Emma Kiely

An Cailín Ciúin is one of the most masterful meditations on childhood, family, and love.

From the directing to the script to the acting, All of Us Strangers is a film that will stay with you long after you watch it.

It’s an electric, atmospheric, and deeply soulful look at what it means to be human, what it means to have empathy, and how faith should never come before people.

It doesn’t coast on its set-up, Skarsgård’s presence, or the taboos it approaches. It handles all these and then some, combining a compelling coming-of-age story, an endearing comedy, and a sex-positive odd romance into one of the best films of the year.

The chemistry between all of the Paira family members forms the beating heart of the film, devastating the audience by reminding them how happy they used to be, but promising them that nothing can shatter their sense of spirit, because they are together.

It’s a crowdpleaser that will plaster a smile on your face from beginning to end with a high chance of some tears. Just when it teeters on overly saccharine territory, its hilarious script and earnest performances dial it back.

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.

How to Have Sex is a fearless, uncomfortable, and mesmerizing watch from start to finish.

Jeymes Samuel is a master of all trades who can craft character-driven arcs with fun action-packed sequences all against a beautiful score. No actor misses a beat and it confirms LaKeith Stanfield remains not just a brilliant actor but a true movie star.

With Thanksgiving, Roth brings horror back to basics and reminds us that it can be nasty, gory, gnarly, and a ton of fun all at once.

The Balconettes is the announcement of a formidable comedic voice.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

With immersive action set pieces, heartfelt snippets of character-driven stories, and fantastic performances all around, Steve McQueen shows again his adept ability at bringing such enormous scope to deeply personal human stories.

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.

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.

Wild Diamond operates in both the very new wave of movies incorporating the ubiquitous presence of TikTok and the decades-old subgenre of class commentary.

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

Apart from the impeccable cast, what’s most impressive about Companion is its balance of so many differing moving parts. It’s a genuinely funny comedy, a suspenseful thriller, and has some pretty gnarly gore scenes to boot.

Sure, the story isn’t groundbreaking, but it makes up for it in its tribute to why we love cinema, specifically horror, so much. Even though it wasn’t needed, MaXXXine secures Ti West’s trilogy as one of the best in horror history.

Sinners is an electric film sparkling with energy and passion.

Chain Reactions finds the beauty in the despair, and how fine cinematic storytelling isn’t confined to tales of good winning over evil. It’s a love letter to horror, art, influence, and how Tobe Hooper and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre changed cinema forever, whether you can stomach it or not.

It is a beautiful, haunting, and heartwarming look at the tidal wave that trauma brings not just to one person but their entire circle. With subtle but sharp notes on MeToo, cancel culture, online trolling, and sexual assault, I Used to Be Funny is a searingly relevant film without making that its main objective.

Fennell’s direction outdoes her writing here, and the cinematography from Linus Sandgren is exquisite (no surprise).

The destination is worth the journey, and it offers a viewing experience that feels earned in the end