The Coen Brothers' spool of 1950s Hollywood perfectly suits their tradition of mischief.

Tim Miller's "Deadpool" works so hard at being a satire it eventually wears away its vulgar welcome.

The latest and most ambitious 2008-crash movie is at once chilling and hilarious.

Roar Uthag does a fine job in appropriating disaster Americana for Norwegian use.

Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 19th-century story of revenge puts the wilderness ahead of all else.

In "Pawn Sacrifice," Edward Zwick transforms Tobey Maguire into the mad-hatter grandmaster.

Steven Spielberg's retelling of a famous Cold War spy incident is at its best when it picks Capra over Le Carré.

In the early 1960s, Stanley Milgram tried understanding obedience, and used a trick to get there.

At its best, Ridley Scott's latest space epic is a superbly intelligent peon to human ingenuity.

Alex R. Johnson's "Two Step," billed specifically as a Texas thriller, brilliantly delivers the dark side of that state.

In "Ex Machina," Alex Garland plays on artificial intelligence, hacking, porn, sex and paranoia.

Frank Langella's rendition of an aging and vulnerable New York writer is acting of rare beauty.