Carla Meyer

Offers a thrilling, informative history of a sport-subculture.

Delightful.

Can be enjoyed if you don't mind a little manipulation.

Jane is lopsided, thoroughly exploring her early career but encapsulating later decades too neatly.

The time spent establishing Jane’s and Corinne’s bond pays off by always keeping their scenes on the heartfelt side of maudlin.

Succeeds anyway, by putting a poignant human face on the struggle for equal rights.

Self-indulgent and admirable.

A British costume film that's funny but not at all fusty.

The slasher scenes, though relatively few, are amazingly evocative for such a low-budget movie.

A snapshot of the festival, one that radiates good cheer and offers moments of true, godly goodness.

There’s real artistry to Ferdinand.

Delivers laughs most of the way through.

Not as profound as it is pretty, Hero nevertheless gives us something to ponder beyond Zhang's feat in mounting such a magnificent production.

Ms. Purple is the kind of low-budget film, with inexpensive-looking slo-mo effects and an overwhelming score (the filmmakers anticipate any and all requests that the violins be cued) one usually sees only in local film festivals.

An intriguing brain-teaser.

Intoxicating and flawed.

The visual and emotional hues are darker [than previous Pixar films], and the focus rests more on middle age than coming of age. The adventures of a family of superheroes are likely to thrill and amuse children, but the film's more grown-up themes might go over their heads.

You also cannot help but think about what Baumbach has that Allen lacks: Empathy for his characters. Not insight into them, but empathy for them.

A famous French actor using his art to work through the loss of his wife and daughter in a car accident. The strategy works, at least for a while.

Visually accomplished and loads of fun.

Blume’s insistence on first-person realness, on the page and in life, centers this thoroughly delightful documentary from directors Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok, who met at Stanford University. But don’t expect the same degree of exploration Blume brought to her own protagonists.

Offers enough glossy good cheer to appeal to everyone.

The achievement of Saved!, a very funny teen comedy set in a Christian high school, lies in its careful avoidance of obvious traps.

Gorgeous animated film.

Funny, affectionate documentary.

Hail Satan? is too lacking in conflict (apart from the eternal one) to be a true study of a movement. But it’s a highly entertaining survey.

Delightful blend of comedy, kung fu, soccer and special effects.

In 2009, Kholoud Al-Faqih became the first female judge in the Palestinian Shariah (or religious) court system. As Erika Cohn’s fascinating documentary The Judge shows, al-Faqih has fought for justice for Palestinian women ever since.