Mad Max (George Miller, 1979): 2/5

This feels like a very bloated origin story—an entire movie fashioned from what ought to have been the first 35 minutes or so of a much better movie. Gee, I wonder what the much better movie in question might look like?

Two Men in Manhattan (Jean-Paul Melville, 1959): 3/5

Uneventful and unhurried, but if you're a Melville completist this offers an early, less polished take on what he would be doing later on. Although, where something like Le Samourai is minimalist but still recognizably a crime thriller, Two Men in Manhattan is more laid back and less obviously a genre movie. It was way too racy for the Hays code (lesbianism, bare breasts, prostitution, etc.), thus was never released in the US. Definitely worth a look for Melville fans. Somewhat of an interesting take on film noir, and an evocative portrait of 1950's New York.

rewatched The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005): 5/5

The 172 minute cut. Glorious. So much of the DNA of Malick's later films is already here and working to full effect. It's also perhaps the most thematically deliberate Malick film, in that even the titular romance plays second fiddle to the notion of diminishing bliss, and the inevitability of it all.

The Mummy (Alex Kurtzman, 2017): 1/5

*slams fists on the table* GIVE US BRENDAN FRASER

Human Flow (Ai Wei Wei, 2017): 2.5/5

I feel Ai Wei Wei tends to get in the way of this Ai Wei Wei film, with needless cutaways and moments of the famous artist (why should we care that he’s shaving his head?). Also, his background as a multimedia artist becomes apparent with the structure of the film, as it feels more like vignettes you can “walk in on” instead of a grand statement with peaks and valleys.

Upgrade (Leigh Whannell, 2018): 2.5/5

Whannell's a shitty writer and the acting is more or less crap. Not as fun as I was hoping it'd be either. Could've passed as a Black Mirror episode with its "overreliance on technology might have unforeseen consequences" message.

Billionaire Boys Club (James Cox, 2018): 1/5

Little more than an excuse to give some NextGen Leo DiCaprios their own Wolf of Wall Street, this movie was already on the shelf for a year and a half before becoming a casualty of the Kevin Spacey scandal. It ended up going straight to VOD and made it to ten screens in the US, but that's probably how it would've played out even if Spacey wasn't a creep. (As much as anyone will hate to admit, Spacey is actually the best thing about this shallow and superficial drama.)

Last Flag Flying (Richard Linklater, 2017): 2/5

Wallop of a disappointment, where Linklater gathers together a good group of performers and then basically allows them to make the most obvious points about growing old, serving your country, and the lies we tell to keep people complacent along the way. Not so much terrible as it’s just bland and vanilla, never stretching visually (and the digital photography is so flat) and just shooting scenes with these old guys as they bicker and laugh about not much at all.

Tuesday, After Christmas (Radu Muntean, 2010): 1.5/5

Too resolutely ordinary for me to get excited about; marital infidelity is commonplace to begin with, with a wholly predictable narrative, so uninflected naturalism isn't really the greatest fit here.

Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper, 1982): 3.5/5

Extra half star because if you squint you can pretend that Craig T. Nelson is Harrison Ford.

The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961): 2/5

Middle-brow and lackluster. The melodramatic acting of the day doesn't really mesh with the film's dingy realism.

Marooned In Iraq (Bahman Ghobadi, 2002): 3/5

Blackish comedy with a sincere family saga. A compelling insight into the lives of Kurds living along the Iraqi-Iranian border during the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.

Shane (George Stevens, 1953): 3/5

Good and sturdy western. Basically just the movie that people think of when they talk about all the genre's cliches.

Uncle Drew (Charles Stone III, 2018): 2.5/5

Literally a feature length Pepsi commercial. It's about as formulaic and predictable as a sports movie can get, but there's a good sense of fun and warmth, making it enjoyable at times.

rewatched The Tree of Life (extended cut) (Terrence Malick, 2011): 5/5

*twirls* *points at this movie*
“That’s where God lives.”

The Man from London (Bela Tarr, 2007): 1.5/5

Beautifully shot and with a dark, oppressive atmosphere that gives the narrative frame a timelessness. However, I wasn't sufficiently prepared for the depths of minimalism explored here. The plot is a ponderous nothing as a bland character wrestles angstily with a dull dilemma for two hours.

Oh Lucy! (Atsuko Hirayagani, 2017): 4/5

An impressively poised debut from Atsuko Hirayagani, balancing comedy and poignancy quite effectively in this surprising little character study. Sort of a fusion between a Sundance-y midlife crisis dramedy and a low-key, very Japanese take on a classic screwball comedy. Could easily be too twee or mannered but avoids most major pitfalls and emerges as something winning.

Scanners (David Cronenberg, 1981): 2/5

Starring: Stephen Lack
Or more like Stephen, Lack of any acting skills lol 

Pootie Tang (Louis C.K., 2001): 2.5/5

The missing link between Robert Downey Sr. and Adult Swim.

*First Man (Damien Chazelle, 2018): 3.5/5
Aims to demonstrate that the moon walk wasn't a fait accompli, but the result of a long, grueling journey marked by tragic setbacks and practical ingenuity.  In the loneliness of the long distance pilot, there's precious little time for poetry or humor.

Thelma (Joachim Trier, 2017): 4/5
After the disappointing English-language family melodrama Louder Than Bombs, Joachim Trier returns to Norway and returns to form.  Sheltered Christian country girl Thelma goes to college in the big city, and some Carrie-like weirdness ensues.  Like The Witch, this art film never really pins down what's going on, but it's Trier's most stylistically accomplished film to date.  [Also rewatched Reprise and Oslo, August 31st.]

The Death of Stalin (Armando Iannucci, 2017): 4/5
Another acerbic, fast-talking political satire based on true events from Iannucci (In the Loop).  You really can't make this shit up.

First Reformed (Paul Schrader, 2018): 4/5
I was pleasantly surprised and occasionally moved by how Schrader lovingly remade and updated Diary of a Country Priest.  But as with Todd Haynes' scholarly re-make of Mildred Pierce, I ended up admiring it more than genuinely liking it.  You can't improve upon perfection.

L’Avventura, rw (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960): 4/5

I hadn’t seen this in 25 years, and I was surprised how much plot it had. Devastating ending, bringing home the theme of fluidity of identity.

Strangelove, rw/2001, rw (Kubrick, 1964/1968): 5/5

A two-night Kubrick fest with Rosa. Now she knows…

Idiocracy (Mike Judge, 2006): 3.5/5

No movie better predicts today’s hellscape.

Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973): 5/5

Lots of great sex and death. Way better than I imagined it would be.

First Reformed (Paul Schrader, 2018): 5/5

Will feel very familiar to fans of Taxi Driver, but it remains absolutely gripping throughout and includes several bravura sequences. Best ending of the year.

Thoroughbreds (Cory Finley, 2018): 1.5/5

Hard to buy the nihilism of these beautiful kids.

American Animals (Bart Layton, 2018)L 2/5

Has there ever before been a heist movie where one of the participants is secretly hoping the whole plan will fall through after all? That’s the hook here, I think, but I just watched it for my new BFF Barry Keoghan, who was … pretty good!

Upgrade (Leigh Whannell, 2018): 2.5/5

Not as fun as I wanted it to be.

Breaking Away, rw (Peter Yates, 1979): 3.5/5

I hadn’t seen it since I was 12, but I remembered it better than I currently remember Thoroughbreds from last month. Simple story, well told.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor (Morgan Neville, 2018): 2.5/5

I never got Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, and I don’t get this doc. His eyes have the clarity and determination of a suicide bomber.

Avengers: Infinity War (The Russo Bros. (sigh), 2018): 2.5/5

Robert Downey, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Idris Elba, Peter Dinklange, Benicio Del Toro, Gweyneth Paltrow, Josh Brolin, and William Hurt (to just name the actors I like) waving their hands around in front of a green screen. State-of-the-art entertainment.

Murder Party (Jeremy Saulnier, 2007): 3/5

Watched this debut feature in anticipation of Hold the Dark, which now I can’t bring myself to watch.

Ozark, Season 1 (Bill Dubuque, 2017): 3/5

Good storytelling, with tensions from within the family and without. Would have been even better at 8 eps instead of 10.

Pickpocket, rw (Robert Bresson, 1959): 5/5

This time, what struck me was the tension, wrought from the simplest and most static images.

La Collectionneuse (Eric Rohmer, 1967): 3.5/5

The third of the Six Moral Tales, and the first feature-length. A pretty realistic view of young people—full of ideas about themselves and others but actually completely clueless. Rohmer is Veronica’s current favorite director, as she chases the dragon of Call Me By Your Name.

La Boulangére de Monceau, 22 mins. (Eric Rohmer, 1963): 3.5/5

This short, the first of the Six Moral Tales, already delivers Rohmer’s ur-protagonist—one who thinks he knows who he is but who breezily acts in the opposite way when it serves him. All in about a quarter the time of the other five.

Mandy (Panos Cosmatos, 2018): 4.5/5

Despite its familiar plot terrain, this movie delivers more than enough colorful, silly, gonzo, acid-laced, exploitation-level thrills to satisfy.

Brute Force (Jules Dassin, 1947): 2.5/5

Full of clichés and expressionist, homoerotic posing—but the escape sequence in the last 20 minutes is a knockout. Hume Cronyn shines as a petty, sadistic chief guard.