Kathryn Bigelow is back, baby — and she didn’t come quietly.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker, who rewrote history as the first woman to claim best director with “The Hurt Locker” (2009), has assembled what can only be described as a masterclass in tension. A ticking-clock thriller that exposes just how precariously our global order balances on nothing more than fragile trust between nations. When that trust shatters, it might explode right in our own backyard.

variety.com/2025/film/awards/kathryn-bigelow-a-house-of-dynamite-oscars-1236522331/

Two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn presents the strongest individual case for recognition. His portrayal of Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, a white supremacist with disturbing charisma, represents his finest work in 15 years. It echoes bits of Christoph Waltz’s Oscar-winning turn in “Inglourious Basterds” (2008) with the mixture of Michael Fassbender (“12 Years a Slave”) meets Peter Sellers from “Dr. Strangelove” (1964) — a detestable character rendered with such magnetic precision that audiences can’t look away.

https://variety.com/2025/film/awards/paul-thomas-anderson-one-battle-after-another-oscars-1236515267/

Dear Elder Millennials,

Do you remember our collective generational trauma from “My Girl” (1992)? We can tuck that one away for now — because we’re about to have a whole new set of issues to unpack in therapy.

variety.com/2025/film/awards/hamnet-telluride-oscars-buzz-jessie-buckley-paul-mescal-1236500107/

With a shaved head, expert line deliveries and the assembly of another all-time memorable character, Emma Stone continues driving this golden age of cinema. She might just be our modern-day Katharine Hepburn.

variety.com/2025/film/awards/emma-stone-bugonia-katharine-hepburn-oscars-1236503123/