Despite taking inspiration from a city that is so easily mocked for its many stereotypes, “La La Land” is surprisingly complex, effortlessly charming, and maybe the most compellingly written onscreen romance since “Annie Hall.”

Unlike many attempts at portraying reality on screen, attempts that manufacture nondescript dialogue or try to make stories out of nothing, “Manchester by the Sea” lands because it understands that life is always engrossing to those who live it.

“Fantastic Beasts” has the special effects, wholesome humor, and climactic battles between good and evil that we expect from the Harry Potter universe, but it also has the feel of a conglomerate cashing in on its brand.

“Moonlight” would have been important regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, but under different circumstances, it wouldn’t have been so radical.

All of Ron Howard’s directorial finesse and all of Tom Hanks’s gravitas are as good as wasted when put to work in service of a stupid theme.

For all movie buffs complain about formulaic Hollywood fare (something I’ve done plenty of), constancy is nice; it’s easy to escape to a place you already know. Which is why a movie like “Hell or High Water” is both a great and unsettling movie for 2016.

If aliens came to earth and attempted to assimilate by making what they thought was a standard human movie, they would make “Under the Skin.”

The story of Noah could be about virtually anything, but Darren Aronofsky has decided to use it as a character study that, when all is said and done, ends up remarkably similar to Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne.

It would have been easy to make “Need For Speed” a bad movie. However, the entire cast and crew put in that extra little something, and now this movie is so bad that it’s actually fun to watch.

The plot points arrive exactly when and where you expect, but by so bluntly and honestly admitting as much, “The Lego Movie” upends moviemaking standards.