BROCK RADKE

(Presented alphabetically)

The Batman We didn’t think we could stand another reboot until Matt Reeves, Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz offered an intense and creepy take that resonated with hardcore Batman fans in a way previous films had not.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever The most epic MCU film since Avengers: Endgame gave audiences everything, including one of the most compelling character introductions yet with Tenoch Huerta Mejía’s Namor. But it’s also a meditation on mourning and loss, an unrivaled accomplishment in this genre.

Everything Everywhere All at Once Science fiction demands fresh and new ideas, and Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert transcended this and any other genre with this big-hearted masterpiece.

Stutz Jonah Hill gets vulnerable and (possibly accidentally?) crafts an intimate portrait of an uncommon individual in this Netflix movie you skipped because you’re tired of thinking about mental health.

Turning Red Pixar’s winning streak continues with this thoughtfully layered romp through adolescence and the delicate dynamics between first- or second-generation parents and children.

SHANNON MILLER

(My favorite horror films/thrillers)

5. Fresh Daisy Edgar-Jones—who also starred in Where the Crawdads Sing and Under the Banner of Heaven this year—took on another gritty role in this morbid comedy-thriller as Noa, a single gal disillusioned with dating and love, who finally meets a decent guy. Or did she?

4. No Exit A recovering addict who just broke out of her treatment facility takes refuge from a winter storm in a remote cabin with four strangers … and one kidnapped girl discovered in a van outside. Havana Rose Liu delivers a nail-biting performance as the protagonist in this minimalist thriller based on a novel.

3. Nope Extended metaphors abound in Jordan Peele’s neo-Western sci-fi flick. But don’t worry, they’re balanced with a healthy dose of blood, guts and equestrian feats.

2. Bodies Bodies Bodies In this A24 comedy-slasher, you’ll hate-watch half a dozen rich kids at a mansion sleepover … until they start turning up dead. Let the bodies hit the floor!

1. Prey You’ve never seen a final girl like Amber Midthunder’s Comanche warrior Naru. In this prequel to the Predator franchise, enemy encounters in the 18th century Great Plains trigger a cascade of nonstop action, tomahawk throwing and alien ass kicking.

AMBER SAMPSON

5. X This racy slasher is what 2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre should have been. Mia Goth stakes her claim as one of this era’s best final girls, and her supporting cast hold its own as likable porn stars who we really, really don’t want to see get brutally murdered at a rural farm house.

4. Bodies Bodies Bodies A drug-addled hurricane house party turns killer in this wild whodunit packed with promising young leads like Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby), Myha’la Herrold (Industry) and, oh yeah, Pete Davidson.

3. The Northman Robert Eggers’ Nordic fever dream is downright barbaric, delivering a Viking vengeance tale to which Alexander Skarsgard brings a carnal intensity even beyond his vampiric role True Blood. There are additional standout performances from Nicole Kidman, Anya-Taylor Joy and a very Goblin-esque Willem Dafoe, plus a scene with Björk being Björk.

2. Barbarian A psychological horror with tight-rope tension that’ll leave you guessing at every story beat and peeking through your fingers. Barbarian’s a roller coaster of cinema, a triumph for its genre and at its most thrilling when you go into it blind.

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once The Daniels’ interdimensional sci-fi adventure has it all: a tearful and compelling immigrant family story, absurdly funny martial arts brawls, aspiring raccoon chefs and Michelle Yeoh kicking literally everyone’s ass. What more could you want?

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