In Brief: Fast Times at Ridgemont High should be something of a known quantity to audiences at this point, if only because it was so massively influential — though not universally well-received — on its initial run. Arguably the quintessential '80s high school movie, the impact of its unflinching look at suburban adolescence has not diminished with time.…

In Brief: One of the best of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood output at Gaumont British, Sabotage sees the director's mastery of suspense on full display. In an interview with Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock revealed that a notable scene in which a young boy and an old lady are killed (along with a bus full of people) drew ire from audiences…

The Story: A young man afflicted with autism learns to speak through an obsessive affinity for Disney animation. The Lowdown: One of the most moving documentaries I've come across, Life, Animated tugs at the heartstrings for all the right reasons.

The Story: In 1988, three preteen friends started shooting a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark in their spare time. Thirty-five years later, they finally finished it. The Lowdown: Uplifting and inspiring, while still personal and sincere, Raiders! is a warts-and-all look at what it takes to realize a dream.

The Story: The Bronx-born son of a Jewish jeweler bounces between careers and romantic entanglements in 1930s Hollywood and New York while pining after The One That Got Away . The Lowdown: More Midnight in Paris than Blue Jasmine, Cafe Society is not the Woody Allen classic it could have been. But when it works, it works.

The Story: When acorn-addled squirrel Scrat initiates a potential apocalypse, Manny the mammoth and the rest of his herd set out to save the world. The Lowdown: How much do you love your kids? It must be a lot if you're willing to sit through this dreck to please them.

On its initial release in 1945, New York Times critic Bosley Crowther panned Albert Lewin's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's notable novel on the grounds of the production's "mawkish pomposity" and glacial pacing. He's got a point, but things aren't as dire as he makes them sound. This Dorian Gray may not be perfect: Lewin's direction is somewhat overblown,…

The Story: A Dachshund touches the lives of several people in a series of vignettes that only Todd Solondz could present. The Lowdown: A beautiful film (if you’re the type of person that appreciates Solondz's twisted brand of beauty), this is arguably the apogee of the filmmaker’s recent work. Hilarious and heart-wrenching in equal measure.

The Story: An adaptation of the fact-based memoir of U.S. customs agent Robert Mazur, who went deep undercover to take down the Medellin Cartel by exposing Pablo Escobar’s money laundering efforts. The Lowdown: What should have been 90 minutes of pot-boiler fun turns out to be 127 minutes of pretension and tedium.

While it’s by no means a classic, Death Becomes Her might be more timely now than ever, considering the amount of social media scorn recently heaped upon former ingenues Meg Ryan and Renée Zellweger for their inability to remain perpetually youthful. A black comedy focused the obsessive quest to do just that, at any cost, might…

The Story: A troubled New Zealand teen — and self-proclaimed “gangsta” — is sent to live with a new adoptive family on a remote farm. But after his new “auntie” dies unexpectedly, he and his “uncle” must go on the run from the authorities to keep their family intact. The Lowdown: Wilderpeople is a coming-of-age story…

The Story: A devoted terrier named Max finds his worldview challenged when his owner adopts a new dog. The Lowdown: While it lacks the polish of Pixar, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Studios’ fifth collaboration is a predictably inoffensive crowd-pleaser. It may not end up on any best-of lists for the year, but it’s entertaining, succinct and far less…

The Story: When a young French girl disappears, her father and brother risk everything to find her. The Lowdown: Very loosely based on John Ford’s The Searchers, Les Cowboys explores deep and decidedly timely topics while maintaining a thematic resonance with its source material.

The Story: An investigative journalist stumbles across a series of fetishistic internet videos depicting an alleged sport known as “competitive endurance tickling.” As he pursues the story, what he finds is more disturbing and bizarre than could possibly have been expected. The Lowdown: Don’t let the deceptive premise or trailer fool you, Tickled is a…

A somewhat uninspired comedic take on the standard “old dark house” mystery thriller, The Black Abbot (1934) was produced on the cheap and it shows. Director George A. Cooper attempts to hide his hastily slapped-together sets through creative staging, and tuxedos from the wardrobe department make the cast look like there on their way to…

Perhaps better known for his work in science fiction, including the 1953 War of the Worlds and 1964 cult classic Robinson Crusoe on Mars, director Byron Haskins was also responsible for 1949’s Too Late for Tears.  This often overlooked film noir may not have the name recognition of something like Double Indemnity or Out of…

A stirring documentary about accomplished “Ultra Runner” Will Harlan, El Chivo explores the motivations and psychology behind long-distance running while providing a compelling character study of a notable local. By capturing candid glimpses of Harlan’s life on his bucolic Barnardsville farm, local filmmaker Rod Murphy goes beyond Harlan’s headline-grabbing victory in the grueling 50-mile Caballo…