The “Veronica Mars” movie exists only because fans of the TV show willed it into existence. Writer-director Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell sought funding for the long-talked-about picture on the Kickstarter website, and money rolled in at an astounding pace. The fact that major studios previously balked at the idea of backing the film makes one wonder about the state of the film industry. 

Written, directed by and starring John Turturro, Fading Gigolo is a subtle, charming comedy making an observation about the entanglements of sex and love. It could be due to the age of the cast in the film, but there is a tender treatment of the relationships portrayed, bringing out raw honesty. The premise is rather simple:  Murray (Woody Allen), a rare bookseller, literally “pimps out” his close friend Fioravante ( Turturro), a florist, for a threesome since his business is going under. After a successful venture, the two friends partner up.

Writer-director Jason Reitman (“Juno,” “Up In the Air”) has proven himself an engaging talent with a flair for making movies that are more thought-provoking and off-center than those produced by his famous father, Ivan (“Ghostbusters,” “Stripes”). His latest, “Labor Day,” works both as an unconventional romance and a coming-of-age tale. The plot centers on Henry (Gattlin Griffith) who lives an uneasy life with his severely depressed mother, Adele (Kate Winslet). Henry’s existence is thrown into turmoil when a rough-looking man named Frank (Josh Brolin) approaches him at a department store and “insists” on a ride. 

“Barefoot,” Director Andrew Fleming’s English-language remake of the 2005 German movie “Barfuss,” is an offbeat affair that ranges from endearing and sweet to flat-out creepy. The emotional range is primarily due to the cad-like ways of male lead Jay Wheeler (Scott Speedman). Although Jay was born to a wealthy, Louisiana family, he left his life of privilege to make a mess of himself in Los Angeles. When viewers meet him, he’s deeply in debt to a loan shark and working as a janitor in a psychiatric hospital. 

Jan Svankmajer’s Alice, the esteemed Czech animator’s feature-film debut from 1988, is far more than just a strange, wonderful, and surreal trip set within the charming ambience of an Eastern bloc TV fairytale. It is a strikingly original attempt to wound the skin of the story and to reveal its body by almost entirely stripping it of Carroll’s language and converting it into a an eerie and unsettling dreamscape. 

“Before I was a scientist, I was a social worker in Brooklyn,” said Patricia Wright, an anthropologist and conservationist who has spent nearly 30 years studying Lemurs in the rain-forests of Madagascar. She says that in Madagascar, both humans and lemurs struggle with the scarcity of resources. Man-made fires have ravaged much of the lemurs’ natural habitat. Wright is a central focus of the recently released documentary, Island of Lemurs: Madagascar, which strives to educate the general public about the plight of lemurs.

A terrific portrayal of passion and perseverance, this film depicts a rather obsessive group of musicians – and an exasperated filmmaker – as they attempt to orchestrate the “Everest” of classical music. Reputed to be the largest, longest, and most complex composition ever written, Havergal Brian’s Symphony No. 1 “The Gothic” is a colossal piece of classical music requiring a number of musicians so vast that it has only been performed four times since its completion in 1927.

Frears’ movie departs substantially from the book while telling a fascinating tale of motherly love and indicting the Catholic Church’s operation of Magdalene laundries. These facilities, which were designed as rehabilitation centers for unwed mothers, often operated like prisons, and Philomena’s story puts a face to the tragedy many young women endured. In the film, Sixmith (portrayed winningly by Steve Coogan), a journalist, learns that the now elderly Philomena wants to find her lost son. 

With so many critically acclaimed films out this winter—and a stacked awards season—it’s easy to make the argument for a new Golden Age of cinema: this season, American Hustle, Wolf of Wall Street, Twelve Years a Slave and more films were garnering buzz for their nominations and reviews. Is this the sign of a new boom for cinema? Or does saying the art of film is back a self-fulfilling prophecy? American Hustle was a front-runner this award season and was initially met with fairly consistent acclaim, but with its 10 Oscar nominations, American Hustle left viewers empty-handed. 

Two films into the trilogy, Jackson’s vision has been vindicated, as his “Hobbit” movies, particularly “The Desolation of Smaug,” are nearly as exciting and well-rendered as his “Rings” interpretations. Jackson maintains the serious tone that he set in the “Rings” films, and he takes pains to tie the events of the two trilogies together. The result is a continuing Middle Earth epic that should delight both Tolkien aficionados and newcomers alike.