* 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. 

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... 

The Death of Louis XIV (Albert Serra, 2016) -- 2/5
This is the kind of film that would be little harmed if most of its scenes were reshuffled in random order. I felt like I was staring at studies of the same (albeit gorgeous) Renaissance painting for 2 hours. Eschewing narrative is fine, but SOME dynamism should take its place. This is the wrong medium for stasis. Only watch if you're a Jean-Pierre Leaud completist! 

The Blackcoat's Daughter (Oz Perkins, 2017) -- 3/5
Or: The Consequences of Having Don Draper as Your Father 

It Comes At Night (Trey Edwards Schults, 2017) -- 2.5/5
Underwhelming "artsy" "horror" film. Very little here that actually deviates from the survivalist template. 

A Ghost Story (David Lowery, 2017) -- 3/5
Liked the idea of a silent ghost as the protagonist; liked the representation of said ghost as a sheet with two eyeholes. What I didn't get was the central relationship. We just see so little of the husband and wife together prior to the car accident that their mourning across separate planes of existence functions purely on an abstract level. 

mother! (Darren Aronofsky, 2017) -- 3/5
Just like the sink, I was NOT braced. 

The Gift (Sam Raimi, 2000) -- 3/5
Southern Gothic supernatural thriller with a STACKED cast. (Cate Blanchett, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, Keanu Reeves, Katie Holmes, J.K. Simmons, Giovanni Ribisi.) Atmospheric with eerie frames a'plenty.

William Gibson: No Maps for These Territories (Mark Neele, 2000) -- 1/5
Superficial interview in the backseat of a car about nothing 

The Beguiled (Don Siegel, 1971) -- 3/5
Discomforting stuff. I, too, have no interest in seeing the re-make. I also just don't care for the basic premise. (Yes, it's a man being objectified for once, but only in the service of depicting women as sex-starved maniacs.)  

Aimee and Jaguar (Max Faberbock, 1998) -- 2/5
Based on a true story about a love affair between two women (one a Good German, the other a Jew) amidst WWII. Sorry, but there's just no competing against Carol or Blue is the Warmest Color, or the Willow/Tara relationship on Buffy. 

Better Than Chocolate (Anne Wheeler, 1999)  --1/5
See above. 

Southside With You (Richard Tanne, 2016) -- 1/5
Before Sunrise 
Before Sunset
Before White House

The Electric Horseman (Sydney Pollack, 1979): 2/5

A confrontation between Redford’s scruffy and soulful 70s and Fonda’s buttoned-up and self-satisfied 80s. Radically, the 80s win.

The Squid and the Whale, rw (Noah Baumbach, 2005): 4.5/5

My father wasn’t an intellectual, but he certainly was a narcissist. I recognized a lot here and laughed more than a couple of times.

The Meyerowitz Stories (Noah Baumbach, 2017): 4/5

My father wasn’t an artist, but he certainly was a narcissist. I recognized a lot here and laughed more than a couple of times.

Sinister (Scott Derrickson, 2012): 3/5

Delivers some Halloween-appropriate chills before its overblown last act.

Nocturama (Bertrand Bonello, 2016): 2/5

A beautiful and boring critique of late capitalism.

Raw (Julia Ducournau, 2016): 2/5

A beautiful and boring critique of late adolescence.

Le Cercle Rouge, rw (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970): 4/5

Tarantino naming his production company after Godard is certainly an obfuscation of the fact that the French movies he really borrows from the most are Melville’s elaborate, tri-focused gangster movies: this one, plus Le Deuxieme Souffle and Army of Shadows (freedom fighters acting like gangsters). Granted, they are likely both indebted to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (S. Craig Zahler, 2017): 3/5

Never over-reaches its authentic B-movie ambitions. As such I give it the compliment of rating it a B.

Stranger Things, Season 2 (The Duffer brothers, 2017): 2/5

More action and fewer character moments and Spielberg quotes.

Atomic Blonde (David Leitch, 2017): 2.5/5

I certainly enjoyed watching Theron knee people in the face and get kneed in the face by people (who wouldn’t), but the one thing her character can’t defeat is the absurdly complicated plotting.

This is Us, Season 1 (Dan Fogelman, 2016): 4.5/5

Expert middlebrow.