The special effects are scream-worthy, the gore is minimal and the humor has a folksy zing to it. [19 Jan 1990, p.1D]

Fright is way too quick on its feet to be slowed by clichés. David Tennant seizes McDowall's role as Peter Vincent, now a Criss Angel-style clown vampire slayer. Christopher Mintz-Plasse was born to play a high school nerd.

A spiritual quest can take many forms. One could argue that all of director Wes Anderson's movies focus on a sense of personal melancholy and directionlessness that often fuels such an odyssey. And they do so with a dark and offbeat wit.

Fassbender's portrayal is truly haunting, and when he sobs, dramatically unraveling, it's clear he's imprisoned by his physical urges.

Imagine a blend of "Snatch," "Ocean's 11" and "The Italian Job." Then juxtapose the staples of the caper genre with real events involving national security and high-level corruption, and the result is The Bank Job.

Worth seeing just for the superb prosthetic makeup and seamless computer-generated effects in which Pitt's head is digitally imposed onto older bodies.

You won’t be able to tear your eyes off the screen, both because of the physically magnetic performances and also because it’s hard to fathom what madness exactly is going on at times.

Joaquin Phoenix gives a superbly raw and excruciatingly vulnerable performance.

Dazzling colors, winning characters and energetic visual effects all work in concert, with the 3-D animation serving to intensify the experience.

Spiced with plenty of humor and affection.

Classic rock enthusiasts will want to stick around through the end credit sequence, which features an array of album covers.

Jennifer Hudson is the heart and soul of Dreamgirls. When she's on the screen, the movie shines. When she's not, the whole endeavor suffers.

There are elements borrowed from B-movie horror flicks, crime dramas, Broadway musicals and love stories, mashed together in bold and bizarre strokes. And while imperfections exist in the violent, genre-defying romance, they don’t dim Gyllenhaal’s clear-eyed passion, grand ideas and big swings spattered on the screen.

“Black Messiah” satisfies both as tense thriller and insightful period piece featuring two of the most captivating actors in Hollywood, Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield.

This is a movie to be knocked, chewed and gummed, but not dismissed. It's the first 2001 release I've rushed to see twice.

Amid the style, sass and sexiness is plenty of sentimentality, especially at the satisfying conclusion.

Not for kids, silly. The little devils will devour this deviously delicious assault on abusive authority figures like the cake gobbled by the story's gluttonous schoolboy. [02 Aug 1996, p.1D]

Lego Ninjago sparkles with humor and kung fu style, yet it’s a few pieces short of greatness.

Even though there are a bunch of interesting personalities (like Ron Perlman’s strongman Bruno), Nightmare Alley lacks the human connections that not only made del Toro’s last effort, best picture winner The Shape of Water, so entrancing but also populate the 1947 adaptation of Gresham’s book.

Jolie’s magnetism, plus the way she toes the line between being a fairy version of Batman and a menacing mistress of not-quite-evil-but-pretty-close, is why these “Maleficent” movies work. She fits the character as well as her endless cycle of evolving costumes.

Race makes its title's double meaning all too clear, and at a time when the Oscars and movies, in general, struggle with finding racial balance, two guys of different skin colors coming together for some sports-movie magic is a fitting and truly welcoming lapping of the competition.

It took three “Thor” films for Chris Hemsworth’s thunder god to find his groove. Although Larson’s heroine is still a work in progress, Captain Marvel lays a solid foundation to follow her wherever she flies next.

A visually sumptuous effort with wondrous sights, though its character development falls short of those same heights.

Brüno offers more shock value for your moviegoing dollar than any other movie this year.

Once you're onto its wavelength (it doesn't take long), Linklater's passing parade starts to ring true. [15 Aug. 1991, p. 5D]

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.

Does Part of Me plumb the depths of her soul? Hardly. As billed, it's a part of Perry she's willing to share.

Though this is a tough movie to dislike, it plays more like a second draft than a final product.