The Last Jedi tries to do a little too much in its overlong 2½ hours, yet writer/director Rian Johnson still turns in a stellar entry that owes much to George Lucas’ original films while finding a signature vibe of its own and unleashing a few welcome twists.

Director Kirby Dick has gone from examining sexual assaults in the military in 2012's "The Invisible War" to investigating rapes on college campuses. His is an impassioned and well-researched film that will incite outrage.

Moody, provocative and intellectually ambitious, Adoration is primed to elicit impassioned discussion among audiences.

What makes the movie so winning are its endearing and relatable characters who spout believable dialogue and amusing banter, steeped in clever pop-culture references and sharp observations of human nature.

Sometimes -- and far too rarely -- a film will hit all the right notes, with sharp, original dialogue, brilliant casting and an absorbing story. So caught up in its spell, you dread seeing the credits roll. Please Give is that movie.

The genius of Scorsese's film, which is being shown in IMAX in 93 theaters, is that it reveals the Stones' mortality while celebrating all that makes them more than mere mortals.

The most gorgeous of all the Pixar films — which include "Toy Story" 1 and 2, "A Bug's Life" and "Monsters, Inc." —Nemo treats family audiences to a sweet, resonant story and breathtaking visuals.

Well-written, terrifically acted and compelling. It deftly avoids sentimentality and offers a window into the lives of believable, multilayered characters.

True to the book's squalor but also finding honest humor where it can.

Though Linklater isn’t subtle when it comes to his lesson plan — the theme of the movie is, in fact, written on a chalkboard — he gives you a squad of guys whose good times and fun personalities will leave you wanting some more.

August's direction, as usual, is a tad glacial, but at its frequent best, the film soars to explosive heights. [31 Jul 1992, p.6D]

Despite little dialogue, the story and screenplay were Oscar-nominated -- and, at 50, Wilde's physique is amazing for an actor who once played Chopin. [18 Jan 2008, p.4D]

Chances are, the more you love classic cinema, the more you will find Gods is your cup of tea.

Sharply written, superbly acted, funny and even occasionally touching.

Underrated Jerry Schatzberg directed (he later did Pacino's 1973 Scarecrow), and the script is by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, so it's smart. [22 Jun 2007, p.3D]

A moving documentary that informs, entertains and inspires.

The Coen brothers have fashioned a wry and riveting hybrid of a drama, Western, crime thriller and action film that is as powerful and thought-provoking as it is genre-bending.

The three principals re-screen the Fellini masterpiece at Ekberg's country villa, and it's the kind of privileged moment only the movies can supply. You can bet Scorsese couldn't resist it, and I can't either. [20 Nov 1992, p.4D]

Unsurprisingly, the finale is manipulative in every way, squeezing out the emotions of the audience. But Lion’s well-plotted narrative and thoughtful characters suck you in so much that the journey there is totally worth it.

It is at once warmly humanistic and boldly innovative, raising philosophical questions but not answering them.

It plays even more like a bent version of Meredith Willson's "The Music Man" for the new millennium. Slinging a line of bull but displaying genuine affection for the youngsters he's bamboozling.

Shake it all up and you get Collateral, a movie with only one conceivable flaw: its disinclination to break new ground, though no one held that against "The Fugitive" more than a decade of Augusts ago.

A model of what a largely talking-heads documentary should be, with on-camera testimonials and lots of film clips that offer layers of context.

Warren Beatty's uproariously rude Bulworth is 90% triumph.

Calvary is also profoundly compelling for the light it shines on how public attitudes have changed toward the clergy in the wake of the abusive-priests scandal.

It's so exhilarating (and already such a hit) that even the fogies who choose which documentaries are nominated for Oscars may have to acknowledge its existence. [15 Aug 1991, p.5D]

One of the series's best, with spectacular effects, nuanced performances and witty dialogue.

A meticulously rendered, tasteful and moving period drama.

This is still a great Carney performance and inspired casting by writer/director Paul Mazursky. [16 Sep 2005]

Visually exhilarating, provocative and disturbing.

This is the rare movie that blends long scenes of meticulous research with a sweeping story and sustains a feeling of riveting suspense. Zodiac grips you by the throat and doesn't let go.

A mesmerizing look at the mythic quality and anarchic spirit of the irreverent and rabble-rousing journalist.

Let Me In is going to lure and please fans of the original; like the first, the remake is graphically violent but as tense as good horror gets.

Still a one-of-a-kind mind-blower.

Director James Mangold’s biopic wonderfully keeps him a mysterious minstrel, studying a complex artist reaching the early heights of his talents when times were a-changin'.

The movie, based on a true story, takes surprising twists and turns right up to its chilling ending and is probably the best gangster crime drama of the year.

Federico Fellini's first film (co-directed with Alberto Lattuada) would make a compatible living room double bill with FF's 1986 Ginger and Fred...Pleasing all the way through. [17 Mar 1989, p.3D]

The "Hamilton" creator and the island personalities of Moana make beautiful music together in this charming seafaring epic.

To see someone even attempt bittersweet treatment of this subject is surprising, but to largely pull it off is a major feat.

Taut, tightly paced and thrilling, with some of the best chase sequences -- whether by foot, taxi or Jeep -- in recent memory.

Bittersweet, intelligently written, deftly acted and painfully honest.

I'd give this Howard Hawks perennial four stars (like everyone else) if I didn't find the climactic jailhouse scene so labored. [5 May 1989, p.3D]

This is a filmmaker who instinctively knows that a shot of Santa sitting at a bar as Ricky Nelson sings Jingle Bells will be no-frills funny.

The worst thing you can say about the brilliantly zany teen comedy Booksmart is that you get only an hour and 45 minutes with its quirky student body.

Hustlers is empathetic and understanding in the way it looks at sex workers as also single moms and women just trying to get by in a world where the rich seemingly only get richer. It also works as an enjoyable, empowering extravaganza of physical humor, clever script writing, exquisite fashion and scantily clad underdogs.

The film's unflinching gaze on a lawless night will likely be politicized, but calling Detroit anti-police misses the mark. The question Detroit begs is, in a democratic nation, to whom does the law apply?

Haunting and inspiring film.

Mesmerizing and highly entertaining.

Like the book, the movie blends a primitive quality with an imaginative artfulness. It also amplifies upon the story's gentle, sly wit.

An engaging and moving film with a universal story about the bonds of family as told through two generations of a Bengali family.

It’s the master class put on by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali that powers this moving and often hilarious work and gives it mass appeal.

This genre-busting movie has the appearance of a love story but morphs into a thriller, told cleverly in a nonlinear style. Think "Sliding Doors" crossed with "The Sixth Sense," with a little "Memento" thrown in.

The best of Lee’s joints straddle the history that’s happened and the history being written now, and Da 5 Bloods successfully follows suit with themes of modern civil unrest and activism existing alongside images of Vietnam hero Milton L. Olive III and activist Angela Davis.

Deliver Us From Evil is so horrifying it makes "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" look like a walk in the park.

The iconic first lady is given emotional complexity and rich understanding through a stirring and ambitious performance by Natalie Portman.

The look is artfully stylized, influenced by classic film noir; the mood is dark; the performances nuanced; and the story unnervingly exciting.

The rap sequences are shot and edited with the excitement of a crisply broadcast sporting event, which in a way they are.

Director Roman Polanski co-stars with and directs wife Sharon Tate in their only collaboration. That's one reason this box office bomb, which came out less than two years before Tate was murdered by Charles Manson's crew, has picked up a following. [08 Oct 2004, p.4E]

If Martin Scorsese's staggeringly ambitious one-of-a-kind finally has too many flaws to be great, it has as much greatness in it as any movie this year.

Final Reckoning offers some of the franchise’s tensest moments, to the point where you feel exhausted (mostly in a good way) after nearly three hard-charging hours.

[Del Toro's] wonderful new take on the classic tale is the most essential adaptation of Carlo Collodi’s novel since Walt Disney’s 1940 cartoon masterpiece, with a practically perfect mix of tragedy, comedy, adventure, parental worries, societal expectations, childhood precociousness and antiwar leanings.

A first-rate office comedy of prickly exchanges.

Blood Diamond is a gem in a season with lots of worthy movies.

It’s easy to fall for these “Widows” when themes of class, religion, grief, gender, injustice and race are married to terrific action sequences and a gang of looting ladies stealing the show.

Doesn't sound like a very prepossessing title, but prepare to be taken aback by "what's in a name." [6 July 1994, Life, p.1D]

Here's an ''opened-up'' film of a fragile, sentimental play that doesn't overemphasize every dramatic point, and doesn't tromp on every minefield in the material. [13 Dec 1989, p.1D]

It’s always nice to see someone’s passion project come to fruition. Especially so when it’s this darn good.

Pattinson’s main man holds down a revamped Gotham that feels distinctively gritty with its blueprint of madness and mayhem, a place you would never want to live in but still would love to revisit as soon as possible.

It is by turns comic, dark and surprisingly tender. If one must reduce it to simple description, call it a love story with a twist. Or a twisted love story.

Deftly balancing the students' stories with that of Courtney's, the film creates a fully rounded portrait of a corner of America rarely examined.

Caché is unsettling and tense, even shocking. And its story of enduring tensions between an Algerian immigrant and a well-off French family is particularly timely.

“Barbie” is really an insightful exploration of humanity, the meaning of life and the cognitive dissonance of a woman living in the patriarchy, all with a really big heart and style to spare.

Compared to its ilk, Suicide Squad is an excellently quirky, proudly raised middle finger to the staid superhero-movie establishment.

The sequel both honors and reimagines the Spider-Man mythos for a new generation of movie fans with an artistic bent, a love for its characters and a willingness to break the rules to create something special.

Spike Lee has been trying to get people to do the right thing for years, but with Chi-Raq, he solidifies a peaceful movie message in lyrical as well as powerful fashion.

Viewers should know that the film's resolution, though admirably restrained and unsentimental, is devastatingly sad. Parents should take this into account. This beautifully rendered family film is told in a classic and old-fashioned style, in the best sense, providing poignant and powerful teachable moments.

The new “Black Panther” celebrates and honors its fallen hero, at the same time showing that this corner of the MCU remains in extremely capable hands.

Filmmakers of Bernardo Bertolucci's magnitude don't often take on sexual coming-of-age movies, but judging from the pleasures of Stealing Beauty, maybe more of them should. [14 Jun 1996 Pg.04.D]

The gritty, Oscar-nominated "Traffic" is a limo ride compared with the bloodletting in this year's foreign-film nominee from Mexico.

Once is a film for anyone who has ever been transported by the power and passion of music.

True to its title, Elegy is a spare, meditative and melancholy film. It is a deeply affecting and profoundly observed saga about love, art, beauty and, especially, mortality.

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.

The documentary's scathing attack on the war in Iraq and George W. Bush's presidency is informative, provocative, frightening, compelling, funny, manipulative and, most of all, entertaining.

This sleek adaptation of James Ellroy's dauntingly complex novel has the black-and-white tabloid soul of an old "Confidential" magazine.

Star Trek was never about gizmos, but about relationships - both among its crew members and with its audience. Star Trek VI more than upholds the tradition, making it a satisfying send-off for a mighty ship of foils. [6 Dec. 1991, p.1D]

An enthralling tale of friendship that transcends biases, Ernest & Celestine offers a lovely lesson on acceptance and inclusion.

Huston's movie seems to disappoint some who've read the novel, but the forlorn humanity that triumphs over the depravity and poverty is unforgettably affecting. [13 Dec 1996, p.1D]

It's a mature, intricately layered visual delight.

Brannigan is terrific as Robbie, and the entire supporting cast is superb.

It’s an outstanding, feel-good combination of East and West that depicts Japan's popular "rental family" business – where actors play a client's parent, spouse, sibling or friend at events or in their personal life – while also nimbly exploring loneliness, identity and the importance of found family.

Damon convincingly matches Williams recrimination for recrimination in this portrayal of mutual tough love, even with the latter giving what may be the best performance of his career.

The moving and eye-popping thriller, starring a never-better John David Washington, dives into the hot-button topic of artificial intelligence but more importantly mankind's tendency toward war and how we treat those different than us.

With its complex look at storytelling, imagination and the teacher-student dynamic, In the House is an elaborate cinematic fresco.

You get the sense that there's probably more to the story than you get here. But the movie's moral will soon be indelible: You just can't fake it in the Internet age.

Increasingly piquant tale of culture clash in 1954 post-independence India.

What's wonderfully explored here, though, isn't the killer streak, but instead the gravity of taking a darker path and being left at the end with nothing but bloody memories.

Highly entertaining and informative.

Though the movie rambles in the middle, it gets back on track when Nick and Norah have a sweet encounter in an unexpected place. The soundtrack is an excellent counterpoint to the film's quirky scenarios.