As written and directed by Paul Weitz, Grandma is a minor film defined by a major performance from Lily Tomlin, rendering one of her best roles. Though artistically the tale is clunky (as most of Weitz’s films are), it serves as star vehicle in both the old-fashioned and modern (or post-modern) senses of this terms

A new documentary from Paul Thomas Anderson and a new documentary about Brian De Palma are part of the line-up of special presentations that will screen at the New York Film Festival, which runs from September 25 to October 11.

One of the most provocative films to have come out of Israel in recent memory, written and directed by Avishai Sivan, Tikkun tells the mesmerizing story of a Jewish Orthodox scholar in a state of crisis.

The good thing about this big-screen version, helmed with sool, style and panache by Brit Guy Ritchie, is that it is designed for younger viewers who may have never seen the popular TV series.

A sprawling, vastly entertaining rap biopic, Straight Outta Compton is part factual tale of a revolutionary musical group, part historical account of tumultuous times, part chronicle of a whole region and city (Los Angeles) and amazingly satisfying on all of these levels.