Creep (Patrick Brice, 2015) --4/5
Answering a Craigslist ad, a man travels to a house in the wilderness to document a dying man's final days. Said man (played by Mark Duplass) is quite odd to say the least, and the unease never lets up. Short in length, high in scares and dread, I'm still thinking about it 4 or 5 days later.


Water Lilies (Celine Sciamma, 2014)-- 4.5/5
Celine Sciamma's debut feature is a queer, coming-of-age French drama about three 15-year-old girls exploring their own sexual identity, and linked together by their membership of a synchronised swimming team. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, but the performances, the depth of its characters, along with pace and feel, made the film something special and meaningful. Also interesting to see Adele Haenel in an early role.

Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan, 2016)-- 3/5
Three timeline is the new three act. Nolan gets to put into practice a set of theories about time using a specific historical event. I guess it's better than lodging the theoretical into exposition. 

The Lure (Agnieszka Smoczynska, 2017) -- 2/5
Horror, comedy, romance, musical, fantasy, fairytale art-house flick set in 1980s Warsaw about two mermaids who are adopted by a family of musicians. One mermaid sings, dances, falls in love; the other mermaid sings, dances, and kills people without remorse. Intriguing but never engaging or emotionally involving. Images are aesthetically composed but never alluring.

Colors (Dennis Hopper, 1988) -- 1/5
Yeah no nevermind mass incarceration, police brutality, socio-economic exclusion, drug abuse, objectification of black bodies, and institutionalized racism; the real victims here are the two well-meaning but jaded white cops. 

XX (Roxane Benjamin, Annie Clark, Karyn Kusama, Jovanka Kuvokic, 2017)-- 2/5
Horror anthology of four standalone shorts, each helmed by a female director, and each starring a female lead. Initially promising but eventually disappointing, the film fails to deliver as a whole and is merely stitched together by a random stop-motion animated segment. 

The Bad Batch (Ana Lily Amanpour, 2016) -- 1.5/5
Mad Max meets Rob Zombie-lite meets Burning Man. Temporarily engaging with certain actions and visuals, but ultimately just not my textual bag. Also, UCLA film school grad/cool kid Amanpour just looooooooves telling people she's done peyote. WE GET IT. 

Your Name. (Makota Shinkai, 2016) -- 1/5
Soppy, frustratingly long and repetitive, time travel/body swap yarn. Nice Japanese animation punctuated by offputting, cheesy pop tunes. Not my cup of sake. Oh and hey btw, JUST CALL EACH OTHER!!!!! ON!!!! YOUR CELLULAR!!! DEVICES!!! YOU HOLLOW DESKTOP SCREENSAVER TEENS!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!! 

Girlhood (Celine Sciamma, 2015) -- 4.5/5
No it didn't take twelve years to make, you hush now. Sciamma's definitely in my top favorite contemporary filmmakers list. Beautiful, devastating work of art. This scene where the girls lip-sync their way through Rihanna's "Diamonds" in stolen designer clothing inside a posh Parisian hotel is one for the ages. They are their own light in a cold world. A momentary crux.  Hypnotic. Sublime.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3lDo0v96D8&index=1&list=FLG5qjPsbAS1RWa8GPJpWF_A

* Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Rian Johnson, 2017): 3/5

Not interesting narratively, but cool use of red. I appreciated its funky, CGI-resistant, “guys-in-costumes-sitting-around-a-real-table” quality.

Lady Macbeth (William Oldroyd, 2017): 3/5

What if Jane Eyre didn’t take no shit?

The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lantimos, 2017): 4/5

The “talking as if you’re a polite alien” bit is just as funny here as in The Lobster. Very Kubrickian cinematography, plus Barry Keoghan offering my favorite supporting performance of the year as the friendly neighborhood psychopath.

Blade Runner 2049: 4.5/5

It Comes at Night (Trey Edward Shults, 2017): 2.5/5

We have met the enemy, and…get this...it’s us!!!!!

Brigsby Bear (Dave McKary, 2017): 3/5

If this movie was better, I would not reveal that (ok…spoiler) it’s the cross between Room and Be Kind, Rewind that everyone has been clamoring for (and not as good as either one.)

The Watch (Akiva Schaffer, 2012): 3/5

On February 25, 2012, neighborhood watch coordinator George Zimmerman shot and killed Trayvon Martin. Tragically, this caused 20th Century Fox to have to rename (from ”Neighborhood Watch”) and under-market this pretty funny Ben Stiller vehicle, released on July 27.

* Phantom Thread (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2017): 4.5/5

Beautiful and shaggy. As (almost) always, it’s a real pleasure to watch DDL.

Bright (David Ayer, 2017): 1.5/5

Anti-racism themed Netflix actioner is actually incredibly racist. Twist!

A Dark Song (Liam Gavin, 2017): 4/5

In this stealth remake of Stalker, a woman hires a self-doubting guide to perform an occult ritual that will grant her wish. Wonderfully unwholesome.

Good Time (The Safdie Brothers, 2017): 2.5/5

Dumb, sweaty characters wandering through amazing pretty/ugly slabs of red, green and yellow light.

The Circle (James Ponsoldt, 2017) -- 2/5
A 2-hour TED talk about why privacy is bad, I mean good, I mean bad? And about why freedom is good, I mean bad, I mean good? 

The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982) -- 5/5
"Nobody trusts anybody now, and we're all very tired." What a horror and wonder to behold. 

Misery (Rob Reiner, 1990)-- 3.5/5
I never knew Rob Reiner directed this. Who would've thought huh. Anyway, my sphincter still hasn't unclenched.

The Unknown Girl (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 2016) -- 3/5
I was disappointed with the third act. It relied far too much upon conveniences for the plot in order to find a proper conclusion. 

Kidnap (Luis Pietro, 2017) -- 1.5/5
Fun drinking game: take a shot whenever Halle Berry screams 'Oh God' and runs after something. You'll be plastered before the end of the first act.  

Dead Ringer (Paul Henreid, 1964) -- 3/5
"Let's get Bette all middle-age sexy with Malden, then bring on the pathos!" A good premise, I must say. 

Lemon (Janicza Bravo, 2017) -- 1/5
Ugh, the oppressive quirkiness. The oddness...so THICK. The whole movie works against itself in every regard. 

Force Majeure (Ruben Ostlund, 2014) -- 4/5
A stunning examination of masculinity and how one split second decision made under duress can change a family unit. Authentic performances, restrained direction, gorgeous cinematography. A movie that tells a lot by doing little. 

Rough Night (Lucia Aniello, 2017) -- 3.5/5
White girl version of Girls Trip meets Very Bad Things (1998). A generic-looking comedy with a million dick jokes, but surprisingly a decent studio comedy with a million dick jokes.