One Battle After Another
Paul Thomas Anderson delivers his most explosive film yet with this high-octane action thriller led by Leonardo DiCaprio as ‘Ghetto’ Pat Calhoun, a former revolutionary forced to confront the wreckage of his past. Years earlier, Pat and fellow rebel Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) led the French 75, a radical group fighting injustice until they were hunted down by ruthless military man Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). 

Sixteen years later, the revolution is dead, Perfidia is gone, and Pat is washed up and barely sober. When Steven resurfaces as part of a secretive racist cabal and abducts Pat’s teenage daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), Pat teams up with her karate teacher, Sensei Sergio (Benicio del Toro), for one final, furious showdown with the villain. 

Inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, Anderson’s 10th film became his highest-grossing to date (over US$200 million at the box office) and dominated the 2026 Golden Globe Awards with four wins — including Best Director — and nine nominations. Critics hailed it as a relentless thrill ride, an epic with both action and smarts.

Bugonia
Five-time Oscar nominee Yorgos Lanthimos delivers one of his most gripping and accessible films to date with Bugonia, a nervy, genre-blurring thriller laced with savage satire and unexpected emotional bite. One of modern cinema’s most provocative auteurs, Lanthimos plunges viewers into a climate of paranoia, daring us to question what really happens behind the closed doors of corporate and political influence. Every scene hums with unease. 

This wildly entertaining psychological thriller follows two conspiracy-obsessed young men (played by Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) who abduct a powerful tech CEO (Emma Stone), convinced she is an alien infiltrator bent on humanity’s destruction. What begins as an act of paranoid extremism soon spirals into a tense battle of wills and control — a descent that is as darkly comic as it is deeply discomfiting. Balancing absurdist humour with razor-sharp social commentary, the film examines truth, belief, and the dangers of misinformation in a world where fear spreads faster than facts. 

Anchoring the film is a fearless, transformative performance from Stone, reuniting with Lanthimos for their fourth feature-length collaboration following The Favourite, Poor Things, and Kinds of Kindness (and fifth collaboration if you include the short film Bleat). Undergoing a striking physical transformation — including shaving her head — Stone strips her character of glamour, exposing a raw vulnerability beneath the corporate armour. It’s a bold turn that sees her tap into a colder, harsher emotional register, as her character shifts between menace and fragility.

Caught Stealing
It’s 1998, and Henry ‘Hank’ Thompson (Austin Butler) is a New York bartender haunted by a career-ending injury that crushed his Major League Baseball dreams. A seemingly harmless favour — cat-sitting for his eccentric neighbour Russ (Matt Smith, sporting a glorious mohawk) — quickly spirals out of control when two Russian gangsters come knocking. They’re hunting for something Russ allegedly stole, and soon Hank is being chased by half of the city’s criminal underworld. What’s the missing item, and will Hank survive long enough to return it?

Director Darren Aronofsky (Mother!, The Whale) and author Charlie Huston bring late-’90s New York to gritty, filthy life. Clamshell phones (remember those?), answering machines, and Smash Mouth’s “Walkin’ on the Sun” set the scene as Hank stumbles through a city that feels just as dangerous as the people chasing him. Zoë Kravitz co-stars as Hank’s girlfriend, Regina King as sharp-eyed Detective Elise Roman, and Liev Schreiber as one half of the ominous Drucker brothers.

The film scored a Fresh 84% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising Aronofsky’s direction and Butler’s all-in performance — commitment that even extended to his physique. As Aronofsky joked in Entertainment Weekly, he sent Butler a collage of baseball players’ butts to inspire him to develop a more athletic physique (or at least, derriere). Method acting, indeed.

The Naked Gun
Longing for the glory days of spoof comedies like Airplane! and Scary Movie? You’re in luck. Beloved slapstick franchise The Naked Gun is back — this time with Liam Neeson stepping into Leslie Nielsen’s iconic role as Lieutenant Frank Drebin Jr.

Frank’s latest assignment sees him foil a bank robbery before investigating a suspicious fatal car crash. His wildly unconventional methods soon put him at odds with shady tycoon Richard Cane (Danny Huston) and entangle him with the victim’s glamorous sister, Beth (Pamela Anderson). Amid flying bullets, bad guys, and even worse puns, can the intrepid detective honour his father’s legacy and crack the case?

Produced by Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) and directed by Akiva Schaffer (Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers), the film unleashes a rapid-fire barrage of sight gags, dad jokes, and absurd set pieces. Time Out called it “the funniest film of the year”, while The Guardian praised its throwback ’80s action-movie vibe. Keep an eye out for some scene-stealing cameos along the way. 

Weapons
Kids may be little, but in Weapons, they’re absolutely terrifying. In the quiet town of Maybrook, Pennsylvania, 17 elementary schoolers vanish overnight, after mysteriously waking at 2.17 a.m., sprinting Naruto-style into the darkness, and never returning.

Only one child, Alex (Cary Christopher), remains — and every adult wants answers. Among them: his shaken teacher Justine (Julia Garner), the frazzled principal (Benedict Wong), grief-stricken father Archer (Josh Brolin), small-town cop Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), and even local burglar James (Austin Abrams). What made the kids run? And who — or what — is really pulling the strings?

Director Zach Cregger (Barbarian) weaves horror, mystery, and a surprising streak of dark comedy through a shifting, Rashomon-like narrative. Fans of twisty, multi-perspective thrillers like Vantage Point or Hoodwinked! will relish decoding every clue, right up to the film’s bloody, jaw-dropping reveal.

Materialists
Celine Song, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker behind Past Lives, returns with a playful, modern love triangle. This time, it’s tangled up in money issues and messy millennial dating realities.

Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a successful matchmaker who ironically hasn’t found her own match (an “eternal bachelorette”, as the film calls it). But things get interesting at a client’s wedding, where she meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a charming, suspiciously wealthy “unicorn” who feels almost too good to be true. Also in the mix is her old flame, John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor working the event as a waiter.

Soon, Lucy becomes the target instead of the Cupid, torn between a glittering fantasy and a familiar flame. Marvel fans will get a kick out of watching Captain America and Mister Fantastic battle for Madame Web’s heart — but Song grounds the glossy premise with witty insights on financial compatibility and the tug-of-war between idealism and practicality when dating in your 30s.

Ballerina
In the John Wick universe, everyone fears the Baba Yaga, but this assassin isn’t running from him. She’s following in his footsteps. Ballerina spotlights Eve (Ana de Armas), a Ruska Roma enforcer whose lethal grace and quiet rage fuel her stylish, vengeance-soaked odyssey.

Eve’s path brings her face-to-face with Wick-world icons, including the regal New York Continental owner Winston (Ian McShane), the ever-reliable concierge Charon (the late Lance Reddick in his final appearance), and, of course, the legend, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) himself.

Director Len Wiseman teams up with producer Chad Stahelski to deliver everything fans crave: balletic gunfights, crunching hand-to-hand showdowns, and high-speed vehicular carnage — all culminating in a breathtaking battle set in a secluded Alpine village entirely populated by assassins. It’s John Wick energy with its own fierce, feminine fire. 

Sinners
American history gets a supernatural twist as Black Panther director Ryan Coogler sinks his fangs into the horror genre, reuniting with Michael B. Jordan for a bold, blues-soaked vampire tale.

Set in 1932 Mississippi, the film stars Jordan in the dual roles of twin brothers Smoke and Stack. The siblings return home after years in the Chicago Mafia to open a juke joint, only to find their opening night gate-crashed by sharp-toothed, blood-guzzling undead creatures led by Jack O’Connell.

Critics raved: Rolling Stone hailed Coogler for “swinging wide beyond franchise fare”, while Variety called it “the first Oscar movie of 2025”. With its hypnotic style, electric performances, and Ludwig Göransson’s sultry blues score, Sinners bites hard and lingers.

Warfare
Co-directed by Civil War’s Alex Garland and Navy SEAL veteran Ray Mendoza, Warfare drops viewers into an inspired-by-true-events, boots-on-the-ground siege in Ramadi. Its real-time unfolding lends the film a heightened sense of immersion.

Based on Mendoza’s experiences during the Iraq War, this gritty re-enactment follows Alpha One platoon as they take over and defend a house in Ramadi from enemy combatants. Rising stars Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, and Will Poulter play members of the platoon.

Critics have hailed Warfare as one of A24’s grittiest triumphs: The Guardian called it “visceral filmmaking that makes you smell the dust and fear”. Relentless, suspenseful, and impossible to look away from.

Black Bag
Marriage counselling meets espionage in Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag, which fuses relationship drama and spy thriller elements. Michael Fassbender plays George Woodhouse, a British agent hunting a digital weapon — until his wife Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) becomes the prime suspect. 

Pierce Brosnan commands as the duo’s formidable boss Arthur Stieglitz, while Soderbergh keeps the tension simmering through dinner parties, therapy sessions, and lie-detector tests. Slick, stylish, and laced with dark humour, Black Bag proves the most dangerous secrets are the personal ones. 

Honorary Mention

Companion
Part Her, part Terminator, Drew Hancock’s stylish sci-fi thriller starts as a cabin-in-the-woods drama and spirals into a thriller about identity crisis.  

Iris (Sophie Thatcher) and her boyfriend, Josh (Jack Quaid), are off for a weekend getaway with friends. When the house owner, Sergey (Rupert Friend), attempts to assault Iris, she kills him in self-defence, unleashing a secret that turns reality inside-out for her.

Critics praised the movie’s dark humour and neon-bright flair — The Wall Street Journal called it “one of the most skilfully constructed horror films of the decade”.