A24 (USA): 12

MaXXXine (2024), the latest addition to Ti West’s X film series, is an American slasher movie set in 1985 Los Angeles during the infamous Night Stalker murders. Maxine Minx, famous for her work in adult films, auditions for the lead role in The Puritan II and lands it despite her unconventional background. Following the audition, she mentions it to her friends Leon and Amber James, who invites her to a party in the Hollywood Hills. However, Maxine declines as she heads to her second job at a live peep show. While working, she encounters a mysterious leather-clad figure who seems disturbed by her ...

Civil War (2024), a dystopian thriller film written and directed by Alex Garland, portrays a United States ravaged by internal strife. The country is divided into two factions: an authoritarian federal government, headed by a third-term president, and rebellious secessionist groups. Despite the president’s claims of imminent victory, it is widely believed that the ‘Western Forces’ (WF) led by Texas and California will soon take over Washington, D.C. Surviving a suicide bombing in New York City only strengthens the resolve of veteran war photographer Lee Smith and his journalist colleague Joel to seek ...

Sean Durkin’s biographical sports drama film, The Iron Claw (2023), follows the story of the Von Erichs, a family of professional wrestlers plagued by a supposed curse. The film chronicles the struggles of Fritz Von Erich’s sons to live up to their father’s expectations and achieve success in the world of wrestling from 1979 to the early 1990s. As owner of World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), retired wrestler Fritz once had dreams of winning the prestigious NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. But his focus now is on his sons: Kevin and David, who wrestle for WCCW, Kerry, who hopes to make it as ...

Irma Vep (2022), the comedic drama miniseries, was created, written, and directed by Olivier Assayas for HBO. Premiering at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on May 22, it is based on Assayas’s eponymous 1996 film. Critics have highly praised Vikander’s performance and Assayas’s direction in Irma Vep. The series follows disillusioned American movie star Mira, who travels to France to star as Irma Vep in a television adaptation of the French silent film serial Les Vampires. Against a backdrop of crime and suspense, Mira grapples with her own identity merging with that of ...

Pearl (2022) is an American horror film directed by Ti West, co-written by West and Mia Goth, who also stars as the title character. Set in 1918 during the influenza pandemic, Pearl resides on her family’s Texas homestead with her German immigrant parents while her husband, Howard, is away serving in World War I. Her father is confined to a wheelchair and her controlling mother, Ruth, insists that she help care for both him and the farm. Despite longing for a more thrilling existence, Pearl finds solace in the movies at the nearby cinema and dreams of becoming a chorus girl – much to Ruth’s disapproval. However, Pearl’s behavior also exhibits ...

X (2022) is a slasher flick from America, written, directed, produced and edited by Ti West. The lead role of Mia Goth is split between two characters: Maxine, a young lady, and Pearl, an older woman. In 1979, cops show up at a secluded farm in rural Texas and come across multiple corpses wrapped up in bags. When they enter the house, they discover something shocking down in the basement. Just one day before this gruesome finding, aspiring adult film star Maxine sets off on a road trip with her boyfriend Wayne, along with actors Bobby-Lynne and Jackson, director RJ and ...

An American independent absurdist comedy-drama film, Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), was written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The film was produced by Anthony and Joe Russo along with Jonathan Wang. Evelyn Wang, a Chinese-American woman, runs a struggling laundromat with her husband, Waymond. However, tensions in their household are high due to an upcoming IRS audit caused by Evelyn’s ...

After Yang (2021) is an American science fiction drama film written, directed, and edited by Kogonada. Jake and Kyra have adopted a robotic teenage boy named Yang, along with their daughter Mika. They had purchased Yang from a defunct reseller, Second Siblings, as a way for Mika to connect with her Chinese heritage through cultural stories and facts. However, Yang suddenly becomes unresponsive after a family dance competition. Unfortunately, he is no longer under warranty since he was not bought directly from his original manufacturer, Brothers & Sisters Incorporated. This proves to be problematic for Jake and Kyra ...

An historical thriller film, The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021), was written, directed and produced by Joel Coen. It is based on William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. After leading King Duncan’s army to victory against the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth and Banquo are approached by three witches on the battlefield. They predict that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor (already holding the title of Glamis) and eventually be king. Meanwhile, Banquo’s descendants will also rule as kings. In response to the prophecy, King Duncan orders the execution of ...

Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, On the Rocks (2020) is an American comedy-drama film. Laura and Dean reside in Manhattan with their two daughters, Maya and Theo. Laura, a novelist, is struggling to finish her latest book while Dean, a successful entrepreneur at a burgeoning tech start-up, frequently travels for work and is surrounded by young and attractive colleagues. This leaves Laura in charge of their children. One night, upon returning from another business trip, Dean climbs into bed and passionately kisses Laura. However, when he realizes it’s her, he abruptly stops and falls asleep, leaving Laura ...

Euphoria (2019–2024) is a teen drama television series on HBO created and primarily written by Sam Levinson, inspired by the Israeli miniseries with the same title from Ron Leshem and Daphna Levin. It delves into the complicated life of 17-year-old Rue, recently out of rehab but not committed to staying sober. Alongside Rue, we meet Jules, a transgender girl searching for her place in the world; Nate, a jock battling both anger issues and sexual insecurities; Chris, a football star struggling with the transition from high ...

Ex Machina (2014) is a science fiction thriller written and directed by Alex Garland. The plot follows Caleb Smith, a programmer at the search engine company Blue Book, who wins a contest for a one-week stay at the extravagant home of his CEO, Nathan Bateman. Along with Nathan and his quiet servant Kyoko, who Nathan claims does not speak English, they live with Ava, a humanoid robot created by Nathan with advanced artificial intelligence. As Ava has already passed a simple Turing test, Nathan wants Caleb to determine if she truly possesses consciousness and the ability to think. Despite being confined to her apartment, ...