It's cute, innocent and means well, but "IF" - an acronym for "Imaginary Friends" - leaves a lot to the imagination.

Woody Allen's 50th film is one of his better ones, with "Coup de Chance" landing as an effective thriller that relies mostly on - what else? - the script's inherent wit.

There are rarely "misses" when it comes to movies that get nominated for Best International Feature Film by the Academy Awards. With thousands of movies being produced globally each year, every country submits what they consider their "best" film, and then only five countries have their films selected.

Germany's submission is "The Teacher's Lounge," a riveting drama about a seemingly small situation at an elementary school that unravels out of control. It's a worthy selection, and one that most viewers should find easily relatable.

If there was one overlying theme in "The Teacher's Lounge," it would be that even the best of intentions can sometimes end in dire consequence. Some teachers are looking to investigate a recent string of thefts (stealing money right out of wallets) and are convinced that it's some rule-breaking rapscallion student. Even after witnessing some other faculty members use some questionable methods to try to determine the culprit(s), the meek and caring school teacher, Carla Nowak (a fantastic Leonie Benesch), takes matters into her own hands. She unwillingly kicks over the hornet's nest.

But that's not all that the film is trying to tackle. The pressures of the teacher's "every matter is treated like a big deal" may sound like a good, hard-nosed policy, but the pressures it creates for those existing underneath it becomes untenable. The movie falters a bit down the stretch, but it's never uninteresting. Sometimes an extra conversation here or there might have alleviated some of the stresses experienced by characters in the movie, but the tension is always palpable. Not bad for a movie that rarely leaves the school, and relies on the performances of so many children.

Ms. Nowak seems to think that she finds the criminal - a fellow faculty member - which is complicated because this other teacher's son is a student in Ms. Nowak's class. Oh, and this other teacher vehemently denies the wrong-doing, despite what seems like pretty solid evidence against her.

Any one teacher can only do so much. "The Teacher's Lounge" hammers home the idea that so much of what happens in our lives are out of our control. Sometimes, sadly, the best way forward might be to try to keep yourself out of the drama in the first place.

Grade: B

Genre: Drama, Thriller.
​Rated PG-13.
Run Time: 1 hour 38 minutes.

Starring: Leonie Benesch, Leonard Stettnisch, Eva Lobau, Michael Klammer.

Directed by Ilker Catak.

"The Teacher's Lounge" is now playing in theaters and was nominated for one Academy Award.

Here are reviews of several new movies opening this weekend theatrically as well as on streaming:

I'm a sucker for a good coming-of-age story, and "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" is a great one.

With focus, authenticity and a better-than-expected cast, this is a crowd-pleaser that will withstand the test of time, much like the book that it's based on.

Real life BFFs Matt Damon and Ben Affleck - counting their new film "Air" - have been in a total of nine films together. Mostly though, people bring up their Oscar-winning "Good Will Hunting" as the definitive Damon/Affleck film, a movie that landed in theaters in 1997, over 25 years ago.

I'm not sure if "Air" will still be lingering this coming Oscar season, but it's definitely another crowd-pleasing gem from Ben Affleck the director, who has shown to be a real force behind the camera even more so than in front of it.

The images you may see in the trailer for "Paint," may make you think that Owen Wilson is portraying the legendary, soft-spoken Public Television artist, Bob Ross, whose "The Joy of Painting" captivated people around the world.

But "Paint" is not a biopic, nor does Bob Ross have anything to do with this film. Sure, the look of Wilson's character, the easy-going womanizer, Carl Nargle, may himself have a popular public-access TV show about painting, and he may have taken inspiration from Ross's iconic appearance, but Nargle couldn't be more polar opposite than Ross.

The biggest difference? Ross is a joy to watch. Nargle on the other hand, is a grating, pompous-ass who gets by with his charm and talents. None of which leaves anything for us to root for in this bland, quirky "comedy," that seems to misfire at every opportunity.

When you hear the real-life story of how the game, "Tetris," became one of the most popular and well-known video games worldwide and of all-time, you might say to yourself, "Now that story would make a really good movie!"

Having now seen the "Tetris" movie (streaming on Apple TV+ beginning March 31st), I'm instead convinced that they should have left well enough alone.

It's an incredible story, but only a few ways to spin it (Tetris pun intended)...none of which end up being all that interesting enough to justify stretching it out into a feature-length film.

A stellar achievement both in storytelling and in acting, "A Thousand and One" lands as one of the year's best films, and one that will linger with you well beyond the ending credits.

Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley) was working the Lifestyles desk at the Boston Record American when she became the first reporter to connect a series of strangulation deaths that had been occurring in and around the city. Along with fellow female journalist, Jean Cole (Carrie Coon), the two battled against the inherent sexism of the early 1960s, and helped bring down the serial killer, Albert DeSalvo (David Dastmalchian), through their terrific, patient reporting.

This all seems ripe for a great thriller, so why does "Boston Strangler" end up feeling so bland?