Fiercely intelligent and deeply suspenseful, Roman J. Israel, Esq. is an absorbing morality tale from writer/director Dan Gilroy, and boasts one of Denzel Washington’s finest performances.

Hereditary is one of the scariest movies around, and a spectacular showcase for actors Toni Collette and Alex Wolff. The film’s subtle shocks and realistic drama combine to create a dreamlike atmosphere, drenched in psychological horror, which builds and builds to a climax that you won’t forget anytime soon.

The Safdie brothers continue their winning streak of making harshly real films about everyday New Yorkers with fatal flaws. But this time, they’ve also given Adam Sandler a platform to show just how good he is with the right collaborators. The results are as stylish as they are affecting.

Brad Bird’s strong script and direction elevate this animated adventure to new heights. Instead of trying to copy or parody the superhero films of the past 14 years, Incredibles 2 embraces what made its first outing so memorable: The Parr family and their willingness to work together in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

With The Birth of a Nation, Nate Parker has shown himself to be a confident, extraordinary filmmaker. He not only gets good performances from his cast, but has created a film that seems sure of itself, one that knows when to lean into depicting hatred, when to lean into depicting love, and when to cut away; when the look on a face is more important than the blood on a back and when it isn't.

IT may not be the best Stephen King movie (even though it comes impressively close), but it’s probably the MOST Stephen King movie.

A refreshing take of this classic showbiz rise and fall tale, with updated character work, fantastic performances by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, and a soundtrack that will be stuck in your head for days.

This is a film about pain, and it forces the audience to live in and work through that pain. And it’s absolutely worth the effort. By the end it’s a transformative experience.

Saoirse Ronan gives a standout, brilliant performance and so does Laurie Metcalf as her long-suffering, big-hearted mother. It’s a remarkable solo directorial debut from Greta Gerwig.

The master filmmaker has made an introspective, thoughtful, even somber film that manages to be just as entertaining as his classics, even while diving deep into the darkest souls and finding some semblance of a heart.

It’s a classy, riveting remake, and it will make you want to see even more adventures featuring this particular Poirot.

Mudbound is a daring approach to a classical narrative, a film that tries to look from multiple perspectives at an intimate human drama that has far-reaching ramifications. Its imperfections are debatable, and fairly minor. It is the work of a bold storyteller working at the top of her game.

I wholeheartedly love Evil Dead II. It's a great midnight movie, and one of the best horror-comedies ever made.

The movie is simply luxurious: huge, ornate stage settings; bright, colorful circus like street scenes; gorgeous costumes. [2002 Director's Cut]

Best of all, it's just a story of a kid's Christmas. There is no big spiritual redemption, no one has to learn a lesson.

While no entry in the franchise has surpassed the original film, this Halloween sequel is truly a cut above the rest and a great piece of horror entertainment even for those unfamiliar with the series.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a fantastic, visually stunning and poignant way to end this beloved trilogy.

It's funny. It's sad. It's imaginative. It's great sci-fi, and terrific family entertainment. In short, Back to the Future is brilliant.

The writers are comic geniuses, and the experience is so enjoyable that upon viewing This Island Earth's non-MST3K version, a grin will cross your face as you remember this parody masterpiece.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a spy movie made by James Bond devotees who know the genre so well that they can have a good time with it while also paying it respect -- and taking it to someplace new entirely.

What holds Mary Poppins back from being absolutely perfect (as opposed to practically perfect) is due to the episodic structure of the story. Since scenes and songs were drawn from a range of stories from the book series, they play as a series of random adventures, not an organic progression of a single tale.

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish mixes stunning animation with a poignant, surprisingly mature story to deliver the Shrek franchise's answer to Logan we didn't know we needed.

Black Panther delivers the goods as an adventure film, a political statement, and a cultural celebration. It shakes off a sluggish start thanks to a memorable cast of characters going up against Marvel’s best-realized villain in almost a decade.

Using the strength of its powerful and interesting villain to set the stakes higher than ever, Avengers: Infinity War successfully brings together the past 10 years of Marvel movies into a largely effective cocktail of super-heroic dramatics.

A masterful exploration of femininity and the pressures of perfection.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse delivers a dynamic visual experience unlike any other.

Wicked is a well-oiled machine in the hands of Jon M. Chu. This film adaptation epitomizes what modern movie musicals can and should be, embracing its source material while cleverly translating it to screen. Tear-jerking performances by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo make the movie, playing to their individual strengths to bring to life the rapport between Glinda and Elphaba, who’ll go on to become the good and wicked witches of Wizard of Oz fame. If as many people love this film as much as I did, Wicked will undoubtedly immortalize the Grande and Erivo in movie musical history.

Moonlight is a complex, haunting coming-of-age story unlike anything else this year.