Palme d’Or winner Parasite is finally hitting theaters. Since its debut in May on the French Riviera at the Cannes Film Festival, the Korean socio-thiller has topped our list of the best films of 2019. It’s still rated Certified Fresh at 100% on the Tomatometer, and critics are heralding the latest effort from Snowpiecer director Bong Joon-ho as his best yet. Following a poor family trying to hustle their way to a better life through their association with an affluent family, the tale takes several hilarious twists and turns on the road to its dramatic conclusion. Dripping with social commentary, the film (like much of the Korean director’s filmography) examines our socioeconomic norms and prosecutes their hypocrisy. “A condemnation of choosing to ignore the inconvenient suffering of your fellow human beings, presented in a series of accomplished visual metaphors that’ll make you rethink all sorts of ordinary household objects,” writes Katie Rife of the AV Club.

Playing New York and Los Angeles this weekend; expanding to more screens on October 18. 

Timothée Chalamet is poised for another outstanding year, starring in Greta Gerwig’s highly anticipated Little Women adaptation alongside Soairse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Meryl Streep, but he also has this new epic from Netflix. The Call Me By Your Name actor dons a British accent and a bowl haircut to embody famed English monarch Henry the V for co-writer/director David Michôd, starring opposite Joel Edgerton (who also co-penned the script) and Robert Pattinson. A royal war story that brings a different take on the life of Henry V, The King follows ‘Hal’ through his wayward youth to his unexpected coronation, concluding with his triumphant victory at the Battle of Agincourt. Jak-Luke Sharp of Film Inquiry raves, “Fabulous performances from Edgerton and Chalamet coupled with terrific cinematography cement this as a strong effort.”

Playing New York and Los Angeles; available on Netflix November 1st.

  – Spotlight Pick! 

Playing in only four theaters, Pedro Almodóvar’s new film pulled in an impressive per-screen average last week and is set to expand to more screens this weekend. That’s right, Antonio Banderas is back, finally getting his due, and we couldn’t be happier. He and Almodóvar have a long history of collaboration, and now in their eighth team up, they have crafted their most highly acclaimed film. Playing in Almodóvar’s signature style of autobiographical fiction, Pain and Glory follows Banderas as an aging director, who has been sidelined by chronic back pain, reflecting on his filmography, frequent collaborators, and, more importantly, his youth and those first sparks of inspiration. The result has netted both Banderas and the Bad Education director rapturous reviews since the film’s Cannes Film Festival premiere earlier this year. Katie Walsh of Tribune News Service said of Almodóvar, “Working with the legends of his long career to operationalize his past, [he] crafts a singularly unique and medium-specific autobiography in which cinema is inextricably linked to his own story, to his heart, soul, and body.”

Playing New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, San Fransico this weekend; expanding to more screens on October 18.