In response to violence, some people consider aggression as the only solution, especially in a place that cannot rely on institutions– fighting fire with fire, but fighting for the good. Tyrannosaur depicts a British town with men that only operate on a mix of this idea, but this rage becomes relentless, unceasing, and never lies to rest, oftentimes at the expense of those more vulnerable around them. The debut feature from indie anti-hero actor Paddy Considine is downright depressing and it’s not an easy watch, but there’s no denying that Tyrannosaur feels incredibly personal and the stellar performances from the three leads makes this bleak drama so compelling to watch.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Archie Lal, Eddie Marsan, Julia Mallam, Lee Rufford, Ned Dennehy, Olivia Colman, Paul Popplewell, Peter Mullan, Sally Carman, Samuel Bottomley, Sian Breckin

Director: Paddy Considine

Rating: NR

How is it possible to fit a whole lifetime into a movie? Mira Nair’s The Namesake, an adaptation of Jhumpa Lahiri’s beloved novel, excels in doing so, gliding through the book’s plot with ease, but it’s done in a subtle and straightforward way that makes it feel less complex than it really is. The scenes take peeks into the lives of the Ganguli family, but each scene holds emotional weight, subtly mirroring the past, hinting at important moments relayed from the distance of time (like when Ashoke reveals his reason to leave India) or of space (like when every news is relayed by phone call). The cast holds that weight in their performances, especially in the lovely, if not physically affectionate, marriage between Ashoke and Ashima. All of this makes The Namesake an incredibly touching portrait of an Indian immigrant family.

Genre: Drama, Family

Actor: Amy Wright, Baylen Thomas, Benjamin Bauman, Bobby Steggert, Brooke Smith, Dan McCabe, Dhruv Mookerji, Gary Cowling, Glenne Headly, Gretchen Egolf, Heather MacRae, Irrfan Khan, Jacinda Barrett, Jeb Brown, Jessica Blank, Jhumpa Lahiri, Jo Yang, Josh Grisetti, Kal Penn, Kharaj Mukherjee, Linus Roache, Maximiliano Hernandez, Michael Countryman, Ruma Guha Thakurta, Rupak Ginn, Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Sahira Nair, Sebastian Roché, Stuart Rudin, Sukanya, Supriya Choudhury, Tabu, Tamal Ray Chowdhury, Tanusree Shankar, Zuleikha Robinson

Director: Mira Nair

In 1966, Elizabeth Taylor and her friends recorded themselves talking about the ups and downs of her life. These candid conversations are the basis of The Lost Tapes, a revealing tell-all that allows Taylor to set the record straight in her own words. Here, you get to see and hear the many parts of Taylor--her romanticism, activism, and passion, as well as her fun banter with the journalists, friends, and lovers who alternately interview her. Of course, the downside to having Taylor and her loved ones narrate a biography is you only get one side of the story, while the thornier parts of her life are skated over. Things like child labor and having to play a married-24-year-old at 16 years old, or being physically abused and suffering a miscarriage, these are things Taylor, and therefore the documentary, shy away from expounding. But while it may not be the definitive documentary on Taylor, it certainly is the most personal and intimate. It also serves as a reminder of how we’d all like to be remembered—in our own and our cherished friends’ words.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor, George Hamilton, John Heyman, Richard Burton, Roddy McDowall, Samuel Marx

Director: Nanette Burstein

Rating: R

Many films have been made about that uniquely taut mother-daughter bond, but maybe none is as delicate as Janet Planet. The film, written and directed by playwright and first-time filmmaker Annie Baker, explores that relationship in a way that may jar viewers, initially. The pauses are heavy and long as Baker lingers on mood, expressions, and the tiniest of details, like a flicker of light or a sudden movement. There are more scenes without dialogue than with it. The plot is also nonexistent as it simply follows Lacy and Janet for the whole summer, and a little during the fall. But that’s not the point. The point is that we can feel that palpable love-hate tension between mother and daughter, and relate to it too. You only need to know where to look.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Elias Koteas, Julianne Nicholson, Mary Shultz, Sophie Okonedo, Will Patton, Zoe Ziegler

Director: Annie Baker

Rating: PG-13

Anthology films are interesting because it’s not just one film on screen– it’s multiple stories, one after the other, that might have different plots, but share similar themes, ideas, and styles that the filmmaker(/s) would like to display. Involuntary does have five separate short films, but rather than play one by one, writer-director Ruben Östlund chops them up and alternates between them, starting with small instances where the group pushes someone into a behavior, then eventually escalating and accelerating into much more difficult consequences. This makes for a very slow start to the one and a half hour film, but it also allows Östlund some scope, with this simple group dynamic directly affecting larger ideas such as public morality, masculinity, and high-risk behavior in teens amongst others.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Cecilia Milocco, Henrik Vikman, Leif Edlund, Leif Ericson, Linnea Cart-Lamy, Lola Ewerlund, Maria Lundqvist, Olle Liljas, Sara Eriksson, Simeon Nordius, Vera Vitali, Villmar Björkman

Director: Ruben Östlund

When adapting a novel, sometimes the book is too long to fit into a whole feature, so filmmakers would create a multi-part film series, or they would cut down just enough to fit a feature length runtime without sacrificing the main points of the novel. Coming Home is a love story where a devoted couple still commit to their bond despite imprisonment, distance, and even failing memory, and in Zhang Yimou’s hands, the direction, structure, and execution definitely tug at the heartstrings. However, this is only the last part of Geling Yan’s original novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi. Zhang may have only been moved by the devotion Yan’s grandparents held for each other, and, to be fair, this devotion is quite moving. However, curiosity remains for the beginning of Lu’s journey– the whole reason and purpose Lu chose to act in ways that warranted his arrest.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Chen Daoming, Chen Xiaoyi, Ding Jiali, Gong Li, Guo Tao, Liu Peiqi, Xin Baiqing, Yan Ni, Zhang Huiwen, Zhang Jiayi, Zu Feng

Director: Zhang Yimou

Rating: PG-13

Activism is never easy, especially when there is scant information available and when public opinion is set against you. The Normal Heart captures the struggle for gay men during the AIDS crisis, and director Ryan Murphy infuses Larry Kramer’s original play with the melodramatic tendencies Murphy has, but for a cause such as this, an epidemic that might have calmed down in the public imagination but still active today, Murphy’s propensity for the trauma and the pain and Kramer’s script honors their activism, especially at its most emotionally heavy moments. The Normal Heart isn’t perfect, it’s even downright depressing, but it strikes true with the anger and sorrow the gay community needed to hold for decades.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Adam B. Shapiro, Alfred Molina, Armand Schultz, BD Wong, Catherine Chadwick, Chris Sullivan, Corey Brill, Corey Stoll, Danielle Ferland, Denis O'Hare, Eden Marryshow, Finn Wittrock, Francois Battiste, Frank De Julio, Jim Parsons, Joe Lanza, Joe Mantello, John Mainieri, Jonathan Groff, Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer, Patrick Woodall, Rebecca Watson, Remy Auberjonois, Richard Prioleau, Scott Johnsen, Stephen Spinella, Taylor Kitsch, William DeMeritt

Director: Ryan Murphy

Horror novels scare readers through the power of their imaginations, but sometimes, adapting these words straight on screen limits the fear factor. That’s what happened with Lumberjack the Monster. While the film crescendos nicely into the intense graphic violence director Takashi Miike is known for, the introduction is a bit shaky, alternating between the cops and protagonist Akira Ninomiya without a neat balance, and having to reveal key points of the mystery only through dialogue. The film does still retain some of novelist Mayusuke Kurai’s contemplations about the consequences of clinical psychopaths placed in critical roles, but Lumberjack the Monster feels a tad too uneven.

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Actor: Ariei Umefune, Chigusa Yasuzawa, Hinami Mori, Katsuya Kobayashi, Kazuya Kamenashi, Keisuke Horibe, Kentaro Furuyama, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Masatoshi Kihara, Masayuki Deai, Minosuke, Nanao, Reon Yuzuki, Riho Yoshioka, Ryushin Tei, Shidô Nakamura, Shota Sometani, Yasushi Kimura

Director: Takashi Miike

Rating: R

Mountain Queen isn’t just a movie about a professional mountain climber, although Lhakpa Sherpa is certainly impressive as she trudges through the deathly terrain of Everest (and at 50 years old at that!). It’s also the heartbreaking story of a broken family in repair. Sherpa reveals shocking details about her abusive husband, fellow climber Gheorghe Dijmărescu, and we see how it’s affected her two daughters, one of which is so hurt, she can’t bring herself to speak to her mother. The main thread of the movie is her 10th attempt to scale the tallest peak in the world, but Director Lucy Walker smartly intercuts this with tales of Sherpa’s own life—a laborious obstacle on its own—rightfully framing Sherpa as the strong woman that she is.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Lhakpa Sonam Sherpa, Shiny Dijmarescu, Sunny Dijmarescu

Director: Lucy Walker

Rating: R