This week's movies cover emotionally distant fathers, unlucky optimists, nostalgic icons, and a Predator with daddy issues. From Joachim Trier’s layered family drama to a documentary tribute that manages to tug heartstrings without drowning in syrup, the selection mixes sincerity with satire. There's a clear thread of characters grappling with legacy and self-worth—whether through existential angels, fading fame, or space-jungle bonding. Even the forgettable feels oddly fitting in a lineup so full of searching souls.

This week’s movies cover generational horror, from grim dystopian allegory to slick teen slashers and franchise fatigue. The Long Walk taps into psychological dread and Vietnam-era trauma with steady direction and haunting restraint. The Fear Street trilogy spins through eras with stylized gore and a YA sensibility that rarely transcends. Meanwhile, The Conjuring: Last Rites trudges familiar ground, weighed down by franchise obligations. Collectively, these films confront evil, but too often settle for the expected.

This week’s movies cover identity, queerness, memory, and visibility—spanning experimental horror, impressionistic queer romance, and intimate documentaries. These five films explore inner lives and underrepresented communities, often through dreamlike or nonlinear forms. Jane Schoenbrun’s two films capture digital-age alienation and queer self-discovery with eerie minimalism and surreal flair. Fin de siglo meditates on time, love, and memory. Meanwhile, Paris is Burning and I'm Your Venus examine queer history and family reconciliation through personal and collective storytelling.

This week’s movies cover crumbling traditions, fraught relationships, and lingering discontent—whether it's among aristocrats, friends, lovers, or sadomasochistic demons. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale relies on familiar beats and soothing nostalgia, while The Ritual and Hellraiser (both helmed by David Bruckner) confront personal trauma through horror lenses, albeit with mixed success. Meanwhile, The Threesome and Splitsville explore modern love’s contradictions—invested, intriguing, but ultimately undercooked. Across genres, emotional honesty collides with structural limitations.