In Making Montgomery Clift, you see how brilliant an actor Clift was. You see his love of the art of storytelling, developing characters with depth and dimension, and his willingness to put the final product over his own ego. He loved living life just as much as portraying it on screen.

The film captured why Joan Jett is amazing not only as a musician but also as a human being.

Although skirting the inexplicable and the absurd, Assassination Nation is a pulpy and immensely entertaining roller coaster, hallmarked by its relentless sociocritical bite and refined cinematic craft.

The film’s absurdly strong performances, music, and aesthetics all bring to life a wonderful film you won’t want to miss.

It’s Cangialosi’s writing and direction that result in a watered-down, emotionally manipulative experience.

Call Her Ganda is not a bad documentary, but it is one with entirely too much to say in one 93 minute piece. Brevity is the soul of wit, but in this case, focus would be the soul of the debate.

Unfortunately, Another Time spends a chunk of the film giving viewers an unnecessary, unwanted and mind-numbing quantum physics lesson, which spoils all the romance and fun.

Diane is incredibly satisfying, especially at the end, with all the loose ends tying themselves together in a way that isn’t entirely expected but is kind of in your face the entire time.

Love Gilda is one of those documentaries that will make you laugh, touch your heart, and inspire to make the most of your life without fear.

Green Book is a real crowd pleaser — aside from the banter between the oppositely-minded characters, it has clear heroes and villains. The writers do manage to sneak a few nuances in, especially when discussing Shirley feeling out of place in both the white and black communities.

A Wizard’s Tale is blandly animated, badly edited, terribly, terribly written and its dearth of creativity hurts its core conceit. While most of the voice actors try their best, it is all for naught.

Carefully balancing breakneck momentum and a heartfelt investigation of the grieving process is no simple feat, but Kienle is mostly up to the task.

Filmmaker Heather Lenz pieces together a fascinating story of this little-known, yet wildly popular artist.

Sun Yi’s stoicism is admirable and moving, but it’s his ex-wife Fu Ning’s tearful recollection of their separation that cements the story in your mind. Her testimony does what so many activist documentaries fail to do: make large-scale suffering real to the viewer.

Chic, sexy, and just the right amount of sleazy, A Simple Favor is a stunning thrill ride, a viciously engrossing experience that has become so rare in studio filmmaking.

It’s easy to forgive its melodramatic excesses, especially if you happen to be partial to the genre. And things do pick up as the story unfolds.

This is a fantastic film. Imagine any John Hughes film as a drug-fueled drama.

I Think We’re Alone Now is an exercise in ambiance, and Morano is nothing if not a brilliant conductor of tone. Favoring dreamy over dreary, the movie is a handsome and often mesmerizing addition to Morano’s expanding oeuvre.

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.

The Children Act is a masterpiece from beginning to end and it should not be missed.

A Boy. A Girl. A Dream may seem simple but every frame is a vibrant work of a passionate filmmaker.

The film actually succeeds on several levels. Long and Davis both turn out strong performances, bolstered by above-average writing by the directors. The strongest element, however, comes in Julia Hapney’s gruesome gore effects.

As a documentary, Rodents of Usual Size makes good use of animation illustrating how Louisiana got itself into this environmental disaster. The filmmakers interview a wide variety of citizens who come at the problem from their own unique perspective. They also capture some of the most once beautiful and now devastating images of Louisiana itself.

If you can’t check your brain at the door then don’t even bother with The Predator. The film is loud, improbable, manufactured within an inch of its life, and takes absolutely no real risks with the franchise. If you want action movie comfort food, this might be your movie.

No amount of words that can convey the sense of the film, because it is such a gut-punch of emotion.

Hellsgård and writer Olivia Vieweg have crafted a morbidly beautiful, uniquely character-focused, and decidedly feminine take on familiar apocalyptic tropes, and while it doesn’t always entirely deliver on a narrative or visceral level, Endzeit – Ever After emotional resonance – and the singularity of its worldview – is undeniable.

The lightning in a bottle you have to catch to make an epic love story work is chemistry between the leads. With one actor a relative novice, and the other trying to stretch himself and direct his first feature, the deck was stacked against them. But wow did they pull it off. Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper are terrific together.

The movie feels like a Sunday drive with your own thoughts, where you get some good thinking done, even if you don’t come to any lasting conclusions.