1

Barbarian

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Arguably one of the best horror films of the year, Barbarian features a young woman who discovers the rental home she booked is already occupied by a stranger. Against her better judgment (and the audience’s screams from their couches) she decides to spend the night. The movie has so many twists and turns, trust me, you will have no idea what’s happening next.

2

On the Count of Three

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%

This dark comedy surprised many of us with how devastating and thoughtful it is. It follows two best friends, Val and Kevin, as they spend the last day of their lives together.

3

The Outfit

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%

Mark Rylance’s nuanced performance as an English tailor who has to outsmart a dangerous group of criminals is nothing short of spectacular.

4

The Bad Guys

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

Animated movies are often overlooked by those without children, but The Bad Guys is worth the watch. To avoid prison, a gang of notorious animal criminals pretend to seek being rehabilitated, only for their leader to secretly find that he genuinely wants to change his ways.

5

The Fallout

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Jenna Ortega truly captures Vada, a high schooler navigating the emotional fallout she experiences in the wake of a school tragedy. Her relationships with her family, friends, and view of the world are forever altered. And so are ours.

6

Cyrano

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%

Perhaps it’s my biased love of musicals, but Cyrano was a beautiful retelling of the stage musical of the same name. Peter Dinklage is sensational as a brilliant swordsman convinced his appearance renders him unworthy of the affections of the luminous Roxanne, a devoted friend who’s in love with someone else.

7

The Wonder

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

To no one’s surprise, Florence Pugh is phenomenal in this Netflix film about a nurse who sets out to determine if/how a young girl who “doesn’t eat” is miraculously alive and well. This thriller will have you on the edge of your seat until you find the answer, and somehow even more on edge once you discover it.

8

Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

This beautiful story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 is told from two interwoven perspectives — the astronaut and mission control view of the triumphant moment, and through the eyes of a kid growing up in Houston, Texas who has intergalactic dreams of his own.

9

Crimes of the Future

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

You may have “missed” David Cronenberg’s newest film on purpose because you hate body horror. But it’s so much more than that. In the future, humans adapt to a synthetic environment, with new transformations and mutations. The movie is inspiringly original and will leave you thinking long after it’s over.

10

The Good Boss

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Javier Bardem masterfully plays a calculated manufacturing business owner who is awaiting a visit by a committee that could give his company an award for excellence. In anticipation, Bardem’s character tries to resolve any and every problem his workers are experiencing in this pitch-black comedy.

11

Neptune Frost

Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

In this sci-fi movie bursting with creativity, a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective attempting a takeover of the authoritarian regime that’s exploiting the region’s natural resources — and its people.

12

I Want You Back

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%

I Want You Back is a rom-com whose biggest asset is its lovable stars. When Peter and Emma meet, they are both freshly dumped; their commiseration turns into a mission when they see that each of their exes have happily moved on.

13

Prey

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Sadly, Prey went straight to streaming despite being more than we ever could have wanted from a Predator prequel. A skilled Comanche warrior protects her tribe from a highly evolved alien predator that hunts humans for sport, and shows spectacular character development while doing it.