Rafael Motamayor

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.

Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money is neither dumb enough to capture the bonkers nature of the story nor smart enough to turn it into an entertaining or even informative tale.

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.

In the end, watching Pain Hustlers is about as numbing an experience as being prescribed the drug Liza spent her career selling.

The mystery is a convoluted mess, clearly attempting to marry the intrigue of "Chinatown" with the escalating chaos of a Coen Brothers movie while failing to make things compelling, all while the wacky humor falls flat.

Hayao Miyazaki delivers the perfect coda to his illustrious career with a stunning animated adventure that reminds us how lucky we are to live at a time when Studio Ghibli is making movies.

The First Slam Dunk delivers a high-octane thrilling sports anime film with mind-blowing animation that serves as a great conclusion and introduction to a classic '90s anime.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is not only a great introduction to the iconic franchise, but a fantastic film in its own right, and one of the best-looking movies of the year.

Mars Express works because even its most outlandish and complex sci-fi concept is grounded in human drama.

Nimona lives and dies by its main character, and it greatly succeeds in adding to the canon of great animated protagonists. Despite some rocky visual choices, this is a film worth the wait.

More importantly, the film specifically examines Blackness through the lens of whiteness, making a white man the enemy and showing how an outside force wreaks havoc among the closed group. The film jokes about Black suffering, but this is far from trauma porn. It’s a truly Black horror comedy.

This may not be the epic "Power Rangers" reunion some fans may have hoped for, but Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always is very much the love letter to the last 30 years of this franchise, where it all began, and where it is going.

Evil Dead Rise is a movie made by sickos for sickos. It’s a fantastic update to the iconic franchise, a movie that upholds the manic glee of Sam Raimi’s original 1980s Evil Dead films while bringing in a taste for the disgusting and upsetting from Fede Álvarez’s 2013 remake.

Providing many questions and very few answers, Alegría and co-writers Fernanda Urrejole and Manuela Infante make a point to show that life can emerge from death, imploring the audience to stop fixating on the damages done in the past and focus on saving the present and future.

Tost’s film is charming, gritty, and all-round entertaining one that boasts gallows humor, compelling performances, and a big heart (plus lots of actual hearts being shot at and stabbed).

Flamin' Hot is a charming and funny rags-to-riches story with a strong cast, some clever editing, and good use of narration as comedy that make up for its superficial depth.

Joy Ride is the big, broad, studio comedy to beat this year, an incredible directorial debut with one of the funniest scripts in a while, and a cast that should get all the praise in the world because they just became the dynamic quartet to watch.

The problem is that, while Johnson crafted a good script that balances multiple tones, his directing isn’t as confident in that tightrope.

Problemista is not just funny, however, it is also rather earnest and compassionate towards its characters.

A Disturbance in the Force succeeds at telling the full story of how the infamous "Star Wars Holiday Special" was made. And yet, it doesn't really make the special look that bad in context.

BlackBerry may not get the awards love "The Social Network" did, but it does turn a fascinating story into a very entertaining film.

Tetris is a fantastic look at the story behind the rights to one of the most popular games ever, a movie that shows that video game adaptations (like games themselves) can come in all forms and be great. This is a crowd-pleaser through and through, and much like the game that gives it its title, it is hard to look away once its title card drops.

The “John Wick” saga has changed and evolved throughout the years, For this film, there is no denying how it has made Chad Stahelski one of our best action filmmakers, and how the franchise gave Keanu yet another career-redefining role. It’s been a wild ride, and one of the best and most consistent movie series ever. No matter where the roads lead, however, “I’m thinking John Wick is back.”