If you’re hoping Fatman is an explosive, hog wild bullet storm of Christmas camp, dial back your expectations. There’s always next year. If you’re good, that is.

Though Farewell Amor is not a “dance movie", it’s primarily about that moment when we dance - when everything else falls away, Amor takes over, and we bid our troubles farewell.

It’s a Christmas movie that makes you laugh. There are a couple of cheesy scenes, though, so don’t worry if that’s what you’re looking for in your holiday viewing.

Like the inferno it depicts, Laxe’s film casts an entrancing spell.

Halloween Party is not scary, and as a horror movie, that is a problem. But, the characters are engaging and fun, brought to life by a wonderful cast. And the directing and writing are excellent, so there’s a lot for eager audiences to take in. Just go in expecting an engaging mystery, not scares, and you’ll be fine.

It’s an easy target that’s been cinematically dissected many times, with the recent Nocturnal Animals and Velvet Buzzsaw coming to mind... Yet Grant manages to explore the subject from some enticing angles. The resulting painting may be a bit too busy to qualify as genius but contains brushstrokes so vivid it’s certainly worth scrutinizing.

Morris utilizes psychedelic neon colors, bold titles, and a hallucinatory score to emphasize the craziness of her life. He has devilish fun piecing together Joanna’s fractured past. It just feels like, in his search for Truth, he’s lost his way a little this time.

Although Penn is the focal point of Citizen Penn, the real citizens of this story are the Haitians. They are resilient, optimistic, and refuse to be labeled as victims. I do wish that we got to meet some of them a bit more intimately, that Hardy delved a little deeper into Haiti’s sociopolitical history. As it stands, it functions as a perfectly serviceable call to action, an extended, heartfelt PSA that neither glamorizes nor demonizes the actor.

A bit more pragmatic, rambling, less lyrical, and not as laser-focused as Herzog's previous documentaries.

Just know that Sacha Baron Cohen is up to his old tricks, but he’s got some new ones, too.

The Father is about the suffering of old age, the importance of connection, the sick encroaching of an affliction, and ultimately, death. It doesn’t sugarcoat things, despite its sugarcoated exterior. Like its French counterpart, Michael Haneke’s Amour, it’s not an easy watch, but it’s a necessary one, a film that examines the very essence of our humanity.

The filmmaker performs an astounding feat of maintaining the perfect balance between self-awareness, alienation, warmth, comedy, and pathos. Apples is a singular experience.

Wolfwalkers is a beautiful movie for fans of animation and families with young children. If you want to ween the little ones off Disney’s overproduced glitz and turn them on to alternative forms of animation and storytelling, Wolfwalkers is a great place to start.

One Night in Miami will surely inspire much-needed discussions that move us closer to true equality, justice, respect, and understanding for all.

The idea of a fusion of these two prodigious talents, the mere notion of Wood’s multi-instrumentalist skills and love of art complemented by Figgis’ distinct visual style and jazzy vibes, is exhilarating. So it’s that much more disheartening that Figgis’ documentary, Ronnie Wood: Somebody Up There Likes Me, somehow ended up so damn perfunctory.

Here’s a film so quietly visceral it can sear through metal, “quietly” being the keyword. Don’t come in expecting a no-holds-barred assault on the senses. Nor is this a metal music extravaganza. The bulk of the film is silent, deliberate. We are thrust inside Ruben’s mind to hear what he hears, a pulsating, muted nothing, which is then jarringly contrasted with everyday sounds when we’re yanked back out of his head. The sound mixing and editing are nothing short of phenomenal in Sound of Metal.

Really Love subtly explores and juxtaposes the numerous obstacles Black people face when it comes to discovering their identity, transcending stereotypes, overcoming familial influence, being in charge – and it studies those issues through the colorful and forlorn and often lovely prism of Art.

In surer hands, Shadow in the Cloud could have been a demented allegory about female empowerment; instead, it’s just demented, albeit damn entertaining. Here’s hoping Landis gets his head out of the clouds and writes something that casts lingering shadows next time.

There’s just enough in Black Box to make for a mild goosebump or two this Halloween.

Edson Oda’s script is incredible. It asks so many philosophical questions without being preachy or pedantic. It successfully reminds us how precious all of our lives are, which is no small feat.

It’s how Harry Chapin, the artist, and advocate described by so many and presented by Korn that makes Harry Chapin: When In Doubt, Do Something an important film. As a troubadour, Harry’s folk roots and his ability to visualize a story through his music—stories so many of us have lived and continued to do so—is personal and universal, all at the same time.

No one would rationally expect the man behind Disneynature fare such as Penguins, Elephant, and Diving with Dolphins to make his directorial debut with a demonic horror feature.Yet here we are, witnessing David Fowler perform a 180° swivel, from anthropomorphizing animals to slaughtering human beings in Welcome to the Circle. The results clearly demonstrate that he should’ve stuck to voicing chimpanzees.

Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World is a highly engaging and fascinating documentary that questions the validity of the “truth” being presented to us on television, in news stories, and through social media. The facts presented are convincing, and the investigation of MH17 plays out like a crime thriller.

A good-natured comedy that, while not always funny, remains as sincere as The Book of Mormon. No, really, that is a massive compliment.

Braga’s direction is so bland and tension-free it could not make a cat jump into a tree. The cast all try their best, but only Robertson comes out unscathed. There is not a single reason to ever watch this movie.

Aggie is a film every art center in the country should show to its supporters and community as its positive message is inspiring, aspiring, and beautiful. Aggie is a film about someone with imagination, and art requires imagination.

Vampires Vs. The Bronx is a great way to introduce your kids or pre-teens to the vampire genre, and a fun look at how Gen Z plans to deal with armies of the undead.

Learning about the old points of view can help us build better ones. Hopper/Welles is important for that reason. It’s also hilarious to hear Welles, who is never onscreen, browbeat Hopper to answer questions he doesn’t want to answer. Seriously, this film is a treat.

Lee has created a cinematic microcosm – atmospheric, containing powerful scenes, driven by some committed performances – that forgets to make a coherent point. The titular curse seems to be that of narrative ambiguity.

I felt as if I knew Steinem by the end of it, and as though there might be some hope in this current hellscape in which we live. It is the exact kind of movie we need in times such as these.

Gripes aside, if you’re looking for a low-key, old-school, charming-as-a-basket-of-kittens lark, give Then Came You a shot. It serves as a great reminder of Gifford’s prodigious talents – and as a hint that she may yet have more to reveal.

An important, compelling story that had to be told.

Rocks’ moments of brutal realism depicting the seriousness of its protagonist’s real-life drama will hit you hard or make you wonder why life is so unfair.

I Carry You With Me is an emotional powerhouse that had me and the other moviegoers crying our collective eyes out.

In a feature filled to the brink with needles being inserted into – ahem – a variety of teenage orifices, an injection of humor would have certainly been welcome.

Enola Holmes is an engaging, exciting mystery that the entire family will enjoy. The direction is spot on, the acting is brilliant, the plot is intriguing, and the cinematography is fantastic. But the ending is a letdown, not trusting audiences to be content with Enola’s arc.

The electrifying performances, superb cinematography, and timeless subject matter make it a shoo-in for awards all over the place. Considering that it is a smaller piece of a more prominent statement makes it all the more interesting.

Attack the Block this is not. Shortcut is too violent and foul-mouthed for kids, yet too tame and juvenile for adults, bound to leave horror aficionados indifferent. You’ll be better off watching Jeepers Creepers 2 instead, and that’s really saying something.

Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story is not just for the fan of action flicks. It’s also an inspiration for women (or anyone) wanting to get into a career that involves danger, excitement, and tells a story.

LX 2048 has some very funny moments of black comedy thrown in, especially in the latter half, which throws off the nihilistic tone that the movie has held up until then. However, some truly thought-provoking concepts, interesting production design, and a knockout performance from James D’Arcy make LX 2048 well worth a look.

Jay Sebring…Cutting to the Truth is a great documentary.

It’s a nearly perfect film.

I cannot recommend The Swerve enough. It is one of the most depressing horror films I’ve ever seen, so maybe don’t watch it if you’re trying to feel super-sunshiney. It is an amazingly cathartic experience.

Teenage Badass will not set your world on fire, but its empathetic characters, sense of rhythm, knowledge of band jargon, and, most importantly, its music are sure to at least warm your heart.

While the sequences involving Robert attempting to confront his dying wife are certainly heart-rending (perhaps a tad too forcefully), the movie’s most sublime moments happen in the present, when Putnam focuses on the man’s recovery. The bits where Robert encounters the insects he’s after are as magical and ephemeral as said butterflies.

None of the characters feel real, necessarily, but they’re all immensely watchable in their own right.

Residue is a delicately balanced film that lands its points while exploring these conversations from angles that are often unseen.

A grueling affair, purposefully so, bringing to mind Steve McQueen’s similarly relentless 12 Years a Slave. There’s not much respite to be found in those bloodied waters, nary a buoy to grasp.

Wil Wheaton is the true star of this film. His creepy therapist/creepy children’s TV show host take on his character was exactly what Rent-A-Pal needed.

Throughout Gather, Rawal refrains from placing blame and portraying his subjects as victims but focuses instead on their resolve and resilience. He keeps the cameras on his subjects, allowing them to be the drivers of their own narrative, instead of relying on voiceovers or talking heads.

It is visually stimulating and exhaustively covers much of the record industry with keen interest. In regarding each piece as a story, it takes the macro to a personal level. That is quite a feat.

The vision of life’s twilight years presented in the film is frank while still remaining expansive.

Waiting for the Barbarians isn’t a terrible film, it just never delivers on any of its promises.

House of Cardin is a solid, encyclopedic documentary of one of the greatest designers of our time. He deserves to be celebrated, no question there. But this doc wants to inform rather than reveal, to celebrate rather than investigate. C’est la vie.

In 1968, a variety show appeared on PBS that would permanently change the face of television. That program, created, produced, and hosted by openly gay African American Ellis Haizlip, was Soul! His niece, writer/director Melissa Haizlip, now tells the story of her uncle’s legacy in the enthralling, all-encompassing documentary Mr. Soul! 1960s television was full of white people. They were well-off posing as middle class, as in The Donna Reed Show and Mr. Ed, or the hillbillies featured in The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres, but everybody, from sitcoms to news to commercials, was white. Ironically, this same decade also saw the rise of the color television, yet programmers remained colorblind. Ellis Haizlip had a vision, though: a black show for black people. His connections in public broadcasting made it happen, and he went through a handful of hosts before taking on the duty himself. What emerged became one of the single most important broadcast series in the history of television. Of course, the powers that be eventually caught on, leading to the show’s demise. Yes, this is a basic summary, but honestly, it would be a disservice to go any deeper for anybody previously unfamiliar with this show or its content. Simply put, this was one of the most amazing things ever to appear on television, and that’s not hyperbole. Ellis’ connection to the Black Arts Movement brought in a wide range of artists, from Stevie Wonder, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, members from The Last Poets, to Amiri Baraka. Author James Baldwin, Minister Louis Farrakhan, and boxer Muhammad Ali all appeared, as well as actors Harry Belafonte and Sidney Poitier. BAM poet Nikki Giovanni frequently guest hosted. “In 1968, a variety show appeared on PBS that would permanently change the face of television.” Essentially, Melissa Haizlip has built a motion picture monument to Ellis and his vision. There’s a brief glimpse of his life, enough to understand where he was coming from and what he was doing. But, the movie is really about the show he created, where Gospel choirs would collaborate with poets and jazz musicians, sometimes all at once, and figureheads of black culture could come to express the beauty and experience of their lives. This wasn’t about denigrating others for their privilege, but rather a serious discussion of what was happening then and there. Haizlip wasn’t afraid to challenge his guests, either. We see Ellis question Farrakhan on the Nation of Islam’s position on homosexuality. The minister’s response can be interpreted in many ways, but Haizlip allowed for that. He addressed issues without anger, resentment, or provocation. He kept things low-key and relaxed, a social gathering where all were welcome no matter where they came from. This was not only the first program to fully embrace African American being, but also a landmark in arts programming, as in Nikki Giovanni’s in-depth conversations with James Baldwin. This was different, innovative, groundbreaking. Soul! ended in the wake of the Nixon administration, but its legacy lives on. About two-thirds of the series is available for streaming, and after watching just a few episodes, you understand why this show from fifty years ago deserves to be the subject of serious analysis today. To get the full story, though, you should watch Mr. Soul! and understand why Ellis Haizlip deserves and embodies that title.

Tenet is a film that will stay with you forever from its first scene, one that will tempt you to revisit it in part or as a whole, and that really tells you what it is: a masterpiece.

Like any great Robin Williams film, Robin’s Wish has moments of joy, nostalgia, heartbreak, and, most of all, hope.

Anytime the characters aren’t actively trying to kill each other, it feels like the directors just got bored and are marking time till they can get to the “good part.”

An absolute must-see so that the sins of the past do not doom our future.

The Argument winds up being either the most horrifying funny scriptwriting workshop ever, or a really f***ed up version of Groundhog Day. Either way, an exact-science blend of tight scripting and a strong ensemble cast make this film a new comedy gem.

While the film boasts an all Chinese cast, the story, culturally, is pretty tame.

The comedy eliminates potential fans by choosing to take the tennis aspect of the film so seriously. With that being said, those who understand the game of tennis, its wonky terms, and appreciate the sport, will value the effort writer-director Gina O’Brien put forth when constructing First One In.

Measure for Measure is a collection of great performances by both seasoned and up-and-coming actors.

i’m thinking of ending things is a lawless movie, made up of one memorable scene after another, none of which are restrained by any storytelling edicts—anything goes, and it goes.

In the end, the story of the show Ren & Stimpy is a fascinating one, especially for fans and anyone who wants to push boundaries in Hollywood. It also doesn’t make a hero out of John Kricfalusi, who still desires admiration and sympathy.

It’s a fantastic World War II movie, the action is tense, and the stories on the ground are inspiring and heartbreaking.

Ultimately affirming Feels Good Man is a fun, feel-good doc.

For any music collector, aficionado or fan of rock and roll, this is absolutely essential viewing. For everyone else, just walk in knowing it’s a sugarcoated version of events with some unnecessary elements thrown in for some reason.

Although a standard story of teacher and students overcoming their environment, Critical Thinking has enough thrills, excitement, and, most of all, hope to recommend.

Other Music is a compelling story of nostalgia and a memento of what once was.

Fatima has excellent production design. A lot of care went into getting the period details right. There’s some beautiful cinematography and decent performances all around. It’s just all so mushy and predictable. Faith vs. science, tragedy testing one’s faith – those themes have been explored before, more enticingly. Pontecorvo turns a fascinating bit of history into a by-the-numbers affair, and that may be Fatima’s greatest sin.

The filmmaker casts an unflinching eye at his broken-down subject baring his soul, atoning for his sins, and lamenting the past. There’s no way back for him. This is a trip down a rabbit hole that’s as devastating as it is transfixing.

The story is feather-light, but the pain, either felt or indirectly caused by Benjamin, can be harrowingly authentic. We want to simultaneously hug him for reassurance and physically restrain him to keep from the next nerve-induced verbal volcano.

This documentary is a great look into the personal lives of Chatwin and Herzog, and for that, it is worth seeing.

The issue with Eva’s coming-of-age story is that, unlike most other films with the same premise, it lacks a significant self-discovery. The August Virgin lacks the significant payoff necessary to be successful.

The movie knows what it is, and undoubtedly offers some tense moments, but once the plot contrivances start to stack up, Unhinged becomes too silly for its own good. It leans heavily into the violence to distract, but the flailing story surrounding it.

If you’re a fan of zombie stories, Peninsula absolutely works. Writers Joo-Suk Park and Sang-Ho Yeon do a spectacular job of world-building beyond the first film.

Utilizing never-before-seen archival footage, expertly-rendered animated interludes, and unprecedented access to those involved in the crisis, Kopple strings it all together into a gripping and emotional whole, like a true master craftsman. I will not be surprised if the living legend brings another golden statuette home this year.

The filmmaker goes for broke, deliberately setting sequences against painted backgrounds or giant black-and-white photographs. There’s a moment when Tesla belts out Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” into a mic. Such embellishments could’ve potentially led to a mess, but in Almereyda’s capable hands, they somehow coalesce into a dreamlike whole.

Random Acts of Violence has something to say about the proliferation of torture porn and horror that glorifies violence. Baruchel does it in a smart, sometimes funny, and sometimes utterly devastating way. It’s absolutely worth checking out if you love horror, and maybe even if you don’t.

A warm hug of a film, The Outside Story may occasionally stumble and resemble an extended TV pilot, but – largely thanks to its charming protagonist – is bound to (however briefly) reaffirm your faith in humanity.

The film explores dark territory but treats the subjects with emotional intelligence and sensitivity.

Those looking for a message are missing the point. Grennan’s goal is to literally ravage your senses, leave you breathless and ashamed of humanity.

By simply witnessing the grandeur of the sea, by allowing us to glimpse that symbiosis between ocean and universe, the film ends up resonating powerfully, a feast that will stimulate both the eye and the cerebral cortex.

If you are interested in the history of cinema, this is a very unique lens to look at it through.

Somehow the ridiculousness keeps audiences engaged and begging for more.

Despite all the flaws, Sputnik has one chief thing going for it: it holds your attention, from the first (and arguably best) twenty minutes, to the last (and arguably worst) twenty.

Big Fur may be rather slight, but hey, if you ever yearned to know what the “huge difference” between a standing bear and a Sasquatch was, you’re in for a jolly good time.

The deliberate use of CG effects, Dixie Egerickx’s performance, and its keen understanding of the true heart and message of the story make The Secret Garden worth watching and may find itself given the title of “classic.”

While it would be impossible to end A Thousand Cuts on a positive note, Diaz holds fast on her subject and Ressa’s determination to fight for what she believes in. This lights a path towards hope and the belief that truth and justice will ultimately prevail in a climate where lies spread faster than facts.

With a run-time of only 69 minutes, The Stand: How One Gesture Shook The World is a pertinent history lesson for ALL people, American and otherwise. It’s worth investing that hour of your time to see how far we’ve come, yet how far we still have to go in this country.

From its unimaginative opening, involving a dumb tourist falling to her death to the anticlimactic day-lit finale (if you get this far, you deserve some sort of Steve Irwin award), Black Water: Abyss will make you want to Crawl back into Lake Placid. To reiterate: if you’ve come for the croc, you’ll be sorely disappointed. If you’ve come for anything else… well, why did you come at all?

Max Reload And The Nether Blasters is terrific fun. The acting is great, the action is fun, the dialogue humorous, and the plot original.

Thanks to an impeccable cast and a more substantial, interesting second half, the movie is worth watching at least once.

The Big Ugly is a fascinating beast. While the premise of the film sounds annoyingly trite, writer-director Scott Wiper develops an engaging batch of characters.

Along with Hanks’ story and performance, the reason to see Greyhound is how it builds mystery and creates thrilling moments.

The Shadow of Violence has interesting things to say about violence and, ultimately, how far you would go for your family.

It’s a reminder of human resilience that manages to be both powerful and deeply flawed.