Certified Fresh Movies 2018

Adjusted Score: 91.183%

Critics Consensus: Ready Player One is a sweetly nostalgic thrill ride that neatly encapsulates Spielberg’s strengths while adding another solidly engrossing adventure to his filmography.

Adjusted Score: 74.611%

Critics Consensus: A kaleidoscopic neo-noir, Gemini is a visually striking murder mystery with a convoluted but largely compelling plot and an impressive showing from Lola Kirke.

Adjusted Score: 77.971%

Critics Consensus: Final Portrait finds writer-director Stanley Tucci patiently telling a quietly absorbing story, brought to life by a talented ensemble led by Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer.

Adjusted Score: 85.619%

Critics Consensus: Smart, stylish, and packed with solid performances, Bad Times at the El Royale delivers pure popcorn fun with the salty tang of social subtext.

Adjusted Score: 77.87%

Critics Consensus: Never Goin’ Back benefits from the chemistry between leads Maia Mitchell and Camila Morrone, whose easy rapport lifts a coming-of-age story with uncommon insight.

Adjusted Score: 79.833%

Critics Consensus: Smallfoot offers a colorful distraction that should keep younger viewers entertained – and a story whose message might even resonate with older audiences.

Adjusted Score: 80.249%

Critics Consensus: Mom and Dad’s gonzo premise serves as an effective springboard for a wickedly dark, bloody comedy – and an appropriately over-the-top performance from Nicolas Cage.

Adjusted Score: 81.268%

Critics Consensus: Before We Vanish finds Kiyoshi Kurosawa working within well-established genre guidelines to take a poignant, surprisingly sincere look at the human condition.

Adjusted Score: 79.731%

Critics Consensus: Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist takes a thoroughly entertaining — albeit necessarily incomplete — look at the life and career of a British fashion pioneer.

Adjusted Score: 84.36%

Critics Consensus: Destroyer’s grueling narrative is as uncompromising as Nicole Kidman’s central performance, which adds extra layers to a challenging film that leaves a lingering impact.

Adjusted Score: 77.333%

Critics Consensus: Let the Corpses Tan challenges the audience’s expectations — and delivers a singularly stylish, unforgettably unique viewing experience in the bargain.

Adjusted Score: 84.703%

Critics Consensus: Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot avoids inspirational biopic clichés thanks to sensitive work from writer-director Gus Van Sant and the admirable efforts of a well-chosen cast.

Adjusted Score: 77.129%

Critics Consensus: The Escape probes gender mores while surveying the wreckage of a marriage — and offering the underrated Gemma Arterton another opportunity to prove her dramatic mettle.

Adjusted Score: 81.647%

Critics Consensus: Anna and the Apocalypse finds fresh brains and a lot of heart in the crowded zombie genre – not to mention a fun genre mashup populated by rootable characters.

Adjusted Score: 79.546%

Critics Consensus: Black ’47 anchors its grim and gritty action in deceptively deep genre storytelling, although its epic ambitions arguably exceed its grasp.

Adjusted Score: 89.415%

Critics Consensus: Mid90s tells a clear-eyed yet nostalgic coming-of-age tale that might mark the start of an auspicious new career for debuting writer-director Jonah Hill.

Adjusted Score: 97.101%

Critics Consensus: Capernaum hits hard, but rewards viewers with a smart, compassionate, and ultimately stirring picture of lives in the balance.

Adjusted Score: 81.731%

Critics Consensus: Dark River is just as bleak as its title would suggest, but solidly conceived characters and a standout performance from Ruth Wilson make it worth diving in.

Adjusted Score: 79.916%

Critics Consensus: I Kill Giants’ moody magical realism sometimes slips into the mundane, but impressive CGI and a powerhouse performance by Madison Wolfe pack an unexpected punch.

Adjusted Score: 80.444%

Critics Consensus: The King pursues a wildly ambitious thesis through some fairly bumpy territory, but emerges as a provocative and insightful look at modern America.

Adjusted Score: 95.359%

Critics Consensus: Mary Poppins Returns relies on the magic of its classic forebear to cast a familiar — but still solidly effective — family-friendly spell.

Adjusted Score: 81.315%

Critics Consensus: A coming of age drama with a surfing twist, Breath navigates seemingly familiar waters — but has surprising depth below the surface.

Adjusted Score: 80.194%

Critics Consensus: Apostle resists easy scares in favor of a steady, slow-building descent into dread led by a commanding central performance from Dan Stevens.

Adjusted Score: 84.879%

Critics Consensus: 22 July offers a hard-hitting close-up look at the aftereffects of terrorism, telling a story with a thriller’s visceral impact and the lingering emotional resonance of a drama.

Adjusted Score: 85.11%

Critics Consensus: Well-acted and beautifully filmed, Alpha offers a canine-assisted epic adventure that blends rousing action with an extra helping of canine charm.

Adjusted Score: 91.091%

Critics Consensus: Refreshingly understated, Ben Is Back subverts family drama stereotypes – and provides a forum for terrific performances from Lucas Hedges and Julia Roberts.

Adjusted Score: 89.878%

Critics Consensus: Unsane unleashes Steven Soderbergh’s inner B-movie maestro, wading into timeless psychological thriller territory and giving it a high-tech filmmaking spin.

Adjusted Score: 95.359%

Critics Consensus: Halloween largely wipes the slate clean after decades of disappointing sequels, ignoring increasingly elaborate mythology in favor of basic – yet still effective – ingredients.

Adjusted Score: 84.129%

Critics Consensus: Love, Cecil shines a warm – and long overdue – spotlight on the work of an Oscar-winning talent whose contributions to classic cinema are too often overlooked.

Adjusted Score: 88.36%

Critics Consensus: Old-fashioned charm meets sharp wit and modern social satire in The Party, a biting comedy carried by a shining performance from Patricia Clarkson.

Adjusted Score: 91.082%

Critics Consensus: Anchored in empathy by writer-director-star Joel Edgerton, Boy Erased proves the road to complex, powerfully performed drama can also be paved with good intentions.

Adjusted Score: 90.822%

Critics Consensus: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again doubles down on just about everything fans loved about the original — and my my, how can fans resist it?

Adjusted Score: 83.315%

Critics Consensus: Smart, stylish, and well-acted, What Keeps You Alive proves it’s still possible to spin an engrossing horror yarn without fundamentally altering established formula.

Adjusted Score: 79.315%

Critics Consensus: Grim and gripping in equal measure, Have a Nice Day is an animated drama that pulls no punches — and leaves a satisfying mark.

Adjusted Score: 93.479%

Critics Consensus: Green Book takes audiences on an excessively smooth ride through bumpy subject matter, although Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen’s performances add necessary depth.

Adjusted Score: 87.064%

Critics Consensus: Beirut tells a complex, tightly plotted tale of international intrigue, further elevated by strong central performances from Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike.

Adjusted Score: 90.415%

Critics Consensus: Part revisionist war drama, part zombie thriller, and part all-out genre gorefest, Overlord offers A-level fun for B-movie fans of multiple persuasions.

Adjusted Score: 86.471%

Critics Consensus: Led by mesmerizing work from Willem Dafoe in the central role, At Eternity’s Gate intriguingly imagines Vincent Van Gogh’s troubled final days.

Adjusted Score: 82.287%

Critics Consensus: Far more traditional and straightforward than its unwieldy title, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society offers delightful comfort food for fans of period drama.

Adjusted Score: 87.055%

Critics Consensus: Early Man isn’t quite as evolved as Aardman’s best work, but still retains the unique visuals and sweet humor that have made the studio a favorite among animation enthusiasts.

Directed By:

Adjusted Score: 89.471%

Critics Consensus: Fahrenheit 11/9 finds Michael Moore in fine fighting form, delivering a political call to action that ranks among his most effective works.

Adjusted Score: 82.453%

Critics Consensus: Where Is Kyra? rests on Michelle Pfeiffer’s magnetically raw performance — and lives up to it with a trenchant, hard-hitting story.

Adjusted Score: 87.536%

Critics Consensus: A satisfying must-watch for diehard cineastes, The Other Side of the Wind offers the opportunity to witness a long-lost chapter in a brilliant filmmaker’s career.

Adjusted Score: 87.175%

Critics Consensus: Instant Family may not quite capture the complexity of real-life adoption, but fittingly for the unconditional bond it honors, this flawed yet well-intentioned dramedy is ultimately worth the investment.

Adjusted Score: 90.018%

Critics Consensus: Ghost Stories offers a well-crafted, skillfully told horror anthology that cleverly toys with genre tropes while adding a few devilishly frightful twists.

Adjusted Score: 86.573%

Critics Consensus: Chappaquidick can’t help leaving some of this true story’s most intriguing questions unanswered, but it’s bolstered by outstanding work from Jason Clarke in the central role.

Adjusted Score: 89.638%

Critics Consensus: Juliet, Naked’s somewhat familiar narrative arc is elevated by standout work from a charming cast led by a well-matched Rose Byrne and Ethan Hawke.

Adjusted Score: 93.887%

Critics Consensus: Powered by an intriguing story and a pair of outstanding performances from Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba, Molly’s Game marks a solid debut for writer-director Aaron Sorkin.

Adjusted Score: 84.99%

Critics Consensus: Mohawk delivers effective period horror while skillfully weaving in sociopolitical subtext that pushes the film past genre — and budgetary — constraints.

Adjusted Score: 86.657%

Critics Consensus: Well-acted and visually stylish, Monsters and Men tells its timely story with enough compassion and complexity to make up for occasionally uneven execution.

Directed By:

Adjusted Score: 83.361%

Critics Consensus: Lover for a Day offers an absorbing character study that’s as well-acted and believable as it is beautifully filmed.

Adjusted Score: 88.11%

Critics Consensus: Puzzle transcends its quirky premise with honest emotion — and Kelly Macdonald, whose nicely understated performance proves she’s too often underutilized.

Adjusted Score: 93.554%

Critics Consensus: Blockers puts a gender-swapped spin on the teen sex comedy — one elevated by strong performances, a smartly funny script, and a surprisingly enlightened perspective.

Adjusted Score: 96.119%

Critics Consensus: Creed II’s adherence to franchise formula adds up to a sequel with few true surprises, but its time-tested generational themes still pack a solid punch.

Adjusted Score: 86.87%

Critics Consensus: Elevated by a solid soundtrack and a terrific cast, Dumplin’ offers sweetly uplifting drama that adds just enough new ingredients to a reliably comforting formula.

Adjusted Score: 102.211%

Critics Consensus: Though it threatens to buckle under the weight of its meta gags, Deadpool 2 is a gory, gleeful lampoon of the superhero genre buoyed by Ryan Reynolds’ undeniable charm.

Adjusted Score: 87.009%

Critics Consensus: Under the Tree leads viewers into decidedly bleak territory, but it’s leavened by sly intelligence and a surprising sense of humor.

Adjusted Score: 89.842%

Critics Consensus: The Third Murder makes satisfying work of its weighty themes, even if it doesn’t quite stand with writer-director Hirokazu Koreeda’s best efforts.

Adjusted Score: 84.564%

Critics Consensus: Pope Francis – A Man of His Word offers a compelling look at the pontiff’s ideas and message, even if its distance from the man means it won’t win many new converts.

Adjusted Score: 87.861%

Critics Consensus: The Final Year uses director Greg Barker’s wide-ranging access to take a detailed inside look at the closing months of the Obama administration.

Directed By:

Adjusted Score: 89.666%

Critics Consensus: Borg vs McEnroe makes tennis improbably cinematic — and brings the absolute best out of Shia LaBeouf, who delivers some of the best work of his career.

Adjusted Score: 92.443%

Critics Consensus: Disobedience explores a variety of thought-provoking themes, bolstered by gripping work from leads Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, and Alessandro Nivola.

Adjusted Score: 95.369%

Critics Consensus: The Wife relies on the strength of Glenn Close’s performance to drive home the power of its story — and she proves thoroughly, grippingly up to the task.

Adjusted Score: 95.804%

Critics Consensus: With a talented cast turned loose on a loaded premise — and a sharp script loaded with dark comedy and unexpected twists — Game Night might be more fun than the real thing.

Adjusted Score: 106.034%

Critics Consensus: Avengers: Infinity War ably juggles a dizzying array of MCU heroes in the fight against their gravest threat yet, and the result is a thrilling, emotionally resonant blockbuster that (mostly) realizes its gargantuan ambitions.

Adjusted Score: 85.685%

Critics Consensus: Nancy is an uncomfortable watch, but worth the effort thanks to Andrea Riseborough’s central performance — and writer-director Christina Choe’s powerful empathy for her character’s dangerously misguided choices.

Adjusted Score: 85.824%

Critics Consensus: Monrovia, Indiana finds Frederick Wiseman observing the citizens of one small American town with his typically patient – and ultimately revealing – approach.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 87.731%

Critics Consensus: The Gospel According to André offers an engaging overview of its fascinating subject, even if his accomplishments — and outsize personality — prove too expansive for a single film.

Adjusted Score: 95.49%

Critics Consensus: The Sisters Brothers rides familiar genre trails in occasionally unexpected ways – a satisfying journey further elevated by its well-matched leading men.

Adjusted Score: 94.619%

Critics Consensus: Twisty, twisted, and above all simply fun, A Simple Favor casts a stylish mommy noir spell strengthened by potent performances from Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively.

Adjusted Score: 99.008%

Critics Consensus: Tully delves into the modern parenthood experience with an admirably deft blend of humor and raw honesty, brought to life by an outstanding performance by Charlize Theron.

Adjusted Score: 84.453%

Critics Consensus: The Captain makes chillingly persuasive points about the dark side of human nature — and underscores how little certain tendencies ever really change.

Adjusted Score: 89.24%

Critics Consensus: Mountain offers a visually thrilling — and surprisingly affecting — look at man’s relationship with some of Earth’s most imposing natural wonders.

Adjusted Score: 90.518%

Critics Consensus: Cargo takes a refreshingly character-driven approach to the zombie genre that’s further distinguished by its Australian setting and Martin Freeman’s terrific lead performance.

Adjusted Score: 91.481%

Critics Consensus: Let the Sunshine In pairs a powerful performance from Juliette Binoche with a layered drama that presents director Claire Denis at her most assured.

Adjusted Score: 93.61%

Critics Consensus: The Miseducation of Cameron Post tells its timely coming-of-age story with wit, compassion, and an affecting overall generosity of spirit.

Adjusted Score: 95.999%

Critics Consensus: Formally familiar but a brilliant match for its lead, Colette is a thoroughly entertaining biopic and an overdue testament to Keira Knightley’s underrated gifts.

Adjusted Score: 95.841%

Critics Consensus: Like its augmented protagonist, Upgrade’s old-fashioned innards get a high-tech boost — one made even more powerful thanks to sharp humor and a solidly well-told story.

Adjusted Score: 87.731%

Critics Consensus: Led by an outstanding central performance from Mary Elizabeth Winstead and brilliantly held together by writer-director Eva Vives, All About Nina is a delightfully raw dramedy.

Adjusted Score: 88.703%

Critics Consensus: Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami takes an unconventional approach to the rock biopic, resulting in a compelling experience for fans and an intriguing, albeit confusing, primer for novices.

Adjusted Score: 92.166%

Critics Consensus: Mary and the Witch’s Flower honors its creator’s Studio Ghibli roots with a gentle, beautifully animated story whose simplicity is rounded out by its entrancing visuals.

Adjusted Score: 92.601%

Critics Consensus: Madeline’s Madeline proves experimental cinema is alive and well — and serves as a powerful calling card for Helena Howard in her big-screen debut.

Adjusted Score: 93.722%

Critics Consensus: Elevated by a bravura performance from Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Kindergarten Teacher is one American remake that retains its impact the second time around.

Adjusted Score: 93.545%

Critics Consensus: Thoroughbreds juggles genres with panache, delivering a well-written and refreshingly unpredictable entry in the teen thriller genre.

Adjusted Score: 90.639%

Critics Consensus: Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. makes up in energy and ambition what it lacks in objective distance, offering fans a personal perspective on a singular career.

Adjusted Score: 90.592%

Critics Consensus: A powerful character study, A Ciambra burns slowly, letting its compelling cast carry what could otherwise be just another coming-of-age story.

Adjusted Score: 91.796%

Critics Consensus: With its thorny themes and aggressive humor, Bodied dares to offend – and justifies its approach with a subversive comedy that edifies as it entertains.

Adjusted Score: 91.12%

Critics Consensus: Love, Gilda pays gentle, unequivocal tribute to its subject with more than enough of her genuine spirit to compensate for a lack of critical distance or truly fresh insight.

Adjusted Score: 90.323%

Critics Consensus: What They Had finds laughter and tears in its portrait of a family at a crossroads, with writer-director Elizabeth Chomko getting outstanding performances out of a talented cast.

Adjusted Score: 90.323%

Critics Consensus: The Insult uses its familiar courtroom drama framework to deliver a hard-hitting statement on modern Middle Eastern politics that’s as gripping as it is thought-provoking.

Adjusted Score: 94.453%

Critics Consensus: Whitney shifts from soaring highs to heartbreaking lows with palpable emotion and grace befitting its singular subject.

Adjusted Score: 96.906%

Critics Consensus: American Animals tangles with a number of weighty themes, but never at the expense of delivering a queasily compelling true crime thriller.

Adjusted Score: 99.684%

Critics Consensus: Ralph Breaks the Internet levels up on its predecessor with a funny, heartwarming sequel that expands its colorful universe while focusing on core characters and relationships.

Adjusted Score: 101.674%

Critics Consensus: Annihilation backs up its sci-fi visual wonders and visceral genre thrills with an impressively ambitious — and surprisingly strange — exploration of challenging themes that should leave audiences pondering long after the end credits roll.

Adjusted Score: 105.516%

Critics Consensus: The Post’s period setting belies its bitingly timely themes, brought compellingly to life by director Steven Spielberg and an outstanding ensemble cast.

Adjusted Score: 105.998%

Critics Consensus: A lighter, brighter superhero movie powered by the effortless charisma of Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, Ant-Man and The Wasp offers a much-needed MCU palate cleanser.

Adjusted Score: 106.692%

Critics Consensus: First Man uses a personal focus to fuel a look back at a pivotal moment in human history – and takes audiences on a soaring dramatic journey along the way.

Adjusted Score: 89.685%

Critics Consensus: Museum (Museo) approaches familiar genre territory from a refreshing new perspective that’s as exciting visually as it is narratively.

Adjusted Score: 91.361%

Critics Consensus: Divide & Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes offers an overview of the media mogul’s rise and fall that proves as engrossing as it is deeply disturbing.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 94.074%

Critics Consensus: Happy as Lazzaro uses a friendship’s ups and downs as a satisfyingly expansive canvas for a picture rich with thematic and cinematic depth.

Adjusted Score: 89.315%

Critics Consensus: Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat offers an insightful look into a key period of the artist’s life, his peers and influences, and the early ’80s art world.

Adjusted Score: 93.657%

Critics Consensus: Maria by Callas offers an intimate look at the life of a brilliantly talented artist whose absorbing story matches the operatic heights reached by her work.

Adjusted Score: 88.333%

Critics Consensus: Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood offers plenty of prurient thrills for film fans, but beyond the gossip lies a poignantly illuminating look at decades of sexual mores.

Adjusted Score: 92.842%

Critics Consensus: Studio 54 offers audiences an engrossing close-up look at an emblem of a decade’s decadence – as well as its sobering aftermath.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 92.305%

Critics Consensus: Skate Kitchen takes a beguiling slice-of-life approach to its characters, approaching its timely themes with a light hand that serves the story well.

Adjusted Score: 93.666%

Critics Consensus: A Private War honors its real-life subject with a sober appraisal of the sacrifices required of journalists on the front lines – and career-best work by Rosamund Pike.

Adjusted Score: 100.915%

Critics Consensus: Bracingly elevated by a typically committed lead performance from Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here confirms writer-director Lynne Ramsay as one of modern cinema’s most unique — and uncompromising — voices.

Adjusted Score: 105.711%

Critics Consensus: The beautifully stop-motion animated Isle of Dogs finds Wes Anderson at his detail-oriented best while telling one of the director’s most winsomely charming stories.

Adjusted Score: 105.359%

Critics Consensus: Hereditary uses its classic setup as the framework for a harrowing, uncommonly unsettling horror film whose cold touch lingers long beyond the closing credits.

Adjusted Score: 106.637%

Critics Consensus: Led by strong work from Margot Robbie and Alison Janney, I, Tonya finds the humor in its real-life story without losing sight of its more tragic — and emotionally resonant — elements.

Adjusted Score: 91.315%

Critics Consensus: Hal pays affectionate tribute to a filmmaker whose offscreen life proves as engaging as his best work.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 93.453%

Critics Consensus: The Price of Everything will be of immediate interest to art lovers – but this look at the relationship between creativity and commodification has something for all audiences.

Adjusted Score: 93.777%

Critics Consensus: Set It Up follows the long-established outlines of the rom-com template — and in the process, proves there’s still substantial pleasure to be wrought from familiar formulas.

Adjusted Score: 92.611%

Critics Consensus: Tender performances and a strong sense of style combine to create an eccentric, dreamy portrait of love and loneliness in On Body and Soul.

Adjusted Score: 97.656%

Critics Consensus: Lean on Pete avoids mawkish melodrama, offering an empathetic yet clear-eyed portrayal of a young man at a crossroads that confirms Charley Plummer as a major talent.

Adjusted Score: 109.211%

Critics Consensus: Widows rounds up a stellar ensemble for a heist thriller that mixes popcorn entertainment with a message – and marks another artistic leap for director Steve McQueen.

Adjusted Score: 113.164%

Critics Consensus: With appealing leads, deft direction, and an affecting love story, A Star Is Born is a remake done right — and a reminder that some stories can be just as effective in the retelling.

Adjusted Score: 89.268%

Critics Consensus: Claire’s Camera adds another deceptively unassuming entry to writer-director Hong Sang-soo’s oeuvre — one whose lingering impact belies its brief length.

Adjusted Score: 94.518%

Critics Consensus: Nico, 1988 takes an absorbing — and appropriately idiosyncratic — look at the singer’s later years.

Adjusted Score: 95.629%

Critics Consensus: Dreamlike and haunting, We the Animals approaches the coming-of-age odyssey with a uniquely documentarian eye.

Adjusted Score: 96.11%

Critics Consensus: Teen Titans Go! To the Movies distills the enduring appeal of its colorful characters into a charmingly light-hearted adventure whose wacky humor fuels its infectious fun — and belies a surprising level of intelligence.

Adjusted Score: 104.36%

Critics Consensus: A well-told story brought to life by a beautifully matched cast, The Old Man & the Gun is pure, easygoing entertainment for film fans – and a fitting farewell to a legend.

Adjusted Score: 106.572%

Critics Consensus: With a terrific cast and a surfeit of visual razzle dazzle, Crazy Rich Asians takes a satisfying step forward for screen representation while deftly drawing inspiration from the classic — and still effective — rom-com formula.

Adjusted Score: 106.202%

Critics Consensus: Phantom Thread’s finely woven narrative is filled out nicely by humor, intoxicating romantic tension, and yet another impressively committed performance from Daniel Day-Lewis.

Adjusted Score: 92.888%

Critics Consensus: The simplicity and colorful warmth of Mirai’s animation is underscored by a story with surprising – and deeply affecting – depth and emotional resonance.

Adjusted Score: 95.87%

Critics Consensus: Kusama: Infinity shines a richly deserved spotlight on its subject’s brilliant work while opening a fascinating – albeit necessarily incomplete – window into her personal life.

Adjusted Score: 93.87%

Critics Consensus: A Prayer Before Dawn is far from an easy watch, but this harrowing prison odyssey delivers rich rewards — led by an outstanding central performance from Joe Cole.

Adjusted Score: 98.11%

Critics Consensus: Revenge slices and dices genre tropes, working within an exploitation framework while adding a timely — yet never less than viscerally thrilling — feminist spin.

Adjusted Score: 98.268%

Critics Consensus: Thoroughly sweet, comfortably familiar, and elevated by the chemistry between Nick Offerman and Kiersey Clemons, Hearts Beat Loud offers feel-good father-daughter drama.

Adjusted Score: 98.554%

Critics Consensus: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs avoids anthology pitfalls with a consistent collection tied together by the Coen brothers’ signature blend of dark drama and black humor.

Adjusted Score: 100.786%

Critics Consensus: Love, Simon hits its coming-of-age beats more deftly than many entries in this well-traveled genre — and represents an overdue, if not entirely successful, milestone of inclusion.

Adjusted Score: 100.295%

Critics Consensus: Mandy’s gonzo violence is fueled by a gripping performance by Nicolas Cage — and anchored with palpable emotion conveyed between his volcanic outbursts.

Adjusted Score: 102.619%

Critics Consensus: Searching’s timely premise and original execution are further bolstered by well-rounded characters brought to life by a talented cast.

Adjusted Score: 92.129%

Critics Consensus: Sicilian Ghost Story uses a horrific real-life story as the framework for a powerfully acted foray into surprisingly beguiling fantasy territory.

Adjusted Score: 95.675%

Critics Consensus: Journey’s End brings R.C. Sherriff’s 90-year-old play to the screen with thrilling power, thanks to director Saul Dibb’s hard-hitting urgency and brilliant work from a talented cast.

Adjusted Score: 102.434%

Critics Consensus: With a brilliantly stark visual aesthetic to match its lean narrative, Cold War doesn’t waste a moment of its brief running time — and doesn’t skimp on its bittersweet emotional impact.

Adjusted Score: 97.175%

Critics Consensus: Support the Girls handles serious themes with wit and humor, and provides a strong showcase for Regina Hall and a talented ensemble cast.

Adjusted Score: 97.712%

Critics Consensus: Beast plays like bleak poetry, unfurling its psychological thrills while guided by its captivating leads and mesmerizing, visceral visuals.

Adjusted Score: 100.962%

Critics Consensus: As timely as it is overall impactful, Blindspotting blends buddy comedy with seething social commentary, and rises on the strength of Daveed Diggs’ powerful performance.

Adjusted Score: 103.11%

Critics Consensus: Brought to life by delicate work from writer-director Paul Schrader and elevated by a standout performance by Ethan Hawke, First Reformed takes a sensitive and suspenseful look at weighty themes.

Adjusted Score: 101.434%

Critics Consensus: Bumblebee proves it’s possible to bring fun and a sense of wonder back to a bloated blockbuster franchise — and sets up its own slate of sequels in the bargain.

Adjusted Score: 106.072%

Critics Consensus: Fearlessly ambitious, scathingly funny, and thoroughly original, Sorry to Bother You loudly heralds the arrival of a fresh filmmaking talent in writer-director Boots Riley.

Adjusted Score: 93.407%

Critics Consensus: 24 Frames offers Kiarostami fans one final, affecting reminder of what made this filmmaker a talent to treasure.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 94.777%

Critics Consensus: The Guardians proves that the oft-unraveled canvas of World War I still has fresh stories to tell — and adds another gorgeously filmed entry to Xavier Beauvois’ filmography.

Adjusted Score: 96.583%

Critics Consensus: Smart and suspenseful, CAM is a techno-thriller that’s far more than the sum of its salacious parts — and an outstanding showcase for Madeline Brewer in the leading role.

Adjusted Score: 97.814%

Critics Consensus: Private Life uses one couple’s bumpy journey to take an affecting look at an easily identifiable – and too rarely dramatized – rite of adult passage.

Adjusted Score: 100.509%

Critics Consensus: Custody uses formal restraint — and a series of searing performances — to take a hard-hitting look at the often painful bond between parents and children.

Adjusted Score: 102.934%

Critics Consensus: Burning patiently lures audiences into a slow-burning character study that ultimately rewards the viewer’s patience — and subverts many of their expectations.

Adjusted Score: 100.24%

Critics Consensus: RBG might be preaching to the choir of viewers who admire Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but it does so effectively.

Adjusted Score: 110.424%

Critics Consensus: If Beale Street Could Talk honors its source material with a beautifully filmed adaptation that finds director Barry Jenkins further strengthening his visual and narrative craft.

Adjusted Score: 102.517%

Critics Consensus: Loveless uses its riveting portrait of a family in crisis to offer thought-provoking commentary on modern life in Russia — and the world beyond its borders.

Adjusted Score: 101.86%

Critics Consensus: Wildlife’s portrait of a family in crisis is beautifully composed by director Paul Dano — and brought brilliantly to life by a career-best performance from Carey Mulligan.

Adjusted Score: 103.23%

Critics Consensus: Subtle and tender, A Fantastic Woman handles its timely, sensitive subject matter with care.

Adjusted Score: 110.933%

Critics Consensus: The Favourite sees Yorgos Lanthimos balancing a period setting against rich, timely subtext – and getting roundly stellar performances from his well-chosen stars.

Adjusted Score: 109.637%

Critics Consensus: Incredibles 2 reunites Pixar’s family crimefighting team for a long-awaited follow-up that may not quite live up to the original, but comes close enough to earn its name.

Adjusted Score: 97.268%

Critics Consensus: Dark Money does an impressive job of tackling a complicated subject in easily understandable — and, for many viewers, utterly enraging — terms.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 98.333%

Critics Consensus: Western earns the viewer’s attention with an unpredictable, patiently told tale that evokes the spirit of the titular genre while adding its own unique touches.

Adjusted Score: 98.212%

Critics Consensus: As lyrical and bittersweet as the music its subject left behind, Blaze takes a decidedly unconventional — yet richly rewarding — approach to the musical biopic.

Adjusted Score: 99.259%

Critics Consensus: Sweet Country makes brilliant use of the Australian outback as the setting for a hard-hitting story that satisfies as a character study as well as a sociopolitical statement.

Adjusted Score: 96.971%

Critics Consensus: The Endless benefits from its grounded approach to an increasingly bizarre story, elevated by believable performances by filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead.

Adjusted Score: 99.527%

Critics Consensus: Foxtrot uses topical themes to deliver a bruising sociopolitical statement that’s equally effective taken simply as an absorbing, well-acted drama.

Adjusted Score: 109.572%

Critics Consensus: Call Me by Your Name offers a melancholy, powerfully affecting portrait of first love, empathetically acted by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer.

Adjusted Score: 112.59%

Critics Consensus: A Quiet Place artfully plays on elemental fears with a ruthlessly intelligent creature feature that’s as original as it is scary — and establishes director John Krasinski as a rising talent.

Adjusted Score: 115.322%

Critics Consensus: BlacKkKlansman uses history to offer bitingly trenchant commentary on current events — and brings out some of Spike Lee’s hardest-hitting work in decades along the way.

Adjusted Score: 95.361%

Critics Consensus: Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind offers a poignant — albeit tantalizingly incomplete — peek behind the curtain of a brilliant performer’s tragically curtailed life and career.

Adjusted Score: 94.685%

Critics Consensus: Bisbee ’17 offers one town’s reckoning with its own history as a compelling argument that the mistakes of the past are truly corrected only when they’re faced head on.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 98.148%

Critics Consensus: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before plays by the teen rom-com rules, but relatable characters and a thoroughly charming cast more than make up for a lack of surprises.

Adjusted Score: 97.842%

Critics Consensus: Filmworker offers long-overdue recognition to one of Stanley Kubrick’s key collaborators while opening an often troubling window into the director’s demanding work.

Adjusted Score: 100.046%

Critics Consensus: Zama offers a series of scathingly insightful observations about colonialism and class dynamics — and satisfyingly ends a long wait between projects from writer-director Lucrecia Martel.

Adjusted Score: 104.379%

Critics Consensus: Surreal and surprising, Three Identical Strangers effectively questions the nature of reality and identity.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 105.341%

Critics Consensus: The Death of Stalin finds director/co-writer Arnando Iannucci in riotous form, bringing his scabrous political humor to bear on a chapter in history with painfully timely parallels.

Adjusted Score: 112.1%

Critics Consensus: Roma finds writer-director Alfonso Cuarón in complete, enthralling command of his visual craft – and telling the most powerfully personal story of his career.

Adjusted Score: 104.979%

Critics Consensus: An impressive technical achievement with a walloping emotional impact, They Shall Not Grow Old pays brilliant cinematic tribute to the sacrifice of a generation.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 98.564%

Critics Consensus: I Am Not a Witch approaches real-life injustices with a beguiling blend of sorrow, anger, and humor, marking debuting writer-director Rungano Nyoni as an exciting new talent.

Adjusted Score: 101.925%

Critics Consensus: Thrilling, unpredictable, and brilliantly acted, Border (Gräns) offers a singular treat to genre fans looking for something different.

Adjusted Score: 104.425%

Critics Consensus: The Rider’s hard-hitting drama is only made more effective through writer-director Chloé Zhao’s use of untrained actors to tell the movie’s fact-based tale.

Adjusted Score: 106.323%

Critics Consensus: Led by a breakout turn from Amandla Stenberg, the hard-hitting The Hate U Give emphatically proves the YA genre has room for much more than magic and romance.

Adjusted Score: 113.914%

Critics Consensus: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse matches bold storytelling with striking animation for a purely enjoyable adventure with heart, humor, and plenty of superhero action.

Adjusted Score: 115.998%

Critics Consensus: Fast, sleek, and fun, Mission: Impossible – Fallout lives up to the “impossible” part of its name by setting yet another high mark for insane set pieces in a franchise full of them.

Adjusted Score: 118.978%

Critics Consensus: Black Panther elevates superhero cinema to thrilling new heights while telling one of the MCU’s most absorbing stories — and introducing some of its most fully realized characters.

Adjusted Score: 98.99%

Critics Consensus: Leaning Into the Wind offers an alluring introduction to a brilliant artist’s utterly original life and work.

Adjusted Score: 99.685%

Critics Consensus: The Cakemaker explores all-consuming emotion with beguiling restraint, adding up to a delicately understated character study fueled by the power of love.

Adjusted Score: 99.963%

Critics Consensus: In Between takes a light yet nuanced approach to dramatizing complex, timely themes, further enriched by outstanding cinematography and powerful performances.

Adjusted Score: 99.518%

Critics Consensus: Science Fair offers further proof that real-life academic competition can make for effortlessly entertaining – and ultimately uplifting – cinema.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 103.129%

Critics Consensus: Free Solo depicts athletic feats that many viewers will find beyond reason – and grounds the attempts in passions that are all but universal.

Adjusted Score: 111.35%

Critics Consensus: Deftly directed and laced with dark wit, Can You Ever Forgive Me? proves a compelling showcase for deeply affecting work from Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy.

Adjusted Score: 101.518%

Critics Consensus: The Tale handles its extraordinarily challenging subject matter with sensitivity, grace, and the power of some standout performances led by a remarkable Laura Dern.

Adjusted Score: 101.074%

Critics Consensus: Tea with the Dames proves there’s plenty of entertainment value to be found in rounding up a quartet of screen legends for a chat — and is likely to leave audiences wishing these stars would keep brewing up pots for an ongoing series.

Adjusted Score: 101.462%

Critics Consensus: Sleek, well-acted, and intelligently crafted, The Guilty is a high-concept thriller that wrings maximum impact out of a handful of basic – and effective – ingredients.

Adjusted Score: 103.694%

Critics Consensus: McQueen offers an intimate, well-sourced, and overall moving look at a young life and brilliant career that were tragically cut short.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 108.462%

Critics Consensus: Understated yet ultimately deeply affecting, Shoplifters adds another powerful chapter to director Hirokazu Koreeda’s richly humanistic filmography.

Adjusted Score: 107.665%

Critics Consensus: Won’t You Be My Neighbor? takes a fittingly patient and honest look at the life and legacy of a television pioneer whose work has enriched generations.

Adjusted Score: 112.304%

Critics Consensus: Eighth Grade takes a look at its titular time period that offers a rare and resounding ring of truth while heralding breakthroughs for writer-director Bo Burnham and captivating star Elsie Fisher.

Adjusted Score: 99.268%

Critics Consensus: Steadily drawing viewers into its harrowing tale with equal parts grim intensity and startling compassion, Night Comes On heralds the arrivals of debuting director Jordan Spiro and her magnetic young stars.

Adjusted Score: 99.407%

Critics Consensus: Oh Lucy! roots its narrative quirks in universal themes and deep empathy for its characters, all brought to life by strong performances from a talented cast led by the thoroughly charming Shinobu Terajima.

Adjusted Score: 102.055%

Critics Consensus: Shirkers uses one woman’s interrogation of a pivotal personal disappointment to offer affecting observations on creativity, lost opportunity, and coming to terms with the past.

Adjusted Score: 101.268%

Critics Consensus: Hannah Gadsby: Nanette brilliantly moves modern comedy into nakedly honest new territory, pivoting from dry humor to raw, powerful storytelling.

Adjusted Score: 99.055%

Critics Consensus: Pick of the Litter has all the fluffy adorableness audiences expect from a puppy documentary, along with a story that’s as edifying as it is heartwarming.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 104.601%

Critics Consensus: Minding the Gap draws on more than a decade of documentary footage to assemble a poignant picture of young American lives that resonates far beyond its onscreen subjects.

Starring:

Adjusted Score: 103.212%

Critics Consensus: Summer 1993 (Estiu 1993) finds writer-director Carla Simón drawing on personal memories to create a thoughtful drama elevated by outstanding work from its young leads.

Adjusted Score: 109.925%

Critics Consensus: Leave No Trace takes an effectively low-key approach to a potentially sensationalistic story — and further benefits from brilliant work by Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie.

Adjusted Score: 110.249%

Critics Consensus: Paddington 2 honors its star’s rich legacy with a sweet-natured sequel whose adorable visuals are matched by a story perfectly balanced between heartwarming family fare and purely enjoyable all-ages adventure.