Film-Forward

Top Picks

Bad Turn Worse

Directed by Zeke Hawkins and Simon Hawkins Produced by Justin X. Duprie and Brian Udovich Written by Dutch Southern Released by Starz Digital USA. 91 min. Not rated With Jeremy Allen White, Logan Huffman, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Pellegrino, William Devane, and Jon Gries Bad Turn Worse begins with an act of great hubris when a […]

Two by Josephine Decker

Butter on the Latch Thous Wast Mild & Lovely Director and writer Josephine Decker’s first two feature-length films complement each other well, while revealing a diverse and unique approach to contemporary filmmaking. Both contain a central, if loose, narrative dream sequence, hallucinations, and odd camera movements and sounds to create completely distinct visions. Butter on […]

Red Army

Written, Produced, and Directed by Gabe Polsky Released by Sony Pictures Classics USA/Russia. 85 min. Rated PG A captivating look at one of the great successes of the Soviet experiment, Red Army uncovers how the Soviet Union’s ice hockey team dominated world competition to an unprecedented extent in the 1970s and ‘80s. It featured a […]

National Gallery

Edited and Directed by Frederick Wiseman Produced by Wiseman and Pierre-Olivier Bardet Released by Zipporah Films France/USA/UK. 173 min. Not rated Award-winning filmmaker Frederick Wiseman establishes a very clear premise for National Gallery within the first few minutes. Reminiscent of the slide presentations used in art history classes, he opens with a silent parade of […]

Pelican Dreams

Filmed, Edited, Produced and Directed by Judy Irving Released by Shadow Distribution USA. 80 min. Rated G A California brown pelican blocks traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. Bystanders watch as bridge security capture it and place it in the back of a waiting police car. Someone jokingly comments, “Awww, he got arrested.” Not quite, […]

Dear White People

Written and Directed by Justin Simien Produced by Mr. Simien, Effie Brown, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Ann Le and Lena Waithe Released by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions USA. 108 min. Rated R With Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Kyle Gallner, Teyonah Parris, Brandon Bell, Dennis Haysbert, Brittany Curran, Peter Syvertsen, Marque Richardson and Malcolm Barrett […]

Birdman

Directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu Produced by Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan and James W. Skotchdopole; Written by Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., and Armando Bo Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures and Regency Enterprises USA. 119 mon. Rated R With Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts […]

Citizenfour

Directed by Laura Poitras Produced by Poitras, Mathilde Bonnefoy and Dirk Wilutzky Released by Radius Germany/USA. 114 min. Rated R The central, absorbing act of Citizenfour is viewing Edward Snowden like never before. He’s a human being in cinema verité close-up during the days when the computer contractor hands over United States government documents on […]

Diplomacy

Directed by Volker Schlöndorff Produced by Marc de Bayser, Frank Le Wita, Sidonie Dumas, and Francis Boespflug Written by Cyril Gely and Schlöndorff, based on the play Diplomatie by Gely Released by Zeitgeist Films Release French and German with English subtitles France. 88 min. Not rated With André Dussollier, Niels Arestrup, Burghart Klaussner and Robert […]