There is nothing flashy about Davies' style and the found footage doesn’t feel obtuse; it feels imminent. The film sets out to execute a plan and does so without missing a beat. It is rare to extract so much emotion from a mostly technical achievement, but Benediction does just that.

Director Kaouther Ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab is a shattering docu-film which utilizes a novel mix of real audio and footage with actors' reconstruction in a Herculean effort to make this profound loss even more immediate. Hers is a utilitarian mission: to embed the audience in the sensory experience of being in a war zone without letting them scroll past or swipe to the next video.

The Mitchells vs. the Machines is a charming blend of heartfelt family connection with a wildly fun action comedy twist in its robot apocalypse.

It doesn’t nail everything it set out to accomplish, but A Thousand and One is a breathtaking character study of perseverance in Black motherhood.

The magic of DaCosta's film is that it tells us that, regardless of who you are, what we're all searching for is the same thing: community, and a place to call home.

Despite its pitfalls, Wake Up Dead Man is still enjoyable. It has its charming moments, there’s a lot to think about in terms of the story, and the cast is good, if not great, overall. It’s just hard to watch the movie and realize the mystery and excitement have waned.

While Seyfried’s performance and Fastvold’s direction are almost without fault, there are several moments where the screenplay touches on some fascinating ideas but then never returns to them again.

While X could have dug a bit deeper into certain aspects of the story, the film’s twists, layered themes, and intriguing character dynamics blend together to make it one of the best horror films of the year so far.

The Christophers trusts its two leads and their characters to guide the audience to its desired conclusion, and watching it unfurl is a rewarding experience.

Through the period and genre trappings of a 1970s heist film, Reichardt explores the inherent isolation of staying neutral at a time of ballooning cultural and political unrest.

Perfect Days is engrossing in its monotony and fascinating when something disrupts it, a portrait of a simple but beautiful existence that serves as a life-affirming reminder to value the little moments as much as we do the monumental ones.

Bolstered by fabulous performances by its lead cast, Passages delicately and intimately explores a love affair that goes awry because of one person’s decisions.

Xala fictionalizes the key years of post-independence in Africa. It is a story of choice: of the different paths Africa could take on its road to the future.

While the film isn’t overly ambitious or deep, it’s an energetic, occasionally thoughtful and honest film about the lack of honesty and its effects on relationships.

With stunning performances and a stirring narrative, I found every departure this movie made from its inspiration completely worthwhile.

Everything about Barbie is crafted with both mass appeal and personal insight, much like the doll, resulting in a movie that knows how to please.

Strange Darling is an effectively disturbing movie, labeled as an erotic thriller, which visualizes some interesting themes even if it distracts from them.

Bonello posits that, even in fear, feeling is more important than forgetting, and every little death is a door to another future.

The doting relationship between the couple does some heavy lifting for the film and even in the third act (so conveniently announced by chapter cards that appear throughout Sleep), when things nearly go haywire, their believable bond papers over any horror movie lapses in logic. Yu is also wise enough to primarily put the focus on one half of the couple and Jung delivers.

It’s a film that is certainly a must-see, complex and emotionally devastating in its exploration of power and hierarchy.

This film may want to scare us, but it also strives to make us as observant and inquisitive as its heroine. We become active viewers, learning and making connections that fill the gaps left open in the worldbuilidng.

It is the type of film that asks for a deeper engagement than it is willing to offer, but Hadžihalilović may just be pulling us into her conception of image-making as a process of self-actualization. If that is the case, the film does well to break from Andersen's tragic tale for something a bit more existential.

Linoleum is filled with nostalgia — brought to life by the dreamlike, vivid cinematography by Ed Wu — and the overlapping of memories, the mind losing itself, and the fulfillment of a fantasy that feels incredibly out of reach. Not everything comes together so smoothly or cohesively, but the film is a solid effort nonetheless.

Mank is a wonderfully crafted and well-acted ode to a bygone era carried by Fincher's vision and Gary Oldman's standout performance.

Truly, all of Babygirl is fascinating to watch. There's such clear perspective in the filmmaking, and even though I've dwelt on Reijn's more thoughtful touches, the defining trait for many might be a wicked sense of humor. Laughter came easy and often for me and the audience I saw it with – sometimes with the characters, sometimes at them, but always with the movie. It's as if we're being reminded that, however serious the themes, this is supposed to be fun. And it is. But be prepared to find yourself grappling with a whole lot more.

The film's comedy is the cherry on top of a disgusting meal one has to hear to believe.

The film, directed by Peter Bebjak from a screenplay he co-wrote with Jozef Pastéka and Tomás Bombík, is urgent, effective, and also deeply painful.

Dune: Part Two is an awe-inspiring, visually stunning sci-fi spectacle and a devastating collision of myth and destiny on a galactic scale.