It’s a film that doesn’t feel the pressure of reminding the audience that it’s a comedy, which makes the story and the dysfunctional—but very loving—family that much more endearing and authentic to real life.

The two leads are so charming, the jokes are genuinely funny, and the kills are delightfully gorey.

Babylon is often pure mayhem, but it’s the beauty of life and film itself underneath that makes this one of the best movies about movies this year, and one of the best films of 2022.

The characters somehow behave both flatly and erratically, driving a cliché plot that manages to be both overly simplistic and confusing. Take care of your skin — and sanity — by sitting this one out.

Though Suncoast features wonderful performances, its clichés dim its impact.

With Peter Pan & Wendy, Lowery shows there’s nothing wrong with sticking close to the text, as long as you bring some new identity to the story and give the audience a reason to care about seeing this story once more. With both Pete’s Dragon and Peter Pan & Wendy, Lowery has shown the correct way to tell a time-honored story once more.

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie is a nice effort in extending the legacy of a far better TV series, but it fails to comprehend that in order to tell a “serious” and “epic” story, it lets go of all the elements that made us fall in love with the series in the first place.

Director Chloé Robichaud's fourth feature film is a fun and sexy romp that discusses infidelity, marriage, and being a mother in our modern age.

With neat, concise storytelling, and a skilled cast, Rogue Agent is a compelling film that will appeal to thriller and true crime lovers alike.

Demon Slayer To the Hashira Training makes excellent use of the cinematic experience and shows that this series is best seen on the big screen.

As a documentary, Sorry/Not Sorry isn’t groundbreaking in terms of form or information, but it does feel important in the larger conversations that Suh and Montes are exploring, as C.K. isn’t the first nor will he be the last celebrity to have the pain they've caused unveiled to the world.

As a live-action film, The Peasants would’ve been a grand achievement, but by taking the time to animate these frames and add that extra texture to this story, the Welchmans have made one of the most impressive animated films of the year by far.

Altogether, Black Phone 2 is a mixed bag that still has some clear winning attributes.

With the options of taking the audience on a fully-fledged bang-bang Western adventure or commenting on the genre’s issues in past decades, Dead For a Dollar chooses to do neither and wastes its stellar cast with drowsy performances which never make you root or fear for any character.

Despite these positive attributes in terms of the production and style, the actual plot is ultimately convoluted, confusing and quite dull.

To watch This Is Me…Now: A Love Story is to admit Lopez’s ambitions as an artist stretches well beyond what people say about her. But even though the film acts as a manifesto of her creativity, not all of it works.

Riz Ahmed's fiery turn and a bold South Asian lens make this Hamlet compelling, even if uneven.

Elton John: Never Too Late feels like the definitive authorized film biography, and plugs a very important hole in telling his story in honest yet compelling ways.

Quite frankly, it never hurts for a film to preach the dangers of Nazis and how they can be anywhere and everywhere, but it is a bit of a shame Nuremberg isn’t finding a more compelling, enticing way to tell this inherently fascinating true story.

It may not reinvent the proverbial wheel on the proverbial boat, but Plankton: The Movie is one of the better things to come from the SpongeBob SquarePants IP in recent years that fans should have an easy time falling heads over squeaky boots for.

Blue Beetle brings a breath of fresh air to DC with its focus on smaller stakes and family dynamics, standing out just enough from other superhero films.

The Persian Version isn't quite the quirky family comedy the trailers make it out to be. It's funny, but it's also raw. It's emotional and heartwarming in its truths. It will also leave you wanting to call your mother.

Brides is an original and bold coming-of-age story that features two star-making performances from its young talent.

Beyond the clichés and the added elements to try and boost the drama, Tetris at its core works because the true story is inherently an interesting one, and when the film sticks to these details, it's at its best. Like a difficult game of Tetris, this film might fumble some of its pieces, but in the end, it's ultimately a satisfying experience.

More often than not, Ejiofor bullet points the unfolding events rather than coalescing them into a dramatic arc.

When You Finish Saving the World is often acidic to a point that might scare away some, but at its core, Eisenberg’s film is an endearing story of mother and son who were once so close, and now struggle to get what they need from each other anymore.

It finds just the right combination of nostalgia and fresh blood, telling a story that manages to feel familiar in its winks at the past, but breaking with tradition in ways that are exciting and new for this series. Scream VI might be a sequel to a requel, but this franchise still finds new ways to feel original in its approach to this world.

It is one worth putting on your radar even as it magnificently goes all over the map into the cosmos the longer you get lost in it.