“Is This Thing On?” is, uniquely enough, an upbeat yet emotionally truthful movie about divorce, Dan Webster says.

“The Choral” is a tender look at how one English village struggles to cope with the ravages caused by World War I, Dan Webster says.

A laid-off worker goes to desperate and violent extremes for a new job in Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice.” Nathan Weinbender says it’s one of the Korean master’s very best movies.

Like most film festivals, the Palm Springs International Film Festival offers viewers the essence of cinematic art, Dan Webster says.

“The Secret Agent” is an intense study of what it meant to be a target of corrupt forces in 1970s Brazil, Dan Webster says.

The Netflix streaming feature “The Beast in Me” is a flawed-but-intense study of grief, revenge and sociopathy, Dan Webster says.

Richard Linklater’s Netflix feature “Blue Moon” is a study in failed dreams and lifelong regret, Dan Webster says.

Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” is a love letter to the French New Wave, Dan Webster says.

Clint Bentley’s “Train Dreams” is a visual meditation on loss, the nature of grief and the healing power of nature, Dan Webster says.

Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or-winning “It Was Just an Accident,” now playing at the Magic Lantern, follows one man’s tireless attempts to justify revenge. Nathan Weinbender says it’s a propulsive thriller and a blistering rebuke of the Iranian government.