Possibly Louis Malle’s best film, the Oscar-nominated semi-autobiographical drama Au Revoir les Enfants focuses on the tragic friendship between two boys.
Pedro Almodóvar’s brazen 2004 ‘gay film noir’ Bad Education is 1 of the most daring exemplars of the noir genre. Gael García Bernal and Fele Martínez star.
Actress-filmmaker Radha Blank’s semi-autobiographical midlife-crisis tale The Forty-Year-Old Version evokes memories of Woody Allen + Paul Mazursky.
Starring Chadwick Boseman and standout Michael B. Jordan, Ryan Coogler’s movie history-making Black Panther gives new life to the superhero genre.
Starring an excellent Michael Fassbender in a dual role, Ridley Scott’s suspenseful Alien: Covenant takes the franchise in a more discerning direction.
The Wolverine Hugh Jackman is at the embittered heart of James Mangold’s surprisingly violent Logan, one of the best superhero movies out there.
Don’t wet your seat while watching Fede Alvarez’s cleverly assembled Detroit-set horror thriller Don’t Breathe. Cast: Stephen Lang and Dylan Minnette.
Fritz Lang’s two-part semi-historical epic tragedy Die Nibelungen: Siegfried and Kriemhild’s Revenge is a cinematic masterpiece.
Reminiscent of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War is the far better movie. Chris Evans + Robert Downey Jr star.
Films such as those seen in the British Film Institute’s compilation Around China with a Movie Camera offer a magical window into the past.
Michael Fassbender is outstanding in director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s vibrant biopic Steve Jobs. Cast: Kate Winslet.
While emphasizing feel-good themes, Ridley Scott proves with the absorbing The Martian that he’s still got what it takes. Matt Damon stars.
A victim of British anti-gay bigotry, the title character in the movie Lord Montagu became a successful businessman and popular jet-setter.
Directed by Asif Kapadia, the Amy Winehouse nonfiction movie Amy is an all-around remarkable achievement. Oscar winner.
Melissa McCarthy rises to the occasion in Paul Feig’s transgressively feminist Spy movie comedy. Also in cast: Jason Statham and Miranda Hart.
Best Actress Oscar winner Joan Crawford is terrific as the devoted mother of psycho daughter Ann Blyth in Michael Curtiz’s 1945 noir Mildred Pierce.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s capably acted urban family drama Tokyo Sonata exposes the seemingly inexorable unraveling of Japan’s traditional social fabric.
Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In features a refreshingly mature blend of character study, budding romance, and supernatural horror.
The true-to-life sex romantic comedy-drama Young People Fucking is both provocative and sporadically surprising. The cast is uniformly good.
David Gordon Green’s Pineapple Express is a surprisingly entertaining mix of action and silliness. James Franco and Seth Rogen star.
A story about true love – between 2 male friends – the 1925 Cobra is Rudolph Valentino’s most effective star vehicle. Nita Naldi costars.
Esteban Sapir’s black-and-white, near-silent morality fantasy The Aerial / La antena is both daringly innovative and lovingly nostalgic.
In the unsettling thriller Targets, Peter Bogdanovich points out that life and art are irrevocably intertwined. A superb Boris Karloff stars.
David Mamet’s commercially unsuccessful morality tale Redbelt is possibly his most impressive to date. Chiwetel Ejiofor leads the capable cast.
Contemplative Woody Allen comedy Stardust Memories is 1 of the most profound films ever. Marie-Christine Barrault and Charlotte Rampling costar.
Starring the German Mary Pickford, Ernst Lubitsch’s The Doll movie is a satirical fantasy featuring inventive art direction and jabs at the Catholic Church.
Remarkable women’s suffrage movie Mothers of Men dismisses the notion that the female right to vote would destroy American families and society.
With some assistance from Dalton Trumbo himself, Bryan Cranston delivers a phenomenal performance as the blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter.
Christopher McQuarrie’s thrilling Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation shows that Tom Cruise continues to outrun it - and them - all.
Best Actress Oscar winner Natalie Portman rises to the challenge in Darren Aronofsky’s brilliantly multilayered thriller Black Swan. Cast: Mila Kunis.
Jay and Mark Duplass’ clever indie comedy-thriller Baghead isn’t your average ‘cabin in the woods’ movie. Cast: Greta Gerwig and Ross Partridge.
Writer-director Francis Veber’s The Valet movie is his latest hilarious French farce. Cast: Daniel Auteuil, Gad Elmaleh and Kristin Scott Thomas.