For a Friday with friends, you need a film that doesn't require perfect silence to work. Something engaging enough that it holds attention even in a room with people in it.
Despite everything, the 2020s have produced some genuinely remarkable cinema. Films made under pressure that somehow carry none of it.
Great fantasy films don't ask you to suspend disbelief - they build worlds so vivid that disbelief simply evaporates.
A new adventure begins for Luffy and his crew when mysterious pop superstar Uta unveils her identity - and launches a misguided plan for world peace.
Fueled by memories of her mother, resourceful Fei Fei builds a rocket to the moon on a mission to prove the existence of a legendary moon goddess.
Ruby Gillman, a sweet and awkward high school student, discovers she's a direct descendant of the warrior kraken queens. The kraken are sworn to protect the oceans of the world against the vain, power-hungry mermaids. Destined to inherit the throne from her commanding grandmother, Ruby must use her newfound powers to protect those she loves most.
As Emily struggles to fit in at home and at school, she discovers a small red puppy who is destined to become her best friend. When Clifford magically undergoes one heck of a growth spurt, becomes a gigantic dog and attracts the attention of a genetics company, Emily and her Uncle Casey have to fight the forces of greed as they go on the run across New York City. Along the way, Clifford affects the lives of everyone around him and teaches Emily and her uncle the true meaning of acceptance and unconditional love.
29 years since the Black Flame Candle was last lit, the 17th-century Sanderson sisters are resurrected, and they are looking for revenge. Now it's up to three high school students to stop the ravenous witches from wreaking a new kind of havoc on Salem before dawn on All Hallow's Eve.
The fantasy films that endure are the ones rooted in genuine emotion. The magic is the vehicle; the story is always about something human.
Mavka, a Soul of the Forest, faces an impossible choice between love and her duty as Guardian of the Heart of the Forest when she falls for a human, a talented young musician named Lukas.
Two teenagers trapped in an endless time loop set out to find all the tiny things that make that one day perfect.
In late 15th-century Eastern Europe, Prince Vlad II's bride is brutally murdered. As a result, he renounces God and damns Heaven itself. Cursed with eternal life, Vlad is reborn as Dracula, an immortal warlord who defies fate in a blood-soaked crusade to wrench his lost love back from death.
Four undying warriors who've secretly protected humanity for centuries become targeted for their mysterious powers just as they discover a new immortal.
An American priest working in Mexico is considered a saint by many local parishioners. However, due to a botched exorcism, he carries a secret that's eating him alive until he gets an opportunity to face his demon one final time.
The best mind-bending films don't cheat. They follow their own logic rigorously - which is exactly why the rug-pull, when it comes, is so disorienting.
The sign of a truly great fantasy is that you mourn it when it's over. These films create that feeling.