10. The Beta Test 9. Annette 8. Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain 7. Saint Maud 6. West Side Story 5. Don’t Look Up 4. Bo Burnham: Inside 3. Red Rocket 2. Mass The Last Duel Read More »

5. Vivarium 4. Palm Springs 3. Swallow 2. Promising Young Woman My Octopus Teacher Read More »

10. Mike Wallace is Here. This biography of Mike Wallace’s lengthy career, told completely with archival footage, crystallizes the legacy of his tough interview style. 9. Brittany Runs a Marathon. This film is worth seeing for Jillian Bell’s hilarious, vulnerable, sarcastic, and raw portrayal of Brittany – even if you’re not a runner. 8. Waves. Told in two parts, this ... Read More »

10. A Fantastic Woman. This fantastic film about a transgender woman navigating the aftermath of her boyfriend’s death impressed me by resisting melodrama and club-you-over-the-head agenda messaging, instead trusting the power of its story. Transgender actress, Daniela Vega, delivers an understated but powerful lead performance. 9. Thoroughbreds. Evil plans are put in motion when an unlikely friendship, between a psychopath ... Read More »

10. Brigsby Bear.  Written by and starring Kyle Mooney, of Saturday Night Live, Brigsby Bear is the most unusual film I saw this year.  It opens in the home of James, who is too old to have the bedroom shown outfitted with costumed-bear merchandise.  After a scene involving gas masks suggests the setting is a post-apocalyptic dystopia, Occam’s razor comes ... Read More »

I’m turning it up to eleven** this year. 11. Hello, My Name is Doris. Just after the death of her mother, sixty-ish Doris (Sally Field, who’s managed to maintain all the quirky energy of Gidget) falls for a co-worker thirty years her junior, but of a similar emotional maturity as she’s spent her life caring for her mother in lieu of having ... Read More »

10. Trainwreck.  I can’t resist a good raunchy comedy, and this is the best of the year.  Amy Schumer strikes the perfect balance of emotionally troubled yet vulnerable, and Bill Hader is a surprisingly sexy leading man.  Schumer’s entire career is built on the shtick that she’s a train wreck, but I’m pretty sure she knows what she’s doing.  (I ... Read More »

10. Bad Words.  Here’s a cheesy, distasteful, and seemingly thin premise: a 40 year old high school drop-out identifies a loophole that allows him to compete in a children’s spelling bee. But Jason Bateman, as Guy Trilby, pulls it off with unapologetic, politically incorrect snark even before the plot deepens to explain how (and why) in the world this is happening. ... Read More »

10. Gravity.  Take a nap before watching this one, especially in IMAX 3D, because it’s exhausting. Gravity is a thrilling ride into space where no one can save you if something goes wrong. It made me think about how small and alone we are in the vacuum of space. 9. Nebraska.  This film touched my heart and illustrated the significance ... Read More »

Spoiler Scale: (How spoilery is this article on a scale of 1 to 10?):  3 Based on the preview, I expected Sarah Polley’s documentary about her family to be cutesy and self-absorbed. The kitschy piano score, the purposefully low quality video, and the idea of Polley spending 108 minutes exposing her family’s salacious secrets kept my expectations low. I was wrong. ... Read More »