It's easily one of the biggest surprises of this year. While it doesn't yet settle the debate about where video game movies will go from here, it proves the subgenre is evolving. Video game movies, especially "Mortal Kombat" movies, don't have to be radical reinventions, nor do they need to be relegated to fan service slop. They can be more.

For a movie that insists on the value of artistry, it certainly plays like an expensive knock-off. I liked it fine, because I love these characters in this world, but ultimately... that's all.

I'm sure most of the film's scenes will slip from my memory as the days go on, but while I watched, I enjoyed the battle between Theron and Egerton.

"Michael" emerges as whatever the opposite of a warts-and-all biography is. This is a polished, flavorless, cracks-free paean to Jackson, celebrating his highs and only sometimes looking at the lows, as if they were mere dust-bunnies under the couch.

Obsession has a nasty sense of humor at the heart of the story, but the reality of what's going on is extremely dark.

Cronin and his team work overtime to make this movie gross, filled with goo and guts and uncomfortable squelching noises. A lifetime of horror movies has made me mostly immune to such things, but the third act of this film goes to such gruesome places that a woman at my screening who had inexplicably brought her very young child to this R-rated movie quickly scooped her kid up and hurried out of the theater.

Mother Mary is an emotionally distant, confounding, and ultimately unsatisfying work of art. Though its visual ambition and lead performances are commendable, it never gives enough of itself to let the rest of us in.

Sometimes you want to see a fine-tuned work of precision pop art like "Jaws," and sometimes you just want to watch a CGI shark bite a guy on the ass. We, as movie-watchers, contain multitudes.

Ultimately, your enjoyment of Exit 8 will hinge on how much repetitiveness you're willing to tolerate. Liminal space horror fans will likely enjoy the film's moody aesthetic, and there are times where Exit 8 feels like a movie to be digested via spooky gifs and screenshots. Exit 8 may very well give you the creeps, but that might not be enough.

There's a lot of room for cheap, silly schlock here, but Goldhaber and Mazzei actually attempt to take this (sort of) seriously, which results in a far better movie than you might be expecting.

Over Your Dead Body pulls off the magic trick of bringing exploitation cinema into a timeline that's a walking parody of itself, delivering one of the bloodiest and most entertaining films of the year.

At the end of the day, "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" was nothing more than a video game I couldn't play. After the credits — including not one but two post-credits scenes — rolled, though, I didn't want to go home and load a Mario game onto my Switch; I wanted to watch a better movie.

The Drama is a cinematic Trojan horse: it's a breezy farce that feels uncomfortably ominous, and it's also a star-studded romance movie which could set off a discourse bomb.

Although much of the pleasures of They Will Kill You come with the caveat that the movie doesn't quite lead anywhere memorable, one aspect that is fully fantastic and very memorable is Zazie Beetz.

With such a large ensemble and diversity of personalities, Happy New Year fails to flesh them out.

It's not "elevated" horror attempting to reinvent any wheels. It is, however, a very satisfying, very fun, and very well executed scary movie.

Horror sequels often divide fans, especially when the original develops a passionate cult following like Ready or Not. Matching that film's sharp humor, bloody chaos, and bonkers energy would be no small feat. Fortunately, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come proves to be just as explosively fun as its predecessor, even if it's essentially "the same, but more."

undertone is so effectively spooky that I found my eyes nervously darting to shadows as I walked to my car after the screening. The best horror movies don't need cheap jumpscares, they just need to make you feel like something dreadful is out there, lurking, waiting to make itself heard.

It will lift up and squeeze your heart, crack you up with laughter, and give you a sense of hope and wonder in a way that few movies have been able to inspire. Lord & Miller have created something truly magical, and we'll be talking about this one for decades to come.

Like its title character, this old hound finds new tricks and delivers a fitting "Peaky Blinders" coda that won't disappoint.

Using the framework of territory as well-worn as "Bride of Frankenstein" (which, to be fair, was pretty subversive for its time) to launch such a visually sumptuous, unapologetically bold story of love, graphic violence, and rage has to count for something. At a time when movie studios taking big risks and big swings feels more unlikely than ever, "The Bride!" is willing to charge headfirst into intentional audacity.

Audacious, heartfelt, and uproariously funny, Hoppers has all the makings of an instant classic for Pixar.

All of this is emblematic of a film that suffers from self-inflicted wounds at practically every turn. Lacking the cleverness of the original, the undeniable flair of the best of Wes Craven's sequels, and the crowd-pleasing thrills of the recent revivals, "Scream 7" is more or less dead on arrival. Maybe it should stay that way.

How to Make a Killing is a movie that sneaks up on you, and like Becket himself, doesn't simply stab you in the chest or punch you in the gut. Instead, it slowly poisons you, leaving you bewildered by the end as to how sick you and the country you live in has become.

It's slick, solid, and filled to the brim with talented actors digging in and making the most of a not-entirely-nutritious meal.

This is not an adaptation of "Wuthering Heights," but the result of what happens when you're playing an approximation "Wuthering Heights" without a full grasp on the material but all the money in the world to bring your questionable imagination to life.

Love it or hate it, believe it to be honest or self-indulgent, "The Moment" is a movie that refuses to pander, and for that, I appreciate it. We may never know who the real Charli XCX is, but unlike the fictional Charli, she seems to be putting herself out there on her own terms.

I had oodles of fun watching Raimi go wild and give McAdams a chance to play the type of unhinged weirdo she hasn't really played before.

Mercy is a sight that may induce sore eyes, a punishing experience for those with even the lowest of expectations, and appears destined to land among the dregs of the year. But, worst of all, this feels like an alarming glimpse into a world I want no part of — one where our entertainment isn't so much as created by AI, but explicitly tailored for those who no longer care enough to see the difference. On the bright side, 2026 can't get any worse than this ... right?

The Rip does give us a handful of scenes where Damon and Affleck's characters bro out, but these are brief flashes of light in a sea of darkness. I'm all for dark and gritty crime dramas, but "The Rip" never feels like much of a movie, more like a pilot for a new, particularly violent "Law & Order" spin-off. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are movie stars, why hire them for anything less?

I left 28 Years Later nervous about what might come next. After The Bone Temple, I'm thrilled at the prospect of where this story could go. That's what I call progress.

In terms of cheap, late-night, exploitation flick fun, it satisfies.

Greenland 2 still feels like a silly disaster pic at times. But it's a cut above the rest, mostly because it's less interested in grand spectacle and more focused on everyday people just trying to make it through another damn day. We can all relate to that.

Anaconda taps into a sweet spot that's just edgy enough to make adults laugh and just family friendly enough to let kids have a good time with their parents too. It's hilarious, harmless, and puts a fun spin on a familiar formula, even if the snake still looks fake as hell.

It cannot be overstated how integral Arnett and Dern are to making this movie work. It's deceptively simple in its presentation, but it couldn't be a more complex tale of a crumbling marriage and two people struggling to keep their lives together for the sake of their kids.

If you hand Paul Feig a good script, he becomes a better director. With "The Housemaid," he doesn't just explore his characters well, but wisely delves into themes of class. The dishonesty of the rich dangles over "The Housemaid," pointing out how wealth is a moral trap. It's alluring and dangerous. Wealth is practically a living creature. It seems to be dazzling and charming and seductive, but hides its true intentions, fangs secretly in its otherwise perfect smile.

Avatar: Fire and Ash is a triumph of genre filmmaking, proof that sci-fi/action can be both deliriously daring and thoroughly thrilling. At this point, I can't wait to go back to Pandora.

There is a bittersweetness to be seen in "Ella McCay," as the movie openly wonders whether hope in our political system is as outdated as everything else. This theme may be fully intentional or it may be coincidental, yet it feels heartfelt in either case.

It's a shame that Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is such a bloated mess, because it has all of the elements to be a truly special gateway horror film franchise. The new animatronics are genuinely jaw-dropping, Megan Fox voicing Chica is a real delight, the jump scares are effective, the Easter eggs are well-placed, and for a brief moment, when we finally get Mike in the security office (essentially bringing the video game into beat-by-beat live action), the movie absolutely soars. But Cawthon's script is a disaster, and it's one that I cannot in good conscience defend, even as someone who shockingly could make sense of it, having consumed hours of fan theories over the years.

This is unquestionably the best performance of Timothée Chalamet's career, and Marty Supreme is one of the best movies of the year. I can't wait to watch it again.

Some might wish the filmmaker had avoided current politics at all, but the "Knives Out" films are very much a reflection of our modern times, and Johnson clearly has an uncomfortable but important message he's trying to preach: faith and belief are good things ... until someone starts using them the wrong way.

Mescal is quite good and tender in these final moments, as Will grapples with his grief. But it is Buckley who remains the shining beacon that keeps "Hamnet" alive.

Zootopia 2 may be the gateway to teach young viewers to question who sets the rules, and be inspired to break those rules if it means doing what's right. Zootopia 2 may not be as politically biting as something like "BEASTARS," but if you need the Mouse to validate your politics, you don't actually have politics.

There are certain movies that grab you from the jump, and Train Dreams is one of them — as the film began its journey, I felt instantly connected to it; engrossed, near hypnotized. I didn't want it to end.

Oh, and if you aren't sold on Jonathan Bailey being selected as People's Sexiest Man Alive for 2025, the way he yearns while performing "As Long as You're Mine" will fix that for you.

Despite its beasties, "Keeper" is not a monster movie, but is instead a scathing look at an idea inherent in human relationships, particularly romantic ones.

The Carpenter's Son might just be creepy enough to work for you even if you've managed to go your whole life without religion or faith. But I imagine it works even better if you've spent some time in church.

For all his skills, Wright seemingly can't pin down what he wants "The Running Man" to be. The action isn't very exciting, the satire is unoriginal, and the over-reliance on weird product placement (both Liquid Death and Monster Energy get distracting shout-outs here) make the entire picture feel manufactured. I had high hopes that Wright could get "The Running Man" across the finish line, but the film stumbles right out of the gate.

The film lives and dies with Lawrence, who's fearless performance here reminds us why she became so acclaimed to begin with. Let's hope we start seeing more of her again now that she's back.

By far the funniest, most heartfelt, and boldest "Predator" movie of them all, "Badlands" etches its place in franchise history — right alongside the classic that started it all and the three worthy follow-ups that Trachtenberg has delivered so far. Let's hope there are many more to come.

This is ultimately a worthwhile musician biopic if only for Jeremy Allen White's thoughtful, tortured performance. He's so damn good playing Bruce Springsteen that you more or less want to forgive the movie its flaws.

This is a truly beautiful film. But these visuals wouldn't be nearly as effective if del Toro had neglected the emotional heft of the story. Thankfully, he has Elordi to do a lot of the heavy lifting.

Dedicating yourself to revenge is an act of self-punishment that closes you off from a happier life. I admire the sentiment but a messy story that sometimes loses sight of Scarlet herself means it has limited resonance.

It's sick and twisted enough to stick with you, and the closing moments are particularly delightful (in a bleak sort of way). I just wish it all added up to a little bit more.

Jared Leto also proves to be a less-than-stellar leading man.

Anemone does a capable job of building up the mystery at its heart, waiting and waiting until the pressure builds before finally giving both audiences and its characters a release valve — primarily through yet another tour-de-force monologue that Daniel Day-Lewis makes a meal out of, as he's done many a time before.

Good Boy may not exactly reinvent the haunted house subgenre, but it proves you can still teach an old dog new tricks.

A House of Dynamite delivers on its promise of creating a gripping, well-crafted, anxiety-inducing thriller that sticks with you.

Though Verbinski's smallest movie since "Mouse Hunt," it still feels as ambitious as the director's blockbuster work.

The final result is the funniest feel-bad movie in ages, though one that will worm its way into your thoughts long after the credits roll. No Other Choice is proof of that all-too-rare kind of theatrical experience — one capable of being far more than it appears to be from the outside looking in.

It's silly at times. It doesn't take itself too seriously. Yet, it also has something pretty loud and timely to say. It goes hard with the gore when it needs to. The movie feels a little long in the tooth at times, particularly before we figure out what's going on, but that's a minor crime compared to what Nelson got away with here.

I don't know if I could rightfully say that this is the best "V/H/S" movie ever. "V/H/S/2" would have something to say about that. But it absolutely continues the hot streak the series has been on. If they continue to be this good, the franchise could run forever and I'd be happy about it.

For audiences curious to know the ins and outs of the early days of MMA fighting, you'd be better served by watching the 2002 documentary. If, however, you're more curious about the people involved, and if you're someone who feels like either a winner or a loser (or, more to the point, both at once) in life's big match, then The Smashing Machine is for you.

It's an improvement simply because this trilogy started off pretty badly, but nevertheless an uninspiring survival horror with repetitive set pieces, baffling character choices, and a mythology that feels like it's erasing the very reason his franchise exists in the first place.

The most impressive feat Black Phone 2 pulls off is finding a way to bring The Grabber back that feels coherent and actually adds to the character. We get some backstory on the child-abductor that comes across as deepening the character rather than just answering questions that no one asked.

Poor conclusion aside, Him clearly indicates that Justin Tipping is a filmmaker to watch, especially if he wants to stick around in the horror genre. Best of all, though, it serves as a wonderful showcase for Marlon Wayans, who has never really been as good as he is here, turning in a performance that's both incredibly fun and undeniably unsettling. I just wish the rest of the movie could match his energy.

This film frequently feels like a powder keg ready to go off...And yet, Anderson also keeps the film consistently fun and funny. Nearly everything DiCaprio is doing here is hilarious.

It's not that big, it's hardly bold, and it's only beautiful on its surface. It could have been a journey.

Sometimes the jokes aren't funny so much as they are vindicating; it's cathartic to see a movie capture all the little insulting ways that low-wage workers are often treated. 

Whenever the film was on the verge of losing me, O'Brien's steady, remarkable performance brought me back. He really is that good here, and honestly, that might just be enough.

Whatever the flaws of The Conjuring series as a whole, "Last Rites" feels like a worthy conclusion.

The Long Walk is an emotionally obliterating all-time great Stephen King adaptation, and undoubtedly one of the best films of 2025.

Sometimes, you just want to watch a handsome guy try to get out of trouble while taking care of an ornery, fluffy cat. We could use more modern movies like Caught Stealing.

The Roses is the kind of movie you should be seeing with a crowd, even if it doesn't seem to demand a big screen experience. See it with your parents. See it with your significant other. Just see it.

The star of Eenie Meanie and the reason to see it — other than those car crashes and flips, that is — is Weaving, and she absolutely is the most valuable player in the film.

If you've stuck with the "Hell House LLC" franchise this long, you might be interested in the answers "Lineage" provides. Whatever the flaws in his design, Cognetti deserves credit for trying to expand on such a simple idea with such a modest budget. And there are some moments here — mostly involving those damn clowns — that invoke the right amount of dread.

Whatever the flaws in Lee's remake design, Highest 2 Lowest rises above its issues thanks to the filmmaker's inherent skill and Washington's unbeatable charisma.

Will Nobody 2 set hearts aflame? No. If this had been the first "Nobody," no one would have been clamoring for a sequel. But it is a glorious Saturday matinée, a brisk trifle for the waning days of summer. It's the kind of movie that you'll remember better for the friends you saw it with than the movie itself. And that can be one of cinema's most important functions.

When it comes down to it, Freakier Friday is lively, fun, charming, and just plain delightful.

The Naked Gun is one of the most consistently and even exhaustingly funny movies in a long time, the kind of outrageous, outlandish comedy that multiplexes have been missing for years. It's truly a revelation to have a movie where the laughs come so fast and furious.

A wonderful mixture of bad vibes and macabre fun, Weapons is one of the best horror movies of the year, and further confirmation that writer-director Zach Cregger is one of the most exciting voices in the genre right now.

Happy Gilmore 2 is a poor excuse for nostalgic comedy, and you'd have more fun getting a colonoscopy with a rake.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in a world that I wouldn't mind living in. Even if there are occasional, ineffable cosmic deities plotting to devour me, and terrifying silver aliens ripping my soul apart with their eyes. "First Steps" is a superhero movie where we're already better. And I love that.

If you're on the fence at all, there is a mid-credits sequence that truly leaves the mid-credits made mandatory by the Marvel Cinematic Universe dead in the dirt and is so damn good that it completely recontextualizes the tone of the movie that came before.

Unapologetically silly, disarmingly earnest, and intentionally corny, Gunn's movie is entertaining, fast-paced, and, most important of all, fun.

It's a film that never feels neutered or held back, and as such it lingers in the mind for days afterward.

To his credit, Edwards immediately injects "Rebirth" with a sense of stakes and tension that the entirety of the previous trilogy struggled to depict. But every time the plot kicks in again and writer David Koepp's script goes through the motions of a standard "Jurassic" movie, those dizzying peaks soon begin to flatten out into overgrown valleys.

The original "M3GAN" was a drag show. "M3GAN 2.0" is a drag show where a straight bachelorette hijacks the VIP table. But since she tips well, is a respectful ally, and has a non-ironic appreciation for "Above the Law," she can stay.

The ending is a massive disappointment, but it can't undo everything that came before it. Boyle and his team have conjured up a kind of sensory overload — the blend of violence, mixed-media, and a frequently jarring soundtrack swirl together with feverish effect. "28 Years Later" is both scary and touching, and that's not easy to achieve. It's impressive, effective, and memorable. But someone should have told Boyle to nix that finale.

At a bloated 156 minutes, audiences will have too ample time to ponder the film's many weaknesses. The racing will be exciting — very exciting, in fact — and Pitt is certainly a movie star, but quite frankly, I can have my own midlife crisis, thank you. I don't need to watch Pitt's.

The frenetic pace may keep kids hooked, but parents will appreciate the sequences when Elio hits the pause button and allows audiences to sit in the silence — of complicated ideas, of emotionally challenging conversations, and of the wonders around us we too often fail to appreciate.

Admittedly, How to Train Your Dragon is not terrible like some of the Disney remakes out there, and it's better than almost all of them, but it's not substantial enough to warrant its existence.

There's a bit of quiet courageousness to the movie in its commitment to depth over trying to nakedly appeal to others, and that's a quality which makes any person — and any film — more desirable. So, I'll follow the film's bravery by admitting, right here and now, that I'm in love with it.

In stark contrast to the rise of "second screen" brain rot and clunky dialogue meant to catch streaming audiences up on whatever they missed while scrolling on their phones, Killer of Killers demands your undivided attention every step of the way lest you fall behind.

Instead, The Life of Chuck is one of the most insightful and moving philosophical films ever made, a movie that's as much Kierkegaard as it is King.

Sure, it's a lot of fun watching beautiful assassin Ana de Armas pick up a flamethrower and burn some dudes to a crisp, but a film featuring such an exciting concept shouldn't be this forgettable.

What the movie lacks in laughs it more than makes up for with a hip savviness that pervades every frame.

After the original "Fear Street" trilogy, I was itching to return to Shadyside. It was not worth the wait.