Split (M. Night Shyamalan, 2016): 1.5/5
Between this hacky shit and Atomic Blonde, James McAvoy deserves some kind of Most Acting award.

Whisper of the Heart (Yoshifumi Kondó, 1995): 3.5/5
A non-Miyazaki, non-fantasy Studio Ghibli movie. Charming, calm and lovely.

* Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi, 2017): 3/5
The current state of Hollywood comedy.

* Coco (Lee Unkrich, 2017): 3/5
Pandering with style. At one point, Jack jumped out of his seat and screamed "Yeeaaaaahhhh" at the top of his voice.

* Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017): 3.5/5
What's not to like? Easily better than the last over-praised girl-coming-of-age movie.

* Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017): 5/5
Swoony, beautiful and (for me) extremely moving. Pleasurably antagonist-free. Timothée Chalamet turns in the performance of the year (and he's also one of the best things about Lady Bird).

The Circle (James Ponsoldt, 2017): 1/5
It's good to periodically re-calibrate with a really terrible movie. Talented people (including director Ponsoldt, writer Eggers, and co-star Hanks) making undercooked, out-of-touch, boring pablum. 

* The Disaster Artist (James Franco, 2017): 3/5
Skin deep, but entertaining. 

The Unknown Girl (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 2017): 3/5
At times reminded me of Diary of a Country Priest: an isolated public servant, trying to lead by example but lacking social skills, enters into a humiliating search for redemption.  But this story of a modern doctor (who has no staff? or friends?) playing detective strained credulity at times.  Nevertheless, lead actress Adele Haenel was mesmerizing in her single-minded intensity.

Good Time (Josh & Bennie Safdie, 2017): 4/5
Crisp, gritty heist film.  Huge improvement over the pointless junkies-in-trash bags Heaven Knows What.  NY-based DP Sean Price Williams is a talent to watch.

A Ghost Story (David Lowery, 2017): 3.5/5
I went in with low expectations, and was surprised and occasionally moved.  Loved the decades-spanning montage sequence; time turns us all into ghosts.

Ain't Them Bodies Saints (David Lowery, 2013): 3/5
An overfamiliar genre piece (criminal dad on the run attempts to reunite with family), improved by atmosphere and acting (same leads as A Ghost Story).

Wormwood (Errol Morris, 2017): 4/5
Repetitive and overlong by an hour, but never dull.  Will confirm your worst fears about government overreach in the name of National Security.

The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography (Errol Morris, 2017): 2/5
Dorfman's medium (the now-defunct large format Polaroid) is much more interesting than she is, and her subjects (primarily her family and Allen Ginsberg) aren't much to look at, either.  A flattering minor work made by her neighbor in Cambridge.

The Crown, season 2 (2017): 4/5
Suffered for the lack of Winston Churchill, but I admire its continuing focus on the demands of duty, tradition, and the public good--and how quickly an institution can go off the rails when those principles are abandoned.

Gomorrah, rw (Matteo Garrone, 2008): 5/5
If only Scorsese would attempt a film like this, acknowledging the wide-reaching social effects of gangsterism and corruption, instead of focusing only on the macho theatrics...

Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey, rw (Steven M. Martin, 1993): 5/5
Music, electronics, spies, Stalin, unrequited love... you really can't make this stuff up.  Enchanting, engrossing.

Arrival, rw (Dennis Villenueve, 2016): 4/5
Enemy, rw (Dennis Villenueve, 2013): 3.5/5

The Right Stuff, rw (Philip Kaufman, 1983): 4/5
Reds, rw (Warren Beatty, 1981): 4/5
Made me long for the days when Hollywood made smart, entertaining movies for adults, all year round.

Monte Walsh (William Fraker, 1970): 2.5/5
Poignant end-of-the-West story with Lee Marvin, Jack Palance, and Jeanne Moreau (as--surprise--a hooker with a heart of gold), marred by some overly broad humor.  Part of my ongoing project to go deep in Jeanne Moreau's filmography.

*Dracula, rw (Tod Browning, 1932; with live accompaniment by Philip Glass and the Kronos Quartet, Segerstrom Hall, 10-28-2017): 4/5
The film comes alive only when Legosi is on screen; the score helped liven the dull parts.  It was a bit strange having live accompaniment with a talking picture, but any chance to hear Kronos is sublime.

Person to Person (Dustin Guy Defa, 2017) -- 4.5/5
Delightful and charming with brilliant dialogue. So real and organic, and coheres much more than you'd expect.

Landline (Gillian Robespierre, 2017) -- 1.5/5
Listen... this took me...three goddamn days to finish...because it was nothing but Straight People's Nonsense: The Movie. (And yet it made me gayer?)  Generic, predictable... adds nothing to the genre. 

Kate Plays Christine (Robert Greene, 2016) -- 3/5
Really had me up until the eye-rolling didactic final scene in what otherwise would have been an absorbing portrait of an actor's research project. 

Christine (Antonio Campos, 2016) -- 3/5
Straight biopic. For what it lacks in offering any insight or relevance for resurrecting Christine Chubbuck, it makes up for a great lead performance. Also liked the ending.   

Woodshock (Kate and Laura Mulleavy, 2017) -- 1/5
If I wanted to see a bunch of sad people smoke weed and be fundamentally unable to balance a coherent narrative with a frustratingly self-absorbed visual style, I'd go to film school. 

Baby Driver (Edgar Wright, 2017) -- 2/5
Irksome. The lead actor (aka Vanilla White Bread) made me want to immediately bail and never look back, but the supporting cast upheld their end (Jamie Foxx especially, he totally saved it) and really, carried the whole movie. 

Beach Rats (Eliza Hittman, 2017) -- 1/5
Derivative character study of a closeted bro. Formally and narratively unimaginative. 

Good Time (Ben and Joshua Safdie, 2017) -- 4/5
Imagine a panic attack times 100-- that's this film. Robert Pattinson is truly next-level here.

Girls Trip (Malcolm D. Lee, 2017) -- 3.5/5
This will make you want to have friends and trip on absinthe. Tiffany Haddish STEALS the movie. Heaven must have sent her from above...