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The divorce of one’s parents can be difficult, but more so when that relationship is messy and emotionally fraught. And when the parent one ends up living with turns out to be homophobic, it’s so much harder to accept the possibility of not being straight. Stephen Dunn’s film feature debut Closet Monster is centered around this experience, one inspired by Dunn growing up in Canada, and while the symbolism is on the nose, the emotions feel real, maybe even too real. On top of the fear of not being accepted, there’s the resentment of being left behind, the disdain towards the adults who should know better, and the fear of becoming exactly like them. Closet Monster doesn’t shy away from these difficult feelings, even when it does so through the whimsical way Oscar imagines talking to his pet hamster.

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Mystery

Actor: Aaron Abrams, Aliocha Schneider, Connor Jessup, Isabella Rossellini, Jack Fulton, James Hawksley, Joanne Kelly, Jonathan Watton, Marthe Bernard, Mary Walsh, Sofia Banzhaf

Director: Stephen Dunn

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Christine is about Christine Chubbuck, an awkward and complex reporter who was the first person ever to commit suicide on live TV.

Rebecca Hall is terrific as Chubbuck and goes to great lengths to communicate the personality of her subject matter. The movie might seem slow at times, and her acting off, but it’ll all make sense once she immerses you in the complex reality of the character.

An interesting story and an incredible performance.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Alexandra Paul, Allan Cox, Angela Ray, Anissa Matlock, Anthony Triceri, Antonio Campos, Carl Palmer, David Alexander, Hannah Black, Ian Covell, J. Smith-Cameron, James Rackley, Jayson Warner Smith, John Cullum, John Newberg, John Stockwell, Keith Gordon, Kim Shaw, Kimberley Drummond, Lindsay Ayliffe, Maria Dizzia, Masey McLain, Meghan Strange, Michael C. Hall, Morgan Spector, Rachel Hendrix, Rebecca Hall, Rebecca Koon, Ritchie Montgomery, Robert Prosky, Stacy Hall, Susan Pourfar, Susie Spear Purcell, Timothy Simons, Tracy Letts, Wayne Hughes

Director: Antonio Campos, John Carpenter

Rating: R

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Set in the British colonial era, Captain Miller is more unapologetically violent than its counterparts, but it’s not mindlessly so. Sure, the film has plenty of spectacle with numerous battles between townsfolk versus British colonialists, some scenes having gruesome, gory deaths. But in between these battles is Dhanush as the central character, contemplating the oppression from his fellow countrymen, the dignity denied to him from both the colony and more privileged locals, and the choices he chooses to make in spite of this. It’s not a straightforward bad versus good anti-colonial film like RRR, and it may not be as emotionally compelling, but Captain Miller is certainly a unique take on British colonialism with all of director Arun Matheswaran’s signature style.

Genre: Action, Adventure, War

Actor: Abdool Lee, Aditi Balan, Alexx O'Nell, Ashwin Kumar, Bose Venkat, Dhanush, Edward Sonnenblick, Elango Kumaravel, Jayaprakash, John Kokken, Kaali Venkat, Mark Bennington, Nivedhithaa Sathish, Priyanka Arul Mohan, Shivaraj Kumar, Sumesh Moor, Sundeep Kishan, Swayam Siddha, Vijay Kumar, Viji Chandrasekhar, Vinoth Kishan

Director: Arun Matheswaran

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Much like its monster, Brotherhood of the Wolf is quite a hard movie to pin down. It’s an unscary French creature feature but it's a rather refreshing period drama romance, made much more action-packed courtesy of a randomly placed, supposedly Iroquois, talented martial artist. Yet somehow, it works. Perhaps it works because it was released ahead of many other early aughts action horror films, and perhaps, at CGI’s infancy, it’s a bit easier to suspend disbelief over the wolf, but the wacky experimentation writer-director Christophe Gans brings in depicting this historical beast is just so entertaining to watch. Brotherhood of the Wolf is just pure bonkers.

Genre: Action, Adventure, History, Horror

Actor: Bernard Farcy, Charles Maquignon, Edith Scob, Émilie Dequenne, Gaëlle Cohen, Gaspard Ulliel, Hans Meyer, Jacques Perrin, Jean Yanne, Jean-François Stévenin, Jean-Paul Farré, Jérémie Renier, Johan Leysen, Mark Dacascos, Monica Bellucci, Pascal Laugier, Philippe Nahon, Samuel Le Bihan, Vincent Cassel, Virginie Darmon

Director: Christophe Gans

Rating: R

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What would it take to push you to kill? Thankfully, for the general public, modern everyday life would not likely push you to (so far), but in certain circumstances, people might be surprised at the lengths they’re willing to go to for their loved ones. Brawl in Cell Block 99 depicts a man pushed into those circumstances, and thus director S. Craig Zahler takes this to extremely violent ends, with blood gushing and bones crushing all to save his family. Plotwise, Brawl in Cell Block 99 would be typical prison film fare, but fans of Vince Vaughn would appreciate his performance here.

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Actor: Bill Anagnos, Brian Wiles, Clark Johnson, Dan Amboyer, Dion Mucciacito, Don Johnson, Fred Melamed, Gabriel Sloyer, Geno Segers, Jay Hieron, Jennifer Carpenter, Marc Blucas, Michael Medeiros, Mike Hodge, Mustafa Shakir, Peter Jay Fernandez, Philip Ettinger, Pooja Kumar, Rob Morgan, Tom Guiry, Tuffy Questell, Udo Kier, Vince Vaughn, Willie C. Carpenter

Director: S. Craig Zahler

Rating: Not Rated, NR

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While the world has gotten used to the many variants of the Romeo and Juliet story, Bombay was controversial upon its release, due to the story being centered on an interreligious marriage between a Hindu man and a Muslim woman– it led to bans in at least two countries, and to at least two homemade bombs thrown at the director’s house. The main Muslim leading lady was also portrayed by Nepali Hindu actress, Manisha Koirala, and there’s a bit of a bias with the way certain real-life events were portrayed. Despite this, Bombay still managed to captivate the country, with writer-director Mani Ratman skillfully holding our empathy for the two lovers, integrating their personal relationship in the context of the wider social issues that was shifting India at the time, and doing it all through its dynamic shots, excellent performances, and the spectacular soundtracks. It’s because of this Bombay is remembered as an ambitious masterpiece and commercial success, becoming one of the highest grossing Tamil films ever made.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Arvind Swamy, Kitty, M. V. Vasudeva Rao, Manisha Koirala, Nagendra Prasad, Nassar, Prakash Raj, Priya, Rohini, Sonali Bendre, Tinnu Anand

Director: Mani Ratnam

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Of course, with wartime spy romances, it’s expected to have conflicted desire, twisty betrayals, and the internal war between personal love and national duty. Black Book delivers this in spades, infusing the drama with writer-director Paul Verhoeven’s propensity for sex and violence, which he brings back to his homeland after two decades apart. The drama is well-made, especially with the talented Carice van Houten as a survival-first composite spy character inspired by several resistance members, but the familiar plot, the melodrama, and the pacing can make the 2 and a half hour runtime feel a bit tedious for some viewers. Still, for fans of the genre, Black Book isn’t a terrible choice to watch.

Genre: Drama, Thriller, War

Actor: Bert Luppes, Carice van Houten, Christian Berkel, Derek de Lint, Diana Dobbelman, Dolf de Vries, Frank Lammers, Garrick Hagon, Gijs Naber, Halina Reijn, Hugo Metsers, Johnny de Mol, Marcel Musters, Marisa van Eyle, Matthias Schoenaerts, Menno van Beekum, Merel Pauw, Michiel Huisman, Mike Reus, Nolan Hemmings, Peter Blok, Pieter Tiddens, Ronald Armbrust, Sebastian Koch, Theo Maassen, Thom Hoffman, Timothy Deenihan, Waldemar Kobus, Xander Straat

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Rating: R

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Many movies try to be nostalgic, but few have come as close as Between the Temples. Directed by Nathan Silver, it channels classics like The Graduate, Harold and Maude, and early Woody Allen dramedies without trying too hard. It has the grain, patina, and camera movements of 60s and 70s movies, and its central love story--though not quite shocking now--might’ve been subversive then. But more than just a pleasant trip to the past, Between the Temples is a reassuring film about the deep and healing bond two people can forge amidst grief and loneliness. It also tackles faith and tradition without being preachy or stifling. Many scenes can feel overwhelming, but the moments after feel cathartic, even if—as in religion and as in life—they rarely give you a sure answer.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Annie Hamilton, Carol Kane, Caroline Aaron, Dolly de Leon, Jason Schwartzman, Lindsay Burdge, Matthew Shear, Pauline Chalamet, Robert Smigel, Stephen Lack

Director: Nathan Silver

Rating: R

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In this day and age, it thankfully has become less risky to come out as gay, due to the struggle of many LGBTQ+ people from the past. However, this struggle was hard won– while gay people were persecuted in the Nazi regime, it was only until decades later people started to discuss it, and one reason why research and education about it increased was due to the play Bent, depicted in film in 1997. The screen version admittedly falters compared to the West End original, with static staging and focus on the dialogue over action, but the performances are fairly decent, with an unexpected collection of cast members that maximize each moment they’re in. It’s quite depressing, and sometimes heavy handed, but Bent is a needed perspective.

Genre: Drama, History, Romance

Actor: Brian Webber, Clive Owen, Crispian Belfrage, David Meyer, David Phelan, Geraldine Sherman, Gresby Nash, Holly Davidson, Ian McKellen, Johanna Kirby, Jude Law, Lothaire Bluteau, Lou Gish, Mick Jagger, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Paul Bettany, Paul Kynman, Peter Stark, Rachel Weisz, Richard Laing, Rupert Graves, Rupert Penry-Jones, Sadie Frost, Stefan Marling, Suzanne Bertish

Director: Sean Mathias

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This quirky 1988 adventure drama is newly available on Amazon Prime. It’s the classic that never was, the story of a rundown gas station motel in the Southern US where a lonely West German lady called Jasmin Munchgstettner ends up by accident.

The owner of the operation, a short-tempered woman by the name of Brenda, doesn’t really take to Jasmin. However, the longer the West German guest stays at the motel, the more a friendship forms between the two.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Alan S. Craig, Apesanahkwat, CCH Pounder, Christine Kaufmann, Darron Flagg, G. Smokey Campbell, Gary Lee Davis, George Aguilar, Hans Stadlbauer, Jack Palance, Marianne Sägebrecht, Mark Daneri, Monica Calhoun, Ray Young, Ronald Lee Jarvis

Director: Percy Adlon

Rating: PG

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From early footage of country-folk threshing their crops to blissed-out clubbers at a rave, there is a mesmerizing, insistent sense of rhythm and motion to Arcadia. Director Paul Wright has curated an astonishing array of archive material for this feature-length video montage examining the British and their sometimes uneasy relationship with the land.

Cut together in loosely chronological order, the footage is enigmatic, seductive, and disturbing, set to a haunting soundtrack from Adrian Utley of Portishead and Will Gregory of Goldfrapp. Watching Arcadia is hypnotic, like wading into the uncertain waters of time with a head full of shrooms. And that’s definitely a good thing.

Genre: Documentary

Actor: Ian Sexon

Director: Paul Wright

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A character study in the absolute purest sense, Anne at 13,000 Ft. doesn't even have the kind of satisfying closure one would expect from any story, nor does it explain anything about its protagonist's difficult, erratic behavior in the context of mental health. It's an exercise in testing how much empathy a character can earn solely on account of their being a human being having a hard time. Appropriately, the filmmaking on display makes for a deliberately uncomfortable experience, with tension ratcheting up in practically every given situation, enhanced by the fact that director Kazik Radwanski and star Deragh Campbell improvised much of the movie as they were making it.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Deragh Campbell, Dorothea Paas, Helly Chester, Joseph Simon, Lawrene Denkers, Lisa Aitken, Matt Johnson, Michael Kuthe, Suzanne Pratley, Tiffany Blom

Director: Kazik Radwanski

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As long as you don’t take it too seriously and see it for the silly ‘80s comedy that it is, then A Fish Called Wanda comes as a pleasantly hilarious way to pass the time. The heist doesn’t make much sense but the farce the characters put on is as delightfully silly as they come. There are traces of Cleese’s Monty Python sketch humor here, as you’ll see in the puns and the wild physical gags he makes, and Curtis proves that comedy is her true calling. But some of the best parts of the movie are when the British characters rib with the Americans—it’s a classic feud, one you won’t help but laugh at, regardless of where you’re coming from.

Genre: Comedy, Crime

Actor: Al Hunter Ashton, Andrew MacLachlan, Cynthia Cleese, David Simeon, Geoffrey Palmer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jeremy Child, John Cleese, Kate Lansbury, Ken Campbell, Kevin Kline, Llewellyn Rees, Maria Aitken, Mark Elwes, Michael Palin, Michael Percival, Neville Phillips, Pamela Miles, Patricia Hayes, Peter Jonfield, Robert Putt, Roger Brierley, Roger Hume, Roland MacLeod, Sharon Marino, Stephen Fry, Tom Georgeson

Director: Charles Crichton

Rating: R

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There are certain things in a family that are kept secret from kids, especially when it paints the parents in a negative light. One such secret is that a parent betrayed the other, leading to the existence of another family. A Family Thing takes that secret in Arkansas, in a story of two brothers divided by race, that is more common than acknowledged in America. While the film could have delved deeper into the divide, Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones deliver great performances, crafting brotherhood slowly bridged by curiosity, despite its difficult beginnings. A Family Thing is an underrated family drama that could've gone wrong, but it works because of the writing and the performances.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: David Keith, Grace Zabriskie, Irma P. Hall, Jacqueline Williams, James Earl Jones, Mary Jackson, Meg Thalken, Michael Beach, Paula Marshall, Phillip Edward Van Lear, Reggie Hayes, Regina Taylor, Richard Lexsee, Robert Duvall, Rufus Thomas, Xander Berkeley

Director: Richard Pearce

Rating: PG-13

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TV reporter documenting a day with a local fire crew, they encounter a deadly virus trapped in a tower block. This film is bloody brilliant! Innovative camera work and a simple idea perfectly executed. When I watched this, I was alone in the dark and ended up constantly jumping around with fright and excitement. A real wake up for other horror filmmakers, Hollywood hasn't come close to anything like this.

Genre: Horror, Mystery

Actor: Akemi Goto, Ana Isabel Velásquez, Ben Temple, Carlos Lasarte, Carlos Vicente, Claudia Silva, David Vert, Ferran Terraza, Jana Prats, Javier Botet, Javier Coromina, Jorge-Yamam Serrano, Kao Chen-Min, Kao Chenmin, Manuel Bronchud, Manuela Velasco, Maria Lanau, Maria Teresa Ortega, Marita Borrego, Martha Carbonell, Pablo Rosso, Vicente Gil, Víctor Massagué

Director: Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza

Rating: R

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