It may blow your mind that movies have been made for more than a century. That’s a lot of incredible films! With such a rich history and evolution, part of the joy we cinephiles have is comparing films of yore with modern classics. And when it comes to psychological thrillers, though the stories have changed, the core elements have stayed the same.

With hundreds of excellent films over the last 90 years, ten titles stand out as the greatest. From films that literally invented filmmaking devices to movies that reshaped award-show conversations, these movies remain brilliantly influential and timeless. While many films could be swapped in, these ten represent a strong history of the genre.

10

‘Gone Girl’ (2014)

Image via Merrick Morton/TM & copyright ©20th Century Fox Film Corp.

Bringing one of the juiciest thrillers from page to screen takes a genius director who knows their way around a crime thriller. Thankfully, David Fincher masterfully adapted Gillian Flynn’s psychological thriller, Gone Girl. The story follows Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), who discovers his wife Amy (Rosamund Pike) missing, setting off a media frenzy and a dark psychological game of deception. A twisted series of mind games, Gone Girl takes a typical missing person story and flips the script in glorious fashion. Gone Girl is a wonderfully enthralling thriller that showcases the depths individuals will go to in a toxic relationship.

Morality is out the window as there is no genuine “villain” in the classic sense. Both Nick and Amy are deceitful. It only comes to light when it’s revealed that Amy is alive and meticulously framing Nick for her murder out of revenge. Neither character tells the absolute truth, forcing viewers to question who the real villain is and who the victim is. Fincher also targets the 24-hour news cycle by depicting how quickly the public turns a complex human tragedy into a media circus. Gone Girl exposes the dark side of relationships and why extreme personal grievances have lethal consequences.

9

‘Misery’ (1990)

Image via Columbia Pictures

While The Shining easily could earn this spot, since Stephen King was unhappy with the execution, we’ll give it to a movie adaptation he praised: Misery. The hit thriller tells the tale of famous author Paul Sheldon (James Caan), who suffers broken legs following a severe car crash in a blizzard. Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), a former nurse and his “number-one fan,” rescues him, only to hold him captive in exchange for a new manuscript that brings her favorite character back to life. A battle of wits, Misery turns a thrilling two-hander into a masterclass of claustrophobic tension and human terror.

Directed by Rob Reiner, Misery thrives thanks to its petrifying premise and career-defining performances. The film dives deep into the unhealthy extremes of obsession and control for a perfect power play. Mostly confined to a single setting, Misery amplifies the terror by forcing its protagonist to be at the whims of an unhinged individual. With Annie being the surrogate for unpredictability, viewers are left questioning what might happen next. Bates’ exceptional performance as she switches from a seemingly sweet nurse to an unstable monster. Misery is a masterpiece of psychological dread.

8

‘Psycho’ (1960)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Alfred Hitchcock and Psycho forever changed the future of movies. Adapted from Robert Bloch’s novel, Psycho follows a secretary named Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) who is on the run after stealing $40,000. She checks into the Bates Motel, where she meets the shy owner, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who says he lives with his overbearing mother in the house up the hill. When Marion goes missing, a search begins as Norman’s twisted truth is revealed. Psycho redefined fear by shifting the image of a horror monster while proving that no one is safe— especially your top-line star.

Psycho reminded audiences that anything can happen in movies. A brilliant bait-and-switch, by killing off Leigh’s character within the first act, Hitchcock kept the audience on edge as to what might happen next. Then, making Norman, a seemingly normal appearing man, the killer proved even the scariest may be lurking right around the corner. With a shrieking score by Bernard Herrmann and masterful direction from Hitchcock, the film’s execution is sublime. It’s a haunting treat that set the tone for years to come. Psycho became the blueprint for the modern horror and psychological thriller. ​​​​​​​

7

‘Gaslight’ (1944)

Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

If you’re curious where the term we use often came from, you’re in luck. A movie had a major factor in it. Directed by George Cukor, Gaslight tells the story of Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman), a young woman, who marries the charming musician Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer) after a whirlwind romance. Gregory convinces Paula to move back into her London childhood home, where he slowly begins to isolate her while driving her to insanity by telling her the dimming and flickering of the gaslights are merely a hallucination. Both a literal and figurative popularization of the term, the film brilliantly depicted how a person can be slowly driven to doubt their own sanity through calculated mental abuse.

Gaslight builds its suspense not by making you wonder whether Gregory is the source of the action, but by watching Paula break down under the abuse. Gregory hides items, accuses her of losing things, isolates her from friends, and intentionally dims the gaslights, showcasing the dark lengths he’ll go to drive his wife to the brink. Director George Cukor uses dark shadows, claustrophobic Victorian sets, and shifting lighting to make the audience feel as trapped as Paula. Bergman earned an Academy Award for her work, balancing a woman teetering on the edge. A highly influential work, Gaslight is the epitome of a psychological thriller. ​​​​​​​

6

‘Se7en’ (1995)

Image via New Line Cinema

The ultimate cop-versus-killer mind game comes in the mind-blowing Se7en. Directed by David Fincher, the thriller follows two homicide detectives, William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and David Mills (Brad Pitt), as they hunt a sadistic serial killer (Kevin Spacey) whose murders are inspired by the seven deadly sins. As the hunters dive further into the mystery, Se7en paints a terrifying portrait of human morality. Se7en builds suspense through a dark, claustrophobic atmosphere in a gritty, unnamed city where dread and hopelessness are the moral of the story.

Fincher builds a world where a dreary color palette, constant rain, and a claustrophobic locale evoke the mood revolving around the protagonists. It’s an unsettling atmosphere to work under, but the crimes they’re pursuing are graphic in nature and completely demoralizing. We don’t get to see the crimes, so filling in the blanks becomes a horrifying game. Spacey’s John Doe is a calculated mastermind whose compelling final act wrapped up the story perfectly. The film’s epic finale remains one of the greatest in cinema history. The final confrontation is a devastating trap that subverts traditional Hollywood resolutions with a bleak, emotional gut-punch. ​​​​​​​

5

‘Vertigo’ (1958)

Image via Paramount Pictures

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Alfred Hitchcock invented a new way of filming that will forever be tied to his masterpiece, Vertigo. The titillating thriller follows retired detective John “Scottie” Ferguson (James Stewart), whose fear of heights is triggered when he becomes dangerously obsessed with Madeleine (Kim Novak), a woman he was hired to follow at the request of her husband, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore). Scottie trails Madeleine, falling in love in the process, only for a shocking twist to reveal the truth about Gavin and Madeleine. Vertigo transforms a standard mystery into a deeply haunting exploration of human obsession, guilt, and the toxic nature of romantic illusion.

Vertigo taps into fears many viewers share. But the film’s influence on filmmaking is much bigger. Hitchcock’s innovation from the film is the “vertigo effect,” better known as the dolly zoom. The effect simultaneously zooms in while dollying out. This allowed Hitchcock to drop the audience inside Scottie’s terrifying experience of acrophobia. Hitchcock uses intense, expressive lighting and recurring color motifs for Scottie to navigate through. Vertigo doesn’t hide the twist for too long, allowing the story to shift to Scottie’s psychological breakdown as he tries to forcefully recreate a dead woman out of a living one. There are many sensational Hitchcock films; this is the very best. ​​​​​​​

4

‘Parasite’ (2019)

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It’s a battle of the social classes in Bong Joon-ho’s game-changing dark comedy thriller Parasite. The Oscar-winning film centers on the Kim family, a struggling, poor family, who infiltrates the lives of the wealthy Park family. While enjoying the perks of the Park’s home, the family eventually discovers a dark secret hidden in the basement that threatens their scam, turning it into a violent nightmare. Showcasing the discrepancy of the rich and the poor, Parasite highlights how the wealthy rely entirely on the labor of the poor while remaining wistfully unaware of their everyday strife. Parasite uses biting commentary to describe how a competitive economic system forces desperate people to fight one another just to survive.

Parasite blends a believable, high-stakes con game with a harrowing exploration of class struggle and the human desperation that comes with it. What begins as a witty dark-comedy heist swiftly becomes a tense thriller with a bloody finale. Bong swiftly shifts the mood effortlessly, proving that the descent into chaos can come when least expected. It represents those at the bottom of the food chain who desperately try to claw themselves out, only to face more hurdles in their path. The film is grounded in realism, as this could be any ordinary family at both ends of the class spectrum. There are no heroes or villains; only individuals stuck in a pressure cooker. Parasite proudly brought foreign language films into the mainstream, changing the genre forever.

3

‘Get Out’ (2017)

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Mixing a brilliant social commentary with a high-tension psychological thriller, Get Out flipped the script on traditional horror tropes. Directed by Jordan Peele, Get Out tells the story of a young Black photographer, Chris Washington (Daniel Kaluuya), who takes a trip to visit his white girlfriend Rose Armitage’s (Allison Williams) family’s secluded country estate. As the weekend carries on, Chris discovers a terrifying plot where wealthy white individuals have their consciousness surgically transplanted into the bodies of healthy Black bodies. He now must fight to survive.

Using psychological paranoia and gaslighting as a means to scare, Get Out traps the audience in a story where the “monster” is the performative act of well-meaning neighbors who overcompensate to prove they’re not prejudiced. Get Out showcases how microaggressions escalate before the Sunken Place is introduced as an allegory for the loss of agency. Peele builds tension through lingering and subtle moments. The world he establishes seems ordinary, only for the mask to whisk away into an uneasy environment where sinister forces lurk within the surrounding individuals.

2

‘Inception’ (2010)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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There are certainly many extraordinary Christopher Nolan films, but in the world of psychological thrillers, it doesn’t get much better than Inception. The multi-layered heist thriller tells the story of professional thief Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is given a mission to perform inception and plant an idea into the mind of CEO Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) in exchange for a clean criminal record. Plagued by trauma and grief, Cobb assembles a team of specialists who go deep within dream layers to complete his mission. Inception brilliantly blends illusion and reality in a high-concept, ticking-clock thriller.

Inception showcases Nolan at his finest, marrying a brilliant concept with a tangible production. With practical effects, a stunning score by Hans Zimmer, and an all-star ensemble willing to play, Nolan presented an intellectually sound narrative that was thoroughly gripping. Even at the end, as the totem kept spinning, it left audiences debating it to this day. Inception is a beast of a film that gets better with every watch.

1

‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991)

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Award show victories don’t necessarily define greatness, but for The Silence of the Lambs, it was simply icing on the cake. Based on Thomas Harris‘ novel, the film tells the story of Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), a fledgling FBI trainee who seeks out the assistance of imprisoned serial killer Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to catch another active murderer. Lecter only agrees to give clues through a quid pro quo where Clarice exchanges traumatizing personal details about her childhood. A gripping thriller that uses intense mind games to build extraordinary tension, The Silence of the Lambs is a thrilling classic.

Director Jonathan Demme brings a claustrophobic feeling to the screen through his shot framing. By using extreme close-ups on actors staring down the barrel, viewers feel as if they are just as exposed and intimately a part of the psychological mind games. The film masterfully focuses on Clarice’s journey. Not only is she forced to rehash her past, but she fights against a male-dominated world she must navigate. Foster does remarkable work, especially in her scenes with Hopkins, who embodies pure terror. Horror doesn’t get quite better than The Silence of the Lambs.

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The Silence of the Lambs

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Release Date

February 14, 1991

Runtime

119 minutes

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Director

Jonathan Demme

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Writers

Ted Tally, Thomas Harris

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Aaron Rodgers may have intended to set the record straight about past relationships, but his latest podcast appearance has instead reignited scrutiny of one of the most talked-about romances of his life. 

Years after his engagement to Shailene Woodley ended, the quarterback’s candid comments have sparked fresh debate about what really happened behind closed doors. 

Now, sources close to the actress are pushing back, describing his remarks as unnecessary and reopening a chapter they thought had long been left behind.

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Before the accusations, uncomfortable reactions, and competing versions of events, there was a relationship many people genuinely believed would last.

Friends who watched Rodgers and Woodley get together saw two unconventional personalities who seemed to understand each other in a way few others could. 

Their relationship unfolded quickly, but to those around them, the speed wasn’t necessarily a red flag.

“They are both very much professionally amazing at what they do, but personally they are both very odd,” a source told the Daily Mail, adding, “So, when mutual friends introduced them, it almost seemed appropriate that they got together because they shared the same weirdness.”

That unusual compatibility became one of the relationship’s biggest selling points. “Their friends thought it was actually a match made in heaven,” the insider added. “They found each other and their similarities and differences attracted one another. Until they didn’t.”

Looking back, however, some believe the whirlwind nature of the romance may have masked deeper problems. 

Rodgers’ Engagement May Have Become A Solution To Problems Already Brewing

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One of the more revealing claims from insiders isn’t about how the relationship ended; it’s about what happened before the ending.

According to a source, the engagement itself may have represented an attempt to hold the relationship together rather than a natural next step. 

While engagements are often viewed as the ultimate sign of confidence, those close to the couple now suggest the decision may have been driven by a hope that commitment would solve existing issues.

“[Rodgers] thought that because they got into the relationship fast, that getting engaged was going to save the relationship; it did the complete opposite,” one source stated.

The insider alleged that tensions were already becoming difficult to ignore. “They couldn’t handle the cracks of their relationship as they just got on each other’s nerves,” the source said.

Complicating matters further was the timing. Much of their romance unfolded during the COVID era, a period that disrupted routines, relationships, and expectations worldwide.

According to the insider, “It was around COVID, so everything wasn’t normal in the first place, so it became his way or the highway, and she didn’t know how to handle it.”

The source’s final assessment was brief but telling, revealing “It was a bad breakup.”

What has surprised many observers is not that the relationship failed, but that it has suddenly resurfaced years later.

The renewed attention stems from a series of startling claims Rodgers made last week while appearing on the “Not Just Football With Cam Heyward” podcast. 

The NFL star alleged that shortly after proposing, the actress told him she needed to “go f*ck another man.”

Rodgers also claimed that despite attempts to work through their issues, Woodley eventually made it clear that she no longer wanted a future together, saying she simply “didn’t want to be with him.”

According to insiders, Woodley had little interest in revisiting a chapter she has largely left behind. That is why Rodgers’ decision to discuss the relationship publicly reportedly landed so poorly within her circle.

An insider noted that Woodley saw Rodgers’ latest comments as a “gaslighting mind game” and had no desire to participate in a public back-and-forth about a relationship that ended years ago.

“It’s so unfair of him to talk about her that way, but she is not surprised as he is a loose cannon who mouths off whenever he wants,” the source said.

More From The Blast

Woodley’s Silent Reaction Speaks Volumes After Rodgers’ Claims

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If Aaron Rodgers’ comments were intended to start a conversation, Woodley made it clear she had no interest in joining it.

The 34-year-old found herself facing questions about her ex-fiancé’s bombshell podcast appearance on Sunday night while arriving at a pre-Emmys fundraiser in West Hollywood. 

As TMZ revealed, a reporter called out, “Any comment about Aaron Rodgers?” Instead of offering a statement, Woodley stopped, turned toward the reporter, and laughed before continuing on her way.

Her reaction, or lack of one, became especially notable because she had just come off a career high. 

The movie star recently earned her first Emmy for Hulu’s “Paradise” and arrived at the fundraiser amid celebrations surrounding that achievement. 

Aaron Rodgers Turns His Attention To Former Packers Teammates

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While much of the attention centered on Rodgers’ comments about Woodley, the quarterback’s podcast appearance wasn’t limited to former romances.

He also used the interview to revisit old grievances involving two former Green Bay Packers teammates. Though he did not initially identify them by name, the comments were widely understood to be directed at Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley, both of whom have publicly criticized him in the past. 

“I had two teammates who spoke out about me years ago, out of everyone I ever played with who said they didn’t have a good experience with me,” Rodgers said. 

He then delivered his harshest assessment yet of the pair, explaining, “One was bitter because he went to another team and never became a player again. The other just wasn’t a smart person.” 

Rodgers said the criticism from one former teammate hurt more because of how much effort he had put into helping him succeed.

The Steelers quarterback then suggested that both former teammates only become relevant when discussing him.

In his words, “Both of them, no one cares about what they have to say, which is for most people at this point in my life. No one cares what they have to say until they use my name.”

So far, the 2020s have seen the release of several absolutely exceptional science fiction movies. This is a genre that, since the very birth of cinema as a storytelling medium, has been delivering banger after banger every single decade—and what a time to be alive as a sci-fi fan this is, because the last six years have given us several movies bound to be remembered as some of the genre’s biggest classics a few decades from now.

Whether it’s a superhero blockbuster like Superman or an award-winning independent extravaganza like Everything Everywhere All At Once, the best sci-fi films of the 2020s so far are all incredibly creative, incredibly entertaining, and perfectly-understanding of everything that has made fans of this genre tick for decades.

10

‘Superman’ (2025)

For years, DC had been lagging behind Marvel in their efforts to craft a cinematic universe as successful as the MCU. Now, it has become James Gunn and Peter Safran‘s responsibility to catch up. And Superman being the franchise’s first-ever feature film, the future is already looking bright for this incredibly exciting superhero blockbuster franchise.

Some genre purists are generally against considering comic book and superhero movies as true sci-fi films, but the elements are all there for Superman to be counted as one, from space travel to high-tech elements. Furthermore, it’s far and away one of the best superhero movies released since 2010, an immensely entertaining and technically admirable adventure that all fans of the titular character should find perfectly satisfying.

9

‘The Mitchells vs. the Machines’ (2021)

Image via Netflix

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Kids and families deserve great sci-fi movies, too; and thankfully, the 2020s have thus far offered many great animated sci-fi spectacles for the little ones of the family to enjoy. Case in point: Netflix’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines, easily one of the best animated movies of the last six years. Full of vibrant energy and with some consistently jaw-dropping animation, it really is a must-see for all those who love modern animated films.

Mitchells is one of the most near-perfect sci-fi movies of the last six years, as well as one of this decade’s best family flicks. With an absurdist sense of humor that should be able to get anyone to cackle regardless of their age, a star-studded voice cast, a deeply emotional story about the beauty of the chaos of family and growing up, and some comments on AI that have aged all too well, it’s one of Netflix’s most memorable animated movies to date.

8

‘The Wild Robot’ (2024)

Image via DreamWorks Animation

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Further evidence that families and kids who love science fiction have had the material to have the time of their lives throughout the last six years, The Wild Robot is proof that when they put their minds to it, DreamWorks Animation are still perfectly capable of delivering future animated classics. Based on the 2016 children’s novel by Peter Brown, this is one of the studio’s best works to date.

Wild Robot is also one of the best family movies released since 2010, a beautiful love letter to motherhood, the beauties of connection, and the importance of loving and respecting nature. Colorful and perfectly paced for all the kiddos to enjoy, but also surprisingly mature and thoughtful so that adults can’t take their eyes off of the screen either, it’s a testament to how incredible animated cinema has been throughout the 2020s.

7

‘Palm Springs’ (2020)

Image via Hulu

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While it definitely isn’t what it used to be, the romantic comedy genre is most definitely not dead in the 2020s, and there are plenty of great modern rom-coms to prove that. Case in point: Palm Springs, one of the best, sweetest, and funniest films to have come out during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Anchored by stars Andy Sambers and Cristin Millioti at their very best, it’s a Groundhog Day-style timeloop film unlike anything else the subgenre has ever delivered.

Indeed, Palm Springs wears its influences on its sleeve, but the variety of uniquely charming things it does with its premise feels like entirely its own. Its romantic elements are indeed quite beautiful, its comedy elements are indeed absolutely hilarious, and the way it employs sci-fi elements to tell its story about existential dread and the importance of human connection in breaking out of it is phenomenal.

6

‘Godzilla Minus One’ (2023)

Image via Toho

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The Godzilla franchise has come an undeniably long way since its 1950s days, but with Godzilla Minus One, the series has returned to its thematic roots of nuclear paranoia, critiques of government incompetence, and celebration of the importance of community. Add to that a riveting study of the nature of heroism, and you get one of the most thematically complex kaiju movies to date.

But on top of being intellectually strong, Godzilla Minus One is also arguably the most entertaining Godzilla film since the 1954 original. The writing is exceptional, the production values are surprisingly solid considering the movie’s relatively modest budget, and the titular cinematic icon is used in absolutely perfect ways. All in all, this is undoubtedly one of the best sci-fi movies of the last six years.

5

‘Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie’ (2025)

Image via NEON

Few 21st-century sci-fi movies are truly perfect, and it’s ridiculously admirable that one of those films is a small-budget time travel comedy made by two guys with nothing but a dream, an RV, and a downright-perfect understanding of copyright laws and fair use practices. Matt Johnson‘s Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, starring him and Jay McCarrol, is a legacy sequel to a show that was itself a legacy sequel to Johnson and McCarrol’s 2007 web series, and the last 26 years have thus far seen very few movies that are funnier.

Part homage to time travel cinema as a whole and part hilarious parody of Back to the Future, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is Canadian filmmaking at its most audacious. Full of elaborate guerrilla-filmmaking-style gags and clever man-on-the-street moments that should be enough to have anyone questioning how the hell they got away with any of that, it’s a must-see underappreciated gem that’s bound to go down in history as a timeless comedy cult classic.

4

‘Project Hail Mary’ (2026)

Image via Amazon MGM

Andy Weir is one of today’s bona fide masters of hard science fiction literature, and as such, it’s no surprise that his Project Hail Mary is one of the best sci-fi books of the 2020s so far. It was no surprise, either, that a movie adaptation didn’t take long to materialize; nor was it a surprise that it ended up being one of the best hard sci-fi films of the entire 21st century so far.

Indeed, Project Hail Mary is an absolute blast of a blockbuster, a love letter to old-school sci-fi filmmaking full of stunning visuals, exceptional performances, emotional story beats, and unforgettable set pieces. With a perfect balance between scientific rigor to keep hard sci-fi fans happy, and a focus on emotional character work to satisfy those who aren’t necessarily sci-fi veterans, it really is one of the genre’s biggest must-see films from the last six years.

3

‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ (2023)

Imge via Sony Pictures Animation

Not only is Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse arguably the best animated film from the 2020s so far: It’s one of the greatest films of the last six years, period. It is, after all, the highest-rated movie of the decade on both Letterboxd and IMDb, and it will take something truly special to overtake it. Expectations were sky-high after the incredible movie that was Into the Spider-Verse, and it’s truly commendable that Across the Spider-Verse somehow managed to exceed them all.

For one, this may very well be the single most visually stunning Hollywood blockbuster of the century, full of some of the most staggeringly detailed, colorful, and intricate animation the big screen has ever seen. Add to that an impeccably-written story that studies the Spider-Man mythos as a whole, an exceptional score by Daniel Pemberton, and relentlessly fun pacing that makes the movie’s 140-minute runtime fly right by in a flash, and you get a masterpiece for the ages.

2

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ (2022)

Image via A24

Many great science fantasy movies have come out since 2020, none of them better than Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert‘s Everything Everywhere All At Once. Every year sees at least a few indie hits come out of nowhere and take the world by storm throughout awards season, but rarely had cinephiles seen a success story quite like that of the seven-Academy-Awards-winner Everything Everywhere.

Like all of history’s best science fantasy flicks, this one is a genre-blending delight that also throws in elements of absurdist comedy, existentialist drama, and middle-age romance. That chaos works wonderfully, the Daniels’ perfectly-calculated direction allowing the film to feel like one of the most exquisitely over-the-top sci-fi action films of the last few years rather than a pure genre mess.

1

‘Dune: Part Two’ (2024)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

As exceptional as Denis Villeneuve‘s Dune from 2021 was, there is virtually no denying that Dune: Part Two is by far one of the best movie sequels of the 2020s so far. Already one of the most beloved sci-fi movies of the 21st century, this adaptation of the second half of Frank Herbert‘s eponymous literary juggernaut is somewhat akin to this generation’s The Empire Strikes Back.

Dark in tone yet incredibly entertaining, epic in scale but deeply intimate and character-driven in scope, and populated with some of the most striking sci-fi set pieces the big screen has seen in many years, this action-adventure epic is a must-see even for those unfamiliar with the source material. Exciting, visually stunning, bolstered by Hans Zimmer‘s amazing score, and elevated by Villeneuve’s downright-faultless direction, it really is the best sci-fi film of the 2020s so far. It will take something huge to top it.

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Dune: Part Two

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Release Date

February 27, 2024

Runtime

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167 minutes

Director

Denis Villeneuve

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Writers

Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, Frank Herbert

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Note: This article contains spoilers for the final season of My Hero Academia.Since the release of My Hero Academia, it’s become one of the most popular anime out there. It’s taken over Western culture, and a huge reason for that is because of how absolutely awesome the fight sequences can get. The animation from Studio Bones is typically really well done and has resulted in some of the best-looking anime action scenes in the last few years.

Not only do the visuals of My Hero Academia aid the fight scenes’ quality, but the emotional and story stakes within them as well. Because if there’s anything about the series that people truly fall in love with, it’s the characters and how well they’re written. Everyone has their favorite member from Class 1-A, and each member of Class 1-A has an incredible fight under their belt.

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Deku vs. Muscular: Round 2

Image via Studio Bones

The first Deku (Daiki Yamashita and Justin Briner) vs. Muscular (Kosuke Takaguchi and Jim Foronda) fight is one for the books (more on that later), so when the two of them get to have a bit of a rematch in the latter half of the series—My Hero Academia Season 6, Episode 19, “Full Power!” in particular—fans were quite excited. With how much of a struggle Deku faced last time they battled, the contrast between the past and present was absurd.

What better way to power scale this more experienced Deku than to put him up against one of his toughest foes of all time… and have him absolutely wipe the floor with him? No joke, the young hero takes down Muscular in borderline one hit. It’s a short fight, but an incredible one. It truly shows how far he’s come since the beginning of the show and sets the stage for how strong Deku is going to be moving forward—and power-scales how tough his upcoming villains are, too.

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Deku and All Might vs. Wolfram

Image via Studio Bones

Something so special about the My Hero Academia movies is how much effort is placed into making them true spectacles that live up to, and sometimes even surpass, that of the main series. One of the hallmark examples of this is the fight of Deku and All Might (Kenta Miyake and Christopher Sabat) vs. Wolfram (Rikiya Koyama and Keith Silverstein) at the end of My Hero Academia: Two Heroes.

Up until this point in the series, no one really got to see the previous wielder of One For All and the current one actually team up. The final fight of My Hero Academia: Two Heroes rectifies that. Seeing the two heroes (pun intended) go up against such a gargantuan villain is a visual marvel, especially because of how well it is animated.

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Armored All Might vs. All For One

Image via Studio Bones

After All Might lost his powers in his previous fight with All For One (Akio Otsuka and John Swasey), everyone thought that he was out of the game when it came to action. So, audiences were surprised in the best way when he decided to take on All For One for one last battle, using Hercules to armor up and become Armored All Might. Of course, All For One could not pass up this opportunity.

For a good portion of the battle, All Might actually serves All For One quite a beating, lowering his age (which was depleting from energy spent). However, even with the eventual help of Stain (Go Inoue and Robert McCollum), he eventually gets his butt handed to him and almost dies at the hands of his former nemesis. Regardless, though, seeing these two arch-nemeses face off one last time is a special treat.

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Deku vs. Lady Nagant

Image via Crunchyroll

It’s safe to say that fans and critics loved My Hero Academia‘s Dark Hero Arc. To get to see Deku go off on his own and down a pretty dark path was unique and thrilling. Especially with how great that costume looked. But the standout moment of the Dark Hero Arc was his breathtaking fight against Lady Nagant (Atsumi Tanezaki and Erica Lindbeck).

Not only was this the debut of another great character with a unique quirk, but it was another moment in which Deku got to show off just how absurdly powerful he was becoming at the time. Combining one of his new quirks, Fa Jin, with One For All at 45%, Deku traveled at speeds he’d never gone at before to save Kai Chisaki (Kenjiro Tsuda and Kellen Goff). Aside from this, it was the first time Deku had actually been truly challenged during this arc.

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Overlay Deku vs. Shigaraki

Image via Studio Bones

Overlay Deku—unofficially known by fans as “Carnage Deku”—is one of Deku’s cooler and scarier forms in the series. Calling back to his vigilante era not too long ago, the young man has to take on this scarier form not to instill fear in Shigaraki, because he knows he can’t, but to force his body to move via Blackwhip. Due to how broken his body is at the time of the fight, he literally had to puppet his own body by wrapping himself in Blackwhip, which creates this terrifying new look.

What makes this fight interesting is not only the fact that Izuku has to do this, but also that, at this point, he’s lost his Danger Sense quirk, meaning he doesn’t have his little “Spidey Sense”-like power to warn him of danger, with Shigaraki now having it. This forces Izuku to use his smarts (something he’s always been best at) to work around the warning-based power that his enemy now holds. He’s also got a very unique goal in this battle, which is to transfer One For All to him to take his enemy out from the inside.

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Deku vs. Overhaul

Image via Studio Bones

The conclusion to the Shie Hassaikai Arc in My Hero Academia Season 4 was the first time fans truly got to see Deku use One For All at a controlled 100%. That is, of course, thanks to the help of Eri (Seiran Kobayashi) and her Rewind quirk. After Lemillion (Tarusuke Shingaki) gave his everything to keep Eri out of Overhaul’s hands, it was up to Deku to reach out to her and give her one last chance to escape the evildoer’s clutches.

But it’s after this emotional moment that things get serious. Deku finally gets to go all-out to face a newly upgraded Overhaul and puts on a display of power unlike anything viewers had seen before this moment in the show. With the young hero’s potential fully unlocked, Overhaul comes to regret all he did to young Eri.

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Deku, Shoto Todoroki, and Tenya Iida vs. Stain

Image via Crunchyroll

There is no villain in the anime series like Stain, the Hero Killer. When the young and vengeful hero, Tenya Iida (Kaito Ishikawa and J. Michael Tatum), seeks to take down the serial killer who put his brother in the hospital, he needs saving from classmates Deku and Shoto Todoroki (Yuki Kaji and David Matranga). This incites a three-on-one fight between the young heroes and this blood-licking villain, which ended up being one of the best team-up fights in the series.

The fight served as a big moment for most of the characters here, too. Deku had just learned to truly control his powers (thanks to Gran Torino (Kenichi Ogata and Charles Campbell), Iida learns a lesson on heroism that changes how he makes decisions for the rest of the show, Todoroki begins to finally use his flames out in the field, and Stain shows that he approves of Deku by saving him from a Nomu.

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Shoto Todoroki vs. Dabi

Image via Studio Bones

The Final War Arc easily has the greatest fight match-ups in the entire show. Everyone gets paired with characters that perfectly suit them or the character arc they’re in the midst of. Todoroki gets one of the best of the arc when he’s set up to face his long-lost brother, Toya Todoroki (Hiro Shimono and Ernesto Jason Liebrecht), aka Dabi. It’s the debut of Todoroki’s new ultimate move, Flashfire Fist: Phosphor. An ability that allows the cold and hot factors of his Half-Cold Half-Hot quirk into one ability.

This new way to regulate his body temperature sets off what is considered a “cold fire”, which both burns and freezes his enemies at once. The fight seems to end with Todoroki besting his brother after an intense battle of cold and hot. What proceeds, though, is Dabi making an escape after copying the Phosphor ability for himself, giving him a chilling new look.

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Bakugo vs. Shigaraki

Image via Studio Bones

Before Katsuki Bakugo’s (Nobuhiko Okamoto and Clifford Chapin) heartbreaking death in Season 7, he actually had one of the coolest moments in the series as he had what the canon considers a “Quirk Awakening,” in which a hero upgrades their quirk via intense and near-death means. When this brash and hard-headed hero does so, he shows off his excellent battle sense by analyzing Shigaraki’s (Koki Uchiyama and Eric Vale) patterns in battle and using that knowledge to outpace him and predict his movements.

Bakugo gives one of the most surprising beat-downs in the entire season, dodging the villain at every move, and reaching a speed unlike anything people had seen him accomplish prior. He whoops Shiggy’s butt all across The Coffin in the Sky (a soon-to-be ironic name), and gives one of the most moving quotes in the series, “Hey Izuku, can I still catch up to you?” before his own heart explodes from the exertion.

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Deku vs. Shoto Todoroki

Image via Crunchyroll

One of the most popular fights in the entire series takes place while the students of U.A. High go head-to-head tournament-style. Deku and Todoroki face each other, and the moment that is born within the fight is one of, if not the most, popular scenes of the entire series. The standoff between the two young aspiring heroes features the green-haired student pushing his peer to move past his mental limits and dissociate the fire side of his quirk from his father, Endeavor (Tetsu Inada and Patrick Seitz).

He continues to pester Todoroki, saying he’s not giving the fight his all and not trying harder. This culminates in one of the best and most famous quotes from the show, where Deku screams (one of the best My Hero Academia quotes), “It’s yours! Your quirk! Not his!” The moment that follows, of the flames finally emerging from Todoroki, is chill-inducing and forces a smile onto anyone watching.

Woody Allen is preparing to return to the big screen with another film project, and the veteran filmmaker is already putting together an intriguing cast.

The cast members named for the project are Jemima Jo Kirke and Alexi Wasser, while others remain under wraps for now.

Plot details have yet to be revealed, though the movie is a low-budget production with a $14 million budget.

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Controversial director Woody Allen has a movie on the way, and reports have now revealed some of the cast members.

Jemima Jo Kirke, a British-American artist best known as Jessa in the HBO series “Girls,” is reportedly among them. Also named is Alexi Wasser, best known for the 2024 movie “Messy.”

Neither actress has confirmed her involvement in the movie, although that isn’t surprising given Allen’s current status in the industry.

Other details include that it will be “largely English-language,” although it is set to be filmed in Madrid on a $14 million budget.

Allen’s New Film May Have Madrid Government Backing

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Part of the funding appears to have come from the Madrid Regional Government, which is looking to promote tourism.

“The shooting of a film in a territory can mean enormous growth in popularity, international image and tourist attraction, and when it shows scenes or locations clearly representative or identifiable with a territory, making it almost a protagonist in the story, it strengthens its recognition and fixes it in the viewer’s memory,” read a statement in the contract reportedly given to the director.

As part of the contract, the film is also obliged to feature the word “Madrid” in its title. It is also expected to be shot around identifiable locations within the city, although those exact places have not been confirmed.

Woody Allen Once Called Raising Money For Movies “A Pain In The Neck”

Woody Allen’s last movie before this upcoming project was Coup de Chance, a 2023 erotic thriller filmed in France and featuring French-speaking actors.

Prior to that, he directed “Rifkin’s Festival” in 2020 and “A Rainy Day in New York” in 2019.

As for why the director doesn’t seem to have many projects on his plate, he said in an interview that raising money for a film was “a pain in the neck.”

“But if someone shows up and calls in and says we want to back the film, then I would seriously consider it. I would probably not have the willpower to say no, because I have so many ideas,” he added at the time.

The Veteran Filmmaker Says He Doesn’t Care About Being Canceled

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A release date for Allen’s new movie will likely be announced later, but its critical reception remains unclear.

For years, controversy has followed the director because of allegations surrounding his personal life. This includes claims from his then-partner, Mia Farrow, who accused him of sexually abusing their adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, when she was seven. Allen has consistently denied the allegation. No criminal charges were brought against him.

Regardless, the director’s career has seemingly declined over the years amid the backlash, although he appears not to care.

“Someone asked me about cancel culture, and I said, ‘If you’re going to be canceled, this is the culture that you want to be canceled from.’ Because who wants to be part of this culture,” he said in the interview.

Fans Call For Anyone In Woody Allen’s New Movie To Be Blacklisted

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Meanwhile, fans have called for whoever stars in the upcoming movie to be blacklisted from Hollywood.

“Every cast member should be shunned. I don’t care if it’s my favorite artist; if they decide to do a movie involving this pedophile, they don’t deserve anything,” one user said.

“Anyone who stars in this should immediately be blacklisted, except it turns out pedophiles are in charge,” another individual commented.

“So many talented upcoming filmmakers out there that could have been funded instead of this pedophile,” one more wrote.

Crime dramas certainly have their fair share of dysfunctional families, but this lot have taken it to another level, because after a season that had enough betrayals, murders, shifting alliances, and family disagreements to make Christmas dinner somewhat difficult, Tom Hardy (Venom) is heading back into London’s criminal underworld — and this time, we already know his story isn’t ending anytime soon.

Hardy’s MobLand officially returns this week, with Season 2 premiering globally on Paramount+ on Friday, September 18. The cast is led by Hardy as Harry Da Souza alongside Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye) as Conrad Harrigan, Helen Mirren (1923) as Maeve Harrigan, Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon) as Kevin Harrigan, Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey) as Jan Da Souza, Lara Pulver (Sherlock) as Bella Harrigan, Anson Boon (Pistol) as Eddie Harrigan, and Mandeep Dhillon (After Life) as Seraphina Harrigan.

Was Tom Hardy Fired From ‘MobLand’?

Earlier in the year, there were reports that Hardy had been dismissed from the series following clashes with showrunner Jez Butterworth, and repeated tardiness. Speaking at the London premiere of MobLand Season 2, Brosnan dismissed the controversy surrounding his co-star as a “storm in a teacup” and adding that nothing that went on had affected the cast or their ability to work together:

“Oh my God, it was a storm in a teacup, really. I love the dude. I love Tom Hardy. I’m a massive fan of the man’s work. Truly. We are rock solid as a company, as a family. Everyone shows up for work, and everybody’s just there on the spot. It moves very fast so it’s not like we go out and socialise and go to the pub or anything like that.”

Hardy added that he was lucky to work with actors the calibre of Mirren and Brosnan, and that he was looking forward to doing it more.

“In many aspects, of course, I look up to them. Coming up, these are actors that came before me. So to be able to work with them is a privilege, but also to be able to enjoy them, watching them spread their wings with their range now as well, and play against their type in some aspects, and really enjoy that is a beautiful thing to watch as a human being.”

MobLand Season 2 premieres September 18 exclusively on Paramount+, with new episodes arriving every Friday.

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Release Date

March 30, 2025

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Paramount+

Directors

Daniel Syrkin

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  Pierce Brosnan

  Conrad Harrigan

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Stranger Things was the definition of a cultural phenomenon for a decade as it evolved from a niche Netflix hit into one of the biggest television shows of all time. And of course, that would mean that Netflix isn’t just going to let the golden goose slip back into the upside down. The franchise has found a clever way around saying goodbye to Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will, and Max, and all of them are returning this week.

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Season 2 is arriving exclusively on Netflix on September 17. The series returns less than five months after its first 10-episode season premiered in April, making this one of the shortest waits between seasons the franchise has ever delivered. And that’s something we never thought we’d say about Stranger Things.

The second season takes place in the winter of 1985, with Hawkins covered in snow and the Upside Down finally in the rear view mirror. Right? Our heroes have settled back into a normal life of D&D, snowball fights, and quiet days but, wouldn’t you know it, beneath the ice, something else has awoken. Setting it around this time allows Netflix to continue filling the gap between Seasons 2 and 3 of the original series when the gang thought the gate to the Upside Down was closed, and Hawkins was returning to what constitutes normality. Naturally, Hawkins has never been particularly good at normal.

Who Stars in ‘Stranger Things: Tales From ’85’?

Tales From ’85 features a new voice cast. Brooklyn Davey Norstedt voices Eleven, Luca Diaz plays Mike, Benjamin Plessala voices Will, Braxton Quinney plays Dustin, Elisha “EJ” Williams voices Lucas, Jolie Hoang-Rappaport (In Your Dreams) plays Max, Odessa A’zion (Hellraiser) as Nikki Baxter and Jeremy Jordan (Supergirl) as Steve Harrington. The cast also includes Janeane Garofalo, Lou Diamond Phillips, Brett Gipson, Alysia Reiner, and Robert Englund, while it comes from showrunner Eric Robles (Glitch Techs), with original Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer serving as executive producers alongside Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen.

Moving to animation also allows the series to push those supernatural threats beyond what would have been practical in the live-action series. The show’s creator Ross Duffer has previously explained that, with this genre, there are effectively “no limits” to what Robles and his animation team can create.

Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 Season 2 premieres September 17 exclusively on Netflix.

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April 23, 2026

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Eric Robles

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Phil Allora, JJ Conway, Ben Choi

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ChatGPT, Dan Milano, Ray Utarnachitt, Jennifer Muro, Chad Quandt, Chris Wyatt, Kevin Burke, Jen Bardekoff, Joshua Pruett

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  Brooklyn Davey Norstedt

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  Jolie Hoang-Rappaport

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Russell Crowe is making it clear that a paycheck alone is not enough to get him out of bed for a movie.

The actor shared his outlook at the Venice Film Festival, where he debuted his documentary, “What Love Builds,” a project he had spent 15 years developing.

The Oscar-winning actor said he felt sorry for performers who took roles without believing in the material. He also admitted that he had “mismanaged” his relationship with Hollywood to his own benefit.

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By any standard, Crowe can count himself among Hollywood’s most successful actors, given the many awards he has received over the years.

To get here, Crowe has followed his own path, including looking beyond the paycheck when choosing a movie.

“I feel very sorry for actors who make decisions to go on film sets where they [are] not believing in the subject matter that they’re working on, the character they’re working on,” Crowe said.

“When I have to get up at 4:30 a.m. to go to a film set, I absolutely need to know why I’m getting up at 4:30 a.m.,” he said.

According to Crowe, an actor needed a “fundamental love” for the work to find that motivation, and he credited that approach with his longevity in the industry.

Russell Crowe Says His ‘Mismanaged’ Hollywood Relationship Works For Him

Speaking further about his approach to projects, Crowe acknowledged that it did not follow the industry’s conventional path.

“I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I’ve mismanaged my relationship with Hollywood. But always to my benefit,” he shared.

He also made it clear that his success had not changed what motivated him.

“It’s taken a long time actually for people to realize that I’m not American, because in that first flush of success, people just made a huge assumption,” he said. “I’m not driven by the same things that people who come necessarily from that culture are driven by.”

The Acclaimed Actor Reveals The Personal Question Behind What Love Builds

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As for his documentary, Crowe revealed why he chose to create the project while speaking at a press conference.

“My intention was to answer the question I probably get asked most, and that is to define the difference between music and acting. The film attempts to explain that the two things are completely intertwined for me,” he said.

The documentary explores Crowe’s love of music and how he has balanced his passion for performing with his successful acting career. It also follows his band’s recent European tour and features footage from previous performances across the U.S., U.K., and Australia.

Crowe Beams As Venice Audience Applauds His Documentary

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After the screening, viewers gave Crowe a rousing round of applause to celebrate his work.

The applause continued as Crowe broke into wide smiles at several points and gestured in gratitude toward the audience.

Clips of the moment were also shared online, capturing the warm reception to his passion project.

Russell Crowe Shares His ‘Euro Dad’ Plan To Spend More Time With His Sons

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While in Venice, Crowe spoke about spending more time with his sons in Europe, calling the idea his “Euro Dad project.”

His comments came after he celebrated his youngest son Tennyson’s 20th birthday on July 7 with a touching tribute.

“20 years ago today, at 7 minutes to 7 a.m., this amazing young man arrived in our lives,” Crowe wrote. “Happy Birthday, Tenny.”

Alongside the tribute, Crowe shared a mirror selfie with Tennyson in which they flexed their muscles. He also included a childhood throwback and a photo from a horseback ride they took together.

Hayao Miyazaki is perhaps Japan’s best-known director of animated films, having made 12 so far in his legendary career. Most agree that his best film is Spirited Away, which was the first foreign film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It focuses on a young girl who winds up in the spirit world while moving to a new home and must survive working at a bathhouse run by an evil witch to save her parents — who were transformed into pigs — and ensure they can all escape.

Spirited Away continues to captivate audiences thanks to its detailed animation, diverse cast of well-rounded characters, and timeless themes regarding growing up, identity, resilience, and selflessness. Fortunately, many other films, both animated and live-action, tell similar stories and transport audiences into worlds bursting with creative visuals and wonder. This list will discuss the best movies to watch for fans of Spirited Away; they might not be as excellent as Miyazaki’s masterpiece, but they are perfect companions for it. These movies like Spirited Away are essential for Ghibli fans.

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‘Wolf Children’ (2012)

Image via Toho

Hana (Aoi Miyazaki/Colleen Clinkenbeard) is a young woman who falls in love with a man (Takao Osawa/David Matranga) who can shapeshift between human and wolf forms. They have two children together, Yuki (Momoka Ono and Haru Kuroki/Lara Woodhull and Jad Saxton) and Ame (Amon Kabe and Yukito Nishii/Alison Viktorin and Micah Solusod), but the father is tragically killed while out hunting. As the kids grow older and begin to develop their shifting powers, Hana does what she can to keep them safe and help integrate them into human society.

Wolf Children is a touching story about the difficulties of growing up from both a parent’s and child’s perspectives. Yuki and Ame find themselves at multiple crossroads in life and struggle to choose which path is right for them, while Hana does what she can to support them while coming to terms with the fact that their choices may not reflect her wishes. The result is a deeply moving exploration of love, letting go, and the quiet strength it takes to accept that we can only do our best for the people we care about.

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‘Bridge to Terabithia’ (2007)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Aspiring artist Jess Aarons (Josh Hutcherson) is having a hard time in his adolescence due to financial troubles, school bullies, and an estranged relationship with his father, Jack (Robert Patrick). One day, he befriends his new neighbor, Leslie Burke (AnnaSophia Robb), and the two create a world of their own called Terabithia on the other side of a creek. They use Terabithia to work through the troubles in their lives, but tragedy soon strikes Jess in a way he wasn’t prepared for.

Bridge to Terabithia was co-written by author Katherine Paterson’s son, David L. Peterson, and he made sure the film captured all of the book’s poignant themes. The story is a coming-of-age tale about the loss of childhood innocence, first through Jess trying to find ways to cope with life’s various struggles and then by forcing him to come to terms with death and grief. The visual medium allows the filmmaker to use effects to bring the fantasy world to life, which better demonstrates how the power of imagination and storytelling can help us face the hurdles in our lives.

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‘Alice in Wonderland’ (1951)

Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Bored with her sister’s lessons, Alice (Kathryn Beaumont) imagines a world where there are no rules. Just then, she spots a white rabbit (Bill Thompson) with a waistcoat proclaiming that he is late, and Alice follows him in a fit of curiosity. She falls down his rabbit hole and arrives in Wonderland, a nonsensical land full of such oddities as food that can make you grow or shrink, shapeshifting Cheshire Cats (Sterling Holloway), and an execution-happy queen who commands an army of playing cards.

Alice in Wonderland failed upon release due to suffering from too many cooks in the kitchen behind the scenes, but it has since become one of the most beloved of Disney’s Silver Age films. This status is thanks in large part to its art style, which blends expressive characters animated in bold colors with dark, foreboding backgrounds to create a world that feels both whimsical and off-putting. Alice also serves as a wonderful protagonist thanks to how she reacts to every strange new thing she comes across, and Beaumont’s perfect casting.

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‘Wolfwalkers’ (2020)

Image via Apple TV+

Robyn Goodfellow (Honor Kneafsey) travels to Kilkenny with her father, Bill (Sean Bean), to hunt wolves in the woods on the orders of the authoritarian Lord Protector (Simon McBurney). She is bitten by a young wolf who is really a girl named Mebh (Eva Whittaker), whose spirit can leave her body when she sleeps and transform into a wolf. The bite ends up giving Robyn the same power, which places her relationship with her father, and their safety, in jeopardy.

Wolfwalkers is a fantastic fairy tale story that introduces modern audiences to a more ancient take on werewolves. The film has a gorgeous interpretation of how wolves use smell to see the world, which, combined with the fluid animation and bright colors, creates a great contrast between the freedom of the natural world and the claustrophobic world of civilization. That said, there is still some nuance in the human world; the Lord Protector is an authoritarian figure, but he genuinely sees himself as a righteous defender of civilization, which leads to some interesting character moments.

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‘A Whisker Away’ (2020)

Image via Netflix

Miyo Sasaki (Mirai Shida/Cherami Leigh) is a young girl who has a crush on her classmate, Kento Hinode (Natsuki Hanae/Johnny Yong Bosch), though he publicly declares that he doesn’t like her. One day, a mysterious mask seller (Kōichi Yamadera/Keith Silverstein) gives Miyo a Noh mask that, when worn, transforms her into a white cat. As a cat, Miyo has a positive relationship with Kento, and the contrast to their human relationship, as well as her own difficult home life, causes her to see her cat form as preferable.

A Whisker Away is a fun take on the classic story of using animal transformation as a form of escapism. While Miyo’s cat form allows her to see the world from a different point of view, it also becomes a literal mask to hide her true self, which has the unfortunate effect of stunting her social and personal growth. The second act of the film even gets dark in places, but it still maintains plenty of levity and fun visual gags.

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‘The Last Unicorn’ (1982)

Image via ITV Studios Global Entertainment

After overhearing two hunters talk of the absence of unicorns, and learning that they were driven north by a monstrous Red Bull to the country of King Haggard (Sir Christopher Lee), the last unicorn in the world (Mia Farrow) leaves her forest home to see if she can find the others. She finds that the absence of unicorns has caused the world to lose some of its magic, and most humans see her as nothing more than a regular horse. However, she finds two allies: a bumbling wizard named Schmendrick (Alan Arkin) and a female outlaw named Molly Grue (Tammy Grimes).

The Last Unicorn‘s screenplay was written by the book’s author, Peter S. Beagle, so it sticks close to the plot and captures all of the book’s important themes. Namely, it captures the melancholic tone brought about by discussions about regret, loss, longing, and whether it is better to never know these emotions or not. All of this is beautifully captured through the gorgeous animation by Topcraft, the company whose fall would lead to the rise of Studio Ghibli.

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‘The NeverEnding Story’ (1984)

While evading bullies, Bastian Balthazar Bux (Barret Oliver) slips into a bookstore and makes off with one called The NeverEnding Story. It details a fantasy world called Fantasia, ruled by the Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach), that is slowly being eroded by an abstract force called The Nothing. A hero named Atreyu (Noah Hathaway) is tasked with finding a way to stop it, and the more Bastian reads his story, the more real it starts to feel.

The NeverEnding Story is one of the quintessential fantasy films of the 1980s, thanks to its phenomenal effects and profound themes. The Nothing is not a traditional antagonist: it is an abstract force that represents the death of hope, as seen in how it not only destroys the land but drives optimistic characters like the Rock Biter (Alan Oppenheimer) to despair. Yet the film’s message reminds us of the power of human imagination and creativity, as through it, we can inspire ourselves and others to fill nothingness with something beautiful.

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‘Coraline’ (2009)

Image via Focus Features

Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) and her overworked parents move into the Pink Palace Apartments, inhabited by all sorts of quirky tenants. One day, Coraline travels through a mysterious door in the wall that leads her to an alternate world created by her Other Mother (Teri Hatcher). Everything Coraline could hope for is given to her in this world, but a black cat (Keith David) warns her that not all is as it seems.

Coraline blends dark storytelling with the stylistic character designs of Henry Selick to create one of the darkest family films in recent memory. It uses these terrifying visuals to tell an important story about appreciating what you have and maintaining a healthy level of skepticism, especially when something seems too good to be true. Coraline herself is also a great child protagonist because the filmmakers ensure that she feels like a real kid, prone to moments of anger and cynicism, while still having a good head on her shoulders for getting out of trouble.

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‘The Secret of Kells’ (2009)

Image via Buena Vista International

As Viking raiders plunder Ireland, Abbot Cellach (Brendan Gleeson) of Kells oversees the construction of a massive wall and forbids his nephew, Brendan (Evan McGuire and Michael McGrath), from venturing into the forest. One day, master illuminator Brother Aidan (Mick Lally) arrives in Kells, bringing with him the incomplete Book of Iona, which, when finished, will transform darkness into light. Aidan requests Brendan’s help to finish the book, and in doing so, Brendan discovers the magic of his world and that of the fairies.

Magic is the best way to describe The Secret of Kells. Everything, from its gorgeous art style to its traditional Irish music, evokes feelings of another world, where nothing is entirely as it seems and foreboding darkness creeps in. Yet the film’s message is one of hope, for while the darkness will come eventually, light will always outlast it so long as people fight for it. This approach is captured through Brendan’s story, which sees him grow from a young boy too scared to venture into the woods to someone willing to defy his uncle and face down dark gods because he knows his work is worth completing.

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‘Song of the Sea’ (2014)

Image via GKIDS

Ben (James Ó Floinn/David Rawle) lives in a lighthouse with his father, Conor (Brendan Gleeson), and his mute sister Saoirse, whom Ben blames for the disappearance of their mother. One day, Saoirse discovers a seal skin coat, which makes her a Selkie, but the kids are taken to Dublin by their grandmother, and Conor throws the coat into the sea. When the siblings sneak away from their grandmother, they learn that Saoirse is destined to lead the fae folk back to their realm of Tír na nÓg, but only if she can reclaim her coat and voice.

Song of the Sea is one of the greatest examples of Ireland’s animated films and their ability to adapt classic mythology into timeless stories. Grief is at the forefront of this story, be it Ben’s resentment towards Saoirse, Conor’s broken emotional state, or the witch Macha (Fionnula Flanagan), who turns people to stone to shield them from sorrow. As Ben and Saoirse go on their adventure, he learns that the only way to heal from grief is not to bury it or lash out at others but to face it and find acceptance.