Peter Hujar’s Day’s thesis seems to be that it’s these normal days that add up to a life and there’s beauty and importance to be found in living, documenting, and reflecting on them for those willing to be patient. There’s a similar sentiment to be said of the film — it’s a rewarding one for those willing to sit with something slow and experimental.

It is at first a beautiful and ultimately tragic story of teenage dreams, lost innocence, and how abusers’ grasp extends far past their victims.

Hit Man is also simply one of the most thoroughly enjoyable films of Linklater’s career, an absolute delight to watch unfold and play out. He keeps the twists of the noir narrative fairly straightforward, leaving us to revel and admire in Powell’s comedic chops, the romantic entanglements, and the anticipation for when this relationship might go too far.

It’s like a good theatrical production. It’s often charming and more than a little chaotic.

Sure, Afire's message of the inevitability of death and the absolute need to embrace life can be a little on the nose. Still, Petzold puts his own spin on the old message, by inviting the audience to laugh and cry as four lives get intertwined in a very honest and human way.

You Won't Be Alone is overambitious, but it's always better to try to overachieve than underachieve, right?

The film does show that Gomes is capable of making an authentic period piece and a stunning documentary, but the attempt of trying to do both at the same time has led to an unusual experiment that will leave one scratching their head.

Grand Theft Hamlet shows how incredible it is to see how a new medium of storytelling can shift what we know of a beloved work and put it into an entirely new context after centuries.

It is not a movie with the intention of entertaining its audience, but rather of challenging, reminding, and warning.

Even in the moments where it can feel a little rough around the edges, the portrait being painted is a breathtaking and unrestrained one. It all comes together to ensure that, in the long cinematic history of American road movies, The Unknown Country carves out an indelible legacy of its own all the way to its final series of shattering shots.

There’s no other word than mesmerizing for what Leonie Benesch accomplishes here in The Teachers’ Lounge.

Thanks to Itō’s tenacity and focus, Black Box Diaries boldly tells her provocative and haunting story, resulting in a richly drawn portrait of one woman’s fight for justice that’s sure to inspire change in Japan and beyond.

It’s an electric, atmospheric, and deeply soulful look at what it means to be human, what it means to have empathy, and how faith should never come before people.

Challengers is a wild love triangle story, punctuated by three excellent performances and tremendous talent behind the camera.

The Holdovers is a wonderful revelation from an excellent director who proves he’s still able to take us by surprise.

From Ground Zero is important because it puts the spotlight on an issue far more important than making movies.

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

If there's one Hitchcock silent films fans should see, it's this suspense-filled thriller, which provides an early indication of why and how he earned his 'Master of Suspense' title.

You’ll Never Find Me gets lost in its own madness. Its ending is less ambiguous and more thoughtless.

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain is, without a doubt, one of the best and most touching animated films to come out this year, a remarkable example of what this style of storytelling can do.

There is a simplistic charm to the movie that captures the strange in-between times of the early 2000s.

At the end of the day, Soft & Quiet shows a shocking and unbelievable series of events that are meant to cause a reaction and leave the audience with thought-provoking questions. This is not a film for the faint of heart, and might just leave you a bit shell-shocked in the aftermath.

There are few filmmakers that can make the leap from smaller, insular stories into large-scale epics, but with The Northman, Eggers has proved that his style and substance can remain intact, regardless of the size of the story.

While the more extreme moments of the film may capture the most attention on first watch and are remarkably well-executed, Potrykus deserves praise for how precisely he captures the depths of pain that come pouring out of people like the ash out of a firework.

All Shall Be Well is a simple story overflowing with carefully crafted details that raises interesting and little-explored questions about gay rights, how we honor the dead, and how easily selfishness can seep in and poison us out of doing what we know is right.

This Much I Know to Be True might not dig as deep into the lives of Cave and Ellis as one might hope for a film billed as a documentary, but the performances captured here more than make up for that.

If The History of Concrete proves anything, it’s that Wilson can make a movie about anything and make it absolutely brilliant.

Brian is an absolute blast and a hysterical coming-of-age story, centered on an impressive lead performance by Ben Wang, and an absolutely perfect handling of character and tone by Ropp and Scollins. Brian deserves to be amongst the great high school coming-of-age comedies that paved the way before it.