After his girlfriend disappears, Brendan sets out to infiltrate his high school’s criminal underworld to get to the bottom of things in this very tight, edge-of-your-seat noir thriller. Joseph Gordon-Levitt leads a talented, but mostly unknown, cast in a superbly-written piece full of unexpected twists.

Grade: A-.

0.3

This indie album, Departure Lounge’s last, features solid cuts with good song-writing. An overly long meandering instrumental drags the middle a little bit, but other songs, like the acoustic Along Again And, wistful I Love You, and low-fi What You Have Is Good carry the record pretty well.

Grade: B.

0.3

This exceptionally erotic film follows the relationship of a British scientist and his American girlfriend, through a series of indy rock concerts. The main feature of this film is the huge amount of explicit footage, two beautiful people having lots of unsimulated sex, and the complete absence of a plot.

Grade: C-.

0.3

Morgan Freeman finds himself in a small independent grocery store researching a location for a film when he encounters quirky Scarlet, played by Paz Vega, a no-nonsense cashier. The pair wander around Los Angeles, sharing worlds-apart stories in an endearing story full of understated humor and wonderful chemistry.

Grade: B.

0.3

Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, and Minnie Driver bring an astonishing story to life in this picture about a woman who goes to law school to free her brother after he’s sentenced to life in prison for murder he didn’t commit. A wonderful story and great acting performances make this unforgettable.

Grade: A.

0.3

Solveig delivers a wonderful debut, featuring some of his well-known hits — including Heart of Africa, a punchy crowd-pleaser with the infamous twangy vocals, the James Brown-inspired I’m a Good Man, the fantastic fable-like Edony — as well as numerous tunes full of jazz, soul, and African percussion.

Grade: A.

0.3

Mercer, a teenager who works at a car wash, steals a car to go let his estranged brother know about their mother’s death. The owner of the car calls him and lives vicariously through his strange road trip in her car. Lou Taylor Pucci, Zooey Deschanel, and Jena Malone star.

Grade: B+.

0.3

Uusitalo’s sophomore album is full of stripped-down minimal tech house cuts that demonstrate what a few simple elements can do in the hands of an interesting musical visionary. A solid sense of groove permeates each track, even against the quirks and zigzags endemic to this musician’s interestingly sparse style.

Grade: A.

0.3

This mellow album from the Elektrolux label features fourteen downtempo tracks. Lots of deep dub bass lines anchor kicked-back tropical grooves. Variously celebratory and ominous, these songs push the listener patiently to the ambitious title track, a haunting suite in three parts at the end of this interesting record.

Grade: B+.

0.3

This Emilio Estevez-directed historical drama follows the stories of twenty-two diverse people who found themselves at the Ambassador Hotel in 1968, caught up in the arrival and assassination of Bobby Kennedy. With an ensemble cast chock full of Oscar winners, this picture is dripping in great acting performances.

Grade: A-.

0.3