White Riot  Members’ Choice  (U.K., 2019, 15, 80 mins, documentary) Dir. Rubika Shah; Red Saunders, Pauline Black, Dennis Bovell.

An exploration of how punk influenced politics in late-1970s Britain when a group of artists united to take on the National Front.

Winner London Film Festival Best Documentary.

RT Critics 100% IMDb 7.2

RT Critics’ Consensus “Raw and energetic like the music that inspired the 1970s political movement, White Riot offers invaluable insight into how music can change the world — and how Rock Against Racism still resonates.”

Rocks  Members’ Choice  (UK, 2019, 12, 91 min, coming of age drama) Dir. Sarah Gavron; Bukky Bakray, Kosar Ali.

A London teen takes care of her younger brother after their mother abruptly leaves.

RT Critics 98%   IMDb 7.6

RT CC “A fresh, funny coming-of-age story rooted in realistic characters and anchored with a meaningful message, Rocks is as solid as its title suggests.”

Saint Maud  Members’ Choice  (UK, 2019, 15, 84 min, psychological thriller) Dir Rose Glass; Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle.

Maud, an unstable, newly devout palliative care nurse, becomes obsessed with saving her dying patient’s soul.

RT Critics 96%  IMDb 7.1

RTCC “A brilliantly unsettling blend of body horror and psychological thriller, Saint Maud marks an impressive debut for writer-director Rose Glass.”

Queen of Katwe (USA, 2016, PG, 124 min, drama/biopic). Dir Mira Nair; David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o.

Living in the slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, 10-year-old Phiona’s world changes when she meets a missionary who teaches children how to play chess.

RT Critics 93% IMDb 7.4

RTCC “Queen of Katwe is a feel-good movie of uncommon smarts and passion, and outstanding performances by Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo help to elevate the film past its cliches.”

Birdy (USA, 1984, 15, 117 min, drama)

Dir Alan Parker; Matthew Modine, Nicolas Cage.

Birdy returns from the Vietnam War so damaged by what he saw that he has shut himself off from reality, imagining he is actually a bird.

Winner Cannes Film Festival Jury Grand Prix

RT Critics 85%  IMDb 7.3

RTCC n/a. “A very strange and beautiful movie” Roger Ebert.

Mr Jones   Members’ Choice  (Poland/U.K./Ukraine, 2019, 15, 116 min, period drama/biopic) Dir Agnieszka Holland; James Norton, Vanessa Kirby.

Welsh journalist Gareth Jones risks his life to expose the truth about the devastating famine in the early 1930s Soviet Union.

RT Critics 84%  IMDb 6.8

RTCC “Flawed yet fundamentally worthy, Mr. Jones peers into the past to tell a fact-based story that remains troublingly relevant today.”

The Bling Ring (USA, 2013, 15, 88 min, crime drama/biopic) Dir. Sofia Coppola; Israel Broussard, Emma Watson.

A teenager and his gang of fame-obsessed youths use the Internet to track the whereabouts of celebrities, then rob their homes.

RT Critics 59%  IMDb 5.6

RTCC “While it’s certainly timely and beautifully filmed, The Bling Ring suffers from director Sofia Coppola’s failure to delve beneath the surface of its shallow protagonists’ real-life crimes.”