I tend to blow hot and cold on the films of Noah Baumbach though, truthfully, more hot than cold. But I draw the line at his collaborations with Greta Gerwig, who may be the most overrated (or at least most overemployed) actor of her generation.

Jonathan Demme's Ricki and the Flash is one of those near-misses that feels as though a lot of discussion went into the rationale behind every wrong-headed decision. 

When the subject is immigration, outrage tends to outshout empathy. There's a lot of fear but not a lot of humanity. Which is why Samba is a film that could make a difference.

The idea of human consciousness going mobile is an intriguing one: What if you could actually trade minds with another person? That's the premise of Self/less, a disappointing mind-transfer tale notable for its performances if not its dramaturgy.

The creators of Minions obviously never heard either of two complementary expressions: "A little goes a long way" and "too much of a good thing."

Dana Nachman's touching, funny nonfiction film, Batkid Begins, is sheer delight. Instead of something maudlin and manipulative, Nachman has assembled what may be the year's most joyous and surprising movie.