Movie Reviews

Idris Elba plays Nelson Mandela in a biographical film based on the former South African president's memoir. Keith Bernstein/The Weinstein Company hide caption

Musician and riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna — formerly of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, now with The Julie Ruin — is the fascinating central figure in the biographical documentary The Punk Singer. Allison Michael Orenstein/Opening Band Films hide caption

Jacob Latimore (from left), Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson and Forest Whitaker power through the season in Kasi Lemmons' Black Nativity, a Christmas movie musical based on Langston Hughes' gospel oratorio. Phil Bray/Fox Searchlight Pictures hide caption

Ye Lanqiu (Yuanyuan Gao) sparks a furor when she's rude to an older man — and video of her misbehavior goes viral — in Caught in the Web. levelFILM hide caption

Effie Trinket taps Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, right) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) for the Hunger Games arena again — but this time the rules are different and the stakes are higher as rebellion brews in Panem. Murray Close/Lionsgate hide caption

Bettie Page Reveals All digs deep into the storied life of the 1950s model, seen here in one of the many photos featured in the documentary. Music Box Films hide caption

In Narco Cultura, director and photojournalist Shaul Schwarz interrogates the collision of pop culture and Mexico's drug cartels — as personified by bands like Los Bukanas de Culiacan (above), who perform narcocorridos, or songs glorifying the drug trade. Shaul Schwarz/Cinedigm hide caption

The film respects Watterson's famous desire for privacy — he's not interviewed — but it does take viewers to the library where the original Calvin artwork is housed. Gravitas Ventures/Submarine Deluxe hide caption