It’s rare to feel the tension built inside a theater to the point where everyone is holding their breath, but Red Room is a unique movie that defies expectations and keeps pulling the audience deeper into the dark abysm of human nature.

Riseborough’s impeccable performance cannot be overstated. Her passion shines consistently whether Leslie has hit her lowest low or is riding her highest high. All of this contributes to the film’s poetic ending, which is sure to leave you teary-eyed and reinvigorated with a new lease on life.

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.

Morgen manages to encapsulate that intimate relationship between artist and audience with Moonage Daydream, using only disparate pieces of footage and some clever illustration to nail exactly what it’s like to adore David Bowie.

Fans of Mackesy’s book will be utterly delighted to see that the hand-drawn illustrations translate beautifully to the screen without losing any of its neat-yet-messy aesthetic. Because the lines are literally pulled from the pages of the detailed original work, the movie feels less like a short film with a progressing story and more like a moving book.

With its strong character work that gets interwoven with a striking story of sabotage, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a riveting tapestry of the plight facing the modern climate justice movement.

There is no simple solution. All Bad Axe offers is a portrait of an American family coming together in a time of conflict and what they can overcome when they stick together, and sometimes that's enough.

In a world of so much noise, it is Reichardt’s Showing Up that proves to be present and powerful in its accumulation of small moments that come together into something spectacular.

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 conclusion might leave some throwing their hands up in frustration and others applauding its audacity, but it's an ending that will definitely leave you with something to talk about and ponder long after the credits finish rolling.

Shot in three-strip Technicolor, it’s simply one of the most gorgeous films ever made, and in terms of composing a frame, Michael Powell was a master.

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

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.

Across the Spider-Verse isn't just easily one of the best films of 2023 and one of the best animated films in years, it's also in the running for best superhero film ever, and arguably cements Miles Morales as the best Spider-Man we've seen on the screen so far.

On the heels of Girl on the Third Floor and Jakob’s Wife, Stevens continues to prove that he is one of the best indie horror directors to emerge into the mainstream. He has a deft understanding of the genre and is keenly aware of when to dole out jumpscares, visual cues, and just the right amount of gore to delight horror lovers who favor psychological thrillers just as much as bloody horror.

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

With eye-popping animation, a fresh story that challenges tropes, and an energetic voice performance by Chloë Grace Moretz as the titular character, Nimona is nothing less than a triumph.

Every minute detail and artistic decision Hitchcock makes contributes to the film’s eeriness, though it’s Leigh and Perkins’ captivating performances that turn this into the terrifying tale so entrenched in Hollywood history.

In addition to just being side-splittingly funny, Young Frankenstein is an aesthetic triumph.

Hard Boiled escalates perfectly, with the action starting out spectacular, and then getting increasingly grand in scale and ambition as things march along. The whole final act is particularly great, and largely responsible for making the movie an all-timer among action/crime flicks.

Cameron’s epic can still thrill the audience with breathtaking set pieces, bring them to tears with moving moments, and amaze people willing to explore a fantasy land like no other. Every frame is developed with such care that the movie remains one of the most beautiful works of art ever created by Hollywood. [2022 re-release]

My Best Friend’s Exorcism has something for everyone: strong female characters, spooky atmosphere, humor, heart, a bitchin’ 1980s setting. There is a lot to like here, and plenty to enjoy all year round.

By boldly balancing historical responsibility with modern social critique, Poitier establishes his Western masterpiece as both a time capsule and timeless adventure, flowing effortlessly between the genre’s entertaining shootouts and robberies and the prescient commentary of subverting racist systems by all means necessary.

If We Have Never Been Modern had been produced in Hollywood, Křenková would be an early candidate for an Academy Award thanks to her passionate take on Helena. Chlupáček knows that character should be at the center of a movie that’s all about the human experience, which is why the director gives Křenková plenty of space to shine. And shine she does.

Enola Holmes 2 is tightly paced, leaving just enough breathing room for the characters to thrive and do what they do best. It is a film with a lot of moving parts, but not so many that the audience will lose track, and in that way, is a film deserving of a rewatch — or several.

It is a deft mix of comedy, romance, and suspense typical of Hitchcock’s formative British years.

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.

Spielberg has given us all so much magic over the course of our lives, and The Fabelmans becomes yet another Spielberg masterpiece, but this time, by showing us how this magic came to be in his own life.