This might not be Victor Hugo’s story, but that doesn’t mean Les Misérables doesn’t still bear the author’s imprint, the ending of this story a mixture of tragedy, compromise, disappointment and, yes, even hope that leaves many questions unanswered and the future for all involved painfully uncertain.

Andrew Desmond’s feature-length narrative debut The Sonata is a literate, methodically paced throwback gothic thriller that plays a little like a Hammer production from the mid-to-late 1960s that would have starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in the two primary male roles.

Underwater gets the job done. I liked it a lot. Heck, I’m likely to head to the theatre and see it again before January ends.

There is nothing polite about brothers Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie’s newest hyper-adrenalized ticking clock drama Uncut Gems.

But this new Black Christmas is a heck of a lot more than a talented filmmaker beating a socially-conscious drum. Takal has manufactured a monstrously entertaining horror riff that intelligent audiences of all backgrounds, races and genders will hopefully find just as much fun to watch as I did, this merry little not-really-a-remake remake a gleefully malevolent horror gift I’m happy I took the time to unwrap.

This new Rabid definitely has bite, and while that it fails to draw any more blood than that produced by a pinprick is undeniably a problem, it’s not a big enough on that I can entirely dismiss what it is the filmmakers have done here.

Rian Johnson’s marvelous who-done-it (and how’d-they-do-it) all-star murder mystery Knives Out is more than just a witty modern-day riff on a familiar Agatha Christie-like scenario.

Queen & Slim is a nightmare romantic thriller ripped straight out of today’s headlines

Because Condon and Hatcher don’t drop any hints or noticeable clues as to what is going on this character-driven mystery comes perilously close to transforming into a ‘70s-style exploitation thriller for the AARP set, which might have been fine had I felt The Good Liar earned such a pivotal change in tone.