Movie Releases by User Score

Children of Paradise (1945) 1.

Children of Paradise (1945)

March 9, 2012 | Not Rated
Children of Paradise is the tale of a woman loved by four different men. Deftly entwining theater, literature, music, and design, director Marcel Carné and screenwriter Jacques Prévert resurrect the tumultuous world of nineteenth-century Paris, teeming with hucksters and aristocrats, thieves and courtesans, pimps and seers. (Janus Films)
Metascore:
96
User Score:
7.8
Amour 2.

Amour

December 19, 2012 | PG-13
Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple's bond of love is severely tested. [Sony Pictures Classics]
Metascore:
95
User Score:
8.1
Zero Dark Thirty 3.

Zero Dark Thirty

December 19, 2012 | R
For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. [Columbia Pictures]
Metascore:
95
User Score:
6.9
It's Such a Beautiful Day 4.

It's Such a Beautiful Day

October 5, 2012 | Not Rated
Bill struggles to put together his shattered psyche, in this new feature film version of Don Hertzfeldt's animated short film trilogy.
Metascore:
90
User Score:
8.1
This Is Not a Film 5.

This Is Not a Film

March 2, 2012 | Not Rated
This clandestine documentary, shot partially on an iPhone and smuggled into France in a cake for a last-minute submission to Cannes, depicts the day-to-day life of acclaimed director Jafar Panahi during his house arrest in his Tehran apartment. While appealing his sentence – six years in prison and a 20 year ban from filmmaking – Panahi is seen talking to his family and lawyer on the phone, discussing his plight with Mirtahmasb and reflecting on the meaning of the art of filmmaking. (Palisades Tartan)
Metascore:
90
User Score:
6.3
Lincoln 6.

Lincoln

November 9, 2012 | PG-13
Lincoln is a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come. (DreamWorks Pictures)
Metascore:
87
User Score:
7.5
Elena 7.

Elena

May 18, 2012 | Not Rated
Elena is a gripping, modern twist on the classic noir thriller. Sixty-ish spouses Vladimir and Elena uneasily share his palatial Moscow apartment—he’s a still-virile, wealthy businessman; she’s his dowdy former nurse who has clearly “married up.” Estranged from his own wild-child daughter, Vladimir openly despises his wife’s freeloading son and family. But when a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten the dutiful housewife’s potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan...[Zeitgeist Films]
Metascore:
87
User Score:
7.5
The Kid with a Bike 8.

The Kid with a Bike

March 16, 2012 | Not Rated
When his father abandons him, Cyril obsessively tries to find his bicycle—after all, his father must have cared about him enough not to sell that off, he reasons. Almost by accident, he becomes the ward of a kind hairdresser, a woman who seems surprised to find herself so determined to help him. With his wild, unpredictable behavior and his disastrous search for father figures, Cyril risks losing her—though she refuses to give up without a fight. Full of heartbreaking betrayals and unexpected grace, The Kid With A Bike is a film about a child, abandoned to the elements, learning to become good. [Sundance Selects]
Metascore:
87
User Score:
7.5
Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters 9.

Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters

November 2, 2012 | Not Rated
Photographer Gregory Crewdson’s 10-year quest to create a series of haunting, surreal, and stunningly elaborate portraits of small-town American life — filmed with unprecedented access as he makes perfect renderings of a disturbing, imperfect world. [Ben Shapiro Productions]
Metascore:
87
User Score:
6.7
How to Survive a Plague 10.

How to Survive a Plague

September 21, 2012 | Not Rated
How To Survive A Plague is the untold story of the efforts that turned AIDS into a mostly manageable condition – and the improbable group of young men and women who, with no scientific training, infiltrated government agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, and helped identify promising new compounds, moving them through trials and into drugstores in record time. These drugs saved their lives and ended the darkest days of the epidemic, while virtually emptying AIDS wards in American hospitals. (IFC Films)
Metascore:
86
User Score:
8.1
Barbara 11.

Barbara

December 21, 2012 | PG-13
A doctor in 1960s East Germany makes the mistake of applying for an exit visa and is, as a result, banished to a small hospital in the hinterlands.
Metascore:
86
User Score:
7.0
Argo 12.

Argo

October 12, 2012 | R
Based on true events, “Argo” chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis—the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades. On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of the Canadian ambassador. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, a CIA “exfiltration” specialist named Tony Mendez comes up with a risky plan to get them safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies. (Warner Bros.)
Metascore:
86
User Score:
7.7
The Master 13.

The Master

September 14, 2012 | R
In the years after WWII, an American intellectual creates a religion. When he meets a troubled drifter, he invites the man to help him spread the new faith. As their congregation increases, the drifter begins to question the religion he once accepted and the mentor who gave his life direction.
Metascore:
86
User Score:
7.3
Beasts of the Southern Wild 14.

Beasts of the Southern Wild

June 27, 2012 | PG-13
In a forgotten but defiant bayou community cut off from the rest of the world by a sprawling levee, a six-year-old girl exists on the brink of orphanhood. Buoyed by her childish optimism and extraordinary imagination, she believes that the natural world is in balance with the universe until a fierce storm changes her reality. Desperate to repair the structure of her world in order to save her ailing father and sinking home, this tiny hero must learn to survive unstoppable catastrophes of epic proportions. (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Metascore:
86
User Score:
7.5
Holy Motors 15.

Holy Motors

October 17, 2012 | Not Rated
Inspired by the filmmaker’s fascination with the after hours life of stretch limousines, Denis Lavant plays Monsieur Oscar who, over the course of a single day, takes on 10 other guises, ranging from a gangster and ageing millionaire to a troubled parent and anarchic tramp. Including a few unexpected cameos, Holy Motors is the rarest of things – a true original. (Indomina Releasing)
Metascore:
85
User Score:
7.6
Moonrise Kingdom 16.

Moonrise Kingdom

May 25, 2012 | PG-13
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, the film follows a young boy and girl falling in love. When they are moved to run away together, various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down – which might not be such a bad thing. [Focus Features]
Metascore:
84
User Score:
8.1
Oslo, August 31st 17.

Oslo, August 31st

May 25, 2012 | Not Rated
Thirty-four-year-old Anders is a fortunate, but deeply troubled man battling drug addiction. As part of his rehabilitation program, he is allowed to go into the city for a job interview, but instead uses the opportunity as a way to drift around and revisit old friends. The day grows increasingly difficult as he struggles to overcome personal demons and past ghosts for the chance at love and a new life. (Strand Releasing)
Metascore:
84
User Score:
7.7
Looper 18.

Looper

September 28, 2012 | R
In Looper, time travel exists, but it is illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they send their target 30 years into the past, where a “looper” – a hired gun, like Joe – is waiting to mop up. Joe is doing good as a looper until the day the mob decides to “close the loop,” sending back Joe’s future self for assassination. (TriStar Pictures)
Metascore:
84
User Score:
8.2
The Waiting Room 19.

The Waiting Room

September 28, 2012 | Not Rated
The Waiting Room uses unprecedented access to go behind the doors of Oakland’s Highland Hospital, a safety-net hospital fighting for survival while weathering the storm of a persistent economic downturn. Stretched to the breaking point, Highland is the primary care facility for 250,000 patients of nearly every nationality, race, and religion, with 250 patients – most of them uninsured – crowding its emergency room every day. Using a blend of cinema verité and characters’ voiceover, the film offers a raw, intimate, and often uplifting look at how patients, staff and caregivers cope with disease, bureaucracy, frustration, hope and hard choices during one typically hectic day. (International Film Circuit)
Metascore:
84
User Score:
tbd
The Day He Arrives 20.

The Day He Arrives

April 20, 2012 | Not Rated
A film director who no longer makes films, Seongjun, arrives in Seoul to meet a close friend. When the friend doesn't show up, Seongjun wanders the city aimlessly. He runs into an actress he used to know, shares a drink with some film students and against his better judgment, heads to his ex-girlfriend's apartment. The next day goes very much like the last; Seongjun meets the actress, has drinks with friends, and falls for woman who looks remarkably like his ex-girlfriend. Each new day plays out like a flimsy copy of the previous one, but only Seongjun knows why. Infused with a playfulness and dry wit that recalls the films of Woody Allen and Eric Rohmer, The Day He Arrives is a delightful meditation on relationships, filmmaking, and the unknowable forces that govern our lives. [The Cinema Guild]
Metascore:
83
User Score:
7.3
The Flat 21.

The Flat

October 12, 2012 | Not Rated
The flat on the third floor of a Bauhaus building in Tel Aviv was where my grandparents lived since they immigrated to Palestine in the 1930's. Were it not for the view from the windows, one might have thought that the flat was in Berlin. When my grandmother passed away at the age of 98 we were called to the flat to clear out what was left. Objects, pictures, letters and documents awaited us, revealing traces of a troubled and unknown past. The film which begins with the emptying out of a flat develops into a riveting adventure, involving unexpected national interests, a friendship that crosses enemy lines, and deeply repressed family emotions. And even reveals some secrets that should have probably remained untold. (Sundance Selects)
Metascore:
83
User Score:
8.2
Footnote 22.

Footnote

March 9, 2012 | PG
Eliezer and Uriel Shkolnik are both eccentric professors, who have dedicated their lives to their work in Talmudic Studies. The father, Eliezer, is a stubborn purist who fears the establishment and has never been recognized for his work. Meanwhile his son, Uriel, is an up-and-coming star in the field, who appears to feed on accolades, endlessly seeking recognition. Then one day, the tables turn. When Eliezer learns that he is to be awarded the Israel Prize, the most valuable honor for scholarship in the country, his vanity and desperate need for validation are exposed. His son, Uriel, is thrilled to see his father's achievements finally recognized but, in a darkly funny twist, is forced to choose between the advancement of his own career and his father's. Will he sabotage his father's glory? (Sony Pictures Classics)
Metascore:
83
User Score:
6.3
Monsieur Lazhar 23.

Monsieur Lazhar

April 13, 2012 | PG-13
Monsieur Lazhar tells the story of a Montreal middle school class shaken by the death of their well-liked teacher. Bachir Lazhar, a 55-year-old Algerian immigrant, offers the school his services as a substitute teacher and is quickly hired. As he helps the children heal, he also learns to accept his own painful past. (Music Box Films)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
7.7
The Deep Blue Sea 24.

The Deep Blue Sea

March 23, 2012 | R
Hester Collyer, the wife of a High Court judge, is a free spirit trapped in a passionless marriage. Her encounter with Freddie Page, a troubled former Royal Air Force pilot throws her life in turmoil, as their erotic relationship leaves her emotionally stranded and physically isolated. Nearly abandoned by Freddie, Hester attempts to win him back through a desperate gesture. This only serves to estrange her more from the men in her life and reality itself. (Music Box Films)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
6.3
Ornette: Made in America (1985) 25.

Ornette: Made in America (1985)

August 31, 2012 | Not Rated
Ornette: Made In America captures Ornette’s evolution over three decades. Returning home to Fort Worth, Texas in 1983 as a famed performer and composer, documentary footage, dramatic scenes, and some of the first music video-style segments ever made, chronicle his boyhood in segregated Texas and his subsequent emergence as an American cultural pioneer and world-class icon. (Milestone Films)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
tbd
In the Family 26.

In the Family

April 22, 2012 | Not Rated
In the town of Martin, Tennessee, Chip Hines, a precocious six year old, has only known life with his two dads, Cody and Joey. And a good life it is. When Cody dies suddenly in a car accident, Joey and Chip struggle to find their footing again. Just as they begin to, Cody’s will reveals that he named his sister as Chip’s guardian. The years of Joey’s acceptance into the family unravel as Chip is taken away from him. In his now solitary home life, Joey searches for a solution. The law is not on his side, but friends are. Armed with their comfort and inspired by memories of Cody, Joey finds a path to peace with the family and closer to his son. (In the Family Production)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
6.6
Marley 27.

Marley

April 20, 2012 | PG-13
Bob Marley's universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. Marley is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best. (Magnolia Pictures)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
8.0
Under African Skies 28.

Under African Skies

May 11, 2012 | Not Rated
Paul Simon’s Grammy-winning album Graceland – an irresistible and groundbreaking fusion of American and South African pop music — was an immediate hit when it was released in 1986. It also proved to be a lightning rod for controversy, after South African leaders protested that Simon had broken the cultural boycott of the nation’s oppressively racist apartheid regime. In the documentary Under African Skies, premiering at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, Simon returns to South Africa, which formally ended apartheid in 1994 — 25 years after Graceland‘s release. Director Joe Berlinger (Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory) follows Simon as he reunites with his South African collaborators, and revisits the controversy the album caused, while luminaries like Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Lorne Michaels, David Bryne and Sir Paul McCartney share their thoughts on what the album meant to them. (Radical Media)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
tbd
Side by Side 29.

Side by Side

August 17, 2012 | Not Rated
Join Keanu Reeves on a tour of the past and the future of filmmaking in SIDE BY SIDE. Since the invention of cinema, the standard format for recording moving images has been film. Over the past two decades, a new form of digital filmmaking has emerged, creating a groundbreaking evolution in the medium. Reeves explores the development of cinema and the impact of digital filmmaking via in-depth interviews with Hollywood masters, such as James Cameron, David Fincher, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh, and many more. (Tribeca Films)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
8.3
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia 30.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

January 4, 2012 | Not Rated
Life in a small town is akin to journeying in the middle of the steppes: the sense that "something new and different" will spring up behind every hill, but always unerringly similar, tapering, vanishing or lingering monotonous roads. (NBC Film)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
8.1
Django Unchained 31.

Django Unchained

December 25, 2012 | R
Django is a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz. Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive. (The Weinstein Company)
Metascore:
81
User Score:
8.6
Sister 32.

Sister

October 5, 2012 | Not Rated
Simon lives with his older sister in a housing complex below a luxury Swiss ski resort. With his sister drifting in and out of jobs and relationships, twelve-year-old Simon takes on the responsibility of providing for the two of them. Everyday, he takes the lift up to the opulent ski world above, stealing equipment from rich tourists to resell to the local kids down in the valley. He is able to keep their little family afloat with his small-time hustles and his sister is thankful for the money he brings in. But when Simon partners with a crooked British seasonal worker, he begins to lose his boundaries, affecting his relationship with his sister and plummeting him into dangerous territory. [Adopt Films]
Metascore:
81
User Score:
6.8
Tchoupitoulas 33.

Tchoupitoulas

December 7, 2012 | Not Rated
Three brothers make their way through a night of discovery in this New Orleans documentary.
Metascore:
81
User Score:
5.1
Skyfall 34.

Skyfall

November 9, 2012 | PG-13
In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. [Columbia Pictures, MGM]
Metascore:
81
User Score:
7.7
Consuming Spirits 35.

Consuming Spirits

December 12, 2012 | Not Rated
Consuming Spirits 16mm to HD, is an Independent feature animation, chronicling the lives of three characters who live in a rust belt town called Magguson, and work at its local newspaper The Daily Suggester. They are: Gentian Violet 42: Victor Blue 38: and Earl gray 64: first appear to be acquaintances. But as the film unfolds, we find they have a long diabolical history, revolving around social service intervention, and foster care, romance and hatred. Each character has family secrets to hide, and family secrets to discover. An auto accident one dark and inebriated night, causes a crack in the memory vault of these intimate strangers. By films end all parties walk from the woods, both healed and wounded..enjoy..
Metascore:
81
User Score:
tbd
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry 36.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

July 27, 2012 | R
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is the first feature-length film about the internationally renowned Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. In recent years, Ai has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations. AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY examines this complex intersection of artistic practice and social activism as seen through the life and art of China’s preeminent contemporary artist. (Sundance Selects)
Metascore:
81
User Score:
7.8
Silver Linings Playbook 37.

Silver Linings Playbook

November 16, 2012 | R
Life doesn’t always go according to plan...Pat Solitanohas lost everything -- his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother and father after spending eight months in a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife, despite the challenging circumstances of their separation. All Pat’s parents want is for him to get back on his feet - and to share their family’s obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he'll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives. (The Weinstein Company)
Metascore:
81
User Score:
8.5
The Turin Horse 38.

The Turin Horse

February 10, 2012 | Not Rated
On January 3, 1889 in Turin, Italy, Friedrich Nietzsche steps out of the doorway of number six, Via Carlo Albert. Not far from him, a cab driver is having trouble with a stubborn horse. The horse refuses to move, whereupon the driver loses his patience and takes his whip to it. Nietzsche puts an end to the brutal scene, throwing his arms around the horse’s neck, sobbing. After this, he lies motionless and silent for two days on a divan until he mutters the obligatory last words, and lives for another ten years, silent and demented, cared for by his mother and sisters. Somewhere in the countryside, the cab driver lives with his daughter and the overworked horse. Outside, a windstorm rages. The horse refuses to move, and the man and his daughter struggle through their daily schedule. Food and water grow scarce. Beggars and gypsies come to their door. The horse stops eating. Slowly, the apocalypse approaches. (The Cinema Guild)
Metascore:
80
User Score:
8.3
The Secret World of Arrietty 39.

The Secret World of Arrietty

February 17, 2012 | G
Arrietty, a tiny, but tenacious 14-year-old, lives with her parents in the recesses of a suburban garden home, unbeknownst to the homeowner and her housekeeper. Like all little people, Arrietty remains hidden from view, except during occasional covert ventures beyond the floorboards to "borrow" scrap supplies like sugar cubes from her human hosts. But when 12-year-old Shawn, a human boy who comes to stay in the home, discovers his mysterious housemate one evening, a secret friendship blossoms. If discovered, their relationship could drive Arrietty's family from the home and straight into danger. (Walt Disney Pictures)
Metascore:
80
User Score:
8.1
The Queen of Versailles 40.

The Queen of Versailles

July 20, 2012 | PG
With epic proportions of Shakespearean tragedy, the film follows two unique characters, whose rags-to-riches success stories reveal the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream. The film begins with the family triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America, a 90,000 sq. ft. palace. Over the next two years, their sprawling empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis. Major changes in lifestyle and character ensue within the cross-cultural household of family members and domestic staff. (Magnet Releasing)
Metascore:
80
User Score:
8.1
I Wish 41.

I Wish

May 11, 2012 | Not Rated
Twelve-year-old Koichi lives with his mother and retired grandparents in Kagoshima, in the southern region of Kyushu, Japan. His younger brother Ryunosuke lives with their father in Hakata, northern Kyushu. The brothers have been separated by their parents’ divorce and Koichi’s only wish is for his family to be reunited. When he learns that a new bullet train line will soon open, linking the two towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment these new trains first pass each other at top speed. With help from the adults around him, Koichi sets out on a journey with a group of friends, each hoping to witness a miracle that will improve their difficult lives.(Magnolia Pictures)
Metascore:
80
User Score:
7.2
Goodbye First Love 42.

Goodbye First Love

April 20, 2012 | Not Rated
Fifteen-year-old Camille is a serious, intensely focused girl who has fallen in love with cheerful Sullivan, an older boy who reciprocates her feelings, mostly, but wants to be free to explore the world. When he leaves her to travel through South America, she is devastated. But over the next eight years, she develops into a more fully formed woman, with new interests and a new love—and the possibility that she'll be less defenseless when Sullivan enters her life again. Filled with scenes that showcase her extraordinary ability to evoke moods and feelings, Hansen-Løve takes the story of a girl’s first romance and makes it into a singular experience, familiar in its broad strokes and yet so specific that it feels uniquely personal. (IFC Films)
Metascore:
80
User Score:
6.8
West of Memphis 43.

West of Memphis

December 25, 2012 | R
An examination of a failure of justice in the case against the West Memphis Three.
Metascore:
80
User Score:
7.1
The Sessions 44.

The Sessions

October 19, 2012 | R
The Sessions tells the story of a man confined to an iron lung who is determined at age 38 to lose his virginity. With the help of his therapists and the guidance of his priest, he sets out to make his dream a reality. (Fox Searchlight)
Metascore:
79
User Score:
7.5
Photographic Memory 45.

Photographic Memory

October 12, 2012 | Not Rated
Filmmaker Ross McElwee finds himself in frequent conflict with his son, a young adult who seems addicted to and distracted by the virtual worlds of the internet. To understand his fractured love for his son, McElwee travels back to St. Quay-Portrieux in Brittany for the first time in decades to retrace his own journey into adulthood. A meditation on the passing of time, the praxis of photography and film, and the digital versus analog divide. (First Run Features)
Metascore:
79
User Score:
tbd
The Central Park Five 46.

The Central Park Five

November 23, 2012 | Not Rated
A documentary that examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were wrongfully accused of raping a white woman in Central Park.
Metascore:
79
User Score:
8.0
Wagner's Dream 47.

Wagner's Dream

July 20, 2012 | Not Rated
The stakes could not be higher as one of the theater's finest stage directors teams up with one of the world's leading opera companies to tackle opera's most monumental challenge: the production of Wagner's epic Ring cycle - the four-part, 16-hour work that the composer first presented in 1876. For the past 130 years, the quest to produce a perfect Ring has stymied directors, including Wagner himself, who struggled to meet the immense theatrical demands of his own creation. The cosmic vision of gods and mortals vying for power and destroyed by greed calls for astonishing stage visuals of fire storms, flying warriors, and underwater and heavenly actions. (The Metropolitan Opera)
Metascore:
79
User Score:
tbd
Life of Pi 48.

Life of Pi

November 21, 2012 | PG
Based on the best-selling novel by Yann Martel, is a magical adventure story centering on Pi Patel, the precocious son of a zookeeper. Dwellers in Pondicherry, India, the family decides to move to Canada, hitching a ride on a huge freighter. After a shipwreck, Pi is found adrift in the Pacific Ocean on a 26-foot lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, all fighting for survival.
Metascore:
79
User Score:
7.9
Keep the Lights On 49.

Keep the Lights On

September 7, 2012 | Not Rated
Keep the Lights On chronicles an emotionally and sexually charged journey of two men in New York City through love, friendship, and addiction. Documentary filmmaker Erik and closeted lawyer Paul meet through a casual encounter, but soon find a deeper connection and become a couple. Individually and together, they are risk takers—compulsive, and fueled by drugs and sex. In an almost decade-long relationship defined by highs, lows, and dysfunctional patterns, Erik struggles to negotiate his own boundaries and dignity while being true to himself. Director Ira Sachs’s fearlessly personal screenplay is anchored by Lindhardt, who embodies Erik’s isolation and vulnerability with a gentle presence. Harrowing and romantic, visceral and layered, Keep the Lights On is a film that looks at love and all of its manifestations, taking it to dark depths and bringing it back to a place of grace. (Music Box Films)
Metascore:
79
User Score:
8.1
Searching for Sugar Man 50.

Searching for Sugar Man

June 29, 2012 | PG-13
Searching for Sugar Man tells the incredible true story of Rodriguez, the greatest '70s rock icon who never was. Discovered in a Detroit bar in the late '60s by two celebrated producers struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics, they recorded an album which they believed would secure his reputation as the greatest recording artist of his generation. In fact, the album bombed and the singer disappeared into obscurity amid rumors of a gruesome on-stage suicide. But a bootleg recording found its way into apartheid South Africa and, over the next two decades, he became a phenomenon. The film follows the story of two South African fans who set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Their investigation leads them to a story more extraordinary than any of the existing myths about the artist known as Rodriguez. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Metascore:
79
User Score:
8.4
The Law in These Parts 51.

The Law in These Parts

November 14, 2012
Alexandrowicz's documentary is an examination of the legal infrastructure put in place by Israel for the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Metascore:
79
User Score:
tbd
Beware of Mr. Baker 52.

Beware of Mr. Baker

November 28, 2012 | Not Rated
Born in South East London the same week the Nazis began bombing, Ginger Baker’s first memory was running after a train that carried his father off to death in WWII. From his music to his life, at the expense of family and fortune, Ginger would never be left behind on the tracks again. Though best known for his work with Eric Clapton in Cream and Blind Faith, the world’s greatest drummer did not hit his stride until years later in 1972 when he drove the first Range Rover ever produced from London to Nigeria in pursuit of the African rhythms and musical icon, Fela Kuti. There he found his Mecca of drumming, introducing the African beat and “world music” to the West, years before any other musicians in the field. The documentary includes stories from his ex-wives, children, and many of the greatest living musicians that worked with Ginger including Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Charlie Watts, Mickey Hart, Carlos Santana, Max Weinberg, Chad Smith, Femi Kuti, Neal Peart, Simon Kirke, Marky Ramone and many more.
Metascore:
78
User Score:
7.2
Tabu 53.

Tabu

December 26, 2012 | Not Rated
A restless retired woman teams up with her deceased neighbor's maid to find a man who has a secret connection to her past life as a farm owner at the foothill of Mount Tabu in Africa.
Metascore:
78
User Score:
6.4
5 Broken Cameras 54.

5 Broken Cameras

May 25, 2012 | Not Rated
An extraordinary work of both cinematic and political activism, 5 Broken Cameras is a deeply personal, first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil'in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the footage was later given to Israeli co-director Guy Davidi to edit. Structured around the violent destruction of each one of Burnat's cameras, the filmmakers' collaboration follows one family's evolution over five years of village turmoil. Burnat watches from behind the lens as olive trees are bulldozed, protests intensify, and lives are lost. "I feel like the camera protects me," he says, "but it's an illusion." (Kino Lorber)
Metascore:
78
User Score:
7.4
The Dark Knight Rises 55.

The Dark Knight Rises

July 20, 2012 | PG-13
It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Metascore:
78
User Score:
8.8
Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story 56.

Booker's Place: A Mississippi Story

April 27, 2012 | Not Rated
While filming a documentary in Mississippi in 1965, Frank De Felitta forever changed the life of an African-American waiter and his family. In 2011, Frank's son returns to the Delta to examine the repercussions of that fateful encounter.
Metascore:
78
User Score:
tbd
A Simple Life 57.

A Simple Life

April 12, 2012 | Not Rated
Since her teenage years, Chung Chun-Tao has worked as an amah – a servant – for the Leung family. Known as Ah Tao, she witnessed every aspect of the family’s life. Now, after 60 years of service, she is looking after Roger, who works in the film industry and is the only member of the family still resident in Hong Kong. One day Roger comes home from work to find that Ah Tao has suffered a stroke. He rushes her to hospital, where she announces that she wants to quit her job and move into anursing home. Roger researches the possibilities and finds her a room in an establishment run by an old friend. Ah Tao moves in and begins acquainting herself with a new ‘family’: the brisk but fundamentally kindly supervisor Ms Choi and a motley crew of elderly residents, including the dapper Uncle Kin, the jealous Auntie Kam, the erudite ‘Headmaster’ and the good-hearted dialysis patient Mui Gu. Giving ever more time and attention to Ah Tao’s needs and pleasures, Roger comes to realise how much she means to him. Roger’s mother visits from California and suggests reclaiming an apartment building the family owns to provide Ah Tao with a final home of her own. But Ah Tao’s health begins to deteriorate rapidly. [China Lion Film Distribution]
Metascore:
78
User Score:
7.9
China Heavyweight 58.

China Heavyweight

July 6, 2012 | Not Rated
In central China, a Master coach recruits poor rural teenagers and turns them into Western-style boxing champions. The top students face dramatic choices as they graduate – should they fight for the collective good or for themselves? A metaphor for the choices everyone in the New China faces now. (Eye Steel Film)
Metascore:
77
User Score:
tbd
Jiro Dreams of Sushi 59.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

March 9, 2012 | PG
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar. For most of his life, Jiro has been mastering the art of making sushi, but even at his age he sees himself still striving for perfection, working from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation. At the heart of this story is Jiro’s relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro’s legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father’s shadow. (Magnolia Pictures)
Metascore:
77
User Score:
7.9
Neighboring Sounds 60.

Neighboring Sounds

August 24, 2012 | Not Rated
A history of violence and oppression threatens to engulf the residents of an affluent seaside community in Neighboring Sounds, a thrilling debut from filmmaker Kleber Mendonca Filho. A palpable sense of unease hangs over a single city block in the coastal town of Recife, Brazil. Home to prosperous families and the servants who work for them, the area is ruled by an aging patriarch and his sons. When a private security firm is reluctantly brought in to protect the residents from a recent spate of petty crime, it unleashes the fears, anxieties and resentments of a divided society still haunted by its troubled past. (The Cinema Guild)
Metascore:
77
User Score:
7.9
The Imposter 61.

The Imposter

July 13, 2012 | R
The Imposter is a chilling factual thriller that chronicles the story of a 13-year-old boy who disappears without a trace from San Antonio, Texas in 1994. Three and a half years later he is found alive, thousands of miles away in a village in southern Spain with a story of kidnapping and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems. The boy bears many of the same distinguishing marks he always had, but why does he now have a strange accent? Why does he look so different? Any why doesn't the family seem to notice these glaring inconsistencies? It's only when an investigator starts asking questions that this strange tale takes an even stranger turn. The stranger than fiction mystery, which features many twists and turns, is told in a cinematic language that combines documentary and stylized visualizations. Perception is challenged at every turn, and just as the truth begins to dawn on you, another truth merges leaving you even more on edge. (Indomina Releasing)
Metascore:
77
User Score:
7.7
Gerhard Richter - Painting 62.

Gerhard Richter - Painting

March 14, 2012 | Not Rated
One of the world's greatest living painters, the German artist Gerhard Richter has spent over half a century experimenting with a tremendous range of techniques and ideas, addressing historical crises and mass media representation alongside explorations of chance procedures. The first glimpse inside his studio in decades, Gerhard Richter Painting is exactly that: a thrilling document of the 79-year-old's creative process, juxtaposed with rare archival footage and intimate conversations with his critics and collaborators. (Kino Lorber)
Metascore:
77
User Score:
5.3
The House I Live In 63.

The House I Live In

October 5, 2012 | Not Rated
As America remains embroiled in conflict overseas, a less visible war is taking place at home, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage on future generations of Americans. Over forty years, the War on Drugs has accounted for more than 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever before. (Charlotte Street Films)
Metascore:
77
User Score:
8.1
Brooklyn Castle 64.

Brooklyn Castle

October 19, 2012 | PG
Brooklyn Castle tells the stories of five members of the chess team at a below-the-poverty-line inner city junior high school that has won more national championships than any other in the country. The film follows the challenges these kids face in their personal lives as well as on the chessboard, and is as much about the sting of their losses as it is about the anticipation of their victories. Ironically, the biggest obstacle thrust upon them arises not from other competitors but from recessionary budget cuts to all the extracurricular activities at their school. BROOKLYN CASTLE shows how these kids’ dedication to chess magnifies their belief in what is possible for their lives. After all, if they can master the world’s most difficult game, what can’t they do? (Producers Distribution Agency)
Metascore:
77
User Score:
6.7
Chico & Rita 65.

Chico & Rita

February 10, 2012 | Not Rated
Cuba, 1948. Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unites them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment. From Havana to New York, Paris, Hollywood and Las Vegas, two passionate individuals battle impossible odds to unite in music and love.(Magic Light Pictures)
Metascore:
76
User Score:
7.3
The Hunter 66.

The Hunter

January 4, 2012 | Not Rated
Recently released from prison, Ali attempts to make the most of his return to Tehran, amidst much talk of the upcoming elections and promises of change. Forced to work nights, he still tries to spend as much time as he can with his wife and their young daughter, escaping the stress of urban life through hunting trips to the secluded forest north of the city. But one day, Ali’s family goes missing-and after a long and fruitless experience with the police, Ali’s own search for his missing daughter ends in horror, pushing him over the edge into an act of terrible violence. He flees the city, pursued by the police, but soon the line between hunter and hunted becomes difficult to define. [Olive Films]
Metascore:
76
User Score:
6.1
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai 67.

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai

July 20, 2012 | Not Rated
Revenge, honor and disgrace collide when a samurai's request to commit ritual suicide leads to a tense showdown with his feudal lord. [Tribeca Film]
Metascore:
76
User Score:
7.5
Flight 68.

Flight

November 2, 2012 | R
Flight tells the redemption story of Whip, a commercial airline pilot who pulls off a heroic feat of flying in a damaged plane, saving 98 lives on a flight carrying 106 people. While the world begs to embrace him as a true American Hero, the everyman struggles with this label as he is forced to hold up to the scrutiny of an investigation that brings into question his behavior the night before the doomed flight. (Paramount Pictures)
Metascore:
76
User Score:
7.3
The Loneliest Planet 69.

The Loneliest Planet

October 26, 2012 | Not Rated
Alex and Nica are young, in love and engaged to be married. The summer before their wedding, they are backpacking in the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia. The couple hire a local guide to lead them on a camping trek, and the three set off into a stunning wilderness, a landscape that is both overwhelmingly open and frighteningly closed. Walking for hours, they trade anecdotes, play games to pass the time of moving through space. And then, a momentary misstep, a gesture that takes only two or three seconds, a gesture that’s over almost as soon as it begins. But once it is done, it can’t be undone. Once it is done, it threatens to undo everything the couple believed about each other and about themselves. All the while, they are not alone. They are always with the guide, who witnesses their every move. The film plays off the relationship between young travelers and the places they travel to, between guide and guided. But at heart, it is a love story -- a tale about betrayal, both accidental and deliberate, about masculinity, failure and the ambiguities of forgiveness. (IFC Films)
Metascore:
76
User Score:
5.7
Patience (After Sebald) 70.

Patience (After Sebald)

May 11, 2012 | Not Rated
A richly textured essay film on landscape, art, history, life and loss, Patience (After Sebald) offers a unique exploration of the work and influence of internationally acclaimed writer W.G. Sebald (1944 – 2001). With contributions from major writers, artists and filmmakers, the film is structured around a walk through coastal East Anglia, the same path followed by Sebald in his ground-breaking book, “The Rings of Saturn.” (Cinema Guild)
Metascore:
75
User Score:
tbd
Easy Money 71.

Easy Money

July 11, 2012 | R
Easy Money is a Swedish crime thriller based on the international best-selling novel Snabba Cash by Jens Lapidus. Lower-class business student JW falls in love with a sexy heiress while living a double life mingling with Stockholm’s wealthy elite. To keep up the façade of his lifestyle, he’s lured into a world of crime. Jorge is a petty fugitive on the run from both the police and Serbian mafia. He hopes that brokering a massive cocaine deal will allow him to escape for good. Mafia enforcer Mrado is on the hunt for Jorge, but his efforts are complicated when he’s unexpectedly saddled with caring for his young daughter. As JW’s journey ventures deeper into the dark world of organized crime, the fate of all three men becomes entangled and ends with a dramatic struggle for life and death. (The Weinstein Company)
Metascore:
75
User Score:
6.5
Sleepless Night 72.

Sleepless Night

May 11, 2012 | Not Rated
Sleepless Night tells the story of Vincent, a respected and dedicated police officer, or so it seems. After stealing a massive bag of cocaine from drug dealers that work for Marciano, a powerful mob boss/nightclub owner, Vincent quickly finds himself trapped in a situation that no parent would envy- his son has been kidnapped with the promise of being executed if he doesn’t immediately deliver the bag back to its rightful owner. As Vincent heads to the nightclub in the outskirts of Paris to trade the drugs for his son, he soon gets caught in an intense, claustrophobic cat-and-mouse game that quickly spirals into madness as the tables are constantly turned multiple times throughout the evening. The night to come might not only be the longest but also the last one of his life... and his young son’s as well. [Tribeca Film]
Metascore:
75
User Score:
6.5
Ballplayer: Pelotero 73.

Ballplayer: Pelotero

July 13, 2012 | Not Rated
This compelling documentary narrated by John Leguizamo (Moulin Rouge!, Ice Age, Carlito's Way) is a gritty and rare look inside the recruitment of top talent baseball players from the Dominican Republic. Miguel Angel Sanó and Jean Carlos Batista are among 100,000 teenagers vying for a handful of coveted contracts with baseball teams. As they turn 16 years old and become eligible to sign, each must navigate the fiercely competitive and frequently corrupt system if they are to lift their families out of poverty and achieve their dream: to one day play in the Big Leagues. Filmmakers Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, and Jon Paley take you inside this never before seen world for an up close and personal look at the cost of the American dream. (Strand Releasing)
Metascore:
75
User Score:
tbd
Bernie 74.

Bernie

April 27, 2012 | PG-13
In the tiny, rural town of Carthage, TX, assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede was one of the town’s most beloved residents. He taught Sunday school, sang in the church choir and was always willing to lend a helping hand. Everyone loved and appreciated Bernie, so it came as no surprise when he befriended Marjorie Nugent, an affluent widow who was as well known for her sour attitude as her fortune. Bernie frequently traveled with Marjorie and even managed her banking affairs. Marjorie quickly became fully dependant on Bernie and his generosity and Bernie struggled to meet her increasing demands. Bernie continued to handle her affairs, and the townspeople went months without seeing Marjorie. The people of Carthage were shocked when it was reported that Marjorie Nugent had been dead for some time, and Bernie Tiede was being charged with the murder. (Millennium Entertainment)
Metascore:
75
User Score:
7.2
Chasing Ice 75.

Chasing Ice

November 9, 2012 | Not Rated
In the spring of 2005, acclaimed environmental photographer James Balog headed to the Arctic on a tricky assignment for National Geographic: to capture images to help tell the story of the Earth’s changing climate. Even with a scientific upbringing, Balog had been a skeptic about climate change. But that first trip north opened his eyes to the biggest story in human history and sparked a challenge within him that would put his career and his very well-being at risk. Chasing Ice is the story of one man’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. (National Geographic Channel)
Metascore:
75
User Score:
8.2
The Invisible War 76.

The Invisible War

June 22, 2012 | Not Rated
An investigative and powerfully emotional documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military, the institutions that perpetuate and cover up its existence, and its profound personal and social consequences.
Metascore:
75
User Score:
7.5
Middle of Nowhere 77.

Middle of Nowhere

October 12, 2012 | R
Middle of Nowhere follows Ruby, a bright medical student who sets aside her dreams and suspends her career when her husband is incarcerated. As the committed couple stares into the hollow end of an eight-year prison sentence, Ruby must learn to live another life, one marked by shame and separation. But through a chance encounter and a stunning betrayal that shakes her to her core, this steadfast wife is soon propelled in new and often shocking directions of self-discovery - caught between two worlds and two men in the search for herself. [AFFRM]
Metascore:
75
User Score:
6.9
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present 78.

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present

June 13, 2012 | Not Rated
Seductive, fearless, and outrageous, Marina Abramovic has been redefining what art is for nearly forty years. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her physical and mental limits––and at times risking her life in the process––she creates performances that challenge, shock, and move us. Through her and with her, boundaries are crossed, consciousness expanded, and art as we know it is reborn. She is, quite simply, one of the most compelling artists of our time. (Music Box Films)
Metascore:
74
User Score:
7.6
The Rabbi's Cat 79.

The Rabbi's Cat

December 7, 2012 | Not Rated
Set in Algeria in the 1920s, this animated feature spotlights a rabbi's cat who learns how to speak after swallowing the family parrot expresses his desire to convert to Judaism.
Metascore:
74
User Score:
7.7
Frankenweenie 80.

Frankenweenie

October 5, 2012 | PG
After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor's fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new "leash on life" can be monstrous. (Walt Disney Pictures)
Metascore:
74
User Score:
7.4
Polisse 81.

Polisse

May 18, 2012 | Not Rated
The daily grind for the police officers of the Child Protection Unit - taking in child molesters, busting underage pickpockets and chewing over relationship issues at lunch; interrogating abusive parents, taking statements from children, confronting the excesses of teen sexuality, enjoying solidarity with colleagues and laughing uncontrollably at the most unthinkable moments. Knowing the worst exists and living with it. How do these police officer balance their private lives and the reality they confront every working day? (Sundance Selects)
Metascore:
74
User Score:
7.0
Bully 82.

Bully

March 30, 2012 | Not Rated
Bully follows five kids and families over the course of a school year. Stories include two families who have lost children to suicide and a mother awaiting the fate of her 14-year-old daughter who has been incarcerated after bringing a gun on her school bus. With an intimate glimpse into homes, classrooms, cafeterias and principals’ offices, the film offers insight into the often cruel world of the lives of bullied children. As teachers, administrators, kids and parents struggle to find answers, Bully examines the dire consequences of bullying through the testimony of strong and courageous youth. Through the power of their stories, the film aims to be a catalyst for change in the way we deal with bullying as parents, teachers, children and society as a whole. (The Weinstein Company)
Metascore:
74
User Score:
7.3
In Darkness 83.

In Darkness

February 10, 2012 | R
In Darkness is based on a true story. Leopold Socha, a sewer worker and petty thief in Lvov, a Nazi occupied city in Poland, one day encounters a group of Jews trying to escape the liquidation of the ghetto. He hides them for money in the labyrinth of the town’s sewers beneath the bustling activity of the city above. What starts out as a straightforward and cynical business arrangement turns into something very unexpected, the unlikely alliance between Socha and the Jews as the enterprise seeps deeper into Socha’s conscience. The film is also an extraordinary story of survival as these men, women and children all try to outwit certain death during 14 months of ever increasing and intense danger. [Sony Pictures Classics]
Metascore:
74
User Score:
7.0
Neil Young Journeys 84.

Neil Young Journeys

June 29, 2012 | PG
This past May, Neil Young brought his solo tour to Toronto's Massey Hall, an iconic venue in the city of his birth.
Metascore:
74
User Score:
5.0
Starlet 85.

Starlet

November 9, 2012 | Not Rated
Starlet explores the unlikely friendship between 21 year-old aspiring actress Jane and elderly widow Sadie after their worlds collide in California's San Fernando Valley. Jane spends her time getting high with her dysfunctional roommates and taking care of her Chihuahua Starlet, while Sadie passes her days alone, tending to her garden. After a confrontation at a yard sale, Jane finds something unexpected in a relic from Sadie's past. Her curiosity piqued, she tries to befriend the caustic older woman. Secrets emerge as their relationship grows, revealing that nothing is ever as it seems. [Music Box Films]
Metascore:
74
User Score:
6.6
Rust and Bone 86.

Rust and Bone

November 23, 2012 | R
Put in charge of his young son, Ali leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Ali's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.
Metascore:
73
User Score:
7.9
Arbitrage 87.

Arbitrage

September 14, 2012 | R
When we first meet New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Miller on the eve of his 60th birthday, he appears the very portrait of success in American business and family life. But behind the gilded walls of his mansion, Miller is in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before the depths of his fraud are revealed. Struggling to conceal his duplicity from loyal wife Ellen and brilliant daughter and heir-apparent Brooke, Miller's also balancing an affair with French art-dealer Julie Cote. Just as he's about to unload his troubled empire, an unexpected bloody error forces him to juggle family, business, and crime with the aid of Jimmy Grant, a face from Miller's past. One wrong turn ignites the suspicions of NYPD Detective Michael Bryer, who will stop at nothing in his pursuits. Running on borrowed time, Miller is forced to confront the limits of even his own moral duplicity. Will he make it out before the bubble bursts? (Roadside Attractions)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
6.9
The Raid: Redemption 88.

The Raid: Redemption

March 23, 2012 | Not Rated
A Swat team arrives at a rundown apartment block with a mission to remove its owner, a notorious drug lord named Tama. The building has never been raided before, never been touched by police. Seen as a no go zone it has since become a sanctuary to killers, gangs, rapists and thieves seeking accommodation in the one place they know they cannot be touched. Making their move in the break of dawn the swat team work their way up the building under cover of silence. But when a chance encounter with a spotter blows their cover and with news of their assault traveling to Tama in his penthouse suite the building is locked down with all lights out and all exits blocked. Stranded on the 6th floor the swat team must fight their way through every floor and every room not just to complete their mission but to survive. (Merantau Films)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
8.1
The Impossible 89.

The Impossible

December 21, 2012 | PG-13
An account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time.
Metascore:
73
User Score:
7.8
The Pirates! Band of Misfits 90.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

April 27, 2012 | PG
In The Pirates! Band of Misfits, the luxuriantly bearded Pirate Captain – a boundlessly enthusiastic, if somewhat less-than-successful, terror of the High Seas. With a rag-tag crew at his side, and seemingly blind to the impossible odds stacked against him, the Captain has one dream: to beat his bitter rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz to the much coveted Pirate Of The Year Award. It’s a quest that takes our heroes from the shores of exotic Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London. Along the way they battle a diabolical queen and team up with a haplessly smitten young scientist, but never lose sight of what a pirate loves best: adventure! (Columbia Pictures)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
7.0
The Forgiveness of Blood 91.

The Forgiveness of Blood

February 24, 2012 | Not Rated
Nik is a carefree teenager in a small town with a crush on the school beauty and ambitions to start his own internet café. His world is suddenly up-ended when his father and uncle become entangled in a land dispute that leaves a fellow villager murdered. According to a centuries-old code of law, this entitles the dead man's family to take the life of a male from Nik's family as retribution. His uncle in jail and his father in hiding, Nik is the prime target and confined to the home while his younger sister Rudina is forced to leave school and take over their father's business. (Sundance Selects)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
6.5
Indie Game: The Movie 92.

Indie Game: The Movie

May 18, 2012 | Not Rated
After two years of painstaking work, designer Edmund McMillen and programmer Tommy Refenes await the release of their first major game for Xbox, Super Meat Boy—the adventures of a skinless boy in search of his girlfriend, who is made of bandages. At PAX, a major video-game expo, developer Phil Fish unveils his highly anticipated, four-years-in-the-making FEZ. Jonathan Blow considers beginning a new game after creating Braid, one of the highest-rated games of all time. First-time filmmaking duo Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky capture the emotional journey of these meticulously obsessive artists who devote their lives to their interactive art. Four developers, three games, and one ultimate goal— to express oneself through a video game. (BlinkWorks Media)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
8.2
Declaration of War 93.

Declaration of War

January 27, 2012 | Not Rated
Roméo and Juliette are two young actors. They fall in love at first sight, move in together and make a baby. A love story and the founding of a home like millions of others. Except that their little boy, Adam, behaves abnormally. The young parents try hard to persuade themselves that everything is okay but, with the passing of time, they cannot delude themselves anymore; their son has problems. Their fears are unfortunately confirmed: Adam suffers from a malignant brain tumor. From then on, they declare war. A war against illness. A war against death. A war against despair. (Wild Bunch Distribution)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
4.0
Whores' Glory 94.

Whores' Glory

April 20, 2012 | Not Rated
Whores' Glory is an explicit and unflinching exposé of global prostitution. In Bangkok, Thailand, women punch a clock and wait for clients in a brightly lit glass box; in the red-light district of Faridpur, Bangladesh, a madam haggles over the price of a teenage girl; and in the border town of Reynosa, Mexico, crack-addicted women pray to a deity named Lady Death. (Kino Lorber)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
8.1
Planet of Snail 95.

Planet of Snail

July 25, 2012 | Not Rated
Young-Chan is an accomplished poet who can no longer hear or see. He communicates with his wife Soon-Ho through finger braille, a unique form of communication where words are tapped on each other's hands. They rely on one another completely; even simple domestic tasks require complex collaboration and everyday moments that most of us hardly notice become tender shared experiences. (Cinema Guild)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
tbd
Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God 96.

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God

November 16, 2012
Alex Gibney examines the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all the way to the Vatican.
Metascore:
73
User Score:
7.8
A Royal Affair 97.

A Royal Affair

November 9, 2012 | R
A Royal Affair is the true story of an ordinary man who wins the queen's heart and starts a revolution. Centering on the intriguing love triangle between the ever more insane Danish King Christian VII (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), the royal physician who is a man of enlightenment and idealism Struensee and the young but strong Queen Caroline Mathilda, A Royal Affair is the gripping tale of brave idealists who risk everything in their pursuit of freedom for their people… Above all it is the story of a passionate and forbidden romance that changed an entire nation. (Magnolia Pictures)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
7.7
Attenberg 98.

Attenberg

March 9, 2012 | Not Rated
Part of the new wave of Greek cinema, Attenberg is an offbeat coming-of-age film. 23-year-old Marina is living in a small, factory town by the sea where her once-visionary architect father, has returned to die. Finding the human species foreign, she keeps her distance, choosing to observe mankind through Sir David Attenborough’s mammal documentaries and the songs of Suicide. While preparing for her father’s impending death, Marina discovers her own sexuality through lessons from her only friend, Bella, and a visiting engineer. Equal parts abstract theater and melodrama, Attenberg sincerely and humorously navigates the defining moments in life. (Strand Releasing)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
6.8
Knuckleball! 99.

Knuckleball!

September 21, 2012 | Not Rated
The film follows the Major League’s only knuckleballers in 2011, Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey, as they pursue a mercurial art form in a world that values speed, accuracy, and numerical accountability. (FilmBuff)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
tbd
Sing Your Song 100.

Sing Your Song

January 13, 2012
Groundbreaking singer, actor and activist Harry Belafonte rose to fame in the U.S. in spite of segregation, and crossed over into mainstream America on his way to international stardom. His hit 1956 album "Calypso" made him the first artist in industry history to sell over a million LPs, and spawned the smash single "Banana Boat (Day-O)." Though recognized with Grammy, Tony and Emmy awards, Belafonte was blacklisted, harassed by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), spied on by the CIA and FBI, and threatened by the Klan, state troopers and Las Vegas mafia bosses. Distilled from more than 700 hours of interviews, eyewitness accounts, movie clips, excerpts from FBI files, and news and rare archival film footage and stills, some of which has never been seen before, Sing Your Song reveals Belafonte as a tenacious hands-on activist who worked intimately with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mobilized celebrities for social justice, participated in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and took action to counter gang violence, prisons and the incarceration of youth. (HBO Films)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
5.8

Titles with fewer than 7 critic reviews are excluded.