Jeremy Mathai

By far the funniest, most heartfelt, and boldest "Predator" movie of them all, "Badlands" etches its place in franchise history — right alongside the classic that started it all and the three worthy follow-ups that Trachtenberg has delivered so far. Let's hope there are many more to come.

Anemone does a capable job of building up the mystery at its heart, waiting and waiting until the pressure builds before finally giving both audiences and its characters a release valve — primarily through yet another tour-de-force monologue that Daniel Day-Lewis makes a meal out of, as he's done many a time before.

The final result is the funniest feel-bad movie in ages, though one that will worm its way into your thoughts long after the credits roll. No Other Choice is proof of that all-too-rare kind of theatrical experience — one capable of being far more than it appears to be from the outside looking in.

The frenetic pace may keep kids hooked, but parents will appreciate the sequences when Elio hits the pause button and allows audiences to sit in the silence — of complicated ideas, of emotionally challenging conversations, and of the wonders around us we too often fail to appreciate.

In stark contrast to the rise of "second screen" brain rot and clunky dialogue meant to catch streaming audiences up on whatever they missed while scrolling on their phones, Killer of Killers demands your undivided attention every step of the way lest you fall behind.

This is a one-of-a-kind experience that simply doesn't come around very often. Hyperbole or not, I'm willing to bet we'll be talking about "Sinners" for a long time to come.

The film is undeniably at its best when grappling with the push and pull of technology versus old-school espionage.

Black Bag is a perfect example of all of Soderbergh's strengths and the heights he's capable of reaching throughout this run-and-gun phase of his post-retirement career.

Action junkies, horror fiends, and romance enthusiasts have seen all of this done before and done better, sure. But it's a rare kind of gem that even attempts to pack all of these disparate elements into the same package. It's an even greater (dare I say pleasant) surprise that the last group will be the one walking away most satisfied by this, when all's said and done.

Some may be tempted to refer to The Shrouds as Cronenberg playing in a minor key, but that does no justice whatsoever to a chilly, almost shell-shocked drama that derives so much meaning and even poignancy out of its emotional remove. Cronenberg fans, you will not want to miss this one.

Whether this atypical Burroughs adaptation and unconventional love story truly works for you in the end or not, you won't regret getting swept up in the journey.

Practically every immaculate shot in Maria is framed as if it were the title character's own theater stage. This makes an apt runway for Angelina Jolie to do her thing and deliver easily her most dialed-in performance of the last decade (or more).

Through it all, My Old Ass never loses sight of the big picture. Park weaves together theme, plot, and emotion through various montages with the skill of much more established filmmakers, knowing precisely when to tap the brakes and let scenes breathe for maximum impact.

Frequently funny and consistently stylish, Wolfs is a solid and serviceable enough addition to the genre — though one that's perhaps a bit too indebted to the influence of Scorsese. 

Twisters has its fair share of clunky dialogue, an endless amount of indiscernible technobabble (honestly, it's kind of impressive), and even a smidge of contrived melodrama, to be sure, but it balances out these shortcomings with a relentless sense of earnestness and heart that's difficult to resist.

Tatum and Johansson are the stars of the show, oftentimes conveying with a mere look what entire monologues couldn't have accomplished. These are the two engines propelling the movie into the stratosphere, taking what could've been a disposable, forgettable effort and transforming it into an experience that'll have you floating on air out of the theater ... likely as you hum a very apt Frank Sinatra tune to yourself.c

Jazzy can be called many things — a slice-of-life rumination on the things we take for granted, a coming-of-age marvel — but, at its core, it's the simplest and most childlike of statements that echo far beyond the movie's pitch-perfect ending.

Even a minor stumble or two does little to hold back one of the year's better horror efforts, leaving us to grapple with images that will haunt us long after the credits roll.

Sacramento is film that knows exactly how to transcend the sum of its parts.

More than anything else, Thanksgiving is a gnarly, entertaining, and gleefully over-the-top fright fest — one that demands to be enjoyed in rowdy midnight screenings at repertory theaters for years to come.