Never Gonna Snow Again says so much with so little: how thinly shielded these people are from the encroaching doom, how said doom is brought about by utter ignorance (an extended shot of a tree being devoured by metallic jaws scars the soul), and how this distance from the realities of the world manifests itself in their distance from each other.

Greener Grass is over-the-top hilarity. It’s grounded. It’s smart. It’s downright disgusting.

Radu Ciorniciuc’s Acasa, My Home, is a heart-rending documentary with investigative undertones.

Maybe How to Draw a Bunny itself is really Ray Johnson's final testament, created with a mischievous wink from beyond the grave. After watching this extraordinary documentary, one has no doubt that such an act is well within Johnson's creative powers.

Uproarious. Disturbing. Melancholic. Shrewd. All adjectives that the marketing teams behind Andrew Gaynord’s terrific dark comedy All My Friends Hate Me are welcome to use for promotional purposes.

Gaucho Gaucho is a celebration of a community of Argentine cowboys and cowgirls who live beyond the boundaries of the modern world.

Hamilton is a brilliantly shot and produced performance for posterity of one of America’s best contemporary musicals.

Alchemy of the Spirit is beautifully presented even though it appears as if there’s little happening. The color, light, and lack of detail are multiple layers of thought-provoking cinema. It is an authentic experience where the art of film and visual storytelling are present and effective. To add, Berkeley’s acting is without flaw providing another layer to unpack.

The important part about Becoming is not necessarily the facts you learn about Michelle Obama, but seeing her in action.

Wolfe's movie functions as an ode to Black culture, Black music, Black art; as a scathing treatise on the obstacles Black people have had to overcome (and are still overcoming) to be seen and heard and respected; as a celebration of jazz; as a showcase for two stellar performances and a majestic farewell to one of our greatest young actors.

The framing, editing, and overall rhythm of the story brim with intelligence. When coupled with a star-making performance from McEwen, we have what should be a new LGBTQIA+ classic drama.

Incredible because for a 100 minute movie, Alexandra's Project passes like 30. Incredible also that most of those 100 minutes take place in a single living room. It's the tension and performances that pull you through, never letting your attention stray from what's going down on-screen.

Renegade Dreamers is a documentary that doesn’t ask it’s viewers to do anything beyond ask themselves, “When did you stop caring?”

Into the Mirror is, as the kids say, a “#mood” but in all honesty, that is a great way to describe the film. It’s based on feelings and the subconscious seen through Daniel’s eyes, rather than being objective.

Garland is a master at ratcheting tension to an almost unbearable degree, and he flexes that muscle hard in Men. The way he gradually presses the acceleration pedal, allowing the narrative to gather momentum until it almost implodes in its final third, is really quite remarkable.

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

Cinema has come a long way since the 1920s, so there’s no way to compare a product from that time to a similar one from the modern-day with any equitability. Wings, however, stands the test of time and remains a masterpiece.

"Taxi” captures the evil that many men do under the guise of American justice. Just as Bardem's menacing Chigurh approaches his targets in "No Country," American military administrators approached Afghan detainees with shackles and convoluted policy in their pockets.

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.

Sophomoric silliness.

Rohrwacher’s work is brilliant and very much recommended.

Take Me To The River: New Orleans is edited together in a way more organic to music than traditional documentaries, which works wonders.

The Beach Boys documentary has everything you’d want in a music documentary— a compelling story behind the nostalgia, the main figures being open and honest about the rise and fall, interesting conversations, and great music.

Downey Jr. and LaBeouf as Dito as well as Chazz Palminteri as Monty are outstanding. Channing Tatum (who I've never heard of) is also amazing as the tortured soul Antonio.

Traveling faster than a fat line of blow snorted from mirror to nose, Cocaine Cowboys is all rush and no crash.

The film is near perfect in its attempt to properly mix the irrationality of war in with an interesting love story.

Ghostbox Cowboy is a wonderful mishmash of mockumentary that lends comparisons to Ulrich Seidl’s work or Harmony Korine’s earlier films such as Julien Donkey Boy and Gummo, with the weirdness of Terry Gilliam and the idiosyncratic brutality of Werner Herzog, while also being a completely unique animal apart from these influences.

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

After watching the documentary, I hope that as critiques of the male gaze become more and more mainstream, audiences will see through the many cliches and understand the ideology objectifying women in cinema. And as they gaze back, I hope we all realize that they have complex stories to tell.

Hinckley provides a fascinating window into understanding men with serious mental illness issues. Allowing the subject to explain his past feels like a genuine conversation. His self-reflection on decisions provides both sympathy and shock for the audience.

Lowen does a masterful job of presenting the anti-choice movement without spin.

Taylor’s mission with this film—to answer the unanswerable—is brave. Where it shines most is in how concise, clear and comprehensive each main idea is relayed.

Hilarious and often terrifying look at the effects of fast food on the human body.

The cast playing these eccentric characters is magnificent...This is definitely one of the most unique comedies you’ll see all year.

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.

This is not light-hearted entertainment. Be prepared to think. Uncle Dave will take you someplace new.

Iranian cinema has always been very good at reminding you of your humanity, and Rasoulof’s anthology plumbs those depths perfectly.

The documentary is a deeply meditative look at what it means to truly live with purpose and meaning.

A gem of a film that explores race relations, genetic fate and the allure of family, Neo Ned is a quality feat of filmmaking.

Return to Hardwick is a living, breathing moment from our past, reminding us what has been done, and what can be done.

Matthau should get points for allowing himself to be filmed as such an unlikable cuss, and Vic Morrow, as usual, is just short of psychotic.

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.

On its own terms, Departures is a thing of rare and remarkable beauty.

Hammer has the mechanics of a hard-edged noir thriller, which work startlingly well, but it’s clear that Sparkes’s heart, and therefore the film’s, is centered on the distressed familial relationships.

Beautifully filmed and incorporating interviews and impressive archival news footage, Pray Away digs deep into the pathology of fundamentalist Christian conceptions of reparative therapy. By showcasing survivors of the “ex-gay” movement and illustrating the personal tragedy that has resulted from individual involvement, the film provides a lens of hope for those who think there is none.

Go see this movie. Take your pre-teen who’s going through an awkward phase to see it (if you let them watch stuff with bad language and underage drinking, I should say). Or if you were a kid who came of age in the actual mid 90’s, this will give you an aching nostalgia for your youth.

Through countless interviews with whistleblowers, historians, and people who have survived Agent Orange, the filmmakers craft a searing portrait of unchecked government oversight and corporate greed at the expense of people’s lives.

Two Women showcases the rampaging wit of expert writing with the jaw-dropping technique of expert directing.

It’s a fitting tribute to Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse and makes you long for a time when storytelling was someone just telling a story.

It is exciting in ways you cannot imagine and must be seen to be believed.

The acting is subdued, nothing over the top, but captures a realism not normally seen in the bigger-budget films.

The movie is set up to pull the heartstrings, and it’s very effective at doing so. You care for the characters and what happens to them, and you leave the film wanting to know more.

The film explores themes of free will, destiny, and the tales that we consume while also revealing how they become part of us as we pass them down to future audiences. Ultimately, however, Three Thousand Years of Longing is about bearing the weight of pure love with no one willing to ease the burden — yet resolving to give it away freely nonetheless.

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.

If nothing else, Into the Wild is a beautiful film. Penn meticulously shot in the actual locations McCandless visited, and Eric Gautier's cinematography is breathtaking, many scenes are framed in such a way as to almost Hirsch entirely, further emphasizing how solitary his trek actually was.

Lee is beautiful, daring, and elusive, as all great art should be. It’s a fitting tribute to a woman whose work exhibited the same qualities.

Ultimately, Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life is a very good first film for Covert. It’s a high watermark to start a feature film career on. I look forward to what he and his team do next. Seek this out as soon as possible, it’s a truly fantastic experience.

I thought I might have seen everything I needed to see about neo-Nazi skinheads in "Romper Stomper" and "American History X". Not only was I in for a surprise, but newcomer Ryan Gosling gives every bit as stunning a performance as did Russell Crowe and Ed Norton in those two films, and then some.

First-time writer-director Serry shows a remarkable gift for storytelling with this moving, effective little film.

This is a long-overdue must-see that sets the record straight for a woman whose whole life was glossed over in favor of a more camera-ready tabloid romance.

In the end, the greatest achievement of Control Room may be to simply remind us, as Americans, that in this age of mega-corporate U.S. news media there are other perspectives on world events besides those of Fox, CNN, MSNBC-ABCBS and whoever else feeds us our information.

The Brink Of is a darn good film. The cast is great, and the songs are even better. What more does one need from a dramatic musical romance?

The battles are bloody and gory, and the set pieces are absolutely massive in scale.

To be clear, it’s not for everybody. The sense of humor required for this film falls somewhere between Maron and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Be prepared to cringe a lot and laugh nervously. Leave your decency at the door.

Some moments are a bit corny, such as subliminal messages coming from a tape played backward. However, I find the spin that writer/director Daniel Farrands puts on one of the most gruesome murders in history, will make all who see The Haunting of Sharon Tate examine the Tate murders, and maybe our own lives differently.

Despite some fictionalization, it is a brutally honest take on the deep-rooted, orthodoxical ideals and their fatal outcomes.

Casino Royale is quite possibly the best action movie of the year.

The video footage is demented, hysterically funny, and supremely dark. In presenting Carson’s antics and dissecting his style as a presenter, A Life on the Farm provides a horror-tinged giggle fest.

It is a deeply powerful story and an enjoyable watching experience. The story is real, the directing subtlety emboldens the emotions, and the two McGregors are excellent. I thoroughly recommend this drama.

Sebastian grabs ahold of your attention and pulls it down to the floor.

Part of what makes this film a must-see for Titanic fans is that it truly puts you closer to the wreckage than anyone else can get.

This is a brutal, exhausting, and genuinely horrifying little ghost flick.

The action scenes are exciting, the fantasy scenes are creative and the war scenes are brutal.

The Killer is an action film with verve and brains to spare.

An amazing accomplishment by Newman as the best fight man has left in him. There’s also an Oscar winning performance by champion Foghorn Leghorn sound alike George Kennedy.

Soderbergh does the whole movie in long takes using a wide-angle steady-cam setup. It is a situation fertile for great acting, as the long shots allow these performers to really inhabit their characters.

It’s a film too real to be written. It was lived and continues to be lived in Alabama every day.

It is refreshing to see an adventure flick that is not burdened by adopting a cynical and dark aesthetic. See this film if you’re a history buff and lover of old-fashioned adventure flicks!

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.

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.

The Cow is a powerhouse creeper where one of the great actresses of her generation shows us how it’s done.

Writer-director duo Albert Birney and star Kentucker Audley take us on a whimsical journey that bends timelines and genres, resulting in a consistently absurd, hilarious adventure.

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

It’s a delightful comedy about some of the darkest stuff we can go through as humans, which can only be pulled off by certain writers and directors. Gus Van Sant is definitely one of them.

It is a magnificent documentary on art and how artists interact with the world.

Sasha deserves credit not only for making a riveting documentary but also for getting so darkly personal.

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.

Attempting to compare “Freaked” to any other movie would prove an exercise in futility. This is a singular film—a wholly originally movie that, despite its flaws, will win over the most jaded film fan simply because it is uniquely and wonderfully bizarre.

You Are Not My Mother burrows underneath the nerves and stays there. It accomplishes this thanks to the amazing cast and strong visuals, which are ideally suited to the intense material.

Normally film is considered a director’s medium, but this one belongs to cinematographer Paolo Carnera. The footage of Felice rediscovering Naples is nothing short of stunning. Martone wisely understands that he has three resources in Nostalgia that other filmmakers do not: Carnera’s eye, Favino’s acting ability to quietly emote with no wasted motion, and a city that is heartbreakingly beautiful to behold.

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

Franchi brilliantly tells this tale of a young man coming into his own with blunt honesty.

Meet Me in the Bathroom is a moving memory of each band and their legacy in a larger musical landscape. It captures the ethos of each artist and is an excellent visual companion to Lizzy Goodman’s oral history.

While a rock doc on the surface, Resynator showcases all the conflicting nuances of reality with higher clarity than previous documentaries. Here we see the real life we live in, where everything is both so cool and completely sucks at the same time. We also get to explore how a person’s conception of an absent parent affects the architecture of their self-identity. It is fascinating to see how, as different mysteries are solved, it affects Tavel.

The movie gives us lovingly shot landscapes, portraits of extraordinary friendships, a great score, dialogue that only occasionally slips into history lessons, a number of memorably etched minor characters, a splendid performance by its youngest star and two mysteries.

No one is safe, and decency is thrown out the window. Not since Deadpool has a movie ever been so f****d up. Though Deadpool wandered more into the sexual and scatological terrain, The Suicide Squad, instead, blurs the line between cartoon violence and gory realism.

Joshua and Rebecca Tickell’s documentary, Common Ground, is that rare documentary that actually proposes solutions…practical solutions. I fear that the solutions will disappear into the void if we don’t say anything.