Films rarely capture real life, relatable moments, let alone with any kind of regularity, but Tamara Jenkins’ “The Savages” does it.

Independent comedies are full of single young adults trying to navigate life or falling in and out of love, but there aren’t any depictions of modern marital discord. In comes Zoe Lister-Jones with her directorial debut, “Band Aid,” starring her and Adam Pally as a constantly bickering couple who try starting a band as their […]

The big screen has experienced a burgeoning of “illness movies” in the last few years, and “The Big Sick” isn’t like any of them. Many of these films could be accused of leveraging illness for an emotional punch to the heart, but Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon’s story is not built around a character […]

“St. Vincent” sticks to the script. You know, the story about the cantankerous grouch who forms an unlikely bond with a younger, usually troubled child with his opposite temperament. A tried and true formula. Despite lacking in originality, however, this classic storyline plays out in enjoyable fashion in “St. Vincent” thanks in large part to […]

Actors, improvisers, comics or any kind of artist, really, shouldn’t miss Mike Birbiglia’s “Don’t Think Twice.” The comic-turned-actor/filmmaker journeys behind the curtain for his second film to put an honest lens on the inherent friction that occurs when artists need each other to succeed but also have their own dreams, egos and pursuits.

As he did with his Oscar-nominated foreign film “Dogtooth,” Lanthimos builds a concept- driven story in “The Lobster” that explores the possibilities of how humans would react to well-intentioned extremism.

Has the light-hearted coming-of-age cancer drama become a “thing?”

Zach Braff is the kind of guy who should be making films more often than every 10 years. “Garden State” put the very notion of “finding yourself” indie films on the map, at least for a certain generation. “Wish I Was Here” comes one too many of those films later to have the same kind […]

After a foray into the blockbuster world, filmmaker Jon Favreau has settled back into his bread and butter (a bit literally), independent comedy. “Chef” is a feel-good movie that goes down easy, especially for any self-described “foodies” in the audience.

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” is Wes Anderson’s most imaginative effort yet. The perpetually quirky master of symmetry expands his scope in a way not seen since “The Life Aquatic,” but this story is infinitely more accessible and entertaining.

Summertime — there’s no season more influential in a young person’s coming of age. Being out of school means a chance for a new experiences and self-discovery, and spending that time in a new location always feels like a fresh start. In “The Way Way Back,” Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (“The Descendants”) portray the […]

Aging is hard, as it accepting your lot in life. “Nebraska” adds another poignant story about life’s tragic beauty to Alexander Payne’s filmography and it’s likely the most universally accessible of all his previous efforts.

When the credits roll, Joe Swanberg’s “Drinking Buddies” will at least leave you thirsty. Whether you’ll be drinking to toast or drinking to forget is another matter.

If two dudes quarrel in the woods … do they make a sound? Director David Gordon Green has graciously stepped back from making underachieving R-rated comedies to give us what could end up amounting to an underachieving R-rated comedy, but in truth offers a good deal more.

When time travel is part of a sci-fi thriller or action-adventure film, we usually get caught up in how it all works and excitement of a journey that defies our current scientific capabilities. “Safety Not Guaranteed” takes the indie approach, exploring the more grounded aspects of time travel (as oxymoronic as it sounds), or in […]