Writer/director Shaka King explodes into the mainstream with his electrically charged biopic, Judas And The Black Messiah. Bolstered by powerhouse performances from Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, and Jesse Plemons, King’s sure-handed style and the film’s character-driven focus keep this biographical drama fresh despite its familiarities.
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Writer/director John Lee Hancock attempts to go dark with his “throwback” thriller The Little Things, and it just doesn’t work — unless this is your first rodeo with films of this variety. Had it been released in the 90s, it may have been edgy and fresh, but every single one of its major twists, turns, and developments play like tired rehashes of all the other superior thrillers that came before it.
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With her third feature, Chloé Zhao explores the American West in her quiet roaming epic, Nomadland. Based on the 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder, the film delivers a poetic character study that is reinforced by a phenomenal performance from Frances McDormand.
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From Argentine filmmaker Mariano Cohn comes 4x4, a darkly comedic, high concept thriller that is teeming with energy and pizazz. Despite never really moving an inch, this creative, single-location flick is sure to take audiences for a surprisingly wild ride.
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Writer Rex Reyes and director Kyung Sok Kim craft a heartbreaking and honest coming-of-age story that’s personal to the touch with Furthest From. A bittersweet portrait of loss and loneliness with a soft, positive-leaning conclusion, the short will seize you with its emotional sincerity and gorgeous cinematography.
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Sanctum director Alister Grierson returns with a twisted take on the escape thriller. Combining dark comedy and horror with a dash of demented fairy tale, Bloody Hell is a surprisingly entertaining dingy actioner that leaves a trail of mayhem in its warped wake.
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Indie triple-threat (writer, director, and actor) extraordinaire Jim Cummings (not to be confused with the actor famous for voicing Winnie the Pooh) follows up his phenomenal 2018 film, Thunder Road, with something equally surprising and delightful. Adding a welcome dose of genre to his unique blend of comedy and drama, Cummings brings his idiosyncratic spin to the werewolf film on The Wolf of Snow Hollow, creating something special that holds up against the best the sub-genre has to offer.
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Writer/director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out) proves yet again that he’s one of the strongest creatives working with Pixar. Beautifully animated, contemplative, heartwarming, humorous, and profound, Soul is everything a viewer could want from a Pixar flick.
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Six years after Gone Girl, America’s most meticulous living filmmaker returns to tackle the true story behind Citizen Kane, which is still considered by many to be one of the greatest film ever made. Working from a script authored by Fincher’s late father, Jack (his only screenwriting credit), Mank is a Fincher family passion project that’s aimed squarely at film enthusiasts. Stacked with an excellent cast and bolstered by Fincher’s immaculate technical prowess, Mank is an interesting glimpse behind the creative curtain of one of cinema’s most beloved films, but it can’t quite form the emotional connection to really command a viewer’s full attention.
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Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot return to take the 1st Lady of Justice to the era of excess in Wonder Woman 1984. Deeply flawed, yet entertaining, this bloated and silly sequel boasts a timely message that’s unsubtly pointed at the orange stain in the Oval Office.
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Big Touch marks the fifth short film from writer, director, and editor Chris Tenzis, who proves that surprisingly large things can come in the smallest of packages. In just under three minutes, the film will move you with its compassionate central message and mesmerize you with its luscious 35mm cinematography.
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Actress turned writer/director Emerald Fennell makes her feature film directorial debut with Promising Young Woman, a savagely refreshing new take on the revenge thriller. Bold, provocative, and stylishly sleek, the film launches an incisive attack on “nice guys” everywhere and is bolstered by Carey Mulligan’s phenomenal performance and Fennell’s confident swagger.
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Ascendant marks the directorial debut of Australian filmmaker Josh Zammit (who also served as producer on Toni Fitzgerald’s Cult Following). Ominous and elusive, the film’s ambiguous narrative finds sure footing in the lush atmospherics of its cinematography, creating a visually memorable mood piece that’s well worth your time.
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Princess Of The Row is the narrative feature film debut from Van Maximilian Carlson, who also co-wrote the screenplay with newcomer A. Shawn Austin. Familiar, yet effective, and a bit tonally mixed up, Princess Of The Row blends the starkness of reality with light fantasy elements with a fair degree of success, shining a light on some important topics while tugging the heart strings along the way.
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The Vast Of Night marks the feature film debut of writer/director Andrew Patterson, who proves to be another new filmmaker to keep your eye on. With astounding skill, Patterson finds a fresh angle to a familiar story about something otherworldly in the sky, and he fills its journey full of palpable wonder that will leave you feeling awestruck.
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Backed by Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro (who also shared a hand in penning the screenplay), Robert Zemeckis returns with The Witches, a cartoony riff on the nightmare-inducing 1990 Nicolas Roeg film and the Roald Dahl novel of the same name. While you’d expect more from the talent involved, Zemeckis and company manage to pull together a somewhat enjoyable rendition of Dahl’s story that nods to its superior predecessor while attempting to break new ground.
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Christopher Nolan’s latest, Tenet (or more appropriately TeneT), is a sleek, yet convoluted spy thriller full of mind-melting action. Somewhat of a cross between Memento and Inception on steroids (if that’s your kink), Tenet is a definite cinematic spectacle, but it’s one that buckles hard under the weight of its own gimmick.
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Arthur Jones makes his feature film debut with Feels Good Man, an astounding documentary about the perils of internet culture. The film is an extensive and detailed chronicle of the life of internet sensation Pepe the Frog, a crudely drawn amphibian designed by artist Matt Furie as a celebration of weirdness and individuality that finds a dark and ominous second life on the Wold Wide Web.
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The filmmakers behind His Hands, Arron Blake and Darius Shu, are back with another haunting slice of cinema! I Am Norman, the young filmmaker’s second short film, explores the effects of conversion therapy through an unusually character study with a vital message. It’s an absolute must-watch, and it serves as continued proof that Blake and Shu are filmmakers to keep your eye on.
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14 long years after he made a splash with the zeitgeist-grabbing Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen makes a triumphant return to his beloved character in the aptly titled, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Although it doesn’t hit the exhaltant highs of its predecessor, Subsequent Moviefilm is a wildly entertaining sequel that once again allows us all to laugh at America’s ugliness.
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