U.S. Release Date: 2022-04-22
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Gore, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Director: Robert Eggers
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Elliott Rose, Willem Dafoe, Bjork
It plays out as expected without ever being predictable - a bold, uncompromising film that doesn’t self-censor.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-17
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Profanity, Disturbing Themes)
Genre: Drama
Director: Lauren Hadaway
Cast: Isabelle Fuhrman, Amy Forsyth, Dilone, Jonathan Cherry, Kate Drummond
The escapism on offer here isn’t of a light and airy nature but instead provides insight into the darker, obsessive aspects of the human experience.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-17
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content, Nudity)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, Richard Jenkins, Willem Dafoe, Toni Collette, David Strathairn, Ron Perlman, Holt McCallany
The end result is unsettling and reminiscent of what Hitchcock might have done with this premise.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-12-10
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Cast: Stephan James, J.K. Simmons, Alexander Ludwig, Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffrey Donovan, David Koechner, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, Uzo Aduba
Effective as an ode to cynical realism but it’s uneven at best as a slice of drama.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-10-08
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Cast: Daniel Craig, Jeffrey Wright, Lea Seydoux, Rami Malek, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Christoph Waltz, Ana de Armas, Billy Magnussen, Rory Kinnear, David Dencik
The film’s occasional overreaches aren’t always a negative; the high points are very high and, when it’s all over, most viewers will remember them.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-08-20
MPAA Rating: "R" (Disturbing Images, Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Horror
Director: David Bruckner
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Evan Jonigkeit, Stacy Martin
A quietly intense alternative to generic horror movies that provides its share of scares without the need to splatter the screen with blood and viscera.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-07-30
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity)
Genre: Drama
Director: Edson Oda
Cast: Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, Tony Hale, Bill Skarsgard, Arianna Ortiz, David Rysdahl
"Nine Days" is a pure allegory; the film works as an extended philosophical rumination but fails as a story.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-07-01
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Don Cheadle, Benicio Del Toro, David Harbour, Amy Seimetz, Jon Hamm, Ray Liotta, Kieran Culkin, Noah Jupe, Brendan Fraser, Bill Duke, Julia Fox, Matt Damon
Soderbergh constructs a masterful tale of escalating crime, filled with anti-heroes, outright villains, and low-key twists at every turn.
U.S. Release Date: 2021-03-26
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Ilya Naishuller
Cast: Bob Odenkirk, Alexey Serebryakov, Connie Nielsen, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside, Colin Salmon, RZA, Gage Munroe, Paisley Cadorath
Never takes itself too seriously, delivers all the goods one expects from this sort of action-thriller, and doesn’t overstay its welcome.
U.S. Release Date: 2020-12-25
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Western
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel
The action-flavored Western elements are handled adeptly but the movie’s strongest suit is the relationship between the veteran and his young traveling companion.