Ad Astra is grand but, rather frustratingly, it's not great. James Gray’s film is a most impressive technical achievement, and the first half is exciting and flirts with profundity. The second half, however, slows to a maddeningly sluggish pace, and the film ultimate leaves you worn out and disengaged.

A Hidden Life is both inspiring and heartbreaking, and the result is Terrence Malick’s best film in nearly a decade.

Noah Baumbach succeeds in The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) in fine fashion, delicately balancing serious issues with lighthearted moments – it is a movie that is equally adept at making the audience cry as it is with making them laugh.

Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel deliver two brilliant, diametrically opposed performances in Steven Soderbergh’s gentle art world caper.

Without Cagney, this movie would still be memorable, but probably only as a minor footnote to the better gangster films to come. With Cagney's smart acting, this movie is a decent watch.

Though it's hard to recommend this film to people without at least a passing interest in folk horror or folklore, those who stick with Woodlands Dark will find an expansive, practical, entertaining history lesson in a popular yet ill-defined subgenre of horror and come out the other side with a newfound appreciation for it.

A masterful exploration of femininity and the pressures of perfection.

Tilda Swinton serves up an emotionally invigorating double turn in Joanna Hogg’s moving biographical relationship drama, laced with heart and wit through an atmospheric, Gothic lens.

This grim, acclaimed Chilean Western will dazzle your eyes, even as it crushes your spirit with its true story of genocide.

While Bertrand Bonnello’s film is a timely, somewhat satirical send-up of dystopian futures and past traumas, The Beast doesn’t quite measure up to its heavy portents of doom.

Personable, emotional, and packed with humor, this film – and the spirit of Rogers – holds on to your heart and refuses to let go.

Phil Tippett’s Mad God unleashes decades of pent-up creative darkness into a trippy and troubling ride with astonishing craftsmanship, but little substance.

The Old Man & the Gun is a fitting swan song to screen legend Robert Redford.

Linoleum is a heartfelt story about making every day seem like something fantastic.

The reclamation project known as Mank falls short. Even with showy performances from Oldman and Seyfried, and its beautiful craft, the film lacks heart. Because underneath the wisecracks and drunken debauchery, in the face of a sweeping political narrative, there’s scarcely an impression of the man.

Annihilation isn’t always as consistently well-executed or involving as it might have been, and it’s told in a manner that robs the story of some much needed life-or-death suspense, but overall it’s a bold undertaking that doesn’t play it safe and features some strong performances.

Much of the film's success is thanks to the delightfully enigmatic cast, and a sharp script that allows for the perfect balance of story and irreverent silliness. There's not a weak link in this cast.

Clocking in at nearly two hours, Peter Strickland’s sound-and-food odyssey Flux Gourmet is only ever alluring when its made-up artform (“sonic catering”) is front and center during surreal vignettes. Otherwise, it falls back on rote observations and explanations about what compels its characters to create — a far less engaging experience than actually witnessing that creation.

Guillermo del Toro sprinkles his signature dark whimsy on a fairytale classic with stunning puppetry and catchy original songs. Filled with heart, humor, and historical grounding, it’s a phenomenal feat of animated cinema.

Featuring absolutely staggering visuals, Dune: Part Two is an arresting, transportive middle entry in Denis Villeneuve’s tricky sci-fi saga.

Richard Linklater’s animated Apollo fantasy is scattered, but sweet.

Subtle and intuitive, this documentary about NYC psychics asks all the right questions.

Few filmmakers are as playfully cynical as the Coens, and in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs they haven’t just made a funny, sentimental, exciting and blistering western, they’ve also unlocked their entire filmography for anyone who may have missed the connections before. And there’s no going back now. It’s the Coen Bros.’ world, and good luck to anyone who lives there.

The First Slam Dunk delivers a high-octane thrilling sports anime film with mind-blowing animation that serves as a great conclusion and introduction to a classic '90s anime.

Selma pierces a Civil Rights milestone with honesty, avoiding damning accusations or easy schmaltz to reflect true human triumph. With expansive shots of protests in motion and intimate, shadowy close-ups of King locked in jail, DuVernay's direction brings to life what many only know in black-and-white snapshots.

It’s hard to overstate how immaculately crafted Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is, both as a prequel to Max Max: Fury Road and as a stand-alone story of how the Wasteland created a powerful character.

With a nuanced script, standout performances, and the adrenaline of a well-executed heist, Hustlers is an entertaining ride with something meaningful to say about power and control.

With a simple but effective script and some fun visual experiments, it's an entertaining conspiracy thriller set in (and very much about) the post-pandemic world.