We’ve all seen a reluctant duo trying to start a new life while on the run from some vaguely described bad guys, and Lake George follows the expected beats. It’s Whigham and Coon who make the difference.

Know Your Place is a personal story of identity, one that feels universal in its quest for belonging.

Armand is a thriller that didn’t realize it had the necessary ingredients for a tense chamber piece without relying on surreal interludes to up an ante that was already high.

Saturn Return puts audiences in the thick of it all and lets them see how the magic is made. Music is always about more than a hit song on the radio. It’s about the emotions behind it all. 

Been Here Stay Here loves the island it documents and prays for its ability to adapt to the changes that are coming.

Maria is one last, beautiful look at the woman who spent years in the spotlight, and her desire to find her peace.

We are doomed to repeat what we cannot learn from, and there is much within Blitz that is all-too-relevant today.

Gladiator II doesn’t need to scream “are you not entertained” because it knows we are. Gladiator II delivers exactly what you want from a blockbuster.

Even if all of the wrinkles aren’t ironed out, Samson is a creative exploration of toxic relationships and the ways we can free ourselves for a better life. 

The American celebrates such a delicate art, but is a bloody tale about the cost of obsessively reaching for perfection.

Juror #2 is an updated and expanded take on 12 Angry Men. While not as tightly paced as the 1950s classic, Juror #2 belongs to a bygone era and its return is more than welcome.

Culkin and Eisenberg two are the heart of the film and it’s their final scene together that captures what A Real Pain wants its audience to take home with them. Pain is universal, but what we do with it is personal. 

His Three Daughters is messy in a way that reflects all of our families. The way we fight, the way we grieve, and, hopefully, the way we love. 

All You Need Is Blood is infectious, a zom drom that may not have a pulse on a zombie technicality, but is brimming with life.

The People’s Joker is an explosion of anger, joy, and art. More earnest and important than any superhero movie that came before it.

Venom: The Last Dance isn’t as weird as it should have been, but it’s still sad that this gonzo friendship will no longer be seen on the big screen.

Memoir of a Snail urges its audience to break out of their limits and leave a snail trail of their own.

Dahomey infuses artistic panache into its timely story of the painful reclamation of one’s heritage.

So easy to be swept up in and so easy to fall back down to earth, Anora is a slice-of-life humanist tale told in typical Baker fashion.

Conclave is, beneath its posturings of grandness, a quiet story about faith and confidence in the unknowingness that exists in our reality. It’s the sparring of progress and tradition in a world that is immensely desperate to have something that makes sense when it seems as though uncertainty reigns supreme.