Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell, 2018): 2/5

More wandering and pointless than Inherent Vice, which is an accomplishment. Makes me want to lock my slightly similar novella, Whatever, in a dark drawer forever.

Shirkers (Sandi Tan, 2018): 1.5/5

Who gives a fuck about some half-assed film you made and lost 20 years ago?

The Endless (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, 2018): 2.5/5

Low-budget sci-fi; inspires extremely mild interest throughout.

Support the Girls (Andrew Bujalski, 2018): 2.5/5

Probably the most competent of Bujalski’s movies, but competency is overrated.  Nice performances from Regina Hall and (especially) Haley Lu Richardson. James LeGros adds another squirrelly asshole to his resume.

Bad Times at the El Royale (Drew Goddard, 2018): 2/5

Remember when every season would bring a sub-part Tarantino rip-off with verbose characters (and titles)? Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead, 2 Days in the Valley, 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag. Yeah, here’s another one. Why is the hotel half in Nevada and half in California? It’s cool, I guess??

Eighth Grade (Bo Burnham, 2018): 3/5

A terrifying horror film. Well written and acted, but a lot to put yourself through. Say what you will about Solanz’ cruelty, but at least he would have used more exaggeration and grotesquery to permit the audience a bit of distance.

The Sisters Brothers (Jacques Audiard, 2018): 4/5

Comic and very melancholy. With some things I had never seen before, and some authentic Western genre pleasures.

The Old Man & the Gun (David Lowery, 2018): 3/5

For the first half especially, I really enjoyed just watching Redford and Spacek talk to each other in the car or a booth in a diner. Their great performances do what very-late career roles are supposed to do—utilize and make you appreciate their whole body of work. The plot interested me less.

My Darling Clementine, rw (John Ford, 1946): 5/5

I was surprised by how savage the Clantons were allowed to be. Walter Brennan = great.

Blaze (Ethan Hawke, 2018): 2/5

Inert music biopic, populated by Townes Van Zandt and other mean, miserable drunks. Go listen to the song Clay Pigeons by Blaze Foley. It is pretty great.

The House that Jack Built (Lars von Trier, 2018): 1/5

Melancholia was thrilling cinema on the subject of depression. This one just seems the listless act of a severely depressed person. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to hear that Lars von Trier has killed himself. That’s dark, but somehow I don’t think von Trier would mind.

Mission Impossible: Fallout (Christopher McQuarrie, 2018): 3/5

I couldn’t care less about Ethan Hunt, James Bond or Jason Bourne, but the last half hour was actually a pretty amazing state-of-the-art thrill ride. Also, I was a coming down off a general anesthetic and whatever sedatives were used to make my colonoscopy that morning such a pleasant experience.

Rams (Grimur Häkonarson, 2015): 3/5

Two nearly silent brothers in remote Iceland struggle with sick sheep and long-simmering sibling problems. Starts severe and moves inexorably toward the primal.

Three Identical Strangers (Tim Wardle, 2018): 2/5

Like so, so many docs, this would have been much better at 30 minutes long. Is there any alternative to turning docs like this into “stories” with all the usual McKee-required dramatic beats?

Prime Cut (Michael Ritchie, 1972): 3/5

A surprisingly nasty bit of Midwest noir involving slaughterhouses and drugged sex slaves (including Sissy Spacek). I thought Michael Ritchie was supposed to be a gently satiric humanist? Lee Marvin’s face has never looked more like a hatchet.

At Eternity’s Gate (Julian Schnabel, 2018): 3.5/5

Struggles with the perennial artist biopic problem of how to get the artist’s inner life up onto the screen. But the last half has some startling depictions of madness that I actually really related to.  Always a supreme pleasure to watch Defoe, and this is one of his very best performances.

To Live and Die in L.A., rw (William Friedkin, 1985): 4/5

The first time I had seen Defoe, I believe (although he’s also in Heaven’s Gate, The Hunger (naturally) and Streets of Fire before this). Plenty of gonzo 80s fun with color and music.

Bohemian Rhapsody (Bryan Singer, 2018): 3/5

Turgid dramaturgy, but a great silent-movie-huge performance from Malek, who seemed to be the only one who realized they were making a movie about Queen, for Christ sake.

They Shall Not Grow Old -3D (Peter Jackson, 2018): 5/5

Yep, Jerry was right. One of the great war movies. Demonstrates the enormous power not only of 3D and color but also of sound. A film lovers’ movie.