Sunday, January 27, 2019

The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

Arthurian. Legend.
It isn't rare that I love family films. "The Lego Movie", both "Paddington" films, and the collected films of Pixar have all made it into my year end favorites. I like films with upbeat tones, and themes of kids empowering themselves, and gaining agency in a harsh world that sees to drag them down ("Inside Out" comes to mind). It left me the least bit shocked that I would fall deeply in love with writer/director Joe Cornish's "The Kid Who Would Be King", because, above all things, it is truly magical.

We start with young Alex (played wonderfully by Louis Ashborne Serkis) as he and and his best friend, Bedders (Dean Chaumoo), are moving into a new school. They are relentless bullied, and made to feel like the world is against them. When two bullies chase Alex into a construction site, he ends up finding  sword encased in a bit of concrete. He pulls the sword, and takes it home, only to find that it is Excalibur. This makes him the heir to the throne of the legendary King Arthur (pause for multiple Monty Python references).

With the discovery of Excalibur, Merlin has come to help train Alex against the rise of Arthur's old foe, and half-sister, Morgana. This sets young Alex, and his friends, off an adventure to destroy the forces of evil before the looming eclipse. And what an adventure it is. Cornish brings all the joy and exuberance of his debut feature, "Attack the Block", and manages to expand its scope, while making it more family friendly. While "Attack" was a bottle film set in a London apartment building, "Kid" moves out of the city, and all over the beautiful British Countryside. The kids travel all over England to visit major landmarks of Arthurian Legend. Cinematographer Bill Pope captures it, and the well paced action sequences, all so wonderfully.

Louis Ashborne Serkis is a delight as Alex. He commands the screen, and provides  range of emotional depth that is always a treat to see from such young talent. Dean Chaumoo as his sidekick, Bedders, has a unerring sweetness and wide-eyed optimism that make you want the best for him, and makes his own Sam and Frodo comparison seem so apt. It is inspiring to see how Cornish gives his young cast so much to do with this fantasy epic, and how he empowers them without ever feeling like he is pandering. He tells children that they are the future of this planet, but solving the world's problems isn't going to be easy, or done in a small amount of time.

If you can get the family out to see something on a cold winter day, I would highly suggest this wonderful piece about love and community.

Grade: A-
Starring: Louis Ashborne Serkis, Patrick Stewart, Rebbeca Ferguson
Director: Joe Cornish
Writer(s): Joe Cornish
Running Time: 120min
Rating: PG for fantasy action violence, scary images, thematic elements including some bullying, and language

Saturday, January 26, 2019

2018: My 20 Favorite Films

I'm getting this out super late, but here it is. After a few years absence, my 20 favorite films of 2018. This has been an amazing year for film, so, like many other years, I am going to give you a list a flicks that barely made it into the list. They were still so good, that I really feel that I need to give them the love. Here are numbers 35-21!

(As of this writing, I still have not seen "Roma" or "You Were Never Really Here" despite both of them being on streaming. I know, "Shame on me.")

35. Bad Times at the El Royale
34. A Futile and Stupid Gesture
33. Hostiles
32. Mission: Impossible: Fallout
31. Incredibles 2
30. The Old Man & the Gun
29. Mid90's
28. Support the Girls
27. Vice
26. A Quiet Place
25. First Man
24. Creed II
23. Teen Titans Go! To the Movies
22. Leave No Trace
21. Disobedience

20. American Animals


Part documentary, part heist film. The true story of 4 young men trying to steal rare books from a college campus was a brilliant exercise in tension. The dramatic performances matching up with the interviews were so well done. The editing between the two was storytelling done right in every single way. Writer/director Bart Layton uses the opposing views of the interviewees to construct an unreliable narrator that blurs the line between fiction and life. It certainly takes you for quite the ride.

Moment I Fell in Love:
Real life people interacting with their dramatized counterparts. What is not to love?

19. Vox Lux


"Vox Lux" is a stark look at celebrity and its toxic nature. Natalie Portman throws in a near career best performance as Celeste, a pop star who uses her wounding in a school shooting to rise to prominent stardom. At a young age she is given anything and everything she can get her hands on, and it leads to her eventual downfall. Brady Corbet has a knack for mining human despair. He sets Celeste at odds with everyone in her orbit (her sister, her long time manager, and her daughter), and explores her self destruction with such intimacy. It isn't a comfortable watch, but it is well made one.

Moment I Fell in Love:
The prologue is gripping and shocking in all the greatest, and most upsetting, ways.

18. Unsane


Claire Foy had a hell of a 2018, didn't she? "The Crown" really launched her into stardom. She had "First Man", playing Janet Armstrong against Ryan Gosling, and she became the third actress to play Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl in the Spider's Web". For my money, though, her finest performance came in Steven Soderbergh's "Unsane", where she plays a woman locked in a mental institution against her will. What we are given is thrilling film about the modern health care system, and the fight women face to get the care they deserve.

Moment I Fell in Love:
Claire Foy giving a clinic in acting confused and terrified.

17. Isle of Dogs


I'm sure no one is surprised to see Wes Anderson on this list. This year he crafted his second fully stop-motion animated film about a young boy trying to find his lost dog after Japan has exiled dogs to a garbage dump due to a sickness named dog flu. More to the point, he struck up a beautiful narrative about the limits of language, and how we let it separate us as a people. The voice cast is stacked with all-star talent from top to bottom, and the trash island that the majority of the film is set on, is an imaginative wasteland that we are lucky enough to trip through.

Moment I Fell in Love:
It is an animated film about dogs by Wes Anderson. I fell in love when they greenlit this puppy.

16. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs


When the Coen Brothers get dark, they really go for it. This time they have an anthology of six short films set in the West. From a white clad murderous gunslinger (played hilariously by Tim Blake Nelson) facing a younger man in a duel, to a young soon-to-be betrothed woman and her brother heading west in a wagon train, to a quadruple amputee reciting monologues on a travelling wagon for small crowds. "Scruggs" examines themes of death and betrayal with sincerely dark humor in a way only the Coen Brothers can makes look seamless.

Moment I Fell in Love:
Any film with Tom Waits gets bonus points. Any film with Waits singing gets SUPER bonus points.

15. The Favourite


Restoration Era politics were never my specific cup of tea, but I will be damned if Yorgos Lanthimos didn't make them one of the most entertaining, hilarious, and awkwardly gripping things in film this year. Lanthimos anchors his cast with three incredible leading ladies: Olivia Colman as Queen Anne, (in my favourite performance of the year), Rachael Weisz as Anne's closest adviser, Lady Sarah (picking up where she left off in "Disobedience"), and a career best Emma Stone as Abigail, the new girl in the palace. Beautifully shot, well scored, and an all around joy to watch. Can't wait to see what he has next in line.

Moment I Fell in Love:
Robbie Ryan's gorgeous cinematography. Everything is so beautifully framed!

14. Black Panther


After making my favorite film of 2013, and bringing the "Rocky" franchise back to glorious prominence with "Creed", director Ryan Coogler continues his hot streak with easily one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's best films. A tale that is as much about the struggle of man's sudden rise to power, as it about the dangers of isolationism in modern society. It is a film of its time, as well as a timeless piece that speaks truth to power. The cast is incredible, the visuals are stunning, and it is packed with touching moments that leave a lasting impression. WAKANDA FOREVER!

Moment I Fell in Love:
Michael B. Jordan putting in the leg work as the MCU's most memorable film villain.

13. Eighth Grade


How did a YouTube sensation, and stand-up comedian, write and direct a such a beautiful film that made me find a piece of myself in both an introverted 14 year-old girl, and her dopey, well-meaning single father? It was such a personal film, with such straightforward premise: a young girl tries to find herself in her last days of middle school. It is moving, awkward, and never ironic. Elsie Fisher's Kayla is one of the most human performances of the year, and her lack of an Oscar nomination is heartbreaking. Thank you, Bo Burnham. You have crafted an earnest and beautiful look at depression and loneliness in the internet age.

Moment I Fell in Love:
"Gucci!"

12. First Reformed


Speaking of depression and loneliness! Paul Schrader has found his way back into my heart (as if he ever left) by writing and directing a film about a preacher (Ethan Hawke) in a small, historic church who finds himself at odds with his megachurch donors when a member of his congregation commits suicide over the looming climate change crisis. He has trouble reconciling the church's view on the matter with the known science, and the inhumanity it takes to ignore the facts. It becomes a breathtaking look at the blind following of clueless leaders, and finding spirituality in connection to nature and fellow man.

Moment I Fell in Love:
My final sentence made visual in the moment pictured above.

11. Suspiria


Let me be the first to admit, I have some vague ideas, but I still don't know 100% what I was supposed to take away from this Dario Argento remake. It is visual treat from start to finish, however. Luca Guadagnino crafts a haunting film about a dance troupe, it's strange inner workings, and the nefarious purposes of its stark choreography. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom's beautiful framing, and use of color is pleasing to the eye in every conceivable way. Performances from Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson top a stunning cast, and a film that has to be seen to be believed.

Moment I Fell in Love:
Did I mention Tilda Swinton?

10. The Hate U Give


This is one of many films this year that made check my privilege at the door. I will never get to know, personally, the black experience in America. I will never have to live with the fear that comes along with it. I will always have the privilege of my fair skin to insulate me from the injustice faced by many in its community. The violence forced on African-Americans in this country is disheartening. Having to watch it through the eyes of the community's younger generation, while they prime targets for profiling, and their lives can be taken by law enforcement for any reason, is emotionally crippling. A stunning leading turn from Amandla Sternberg as Starr Carter fronts an excellent cast for one of director George Tillman, Jr.'s absolute best.

Moment I Fell in Love:
I like when a film can keep me emotionally off-balance through its runtime. This did exactly that.

9. Sorry to Bother You


I had been a huge fan of hip hop artists, The Coup, for a long time (R.I.P. Pam the Funkstress). When I heard that Boots Riley, the group's MC, was going to be directing an absurdist comedy about a man named Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield in a truly wonderful performance) finding success in telemarketing by finding his "white voice", I thought I knew what I was in for. I did receive gleefully anarchist and anti-capitalist social commentary that warmed my black heart. What I didn't expect was the absolute gonzo, out of left field twist that shocked a theatre goer so much, that he left my screening, and did not return. And saying there is a twist is not a spoiler, because if you think you have an idea what it is, then you have no idea what it is. THANKS, BOOTS!!!

Moment I Fell in Love:
"OH YEAH! ALRIGHT! HELL YEAH! THAT'S TIGHT!"

8. Tully


It is rare to see parenting young children represented so honestly on screen in all of its ugly, thankless glory. Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody did it though, and... whew, damn... was it hard to watch. Charlize Theron plays a mother of three young children, one being a newborn, and is having trouble keeping up. She hires a night nanny, played by Mackenzie Davis, to help with the newborn and night, and the two spark a instant friendship. The places this film goes to show the genuine terror and heartache that goes into parenting through postpartum depression is moving, and all too realistic. As the father of two young boys, it made me feel horribly guilty for seeing this while my wife was at home with them. Sorry, my love...

Moment I Fell in Love:
A montage of made of parenting nightmares.

7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse


I am going to say some things now. You are welcome to disagree with them. This is the most enjoyable comic book movie of the decade so far. I believe it is easily the first great film to feature the character of Spider-Man since Sam Raimi made "Spider-Man 2" in 2004. It is the single most heartfelt and visually stunning comic book movie (possibly) to date. The only comic adaptation that even comes close to it this year is "Black Panther". The themes of loss and self discovery are only rivaled by Disney's "Big Hero 6", and the stylish comic book presentation feels like the spiritual successor to Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World". Never boring, never wavering, never unsure of itself. It is at once a complete deconstruction of, and love letter to, the genre. Great job again Lord and Miller. If we couldn't get your version of "Solo", I am glad we got your version of "Spider-Man" in its place.

Moment I Fell in Love:
"I don't think you know what puberty is."

6. Paddington 2


I'm not sure that there is anything negative I could say about Paul King's "Paddington 2". It is equally as charming, equally as vibrant, and equally as moving as his first outing. Except this time King obviously has his sights set on the most polite take down of Brexit. Paddington Bear is jailed for a crime he didn't commit, and it is up to the Browns to try to get him released. His absence in the neighborhood begins to show, and the man responsible, A British actor played perfectly by Hugh Grant, is still on the loose committing more crimes. The film is part comedy, part adventure, part family drama, part watching Hugh Grant fill his stomach with as much scenery as one actor possibly can (in the best way). This could have easily been my number one, if not for...

Moment I Fell in Love:
Seeing the trailer.

5. Blindspotting


Real life friends, and Oakland natives, Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, wrote and directed a captivating tale about perception, and the trouble with taking anything at face value. Every plot thread leads back to this theme, and they go to some weighty places. Diggs plays a recently released convict that is re-evaluating his current surrounds, and the relationship with his closest friend (played by Casal), when he becomes witness to the murder of a black man at the hands of the police. Set against the gentrification of Oakland, this film takes on race relations in this country to some truly heart wrenching places.

Moment I Fell in Love:
A long freeform rap that Diggs spouts near the end of the film.

4. Annihilation


Long time writer Alex Garland has written and directed two films now that have graced my top five. This time he brings a cast of all-star female talent to the table, and puts them in a sci-fi horror film that is as beautiful as it is tense. Garland takes long, existential look at the nature of death, and the affect it has on the living against the backdrop of an alien shimmer that is morphing the DNA of a natural preserve to stunning effect. It is a slow burn that often turns the tension up to 11, and leaves the viewer with more questions than when they walked in.

Moment I Fell in Love:
That scene with the bear. You know the one.

3. Hereditary


There is so much heartache in this movie, and I do a love a good smattering of heartache in my horror. At its heart "Hereditary" is more of a family drama, with elements of horror, but the deeper it delves into horror, the more beautiful the story becomes. Toni Collette plays a mother whose life, and family, are slowly falling apart, possibly due to supernatural forces. She runs a full gamut of emotions, and anchors a wonderful cast in a gruesome film that may leave your stomach churning from the depths the film explores.

Moment I Fell in Love:
The out of left field twist that changed the entire feeling of the film.

2. BlacKkKlansman



Spike Lee has inspired me throughout my life. With films like "Do the Right Thing", "Bamboozled", and "Malcolm X", to name a few. He stood out as a director of great vision and passion. Add this to the list of his very best. A strong film about a the first black cop in Colorado Springs (John David Washington) infiltrating the local KKK chapter, over the phone, with the help of a Jewish colleague (Adam Driver) posing as him in face to face meetings. The pacing is tense, the story unravels nicely, and the performances are a cut above so many this year, especially Washington's star-making turn as the real-life inspiration, Ron Stallworth. I have many hopes that this will take home a few gold statues this year, but I guess we will see.

Moment I Fell in Love:
Stallworth calls the head of the Klan chapter while the rest of the detective force listens in disbelief.

1. If Beale Street Could Talk


Barry Jenkins is shaping up to be the director of this generation. His visual style is fluid and stunning. The ways he tells stories is methodical and touching. Actors in his films clearly care about the stories he chooses to tell, and give star making performances time and again. "If Beale Street Could Talk" looks at how the story of black America never seems to change, and how a story from 1970's Harlem is just as sadly relevant in 2018 (as shown by a few other picks in this top ten). It is a story about love, injustice, and the racial divide that continues to grow in this country. It is achingly beautiful, and utterly heartbreaking, and its two leads, Kiki Layne and Stephan James, are captivating enough to have had me on the brink of tears for the nearly two hour run time.

Moment I Fell in Love:
That opening shot. Jenkins tells us so much, and sets the mood perfectly.

Monday, January 21, 2019

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Queen Killer
A couple of years ago, I sat in a screening of "Straight Outta Compton". It was a serviceable biopic about the groundbreaking rap group, N.W.A., and I had this sinking feeling that now deceased member, Eazy E, was getting hosed. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre came off looking like savvy business men who might have kept the group together if it wasn't for the wild antics of the easily duped Eric Wright. I got the exact same feeling watching "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Based on the more popular years of Queen's existence, "Rhapsody" plays as the soap opera version of what I am sure is a far more interesting story. It is overly melodramatic drivel that never feels like a cohesive story, and only serves to trample the memory of the band's deceased frontman, Freddie Mercury. I am not sure how much of Rami Malek's performance is left on the cutting room floor, but his Mercury is a caricature that moves from one massive diva fit to the next.

The band themselves don't function as real characters. Brian May and Roger Taylor are introduced haphazardly with throw away lines, and John Deacon is just thrown into the band with little fanfare. They stand aside and chastise Freddie for his wild lifestyle, and squabble over what songs go on the records, with little to no character development given to any of them.

Until the last 20 minutes, when they launch into Queen's legendary Live Aid performance, the film is cloying, awful, and completely uninteresting to watch. Rami Malek does a fine enough job, but he never elevates above doing an impression of Mercury. Very few other actors get enough screen time to enjoy anything they do. The ones you do get to spend a little time with are given such hammy dialogue that it is hard to care about them as characters. The pacing is entirely too rushed, so no certain era is given time to breathe. Also, I get that the name of the movie is "Bohemian Rhapsody", and it is a masterpiece of a song, but the entire plot seems to revolve around the idea that this was the epitome of Queen as a band. Which sucks. But that is what this film does best: Suck.

Grade: F

Starring Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Director: Bryan Singer
Writer(s): Anthony McCarten - Story: McCarten and Peter Morgan
Running Time: 134min
Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements, suggestive material, drug content and language

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Replicas (2019)

Artificial. Unintelligible.
I would like to stop for a minute, and say how thankful I am for the "John Wick" movies. Both have been a pure joy to behold. They should not have worked in any way, but, somehow, they do. The two films are frantic, fun, and made audiences believe that a man would murder an entire room of people to avenge his dog. In short, they are everything that "Replicas" lacks in every respect (especially the dog part).

The story revolves around everyone's favorite Kung-fu knowing dog lover, Keanu Reeves, as a synthetic biologist, who, while on the way to take a well-needed vacation, ends up killing his wife and three kids in a car accident. When he comes to, and finds them all dead, he enlists the help of one of his partners (Thomas Middleditch) to help him clone his family, and pretend nothing ever happened. That, of course, is when everything begins to go terribly wrong (in the plot, and in the execution).

Let me start by saying that I think this concept, in better hands, could have been very intriguing. It seems that the writers had some hang ups about the subject matter, but were too scared to really delve into what they believe are the moral ramifications of cloning and artificial intelligence. It wants to be an episode of "Black Mirror", but never quite finds what it wants to say. This decision leaves the film feeling hollow. Reeves's family only ever feels like a plot point in the film, but never actual characters. Their introductions and deaths are hastily sandwiched in between lengthy scenes of science talk: the opening scene that sees an experiment to transfer human consciousness into an robot body, and the 30-40 minutes of listening to Reeves and Middleditch explain the minutia of cloning. You see, neither man has successfully completed the tasks required to do this, so we have to hear every failing, and every solution in painfully explicit detail.

Not only is the family introduced and dispatched with little thought, but their eventual discovery of the facts also happens at quite a break neck speed. It leaves the audience little to no time to digest what has happened before they are whisked away into a mind boggling third act twist that has no grounding in the first two acts. Things that feel they should be the basis for most of the drama in the feature are shrugged off and forgotten about, because we have car chases and violence to get to!

It was hard to decipher what exactly was to blame for how wooden and stiff everything feels. The dialogue is rough, the acting is deadpan, the editing quick, and the cinematography is flat, and ugly to look at. Nothing in this movie is worth a second glance. The whole ordeal lacks the fun that other Entertainment Studios films (such as "The Hurricane Heist" and "47 Meters Down") seemed to have in droves. They were't good films either, but at least they seemed to realize it, and did everything they could to keep audiences interested. I promise there is nothing of interest here.

Grade: F

Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff
Writer(s): Chad St. John/ Story: Stephan Hamel
Running Time: 107 min
Rating: PG-13 for thematic material, violence, disturbing images, some nudity and sexual references

A Dog's Way Home (2019)

Canine to five
I appreciate a canine caper as well as the next person... okay, probably far more than the next person. I am a "dog person" through and through, and cheesy, over-sentimental films about our furry, four-legged friends bring me an innate sense of joy. "A Dog's Way Home" is certainly no exception. This sweet, often funny, often depressing story follows a rescue named Bella (given inner monologue voice over by Bryce Dallas Howard), as she tries to find her owner, after the threat of euthanasia from a antagonistic Denver Animal Control officer sends her to live in New Mexico with another family.

Bella finds herself roaming the New Mexico and Colorado countryside, weaving in and out of the lives of strangers, and other animals. She spends time with a pack of dogs knocking over trash cans, a mountain lion she raises after its mother is murdered, and a gay couple who take care of her after an avalanche, to name a few. The human cast is peppered with some solid performances from the likes of Ashley Judd as the mother of the boy who finds Bella, Edward James Olmos a homeless veteran who befriends her, and Barry Watson as one half of the aforementioned couple that help to outline the story beats, and give a somewhat vague passage of time.

All in all, this is a charming movie about the mistreatment of animal companions, with a strong undercurrent that ties it to mistreatment of American War Veterans. Despite some of its flaws, it has a lot of heart, and that heart usually stays in the exact right place. But, to tell you the truth, I could have done without Bryce Dallas Howard's voice over in many spots. When the film seemed like it could have hit a truly emotional note, it would drop in with an often shrill delivery that would only serve to undermine the scene. Some of the dialogue is awkward and out of place, while some of the landscape photography could have been a little more dynamic. The Colorado countryside looks lifeless and droll far too often.

That being said, this is a sweet film that has enough peril to make you worry that Bella might not make it (unless you saw the trailer). It should be a nice time in the theatre for the family. More sensitive "dog people" should be warned to bring tissues. I wish someone would have warned me.

Grade: B-

Director: Charles Martin Smith
Writer(s): W. Bruce Cameron (also Book) & Cathryn Michon
Running Time: 96 min
Rating: PG for thematic elements, some peril and language

Friday, January 4, 2019

2019 in Film

January 4th
Escape Room - C-
Great Great Great -
Mojin: The Worm Valley -

January 11th
The Aspern Papers -
A Dog's Journey - B-
Perfect Strangers -
SGT. Will Gardner -
Replicas - F
The Upside - B
The Untold Story -

January 18th
Adult Life Skills -
An Acceptable Loss -
Fyre - A-
Glass - B
The Heiresses -
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek -

January 25th
Bricked -
The Final Wish -
In Like Flynn -
The Invisibles -
Jihadists -
The Kid Who Would Be King - A-
Polar -
Serenity - B

February 1st
Arctic -
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga -
Miss Bala - D
The Wild Pear Tree -

February 8th
Chokehold -
Cold Pursuit - B
Everybody Knows -
The Final Wish -
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part - B+
Papa Celebrates the Chinese New Year -
The Prodigy -
Under the Eiffel Tower -
What Men Want - C+

February 15th
Alita: Battle Angel - B-
Birds of Passage -
Donnybrook -
Fighting With My Family - B
Happy Death Day 2U - B-
Isn't It Romantic - B-
Rueben Brandt, Collector -
Sorry Angel -
This One's For the Ladies -

February 22nd
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - A-
Prosecuting Evil -
The Rhythm Section -
Run the Race -
Total Dahmaal -
The Turning -

March 1st
Apollo 11 - A+
Climax -
Greta - C
A Madea Family Funeral -
Saint Judy -
Stray -
Styx -
Transit -
The Wedding Guest -

March 8th 
Captain Marvel - C
An Elephant Sitting Still -
Ferrante Fever -
Gloria Bell -
The Kid -
Sex Trip -

March 15th
The Aftermath -
Ash is Purest White -
Captive State -
Faith, Hope, and Love -
Finding Steve McQueen -
Five Feet Apart -
The Hummingbird Project -
Iceman -
The Mustang -
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase - B+
No Manches Frida 2 -
Wonder Park -
Yardie -

March 22nd
Dragged Across Concrete -
Hotel Mumbai -
Ramen Shop -
Sunset -
Triple Threat -
Us - A-

March 29th
The Beach Bum - D
Diane -
Dumbo - C+
Notebook -
Screwball -
Trinity Seven: The Movie 2 - Heavens Library and Crimson Lord -
Unplanned -

April 5th
Amazing Grace -
The Best of Enemies - B-
Billboard -
High Life -
Pet Sematary -
Peterloo -
The Public -
Shazam! - A+
Stormboy -
Suburban Birds -
Teen Spirit -

April 12th
After -
A Dark Place -
Girls of the Sun -
Hellboy -
Little -
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy -
Mia and the White Lion -
Missing Link -
Savage/Wild -
Stockholm -
Wild Nights With Emily -

April 19th
Breakthrough -
The Curse of La Llorona -
Hail Satan? -
High on the Hog -
Kalank -
Little Woods -
Penguins -
Rafiki -
Stuck -
Under the Silver Lake -

April 26th
Avengers: Endgame - D+
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache -
The White Crow -

May 3rd
Bolden -
Clara -
El Chicano -
The Intruder -
Long Shot -
Meeting Gorbachev -
Shadow -
UglyDolls -

May 10th
All is True -
The Biggest Little Farm -
Charlie Says -
The Hustle -
My Son -
Pokemon Detective Pikachu - A-
Poms -
Serengeti Rules -
The Silence of Others -
Tolkein -

May 17th
All Creatures Here Below -
Aniara -
A Dog's Journey -
John Wick: Chapter Three - Parabellum - B+
The Meanest Man in Texas -
Parallel Love: The Story of a Band Called Luxury -
The Souvenir -
The Sun is Also a Star - B
The Third Wife -
Trial By Fire -
The Wandering Soap Opera -

May 24th
Aladdin - B-
Booksmart - B+
Brightburn - C-
Echo in the Canyon -
Funny Story -
Halston -
India's Most Wanted -
The Proposal -
The Tomorrow Man -

May 31st
Godzilla: King of the Monsters - A-
For the Birds -
Leaving Home, Coming Home: A Story of Robert Frank -
Ma -
Rocketman - B+

June 7th
Chasing the Dragon II: Wild Wild Bunch -
Dark Phoenix - D-
The Fall of the American Empire -
The Gangster, the Cop, and the Devil -
Ghost Fleet -
The Last Black Man in San Francisco -
Late Night - B-
Papi Chulo -
The Secret Life of Pets 2 -
This One's For the Ladies -

June 17th
5B -
American Woman -
Back to the Fatherland -
Being Frank -
The Dead Don't Die -
Hampstead -
In the Aisles -
Men in Black: International - C+
The Reports of Sarah and Saleem -
Shaft -

June 21st
Anna -
Burn Your Maps -
Child's Play - D-
Round of Your Life -
Swinging Safari -
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
Toy Story 4 - A
Wild Rose -

June 28th
Annabelle Comes Home -
Better Days -
Maiden -
The Last Whistle -
Ophelia -
The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith -
Three Peaks -
Yesterday -

July 5th
Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love -
Midsommar - A
Phil -
Spider-Man: Far From Home - B-

July 12th
The Art of Self-Defense -
Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable -
Crawl -
The Farewell -
Stuber - B
Summer Night -
Super 30 -
Sword of Trust -
Trespassers -

July 19th
At War -
Between Me and My Mind -
David Crosby: Remember My Name -
Into the Ashes -
The Lion King - C
Rosie -
Streetwise -

July 26th
The Ground Beneath My Feet -
Honeyland -
Mike Wallace is Here -
Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood - A-
Skin -
Tel Aviv on Fire -

August 2nd
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw - B-
Jay Myself -
Leo Da Vinci: Mission -
Luce -
The Nightingale -
Piranhas -
Tel Aviv on Fire -
Them That Follow -

August 9th
After the Wedding -
The Art of Racing in the Rain -
Brian Banks -
Corporate Animals -
Dora and the Lost City of Gold - A-
Dying to Survive -
ECCO -
The Kitchen - B
Ode to Joy -
One Child Nation -
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark -

August 16th
47 Meters Down: Uncaged -
The Angry Birds Movie 2 -
Aquarela -
Awake -
Blinded by the Light - A
Cold Case Hammarskjold -
Divine Fury -
End of the Century -
Good Boys - B-
Kingdom -
Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy -
Mission Mangal -
The Second Sun -
Where'd You Go, Bernadette? -
ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas -

August 23rd
Angel Has Fallen -
Becoming Burlesque -
Brittany Runs a Marathon -
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles -
Give Me Liberty -
Jawline -
Miles Davis: the Birth of Cool
Overcomer -
The Peanut Butter Falcon - A-
Ready or Not - A-
Vita and Virginia -

August 30th
Before You Know It -
Bennett's War -
Don't Let Go -
Killerman -
Ne Zha -
Saaho -
Tad@s Caen -

September 6th
Blink of an Eye -
Chhichhore -
Edie -
It Chapter 2 - B-
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice -
Mr. Klein -
Ms. Purple -
Night Hunter -
Rapid Response -

September 13th
Depraved -
Freaks -
The Goldfinch -
Hustlers - A
Liam: As It Was -
Monos -
The Sound of Silence -

September 20th
3 From Hell -
Ad Astra - A
Brit-Marie Was Here -
Deigo Maradona -
Downton Abbey -
Midnight Traveler -
Promare -
Rambo: Last Blood -
Where's My Roy Cohn? -

September 27th
Abominable -
The Curse of Buckout Road -
The Day Shall Come -
The Death of Dick Long -
First Love -
The Golden Glove -
Judy -
Seira Noire -

October 4th
Joker - C-
Lucy in the Sky -
Pain & Glory -
Roger Waters - Us + Them -
War -
Wrinkles the Clown -

October 11th
The Addams Family - B
The Dead Center -
Gemini Man - B-
Gift -
High Strung Free Dance -
Jexi -
Little Monsters - B-
Parasite -

October 18th
By the Grace of God -
The Captain -
Cyrano, My Love -
Greener Grass -
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot -
Jojo Rabbit - B-
The Lighthouse - A
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil -
Serendipity -
Zombieland: Double Tap - F

October 25th
Black and Blue -
Countdown -
The Current War: Director's Cut - B+
Frankie -
Housefull 4 -
The Last Measure -
Making Waves: The History of Cinematic Sound -
Synonyms -
Ximei -
Western Stars -

November 1st
Arctic Dogs -
Harriet -
Inside Game -
The Irishman -
Motherless Brooklyn -
The Portal -
Terminator: Dark Fate - C

November 8th
Better Days -
Doctor Sleep -
Honey Boy -
The Kingmaker -
Last Christmas -
Midway -
Mr. Toilet: The World's #2 Man -
Playing With Fire -

November 15th
All Rise -
Charlie's Angels -
Ford v Ferrari -
The Good Liar -
Mickey and the Bear -
Scandalous: The Untold Stories of the National Enquirer -
The Warrior Queen of Jhansi -
Waves -

November 22nd
21 Bridges -
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood -
Dark Waters -
Frozen II -
Hala -

November 29th
Knives Out -
Queen & Slim -