Secret in Their Eyes will not electrify viewers who’ve seen the Argentinian original with near the same magnitude. Ray doesn’t shake things up, doesn’t choose to go in a new direction, more or less doing nothing more than attempt to tell the same story but with an Americanized bent. But thanks to the efforts of the cast, especially the central trio, an unbelievably good Roberts most of all, and a smart, intelligently-constructed script that treats its audience with a great deal of respect, I found that this remake was worthwhile, was a motion picture I could enjoy.

It’s impossible not to imagine what the man being chronicled here would have thought of this…Nonetheless, Trumbo is a solid effort made close to unmissable thanks in large part to Cranston’s magnificence, the resulting biopic a gripping return to a Hollywood of yesteryear where the themes being examined couldn’t be more appropriately timely.

To their credit, the filmmakers match the tone of Collins’ book more or less all the way through (save for a subtle – yet important – change during the closing seconds), attempting to craft a war-torn parable that has more in common with Platoon or Apocalypse Now than it does to Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Maybe it was because I’d been read the book as a kindergartner by my mother. Maybe it was because it was one of the first pieces of literature I set out to read on my own. Whatever the reason, Ballard’s visually sumptuous take spun me round in such deliriously entranced circles I almost didn’t know how to react, [The Black Stallion] a poetic realization of everything I myself had imagined yet also at the same time so much more.

It’s quite possible The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is the single most underrated – and underappreciated – major studio tentpole that was released to theaters this past summer. It’s fantastic stuff, holding up beautifully on repeat viewing, just getting better and better each time I watch it.

Mr. Holmes holds up beautifully on repeat viewing. Additionally, it cements in my mind that both McKellan and Linney give two of 2015’s best performances, and even if Oscar (probably) won’t recognize them as such that doesn’t make what they accomplish here any less extraordinary.

[The Hallow] builds to a nicely nuanced conclusion, one that overflows with emotion and sacrifice, propelling things into the realm of a dark fairy tale the likes of which Brothers Grim would have been proud to have called their own.

While the elements in The 33 that do not work frustrate, the stuff revolving around those who truly deserve to be labeled as heroes thankfully never does. Their story has weight, it has meaning, and with everything pulsating to the delicate, emotionally pure refrains of late composer James Horner’s (Southpaw, Titanic) final score the miners’ collective triumph ends up being a rousing celebration of all that’s good and decent in this world I could not help but be moved by.

Freddie Joe Steinmark’s story is an incredible one. Thing is, while Pizzo’s heart is in the right place, he just can’t seem to get inside this particularly story in the same way he did with both Hoosiers and Rudy. He lets the melodrama driving the narrative overwhelm things, losing sight of the complexity of his characters in the process. My All American means well, and as a film it isn’t without merit; sadly there just isn’t enough of it for this inspirational sports story to emerge victorious.