There’s something for everyone in Amazing Grace. I would definitely recommend checking this out if you’re a fan of concert docs, or of the queen of soul. Even if you’re none of those things, it’s an interesting historical document, so give it a go!

Performances alone cannot save an uninspired script. The story is not bad per se, but it’s not original or inspired and therefore Making Babies wallows in mediocrity, when it needed to make a choice between going for real laughs or have something profound to say about having children to make the journey worth taking.

Screwball is an entertaining way to bring a very serious scandal to light.

Long Lost, Erik Bloomquist’s feature-length debut is a confident, impressive mystery-thriller. The actors are amazing, the cinematography and lighting are great, and the directing wrings tension out of every scene. This is a thrilling watch that will get under everyone’s skin.

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.

The film boasts a sizeable effects budget too for some nice explosions, blood squirts, and bullet ballet. Sit back, disconnect, and have fun. Even with the lack of an A-List star, Triple Threat finds a way to stand on its own.

Ruizpalacios, who did a more consistent job in his 2014 debut drama Gueros, combines adventurous theft, archaeology lessons, family aloofness, and a vitiated friendship all in one. The lens of cinematographer Damián García attractively captures all of this, but part of the energy accumulated during the journey wasn’t always canalized in the right direction.

Erasing Eden’s story is not for everyone. Sometimes I wanted to quit in the same way I almost (and actually) gave up on my friends like Eden. But it pays off in the end if you open your heart and stick it out.

Insofar as low-budget horror goes, The Edge of Isolation is successful at exploring its subject matter without becoming to cheesy or hackneyed. The acting and writing are good, as well as the score and cinematography. I think Houkal, who is also a prolific actor, has a good career ahead of him as a filmmaker.

I highly suggest seeking out Knife+Heart if you like 70s & 80s B-movie and exploitation films. This was a spot-on homage to the beloved genre. It’s hilarious and haunting and genuinely beautiful, an ambitious film that the more prudish amongst us will be squirming in their seats during. So this is definitely not something to go see with your parents, regardless of your and their ages.

Economic struggle, crime, intimidation in a variety of forms, and, above all, the lack of affection and joie de vivre, are factors strongly influencing the course of the story. Hu Bo, who could have been a true artist of the cinema, put his spellbinding camerawork at the service of a brutal social exposition with plenty of anger and frustration. The effect is intimidating but very real.

Sobibor may not fully do justice to the Russians’ involvement in WWII, yet it certainly serves as a powerful reminder that the nation, so ostracized by the US these days, has plenty of heroes of its own. Hopefully, it makes enough of a dent Stateside to help the less-aware think outside the box.

Those who support hunting will probably see a very different film in King of Beasts than those who oppose it. Supporters will see a strong, down-home man exercising his god-given dominion over the planet, while detractors will see a psychopath with a pathological need to overcompensate for his shortcomings by killing things. In this sense, Almagor and Harel are completely successful in presenting a subject with enough information that we can come to our own conclusions in the end.

The Vandevere plot effectively turns the film from a cute animated story of talking animals into a thriller with corporate intrigue.

This is a very inventive, original story, in a cinematic landscape that sometimes seems bereft of such things.

Affecting, sincere, and most importantly socially astute ... it’s one of the sharpest and most promising first films I’ve seen in some time.

Rather than an over-reliance on special effects, Captive State thrives on the riveting performances from specifically from John Goodman. This is a cat-and-mouse game between the authoritarian pawns of the aliens with immense technological power and the resistance hiding in plain sight. This is one of those films that will have you thinking in the end.

The Irish humor and setting make for a lovely time with the film as we get a droll glimpse of daily life in Ireland, and things that are lost and found again.

For American viewers, the film will hopefully provide an incentive to learn more about the Philippine-American War, an important but frequently ignored chapter in American history. Thanks to all of this, Goyo: The Boy General avoids being a complete disappointment, and you’ll at least be glad you watched it.

I feel that the laughs could have been spread out a bit more and not all at once, which would make the film not feel as if it was dragging. Bruce!!! is one hour and forty-three minutes but feels more like two hours or over. It’s the case where less is more.

Champs tells a rags-to-riches story set in the brutal landscape of boxing and sports entertainment. You’ll find inspiration from the stories of its three subjects and make you think again about the gladiatorial game and business, we know as boxing.

No wonder that cinematic auteurs like Martin Scorsese and Oren Moverman produced Diane. It brings to mind films like Kenneth Lonergan’s You Can Count On Me, produced by Scorsese, or Moverman’s Time Out of Mind (which also dealt with memories, identity and the limits of human compassion). Jones may lack a little of the former’s humor or the latter’s visual artistry, but perhaps it’ll come later. The hard skills are all here.

The Art Of Self Defense is set in a very peculiar world populated by eccentric characters. While that might turn some off, due to the vision of director Riley Stearns and his incredible production team, as well as a top-notch cast, the movie is as hilarious as it is unpredictable. It emerges as a strong early contender for best film of the year.

Being that I’m a fan of the 60s era and war films, I truly wanted to like this film. I feel like there were many missed opportunities for a film with this particular subject matter.

At the end of the day, Hillbilly still achieves to be a compelling and timely documentary raising a lot of valid points while being charming and fun.

To its credit, Working Woman is laser-focused on its theme. There are no superfluous characters or side-plots. There’s no best friend to confide in, no hilarious sidekick. There’s just a woman who feels all alone like there’s no one she can trust, no one who will understand her.

Ivan Kavanagh has an eye for style and a clear gift for building suspense. That said, the film is sadly less than the sum of its frequently-impressive parts. If nothing else, his messy, violent, dark and sad reflection of our society proves that the Western will never grow old.

An uplifting experience that doesn’t allow sport and competition to overshadow the stories of the runners’ lives.