‘Sinners’
Where to watch: HBO Max or Amazon Prime Video
One thing to know: Michael B. Jordan has appeared in all of director Ryan Coogler’s features, but in this saga of a Mississippi juke joint beset by vampires Jordan plays two characters: twins Smoke and Stack.
Insider info: Miles Caton sung alongside the musician H.E.R. before being cast as blues prodigy Preacher Boy, but he had to learn to master the guitar for the role.
‘One Battle After Another’
Where to watch: HBO Max
One thing to know: Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s saga of an ex-revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) trying to save his daughter (Chase Infiniti) from a white supremacist colonel (Sean Penn) is loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland.”
Insider info: “One Battle” is dedicated to assistant director and producer Adam Somner, a longtime collaborator of Anderson’s, who died in 2024. You can hear Somner’s voice in the final moments of the credits.
‘Frankenstein’
Where to watch: Netflix
One thing to know: Director Guillermo del Toro first read Mary Shelley’s novel as a child and is also indebted to the 1931 James Whale movie.
Insider info: Jacob Elordi is now Oscar-nominated for playing Frankenstein’s monster, but he was a last-minute replacement for Andrew Garfield, who dropped out.
‘Sentimental Value’
Where to watch: Rent or buy on VOD.
One thing to know: This Norwegian film about the complicated relationship between a film director (Stellan Skarsgård) and his adult daughters won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival, essentially second place.
Insider info: Though the film takes place in Oslo and much of it is in Norwegian, Skarsgård is actually speaking his native Swedish.
‘Marty Supreme’
Where to watch: Rent or buy on VOD.
One thing to know: Timothée Chalamet stars as ping pong hustler Marty Mauser in this 1950s period piece from director Josh Safdie. It was inspired by the antics of real-life tennis table star Marty Reisman.
Insider info: Safdie considered an alternate ending for the movie where the businessman played by Kevin O’Leary was actually a vampire.
‘Hamnet’
Where to watch: Peacock
One thing to know: Director Chloé Zhao co-wrote the screenplay for this tragedy about William Shakespeare’s wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and the death of their son with author Maggie O’Farrell, based on her prizewinning novel.
Insider info: Zhao did “dance takes”—where the cast would groove to popular music—to lighten the mood after serious scenes.
‘Train Dreams’
Where to watch: Netflix
One thing to know: This Sundance Film Festival hit about the life and sorrows of a logger in early 20th-century America is based on a novella by Denis Johnson.
Insider info: Director Clint Bentley is nominated for co-writing the adapted screenplay alongside Greg Kwedar. Both were also nominated last year for writing the prison-set “Sing Sing.”
‘The Secret Agent’
Where to watch it: Hulu or Disney+
One thing to know: Director Kleber Mendonça Filho wrote the lead role of a man on the run in 1970s Brazil for Oscar-nominated star Wagner Moura.
Insider info: The actress Tânia Maria—who plays the sassy woman who takes in Moura’s character—has become such a phenomenon in Brazil since the film’s release she’s doing Heineken and Burger King ads.
‘Bugonia’
Where to watch it: Peacock
One thing to know: This is the third best-picture nomination star Emma Stone and director Yorgos Lanthimos have gotten for a film they’ve done together. She plays a CEO kidnapped by a conspiracy theorist (Jesse Plemons) who thinks she’s an alien.
Insider info: Because Stone had to shave her head for the role, she demanded that Lanthimos shave his as well.
‘F1’
Where to watch: Apple TV+
One thing to know: This sports drama was filmed during actual F1 races.
Insider info: Real life F1 star Lewis Hamilton is a producer and appears in the film.