Scratch 

Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.

Friendships are tested when two girls have a crush on the popular boy at school.

Netflix's new thriller Apex, starring Charlize Theron, puts a twist on survival horror. Despite its setting in the beautiful- yet-dangerous Australian wilderness, Apex is not a movie about man vs. nature. Instead, it’s woman vs. man. While checking out the title card and its unpretentious Netflix release might lead viewers to believe Apex is just another celebrity project churned out of the streaming machine, Apex - whether by luck or by intention - is a consistently harrowing film about the reality of being a woman in a public space. 

CODA' is about a child of deaf adults torn between staying with her parents and her dreams of pursuing music. This film is a step forward for deaf representation and disability in movies despite negative messages about the burden of actors deaf deafness.

'The Suicide Squad' is at its best when it focuses on its characters and commentary on real-life issues, but stumbles when it relies too heavily on gratuitous gore and insensitive humor.

Spirited inverts the tropes of the holiday musical genre to update an age-old tale for 2022. It's a paean to those who make grand spectacles possible.