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A quick summary of the movie year so far: The box office is booming<\/a>, Gen Z is flocking to theaters<\/a> and aliens are \u2026 real<\/a>?<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a curiously seesawing first six months. The movies have been dominated as much by 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-filmmaker Curry Barker<\/a> as they have 79-year-old Steven Spielberg<\/a>. Some much-prized Hollywood IP has struggled ( \u201cStar Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d<\/a> ) while other franchises ( \u201cToy Story 5<\/a>\u201d<\/a> ) have been more than fine.<\/p>\n The favorites so far of AP Film Writers Jake Coyle<\/a> and Lindsey Bahr<\/a> are fittingly varied, running from shattering debuts to goofy sci-fi. Here are their picks. <\/p>\n \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d<\/p>\n Listen, I realize the alien stuff is a little blunt. And you can question the nostalgia baked into a modern-day movie where everyone huddles around TV sets. But when \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d<\/a> is moving, Spielberg is back in an idiom all his own \u2014 and what reconnecting to that spirit means isn’t simply wistful. This is a stealthily political movie about whether Spielberg’s warm belief in humankind can exist today \u2014 if he can rebuild that suburban family home. \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d is as much Spielberg phoning home as was his autobiographic \u201cThe Fabelmans.\u201d<\/a> (In theaters) \u2014 J.C.<\/p>\n \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d<\/p>\n Phil Lord and Christopher Miller\u2019s<\/a> adaptation of Andy Weir\u2019s space saga<\/a> about a middle school science teacher who is called on to help save the dying sun is one of the easiest recommendations of the year. It is a most-ages crowd-pleaser, funny, warm and dazzling, with a hopeful spirit, a quotable alien sidekick and a quirkily charming lead in Ryan Gosling. (Streaming on Prime Video on July 3) \u2014 L.B.<\/p>\n \u201cRose of Nevada\u201d<\/p>\n Everything feels like an echo in Mark Jenkin\u2019s dreamlike tale of time and sea<\/a>. George Mackay and Callum Turner play crewmen who enlist on a rusty Cornish fishing boat that, upon its return, drops them off in the same English village, 30 years earlier. They\u2019re mistaken for two men thought to be lost. Jenkin, who shoots on 16mm and syncs sound in postproduction, makes films that feel out of time, and \u201cRose of Nevada\u201d rocks to a haunting tide. (In theaters) \u2014 J.C. <\/p>\n \u201cTuner\u201d<\/p>\n Remember how \u201cGood Will Hunting\u201d originally had a crime element to it and Rob Reiner (rightly) advised taking it out? Daniel Roher\u2019s crackling, original thriller<\/a> \u201cTuner,\u201d a spiritual descendant of that great film, goes down that path successfully, creating a scenario where a workaday piano tuner, and musical prodigy who can no longer play, gets entangled in a criminal underworld, using his sensitive hearing to crack safes. Leo Woodall stars alongside Dustin Hoffman and Havana Rose Liu. (Available for digital rental) \u2014 L.B.<\/p>\n \u201cMiroirs No. 3\u201d<\/p>\n Christian Petzold, a great admirer of Hitchcock and \u201cVertigo,\u201d makes movies where identity, rather than people, can go missing. In this lightly enigmatic 86-minute chamber piece<\/a>, a woman (Paula Beer) injured in a car crash decides to stay and recuperate at a nearby home where an older, solitary woman (Barbara Auer) resides. The unfolding drama is as beguiling as it is healing. (Available for digital rental) \u2014 J.C.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Invite\u201d <\/p>\n A San Francisco couple host their upstairs neighbors for a last-minute dinner party in Olivia Wilde\u2019s deliriously sharp chamber dramedy<\/a> about sex and marriage. Wilde both directs and stars as the neurotic Angela, whose relationship with Seth Rogen\u2019s Joe is already on the rocks, when their more, let\u2019s say, liberated neighbors P\u00edna (Pen\u00e9lope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) arrive to stir things up for better and worse. The mix \u2014 contentious, revelatory, awkward and funny \u2014 proves a wonderful showcase for some great acting, staging and filmmaking. (In theaters) \u2014 L.B.<\/p>\n \u201cBlue Heron\u201d<\/p>\n Sophy Romvari\u2019s exquisite and soulful directorial debut melds documentary and fiction, past and present. It\u2019s based on her own childhood, when her Hungarian parents moved their family of six to Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Their teenage son is mentally troubled and distant, and you can feel \u201cBlue Heron\u201d<\/a> yearning to reach him, through his disorder and through time. It\u2019s an aching, probing memory piece. (Streams July 21 on Criterion Channel) \u2014 J.C.<\/p>\n \u201cNirvanna the Band the Show the Movie\u201d <\/p>\n Slacker buddies develop crackpot schemes to land a gig at the Rivoli, a Toronto music venue, in this infectiously silly, lo-fi indie about time travel, friendship and dreams. Canadian comics Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol may have a cult fanbase from their various series about these lovable losers, but I\u2019m proof that no prior knowledge is needed to get on their goofy wavelength and enjoy the ride \u2014 and all the \u201cBack to the Future\u201d references. (Available for digital rental) \u2014 L.B.<\/p>\n \u201cMinions & Monsters\u201d<\/p>\n This year\u2019s most affectionate ode to the golden age of Hollywood comes from \u2026 the Minions? Yes, it\u2019s an unlikely role for one of the most ubiquitous marketing forces in animation. But \u201cMinions & Monsters,\u201d<\/a> a cartoony good time, finds that the best role yet for the yellow henchmen is as filmmakers. They had me at bello. (In theaters) \u2014 J.C.<\/p>\n \u201cIs God Is\u201d<\/p>\n Rage and revenge are the heart of Aleshea Harris\u2019s adaptation<\/a> of her Obie-winning play, in which twin sisters embark on a journey to find, and kill, their abusive father. The tale has both ancient Greek tragedy and Tarantino in its DNA, but it comes alive as its own shocking, vital creation driven by unforgettable performances from Kara Young, Mallori Johnson<\/a> and a truly terrifying Sterling K. Brown<\/a>. (Available for digital rental) \u2014 L.B.<\/p>\n \u201cA Poet\u201d<\/p>\n There hasn\u2019t been a better protagonist this year than Oscar Restrepo (Ubeimar Rios). He\u2019s a failed Columbian writer, a bit of a drunk and, as one character calls him, \u201ca walking problem.\u201d But he\u2019s also, despite his seemingly total lack of grace, a true believer in poetry. Sim\u00f3n Mesa Soto\u2019s film<\/a>, reportedly getting an English-language remake, is the tragicomedy of the year. (Available for digital rental) \u2014 J.C.<\/p>\n \u201cHoppers\u201d <\/p>\n