Arriving at the end of its sixth decade, the New York Film Festival exhibits the wary tentativeness of a patient waking up after a lengthy operation. Are my legs still here? My arms? Can I raise my head? Sit up? Fortunately, the answers in all cases turns out to be yes. But the patient will…

How the hell do you sell a slow, moody character study like “East of the Mountains”? Character actor Tom Skerritt takes the lead for once in this gentle, melancholic drama about an older man who, while overwhelmed by suicidal thoughts, figures some things out for himself. Fans of David Guterson’s source novel will probably get…

A mother-daughter bond shines through stark black-and-white cinematography and surreal humor in “El Planeta.” The debut feature from writer/director/star Amalia Ulman recalls the scrappy, low-budget look and feel of the movies that marked the indie film explosion of the early ‘90s, but its dialogue and details are unmistakably personal. Ulman, an Argentine-born artist, appears alongside…

An impressive Ben Whishaw is rigged to blow in “Surge,” the electrified debut feature by Aneil Karia, which follows along as the actor’s ticking-time-bomb character rampages through London, robbing banks and running amok.  Joseph is a quietly erratic loner, played by Whishaw—who won the World Cinema Dramatic special jury prize for acting at Sundance—as someone…

Mike Flanagan’s “Midnight Mass” sees the talented writer/director move from adapting Stephen King to crafting a project that feels so distinctly like one of the horror master’s works that even fans will wonder how they missed its book release. With elements of The Stand, The Shining, and Salem’s Lot, Flanagan’s study of religion and immortality…

“The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise—with the occasion…Think anew, and act anew…”—Abraham Lincoln “There is no darkness, but ignorance.”—William Shakespeare L-R, top: Kenya Apongule, Michael Proctor, Anna Lee Ackermann; L-R, bottom: Niko Pecori-Robinson, Azalee Irving, Zaknafein Luken. IT WAS SUCH A JOY for me to host the No Malice Film Celebration…