There are moments in cinema when the character and actor are irrevocably linked– to think of one is to think of the other, to the point that the line is blurred between both. One such pair is Spock and Leonard Nimoy, and, after his death, it was inevitable that the documentary about Nimoy would also be a documentary about Spock. For the Love of Spock is the first of two Nimoy documentaries, made by his son Adam, and it’s a lovely tribute to the iconic sci-fi legend that shifted the entire genre and the fan culture that emerged, but it was also a personal film where the family reckons with the fame that occurred as a result. Superfans might not learn that much about Spock (some of them are interviewed in the film), but For the Love of Spock is an excellent profile, even if it’s not as objective and logical as the character itself.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Adam Nimoy, Avery Brooks, Barry Newman, Bill Prady, Bobak Ferdowsi, Brooke Adams, Catherine Hicks, Chris Pine, Christopher Lloyd, D.C. Fontana, Diana Ewing, Donald Sutherland, George Takei, J.J. Abrams, James Arness, James Doohan, James Duff, Jason Alexander, Jeanne Bal, Jeffrey Hunter, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Jill Ireland, Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Karl Urban, Leonard Nimoy, Liam Neeson, Majel Barrett, Mayim Bialik, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Nichelle Nichols, Nicholas Meyer, Peter Duryea, Simon Pegg, Ted Danson, Terry Farrell, Tom Selleck, Walter Koenig, William Shatner, William Windom, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana

Director: Adam Nimoy

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.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Ben Van den Heuvel, Ella-June Henrard, Eva van der Gucht, Jelle Florizoone, Luk Wyns, Mathias Vergels, Nathan Naenen, Patricia Goemaere, Thomas Coumans

Director: Bavo Defurne

Rating: NR

Before Wong Kar Wai made his signature romantic dramas, he first made his directorial debut As Tears Go By, a film that wouldn’t be out of place in the crime and action flicks that characterized 1980s cinema. There are moments that feel a tad derivative, such as the use of Take My Breath Away from 1986’s Top Gun, and the gangster love triangle reminiscent of Martin Scorcese’s Mean Streets, but Wong’s style starts to peek through with his use of color and light, and of course, the distinctive blurred action that transforms movement into lines. It’s not as sleek as Wong’s better known works, but As Tears Go By is still a good film to watch, marking Wong as one of the biggest names in the then-emerging Hong Kong New Wave.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance

Actor: Alex Man, Andy Lau, Benz Kong To-Hoi, Chan Chi-Fai, Cheung Wing-Cheung, Chow Gam-Kong, Chun Kwai-Bo, Ho Wing-Cheung, Hui Fan, Jacky Cheung, Kam Shan, Lam Kau, Lee Chi-Git, Maggie Cheung, Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk, Pak Yan, Ronald Wong Ban, William Chang Suk-Ping, Wong Aau, Wong Chi-Wai

Director: Wong Kar-wai

This film lays its foundation nicely: it’s got slapstick romance and an absurdly wholesome motivation, and juxtaposes it with a murder plot, telling you right away the kind of movie you’re going to get. Its mystery aspect is intertwined with comedy, and its comedy stems from an avoidance of direct confrontation, while being so casual with death. The combinations give the movie an exciting and comforting feeling, even with the awkward wrinkles and vaguely ominous pop of red and warm colors throughout. Still, it suffers from a lot of uneventful fluff and underwhelming payoffs. It's a good thing it's funny, then.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Angela Finocchiaro, Antonino Bruschetta, Christian De Sica, Claudio Colica, Darko Peric, Dharma Mangia Woods, Fioretta Mari

Director: Giovanni Bognetti

This story involves a jealous sister and a boy, which is enough of a foundation for a suspenseful story. Though a bit lacking in depth, onscreen interactions carry a lot of emotional weight and strike the balance of having enough said and unsaid. The upbeat pop hits and casual banter throughout goes a long way to at least break up the film's heavy atmosphere. At its heaviest, it is raw and glorious in its unraveling, placing the ugly side of grief next to the alluring side of envy. But throughout it all, it treats the plot with enough respect to not just be some cheap glorified fantasy.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Alva Bratt, Edvin Ryding, Felicia Truedsson, Ida Engvoll, Mustafa Al-Mashhadani, Zara Larsson

Director: Sigge Eklund

When falling in love with another, or when another person falls in love with you, the relationship is formed by the ideas in your and their heads, specifically about your dynamic, your respective personalities, and the potential outcome of this love. Law of Desire is centered on this idea, unfolding through a chaotic gay love triangle that demonstrates the ways the ideas and fantasies can differ. And as the characters inevitably go through fairly melodramatic reactions when they realize the desires of another person, in the most colorful fashion (literally and figuratively), Pedro Almodóvar creates an amusing and daring examination of the genre it’s inspired by.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Thriller

Actor: Agustín Almodóvar, Alfonso Vallejo, Antonio Banderas, Bibiana Fernandez, Carmen Maura, Eusebio Poncela, Fernando Guillén, Fernando Guillen, Fernando Guillén Cuervo, Germán Cobos, Germán Cobos, Helga Line, Lupe Barrado, Manuela Velasco, Marta Fernandez Muro, Miguel Molina, Nacho Martinez, Pedro Almodóvar, Rossy de Palma, Victoria Abril

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Rating: NC-17

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.

Genre: Crime, Drama, History

Actor: Ajay Devgan, Akhilendra Mishra, Amrita Rao, Bhaswar Chatterjee, D. Santosh, Farida Jalal, Mukesh Tiwari, Raj Babbar, Sitaram Panchal, Sushant Singh, Swaroop Kumar

Director: Rajkumar Santoshi

There are a few instances that prove the merit of one’s friendship, and one of those instances is a roadtrip. Withnail and I is considered one of the greatest British comedies of all time, but there’s a certain melancholy to it, as two unemployed actors have gone on holiday due to an offer from one of their uncles, though this offer doesn’t come without strings, which the titular “I”, Marwood, whose name is never mentioned, has only found out on the trip. As the holiday goes wrong, with the two making the worst of every new situation, the two share somewhat of a dysfunctional, slightly homoerotic relationship, as Withnail deals with everything in the most drunken, unserious manner, and Marwood anxiously realizes how much he’s outgrown their friendship. The film’s humor may be a tad too dry for those outside the country, but cult favorite Withnail and I still resonates with its endlessly quotable lines, memorable scenes, and its bitter understanding of how life can diverge.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Anthony Wise, Daragh O'Malley, Eddie Tagoe, Irene Sutcliffe, Llewellyn Rees, Michael Elphick, Michael Wardle, Noel Johnson, Paul McGann, Ralph Brown, Richard E. Grant, Richard Griffiths, Robert Oates, Una Brandon-Jones

Director: Bruce Robinson

Rating: R

There are horrors in the world that people have faced, and if they survive, they live with the trauma for a long, long time. But what happens when the perpetrator of that trauma has moved on? What happens when they resolve to be better, and pursue a different path? Our Father, the Devil is a psychological drama where an African refugee has to deal with seeing the warlord that once destroyed her entire village, but it unfolds in such a unique way, with the riveting Babetida Sadjo living a split life between her chef and caretaking career in the day, and being tormented by the past at night. It’s a fascinating portrait, one that we haven’t seen in a while, of a traumatized refugee granted the rare opportunity to exact retribution.

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Actor: Babetida Sadjo, Franck Saurel, Jennifer Tchiakpe, Martine Amisse, Souleymane Sy Savane

Director: Ellie Foumbi

Rating: NR

The set starts off rather harmless, as Koy puts over New York as a racially diverse island, and other wholesome sentiments marinated with cussing. He makes a genuine effort to directly connect with his audience, like he’s really lubing them up for something big, but nothing ever comes of it. He just corners his audience into laughing and tells them that laughing is good, and in fairness it kind of works. After a cult-y opening salvo, we get the rest of the Jo Koy staples: the cartoon voices, the patronizing, some questionable stuff. He settles nicely into age-related topics like chronic pains and back-in-the-day diatribes, where his timing and material really come together, and see the performance through to an admittedly abrupt end.

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Jo Koy

Director: Shannon Hartman

Rating: R

While surpassed by the masterpiece Tár, Todd Field already garnered critical acclaim by his first feature debut In The Bedroom all the way back in 2001. The story is a familiar revenge drama that we might have heard from stories from small towns, but the way Field captures it is fascinating, with its challenging, layered dialogue, and the juxtaposed young and old love hinting at both couples’ insecurities, jealousy, and possessiveness, particularly with regards to the potential college graduate Frank has. It’s slow-paced, haunting, and Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek share a sense of heartbreaking intimacy only true couples can wield against each other. In The Bedroom showed us Todd Field’s brilliant filmmaking that we hope to see more soon.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Actor: Celia Weston, Daran Norris, Erin Barksdale, Frank T. Wells, Justin Ashforth, Karen Allen, Kevin Chapman, Marisa Tomei, Nick Stahl, Ronald Russell, Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Veronica Cartwright, William Mapother, William Wise

Director: Todd Field

Rating: R

While the police haven't been getting a good rep in recent years, there were times when cops actually got the job done, and went after the gangs that we individuals can’t. Kang Yun-seong’s narrative feature debut is based on the real-life Yanbian Heuksapa Incident, and what’s interesting is that along with having Ma Dong-seok deliver some of the finest and most entertaining fight scenes, there’s a sense that these cops actually care about people, like when Seok-do urges his boss to be gentle towards their team after having to stay in the office longer, or when he reaches out and works directly with the community. The Outlaws doesn’t transform the genre, but it’s well-written, well-choreographed, and held together through the strength of Ma Dong-seok’s charisma (and arms). It’s no wonder director Kang and Don Lee managed to transform this into a sprawling franchise, something to be akin to Korea’s Fast & Furious.

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Actor: Bae Jin-ah, Cho Jin-woong, Choi Guy-hwa, Choi Gwi-hwa, Geum Gwang-san, Ha Jun, Heo Dong-won, Heo Sung-tae, Hong Gi-jun, Hong Ki-joon, Jeong In-gi, Jeong In-kyeom, Jin Seon-kyu, Jin Sun-kyu, Jo Jae-yun, Kim Koo-taek, Kim Sung-kyu, Lee Kyu-ho, Lim Hyung-jun, Ma Dong-seok, Min Kyung-jin, Min Moo-je, Park Ji-hwan, Uhm Ji-sung, Ye Jung-hwa, Yoo Ji-yeon, Yoon Byung-hee, Yoon Joo, Yoon Kye-sang

Director: Kang Yoon-sung, Kang Yun-sung

Rating: Not Rated