The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf isn’t a bad film, but it fundamentally lacks an identity of its own.

It’s a delightful watch for long-time fans that doubles as an entertaining sampler for those curious about this beloved series.

Despite a strong performance from Nick Offerman, Sovereign is a film that’s inescapably slight and with little to say with its painfully relevant story of modern extremism.

Caged Heat is a nudity-filled sleaze-fest, that much is certain, but it's also a haunting little trip with plenty of memorable thrills.

Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen transform Long Shot's familiar rom-com story into a memorable and funny movie.

Freaky is a bloody good time. It’s smart, sharp and funny with some tasty kills and headline casting that is to die for.

Isaiah Saxon’s adventure fairytale ends up unique and beautiful, much like the adorable animatronic foundling of its title.

Upgrade is an intense sci-fi action thriller with big ideas, incredible action and a remarkable lead performance.

Casper Kelly psychotically spoofs the strangest of strange horror titles that turn anything into a murderous entity while unraveling deadly severe social commentaries. It’s abstract art, theater camp, found footage foolishness, hunt-and-stalk depravity — Adult Swim Yule Log is a whole lot of things but, even with a full 90 minutes, few angles feel fully fleshed out.

Lorcan Finnegan’s smart survival thriller The Surfer sets a brutal, sun-soaked stage for star Nicolas Cage to do what he does best: go completely nuts.

Liz and the Blue Bird, while seemingly straightforward and simple, is one of the most structurally complex films about the necessity of communication for healthy relationships. It displays human insecurity and vulnerability in beautifully honest ways.

You can admire the ambition of The Life of Chuck while still wondering if such a lightly philosophical story needed to make the leap to the screen – or if turning all of its prose into Nick Offerman voice-over was the best move. It’s less an adaptation, ultimately, than a glorified book on tape from a talented King superfan.

Joaquin Phoenix gives an admirable performance as an interesting artist, whose life story otherwise gets the short shrift by this conventional drama with a frustratingly narrow focus.

While its action is reliably thrilling and a few of its most exciting sequences are sure to hold up through the years, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning tries to deal with no less than the end of every living thing on the planet – and suffers because of it. The somber tone and melodramatic dialogue miss the mark of what’s made this franchise so much fun for 30 years, but the door is left open for more impossible missions and the hope that this self-serious reckoning isn’t actually final.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is at its most effective when paying tribute to its fallen king, and strong performances from the returning cast keep it afloat through its occasionally choppy plot.

A modest French sci-fi fable whose messages about letting go aren’t half as moving as the images surrounding them.

Deftly filmed and edited, Run is undoubtedly effective on the small screen, but few other films this year have built and held tension this expertly, so as to be immediately worthy of a room full of people reacting in unison.

Smile 2 doesn’t quite match its sadistically effective predecessor in the scare department, because once you’ve seen one phantom doppelganger grinning like the Cheshire Cat, you’ve seen them all. But the movie works as a nasty portrait of the downside of music-biz fame, and it builds to an ending deserving of every crooked smile it earns.

The Time Machine is an old-fashioned adventure that tries to remain as true to the original text as it could (the ending of the book isn't the same here, along with various other additions and changes) with an excellent score, great special effects, and a story that keeps you watching thanks to the excellent narration throughout the film.

A Simple Favor is a sharply dressed comedy-thriller, and the screenplay is even sharper. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively dominate the screen in two of their best and funniest roles, and director Paul Feig is in rare form, using spry humor to make this subversive and creepy thriller more unusual and unpredictable.

Blink Twice confirms that director Zoë Kravitz has an artful eye and ear: Her debut feature is full of creative compositions, heightened sound design, and clever editing. However, where she excels in creating atmosphere and mood, she falls very short as a screenwriter.

The American remake of Speak No Evil mostly recaptures the squirmy dread of its shocking Danish inspiration… until it doesn’t.

Featuring several stunning performances by its stars, with Jacob Tremblay shining brightest of them all, Wonder ends up being a much better and wiser film than its trailers or premise let on.

Werewolves Within easily separates itself from the pack by delivering a quirky monster mystery filled with gentle laughs and massive maulings. Not every joke lands, and not every character fits, but overall it's an entertaining alternative to the season's more ghoulish and grim offerings.

Missing owes its best moments to learning from 2018’s Searching, but is a bit of a downgrade in terms of Screenlife usage.

The Imaginary fails to capitalisze on some great ideas and wonderful animation. While it will shine as one of the best-looking films of the year with its ambitious 2D animation, that gloss can only do so much for a story that abandons its most interesting elements for a tried and tired rendition of an animated fairytale.

Even if it doesn't quite stand with the 36th Chambers and King Boxers, Last Hurrah for Chivalry is a very good movie, both because it features a great many well-executed fight scenes and explores the early days of Woo's cinematic style.

Devotion’s a respectful introduction to heroes the world should know and celebrate. Between J.D. Dillard’s thoughtful direction, the shocking clarity of Erik Messerschmidt’s cinematography, a rousing soundscape, and the tight editing, it’s a riveting drama ready to give even the best aerial war story a run for its money.