The premise of “Neighbors,” a comedy about a couple with a baby getting into a prank war with a bunch of fraternity guys, seems unlikely to yield one good film, let alone two. Well, although “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” is made mostly of recycled materials, it’s shockingly one of the better comedy sequels in recent […]

In a year when the quality of life in middle America small towns has come back into focus, “Hell or High Water” feels like an important film, perhaps more important than it might have been had it been released prior to 2016. But it’s not just timeliness that makes this a good movie. There are […]

Classical cinema sensibilities collide with 21st century realities in Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land.” The “Whiplash” filmmaker follows up that highly acclaimed effort with its tonal opposite, a breezy, colorful romance wrapped in original songs and musical numbers.

“Rogue One” is the first “Star Wars” film without the word “episode” in the title, but other than not following the main characters or narrative arc of those previous installments, what does that really mean? This was LucasFilm’s chance to set the tone for what the “A Star Wars Story” movies could be. So far, […]

It’s official — John Carney is the master of the modern day movie musical. The filmmaker who broke onto the scene and stole indie movie fans’ hearts with “Once” has a gift for crafting films and original music that work together seamlessly to tell emotionally compelling stories. “Sing Street” is probably his most personal effort […]

Science fiction might have a reputation as a niche genre, but sci-fi movies have also proved, over the course of film history, to be among the most socially important. It’s not often that those important ones come along, but time could prove “Arrival” to be one of them.

Believe it or not, there was a time – eight years ago – when Iron Man seemed just as obscure of a comic book character to the public as Doctor Strange had been (until now). So it would surprise no one if in 2024, Stephen Strange was almost as much of a household name as […]

In 2009, America got a rare hero in the form of Captain Chesley Sullenberger, the pilot who safely landed a commercial plane with two blown engines on the Hudson River without losing a single passenger. Clint Eastwood, as he did with “American Sniper,” takes a closer look at that heroism in “Sully,” which follows the […]

Actors, improvisers, comics or any kind of artist, really, shouldn’t miss Mike Birbiglia’s “Don’t Think Twice.” The comic-turned-actor/filmmaker journeys behind the curtain for his second film to put an honest lens on the inherent friction that occurs when artists need each other to succeed but also have their own dreams, egos and pursuits.

Arguably the two biggest heroes in comics have come together for “the greatest gladiator match in the history of the world,” a pretty tall order for DC Comics and Warner Bros., who have struggled to build the cache of their superhero universe over the years and watched in anguish as Marvel has become an unstoppable […]

The talented storytellers and animators at Pixar are too creative to be devoting so much time to sequels like “Finding Dory,” but money talks. At least they’re clever and thoughtful enough to turn an easy payday into something entertaining and heartfelt.

“Zootopia” has all the best trappings of an entertaining animated family film with ample wit and heart.

In tackling Hollywood’s Golden Age, the Coen Brothers have made their glitziest film to date in “Hail, Caesar!”

As he did with his Oscar-nominated foreign film “Dogtooth,” Lanthimos builds a concept- driven story in “The Lobster” that explores the possibilities of how humans would react to well-intentioned extremism.

Welcome to Phase III of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the solo superhero films get an “Avengers”-sized cast and even Spider-Man can swing out of the clutches of Sony Pictures and into a Marvel Studios movie. In other words, you’d need a lot of action figures to recreate “Captain America: Civil War.”