A long-gestating passion project from director Guillermo Del Toro, Frankenstein is only somewhat faithful to the text of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, but boy does it get the spirit of the thing exactly right. Split into separate narratives that explore both Frankenstein’s (Isaac) and the Creature’s (Elordi) perspectives, the two are mirrored against one another throughout the story in ways both horrifying and heartwrenching. Full of lush, vibrant, thoroughly Gothic imagery, the film is glorious to look at from start to finish, and feels as alive as anything Dr. Frankenstein himself might create.
The Irishman
Cast: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin
Director Martin Scorsese turns it up to 11 in terms of playing the hits in this epic gangster drama that clocks in at a surprisingly brisk three and a half hours and includes many of his most familiar themes and favorite performers. Based on Frank Sheeran’s 2004 memoir, I Heard You Paint Houses, the film dramatizes the story of a half-century of organized crime through the rise and fall of a hit man in the Philadelphia mob, wrestling with questions of power and morality along the way. The cast, particularly De Niro and Pacino, are predictably top-notch.
K-Pop Demon Hunters
Stars: Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, Ahn Hyo-seop, Ken Jeong, Byung Hun Lee, Daniel Dae Kim
The platform’s most popular film release to date, Netflix’s wildly addictive animated sci-fi musical is a great watch for both K-pop fans and newcomers to the genre. The story follows a musical group called Huntr/x, a trio of young-adult pop stars who use their secret identities as demon hunters to protect the human world from supernatural danger. Featuring a banging soundtrack of glorious pop earworms (one of which took home a Grammy), it’s a phenomenon that lives up to the hype.
The Power Of The Dog
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemmons, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Written, directed, and produced by Oscar winner Jane Campion, this atmospheric Western is set in 1920s Montana and follows a cruel rancher (Cumberbatch) who doesn’t take kindly to his younger brother’s (Plemmons) new wife (Dunst) and stepson (Smit-McPhee). A dark, tense tale of manipulation, gaslighting, and sublimated desire ensues. Cumberbatch’s performance alone makes this worth watching, and the film is a rare story whose ending not only recontextualizes almost everything that’s come before it, but rewards repeated viewings in its wake.
Remarkably Bright Creatures
Cast: Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Joan Chen, Kathy Baker, Beth Grant, Sofia Black-D’Elia, Colm Meany, and Alfred Molina
This warm adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name by Shelby Van Pelt took home both Outstanding Movie and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie at the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards. And with good reason: It’s a heartfelt, sentimental story about a lonely widow (Field) and a thirtysomething drifter (Pullman) who find solace and renewed connection in one another, with a little help from the wise, if eternally cranky, octopus (Molina) who lives in the aquarium where Tovah cleans at night. Sweet and heartfelt without being unnecessarily cloying. (Thanks, in large part, to the aforementioned octopus.)
Society Of The Snow
Cast: Enzo Vogrincic, Matías Recalt, Agustín Pardella,Tomas Wolf, Diego Vegezzi, Esteban Kukuriczka, Francisco Romero, Valentino Alonso, Luciano Chatton, Agustín Berruti
A. Bayona’s Spanish-language film isn’t the first attempt to dramatize the horrific story of the 1972 crash of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 in the Andes mountains. Its nightmarish tale of suffering, resilience, and desperation (read: cannibalism) has been retold in multiple feature films and documentaries. It even served as the inspiration for the TV series Yellowjackets. But The Society Of The Snow stands out, from its nightmarish recreation of the crash itself, its cast of primarily Uruguayan and Argentine actors, and its subtle, delicate handling of thorny moral questions of strength and survival. This isn’t a film for the faint of heart, yet it’s one that also feels impossible to look away from.
Train Dreams
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy
Director Clint Bentley’s meditative, beautifully shot period film about a logger in the early 20th-century Pacific Northwest got nominated for Best Picture and sparked some serious (and genuinely bizarre) online discourse following its release. Edgerton stars as Robert Grainier, an ordinary man whose modest life story is cast against the massive changes rippling through the American frontier at the turn of the century. Wistful and realistic by turns, the film explores themes of grief, isolation, resilience, and the simple grace of everyday life.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Cast: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis
The star-studded third (and best) installment in director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out franchise, Wake Up Dead Man is a delightful riff on the locked room mystery whose charm hides surprisingly soulful depths. Summoned to investigate a seemingly impossible murder involving a controversial Catholic priest (Brolin), detective Benoit Blanc (Craig) must wrestle with questions both mundane and celestial in this deft exploration of faith, logic, sacrifice, and greed that’s also a pretty entertaining crime caper. The film’s thoughtful treatment of belief (in forms both religious and not) is compelling without ever becoming preachy or sentimental, and O’Connor’s warm, optimistic performance is the glue that holds it all together.
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