It’s a blockbuster week with not one, but two new releases from beloved yet divisive filmmakers hitting the big (and small) screen. The first is M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap starring Josh Hartnett as a serial killer who is trapped at a concert that the cops are using to try to bring him in. We have a review of that as well as Zack Snyder’s massive director’s cut of his sci-fi epic Rebel Moon, now streaming on Netflix. Whether you’re heading out to the theaters or having a night in, we’ve got reviews of all you can see, ranked by what we thought of them.

5 Rebel Moon – Director’s Cut
Directed by Zack Snyder
Image via Netflix

In life, there are only three guarantees: death, taxes, and a new director’s cut from filmmaker Zack Snyder. Rebel Moon is his latest and most expansive yet, taking us back into his sci-fi world for a journey that now runs for a whopping nearly two more hours than the original cut. But does this offer anything more or is it just a retread? In my two for one review of both chapters, I wrote that “it’s less a director’s cut that offers anything worth revisiting, and more Snyder’s glorified rearranging of deck chairs on the Titanic” where “you might see a new piece of furniture as it sinks down, but it only descends all the faster from the dead weight.”

REVIEW Rebel Moon – Director’s Cut Zack Snyder’s Director’s Cut of Rebel Moon not only adds nothing new, but it ends up being worse than the original cut.ProsThe ending song is nice if you imagine it as being a farewell to this sad attempt at a sci-fi epic so that it can be finally over. ConsAny addition the film makes either feels lifted from a far better work or just drags down the experience with dead weight.The action choreography, no matter how much CGI blood gets thrown in, is still lackluster.Rather than expanding or deepening the film, it all just sinks that much faster with nothing worth revisiting it for.

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4 Trap
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Image via Warner Bros.

There are a handful of directors out there whose movies become events that get the world talking. M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap is already proving to be one such film. It has people discussing what exactly this wild ride even is going for and where it ranks in his filmography. Is it like The Sixth Sense or more a The Happening situation? In his review, Senior Film Editor Ross Bonaime praised Hartnett though wrote “at this point in his career, Shyamalan’s biggest twist is his inability to utilize the tools that once made him such a promising filmmaker.”

REVIEW Trap Trap is another promising thriller from M. Night Shyamalan, but his filmmaking choices simply can’t do this conceit justice.ProsJosh Hartnett is having a ball playing a loving father who also happens to be a serial killer.A shift in the story shows Shyamalan’s strengths as a filmmaker. ConsBut there’s too many silly choices and awkward script moments that bring this story down.Shyamalan just can’t build tension the way a story like this truly needs.

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3 Kneecap
Directed by Rich Peppiatt
Image via Sundance

Next is Kneecap, featuring Michael Fassbender as an Irish rap daddy, which made a splash at Sundance as festival-goers fell in love with the real-life rap group fighting for their heritage through music. While its heart is in the right place and it has plenty of flair, this mostly okay film is not ever quite as inventive and fun as it’s central subjects. In my more mixed review from back at the festival, I wrote that “at the very least, it’s a film that isn’t afraid to bare its ass to ensure its message about music and the language that makes it gets heard.”

REVIEW Kneecap Kneecap may not be the most inventive of musical biopics, but it does a solid job of creating a profile of the Irish rap group that became part of something bigger than themselves.ProsRather than always be bound by what may have literally happened, the film embraces the more heightened sense of what the past can feel like when you’re looking back on it.The film succeeds at capturing the main trio of musicians as they are, without any of their rougher edges feeling like they have been sanded down. ConsMichael Fassbender sticks out as a stiff attempt at bringing in a big-name actor when the main characters feel much more organic.The film’s rhythm often falls into being more rote than riotous with conventional plotting that is more standard than spectacular.

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2 The Vourdalak
Directed by Adrien Beau
Image via Oscilloscope Laboratories

No Nosferatu yet got you down? Don’t you fret, there is already a great vampire movie this year in Adrien Beau’s feature debut The Vourdalak. It’s not only the perfect film to hold you over until Robert Eggers’ latest, but it’s a really fun time all on its own that also looks absolutely beautiful. In my review, I wrote “it goes to some delightfully dark places that all look great in the eye of David Chizallet who shoots in 16mm to menacing and magical effect.”

REVIEW The Vourdalak The Vourdalak is a gem of a feature debut from Adrien Beau that presents a visceral and vibrant vision of a vampire unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.ProsThe film is fascinating in so many ways, from the design of the vampire to the tonal swings, proving to be a work that feels like it’s flown under the radar.David Chizallet’s beautiful cinematography creates a menacing and magical effect, sweeping you up in the experience.The ending brings with it a surprising emotional impact, sending you into freefall just as it lands one last zinger.

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1 Janet Planet
Directed by Annie Baker
Image via Janet Planet

Annie Baker’s spectacular debut Janet Planet is not just one of the year’s best, but it also has some of the most quietly flooring performances you could see in a lifetime. Following a mother and daughter over the course of a summer, as you pass through the film’s mesmerizing and breathtaking orbit, you’ll come away forever changed just as you too must drift away. In my rave review, I wrote “it proves to be as emotionally vast as the universe itself just as it burrows down into those living a simple life in their small corner of the world.”

REVIEW Janet Planet (2024) Janet Planet is spectacular feature debut from writer-director Annie Baker with great performances by Zoe Ziegler and Julianne Nicholson that’s one of the best films of 2024 so far.ProsThe film finds an understated beauty in its small corner of the world, delicately exploring the relationship between a mother and daughter.Janet Planet explores life’s most pressing questions about how we can become set down certain paths and whether we can find a way free of them.Julianne Nicholson inhabits this world so naturally, it feels like you’re just peeking in on Janet’s life.The film ends with a fitting coda, cementing it as an evocative and essential work.

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