It sounds like the idea for a bad movie: Talented musician no one cares about disappears. A small group of overseas fans, knowing nothing of his life, endeavors to find him.

The great thing about animals—and this is corny and unoriginal—is their unconditional love. A scratch behind the ear, steady food and trips to the park go a long way for a dog, just as a comfy sofa arm goes a long way for a cat.

Won’t Back Down takes a very serious subject—public education and failing schools—and makes it seem as if changing a school’s curriculum and faculty is pretty easy if—gosh golly!—you want it enough.

The Master is competently made and beautifully acted, but there’s a larger sense that the parts do not add up to a whole.

Forget what you’ve heard or read about Samsara. Non-narrative, dialogue-free, whatever. It is a completely immersive film experience—fascinating from the moment its first images appear on screen until the credits roll.

In 2072, it’s impossible to kill a person. Living people can be tracked and, when they’re no longer living, the authorities are alerted. Pity the mafia, which faces the prospect of not killing any

It’s hard to find a movie that’s more thoughtful, better acted or more unique than Robot and Frank. Simply put, it’s one of the best movies of the year, and one of the best science fiction films of all time.

With a sixth place debut and only six million dollars against a 50-million dollar budget (pretty low for a 3D actioner), it’s safe to say that this film has officially bombed. Which is incredibly depressing. So, in the few days this film has left, I implore you: go see Dredd 3D.

In independent filmmaking there’s a comforting near-truth: Good independent films are more likely to see release than bad independent films. Indie pictures don’t have gargantuan marketing budgets to cover a movie’s mediocrity—or outright badness—with advertising blitzes, marketing campaigns and viral videos.

The one thing worse than a movie that’s so totally rah-rah about its subject is to put the audience in a position to care about its subject and then to, rather ruthlessly, kill its subject. Or in the case of End of Watch, half its subjects.