With our world seeming to return to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic, movie theaters are finally starting to make a comeback. Here are some of my favorite movies currently in theaters:

Triangle of Sadness

Ruben Östlund’s “Triangle of Sadness” is a comedic social commentary on wealth, power and gender roles. It was the winner of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or—the highest prize awarded at the festival. The film is broken into three parts. The first part felt extremely real, and I have really no better way of describing it. I thought I was watching actual interactions between people rather than merely watching a movie. The realistic dialogue and outstanding performances by Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean (who unfortunately passed away earlier this year) portray the lives of two models and the result of flipping the wage gap while maintaining the expectation that men traditionally pay in relationships. The second part is hilarious, exposing the insane lives of the top one percent and their disregard for others through a luxury cruise. The third part flips the roles and power dynamics of the small group of survivors on their heads when they are stranded on an island after the ship sinks. Although “Triangle of Sadness” can feel like it is attempting to tackle too many themes, it sustains an entertaining quality throughout the entire film. Warning: insane vomit and poop scenes. They are hilarious but really disgusting.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Decision to Leave

“Decision to Leave” is a Korean film directed by Park Chan-Wook that follows a detective (Park Hae-il) investigating a death in the mountains when he meets the dead man’s wife (Tang Wei). “Decision to Leave” portrays the complexities of love and how it may come at the worst of times. Park Hae-il’s character begins to have illicit feelings for a suspect, which gets in the way of solving the murder case. Creative camera movement from cinematographer Ji-Yong Kim not only showcases the story in a vivid manner, but also makes the viewer a part of it through handheld filming and unique perspective and trailing shots. The plot can be hard to follow at times and feels like it is about to end only to continue for another 45 minutes, however it builds up to a powerful and poignant conclusion. “Decision to Leave” is a movie that requires focus, both to read the subtitles and follow the plot, but is very much worth the effort.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Banshees of Inisherin

Set on a small island off the coast of Ireland where everyone knows everything about everyone, “The Banshees of Inisherin,” written and directed by Martin McDonagh, drops us right into the story. While it does not hold your hand with exposition, you will feel instantly immersed. Long story short, what happens to two lifelong friends, Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) and Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson), when one suddenly decides he doesn’t like the other anymore? While this sounds like something that would happen to six-year-olds, this film shows just how painful the loss of a friend can be for adults. This conundrum gets pushed to the extreme when Colm threatens to begin cutting off his own fingers if Pádraic continues to bother him. Depressing yet funny, “The Banshees of Inisherin” might be my favorite movie I have seen this year.

Rating: 5 out of 5