The karate kid

THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE

A dark and weird comedy with a point—but probably the most consistently funny thing we'll get this year, so happily it's that kind of "dark and weird comedy with a point"—The Art of Self-Defense has a lot on its mind, but lays it out with stark clarity, surprising precision, and strong laughs.

2019

Written and directed by Riley Stearns

Spoiler alert: moderate

Yes, he died for your sins, too (but, if we're being honest, mostly Batman's)

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Well, let's leave aside the fact the sole good thing to come out of this movie's hilariously awful name is the subtitle of a Deadpool miniseries currently being published by Marvel ("The V is for VS"!).  Let's also leave aside all the grating little issues that seek to tear down the towering edifice of this film, one brick at a time.  Because if we do leave that aside, it's certainly the best superhero film of 2016 so far (including the one that came out today)—and by no small margin, too.

Directed by Zack Snyder

Written by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer (with a lot of distant assistance from Frank Miller, Dan Jurgens, Louise Simonson, and Roger Stern, amongst others)

With Henry Cavill (Clark Kent/Kal-El), Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Gal Godot (Diana of Themyscira), Jeremy Irons (Alfred Pennyworth), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), and Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor)

Spoiler alert: high

Content warning: this one clocks in at about 2900 words, because three years later, and I still can't talk about Superman at a length that wouldn't make any cognitively normal person run for the hills; does it help any if I say that it's also a long movie?

I have a little shadow

THE DOUBLE

The Double is a brilliant work of psychological horror that inhabits the mental illness of isolation while it deconstructs the masculine identity.  If that sounds too pretentious, as it damned well should, The Double is an absolutely stunning example of the ability of cinematography and production design to create a nightmare world that is as compelling as it is repellant.  Since that's still a mite too stuffy, how about this: The Double is an arthouse Fight Club for the 21st century, that looks like Dark City, and involves Jesse Eisenberg being an asshole to himself (and everyone else) for a solid hour and a half, and it's really great.

2014
Directed by Richard Ayoade
Written by Avi Korine and Richard Ayoade (based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
With Jesse Eisenberg (Simon James), Jesse Eisenberg (James Simon), Mia Wasikowska (Hannah), Noah Taylor (Harris), and Wallace Shawn (Mr. Papadopoulos)

Spoiler alert: mild