Manuel Betancourt

In 2024, there is no shortage of possible imagined dystopian futures. Not just because there's an ever-growing canon of films that dream up humanity's

A scientist and an adventurer may be humanity’s last hope in 'Aire, Just Breathe,' the Dominican Republic’s pick for the international feature Oscar.

The anthemic song that closes out Jon M. Chu ’s “ Wicked ” is titled “Defying Gravity.” An ode to finding the confidence to trust oneself, the song is a celebration of what it means to defy expectations and, in turn, fly high above those who may wish to bring you down. On stage, that show-stopping number is the moment where Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, takes ownership of her power and of her own story. Watching the green-skinned witch rise above the stage as she rails against those who doubted her (including her once frenemy-turned-BFF Glinda) is pure Broadway magic. The kind many worried may prove hard to recapture up on the big screen, the place where Frank L. Baum’s character had first become an iconic Hollywood villainess in 1939’s “ The Wizard of Oz. ” Thankfully, this movie adaptation more than delivers. Chu’s “Wicked” is a marvel, a bona fide movie musical that’s turned that beloved Broadway hit (still running after more than two decades) into one of 2024’s most thrilling theatrical experiences.

Fang Li's attempt to chronicle the 1942 incident aboard a Japanese freighter carrying British POWs never quite figures out what story it's trying to tell.

Ukraine's Oscar submission is an unsettling police procedural that zeroes in on a pivotal moment in the country's history.

Mongolia's Oscar submission is a wonder, a carefully textured portrait of a young man dreaming of more for himself and his family.

Albania’s Oscar entry offers a #MeToo tale that breaks down how nice boys turn into monstrous men.

In a world where corruption runs rampant, only money — not truth, let alone justice — reigns supreme.

The mystical and the mundane commingle in Peru’s gorgeous-looking if otherwise stilted Oscar submission, completed after the director’s death.

It’s invigorating to watch Domingo positioned front and center in a TV series that understands his versatility.