As insanely cool as the aerial dogfight scenes were in the original, the sequel’s action sequences levels them up with unreal camera angles and nonstop tension.

A heartening and poignant affirmation of the transformative power of music.

An emotionally honest low-ebber that builds to a satisfying wrap-up.

Love and loneliness are presented, in almost equal parts, with subdued precision in the richly abundant Another Year.

Mitchum's celebrated skill with dialects has never been more evident. [02 Feb 2007, p.10D]

Buddy movies are a Hollywood staple, but Rory O'Shea Was Here puts a new and profoundly affecting spin on the tired genre.

A robustly imaginative sleeper

Furiously fast and fiendishly funny, Disney's 35th animated feature, Hercules outlines its musical-comedy agenda pronto. Even its villainous super-schmoozer Hades, well-ignited by the neurotic natterings of James Woods, would appreciate such get-to-the-pointedness. [13 June 1997, p.1D]

Powerfully honest, insightful and poignant.

Another Earth proves compellingly that science, intellect and emotion can coexist in mesmerizing synchronicity on the big screen.

The film is a bit long because Brest wants to give you time to believe Walsh and Mardukas' inevitable friendship. We do. And Run adds poignancy without detracting from the action. [20 July 1988]

Instead of ladling on the Scorsese sauce, Robert De Niro's Bronx accent is on semisweet nostalgia. He presents a domestic drama spiced with humor about a boy torn between his working-stiff dad (De Niro in fine regular-fella mode) and Chazz Palminteri's easy-money ways. De Niro doesn't let arty camera angles sub for good storytelling. And he draws memorable performances from two amazing young, new actors. [01 Oct 1993, p. 8D]

The movie grows on you, lingers in the mind and may pick up a cult. Take away Heat and Dust, Howards End and The Remains of the Day, and it's as satisfying as any movie the filmmaking team's ever made. [18 Sep 1998, Pg.03.E]

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.

This is the definitive cinematic Cyrano; only the pickiest critics or peasants will dare or care to thumb their noses at it. [16 Nov 1990, p.4D]

Though the music is helping market the movie, it's really an omnipresent backdrop to the two intersecting stories. Audibly and visibly, Kansas City nearly equals Ed Wood for period verisimilitude. Yet it's also character-driven, in particular by the women stars. [16 Aug 1996, p.4D]

If it's challenges you're after, forget cracking "The Da Vinci Code." Wordplay captures the exhilaration that comes from navigating the ins and outs of complex puzzles.

Though Roger & Me's editing plays somewhat fast and loose with the juxtaposition of real-life events, it qualifies as an event itself. For once, have-nots get to lambaste haves in a documentary likely to be seen. [20 Dec 1989, p.5D]

Something this gleefully goofy and consistently funny would be welcome in any environment.

It's great to see an action-adventure family film with heart as well as humor, whimsy alongside wisdom, and a compelling narrative.

Depp deserves kudos for fashioning an original and outlandish if occasionally menacing character.

“Live by Night” aside, Affleck’s directorial record is pretty impressive and Air feels like his most inspired effort to date, an underdog story with the greatest basketball player of all time at its heart.

An easy movie to pick apart, but it lives, breathes and switches moods from humor to despair better than any American release this year.

It's a meandering film that prompts the viewer to anticipate characters' actions. Fortunately, they don't take predictable paths.

Epic battles, spectacular effects and multiple story lines make The Two Towers a most excellent middle chapter in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Small-town setting, big-time charm. Paul Newman is no fool for taking this perfect-fit role as a hard-luck construction worker who reunites with his son. [03 Feb 1995, p.4D]

A genuinely surprising film that plays with genre and throws out the now very tired superhero movie formula. It’s an action film, a romantic comedy and a coming-of-age story and a period piece and a war movie all in one. Above all, it’s a hopeful story about humanity.

A clever, likable comedy that sends up sexism, satirizes Hollywood, examines family ties and features a surprisingly tender romance at its core.