In director Vera Miao’s feature-length debut, a multitude of horror tropes are recycled and remixed in ways that draw attention to the real sins of America’s past.

Considering this is both a low-budget indie and debut feature, the level of craft in Georgia Bernstein’s boundary-pushing vision is truly astounding.

Documentarian Sam Green embarks on a 10-year journey to interview each current “oldest person in the world” and learns just as much about himself along the way.

From shots of Thurston Moore getting a malaria shot to Kathleen Hanna and Ad-Rock clearly falling for each other, Tamra Davis’ documentary The Best Summer is a wonderful artifact and time capsule of the post-Nirvana rock golden age.

Co-director Efrain Mojica returns to their rural western Mexico homeland to explore the complex queerness of jaripeo rodeo culture, where homosexuality carefully dances with hypermasculinity.

A speculative adaptation of the real-life unsolved murders of two Mexican bus drivers by an unknown vigilante, The Huntress shines a light on the continued horrors and institutional failures plaguing the women of Juárez for decades.

Part gorgeous travelogue of Hong Kong and part Before Sunrise-style talking-and-wandering movie, Kogonada’s zi works best when viewed through the lens of an artist trying to find himself again.

Much like 28 Years Later, Nia DaCosta’s sequel is a deeply strange movie that takes a lot of risks that pay off.

In Charlie Polinger’s debut feature, a tween finds himself caught between wanting to be a lackey of a water polo camp bully or living freely as a social pariah.

Kleber Mendonça Filho’s film paints a vivid portrait of life in a Brazilian dictatorship—with a dash of grindhouse, Coen Brothers, and Wes Anderson.

Park Chan-wook’s dark-as-they-come comedy haunted me more than any horror film this year. 

Craig Brewer’s film about a Neil Diamond cover group is a beautiful representation of how making a dream come true takes a village.

When a movie looks as incredible as James Cameron’s Avatar sequel does, with constantly entertaining sequences and a sheer command of every little detail on screen, the repetitive story becomes only a minor flaw.

Wild twists, campy writing, Amanda Seyfried’s delightfully unhinged performance—Paul Feig’s ridiculous popcorn flick is not high art by any means but still had me cackling and captivated.

Combining scripted and improvisational sequences, this fast-moving mockumentary is a welcome return to an era of more innocent 2000s internet comedy.

In Josh Safdie’s invigorating and powerful solo directorial debut, Timothée Chalamet plays a table tennis player who—much like Chalamet—is in pursuit of greatness.

Julia Jackman’s new film makes you want to get lost in its fantastical medieval world. The problem is there’s not much to keep you there.

Chloé Zhao’s new tearjerker finds a compelling middle ground between her heartfelt, naturalistic independent pictures and mainstream historical drama.

It’s easy to get numb to the never-ending horror of the news, but Sepidah Farsi’s documentary reminds us that for every daily uptick in Palestinian deaths, each number was a person with hopes and dreams.

Director Gabe Polsky’s documentary spotlights the wild life of globe-trotting chaplain, UN peacekeeper, and all-around renaissance man Patrick McCollum.