All Articles

What stands out first about Cocktail is the confidence with which Homi Adajania establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Cocktail asks Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Cocktail is established with useful clarity: A love triangle between a guy and two girls, who are best friends but the complete opposite of one another. That direct approach lets Cocktail use its 2h 26m running time f

What stands out first about For a Good Time, Call... is the confidence with which Jamie Travis establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, For a Good Time, Call... asks Ari Graynor and Lauren Miller Rogen to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of For a Good Time, Call... is established with useful clarity: Former college frenemies Lauren and Katie move into a fabulous Gramercy Park apartment, and in order to make ends meet, the

What stands out first about The Other Son is the confidence with which Lorraine Lévy establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Other Son asks Emmanuelle Devos and Pascal Elbé to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Other Son is established with useful clarity: Two young men, one Israeli and one Palestinian, discover they were accidentally switched at birth. That direct approach lets The Other Son use its 1h 45m runnin

What stands out first about Chasing Ice is the confidence with which Jeff Orlowski Yang establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Chasing Ice asks James Balog and Svavar Jónatansson to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Chasing Ice is established with useful clarity: Follow National Geographic photographer James Balog across the Arctic as he deploys time lapse cameras designed for one purpose: to capture a multi year

What stands out first about Wadjda is the confidence with which Haifaa Al Mansour establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Wadjda asks Waad Mohammed and Reem Abdullah to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Wadjda is established with useful clarity: An enterprising Saudi girl signs on for her school's Koran recitation competition as a way to raise the remaining funds she needs in order to buy the green bicycle that has capt

What stands out first about Girl Most Likely is the confidence with which Shari Springer Berman establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Girl Most Likely asks Kristen Wiig and Annette Bening to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Girl Most Likely is established with useful clarity: A failed New York playwright awkwardly navigates the transition from Next Big Thing to Last Year's News. That direct approach lets Girl Most Li

What stands out first about Marley is the confidence with which Kevin Macdonald establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Marley asks Bob Marley and Ziggy Marley to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Marley is established with useful clarity: A documentary on the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley. That direct approach lets Marley use its 2h 24m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence. ⁠ At story lev

What stands out first about Disconnect is the confidence with which Henry Alex Rubin establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Disconnect asks Jason Bateman and Jonah Bobo to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Disconnect is established with useful clarity: A drama centered on a group of people searching for human connections in today's wired world. That direct approach lets Disconnect use its 1h 55m running time for char

What stands out first about Kon Tiki is the confidence with which Joachim Rønning establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Kon Tiki asks Pål Sverre Hagen and Anders Baasmo to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Kon Tiki is established with useful clarity: In 1947, with five loyal friends in tow, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sails a fragile balsa wood raft along an ancient path some 4,300 miles across the Pacific. Th

What stands out first about A Royal Affair is the confidence with which Nikolaj Arcel establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, A Royal Affair asks Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of A Royal Affair is established with useful clarity: A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician and together they start a revolution that changes a nation for

What stands out first about Bless Me, Ultima is the confidence with which Carl Franklin establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Bless Me, Ultima asks Luke Ganalon and Joseph A. Garcia to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Bless Me, Ultima is established with useful clarity: A drama set in New Mexico during WWII, centered on the relationship between a young man and an elderly medicine woman who helps him conte

What stands out first about A Late Quartet is the confidence with which Yaron Zilberman establishes its music drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, A Late Quartet asks Philip Seymour Hoffman and Christopher Walken to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of A Late Quartet is established with useful clarity: Members of a world renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos, and insuppressible lust. That