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What stands out first about Everybody Wants Some!! is the confidence with which Richard Linklater establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Everybody Wants Some!! asks Blake Jenner and Tyler Hoechlin to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Everybody Wants Some!! is established with useful clarity: In 1980 Texas, a college freshman moves into an old frat house with his new baseball teammates as they party their way through th

What stands out first about Indignation is the confidence with which James Schamus establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Indignation asks Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Indignation is established with useful clarity: In 1951, Marcus, a working class Jewish student from New Jersey, attends a small Ohio college, where he struggles with sexual repression and cultural disaffection, amid

What stands out first about Miss Sloane is the confidence with which John Madden establishes its drama identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Miss Sloane asks Jessica Chastain and Mark Strong to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Miss Sloane is established with useful clarity: In the high stakes world of political power brokers, Elizabeth Sloane is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. That direct approach lets Miss Sloane use

What stands out first about Their Finest is the confidence with which Lone Scherfig establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Their Finest asks Gemma Arterton and Sam Claflin to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Their Finest is established with useful clarity: A former secretary, newly appointed as a scriptwriter for propaganda films, joins the cast and crew of a major production while the Blitz rages around them. That di

What stands out first about Rules Don't Apply is the confidence with which Warren Beatty establishes its comedy identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Rules Don't Apply asks Lily Collins and Haley Bennett to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Rules Don't Apply is established with useful clarity: The unconventional love story of an aspiring actress, her ambitious driver, and their eccentric boss, the legendary billionaire Howard Hughes. That d

What stands out first about Midnight Special is the confidence with which Jeff Nichols establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Midnight Special asks Michael Shannon and Joel Edgerton to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Midnight Special is established with useful clarity: A father and son go on the run, pursued by the government and a cult drawn to the child's special powers. That direct approach lets Midnight Special

What stands out first about A Monster Calls is the confidence with which J.A. Bayona establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, A Monster Calls asks Lewis MacDougall and Sigourney Weaver to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of A Monster Calls is established with useful clarity: Conor, a twelve year old boy, encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bulli

What stands out first about Friend Request is the confidence with which Simon Verhoeven establishes its horror film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Friend Request asks Alycia Debnam Carey and William Moseley to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Friend Request is established with useful clarity: When a college student unfriends a mysterious girl online, she finds herself fighting a demonic presence that wants to make her lonely by kill

What stands out first about Batman: The Killing Joke is the confidence with which Sam Liu establishes its animated adventure identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Batman: The Killing Joke asks Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Batman: The Killing Joke is established with useful clarity: As Batman hunts for the escaped Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime attacks the Gordon family to prove a diabolical point mirro

What stands out first about Norman is the confidence with which Joseph Cedar establishes its thriller identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Norman asks Richard Gere and Lior Ashkenazi to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Norman is established with useful clarity: Norman Oppenheimer is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life. That direct approach lets Norman use its 1h 58m running time for character,

What stands out first about Max Steel is the confidence with which Stewart Hendler establishes its action film identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, Max Steel asks Ben Winchell and Josh Brener to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of Max Steel is established with useful clarity: The adventures of teenager Max McGrath and his alien companion, Steel, who must harness and combine their tremendous new powers to evolve into the turbo charged superhe

What stands out first about A United Kingdom is the confidence with which Amma Asante establishes its romance identity. Rather than relying on premise alone, A United Kingdom asks David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike to supply personality from the opening stretch. The premise of A United Kingdom is established with useful clarity: The story of King Seretse Khama of Botswana and how his loving but controversial marriage to a British white woman, Ruth Williams, put his kingdom into