10 Best Indie Movies Of 2016 (So Far)

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

The so-called spiritual sequel to Richard Linklater's indie classic Dazed and Confused, Everybody Wants Some!! follows five members of the Southeast Texas Cherokees college baseball team as they attempt to touch bases both on and off the field. The Boyhood director takes us on a meander through the 1980s, indulging our nostalgia as only he can with a mixture of pop-culture nods and another brilliant soundtrack.

Linklater's ability to create films that are seemingly about nothing yet still manage to strike a chord is what sets him apart as a filmmaker, and this is most certainly true with Everybody Wants Some!!. You could watch the film in six 20 minute chunks and not be able to decipher any kind of plot, though over the course of nearly two hours the film never seems to lose direction and in the end serves as an offbeat celebration of adolescence.

While it isn't the best film he's ever made, Linklater's deft touch makes Everybody Wants Some!! far more entertaining than the vast majority of movies that take place on college campuses. This is mainly because of his ability to coax brilliantly natural performances out of young actors, though this movie also stands apart from the crowd as it recognises that (in spite of the title) there is a little bit more to being a student than the opposite sex.