Therese Lacson

Moving, emotional, and ultimately cathartic, Renoir is a quiet and stirring coming-of-age story that reminds us of our own childhood and the impactful time that can be.

Ducournau's story is brilliant, but without the leading actors of the film, the movie wouldn't have been nearly as impressive.

Part caper, part spy movie, and part family drama, The Phoenician Scheme feels both like a return to form for Anderson while also feeling like an evolution for the auteur as his style changes bit by bit.

Sugar Babies is an intimate look at poverty and the changing of the American dream, but it fails to look deep enough to make the impact it intends to.

Ultimately, the concept behind The Virgin of the Quarry Lake might have embodied Mariana Enriquez's short stories, but it feels too jumbled and fails to meet its full potential.

What saves this movie is Taylor-Joy and Teller. Though their in-person scenes aren't nearly as endearing as their scenes with each other across the gorge, the two do have great chemistry. They're interesting to watch together, especially during their action scenes.

We feel very much like we are in the thick of it when watching, as if we're in the room as the story develops.

While the plight of Ukraine is undeniably horrific, Mr. Nobody Against Putin shows a very real cost and the damaging ripple effect this invasion will have on Russian civilians.

Luz is an ambitious film but one that overreaches a little and becomes jumbled as a result, but it shows promise for filmmaker Flora Lau.

Director Chloé Robichaud's fourth feature film is a fun and sexy romp that discusses infidelity, marriage, and being a mother in our modern age.

By the end of Not Alone Anymore, it's clear that Matlin is far from a star who burned too bright once, and her light has not dimmed at all. If anything, she's been working steadily and surely and despite the years of solitude, thanks to her creating the path forward, she is not alone anymore and won't ever be again.

It's hard to find any redeeming qualities in Last Days. Its pacing and multiple storylines, not to mention jumping back and forth in time, only work to make the viewer disoriented when it comes to bonding with a character who already does not feel that sympathetic.

It's personal without being indulgent, it's unique without feeling incomprehensible, and it's full of heart and soul without being saccharine.

Unable to make his ideal documentary about the Zodiac Killer due to a rights issue, Shackleton breaks down the movie he might have made in painful detail that reveals a shocking lack of self-awareness, systematically dismantling the genre without an ounce of introspection.

Chernov offers us a visceral look at what Ukrainian soldiers have been facing for the last decade.

Emilie Blichfeldt combines the classic grotesque horror often associated with Grimm fairytales and injects new life into it with her feminist message and new perspective. Coupled with strong performances — with special praise for lead Lea Myren — this horror flick is well worth a watch. Just maybe don't watch it after a meal!

Struggling through an identity crisis, The Crow is doing too much and, as a result, doesn't do enough to serve its core narrative.

It is moody and creepy, though perhaps not brave enough to wander into true melodrama or bizarre fantasy. In the end, its performances and the way it incorporates Gothic elements, along with a strong visual aesthetic, make the film a worthwhile watch.

Unfortunately, where the film falters is with its other star, the aforementioned Chris Hemsworth.

While Part Two is impressive on multiple fronts, it doesn't make it to the finish line without stumbling first.

The ultimate ambiguity might be enough for some to praise Lin's work, but there's simply not enough to chew on by the end of the story for it to be a resounding success.

Ultimately, Dìdi's problem is that it is charming but aimless. Izaac Wang is perfectly cast as Chris, and he has amazing chemistry with this cast, but there just isn't enough to go off of. It feels like we're looking into a vignette of someone's life rather than taking in a fully realized story.

A magnificent showing from Titus Kaphar and his talented cast, Exhibiting Forgiveness is a complicated and beautiful film that is masterfully crafted.

Love Me has its flaws. But the cast is endearing, the robots are cute, and if you enjoy a romance movie, you won't be disappointed in this.

Ultimately, Freaky Tales works if you don't look too hard at it. It's a fun time and some of the most extreme scenes will make you forget any plot holes or inconsistencies.

We follow Angel and her fellow journalists as they must struggle through year after year, celebrating their wins and mourning their losses. There's no glossy sheen, no dramatic score. Bad Press brings us into the trenches of their push and pull with local politics, and it is made all the better for it.

By the end of the film, the film that seems so much like Collateral on the surface is actually far more personal, reminding us of the unlikely bonds that we can share together as human beings and that it's never too late to find a home and family beyond the conventional boundaries of what is expected.

As far as feature debuts go, Purev-Ochir delivers a solid offering, one that showcases her strengths and leans into the soul of her original short, elaborating on an intriguing concept to impressive results.