Matt Donato

Trash Fire blazes with pitch-black wit and a dark, volatile story of redemption so good you'll be laughing your way straight to Hell.

This is a boxing drama that scrappily battles for its recognition, determined to win you over at any cost.

The pace of this gorgeously shot Norwegian pseudo-fable will be a roadblock for some, but give Vogt a chance. Storytelling rewards are bountiful once The Innocents executes its conflicts well above the expected maturities of players on screen.

There’s a brooding tonal growth that Pesce is able to establish, as he unravels a film that becomes more horrific with each passing second.

Little Monsters is a must-see horror comedy that proves Lupita Nyong'o should be starring in far more horror movies than she's been offered at this point.

This is an irreplicable experience that speaks volumes about following your dreams despite the challenges that await. The reward will always be worthwhile, even if it’s just about the friends you make and NPC cops you massacre along the way.

The Beguiled is a deliciously dangerous period thriller that refuses to let a man's privilege go unchecked like the Hollywood standard.

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle is both a fulfilling reinvention and adventurous video game quest that’s far funnier, and unexpectedly exciting, than you could hope for from an evolved reboot with explosive fantasy character.

Clerks III delivers all the inappropriate cuss-cluttered humor and pot smoke that is Kevin Smith's trademark but evolves his sentimentality beyond bong-rip wisdom. The third Clerks installment is a moving ode to working-class nobodies that amplifies Smith's touchstone sincerity above Randal's not-so-passive aggression or Jay's lit-for-days attitude.

The Collection is one of those horror films that really makes you sound like a deranged psychopath for recommending, but demands to be spread like a mind-controlling plague.

The Sacrifice Game is cool, calm, and collected despite bringing so many subgenres to the party, achieving tonal unity that should please crowds and leave them craving whatever comes next for Wexler and company.

Kong: Skull Island is a grand cinematic adventure powered by furry fury, as the horrors of war blend with chest-beating creature confidence.

Black Panther proves how representation can rejuvenate even the oldest superhero origin arcs, allowing Marvel a victory that still feels every bit a Ryan Coogler film.

A Ghost Story leads you down a path that allows for personal reflection, which will either sooth lost souls or scare them away.

I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore is a winning combination of anger, frustration and stinging social satire.

What Backcountry did for campfire creature attacks Killing Ground does for murderous bushmen in the same setting.

V/H/S/Beyond is the most cohesive, best arranged, and most creatively complementary V/H/S yet. Here’s hoping we get a bundle of found-footage mayhem like this one every Halloween for the foreseeable future.

It's a melting pot of experiences from comical to romantic to thrilling to richly ruminative. Everything flows together gracefully in step through a delicate and beautiful dance that speaks to the ever-changing beast that is New York City.

The Disaster artist is obscurest hilarity set to a filmmaker's struggle, all linked to James Franco's transformative performance as the mythical Tommy Wiseau.

Debuts shouldn’t be this tense or composed, yet Super Dark Times is an instantaneous must-see.

Obsession should and will put Barker on the map as a horror filmmaker you need to watch. Thanks to fantastic turns by Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette, you'll be addicted to this sour Valentine's Day counterprogramming.

Pet Sematary is proficiently tense, dashingly macabre and soaked in nightmarish tones that thrive on audience screams.

Satan's Slaves: Communion delivers another artfully accomplished and wickedly malevolent slice of Indonesian horror that returns to formula basics without sacrificing Anwar's trademarks. Maybe a bit too ambitious with its storytelling. But still righteously right-on in terms of razor-toothed horror execution.

This is a movie about life. Bigger than love. Bigger than hope. Bigger than anything. Just life, and all its attempts to wear you down – and how you’ll never let it.

A Dark Song digs its claws in and never lets go, finding horror in rituals, personal reflection and burning black-magic sensations. It’s dreadfully inviting from start to finish, with an almighty climax at just the right time.

Birds of Prey proves that it's no longer a man's world, it's Harley Quinn's - and we should be so lucky.

Shazam! proves that the DCEU has a sense of humor, can execute on it and *deliver* an electric punch of uber-fun comic book action, too. Heart, humor and heroics – can I get a hell yeah?

It’s more than a creature feature, but never in a way that undercuts the main event: Some truly startling above-and-underwater sequences.