Tirdad Derakhshani

A transcendent work from Ireland's Cartoon Saloon studio that's almost wasted on kids.

The photography is lush, the dialogue uproarious, and the crazy action sequences unforgettable.

Paterson is easily one of Jarmusch’s most accomplished films. He portrays the life of the mind and the workings of the creative soul as a kind of secret love affair, a deep, hidden well inside the most ordinary, mundane existence.

Gripping, hair-raising documentary.

A transcendent political poem as intellectually rigorous as it is beautiful.

It’s a true American masterpiece and one of the best films of the decade.

The Salt of the Earth, has the power to draw you into its world, transfix, and perhaps eventually transform you.

Its historical influence aside, Dragon Inn delivers pure cinematic pleasure. I'm not sure it can be overpraised.

A somber piece of film poetry about men so invested in a rigid notion of honor and revenge they become trapped in an endless loop of violence.

An immensely rich, deeply felt exploration of human relationships that draws you in and holds you fast for nearly three hours.

Lindholm's mastery of film form is matched by his willingness to engage with some of the most intractable moral quandaries that haunt contemporary life.

I’m Not Your Negro is an unforgettable work. Baldwin’s words – eloquently spoken by Samuel Jackson – will haunt you.

If you want to expose your children to a work of art with real soul, you could do a lot worse than Kubo and the Two Strings.

A delightful, sharp dramedy that skewers the topic from every angle imaginable.

Wiener-Dog has a satirical edge as sharp as any Solondz has fashioned, but it is also filled with disarming moments of absurdist humor.

At turns elegiac, absurdist, and gently satirical, Lonergan’s drama is a deeply affecting chamber piece that features an outstanding performance by Casey Affleck.

Strictly speaking, Elle is a comedy, a blacker-than-death social satire about bourgeois values, set in contemporary Paris. It’s viciously, demonically funny in parts.

Moana 's great heart and great humor actively subvert the violent, egocentric, macho mind-set that dominates so many popular stories. It can hardly be expected to change prevailing attitudes on its own. But it’s a start.

A superbly researched and edited documentary about the women's movement in the 1960s.

The animated French family film April and the Extraordinary World will have your imagination doing somersaults and cartwheels.

It can feel inchoate, dropping the viewer in the middle of events without much context, and it exacts an emotional toll. But its raw quality also makes it compelling viewing.

It's easy to mistake the simplicity of plot and theme here for simple-mindedness - this isn't Pynchon or Proust. Kung Fu Panda 3 has the economy of a Zen koan, not to mention its inner harmony and wisdom.

An immensely enjoyable, warmhearted, and gentle showbiz dramedy.

Very few of us would like to think about the physical and emotional toll that life in captivity takes on these magnificent creatures. Gabriela Cowperthwaite's powerful, heartbreaking, and beautifully crafted documentary, Blackfish, forces us to do just that.

Ai Weiwei comes off as a man on a singular mission: to record the life around him before it is erased or distorted by a repressive government terrified by the smallest sign of nonconformity. His primary weapons: video cameras and Twitter.

Far too good to be watched in one sitting.

Directed with tremendous style and vibrant, buoyant energy.

Garfield melts into his Doss character in a performance that seems impossibly still and tranquil. He’s mesmerizing. It’s almost impossible to imagine he ever played Spider-Man.