Scrapper is just the kind of scrappy triumph its title indicates. It's not the newness of the materials that matters here — it's how they are assembled with such care and consideration.

Featuring great performances from its two incredibly bearded leading men, and bosting a twist that offers something truly unique to the true crime genre, The Stranger takes loose inspiration from a true story to deliver a bleak yet subdued thriller. Sadly, the film banks everything on this reveal, which recontextualizes everything that came before but deflates all the tension.

Joy Ride is the big, broad, studio comedy to beat this year, an incredible directorial debut with one of the funniest scripts in a while, and a cast that should get all the praise in the world because they just became the dynamic quartet to watch.

With its flat hand-drawn characters moving briskly across the richly detailed backgrounds, Cryptozoo is bursting to the seams with dazzling, shocking, brutal (and edgy, this is an adult animated film, remember) visuals.

Between the charming hand-drawn aesthetic, the imaginative setting, and the myth-like narrative structure, it has that rare quality of being truly timeless; this is a film that could have come out forty years ago, and will feel as relevant generations from now as it does today. 

This is a stripped down story — the type of moving, romantic drama aimed at adults that's become an endangered species over the past couple of decades. If the director wants to take a sudden shift in his preferred mode of filmmaking at this stage in his career, I would greatly welcome seeing him make more movies in this mold.

Dream Scenario is a sprawling dissection of subconscious desires and how marketable popularity spells doom for its subjects, showcasing Borgli's flexible originality without sacrificing emotional investment.

Will & Harper is a sweet little road trip comedy, even if the "spontaneous" appearances of famous faces constantly pull the film into a "celebrities, they're just like us!" realm of faux-documentary authenticity.

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.

Kill is a near-perfect action thriller that's stuck in overdrive.

Painfully earnest and positively exuberant, Tick, Tick... BOOM! isn't counting down to some kind of tragic fate. It's an explosion of life, energy, the ecstasy of being alive and making something. It's an ode to the creatives who fear they'll never reach the greatness they've been grasping at. It's a promise that they might.

She Said is not as economical in its filmmaking as "Spotlight" nor as robust as "Shattered Glass." Instead, as a journalism movie, it just feels rote. As a biographical drama, it feels too early. And as a Me Too movie, it feels too quiet.

Wild Indian is a singular achievement; a film so raw and centered that it dares you to look away from scenes that simmer and burn. It’s too early in 2021 to jump the gun and start calling out “best of the year” material, but Wild Indian certainly deserves to enter the conversation. It’s a film you won’t soon forget.

On the Rocks isn’t Coppola’s most momentous film — it’s a little too frothy, all crackle and no pop — but its near lackadaisical tone and a delightful Murray performance make it an entertaining watch. It goes down like a smooth glass of wine, with perhaps a little bit of tartness.

When the world feels like it's on fire and atrocities are inescapable, there are few outlets for cathartic stress relief quite like a Final Destination movie. We're a culture plagued by existential dread already, so why not have fun shrieking, laughing, and judging people for their dumb decisions without consequence? Watching a film like Final Destination Bloodlines in a theater full of screaming strangers is my kind of community building.

The Iron Claw is an emotionally eviscerating watch anchored by one of the best ensemble casts of the year.

Concrete Utopia is not subtle about its allegories, particularly when it comes to immigration. Thankfully, the focus on character and the fast pace of the story that moves us from one crisis to the other keep the message from becoming overwhelming. Likewise, the script and visuals tease a larger world with stories just outside of what is on screen, adding to the film's worldbuilding.

The biggest strengths of the film are its sharp script and phenomenal lead actors, both of whom give committed performances which vacillate between ruthless pragmatism and explosive emotionality.

Inside Out 2 may not reach the emotional highs of the first film, but don't be surprised when it reduces you into a sobbing mess at the end.

This is a major motion picture built on the hope that audiences will want to see a cast of attractive, charming, interesting actors bounce off each other on screen, trading barbs and dashing looks. There's no franchise-building here, and no ambitions beyond offering the audience primal, pure pleasures. 

Indeed, I sure hope "Creed" doesn't take the "Rocky" route and pump out sequel after sequel. Whether or not that happens will surely be up to studio execs and box office returns, but if this is the final round for the "Creed" series, it's a fitting, if predictable, end.

Worst of all, the film is loooong. It's not just low-energy. It drags. One could listen to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" three and a half times in the same 161 minutes. And perhaps one should. It would be a more edifying musical experience.

A Disturbance in the Force succeeds at telling the full story of how the infamous "Star Wars Holiday Special" was made. And yet, it doesn't really make the special look that bad in context.

At the end of the day, it's an earnest, good movie looking at a very specific part of this mythical figure's story. It's a story that deserved telling, and this was the right guy to tell that story.

Amy Poehler relies heavily on this intimate collection of media, provided with the full support of both the Arnaz and Luckinbell families, and honestly, it's the most fascinating way to tell their story. It adds the kind of intimacy and personal touch that fans hope to see from a documentary like this.

Gaztelu-Urrutia’s camerawork is inventive enough – his pacing tidy enough, his tone clever enough, his performances engaging enough – that we never get tired of seeing the same four walls and few faces throughout The Platform’s running time. For being so deeply dark, the film is surprisingly funny and thoughtful, and it’s got a wonderful, sly energy to it.

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

The result is a chaotic, surprisingly funny, and intense night gone wrong that masterfully balances comedy, drama, and suspense.