Hard Friction 1 (2009)

Outer Banks (2020-) knows its audience: young adults in a country that can’t stop romanticizing good ole’ treasure hunts. Add a little of Riverdale’s (2017-) sex appeal, and no one can look away. Forty years after The Goonies (1985) America’s consciousness hasn’t strayed from the same tropes: treasure hunts, a vulnerable white male lead, and the whitewashing of a racially segregated setting.

The Suicide Squad's Polka-Dot Man aka Abner Krill, played by David Dastmalchian, helped me come to terms with my own issues of anxiety.

This is a movie that combines a ghost story, revenge tale, and serial killer obsession into a cinematic experience that uses your fears against you.

With The Father, writer-director Florian Zeller- who wrote and developed the play upon which the film is based- pulls no punches as he confidently makes every effort to put the audience in the mind of someone whose grip on reality has all but vanished. It’s a dazzling testament to Zeller’s abilities as a director as he makes his first transition from stage to film appear as if he’s been working behind a camera his entire career. The dialogue he fashions with co-writer Christopher Hampton, along with the work of production designers Peter Francis and Cathy Featherstone, collectively makes the downward spiral of dementia startlingly tangible, doing so in a way that can be comprehended by everyone except the person it directly affects.

Even after a history changing event, the 93rd Oscars proved it always had the space for more inclusivity in its award ceremony. But it this enough to change the boycott?

GOAT (2026) opens to the chanting of a crowd: "Roots run deep!" The rest of the film goes on to echo that sentiment, offering gorgeous animation and a heartfelt story along the way.