Castro Laboreiro 

Not every film can make a shopping mall feel both magical and menacing, but Forbidden Fruits challenges that.

I write for a diversity-focused film review blog, so I’ll be honest: I really wanted to like Pretty Lethal. Starring Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Avantika, and Millicent Simmonds, Amazon Prime’s new thriller seemed like it would be a girl power movie about dancers with a horror action twist. Sort of a Suspiria for teens. But with shallow and unlikeable characters, a confusing plot, an overreliance on violence, and cringey dialogue, any fun the movie started out with was quickly lost. What was left was a faint echo of greater horror movies about dancers made before. 

Having Sersi be the central force in Eternals is unprecedented in its viewpoint and focus, from demonstrating a gentle type of leadership, to being overlooked in a group setting but succeeding in the goal at hand anyways, to having romantic options, to strength and integrity, and majority screen time - for a group that's given less screentime than aliens.

By having two of its most beloved characters go to space in a Pontiac Fiero attached to a rocket, among other antics, F9: The Fast Saga overwhelmingly achieves the task of out-crazy-ing its predecessors.

That gut-wrenching feeling you have while watching it is okay but needed, and you, the viewer, will be okay.

While prioritizing production value over substance, Flood depicts an emotionally taut family drama set during the farmland flooding of the Franco-Dutch war.