Like Red Letter Media, I’m catching everything I can with Kyle Gallner in it. This was a standout for me. Not only was his performance electrifying, but Willa Fitzgerald kept me guessing the entire time–it's hard to believe the studio wanted her replaced. A one-night stand turns into a murder spree and its time jumps will keep you in suspense the entire time. There’s some truly tense moments that I wish more movies would take notes from. Not only that, the entire vibe of the movie is immaculate. It feels otherworldly and heightened and yet grounded enough to not make you second guess what's happening.

It gives itself away too soon, but maybe that was the point. The journey to the answer can be just as riveting and that’s certainly the case here. I can’t say much without giving it all away, but what struck me was how there’s different family dynamics at play here that ultimately end up playing all the same notes. An 8-year old girl goes missing on a lake and you learn so much about the characters in how they react to this event. And it’s key to see how they react because it makes the denouement all the more satisfying. The more you pay attention, the better the payoff.

This one is difficult to explain. The first movie has so many things working in its favor; chief among them is when it came out. Gladitor’s release was at a time when large-scale epics still had a lot of runway. Gladiator II, being released nearly a decade and a half later, must now work against absolutely titanic shifts in movie preferences and consumption. And that’s probably why I love it: despite those changes, it’s not a small movie faked into being big or a movie hamstrung by budget, it’s an actual BIG movie with all of its budget on screen. The sets are incredible, the costumes are seemingly unique to everyone on screen, and there’s Denzel Washington working to turn every scene to 11. I don’t think this will have the lasting power of the first, but I am exceedingly happy we got it - shame it had to be a sequel that undoes some of the things that made the Gladiator so special.

We all had an idea of what this movie was going to be when the trailers hit. Alex Garland though wasn’t interested in telling us the obvious story though. We never learn what the “sides” are, why they’re fighting, or even when the fighting started. Instead, through a journalistic lens, we follow four individuals on their road trip to interview the President before he’s overthrown. Perhaps not perfectly, but purposefully and poignantly, we’re shown the necessity of impartial journalism. When we’re now fed the “other type of American” narrative during what is now our 24 hour news feed, that Jesse Plemmons scene doesn’t seem so far off.

What I found this movie did so well though that perhaps isn’t talked about enough is showing what it would like if the type of war footage from other countries we see so often in our news... was here. Garland seemed to be sick of hearing people say “I can’t imagine that happening here,” when he was picking hit shots.

Oh, and the final action scene is Black Hawk Down levels of intense.

Nicolas Cage as a serial killer is all most of us really needed to hear. The marketing did a lot of heavy lifting for this one, but I still managed to be enthralled. It’s a slow burn, but if you’re a fan of movies that dip into occult mysteries, this is an easy recommend. I’ve gone back to this one a couple of times just because it feels like there’s always something on the edges of the screen. The sense of dread just from that is worth the time investment. Luckily, we also get a standout performance from Cage that will leave you squirming. Maika Monroe’s portrayal of obsession to the point of self-sacrifice also deserves accolades. The ending doesn’t quite connect for me in the way that I was hoping while watching it, but that’s a lot of movies these days. Watch it with all the lights off and the sound way up.

This one didn’t get a lot of traction (at least from what I saw) and that’s a damn shame. We don’t get thrillers like this very often anymore and we certainly don’t get ones that are this good. The Order tells the story of a white supremacist group in the Pacific Northwest and their rise to prominence. Jude Law (in a truly standout role here, just wow) is an FBI agent that partners with a local deputy (Tye Sheridan also turning in solid work) and while they know exactly what’s going on, they consistently find themselves one step behind. It doesn’t just focus on the procedurals of the case either, but also casts a light on the group itself and how they were able to recruit so many people (while also making sure to not be at all favorable to that viewpoint). It’s a tightrope for sure and director Justin Kurzel manages to walk it. This one will sit with you for a while.

I actually am part of the group that has liked the recent Alien movies, but I will happily admit that’s largely down to liking the visual style so much and not getting too wrapped up in how they connect to the previous movies. Alien Romulus though manages to do both: have that vintage tech feel of the first movies and marrying that with Alien (1979)’s horror roots. It must be said: I could have spent the entire movie on that colony from the first act; what a wonderfully realized setting. Luckily, we get a bit spoiled with some creative horror moments and some of the best CGI of the year. And not only do we get the nail-biting xenomorph danger, there’s also the ticking clock of the spaceship they’re on heading straight into a planet’s rings.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and it probably would have landed higher if we didn’t have the ridiculous callbacks; when I had forgotten about the Ian Holm resurrection, I’m beat over the head with the “get away from her” line. Just ripped me straight out of the movie with those bits. It's a testament to how much I enjoyed the movie though that I still ranked it this high despite that shortcoming.

Why is this so high? If you know anything about me and my love for motorcycles, this is probably not at all a surprise. But really, this is the best evidence I’ve ever seen for what makes motorcycles so special. If you read the synopsis of “a motorcycle club transforms into a violent gang”, you’re going to go in with the wrong idea. The movie is more a series of vignettes about why misfits and “others” find themselves on two wheels and why they’re drawn to form a motorcycle club. Of course the bikes are beautiful (and sound incredible, especially in theater), of course Austin Butler and Tom Hardy look the absolute business, and of course everything is perfectly tinged for that vintage feel. What makes it all come together though is Jeff Nichols’s unique capture of his characters. No matter who it is, we’re never given a sympathetic or dismissive view, only an honest one which makes the characters feel all the more real.

Why this was so important to me boils down to the last scene of the movie where Butler’s Benny character hears a motorcycle off in the distance and catches himself daydreaming of better times. If you know, you know.

Let’s get this out of the way: this was never going to be on the same level as Mad Max: Fury Road. That’s a top 5 movie for me. I don’t even buy the narrative of “I liked Fury Road better, even though I know Furiosa is the better movie”. BUT! This movie still blew past my expectations. They could have taken the easy way out (the easy way being what so many sequels are doing nowadays: just doing a copy/paste of the first movie), but they didn’t and that deserves recognition. We didn’t get another chase movie; we got an origin story that actually makes Fury Road even better upon rewatch. That’s frankly impressive on so many levels. The leads, Taylor-Joy and Hemsworth, are two opposite ends of the apocalyptic stick and it makes for some really gripping scenes.

For me though, what I just couldn’t believe was seeing how Miller still has it in him to just drop in absolutely top tier action scenes. I was worried we wouldn’t get the same level of “whoa” moments like we did with Fury Road, but that worry was absolutely squashed with that monster truck scene. An all-timer for sure.

Oh and don’t get me started with how many awesome motorcycles were on display here. I’d do terrible things to get The Thunderbike in my garage.

This isn’t the movie that stayed with me the most. It’s not even the one I connected with the most. It was absolutely the one I was most immersed in though. It didn’t take more than a few moments for me to lose myself in winds of Arrakis. There’s no denying: this is what happens when every aspect of a movie is delivering at the highest level. The sound design is otherworldly, the music is another Zimmer suite of bangers, and the effects make you realize how bad we’ve had it these past few years. There’s much to say about Paul Atreides’ falsely earned rise to power and how it will unfortunately impact his followers, but I’d almost rather wait for Part 3 to really sink my teeth into that aspect of the story. On that journey to becoming a prophet, we’re shown numerous times how Paul is pulled and pushed in ways that make his downfall understandable, but not forgivable. Much like events in the real world, the right thing seems obvious and even achievable, but the impact of every decision made often leads to less than desirable outcomes.

Watch this one as loud as you can stand. This movie delivers more when you let yourself get lost in it.