Although romantic comedies were once pervasive in Hollywood, they've fallen by the wayside in favor of big franchise blockbusters and prestige dramas, which seemingly delve into all aspects of humanity except romance. However, Past Lives writer and director Celine Song is giving romance the dissection it deserves, all while delivering compelling movies that will leave your heart aching in a good way. In her latest film, Materialists, Song tackles the age-old question of whether a woman should marry for material gain or love — and though the ending may be expected, it's still a fresh perspective. 1i725g

How to Train Your Dragon marks DreamWorks' first foray into the realm of live-action adaptations of beloved animated movies. It’s a trend that has so far been dominated by Disney, and the studio's seen great success – but they have also weathered some big failures. DreamWorks, to my great surprise and delight, seems to have figured it out straight out of the gate. The How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake is a fantastic movie, not just emulating the animated original, but elevating it, all while also delivering an exciting summer blockbuster poised to thrill.

Dan Da Dan took 2024 by storm. Fūga Yamashiro and Abel Gongora co-direct Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, which pushes past its setup and brings Momo and Okarun to a place of understanding, if not iration. But the story isn’t the only thing that’s matured. The fight choreography and character design in Dan Da Dan:Evil Eye, which consists of the first three episodes of season 2, are not only stunning but also visually elevate the show to a whole new level. Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye jump-starts season 2 with a bang and the reassurance that season 1 was not a fluke.

Barron's Cove is a movie that introduces its main character at the lowest point in his life. After a shocking tease at the beginning of the film, it is revealed that Caleb's (Garrett Hedlund) son, Barron, has been killed. Understandably, this completely wrecks Caleb, and when he finds out that a local politician's (Hamish Linklater) son, Ethan (Sweet Tooth's Christian Convery), may somehow be involved, he takes matters into his own hands and goes to extremes. Though it falters significantly, the movie attempts to tell a tale of the strengths and failings of paternal love within a revenge quest narratives.

Kevin Smith’s irreverent Catholic comedy Dogma is coming back to theaters in time for its 25th anniversary. Ever since the movie went out of print on home media, Smith has been struggling to reacquire the rights from the Weinstein brothers. “My movie about angels is owned by the devil himself,” Smith quipped. Now that he’s finally struck a deal to get his own movie back, he’s putting it back on the big screen — and it’s just as hilarious and relevant today.

Warning: Some SPOILERS lie ahead for Straw!

The series of erotic films centered around the French character of Emmanuelle — originally based on the book of the same name by Emmanuelle Arsan — has a streak of rotten scores that have not impeded the making of its sequels and a reboot, achieving relative financial success. With the latest outing continuing this tradition and the movie itself making it very clear why, I'm inclined to believe that the Emmanuelle series has only endured because, well, of hot sex scenes.

Dan Trachtenberg's Preynot only blew me away with how it revived the sci-fi action franchise, but also gave me endless hope for whatever the filmmaker did next with the series. When Predator: Killer of Killerswas revealed to be in the works, I couldn't have been more excited, as the prospect of everything from a Viking to samurai storylines set in the universe felt like a promising way to continue his success. Unfortunately, the movie shows both the best and worst parts of Trachtenberg making two separate Predator movies simultaneously.

The world of indie dramedies is often a great place for the exploration of themes like identity and purpose, particularly when they take a familiar concept and do something fresh with it. Whether it's the sci-fi twist at the heart of Jim Carrey's breakup depression in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mindor a man who learns the importance of connecting with the real world by dating a sex doll in Lars and the Real Girl, there have been many inventive films over the years. Nina Conti looks to these ranks with Sunlight, which proves a charming enough time.

More than two years after Keanu Reeves' once seemingly unkillable assassin last took to the big screen in John Wick: Chapter 4, the hit action franchise is back again with a new cinematic adventure: Len Wiseman's From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. In the time since the last installment, the franchise released its first spinoff, Peacock's The Continental, and put several additional projects into development. As a fan of the original movies, I confess that Ballerina excited me the most, purely due to its very new heroine.