The 100 Best Movies on Tubi Right Now

Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior is, at first glance, an action-only movie that hopes to emulate something like Bruce Lee in Thailand. The Muay Thai choreography is memorable, the chase scenes are iconic, and the plot is scant in order to fit more fight scenes in it. However, the film feels electric precisely because it strikes at the fear of how local culture is erased, snatched, and forgotten for a more urban and globalized city lifestyle. With Tony Jaa’s amazing physicality, and the film introducing him and the art of Muay Thai to international audiences, Ong-Bak literally knocks out that fear, proving that local culture can survive, and maybe even thrive, on the world stage.

When a woman that looks like the love of your life randomly shows up at an empty train station, but strangely has no memory of you, maybe you should try to confirm their identity first– doppelgangers do exist, after all. But aside from this detail, there’s a certain charm in the way Be With You unfolds, as the family gets a second chance to cherish a loved one, and as Woo-jin indulges in sharing their love story, a story that Woo-jin understandably doesn’t want to forget. Be With You doesn’t reinvent the entire genre, and it would inevitably be compared to the 2004 Japanese original, but this Korean remake does it so well, celebrating the way love transcends lifetimes.

When something like a World War happens, the generation that grew up at the time inevitably would be changed, and this change sticks to that generation, even if the ones that follow don’t immediately understand. The Last Suit is centered on this idea, but it does so through a relatively lighthearted and humorous way, as Abraham Bursztein goes on a cross-continental trip to see a childhood friend from the war, and meet people with different perspectives along the trip. With at least six different languages, two different timelines, and a compelling protagonist, The Last Suit is a new take on the Holocaust that might be a tad too sentimental for some viewers, but is a poignant reminder of the history that still haunts the world today.

When you’re an ex-convict that wants to hide his stint in jail from his parents, among other things, fake dating is a rather strange solution. It’s usually the stuff of cheesy romcoms, but Buffalo ’66 plays out differently. The pretense doesn’t stem from jealousy or money or career status, but rather from desperation, becoming another attempt to win some semblance of self-worth from dysfunctional parents, which inevitably doesn’t work… At least in the way Billy hopes it would. While Layla’s motivations aren’t fully fleshed out, Christina Ricci brings a certain doll-like sweetness that lines up with what’s expected of her by her captor, but also happens to enliven the rest of the family, allowing just a glimpse of the good people they used to be, before they slip back into their usual unkind, thoughtless selves. This, along with Billy’s background– flashbacks of neglect and abuse in frames within frames– makes their connection a bit toxic, but Buffalo ’66 has an interesting style and excellent performances to make it a memorable watch.

There’s no shortage of media depicting alcoholism, but many of them come across as preachy, sanctimonious, and coming from someone that hasn’t gone through it. Steve Buscemi’s directorial debut is another character study of an alcoholic pushed to drink because of losing both his job and his girlfriend, but the way Buscemi writes, directs, and acts as this Long Island town drunkard has an unassuming realism that doesn’t paint Tommy’s life as the worst thing ever, but rather as a steady toleration of having life left unfixed, of continuing to indulge in self-destructive behavior, because it’s not bad enough to actually do something about it. Trees Lounge might not be the most exciting debut, but it’s one that’s honest.

Usually a film like this wouldn’t care to take the perspective of the perpetrator, and would instead dramatize a heavy, unsettling feeling around a victim being caught within their operation. But Felicia’s Journey doesn’t take that route– instead, at the same time, we meet both serial killer and potential victim through a snapshot of their lives, with writer-director Atom Egoyan adeptly intercutting Felicia’s Journey with Hilditch’s video-recorded childhood and Felicia’s much more natural flashbacks. It’s an interesting visual take on the 1994 novel, that doesn’t take the usual thriller motifs and that would rather linger on studying the characters. Felicia’s Journey might be Egoyan’s first non-R rated film, but it still delivers his signature uneasiness and eeriness he is known for.

Life can get tough if you move to another country. You have to adjust to the language, to the culture, and to the community you choose to move to, and that’s just if you decided to make the move intentionally. But some of these difficulties can be made much easier to bear with a good friend. Shun Li and the Poet is centered on a friendship between two immigrants in a Venetian island town, and although they come from other sides of the world, the kindnesses they share as strangers, and the intimacy they keep when they share more of their life stories, prove to be lovely. It might be a tad slow for some viewers, but the contemplation and celebration of their shared humanity makes for a lovely watch.

There are many ways through which a friendship can form, but sometimes, it’s due to compassion for someone who needs help. Despite the somewhat fantastical clairvoyant premise, Beautiful Beings is mostly about this simple friendship formed with a bullied kid, which turns out not to be so simple at all. From a bummed cigarette, the friendship grows into a protective support system, filling up parental neglect with teaching each other how to live, but while some of these moments are totally wholesome, other moments lean into mischief, and sometimes violent danger. It may be a fairly familiar coming-of-age premise about male friendship, but Berdreymi executes it well, has a compelling cast, and isn’t afraid to go dark when necessary.

The Dark Crystal is a fantasy film that follows Jen (Stephen Garlick), who is tasked to save his people by restoring the cracked dark crystal before it’s too late. It’s a typical heroes tale, the story and dialogue nothing you’ve never heard of, but The Dark Crystal has since garnered a cult following and continues to stand the test of time because it’s a technical wonder. The first live-action film to feature zero humans, it features special effects, physical contraptions, beautiful scenery, and of course impressive puppets crafted by director Jim Henson, the same pupeteering mastermind behind The Muppets and Labyrinth. The film’s magical world of Thra was expanded in the Netflix series of the same name, which itself has garnered great acclaim from critics and fans alike.

Going through troubles can be made easier by having a friend. That’s true in Mexican drama Violet Perfume: Nobody Hears You, alternatively titled No One is Listening. It follows high school transferee Yessica who befriends the quiet kid in her new class, Miriam, which becomes an unexpected bright spot in her tough life. It’s a hard watch because of how tough her life gets– the bleak and depressing circumstances of her family life require trigger warnings, to say the least– but the film needed to illustrate how far abuse can go unnoticed, and how abusers can take advantage of that lack of awareness. Ultimately, Perfume de Violetas is a tough watch, but  through the film’s sensitive depiction and the leads’ masterful performances, it’s an essential one.

While many of the Hollywood films about the Vietnam War depict Americans as the good guys, there are a few that depict the less savory side. One such film includes Casualties of War, which depicts some of the real life atrocities that occurred at the time. Director Brian De Palma brings his signature flourish to throw fresh-faced Michael J. Fox into the brutality, having him to face the frustration of the troops and the ensuing cruelty they inflicted as a result. It’s a harrowing watch, especially as Fox’s career-best performance depicts an innocence lost, but it was a needed one. While a departure from De Palma’s usual works, Casualties of War confronted a deeper, more realistic horror that emerged in this tough time in history.

Before CCTV cameras and facial recognition, police had to do their surveillance manually, relying on disguises and, if they were lucky, photographic memory to hunt down bad guys and arrest them. Remaking Hong Kong action thriller Eye in the Sky, Cold Eyes followed one such surveillance team– a hardened captain with a rookie with photographic memory– and the two leads go through many of the beats familiar in many an action thriller, but nonetheless the action sequences are so exciting that the 2 hour runtime flies by. Cold Eyes may be a familiar investigation for most thriller fans, but the film conducts it rather well.

War during Christmas makes for a depressing time. It’s hard to think about goodwill for all when you’re hungry, tired, and at risk for getting shot every time you see the enemy. So given the setting, it’s no surprise that A Midnight Clear goes the same way. Still, the film becomes more heartbreaking because there was hope. As the American squad try to decipher the strange, decidedly not violent, actions of a German squad, and they cobble enough Yiddish to make some sort of understanding, the film steadily builds up the possibility that maybe something good would come out of that Christmas. A Midnight Clear creates hope by trying to solve the mysterious other. It takes it away once the squad fails to do so.

The grief in James White is palpable. It’s inspired by writer-director Josh Mond’s own experience of losing a parent, and it shows, especially through how personal this drama gets. It’s heart wrenchingly honest about its protagonist and how unprepared he was, not just in taking over his mother’s care, but in actually becoming an adult. At the same time, while presenting his worst sides, the film also acknowledges the way grief hangs over James, with everyone holding best intentions but not knowing what to do to help him. It’s because of this James White isn’t an easy watch, but it might prove cathartic for viewers going through similar loss.

With his outstanding record of resisting the Nazis, Max Manus seems like a pretty cool guy. The well-travelled soldier volunteered for his country when he could have stayed an ocean away, and he helped organize the resistance against the Germans when he could have just kept his head down. It’s no wonder that he was commemorated in the biopic Max Manus: Man of War. However, like many biopics, Man of War focused more on the historical accuracy instead of crafting a narrative that coherently depicts his core beliefs and character development. His incredible exploits are still entertaining. It’s amazing to see the dangerous work he pulled off in the name of his country. Max Manus: Man of War is one of many World War II biopics, but it nonetheless celebrates an underrated hero that fought in a rarely acknowledged warfront.

Whether because of absent family or nefarious criminals, there are children around the world that have to work, sometimes in risky, dangerous jobs. Sun Children follows one such group of children. It’s a sadly familiar tale, taking notes from neorealism in depicting this important issue, but what makes Sun Children stand out is the way it shows how child labor can easily erode a kid’s soul, having to prioritize survival over being taken care of. It’s tragic to see how its ensemble has trouble simply accepting regular schooling, because they had to keep up defenses to live. Sun Children is one of many social issue dramas about child labor, but it’s unfortunately necessary in a world that has failed many kids this way.

It’s terrifying to imagine how someone innocent can unknowingly get linked to a crime. It’s a fear that drives many crime films including Paraguayan thriller 7 Boxes. While the basic idea is familiar, the film takes this trip to an unfamiliar location and executes it in a slick, stylish way, with respect to the hustle and bustle of the capital’s street market. Alongside the spectacular chase sequences, the film also allows each character to breathe, grounding the action with the sincere understanding of Victor’s hope for a better life. Some moments may seem a bit cliché, but 7 Boxes overall is a fast-paced and engaging movie that’s sure to delight thriller fans.

An equally interesting and terrifying must-watch documentary about the state of food in the United States, Food Inc is a sobering tour of where the stuff you eat comes from. Spoiler alert: it’s gross, and should be illegal but that shouldn’t stop you from watching this film, which showcases the food industry’s vile practices and overt corruption. Don’t worry though, even at its most muckraking, Food Inc manages to mix entertainment with its information.

A story about inspectors on the Hungarian subway and their struggle to get travelers to pay up. Skinheads with attack dogs, drunks and freaks are the harsh reality of these working-class heroes, who themselves of course are quite the weird bunch. Dark post-soviet humor, refreshingly politically incorrect characters and an abstract parallel love story which barely makes sense even at the end. Kontroll is a movie you will regret having waited 10 years to see.

An amazing, little-known war film about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Jason Patric plays a Russian tanker abandoned by his fanatical commander (played by the great character actor George Dzundza) because of his lack of enthusiasm for the war, and he then defects to the mujahideen. Authentic visuals make it a must-see for war movie buffs.

Despite a name that sounds like a cheap horror flick from the 80’s, Chopper is in fact an ‘autobiographical’ account of Australian robber, kidnapper and all round crazy bastard Mark ‘Chopper’ Read. But don’t think this will be some bog-standard, by-the-numbers, ‘crime doesn’t pay’ movie of the week, instead this film revels in gleeful pitch-black humor, wonderfully shot but not gratuitous, scenes of cold violence and a wonderful lead actor, Eric Bana, (in the role that got his foot firmly through the Hollywood door) who dominates every single frame he is in. At a lean 90 minutes long, you have no excuse not to watch this wonderful gem of a film.

Set in the 1930’s English Countryside, the story of the eccentric Mortmain family is told from the daughter Cassandra’s point of view. Her father, a once acclaimed and famous writer has written nothing in years, leading the family into bankruptcy. Themes such as first love and financial troubles are explored from Cassandra’s comic and intelligent point of view. A classic and a must-see.

TV reporter documenting a day with a local fire crew, they encounter a deadly virus trapped in a tower block. This film is bloody brilliant! Innovative camera work and a simple idea perfectly executed. When I watched this, I was alone in the dark and ended up constantly jumping around with fright and excitement. A real wake up for other horror filmmakers, Hollywood hasn’t come close to anything like this.

Though it starts off somewhat slow, I was delightfully surprised at how much I loved this movie. A 28-year-old man ventures through Europe with a buddy, ending in Copenhagen, where he hopes to contact the last of his family. There he enlists a local girl to help him. An interesting relationship unfolds as they take a captivating journey through Copenhagen in search of William’s grandfather. The tag line of the movie is “When the girl of your dreams is half your age, it’s time to grow up” and William really does have to grow up when he’s faced with his own personal tumult.
The girl is played by Frederikke Dahl Hansen, who gives an exceptional natural performance, which adds even more to the abundance of charm in this film.

Ida, the 2015 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, is a stark black & white drama set in the early 60’s about a young Polish nun-to-be and her bawdy Aunt Wanda searching for the truth behind her family’s demise at the hands of the Nazis. What initially comes off as a painfully slow sleep-inducer pretty quickly evolves into a touching and lively contrast between the two lead characters; one virtuous and pure, the other boorish and hedonistic. Their journey is equal parts amusing, insightful and heartbreaking, with Ida’s personal exploration of self playing out as a remarkably humanistic affair. The cinematography by Lukasz Za and Ryszard Lenczewski is particularly striking, each shot a work of art in it’s own right. Logging in at just 82 minutes, the entire story whizzes by in a flash. The kind of film that will stay with you long after you’ve watched it.

I didn’t know anything about the movie before watching it (this was my husband’s pick for ‘one of us picks something that the other knows nothing about’ night). It is Korean, sweet, funny, touching, unique, odd, poignant. I think the fact I knew nothing about the movie when I watched made it even more enjoyable so I hesitate to write more details in this review! Since watching it I have read that an American remake may be in the works, so I would recommend watching it before there is too much info out there about what is destined to be a less charming and successful version

Sometimes it’s hard to relate to foreign movies because of the different cultures, languages and actors. But Miracle in Cell No. 7 transcended the language barriers for me and delivered one of the most touching stories I have ever seen. It’s a Korean film about the intricate yet simple love story between a mentally challenged father and his daughter. When the father is wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit and is sent to prison, his personable character eventually causes the prisoners around him to help reunite him with his daughter in prison. Warning: many tissues will be needed.

Watch this if you like weird movies. And don’t be fooled by the first half, which serves just to set Jesse Eisenberg’s character and the monotone life he leads. It’s the calm before the storm, during which that character is attacked by a violent gang and decides to take self-defense classes in an unusual club. This is a movie about modern manhood and how it can lead to some pretty strange situations. Great performance from Eisenberg as usual.

This movie is a wild ride, literally, since it mostly takes place on a bus driving really fast. It’s about one Russian-American social worker who gets hung-up between helping his community driving a group of elderly Russians to a funeral or helping the people he’s hired to help.

In its essence, Give Me Liberty is a comedy where the chaos doesn’t stop escalating, but thanks to impeccable character work and excellent acting, it’s a relevant and poignant movie. You will find yourself in the same position as the social worker, trying to decide who needs his help more.

This funny and charming movie is about a Palestinian slacker named Salam who works on a famous Israeli soap opera. Each day, he has to pass a tough Israeli checkpoint to get to work and in an attempt to make things easier for himself, he agrees to change the ending of the soap opera to please the officer in charge of the checkpoint. At the same time, a temperamental French actress and his Palestinian love interest wish for opposite endings to the show. Stuck between love and politics, Salam has to navigate a complex situation to please all sides. There are a lot of hummus jokes.

A biopic is only as big as the personality at its center, and what a personality Pavarotti had. The Opera singer that crossed into the mainstream from his humble upbringings in Modena, Italy, exuded happiness and had a great outlook on life. And even as the attention he would eventually attract takes its tole, he’s able to maintain his positivity and his dedication to his art. This documentary on his life and his work will be even more interesting to you if like me you didn’t know who Pavarotti was, or the impact he’s had.

This original comedy-drama is about a young man on the autism spectrum called Luke. Propelled by a scandalous grandpa with no filters, Luke decides that what he needs in his life is to lose his virginity.

His dysfunctional family setting, which includes a mother who left him and a neurotic step-mother, makes his search more difficult but more also pressing. Luke decides he first has to get a job, and with a world that doesn’t expect much from him, his unbreakable determination is a joy to watch.

Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, and Miles Teller star in this subtle drama about the state of a couple eight months into dealing with the sudden loss of their son.

The movie is based on a David Lindsay-Abaire play by the same name which won a Pulitzer Prize. It deals with the timeline of grief, and whether such a thing even exists: can the couple attempt to move on after 8 months? What about 8 years, like another couple they meet in a counseling group?

It’s also about how the differences in grief create tensions: the mother wants to donate the clothes and sell the house because she doesn’t want to be reminded of the event. The father wants to hold on the memory instead.

Rabbit Hole, like its source material, is sad, but its realistic approach and excellent performances make it nothing more than a perfect reflection of how complicated life can be.

This Norwegian documentary in English is about Magnus Carlsen, the current world champion who became a chess grandmaster at age 13. It might be tough to believe but Magnus’ ascension was slowed down significantly by many crises in self-confidence and difficulty to cope with the pressure at a young age.

With home footage and interviews with everyone from his adversaries to the champion himself, Magnus the movie tries to be a complete portrait of the prodigy. Yet, crucial aspects are missing, such as an explanation for a sudden change in character, and perhaps more importantly, explanations of Magnus’ genius in chess. His techniques and approaches are mostly attributed to intuition, but the movie fails to explain how that intuition is reflected in the game.

From early footage of country-folk threshing their crops to blissed-out clubbers at a rave, there is a mesmerizing, insistent sense of rhythm and motion to Arcadia. Director Paul Wright has curated an astonishing array of archive material for this feature-length video montage examining the British and their sometimes uneasy relationship with the land.

Cut together in loosely chronological order, the footage is enigmatic, seductive, and disturbing, set to a haunting soundtrack from Adrian Utley of Portishead and Will Gregory of Goldfrapp. Watching Arcadia is hypnotic, like wading into the uncertain waters of time with a head full of shrooms. And that’s definitely a good thing.

Possessor announces a visionary new voice in Brandon Cronenberg, and is one to watch for the concept alone, brilliantly melding science fiction and horror into one. Cronenberg’s direction is reminiscent of a cross between Christopher Nolan’s Inception and Jonathan Glazer’s Under The Skin, but has more than enough originality to stand well on its own. However, unfortunately, it is surprisingly slow at times, and is far from the mind-blowing gore fest that was promised, resulting in a well made but underwhelming experience. BUT, if you were in the mood for a trippy introspective sci-fi thriller and are able to keep your expectations tempered, this is well worth a watch

Esteros revolves around the childhood friends Matías and Jerónimo, who reach adolescence and experience sexual attraction to each other before being separated by circumstance. When they meet again ten years later, they explore their long-repressed feelings for each other. 

This moving and emotionally satisfying love story is shot against the backdrop of the Argentinian countryside whose glories are beautifully captured throughout the movie. The performance of the two leads is excellent and the chemistry between them is almost palpable. 

This documentary is about the life of New York rapper Nas around the time of the release of his first album, Illmatic.

It spans a quick and summarized 74 minutes and, while embellished by the direction of street artist One9, it remains a great snippet of recent American history. Nas’s album was a reflection of many realities that characterized his upbringing, while the movie serves to further explore those very realities.

Acclaimed director Johnnie To and many stars from the hit series Infernal Affairs reunite for this stylish action drama about a gangster who leads a quiet life but whose murder is suddenly ordered.

When two hitmen arrive to take him out, they discover a second pair of mobsters assigned to protect him. All five men being childhood friends, they end up sharing a meal before deciding where their loyalties lie.

A great score, a gorgeous setting in 90s Macau, and great action sequences make Exiled the perfect summer night thriller.

This international comedy-drama in French, Greek, and Turkish is about a free-spirited Greek girl who travels to Istanbul on a mission to help her father. Once there, she meets Avril, a French woman whose plans to help Syrian refugees have backfired. Together, they embark on a music-inspired adventure to Lebos from Turkey.

Director Tony Gatlif, a Romani, Algerian-born French filmmaker, has a unique style that often verges on exaggerations. It borders on a madcap comedy and has perfect production value, although the story might be difficult to tolerate for non-fans.

Still, if you like travel dramas, or more specifically music-travel dramas, especially in a time where the countries in the film are completely inaccessible, this will do the trick.

This quirky 1988 adventure drama is newly available on Amazon Prime. It’s the classic that never was, the story of a rundown gas station motel in the Southern US where a lonely West German lady called Jasmin Munchgstettner ends up by accident.

The owner of the operation, a short-tempered woman by the name of Brenda, doesn’t really take to Jasmin. However, the longer the West German guest stays at the motel, the more a friendship forms between the two.

When a group of percussionists illegally carry out a city-wide performance act, it’s up to policeman Amadeus Warnebring to stop them. The musical fugitives perform on stolen objects and disrupt public spaces, but Warnebring has his own reasons to pursue them so determinedly: he’s tone-deaf for one and born into a family of snobby musical geniuses for another, making this case all the more meaningful and consequential to him.

Sound of Noise is more than reminiscent of Stomp, what with its playful symphonies subsisting on random borrowed objects, but it is livened up with the suspense of a caper, the dry wit of a Swedish comedy, and the abundant charms of a light romance.

Fourteen-year-old Segundo dreams of being just like his father Noé, a revered tableau artist in their small Peruvian town. The teenage apprentice follows Noé’s every move and instruction, that is until one day, he discovers a shocking truth about Noé’s identity. Hurt, angered, and incredibly confused, Segundo starts detaching from his family, as well as from the life he thought he’d wanted to live. 

Retablo is a slow but vibrant film, set in Peruvian locales and spoken in the country’s indigenous tongue, Quechua. Its limited dialogue smartly reflects the people’s own silence when it comes to sex and gender ideas, although the movements themselves—from traditional parties to teenage fights—have a lot to say about masculinity, conservatism, and the dangers of their excess. Retablo might be a difficult watch for some, but it’s just as necessary and enlightening.

The Witch hardly reinvents the thriller wheel. In fact, part of the fun in watching it is calling out the cliches. Cold-blooded villain? Check. Antihero who defies death? Check. Senseless, bloody killings for minutes on end? Check, check, check. The Witch has everything you’d expect from an action movie, and yet, the viewing experience is all the better for it. 

By trimming all the unnecessary fat and zeroing in on the action, director Park Hoon-jung delivers a no-nonsense, no-holds-barred film that could hold a candle to the John Wick franchise. Like those films, the movements here are sharp and the gore relentless. The only difference is that The Witch is led by a teenage girl—seemingly flimsy but deliciously deranged, Kim-Dami is magnetic in her breakout role as the titular witch Ja-yoon. It’s also a bit like Stranger Things in that sense, but comparisons aside, The Witch stands out as a razor-edged entry into the genre. 

Sincere and direct, Ana Rocha de Sousa’s debut feature is a tragic portrayal of an immigrant family in the United Kingdom. Known best abroad for her role in Love Actually, Lúcia Moniz shines as devoted mother Bela, who, along with Jota (Ruben Garcia) struggles to keep their family together. The couple and their three children, including the deaf middle child Lu (Sophia Myles), come under the scrutiny of social services, especially after the unexplained bruises. While at times heavy-handed, the film raises important questions on family separation and social services, especially with their limitations with children with disabilities.

Charming and easy to watch, The Painting is a simple morality tale with unique animation. The film is set in an abandoned painting, whose subjects are actually conscious, living beings. They have three distinct social classes: the Toupins (fully painted), Pafinis (lacking some colors), and the Reufs (sketches). Tired of the discrimination and wanting everyone to be fully painted, three of these beings leave the painting in search of the artist. While the lesson is seemingly simple, the film delves into some existential themes and makes them easy to understand for the younger audience. The film celebrates creating one’s self in an absurd world, rather than passively accepting other people’s definitions. But what stands out most about this film are the designs. Inspired by modernist art, director Jean-François Laguionie created colorful and distinct characters whose faces diverge from the usual bug-eyed Disney/Pixar style. If you’re looking for a different animated film, this might be a good start.

With a forest home destroyed, leaving an adorable cat spirit child displaced, The Legend of Hei seemed like a Studio Ghibli-esque tale, at least in themes, child protagonist, and fantasy flying. There’s charming moments where Hei appreciates the day-to-day– moments where he diligently learns his powers, enjoys the simple human pleasures present in the modern world, and of course, feels at home in the stunning natural spirit places. However, it’s not quite Ghibli as there are plenty of wuxia-inspired fight scenes, with as many flying kicks involved. That being said, there is a pro-peace message here, that at face value, is probably a good message for children, but this film’s peace comes without clear details about Hei’s displacement, or the general condition of the spirit world at large. The Legend of Hei’s charming animation is lovely, but this push for peace could have been more meaningful if it also considered justice.

While adoption doesn’t have the same stigma as it did back in the day, it doesn’t mean that the process is worry-free. There’s still a host of issues surrounding the process, plenty of which have been depicted in film. So, it’s no surprise that True Mothers holds more or less the same themes we’ve seen before, but where some films focus on mining the melodrama, filmmaker Naomi Kawase’s writing is much more restrained, keeping its take as naturalistic and detail-oriented as possible, and thus, demystifying the process. The slow pace may not be to everyone’s taste, but True Mothers is a thoughtful, sensitive portrayal of Japan’s adoption system today.

When we love a person, most of us are convinced that we love them for their personality, and if we truly love them, love would remain even if their beauty fades away. The Beauty Inside, a Korean remake of the 2012 American interactive Internet series, challenges this notion. As Woo-jin’s body changes regularly, he’s unable to live a normal life because of a lack of a consistent appearance, a lack of a visual reference point that allows him to be recognized by the people he loves. While more can be explored with the premise’s metaphysical elements, and Woo-jin’s characterization is mostly a neutral, blank canvas, The Beauty Inside is still a sweet, feel-good romance that makes the impossible feel wonderfully possible.

In certain heartbreaking instances, children are separated from their parents by the State, supposedly in hopes of finding them a better home. But for plenty of British and commonwealth orphans, the government process is, at worst, systematically designed to separate families to support the Kingdom’s colonies. While the film isn’t really focused on the details and the rationale behind the program, Oranges and Sunshine is much more concerned with the fact that it happened– that it has harmed hundreds of thousands of children for hundred years, and that it only took someone who cared enough to pay attention for things to actually change. It’s a decent depiction of Margaret Humphreys’ work, and it does a great job in promoting the Child Migrants Trust.

College seems to be teeming with possibility, in a more substantial way than adulthood or high school feels, since for many people, it’s the only time where one lives alone and makes decisions for their lives selfishly. Shithouse captures that moment with a candid sentimentality, all marked by a shared late night that changes the way the whole college life feels. Cooper Raiff captures this time of a freshman uncertainty with actual palpable emotions, acting, writing, and directing with a freshness that filmmakers aspire to but never seem to get on screen, and it’s this mumblecore-inspired feature debut that made him a filmmaker to look out for. Shithouse is pure college nostalgia.

Of course, with wartime spy romances, it’s expected to have conflicted desire, twisty betrayals, and the internal war between personal love and national duty. Black Book delivers this in spades, infusing the drama with writer-director Paul Verhoeven’s propensity for sex and violence, which he brings back to his homeland after two decades apart. The drama is well-made, especially with the talented Carice van Houten as a survival-first composite spy character inspired by several resistance members, but the familiar plot, the melodrama, and the pacing can make the 2 and a half hour runtime feel a bit tedious for some viewers. Still, for fans of the genre, Black Book isn’t a terrible choice to watch.

When it comes to films depicting America’s history of racism, many white produced films tend to be centered on a white savior. At best, this is just patting each other on the back for actions done a generation or two ago. At worst, it tends to be outright historical revisionism. The difference between these and The Long Walk is that, while clearly made for a white audience, the film doesn’t crown Sissy Spacek’s character as a messiah, but her choice to help the boycott anyway is a message worth depicting, even if it’s small, even if it isn’t the typical, single-handed salvation Hollywood is used to doling out. While the white narrator adds unnecessary distance, and while it would have been better to see more of Whoopi Goldberg in the non-comic role of Odessa Cotter, The Long Walk cares about the everyday, and that’s what makes it mostly work.

Given that there are 25 other films and 4 seasons depicting the blind swordsman, Shintaro Katsu’s ​​Zatoichi can seem a bit redundant. To a certain extent, it is, as the action set pieces call back to earlier standout moments and the length can feel a tad bloated, so fans of Ichi might find this conclusion still classic, but nothing particularly novel. That being said, with Katsu directing the conclusion after portraying the character for so long, it’s no surprise that everything the Zatoichi is known for– the action, the humor, and the swordfighting– is dialled up to eleven, with a slightly darker and more stylistic tinge that brings the swordsman to better fit the newer decade. Fans would already have their opinions on this film, but for new viewers, Zatoichi: Darkness Is His Ally might find it as a straight-to-the-point snapshot of this classic 70s franchise.

Why a bar in the middle of the Belgian countryside is named Texas, we aren’t given an explanation. But North Sea Texas has a bit of the Southern small town charm that marked plenty of old American indies, with its retro neighborhood, lovers next door, and a more grounded approach to romance compared to its European neighbors of the time. The surrounding drama is a bit convoluted and, well, melodramatic, with a love triangle involving Pim’s mom, as well as a funeral, but there’s a sweet simplicity to the way Pim and Gino’s romance unfolds. North Sea Texas doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it’s just a nice coming-of-age story that refreshingly doesn’t have to deal with discrimination.

In this day and age, it thankfully has become less risky to come out as gay, due to the struggle of many LGBTQ+ people from the past. However, this struggle was hard won– while gay people were persecuted in the Nazi regime, it was only until decades later people started to discuss it, and one reason why research and education about it increased was due to the play Bent, depicted in film in 1997. The screen version admittedly falters compared to the West End original, with static staging and focus on the dialogue over action, but the performances are fairly decent, with an unexpected collection of cast members that maximize each moment they’re in. It’s quite depressing, and sometimes heavy handed, but Bent is a needed perspective.

Some bigots like to equate genitals to one’s gender and sexual orientation, but in practice, it’s not always a straightforward equation, especially for the rare, but natural, occasion when people are born with both male and female sex organs. XXY isn’t the first film to discuss the intersex experience, but it’s one of the first features that managed to be critically acclaimed. Unlike some of its predecessors, XXY is much more grounded, taking place in the modern era, and is mostly centered on Alex’s gender and sexual exploration. The film isn’t a perfect depiction– at the time, intersex wasn’t even the most common term, and sex-reassignment surgery was often the default action– but there is a lot in the film that dared to question certain ideas, such as having to choose only between a binary. Not many intersex films were created after this, in part due to how rare intersex is, and how broad the term encompasses multiple conditions, but XXY stands out all the more because of it.

When talking about resistance against colonial powers, nonviolent resistance, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, is oftentimes touted as the most righteous and morally correct path to take. However, most people forget that this violence is done in response to the violence enacted upon them, and that violent resistance has worked alongside the non-violent path, with a serious rationale behind their methods. The Legend of Bhagat Singh remembers one of the Indian revolutionaries that devoted their lives to the cause, though in a different way from Gandhi. The film has some inaccuracies, and it emphasized the romance he might have had with the unmarried woman later known as Bhagat’s widow, but the Legend of Bhagat Singh is an interesting portrait of a revolutionary that needs to be discussed more.

In another country, you can forge a completely different life from the one you had in your hometown. For closeted LGBTQ+ individuals, moving to a more tolerant society allows you to explore facets of your sexuality that wasn’t possible previously. In Goodbye Mother, first generation immigrant Nau Van is confronted with the secrets he hid from his hometown, the secret that isn’t a secret in America. The conflict plays out in a familiar fashion, going through plenty of the usual experiences that coming out entails, but, while these are familiar, Goodbye Mother tugs at the reality Asian immigrants experience, and does so in a sweet and empathetic way.

While Hollywood still makes some films in this genre, there are less historical epics being released, in part due to cost, but also in part due to having had so many, ever since the start of the medium. However, there are some historical events that we rarely see on film, and one of them is The Great Battle. Set before the formation of a united Korea, the film is a classic standoff against a larger army, that has all the swordfighting and armies we’ve come to expect, but it’s also grounded by the dynamic between a young warrior sent to assassinate, and the hardened, brilliant commander whose leadership kept the troops protected. While there are moments that definitely eludes historical accuracy, and there are some subplots that distract from the main conflict, The Great Battle is a fairly entertaining historical epic to watch, especially when focused on the action-packed clashes and the spectacular warfare.

There are people in life that have a one of a kind voice that you can’t help but listen to, as they provide different perspectives that challenge your own in compelling ways. The Whole Wide World tries to capture the fairly elusive pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard, but through the perspective of the one love he once had, Novalyne Price. It’s a unique perspective, one that contrasts the choices the real life couple made that diverged their paths– pursuing the road less travelled over what’s socially expected– and director Dan Ireland crafts some pulp-like moments, especially with the rousing score and the excellent performances. That being said, Ireland does play it safe with his debut, as The Whole Wide World leaves things as vague as Howard did in his relationship with Price.

While writing the classic novel Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens was also writing Nicholas Nickleby, with volumes released every month. His third novel was adapted in 2002 in a film adaptation that smooths out Dickens’ elaborate plot, with beautiful sets and costumes, and the classic good vs evil themes the classic novelist is known for. There’s a bit of a mismatch with Charlie Hunnam as the titular protagonist, but the rest of the cast slips into their characters well, most notably Christopher Plummer as the incredibly stingy uncle Ralph, and Jamie Bell, whose rendition of Smike makes his dynamic with Nickleby compelling. Nicholas Nickleby isn’t the most transformative adaptation, but it’s one that still works, especially for young viewers wanting a simplified plot for their book reports.

There are plenty of films that tackle the terrible effects of colonialism, but none so bleak as Address Unknown. The title stems from the unsent letters given back to one of the unfortunate mothers that was abandoned by an American soldier, and sadly this isn’t even the worst of what happens in the film. It’s downright depressing. Writer-director Kim Ki-duk paints a town so downtrodden that abuse isn’t only inflicted by the bored and richer American allies, it’s also self-inflicted in a land without hope. Not that having hope was any better, considering that the mother still waiting for a chance to emigrate is both abandoned by her lover, and deemed as a traitor by her countrymen. But despite the horrifying things that happen in the film, it’s still a needed watch, not just to be aware of what had happened, but also because of the way it contemplates the cyclical nature of violence, through the brilliant ways the script mirrors each relationship, and Kim’s masterful use of symbolism. Address Unknown might be brutal and unrelenting, but it’s a necessary reminder of how far the occupation can and has gone, and how these horrors understandably affect the country today.

How far are you willing to go to make an action film? Instead of the usual stunt choreography, the protagonists of action crime drama Rough Cut would rather film real on-set fist fights instead. It’s a pretty extreme request in real life, but it proves to be a chilling premise, as the production steadily blurs the lines between the film they hope to make, and the real life harm inflicted onto themselves and the rest of the set. Rough Cut isn’t an easy watch, especially as the film’s leading duo mirror each other and push each other into more horrific places, but it’s a surprising meditation over cinema’s desire to capture something real.

There are certain things in a family that are kept secret from kids, especially when it paints the parents in a negative light. One such secret is that a parent betrayed the other, leading to the existence of another family. A Family Thing takes that secret in Arkansas, in a story of two brothers divided by race, that is more common than acknowledged in America. While the film could have delved deeper into the divide, Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones deliver great performances, crafting brotherhood slowly bridged by curiosity, despite its difficult beginnings. A Family Thing is an underrated family drama that could’ve gone wrong, but it works because of the writing and the performances.

Adults and kids can be friends, but there’s obviously a line that shouldn’t be crossed. This line is why most people would look at a friendship like this and automatically assume terrible things, but Lawn Dogs depicts one such connection in such a way that it’s clear how easy and disproportionate these assumptions are made for marginalized and less powerful people, over the affluent sociopaths that can and have gotten away with the accusations they lobby against others. The fairy tale ending, and of course, the disgusting behavior done by the rich guys, might turn some viewers off from the movie, but there’s also something genuine with the way screenwriter Naomi Wallace depicts a girl with a literally different heart who just wants to befriend someone real.

Artists take what’s intimate and personal and transform it into art, but, especially for those who became famous for their work, it can feel challenging to tackle certain subjects, profit from it, and make it part and parcel of your artistic identity, especially when it stems from personal trauma. Things Behind the Sun depicts a rock singer who became famous on her song about rape. It’s a tad harrowing, and the flashbacks get rather graphic, but through focusing primarily on Sherry’s journey and not forcing forgiveness between the characters, Things Behind the Sun is able to capture what it means to survive the horrible, to confront it again, and to actually heal.

When thinking about buying something, it’s easy to only think about price and quality, but with many investigations around the world about inhumane labor practices, it’s no wonder that more people would like to look at the companies they’re buying from, or at least buy secondhand when possible. One such investigation is depicted in Letter from Masanjia. While it starts first at the discovery of the letter in Oregon, the true story continues on the other side of the world, through the difficult experiences Sun Yi and his fellow detainees were forced to go through when the Falun Gong movement grew greater in number than the Chinese Communist Party. It’s a harrowing tale, with certain sequences being animated due to a natural lack of footage, and it’s one that needed to be made.

Blood Tea and Red String is cryptic as hell. There’s no dialogue, the film was in production for around 13 years, and the stop-motion animated rats and bat-crow creatures fight over a stuffed human-like doll and her bird-bodied child, spilling some tea and sewing her together with help from frog priests and a spider woman that keeps spinning her web. Whether the film is an allegory for class struggle and the inherent destructiveness of art, or is a straightforward Alice-in-Wonderland-esque fairytale with goth and medieval motifs is up to the viewer, but either way, the symbolism of Blood Tea and Red String is interesting enough to watch and try to make your own conclusions.

Much like its monster, Brotherhood of the Wolf is quite a hard movie to pin down. It’s an unscary French creature feature but it’s a rather refreshing period drama romance, made much more action-packed courtesy of a randomly placed, supposedly Iroquois, talented martial artist. Yet somehow, it works. Perhaps it works because it was released ahead of many other early aughts action horror films, and perhaps, at CGI’s infancy, it’s a bit easier to suspend disbelief over the wolf, but the wacky experimentation writer-director Christophe Gans brings in depicting this historical beast is just so entertaining to watch. Brotherhood of the Wolf is just pure bonkers.

While cable television didn’t have the same prestige as movies for decades, nevertheless the format garnered some influence, even then, with generations of viewers and filmmakers growing up in the medium. Dark Shadows is one such influential television show, and its journey from middling soap opera to groundbreaking drama is depicted in Master of Dark Shadows. Viewers totally unfamiliar with the 60s-70s program might only appreciate the film for its slice of media history, as the documentary takes a rather ordinary, interview-focused approach, but Master of Dark Shadows is clearly a tribute to Dan Curtis, the man behind the midday monsters, and the legions of fans it inadvertently garnered.

When a student is accused of stealing something as small as a five shilling postal order, it just seems so miniscule that expelling the child, and the child’s family suing the college, can seem all rather ridiculous. And yet, that is exactly what happened in London just before the world war, a nationwide viral case that ended up to be depicted in The Winslow Boy. The mail order may seem small, and the court proceedings do feel sometimes tedious, but The Winslow Boy shines through its performances, the style, and the insistence to stand up for the truth, even when it means going against societal pressures and hierarchies to have truth recognized.

It’s not fair to say if you’ve read the book, you’ve seen the movie, but it’s also not wholly untrue. Greg Sinise’s version of the classic tale by John Steinback adds little new details to the story, so the actors have some heavy lifting to do in bringing it to life. Thankfully, they do a fine job. Sinise and Malkovich strike an affecting camaraderie, believable till its tragic end. Malkovich has the meatiest role as the mentally challenged Lennie, and to his credit, he gives the character sensitivity and grace. He isn’t always believable (or maybe I’ve just seen him in too many wry and manipulative roles), but his turn as a sweet giant is always touching. For a more recent generation, the film might bring to mind the ethical question famously asked by the NBC series The Good Place: what do we owe each other? What does George owe his disabled cousin and how far is he willing to put his life over his own? Though the parable at the core of this film is familiar, it’s nonetheless thought-provoking and heartbreaking.

When artists or musical bands make films, it’s usually a tour documentary or a biopic of some sort, where fans can go in depth with their music, their background, or anything that would explain what makes their music so great. When Talking Heads’ lead vocalist David Byrne made a film, it wasn’t about his hometown in Maryland or his birthplace in Scotland at all– Instead, it was about True Stories, compiling a series of vignettes in a fictional North Texan town. It’s a strange choice, but Byrne manages to capture the bizarre in ordinary small town America, that can get a bit surreal, but nonetheless holds a weird charm that’s excellently scored by the band. True Stories came out of nowhere, but it’s a decent watch.

Why do we cling to the people that we love, but who clearly don’t treat us well? It’s a common question in romance films, one that often leads to a conclusion that people shouldn’t feel shackled to partners that don’t treat them right, but sometimes other films seem to shame these unfortunate lovers for making the wrong choice. My King doesn’t do that. Sure, Georgio can seem like an obvious asshole (he is), but writer-director Maïwenn makes clear that the same things that make him erratic– his spontaneity, his enjoyment of life, and his open acceptance– which Vincent Cassel superbly embodies, are also the same things that attracted Tony in the first place. And as Tony recovers her knee, the careful interstitching between her time at the center and her romance with Georgio visually parallels the physical and emotional wounds in an interesting way. Mon Roi is familiar romance stuff, but it’s the approach that makes the film work.

When it comes to romance films, Hollywood casts young women with older men so often that this age gap is rarely questioned, even when the characters are supposed to be around the same age range. Murphy’s Romance does have an age gap, but it’s one of the few romances that actually cares to examine the age difference, having the age dynamic in canon and with casting intentionally reflecting it. It’s also one of the few that justifies it with the folksy, old-fashioned charm exuded by James Garner, the stability, wisdom, and kindness Emma isn’t used to, and good ol’ chemistry between two leads that’s more heartwarming than heartracing. Murphy’s Romance won’t be the feet-sweeping romance that Hollywood placed on the pedestal, but it’s just the right two people finding each other at the right time, albeit interstitched with randomly added saxophone and a lot of barn-fixing scenes.

What would it take to push you to kill? Thankfully, for the general public, modern everyday life would not likely push you to (so far), but in certain circumstances, people might be surprised at the lengths they’re willing to go to for their loved ones. Brawl in Cell Block 99 depicts a man pushed into those circumstances, and thus director S. Craig Zahler takes this to extremely violent ends, with blood gushing and bones crushing all to save his family. Plotwise, Brawl in Cell Block 99 would be typical prison film fare, but fans of Vince Vaughn would appreciate his performance here.

The choice between practicality and passion is the subject of many a drama, but A Thousand Times Good Night depicts that passion stemming from a different place. Rather than pure expression, or creativity, director Erik Poppe depicts the passion of his former profession of photojournalism stemming from social importance– not just status, but in possibly changing the course of history. The semi-autobiographical story clearly has an understanding of the craft, and with her moving performance, Juliette Binoche proves to be an effective proxy, as her character takes risks her family find it hard to tolerate, and as continually choosing those risks, also entails influencing your family to make that same sacrifice. Some viewers might not agree with these choices, but nevertheless A Thousand Times Good Night is a palpable character study of someone whose career is personally interlinked with their advocacy, their identity, and their philosophy of what the world should prioritize.

Real life serial killers are interesting to see on screen because the very crime they committed is so unusual, that you can’t help but wonder what the heck pushed them to do such a thing. However, doing so can be tricky because a bad depiction can seem to glorify their drama at the expense of the real life victims. Thankfully, Nitram doesn’t do that. Based on the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, it does depict the killer’s perspective, but director Justin Kurzel just depicts it as is, never dramatizing or sympathizing or blaming anyone else for the killer’s actions, keeping the camera solely on Nitram himself. And it works because Caleb Landry Jones captures the killer’s off-putting intensity, and resulting loneliness, through his excellent performance. It’s not an easy watch, but Nitram is an intriguing character study that doesn’t mine drama from tragedy.

What is it about the 2000s-10s that inspired many films about sick and dying kids? Perhaps the worldwide child mortality rate has dropped low enough that storytellers feel it’s the right time to talk about it, but regardless of the reason, they have the same familiar plotline– the diagnosis, the acting out, and finally, resolving whatever relationship the film is centered on in order to make things right. Death of a Superhero added animation representing the lead’s artistic outlet, but really, it’s still the same plot, graffiti’d on occasion. Still, the usual beats work because the film doesn’t try to manipulate huge melodramatic moments made to make the viewers cry. Instead, like the protagonist, it tries to keep things realistic, and maybe have some fun along the way. Death of a Superhero mostly pulls it off with its excellent cast.

Is Australia’s The Sapphires better than America’s Dreamgirls? Well, in terms of the films about these girl groups, it’s a bit of a challenge to compare considering historical inaccuracy. Nevertheless, writer Tony Briggs tells his family’s story with finesse, taking the real life narrative to tell us a surprisingly multilayered story of Aboriginal Australia in the 70s, of singers inspired by soul across the Pacific, and of a family torn apart by forced adoptions and state-sanctioned separation of white-passing mixed-race children. There are times when it stumbles into the usual biopic traps, and some of the inaccuracies do detract focus from the central ladies, but The Sapphires still works with its sweet, wholehearted characters, and the way they present their songs.

One of the worst aspects of war in general is that it always interferes with the hopes and dreams of the people that are living through it. The Road Dance depicts a small Scottish village in World War I, and a woman whose plan had been interfered with. It’s a bleak story, one that’s been inspired from an anecdote passed down through generations, but while the film doesn’t claim to be accurate, it does depict a tragedy that is difficult to talk about with sensitivity and the rare compassion that was granted sporadically to real life survivors. Writer-director Richie Adams softens some of the dark parts from John MacKay’s original novel, and while some of the plot veers a tad too much to melodrama, the three leading women– Hermione Corfield, Morven Christie, and Ali Fumiko Whitney– depict the central family with grace amidst the stunning landscape of the Outer Hebrides. The Road Dance can be triggering, but it’s worth watching for people that love period dramas.

Like many films about beloved pets, your enjoyment of A Street Cat Named Bob depends on how much you love the titular animal. As such, cat people would delight in how cute the actual true-to-life ginger feline looks on screen, while dog people would disapprove at the gruff way dogs are portrayed here. But for viewers who don’t have a preference for either animal, A Street Cat Named Bob might go through fairly cliché feel good moments, but it’s somewhat justified given the way it depicts that real human-pet relationship not as just a cute thing, but as a lifeline, as a crucial redirection of love and care that couldn’t have been given to by one’s self, and a connection that was necessary. A Street Cat Named Bob is familiar feel-good stuff, but it’s sincere and cute enough to still be enjoyable.

Crime films usually have cops chase down robbers, not become them. This quirk in Andre Stander’s life makes him the perfect subject for a biopic, as this life-changing career shift must have had a compelling motivation. It’s certainly a great reason to make awesome action sequences, daring escapes, and, of course, the swindling scenes. It’s fun to watch. However, as the plot progresses, and the crimes get bigger and bigger, the film ends up losing sight of its main character, paying more attention to the capers instead of the reason behind it, and whether or not that reason is true. Stander is a heist film that forgets it’s a biopic, but it’s more fun because of it.

While the enemy of my enemy is my friend, the two leads in The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil are more like an uneasy alliance of rivals competing to hunt down a serial killer. This isn’t a new concept. Filmmakers all over the world are fond of putting together two opposite characters and making them butt heads. But in the hands of writer-director Lee Won-tae, a criminally powerful Ma Dong-seok and an intense Kim Mu-yeol still prove to be a compelling match to watch. The slick fight scenes, the brutal kills, and the intense chases all capture their dynamic performances in a stylish and moving way.

Treeless Mountain is a depressing film. The premise is already sad enough, but it’s more heartbreaking to actually witness the kids slowly reckon with their mom abandoning them, clinging to her lie that she’ll return when their piggy bank gets full, and resorting to grilling grasshoppers for petty change. This mostly works because writer-director So Yong Kim honors that hurt by depicting their journey naturally. The camera shoots at their eye level, capturing the subtle realizations these girls have as they try to make sense of the world without guidance. Treeless Mountain understands their pain, simply letting the experience speak for itself.

Given the premise, it’s no surprise that Hollow Reed is melodramatic. There’s some sad backstory, dramatic confrontations, an evil stepfather, and a heavy handed approach to depicting its issues. Still, the family drama works because of its performances. Martin Donovan portrays a concerned British father so well that it’s easy to forget he’s American. Joely Richardson also adds some in-depth to the bitter ex-wife she portrays. Admittedly, the material for the ex-wife’s boyfriend wasn’t as well-written, since the film wanted to prioritize gay parental custody over a nuanced discussion of abuse. Nonetheless, Hollow Reed presents its story in a solid, if predictable, way.

Beasts Clawing at Straws is so fun to watch. Most crime thriller fans would find the MacGuffin money, the dubious characters, and the nonlinear timeline familiar, but the way Kim Yong-hoon depicts the 2011 Japanese novel is pretty stylish and engaging. It takes a while to set up, though. As the film steadily introduces new plot threads, the first half can feel a bit confusing. However, by the midpoint, these threads all weave into a series of comedic pay-offs, bringing those who yearn for the cash to unexpectedly satisfying ends. While a bit uneven, Beasts Clawing at Straws is entertaining from start to finish.

Given its incredibly slow pace, Found Memories is not for everyone. With the same company shared for years until near retirement, it takes a long while for this sleepy town to wake up, and it only happens when a new character enters the town. However, for viewers who are patient enough, the film contemplates how easy it is to get lulled into routine. It can be boring. It can be a way that keeps one stuck in life. But it can be beautiful. As Rita learns their rhythms from baker Madalena, and Madalena gets to know her, Found Memories reflects on life and death, in a visually poetic way.

Given that it’s a survival film, and Charlie is asked to bring Kanaalaq to the hospital, there’s a sense that The Snow Walker would be a white savior narrative, but in the tundra this time. To a certain extent, the film does play into the usual structure. The white pilot Charlie is practically helpless without modern tools, and so has to learn a bit of Inuit culture from Kanaalaq in the name of survival and becoming a better, non-racist person. So it’s genuinely surprising to see them get to know each other better. It’s great to see them delve into both of the personal histories that brought them together, and delve deep enough that they simply can’t be mere stereotypes. And it’s beautifully shot in gorgeous landscapes of the tundra. While unfortunately interrupted with moments of the people back home, The Snow Walker is a lovely twist to the survival drama.

Given how plenty of the issues mentioned still linger today, The Baader Meinhof Complex is hesitant to take a side and condemn or defend the group it depicts. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Having some distance from the subject helps keep the accuracy of the events, which is already thrilling and controversial enough on its own. It’s what makes the film interesting. Rather than choose a side, Director Uli Edel and writer-producer Bernd Eichinger take their story to explore what it means to fight for one’s ideals in a modern world, raising more questions than providing conclusive answers. It’s this intricacy makes The Baader Meinhof Complex not an easy watch, but an intriguing one nonetheless.

Adventure films now seem to only be CGI blockbusters, but it used to be about real world exploration. They were exciting films shot outside their production countries that showcased beloved actors in new worlds for their domestic audiences, however they became understandably passé due to growing critique of colonization. Kon-Tiki brings back that classic style through recreating the titular voyage. It’s a pretty exciting one, even though it’s not fully accurate and sometimes predictable. There’s an old-timey feel in the direction, but the film thankfully sidesteps some of the issues the genre has faced by focusing on their time at sea, rather than use Polynesia as just an exotic background. Kon-Tiki is a fun adventure that brings back world exploration to today’s cinema.

A fantastic return to form for disgraced actor Mel Gibson, Get the Gringo is proof that you can have all the controversy you want off-screen, and come back to make a great piece of film. Fast, entertaining and crazy, Get the Gringo is a wild tale of a crime gone bad and eventually, becomes a fish out of water story of the lone ‘gringo’ in a Mexican prison. Perhaps most unbelievably, the film even makes you go “ahh Mel Gibson”, and reminds you of his charm and talent. Nice comeback Mel.

Do you know those movies where you just look at the poster and you go “damn this will be good”? This is absolutely not one of those, but I promise, it’s still great. Warrior is surprisingly sophisticated for its genre, awesomely executed and what about the acting you say? Hardy and Edgerton are strong together (pun intended). Warrior is a movie filled with authentic emotions designed to give you hope that something unconventional can still come out of the genre.

Bree (Felicity Huffman) is an uptight transwoman who gets a phone call from her long lost son who is in trouble. She does not tell him she is his father but bails him out of jail and they end up on a long road trip to LA. Bree’s high strung conservative personality intersecting with a wild young man and people they meet along the way leads to some comical situations. Felicity Huffman’s performance is excellent. It is enjoyable to watch the characters develop over the film.

Robert Downey Jr. and James Woods star in this movie about a Lawyer who, along with his staff, attempt to get an Asian man out of jail after their office is visited by the convicted man’s mother. In my opinion, this is one of the best performances by James Woods in his entire career. This film went unnoticed by many, however it stands among some of the best films I have seen over the years.

Can you imagine Steve Martin in a serious role? If not, you seriously need to watch this movie! More plot twists than an Agatha Christie novel, so many that my son had to watch it again the minute it was over. Not a lot of special effects, but this is a seriously complex mystery drama that is incredibly (believe-it-or-not) family friendly, with absolutely minimal language or violence. No one is as they seem… I won’t even begin to try to explain why… just watch and wait to be stumped and stunned!

You know Anthony Hopkins as the evil Hannibal Lecter, but in this film he gives a warm and heartfelt performance portraying real life New Zealand motorcycle legend Burt Munro who set a land speed record in 1967 on a hand-built 1920 Indian. It’s a story of never giving up on your dream even in the face of ridicule and opposition. Hopkins’ performance turns what could have been just another schmaltzy formulaic story line into true gold. You’ll be cheering for Burt/Anthony by the end!

Summary: it’s a really unusual movie, especially for a star like Robin Williams. It’s almost an indie film actually. Robin Williams plays Lance Clayton, the father of a typical rude teenage boy Kyle Clayton (Daryl Sabara) wherein Sabara’s character meets an unusual demise, and out of embarrassment of the situation the father ghost-writes a suicide note from his son. This white lie leads to another and another and so on until his lies spread further than anticipated. The movie definitely earns points for making the film that was set out to be made. They wanted to make a dark comedy and a dark comedy was what they made. It’s even uncomfortable to watch at times. Between Lance’s love life and Kyle’s non-existent one there’s enough awkwardness that you feel like you can’t wait to get to the next scene just so this one can be over. All in all the actors did a truly fantastic job. Each character seemed well developed by the individual actor to the point where every gesture, line delivery, and awkward silence seemed too natural and organic. Additionally, the writing was exceptional for this movie, as no dialogue was ever wasted. Each and every little detail in each and every shot of each and every scene was very carefully designed to continually push the aesthetics, this film is a big success.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this film. I’ll be honest and say I did not really expect much given that it starred Jesse McCartney in the title role. Nevertheless, he managed to really surprise me. McCartney and Harnois have excellent chemistry as Keith and Natalie and you find yourself rooting for them to end up together. The film does a great job at building up their relationship and emotional connection, and it will definitely succeed in pulling at your heartstrings. If you enjoy films in the vein of A Walk to Remember, you should check this one out!