Meandering ... The film somehow lacks the structural cogency necessary to support a compelling narrative, while also encompassing enough discernible plot conventions to reveal a screenwriter’s meddling.

In its refusal to bend to unrealistic notions of escape, Joy is a bravely dark movie.

A demented and often-uproarious class-conscious satire, Parasite falls slightly short of Bong’s greatest work.

While not quite arriving at the delirious cult highs of a classic like “Ichi the Killer,” “First Love” is Miike’s most accessible work in years.

Either this movie was made due to one of the most humongous creative blind spots in all of filmmaking, or it was made because in this, the year 2019, there are still people who believe that eroticized, lightened-up rape scenes are not only permissable – they are empowering.

The film is a gem, especially for anyone yearning for a superhero film that gleefully torches the familiar “good versus evil” formula and introduces far more sinister sensibilities.

Aladdin is at its best when it ventures out to form its own interpretation and while not all of the choices necessarily work, it is refreshing to see Ritchie and the ensemble attempt a genuine reimagining.

Having never been entirely won over by the clever-clever period genre revisionism that has been Tarantino’s mainstay since Bill was killed, I was delighted — after all the lurid what-if speculation over the film’s relationship to the Charles Manson story — to find that his latest is, in such large part, a kind of gorgeously lacquered megabudget hangout movie.

This comedic thriller is witty and diverting without selling out on the Romanian reputation of thoughtful, challenging work.

With its capable cast and sterile aesthetic in tow, “Little Joe” commands the bleak futurism of a “Black Mirror” episode, yet with slightly more muted drama.

Absent from Young Ahmed is the frenetic urgency that defines the directors’ greatest work, replaced here by the titular character’s unshakable tunnel vision.

Kapadia’s tight focus and compelling viewpoint make “Diego Maradona” a must-see for soccer fans, and certainly a biographical doc of interest to wider audiences.

Ly makes it hard to paint these characters in broad strokes, no matter how we might try.

In short, the driving factor of Covino’s relentlessly funny, affecting comedy is neither cinematographic ingenuity, nor its tongue-in-cheek facetiousness, though these elements surely help. No, what’s most persuasive about Kyle and Mike is, simply put, Kyle and Mike themselves.

Sciamma ... has a magnificent capability for elegant prose that wouldn’t feel out of place in a classic novel, the kind of dialogue that simmers long after it is spoken.

If the immediate, textural pleasures of the film are such that you can almost miss the deftness of its construction, the skill with which Eggers balances out his ambivalent storytelling, while still ramping through ever-escalating climaxes, can’t be overstated.

The Tree of Life spanned eons to capture the entirety of existence, and while the filmmaker works on a tighter four-year canvas this time around, the feeling that the stakes are nothing less than the soul of all humanity has persisted. This is art of salvation.

“Jeanne” is the passion project of a director who clearly fancies himself a humorist, yet the attempt translates unfavorably as pretentious self-indulgence.

Tolkien is an unfortunately typical biopic riddled with obvious influences and ham-fisted thematic hypocrisy, but it is effective in capturing the moral consequences key to the humanity of Tolkien’s masterpiece.

Full of astutely droll observations, Chokri’s script lends relatable credence to the film’s sharp situational comedy.

A beautiful, full-hearted celebration of the craft of filmmaking.

As typical as it may sound from the outside, tender and devastating in turn, “Sorry We Missed You” is essential viewing.

Careful and deliberate character work in the script paints a striking picture of two friends who are outcasts in their little world yet still find a way to integrate into a community.

For a romantic comedy, Photograph is a little light on romance or comedy, but it makes up for this in thoughtfulness and charm. Photograph is a wistful, old-fashioned romance for those struggling to move forward with one foot in the past.

Fletcher’s inventive reimagining of several musical numbers, in particular, blends striking visuals and affecting storytelling.

It bears the aesthetic and thematic hallmarks of an expertly rendered film with an impressively nuanced subjectivity.

There may not be a map for navigating this gonzo film, but nevertheless, Bacurau is a blood-soaked adventure worth seeking out.

Ash Mayfair’s debut film is an astonishing achievement for a first feature, one not every film-goer will be able to stomach, but a work every caring cinephile should see.