A Compassionate Spy
Dir. Steve James
As its title suggests, Steve James’ documentary isn’t shy about its sympathy for its subject. Physicist Ted Hall was just…
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
Dir. Pawo Choyning Dorji
On his first day of class in the remote village of Lunana, the city teacher Ugyen asks his students what…
On the Beach at Night Alone
Dir. Hong Sang-soo
There’s an intriguing meta appeal to this drama, the plot of which is a thinly veiled reference to the scandal…
Character
Dir. Mike van Diem
When someone does everything they can to stop you, even to the point of irrationality, that’s hater behavior. This is…
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Dir. Liz Garbus
“As fragile as she was strong, as vulnerable as she was dynamic, she was African royalty. How does royalty stomp…
Kilo Two Bravo
Dir. Paul Katis
Kilo Two Bravo (Originally named Kajaki) is a must-watch for anyone who likes war dramas. It tells the true story of…
20 Feet from Stardom
Dir. Morgan Neville
For the background singers featured in 20 Feet from Stardom, music is a vocation. It is not merely an occupation…
Ernest and Celestine
Dir. Benjamin Renner & Stéphane Aubier
Ernest is an old bear and Celestine a young mouse; he lives above ground, while she lives underground. Their kinds…
Another Year
Dir. Mike Leigh
This is a very nice movie about a lovely older couple named Tom and Gerri. It follows their lives for…
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
Dir. Ken Loach
You might expect a movie about the Irish struggle for independence from the British Empire during the 1920s to be…
Amores Perros
Dir. Alejandro G. Iñárritu & Alejandro González Iñárritu
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s cleverly layered directorial feature film debut follows three persons whose lives are connected by a car crash…
Even the Rain
Dir. Icíar Bollaín
Film direction—at least in the traditional sense—is all about establishing control. In Even the Rain, however, the crew led by…
I Capture the Castle
Dir. Cameron Crowe & Tim Fywell
Set in the 1930’s English Countryside, the story of the eccentric Mortmain family is told from the daughter Cassandra’s point…
The Constant Gardener
Dir. Fernando Meirelles
Ralph Fiennes plays a mild-mannered British diplomat in Kenya who is stunned by the news of his wife Tessa’s (Rachel…
Ship of Theseus
Dir. Anand Gandhi
Ever since the premier at the Toronto Film festival critics and viewers have been raving about this low-budget gem. A lot…
The Reader
Dir. Stephen Daldry
The Reader is a German-American drama from 2008, based on the best-selling novel by author Bernhard Schlink. The storyline begins…
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring
Dir. Ki-duk Kim & Kim Ki-duk
A doorway opens at the beginning of Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring, and through this doorway you are brought into…
Tony Takitani
Dir. Jun Ichikawa
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the mix of ideas and aesthetics that gave us Her has roots…
Disconnect
Dir. Henry Alex Rubin
I watch many movies and the great majority of them leave little impression on me. They are fun and entertaining, but…
Little Miss Sunshine
Dir. Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
Starring a sad-sack Steve Carrell and an ensemble cast with brilliant timing and real heart, Little Miss Sunshine is a…