Kay Cannon, the co-writer of the Pitch Perfect films, makes her directorial debut with the bawdy comedy Blockers, a surprisingly refreshing inversion of teen sex comedy staple American Pie as seen from the parents perspective, which just may be the best comedy of its kind since 2007's Superbad. The modernized take to what has become a fairly saturated premise is a breath of fresh air, which is strengthened by the film's many heartfelt and tender moments and big laughs. One things for sure, don't let the trailers scare you away from this one; there's more than meets the eye to this mostly sweet, unexpectedly hilarious prom night comedy. Best of all, the good jokes are aren't ruined in the trailer!

Steven Spielberg opens the floodgates of nostalgia with surprising effect in the spring blockbuster Ready Player One, based on the novel of the same name by Ernest Cline (who also co-wrote the screenplay alongside Zak Penn). Very rarely am I struck with the sense of childlike awe that I was while watching Ready Player One, but then again that may be the nostalgia talking... With a film as referential as this, it's hard to not view it through rose-colored glasses, but on the other hand, it's also hard not to love something that feels very much like a master storyteller playing with all my childhood toys. This is ultimately the double-edged sword of the film; for a film whose very premise is steeped in nostalgia, the pop culture references will be the determining factor for just how well the film works for you. 

Alicia Vikander goes all in with the Tomb Raider reboot, undergoing an intense diet and training regimen in order to gain 12 pounds of muscle to assume the role of video game icon Lara Croft. Unfortunately, her efforts are not enough to totally save this half-baked, semi-boring action/adventure film, which suffers from fairly weak and directionless writing. However, her commitment and dedication to the role does salvage what would most certainly be a sunken ship if put into the hands of another actress. One thing's for sure, it's definitely a step in a better direction, and Vikander makes for a more luminous Croft than Angelia Jolie ever could hope to be. 

Wes Anderson makes his return to the realm of stop-motion animation with an Eastern influenced story birthed from his love for Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa and Man's best friend. It's everything that you'd expect a Wes Anderson film to be: winsome, quirky, meticulous and well crafted. But how does it stack up against his body of work, especially Fantastic Mr. Fox? 

Director Steven Soderbergh is back once again, following up last year's Logan Lucky with his unexpected entrance into B movie horror with Unsane, which gained some publicity for being shot entirely on an iPhone. Soderbergh effectively uses the genre to expose the corruptions and imperfections of American institutions, and it couldn't be more perfectly in sync with the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. It might not knock your socks off or blow your hair back, but it's more than just Soderbergh's "shot on an iPhone" film; it's a thoroughly enjoyable and relevant thriller that also serves as a cautionary tale for discrediting women, especially at a time when we should be all ears. 

The Death of Stalin is an ambitious and surprising historical satire from writer/director Armando Iannucci (In the Loop, HBO's Veep). Equal parts comedy and tragedy, the film is essentially a combination of Terry Gilliam's Brazil, Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove, and the Monty Python films. The trailer makes it seem like an uproarious romp, which it is; however, what's harder to convey in that short amount of time is just how much truth and horror lurks behind the comedic blows. 

Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) is swinging 3 for 3 right now. The amount of craft, consideration and care that he pumps into his films has always been apparent, but this latest effort takes his storytelling verve to a whole new level. Black Panther is near-Shakespearean, with notes of James Bond and The Lion King, and it's easily the best Marvel film since James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1. We all knew the film was going to be dope, but the layers Coogler and co-screenwriter Joe Robert Cole add to the story completely shatter expectations, making Black Panther the most thought-provoking piece in the whole Marvel cinematic universe. 

7 Days in Entebbe is the latest film from Brazilian director José Padilha (Narcos, RoboCop [reboot], Elite Squad) and Scottish playwright and screenwriter Gregory Burke. The film recounts the famed Operation Entebbe, which was a successful counter-terrorist hostage-rescue operation carried out by the Israeli Defense Force in July of 1976. You would think that a hostage based terrorism film would be taut with action and tension, but that is not the case with 7 Days. The film is more concerned with sympathizing and humanizing with its terrorist/political activists (played by Daniel Brühl and Rosamund Pike) than it is with the actual operation itself, and it's not any better for it. The film flirts with some thought-provoking concepts but never manages to scrape the surface of being interesting. Instead, it plays like Munich lite or a version of Argo devoid of any real moments of gratification. 

Finally, the harmless and vanilla game night gets a little more interesting! With a fantastic ensemble cast, some pitch-perfect cameos, and outlandish hijinks, Game Night succeeds in being a fun film that hits the majority of its laughs. With a script from Mark Perez, whose writing resume (made up of Accepted and The Country Bears) is nothing to really boast about, and tag-team direction from Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (the duo who co-wrote The Horrible Bosses films and wrote and directed the horrendous Vacation remake), there was a lot of cause for concern with just how well Game Night would play... So, the question remains: is Game Night just a fun and forgettable night out, or is the film a genuinely solid slice of comed

Thoroughbreds is the first feature from writer/director Cory Finley and stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Olivia Cooke, and the late Anton Yelchin in his final posthumous performance. The film is a pitch black satire wrapped in a thriller that plays like a quirky cross pollination of The Shining, Heavenly Creatures, Heathers and Strangers on a Train. Taking place in the upper echelon of society and wealth, the film is interestingly devoid of all empathy, ultimately asking if empathy is even necessary when you have privilege to fall back on. 

Recently crowned Best Foreign Language Film at last weekend's Oscar ceremony, A Fantastic Woman is a beautifully rendered Chilean drama that rings authentic and powerful. The story is fairly simple and calm at the surface, held together by a phenomenal debut performance by Daniela Vega, but under the quiet exterior lurks a creeping boil that is both fresh and engaging to see play out on screen. The film feels cut from the same cloth as Pedro Almodóvar and Alfred Hitchcock, but boasts a vitality all its own, which is in part due to Sebastián Lelio's focused direction and Daniela Vega's wonderfully contained performance.

Alex Garland (Ex Machina) has set the high bar for 2018 films with his latest effort, Annihilation, a confounding and spellbinding cerebral sci-fi thriller that will have you reeling in a tripped out fever dream in the best possible way. Garland draws influence from the likes of Tarkovsky, Cronenberg, Carpenter and Kubrick (amongst others) without ever feeling derivative, and crafts an experience that feels uniquely his own. The film serves as an excellent conversation piece, and does what all great cerebral sci-fi films do: present you with information without spelling anything out, allowing the audience to come to their own conclusions about what the film means to them. In short: Annihilation is a perfect slice of cerebral sci-fi that will stick to you like resin for days, keeping your mind turning, and it's a must-see on the largest screen possible.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a nice modernization to premise of the original film, done in the way that reboots out to be: with a smattering of nuance and originality, finding a harmonious balance in its references to the nostalgic without becoming overly obnoxious. It's as sharp as one can hope a family film to be, and it's loaded with loads of laughs and some genuine thrills. It's not without its problems, and it's far from perfect, but all of its weaknesses and flaws are salvaged by its solid performances and the fact that it never loses sight of what it wants to be. 

The Spierig brothers (Predestination, Daybreakers) follow up last year's Jigsaw with something even worse, Winchester: The House that Ghosts Built (or Winchester: The Film that Jump Scares Built, as I like to refer to it). The film is the living embodiment of contemporary clichéd horror and has very little working in its favor. Essentially, it's an exploitation of a pretty fascinating true story that is shaped into yet another "spooky" haunted house film; however, there is a silver lining here as well.

Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Get Low, Out of the Furnace) follows up 2015's Black Mass with Hostiles, a molasses slow, Cormac McCarthy bleak and brutal western. The film feels like a mashing of John Ford and Clint Eastwood directed westerns with a more contemplative look at the mistreat of American Indians than we usually see depicted within the genre. You could say it's an homage to the golden era of westerns that simultaneously challenges its typical tropes of cowboys v.s. Indians. In this film, the hostiles are everyone and everything, which paints a very dour picture of the old west, but Cooper still manages to find a bit hope along the way, too.

January has long been known as the dump month for films, and amongst the litter and debris of January's crummy offers, a quality film is a rare exception. Such is Paddington 2, a delightful and charming family-friendly feature that is here to deliver us salvation during the dump month depression. The film is brimming with warmth and cheer and will plant a smile so firmly on your face that you'll still be wearing it as you exit the theater. 

The Post is by no means the most exciting film Spielberg has ever made, and it's far from his best, but it is a well crafted and well acted drama that explores important moral and ethical questions. It also takes us back to a time where the news was far from fake and telephones were connected by wires, when the press unanimously looked after the public interests, not some corporation. It's a film with an important story to tell, and it feels extra sharp and timely considering America's political climes. Loaded with some big speeches, a surprising cast and strong performances abound, it's a fairly engrossing and clever precursor to All The President's Men and another solid Spielberg entry.