Kristen Lopez

Buckley is a powerhouse and Gyllenhaal's script is so bold and fresh that even when it doesn't work it pulls you in.

Hoppers is one of the best Pixar movies in recent years, though the script does feel slight in character motivations.

The soul of the novel is there and "Wuthering Heights" stands on its own as yet another great adaptation of Bronte's novel.

Pillion remains one of the best movies of the year, one that is funny as it is relatable, romantic as it is trying. Melling and Skarsgård have a fabulous chemistry together. This is another one I can't wait to experience again.

Mitchell tells a story that needs to be told and demands the audience to never avert their gaze.

Hilariously gory, spooky and suspenseful, this is a soon-to-be Halloween classic that continues to make us ask, "Why the hell is Rachel McAdams not a huge star?"

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is not only better than its predecessor, it's one of the first great movies of 2026.

Hamnet is another slow burn from Chloe Zhao, but when it really unleashes its magic it's an unstoppable force enhanced by Jessie Buckley's performance. A beautiful examination of mourning and artistic catharsis.

Marty Supreme is a movie that, if it doesn't instantly draw you in and snap you up, it will later. A rapid-fire story of superiority wrapped up in a burning performance by Timothee Chalamet. Even a Safdie naysayer will find something to be charmed by.

Wicked: For Good's problems are the results of being two distinct features. Screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox understand the hard part is over in terms of crafting the world and characters and now audiences have to live in it.

Life After is a thought provoking piece of art that should be watched by everyone, regardless of disability. Whether you think this affects you or not, all it takes is one accident (as talking head Melissa Hickson talks about with regards to her husband) to have your right to make medical decisions taken away. This movie chilled me to my core but it’s imperative you see it.

Eternity is a sweet little slice of life (and death) story with wonderful performances from Olsen, Teller and Turner. If the existential dread is getting you down of late this is a perfect story to quell it for the moment.

Yorgos Lanthimos's Bugonia is such a fresh exploration of humanity and what our future in the world is. One could say by the time it reaches its conclusion it's utterly depressing, and yet it feels so inevitable. This is a movie where you'll want to wait for others to see it so you can truly dive into its themes. Plemons is the MVP, though Delbis and Stone are also great. Another hit from Lanthimos!

Visually, Frankenstein is a feast of impeccable costumes and production design. And the first hour of the movie is thrilling, with Isaac in fine form. The second half is muted, but still has a power to it, coupled with a unique performance from Elordi.

Kiss of the Spider Woman is astounding. If you aren't a musical fan, will you be in hell? Probably. But for those who enjoy a sweeping musical story, or for lovers of Old Hollywood, you'll be in Heaven for the next two hours.

One Battle After Another is an ensemble powerhouse, with Anderson taking a stab at what could be his most politically charged feature. DiCaprio is wonderful, but then again there's not a dull note in the entire cast.

Hedda is one of the year's best movies with Thompson nothing short of wondrous.

Faist, O’Connor and Zendaya have the ability to rise to the…challenge….but the script hampers them at every turn.

For those already invested in the “Dune” franchise, “Dune: Part Two” is a sweeping and engaging continuation that will make you eager for a third installment. And if you were a fence-sitter on the first, this should also hold your attention with a taut, well-done script and engaging characters with whom you’ll want to spend nearly three hours.

A Different Man is a fascinating exploration of humanity with Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson being a team I want to see reunite in other works. The climax is a tad underwhelming but overall it’s a rollicking ride worth experiencing.

Thelma is a totally pure delight that gives June Squibb a much-deserved leading role. Her and Roundtree are fabulously paired and Margolin’s script is breezy and sharp in equal measure. You’ll want to see this with your best friend, your parents, and, yes, your grandma.

Wish is a darling film with fantastic music and amazing voice performances, but the story does feel a bit like a house of cards waiting to be poked.

It’s silly and makes little sense, but it’s such a fun time at the movies.

Hall and Tiexiera create something incredibly special with Subject. The subject matter (pun totally intended) yields a documentary that isn’t against the documentary world, but wants audiences to simply question what they’re watching

Leave the World Behind enters the stage as one of the year’s best and no doubt will spark massive amounts of conversation. It’s cast helps take viewers on a journey that, while they’ll feel the length, they’ll be so compelled by what’s happening it won’t even matter. Just don’t expect to sleep easy after seeing it.

Swift and Wrench have done something truly special with the “Eras” film and that is making a colorful celebration of music and, unintentionally, cinema.

A Haunting in Venice is a moody Gothic horror feature that feels completely refreshing in a landscape of jump scares and gore.

Gran Turismo works best because it eschews its video game origins quickly before settling into a standard race car film. It’s unknown how fans of the game will respond to the movie — no one watching the movie in this critic’s theater pointed out any specific game Easter eggs — but on the whole fans of racecar films should be in for a good time.

As great as Rogowski is to watch, though, Passages is all about Adèle Exarchopoulos, who turns in a better performance than she did in “Blue is the Warmest Color.”

Simien’s Haunted Mansion is a wondrous blend of horror and comedy, tinged with emotional resonance in its story of grief and how we try to connect with those we’ve lost.

It’s a character study, a moody atmospheric piece of contemplation with one character who, through interacting with others, unseen, on the phone comes away with a grander understanding of self. We, as the audience, come away with a grander understanding of our own interactions and how life changes without us ever knowing about it.

Every Body is about a serious and under-reported topic, yet Cohen makes it fascinating without ever exploiting the trio of people she’s documenting. It’s the purest form of documentary, wherein the goal is to educate and inform without falling into prurient interest.

The blend of the salacious with the historical will get audiences to watch HBO’s Hudson doc, though it might not have enough meat to it to get TCM snobs to find anything new. But what’s there is a sensitive story of a man whose best self was known to only a few.

In a landscape with few movies for families, and even fewer for tween girls, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is a fantastic entry. Heartfelt, compassionate, funny, and frank it has the makings of becoming a new classic in the film canon.

Hoult’s charm and sweetness is tempered by Cage’s showy, maniacal performance as Dracula and it’s frustrating that there aren’t more scenes where the two just play off each other.

The Blind Man Who Did Not Want to See Titanic brings up the continued need for disabled directors and screenwriters. There’s certainly enough charm to spare from the film’s leads, but the storytelling too often relies on disabled people in peril and other tropes that simply regurgitate what we’ve seen.

Adrienne is a beautiful testament to the power of Adrienne Shelly and will hopefully inspire fans, new and old, to revisit her work. Andy Ostroy’s documentary certainly emphasizes the emotional and sentimental, but that intimacy bonds the audience to Shelly as a woman. Bring tissues.

Encanto feels like one of the Mouse House’s more emotionally complex animated features, even if its story ultimately tries too hard to wrap up that nuance in a very tidy bow.

Bruised isn’t breaking any new ground from a narrative standpoint, but it does show the strength of Halle Berry as a director, boasting a powder keg of dominating performances within a simplistic story.

Erin Lee Carr’s Britney Vs. Spears feels like a movie not searching for scandal but a genuine desire to help, to say something to Spears, to remind us why we love her and how we failed her.

There’s far more of Snakehead that works than doesn’t, and Leong shows a serious flair for crime dramas. Together with Chang and Wu, the talents of the film are for an electric trio, including stars worth watching and a director very much on the rise.

With Bitterbrush, Mahdavian announces herself as a filmmaker with a keen eye for capturing the contradictions and complexities of outsider women’s lives.

Garbus takes the standard documentary route of examining Cousteau’s life from birth to death, and while individual elements of his life are compelling in the first half, the documentary seems to come alive more towards its second half. Maybe that’s because Cousteau was just doing so much toward the latter half of his career, but the pacing seems to feel livelier the closer things get to the end.

Cannon’s take on Cinderella looks to be this year’s “Greatest Showman,” where the flaws in the narrative are nothing in comparison to the vibrancy and energy on display with each and every musical number, worth dancing for, maybe even in a pair of glass slippers.

Searching for Mr. Rugoff often feels like inside baseball for film buffs, but if you’re of that group you’ll be charmed by it. The loss of theaters feels particularly acute at the moment and that too should also make this loving documentary feel even more poignant.

Setting aside its subjects’ lack of diversity, “Woodstock 99” is a must-watch documentary that reminds us, yet again, about history’s inevitable ability to repeat itself.

Best Summer Ever isn’t the best movie ever, but what it does is continue to show that disability can be fun, unique, and enticing without being dour. It’s the best at what it’s doing and you’ll want to see more.