve.

An untreacly family film is a true rare bird. [13 Sep 1996]

An artful blend of tenderness and sharp, clear-eyed observations. Its characters talk like real people -- who also happen to be smart, appealing and thoughtful.

Not only a stirring history lesson and an action-packed war film, Glory is also a ferocious statement about enduring discrimination that resounds today.

It’s an essential watch for every music fan, even if you’re not an Elvis junkie.

Men in movies are often just overgrown boys, and Seven Psychopaths is out to prove it - in the most twisted, hilarious way possible.

The filmmaker crafts an entertaining, immersive and ultimately optimistic spectacle that never forgets, especially at its ending, that humanity should always trump the system.

A stronger and tighter movie than its Oscar-nominated predecessor without losing any of its splendor.

To its credit, the ravenously awaited film version of Presumed Innocent should engross and reward two distinct audiences: Those who've read Scott Turow's 1987 best seller, and those who haven't. But remember: Engross and reward isn't quite synonymous with a cinematic trip to the moon. [27 July 1990]

While the film is not as resonant as the novel, it is an honorable adaptation, capturing the essence of the bond between father and son.

It's a touching story of Americana mixed with sibling rivalry, parental pressure and heart-wrenching despair, with a ripped Zac Efron in an amazing turn as the beating heart of a tight-knit yet troubled clan.

Exquisitely crafted...It’s a strange little amalgamation that totally works: a vicious Shakespearean satire about power-hungry mind-sets, stealth corruption, American ambition and the current state of divided affairs in our country, but also a quasi-fictional go-for-broke biopic about a political leader we really don't know at all.

Lots of sand but no day at the beach for its characters -- and not, from all appearances, the actors, either. Among the best of director Sidney Lumet's movies not set in New York. [08 Jun 2007, p.8E]

Director Jon Watts’ third Spidey film is a rousing entry that doubles as a love letter to the comic-book character, a film very much about second chances and a cleverly crafted reminder of that famous adage: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Neil Young once said: It's better to burn out than it is to rust. But moviegoers are lucky Anvil didn't take Young's advice. Who knew heavy metal could seem like fine art when it rusts?

An exploration of where science ends and spirituality picks up, this second feature from writer-director Mike Cahill (Another Earth) is captivating, suspenseful and thought-provoking.

An endearing, occasionally sentimental story told with depth and substance.

Think of it as a thrill ride with gravitas.

Uniformly robust acting puts still more feathers in the caps of Rush, Winslet and Caine.

This year's wittiest animated adventure saga.

Dunkirk is also one of the best-scored films in recent memory, and Hans Zimmer’s music plays as important a role as any character. With shades of Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, the melodies are glorious, yet Zimmer also creates an instrumental ticking-clock soundtrack that’s a propulsive force in the action scenes.

A gently funny ensemble comedy that feels less like a movie than a short story.

Hopkins and Pryce have sensational chemistry and are rather heavenly inhabiting their character arcs, which power this pious take on “Frost/Nixon.”

Peele is this generation’s Hitchcock, for sure, but also a true American original with introspective themes in hand and suspense to spare.

Babe, a live-action fable about a valiant pig who conquers prejudice like a barnyard Jackie Robinson, is in a league of its own when it comes to enchantment.

It is one of the year's most intriguing dramas, with a quartet of powerful performances.

Touching, but not cloying, uplifting and hopeful but never sappy and also just plain funny. There is not a false note among the five core performances, nor a false word in Sheridan's script.

Several heads roll though it’s your mind that'll get truly blown by The Green Knight, a visually dazzling and thoughtful trip back to Camelot.

The kind of well-acted, genuine heartwarmer that some people complain Hollywood doesn't bother making anymore. And in this case, Hollywood didn't.

This is a very bloody fantasy (reds do eke their way into the black-and-blues), but it's hard to think of another film with as many severed heads whose overall tone is so sweet.

The Secret in Their Eyes is that rare police procedural that engages emotions as well as intellect.

The magic of Homecoming is that it belongs more to the John Hughes cinematic universe than the Avengers’.

Though set in the future, Her is a timely, soulful and plausible love story.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a purer expression of rapture in a film this year than the one that opens Billy Elliot.

Not only historically significant but also truly excellent.

While the film is heart-wrenchingly sad, it also is mordantly funny, uncomfortably prickly and above all, unflinching in its depiction of a believable sibling relationship.

Both a psychological portrait and an exciting action film.

The film's score and editing brilliantly heighten the film's energy, keeping the audience somewhat off-kilter and unsure where things are headed.

David Lean's classic Cliffs Notes telescoping of Charles Dickens took Oscars for Guy Green's black-and-white photography and John Bryan's art direction, and you know right off that this is going to be a visual stunner as you watch fleeing prisoner Magwitch (Finlay Currie) dart across Green's spookily lit marshes. [22 Jan 1999]

Bedroom succeeds with performances that get some of their power from imaginative casting.

Murphy wonderfully inhabits the nervy intensity of a gaunt and troubled figure, who's deemed unstable and egoistical by his peers during the war and at wit’s end later, as he contends with politicos with a score to settle.

With one of the best ensemble casts of any film this year, it's audacious, enthralling and uproarious.

The Class is a deeply moving film about the challenges of educating children in a complex and often turbulent world.

A summer crowd-pleaser worthy of its wind.

A 2-hour classic wrongfully stretched into three.

Writer Greta Gerwig's witty and endearing solo directorial debut...navigates the absurdities and struggles of the transition into adulthood while striking an excellent balance between enjoyable quirk and touching emotion.

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.

The whole cast is terrific - especially Kline, who manages to be both flippant and earnest. And except for some slow going near the end, Reitman keeps it bright and light. [07 May 1993, p.1D]

Mongol is quality escapism: an exotic saga that compels, moves and envelops us with its grand and captivating story.

Menacing and meditative, Hallows is arguably the best installment of the planned eight-film franchise, though audiences who haven't kept up with previous chapters will be hopelessly lost.

Bardem's soulful turn lends this haunting meditation a sense of hope and saves it from the contrived missteps it teeters toward.

The climactic rescue by Navy SEALs is riveting. But it's Phillips' devastating after-the-fact shock that leaves the most haunting impression in this ambitious, taut and captivating thriller.

Its interpersonal dynamics are constructed with care to equal chef Lung's elaborate concoctions. [19 Aug 1994]

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]

In one of the movie's most memorable scenes, Javed and his activist love interest Eliza (Nell Williams) embark on a glorious, mischievous romp out of school and through Luton, singing “Born to Run” and dancing with literally everyone who’ll join them.

This sleeper never caught on with the masses but became a cult movie after making a lot of the year's 10-best lists. [19 Sept 1997, p.13D]

When it comes to 3-D visual splendors, give me Wonderland over Pandora any day.

The 1975 film not only succeeds as a rollicking cinematic costume drama, but lends insights into the mindset of countries of the region such as Afghanistan and how their culture clashes with that of the West. [01 Mar 2003]

This clever, low-budget film kicks the concept up a few notches to mesmerizing.

Welcome to the summer's first pleasant surprise. [20 July 1990, p.1D]

A haunting and fascinating portrait of so much that is worth exploring: the implacability of nature, the hubris of human endeavor and the line between supreme dedication and madness.

The stellar acting and assorted songs boost much of the familiar elements in "Emilia Pérez,” creating something inventively original and never, ever bland.

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]

Spectacular special effects, superbly crafted action sequences, plenty of humor and terrific performances render it a cut above most summer blockbusters.

It's one of the year's finest, most complex portrayals, in one of Allen's best films in years.

At its best, hard-hitting grown-up cinema (rare these days) and a movie blessed with a villain (Big Tobacco) for which all gloves can be removed and heaved into the next county.

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]

You still get Tim Curry in drag, young Susan Sarandon in her skimpies and an enthusiastic score. [16 Nov 1990, p.3D]

A deeply moving film, it's a powerful reminder of a time not so long ago when, for a large group of Americans, attempting to register to vote could result in a serious threat to their lives.

Inside Man may be a cat-and-mouse game, but it's far from predictable. What could have been a straightforward thriller is unusually clever, visually captivating and unfailingly entertaining.

It's easily the most political of the three films. It also is the most absorbing and best in the series.

With Halloween bags still brimming, it's an ideal time for the inventive candy-colored fun and wicked humor that is Wreck-It Ralph.

With Licorice Pizza, Anderson delivers a warm tasty slice of adolescence as well as two fresh-faced youngsters that will satisfy cinephiles for years to come.

Fincher's electrifying storytelling makes the most of unsettling visuals, large casts, complex plots and sharp dialogue.

This thought-provoking documentary addresses the origins of Vermeer's photo-realistic art with all the suspense of a thriller.

More fresh than retro, The Muppets bursts with charm and cheeky humor.

Finally, there's a big-budget popcorn movie that delivers what moviegoers hunger for: humor, action, thrills and charismatic characters. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is the summer blockbuster we've been waiting for.

An ambitious love letter to the original. It's also as polarizing a picture as last year’s “mother!” – which shares a commitment to blood and insanely audacious climaxes – and thoughtfully explores feminine strength amid the proudly self-possessed carnage.

Epic in nearly every way, The Hurricane has the power to blow you away.

This grade-A sleeper sends you out with an unexpected smile. [25 Nov 1992]

The movies are so much fun that even detractors of Charlton Heston (Cardinal Richelieu) and Raquel Welch (taking pratfalls as "Constance") readily admit that both carry more than their load here. [01 May 1998]

Much like Annie Hall did for a previous generation, (500) Days of Summer may be the movie that best captures a contemporary romantic sensibility.

Audiences meet the most memorable voices in the world of backup singers. They perform with world-famous musical acts, but theirs are not household names. Their stories, however, are inspiring, heartbreaking and enthralling.

Paradis is a most striking subject, but the movie is a winner as well, starting with a story full of black-comic possibilities exploited fully by the great French director Patrice Leconte.

There is enough mirthful good will generated to justify even another sequel. May we suggest: "License to Shag," "You Only Shag Twice" or "Thundershag."

Monster offers a cathartic study in overcoming loss and traversing the fine line between childhood and adulthood under tragic circumstances.