Fences (Paramount)

Directed by Denzel Washington (Antwone Fisher)
Runtime: 2 hrs, 19 mins

Fences is the film adaptation of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning play that examines race relations in 1950's America. The central protagonist is Troy, an African-American father who once was a great baseball player but was unable to play in the Major League because the color barrier had yet to be broken in professional baseball. He now lives his life as a garbage man struggling with his place in society as an African-American man.

Starring Denzel Washington & Viola Davis

La La Land (Lionsgate)

Directed by Damien Chazelle (Whiplash)
Runtime: 2 hrs, 8 mins

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling reunite in Damien Chazelle's musical about an aspiring actress who falls in love with a jazz musician in Hollywood. The film's title references both Los Angeles and also the state of being out of touch with reality. The film is directed by Damian Chazelle, whose first film Whiplash was Oscar nominated as well as took home the top prize from the Sundance Film Festival. La La Land earned the top prize at the Critics Choice Awards earlier in December.

Starring Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone

Manchester by the Sea (Roadside Attractions)

Directed by Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count On Me)
Runtime: 2 hrs, 17 mins

Lee Chandler is an apartment maintenance man who returns to his hometown to take care of his nephew Patrick after his brother (Patrick's father) dies of a heart attack. With Patrick's mother out of the picture, Lee is made legal guardian of Patrick and is faced with the tough decision of whether to uproot his nephew or return to the same place he has desperately been trying to forget.

Starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams & Lucas Hedges

Moonlight (A24)

Directed by Barry Jenkins
Runtime: 1 hr, 51 mins

Moonlight takes place over the course of three time periods and tells the story of Chiron, who the audience sees grow from a young child to an adult. Chiron struggles to find his place in the world and the audience watches how his upbringing in a crime ridden lower class neighborhood in Miami has both influenced and impacted his life. Mahersali Ali (House of Cards) thrives as the drug dealer who takes an interest in Chiron's troublesome upbringing.

Starring Mahersala Ali, Naomie Harris

Silence (Paramount)

Directed by Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street)
Runtime: 2 hrs, 41 mins

Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of cinema (known for the dark dramas Taxi Driver and Goodfellas). Scorsese has recently taken on lighter films, such as the children's fantasy film Hugo and the dark comedy The Wolf of Wall Street but returns to his dramatic roots to tell the story of two Catholic missionaries who travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor in a time when Catholicism was outlawed and their presence forbidden.

Starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson