Totem
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Lila Avilés
In Lila Avilés’s second feature, a 7-year-old girl begins to grasp the severity of her father’s illness while birthday preparations are underway at home.

“Totem,” Naíma Sentíes stars as Sol, who peeps into rooms and listens in on adult conversations, a child explorer in a strange land.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Pictures of Ghosts
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
The Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho draws on fact and fiction in this image-rich documentary that moves fast and far, but always returns home.

“Pictures of Ghosts” bounces from topic to topic. Among them are cinema and its history, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s own amateur films and images of his moviegoing recollections.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Mambar Pierrette
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam
A gifted seamstress, played by the filmmaker Rosine Mbakam’s cousin, has to put out a string of fires in this rich portrait of Cameroonian womanhood.

Pierrette Aboheu Njeuthat as the title character in “Mambar Pierrette.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

The Kitchen
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by Daniel Kaluuya, Kibwe Tavares
Directing their first feature, Kibwe Tavares and Daniel Kaluuya spin a warmly humane story of cross-generational connection.

Kane Robinson, left, with Jedaiah Bannerman in “The Kitchen.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Thien An Pham
An uncommonly strong debut from the Vietnamese director Pham Thien An asks existential questions without answers.

Vu Ngoc Manh, left, with Le Phong Vu in “Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

The Settlers
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Crime, Drama, History, Western | Directed by Felipe Gálvez Haberle
This harrowing drama takes place in Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago in the southernmost part of South America, in 1901.

Mishell Guaña in “The Settlers,” a film directed by Felipe Gálvez.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Inshallah a Boy
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Amjad Al Rasheed
In this film by Amjad Al Rasheed, a young widow in Jordan strains against the tradition, underpinned by law, that without a man she is nothing.

Mouna Hawa in “Inshallah a Boy,” directed by Amjad Al Rasheed.
By LISA KENNEDY

Apolonia, Apolonia
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Biography | Directed by Lea Glob
The painter Apolonia Sokol is the ostensible subject of a wide-ranging documentary about life itself.

The artist Apolonia Sokol in the documentary “Apolonia, Apolonia.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Biography, Music | Directed by Brigitte Berman
Brigitte Berman’s dazzling 1985 look at the self-taught virtuoso clarinetist and bandleader is showing after a restoration.

Artie Shaw as seen in “Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got.”
By GLENN KENNY

Good Grief
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Directed by Dan Levy
In his feature directorial debut, Daniel Levy applies a light but wise hand to a man navigating life after loss.

Daniel Levy, left, with Arnaud Valois in “Good Grief.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Who the Academy Should Nominate in 2024 According to Times Movie Critics Manohla Dargis and Alissa Wilkinson

Barbenheimer, big stars and high stakes: it’s Golden Globes time again
Benjamin Lee

Rose
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Niels Arden Oplev’s drama about two sisters, one of whom is a woman with schizophrenia, on a bus tour of France brims with genuine feeling.

Sofie Grabol in “Rose.”
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

Ferrari
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Biography, Drama, History | Directed by Michael Mann
The director’s portrait of the Italian racecar impresario roars to life on the road, but home is a torment. Adam Driver stars with Penélope Cruz and Shailene Woodley.

Adam Driver as the auto maker Enzo Ferrari. All the world wants something from Ferrari, who in turn only seems to care about his racecars.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Occupied City
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary, History, War | Directed by Steve McQueen
In his four-and-half-hour documentary, the British director Steve McQueen charts the fate of Amsterdam’s Jewish population during the Nazi occupation.

“Occupied City” doesn’t use archival imagery to recreate a sense of Nazi-era Amsterdam; instead the documentary surveys a staggering 130 addresses as they exist today in the city.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Crime Is Mine
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Comedy, Crime | Directed by François Ozon
In this showbiz screwball, an aspiring actress and her lawyer best friend spin a murder accusation into a shot at fame.

Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Rebecca Marder in “The Crime Is Mine.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

The Teachers’ Lounge
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama | Directed by Ilker Çatak
An idealistic teacher in a German school meets reality, and it’s messier than she could have imagined.

Leonie Benesch as Carla Nowak in “The Teachers’ Lounge.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

All of Us Strangers
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Fantasy, Romance | Directed by Andrew Haigh
Playing a man alienated from himself and looking for answers, Andrew Scott makes this film sing.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Zack Snyder
Zack Snyder creates a space opera that’s bloated but rarely buoyant.
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi | Directed by James Wan
The Atlantean hero-king returns as a new father, a bit worse for wear. But this sequel feels like a film for grown-ups who like fun.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Godard Cinema
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Cyril Leuthy
This documentary looks at the work of Jean-Luc Godard, who sought with each new work to confound assumptions about how movies could look and sound.

Jean-Luc Godard, the filmmaker and subject of the documentary “Godard Cinema.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

American Fiction
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Cord Jefferson
The first film from the director Cord Jefferson stars Jeffrey Wright as an author who becomes a pseudonymous success writing a potboiler he loathes.

Erika Alexander and Jeffrey Wright in “American Fiction.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Wonka
PG | Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical | Directed by Paul King
Timothée Chalamet stars as the chocolatier in this musical origin story, playing a wide-eyed innocent instead of an eccentric mad-hatter.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Family | Directed by Sam Fell
This sequel is in many respects a cover song, a repeat of the beats and characters of “Chicken Run.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

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