Following The Witch and The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers completes his cinematic hat trick by stamping his stylish verve upon a violent, metal as hell revenge odyssey. Breathing new life into sword and sorcery, The Northman returns Hamlet back to its Nordic roots with an epic scope, a bigger budget, and a thirstier bloodlust. Powerful visuals and searing performances combine with atavistic, otherworldly details for one of the best films of 2022 so far. Minor spoilers ahead…

Edgar Wright’s decades-long tour of genres makes a no-frills horror pitstop in Last Night in Soho. A collision between past and present painted with the brush of giallo and other era-appropriate terrors, the film is a lush and arresting thriller…until it isn’t. Last Night in Soho soars in its first half with Wright’s signature craftsmanship and a pair of great performances from Thomasin Mackenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy, but its final act is undone by its over-polish, toothlessness, and muddled pastiche. Minor spoilers ahead…

Seemingly out of nowhere, with a trailer released only a month ago, Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit has captured the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere, and for good reason - it’s quite fun. Pure escapism through the lens of high-stakes chess, the limited series stars Anya Taylor-Joy as Beth Harmon, a child prodigy that enters the male-dominated realm of one of the world’s oldest strategy games. With a captivating lead performance and a meticulous attention paid to its period details, The Queen’s Gambit looks to dose chess with some cinematic octane, and it largely succeeds despite its hesitation to dig deep. Minor spoilers ahead…