Nothing's better than spending the weekend holed up in a movie theater, devouring the latest big-screen debuts. But how do you choose what to see? Well, that's where we come in.
Obviously, there will be certain movies throughout the year that feel like must-sees just because everyone is talking about them. (Have you seen Batman v Superman yet? What about Captain America: Civil War? You have to witness at least one superhero fight this year.) But if you want to be a more discerning cinephile, you can visit this cheat sheet. Here we'll give you the lowdown on new releases — and the critics' verdicts on them. Then you'll be able to determine which one is right for you.
This post will be continually updated, so don't forget to check back!
Captain America: Civil War
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer:92%
Synopsis: Cap goes up against Iron Man.
What's The Word: If you're a Marvel fan, you'll love it. Time 's Stephanie Zacharek said that it's "blessedly light on its superhero-booted feet." At Variety, Justin Chang noted that it's the "most mature and substantive picture to have yet emerged from the Marvel Cinematic Universe." A.O. Scott of The New York Times wasn't quite so sold. He called it "very crowded" and "reasonably enjoyable."
A Bigger Splash
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Dakota Johnson
Rated: R
Tomatometer:89%
Synopsis: Tilda's a rock star rendered quiet by a surgery. An old friend stops by.
What's The Word: Take a trip to Italy with these folks. "Here is a movie that's genuinely alive, plunging into theaters with the style of a swan dive and the impact of a cannonball," David Ehrlich wrote at Indiewire. The New York Times ' Manohla Dargis deemed it an "Italian come-on that doesn’t just want to amuse you, but also to pour you a Negroni before taking you for a midnight spin with the top down." Though RogerEbert.com's Christy Lemire takes issue with the movie's conclusion, she also wrote that director Luca Guadagnino "draws four beautiful and well-balanced performances from his excellent cast, including brash, grandiose work from Ralph Fiennes."
Mother's Day
Starring: Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer:7%
Synopsis: Women and men fret over Mother's Day.
What's The Word: Dreadful. Ghastly. All the adjectives that imply bad. Take for instance, this assessment from David Ehrlich at Indiewire: "Lifeless, ugly, and vaguely evil in its gross attempt to offer something for everyone, Mother's Day doesn't feel like a movie so much as it does a cinematic adaptation of Walmart." Jordan Hoffman, writing for The Guardian, was slightly kinder in a sort of backhanded way, deeming the movie a "trash masterpiece." Entertainment Weekly 's Samantha Highfill concluded: "If you love your mother, do not make her see this movie."
Keanu
Starring: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Method Man
Rated: R
Tomatometer:74%
Synopsis: Key and Peele get drawn into a world of crime as they attempt to retrieve a really, really cute cat.
What's The Word: It's worth seeing for Key and Peele. " Keanu doesn't have nearly enough story to go the distance, sputtering through an '80s-style action-comedy that follows a feline MacGuffin through an L.A. gangland misadventure," Scott Tobias wrote at NPR. "And yet Key and Peele have such a sensationally giddy chemistry together that the film's raggedness plays, in their hands, like a kind of spontaneity." The New York Times ' Manohla Dargis also thought the comedians "comfortably hold the big screen," but described the movie as "a slack, erratically amusing excuse to watch" them. According to the A.V. Club 's A.A. Dowd, "[The] pair are so consistently funny, bullshitting their way through every situation, that it’s sometimes possible to ignore how thin the movie around them really is."
Ratchet & Clank
Starring: James Arnold Taylor, Rosario Dawson, Bella Thorne
Rated: PG
Tomatometer:23%
Synopsis: An animated alien story based on a video game.
What's The Word: You can probably skip this one. Variety 's Guy Lodge described it as a "busy, clattering, soda-pop-hued toon." Over at The Hollywood Reporter, Leslie Felperin said it "represents a resolutely middling effort when compared to other cartoon films on the market." Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of the A.V. Club called it "mild as baby soap."
The Huntsman: Winter's War
Starring: Emily Blunt, Charlize Theron, Jessica Chastain, Chris Hemsworth
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer:18%
Synopsis: A prequel/sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman, with Blunt as an ice queen and Chastain as a warrior.
What's The Word: All that talent is mostly wasted in this one. Entertainment Weekly 's Chris Nashawaty arrived at the verdict, "[There’s] nothing dramatically interesting or original beneath all of the spectacle. It’s the movie equivalent of a cake that’s all frosting." Stephanie Zacharek at Time declared, "there’s only one reason to see The Huntsman: Winter’s War: Gowns! Insane, off-the-hook gowns." That said, Vanity Fair 's Richard Lawson regarded the movie more favorably: "For its mix of high style and camp, butt-kicking action and fantasy majesty, and its cast of strong, admirably committed actors — many of them women! — The Huntsman: Winter’s War is, to my mind, more than respectable entertainment."
The Meddler
Starring: Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne, Cecily Strong
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer:78%
Synopsis: Sarandon plays a widowed mother who won't live her daughter (Rose Byrne) alone.
What's The Word: It's not perfect, but it's a good time. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that writer-director Lorene Scafaria "turns The Meddler into a hilarious and heartfelt tribute to mothering in the sense of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Variety 's Peter Debruge said that the movie "serves as a lovely valentine not just to Scafaria’s mom, Gail, but to mothers everywhere." At Indiewire's The Playlist, Kevin Jagernauth explained that "while slight, the film’s genuine feeling and overall comedic consistency has enough breezy charm to make it go down easy and pleasurably."
Elvis & Nixon
Starring: Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Alex Pettyfer
Rated: R
Tomatometer:69%
Synopsis: A famous photo comes to life as the King meets the president.
What's The Word: Shannon's great, but the movie's not. Writing for RogerEbert.com, Matt Zoller Seitz said that the movie is "only fitfully entertaining or illuminating." The Guardian 's Nigel M. Smith noted that the film "falters when it veers from its titular duo to focus on the tangential ones who were along for the ride." However, Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter declared the film "a hoot."
The Jungle Book
Starring: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson
Rated: PG
Tomatometer: 93%
Synopsis: Mowgli and friends get more real.
What's The Word: Critics are cooing over the stunning visuals. "It’s the first talking-animal movie I’ve seen where CGI seamlessly bridges the uncanny gap between fantasy and reality," Chris Nashawaty wrote at Entertainment Weekly. "It’s also one of the few 3-D movies that actually benefits from being in 3-D." New York 's David Edelstein said the "journey is thrillingly kinetic." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times was less thrilled, calling it " disappointing, partly because it feels like a pumped-up version of Disney’s 1967 animated film, with more action and less sweetness. "
Barbershop: The Next Cut
Starring: Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Nicki Minaj
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer: 91%
Synopsis: The men and women of the barbershop return to talk and tackle Chicago's violence.
What's The Word: This is the rare threequel worth your time. A.O. Scott at The New York Times wrote: "This comeback feels like the opposite of cynical, though. If anything, it seems unusually urgent." Variety 's Justin Chang deemed it "overly earnest but not-unwelcome." In The Guardian, Jordan Hoffman declared that it "is hardly subtle, but it is more nuanced than you might expect."
Sing Street
Starring: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Aidan Gillen
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer:97%
Synopsis: Kids in '80s Ireland start a rock band.
What's The Word: It's delightful. USA Today 's Brian Truitt said it's a " wholly appealing genesis of teenage romance and music-group therapy for one Irish boy and a instant retro classic for those still hungry like the wolf." To Rolling Stone 's Peter Travers the movie is "tender, tough and totally irresistible." Alynda Wheat of People also correctly predicted, "[You] will want the soundtrack."
The Boss
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage
Rated: R
Tomatometer:20%
Synopsis: Melissa McCarthy brings one of her Groundlings characters to the big screen as an extraordinarily wealthy entrepreneur who gets busted for insider trading.
What's The Word: McCarthy is great, but the vehicle isn't quite up to snuff. The New York Times ' Manohla Dargis called it "disposable, enjoyable nonsense." Melissa Anderson at The Village Voice deemed the movie "fitfully funny." At Variety, Justin Chang wrote that "McCarthy remains one of the funniest actors alive — a truth that frequently rescues, but doesn’t really redeem, this sloppy comedy."
Hardcore Henry
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Haley Bennett, Tim Roth
Rated: R
Tomatometer: 50%
Synopsis: You see what Henry sees in this violent, first-person movie.
What's The Word: It may make you sick. Entertainment Weekly 's Chris Nashawaty explained that it's "a hypercaffeinated first-person action flick that teeters somewhere between gonzo insanity and a nausea-inducing endurance test." Writing for The Wrap, Dave White noted that "the script... holds back, way back, on plot details and characterization, choosing mayhem and gut-shredding chaos as organizing principles." However, at RogerEbert.com, Simon Abrams compared it to "a good roller-coaster in that it does not require a complex reason to be: it's there, it's fun, you ride it, and that's about it."
Everybody Wants Some!!
Starring: Blake Jenner, Glen Powell, Zoey Deutch
Rated: R
Tomatometer: 94%
Synopsis: Baseball team bros party and practice before college starts, under the direction of Richard Linklater.
What's The Word: You're going to want to spend time with these guys. As The New York Times' A.O. Scott wrote, "[It] is impossible not to have a good time in their company." A.A. Dowd of The A.V. Club argued that the movie "reveals a stealth humanism: Shoot the shit with anyone for long enough and they reveal hidden depths." Stephanie Zacharek of Time called it a "seemingly straightforward picture that’s surprisingly stealthy in capturing the joy and exaltation of being an almost-adult but still feeling young, of messing around and messing up, of waiting and hoping for the chance to meet a guy or girl you really like."
Eye in the Sky
Starring: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman
Rated: R
Tomatometer:92%
Synopsis: A look at the quandaries of drone warfare.
What's The Word: This intense movie is worth a watch. Stephen Holden of The New York Timescalled it one of Mirren's "fiercest screen performances." The Hollywood Reporter 's John DeFore wrote that it is "a morally serious dramatization of drone warfare that also happens to be a hell of a nail-biter." Variety 's Joe Leydon deemed the film "a rivetingly suspenseful drama." Plus, it's a chance to see Rickman once again on screen.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer:30%
Synopsis: Batman is mad at Superman, and Lex Luthor's just crazy. Havoc ensues.
What's The Word: No one wins in this exhausting movie. A.O. Scott demolished it in The New York Times, writing: "It is about as diverting as having a porcelain sink broken over your head (one of the more amusing things that happens onscreen)." Time 's Stephanie Zacharek said the movie is "so topheavy with false portent that it buckles under its own weight." Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave it a C+, noting "it's overstuffed, confusing, and seriously crippled by [Jesse] Eisenberg’s over-the-top performance." Eisenberg plays Luthor.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Lainie Kazan
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer:27%
Synopsis: The Greek gang's back and matrimony is in the air, this time for Toula's (Vardalos) parents.
What's The Word: Turns out this one didn't really need a sequel. David Ehrlich opined at Slate: "For a film that promises to explore a very specific community (and then, as per the title, a specific tradition within that specific community), My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is broader than Donald Trump’s international policy." At Variety, Geoff Berkshire deemed it "overstuffed and undernourished." The AP's Jocelyn Noveck wrote that "what seemed quirky and funny in the original is exaggerated to un-funny extent here."
The Divergent Series: Allegiant
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Miles Teller
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer: 11%
Synopsis: This YA dystopian saga about factions lumbers on.
What's The Word: Dragging this trilogy out over four installments is obviously not doing it any favors. At Mashable, Hillary Busis wrote: "Previous split-book franchises could get by on plausible deniability; this one barely bothers to justify its continued existence." The "bottom line" of Jordan Mintzer's Hollywood Reporter review declared: "More like redundant." The New York Times ' Jeannette Catsoulis explained that the movie "offers a weak bridge to the series’ conclusion."
Midnight Special
Starring: Michael Shannon, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer:85%
Synopsis: A father and son are fleeing a cult and government authorities, all because the boy has a very special gift.
What's The Word: Jeff Nichols' sci-fi story plays like something Spielberg might have made, and many critics are high on it. "Nichols keeps us guessing in a way that evokes Close Encounters of the Third Kind," Entertainment Weekly 's Chris Nashawaty explained. " Midnight Special is a more modest, more enigmatic film than that one was, but it’s no less gripping." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone noted that "in this spellbinding sci-fi chase movie, UFOs take a back seat to identifiable human emotions." Vanity Fair' s Richard Lawson had some compliments for the film, but concluded that it "feels more like an interesting genre experiment for Nichols than it does a completely realized movie."
Miracles From Heaven
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Martin Henderson, Kylie Rogers
Rated: PG
Tomatometer:55%
Synopsis: Jennifer Garner stars as a mom whose daughter is battling a disease in this faith-based movie.
What's The Word: You'll probably cry. RogerEbert.com's Christy Lemire instructed readers to "bring tissues," explaining that the movie "could be the first faith-based film to truly cross over and find both critical acclaim and a mainstream audience beyond just the church-going crowd." The New York Times ' Ken Jaworowski also hit on the tears point, writing, "if the film follows the formula of an inoffensive Lifetime movie, that works well enough to keep the tale perfectly watchable." Geoff Berkshire at Variety wondered harshly: "If there are miracles everywhere we look, who wants to waste time on a movie this middling? "
10 Cloverfield Lane
Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher, Jr.
Rated: PG-13
Tomatometer:91%
Synopsis: A creepy guy keeps a young woman in a bunker, and there's maybe something crazy going on outside.
What's The Word: Go go go to this one. But don't read too much about it. Though it's not really a Cloverfield sequel, Stephanie Zacharek at Time wrote, "It's a better movie than its predecessor, one that at least has a sense of humor about itself and its genre." The New York Times ' Jeannette Catsoulis called it "smartly chilling and finally spectacular." Jordan Hoffman put it simply at The Guardian: "This movie, whatever you want to call it, is really good."
Hello, My Name Is Doris
Starring: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Tyne Daly
Rated: R
Tomatometer:88%
Synopsis: Sally Field pursues a younger man.
What's The Word: Field is great in this sweet comedy. The New York Times ' Manhola Dargis wrote: "Doris has issues, mostly grief and social isolation, which Ms. Field makes movingly real with a performance that reveals its truth incrementally." Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Timesraved that Field "gives perhaps the year's first Oscar-worthy lead actress performance in the funny, beguiling, and affecting" film. Some weren't quite as positive on the movie as a whole. NPR's Andrew Lapin wrote that Field "carries the film through a weak script that often sells her character's intelligence far short."
Zootopia
Starring: Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin, Idris Elba
Rated: PG
Tomatometer:99%
Synopsis: The latest animated movie from Disney is all about animals and tolerance.
What's The Word: Zootopia is far more than just cute talking animals. Writing for BuzzFeed, Alison Willmore explained that the "issues it wants to tackle stop not all that far short of conversations central to Black Lives Matter." She added that in some moments, the movie "feels boldly and almost jarringly ambitious." Todd VanDerWerff of Vox noted that Zootopia is the "best animated kids comedy about prejudice and the roots of police brutality ever made." The New York Times ' Neil Genzlinger wrote: "It trusts young viewers to recognize the clichés they’ve been fed by other animated movies over the years and to appreciate seeing them subverted."
London Has Fallen
Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman
Rated: R
Tomatometer: 26%
Synopsis: Gerard Butler has to save the president, again.
What's The Word: What were you expecting? This one's a stinker. Variety 's Guy Lodge called it a "cement-headed sequel." At the A.V. Club, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky deemed it "one of the worst action movies in recent memory, its signal achievement being a firefight that’s presented in a single take, but which still manages to be incomprehensible. Perhaps the movie’s politics — which range from tone deaf to irredeemable — would be more of an issue if it weren’t so inept." The Telegraph 's Robbie Collin said the "action" has a "sourly nihilistic streak."
Knight of Cups
Starring: Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett
Rated: R
Tomatometer:52%
Synopsis: Terrence Malick follows Christian Bale around Los Angeles.
What's The Word: The movie sounds pretty impenetrable. ScreenCrush's Erin Whitney said that it's the director's "most challenging and messiest film yet." EW 's Kevin P. Sullivan wrote that "at every turn, the film shakes off each attempt a viewer makes to cling to it." A.O. Scott of The New York Timesasserted that the film "settles into a lukewarm bath of male self-pity, a condition perhaps more deserving of satire than sanctification."
The Witch
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
Rated: R
Tomatometer: 89%
Synopsis: A witch and a goat torment a family in Puritan New England.
What's The Word: You are going to want to get freaked out by this one. The New York Times ' Manohla Dargis called it "a finely calibrated shiver of a movie," while Time 's Stephanie Zacharek went for the phrase a "triumph of tone." According to Slate 's David Ehrlich, it's "one of the best tricks the devil has ever pulled."
Deadpool
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller
Rated: R
Tomatometer: 81%
Synopsis: This superhero says bad words.
What's The Word: People like how this movie shakes up an overplayed genre, though it's not for everyone. New York 's David Edelstein called it an "agreeable, unprecedentedly R-rated romp with in-jokes, dirty words, and splatter." Refinery29's own Lauren Le Vine explained that the movie is "deeply satisfying because it’s extremely sexually progressive, and while it’s ostensibly Wade Wilson’s story, the film’s female characters are actually its entire raison d’être." ScreenCrush's Matt Singer was not sold. "Gleefully puerile and deeply immature, it has tons of what the MPAA calls 'adult content,' but no actual content for adults," he wrote.
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