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What stands out first about The Music of Strangers: Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble is the confidence with which Morgan Neville establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Music of Strangers: Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble asks Yo Yo Ma and Kinan Azmeh to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Music of Strangers: Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble is established with useful clarity: Cellist Yo Yo Ma and ot

What stands out first about Remember is the confidence with which Atom Egoyan establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Remember asks Christopher Plummer and Kim Roberts to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Remember is established with useful clarity: With the aid of a fellow Auschwitz survivor and a hand written letter, an elderly man with dementia goes in search of the person he believes to be responsible for the deat

What stands out first about Lazer Team is the confidence with which Matt Hullum establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Lazer Team asks Burnie Burns and Gavin Free to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Lazer Team is established with useful clarity: Four losers are thrust into the position of saving the world when they stumble upon a UFO crash site and become genetically equipped to the battle suit on board. That direct a

What stands out first about Veteran is the confidence with which Ryoo Seung wan establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Veteran asks Hwang Jung min and Yoo Ah in to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Veteran is established with useful clarity: An honest cop seeks justice for a common man against all odds. That direct approach lets Veteran use its 2h 3m running time for character, atmosphere and consequence. ⁠ Veteran is

What stands out first about Child 44 is the confidence with which Daniel Espinosa establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Child 44 asks Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Child 44 is established with useful clarity: A disgraced member of the Russian military police investigates a series of child murders during the Stalin era Soviet Union. That direct approach lets Child 44 use its 2h 17m ru

What stands out first about Beyond the Mask is the confidence with which Chad Burns establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Beyond the Mask asks Andrew Cheney and John Rhys Davies to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Beyond the Mask is established with useful clarity: A British East India Trading Company assassin seeks to redeem his past by thwarting a plot against a young nation's hope for freedom. That direct app

What stands out first about Mojin: The Lost Legend is the confidence with which Wuershan establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Mojin: The Lost Legend asks Kun Chen and Huang Bo to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Mojin: The Lost Legend is established with useful clarity: In 1969 PRChina, two men survive a supernatural tomb. That direct approach lets Mojin: The Lost Legend use its 2h 7m running time for character

What stands out first about Goodbye Mr. Loser is the confidence with which Da Mo Peng establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Goodbye Mr. Loser asks Teng Shen and Li Ma to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Goodbye Mr. Loser is established with useful clarity: After attending a wedding of his high school crush Qiuya, Xia Luo gets drunk embarrassing himself and angers his wife Ma Dongmei. That direct approach lets Goodbye

What stands out first about The Wolfpack is the confidence with which Crystal Moselle establishes its documentary identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Wolfpack asks Mukunda Angulo and Narayana Angulo to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Wolfpack is established with useful clarity: Confined in an apartment from a New York housing project, the six Angulo brothers learned everything they know about the world through watching films and

What stands out first about Lost in Hong Kong is the confidence with which Zheng Xu establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Lost in Hong Kong asks Zheng Xu and Wei Zhao to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Lost in Hong Kong is established with useful clarity: The film follows Xu Lai, a former artist whose dreams were dashed when the responsibilities of life set in. That direct approach lets Lost in Hong Kong use its 1h

What stands out first about Embrace of the Serpent is the confidence with which Ciro Guerra establishes its biographical drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Embrace of the Serpent asks Nilbio Torres and Jan Bijvoet to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Embrace of the Serpent is established with useful clarity: The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who

What stands out first about The Little Prince is the confidence with which Mark Osborne establishes its animated adventure identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, The Little Prince asks Jeff Bridges and Mackenzie Foy to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of The Little Prince is established with useful clarity: A little girl lives in a very grown up world with her mother, who tries to prepare her for it. That direct approach lets The Little Prince