Emma Kiely

What keeps the movie going when the script starts to run out of ink are the brilliant performances all around.

Instead of glorifying men at the top of their game (well, at least Keane), it’s a fascinating, funny, and smart breakdown of how one argument served as a microcosm for centuries of conflict, cultural values, and men’s egos.

A first-hand retelling of how easily racism can become deadly, The Perfect Neighbor is one of the most compelling documents of how inherently dangerous it is for Black people to exist in America today.

It's a maddening and heart-pounding portrait of bureaucracy amid war and the mental torture of being helpless in the face of terror.

Father Mother Sister Brother does have little pockets of Jarmusch's genius scattered throughout, but not enough to make up for how unfulfilling the entire experience is.

Hulu's Whitney Wolfe biopic never tries to break free from the predictable confines of the genre.

It’s a totally pointless pursuit that has no interest in interrogating why A Serbian Film came into existence, only how. An 80-minute behind-the-scenes promotional featurette for a film that, even after an entire documentary devoted to defending its existence, still feels completely meaningless.

Instead of burrowing into their differing ideas about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and how they differ based on class and background, Anna and Jamie’s romance is based entirely on them exchanging progressively earnest platitudes, quotes taken from centuries-old poetry that the script dumbs down and shoehorns into every moment between the couple.

The Fantastic: Four Steps successfully invigorates the MCU, but it’s the tectonic shift that audiences thought it would be.

Dreams is probably the same old story for Michel Franco fans, but as a first-time viewer, I was in awe of how a film could go so wrong so quickly.

It is at first a beautiful and ultimately tragic story of teenage dreams, lost innocence, and how abusers’ grasp extends far past their victims.

It does slightly fall off in its final act, becoming aimless and stretched, and ending around 30 minutes after it should. But its first two acts are deeply enthralling, and Vicky Krieps' lead performance is an Odyssean tour de force.

Some will definitely not be able to buy into the ridiculousness of it all, but if you can, you’ll be rewarded with a great time at the cinema. If you thought after the first movie that this killer doll was just a viral blip in the movie world, M3GAN 2.0 is here to tell you in the most deliciously over-the-top way that you are very wrong.

An exciting and terrifying horror movie, a fresh and nuanced entry into the zombie catalog, a mesmerizing philosophical tale, all packed into a coming-of-age structure, 28 Years Later is one of the best zombie horror movies we’ve been given in years.

Laxe is aiming to shock the audience, and in that, he succeeds, but the final product suffers as a result.

With a phenomenal performance from Frank Dillane and a thoughtful, open approach to those who lose their way in life, Urchin is a worthy contribution to the cinematic portfolio of British realism.

Die, My Love is further proof that no one is doing it like Lynne Ramsay, whose technique and style continue to evolve, as she draws out a career-best performance from Jennifer Lawrence in a must-see thriller spectacle that turns a single woman’s experience into a brutally honest psychological epic.

All held together by a transcendent performance from Imogen Poots, The Chronology of Water isn’t the strongest directorial debut, but it does hold glimpses of what Stewart is capable of.

With Joaquin Phoenix at the height of his abilities, Eddington is, if you look close enough, just as, if not more terrifying than anything Paimon or a Swedish cult could ever unleash.

The Sound of Falling may be one of the most grim films on the female experience you’ll ever see, but it never rises above this darkness to deliver anything illuminating about being a woman.

If you don’t like horror movies, then don’t go see this movie. This isn’t for you! This is for the Final Destination fans who’ve waited patiently for over a decade. It’s also for those who enjoy a ride of a movie that will raise and drop your heart rate multiple times over an hour and 47 minutes. With horror franchises constantly coming back from the dead, Bloodlines is one of the freshest we’ve seen in a while. It’s the perfect blend of going back to basics and cooking up something new, drenched in blood and snapping bones.

Fréwaka may not achieve everything it sets out to, but it’s still a moving horror story packed with thought and intention — and a much-needed reminder of the lyrical beauty of the Irish language.

Sinners is an electric film sparkling with energy and passion.

Borderline is a prime example of how a really great cast can elevate rather frail material.

Bloat really doesn’t seem like a movie that knows what it wants to be.

Mad About the Boy is the disappointing end to a franchise that should have never gone beyond its first sequel.

It may not feel as polished or suspenseful as Longlegs, but you can tell Perkins is having a whale of a time putting his years of horror filmmaking to the maximum.

It’s not only counterprogramming to the same formulaic true crime series that streaming platforms continue to churn out, but it’s also in direct dialog with these shows and the audience's unrelenting obsession with them.