Patrice Witherspoon

While dissecting the world’s ridiculous beauty ideals, Fargeat directs her sensational feat with pungent audacity, fearless humor, and dysmorphic body horror.

Anora is a lovable tale of rags to riches that comes exploding with chaos, hilarity, raunchiness, and a stupendous performance from Mikey Madison.

A harrowing narrative that contemplates the transition from girlhood to womanhood, Arnold uses magical realism to capture preteen angst with a strong desire for existential freedom.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness is a melting pot of anthology narratives that callously spotlight our desperation for affection and acceptance.

With sincerity and style, Schrader offers a thoughtful film about life and legacy.

A highly restrained examination of multiple topics, The Second Act is a film about everything and nothing all at once. Perhaps in line with Dupieux’s style, the surreal, dark humor and commentary produce a messy end product that overstays its welcome.

Megalopolis isn't just a transcendental delight for the senses, it's a manifestation of Coppola's dreams for humanity and his dedication to cinema.

Where the film lacks realism and sense, it is made up entirely by Hathaway and Galitzine’s sensational chemistry.

A roaring achievement for the first-time feature director, In Flames is an intensely vivid tale of survival. Khan’s humanistic approach towards understanding marginalized women is hauntingly beautiful.

A decent feature debut, The Absence of Eden is a film that means well. Restrictions in the script hinder the film emotionally, which often show up in the actors' performances as well.

The First Omen contains the scary elements from the classics and creative upgrades, resulting in a hit for the horror genre and The Omen franchise.

The standouts are certainly more on the technical side, with Elisha Christian’s cinematography, Will Bates’ score, and Mohan’s close-ups. Then, there’s Sweeney, who, without a shadow of a doubt, convinced me of her acting skills thanks to what she was able to accomplish through her emotional and physical performance.

It’s a difficult film to take seriously, as it buries its potential in absurd drama, dialogue, and sequencing.

Its endless, unfunny humor is tiresome and obnoxious, the commentary is short-lived, and jokes related to Sam’s unpreparedness are repetitive.

It leans into unrealistic territory, and we’re unfortunately left with a trashy story that very few will like. Not even the ever-charming Gina Rodriguez and confident Damon Wayans Jr. could save this film.

Ultimately, Exhibiting Forgiveness is a movie that spoke to me on a deep level. It’s the type of transcendent experience that could make you confront your own demons and familial traumas you may not even have known existed.

Thanks to phenomenal camera work and partnership with cinematographer Alejandro Mejía, In the Summers is elevated by an impressive experience both emotionally and visually.

As ambitious or complicated as the script may get, the film is the ultimate crowd-pleaser, entertaining the idea of horror tropes but structuring the story with clever twists and thrills that defy the genre.

The film gives good insight into the confusion and fear we may face when exploring our sense of self.

Your Monster is a magical movie experience you do not want to miss. A nice blend of levity and drama, Lindy’s debut assertively makes its mark on the genre.

Without relying on cheap jump scares, Soderbergh’s psychological horror thriller is a shattering mystery about instinct that will chill you.

The film is endearingly sweet, smart, and funny.

Whatever the intent, the execution isn’t all the way there, and that’s the biggest disappointment of all.

Packed with great action sequences and a cast that is committed to each other and the script, Gray's latest is creative and fun enough to hold attention.

The Color Purple is a resounding success with respect to quality and entertainment. From its messaging about sisterhood and self-love to its stunning filmmaking achievements, it’s a film that's easily enjoyed on the big screen. While the entire cast brings their A-game, Barrino, Henson, and Brooks steal the show with Oscar-worthy performances.

Evans and Porter deliver heartbreaking performances with the right amount of intensity, leaving a lasting impact.

The film's final 30 minutes is simply phenomenal filmmaking, emphasizing Yamazaki’s ability to bring quality back to the franchise and showcase a stunning achievement of human storytelling.

A holiday film full of creativity, family, and fun, Hudlin’s Candy Cane Lane is a Christmas gift worth watching. Led by a talented leading duo, this adventure could be your next guilty pleasure.