While Kill Me doesn’t stick its landing, this is an impressive debut from Peter Warren, and it shows how well he can mix extremely dark subject matter with an engaging mystery that’s also quite funny.

Leave the World Behind is a smart, compelling take on the end of the world, and proves Esmail is a writer-director who deserves larger-scale projects like this after his television successes.

The Wedding Banquet is a classic rom-com with modern touches that rarely ring false or feel heavyhanded. The entire ensemble is top-notch, allowing beloved actors like Gladstone and Yang to do something slightly different from their usual fare.

Hustle isn't breaking the mold of what a sports film can be, but it is yet another reminder of Sandler's gifts as a dramatic actor through an extremely charming and compelling story about a mentor trying to help another reach their potential.

The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie shows just how much life there still is in these characters and this world, and that they’re malleable enough to continue providing entertainment to every generation. The Day the Earth Blew Up is the welcome back that the Looney Tunes have long deserved.

The movie is one of those films that beautifully encapsulates life experiences, but breaks your heart in a way that you don’t immediately want to revisit it.

F1 is an absolute blast and one of the most exciting films to come out this summer, a film that will put you on the edge of your seat and make you glad that filmmakers like Kosinski are still making films like this today.

Sometimes I Think About Dying is a dark comedy of restraint and quiet, but that silence holds an incredible amount of power and emotion. Ridley gives what might be her best performance, and Lambert knows exactly how to balance the delicate mood of the film.

Led by brilliant performances all around with a simple but effective story, A Quiet Place: Day One may not be the most horrifying alien film, but it stands apart from its predecessors while staying true to why so many people love this franchise.

While the film's reliance on established crime stories dips a bit too much into the realm of cliché, the overall result is a thrilling ride that's fun to watch, from its quietest character moments to its loudest chase sequences.

Out of Darkness is an often jaw-dropping horror debut that arrives at a more substantive conclusion that makes everything more interesting in retrospect.

Ne Zha II is a bold, action-packed, interesting celebration of Chinese legend, wrapped around the story of a growing boy who wants to determine his future. The new English dub translates these characters well to the screen, and its visuals are beautiful companions to the large-scale story.

Instead of glorifying men at the top of their game (well, at least Keane), it’s a fascinating, funny, and smart breakdown of how one argument served as a microcosm for centuries of conflict, cultural values, and men’s egos.

Brats serves as not only an enjoyable walk down memory lane but also something deeper and more self-reflective.

Etzler carefully walks the line, taking a dark subject and ratcheting up both the tension and the humor until the two are inextricably linked, making for an entertaining and unpredictably exciting debut.

[Tina Romero's] feature directorial debut, Queens of the Dead, takes the basics of what her dad is fondly remembered for and spins it off in its own distinct style. She is most certainly a Romero in her filmmaking, but you'd never mistake Queens of the Dead for her father's work.

It ends up becoming one of the best DC films in years, and one of the best movies of the summer.

Spy x Family: Code White is a fun journey with the familiar characters of the series though doesn't add much of anything new.

Cronenberg certainly still knows how to create arresting imagery and craft stories that can make the audience squirm, but the story that isn’t being told with Crimes of the Future is far more interesting than the one he has decided to focus on, which often feels like regurgitating concepts he’s already handled before.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent—even when it doesn’t entirely work—shows the dedication and greatness of Cage, the impressive breadth of his career, and proves that Cage is, indeed, back. Not that he went anywhere.

Torres' humor might be too niche for some, but Problemista shows that it can be used to tell a compelling and heartfelt story for the masses.

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is as unhinged as the name implies, and it’s exactly what we’d want from Wain and Marino. These two have proven that their brand of comedy hasn’t gotten old over the decades, and thank goodness they’re back making the most insane movie comedies out there.

It's a strange and very busy movie, but it has a chaotic kind of charm to it that'll appeal to those who like bold and oftentimes ridiculous comedy movies from this era.

The pacing and comedy feel like they slow down a little at the beginning of the third act, but Ick is largely a very entertaining, engrossing, and endearing take on a classic staple of mid-century sci-fi horror, reworked for the 2020s.

V/H/S/Halloween is dark and demented, and is the funniest movie of this franchise. But if the V/H/S series just turned it down a notch and tried some different storytelling formats, the next one could be even better.

Dead Man's Wire is a successful throwback to the classic crime stories that once dominated cinema.

In three hours, Cameron turned this Avatar nonbeliever into a viewer who can’t wait for a new sequel every two years. Avatar: The Way of Water truly feels like a fresh start for this series, as Cameron and his team address the weaknesses of the first film, improving the script and characters, while also creating one of the most extraordinary experiences one can have at the theaters.

The Shitheads is an enjoyable, dark take on the buddy-road comedy that could've maybe used a bit more finessing, but hopefully this isn't the last time we see Blair try this type of comedy.

Even as not all the jokes land, the rare experience of getting to take in a spoof comedy like this makes it worthwhile all the same.

Deadstream is more than great found footage; it’s one of the best horror movies of the year, period.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle boasts stellar action, animation, and some wonderful performances, but it would be better as episodes than as a standalone film.

With a plot reminiscent of James Bond, Secret Agent is an entertaining blend of espionage, adventure and love with touches of comedy thrown in.

A fun, high-octane action movie about a chase against time through a fascinating city.

It's enjoyable, sexy, and features a romance worth rooting for — because the only red flag here is the public's reaction to their relationship.

A Private Life is worth exploring simply for the performance by Foster, which keeps this story moving the best she can, despite the screenplay’s constant starts and stops. If anything, the real mystery of A Private Life is why we don’t get to see Foster on our screens more these days.

Like the title character himself, Jay Kelly is a film that has good intentions, but doesn’t have the follow-through to make good on those promises.

The concept is an exciting new vehicle for a spin on some well-worn tropes, giving them a facelift for today's audiences. If this is just the beginning, then the future looks bright.

Even though zi isn’t quite the powerhouse of independent cinema that films like Columbus and After Yang were, it does feel like the work that Kogonada needed to do in order to right his sails and figure out where to go next.

It is a character study that creeps up on you, deploying well-timed darker comedic moments that set up the cutting dramatic ones all the better. There is no pretentiousness or ego to either of the stunning performances, ensuring we are hit with the maximum impact of a maniacal masterclass of acting from Abbott and Qualley.

Empathetic human performances turn Sovereign into more than a typical crime thriller.

While Park injects his own joie de vivre to his on-screen performances as an actor, there is a distinct lackluster quality to Shortcomings in its biggest moments. It feels, at times, generic. The story, penned by Tomine, still holds the same feelings for me as the graphic novel, which is to say that at least they provoke thought, but Park’s own style feels far from refined.

It plays like a late-night serial killer special on a true crime channel. It's organic, unnerving, and proficiently grounded as a modern criminal nightmare.

It’s the refreshingly modern and tender depiction of intimacy and pleasure that will stay with me. After years upon years of sex scenes that are steeped in the male gaze or are shoehorned in to attract the money of horny youngsters who have no real interest in the story, it’s about time we treat sex with the tenderness, openness, and grace that it deserves on film — and this is exactly what Lady Chatterley’s Lover does.

At the very least, Diamond Hands is an entertaining and informative look at a moment in time when the many overcome the few, but it doesn't land solidly enough to leave a lasting impact.

Minnie and Moskowitz could easily be retitled as “Men Who Yell at Gena Rowlands About Why They Should Be an Item”. But with John Cassavetes script, the yelling is fun.

What the film lacks in these specific story aspects it makes up for with its enchanting style and captivating tale.

River Gallo shows not only that these stories are powerful and have value, but can also be beautiful and deeply moving.

What ultimately weighs it down is the lack of a core narrative to ground the chaos and madness around it. Still, come for the views, the insanity, and Cage giving away a priceless watch for a flat white.

Dancing between the ruminative and the revelatory, it never succumbs to being maudlin or cloying. The Life of Chuck is a modern fable told with the deftness of a fairy tale, with the sheer exuberance of a musical while exuding the same sense of wonder one gets staring up at the heavens.

In the end, All That We Love is a film about permission: permission to grieve in our own way, to allow others to do the same, and to know that we are still worthy of acceptance, even in our less-than-perfect moments.

The Final Reckoning is stuffed, convoluted, and ludicrous at times. But it’s also mostly a great send-off to this universe, a deserved celebration for everything this series has accomplished, and one final (again, seemingly) showcase for Cruise as one of the greatest action stars of all time.

Wakanda Forever isn’t perfect, but its ability to handle this tightrope walk between exploration of loss and a larger superhero film makes this one of the most moving MCU entries so far, and one of the best films to come out of Marvel’s Phase Four.

With Oliver Garcia’s exquisite costumes and Karen Murphy’s production design, both brought alive to their full potential by Jess Hall’s stunning cinematography, Chevalier is not just a compelling story, it’s a visually compelling one too.

It's a fun narrative, the action elements are well done and uncompromising, and the jokes work. Sure, the narrative could use a little shine in certain aspects, such as the conspiracy at the film's heart and the background of their newly deceased, estranged father, but as a whole, it's a stellar outing and a lot of fun, a blank check for a probable franchise.

Desert Road almost immediately establishes itself as a potent thriller, but the real fun to be had is watching it evolve from one type of film to another, as mundane threats give way to more mystical hazards.

Jérémy Clapin’s Meanwhile on Earth is a mesmerizing work of science fiction with a magnificent performance by Megan Northman.

The trio of actors has such chemistry and the movie's sense of humor is so sharp that it is hard not to be captivated by what you are watching.

While Bloody Hell is undoubtedly courageous for dealing with many sensitive themes, the film struggles to find its pacing and keep the audience engaged in a story that sometimes feels too predictable.

The entity's visage is shocking, its effects personal and malevolent, and the film had some terrifying set pieces, creating a mysterious new supernatural creature to lose sleep over.

The Contestant is riveting, but it stops short of the type of analysis that would take it to the next level.

The Balconettes is the announcement of a formidable comedic voice.

Steve and Audrey Zahn pull it off in a beautiful film that will uplift your heart after breaking it.

The performances of Holland and Mara mask the weaknesses of a slightly unfulfilled adaptation, which has charm in its flaws. The ending attempts to set the themes right, but needing to think about it afterward means it's not a film you'll forget about so soon. Seek out The Dutchman. It's well worth the challenge.

While her first outing as a writer-director is a mixed bag, Kravitz shows undeniable potential to join the ranks of performers who are equally exciting behind the camera as in front of it.

It’s evident right away that the people responsible for Being Mary Tyler Moore, a two-hour documentary about the personal and professional life of comedic-leaning actress Mary Tyler Moore, cared deeply about its subject.

If you want to give the 2024 film as fair a shot as possible, go in without seeing the original. However, if you only want to devote your time to seeing one version of this story, it should be the original Speak No Evil. It's truly one of the darkest, meanest, and most devastating horror films out there

Despite solid directing, effects, and production design at various points, The Kitchen doesn't explore its futuristic dystopia nearly as profoundly as it could.

Structurally, Missing can often feel a bit too much like Searching at times, but by the end, it finds its own path in this intriguing way to tell a mystery.

You get wrapped up in the whimsy of it all just before it all hits you like a truck, finding plenty of resonant emotional flashbacks that contextualize and deepen the experience just in time for the conclusion.

With Chivalry, John Woo scored an early hit that’s too often overlooked and under-appreciated. It’s a film of tremendous skill and promise, and a masterpiece in its own right.

While Devotion may not look to reinvent the genre, it does carve out its own space in this year’s impressive slate of war films. It’s a solid, straight-laced story, that doesn’t shy away from the realities of war or the 1950s. Once it finds its wings in the final act, it soars to a place of real power.

The Rule of Jenny Pen has a lot going for it. Lithgow and Rush pull off strong performances, the escalation of tension is well-developed regarding the scenes taken as a whole, and the central conceit of the doll is used to strong effect.

Tim Blake Nelson and Chloë Kerwin give life to Asleep in My Palm, helping to smooth over the narrative rough spots when it count.

With stunning performances, perfect needle drops, and thoughtful, loving direction, The Last Showgirl is a stylish, emotional, and visually striking work, and a worthy exploration of its impossible protagonist.

The film isn’t without its flaws and weird choices, but the fact that it works at all is a testament to the Zellner brothers and this incredible cast being willing to give their all for such a deranged idea.

Though it assembles some of the right ingredients before laying them out before you, it never proceeds to arrange them in any particularly interesting or entertaining way.

Even with some questionable choices, Holy Spider still packs a powerful punch, particularly in its third act, and one of the most disturbing final scenes you'll see all year that feels like the perfect summation of the past two hours.

Like the relationship between Lynsey and James, Causeway is a film that slowly grows on you, a film that puts on a tough front—with its devastated characters and desire for escape—yet at its center is a tremendous about of heart, love, with its found families and shared pain.

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.

With how prevalent the film's themes are in the world today, it's hard to imagine that someone won't find something to relate to in its many branching story arcs.

Wonka is a bit shaggy, with too many moving parts, but its spirit and its optimism—and a fantastic performance by Chalamet—make up for the film’s weaknesses.

The young cast helps elevate the comedy, but sadly the deeper conversations and relationships between the characters are never truly fleshed out.

The Sky Is Everywhere takes a lot of swings that miss, but the heart of the film is in the right place, and when it really works, The Sky Is Everywhere knocks these emotions and ideas out of the park.

Satire is one of the trickiest things to translate from page to screen and White Noise never really cuts as deep as it should because the communication of the jokes is so rushed — via DeLillo’s style that’s quicker to process on the page than it is to export to the screen.

With a career-best Tatum at the center and an ensemble that fills in every corner with warmth and wit, Roofman is one of this year's most pleasant surprises.

Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers is an ingenious parody of our IP-obsessed culture that also manages to show how joyous and brilliant this combination and celebration of old properties can be when done extremely well.

The film does pull out all the stops for the finale but, for nearly every moment it stands tall in this conclusion, it also stumbles and falls in the getting there.

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.

Whatever you take away from it, the uniting fear Skinamarink creates ensures it will be remembered as an unparalleled achievement in horror cinema in how it paints a portrait of oblivion that beckons us into dark recesses from which there is no escape.

The Archies is just the sort of fun, upbeat film to instill a little hope and joy and leave you dancing long after the credits roll.

Breaking is a powerful film that will leave audiences reeling as the credits roll. Corbin and Armah neatly adapted a tragic reality and presented it with grace and understanding, which will hopefully force audiences to think about the reality they live in.

The grim absurdity of it goes hand in hand with the horror, making the escalations and chaos properly fun.

With a stellar cast and inspired direction, Master is a thrilling and potent horror story about academia that has made its impact.

While All of You features powerhouse performances from Brett Goldstein and Imogen Poots and some sharp, witty writing from Bridges and Goldstein himself, the film aims high but lacks clear stakes, making this love story difficult to invest in, with underwhelming sci-fi further muddling the heartrending, but ultimately unfulfilling romance.

Howard's no-frills approach to Thirteen Lives is what makes it such a success.

With little-to-no accountability when it comes to the YouTube industry, Under the Influence makes a clear case that mainstream media outlets should be turning a more scrutinizing eye toward the community, and the community itself perhaps needs to differentiate the difference between what is considered 'drama' and what is a criminal offense.

The Survival of Kindness might be too abstract for its own good, a creative decision that will alienate a good part of its potential audience. Still, this is a remarkable return for de Heer, as The Survival of Kindness lingers with you long after the credits roll, forcing the viewer to reflect on the tough questions of race and power it explores.

Veronica Carlson and Barry Andrews made the strongest couple to fall victim to Christopher Lee’s Dracula. All the supporting cast are excellent. It’s easy to get invested in their lives and wish them a happy ending after enduring Dracula’s horror.