I Care A Lot is an enthralling thriller that will get under your skin. Golden Globe Winner Rosamund Pike’s cold, cunning performance is gut-punching. While Peter Dinklage is sly & calculated. The film is not perfect (it has flaws), but it gives a damning indictment of corruption. Director J Blakeson's (The Disappearance of Alice Creed) slick, twisted film will make your bones cold. A scathing critique of capitalism and the world it sets on fire. Pike gives us another chilling performance, this time as Marla Grayson — she's a professional, court-appointed guardian for dozens of elderly wards whose assets she seizes and smoothly bilks through questionable but technically legal means. Grayson's means and desires are not something to root for, as her actions make you sick to your stomach. During the film, her girlfriend and partner-in-crime, Fran (Eiza González), decide to pick off their latest "cherry," Jennifer Peterson (two-time Academy Award winner Dianne Wiest). Peterson is a wealthy retiree with no living heirs or family. Or does she? This leads us to Dinklage's character, Roman Lunyov, a volatile Russian gangster. I Care A Lot is a film that knows exactly what it's doing from the first frame to the last frame. Once Grayson and Lunyov's worlds collide, the film shifts gears to a crime thriller. Flaw? Yes. Engaging? Always. I Care A Lot comes, conquers, and has the last laugh — with a final bang and all. In the end, you get what you deserve.

I Care A Lot is rated R (Restricted) Language Throughout | Some Violence.

Streaming on Netflix.

Directed by J Blakeson

Starring Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Eiza González, Dianne Wiest, Chris Messina, and Isiah Whitlock Jr.

Ammonite is a stunning story of love. Beautifully shot, exquisitely crafted by director Francis Lee (2017's God's Own Country), and wonderfully acted by our two leads — Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. A slow-burning romance that will sneak up on you. Lee's passionate film brings us back to 1800s England, where we meet a washed-up fossil hunter Mary Anning (Academy Award Winner Kate Winslet), who works alone on the rugged Southern coastline. Mary's past days of famed discoveries are lost at sea. Now, she hunts for local fossils to sell to tourists, supporting herself and her ailing mother (Gemma Jones). Along comes Charlotte Murchison (Academy Award Nominee Saoirse Ronan), whose wealthy husband (James McArdle) entrusts her with Mary's care. Mary takes Charlotte in, helping provide her with healing and support during a difficult time. Charlotte is recovering from a previous miscarriage that haunts her day and night. At last, we see a burning romance build from inside them through Lee's tender direction and Winslet and Ronan's superb chemistry together. Lee also successfully avoids the 'male-gaze' throughout this film and lets the story speak for itself. He also let Winslet and Ronan choreograph their own sex scenes together, providing them with the safe space they needed. Throughout the film, both Winslet and Ronan are magnificent — giving us heartfelt performances that deserved to be recognized this awards season. It's a shame that is film somehow fizzled out during the awards. Don't let that stop you from watching this luscious period piece romance. In the end, Ammonite gifts the viewer with a beautiful mystique full of life and love. A moving period piece waiting to be uncovered.

Ammonite is rated R (Restricted) Some Graphic Nudity | Graphic Sexuality | Brief Language.

Now Streaming on Hulu.

Directed by Francis Lee

Starring Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Fiona Shaw, James McArdle, Gemma Jones, and Alec Secareanu.

Writer-Director Shaka King's (2013's Newlyweeds) biopic of Black Panther chairman Fred Hampton is a revolution. We see the events leading up to Hampton's unjust murder at the hands of the FBI. King's newest film is a radical and bold message displayed by a big-time studio (Warner Bros.) — putting its manifesto front and center of racial injustices and a society that oppresses its people. Kaluuya — now a Golden Globe Winner for Best Supporting Actor in this film — is revolutionary in the role of Hampton. Kaluuya's poise and striking acting chops are on full display here. Here's hoping that he receives an Oscar nomination come this Monday, the 15th. While Stanfield is a knockout, showing that he has a commanding presence in the leading role, as he did in Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother You (2018).

Our story follows an FBI informant William O'Neal (Stanfield), who infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther Party. It's the late '60s, and O'Neal has just been arrested on attempted car hijacking while posing as a federal officer. FBI Special Agent Roy Mitchell (a perfect Jesse Plemons) offers O'Neal's charges to be dropped if he works undercover for the bureau. O'Neal agrees (hint Judas Iscariot) and is tasked to keep tabs on the Illinois BPP's leader and Chairman Fred Hampton (Kaluuya). Throughout the film, we see O'Neal yearning for quick cash, but starts growing more paranoid and conflicted as his character gets involved deeper into the bureau's plot. Stanfield's POV provides us with a number of masks, not knowing which one he'll pull out next. A battle wages in O'Neal's soul — what side of history will he be on?

Meanwhile, as Hampton's political prowess grows for the movement, he also falls in love with fellow revolutionary Deborah Johnson (a knockout Dominique Fishback). King's crisp script of racial justice and politics is as bold as it is urgent. My one critique of the film's screenplay was its small pacing problem in the first act. That completely disappears as we transition into act two, keeping us on the edge of our seats. Through an engaging story, powerful direction, meticulous acting, and striking cinematography, Judas and the Black Messiah is one of the best films to come out in 2021. In the end, Hampton's story needs to be heard. Through tragedy, anger, and a call for justice, Judas and the Black Messiah is a powerful political statement dropped on the doorsteps of capitalistic oppressors.

It's not too late! Judas and the Black Messiah is available to Stream on HBO Max until this Sunday, March 14th.

Judas and the Black Messiah is rated R (Restricted) Violence | Pervasive Language.

Directed by Shaka King

Starring Daniel Kaluuya, LaKeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Martin Sheen, Algee Smith, Lil Rel Howery, and Jermaine Fowler.