Nicole Herrington

All four actresses have a natural chemistry and manage to give some inner dimensions to these otherwise archetypal characters.

While Mr. Defa’s dialogue mostly flows naturally from Mr. Coopersmith, it can seem too self-aware and precious in the other characters’ mouths.

It’s an environmental tragedy of our own making, the film heartbreakingly argues, that has little hope of being reversed without immediate human intervention.

The entire cast is solid, but the women, especially Ms. Hagoel, bring depth to their comedic and dramatic turns.

It’s refreshing to see concrete solutions at work, many of them at the grass-roots level. And the optimism of those countering ineffective politicians and big business is infectious.

What’s in a child’s best interest? It depends on who’s answering the question. That’s the crux of Gifted.

While it would be a tall order to fully elucidate this complicated history in two hours, Olvidados is hamstrung by Mr. Bolado’s lack of focused direction and a convoluted plot.

The action slowly builds and breaks down, with dance beats kicking in periodically. Not much resonates here; it’s all facile entertainment.

While Mr. D’Silva’s basic structure and pacing are fairly fluid, his movie suffers from Bollywood’s typical kitchen-sink approach to filmmaking.

The actors are uniformly handsome and mostly serviceable, though the same can’t be said about the filmmaking or the writing.

At its best, the movie has a sort of sitcom feel, with swift pacing and delivery, and the strong ensemble cast has a natural rapport.

The strength of Canopy is its filmmaking. With this haunting work, Mr. Wilson, joined by the talented cinematographer Stefan Duscio and the sound designers Rodney Lowe and Nic Buchanan, has made a promising debut.

The journey, an exploration of the passion for soccer that evolves into a history of the ball (a sort of film version of the anthropologist John Fox’s 2012 book, “The Ball”), is somewhat illuminating, often indulgent and never wholly satisfying.

While the film starts out as a seemingly fresh take on the romantic comedy, it is saddled with numerous contrivances and the clichéd trappings of the genre.

Fifty years later, this is one of many additions to the Kennedy catalog. Although it’s more suited for the small screen, it is a worthy entry nonetheless.

For a romantic comedy that doubles as a mockumentary, it can be downright creepy.

L.A. Superheroes is at times endearing, humorous and insightful. But her golden nugget of a story idea suffers in the big-screen telling.

In the end, the filmmaker’s message is nearly lost in this poorly constructed film.

A bit overstuffed with history and tales of perseverance, the film doesn’t have room for balanced political analysis or even exposition at times. It’s an omission that feels like a missed opportunity, but maybe that will be resolved in the next installment.

It’s not about why he was such a thrill-seeking risk-taker but about appreciating his success in living life on his own terms.

This human story is profound enough to stand on its own.