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What stands out first about Frances Ha is the confidence with which Noah Baumbach establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Frances Ha asks Greta Gerwig and Mickey Sumner to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Frances Ha is established with useful clarity: A New York woman apprentices for a dance company and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as the possibility of realizing them dwindles. That direct approach let

What stands out first about Much Ado About Nothing is the confidence with which Joss Whedon establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Much Ado About Nothing asks Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Much Ado About Nothing is established with useful clarity: A modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words. That di

What stands out first about The Apparition is the confidence with which Todd Lincoln establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Apparition asks Ashley Greene and Sebastian Stan to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Apparition is established with useful clarity: A couple is haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment. That direct approach lets The Apparition use its 1h 22m ru

What stands out first about The Company You Keep is the confidence with which Robert Redford establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Company You Keep asks Robert Redford and Brit Marling to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Company You Keep is established with useful clarity: After a journalist discovers his identity, a former Weather Underground activist goes on the run. That direct approach lets The Company

What stands out first about Won't Back Down is the confidence with which Daniel Barnz establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Won't Back Down asks Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Won't Back Down is established with useful clarity: Two determined mothers­, one a teacher, look to transform their children's failing inner city school. That direct approach lets Won't Back Down use its 2h

What stands out first about For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada is the confidence with which Dean Wright establishes its historical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada asks Andy Garcia and Oscar Isaac to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada is established with useful clarity: A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926 1929); a war by th

What stands out first about Casa de mi Padre is the confidence with which Matt Piedmont establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Casa de mi Padre asks Will Ferrell and Gael García Bernal to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Casa de mi Padre is established with useful clarity: Scheming to save their father's ranch, the Alvarez brothers find themselves in a war with Mexico's most feared drug lord. That direct approach lets

What stands out first about The Sessions is the confidence with which Ben Lewin establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Sessions asks John Hawkes and Helen Hunt to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Sessions is established with useful clarity: A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest. That direct approach lets The Sessio

What stands out first about Chasing Mavericks is the confidence with which Michael Apted establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Chasing Mavericks asks Jonny Weston and Gerard Butler to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Chasing Mavericks is established with useful clarity: When young Jay Moriarity discovers that the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, exists just miles from his Sa

What stands out first about Hitchcock is the confidence with which Sacha Gervasi establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Hitchcock asks Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Hitchcock is established with useful clarity: The relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho (1960) in 1959 is explored. That direct approach lets Hitchcock use its 1

What stands out first about Hyde Park on Hudson is the confidence with which Roger Michell establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Hyde Park on Hudson asks Bill Murray and Laura Linney to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Hyde Park on Hudson is established with useful clarity: The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Q

What stands out first about Amour is the confidence with which Michael Haneke establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Amour asks Jean Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Amour is established with useful clarity: Georges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. That direct approach lets Amour use its 2h 7m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence. ⁠ As director of Amour, Mi