Megalopolis (2024)Director: Francis Ford CoppolaScreenwriter: Francis Ford CoppolaStarring: Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne It’s rare these days for a filmmaker to be given the space and resources to produce a sprawling, personal project. For cinephiles, the excitement of seeing a legendary director pursue a long-gestating vision … Read more

The 1960s were a pivotal decade of social and political upheaval in the United States. Against the backdrop of Cold War anxieties and the rising civil rights movement, an independent film scene began to flourish. As Hollywood expanded, many artists reacted against mainstream aesthetics and politics, embracing lower budgets and creative freedom. Independent filmmakers experimented … Read more

When The Incredibles premiered in 2004 it was more than another Pixar release — it was director Brad Bird’s return after the beloved The Iron Giant (1999). Though that earlier film wasn’t a box-office smash, its emotional storytelling and themes of friendship and sacrifice made Bird a standout in animation. With The Incredibles, Bird blended … Read more

The Substance (2024)Director: Coralie FargeatScreenwriter: Coralie FargeatStarring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid The fear of our own bodies is a recurring theme in literature and film. As Jack Halberstam suggests in Skin Shows: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein implies that it is people — bodies — who inspire the … Read more

His Three Daughters (2024)Director: Azazel JacobsScreenwriter: Azazel JacobsStarring: Natasha Lyonne, Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen In Azazel Jacobs’s intimate drama His Three Daughters, Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) has spent years living with her father, Vincent (Jay O. Sanders), and caring for him as his illness progresses. Vincent’s worsening cancer becomes the axis around which Rachel’s life turns, … Read more

The Company of Wolves (1984)Director: Neil JordanScreenwriters: Angela Carter, Neil JordanStarring: Sarah Patterson, Angela Lansbury, David Warner, Tusse Silberg, Micha Bergese Toward the end of Neil Jordan’s 1984 fantasy horror film The Company of Wolves, a young girl in a blood-red cape walks alone through a silent wood toward her grandmother’s house. Her grandmother’s superstitious … Read more

Speak No Evil (2024)Director: James WatkinsScreenwriters: James Watkins, Christian Tafdrup, Mads TafdrupStarring: James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy, Aisling Franciosi, Alix West Lefler, Dan Hough, Kris Hitchen Politeness is an unspoken social contract that smooths interactions and keeps small tensions from boiling over. In the United States, in particular, people are often taught to stay … Read more

While Tim Burton occasionally veers into self-parody in his later work, he remains one of the most visually distinctive and emotionally resonant filmmakers of his generation. Emerging from early, uneasy experiences at Disney, Burton developed a fully formed aesthetic and recurring themes—most notably, tender portraits of lonely outsiders and misfits that resonate deeply with introverted … Read more

Annie (Kristen Wiig) considers herself a walking disaster: her small business failed, her relationship ended, and she frequently chases unsuitable partners. Her bright spot is Lillian (Maya Rudolph), her lifelong friend, but everything shifts when Lillian accepts a marriage proposal. The bridal party ends up as a motley crew of coworkers, relatives, Annie, and a … Read more

The Critic (2023)Director: Anand TuckerScreenwriter: Patrick MarberStarring: Ian McKellen, Gemma Arterton, Lesley Manville, Mark Strong, Ben Barnes, Romola Garai, Alfred Enoch The British film landscape often narrows the pathways for funding: modest genre pieces, period dramas, wartime tales, or intimate social realism tend to attract investment more readily than riskier modern-set projects. When money does … Read more