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What stands out first about Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is the confidence with which Frank Miller establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For asks Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is established with useful clarity: Some of Sin City's most hard boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants. That direct

What stands out first about Whiplash is the confidence with which Damien Chazelle establishes its music drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Whiplash asks Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Whiplash is established with useful clarity: A promising young drummer enrolls at a cut throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a stu

What stands out first about Left Behind is the confidence with which Vic Armstrong establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Left Behind asks Nicolas Cage and Lea Thompson to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Left Behind is established with useful clarity: A small group of survivors is left behind after millions of people suddenly vanish and the world is plunged into chaos and destruction. That direct approach lets L

What stands out first about America: Imagine the World Without Her is the confidence with which Dinesh D'Souza establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, America: Imagine the World Without Her asks Dinesh D'Souza and Barack Obama to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of America: Imagine the World Without Her is established with useful clarity: A story that questions the shaming of the US through revisionist history, lies

What stands out first about Big Eyes is the confidence with which Tim Burton establishes its crime drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Big Eyes asks Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Big Eyes is established with useful clarity: A drama about the awakening of painter Margaret Keane, her phenomenal success in the 1950s, and the subsequent legal difficulties she had with her husband, who claimed credit

What stands out first about Beyond the Lights is the confidence with which Gina Prince Bythewood establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Beyond the Lights asks Gugu Mbatha Raw and Nate Parker to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Beyond the Lights is established with useful clarity: The pressures of fame have superstar singer Noni on the edge, until she meets Kaz, a young cop who works to help her find the courage to de

What stands out first about It Follows is the confidence with which David Robert Mitchell establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, It Follows asks Maika Monroe and Keir Gilchrist to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of It Follows is established with useful clarity: A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter. That direct approach lets It Follows use its 1h 40m running time for ch

What stands out first about Step Up All In is the confidence with which Trish Sie establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Step Up All In asks Ryan Guzman and Briana Evigan to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Step Up All In is established with useful clarity: Dancer Sean Asa goes to Hollywood and forms a group with Andie West and his friend Moose. That direct approach lets Step Up All In use its 1h 52m running time for

What stands out first about And So It Goes is the confidence with which Rob Reiner establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, And So It Goes asks Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of And So It Goes is established with useful clarity: A self absorbed realtor enlists the help of his neighbor when he's suddenly left in charge of the granddaughter he never knew existed until his estranged son d

What stands out first about Devil's Due is the confidence with which Matt Bettinelli Olpin establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Devil's Due asks Allison Miller and Zach Gilford to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Devil's Due is established with useful clarity: After a mysterious, lost night on their honeymoon, a newlywed couple finds themselves dealing with an earlier than planned pregnancy. That direct approac

What stands out first about The Single Moms Club is the confidence with which Tyler Perry establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Single Moms Club asks Nia Long and Wendi McLendon Covey to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Single Moms Club is established with useful clarity: When five struggling single moms put aside their differences to form a support group, they find inspiration and laughter in their new siste

What stands out first about Seventh Son is the confidence with which Sergei Bodrov establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Seventh Son asks Ben Barnes and Julianne Moore to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Seventh Son is established with useful clarity: When Mother Malkin, the queen of evil witches, escapes the pit she was imprisoned in by professional monster hunter Spook decades ago and kills his apprentice, he recru