McCarthy makes this investigation personal, universal, its intimate vivisection of this complex, destructively abhorrent tale impossible to turn away from. But the real glory is how the filmmaker shapes things into a chronicle of inspiration and hope, Spotlight giving center stage to unsung warriors for truth who understood telling the story right, without embellishment, without melodramatic editorial excess, was the greatest victory of them all.

[The screenwriters] understand Laney on a deeply personal, exhaustively intimate level, thus the place they leave her story at might not be heartwarming but it sure as heck ends up feeling real. I Smile Back might not rewrite the addiction or mental illness melodrama rule book but that doesn’t make it less affecting, Silverman’s spectacular performance alone making the price of a ticket well worth spending.

Inside Out is a masterpiece. It’s one of the 2015’s best films. It’s one of Pixar’s best films. What else is there that I need to say?

Much like Toy Story of Terror!, Disney/Pixar’s latest animate special Toy Story That Time Forgot is a heck of a lot of fun, made with much the same love and care each of the three highly acclaimed, Oscar-winning motion pictures were. For the right price, I’d definitely add this Blu-ray to my library, and I’m guessing kids will watch it over and over again no matter what the date on the calendar reads.

Disney offers up another wonderful Diamond Edition, giving Aladdin a sensational hi-def makeover fans owe it to themselves to get a look at it. One of the best Blu-rays of 2015.

Catherine Hardwicke’s (Twilight) cancer melodrama Miss You Already is a big, brash and bold weepie in the grand old Hollywood tradition…Writer Morwenna Banks’ script hits all the anticipated marks, knows exactly which button to push, everything building to the expected tear-filled coda guaranteed to have the majority of those sitting in the theatre grabbing Kleenex and smudging their eyes dry.

The Peanuts Movie might not be anything more than what it is expected to be, but, just as importantly, it isn’t anything less than that, either. To paraphrase a speech made once upon a time in a pumpkin patch, there’s no hypocrisy to be found in any of this, just sincerity, pretty much as far as the eye can see.

As terrific as it all looks, as expertly crafted as it might be, Spectre just isn’t all that good a movie…It is a tired retread that offers little new or original, taking 007 to the one place he’s arguably never been before: irrelevance.

But Abrahamson’s direction is just so strong and Donoghue’s script so refreshingly honest it’s hard to get to angry about little things that don’t rise to the same level of near-perfection the majority ascends to. Ultimately, Room (2015) is a lithe, deeply moving wonder that builds to a miraculous coda, the hope pulsating through my soul a feeling of true bliss unlike any I’ve felt watching a movie this entire year.