American Reunion (R)
"End of Watch" (R, 109 minutes). One of the best police movies in recent years, a virtuoso joining of performances and startling action. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as Taylor and Zavala, two Los Angeles street cops who bend a few rules but must be acknowledged as heroes. They're transferred to a tough district, where their persistence leads them to a Mexican drug cartel operating in L.A. This is really an assignment for a detective, but they don't avoid risk, and eventually become so dangerous to the cartel that a hit is ordered against them. Four stars  (9/18/12)

Arbitrage (R)
"Arbitrage" (R, 107 minutes). Richard Gere stars as a man involved in a multi-million-dollar fraud, who cheats on his wife, tries to cover up the death his mistress, betrays a man who goes out on a limb for him, and would throw his own daughter under a bus. A brilliant thriller, so well-written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki that it evokes Hollywood's classic era. With Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth and Brit Marling. Four stars  (9/12/12)

The Awakening (R)
"The Awakening" (R 107 minutes). Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall), famous ghostbuster, is contacted by the shell-shocked war veteran Robert Mallory (Dominic West), who wants her help at the spectral English country boarding school where he teaches. A boy has recently died there, and the other students report sightings of his ghost. She arrives to find a sadistic teacher, a kindly matron, a skulky groundskeeper, and one angelic boy, because the others are off on holidays. But the haunted house lives up to its billing, which is more than I can say for the gloomy and vaporous plot. One and a half stars  (8/29/12)

The Babymakers (R)
"The Babymakers" (R, 98 minutes). Paul Schneider and Olivia Munn play a married couple who are around 30. She feels her clock is ticking, but try can't get pregnant. A doctor gives her a clean bill of health, but finds that he has "lazy sperm." Luckily, he made deposits in a sperm bank 10 years ago, and now joins up with his buddies to steal it back again. The movie is already disgusting before they spill gallons of sperm and start slipping around on the floor. One star.  (8/1/12)

Beloved (Unrated)
"Beloved" (Unrated, 139 minutes). A labyrinth of French love stories that wind their way from 1968 to the near-present, pausing along the way to use the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia and 9/11 as historical backdrops. It uses Catherine Deneuve and her real daughter Chiara Mastroianni as Madeleine and her daughter Vera, and Ludivine Sagnier as a younger version of Madeleine. They are a pleasure to behold, and the Czech director Milos Forman os engaging as a philandering doctor, but writer-director Christophe Honoré puts his film on hold six or seven times while the characters sing/ recite the lyrics to banal songs explaining the meaning of what we've just seen, which was all too comprehensible the first time around. Two stars  (9/12/12)

Bill W. (Unrated)
"Bill W." (Unrated, 104 minutes). Biographical documentary based on the life of Bill Wilson, who founded Alcoholics Anonymous. Assembles film footage of Bill, his co-founder Dr. Bob, and uses actors to reenact key events in his life; the actors don't have dialog, and the narration is from tape recordings of Bill, Bob and others, and from current AA members whose faces are in shadow. Probably of greatest interest to AA members. Three stars  (8/1/12)

The Bourne Legacy (PG-13)
"The Bourne Legacy" (PG-13, 135 minutes). Jeremy Renner plays another secret super agent like Jason Bourne, who realizes he's been targeted for elimination. To save himself and the experimental medication which gives him great physical and mental power, he travels from Alaska to Manila, fighting off wolves, drone missiles and assassination, while hooking up with Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz), a biochemist who knows all about the pills. The action scenes are gripping in the moment, but go on too long and don't add up; the dialogue scenes (with such as Edward Hopper, Stacy Keach and Scott Glenn), are well-acted; the plot is a murky muddle. Two and a half stars  (8/8/12)

The Campaign (R)
"The Campaign" (R, 85 minutes). Raucous, bawdy comedy starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as opponents in a North Carolina GOP congressional primary. Ferrell is the incumbent, and Galifianakis is a doofus who is bankrolled by billionaire brothers who want to buy the district and resell it to China. The movie uses their campaign as a showcase of political scandals and dirty tricks that have become familiar in both parties. Sad fact: Some of the scandals in the movie would have been hard to believe until recent years, when--well, they've happened. Three stars  (8/8/12)

Celeste and Jesse Forever (R)
"Celeste and Jesse Forever" (R, 91 minutes). Rashida Jones and Andy Samberg star as an appealing couple, married six years, who decide to stop living in the same house. To be sure, he only moves into his back yard studio and they remain "best friends." Their own best friends are deeply upset by this change in a relationship they all thought was stable. The couple gets along smoothly in new lifestyle, until they receive an unexpected jolt of reality. Good-hearted romantic comedy, avoiding the usual formulas. Three and a half stars  (8/8/12)

Chicken with Plums (PG-13)
"Chicken with Plums" (PG-13, 91 minutes). a grand romantic life story about love, loss, regret, and the sadness that can be evoked by a violin--not only through music, but through the instrument itself. It is all melancholy and loss, and delightfully comedic, with enough but not too much magic realism. The story as it stands could be the scenario for an opera. Starring Mathieu Amalric as a master violinist who finds and loses true love. Co-written and directed by Oscar nominees Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud. Four stars  (8/22/12)

Compliance (R)
"Compliance" (R, 90 minutes). The manager of an Ohio fast-food restaurant (Ann Dowd) is told by a policeman over the phone that one of her employees (Dreama Walker) has stolen from a customer's purse. The cop orders her to search the young woman--and worse. Would you obey the voice on the phone? This unsettling film is based on a real case in Kentucky, and 70 more like it. At every screening, a few audience members walk out in anger. Why? Mad at the movie, mad at the characters, mad at themselves? Three stars.  (8/29/12)

Cosmopolis (R)
"Cosmopolis" (R, 109 minutes). A flawlessly directed film about enigmatic people who speak in morose epigrams about vague universal principles they show no sign of understanding. Robert Pattinson stars as a young billionaire who spends a day in his limo crossing a gridlocked Manhattan to get a haircut, while riots swirl around him, his fortune melts away, and he has not only sex in the car but a prostate exam. Directed by David Cronenberg, based on the novel by Don DeLillo. You couldn't pay me to see it again. Two stars  (8/22/12)

The Curators of Dixon School (Unrated)
"Curators of Dixon School" (Unrated, 80 minutes). A positive, sunny new documentary by Pamela Sherrod Anderson, about a successful Chicago public school whose hallways are lined by museum-quality art collection. The presence of the art has seemed to transform the school and the student body. Featuring Joan Dameron Chrisler and Carol Briggs, two of the principals. Three stars  (8/8/12)

For a Good Time Call... (R)
"For a God Time, Call…" (R, 86 minutes). Two enemies from college become roommates in a luxury Manhattan apartment and support themselves by running a phone sex service. Starring Lauren Anne Miller, Ari Graynor and Justin Long as the obligatory gay best friend. Stupid, vulgar, crass and mercilessly formulaic. High-spirited performances by Miller and Ari Graynor, who deserve better material. Two stars  (8/29/12)

Hit and Run (R)
"Hit and Run" (R, 100 minutes). A lot more fun than the title suggests. How many chase comedies have you seen where the hero's sexy girlfriend has a doctorate in nonviolent conflict resolution? Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell co-star as a loving couple in a bucolic northern California town, who are plunged into adventure when it's revealed he's in the federal witness protection program. He volunteers to drive her to LA, the very place where he needs protection the most. Tom Arnold is very funny as a U.S. Marshall whose gun is a danger to himself and everyone in gunshot range. ever so much better than a film titled "Hit and Run" has any right to be. Three and a half stars  (8/22/12)

Hope Springs (PG-13)
"Hope Springs" (PG-13, 100 minutes). Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep play a couple whose marriage has frozen into a routine. Every day starts with his nose buried in the newspaper and ends with him asleep in front of the Golf Channel. They haven't slept in the same room for years. She convinces him over his own dead body to attend a couples therapy session at a Maine clinic run by Steve Carrell. The movie contains few surprises, but one of them is Jones's excellent performance--vulnerable, touchy and shy. He isn't interested in getting in touch with his feelings. He isn't even very interested in having any. Three stars.  (8/7/12)

Killer Joe (NC-17)
"Killer Joe" (NC-17, 103 minutes). Very dark, violent and sex-drenched film, about the stupidest family I've ever seen in a movie that's not a comedy. Set amid trailer trash in Dallas, it's about a life insurance fraud that goes horribly wrong in every possible way. Starring Matthew McConaughey in an eerie performance as a cop who moonlights as a contract killer. The four members of the family he becomes involved with are played by Thomas Hayden Church, Emile Hirsch, Gina Gershon and Juno Temple. Three stars.  (8/1/12)

Kumare (Unrated)
"Kumare"(Unrated, 86 minutes). Fascinating documentary in which an American-born Hindu from New Jersey moves to Arizona and pretends to be a guru and yoga master from India. His teachings are fabricated, his sayings are nonsense, but he gathers sincere followers and learns much or himself about the nature of truth. What begins as a experimental deception ends in an unexpected way. Directed by Vikram Gandhi, who plays the fake guru Kumare. Three stars  (8/8/12)

Lawless (R)
"Lawless" (R, 104 minutes). Based on a real life, blood-soaked war between moonshiners and the law in Franklin County, Virginia in 1931. The three Bondurant brothers (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke) fearlessly rule their turf, until a foppish federal agent (Guy Pearce) arrives from Chicago. A well-made film about ignorant and violent people. It's not so much that the movie is too long, as that too many people must be killed before it can end. Two and a half stars  (8/29/12)

Little White Lies (Unrated)
"Little White Lies" (Unrated, 154 minutes.) A tightly-knit circle of friends gather ritualistically at the expensive beach home of Max (François Cluzet), a successful Parisian restaurateur. This year's holiday is clouded because their pal Ludo (Oscar winner Jean Dujardin) has been injured in an accident. But they carry on, and we grow familiar with their loves and jealousies, infidelities and compromises; these 40-somethings tap-dance around many things left unsaid. A French "Big Chill." Three and a half stars  (8/29/12)

Nobody Else But You (Unrated)
"Nobody Else But You" (Unrated, 102 minutes). On the slopes above a frigid town on the French-Swiss border, a young woman is found frozen. She was locally famous as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike whose portrait was on containers of the famous local cheese. A crime novelist, snowbound in the town, becomes convinced her death was murder, and the victim narrates her own part of the story from beyond the grave, through her diaries. In the Marilyn character, Sophie Quinton touches real poignancy. Three stars.  (8/22/12)

The Odd Life of Timothy Green (PG)
"The Odd Life of Timothy Green" (PG, 104 minutes). A warm and lovely fantasy, the kind of full-bodied family film that's being pushed aside in favor of franchises and slam-bang confusion. On a picture-postcard farm in the middle of endlessly rolling hills where it is always Indian Summer, a lovable boy comes into the life of a childless couple, and brings along great joy and wisdom. Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, young CJ Adams, and a rich supporting cast. Written and directed by Peter Hedges ("What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"). Accessible for all but the youngest children, and I suspect their parents will enjoy it, too. Three and a half stars  (8/14/12)

Oslo, August 31 (Unrated)
"Oslo, August 31" (Unrated, 95 minutes.) About a day, a city, and a 34-year-old man named Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie), who is on release from a drug rehab center in order to go to a job interview. It doesn't go well. He wanders the city. He has a touching conversation with an old friend. He meets a girl who likes him. The director Joachim Trier and the actor Anders Danielsen Lie, working together for the second time, understand something fundamental about this character. He lacks the will to begin again. He believes the ship has sailed without him. He screwed up. He lost years in addiction and recovery. Life has moved on. What a sad, true film. Four stars  (8/29/12)

The Possession (PG-13)
"The Possession" (PG-13, 92 minutes. The possession of the title is a dark wood box with a carved inscription in Hebrew informing the finder that it entraps a dybbuk, an evil spirit that will cleave to the soul of anyone unlucky enough to release it. This box turns up in a yard sale, and is purchases by young girl named Emily (Natasha Calis). Her divorced parents are played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick, Matisyahu is effective as a Hassidic exorcist. The people are persuasive, the box is scary. Three and a half stars  (8/29/12)

Premium Rush (PG-13)
"Premium Rush" (PG-13,91 minutes.) A breakneck chase movie about the high-risk daredevils who work as Manhattan bicycle messengers. With a map of the city imprinted in their brains, they hurtle down sidewalks, run red lights, go against traffic, jump obstacles and use bikes without brakes. Joseph-Gordon Levitt stars as a messenger for whom one envelope delivery becomes a matter of life and death. Michael Shannon is the rotten cop who wants the envelope, too. Dania Ramirez and Wolé Parks co-star as messengers who'd have gold medals if these were the Olympics. An impressive film that credits about a dozen stunt riders and is never less than convincing as it shows messengers threading their way through trucks that could flatten them. Directed by David Koepp. Three and a half stars  (8/22/12)

The Queen of Versailles (PG)
"The Queen of Versailles" (PG, 100 minutes). Jackie and David Siegel are a couple we meet in the process of building themselves the largest private home in America. He's a time-share billionaire, she's the trophy wife who's mother to seven of his children, and in this astonishing documentary they grant access to their lifestyle of wretched excess and say things they really shouldn't admit to on film. I expected to hate them, but ended up merely deploring them-- I also finding them fascinating and just slightly lovable. Directed by Lauren Greenfield. Three and a half stars  (8/1/12)

Qwerty (Unrated)
"Qwerty" (Unrated, 90 minutes). The love story of two lonely misfits who find hope with one another. One has been considering suicide. The other has been considering entering the Scrabble championship. Starring Eric Hailey as a security guard in a clothing store and Dana Pupkin as the would-be Scrabbler, it has a quirky warmth and charm, and is a character romcom, not a Scrabble movie. Three stars  (7/25/12)

Red Hook Summer (R)
"Red Hook Summer" (R, 122 minutes). Spike Lee's film involves a summer spent by a nerdy kid from Atlanta (Jules Brown), who is sent north to live for a few months with his grandfather (Clarke Peters). The old man is Bishop of a failing storefront church, and the boy is a fish out of water. A girl his age (Toni Lysaith) is the only person he can communicate. The movie spends an hour observing daily rhythms, and then the plot unleashes such a thunderbolt that the movie never regains its balance. The Peters performance is powerful and Lee has a sure eye for the milieu, but the film never really coheres. Two and a half stars  (8/22/12)

Red Lights (R)
"Red Lights" (R, 113 minutes). Sigourney Weaver plays a no-nonsense scientist who has dedicated her life to exposing psychic fraud. She's never met a psychic she couldn't expose, except for one. That's Simon Silver (Robert De Niro), a blind mentalist whose specialty is bending spoons with his mind alone. They've been on a collision trajectory for their entire careers. Two great acts, and then it comes apart. With Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen, Joely Richardson, Toby Jones. Written and directed by Rodrigo Cortés ("Buried"). Two and a half stars  (7/25/12)

Robot and Frank (PG-13)
"Robot and Frank" (PG-13, 90 minutes). The story of a retired burglar and a household appliance more relentless than an alarm clock. Frank Langella stars as a retired jewel thief whose worrywart son supplies him with a robot care-giver (voice by Peter Sarsgaard). Frank begins to explore the robot's abilities in lock picking and safecracking, and the movie sweetly deals with his affection for the local librarian (Susan Sarandon). But the movie could have benefitted from more irony and complexity, and at the end was too easily satisfied. Two and a half stars  (8/22/12)

Ruby Sparks (R)
"Ruby Sparks" (R, 104 minutes). Paul Dano plays a novelist who wrote a great best-seller as a teenager and has been blocked ever since. Through unexplained magic, he creates the woman of his dreams (Zoe Kazan) on the page, and she materializes in flesh and blood. This turns out to be a confusing development, because he can either control her of live with her, but not both. Co-starring Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas and Steve Coogan. Written by Kazan, directed by the "Little Miss Sunshine" duo of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Three stars  (7/24/12)

Sacrifice (Unrated)
"Sacrifice" (Unrated, 122 minutes). Based on an opera set in 583 BC, Chen Kaige's new film tells a twisted story of love and revenge, based on the time-tested plot device of babies switched at birth. All members of a clan are condemned to death, but a doctor saves one baby, and attempts to substitute it for his own. The plan goes awry and the wrong child is saved. The best film in some time by the director of "Farewell, My Concubine." Three and a half stars  (7/25/12)

Samsara (PG-13)
"Samsara" (PG-13, 102 minutes). A film composed of powerful images, most magnificent, some shocking, all photographed with great care in the highest possible HD resolution--or in 70mm, if you can find it. Filmed over a period of five years, in locations in 25 countries, it is the kind of experience you simply sink into. It intensely regards the strangeness and wonder of our planet, drawing a sharp contrast between the awe of nature and the sometimes ruthless imposition of man's will. Directed by Ron Fricke, who also made the notable "Baraka" (1992). Four stars  (9/5/12)

Searching for Sugar Man (PG-13)
"Searching for Sugar Man" (PG-13, 86 minutes). About a singer-songwriter from Detroit named Rodriguez, whose face was half-hidden by long flowing hair and dark glasses; he sang in folk music bars with his back turned to the audience. His first album, got a rare four-star review from Billboard. Neither it nor the second one sold well, and the story seemed to end there. But several years later his albums traveled half the world away, to South Africa, where bootleg copies passed from hand to hand and his songs became anthems of the anti-apartheid movement. He outsold Elvis and the Beatles. Yet the real Rodriguez remained a mystery, and this documentary--spellbinding and inspiration--is about the search for the real man. Four stars  (8/8/12)

A Simple Life (Unrated)
"A Simple Life" (Unrated, 118 minutes). Paints portraits of two good people in gentle humanist terms. It filled me with an unreasonable affection for both of them. The orphaned Ah Tao (Deannie Yip) spent her entire life in the service of four generations of a Chinese family, and is now the servant of the only family member still living in Hong Kong. He is Roger (Andy Lau), a movie producer. When she has a stroke, their roles change. Ann Hui's film regards these two undemonstrative people as they express love and care in their quiet ways. One of the year's best films. Four stars  (8/8/12)

Sleepless Night (Unrated)
"Sleepless Night" (Unrated, 98 minutes). A French police thriller, following a cop who is transformed into a relentless fighting machine after his son is kidnapped. That the cop is crooked and the kidnappers are drug dealers are only footnotes; the plight of the kid wins our sympathy during his dad's agonizing 24-hour ordeal. Action star Tomer Sisley stars as Vincent, a crooked cop whose desperate struggle involves nonstop combat inside a vast nightclub jammed with customers, where even gunshots can't be heard above the music. Three stars  (7/25/12)

Sleepwalk with Me (Unrated)
"Sleepwalk With Me" (Unrated, 90 minutes). A surprisingly entertaining comedy starring Mike Birbiglia as Matt, a hapless standup comic who suffers from REM Behavior Disorder, which leads him to do things like jumping from hotel windows in his sleep. His obsession to make it in standup threatens his eight-year relationship with the patient and sympathetic Abby (Lauren Ambrose), especially when he starts writing her into his act. Inspired by Birbiglia's one-man show off-Broadway, and a popular program on Ira Glass's NPR program "This American Life." Three and a half stars  (8/29/12)

Sparkle (PG-13)
"Sparkle" (PG-13, 116 minutes). A full-bodied musical melodrama that acquires a melancholy undertone because it features the last performance by Whitney Houston. She stars as the strict church-going mom of three girls who are gifted singers: Sexy Carmen Ejogo, studious Tika Sumpter, and lovable Jordin Sparks (from American Idol), who has the title role and writes songs she's at first too shy to perform. With scene-stealing work by Mike Epps as a snaky comedian, and Derek Luke as Sparkle's big-hearted boy friend. Three stars  (8/16/12)

Step Up Revolution (PG-13)
"Step Up Revolution" (PG-13, 97 minutes). Kathryn McCormick of "So You Think You Can Dance?" and newcomer Ryan Guzman co-star in the story of a new girl in Miami Beach who gets involved in his professional-grade flash mob just when her evil dad (Peter Gallagher) wants to tear down all their beloved hangouts and erect a huge development. Lots of good dancing and choreography. A plot that is, well, moronic. Two stars  (7/25/12)

Total Recall (PG-13)
"Total Recall" (PG-13, 121 minutes). Colin Farrell stars in a retread of the 1990 sci-fi classic, about a factory worker of the future who has his life pulled out from under him when he discovers none of his memories can be trusted. well-crafted, high energy, but lacking the emotional tug I felt from Arnold Schwarzenegger's earlier performance. Co-starring Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Bokeem Woodbine, Bill Nighy and John Cho. Three stars  (8/1/12)

2 Days in New York (Unrated)
"Two Days in New York" (Unrated, 96 minutes. Julie Delpy wrote, directed and stars in this charming screwball comedy about Marion, a French artist in New York who is happily living with a talk show host (Chris Rock). Their peace is upended by a visit by her eccentric family, including her (real) father ( Albert Delpy), her sister Rose (Alexia Landeau), and Rose's b.f. Manu (Alex Nahon), who is Marion's own former b.f. The movie has an indescribable scene in which she sells her soul as a conceptual artwork, and the meets the collector who bought it, Vincent Gallo. You can imagine. Three and a half stars  (8/15/12)

Unforgiveable (Unrated)
"Unforgivable" (Unrated, 111 minutes). A crime novelist is looking for peace and quiet to finish his new book. In Venice, he meets a real estate agent who knows just the place, and will take him there in her own boat. It is a small, comfortable house on an island in the lagoon. Francis (André Dussollier) likes it. He also likes Judith (Carole Bouquet) as she shows it to him. He tells her he will take both: The house, and herself. This sets in motion an absorbing story involving them, their lives and their families and friends. The film incorporates elements of noir and romance, but is too complex to be disciplined by a genre. Directed by André Téchiné. Three and a half stars  (8/8/12)

El Velador (Unrated)
"El Velador" (Unrated, 82 minutes). With visual purity and simplicity, this documentary centers on the routine of the night watchman, or velador, of a fast-growing cemetery favored by Mexico's drug millionaires. It is the most fashionable address for the dead. The watchman's shack is surrounded by crypts of two or three stories tall, topped by domes, floored with polished marble, decorated by statuary and invariably displaying photographs of their occupants--some holding automatic weapons. The dead are all prosperous here. Three and a half stars  (7/25/12)

The Watch (R)
"The Watch" (R, 100 minutes). After the mysterious murder of a night security guard at a Costco store, its manager (Ben Stiller) enlists three other men (Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade in a neighborhood watch organization that discovers an invasion of earth is being plotted by aliens from who are headquartered in the Costco's basement. Dumb slapstick action, lots of green slime, and a truly versatile use of potty talk. Two stars  (7/25/12)

Why Stop Now (Unrated)
"Why Stop Now" (Unrated, 87 minutes). A bright screwball comedy about one fraught day in the life of a small-town piano prodigy, his crackhead mother and her drug dealers. Surprisingly, they're all nice people. Fresh, bright performances by Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo and Tracy Morgan. Written and directed Philip Dorling and Ron Nyswaner. Three and a half stars.  (8/15/12)

The Words (PG-13)
"The Words" (PG-13, 96 minutes). A movie inspired by the famous story of how Hemingway's first wife lost a briefcase of is early work on a train. That story is enfolded into another story based on it, written by a contemporary novelist (Dennis Quaid). The Hemingwayesque figure is played by Bradley Cooper in the Quaid novel, and much later by Jeremy Irons, and the real Hemingway could have told this with infinitely more economy. The plot opens room for three beautiful women (Zoe Saldana, Olivia Wilde and Nora Arnezeder), for which we can be grateful. Two stars  (9/5/12)