Moonlight is based on the play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue by American playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney. Opening in the US in October, the coming-of-age tale in the “war on drugs” years, directed by Barry Jenkins, has set festivals alight since its debut at Telluride.

Writer-director Jeff Nichols tells one of America’s great modern love stories, which also happens to be one of America’s great civil rights stories: the tale of Richard and Mildred Loving (only the most perfect surname), who were arrested and exiled for their interracial marriage, and went on to sue the state of Virginia. Tissues required.

There’s nothing that Hollywood loves more than movies about itself, and producer-director-writer Warren Beatty looks like he’s having a ball playing filmmaker and aviator Howard Hughes in Rules Don’t Apply (his first directing stint since 1998’s Bulworth).

Is Benny Cumberbatch ready to be Doctor Strange? We’re certainly ready for Tilda Swinton as his Celtic-not-Tibetan mystic arts teacher, those special effects promised in the trailer, and maybe a visit from Thor. Come on, November, why aren’t you here already?

“Persiguiendo a Amy es una intervención. Un tortazo en la cara de todos esos espectadores que se sentían cómodos mientras los chistes giraban alrededor de lo putas que son las chicas, lo difícil que es ligar o las pollas. Durante su primer acto la película tiende un espejo en el que deja que te recrees al máximo. El espejo se rompe justo antes de empezar su segunda parte, en una de las escenas más sinceras que he visto jamás en una película. A partir de este punto, cada diálogo es un proyectil que el director tira contra la pantalla, incluido el momento en el que, utilizando a Ben Affleck de narratario, se siente con la libertad de mirar al espectador a los ojos para decirle que efectivamente es un imbécil que ha caído en la trampa. Ojalá hubiera visto Chasing Amy hace años, antes de dar por hecho que todas eso que era mío le pertenecía a otra persona. Ojalá hubieras visto Chasing Amy hace años, antes de dar por hecho que todo eso que era mío te pertenecía a ti.” (Translation) —Ene

“It’s rare to see a film that, sixty years after production, remains a wholly singular experience. Creepy and nihilistic, especially for the time and place in which it came, The Night of the Hunter really does have a style and daring that makes you wish the director did more. This film is in the DNA of everything from American Psycho to There Will Be Blood. It’s also unbearably suspenseful and works unexpectedly well as a horror movie, while also subverting expectations and lacking a single genre.

Robert Mitchum is fantastically dangerous and loathsome, and Shelley Winters is pretty fearless as the woman he gaslights. The kid’s mugging feels a bit Mickey Mouse Club, but the actress playing his sister is more naturalistic (and gets better dialogue). Aside from a few continuity issues from budgetary constraints, The Night of the Hunter should still captivate audiences; there are several memorable sequences of intricate imagery, and it is epic and ambitious in a contemporary way.” —monsoons

“Inexplicably depressed Nationalist propaganda film about open carry, Ford trucks and actually gettin the feels about yer dead Mexican/Indian sidekick. There are no villains in the story, just heroes and bystanders cuz Texas. If ever there was a case for story being nearly inconsequential to how good a film is (a case I make always), it’s this story, written by Taylor Sheridan … who also wrote Sicario and won awards for it. HoHi’s screenplay begs for another go-round with another director and DP’s take on this. Remember, some picture frames are dishonored by their content as well; this was another case of a perfectly good wood frame holding a poster for some Klan meeting.” —Ron Spencer

“What defines a ‘western’? Is it cowboys? Guns? Horses? Boots? Or is it its morals of American masculinity itself; a study of what does, and what should, make a man? No matter what the criteria, Hell or High Water fits. Only an ‘indie’ by the most basic description, its qualitative and crowd-pleasing reach much exceeds its financial grasp. Boasting funny, enthralling, and character-filled fun from start to finish, this unconventional cowboy chronicle is the movie we’ve wanted all year… The simplicity of its cat-and-mouse setup allows the thematic and ethical complexities to unravel as the story does, instead of forcing it through hackneyed exposition. Touching on topics like the dangers of nostalgia, flawed justice, colonialism, and western heroism, its thematic richness is only matched by its penetrating visuals… With anti-hero films filling the cinematic landscape nowadays, this is more a ‘pro-human’ film.” —Matt Greene

Letterboxd has no shortage of horror lists for Halloween, but Clare Diane’s list of Horror Movies as Anti-Kyriarchal Dream Agents is outta this world special, and comes with a wild essay about taking what she wants from horror (“often conceived of as fundamentally misogynistic / sexist / etc”) and discarding the rest.

Another great horror list, this one is actually three lists combined from Rebekah, Rob and Elric of the Shockwaves Podcast.

Dunno about you ladies, but when the weight of the world is on our shoulders and we need a moment, sometimes the only thing to do is submerse ourselves in a bath, contemplate life, then emerge 5 seconds later with all the answers to our dilemma.

Is it possible to rank Kurt Russell’s hair? It’s certainly worth trying.

What did Tom Hardy say?