Review 94min Genre:       Comedy, Drama Director:    Greta Gerwig Cast:         Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts…and more Writer:      Greta Gerwig -Synopsis- The story of a spirited and irrepressible California high school senior, with East coast dreams beyond her station and a strained relationship with her loving but frustrating parents, in this quirky coming-of-age dramedy from indie […]

Review 92min Genre:       Drama Director:    Paddy Considine Cast:         Paddy Considine, Jodie Whittaker, Tony Pitts…and more Writer:      Paddy Considine -Synopsis- When British boxing veteran and middleweight champion ‘Matty Burton’ suffers a catastrophic brain injury during a fight, he’s forced to effectively re-start his life, with huge emotional implications for his wife and infant daughter . . […]

Review 110min Genre:       Comedy, Drama Director:    Noah Baumbach Cast:         Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller…and more Writer:      Noah Baumbach -Synopsis- A quirky, dysfunctional and estranged New York family come together to rally around their difficult and imposing artist father at the twilight of his years, only for a series of unexpected events to dredge up […]

Review 127min Genre:       Drama Director:    Andrey Zvyagintsev Cast:         Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin, Aleksey Fateev…and more Writers:     Andrey Zvyagintsev and Oleg Negin -Synopsis- A feuding self-centred couple—intent on moving on with their individual lives after their imminent divorce—are confronted by their own loveless upbringing and the neglectful treatment of their young son after he mysteriously disappears, […]

Review 117min Genre:     Fact-based, Drama, Romance Director:  Andy Serkis Cast:       Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Tom Hollander…and more Writer:    William Nicholson -Synopsis- When adventurous British soul Robin Cavendish is struck down and paralysed by polio while in Africa, he relies on his loyal and determined wife Diana to not only survive but truly live, becoming a […]

Review 107min Genre:       Crime, Drama, Mystery Director:    Taylor Sheridan Cast:         Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene…and more Writer:      Taylor Sheridan -Synopsis- A young FBI agent joins forces with a veteran local wildlife agent in a frozen and remote Wyoming Native American reservation to solve the mystery of a local girl’s murder, a case which will […]

Review 122min Genre:      Fact-based, Adventure, Drama Director:   Jérôme Salle Cast:        Lambert Wilson, Pierre Niney, Audrey Tautou…and more Writers:    Jérôme Salle, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Albert Falco… and more -Synopsis- A biographical drama about the life and times of legendary French filmmaker, pioneer and oceanic explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau—from his self-centred ambition to conquer the seas to his duty […]

Review 92min Genre:     Drama, Romance Director:  David Lowery Cast:       Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Sonia Acevedo…and more Writer:    David Lowery -Synopsis- A young woman, struggling with the recent loss of her husband, is visited by his white sheet-covered spirit as he becomes a guardian of memories and a spectral observer to the her life (and others) […]

Review 91min Genre:       Horror, Mystery, Thriller Director:    Trey Edward Shults Cast:         Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, Christopher Abbott…and more Writer:      Trey Edward Shults -Synopsis- With the outside world ravaged by a contagious and virulent disease, a family survives in their secure and isolated home, only to have their refuge and lives threatened when they take in […]

Review 101min Genre:      Drama Director:   Marc Webb Cast:        Chris Evans, Mckenna Grace, Jenny Slate… and more Writer:     Tom Flynn -Synopsis- A single man’s custody of his seven-year-old maths prodigy niece is threatened by her estranged grandmother, as he struggles to balance the immense potential of the girl with his late sister’s wish that she be […]

Review 128min Genre:       Crime, Drama Director:    Cristian Mungiu Cast:         Adrian Titieni, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Rares Andrici…and more Writer:      Cristian Mungiu -Synopsis- After his teenage daughter is mysteriously attacked before a series of important exams— a responsible and respected doctor compromises his ethics to ensure his only child’s future, only to painfully realise he can’t control everything […]

Review 146min Genre:     Drama Director:  Kleber Mendonça Filho Cast:       Sonia Braga, Humberto Carrão, Zoraide Coleto…and more Writer:    Kleber Mendonça Filho -Synopsis- Sonia Braga stars as a well-to-do widower and retiree in northeastern Brazil, whose quiet later years are turned into a pitch battle against a company intent on demolishing and re-developing a building she […]

Review 125min Genre:      Drama, Mystery Director:   Asghar Farhadi Cast:        Taraneh Alidoosti, Shahab Hosseini, Babak Karimi…and more Writer:     Asghar Farhadi -Synopsis- Writer/director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation, The Past) recent Oscar-winning foreign language drama tells the story of the breakdown of a middle-class Iranian couple’s relationship after a mysterious and harrowing trauma, as they begin an amateur […]

Review 110min Genre:       Documentary Director:    Clay Tweel Cast:         Steve Gleason, Michel Varisco-Gleason, Rivers Gleason…more Writer:      Clay Tweel -Synopsis- A candid chronicle of the life of former professional American Football player Steve Gleason after he’s diagnosed with ALS (motor neurone disease) at the age of 34; as he begins a video diary to capture his essence […]

Review 107min Genre:      Drama Director:   Kelly Reichardt Cast:        Michelle Williams, Laura Dern, Lily Gladstone…and more Writers:    Kelly Reichardt and Maile Meloy -Synopsis- Writer/director Kelly Reichardt’s nuanced character study set in contemporary small-town Montana, where the lives of three very different women intersect as they struggle with life’s trials and try to make their way in […]

Review 99min Genre:       Crime, Drama Director:    Adam Smith Cast:         Michael Fassbender, Brendan Gleeson, Lyndsey Marshal… Writer:      Alastair Siddons -Synopsis- Michael Fassbender and Brendan Gleeson star in a gritty British crime drama about an traveller caught between a fierce loyalty to his people and his hopes for a life on the straight and narrow for his […]

Review 97min Genre:       Drama Director:    Xavier Dolan Cast:         Gaspard Ulliel, Nathalie Baye, Vincent Cassel…and more Writers:     Xavier Dolan and Jean-Luc Lagarce -Synopsis- Young Canadian actor/writer/director Xavier Dolan’s French-language adaptation of Jean-Luc Lagarce’s stage-play, following a young gay writer’s return home to his estranged family as he’s faced with the issues that caused him to leave […]

Review 139min Genre:      Drama Director:   Denzel Washington Cast:        Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Jovan Adepo …and more Writer:     August Wilson -Synopsis- Denzel Washington directs an adaptation of the award-winning August Wilson play in which he once starred, recounting the story of a former Baseball star turned city garbage collector, battling his inner demons and struggling to […]

Review 162min Genre:      Comedy, Drama Director:   Maren Ade Cast:        Sandra Hüller, Peter Simonischek, Michael Wittenborn… more Writer:     Maren Ade -Synopsis- In a bid to reconnect with his estranged and successful business executive daughter; a self-styled German man travels across Europe and employs his bizarre tactics to try and reach his motivated but detached progeny in […]

Review 108min Genre:       Drama Director:    Ewan McGregor Cast:         Ewan McGregor, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Connelly…more Writer:      Philip Roth and John Romano -Synopsis- Ewan McGregor makes his directorial debut and stars in an adaptation of Philip Roth’s prize-winning novel; following the fate of a respected and successful Jewish-American man, whose idyllic life unravels after his daughter becomes […]

129min Genre:      Fact-based, Drama Director:   Garth Davis Cast:        Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Nicole Kidman…and more Writers:    Saroo Brierley, Larry Buttrose, Luke Davies -Synopsis- Biographical drama based on the true story of Saroo Brierley; a poor 5-year-old Indian boy who was separated from his family and became one of India’s many street children a thousand miles […]

135min Genre:       Drama Director:    Kenneth Lonergan Cast:         Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams…and more Writer:      Kenneth Lonergan -Synopsis- A stoic and blunt Boston handyman is forced back to his coastal old stomping grounds by the death of his brother and is confronted by new and unexpected responsibilities regarding his teenage nephew; but his Massachusetts trip […]

108min Genre:     Animation, Drama, Fantasy Director:  J.A. Bayona Cast:       Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones, Sigourney Weaver…and more Writers:   Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd -Synopsis- “Conor” is a 12-year-old boy and yet clearly the man of the house, self-sufficient and a carer for his ailing young single mother; but when life’s struggles begin to take their toll, […]

Review 119min Genre:       Comedy, Drama Director:    Matt Ross Cast:         Viggo Mortensen, George MacKay, Kathryn Hahn…and more Writer:      Matt Ross -Synopsis- After rejecting modern Western society and living off-the-grid in the forests of the Pacific Northwest; a quirky, self-sufficient and self-taught family leave their secluded paradise for mainstream civilisation after the tragic death of their mother. […]

Review 102min Genre:       Crime, Drama Director:    David Mackenzie Cast:         Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Jeff Bridges…and more Writer:      Taylor Sheridan -Synopsis- In an effort to save their family home and protect their loved ones; two small-town Texas brothers take revenge on the ruthless banks that wronged them by executing a series of dangerous heists, but their […]

In an ongoing effort to help aspiring filmmakers and promote independent films, particularly those struggling with distribution and releases, we periodically feature films in our “Indie Spotlight” series for your consideration. God Forgive Us (2014) (English Language) 90min Country:   USA Genre:      Drama Director:   Michael Bachochin Cast:        Lindsay Rathert, Matthew Urban, James R. Doherty…more Writer:     Michael […]

Review 99min Genre:      Drama Director:   Pedro Almodóvar Cast:        Emma Suárez, Adriana Ugarte, Daniel Grao…and more Writers:    Pedro Almodóvar and Alice Munro -Synopsis- A solemn middle-aged Spanish woman is confronted with her past and forced to re-live the traumatic events which caused a strained and estranged relationship with her daughter, in a return to female-centric relationship […]

Review 88min Genre:      Comedy, Drama Director:   Todd Solondz Cast:        Greta Gerwig, Danny DeVito, Ellen Burstyn…and more Writer:     Todd Solondz -Synopsis- The dysfunctional lives of very different people are linked by a loveable dachshund who enriches the disillusioned existences of  its various inappropriate owners in this quirky Indie black comedy from writer/director Todd Solondz. If you’ve […]

Review 103min Genre:      Animation, Drama, Family, Mystery Director:   Hiromasa Yonebayashi Cast:        Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura, Susumu Terajima…and more Writers:    Joan G. Robinson, Keiko Niwa, Masashi Ando… and more -Synopsis- A demure, socially anxious and emotionally detached teenage girl is sent on a Japanese countryside stay with relatives by her adoptive mother; only to be drawn […]

Review 104min Genre:      Comedy, Drama, Mystery Director:   Anders Thomas Jensen Cast:        Mads Mikkelsen, David Dencik, Nikolaj Lie Kaas…and more Writer:     Anders Thomas Jensen -Synopsis- When their father reveals the truth about their parentage on his deathbed; a pair of misfit brothers travel to a remote Danish island to unravel the mystery of their origins, only […]

Review 99min Genre:      Comedy, Romance Director:   Rebecca Miller Cast:        Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore…and more Writers:    Rebecca Miller, Karen Rinaldi -Synopsis- “Maggie” thinks she found love when she falls for a married man and breaks up their troubled marriage, but when regret hits and reality sets in, she hatches a plan to reunite her […]

Review 95min Genre:       Drama Director:    Simon Stone Cast:         Geoffrey Rush, Odessa Young, Miranda Otto…and more Writers:     Henrik Ibsen and Simon Stone -Synopsis- The tranquil lives of an Australian small town group of people are thrown into turmoil when someone’s long anticipated return home dredges up dark family secrets, and a truth which tears unsuspecting families […]

Review 93min Genre:       Horror, Drama, Mystery Director:    Robert Eggers Cast:         Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie…and more Writer:      Robert Eggers -Synopsis- In the search for a more pious existence, a family of 17th century puritanical English settlers leave their plantation for the isolation of rural New England, but dark forces in the woods will […]

Review 79min Genre:      Comedy, Drama Director:   Paul Weitz Cast:        Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden…and more Writer:     Paul Weitz -Synopsis- When her newly pregnant teenage granddaughter turns up on her doorstep asking for help, a no-nonsense lesbian grandma sets out on a journey to help her grandchild with an abortion, while both teaching and […]