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"Rachel is a badly broken character haunted by her mistakes and painful memories. But as she brings her baggage into the midst of her sister's wedding, she rips open deep wounds that stretch back through her family's history, testing everyone's capacity for patience, grace, and forgiveness. All of this plays out in a multi-cultural community that is not merely tolerant—they celebrate each other, and they acknowledge that, for all of their mistakes, they have some sense of what the Kingdom of Heaven looks like." "The superficiality of hipster culture is contrasted nicely with the very real, very deep grief, shame and brokenness of a family living with a pain that can never be completely healed. A stirring portrait of the need for forgiveness, and the occasional possibility of finding it—or granting it." "The film—especially in a one very tender scene—shows what unconditional love looks like." "A highly compelling, superbly acted assemblage of intimate, interpersonal moments. It might be my favorite wedding movie ever." (Our review.)

"Few box office hits have taken the sacred institution of marriage so seriously." "A vast improvement on the Kendricks' previous film, Facing the Giants, in which everything wrapped up with a tidy bow after the main character got right with God. Here, the protagonist still has struggles aplenty after his epiphany—much more like real life as we know it." "It's not a perfect movie, but what strengthens the movie is its open and single-missioned heart to proclaim God's love, and how that love can be shown through marriage." "The most poignant moment may be when the main character describes how he keeps trying to love his wife—but she stubbornly pushes him away again and again—and realizes that this is exactly what exists between God and him." (Our review.)

"The most accomplished superhero movie yet made." "A moving, complex, fascinating look at order and chaos, and how the gap between these things is often filled by people who sacrifice themselves and their reputations for the greater good." "For all its darkness, the film proposes that not everyone may be a hero, but heroism can come from anywhere." "Displays how good men courageously stand against evil—and how evil responds, attacks, and changes them." "Under the surface—perhaps unknown even to the filmmakers—is that this film shows Batman as a Christ-figure who self-sacrificially takes the sins of others onto himself, knowing it is the only way to save others and bring hope. Batman becomes an outcast so that the people of Gotham would have hope." "Dark, ferocious and provocative; a genre-redefining take on the superhero movie." "A superhero epic about terrorism and the problem of evil—thematically, it treads the same ground as No Country for Old Men, and it's arguably more complex." (Our review.)

"When three brothers—Son, Kid, and Boy—were abandoned by their abusive father, they watched him become a Christian and raise a new family. But he never came back to make amends. And so, after his death, his sins continue to infect an Arkansas community, turning family against family. Jeff Nichols' astonishing debut is a riveting drama about civil war, parental responsibility, growing up, and the hard work of breaking a cycle of violence." "A small, searing little film about family, violence, and America. It's remarkably understated and subtle, but packs a big punch." "Haunting morality play about bad blood between two sets of half brothers." "Makes the case that sitting together silently on the porch can be more heroic than revenge. (Official site.)

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Related Elsewhere:

The 2008 Critics' Choice Awards	Printer view
The year's best movies include a caped superhero, a noble little robot, a recovering addict seeking forgiveness, a kid from the slums, and much more.

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The 2008 Readers' Choice Awards	Printer view
You liked movies about a marriage on the brink, an irresistible robot, a kid from the slums, a Narnian adventure, and more. And your favorite? Read on ...