Eileen
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Mystery, ThrillerDirected by William Oldroyd
Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway star in a period thriller that brings cathartic nastiness to a cold New England Christmas.

Thomasin McKenzie, right, with Anne Hathaway in “Eileen.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Silent Night
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | ActionDirected by John Woo
John Woo’s latest is as violent and merciless a revenge thriller as you can imagine.

Joel Kinnaman in “Silent Night.”
By GLENN KENNY

American Symphony
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary, Biography, MusicDirected by Matthew Heineman
This portrait of the musician Jon Batiste and the author Suleika Jaouad follows an artistic couple through ambition and adversity.

From left, Suleika Jaouad and Jon Batiste in a moment at home.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Bad Press
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | DocumentaryDirected by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler
The battle to claw back press freedoms is the nerve-racking subject of this civic-minded documentary.

Angel Ellis in the documentary “Bad Press.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

— Of Possible Interest —

What’s It Like to Work With Hayao Miyazaki? Go Behind the Scenes.
The anime master is a creature of habit who talks every day with his longtime producer, and keeps it more hands off with his regular composer.
By CARLOS AGUILAR

Five Science Fiction Movies to Stream Now
A rom-com in space, a coming-of-age quest and a high-tech birthing plan are among the films worth checking out this month.
By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Against the Tide
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Sarvnik Kaur
Sarvnik Kaur’s breathtaking documentary about Indigenous fishermen in Mumbai brings to life an ecosystem wrecked by corporate greed and climate change.

The fishermen Ganesh, left, and Rakesh in the documentary “Against the Tide.”
By DEVIKA GIRISH

Napoleon
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, History, War | Directed by Ridley Scott
Joaquin Phoenix is oddly mesmerizing as the French emperor in Ridley Scott’s historical epic charting his rise and ruin.

Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte in one of the expansive battle scenes of Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Menus-Plaisirs — Les Troisgros
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Frederick Wiseman
For his 44th documentary, Frederick Wiseman journeys to the French countryside to examine the workings of a family-owned, Michelin-starred restaurant.

César Troisgros, right, with staff at the restaurant Le Bois Sans Feuilles outside Lyon, France.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Monster
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama, Thriller | Directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu
This drama from Hirokazu Kore-eda traces a series of events from the perspectives of a single mother, her preteen son and his fifth-grade teacher.

Hinata Hiiragi and Soya Kurokawa in “Monster.”
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

Maestro
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Biography, Drama, Music, Romance | Directed by Bradley Cooper
As director and star, Bradley Cooper delivers an intimate portrait of the composer and his many private and public selves.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein and Carey Mulligan as his wife, Felicia Montealegre, in “Maestro.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Boy and the Heron
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family, Fantasy | Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
The anime filmmaker returns at 82 with the enigmatic tale of a boy growing up amid war and fear, much as the director did.

Mahito Maki has a lot in common with his creator, Hayao Miyazaki.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Beyond the Aggressives: 25 Years Later
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Daniel Peddle
This documentary from Daniel Peddle offers an update on the transmasculine people of color who participated in ballroom culture in the 1990s.

Octavio Sanders in the documentary “Beyond the Aggressives: 25 Years Later.”
By TEO BUGBEE

— Of Possible Interest —

Wish
PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical | Directed by Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn
Celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary, the animated musical starring Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine, is a reminder of the studio’s vaunted past.
By AMY NICHOLSON

Fallen Leaves
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Aki Kaurismäki
In the latest from the Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki, two lonely people find each other with tenderness, karaoke and deadpan comedy.

Quiet attraction: Jussi Vatanen, left, and Alma Poysti in“Fallen Leaves.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Strangler
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Crime, Drama | Directed by Paul Vecchiali
This strange, seductive film from 1970, directed by Paul Vecchiali, borrows the conventions of the serial-killer thriller and turns them inside out.

Jacques Perrin in “The Strangler,” from 1970.
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

The Lady Bird Diaries
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Dawn Porter
Lady Bird Johnson proves an engrossing narrator to her own story and that of a roiling nation.

Lady Bird Johnson, right, beside her husband, the newly sworn-in president Lyndon B. Johnson, upon their return to Washington from Dallas, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
By LISA KENNEDY

— Of Possible Interest —

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller, War | Directed by Francis Lawrence
This slow-burning prequel tells the origin story of Coriolanus Snow, the future president of Panem.
By AMY NICHOLSON

Youth (Spring)
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Wang Bing
The documentarian Wang Bing examines the cloistered world of young textile workers in China.

Workers at a factory in the documentary “Youth (Spring).”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Dream Scenario
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Horror | Directed by Kristoffer Borgli
Nicolas Cage plays a mild-mannered professor who inexplicably wanders into others’ dreams in this wonderfully weird dark comedy.

Nicolas Cage and Julianne Nicholson in “Dream Scenario.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

A Still Small Voice
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Luke Lorentzen
This absorbing documentary follows a chaplain at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.

Mati, the chaplain at the center of the documentary “A Still Small Voice.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Orlando, My Political Biography
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Paul B. Preciado
The filmmaker Paul B. Preciado shares the title role with 20 trans and nonbinary performers to make a point about the cage of identity.

Written and directed by the philosopher and activist Paul B. Preciado, the movie draws inspiration from Virginia Woolf’s novel “Orlando: A Biography.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

— Of Possible Interest —

The Marvels
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy | Directed by Nia DaCosta
Brie Larson stars alongside two Disney+ stars in this trope-ridden franchise installment, the 33rd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Nyad
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Biography, Drama, Sport | Directed by Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Annette Bening plays the long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad as a woman who doesn’t pity herself. Neither does the film.

Annette Bening as Diana Nyad in “Nyad.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Comedy, Horror, Music | Directed by Toby Amies
Toby Amies’s documentary dives into the history of the British progressive rock band King Crimson and its chief disciplinarian, Robert Fripp.

Bill Rieflin offers another perspective on the staying power of King Crimson. He chose to spend his last years alive touring with the band.
By GLENN KENNY

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Drama | Directed by Raven Jackson
Raven Jackson’s film offers a rich portrait of growing up in rural Mississippi and heralds a fresh, poetic talent.

Jayah Henry and Kaylee Nicole Johnson in “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt.”
By LISA KENNEDY

Beyond Utopia
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary, Biography, History, News | Directed by Madeleine Gavin
This film, directed by Madeleine Gavin, documents the experiences of defectors from North Korea.

Members of the Ro family in the documentary “Beyond Utopia.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Fingernails
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi | Directed by Christos Nikou
Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed play confused lonely-hearts torn between science and emotion in this adorable near-future romance.

Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed in “Fingernails.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Quiz Lady
R | Comedy | Directed by Jessica Yu
Sandra Oh shines in this road trip buddy comedy about a pair of sisters getting on a TV quiz show to pay the ransom for their stolen dog.
By BRANDON YU

The Holdovers
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Alexander Payne
Alexander Payne’s jaunt to the past, with Paul Giamatti playing a curmudgeonly instructor at a 1970s boarding school, is crackling with pungent life.

From left, Dominic Sessa, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and Paul Giamatti in “The Holdovers,” | Directed by Alexander Payne.
By WESLEY MORRIS

Deep Rising
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Matthieu Rytz
Matthieu Rytz’s documentary about the bounty at the bottom of the sea examines the fight over whether to reap these riches or preserve them.

An undersea glass sponge, one example of ocean life seen in “Deep Rising.”
By LISA KENNEDY

Priscilla
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Biography, Drama, Music | Directed by Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola re-examines Elvis Presley from the perspective of the woman he married.

By BEN KENIGSBERG

Milli Vanilli
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Biography, Music | Directed by Luke Korem
Luke Korem’s documentary retraces the manufactured pop duo’s rise and fall, while asking pertinent questions about the price of stardom.

Rob Pilatus, left, and Fab Morvan in “Milli Vanilli,” a documentary | Directed by Luke Korem.
By CHRIS AZZOPARDI

To Kill a Tiger
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Nisha Pahuja
In this unflinching documentary, a young girl in rural India and her father fight an entrenched village culture to seek justice for her brutal rape.

Kiran, the central character in “To Kill a Tiger,” is a young rape victim who stood up to her three attackers and to a system that offered her little recourse.
By DEVIKA GIRISH

Silver Dollar Road
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Documentary | Directed by Raoul Peck
The 20th century saw a mass dispossession of Black farmers. This intimate documentary focuses on one family’s recent battle to keep their home in North Carolina.

Licurtis Reels, who was jailed for eight years for refusing to vacate his house, in “Silver Dollar Road.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

The Pigeon Tunnel
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary | Directed by Errol Morris
Two master performers, the filmmaker Errol Morris and the writer John le Carré, circle the truth in this mesmerizing biographical documentary.

David Cornwell, a.k.a. John le Carré, in the Errol Morris documentary “The Pigeon Tunnel.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Killers of the Flower Moon
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Thriller, Western | Directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half-hour epic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a romance, a western, a whodunit and a lesson in the bloody history of the Osage murders of the 1920s.

By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Insurrectionist Next Door
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Alexandra Pelosi
In her latest film, the documentarian Alexandra Pelosi has disarming chats with people who participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, right, interviewing Cory Konold, left, for the documentary “The Insurrectionist Next Door.”
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Fair Play
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | Directed by Chloe Domont
One couple can’t achieve work-life balance is in this impeccable debut feature from Chloe Domont.

Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor in “Fair Play.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, War | Directed by William Friedkin
William Friedkin’s final film, an adaptation of the Herman Wouk play, offers a bracing demonstration of the director’s sensibility and craft.

Kiefer Sutherland in “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial,” the final film directed by William Friedkin.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Mister Organ
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by David Farrier
A documentarian’s investigation into peculiar events outside a New Zealand antiques shop turns into a horror story.

Michael Organ, the subject of “Mister Organ,” directed by David Farrier.
By GLENN KENNY

Joan Baez I Am a Noise
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Biography, Music | Directed by Miri Navasky, Maeve O’Boyle, Karen O’Connor
A new documentary about the folk singer and activist Joan Baez contains a gold mine of archival materials.

“Joan Baez I Am a Noise,” directed by Karen O’Connor, Miri Navasky and Maeve O’Boyle, is more than a biographical account of the singer’s life.
By CHRIS AZZOPARDI

My Love Affair with Marriage
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Animation, Comedy, Drama, Musical | Directed by Signe Baumane
This animated musical about a young woman’s sexual and romantic awakening uses a gloriously tactile aesthetic.

A scene from “My Love Affair With Marriage.”
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

The Royal Hotel
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Thriller | Directed by Kitty Green
Two young women struggle to handle the obstreperous patrons of a remote Australian pub in this coolly calibrated thriller.

Jessica Henwick and Julia Garner in “The Royal Hotel.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Two Cult Classics Restored and Brimming With Chaotic Life
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Crime, Drama, Musical, Thriller | Directed by Emilio Fernández
Timothy Carey’s erratically brilliant “The World’s Greatest Sinner” and Emilio Fernández’s redemption melodrama “Victims of Sin” finally come to big screens.

Timothy Carey in “The World’s Greatest Sinner,” which he also diected.
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Colette and Justin
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Alain Kassanda
In a new documentary, a filmmaker turns his lens on his grandparents during a pivotal moment in the history of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

By CONCEPCIÓN DE LEÓN

— Of Possible Interest —

Foe
R | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Garth Davis
Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal play a farm couple with a less-than-idyllic marriage in the Midwest of the future.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Flora and Son
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Music | Directed by John Carney
The writer-director John Carney, whose feature “Once” made musical waves, returns with another charming songwriter tale.

Eve Hewson and Oren Kinlan in “Flora and Son.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Fire Through Dry Grass
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Andres Jay Molina, Alexis Neophytides
This enlightening, troubling documentary chronicles life (and death) among residents in a long-term care facility during the heights of the pandemic.

A scene from “Fire Through Dry Grass.”
By CONCEPCIÓN DE LEÓN

Mami Wata
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller | Directed by C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi
In this striking film by the Nigerian director C.J. Obasi, with the help of a mysterious stranger, a village awakens to what is possible.

Evelyne Ily in “Mami Wata,” a film about the tensions between a traditional Nigerian culture and updated visions of the world.
By BRANDON YU

— Of Possible Interest —

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie
PG | Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Cal Brunker
In this sequel, the canine gang faces Taraji P. Henson’s villain who sends a dangerous meteor toward Earth. And, yes, Kim Kardashian returns too.
By CLAIRE SHAFFER

The Creator
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Gareth Edwards
In this hectic, futuristic action film, John David Washington hunts down a threatening artificial intelligence with the baby face of a child.
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

The Origin of Evil
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, Thriller | Directed by Sébastien Marnier
“Succession” meets Brian De Palma in this delicious family-fortune thriller from France, directed by Sébastien Marnier.

Laure Calamy, center, with, clockwise from left, Céleste Brunnquell, Dominique Blanc, Jacques Weber, Doria Tillier and Véronique Ruggia Saura in “The Origin of Evil.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Still Film
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Drama | Directed by James N. Kienitz Wilkins
James N. Kienitz Wilkins’s eloquently argued experimental film warns of a contemporary Hollywood dangerously obsessed with the past.

A scene from “Still Film.”
By ROBERT DANIELS

— Of Possible Interest —

Cassandro
R | Biography, Drama, Sport | Directed by Roger Ross Williams
Gael García Bernal plays a flamboyant figure taking the world of Mexican professional wrestling by storm in this underdog drama directed by Roger Ross Williams.
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

Paul Robeson: ‘I’m a Negro. I’m an American.’
Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Kurt Tetzlaff
The film’s subtitle is drawn from one of the performer’s quotes in his autobiography “Here I Stand”: “I’m a Negro. I’m an American.”
By LISA KENNEDY