In “Harry Brown,” the revered English actor Sir Michael Caine reveals a very different side of himself. As the title character, he plays an aging pensioner who, no longer willing or able to give in to ruinous gang rule in his neighborhood, goes on a spree of relentless vigilante revenge.

Caine, who is surprisingly brutal and violent in the movie, is in fact and in real life the clever, charming and gracious gentleman we’ve encountered in so many of his other movies, in a career that has spanned half a century and is still going strong. Read more

Ignited by the events of 9/11, independent filmmaker Roger Nygard travels around the world to places like Jerusalem, China and Rome to take a non-judgmental look at what various disparate people think about the most provocative questions of life: Why do we exist? Read more

This is the premise of The Philosopher Kings, that as custodians “clean up” after others and after hours, they remain largely invisible. Read more>>

What does it mean to be a parent? Who determines the role and what are the responsibilities? Those questions are explored in Josh and Benny Safdie’s bittersweet, semi-autobiographical - and obviously cathartic - comedy about their father. Read more

An early episode establishes Robin’s change, from Crusader to champion of the beleaguered and besieged, a fighter for — Muslims’ rights? Read more>>

Bid farewell to fond fantasies of Robin and his Merry Men romping through Sherwood Forest. Re-teaming with his “Gladiator” star Russell Crowe, Ridley Scott has envisioned a grim, un-romantic ‘origin’ tale serving as a prequel to the classic folklore, explaining why and how orphaned archer Robin Longstride became England’s legendary outlaw. Read more

Two years ago, when Robert Downey Jr. transformed from billionaire playboy Tony Stark into a hip, metal-clad hero, attacking corporate amorality and skewering the military/industrial complex, the result was a mega-hit, grossing $579 million globally. Read more

Tracking four babies from different cultures during the first two years of their lives, French director Thomas Baimes documents the universality of human development and socialization as these tiny creatures discover and explore the world around them. Read more

Rodrigo Garcia’s latest film, Mother and Child, is that rarest of rarities these days: a serious film about motherhood that does not resort to clichés and stereotypes but explores what is for many women the central experience of their lives without either denigrating it or dismissing it. Read more

Do you like adoption movies that make you cry or make you laugh? Read more>>