REVERSAL OF FORTUNE
Whatever happened to those kids about to get the death penalty?
Starring: Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver, Glenn Close, Felicity Huffman ♦ 3.5 stars
BRATS
First things first — who, exactly, are the members of the Brat Pack?
Starring: Andrew McCarthy, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy, Dave Blum ♦ 3.5 stars
THE ENFORCER
Dirty Harry has two partners — so why do we only care about one of them?
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daly, John Mitchum ♦ 3 stars
THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA
Sometimes, your conscience hits a whammy
Starring: Paul Walter Hauser, David Strathairn, Shamier Anderson ♦ 4 stars
JAY KELLY
A screen idol so uninteresting, even his daughters don’t want him around
Starring: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern ♦ 3 stars
THE FLY
David Cronenberg doesn’t try to wing it in this too-soon remake
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, John Getz ♦ 3 stars
THE ROAST OF TOM BRADY
This unsportsmanlike conduct has a heart — and not just Kevin
Starring: Tom Brady, Kevin Hart, Nikki Glaser, Rob Gronkowski ♦ 3.5 stars
SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE
When The Boss had more than the blues
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham ♦ 2.5 stars
MY DINNER WITH ANDRE
One of the world’s most controversial films tests the definition of “documentary”
Starring: Andre Gregory, Wallace Shawn ♦ 3.5 stars
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
When “who’s your daddy” is a life-or-death matter
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Chase Infiniti, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor ♦ 2 stars
THE GREAT WALDO PEPPER
What a shame — being bored between two world wars
Starring: Robert Redford, Susan Sarandon, Margot Kidder ♦ 1.5 stars
EDDINGTON
Testing the appetite for 148 minutes of lockdowns
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler ♦ 2 stars
UP CLOSE & PERSONAL
It took a long time for this project to become a Dunne deal
Starring: Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stockard Channing ♦ 1 star
SAIYAARA
A musician on a motorcycle ...
Starring: Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda, Geeta Agarwal ♦ 3 stars
PSYCHO (1998)
Some think a great work of art was stabbed in the back
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche, Julianne Moore ♦ 2 stars
ESSAY: WOULD THE OSCARS EVER DECIDE
TO EXPAND ACTING NOMINATIONS?
Let’s hope they don’t, and roll back the best picture field
ESSAY: WILL JORDAN HOROWITZ
EVER WIN AN OSCAR?
The ending of the 2017 Academy Awards informs us of the treasure of spontaneity
SHE’S ALL THAT
Give Rachael Leigh Cook an Oscar, just like two of her co-stars
Starring: Rachael Leigh Cook, Anna Paquin, Kieran Culkin ♦ 3.5 stars
CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Hair today, gone tomorrow
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz ♦ 3 stars
REAR WINDOW
A decade before Kitty Genovese, a New York bystander is compelled to act
Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Thelma Ritter, Raymond Burr ♦ 3 stars
61*
Records are made to be interpreted
Starring: Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane, Donald Moffat, Seymour Cassel ♦ 3 stars
TUCKER: THE MAN AND HIS DREAM
Francis could’ve given us a crash course in securities law
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Martin Landau, Christian Slater, Dean Stockwell ♦ 2 stars
THE BREAKFAST CLUB
It's Saturday Morning Fever at Shermer High School
Starring: Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy ♦ 3 stars
ANORA
Ani’s director lets her down more than the Russians do
Starring: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Karren Karagulian ♦ 3.5 stars
ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN
There’s a reason the title is gender-specific
Starring: Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, Hal Holbrook ♦ 4 stars
REAL GENIUS
The kids can figure anything out (except that they’re being used)
Starring: Val Kilmer, William Atherton, Gabe Jarret, Jonathan Gries ♦ 2 stars
SEPTEMBER 5
A news crew decides to report on, rather than impact, the situation
Starring: Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Benesc ♦ 3 stars
A REAL PAIN
Traveling can be a little more comfortable in separate hotel rooms
Starring: Kieran Culkin, Jesse Eisenberg, Jennifer Grey ♦ 3 stars
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
A rock star finds himself involved with more than one woman
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro ♦ 3 stars
THE AMITYVILLE HORROR
What if the movie was filmed at the actual house, and nothing scary happened?
Starring: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger ♦ 2 stars
VERTIGO
1958’s shrug is 2012’s world champion
Starring: Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore ♦ 3.5 stars
THE SUBSTANCE
The world’s freakiest Airbnb-type situation, all because of an exercise video
Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid ♦ 2 stars
BLADE RUNNER
Its fandom has long outlived the Replicants
Starring: Harrison Ford, Sean Young, Rutger Hauer, Daryl Hannah ♦ 3 stars
THE BIRDS
What happened to all of the cats in Bodega Bay?
Starring: ‘Tippi’ Hedren, Rod Taylor, Jessica Tandy, Suzanne Pleshette ♦ 3.5 stars
THE BAD NEWS BEARS
Its 11-year-old co-star made more than most big-league pitchers in 1976
Starring: Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neal, Vic Morrow, Jackie Earle Haley ♦ 2.5 stars
FIELD OF DREAMS
They threw a World Series for money; now they want to play for free
Starring: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan, Burt Lancaster ♦ 3.5 stars
AMERICAN GRAFFITI
Not everything worked, but the writing was on the wall for this young director
Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Kathleen Quinlan ♦ 3.5 stars
RUDY
Hollywood carries this questionable underdog tale off on its shoulders
Starring: Sean Astin, Jon Favreau, Ned Beatty, Jason Miller ♦ 4 stars
THE GODFATHER: PART II
Michael can’t match Vito, but Pacino can outperform Brando
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Lee Strasberg ♦ 4 stars
THE IDEA OF YOU
Did he really ‘genuinely connect’ with the spaghetti tiles in a couple of glances?
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, Reid Scott ♦ 3.5 stars
ROCKY II
A champion of sequels deserves an ending that’s just a little gutsier
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, Stuart K. Robinson ♦ 4 stars
CHALLENGERS
It’s a smash hit, but not in the way it hopes
Starring: Zendaya, Mike Faist, Josh O’Connor ♦ 2 stars
THE ORDEAL OF PATTY HEARST
‘The Searchers’ comes to life in a real way
Starring: Dennis Weaver, Lisa Eilbacher, James Karen ♦ 4 stars
HEAVEN CAN WAIT
Warren Beatty’s out of body experience
Starring: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Charles Grodin, James Mason ♦ 4 stars
OPPENHEIMER
Politics from Berkeley, right down the middle
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon ♦ 4 stars
THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING
Czech marks for all the boxes of Oscar aspirations
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Juliette Binoche, Lena Olin, Derek de Lint ♦ 3 stars
THE PURSUIT OF D.B. COOPER
Notorious hijacker meets ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’
Starring: Robert Duvall, Treat Williams, Kathryn Harrold ♦ 2 stars
INTERIORS
Woody Allen goes wading in to serious family drama
Starring: Mary Beth Hurt, Geraldine Page, Diane Keaton ♦ 3 stars
ESSAY: ROGER CLEMENS AND THE 8TH INNING OF GAME 6, 1986 WORLD SERIES
How a legend watched maybe the game’s greatest rally
Featuring: Roger Clemens, John McNamara, Carlton Fisk
CHINATOWN
A Marlowe-like private eye tries to rescue a woman who doesn’t want to be rescued
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston ♦ 4 stars
ANATOMY OF A FALL
The hazards of writing fiction for a living
Starring: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner ♦ 3 stars
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio make another mob movie
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone ♦ 2 stars
STAR WARS
Pauline Kael was underwhelmed
Starring: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Alec Guinness ♦ 4 stars
A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE
What comes after the denial stage of affliction
Starring: Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands, Katherine Cassavetes ♦ 4 stars
PHANTOM THREAD
Why didn’t she just put oil and salt on the asparagus?
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville ♦ 4 stars
LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD
Just imagine what they’re going to be talking about next year
Starring: Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha Pitoëff ♦ 4 stars
AMERICAN GIGOLO
One of many in the genre that’s got a good hook
Starring: Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo ♦ 3.5 stars
HARD EIGHT
Win a bet or lose a bet, everyone knows where their next meal is coming from
Starring: Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson ♦ 3 stars
LICORICE PIZZA
’70s nostalgia trip through the Valley finds itself running on fumes
Starring: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper ♦ 3.5 stars
THE WAY WE WERE
Admit it, you can’t get the song out of your head
Starring: Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford, Lois Chiles ♦ 3.5 stars
TÁR
A tribute to Mahler with an accent on marketing
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss ♦ 3 stars
MEPHISTO
An actor sells his soul to the toughest of crowds
Starring: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Rolf Hoppe, Karin Boyd ♦ 4 stars
PARIS, TEXAS
Healing one family means ripping apart another
Starring: Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, Hunter Carson ♦ 4 stars
RISKY BUSINESS
What to do when a handsome, Princeton-bound lad can’t get a date
Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca De Mornay, Joe Pantoliano, Megan Mullally ♦ 3 stars
SOUL MAN
The movie that could never be made today ... or could it?
Starring: C. Thomas Howell, James Earl Jones, Rae Dawn Chong ♦ 3 stars
WORKING GIRL
Just because the shoe fits, you don’t have to wear it
Starring: Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver ♦ 3.5 stars
STAR 80
Bob Fosse grinds an ax with Hollywood
Starring: Eric Roberts, Mariel Hemingway, Cliff Robertson ♦ 3.5 stars
PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED
When the toughest test in high school isn’t in that algebra class
Starring: Kathleen Turner, Nicolas Cage, Barry Miller, Jim Carrey ♦ 3 stars
DIRTY DANCING
Baby’s got guts, and so does this sensational underdog
Starring: Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze, Jerry Orbach, Jack Weston ♦ 3.5 stars
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT
A vulnerable young woman risks being board out of her mind
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Marielle Heller, Thomas Brodie-Sangster ♦ 3 stars
NOMADLAND
Reentry is a necessary option when going off the grid
Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Swankie ♦ 3 stars
SPELLBOUND (2002)
If you enjoy memorizing the dictionary, you’ve got a chance
Featuring: Nupur Lala, Neil Kadakia, Harry Altman, Paige Kimble ♦ 3 stars
NATALIE WOOD: WHAT REMAINS BEHIND
The Wagnerites take some shots at the Zakharenkos
Featuring: Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner, Natasha Gregson Wagner ♦ 3 stars
ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD
As if we could do to them anything remotely as bad as what they did to everyone else
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Kurt Russell ♦ 3 stars
THE FABELMANS
Steven Spielberg takes Michelle Williams on a camp trip
Starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, David Lynch ♦ 2 stars
MON ONCLE ANTOINE
Among the more unhappier Christmases you’ll ever experience
Starring: Jacques Gagnon, Jean Duceppe, Lionel Villeneuve ♦ 3 stars
CRITICAL CARE
End-of-life messages that get flatlined by the box office
Starring: James Spader, Helen Mirren, Albert Brooks ♦ 2.5 stars
HARLAN COUNTY U.S.A.
Digging for drama in Appalachia, sometimes finding a lump of coal
Featuring: Lois Scott, Basil Collins, Barbara Kopple ♦ 3 stars
THE MULE
Take it or leave it, but don’t call yourself a victim
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Bradley Cooper, Dianne Wiest ♦ 3 stars
MILDRED PIERCE, MOMMIE DEAREST
The triumph and trip-up of a Hollywood giant
Starring: Joan Crawford, Faye Dunaway ♦ 4 stars/3 stars
HUSBANDS
Sometimes the promotional tour can be even worse than the movie
Starring: Ben Gazzara, Peter Falk, John Cassavetes ♦ 2 stars
THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR
He was even bigger than he cracked himself up to be
Featuring: Allan Carr, Bruce Vilanch, Robert Osborne ♦ 4 stars
ROMA
If only the cars fit, everything else might too
Starring: Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Jorge Antonio Guerrero ♦ 3 stars
GREEN BOOK
Remarkably predictable road trip impressively keeps the pedal to the metal
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini ♦ 3 stars
LA VIE EN ROSE
A star is torn, by insomnia, insecurity, genetics
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Sylvie Testud, Gérard Depardieu ♦ 4 stars
10
The number that’s still the standard after 40 years of inflation
Starring: Bo Derek, Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews ♦ 3 stars
LAST TANGO IN PARIS
The most controversial film ever made
Starring: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider, Jean-Pierre Léaud ♦ 3 stars
THE CHINA SYNDROME
The suits can cause just about anything to have a meltdown
Starring: Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas ♦ 3.5 stars
RUST AND BONE
Life finally begins to add up for a whale trainer as a fight club accountant
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Corinne Masiero ♦ 3 stars
ANNIE HALL
The costume designer was not even nominated for an Oscar
Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Carol Kane ♦ 2 stars
CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Caveat emptor, for your ticket as much as anything else
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Richard E. Grant, Jane Curtin ♦ 1 star
AIR
When the grimy world of basketball recruiting meets corporate Zen
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Viola Davis, Jason Bateman ♦ 3 stars
THE LAST METRO
When the Nazis are far more inept than intimidating
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Heinz Bennent ♦ 3 stars
MOLLY’S GAME
Aaron Sorkin and Jessica Chastain should have folded this travesty
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner ♦ 1 star
SHOAH
A filmmaker opts against editing, for better or worse
Featuring: Simon Srebnik, Abraham Bomba, Filip Müller, Rudolf Vrba ♦ 3 stars
THE SILENCE, PERSONA, THE SHINING
Comparisons: How two legendary directors found drama in a hallway
Starring: Gunnel Lindblom, Liv Ullmann, Jack Nicholson ♦ 4 stars (3)
OBIT.
Journalism’s bourgeoisie complain about untimely deaths
Featuring: Bruce Weber, Margalit Fox, Jeff Roth ♦ 3 stars
HOUSE OF GUCCI
Feels at times like a cheap knockoff, but there’s value in the brand
Starring: Lady Gaga, Al Pacino, Adam Driver, Jeremy Irons ♦ 3 stars
DAY FOR NIGHT
The only thing that can stop a bad movie is a little hanky panky
Starring: François Truffaut, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Dani ♦ 4 stars
CLAIRE’S KNEE
Stunning visuals make this one for the ages
Starring: Jean-Claude Brialy, Aurora Cornu, Laurence de Monaghan ♦ 3.5 stars
SÁTÁNTANGÓ
Béla Tarr pushes the boundaries as well as the clock
Starring: Mihály Vig, Miklós Székely, Erika Bók, Peter Berling ♦ 4 stars
BILL WALTON, BASKETBALL’S GREATEST
The ultimate BMOC’s “Back from the Dead” warns of underachievement
Featuring: Bill Walton, John Wooden, Maurice Lucas ♦ 4 stars
LACOMBE, LUCIEN
(and THE SORROW AND THE PITY)
When the Germans didn’t seem like the worst option
Featuring: Pierre Blaise, Aurore Clément, Holger Löwenadler ♦ 4 stars/4 stars
DON’T THINK TWICE
Comedy can be a very serious business
Starring: Mike Birbiglia, Gillian Jacobs, Keegan-Michael Key ♦ 4 stars
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
The grief is endless; so’s the movie
Starring: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams ♦ 2 stars
THE PAPER CHASE
If you can’t marry your prof, maybe his daughter will do
Starring: Timothy Bottoms, Lindsay Wagner, John Houseman ♦ 4 stars
MELVIN AND HOWARD
If the will thing doesn’t work out, there’s always country music
Starring: Jason Robards, Paul Le Mat, Mary Steenburgen ♦ 2 stars
BARRY LYNDON
When you cease to care, the odds are in your favor
Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee ♦ 4 stars
THE LOST DAUGHTER
The thugs at the Greece theater were crashing the wrong movie
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson, Ed Harris ♦ 1 star
MARGARET
Girl, you’ll be a woman ... already
Starring: Anna Paquin, J. Smith-Cameron, Matt Damon ♦ 3 stars
SAVE THE TIGER
Criminality is just one of the burning issues in searing ’70s portrait
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Jack Gilford, Laurie Heineman ♦ 4 stars
THE BLING RING
A dive into the shallow end of the criminality pool
Starring: Emma Watson, Katie Chang, Israel Broussard ♦ 4 stars
WHIPLASH
One degenerate’s approval should not be the cymbal of success
Starring: J.K. Simmons, Miles Teller, Paul Reiser ♦ 4 stars
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
When there are too many doctors in town and not any shrinks
Starring: Carey Mulligan, Bo Burnham, Alison Brie, Laverne Cox ♦ 3 stars
SELMA
Too much a re-creation, its most vivid images are the ending footage
Starring: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth ♦ 3 stars
NIGHTCRAWLER
How far a young entrepreneur can go just by leaving one thing behind
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton ♦ 3.5 stars
THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN
A pair of left-leaning megastars introduce Morning in America
Starring: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Willie Nelson ♦ 3.5 stars
THE PLAYER
Jerks and slackers can make a killing in Hollywood
Starring: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward ♦ 3.5 stars
WALL STREET
Gordon Gekko can’t be sold short in this flawed depiction of greed
Starring: Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen ♦ 3.5 stars
PATTON
Defense of the institution is The Most Important Film Ever Made
Starring: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young ♦ 4 stars
GRAN TORINO
Clint still can draw a gun like no other in this pleasing tale of tolerance
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Ahney Her, Christopher Carley ♦ 3.5 stars
BROADCAST NEWS
An ethical breach derails a relationship that never should’ve happened
Starring: William Hurt, Holly Hunter, Albert Brooks, Jack Nicholson ♦ 2.5 stars
A FEW GOOD MEN
“Patton” extension denounces old-school military but enjoys the sexism
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak ♦ 4 stars
THE DOORS
An Oscar-snubbed performance so good, Jim Morrison doesn’t deserve it
Starring: Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan, Kathleen Quinlan ♦ 3.5 stars
THE CARD COUNTER
There are bad hands at the WSOP, and then there are the really raw deals
Starring: Oscar Isaac, Tye Sheridan, Tiffany Haddish, Willem Dafoe ♦ 3 stars
THE SECRET OF MY SUCCE$S
Underrated corporate-climbing caper thrives on winging it
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Helen Slater, Margaret Whitton ♦ 3 stars
50/50
Half-baked therapist dramedy has a heart
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick ♦ 2.5 stars
THE GODFATHER
History’s most celebrated gangster film is a cleverly disguised tragedy
Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall ♦ 4 stars
THE WRESTLER
Poignant story, but the cable TV guys are better at producing wrestling drama
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood ♦ 3.5 stars
THE READER
A young man finds himself in position to render a verdict on a nation’s guilt
Starring: Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross, Bruno Ganz ♦ 3.5 stars
MILK
Splendid documentary material doesn’t pack a Hollywood punch
Starring: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch ♦ 3 stars
THE VISITOR
Different people live in different worlds, even when sharing an apartment
Starring: Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Hiam Abbass, Danai Gurira ♦ 3 stars
THE AFTERMATH
The Marshall Plan didn’t account for this kind of complication
Starring: Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgård, Jason Clarke ♦ 3 stars
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON
Woe to be young again — this reverse-chronology epic might not age well
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton ♦ 2.5 stars
FROZEN RIVER
A desperate family is on thin ice in this powerful portrayal of the poor
Starring: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham, Michael O’Keefe ♦ 4 stars
THE WIFE
When a writer is really good but has nothing to show for it
Starring: Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Christian Slater ♦ 2 stars
BOLDEN
Who knew that greedy managers and drugs were a problem on the music circuit?
Starring: Gary Carr, Erik LaRay Harvey, Reno Wilson ♦ 1 star
JT LEROY
A passive-aggressive treat in a masquerade of a movie
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern, Diane Kruger ♦ 2 stars
DOUBT
An unbreakable nun’s strongest suspicions are put to the test
Starring: Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Philip Seymour Hoffman ♦ 3.5 stars
FROST/NIXON
It’s David vs. Goliath in the combative arena of ... TV interviewing
Starring: Frank Langella, Michael Sheen, Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon ♦ 2.5 stars
I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG
Can this dazzling woman’s criminal background be for real?
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius ♦ 4 stars
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
An orphan in India makes the most of his less-than-1-in-4 shot in life
Starring: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan ♦ 3.5 stars
THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS
A child near a concentration camp wonders about those ‘farmers’
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, David Thewlis ♦ 3.5 stars
CHANGELING
The mother of all actresses faces a horrifying search for son
Starring: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Michael Kelly ♦ 4 stars
SACHEEN LITTLEFEATHER’S SPEECH
“He very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award”
Featuring: Sacheen Littlefeather, Marlon Brando
W.
It’s Bush satire vs. Bush fatigue in this tardy caricature
Starring: Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Richard Dreyfuss ♦ 2.5 stars
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Sisters spar over their dueling psychological practices
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Debra Winger ♦ 4 stars
SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK
A theater director confronts life’s script
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Samantha Morton ♦ 3 stars
THE NAMESAKE
An Indian father finds a Russian author more powerful than his son does
Starring: Tabu, Kal Penn, Irrfan Khan, Jacinda Barrett, Sahira Nair ♦ 3 stars
WALL-E
What on Earth could happen to the human race?
Starring: Ben Burtt (voice), Elissa Knight (voice), Jeff Garlin (voice) ♦ 3 stars
THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN
Collision of raunch vs. values delivers two of the most rewarding scenes in memory
Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Seth Rogen, Kat Dennings ♦ 4 stars
THAT GAL... WHO WAS IN THAT THING
Pre-#MeToo, women spoke of showing off physical features to land roles
Featuring: Paget Brewster, Donna Massetti, Roma Maffia ♦ 3.5 stars
THE COMPANY YOU KEEP
A newer cause hits close to home for a former ’70s radical
Starring: Robert Redford, Julie Christie, Shia LaBeouf ♦ 2.5 stars
KNIGHT OF CUPS
Terrence Malick’s script doesn’t begin to explain a screenwriter’s life
Starring: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman ♦ 3.5 stars
RAIN MAN
Raymond Babbitt steals hearts, while brother Charlie steals the show
Starring: Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Valeria Golino, Jerry Molen ♦ 4 stars
BACK TO THE FUTURE
Time travel tale poses big question — do we really have the capacitor to change?
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Crispin Glover ♦ 4 stars
ULEE’S GOLD
Bee-lieve it: The healing of a broken family is as sweet as the Tupelo honey
Starring: Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Christine Dunford ♦ 4 stars
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
Two people from opposite worlds can’t bear to lose their home
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Shohreh Aghdashloo ♦ 4 stars
ROUNDERS
Drop law school and a gorgeous girlfriend to play poker in Vegas. Sounds like a plan.
Starring: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Malkovich ♦ 3 stars
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
For one unit, getting home from Iraq is only half the battle
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, Susan Sarandon ♦ 3 stars
NOTORIOUS
An American agent may care more about a mission than his beautiful contact
Starring: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern ♦ 4 stars
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
Whoever Kaplan is, he’s got nothing on Cary Grant
Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason ♦ 4 stars
THE CANDIDATE
Long before Barack Obama, this satire would get your vote
Starring: Robert Redford, Peter Boyle, Melvyn Douglas, Don Porter ♦ 4 stars
DIE HARD
One of cinema’s greatest villains meets one of its greatest heroes
Starring: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia ♦ 3.5 stars
GOOD WILL HUNTING
Society tries to push a genius whose deep scars haven’t healed
Starring: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver ♦ 3.5 stars
THE QUEEN
God — and Blair — save the sovereign from a P.R. disaster
Starring: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Helen McCrory ♦ 3 stars
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
Tony Manero conquers at least one demon while exploring if it’s all Bay Ridge’s fault
Starring: John Travolta, Karen Lynn Gorney, Barry Miller ♦ 4 stars
MARIA FULL OF GRACE
A 17-year-old going on 37 needs every one of those years
Starring: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, Patricia Rae ♦ 4 stars
CASABLANCA
A triumph of love and sacrifice over romance and passion
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains ♦ 4 stars
PULP FICTION
Truth is, this aspiring B movie is one of the funniest ever
Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis ♦ 4 stars
THE MALTESE FALCON
Famous noir vies to be the stuff legendary films are made of
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet ♦ 3.5 stars
BILL COWHER, HEART AND STEEL
A legendary coach covers rare ground on the subjects of marriage, dating
Featuring: Bill Cowher, Kaye Cowher, Marty Schottenheimer, V ♦ 3 stars
LOVE & MERCY
Sometimes a man needs a woman to stand up for himself
Starring: Elizabeth Banks, Paul Dano, John Cusack ♦ 3 stars
TICK, TICK ... BOOM!
A production within a production about a production; flashbacks within flashbacks ...
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Robin de Jesús, Vanessa Hudgens ♦ 2 stars
IRON MAN
A triumph of what a man can accomplish when he puts his mind to it
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow ♦ 3.5 stars
ROBERT EVANS: THE KID
STAYS IN THE PICTURE
A giant of judging art implies collaboration brings the greatest results
SHIRLEY JONES: A MEMOIR
Dysfunctional, sex-fueled family wasn’t exactly the Partridges
MARATHON MAN
A young Jewish man battles a Nazi in a farfetched endurance test
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider ♦ 2.5 stars
ROOM
Claustrophobia and stigma are a powerful 1-2 punch
Starring: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen ♦ 4 stars
ROAD HOUSE
Opinions vary, but it’s the best butt-kickin’ film ever made
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Ben Gazzara, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott ♦ 3.5 stars
