David D'Arcy

There’s plenty of Lynch-light in dark interiors and empty staircases as Katz’s portrait of hipster La La Land winds through familiar territory. Gemini may not show too much that’s novel about that noir world, but we see new strengths in its lead actress.

Tickling Giants shows how a window of freedom and hope can unleash surges of creativity, like the improbable overnight success of a surgeon satirist.

The message of doom is mitigated by the comraderie of men and women determined to do good, but more so by the wondrous species of coral under threat.

The documentary, as it grieves for those losses, points to divisions in American society that are as glaring as ever.

In a bittersweet film like this, you wouldn’t call that magical, but you could call it real, as if the Dardennes came to Brooklyn, only funnier. That mood succeeds thanks to understated performances by Weinstein’s cast of mostly non-professionals, who seem to be working according to a life-script that they know well.

Kelly’s film is a competent feature debut – elegantly filmed and paced to keep viewers with Franco on an improbable ride. Yet the script views Glatze from a distance, never really entering his head to penetrate beyond the character’s own apologia for a bizarre life change.

City of Ghosts shows us the power of media to bring the grim truth about life under ISIS to the world, even when under a death sentence. In keeping our eyes on Raqqa, it also reminds us of the limits of that power.

Fate is a blunt instrument here. Yet you still wind up asking for more depth from the characters for whom Hittman is asking you to feel something.

If you’re looking for more than laughs, this comedy aspiring to drama takes you only so far.

This film is proof that, with the right protagonist, a documentary seems to tell its own story. Rodchenkov is one of those characters who, as they say, you couldn’t make up.

This well-meaning debut feature about following your dreams just treads water.

A film directed by Katie Holmes (and produced by Tribeca co-founder Jane Rosenthal) is a curiosity, and in this case a competent curiosity - no less competent than most of the independent films out there.

It has plenty of heart and lots of fighting, but could use a little more magic.

Magnus Carlsen, called the Mozart of chess, became world champion in 2013 at the age of 22. Benjamin Ree’s rousing documentary shows us how this taciturn prodigy got there, and how his family keeps him sane.

It’s a radiant debut for young newcomer Joe Alwyn, who plays a Texan war hero uneasy in his own land. It’s a shakier curtain-raising for Lee’s ambitious weaponising of new technologies.

The film’s look is as striking as Fan’s performance.

There’s enough cinema in Among the Believers to set it a step above solid respectable investigation.

Like Cai, the doc is a crowd-pleaser which reveals its complexities in a careful viewing.

Despite the sense of fatalism and some clumsy turns in Zandvliet’s script, Land Of Mine achieves moments of chilling suspense.

Sing is colourful, yet at almost two hours, it is also long. Still, if kids aren’t drawn to one singing animal (or familiar voice), there’s always another around the corner, holding up the tentpole.

A terrifying disaster thriller.

Arab critics may lament that Israelis are telling their stories, but they won’t dispute the gritty reality on the screen.

The closer the documentary gets to individual musicians and their histories, the more engaging it becomes.

Linklater does connect you with the fun that he must have had in those days. If you can take the testosterone, you’ll have a good time.

Even by cult documentary standards, this one finds absurd depths in the peddling of enlightenment.

Newtown, which focuses on the bereaved families, is about coming to terms with loss.

The visual textures of The Lovers and the Despot, edited by Jim Hession — and the Kim audio tapes — make for vibrant cinema.

In a scant 72 minutes and in a few locations, Holmer has found a dignity in her appealing subjects, and a mystery.