Aladdin – B (57%) It’s better than you think it’s going to be.
Always Be My Maybe – B+ (92%) Cute rom-com about two old friends rekindling their romance.
Avengers: End Game – B (95%RT) A small indie film about several friends dealing with the aftermath of the death of their loved ones. Depression, MPD, obesity, anger, suicidal thoughts, and anxiety.
Booksmart – A+ (97%) It doesn’t get better than this clever film about two high school senior girls making the most of their last day. Destined to be a cult classic for years.
Brittany Runs a Marathon – A (90%RT) A hot mess approaching 30 reluctantly decides her life around in this clever, funny dramedy.
Bumblebee – B (93%RT) – This is basically E.T. but with a giant robot. So …the Iron Giant?
Child’s Play – B (61%RT) – Fun and gross and disturbing. A good reboot for the Internet of Things world we are living in.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters – C+ (40%RT) – Not as exciting or smart as the previous two in the franchise but still entertaining if not a little rote.
Greta – B- (57%RT) – The acting lifts this otherwise by-the-books thriller. The most unrealistic part is when Chloe leaves her 10-speed propped outside a building in Brooklyn and it’s still there 30 minutes later.
Hustlers – B (88%RT) – True-ish story about a group of strippers who form a criminal organization. J.Lo deserves an Oscar nom.
Isn’t It Romantic – B (68%RT) – A sweet satire of traditional rom-coms. Rebel Wilson must be contractually obligated to fall down in every movie.
It: Chapter 2 – B (64%RT) – Not as good as the first but overall a satisfying conclusion to the IT story. At least we get some LGBTQ representation.
Midsommar – C (83%RT) – 3+ hours of not scary nothing culminates in an ending not earned. Skip it.
Minding the Gap – B+ (100%RT) – Three teenage friends try to understand life, death, and child abuse through their escape of skateboarding.
Late Night – B (76%RT) – A mostly by-the-book script about a female writer brought in to remind a complacent talk show host who she used to be.
Long Shot – B (82%RT) – A schlubby journalist falls for the Secretary of State in this raunchy yet sadly plausible political comedy.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – B+ (85%RT) DiCaprio is fantastic as an aging 60s Western A-list actor trying to navigate the cultural shift to edgier 70s fare.
Pink Wall – D+ (83%RT) – Two characters that you would never want to be friends with meet, date, and then slowly break up over the course of 77 minutes (which felt like 177 minutes). Thank god it’s short.
Ready or Not – C- (87%RT) – The movie doesn’t know if it’s a horror or a comedy and therefor it fails at both.
Rocketman – A (91%) – A fantastic fantasy film featuring stellar performances. Just give Taron Egerton the Oscar now.
Roma – A (96%RT) – A gorgeous and visually arresting portrait of Mexico City in 1970 and a year in the life of one young woman.
Shazam! – C- (91%RT) – Juvenile, boring, bad acting, predictable, lame, older actors that have no resemblance to their younger counterparts. I could go on.
Someone Great – B+ (82%RT) – Cute romcom about a woman moving forward with her life despite the fact that it’s extremely upsetting.
Spider-man: Far From Home – B+ (90%RT) – Fun, flirty, and surprising. Plus that post-credits scene not only explains a lot from the film but sets us Phase 4 nicely.
The Farewell – A+ (99%RT) – Utterly delightful film about doing the questionably bad thing for a good reason. One of the best of the year.
The Wife – B (85%RT) – Behind ever great man is an even greater woman who has to put up with a lot of b.s.
Triple Frontier – B- (73%RT) – A lesson in greed and stupidity. It’s a straight to Netflix Ben Affleck movie that you’ve never heard of.
Us – B+ (94%RT) – This wasn’t as scary as I wanted it to be but it is definitely smarter than I anticipated. Another solid film from Peele.
Wine Country – B (68%RT) – This partially improvised film works well on Netflix if you grab some friends and a few bottles of pinot.
Yesterday – C+ (60%RT) – They wrote themselves into a corner and didn’t know how to get out. The ending makes little sense if you spent 2 minutes contemplating it. This really should have been better.
