The Witch: Terror Felt but Unseen, Unknown

In modern cinema, audiences often rebuke films that leave nothing to the imagination, and yet, this is often exactly what they are asking for. The Witch is a slow burn horror film that is equal parts madness and supernatural and both gives too little and just enough to unsettle observers for far longer than its run time.

Premise: A family finds horror and a terrible fate alone in a Wood. Result: A brilliant, yet understated horror film that places tension in every crevice.

The Witch follows a devout family of Puritans in early established America, recently expelled from their Plantation Community for unclear reasons that appear to stem from the very devotion they hold dear. Father William (Ralph Ineson), mother Katherine (Kate Dickie), eldest daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), eldest son Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw) and two horrid twins Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson) and infant Sam. They are even more radical in their love of God than others and their reckless reproach has estranged them in a world where life is difficult enough without the terror of solitary.

Deadpool: Lives up to Hype and…Don’t Get Greedy That’s Good Enough

In the vein of tongue-in-cheek super hero films/spoofs, Deadpool ups the ante as one of those splendid films that lives up to the hype. Imperfect as it is, this is swept quickly beneath the rug in favor of playing along with this self-aware, dark, violent comedy.

Premise: A military operative turned mercenary is subjected to a terrible experiment that leads him to become alter ego Deadpool. Result: A fun spoof on super hero films that is as smart as it is violent (oh and raunchy).

Skeptics need only wonder how many times Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) can deliver the same film before somebody, anybody, could finally stop him. But unlike recent and not so recent catastrophes (Green Lantern, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where he actually played the same, albeit vastly distinct, character) this film seems retrofitted to Reynolds and his self-deprecating, irreverent, machine gun style humor.

Room: Haunting

There are films that frighten audiences. Others that lash, others that endear, others that fester and still others that cause emotional arrest. All these are true of Room, a film that handles an unspeakable tragedy in such a mundane manner as to make one wonder and ultimately succumb.

Premise: After five-year-old Jack and his mother escape from the room that has been their captivity, life afterward is more challenging than they dreamed. Result: A mesmerizing, tragic drama far from ordinary.

It is a room. In it are things, ordinary things that anyone might expect to find in any ordinary home on any ordinary street in any ordinary town. There is a small skylight to let in the dim glow of the sun. And these regular belongings appear to be owned by normal, if unkempt people, a young boy and his average mother, lounging about, sleeping, transfixed by television or mundane tasks about the kitchen.

Star Wars – The Force Awakens: A Modern Version of What Fans Have Always Loved

Set to break every box office record that has ever existed in Hollywood, J.J. Abrams’ contribution to the Star Wars universe appears to be a gamble that has paid off in spades. An often stunning, fun, and deeply exhilarating film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is likely as good as it gets in Star Wars, delivering much of the power of the original in a modern, yet somehow nostalgic, incarnation.

Premise: Thirty years after the defeat of the Empire, The First Order attempts to rule the galaxy. With the help of the Resistance, only a reluctant and unexpected group of heroes can stop them. Result: The Star Wars film we have been looking for.

Harnessing the power fanboys everywhere (their hopes, their fears, their terrifyingly obsessive attention to detail), Abrams has created a Star Wars film that is as close to the original in look, feel and result as the original. It is quirky and yet sophisticated, combining action and comedy with the grandeur of a galactic storyline much as the originals did.

Dope: Fantastic and Unnerving

Writer/director Rick Famuyiwa delivers one of the more intriguing, humorous, painful and provocative films in recent memory. Dope is one of the more powerful stories audiences will experience this year based on imposing raw storytelling with an exhilarating twist.

Premise: Malcolm, a geek who’s surviving life in a tough L.A. neighborhood, has his life abruptly change after a chance invitation to an underground party. Result: A good, thrilling film that challenging the lenses by which we see the world.

Our story begins with a group of young teens Malcolm (Shameik Moore), Diggy (Kiersey Clemons), and Jib (Tony Revolori) poised to somehow make it out of the slums that otherwise should have smothered them. If nothing else, it is the strong identity these three have cultivated -as preposterously anachronistic 80/90s hip-hop artists- that has kept them isolated, unified and firm.

But when Malcolm finds himself with a brick of coveted contraband, as a result of being quite literally in the wrong place at the wrong time, he and his friends sink into a nightmare. The ensuing film is a poignant thought piece on race, color, uniqueness and identity while also delivering the pacing and power of a modern thriller.

Run All Night: Most Fun Since Taken! (OK, Taken 2)

Run All Night, or in some circles Taken 5 aka Taken 5: Mafia Takes New York, is actually a pretty fun time. Directed by the man who directs all of the bad Neeson-Taken clones, Jaume Collet-Serra (Non-Stop and Unknown) Run All Night is a rare triumph, delivering far more than the his previous efforts.

Premise: A crime thriller that leads Jimmy Conlon to protect his son against old friend and crime boss Shawn Maguire, and in so doing, find redemption. Result: Much better than the other Neeson films and plenty of fun.

Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson) is a loser, the laughing-stock and enfeebled burden to a local crime syndicate run by Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris), who is a boyhood friend and who takes pity on him for his past loyalties. But Conlon is s ruined man who stinks of cheap scotch and inescapable guilt. Fatally allergic to this stench is Conlon’s son, Mike (Joel Kinnaman), a former boxer, current mentor, family man, and limo driver. His drive is to be basically anything that is not his father.

Straight Outta Compton: Powerful and Exhilarating

Directed by F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding Citizen, The Italian Job) Straight Outta Compton, so named for the smash debut album of the rebellious hip hop group NWA in the late 1980s, is in many ways as raw and powerful as its namesake. It is a dark film that does not hide its true intentions – to tell the story of a group of young men that changed the world – for better or worse.

Premise: NWA emerges from the tough streets of Compton in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture. Result: A tale filled with energy and tragedy that must be seen and heard.

Before they were NWA, the five young men that founded the group – Eazy E (Jason Mitchell), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.) and MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) – were just that, young men. They were dealers and DJs, drop outs and poets, homeless and unwed fathers, but if nothing else, somehow hopeful. This despite living in Compton, a neighborhood synonymous with drugs, danger and death.

But these men came together due to personal drive and burgeoning talent and coupled with Eazy E’s drug money founded Ruthless Records and NWA was born. The first half of the film chronicles the rise and climax of this group and is as fast-paced and energetic as it is powerful in its exploration of racial injustice and the need for this musical rebellion.

Spy: Laughs That Connect

There has definitely not been a dearth of Melissa McCarthy in recent years. Since Bridesmaids, she has been as ubiquitous as erectile dysfunction at the old folks camp. Fortunately, she and cast along with acclaimed writer/director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) deliver a film far better than the hype.

Premise: A pencil-pushing CIA analyst must rise to the occasion and go undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer, and prevent global catastrophe. Result: A fun, funny, heart-warming comedy that is certainly worth the time.

Spy films abound these days and spoofs have been common ever since Austin Powers. But here we have Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy), a sweet CIA operative who looks as out of place as possible compared to the other regal, deadly agents. But when Bradley Fine (Jude Law) is killed on her watch and all other agents compromised, only Cooper can take the mission to stop imminent doom.

Wild: More Accessible and Relatable Than Expected

Director Jean-Marc Vallée follows up his hugely impactful Dallas Buyer’s Club with another Oscar Nominated film in Wild. While a less colorful and nationally important story, the heart of Wild is every bit as relevant to our world today.

Premise: The story of one woman’s 1,100-mile solo hike taken to personally recover from ruin and tragedy. Result: A painful but deeply impactful film that should give all viewers a sense that the journey may be long but the destination is worth-while.

Written by Nick Hornby and Cheryl Strayed, adapted from Strayed’s memoir “”Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail”, Wild follows Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon) as she quite literally attempts to do the impossible in one final attempt to get her life back together.

Cheryl has fallen apart. Her mother Bobbi (Laura Dern) has died an early, tragic death and the emotional impact, the guilt and loss, devour her and drive her into drugs and personal catastrophe that devastates her relationships with her husband Paul (Thomas Sadoski), brother Leif (Keene McRae), and best friend Aimee (Gaby Hoffmann).

It Follows: An Entrancing, Multi-layered Horror Film

Writer/director David Robert Mitchell has delivered to audiences one of the most provocative horror films of recent memory.  While as a horror film it is interesting enough, its many layers are perhaps the most important of its accomplishments.

Premise: Passed on a curse after a sexual encounter, a young girl is followed and tormented by an unknown force. Result: A powerful, frightening film that will keep viewers thinking long after the curtains close.

The film begins in a dream-like media res, with a woman fleeing her home from some unseen horror. It is not long before she capitulates and her mangled body is found amidst the serene waves of a morning beach.

Enter Jay Height (Maika Monroe), a young, pretty girl (despite an intentionally ungendered name??) as she prepares for a date with “Hugh” (Jake Weary). Her home is filled to the brim with young adults – Yara (Olivia Luccardi), Paul (Keir Gilchrist) and Kelly (Lili Sepe) – sprawled about the carpet and couches like languid litter. Paul is just a little bit jealous. It is just that sort of scene damaged adults reminisce over with therapists after an untidy evening of sweaty tosses, turns, and nightmares.