Denis Villeneuve knew he had to go as big and bold as possible to widen the spectacle and stakes of his adaptation for the second part, but he someone managed to both outdo himself and deliver one of the definitive tentpole experiences of the decade so far with Dune: Part Two. It’s a vital experience in a theater and a rigorous moral maze for the mind, one that interrogates power and freedom in the vacuum of the messiah complex.

It’s also got giant sandworm battles and blistering combats that rival the sheer scope and cosmic shock of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies. We get so many movies that use up the space Dune: Part Two does, but a very, very few manage to do so much with a canvas like this. Much like the great sequels before it, this film is essential.

Where to Watch: Theaters, premium video on demand

As exhausting as the overall superhero cinematic landscape has gotten lately, there isn’t enough hyperbole in Gotham City to support how refreshing and exciting it is to get a film like The People’s Joker in the world. First-time filmmaker Vera Drew crafts an audacious, empathetic lightning bolt of trans empowerment, of freeing yourself from your internal traumas and societal expectations to find peace in self-actualization and provoke gleeful disruption to the status quo. Her film equal parts Joel Schumacher, John Waters and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Drew’s debut establishes her as a genuine force in independent cinema with a film that manages to outdo most of the superhero tentpole projects of the 2020s (and, let’s be honest, well before).

It’s directly playing on the Todd Phillips’ 2019 mega-blockbuster Joker, scanning through decades of Batman mythology and cleverly utilizing fair use and parody to deliver some inspired twists and revisionist takes on various characters in the Caped Crusader universe. As much as Schumacher’s 1990s Batman films remain polarizing, the most endearing parts of them will always be the love and care, the willingness to bring forth singular vision that embraced the moody and the absurd. If anything, Drew honors that absolutely essential approach to big-stage filmmaking by fully embracing the Super Deluxe aesthetic as a proper vehicle of reverence for Schumacher’s gothic grandeur. Even though we don’t get a Seal needle drop, Nick Lutsko more than makes up for it.

In the end, this is just one of the better movies we’ve gotten in a while, one that’s just so wholly original with well-trodden intellectual property to the point where there has to be some sort of award for casting Tim and Eric legend David Liebe Hart in his first major movie role as Ra’s al Ghul (which he crushes). The People’s Joker is a jolt to the senses and a balm in the genre. Seek it out ASAP.

Where to Watch: Theaters

This latest bout of Panda-monium feels directly akin to the third film in the franchise, a perfectly enjoyable (if probably inessential) romp with Jack Black voicing a kung fu-fighting panda. It might lack the full emotional sophistication of the first two films, but it’s still rowdy and brisk enough to keep everyone entertained. Sometimes, that’s all you need in a fourth installment about animals who partake in martial arts. Bonus points for that Tenacious D cover of “…Baby One More Time,” which makes the film worth its salt just for bringing Black singing Britney Spears into the world.

Where to Watch: Theaters, premium video on demand

An engrossing look at how the BBC landed and executed that disastrous 2019 Prince Andrew interview about his sordid connections to Jeffrey Epstein, Scoop reminds you of those HBO dramatic adaptations of major moments in global history. They never reach past being stately reenactments, but they do paint fascinating portraits of the movers and shakers that shape the headlines from both sides. It’s the standard that made-for-television movies should strive for.

Scoop follows in that very respectable tradition, a rare example of a movie perfectly suited for your living room in its ambition and reach. The whole cast is very understanding of their roles, but Rufus Sewell is particularly impressive as Andrew, an uncomfortable man caught between the arrested development of his royal status, the autocratic, slight charisma of his upbringing and the real danger lurking behind his unassuming gaze.

Where to Watch: Netflix

Ricky Stanicky plays exactly like you’d expect a comedy premise ripped from 2002 and planted in 2024 would go. Genre staple Peter Farrelly’s fast ball isn’t quite as sharp for straight-up comedy directing as it was during the days of There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber, but he still understands how to make things funny. Pitting a bunch of man-children against a disaster of their own making feels routine for a Farrelly movie, but this faked friend fiasco gets a real shot of adrenaline by the unstoppable force that is John Cena being totally committed to the silly and ridiculous. Cena is a heat-seeking missile in a movie like this, elevating the material like LeBron James joining a D-II basketball team. Without Cena, this film probably runs too long and comes up too short. With him, you almost wanted a nearly two-hour comedy to be longer.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video

Joining The Last of Us as one of the first really good major video game adaptation in either film or television, Fallout cashes in one of the best bets in modern entertainment. If you cast Walton Goggins in anything even remotely close to having Western vibes, it’s going to hit. Goggins thrives in what may be the biggest role of his career so far, one that thrusts him to the front of an apocalyptic wasteland that plays like Sergio Leone tried to make a Troma Western with nuclear waste and art deco vibes.

Somehow giving the video game its due time in the sun and still telling a compelling story about maintaining your morals in a massive mess fueled by apathetic capitalism and human folly. It’s fascinating counterprogramming to Alex Garland’s Civil War, a much funnier, more delightfully gory romp through the fallout that might get occasionally bogged down by its rampant plotting but still strikes with the same unique thrills and pure enjoyment that typically accompanies any project where Goggins sports a Southern accent and a cowboy hat. He’s one of the best actors working, and his gunslinging Ghoul is one of the most magnetic television characters in a good bit.

Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video