There are a handful of dull moments in Definition Please, but as frustrating as they can be, they don’t drown out the brilliance of Rajan and the compelling script. I was pulled in early due both to the emotional content and the relevance to the real world.

Something of a letdown. Previous statements aside, I understand Warner Bros. has to set the table for "Half-Blood Prince" and "Deathly Hallows," but too much of Phoenix is filler. And with only two movies left, we better get to the main course in short order.

Filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad, who helmed the excellent "Rana's Wedding," missed the boat on this one. He may have hoped to give a human voice to the suicide bombers, but instead he gave them a misfired movie.

Yes, there is a very palpable lesbian erotic undercurrent pervading this film. However, the reason it's so palpable is because it's so subtly and deftly handled...AND it's only one thread of the film's storyline.

With Manito's raw portrayal of its characters and stripped-down cinematography, the undercurrent of impending tragedy is palpable.

It is worth seeking out for a brutally honest, achingly realistic, and emotionally compelling look at the other side of petty crime – the slow, painful path to legitimacy.

The endless loop, the anomalies, the reset — all of it connects back to who the man is and what his fundamental flaw as a person is. When the ending hits, it doesn’t explain itself. You just sit there and work backward, and then it clicks.

A finely gradated study of race and masculinity in the age of Trump, Tyrel is also an engrossing portrait of the revealing power of language.

While one can detect a genuinely amusing screenplay somewhere under the flat direction and mysteriously stiff performances, the film is tediously slow.

Land falls well short of the greatness of Romero’s previous zombie efforts.

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

Dark and uncomfortably funny, this work showcases a filmmaker acutely aware of the nuances of modern society.

Mogul Mowgli elegantly deals with essential issues while remaining entertaining.

Untouchable is a competently made film, there’s nothing mind-blowing about the presentation of it, but the timely subject matter makes the aesthetic weaknesses more forgivable.

This movie is all over the place. One giant discombobulated stoner trip that goes from one obscure adventure to another. And you know what? It is quite a fun, odd journey.

Aspires to a backwoods North Carolina Woody Allen quality that it often comes close to achieving. But sadly it’s just never quite funny, touching or insightful enough.

Not a film that will change your life. It instead proves that shooting your movie with cheap technology doesn't mean it can't be fun or entertaining. In the end, that's enough.

In the somewhat muted lead role, Huppert really is a marvel.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is an origin story, and director Destin Daniel Cretton, working from script he wrote alongside Dave Callaham and, Andrew Lanham did a masterful job telling a story that’s not only Asian-American but a Marvel movie at the same time.

It is sweet, engaging, and has a great message.

At 90 or so minutes, Prey is a lean, mean machine without an ounce of fat on its muscular body. It’s a reminder that this land was populated long before we, the original predators, overtook it, a subtle treatise of “man as predator,” but mostly, a vicious, wildly entertaining flick that’s bound to become the new classic in the series.

Writer/director Maren Ade has a laid-back, almost lackadaisical style that feels breezy, lived-in, and rich.

Blends the uncanny staging of home movies with a French New Wave perspective on iconography and metaphors.

Thematically relevant and persistently moving the form forward, Searching is an emotional roller coaster, taking a familiar premise and invigorating it along with biting commentary on viral video culture.

It is a painful but important subject, to be certain, but the film dilutes its own effectiveness by devolving into a collection of talking heads who often seem to be repeating each other.

Overall, there is a lot of flip-flopping between stories, sometimes jumping back and forth more frantically than an episode of "Seinfeld."

Brilliantly scripted and full of a virtual Who's Who of familiar faces, The Big Lebowski is yet another golden hunk of totally unique celluloid from the versatile Brothers Cohen.

Catch The Fair One is a fantastic and engaging effort across the board. The direction is lean and ably brings forth the emotional truth of each scene.