Lidia (Imogen Poots), a swimmer, struggles to conquer her traumatic childhood memories from her dysfunctional family  in The Chronology of Water. She turns to her older sister, Claudia (Thora Birch), who's also emotionally damaged, for support. Based on the memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch, the screenplay by writer/director Kristen Stewart follows a non-linear structure that reflects Lidia's fragmented memories. Prepare for a bold, unflinching, heartbreaking and exquisitely shot emotional journey that doesn't sugar-coat any of Lidia's experiences. Meanwhile, exposition is kept at a bare minimum. Kudos to Stewart for trusting the audience's emotions, patience and intelligence. She does a great job of designing a window into Lidia's heart, mind and soul while Imogen Poots, in a career-best performance, opens that window very, very widely with her brave and raw performance. Thora Birch, Tom Sturridge, Susannah Floor and Jim Belushi also get the chance to shine in their supporting roles. The mesmerizing cinematography often incorporates poetic images of nature which provide both style and substance concurrently. Poetry, after all, is often a form of protest for or against something, so The Chronology of Water can be seen as a protest against hate, emotional pain and abuse, and a protest for love, happiness and healing. Stewart, much like Lidia herself, understands the wisdom behind Pablo Neruda's poem: "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming." At a running time of 2 hours and 8 minutes, The Chronology of Water opens nationwide on January 9th, 2026 via The Forge  

 

      12-year-old Ben (Everett Blunck) encounters bullies including Jake (Kayo Martin) at an all-boys water polo summer camp in The Plague. Joel Edgerton plays their coach and mentor. Writer/director Charlie Polinger has woven one of the most original, profound and poignant coming-of-age movies in years. You'd never guess that this marks his directorial debut because he trusts the audience's emotions, patience, imagination and intelligence which is quite rare these days. The plot remains lean and focused without too much exposition yet it's also quite complex and more than just the sum of its parts. The titular plague can be seen as a metaphor for any kind of game that narcissistic bullies play with their victims to make them doubt their own reality. Ben wonders whether the "plague" is real or not. He's playing his bully's game. The only way to win any narcissist's game is not to play the game at all. Polinger does an impeccable job of getting inside the heart, mind and soul of Ben from start to finish while putting the audience at a sense of unease. When Ben's nervous, the audience feels that way too. The same can be said when he's scared, sad, confused or happy. Most importantly, you can feel Ben's emotional pain and how he struggles to process his emotions. Everett Blunck and Kayo Martin both give breakthrough performances as does Kenny Rasmussen as Eli, a young boy who's being bullied. There's a scene between Ben and Eli talking in a sauna that's quite powerful, and another powerful scene with Ben and his coach which will bring tears to your eyes.

      To say that The Plague is a roller coaster ride of emotions would be accurate. It's concurrently funny, scary, suspenseful, heartbreaking and enlightening. Everything from the poetic and exquisite cinematography, which channels Kubrick at times, to the creepy music score to the well-chosen songs add style that becomes part of the film's substance. Moreover, the dialogue feels natural without any stiltedness. Anyone who remembers their childhood as they approached their teen years will be able to relate. Anyone who's ever been a bully, been bullied or witnessed bullying will be able to relate, too. The real question is whether or not the audience who watch this film will learn any valuable life lessons like being true to oneself, being accountable for one's actions and the consequences of one's actions and displaying empathy as well as introspection. Those are very important lessons that even some adults struggle to grasp and to apply to their own lives, but there's always hope. As Pablo Neruda once wisely observed in a poem, "They can cut all of the flowers, but they can't stop the spring from coming."  At a running time of 1 hour and 35 minutes, The Plague is one of the best films of the year, and would be an interesting double feature with Young Hearts, Playground, Runt and Ghost World. It's now playing at IFC Center via Independent Film Company before expanding nationwide on January 2nd, 2026.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

      David tells the Old Testament story of David (voice of Brandon Engman when he's young and voice of Phil Wickham when he's older), a shepherd from Bethlehem who fights Goliath and becomes the King of Israel. Co-writers/directors Brent Dawes and Phil Cunningham have made a captivating adventure with stunning animation and exhilarating musical numbers. Even if you're familiar with the classic biblical story, it's still an engrossing experience that manages to entertain both older and younger audiences. The CGI animation looks truly spectacular with many images looking so photorealistic that you'll forget that you're watching an animated film. You can clearly notice all of the attention to detail in the foreground and background. Prepare to be enthralled from start to finish. David is one of the best animated movies of the year. At a running time of 1 hour and 55 minutes, it opens nationwide via Angel Studios.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

       Aurora (Sophie Sloan), a 8-year-old young girl, hires a hitman (Mads Mikkelsen) to kill the monster under her bed in Dust Bunny. Sigourney Weaver plays Laverne, the hitman's handler, and David Dastmalchian shows up as an assassin. Writer/director Bryan Fuller has made a fun and exhilarating sci-fi thriller. To call it a horror film wouldn't be accurate, although there are some dark elements including a creepy-looking monster that's magically formed after dust and fluff combine to form a dust bunny during the opening scene. It kills Aurora's family leaving her an orphan. There are some clichés like Aurora being a precocious child, but that's okay and not a systemic issue. Moreover, what's wrong with clichés? It's a cliché to complain about clichés. The hitman becomes like a surrogate father for Aurora as tries to keep her safe. It turns out that the monster isn't the main villain after all---no spoilers here, though.

      Dust Bunny's main strengths are the bond between Aurora and the hitman, the visually stylish production design and the solid ensemble cast, each of whom is well-cast. Just like he did in Predator: Badlands, Fuller once again excels when it comes to world-building and incorporating just the right amount of exposition without over-explaining or leaving the audience confused. Dust Bunny doesn't quite reach the heights of Pan's Labyrinth, though, but it's a cut above the average sci-fi thriller. It deserves to become a cult classic.  At a running time of 1 hour and 46 minutes, Dust Bunny is now playing in select theaters nationwide via Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1




 

      Billy (Rohan Campbell), on the run from the law after going on a killing spree, escapes to a small town where he meets and meets his love interest, Pam (Ruby Modine), a young woman who works at a Christmas store in Silent Night, Deadly Night. Every Christmas, he dons a Santa Claus costume and kills one person a day to avenge the death of his parents and grandfather who were brutally murdered by a man who also wore a Santa Claus costume. Writer/director Mike P. Nelson has made a wildly entertaining, suspenseful and gory horror thriller. He knows how to hook the audience with a prologue that sets the tone while providing the audience with a taste of the bloodshed to come. There are many, perhaps too many, flashbacks to Billy's traumatic childhood when he witnessed the man in the Santa Claus costume killing his parents and grandfather---it's clear from the beginning that those painful memories haunt him and serves as the catalyst of him  becoming a serial killer. Meanwhile,  Is he schizophrenic? That's up to the audience to interpret, but it would be fair to discern that because he hears the voice of the killer in his head that tells him who to kill.

      Fortunately, Silent Night, Deadly Night doesn't just bombard the audience with blood and guts. It doesn't hold back on showing the grisly kills, but there's more to the film than just shock value and horror; it's also somewhat of a character study, and there's romance between Billy and Pam who has more to her than meets the eye which makes their relationship more interesting. It also benefits from solid performances by Rohan Campbell and Ruby Modine who manage to breathe life into their roles. Fortunately, Silent Night, Deadly Night never becomes clunky, dull or tedious, so it's an above average B-movie that holds a candle to the 1984 original. At a running time of 1 hour and 37 minutes, is now playing nationwide via Cineverse.  

Number of times I checked my watch: 1

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