Bombshell

Documentarian Jay Roach charts the fall of powerful Fox News head honcho Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) amid several sexual harassment accusations, chiefly starting with Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) among the most prominent whistleblowers.

Director: Jay Roach

Just Mercy

A powerful and thought-provoking true story, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Stevenson had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Brie Larson). One of his first cases is that of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to death for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie.

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton

Jojo Rabbit

Only Taika Waititi could get away with reimagining Adolf Hitler as a kid’s imaginary friend. But this offers more than just big laughs and sharp mockery: it’s chiefly a poignant coming-of-age involving a friendship between an Aryan boy and a Jewish girl. This World War II satire follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl (Thomasin McKenzie) in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.

Director: Taika Waititi