A slow-paced, though effective look at a member of the IRA (Andrea Riseborough) and how she is forced into a deal with a sympathetic MI5 agent (Clive Owen) to give information to the agency on her family who is involved in the terrorist organization. Definitely not a film for everyone, but ultimately this is a movie I respect tremendously as it goes for realism over excitement, a risk given the nature of these movies and how many directors would have opted for the high-drama and more explosions option instead to please a wider audience. Instead, director James Marsh tells this story straight, and the result is an effective, interesting look on a spy and how she must keep her cover or risk losing everything in the process, but still struggles with feelings of betraying her family. Riseborough and Owen are both fantastic, and the film is a success given the acting coupled with extremely good writing and directing.

A truly awesome, visual feast about two astronauts (George Clooney, Sandra Bullock), who are separated from their ship after a massive debris storm sends them spiraling into space, and how the two try to find a way back to not just the ship, but to earth as well. Although Clooney is given top billing from marketing reasons most likely, this movie is really Bullock's show, and she shines with limited dialogue and having to do a lot of acting with her facial movements. This film is not just a visual masterpiece, but it has a story to it as well, as well as two very likable characters, especially Bullock's who has a painful back story and is challenged to find the will to survive despite suffering a devastating tragedy. It has been too long since we last had an Alfonso Cuaron film ("Children of Men" is also a phenomenal accomplishment that should be seen, made in 2006), but all that waiting for his next film has resulted in one of the greatest achievements in sci-fi films ever. It is an exhausting film that successfully makes its viewer feel like they are the astronauts floating in space and grasping for life. Truly a masterstroke that will be talked about for years to come.

An earnest, if flawed, take on the rise of Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) and what his breaking the color barrier in baseball did for civil rights. Boseman looks and fits and part of Robinson, and is tasked with showing his emotional state, especially controlling his temper, despite the racist name calling done by both fans, players, and opposing managers alike. The acting all-around is solid, especially Harrison Ford as owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, who gives his best turn in nearly two decades. The problems with the film lie with how watered down the approach is overall. This could have been a stellar film had it been allowed to push the envelope and maybe even earn itself an R-rating given the specifics of this story, instead we get a Hollywood-ized feel good-ery affair where you can see everything coming a mile away and the film fails to leave a lasting mark. With that said, it is far from terrible, it is enjoyable in spurts, but it could have been so much more.

A stone cold, heavy drama based on true events of contracted killer Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon) and how he tries to balance his unique career with a family. Shannon, one of the best actors out there, is phenomenal for what he is given, which is not much seeing how two-dimensional his character is and the source material does not really detail the psychosis for why he decides to start killing people, despite some last ditch effort at the very end given in a monologue to the viewer which feels forced. With that said, it is pretty well paced, it is often chilling in terms of the murders committed, and as said the acting is very good, but overall it is missable just because of how genuinely vague it is given why this character is the way he is. Shannon is one of those actors for me that I will see anything he does, but this is definitely one of his least impressive movies from a writing standpoint.

A mesmerizing, geeked-out documentary on one of the best movies ever, Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", and the many different interpretations by film nerds everywhere. Whether it is exploring one person's view on how the movie is about how Kubrick faked the Apollo landing, how the film is really about the slaughter of Native Americans, or how it is about obsessing over the past, the film remains utterly arresting. Sure, some of the interpretations are utterly ridiculous and over-the-top, but even when they are, the cases they make are still entertaining nonetheless. If you have a love for "The Shining", or just Kubrick in general (he's my favorite director of all-time), you will really dig this movie.