Problemista

• Director: Julio Torres
• Writer: Julio Torres
• Starring: Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, Isabella Rossellini, RZA, Greta Lee, Catalina Saavedra

Grade: A-

A24 is a studio known for its creative freedom, incredible quality control, and boundary-pushing filmmaking. With Best Picture-winning films like Everything Everywhere All at Once and Moonlight, they have garnered a reputation for creating features with massive critical acclaim while promoting the singular visions of filmmakers. While I don’t feel Problemista will be the next big hit for A24, it fits perfectly within their catalog of stylistic filmmaking. 

Love Lies Bleeding

• Director: Rose Glass
• Writers: Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska
• Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Dave Franco

Grade: B+

Kristen Stewart has done everything to put her Twilight days behind her, much like her co-star Robert Pattinson has. Pattinson has balanced indie fare and blockbusters, and Stewart has primarily stayed in the world of arthouse movies (with a few exceptions). Yet director and writer Rose Glass’ sophomore feature Love Lies Bleeding feels much different than anything Stewart has done before.

Dune: Part Two

• Director: Denis Villeneuve
• Writers: Denis Villeneuve, Josh Spaihts
• Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Léa Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgård, Christopher Walken

Grade: A

For the past two decades, there’s been a myriad of genre blockbusters that have tried to emulate the epic scope of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. There have been some films that made a noble effort, but none have been able to successfully capture that lightning in the bottle. Enter Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films, a franchise that once felt like it would never actually get made after David Lynch’s ill-fated 1984 movie. 

Io Capitone

• Director: Matteo Garrone
• Writer: Matteo Garrone, Massino Gaudioso, Massimo Ceccherini, Andrea Tagliaferri
• Starring: Seydou Sarr, Moustapha Fall, Issaka Sawadogo

Grade: B

Rarely has the immigrant experience been as harrowingly fictionalized on film as in Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano. There have been a number of films throughout history that depict a story of immigration – that unquantifiable desire to find a better life – but it’s perhaps just as important to show the incredibly difficult journey many immigrants embark on. In the case of Garrone’s film, which he directs and co-wrote with Massimo Gaudioso, Massimo Ceccherini, and Andrea Tagliaferri, it’s a journey across multiple countries, and its young protagonists are setting off on their own, multiplying the dangers.

Lisa Frankenstein

• Director: Zelda Williams
• Writer: Diablo Cody
• Starring: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Henry Eikenberry, Carla Gugino

Grade: B+

Diablo Cody is one of the few remaining superstar screenwriters left in Hollywood today. The Oscar winner has done tremendous work on various projects, from critically acclaimed films like Juno to cult classics like Jennifer’s Body. Her signature dry humor and skillfully written dialogue makes her an auteur writer, placing her among the ranks of Charlie Kaufman or Tony Kushner. 

Argylle

• Director: Matthew Vaughn
• Writer: Jason Fuchs
• Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Henry Cavill, John Cena, Dua Lipa, Catherine O’Hara, Samuel L. Jackson, Ariana DeBose

Grade: C

Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle is the kind of film that would cause a much bigger uproar if it weren’t released in the first quarter of the year, when studios tend to dump the projects they have the least faith in. It’s the kind of easily digestible popcorn film to see when you’ve already seen the remnants of the previous year and have caught up with the crop of Oscar nominees still hanging around. It shamelessly pays homage to the spy thrillers of yesteryear, along with films like Romancing the Stone or the recent The Lost City, without really carving out its own space in the genre.