Kimber Myers

Sims-Fewer and Mancinelli have crafted a morally complex film that mingles sex and violence in ways that are meant to make the audience uncomfortable.

Both awe-inspiring and mouth-watering, The Heat: A Kitchen (R)evolution celebrates seven female chefs forging ahead in a male-dominated industry.

It’s a humane, compassionate film, simultaneously full of beauty, sadness and struggle.

If you took “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” mashed it up with some gonzo grindhouse pics, doused it in shaken-up cans of original Four Loko and then lit it on fire, laughing while it burned, you might begin to approach the craziness that is Overlord.

Creative Control has a lot to say, and style to spare, but stronger performances and better-drawn characters could have made its message even more effective and enjoyable.

Venus and Serena wins points for sharing an intimate, not-always-flattering view of the sisters that isn’t PR-friendly.

It may poke fun at Karen and Tina, but it never says that their choices around motherhood aren’t valid and deserving of happiness. Its ultimate sympathy for these women may be at odds with earlier jabs at them, but it creates an empathetic space that is surprisingly emotionally satisfying.

Adrift avoids the perils of most survival stories, thanks not only to its strong cast and well-structured script but to Kormákur who manages to succeed at capturing the tone of both the intimate moments and the ones where a building-sized wave looms over Tami and Richard.

It pokes fun at falling in love on screen, but it’s smart and sweet enough make us fall for it as well.

At 127 minutes, Giannoli’s script feels overlong and a bit repetitive in its heroine’s disastrous performances. Lucien, the critic who helps propel Marguerite and her story forward, disappears for a large chunk of the film, only to randomly appear toward the end. Other than these missteps, Marguerite is worth watching with a well-earned grimace, largely for Frot’s pitch-perfect performance.

Adam is a small movie, but it still feels like a big step forward for trans representation in film, which has lagged behind gay and lesbian progress made on screen in the last few decades. It’s as imperfect as its hero, but there’s still something to root for here.

Hirsh Bordo’s first film isn’t ambitious in its style or structure, but it is entirely effective at communicating its encouraging message to the audience.

There’s never too much at stake for the princesses or the audience, but it makes for a fine diversion from the realities of life and history.

12 O’Clock Boys is an exciting, beautifully shot look at a subculture through the eyes of one of its most devoted admirers.

Betting on Zero takes a matter-of-fact approach to its material, but it makes a convincing and sometimes emotional argument against Herbalife.

What’s interesting about Lamb is that it doesn’t stand in judgment of its protagonist; it neither condemns him for what are undeniably bad and illegal choices, nor does it celebrate them either. Though not always successful, this is a complicated film that should cause its audience to continue to think about its characters and the actions they take.

Regardless of how you define your diet, At The Fork is effective and affecting in its offering of a variety of viewpoints.

Comedy can succeed based on either its relatability or sheer absurdity, and A.C.O.D. favors the former approach, while not entirely forgoing the latter.

While it features characters making unrelatable decisions, this 77-minute film is nonetheless compelling and beautifully constructed.

Anarchic and daring, Never Goin’ Back is a tale of adolescent female friendship that is somehow ballsier than your standard dude-driven buddy comedy. Frizzell’s film is as fearless as her heroines, and it refuses to judge them for their bad behavior.

Demon is a film that improves the longer it sits with you, as various images seep into your consciousness and reappear without warning.

Despite its pedigree, “Downton Abbey” remains the fanciest of soaps — the kind that Martha Stewart and Oprah Winfrey use — but it’s still a soap. There’s drama and dalliances, and it would all seem so silly if it weren’t for its setting, cast, and budget. Some plot elements are so ludicrous that they earn giggles, but Fellowes makes it so purely enjoyable that it’s hard to complain too much.

Möller keeps a sense of immediacy and tension throughout, despite never actually showing the cause of Asger’s worry and dread – and our own.

Ivory Tower is compelling viewing, particularly if you feel close to the crisis.

It’s a crowd pleaser of a film, whose powerful musical moments can overshadow any smaller issues within the film.

The movie has its flaws, but they’re tough to remember in the face of the fun it provides for two hours.

Flaws and all, Cold Pursuit is a gleefully violent good time. Moland’s movie is silly but sharp, with barbs drawing blood despite a story that we’ve seen before.

There’s a delirious joy in watching this much action, this well executed at every level.