The element that keeps The Card Counter truly alive is Isaac, who turns in one of the best performances of his career here, using his eyes to convey things dialogue never could. To watch him work here is something special, even if the movie as a whole can't ever quite match his intensity. 

Shinkai is back with another magical teen story in Suzume, which got me in the gut yet again. 

With director Tanya Wexler lending the crime dramedy a zippy, irreverent flair, Buffaloed becomes the vehicle for which Deutch can finally show off her chops.

J.D. Dillard's Sweetheart is fierce aquatic horror without any frills.

Matthew Pope country-fries gutter luck, sizzles up a healthy portion of stand-off tension, and serves one nasty slice of homestyle revenge. Maybe too bleak for some, but sorry. Life isn’t all rainbows and Skittles. Kudos to the filmmakers who don’t shy away from the lows we’re forced to stomach and those failed in the process.

Wake Up makes its impression like a candy bar with a razor blade at its core. It's a sweet little treat for action-horror fans that hurts so good, as long as you're in the mood for visually traumatic, hopeless vibes.

It’s not saying anything deep or groundbreaking about the female experience or the nature of revenge. Birds of Prey is reveling in being as gonzo and stylish as it can be. But when the fights are this thrilling and the humor this absurd, whatever’s underneath the surface doesn’t matter all that much.

Arriving during Martin and Lewis' heyday, The Caddy is a fun slice of entertainment with enough wacky humor and bouncy tunes ("That's Amore!") to hold one's attention for 90 minutes.

Alexandra Daddario and Maddie Hasson are the Hammett and Hetfield of Marc Meyers’ eyeliner ensemble, with looks that kill and attitudes doubly deadly. For that, this critic can downgrade other complaints. It’s full of amplified unhallowed fun and fiendish shocks in the name of rock n’ roll…or maybe that’s just what “The Man” wants you to think.

Olympic Dreams ‘s goal isn’t to inundate you with complex themes or ideas. Simplicity is key for this film – it all comes down to a man and a woman who want to spend time together and then…spend time together. Layering that with the gorgeous Olympic environment makes for an enjoyable, often mesmerizing watch.

The Pool is a bonkers blast from beginning to end. Each wave of misfortune crashes down harder than the last, pummeling a walled-in main character with sadistic spite.

This is a biopic made by a mad man, filmed in a visual language that defies categorization, with musical numbers that would make Baz Luhrmann dizzy.

It’s crass, it’s cruel, it’s wild, it’s often hilariously funny.

What the movie lacks in laughs it more than makes up for with a hip savviness that pervades every frame.

Thanks to some fantastic performances and a patient, well-crafted script, this is a film that should find international audiences interested in some truly adult storytelling. There’s enough originality and sophistication here that an English language redux wouldn’t be unheard of, making one hope that any translation maintains the craft and elegance of Sødahl’s presentation.

This is a film about moving on and growing up. This is well-traveled territory in terms of subject matter, and nothing on display is especially groundbreaking or new. And yet, there's a nostalgic charm here that is compelling, and the writing, direction, and acting are all so strong — and that counts for something.

Alternating between exuberant and exhilarating, heart-warming and horrific, "The Swimmers" is an ambitious picture that tells an almost unbelievable tale of struggle, perseverance, and triumph.

While this movie's story may sound familiar — it's about a religious teenage girl's sexual awakening in a stuffy community that would rather never address such things — its success is dependent on its execution, and writer/director Laurel Parmet, in her feature directorial debut, hits every target she aims for along the way.

Last Night in Soho, with all its warts and wonders, shows you can teach an old dog some new tricks. Wright shows he still hasn't hit his ceiling as a filmmaker, but's heartening to see him stretch and reach rather than just keeping his artistic ambitions planted on the floor.

The banal insidiousness of it all began to fill me with a type of nameless dread. Backed up by a droning, unsettling score, "Mister Organ" begins to seem like a horror movie. Organ himself seems harmless, at least physically. But he exudes a certain temperament that appears slightly off.

If there is anything that prevents Bottoms from being truly great, it's that it sometimes feels a lot more wild and unpredictable than it actually is.

Babes would be a stressful film if it wasn't such a funny one, if its leads weren't so charming, their chemistry so lived-in.

The otherwise low-stakes drama is so invested in their emotional state that the lows are bottomless, while the highs have no ceiling. Haapasalo plucks this tiny three-week period from the ether and every filmmaking trick in her quiver allows us to relish in it.

Filmmakers: give us more of this, please. Just remember to give us an actual ending while you're at it.

Not everything works — for example, there are multiple moments where characters are firing up cigs with Zippo lighters that seem painfully choreographed to look "cool" — but the film is so energetic and intense that it's hard to not go along for the ride.

This is a hard film to dislike. Cage brings what you'd expect, Pascal brings even more, and their awkward, adorable, genuine kinship represents how so many of us feel about Cage these days.

Hanks carries the entire film on his back, and this is yet another great bit of work from the actor.

The Many Saints of Newark is smart enough to point out that Livia isn't an anomaly in this world — she's just another borderline-sociopath who has found her place among murderous men.