It’s the best deal you haven’t bought yet. It’s the thing your friends won’t shut up about (no, not their new baby). It’s the only feasible way for you to afford seeing all the movies coming to theaters these days. That’s right, we’re talking about AMC A-List.

For only $27.99/month, you can see up to 4 movies per week each month, whichever format you prefer. IMAX, Dolby, 3D, 4DX, pick your poison. Considering an average ticket costs between $13.99-$25.49, seeing just 2-3 movies a month already makes it worth the monthly admission price.

And there’s really no better time than right now to sign up! It’s summer blockbuster time baby, and the hits keep rolling. Just this month we’ve had a new rom-com from Celine Song, a 20+ year return to the franchise that kicked off the fast-zombie craze, and an F1 racing movie from the director of Top Gun: Maverick (sans Tom Cruise, sadly). And right around the corner we have new Superman and Fantastic Four movies, making this seriously the best time to join the club your friends keep telling you to join.

To help guide you on your new cinephile journey, I’ll be giving you my top recs for the week, month, and foreseeable future! Here’s what my partner and I just saw in June:

The Materialists It’s Pedro Pascal season y’all (though truthfully, we’ve been here since Game of Thrones S4. Prince Oberyn, forever in our hearts) and no better way to kick off the summer than with the hottest throuple-action from the Marvel elite: Captain America, Mr. Fantastic, and….Madame Web? Maybe I overreached, but this new romance movie from Celine Song (writer/director of the excellent and heartbreaking Past Lives) starring Chris Evans, Dakota Johnson, and the internet’s favorite daddy Pedro is a perfect date movie. While not your traditional romcom, this surprisingly cynical flick will still leave you feeling hopeful and emotional by the end.

For fans of: love triangles, theater actors, and (shockingly) Pedro being a suave motherfucker.

F1 If you remember watching “Top Gun: Maverick” and thought “Cool, but what about with race cars?” then this movie is for you. Joseph Kosinski’s kinetic direction continues in this film about another aging has-been mentoring a young prodigy and showing what it truly means to go really, really fast. Led by Brad Pitt’s effortless charm and laidback magnetism (almost a bit too laidback in some parts) and anchored by Kerry Condon’s excellent performance, this captivating blockbuster is the big reason to hit IMAX screens this summer. Be sure to watch this on the largest screen possible before it speeds away to streaming services (kudos to Apple for knocking it out of the park with another film entry). 

For fans of: loud noises, POV shots of real actors driving, Brad Pitt schmoozing.

28 Years Later Zombie movies are a dime a dozen nowadays, with actual good quality ones rarely popping up. One of the first to truly redefine the genre was 2002’s 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s first collaboration. If you’ve ever seen an image of a young Cillian Murphy walking down an empty London street in medical scrubs, there’s your reference movie. Nearly 25 years later, the duo returns to the franchise that started the fast-zombie craze (I know they’re technically not zombies here but you get the point) with a somber, hopeful story with surprising emotional depth. Leaning heavily on a breakout performance by Alfie Williams, the film’s young lead, and his relationship with his parents Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer, the film might lack some of the raw, carnal gore of the first two entries but carries more heart and weight than is to be expected from this genre. Don’t let this one pass you by.

For fans of: shirtless Ralph Fiennes, gorgeous cinematography filmed using the same phone you’re probably reading this on, and batshit endings with wacky British references.

The Phonecian Scheme By now, you know what you’re signing up for with a Wes Anderson film: a meticulously staged, Rube Goldberg-like visual production, outlandish performances from Hollywood’s most affable oddballs, and a masterclass in deadpan delivery. This whimsical caper doesn’t really deviate much from his tried-and-true formula, but does benefit from adding the one thing somehow missing from Wes’ past offerings: Michael Cera. Though mind-boggling it is to think these two have yet to collaborate until now, they couldn’t have teamed up for a better debut from the pair, with Cera’s performance especially being a standout in the film. While missing most of Anderson’s usual culprits, this one is still a delightful escapade filled with a colorful cast of characters, each outdoing the last in zany and unique manners. 

For fans of: espionage, double-crossings, interesting accents, and Tom Hanks shooting a basketball.

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning Things are very dire right now. The world seems at odds with itself, people are angrier and more volatile than ever. It’s time for us to come together as a nation, as a world, to declare the one truth known to all: Tom Cruise is the last great movie star. There simply will never be another man as wild or ambitious as him. I can never see another person run without immediately playing the Mission Impossible theme song in my head, thinking “Tom would absolutely destroy you in a footrace, and still have time to save cinema afterwards”. He truly is Hollywood’s chosen one, sent from the heavens above to grace us theatergoers with some of the most awe-inspiring and breathtaking stunts ever brought to the silver screen. God bless the wonderful union of Cruise and director/BFF Chistopher McQuarrie and all of the treasures it has bestowed us (not looking at you, Dead Reckoning Part 1).

Does this sufficiently wrap-up the three decade long journey of Ethan Hunt and co? No, but that’s a silly question to ask of an action franchise’s eighth and supposed final entry. The real question to ask: will you choose to accept this mission?

For fans of: death-defying stunts, watching people run, Simon Pegg doing Simon Pegg facial expressions.

Ballerina “John Wick + Ana de Armas. Boom, there’s your movie” – some executive at Lionsgate probably.

Listen, when you got lemons, sometimes it’s smarter to just continue making lemonade every couple years. Occasionally you introduce another lemonade flavoring option, add in something like strawberry or blue raspberry, but at the end of the day, it’s still lemonade. And you know what? Lemonade kicks ass, no matter the type. Sure, maybe one of these days we’ll get tired of it and want something with a bit more substance. Until that day comes, just keep feeding us high-octane action with exponentially extended fight sequences and a growing feeling of “holy shit they’re actually doing it” energy coursing through your veins during a two-hour setpiece extravaganza. Ignore the story, the setting, hell even the characters (the plot sure forgets them) and pay attention to the only thing that matters: Ana de Armas wielding a flamethrower.

For fans of: ice skating, grenades, fire, and Lance Reddick (RIP).

Bring Her Back One of the best horror films and directorial debuts of the past few years was 2022’s Talk to Me, which also happens to be the last movie that made me gag. Directed by Danny and Michael Philippou, who rose to fame on YouTube, it’s proof there’s still hope for the rest of us. Their highly-anticipated follow up is here and is already one of the best films of the year, period. A harrowing look at grief, this deranged domestic nightmare led by an all-star performance by Sally Hawkins will leave you feeling empty, breathless, and with a newfound fear of garage freezers. Best to go in as blind as possible, you won’t be disappointed. 

For fans of: foster home siblings, wooden tables, and crazy mothers. 

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James Moore is an avid film enthusiast, amateur critic, and proud defender of physical media. Follow him on Instagram to see photos of his dog, the website formerly known as Twitter to read his lukewarm takes on video games, and read his movie and TV reviews on Letterboxd and Serializd.