Cruella (2021)

What makes Cruella such a wicked pleasure is how unapologetically it turns fashion into a full-contact sport—part runway spectacle, part punk-rock heist movie, all swagger. Craig Gillespie stages 1970s London like a glitter-bombed battleground, where Emma Stone’s Estella evolves with snarling charisma and just enough vulnerability to keep you leaning in, while Emma Thompson’s Baroness is a deliciously icy force of nature. The costumes aren’t just pretty; they’re storytelling, stitched to a propulsive soundtrack that keeps the whole film strutting forward with mischievous energy. If you want a reverent Disney throwback, this might feel too sharp-edged, but if you’re in the mood for a stylish, fast, and fiercely entertaining romp, Cruella earns its spot in your queue.

Cruella is clearly trying to be a punk-glam, fashion-forward crime romp that turns a classic villain into a swaggering antihero, and on a surface level it delivers plenty of attitude. The problem is it often feels like a two-hour mood board: dazzling costumes, needle-drops, and set pieces piled so high the story can start to feel disorganized and oddly hollow. If you’re hoping for sharp, campy fun or a genuinely meaningful character dive, you may find it exhausting and a bit inert beneath the glitter. That said, Emma Stone and Emma Thompson are committed and watchable, so if you’re here mainly for style, performance, and spectacle, it can still scratch that itch.