Eddington (2025)

For his fourth feature film, writer/director Ari Aster (Hereditary, Midsommar, Beau is Afraid) tackles the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic with Eddington (2025). Set in the fictional Southwestern US town, the film centers on a power struggle between the town's liberal mayor Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) and the conservative sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix). After a showdown over the town's mask mandate, Cross decides to mount a campaign to challenge Garcia as mayor, much to the dismay of his wife (Emma Stone), who dated Ted years before she and Joe got married. Everything is thrown against the wall in hopes of something sticking here, from Austin Butler's charismatic cult leader to a vagrant (Clifton Collins Jr.) wandering through town wreaking havoc. Fortunately, the thing that really stands out here is leading man Joaquin Phoenix's full frontal debut, as he goes dong out in the film's final minutes! That'll make you rise like the Phoenix!