“I fear when this film gets released… because we are all going to go feral,” writes Meg, and she’s correct. Luca Guadagnino’s cruelly delayed romantic dramedy has finally bounced into cinemas, and the release of all that pent-up tension is palpable. Portraying a trio of tennis players whose lives messily intertwine across thirteen years are Zendaya (fulfilling her MJ in a Spider-Man movie to tennis flick obligation), Mike Faist, in his first (released) big role since breaking out in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, and Josh O’Connor (The Crown’s Diana-era Prince Charles, but also lovelorn farmer Johnny Saxby in God’s Own Country), who arguably steals the movie playing an unapologetic ratbag. 

Challengers is being widely celebrated as the thirstiest, most dripping Hollywood-level movie in ages, with Ana celebrating that Guadagnino “knows how to channel the raw sexuality inherent to high-performance sports”. “Erotically charged, intricately plotted and breathlessly stylish,” says Janica, adding “perspiration has rarely been as sexy”. Ira concurs: “Drops of sweat hitting the camera… the horniest I’ve felt in a movie in years.” You don’t need to know the silly rules of tennis to partake, but it doesn’t hurt to go in knowing about backhands, line calls and that love means zero, so get studying. Now in theaters. 

Seemingly designed as a treat for old-school martial arts action fans who have been a little underfed by Hollywood recently, Boy Kills World is a pure genre exercise starring Bill Skarsgård as a man named Boy who has been raised and trained by a shaman (played by the great Yayan Ruhian from the Raid movies and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum) for the sole purpose of killing the leader (Famke Janssen!) of the dystopia they live in. Reaction from its TIFF 2023 premiere in the legendary Midnight Madness section was all over the place: Rhett says Boy Kills World is “basically just a live action anime, in the best way possible.” “This would be my favorite movie of all time if I was in the eighth grade,” declares Johnny. “This ultra-violent revenge thriller has got a weird sense of humor… I dug it,” admits Logan, while Matt reckons the film is “overflowing with so many ideas and influences that it loses its substance”. Now in select theaters. 

Iconic Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg’s son Brandon has already established himself as a major filmmaker in his own right, and now Brandon’s sister Caitlin is getting into the family business with her feature directorial debut Humane, a darkly comedic horror concerned with overpopulation and euthanasia that stars Jay Baruchel and Peter Gallagher. Carter intriguingly pitches it as “Knives Out meets Ready or Not meets The Killing of a Sacred Deer,” while Sarah-Layne equates it to “the most f**ked up episode of Succession EVER.” “Caitlin Cronenberg shows us she has what it takes to make a great film just like her father and her brother before her. But as Brandon seemed more influenced by his father’s work, Caitlin is forging her own path into different genres,” sums up StashTheCat11. Now in US and Canadian theaters.

The streamers continue to pick up the rom-com slack with The Idea of You, a high-concept Wattpad-friendly movie adapted from actor and writer Robinne Lee’s 2017 book about a 40-year-old single mother (Anne Hathaway) who finds herself in a relationship with a Harry Styles-esque pop star (Nicholas Galitzine) sixteen years her junior. “Nicholas really holds his own opposite such a Hollywood juggernaut. I was smiling ear to ear beginning to end,” declares Maxwell. “Absolutely swept me off my feet,” gushes Jacks, while Brenna’s rom-com needs were similarly well-catered to: “I was swooning and laughing and getting horned up physically and emotionally and my heartstrings were tugged.” “Romantic, funny, steamy and human,” says Sean. On Prime Video May 2. 

Having made a considerable impact (especially on Letterboxd) with their 2021 wonder We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun is set to rise even further with their follow-up I Saw the TV Glow, in which Justice Smith (The Voyeurs, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) and Brigette Lundy-Paine (Bill & Ted Face the Music) play friends caught in the thrall of a cult TV show called The Pink Opaque. Tapped by our reporters as one of the best of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Sydney says it is “a surreal expression of being queer in the age of evolving media consumption and how it can both liberate and detrimentally intoxicate”. “Anxiety, identity, and memory blur into a film that’s mesmerizing and unsettling,” asserts Brian. Emily feels seen: “Honestly perfect. I cannot believe how emotionally overwhelmed I was by this.” Kylie appreciates that the movie explores “how media can comfort, connect, disconnect, inspire, reveal, and change as we change”. In select US theaters May 3.

Denoting the official start of the summer cineplex season, The Fall Guy is a blockbuster movie set in the world of blockbuster movies. It’s loosely adapted from the not-well-remembered 1981–1986 TV series, which starred Lee Majors as a stuntman who moonlights as a bounty hunter. The film takes a more accidental approach to the latter job: Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is stunt-doubling action star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) on a big-budget project directed by Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt) in Sydney, Australia, and has to employ his rough-and-tumble skills to try to find the project’s missing leading man. For Journal, Annie Murray was at the raucous world premiere at SXSW in March, where she elicited Four Faves from Gosling alongside director David Leitch (notably a former stuntman himself), and co-stars Blunt and Stephanie Hsu. 

Many Letterboxd members are naturally responding to the movie’s clear affection for its own art form. “A stuntman’s Sunset Boulevard,” declares Rendy. “A film captivated by the creative spirit,” announces Robert. Matt says The Fall Guy “proudly wears its heart on its sleeve as a tribute to old-school stunt action filmmaking”. Or, as Kit succinctly puts it: “I like movies. This movie likes movies. I like this movie.” Already in theaters in many territories; in US theaters and other remaining areas May 3.

Cutting-edge visuals abound in the French animated science-fiction thriller Mars Express, in which the increasingly interrogated potential nature of our future relationship with human-like cyborgs is further explored. On Mars. Joshy is impressed by the variety of dynamic aesthetics presented by the film, but is adamant that “you could disregard all of those amazing things and still have a fantastic time just from how well the worldbuilding is implemented into the story—it’s simply phenomenal!” “In many ways, this neatly tuned sci-fi mystery thriller feels like what The Creator promised but did not deliver,” reckons Adrian, who sensed references to “Cronenberg’s oeuvre, Blade Runner, RoboCop, Ghost in the Shell [and] Metropolis (both Lang’s and Tezuka’s)”. In select US theaters May 3.

Seventeen years after his last scripted cinematic outing, Bee Movie, Jerry Seinfeld returns to the movie world for Unfrosted, on which he is making his scripted feature directorial debut. It tells the surprisingly drama-filled story of how the two titans of breakfast foods, Kellogg’s and Post, competed with each other in the early 1960s to dominate a lucrative new revenue stream: toaster pastries. Seinfeld, who also stars as Kellogg’s employee Bob Cabana, has roped in a murderer’s row of comedic talent to fill out the supporting cast: Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Bill Burr, Thomas Lennon and Tony Hale, amongst many others. Plus, Hugh Grant as Tony the Tiger. When Seinfeld calls, everyone answers. On Netflix May 3.