We appear to be in the midst of a full-on Colin-naissance, with Mr Farrell currently on screen (and having fun) as the Penguin in The Batman, and as grief-stricken tea-blending dad Jake in contemplative sci-fi drama After Yang, from South Korean-born American filmmaker kogonada (Columbus). After Yang charmed everybody who saw it at Sundance earlier this year with its ruminations on love and loss. “Grounded in a tactile, meditative and truly beautiful naturalism,” writes Owen. “A soulful masterwork from a visionary in full command of his craft,” agrees Diego. Isaac Feldberg had a thoughtful chat with kogonada for Journal, and we also asked the film’s production designer Alexandra Schiller about some of our most coveted set pieces. In theaters now.

Also making an impact at Sundance was Mimi Cave’s Fresh, starring Normal People breakout Daisy Edgar-Jones, and Winter Soldier Sebastian Stan (we asked them both what movies they’d put on their dating profiles). The marketing for the dark “romantic” comedy dances around the key revelation, but it’s not hard to work out, especially with reviews like Tyler’s out there. Slightly less spoilery is Sara’s take: “Horror films that tackle real fears reach a level of anxiety unlike any other and this hits high on the sick-and-twisted scale.” Streaming on Hulu now.

Turning Red is the latest Pixar film to debut on Disney+, and although the trend does appear to be undermining the sense of occasion a new Pixar work brings, people are warming to the first feature-length effort from Domee Shi, whose earlier short Bao charmed audiences in 2018. Turning Red concerns thirteen-year-old Mei, who has a habit of turning into a giant red panda whenever she gets excited, which lends itself to multiple metaphorical readings. Clarisse celebrates how the film “openly discusses both periods and the feral intensity of first crushes”, which she says “feels like a small wonder in itself”. Streaming on Disney+ from March 11.

Once eagerly anticipated for heralding the return of the underserved erotic thriller genre to theaters, horny people the world over were disappointed when Deep Water was downgraded to a streaming release. There was much speculation as to why (some thought it was because leads/exes Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck didn’t want to do press together), but we’ll get to judge for ourselves when it hits Hulu on March 18. Deep Water certainly has pedigree: it’s based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith (best known for the Ripley books), has a screenplay by Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, and is directed by Adrian Lyne, who arguably created the modern erotic thriller with the likes of 9½ Weeks and Fatal Attraction. Oh, to watch this in a large, darkened cinema… Since it’s Women’s History Month, why not also seek out some erotic thrillers directed by women?

Keke Palmer is the eponymous Alice in a revenge film inspired by a true story that sets a new standard for “stranger than fiction”. Alice is a slave on a Georgia plantation who escapes her bondage to discover it is actually 1970s America. Krystin Ver Linden’s film premiered at Sundance in January, where reaction was mixed on the concept, but united on Palmer’s work. “An incredible performance from Keke Palmer sadly couldn’t elevate the concept here,” writes Zach, echoing others who felt the film came too hot on the heels of Antebellum. “Gets better in the second half but the initial transition from black trauma movie to ’70s blaxploitation pastiche doesn’t land as well as they had maybe hoped,” concludes Reanna.

Following Six Underground and Red Notice, Ryan Reynolds is increasingly looking like Netflix’s go-to guy for big-budget tent-poles. The latest example, The Adam Project, sees the quippy one team up with his twelve-year-old self to solve some kind of time-travel snafu. It’s directed by Free Guy’s Shawn Levy (a producer on mega-hit series Stranger Things), who appears to still be chasing that Amblin vibe. Fans of 13 Going on 30 will be excited to see that film’s co-leads Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo reuniting to play Reynolds’ parents. On Netflix from March 11.

Returning to his horror roots after a sojourn into Westerns with 2016’s In a Valley of Violence, acclaimed indie filmmaker Ti West popped down to New Zealand during the pandemic to make the buzzy ’70s-set X with a killer cast including Scream breakout Jenna Ortega, Mia Goth, Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi—and Kiwi heart-throb Martin Henderson in a typecast-busting role. The ensemble play aspiring porno filmmakers who get more than they bargained for when they set up shop at a secluded farmhouse in Texas to make a skin-flick. Nothing good ever happens at a secluded farmhouse in Texas. In theaters March 18 after a SXSW premiere.

Following last month’s Marry Me, The Lost City feels like another throwback genre film. But where the J.Lo/Owen Wilson movie attempted to revive the high-concept romcom, The Lost City is bringing back the long-forgotten romantic adventure film, typified by the likes of Romancing the Stone and The African Queen. The always-welcome Sandra Bullock stars as a romantic-fiction novelist who is kidnapped by Daniel Radcliffe and sees her less-than-capable cover model (Channing Tatum) attempt to rescue her. Looks like fun, premieres at SXSW this month.

Real-life mass shootings (of which there are far too many) are one of the trickier subjects to tackle on film, but there’s no shortage of filmmakers willing to try. Australian director Justin Kurzel (True History of the Kelly Gang, Snowtown) examines the lead-up to the 1996 events in Port Arthur on the Australian island of Tasmania in Nitram. Never one to shy away from a challenging role, Caleb Landry Jones was rewarded at Cannes for his performance as the teenaged perpetrator, with Judy Davis and Anthony LaPaglia playing his parents. Braden says the film “tactfully and candidly examines its immensely difficult subject matter… in a way that feels unbiased and genuine without slipping into sympathy”. In theaters March 30.

From The Big Sick to Rose Matafeo’s BBC/HBO Max series Starstruck to the Covid-era indie 7 Days, the modern romcom is being fervently reclaimed from its WASP-ish grip. 7 Days was filmed in eight by director (and radiation oncologist) Roshan Sethi, his partner and co-writer Karan Soni, and a skeleton crew. Soni plays Ravi to Geraldine Viswanathan’s Rita, whose traditionalist parents have arranged for them to go on a date, during which they are forced to shelter in place due to the oncoming Covid pandemic. “Makes you feel nostalgia for ‘early pandemic’ when we were all banging pots and bingeing shows and locking down with questionable people and expecting things to be over by our birthdays,” Devin notes. “A nice little subculturally and historically specific romcom,” writes Elcalebo. In theaters March 25.

Indie reality-bender Ultrasound, which premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, begins with a man named Glen (Mad Men grad Vincent Kartheiser) seeking help from a nearby house after his car breaks down on a rainy night. The couple inside are eager to assist, but Glen’s problems are just beginning. One of those films that challenges the viewer to discern what’s going on, there are some original ideas in play here and some choice character actors (including David Fincher favorite Bob Stephenson) doing splendidly creepy work. Andrew reckons Ultrasound “knew exactly when to leave you totally in the dark, when to let you put the pieces together yourself, and when to do big reveals”. In theaters and on VOD from March 11.

In Hunk of Yearning Love: The Romantic Intelligence of Cyrano, our editor-in-chief Gemma Gracewood dives into the woozily romantic new musical version of Cyrano with director Joe ‘Hand Flex’ Wright, star Haley Bennett, and songwriters Carin Besser and Bryce Dessner. Highlights include Wright’s revelation that a friendly thigh-squeeze is what gets those close-up details fans of his work love so much.

There’s never a wrong time to discover international cinema, so jump into Letterboxd contributor Lise’s always fantastic March Around the World viewing challenge. It’s all about spending the month of March stretching your cinematic horizons, and each year there is a spotlight on one country in particular. Step up, Mads fans, because 2022 is all about Danish cinema. Get started with this introductory list, get specific with this list of erotic Swedish and Danish cinema, and take your world-cinema appetite further with Tyler A.’s list of International Oddities.

What’s a film that you have been picked on for liking? That you know is “hyper flawed but you love it anyway”? With their list Movies I Love That The Majority Put on Blast, 8bitmurderbot has thrown down the gauntlet, because nobody can question your taste if you own it proudly.

The Adams filmmaking family (parents Toby Poser and John Adams, daughters Lulu and Zelda) discuss their new Shudder witchcraft film Hellbender, and a bunch of other cool stuff, with Letterboxd’s Aaron Yap for this wide-ranging feature. The conversation runs the gamut from Repo Man to Step Brothers to A Clockwork Orange.

Prolific member Darren Carver-Balsiger (434 lists and counting!) submits to a How I Letterboxd chat with Jack Moulton in which he cites a whoooole bunch of titles worth adding to your watchlist. Darren also runs the Letterboxd Does the Oscars list, where you get to vote for the best films of the 94th Academy Awards using the exact same rules as the Oscars. Voting runs until March 22, so have your say.

As Ukrainian film critic and Letterboxd member Denis Budanov notes, “Now is not the time for movies and entertainment for Ukrainian people! But! Culture is also our weapon.” To this end, we have gathered some resources around Ukrainian cinema for those wanting to take a closer look at the country’s history, culture and people. These include Iryna Tsilyk’s Sundance award-winning documentary The Earth is Blue as an Orange, about a family under siege who use their love of movies to pass the time and build a future. It’s now available to buy or rent on Vimeo on Demand.

“Everything about this interview feels like what hanging out with me and Chris in real life is actually like,” remarks director Mattie Do of her conversation with Letterboxd’s Aaron Yap about her third feature, The Long Walk. “One day, we will invade the Letterboxd offices where I will ask where they keep the snacks and wines, then the rest of the night will go something like this.” Just the kind of threat we like.

Each month we drop a new list of movies with calendar dates in them—a film for each day of the month—curated by supreme calendaring specialist Laura E. Hall. The Dating the Movies: March list is here—be sure to read the notes for the details of the real and fictional dates (in history and the future) that pop up in films, from The Breakfast Club’s detention day to Rachel Marron’s chaotic Best Actress win at the 67th Academy Awards, her Bodyguard in tow.

Monsters, Inc., Babe and Amélie are among the films that were important to director Josephine Decker growing up. The filmmaker behind Shirley spoke to Ella Kemp about her new A24/Apple TV+ young-adult film The Sky Is Everywhere, which explores the beauty and pain that come from experiencing perfect things when everything’s broken.

Real-life boxing champ Kali ‘KO Mequinonoag’ Reis and her friend and director Josef Kubota Wladyka talk about their new thriller Catch The Fair One with Gemma Gracewood, including a chat about their favorite “good for her” films, and the best boxing movies. Yes, Rocky comes up—even if KO doesn’t much rate his fight technique, she loves Rocky all the same.

The British Film Institute has identified 100 essential thrillers and compiled them into a list here. There ain’t a dud on this list, which includes often overlooked titles such as Shoot to Kill (AKA Deadly Pursuit), Miracle Mile and your humble Call Sheet editor’s all-time favorite Hitchock film…

It’s time for Dom’s Pick! Each month, Call Sheet editor Dominic Corry closes with a film for your watchlists. This week: Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (1938), an adaptation of Ethel Lina White’s 1936 novel The Wheel Spins. Often overshadowed in the British Hitchcock canon by the similarly-themed The 39 Steps (1935), this is one of the master’s most deliriously entertaining films, and a great starting point for anyone who still doesn’t realize that movies made 85 years ago can be so gosh-darn watchable.

There’s frisson for days as we follow a young woman (the peerless Margaret Lockwood, in a performance that demands, despite the cliché, to be described as contemporary in nature) on a fateful European train journey, as she struggles to get anyone to believe her story about an elderly acquaintance who disappears. A mystery/​romance/​spy/​adventure caper with a bevy of hilarious supporting characters, it’s pure popcorn pleasure that transcends time.

Hitch’s early action-comedies remain relatively underappreciated in his (broad) modern perception, and this has a lightness of touch that shames aspirationally comparative efforts like Knight & Day. Technically, its closest modern equivalent is brazen (plot) rip-off Flightplan, which has its merits, but crucially lacks the 1938 film’s runner about cricket (the game). Stay well away from the 1979 remake, however alluring its cast may be.