Tyler "Llewyn" Taing

With last year’s Superman (2025), James Gunn and Peter Safran’s grand reboot of the DC Universe (DCU) launched with a strong foundation. Written and directed by Gunn himself, the film was praised for returning to the hero’s optimistic roots, David Corenswet’s breakout performance, and a sturdy emotional core that set it apart from the current state of the superhero genre, which often suffers from apathy.

It’s been eight years since the maverick musician/writer/director Boots Riley established himself as a fresh voice in the film industry with 2018’s Sorry to Bother You, a genre-defying, satirical tale of a Black telemarketer who climbs the corporate ladder after discovering how to use his “white voice.” Remembered for its absurdist critique of late-stage capitalism and its heightened portrayal of Oakland, California, Sorry to Bother You has been celebrated as one of the defining modern films...

Almost every mainline Super Mario game has been a critical and commercial success. Still, when Super Mario Galaxy was released for the top-selling Nintendo Wii in 2007, it was instantly regarded as a masterpiece of modern gaming. Galaxy took the fundamentals of 3D Mario and elevated them to new heights with its innovative gravity-based mechanics, iconic orchestral score, and grand sense of scale. The game is widely considered one of the very best from the Mario franchise to this day.