The Story: Jackie Kennedy struggles to cope with her husband's death and maintain her composure under intensive public scrutiny in the weeks following JFK's assassination. The Lowdown: A moving emotional portrait that sheds new light on the internal landscape of an iconic American figure and the turmoil surrounding a pivotal moment in American history, earning Natalie Portman a…

The Story: This year's nominees in consideration for the Best Animated Short Academy Award. The Lowdown: While some are better than others (as usual), this year's batch of animated Oscar nominees is worth a look for anyone interested in short-form animation.

The Story: This year's collection of Academy Award nominees for Best Live-Action Short. The Lowdown: Three great films, one that's very good, and an absolute dog that should never have seen the light of day.

The Story: The demonic-girl-crawls-out-of-a-well video is back to kill more unsuspecting viewers, but this time she has the internet on her side. Also, her biological dad is revealed to have been a creep. Go figure. The Lowdown: An unnecessary sequel to a franchise I'd long considered dead, Rings contributes nothing of value to the mythos and somehow manages…

In Brief: I canceled The Sadist in November to make way for a bit of post-election counter-programming, although in retrospect, this might have been almost as appropriate as what I screened instead. We're finally getting back around to this creepy thriller about a madman with his finger on the trigger and a penchant for pushing people…

In Brief: Despite the controversy surrounding director Lasse Hallström's most recent film (A Dog's Purpose) and my personal disdain for the practices employed on set, I still have a soft-spot in my heart for My Life as a Dog (1985). The director's first mainstream success outside of Europe — unless you count ABBA: The Movie — My Life as…

In Brief: In honor of my least favorite holiday (you'll notice I didn't devote a month's worth of programming to this one), the AFS will be screening Leo McCarey's classic romantic comedy, Love Affair, this Valentine's Day. With a script that vacillates between pithy humor and tear-jerking melodrama from Donald Ogden Stewart (The Philadelphia Story) and Delmer Daves…

The Story: The general history of the natural world, from the end of the last ice age to the present anthropocene, plays out through the biodiversity of a forest ecosystem. The Lowdown: A stunning visual spectacle with no shortage of purpose, this nature doc does more than simply record its subject — it draws the audience into the story.

The Story: Zombie slaying savant Alice returns to tie up loose ends by retrieving an antidote to the virus that has wiped out most of humanity. Like a lost set of car keys, it's been hidden in the same place the whole mess started fifteen years ago (she probably should have looked there first). The Lowdown: More of…

The Story: A gold prospector driven by a dream and a desire for approval gets embroiled in a scandal over a mine that might not be what it seems. The Lowdown: Based loosely on a true story but focused on a fictional character and set 15 years earlier than the events that inspired it, Gold is an amalgamation…

The Story: A dog journeys through successive reincarnate lifetimes before being reunited with his original owner. The Lowdown: An emotionally manipulative exercise in heartstring tugging that would have been reprehensible enough even without the recently revealed evidence of alleged animal cruelty on set.

In Brief: Most frequently referenced as the screen debut of a young Brooke Shields, writer-director Alfred Sole's 1976 religiously-themed proto-slasher Alice, Sweet Alice has justifiably built a cult following on the basis of its other merits — namely, a uniquely giallo-esque aesthetic heavily indebted to Hitchcock, Michael Powell's Peeping Tom and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now. The film's heavily atmospheric sense of unrelenting…

In Brief: In honor of Black History Month, the Hendersonville Film Society will be revisiting 42: The Jackie Robinson Story. When the film premiered in 2013, it seemed like a missed opportunity to do justice to an important story about a great man — and having recently rewatched Alfred E. Green's 1950 take on the tale starring Robinson…

The Story: Famed Chilean poet and leftist politician Pablo Neruda flees the country, pursued by a relentless police inspector. The Lowdown: A fantastical take on a venerable historic figure, director Pablo Larraín and screenwriter Guillermo Calderón impart an unexpected sense of black humor to a significant subject.

The Story: An unhinged man with multiple personalities abducts three young girls for a nefarious purpose, the ramifications of which surpass their greatest fears. The Lowdown: Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan has defied the odds, delivering a tightly wound thriller that very nearly redeems his reputation — thanks in no small part to a remarkable performance from James McAvoy.

The Story: A traveling salesman stumbles upon the opportunity of a lifetime when he comes across an inventive new type of restaurant conceived by two hard-working brothers. Their last name is McDonald, and the idea that is stolen from them changes the way the world eats. The Lowdown: A dramatization of Ray Kroc's now-infamous ousting of the actual…

The Story: A middle-aged single mother seeks the help of two younger women in raising her adolescent son against a backdrop of gender turmoil in the late 70s. The Lowdown: Worth watching for its fantastic ensemble cast and a prodigious performance from Annette Bening, but a serious let-down on the story front.

The Story: A pair of Jesuit priests seek out their mentor, a missionary who has gone missing amidst the persecution of Christians in 17th century Japan. The Lowdown: Scorsese's passion project, nearly 25 years in the making, strikes a delicate balance between faith and doubt that will resonate with believers and skeptics alike.

The Story: The head of a video game company is raped by a masked assailant, only to develop a bizarre relationship with her attacker in her quest to uncover his identity. The Lowdown: Paul Verhoeven delivers a blend of black satire and twisted sexual psychology that will leave audiences head-scratching long after the credits roll — but everyone will…