There’s a reason 70s cinema is so revered for astounding character studies. In this age of superheroes, it is nice to have a throwback that lets us see some normal humans working out their differences the old-fashioned way — by being stuck together.

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.

Exhibiting Forgiveness is a must-see movie for its universal message of family…and for the great performances and art. Kaphar will immerse you in pain and guide you to hope in the end.

The film is an exquisite journey, wonderfully acted, sublimely shot, and thoughtfully conceived.

There were so many pointless monologues. I felt like I was watching reality-show confessionals.

With exceptional performances and extraordinary imagery, Zvyagintsev has fashioned a remarkable first feature.

Culled from the over 100 hours of videotape Bindler and his tiny band of masochists shot during the contest and mixed with priceless pre-contest interviews, Hands… was far and away the most hysterical and engaging documentary since Spinal Tap, only this was for real.

The thematic equilibrium within Smoke Sauna Sisterhood does not negate the male gaze. Rather, it asserts the feminine. Through confession and testimony, women become embodied. Witnesses, irrespective of gender, fortify their truth.

It's tough and cold and gives an inside look at poverty in America. Yet the film is also incredibly compelling and intense and I can't think of another film that's this small and powerful.

As tired as we are now of origins, Superman set the gold standard for such stories.

Roher is profoundly lucky to have been around when Navalny’s harrowing story needed to be told, and so are we.

Over the course of 93 minutes, Madeline’s Madeline simultaneously feels like nothing happens and everything happens. It’s a strange, sometimes frustrating dichotomy that ultimately gives the film its bizarre edge.

Soft and Quiet is the most unsettling real-life horror movie since Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. The seemingly uninterrupted single take with a handheld camera fits the production perfectly.

Farhadi is, of course, excellent at revealing character through people thrust into morally complicated circumstances. This is achieved here through a slow build and a masterfully nuanced set of character choices.

Eggers immerses us in the world of Norse mythology, where Odin reigns supreme and Valkyries carry you to Valhalla if you die in battle. Visually and technically, the movie is a marvel.

A stirring and touching production, and it is difficult not to be moved by the women’s medical progress. However, it suffers from a somewhat leisurely pacing.

There isn’t as much art as you would expect, but it is more about what goes into the exam to be a part of the Academy of Fine Arts. The film creates a picture that is quite unique in one way or another.

An enlightening experience that explains what cystic fibrosis as well as why someone wracked with pain from it might want to hurt themselves.

Hold Your Fire is well constructed. It is as suspenseful as a top-notch thriller and has the added allure of being true and impactful.

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.

A gripping example of "You Are There," on the spot journalism, even if it is a little slim when it comes to motives and back stories.

There are no sacred cows in A Mighty Wind. Even beloved public television is skewered by Guest and Co. In a lot of ways, this movie pokes the most fun at the average PBS liberal who refuses to let go of the 1960s.

Elevates a significant moment in the history of this massively passionate spectator sport.

Overall, That They May Face the Rising Sun is solid and worth your time. The acting is top-notch, and the story is compelling, but its verisimilitude is truly off the charts. This is the closest you can get to a time machine to take you to a bygone time and place that is little celebrated but worth remembering.

Fran Kranz’s debut feature-length dramatic film Mass will linger in your head as you process its ability to provide solace in the face of atrocity. Perhaps the most defining quality it exudes is Kranz’s ability to evoke impressive thought-provoking drama within a bare environment of a table, chairs, and four people in an auxiliary church space, the primary location for the entire film.

So much of Art for Everybody follows a traditional rise-to-power and fall-from-grace structure. The story gives equal time to Kinkade’s adoring friends and his harshest critics while allowing his family to serve as both. Yousef never tries to immortalize or romanticize the painter but instead focuses on the person and his path to the limelight.

This film, this artist, this music, this story: all rare gems…see this film.

Bateman is given all the best dialogue and delivers his hilarious one-liners and odd observations with his usual brilliant deadpan, along with Garner who gives the finest performance of her career.

It is a short jump from laughing to screaming. There is no safe space. Cregger has a refined sensibility for identifying the core irritations in ordinary life and amplifying them into anxiety, escalating to terror.

There is so much to love about the film. Its greatest achievement is its screenplay, which is very dense. Nothing is wasted — not a single side character, joke, gag, or plot point. Every element serves a purpose to the overall story.

It’s a mature story, and with maturity comes a subtlety that goes beyond exposition. But filmmakers must balance tones effectively, and Khan is unable to shake his film’s monotone nature.

These iconic images seem endowed with a sort of “livingness,” as if they have acquired special powers.

The best boy’s adventure of the year.

If you’re a fan of Godzilla, prepare to have your mind blown with Godzilla Minus One. Set your expectations high, and enjoy the ride.

Thornton's Jacob initially comes across as the love child of Elmer Fudd and Butthead, but ends up as the best role he's ever had.

Cortés’s devotion to creating a film in honor and respect of Little Richard is also one of achievement and understanding for those who have been marginalized for being who they are.

Boesten’s ability to capture the natural beauty and intense emotions revolving around family, ghetto life, drug dealing, and its consequences is exceptional and unexpected. She transforms Master of Light from a straightforward biography of a great but somewhat unknown artist into a poignant documentary that offers something to everyone of any generation.

Tom McCarthy’s film is never more than small, and that’s how it should be. It is about treasuring life -– sometimes even cheating death -– and it manages to warm hearts in its own uncompromising way, rarely cheating and never belittling.

Masterpieces of literature-to-film are a rare breed; this film falls short with satisfaction.

It is a thorough examination of over a decade of conflict and strife, packaged into a feature film, which is no small feat. But its failure to focus on the FBI investigation and muddying its portrayal of King hurts the overall production.

As promising as the premise sounds, it cannot rise from the mundane.

Directors Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis deserve credit for taking a gutsy leap with the subject matter and delivering without pulling any punches.

Take the safety off of the comedy Magnum called Happiness and put the barrel in your mouth. You'll laugh your ass off as it takes off the back of your head...It could be the best film of the year. At the very least, I'll never forget it.

It should not go unnoticed that Ducournau gives viewers some amazing scenes that capture the poetry found within the grotesque.

It’s a compelling ride. But the film also manages to accumulate a layered look at the nature of brotherhood, parenting, adoption, and above all the power we do or do not have over the mental and emotional tendencies woven into our DNA.

Little Trouble Girls succeeds as a combination of poetic visual compositions and vibrant, dynamic performances from the female leads.

It’s a very exciting, sad, yet extremely funny film.

The American Fiction cast is brilliant.

Fascinating and heartbreaking film.

The thrill of Hot Fuzz is the chemistry between Nicholas and local oaf Danny Butterman, who is an action film aficionado and finds Nicholas' stories utterly engrossing.

Us is a bit predictable and contains a few jumbled auditory edits. However, these small missteps are in the service of an ambitious story that has a lot to say about what divides us as humans and how those divisions hurt everyone. Peele’s direction contains a tight grasp on horror and comedy, balancing both perfectly. His game cast shines brightly in their dual roles, and the ending makes the whole endeavor well worth your time.

One of the most towering and extraordinary films to grace the screen.

While The Dawn Wall brings you up close to the miraculous feat of Caldwell and Jorgeson, the backstory (particularly of Caldwell) is just as amazing.

Having been invited to understand Aisha as ‘inspired by real events,’ we come to understand Aisha as a woman– her history, her psychology, and her perspective– that is, her life, ‘not a story.’

Shadow is a sumptuous sensory feast filled with spectacle, surprise, and madness.

The truth is that for all the controversy there really isn’t that much violence in Reservoir Dogs. The reason people were so affected was because the film shows you the true impact of its violence.

Premature is teen love portrayed in an adult manner. Its grit and realism distinguish it from other teen love stories that force sappy, profound one-liners meant only for a good trailer moment.

Well-executed interviews of key people and all band members, along with excellent animation and archival research, The Go-Go’s reveals a story of talent, will, friendship, addiction, and forgiveness. The backdrop of the male-dominated music business highlights that these ladies who have stayed brash and whipsmart have always been entirely punk.

This very conventional PBS style videodoc should not be viewed before operating heavy machinery. However, there's plenty to fascinate devotees of the dance.

Boorman’s movies are usually about the repercussions of violence (Point Blank, Deliverance, Excalibur, etc.) but he recreates Cahill as something of a victim of circumstance. Cahill should have been played by Lee Marvin, not by some fat teddy bear of a man like Brendan Gleeson. It’s too bad Marvin isn’t still around, to at least knock some sense into his old friend, Boorman.

The overall experience of The Grand Bizarre is, in a lot of ways, an extremely eye-opening one. It forces a viewer to consider how complicated and incredible every single stitch of a rug, or a scarf, or a dishtowel actually is, and how easily it is to overlook that fact.

The film's quick pace and near-constant action carries you along quite nicely, and by the time Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) makes his climactic appearance, one can't help but look forward to the remaining films.

This phenomenal ensemble brilliantly and tactfully tells a story that our society desperately needs to hear during these trying times.

Hairspray isn’t all that bad, frankly. The songs are catchy, most of the leads are engaging enough (Blonksy and Bynes especially), and there’s just enough low-key subversiveness to keep everything from getting too saccharine.

Leaving a traditional narrative structure in the dust, Beshir uses breathtaking cinematography to bring you into the Horn of Africa. The movie is moving poetry about the struggles in khat fields and Ethiopia itself.

Warren’s film may leave you bruised, but don’t let that stop you from seeking it out.

Chicago is a failure, but that should not come as a surprise. Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the original 1975 Broadway production, was long baffled in making a film of the show and eventually gave up trying.

Here is a movie that celebrates the heyday of adventure cinema even as it embraces technology's bleeding edge. And I'm willing to forgive a lot when giant gorillas and tyrannosaurs are involved. Must be the art snob in me.

Despite the aforementioned shortcomings, the qualities of The Fishing Place far outweigh them, making Tregenza’s film a fine work of art for the curious to explore.

Spoilers prevent me from saying anything about it, but the finale is a satisfying good vs. evil ending while reinforcing the true nature and values that Blanc holds as an investigator. Even then, when it’s all said and done, this is a light comedy. The story, mystery, and conclusion are fun, but it’s not Agatha Christie, nor should it be.

Clearly a deeply personal project for the director, it radiates utmost sincerity, rendering the more baroque parts palatable, if not as affecting as they were clearly intended to be. Within 90 despondent minutes, Dante encapsulates a plethora of themes and ideas, and that by itself merits plaudits.

Cruise and McQuarrie promised an action film like no other, and they delivered.

The narrative is mournful about a man who lived a long tragic life, a dark and depressing tale of young men having to hide their sexual orientation and its emotional and psychological toll in carrying their secret into their senior years.

Living is a good remake and a solid film on its own merits.

Fascinating and beautiful film.

The film is as intimate as it can be, but at times, feels like an invasion of privacy.

Lost Illusions is certainly nothing we haven’t seen before, at least narratively. But it’s done very well. Sometimes, you just feel like having a good ol’ soufflé.

The humanity of District 9 adds another dimension to this multilayered, rewarding work -- one of the best of the summer, and undoubtedly the most inventive from the multiplex this year.

One of the oddest and surely the longest cinematic experiences you may ever encounter.

Woman At War is one of the best films I’ve seen about climate change that isn’t either a documentary or an extremely pedantic horror story.

The Night Of The 12th will emotionally exhaust audiences and get under their skin with its haunting ending.

Daniel Karslake and writer/editor Nancy Kennedy are excellent storytellers, and I’m forever grateful to them and the families who participated for hopefully helping society take a step in the right direction, away from discrimination and towards equality.

Sabbath Queen constantly finds ways to renew our interest throughout its 105 minutes and does so with great intelligence and respect.

You’re going to watch Ford v Ferrari for the action, underdog story, and more-than-competent cast. Mangold also has the tone and pace of the film down perfectly. I would watch Ford v Ferrari over and over again.

Such garbage that taking a shower at the Bates Motel is a more appealing alternative.

This soothing, elegantly-crafted film is such a marvelous piece of work.

Huesera: The Bone Woman will take your conception of the limits of the horror genre and break every bone in its body.

With Garland crafting the script and DeCosta at the wheel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a winner on all fronts. It is wildly entertaining, never predictable, and explores the clash between superstition and tradition versus hard science.

I also think Herzog is making a case for those crazy enough to follow their dreams, even when they take you to the end of the earth. Literally.

The Proposal explores the ethics behind copywriting art, but it also sees its artist go to radical extremes that some may find equally questionable. It will provoke discussions and arguments aplenty. What’s hard to argue is that the documentary itself is nothing short of spectacular: a sublime and unforgettable work of art. Barragán would be proud.

Dallaire's tragic story is a fascinating chapter in a sad history.

In a brave move, bound to startle viewers used to conventional structures, Shults shifts gears, subtly layering shades of complexity without ever weighing the film down.

Rian Johnson’s Wake Up, Dead Man is more than a clever whodunnit. It’s a meditation on belief, guilt, and the stories we tell ourselves to stay righteous. What begins as a murder investigation becomes a battle between truth and faith.

Music fans of every stripe should kill to see this film, one of the very best music documentaries in recent years.

Unless you're an antsy movie-goer or have a cold heart, by the end of Wendy and Lucy, you'll be engrossed, hoping for the best possible outcome.

The cast is strong, the comedy and the horror work perfectly in tandem, the meta-commentary is the best Scream, and the ending line is sheer perfection.

This funny, heartwarming, and thorough documentation of Sparks’ career [is] a benchmark by which all future music documentaries will be judged.

The Wrestler could have been a groundbreaking drama, one that upturns the sensational genre roots from which it stems. With Rourke in such form, it could have been character-driven to the core – if only Aronofsky trusted his character enough to resist screenwriter Siegel's contrived plot thrusts.