Ross Bonaime

Cameos and fan service are fine to have, but the story has to be there to back them up, and it’s not quite there with The Flash.

Three films in, Johnson continues to surprise and amaze with his ability to craft a masterful tale, one that hits everything we love about this series, while still finding new angles to approach in this world.

Fleischer-Camp and Slate are able to expand Marcel’s story in a way that doesn’t stretch out this concept, but rather, expands the possibilities of Marcel’s grandiose world and shows us our world from an entirely new perspective. Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is a film with massive ambitions and an even larger heart.

Perfect Days is another masterwork from Wenders, a recognition of life’s curiosities, the small details that make it all worthwhile, and finding beauty in the overlooked things in life.

Sachs’ story comes to life thanks to these three excellent performances that aren't afraid to explore the selfishness and desires of passion, in a story that finds the power of shared pain and love.

Chumbawamba was clearly a band that wanted to do great things and fell short of that goal, and similarly, I Get Knocked Down is a curious concept to explore, but gets bogged down in its apparent attempts to be weird for the sake of being weird.

Stanton has done truly incredible, groundbreaking things in animation, and he’s almost certainly got a great live-action film in him, but In the Blink of an Eye makes one wonder if Stanton should go a bit smaller and work his way up to such grandiose concepts like this.

You Hurt My Feelings is the type of film that reminds us why Holofcener is one of the best writers of comedies today, and that her ability to write films with such small consequences can often feel like a massive achievement, as these are situations that feel honest and human and wholly earnest.

Gerwig has created a film that takes Barbie, praises its contribution as an idea to our world, but also criticizes its faults, while also making a film that celebrates being a woman and all the difficulties and beauty that includes.

In a career full of great performances, Swinton continues to do some of her finest work with Hogg, and Hogg once more proves that she’s one of the most remarkable personal storytellers in cinema today.

Gasoline Rainbow blurs the line between documentary and narrative filmmaking to create a road trip movie unlike you’ve ever seen before.

West has made an extraordinary tale of the personal universes we all inhabit, the strange messiness of life, and the beauty of how everything all shakes out in the end.

Not all of Arnold’s usual tricks work effectively in Cow, but for a first documentary, Cow is an engrossing and surprisingly emotional look at the farming industry through the eyes of a single bovine.

An intriguing formal experiment from Steven Soderbergh, focused on two solid performances by Sir Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel.

In this David vs. Goliath battle, the film gives hope that change on a large scale could be possible and does this in a charming, entertaining narrative with a great cast from top to bottom.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio shows that if you’re going to adapt this story yet again, it’s best to bring something exciting and new to it, as well as put some of your own personality into it.

Apollo 10½ can at times feel like the greatest hits of Linklater and what made him who he is, but that’s a welcome change, and a reminder of his strengths as a filmmaker.

Even if you’re not a fan of the music of Tucker or Carlile, The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile will have you hoping for the best for both of these incredible musicians.

Rosaline's shows its strengths when it focuses on the parallel story of Rosaline and Dario, but when the narrative crosses paths directly with Shakespeare’s story, Rosaline starts to fall apart, becoming a muddled mess of modern references, unusual characterizations, and ideas that don’t mix as well as they should.

With a great lead performance by Kravitz, a plot that—like the KIMI device itself—is persistently upgrading and shifting, and a shockingly optimistic story despite the fear of the technological world, KIMI is a shining example that Soderbergh is one of the best directors working today.

Macdonald and Rice-Edwards take us back to the 1970s to explore these two but also show that two of the most important figures in music history were just a pair of flawed individuals trying their best to use their position of power to make the world a better place.

The Best Summer takes the audience on a summer road trip with some of the biggest musicians of the '90s, and it's a blast to be along for the ride. Davis' collection of videotapes makes this feel like we're coming across a collection of private moments, rather than a concert documentary.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie can be a bit standard as far as biographical documentaries go, but when the subject is someone as much to watch as Fox is, it’s hard to care too much about the form when the content is so captivating.

Schimberg’s exploration of identity and representation has the best of intentions, but the more audacious aspects of A Different Man often overwhelm the interesting themes at the center of the film.

When talking about Top Gun: Maverick, it’s hard not to sound hyperbolic, but this is the rare case where it absolutely deserves all the massive praise. Top Gun: Maverick improves upon the original in every conceivable way (well, the soundtrack doesn’t have Berlin, so that’s one strike against it), and does so in a way that might make this one of the greatest sequels ever made. It’s also hard not to say this might have some of the most exciting action scenes to ever hit the skies, and gives Cruise one of his best performances by returning to the role that made him a star. Top Gun: Maverick is a marvel of a film, one that will truly take your breath away.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is a goofy, ridiculous, three-hours of fun that manages to not overstay its welcome. Stahelski continues to find ways to keep this series from getting stale, and Chapter 4 pushes the ambition to the brink.

Miroirs No. 3 is enthralling from beginning to end, a smart, often heartbreaking story that thrives in its simplicity.

The People's Joker is a bold vision, a mixture of a coming-of-age story and parody, infused with a transition story that is emotionally powerful and absolutely necessary.