Gregory Ellwood

The initial inspiration was clearly there, but the execution simply falls short.

Where it surprises is in Bell’s fantastic performance and the fact it eventually stops becoming a laugh out loud comedy. It soon dives into much more of a heartwarming drama with a few random jokes thrown in.

Orley’s direction is fine, and the picture is well made for a low budget indie, but Davidson is all you’ll really remember when you leave the theater. And for many, that’ll be enough.

Overall, “Fighting” works thanks to Merchant’s witty screenplay, Pugh’s transformative performance, Vaughn’s inspired off the cuff one-liners (likely improvised) and a cast that clearly respects the Bevis family story.

Apologies in advance, but for lack of a better descriptor the whole thing is a mess. It’s not even good enough to be a cult movie which is backhanded compliment anyway. But, hey, at least the actors tried.

There’s a line for an audience between conveying the true horror of what occurred and being excessive and Maras barely avoids the latter.

Fogelman clearly gets a thrill in constructing a tapestry full of one random tragedy after another (seriously, almost nothing good seems to happen to these people long term). And he also appears to love manipulating the audience’s emotions with these subsequent tragedies.

Despite the melodramatic ending, you leave the theater wanting to root for the film and its characters.

Greta is one of those thrillers where you see almost every twist coming, but the actors are so into it that you still get sucked in.

Demange, who earned glowing reviews for his debut “’71,” tries to guide all these plotlines and characters with a steady hand, but it often feels too unwieldy. There are simply too many storylines and threads competing with each other. The result is a movie that it feels like snippets of a life instead of a portrait of one.

Assayas has often shown great wit in his screenplays (most recently in “Clouds of Sils Maria”), but there is a rhythm to his writing here that is surprisingly good.

Israel, as noted by her own writing, had a caustic wit that works with McCarthy’s comedic talents. She also brings a depth of emotion to Israel that comes to a head in a wonderfully composed scene with Grant at the end of the film.

Boy Erased has problems depicting the fear, intimidation and psychological trauma such programs can inflict on even the most willing of participants. But that’s likely because, at its core, the film isn’t really about the gay conversion experience.

When Kusuma, Kidman and Destroyer finally kick it into high gear it’s so, so worth the wait.

Yes, Jackman’s impressive portrayal of Hart is at the center of “The Front Runner” (it’s one of the best performances of his career), but Reitman uses a large cast of characters to give depth to the events in question.

While Leigh transports you back to 1819 through these rich characters, he simply tests the audience’s patience in getting to the heart of the story. There is an abundance of formal speeches and long monologues in the film, and they are often arduous and repetitive.

The various marvels of the movie aren’t just the sparks between Redford and Spacek or Waits’ dry humor but often, Lowery’s inspired direction.

It is almost impossible, however, to watch Other Side Of The Wind without taking its history into account. That makes the final product uniquely captivating.

Sauvage captures the multitude of emotion or lack of, that come with Leo’s tricks. There’s jealousy, pain, excitement, cruelty and even monotonous apathy where you’d least expect it.

Despite youngster Aksoy-Etaix’s commendable performance, not only will you not believe, you also won’t care.

The problem with Dosunmu’s follow-up to the more compelling “Mother Of George” is that there is so little story — and what story there is moves at such a snail’s pace — that all you have to look at are Young’s impressive compositions and then you wait…and then wait some more.

Reitman is often at his best when he can join forces with an exceptional actor, and Theron once again helps with the heavy lifting.

Phoenix is almost otherworldly here. It’s his charismatic performance that often carries the film through its repetitive moments as he expertly takes Callahan on an emotional roller coaster filled with the highest highs and the lowest lows.

Gilroy has fashioned a character study that has moments that are incredibly well written.... What’s extremely disappointing is that the screenplay’s through line is simply not that interesting.

If not for Sareum’s charismatic performance the film might fold like a house of cards.

The conflicts are obviously real, but there is something about the tone that’s just off through most of the picture.

What immediately comes to the forefront is that McDonagh has choreographed an almost impossible feat of a brutally dark comedy that, thanks to both Rockwell and McDormand, elicits an emotional response you simply don’t see coming.

“Five Foot Two” is mostly about a woman pushing forward with her career in pain, and we’re talking chronic literal pain.