Rafael Motamayor

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has some issues and it sacrifices some of the first season's experimental approach, but it compensates with a compelling romance and one of the best soundtracks of the year.

Though Verbinski's smallest movie since "Mouse Hunt," it still feels as ambitious as the director's blockbuster work.

The most impressive feat Black Phone 2 pulls off is finding a way to bring The Grabber back that feels coherent and actually adds to the character. We get some backstory on the child-abductor that comes across as deepening the character rather than just answering questions that no one asked.

The adaptation stumbles in its third act, but before that, Akimoto builds a killer video game-like time loop with striking imagery and a heartfelt depiction of loneliness. The action is tremendous, and the character of Rita provides an excellent viewpoint for watching an alien attack play out over and over again.

The slapstick comedy works wonders, and stands in stark contrast to the endless pop culture-based animated comedies of the past 20 years. But it's the heart at the center of the movie – the dynamic between the dogs played by the likes of Adam DeVine, Idris Elba, Kathryn Hahn – that sells the story and makes this more than a one-joke movie.

Death of a Unicorn delivers on its biggest promise — a gnarly, funny creature feature with a fantastic ensemble, and all the unicorn-themed gore you can imagine.

O'Dessa delivers a bold, catchy musical set in a vibrant cyberpunk world that mixes naturalistic visuals with an aesthetic indebted to 1980s sci-fi and fantasy films. Sadie Sink shines as a singer who can change the world with her ballads, with a gender norm-defying performance and an enchanting singing voice.

It’s easy to ascribe the success of Good Boy to the power of its canine star, but the film refuses to let Indy feel like a cheap gimmick.

When it comes to Nicolas Cage movies where he fights insurmountable odds while losing his mind, The Surfer is a great time.

Transformers One is the breath of fresh air the franchise has tried to achieve for years, a movie that feels new and unique but also familiar and fitting with the rest of the franchise.

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is a looney good time, and a grand return to the big screen for the classic characters.

Blue Lock: Episode Nagi improves upon the first season's story by retelling the it from a fresh perspective – adding new dimensions to a fan favorite character in the process.

Ultraman: Rising is a contender for best animated movie of the year, one of the best superhero movies in years, and one of the all-time greatest American adaptations of a Japanese franchise.

The Coffee Table is one of the most unique experiences you can have in a movie, a torturous dark comedy with a fantastic ensemble, a great eye for visuals that maximize the emotional gut punch, and a script that ties you down to a chair as you go through the nine circles of hell, laughing like a maniac along the way.

Música heralds the arrival of a filmmaker, an actor, and a musician worth paying attention to, while also delivering a winning and visually inventive musical comedy.

By the end of this adaptation, we get the full picture of this romance and the two people involved.

Civil War delivers a challenging, thrilling, heart-pounding movie about the importance of journalism in times of conflict, about how easily we become desensitized to violence when we’re living through it.

When the plot gets going and we're on a road trip through fantastical locations, the movie becomes a fun ride. It's not as good as the original, but it is still one of the better superhero films of the year.

This may not be the film fans expected, but it is still a worthy addition to the Digimon franchise.

Maestro may present exhilarating moments of musical performances, but unlike the story's subject, it is a rather forgettable experience. Still, Cooper continues to show promise as a director, even if the script he co-wrote with Josh Singer is not up to par.

Concrete Utopia is not subtle about its allegories, particularly when it comes to immigration. Thankfully, the focus on character and the fast pace of the story that moves us from one crisis to the other keep the message from becoming overwhelming. Likewise, the script and visuals tease a larger world with stories just outside of what is on screen, adding to the film's worldbuilding.

Jason Yu knows how to stage a tense thriller and gives Sleep a sense of claustrophobia, using the small size of the apartment and some inventive camera movements to slightly change the apartment throughout the film, showing how the characters are losing their grip by making them unfamiliar with the place they know best in the world.

This is a movie that is both familiar and fresh. Scary, yes, but mostly disturbing, gory, smart, quite expansive, and all around created in the bowels of hell itself. 

James Cameron's "Avatar" is often criticized for its derivative story, but it works because its simplicity makes it universal. The Creator forgets that second part and just goes for simple and derivative. Still, watching Edwards pull his "A New Hope" is entertaining, and proof that we can still have stunning-looking works of original sci-fi.

The ending doesn’t land, but there’s no denying the hilarious, poignant two-thirds that precede it.

There just isn’t much to differentiate Next Goal Wins from any other cliche-ridden underdog sports story. But what does salvage it is Taika Waititi’s ability to create quirky worlds filled with lovable characters.

With a tour de force performance by Glen Powell and a sharp script, Hit Man delivers the kind of intense romance sorely lacking in sexless Hollywood movies. It’s a fascinating character study that, though directed by Richard Linklater, gives off the vibes of a chaotic, dark crime comedy from the Coen brothers. Come for Powell's ascendance to superstardom, stay for one of the funniest and most entertaining movies of the year.

Kendrick's directorial debut shows both confidence and great promise, crafting a disturbing tale, and a chilling examination of casual misogyny and violence towards women.