Chaz Ebert appeared on “Podtalk with Patrick McDonald” this week to discuss her book It’s Time to Give a FECK: Elevating Humanity Through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion and Kindness with the CFCA member and lead critic at HollywoodChicago.com. The full interview is embedded below and click through to the previous link for more information.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We dug into the catalog and found 10 holidays movies that Roger Ebert gave a thumbs up and looked into where to watch them too! Get the family together and watch one of these season favorites, and check out Roger’s full reviews, quoted and linked below.

“A Christmas Story” (On Max)

There are many small but perfect moments in “A Christmas Story,” and one of the best comes after the Lifebouy is finally removed from Ralphie’s mouth and he is sent off to bed. His mother studies the bar, thinks for a moment, and then sticks it in her own mouth, just to see what it tastes like. Moments like that are why some people watch “A Christmas Story” every holiday season. There is a real knowledge of human nature beneath the comedy.

“The Polar Express” (On Max & Hulu)

“The Polar Express” is a movie for more than one season; it will become a perennial, shared by the generations. It has a haunting, magical quality because it has imagined its world freshly and played true to it, sidestepping all the tiresome Christmas cliches that children have inflicted on them this time of year. The conductor tells Hero Boy he thinks he really should get on the train, and I have the same advice for you.

“Bad Santa” (On paramount+)

I imagine a few unsuspecting families will wander into it, despite the “R” rating, and I picture terrified kids running screaming down the aisles. What I can’t picture is, who will attend this movie? Anybody? Movies like this are a test of taste. If you understand why “Kill Bill” is a good movie and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is not, and “Bad Santa” is a good movie and “The Cat in the Hat” is not, then you have freed yourself from the belief that a movie’s quality is determined by its subject matter. You instinctively understand that a movie is not about what it is about, but about how it is about it. You qualify for “Bad Santa.”

“Love Actually” (On Prime Video)

I could attempt to summarize the dozen (or so) love stories, but that way madness lies. Maybe I can back into the movie by observing the all-star gallery of dependable romantic comedy stars, led by Hugh Grant, and you know what? Little by little, a movie at a time, Grant has flowered into an absolutely splendid romantic comedian. He’s getting to be one of those actors like Christopher Walken or William Macy where you smile when you see them on the screen. He has that Cary Grantish ability to seem bemused by his own charm, and so much self-confidence that he plays the British prime minister as if he took the role to be a good sport.

“Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (On paramount+)

There are a lot of big laughs in “Trains, Planes and Automobiles,” including the moment when the two men wake up cuddled together in the motel room, and immediately leap out of bed and begin to make macho talk about the latest Bears game. The movie’s a terrific comedy, but it’s more than that, because eventually Hughes gives the Martin and Candy characters some genuine depth. We begin to understand the dynamics of their relationship, and to see that although they may be opposites, they have more in common than they know.

“Prancer” (On AMC+)

The best thing about “Prancer” is that it doesn’t insult anyone’s intelligence. Smaller kids will identify with Jessica’s fierce resolve to get Prancer back into action, and older viewers will appreciate the fact that the movie takes place in an approximation of the real world.

“Elf” (On Hulu & Max)

Indeed the whole world has grown too cynical, which is why Santa is facing an energy crisis this year. His sleigh is powered by faith, and if enough people don’t believe in Santa Claus, it can’t fly. That leads to one of those scenes where a flying machine (in this case, oddly enough, the very sleigh we were just discussing) tries to fly and doesn’t seem to be able to achieve takeoff velocity, and … well, it would be a terrible thing if Santa were to go down in flames, so let’s hope Buddy persuades enough people to believe. It should be easy. He convinced me that this was a good movie, and that’s a miracle on 34th street right there.

“A Muppet Christmas Carol” (On Disney+)

Will kids like the movie? The kids around me in the theater seemed to, although more for the Muppets than for the cautionary tale of Scrooge.

“The Ref” (On VOD)

Material like this is only as good as the acting and writing. “The Ref” is skillful in both areas. Dennis Leary, who has a tendency, like many standup comics, to start shouting and try to make points with overkill, here creates an entertaining character. And Davis and Spacey, both naturally verbal, develop a manic counterpoint in their arguments that elevates them to a sort of art form.

“Last Holiday” (On Prime Video)

All depends on the Queen, who has been known to go over the top on occasion, but in this film finds all the right notes and dances to them delightfully. It is good to attend to important cinema like “Syriana” and “Munich,” but on occasion we must be open to movies that have more modest ambitions: They only want to amuse us, warm us, and make us feel good. “Last Holiday” plays like a hug.

At first blush, Rachel Morrison landed the perfect project for her directorial debut. The cinematographer known for her work with Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station” and “Black Panther”) and Dee Rees—she became the first woman nominated for Best Cinematography for her work on Rees’ “Mudbound”—landed a script written by “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins about the real-life inspirational story of gold medal winning boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields. 

But since the film’s 2019 announcement, it’s hit several snags: a global pandemic suspending production, her lead Ice Cube suddenly dropping out, and an actors and writers strike that further pushed back the film’s release until its premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2024.

Morrison’s “The Fire Inside” couldn’t be extinguished. The film upends the conventions of the sports movie by not building toward an Olympic gold medal but toward what life looks like after you accomplish your dream. Claressa (Ryan Destiny) hails from the disadvantaged surroundings of Flint, Michigan. Her mother is emotionally abusive, and her family is impoverished. But Claressa loves boxing. And despite the qualms of local boxing coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) that girls shouldn’t participate in the violent sport, her dedication ultimately convinces Jason to take her on. The sensitive Jason and the undaunted Claressa become a near-unbeatable team, climbing their way to the pinnacle of the sport only to discover that there’s plenty of road ahead after the peak. 

“The Fire Inside” combines Morrison’s knack for poignant visual storytelling with Jenkins’ surprising script to tell a story that doesn’t rely on simple cliches or wallow in poverty porn. Because there are no obvious villains in this tender film. Instead, they’re flawed people navigating the difficult realities of urban divestment, systemic racism, and misogynoir. While this film grapples with real-world issues, it remains inspirational and heartwarming. It’s the kind of highly rewatchable and uplifting film that feels like a classic in a genre defined by its classical structure. 

Morrison spoke with RogerEbert.com in person at SCAD Savannah Film Festival about the resiliency of Claressa’s story, working with Brian Tyree Henry and overcoming myriad production setbacks to bring this stirring dream to theaters.      

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

Have you always wanted to move toward directing, or did this opportunity come as a surprise?

RACHEL MORRISON: I love shooting. I still love shooting. I think the idea started to percolate when people like [Ryan] Coogler said, You’ve got to tell these stories. You’ve got to direct. When people you respect feel they have a clear vision for you to direct, they may be onto something. Also, even after “Black Panther,” I wasn’t reading scripts that felt like they were moving the needle forward. I didn’t want to go backward. I think some of that is because I reached the target too late. 

My whole childhood, I wanted to make big dramas. But the hundred-million-dollar dramas don’t exist anymore. And so I was like: Well, I can either get paid to make Marvel films—most are not “Black Panther”—or I can make tiny dramas and barely support my family. I love those really beautiful indies. But as a breadwinner for four, surviving on those is really hard. And often, those are with up-and-coming filmmakers. You do get to a point where you’re like: Wait a second, I don’t want to know more than the other people in the room.

That said, I was reading scripts with a job-agnostic mindset. If I read something that I thought was additive in the world, and for me as a filmmaker to shoot, I would shoot it. If I read something that I felt was additive and made sense for me as a director, I would direct it. The first thing that felt right was the script that Barry [Jenkins] and producer Elishia Holmes brought to me. And again, if they are convinced I’m the right person for it, they may be onto something.

You mentioned you were looking for a script to move the needle forward. What stuck out to you about Jenkins’ script?

The first thing that stuck out was the breaking of convention. Structurally it’s ballsy as crap. It’s scary to upend the movie in the third act, especially because the conventions of sports movies work for a reason. To not end at the top seemed daring and exciting, like real life. I do think that’s something that resonates. Like the day after the Oscars, I still had to get up and start again. I think everybody has those moments.

I also grew up playing sports, so I was definitely attracted to that. The years my team won the league championship, the next season, we had to start from zero again. To me, that is so much more interesting. Then, in the case of Claressa, there’s also her resiliency outside the ring. I mean inside, too, of course. But the resiliency outside the ring is almost more inspirational and relatable. We all get knocked back down and have to pick ourselves back up. It all just felt more like life than most scripts I read. 

I love the opening shot of this film; it’s an unbroken aerial view where we see a young Claressa running through the empty lots that dot her Flint neighborhood to watch boxing at the local gym. That view tells us everything about her socioeconomic standing and the financial constraints of the people who populate this area. Was that visual approach in the script or a shot that happened naturally?

Interestingly, I always thought I would leave space for the opening credits. But I found that it was so powerful as a shot, and there was so much information to take in that the credits detracted from it. And then we asked that our titles move to the back so that you have this space to do exactly what you said: process the environment. Flint is such a specific and special place, and most people don’t understand it. They just have a peripheral idea of Flint and the water crisis. They don’t actually know why Flint is, what Flint is. 

We did an aerial shot that started, I think, 400 feet up, and you see no other people. There are very few other cars. There is this empty vastness about it. You get this sense of the American dream versus the American reality, which is what the film is about. You also get grit and resilience at that young age. To be running that far of a distance, chasing this thing she loves, communicates so much and sets the tone for this film.

I read that you and Ryan took boxing lessons together. In what ways did that real-world experience contribute to the visual language of the film inside the ring?

I think it was so critical. I’m so happy about that. I also loved boxing so much that I stuck with it. But it helped with even more than the visual language. Understanding what it feels like to be hit or to hit informed everything, from how we shot the film to even the sound design. Because I’ve now lived it, so everything came from a much more experiential place. And then, as far as working with Ryan in the ring, we ended up choreographing a lot of it ourselves for one reason or another, let’s just put it that way. To communicate certain things emotionally, knowing how to translate that ourselves, how we’re gonna sell certain punches, we could choreograph it to the camera as it pertains to the emotional stakes of the narrative. 

So much of the film remains within the ring; you don’t cut outside to announcers as much as one would expect. Why did you want to remain within the physical world of the ring?

I think there are two reasons why I felt like that subjectivity was so important. For one thing, her points don’t matter in this film. It becomes all about the antagonist in most boxing and sports movies. Every “Rocky,” every “Creed,” you’re building up to the arch nemesis. In our case, you have that a tiny bit with her rival Savannah, but then, in real life, Savannah wasn’t the person who made it to the gold medal fight, so she loses all significance. You don’t care about the opponents in the other fights, either. It’s less about the exterior world and more about Claressa’s interior. 

Everything is more powerful when you can be subjectively tied to your main character. It helps put the audience in their shoes. And then that helps every blow feel harder. Every hit matters more. In all my work as a DP, I care about the point of view, the story we’re telling and why we should care.

You do such incredible work with both Brian Tyree Henry and Ryan Destiny. Since DPs work with actors as much as the director does, did your background as a cinematographer make the communication with actors easier to transition into?

I think it’s not even so much that I’m a DP, as I’m a DP-operator. I’ve spent 20 years in the ring, so to speak, with my actors. I’m usually the closest person to them. I feel like I’ve seen what works in terms of how other directors have communicated with them, what doesn’t work, and how DPs communicate with them and what doesn’t work. I tried to let that inform how I would work with my talent. I mean, I had such a great time. You could not have asked for a better first two-hander than Brian and Ryan. There was natural chemistry between them and then the trio of us. I trusted them, and they trusted me, and we would try things. It was beautiful.

You’re also wonderful at visually helping actors. There are so many lingering moments, especially with Henry, where the patience of your lensing just allows him to land the emotional resonance of a scene. 

The film is pretty true to the vision I always had for it. The fight scene that’s a oner I always knew would be a oner. And then, in terms of the performances, I find as an audience member that I never want to be reminded that I’m in a movie theater, whether that’s a cut or that’s being over-stylized with the camera or anything that feels self-aware. When I can stay in a performance, it allows me to feel like I’m either on the receiving end of a conversation or a fight or I’m on the giving end. It just allows me to live it a little bit more. It’s a testament to the actors that we don’t need to cut around anything. It’s a total wealth of riches in the edit. 

Also Brian has so much humanity, and his performances also feel so surprising. He’s never making the obvious choice. What conversations did you two have to build out this father figure/coaching character?

I mean, the first conversation we had was that he was really moved and excited because basically, as he said, he doesn’t get to see black men play good fathers, good coaches, and good people. The humanity Brian brought was everything. Life is imperfect. That’s what makes it beautiful. And each of these characters is flawed. It’s so important to me as a director and to Brian as a performer that there’s humanity. It’s not these aspirational, everybody’s perfect superheroes. In this movie, though, everybody is incredibly well-intentioned. 

With Brian, it was a discovery every day. And to your point, he would add these small nuances that were just everything. And the other gift he gives to actors and directors alike is elevating the room. The other performers, when you have a lot of secondary and tertiary characters who, in our case, are local Toronto casting, maybe aren’t as experienced as our leads, to have an actor who can bring the chorus up a notch is a real gift as well.

And staying on shooting, I’m sure when people see the credits, they’ll be surprised that you aren’t the cinematographer. Instead, you brought on Rina Yang, who did exceptional work on “Nanny” and is also known for lensing Taylor Swift’s music videos. Why bring on a DP, and specifically Rina?

It was a hard decision and a hard thing to give up. If I had started with something incredibly naturalistic like “Nomadland,” I would’ve shot it. If I had started with something really small, I would’ve shot it. I always thought I would start with a tiny indie with a lot of natural light. Instead, I started with a studio film that featured these Olympic scenes. I knew I wanted to be present for the performances and all of the other things that impact the direction of a film. I also thought it would be a good challenge to take off the DP hat and force myself to focus on everything else.

Why Rina? That had to do with something I learned from Coogler: to surround yourself with people who do things a little differently than you do and then let that spark a conversation and a dialogue to keep things alive and kinetic. I was torn because there was a moment when I was going to hire a DP who was effectively me as a DP. But I ultimately went with Rina because what she does in the commercial music video space is much more heightened, whereas I tend to keep a foot on the ground. So, in the context of a studio film, I thought about how we could not have it feel super indie—which is where I naturally go. How do we find the right balance between naturalism and something with a little more flair but not to the point of crossing into stylized? So, I really wanted to keep a foot on the ground but allow myself to elevate things slightly differently than I might on my own.

It must have been great to be able to turn to someone on set like Rina, who probably also speaks a kind of common filmic language.

Both of us would say it was a great shorthand. I could location scout with her in mind. Now, when I think back to prep, I realize we had so many crazy fires. She got stuck in Buffalo because she had a visa issue from a shoot she’d done in Canada. So basically, the first three weeks of prep, she wasn’t on the ground with me. For me to be able to scout with her needs in mind or the fact that she understands what I’m asking about when I ask for this shot versus that shot or how long it will take with lighting was helpful for me to shoot and direct very efficiently.

The other nice thing about working with Rina is that she’s not as committed to operating as I am. She’d rather be riding with the DIT (digital imaging technician)—which left room for me to operate. I operated on my own film without stepping on her toes. Which means I still got to be in my happy place.

You talked about fires occurring. This film has had such a long path. I remember hearing about this film back in 2019, and every few months, I would check to see what was happening with it.

I was a spring chicken when I started this film!

You’ve had to deal with a pandemic, an actor dropping out, a couple of strikes. What was that gauntlet like?

From an observational perspective, the story of making this film truly mirrors the story of the film itself. It was a massive fight to be seen and valued, very much like Claressa fought to be seen and valued herself. Her resilience inspired both Ryan and I not to waver and just to keep pushing the boulder up the mountain. With that spirit, we somehow managed to survive and flourish.

Was there a moment when you thought this might be dead?

I mean, the crazy thing is no. That’s a testament to my own stupidity. I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I was like: Oh, well, I’ll just get it up somewhere else, or we’ll just pass this to another actor. To be fair, the actor we did land on, Brian, was my dream from the beginning. In some ways, he both aged into the role and his Hollywood value matured into the role. There’s a case to be made that everything happens for a reason. I’m trying to figure out how to put this in a politically correct way… Let’s just say Brian is a gift. 

Also, Ryan got to train twice, once before the pandemic and another time after. That was everything. Emotionally and physically, she was ten times more ready to make this movie two years later than she was if we had made it in 2020. We really benefited from that time. 

Even the crazy delay in this film coming out, even that now feels like maybe it was meant to be. This is the year of parity in women’s sports. My actors also got to promote the film at TIFF, which they wouldn’t have been able to do the year before. And I can’t think of a better release date for us, specifically, an inspirational sports movie, like Christmas. I think “The Boys in the Boat” had already planted a flag in that slot last year, so we somehow landed where we needed to be. I’m a little more wrinkled and worse for the wear, but I’m really happy that the film is getting the release I think it deserves.

What a year that wasn’t, right?

With dozens of movies and TV shows finding their productions halted and their releases delayed due to COVID-19, 2020 became an unprecedented year for entertainment. So much so that this big rundown of the biggest movies coming in 2021 looks a hell of a lot like the preview we did for 2020 – with Wonder Woman 1984 being one of the few films to sneak in under the wire and make a 2020 release date (as it hits both theaters and HBO Max on Christmas Day).

So then, next verse same as the first, as they say.

As we head into 2021, with higher hopes for the overall cinematic landscape, we once again stare down the barrel of Daniel Craig’s final Bond film, No Time to Die, along with Marvel’s Black Widow and Eternals, Fast 9, and many others that were originally slated for 2020. And if it’s Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon or Warner Bros.’ entire 2021 slate — like Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, and Dune — then expect to see it hit theaters AND streaming on the same day.

Here’s a closer look at Venom 2, Morbius, Jungle Cruise, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, four MCU: Phase 4 films, and more movies set for 2021!

Tom & Jerry

Release Date: Feb. 26 (US), March 5 (UK), Jan. 9 (AU)

Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña, Rob Delaney, Colin Jost, and Ken Jeong star alongside computer-animated versions of legendary rivals Tom and Jerry for a new adventure that finds the cat and mouse’s feud reignited when Jerry moves into New York City’s finest hotel on the eve of “the wedding of the century,” forcing the event’s desperate planner to hire Tom to get rid of him. Both Tom and Jerry are voiced by creator William Hanna, the pair’s long-time voice actor, as well as Mel Blanc and June Foray via archival recordings.

Tom & Jerry is scheduled to hit theaters on February 26, 2021, while also getting a month-long simultaneous release on HBO Max.

Raya and the Last Dragon

Release Date: March 5 (US), March 12 (UK), March 25 (AU)

Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, from Carlos López Estrada and Moana’s Don Hall, will hit both theaters and Disney+ on March 5, 2021. Featuring the voices of Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina, the film follows a fearless and passionate warrior princess and a water dragon who can transform into a human — and is the last dragon in existence.

Disney also announced the animated musical fantasy Encanto for November 24, 2021, about a Colombian girl who lacks powers despite coming from a magical family, and Pixar’s Luca, about sea monsters who take a vacation on the Italian Riviera, for June 18, 2021.

The King’s Man

Release Date: March 12 (US), March 12 (UK), March TBA (AU)

Matthew Vaughn’s The King’s Man, which began as a different movie not set in the Kingsman universe, is a prequel to the franchise and stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, and Matthew Goode in the story of one man (Fiennes) and his protégé (Harris Dickinson) who race against time to stop history’s worst tyrants from enacting an evil plot to kill millions.

Morbius

Release Date: March 19 (US), March 19 (UK)

The next big headliner to join the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters is Jared Leto’s Morbius the Living Vampire. Directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House, Life), Morbius stars Leto as genius scientist, Dr. Michael Morbius — a character who battled Spider-Man in Marvel Comics — who accidentally becomes a monster while trying to create a cure for his rare blood disease.

Morbius, releasing March 19, also stars Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, Tyrese Gibson, and Michael Keaton.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League

Release Date: March (US)

With about 150 minutes of unseen footage included, and about four or five minutes of additional photography inserted (including Jared Leto as Joker), along with new designs for major characters, Zack Snyder’s Justice League will be released in four parts on HBO Max.

No Time to Die

Release Date: April 2 (US), April 2 (UK), April 12 (AU)

One of the first big tentpole films to get bumped out of theaters due to COVID was Daniel Craig’s final Bond film, No Time to Die. It is now scheduled to finally hit theaters a year after its originally intended release, on April 2, 2021.

Directed by True Detective’s Cary Fukunaga (with a script punch-up by Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge), No Time to Die takes place five years after the events of Spectre and follows James Bond as he comes out of retirement to face down a new villain, Rami Malik’s Safin, a hyper-intelligent terrorist out for revenge. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, and Jeffrey Wright return as Bond’s support while Léa Seydoux reprises her role as Madeleine Swann. Lashana Lynch joins the franchise as a new “OO” agent, while Ana de Armas plays CIA agent Paloma.

Mortal Kombat

Release Date: April 16 (US)

Warner Bros. will release the new James Wan-produced live-action adaptation of Mortal Kombat in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously, as new actors step into the roles of Liu Kang, Raiden, Shang Tsung, Sonya Blade, Sub-Zero, Scorpion, and more.

A Quiet Place: Part II

Release Date: April 23 (US), April 23 (UK), April 22 (AU)

Along with No Time to Die, A Quiet Place: Part II was one of the first big theatrical releases to get yanked from theaters at the outset of the pandemic. And like the aforementioned Bond film, it’s also going to try to land in theaters in April 2021. A follow up to John Krasinski’s smash hit horror flick from 2018, Part II follows the remnants of the Abbott family who face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence — while also discovering new threats in the form of other humans scrambling, and killing, to exist. Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou also star.

Black Widow

Release Date: May 7 (US), May 7 (UK)

After getting kicked down the road a few times during the pandemic, Marvel’s Black Widow, the first movie of the MCU’s Phase 4 (which will be preceded now by two Phase 4 TV shows on Disney+) is finally landing in theaters a year after it was supposed to on May 7, 2021. Taking place after Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow will follow Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff back to her Russian assassin-school roots as she reunites with old family members — including Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova — to dismantle a new Black Widow “Red Room” training facility run by The Taskmaster. Rachel Weisz and Stranger Things’ David Harbour also star.

Spiral: From the Book of Saw

Release Date: May 21 (US), May 20 (AU)

Saw franchise director Darren Lynn Bousman returns to the series to helm a new sequel/reboot of the Saw saga based on a story by Chris Rock, starring Rock as a police detective in charge of an investigation into grisly murders that are eerily reminiscent of the city’s gruesome past. Samuel L. Jackson and Max Minghella also star.

Spiral is scheduled to open May 21, 2021.

Godzilla vs. Kong

Release Date: May 21 (US), May 21 (UK)

This highly-anticipated culmination/showdown within Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary’s cinematic Monsterverse, directed by Blair Witch and You’re Next’s Adam Wingard, sets Godzilla and Kong on a collision course that will see the two most powerful forces of nature on the planet collide in a spectacular battle for the ages. Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Kyle Chandler, and Rebecca Hall, Godzilla vs. Kong is among Warner Bros.’ 2021 movies that will be released the same day on HBO Max domestically and in theaters internationally.

The film will be available in theaters and on HBO Max on May 21, 2021.

Fast 9

Release Date: May 28 (US)

WWE Superstar John Cena joins the Fast and Furious franchise as Jakob, the evil assassin brother of Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto, who works for Charlize Theron’s criminal mastermind, Cipher. Fast 9 not only brings back Lucas Black, Bow Wow, and Jason Tobin from Tokyo Drift but also Sung Kang’s Han, who fans have longed to see return to the series since the character’s “death” in that film (though Han was featured in three films after that since those installments took place before Tokyo Drift in the Fast & Furious timeline). Fast 9 was pushed out of 2020 due to the pandemic, but only once as Universal smartly chose to delay the film an entire year. It’s now set to release May 28, 2021.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Release Date: June 25 (US)

Mo-Cap King Andy Serkis directs the Venom sequel, which pits Tom Hardy’s symbiote-smothered Eddie Brock against Woody Harrelson’s psycho killer Cletus Kasady, who becomes even more powerful when he merges with his own alien goo and goes on a rampage as Carnage. Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which also stars Michelle Williams and Naomie Harris, will land in theaters on June 25.

Top Gun: Maverick

Release Date: July 2 (US), July 8 (UK), July 1 (AU)

Tron: Legacy and Oblivion’s Joseph Kosinski directs this decades-later sequel, which stars Tom Cruise reprising his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Now a flight instructor, Maverick must confront his past while training a new squad of graduates for a dangerous mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice. Val Kilmer returns as Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky while Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Ed Harris, and Jon Hamm join the franchise.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Release Date: July 9 (US), July 9 (UK), July 9 (AU)

The second movie in the MCU’s Phase 4, opening less than two months after Black Widow, is Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which will finally — after the character was teased in Iron Man and faked in Iron Man 3 (and said to be real in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King) — put the real Mandarin up on screen, played by Tony Leung. When Simu Liu’s expert martial artist Shang-Chi is drawn into the clandestine Ten Rings organization, he is forced to confront a past he thought he left behind. Awkwafina, Ronny Chieng, and Michelle Yeoh co-star. Just Mercy’s Destin Daniel Cretton directs.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Release Date: June 11 (US), June TBA (UK)

This decades-later sequel to Ghostbusters I & II, from Jason Reitman (son of original director Ivan Reitman), follows a family that moves to a small town where they discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters, an event many have somehow forgotten called the “Manhattan Crossrip of 1984,” and their grandfather’s secret legacy. O.G. Ghostbusters stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts reprise their roles while new cast Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd arrive as the “DNA of the first two movies” passes directly to the new generation, by introducing a fresh team of paranormal investigators.

Uncharted

Release Date: July 16 (US)

Tom Holland plays a younger version of Nathan Drake in the long-delayed Uncharted movie, which finally got off the ground this year after a turbulent series of setbacks that have stretched well over the course of a decade. Mark Wahlberg co-stars as Victor “Sully” Sullivan (complete with Sully mustache) while Sophia Taylor Ali plays video game character, and fellow fortune hunter, Chloe Frazer. Antonio Banderas is also on board with Venom’s Ruben Fleischer directing.

Uncharted is scheduled to release theatrically in the U.S. on July 16, 2021.

Jungle Cruise

Release Date: July 30 (US), July 30 (UK), July 29 (AU)

Inspired by the famous Disneyland theme park ride, Disney’s Jungle Cruise stars Dwayne Johnson, who’s been the world’s highest-paid actor for two years running, as a charismatic riverboat captain and Emily Blunt as a determined explorer on a research mission to find the Tree of Life, which is believed to possess healing powers.

Orphan’s Jaume Collet-Serra switches gears for this adventure comedy that also stars Jesse Plemons, Paul Giamatti, and Édgar Ramírez. Jungle Cruise is due out July 30, 2021.

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Release Date: July 23 (US)

Inspired by the graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters, M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film is slated for a July 2021 release. Not much is known about the story, except that the material it’s based on is about a group of people stranded on a haunted beach. The cast includes Gael García Bernal, Rufus Sewell, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Aaron Pierre, Alex Wolff, Vicky Krieps, Abbey Lee, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ken Leung, Embeth Davidtz and Emun Elliott.

The Suicide Squad

Release Date: Aug. 6 (US), Aug. 6 (UK)

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, for the DCEU, is one of many big Warner Bros. movies that will be released in theaters and on HBO Max simultaneously in 2021. With “carte blanche” to kill off any Suicide Squad members he wanted to (even Harley Quinn), Gunn loaded up this sequel with cannon fodder obscurities like Blackguard, Javelin, Polka-Dot Man, Savant, and more. Meanwhile, John Cena’s Peacemaker has already landed himself an HBO Max spinoff series.

Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, and Jai Courtney return to the fold as the series adds Cena, Idris Elba, Pete Davidson, Michael Rooker, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, and more!

Dune

Release Date: Oct. 1 (US), Oct. 1 (UK), Oct. 1 (AU)

Another part of Warner Bros’ 2021 movie slate that’s being released, the same day, on HBO Max domestically and in theaters internationally, is Denis Villeneuve’s highly-anticipated adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi novel Dune (which was previously brought to the big screen in 1984 by David Lynch). With an all-star cast featuring the likes of Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem, Dune takes us to the future, into a galactic conflict over a desert planet called Arrakis, which is the only source of the most valuable substance in the universe — “the Spice.”

Villeneuve, along with Christopher Nolan, has spoken out against the Warners’ decision to stream its 2021 movies on HBO Max, saying “with this decision, AT&T has hijacked one of the most respectable and important studios in film history.”

Dune is due out on October 1, 2021.

Halloween Kills

Release Date: Oct. 15 (US), Oct. 15 (UK)

As a movie that can really only be released during one month of the year, if you want to keep it on brand, Halloween Kills, the sequel to David Gordon Green 2018 Halloween (which itself was a new timeline sequel to 1978’s Halloween) really had no choice but to bump its release a whole year.

Set on the same night as the 2018 film, Halloween Kills stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode, as she works with new and old allies to form a mob against Michael Myers who is still loose in Haddonfield.

Eternals

Release Date: Nov. 5 (US)

Marvel’s Eternals, the third film in the MCU’s Phase 4, features a stellar cast including Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kit Harington. Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, and Salma Hayek. Reportedly the most “sci-fi” movie of the MCU, Eternals follows the exploits of an immortal alien race created by the Celestials — who have secretly lived on Earth for over 7000 years — as they reunite to protect humanity from their evil counterparts, the Deviants.

Mission: Impossible 7

Release Date: Nov. 19 (US)

Mission: Impossible 7 may be making headlines right now for leaked audio of star/producer Tom Cruise harshly admonishing his crew for not following COVID safety protocols, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the upcoming entry in paramount’s highest-grossing franchise, which has been around for 25 years, has fans all over the world the excited. And when you take into consideration that director Christopher McQuarrie said “Any character, dead or alive, is fair game to return” — including the return of former IMF head Eugene Kittridge (once again played by Henry Czerny) from the original 1996 film — then you’ve probably got a surefire hit on your hands.

Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, and Esai Morales (who replaced Nicholas Hoult as the villain in 7 and 8) join the franchise while Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Vanessa Kirby all return.

Spider-Man 3

Release Date: Dec. 17 (US)

The third Tom Holland Spider-Man film, due out next December, is going full multiverse as Marvel Studios and Sony prep for what could be Spidey’s farewell to the MCU-proper (perhaps to join the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters) as reports and rumors buzz about past Spider-flick stars Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Andrew Garfield appearing in the movie, along with villainous counterparts Doc Ock and Electro, reprised by Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx. Plus, with Doctor Strange also appearing in the film, it’s assumed Spidey 3 will help lead the MCU into 2022’s Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

When I published my book recently I reached out to my friend, Tamron Hall, the award winning Talk Show host of “The Tamron Hall Show.” She in her generosity agreed to write the Foreword. I was surprised that she had encountered certain obstacles when she first came to Chicago as a reporter and broadcaster. Tamron is smart, beautiful, out-going and a hard worker. I had no idea that she had not been accepted as such in the beginning. Her story let me know that even when it seems like a person has everything going for them, a compassionate word or act of kindness can make all the difference. Here, in her own words, is her story. –Chaz Ebert

FOREWORD: by TAMRON HALL

LONG BEFORE the days of my becoming the first Black woman to host the TODAY show or premiering the Tamron Hall Show, I landed on Chicago’s door-step. It was August 31, 1997, and I had just accepted a role as reporter with the Fox News station WFLD, directly on the Magnificent Mile, in the heart of city. I was twenty-seven years old and swimming in fear.

Outside of the brief in-and-out interview to secure the role, I had never been to the city and didn’t have a single personal acquaintance there. Since college, I had been happily working as a reporter in my hometown of Dallas–Fort Worth—a place where I
was assured to always be surrounded by the love of friends and family. My parents had seen me off at the Dallas airport that morning. Everything about arriving in Chicago frightened me, as I stood there carrying my single suitcase and the cage that held my
cherished cockatiel bird.

On the ride from the airport, my taxi driver asked me why I was in Chicago. I told him I had moved there to be a reporter. “Good luck! It’s a tough town,” he said begrudgingly. He then added that I should expect to gain a lot of weight and drink a lot. There I was, the wheels of the taxi moving me forward on my journey yet feeling frozen by the utter
fright that things would not work out. Then news of Princess Diana’s death rushed across the airwaves and was enough to push me straight over the edge. I felt total regret for having made the decision to move to Chicago.

In an attempt to glue my two feet firmly in place, I remembered what a dear friend and fellow member of the National Association of Black Journalists had told me when he said I should take the job there. “Chicago is going to make you a new star,” he had so confidently expressed. It was a “news town” and a place that supported Black women and journalists.
Oprah Winfrey called the city home as did Allison Payne, Diann Burns, and Robin Robinson—iconic Black female newspeople who were known around the country—were all making their mark there. Why not me?

The fear of failing in the Windy City had not left me, yet I tried to keep the faith as I dove into my first few weeks of my new role. At lunch, I would sometimes wander around the Magnificent Mile and frequent the food court at the Water Tower building on Michigan Avenue—a place that took on a whole new meaning to me one Tuesday. While grabbing a
quick bite, I could feel the stare of a Black woman behind the counter checking me out. She then propped up and said, “You’re the new Black girl on Fox 32.”

“I am,” I said.

“Oh, we’re watching!” she enthusiastically replied with a kindness and ownership that left me feeling as though a loved one had reached out to embrace me in the biggest way possible. Like the radiant North Star, this human being had gifted me the most beautiful act of kindness and hope. It gave me the confidence I needed to stay in Chicago.

Within a matter of months, I had started to build a reputation in town. When a controversial decision by the WFLD news director led to the firing of the anchor for Fox News in the Morning I was offered the role. The move from reporter to anchor should have been a cherished time in my career, but it felt tainted by the fact that someone had to be cut to make room for me to advance. Yet another joyous moment was crushed, just like the taxi driver’s stark warning about Chicago being a tough town the day I had set foot in the city. If that wasn’t enough to weigh heavily on my heart, a local reporter then referred to
me as a Halle Berry look-alike. Any acts of kindness I had experienced since landing in Chicago felt immediately erased by that one powerful moment of rejection and for not being seen for who I was. Maybe it was time for me to go back home to Texas.

It was then that an unexpected invitation arrived to join Chaz and Roger Ebert for a Fourth of July gathering at their summer house just outside New Buffalo, Michigan. Over my entire career, I had watched Roger Ebert and WGN, and Siskel & Ebert had become a hallmark of what Chicago meant to me. I was convinced that Chaz and Roger must
had made a mistake and mixed my name up with someone else’s. I had only met them once, walking into a movie screening at Lake Street Screening Room off Michigan Avenue. There was no way they knew who I was.

Regardless, like a sleuth following up on a good lead, I decided to brave the unknown and
make the hour-long drive to the wooded beauty of Harbert where I arrived at their brick Tudor home, seated squarely on the bluffs of Lake Michigan. There were parked cars for miles, an outdoor band stand with hopping Motown music enlivening those on the dance floor, and a crowd easily topping three hundred guests. Like the day I had set foot outside O’Hare Airport to mark Chicago as my new home, I felt completely overwhelmed. First stop: the wash room to collect my thoughts. What I didn’t expect was what I would find within its walls.

On the washroom counter sat two figurines: one of a Black woman and one of a white man.
“I’m their child! If they had a baby, it could be me!” I thought to myself about Chaz and Roger. Those two little porcelain creations gave me enough of the feeling of support I needed to go out and confidently be with everyone. It is difficult to fully explain that
sudden wave of assurance, though as I walked out and witnessed Chaz being the most gracious host, it all made sense. There she was, walking around, making everyone feel seen and cared for. From her, I felt an overwhelming sense of welcome and kindness. What amazed me most was that from a city known to be a hard-news town, Chaz and Roger had brought together people from the Chicago Sun-Times, the Tribune, ABC, CBS, NBC, WGN, and Fox, along with countless local writers, filmmakers, and friends. And everyone seemed to be having a grand time.

Doing my best to inconspicuously blend in, I said hello to familiar faces as Chaz made sure I was introduced to those I didn’t know. Then I saw him—the writer who had called me a Halle Berry look-alike. My heart sank yet again. Had I not felt frozen in the moment, I might just have run. Then Roger spoke directly to him. “No one wants to be compared to anyone else. That’s not fair,” he said. It was a single act of loving support so powerful that left me feeling as though my newfound “parents” were rooting for me. I felt tougher and very much at home as that defining moment made me recognize that the good things that were happening to me were meant for me to pass along good things to other people. It became a critical turning point in my decision to stay in Chicago. Up until then, the high moment of my career success of becoming an anchor had felt hollow, yet in a miraculous instant, that hole was filled with true unconditional compassion and love. Because of Chaz and Roger, I felt reinvigorated and more purposeful about moving forward spreading
what was given to me—and I went on to brush off naysayers and not allow negativity to outshine the joy that people give us.

Years after being invited to their cookout and further forging our bond, I ran into Chaz and Roger at a newsstand at O’Hare International Airport—the place where it had all begun for me. Life had changed for them in many ways, and Roger was in a wheelchair. Despite his struggle to articulate himself and few words being said, not a bit of the kind compassion they had always offered me had faded. Once again, they embraced me so warmly that made it abundantly clear that my “parents” were still rooting for me.

This story is not my journey alone. It is so important that we all embrace and expand the
conversation about the magical moments where others make the choice to extend the shining lights of forgiveness, empathy, compassion, and kindness—the FECK Principles. The tradition of joy, love, and support will never go out of style, but we all have to be active participants. That’s what Chaz is welcoming us to do in It’s Time to Give a FECK.

Because of Chaz, I have experienced first-hand why any of us should dive in and embrace the perspective on how good our world can be. From the day we met, she has reminded me of the strong women who had raised me—my mother, her friends, my aunts. Their outpouring of care and kindness has always left me feeling so at home and I can only hope
that each of us has the opportunity to encounter people like Chaz or that angelic woman from my early-Chicago days at the food court—those who have undeniably made these principles a daily practice and who are constantly reminding us that none of us has to go it alone.

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You can grab your copy on Amazon today HERE!

The film output of 2024 was full of performances so nice, we had to run this feature twice. The wonderful contributors to this site have already weighed in on sixteen of the best performances of the year—starmaking turns from unknowns, A-listers demonstrating their dominance, character actors finally getting their moment in the spotlight. But the hits keep on comin’, so we’ve got another fresh crop of sixteen wonderful roles to celebrate.

In this back half, we’ve got more welcome surprises and head-nodding favorites: little-discussed lead turns in smaller indie horror, at least two “Star Wars” alums honing their skills in knottier roles, teen heartthrobs growing into homicidal murder-dads, the list goes on. Read on, and see who else thrilled us in front of the camera in 2024.

Adam Driver as Cesar Catilina in “Megalopolis“

Great performances tend to be associated with great movies—or at least with movies that, in some commonly agreed-on sense, work. But sometimes you see a great performance in a movie that either doesn’t work or that reasonable people can disagree about. Francis Ford Coppola’s thirty-years-in-the-making, self-financed science fiction fable “Megalopolis” is that kind of movie. And if indeed you believe (as I do) that it works in any meaningful way (if only as an expression of its director’s mercurial, stubbornly personal approach to the art form), it’s because of the way that Adam Driver plays the main character and Coppola’s avatar and appears in nearly every scene.

“Megalopolis” is the story of a visionary urban planner named Cesar Catalina—imagine Robert Moses as a character in Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis“—struggling to assert his will and vision in New Rome, which is an amalgam of New York City, Rome, and a lot of other fictional spaces. Cesar is at odds with the city’s mayor, Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), and its power elite over how best to use their resources in reconstructing the city after a disaster. But really, he seems to be at odds with everyone, including himself, to some extent. He’s brilliant and arrogant, but (the film seems to argue) has earned the right to a certain arrogance because of his brilliance. 

The character would probably seem like an insufferable, half-baked, self-canceling caricature if played by anyone else but Driver, who excels at playing difficult men and is one of the few modern American leading men who is equally believable playing hyper-verbal geniuses and guys who are so dumb that they take a ruler to bed to see how long they slept. He makes no apologies or special pleadings on behalf of Cesar to try to compel sympathy for him, instead playing him completely straight even when the dialogue is at its most self-conscious, verging on camp. He somehow splits the difference between naturalism and stylization, making all the movie’s other performance modes, from almost-Kabuki clowning to whispering subtlety, seem to meld rather than clash.

It’s as much of an architecture job as anything Cesar himself would get involved in. The character has the mystical ability to stop time, and when you see Driver’s wizardly effectiveness, you believe it’s a power he brought to the set. He seems to see everything that everyone is doing and thinking at any given moment, and he’s somehow figured out how to put it all together into a cohesive role. At times, it’s as if he’s subliminally directing the performances as much as Coppola was probably doing it on set. – MZS

Daisy Ridley as Fran Larsen in “Sometimes I Think About Dying”

In Rachel Lambert’s “Sometimes I Think About Dying,” Daisy Ridley plays an introverted office worker named Fran, whose routine at work often gives way to dreams of her dead body splayed in various settings. We gaze at sandy beaches and forest floors before watching as she snaps back into reality, hand over her mouth and eyes darting to ensure her coworkers haven’t noticed. Slowly, Ridley allows the coils of Fran’s inner workings to unwrap, exposing her soul bare for the audience. Almost all of this is done in silence, with Ridley only having dialogue in quick or frenzied bursts. 

Subdued while also staggeringly physical, Ridley portrays a woman who haunts her life like a ghost; each time she’s on screen, it’s painfully clear how Fran is a woman confined to a body and an experience from which she is blatantly disconnected. It’s a peculiar thing for a character as afraid of themselves as Fran to command the audience’s gaze, but it’s a performance that is impossible to not feel grasped by. At the end of the film, Fran confesses–voice wavering ashamedly–to her burgeoning love interest Robert (Dave Merheje) that she often looks outside of the office window and dreams about hanging from a crane that idles outside. With this admission, carried so severely by Ridley’s gasping whisper, it’s impossible not to think you’re watching someone’s career begin again. – Kaiya Shunyata

Natasha Lyonne as Rachel in “His Three Daughters”

As I grow older, I find myself growing weary of the breathless hyperbole of what is too commonly, and often inaccurately, described as “Method Acting.” Real acting, we’re so often told, is disappearing into the role, a chameleonic immersion requiring physical transformation, a graduate course of research, and/or dramatic refusals to break character on set. 

However, I find myself more drawn to actors who craft a recognizable persona, and then do their most compelling work subverting it. For the actors of the studio system, that persona became their bread and butter (see Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, other actors who weren’t in “The Philadelphia Story”). These days, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, and Kristen Stewart fall into these rough parameters. And so does Natasha Lyonne.

We think we know what to expect when we’re introduced to Rachel, her character in “His Three Daughters”; the pot-smoking, tough-talking, sports-betting New York woman who has become the default caretaker of the dying Vincent (Jay O. Sanders) could easily be played in the same key as her brassy broads of “Russian Doll” and “Poker Face.” Instead, Lyonne goes inward, turning what could have been a caricature of gregariousness into a keenly observed study of preemptive grief. She’s witnessed her father’s descent well before her sisters arrive, and her throwaway line readings and inverted body language (she’s often literally eyeing the nearest doorway when thrust into a conversation) tell us more about this character than any searching, multi-paged monologue could. – Jason Bailey

Raúl Briones as Pedro in “La Cocina”

Lacking the authority of a captain, Pedro, an undocumented cook from Mexico, still pulls rank in the tumultuous ship that is the Times Square restaurant where he works among immigrants from around the globe. His facetious bravado, bordering on hubris and almost unbearable in its unpleasantness, collides with a mostly concealed vulnerability in Mexican actor Raúl Briones’ visceral performance as part of this reimagining of the stage play The Kitchen by director Alonso Ruizpalacios. Accused of stealing money from his employer and dealing with his workplace romantic interest and their unplanned pregnancy, Briones’ Pedro prepares dishes with a manic intensity while philosophizing about the unattainable mirage that is the American Dream. In one scene, Pedro rants about the perils of speaking English, still feeling like his voice isn’t heard. More than some of his coworkers, who are just going through the motions of a life of exploitation, he’s painfully conscious of his powerless position.

Near the end, Pedro unravels in a physically violent manner, as if his pent-up rage can no longer be contained inside his body. He’s visibly crushed by the weight of a capitalist system that only perceives his existence based on productivity and otherwise disposable. In that final outburst, one is almost convinced that Briones himself has been consumed by the frustration that overflows in the role. Briones, an actor of great emotional potency forged in the theater, laces the part with a sorrowfulness that beams from Pedro’s tired, sad eyes in quiet moments. With his range on full display here, his presence feels incandescent. – Carlos Aguilar

Cillian Murphy as Bill Furlong in “Small Things Like These”

I recall a filmmaker saying to me, “If you can see the performance, then it’s usually not a great performance.” You’d be hard-pressed to say you saw Cillian Murphy’s performance in “Small Things Like These.” All we see is the sincere honesty of a character whose traumatic past and fatherly love for his daughters collide to reveal his wounded soul and his enduring vulnerability. What’s striking, however, is how Murphy creates space for the audience to enter the film through his physical performance and his character’s guarded and discreet nature.

Murphy articulates the spirit of the film. “Small Things Like These” is a discreet work that relies on an unspoken fear. The scene when he wakes up in the dead of night, a fearful thought set loose in his mind, is brilliantly executed. We’re not seeing Murphy sitting up in bed, terrified of what he would be expected to do should his daughter get herself in “trouble.” No, we see a worried Bill Furlong. This, along with many of the other subtle moments in Murphy’s performance, constructs a world within a world—his internal and outer worlds. The space Murphy, director Tim Mielants, and screenwriter Edna Walsh create for the audience to enter the film is Bill’s internal world. Murphy draws the audience in and asks them to look into his soul to understand him. The fine performance contextualizes the past not as flashbacks but as memories—the film and audience inside the mind of its character. – Paul Risker

Anja Plaschg as Agnes in “The Devil’s Bath”

Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s “The Devil’s Bath” is based on the historical phenomenon of “suicide by proxy” in confessional states, which saw depressed people (women) commit murder so as to receive confession and salvation. Working off a book by Kathy Stuart, which delineates “suicide by proxy” as symptomatic of patriarchal religious control, the film follows Agnes, played by Anja Plaschg. “The Devil’s Bath” is certainly a historical document, but because of Plaschg, it is also something glorious: the film is transmuted into a living, breathing thing, a portrait of a woman unraveling. 

At the film’s start, Agnes is serene as she prepares a wreath for her wedding to Wolf (David Scheid). A devout soul, she prays she will be a good wife and bear children, But her new life is hard. Her husband won’t have sex with her, and her mother-in-law (Maria Hofstätter as a stony Mother Gänglin) is controlling. Everything seems to go wrong, and Agnes, a sweet, poetic girl, can’t handle it. Setbacks are read as dire failures, and she falls into a deep depression, one mirrored by her surroundings: a heavy fog settles into the forest around her new home, and the trees, once safe, become one great craggy mire. 

Plaschg carries Agnes’s disintegration with acute understanding. At first, Agnes performs little rebellions, like quietly offering a second loaf of bread to the workers on Wolf’s family’s farm. Still, Mother Gänglin is always there to undercut her, forcing Agnes to suppress her natural kindness. In one stunning scene, after being nearly swallowed by the forest, Agnes takes a thorny branch and rubs it furiously against her tongue, a little flagellation for the severity foisted upon her by Mother Gänglin. Agnes’s depression moves slowly at first, then settles all at once; like bad weather, you can almost see it weighing her head.

Plaschg’s awareness of the cadence of psyche-shattering sadness is spellbinding. Her brows are often knit as if her eyes are straining to see through her heavy tears, and her eyes are often swollen for all the nights she spends weeping. Agnes is a woman under the influence of a soul-wracking depression, and Plaschg carries her with a grace and intricacy reminiscent of Gena Rowlands.

Near the end of the film, when Agnes becomes limp in bed, Plaschg maintains a discerning care in allowing not a helplessness to show through but rather an utter inability to think or feel or move, becoming a clarion clear embodiment of insensate melancholy, of sheer hopelessness. And after Agnes commits her crime and is finally allowed on death’s doorstep when she is forgiven after she confesses little offenses, her red face lights up in delirious ecstasy; it is the happiest she has been since her wedding day. Plaschg’s Agnes laughs and wails at once in the culmination of one of the year’s best performances. – Alisha Mughal

Naomi Scott as Skye Riley in “Smile 2”

It’s when I saw Naomi Scott chug an entire bottle of Voss water in about ten seconds with unbridled ferocity that I knew I was witnessing an all-timer horror performance. Said aqua guzzling is a coping mechanism that Scott’s character, pop star Skye Riley in Parker Finn’s “Smile 2,” employs whenever she feels the urge to use drugs due to stress, anxiety, or pain; she’ll experience all of the above and more throughout the film.

Indeed, it’s hard to think of a movie character who went through the wringer more than Skye. When we first meet her, it’s evident that she’s battling demons of her own long before the film’s titular supernatural entity seeks to quite literally feast on her torment and angst. It’s a role that could have been one-note, but Scott imbues her take on the tortured artist with a resolve that makes for an inspired performance. It’s her fluctuation between caving into despair and committed fortitude that makes her instantly relatable and compelling.

One of the clever strengths of Finn’s film is in the way it draws an equivalency between the monstrous entity’s soul-sucking appetite and the nature of the invasive, parasocial relationships that have been normalized as a result of social media’s ubiquity and stan culture. In Skye, we see how the glory, money, and fame of the spotlight don’t take away one’s issues; it only gives them a bigger platform. Scott proves she’s more than up for the challenge of playing a character caught between crumbling and courage. She boasts music chops to make her a believable pop star that would make her the object of affection, your “favorite artist’s favorite artist” whom the tabloids would obsess over and to whom eager fans would say things like “You’re my spirit animal.” The in-universe songs are certified earworms in their own right but are even more gripping and enlivening thanks to Scott’s self-aware delivery of the lyrics’ double meaning. It’s a marvel to hear her belt lines like “You can have me a la carte, no condition to it,” knowing as seemingly as it may seem, it’s horrifying given the context of that which haunts her.

The revelation, though, is also in how Scott embodies interior agony so palpably. It is on her visage that a whole host of emotions reside alongside smeared lipstick and dried tears, a canvas where Finn paints the consequences of the crushing weight of fame, the fear that we’ll be defined by our worst mistakes, and the ways we quickly spiral and try to seize control when things slip further from our grasp. Yet, to Scott’s credit, she doesn’t play Skye as helpless; instead, she reveals that same fear with steely confidence and discipline. Amidst the film’s many plot twists, we remain anchored by Scott’s spellbinding resolve and spirit. It’s this mix of open-heart vulnerability and dogged resilience that cements Scott as a major talent; “Smile 2” is merely a combustible calling card for an artist who knows how to slay with a smile. – Zachary Lee

Josh Hartnett as Cooper in “Trap”

Perhaps one of the greatest twists of M. Night Shyamalan’s career was casting perennial nice guy Josh Hartnett as a ruthless serial killer in his latest film, “Trap.” Nothing makes you feel your own mortality more than seeing your teen crush playing the parent of a teenager. Shyamalan’s thriller largely takes place inside a giant stadium, where Cooper (Hartnett) has taken his daughter Riley (Ariel Donoghue) to see her favorite pop girlie, Lady Raven (Saleka Night Shyamalan). A firefighter by day and killer by night, Cooper quickly learns the entire concert is a trap to catch him. The film’s tension relies on Hartnett as he balances charismatic girl-dad energy with the panic of a criminal trying to outsmart cops who have him surrounded. 

Hartnett pulls this feat off with aplomb, playing out Cooper’s conflicting emotional state largely through shifts in his facial expression. Shyamalan often films Hartnett in close-up shots, his sly smile and shining eyes filling each frame with a plethora of discordant emotions. In Hartnett’s hands, goofy dad humor is laced with menace; each harmless wink at a hapless PTA mom has the potential to bludgeon. Hartnett seamlessly blends the killer’s frantic need for escape with the same try-hard eagerness of a dad who desperately wants to still be cool in the eyes of his beloved daughter. Once the action moves to the Cooper home, the duality at the heart of Hartnett’s performance merges into a singular psychosis, his vulnerability melting away completely as his villainous nature is irrevocably unmasked. – Marya E. Gates

Brian Tyree Henry as Jason Crutchfield in “The Fire Inside”

Whenever social media launches a prompt like “who should be cast in X,” my mind almost always goes to Brian Tyree Henry. He should be in Marvel movies, indie dramas, and everything in between. Why? Because he continues to be one of those rare performers that elevates every single part they take. Whether it’s going understated in broad genre work like “Bullet Train” or finding the human core of his character in “Causeway,” he has never phoned it in. His latest, next week’s “The Fire Inside,” is another reminder of his talent. I’m pretty sure I could pick him every year for a feature like this.

What makes BTH different? It’s the moments between the lines. He’s one of those excellent performers that deftly hides the strings of filmmaking, disappearing into character instead of looking like an actor on a set. He does that by convincing us he’s listening, thinking, responding, reacting instead of just enacting rehearsed dialogue and blocking.

Jason Crutchfield, and “The Fire Inside” as a whole, could have just been another by-the-numbers inspirational sports movie, but Henry (and his wonderful co-star, Ryan Destiny) make it feel real. We don’t mind cliches as much when we believe the characters living through them are genuine. And Brian Tyree Henry is incapable of giving a disingenuous performance. – Brian Tallerico

Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn in “The Apprentice”

Before seeing Ali Abbasi’s American horror story, “The Apprentice,” Roy Cohn was nobody to me. Without the standout performance from Jeremy Strong, Cohn would still be a nobody to me. While many may have avoided the film due to the 2024 political climate, there’s a bit of lore unveiled here that the “true crime” and “historical fiction” crowds would find entertaining. Furthermore, there’s a particular itch to scratch when it comes to understanding who is at the origin of the madness or the masterpiece, depending on how one frames it.

Sebastian Stan, who serves the titular role (a young Donald Trump), is pushed to succeed on a greater level due to Strong’s substantial support; it’s as if their characters’ symbiosis stemmed directly from reality. In one of his first major roles since the finale of HBO’s “Succession,” Strong taps into an unnerving, specific type of hyper-capitalistic, misogynistic evil. Trump’s Tropicana-colored spray tan was first modeled as a good idea by his mentor, Roy Cohn; this superficial detail symbolizes myriad poor choices to follow. Strong is unrelenting in his role as the blueprint for Trump’s behavior and business practices. Their co-dependency quickly slips into Stan sucking the life out of Strong, and as his health and status decline, Strong seamlessly steps from a nasty, nefarious attorney into a dying, dissociative man who possibly regrets the monster he’s made.

While it’s likely safe to assume that the real-life Roy Cohn died with no regrets, this fictionalized take on the becoming of Donald Trump is strengthened by Strong’s ability to embody ambivalent feelings, which in turn personalizes the role and the story as a whole. I’ll be waiting for the day when Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune crafts a clue that connects two of Strong’s best performances: what is Kendall Roy Cohn? – Cortlyn Kelly

Justice Smith as Owen in “I Saw the TV Glow”

It’s difficult to overstate the melancholic power of Justice Smith’s performance in “I Saw the TV Glow,” Jane Schoenbrun’s rich and haunting exploration of teenage dysphoria. In the film, two high school students bond over a late-night television series called “The Pink Opaque,” only for one of them, Maddy, to vanish following its finale; the other, Owen, is left at a loss to navigate parts of themselves they’d understood best (though even then only partially) through the series, as years pass and fantasy blurs into reality.

Played first by Ian Foreman, before Smith assumes the role, Owen is a painfully awkward and lonely adolescent, uncertain how to express the profound feelings of unease that, as he’s aged, have gradually served to hollow out his sense of self, rather than propelling forward his search for an inner truth. Schoenbrun is a trans filmmaker and has discussed their film as a metaphor for the “egg crack” moment at which a person realizes they’re trans, but Owen lacks the vocabulary and the self-knowledge to articulate his identity in this manner, growing more isolated and dissociated as he gets older.

In a visceral performance of unbearable distress and discomfort, Smith captures this subconsciously suppressed dysphoria as a slow death, a living tragedy. As Owen becomes less of himself, afraid to face the constructed nature of his reality and uncertain how to reclaim a more authentic sense of self, Smith portrays his existence as a purgatorial state of self-detachment—each movement a repression, every word swallowed up as soon as it’s spoken—before the film’s shattering, revelatory climax finds Owen finally confronting, with wonder and terror, what lies inside. – Isaac Feldberg

Riley Keough as the female in “Sasquatch Sunset”

At the Sundance premiere of the Zellner brothers’ latest exercise in deadpan absurdity, Jesse Eisenberg mentioned inviting his personal mime coach to the set to train the cast. That’s emblematic of the seriousness everyone brings to their wordless (thus the mime coach) turns as wild Sasquatches roaming the shrinking wilderness of Northern California in “Sasquatch Sunset.” But as the lone female of the group, co-star Riley Keough has the most difficult acting challenges in the film, and takes the biggest risks. 

Keough throws herself 100% into her roles, even the ridiculous ones (see: her career-making turn in “Zola”). But managing to convey fear, panic, grief, and all-around pathos while wearing a Bigfoot suit and full facial prosthetics is a lot, even for her. In the first half, she’s just goofing around with her co-stars, hooting and throwing things and making noises in the Sasquatch sex scene. (You read that correctly.) 

As the story goes on, however, Keough’s mama Sasquatch becomes the emotional center of the story, guiding it through a risky (but successful!) tonal shift from silly lark to sorrowful elegy. Her physical performance in the scene where she “gives birth” alone, in the woods, grunting and howling and pulling a baby Sasquatch doll out of her furry bodysuit with her hands, represents a level of commitment that all actors should aspire to, and few ever achieve. – Katie Rife

Zendaya as Tashi Duncan in “Challengers”

Former Disney Channel superstar and golden child Zendaya has taken on numerous roles since her time at the House of Mouse came to an end. From her Emmy-winning portrayal of Rue in “Euphoria” to playing the love interest of the world’s favorite web-slinger in Jon Watts’s “Spider-Man” trilogy, and now starring in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” it seems there is no limit to the starlet’s staying power.  

While Zendaya’s fame is undeniable, her acting prowess has faced some skepticism in recent years. Despite winning a Primetime Emmy Award for her performance in “Euphoria,” some critics argue that she has yet to deliver a truly standout role that matches the level of her widespread acclaim. However, it appears Zendaya has taken this feedback to heart, as she has begun tackling more challenging and unconventional characters. 

Her portrayal of Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach after a devastating injury, is the latest example of her evolution as an actress. Tashi is seductive, calculating, and emotionally complex—most importantly, she is a fully realized adult. While Zendaya has played mean-girl archetypes before, these characters often carried an air of immaturity, as they were typically younger and less developed. 

This performance, however, marks a significant shift. For the first time, audiences see Zendaya embodying a mature character, signaling her growth as both an actress and an artist. From her movements to her expressions, she demonstrates a depth and broader approach that feels like a departure from her Disney Channel roots and a step above her performance in “Malcolm & Marie.”

Now that she’s stepping into more layered roles, one can only hope this is a trend Zendaya continues to embrace as she explores richer, more dynamic characters in the future. – Brandon Towns

Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Thomas Lawrence in “Conclave”

Doubt and certainty wage war within the soul of Cardinal Lawrence as he presides over the seething group of Cardinals, gathered to elect a new Pope. In such a cutthroat atmosphere, wearing your heart on your sleeve isn’t at all wise, and the diplomatic Lawrence is accustomed to presenting an unflappable and mild personality. But Lawrence’s internal war can’t be hidden this time, and his carefully practiced mask of gentle authority starts to break apart. Fiennes, at times, seems to be truly under siege. Alone in his room, he breaks down into heaving sobs, and the release seems purely physical.

Lawrence is in a whirlwind, and he only lets us see a little bit of it at a time. After a lifetime of service in the Church, he has doubts about everything, including his faith, an almost unsayable admission in the Vatican.

But Cardinal Lawrence is a complicated man. Doubt is not usually associated with steely strength and leadership, but Lawrence isn’t the Dean for nothing. He confronts the big issues. He maneuvers back-channels. He holds his cards close. He breaks rules. Underestimate this self-effacing bureaucrat at your peril.

This is not a “showy” performance, or even conventionally expressive. What Fiennes is doing is harder than it looks; it takes great control, a control mastered over a decades-long career. The whole film in a way is a tribute to what long-standing character actors bring to any table. Eccentricity and absurdity come easily to Fiennes, but this is the most interior performance he has ever given and it’s one of his best. – Sheila O’Malley

Naomi Ackie as Frida in “Blink Twice”

In “Blink Twice,” Naomi Ackie is the queen of reversals in her portrayal of Frida. This character digs her whimsically painted fingernails into us by reaching beyond delineated emotions into the shades between them. Initially, Frida ignores the instinct that something is wrong with her island vacation and the man (Channing Tatum) who brought her there. She has dreamed of being swept into luxury by a billionaire “prince.” If she can’t find happiness with him, and her life at home is unhappy, she has no dreams left.

The pinnacle of this internal tug-of-war is in the dance scene with her tainted beau. Each rotation away from him is a moment of terror, and with every turn back her feigned mask of revelry returns. It’s a chillingly effective play for survival, made more so because—in varying degrees—many of us recognize this dance. When Frida says she’s having a good time, we know she’s not, but she believes she is.

Those dueling states of mind form the kaleidoscopic colors of Ackie’s performance. In every plot twist, she reveals new shapes to her island hell. Every returned memory is rendered in micro-expressions—clenched fingers, sudden tremors, out-of-control breaths, and upward-turned lips that are neither a smile nor a grimace. These are signs of someone whose psyche is in upheaval. Frida is a woman who is unsure of how deep the torrent goes, and because of Naomi Ackie, we believe her. That is what makes her last look of vengeance-laced smugness so deeply satisfying. – Sherin Nicole

John David Washington as Boy Willie in “The Piano Lesson”

John David Washington displays a fearlessness surpassing his other big screen roles to date in his brother’s film adaptation of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Directed by his brother Malcolm (in his directorial debut) and reprising his role from the 2022 Broadway production as Boy Willie, Washington’s performance feels personal on a visceral level.

This formal football player brings Wilson’s masterpiece to life with an emotional depth and poetic justice, making each word ring like a song composition in cinematic form. His ferocity for the language is boldly embodied with each movement, glance and interaction with every cast member. With an undeniable screen presence, his performance is only enhanced by his scene partner and older sister Berniece (the equally excellent Danielle Deadwyler) on screen. 

John David Washington may be the son of Black Hollywood Royalty (Pauletta and Denzel Washington), but it is abundantly clear that he has forged a cinematic path uniquely of his own volition, encompassed by multiple genres, characters and directors across an already notable career. The best is yet to surface for this young thespian whose future is so bright it literally burns my eyes. – Carla Renata