Lucky Strike, a mind-numbingly inert, hyper-patriotic war film, makes little sense and gives even less reason for its existence.

This isn’t a film about overcoming darkness so much as embracing it, and seeing what, or who, might be waiting for you on the other side.

Among other things, “Drunken Noodles” is a rich and often thrilling trip into writer/director Lucio Castro’s personal understanding of how queer romance, sexual pleasure, and mind-expanding art can only flourish when we have enough room and receptivity to feel that everything inside us is either naturally or instinctively related.

It has a reasonably solid, if not blazingly original, premise, a more-than-solid cast, made with enough style to make for a reasonably diverting 100 minutes, but it never quite manages to be anything more than that.

It’s no classic—it fails to develop many of its most promising themes and ends just when it’s really starting to cook—but it’s clever, sincere, and genuinely funny, and will be endlessly rewatchable to anyone that clicks with it.

The movie’s title, “Romería,” means “pilgrimage,” specifically a religious or spiritual one; Simón is suggesting that the search for self can indeed fall into that category. In any event, this is a pilgrimage well worth taking for film lovers.

For all the ways it hits the beats of traditional queer and diaspora narratives, “Bouchra” never comes across as reductive in its portrayal of the relationship between mother and daughter or the dynamics within divergent cultures.

It starts out trying way too hard to impress us, then settles into an easygoing, authoritative groove where you forget you’re being told a story and feel like you’re just watching people exist.

While “In the Hand of Dante” never finds the consistency that eludes it, it is a film that sparks in individual beats.

In the end, you can’t help but wonder why the emotions of these characters don’t pack as much of a punch.

By acutely matching this fishing folktale’s uncertain vibe as a film not about ghosts but about madness, Turner and MacKay’s “Rose of Nevada” moves with a perfectionist control through unknowable waters.

Finnegan’s Foursome will deliver a few chuckles, but the most hearty laughs will be for anyone who knows the difference between a 7 iron and a 7 wood.

This is a rom-com with many themes and an acute (sometimes pink) eye for current dating woes, social media pitfalls, and misogyny.

It’s a special little film with a warmth that feels as natural as the passage of time.

Maddie’s Secret possesses a tenacious commitment to clichés and stylistic hyperbole, and while it is certainly a parody, it is undeniably delivered with reverence: an ode to the idolatry bestowed upon characters like Rory Gilmore.

Nawal’s womanhood, colored by the intersection of traditionalist society and internet enlightenment in which she exists, is the real meat of “Unidentified,” a film that shoots for the juicy bite and gets the gristle instead.

Shoot the People thrives on its visual storytelling, amplified by composer Nik Ammar’s score, which is string-forward, strumming our inner fire to help us fight harder for change.

Acknowledging its aggressively absurd, obnoxiously obscene tone from the jump, “Never Change!” is one of those deadpan-yet-deranged comedies where everyone acts like a foul-mouthed, damn-near-sociopathic lunatic… but in a supposedly funny way.

Bird and Clausen’s performances bring an elevated energy to the premise, and their chemistry causes the overall film to come across as more romantic than horrific.

I couldn’t help but be moved by the animated picture’s digestible message, which resonates not only with parents and children alike but also with those worried about a social media culture that values creating an impossible standard by prioritizing image over being yourself. We’re losing something uniquely human between tabs, under signal strength, and over social content. “Toy Story 5” hopes to claw us back to reality.

For once, a Robin Hood film has come along that challenges us to think about what redemption costs.

Stop! That! Train! is shooting for camp, a style that thrives on an overflowing cup, but as a viewer, our perspective leaves us seeing things as half empty.

That sense of community solidarity and immigrant resilience weaves through the fabric of Sehiri’s quiet, observational drama, which tells the story of a tight-knit group of Black immigrant women trying to survive and make ends meet amid Tunisia’s unwelcoming immigration environment.

There’s respect to be had for films that take big swings, potentially even risking offense to deliver their thesis with gusto, but “Find Your Friends” is a sloppy, party porn massacre of themes.

While some elements of the story may seem quaint to other parts of the country, the Sheas show us that Flag Day may be Three Oaks, but Three Oaks is us.

Other, better movies will inevitably come to mind as you watch “Kraken”—not because it’s so bad, but rather because it might have been as good as you hoped.

Written and directed by Madeleine Rotzler, the film is a general wash of generalized muted feeling, where nothing coheres because nothing sharpens into focus.

This is a whooping-and-hollering movie. It’s more than satisfying. It’s bloody heaven.