Set in Seattle, but filmed in our head-office’s backyard of Auckland, New Zealand, by Fast & Furious queen Jordana Brewster and resurgent scream-king Devon Sawa (Casper himself), the plot concerns an emoji-adorned serial killer targeting couples on Valentine’s Day. Jones says it’s “everything a slasher fan could want—sharp, brutal, and surprisingly hilarious.” Joshua assures us that “the violence and gore throughout, including the finale, never stopped serving” and Sean reckons it’s the “perfect mix of romance and terror”. Sawa, Brewster and co-star Gigi Zumbado gave us their Four Faves on set.  Now in US and Canadian theaters; Australia, New Zealand and the UK from February 14.

The Worst Person in the World breakout Renate Reinsve, subsequently seen all-too-briefly in the Presumed Innocent TV series, and more recently in A Different Man, stars in Armand. The Norwegian thriller follows the furor that arises after an ambiguous incident between two six-year-old school friends. Writer-director Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel (the grandson of legendary Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and his wife, Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann) took home the Caméra d’Or (Best First Feature) award at Cannes last year. Reinsve is the focus of many of the film’s positive takes on Letterboxd, with Morvern saying she gives “a performance rich with unexpected reactions” in “a film of shifting narratives, conflicting ‘truths’, and evolving appearances”. Sean says it “introduces a filmmaker that will be sure to be a major voice of the coming years.” Claire calls it “uniquely weird and overall effective.” Now in US theaters.

Two of contemporary cinema’s most interesting leading men, Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan, play neighboring Irish farmers whose rivalry escalates into violence in Bring Them Down. The drama-thriller won Best Film at last September’s Fantastic Fest in Austin, and Matt calls it “a thrilling standoff fueled by daddy issues and loneliness”. “A well-crafted and unsettling revenge tragedy for the new age,” says Maia. Maxine appreciates how the film “[balances] between the infuriating conflicts in Ireland and grief and chaos of people’s lives in those situations.” “A great lens on toxic masculinity and the choices that people make to climb over another person because they see everything as competition,” is Erin’s take. Now in US and Irish theaters.

Made by a Palestinian-Israeli creative collective, Letterboxd’s 2024 Year in Review, and in the absence of US distribution, the team is self-releasing in select cinemas across the States. “It’s impossible not to feel the rage, frustration, and devastation of the abused villagers in the West Bank,” says BrotherBro, who calls it “an intimate yet overwhelming document.” “A film that feels heavier than the universe,” says Lee. Now playing in New York and Los Angeles.

Celebrated Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino continues his career-long exploration of beauty, youth and the age of time in A24’s Parthenope, in which the titular character (played as a young woman by Celeste Dalla Porta) reminisces on her early life as an aspiring anthropologist in the seaside town of Naples. It’s a literary drama, as its name is taken from one of the sirens of Greek mythology, and it features Gary Oldman as real-life American novelist John Cheever. Reviewers are citing how beautiful the film is, but finding little else to recommend in it. Or, as Bert asks, “Does a movie even need a plot when there’s this many extremely attractive Italians in beautiful clothes hanging around the most idyllic Italian beaches?” Fannie says it’s just “Sorrentino Sorrentining.” However, Jorge asks if it’s a “misunderstood masterpiece”, and stresses that Parthenope is “dense, deep, confusing, slow and definitely not for everybody, but it ends up successfully achieving its ultimate goal: to serve as a faithful representation of the city of Naples.” Now in US theaters.

Nine years after Bridget Jones’s Baby, Renée Zellweger returns once again to the role of everyone’s favorite hopeless romantic for Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, the trailers for which reveal the off-screen death of Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), paving the way for new potential love interests played by Chiwetel Ejiofor (Venom: The Last Dance) and rising star Leo Woodall, still probably best known for TV projects like The White Lotus and One Day. The trailer also promises the return of Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver, and the actor recently gave us the scoop on his presence in the film. The title character still has plenty of goodwill from film audiences, but the powers that be have deemed her not worthy of an American theatrical bow—it goes straight to streaming in the US, while the rest of us get to enjoy Bridget on the big screen. On Peacock in the US February 13, in theaters globally on the same date.

Does the massive success of Deadpool & Wolverine mean the Marvel Cinematic Universe is back on track? That particular megahit feels a little too anomalous to emphatically say that, so it perhaps falls to Captain America: Brave New World to prove that the MCU machine still has the juice to reliably light up the box office. But they’ll have to do it without Chris Evans, who originated the title character on-screen, and has since handed the mantle to former sidekick Sam Wilson/The Falcon (Anthony Mackie). Adding to the film’s pulling power is Harrison Ford playing Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (previously portrayed by the late William Hurt), whose long-anticipated Red Hulk persona is getting his first big-screen bow. In theaters the world over February 14.

It’s already earned almost $100 million at the international box office, and now Paddington in Peru is finally releasing in the US and Canada. The third in the beloved series sees the marmalade-loving, hat-wearing bear (voiced by Ben Whishaw) heading to Peru to see his Aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) and getting swept up in a jungle adventure with the Brown family from the first two entries, with Emily Mortimer replacing Sally Hawkins as Mrs. Brown. Olivia Colman, Antonio Banderas and Hayley Atwell are also now in the mix. Everyone is acknowledging the tough task this has to live up to the inordinately beloved previous film, but Letterboxd are nevertheless finding things to adore about the new one. “A delightful continuation of the series that manages to honour its London roots while exploring new horizons,” says The Saltburn Drainpipe. Ruben liked that it “somehow manages to turn the lovable Paddington Bear into Indiana Jones and still work.” The film’s director Dougal Wilson shared with us ten movies that influenced Paddington in Peru, and we received, via Ben Whishaw, Paddington’s own Four Faves. In US theaters February 14.